《Reincarnated as the Demon King's Son》


 Chapter 1 Prayer

    I killed myself. That night, at the bridge where cars light zipped past under me like time itself telling me to hurry up and die.


    The world is too hard for me, for I am too weak, too naive, too trusting of the people around me. Father and mother threw me away at thirteen,  then I was transferred from orphanage to orphanage because of my ethnicity.


    I cried and cried telling the god that I am sorry that I cannot live no more in this world. I am tired of scrapping for food in the trash can, I am tired to be kicked around and mistreated by everyone around me.


    God. If you really are there, if reincarnation really exists, please give me a life I can be grateful for.


    My feet left the railing, then all I heard was the honking of cars and people screaming.


    ¡­


    A hundred gods stood in the air with closed eyes.


    ¡°I and my wife have conquered a million worlds for you, convincing all the people there to kneel and bow under your statues. I killed all the demons and the devils from hell, so they won¡¯t disrupt the people¡¯s faith. I kill my own kind! To satisfy you! Now give me what you have promised!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The demon king, Hujarar stood in the middle of the flying tform in the sky.


    Suddenly, the gods opened their eyes, glowing bright like the light of the holy sun itself. ¡°You have done well, Hujarar. Your prayers have not been forgotten. We shall give you an answer. You prayed for your life to no longer be hunted by our chosen heroes, you prayed to have a calm life with your wife, you prayed to have a grateful and powerful son. You prayed to give our holy blessing to him. We heard your prayer, then you shall receive.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred saw light, shining brightly upon his eyes, and he couldn¡¯t help but cry, but then he saw a woman with the depiction of an angel without the wings, fondly looking at him with a pair of lovely eyes.


    Her facial was graceful, and so did her smooth skin of wless beauty. Her pristine ck hair flowed down like a heavenly river. The way it glittered while reflecting the sunlight reminded him of a ck polished, finely carved diamond. Looking at her figure, she might as well be the most beautiful of all diamonds.


    She brought him into her embrace, lifting her clothes, and putting her breast inside his mouth.


    Aldred was too stunned to speak. ¡®Who is this beautiful woman?<sub></sub>


    Warm liquid entered his throat, it felt so refreshing like much-needed water after three days in the throat-burning deserts. She caressed his cheek with her soft and slender, leaning forward, and whispering to his ear. ¡°Wee to this world, my baby boy.¡±


    Aldred was shocked, his whole body trembled. He couldn¡¯t help but cry again. It was a baby cry. The mother lovingly smiled before breastfeeding him again to calm him down.


    Her soft touch and the warm liquid entering his throat did calm him down.


    The situation didn¡¯t let him think clearly at first, but now he understood.


    He was reincarnated, but still with his memory intact?


    ¡®Why? I prefer if I would forget all the nightmares of my past life. Why does God leave me with these scars when he can remove them why?¡¯


    ¡°He¡¯s a strong boy,¡± a handsome man said, standing beside the woman.


    The woman sat down on a chair. The man leaned in to take a closer look. ¡°You resemble your mother, little baby.¡±


    The mother smiled. ¡°And you are as handsome as your father.¡±


    The man kissed the woman on the head. ¡°We finally get our happy ever after, Eve.¡±


    She kissed back. ¡°It¡¯s all because of you, Hujarar, my dear.¡±


    ¡°It cannot be done without you, love.¡±


    Both of them went in each other¡¯s embrace like a loving family.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, can Ie inside now?¡± A voice beautiful voice asked.


    ¡°Yes, dear,¡± Eve said.


    A woman around twenty years old of age with the same appearance as Eve opened the door before excitedly approaching him. ¡°You¡¯re so cute! Who¡¯s a good boy! Who¡¯s a good boy? Can I name him, mom?¡±


    ¡°No, dear. The name will be given by the blessing of the gods,¡± Eve said. She nodded to Hujarar.


    Hujarar pulled some sort of golden jade out of his pocket,  then he ce it on top of Aldred¡¯s head.


    It shone with brilliant light mixed with various colors, creating rainbows as they moved about in the air before entering his body.


    Aldred felt like he should be panicking right now, but instead, he felt calm. A voice entered his head. It was so ancient so divine. Then more voices came.


    [You have been blessed]


    [You have obtained unlimited potential. Nothing shall bound your strength]


    [You have obtained divine dimension. In this dimension, you are the god]


    [You have obtained affinity in all elements: fire, water, wood, earth, air, dark, time, space]


    [You have obtained limitless energy. The whole universe will give you energy]


    [You have obtained Necromancy. The soul of the dead is for you tomand]


    [You have obtained extreme charm. Even a rock would blush just by looking at you]


    [You have obtained magic affinity. Any spells will be yours to master]


    [You have obtained Martial Arts affinity. Any techniques will be yours to master]


    [You have obtained Divine Genital. You can control its length and thickness however you want]


    [Your name shall be Aldred]

 Chapter 2 Loving Family

    Aldred felt a divine aura wash all over him, and even though he was still a baby he believed he could lift arge boulder with his hand alone. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was overconfident of him or not, but he definitely felt strength and power inside of him.


    And not only that, but he also saw these weird stats floating around everyone.


    [Hujarar]


    Level: 978


    Titles: The Demon King, Betrayer, World eater, God of War, killer of men, Hunter of Heroes, Cutthroat, Vicious Phantom, King of Hell, Mass Murderer, Universal Level Threat


    Power: Immortality, Control Reality, Domain Administrator, Universal Gate¡­


    History: Demon King Hujarar was crowned as the King of Hell at the age of 7 when he killed the king of that era. He was feared by many and proved to be a lethal threat to the universe. A thousand ancient beings felt threatened by his existence, but only a hundred of them stood up and fought against him. After countless millenniums of battle, Hujarar made a deal for peace, conquering more than a million worlds and presenting them to the ancient beings as the price for his peace.


    Aldred got dizzy from the long list of titles, skills, and ten thousand paragraphs worth of history. Alright, this man was powerful. He got it, and that was enough. Why did it need to tell him about the man¡¯s whole life?


    When he wanted the writings in the air to be gone, they disappeared just like that. That was very convenient.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Aldred,¡± the man said. ¡°What a beautiful name. You will be a wise boy when you grow up. I am sure of it.¡±


    Aldred was touched by his fatherly gaze but he had to apologize for noting up to the expectation because he didn¡¯t n to be wise at all, he wanted to have fun.


    His past life was miserable, the only escape he had from reality was reading old books that he had downloaded on his old phone which he received from someone who did not want it. It was cracked and the screen was about to fall off, but it was the only thing he had.


    Fantasy books always made him smile, they brought him into the imagination of the writer.


    It helped him in forgetting about the bitter reality which was his past life, but now since his fantasy hade true, he didn¡¯t n to waste it.


    ¡®Thank you, God, For giving me a chance, and for giving me a life that I can be grateful for.¡¯


    The twenty-year-old woman smiled. She caressed his head. ¡°Aldred. A lovely name.¡±


    Eve kissed his forehead and stood up from her seat. She softly shook him up and down while singing him a luby song. Her voice was ethereal beyond measure like it came from heaven itself.<sub></sub>


    It was of nature, calm like the water, yet fresh like the sensation of the morning air. Aldred felt sleepy. He couldn¡¯t help but closed his eyes as he drifted into a dream.


    Four months had passed.


    Time worked differently for Eve and Hujarar. For them, four months was a blink of an eye, but for Aldred, it was quite a long time.


    His life was veryfortable in his new home. His mother provided him with milk and love every single day. His father had never whipped him with a belt or hurt him in any way.


    His sister would y with him whenever she got home from school.


    What was more interesting was that his ¡®home¡¯ was actually arge floating castle that drifted above the clouds.


    Eve picked him up as he crawled on the ground. She strode to the balcony. The sight in the sky was beautiful with countless stars and moon. A streak of color ran straight in the sky.


    The sun was always rising, this was because the castle always moved away from the sun. His father and mother found out that sunrise was his favorite time of the day, so they control the castle for him.


    He had heard that they could just stop the from rotating or just put the sun in a different ce but that would disrupt the native beings on this.


    Aldred sighed in relief for all the innocent lives that were saved.


    His mother smiled on the balcony with her arms wrapped around him.


    His father came from inside and hugged her from behind. ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it.¡±


    Eve nodded.


    ¡°Say, Aldred, do you want to fly?¡±


    Aldred was nervous. Even though he had killed himself by falling from a bridge, he actually was afraid of heights.


    Eveughed. ¡°Of course, he wants to. Look how excited he is.¡±


    Hujarar smiled. ¡°Then let us fly.¡±


    Aldred was nervous at first.  He closed his eyes as the three of them slowly floated, leaving the flying castle.


    The wind softly brushed against his face, and his mother held his little hand. ¡°There is nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    Aldred opened his eyes and feasted upon the wonders of the world. Colorful fluffy clouds floated around them, along with horses streaking around.


    His eyes glittered. Something he only saw in books was now presented in his reality. Aldred couldn¡¯t believe that this was now his life.


    It was like yesterday he was still begging for food, but now¡­


    Now life was good.


    He felt thankful. All the sufferings he had experienced were worth the price for this paradise. He had two loving parents, a dream-like world, and reality-bending power that he didn¡¯t dare to imagine.


    Tears fell from his eyes.


    Hujarar panicked. ¡°Aldred why are you crying. Eve, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°We should return. Maybe the horses scared him.¡±


    Hujarar nodded. ¡°Let me make those horses extinct first.¡±


    Eve grabbed his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t show violence to our baby.¡±


    Hujarar scratched his head apologetically. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    The three of them returned to the balcony and his mother sang him a song to calm him down.


    ¡°Johny. Johny. Yes, papa.¡±


    It was such a wonderful song.

 Chapter 3 I Got The Power!

    As his mother sang him a luby song, something rang from Hujarar¡¯s pocket. It sounded like a cellphone.


    His father put his hand inside a pocket and pull out a phone with the naked picture of his mother on the lock screen.


    He immediately covered it with his hand and made sure no one saw that, but it was clearer than the Nile river itself.


    ¡®Come on, bro. I know she is your wife but why do you have her naked picture as a lock screen.¡¯


    Aldred started to question if his family were truly normal or not.


    Oh wait, they weren¡¯t normal in the first ce.


    Hujarar looked at the phone and clicked his tongue in annoyance. ¡°Tech support, how may I help you?¡±


    Pffft. Aldred couldn¡¯t hold it and gave out a baby giggle which surprised his mother.


    ¡°Stop ying with me,¡± an old voice came from the phone. ¡°I am sure I called the right number.¡±


    ¡°New phone, who dis?¡±


    ¡°Hujarar! I know your voice like the moan of my wife! So don¡¯t y any game with me.¡±


    Pfft! Aldredughed again which surprised Eve even more.


    Hujarar then snapped his fingers and then the magical wind blew around the phone. ¡°It¡¯s a whole storm out here. Sorry but I think you can call at another time. And I am running out of data too. Oh, my battery is going zero.¡±


    He then turned off the call. Hujarar sighed.


    Eve looked at her husband and smiled. ¡°The gods are calling again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They really love to pester us like a bunch of old men. It makes me want to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Hujarar, no. You promised that we will live a happy and peaceful life.¡±


    ¡°I know, dear.¡± He approached her and kissed her forehead. ¡°Old habits die hard.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred flinched. ¡®Is killing god your habit or something?¡¯


    ¡°Also, dear, I think our little Aldred can understand us.¡±


    ¡°What? He¡¯s only four months old.¡±


    Hujarar approached him and looked at him in the eye. ¡°Can you understand us?¡±


    Aldred blinked and then giggled like a normal baby. ¡°Eyah! Gugu Gaga!¡±


    He wanted to enjoy his time as a baby. If they knew he could understand them, who knew what they would do.


    When he grew up, he would like to go on an adventure, kill beasts and collect harems, but for now, he would like to enjoy his moments with both of his parents.


    It would be such a fun adventure! After all, he has so many powers that he could use.


    ¡°I think he wants to sleep,¡± Eve said. ¡°Come. Let us return to your bed.¡±


    His mother sweetly looked at him and fondled her small nose with her own. They return to the floating castle, and Eve strode to the bedroom.


    Once again, a warm heavenly liquid entered his throat as his mother sweetly looked at him. It was in direct contrast with his past mother who didn¡¯t even bother to look at him when talking.


    Aldred smiled inside. ¡®What a great family. This is the thing I have dreamt of for twenty grueling years.¡¯


    Afraid of tiring his mother, Aldred pretended he was asleep. Eve noticed that his little baby boy was already fast asleep, so she put him in his own small bed boxed by wooden fences.


    ¡°He¡¯s quick to sleep,¡± Hujarar said.


    Aldred snored.


    ¡°Oh, look at our little baby snoring. don¡¯t you think that¡¯s cute?¡± Hujarar said.


    Then Aldred opened his eyes and closed them again.<sub></sub>


    Eve giggled. ¡°It seems like our baby is not fully asleep yet. Why don¡¯t we y some toys for him?¡±


    Hujarar smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡®What are they trying to do?¡¯


    When he slightly opened his eyes, Aldred was shocked at what he saw. His parents did something¡­ childish yet wonderful.


    ¡°Brooom!¡± Hujarar moved a car toy in the air as he made a car noise in his mouth.


    Eve giggled and raised her hand. A couple of airnes flew around. They glowed and left a sparkling trails of stars. Suddenly, Hujarar summoned smalls, and gxies on the ceilings. And then a tiny Ctulhu appeared devouring thes around it. Space ships came from thes and attacked the monsters. So many things happened at once, and Aldred watched in wonder and amazement.


    Aldred wanted to close his eyes and get some sleep, but he couldn¡¯t. The sight was just too good to pass for.


    After a few hours, Aldred thought his mom and dad might get tired, so Aldred pretended to sleep immediately.


    ¡°Our boy has fallen asleep,¡± Hujarar said.


    ¡°It seems that he liked our little magic show. We should do it more often.¡±


    The door opened and his big sister caught both his mom and dad ying with toys.


    ¡°Is Aldred awake?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s asleep,¡± Hujarar said before all thes and gxies on the ceiling disappeared.


    ¡®Magic is very convenient,¡¯ Aldred thought. He looked at his sister and wanted her attention. Aldred pretended to cry to make his bigs sistere to him. ¡°Uwaa!¡±


    ¡°Awhh, you pitiful little baby boy.¡± His big sister approached and brought him to her chest. ¡°There, there. Come and y with big sister.¡±


    She strode out and Aldred cried as his big sister brought him to her room. She put him on her bed and tucked his body with a warm nket. ¡°Ohh, you¡¯re such a cutie. Mom and dad is too cruel to keep you away from me.¡±


    She then rained his face with kisses.


    Aldred was overwhelmed. He likes being kissed by a beautiful, busty girl, but even this was too much. He even thought he might die from theck of oxygen.


    She stopped and looked at him with a sweet smile. ¡°Mom and dad is so happy to have you. I as your big sister will surely protect you, after all, that is why they adopted me.¡±


    Aldred was surprised. His big sister was adopted? Then why did she look so simr to his mother? ¡®It was probably face-changing magic or something. Anything can happen in this fantasy world.¡±


    Time passed and Aldred was now six months old.


    After spending time with his family every day, Aldred found something that he wanted to do. He wanted to be stronger just like them and lead an easy and fun life.


    It was so cool to see his mother, father, and sister throwing cool spells in the air. He wanted to do that too.


    But for that, he needed to learn, and the only ce he could learn right now was through books.


    Aldred climbed one of the wooden bookshelves and randomly grabbed one of the books. It was called ¡®World Devouring me¡¯.


    He didn¡¯t know how he could understand all of this, in fact, he didn¡¯t even know how he understood his parents¡¯nguage.


    Though, he couldn¡¯t speak yet, which was not surprising.


    [World Devouring me]


    The world shall be consumed by fire. Train this skill to the peak and you will be the sovereign of me.


    ¡®Cool!¡¯


    If he learn this he would be as powerful as his father. With the blessing of the god, surely he could learn this in no time.


    [Learning Failed. Insufficient Level]


    ¡®Level?¡¯


    ¡ª-


    [Aldred]


    Level: 1


    Titles: Depressed baby


    Power:


    History:  A depressed and sad soul reincarnated into a baby of a powerful demon king. This baby also loves to see their parents having fun.


    ¨C¡ª


    ¡®Hey, what the hell! Why does my history sound like a loser.¡¯


    ¡®And where is my power? I am sure I got a bunch of blessings. What was it called again? Divine dimension?¡±


    Suddenly, everything went bright and Aldred entered some kind of dark ce.


    ¡®I need some lights. It¡¯s too dark in here.¡±


    And there was light, an orb shining in the sky, then Aldred realized that he was floating uncontrobly.


    ¡®Ahh! I need to touch the ground!¡¯


    And there was ground under his feet.


    ¡®Wow. Everything follows my wishes. This ce needs more ground. It¡¯s too empty.¡¯


    The space around him turned into an expansive world. The sun shone in the sky and all around him was a t dirt ground.


    ¡®Nice. Now give it some variety like grass, river, and other stuff.¡¯


    Grass and trees grew out of the ground, making everything green, and then the earth split apart with arge hole before the water filled it up from down below and then flowed into the distance.


    He then willed the world to nt some seeds and it quickly grew, not in an instant, but it was quite fast. He grew some good-looking stuff like corn, radishes, and tomato. He also grew some fruits. He didn¡¯t actually want to eat them, he did it just to make his space look beautiful. He would consider this as a second home or something where he might spend his alone time.


    He covered the sky with a blue atmosphere and a lot of clouds. It was amazing.


    ¡°Haha! I got the power!¡± He willed for the world to make rainbows explode in the sky.


    It was so colorful and fantastic like watching a fireworks show in the new year, but much more amazing.


    Aldred was so excited. But then he still saw some empty space in the distance. ¡®Hey add more stuff to that.¡¯


    [Insufficient Level]


    ¡®Oh¡­ It gave the same notification about the book too. How many levels do I need to expand the space?¡¯


    [Level 10 required expanding space by 10 meters]


    ¡®Then how much for the book?¡¯


    [Level 100 required to learn ¡®World Devouring me¡¯ skill]


    ¡®Crap! I need a hundred level for that? That¡¯s too much! How do I increase my level anyway?¡¯


    <Exp: 0/100>


    ¡®Ahh. I see where this is going.¡¯ Aldred had read tons of simr novels just like this. This was the part where he went for an adventure and leveled up as many times as possible.


    ¡®But I still want to enjoy some time with my family.¡¯


    [Divine Dimension: Monster Dungeon]


    ¡®Shit! Here we go again.¡¯

 Chapter 4 Baby Ghouls

    Aldred stared at the floating screen in front of his face.


    [Divine Dimension: Monster Dungeon]


    He was tempted to go, but currently, he was just a baby. A six-month-old baby to boot! If he met a goblin or something wouldn¡¯t he get eaten? It wasn¡¯t like he had a goat to help him fight monsters like some storied he had read.


    [Diving Dimension: Monster Dungeon level adjustment¡­]


    [Level Adjusted]


    [Monster Dungeon level 1: Baby Ghoul Lair]


    Aldred had his jaw dropped. Why did it seem like the screen was trying so hard to push him into the dungeon?


    ¡°Let me remind you again. I. AM. A. BABY. Even if the ghoul is a baby too, that is still a FREAKING GHOUL!¡±


    He was a sad and depressed man, but he wouldn¡¯t throw himself into the mouth of a ghoul thank you very much.


    [Quest: Kill 3 Baby Ghoul]


    Reward: 200 EXP<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Jesus fucking christ! How many times do I need to say it. I¡¯m a powerless little baby. What the hell can I do?¡±


    [Demon baby starting kit: Fireball skills]


    [Congrattions you have obtained the skill ¡®Fireball¡¯]


    [Now you can defeat the Baby Ghoul in the dungeon]


    Aldred was speechless right now. The way the system forced him to enter the dungeon was very suspicious.


    Now for the question of the day; should he enter or not? He wanted to get some EXP and level up, but he still wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°Ahh, fuck it! It¡¯s not like I am the first baby to enter a dungeon before. Hey! System or whatever! Get me into that dungeon!]


    Aldred¡¯s vision went nk, and then after a single blink, he was inside some kind of dimly lit hallway. The bricks below his hands and knees were dirty and rough, the hallway was tight too, boxed in between a wall, and a few torches on it.


    Aldred caught a scent and winced at the strong odor. It was the smell of rotten meat. ¡°Yuck! Disgusting. Thendfill smells better than this. Now, where is the baby ghoul?¡¯


    At the end of the hallway, there was a shadow thate from the left. The shadow was huge, and it seemed to be eating something. It viciously bit and ripped before chowing it down into its throat.<sub></sub>


    Uhh¡­ ¡®I thought the system said the ghoul would be baby-size.¡¯


    The shadow turned its head to the side. It felt like it was staring directly at him.


    Suddenly, a small ghoul came out of the corner. It looked so simr to a human baby but with a red dot as eyes and then the rest were filled with ck.


    The baby also had white hair. It slowly crawled towards him.


    ¡°Haha. It¡¯s just a little baby. I can defeat this.¡±


    The ghoul baby opened its lips. ¡°Oshieteyo oshietyo, sono shikumi wo.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. This was the moment where he knew¡ª


    He fucked up.


    The baby¡¯s back burst open, and nasty red tentacles came out. They gripped the ground and pushed the baby towards him at a flying speed.


    ¡®Holy shit!¡¯ Aldred panicked. He immediately pointed his palm at the ghoul. ¡°Fireball!¡±


    A ball of me sparked to life on top of his fingers. Aldred¡¯s expression was ted when he saw the fireball. ¡°Nice!¡±


    The fireball then shot upward, sting the ceiling.


    ¡°Crap! It shot from the finger, not the palm!¡±


    Aldred was in a panic and quickly pointed at the ghoul as it flew towards him.


    A bright me sparked at the end of his index finger, he stared at the ghoul. ¡°Fireball!¡±


    The fireball zed through the air and struck upon the ghoul. The impact sted the ghoul¡¯s chest. It burst with blood, and the baby ghoul fell to the floor.


    The ghoul twitched around on the ground, but it still breathe. It also cried in so much pain, not the baby cry type, but the monster cry type. It was such a scary sound.


    Aldred raised his index finger and blew the smoke away.


    He pointed his finger again and closed one of his eyes to aim. He even pretended to cock his finger like a gun. ¡°Time to die!¡±


    Another fireball sted the ghoul and it was disintegratedpletely.


    [+ 30 EXP]


    ¡°That¡¯s it? I work too hard for this.¡±


    [Quest: Kill 3 Baby Ghoul]


    Reward: 200 EXP


    Completion: 1/3


    ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to remind me. Time to crawl my way into the dungeon.¡±


    Aldred crawled through the dark, damp, wet, disgusting, smelly, dimly-lit hallway. It was too much for a baby like him, but he gotta pushed through for some EXP.


    A few minutester, he found two baby ghouls devouring a rotten dog. He also noticed something that he did not realize earlier. The baby ghoul looked so handsome and smooth. If they grew up, Aldred was sure they would be a good-looking guy.


    At least, he wasn¡¯t ugly anymore. His mother was beautiful, and his father was handsome, so surely, he would grow up with a good face too.


    Aldred pointed with his right hand at the baby ghoul on the right. ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±


    The fireball shot towards it, but surprisingly it dodged. Well, that was new.


    He send more fireballs towards them, and both of them dodged all of his fireballs with tricky movement. The fireball came at their face, then they bend their upper body to slightly missed the fireball.


    They ducked, rolled, twisted, turned, doggy style, and backflipped. Their movement was simr to a gymnast but on steroids.


    ¡°What in the hell.¡± Aldred couldn¡¯t believe none of his fireballs hit. Thankfully, he had the blessing that gave him unlimited mana.


    [Limitless Energy]


    Aldredughed. ¡°I can do this all day.¡±


    He kept on shooting fireballs for hours until the baby ghoul got tired and their movement slowed down considerably. They were out of breath, chest up and down quickly like they had just run a 200 KM marathon.


    But both of them still dodged his fireball. Aldred was enraged. If they could dodge one fireball at a time, then what about two at once.


    Aldred smiled with sly. He stood up and plopped his baby bottom on the ground. Raising both of his hands, he pointed both of his index fingers at the ghouls.


    ¡°Have you guys heard of dual uzi before?¡±

 Chapter 5 Little Story Telling

    ¡°Pew. Pew. Pew.¡± Aldred made a pew pew pew sound as fireballs came out of his fingers.


    The baby ghouls in front of him were dancing around with ragged breath. It was so much fun seeing them in distress, but all fun things had toe to an end eventually.


    [You have killed two Baby Ghouls]


    [+ 30 EXP]


    [+ 30 EXP]


    [Quest: Kill 3 Baby Ghoul]


    Reward: 200 EXP


    Completion: 3/3


    [You havepleted the quest]


    [+ 200 EXP]


    [You have level up]


    [Level 1 -> 2]<sub>-.</sub>


    [Level 2 -> 3]


    Two level up at once. Nice. Aldred wondered what he received from this level up. He should have earned some kind of attribute stats or something.


    ¡°Status!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 10/10


    Level: 3


    Titles: Depressed baby


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 1


    Attributes:<sub></sub>


    -Strength: 0


    Vitality: 0


    -Intelligence: 1


    -Dexterity: 0


    Stat points: 4


    Skill points: 4


    ¡ª¡ª-


    Aldred didn¡¯t like what he saw. Why was he so weak? As a baby that was born from demon king and demon queen, his stats should be 999 from the get-go. This didn¡¯t make any sense at all.


    [¡­]


    Even the system was speechless from his remarks.


    Aldred yawned. ¡®I am sleepy. I want to return.¡¯


    The world shed, and he returned to his parent¡¯s room again. The ¡®World Devouring me¡¯ book still sat on the ground.


    Both of his parents were still sleeping. They slept so soundly. Aldred recalled that his past mom and dad had never slept in the same bed.


    So this was what it felt like to have a normal family.


    Aldred climbed onto their bed and made himselffortable between the two of his parents. His mother was beautiful as always up close. Aldred also looked at his father.


    He looked so handsome and charming too. He had nice short ck hair, smooth skin, and a well-muscled body. Both of them were the perfect couple for each other. Aldred wondered how they met. Did they meet by theke under the bright beautiful moon? Or maybe in fall seasons where the air was always fresh, with a bunch of leaves falling around.


    However they met, it had to be so romantic and lovely.


    Aldred closed his eyes as he slept in between them. It was a warm andfortable ce to be in, and he wished for it tost forever.


    ¡­


    Hujarar gritted his teeth as ten divine figures with white robes floated before him. The world around them was in chaos. mes, lightning, winds, and water all floating around creating destruction upon thendscapes. The mountains, trees, and rivers were snapped, destroyed, or flipped backward.


    Even time and space were unstable.


    ¡°You have never learned your lesson did you?¡± Hujarar stared viciously at them. Lightning struck a distance away, shing his figure with terrifying shadows. At that moment, his two eyes were shining bright red.


    The ten gods could feel their souls being stared at. If not for the numerical advantage, they would all run away as far as possible from this monster.


    ¡°Your existence is a threat to our tenmandments.¡± One of the divine beings said.


    Hujarar snorted in disdain. ¡°In that case make it one hundredmandments! You old fools always ganged up on me. I am sick of you all!¡±


    The ten gods felt a powerful force permeating from the Demon King. A red and ck aura burst forth from him. Thendscapes around them became even more chaotic. Tornadoes of mes and water bashed against each other, with mountains rolled around like giant wheels.


    ¡°You have gone too far!¡± One of the gods said. They all pointed at him and chanted; ¡°Die demons!¡±


    Hujarar and the ten gods rushed against each other. Their battle shook the sky and the earth. Crevices kept on appearing, with the hot liquid magma inside the earth shooting upward into the sky.


    The battlefield was like the scene of hell. Chaoticws and energies kept on destroying space and time before it reconstructed itself, stabilizing the reality they currently fought in.


    Hujarar summoned his sword, ¡®Hell scream¡¯. It was a super powerful sword made out of an entire floor of hell itself. It could elongate or shorten as he liked, but its most powerful ability was to summon hell upon the world.


    ¡°Hell¡¯s Gate!¡±


    Arge part of space bent and then shattered before revealing a circle of hellish mes. Billions of fiends and demons rushed out of the circle and swarmed the ten divine beings.


    Hujararughed. ¡°You old fools always fell for the same trick. See youter, sucker!¡±


    The ten gods snorted, killing a few billion demons with the snort alone. ¡°We have prepared something for this asion!¡±


    Hujarar turned around and saw the ten gods gathering in a circle and thick white energy siphoned out of their body. The thick white energy spun around and then condensed itself in the center of the circle.


    ¡°With this much power, you will surely die.¡±


    Hujararughed and raised his middle finger. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try!¡±


    The ten gods frowned, and then suddenly the small ball of bright white light appeared in front of his face.


    Hujarar sneered. He had a lot of defensive skills too. Did these old fools think he wouldn¡¯t defend himself?


    ¡°Mighty Protection: The wall of hellish me!¡±


    Suddenly, a vast barrier appeared between the white ball and Hujarar. His lips curled. This spell wouldn¡¯t block the impact but actually split reality for a short moment of time, preventing any spell of space or time from intervening on the other side.


    But then Hujarar was shocked. His wall of me was pierced by the bright light, and then it exploded. The explosion condensed into a single point, making a beam, and it directly hit his stomach.


    Hujarar was dragged in the air by the beam, and with gritted teeth, he quickly cut off his lower body to escape.


    The top part of his body fell to the ground and slid a few kilometers away before he finally saw some sort of small hole. But when he looked up, he realized it was not just a normal hole.


    A beautiful woman stared down at him with widened eyes. ¡°Pervert!¡±


    SLAP!


    ¡­


    ¡°And that is how I met your mother, Aldred.¡±

 Chapter 6 Big Sister Dina

    Aldred was speechless right now. He looked at his father calmly sitting on a couch with a proud smile, while his mother blushed with shame beside him. She didn¡¯t even dare to look at anyone due to how embarrassing it was.


    ¡°Why do you have to tell him that?¡± Eve hit her husband.


    ¡°So what. Let him know how we met.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°How many millennia had it been? You¡¯re still embarrassed by it even when I dig the hole almost everyday?¡±


    Eve bit his shoulder.


    ¡°OW. Ow. Ow. That hurt.¡±


    Eve stared at him and pouted. ¡°Don¡¯t say such a word in front of our baby.¡±


    Four years had already passed now, and Aldred could already speak, write, and even read. That was how he could ask his father his story of meeting his mother. To be honest, he didn¡¯t expect it to turn that way at all.


    It wasn¡¯t romantic in the slightest! He would expect love at the beach, saving a damsel in distress, and other types of heroic scenes. This¡­ this kinda disappointed him. But oh well, at least their rtionship had gone well for whatever millennium.


    Anyway, he had been umting some EXP in the dungeon, though he was veryzy about it because he had too much fun with his family.


    ¡®Status.¡¯<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 15/15


    Level: 8


    Titles: Depressed baby


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 1


    -Vitality: 1


    -Intelligence: 2<sub></sub>


    -Dexterity: 1


    Stat points: 14


    Skill points: 14


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He hadn¡¯t used a single point yet because he didn¡¯t know what to increase. Leveling up in the future would get much harder, this meant that stat points would be a preciousmodity. He should wait for some time before deciding what to do with it.


    His attributes increased by itself as he grew older anyway. Who knew his stats might increase exponentially since he was the son of a demon king. Also, his health point increased by five because he had one point in vitality. That was nice.


    ¡°You guys are disgusting,¡± a woman¡¯s voice said. It was his big sister, Dina.


    He reached out both of his hands to get her attention. Dina was happy to see him and immediately picked him up. ¡°Are you excited to see me, little Aldred?¡± She stuffed her face into his which made him giggle. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get you some hot chocte and some storybooks to read.¡±


    Aldred frantically nodded his head. He loved spending time with his big sister because she always spoiled him with everything. Both of them would stay in her room and read some story books while enjoying a cup of hot chocte milk, and sweets.


    And sure enough, When Aldred was brought into her room, there were a lot of sweets on the table. His favorite was the one that was sprinkled with sugars on top, and dark chocte inside.


    Aldred pointed at the sweets and looked at her. ¡°Sweets.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you little baby boy. You¡¯re so cute. You want some sweets?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    Dina sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the one with chocte inside. Aldred smiled and gave her a kiss. She always knew what he liked and it made him like her even more.


    ¡°Thanks, big sister.¡±


    ¡°Ohh,¡± Dina said. ¡°You¡¯re nning to kill me with your cuteness, aren¡¯t you.¡± She pinched his cheeks. ¡°You little sweet boy.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his cheek in pain, but he didn¡¯t mind. He got pinched almost everyday, so he got used to it already. He looked at the stack of books beside the te of sweets. He then waved his hand and pointed at the books.


    ¡°You want to read books? You have the same hobby as me. I will buy more storybooks for you, okay?¡±


    Aldred nodded like an obedient boy which made Dina so happy and she stuffed her face into his again. She couldn¡¯t have enough of it. If she could, she wanted to stuff her face on his all day.


    Dina grabbed his favorite book that he hadn¡¯t finished yet. It was a story about a man who had to return a ring to a weird old man. Together with a bunch of weird short dudes, they went past many hurdles and trials. Oh, and they also got help from an old white-bearded dude, also a long-eared dude helped them too. There were a lot of dudes in that story.


    Aldred read the title of the book again ¡®Bitch, Where¡¯s My Ring?¡¯


    Who wouldn¡¯t read a book with this title pped at the center of the cover.


    He opened the book and continued where he had left off.


    ¡­


    In the story:


    The old man stared at the beast, holding the staff with both of his hands. He raised his staff high and shouted. ¡°You shall not fart!¡±


    *Brrt*


    The old man widened his eyes and fell down in tears. ¡°NO!¡±


    The bridge under his feet snapped into two and the old man fell into the abyss.


    ¡­


    Aldred huffed. He closed the book and threw it away. It was such a cliche. He signaled for Dina to pick him another book instead.


    ¡°You already got bored of that one?¡± She said as she looked away from her book. She was quite an avid reader too, although her taste was too much for him to bear.


    Aldred read the title of the book in her hand: ¡®Fifteen Shade of Gay¡¯


    Ugh. Although Aldred loved her with all his heart, her taste in books needed a little bit of fixing. He wouldn¡¯t judge though, she could read whatever she wanted to read.


    Dina rummaged through her stacks of books. ¡°Which one should I pick for you? What about this; ¡®Bolly potter and the useless stone¡¯. Sounds interesting right?¡±


    Aldred shook his head.


    ¡°The hungry games?¡±


    He shook his head again.


    ¡°Okay, what about ¡®Jercy Jackson, the lightning burr¡¯


    Aldred nodded. That title sounded interesting. He wondered how someone could be a lightning burr. The author must really have something wrong inside his head.


    Dina passed the book to him and both of them continued to read in bed. Sometimes they would change position; sitting, orying down. Most of the time, Aldred was on top of her, and used her chest as pillows.


    It was the best pillows a four-year-old boy could ask for! Divine quality right here! Go get it now at only 1.99$. Oh, what was his thinking? This pillow was for him and him only. No other men shall have it.


    Aldred crawled to the corner of the bed and grabbed a cup of hot chocte. The smell and taste were nice and sweet. Also, he grabbed another bun and took a bite. The chocte melted inside his mouth, and Aldred closed his eyes in satisfaction.


    ¡°Aldred, you should eat more carefully. Look, your lips are all dirty now.¡±


    Dina approached and then licked his lips to clean the stain.


    ¡®Yep totally normal. It¡¯s just a big sister cleaning her little brother¡¯s lips. That¡¯s it¡­ That¡¯s it my ass!

 Chapter 7 Fishing

    A few days ago¡­


    Eve and Hujarar sat in the living room as they watched Aldred y with some magical toys.


    ¡°Dad, I am bored. I want to see gxies fireworks again.¡±


    Hujarar snapped his fingers and they were suddenly in space. Ahead of them was arge glowing disc¡ªthe gxy.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Aldred nodded frantically.


    Hujarar snapped his fingers again, and the gxy exploded into blinding lights of colorful gas and matter.


    Aldred watched in awe. Heughed and hugged his father as he watched the explosions expand at light-year speed.


    They then proceed to have fun in space, riding gctic worms, and entering the inside of a ck hole. It was a weird experience, and Aldred felt nauseated. Hujarar deleted the ck hole immediately.


    After having so much fun, Aldred came back home and Eve lifted him to his bed. She smiled sweetly at him.


    ¡°Look at him. So adorable and cute,¡± Hujarar said.


    Eve smiled as well, then her smile disappeared. ¡°I love our current life, Hujarar, but do you think we spoiled him too much?¡±


    Hujarar was deep in thought before he nodded. ¡°I guess we are. He¡¯s still our little baby boy who hasn¡¯t spread his wings yet. Maybe we should do something.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Eve looked worried. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡­


    Back in Dina¡¯s room.


    Aldred yawned. Even though he wasn¡¯t exactly a baby anymore, he still tended to sleep a lot. Dina knew this and immediately made the bedfortable for him. He put a pillow on his right side as Dinay on his left side, caressing his head.


    She sang him a luby song and he quickly fell asleep. This was his everyday life. Being a baby sure was nice.


    After having a sweet dream of sweets and milk, Aldred woke up with new energy.


    ¡®Woohoo! I¡¯m ready for a new day, Baby! Oh wait, I am the baby. Hahaha!¡¯


    The door of the room opened and revealed his mother. ¡°Your big sister is asleep?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°Too bad. We¡¯re about to go sightseeing. Wannae?¡±


    Aldred smiled and nodded.


    Eve giggled and beckoned with her finger. Little Aldred floated up, arched in the air, and thennded in her embrace. He giggled when he was so close to her face.<sub></sub>


    His mother snapped her finger and the door slowly closed by itself. She brought him to the balcony where his father already waited with a fishing rod. Oh, were they going fishing? That seemed interesting.


    ¡°Come on, Aldred. Let your father teach you how to fish,¡± Hujarar said.


    Aldred was put down and he excitedly ran to his father¡¯s leg. ¡°Fish. Fish.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I will catch a big fish for you. Just wait.¡±


    The castle was currently floating on top of an ocean, high above the clouds where the birds couldn¡¯t reach, but his father¡¯s fishing rod didn¡¯t have a problem with that.


    His father heaved back the rod and then swung it forward. The hook jolted towards the water with supersonic speed and then sted a huge wave of water.


    ¡°You use too much power, dear,¡± Eve said.


    His father scratched his face. ¡°Sorry about that. I was too excited. Hahaha.¡±


    As weird as his father was, Aldred still wanted to see what kind of fish he would get. A salmon would be nice.


    Suddenly, the fishing rod jerked, and the reel spun. Hujarar immediately grabbed the reel and prevented it from moving. The tip-top of the fishing rod bent and threatened to snap.


    ¡°Seems like we got something big,¡± Hujarar said.


    Aldred and his mother were excited. They wondered what kind of fish they would get.


    Hujarar¡¯s feet slid forward and then got stuck on the bottom of the railing. Aldred was shocked that the fish could force his father to do that, after all, his father was a universal level threat. Just what kind of fish was down there?


    The reel slowly went forward despite Hujarar holding it down.


    ¡°Dear, what are you acting for? Hurry up and pull it.¡±


    ¡°You said I use too much strength.¡±


    ¡°Come on hurry up before the fish get away.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fine.¡±


    Hujarar gripped the reel and it immediately stopped moving. It couldn¡¯t even budge in the slightest. His father took a few steps back and then yanked the fishing rod up.


    The fishing line quickly went up, and then arge shadow covered the whole balcony. It was a giant beast with 72 tails covered in pristine, glistening scales. Water fell off its body as it got thrown upward into the sky.


    ¡°Wah!¡± Hujarar and Eve eximed.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was shocked. He expected his father to catch a fish. An ordinary fish. Not something gigantic with 72 tails.


    The beast flipped in the sky and gave a world-shaking roar. It opened its maw and bright crystal water spun inside his mouth in the form of a ball.


    Just as it was about to st the entire castle with its super powerful jet stream, it saw a scary being staring at him with two red eyes. Those eyes felt like they looked directly into its soul.


    It trembled and then immediately canceled the spell by gulping the spinning water ball.


    The beast then dived into the water, and sted the water upward, almost reaching the castle.


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Hujarar and Eveughed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that fun?¡± Hujarar asked.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fish of course,¡± his father said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Aldred was speechless. There was no way that thing was a freaking fish. It was so huge. Even when it swam around under the water, he still could see itsrge silhouette. It was at least twelve timesrger than a Mosasaurus.


    His father then proceeded to catch even more bizarre gigantic fish. He even cooked one of them for him which he kindly refused.


    ¡®There is no way I¡¯m eating tentacles with eyes all over it.¡¯


    After they got bored catching fish, Hujarar controlled the castle to float above a continent. Aldred narrowed his eyes and he noticed a bunch of swarming dots going at it against each other.


    ¡°The weak humans are fighting,¡± Hujarar said with a mocking smile. ¡°Look at those fools charging ahead and raising their swords against the people they don¡¯t even know. They¡¯re merely pawns controlled by their king.¡±


    Aldred nodded in agreement. War was a terrible thing for everyone except the kings and the lords. Putting people on the battlefield and then telling them to fight for something they didn¡¯t even believe was uneptable. He didn¡¯t care that much about it and enjoyed the scene.


    After all, the people down below weren¡¯t rted to him.


    Out of curiosity, Aldred decided to ask his father. ¡°Father, why are they fighting?¡±


    Hujararughed. ¡°You¡¯re still four years old, so you might not understand, but I will tell you. Those ants down below fight because their lords wanted some dirt and water.¡±


    ¡°But we have a lot of those.¡±


    ¡°I know, but their lords never have enough of those. Anyway, watching them is boring. Let¡¯s do something else.¡±


    ¡°What about cooking?¡± Eve asked. ¡°I read a delicious recipe book yesterday, I am sure both of you will like it.¡±


    Aldred nodded frantically. ¡°Cook.¡±


    Hujarar sweated. Eve¡¯s cooking was terrific, to say the least, and Hujarar never used the word terrific so lightly. ¡°Maybe next time honey, why don¡¯t we get down and take Aldred to walk around. Maybe a change of atmosphere will do good for him.¡±


    Aldred was excited. He wanted to know what was down there. ¡®Is there adventurers? Cultivators? Supers? Espers? X-gay? guardian of the pussy cat?¡¯


    He turned around and looked at her mother with big, cute, teary eyes.


    Eve smiled and caressed his head. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take a walk.

 Chapter 8 Hello Timouy

    The where Aldred and his family currently reside was called Penanterra. It was a huge with powerful magicalws. This meant that anyone could use magic and powerful martial arts. Although the majority of people didn¡¯t have the talent to develop it to greatness.


    Most of them stayed mediocre and did odd jobs, while those who seeded joined the army, became adventurers, joined guilds or served under a noble.


    This world only had three moons. Apparently, the countless moons that he saw a few years ago were just illusions made by his father. He said that he could pull some moons from others, but Aldred didn¡¯t let him. He was afraid that it would disturb the¡¯s gravity.


    The three moons were veryrge and they had a distinctive color on their own. They were starry blue, dusty yellow, and bright red respectively.


    They currently were in a fairlyrge town called Timouy.  It was located near the coastal line, southeast of the Ceraisian Empire.


    The one they saw fighting earlier was this Empire against another powerful state called: the Holy State of Montcresia. Just by hearing its name, Aldred knew it was a super religious state that controlled its citizens through the bible and the word of gods.<sub>-.</sub>


    And unlike back on earth, these gods existed in this world. They just didn¡¯t intervene directly so as to not disrupt the stability of this. His father didn¡¯t have this restriction, if Hujarar wished to destroy this, then he could do it with a snap of his finger.


    It was unfathomable how powerful he truly was. Aldred hoped he could reach his strength someday, and with the blessing of the hundred gods, he believed he could do it.


    As the three of them arrived near the town, Aldred noticed a wide expanse of farnd. Some farmers tend to their crops, bending their backs as they nt the seeds.


    Aldred walked with his father and mother on a small road as he looked around. Fresh morning air breezed through the golden wheat, ready to be harvested and processed.


    They entered through the south gate with four guards in iron armor guarding the gate. There were more guards on top of the wall, but they leisurely sat around and yed cards with each other. The war was too far away from them, so the soldiers here didn¡¯t have to worry about anything.<sub></sub>


    Still, this small town still had to be protected with a lot of guards because it was near the sea, although it wasn¡¯t a port town, an enemy mightnd their ship nearby, storm the town, take it over, and use it as the spearhead for the enemy.


    Aldred shook his head. As a four-year-old, he shouldn¡¯t be thinking about the possible scenarios that might happen to this kingdom, instead, he should focus on having fun.


    The three of them entered the market district. It was filled with people, but Aldred saw that the people didn¡¯t seem to notice them, yet they walked to the side to give them way. It was like both his mother and father exuded an invisible yet imprable aura.


    Aldred saw a candy with the shape of a dragon and immediately took interest. ¡°Father, I want candy.¡±


    ¡°You want some candy?¡± Hujarar raised his finger which made Aldred float into his arms.


    He then went to one of the stalls that sold candies and asked him: ¡°Which one do you want?¡±


    Aldred pointed at the candy he wanted. It was red in color with a dragon shape expanding its wings about to fly in the sky.


    ¡°Such a charming boy.¡± The seller said. He was an old man in his seventies with a white beard. ¡°I also have a young boy like you. Sadly, he¡¯s very sick and couldn¡¯t walk around.¡±


    The old man sighed in sadness. ¡°If I could pay a doctor or a healer to heal his wound, he won¡¯t have to suffer.¡± He sobbed in tears.


    Hujarar grabbed the candy that Aldred wanted and threw a small crystal on the table. ¡°Will that be enough?¡±


    The old man was confused at first as to why he was paid with a crystal, but then he was shocked. ¡°This is¡­. This is an Eternal quality mana crystal!¡±


    The old man looked up at his father. ¡°Young man, are you sure you want to give me this?¡±


    Aldredughed inside for this old man calling his father ¡®young¡¯. He might look young but he had lived for millenniums already.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a rock.¡±


    The old man almost got a heart attack by thatment. The thing that he called a rock was an Eternal quality mana crystal, the highest quality of all, beyond Mythical and Supreme. It was said that the Eternal mana crystal contained unlimited power and energy, but its most important property was to strengthen the holder and improve their talent!


    He knew this from the numerous fairy tales and stories. Most of these stories had their heroes obtaining an Eternal mana crystal and rising to the top.


    This meant that his grandchild could walk and be healthy again, and possibly be a powerful man in the future! The old man exited his stall and groveled on the ground. ¡°Thank you!¡± Tears wetted the ground.


    Hujarar and Eve ignored the old man and walked past him. Aldred followed as he turned around to take onest look at the old man.


    In addition to improving talent and strengthening their body, the crystal had a vast amount of mana within and the holder could absorb the mana inside at any time. This meant that the holder would have unlimited mana to cast spells.


    If his father could give away such a powerful item to a stranger so easily, he could give him something much betterter on. Aldredughed inside. He couldn¡¯t wait for that day toe.


    Aldred had a lot of fun with his parents. They saw the unique culture of the vige which involved picking a random virgin woman from the street, tying her up to a pole, throwing her eggs, and then cleaning the eggs on her body by licking them.


    Aldred was speechless at first, but he shouldn¡¯t judge their culture. As long as it didn¡¯t happen to his mother or his sister, he was fine with it.


    The men wiped their mouths and turned around. When their eyes caught the sight of Eve, they twinkled like stars and pointed. ¡°Look! A virgin woman! Catch her!¡±


    Aldred shook his head. He knew this won¡¯t end well.

 Chapter 9 Bye Timouy

    Just before the men could get their hands on his mother, a powerful force burst forth from her forehead, and then the whole vige was ttened.  Aldred for a sh of a moment saw a powerful hammering force that mmed into the people and the town. Yet there was no sound, there was no wreckage.


    There were no scraps, broken woods, or cracked stone. The wholend was ttened. Boom. Disappeared just like that into a smooth ground. Just what kind of magic was that? Aldred wondered. And his mother controlled her magic so perfectly that the old man¡¯s home wasn¡¯t destroyed.


    In the distance, the old man was in shock because everyone¡¯s house except him was destroyed. Even the Baron¡¯s castle was destroyed. This wasn¡¯t something that could be taken lightly, but he was just a powerless old man, so he entered his home and hide.


    Aldred was reminded that his parents weren¡¯t normal humans, but literal demon king and demon queen. God knows how many lives they had taken before his father put sperms inside his mother¡¯s belly.


    Other humans seeing this might think his mother was cruel to destroy the whole vige, but at least the old man was saved.


    Aldred saw her mother had a scary serious expression. It was the first time he ever saw her show that face even after four year, but then she smiled at him and picked him up.


    Hujarar coughed. ¡°You said no violence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not violent. That¡¯s self-defense.¡±


    Hujarar scratched his head. ¡°We should return to the castle.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred nodded frantically. He didn¡¯t want to see any human settlement being destroyed just because his parents got mad.


    The town of Timouy deserved it though. It was so obvious that his mother wasn¡¯t a virgin anymore. She literally had a man and a baby walking side by side with her. This town was filled with perverted people.


    Eve lifted Aldred into her embrace and said to him; ¡°In the future, you should also learn to stand up for yourself. Don¡¯t let others push you around, okay?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    Hujarar approached him with a smile and caressed his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The three of them shed with bright light and disappeared.


    ¡­


    A squad of fifteen soldiers on horses arrived at Timouy and were confused.<sub></sub>


    ¡°The map says the town is right here,¡± a knight leading the fourteen squires said. Just like many kingdoms, the squires were fully trained twenty years old men that were trained meticulously. All of them desired to be a knight, but they had to prove their worth first.


    ¡°Sir, I think this is the correct ce. Look, there¡¯s a lot of farms there.¡±


    The knight scratched his mustache. ¡°But where is the town?¡±


    None of them could answer that question. The knight was also very confused before he noticed a small shed in the distance. He led his squad of cavalry to approach the small wooden shed.


    The knight pointed to a random squire. ¡°Go check who¡¯s inside.¡±


    The young man nodded and quickly got down from his horse. He walked to the door and kicked it open.


    The young man saw an old man with a shocked expression sitting beside a bed with a small child. ¡°It¡¯s just an old man, sir.¡±


    The knight dismounted from his horse and entered the small shed.


    The old man trembled when he saw the thick andrge armor that covered the man. ¡®This is a knight¡­ a knight is someone one step away from bing a noble. I must not offend this person.¡¯


    ¡°Respected sir, how can I help you?¡± The old man weakly said.


    ¡°What happened here? Where is the town?¡±


    The old man hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t know, sir. I suddenly saw the whole town disappear except me, so I decided to stay inside my home.¡±


    The knight snorted. ¡°You call this a home?¡±


    He looked around in disgust. He set his gaze at the sleeping child on the bed. ¡°His face doesn¡¯t look so good.¡±


    ¡°My grandchild is currently very sick, sir.¡±


    ¡°Where are the parents?¡±


    ¡°They left years ago. Said they don¡¯t want the kids and left him to me.¡±


    The knight spit at the ground. ¡°Typicalmoner.¡± The knight circled the bed and saw something shining under the kid¡¯s hand. ¡°What is that?¡±


    The knight approached and was about to lift the child¡¯s hand before the old man blocked his way and respectfully said. ¡°He is very sick, sir. I don¡¯t want you to have his sickness.¡±


    The knight pushed him out the way, throwing the old man to the floor. He lifted the child¡¯s hand and saw a deep dark, glowing crystal.


    The knight¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°How is this possible? This is the legendary Eternal mana crystal.¡±


    He grabbed the crystal and suddenly the child¡¯s countenance became worse.


    The old man stood up and pleaded: ¡°Please wait, sir. My grandchild needs that crystal, but I promise you, after he healed, you can take the crystal.¡±


    The knight kicked the man away. ¡°You dare hide this crystal from me? You deserve to die!¡±


    The knight turned to the child. ¡°This kid is going to die anyway. There is no use in keeping him alive in this world.¡± He pulled out his sword from his waist and stabbed the child¡¯s stomach.


    The child jolted awake, eyes open wide staring at the man with blood in his hand. He was shocked. Just now he was feeling better and stronger, in fact, he felt he could stand up again and help his grandfather in tending the farm. He had always been feeling guilty for being a burden to him. He wished he would just die many times so as to not burden him anymore, but he couldn¡¯t even kill himself. Yet now, someone did him a favor. He smiled onest time, tears streaking on his cheek. Weakly, he closed his eyes once again. His breathing stopped.


    ¡°NO!¡± The man rushed to the bed, but the knight kicked him again. The old man crashed to the ground.


    The old man cried. ¡°He¡¯s the only family I have. My son and daughter left me, and so does my wife. You evil! You killed my grandchild!¡±


    The knight clicked his tongue. ¡°Go kill him.¡±


    The squire exchanged nces and hesitated. The knight stared at them. ¡°Are you disobeying my order?¡±


    ¡°We will obey, sir!¡±


    The knight nodded as he exited the shed. The old man screamed in pain as swords tore through his flesh.


    The knight didn¡¯t care about that and raised the crystal to meet the sunlight. He felt unlimited power within it. ¡°Hahaha. With this thing, I¡¯ll surely be a duke in no time.¡±

 Chapter 10 Royal Harem

    Six years passed in a blink of an eye. During those six years, Aldred traveled to manys, gxies, and even other universes. His father even brought him back in time.


    He was so excited about it that he asked his dad to go back in time on earth and killed a particr man with a stupid mustache.


    Aldred had so much fun with his family. Every day was a y day. He yed a lot with his father and mother since they didn¡¯t have to work 8 hours a day, and justid around inside the castle with him.


    Dina, his sister, was in college. She wasn¡¯t very serious about it though, because she only did it for fun. She went to ss whenever she wanted. Well, it was fine since she was adopted by two powerful beings who could eats for breakfast.


    ¡®It¡¯s true. I saw it with my own eyes,¡¯ Aldred thought. ¡®Wait, who am I talking to?¡¯


    Anyway, ying with his family was so much fun. Everyone spoiled him rotten left and right. If he wanted to destroy a, then his father would explode one immediately. If he wanted to read books, his sister woulde with a big hug and a huge pair of jugs.


    His mother would sing him a luby song every night, caress his head and give him milk.


    He had everything. Milk. Love. Hobbies. Fun time. Loving family. Loving big sister. Loving hot big sister. Oh, and hot mother too.


    Well, now that he was ten, his parents told him to have his own room. And they did make a room for him, but it was so lonely there. What was he supposed to do in a room alone? Doing solo calisthenics? No thank you. He¡¯d rather watch his parents do that.


    Aldred sighed and put his right hand under his pants. He went up and down as he stared at the ceiling. ¡°It¡¯s so boring here. Why did mom and dad not let me in their room again?¡±


    Aldred pulled his hand out of his pants and walked to the wall. He wondered what his parents were doing right now. He put his ear on the wall.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    ¡°Let it out, honey,¡± Hujarar said. ¡°Now that Aldred is not in our room, you can let it all out.¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    Aldred pulled out his ear and sat on the floor. He was sulking right now. Why didn¡¯t they let it all out when he was a baby? All these years, he felt like watching a movie without a sound. The scene was good, but it would be better with some sound effects.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred was sad, but he had never been so sad until the next morning.


    ¡°You guys are going somewhere?¡± Aldred asked in the living room as both his father and mother packed their suitcase.


    ¡°Yes, honey. But we¡¯ll return soon,¡± Eve said.


    ¡°How long will you leave?¡±


    ¡°Not for long, honey. You will be fine on your own right?¡± Eve lowered her body and faced him. She gave him a hug. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard on you, but we have to leave for now.¡±


    Big sister Dina came out of her room with a suitcase.


    ¡°Big sister, you¡¯re going too?¡±


    Dina sighed and hugged him. Her breast pressed into his face. She smelled nice.


    ¡°I am. Sorry, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going anyway?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The annoying old gods called us for another ¡®divine missionary¡¯,¡± Hujarar said. ¡°It involves entering another universe, bing the viin, make everyone there miserable, kill all the atheists, and then when the people start praying, I should pretend to lose, and, in the end, I will be killed by the hero.¡±


    ¡°So a universe-level propaganda?¡±


    ¡°Yep, very much.¡±


    ¡°But I will be lonely without you.¡±<sub></sub>


    Hujarar approached him. ¡°We¡¯ll give you something before we leave.¡±


    Arge red ming sword hovered on top of his palm. ¡°This is the de of Asura. With this, you can kill anyone and send their souls directly to hell.¡±


    ¡°No, dad. That looksme.¡±


    A deep ck long sword reced it. ¡°What about this? I called it Devil¡¯s Abyss. With this, you can absorb anything around you.¡±


    Aldred shook his head again. ¡°Lame.¡±


    The sword disappeared and a goldenrge teardrop floated on his palm. ¡°This is the Godly Eye Tear. With this you can see the weakness of your enemy, predicting their movement, calcting the trajectory of moving objects, their strength, their weakness, their talent. You can also know the quality of something.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°That is the worst, dad.¡±


    ¡°It can let you see through things.¡±


    ¡°Give it to me right now!¡±


    The golden teardrop floated in front of him.


    ¡®Inventory!¡¯


    The teardrop disappeared and entered his inventory.


    ¡°Thanks for the gift, dad. I will use it wisely.¡±


    The three of them sighed and hugged him.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t happy anymore because of the gift and returned the hug. He started sobbing and then cried. ¡°Uwaa. Make sure you all return quickly.¡±


    ¡°We will, darling,¡± Eve said. ¡°We will.¡±


    They released the hug and smiled at him.


    Hujarar raised his finger and grabbed something out of the air. It looked like some sort of weird trinket in the shape of a triangle with three des pointing to each point.


    ¡°This is the remote controller of this castle. Use this to move around.¡±


    [Castle Steering Wheel]


    Aldred received the item.


    The three of them stood up. Hujarar made a small circle with his finger and a red vortex appeared that sucked the air around them.


    ¡°We will leave now, Aldred,¡± Eve said.


    Big sister Dina had tears in her eyes. ¡°See youter, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred cried as he waved them goodbye. They entered the portal, and then it retracted into a single atom before disappearing.


    The ten-year-old boy was left alone in therge castle. ¡°Let¡¯s look for something fun to do.¡±


    Aldred went to the balcony and looked at the steering wheel. ¡°How do I use it?¡±


    He tried to spin it like a car steering wheel, and sure enough, the castle moved left and right. ¡°But, how do I move forward?¡±


    He kicked the ground. Nothing happened. He tried bending it forward, but it still didn¡¯t move.  He then tried pressing the de, and the castle sped up.


    It was so fast the castle zigzagged uncontrobly in the sky.


    A white bird calmly flew in the clouds, suddenly, arge castle mmed into it, knocking it off the air.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Aldred screamed. ¡°I cannot stop this thing.¡±


    The castle abruptly stopped, the inertia pushed Aldred off the balcony and he identally let go of the steering wheel.


    ¡°AHH! I¡¯m falling! The steering wheel. I have to take it!¡±


    He must use the steering wheel to control the castle andnd on it. If not, he might die by falling to the ground. He didn¡¯t want to die. He just had a normal happy family. He didn¡¯t want to lose that!


    The steering wheel fell along beside him. Aldred tried kicking the air and reached out with his hand, but he still couldn¡¯t get it.


    The wind blew from the side, and the steering wheel was pushed far from him. ¡°No!¡±


    Aldred looked down. There was a below him. ¡°Ahh!¡±


    Aldrednded on the, it bent down and snapped before hended inside the water.


    ¡°Kyaa!¡±


    After he pulled his head out of the water, he realized he was in a public bath. There was a small hill with water pouring out of the hole from the center, but more importantly, there were dozens of beautiful naked women staring at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a child,¡± one of them said. Their breasts were clear for him to see. They didn¡¯t wear any clothes at all. Some did have their towel on their private parts. Bah, what a cheapskate.


    ¡°I am sorry,¡± Aldred said.


    The woman approached and took a closer look, and after seeing him, they were charmed by his appearance.


    ¡°Oh, my. What a cute little boy. How did you fall in here?¡±


    One of them went ahead and hugged him. He was still ten years old so it was okay. Hehe.


    The other woman surrounded him while still naked.


    ¡°I was lost and fell into a hole, suddenly I¡¯m here.¡±


    The beautiful, wet women exchanged gazes. ¡°But this is the tenth floor.¡±


    Aldred blinked. He didn¡¯t know what lies to say next.


    ¡°I am sure he¡¯s just confused. The fall must have hurt his head.¡±


    ¡°Oh no.¡± Another woman grabbed his head and shoved him into her chest. ¡°That¡¯s not good. I will take care of you. Are you willing toe with big sister?¡±


    The door to the bathing ce sted open. A group of women in armor entered and stared at him. ¡°This is no ce for men. You have been summoned to face the emperor for disrupting his royal harem.¡±


    Royal harem? All of these beautiful women were the emperor¡¯s harem?


    ¡­


    Eve and Hujarar was floating with invisibility in the air.


    ¡°Is this a wise decision?¡± Eve asked her husband. She was worried sick for her son.


    ¡°We will watch over him, Dear. He has to learn to fly on his own.¡±


    Eve sighed, and the both of them vanished.

 Chapter 11 Sing

    The naked women felt pitiful, but they couldn¡¯t stop the guards from taking him away. Aldred was nervous. He didn¡¯t know what they would do to him. But he shouldn¡¯t be that nervous, after all, he was just a child, surely they wouldn¡¯t punish him so severely right?


    He was wrong.


    ¡°Execute him,¡± the emperor said as he sat on his throne with his empress closing her eyes beside him.


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°Wait! Old man! I¡¯m still a child, you can¡¯t kill me. Is your head so full of shit you can¡¯t evenprehend that?¡±


    He gasped in shock at himself. How could he say such words to the emperor?


    The emperor gripped the hand rest and trembled in anger. ¡°You filthymoner dare to insult me? Guards take him away!¡±


    ¡°My father is the demon king! He¡¯ll kill you and send your soul to hell!¡±


    The emperor burst intoughter. ¡°Demon king? Go call him for me. I want to see this father of yours.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re a fatherless child. Then you deserve to die.¡±


    Aldred couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. If a child didn¡¯t have a father, they deserve to die? What kind of broken logic was that?


    ¡°You perverted bitch! Release me this instant!¡±


    The empress sighed in annoyance. ¡°Just kill him quickly.¡±


    She slowly opened her eyes and set her beautiful gaze at the boy. What she saw was a charming cute boy at the age of ten with short ck hair. She widened her eyes in shock because of how handsome this boy was. She felt like a mother again, wanting to protect this child with all she had. But she immediately masked her expression.


    Just as the guards were about to take him away for execution, the empress raised her hand. ¡°I changed my mind. Don¡¯t kill him.¡±<sub></sub>


    The emperor was angered inside. As an emperor, no one should contradict his order or it would make him look weak, but why did his empress of all people do the thing he hated the most? He couldn¡¯t argue with her or he would lose his dignity. As a royal, he should do everything in a calm manner.


    ¡°WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU CONTRADICTING MY ORDER?¡± The emperor said.


    The empress stayed calm like a silentke in the forest. ¡°This child has potential. It would be a waste of talent if we kill him.¡±


    The emperor sneered inside. ¡°If that is the case, then he will be a soldier. Surely with his potential, he would grow to be a strong fighter and fight for our Empire.¡±


    Humph. He¡¯d sent them to the front line and let the boy die.


    The empress grimaced inside. The boy in front of them was a rare breed. She had never seen a boy as charming and exquisite as him. It was her longest dream to have a boy like him in one of her collections. But she couldn¡¯t argue much with the emperor. Her supporters might take that as a signal to begin an unwanted rebellion that would shatter the whole empire. She could only send someone to his aidter on the battlefield.


    Aldred was shocked. ¡°A soldier? Hell no, I won¡¯t be a soldier. Just let me be a singer instead.¡±


    ¡°A singer? Who are you kidding, boy? Your voice is ugly.¡±


    The empress raised her hand. ¡°Let the boy show his talent.¡±


    The emperor rolled his eyes and let it be.


    Aldred cleared his throat and started singing. The empress widened her eyes in shock. Her heart beat fast and she recalled all the loving memories she had. She felt calm and tranquil. It felt like all the burdens rooted on her shoulder finally disappeared after a long time. It was so beautiful that she might start tearing up if not for the audience that was here.


    She recalled her former lover who she truly loved dancing with her under the three moons as the stars lit up the rooftop. She remembered his sweet smile and his warm embrace. Her heart ached because a few days after that, he was captured and killed by her own family, and she was then married to the emperor.


    ¡°Jame to kosita ah! Ah! Jame to kosita Ah! Ah!¡± Aldred moved his waist back and forth as he sang and danced.


    ¡°Enough!¡± the emperor shouted. ¡°Send him to Ruandeurtin.¡±


    The empress skipped a breath. Ruandeurtin was the closest to the Holy State of Montcresia, and it was so close to two enemies¡¯ cities. Not to mention it was currently the only defender of the Champs River. This was an important river for the Cresian because it led directly to their naval city; Cortbouy which earned a lot of money out of their sea trade.


    Meaning that the soldiers there would have to fight a lot of battles and face off against fierce opposition from the enemy. The river was too important for them and it represented a major weakness on their part. But that was exactly the reason why the enemy would fight tooth and nail to defend it.


    Although it was normal for a ten-year-old boy to start training to be a soldier, they were usually trained in a safer area.


    The empress felt like crying. She didn¡¯t want the boy to die. His song and his voice were magical like stars and moons in the sky. She might not understand the lyrics, but the meaning behind them must be beautiful and meaningful.


    She had to help him survive no matter what.


    The emperor looked at his empress, expecting further retaliation, but there was none. She just sat there with a nonchnt expression like what she usually did in bed even with him moving up and down on her.


    He hated that expression. It felt like his manhood was so weak that it couldn¡¯t even make her react. ¡®At least make a noise or something to make me feel good.¡¯


    The fact that he couldn¡¯tst longer than five seconds added more pain to his heart.


    A soldier then entered the throne hall and respectfully bowed in front of the emperor. ¡°Your Majesty, I found this falling in your room and made a hole in the ceiling.¡±


    Aldred saw what the soldier offered the emperor. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s mine. Give it back to me.¡±


    ¡°Hah! Who you try to order around, boy!¡± The emperor took the steering wheel and inspected it. ¡°It¡¯s not a chakram. It has des, yet they couldn¡¯t be used. Just what the hell is this?¡±


    ¡°None of your business. Now give it to me!¡±


    The emperor sneered. ¡°No. Guards, take him away.¡±


    Aldred clicked his tongue in anger.


    The guard grabbed both of Aldred¡¯s arms and dragged him away. ¡°Hey! Hey! Get off me! My father can eats for breakfast. You guys better pray he won¡¯t eat yours.¡±


    Aldred stared onest time at the emperor angrily. ¡®I¡¯d kill you and fu*k your wife in the future.¡¯


    The soldier dragged him out of the gate, and it closed with a thud.

 Chapter 12 Training

    The guards kept on dragging him through the wide and tall hallway. Aldred wanted to pew pew them with his fireball, but if he did that he would be hunted by the whole empire. He didn¡¯t want that result.


    The soldiers brought him outside, and then put him inside a carriage. The soldier knocked on the side of the carriage with his knuckle. ¡°Treat him rough.¡±


    Aldred was scared when they closed the door. It was dark inside. The only source of light was from a bunch of holes in the carriage. He sighed. At least the worst case didn¡¯t happen. He was still alive. Arge part of it might be because of his singing. The emperor could have killed him here and there, if not for his song.


    The carriage shook and Aldred heard horse hooves before the carriage moved forward. Being a soldier didn¡¯t sound that bad. He had thought about enlisting as a soldier before to get away from his parents, but he wasn¡¯t allowed because his race was a minority in that nation.


    Those racist fucktards!


    He should have killed them too when his father brought him back to the past. He missed his chance, but that was fine, he didn¡¯t think much about it anymore. What he should think about was how to stay alive. He was about to be a soldier now, which meant he had to fight.


    And after reading some dark fantasy set in medieval times, he knew war wouldn¡¯t be a pretty sight.


    Suddenly, a small square of the wall in front of him opened, revealing the female guard that took him to the throne. ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked. Mary was told by the direct subordinates of the empress to take care of the boy and prepared him for battle. This annoyed her. The empress had never taken interest in a boy or any other man before.<sub>-.</sub>


    She was cold, nonchnt, apathetic, and indifferent to men. Mary liked the empress and secretly thought of her every night in bed. She hated every man that sullied her, this included the emperor. If she was powerful enough, she would kill the emperor and take the empress away to a farnd before living happily ever after.


    Aldred frowned. ¡®Is this a trick question?¡¯ Whatever that was, he decided to look away and ignored her. She was the one who took him to the throne hall. Everything that happened to him today was because of her.


    Mary¡¯s nerves on her forehead bulged. ¡°Are you deaf? I¡¯m talking to you!¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°So?¡± Mary was confused.


    ¡°So, do I look like I care?¡±


    Mary gritted her teeth. If not for the empress¡¯ order she might have gotten inside there and kill the boy. ¡°You¡¯re still alive right now because of the empress. Remember that, or I will kill you myself.¡±<sub></sub>


    She slid the small wood, closing the hole.


    Aldred frowned. ¡®What is she talking about? Obviously, I was saved because of my singing skill.¡¯


    The carriage went on rolling in god knows where. Aldred couldn¡¯t see anything through the holes because they were too tall for him. The carriage was quite expansive, so he had a lot of space to roll around.


    Also, he tried to enter the divine dimension space and hide, but¡­


    [Divine Dimension: On Maintenance. Please wait for the next update while we fix some bugs; One in particr where the ghouls can sing weird songs.¡¯


    Aldred sighed. The space went on an update in such a terrible time like Minisoft. Their Windshield XP operating system always updated automatically, and never at the right time. He missed a lot of homework because of that.


    After a few hours of traveling, Aldred felt his stomach rumbling. ¡°I am hungry,¡± he said, holding his stomach.


    He smiled bitterly at that. When was thest time he felt hunger? For ten years he had received a lot of love from his family. All the food in the world magically appeared before him every single day. There were no hours, minutes, or seconds that he felt the sensation of hunger with his family, but he was reminded again of the cruelty of the world.


    Aldred calmly let out a breath. He was too spoiled. Too spoiled that he forgot all the sufferings he received in his past life. Maybe this was God¡¯s way of making him remember, reminding him to always be grateful for the life that he had.


    Hey on the floor and breathed, closing his eyes as he thought about all the fun days he had with his father. It helped him to forget about the hunger gnawing inside his stomach. He had done this many times before in his past life. At that time, he would think about cool adventures and magic power, but now, all he wanted was his family back.


    The carriage slowly came to a stop. Aldred opened his eyes. ¡°Have we arrived?¡±


    The square wood on the wall slid open, and a hand threw something inside. Itnded on the floor and rolled in front of him.


    ¡°Eat. We will train in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Train? For what?¡±


    ¡­


    Mary stood straight in front of Aldred as he swung the steel sword for the fiftieth time. Sweat poured out of his body, drenching his clothes. His limbs were weak and tired. He felt like releasing the sword and gave up.


    ¡°Straighten your back!¡± Mary shouted and whipped his ass with the dull side of her sword.


    Aldred winced in pain and straightened his back.


    WHIP!


    ¡°Your grip is too weak!¡±


    WHIP!


    ¡°Put more strength into the swing!¡±


    WHIP!


    ¡°Stop looking at my breast!¡±


    ¡°Why? I need motivation!¡±


    WHIP!


    After a few hours of training, Aldred fell to the grass. His arms hurt from all the swinging. The sword was too damn heavy at the tip. It was too unbnced. He groaned as he looked at the sky with ragged breath.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I felt like dying again.¡±


    His butt in particr was terribly in pain. It was worse than the pain he had in his other body parts.


    ¡°Put your ass off the grass. We continue our training now!¡±


    Aldred was shocked. ¡°I just put my butt on the grass for a few minutes.¡±

 Chapter 13 Reward

    Aldred rubbed his ass in pain before he did another swing with tears welling up inside his eyes. Apparently, Mary was told to train him up before going to Ruandeurtin.


    She said that the ce was a ughterhouse where soldiers died every week. Many unwanted soldiers were sent there to die. It didn¡¯t matter if they were weak or strong, the empire had no ce to attack that ce in the first ce. It was just a distraction so the enemy would send the majority of their soldiers there.


    That strategy made the other points much weaker and made it easier for the empire to attack.


    ¡°That¡¯s smart. Who thought of that strategy?¡±


    ¡°The empress of course. The emperor is just a good-for-nothing man who inherits the throne because his parents couldn¡¯t make any more babies. If not for that, the internal dispute between princes would remove him in no time.¡± Mary snorted. ¡°The empirey on her shoulder, but everyone praised the emperor.¡±


    Aldred sat down on the grass. ¡°I see. The empress must be so amazing.¡±


    ¡°Of course. She is the most amazing woman I have ever known. Her cold expression and nonchnt manner are so beautiful. No man is worthy to have her. No men! But women are allowed. Women like me.¡±


    Mary blushed, then turned to the side as she looked at Aldred grinning.


    ¡°You¡¯re a lesbian.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a lesbian?¡±


    ¡°Lesbian is a female that liked other females sexually.¡±


    Mary looked down and thought for a moment. ¡°No. I only like the queen. The ce inside my heart is only there for her. No other woman is allowed to stay in it.¡±


    Aldred rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Why are you sitting down?! Continue your training!¡±


    WHIP!<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°OW! It hurt!¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred fell on the grass again. This time, he was so tired that he just looked at the sky in a daze.


    [Swinging 12 KG sword for 210 times Completed. EXP reward: 210+ EXP]


    [EXP: 210/240]


    Aldred didn¡¯t even notice the screen. He was so tired that his mind went nk.


    Water poured onto his face, waking him up from his open-eyes slumber.


    ¡°Wake up! The enemy will kill you if you sleep on the battlefield,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Does this empty in of grasnd look like a battlefield to you!?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to get whipped that bad?¡± Mary asked, staring at him.


    Aldred looked down in fear. ¡°No, mam.¡±


    For a few days, Mary kept on training him with a strict routine. Morning: 100 swings, noon; 12KM run, evening: Conditioning by whipping the stomach


    Aldred lifted his clothes in tears. ¡°Please don¡¯t do it too hard.¡±


    Mary drew the de over her head and swung it with all of her weight.<sub></sub>


    SLAP!


    ¡°OW!¡±


    Thankfully, he could rest as much as he wanted at night. Throughout the training, his stats and exp had increased.


    [Your strength increased by 1 point]


    [Your strength increased by 1 point]


    [Your vitality increased by 1 point]


    [Your vitality increased by 1 point]


    [Your dexterity increased by 1 point]


    [Your dexterity increased by 1 point]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    ¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 40/40


    Level: 10


    Titles: Depressed boy


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 8


    Vitality: 8


    -Intelligence: 2


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 16


    Skill points: 16


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [You¡¯ve reached level 10. Awaiting reward¡­]


    [Martial Art: Bone Breaking Fingers]


    [Sword Art Offline]


    [Magic Art: me Jet]


    [Please choose only one]


    Aldredy on the floor of the carriage as he looked at the screen. ¡®I get to choose a skill every ten levels up?¡¯


    [No.]


    ¡®Why not?¡¯ Aldred asked.


    The system then exined that he would only get to choose some skills after getting the next grade; Copper, Silver, Gold, tinum, Diamond, Adamantite, and Mythical. There were many more grades after that, but they were so far away to reach, that Aldred didn¡¯t bother to look at them.


    For now, he was a copper grade by the definition of this. The system had its own definition;


    [Infinitesimal]


    Which literally meant; extremely small, or a value close to reaching zero. If it was tranted to human words then the system basically said he was so weak and tiny as dust.


    ¡°At least my PP is big, hahaha!¡±


    [¡­]


    ¡°Aldred, do you want me to whip your head to help you sleep?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Aldred immediately went to sleep. Cih! Even his mother didn¡¯t force him to sleep. If he woke up all night, then she would give him milk until morning. On the other hand, thisdy wouldn¡¯t be a good mother in the future.


    He pitied her future children if she would ever have one.


    Anyway, Aldred had long been thinking about having an epic adventure in a fantasy world back in his past life. Maybe falling into the world where mortals reside wasn¡¯t so bad. He might as well level up and strengthen himself while exploring the world until his family return.


    He also had that blessing where he could control the undead. Hehe. His father would be so shocked if he had thousands of undead army with him. Aldred couldn¡¯t wait to give them the shock of their life.


    Aldred ignored the reward screen and slept. He would choose tomorrow after he got his mind cleared.


    The carriage continued its travel during the night. Mary wanted to drop the boy quickly. She didn¡¯t care about him at all, in fact, she hated him for getting the empress¡¯ attention. All her attention was supposed to be for her, not some random boy.


    She regretted taking the boy to the throne hall. Maybe she should have just shooed him away at that time.


    Now, all she wanted to do was quickly throw him away on the battlefield. Mary didn¡¯t know why the empress wanted her to train him though.


    She hesitated. She could do more to train him, and help him survive on the front line, but she didn¡¯t want to. Yet, her feeling contradicted what the empress wanted. What if the boy was the secret weapon of the empress for rolling the empire to its knees, and for her to finally take control.


    Could that be possible? A young annoying, dumb-looking boy became the sword of the empress?


    She released the rope, and let the horses pull the carriage. She grabbed the small handle on the small wood before pulling it to the side. Inside the carriage, she saw the little boy was fast asleep. His body glowing with bright fairies flew around him. Not only that, beautiful nts and flowers grew from the floor, lighting up the room and wrapping the boy in warmth andfort.


    Mary was shocked. She had never seen this type of magic before. It was so beautiful like the paradise she had always dreamed of. She turned her gaze to the boy and noticed his leap in progress. ¡°He entered the bronze stage?¡±


    It was only yesterday that the boy didn¡¯t have any stage yet, but now all of a sudden he has it? Was it these fairies¡¯ doing?


    She shook her head. She had always felt the boy¡¯s progression was weirdly quick, but she didn¡¯t think much about it, because a lot of young boys got stuck right before the bronze gate. Usually, only when someone reached the age of twenty years old could they break through the bronze stage.


    Mary flinched when she heard Aldred groan as he rolled around on the floor. Saliva trickled from his mouth. He reached out both of his hands. ¡°Mama, give me your breast milk.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 14 New Skill

    Edeline Rose Wildingham, the empress of the Ceraisian Empire, put her slender hands on the luxurious texture of the railings. The balcony overlooked the sea where sailors boarded their ships, bringing tea, coffee, and other products to sell.


    The war between Ceraisian and Montcresia started with a ridiculous and perhaps nothing too serious event. But the effect of the war was still felt by many families who had their sons and husbands never return after battle.


    The boy that was sent to the frontline by the emperor was just one out of many. Many young men at the age of fifteen, when they should y in the field, had to lift their sword and drive it to the enemy¡¯s heart


    War was inevitable. The rich state of the Ceraisian Empire, highly contributed by its naval cities, was eye-hungering, to say the least. Montcresia was rich in its natural resources of metal and copper, but they couldn¡¯t trade directly to the east without passing the border.


    Her wish was to end the war quickly so may the sons and husbands return to their lovely dwellings. As for how that goal might be a reality, only time would seek.


    ¡­


    The birds chirped, singing a song as sunset blessed thend with its light. Fresh morning air blew, making the grasses dance. The animals came out of their home and started their day by stretching their body.


    All that, while Aldred was still sleeping, snoring.


    Mary opened the door to the carriage and crossed her arms while she saw his saliva flow to the floor. She still couldn¡¯t believe what she sawst night, but after taking a closer look, she realized that his strength was really at the bronze stage.


    His talent was impressive. Mary had heard all kinds of rumors about talented young boys around the kingdom. But, she had never heard about a young boy, ten years of age, who reached the bronze stage.


    ¡°Maybe he really is the empress¡¯ weapon.¡± She decided to be a little nicer to him since that was the case.


    She tapped Aldred¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Young boy, wake up. It¡¯s time to start your training,¡± she said in a low tone, in contrast to her usual loud voice every morning.


    ¡°KAKH,¡± Aldred snored. More saliva trickled from his mouth.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Young boy.¡± Mary slightly shook him.


    Aldred turned around. ¡°No mother, don¡¯t. What if father sees us?¡±


    ¡°Hey wake up, you little brat!¡±


    SLAP!


    Aldred abruptly woke up, panicking. ¡°Run! There¡¯s an earthquake!¡±


    He paused and saw Mary staring at him with both hands on her waist.


    ¡®Ahh. I came back to reality.¡¯


    ¡°Sweet dream you got there, huh?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Dream? What dream?¡± Aldred turned his head and whistled. ¡°I never dream in my life.¡±


    Mary snorted. She couldn¡¯t be soft with this kid. ¡°Today, we¡¯re increasing the training. After you swing one hundred times, do one hundred push ups with two swords on your back.¡±


    ¡°Oh god. Give me some break already.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll break your leg then you can take a break forever.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Yes, mam. I will do the training right now,¡± he reluctantly said.


    Aldred hopped off the carriages and started his training. As he swung the sword forward, he willed the system to show him the reward panel.


    [Martial Art: Bone Breaking Fingers]


    [Sword Art Offline]


    [Magic Art: me Jet]


    [Please choose only one]


    ¡®Which one should I pick? System, could you exin what is Sword Art Offline?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Sword Art Offline]


    A sword art that came from a powerful universe with the shape of a floating castle. The beings within this universe were locked inside, and it was said that this sword art is the key to their freedom.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®That sounds some. Exin to me the bone-breaking fingers then.¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Martial Art: Bone Breaking Fingers]


    Break bones with your fingers.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s it? No further exnation?¡±


    [The skill itself is self-exnatory]


    Aldred was speechless. He believed there was more detail in the martial arts, but the system was toozy to give it. ¡®What about thest skill?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Magic Art: me Jet]


    Created by a powerful wizard in a chaotic universe, this skill has consumed many lives yet saved too many at the same time.


    -Using this skill will let you shoot out a jet of me from your hand. You can use it to attack, or lift yourself from the ground.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®This is bullshit. The system exined this one in detail while the others are only given some crap description.¡¯


    ¡°Whatever. Give me this me Jet thing.¡±


    [You have received the skill: me Jet]


    Wanting to quickly try the skill, Aldred finished his training and returned to his carriage at night. He was like a teenager that couldn¡¯t wait to y with hisptop after a tough day at school.


    How could he not be excited when he saw this.


    [Divine Dimension: Updateplete. Installing¡­]


    [Installplete]


    [Divine Dimension: Avable]


    Aldred immediately entered his dimension, and suddenly, he returned to the world he created. The nts and vegetables were still there. They looked fresh. It made Aldred want to grab on and eat it.


    But he had something more fun to do; trying the jet me.


    If his spection was correct, then this skill should let him fly. Aldred pointed his palm downward. ¡°Jet me.¡±


    His palms grew bright red. He didn¡¯t feel any pain or anything, but looking at his hands still made him nervous. Slowly, me spew out of his palms, and they lifted him up.


    He had a hard hard time bncing in the air. His palms shook, and went in the wrong direction. He sped up into the sky.


    ¡°Ahh! How do I turn this off?!¡±


    Aldred zipped here and there in the sky before the mes in his hand died. He then dived headfirst into the river.


    SPLASH!


    Aldred¡¯s head popped out of the water. ¡°That was awesome!¡±


    He climbed up to the ground and walked to a nearby tree. He put his palms forward. ¡°Jet me.¡±


    A concentrated jet of me shot out of his hand and struck the trunk of the tree. The hole sizzled with smoke. It was quite deep too, still with a red hot surface.


    ¡°So I can fly and shoot a jet of me from my hand. And don¡¯t forget the fireballs.¡±


    That was nice. This way, leveling up should be a lot easier. In fact, he might be ready to challenge a stronger dungeon that gives more EXP.


    He had enough of fighting against baby ghouls. They gave so little EXP.


    ¡®Divine Dimension, show me some dungeons.¡¯


    [Divine Dimension: Ogre]

 Chapter 15 Necromancy

    ¡°Ll. I want to go to the sea. So I can take everything I see. Squidbop Squarepants!¡± Aldred pointed with his finger. ¡°Pew pew Pew.¡±


    Three fireballs shot towards a green fat ogre. The fireballs sted its face and pushed it back a few steps. The ogre roared and then dashed towards him.


    ¡°I believe I can fly.¡± me jetted out of his palm that pushed him back, narrowly dodging the ogre¡¯s wooden club.


    As Aldred was in the air, he pointed with both fingers and fired. ¡°Pew pew pew.¡±


    The fireballs sted the ogre¡¯s face, and then it fell to the ground.


    [EXP +60]


    ¡°This is too easy. Let¡¯s go to the next floor of the dungeon.¡±


    Aldred reached the end of the of the dungeon and saw a staircase that led down into the darkness. He stepped in, then suddenly he was in another floor.


    Tworge ogre with hideous face turned towards him. They brought arge clubs in their hand, wrapped in barbed wire. A pair of tusk came out of their mouth.


    ¡°Hello, fes. Do you have any dinner tonight?¡±


    ¡°GROWL!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Both of them charged towards him with thundering steps. He pointed both of his fingers at them.


    ¡°Pew pew pew.¡±


    The ogres were barraged with fireballs over and over again. As they approached Aldred, they raised the clubs above their head.


    Aldred quickly rushed forward and touched their disgusting, slimy, fat, oily body with his palm.


    BOOM!


    A jet of me pierced through their stomach. The ogres roared in pain. Their clubs fell to the ground with a thud. The ogres staggered and then fell.


    ¡°Haha. This me Jet skill is so good in close range. Sadly the me can onlye out of my palm.¡±


    [To make the mee out of the user¡¯s feet please upgrade me Jet to level 2]


    ¡°Ohh, you can do that? How much skill points do I need to upgrade it to level 2?¡±


    [Three skill points]<sub></sub>


    Aldred hesitated. He had learned that to upgrade a skill level it might consume more than one skill points depending on each skill. Upgrading fireball to level 2 cost only two skill points. But there was a problem, he didn¡¯t know which skills to upgrade.


    Obtaining skill points would definitely be harder in the future.


    [User can earn skill points through mission as well. There is a chance to obtain skill points or stat points through defeating an enemy]


    ¡°Nice. What about increasing my skill level?¡±


    Aldred could increase his attributes by training, surely he could improve his skill through training too.


    [User can learn and practice the skill to increase its level]


    ¡°I know it! Hahaha!¡±


    Aldred looked down at the two death ogres under his feet. He recalled that he also had necromancy blessing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Necromancy]


    The soul of the dead is for you tomand


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred cleared his throat. If he recalled in the novels that he had read, to something be his soldier he had to chant something. He lifted his hand and stared at the corpse. ¡°Powerful warrior. Rise and be my ve.¡±


    Nothing happened. Aldred was confused. ¡®Did I chant the wrong thing?¡¯


    He tried again. ¡°Mighty warrior, rise and be my  subordinates.¡±


    Still nothing.


    Aldred sighed. He kicked the corpses. ¡°You little bitch! Wake up and be my undead!¡±


    ck energy enveloped the two corpses and engulfed them before it turned into smokes that elongated above Aldred¡¯s height. A leg came out of the shadow, stepping onto the stone, then slowly, an ogre came out with ck skin and glowing purple lines around its body.


    Another ogre came out from the other shadow. Both of them knelt, head facing the ground.


    Aldred was smiling wide. ¡°I have two ogre soldiers now. Hahaha. I will clear this dungeon and return with a million ogre or something. Then I will invade the empire. Kill the emperor and take his wife along with his whole harem! Muhahahaha!.¡±


    [¡­]


    ¡°What? Don¡¯t disturb my amazing n.¡±


    [Undead limit: 2/10]


    ¡°You mean I can only have 10 undead? Are you kidding me? What kind of necromancer only has 10 undead? This is nuts!¡±


    [User can increase the limit by leveling up]


    ¡°How many limits can I get if I am at level 29?¡±


    [User will get the maximum of 29 undead]


    ¡°What?! I will only get 1 per level?¡±


    [The limit will doubled. Starting at level 30, user can have 60 undead]


    ¡°That¡¯s not a lot. I need more.¡±


    [Starting at level 60, the limit will be tripled. At level 60 user can have 180 undead]


    Aldred shut his mouth to think. The limit kept on increasing exponentially as he grew in in rank. If he recalled correctly, level thirty was the start of the Silver stage, and level sixty was the start of the Gold stage.


    So every time he increased his ranking or stage, his undead limit would be quadrupled or even more. But even if that was the case, that was still far away from a million undead that he¡¯d dream of.


    ¡°Is there any other way to increase my limit?¡±


    [Yes. By defeating other necromancer, user can absorb their undead limit]


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s cannibalism.¡±


    Realizing that the system ignored hisment, Aldred told the two undead ogres to move forward. Theirrge body blocked the entire view, so he told them to do a crab walk instead.


    ¡®Now, that¡¯s better,¡¯ Aldred thought as the two ogres awkwardly move forward with their backs on the wall.


    An ogre appeared ahead of them. Perfect chance! ¡°Go kill it.¡±


    The two undead ogres rushed forward. The ogre ahead of them didn¡¯t show any fear. It roared and bashed one undead in the head with its club.


    The two undead were unaffected. They raised their clubs and mmed its head. The ogre fell to the ground. Green blood leaked out of its head. The two undead raised their clubs high over their head, then with a powerful force, mmed it downward.


    [EXP +60]


    Aldred kicked the corpse before turning the ogre to be his third undead.


    He gazed forward and noticed another stairs. ¡°Let¡¯s clear this dungeon.¡±

 Chapter 16 Dire Wolves

    Aldred kept on defeating floor after floor until he reached the tenth floor. Instead of stairs, he saw arge pair of wooden gates. The torch on the walls flickered, creating shadows on the wooden surface.


    He knew what was behind that gates. It had to be a boss. The question now was, should he fight it? He already had fourteen ogres under his belt. But what if it wasn¡¯t enough? Could he even die in this dungeon? After all, he owned this thing.


    ¡°System If I die here? Will I die in real life?¡±


    The system didn¡¯t answer. Aldred was annoyed. When it was about the less important question, the system always answered, but now it didn¡¯t. What a bastard.


    He sighed. For now, he should leave the dungeon while thinking of a way to increase his strength before fighting the boss. Aldred left the divine dimension. The wooden ceiling was back, along with the wooden texture of the floor. The carriage was still on the move. Stars and moons light up the sky.


    Suddenly, the carriage stopped.


    ¡°Dire Wolves!¡± Mary said.<sub>-.</sub>


    Wolves? Aldred slightly opened the door. Peeking through the gap, he saw arge horde of vicious wolves with silky fur. They bared their vicious teeth with saliva dripped off their mouth.


    The carriage shook as Mary leaped off. Shended on the ground before pulling brandishing her sword. The wolves growled. They circled around her while still baring their teeth.


    Mary was ready for an attack in any direction. A wolf behind her sprinted towards her. It pushed the ground, leaping while opening its jaw wide.


    Mary narrowed her eyes. Tightening her grip on the sword, she spun and mmed the wolf away. The wolf got thrown onto the ground. It rolled a few times before standing up with blood all over its face.


    The wolf shook its head and joined the pack once again. There were at least twenty wolves around her. With that number, they could attack one by one, eventually overwhelming her. Aldred couldn¡¯t let that happen. He had to help her. Although she was strict, annoying, and bossy, she did train him to be stronger.


    Aldred opened the door.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Boy! Stay there or you will die!¡± Mary shouted. She didn¡¯t know what was inside the emperor¡¯s mind when he send a little boy to the front line. No one could question his order, but at that time, his reputation must have suffered among the soldiers. Someone at his age was supposed to be trained. Only when at the age of fifteen would he be eligible for fighting a true battle.


    In the Ceraisian Empire, it was normal for fifteen years old boys to be involved in a battle. But there had never been a case where a ten-year-old directly went to battle. At most, they would go on a spar with their peers or be told to kill prisoners. That was the training to harden their will and let them get used to seeing corpses and blood.


    ¡°I can help!¡± Aldred shouted.


    Mary mmed another wolf with her sword. ¡°I¡¯ll let these wolves eat your ass if you don¡¯t get inside the carriage right now!¡±


    She turned around. The wolves started to approach the boy. If she let that happen, they would tear him apart. That must not be allowed. He was still a young boy, he had a bright future ahead of him.


    Mary couldn¡¯t believe herself. Since when did she start to care about the boy. ¡®He better thank meter.¡¯


    Just as she was about toe to his rescue, Aldred raised both of his hands and said; ¡°Rise.¡±


    Suddenly, a mist of darkness rise from the ground. It wiggled around the boy. Slowly, something came out of the mist. It was a creature with a tall andrge body They gripped their club and roared at the wolves.


    Mary watched with widened eyes. ¡°Ogre? Is the boy a summoner? No, looking at the ogre, none of them are alive. Is he¡­ a necromancer?¡±


    Necromancers weren¡¯t rare, but they weren¡¯t abundant either. People were scared of necromancers. Their ability to turn the dead into their ves was very heart-wrenching to a lot of people. The military didn¡¯t see them in a bad light, so the boy wouldn¡¯t have any trouble when he be a soldier. But she still couldn¡¯t believe the boy was a necromancer.


    The wolves charged at the undead, biting their legs and thigh. The undead ogres didn¡¯t react. They mmed the wolves away, throwing them to the ground before the ogre stomped on their heads.


    As the ogres distracted the wolves, Aldred used his fingers to support them. ¡°Pew pew pew.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s also a me mage?¡± Mary asked herself. There were mages that learn a lot of spells type, but they rarely became good. Only mages that focused on one thing could usually attain a higher rank such as gold or tinum. There was a talented mage that reached Adamantite rank while mastering a lot of spells, yet in history, only one of them ever exist.


    Orbs of me barraged the wolves, distracting them. With mes covering their face, the ogres¡¯ attacks were unseen. With a powerful swing, the wolves were killed fairly quickly.


    [EXP +90]


    [EXP +90]


    [EXP +90]


    [EXP +90]


    ¡°Pew.¡± Aldred fired onest fireball at a wolf. He blew the smoke that came out of his fingers. ¡°Hasta vista, baby.¡±


    Arge wolf appeared in the distance. Along with it, another horde of wolves stood behind it. Therge wolf growled. With anger, it barked, telling the other wolves to attack.


    ¡°Aldred. You take care of the small wolves. I will kill thatrge one.¡±


    ¡°Sure do.¡±


    Mary leaped supernaturally and arrived in front of the big wolf. The wolf stared at her, angry that a lot of its subordinates were killed. It directed its gaze at the boy. The boy was the one who killed its subordinates!


    It jumped to the side, about to rush to the boy until Mary blocked its way.


    ¡°Pick on someone your own size.¡±

 Chapter 17 Alpha Wolf

    As Aldred fought off the wolf pack, Mary battled it out against therge wolf. It was asrge as an elephant, yet strong, agile, and quick as a lion. Its magnificent fur breezed by the wind.


    The alpha wolf roared. Violent wind came out of its mouth. It swept out a rippling force that pushed the grass out beneath its feet.


    Mary tightened her grip on the sword. She stared at the wolf as it circled her. Both were looking eye to eye, waiting for the chance to attack. Yet the wolf didn¡¯t seem to take this battle seriously. He was calm like a wise king.


    [Alpha Dire Wolf]


    Level: 48


    Power: Lunge, w Attack, Three Moon Image


    Aldred was shocked to see the level of the wolf. Its level was more than double of his.


    But thankfully, Mary almost matched it in strength.


    [Mary]


    Level: 45


    Power: Quick sh, Heavy Blow, Parry


    Aldred fired a few fireballs at the wolf pack. He turned his gaze at Mary and the Alpha Wolf again.


    Mary did not feel any fear. In fact, she felt excitement rushing through her body. For years she had be a guard in the Royal Pce, so she didn¡¯t have the chance to fight anyone worthy of her strength. None were so stupid to do so. Except maybe the little boy.<sub>-.</sub>


    She raised her right hand and beckoned with her fingers. The wolf growled. It understood it was being challenged. To give a reply, the wolf bared its teeth, then lunged at Mary.


    Aldred understood that the wolf used the skill, but he didn¡¯t expect the lunge to be so quick. Usually, a predator had to elerate for a few seconds before they reach the optimum speed. Only when they reach that speed would they lunge at their target. The eleration and their weight would help them dig their teeth or ws into the skin.


    The wolf did not need that. Without any wind up, it lunged with the maximum speed of a cheetah.


    Mary was calm. With a slight turn, shepletely dodged the attack.


    Aldred was shocked when Mary made it look easy. What a movement! It¡¯s one of those moves that the boss in video games did to show the yers that they could dodge their attacks with just one move.


    It was a show of strength and an insult at the same time.


    As expected, the wolf felt its honor sullied. How dare this woman dodged its attack with one move. She should roll on the ground and make herself dirty. As an alpha, it couldn¡¯t let this slide without doing anything.


    Mary smiled. The wolf turned around and rushed towards her. With a ferocious movement, it leaped into the sky before opening its jaw wide.


    She snorted as the wolf was about to fall on her. With a calm manner, she raised her sword, shed down, and spun around.


    ¡°Quick sh!¡± Mary shouted.


    A line of sharp light went from above to the ground. The line went through the Alpha Wolf. Suddenly, blood spurted out of the wolf¡¯s face. Blood dripped on the ground as the wolfnded.


    The Alpha Wolf winced in pain, then turned around to w attack at her. Mary raised her sword and parried the w. Their sh created sparks in the air.<sub></sub>


    She kicked the wolf right in the face, staggering it back. Before it could reorient itself, Mary moved forward, sword high above her head, and swung down.


    ¡°Heavy Blow!¡±


    Her sword seemed heavier at that one moment. The de mmed against the wolf¡¯s head, crashing it to the ground.


    The Alpha Wolf leaped forward, and shed at her. Blood came out of her right cheek.


    ¡°You¡¯re a disappointment to your parents,¡± Mary said. She rushed forward and barraged it with a powerful attack. She mmed at the stomach, shaking the organs inside. Then as the wolf tried to counterattack, she drop the sword as a distraction and punched it right in the face.


    The fist mmed against the wolf like a sledgehammer.


    That was a wrongparison.


    It was like a fucking train.


    ¡°Is she human?¡± Aldred asked. How could anyone punch a giant wolf in the face? Who had the guts to do that?


    Mary was weaker than the Alpha Wolf, but her skills and battle experiences were far more than the wolf. That was the tricky part about fighting someone or something intelligent. They couldn¡¯t be defeated with brute strength alone.


    The Alpha Wolf and Mary go at it against each other. She dodged its attack and returned her own anytime she had the chance. This time, the Alpha Wolf couldn¡¯t even touch her clothes.


    ¡°Damn. That girl is too OP,¡± Aldredmented.


    Mary pushed the ground with her feet and pummeled the Alpha Wolf as if it was cookie dough. mming left and right, the Alpha Wolf could only cry in despair.


    Soon, she noticed the wolf¡¯s limb trembled in weakness. But, even with that, the wolf sped up and circled around her. Suddenly, the wolf blurred and there were two of them now. And then another one appeared.


    Three Alpha Wolf? That had to be the skill Three Moon Image. So which one was real?


    The three wolves lunged at her. Mary kept her calm. She breathed in and closed her eyes. Like a dance of nature, she twisted to the left. Wind breezed through her, fluttering her short, ck hair. She stepped forward. Cold wind narrowly passed her nape and back.


    With two movement, she dodged all three Alpha Wolf!


    The Alpha Wolves attacked relentlessly. But her dance was unobstructed. Just as the wolves were about to attack once again. Mary mmed the real Alpha Wolf with her shoulder. Then with blurry speed, she shed to the right, across the wolf¡¯s nose.


    The wolf howled for onest time before it fell to the ground.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Aldred said. ¡°She¡¯s so powerful.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Mary shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred asked.


    A Dire Wolf lunged at him, biting his arms.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Aldred ced his palm on the wolf and sted its head with a me jet. He was surrounded by the wolves. They attacked his undead ogres with better coordination. Some of the ogres were even locked to the ground, unable to move. They ripped its limbs apart.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Aldred raised his hand. ¡°Be my undead!¡±


    The dead wolves around him were engulfed by darkness. It expanded and undead wolves came out of the ck mist.


    ¡°Haha! This is the power of a necromancer!¡±


    The undead wolves rushed forward and ferociously bit on the wolves¡¯ neck. Wolf against wolf, now this was a show to see.


    Using his magic, Aldred fired fireball upon fireball at the wolves. But something unexpected happened. All the wolves stopped attacking the undead ogres and undead wolves. They leaped away and rushed at him.


    Aldred flinched. He quickly reacted and activated mes jet on his palms. me spewed out. He flew into the air, but the wolves already leaped at him. They caught his leg, making his hand aimed at the wrong ces. His flight became uncontroble and he fell to the grasses.


    The wolves dug his skin with their teeth, pulling out a chunk of meat.


    ¡°Ahh! You bastard!¡± Aldred sted them with his me jet, but more wolves came.


    Mary saw this and hastened her movement. She rushed with incredible speed. She must not let the kid die. He was the empress¡¯ weapon. When she arrived, her swords spun with blood. The wolves¡¯ necks were cut off.


    Their heads went to the sky before they rolled to the ground.


    Mary set her gaze on the boy and noticed he was fatally wounded. He trembled in pain. His breathing was weak. Blood drenched his clothes.


    Something triggered in her heart. She looked at the boy with pity, and it tore her chest just looking at him. His life was in danger! She had to help him!


    Quickly running to the carriage, she grabbed a bag of first aid before returning to his side. She wrapped the wounds with bandages before giving him some painkillers. The pain would still be there, but at least it lessened a little bit.


    Tears came out of his eyes. ¡°Will I die?¡±


    Her heart thumped in sadness and despair like a mother watching her son on his deathbed. Why did she feel like this? Why was the boy in front of her looked so important right now?


    She grabbed his hand and held it tight. ¡°You will be fine. Let me bring you to the carriage.¡±


    ¡°No. Stay here. I don¡¯t want to stay in the dark.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mary kept watching him. His breathing improved. His wound was fatal, but he shouldn¡¯t die anytime soon. That was good. She felt relief.


    ¡°Lady,¡± Aldred called.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Mary said with a sweet tone.


    ¡°I never once got your name.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Mary.¡±


    ¡°Mary,¡± Aldred smiled. He closed his eyes. ¡°What a beautiful name.¡±

 Chapter 18 Vampire?

    Aldredy on the grass as the fresh morning air blew his ck hair away. Caressing his face was a slender smooth hand. Mary caressed the boy¡¯s head like he was her child. She didn¡¯t know why she felt this way. It was unthinkable, unimaginable even. But she couldn¡¯t hold this feeling of love.


    ¡°Mother,¡± Aldred called in his sleep.


    Mary knew the boy wasn¡¯t calling for her. Yet her heart trembled nheless.


    ¡°Yes, dear,¡± she replied with the tone of a mother. She still didn¡¯t understand why she felt this way. Her heart was filled with the empress alone, or so she thought.


    ¡°I am thirsty, mom,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It burns.¡±


    Something moved within her chest. It told her to undress her breast. She did. She opened her shirt and grabbed the boy¡¯s head into her embrace. Slowly, she set his lips on her plump, breast. Her graceful pink nipple went into his mouth.


    Aldred instinctively sucked in. He was still asleep. But even in his dream, he still felt the motherly love given by Mary.


    The boy raised his right hand and fondled her left breast as she sucked her left nipple. Mary was a virgin, so her breasts weren¡¯t supposed to have milk. But magically, warm liquid came out and entered the boy¡¯s mouth. Her left breast spurted milk to his face.


    Mary smiled. She didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. Her gaze focused on the boy and the only thing that filled her mind was how to take care of him as much as possible.


    Her heart and mind were in great turmoil. On one side, she wanted to take care of the boy as much as possible, on the other side, she didn¡¯t understand why she felt this way towards the boy. It didn¡¯t seem right, but¡­


    She couldn¡¯t answer. She kept breastfeeding him because it felt like the right thing to do.


    Time passed, and the morning became night. The sun went down over the horizon with three moons rising into the sky, dotted by twinkling stars.


    Sacha, the bright, red moon, was closer tonight. It dwarfed the other moons as it shone in a beautiful red hue.


    Aldred pulled out his mouth. He frowned and groan like he experienced a great nightmare? Mary was worried. She checked his forehead to see if it was hot. It wasn¡¯t.<sub>-.</sub>


    It was cold. Abnormally cold.


    His skin became pale, then suddenly, a pair of fangs grew from his teeth.


    ¡®Vampire?¡¯


    The boy grabbed her shoulders and went for her neck. She was about to stop him, but his teeth had already sunk deep inside her skin. It gave her a feeling of great ecstasy. Her limbs became weak and heavy. She couldn¡¯t move and her body trembled.


    ¡°Ahh,¡± She moaned. She couldn¡¯t hold it in. The desire was too strong and she moaned the entire night.


    Aldred opened his eyes. He was shocked to realize he bit Mary¡¯s neck. He pulled out his teeth and saw Mary helplessly blushing in front of him.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He looked at her neck and saw a pair of holes. Blood came out of the hole, and for some reason, Aldred had a strong urge to consume it.


    ¡®I am a vampire? But how? My father is a demon king, so how could I be a vampire?¡¯


    Aldred recalled that his mother never actually reveal her race. ¡®Is she a vampire? It has to be, or it would be impossible for him to be a vampire.¡¯ Aidan hadn¡¯t checked her status and history too. He just thought that his mother would be as strong as his father, and he also thought that she was a demon too. Because why would a vampire marry a demon? That did not make any sense at all.


    He noticed all of his wounds disappear. From that, he concluded that drinking blood would heal his wound.


    Mary breathed raggedly and looked at him with an enticing gaze. Her shirt was wide open, making her breasts all clear for him to see. It was so beautiful as her smooth white boob reflected the moonlight. Her pink nipples were wless and they beckoned Aldred toe.


    ¡°Mary? What are you doing?¡±<sub></sub>


    She ignored his question and pulled him into her embrace. She caressed the back of his head. ¡°You will be fine, dear. Mommy is here.¡±


    ¡®Mommy?¡¯ What the hell happened?


    [Extreme Charm activated]


    Oh¡­ So that was what happen. She was charmed by my handsomeness. But why did she call herself mommy?


    ¡°Are you thirsty, dear?¡± She gently put his lips on her nipple.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t so bad.¡¯


    Aldred sucked on her nipple and enjoyed the warm liquid. It wasn¡¯t as heavenly as her mother¡¯s milk, but it still tasted good. Mary grabbed his right hand and put it on her left breast.


    He squeezed.


    ¡°Ahh.¡± Mary moaned into the sky as her cheeks turned red.


    Her moan made Aldred excited. He fondled her breast more and sucked her nipple harder.


    ¡°Ahh! Are you enjoying yourself, dear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mommy,¡± Aldred yed along. He didn¡¯t know her age, but she seems to be qualified as his mother. Based on her looks, Aldred would guess she was at least twenty-two years old.


    After some hours passed, Aldred became sleepy. He recalled that he always wanted to go to bed after a breastfeeding session with his mother. He closed his eyes.


    Mary noticed that the boy was fast asleep. She smiled andy his head on the grass. Shey beside him and caressed his face. ¡°Good night, boy.¡±


    Suddenly, bright blue flowers sprouted from the ground. Glowing butterflies and fairies flew around them. nts came out and wrapped around the boy.


    Mary looked at this magical scene in wonder and amazement. ¡®What magic is this?¡¯


    One of the fairies floated in front of her. Her fluttering wings left a trail of sparkling lights.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the fairy said.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    The fairy smiled. ¡°I am his mother.¡± She zipped inside Mary¡¯s head, shocking her.


    Powerful energy circled inside her mind, then it went throughout her whole body. She glowed in bright blue as the nts around her crawled and wrapped her tight. A Blue stream of light streamed from the nts and into her body.


    The cocoon of nts, roots, and flowers burst open. Mary slowly opened her eyes. They glowed bright blue for a while then dimmed down.


    ¡°What did you do to me?¡±


    The fairy floated in front of her. ¡°I want you to apany him on his journey. My husband and I have spoiled him rotten, and we cannot have that. At the age of seven, he should have conquered at least a gxy or two, but his vision is boxed within the castle. It is my fault. If I didn¡¯t spoil him, my son wouldn¡¯t be so weak and miserable as he is right now. I have failed as a parent.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Mary asked. For some reason, she felt a great urge to listen to the fairy¡¯s request.


    ¡°I have expanded your potential and increased your rank to gold. Help my boy grow. Don¡¯t let him die. Also, don¡¯t spoil him too much as I did. Are you willing?¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°I am. In return, can you help me overthrow the empire?¡± She still wanted to remove that stupid emperor and let the empress rule the empire alone. The fairy in front of her must be so powerful if she could increase her strength to gold rank so easily. Normally, it would take a few decades to reach it. In fact, she might not get to gold rank at all in her lifetime.


    The fairy smiled. ¡°If you help my son grow, he will conquer the empire for you.¡±


    Eve knew the emperor took the steering wheel. Without it, her son couldn¡¯t return to the floating castle.


    The fairy and the bright glowing nts disappeared.


    ¡­


    Eve floated in space. She approached her husband who was staring at the bright green.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Hujarar asked.


    Eve smiled and showed her fangs.


    Hujarar smiled back. ¡°Our son grows so fast. It felt like yesterday I held him in my arms.¡±


    Eve wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°Did you know he already got a virgin girl¡¯s blood?¡±


    Hujararughed. ¡°That¡¯s my boy. I raised him well. In the future, he has to bring a lot of wives.¡±


    Eve flicked his nose. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you have a lot of wives?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, darling. You¡¯re the only one worthy of me.¡±


    He hugged her. His phone rang. With an annoyed groan, Hujarar pulled out his phone and stared at the lock-screen of his naked wife for a few seconds before answering the call.


    ¡°Yo, wasup?¡±


    ¡°Wasup my ass! We¡¯ve been waiting for you to destroy that of heretics. The news outlet; BBK, KNN, and Dragon News are ready to air your power, live on television.¡±


    Hujarar sighed. ¡°Do we really have to kill these atheists? There are a lot of hot girls in there. You sure don¡¯t want to have some fun with them first?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! My wife is here so don¡¯t say something that would trigger any misunderstanding. No, dear. It¡¯s just the demon king. No, I don¡¯t n to go have fun with any girl. What about the angelst night? Ah, I just taught her some basic knowledge about human anatomy. I swear. I don¡¯t lie. When Have I ever lied to you? Oh, you want to go to heaven? Alright, see you at home.¡±


    The old man on the other side sighed. ¡°That was a close one. Watch your mouth next time. She almost got me having fun with that angel, Alex,st night. Wait! No, Dear! I was joking. I don¡¯t know anyone named Alex. No, don¡¯t cut my PP in front of my worshiper. You¡¯ll still do it? Fuck! Hujarar! You better destroy that. I have to go now, bye!¡±


    The call ended.


    Hujarar scratched his head. ¡°Well, that was something.¡±


    Eve chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t n to have any fun with other girls right, dear?¡± She whispered in his ear.


    Her eyes became crimson sharp.


    Hujarar sweated. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be possible in space, but the cold threat was too much.


    ¡°Of course not, dear.¡±

 Chapter 19 Arrive

    Aldred woke up on Mary¡¯sp. The sky was bright with the sun shining on the sky. Clouds passed with birds chirping in the distance.


    Mary caressed his head as she controlled the horse pulling the carriage.


    ¡°You¡¯ve woke up.¡±


    Aldred nodded and sat up. ¡°Thank you for saving me. I don¡¯t know what I would do without you.¡±


    He said his thanks to her. Even though she captured her and brought her to the throne hall, it was her job in the first ce, yet the fact that she saved him couldn¡¯t be denied. Aldred owed a life to her. He finally got a second chance in life, a life he could be grateful for. Mary didn¡¯t just saved his life, she also saved his dream.


    ¡°Also, sorry for sucking your blood.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Mary said, blushing as she recalled the event yesterday. She couldn¡¯t believe that she would say this, but she actually enjoyed the feeling.


    ¡°Mary. May I know why you liked the empress so much?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°She inspired me to be a soldier. In fact, she inspired a lot of women.¡±


    ¡°Inspire you? How?¡±


    Mary sighed. ¡°Women aren¡¯t very well respected because we tend to be useless in battle. This make men think they can do whatever they want with us. The empress got her past lover killed and she was forced to marry the emperor. They passed her around like bread, not even considering for a second how she felt about that. With a single word, her world was shattered and changed for the worse. Yet, instead of breaking down and epting her fate, she raised many powerful women and put them in various positions. In the military, there is a position called Commander of Knights. This position used to be all men, but now, almost half of them are women. All of these women answered to the empress. If she willed it, she could cause a terrible civil war inside the empire.¡±


    Aldred was shocked. He didn¡¯t know the empress was that powerful and influential. She was inspiring instead of breaking down in the face of challenge. He sighed. If he was that brave, if he was that courageous, would his past life be any different? Instead of fighting for his survival, Aldred jumped off a bridge and killed himself.


    Compared to the empress, he was nothing but a loser.


    ¡°She¡¯s an amazing woman,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°She is. I almost suffered the same fate as her, but I trained myself every sunrise and every sunset. This pair of hands had swing a sword for millions of times. With my exponential growth, I ran from home and joined the army. Eventually, I became a guard under the empress herself.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Both of you are awesome.¡± His smile disappeared and disappointment washed over him. He sighed. Mary fight with everything she had, and so did the empress. ¡®I truly should learn from them. No matter what the situation, no matter what the hardship, I must keep on fighting with everything I have.¡¯


    ¡°Thank you, Mary. For telling me this. You¡¯ve changed my whole perspective about life.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Who are you? How did you enter the bathroom for the concubines?¡±


    ¡°Me? I am nothing specialpared to you. I am just a depressed boy.¡±


    Mary chuckled. ¡°What are you talking about. You always seem to not take things seriously. Isn¡¯t that the cause why the emperor send you to the front line?¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. He might act a little too childish there. He couldn¡¯t help it. He was spoiled so much by his parents. ¡°You are correct. I apologize for that.¡±


    Mary smiled. ¡°At first, I saw you as an arrogant, naive boy who doesn¡¯t know the reality of this world. Yet now, you seem to be a man who experienced a lot of things. You truly are something else.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I think I am a little arrogant and naive. Don¡¯t forget to add depression into the mix. So, I guess I¡¯ll be counting on you until we arrive.¡±


    Mary shook her head. ¡°I will take care of you until you be stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°I thought you¡¯re just going to drop me on the front line? What about your job as a guard? Don¡¯t you want to be close with the empress?¡±


    ¡°Someone important told me to take care of you.¡±


    ¡°Who? The empress? You did say that she told you to take care of me.¡± Aidan wondered why the empress told her to do that. Did she like my song?


    Mary ignored his question and kept her gaze forward. She believed Aldred¡¯s parents did not want their son to know about the truth. Mary did not know who that fairy was, but she understood that Aldred must be a child of a powerful being.


    They went on a journey for a few days. And then they ran out of water.


    ¡°I am so thirsty,¡± Aldred said as he tried to get thest drop out of the water bag. The water fell to his tongue and disappeared. He couldn¡¯t even taste the water. With his throat so dry, Aldred gulped his own saliva. His lips was dry too, so he licked it.


    ¡°Stop licking your lips,¡± Mary said. ¡°It will make it worse.¡±


    ¡°What can I do? It¡¯s been three days since I have water.¡±


    Mary beckoned at him and told him to sat beside her on the driver seat. Aldredplied. He was confused by what she was about to do. Only when Mary opened her shirt did he understood.


    ¡°Drink from my breast. It will relieve your thirst.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°You did it before, no reason not to do it again.¡±


    That was a weird logic but okay. Aldred grabbed her breast and sucked on her nipple. Mary put him on herp, then held his head. Aldred heard her urging the horses to move forward while a warm liquid entered his mouth.


    The liquid was much better than before. Something about the quality changed. It felt like there was some sort of power within it. Aldred couldn¡¯t exin it. The taste was sweet too.


    Mary smiled when she saw Aldred excitedly suck on her nipple. She didn¡¯t feel embarrassed even if she show her breasts to the outside world. Men could show their nipples so proudly, then why women couldn¡¯t?


    If Aldred heard that logic, he would definitely support it one hundred percent. If there was a civil movement saying that all women could show their breasts however they wanted, Aldred would be rising the biggest and tallest sign as he shouted at the top of his lungs for the government to pass thew, allowing women to show their breasts without censorship.


    He continued on sucking her nipple. After a while, he switched to sucking on the other nipple while fondling the other one. He squeezed, knead, push, and pulled it like a dough.


    All this while, Mary kept on smiling as she caressed his head lovingly. She still didn¡¯t understand why, but she liked this boy more and more. Something about him resonated with her heart.


    The sun fell and rose a few times before both of them arrived at Ruandeurtin.


    ¡°We have arrived.¡±

 Chapter 20 Pharder

    Ceraisian Empire was located in a super continent called Coureroy. It was home for many races; Vampire, Aarakocra, Bugbear, Lizardfolk, and many more.


    Each race had their own nation, and generally they avoided war with each other. Especially against the human. Humans had the never-ending thirst for achievement. After they got one, they asked for two, after they got two, they asked for four. Their relentless strive for greatness was something the other races avoided. They didn¡¯t want to be the trophy for the human. And so currently, only humans were in major war, while the others only involved in small skirmish.


    The Thignia Kingdom was located to the north of Ceraisian. Their border touched shoulders to shoulders, and both nation frequently traded with each other. Humans offered their blood, while vampires gave anything else they had.


    The strongest being in this super continent was at Adamantite rank. Each nation only had one of these beings, and they usually did not move around because each of their step could shook the world. They weren¡¯t involved in battle unless it threatened the existence of the race.


    ¡­


    Aldred sat on the carriage as the horses pulled it through the gate. Ruandeurtin was a highly defended fortress. It was surrounded by thick and tall walls with hundreds of guards present at all times. They stared at him with suspicious eyes. It seemed they were wary of spies for fear of sabotage.


    The cksmith hammered down on a sword in front of the armory. Sparks came out every time he hammered down. Soldiers walked with certain steps like they knew where they were going and what they were about to do. It didn¡¯t look like a normal town where the people walked around in leisure. Everyone was at work. A lot of them stared at him with suspicion.


    They whispered something. Some of them went away to report him to the higher ups. He might not be caught, but the knight and other soldiers would certainly kept and eye on him.


    Ruandeurtin was governed by a captain. A captain¡¯s rank was right below Commander of Knights, but their influence and power were insurmountable. A captain could only lead five thousand knights, while a Commander of Knights could lead more than forty thousand knights.


    In arge battle, each of these knights could lead one toon or fifty squires, and a High Knight might lead more than 250 Knight.


    The fort wasn¡¯t that extravagant thankfully, or the enemy might take it as a great offense and add more soldiers to their own forts.


    The total poption of this fort was around twelve thousand and six hundred. Five thousands of them were Knights. Seven thousand of them were Squires, and the rest were cksmiths, alchemists, cook, and servants.


    As the carriage went forward. A Knight with thick armor approached them. ¡°Stop right there! Show me your identification!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Did you already forget me, Bartrem?¡±


    Bartrem narrowed his eyes and stared at her. ¡°Mary? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°This is no ce to talk. Bring me to your ce.¡±


    ¡­


    Bartrem, Mary, and Aldred sat inside a room.


    ¡°It might not be as spacious, but believe me when I tell you that a squire will kill for this bedroom. And I mean that very literally.¡±


    Bartrem was right. The room wasn¡¯t that spacious, especially ifpared to his own room in the floating castle. The room was made out of bricks without even being covered with paint or anything else. Aldred guessed they didn¡¯t have time and resources to think about decoration.


    The room only had a bed, a table, and a few chairs. The floor of this room was made out of rough stone.


    ¡°Now,¡± Bartrem said, sitting on the bed. He yed with his mustache. ¡°What is your business here?¡±


    ¡°Let this boy enters your toon,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Impossible. He¡¯s at least ten. You want me to bring him to his death? Bring him back and let him return when he¡¯s twenty.¡±


    ¡°I cannot do that. The emperor gave this order.¡±<sub></sub>


    Bartrem clicked his tongue. ¡°That fool. He thinks he can throw away lives like duck food. Then I can only hide him here and train him until he¡¯s strong enough.¡±


    Mary shook her head. ¡°Do you forget that the captain of this fort is Pharder?¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°How could I forget. That man is giving me nightmares every day.¡± He looked at the boy. ¡°You better be ready boy¡ªwait. You¡¯re already at bronze rank?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°Incredible. What a talent. You might not have much experience as a ten-year-old, but your strength is enough for you to survive on the battlefield.


    [Bartrem]


    Level: 35


    Power: Endurance, Decisive Attack, Tenacity, Rampage, Mighty Strike.


    History: Bartrem was an orphan thrown away by his parents when he was still three months old. One of the empress¡¯s maid picked him up and reported her findings to the empress. The empress ordered the maid to take care of him. Years passed and he became a knight with eternal gratitude to the empress, but his association with her led Pharder, the captain and ruler of Ruandeurtin, to hate him. He was thrown into the most dangerous toon with the highest death rate called Pressure toon II with fifty squires that was reced every battle because all of them died. Yet ever since Bartrem took the lead, the casualties reduced significantly.


    Aldred didn¡¯t bother to read more. Just by glimpsing at it he could get the general idea of who the man was. So Pharder was the big bully around here, and the target was Bartrem because he was associated with the empress. This was some political stuff that Aldred shouldn¡¯t get himself into. He just wanted to kill the emperor and get his steering wheel back.


    ¡°You are the only Knight I can trust,¡± Mary said. ¡°Much of the empress¡¯ fingers here were cut off by Pharder. Her control over this fort was zero to none, but I will stay here and help you too.¡±


    Someone opened the door of the room. It was a man with hazel straight hair. The man held his head high while staring down at them.


    Mary bit her lips. ¡°Pharder, you suree quick.¡±


    Pharder moved his brawny hand on the wall. Unexpectedly, his fingers peeled off the bricks as their fragments fell to the floor. The man approached and pulled his hand back.


    ¡°You are stronger than Ist saw you, Mary.¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°I wonder how you increase your strength.¡±


    ¡°Not of your concern,¡± Mary coldly said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember calling for a gold-ranked warrior to my fort. You are not needed. Leave immediately.¡±


    Mary sneered. ¡°I came here from the direct order of the empress. Are you questioning her order?¡±


    ¡°Then who is this boy? Don¡¯t tell me this is the secret son of the empress by the result of her affair.¡±


    Mary gritted her teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare sully her name! If your words are exposed you will be executed! She found this pitiful boy on the street. He is under the empress¡¯ protection and in no way you can touch him.¡±


    ¡°Not directly I cannot,¡± Pharder replied. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll attack Coinnerelle. Let¡¯s see how this boy fair when I put him at the front.¡±


    Aldred was pissed of by how arrogant this man was. Who did this man think he was?


    [Pharder]


    Level: 125


    Power: Defend Smash, Powerful Charge, Trembling Shockwave


    ¡®Oh¡­ This man does have the strength to be arrogant. Damnit!¡¯


    The man stared at them onest time before leaving the room. Aldred clenched his hands in anger. He was about to do something awful and he might regret itter.


    ¡°Mary, he cannot touch me directly, correct? What would happen if he kill me?¡±


    ¡°For disobeying the empress¡¯ order, the Commander of Knight themselves have to move and execute him. No one should disobey her order.¡±


    ¡°Can the emperor bail him out?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely, unless he wanted a civil war.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath and walked out of the door. ¡°Hey!¡± He called.


    Pharder turned around. ¡°What, boy? You have no chance to run away.¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just. You forgot to bring these with you.¡± Aldred threw the brick fragments at his face.


    It hit straight at Pharder¡¯s face and stain his skin and clothes. The man stared at him in trembling rage. ¡®How dare this little boy!¡¯


    Mary and Bartrem were shocked.


    ¡®Just what the hell was he thinking!¡¯ Bartrem thought.


    Even Mary couldn¡¯t say anything.


    Pharder was about to kill this boy right here and there, but it would be too obvious that he was the killer. Everyone knew he hated the empress and used all the chance he got to remove her influence. He had done it sessfully without giving the empress a reason to remove him. If he killed the boy now, the empress would have a reason to kill him. All the things he had done would be useless.


    Aldred stepped backward and got ready to enter his Divine Dimension. He wasn¡¯t stupid. He had read a lot of arrogant main characters in novels and all of them got into trouble for their arrogance. He didn¡¯t want to lose his precious life, so he was prepared to escape from any slight movement.


    Pharder, on the other hand, could only hold his rage. ¡°You have done well, boy. Pray the enemy won¡¯t cut your head in tomorrow.¡± He turned around and walk away.


    Mary approached him and knocked his head. ¡°What are you thinking? He could have killed you.¡±


    ¡°You said he couldn¡¯t unless he wanted a civil war.¡±


    ¡°Even if that was the case, he might forget about the consequence and do it anyway.¡±


    Aldred waved his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± There was no way he would tell them his secret. Aldred only met them for a few days. If it was his family the one who was asking, he would tell them openly.


    ¡°You hurt his feeling, boy,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°He will remember that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about his feeling. He can suck my PP, and I still won¡¯t care.¡±


    Bartrem looked at Mary. ¡°Are you sure this guy is ten years old?¡±

 Chapter 21 Sophia

    Aldred entered the barrack for Pressure toon II. Because Bartrem was only a knight, he could only lead one toon consisting of fifty squires. In this empire, all official soldiers were considered squires. If they hadpetence and skills, they would be promoted to a knight. Squires were trained since they were a child. Generally, they were the sons of a knight. These children would learn how to be a soldier from their fathers.


    Unlike the modern world where people could go to school learn what they want and have a career of their choice. The children only had their parents as a source of information. So they were in some kind of apprenticeship without their choice. Most of them didn¡¯tin much, because they didn¡¯t know what other jobs there were.


    Their knowledge and wisdom was too small. This led them just to ept whatever their parents taught.


    Farmers also rarely drafted to be a soldier. Ceraisian was in war for a while. They knew that having farmer in the battlefield weren¡¯t that good. Only properly trained soldiers could be relied upon in the battlefield.


    These were what Bartrem told him. He was really kind to Aldred, telling him a lot of things about the world. Just like any other children, Bartrem did not know anything else except swordsmanship. That was because he saw a lot of soldiers training in the Royal Pce where the empress kept him when he was a child.


    Only when he got older did he knew more things, but he did not n to change upation anytime soon. If he had a child, he would teach that child how to fight with a sword, because that was the only thing Bartrem know a lot of.


    And that was the entire cycle of a family. They born, enter apprenticeship, and then teach their kid what they know.


    Aldred did not know if that was good or notpared to the modern world. Would it be better if parents taught their child what they knew, instead of forcing them to go to medical schools? Parents put their dreams of sess upon their child, not knowing what they had to go through.


    ¡­


    ¡°You stupid child. Your exams score is terrible. You won¡¯t get any schrship this way.¡± His father punched his face.


    ¡°Dad, it hurt! Please! Stop!¡±


    ¡°Then do better next time.¡±


    ¡°I am trying, dad. I study as hard I can, but I can only get 80 in the final exam.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Study hard? Our neighbor got 95 in his exam. If he can do it, then why can¡¯t you? Stop beingzy! You will have no food for three days. Don¡¯t go out of your room and use that time to study.¡±


    Aldred cried as he open his math book. All the numbers, all the forms, all the find X and Y made him sick. He felt so sick he wanted to die.


    ¡­


    Aldred sighed as he stood inside the barrack.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Aldred?¡± Mary asked. She looked at him with a worried gaze.


    He swiped his tears with his arms. ¡°I am fine.¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°Mary. Can I talk with you for a few seconds?¡±


    Mary looked at Aldred. ¡°Stay here okay?¡±


    They went outside the barracks. Bartrem closed the door.


    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°We cannot do this. He¡¯s only ten,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°You see he cried the moment he entered the barrack. He must be so scared.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t scared when he throw those dust at the captain.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Those must be momentary confidence. Now he realized that he has to stay here for a long time. He will break before I can put him on the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°I will protect him,¡± Mary said. ¡°That boy has talent beyond anyone I know. Besides, the empress told me to protect him. He will get through this. I know he can.¡±


    Mary spoke with such a conviction that surprised Bartrem. ¡°I know the boy is talented. Reaching Bronze Rank at such a young age is an amazing achievement. But he is still a boy.¡±


    ¡°I will go with him on the battlefield. Wherever he goes, I will be there.¡±


    ¡°No you will not!¡± a man shouted. He walked haughtily like he owned the entire ce.


    Bartrem grimaced when he saw who the man was. It was a middle-aged man. Standing around 180 CM tall, with a sword mark on his mouth. He wore his Knight Rank armor that was ensued by the brigade. He was the leader of Pressure toon I.


    And he was Pharder¡¯s toes.


    ¡°Simond. This is not your barrack. Go wherever you came from,¡± Bartrem said.


    Simond snorted and domineeringly approached them. He crossed his arms. ¡°I am sent here by Captain Pharder. Mary, you will not go to the battlefield because the captain assigned you to protect the fort.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more useful on the battlefield than staying in here!¡± Mary shouted. This man pissed her off. If this was outside the fort, she might kill the man with her newfound strength.


    Simond analyzed the woman in front of her and gritted his teeth. ¡®Gold Rank. This woman has the strength of High-Knight.¡¯ He clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re not in a position to decide. Are you trying to disobey the order of a captain? You¡¯re just a woman.¡±


    Mary wanted to st the man¡¯s face right here and there. ¡®So what if I am a woman? I¡¯m stronger than you.¡¯


    The man turned around and was about to leave. His step halted. ¡°Even if you are a Gold Rank, you are still a woman. We, men, are better at fighting than you. You are just a burden in this ce.¡±


    Mary gritted her teeth and stepped forward. She¡¯d kill this man. She¡¯d mince him to pieces and feed him to the dogs!


    Bartrem held her. ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. Remember why you are here.¡±


    She stared at the man as he left. Rage boiled in her chest. ¡°I will kill that man someday.¡±


    ¡°Who do you want to kill?¡± A girl said from behind. Her chest bounced as she slowly strode to them. When she arrived, she crossed her arms below her breast and pushed upward, making her chest seem bigger than it already looked. Her body was voluptuous.


    Her rosy cheeks smiled. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°She is Sophia,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°She is a magician High-Knight that leads Magician Company III.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, beautiful,¡± Sophia said. She approached Mary. She smelled like flowers. She brought a magic staff with her. It was beautifully made out of birch wood. It was straight, and end with a little crystal on top.


    ¡°Yes, nice to meet you too,¡± Mary confusingly said. She didn¡¯t know how to behave in front of this seemingly-aggressive woman.


    Sophia chuckled. ¡°Your breast is so big.¡± She grabbed her left breast. ¡°Men will love fondling it and sucking it. Oh my, it¡¯s so plump too.¡±


    Sophia moved her gaze to her confused expression. She smiled sweetly. ¡°You don¡¯t mind me ying with them don¡¯t you.¡±


    Mary didn¡¯t know what to do. Except for Aldred, she never had anyone touching her breast. ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± She hesitantly said. Sophia was a woman, after all, so she thought it was fine.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a kind girl. Men love a sweet and caring girl like you. Oh, you¡¯re a virgin, yet you already have breastmilk. This is a rarity, a lot of men will want to have you in bed, I am sure of it.¡±


    Mary was shocked. ¡®How the hell does this woman know I have milk in my breast. And she also knows I¡¯m a virgin?¡¯


    Sophia yed with her nipples. ¡°Don¡¯t be too surprised. I am a magician.¡±


    She turned her gaze to Bartrem.


    Bartrem flinched in fear and he took a deep breath.


    ¡°If isn¡¯t this my lovely Bartrem.¡± She released her hand from Mary and put both of her hands on his shoulder. Ohh, why are you closing your eyes, Bartrem? Come on, look at my breast.¡±


    Sophia used her left hand to slightly open her robe, revealing part of her breast. ¡°I know you want it, Bartrem. All men wanted it. Come on, Touch it. Feel it.¡±


    She leaned in onto his left ear. ¡°You can also suck it if you want.¡±


    Bartrem was trembling, eyes closed as he clenched his hand. ¡®Get yourself together, Bartrem. She will get bored and walk away. Don¡¯t say anything!¡¯


    Mary did not know what to do in this situation. If a man did this to a woman, she would apprehend him, but this was a woman doing it to the man. Bartrem seemed ufortable, though. She wondered if she should do something.


    Sophia covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. ¡°That¡¯s Bartrem for you. Strong as always.¡±


    She licked Bartrem¡¯s ear before turning to Mary. ¡°It was nice meeting you. I believe we will meet again soon.¡±


    When she left, Bartrem opened his eyes and breathed haggardly. He pushed out air from his nose and inhale through his mouth.


    ¡°Why are you so troubled?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t men enjoy that sort of thing done to them?¡±


    Bartrem breathed out. ¡°I tried to hold my masculine urges and not treat women as such.¡±


    Mary smiled. Bartrem was raised by the empress¡¯ maid. During that time, he must be taught how to treat women properly. Now he be a gentleman and also a Knight.


    ¡°I wonder if Aldred will grow into someone who can respect women,¡± Mary whispered under her breath.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Mary shook her head. ¡°Who is that girl earlier anyway? You said she was a High-Knight magician?¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°She¡¯s a High-Knight, but none of her behavior and personality fit for the position. She¡¯s a crazy woman. Everyone knows about it.¡±


    ¡°How crazy?¡±


    ¡°A few days ago, she came out of her room naked. She walked around with no clothes on a bright day. The other day, she even went to the battlefield with no clothes. At that time, she climbed on someone¡¯s shoulder and went around, shooting distracting spells at the enemy. A lot of people believed she didn¡¯t even need to cast distraction spells.¡±


    Mary was shocked. ¡°Everyone is fine with this?¡± She was fine with showing her breast like men did but fully naked was too much. Even men couldn¡¯t show their dongs so tantly, not to mention on the battlefield.


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°she¡¯s also Pharder¡¯s woman.¡±

 Chapter 22 Pressure Platoon II

    Aldredy on one of the bed before Bartrem and Mary entered the barrack.


    ¡°Are youfortable, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    It wasn¡¯t asfortable as his bed in the floating castle, but it was better than the cold and hard brick that he used to slept on in his past life. ¡°I amfortable.¡±


    ¡°Comfort is not our first priority as a soldier,¡± Bartrem started. ¡°I hope you keep that in mind.¡±


    Aldred smiled with a sigh. As a homeless,fort wasn¡¯t his first priority either. He would sleep near thendfill, or under the bridge. Anywhere he wouldn¡¯t be seen by people. People were evil. They¡¯d kick him for no reason and threw rocks at him. Aldred just arrived here less than an hour and he was reminded of his past life all over again.


    All the rainy days where the ground was cold, and all the summer heat where his throat burn. He was humbled again in less than a week. The world was harsh. His parents gave him a childhood fantasy where parents and siblings love each other unconditionally. That made him forgot who he really was for a moment, but he was back again to the shit hole of reality.


    But this time he could fight. He had a purpose. Taking the steering wheel and returning to his floating castle. If he do that, he could wait for his parents infort.


    Bartrem felt bad to say such word to a ten-year-old child. The emperor was too ruthless this time. Thankfully the empress saved this boy¡¯s life even with the risk of a civil war. The emperor and the empress might look like at peace at one nce, but their subordinates were like two silver back apes. They were battling out constantly to dominate each other.


    ¡°You have to be strong, Aldred. Stronger than most of us. Thankfully, your strength are higher than average. So can you use a sword or a spear?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a magician,¡± Mary said. ¡°And a necromancer.¡± She left out the vampire part.


    ¡°A magician isn¡¯tpatible with my unit. Our job is to push through the front line, and shock the enemy to let our rear deal the killing blow.¡± Bartrem didn¡¯t even mention the necromancer part because it took a long time for necromancer to have a strong undead. Aldred was just a child, Bartrem did not have any expectation about his undead at all.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred strengthened his will inside and stop being the naive kid that was loved by his parents. Now, he was the kid that was thrown into the street. He was the kid that survived for many years scrapping for food in the trashcan. He was that kid who fight other homeless people because they tried to stole his things.


    He was the tough kid.


    ¡°I can do it. My undead is quite strong.¡± He raised his hand. ¡°Rise my ve.¡±


    Three clump of ck mist formed around him. Bartrem narrowed his eyes as three tall andrge ogres stepped out. They looked at him with hollow, lifeless eyes. In their hand was a big club covered with nails.


    ¡°How is this possible,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°You have three Copper Rank ogre?¡±


    ¡°Actually.¡± Aldred summoned more of his undead.


    Following the ogres, pack of wolves stepped out of the mist. Bartrem¡¯s eyes widened as they filled the cramped barrack. All fourteen of them stood strong.


    ¡°Copper Rank dire wolves?¡± Bartrem was shocked. Not only were all of these undead at Copper Rank, Aldred had fourteen of them.


    Only a New Knight could lead a squad of fourteen Copper Rank soldiers.


    ¡°Is it enough to help you?¡±<sub></sub>


    Bartrem nodded a few times. ¡°It¡¯s more than enough. Although each one of them are not as good as a proper soldier, their strength should be useful.¡±


    It was no surprise. Human had intelligence and creativity, while undead only used their instinct to fight. Also, human learned from their mistake, while undead kept on being the same undead, unless it was high ranked undead who could even invent a new spell or technique using its own intelligence.


    Their stupidity was also the reason why they failed to kept Aldred safe when fighting against the pack of wolves.


    Mary sighed. ¡°I wish to apany you on the battlefield, but Pharder ordered me to stay in the fort. I cannot disobey his order because he is the captain of this fort and the Troxir Brigade.¡±


    The door to the barrack opened. All fifty men of the Pressure toon II entered the barrack after a long day of training.


    ¡°Perfect time,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Let me introduce you to our new member. Aldred.¡±


    Aldred stepped forward. ¡°Hello. Nice to meet you all.¡±


    All the soldiers stood with confidence and mighty bearing. They seemed to be good at what they do. All of them had the body of a medieval soldiers; fit, healthy, and full of muscles that wasn¡¯t toorge or too small. Of course, they couldn¡¯t bepared to Bartrem who was very bulky. All the knight seemed to be bulky, or that might be just because of their armor.


    The soldiers were shocked at first to see a ten-year-old joining them on the front line. But they understood that every soldiers had their own circumstances, so they smiled and epted the boy with open arms.


    Aldred shook hands with them as they tell their name. He didn¡¯t remember any of them except thest two. Joseph and Jeffery were always looking down. They weakly shake his hands, and immediately left.


    Bartrem nodded and changed his bearing to that of a strict leader. As a knight, he had received basic training in how to behave in front of his subordinates. ¡°You all have heard about the n for tomorrow.¡±


    Aldred blinked. He hadn¡¯t heard anything at all. Thankfully, Bartrem exin it again.


    ¡°The enemy is nning to make an outpost in our border. Our task is as usual to do the most dangerous job and that is spearheading the brigade. We have survived many times, and we will survive again. Do any of you have any question?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Then go to sleep. You body will thank you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Bartrem patted his shoulder as he walked past by. ¡°Wee to Pressure toon II.¡± He stepped out of the barrack and closed the door.


    The soldiers strode to their bed andy down. None of them made any noise and calmly tried to sleep.


    Aldred sighed again. ¡®This will be my life from now on. They will be myrades and I will fight together with them on the battlefield.¡¯


    He turned to look at Mary. ¡°I will go to sleep now. Thank you again for saving me.¡±


    Aldred was resentful of Mary at first for whipping him with her sword, but he would never forget that she saved his life. That alone was enough to remove any resentment he had. And not to mention she let him do that ¡®thing¡¯ to her.


    Mary raised her hand and ruffled his hair. ¡°Silly boy, you don¡¯t have to thank me for anything. And I am not letting you sleep alone. I will sleep with you.¡±


    All the soldiers flinched when they heard that. They hid it as best as possible, but they couldn¡¯t pretend to not notice Mary¡¯s voluptuous body. Her big chest, curvy hips, enhanced by the tight armor that wrapped around her was enticing.


    She was so enticing that it made their pp hard. That was why they still wore the armor that covered their lower part. If they didn¡¯t wear it, it would bulge like a toad¡¯s throat.


    ¡°You will sleep with me? Is that allowed?¡±


    ¡°Only the captain can prevent me from sleeping with you. But he didn¡¯t say anything about it. And he doesn¡¯t need to know.¡±


    ¡®Why does Mary sounds like a naughty wife that cheated on her husband.¡¯ Well, Aldred did not mind that at all. He liked Mary. She was nice, kind, caring, and she¡¯s beautiful and sexy.


    Thest two part was very important for a cultured men like Aldred.


    ¡°I would be happy to sleep with you, Mary. I like you.¡± Aldred innocently said like a proper ten-year-old boy. He was d that he was a ten-year-old in this situation. This made it less weird.


    An adult, beautiful, sexy, big-chested, curvaceous woman was sleeping with a ten-year-old boy? Oh, that was very normal. Nothing to worry about at all.


    Nothing to worry about. Hehehe.


    Mary nodded. She picked him which surprised Aldred. Like a baby, he wasy down on the bed, then Maryy beside him.


    Slowly, she opened her breast and put it in front of his face.


    ¡°Uh, Mary what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want my milk?¡±


    The soldiers bit the inside of their lip. What milk? What were they doing? The soldiers wanted to open their eyes and look, but they were too scared. Their imaginations run wild during this time.


    ¡°I want it.¡±


    ¡°Suck it then.¡±


    Aldred was shocked at how straightforward Mary was. But he liked it that way. If every women in the world was as straightforward as her, a lot of nipples would be sucked every day. Mary gently put her hands on his head and pull it towards her chest. His lips touched her left nipple.


    It tickled him, but it also enticed him at the same time. Aldred put the nipple inside his mouth with a plot sound.


    Mary slightly moan. His tongue tickled her nipples. It aroused her slightly, but she did not say anything. Aldred kept sucking while his left hand went for her breast. Warm liquid entered his mouth. Mary moan once again. The boy had the tendency to y with her breast while he drank the milk. She kept on moaning uncontrobly.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers hearing all of this couldn¡¯t sleep for the whole night.


    ¡®Please stop. Please. I don¡¯t want to be horny anymore. I just want to sleep.¡¯

 Chapter 23 First Battle

    Bartrem opened the door to the barrack. ¡°Square up!¡±


    The soldiers get out of their bed and quickly don their armor before lining up. Bartrem noticed some sluggishness in their movement. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, soldier?¡±


    He noticed ck bags under their eyes. ¡°For the hair of my armpit. I told you to sleep properly yesterday. Go now! Wash your face and gather at the field!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    The soldiers exited the door with a jog. Bartrem turned his eyes and looked at Aldred about to leave the barrack. ¡°Except you, boy. You seem to have a good sleep.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I sleep wellst night.¡±


    Bartrem set his gaze on Mary. She wasn¡¯t supposed to be here, but he did not say anything. Maybe she wanted to take care of the child for a while. But eventually, the boy had to grow up.


    ¡°A little briefing for you, boy. Since you¡¯re a magician, just stay at the back of the formation and cast your spells. What spells do you know?¡±


    ¡°I can cast fireball and me jet.¡±


    ¡°Simple but effect.¡± Bartrem nodded. ¡°You stay at the back and cast fireballs at the enemy. We will do the rest.¡±


    Aldred nodded. He believed he was good enough for closebat with me jet, but he did not want to question his leader on the first day.


    ¡°Go to the south gate and wait for me there. I will give your fellowrade some scoldings. They should have shown a proper example of a soldier.¡±


    Aldred nodded, said his goodbye to Mary, and jogged his way there. On the way, he passed by many soldiers with light armor. They jogged with their own toon. Swords dangled on their waist, jiggling every time their feet hit the ground. Most of the building here was for housing, storage, armory, and restroom. There were no merchants, or markets here. This entire city was aplete fort.


    Also, Aldred realized that he forgot something in his inventory.


    [Godly Eye Tear]


    Consuming it will allow you to see the weakness of your enemy, predicting their movement, calcting the trajectory of moving object, knowing their strength, their talent, and determine the quality of an object. Lastly it can let you see through things.


    Aldred pulled out the item from his inventory and consumed it. As he jogged to the south gate, his eyes glowed momentarily. It was only for a moment, and no one noticed anything weird. The soldiers were too busy doing their own stuff.


    After a few seconds of adjustment, Aldred could see through the armor of every soldiers that passed him. He knew their weak spots indicated by red dots on their body. He could also know why those spots were weak. Some of them because of gics, some of them because of wound.<sub>-.</sub>


    A bunch of women passed through and he could see what they wore underneath their tight armor.


    ¡®Pink panties, yellow bra. Hmm there are varieties of colors, shapes, and sizes. Most of them are G cup thankfully.¡±


    It seemed women warrior always had big chest. Maybe the weight of their breast would help them fight.


    Aldred arrived at the southroad. A lot of soldiers ran and entered into a square formation as their leaders shouted at them. Their armors rattled. Not only warriors, magician also came running. They scattered  to different toon. They stayed mostly in the middle or at the back of the formation. Magician were vulnerable in close-range battle, but give them time and range, then they would be a force to be reckoned with.


    A few minutester, the Pressure toon II sprinted towards the road. Bartrem shouted for Aldred toe to them. He did. They rounded arge square formation and stayed at the front. Bartrem said that their ce were in the front of the formation. Their task was to cripple the enemy to let the soldiers on the back deal the killing blow.


    That was a very risky ce to be. It was like being the tip of a needle, after an injection, the tip would be broken or bent.


    Bartrem seeded in saving his men a lot of times, ording to the history given by the system. That meant he wasn¡¯t just a normal knight, but a very talented one. In a war, it was hard not to lose arade or two, especially in a medieval war where men went face to face against each other.


    Aldred scanned hisrades with his eyes. None of them had any ring weakness on their body.


    He wondered how was that even possible. As someone who were put in the front of the formation, they should be the one who suffer the most.


    Someone rode a horse to the front of the formation. It was a man with a yellow-spiked hair. He strictly faced the army and inspected them one by one.


    He was the High-Knight that will lead this operation. The goal was simple. Attack and destroy the outpost. Now the problemy in the execution.


    ¡°All of you fight well and you will survive, Jataboyo.¡±


    ¡®What?¡¯ Aldred thought. He felt like he had heard that style of speaking before.


    The yellow-hair High-Knight gave them a few minutes long speech, with each sentence ending in Jataboyo.


    Eventually, the speech ended.


    ¡°March forward, Jataboyo!¡±


    The army consisted of two hundred fifty knights marched forward. All these knights brought a bunch of squires with them. A knight at maximum could bring fifty squires, but not all knight could be allocated with such number of squires. Usually, only the most important toon will have a high number of squires.<sub></sub>


    The Pressure toon II was one of those important toon. With fifty squires leading the charge, the formation was like the shaft of the spear that drive the tip forward onto the enemy line. Aldred was nervous within each second of the march.


    This was the first time he went to war. A literal war where thousands of men will sh swords against each other. This wasn¡¯t a solo type dungeon. He¡¯d expect chaotic battle.


    Aldred looked around. Everyone was calm like they¡¯d done it for a hundred time. It was weird for him to see the nonchnt expression on their face. They might die. Weren¡¯t they afraid of that possibility?


    He turned around. A man he did not know stared at him. He had a sh mark of a sword on his mouth. It was a ragged line started from the chin to below the nose.


    The man needed great luck to survive that. But Aldred did not understand why the man kept staring. Maybe because he was a ten-year-old? The man pitied a child like him had to go to war? That was probably the case.


    The army marched alongside the river. Fish jumped out asionally. The soldiers nearby started erecting their g. The g was an image of four pointed star, and the background was split between red and white. That was the g of the Ceraisian Empire.


    They raised it up high, and it made the marching even more grander.


    After a few hours, Aldred saw an army ahead of them. He guessed the numbers were the same. They also raised a g with a blue cross and white background.


    Each army halted their steps a few hundred meter from each other.


    Aldred felt his heart beating hard. He couldn¡¯t believe that he would go to war. Not to mention a fantasy war where magic and super power exist. He was excited and nervous at the same time.


    The yellow, spiky hair High-Knight rode his horse forward. Another man with a horse on the other side also rode forward.


    The man had ck eyes, ck spiky hair that was long enough to hang over over his face.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The usual,¡± one of the soldier replied.


    The yellow haired guy frowned and pointed. ¡°Everyone is worried about you, Jasuce. Come back to the vige.¡±


    ¡°Humph. An orphan like you know nothing.¡±


    The yellow haired guy gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°Everyone wants you toe back. So stop bitching around because you lost a brother.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! My brother kill all of my n member!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a n, and do you see me bitching about it?¡±


    ¡°You know nothing, Jabuto!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who know nothing, Jasuce!¡±


    ¡°He took everything from me. Including my parents.¡±


    ¡°Fuck that! I never see my parents and they put a fucking cat inside my stomach. Your parents just got killed and you ran away like a little bitch!¡±


    Jasuce stared at him with anger.


    ¡°Fuck you Jabuto!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you Jasuce!¡±


    Both of them charged towards each other. They raised their hand. The yellow haired guy had an spinning orb in his hand. While the other guy had lightning.


    ¡°Fuck you Jabuto!¡±


    Fuck you Jasuce!¡±


    BOOM!


    Their power shed and exploded. Dust and dirt covered the battlefield.


    ¡°That¡¯s our signal! Attack!¡±


    ¡°HAA!¡±


    ¡°HAA!¡±


    ¡°HAA!¡±


    The army charged forward with a resounding roar. The armor nged against each other. The soldiers brandished their sword and erratically run forward. It was as chaotic as he imagined it would be. Aldred was constantly bumped around by solders. It was lucky enough that he wasn¡¯t being stomped.


    The Pressure toon II rushed forward with conviction. Bartrem at the front, leading the charge with valor. They moved into a V position that pointed towards the enemy. When their formation shed against the enemy, it was like finger through water.


    Bartrem easily cut down anyone in his path without slowing down his speed. The soldiers behind him shed their sword to the side, cutting off their arms and heads. Blood spurted on his face.


    Aldred was shocked. He did not realize that war could be so gory. He stared at the falling head that rolled on the ground. It looked at him with lifeless eyes.


    ¡°Hii!¡± Aldred stepped back.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Bartrem shouted as he cut down a head. ¡°You¡¯re a soldier now! Act like one!¡±


    Bartrem knew the boy was just ten-year-old, but he had to say what must be said. It was pitiful the boy couldn¡¯t grow first before he was put into the battlefield. It made him recall the first time he was in a battle.


    Aldred looked at this toon fighting and all the other soldiers that fought against each other. Bartrem was right. He was a soldier now. Even though he had the body of a ten-year-old, he was twenty in soul and mind.


    Come on Aldred. Remember those days fighting against those bum that tried to steal your food. Remember that feeling!


    He opened his eyes and stared viciously. To not be scared you had to be pretend to be brave. Aldred was scared out of his wits, but he needed to be strong.


    ¡°Rise, my ve!¡±


    Fourteen blob of mist appeared from the ground. The ogres and the wolf stepped out. They looked at him, waiting for hismand.


    Aldred pointed at Bartrem. ¡°Help them!¡±


    The wolves sprinted forward while the ogres thumped their way there.


    The enemy soldiers were shocked to see wolves and ogres on the battlefield. Some of the allied soldiers were shocked too, but they realized the undeads were allies.


    The wolves pounced on the soldiers, making him fall. Bartrem stabbed the man¡¯s chest. The ogres mmed the helmet of the enemy. The man¡¯s sight turned dizzy. Before he could turned sober, a soldier from Pressure toon II stabbed the man¡¯s throat.


    This scene kept on repeating itself over and over again.


    Pressure toon II kept on pushing through the left wings. Their n was to prate the wing and then went around it to attack the middle from behind. Pressure toon II was only tasked to prate the firstyer, and they almost seed.


    Until Pressure toon I rushed in too early, they bashed the soldiers of Pressure toon II making them fall to the ground.


    Bartrem realized this and turned around to save hisrade. ¡°Simond, you motherfucker!¡±


    Aldred realized that was the guy who had stared at him earlier. So it was not pity, but resentment that he feel. Even within the battlefield these guys still had the time to fight with each other?


    With the help of his undead, and Bartrem powerful strength, they seeded in saving all of Pressure toon II member.


    ¡°Our job here is done. Retreat!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    His men jogged away, first. Only when they were a few meters away did Bartrem started retreating. Pressure toon I continued on pushing the left wing.


    Aldred did not care about that anymore and followed Bartrem.


    Bartrem brought them near the archer formation. The archer kept on firing arrows at the sky, and raining them down upon the enemy.


    The soldiers were exhausted from that short fight. It might not look like much, but their armor and swords were quite heavy. Not to mention they had to used all their strength in every swing to prate the armor of the enemy.


    And because of Pressure toon I disrupted their rhythm and even pushed them to the ground. Some of the soldiers were terribly wounded.


    Joseph had arge sword hold on his shoulder.


    ¡°Can you hold it, soldier?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Joseph nodded with a painful expression.


    Aldred frowned. That was really weird. The other toon were treated by a healer immediately, but why no one came to treat this toon?


    Bartrem noticed his expression. ¡°You know why we are known to be the most deadliest toon, boy? It¡¯s not because we are deadly to the enemy, it¡¯s because anyone who join this toon would surely die.¡±


    Aldred understood the situation. Captain Pharder must have told the healer not to heal them, after all, Pharder did not seem to like Mary and Bartrem. Well, the real reason was because they were affiliated with the empress.


    He sighed. As long as he stay in this ce, everyone around them would bully them because of Pharder. Looked like he would be in a tough ride from now on.

 Chapter 24 Armor Sabotage

    Aldred was disappointed that he did not do much to help. If he wasn¡¯t freezing in fear earlier, he could have helped more. If he¡¯d controlled his undead, he could have helped his ally when Pressure toon I tried to sabotage their operation.


    Suddenly, the enemy army roared for a retreat. The left-wing had been prated and rounded to the back of the enemy. That made them panic and in disarray.


    The army did not chase them as they ran to the west. Their target was the outpost located south of the border between Ceraisian and Montcresia. They arrived. The outpost was a small fort, defended by a short wall. There was no one there, so the magician quickly sted the gates with fireballs.


    The soldiers cheered and stormed. Destroying any structures they can and pige the supplies. The supplies contained food, armor, and weapons. There was also some medicine useful for first-aid should there be no healers nearby.


    After an hour of piging, the army retreated with as many supplies as they could. As they return, Aldred noticed that the soldiers were picking up something from the enemies¡¯ bodies that littered the battlefield. Bartrem and his men also do it.


    ¡°Go on, Aldred. Take something as a memento. In the future, you can tell your kids or grandkids about your battle.¡±


    Aldred nodded. Even though he was ufortable near the dead body, he still do it. He took a ne from a man. It was a locket with a heart shape engraved with beautiful carvings.


    Bartrem nodded at him and invited him to walk along with them. The battle was short, but intensive nheless.


    Soon, they arrived at Ruandeurtin. Hisrades groaned in pain because of their wounds. It looked so terrible, but they did not whine about it, just a slight groan. These guys were true soldiers. Aldred wondered if he could hold the pain of such a nasty wound.


    After they passed the bridge over the river, Bartrem told them to return to the barracks. They did not enter the barrack, instead, theyy down on the grass.


    Bartrem pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small container. The man rotated the lid, and pull it open. He dipped his fingers onto the cream and smeared it onto the wound.


    The soldier gritted their teeth. He must be in so much pain.


    ¡°Hold it, soldier.¡±


    Bartrem looked at their wounds. Most of them were on the shoulders. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t that fatal. He took a closer look at the armor and noticed that the shoulders were thinner than they looked. That was not supposed to happen. Even though a squire wore less armor than a knight, it should not be as thin as a cloth.


    He clicked his tongue. These soldiers were lucky the wound wasn¡¯t that deep or they might lose their arms.


    ¡°Bring your armor to the cksmith and get some rest.¡±


    The soldiers stood up with a groan.


    Bartrem set his gaze on Joseph and Jeffery. Both of them did terribly on the battlefield.


    ¡°Joseph, Jeffery. Both of you need to train your swords more.¡±


    Joseph looked down while Jeffery nodded.


    He did not want to say it because both of them were quite hardworking, but he had to pressure them more. Their talents were very mediocre, so even though they worked harder than the rest, they still did terribly in using the swords.


    ¡°The rest of you go get some rest. We will practice at noon.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred sat down by himself and checked his status. His level increased exponentially after that battle.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 40/40


    Level: 19


    Titles: Depressed boy


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 1


    -me Jet: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 8


    Vitality: 8


    -Intelligence: 2


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 34


    Skill points: 34


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wow. Ignoring the title, he got a lot of experience during that battle. It was just a single battle yet his level increased five times. What would he do with all these stat points? He had to put them somewhere. Since he had me jet and fireball shouldn¡¯t he increase intelligence instead? Strength and vitality could be trained with physical exercise and those were easier to dopared to studying.


    ¡®With more intelligence, will my undead be stronger?¡¯


    [The user¡¯s undead will be slightly smarter. If the user is smart enough, the undead might be as smart if not smarter than a human]


    So he can have smart undead? Aldred imagined his undead doing math in his room. Heughed to himself. Maybe he could tell them to invent a technology from earth if they became smart enough.<sub></sub>


    [Intelligence does not increase creativity]


    Did that mean his undead could not be the next Einstein?


    [No]


    Well crap. That was disappointing. Imagine if he had an army of Einstein or a thousand Napoleon. Each one of those undeads could be the most valuable treasure for a nation. One to lead an army, and one to invent technology.


    Sadly that wasn¡¯t the case. Intelligence did not equal creativity. Being smart only let you understandplex concepts much easier while creating or solving problem required creativity.


    Enough about that. Aldred wanted to consider what stat to increase. Intelligence was a must. But what about skill? Which skill should he increase? Fireball or me Jet.


    me Jet gave him a close-range magic attack, and also great mobility since he can fly with it. The control was hard though so he needed to practice with that.


    The Fireball on the other hand gave him mid-range attacking capability. But this spell was boring. It only shoot a ball of fire from his finger that was all. Maybe he should drop this skill altogether.


    [Leveling up Fireball to Lv. 2 will evolve it to Fire Projectile]


    ¡®Fire what?¡¯


    [Fire Projectile is a skill that let the user manipte the fire element and turned it into a projectile]


    ¡®So ming arrows? Fire javelin? Fire bullet and the like?¡¯


    [Correct]


    ¡®That¡¯sme. Isn¡¯t that just like a fireball but with a different shape?¡¯


    [¡­ The shape and size affect the damage it inflicted on the target]


    ¡®Stillme.¡¯


    [Leveling up fireball could allow the user to cast Fireball Artillery]


    ¡®Exin it to me.¡¯


    [Fireball Artillery let the user fire a high-explosive ball of me to a long-distance target]


    ¡®Wow. And how can I have that?¡¯


    [By leveling up the skill]


    ¡®At what level?¡¯


    The system ignores him which pissed him. When asked important questions it would ignore him. Aldred asked a few more times but still receive no reply.


    He sighed. He would think about allocating his pointster.


    As theirrades entered the barrack to rest, Joseph and Jeffery picked up their swords and started swinging. Aldred watched in wonder. Didn¡¯t they feel tired after that battle?


    After swinging the sword, theyy on the ground and do push up. They did not talk. They did not count. All they did was grit their teeth and repeat what they were doing. After a session of push-ups, they picked up the sword again.


    They did more than a hundred swings. They jogged around with full-body armor, and two swords hanging on their waist to add the weight. A few minutester, they picked up a rock and jog around with the extra weight.


    Their training put Aldred¡¯s hard work during the travel with Mary in shame. Compared to them, he had done nothing at all.


    They were drenched in sweat. Breathing started to get hard for them. Soon, they dropped the rock andy down. Aldred thought they would rest, but no, they started to do sit up a few hundred times.


    With both hands behind their head, they pushed their stomach up, then slowly went down. Their muscles felt burning. It cried for them to stop. They did not stop.


    They kept on pushing their body.


    Aldred could see with his new eyes that the muscles on their body were forced beyond their limit. Both of them did not have any ring weak spots because of gics or wounds. So they were healthy, but why did Bartrem say that they need to train their swords more?


    The both of them swung their swords once again. This time, Aldred analyzed their movement, posture, and motion as they swung their swords. His eyes detected a ring weakness. First of all, Joseph and Jeffery failed to use their strong muscle to create the most amount of momentum. Their footings were wrong and imbnced. That was why they were scolded. With that posture, they would not be able to pierce through the armor of an enemy.


    A peasant looking at both of them would not find that out. Even Aldred could not find what was wrong until his godly eyes told him so.


    He could not let this be. If they keep doing that, their strength would weaken no matter how many times they trained.


    ¡°Hey, you guys.¡± Aldred approached. He wanted to help them in fixing their technique, but Aldred was a magician. Would they believe something he said about sword techniques?


    Probably not. And he might offend them if he bluntly said their technique was wrong.


    The only other way was to let them teach him. ¡°Can you guys teach me how to use a sword?¡±


    Joseph looked down at the ground, avoiding his eyes. That kinda annoyed Aldred a bit. ¡®I am right here, fe. Look at me.¡¯


    Jeffery stood nervously in front of Aldred. This boy was a talented one. At the age of ten, he had reached the bronze rank. That made him feel small and unimportant. Sighing inside, he looked at the boy. ¡°Why? You¡¯re a magician.¡±


    ¡°My arms get stiff from time to time, so I thought a little sword exercise might be good. I want to do it properly. Can you guys teach me?¡±


    Joseph nodded while still looking down. ¡°Here, use this sword.¡±


    Aldred received the sword and held it with two hands. It was quite heavy, but he could manage.


    ¡°Raise your sword up, tuck your waist, and put your left foot slightly forward.¡±


    Aldred clumsily pretend to not understand the instruction and instead followed the instructions given by his godly eyes. He put a wide stance, waist rxing, and then with his whole upper body, swung down the sword in a powerful horizontal arc.


    He scratched his head and looked at them with a smile. ¡°Hehe. I think I did it the wrong way.¡±


    Both of them stared at him in shock.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Joseph asked. That swing earlier was powerful enough to cut a squire¡¯s armor. But that wasn¡¯t supposed to be possible for a magician to do it. And he had to remind himself that the boy was a short, light, ten-year-old kid.


    Jeffery wanted to know as well. It was not supposed to be possible for Aldred to do that.


    Aldred smiled inside but showed a clueless expression to them. ¡°I just do it like this.¡±


    He showed his stance just like earlier and slowed down his movement so they could see.


    Both of them frowned at first, but then they tried what Aldred did and it proved to be effective. All they did was change their stance, and their power increased by a leap.


    Aldred smiled when he saw their eyes lit up in revtion. It was as if they found a treasure map.


    Joseph nced at Aldred. He had been taught by Bartrem a bunch of times, but he never seeded in mastering his technique. He thought that it simply needed time and effort. But after hisrades mastered the technique quicker than him, he realized that he was stupid. A soldier could learn it in a month, he¡¯d been here for far longer than that.


    He wanted to give up and quit many times. He felt that he did not belong in the army. But he always recalled why he joined the army in the first ce. And every time he y it back inside his mind, the me inside his heart washed away all the thoughts of quitting.


    Yet even with all of his efforts, he still failed to master the technique. And then came the boy. He only showed the stance once.


    It was such a simple stance unlike what Bartrem taught him.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± a woman¡¯s voice called.


    Aldred looked to the side and his eyes lit up. ¡°Mary!¡±


    The woman rushed to his side and pulled his face onto her breast. Aldred was stuffed with fluffy and bouncy texture. He loved it, but it suffocated him. ¡°Mary, I cannot breathe.¡±


    Mary pulled him out. Aldred gasped in the air from his mouth like he almost got drowned.


    ¡°Bless the empress, you survive your first battle. I was worried sick, anytimeter I would havee to your aid.¡±


    She hugged him again. His face pressed against her breast. For some reason, she became very affectionate to him. It reminded Aldred of his mother.


    Jeffery flinched and blushed at the sight. It was the beautiful woman again. She slept in the barrack yesterday which made him feel very awkward, but now she came again.


    Mary also could not exin the feeling inside her chest. She truly felt like Aldred was her son. When he entered the formation and marched towards the south, she was worried that he would get hurt.


    That reminded her. ¡°Aldred, did you feel pain anywhere?¡±


    Aldred shook his head. Her motherly attitude made him act like he was her son. ¡°I stay at the back.¡±


    He recounted the event and felt disappointed in himself. What he showed on the battlefield was cowardice. He was not a true ten-year-old. How could he show that part of him to the world?


    Mary noticed his expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, child?¡± she asked with the softest tone she could manage. It just naturally came out of her. That was weird. All this time, she always tried to sound harsh and tough so men would not underestimate her.


    Her tone moved him. Unconsciously, he started telling her what happened.


    Mary smiled and ran her hand through his hair. She gently bring him to her chest and caressed his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay to be afraid, Aldred. Everyone is afraid.¡±


    Aldred looked at her. Tears in his eyes because of his disappointment in himself. ¡°Are you afraid too, Mary?¡±


    ¡°All the time,¡± she said. ¡°Braveryes from the heart, Aldred. So whenever you feel scared, remember those who you hold dear.¡±


    Remember those who you hold dear. The image of his mother smiling shed in his mind along with his father inviting him to have an adventure in another gxy. Then there was his big sister, always spoiling him with chocte milk, sweets, and books. He can tell them everything. He can be a child who he always wanted to be in the past. They realized that dream for him.


    Aldred cried. He could not hold himself.


    Mary did not say anything and let the boy cry in her chest as she hugged him dearly.


    Joseph and Jeffery stood on the spot. They were reminded that even though the boy was talented, he was still a boy who needed love from his parents. It must be hard for him to be away and go to the front line at such a young age.


    Jeffery wondered how Aldred be a soldier at such a young age. Bartrem or even Captain Pharder shouldn¡¯t agree with this.


    ¡°For the smell of my armpit!¡± a man shouted.


    The four of them looked to the side. Bartrem was in a rage. He stomped the ground along with the other soldiers from Pressure toon II.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mary asked.


    Bartrem gritted his teeth and snorted. ¡°Those cksmiths tried to sabotage our armor. The reason why my men got injured was that they thinned out the shoulders te.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡±


    ¡°Humph. Nothing is too much for that bastard. If he could, he would go down here himself and kill us all.¡±


    ¡°Why is that man has to be so harsh,¡± Mary said. ¡°He is a Captain while you are just a Knight. He shouldn¡¯t bully his subordinates this much.¡±


    Bartrem clicked his tongue. Aldred believed the man had a hard time controlling his emotion right now. ¡°I wished one of his subordinates would kill him one day.¡±


    ¡°With the way he treated his subordinates, that day mighte,¡± Mary said.

 Chapter 25 New Magic

    ¡°I will go look for other cksmithster,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°What I need now is a healing potion. The wounds they suffered won¡¯t heal.¡±


    Aldred looked at hisrades who had their shoulders wrapped in bandages. His godly eyes told him that some strange substances are gnawing at the wound.


    He frowned. That substance looked familiar. ¡°Bartrem, can you show me the ointment that you gave them earlier?¡±


    Bartrem thought he should teach the boy about military ethics. It was strictly said that anyone under the Knight Rank should call them sir. If they did not do it then the Knight Rank had the permission to punish them.


    Even though Aldred was still a boy, the other Knight Rank might take that chance to punish him because he was under the empress¡¯s protection. Pharder could not punish him because everyone watched his every move, but a random knight might still punish Aldred to give him a bad time.


    Bartrem took out the small container and gave it to Aldred. ¡°Boy, if you want to call a Knight Rank, make sure you call them with sir. This is for your own good.¡±


    Mary was about to tell him that. It seemed Bartrem cared about the boy. That was good. She didn¡¯t have to worry too much about his safety then.


    Aldred nodded. He kept in mind what Bartrem said. The military usually had strict rules. If Bartrem told him to call a knight sir, then he had to from now on.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    He opened the container and scanned the ointment. And his suspicion was correct. The substances that damaged the tissue of hisrades were from this ointment. ¡°Sir, where do you get this ointment?¡±


    ¡°I got it from the alchemist. Why?¡±


    Aldred pulled out a strand of grass. ¡°Take a look at this.¡± He smeared the ointment onto the grass. At first, there was nothing, but in a few seconds the tip of the grass shortened, then it got even shorter like something was eating it.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Bartrem widened his eyes.


    Aldred dropped the ointment and let the content fall to the grass. Immediately, all the grass around it got devoured and then it spread.


    All of them looked at each other. They all understood the cause of why the wounds would not heal. The question was, who gave Bartrem that ointment?


    ¡°It was given to me by the alchemist.¡±


    ¡°Seems like everyone is out to kill us,¡± Aldred said.


    Bartrem frowned, not just because of the situation, but how Aldred stayed calm. The more he looked at him, the more he doubted this boy was ten-year-old.


    Aldred was used in a situation like this. Back then, everyone was out to rob him and made his day terrible. That time he slept under the bridge peacefully, yet someone grabbed a rock and threw it at his head. He never did anything to them. He did not even know who they were. But one thing he sure know was that the world always find a way to fuck him up.


    Getting angry every time might fuck him up even more. What he needed to do now was to learn the lesson and tried to find a solution. At first, it was hard not to feel resentful toward the people that did him wrong. But the more he think about it, he realized it was not their fault. Their mindset and behavior were shaped by their environment. A flower would grow well with healthy soil and enough water. But it would decay without sunlight.


    The environment, in this case, was the government. In in sight, they looked like they care for the minority like him. But whenever he asked for help, they showed a smile to the media and said yes, but their help never came.


    The donation rounded from all over the world was taken by them. It was simply a show. A show to make the image of a hero for their nation, but whaty beneath was darkness and suffering.


    Aldred did not have the power to do anything at that time. No. He lied. He did not have the courage. Mary was once a simple woman, now she was a warrior with power. The empress was forcibly married and once was a doll for the emperor, but now she was a powerful woman with great influence.


    What did they have that he did not. Was it wealth? Was it talent? No. It was simply bravery.


    Bravery to take that step forward.


    Aldred had decided. He wanted kill the emperor and change the system. He¡¯d ensure that all live well whether they were a peasant or a squire, whether they were male or female. All should be equal under the sky. Only with talents,petence, and drive shall people reach the top.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°We should wash the wound with water. We cannot let that ointment stay inside the wound or it will eat your whole arm.¡±


    The soldiers nodded in pain.


    ¡°No need to do that. I can fix the problem,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Please open the bandage for me.¡±


    The soldiers were skeptical. Aldred was after all a boy. What could he do to help them?


    ¡°Do what he said,¡± Bartrem ordered. Aldred found out the cause of the problem with a nce. There was something special about this boy.


    The soldiers nodded and opened their bandages. A nasty smell permeated the air. The wound had be muchrger than before. Green pus leaked out of the wound.


    ¡°Quick, boy! Whatever you nned to do, do it now!¡± Bartrem worried for his soldiers. It was his fault that they suffered like this. If he wasn¡¯t their leader, Pharder would not do this to them.


    Aldred put his palm over the wound. His hand glowed. ¡°Brace yourself.¡±


    A hot beam shot out of his palm for a fraction of a second.


    The soldiers let out a groan of pain. Veins bulged on his forehead. The beam seared a part of his wound. It was very painful. Aldred could tell that by his expression. But the substances disappeared. The wound looked much cleaner and the pus was no more.


    ¡°It worked!¡± Mary said.


    The other soldiers immediately knelt on one knee to make it easier for Aldred to use his magic. He fired at their wound one by one and they then gritted their teeth in pain.


    Bartrem checked their wound and nodded. ¡°It looked much better now.¡±


    Mary, Bartrem, and the soldiers looked at him.


    ¡°How did you know that the ointment was the cause?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think a wound that shallow should be any problem. Without any ointment, it will heal by itself. So I spected that the problem must be in the ointment,¡± Aldred lied.


    ¡°That bastard,¡± Bartrem raged. He calmed himself down after a few seconds. He act this way because Aldred was so calm. It affected him in someway. Getting angry wasn¡¯t good either. What would he do? Punched the alchemist in the face? Pharder wouldugh as he gave him an excuse to remove Bartrem from this fort.


    ¡°I know an alchemist we can trust. He¡¯s new here, so Pharder might not influence him yet.¡±


    Aldred wanted to see what an alchemist do, so when Feval brought his soldier to the workshop of alchemist, he followed. The ce looked liked a medicine store but in medieval style. Wood was the primary material for most of the structure. The furniture, shelves for all kinds of bottles were all made of wood. A medicinal scent entered his nose.


    He had only smelled something like that once in his life, because he never had enough money to afford medicine. Most of the money he spend on food. Even with that, he only afford one meal a day.


    ¡°Frey,¡± Bartrem called.


    An old man strode out of a room with tall and proper stature. He stood like a trained butler with a dignified bearing. Maybe he served a noble before he was sent here. His skins was pale white with short, gray hair. His body was slim, but not skinny. More like lean athletic.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± he said with a tone nice to the ear.


    ¡°My men need some healing potion. Tell me you have some.¡±


    Frey nodded. ¡°Certainly.¡± He rummaged through the shelves and grabbed a green potion. ¡°Pour this to the wound and it will heal in no time.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred wanted to know more about these potions. He wondered if there was a potion for back pain. Back in the day, he used to a stiff back. ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    Frey moved his eyes at him. Suddenly, he felt threatened. It was like being stared down by a snake. But the feeling was only for a moment, so Aldred was not sure.


    ¡°What do you need, young boy?¡±


    ¡°Is there any potion for back pain?¡±


    Bartrem looked at him. ¡°You have back pain? At such a young age?¡±


    ¡°Since when did you have it?¡± Mary asked. Aldred seemed healthy since the first day she saw him. Was it because he fell to the bathroom? His backbone might break on that day. Mary felt bad for not considering that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have it. But I want to prepare for the future.¡±


    Mary sighed in relief to hear that. It¡¯d be terrible if Aldred got a broken spine or something. ¡°You worried me there.¡±


    Aldred smiled at her. He was touched by her affection. Not only did she save him from the wolves that day, but she kept on caring for him. He¡¯d had to pay her back someday. She had done so much for him.


    ¡°In that case, I have something for you,¡± Frey said. He explored the shelves again and picked a small bottle. ¡°Just drink this before you sleep. It will do good for your spine.¡±


    ¡°Can I have some?¡± Mary asked. ¡°To be honest my shoulders have be very stifftely.¡±


    What she did not say was the cause of her stiff shoulder was her breast. Ever since she breastfeed Aldred, her breast produced more and more milk, and it became heavier by the day. The only way to relieve the pain was to breastfeed Aldred. She had to do thatter tonight.


    Frey grabbed another bottle with a different color. ¡°Because you are much older than the boy, you will have to use this potion.¡±


    Medicine was quite advanced here. They even split the medicine by age. Maybe they also split it by gender,  but Aldred did not want to ask that since it was quite a sensitive topic in this empire. That reminded him of the real world. Didn¡¯t the country also have a fierce debate about gender equality?


    Meh. He did no want to think much about his past life. It was all filled with misery. He should think about the fun stuff such as sleeping with Mary. That was a good start.


    Bartrem opened the lid on the potion bottle and held one of the soldier¡¯s arms. He pour it slightly, the green liquid fell on the wound, then it washed over it. Tissues, fat, cells, and muscles regenerated. It happened quickly. The skin covered it at the end.


    Aldred took it back. Medicine here was much more advanced. Modern earth did not have the technology to regrow tissue that fast. With that wound, the doctors would probably suggest the patient to amputate the arm.


    Bartrem poured it on all the soldiers. They moved their arms up and down and rolled their shoulders. They smiled after feeling no pain or difort.


    ¡°Thank you, Frey,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°It is my duty to help you regarding medicine.¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°And this might be thest time you treat us properly.¡±


    Bartrem brought the others to leave the workshop. Aldred called it a workshop because he did not know what to call it. Drugstore? Pharmacy? He asked Bartrem.


    ¡°You can call them whatever. Medicine ce. Potion store. Calling it a store isn¡¯t right either since we¡¯re not buying. The potions are there for the soldiers, so we don¡¯t have to pay anything.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. He¡¯d just call them medicine hall, alchemy workshop, or something like.


    They returned to their barracks. Hisrades went inside to rest. Bartrem promised them to trainter by noon so they took some time to sleep before that. Meanwhile, Joseph and Jeffery were in the stances that Aldred had shown them. They repeated the swing, the posture, and the footings.


    ¡°They¡¯re so hardworking,¡± Aldred said.


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°They are. They worked more than anyone I know. Yet, their skill never impro¡ªHmm? That stance. I never see that stance before.¡±


    Joseph swung forward with a powerful force that surprised Bartrem. That was not the stance that he taught. Joseph and Jeffery had always failed to follow his lesson. They never understood his movement or his stance. And yet, where did their stancee from? It effectively fit their stature like someone made that stance just for them.


    Bartrem wanted to ask, but he did not want to disturb them. It was already good enough that they already improved.


    Noon came and Pressure toon II started their training. Despite working out since morning, Joseph and Jeffery were energized. They managed to keep up with the others as they jogged, push up, sit up, lifting boulders, swinging a sword for hundreds of times, etc.


    Aldred was training with them. Bartrem told him that he did not have to, but he wanted to join anyway. Mary was with him. She trained him in swords before because she did not know he was a magician.


    Aldred could learn martial art too because he was blessed by the hundred gods so he had talents in very much anything. But martial arts wereme. Swords wereme too. He better focus on his fireball.


    That said, he decided to upgrade his Fireball skill into Fire Projectile.


    ¡°Fire arrow.¡±


    His palm lit up and zed in me. The me moved and condensed before turning into an arrow. It shot forward, stabbing a wooden target. The arrow disappeared immediately after. It looked weak at first, but it was much stronger than the fireball. The wooden target had a burt hole in them. If it hit a human, they would surely be in great pain.


    After seeing the result, he decided to pour all his stat points on intelligence.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 40/40


    Level: 19


    Titles: Depressed boy


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 2


    -me Jet: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 8


    Vitality: 8


    -Intelligence: 36


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 32


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Fire arrow!¡±


    Powerful energy condensed in his palm, turned into a me, then it became an arrow before zipping towards the wooden target. The fire arrow went deep inside, then consumed the wood in fire.


    Hisrades were shocked. For a few seconds, they stopped their training and looked at him. Bartrem shouted at them to continue. Aldred¡¯s development was too fast. One time he cast a normal fire arrow, the next his arrow was so powerful that the entire wood was consumed by fire.


    Aldred realized something. When he increased his intelligence, he understood all thews and all the concepts about his Fire Projectile skills. The skill let him manipte the fire element into projectiles such as javelin, arrows, or even bullets. It depended on his imagination and understanding of itsws.


    Upgrading the skill did not necessarily increase the damage output, but it revealed a variety of control. The system told him that he could control the movement of the projectile in mid-air when he upgraded his skill to level 3.


    Sadly, that required more points in intelligence.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Upgrade cost: 5


    Fire projectile = level 3


    -Able to divert or change the direction of the projectile in mid-air. Also able to make it spin to create more damage.


    Requirement: 45 intelligence


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Night came, and Pressure toon II entered their barrack.


    A young beautiful woman stared at the boy with a sweet smile as she stood on the rooftop. The three moons lit up her silver hair as it fell down to her waist. The boy entered the barrack with a woman who seemed to be his mother.


    ¡°What is his name, Frey?¡±


    ¡°Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Aldred.¡± She smiled. ¡°What a beautiful name.¡±


    ¡°Princess Velika, why do have to disguise ourselves just for this. That boy is not good enough for you.¡±


    ¡°You always said about every else.¡±


    ¡°And I was correct. I was correct about all of them.¡±


    Velika snorted. The moon shone on her pale white skin. Frey was right. All of them betrayed her. She nced at the barrack. ¡°That boy is different, Frey. I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°You said the same thing about the others, Princess.¡±


    ¡°No. I truly can feel it here.¡± She held both of her hands on her chest. ¡°My heart beat like never before when I see him.¡±


    Frey sighed. He did not want Princess Velika to cry and be disappointed again.


    ¡°By the way Frey, what medicine did you give to the boy?¡±


    ¡°It was a simple medicine, Princess.¡±


    Velika stared at him as she raised an eyebrow. Her expression told ¡®I wasn¡¯t born yesterday.¡¯


    Frey sighed once again. ¡°It was an arousal medicine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so cruel. He wouldn¡¯t sleep all night because of that.¡±


    ¡°He could if he do that,¡± Frey gave the princess a side nce.


    ¡°Ugh. That¡¯s his mother.¡±


    ¡°Not from what I hear.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not the mother?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely.¡±


    Velika frowned. She stared hard at the barrack. Her eyes spun and it turned crimson deep. The rooftop became transparent to her eyes, and she saw Aldred drinking milk from a¡­ milk source. Thedy was asleep.


    Suddenly, Aldred frowned and stopped drinking the milk. Apparently, the boy was asleep too when he suc¡­ consumed the milk from the milk source.


    Sweat streamed from his forehead. The boy must have started dreaming because of the arousal medicine. It was a very well-known medicine, but rarely did anyone openly admit using it. The effect of the medicine was to create a wet dream for those who consume it. It was quite popr with men, but this medicine was also infamous to disrupt the sleep pattern, so people limit how many times they used it.


    The boy¡¯s pants bulged. It had started.


    ¡°Poor boy. Having a wet dream before he could even turn into a teenager,¡± Velika said.


    Suddenly, the bulge in his pants grew bigger again. Velika raised an eyebrow, but something happened that shocked her even more. His dong-dong tore through the fabric, and then grew sorge and so long it broke through the rooftop, it kept on going to the sky, piercing through a cloud. Eventually, it struck one of the moons and created a small hole in there.


    Frey got his jaw dropped when he saw this.


    And Velika¡¯s white pale skin got even paler.


    The dong-dong retracted, and there was a sticky liquid that fell on Velika¡¯s hand. It was sticky, slimy, and a little bit smelly too.


    ¡°This is not ordinary rain,¡± Velika said before licking the white liquid thing.


    ¡°Princess, don¡¯t! Haish, toote.¡±


    ¡°What? What is it?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s better for you not to know, Princess.¡± Frey sighed. Even though Velika knew about the wet dream, she did not know what a boy or man produced after that dream.

 Chapter 26 Trouble

    ¡°All of you, wake up!¡± Bartrem shouted with a stern face. Both hands on his back.


    Aldred immediately wake up from his sweet, delicious, creamy, steamy dream. Hisrades and Mary woke up too.


    Bartrem strode in between the beds. His steps stomped the ground.


    Aldred rubbed his eyes. What happened? Why did he seem so angry? Did Pharder do something again?


    ¡°I only have one question.¡± He pointed at the ceiling. ¡°Who the hell made that hole?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know sir,¡±


    Bartrem snorted. ¡°Today, we¡¯re starting our training early. Since no one admit it, then all of you will be punished.¡±


    The soldiers immediately leaped out of their bed and wore their shirts. He noticed something these days. The squires had a brown string on the shoulders of their shirt, while the knights had yellow strings. Aldred wondered if there was a meaning to it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s train together, Mary.¡±


    Mary nodded and gave his forehead a kiss. They wore their military shirt. He noticed he had brown strings on his shoulders too. Mary, just like Bartrem, had yellow strings on the shoulders of her shirt.


    ¡°Mary, what is this brown strings for?¡±


    Mary donned her armor. ¡°That is the hierarchy string. Brown means you are below a knight. Only nobles can use brighter strings and clothes. So if you are not a noble, do not wear them, ever.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°The nobles think that brighter color symbolized the sky, and darker color symbolized the dirt. So the peasants and normal people like us cannot wore bright clothes. They say nobles are smart and educated, but this is probably the stupidest rules they made.¡±


    Aldred nodded. The rule was an insult to the lower ss. It was like saying ¡®You¡¯re a dirty dirt, so you must not wear bright color clothes¡¯. They really need an ego check.


    After wearing their clothes, he and Mary ambled out of the barrack. ¡°Today, we¡¯re going to run around the fort.  You need strength and power to win a battle, but you need endurance to survive.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Bartrem started jogging. As an outcast toon, the Pressure toon II did not deserve to stay inside the fort. Their barrack was located a few meters beside the south gate. Should an army siege the fort, their barrack would be destroyed first. Aldred passed by fisherman on his way. They wore charcoal-colored strings on their shirt. They were ves.


    Aldred asked Mary about homeless people in the empire. She said they had none. He thought it was a good thing until he was told that the homeless were forced into very. It was very easy to be a ve. A noble decided to take your home and your farnd. You are homeless. Automatically, you be the noble¡¯s ves.


    That was simple and easy to do 3-step tutorial.


    Nobles had everything under their control. Thend, the lives, the building. As long as it was their territory, their words must be followed. If Aldred lived in a city owned by a noble, his whole life was basically owned.


    That made it seem like this whole male and women debate to be useless. It wasn¡¯t just the woman that suffered, the male too. People could be ves with a snap of a finger, a spoke of word, a spark of anger. Instead of debating about this, shouldn¡¯t they fix this whole very system first?


    Aldred thought for a moment then realized that it was impossible. The peasant, unlike back on earth, did not have any power, politically or physically. Magic existed. And those with powerful magic and power ruled the weak.


    Back on earth, people could protest and overthrow the government with numbers, but numbers meant little here. Captain Pharder for example, he could kill a thousand peasant in less than a minute. Aldred was confident he could defeat any number of peasant with his power.


    He could fly and shoot fire arrows from his hand.


    All he had to do was fly around and cut down their numbers. How could a powerless peasant with limited talent fight against their owner? He even believed those who had talent would join the noble side, because it was much nicer. Why fought for the talentless, weak, useless majority when you can enjoy great wealth, power, and influence.


    The toon jogged along the wall. On their left, river streamed to the south. The view here was amazing. Bartrem was angry that they put his barrack outside the fort, but Aldred like it. He had so many space to practice his flying jet me and fire arrows. The fort was very cramped. A lot of buildings were put side by side leaving only a narrow roadway for people to pass. Except the main road for supplies, the other pathway was very tight.


    Aldred did not want that. He preferred the vast and peaceful barrack outside the wall.


    They arrived at the north side of the fort. The horizon was filled with farnd. Farmers bend their back as they nted the seeds. A road stretch from the north gate and then far onto the in. Under the soft light of sunrise, they jogged past the crops.


    Aldred used his eyes to analyze the farmers. Their stomach was infested with worms while the muscles in their stomach grumbled in hunger. That was very terrible. These farmers looked normal from the outside, but inside they were suffering an immense amount of pain.


    Yet they were strong enough to nt these seeds and kept going with their lives. Aldred could only imagine their pain when they go to sleep at night. The worms gnawing at their stomach, consuming every bit of nutrient they consumed.<sub></sub>


    He wanted to cry. The life here was so horrible. Compared to his past life, these farmers had it much worse.


    Aldred stopped and he looked at the farmer with teary eyes.


    Mary halted. ¡°Aldred, are you tired?¡±


    Bartrem noticed them stopping, but he kept going instead.


    Aldred had so many things in his mind that he did not hear what Mary said. He approached the farmer. The farmer was an old man with tanned wrinkled skin. The heat from the sun made his skin got patches of sunburn. More tears welled up in his eyes as he approached the man.


    The man looked at the boy and noticed the string on his shoulder. He stepped back in fear. ¡°Sir, how may I help you.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s tears finally fell down to his cheek. ¡°Do you feel ufortable in your stomach?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°I can help you. It will hurt so bear with me.¡±


    The farmer was scared so he obeyed.


    Aldred scanned the farmer with his eyes. The worms moved around in the intestines. He put his palm on the the man¡¯s belly. Aldred theorized that heating the stomach will kill the worms. He did not if this will work or not. Asking for help was useless either, ves did not have the privilege to meet a healer or consume potions.


    If they were injured terribly, then they will be left to die. That was how cruel this world was.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Aldred asked, trying to distract him from the pain.


    ¡°My name is Bernard, sir.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any family, Bernard?¡± Aldred activated his me but just slightly to warm the intestine.


    ¡°My wife died three years ago, sir. I only have my son with me. He is currently nine years old.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his hobby?¡±


    The farmer was confused why the boy asked him this question but he replied. ¡°He seems to like spear fishing, sir. He cannot plow thend like me, because he doesn¡¯t have a left hand.¡±


    ¡°He must be really good in spear fishing.¡±


    The farmer smiled and his eyes lit up. ¡°He is. A week ago he snuck¡ª I mean a week ago he caught a lot of fish for the soldiers.¡±


    So they couldn¡¯t even eat the food they caught and had to give it to the army. They had to sneak in a fish or two so they can eat properly. Aldred couldn¡¯t me them. The man was clearly hungry from all the bones that protrude from his skin.


    ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡±


    The man rubbed his stomach, feeling the warm. But then he realized the pain in his stomach was gone. All these years, he felt like something was moving inside him. The farmer thought it was just because he was hungry most of the time and maybe that was the stomach moving. But then the boy touched his belly and the pain disappeared.


    Did that mean something was inside him?


    ¡°I am, sir. May I ask what did you do to me?¡±


    ¡°You have worms in your stomach. I killed them with my fire spell.¡±


    The farmed widened his eyes. It was worms all this time? He did not know that a worm could stay inside the stomach.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want this to happen again, I suggest you heat the water before you drink it. Don¡¯t drink it directly from the river or any water source. Also, if you can, find a container, put a cloth on the container, and put pebbles on top of it. After that you can pour water over the pebbles and into the container. Still, if you want to be truly safe, heat the water with fire.¡±


    The farmer noted everything the boy said in his mind. ¡°Thank you for this knowledge, sir.¡±


    ves generally didn¡¯t know anything except their own profession. If they were a farmer, then farming was the only thing they know. Who bother to teach ves things about politics?


    Aldred nodded and looked for other warmer who had the same problem. He killed the worms inside their body and told them how to filter water. Mary did not say anything and merely followed him.


    After they were done, Aldred and Mary continued their jogging.


    ¡°Why do you spend your time helping them, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°When you are at your lowest, won¡¯t you feel so relieved when someonee and pull your hand to get up?¡±


    Mary recalled her lowest moment. It was the day when her parents decided to arrange a marriage for her. She hated the idea of her freedom being taken. That was when stories about the empress spread wide, and she was pulled out of despair. She ran away and became a warrior. Now she was a free woman, and she¡¯d stay here to make sure every woman ,just like her, to be free of making their own choices.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good kid, Aldred. I wonder who¡¯s your parents are.¡± She really did wanted to know about his parents, but she felt like she shouldn¡¯t dug too deep.


    Aldred simply shook his head. A few weeks ago he might have said his father was the strongest being alive and show it off, but he got humbled now. ¡°They¡¯re good parents, and I love them with all my heart.¡±


    Mary smiled. The boy grew so fast. It felt like yesterday he sulked andined about the training during the travel.


    After a few hours, they arrived at the barrack again. Bartrem and the rest were swinging their sword.


    ¡°You need to train your stamina more, Soldier Aldred. Don¡¯t be left behind again.¡±


    The boy nced at Bartrem. He understood that Bartrem was just protecting him. Pharder¡¯s men might watching them helping the farmers and marked them as spies of the empress. He did not want to give the farmers a bad time.


    ¡°Apologize, sir.¡± Aldred grabbed the sword and started swinging.


    Bartrem was impressed that the boy understood his meaning immediately. He expected the boy to throw a small tantrum and say that he was just helping the farmer, and then Bartrem would scold him about it.


    The boy exceeded his expectation.


    Mary approached him. ¡°Why are you training your sword? Shouldn¡¯t you practice your magic instead?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I need endurance to survive.¡±


    Mary and Bartrem smiled. The boy had now grown to be a true soldier.


    [New title received: Tough Boy]


    Someone came to Bartrem and informed him that the brigade will tomorrow. The enemy made an outpost on the border again.


    Aldred¡¯s heart thumped. Was he nervous or excited? It might be both.


    After training for the whole day, Bartrem decided it was enough. They had their clothes drenched in sweat, so they hang it on a wooden hanger. Aldred put his small clothes among the big ones. Then he was shocked to see a bra fell on his clothes.


    With widened eyes he looked at Mary. ¡°Mar¡­Mary. What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I want to take a bath first. Let¡¯s go.¡± Mary grabbed his hand.


    The soldiers looked away when they noticed that Mary was half-naked. But the image of her busty chest got stuck in their mind. Their cheeks turned red just by imagining it.


    ¡®Why is she naked?!¡¯


    Even Aldred started to blush because the soldiers were blushing. Mary got him inside a public bathroom made out of bamboo. And let him just say the experience was wonderful. A lot of fondling and sucking during that bath scene which made the experience even more amazing.


    After they were done, Mary and Aldred entered the barrack to sleep.


    Sophia peeked from behind the wall with a naughty smile on her face. She giggled. ¡°I am such a bad girl. Disrupting their sleep before a battle is the most evil thing. Hihihi.¡±


    She raised her staff. ¡°Dreamcaller,¡± she called its name. ¡°Make them restless.¡±


    A wave of copper-like particles floated like butterflies to the barrack. Suddenly, something long and thick pierced out from the rooftop and elongated far into the sky.


    Sophia widened her eyes. She knew exactly what that was. And she only had one question. ¡°Will it fit in?¡±

 Chapter 27 I Must Fight!

    ¡°Why is there a hole in the ceiling again?!¡± Bartrem stared at the soldiers one by one as they stood straight beside their bed. Aldred was standing too with Mary behind him.


    Bartrem approached a soldier. He noticed dark bags under their eyes. ¡°I told you there will be a battle today. Why are you staying upte?¡±


    The soldiers looked at each other. Aldred looked down. Yesterday, he could not fell asleep and greatly aroused. It was weird. He did not know why that happened. He tried sucking the milk from Mary¡¯s breast to relief the sensation but it did not for the whole night.


    So, just like the other soldiers, he had dark bags under his eyes as well. Hisrades could not possibly said that they got aroused all night. That would be too embarrassing.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, sir.¡±


    Bartrem snorted. He looked at the ceiling. Who the hell made this hole. It happened yesterday, and now it happened again. Was it one of Pharder¡¯s men? What were their intention in creating holes in the ceiling?


    ¡°Prepare yourself and eat some breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    The soldiers did their usual routine; wear the shirts, don the armor, and strode out of the barrack. They went for the cafeteria where the soldiers eat. Pressure toon II had their own ce at the very quiet corner. The other soldiers gave them a side-mocking nce.


    A total outcast.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred did not expect it would be that bad. He followed Bartrem walking to the table and sat down. Mary sat beside him.


    ¡°Will it be the usual nd soup and hard bread?¡± Aldred asked. He regretted asking it because the atmosphere was already depressing enough.


    The server came with a tray of tes. He put down of what Aldred expect to be baby food but wasn¡¯t. It was roasted chicken with vegetables and rice, dressed with curry on the side. Steam came out of the bowl. It smelt so nice. His stomach growled just by looking at it.


    ¡°This is new,¡± Mary said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that good, Aldred?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°All this time we have never been served something like this before. Did Pharder died?¡±


    ¡°If he died, then this fort would be run over,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start eating?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes. Eat quickly. We gather at the south gate after that.¡±


    Aldred nodded and grabbed his bowl. The smell became stronger. He grabbed a wooden spoon and scoop in the rice, meat, and curry. His eyes stared at the food. It was unbelievable that he could be so happy by looking at what should be a mediocre food back in his floating castle. Maybe this was what called being grateful.<sub></sub>


    He put the spoon in his mouth. His mouth jerked, and blew the heat out. The rice was too hot for him.


    ¡°You have to be careful, Aldred. Let me feed you.¡± Mary took the spoon and put the food in her mouth. She chewed, and then kissed Aldred before inserting the food in.


    ¡®Ay, yo what!?¡¯ Aldred widened his eyes as Mary inserted the food in his throat. Her tongue moved around in his mouth as it pushed the food inside. It felt smooth and sweet. His lips moved by itself and suck it on her tongue. He gulped, pulling the food inside and making more room for their throat to y.


    Mary liked how small and cute Aldred¡¯s tongue was, so she continued to y with it.


    Theirrades watching this forget about the food and stared in a daze. Jeffery blushed when he looked at this scene.


    Bartrem scratched his head while pressing his lips against each other.


    Mary pulled her tongue out. A sticky saliva connected from her tongue to his. ¡°Is the food still hot?¡±


    ¡°It was good.¡±


    ¡°Want me to feed you again?¡±


    Why not. He only lived once. Or twice in his case. Mary considered herself to be his mother, then why not be her son? It was okay having more than one mom.


    Mary fed him again the same as earlier. She did this until Aldred¡¯s bowl was empty.


    Bartrem cleared his throat. ¡°Since everyone is done. Let¡¯s gather at the south gate.¡±


    Aldred said his goodbye to Mary. She could not go with him on the battlefield because Pharder told her to guard the fort. Everyone knew the captain just want to prevent her from protecting the toon.


    The cafeteria was located in the Winesquare district. There were three district within the fort; Fogpark in the west, Elm Orchard in th east, and Winesquare in the south.


    Soldiers from other toon, andpanies jogged their way to the south gate. Most of them were squires with thin steel armor. Because Winesquare was close to the south gate, it did not take them long to arrive. Magicians ran along with them with their sport-type robe that stuck close to their body and only went below their knee slightly. Under the robe was long trouser, covering the whole legs.


    It certainly enabled more movement than the robe he used to see in movies.


    They arrived at the south gate. The soldiers here only numbered about three hundred. With such numbers, the army did not seem to n for an all out attack. So probably just a little skirmish.


    Skirmish that took lives.


    Under the High-Knight¡¯smand, the army marched forward. Their target was the same like before; defeat the enemy and destroy the outpost. The enemy was quite persistent in building that outpost.


    Just like before, the two sides met a few hundred meters away from each other.


    ¡°Jasuce!¡±


    ¡°Jabuto!¡±


    BOOM!


    ¡°That¡¯s our signal! Attack!¡± Bartrem led the charge. He pulled his sword from his waist, making the sound of screeching metal. He put his fiery gaze forward. ¡°Brace yourself!¡±


    He bashed against the enemy formation. Aldred was following behind him. He summoned his undead. They stepped out of from the dark mist and charged forward. He had neen undead now. They wereprised of ogres, wolves, and humans.


    An enemy soldier ran towards the undead ogre and shed at its left shoulder. The ogres growled as the wounded shoulder regenerated.


    The soldier widened his eyes. ¡°Impossible! You vile creature should be damned by our prayer!¡±


    The ogres did not care about the crap he said and mmed the man¡¯s head with its club. The nails on club gnashed through the man¡¯s face, killing him in an instant.


    [EXP +350]


    Aldred took a deep breath when he saw the corpse fell to the ground. ¡®I am a soldier now,¡¯ he told himself. ¡®I must fight. I must kill or I will trouble my friend.¡¯


    An enemy knight charged towards him and swung his sword towards Aldred. He panicked and closed his eyes. Another knight came from the side and blocked the attack. It was Bartrem. ¡°If you cannot kill for yourself, then at least kill for yourrades, boy. None of us really have the time to save your ass every time.¡±


    Aldred nodded. He had to kill. He had to fight. He did not want to, but he had to. With a resolved roar, he charged upon a man and sted his chest with a jet of meing out of his palm. He willed for the undead toe to his aid. They came towards him and protected him from all sides. ¡°You guys protect my blind spot while I fight.¡±


    Something told him that the undead understood hismand, and so he attacked, charging forward and pointing with his index finger.


    ¡°Fire bullet.¡±


    A me the shape and size of a small bullet shot forward. It nged against the armor. The soldier turned to look at him, frowning. The man shed to the side, killing one of the soldier on Aldred¡¯s side, before making his way towards the boy.


    ¡°So you are the master of these vile creatures. May our god, Zalous, shine the light of hope upon your soul. You¡¯re a young boy, so it is most likely your sin will be forgiven.¡± The man¡¯s sword was long and thick, edged on both sides.


    It cut through Aldred¡¯s left shoulder. He fell on his back. Aldred looked at the silhouette of the man raising the sword high.


    ¡°Pray that you¡¯d born as the worshiper of Zalous in your next life.¡±


    Blood sttered.

 Chapter 28 Mareona

    ¡°Stay away from that boy!¡± A woman¡¯s voice shouted.


    Arge de shed at the man¡¯s chest, making him roar in pain, and took a few steps back. A group of female warriors in squire armor stood in front of him.


    One of them turned around. She had a petite build and a cute face. ¡°Are you okay, boy?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I am fine, Thank you.¡±


    She helped him stand up. ¡°My name is Mareona, I am the knight of Red Rose toon I. How did a little boy like you end up on this battlefield?¡±


    Aldred was about to answer before, Mareona interrupted him.


    ¡°Oh, I know. You must be here to hit on me. Hehe. You¡¯re cute, so I will take care of you.¡± She kissed his left cheek. ¡°Now stay behind me, boy. I will take care of this man for you.¡±


    The enemy soldier gnashed his teeth as he stared at the Red Rose toon. A huge gash of wound streamed out blood from the left shoulder to his right waist. It was a wonder how he still stand on both feet with that wound.


    ¡°Women?¡± The man said. ¡°The Ceraisian Empire is a true heretic, letting women go to the battlefield. What are they thinking?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with having women on the battlefield?¡± Mareona red at the man. Her gaze was that of a fierce predator.


    The man snorted. ¡°You are soft and kind creatures. Your ce is at home with the children while we men go to the battlefield and die for your peace. That is how it is supposed to be.¡±


    ¡°And who you think you are to decide how I live my life?¡± Mareona stepped forward. The sword on her right hand sheened with sharpness. ¡°I am not a doll you can tie to a string and move around. I am a person. I can do whatever the fuck I want.¡±


    ¡®Wow, she¡¯s so fierce,¡¯ Aldred thought. At one moment she was a kind, lovely, beautiful big sister, now she was a lioness out for prey.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°It is not me who decides this, but Zalous the God of Hope. When your husband went to the battlefield, it is your job as a wife to pray and hope for his safe return. But here you are. Fighting and risking your life on the battlefield, leaving your child to tend for themselves.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case then you can fuck your own god!¡±


    A sword stabbed through the man¡¯s chest, and out from the back. The man opened his eyes wide. Blood came out of his mouth. Mareona pulled her sword and spun along with her de.


    The head fell to the ground.


    Mareona walked back to him. ¡°There. I killed him for you. Now give me a kiss.¡± She grabbed his face and kissed both of his cheeks.¡±


    Aldred was overwhelmed by the barrage of kisses. It was to the point that he couldn¡¯t breathe.


    Mareona giggled. ¡°You¡¯re in Pressure toon II right?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯re actually a new toon here, so will you show me aroundter?¡±


    ¡°You guys are new here?¡± Aldred asked. They seemed so used in battle.


    Mareona stabbed another man that came from the side. ¡°Yep. So go on a date with me,¡± She said as she shed a man¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Ohh¡­ Okay.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Great!¡± She looked at him. Her sword went through a throat. ¡°Soter after the battle?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Perfect!¡± She kissed him on the lips and then rushed towards the enemy line. ¡°Red Rose! Spill blood for me! I am having a dateter!¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek. An undead ogre looked at him. He shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t say no, can¡¯t I?¡±


    Bartrem was fighting through the enemy line. Aldred approached with his undead. He ordered them to assist hisrades.


    ¡°Let me help,¡± Aldred said. He fired a few fire bullets at a man¡¯s face. The man fell to the ground.


    [EXP +385]


    ¡°Good job, Aldred!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Aldred smiled. Then he felt theck of sleep strike his eyes. He felt weak, the excitement in his blood disappeared. The other soldier felt that too. They still had dark bags under their eyes. The weakness slowed their advancement, and it made the enemy push them back.


    ¡°Fuck! This is why I told you to get some sleep! Retreat!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Suddenly, their stomach growled, and it felt like something squeezed it.


    The pain distracted them from the enemy which they took the chance to attack.


    Bartrem frowned. He felt his stomach rumbled abnormally. Why all of a sudden? Then he widened his eyes in realization. ¡°It was the food! Those fucker! I know it was too good to be true.¡±


    Aldred felt pain in his stomach too. He shot a fire arrow at the enemy as he held the pain. Their retreat became rather slow and painful because of that.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Simond grinned as he and his men knocked onto Pressure toon, making them fall to the ground as he charged forward.


    ¡°Fuck! Watch where you are going!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Simond did not reply and kept going forward.


    ¡°Cih!¡± Bartrem was about to save hisrades until he saw Aldred and his undead came to their aid. Joseph and Jeffery also struck the enemy with better technique than before.


    Joseph¡¯s movement was that of a graceful soldier. And every attack was like a vicious snake, with each swing taking a man¡¯s life. On the other hand, Jeffery used his body to create powerful momentum. If his attack failed to cut the armor, it¡¯d knocked the enemy so hard they spat out blood.


    Aldred sted all the soldiers nearby, protecting hisrades.


    [EXP +385]


    [EXP +420]


    [EXP +350]


    [EXP +490]


    They stood up and retreated to safety. Bartrem came to them and nodded. ¡°Good job, You three.¡±


    They retreated to the archer formation and sat on the ground. They groaned and held their stomach in pain.


    ¡°They put something in the food,¡± Bartrem said, grimacing.


    ¡°Those fucker!¡± One of the soldiers said. ¡°How are we going to eat from now on. We cannot eat in the cafeteria anymore after this.¡±


    Bartrem let out a breath. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We shall hunt for our own food. The Champs river is filled with fish. It¡¯s just food, don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±


    Aldred nodded then looked at the floating, transparent screen.


    [You have level up]


    [Level 19 -> 20]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 55/55


    Level: 20


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fireball: Lv. 2


    -me Jet: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 9


    -Vitality: 11


    -Intelligence: 36


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 2


    Skill points: 34


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 29 Fishing

    After the battle, Pressure toon II walked to the river with a sword.


    There were quite a lot of people with torn ck clothes, and charcoal-colored strings tied to their shoulders. They bend their back and put their hand inside the water, looking for fish. One man snapped forward and caught a big fish. He made it look so easy.


    Bartrem and the rest didn¡¯t wear their armor. They didn¡¯t even wear any shirts, so their muscles werepletely exposed. This made the fisherman look at them in awe. Aldred smiled and started flexing his muscles. This was the result of his hard work with Mary.


    Maryughed from behind. ¡°You¡¯re muscles are not developed enough to show off, boy.¡±


    He smiled like he got caught stealing candy and scratched his head. Aldred took a look at her figure. Apanying her busty breasts were the defined muscles on her arms. The toned biceps strengthened her forearms from all the sword-swinging, and powerful yet smooth legs made her look like an angelic warrior. Beautiful yet fierce. Rough yet graceful. That was Mary.


    ¡°Does any of you know how to fish?¡± Bartrem asked.


    The soldiers shook their heads. Most of them were the son of a farmer. The soldiers in the other toon were the sons of former knights, but the Pressure toon II was treated as a dumpster for outcasts. A soldier without knight heritage was usually frowned upon because they think it will weaken the army. This was after all an era of apprenticeship where children learned from their parents how to do things.


    ¡°We can ask them,¡± Aldred pointed out.


    The fisherman scurried away, seemingly scared. They hopped off like they did not hear what he said, and looked for fish when they were far enough.


    ¡°Why are they running?¡±


    ¡°Soldier bullied the ves and the peasants a lot,¡± Jeffery said, his eyes distant like he recalled the past. ¡°That is why they are scared of us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We are soldiers,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We can adapt to anything. Catching a fish is easier than killing a man.¡±


    They walked, feet through the grass before it entered the water. It sparkled under the light of the morning sun. Aldred on the other hand test the water first by dipping his toes. Like the chilling air, the water was cold. He shook just by feeling it. The hair on his body tensed.<sub>-.</sub>


    Mary slowly entered the water. As she descended, the water rises to her knee. ¡°Come, Aldred. It¡¯s not that cold.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath and blew it out. He dipped his feet all the way and stepped forward. The water went above his waist. He was shaking in cold.


    Maryughed. ¡°Come here. I will make you warm.¡±


    She grabbed him in and hugged him. Her slender body mold against him. She smelled nice; of flower and honeydew. It was delightful.


    Mary smiled happily and caressed his hair. She looked at the boy as he sunk in her breast. For some reason, she started to recall that night when Aldred sucked in her blood. She wanted that feeling again. It was weird that she even wanted it in the first ce, but that was the truth.


    She lifted her shirt.


    Mary was a beautiful and charming woman with a wonderful-sized breast. Her curvy waist of an hourssplemented by her round butt would make her a fantastic housewife.


    So when she lifted her shirt. The fisherman that avoided looking at them was now locking their eyes in her direction. Aldred looked at the pair of smooth divine rounded breasts and instinctively grabbed one with his hand. Mary pulled his head and let him suck on her right nipple.


    As the warm and sweet liquid entered his throat, his right hand sunk in her left breast. It was a little firmer than usual, but when he squeezed, milk squirted out.


    This went on only for a short moment because they had to get some fish.


    Aldred coughed. ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡±


    The fisherman looked away again, though the image earlier was carved inside their mind and will never forget until the end of time.<sub></sub>


    Joseph raised his sword and stabbed the water. The fish below twisted and dodged the sword.


    The soldiers all tried to stab the fish, but they never got one.


    Aldred summoned his undead. The undead ogres, wolves, and humans hunted for the fish. But theirck of intellect was much to be desired. Same as the soldiers, they could not get a single fish.


    ¡°Let me try my magic. Fire bullet.¡±


    The water sshed. Aldred approached and looked closer, but there was no fish. To the side, he saw one again. He took a deep breath and aimed with his index finger. ¡°Pew pew¡±


    Two fire bullets went deep into the water, but the fish was long gone.


    ¡°Gahhh,¡± Aldred was frustrated. ¡°This is harder than I thought.¡±


    Bartrem swept the water off his forehead. ¡°Soon we¡¯ll master it. Keep going.¡±


    The soldiers started to attack more viciously. They ran at the fish and mmed the water, trying to knock them out.


    Aldred with his unlimited mana power spammed his skills at the fish. ¡°Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew.¡±


    Water sshed around them. The fisherman got scared and ran farther. It was like a battlefield. They wondered if these mene here to fish or fight.


    After a few hours, the soldiers stopped, yet not a single fish got caught.


    Aldredy on the river. His body floated as the sun shone on his eyes. A silhouette came. It was a boy. Maybe the same age as him.


    Meekly, he said: ¡°I can help,¡±


    Aldred stood up. Unlike him, the boy was skinny, although his forearms seemed toned as it held the small spear. A particr detail that he noticed was the left hand. The boy did not have one.


    ¡°Do you perhaps know a farmer named Bernard?¡±


    The boy nodded. ¡°He is my father.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I am Juhel.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°My name is Aldred. Your father told me about you. So you like spearfishing right?¡±


    Juhel nodded. ¡°He also told me about you.¡±


    That was the reason he dared to approach the soldier. His father told him that a young soldier helped in curing his father¡¯s disease. It had been years since he was in pain. Especially before bed. His father would sweat and hardly get any sleep. Butst night, his father slept like a pig. If not for him dragging his father to the farm, the soldiers would punish him.


    Juhel looked at his left hand that wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    He shook his head, removing the terrible memory.


    ¡°Aldred, ask him how he can help us,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Right,¡± Juhel started. ¡°I see that I can be of help to you.¡± He picked his words carefully. If he said that they looked like they needed his help, then that might be an insult to the soldiers. He might be kicked, or hit in the face for that.


    Aldred noticed that the boy was very tense. ¡°Yep, we really need your help. We¡¯ve been hunting the fish like a madman, but we still got none.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Let me show you how I do it.¡± The boy moved slowly to a nearby fish, only creating a slight ripple in the water. ¡°When you are near, don¡¯t move so quickly as that will scare the fish. Instead, slowly dip your weapon into the water. Put it close enough to the fish, then.¡±


    Swoosh!


    Juhel pulled the spear out of the water, revealing a fish pping its tail as it tried to escape.


    The soldiers immediately tried it. They dipped their sword and sunk it near the fish. Then they stabbed.


    All of them missed.


    ¡°When you stab, don¡¯t tense your arm. Be rxed as possible.¡±


    They tried it again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close to the fish.¡±


    Aldred wanted to try. He dipped his finger near the fish. And then with a low whisper; ¡°Pew.¡±


    The fire bullet pierced through the fish before it could run away. Aldred was excited. He grabbed the fish and raised it up high. ¡°I got the fish!¡±


    The other soldiers got motivated and moved more carefully. They took a low but deep breath, before stabbing into the fish.


    ¡°I got it!¡±


    ¡°I caught the fish! Hahaha!¡±


    The soldiers were excited when they got the fish. Juhel was surprised by their reaction. It was just catching fish, but seeing them all got excited made him happy.


    Aldred turned around and looked at Juhel. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The soldiers smiled at him and said their thanks.


    Juhel widened his eyes. He couldn¡¯t believe there wille a day when a soldier would thank him. He always saw them as scary monsters. But their genuine smile was right in front of his eyes.


    His eyes got wet, then tears trickled down. He sobbed and hid his face. ¡°I should be thanking you. You cured my father. It¡¯s been years since he has a good sleep. You make his life much easier now. Thank you.¡±


    Bartrem and the soldiers had always wondered what Aldred was doing when he got left behind during the jogging. So it was helping the farmer. And that farmer was this boy¡¯s father.


    Aldred smiled and held his shoulder. ¡°Hey, Juhel. Let¡¯s be friends.¡±


    The boy looked at him still in tears. He nodded immediately.

 Chapter 30 Fishing 2

    Aldred was having fun spearfishing with hisrades until someone shouted for his name.


    ¡°Aldred!¡±


    He turned to the side and saw a petite and beautiful woman pouting with both hands on her waist. She wore a simple shirt that revealed her smooth belly and tight pants with a rope around it. On her shoulder was a yellow string.


    ¡°Did you forget about our date?¡±


    Aldred felt panicked. He didn¡¯t think thedy was serious at that time. Mareona strode withrge strides. Her feet sshed in the water as she towered over him. She raised her fist and knocked his head.


    ¡°Ow. That hurt.¡± Aldred rubbed his head.


    ¡°Aldred, who is this?¡± Mary asked. She looked at the woman with a polite smile.


    Mareona smiled back. ¡°I am Aldred¡¯s girlfriend. Isn¡¯t that right, boy?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Maybe.¡±


    She knocked his head again. ¡°What do you mean maybe. You took my first kiss already.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his head in pain again. ¡°But it was you who kissed first.¡±


    Knock!


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going on a date right now. Show me around the area.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I cannot. I must help my friend catch fish.¡±


    Mareona looked at the soldiers stabbing their swords into the water. The swords pierced through the fist as it wiggled around. Carefully, they put the fish inside the basket.


    ¡°That looks fun. I will help you.¡±


    And so Aldred taught Mareona how to fish with her swords. He remembered what Juhel taught him perfectly. ¡°You have to slowly move forward, and then dip your sword into the water.¡±


    ¡°Like this?¡±


    Aldred shook his head and grabbed her hand. His hand suddenly slip and caught her breast instead. He blinked as he squeezed a few times. It was soft, and squishy.


    Knock!


    ¡°Ow. That was an ident.¡±


    Mareona snorted while her cheeks turned red. ¡°You naughty boy. Quick. Teach me how to fish properly.¡±


    Aldred approached her and grabbed her hand. ¡°Put it closer to the fish like this. Just imagine that rock right there is a fish.¡± He grabbed her waist. His hands slipped a little to her butt.


    Mareona felt something wrong, but Aldred¡¯s serious look convinced her otherwise.


    Meanwhile, inside Aldred¡¯s head. ¡®Man, this butt is to die for.¡¯


    He cleared his throat, and then guided her whole body to rx while stabbing the rock. ¡°And that is how you do it.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Mareona asked. She nced at a soldier with powerful arms and big chest. It was Jeffery. ¡°Hey you.¡±


    Jeffery looked up at her, blushed then continued looking down. ¡°Yes?¡± he nervously replied.


    ¡°Can you teach me how to fish?¡±


    ¡°Uhmm¡­ It was Juhel who taught us how to fish, but Aldred is the one who fixed our technique.¡±


    Mareona looked back at him. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    Aldred raised his head proudly. ¡°You might not know this, but I am a genius myself. I can through anything with a nce.¡±


    Mareona smiled and raised her sword. ¡°Then can you see through this?¡± She moved like a snake snapping onto a target. Her sword cut through the water without obstruction and stabbed into a fish. She showed Aldred the fish with a proud smile.


    Aldred narrowed his eyes and nodded a few times. ¡°Yellow panties, bright blue bra. Interesting choice.¡±


    Mareona knocked his head again.


    ¡°Ow. What was that for?¡±


    ¡°How do you even know that?¡±


    ¡°I told you I can see through anything.¡±


    ¡°I thought you mean see through my skill.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that you misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°Damn, you little perverted boy!¡± She started chasing him.


    Aldred started running. The fish around them scattered. Water sshed.


    Mary looked at Aldred with a smile. It felt like seeing her own son having fun, sadly he had to grow too soon. But why did his parents put so much expectation on him? Aldred was a smart and talented kid, but putting them directly on the battlefield was another matter.


    ¡®Maybe they protected him from the shadows,¡¯ Mary thought. She still recalled that blue fairy who appeared asionally during her travel with Aldred.


    At that time, Aldred was still azy boy who had to be spanked every day. He was also goofy and perverted kid.


    Mareona caught Aldred and they fell into the water. The boy came out of the water waving around a thin piece of yellow cloth.


    ¡°I got a treasure!¡± Aldred shouted happily.


    ¡°No! That¡¯s my underwear!¡±


    PLAK!


    Mary giggled. Well, he was still the same perverted kid as before.


    ¡­


    Aldred¡¯s cheeks were swollen red as he sat down on the grass. He looked at Mareona who gave her a sharp re. The fish filled up the twenty baskets in front of them. All of them were freshly caught. They look so meaty, colorful, and delicious. They weren¡¯t even cooked, and yet, Aldred was already salivating at it.


    Bartrem led the soldiers in creating the fire, and then each of them stabbed one fish by the mouth with a stick.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Mareona said. ¡°You guys, are just going to eat the fish like that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Aldred asked. He couldn¡¯t wait to eat the fish because he was so hungry.


    ¡°We need to enrich the vor.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°With spices right?¡±


    ¡°No. With flowers.¡± She showed a handful of purple and white flowers.


    Where did she even get that? Did she pull them out of her butt hole or something?


    ¡°How can we increase the vor with flowers?¡±


    Mareona approached him and squeezed the flower above his fish as it got roasted above the fire. Her slender fist produced purple and white liquid as it dripped and washed over the fish.


    ¡°Try it,¡± Mareona said.


    Aldred was skeptical, but he bit into the soft meat. And that was when he truly experienced the taste of heaven. The vor of the fish enriched that it tingled every atom of his tongue. It tasted a bit sweet, salty, and juicy,bined with many other vors that could only be considered divine.


    ¡°Mareona, this is so good,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Where did you get all this flower?¡±


    Mareona reached out inside her pants and pull out another handful of flowers.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow in confusion. Did¡­ Did she just really pull out flowers from her ass hole? That was impossible. His godly eyes should have detected them.


    ¡°Here if you want to have more.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ no thanks. This is already enough.¡±


    Aldred looked at the fish and wanted to decide whether or not he wanted to eat a fish that had been washed over with flowers. Flowers that came from her¡ª


    Well you know.


    Mareona handed the flowers to everyone, and they squeezed the liquid onto their fish.


    Aldred shrugged and decided to finish his fish. He gulped a big chunk of meat and then felt something stuck in his throat. It was a bone. Aldred gagged. He thumped his chest repeatedly, trying to get it out.


    Mary immediately came to the rescue. She went behind him and pressed his stomach with both hands. The bone came out immediately.


    Mary looked at him worriedly and gave him a canteen of water to drink from. Aldred sighed in relief after the pain in his throat disappeared.


    ¡°Thank you, Mary.¡±


    She caressed his head with a smile. ¡°You have to be more careful next time.¡±


    Then gave him a kiss.

 Chapter 31 Pongo The Penguin

    A few days have passed, Aldred just realized that he hadn¡¯t do much in the Divine Dimension


    When he entered his dimension. The crops already grew. It still looked like how he left it before. Blue atmosphere, calming river, and sprawling trees.


    [Would you like to increase the space by ten meter]


    Oh, Aldred almost forgot about this one, but why only ten meter? Shouldn¡¯t be ten?


    [¡­ User can expand the divine dimension at Silver Rank by 100 meter. At Gold Rank, user can expand the space by 1 Kilometer]


    ¡®So the higher my rank, the more space I can expand.¡¯


    [Yes. At Gold Rank, user also received the option; Teleportation Points]


    That intrigued Aldred. ¡®Exin more to me.¡¯


    [User will receive 3 Teleportation Points that can be ced anywhere. When the user entered the divine dimension, user can teleport to that Teleportation Points]


    ¡®Wow. That¡¯s awesome! Alright, now increase the space for me.¡¯


    [Increasing space by 10 meter¡­ Sess. Congrattion for reaching the copper rank. Processing reward;¡­]


    ¡®I got a reward? Nice. I wonder what will it be.¡¯


    [Reward obtained: Pongo the penguin]


    ¡®What?¡¯


    A small stupid-looking penguin materialized and looked up at him. ¡°What you looking at, bitch?¡±


    ¡°Fuck. You have a shitty mouth for a little penguin.¡±


    ¡°Who you call a penguin?¡± The penguin pped its fins/wings/hands. Let¡¯s just call it hands.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°You are pongo the penguin, not pongo the bitch.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! You have a shitty mouth yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who started first. Did you eat too much fish?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Your breath stinks.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°No, fuck you! Hey system. I don¡¯t want this shitty reward. I want a return. And somepensation for the emotional damage I got.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you. You think I am a pet that you can return?¡±


    Aldred ignored him and shouted at the sky. ¡°System! Get this little shit out of my sight.¡±


    [¡­]


    The penguin trembled in rage. ¡°Fuck! Check out my pro gamer move!¡± He dashed forward and shot towards Aldred with a high speed.


    The penguin narrowed his eyes. His target was as clear as the sun during the day¡ªhis crotch. Aldred just realized where the penguin was heading, and that was when he knew¡ª he¡¯ll be an eunuch.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Aldred screamed. ¡°You little shit! Come here!¡±


    The penguin throw up a wrench and mmed his left leg.


    ¡°OW! How the fuck did you get that?¡±


    ¡°Back in my early days, I am known as Rico the Demolition Master. I fought in a war called the Battle of Madagascar. You don¡¯t know how many penguins I killed with these hands, so you better be careful around me.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Fuck you and your Madagascar.¡± Aldred kicked the penguin to the sky.


    ¡°Shame on you! Penguin can fly! Dive attack!¡±


    The penguin performed a barrel roll and spun as it dived towards him.


    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re courting death!¡± He raised both of his fingers. ¡°Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew.¡±


    Fire bullets came at the penguin, but Pongo the penguin was a veteran in dive bombing an enemy. Thousands died upon his dive, and he had never missed his target. He dodged the fire bullets with such precision that only a master in the art of dodging couldprehend.


    He twisted to the side. Roll over. Butterfly style, Backstroke, doggy style, freestyle.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred activated his me jet and flew towards the penguin. Pongo was surprised that his enemy could fly as well, but he never backed down from a challenge.


    ¡°Bring it then!¡± Pongo shouted.


    ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯ll bring it to you!¡±


    They both crashed against each other with such speed that every beings in the multiverse felt something in their stomach.


    Their battle inspired many myth, and yet, no one knew who who the true victor was.


    Both of them fell to the ground,ying beside each other.


    They both got exhausted. Chest went up and down with sweats all over their body.


    ¡°You¡¯re not that bad,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You too,¡± Pongo said.


    Then they shook hands and became brother for life.


    Or at least, that was how it supposed to be.


    ¡°Fuck you! Monkey Peach Grabbing Ball Technique.¡± Aldred executed his technique with lightning speed.


    ¡°AHHH!¡± Pongo screamed.


    Aldred stood up with a smile as the penguin trembled in pain on the ground. He stepped on the penguin and stared at him. ¡°Your whole life has been written, and I have seen the end of it. And this is exactly it. Laying on the ground with my feet on your tiny little stomach.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Now be my ve or die!¡±


    Pongo the penguin gritted his teeth. ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Do you not fear death?¡±


    ¡°I never was, never is, and never will. The only fear I have is not taking a shit on your corpse one day.¡±


    ¡°Even in the face of death your mouth still stinks of shit.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I will give you fish if you be obedient.¡±


    Pongo narrowed his eyes and stared at him. Aldred stared back.


    ¡°You think a fish is enough to satisfy my ambition? My goal is beyond your understanding, mortal.¡±


    ¡°What about three fish every day?¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    Aldred rolled his eyes. He wanted to check his status and history, but nothing popped out. ¡°Tell me about you. Where do youe from. How did you be my reward.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I was doing a covert operation in trying to find the Russian super duper secret submarine in antarctic, then when I am about to throw up a super duper deep-sea bomb to make the super duper secret submarinee to the surface, a sh of light filled my sight, and here I am.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe a single word you say.¡±


    ¡°Hey, your brain, your choice. I am not going to judge.¡±


    ¡°The hell is that even mean?¡±


    ¡°It means you¡¯re stupid.¡±


    ¡°They should have called you Pongo the Piss Maker. Because you¡¯re pissing me off!¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say, Karen. Just don¡¯t call the manager on me.¡±


    Aldred got veins popped on his forehead. ¡°What about your power? You seem weak and useless.¡±


    The penguin made a look of ¡®are you underestimating my power?¡¯.  ¡°I am a tactical penguin, gically-modified by the best super duper secret scientist ever existed. My stomach is known to hold a myriads of super duper tactical weapons such used in super duper covert, secretive, and winky-winky operation.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s winky-winky operation?¡±


    ¡°I cannot say. I am gically super duper engineered not to say anything. In fact, I shouldn¡¯t be talking at all.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath, holding the urge to kick the penguin again. ¡°I still don¡¯t know about your power.¡±


    ¡°I just fought you to a draw. Do we need other proof?¡±


    ¡°Fuck! I went easy on you!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Because I¡¯m a tactical super-gically-modified Spheniscidae, I am mostly tasked to obtain valuable items and information through covert and secretive operation.¡±


    ¡°You talk too much. What item have you been stealing?¡±


    The penguin snorted. ¡°Behold, my collection.¡±


    He vomited a what seemed to be human feces.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a human feces.¡±


    So it really was a human feces. ¡°Why would you steal something like that?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. This feces is manufactured by a controversial woman code named: Amber Hard. This feces is supposed to be a powerful proof that she indeed stain the bed, but because of you, the proof has to disappear along with me. Now the case has to be prolonged with objection hearsay every time our ally speak.¡±


    Aldred sighed heavily. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    The penguin vomited out a piece of paper.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the list for the talent and skill of a woman named: Kim Jardhasian.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s nk.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Stop making me angry. Where is the weapon? Since you are so tactical, you must have a tactical nuke or something.¡±


    ¡°Why would I have such a thing?¡±


    Aldred red at him. ¡®You have all this useless things, yet you don¡¯t have a single weapon? Should I roast this penguin and eat him?¡¯


    ¡°Enough about all this tactical bullshit, man. Where the fish at?¡±

 Chapter 32 The Jovial Harlequin

    Aldred returned to the real world with Pongo in tow. The dumb penguin wanted to eat fish, and he had to deliver on his promises. Mary was still sleeping. Her breast pressed on one side, making it bigger than normal. He did not want to wake her up, so he tip-toed from the bed.


    He opened the barrack door and the morning shine greeted him with its refreshing wind. He smiled, enjoying the sensation.


    Then he saw someone looking at him, pouting.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Mareona asked. Her petite body looked amazing under the tight she wore. And the outline of her smooth and soft breast threatened to burst as crossed her arms, pressing her chest up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember we have any n.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Every day is a n.¡± She gazed to the side and noticed a penguin. Her eyes lit up. ¡°What creature is this?¡±


    She picked Pongo up and pressed him to her chest. ¡°You¡¯re so cute. How can something like you exist?¡±


    Aldred sneered. Just wait when she heard the penguin talk. She¡¯d definitely beat the penguin to death. Kekekek.


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Awhh, you¡¯re so cute.¡± Mareona barraged him with kisses.¡±


    Aldred bit his lips. How dare this penguin pretended to be cute in front of Mareona!


    Pongo side nced at him and sneered. He then rubbed his head on her breast, and then looked at him mockingly.


    ¡°Mareona, don¡¯t touch him. I found him stuck inside the hole of a toilet, and have not cleaned him yet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really. So that¡¯s why he smells so fishy.¡±


    Aldred smiled as he grabbed Pongo from her. Pongo gritted its beak. Just when he got a nice pillow to rub on, his owner just had to disrupt him.


    ¡°Come on, Aldred. Let¡¯s take a walk inside the fort.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Aldred asked. The captain, Pharder, hated having women as a soldier, so every woman and those who supported women on the battlefield were thrown outside the fort. Just like the Pressure toon II, Red Rose toon I led by Mareona also had a barrack outside the fort. They were very close actually, divided by the southwest road.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Yes. Just ignore those haters. You will get used to it eventually.¡±


    They walked to the gate. The two male guards looked at them but said nothing. They raised an eyebrow when they see Pongo following them.


    They walked through the busy streets of cksmiths pounding on steel, and carriages going in and out of the gate. Soldiers jogged with their Knights at the lead. They went outside the fort to train. Most people preferred to train outside the busy fort. The fort seemed to focus on military construction such as housing, storage, and cafeteria. There was no market, or merchants, as everyone here was military personnel. But there was some small exception.


    The inn in front of them was one such exception.


    The Jovial Harlequin.


    Mareona giggled. ¡°What a weird-sounding name for an inn.¡±


    The inn had no window, so when they entered, it was dimly lit. And instead of the usual torches, the pirs were embedded with ss beads that shone the room. Inside the ss beads, a small sapphire was inside. They look like marbles that he¡¯d used to y around with when he was a child. Their size was slightly bigger than his thumb.


    The inn was buzzing with people. Waitresses ran around nonstop, bringing wooden trays filled with tes of food and drinks. They put it on the table, and the customers cheered. A singer was singing on the stage ced in the center of the inn. Everyone happily listened to his song as he sang it like a master. His song described the message of the heart and soul of a person. This made the audience sympathize with the singer, and not only that his, rhyme was so good that even Pongo started to nod his head back and forth.


    ¡°Dadadada, it¡¯s the fucking G-O-double-y. Snoop Gayy!¡±


    ¡°Pussy thick, pussy slick, pussy flesh. She got a surgery in bangdesh¡­¡±


    Aldred started vibing to the song. He moved his head back and forth and raised his hand in the air. Mareona thought it was so much fun so she followed, moving her hips side to side and dancing around Aldred. Pongo the penguin jumped around them happily.


    ¡°Hands on¡¯ mi thigh then you ram inside me. Juice kept flooding like a tsunami.¡±


    The other people saw them and stood up before starting to dance.


    Mareona looked at him with a naughty smile as she danced around him.


    ¡°Call my mommy after you nuttin in me¡­¡±


    Aldred started vibing harder. The beautiful face of Mareona looked even more enchanting under the dimly light. Mareona also couldn¡¯t help herself but dance seductively. Her hips moved even harder. She even turned around and wiggled her full butt at Aldred.


    ¡°Wet my pussy like a melting ice¡­¡±


    She did not know what possessed her to do this. Her cheeks became rosy, but she did not want to stop. The song became louder and her dance became even more intense.


    Aldred danced as well. His eyes locked on her enchanting figure as it swayed to the left and right, beckoning him toe. Tempting him.


    Aldred put his hands on her waist. Mareona blushed, but she kept dancing. As the song became louder and louder, their dance became synchronized and more touchy. Aldred ran her hands around her butt and crotch.


    Mareona blushed even more. Aldred could feel it was wet down there. They continued to dance. Mareona softly moved her hands around Aldred¡¯s neck, and chest.


    Their body heated up. Aldred¡¯s heart thumped.


    Mareona lowered her face and closed her eyes. Aldred closed his eyes as well and approached her lips.


    Just as they were about to kiss, someone grabbed their shoulder.


    ¡°Both of you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    Aldred looked to the side, and noticed a middle-aged man around 182 CM tall, with a sword mark on his mouth. It was the same man who always disturb the Pressure toon II. It was Simond.


    Aldred was enraged. He hated this man to the core. If not for him, hisrades wouldn¡¯t have been in trouble during the battle.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you telling us what to do?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, shut your mouth, bo¡ª¡±


    Something came from the side. It was Mareona¡¯s fist. It moved like a hammer falling from the sky, casting judgment upon the sinner below.


    SLAM!


    Simond was thrown to the floor. His teeth fell. He looked at the woman in disbelief.


    ¡°How dare you ruin my date!¡±

 Chapter 33 Lekidaes Attack

    Simond stood up and red at them. He clenched his fist and snorted. ¡°Women don¡¯t belong here.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m staying. What you gonna do about it?¡±


    Aldred smiled. That punch was so satisfying. If he could, he wanted to punch Simond in the face personally. But he was fine with Mareona doing it for him.


    ¡°Good luck surviving on the battlefield,¡± Simond said before leaving the inn.


    Mareona put her hands on her waist. ¡°That guy pissed me off.¡±


    ¡°Believe me when I say he pissed me even more.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°If he dares to ruin my date again, I will skin him alive.¡± She sighed. ¡°It¡¯s noon. I have to train with my toon. Why don¡¯t we leave?¡±


    Aldred nodded. They both exited the inn. The music and songs were muted by the wall and door. They went to the southwest gate and stood still on the pathway.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to part way,¡± Mareona said.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Mareona hugged him. ¡°That was a good date. I am happy today. Let¡¯s do it again.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Aldred smiled, returning the hug. She smelled nice.


    Mareona released the hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running away and waving at him. Aldred waved back before he turned around and jogged back to his barrack.


    Hisrades had both of their arms on the ground, doing push up. He had never see them going to the inn, or having fun. All they did was train, eat, sleep, and repeat. Even after a battle, they would train the next day. He did not see the other soldiers doing the same thing as them. Was that why they could ram through the enemy formation so easily?


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mary called. She caressed his head. ¡°Where have you been. When I woke up, you were gone.¡±


    ¡°I went and y with Mareona.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Do you like her?¡±


    Aldred blushed, recalling what he did with her in the inn. It wasn¡¯t that dirty, but the music, the vibe, and her seductive dance made him shy nheless.


    ¡°She¡¯s nice to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Mary smiled and kissed his forehead. ¡°Then be nice to her too.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I will.¡± He smiled and tell her about the event earlier. ¡°Simond was punched by her earlier.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Mareona was so fierce. Simond couldn¡¯t even react before he fell on the floor.¡±


    Bartrem overheard their conversation but said nothing. Aldred thought it was weird. He expected the man to say something like ¡®serve that man right.¡¯ Or maybe Bartrem wouldugh about it. But he kept his calm and continue to train with his men.


    A few days more passed, and another battle came. This time it was within the thick forest. The leaves blocked the sunlight, casting shade upon the army as their armor rustled against each other.


    The army slowly moved in, using the bushes and trees as disguises. Bartrem looked ahead, his gaze serious. His bulky armor was much left to be desired in this covert battle. The army was currently in the Mnian Forest, located to the south of Ruandeurtin. Their mission was to find and ambush an enemy camp that was said to be nearby. Because they wanted to surprise the enemy, they had to do this slowly and carefully.


    But, being sneaky wasn¡¯t the only problem.


    ¡°Kakk!


    Bartrem stopped. The other toon also stopped in their track. Bartrem narrowed his eyes, and whispered; ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise.¡± Sweat trickled from his forehead.


    Sloth-like creatures hanging on the trunk and branches of the trees. They tilted their heads and smiled. Their face looked cute, but their long limbs and ws were nothing of the sort. They might be the most terrifying creatures if they were quick. But why was Bartrem so worried about these sloths?


    ¡°Pongo,¡± Pongo said, wondering why everyone was so quiet.


    ¡°Shit.¡± Bartrem brandished his sword. The other soldiers also looked up and pulled their swords out.


    The sloth-like creatures smiled at first, but then their expression turned vicious.


    ¡°KAKK!¡±


    They leaped like monkeys on steroids, reaching out with their long limbs. Their face looked scarier than a lion hunting its prey.


    Pressure toon II gritted their teeth and cut them down. Blood sttered on the tree trunks as more creatures jumped from the trees.


    ¡°There¡¯s too many of these lekidaes.¡±


    So they were not sloths, but lekidaes. A weird name for a weird creature. The sloth crawled on the ground. Their movement resembled those ghosts in horror movies.


    Aldred summoned his undead army. Twenty undeadprised of wolves, ogres, and humans rushed forward, brandishing their weapons of choice and mming them to the lekidaes.


    The lekidaes screeched in pain. Aldred did not stay still. He aimed with his fingers and shot fire bullets at them.


    ¡°Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew.¡±


    The fire bullets shot them down. A small burnt hole leaked out blood as the lekidaes fell down. They looked at Aldred with unwillingness and despair.


    ¡®Sorry little guy, but you left me with no choice,¡¯ Aldred fired a fire javelin at a target. The javelin went through a lekidae, then stabbed through another one before it got stuck into a tree trunk. He shot a fire arrow and it pierced through a creature¡¯s head.


    The javelin had more damage than the fire bullets and arrows, but its range wasn¡¯t that far. The fire bullet was more effective at close range, but it wouldn¡¯t kill an enemy if the target was too far. An arrow had a longer range and more damage, but it was hard to be urate.


    And because it was slower than the bullet, it could be dodged more easily.


    But Aldred used the skill interchangeably. When the enemy got close he sprayed them with fire bullets, when they were in mid-range, he fire javelin at them, and for long-distance, he used fire arrows.


    He spun around, aiming both fingers, summoning fire bullets, arrows, and javelins. The lekidaes fell one after another.


    Bartrem looked at him. The boy grew in strength so fast. It was around two weeks ago the boy just entered the Copper Rank, but he increased exponentially after that. He also noticed that the boy learned much faster during battle than in practice and training.


    What a terrifying talent, no wonder Mary, a Gold Rank, was sent here to protect him. He looked at the little creature that Aldred brought. Where did he find it?


    ¡°Pongo pongo pongo.¡± Pongo raised his weapon, a baguette, and mmed at the creature¡¯s head, sting it to pieces.


    ¡°PONGO!¡± he roared at the group of creatures, making them look at him in fear.

 Chapter 34 Served You Right!

    [EXP +180]


    [EXP +180]


    [EXP +180]


    [EXP +180]


    Aldred kept on firing the fire bullets and killed all the creatures in his sight. His undead squad bulled through the lekidaes, ttening their heads, and breaking their bones. The wolves rampaged, ripping their skins and flesh. His human undead on the other hand seemed much smarter. They used crude teamwork and formation to kill the most amount of monsters they can.


    Eventually, all the monsters died. It wasn¡¯t a hard battle. But the problem was not that.


    ¡°The enemy spotted us!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t give them any more time to prepare. Attack!¡±


    Bartrem stared at the retreating enemy and rushed towards them. The Pressure toon II ran behind him. Aldred and Pongo followed from behind. The rest of the army also charged forward,manded by the knights.


    They pushed through the forest. The river streamed south on their right side. Ahead, the enemy was retreating. A camp was farther away, around one hundred meters from them.


    ¡°That¡¯s their camp. Attack!¡±


    Pressure toon sped up. Aldred found himself speeding up as well. Archers positioned themselves in front of the camp.


    ¡°Watch out for those arrows!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    The archer released their finger. Arrows zipped into the air, arched, and were about to rain upon them.


    Aldred raised both of his index fingers and fired at the arrows. The fire bullets knocked the arrows away. They snapped or deflected, before falling harmlessly to the side.


    In Aldred¡¯s sight, the god¡¯s eyes calcted all the trajectories of the arrows. All he had to do was point at the spot where they would arrive and shoot, that was how he deflected all these arrows. Some arrows still find their way and stabbed through their shoulder. They kept going forward with gritted teeth.


    The archer retreated to their camp while the infantry charged. Bartrem raised his sword. ¡°Brace for impact!¡±


    Like a powerful spear, Bartrem cut through the enemy rank and split their formation into two. Hisrades shed at the disoriented enemy, cutting off their heads with a single swing. Joseph and Jeffery fought beside Bartrem. Their new technique let them best the other soldiers, and their strength seemed to increase as the battle progressed.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred¡¯s undead squad assisted the toon. They shocked the enemy with their hideous appearances. The ogres swung their club. The nails on the club ripped the fleshes and bones.


    And then surprisingly, thick dark mist leaked out from their bodies. It engulfed them for a moment, and when they came out, they became bigger. The enemy soldiers were shocked when the undead became stronger and more ferocious.


    Aldred was surprised by this development. But he understood. His undead got stronger the more they kill. The undead squad roared and attacked the enemy with greater destructive power.


    Bartrem noticed the increase in strength of the undead, but he ignored them and kept going through. He kept his calm in the face of the chaotic battle. He waited. He waited for something.


    ¡°Move out of the way!¡±


    There they came. Bartrem immediately react, he shed at the enemy, and then shouted: ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Pressure toon II immediately turned around and ran back. They did not care about the enemy anymore.


    Simond was shocked. He couldn¡¯t react, and both toons crashed into each other. Bartrem narrowed his eyes and shoved Simond away. Hisrades also knocked shoulder against Pressure I. Simond¡¯s soldier fell on their butt.


    Aldredughed andmanded his undead to knock against them as well. He ran in the middle of the formation as he saw them being shoved away.


    Pongoughed. He vomited human feces and threw them at the soldier. ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Good job, Pongo,¡± Aldred said.


    Bartrem finallyughed after a few days of being silent. Apparently, he had been holding his emotion and waiting for this day toe.


    ¡°SERVED YOU RIGHT, MOTHERFUCKER!¡± Bartrem and hisradesughed harder.


    Simond was enraged. He pushed his hand off the ground, about to stand up, but the enemy was already in front of him.


    ¡°On your feet!¡± Simond kicked the ground and fought the enemy, but hisrades were too slow and got wounded.


    Aldred and Pongoughed as they retreated to the archer formation. The main army moved in a few secondster. They bombard the camps with arrows. The magicians manipted the water from the river and flooded them. The infantry charged after that.<sub></sub>


    They cut through the front line and attacked the soldiers in the back line who hadn¡¯t worn their pants yet.


    The enemy retreated. Their tents fell down, drowned.


    The army cheered in triumph.


    Aldred smiled and looked at the transparent blue screen.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 55/55


    Level: 24


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption: Lv. 2


    -me Jet: Lv. 1


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 9


    -Vitality: 11


    -Intelligence: 36


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 10


    Skill points: 42


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Skill tree unlocked. Merging¡­]


    [You have received Fire Maniption. The list of skills will be considered as part of the Fire Maniption skill tree; Fire Arrow, Fire Bullet, Fire Javelin, me Jet]


    [All skills have been upgraded to level 2]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    me Jet: Lv. 2


    User can shoot out a jet of me from the palm and from the feet.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Fire Bullet: Lv. 2


    User can shoot fire bullets from the finger. The higher the level, the higher the damage and velocity of the bullet.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Fire Arrow: Lv. 2


    User can release fire arrow from the palm. The higher the level, the farther the range and damage.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Fire Javelin: Lv. 2


    User can throw out a fire javelin from the palm. The higher the level, the farther the range and damage.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Fire Ball: Lv. 2


    User can shoot a fire ball from the palm. It can explode upon impact. Upgrading this skill to level 3 will increase the radius of explosion.


    [Damage is calcted by intelligence times the level of the skill. Other factors such as shape, length, velocity, and weight may affect the resulted damage]


    [New skill obtained: me Fist]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    me Fist: Lv. 2


    User can release a fist of fire that will erge as it goes further. It will dissipate at a certain distance (Depending on the level of the skill).


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®Uhh¡­¡¯ Aldred did not know how to react to this. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a good thing or not. It seemed to be a good thing because he obtained a new skill. me of fist. So it would erge the farther it goes?


    Aldred wanted to try it. He raised his fist, stomped the ground, and then punched forward. A burst of me engulfed his fist. And then it flew towards the camp, buzzing with fiery mes as it erged and then engulfed everything it passed through.


    Aldred was shocked. He thought it would only attack one target, but instead, it went through the target and burned everything it touched. Almost one-third of the camp was engulfed by the me before the fist disappeared.


    The soldiers looked at him, and so did the magicians. The magicians were the ones who were truly impressed by his skill. His control over me was outstanding. If the boy wasn¡¯t part of the Pressure toon II, they would have run up to him and discussed magic till night came.


    s, they couldn¡¯t lest they were identified as the supporter of the empress. Pharder, the captain of the fort, did not like the empress and had been trying to cut off her influence from this part of the empire.


    Aldred was happy with the new skill. He checked his status again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 55/55


    Level: 24


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 9


    -Vitality: 11


    -Intelligence: 36


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 10


    Skill points: 42


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred nodded. So all of his skills were merged into Fire Maniption. Interesting. Maybe he should learn the other elements as well.

 Chapter 35 Goodbye

    Hujarar floated in space in front of a as he sang a song. The song was of the sea, and a creature everyone was familiar with. If anyone heard the song, they¡¯d remember their childhood and smile.


    ¡°Baby shark, do do do. Baby shark do do do.¡±


    Hujarar pointed at the. ¡°Do do do.¡±


    Three tiny ck holes shot towards the. The ck holes merged, and then sucked its way into the core. The then was absorbed from the inside. The tectonic tes of the fell into the abyss. The continents cracked. Earthquakes of great power shook every being that call the gigantic orb home.


    ¡°That should be myst to destroy,¡± Hujarar said. A ck hole appeared and engulfed him before it disappeared.


    When he reappeared, he was in front of a gxy-sized castle. He floated towards the castle and then entered through the front door. Walking through the hallway, Hujarar found the room he was looking for.


    He kicked the door. The door got ripped from the frame and was thrown forward. ¡°Zustus! I am done with the mission.¡±


    When Hujarar entered, he saw the old man was hugging a young, naked woman with a pair of white wings on her back.


    The woman pped the old man, covered herself with the bed spray, and ran off.


    ¡°Wait, Alexa. Damnit! Can¡¯t you find the right time? Or at least knock before you get in?¡±


    Hujarar shrugged. ¡°Whatever. I am done with the mission. I want to go back and see my kid.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The old man looked at him. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Oy, are you nning to cheat me? I destroy all the heretics in four universes for every millennium, isn¡¯t that enough? Not to mention I have to act as a viin.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that I want to cheat you. Everyone, show yourselves.¡±


    A thousand divine beings appeared. Their whole body glowed in bright light.


    He nced at the old man. His eyes turned deep dark. ¡°Are you nning to kill me?¡±


    The old man stared back. He stood up from his bed. ¡°No. We found something or someone powerful. And it threatened our dimension.¡±


    ¡°Dimension?¡±


    The old man nodded. ¡°He came from the fourth dimension. We know his power. That is why I can gather all one thousand gods for this.¡±


    Hujarar nodded. During his war against the gods, it was only one hundred of them who actively fought against him. The rest were doing nothing but chill.


    ¡°You all can solve this problem by yourselves. I don¡¯t want to be involved in this.¡± Hujarar turned around and walked to leave the room.<sub></sub>


    ¡°He conquered the fourth dimension,¡± the old man said, making Hujarar stop on his feet. ¡°With that power, he can easily conquer our dimension as well. Think of your son, Hujarar. He won¡¯t survive with his measly power.¡±


    Hujarar clicked his tongue. ¡°Fighting something like that is tricky. We cannot use our full power.¡±


    ¡°You are correct. But there is a way,¡±


    Hujarar turned around and looked at the old man in the eye. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡­


    Eve and Dina rode a gigantic space worm that was currently eating through the countless stars ands in the gxy. They were sitting on a chair with two cups of tea sitting on the table.


    ¡°I cannot wait to meet Aldred,¡± Dina said, sighing. She looked at her mother who was in a daze. ¡°Why did you let him fall off the castle?¡±


    Eve took a sip of her tea. ¡°Hujarar and I believed that we spoiled Aldred too much. At the age of seven, he should have already conquered thirty floors of hell or a few gxies, but he was still the little Aldred who ran around in the castle.¡±


    Dina pped her own face. ¡°Just because of that? Who cares about thirty floor of hell or gxies? Don¡¯t you want Aldred to be happy?¡±


    Eve looked down. ¡°Maybe you are right. But won¡¯t we be at fault for putting a stop sign in front of his talent? He won¡¯t fly properly if I don¡¯t throw him in the air. He has to learn how to fly.¡±


    Dina couldn¡¯t answer to that. Her mother was correct. Yes, they were powerful enough to spoil him, but was that the right choice? Spoiling Aldred meant that they were preventing Aldred from standing on his own, and achieving his true potential.


    Eve raised the teacup. Just as she was about to take a sip, her heart thumped. She widened her eyes and stood up.


    Dina looked at her. ¡°What happen mom?¡±


    Eve did not say anything. She waved her hand, and they teleported in front of a gxy-sized castle. It was in ruins. All the buildings and structures became rubbles.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the home of that old pervert?¡± Dina looked around the castle.


    Eve didn¡¯t reply and floated towards the castle. Her heart thumped even harder. She rushed in towards the hallway and entered a room. What she saw shocked her to the core.


    Her heart beat like never before. Her whole body trembled as her eyes filled with disbelief. Grief and sadness washed over her.


    ¡°No! Hujarar!¡± She ran and knelt beside her husband. Tears streaked to her cheeks. ¡°How is this possible? You are supposed to be immortal.¡± She hugged him and cried.


    Dina saw the scene and felt her heart ached. She ran to Hujarar with tears on her eyes. She took a good look at her father. The once lively face full of smile and humorous remarks were now still as stone.


    She gritted her teeth and shook her head. She couldn¡¯t believe this. Not in a millennium year. They were supposed to be together forever. They just had Aldred for ten short years. Their dreams finally came true. Yet, why. Why did this happen?


    Tears streamed down. She looked to the side and noticed something. She stood up and approached it. It was the old man Zustus. Her eyes moved a few meters away and there was another god lying on the floor, death.


    Dina frowned and looked around the room. There were dead bodies. And not ordinary dead bodies, but gods. ¡°They all died. Did they fight against dad?¡±


    Eve stood up still in tears. Her eyes turned crimson. ¡°No. They killed themselves.¡±


    Dina still trembling looked at her mother. ¡°Kill themselves? Why?¡±


    Eve beckoned for her lifeless husband to float. She caressed his cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Your father did the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Father?¡± Dina was shocked. She didn¡¯t care about the other gods, but why did her father kill himself as well? This did not make any sense.


    A letter fell from Hujarar¡¯s pocket. The letter floated and Eve willed it to open:


    Eve, I cannot say much because the more you know the less likely I can return. All I can say is that I am going somewhere to fight a danger that can harm our family. Tell Dina and Aldred I am on a work trip oversea. Anyway, I won¡¯t forget about you and our family. I still have your picture on my phone. I will be sure to stare at it at least six to eight hours a day. I¡¯m sorry that I have to leave so suddenly, but it has to be done. Zustus showed me something I cannot ignore. I don¡¯t know when I will be back, and I am not sure if I can even return, but I hope you can put a smile on our family even without me by your side. Please be strong Eve. For Aldred. For Dina. And for me. I love you since the first day I meet you, and I will forever love you even after I die. Goodbye, Eve.


    -Hujarar, your favorite husband


    PS: I left something for Aldred to help him be stronger. I know we make a hard choice in leaving him alone and making him experience the dark truth of the world, but I believe we made the right choice.


    Eve took a deep breath after she finished reading the paper.


    ¡°Mom, what is in that letter?¡±


    Eve handed the letter to her. She looked at her husband with longing eyes. ¡®You always did everything by yourself. Why can¡¯t you bring me with you? I am sure if we work together as a family we will pass through any hurdle, but you keep all the burden on yourself.¡¯


    Dina finished reading the letter and approached her mother. ¡°Mom, what should we do now?¡±


    Suddenly, the castle trembled. Hujarar¡¯s body was engulfed by dark mist and then disappeared. The gods¡¯ bodies were engulfed by white light and vanished as well. The ceiling fell and then crumbled into dust. Eventually, the whole castle disappeared.


    A divine goddess floated down. It was Zustus¡¯ wife. ¡°You already know?¡±


    Eve nodded.


    The goddess sighed. ¡°Zustus might be a pervert and a cheater, but I hope he returns soon.¡± She disappeared.


    Eve turned and looked at her daughter. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±

 Chapter 36 Boss Fight

    Aldred stood up in front of the pair ofrge, ck gate. It gave him the chill just by looking at it. Something ominousy beyond it¡ªthe dungeon boss. He took a deep breath and let it out. He felt nervous like he had to give a power point presentation in front of the ss. But he knew he had to advance forward, if not then he wouldn¡¯t progress in his path to power. His father, Hujarar, became the king of hell at the age of seven, while Aldred still weak as fly at the age of ten.


    Comparing himself to his father made him felt like shit. He sighed again. ¡®Comparison is the killer of all joy.¡¯


    But before he could fight the boss, Aldred had to increase his skill first. He currently had 42 skill points and 10 stat points. For stat points he put it all on intelligence as it would increase his magic damage. That bring intelligence at the total of 46.


    And for the skills, he upgraded fireball to Lv. 4, Fire bullets to Lv. 4, Fire arrows to Lv. 4, and me Jet to level 3. That consumed all of his skills points.


    He stepped forward, reaching out with both palm to push open the door. The gate creaked with a heavy strain, and thud when it was fully open. The gate open up to an arena at the tip of the mountain.


    ¡°Where is the boss?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I just want my fish,¡± Pongo said. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred still looked around.


    ¡°You¡¯re a ten year old right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Then why are you still drinking breast milk?¡±


    ¡°Is there anyws that says I cannot do that?¡±


    ¡°Fuck. Grow up, man. You wouldn¡¯t be a proper man if you keep drinking breast milk.¡±


    ¡°Said the talking penguin who had human feces in its stomach.¡±


    ¡°Keep my stomach out of your fucking mouth.¡±


    ¡°Or what? You gonna throw human feces at me again?¡± Aldred stared at him.


    ¡°Oh you wanna try me?¡± Pongo stared back.


    Somethingnded on the arena, but both Aldred and Pongo did not realize it.


    ¡°Try you? You¡¯re you just a little penguin.¡±


    ¡°Who you call penguin?¡±


    ¡°You, dumb ass. Find yourself a mirror.¡±


    Pongo gritted his beak. He vomited a small human feces, and threw it at Aldred.


    Aldred grinned and sted the feces with fire bullets.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Pongo aimed with his beak and fired a series of feces at him.


    Aldred dodged it easily and sted a bunch of them. His godly eyes scanned their trajectory, and it made it easier to dodge all these feces.


    ¡°Take this! Pew pew pew.¡±


    Three fire bullets struck Pongo in the stomach, which made him winced in pain.


    ¡°Fuck you! Imma kill you right now! I am not known as Pongo The Conquerer for my generosity!¡±


    Pongo vomited a slimy and smelly feces.


    The beast on the arena roared.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Pongo throw the feces at it.


    It shot forward with great speed, and covered the beast¡¯s face with it. Some part of it trickled to the floor.


    Only then did they realize the monster had already arrived.


    The monster was enraged. How dare did this puny little creature throw shit at it.


    [War Torn Ogre]


    Level: 29


    Power: Dunk master, Penalty kick, Dribble legend.


    History: War Torn Ogre was a former professional sport yers that y for thekers, and the Manchester United. He had talent and fame, s he was killed by a truck when he was having sex in his room at the 41 Th floor of the apartment. He was reincarnated as an ogre in a world filled with 99% hot female, but he also had to fight against alien invasion to protect it. s, the alien used their most powerful weapons¡ª throwing truck from the sky. And once again he was killed and reincarnated as a dungeon boss.


    Aldred was speechless. This War Torn Ogre had the time of his life. First he was a famous sport yer, second he was reincarnated in paradise, but unfortunately, at the end, he became a dungeon boss that Aldred had to kill.


    What a pitiful life¡­


    No fuck that! This guy already live in paradise in two of his lifetime! For all the cultured men out there, Aldred had to kill this guy. And because this had be a personal matter, he decided to fight it alone with the exception of Pongo. Actually, the undead were just too weak to fight against the boss right now.


    ¡°Pongo, let¡¯s work together to beat this guy.¡±


    ¡°Hell no. Let me throw shit at you first.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! I¡¯m going to roast you if you don¡¯tply.¡±


    Pongo clicked his tongue. ¡°Fine! You confront it while I stay at the back. I will give you support whenever possible.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred wanted to eat the penguin right then and there. ¡°Fuck it!¡± Aldred stared at the beast and pointed at him. ¡°Come here and fight!¡±


    The War Torn Ogre stood at three meters tall with arge axe in his right hand. He had a pair of tusking out of his mouth, and green skin covered his body. When the boy taunted him, War Torn was enraged. He roared and charged before leaping supernaturally and raising the axe high.


    ¡°Dunk Master!¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred activated me Jet and dodged to the side.


    The axended, cracking the ground and creating a two meter crater.


    ¡°Pew pew pew pew pew.¡±


    Because Aldred had upgraded his fire bullets to Lv. 4, his rate of fire was simr to that of a machine gun. The storm of fire bullets flew at the beast, but it¡¯s thick skin mitigated most of the damage.


    Aldred activated his fire arrows skill. Instead of shooting one by one, Aldred fired three fire arrows rapidly. The first two arrows deflected off the left shoulder, but the third one prated it slightly.


    The boss ogre roared in pain. It struck, and Aldred flew to the side, stumbling before he bnced himself. He took a few steps backward, both hands raised ready to attack. The ogre stared at him with an aggressive posture. Despite itsrge size, it moved far nimbler than Aldred expected.


    The small wound on the left shoulder was a start. Aldred wanted to focus his attack on that part. He sent fire arrows trying to erge the wound. The ogre ducked, letting the fire arrows zipped above its head.


    It raised therge axe, six feet tall, and swung down, mming onto Aldred. The boy aimed both hands to left and the me jet pushed him off. He rolled on the ground before standing up. Damn ogre.


    The boss ogre started running at him. Aldred decided to bring the fight closer and approached. Using his godly eyes, Aldred calcted the speed and trajectory of the axe, and dodged ordingly. Aldred ducked down as the axe came crashing. He put his palm on the right thigh of the monster and sted it with me jet.


    me jet was upgraded to level 3, so the range and damage of the jet was strong enough to create a bigger wound on the monster.


    The ogre staggered. Its right leg limping as it took a few steps back.


    The War Torn Ogre roared to the sky and forced its broken leg to rush at him. Aldred panicked and quickly dodged away, but Pongo was standing behind him.


    ¡°Penalty Kick!¡±


    The ogre¡¯s huge, green leg mmed onto the penguin¡¯s tiny, squishy body.


    Pongo couldn¡¯t even say anything as blood came out of his mouth and then he crashed onto the gates. The gates were destroyed. Pongo wasying down with his tongue out.


    ¡°GOAL!¡± The ogre roared.


    [War Torn Ogre has made a goal. Evolving¡­]


    ¡°Oy, what the fuck!¡±


    The ogre¡¯s body swelled. It becamerger andrger until it reached five-meter tall. Suddenly, a pair of green wings ripped itself out from the back of the ogre.


    The ogre closed its eyes and took a deep breath. It then stared at Aldred with a hideous grin. ¡°Time for stage two, bitch.¡±


    It grabbed Pongo, and then bounce him up and down to the ground.


    ¡°Dribble Legend.¡± The ogre moved much more nimbly as it approached Aldred while dribbling Pongo with the left hand.


    Its movement was so unpredictable. Even with all the calctions done by his godly eyes, his brain couldn¡¯t keep up. In the end, the godly eyes were just a tool. If he did not master how to use it, the tool would be useless.


    It then pped its wings, and jumped to the sky, raising Pongo high.


    ¡°Dunk Master!¡±


    The ogre came crashing down like a meteor. Aldred dodged, but even with that, the force of the impact was too strong that it blew him away.


    The arena cracked. Aldred pushed himself off the ground.


    Pongo had both of his eyes rolling inside his brain. Yeah, he was dead for sure.


    The ogre sprinted forward. Aldred released fire bullets at him. The ogre leaped to the side, rolled, and then flipped, shortening the distance between him and Aldred.


    ¡°Is this guy a fucking gymnast as well?¡±


    Aldred was about to move away from the monster, but suddenly, its feet thundered the ground, leaving a mark as it shot forward with shocking speed.


    The godly eyes calcted the force and suggested a possible way to survive. Aldred panicked and followed the instruction without thinking. He pushed his palm to meet the fist, and before both of them touched, Aldred activated his me jet, sting the fist as his face got punched.


    Aldred¡¯s back dragged on the rough surface for a few meters before he raised his body, trembling in pain. His whole back was scraped, and it made it hard to stand. But he did. He recalled what Mary said about the empress. She stood up even when life struck her down.


    He had to do it as well. He gave up on hisst life, but not this time. This time he had to be strong enough so whatever life threw at him, he¡¯d take it with open arms.


    The ogre eyed him with determination as well. Its right fist was destroyed. Aldred could tell the ogre must be a man who never gave up. Aldred smiled.


    ¡°No matter who is the winner in this fight, let us respect each other.¡±


    The ogre nodded. It considered the boy as its peer.


    Aldred activated the me jet on his palm and feet. At level 2, me jet already allow edhim to shoot out jet from his feet. He flew to the sky.


    The ogre pped its wings and followed.


    They both stared at each other in the air. Then at the same time, they both bolted at each other.


    The ogre swung its axe, while Aldred shoot it with me jet.


    They both went past each other and went at it again. The ogre kicked Aldred¡¯s stomach. He spat out blood and gritted his teeth as he aimed. ¡°Fireball. Fireball. Fireball.¡±


    Since the fireball was upgraded to level 4, it wasrger and more powerful than before. But that was not it.


    The ogre flew to the side, trying to dodge it. But shockingly, the three fireballs followed.


    Aldredughed. He aimed once again. ¡°Target locked. Ready to fire. Firing! Pew pew pew pew pew pew.¡±


    Dozens of fireballs shot out of his fingers and chase the ogre.


    The ogre was overwhelmed by all the fireballs chasing it. It roared and shed at one of them. It exploded, followed by the other fireball, and created a series of explosions in the sky.


    Aldred did not want to let any chances go away. A hail of bullets whistled towards the explosion.


    The ogre¡¯s body came out of the explosion, falling. Its body was tattered with wounds. The wings in particr were full of holes. Itnded on the ground with a loud thud. The axe nged beside it.


    Aldred floated down before deactivating his me jet. He approached the ogre. ¡°That was a good fight.¡±


    The ogre smiled. ¡°I have lost more than a thousand times. I have failed even more. But I keep going.¡± The ogre looked at Aldred. ¡°I hope you keep fighting as well. No matter your goal. No matter your dream. Fight for it.¡±


    Aldred looked at the ogre and sighed. ¡°I know this is where I should be crying and hugging you, but you are too hideous. I am sorry.¡±


    The ogreughed. ¡°You¡¯re a funny kid. It seems like I got another chance to be reincarnated. Maybe we can meet again.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? What will you reincarnate into?¡±


    ¡°It says here I am going to reincarnate as a tree.¡±


    ¡°Shit! There¡¯s gazzilion of trees in this world, how would I know which one is you?¡±


    The ogre smiled and started to dissipate into light. ¡°May we meet again.¡±


    The lights flew to the sky and disappeared.


    ¡°Cough cough cough.¡± Pongo woke up and looked around. ¡°Where is that ogre? I am going to kick his ass for ying me rough.¡±


    ¡°You still alive?¡±


    ¡°Why the fuck do you sound disappointed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that obvious huh.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    Aldred ignored the penguin and looked at the screen.


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [Congrattion you have defeated the boss on the first stage. Obtaining reward¡­]


    [You have received Ruby Mana Crystal (Rare)]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 35/60


    Level: 30


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 9


    -Vitality: 11


    -Intelligence: 46


    -Dexterity: 4


    Stat points: 12


    Skill points: 12


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Congrattion. You have entered the Silver Rank. Processing reward¡­]


    [Necromancy undead capacity doubled. Undead capacity: 60]


    [Divine Dimension expanded by 100 meters. Time rtivity increased: 2 days = 1 hour on the outside world]

 Chapter 37 Entering Silver Rank

    After being satisfied with looking at his status screen, Aldred pulled the Mana Ruby Crystal out of his inventory.


    It wasrger than the size of his hand. Of course, since he was still a ten-year-old. But what use would he have for this crystal?


    [Mana Ruby Crystal (Rare) let the user amplify the damage for fire type spell]


    ¡®Oh, so with this my fire spells will be stronger?¡¯


    [Yes. There are other types of crystals; Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Heliodor, Amethyst, Onyx, and Opal. Each crystal can amplify different elements]


    ¡®That¡¯s interesting.¡¯ Aldred looked at the crystal. ¡®How do I use it?¡¯


    [User must absorb the mana from the crystal and use that mana to cast the spell]


    Aldred did as instructed. The crystal glowed then red mist entered his body. He could differentiate the different types of mana in his body. One was his limitless mana, while the other was much stronger. <sub>-.</sub>


    His eyes nced at a boulder and decided to use it as a target. Raising his index finger, Aldred cast a fire arrow. His finger sparked, and then zed in me before three powerful ming arrows shot towards the boulder with the speed of a bullet. It punctured through the boulder, creating threerge holes with burnt marks.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Aldred was impressed by the effect. His normal-looking me arrows turned into something so powerful and fierce. He looked at the crystal again. It reminded him of the marbles that light up The Jovial Harlequin.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Pongo asked, looking at the crystal. He tried to grab it, but Aldred reacted quickly.


    ¡°Keep your filthy fish hand away from my crystal.¡±


    ¡°Cih.¡± Pongo crossed his arms.


    They returned to the real world. One day there was one hour in real life, so when he returned, everyone was still sleeping tight.


    Aldred made himselffortable in Mary¡¯s breast. Mary gently hugged him even though she was still sleeping. He gave her cheek a kiss and closed his eyes. Pongo made his way and slept in the middle.<sub></sub>


    The next day.


    Mary woke up and looked at him in shock.


    Aldred rubbed his eyes still slightly sleepy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mary?¡±


    ¡°Aldred, are you at silver rank already?¡±


    Aldred recalled that he had leveled up to level 30 yesterday. He nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± He sunk onto her breast and slept again. Saliva poured out of his mouth.


    Mary couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. How did Aldred reach Silver Rank this quick? Only a few weeks had passed, so how was this possible?


    She kept the thought to herself and hugged Aldred close to her body. Her hands moved and caressed his head softly. Mary recalled her talk with the fairy. She said that the boy would help her take over the empire. After seeing his progress Mary was convinced.


    ¡®The boy will change the empire in the future. I have to protect him at all cost.¡¯


    Aldred unconsciously moved his lips and went to her nipple. He sucked in the milk. Mary giggled as she caressed his head. ¡®No wonder the fairy said she spoiled you too much. You act like a baby. But I think you deserved it because you have a great burden on your shoulder.¡¯


    Mary thought of the future when Aldred will topple the emperor. ¡®I hope that day cane.¡¯


    Bartrem came a few hourster, shouting to wake the soldiers and brought them to train. Aldred woke up as well along with Mary. Both of them did not have to train because Mary was a gold rank while Aldred was a magician, so Bartrem did not force them to train.


    Aldred wanted to increase his strength and vitality, so he had always trained with the soldiers. But today, Mary looked so beautiful. Her smooth and pink nipplesy bare without cover in front of him. A drop of milk leaked out. Mary looked at him with a smile. Her sky blue eyes were like a world of wonder. Aldred could stare at them for hours and he wouldn¡¯t be bored.


    Suddenly, he felt a pain in his gum. He felt sleepy, and his eyes gazed at Mary¡¯s neck. Aldred immediately pounced on her. His fangs grew and prated it.


    Mary moaned as she held his head. Her cheeks blushed and her big breast trembled. She wiggled her curvy hips. Aldred¡¯s bite tickled her, making her whole body shake uncontrobly. But she did not feel pain. Only pleasure. Thankfully the soldiers had gone out to train. Though she was fine with showing her breast, letting other see her moaning was a different thing.


    Aldred kept on sucking her blood, making her moan repeatedly. His hand went on her left breast and squeezed. Milk spewed out.


    ¡°Ahh.¡± She hugged Aldred ever tighter.


    They kept doing this. Mary felt weak. Her cheeks were still blushing, and she kept moaning throughout. Her life sapped out as her hand weakly released its hold off Aldred¡¯s head.


    ¡°Aldred?¡± An angelic voice called.


    Aldred turned around with crazed crimson eyes. His mind was nk, and only his instinct made him act. He pounced on the woman that came out of nowhere.


    Eve raised an eyebrow as Aldred pounced at her in mid-air. The scene was in slow motion for her. She looked at her boy who had grown mentally strong these past few weeks. Her heart thumped in pain when she recalled how Aldred fell from the sky. Though she knew where Aldred would fall, it still worried her to death.


    Eve cried with a smile and embraced her son as he fell onto her chest. Aldred bit onto her neck. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be possible, but Eve softened the skin of her neck and let his teeth prate it. He sucked in her blood. She transformed her blood type. If her son drank her pure blood, then he would die. Eve closed her eyes and hugged him. She caressed his head like she always used to do.


    Dina and Mary flinched.


    Mary was shocked. Who was this woman?


    Eve smiled at her and transmitted the message through her mind. ¡®I am his mother. The fairy that you saw that day was my spell. Please be quiet while my son is drinking my blood.¡¯


    Mary blinked in confusion but nodded nheless.


    Aldred felt the sweet taste of the blood and sucked even harder. Eve blushed. Her boy seemed to be the aggressive type. Even though she had lived for millenniums, she still felt embarrassed and aroused. The main reason was that this was the first time she got her neck bit and her blood sucked.


    Her cheeks turned even redder as Aldred sucked harder. His hand then moved inside her clothes and pinched her nipple.


    Eve closed her eyes and held herself from moaning. Her body trembled. Eventually, she couldn¡¯t hold herself and¡ª


    ¡°Ahh.¡±

 Chapter 38 Family Reunion

    Aldred kept on sucking intensely. Eve let herself moan from the pleasure. The boy kept on sucking until his sanity returned.


    He was surprised and looked at the woman who was hugging him. His eyes filled in tears. ¡°Mother!¡±


    He hugged her and cried. ¡°Waaa! Mom! You finally return. Waaa!¡±


    Eve smiled and patted his head from the back. ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore, Aldred. You¡¯re a big boy now aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Aldred heard her. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to stand on his own two feet and not rely on anyone else. He wanted to be just like Mary, and the empress who would keep on fighting. He wanted to be a proper man. A proper soldier like Bartrem who would charge forward with bravery, inspiring everyone to do the same.


    He wanted to be all that. He truly wanted it. But¡­


    But he couldn¡¯t hold himself and kept on crying on her shoulder. ¡°I am sorry, mother. I want to be strong, but I cannot. Please let me cry on your shoulder. Please.¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart melted. After what she did to Aldred, she did not have the heart to force him to release his hug. And she missed her boy as well. Even though it was a few weeks in this world¡¯s time, the universe where she returned from made it a lot longer. That was because time worked differently in each universe.<sub>-.</sub>


    What Aldred felt for a few weeks, she felt it for more than thirty thousand years. Time used to pass like a fly. A blink and they would pass. But each second she was away from Aldred was another millennium for her. That was how much she missed her boy.


    Tears streaked from Eve¡¯s eyes. She shouldn¡¯t be spoiling Aldred, but her heart wasn¡¯t strong enough for that. She hugged him tight and cried.


    Dina hugged both her mother and her brother. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry, Aldred. A man must be strong. A man must be great. But whatever a man must be, they are still allowed to show emotion.¡±


    Aldred looked at his sister and hugged her as well. ¡°Thank you, sister.¡±


    Dina kissed him on the cheek. ¡°I found that quote on page 69 of Fifteen Shade of Gay. Maybe you should try reading it.¡±


    Aldred choked on his own saliva. He coughed a few times. Eve¡¯s neck leaked out blood.


    ¡°Did I do that?¡± Aldred asked, feeling bad.<sub></sub>


    Eve smiled. The blood moved back into the wound before it closed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Aldred. You are still young, so you cannot control it yet.¡±


    ¡°Still, I am sorry, mother.¡±


    Eve sighed, smiling. ¡°You can drink my blood anytime, Aldred. You are my son.¡± She caressed his cheek. Her eyes looked at him with the gaze of a loving mother. Then her expression turned apologetic.


    ¡°There is something I have to tell you.¡±


    ¡°What is it, mother?¡±


    ¡°It was intentional.¡±


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°You falling from that castle.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Aldred. I and your father think that our treatment of you will impair your talent and growth. And so we did what we did.¡±


    Aldred looked down, seemingly in thought. Then he looked at them with a bright expression. ¡°I understand, mother. I know you did it for my own good. I know you have always protected me.¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ I sometimes meet you in my dream.¡± Aldred cleared his throat.


    Mary held herugh. Back when Aldred was traveling with her in the carriage, Aldred had a weird dream about his mother.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Aldred started. ¡°Where¡¯s dad?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s having work oversea,¡± Eve said.


    ¡°Huh? What sea?¡±


    ¡°Mom was saying that dad is still working. He¡¯s out there in other universe being a viin so the gods can obtain more worshipers,¡± Dina exined. That was of course half true.


    Aldred nodded and did not question it anymore. He did not want to be a nagging baby asking for mom and dad all the time.


    ¡°Also, Aldred,¡± Eve said. ¡°I cannot bring you back to the castl¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know, mom,¡± Aldred said with a smile. ¡°I will find my way back on my own. I am not sad or angry that you made me fall off the castle. In fact, I am thankful that you did it. I met Mary who train me and told me stories about how to keep going in life. I met Bartrem who is brave and inspiring. I met Pharder and Simond who is an ass hole. But they are the challenges that I have to face. Only when I can face them on my own will I be worthy to return home.¡±


    ¡°You grow so fast,¡± Eve said. ¡°I am d that you understand. In that case, let me breastfeed you before I leave.¡± She pulled his head and put his mouth on her nipple.


    Aldred was surprised, but he didn¡¯t want to deny the chance. His mother was beautiful, and so did her breast. Bigger and smoother than Mary, the quality of her milk was sweet and tasty. The warmth was also to his liking.


    Eve smiled and recalled the day when she breastfeed her son for the first time. They were so happy andplete. Aldred running around in the castle. Her husband brught them to an exciting adventure. Dina spoiled Aldred in her room, reading stories with sweets and hot chocte milk.


    But Aldred had to grow up. To do that, he must explore the world on his own.


    After a few hours, Aldred stopped sucking her breast and hugged her. ¡°I love you, mom.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, Aldred.¡± She hugged him.


    Dina hugged them again. ¡°When you return, I will prepare some sweets for you again.¡±


    Aldred nodded and kissed her cheek.


    Eve put him down and smiled.


    They both disappeared immediately.

 Chapter 39 Mana Crystal

    Aldred turned around and looked at Mary. ¡°What do you think of my family?¡±


    ¡°I think they are wonderful and powerful.¡±


    She told the truth. Not just anyone can turn someone into Gold Rank immediately.


    Aldred smiled and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about that. I will meet them again, to do that I must kill the emperor and take the steering wheel.¡± He pped himself. ¡°Yosha!¡±


    ¡°By the way, Mary. Do you know something about this?¡± Aldred pulled out his ruby mana crystal from his inventory. It glowed beautifully in his palm.


    Mary¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Where did you find that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s part of my power.¡±


    Mary nodded. She understood that Aldred was more to the eye. He had powerful families and a never-seen-before talent. It was unknown how many secrets he had. She did not have any trouble with that.


    ¡°That is a mana crystal. From the color and shape, I think it¡¯s a rare ruby mana crystal.¡± Mary grabbed something from her pocket. It was the marble-like thing that he had seen in The Jovial Harlequin. ¡°This is called mana gem.¡± Mary squeezed the marble and it glowed.


    ¡°When a mana gem is squeezed it will glow like this.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred nodded. So that was how those marbles in the inn produced light. ¡°Can you tell me all of its functions?¡±


    ¡°A mana gem is weaker than the mana crystal. That¡¯s because a mana gem is just a small part of a mana crystal.¡±


    ¡°So mana gem is made out of mana crystal?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The function of the mana gem is to absorb and contain mana. For magicians, they can absorb the mana from the crystal or gem and use it to cast their spell. So whenever a magician ran out of mana, they can pull out their mana crystal and use the mana within them.


    ¡°And they can amplify their spell as well.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, but it depends on the crystal. If I remember correctly, ruby crystal empowered fire, so that crystal suits you perfectly.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°A warrior like me can also use the crystal as a source of energy and power. But unlike a magician, I can use any type of crystal and I will still be empowered.¡±


    ¡°Can it run out of mana?¡± Aldred asked. <sub></sub>


    ¡°Of course, it can.¡±


    ¡°How do I recharge it?¡±


    ¡°Recharge? Ah, you mean restoring the mana? That¡¯s simple. Just stopped using it. It will replenish the mana by itself. But, the rarer the crystal, the longer it takes to replenish its mana.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very convenient. Why is not everyone has it?¡±


    ¡°Everyone can have mana gem. It¡¯s still pricy, but weak. It only strengthened the spell and empower the body very slightly. And not everyone can have a mana crystal. Especially the crystal in your hand. You have to be at least at Gold Rank to get one. But even with that, it does not mean you will surely get it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know this thing is so valuable,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°There is even a mana crystal that can increase power and talent very quickly, though I am not sure what rarity or type.¡±


    It was probably the eternal mana crystal that his father had given to the old man that day. Aldred wondered what happened to the old man¡¯s grandson. He must be big, powerful, and healthy right now.


    ¡­


    Pharder kicked Sophia¡¯s face before he sat on his bed. He gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°The empress is sending more of her puppets to my fort. That woman is pissing me off!¡±


    If not because of that woman, that terrible thing shouldn¡¯t have happened to him.


    Sophia smiled even though she was just kicked in the face. She crawled onto his feet and licked his toes. ¡°Did you feel good, master?¡±


    Pharder clicked his tongue. He stomped on her head, making her jaw hit the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t tickle my toes, bitch.¡±


    He raised his fist and punched her in the face. ¡°It¡¯s because of you now I am in a bad mood.¡±


    He grabbed her hair and raised her whole body. Her face was filled with bruises, and her whole body was battered. Pharder threw him to the wall.


    Sophia¡¯s delicate body mmed against the hard wal. Her back cracked and Sophia trembled in pain as she pushed herself and crawled to his feet again.


    ¡®Master is mad. I have to please him. I have to please him so he will give me love again.¡¯


    Sophia held the pain and smiled. She crossed her arms, making her plump breast look bigger. Slowly, her slender fingers grabbed her dress and revealed more of it. ¡°Do you want it master?¡±


    ¡°You dare to seduce me?¡± Pharder grabbed her neck, choking her.


    She struggled to breathe. She tried to pull the hands away, but Pharder was too strong for her.


    ¡°Say the magic word, bitch!¡±


    ¡°Ma¡ªster, ple¡ªase ma¡ªke m¡ªe we¡ªt.¡±


    Pharderughed like a maniac. ¡°I wish I can do the same thing to the empress.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was training with the soldiers. Mary was doing push-ups in front of him. Her breasts bounced up and down. Aldred was doing push-ups as well. When her breast went down, he went down as well. When they went up, he also pushed upward. Her breasts were plump like peaches with a speck of red blushes. It was so smooth.


    ¡°You really like looking at my breasts.¡±


    ¡°It motivates me,¡± Aldred said while he intently stared at her breast.


    ¡°If you can do one thousand push up, I will let you y around with it,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath and started pushing up and down much quicker. He felt the strain on his arms growing heavy. His stamina went weak, and his head even turned dizzy. But he kept going. Anything he would do to y around with her bre¡ª to have some fun with Mary


    ¡°Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda. Huryaaaaa!!!¡±


    Mary blinked when she saw Aldred being so motivated. She had always let Aldred drink her milk and y around with her breast, so she thought he would not be so motivated.


    That was true. Aldred indeed could y and suck her milk whenever he wanted, but he sometimes felt bad for it. It was a different thing when Mary gave it as a reward, and that was why he became so motivated.


    Alder kept on going up and down to the point it shook the earth. His mind was filled with the fire of determination.  And then, identally, he activated his me jet and flew towards the sky.


    Even so, he still did not care. He did the push-up in mid-air. ¡°Four hundred sixty-three. Oraaa! I can do it!!!¡±

 Chapter 40 Peaceful day

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 70/70


    Level: 30


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 11


    -Vitality: 14


    -Intelligence: 46


    -Dexterity: 6


    Stat points: 12


    Skill points: 12


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª<sub>-.</sub>


    After training for a few days, his vitality, dexterity, and strength increased by two points. It wasn¡¯t that much, but he¡¯d take it.


    Aldred put away his status panel and looked at the blue sky. Hisrades were currently training as usual along with Bartrem and Mary. Joseph and Jeffery focused on their technique. They had found out that technique was much more important than strength. In some way, that was actually true, because a technique was essentially a way to use the strength of the body. If they couldn¡¯t properly use their strength, then they¡¯d be defeated in every battle.


    The other soldiers knew this and they did what they never expected they would do; asking Aldred for advice. Aldred was just a boy with magic power, so he wasn¡¯t the warrior type, yet Joseph and Jeffery improved so much. When they were asked how they improved, they said it was because of Aldred.


    Pongo also asked him. ¡°Pongo pongo pongo.¡±


    The boy ignored the penguin which made him really mad.


    ¡°Aldred, can you tell me what¡¯s wrong with my posture?¡± a soldier said.


    ¡°Sure. Show me your moves.¡±


    The soldier stepped forward and swung. Aldred¡¯s godly eyes scanned for possible improvement and even detected some blind spots and how the enemy could counter it.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t using enough leverage. When you swing, put one of your feet in the direction you are about to swing, and make sure you use the waist as well. And I saw it earlier that while you were attacking, your left waist is wide open for retaliation, so make sure your enemy couldn¡¯t hit that before you swing.¡±


    The soldier listened to his exnation and followed his instruction. ¡°Put one foot in the direction of the swing. Use the waist.¡±


    SLASH!


    Aldred nodded. ¡°That¡¯s better, but you need to do it faster now.¡±


    The soldier did and the wind was sliced by his sword. ¡°Wow. I don¡¯t know I have this power in me.¡±


    ¡°Everyone has a great power inside them. We just have to know how to bring it out.¡±<sub></sub>


    Mary looked at the boy with a smile. She flicked his forehead. ¡°You talk like an old man.¡±


    The other soldiers asked for Aldred¡¯s help. The boy was happy to help. After all, all of them were hisrades. They¡¯d been fighting together a bunch of times now. It was unknown how many times they saved his butt during battle.


    Joseph and Jeffery wanted to ask Aldred for advice as well. They asked whether they could do more to improve their technique. Aldred analyzed their movement and told them how to improve it even more. He even made an exercise n so they could improve their bnce. Aldred did not know this before, but apparently, bnce training was very important. The armor and sword were quite heavy, and it was hard to fight with proper bnce with all the weights bearing on them. One way to solve it was through strength training, but relying on strength wasn¡¯t good enough. It had to beplemented by bnce. If their bnce improved, they could use more strength to put the enemy down.


    Bartrem looked at the boy, astonished at how he could point out so many precise mistakes. Even though Bartrem was a knight he couldn¡¯t tell the other soldiers what they did wrong because everybody was different. Body stature, height, and weight affected the performance of a soldier. Bartrem learned through practice and experience, no one really taught him anything because he was an orphan. Same with his men. All of them were the son of peasants, shoemakers, or ves. Unlike other soldiers, they did not have Knight as a father. So they couldn¡¯t really ask anyone for pointers.


    After practicing their technique for a few hours, the morning sun started to rise. The fresh air became warm.


    ¡°It¡¯s noon, now,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Time for a jog.¡±


    With armor nging against the sword hanging on their waist, the soldiers jogged to the north. Mary¡¯s breast jiggled as she ran beside Aldred. She wore a blue bra today. Wonderful.


    As they passed the road, Juhel walked with a basket and a spear in hand. Aldred smiled and waved at him. Juhel smiled and waved back.


    ¡°Got any fish today?¡± Aldred asked while he jogged.


    ¡°Yeah. I got a lot!¡± Juhel said.


    ¡°Nice! We wille to the riverter! Let¡¯s fish together again!¡±


    ¡°Sure! I will be waiting!¡±


    Aldred turned forward with a smile.


    A group of females was training in the field. A woman with a petite body in her twenties noticed Aldred and waved. Her long blue hair swayed as she smiled at him.


    ¡°Aldred!¡±


    ¡°Hi, Mareona!¡± He waved, still jogging.


    Mareona giggled. ¡°Let¡¯s have a date again, okay?!¡±


    ¡°Sure! We will go spearfishingter!¡±


    ¡°Count me in! I¡¯ll bring the girls with me.¡±


    Hisrades shook in excitement.


    ¡°Hey, Aldred,¡± a soldier asked. ¡°Introduce us to the girls, would you?¡±


    ¡°Eh, why?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean why? Look. All of them are beautiful. We are men too, you know.¡±


    ¡°No. All of them are mine.¡±


    The soldiers looked at him weirdly.


    ¡°I am joking of course.¡±


    They arrived at the north gate and passed by the farnd.


    ¡°Hey, Bernard! Is your stomach fine?¡± Aldred asked.


    Bernard was nting seeds before he heard his voice and said with a bright smile. ¡°I am fine! Thank you for the other day! My son said he met you!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! He¡¯s really good at spearfishing!¡±


    Bernardughed. ¡°He said you learn very quick!¡±


    ¡°Well, I am known as the smarted kid in the army.¡±


    Both of themughed because both of them know he was the only kid in the army.


    That was funny and sad at the same time.


    An olddy stopped by the road in front of them. He brought a basket filled with some sort of potatoes. ¡°Young, Aldred. Thank you for fixing my back the other day. Here take this basket and share it with your friends.¡±


    Aldred took the basket politely and bowed his head. ¡°Thank you,dy Tamaca. Have anyone said that you look beautiful and young today?¡±


    The olddy blushed and flicked his hand. ¡°You¡¯re such a flirt for a young boy. I am sure a lot of women like you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am the most handsome kid in the army.¡±


    He talked some more with the olddy, and asked how her back was and how her sick husband was doing.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s in great condition ever since I told him to drink filtered water. I¡¯d love to talk with you more, but I don¡¯t want to take your time. Go. Go and train.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Thanks again, Tamaca.¡±


    The other farmer also looked at him and waved.


    ¡°Hey, Aldred. Thank you for the help that day!¡±


    ¡°Young Aldred! Thank you! My hand feels much better now!¡±


    ¡°Young boy! I have a lonely daughter at home, why don¡¯t youe and visit?¡±


    ¡°I have a sister you can y around with!¡±


    ¡°I have a wife you can finger.¡±


    ¡°Bro¡­ not cool.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ That was supposed to be a joke.¡±


    Aldredughed it off and kept jogging. He was so happy that these farmers could go on their day with a bright smile on their faces. He was d that he could help them. Looking at his hands, Aldred realized that his power was better used for helping people.


    Bernard, Tamaca, Mareona, Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and everyone else was just like him; unwanted and oppressed. He wanted to me it all on the so-called society, but society was run by people, so it was the people in charge that he should me.


    When they return to the barrack for strength training, Bartrem noticed something. ¡°Aldred, you¡¯re already at Silver Rank?¡±


    The other soldiers looked at him as well. Aldred nodded. Their gaze lit up.


    ¡°Congrattion, Aldred.¡±


    All of them congratted him. Joseph and Jeffery came and said their thanks again.


    ¡°Without you, both of us will still be a burden,¡± Joseph said. ¡°Thank you for that, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I am happy to help you all.¡±


    They all smiled and were grateful that Aldred was here. At first, they pitied him because he was a young boy that was forced to go to war. War wasn¡¯t a walk in the park. They had been here for a few years, and they were still afraid every time they went to a battle. But now, they admired and respected him.

 Chapter 41 Mira Belle

    The next day.


    The morning sun gave a refreshing soft light, removing the chill and warming his skin. Aldred wore his brown tunic shirt and trouser. Hisrades wore their armor and came out of the barrack to train.


    As usual, they trained first thing in the morning before hunting for fish just like yesterday. He had fun the day before with Juhel, Mary, and Mareona, catching a lot of fish and sshing water at each other.


    Maybe they¡¯d do it againter.


    Or not.


    ¡°Men, gather around,¡± Bartrem ordered. The soldiers stopped their training and ran to the Knight. Bartrem wore his thick Knight armor. Aldred almost never saw him take it off.


    ¡°We have a mission,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°The scouts told us that a small enemy caravan is passing the south side of the Mnian forest. Our mission is to intercept this caravan.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo pongo?¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Is the other toon going to join us?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°How did you even understand that?¡±


    Aldred shrugged.<sub>-.</sub>


    Bartrem shrugged as well. ¡°No. We are the only toon that will move in this operation. The n is simple. We wait in the forest, and when the caravan arrives, we attack it from behind. Do all of you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°We will leave immediately,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Make sure to bring everything you might need.¡±


    Aldred checked his water bag on his waist and tapped it a few times to make sure it was filled. He tapped his left waist and it knocked against his first-aid box. He opened it and grabbed a bandage and a small container before putting it back again. The small container had a cream to relieve pain. There were other creams as well, unlike before, the creams were legit because Aldred and Bartrem had tested them before.


    ¡°Be careful out there, Aldred,¡± Mary said with a smile. She was sad that she couldn¡¯t go and protect Aldred directly.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I will, Mary. Don¡¯t worry about me. I will return with the other without a wound.¡± Heughed with confidence.


    Pressure toon II set off to the south. Aldred waved and said his goodbye to Mary. He did not see Mareona or Juhel on the way. That was normal because they were at the north of the fort.


    Aldred approached Bartrem. ¡°Sir, who do you think is the enemy?¡±


    ¡°Montcresia. Who else is our enemy?¡±


    ¡°I mean. Why would a small caravan enter our border?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably for espionage missions. They send a lot of spies to our empire over the year. We send ours as well. With both sides knowing and seeing everything, it is hard to attack with full force. Since everyone knew everything, they can fight with the same amount of force as well.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred looked forward. That made a lot of sense. Ceraisian Empire and Montcresia Holy State had been at war since he was a baby, and yet their border didn¡¯t even change.


    They arrived at the forest, but they went further south and when they saw an expansive grassy in, theyid low, using the dried leaves as cover.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°When I told you to attack, throw your fire fist at the enemy. After that, the rest of us will attack.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Aldred replied.


    Aldred and the rest waited. Looking from above, they¡¯d only see an uneven yet natural pile of leaves, but under it were the soldiers, already pulling out their swords.


    ¡­


    Mira Belle rode atop the carriage with a wooden roof that shaded her from the sun. She put her glistening gold Staff of Hope on herp and untied her blonde hair. Her graceful wavy hair fell down to her back like a golden waterfall. She took a mirror and saw her deep green eyes, petite face, and smooth skin.


    She put the mirror down and fixed her ck and white clothes.


    ¡°Sister Mira,¡± a soldier called bowing his head. He did not dare to look at her, because, unlike other nuns, Sister Mira wore much more revealing clothing. He feared that he¡¯d sinned for feasting his eyes upon her. And maybe this was also a test given by her to their unit. She was a famous rassaphore after all, known for herpassion and strict teaching of the Foido gospel.


    ¡°How can I help you, Andrew?¡± She said with the softest of voice he ever heard in his life. It was very contrasted to his loud and nagging wife at home. If he could listen to her voice every day, that¡¯d be a bliss for him. And the fact that she remember his name confirmed the rumor about her. She treated each individual as of the highest importance, not giving judging eyes before she knew the person more deeply.


    In front of a such person, how could he not be pressured to act like a pure obedient boy.


    Andrew knelt on both knees and put his forehead on the floor of the carriage. ¡°I apologize sister! I have sinned!¡±


    The carriage was still moving along with other carriages beside it, but there was only Andrew and sister Mira there. That was why he dare to confess his sin to her.


    Mira still had a smile on her face. Andrew immediately put his gaze on the floor again. His heart beat nervously. He was afraid. Yet he regretted nothing.


    ¡°Tell me. I wouldn¡¯t know if you don¡¯t tell me yet.¡±


    Andrew took a deep breath. ¡°Sister,¡± he started. ¡°I have a wife and two kids at home. I should be a loyal husband, and shan¡¯t look at other women, but when I set my gaze upon you, sister, my heart was tempted. I have sinned, sister. Please punish me.¡±


    Mira smiled and chuckled. ¡°You have done nothing wrong, Andrew.¡±


    She grabbed his chin and looked at him closely. His heart beat again. Butterfly flying in his stomach. Andrew blushed as he looked at her exquisite body.


    ¡°Feelings and emotion cannot be controlled.¡± She caressed his cheek. ¡°Hatred, temptation, jealousy, greed, and anger is out of your control, Andrew. They are simply a test given by the gods. It is only when you act upon those emotions have you truly sinned.¡±


    She pressed her breast and smiled at him. ¡°Tell me what you feel right now.¡±


    ¡°I feel hard and tempted, sister. My mind keeps telling me to pounce and ravaged your clothes,¡± he said with deep honesty, though he felt a tinge of shame doing it.


    ¡°There is no shame in honesty,¡± Mira said. ¡°Honesty is bravery. Bravery to face the truth.¡±


    She turned around and walked a few steps forward. Andrew could see her plump butt on her tight clothes. He blushed even more. His manhood hardened.


    ¡°You told me that you are tempted. But why did you not act upon it?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s wrong, sister. Because it is a sin to act upon these emotions.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°That is true. In life, you will always be tempted by these emotions. They¡¯re like demons inside your head and heart, relentlessly beckoning you to join their side, what¡¯s worse is that it only takes one step into the abyss, and you will never return.¡±


    ¡°How do I strengthen my conviction, sister? Please help me.¡±


    ¡°Like everything else, you can train your mind and heart.¡±


    ¡°How do I train them, sister?¡±


    ¡°By staring at the abyss.¡± Mira grabbed her clothes and showed her breasts. ¡°Look at me, Andrew.¡±


    Andrew trembled. His manhood hardened even more. His face reddened. Her voluptuous body was very tempting. Saliva trickled from his mouth. He wanted it. He wanted to have her.


    ¡°Keep looking at me, but don¡¯t fall for the temptation. Others might tell you not to listen to the demons, but I want you to listen. Open your ears and listen to them. Now turn those whispers into music. Show them that you are not disturbed. Show them your heart and mind can turn into steel in the face of the enemy and turn soft and weak in the embrace of your family.¡±


    Andrew shook his head and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Open your eyes, Andrew!¡± Mira approached.


    Andrew trembled even more. ¡°Sister, please, enough.¡±


    ¡°No, Andrew. Keep staring. This is your test.¡±


    Mira grabbed his head and opened his eyes with her fingers.


    Andrew was forced to look at her pink nipples. His mouth salivates even more. ¡°Sister, please.¡±


    ¡°You will face an even greater temptation in the future, Andrew. Be brave and face it.¡±


    Her pink nipples approached his lips. Andrew¡¯s breath became heavy. It took all his willpower to stop himself from moving and grabbed her breast before raping her. But he held it. This was a test. He had to pass it.


    After a few minutes, Mira stood up and stepped back. ¡°You¡¯ve passed, Andrew.¡±


    Andrew let out a breath and fell to the floor. His chest still thumping hard and quick.


    Mira wore her clothes. ¡°Many people out there still felt by their temptation thinking that it was normal. Say, Andrew. Don¡¯t you think the world will be better if everyone knows how to control their emotion?¡±


    Mira continued: ¡°Imagine, Andrew. Your son and daughter walking in the alley at night, but nothing happens. An olddy walking with her valuables, but no one tried to steal them. A beautiful woman in a vulnerable situation, but no one takes advantage of her. Or riches of great value yet no one does corruption. Wouldn¡¯t be better if we first think about the consequence of our action before the benefit it can bring to us? I dreamed of that world for so long, Andrew. I dream it every night. And I kept praying and hoping that the world I imagine wille to be. Years passed and that is when I realize that the world will not change by itself.¡±


    She turned and looked at him. ¡°I took it upon myself to change the world. All violence in the world must end before my own life.¡±


    Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound and a burst of mes.


    ¡°At arms! We are under attack!¡±

 Chapter 42 A Nun

    Aldred absorbed the mana within the ruby crystal. He stared at the caravan ahead and punched. ¡°Fire Fist.¡±


    A fire the shape of a fist shot forward, then it erged, zing with huge, violent me before engulfing four carriages at once. The mes zed to the sky, burning the grass and nts around it.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Bartrem jumped out of the leaves and charged forward. Joseph, Jeffery, and the other soldiers charged as well.


    ¡°Pongo!¡± Pongo the penguin raised his baguette and charged at the enemy. His eyes were as fierce as an eagle looking for prey.


    There were fourteen carriages at first, now there were only ten left. Aldred summoned his undead. Currently, he only had twenty-nine undead, most of them were humans. His undead capacity was sixty, so he wanted to increase that number during this battle.


    Archers came out of the carriages and fired arrows at them. Just likest time, Aldred deflected all of them with an even greater speed and precision. His skills had leveled up which increase the velocity and the rate of fire his skill had.


    Currently, his fire bullets skill was at the speed of a submachine gun. If he levels it up again, could it reach the speed of a mini gun? Aldred hoped it could go even faster than that.


    Bartrem and his men charged under the rain of broken arrows. There were around sixty enemies. Fifteen of them were archers. And six of them were water magician.


    A huge blob of water floated in the sky. It burst into icicles and rained at the army. Aldred gritted his teeth as he fired even quicker. The icicles were much faster than the arrows, so it was much harder to deflect.


    An icicle stabbed Joseph¡¯s shoulder. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. ¡°We have to be quicker or we need something to distract them.¡±


    ¡°I can do that!¡± Aldred said. His fingers shot three fire arrows in quick session into the sky. The enemy was shocked. The water magicians stopped their offensive spells and started chanting a defensive spell. A blob of water turned into a wall that blocked his arrows.


    Aldred snorted. ¡°I will fly around to distract them.¡±


    He activated jet me on his feet and hand, streaking into the sky. When he was high enough, he sprayed fire bullets at the enemy. They retaliated with arrows. Aldredughed. That was his intention. Now, Bartrem and the others did not have to face the long-range attack.


    Bartrem arrived and fought against the infantry unit. As a Knight of Pressure toon II, he was used to breaching against strong and tight formations, but the enemy he fought today was disoriented and unprepared for their attack. Together with his men, he swung hisrge swords, killing three men at once.


    Joseph moved in from beside him, like a snapping snake, his sword struck precisely at the man¡¯s neck. Jeffery came in, mming his sword with powerful momentum, throwing them to the side with a broken waist and shoulders.


    Aldred locked his eyes at the fifteen archers. Fireballs came out of his fingers and crashed against the water screen before disappearing. He sighed. ¡®I guess I have to use the crystal again.¡¯


    He absorbed the mana from the crystal and summoned arger and fiercer fireball. It stood on top of his index finger above his head. Aldred smiled and looked at the enemy below. ¡°Sunshine!¡±


    The archers and magicians below stared with widened eyes. ¡°Impossible. How could this boy conjure such as powerful fire ball?¡±


    ¡°He has a mana crystal in his hand.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! We cannot survive that.¡±


    ¡°Sister Mira is here. We have to defend it no matter what.¡±


    The fireball flew down, crashed against the screen of water, and then exploded. The screen of water shattered. And then it was followed by a storm of bullets. After making sure all of them were dead, Aldred aimed at the enemy infantry troops. And attacked them.<sub>-.</sub>


    Suddenly, another caravan came from behind. It wasrger than the first.


    ¡°Our reinforcement came!¡± the enemy soldier shouted!


    The soldiers hopped out of their carriages and roared. They raised their swords as they ran towards Bartrem and the others.


    Pressure toon II was sandwiched between two sides. Bartrem ordered the back line to fight the reinforcement unit while he tried to quickly kill the enemy at the front. Aldred helped. He shot fire arrows, fireballs, and fire bullets at the enemy. He did not use fire javelins because that was only useful for prating thick armor. And me Fist was an area of damage spell, he was afraid that his allies might get hit as well.


    Eventually, the enemy at the front was all dead, and Bartrem rushed to the back. Aldred flew towards the back as well. With Bartrem reinforcing the line, the back became the front now. Pongo and the undeads fought valiantly. The reinforcement unit was at least seventy men with a knight leading the charge. He fought Bartrem to a standstill.


    A group of soldiers with open chest shirts stomped the ground. The ground below their feet abruptly raised high.


    ¡°Earth magicians?¡±


    The ground pushed them into the air. The six of them formed rock vambraces on their arms and punched at him. Aldred easily dodged the attack. War Torn Ogre was much faster than them. With that experience, dodging their attack was very easy.


    But surprisingly, the ground below him shot upward and knocked his chin. Blood came out of his mouth, and his flight became unstable. Aldred quickly stabilized himself, but the magician did not give him any chances. They hopped on the ground, and a skateboard without wheels formed under their feet. They surfed the ground like they were surfing on the ocean, and chased after him.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred sent them a storm of fire arrows. A wall of rocks formed in front of them, blocking all the projectiles.


    ¡°These earth magicians are more troublesome than the water ones.¡±


    ¡°Fire javelin!¡±


    A long javelin made out of me shot out of his palm and they zipped through the wall of rock, stabbing through the chest of the magician.


    [EXP +1015]


    ¡°Got you! Hahaha!¡±


    The five earth magicians became warier and they started to work together. Whenever Aldred threw a fire javelin at them, they¡¯d stopped and thickened their rock wall. It was quite effective since Aldred couldn¡¯t kill them after a few hours of battle.


    Aldred felt the battle drag out for too long. He had to use the crystal. He grabbed the ruby crystal and absorbed the mana within it. Red mist entered his arms, but then it stopped and the crystal dimmed.


    ¡°What?¡± He inspected the crystal and realized it had run out of mana already. ¡°This is worse than an iPhone¡¯s battery capacity.¡±


    If not for Mary telling him the value of the crystal the day before, he might have thrown it away.


    He stared at the five earth magician. They were chasing him with their rock skateboards, surfing on the ground. That was actually very cool. He had to learn them someday. But for now, he had to finish them off.


    One ring advantage Aldred had over other magicians was his mana. Unlike other magicians, his mana was unlimited.<sub></sub>


    With that in mind, he rushed toward one of the magicians and threw fire javelins at him. The man cast a wall of rock, but the javelin kept oning and destroyed it. Aldred immediately sprayed him with fire bullets, killing the man.


    [EXP +1015]


    Four left. Aldred increased the power of his jet, making him speed up, and arrived right in front of another enemy. The enemy flinched but quickly conjured his earth shield. Aldred smiled and put his palm on the shield.


    ¡°me Jet!¡±


    A jet of me prated through the rock and sted the man¡¯s chest.


    [EXP +1015]


    ¡®Three to go¡¯


    Then suddenly something happened. The three earth magicians hopped into the air. Arge rock bulged under their feet, and quickly they used it as a surfboard while it moved towards him like a gigantic bull.


    The earth magicians created arge wall of rocks in their path. Suddenly, the walls expanded upward and enclosed Aldred before he could fly out. Only some lights entering through the gaps on the rocks let him see the ce around him.


    Aldred frowned. He heard the sounds of rocks scraping against each other. That was when a volley of rocks came at his face. Aldred turned his body to dodge. But more rocks came from all directions.


    Aldred fired me jet at the rocks to destroy them, but there were too many of them. One rock hit his stomach, making him fall to the ground.


    The earth magicians rushed at him with their surfboards and buried him in rocks.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Aldred sted the rocks to free himself with a me jet, but another volley of rocks was already flying at his face. He was thrown a few meters because of the impact.


    The three magicians lifted threerge boulders into the air. Aldred could only watch as they came crashing down at him.


    The three magicians approached the boulders and lifted them back into the air, but they saw nothing. Suddenly, Aldred came out of thin air at the same spot and sprayed fire bullets at them.


    ¡°Take this sucker!¡± His feet shoot out me jet, pushing him into an earth magician. Aldred quickly sted his head, before firing a few javelins at the others, destroying their rock shields.


    [EXP +1015]


    He punched out a fire fist that erged and covered their whole sight with mes. But that was merely a distraction, Aldred flew to the sky andnded behind their back before prating their body with a fire javelin.


    Both magicians fell with a thud.


    [EXP +1015]


    [EXP +1015]


    Aldred breathed in and out because of exhaustion. The six earth magicians were really good at fighting. And ording to his analysis, they were at least at level 29. That meant they almost reached the Silver Rank.


    That was why they were so hard to fight.


    He was so exhausted. The battle earlier nearly took his life. Luckily, he could enter the Divine Dimension to avoid the boulders, but there was a limit to this ability.


    [You cannot enter the Divine Dimension. Duration: 23 hour 59 minutes]


    Aldred took a deep breath, flew into the air, and sted through the rock sphere. He had to help his allies. When he came, he saw hisrades were in a hard battle. The enemy hadrger numbers, and they were already exhausted after ambushing the first caravan.


    He was tired as well, but he had to do something. And he did what he did best; He sprayed the enemy with fire bullets from above. He was like an attack helicopter that rained bullets upon the ancient soldiers.


    With a surprise attack from another Silver Rank, the enemy knight ordered his men to retreat. Aldred did not let that happen. He flew behind the man and fired a me jet at his face.


    The enemy knight dodged and rolled away.


    ¡°Good job, Aldred. Let¡¯s take out this knight together.¡±


    ¡°Pongo!¡± Pongo stepped beside them, staring fiercely at the knight as he held tight the baguette in his hand.


    ¡°Fuck! Why did you bring bread as a weapon?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (My bread, my rules!)¡±


    ¡°I am going to cook you after this battle.¡±


    The two¡ª the three of them rushed at the enemy knight. Bartrem ran with power and vigor as usual. He shed swords against the man, while Aldred sneaked from the side and send a storm of fire bullets at close range.


    Numerous holes in the armor leaked out blood. The Knight stepped back and was about to run away.


    But something came from the sky. It arched through the air and mmed a bread on the man¡¯s head.


    The man fell to the ground, unconscious.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I would say this, but good job, Pongo.¡±


    Pongo hit his chest as he squeaked proudly. ¡°Pongo pongo pongo (You guys cannot do anything without me)¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath to contain his anger. He walked to the knight and sted his head.


    [EXP +1200]


    [You have level up]


    Looking at the Silver Rank enemy on the ground, Aldred thought about making him an undead. ¡°Arise.¡±


    Dark shadows engulfed the knight, and then a human undead stepped out.


    ¡°It worked.¡±


    Bartrem widened his eyes. ¡°You can make a Silver Rank be your undead that easily?¡±


    ¡°How does it work usually?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. I never see a necromancer at work personally.¡±


    Aldred nodded. Maybe the necromancer in this world worked differently than his power. ¡°I am going to fly to check if there is any survivor.¡± Aldred flew to the sky. Hisrades were cleaning up the retreating enemy. It seemed the opposition did not have any chances against hisrades.


    But then he noticed a soldier and a woman sneakily running into the forest.


    ¡°Hell no, you won¡¯t get away.¡± Aldred flew above them as they were about to enter the forest.


    Aldrednded in front of them, one fist on the ground. He tilted his head upward, looking at them. ¡°I am¡­ iron dude.¡±


    Andrew brandished his sword and stepped over the woman who was in very revealing clothes.


    ¡°Are you a nun?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Sister, Mira. Please run into the forest and hide. I will buy time for you.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She walked forward and looked at the boy. ¡°This boy is stronger than you. There is no need to sacrifice any more life for me.¡±


    Bartrem and his troops came.


    ¡°Good job catching up to them, Aldred,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Now, close your eyes. I will try to make it less painful.¡±


    ¡°Ie in peace,¡± Mira said. ¡°Please stop your violence act.¡±


    Bartrem thrust his sword through Andrew¡¯s heart. Mira looked at the man with widened eyes. ¡°I said no violence! Why did you kill him when we are obviously surrendering?¡±


    ¡°Simple. You are spies. Of course, you will surrender yourself to us, that way you can gain information that you can give to your ally. We have been at war for years, why do you look so surprised?¡±


    ¡°I am surprised at how easy you can take someone else¡¯s life. Those people you kill are father, son, and brothers of a family.¡±


    Bartrem clicked his tongue and scratched his head. ¡°Are you a nun?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°That exins it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Ahh, this is difficult. We are not supposed to kill a nun. And you are not supposed to be at our border. At least without your bishops or whatever they are called.¡±


    Aldred was surprised. He thought this medieval world did not have any morality such as not killing a nun. ¡°So what do we do now?¡±


    Bartrem sighed heavily. ¡°We cannot kill her, but we cannot send her back either.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    Bartrem pulled Aldred a distance away from the nun to prevent her from listening. ¡°We cannot kill the nun, because the heroes will rampage our border. And if we return her, our political enemy will say that we are a traitor and use that chance to pull out the empress¡¯ influence from many ces.¡±


    ¡°Who are these heroes?¡±


    ¡°The heroes are powerful magical warriors that have received the blessing of the god.¡±


    ¡°Magical warrior?¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°They can use martial arts and magic. They are very good at it as well. If you are the same rank as them, you will not likely win the battle.¡±


    ¡°How do you know our political enemy will call us a traitor if we return the nun?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the empress had done it before. The reason why she has fingers everywhere was because of that one mistake the emperor¡¯s camp made. If we do the same thing, the empress¡¯ influence will deteriorate.¡± Bartrem felt like he shouldn¡¯t exin this to a ten-year-old, but he was afraid that Aldred would keep asking questions. If that happened, Pharder¡¯s men might hear them and report it to him.


    ¡°So we will hide her?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Not only from the enemies, but from our allies as well. The enemy will investigate this ceter, and they will not see the nun¡¯s body. They will specte that she ran away, becausest time we return the nun immediately.¡±


    ¡°Will it be that simple?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not. This is just spection. Who knows what the investigator will think. Maybe they¡¯d know that we keep the nun hostage, but as long as we don¡¯t ask for ransom and no one else knew about the nun, we can be safe.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. ¡°This is veryplicated.¡±


    ¡°That is why I said this will be difficult. Now how do we hide her from the army?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we disguise her as our mage? Pharder hates women right? He wouldn¡¯t care if she became our mage.¡±


    ¡°How do you know she¡¯s a mage?¡± generally, a nun was someone who did not have any talent in magic. They spend the majority of their time doing¡­ nun stuff.


    ¡°I have good eyes.¡± He also knew that the nun did not wear any underwear, but he did not need to tell Bartrem that.

 Chapter 43 The Memorial Mountain

    Because Pressure toon II was attacked in two different directions, their firepower was split, resulting in many wounded soldiers. None died, but almost half of hisrades were terribly wounded.


    Aldred, Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and the others were tending to theirrades¡¯ wounds. Smearing cream to relieve the pain before wrapping it with bandages. Throughout the process, the soldiers kept a stone-cold faces. In the military, you had to prevent yourself from whining or you¡¯d be seen as cowards.


    Especially about pain. Being a soldier involved a lot of pain and suffering more than any other profession.


    Aldred finished wrapping up the bandages, but some of hisrades hadrger wounds and were hard to be tended to.


    Blood trickled like a stream. They did not show it in their expressions, but their pale skins, sleepy eyes, and weak limbs were apparent.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Aldred called. ¡°I don¡¯t think they can return with their condition.¡±


    Bartrem nodded in understanding. His men currently had their armors wrecked and tattered. The distance from here to the fort was around 45 miles. They would die if he make them walk that far. ¡°For those who are not fatally wounded, drop your armor and carry yourrades.¡±


    The soldiers obeyed immediately. They would never leave their allies, after all, they had gone through so many things together. Armor started falling to the rough dirt with a thud. The fatally wounded soldiers looked at them with a guilty expression.


    It wasn¡¯t their fault that they were wounded, still, burdening their friend made them feel terrible.


    Hisrades picked them up and carried them over the back.


    ¡°So what do we do about her?¡± Aldred asked, pointing at the nun. <sub>-.</sub>


    Bartrem told his men to handle her, and they tied her hands and legs.


    ¡°You do not need to tie me,¡± she said. ¡°I will do you no harm.¡±


    ¡°And you expect us to believe that? You might think you are some kind of pure, kind nun, but in my eyes, you are the enemy.¡±


    Mira grimaced. ¡°You poor soul. Bing bitter because the world brings you down. Tell me. What has it done to you?¡±


    Bartrem shook his head. ¡°Your preach or gospel won¡¯t work on me. March.¡±


    The nun kept her silent as the soldiers tied a stick to her back. They then lifted her up on their shoulder; two soldiers lift her up with each end of the stick on their shoulders.


    The wounded soldiers started to have trouble breathing. Their skins turned even paler. They didn¡¯t even feel the pain anymore. It was cold.


    ¡°I can help you. Let me heal their wound,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°Why would you do that for us?¡± Bartrem asked, narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Trust me. I mean no harm.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Sir, I think we should give her a chance.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me sir anymore, Aldred. You are a Silver Rank.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I think we can let her heal ourrades. If she tries something fishy, I will st her head myself.¡±


    The nun sighed. ¡°You are suspicious of me because of my identity.¡±


    ¡°That is obvious,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I know I am not supposed to assume what will you do, but suspicion is what keeps people alive. Put down your guard, and people will take advantage of you dry.¡±


    ¡°Is that what the world did to you?¡±


    Aldred looked at her for a few seconds. ¡°Yes. I learned from my mistake and realize that only when there is a consequence will people not try doing anything bad to me. Now heal my friends, but if you try something else, believe me, that you won¡¯t even feel the consequence.¡±


    In other words; Instant death.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a wise move, Aldred. I don¡¯t know anything about magic, but I know they are very tricky. Who knows what will happen if we let her do what she wants.¡±


    That was true. Taking the risk for himself was fine, but was it okay for him to make the decision that risked the life of hisrades? Not in the slightest.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Then we should let the soldiers decide.¡±


    Bartrem nodded and asked all of them. They all did not ept. It seemed the hatred between Montcresia and Ceraisian was quite strong. The soldiers looked like they were at the end of the rope right now yet they still refused her help.


    After a few hours, some of the fatally wounded soldiers couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and drew theirst breath.


    ¡°Sir!¡± The soldier who brought them called out in panic.


    Bartrem approached and checked their condition one by one. Aldred followed along with Pongo.


    ¡°They died,¡± Bartrem said. He saw the other fatally wounded soldiers were also on theirst leg. If they didn¡¯t arrive soon, they¡¯d be dead.


    ¡°I am telling you. I can help,¡± The nun said.


    The soldiers refused again.


    Mira wasn¡¯t even mad, but sad instead. The hatred and suspicion within their heart were too strong that they became afraid of receiving her help. She understood them. They might be betrayed a lot of times in life. She had met people like them. They trust nobody but themselves and they became self-centered because everybody was outside their world.


    The soldiers here had some exceptions. From what Mira saw, the soldiers trusted theirrades with their life, but they won¡¯t listen to anyone else. For them, the toon was their home and their world; a ce where they could rx and believe that everything would be fine.


    They continued their journey. This time, they were in a hurry. They did not run, because that would tire them out, but they walked faster than before. The dead soldiers stilly on their backs. They deserved to be buried with honor near the fort.


    Not long after, they arrived at the fort. The soldiers smiled, thinking that they could save their friends. They were half correct as twenty people died immediately.


    In total, twenty-seven people died during their march. That left the toon with only twenty-three people. That saddened the entire toon, as theyy the wounded and deceased soldiers on the grass.


    Mira gritted her teeth. A thin stream of water circled her and cut the rope. She rushed at the wounded soldiers who were still alive. Water flowed around her and then washed over the wounded.


    ¡°Stop her!¡±


    Joseph and Jeffery shed at her neck and waist, but Aldred came from the side and sted their swords to the sky.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Aldred shouted. ¡°Look¡± He pointed at the soldiers.


    Their pale skins turned healthy, and the wounds on their waist, shoulders, abdomen, and legs were healed. Their breathing turned to normal.


    Mira looked at them. ¡°This is my power; Holy Water. I told you many times that I can help you, but none of you listen.¡±


    They all looked at her withplicated expressions. But Mira felt the suspicion in their heart strengthened instead. She sighed. She had seen this many times in her endeavor to spreadpassion and kindness to the world. Many thought that the goodwill of others always came with a price.


    She knew what they thought about her without even asking. They must be thinking that she did all this to gain their trust, so she could obtain information from them. Just like what Bartrem had said earlier.


    Bartrem ordered his men to bury the dead. He turned to look at the nun. ¡°Joseph, Jeffery, look after this nun.¡±


    He followed his men as they bring their deceasedrades to the Memorial Mountain. The mountain was located east from the fort.


    When Aldred arrived, he saw other soldiers from other toons.


    They moved their hands and talked with empty air. They evenughed and said goodbye like they were talking to a friend in front of the gravestones. Some men just stood up seemingly in a daze, and there were those who had tears in their eyes.


    Gravestones dotted the base of the mountain. Carved on the stones were the names of the fallen soldiers.


    The Pressure toon II found an empty spot and dug the ground.


    ¡°Does all fallen soldiers buried here?¡± Aldred asked.


    Bartrem shook his head. ¡°If we are inside the enemy border, or if we are in active conflict, then we can only bury ourrades whenever and wherever we can.¡±


    Aldred nced as a group of soldiers came and visited their friends. They looked at the gravestone and talked to it, smiling andughing. Was this the culture here?

 Chapter 44 New Dress

    After burying theirrades and paying respect to them, they returned to the barrack. Mary stood there with a look of worry on her face. She ran to Aldred and hugged him. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I am fine. But a lot of my friends didn¡¯t survive.¡±


    ¡°I heard from Joseph.¡± She then decided to avoid the topic.  ¡°You said that we should let the nun disguise as our mage. I think that is a good idea. Not because it¡¯s actually good, but because there¡¯s no other choice. I consider killing her, but that is very risky. If the heroes found out that we kill their nun, we¡¯d be damned.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t our empires fight against the heroes?¡±


    ¡°We can, but the heroes won¡¯t leave flowers in their trail.¡±


    He nced at Mary. Her gaze was serious. The heroes of Montcresia were like nuclear weapons. If they threw one at the Ceraisian Empire, they¡¯d throw a nuclear weapon of their own, devastating both sides as a result.


    Aldred shook his head and approached Bartrem. ¡°Bartrem, we cannot do this anymore. In the future, we will fight more battles, and each battle will wound ourrades. We should get some healing potions.¡± Now they had the nun as the healer, but her identity was very sensitive, and the soldiers were very suspicious of her.


    ¡°How could we make a chemical of our own?¡± Bartrem asked. ¡°I never touch an ingredient myself.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask from Frey.¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°I am sure Pharder has warned him about us. He will treat us just like everybody else.¡±


    ¡°We can only try.¡±


    Bartrem, Aldred, and Pongo went to the medicine hall inside the fort. It was near the southwest gate as well, so it didn¡¯t take them long to arrive. Aldred stepped on the wooden floor and entered through the door. The familiar medicine scent entered his nose.<sub>-.</sub>


    Bartrem called out for Frey, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a man they didn¡¯t know stood at the counter, looking at them with hostile eyes.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± the man asked with an aggressive tone.


    ¡°We want a recipe or a form to make a healing potion.¡±


    ¡°No. Go away.¡±


    ¡®Fuck!¡¯ Aldred was so enraged that he might burn the whole hall right now. ¡°If that is the case then give me a few healing potions.¡±


    ¡°10 silver for each small healing potion.¡±


    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t it supposed to be free for soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Free? Are you kidding me? Only ves work for free!.¡±


    A soldier came inside the medicine hall, greeted the man, grabbed a bunch of healing potions, and left.


    ¡°That man left without paying.¡±


    ¡°He already paid the day before.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have any money go away!¡±


    Bartrem clicked his tongue. He handed out twenty silvers on the counter. ¡°Give me two of those small potions.¡±


    The man nced at the silvers. ¡°If you want to buy two at once, you have to pay double.¡±


    Bartrem mmed the table and stared fiercely at the man. ¡°Don¡¯t do something you might regret. You¡¯re a just puppet in this game, don¡¯t risk your life for it.¡±


    The man flinched and trembled in fear. ¡°Fine. Take these two potions and leave this ce.¡±


    Bartrem grabbed the potion and stormed out of the door with Aldred and Pongo.


    ¡°I cannot believe that guy is so rude,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°This is why I don¡¯t want to visit the medicine hall or any other facilities at all,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Is ten silvers a lot?¡±


    ¡°I only earn five silvers a month. The rest were only paid with coppers.¡±


    ¡°Damnit! One of These small potions costs two months of your sry? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s even enough for one soldier.¡±


    They arrived at the barrack. Bartrem sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to return empty-handed after that.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Pongo. We¡¯re in a terrible situation right now.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡± He vomited a bunch of potions out of his mouth.


    ¡°Eh. You stole the potions?¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Shit! Quick, get inside the barrack. Don¡¯t let anyone see this.¡±


    They both grabbed the potions and entered the barrack. Slowly putting the potions on Aldred¡¯s bed, they counted the potions to be at twenty bottles.


    ¡°Pongo what else did you steal?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Pongo.¡± He vomited more potions out of his mouth. Some had green colors of the healing potion while others had purple, red, and white colors.


    ¡°So many,¡± Aldred said. ¡°What are they used for?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one for healing, strengthening attack, improving defense, and increasing speed. If we have this in battle, we could break through the enemy formation much easier.¡±


    ¡°Nice. Good job, Pongo.¡±


    Pongo raised his beak high. ¡°Pongo pongo pongo (Bow before me, mortal).¡±


    Aldred ignored the penguin. ¡°Still. All of this will run out eventually. We have to make our own potion to be self-sufficient.¡±


    ¡°How can we do that? We don¡¯t have alchemists in our rank.¡±


    Aldred grabbed one of the healing potions. The green liquid swished inside the bottle. His godly eyes activated and listed out the list of ingredients to make it.


    ¡°Green herb, salt, and water,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Where can we find green herb?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that is the ingredient? Even if you are correct, do you even know how to make it?¡±


    ¡°We can only try.¡±


    Mary came inside the barrack with the nun beside her. The nun wore a new dress. It was blue in color, though it still revealed her thigh, and stuck tight to her body which perfectly outlined her full breast. Her slender fingers wrapped around a golden staff with intricate carvings. On the handle, written the word: Hope.


    ¡°I got her a new dress,¡± Mary said. ¡°This way people won¡¯t know she¡¯s a nun.¡± She turned around to look at the nun. ¡°Don¡¯t reveal that you are a nun.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°Your identity is very sensitive in this kingdom, and if others knew you will die.¡±


    ¡°Why would they kill me even if I do nothing wrong?¡±


    ¡°You are mistaken. It is me who will kill you if you reveal yourself.¡± Mary looked at her like a lioness. Although the empire would be taken over by Aldred in the future, she wanted the bnce of power to stay this way. They already had a terrible life in the fort. If the bnce tilted to the emperor¡¯s side, they might get worse treatment.


    Mira did not show any fear, but she did not want conflict or violence. ¡°I will not reveal myself, but let me move freely.¡±


    ¡°Your movement will be watched by us, if there is no one watching you, then you are not allowed to go anywhere.¡±


    Mira nodded.


    ¡°Now, to prevent you from running away.¡± She grabbed a pair of handcuffs and locked Mira¡¯s hand with hers. ¡°At night, when we are about to sleep, I will handcuff your hand with mine.¡±


    Mira was surprised at how thorough the woman in front of her was in making sure she did not do anything suspicious.


    But it wasn¡¯t her that they should be worried about doing something suspicious.


    Aldred looked at both women. ¡®Does that mean I get to sleep with both of them?¡¯


    It was Aldred.

 Chapter 45 The Test

    At night, Aldred was in bed like usual. What wasn¡¯t usual was that Mira was sleeping with him along with Mary on his right.


    Their hands were still handcuffed together. Mary was asleep. On the other hand, Mira was wide awake. She looked at the boy, curios.


    ¡°How did you be a soldier, child?¡± She caressed his head. ¡°You are so young and talented, but war isn¡¯t a ce for you. At this age, you should be ying at home with your parents.¡±


    She grabbed his hand and ran her finger on his palm. ¡°Rough and hard.¡± She then ran her hand along his forearm. ¡°Sturdy and strong. This is the hand of a warrior, not a magician.¡±


    She gazed at him with beautiful deep, green eyes. ¡°And certainly isn¡¯t the hand of a child.¡±


    Mira got closer to Aldred, making him nervous. She smelled so nice. Like flowers. And as Aldred breathed in more, her smell became stronger in his nose. It was caramel sweet.


    Her blue tight dress wrapped around her body and the outline of her breasts was wonderful. It didn¡¯t lose out to her curvy hips and would make any men want to hold her and hug her.


    A slender hand softly grabbed his chin and lifted it up. ¡°My eyes are here, child.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Her beautiful face was so close to him. Aldred blushed. Even though he had been in thepany of beautiful women a lot of times, he still blush when he was found out of checking the goods.


    Mira raised an eyebrow. The boy surprisingly had a great temptation of lust. It was normal for them to feel embarrassed, but she did not see the innocence of a boy. It felt like she was in front of a teenager instead.


    ¡°How long have you been a soldier, child?¡±


    Aldred gulped, and nervously answered: ¡°I think around a month now.¡±


    ¡°Ten years old, a month on the front line, and already at silver ranks. Is Mary your mother?¡±


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°She is not. But she always takes care of me.¡±


    ¡°Tell me who are you?¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred was about to answer when Joseph brandished a sword at Mira¡¯s neck. He red at her. ¡°Keep your question on hold, cresian. Remember that you are not in your own monastery, but in the barrack of your enemy. I am watching you.¡± He then left and returned to his bed.


    Mira sighed. ¡°Seems like sleeping is the only thing left to do.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about you,¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Since you cannot ask questions, I will do the questioning.¡±


    ¡°I am a nun from the Abbey of Kristiel, in other words, I am from Ocray, the capital and religious center of Montcresia.¡±


    Mary, Joseph, and the other soldiers flinched. They only pretended to sleep.


    Aldred grabbed the sleeping Pongo and hugged him as he looked at Mira. ¡°Ocray is located far to the west, right? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°To end the war without violence, child. So little boys at your age do not need to stain their hands with blood anymore, so the fathers, husbands, and brothers of a family do not need to be buried as a result of violence.¡±


    ¡°Seems like a wonderful dream.¡±


    ¡°It is wonderful.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, it will stay as a dream. You cannot end the war without violence. To stop others from using their power, you have to overpower them. How can you, a lone nun, expect to fight against an empire?¡±


    ¡°I do not intend to fight it. I intend to educate it.¡±


    ¡°What will education do? Are you going to teach people how to be grateful, how to be kind, and how to hold their anger? Let me tell you that will not work. Who you need to educate is the people in power, but good luck in making the captain or the emperor listen to you.¡±


    Mira was intrigued. ¡°You are highly knowledgeable for a child.¡± Instead of epting and nodding to her teaching, the boy in front of her could argue against her logic which made her rethink how to reach her goals.


    ¡°I¡¯m merely a depressed child. Nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Are you not interested in making the world a peaceful ce?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I will be stronger and kill the emperor. That way I can take over the empire and everything will be peaceful.¡±


    Joseph and the others were shocked to hear that. If Aldred said it a few weeks ago, they wouldn¡¯t believe it, but they had seen firsthand his talents and his progress. All of them believed Aldred will reach Diamond Rank in no time. And maybe he could even reach the legendary Adamantite Rank.


    ¡°World peace cannot rely on one person. You need everyone to act and behave ording to the teaching of the gospel to achieve world peace for generations toe.¡±


    ¡°Why not? If I eliminate all evil people, the world will be in peace.¡±


    ¡°And can you resist the temptation of bing evil yourself?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s test it.¡± Mira ripped her tight dress and revealed her breasts.


    Aldred flinched as he stared at her beautiful tiny nipples. Though her breast was full, the nipples were smaller than his pinky.


    Mira smiled when she saw the boy was so intoxicated. She then rubbed her breasts and enticed him even more by giving him a seducing smile. She opened her mouth and licked her fingers before pressing her left nipples.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Aldred said while staring at her breasts.


    Mira did not say anything. She kept fondling her own breast and ripping her dress more, revealing her breasts in full form. She approached, making her breasts stop right in front of his face.


    Aldred¡¯s cheeks were red. She licked her fingers again before rubbing them on her beautiful pearl-like nipple. She started moaning to entice him even more.


    ¡°Ahhhh.¡±


    Mira smiled inwardly. She was a philosopher at heart and had been studying people¡¯s behavior since she was a teenager. As a philosopher, she would do anything to prove her point. She shouldn¡¯t have to prove it to a ten-year-old, but her discussion with him made her take him seriously. Yes, she tested the boy like she tested an adult. Maybe she should start to test boys at an early age, after all, it was harder to change a person when they were fully-grown adults.


    Or maybe not. She did not know what impact would it do on young boys. Now, she felt stupid to test the boy in front of her. She sighed and was about to cover herself with a nket until she felt someone sucking on her nipple.


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±

 Chapter 46 Stella Altum

    ¡°What are you doing, child?¡± Mira asked as Aldred sucked on her nipple.


    ¡°I thought you want me to suck it.¡±


    ¡°That was a test.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ can I still suck them though?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡­


    At a little corner of the Thignia Kingdom, bordering between Montcresia, and Ceraisian stood a mountain of incredible height. Its tall cliffs of sun-baked stones were gnawed by unceasing winds. This was Mount Fargon. The source of many myths and legends. A wyrm flew near the mountain. Suddenly, a giant basilisk snapped out from a cave and bit its neck. The wyrm screeched in pain as the basilisk pulled its prey to the cave, and the scream of its prey was never heard again. The climbers who were hanging on the cliff had a grim expressions when they saw this. Mount Fargon was said to contain a treasure more valuable than others. Every year, brave and slightly crazy explorers woulde and try to climb its peak.


    But it wasn¡¯t the wind nor the creatures that they should be worried about.


    It was the guardian of this mountain. A powerful woman with the power of stars in her hand.


    Ste Altum was standing at the edge of the fenceless balcony. Her dark-purple eyes gazed upon the fools that disturbed her peace. A golden disc, slightly broken, floated in front of her. It turned and faced the climbers.


    She raised her slender and tan fingers. Her eyes filled with longing as she looked at the stars in the night sky.


    ¡°Call upon the stars.¡±


    The stars in the sky lit up and sent a streaking light that entered the disc. The disc shone and spun, exuding out star particles that glittered around it. She raised her dark-gold staff, ending with the shape of a sphere at the end. At the center of the sphere was a tiny core of a star.


    ¡°Falling Star.¡± Her staff pointed at the explorer, and the disc fired a beam of golden light that seared and burn the freezing air. The explorer widened their eyes when they saw the golden beam headed toward them.


    Before they could make sense of the event, their whole beings were turned into dust particles.<sub>-.</sub>


    The monsters within the mountain trembled in fear and scurried back to their caves. But they knew, should the guardian deem them a nuisance, they¡¯d be dead when they sleep.


    But the explorers did not die. Their dust particles gathered at the foot of the mountain and formed into human bodies.


    The explorer did not have any clear memory of what happened, but every time they looked at the peak, their whole body shook.


    A magical voice whispered in their head: ¡°Never return.¡±


    The explorer ran, and they¡¯d never be seen again.


    Ste sighed at finally shooing the intruders away. She patted her white and golden robe that revealed all of her legs, while her upper body was covered by a thin, tight, intricately carved golden armor that revealed arge part of her tanned breasts. She humphed and turned away from the view of the clouds below to go back inside. The explorers had a terrible habit of breaking things at times. All for the sake of the so-called treasures. She recalled what the explorers had done to her peak and disturbed her peace. Shaking off bitter memories, Ste nced at his attendant, standing and staring at the stars with an astrbe in his hand.


    ¡°Something changed in the formation of the stars,¡± he said. ¡°The fate of this continent will change, though I am not sure if it is for the better or the worse.¡±


    ¡°What is the cause?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not what, but who.¡±


    ¡°Show me.¡±


    The attendant waved his hand over the astrbe, and it shone in golden light, spinning and turning. Golden particles flew out of it, hovered in front of them, clumping together, and then transformed into a screen that revealed a boy who was sucking on a nipple.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I think the device malfunctioned,¡± the attendant said about to hit the astrbe.<sub></sub>


    ¡°It does not malfunction. It always worked the way we intended to, and it will always be.¡±


    ¡°So this is the person that changed the destiny of this continent?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but I am not taking any risk. I will teleport the boy to another continent so he did not disturb our peace.¡±


    She raised her staff. The tiny star core shone ever brighter. The stars in the night sky lit up. Moving the staff left and right, up and down, the staff made a golden trail of glittering light, making a golden engraving of a star in the air. Pulling the staff behind her back, she then thrust forward. The engraving lit up. The stars in the sky fired a beam of light toward the boy.


    That¡¯d take care of the problem. The power bnce of this continent must be kept, for if it tilt slightly, there would be a great disaster ahead. She had been doing this for a while, after all, her peace might be disturbed if the continent was in havoc.


    A thinyer of red screen appeared, blocking the beam that came from the stars.


    ¡°What?¡± Ste stared at the red screen with wide eyes. ¡°Who did that?¡±


    Suddenly, she felt a cold and smooth hand moving on her neck. Her body froze in ce, trembling as fear seeped into her heart. Sweat trickled down her forehead. The attendant stepped back in fear as well.


    Eve smiled, fairly pleased at their reaction. She had known the existence of all the powerful beings on this that may or may not threaten her son.


    ¡°You will not disturb my son anymore. Not until he matched you in strength or when he disturb your peace.¡±


    She vanished.


    Ste gasped for air. Never before had she felt such heavy pressure on her whole body.


    She fell on her reclined chair, leaning back as she thought about the warning earlier. A castle floated above the mountain and she felt that same pressuring presence again.


    ¡°Who is she?¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred woke up with two beautiful women in bed. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and fondled Mary¡¯s breasts. She was still asleep. He gave her cheek a kiss before turning around and fondling the nun¡¯s breasts. Yesterday, she had allowed him to suck on her nipple. Because he was ten-year-old, she let it be.


    ¡®That¡¯s right. I am a ten-year-old boy. Kekekek.¡±


    Mira was a beauty with deep green eyes and smooth blonde hair. Her body was curvy with a plump butt and well-endowed breasts. Something rustled behind him, and when he turned around, Mary smiled and greeted him.


    ¡°Good morning, Aldred.¡± She caressed his face and gave his lips a kiss.


    ¡°Morning, Mary.¡± He gave her a kiss as well.


    Not long after, Mira also woke up. ¡°Beautiful day,¡± she said with a smile.


    The other soldiers opened their eyes and prepared for their routine.


    Mary nced at the nun. ¡°Why are you covering yourself with nkets? Take it off.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no¡ª¡±


    Mary quickly pulled the nket, revealing her ripped dress that showed her breast and wonderful skin.


    The soldiers looking at her burst out blood from their noses. They quickly ran out of the barrack as Bartram entered the door about to wake them up.


    Bartrem noticed what was going on. ¡°Aldred. I will look for the ingredients you need. After that, we may try to make the healing potion.¡± He left immediately.


    Mary recalled that the nun tested Aldredst night. She forgot about it and wanted to see if the nun hid something under the nket. And because of that, her naked figure was crystal clear for Aldred to see.


    ¡°I will get you a new dress.¡± She unlocked the handcuffs.


    She left and returned quickly with a new blue dress. It was the same as before, tight-fitting and revealing arge part of Mira¡¯s thighs.


    ¡°Thank you, Mary,¡± Mira said after wearing the dress. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful that our names sound the same. Mira and Mary.¡±


    Mary ignored herment. ¡°As a water magician, you should be studying or training with us. But since Aldred is the only magician here, you will train with him.¡±


    Aldred was stronger than the nun, and he had an undead squad with him, Mira wouldn¡¯t be able to run with the boy¡¯s flying skill. And Mira had the perfect reason to train with him as he was the only magician in this toon.


    ¡°I am happy with that,¡± Mira said. ¡°Aldred is a smart boy. I¡¯d have a wonderful talk with himter.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡± The penguin woke up and yawned, stretching his limbs and body.  The penguin looked left and right, then he noticed a plump, full breast covered by a blue dress. He immediately pounced and rubbed his face onto it.


    ¡°I was about to ask, but what creature is this?¡±


    Veins popped up on Aldred¡¯s forehead. ¡°He¡¯s called a poop penguin. I think he¡¯s native to the poop nation.¡±


    ¡°I never heard of that. Why is it called poop penguin?¡±


    ¡°Because he loves to eat poop.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Mira grabbed the penguin with her finger carefully and put him on the bed.


    ¡°Pongo pongo (He lied to you. I never eat poop).¡±


    Aldredughed. For one reason or another, the penguin did not want to or maybe couldn¡¯t speak with others except him.


    Aldred, Mary, Mira, and Pongo exited the barrack. Mary decided to train with the soldiers while Aldred and Mira wanted to find a wider ce to test their magic. Pongo followed the nun.


    They arrived at a wide in. The grass reached below Aldred¡¯s knee.


    ¡°Mira, can you teach me how to manipte water?¡±


    ¡°It is possible. But, a magician usually only has one affinity to one element so they generally use one element to fight. Some magicians have better affinities than others.¡±


    ¡°But magicians aren¡¯t limited to controlling the elements, right?¡± His parents literally created small gxies for his entertainment when he was a baby. Aldred wondered how they did that.


    ¡°Correct. There are spells that magicians can learn without having their affinity. They are called non-elemental spells. A non-elemental spell can be cast by chanting its name or simply thinking about it. Of course, to cast this spell without chanting is slightly harder. Let me give you an example.¡±


    Mira took a deep breath. ¡°Silenesco can.¡±


    Multi-colored glowing particles rose under their feet and spread five meters around them. The grass that touched these particles grew taller, thicker, and stronger.  They were so strong that when they grew, they lifted Aldred along with them. And so currently, they were standing on a five-meter tall tform made out of the grass.


    ¡°This is amazing.¡±


    ¡°Why are the magicians not learning more of these non-elemental spells?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because they are harder to learn. It took more time to learn a non-elemental spell than an elemental spell that fits your affinity. But this type of spell is good for those who have terrible affinity in certain elements.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°You know so little yet your fire magic is so powerful. If you master your fire maniption you might learn a sub-skill.¡±


    ¡°What sub-skill?¡±


    ¡°Creating lightning.¡±

 Chapter 47 Water Manipulation

    ¡°Lightning?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s very rare to see someone having this sub-skill. Also, you can cast lightning with a non-elemental spell, but it is much weaker than the real deal.¡± Mira thought that Aldred might be one of those rare talents. Though she wished he did not use it to harm others.


    She had to educate him, or else when the boy grew he¡¯d killed many people in his wake. But she had to do it slowly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t seem to have it yet,¡± Aldred said. The boy wanted to control lightning because that would be very cool. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me some water spells.¡±


    Mira raised an eyebrow. She told the boy that a magician can only have one affinity, but he still wanted to learn the water element. ¡°Very well then.¡±


    She raised her golden staff and then swung it left and right. Stepping forward, she pointed at the grass below. Beads of water came out from each grass. They weren¡¯t dried out. Mira only took a tiny bead of water from them. Water also formed from the air around them as she danced. They gathered in the air, before enveloping the both of them, creating a half-sphere barrier.


    Pongo watched the spectacle with a wide-open beak. The penguin was amazed by all these magics. Although they were not as powerful as him, the scene did entertain him.


    All this time, Aldred was staring at her with his godly eyes. Usually, when he fight, he used his godly eyes to focus on the trajectory of the spell, but this time, he wanted to reconstruct the spell.<sub>-.</sub>


    [New skill obtained: Water Maniption]


    ¡®Nice!¡¯


    Stopping her movement, Mira nced at Aldred. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The boy did not reply and simply raised his hand. Water particles formed in his palm and condensed into a glob of water.


    Mira widened her eyes. The sight in front of her was simply astonishing. How could the boy learn water maniption so easily? Aldred simply looked at her once and he already knew how to use it. What a monstrous talent. Even if the boy only had one affinity, he might learn all elements and use them ordingly. But it wasn¡¯t that effective. It was better for Aldred to focus on one element instead of many.


    But that depended on his talent as well. ¡°Aldred, try to learn this spell.¡±


    Moving her slender fingers gracefully, a stream of golden water spun around in her body, running along her curvy waist, and washed over her breast, and then she pointed at Aldred. The golden water ran to her arms, forearms, and fingers, then washed all over Aldred. <sub></sub>


    [Regeneration increase: +300%. Duration: 8 seconds]


    Even though the water hit Aldred, he wasn¡¯t wet.


    The golden water spun around him, making him feel rejuvenated, calm, and fresh. The sensation was wonderful. Aldred kept analyzing the spell with his godly eyes.


    [Obtaining new skill¡­ Failed to learn Holy Golden Stream]


    [Modifying skill¡­ Sess. New skill obtained: Stream of Life]


    Aldred moved his fingers the same as Mira. A glowing green stream spun around him, and then he directed it towards Mira, washing all over her body and filled her with greater life force than before. And just like her spell, she wasn¡¯t wet when she got hit by the water.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Stream of Life]


    -Absorbing the life force within the environment and turning it into a green stream of water.


    -Healing the wounds, and rejuvenating the body.


    -Effect reduced greatly around corpses, death energy, or environment with a limited amount of life force.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Mira, I cannot learn your skill.¡±


    ¡°You cannot. You shouldn¡¯t be unless you are a priest or one of the heroes.¡± Mira knew that the boy shouldn¡¯t be able to learn her skill because her skill relied on the divinity path. The properties of the holy stream spell were given by the Zalous the God of hope. But what surprised her was how Aldred changed the divine properties into life force. It wasn¡¯t as potent or powerful as her spell, but it was still amazing.


    ¡°I need to be a priest to learn your skill?¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°Only the worshiper of Zalous can learn this skill. But your skill is good enough, though it has some limitations. Try casting it again.¡±


    Aldred activated stream of life, and water spun around his body again, but instead of full green like earlier, the water was mostly transparent. When the water washed over Mira, she did not feel the same sensation as earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s weaker than before,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You have absorbed almost all the life force in this ce. Life force is a very limited energy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not very useful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still nice to have when you don¡¯t have a potion.¡±


    Aldred nodded, recalling his deadrades that died during their march home.


    ¡°In that case, I still need to make that potionter.¡±


    Both of them talked some more about magic. Mira taught the boy more about water maniption, and in no time, his skill improved.


    [Stream of Life upgraded from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2]


    [Intelligence increased from 46 points to 50 points]


    [You earn +500 EXP by learning magic from a mentor]


    [You have level up]


    Aldred blinked when he saw the notification. ¡®I can earn EXP by learning?¡±

 Chapter 48 Healing Potion

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 70/70


    Level: 32


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:<sub>-.</sub>


    -Strength: 13


    -Vitality: 14


    -Intelligence: 50


    -Dexterity: 7


    Stat points: 16


    Skill points: 16


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    When they returned to the barrack, they saw Bartrem arguing with a soldier.<sub></sub>


    ¡°I am telling you. my unit cannot fight without armor.¡±


    ¡°Ask the cksmith to make armor for you.¡±


    ¡°Hah! They¡¯re always unavable or full whenever ¡®we¡¯ asked them to make something. Don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°This is an order from the captain. There is a camp of bandits to the southeast and you have to eliminate them before a week.¡± The soldier left immediately.


    Bartrem clicked his tongue, but he controlled his anger as he stared at the back of the leaving soldier.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Bartrem?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Great news. Not only do we have to make our own potion, but we also have to make our own armor. And don¡¯t mention asking the cksmith for armor. You know what they did to us. We cannot trust them anymore.¡±


    That day, the cksmith thinned their shoulders padding which made it easier for the enemy to prate. It almost cost them their arms, and Bartrem would never forget that.


    ¡°Have you got the ingredients?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Here.¡± He threw the boy a crude leather bag.


    Aldred opened it and saw a bunch of fresh herbs and a small container with salt. He then dragged Pongo inside the barrack and closed the door. Mary, Bartrem, and Mira followed him inside.


    ¡°Does anyone have an empty bottle?¡±


    Pongo vomited out the bottle thatnded on the bed. Aldred bitterly smiled at the saliva dripping from the battle but decided to use it anyway. The boy grabbed a handful of herbs. He then wrapped it in a bubble of water.


    Bartrem and Mary were surprised that Aldred can use the water element, but they kept their mouth shut. Aldred seemed to be concentrating right now as he pulled out a healing potion and analyze the green liquid again. It did not really tell him how to make the potion, but he can make some guesses. First, he crushed the herbs with water pressure. The glob of water floating on his palm turned green. He then add a little bit of salt to it. After that, he put it in the bottle.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Aldred bit his own arms. Blood leaked out from the wound. He then drank the potion.


    He watched the wound, but even after a few minutes, his wound was still open.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try again,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Look your wound is slightly closed.¡±


    It was true. His wound was only slightly healed. Motivated, Aldred tried again, just like earlier, but he added more herbs.


    This went on for two days, but he kept failing. Bartrem looked for more herbs in the forest with Joseph and Jeffery. He tried again, but s he failed again.


    Night time came.


    Mary smiled at him and hugged him in bed. Aldred was sad and dejected that he failed to make the potion. Mira caressed his head and told him that it was okay to fail. Even Pongo did not talk smack to him and encouraged him instead.


    Mary let him y with her breasts. He sucked her milk as he yed with the other one. She caressed his head and gave his forehead a kiss. Aldred sucked in harder, tickling her and making her moan.


    Mira only blinked when she saw how casual Mary and Aldred were about sucking nipples. Although she let him suck her own nipple as well, she wasn¡¯t as casual as both of them.


    ¡®She told me that she wasn¡¯t his mother, but she feed him with her milk nheless. The Ceraisian have a strong motherly culture. I should bring this culture to Montcresia so more children all over the world will be fed.¡¯


    Time passed quickly. Mary was sleeping, and Aldred asked Mira to let him suck her nipple. She sighed with a smile and agreed. As she let Aldred suck her nipple, she noticed something¡­ Milk starteding out of her breast. That was weird. To her knowledge, a woman can only produce milk when she was pregnant.


    [A/N: to those who are wondering, it is possible for women to produce milk without being pregnant. You can find the link here: https://.llli.org/breastfeeding-without-giving-birth-2/#_ftn3 ]


    Aldred sucked in harder as he felt the warm liquid entering his mouth. Mira started to feel pleasure and ticklish. Her body trembled and she wrapped her hands around the boy¡¯s head, bringing him closer to her. Her cheeks blushed as time passed. The boy fondled her left breast and sucked her right nipple.


    Throughout the night, Mira felt the pleasure increasing, making her tighten her grip on the boy even more. Eventually, Aldred fell asleep. Mira was breathing profusely. Her cheeks were rosy red as she put the boy on her boobs.


    The next day.


    Aldred was still sleeping as the others went out of the barrack. Mary wanted to talk about something with Mira, and the rest of the soldiers had already gone out for their training.


    When the boy woke up, he was surprised that no one greeted him as usual. Pongo was still here though. Rubbing his eyes, Aldred felt sleepy again and let himself fall on the bed. He felt something behind his head. Sitting up, he saw a small parchment made out of animal skins on the pillow.


    Aldred took the parchment and looked closely. Written on the parchment were the form and methods of how to make the healing potion. The boy narrowed his eyes. This was very suspicious. How could the form for making the potion just appear on his pillow? But looking at it again, the ingredients were correct, only his methods were wrong.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try this.¡±

 Chapter 49 Making Armor

    The method was very simple. After concocting the liquid, Aldred left the potion in the sun for three days. At first, he did not expect it to seed but it did.


    The wound in his arm healed and closed under the gaze of Bartrem, Mary, Mira, and Pongo.


    ¡°It worked!¡± Aldred shouted.


    They all rejoiced, jumping around in the barracks, but then recalled they only had two days left before they had to attack the bandit.


    ¡°Now we have to make our own armor,¡± Bartrem said with a grim expression. ¡°But we don¡¯t have any materials or tools to make them.¡±


    Aldred looked at Pongo and back to Bartrem before smiling. ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred entered the fort with Pongo and looked for a cksmith. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find one as they were very loud. Hammer nged against the steel ting of an armor. The cksmith was a strong man with powerful arms and chests. Whenever they mmed the hammer against the armor, sparks sshed. Aldred activated his godly eyes and analyzed his movement and the changes happening in the armor.<sub>-.</sub>


    Hours passed, and Aldred felt like he already know how to do it after seeing the cksmith create a bunch of armor from scratch. With confidence, he approached the cksmith.


    While the man was mming the hammer, he noticed a boy approaching him. One look and he realized the boy was from that cursed toon.


    ¡°I am busy. Go away. The order is full for this week.¡±


    Aldred snorted. He did not even say anything yet and the cksmith already shooed him away.


    ¡°Uncle, can you teach me how to make armor?¡±


    The cksmith grunted. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to fuck off?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so cheap, uncle. Let me learn how to make armor.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°No.¡± The cksmith returned to his work, pounding on the armor.


    Aldred approached again. He was now right in front of the cksmith.


    ¡°Don¡¯t me me if you get hurt, kid.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Suddenly, the furnace behind him burst into mes. The cksmith panicked and was quickly about to find a wet towel to kill it. But in less than a second, the me died and turned into thick smoke.


    ¡°Cough cough. Fuck! What a shitty luck I have.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you are in trouble, uncle. I am going to leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go fuck yourself. I am so pissed.¡±


    When the smoke disappeared, he saw that all of his tools disappeared. Even the armor and the ores were gone as well. The cksmith looked around, but they were really gone. ¡°Was it the boy? Impossible. How could he bring the anvil, the hammer, and everything else? There must be a thief from Montcresia. They must be trying to sabotage the fort. I have to report this.¡±


    As the cksmith went to look for a knight, Aldred wasughing and giggling as he ran back to the barrack with Pongo.


    ¡°What did you do, Aldred?¡± Bartrem asked, wondering why they wereughing.


    Aldred invited them to hide at the back of the barrack. After making sure no one was around, he told Pongo to vomit out everything which he did. Anvil, hammer, tongs, ores, and armor all came out of his stomach which shocked Bartrem, Mary, and everyone there.


    ¡°How did you even fit all of this into that little stomach?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°He said that he can even put an entire house in there.¡±


    None of them believed what he said. Even Aldred did not believe the penguin.


    After all the tools were out. Aldred grabbed the ores, and burn them with his fire maniption. His mes were powerful, and soon enough they turned soft as Aldred pounded them over and over again on the anvil.


    Bartrem stood nearby wondering if Aldred could really make the armor. Mary on the other hand was amazed at how good Aldred was at pounding that armor. The swing, the force, and the power, all resembled a cksmith with years of experience. Mira was simply astonished at how the boy lifted the hammer up and down so easily with his strong though small hand.


    After a few hours, the armor was done. It was made out of steel and animal skin. Bartrem inspected the armor and pressed the surface a bunch of times. ¡°It¡¯s quite hard.¡±


    He tapped the shoulder paddings and realized that it was properly made.


    ¡°This is much better than the armor we usually receive. Aldred, how many can you make in a day?¡±


    ¡°I can make six or seven.¡±


    ¡°Not enough. I will help you in making these armor. In two days we have to produce twenty-three armor.¡±


    ¡°We will help as well,¡± Joseph and Jeffery stepped forward.


    The other soldiers also offered a helping hand. And after stealing a few more anvils, hammers, and other tools, they all worked together to make the armor with Aldred teaching them. Mary tried to make one as well. Mira couldn¡¯t even lift the hammer, so she helped them by bringing food and water.


    Night came, but they still pounding on the armor. Some soldiers had been sent by Bartrem to scout for anyone that might want to visit the barrack. Who knew if Pharder wanted to ban them from making their own armor.


    They were sleepy, limbs turned weak, yet the hammer still moved above their head and came crashing at the anvil.


    Eventually, all of them fell asleep except Bartrem, Jeffery, and Joseph. They made one more armor before their body shut down and fell on the grass.


    Mira brought a nket with her and covered them for warmth. She cast holy golden streams that washed over all of them, helping their body recover much faster. She slept next to Aldred and hugged him.


    The next morning, they immediately went to work again. Their ears were filled with the sound of steel nging against each other along with the sound of mes bursting within the crude furnace they make. Bartrem grabbed an ore with the tongs and pounded it.


    Eventually, all of them seeded in making 24 sets of armor.


    They all dropped the hammer andy on the grass. Their chest went up and down, desperate for air, but their faces were filled with the brightest smile.

 Chapter 50 Who To Trust

    (Author Note: Sorry, guys. I can only do one chapter for today. My eyes and head feel hot whenever I look at the screen for too long. I also feel dizzy whenever I sit down, so I write this chapter in bed with a phone, meaning I cannot ess my documents on theptop, so there might be some mistakes. It is too much to ask, but I hope you can tolerate me for now. I will recheck this chapter and thest chapters for any mistakes. Thank you for the support!!)


    ¡ª


    ¡ª


    ¡ª


    Update: This chapter and thest three chapters have been checked. Enjoy ??


    ¡ª


    ¡ª


    ¡ª


    After finishing the armor, Aldred and the other went to rest. And the next morning, Aldred woke up while the others were still asleep. He wanted to go to the dungeon and get some levels before fighting against the bandit. Because 2 days in the divine dimension equal 1 hour, in reality, he felt like he could get a lot of levels.


    But there seemed to be a problem.


    [Silver Rank dungeon locked. Please find a Silver Rank dungeon in the real world to unlock this feature]


    ¡®What? This sucks! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a thousand gods¡¯ blessings? Why are you some?¡¯


    [¡­]<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred sighed. He looked at the Copper dungeon option and considered farming EXP there. They provided too little though, which made it not fun in the slightest.


    [User can use the undead to clear the dungeon]


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®And you just tell me that? Oh god! How many EXP have I missed?¡¯


    [User you are dumb. Please have character growth soon]


    ¡®Shit! This system dare to insult me? My mother in myst life never provides milk for me, okay.¡¯


    [¡­ User, that¡¯s no excuse. You received high-quality milk from the Grand Ancestral Vampire for more than 9 years]


    ¡®Whatever. Tell me how many undeads I have?¡¯


    [49 Copper Rank Undead. 1 Silver Rank Undead]


    ¡®Okay, what about the type of undead?¡¯


    [Toozy to process]


    ¡®What do you mean you are toozy?¡¯<sub></sub>


    [Unlike the user, the system is capable of having character growth]


    ¡®Fuck! Just help me set up the EXP farm.¡¯


    [Summoning undead to the Copper Rank Dungeon¡­ Sess]


    [You have earned +450 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    [You have earned +450 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    [You have earned +450 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    Aldred held hisughter. With this automatic EXP farm, he¡¯d soon be a universal level power just like his parents. He didn¡¯t need to do anything since his undead will do the work anyway. Well, that was how it was supposed to be.


    [Dungeon entry limit: 3 hours in the real world. Cooldown: 7 days in the real world]


    ¡®Dammit!¡¯ Since 1 hour in the real world equal 2 days in the divine dimension, it meant that he only got 6 days of dungeon farming. 6 days was a good number, but it wasn¡¯t enough to reach universal power quickly.


    Aldred sighed. It seemed like he couldn¡¯t rely fully on his blessings. He had to do the work to get the reward. And the system behavior made him rethink his demeanor. Maybe he was dumb.


    Aldred pped himself. ¡®Get yourself together, Aldred. Think like a smart man. List out your advantages and make ns for the future.¡¯


    Unlike most people on this, Aldred got all the advantages he could ask for. Now, all he needed to do was use that advantage in the most effective and efficient way. Leveling up was a priority, and killing monsters or enemies earn him EXP which he could get from the divine dimension and the real world.


    There was one thing that he was curious about.


    ¡®System, since my undead can level up, can I make others level up as well?¡¯


    The system did not insult him this time. [User can add yers, creatures, spirits, souls, and other sentients being to a party system and let them level up as well]


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. This was an important function. He could pick anyone to have the same leveling system as him, but sharing it with anybody did not seems like a good choice. First, he had to make sure he could trust them with his life. If a powerful being such as an Adamantite Rank knew they could increase their power, they might force him to add them into the party. But they might not care about him and in fact could even prevent him from leveling up.


    The true reality of the world was, almost no one had your best interest at heart. People only care about themselves, so having someone to trust was hard.


    He nced at Mary. She was sleeping soundly on his right, looking so beautiful as always. Could he trust her? She had saved his life during the wolves¡¯ attack and even took care of him all this time. Bartrem had also helped him on the battlefield a bunch of times, Joseph and Jeffery had always shown that they were grateful for his help.


    He did not trust Mira and Mareona yet. He hadn¡¯t known them for long yet.


    Aldred scratched his head, wondering if he should add them to his party system or not. Maybe he should think about it after attacking the bandits.


    He plopped down on the bed and slept again, until the sky brightened and Bartrem opened the door of the barrack loudly, just as usual.


    ¡°Wake up, soldiers! We got bandits to kill!¡±


    Aldred, Mary, Mira, and the other soldiers woke up. They all immediately stood up from the bed and wore their armor except for Aldred, Mira, and Mary. Aldred considered wearing armor but that would slow down his movement, making it harder to stabilize his flight. Maybe he could wear something in the future so he could be a true iron dude, but for now, armorless dude was fine.


    They decided to bring Mira along since she had healing abilities. The boy kissed Mary on the lips and walked out of the barrack with the others. They formed a line while Aldred checked his status.


    He received a bunch of notifications immediately.


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 70/70


    Level: 49


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 13


    -Vitality: 14


    -Intelligence: 50


    -Dexterity: 7


    Stat points: 50


    Skill points: 50


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wow! 49 levels from level 32? How was this possible? This was damn too powerful. If he could get Silver Rank dungeon he might get more EXP.


    He should quickly consider who to add to his party system. Having a trustworthy, strong, and reliable ally seemed to be a good choice.

 Chapter 51 Slavery

    (Author Note: I felt better now. Gotta say, that doctor is great. I still feel some slight headache, but I am positive I can be back to schedule in the nearby future)


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡ª-


    When all of them were on the field ready to march against the bandits, a scout came and talked to Bartrem.


    ¡°They¡¯re moving elsewhere?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Yes, since they use horses to move around, it is impossible for you to chase them.¡±


    Impossible because the captain would never lend them some horses. Horses, especially war horses, were expensive mounts that only knight or cavalry units could use. There were ordinary horses that merchants had, but those horses would run away at the first sight of blood.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Aldred asked.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°We wait until they settle down again. There is no river to the east, I am sure they will slow down and settle to rest. Those horses can drink a lot when they¡¯re tired.¡±


    The Pressure toon II started their training routine as usual. Since they didn¡¯t have anything else to do anyway. It wasn¡¯t the modern era where there were youtube, video games, etc. To be honest, if Aldred did not have wonderful parents and amazing power, he¡¯d be pretty bored most of the time.


    Or pretty miserable, depending on his situation.


    After Aldred finished jogging, strength training, and fishing with Mary, Mira, Mareona, and the others, he also taught some pointers to the soldiers.


    Soon after night came.


    Aldred was sleeping with Mira and Mary hugging him. The boy sunk his head deep onto Mary¡¯s breast infort.


    Sophia saw all this with her spell that let her eyes see through a wall. Under the cover of night, she tiptoed to the barrack and made sure no one was watching her. She pointed at the door, and it silently opened.


    Her steps were without sound as she approached the boy with a smile. One would think twice if that smile was a good one or not.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Reaching silver rank at the age of ten,¡± Sophia said with starry eyes directed at the boy. ¡°Your talent worried my master. For that reason, I will make you my ve, and you won¡¯t endanger my master.¡±


    She raised her slender hand right above the boy. ¡°Thankfully we cannot kill you. You are too cute and adorable to be killed. Now be my ve, boy. Lovey lovey dream.¡±


    Pink glittering particles softly fall over the boy. Sophia watched them fall and went deep inside the boy with a smile. A transparent shackle slowly formed on his neck.


    That was when she felt a chilling cold on her neck.


    ¡°Seems like the world is out for my child.¡±


    Sophia tried to look back, but she couldn¡¯t. Her whole body froze except her eyes. Sweat trickled from her forehead.


    The sensation was only for a moment, maybe not even for a second, but for her, it felt like an eternity. She fell onto the floor, gasping for air. Caressing her neck, she realized there was a shackle locked in ce. Her eyes widened, and she nced at the boy¡¯s neck.


    The shackle had disappeared. She was shocked. That could only mean one thing. The spell backfired on her, and instead of enving him, she was enved instead.


    She tried to break free, pulling the shackle a bunch of times, but it was useless. The bacsh of this spell was much harder to break. She didn¡¯t expect anyone to interfere, if she did, she wouldn¡¯t use this spell so carelessly.


    ¡°Hmmmhh,¡± Aldred stretched his body, making her flinch. Sophia wondered what they would do if they found what she did. She couldn¡¯t move right now. Only when her master¡ªnew master let her would she be able to.


    Aldred rubbed his eyes. Saliva dripped from his lip. He then looked at the girl on the floor which made Sophia flinch.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Hello? Have we met before?¡±


    Trembling in fear, Sophia did not speak as she kept looking at him. The boy might look cute and innocent, but he was ruthless in front of the enemy. She had seen it. At first, the boy was too scared to fight, but as time passed, he was a killer machine seemingly with endless mana. No magician could ever fight like that. Especially flying, that me jet spell consumed a lot of mana so for the boy to use it for hours yet there was no sign of running out meant that he was born with arge capacity.


    High talent,rge mana capacity, mentally resilient, what did this boyck?


    [Brain]


    ¡®Did you say something, system?¡¯ Aldred asked inwardly.


    [No. Nothing]


    The boy ignored the system and looked at the girl again. She was beautiful with busty breasts and revealing clothes. But what was she doing here?


    ¡°My name is Aldred. What about you?¡±


    Her lips were forced to move. ¡°My name is Sophia, master.¡±


    ¡°Did you just call me master?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Aldred was about to ask why when Mary woke up and sat up. She kissed Aldred on the cheek.


    ¡°Morning, Aldred.¡± She looked to the side and noticed Sophia on the floor. She jumped, grabbed her sword, and pointed viciously at her. ¡°What the fuck are you doing here?!¡±


    Aldred was surprised by her reaction. She turned from a loving mother to a vicious guardian in less than a second. Who was this woman exactly?


    ¡°Mary, you know her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s Pharder¡¯s bitch.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred prepared himself for any attack and was ready to counterattack. ¡°Tell me. What are you doing here?¡±


    Aldred narrowed his eyes. If this woman wanted to kill him, he should be dead by now since she was a Gold Rank.


    Sophia sighed. Since she could not lie, she¡¯d simply tell the truth. ¡°Ie here to enve you with my spell.¡±


    Aldred gasped while Mary frowned.


    ¡°But my spell failed, and it backfired on me.¡± Her fingers touched the shackle on her neck. It was glowing and transparent.


    Aldred blinked. ¡°So that means¡­¡±


    ¡°Now I am your ve.¡±


    ¡°Great. The girl of a diamond rank who wanted to kill me is now my ve. Just exactly what I need. And it just happens that said diamond rank is the captain of this fort.¡±

 Chapter 52 Gold Rank Magician

    ¡°So what now?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Now I am your ve,¡± Sophia replied.


    ¡°What can you do?¡±


    ¡°I am a Gold Rank magician. I don¡¯t have any remarkable affinity with certain elements, but I¡¯m good at non-elemental spells.¡± Sophia waved her hand. Particles of crimson rippled around her slender white fingers. They then turned to ck and red butterflies that fluttered around Aldred.


    ¡°Nice. So you can apany us fighting against the bandit?¡±


    Sophia shook her head. ¡°Only Pharder can order Gold Rank to do something. Although I am your ve, you still need his permission if you want to bring me outside the fort. Of course, I will obey yourmand no matter what, but that is considered treason because you break the rules.¡±


    ¡°Which mean he will have the reason to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Politics protect me, but it also restricts me.¡±


    Sophia nodded. ¡°Without the rules and hierarchy in order, you¡¯d be dead in his hands by now, master.¡±


    ¡°I understand that. But now that you failed to enve me, and be enved by me instead, what will Pharder do to you?¡±


    Mary interrupted before Sophia could reply: ¡°Sophia should be executed. Envement spell is actually forbidden in this empire, and only the Royal Magicians are allowed to learn them. She not only knows how to cast it, but she has also tried to enve a fellow soldier within the same brigade.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Envement spell sounds terrible,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It is. Many subordinates within the nobles and royal families were secretly enved and told to convey information to their opposition. This made it hard for them to know which side to trust. And that is how this rule came to be.¡±


    Aldred considered his option. ¡°I don¡¯t think killing her will do any good for us. Since she failed and be my ve, we might as well use her capabilities for our benefit.¡±


    Mary looked at the boy. Since when did Aldred be so calctive? Usually, the boy would get mad and do something reckless like what he did to Pharder the first time they met. She nced back at Sophia who was still kneeling on the floor. ¡°She is a Gold Rank magician. It will be too bad to kill her.¡±


    ¡°What can you do exactly?¡± Aldred asked again.


    ¡°I am a non-elemental magician specialized in giving buff and debuff to a target.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. What buff can you give me?¡±


    ¡°Speed, strength, mana power, instinct, reaction speed, and many more. I can also give illusions to a single target or many people at once.¡±


    ¡°Try to give me a buff.¡±


    Sophia nodded. She waved her hand and pointed at him with her index finger. Immediately, Aldred¡¯s body jolted in power and energy. He felt like he could fly with his physical power alone. And then his pants bulged and ripped before his dong pierced through the ceiling.


    ¡°¡­¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°That was the wrong spell.¡± Sophia waved her hand again which turned the size of his dong to normal.


    Aldred cleared his throat like that never happened. ¡°So¡­ anything else?¡±


    ¡°I can control the basic element, but not as efficient and effective as elemental magicians. In frontal battle, I am not much of a match against them.¡±


    ¡°But you must have something to handle them right?¡±


    Sophia nodded. ¡°My illusion spell is incredibly potent. If I do it correctly, I can break their will to fight.¡±


    In essence, Sophia¡¯s power specialized in the psychology of the target. That was a tough power to deal with. Unlike elemental magicians which Aldred could dodge or block, a mental attack seemed much moreplicated. If Aldred could bring her to the battlefield, the enemy would be disoriented, letting Bartrem and the others fought them much easier.


    Sadly, that could not be done.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I am going to think about itter. Let us continue our sleep. What about you? Where will you be sleeping?¡±


    ¡°Wherever youmand me to sleep, I will sleep there, master.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    And there he was, sleeping with three beauties in his bed. Aldred slept on top of Sophia as she wrapped her hands around Aldred¡¯s head and she sunk his face into her boobs. Mary hugged him from the side. Mira was sleeping without knowing anything. Oh, and Pongo was on the floor.


    Aldred identally kicked him earlier.


    The next morning, Bartrem opened the door loudly and was about to shout before he saw Sophia on Aldred¡¯s bed. He was shocked. Why the hell was she here? Bartrem shook his head and shouted for his men to wake up.


    The soldiers immediately woke up and don their armor.


    Aldred and the girls woke up as well.


    ¡°Beautiful morning, Aldred,¡± Mira said with a smile before she was surprised by the sight of Sophia. ¡°Hello,¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± Sophia said with a smile.


    ¡°May I know who you are?¡±


    She then exined everything that happenedst night.


    ¡°Oh my.¡± Mira looked at the boy who was changing his pants, wondering if he was protected by a god. How could he luckily trigger a bacsh that earn him a Gold Rank ve? Now, he had two Gold Rank women protecting him.


    Did Zalous, the God of Hope, protect him? Maybe he saw something within the boy that might change the world.


    Pongo woke up on the floor. Hezily looked around wondering how did he end up here? He then looked up and Aldred identally stepped on his back.


    ¡°Squeak!¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t see you there, buddy.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo!¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my fault that you are so tiny.¡±


    ¡°Pongo!¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡±


    Aldred looked to the side and noticed Bartrem was looking at him.


    ¡°Any news on the bandit, Bartrem?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The bandit settled down on the east as expected. But more importantly, why is Sophia on your bed?¡±


    ¡°She tried to enve me, but receive a bacsh instead.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. It seems like Pharder realized your talent. He¡¯s been watching you without any of us knowing.¡±


    ¡°How could he not,¡± Mary said. ¡°All the people here are his subordinates. Only the people sent by the empress are not under his control.¡±


    ¡°I heard the empress is sending more of her men,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°That is true. We can recruit them to our toon and filled up the ranks.¡±


    ¡°That is good to hear. Come on, Aldred. We will talk more about thister.¡±


    ¡°Are we attacking the bandit now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If we let them go, they¡¯d be too far from us.¡±


    Aldred was about to exit the barrack until Mary pulled his hand. ¡°Be careful out there Aldred. Pharder might try to kill you outside the fort. If such a thing happens, you can crush your crystal and use it to fuel your magic.¡±


    ¡°I can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Use it to escape and run to the capital. With your me jet spell, I am sure you can do it.¡±


    Aldred nodded. The thought of Pharder ambushing him made his bone turn cold. The man was a Diamond Rank. Just one step away from Adamantite Rank. And although he wasn¡¯t as strong as the Commander of Knights, their rank was the same.


    It was kind of weird for Aldred. He thought that all Diamond Rank could be the Commander of Knights, but apparently, there was a wide gap of strength between Diamond Rank.


    Putting the thought away, the boy kissed Mary and said goodbye to her. Unexpectedly, Sophia asked for a kiss as well. Aldred was not going to let the chance go, so he kissed her lips.


    Mira looking at this simply shrugged. She experienced a lot of culture shocktely.

 Chapter 53 Lady Warrior

    Aldred walked to the forest beside Mira. Bartrem led the army ahead while Joseph and Jeffery marched beside him.


    ¡°Why are we entering the forest?¡± Aldred asked.


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Remember how we captured the nun?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I did.¡±


    ¡°Well, we kept their horses in this forest in secret.¡± Bartremughed.


    ¡°That is smart.¡±


    ¡°You have to y it smart on this ying field. One wrong move and that could be the end.¡±


    Aldred nodded as they walked further. Soon after, they saw horses tied to the trees. A group of soldiers was grooming them and feeding them with grain.


    ¡°I forgot to say this, but we asked Bernard for some of the grain. At first, he hesitated to give them to us, until we mentioned your name. Sorry for not telling you, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°I am fine. But I don¡¯t think we can do this a lot. If the others found out, Bernard¡¯s life would be endangered.¡±


    ¡°I know. The other farmers know as well.¡±


    ¡°They all share the grain?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This way, no one will be in danger because they only lost a little bit of grain.¡±


    ¡°Bartrem, you are so smart. I have a lot to learn from you.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Bartremughed. ¡°What part of me is smart? I am not the one who reached Silver Rank at the age of ten.¡±


    The soldiers agreed to that. Their age was far from Aldred, but they were all still at Copper Rank.


    ¡°I¡¯m just lucky. That is all,¡± Aldred said as he and the others approached the horses.


    ¡°Have you rode a horse before, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°No, I have not actually.¡±


    ¡°Then you will ride with me. Not that your legs could reach the saddle anyway.¡±


    They allughed.


    Aldred smiled and shrugged. He did not mind a little joke.


    Bartrem lifted him and sat him on the horse before he heaved on top of it as well. The horse had strong muscles and powerful limbs. Unlike the horses in his world, the horses here seemed to be much more resilient.


    Mira then climbed the horses and sat behind him.


    ¡°What are you doing, nun. Go ride with the other soldier.¡±


    Mira sweated. Her expression showed fear and hesitation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are afraid of riding a horse.¡±<sub></sub>


    Mira nodded. ¡°I am not good with horses. Let me sit behind Aldred.¡±


    The boy was the only person she wasfortable with in this group. Not only was he easy to talk to, his mindset, knowledge, and philosophical thought made him a great person to debate. That made her feel much closer to the boy.


    ¡°Fine. Are all of you ready?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    All twenty-three soldiers shouted. Bartrem felt sad that so many of his men died that day. He regretted not epting the nun¡¯s offer, but regret would not bring back the dead. All he had to do was ept it and move on. That was it. He still had soldiers to lead, and goals to achieve.


    ¡°The bandit is said to camp to the east. More specifically to the north of a small vige, Treille. Since all of you are ready, then let us go.¡±


    The horses galloped out of the forest. Mira closed her eyes and hugged Aldred tight.


    ¡°Calm down, Mira. Why are you so scared?¡±


    She did not say anything and simply hugged him. Pongo was sitting on Aldred¡¯sp, enjoying the scenery around.


    Aldred looked at hisrades and realized they brought a shield with them. ¡°Bartrem, did you make the shield?¡±


    ¡°Me and the others. Since we already know how to make armor, we figure to try making the shield as well. I also bring some potions with me.¡± He tapped a skin bag hanging on the horse.


    ¡°And you make a spear as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a javelin, boy. Just like your fire javelin, we can throw those at the enemy as we charge forward. It¡¯s good to disrupt their formation before we prate it. Thanks to you for teaching us and providing us with the skills and equipment, we can make anything on our own. Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°I am d that I can help.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re more than helping. You make our life much easier, and these shields and equipment might really save our lives.¡±


    Aldred smiled. He looked at his hands, wondering how many people he could help with them. Softly, Mira¡¯s hand caressed his arm and then held his fingers.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mira?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Time quickly passed.


    ¡°There they are!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    A few hundred meters ahead of them was a bunch of tents with bandits patrolling the area. Unlike what Bartrem expected, these bandits wore proper armor and equipment.


    ¡°They¡¯re not normal bandits. Ready your javelin!¡±


    Bartrem narrowed his eyes as he waited for the right moment. The bandits noticed them and immediately returned to the camp, shouting for their friends toe. Shockingly, the group of bandits gathered like proper soldiers. They were quick and entered a phnx formation with long spears.


    ¡°Phnx formation?¡± Bartrem frowned. ¡°Throw the javelins!¡±


    Twenty-three javelins shot to the sky and arched in the air. The phnx formation reacted. They put down their spears and raised their shields. The Javelins knocked them down and pierced their shields, but none died.


    ¡°Damn! Are they really a group of bandits?¡±


    ¡°Let me try,¡± Aldred said, jumping from the horse, and flying to the sky.


    The enemy was shocked to see him flying. Aldred was amused by their reaction. He aimed with his palms. ¡°Fire javelin. Fire javelin. Fire javelin. Fire javelin.¡±


    They were wondering what the flying boy would do until they realized he was attacking them.


    ¡°Shield up!¡± All of them ducked down as the fire javelins rained upon them.


    ¡°Wait until he runs out of mana.¡±


    Flying usually consumed a lot of mana, ifbined with attacking, the consumption of mana increased exponentially. That was what they thought, but the rain of javelins never ended. It continuously struck their shield, melting them and denting them.


    But then, the rain stopped. They thought the boy had run out of mana, until¡­


    ¡°Bartrem, now!¡±


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    Bartrem¡¯s cavalry unit raised their sword and cut through the infantry. With their shields in tattered condition, they amounted to nothing in front of Pressure toon II who were designed and built to breach through solid formations. The phnx formation did not have time to pick up their spears before all of them were killed.


    Arrows came from the camps.


    ¡°Scatter! Kill all the bandits you see.¡±


    Aldred rushed to the camp from the sky, urately shooting bandits with his arrows and javelins. Hended on the ground and sprayed them with his fire bullets. The bullets tore through the tents and burned them down. Joseph and Jeffery rode on their horses, attacking any bandits they saw. Bartrem roared as he led them in destroying the camp.


    The boy summoned his undead and let them loose. They worked together and killed any enemies they saw.


    Pongo was like a crazed penguin with his baguette. He saw a soldier running in panic, and he swept the man¡¯s leg with the bread. The man fell and was shocked to see a tiny creature jumping over him with a long piece of bread. That long bread mmed his head, making everything dark.


    Then they heard a woman¡¯s warrior cry. Aldred flew to the sky to check, and it was apparently Mareona. She waved at him with a smile.


    ¡°Mareona, what are you doing here?¡± he asked as hended beside her.


    ¡°We are ordered to attack the bandits as well. Hey, where did you find those horses?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡±


    Mareona flicked his forehead. ¡°Then you better tell me about it on our second date.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his forehead. ¡°Alright.¡±


    Mareona kissed him and yed with her blue hair. ¡°The bandits have more camps. This is only the outskirts.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why they send you as well.¡±


    Bartrem approached with his horse. ¡°Take all the horses from the bandits. We will charge the other camps immediately.¡±


    Mareona nodded. ¡°Come on, girls!¡±


    They all ran to the nearest horses and hopped on them. All of the female soldiers were beautiful and petite, making the male soldiers look at them in a daze.


    ¡°Get yourself together, soldiers! We¡¯re on the battlefield, not in the red-light district!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    The female soldiers looked at them with a sweet smile as they galloped past.


    ¡°Try to keep up, boys.¡±

 Chapter 54 Gold Rank Milet

    The two groups; Pressure toon II and Red Rose toon galloped side by side on the grassy field. Not long after, they saw another camp. Just like earlier, the infantry unit came out in phnx formation, but this time they were more prepared as a storm of arrows came from above.


    ¡°Men, give your spare shields to thedies,¡± Bartrem said.


    They all raised their shields, but Aldred did his best to deflect all the arrows with his fire bullets. Fire bullets were currently the fastest spell he could activate. Like a submachine gun, bullets after bullets came out of Aldred¡¯s finger, deflecting dozens of arrows in less than a second. Though there were arrows that still hit the shields, they did not prate through.


    Aldred counter-attacked with fire javelins that immediately shut their arrows as they were too busy hiding under their cover. Bartrem and Mareona easily ran through them and destroyed their camps.


    His undead helped in destroying the camps, using their powerful regeneration ability to absorb all the attacks.


    This same event kept repeating itself until they saw a much bigger camp than before.


    ¡°This is where the leader might stay,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Who are they? How could they bring so many bandits?¡± Mareona frowned.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Must be an organized bandit. If we can defeat them, the empress will be viewed in brighter lights by the merchants.¡±


    Mareona¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Good. Her Majesty can extend her fingers to the merchants. Let¡¯s see what those nobles can do when no one wants to buy their goods.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking, guys. Look. The enemy has their own cavalry,¡± Aldred said.


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Rain them with javelins.¡±


    The soldiers had picked up their javelins after each use. That way, they could reuse it again. Dozens of javelins flew into the air and arched down. The enemy cavalry fell by the dozens, but they kept charging.


    ¡°Spears!¡±


    The soldiers raised their spears. They stole it from the camps they had destroyed. It provided more range than a simple sword. And so, with a shield on their left hand, and a spear on their right, the cavalry looked like a mobile phnx formation; formidable and quick. <sub></sub>


    As they charged against each other, Aldred stormed the enemy with his fire bullets, disrupting their formation. And that was when Bartrem and Mareona prated the center of the formation like a sword through flesh. They quickly defeatedrge numbers of enemies. They were no match against Bartrem and his battle-hardened soldiers. Mareona and her Red Rose toon were not so bad as well.


    ¡°How dare you kill my subordinates?¡± A mannded on the ground with a loud thud, cracking the ground below his feet.


    Aldred looked at the man and realized he was familiar. ¡°You. You are the guards that dragged me out of the pce.¡±


    Bartrem looked at the enemy, frowning. ¡°So that¡¯s why the bandits we fought all have the same traits of proper soldiers. They were not bandits.¡±


    The man smiled. ¡°That is correct. The emperor wants all of you to die to reduce the empress¡¯ influence.¡±


    ¡°And you think you can do it alone?¡±


    The man¡¯s smile turned into a grin. His body exuded a powerful aura of a Gold Rank warrior.


    Bartrem, Mareona, Aldred, Mira, and everyone else were shocked when they saw this.


    ¡°My name is Milet, and today, I will be the one who ends your life. All of you!¡±


    ¡°Crap!¡± Bartrem opened the bag and threw all the potions to his soldiers. ¡°Drink the potions! All of them can increase your strength!¡±


    Miletughed. ¡°You think some potions can let you survive from me?¡± He grabbed an elegant and powerful spear from his back. The de of the spear shone with golden light.


    ¡°We cannot run away from him. Everyone, attack!¡±


    Both men and women roared as they charged toward one man. Milet simply smiled and shed to the side when the horses were near. Their legs were cut off and the soldiers fell to the ground.


    He then proceeded to move like an agile snake, going left and right, leaving a trail of blood whenever he passed. He jumped high and stabbed a soldier in the chest. His move was like a graceful crane.


    Bartrem and Mareona confronted him. Milet received it with a smile. He spun with his spears glowing even brighter. The powerful wind threw the other soldiers, leaving Aldred, Bartrem, and Mareona to fight him.


    ¡°Three against one is enough advantage.¡± Milet smiled.


    Pongo threw a piece of bread at him, finally making the man look at the small creature.


    ¡°Four then.¡±


    Milet charged forward, quickly arriving right in front of Bartrem, shocking the man. Mareona came from the side, and attacked, preventing Milet from following up with his charge. She tried to stab him, but the man simply smiled as he dodged all of her attacks. Aldred then came from the side with both of his legs shooting out jets. He shot out fire bullets from his fingers, but it only dented the armor slightly.


    ¡°My armor is not for show, young man.¡± He shed at the boy, creating a wound on his cheek.


    Aldred fell and rolled before he got up and helped hisrades again. The enemy was a Gold Rank, if he let himself fall for long, Bartrem, Pongo and Mareona would be defeated.


    As the three of them distracted Milet, Aldred fired a fire javelin that struck the man¡¯s right thigh. The spell failed to prate, but it was dented considerably. Aldred continued to circle around, and distract the man with fire bullets before shooting the right thigh with a fire javelin again.


    He did this a bunch of times until finally, the fire javelin pierced the right thigh.


    Milet grimaced and frowned. The boy kept on sending powerful spells without care. How much mana did this boy have? A normal magician would run out of mana by now. He nced at the boy who was floating in the air.


    Then the boy did something that surprised him. ck mists appeared around them. Rolling out from the ground before nasty creatures stepped out. They were the ogres, wolves, and humans. But their eyes were hollow with faint purple light flickering around them.


    ¡°Undead?¡± Milet looked at the creatures in disbelief.


    Aldred stared at the man with a sharp gaze. ¡®If I can kill you. You will be my undead as well.¡¯

 Chapter 55 Crush The Crystal

    Aldred had 50 undead with him. 49 undead were at the copper rank, while one undead was at the silver rank. Swarmed by them from all sides, Milet had a hard time fighting them.


    He shed at the ogre¡¯s head, turning it into mist of shadows, but not a second passed, and the head returned. Their regenerative ability was a pain in the butt hole.


    Aldred, Bartrem, Mareona, and Pongo smiled. They slipped through the ranks of the undead and asionally attacked the Gold Rank spearman. Whenever they retreated, the silver rank undead would cover for them.


    Milet was angered. Although the undead couldn¡¯t hurt him with their attacks, he still needed to put some effort to knock them away. But after a few minutes of fighting, he found a weakness. The undead were less intelligent than normal humans, and they did not care if they would get hurt or not. But they also did not know that their true goal was not to attack him but to protect their master.


    Milet smirked. He punctured through dozens of undead. Violent wind revolved at the tip of his spear, cutting anything in his path. It went for Aldred¡¯s frail, small body. He was the master of these undeads. If he died, the undeads would disappear as well.


    Suddenly, arge man dashed from the side and blocked his path. It was Bartrem. The spear went through his chest, and out from the back. Milet clicked his tongue in annoyance before kicking him to the side. He rushed forward, stabbing his spear at Aldred again.


    Aldred trembled in fear at the sight. This was the first time he saw Bartrem being defeated. The oncerge, and inspiring image fell to the ground for the first time. The boy couldn¡¯t move as the spear went for his life.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mareona blocked the spear with a shield. It failed. The spear went through the shield and stabbed her abdomen. Mareona turned around. Blood leaked out from her lips. ¡°Run, Aldred. You¡¯re our only hope in toppling the emperor.¡±


    Aldred looked at her with widened eyes. For a short moment, his mind was nk, and he couldn¡¯t think. Then he recalled what Mary had said to him. Crush the crystal. Use it to escape.


    ¡®Crush the crystal.¡¯


    ¡®Use it to run to the capital.¡¯


    Miletughed. ¡°I am a Gold Rank. There is no way you can run from me.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred pulled out his ruby crystal from the inventory. He squeezed, cracking it. It shone out with blinding red light, and then thick red mist entered his body empowering his fire maniption.


    ¡°You think that¡¯s enough to escape from a Gold Rank?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t n to escape.¡± Aldred stared at him with fiery eyes. His hair floated in non-existence air with fire particles sparked around him. For a moment, the boy was like the ruler of mes with his eyes filled with a zing aura.


    His feet sted with a powerful me jet. Milet was shocked when the boy arrived right in front of his face. He couldn¡¯t react as tens of fire javelins pierced his chest. Aldred did not stop there. He shot out a couple of me jets from his palms, destroying the man¡¯s shoulder to oblivion.


    Milet screamed. Blood dripping from his wounds. He attacked, stabbing with his spear at the boy. But the spear stopped short right in front of Aldred¡¯s eyes. Milet looked at his arm and realized there were dozens of fire arrows stabbing his arm and preventing it from moving.


    ¡°How could a boy like you defeat me?¡± Milet looked at Aldred unwillingly.


    ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    Dozens of undead stabbed Milet from behind.


    Milet kept on looking at the boy before he fell to the ground.


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]<sub></sub>


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have entered Gold Rank]


    [Divine dimension space increased by 1 kilometers]


    [Divine Dimension Teleportation Points unlock]


    [Undead limit tripled. Undead capacity: 50/180]


    Aldred sighed in relief at finally defeating the enemy. Then he turned around to look at Bartrem and Mareona. His eyes were filled with tears as he rushed to them. Luckily, they still breathed.


    ¡°Mira! Can you save them?¡±


    Mira looked at the boy who broke down in tears.


    ¡°Please tell me you can. Please. I will believe in whatever god you want me to believe.¡±


    Mira couldn¡¯t turn down his request. ¡°Yes, I can.¡±


    Aldred was relieved.


    Mira raised her staff to the sky. Golden particles shed around herbined with green energies of the life force. She looked at Mareona and Bartrem before opening her lips slightly. A small red particle came out and mixed with the particles around her. They spun around then turned into the color of thick gold.


    ¡°Holy Golden Stream.¡±


    The golden water streamed to Mareona and Bartrem. Washing all over them and entering their bodies. All their wounds disappeared in a sh. Their pale skins turned healthy, and they immediately opened their eyes. Awake.


    Aldred hugged them both. ¡°You guys survive!¡± He cried again.


    Bartrem realized the situation and hugged the boy back. It wasn¡¯t the first time he experienced a near-death situation, but it wasn¡¯t the same for Mareona. She felt she had died earlier, and it was weird to return back alive again. But looking at the boy who cried for her sake, she threw the other thoughts away and hugged him.


    After a few minutes, Aldred looked at Mira, ran to her, and hugged her tight. ¡°Thank you for saving them.¡±


    Mira smiled. Her skin looked paler than usual. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to thank me.¡±


    She felt so much weaker because she used her life span to save them. She had to unless the boy turned resentful and destroyed the world when he had the power. Mira had seen many people consumed by their hatred. They destroyed the world around them, and then themselves. The boy had great power in his hands. She must guide him to a better path.


    Aldred noticed Mira¡¯s health deteriorate. His godly eyes detected many problems in her body. That never happened before. ¡°Mira, what was the cost you pay to save them?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she replied. ¡°The god is benevolent. He gave hope to those who need it.¡±


    ¡°Stop lying. You clearly be much weaker after saving them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just running out of mana, child. A good rest and I¡¯ll be good to go.¡±


    ¡°That cannot be. You still have a lot of mana in you.¡± Aldred could see her mana capacity with his godly eyes. He then noticed a red life force that flickered weakly. ¡°Did you sacrifice your lifespan?¡±


    Mira sighed. ¡°I cannot hide anything from you, can¡¯t I?¡±


    Mareona and Bartrem heard their conversation.


    ¡°Why did you save us?¡± Bartrem asked. ¡°You are our enemy.¡±


    Mareona was curious as well. ¡°Enemy?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a nun from Montcresia,¡± Bartrem said. Since Mareona was in the empress¡¯ camp, it was safe to tell her.


    Mira smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t see you as the enemy. Our enemies are those who fall to their emotions. Greedy kings and emperors take more than they need from the people. Power-hungry nobles betray each other for influence. Those are our enemies. It¡¯s not about ceraisian or montcresian.¡±


    Bartrem looked down in shame. At first, he thought the nun only spouted nonsense to cloud their mind. After all, Montcresia had tried many times to convert the soldiers to their religion. But not once had Mira tried to convince him or his soldiers to enter her religion. It was always about emotion; the driving force of why humans do what they do.


    ¡°But why did you sacrifice your lifespan for us?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°We only know each other for a short time.¡±


    ¡°Because I believe you can change the world, child. I don¡¯t want you to be resentful of the world, and destroy it.¡±


    ¡°You really believe I can change the world?¡±


    ¡°Not just me. A lot of people put their hopes on you.¡±


    Aldred looked at Bartrem and Mareona. They nodded.


    Mira held his shoulders. ¡°Your shoulder is heavy with responsibilities. All I can do is lift it slightly.¡±


    ¡°Me as well,¡± Mareona said with a smile. ¡°I will do everything to help you, Aldred. If you need anything juste to me.¡±


    ¡°Since the emperor ordered a Gold Rank to kill you, there¡¯s not much I can do. But I will be your body shield anytime you need it,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred was shocked. They all willingly threw their life for him. Who was he? Did he deserve all of this? He was just a boy. What had he done to deserve this treatment? He couldn¡¯t find the answer.


    Aldred wiped his tears and snot. ¡°I have something to tell you guys.¡±

 Chapter 56 Party System

    ¡°What is it?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I will tell you guyster when we return.¡± Aldred checked his stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 45/125


    Level: 60


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 13


    -Vitality: 25


    -Intelligence: 50


    -Dexterity: 7


    Stat points: 72<sub>-.</sub>


    Skill points: 72


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He leveled up to gold instantly the moment he killed Milet. He looked at the corpse and approached it. ¡°I have promised to make you my undead ve. Now, arise.¡±


    ck mist entered Milet¡¯s body. And then the ck mist erged before the Gold Rank undead stepped out of the ck mist with his spear. He knelt on one knee. ¡°What is yourmand, master?¡±


    Aldred and the others were shocked. ¡°You can talk?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can, master.¡±


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Bartrem called. ¡°Ask him why he wanted to kill you. Maybe we can get more details from him.¡±


    ¡°So what is your answer?¡± Aldred asked Milet.


    ¡°I am not the only one that has been sent, master. There are many like me who were ordered to kill the empress¡¯ subordinates in various ces. As for why I wanted to kill you was because you are in the empress¡¯ camp.¡±


    ¡°So the emperor knows nothing about his talent?¡± Bartrem asked again.


    ¡°I do not know. I am simply ordered to kill all of you.¡±


    Bartrem sighed, disappointed at theck of information. ¡°We cannot deny the possibility. The emperor might hunt you again, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°You have to leave this ce,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Sooner orter, they will find a way to kill you.¡±


    Aldred grimaced. He did not want to leave his friends. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thister when we return to the fort.¡±


    The boy then walked to the corpses and turned them into his undead. Aldred prioritized the silver-ranked ones, and after converting them all into his undead, he got 9 silver ranks, and the rest were copper. Totaling his undead at 169 Copper Rank, 10 Silver Rank, and 1 Gold Rank.<sub></sub>


    Bartrem couldn¡¯t say anything when he saw therge formation of undead. Each undead had a powerful regeneration ability that made them impossible to kill, and now Aldred had more than one hundred of them? Not to mention he had 10 Silver ranks and 1 Gold Rank. The undead could be summoned anywhere and anytime as well, making the boy a highly-mobile one-man army. Bartrem nodded admittedly. The more he looked at the boy, the more he was convinced he could change the world.


    Aldred ordered his undead to disappear.


    ¡°Let us return to the barrack,¡± Aldred said.


    They all nodded, hopped onto the horses, and rode back to the fort.


    Back at the Pressure toon II barrack, Aldred invited Mira, Bartrem, and Mareona to talk inside. Pongo was there as well. Aldred forgot about him sometimes.


    ¡°Took you longer than expected,¡± Mary smiled when he saw Aldred and the rest. They did not smile back, which worried her. ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°We met a Gold Rank. Aldred almost got killed by him.¡±


    Mary stood up. ¡°What?¡±


    Sophia still sat on the bed.


    Mary approached the boy and caressed his cheeks. ¡°You look fine though.¡±


    ¡°Aldred killed him,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°You did?¡± Mary asked. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I crushed the crystal.¡±


    ¡°Instead of escaping, you use the power of the crystal to kill him?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Mareona and Bartrem almost got killed as well. Mira saved them by sacrificing her lifespan.¡±


    Mary looked at Mira. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Mira simply nodded.


    ¡°Since all of you have gathered. I wanted to tell you about something.¡±


    ¡°I have been wanting to know, but what is it?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Divine dimension.¡±


    Aldred, Bartrem, Mary, Mira, Mareona, Pongo, and Sophia entered the divine dimension. They were standing on a grass field with the river beside them. A few meters ahead was a field of vegetables. To the west was a thick forest with beautiful leaves and fruits hanging, waiting to be plucked.


    ¡°Let me wee you guys to my dimension,¡± Aldred said. ¡°In this ce, I am the god.¡±


    The boy snapped his fingers, and the sky turned dark with countless stars twinkling. The stars disappeared and hundreds of moons appeared. He snapped his fingers again. The sun and the blue sky returned, but the trees sank into the ground before a new type of tree came out with different leaves and fruits.


    ¡°You can grow food in this ce?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Crops and fruits grow faster in this ce. I have brought some fish before and they reproduce so quickly. I never brought it to the real world, because I wanted to keep this ce a secret. I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°You did the right thing, Aldred,¡± Mareona said. ¡°This ce is too valuable.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°If we have ess to food and water whenever and wherever we want, we don¡¯t need to bring so many supplies to war.¡±


    ¡°I can also save our medicines here.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s even better. You¡¯re a walking fort, Aldred. Whenever you go, the army can survive without having to bring any extra bags,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Although we only fought skirmishes all this time, there wille a day when we need to march long distances.¡±


    ¡°How heavy is their bag usually?¡±


    ¡°At minimum 60 pounds, but we usually need to bring 120 pounds of weight. Water, food, camp tools, weapons, armor, and everything else a soldier needs during a long march.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s rough.¡±


    ¡°It is. Believe me when I say more people die during the march than the battle itself.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Aldred did not think that his divine dimension could be so useful. He only thought of it as a yground at first, and a ce to enter the dungeon for leveling up.


    ¡°I also have something else to show you guys. System, let them enter my party.¡±


    [Party system activated. Selecting targets¡­ Sess]


    A panel of status screens popped out in front of their faces.


    ¡°Those are your status screens,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You can check your strength, intelligence, and other attributes.¡±


    Sophia was amazed. All of her attributes were turned into numbers and could be quantified.


    Bartrem, Mareona, Mary, and Mira were all in a daze looking at the screen panel.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s broken,¡± Mareona said.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°My intelligence is under 15. How is that possible?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°The screen never lie and it¡¯s never broken.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m stupid?¡± Mareona stomped and pouted.


    ¡°I never said such words.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Mareona knocked his head.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for saying that I am stupid.¡±


    ¡°But I did not say anything.¡± Aldred felt wronged. Why did Mareona be so unreasonable? He cleared his throat. ¡°The reason why I can increase my strength so fast is because of this. Whenever I kill, I get an experience and that experience will increase my level. If your level reaches 60, you will turn into a Gold Rank.¡±


    Their eyes lit up when they heard that.


    ¡°Now this is something that you must keep a secret,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°The fewer people know, the better.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°If the emperor knows about this, he won¡¯t let you live any longer even at the risk of a civil war.¡±


    ¡°I am nning to let the soldiers level up as well. Is that possible?¡±


    Bartrem shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t be surprised if Pharder nted a spy in our ranks. Not to mention they can be bribed with incentives. They¡¯re pitiful men, Aldred, fighting just to survive. What do you think will happen if Pharder offers them salvation?¡±


    ¡°Betrayal.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just like what Mira said, people easily fall for temptation. They cannot help it. Our best choice is to let them level up without knowing it¡¯s because of us. Can your power do that?¡±


    Aldred asked the system.


    [Yes it is possible]


    ¡°I can do that.¡±


    Bartrem smiled and nodded. ¡°Perfect.¡±

 Chapter 57 Blasting Party

    They returned to the barrack in a sh. Since they only spend a short time in the divine dimension, it felt like no time had passed in the real world. Aldred wanted them to enter the dungeon, but it was still on cooldown.


    ¡°How do you n to add them onto the party system?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Should I just go out and add them to the party?¡±


    ¡°That would be too suspicious,¡± Mary said. ¡°Maybe we should go inside the fort, have a nice meal along with them, and then you can add them to the party. That way, they will think it¡¯s because of the food they eat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Aldred said. ¡°What do you think, Sophia?¡±


    Sophia flinched when the boy asked her opinion. Pharder would never do that. ¡°I¡­ Uhh¡­ I am your ve, master. My opinion is not important.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one of us now, so you¡¯re important as well,¡± Aldred said.


    Sophia widened her eyes. ¡°I am one of you? But I am just a ve.¡±


    ¡°Technically yes, but I don¡¯t see it that way. Since you are linked to me, then you are part of my group as well.¡± Aldred then reached out with his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s work together, okay?¡±


    Sophia hesitated but decided to ept his hand. <sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am expecting great things from you, Sophia.¡±


    Sophia widened her eyes even more. Her cheeks blushed. ¡°Y¡ªyes, master.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me master. Aldred is fine.¡±


    ¡°Y¡ªyes, Aldred.¡±


    Mira smiled when she saw this. Aldred was a good boy. She did not take advantage of Sophia even though she was chained under hismand. Sophia was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, and the way she brought herself enticed the lust within men. Any other man would ravage her by now because of her beauty.


    ¡°By the way, Sophia. Can I sniff your breast?¡±


    Mira bitterly smiled. Maybe the boy still needed some guidance.


    Sophia smiled and was about to let Aldred sniff her breast until Mareona wrapped her hands around his neck.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a perfect time for our second date, Aldred? We can invite the others as well.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Good n,¡± Mary said.


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°I will gather my men.¡±


    ¡°Me too. Come on, Aldred.¡± Mareona dragged the boy with her.


    Soon after, Red Rose toon I, and Pressure toon II entered the fort without their armor. They looked around nervously, feeling weird without their gear. The only thing they would go out for was training and fighting, and both of these activities require them to use armor. But their leader said they would have fun? They hadn¡¯t heard the word fun since a long time ago.


    ¡°We are here,¡± Mareona said. She turned around and smiled. ¡°Wee to The Jovial Harlequin. I am telling you guys, this ce has the best music.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Yep. The best of the best is here.¡±


    Bartrem shrugged and entered the ce along with the others. The music thumped his heart the moment he opened the door. Someone yed the guitar on the stage, along with some other artists who yed other musical instruments. A man walked onto the center of the stage and started singing.


    ¡°I spit on them hoes, they love it and started licking, begging me to rain down on their pussy.¡±


    ¡°Shit¡¯s tight, just like where I put my eel.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s the deal. There was no deal. I make it p, she make it p. Bitch yin with the jigs, bitch ying till she get wet.¡±


    Mareona and Aldred started nodding back and forth while Pongo jumped around. Sophia followed as well.


    Bartrem, Mary, and Mira on the other hand could only scratch their heads at the specifically cultured lyrics.


    ¡°Come on guys. Let¡¯s have some fun,¡± Aldred said as he danced with Mareona.


    The soldiers were nervous at first but came to like the atmosphere. Everyone was dancing, and so they did as well.


    Aldred, Mareona, and Sophiaughed as they danced together. The boy ran his hands all around their body.


    ¡°Well, it will be weird if we¡¯re not dancing as well,¡± Mary said.


    Mira sighed and entered the dance floor, circling Aldred along with the other women.


    Bartrem looked around like he was a moving statue that could only move its neck. Never had he entered a situation like this before. How was he supposed to dance? All he knew was to swing left and right. So he did that; awkwardly dancing to the left and right like a crab under the summer sun.


    Aldredughed at the sight as he enjoyed his dance with the girls. Mareona was excited as always, enjoying the song as she moved her hips energetically. She was so good at dancing that the others followed her moves. Aldred became more excited as their dance became better.


    Especially when he looked at Sophia who was dancing vigorously. Her tight dress revealed the outline of her full curvaceous butt and breasts. She looked at the boy seductively and ran her slender finger on her smooth thigh. She even pulled his arm and let him touch them. She smelled so nice. The smell, the music, and the dance intoxicated him, making him forget about everything else.


    ¡°All these bitches bouncing on myp, these bitches be jiggling my strap. Yeah! Imma fuck me tonight a bad bitch. I don¡¯t give a fuck bout your tits, keep slippin em on my eel.¡±


    Aldred and the girls danced harder as the song got better and better. Unexpectedly, Mira started to enjoy herself. She grabbed Aldred¡¯s head and pulled him onto her thigh. Aldred danced along with her, moving his arms around her curvy waist and butt. Mira blushed at that, but she kept dancing. Aldred¡¯s hand found its way onto her crotch and felt it was wet down there. It was obvious because she did not wear any underwear.


    Eventually, the song ended and they stopped dancing.


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia were gasping for air. They were so tired after the dance. Their cheeks were red, but they smiled as they were having fun.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a table to sit down.¡± Aldred led them to a table and sat with them.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know this ce exists,¡± Mira said. ¡°I don¡¯t think this type of inn is allowed in Montcresia.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°This inn also serves food. Take your order.¡±


    Bartrem noticed that they stopped dancing so he stopped as well. No further need to embarrass himself. He found himself a table. The soldiers stopped dancing because the music stopped. They finally let go and danced to their hearts¡¯ content for the first time in years.


    Jeffery was looking down, blushing while a girl dragged him to a table. For a man with a big chest, he sure looked timid in front of girls.


    ¡°All of you, order whatever you want,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°I will be paying.¡±


    The soldiers, women and men, rejoiced and quickly ordered their food. Not long after, the waiters came with a tray full of steam.


    ¡°Enjoy your food while it¡¯s hot.¡±


    Bartrem nced at Aldred when they started eating. Aldred nodded. He knew what to do.


    ¡®System, add them to the party.¡¯ He used his mental image to pick which people to add. This way, not everyone in this ce entered the party.


    [Selecting target¡­ sessful]


    [All 73 targets have been added to the party]

 Chapter 58 Simond Trouble

    ¡°Simond,¡± Mally, his big sister, called. Standing at 5,5 feet tall with a beautiful appearance, Mally looked at the short, little Simond and rubbed his head before she wrapped a bag of food in the kitchen.


    Simond smiled as he looked up to his sister. He enjoyed being rubbed by her. She was kind and yed with him a lot of times. And she was a powerful warrior as well, of which he really admired. Everyday, he would train with her in the art of sword. Yesterday, they went to the nearby river to hunt for some pigs, Simond wondered where they would go today.


    She grabbed her sword made out of simple steel but there was Simond¡¯s name carved on the handle. He had yed a prank on her and carved his own name there. Simond thought she would get mad, but she simplyughed it off.


    ¡°Where are we going, sister?¡± Simond asked excitedly.


    ¡°We are going to the river nearby, Simond. But we won¡¯t hunt for pigs because Levina is going with us.¡±


    Levina, his little sister who was six years old peeked from the corner of the door and smiled. She was a cute little sister and Simond loved her dearly. As a man and a brother of two, it was his dream to protect both of his sisters.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. We can train by the river all day.¡±


    Mallyughed. ¡°You¡¯re still ten, Simond. No need to train every day.¡±


    ¡°But I want to be a powerful warrior like you.¡± Simond pouted and hugged her legs.


    ¡°You will be strong when you grow up. Even stronger than me.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Simondughed. ¡°At that time, I will protect you. We will fight in battle together. The three of us.¡±


    Mally smiled sweetly and lowered herself to kiss his forehead. ¡°I am waiting for that day toe.¡±


    But it never came.


    It never came.


    That was because she died.


    The front door opened with a soldier standing rooted with the dark storm filling up the sky behind him. Heavy rain poured upon the rooftop. Lightning shed and thunder struck.


    ¡°Is this the family house of Mally Fairburne?¡± The soldier asked.


    ¡°Yes, that is true,¡± his mother said. ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    The soldier went silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. ¡°Your daughter died on the battlefield with honor.¡± He took a sword wrapped in red cloth on his back and handed it to his father. ¡°This is her sword.¡±<sub></sub>


    Simond watched with widened eyes as his parents broke in tears. His sister had died? But sister Mally was powerful. A great knight that led a toon of braver warriors on the battlefield. She did not die. She couldn¡¯t.


    His father unwrapped the cloth, and shown on the handle was Simond¡¯s name. It was the same sword she used. She never reced it with anything else. And that was when he realized that his sister had truly died. Tears filled his eyes and he couldn¡¯t contain them as they poured out of his eyes.


    ¡­


    Simond opened his eyes as hey on his bed. He felt like he had a dream of something earlier, but he couldn¡¯t remember. Most dreams went forgotten, so he did not think about it much. He stood up and went out of his room only to see a group of female soldiers from Red Rose tooning out of The Jovial Harlequin.


    He clicked his tongue and confronted them. ¡°What are you women doing here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you again,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Last time I didn¡¯t hit you hard enough. Are you going to ruin my date again?¡±


    ¡°But Mareona, we just finished our date.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Aldred.¡±


    Simond stared at them without fear even though he was alone. ¡°This is the front line. I am telling you many times that you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°Why are you such a jerk?¡± Mareona asked. ¡°So what if I am here?¡±


    ¡°The battlefield is no ce for women. You all should quit being a soldier and stay home.¡±


    ¡°I really want to kick your balls right now,¡± Mareona said. ¡°You think you can bully us all you want?¡±


    ¡°I am not bullying you. I am telling the truth. It¡¯s better for men to fight while women stay at home. You¡¯re weaker than us. One man can do better than ten of you on the battlefield.¡±


    Mareona grabbed his shirt and stared at him in the eye. ¡°You fucker. Why don¡¯t we have a duel to the death right here now huh!? Let¡¯s see who¡¯s weaker.¡±


    Simond grabbed her hand with powerful strength. Mareona was shocked that the man could pry her hand so easily. She felt like her hand was being wrapped by a powerful snake, unable to move even by an inch.


    ¡°This is your proof.¡± Simond released her hand. ¡°Now go back to your home and never step foot in this ce.¡±


    Aldred was annoyed by how arrogant the man was. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s your ce to tell women what they can and should do.¡±


    Simond looked at him. ¡°You know nothing, boy. Grow some hair before you can talk to me.¡±


    ¡°You want to see some hair?¡± Aldred pulled down his pants and showed it to him. ¡°What about this? Satisfied now? Why don¡¯t you suck it as well?¡±


    Mareona and the other womenughed. Aldred¡¯s thing was so small that they barely could see it.


    Simond was not amused. ¡°You¡¯re a man. Treat yourself with respect or you will regret it in the future, boy.¡± He left the area and went to look for his men.


    Aldred pulled his pants up, and snorted. ¡°Some people are just in bastards, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are,¡± Mareona agreed.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go out of the fort and have some training sessions together?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Mareona said. ¡°What do you think, Bartrem?¡±


    Bartrem sighed. Aldred was a gold rank which was stronger than him, so he felt like he shouldn¡¯t be the one who led the toon anymore. In fact, if the army knew Aldred reached the Gold Rank, they should promote him to High-Knight and could lead up to 250 knights each with their own toon. ¡°We can train together if that¡¯s what you want. Though, I hope you won¡¯t distract my soldiers from their training.¡±


    ¡°Such a disciplined man. No wonder you have a fierce reputation among the soldiers,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°How can my men survive without such training? They¡¯d be dead in their first battle if not for that.¡±


    Aldred nodded. He had lived with them for a while now, and most of their time was spent on training and eating. That was it. They wore their armor, strap weights on their body and jogged around for hours. Aldred had never seen the other soldiers do that.


    ¡°We can train hard together,¡± Aldred said.


    Mareona nodded. ¡°My girls seem to need a little harder exercise as well.¡±


    ¡°I forgot to tell you guys,¡± Mary said. ¡°Remember when I said that the empress is sending a lot of her men here?¡±


    Bartrem nodded.


    ¡°Well, great news, she wille along with them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Maybe she can kick Pharder out of this fort.¡±


    ¡°She can do that, but the result won¡¯t be good.¡±


    Aldred shrugged and looked at the system notification that he had been ignoring.


    [You have entered Gold Rank. Processing reward¡­]


    [Processing sess. Please choose your reward]


    [Shape shifting]


    [Martial Art: One Punch]


    [Magic Art: Gravity Control]


    ¡®Hmmm¡­ Which one should I choose?¡¯

 Chapter 59 The Empress Came

    ¡®System can you exin Martial Art: One Punch for me?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Martial Art: One Punch]


    A powerful martial art that lets the user defeat the enemy with a single punch. Created by a powerful bald man in another universe, this art is simple and deadly.


    -Side effect: Being bald and dumb.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®What a terrible side effect. If I learn this, I will be dumb and bald? No thank you. What about gravity control?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Magic Art: Gravity Control]


    Let the user control gravity within a certain range, affecting the weight of objects.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®That¡¯s it? Some. Exin to me thest reward.¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Shape Shifting]


    An all-in-one ability that lets the user transform into any non-spiritual creature or entity. User will receive the talent, base attribute, and trait of the entity that the user turned into.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®Wait, what do you mean by that? So if I turn into a dragon, can I fly?¡¯


    [Yes. If the user turns into a powerful fire dragon race, user will receive a significant boost in stats and powerful control over the fire elements]


    ¡®That can¡¯t be. It has to have some limits, right?¡¯


    [User needs to upgrade this ability if the user wants to receive the true stats of a powerful entity]


    ¡®So if the entity I shift to is weak, I still receive its true stat? And if I shift into a powerful entity the stats and attributes I get would be weaker than its real stats?¡¯


    [Correct]


    ¡®So if I turn to an entity that has powerful regeneration ability, I can have regeneration as well.¡¯


    [Yes]


    ¡®Wow. I wonder what will happen if I transform into Dormaju, Jelestial, Gktus, or maybe even Jhanos. Still¡­ It¡¯s also veryme. Can I have a stronger ability instead?¡¯


    [User can shape shift to any form. User can even shift into a female]


    ¡®Ohh¡­. This is interesting.¡¯


    ¨C


    ¨C<sub></sub>


    ¨C


    ¨C


    Edeline Rose Wildingham sat upon her luxurious couch within her royal carriage overlooking the scenery outside from the window. Outside the carriage, four Diamond Rank women on white majestic horses rode beside her. Surrounding her carriages were the other carriages that brought her subordinates to Ruandeurtin.


    Her slender fingers caressed the smooth adamantite ring on her finger. The ring contained a power that let the wearer survive any attack, but the cost was grave. So grave she was afraid of using it. With her four Diamond ranks guarding her, she had never been forced to use it.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± A female guard with a white robe entered the carriage from the front door. ¡°We have arrived.¡±


    Edeline did not smile or frown. Her expression simply couldn¡¯t be read. The guard did not know how to react to her silence. She hesitated for a while, then bowed before exiting the room.


    Her caravan entered the fort. The guards from the other carriages quickly went out and prepared a red carpet with golden lines on the sides. They circled the carriage, creating a parameter that prevented random soldiers from walking close. Female guards in full High-Knight armor raised their swords above the red carpet. Many High-Magicians cast a sphere of transparent energy around the perimeter.


    Pharder, the captain of this fort, stepped out from the crowd followed by some of his attendants. His expression was nervous as he approached the carriage. A guard stopped him on his feet, and he did not dare to say anything even though the guard was lower ranked than him.


    ¡°Edeline Rose Wildingham, the empress of the Ceraisian Empire hase to visit. Show your obedience,¡± A diamond rank guard said.


    They all knelt on one knee, heads facing the ground. The side door of the royal carriage opened smoothly. And that was when the whole world stared at the figureing out of that door. Shone down by the light of the three moons in the sky, her appearance was like a glistening, sparkling gem. Her beautiful ck hair flowed down to her left shoulder as the guard softly took her hand and helped her in stepping down the steps.


    Pharder still knelt and did not dare to look up until she called for his name.


    ¡°Pharder,¡± she said. Her voice sounded so beautiful but strict and demanded obedience. ¡°I am disappointed in your leadership for thest few years. Therefore, I will add five hundred High-Knight to this fort. They will be my eyes to watch your work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°You are dismissed.¡± The moment she said that, two guards harshly pulled Pharder and shoved him away. Their treatment of him was harsh, but he couldn¡¯t say anything. The female soldiers had their eyes lit up when they saw this. Their lives here were miserable because of Pharder, and now the man did not even dare to say anything after such treatment.


    They looked at the empress with greater respect than before. She was the reason why they became soldiers in the first ce. To break the shackle men put on their legs, they had to wield the sword to break it. That was one of her sayings written in a book that spread around the kingdom far and wide. It was amazing to think that a mere book could affect so many people.


    The guards lifted a golden chair behind the empress and let her sit down before they lifted the chair. The High Knight and Diamond Rank female guards moved forward with her at the center, pushing anyone that did not have time to move.


    Her gaze was set forward while being basked with admiration from the female soldiers around her. She was a powerful woman with great authority in her hand. Every woman in the empire wanted to be like her. That was why they became soldiers.


    The guards lifted the chair to the southwest gate. They didn¡¯t know why the empress wanted to go here, but they would never disobey her. Soon after, they arrived in front of a simple barrack with Mary and everyone else kneeling on one knee.


    ¡°You have done well, Mary,¡± Edeline said after she noticed that Aldred was alive and well. ¡°Congrattions on reaching the Gold Rank. Both of you.¡±


    The female guards flinched. The boy was a Gold Rank? How was that even possible?


    ¡°Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty, but it is because of the boy¡¯s effort that he could achieve this level of strength.¡±


    Edeline nced at the boy who was looking at her with bright sparkling eyes. He was still as cute as she saw him the first time. She did not know his true talent at first until Mary told her about it. Reaching Gold Rank at the age of 10. Any ruler in any empire knew what this meant¡ªthe boy was a potential Adamantite Rank.


    That also meant this ce wasn¡¯t safe for him anymore.


    ¡°Boy,e with me.¡± She entered the barrack. Aldred was too shocked to move at first, but he followed her inside. The guards stood outside the door.


    Aldred was nervous when he entered the barrack alone with her. What did she want to talk about?


    ¡°Come sit with me,¡± Edeline invited with a smile.


    The boy let out a cold sweat and sat beside her. After knowing her stories from Mary, and the others, Aldred felt so nervous near her. The attitude he showed her and the emperor the first time they met was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Congrattions on your advancement,¡± she said with a smile.


    Aldred nodded a bunch of times nervously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so nervous, child. Let me ask you something. Did Mary treat you well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. She treated me very well. Bartrem, Mareona, and the others also treated me well. They are my friends now.¡±


    ¡°That is good.¡± She caressed his head softly which made Aldred blush. ¡°Do you know why we all fight, Aldred? You¡¯re still a boy so you might not understand.¡±


    ¡°I understand, Your Majesty. You fight for freedom.¡±


    Edeline looked at the boy in a different light the moment he said those words. ¡°You understand?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I have lived with Mary for a few months, and she told me stories about you and herself. I know why you all fight, and I think it¡¯s worth fighting for. I have promised them, Your Majesty. I will help you in toppling the emperor and let freedom be distributed to every man and woman across the empire.¡±


    Edeline widened her eyes. At such a young age, the boy already had the same goal as her. Such an ambitious goal might be too far to reach for anyone else, but the boy knew his own talent.


    ¡°Why are you willing to fight for our cause?¡±


    ¡°I think everyone deserves freedom, Your Majesty. No matter who they are.¡±


    ¡°Such a noble heart. I wonder which god threw you to my pce.¡±


    Aldred blinked at that. The one who threw him was actually his parents, though they could be considered gods as well.


    ¡°Since that is the case, I will tell you a little secret. Your progress to tinum Rank will slow down. No matter how talented people are, they always take a long time to reach the tinum Rank, but there is a treasure that will help you with that.¡±


    ¡°A treasure that can help me reach tinum Rank?¡±


    Edeline nodded. ¡°Not just that. This treasure will also help you reach Adamantite Rank. To unlock this treasure, you need to collect three items from three different ces. You have to start looking from Mount Fargon. Find the astrbe and it will lead you to your next destination.¡±


    ¡°But what about the others? I cannot leave them, can¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°They will go with you. This journey cannot be traveled by you alone, child. No matter how strong you are, you will need allies to keep going. This treasure will be wanted by many, not just you. You will face them along the way.¡± Edeline pulled her Adamantite ring and gave it to Aldred.


    ¡°Only use this ring when there is no other option.¡±


    ¡°What is it for?¡±


    ¡°This ring will make you invulnerable to anything. Even to Adamantite Rank power. You can only use it once before you have to wait for seven days before it can be used again, and the consequence is very dire.¡±


    ¡°What is the consequence?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. Some say it turns you into a madman, others say it will bring bad luck, but whatever that is, bad things always happen when you use this ring. So only use it when you truly need it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for telling me and giving me this, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°No. I should be thankful instead. If you can reach Diamond Rank, my power and influence should be enough to make a few changes to the rules.¡±


    ¡°When should I go?¡±


    ¡°As soon as possible,¡± Edeline said. ¡°Remember there are others who want this treasure, and they won¡¯t roll over for you to take it. You have to fight, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I will tell the others about this and make the preparation.¡± Aldred stood up.


    Edeline grabbed his hand. ¡°Before that, can you sing a song for me?¡±


    (Author note: Do not read chapter 60. It¡¯s very dangerous to mortal souls such as yourself. I am sorry but only the chosen ones can witness what is about to unfold. If you still want to read chapter 60 then I am sorry but you have to pay with power stones or golden tickets. Only with such a heavy requirement can I allow you to read the divine scripture of the Holy Land)

 Chapter 60 Edeline In Love [R+18]

    Aldred took a deep breath and started singing.


    ¡°Smart men say. Only fools rush in.¡±


    Edeline slightly gasped as her heart was touched by his voice. It reminded her of him again. The man who had her heart. The man who she used to dance with under the three moons and stars.


    His sweet smile came into view as his short silver hair softly waved by the wind. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her warmth from the cold of the night. His gentle heart thumped as he put her head on his chest. His strong hand caressed her back, assuring her that everything in this world would be fine. She closed her eyes with a smile to enjoy this scene.


    ¡°Shall I stay? Would it be alright¡­ If I can¡¯t help, So much in love with you?¡±


    She let out a breath that removed all of her burdens. Her tight shoulders became so rxed. She then opened her eyes and saw the love of her life. Sitting there with closed eyes as he sang the song.


    ¡°Like a rain fall. Surely to the ground.¡± The man nced at her and sang: ¡°Take¡­. My¡­ hand¡­¡± He stood up and softly brought her up.


    Holding her hands, the man softly danced along with her. Edeline was looking at his face, charmed by his mesmerizing gray eyes that always looked at her with affection.<sub>-.</sub>


    Edeline couldn¡¯t hold her tears and let them flow before she hugged him. For the first time in forever, she felt loved. She felt free. Under his embrace and warmth, she could finally be who she truly was.


    Aldred was surprised. He shape shifted into this form because he just wanted to try his ability. He was nervous so he changed his appearance randomly. Taking her hands and dancing with her was also not intentional, he was just in the moment, and the empress epted it so he said nothing and kept singing. But now that she cried, Aldred did not know what to do except to keep singing.


    ¡°For I can¡¯t help¡­ Making love with¡­¡±


    ¡°You.¡±


    Edeline tighten her hug as she sobbed in his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me ever again, Leo!¡± She cried.


    Her majestic royal image shattered and what came to be was simply a woman who missed her lover.


    Aldred felt her emotion rolling in his heart. Her cry and her tears were too pitiful to ignore. He ran his hand onto her hair and face. ¡°I will never leave you, Edeline.¡±<sub></sub>


    Edeline wrapped her hands around his neck and gave him a deep kiss. Aldred kissed back and put his hands around her hourss figure wrapped by her luxurious dress. His hands ran along her body and stopped at her shapely buttocks. Aldred squeezed, and Edeline moaned.


    Her moan was so cute and lovely that Aldred wanted to hear more of it, so he kept on squeezing and fondling to make her moan even more. His right hand released the plump meat and held her left breast, fondling it. Edeline¡¯s body shook, but she wanted more. She wanted him to touch her even more. Their tongue y made their mind enter into an ecstasy of pleasure.


    Her right hand reached down below to his bulging pants. Her hand quickly found its way inside and held tight the hardened dong.


    Aldred pushed her onto the bed and continued to kiss her. The blush on Edeline¡¯s face intensified as his strong arms wrapped around her frame. Edeline¡¯s delicate hands kept on fondling his dong which made him kiss her harder.


    Aldred released the kiss which made their saliva connect in the air before he opened her dress and sucked on her right breast. Edeline wrapped her arms around his head and moaned while he fondled her left breast. She smiled, blushing as both of her legs raised to his waist, pulling him closer to her.


    He was on top of her now, sucking on her breast and fondling it. Edeline smiled and enjoyed the pleasure before biting softly on his left ear. Soon after, Edeline couldn¡¯t hold it and said: ¡°Let me help you feel good.¡±


    Softly, she rolled him over to put him under her. She rode on his crotch and ran her slender hands against his strong chest before arriving at his pants. Slowly, she opened the pants and a giant dong appeared.


    ¡°This is our first time,¡± Edeline said with a smile, softly touching his dong. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the chance to do it with you before.¡±


    Aldred blushed even though he knew she did not mean him. Edeline smiled. She blew a small wind to his dong which made it twitch and elongated. She licked the tip and it became harder. Edeline giggled and licked it from the bottom to the top.


    Aldred moaned from pleasure. Her tongue made his dong feel so good and amazing. His body felt warm and all he wanted to do now was to fuck her, but his feeling told him to let her do whatever she wanted for now, so he stayed still as Edeline kept on licking his manhood.


    Kissing the tip, Edeline looked at her man before slowly and softly putting the man-rod deep into her mouth. Aldred moaned even harder. Her warm mouth felt so amazing and wet. It felt so good that he wanted his thing to stay there for a long time. She was also very careful and precise with her mouth, making the teeth not scratch against his skin.


    When Edeline released her mouth, Aldred pulled her and his hand moved downward until it slid onto her maiden spot. His hand ripped open the cloth and caressed the wet maiden, making Edeline moan and blush in his chest.


    Aldred kissed her neck and groped her left breast, and lightly inserted his finger a little deeper. After a few seconds, the spot became wetter. Some beautiful liquid leaked out.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Aldred asked.


    Edeline smiled and nodded. Aldred grabbed his manhood and put it in her maiden spot. They both gasped in pleasure as their body became one. She was nervous at first, and afraid that she would feel any pain, but there was none as his hands held her back to reassure her.


    Aldred pushed her slightly and pulled his hips before thrusting forward slowly. Edeline moaned beside his ears and wrapped her arms around his neck, making her breast pressed against his mouth. Their body felt so hot, and as they got hotter, Aldred moved faster, pulling his hip back and thrusting deep inside her. He also slowly increased the length of his manhood.


    Edeline could feel it as well. He was inside of her and she never felt this good in her whole life.


    She tightened her hug on his head, letting him do whatever he wanted to her body as she moaned uncontrobly. Their desire reached its peak. Edeline¡¯s body shook as she orgasmed, but Aldred kept on going until he thrust as hard as he can and elongate his manhood to reach the door of her womb, injecting his seeds into her.


    Edeline¡¯s body trembled and moaned as a wave of pleasure washed over her.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t done yet. He tightened his arms around her frame and pumped his hips back and forth before prating open her womb and filling it up with his semen. Edeline pulled back her head and moaned even harder before she tightly wrapped her arms around his head while her whole body trembled.


    They both panted with red cheeks as Edeliney beside him. She smiled and kissed him before closing her eyes.


    Under her breath, she muttered: ¡°Take my hand¡­ Take my whole life too¡­ For I can¡¯t help. making love¡­ with¡­ you.¡±


    After their feisty scene, Edeline realized that her lover wasn¡¯t real. It was Aldred who shape-shifted to his appearance. The boy transformed back and bowed to apologize.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Aldred,¡± Edeline said. Though she was sad that her lover was not real, Aldred gave her the pleasure of his exact warmth. ¡°I am thankful because I can see him in you even just for a moment.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡±


    ¡°This is too insignificant for me to be angry. Besides, I have my fun as well.¡±


    Aldred blushed and scratched the back of his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything.¡± Edeline approached his face and kissed his lips.

 Chapter 61 Preparing For an Adventure

    Chapter 61 Preparing For an Adventure


    ¡°Say, Aldred, do you like me?¡±


    ¡°I do. You¡¯re beautiful, brave, and perfect.¡±


    Edeline smiled. ¡°I have decided. If there everes a day you defeated the emperor, I will be your empress.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I called motivation.¡±


    Edeline giggled. If others saw her acting like this, they would be in an uproar because she always held an ice-cold expression. ¡°Thank you for singing that song for me.¡±


    ¡°Anytime, Your Majesty.¡±


    They both fixed their clothes and went out of the barrack. Mary looked at the two, wondering what they talked about for so long in the barrack.


    Edeline showed her usual cold expression. ¡°My business here is done. I have great expectations from each of you. Do not disappoint me.¡± She sat on her chair before the guards lifted her away.


    ¡°Aldred, what did she say?¡± Mary asked.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred then exined everything to them about the secret treasure that could help him reach tinum Rank. He also asked if it was true that Gold Rank took a long time to reach tinum.


    Mary nodded. ¡°That is true. It is harder to reach tinum than Diamond. I don¡¯t know why that is the case. There¡¯s some kind of boundary from Gold Rank to tinum Rank.¡±


    ¡°So the empress told us to find this treasure?¡± Bartrem asked. ¡°Pharder wouldn¡¯t let us go, but if the empress herself says it then we are free to leave.¡±


    ¡°I will follow whatever Her Majesty said,¡± Mareona proudly replied. ¡°If it is the treasure that she told us to look for, then we should start looking.¡±


    ¡°The empress told us to leave immediately,¡± Aldred said. ¡°So we better make some preparations right now. And just bring everything, my divine dimension can store a lot of things anyway.¡±


    Bartrem looked at him as the soldiers wondered what Aldred talked about.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Bartrem. They are ourrades. If we cannot trust them with this, how can we trust them with our lives?¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°Alright. Men, go collect everything you need. We¡¯re going treasure hunting!¡±


    Mareona told her soldiers as well. ¡°Girls! Go get busy. And don¡¯t forget to bring extra panties! The road is going to get rough.¡±<sub></sub>


    Red Rose toon I and Pressure toon II rushed to their barracks and grabbed everything they needed for the journey. After they were done, they asked Bartrem about food.


    ¡°Food is not a problem. Don¡¯t think about it,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Now put your bags on the ground.¡±


    The soldiers looked at each other in confusion but they obeyed his order.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Bartrem called.


    Aldred stepped forward and told the system to put the bags into the divine dimension. The bags shed with a bright light before they disappeared without a trace.


    The soldiers widened their eyes.


    ¡°Aldred has the power to store things. Don¡¯t tell this to anyone else,¡±


    The soldier nodded a bunch of times. They understood the significance of this ability. As long as they had Aldred, they could bring anything.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t really worried someone else would know about his divine dimension. It was his leveling system ability that he was worried about because that ability was so vital and powerful that even a talentless brat could be an emperor.


    ¡°Has everyone brought everything they need?¡± Bartrem asked to make sure.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Then let us go. Our first destination is Mount Fargon.¡±


    ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡±


    Bartrem and the others turned around to look at the man. It was Pharder.


    Mary stepped forward. ¡°The empress directly ordered us to leave this fort. You cannot stop us.¡±


    Pharder snorted. ¡°Do not think I am clueless on where you are going and what are you looking for. The treasure you seek is an open secret, and I will do the best that I can to prevent you from taking it.¡±


    Mary frowned. ¡°This treasure is of no importance to you, Pharder.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But it is important to you, which is enough reason for me to intervene.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a bastard.¡±


    Pharderughed and nced at Sophia. ¡°Say that to the boy. He stole my woman.¡±


    Sophia stepped behind Aldred in fear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sophia,¡± Aldred said. ¡°He cannot hurt us.¡±


    She smiled as his words assured her.


    Pharder snorted again before walking away.


    Mary watching him leave was angered. ¡°I have to punch his face someday.¡±


    ¡°He pissed me off,¡± Mareona said, clenching her fist.


    Bartrem kept his calm. ¡°Brush it off. He must be angry since the empress came here and brought her subordinates to this fort.¡±


    ¡°So he came here to take his anger out on us?¡± Mareona asked. ¡°Now, I really want to kill that bastard.¡± She nced at Sophia. ¡°How did you be his woman anyway?¡±


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C


    Simond swung his sword for the ten-thousandth time in the grassy field. His meny on the grass in exhaustion. They had tried to follow his training routine, but it was too hard. Simond was a knight so it was normal that he was stronger than them, but his endurance might be equal to a Gold Rank warrior.


    And Simond wasn¡¯t randomly swinging his sword. Each swing cut the air with precision and power. The soldiers were amazed by his ability. All of them believed that Simond would reach Gold Rank sooner orter.


    And he did.


    Simond¡¯s body glowed with powerful life force as he raised his sword high above his head and swung down. A wave of vertical wind shot forward, cutting everything in a straight path.


    The soldiers couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. It wasn¡¯t that rare to see someone breaking through the ranks, but it wasn¡¯t thatmon either.


    ¡°Congrattions, sir.¡± The soldiers cheered and pped for his advancement.


    Simond did not smile nor did he feel happy. Instead, he felt sad that it took him so long to reach this rank.


    Suddenly, Pharder approached them. The soldiers stood up and saluted him immediately.


    The man stopped in front of him with a smile. ¡°Simond, I have a mission for you.¡±

 Chapter 62 Bet of The Day

    A handsome man covered in shining armor knelt in front of a statue. Light entered the church through the stained ss depicting many events and histories of how God gave hope to its worshiper. The man closed his eyes and brought his right fist to his chest.


    ¡°O¡¯lord, who art in heaven, blessed be thy name. Give us strength and forgive our sin as we forgive theirs. Led us away from temptation; whispers of the devils, and deliver us to the light.¡±


    Footsteps came from behind. The man opened his eyes and stood up.


    ¡°Your prayer is longer than usual, Arthur.¡±


    Arthur turned around, showing his smooth wless skin. Even after years of battle, he was without a scar or wound because heroes had superb regenerative ability.


    ¡°We are about to be away from the kingdom of our lord. We need his blessing to ensure our safety.¡±


    Jake smiled. Even though he had a strong frame with big a shield and sword, he had a kind face that did not look threatening at all. ¡°Hugo is waiting outside with the carriage. Why don¡¯t we go out before he makes a noise?¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡±


    They both exited the church and saw a 165 CM tall man leaning on the carriage with crossed arms. His brown eyes darted towards them. ¡°What took you so long? I was so bored.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be whiny, Hugo. You only waited for a few minutes.¡± Jake walked to the back of the carriage and checked the supplies.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°A few minutes is long. Do you know how bored I am? I need some girls to keep mepany.¡±


    Jake rolled his eyes and ignored him. Arthur ruffled chest-nut hair and smiled. ¡°I apologize for taking too long. Why don¡¯t you drive the carriage instead of Jake?¡±


    Hugo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really?¡±


    Jake peeked out the back of the carriage. ¡°He¡¯s going to destroy the carriage.¡±


    ¡°No, I will not.¡± He turned to Arthur and. ¡°I assure you. Everything will be fine.¡±


    Arthur bitterly smiled. ¡°I give you my trust again, Hugo. Even though you have betrayed it a bunch of times already.¡±


    ¡°A lot of times, actually,¡± Jake added.


    ¡°Shut up, Jake. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Hugoughed and caressed the horses like he already owned them.


    Jake looked at Arthur and gave him the expression that said ¡®Why did you let him drive?¡¯<sub></sub>


    Arthur smiled and shrugged.


    ¡°Are you ready to leave, Arthur?¡± A man with a white robe came and asked him.


    ¡°Yes, father. Jake and Hugo have prepared the supplies and carriages.¡±


    The priest sighed. ¡°Be careful out there, Arthur. This treasure is too important. A lot of people will look for it, and you have to face them.¡±


    ¡°I am ready, father.¡±


    ¡°I hope you are. Thankfully, only Gold Rank can participate in this treasure hunt, so you have a chance to fight for it.¡±


    ¡°What happens if a tinum Rank looks for this treasure, Father?¡±


    ¡°Terrible thing. I do not know how this rule came to be, but this treasure appears every hundred years or so, and those who have it will have a chance to reach Adamantite Rank. But only a Gold Rank can look and have this treasure. If a higher rank tried to find it, a malevolent curse will fall upon them.¡±


    ¡°What curse is that?¡±


    ¡°If they directly prevent others from finding it, and try to find it themselves, their body will be dried, shrunk, and then turned into dust.¡±


    Arthur and the others trembled when they heard this. Just imagining their body dried was terrible enough, but at least no tinum Rank or higher would disrupt them.


    The priest held his shoulder. ¡°Remember, child. Everyone outside Montcresia is blinded by evil emotions and desire. Be very careful out there.¡±


    Arthur nodded. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C


    Pressure toon II and Red Rose toon elegantly danced around the pack of copper wolves. With steel swords in their hands, they quickly decapitated wolf after wolf. Many of them plummeted to the ground, but they did not stop, and continued to fight, ying a bunch of wolves that tried to run.


    Aldred watched as their levels increased a bunch of times because of the battle. He did not receive any EXP from what they killed unless he contributed some damage to the target, but he was fine with that. The soldiers needed to get stronger first.


    They were currently traveling to the north where Mount Fargon was, but they met a pack of copper wolves by chance. Thinking it was a good opportunity to increase levels, they decided to fight the wolves.


    ¡°How is their progress, Aldred?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°To be honest, not as good as I expected. Different people need different EXP, so some soldiers took longer to level up than the others.¡±


    ¡°At least their improvement is much better than before. Soon they all will reach Silver Rank.¡± Bartrem clenched his fist. ¡°I almost reach Gold Rank as well.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Let me say my congrattion before that happen.¡±


    Bartremughed.


    Mary was sitting on top of the carriage until she saw somethinging at them from a distance. ¡°Hey! Something ising!¡±


    Aldred turned around and looked at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Mary stood up and narrowed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s some kind of monster.¡±


    Aldred was curious, so he activated his me jet and flew up. His eyes widened at the creature he saw. It has a wolf head, a snake body, wolf legs, and a scorpion sting. It stood around 8 feet and it moved really fast towards them.


    ¡°Wakanda shit is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a Silver Rank, Monster.¡± Bartrem smiled. ¡°Aldred, you stay out of this. I will use this opportunity to increase my strength. The rest of you follow me!¡±


    Bartrem charged toward the monster with the same valor and bravery when fighting against a human formation. Aldred had never seen the man show an expression of fear.


    ¡°Pongo.¡± Pongo squeaked as he sat beside Aldred.


    ¡°What do you think, Pongo? Can they win?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (You want to bet?)¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the bet?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (the one who loses will have to steal Mareona¡¯s underwear and give it to the other party).¡±


    ¡°Deal. I say they will win.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (I guess you will have to steal an underwear tonight).¡±


    Sophia and Mira wondered what Aldred was talking about with the penguin.

 Chapter 63 Little Picnic [Bonus chapter]

    Bartrem, Mareona, Joseph, Jeffery, and the other soldiers from both toon charged at the hideous beast. Its scorpion tail stabbed forward almost hitting Bartrem as he dodged to the side.


    Bartrem grimaced and shed its face, angering the beast. ¡°Attack its sides!¡±


    The soldiers swarmed the beast in all directions, shing at its skin, and creating wounds of all sizes. The beast roared and attacked back, but what it fought against were proper soldiers who were used in teamwork, so when the beast attacked, all the soldiers backed off and dodged at the same time.


    Bartrem pummeled the beast¡¯s face with his sword. One time he even uppercut the beast on the chin, disorienting it. His fighting style made him look like a powerful and brave warrior.


    On the other hand, Mareona moved like an agile snake. Precise yet deadly as her sword stabbed through the monster¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Nice job!¡± Bartrem punched the monster in the face, bringing it down to the ground. He raised his sword and stabbed its head. ¡°Kill it!¡±


    The soldiers quickly rushed at the beast from the sides and dealt horrendous damage to its body. Arge wound opened up with blood pouring out.


    Eventually, The monster died, and at that moment, Bartrem and Mareona glowed in a powerful life force. Some of the soldiers glowed as well. They reached Silver Rank while Bartrem and Mareona broke through the Gold Rank.


    Bartrem raised his sword and roared. ¡°Hiyaaa!¡±


    ¡°Hiyaaa!¡± the others followed.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°Bartrem never roared when he won a battle before.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he reached Gold Rank,¡± Mira said.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°That makes sense. Anyway.¡± He grabbed Pongo by the shoulder. ¡°Remember our bet.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Pongo crossed his arms and pouted. ¡°Pongo pongo (I guess I have to steal her underwear again).¡±


    ¡°What do you mean again?¡±


    ¡°Pongo (Nothing).¡±


    Mary walked to the field andy out a mat on the grass. ¡°Aldred,e here and sit with me.¡±


    Aldred obeyed and sat on herp. His head rested on her breast. ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡±


    ¡°Well, the weather is nice and we have traveled for quite a bit, so I decided to have a little pic. The soldiers also needed some rest after they fought the wolves.¡±


    ¡°That is true. They must be very tired.¡±


    Smokes bellowed from the side. Aldred turned his head and noticed Sophia was creating a fire. Mira moved her hands gracefully, and a blob of water floated from a nearby creek. There were three fish within that blob of water. Sophia stabbed the fish through the mouth with a stick and she cooked it above the fire.


    Sophia looked at the boy and smiled. ¡°Wait for a minute, Aldred. The fish will be cooked soon.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Mary, let¡¯s help them cook the fish. We can also cook for the others as well.¡±


    Mary agreed and they both stood up to catch fish in the creek. Aldred summoned his undead.


    Milet knelt in his undead form. ¡°Yourmand, master?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Catch some fish for my friends.¡±


    Milet blinked as if he couldn¡¯t believe he was summoned just to catch some fish.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go catch some fish or I might start eating you instead.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, master.¡±


    Milet raised his spear and shed at the water. The water sshed violently and dozens of fish flew into the sky.


    ¡°Hey! Do it calmly. Don¡¯t destroy the environment, okay?¡±


    ¡°I apologize, master.¡± Milet stabbed the fish one by one very carefully.


    Aldred approached Sophia. ¡°Let me help you with the fire.¡± He fired a bunch of fire javelins on the ground. ¡°Now you can just put the javelin into the fish and let it cook from the inside.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s very smart.¡± She hugged him and kissed his cheek. ¡°Thank you mas¡ªAldred.¡±


    Aldred giggled and kissed her back. ¡°No need to thank me.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s eyes widened when Aldred kissed her back. Her cheeks blushed as she scrambled to grab some fish and put their mouth into the fire javelin. Pharder had never kissed her back before. He always kicked or hit her. She nced at the boy, her red face intensified. ¡®He¡¯s a good boy. I should get his love.¡¯


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Sophia called.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Sophia undressed ¡°Do you want to do it here?¡±


    Aldred blinked. ¡°Sophia what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I am giving you love.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this to show me love.¡±


    Sophia showed a confused expression. ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    ¡°Just be with me, and have fun.¡±


    ¡°I can do that?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You can do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Whatever I want¡­ Can I touch you?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Kiss you?¡±


    ¡°Why not.¡±


    ¡°Suck your d¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about that yet.¡±


    Sophia smiled with red cheeks. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? For what?¡±


    ¡°For everything.¡± Sophia looked away from the boy and continued to stick the fish onto the fire javelin.


    Aldred stood there scratching the back of his head. ¡®What did she thank me for?¡¯


    Mareona, Bartrem, and the others came to the carriages and smelled a nice crisp scent.


    Aldred waved his hand at them. ¡°We¡¯re cooking fish for you guys!¡±


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Prepare the mat!¡±


    Mareona ran up to Aldred and knocked his head. ¡°I am Gold Rank like you now. Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°Good for you, but why did you hit my head?¡±


    ¡°Humph. I will hit you whenever I want.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so unreasonable.¡±


    She hit his head again.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for questioning me.¡± She nced at the fish on the fire javelin and frowned. ¡°You cook them just like that?¡±


    ¡°How else should we cook them?¡±


    Mareona hit his head again which made Aldred¡¯s head throb in pain.


    ¡°In a situation like this, flowers are the best.¡± She reached deep in her pants and pulled out a handful of flowers.


    ¡°Seriously. Did you store flowers in your underwear?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°You did it a bunch of times before. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a secret anymore.¡±


    ¡°What? You want to see?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Oh uh¡­ sure.¡±


    ¡°In your dream!¡± She knocked his head again.


    Aldred rubbed his head and pitifully looked at her. ¡®Pongo will steal your underwear tonight. We¡¯ll see what you hid down there all this time.¡±

 Chapter 64 I Shall Transform

    When the fish were cooked, Mareona plucked some leaves and wrapped them. The others followed, pulling some leaves and wrapping the fish which they could eat immediately.


    Aldred sat on Mary¡¯sp as she caressed his head. Sophia was giving his legs a massage while Mira used her water magic to clean his feet.


    ¡°Open your mouth, Aldred.¡± Mareona gently put a red fruit into his mouth. It looked like strawberry, but not really, and it tasted sweet without the acid part.


    The other male soldiers looking at the boy could only eat their food in loneliness and jealousy.


    ¡°Why did he get all the girls?¡±


    ¡°Is it because he¡¯s a boy?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.¡±


    ¡°If only I was as cute as him.¡±


    On the other hand, there were some soldiers who were close to the female soldiers and were eating together on their own mats. Jeffery was one of them. He was blushing and looking down as the girl smiled and fed him food.


    Joseph sat with a nonchnt expression as he ate his fish. He did not care about girls. All he cared about were strength and skills. Nothing else mattered. ¡®I live by the swords and will die by the swords. No woman shall distract me.¡¯


    Tears trickled from his eyes. He wiped his face and violently bit onto his fish. ¡®Jeffery, you bastard. Why¡¯d you leave me alone after everything we have been through.¡¯


    And that was their current life. Some got girls, some got none, and one even got it all, but overall their little pic was very fun.


    Night time came.


    As the campfire died and everyone was sleeping in their tents, a small, tiny, short, dumb creature peeked out of the grass. It was Pongo. His eyes were currently locked onto one particr tent. He looked left and right, making sure no backstabbing spy was there to disrupt his operation.


    Quickly, he slid onto the ground with his belly. His movement was quick. And in the blink of an eye, he was inside the tent. Mareona was sleeping along with the other girls. Pongo approached her. He had done this a few times before so he wasn¡¯t worried. With supreme precision and speed, his right flipper snapped at the target, and suddenly the pink object was in his hand.


    Pongo smiled and was about to leave until he had a second thought. That was when he decided to steal all the girl¡¯s underwear and kept it for safekeeping.


    He entered Aldred¡¯s tent to deliver the object. A spy must keep his promise after all. Pongo watched the boy sleeping with saliva trickling from his mouth.


    Aldred was sleeping on Sophia¡¯s belly with Mary and Mira beside him.


    Aldredughed in his sleep. ¡°No, sister. Don¡¯t touch me down there. No. What are you doing? Hehehe. What if mother sees us?¡±


    Pongo pped his face which alerted Aldred.


    ¡°Earthquake!¡± He paused and stared at Pongo. ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s just you.¡±


    Pongo handed him a soft and smooth object. After rubbing his eyes, Aldred realized it was underwear.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Shit! You really did it? I thought you were joking.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t argue with me now. I did the deed and my debt is cleared,¡± Pongo said.


    ¡°Been a while since I heard you talk.¡± Aldredughed. ¡°Why do you pretend you cannot speak in front of others?¡±


    ¡°Humph. You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± Pongo crossed his flipper


    Aldred rolled his eyes and nced at the divine object in his hand. ¡°There¡¯s something in it. I wonder what it is.¡±


    Aldred opened the pink divine object and what he saw was simply a bunch of colorful flowers. ¡°She really did keep flowers in her underwear¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, but you don¡¯t have to say anything.¡±


    Aldred looked up and realized Mareona was at the entrance of his tent, staring at him with murderous eyes. Lightning shed and the sky thundered. Mareona cracked her fist which made Aldred back off in fear.


    ¡°Mareona, it¡¯s not what it looks like.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She approached. ¡°We lost our panties a bunch of times before, now I know who did it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me. It¡¯s the penguin.¡±


    Mareona looked at the penguin who was looking at her with big, pitiful, innocent eyes.


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s innocent,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡®Damnit! Now I know why Pongo pretended to be dumb in front of others! He¡¯s tricking them all!¡¯


    A powerful Gold Rank aura permeated her body. ¡°Prepare yourself for a world of pain.¡±


    ¡°Mother, help!¡±


    Mareona closed his mouth. ¡°Try not to make any noise.¡± Her hand reached out to him.


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C<sub></sub>


    The sun rose and the chirping of birds came from outside.


    Mary woke up then she saw a pile of beaten meat in front of her. Rubbing her eyes, she realized the beaten meat was actually Aldred who was ck and blue from all over.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I have a terrible nightmare,¡± Aldred said. ¡°A really terrible nightmare.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin the bruises.¡±


    ¡°Pitiful, child,¡± Mira said. ¡°Let me heal your wound.¡± Golden water washed Aldred¡¯s body and the bruises disappeared.


    ¡°Thank you, Mira.¡±


    Mira smiled and ruffled his hair. ¡°Be a good boy and stop doing naughty stuff.¡±


    Aldred blinked innocently. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Sophia woke up as well and greeted him. ¡°Good morning mas¡ªAldred.¡± She almost called him master again. The habit stuck to her because of Pharder.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Do you want breakfast or coffee? Or maybe both? Or do you want to take a bath first?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ uhh¡­ I usually train first before any of those things.¡±


    ¡°Physical training?¡±


    ¡°Yep. I usually train with Mary, Bartrem, and the others.¡±


    Sophia thought it was weird that Aldred trained his body since he was a magician. A powerful one at that. ¡°I will prepare a towel and a mat. After your training, I will wipe the sweat off your body.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really need that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so would you like to take a bath after training instead?¡±


    ¡°I guess it depends on my mood. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sophia shook his head. ¡°I am just trying to make youfortable and have a good day.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, really. Just have fun. Look at me. I take baths whenever I want, and no one gets mad if I don¡¯t take it for more than a week. Hahaha.¡±


    Mary flicked his forehead. ¡°You should take a bath at least once every three days.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his forehead. ¡°Yes, Mary.¡±


    Mary smiled and hugged him. Aldred embraced the hug with a smile, but then he noticed Sophia¡¯s troubled expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sophia?¡±


    Sophia looked down, hesitating. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    ¡°To do what?¡±


    ¡°To please you.¡±


    ¡°Why do you have to please me?¡±


    Sophia looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I am happy that you want to make me happy. I appreciate it, but your happiness is my happiness as well, so tell me. What do you want?¡±


    Sophia widened her eyes. ¡°My happiness is your happiness?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I am happy if Mary is happy, I am happy if Mira, Mareona, Bartrem, Joseph, and Jeffery are happy. If everyone is happy, I will be happy.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Except you, Pongo.¡±


    Pongo pouted and crossed his arms in anger. ¡°Pongo!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just a bloody penguin. I don¡¯t care about your happiness. Besides, it was because of you that Mareona beat me up.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo!¡±


    ¡°I am not listening to you.¡±


    As Aldred and the penguin battled in a heated argument, Sophia was still staring at the boy, wondering if what he said was true or not. ¡®My happiness is his happiness¡­¡¯ No one ever said that to her.


    Tears flowed from her eyes which shocked everyone.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Aldred said with worry. He approached and held her shoulder. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Sophia looked at his worried face up close. Those gentle ck eyes with honest and genuine feelings made her heart warm. She couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and broke into tears as she hugged him.


    ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Aldred caressed her back, bing more worried. ¡°Are you sick? Did someone bully you? Is it your time of the month? Are you maybe pregnant?¡±


    Mary hit his head and signaled for him to be quiet.


    Aldred nodded and stayed silent as he hugged her and caressed her back. Sophia kept sobbing and crying uncontrobly. He did not know what made her so sad.


    After a few minutes, Sophia stopped crying but kept on hugging Aldred. She calmed down eventually, still with a little bit of tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Are you going to tell me what is going on?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°All this time,¡± Sophia started. ¡°It was always me who kept trying to make others feel happy. I did whatever they asked, did whatever they wanted, but it never worked out. They always kick and shove me away.¡± She broke into tears again. ¡°I don¡¯t know why they did it. I truly don¡¯t know.¡±


    Aldred, Mira, and Mary looked at each other. It seemed like Sophia¡¯s craziness came from her terrible experience with life.


    ¡°Sophia,¡± Mira said in a soft voice. ¡°Love is something to fight for, but that fight must never be done alone. If you ever find yourself fighting alone, then it is not love.¡±


    Sophia looked at her with widened eyes. ¡°All this time, it wasn¡¯t love?¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°Many make the same mistake as you. Love is afortable home, Sophia. Sometimes it gets messy and you have to clean and tidy it, but it¡¯s a ce where you can rx and be yourself.¡±


    Sophia hugged her. ¡°Thank you, sister.¡±


    Mira smiled and hugged her back.


    Mary hugged her from the side.


    Aldred followed. ¡°You can consider us your home, Sophia.¡±


    Sophia nodded. ¡°I will.¡± She ruffled Aldred¡¯s hair and kissed him on the lips. ¡°I guess you are my love now.¡± She smiled sweetly.


    Aldred blushed. Her demeanor changed so quick that he was caught off guard. Sophia loved his reaction and kissed him a bunch of times.


    Mary smiled. Sophia did not seem like a bad person. Yes, she tried to enve Aldred before, but she was probably ordered by Pharder. ¡®Now that she¡¯s one of us, there¡¯s no use in holding a grudge.¡¯


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Bartrem called as he peeked inside. ¡°We¡¯re ready to move.¡±


    Aldred nodded and exited the tent. He then ordered the system to put all the tents inside the divine dimension. He also stored other things such as supplies and tools.


    Aldred and Bartrem had thought about how to use the dimension even more efficiently and effectively. They tried to put everyone within the divine dimension, and have Aldred fly to the destination. There was a problem with that method. Apparently, they could only stay inside for three hours in real-time of which they were kicked into the real dimension after the time ran out. Then they had to wait for a 24-hour cooldown before they could enter the divine dimension again.


    Bartrem thought it wasn¡¯t very efficient, and that ability better be saved for a possible disaster instead. Imagine they were ambushed from all sides. Outnumbered and outwitted. They could enter the divine dimension and stay there. Although only for three hours, at least the element of surprise disappeared, and they could think of a n to survive. The problem was the usual difference in time did not apply when Aldred was outside the divine dimension. So if they wanted to hide, he had to enter the dimension along with them.


    Aldred was d that he shared his ability with Bartrem and the others. It was really good to have others think of a way on how to use his ability more effectively. Although they still couldn¡¯t tell all of theirrades about the leveling system.


    They did not need to know though. In fact, they didn¡¯t even know their own levels and attributes. When their levels increased, their attributes automatically increased ording to their specialization.


    This ability was truly a blessing from the gods. Aldred could pick up a dumb ass from the street and he could turn him into a Gold Rank in a few years.


    Aldred sat on Mary¡¯sp on the carriage. The caravan set off with the soldiers urging the horses to move.


    In the carriage, Mareona, Sophia, Mira, and Pongo were with him.


    ¡°Aldred, you said you have a new ability,¡± Mareona said. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, basically, I can transform into things.¡±


    ¡°Show us.¡±


    Aldred transformed himself into a kitten.


    Mareona¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°So cute. Can you talk?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! The cat spoke!¡± Mareona was exhrated. ¡°Try turning into something else.¡±


    Aldred transformed into a penguin which angered Pongo.


    ¡®You dare stealing my style?¡¯ Pongo red at him.


    Aldred transformed into a baby.


    Mareonaughed. ¡°You¡¯re a baby. Aldred, you¡¯re a baby!¡±


    Mary thought it was cute as well.


    Aldred then turned into a baby, but with wrinkled skin and a white beard. He even brought a small stick and hunched his back to y the role.


    Sophiaughed. ¡°How is this possible? You¡¯re an old baby.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. You have not seen my final form yet.¡±


    Aldred turned into a vibrator.

 Chapter 65 Life Lesson

    As they continued their travel, the caravan stumbled upon a group of gnolls. They were half men half hyenas standing with two legs. Bartrem told his men to take care of them. And so they did. With their power and strength increased in every battle, the soldiers were more than happy to kill more monsters.


    Aldred watched the fight unfold from his carriage. ¡°They look simr to us humans. They even have spears and armor.¡±


    ¡°They are,¡± Mary said. ¡°In fact, they have their own nation as well. It¡¯s called Aliravilia. Located to the northeast from Ceraisian Empire.¡±


    ¡°Then why are these bandits here?¡±


    ¡°The same reason with every bandit. Humans turned to stealing too, and sometimes they run to other kingdoms to do their bidding.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Aldred said as Joseph beheaded three gnolls at once.


    ¡°Did you know that Mount Fargon is located in Thignia?¡±


    ¡°Thignia is a name of a kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And they are a kingdom of vampires.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Vampires? Are we going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re a civilized race. Like us humans, they won¡¯t attack unless offended.¡±


    ¡°There has to be racism right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We humans cannot buynd in Thignia, and if we want to make a business, we have to get a local to be our partner. Also, they can take the business whenever they wanted.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised you guys don¡¯t kill each other with that rule in ce,¡± Aldred said


    ¡°If you read some history books, you would know.¡±


    Aldred bitterly smiled. ¡°I already can take a guess what¡¯s written in those books. Let¡¯s talk about religion. Does God exist?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ But I don¡¯t see you pray like Mira.¡±


    ¡°Ceraisian is protected by the god of war. As long as we are in a war, nothing else needs to be done.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very convenient. So do you worship this god?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not a religious empire, but we need the protection of the god. Yet, we¡¯re not actively worshiping him. Just fight a war and that¡¯s it. Besides, gods almost never do anything. No matter how terrible a gue spread on the empire, or how terrible the war is, they still do nothing.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Have you seen a god before?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°What about you, Mira?¡±


    ¡°Zalous exist. He is a powerful deity that brings hope to all. He even selected powerful heroes that wield the power of martial art and magic.¡±


    ¡°Bartrem said something about that before. Does god really give them that power?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Only heroes can learn martial arts and magic at the same time.¡±


    ¡°I never see these so-called heroes. With their advantage, why didn¡¯t they defeat Ceraisian yet?¡±


    ¡°We have more numbers,¡± Mary said. ¡°Heroes are powerful, but they are rare. That¡¯s why you never met them. Their state birthed heroes asionally, while we pumped out gold ranks at a rapid rate, so the bnce never break.¡±


    ¡°So the god of war helped the empire in pumping out Gold Ranks?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. He knew god exist on this because his father had told him about it. They were not really god, but simply powerful entities looking for worshipers. That was all.


    The soldiers beheaded all the gnolls and the fight was over. They picked up the weapons, armor, and collected some of their body parts such as nails and teeth.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡±


    ¡°Collecting monsters parts. Those can be sold to merchants,¡± Mary said.


    The soldiers started to peel the skin of the gnolls.


    ¡°Is this okay?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°If humans were on theirnds, wouldn¡¯t they skin us as well?¡±


    ¡°Their nation is too far away from here. We don¡¯t have to worry about angering them. We do not have any diplomatic rtionship with them because they are too far.¡±


    Aldred nodded. That exined why humans hadn¡¯t gone to war with these guys.


    After cleaning the battlefield, the caravan set off again. They went further north and not long after, they arrived in a small vige.


    This was Vilmiers. Unlike most viges he had seen before, this one did not have any farnd. Probably because the climate or the soil wasn¡¯t good for crops. A bunch of vigers dragged deers and pigs out of the forest and brought them to the vige.<sub></sub>


    ¡°They seem to rely on hunting for food.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get in their adventurer inn. They have the cheapest yet tastiest food,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°You have adventurers in this world? Are they like go to the mission board, ept requests, kill monsters, protect important figures, and the such?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what they do.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re like a frence mercenary or people with power doing grunt work right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ when you put it that way, their job doesn¡¯t sound like an honorable upation.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s eat something. I am starving.¡±


    They entered the vige through the westne. Soon after, they saw an inn with the adventure sign. Bartrem ordered his men to bring the monster¡¯s carcass inside. Seemed like he nned to sell them all in this ce. When Aldred stepped in, he realized there were not many people inside. The mission board was only left with three requests.


    Aldred asked the waitress who was also the receptionist and the cook of this inn.


    ¡°Business isn¡¯t that good in this ce, though I have to say I fair better than everybody else.¡±


    ¡°This ce is located too far away from other viges and towns so it¡¯s normal,¡± Mary said. ¡°If you go to the south and open a business there, it¡¯s so much better.¡±


    The waitress sighed. ¡°How can it be that easy. I don¡¯t know any other ce than here. I got this ce from my dad, and I have been taking care of it ever since. Anyway, what would you like to order? I still have to bake an apple pie for another table.¡±


    ¡°Do you have pizza in here?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I never heard of that before.¡±


    ¡°Never mind. Just give me something with meat.¡±


    ¡°Deer stew it is then.¡±


    Mary and the others ordered their food and she noted them one by one before leaving immediately.


    ¡°Where do we go after this?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°We have to go further north to a smaller vige called  Boncy. After that, we go west where Mount Fargon is.¡±


    ¡°Have you gone there before?¡±


    Mary shook her head. ¡°Only a madman will go there. ording to what I hear, there¡¯s no single person has ever reached the peak of Mount Fargon.¡±


    ¡°Knowing that, and we still go there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much better than staying in Pharder¡¯s fort.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Hey, be quiet.¡± A fat, bald man said, sitting at the table near them.


    ¡°Are we that loud?¡± Aldred asked Mary.


    ¡°Not really. This is a public space. It should be loud.¡±


    ¡°Hey, did you listen to me?¡± The fat man said. He put his index finger on his mouth, signaling him to be silent¡±Be quiet.¡± Then he turned around and talked loudly with his friends.


    Aldred did not know how to react to that. The guy obviously talked louder than them.


    Bartrem then came onto their table with a mug of beer and put it in front of Aldred. ¡°Since you¡¯re a soldier now, you have to drink this,¡± he said, huping.


    ¡°Bartrem, are you drunk?¡±


    He huped again. ¡°No, I am not.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°This is the first time I see you drunk.¡±


    ¡°Hey, tone it down,¡± the fat man said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen to me? I told you to be quiet.¡±


    Aldred was angered. All he did was talk with Bartrem andughed. It wasn¡¯t even that loud.


    Mira held his hand. ¡°Ignore him, Aldred. Some people need to be treated as if they were invisible.¡±


    Aldred nodded and they continued to talk like normal. The fat man told him to be silent a bunch of times which pissed him off, but Aldred ignored him.


    The fat man stood up and approached them.


    Mira smiled. ¡°Remember, Aldred. Do not let emotion consume you. Handle this situation in the best way possible.¡± She nned to teach Aldred that solving everything with power wasn¡¯t the right thing. It was better to do things calmly and non-violent as possible.


    The fat man pointed at Aldred¡¯s face. Aldred kept on smiling, and reach out his hand for a handshake.


    ¡°How are you doing, sir? Having a good time?¡± Aldred asked calmly.


    ¡°No. I am not here for that. Be a good boy, okay? I told you to be quiet.¡±


    Aldred was angered, but he kept his smile. ¡°It¡¯s a public space, sir. I am just talking with my friends.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re loud.¡±


    Aldredughed to calm the situation. ¡°Yeah, people said I am loud sometimes. Sometimes my girlfriends said I am loud.¡± Aldred just said random things at this point. He did not care. He just wanted to de-escte the tension.


    ¡°You have a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡±


    ¡°I felt very sorry for your girlfriend.¡± He then sat down on his chair.


    Aldred took a deep deep deep breath, but the fire in his heart swelled.


    Mira frowned. That person was very harsh towards the boy. She worried that Aldred mightsh out and confront the man physically, but the boy did not do that. He stayed silent and looked down at the table.


    ¡°Did I do the right thing, Mira?¡± Aldred asked with teary eyes.


    Mira¡¯s heart clenched. The boy must have held all of that rage within him. ¡®He¡¯s a good boy with self-control. But the boy¡¯s heart is clearly broken at this point.¡¯


    What the man did earlier was outright bullying. Any man would have confronted him, but Mira told Aldred to avoid violence to solve the problem. His pride as a man must be shattered now. Even though he was still a boy, Aldred was a soldier, so his pride must be high as well.


    ¡°I felt vited,¡± Aldred said in a low tone. ¡°I felt like I should have destroyed him.¡±


    Mira felt his anger. This was what she feared. She feared Aldred would fall to his emotion and be a monster. The boy had great talents and potential, but if he turned into a monster, God knew how many would die with every step he took.


    ¡°The world will keep trying to bring you down, child. It will turn you bitter and lead you to be a monster. But it¡¯s okay to be a monster.¡±


    Aldred looked at her in confusion.


    ¡°You should be a monster, Aldred. But you must also learn how to control it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Weak men, weak people have no ce in this world. The reality of the world is, the strong eat the weak, so I want you to be smart. Avoid confrontation if you are weak, but defend yourself if you are strong.¡±


    ¡°Which mean?¡±


    ¡°Are you weaker than him?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Did he vite you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Every single being in this world deserved justice. Justice must be enforced, and for that you need power. You have the power to put justice for his action. Tell me, Aldred, what punishment fits this vition? Does his life worth more than your anger?¡±


    Aldred wanted to say yes, but the more the thought about it, the more he realized it wasn¡¯t worth it. ¡°It¡¯s not worth his life.¡±


    ¡°What is it worth then?¡±


    Aldred walked to the fat man.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any food for you, boy. Sit dow¡ª¡±


    SLAP!


    He was sent flying a few meters away beforending on the ground. His friends were shocked. The fat man wasn¡¯t a normal person, he was a Gold Rank, so when the boy sent him flying they couldn¡¯t help but stare at him with widened eyes.


    The fat man stood up and stared at him in anger. ¡°You dare!?¡±


    Aldred summoned Milet and the other undead. They stared at the fat man with lifeless eyes which made him tremble in fear.


    ¡°I gave you mercy. Do not take my kindness as weakness.¡±


    The fat man sweated but said nothing.


    Aldred sat down again and sighed in relief.


    ¡°Feeling relief?¡± Mira asked. Though what Aldred did was too much for her standard, at least the boy did not kill him. She had to teach him her values little by little.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I kinda still want to kill him.¡±


    Mira sighed. ¡®This will be a long lesson.¡¯

 Chapter 66 Velobra (1)

    The innkeeper came with a tray full of steaming bowls and ced them on the table. The bowl was filled with meat, peeled potatoes, and some vegetables. Aldred grabbed the wooden spoon and took a big bite. The taste improved his mood, and he wasn¡¯t angry anymore.


    Surprisingly, the fat man came and looked at him. ¡°Sorry about earlier. I think the alcohol got in my head.¡±


    Bartrem and the others were sitting at the edge of their seat all this time, ready to reinforce Aldred whenever necessary. But when they heard the fat man apologize, they rxed and leaned on the chair.


    Aldred sighed and shrugged. Since the man apologized, it would be stupid to be mad about it.


    Mira smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. People are irrational. Sometimes we be what we don¡¯t want to be and do things that we do not mean to do.¡±


    The fat man smiled and scratched the back of his neck. ¡°Still, I have to apologize. Why don¡¯t you put the bills on my tab? I see all of you are soldiers from the look of your armor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are,¡± Mary said. ¡°I am curious. What¡¯s a Gold Rank like you do in this ce?¡±


    The fat man smiled. ¡°Just like you, we also want to travel to Mount Fargon. You guys want to look for the astrbe right?¡±


    Aldred looked confused. ¡®Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a secret? How could a random Gold Rank know about this?¡±


    The fat manughed. ¡°I am an adventurer. Treasure seeking is one of our activities. Besides, do you think you can obtain this treasure alone?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°This treasure can affect the bnce of power in this continent. Everyone wille for this treasure, and it¡¯s much better to have more allies than more enemies.¡±


    ¡°But there is only one treasure,¡± Aldred said.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°You think too far ahead. You should be worrying about getting the astrbe first. As for who will get the treasure, it will be decidedter through negotiation or fight.¡±


    ¡°That seems fair. I can either give you something as valuable or we can fight to decide who gets the treasure.¡±


    The fat man nodded. ¡°There are a lot of strong and influential people out there, we cannot fight them alone.¡± He pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb. ¡°Those four guys behind me are Gold Ranks. I notice you have five Gold Ranks in your group. If we make an alliance we can have ten Gold Ranks.¡±


    ¡°What do you think, Mary?¡±


    ¡°I think he is right. We cannot fight everyone around. Besides, he is an adventurer. I am sure he knows more about Mount Fargon than us.¡±


    Bartrem noticed Aldred was looking at him. He nodded in approval.


    ¡°I guess we will be relying on you then.¡± Aldred shook the fat man¡¯s hand. ¡°What should I call you?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Bacon.¡±


    ¡°Bacon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my name.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­My name is Aldred.¡± He pointed at the girls one by one. ¡°This is Mary, Mira, Sophia, and Mareona. That one right there is Bartrem.¡±


    ¡°Nice to know you all. Lady, fill their belly with drinks and food. Put the bills on me.¡±<sub></sub>


    The soldiers smiled and cheered for him.


    Aldred and Mira smiled. What a turn of events. First, Aldred was so angered by him that he considered taking his life, but now he could imagine the fat man to be his best friend.


    The fat man looked at the ring on Aldred¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°Nice ring.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Someone very special gave it to me,¡± Aldred said as he recalled the empress¡¯ blushing expression.


    Then all of them drank and ate merrily. The fat man told them about his adventure in a strange ce called Duria, also known as Steel Forge. He said that the kingdom relied on a device called machinery which was made mostly out of steel and powered by mana crystal. But their most powerful weapons or machinery was called archtech and was powered by a powerful and rare mineral named archnite.


    He then proceeded to tell his adventure in other ces where the people had literal shards on their foreheads.


    The more Aldred listened to the man, the more captivated he became. Beyond the border of mankind, there was another world out there, waiting to be explored. Aldred wondered if he could visit all these ces someday.


    ¡°If you guys want to visit Duria, I suggest you don¡¯t because they¡¯re not very epting of foreigners.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    The fat man shrugged. ¡°Not sure why. They have cool machinery, but will never sell it to foreigners. And they strictly enforce this rule.¡±


    Aldred nodded, bing even more curious about this country.


    Night time came, and they decided to rent the inn for the night. The next morning, they gathered outside the vige and set off.


    The caravan camped and slept when night came, but they immediately continued their journey in the morning. Days passed, and the cooldown for the dungeon had ended, so Aldred sent his undead there. But he was surprised that he received less than half of the exp than before.


    [You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    [You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    [You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]


    A few days passed.


    Aldred sighed, still thinking about how little EXP he got from the dungeon. Was this the reason why a Gold Rank took so long to reach tinum Rank? He sat on Mary¡¯sp, fondling her breast as he felt bored.


    But something came.


    Aldred peeked outside the window and narrowed his eyes. Ahead of them, a group of monsters with the body of a raptor and a head of a cobra charged toward the caravan. Their ck scales brushed against the grass.


    ¡°A group of Velobra is attacking!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°Men, Get in formation!¡±


    ¡°I will take care of them.¡± He jumped out of the window and flew to the sky. Bacon, the fat man, was about to handle the situation, but Aldred told him to sit tight and enjoy the show. He also told Bartrem that he could do it alone.


    The caravan did not stop. They did not need to as Aldred flew forward with ck mists appearing on the ground. His army of undead charged out of the mist with Milet leading in the front.


    Aldred started with fireballs and arrows. Exploding the enemies and making their bodies look like sea urchins. Milet arrived with a powerful swipe. His spear beheaded five monsters at once while the other undead bashed themselves onto the monsters.


    ¡°Push!¡± Milet shouted as he controlled the undead to make an arrow formation and cut through the middle.


    Bartrem watched with widened eyes as the undead followed his strategy. Push through the center and attack the sides. It was easier said than done, and it required many practices to execute. How could these undeads do it?


    Bacon also couldn¡¯t help but stared at the undead as they kept pushing forward and killing monster after monster like a cold-blooded killer. These undeads had no regard for their own safety. When the Velobra attacked, the undead would instead let themselves be attacked before beheading the velobras.


    Aldred was proud of his undead. It seemed like Milet had trained the undead within the dungeon.


    [+150 EXP]


    [+150 EXP]


    [+150 EXP]


    [+150 EXP]


    [You have leveled up]


    Aldred checked his stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 130/130


    Level: 61


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 24


    -Vitality: 26


    -Intelligence: 52


    -Dexterity: 12


    Stat points: 72


    Skill points: 72


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He smiled in satisfaction. Suddenly, a loud roar came from the distance.

 Chapter 67 Velobra (2)

    A gigantic Velobra roared in the distance, shaking their eardrum and disrupting the rhythm of their heart. Unlike the smaller Velobra, this one had bigger neck and head, making it a menace as it rammed through the undead formation and bit onto the undead.


    Milet confronted the beast. He leaped forward, spinning his spear and stabbed at the eye with great precision. The snake retracted its head quick enough to miss the spear and then it snapped forward, biting onto Milet¡¯s chest. Suddenly, the Gold Rank undead shook and then fell to the ground.


    Aldred was shocked. His undead were usually immune to wound and would never stop fighting no matter what. But Milet, his strongest undead,y on the ground, unable to move.


    The snake snapped its gaze towards the sky, and spat out a sizzling acid. It was too fast for Aldred to react, and it struck his leg which made him flew uncontrobly before crashing onto the ground.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mary dashed out of the carriage and came to his aid.


    Mira raised her staff from the distance and fired out a golden stream of water that healed his wound. Sophia, Mareona, and Bartrem ran up to him.


    Bacon and his group also exited their carriage.


    ¡°That¡¯s a Gold Rank Giant Velobra,¡± Bacon said. ¡°If my eyes are correct, it¡¯s strength is on the upper rank.¡±


    The giant velobra wrecked havoc upon the undead, wing, and pping them, throwing them onto the sky.


    ¡°We have to work together,¡± Bacon said.


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°The undead won¡¯t hold out for long. Men, take arms!¡±


    Bacon frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a Gold Rank monster. Are you sure you want to let your men fight it?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°They are soldiers. They are not afraid to die,¡± Bartrem said.


    The soldiers went out of their carriage with their full gear; armor, shields, spears, and swords.


    ¡°Aldred, we will distract the snake for you. Use your ability to weaken it.¡± Bartrem then shouted for his men and charged towards the monster.


    Pongo was running towards the beast as well, with a baguette in hand. Unlike before, something changed on the baguette.


    Now it was decorated with powdered sugar.


    Bacon was surprised by Bartrem¡¯s attitude. There was no hesitation, there was no fear, only bravery and determination. That made him and his friend moved immediately.


    Mareona and Mary rushed forward while Sophia stayed on the back and raised her staff. The top of her staff glowed.


    ¡°Confusion!¡±


    The giant velobra¡¯s eyes contracted and its sight became blurry. It roared and swiped at the enemy, but it missed.


    ¡°This is our chance! Attack it!¡±


    Aldred flew to the sky and rained down fire arrows upon the weird snake creature. The arrows nged and ricocheted against its scales. He grimaced.<sub></sub>


    ¡°If arrows cannot prate your scales then what about this. System upgrade fire javelin to level 4.¡±


    [Consuming 14 skill points]


    He aimed with his palm. ¡°Fire javelin!¡±


    Three javelin, 3 meter in length (9 feet) bolted out of his palm and stabbed the back of the beast.


    The beast roared, trembling the air around it. Aldred did not n to give the beast mercy. He dove down like an eagle and kept on releasing javelin after javelin at his target. The snake tried to dodge, but Bartrem and the others held it still, circling him from all direction.


    The javelin prated deeper as Aldred got closer and closer. The closer he was, the more damage he dealt to the beast. The distance between the beast and him shortened. Aldred fired a javelin at the head for the killing blo¡ª


    Suddenly, the giant velobra¡¯s back spread like a wing, and then it leaped onto the sky. Aldred widened his eyes as its ws reached out for his face.


    Mary watched the scene unfold in worry.


    Jleb!


    They both fell with a loud thud. Aldred stood on top of the monster. Its right w was destroyed with steam came out of the wound. He had sted it with me jet earlier, and stabbed its head with fire javelin in point nk range.


    ¡°Good job, Aldred,¡± Bartrem said. He was more and more impressed by his power.


    Bacon on the other hand was exceptionally amazed. The boy released dozens of powerful fire javelins like it was nothing. Each of those fire javelin could deal a fatal damage to Gold Rank, so the cost to use them must be high. Yet the boy threw it around like it was cheap cabbages.


    Sophia and Mira stared at the boy like he was some kind of alien. Both of them were magicians, so they knew more than anyone that those spell cost a huge amount of mana to cast. It was impossible for Aldred to cast it so many times unless he had arge mana capacity.


    As they were thinking in their head, Aldred was staring at the floating panel in front of him.


    [Your Strength has increased by 5 points]


    [Your Vitality has increased by 5 points]


    [Your Dexterity has increased by 12 points]


    [+3,500 EXP]


    [EXP: 3,500/610,000]


    ¡®Damnit. The cost of leveling is way too high. If I counts correctly, I need at least to kill 175 of these monsters to level up.¡¯


    Hopefully, he would see more Gold Rank monsters so he could level up even faster. He also had to find a Silver Rank dungeon to unlock it.


    Aldred looked at the monster. He was sad that he didn¡¯t get any amazing items after killing a monster, but at least he could turn it into an undead.


    [If user wanted to shape shift into this creature, user has to eat it]


    He almost forgot about that. ¡®So if I want to transform into a specific creature, I have to eat them?¡¯


    [Yes]


    ¡®Do I have to eat them whole?¡¯


    [Just a little is fine]


    ¡®Do I have to cook them first? Dry age? Or maybe season it with Mareona¡¯s flowers?¡¯


    [¡­..User, please just eat the monster]


    ¡®Alright, alright.¡¯


    Under the staring gaze of Bartrem and the others, Aldred walked to the corpses and bit onto its meat.


    ¡°Aldred, what are you doing?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Nothing, I just want to know how it would taste.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re weird, Aldred,¡± Mareona said.


    Aldred rolled his eyes. ¡®At least I am not the one who hid flowers inside my own underwear.¡¯


    [Analyzing¡­ sess. You have obtain the gene for Giant Velobra. From now on, you can transform into this beast and use its racial attributes]


    [Gene: Giant Velobra]


    -Water and air-breathing


    -Keen smell


    -Quick feet


    -Poison fangs


    -Acid spit


    -Hard Scales


    -Scaly wings


    ¡®Nice. Now I can turn into snakes and eat people.¡¯

 Chapter 68 Ambush (1)

    Today, Aldred found out something new. Apparently, his undead could be killed, but they would revive after a few seconds. Though this limitation sucks, at least his undead would not reduce no matter how many times they were killed. It would be sad if Milet was killed. He was his only Gold Rank undead.


    Though another one would be added right now.


    ¡°Arise.¡±


    ck mist formed around the corpses. At first, the mist was pushed fiercely, but it violently engulfed the corpse. Soon after, a huge leg stepped out of the ck mist. The giant velobra lowered its neck to the ground, seemingly bowing to its master.


    Bacon and his friends were simply shocked at the sight. For years they had explored the continent, seeing its magic and wonder, but they never seen something like this before.


    ¡°Can you talk?¡±


    The velobra simply hissed, but Aldred understood him.


    ¡°From now on, your name will be Nicky.¡±


    The snake softly hissed.


    ¡°Why I named you Nicky? That¡¯s because you look like an anaconda.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The snake hissed in confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. You are Nicky now.¡±


    Nicky bowed his head and epted his fate. It nced to the side and noticed a small creature was looking at him. Nicky thought it was a snack and wanted to take a bite until that small creature pped his face with a long bread.


    ¡°Hey, what was that for?¡±


    ¡°Pongo!¡± he shouted before leaving.


    ¡°Weird penguin. Okay, all of you can return now.¡±


    His undead bowed and disappeared.


    Bacon approached and looked at him with sparkling eyes. ¡°Aldred, did you just turn that monster into your undead?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±<sub></sub>


    Bacon still couldn¡¯t believe what he had just seen and heard. His experience as an adventurer kicked in. He shouldn¡¯t be too surprised about this. The world was vast. Some could only scrap for trash, while the rare ones had it all. Like this boy here. He turned a powerful Gold Rank monster as undead. If he killed more monsters in the future, wouldn¡¯t he create an army with them?


    It was such a scary possibility.


    Bacon smiled and tapped Aldred¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I will be relying on you from now.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°It should be me who said that. You know a lot more about this treasure, and your experience as an adventurer will surely make our life easier.¡±


    Baconughed. ¡°I am nothingpared to you.¡±


    The others agreed with that. They all felt like they were nothing ifpared to Aldred. It was bitter to admit, but that was the truth of the matter.


    The caravan continued their journey. They stopped by a nearby river to replenish their water supply. Actually, they didn¡¯t need to do that, because Aldred¡¯s divine dimension had unlimited supply of water, but Bacon was with them, and he couldn¡¯t expose this secret to him.


    Though Bacon was an ally, he was still a stranger andpetitor.


    Night time came, but instead of camping like usual, Bacon suggested them to keep going instead.


    ¡°I know a shortcut to Mount Fargon. Going to Boncy is a waste of time. We can directly go to our destination through the route I know.¡±


    ¡°But our soldiers need rest,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°They can take turns in controlling the horses. Don¡¯t forget that a lot of people is seeking this treasure. Do you think they mind losing a few nights of sleep?¡±


    Bartrem discussed this with Mary, Mareona, and Aldred. What Bacon said was true. There would be many who were willing to lose some sleep over this treasure.


    And so they continued to travel during the night. The soldiers squeezed their mana gems and use it to light the surrounding. It did not give them much sight of thendscape, but it was enough to avoid falling into a hole.


    When the sun rose, the soldiers entered the carriage and slept as another group rece them. This was very effective for some time, until the horses started to get tired and stopped moving.


    ¡°In the end, we still need to stop,¡± Bacon said.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I can turn them into undead.¡±


    Bartrem¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s brilliant.¡±


    And so the horses were killed and revived into a ck misty form with purple glows. They looked much more menacing and fitting to be rode by a death knight. Every small creatures scurried away in fear because of their appearances.


    The sun went down again as the caravan entered the valley. The carriages squeaked and groaned as the horses¡¯ feet thumped against the ground. The soldiers covered themselves with thick cloth. The wind was chilling in thisndscape, and frozen air came out of their mouth when they breathed out.


    The wind whizzed above their head. It was small at first, but it got louder. They looked up with a pair of sleepy eyes only for them to be widened in shock asrge boulders were falling from the sky.


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    The soldiers gritted their teeth, closing their eyes while looking away, expecting themselves to be crushed by the boulders.


    But then the boulders exploded into pieces. Landing on the roof of the carriage was Mary, along with Mareona, and Bartrem.


    ¡°Bandits!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°They have fifteen Gold Ranks!¡±


    ¡°Shit! So many?¡± Mareona grimaced.


    Bacon and his friendsnded beside them.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°They are still hiding, but I can feel their presence. Five of them is on that mountain.¡± Bartrem pointed.


    Dozens of boulders were thrown into the sky from the spot that he pointed. Mareona leaped without making any dent on the roof, but she reached a high altitude and shed the boulders numerous times, turning them into dust, before softlynding again.


    A giant iron rod came at Bartrem with high speed. He grabbed it with one hand and stared at the man who was smiling in the distance.


    ¡°If you want to fight, thene here!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Aldred woke up from the noise, and flew beside Bartrem. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Bartrem was about to reply until a cold, sharp sword touched his neck.


    He frowned and red at Bacon who had Aldred¡¯s neck in his hand. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Bacon grinned. ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡±

 Chapter 69 Ambush (2)

    ¡°You betrayed us!¡±


    Baconughed. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I nned for this to happen the moment I saw your ring.¡±


    ¡°My ring?¡± Aldred looked at his left hand.


    ¡°Yes, that ring. At first, I simply wanted to kill you and take the ring, but after seeing your ability, I changed my mind. You will be my ve, and whenever we kill a powerful monster, you will turn them into an undead which will work for us. But I¡¯m not stupid. I will put something on your neck, so should you want to betray me, you¡¯d be dead.¡±


    Bacon looked at Bartrem and the others. ¡°As for you, all of you can leave.¡±


    ¡°Really? You will let them go just like that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Sure. Leaving reality that is.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred tensed up his muscles.


    Bacon tightened his grip. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about summoning your undead, boy. I will snap your neck.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need to. Morph!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Suddenly, Aldred¡¯s body swelled. His skin turned into ck pristine scales, and his head turned into a cobra as his hands ballooned and ws grew.


    Bacon stepped back a few times as he stared at the beast in front of him with widened eyes. ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    Aldredughed in his giant velobra form, creating a monstrous sound that brought fear to everyone¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Fuck! Kill them!¡± Bacon roared and his whole body glowed with a powerful aura.


    The others were about to kill Bartrem and hisrades until something came out from the ground and grabbed their hands. It was the undead. Mary used that short moment to elbow her enemy in the face. Mareona did the same thing while Bartrem punched the enemy on the nose.


    The fifteen Gold Rank enemies came, totaling their numbers at twenty Gold Rank. But Milet and Nicky stepped out of the ck mist and fought them. Nicky was enough to handle a bunch of them. With his hard scale and powerful regeneration, the beast was akin to an unstoppable tank.


    Aldred charged forward. The carriage snapped under his weight. Bacon wanted to escape, but Aldred was quick with his attack. His neck snapped forward and bit fiercely onto Bacon¡¯s head. He went in deeper and swallowed the man whole.


    ¡°Ugh! Yuck! That tasted disgusting!¡±


    The others seeing this were shocked. Bacon was a powerful Gold Rank just like them, yet he was eaten so easily.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Kill that thing first!¡±


    Neen men and women rushed at him and hit his face and bodies. His hard scale reduced the damage significantly, but Aldred still felt the pain.


    One female magician pointed her staff at him. It glowed and shot out a dozen sharp icicles. The icicles veered in the air and mmed against his hard scales.


    ¡°Help him!¡± Bartrem rushed to his aid along with the others. Nicky and Milet leaped beside him and fought off the enemy.


    Pongo ran around like usual with his ssic baguette. But when he was about to attack, the Gold Rank enemies kicked him. He was sent flying into the distance.


    ¡°Damnit, Pongo! You useless piece of shit!¡±


    Aldred pped a man with his paw which returned him to factory setting immediately.


    He spat acid to the side, hitting a female warrior with thick armor. The acid burned through the armor, creating a sizzling effect with steam. He then opened his mouth and activated a me jet that sted open the woman¡¯s stomach.


    He widened his mouth and breathed out dozens of fire arrows. He raised both of his paws. Fire bullets shot out like a machine gun, damaging their armor and dealing small wounds to the enemy.


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Confusion! Exhaust! Hemorrhage!¡±


    The enemies were disoriented because of her debuff. Their stamina depleted at a rapid rate, while blood poured off their wound abnormally.


    Sophia did not end with that. She buffed her allies. ¡°Strengthening physique! Clear mind! Agile feet! Greater Stamina! Greater Defense! Greater Offense! Perseverance!¡±


    Bartrem, Mary, Mareona, and the soldiers were strengthened. Every cell and every inch of their skin exuded great power. The undead was affected too, they fought fiercer than ever, rampaging against the enemy.


    There were twelve enemies left. Aldred charged forward, his gigantic leg sped up, surprising the enemy ahead of him. His w shed the man diagonally, cutting his upper body. He then mmed his tail to the ground, crushing a man behind him, his armor crushed under the weight.


    [+3,050 EXP]


    [+3,100 EXP]


    His godly eyes told him that all of them were Gold Rank, but they had been greatly weakened by Sophia. If not for that, this battle would be much harder. He realized that Sophia¡¯s abilities were perfect for team battle situations.


    Ten enemies left. The undead kept on swarming them. The Gold Ranks bandit gritted their teeth and attacked, but the undead were endless as they were relentless in their attacks. They gave no pause or break to the enemies which gave Milet and Nicky the chance to send a fatal strike.


    ¡°Fuck! We have to kill that boy! If he dies, the undead will disappear!¡±


    Bacon had told them about the boy and prioritized him as the target. Their actual n was to kill the boy and then kill the others, but the fat man was too greedy and wanted to enve the boy. s, he was the first one to be killed.


    ¡°No! We have to run away! There¡¯s no fucking way we can defeat them!¡±


    They looked at the boy who was in his giant Velobra form, spitting out acid, fire jet, and fire javelins everywhere. Fear ran down their spine.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. We cannot defeat them. Fuck! This is all because of Bacon. If that fat man killed the boy, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±


    They leaped backward, out of the undead¡¯s reach, and made a run up the mountain.


    ¡°They¡¯re running away!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Aldred snorted. He leaped into the sky, and all of his four limbs shot out me jets to lift him up. When he saw his targets. Aldred opened his mouth and rained fire javelins from above. Each javelin was three-meter long with the tip of the javelin in a bent shape making it easy to enter, but hard to pull. Not to mention the javelin was burning hot, and would only vanish if Aldred will it. So when the javelins stabbed through their back, they felt the searing pain on their flesh and muscles to be unbearable.


    ¡°Ahh! He got me!¡±


    ¡°Keep running! He will eat you if you don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! I don¡¯t want to be eaten!¡±


    They sped up and entered the forest. Aldred did not bother to chase after them andnded beside Bartrem.


    ¡°How it goes?¡± He asked.


    ¡°They got away.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We killed more than half their numbers. They won¡¯t be disturbing us again. Aldred, turn them into your undead.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I will even without you asking.¡±


    He went to the battlefield and turned them into his undead one by one, but then he realized something. When the enemies died, his undead destroyed their bodies under their relentless attack. This made it impossible to turn them into his undead.


    In the end, he only got 3 Gold Rank undead.


    Two of them wererge warriors with a huge ck axe, and thest one was a beautiful ice magician.


    ¡®System, they looked awesome with ck misty form and glowing purple lines, but can I change their appearance?¡¯


    [Yes. Users can choose from these options: Undead form, Real form, Crazed form]


    Aldred smiled. ¡®Tell me more.¡¯

 Chapter 70 Thinker

    ¡®Tell me more about the undead form, first.¡¯


    [In undead form, the undead received an upgrade in strength, speed, reflex, and regeneration]


    ¡®What about the real form?¡¯


    [Real form will turn the undead into what they were like when they are still alive. This removes all extra attributes such as regeneration]


    ¡®And the crazed form?¡¯


    [Crazed form will triple all attributes for 10 minutes. After that the undead will disappear, and can only be summoned again after 24 hours]


    ¡®That¡¯s good. If I can turn the undead into the real form, they can pretend to be soldiers, and people won¡¯t be scared or weirded out.¡¯


    Aldred told the undead to disappear except for the new arrival.


    The three of them bowed with the female magician in the center.


    ¡°We are here to serve you, master,¡¯ the magician said.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Be, Master.¡±


    ¡°Can you turn to real form?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can.¡± She then transformed as he ordered. The mist spun around her body. Starting from the leg, her beautiful skin showed up to her thigh as her blue revealing dress swayed. Aldred was shocked to see such a beautiful woman. He did not have the chance to look at her properly when in battle, but now, oh my god, if someone told him that she was a goddess, he would absolutely believe it.


    Even the female soldiers were amazed by her appearance.


    ¡°Be humbly greets the master,¡± she bowed her head.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred nodded a bunch of times. ¡°So what is your opinion on sleeping together?¡±


    Mareona hit his head. ¡°You damn pervert! Sleeping with Mary, Sophia, and Mira is not enough for you?¡±


    Aldred rubbed his head in pain. ¡°I just want to feel more warmth. As they say, the more the merrier.¡±


    Mareona hit his head again.


    ¡°Ouch. Don¡¯t hit me again. It hurt.¡±


    ¡°I will hit you however many times I want to. Now tell her to disappear.¡±


    Be giggled. ¡°Miss, please do not hurt my master. Although he is quite mischievous, he is not a bad person.¡±


    Mareona raised an eyebrow. ¡°You just met him. What do you know about Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Although I only met him recently, I know more about him than anyone else. That is because when he turned me into his undead, all of his life events entered my memory.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred and Mareona asked in shock.


    ¡°So you know everything he knows?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°You see everything I see?¡±


    Be softly nodded. ¡°That is correct. For example when that time the empress invited you to enter the barr¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ahh! I believe you now. Don¡¯t say it!¡±


    ¡°What happened with the empress when she invited you to enter the barrack?¡± Mary asked.<sub></sub>


    ¡°She only tells me about the treasure and how I should take you guys along,¡± Aldred lied without the slightest hesitation.


    Mary looked at Be. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no¡ª¡±


    Be disappeared.


    ¡°Oh, seems like my mana has been depleted. It¡¯s sad but she has to disappear for a while.¡±


    Mareona put both hands on her waist and gave Aldred the expression that said ¡®You think I don¡¯t know you¡¯re lying?¡¯


    Aldred coughed a couple of times. ¡°And what about you two?¡±


    ¡°My name is Crook,¡± the one of the left said. Both of them looked simr. They had strong andrge stature, and they both had the same ck,rge axe.


    ¡°And my name is Brook. We are twin brothers.¡±


    ¡°I see. Both of you can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± They were expecting to be asked more questions, but their master did not seem to have that intention. Sigh. Life was unfair.


    They disappeared with a dejected expression.


    ¡°Since everything is over, why don¡¯t we continue our journey?¡± Aldred asked. He then nced to the side. The carriages¡¯ wheels broke down.


    ¡°After we fix the carriages that is.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª


    A man with thick, muscled arms and legs walked into the vige. A sign stood beside the road that read; Vilmiers. The man saw ten Gold Ranks entering an inn and decided to follow them.


    Entering the inn, the man realized that the ten people that entered earlier were terribly wounded. A Silver Ranked woman with an apron was treating their wound.


    ¡°Lady, can you be a bit faster? We¡¯re dying here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I only have two hands,¡± the innkeeper said.


    ¡°Fuck! This is the problem with small towns. They don¡¯t even have a proper hospital.¡±


    ¡°I told you to bring the potions.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who said it¡¯s going to be an easy ambush and we don¡¯t have to bring it. Now we lose ten members.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense. They only have seven Gold Ranks, while there are twenty of us. How can we be defeated?¡±


    ¡°That non-elemental magician. Remember the debuff she cast on us? None of us can clearly see anything during that battle, and we got wounded by the undead. Normally, that wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but her debuff worsened that wound.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I felt so exhausted during the fight, and my thoughts were confused.¡±


    ¡°She did not cast any offensive spell on us, but she was deadlier than any magicians I know.¡±


    They gritted their teeth. ¡°Debuff spell is the hardest to learn among non-elemental spells. She¡¯s a rare magician that does well in a team battle. They are clearly sent by the empire. You saw their armor, they are from Ruandeurtin. The front line that fought the Montcresian countless times.¡±


    ¡°It was a wise choice to retreat. We could kill a few of them, but as long as that boy and that non-elemental magician are still alive, we would have no chance of winning.¡±


    ¡°Pity. That adamantite ring might be worth the treasure itself.¡±


    The man with the thick arms approached them.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°My name is Thinker,¡± he said with a slightly robotic voice. ¡°I am intrigued by your story. Can you tell me more about this adamantite ring?¡±


    ¡°Go away, weirdo.¡±


    ¡°Weirdo? Is that what you call someone who behaves in a not usual way specifically to your culture? Although this term is subjective as what people consider weird differs from person to person.¡±


    ¡°You really are a weirdo. Listen, you get the hell out of my face right now, or I will kick the shit out of you.¡±


    ¡°It took me a while to process your words, but do you mean to tell me that I should distance myself or you will do something that can harm me?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck is this guy? What is your business with us?¡±


    ¡°As I said before, I am intrigued by your story.¡±


    ¡°I have no story to tell. Go fuck yourself.¡±


    The man tilted his head. ¡°My master did not add that phrase into my memory. But if I take that literally, you meant to tell me that I should reproduce by myself? That is impossible for most creatures, especially for humans unless they use certain techniques or machinery to do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it, you fucker!¡± The man swung his fist.


    Thinker grabbed his arms with stoic strength, preventing the fist from budging.


    ¡°You are the first human I have met prone to anger. I did nothing to harm you, yet you tried to harm me. ording to my program, you should be eliminated immediately.¡± Thinker squeezed.


    ¡°Ahh! My arm! Let go of my arm!¡±


    ¡°Request denied. You are to be eliminated.¡± Thinker¡¯s right arm turned into a steel de, and it shed across the man¡¯s neck.


    His friends looked at this scene with widened eyes.


    ¡°He killed Hork!¡±


    Thinker nced at them. ¡°I apologize if I offend you by my action. I am new here you see, so I do not know the costume of this ce. You, humans, are very diverse after all.¡±


    ¡°I am going to kill you, bastard!¡±


    The nine of them attacked.


    ¡°Harmful action detected. Proceed to lock onto the targets. Analyzing the most efficient way to eliminate¡­ analysisplete: Guns.¡±


    Both of his thick arms opened, revealing arge muzzle. It then red with mes and sent outrge rounds at a rapid rate, sting their heads in an instant.


    ¡°Multiple targets eliminated. Detecting any threats¡­ zero found.¡± Tinker nced to the side. The innkeeper was looking at him, trembling in fear.


    ¡°Analyzing scenarios¡­ It seems you can be a threat to my existence, innkeeper. You see, my existence is not supposed to be known by many except for a handful of people, but here, you have seen my power and capabilities, and for that, I have decided to eliminate you.¡±


    ¡°No, please. I won¡¯t tell anybody. Please,¡± she cried with teary eyes.


    ¡°Analyzing¡­plete. From the data I received in my internal memory, humans make promises they cannot keep 78% of the time. This means that the chance of my existence leaking out to the masses is 78% if I let you alive.¡±


    ¡°No! I promise! I just want to live.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, innkeeper. I know humans do not like pain and suffering, so I will end this quickly.¡± His arm turned into arge gauntlet.


    St!

 Chapter 71 Realizing

    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Bacon guided us this way because he said he knew a shortcut, but now he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°I still cannot believe that he betrayed us,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°He said something about that ring you wear. What is it?¡±


    ¡°The empress gave it to me. She said I must not use it unless it¡¯s necessary.¡±


    Bartrem turned silent and did not pry for more information. Since the empress gave it to him, then there was nothing that needed to be asked, although he was slightly curious about what it could do. ¡°Hide the ring. It seems like many people would kill you to obtain it.¡±


    Aldred nodded and put the ring inside his inventory. ¡°Where do we go now?¡±


    Bartrem grabbed something from his pocket. ¡°Bacon has a map with him that he left in the carriage. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t destroyed. ording to this map, if we go further north, we should arrive at Mount Fargon soon. The problem with this route is that there is no river nearby.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I have unlimited water with me.¡±


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°I know.¡±


    After talking for a few more minutes, Bartrem ordered everyone to enter the carriages and continued the journey. The undead horses galloped through the tnd as the sun gave out heat in the sky.


    Aldred slept on Mary¡¯sp with a relieved sigh. ¡°That was a close call. If Bacon decided to kill me instead of enving me, he would have seeded.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Mary caressed his head. ¡°We all survive because of you, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do it alone. Without you guys, I¡¯d be dead right now.¡±


    ¡°Humph. Why are you acting so humble right now,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Did the heat fry your brain?¡±


    The carriage shook slightly because they hit a rock. Mary¡¯s breast bounced up and down. Aldred kept on staring at those wonderful peaks as they moved.


    Mareona flicked his forehead.


    ¡°Ouch. I did not do anything.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    ¡°Mareona,¡± Mira called. ¡°Don¡¯t be too harsh on him. He just saved us. What he did is a heroic thing. Though I did not expect Bacon to betray us.¡±


    ¡°What passed is in the past,¡± Sophia said. ¡°What we should think about is the future.¡±<sub></sub>


    Mira, Mary, and Mareona looked at her.


    ¡°What?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not something I would expecting from you,¡± Mareona said.


    Sophia shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a woman in love after all.¡± She kissed Aldred on the lips. ¡°Thank you for saving me, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Why does everyone keep thanking me. I already treated you guys as family. It felt weird, so stop saying thanks to me.¡±


    ¡ª


    Meanwhile, the whole world was in turmoil as the news of the treasure spread from mouth to mouth.


    Thrill-seekers and ambitious fighters all began to gather their forces and went to Mount Fargon in the hope that they would be the ones who obtained the treasure. They knew the chance was slim. They knew that path was filled with danger, but they still did it.


    Nobles, rich men, and people of power sent out their subordinates. Using wealth and influence, their group set off to Mount Fargon with great strength.


    Their movement caught the notice of adventurers all over the world, and soon enough they heard of what transpired.


    For the first time in more than a hundred years, arge movement was happening in every corner of the continent. All for this thing that they called treasure. They did not know its name, they did not know its shape, but they did know its value.


    ¡ª


    Aldred was enjoying his sleeping time on Mary¡¯sp until he recalled something. ¡°Where is Pongo?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him,¡± Mareona said.


    Suddenly, they heard a voiceing from outside.


    ¡°PONGO!¡±


    Aldred peeked out of the window and saw Pongo sliding on his belly at an incredible speed.


    ¡°Pongo pongo! (You fucking bastard! Don¡¯t leave me!)¡±


    Aldred grinned. ¡°Go faster.¡±


    ¡°Pongo! (Fuck!)¡± the penguin vomited out something. It was a grappling hook.


    ¡°Where did you even get that?¡±


    Pongo fired the grappling hook and it stuck to the roof of the carriage, pulling the penguin along with it.


    Aldred was about to st the hook, but Pongo pressed the button on the gun, and it pulled him forward. Hended on the roof and entered through the window.


    ¡°Cih,¡±


    ¡°Pongo (Why do you look so unhappy).¡±


    ¡°Because I am.¡±


    Pongo vomited out a fish and pped Aldred with it.


    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡±


    Mira stepped between them. ¡°Now, do not fight among friends. I know Pongo loves to eat poop, but he deserves to be loved as well.¡± Mira picked him up and brought him to her breast.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Pongo?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡± The penguin grinned at Aldred as he rubbed his head on her chest. He was happy with this treatment, though she still mistakenly believed that Pongo ate poop which was not true at all¡­ cough cough.


    Aldred bared his teeth at him. And they both stared at each other like two goris wanting to dominate one another to get a partner.


    Time passed.


    Aldred¡¯s caravan stopped in the grassy field. The sun was about to set, creating a soft orange light at the edge of the horizon. They were hungry, and it was time to eat.


    They picked up some rocks and grass around the area, creating a bunch of small fireces before Aldred lit them up with his fire spells.


    Aldred then ordered the system to send the supplies out. A dozen or more bags appeared on the ground. They were filled with equipment for camping such as food and tents.


    The soldiers opened the bags. They had their own task; some made the tents and some cooked the food. Mareona assigned herself to thetter. Seasoning the food with her flowers.


    Aldred wondered for a moment. If Mareona had been storing those flowers in her underwear, didn¡¯t that mean they¡¯d been eating¡­


    The boy blinked a couple of times as he thought about that.

 Chapter 72 Welcome to Horithorp

    After a few days of traveling, and rotating the map a bunch of times because they were unsure where they headed to, the caravan finally saw the legendary Mount Fargon.


    It was a towering scale of rocks that went beyond the clouds and casted a wide shade upon thend. Aldred looked with amazement. Such height, such scale. He was reminded again that he as a human being was merely a speck of dust inparison.


    ¡°What a mountain,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing it, even though I heard so many tales about this mountain.¡± Mary looked over the window.


    ¡°It was said that the first pope climbed to the peak of Mount Fargon and prayed for Zalous to bestow his blessing to the people.¡± Mira stared at the mountain as well. ¡°Many people tried to climb it as result, but no one seeded. Those who said they did always spoke in a vague and sometimes even crazed manner.¡±


    ¡°What about tinum and Diamond Rank? Can they climb the mountain?¡±


    Mira shook her head. ¡°They lose their power the moment they tried to climb it. Even flying doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Flying doesn¡¯t work?¡± Aldred was shocked. He thought he could get arge advantage than others with his flying ability.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I heard.¡±


    ¡°Then what about Adamantite Rank?¡±


    ¡°I never heard they tried to climb Mount Fargon.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Maybe they did and told no one about it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Adamantite Rank is not someone we can meet, so we cannot ask them.¡±


    In the distance, near Mount Fargon, a line of long carriages rolled on a widene that led to a vige. The carriages looked different from each other. Some looked luxurious, and some looked simple or dirty. A lot of them had crest, gs, or insignia carved on the side. Those were the ones with white majestic horses d in bright shining armor, while the poor one only had simple horses pulling their carriage.


    An even greater carriage came from the east. It was pulled by a pair ofrge creatures with eagle wings and ws with the body of a horse.


    On the side of the carriage was an insignia depicting a golden eagle sticking out its tongue. Below it, a name carved in gold: Count of Anztti.


    Mary narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mary?¡±


    ¡°Count of Anztti is a familiar name. His county is far from here. The one in the carriage must be his son.¡±


    ¡°How far is Anztti?¡±


    ¡°To the far east, almost bordering Torvenia a nation of the leonin race. Have you ever heard of Timouy? It¡¯s located right beside it. Sadly, that town was reported to be in ruins. Nobody knows the cause, and nobody was alive to report what happened.<sub></sub>


    Aldred remembered about that town. His mother ttened it entirely without a single dust left, so calling it ruins was an understatement as she literally deleted it. But he was surprised that the old man did not tell anybody about it. Maybe he wanted to keep Aldred¡¯s existence a secret. That might be the cause. What a considerate old man. He did not had the chance to meet his grandson at that time. Hopefully, he could meet them someday.


    The caravan entered thene and waited their turn to enter the vige. It was a long line, so it took them a while to enter it. As the carriage rolled slowly, Aldred saw the vigers selling food. One youngdy brought a tray of steaming pies and offered it to him.


    ¡°Handsome boy, wee to Horithorp.  Why don¡¯t you buy this pie? It¡¯s only 10 copper.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. ¡°I am sorry,dy. I already ate, and don¡¯t bring any money.¡±


    Thedy smiled. ¡°That is fine.¡± She then grabbed one of the pie and gave it to him. ¡°This one is for you.¡±


    Aldred was touched. ¡°I cannot take this.¡±


    ¡°Please ept it.¡±


    ¡°O¡ªokay. Thank you.¡±


    Thedy smiled and waved as the carriage went forward.


    Aldred looked at the steaming and smiled. ¡°What a nicedy. We just met each other and she gave me a pie.¡±


    ¡°Hello, young boy. You seems like you need to eat more meat. Why don¡¯t you buy one of these roasted sheep.¡± An old man walked beside his carriage with a tray of roasted meat.


    ¡°I am sorry, sir. I don¡¯t have any money with me.¡±


    The old man smiled. ¡°Pitiful boy. Here¡¯s one for you.¡± He gave Aldred a wrap of roasted meat.


    ¡°Sir, why do you give it to me for free?¡±


    The old man smiled again. ¡°It makes you happy isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°Then that is enough reason to me.¡± The old man walked away to find customers.


    ¡°The people here is nice,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It¡¯s almost unbelievable how nice they are.¡±


    Mira looked at the vigers giving people food for free if they couldn¡¯t pay and her heart was touched. This was what she wanted. People being nice to each other. All of them were willing to sacrifice a little just so they could make others happy. What a blessed vige. Even in Montcresia, she had never seen something like this before. The world was vast. She truly need to explore more of it.


    Sophia looked at the vigers. ¡°They won¡¯tst long.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Nice people got used and abused. If they keep doing this, people will pretend they couldn¡¯t pay and they will soon run out of food to feed themselves.¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Mary leaned, putting his arm on the window. ¡°They don¡¯t eat meat or pies.¡±


    ¡°Are they vegetarians?¡±


    ¡°No. They¡¯re vampires.¡±


    Aldred was speechless. ¡°Oh yeah, you did mention that Thignia was and of vampire. So they drink blood?¡±


    ¡°Very much.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to be okay? What if they suck our blood?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen, unless they want to be exterminated. You see how many humans entered the vige? This ce is a tourist hot spot right now because of Mount Fargon. More humans and other race will enter this ce. If they dare to do something, the influx of powerful adventurer will clean the whole vige.¡±


    ¡°Is that the reason why they¡¯re acting nice?¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t think so. A tourist hot spot usually sell their products with an extravagant price. What cost 5 copper could be sold with 10 silver, but the people here don¡¯t do that. All the foods are cheap and affordable which is really weird since this supposed to be a great opportunity to be rich.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t put prejudice against them,¡± Mira said. ¡°They treated us with a sweet smile so we should do the same. It doesn¡¯t matter if they are vampires or not.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that.¡± Aldred nodded.


    After circling the vige for a while, they finally found an inn:


    The Crossed Arrows.


    It was a modest looking inn affiliated with the adventure¡¯s guild. A lot of people were entering the inn. Aldred saw some men with a lion faceplete with a majestic mane.


    ¡°Now this is what I called a fantasy world.¡±


    ¡°What are you bbering about, Aldred,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Go pick up my bags and bring it to my room.¡±


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t book a room yet.¡±


    ¡°Do you see my face?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Does my expression look like it give a shit about your excuses?¡±


    Aldred sighed. It seemed like Mareona was really upset about him stealing her underwear. She¡¯d been hitting his head a lot hardertely. He should apologizeter.


    For now, he wanted to get a room and sleep in a proper bed.

 Chapter 73 Grand Auction Hall

    Bartrem booked more than a dozen rooms for everyone. The inn was quite big, and it seemed to receive an upgrade only recently.


    ¡°The owner of this inn is smart. They know a lot of people wille to this ce, and so they upgrade the inn immediately,¡± Mary said as they walked to their room. ¡°Also, unlike the nice vigers earlier, this inn is so expensive.¡±


    ¡°How much money do we have left?¡±


    Mary bitterly smiled. ¡°Only a couple of silvers.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully, we can just hunt something for food.¡±


    Aldred, Mary, Mira, Sophia, and Pongo entered the same room. The sun was still bright in the sky, but all of them decided to sleep all day. The journey toe here was exhausting. Sleeping in the tents or the carriages paled inparison to the soft andfortable mattresses.


    And so they slept until the next day.


    They all went down the stairs and walked to the cafeteria. It was bustling with people. The waitress guided them to arge table. Bartrem sat down with Aldred and the others.


    ¡°So what is our next move?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I have been gathering information yesterday,¡± Bartrem said. He was a true warrior. While everyone was asleep, he went out and put in the work. ¡°I notice that a lot of people haven¡¯t started climbing yet. And they are waiting for something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Aldred asked in wonder.


    ¡°An auction.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with climbing a mountain?¡±


    ¡°I heard that a collection of merchants is nning to do an auction, but it¡¯s not just any auction. The items presented in this auction can help us reach the peak.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°We can only try to see it for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re running out of money, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡±


    ¡°I should have asked the empress for money,¡± Mary said. ¡°If we asked her, she could give us an endless amount of wealth.¡±


    ¡°Clearly, she¡¯s the empress of an empire after all.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we enter the auction and take our chances. It¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t get the items, but maybe we can work something out with the buyer,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred wanted to see the auction as well so he agreed. He¡¯d never been to an auction before.


    ¡­


    Days passed quickly, and the group of merchants rented a plot ofnd before their workers quickly erected arge hall for the auction. They worked so fast and so precise that the onlookers were amazed by their efficiency. With magical powers and supernatural strength, the grand auction hall was finished in less than a day. Made out of fine wood and smooth marble, the rich and powerful smiled as they looked at the sight while the poor simply looked shocked and amazed.


    Two beautifuldies in tight dresses came out of the entrance and put up a sign that said: Mount Fargon Auction Hall is Open!


    People in nice clothes walked in first. The twodies greeted them with a smile and told them that they need to pay a fee to enter the ce. Those people didn¡¯t give it a second thought before giving them a handful of gold coins. They didn¡¯t even count if it was the correct amount or not, because they knew that what they gave was more than asked for.


    After all of them entered, the adventurer with full gear walked to them, paid the fee, and entered the hall. This went on for quite some time until there was one man with ragged clothes who was stopped at the entrance.


    ¡°I cannot enter?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, sir, but you have to pay a fee to enter the auction hall.¡±


    ¡°What an arrogant person you are. Just because I don¡¯t want to pay, I am not allowed to enter?¡±


    The twodies were troubled.


    ¡°This is the rule, sir. We cannot allow you to enter the auction unless you pay the fee.¡±


    The man snorted in anger. ¡°What a bitch. You think you can act like that just because you¡¯re pretty, huh? You¡¯re just a whore who relies on their looks. I bet you enter an old man¡¯s room every night for some gold. A bunch of disgusting whore.¡± He spat on the ground, almost hitting their feet.


    When the man left, the twodies sighed.


    One of thedies even broke into tears.


    ¡°Miralda, don¡¯t cry. We¡¯re at work.¡±


    ¡°Emily, that guy is so mean. I tried to be as polite as possible but he kept insulting us.¡±


    Emily tapped her back and hugged her. ¡°There there. Don¡¯t cry again. What if the manager sees us.¡±


    Miralda kept crying for a whole minute before she calmed down. The man¡¯s words earlier really hurt her heart.<sub></sub>


    A fat man walked toward them. ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°Manager,¡± they called.


    ¡°A man earlier tried to enter the auction without paying. We tell him that he cannot enter with hospitality, but he kept insulting us.¡±


    The fat clicked his tongue. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t bother to treat penniless people with hospitality. Stop crying, you¡¯re driving the customers away. I took you from the streets, don¡¯t make me return you there again.¡±


    The twodies bowed. ¡°Yes, sir manager.¡±


    Miralda wiped her tears and lightly pped her own cheeks. ¡°I don¡¯t want to return to the street.¡±


    Emily smiled and caressed her head. ¡°Me as well. I will treat you to good foodter, okay? So don¡¯t cry again.¡±


    Miralda nodded.


    ¡­


    Aldred, Bartrem, Mareona, Sophia, Mary, Pongo, and Mira walked out of the inn and asked for directions to the auction hall.


    ¡°They¡¯re about to start the auction,¡± Aldred said. ¡°We need to hurry.¡±


    They jogged their way until they saw the grand auction hall. When they arrived, two youngdies asked them for a fee.¡±


    ¡°1 gold coin for each person?¡± Aldred was shocked by the cost. ¡°So expensive. Is there any other way we can enter?¡±


    One of thedies kept on smiling, while the otherdy was frowning and ring at them.


    ¡°If you cannot pay then get out of here. We don¡¯t want poor people to enter our auction.¡±


    Emily was shocked. She tugged her hand slightly and whispered. ¡°Miralda, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°These poor people needed to be treated this way. There¡¯s no way that they can pay.¡± Miralda didn¡¯t even lower her voice.


    Emily smiled apologetically. ¡°I am sorry, sir. But you need to pay the fee to enter.¡±


    Even though the manager told her to treat those who couldn¡¯t pay badly, she just couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call them sir. Look at their armor full of holes. You can tell they¡¯re beggars from a distance. And look at this boy. I bet he was thrown away by his parents for how ugly he is.¡±


    Emily looked at Miralda in shock. ¡°Miralda, don¡¯t say that.¡±


    Sophia red at the woman. ¡°How dare you!¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do? You don¡¯t even have 1 gold coin.¡±


    ¡°We have something better!¡± Sophia said. ¡°We have a Gold Rank ve beast to auction. How much do you think it¡¯s worth?¡±


    Aldred looked at Sophia in confusion. Since when did they n to sell Nicky?


    Miralda sneered. ¡°You think I will believe what your filthy mouth said?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Wait here, we will bring the beast.¡± She pulled Aldred away.


    ¡°Sophia, are we going to sell Nicky?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I cannot stand that woman. But don¡¯t worry. After we sell Nicky, you can just tell him to disappear and then summon him again. This way you won¡¯t make any loss but still earn some money.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good n.¡± Aldred nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mira said. ¡°What you about to do is tricking people. I know she is too harsh on us, but that¡¯s no reason to harm another person that got nothing to do with it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too hard, Mira. Those people are rich. They won¡¯t shed a tear if they lost some money.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t agree with this n. Don¡¯t bring evil to this world.¡±


    ¡°Stop being dramatic. Doing this will give us a lot of money to buy items in the auction as well. If we can have some of them, I am sure our chance to reach the peak is higher.¡±


    Mira hesitated. ¡°Maybe we can do something else.¡±


    ¡°No. Aldred, summon Nicky and tell him to change into his real form.¡±


    Aldred looked at Mira and thought for a moment before agreeing with Sophia¡¯s n. Their survivability mattered more than a rich stranger losing a bunch of gold coins. They went to an empty alley before summoning him.


    ¡°Turn to your real form.¡±


    The giant velobra obeyed and transformed into his real form.


    Sophia smiled. ¡°That arrogant woman will be so shocked to see this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s so arrogant,¡± Aldred agreed.


    They went back to the auction hall and showed the beast to the youngdies.


    ¡°What now?¡± Sophia said. ¡°Still don¡¯t believe us.¡±


    The two youngdies were shocked to see a giant velobra acting so tame. This was a wild beast that could match against three if not five Gold Rank warriors at once. Yet here it was.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± the manager stepped in.


    ¡°Are you the owner?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°I am the manager of this ce.¡±


    Sophia smiled. ¡°We would like to auction this Gold Rank giant velobra, but we changed our mind.¡±


    The manager was shocked. This giant velobra was a powerful beast and almost impossible to tame or enve. If he could auction this beast, his reputation would spread far and wide. ¡°Why? I am sure we can negotiate about the profit. Usually, we take 40% of the profit, but for you, we will only take 10% how is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the profit. It¡¯s about how your worker treated us.¡±


    Sophia had deep resentment now toward whoever treated Aldred badly. First, it was Bacon who vited Aldred¡¯s pride and then even tried to enve him. Aldred changed her viewpoint of this world. For the first time in her life, she experienced true affection and respect. She wouldn¡¯t let anyone vite Aldred again.


    ¡°Which one of you treated our respectful guest in a terrible manner?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that woman.¡± Sophia pointed.


    Miralda looked at the manager with teary eyes. ¡°I am sorry, manager. I don¡¯t know. I thought they were poor people.¡±


    ¡°You stupid bitch. I saved you from prostitution and this is how you repay me? Are you nning to ruin my business?¡±


    ¡°Manager, I am sorry. I was in the wrong.¡± Miralda cried.


    Aldred smiled at her apologizing. He hated her guts as well for insulting them like that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± The fat man grabbed her neck and choked her. ¡°I was nning to return you to the street, but this offense must be paid with your life.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no¡ª¡± Aldred was about to stop him.


    Crack!


    Miralda¡¯s breathing stopped and she fell to the ground lifelessly.


    Emily¡¯s eyes widened as tears fell to her cheeks. Her whole body trembled in fear. ¡°Miralda¡­¡±


    ¡°Emily,¡± the fat man called. ¡°Bring your sister away. I will take over from here.¡±


    Emily trembled but still nodded and lifted her sister away.


    Aldred still couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. Someone was killed right in front of his eyes because of him being a petty person. He looked at Sophia who had a guilty expression on her face.


    The fat man looked at them with a smile. ¡°I apologize for that. Now that the dirt is gone, why don¡¯t we continue our discussion? This giant velobra seems to be more powerful than normal. I believe it could match against twenty if not thirty Gold Rank humans. What about this, we will only take 3% of the profit. You can have the rest.¡±


    ¡°Before that,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Do you really have to kill her? You could have just fired her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her. She¡¯s from the street and one step away from prostitution. If I don¡¯t kill her someone else would have done it soon.¡±


    Aldred couldn¡¯t believe his ears. How could someone be so indifferent to the life of others? He understood if they were enemies or someone so distant, but this woman worked here.


    ¡°What do you mean someone would have done it soon?¡±


    ¡°Prostitutes don¡¯t live a long life.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    The fat man raised an eyebrow. It wasmon sense that prostitutes die early. ¡°It¡¯s because most men treat them rough, and prostitutes are generally fragile.¡±


    Sophia sighed. ¡°We will take the offer.¡±


    ¡°Sophia? Are we still going to do this?¡±


    ¡°It already happened, Aldred. We cannot change that.¡±


    The fat man smiled. ¡°Very good. I will guide you to the VIP section, you can leave the beast here. Someone will take it to the back room.¡±


    Aldred looked at Mira who looked at him in disappointment. The boy avoided her gaze and followed the fat man.

 Chapter 74 The Auction Begin

    Aldred entered the hallway. Ady gave them a ck robe, a mask, a sign, and what seemed to be a quill.


    ¡°Please wear this before you enter the hall,¡± thedy said.


    ¡°What is this for?¡±


    ¡°To keep the auction fair and just, we would like everyone to wear disguises. If you would like to bid, you can use this quill and sign to write the amount. Please try not to speak as someone can track you with your voice alone.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    They wore the ck robe that covered their entire body and put on the mask. Surprisingly, they had children¡¯s size for Aldred.


    Thedy opened the door and the fat man guided them up the stairs. Unlike most people below, the ones here sat straight and upright with a noble demeanor. At a nce, you could make a distinction between the poor and the rich.


    The fat man smiled and told them to sit down in the front row. One man with a noble demeanor nced at them before turning his head back to the stage below. <sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I will take my leave now, esteemed guests, the servants will bring you drinks and snacks shortly.¡±


    Aldred and the others did not reply. They understood that they should not expose their voice. The ck robe was wide and baggy, making it hard to see the outline of their features. They even gave them a backup robe and a backup mask should this one get broken or ripped.


    Aldred leaned on Mary and whispered in the softest voice possible. ¡°Can you give me the backup robe? I want to transform into an adult.¡±


    Mary nodded and gave him the backup robe. Aldred put it on before his body size started to grow bigger and bigger until finally, he was adult size.


    Some people noticed this but kept their silence.


    A beautifuldy 170 CM tall walked onto the stage in an incredible dress. A bright light came from above and put the stage and her at the center of attention. The rest of the auction hall only had dim lights which seemed to be intentional as they tried to hide the identity of every buyer.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen from all around the world. I wee you to Mount Fargon Auction Hall. Now, this is no longer a secret as everyone here knows why so many peoplee to this ce. That is right! For the treasure! All of you want this treasure to achieve your dream, and we are here to help you in that endeavor. Our list of items is made with a specific effect that can assist you in passing the first challenge, climbing Mount Fargon. Before we start the auction let me tell you the rules. First, everyone is not allowed to reveal their identity whether intentionally or unintentionally. The moment we know who you are, you will be kicked out.¡±<sub></sub>


    The audience was shocked by that statement. This meant that the owner of this auction was powerful enough to ignore the status of the powerful noble families.


    ¡°Second, if you bid on an item but cannot pay for it, we will take everything you have until the value matched the price you bid, if not we will hold you in custody until someone pays for it. If it is deemed impossible for you to pay, we will put an envement spell on you until you have paid the money. We are allowed to do this under the permission of Thignia, Ceraisian, and Montcresia.¡±


    The audience was shocked again. To have the permission of three nations, who was the owner of this auction?


    ¡°Third, fights and arguments are not allowed. You can have a discussion with your friends, but do not be loud or disturb the auction. Of course, know that some people can identify you with voices alone, so we rmend you not to speak.¡±


    ¡°Now, Without further ado, let us start the auction with the first item.¡±


    Another beautifuldy pushed a cart draped over ck cloth. She pulled it open and revealed a set of armor covered by dazzling white feathers.


    ¡°This an upper rare grade armor. Now some of you might scoff at this armor, but did you know that this armor can prevent you from falling to your death? Should you ever fall while climbing a mountain, this armor will slow your fall until you reach the ground, giving you the chance to climb again. Many people fell from the mountain for one reason or another, so why don¡¯t you buy this armor and climb the mountain without the fear of falling?¡±


    ¡°The starting price for this item is 1,000 gold coins.¡±


    Mary almost got a heart attack when she heard the price.


    The audience started showing their sign.


    ¡°Alright, folks. Someone already put up their sign with 2,000 gold coins. Oh, it rises quickly to 2,500, and now 2,600.¡±


    ¡°Is it expensive?¡± Aldred whispered to Mary.


    ¡°A Gold Rank only got around 10 gold coins per month as sry.¡±


    Aldred calcted the amount and realized that a Gold Rank had to work for 100 months just to reach the starting price. That was 8 years ofbor.


    ¡®This thing is god damn expensive.¡¯


    ¡°They¡¯re lucky the auction doesn¡¯t ask for mana crystals as payment. Otherwise, none of these peasants would have a chance against me.¡± the man near them said. He was the one with the dignified posture. The people around him seemed to be his guards.


    ¡®This guy not worried his voice would be identified? He must be confident in his guards.¡¯


    Aldred analyzed the man with his system.


    ¡ª-


    [Henry]


    Title: The heir of Anztti, Honorless Warrior


    Level: 64


    Power: Power Fist, Balls Kicker, Nutcracker, Virgin Forever, Seedless.


    History: The first and only son of Lewis, the Count of Anztti. Henry was born with a golden spoon in his ass. Loved and pampered all his life, he cared less about the suffering of others and held great resentment if his wishes were unfulfilled. He was known as the Honorless Warrior by his male enemies for his abilities always struck their weak spots. But as scumbag as this man is, at least he is not as dumb as the user.


    ¡ª-


    So he was the one in that carriage. This man was quite powerful, but what was up with that power? The first ability was fine but the rest¡­ what a scary human being. Aldred definitely did not want to be his enemy. He could already feel the pain down there from imagining his fight against this man.


    And what was up with thestment¡­ The system really developed some personality now, huh.


    ¡°The price went up to 3,200 gold coins. Come on folks, don¡¯t be shy to bid because your life might be saved by this item. No, wait. Your life WILL be saved by this item!¡±

 Chapter 75 Light Formless Chain

    ¡°4,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°4,100 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°4,200 Gold coins!¡±


    Mary looked at Aldred and whispered. ¡°Should we buy this armor?¡±


    ¡°Do we have enough money?¡±


    ¡°An enved giant velobra is almost never seen before, and it¡¯s very powerful too. I am sure Nicky will be bid at high prices.¡±


    Suddenly, the man beside them ced their bid.


    ¡°Oh, the VIP section bid for the first time! 5,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Mary took a deep breath. That was 83 years worth ofbor. The concept of money worked differently for rich people. If someone told her they would spend 5,000 gold coins on armor, she wouldn¡¯t believe it even if it killed her.


    ¡°Should I bid?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mary hesitated. ¡°No. Let¡¯s just wait. I don¡¯t think this armor is worth 5,000 gold coins.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The man beside them sneered. ¡°Apparently, you are just a bunch of peasants.¡± He didn¡¯t even try to lower his voice.


    Aldred frowned. Mary and he were talking in low voices, yet this man could hear what they said.


    ¡°Going once! Going twice! Sold!¡±


    Henry snorted. ¡°Bunch of peasants!¡±


    The man reminded Aldred of those arrogant young masters in cultivation novels. He was very typical. Insulting everything and everyone he saw. Aldred didn¡¯t do anything, in fact, he didn¡¯t even say anything, yet the man still insulted them. He couldn¡¯t even be mad anymore. Instead, he pitied the man who hadn¡¯t grown up yet.


    Another beautifuldy pushed a different cart and revealed a pair of powerful gauntlets.


    ¡°For our second item, we have something special for the mountain climber. It¡¯s the Grip Gauntlet. To climb the mountain you need to have a firm grip, and this gauntlet makes sure you keep hanging. The item starts at 500 gold coins!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very useful,¡± Aldred whispered. ¡°We can use iron spears to climb the mountain.¡±


    Bartrem agreed with that. He had prepared giant nails for the soldiers. They could use those tools to climb the mountains.


    The other seemed to have the same opinion as them. The item was only sold for 600 gold coins.<sub></sub>


    ¡°I know the second item is not very thrilling! But look at what we have here!¡±


    The beautifuldy pulled the cloth, revealing a transparent glowing chain.


    ¡°This is Light Formless Chain. You might be wondering what it¡¯s for. With this chain, you can wrap it around your allies, and when they fall, the chain will catch them. So, as long as not everyone is falling at once, you don¡¯t have to be afraid to fall. Unlike ordinary chains, this one doesn¡¯t disrupt your movement, and won¡¯t be tangled up. The length of the chain can also be controlled as you will it. This is the perfect item for those who brought arge group of people.¡±


    ¡°Quickly tell us the price!¡±


    ¡°Haha. It seems you couldn¡¯t wait anymore. This item starts at 5,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°We have to buy it,¡± Aldred said. ¡°We have a lot of people with us. This item will be very useful.¡±


    ¡°6,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°7,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°8,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Bartrem gritted his teeth. ¡°Buy it.¡±


    Mary bit her lips. ¡°Buy it. I am sure the giant velobra can cover the cost.¡±


    Aldred raised his sign and wrote the numbers.


    ¡°Oof, what do we have here? 10,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry nced at Aldred and snorted. He raised his sign.


    ¡°A phenomenal move! 15,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Mary almost lost her breath. ¡°Do it, Aldred. Do whatever it takes to get the item.¡±


    Even Aldred started to have some anxiety after looking at Bartrem and Mary.


    ¡°17,000 Gold coins! Come now, folks! Buy this chain and you won¡¯t lose a friend.¡±


    ¡°18,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°19,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry red at Aldred. ¡°You cannot outbid me. I might not bring enough of those filthy gold coins, but I auction something called Lashing Shoes that let the wearer walk on vertical surfaces. People will bid high for that item. I cannot tell you who I am, but even the manager trusted me so much that he didn¡¯t even inspect my items before receiving them.¡±


    Aldred looked at the man weirdly. ¡®Is this guy trying to flex his status on me?¡¯ He looked at the stage, ignoring the man. No wonder the auction told people to hide their appearance. This status flexing activity must be amon urrence.


    ¡°Cih!¡± He raised his sign to increase the bid.


    ¡°23,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Aldred put his bid.


    ¡°25,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry clicked his tongue. ¡®This bastard dares to outbid me? If I could show my status, he wouldn¡¯t be so bold.¡¯ He raised his sign.


    ¡°26,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Aldred raised his sign again.


    ¡°28,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Bartrem and Mary were currently breathing profusely like they were in a sprint. If they were to use their regr sry to pay that amount of money, it would take them 466 years. More than four centuries! They were trembling hard right now. If the velobra failed to pay their debt¡­ they¡¯d be ves for the rest of their lives.


    Henry was angered. He stood up and opened his mask. ¡°I am Henry, the one and only heir of Anztti! I forbid you to obtain this item!¡±


    The auction halted. Everyone was silent. Someone with a tall stature with a ck suit and a mask approached him calmly. ¡°For viting the rules of this auction, you are not allowed to bid for this item. If you do not agree, please leave this hall. This is a warning and a punishment, you are not allowed to reveal your identity again on the next item.¡±


    Henry red at Aldred before wearing his mask again.


    Thedy on the stage cleared her throat. ¡°Do not worry folks, your identity is safe as long as you wear your mask and robe. Please bid for the items without worry. Before you leave this ce, we will cast mass illusion spells so nobody knows who is who.¡±


    The audience was assured by her word, but they still did not bid for the item. To be honest, most of them were fully prepared before they came to this ce. They were not dumb. They went to this ce to take a look at whether or not they could obtain something more useful.


    Under his breath, Aldred muttered. ¡°Honorless Warrior.¡±


    Henry frowned and stared at him. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°Sir, please be quiet and sit down,¡± the guard said.

 Chapter 76 Gold River Merchant Group

    ¡°Going once! Going twice! Sold! We will deliver the item to you when the auction ends!¡±


    Aldred felt excited and worried at the same time. ¡°Mary, we got the item.¡±


    Mary nodded rapidly. Blood rushed in her heart. 28,000 gold coins. It was either do or die now. If velobra sold less than that, they¡¯d be damned.


    ¡°Our next item is a magical pill created by a tinum Ranked magic alchemist. Let me emphasize the word magic for you all! The cart revealed a ss container filled with white beautiful pills. These are Miracle Breath Pills. When you climb the mountain, the higher you climb, the thinner the air. This makes it hard for you to breathe. With these pills, you do not have to worry about that. This container has 40 pills, and starts with the price of 1,200 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°Do we need that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should spend any more,¡± Mary said. ¡°We have already spent 28,000 gold coins. What if velobra doesn¡¯t earn more than that?


    ¡°I should have enved more creatures. If only we could sell enved Gold Rank humans.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I am d that it¡¯s not possible. very is not a good thing.¡±


    ¡°ves are okay to sell, but you cannot enve those with power. People that couldn¡¯t reach the Copper Rank can be a ve due to various circumstances, and they can be sold around.¡±


    ¡°Must be rough for them.¡±


    Mira looked at Aldred and then sighed. She was still upset about the event earlier, but she knew the boy wasn¡¯t a bad person. ¡°We don¡¯t have ves in Montcresia. We believe that everyone deserves hope, and to have hope is to be happy. I apologize, but Ceraisian is an empire filled with depression and suffering. The majority of people here are badly treated peasants and ves. When we were in the fort, I talked to some of the ves, and I don¡¯t like what I hear.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I know,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I talked to them too. I wish I could do something for them.¡±


    ¡°You already did a lot,¡± Mira said with a smile. ¡°They said something about you. Like how you help them with back pain and teach them how to obtain clear water.¡±


    ¡°What I do is not enough,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Right now, they still work in the field under the hot sun that sears their skin. Every day. No rest or break given. If they get sick, they will be killed. How do you think it would feel if we were in that situation?¡±


    Mira looked at the boy with widened eyes hidden behind her mask.


    ¡°I am sorry, Mira. I was being petty, and it cost someone their life. I will visit thedy. If she asks for my life, then I will give it to her.¡± Aldred got tears welled up in his eyes. Even though he got great blessings, and lovely parents. What he did was unforgivable. Thatdy did nothing wrong, but she died because of him.


    Mira felt her anger dissipate. She was relieved the boy did not find amusement in her death. His empathy towards the lives of ves should be enough proof that the boy was on the right path. ¡®I must stay by his side and make sure he stays on this path.¡¯


    Pongo climbed on Aldred¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡± He jumped off and walked away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take too long or we will leave you.¡±


    ¡°Where is he going?¡± Mary asked.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Probably looking for some poop to eat.¡±


    If Pongo heard that, he would fight Aldred now and there.


    ¡°2,000 Gold coins! These pills will help you greatly, folks! Don¡¯t miss this chance!¡±


    Henry raised his sign.


    ¡°3,000 Gold coins!¡±


    He looked at Aldred and was satisfied that he did not fight him for this item. ¡®He must be afraid of my status. Humph! Peasants.¡¯


    After the item was sold, thedy on the stage presented another item.


    ¡°Before we reveal our item, let me tell you about it. It¡¯s called Lashing Shoes. If you are human, you know you need to crawl on the mountains to climb it, but with these shoes, you can walk on it.¡±


    The cloth was pulled to reveal a pair of shoes.


    The audience was amazed.


    Henry smiled proudly. This was the item that he auctioned. It was only proper if everyone was amazed by it.


    ¡°Can we try it?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Please get on stage and try the shoes. We receive this pair of shoes from someone influential. You have heard of his name before. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s from Henry himself!¡±


    Henry held his head high. Even though he wore a mask and a robe, everyone already knew where he sat because of the event earlier.


    A man walked onto the stage and put on the shoe. ¡°How do I use them?¡±


    ¡°Try walking on the wall.¡±


    The man put one foot on the wall. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°You need to put both feet on the wall!¡± Henry shouted. Damn peasants! They didn¡¯t even know such basic things.


    The man jumped and walked on the wall. His feet moved upward, and he smiled when he thought it was working.


    It didn¡¯t.


    Not a secondter, he started to fall to the ground,nding on the back of his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡±


    ¡°You fools!¡± Henry stood up. He then leaped forward before his feet touched the stage. ¡°Let me show you how it¡¯s done.¡±


    He wore the shoes. ¡°Watch closely.¡±


    He jumped on the wall, both feetnded. Then he walked up. ¡°See, it¡¯s worki¡ª¡±


    He fell andnded head first.


    The audience was silent.


    ¡°No. I haven¡¯t used it properly. Watch again.¡± He tried again and fell.


    ¡°Again!¡±


    He fell.


    He kept doing this repeatedly until the manager came.


    ¡°Enough! I did not inspect this item because I trusted you, Lord Henry. It seems like my trust wasn¡¯t put in the right ce. Please leave the auction hall now. Someone will send your item at the entrance.¡±


    ¡°Wait! They worked before. I am sure if I do it correctly it will work again.¡±


    ¡°Men, please bring this man outside.¡±


    ¡°Damnit! You dare? Guards! Protect me!¡±


    ¡°Lord Henry, does the Count of Anztti wants to be enemy with the Gold River adventure group?¡±


    The Gold River adventure group?! The audience was shocked at the news. All this time, it was a mystery who the owner of this auction was.


    The Gold River adventure group was a powerful merchant group under the Adventurer¡¯s guild that spread all over the continent. Its members had many races from all over the world and were known to be the most neutral group among merchants. Wherever they go, they will make lots of wealth while enriching the local lords. That was why they were epted with open arms by anyone, and losing a friendship with them could cost a huge fortune.


    Henry gritted his teeth. ¡°Fuck! I will let you go this time!¡±


    He left along with his guards while the audience sneered at him for being a fool. What an embarrassment.


    ¡°Anztti will surely fall soon if he is the only heir they have.¡±


    Aldred watched Henry being escorted outside. Henry red at him as he was pushed forward until he got out of his sight.


    Pongo jumped on the seat and burped.


    ¡°Where did you go earlier?¡±


    Pongo looked at him and his beak curled into a smile. Aldred smiled back. ¡°Ah, so it was you.¡± Aldred giggled meaningfully.

 Chapter 77 Were Rich!

    When Henry was about to reach the exit, he looked at the manager who was walking beside him. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t make trouble again. Can you please let me stay in the auction?¡±


    ¡°You ruin my reputation, Lord Henry. Your shoes don¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°I am honest. Do you think I would dly go on stage to prove my point if the shoes don¡¯t work?¡±


    The manager nced at him. ¡°The proof is there. Your shoes don¡¯t work. I do not care about the rest.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very calm for someone who just had their reputation ruined,¡± Henry said.


    ¡°We¡¯re too big, Lord Henry. This small mistake will not bring down our prestige. Besides, I have something that will make the audience happy. A Gold Rank enved giant velobra. Haha. Can you believe it?¡±


    Henry¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°An enved giant velobra? How is that possible? That thing is a wild beast.¡±


    ¡°Not just any wild beast. A powerful one. Even with 5 Gold Ranks ganging up on it, they might not stand a chance. In this treasure hunt, where tinum Rank and above are not allowed to participate, that beast is the best thing to have.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Henry said. ¡°Look, I apologize. Can you let me return to the auction? Nobody needs to know that I return. You can give me a different mask as well. I will tell my father to give your group a better deal.¡±


    The manager sighed. ¡°You act differently when the crowds are looking. Whatever, you can return to the auction. And don¡¯t make trouble again.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡±


    Aldred was just enjoying the auction when a group of people came and took their seats. He analyzed the group and realized it was Henry. ¡®Didn¡¯t they escort him out?¡¯


    ¡°Now for thest item of the day! Oh, did I say item? What I mean to say is creature!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Creature? Why would the auction sell creature? Most creatures weren¡¯t that useful for climbing mountains, not to mention Mount Fargon itself. And most flying creatures, non-native to the mountain, could not fly around the mountain. They had done their research long before they grab their horses to go here.


    ¡°Now you might be wondering. What kind of creature is worthy and useful enough to be put in this auction? Well, let me show you instead.¡±


    Arge cart covered with a cloth was pushed by 8 muscled men to the center of the stage. They then pulled the cover and revealed a magnificent creature with its ck scales gleaming under the light. It flicked out its tongue like a snake and scratched its belly with a hideous-looking w.


    ¡°A giant velobra!¡±


    The audience was terrified and they were about to run away from this dangerous creature.


    ¡°Now, please do not be scared. This beast has been tamed and enved, so it will not hurt you.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible? This beast cannot be enved.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? Let me put it to the test then.¡± Thedy walked in front of the giant velobra and pped its face. She then hit the belly a bunch of times. ¡°See, even after hitting it, the snake doesn¡¯t show aggression or hostility towards me.¡±


    Aldred bit his lips. His undead couldn¡¯t feel pain, otherwise, thatdy would be ravaged by now. He had fought this creature, and it took him a team of ten Gold Rank just to distract it. If he did not have unlimited mana and spammed fire javelin at the beast, he wouldn¡¯t be alive.


    The audience watched as thedy climbed onto the velobra, hitting its face and head. She even stabbed the eyes with her fingers.


    ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe me, I will enter the mouth.¡±


    And she did. She put herself in the beast¡¯s mouth and smiled at the audience.<sub></sub>


    The audience watching this was relieved. Because the shoes earlier were defective, they were worried that the beast might go on a rampage.


    ¡°Can we test him?¡±


    Thedy nodded. ¡°By all means. You need not worry about anything. Look, I am in its mouth, and nothing happens.¡±


    Some people climbed onto the stage and hesitantly walked to the beast. They caressed it at first before they started punching the beast.


    ¡°The hardness of its scales isparable to a rare grade armor. It might be stronger than that.¡±


    One man dared to touch its gigantic ws. ¡°Such sharpness. Any man who covered themselves with steel would be ripped apart by it. No wonder they call this creature beast among beast.¡±


    ¡°When we climb the mountain, there will be powerful beast roaming around. If we bring this giant velobra, we might have a chance to scare them off.¡±


    ¡°Testing and feeling session is over, folks! Please return to your seat as I begin the auction.¡±


    They walked down the stage and returned to their seat.


    Thedy smiled before she strode to the side. ¡°Now, most of you already know what it is, and all of you know this creature can help you in your journey. Giant velobra is a powerful and versatile creature that can swim deep, fly high, and climb tall. This means that you can bring the creature when you climb. Should you fall down, the creature can glide to catch you. Now that you know its benefit, I will reveal the starting price. Anyone would like to take a guess? 25,000 gold coins? Not even close. It¡¯s 40,000 Gold coins.¡±


    The audience wasn¡¯t surprised by that price. Having a powerful beast as a ve was much better than hiring a random adventurer. The problem was loyalty. Although the adventure guild put a lot of rules to prevent it, people still got betrayed as long as the incentives were good. That was why people here only brought their most trusted subordinates, friends, and even families. Those adventurers who gathered strangers to form a group would not survive for long as they did not have each other¡¯s back.


    Loyalty was expensive. And no one knew how much it cost. Only with envement spells could they assure loyalty, but this spell can be broken, and the empire banned envement spells because it drove people with talent away from the country.


    ¡°45,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°47,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°49,000 Gold coins!¡±


    ¡°55,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Bartrem and Mary were trembling in excitement.


    ¡°55,000 gold coins¡­ such a huge amount of money.¡± Bartrem trembled. He was a poor man with a meager sry. Never had he ever heard of a huge amount of gold coins before. Only delusional people will spout those amounts, but not here.


    And the bid kept on increasing.


    ¡°Why do people willing to bid a huge amount for a velobra?¡± Aldred was shocked and confused.


    Mareona, Sophia, Mary, and were all poor in some sense, so they did not know what problems rich people had.


    One of the ring problems rich people had was they valued their life greatly. And to protect this valuable life, they needed loyalty. Long ago, when envement spell was allowed, this wasn¡¯t a problem since they could enve their subordinates and obtain their forced-loyalty.


    But ever since the ban, loyalty became an expensivemodity.


    The man beside them, who Aldred knew was Henry, raised his sign.


    ¡°100,000 Gold coins!¡±


    The audience gritted their teeth. They did not bring enough gold for this.


    One man took a palm-sized golden card with exquisite engravings all over it. He shook the card and it revealed golden numbers: 78,412. The man sighed. ¡°I should have deposited more gold.¡±


    All of them regretted not depositing more money to the Adventure¡¯s guild bank. They never expect to use a lot of money on this journey.


    Henry smiled. He also did not bring enough money, but he talked with the manager before and said that his father would pay him, so he wasn¡¯t worried.


    Aldred notice that nobody increased the bid, so he smiled and raised his sign.


    ¡°110,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry frowned and stared at Aldred. ¡®This guy tried to piss me off again? Wait, no no no. He doesn¡¯t know that it¡¯s me.¡¯


    ¡°120,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry smiled, feeling proud that no one could match his bid


    ¡°150,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry was shocked. How much gold did this man bring with him?


    Mary hit his shoulder. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Increasing the price.¡± Aldred giggled.


    Henry clicked his tongue.


    ¡°160,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Aldred smiled as he put up the sign.


    ¡°165,000 Gold coins!


    Veins bulged from Henry¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°180,000 Gold coins.¡±


    ¡®What about that, huh! I bet your peasant ass couldn¡¯t afford it.¡¯


    ¡°200,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Henry¡¯s mouth was wide agape. ¡®Fuck! What about this!¡¯


    ¡°250,000 Gold coins!¡±


    Aldred smiled wide behind his mask and pretended to let out a sad sigh as he slumped on his chair.


    Henry held hisughter. He finally defeated that man in a bid. Although the price was a little too high, he did not make any losses. A giant velobra was strong and powerful. If he brought it home, his father would not be mad.


    Aldred on other hand was trembling. He trembled because of fear. Fear that he couldn¡¯t hold hisughter as he tricked Henry to buy Nicky at 250,000 gold coins.


    ¡®Hahahaha! I am fucking rich!¡¯ He looked at Pongo who seemed to notice his gaze and they both high-fived.

 Chapter 78 Rampage

    When the auction ended, everyone got what they bid for earlier. People stood up from their seats and left the hall. Some kind of illusion spell was activated which duplicated each person into ten, and then they all went in different directions. The exits were numerous. Everywhere there were doors for people to leave.


    ¡®Yeah, good luck tracking anyone in here.¡¯


    The manager came and walked to Aldred. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure making business with you.¡± He handed a golden card to him. ¡°Do you know how to use this card?¡±


    Aldred shook his head.


    ¡°Contained within that card is 242,500 Gold coins. Because we take 3% of the profit as promised, which is 7,500 Gold coins. As for the item you bid for, consider it free.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Can you tell me how I use this card?¡± Aldred whispered.


    ¡°Right, with this card you can go to any adventurer¡¯s guild inn or bank and withdraw a certain amount of gold. It depends on how big the inn or the bank is, but getting 1,000 gold coins should be no problem. If you want to withdraw more than one thousand, you usually have to give them some time, around 3-7 days. But you don¡¯t have to withdraw anything to do a transaction. Most people nowadays have this adventurer¡¯s guild card.¡±


    The manager pulled out his own golden card. ¡°Let me show you an example. Say you want to pay me 1 gold coin. All we have to do is tap each other¡¯s card.¡±


    Aldred raised his card and tapped it against the manager¡¯s card.


    The card glowed and a bunch of golden numbers carved themselves until it showed: 242,500 Gold coins.


    ¡°This is amazing.¡± Aldred stared at the numbers. ¡®It¡¯s more scientific than my old world, or should I call it magitific?¡¯


    The manager nced at the boy, realizing that he had never used an adventure card before. Only soldiers, ves, and peasants did not use the card. For merchants, adventurers, and nobles, it was almost necessary to use a card because of how much money they had. Peasants could barely fill their stomachs so they were out of the market for this service. Except if they came from a nation like Montcresia.


    ¡°So how do I send you money?¡±


    ¡°You are offered two choices on the side of the card.¡±


    Aldred read the choices; Sender. Receiver.


    ¡°To test it, I will act as the sender,¡± the manager said.


    ¡°Oh okay.¡± Aldred wasn¡¯t going to refuse free money. ¡°So I will choose the receiver.¡±


    After he pressed it, the numbers changed to zero.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°The numbers you see currently is how many amounts I have sent. I will now send you one gold coin.¡±


    The number changed to one.


    ¡°This is amazing.¡± Aldred praised it again.


    Mary and the others were impressed as well. Except for Mira, she already knew about this card, though she did not have one.


    ¡°What if someone steals this card from me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. You can drop your blood on the card, and it will be linked to you. So only you can ess this card. The card also has theft protection. Now, please do not repeat this word: Anti Theft.¡±


    The manager paused to make sure Aldred did not say the word.


    ¡°As soon as you say this word, the card will not function until you go to the nearest adventure inn or bank. Don¡¯t worry if you lose this card. When you mark it with your blood, your blood mark will be written in the Information Core. This way, you can go to the nearest inn or bank, and receive your card again.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You are very wee. Also, here is your Light Formless Chain.¡± The manager gave him a long ck box that everyone got. This way nobody knew which was which by looking at the shape and sizes of the box.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I cannot believe I can have more than 200,000 gold coins.¡±


    Henry overheard their conversation and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared death at Aldred. 242,500 gold coins? Wasn¡¯t that the amount he paid for the giant velobra? So that creature was auctioned by him, and he dared to increase the bid!? He tricked me to get more gold!¡¯


    ¡®That bastard! I will track him and kill him!¡¯


    ¡°Sir,¡± the manager called, not calling Henry by his name. ¡°Because of how special your item is. We will discreetly send it.¡±


    ¡°No need. Just let me bring it right now. Everyone already knows who bought the giant velobra. There is no way I can hide it when walking in the street.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    The manager escorted Henry to the back room to take the giant velobra. Henry stared at Aldred as he walked down the stairs with the others. He saw a small creature with a small robe and mask on his shoulder.<sub></sub>


    ¡®Foolish. Bringing a pet to the auction. All I have to do is find anyone with a pet, and kill them.¡¯


    Henryughed inside as he walked to the back room with the manager. What greeted him was the giant velobra, standing tall and terrifying even when it simply stood still.


    ¡°That peasant is so stupid. Selling a loyal beast for gold coins.¡± Henryughed.


    The manager knew this beast would be a hot cake among the rich. Loyalty worth their weight in gold. And for a giant velobra, that weight counted in tons.


    ¡°Nicky, this is now your master,¡± the manager said.


    ¡°Nicky? What a lousy name. From now your name will be Vilbora or known as the ck Serpent. Nowe with me.¡±


    His guards slightly took a step back when they saw the beast move. Henry smiled. ¡°Has my dad sent you the money?¡±


    ¡°He did,¡±


    ¡°Then our business is done. Follow me, Vilbora.¡±


    Suddenly, the giant velobra snapped forward and chomped on his shoulder.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Henry fell on his back. ¡°You! I am your master!¡±


    The giant velobra did not care and opened its maw.


    Henry wore a terrified expression and screamed before the velobra bit his head.


    Everyone in the back room screamed.


    ¡°Why has the beast gone rogue? It was tame earlier.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! Run! That thing will kill us!¡±


    Henry¡¯s guards were trembling in fear, but they couldn¡¯t run away. They had to cut off the head of this beast and bring it back to prevent their families from being killed.


    That was how the nobles yed their game. They didn¡¯t obtain loyalty from admiration and respect but from pressure and fear.


    Unfortunately, it worked.


    The guards roared and charged toward the beast. Nicky wasn¡¯t having it. He belched out a poisonous miasma that melted their armor and skin. They screamed in pain and fell to their death.


    The manager backed off, and so did the other staff. The giant velobra bashed through the wall and made its escape.


    ¡°Sir manager, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Kill it! No one should know about this!¡±


    Thirty Gold Rank warriors charged and pulled the beast back in. Fifteen earth magicians mmed boulders to its head, knocking it a few steps back.


    The giant velobra roared and raised its head.


    ¡°Be careful!¡±


    It belched out a stream of green miasma, peelingyers of wall, turning them into disgusting rotten colors.


    ¡°Kill it!¡±


    Thirty Gold Rank warriors glowed in powerful energy. They threw chains over its leg, pulling it. The velobra fell on its jaw.


    ¡°Fire javelin!¡±


    The magicians shouted. Sending a bunch of fire javelins that struck its head. It pierced through but only slightly. Yet the magicians were almost drained of their mana.


    The fight went on, with more Gold Rank warriors and magicians entering the fray.


    They circled the beast and dodged its poison attack, before attacking its belly. The back room was ruined, but eventually, they killed the beast without casualties.


    Everyone fell to the floor in exhaustion. The beast was stronger than they thought. If the buyer knew this, they would be dly in debt and pay itter. Though they wouldn¡¯t buy it if they knew the envement spell did not work.


    The manager looked at the corpse of the beast. ¡°Why does it act aggressively the moment Lord Henry imed it?¡±


    He looked at his men who had their chests went up and down. They were drenched in sweat.


    ¡°Such a powerful beast. Humans are always weaker than a beast, but this is too much. A pity. If the envement spell worked again, I could have auctioned it with a farrger price.¡± He then recalled the boy¡¯s face. ¡®Did he trick me? No, impossible. The beast was tame. I have tested it, and even demonstrated that it was tame. Only when Lord Henry came did it be aggressive.¡¯


    The manager nced at the beast.


    ¡°Bury this thing in secret. Don¡¯t let anyone know about this incident. If someone asked, say that Lord Henry was killed by a wild beast while he tried to obtain the treasure. Along with him, his giant velobra and his guards were killed as well. And say that you only heard this from hearsay. Also, try to differ your story a bit.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir manager.¡±


    The manager walked out of the back room. As he walked in the hallway, he told himself; ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if he died or not. I got the money, and my reputation improved after I ¡®sold¡¯ that beast.¡±


    ¡­


    Emily cried as she watched her sister dying before her.


    ¡°Sis¡ªter.¡±


    ¡°I am here, Miralda.¡± She held her hand tight. ¡°I am here.¡±


    ¡°Li¡ªve long. Don¡¯t do what mother did.¡±


    Tears streaked from Emily¡¯s cheek. Their mother was a prostitute who died because she defied a client. That was one of the reasons why Miralda was so hurt by the insult. It felt like the man insulted their mother.


    Mira opened the door to the bedroom and walked inside. There were two women inside the bedroom. One of them sat on a chair crying over the woman whoy on the bed with a hand mark on her neck.


    ¡°I apologize for intruding.¡±


    Emily raised her head and wiped her tears. ¡°You are¡­¡± She stood up.


    ¡°My name is Mira. Ie here to apologize.¡±


    ¡°My sister is dying. Do you think I care about apologies?¡±


    ¡°Aldred, the boy, wanted to offer his life to you. I did not allow him to. He has a great purpose, you see. I believe he can change the world we live in. But this is merely my selfish wish. For that, I will rece him.¡± Mira took out a knife and presented it to her. ¡°Use this knife, and let me pay his sin with my life.¡±


    Emily¡¯s hand hesitated as it took the knife.


    Mira closed her eyes.


    ¡°No.¡± She drops the knife. It fell, nging against the floor. ¡°Ever since I was a child. We always think of bad people as monsters. My sister hated monsters. And I don¡¯t want to be one of them.¡±


    Mira opened her eyes and looked at her in pity. ¡°You have a strong heart.¡± She pulled out a silk handkerchief embroidered with the word: Abbey of Kristiel.


    ¡°Take this handkerchief, and go to the northwest. To the town of Gergis. Show a soldier this handkerchief and they will take you to the abbey.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ you are a nun?¡±


    ¡°I am. And that handkerchief can give you a new life.¡±


    She then pointed her staff at Miralda. ¡°Holy Golden Stream.¡±


    Thick golden softly streamed from the staff and washed all over Miralda¡¯s body. Her pale skin and dried lips became healthier. And when the stream disappeared, Miralda coughed.


    Emily watched with widened eyes before he hugged her sister. ¡°Miralda, you¡¯re alive!¡±


    Mira smiled. Miralda had a strong will to live, so even though she was dying, she felt her life force kept on flickering and hanging on for life. If not for Emily¡¯s strong heart, and Miralda¡¯s strong will to live, Mira would never sacrifice her lifespan to save her. There was an alternative to this; Tell Aldred to turn Miralda into an undead, but turning her into an undead was the same as killing her. Bing an undead changed someone¡¯s personality almostpletely because undead was there to serve Aldred which meant they always had Aldred in their mind. That was no different than dead, and having one¡¯s shell to be turned into a loyal machine.


    A strand of her hair turned white, but she hid it.


    Emily looked at Mira. ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°Now go. Tell the superior mother that Mira Belle sends you.¡±

 Chapter 79 Great Night

    Aldred and the others walked back home after going in a circle around the vige. Apparently, they were followed by the illusions even after they came out of the hall. These illusions kept on multiplying themselves and went in random directions.


    They were very satisfied with the safety measure, but now that they were back inside the room, they took out the robe and threw it away. Suddenly, the robe and mask disappear with magical sparks.


    ¡°They took security very seriously,¡± Aldredmented. He then transformed back to his real shape and size.


    ¡°Let¡¯s list out our equipment. Light Formless Chain, climbing iron nails, ropes, and thick clothes. The rest were stored in your divine dimension right?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Everything is there. If you want, we can start cooking fresh fish while we climb the mountain.¡±


    Mareonaughed. ¡°Do not worry. I bring my flowers as well.¡±


    Aldred rolled his eyes. ¡°Where is Mira?¡±


    The door opened and Mira appeared.


    ¡°Where you¡¯ve been?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Visiting thedies we met at the auction entrance.¡±


    ¡°How is she?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s alive and well.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred sighed in relief. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing if she¡¯s well. I should havee with you to apologize.¡±


    ¡°I sent them your apologies. They dly epted it.¡±


    He sighed again. ¡°Should have asked for it personally. Thank you for visiting them, Mira.¡±


    Mira nced at Sophia who then avoided her gaze and looked down. The nun approached her. ¡°Someone almost died today.¡±


    Sophia looked at her. ¡°She¡¯s nobody to me. I pitied her, but even if she died, I wouldn¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°If I die, will you care?¡±


    ¡°I will. You are nice and kind to me.¡±


    ¡°So if someone kills me, you will be sad?¡±


    Sophia nodded.


    ¡°If that woman died earlier, do you think her sister will be sad?¡±


    ¡°She probably will.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°If your action caused her death, and make her sad, why do you think someone else wouldn¡¯t cause my death or Aldred¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°I will protect you. I will not let you die,¡± Sophia said with determination. ¡°You changed my life. You are my home. I will destroy everyone and anything that may harm you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not my point. What I want to say is, wouldn¡¯t it be better if everyone stop harming others without cause? That way no tears will be shed and no house will fall apart.¡±


    Mira held her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. ¡°Nobody will have to suffer anymore.¡±


    Aldred was watching them until he felt something. ¡°It seems like Nicky has been killed.¡±


    ¡°Can you summon him again?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°We should sleep and start climbing tomorrow.¡± Bartrem looked over the window as the sun started to set.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Mareona hugged Aldred. ¡°So you¡¯re a rich boy now. Hehe, what about sharing some gold coins with this big sister.¡±


    ¡°If you let me sniff your underwear, I might throw some coins.¡±


    PLAK!


    Aldred rubbed his cheek in pain. ¡°I am kidding. All of us can use these coins.¡±


    Mareona snorted. ¡°I have been wanting to sleep with you. Tonight, you will stay in my room.¡±


    ¡°Eh, what about Mary and the others?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t mind. Right, girls?¡± Mareona asked them.


    Mary and Mira shrugged. Sophia on the other hand was squirming.


    ¡°Can I join?¡±


    ¡°Okay, you cane.¡±


    Sophia smiled and ran for a hug. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Mareona was confused. But after looking at how happy she was, she simply hugged her back.


    And so they all slept for the night. Aldred was sandwiched by Mareona and Sophia. Mareona was a beauty with sky-blue eyes and blue hair. Her cute nose made him just want to pinch it, and her lips were small and thin. He would like to kiss them.


    Shockingly, Mareona leaned and kissed his lips.


    ¡°Are you happy now, you little pervert?¡±


    Aldred blushed.


    ¡°Why are you acting all cute now.¡± Mareona smiled and hugged him. His face pressed against her breast. ¡°Hehe, you must be enjoying this now aren¡¯t you.¡±


    Aldred did not say anything and enjoyed her soft breast. Mareona smiled and caressed the back of his head. ¡°You pervert. In the future, don¡¯t you dare forcing women to make you feel good? I know you will be strong so don¡¯t use that power to do something bad.


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Promise me.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    Mareona smiled. She pulled him and kissed his lips. ¡°Good. If you dare to break it, I will smack you again.¡± She then opened her clothes and showed her breast. ¡°Here is your reward. Make sure you keep that promise.¡± She said blushing. ¡°Mary and Mira said they¡¯ve been feeding you milk. This is my first time so be gentle.¡±


    Aldred did not wait and sucked on her right nipple. Mareona felt the tingling sensation and she identally moaned. ¡°Slow down,¡± she softly said as the sensation be stronger and she pulled the boy deeper. Aldred¡¯s right hand went to grab her left tit and he squeezed.


    ¡°Annghh. Aldred, slow down. Annngghhh.¡±


    Aldred let go of her breast and looked at her blushing face. Her breathing became haggard, and she looked at Aldred like she was telling him to do it more and harder. Her nipples were erect and pointy. A little milk started leaking out. He wanted to save it forter. Now, her beautiful neck looked so enticing.


    Red filled his eyes, and Aldred¡¯s fang jolted out as he bit her neck.


    Mareona was shocked at first, but then a wave of pleasure rushed through her body. She jolted and moaned as she hugged the boy.


    Her body heated up as Aldred drank her blood. It tasted sweet and flowery. The scent filled his mouth. It smelled like her panties. That made him suck her blood harder.


    He released her neck, and then went down to suck her nipples. The milk entered his throat. At first, it was just a little trickle, but soon enough, a stream came. It was full of sweetness, and Aldred love it as she sucked in harder.


    Something touched his shoulder. When Aldred turned around, he saw Sophia opening her clothes and showing him her breast. ¡°Aldred,¡±


    She called with blushed cheeks and erected nipples. Her curvy hips and smooth thigh made him lust for her. His sight went from the thigh to her curvy waist, up to her plump breast, and then went to her neck. He pounced and bit her neck.


    Sophia moaned a little harder than Mareona. ¡°Aldred, anngghhh.¡±


    Divine, exceedingly wonderful sensation washed through her. She felt so much love. So much passion. When Aldred released her neck, she kissed her lips and sucked on his tongue. His hand moved to her left breast and pinched her nipple.


    Sophia jerked. Aldred released the kiss and sucked on her right breast. It didn¡¯t take long for her breast to produce milk, and he kept on sucking as he fondled her breast.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mareona said from behind with blushed cheeks, and haggard breathing. ¡°My turn.¡±


    Aldred took turns sucking on their breast. They enjoyed the sensation as they moaned through the night. Sophia smiled and her hand moved to his crotch.


    ¡°Wait, no¡ª¡±


    His pants ripped open and his wood prated through the roof and even went beyond the cloud.

 Chapter 80 Blood Sucking Spree

    [Racial ability unlocked: Blood Maniption]


    ¡®Wait what?¡¯ Aldred asked as both Mareona and Sophia already closed their eyes, sleeping with their breast exposed.


    [Blood Vampire]


    A normal vampire with some control over blood.


    -Increase strength 58%


    -Increase vitality 58%


    Evolution: 0/100


    [You have obtained a racial skill: Blood Clot]


    [Blood Clot]


    Clotting the blood within the blood vessels.


    -Debuff: Increase the cost of mana and stamina the enemy requires to perform any movement or magic by 40%


    Aldred checked his status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª<sub>-.</sub>


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 249/249


    Level: 61


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He has a lot of power now, but it wasn¡¯t enough. He wanted to learn all elements, and be the Legend of Baang.


    He checked on his attributes.<sub></sub>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 29


    -Vitality: 31


    -Intelligence: 52


    -Dexterity: 24


    Stat points: 72


    Skill points: 58


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Nice! His attributes and health points increased by a lot even though his levels did not increase. That was one of the biggest advantages he got. He could increase his attributes despite not getting any levels. What if he had one thousand intelligence? Wouldn¡¯t he be able to defeat a tinum Rank while still at Gold Rank?


    He then stared at the panel. ¡®System, what does this evolution mean?¡¯


    [User need to drink blood to achieve evolution. But before evolution, user will increase the level of the race]


    ¡®And I will receive more ability regarding this race if I level it up?¡¯


    [Correct]


    ¡®Does it matter whose blood I drink?¡¯


    [Yes. Drinking higher ranked being is much more effective and beneficial]


    ¡®Sounds like a hassle. All I can do with this ability is control blood.¡¯


    [If high enough level, user is able to clone oneself]


    ¡®Why would I clone myself? That¡¯s stupid.¡¯ Won¡¯t his clone steal his girl¡­


    [Blood Maniption is a powerful skill that let the user kill the enemy from the inside. Abilities such as ¡®Organic Combustion¡¯ affect the enemy directly by exploding their internal organs]


    Aldred looked horrified. ¡®Such terrifying power. I don¡¯t want it. I rather burn my enemies rather than exploding their organs. That¡¯s too cruel.¡¯


    [If user kept on increasing this racial ability, user can revive with a single drop of blood in the future]


    ¡®What the fuck. Why didn¡¯t you say that then. Alright. I will suck as much blood as I can.¡¯


    [¡­]


    Aldred looked at Mareona¡¯s neck and bit on her neck. Mareona was jolted awake. When she realized it was Aldred who sucked on her blood, she let him be and hugged him while giving out a little moan.


    ¡°Sorry for waking you up, Mareona.¡± Aldred apologized to her. He felt quite bad, but he had to test this evolution thing immediately.


    If he was correct, he could be a powerful vampire just like his mother. Aldred wondered if he could get a demon king evolution as well since his father was a demon king.


    That would be awesome.


    ¡°Hmmm. It¡¯s fine,¡± she said with a sleepy tone. Mareona enjoyed the sensation as well.


    He activated his godly eyes to scan her body. Aldred made sure she wasn¡¯t in danger of too much blood loss as he sucked her blood. While he did that, his hands went to her breast and fondled them both. He twisted the nipples and tickled it a bit. Mareona moaned half-sleep. Milk came out of her nipple and Aldred licked it before he bit her neck again. Mareona squirmed and trembled. Her crotch area became wet.


    Aldred kissed her lips before finishing up.


    He only sucked for a bit, afraid that she would lose too much blood. But his evolution point didn¡¯t increase.


    ¡®Maybe I need to drink more blood.¡¯ Aldred turned around and bit on Sophia¡¯s neck, waking her up and making her moan. Aldred used his godly eyes to scan her body. After making sure she wasn¡¯t in danger, he sucked her blood for a few minutes. When he got tired of drinking blood, he switched it up a bit, and sucked on her nipple.


    Sophia moaned and grabbed his hair tight while pulling him in. After a moment of pleasure, Sophia released her grip.


    Aldred climbed up and bit on her neck while he pinched her nipple, squirting a little bit of milk.


    The blood rushed to his mouth as Sophia¡¯s moan became music to his ears. The nipple spurted out milk again.


    He released his bite, licked the milk off her body, and went out of his room before entering Mary¡¯s room. Immediately he pounced on her and sucked on her blood.


    ¡°Aldred, you scared me. If you want my blood, you should have said so,¡± Mary said.


    Aldred did not reply, and kept on sucking. He was too focused on the task.


    Mary smiled and caressed his head as she closed her eyes. She moaned a couple times before Aldred released his bite, and bit on Mira¡¯s neck.


    [Holy Blood detected]


    ¡°Ahh!¡± He held his throat as it burned in pain. It felt like swallowingva. ¡®What is this Holy blood? It hurt like hell.¡¯


    [Processing¡­ sessful. You can now drink the holy blood]


    The burning sensation disappeared. Aldred couldn¡¯t believe that Mira had holy blood. ¡®Is she the child of a god or something?¡¯


    Aldred bit on her neck and sucked on, enjoying the sweet and thick sensation. Her blood tasted almost like milk.


    Mira woke up and felt something on her neck. When she realized it was Aldred, he caressed the boy¡¯s head and hugged him.


    ¡°Sorry for waking you up.¡±


    ¡°No worries.¡± Mira closed her eyes to continue sleeping. But she couldn¡¯t as the pleasure came to her. Her cheeks blushed and she couldn¡¯t help but moan.


    Eventually, a notification appeared.


    [+5 Evolution point]


    Evolution: 5/100


    Aldred sighed. ¡®This evolution thing will take a while.¡¯

 Chapter 81 Begin Climbing

    The morning birds chirped from outside the window. The sunlight shone inside the room, and Aldred woke up. As he opened his eyes, a beautiful woman with blue hair and a cute nose smiled at him.


    ¡°Good morning, Mareona.¡±


    Mareona kissed him. ¡°Morning.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, maste¡ªAldred.¡±


    Sophia kissed his lips.


    ¡°Good morning, Sophia.¡±


    ¡°Today is the day we climb the mountain.¡± Mareona got off from bed. ¡°Do you guys feel nervous?¡±


    ¡°I am. We¡¯re about to climb the tallest mountain after all.¡± Aldred caressed his chest. ¡°I heard so many things about this mountain. All its dangers and myths. It kinda scares me.¡±


    Sophia hugged him from behind. ¡°Don¡¯t be. I will protect you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sophia.¡± Aidan felt like he was stronger than Sophia, and it should be him who protect her, not the other way around.


    ¡°Mary and the others must be waiting. Let¡¯s go out.¡± Mareona put on her armor, fixed her hair, and walked out of the room. Aldred and Sophia followed. They strode downstairs where Mary waved at them to sit at the table.


    ¡°I have ordered food for you guys,¡± Mary said. ¡°Sit down. The breakfast wille.¡±


    Not long after, a feast unlike many others came to their tables. The soldiers looked at the bunch of foods with sparkling eyes. <sub>-.</sub>


    Mary and Bartrem smiled when they saw everyone ate.


    Aldred grabbed a piece of meat and ate it. It was rich in vor, but then something happened.


    [+4 Strength]


    ¡°Eh¡­ What food is this?¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯d notice.¡± Mary smiled. ¡°This is a special food that can increase our strength. It is soaked in a magical liquid for a few days or months, after that, it is cooked and served to us.¡±


    ¡°Wow. So I can increase strength this way.¡±


    When everyone heard this, they were excited and ate even faster.


    ¡°No need to be in a hurry. I have ordered more.¡±


    Aldred put food after food in his mouth.


    [+4 Vitality]


    [+6 Dexterity]


    Mary smiled at him and lifted a te of food with red glowing lobster. ¡°I have something just for you.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Just eat it. Eat all of it and see for yourself.¡±


    Aldred did what was asked, and ate the whole lobster under a minute.


    [+50% Fire Damage]


    [+50% Fire Control]


    [+50% Fire Mastery]


    [You have obtained a new skill: Fire Combustion]


    [Fire Combustion]


    -The ability to cause matter to burst into mes.


    -Range: 10 Meter


    [You have obtained a new skill: Fire Absorption]


    [Fire Absorption]


    -The ability to absorb fire and utilize it ordingly


    ¡®I earn all these skills just by eating a lobster? This magical world is something else.¡¯


    ¡°How is it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s good. I am much stronger now.¡± Aldred raised his hands and weaved in the air. Suddenly, the air in the center of the table sparked, and a small fire eastern dragon materialized. It then opened its maw giving out a roar as it circled around. Its snake-like body moved up and down in the air and then disappeared.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Mareona looked in amazement.


    Aldred wiped his sweat. ¡°It¡¯s harder than it looks.¡± If not for his increase in fire control and mastery, he wouldn¡¯t be able to summon such a detailed fire dragon.


    Everyone was impressed by Aldred¡¯s skill.


    After Aldred showed them more awesome tricks, they continued eating until their belly filled up to the brim. After sitting for a few minutes, they stood up and went to the bottom of Mount Fargon.


    The towering gargantuan scale of the mountain dwarfed them. All of them craned their neck upward, trying to steal a nce of the legendary peak.


    A lot of people were already here. They were lifting all kinds of equipment and gear to help them climb the mountain. One man put arge basket onto the wall of which a spider leg came out from its sides and stabbed into the rock. They then sat on the basket as it crawled upward.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Aldred looked at the group as they enjoyed their drinks while the basket went up.


    ¡°Pongo,¡± Aldred called. ¡°Where are the shoes that you stole?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t y games with me. I know you are the one who stole the shoes.¡±


    ¡°What shoes?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°The shoes that let you walk vertically.¡±


    ¡°You stole them?¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡± He vomited out a pair of shoes.


    ¡°If we only have a pair then it¡¯s not that useful,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°It¡¯s useful. Bartrem will you use these shoes?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Alright. I will use these shoes. This way I can fight better.¡±


    Mary was currently tying up the chains on everyone. At first, the transparent glowing chain was short, but as long as she continued to pull, its length increased. After she tied it to everyone, he went to Aldredst and tied the chain around his waist. It did not have any weight, in fact, he almost couldn¡¯t feel it was there.


    The soldiers grabbed their iron nails and walked to the wall.


    A group of adventurers walked by with arge backpack. They turned around and pressed their backpack to the wall. Suddenly, a pair of wheels came out, and it rolled, lifting the group upward.


    ¡°They use all these magical equipment, while we only use iron nails?¡± Aldred sighed.


    A lone man approached the wall.


    Aldred looked at him curious about what he would do.


    The man looked down and his whole body trembled. Something bulged out of his back, and it ripped open as eight sticky tentacles waved in the air. They then mmed onto the wall, sticking hard, and the man use them to climb.


    ¡°Dr. Squid?¡±


    Another man walked forward, lifted his middle finger, and pointed it at the wall. A sticky string stuck to the wall, and the man pulled himself onto the wall, quickly going up.


    ¡°Tarantman?¡±


    ¡°Damn, we have the whole Jarvel Universe here.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Aldred. This is what we have, so this is what we¡¯re going to use. There¡¯s no point inparing our gears to others,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°You are right.¡±


    All of them stabbed the wall with the iron nail. They then looked up and started climbing.

 Chapter 82 Greetings

    Aldred and the others continued their climb. A lot of people had been passing them because they had far better equipment.


    ¡°Haha. Look at those peasants! Did they expect to climb Mount Fargon with a pair of rods?!¡±


    ¡°What a fool! They won¡¯t reach the middle part with that.¡±


    They then climbed up with their magical instruments. Aldred thought everyone was already high enough, but he was wrong. At about 12 KM (7,4 Mile) Everyone started attacking each other.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Aldred looked at them throwing spells and weapons. Some screamed as their equipment got knocked off the wall.


    ¡°You dare insult my magical device! You¡¯re courting death!¡±


    ¡°Humph! What an arrogant bastard! I simply said mine is better than you.¡±


    They both leaped at each other and shed swords against gauntlets. The force sted a powerful shock wave that made a bunch of people fall.


    ¡°Fucking bastard! Stop fighting! None of us want to die for your ego!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Stop fighting!¡±


    Everyone started screaming and shouting at them.


    ¡°Fuck you! What do you all know?¡±


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s kill him so he won¡¯t bother us anymore.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Yeah!¡± They then started rushing towards the both of them, their feet moved on the wall. The magicians threw out a water elemental spell that turned into a rope and wrapped around his leg.


    ¡°We got him!¡±


    The crowd attacked, and kicked him off the wall. His scream reverberated until it was nonexistent. They did the same thing with the other man. When Aldred looked closer, they were actually one of the people who mocked him earlier.


    ¡®Wow, karma do their job really fast.¡¯


    After this incident, nobody tried to start a fight, and they kept silent as they climbed.


    ¡­


    When Aldred and most people were already at high altitude, three men were still on the ground running to the vige and arriving at the bottom of the mountain.


    ¡°We¡¯rete,¡± Arthur said.


    Jake rested on his knees and breathed exhaustedly. ¡°I told you. Not to. Let. Hugo. Drive the carriage.¡± He fell on the grass.


    Hugo fell face first on the grass. ¡°So tiring.¡±


    ¡°Stand up. We have to climb this quickly.¡± Arthur slowly moved his sword over them. ¡°Energize!¡±


    His sword shone in golden color and then it turned into a beam directed at them. Their sweat disappeared, and their stamina reached its peak.<sub></sub>


    They jumped off the ground with revitalized energy.


    ¡°How do we climb this thing?¡±


    ¡°We simply jump. Greater physique! Strengthening legs!¡±


    The three of them smiled, and bent their knees before pushing off the ground, and then shot to the sky like an arrow released from its bow. Wind blew their hair as they rose to the sky. They saw a lot of people were climbing the wall, and that was when their speed slowed down.


    ¡°Grab the wall!¡±


    They stab the rock with their fingers, stopping them from falling. Quickly, they climbed up until they were beside a group of people.


    ¡°Hello, good day to you,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯re still a boy and you¡¯re brave enough to join in this treasure hunt.¡±


    When Mary, Bartrem, and Mareona saw the man who spoke, they almost reached out to their swords and attacked. That was because the man in front of them was a hero. One would know at a single nce just by his appearance. All heroes looked handsome and wore the brightest clothes and armor of all.


    When Mira saw this, she tried to hide her face. If the hero knew she was with them, they would take her away, and bring her back home.


    Hugo noticed their expression. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be so defensive. There is more than one astrbe, so we¡¯re notpetitors. At least, for now. He nced to the side. ¡°Oh dear lord. The majority of you are females. And beautiful ones at that. Oh my god. Oh my lord. Uhh¡­ Nice to meet you. The name¡¯s Hugo. I am a heropanion. I am single and a virgin. dly I would pick any of you. In fact, I would tolerate it if more than one of you wanted me too.¡±


    Jake hit his head. ¡°Stop that, Hugo.¡± He nced at them apologetically. ¡°I am sorry about that. Hugo is childish sometimes, but he¡¯s a good guy. Please don¡¯t hate on him.¡±


    ¡°Who you call childish?¡±


    Jake hit him again. ¡°Shut up. It¡¯s because you destroyed the carriage that we have to run here.¡±


    Arthur bowed slightly to them. ¡°I apologize for his behavior as well. I hope we can be friends and have a safe journey together.¡±


    Aldred and the others were confused. Why did they act all nice to them?


    Jake nced at them. ¡°Don¡¯t mistake our intentions. We only want to make a lot of friends. The more friends you have, the less enemies you make.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Aldred said.


    Jake shrugged. ¡°I know. But it¡¯s better to make more friends rather than enemies.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s be friends.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Mary tugged on Aldred¡¯ sleeve as they climbed up. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Making friends.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from Montcresia,¡± Mary whispered.


    ¡°Mira is from Montcresia as well, and we already consider her as family.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s different.¡±


    Aldred blinked. ¡°But¡­ yeah, she¡¯s different.¡± He didn¡¯t think anyone would dly show their breasts just to test someone¡¯s conviction. Mira is different indeed.


    When all the powerful and influential climbed the wall, some group of bandits took advantage and guarded the base of the mountain.


    When people came and would like to climb, they were asked for a fee.


    ¡°That would be 5 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°What! Who the fuck are you? Do you own this mountain?¡±


    The man grabbed his neck, suffocating him. ¡°If you cannot pay, then leave!¡± He threw the man to the ground.


    The bandits grinned and looked at them with arrogance.


    ¡°Fuck! Fine, here¡¯s 5 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Nah. You just offend me, so that¡¯ll be 50 Gold coins.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too unreasonable.¡¯


    ¡°Then leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡± He forked out a pouch of gold and gave it to them.


    The banditsughed.


    ¡°Have a safe trip. If you fall, we won¡¯t catch you.¡±


    Theyughed again.


    The climbers snorted and ignored them as they started climbing.


    The bandits looked at each other and mocked the man.


    ¡°What a fool. Let them risk their life while we collect tax money here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the easiest 50 gold coins I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll party hard tonight.¡±


    A man walked with thick arms and legs. His chest was bulging, and his back was solid. The bandits felt like the ground was shaking slightly for every step the man took.


    ¡°Greetings human. My name is Thinker.¡±

 Chapter 83 Spreading My Wings

    ¡°Thinker?¡± The banditughed. ¡°What a stupid name. Now pay 50 gold coins if you want to climb the mountain.¡±


    ¡°I do not have 50 gold coins with me,¡± Thinker replied with a slightly robotic voice.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have it then piss off. Wasting my time.¡± The bandit spat on his feet.


    ¡°Piss off? My human trantion core tells me that you are telling me to go away.¡±


    The bandit raised an eyebrow and looked at his friend. ¡°Is this guy an idiot?¡±


    ¡°It is the fourth time I have been called an idiot. I wonder why they said that. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to ask. They all died you see.¡±


    The bandits looked at him. ¡°Are you threatening us?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not. I merely stated a fact.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s twenty-five of us here, and only one you. I don¡¯t have time to handle your poor ass. Get the fuck out of here.¡±


    ¡°My master ordered me to obtain the treasure. For that, I need to climb this mountain.¡±


    ¡°Then pay up.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the required item for your permission.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you want to solve this?¡± The bandit grinned.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Processing¡­ Complete. My information core has devised a set of steps to reach my goal in the most efficient way possible. And the first step is to eliminate all of you.¡±


    The banditsughed. Theyughed until a bulled lodged in their necks. The bandits gasped for air as they held their throats. Blood pouring out.


    ¡°Obstruction eliminated. Proceed to analyze the next step¡­ Complete. Activating Climber Module.¡±


    The clothes on his back ripped open as thick mechanical limbs came out. The spider-like limbs stabbed the wall and lifted Thinker up.


    ¡°Detecting sentient beings¡­. Labeling¡­ Competitors. Solution: Be faster. Activating Jet Pack Module.¡±


    mes came out of his legs and back, as the spider limbs quickly walked on the wall, creating a bunch of holes.


    When Thinker reached the group of people, a notification came. ¡°Insufficient fuel.¡±


    The jet pack module shot out steam before it made a clicking sound releasing itself from his body and falling to the ground.


    ¡°Is that a robot?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s a robot?¡± Mary looked at the man.


    ¡°That thing. He literally has mechanical limbs and jet pack on his back.¡±


    Thinker turned his head and looked at Arthur. ¡°Detecting powerful human¡­ Conflict is not advised.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°He even talks like a real robot.¡±


    ¡°Ignore him,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We have a mountain to climb.¡± He walked on the vertical wall with his Lashing Shoes.


    Thinker saw the shoes and his eyes spun with red light. ¡°Scanning¡­ Scanplete: magical item. Mechanization: none.¡±


    Joseph stabbed the wall with his iron nail and pulled himself up, before stabbing the wall again using his other nail.


    Mira weakly stabbed the wall as the wind blew. Her arms felt strained. Sophia took a deep breath and climbed.


    ¡°Mira, Sophia. You two are magicians. You can take a rest,¡± Aldred said.


    Mira and Sophia nodded and pulled their iron nail out. They put the nail on their pouch and crawled on the wall. They did not fall because of the Light Formless Chain. So long as one person was still on the wall, he could save the entire team. So they crawled on the wall to prevent the rock from scraping their skin. The ones that lifted their body up was everyone else.


    Thinker¡¯s eyes gleamed in red again. ¡°Very interesting. Recording¡­ Finished.¡±


    A loud screech came in the sky. Everyone stopped and turned around. It was a gigantic eagle with a wide span of wings. It stared at its target and snatched a person from the wall.


    ¡°Ahh! Help me!¡±


    ¡°How can that beast fly?! No one shouldn¡¯t be flying in this ce.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the native monsters. They can do whatever they want here.¡±


    More eagles screeched and flew, circling the mountain. One dove down and grabbed a man. Its w was bigger than the man¡¯s whole body.


    ¡°Stupid bird!¡± The man stabbed the creature¡¯s belly, but the sword snapped.


    The bird flicked its head down and looked at its prey who was locked by its w. It screeched in anger and then squeezed.


    ¡°No! Help me!¡±


    The sharpness and the pressure of the ws cut the man into pieces. His remain fell as the bird turned for another prey.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred said. ¡°There¡¯s more of theming. We have to be quick!¡±


    The eagle noticed Aldred¡¯s group and dove down.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t!¡± Aldred shot two fire javelins at the bird. they went for its head, but the eagle rolled and easily dodged them.


    ¡°You think you can dodge my fire spell?¡±


    Aldred then spammed the spell, creating rains of fire javelins that stormed at the giant eagle. The eagle stopped in mid-air and pped its wing, creating a powerful wind that pushed all the javelins away.


    The eagle roared and flew with incredible speed.


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Confusion!¡±


    The eagle shook its head, and then mmed against the wall.


    ¡°A chance!¡± Aldred let go of the iron nails and leaped to the eagle. Landing on its massive back, he sted a chunk of his flesh with me jet, and ate it.


    [Analyzing¡­ sess. You have obtained the gene for Giant Eagle. From now on, you can transform into this beast and use its racial attributes]


    [Gene: Gargant Eagle]


    -High Altitude breathing


    -Blessing of Mount Fargon


    -Keen Eyesight


    -Low Wind Maniption


    -Hard Feathers


    Aldredughed. He kicked the wall and then transformed into a Gargant Eagle in the air. His wide wings spread like the wings of an airne, and he soar through the sky as Bartrem, Mareona, Sophia, Mary, the soldiers, and even other adventurers stared at him with amazement.


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± He flew near them and stabbed the wall with his sharp ws, making him stuck in ce.. ¡°Guys. Get on my back. I will bring you to the top.


    Mary and the others didn¡¯t react too much to his transformation. They had seen him transform into a Giant Velobra before, so this wasn¡¯t new.


    Arthur and his friends on the other hand couldn¡¯t believe what they saw.


    ¡°Did he just¡­ transform into a giant eagle?¡± Hugo looked at the bird.


    ¡°Such an incredible ability. A shape shifter was rare, and the ones that can shift into anything is even rarer. That kid can shift into a giant eagle after he ate it,¡± Jakemented. ¡°Arthur, we have to befriend them. There will be a lot of powerful creatures in this mountain, and they can help us survive.¡±


    Arthur shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re looking for friends to help each other, not someone to use and extort. That¡¯s not friendship. That¡¯s just us being a leech.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not a leech if we help them as well. You¡¯re a hero. I am sure you can do something to help them.¡±


    Arthur looked at the giant eagle. ¡°I will think about it.¡±


    The length of a Gargant Eagle was simr to that of an airne. So even if more than seventy people rode on his back, they still had room for their legs. Unlike the seat of Economy ss.


    When the bird took flight with tens of people on its back, the people climbing on the wall could only stare with envy.


    ¡°Fuck! Take me with you! I can give you money!¡±


    ¡°I am the son of a noble! I hid my identity earlier! Here¡¯s my insignia! Take me with you and I can give yound!¡±


    Aldred did not care about them.


    ¡°Righty, Folks! This is your captain speaking. All I can say is tighten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride. Oh, if you don¡¯t have a seatbelt, then hang on tight. Because things are about to get real.¡±

 Chapter 84 Freezing

    Mareona enjoyed the scenery as the wind blew her blue hair. The feathers on the bird¡¯s back were soft whichforted her skin. But her hand felt the powerful flesh and muscles that protected its body.


    During the flight, she saw many incredible beasts roaming in the sky and on the cliffs of the mountain.


    ¡°Aldred, can we reach the peak?¡±


    ¡°I think we can,¡± Aldred replied in his Gargant Eagle form.¡±


    Bartrem and Mary heard that and felt like it was too easy.


    ¡°This is Mount Fargon. A mountain filled with myths and legends. How can it be that easy to reach the peak?¡± Mary sighed.


    ¡°Maybe Aldred is just too powerful.¡±


    The flight slowed. Aldred pped his wing a couple of times, but his speed did not increase.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Guys. I don¡¯t think I can continue flying. I will get us to the highest cliff possible.¡±


    His flight stopped, but he could still glide to the nearest cliff. He smoothlynded with his ws and then sat down so the others could hop off.


    Aldred transformed into his normal body. Everyone looked at him thinking how useful his ability was. But they did not have too much time to think as the gnawing wind blew against their skin, chilling their bones.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Aldred, take out the equipment.¡±


    Large bags appeared on the ground.


    ¡°Put on some warm clothes. Wear as many as you can. If it gets wet, throw it away immediately.¡±


    The soldiers opened the bags and grabbed the thick clothes made out of wool. They wore it over their armor and then grabbed some hats and gloves. There were also coats in there which they wore after everything else.


    Aldred was about to take some clothes, but he thought of something better. He transformed his skin into the feathers of the eagle, and sure enough, the cold did not affect him. Though now he looked like half human and half bird.


    The soldiers trembled cold despite the thick clothes. That wasn¡¯t a good thing. He had to do something about it.


    ¡°Everyone, gather around.¡± Aldred pointed at the ground. ¡°Fire Combustion.¡±


    A small part of the groundbust into mes, giving out the much-needed warmth to all of them. The soldiers reached out their hands to the me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± Mareona said. ¡°I am still freezing.¡±


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Internal Heat!¡±<sub></sub>


    Their body temperature rose, slightly removing the cold sensation.


    Mareona trembled. ¡°Not enough.¡±


    ¡°I have an idea. Pull my feathers, and ce them on your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Can we do that?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Will it generate more feathers?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t you feel pain?¡± Mira asked with worry.


    ¡°A little bit of pain is fine.¡±


    Mareona walked to him and plucked one of his feathers. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Mareona plucked his feathers one after another with incredible speed.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was secretly gritting his teeth. It was painful. Terribly painful. It felt like being stabbed by a needle numerous times.


    Sophia noticed this and pointed at him. ¡°Reduce Pain.¡±


    Green soft energy entered his nose, and it soothe the pain away.


    ¡°Thanks, Sophia.¡±


    ¡°You said, you did not feel any pain.¡±


    Aldred shrugged.


    Mareona flicked his forehead softly. ¡°You¡¯re retiring from being a naughty boy, huh.¡±


    ¡°Retiring? Please, I am just starting.¡±


    Mareona giggled when she recalled what he did to her yesterday. ¡°So you¡¯re a vampire? Or is that part of your shape-shifting ability?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s part of my ability,¡± Aldred lied. He didn¡¯t know how Mareona would react if she knew his parents were literal demon king and grand vampire. ¡°Now, please pluck the feathers faster.¡±


    Bartrem and Mary approached him and pulled out a handful of feathers. They all dropped to the ground and the soldiers came to take them. They did not need to sew the feathers. Just add water, and it would freeze on the clothes. Though they had to boil the water first on the fire.


    After more than an hour, everyone was already covered in frozen feathers. It didn¡¯t look nice, but it did its job by containing the heat and blocking the cold.


    They were not trembling which meant the feathers worked.


    ¡°We should camp for the night.¡± Bartrem squinted at the setting sun.


    ¡°It¡¯s harder to climb at night.¡± Aldred nodded. ¡°We¡¯re already ahead of the others anyway. We should continue tomorrow.¡±


    Aldred summoned the tents from his divine dimensions. Hebusted more mes and stabbed some fire javelins around the area to create more heat.


    ¡°Why does your mana never run out?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°That fire javelin cost a lot of mana from what I heard. Howrge is your mana capacity?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ I don¡¯t have mana capacity.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have what?¡± Mira asked, and couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have it. I can use the spells as many times as I want.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Yep.¡± He turned a bunch of rocks into mes. This ability was good as the me would never die as long as he channeled mana into them. It was the same with his fire javelin, arrow, and bullet.


    They were all shocked to hear this. Didn¡¯t that mean Aldred was the ultimate magician? With his unlimited mana capability, even if he fought a powerful magician twice his strength, he might still defeat them.


    The soldiers inside the camp walked aroundfortably with enough heat in the air.


    ¡°I wonder how people would survive in an environment like this without your power,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°They probably use magical treasures.¡± Mareona lifted her pot and scoop out a boiling soup filled with meat and vegetables. ¡°Ahh, this is the best. All I want is hot boiling soup in my throat.¡±


    Aldred was eating some hot soup as well. He smiled as he enjoyed its warmth and taste. He saw Pongo walking around bare naked.


    ¡°Pongo, You don¡¯t feel cold?¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Right, you¡¯re a penguin. So cold means nothing to you. In the Antarctic you¡¯d be swimming in cold water, but still fine.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me. Why don¡¯t we make a hot tub? We can submerge ourselves in hot water. That would be nice.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a good idea,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Aldred, take off your clothes.¡±

 Chapter 85 Blazing Serpent

    ¡°Wait, we have to make the bath first.¡± Aldredbusted more than a dozen holes, turning the matters into me. Because they did not have barrel, Aldred thought that filling the hole with water, then heating them up would do.


    ¡°Mira, can you add water to these hole?¡±


    Mira spun her staff and a stream of water filled the holes immediately. Aldredbusted the water into mes, literally burning it to prevent it from being frozen. He then stabbed some fire javelins at the center to make the water warm. Steam came out of the water, and it washed them with a mist of heat.


    ¡°And I am done.¡±


    Mareona rushed to him, picked him up, and then hopped onto the hot bath. The water sshed out, wetting the ground. Some of it freeze into ice immediately.


    ¡°Mareona, you¡¯re wasting the water.¡±


    Mareona giggled. ¡°Sorry about that. Mira, can you please add more water to this bath?¡±


    Mira walked to the bath, submerging her body, before adding in more water. Sophia and Mary entered the warm bath as well.


    ¡°Oh my, it feels so nice.¡± Mary


    After they felt that the water wasfortable, they took of their clothes and put it to the side. Mary¡¯s breast was now in full view. Aldred swam up to her and hugged her.


    Sophia looking at this was a little jealous, so she took off her bra as well. She grabbed Aldred and pressed his face against her boobs.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Sophia asked.


    Aldred nodded. Her boobs were plump, soft, and smooth. Mary approached and hugged him from behind, making it warmer.


    ¡°I want to join as well,¡± Mareona said before hugging him from the side.


    Mira seeing this smiled and hugged Aldred from the side. She was fully naked, and now all four beautiful women hugged Aldred in every direction.


    ¡°Ahh, it feels so nice,¡± Mary said.


    Aldred was rubbing his head on her breast. ¡°Yep, very nice indeed.¡±


    ¡°What do you n to do after obtaining the treasure, Aldred?¡± Mareona asked as she grabbed her.


    Aldred pinched her nipples, making her blush.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°You naughty boy.¡±


    He giggled and yed with it. ¡°I will be stronger, and try to defeat the emperor. After that, I will reform the whole empire. I will stop very, and local lords must never abuse their power.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a noble goal, child,¡± Mira said with a smile. She grabbed Aldred and looked him in the eye. ¡°I will help you in fulfilling that goal.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    They hugged him tighter.


    ¡°We all will help you in achieving that.¡±


    Bartrem and the others were enjoying the warm bath as well. Because Aldred made so many warm baths, there was room for everyone. Some even took the chance to date privately.  There were 73 soldiers in their group, and 50 of them were females, so the male soldiers actually had a lot of chance to get some girls, and some of them did, while the others were still holding themselves.


    ¡°This gender imbnce is not good,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°I should have recruited more men before starting the journey.¡± He leaned on the wall and closed his eyes, enjoying the warm bath.


    Suddenly, they heard a groaning sound, and a hand was holding on to the edge of the cliff. It climbed up and revealed a person with parts of his skin frozen. More people came. All of them trembled in the cold, gnawing wind. Some were unfortunate, having their fingers turned ck. Those fingers were now dead and had to be cut off. Pitiful.


    If Aldred did not give his friends warmth and heat, they¡¯d be suffering the same fate.


    On the other hand, the people that just climbed here were shocked to see a hot bath in this ce. They would like to enter and enjoy the bath, but they were all filled with Aldred¡¯s group.


    This scared them. Aldred could turn into a Gargant Eagle. A powerful eagle that ruled the lower part of the mountain. Because of this, they didn¡¯t know what to do.


    But one group couldn¡¯t take it and approached them.


    ¡°Hey, we would like to take this spot. The hot bath isrge, so get out and go where your friend is.¡±


    Bartrem leaned back and looked at them. ¡°This hot bath is created by myrades. If you want one, then make it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. How can you constantly heat the water? A magician will run out of mana in seconds trying to heat water in this freezing temperature.¡±


    ¡°I said what I said. If you don¡¯t believe it, then it¡¯s not my fault.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be such an arrogant. If it¡¯s true that yourrades can do it, then prove it.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°My friend doesn¡¯t need to prove you anything.¡± Bartrem stared at the man.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Bartrem. Let me give him proof.¡± Aldredbusted another ground into me, creating a hole. Then he asked Mira to fill it with water. Just like before, Aldred fired a bunch of javelins in the center, making the water steam up.


    ¡°Humph. You think you can fool me? That boy will run out of mana soon.¡±


    He waited for half an hour, but the water was still steaming. ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°You have your proof. Now go away.¡±


    The man clicked his tongue. ¡°How dare you a bunch of peasants. Do you know who I am? I am the son of¡ª¡±


    A sword came out of his mouth from the back of his head. When the sword was pulled, the man fell.


    Everyone gasped in shock. The man¡¯s friends were shocked as well, as they couldn¡¯t even see who did it at first. Only after their master died did they see the man. He was a handsome man with tall stature. They were about to fight him, but the man exuded a powerful aura that made them scurry away.


    The man smiled at Aldred. ¡°A person like that deserved to die. I am not like him. Instead of pushing my status to your face, I can give you something valuable for a bathing spot.


    ¡°What can you give me?¡±


    The man smiled after seeing Aldred taking the bait. He took out a small green bottle and showed it to Aldred. ¡°This is a portable traveling tent. Watch.¡± The man threw the bottle on the ground, and then a green tent appeared.


    It wasrger than Aldred¡¯s usual tent, and the cover seemed thicker as well.


    ¡°This tent can protect you from heat, cold, and even natural disasters. So even if you don¡¯t agree to this trade, I can use my own tent. Oh but, don¡¯t worry. I have more than a dozen of these.¡±


    ¡°What do you think, Bartrem?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good trade.¡±


    Aldred smiled. The warm bath cost him nothing to make, so getting these tents was actually a steal.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just make more baths for them all?¡± Mira said. ¡°It¡¯s better if we help as many people as possible.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree with that,¡± Mareona said. ¡°They¡¯repetitors. I am not sure if there is only one astrbe or not, but I am sure all of them will fight tooth and nail to obtain it.¡±


    ¡°I get it you want us to help as many people as possible. But I would never help someone who would like to kill meter,¡± Mareona continued.


    Mira sighed. Her argument was correct. Though she despise killing and harming people, she tolerated it if they had justified cause such as protecting oneself from being harmed or preventing oneself from being taken advantage of.


    She wasn¡¯t a naive nun that hadn¡¯t seen the pain and dark side of this world. She simply wanted the golden light of hope to spread in every corner.


    ¡°What about you, Sophia?¡±


    Sophia blushed when Aldred asked her opinion. Though he said she was now part of the family, she wasn¡¯t used to having her opinion be considered. ¡°Uhh¡­ I think you should take it. Those tents are very useful.¡±


    ¡°That decides it then. We will take the tents.¡±


    The man smiled and threw a bunch of green bottles at him.


    ¡°Alright, you can go to the bathing spot I just make.¡±


    The man nced at the small circr bath spot. ¡°But that¡¯s too small for me and my men.¡±


    ¡°I never specify how big the bathing spot is, have I?¡±


    They were shocked. Everyone was shocked as well. How could this boy say that without the slightest bit of shame?


    Mira flicked his forehead. She frowned at him. ¡°Aldred, don¡¯t be like that. Give them proper bath size.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Aldred rubbed his forehead, andbusted the bathing spot, making itrger. Mira then fill it up with more water as Aldred stabbed more fire javelins inside.


    Mira pulled him and stared into his eyes. ¡°Aldred, don¡¯t you dare cheat someone when they honestly do a transaction with you. It¡¯s evil. Only the devil and the demons fooled their clients.¡±


    Aldred blinked. ¡®Mira, I think you¡¯ll be surprised how merchants make their money,¡¯ he thought, but he did not say it.


    When the others saw the transaction, they approached Aldred.


    ¡°I would like to buy one spot as well. For fifteen men, I can give you 3 million gold coins.¡±


    Mary and Bartrem gasped and choked on their own saliva.


    ¡°3 million gold coins? If you do have that much money, then why didn¡¯t you bid on the auction?¡±


    ¡°The items auctioned are useless for me. And I am a bit skeptical about the enved Velobra. It seems like my suspicion was true. Lord Henry never appears again after that auction.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. He told Nicky not to kill anyone. Did he kill Henry out of ident?


    ¡°Mary, Bartrem. You guys know more about money. What do you think?¡±


    Bartrem was in thought for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good deal. Three million gold coins is a lot, but we don¡¯t need money right now.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°I understand. What about Low Epic magic staff?¡±


    ¡°Low Epic magic staff?!¡± Bartrem and Mary almost jolted out of the hot bath.


    ¡°What? Is that good?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Generally, only upper Diamond Rank can have such staff. Even an Adamantite Rank can only have middle or upper Epic weapon for themselves.¡±


    ¡°What about Eternal rarity?¡±


    ¡°Those are the stuff of fairy tales. A lot of stories depicting war generals, gods, beast, and heroes usually involves Eternal rarity equipment. But most of the stories are about the legendary figure using the eternal crystal to rise to the top. So everybody knows how it looks. Even peasants and ves.¡±


    Aldred nodded. That exined how that old man knew that the crystal his father gave was Eternal grade.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to give me such an item for a hot bath?¡±


    The man smiled. ¡°I am not merely buying a hot bath from you. I would like to buy your friendship and protection as well. There is more than one astrbe at the peak. If you only take me with you, you don¡¯t have to worry aboutpetitors.¡±


    Everyone was shocked at how smart this man was. Securing Aldred as allies was as good as winning this treasure hunt race.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why. Alright, tell me your name.¡±


    ¡°My name is Maverick Chanterre. I am a vampire.¡±


    People gasped in shock.


    ¡°Maverick Chanterre? Isn¡¯t that one of the Vampire Count family?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not the usual Count, but one of thergest that has arge county on the west side. People say it¡¯s only a matter of time before they be marquis.¡±


    Sophia whispered to his ear: ¡°Aldred, you should befriend him. He¡¯s a noble of Thignia.¡±


    ¡°Is that a good thing?¡±


    ¡°A noble has to have at least four lower Diamond Rank serving him. Forparison, each of these Diamond Rank is as strong as Pharder.¡±


    ¡°Four Diamond Rank?¡± Aldred couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°But, the empress was only guarded by four as well.¡±


    ¡°Those are upper Diamond Rank. Each of them could take four to ten lower Diamond Rank at once. And the empress has a lot more guards. They hid, but they never let her out of their sight.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ really?¡± Didn¡¯t that mean they saw him doing ¡®that¡¯ with her? Damn! He¡¯s lucky they didn¡¯t behead him after the empress left. He sighed in relief. ¡°So a Baron at minimum has four lower Diamond Rank. That is so crazy.¡±


    ¡®And didn¡¯t I just kill the only heir of a count? Crap. Nicky is going to get me killed. It wasn¡¯t him who killed the man right? If it was him, and they found out, there would be at least four Diamond Rank hunting him down.¡¯


    Fuck! He would discipline his undeadter. They should follow his order to the minute of detail.


    ¡°So, what do you say?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°You got yourself a deal, my friend.¡±


    Maverick smiled and carefully handed him a marvelous staff. Its pitch-ck handle was taller than him.


    A small line glowing in red ran to the top, ending at what seemed to be a serpent¡¯s head opening its mouth. And within that mouth was a red crystal, shining an eery crimson color.


    [zing Serpent]


    -Increase fire elemental damage by 300%


    -Increase mastery over the fire element by 300%


    -Trap re: Creating an invisible re that will activate at will or when the target is nearby, engulfing everything around it in me.

 Chapter 86 How High Are We?

    After Maverick went inside his warm bath, everyone started swarming Aldred/


    ¡°I would like to buy a spot and your friendship. This is mid-rare ck iron armor.¡±


    ¡°I would like to buy your friendship as well. This is serpent skin armor.¡±


    ¡°Take my Feral Spirit Totem. It will protect you.¡±


    ¡°Take this sword of infernal.¡±


    ¡°I can give you this resilience amulet.¡±


    ¡°I can give you a PP condom.¡±


    ¡°Bro, get out of here with that stupid thing. Here, take my troll skin armor.¡±


    Everyone offered one rare item after another. If these items were sold in an auction they could rake tens of thousands of gold coins. The poor adventurer could gulped in silence. They wished the rich people there would offer something to them, but it remain a wish forever.


    Aldred cleared his throat. ¡°Sorry, but my friendship spot is limited, and that spot is no more. I will take all your items, but I can only give you warm baths.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The buyers sighed in disappointment, but they agreed in the end. A hot bath was what they needed. Their friends already had their limbs turned deep ck because of the cold, and that scared them.


    He told them to put the items on the ground. Quickly, the items started piling up like trash in thendfill. The poor adventurer couldn¡¯t believe they did nothing when there was a pile of treasure right before their eyes. They recalled Aldred¡¯s transformation into a giant eagle and held their desire.


    Aldredbusted a lot of holes for them and Mira filled them up with water just like before.


    ¡°There you go.¡±


    The buyers looked at holes with expectation but then were disappointed.


    ¡°It¡¯s so small.¡±


    ¡°You guys didn¡¯t say anything about the size. If you want an up-size, then pay more.¡±


    They looked at him like they were looking at a cockroach¡ªfull of disgust.


    Mira flicked his forehead again. ¡°Don¡¯t y them like that.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred smiled and scratched the back of his head. ¡°I am just kidding.¡±


    Hebusted the holes to make the bathtubrger. Mira added more water, and Aldred shot more fire javelins at the center.


    Steam came out of the bath, and everyone immediately entered their spot.


    ¡°Bartrem, you can give these treasures to everyone.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Of course. They are family, no?¡±


    The soldiers looked at Aldred with widened eyes. ¡®We are family as well?¡¯ They didn¡¯t know that Aldred thought of them in such a way.


    ¡°We have been through a lot. From fighting battles in the fort, killing monsters during our travel, and now here we are, taking a warm bath at high altitude with freezing cold wind trying to kill us.¡±


    The soldiers felt like tearing up.


    Joseph and Jeffery already cried. Aldred was the one who helped them in fixing their techniques.


    They always felt they were useless to the army before until he came along. The female soldiers felt their hearts thumping hard, and they saw Aldred in a much better light.


    A poor adventure group stared at them in jealousy. So unfair. A man with arge scar on his right eye down to his lips stared at the boy. He snorted and walked away.


    ¡°You are a generous person,¡± Maverick said. His bath spot was only a few meters from Aldred. ¡°Others would either sell these treasures or keep them forter use.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my friends. This much is nothing.¡±


    Maverick bitterly smiled. ¡®That nothing is a pile of middle and upper rare items.¡¯


    ¡°I hope we can reach the upper part in a week.¡±


    ¡°Upper part?¡±


    Maverick nodded. ¡°We are currently in the lower part of the mountain. A few kilometers above us is the middle part. From what I know, that¡¯s where the real challenge begins.¡±


    ¡°Wait, how high are we right now?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t do drugs.¡±


    ¡°I mean the altitude.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re at around 16 Kilometers from the ground.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred was shocked. ¡°We¡¯re that high, and it¡¯s just the lower part of the mountain?¡± If he recalled correctly, Mount Everest was only 8 Kilometers. He was currently double that altitude and apparently he was only at the foot of the mountain.


    The environment was already extreme in this ce, what would the condition be at a higher altitude?


    More people climbed on top of the cliff, but they have a protective tent that blocked much of the cold. Still, they looked at Aldred and the others who enjoyed the hot bath. Especially Aldred, who was sandwiched by four beautiful women all around him.


    The poor adventurer thickened themselves with cloths, and burrow a hole in the snow. Sticking only their heads out. It was still cold, but it was much better than sleeping out in the open. They looked like whack-a-moles now with their heads out of the hole.


    After some time, Aldred and the others in the hot bath decided to sleep right in the bath. It was much morefortable than the tents anyway. They put some towels on the ground and put the back of their head on soft towels as they closed their eyes.


    ¡°This is so good,¡± Mareona said. ¡°We should do this more often.¡±


    ¡°For sure,¡± Aldred said as a handful of snow fell from above. It stted beside his bath before melting because of the heat.


    Aldred looked up and saw something under the dark sky. It stared at him with a pair of dimly lit yellow eyes. Teeth as hideous as sharks, and dark-blue tentacles waved around from its head. Aldred blinked, and the creature disappeared.


    He rubbed his eyes. ¡®Did I see it wrong?¡¯ He closed his eyes again, rxing with both Mareona and Sophia beside him.


    He heard a footstep. It was so soft that he could barely hear it among the gnawing wind.


    ¡°AHH!¡±


    They opened their eyes and jolted out of the hot bath. They stared to the west where the scream came from. A man ran with blood all over his clothes. His face expressed a true horror as a creature resembling a demon came from behind and tore him to shreds.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Phantom w!¡±

 Chapter 87 Phantom Claw

    ¡°A phantom w?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mary and everyone else wore their armor and thick clothes. They picked the armor from the pile of treasure, but it didn¡¯t make them feel safer than before.


    ¡°Phantom w is the beast from legends and fairy tales. Some say, no one really knows its true appearance, but that thing looks simr to what was drawn in the book. It¡¯s also known as Phantoma.


    The adventurer and everyone else slowly walked back. Their hands trembled as their eyes stared at the beast in fear.


    The beast growled. Its tentacles waving around in the air. It leaped forward and vanished.


    Their eyes widened.


    ¡°Where did it go?¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    Suddenly, a group of people was torn to shreds. They did not see iting.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    They all scattered and ran. A man tried to climb down the mountain but fell because someone identally knocked him. A man ran on the cliff. He did not know where he would go to. He did not care as the beast coulde from anywhere.


    And it came, unseen, undetected, silent, and deadly. For a moment, that man saw a transparent, dark-blue w, and he couldn¡¯t react as his body was cut in half. His body was then chomped, thrown into the air before it entered the mouth.


    As blood spilled from its lips, the beast growled in satisfaction before setting its eyes upon Aldred and his group.


    ¡°What a beast,¡± Maverick said. ¡°Do you think you can handle this?¡±


    ¡°We cannot run away, can¡¯t we?¡± Aldred said, hesitating.


    ¡°Running is not a wise idea.¡± Mary raised her sword, taken from the pile of treasures. The soldiers all stood up with their rare quality shields, armor, and weapons.


    ¡°I have no choice then. Arise, my minions!¡±


    Maverick frowned as the ck mist clumped out of the floor. Hideous creatures that seemed toe from darkness stepped out from the mist and knelt.


    ¡°Yourmand, master.¡±


    Maverick was shocked when he saw five Gold Rank undead kneeling in front of the boy, but what kept his attention was the giant velobra. That thing alone could handle multiple Gold Rank at once, and yet it became his undead.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Kill that thing for me.¡±


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    The rest of the undead stormed at the beast, but Be stood still with her undead form. She raised her staff horizontally. Both crystals on both end of the staff shone blue light.


    ¡°Icy orb. Dozens of misty ice orbs shot towards the beast, zipping through the ranks of undead.


    The beast roared and charged forward. Everyone expected a sh, but something unexpected happened. The beast turned transparent, almost invisible. The spear and swords went through its body like it wasn¡¯t there.


    For a few seconds, the beast became intangible.0


    Its body materialized again after arriving at the rear and then it charged at Aldred.


    ¡°Charge!¡± Bartrem charged with his rare quality shield. The tail of the beast swung at him. Bartrem braced for impact, but shockingly, the tail went through the shield and materialized back when it mmed his stomach.


    Bartrem spat out blood as he was thrown a dozen meters away.


    ¡°Fire javelin!¡± Aldred raised his new staff ¡®zing Serpent¡¯


    Dozens of fire javelins stormed at the beast. With 300% increase in damage, the fire javelins now seemed much more menacing than before, but the beast did not care. It moved side to side, ducking under the javelin.


    Aldred¡¯s godly eyes moved at a faster rate, but he still couldn¡¯t hit the beast.


    ¡°Let me help.¡± Maverick pulled out a blood de from his waist and rushed at the creature. ¡°Keep attacking it!¡±


    The beast growled at the intruder and decided to remove him first. The tentacle hair on its head rose and squirmed around before it whipped at him.


    Maverick stepped to the side, and the air to his right was cut as the attack created a deep, straight trail on the ground.


    A strand of his hair fell. Maverick trembled. If he didn¡¯t dodge in time, he¡¯d be cut in half. He then moved nimbly like an assassin. Using his short dagger to cut at the limbs whenever he could.


    Aldred frowned. His undead army was still running back, but he had to survive against this beast first before they came.


    The beast ignored Maverick and charged at the boy.


    Sophia pointed with her staff. ¡°Confusion!¡±<sub></sub>


    Its legs stumbled, and its sight became dizzy. It looked at the boy, in its vision; the boy became two.


    ¡°GRRHH!¡± It leaped forward and attacked.


    Suddenly, Mareona came like a bullet with a gleaming sword. She came from the side, and her sword was pointing at the creature¡¯s stomach. The de went in.


    Mareona smiled thinking that she got the creature, but she was wrong. It went through as the creature became intangible. She fell and rolled on the ground before standing up and rushing at the creature again.


    Aldred distanced himself. Mary ran at Aldred while Mira went to tend Bartrem¡¯s wound.


    Mary, Mareona, Sophia, Be, and Maverick all worked together to fight the beast. Aldred kept on firing his javelin and fire bullets.


    ¡°Greater Physique! Greater Strength! High Endurance! Abnormal Dexterity!¡±


    Mary, Mareona, and Maverick became stronger and faster. They dodged the creature¡¯s tentacles and ws while attacking its jelly-fish like skin.


    Despite its appearance, it was hard to cut because the skin seemed to absorb the damage like water.


    ¡°Everyone! Get away from that beast!¡±


    They all jumped back as Aldred pointed at it. ¡°Fire Combustion!¡±


    The beast burst into me. It roared in pain and turned intangible. When it materialized, Aldred ignited him again.


    Maverick took that chance to zip through the air and stabbed at the beast¡¯s neck. He pulled and kicked the beast to propel himself away. ck blood poured out of the beast, and then it siphoned in the air before it was sucked by his de.


    Maverick smiled and raised his de. ¡°Blood de of Grakthar!¡±


    Blood burst out of the wound, and it kept pouring out before being sucked on by his de.


    The onlookers were shocked.


    ¡°Men!¡± Maverick called. ¡°Make this monster bleed!¡±


    His vampire subordinates grabbed their own dagger and struck at the beast. Just like him, their speed was fast, and they were agile. Rolling, and jumping to dodge the tentacles.


    Aldred saw the beast be weaker as its blood got sucked in while Maverick became faster and faster.


    A blood aura covered him. The beast was angered. It ignored the others and struck at Maverick.


    The man smiled as the blood thickened around him and blocked the creature¡¯s w. The beast roared right in front of his face. And then the blood transformed into countless needles and stabbed its neck. The needle sucked in the blood before channeling it into the de.


    The beast vanished.


    The smile on Maverick¡¯s face disappeared. Suddenly, a faint sight of a w came at his stomach. He blocked with his de but the impact still threw him away.


    Aldred gritted his teeth. ¡°Seems like we have to handle it ourselves again. Thankfully, my undead has arrived.¡±


    The Gold Rank undead was angered that this creature dared to trick them. They swarmed the creature from all sides.


    Nicky was particrly pissed. He couldn¡¯t allow another beast to outwit him. So when he arrived, he shove the other undead away and mmed at the Phantom w.


    The Phantom w attacked with its tentacle, but the velobra bit it, cutting it off. Phantoma turned around and pped the snake creature in the face, staggering it.


    But he wasn¡¯t alone. Be, Brook, Crook, and Milet attacked.


    ¡°Icy spikes!¡±


    Dozens of ice spikes jolted from the ground and stabbed the monster¡¯s belly.


    Aldred kept on attacking as well. He had been throwing fire javelins since the beginning. The soldiers were joining the fray. Though they could die from this ordeal, they did not want to be a burden. They were soldiers.


    If they feared death, then they wouldn¡¯t be here in the first ce.


    A soldier grabbed a magical chain and threw it at the creature. The chain wrapped around its neck, then glowed bright red as it locked itself in ce.


    ¡°PULL!¡± The others helped the man, pulling the chain. The beast struggled until Crook and Brook leaped high into the air and mmed theirrge, ck axe onto the head of the beast.


    SLAM!


    The beast¡¯s head crashed to the ground. But it roared louder than before, and then ran at Aldred.


    Aldred stayed still.


    ¡°Aldred! Get out of there!¡± Mira shouted as she ran towards him.


    Aldred did not move, and the beast stared death at the boy. Just as it was about to pounce, the air exploded and engulfed the beast in me whole.


    It rolled around on the floor before it stopped moving.


    ¡°This Trap re is very useful,¡± Aldred said satisfied with his new staff.


    [You have killed ¡®Phantoma¡¯]


    [+3,870 EXP]


    Something shocking then happened. All the Copper Ranked undead turned to silvers, while the soldiers all turned to Gold Rank.


    The people that watched from the distance saw more than 70 people breaking through the Gold Rank and their jaws dropped.


    ¡°How could they all break through the Gold Rank at the same time?¡±


    ¡°This is the first time in history. No one has ever seen more than two people breaking through at the same time before.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s 70 people at once! How is this possible. Is this the blessing from Mount Fargon? If we kill the beasts here, can we break through as well?¡±


    ¡°Are you a fool? We¡¯re already at Gold Rank. It¡¯s probably only the Silver Ranks and under who can get this blessing.


    Bartrem limped his way to the creature. His armor was dented. ¡°I never thought I would see this creature. Especially not seeing one dead.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I am fine. Mira healed me.¡±


    Maverick approached them as well. His blood aura healed his wound at a rapid rate. ¡°If I show this to my father, he would be so proud. Do you guys mind if I take the head?¡±


    They all looked at Aldred. This beast was killed because of his undead so he was the one who could decide.


    ¡°We all take part in killing this beast, so don¡¯t look at me like I did everything by myself. As for you taking the head. Wait for a moment.¡±


    Aldred approached the beast, use his me to cut a chunk of its skin, and then ate it.


    Maverick looked at him weirdly. ¡°Why are you eating it?¡±


    Bartremughed. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Aldred chewed even though the taste was so disgusting. It felt like eating a breast transnt. And don¡¯t even ask how he knew what that tasted like.


    [Analyzing¡­ sess. You have obtained the gene for Phantoma. From now on, you can transform into this beast and use its racial attributes]


    [Gene: Phantoma (Phantom w]


    -Intangibility. Turning into astral form for 5 seconds. With 2 seconds cooldown. (User turns into a transparent entity, that cannot be attacked with concrete objects. User can go through walls with this ability as well)


    -Invisibility. Turning invisible for 5 seconds with 2 seconds cooldown


    -Phantom attack. (Each Attack can go through armor, and directly hit target)


    -Tail Whip


    -Tentacle attack


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Morph.¡± His body ballooned. His skin slowly turned into dark, blue jelly-like texture. His hands became hideous ws.


    When he was fully morphed, Maverick and his men took a few steps back as the onlookers stared with widened eyes.


    Bartrem and hisrades simply smiled at the sight.


    ¡°How does it feel?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s lighter than expected. I feel like I can run very fast with this body.¡±


    Their mouth dropped to the floor when they saw the beast speak.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, guys. I am still the old little Aldred.¡±


    Mareonaughed. ¡°Let me feel your tentacle.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 88 Tentacles

    Aldred coughed and cleared his throat. ¡°Sure,¡± He moved one of his six tentacles on his head, and let Mareona touch it.


    Mareona touched the tentacle, and it felt squishy. ¡°It¡¯s so soft.¡± She rubbed the tentacle with her hand, before trying to rub it with her face. ¡°It feels so nice too!¡±


    Mary wanted to try it as well. So she asked Aldred for a tentacle, and she rubbed it around. Mira and Sophia followed. Aldred gave the four of them his tentacles to feel around.


    ¡°I cannot believe this soft squishy tentacle can cut a human with rare quality armor in half,¡± Mareona said, kissing the tentacles. She then hugged it with a smile and rubbed her face with it.


    After seeing her being sofortable, Mary and the other girls followed. They all hugged his tentacles and rubbed them around.


    ¡°Emmm, guys. I have something to tell you. The tentacles are actually its reproductive organ.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Aldred blushed.


    They then slowly got off the tentacles. Except for Sophia. She was closing her eyes and continuously rubbing the tentacle.


    ¡°Sophia, get off that thing,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Eh, why?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°What do you mean why?¡±


    ¡°I like Aldred¡¯s tentacle. I am staying here.¡±


    Mareona walked to her and pulled her away, but she held on tight.


    ¡°No! This is my tentacle! Don¡¯t take it away from me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something you should be hugging, kissing, and rubbing.¡±


    ¡°Why not. Look, it¡¯s very soft and squishy.¡± She rubbed it some more.


    Spurt!


    White liquid came at the tip of the tentacle.


    Aldred looked down. His demonic cheeks turned red.


    Sophia paused. ¡°Right, it¡¯s not something I should rub.¡± She got off the tentacle.<sub></sub>


    Maverick and the onlookers were dumbfounded.


    ¡®What the hell are we watching right now¡­¡¯


    Aldred cleared his throat. He transformed back to his human form.


    Maverick also cleared his throat and pretended the scene earlier never happened. ¡°About the head¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we can work on something,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Do you also need the head?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. Just watch.¡± He stepped on the beast¡¯s corpse. ¡°Arise.¡±


    ck mist engulfed the beast whole. The mist erged and then a w stepped out, creating a cut mark on the ground due to how sharp it was.


    The demonic face came. Its yellow eyes seemingly stare at the soul of anyone who set their eyes upon them. Purple glowing lines ran around the body.


    Compared to the real Phantom w, the undead version looked so much more menacing.


    The onlookers trembled even though they were a distance away. The Phantom w then bowed its head. ¡°Master,¡±


    ¡°Eh, you can talk?¡± He looked at Nicky. ¡°You¡¯re a beast the same as him, why can¡¯t you talk?¡±


    ¡°Hiss (I don¡¯t know, master).¡±


    ¡°Is it because he is stronger?¡± Aldred wondered. The Phantom w didn¡¯t seem to be much stronger than Nicky. In fact, he believed that Nicky could defeat the beast if given enough time.


    Maverick was staring frozen at the beast so close in front of him. This beast almost killed him, and he was relieved it died, but now it returned to life again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. This Phantom w is my undead now.¡±


    Maverick hesitantly nodded.


    Aldred looked at the Phantom w. ¡°From now on your name is Will, the beast pper.¡±


    The beast bowed deeper. ¡°This Will shall be your servant.¡±


    ¡°Turn to your real form.¡±


    The beast transformed into his real form. The misty air and the purple glowing lines disappeared.


    Aldred walked to the monster¡¯s neck and aimed his staff. ¡°Concentrated Jet me.¡± Condensed high-pressure mes shot like aser beam from the staff.


    It cut off the neck, and the head fell.


    Maverick gasped, and so did everyone else. Did the boy just cut off the beast¡¯s head? Just like that?


    ¡°You can take the head,¡± Aldred said before he summoned the monster again.  The body then morphed into ck mist before it regenerated a head, and turned into an undead form Phantom w.


    Maverick trembled when he saw the glowing yellow eyes on the cut-off head. ¡°T¡ªthank you.¡±


    ¡®So the boy could revive his undead¡­ what a terrifying power.¡¯


    ¡°No worries. You helped a lot in killing this guy.¡±


    Maverickughed at himself. ¡°Without you, not only would we fail to kill it, all of us would die as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating my skill.¡±


    ¡®Exaggerating my ass! You literally turn a Phantom w into your undead. If anything, mypliment is an understatement.¡¯


    Maverick sighed. Thankfully he secured Aldred as his allies. After this he might ask him to visit his father and befriend him. Aldred had a powerful necromancy ability and mastery in the fire elements.


    Not to mention he was still a child. A child Gold rank with an army of undead¡­ wasn¡¯t this person more valuable than the treasure itself. In the future, Aldred would surely be an Adamantite Rank.


    He reached out his hand and tapped Aldred on the shoulder. ¡°If you need anything just tell me. I can give you gold, rare equipment. Just say it, and I will order someone to get it.¡±


    ¡°Can I get a pce full of women?¡±


    Mareona knocked his head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you see your head first? It¡¯s filled with dirty stuff all the time.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his head and pouted. ¡°I was joking.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get some rest. We have to start climbing tomorrow. The faster we got the astrbe, the better.¡± Bartrem walked to his warm bath.


    ¡°We should set up the tent over the bath. That way nobody can see us sleeping,¡± Aldred said. ¡°And it would be warmer that way.¡±


    ¡°Use the bottle tent that you got earlier,¡± Mareona said.


    Aldred pulled out the portable traveling tent which was currently in the shape of a green bottle. He threw them near the bath, and it transformed into a tent that covered the hot bath.


    So now, he could enter the bath, and be protected by the tents. He gave the rest of the bottle to Bartrem for him to distribute.


    Mareona pulled his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get in.¡±

 Chapter 89 Madbrawlers

    Aldred, Mareona, Sophia, Mary, and Mira entered the bath. With the tent covering them from the chilling wind and keeping the heat inside, the bath became much morefortable. He pulled the straps that covered some little holes so the steam coulde out, and not suffocate them.


    Aldred walked his way onto the water and hugged Mary. cing his head on her chest.


    ¡°I am hungry,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Do you want to drink?¡± Mary asked.


    He nodded.


    Mary smiled and lifted her breast. ¡°There you go.¡±


    Aldred pounced and sucked on her pink beautiful nipple. Quickly, the warm sweet liquid rushed into his mouth. It tasted much sweeter than before but not too much, just the right amount with soft and smooth texture streaming in his tongue. Mary closed her eyes and caressed the back of his head.


    ¡°I am sorry, Aldred,¡± she started. ¡°This burden shouldn¡¯t be ced on top of your shoulder.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred did not reply and kept sucking her breast. His left hands grabbed on her right breast and fondled it.


    ¡°The fate of an empire, and the fate of its people willy in your hand. Such a heavy burden. I cannot believe you have to bear it. And I never see you whine about it.¡±


    Mira approached from the side with a smile. ¡°Aldred¡¯s a good boy. He helped with a true and sincere heart. When you do things wholeheartedly, you have nothing toin about.¡± She caressed his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± Mary hugged him and caressed his head. She kissed his lips. ¡°Good night, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Mary.¡± He looked to the side. Mareona was approaching him before giving him a kiss.


    ¡°Good night, everyone.¡± Everyone came up to him and kissed him one by one. Aldred smiled. They all cared so much about him. He had to protect them and let no harm be done to even an inch of their skin. He could take insults to himself, but if others vited them, there could only be one result¡ªdeath.


    Sophia sat beside him and looked at him adoringly. He wore a heavy burden on his shoulder. She wanted to lift that burden and helped him in his journey. After all, he was her home. She could be herself as long as she was with him. <sub></sub>


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Aldred asked.


    Sophia smiled and shook her head. ¡°Nothing.¡± She kissed his lips. ¡°Good night.¡±


    They went to sleep.


    ¡­


    A coalition of adventurers called Madbrawlers sat inside a cramped snow cave they made under the ground. A bunch of flimsy sticks with a shield on top held the roof above their head. Their leader, called by the name of Scar, looked down at the snow in resentment. Arge scar ran from his right eye to his lips.


    He trembled in the cold. The snow cave wasn¡¯t enough to fight off against the bone-stabbing temperature. His group also trembled because of this environment. They needed treasures to prevent themselves from dying.


    ¡°How can they have everything?¡± Scar asked. ¡°They sleep in warm bath andfortable tents while we hid in this stupid snow cave.¡±


    The group nodded in agreement.


    ¡°They have so many tents, but they won¡¯t share them with us.¡±


    ¡°And did you see that pile of treasures? They have more than enough to arm an army.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Now they have too many so they started wearing them as decorations.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t have this,¡± Scar said. ¡°I say we ambush them and take everything they have.¡±


    ¡°But, Scar. That boy. He can turn into a Phantom w.¡±


    ¡°And he has Phantom w as an undead.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that giant Velobra as well. That thing can melt us to our bone.¡±


    Scar¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°I hate that boy the most. Having all the girls, all the powers, treasures, and connections.¡± He recalled the boy making friends with Maverick. ¡°Even if he leaves this ce empty-handed, I bet Maverick will invite him to his county.¡±


    His heart felt burning when he recalled the face of that boy. Especially when he hugs the girls, and rubs his face to their breast. Why did everyone care about him? He was just an arrogant boy like many others.


    ¡°Look,¡± Scar said. ¡°We won¡¯t survive without any treasures, and the only way we can get some is if we kill that boy and his group. The other group is too poor, and do not have enough loot for us to share. Besides, we all saw what those treasures are. They are all useful for us.¡±


    The group looked at each other and hesitated. They had seen the power of that boy. Fighting against him did not seem to be a wise choice.


    Scar noticed their expression. ¡°We kill the boy first. He¡¯s the only one that can stop us. We have more than 300 members, and all of us are experienced adventurers.


    ¡°What about Maverick? He won¡¯t let us kill the boy.¡±


    ¡°If the boy died, he won¡¯t do anything to us. His business is only with the boy. No one else matters in that group. They are weakpared to him.¡±


    The majority of them did not think that way. The boy and his friends killed the Phantom w together. And they had seen how the boy was almost killed by the beast if not for his friends saving him.


    ¡°We kill the boy first. He¡¯s the only one that can stop us. We kill the rest and take the treasures. It¡¯s that simple,¡± Scar said. ¡°Why are you all hesitating? We¡¯re adventurers. We jumped to the pit hole where no one would go. We¡¯re thrill seekers, aren¡¯t we? Now all of you are scared because of a red cheeks boy?¡±


    ¡®That red cheeks boy can turn into a Phantom w!¡¯ they thought.


    ¡°I say we move and kill the boy.¡± A man stood up. ¡°Just like Scar said. We cannot go further from here without any treasure. Our equipment is not enough. So we either take our chance or die there.¡±


    They all smiled. Thest line could be said what being an adventurer was about.


    ¡°We take our chance or die there!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s kill the boy.¡±


    ¡°Take his treasure!¡±


    They allughed and prepared their weapons.

 Chapter 90 The Power of a Hero

    The Madbrawler tiptoed their way on the snow cliff. Scar raised his fist. His men stopped, and he crouched before narrowing his eyes at the tent.


    ¡°They are sleeping. This is our perfect chance.¡± Scar used hand signals to tell his men an order to circle the camp from a distance. He nced to the side where a group of marksmen and magicians nodded at him.


    ¡°Remember do not let him summon his undead or transform into a Phantom w.¡± Scar stared at one particr tent, and took a deep breath. ¡°Activate the spell.¡±


    The magicians raised their staff. ¡°Silent environment. Deaf senses! Calm mind! Comfort body! Sleepy night!¡±


    Scar smiled. With these spells cast on the camp, even if he shouted to the top of his lungs, they wouldn¡¯t hear or notice it.


    ¡°Attack!¡± The Madbrawler leaped off the cliff. Their feetnded on the ground and they charged at the camp. Scar ran to that one tent where the boy was. He wanted to be the one who killed him.


    The adventurer got close. Scar smiled. ¡®You dead boy! I will take all your treasures! And **** all your women!¡±


    Scarughed.


    A line of bright light streaked through of them, and suddenly, their weapons, shield, and armor snapped as it got cut off in half.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± Scar looked around before his eyesnded upon a man with bright shining armor.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°A hero!¡± Scar gritted his teeth. ¡°This has nothing to do with you.¡±


    Two men stepped beside the hero.


    Hugo whistled. ¡°That¡¯s a hell a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°Do not say the word hell, Hugo.¡± Jake pulled out his sword and shield. ¡°It¡¯s not good for your soul.¡±


    Arthur ignored the remarks of his two friends and stepped forward. ¡°There is no need to be violent. This group has done nothing to harm you.¡±


    Scar grimaced. ¡°Get out of my face or I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to kill them?¡± Arthur asked.


    Scar grinned. ¡°I want to take their treasures and impregnate their women! Are you happy with my answer?¡±


    The adventurersughed. <sub></sub>


    ¡°Let me have some girls as well, leader!¡±


    They allughed again.


    ¡°Oh, man. My seeds have been itching for a swim right now. Hahaha.¡±


    Arthur¡¯s expression turned dark. ¡°Father was right. Outside the border of Montcresia, evil permeates and covered thisnd with blood and suffering.¡±


    Tears fell from his cheeks, but his face was filled with anger. ¡°As the hero of Montcresia, it is my duty to prevent you from doing such an evil deed.¡±


    Scar sneered. ¡°The three of you? Against three hundred of us?¡±


    Arthur dashed to the tent where Aldred was.


    ¡°Ensnare¡±


    A thick vine wrapped his leg and stopped him in ce. Scar appeared in front of him and attacked. ¡°You think I¡¯m a fool? I won¡¯t let you wake the boy!¡±


    Arthur shed the vine with his hand and leaped back.


    ¡°Hey, you lot!¡± Scar called. ¡°Kill the boy for me. I will take care of this guy.¡±


    Arthur gritted his teeth. ¡°Jake, Hugo. We have to protect that tent. Don¡¯t let anyone in.¡±


    ¡°Arthur, there¡¯s hundreds of them,¡± Jake said. ¡°Maybe we should leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°No, Jake. We cannot let evil win. We need to wake the boy. With his power, he can help us fight off these men.¡±


    Jake sighed while Hugo simply shrugged.


    ¡°At least we¡¯ll die together,¡± Hugo said.


    Jake flicked his head. ¡°We¡¯re not going to die.¡±


    Arthur glowed in holy light. His feet floated off the ground. Around him, a blue and purple aura sparked.


    ¡°Holy Magic. Beam of light.¡± He aimed his palm and a powerful spinning ball of light formed before it shot forward in the form of a beam.


    The adventurers were shocked and unable to react as dozens of them were consumed. Their bodies were torn shreds into a million pieces and there was nothing left on the beam¡¯s path. The beam did not stop and struck a cliff, prating deep and then going through the back..


    Scar looked at the man with widened eyes.


    ¡°I do not want to kill you all. Go back and repent for your action.¡±


    Arthur hoped that scared the bandits. He didn¡¯t have enough mana to cast that spell again.


    Scar looked at the man¡¯s face and noticed something. He smiled. ¡°He¡¯s bluffing! He¡¯s running out of mana! Attack him!¡±


    Arthur gritted his teeth and charged forward. ¡°Hugo, Jake. Protect the tent with me.¡±


    The three of them leaped forward and attacked anyone that tried to enter the tent. Warriors swarmed from all directions, and Arthur cut them all with magic. Arrows zipped in the air, arching in their direction. A thin golden screen burst forth around the tent. The arrows knocked against it and fell.


    ¡°Freezing icicles!¡±


    Dozens of sharp icicles stayed suspended in the air.


    They pointed at the tent, and when the magicians swung their staff forward, the icicles flew at them with incredible speed.


    Arthur jumped and shed forward with his fingers. Numerous golden lines shot forward and cut the icicles to pieces.


    Arthurnded and shed at the warriors, cutting dozens of them at once.


    The sword on his waist never left its scabbard. He shed them all with his hand using magic and martial arts.


    Scar frowned. ¡°Is this the power of a hero?¡±


    Arthur, Jake, and Hugo fought for hours. They tried to wake Aldred numerous times but the bandits prevented them to do so.


    While they blocked the bandits from killing the boy, the bandits did not let them from waking him up.


    This made their battle to be back and forth and making it a battle of attrition. Eventually, Arthur ran out of stamina.


    Scarughed. ¡°Kill him! We¡¯re going to be the first adventurers ever to kill a hero!¡±


    Arthur gritted his teeth. Left with no choice he sted himself with a powerful light, ripping some part of the tent, and he was about to wake Aldred up until he saw the boy was sucking on a woman¡¯s breast.

 Chapter 91 The Countdown

    ¡°Hey! Haven¡¯t you heard the word privacy in your life before?!¡± Aldred frowned at him.


    Arthur was speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve been awake this whole time?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. Wait, we¡¯re not talking about me. Why are you trespassing on my private tent.¡±


    Hugo went inside and shouted: ¡°There¡¯s hundreds of motherfuckers who want to kill you¡ª oh wow, nice plump.¡±


    Jake pulled his cor from the back. ¡°You better get out now. People are trying to kill you¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred walked out naked because of the urgency. As he exited the tent, he saw hundreds of people with full gear looking at him. Archers and magicians stood above the cliff with their bows and staff.


    ¡°What is going on?¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Scar frowned, taking two steps back.


    Aldred looked around and saw battle marks all over the ce. ¡°How could I not notice a battle of this scale?¡±


    ¡°They seem to cast some spells before attacking you,¡± Arthur said.


    Aldred looked at them. ¡°Why do you want to kill me?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Scar trembled. ¡°We don¡¯t want to kill you. It¡¯s just a small misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    A clump ofrge mist came out from the ground. Will, the Phantom w stepped out. The adventurer gasped in fear. The warriors slowly stepped back. They had the numerical advantage and possibly could win against Aldred but nobody wanted to die for nothing.


    Another mist appeared, and Nicky stepped out.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I forgot to turn that eagle into my undead. Anyway, I am giving you guys 5 seconds to run before two of my beasts hunt you down!¡±


    ¡°One!¡±


    The bandits panicked and dropped their weapons. Swords, axes, spears, and hammers all thumped on the ground.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    They took off their armor as they ran. Not caring if the chilling wind would stab their body.


    ¡°Three!¡±<sub></sub>


    Their body heated up and they used their power to be faster. Legs fluttered in the snow. A few men stumbled and fell. The man behind was too scared to care and stepped on their friends.


    ¡°Four!¡±


    Aldred smiled when he saw all of them running even quicker than before.


    ¡°Fiv¡ª¡± Someone grabbed his shoulder with a soft and slender hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Aldred.¡±


    When Aldred turned his head, he realized it was Mira.


    ¡°They tried to kill us.¡±


    ¡°I know they did, but we¡¯re alive and well. There is no need to kill them all.¡±


    Aldred looked at the running enemies, feeling conflicted. He had a great urge to kill them all. They tried to harm his friends.


    ¡°Mira, we did nothing to them, yet they wanted to harm us. They are evil. We should kill them.¡±


    Mira sighed. Aldred was correct, but she did not want him to do the killing. In the future, blood lust might form in his mind, and he might find killing enjoyable.


    Power could blind the holiest of men, not to mention a naive one such as Aldred. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to kill. I am afraid you will be a monster.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I will not. As long as you are with me. I will be no monster. But you said it before, that it¡¯s fine to be a monster. What I need to do is learn how to control it. I can control it, Mira. I can. Now is the time to unleash it upon our enemies, so in the future, no one shall harm us ever again.¡±


    Mira widened her eyes. Such wise wordse from this boy. She¡¯d underestimated his philosophical thoughts. Aldred was more than capable of articting himself with words.


    She looked at the enemies running for their life. They deserved to die, but her heart said otherwise, though it would be unfair if she pushed her wishes upon the boy. She looked at the boy and nodded.


    ¡°Will, Nicky. Chase them and eat as much as you can.¡±


    The Phantom w and the Giant Velobra roared, signaling that the hunt had begun. They rushed at the enemies.


    Aldred looked at Arthur who was staring at Mira with widened eyes.


    ¡°Sister?¡± Arthur asked. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°Are you sister Mira?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you two know each other?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mira nodded. ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°W¡ªwhat are you doing in this ce?¡±


    ¡°I am helping the boy in his journey.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°He has great power within him.¡±


    ¡°But this is not the ce where you should be, sister. A lot of people rely on you back home. Please, I will bring you back to the abbey.¡±


    This was what she was afraid to happen.


    ¡°I have to refuse.¡±


    ¡°But, sister.¡± Arthur approached, but Aldred red at him.


    ¡°I am thankful that you helped me earlier, but forcing Mira to do something she doesn¡¯t want will make you my enemy as well.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Arthur said. ¡°The servants of the church are not supposed to leave the border unless to spread the gospel. But only the Archbishop can give that order. Sister, you are breaking the rule.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You are not forcing her to do anything.¡±


    Aldred bit his lips. This Arthur guy started reminding him of Pharder and Simond who kept forcing women to do something they didn¡¯t want to do.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be harsh on them, Aldred. They mean no harm.¡± Mira nced at Arthur. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone about this. I help this boy of my own ord.¡±


    ¡°I will help the boy,¡± Arthur said. ¡°There is no need to risk your life.¡±


    ¡°You cannot help him.¡±


    ¡°I am a hero. I have the power.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need your power.¡±


    Arthur was about to say something, but realized she was right. ¡®The boy is much stronger than me. Even if I join his group, I wouldn¡¯t be that useful. But then what does he need?¡¯


    He looked at the boy, and then nced to the side where there were other women who were half-naked in the bath. Arthur frowned. Did this boy use sister Mira as one of his ythings? He did not care about what the boy needed. He couldn¡¯t let this happen.


    His body trembled in anger. How dare he sullied her purity. Sister Mira was a famous nun who raised many heroes under her guidance. She helped many children smile and give hope to everyone around her. To think that this boy dared to do this.


    Arthur red at the boy.


    Aldred flinched. ¡®What is wrong with this guy? If Mira didn¡¯t know him, I would have killed this guy by now.¡¯

 Chapter 92 The Hunt

    Arthur pulled out his sword and pointed it at Aldred. Jake and Hugo flinched.


    Mira stepped forward and stared at him. ¡°Do not harm this boy.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Though the man was pointing swords at him, the boy noticed something weird. This guy had been fighting with the bandits earlier, yet no blood stain was on his sword. Did he not use the sword to fight?


    Weird.


    Arthur would like to fight Aldred and take Mira away, but he respected sister Mira¡¯s choices. ¡°Sister Mira, if you changed your mind please tell me anytime.¡±


    Arthur made sure Mira nodded before he left with Jake and Hugo.


    ¡°He seems to hate me,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°He is a little protective at times, but he is a good person.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything the first time we met him.¡±


    ¡°I was afraid that he would take me back. My fear was right.¡±


    Aldred nodded and looked at Arthur¡¯s back. ¡°I think he wants to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. He is not a person that would kill at the slightest offense. A hero wielded great power, and to control it, they carved great will and self-control in their heart. Each hero was guided and taught by the church.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°To be honest, I expect a hero to be much more powerful.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a hero yet,¡± Mira said. ¡°We just call him that because he already learns magic and martial arts. He¡¯s a hero in training. That¡¯s the actual rank in the military. Its rank is simr to the Vice-Captain of your military hierarchy.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Only tinum Rank can get the Vice-Captain position.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an exception,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°Wow, he must be very powerful and talented.¡±


    ¡°Did you notice that there¡¯s no blood stain on his sword?¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°You might lose if he fights you with it.¡±


    Aldred frowned. He might lose if that man fought him with the sword? ¡°Is he a master in swordsmanship?¡±


    Mira looked at the distance. ¡°tinum Rank wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡­


    Arthur returned to his tent along with Jake and Hugo. He sat down and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Arthur,¡± Hugo called. ¡°You drew your sword.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t swing it.¡±


    ¡°You almost lost control, Arthur,¡± Jake said. ¡°What were you thinking?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Did you not see the inside of his tent?¡±


    Hugo smiled and his cheeks turned slightly red. ¡°Beautiful woman with curvy full breasts.¡±


    ¡°Whores! Dirty women who sold their bodies.¡± He looked down. ¡°And probably their soul.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you misunderstand him. He¡¯s just a boy. I am sure thedies simply did not mind him looking at them naked.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s sucking on their breasts. I saw it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they did not mind that either.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe they already sold themselves to him, so they don¡¯t mind anymore.¡±


    ¡°Arthur, why are you so angry?¡±


    ¡°Sister Mira is in that tent, how could I not be angry?¡±


    Jake and Hugo looked at each other. Arthur looked down and put his hands over his face. Jake understood what Arthur felt. Him not cutting the boy¡¯s neck earlier was great proof of his self-control.


    Mira was the one who picked Arthur when his parents died during the war. She raised and guided him to be a hero. In his eyes, sister Mira was his mother.


    Jake sat down beside him and held his shoulder. ¡°I understand you would like to protect her. But you heard what she said. She¡¯s guiding the boy.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a Montcresian.¡±


    ¡°When was thest time you saw sister Mira distinct a person by their nationality?¡±


    ¡°I cannot take this, Jake.¡±


    ¡°Emotions clouded your judgment. Is this how a hero behaves?¡±


    Arthur sighed trying to let out the negative emotion. He breathed in, convincing himself that the air was filled with positivity. This method calmed him down and removed all the unwanted emotions.


    But this time, it didn¡¯t work as well as before.


    Jake noticed this. ¡°Go to sleep.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the adventurers were still running. Their breath puffed and huffed with cold steam out of their mouth. They looked over their shoulders.


    The countdown had ended, but nothing was chasing them. They stopped hands on their knees to rest.


    ¡°Did he lie to us?¡± Scar took in the prickling frozen wind into his lung. He flinched. His life force barely kept the pain away.


    ¡°I think so, leader. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be dead by now.¡±


    ¡°Humph so that undead was a lie after all. A gimmick to scare us. Men! Stop running! We¡¯re going back to their camp and attack.¡± Scar smiled in arrogance. How dare that boy tricked him.


    His men looked at him with a terrified expression. They then screamed and ran away.


    Scar frowned. ¡°What are you running for?!¡±


    GROWLED.


    Scar widened his eyes and turned around. His sight fell upon a pair of demonic yellow eyes. Teeth sharp and hideous bared at him. He took a step back. Legs trembling like he was about to take a shit.


    And take a shit he did. His pants were stained brown and yellow.


    The beast took a step forward and chomped.


    ¡­


    The next day, the sun rose for a new beginning. The tent¡¯s zipper screeched down, and Aldred¡¯s head popped out with a smile.


    He took in a deep breath and felt the warmth in contrast to the chilling wind outside his area. He was d he mastered the fire elements. If not for that, he¡¯d be a frozen corpse by now.


    He put his head back in. ¡°Guys, it¡¯s morning already. Wake up.¡±


    Mary opened her eyes. ¡°Good morning, Aldred.¡± She kissed his lips. ¡°I have a wonderful dreamst night.¡±


    ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°Your mes on Pharder¡¯s throat.¡± Maryughed. She skipped the part where he brought her to bed after that.


    Aldred smiled and scratched his cheek. Mira, Mareona, and Sophia woke up as well. They approached him and kissed him as they greeted him good morning.


    They exited the tent. Bartrem and the soldiers were already out. They were cooking over the me hole that he made to warm the air.


    The me hole was simply a small hole with a burning me that would never die unless someone or something killed it.


    Aldred could turn it off as well.


    ¡°Get yourself something to eat,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We will continue our journey afterward.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the menu today?¡±


    ¡°Meat stew with eggs.¡±


    ¡°Nice.¡± Aldred smiled and checked the notification that he leftst night.


    [+3,250 EXP]


    [+3,050 EXP]


    [+3,100 EXP]


    [+3,150 EXP]


    ¡­


    [You have received the title ¡®Little Hunter¡¯]


    [Little Hunter]


    -Speed increase by 75% to all undead when chasing fleeing targets.


    -Reduction of noise by 80% when sneaking up on the target.


    -Damage increase by 60% for surprise attacks.

 Chapter 93 Mysterious Village

    As Aldred took a wooden bowl and grabbed himself some meat and eggs, Pongo leaped and snatched a mouthful. Pongo sneered and ran away expecting Aldred to chase him, but Aldred sat and ate calmly.


    Pongo tilted his head. What was wrong with this guy? And why did he wear such a smug and annoying face?


    Aldred got the widest and happiest smile glued to his face.


    ¡°Pongo?¡±


    ¡°I am in a good mood today. Nothing you can do to ruin it. By the way, where have you been? The cold might not bother you, but there are a lot of beasts around here.


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a vige? You think I believe your fish-stink mouth? We¡¯re in a freaking mountain.¡±


    ¡°Pongo!¡± He vomited out a clump of wool. Unlike ordinary wool, it was thicker and hard.


    ¡°This proves nothing. You have poop in your stomach, it¡¯s no surprise if there¡¯s wool in it.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo!¡± The penguin pped his leg, demanding him to believe.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°If you lie I will cook you alive.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Mary asked.


    Bartrem and the others were curious as well.


    ¡°There¡¯s a vige nearby. Apparently, they have houses and rear sheep-like animals.¡±


    They all looked at each other, finding this information hard to swallow.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to climb the mountain anyway. We can find out if it¡¯s true or not.¡± Bartrem put his empty bowl.


    ¡°Pongo said there were beasts on the way there. Notrge beasts like the Phantom w, but small ones.¡±


    ¡°We can handle that.¡±<sub></sub>


    After they finished eating, Aldred put all the tents and supplies to his divine dimension. This power should be a secret, but he didn¡¯t care anymore. At least they didn¡¯t know about his leveling power.


    And sure enough, Maverick who saw the tents shed with lights and disappeared widened his eyes. Aldred simply waved his hand, and everything vanished. How was that possible? From his knowledge, only someone with space magic could do this and it was one of the rarest magic to ever exist.


    ¡°A¡ªAldred, do you know space magic?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Storing supplies is the best that I can do.¡± Aldred didn¡¯t tell him that could bring everyone to his dimension and stay there for 3 hours.


    Also, he got three teleportation points that he hadn¡¯t used yet. He wasn¡¯t sure where to put them.


    ¡°How much supplies can you store?¡±


    Aldred tilted his head. ¡°Hmmm¡­ as much as I want? I think I have more than 2 Kilometers of space (1,2 miles).¡±


    Two kilometers of space? Maverick blinked a bunch of times. The boy could bring enough supplies thatsted an army for months in a war. He had to bring the boy to his father after this. Aldred was too valuable.


    ¡°Right¡­ So are we going to continue?¡±


    ¡°No doubt.¡±


    ¡°Let me pack my supplies.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Aldred sucked in his supplies to the divine dimension.


    ¡°That¡¯s so convenient. All I have is storage pouches that can only contain a few treasures.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Comparison is the killer of all joy.¡±


    They walked on the cliff with the wall on their left. The cliff led upward, and Bartrem figured it¡¯d be safer to use this path. He recalled the giant eagle attack a few days ago, and he did not want that to happen again.


    A few hourster, a group of small wolves came. They were the size of an elephant, but to Aldred¡¯s standard, those things were babies. Will the Phantom w stepped out of the mist and cut them with his tentacles. In less than a second the pack of wolves were shredded to pieces.


    When a swarm of these wolves came, Aldred decided to summon all of his undead. 182 Silver Ranks and 6 Gold Ranks in total. With this army guarding the front, Aldred breezed through the cliff like nothing was there.


    Maverick and the adventurer following them from behind could only marvel and gape at this show of strength. Aldred was like an army by himself. If he went to siege a fort all alone, he might have the chance to win.


    Thought it would be impossible if the fort was guarded by a tinum Rank or a Diamond Rank.


    Mira trembled in the cold as the temperature got colder. Arthur looking from the distance was about to cover her with warm clothes, until he saw Aldred putting a thick coat over her. He saw Mira smiling and thanking Aldred.


    Arthur did not say anything and continued to walk.


    After killing god knows how many monsters, they arrived at a small vige.


    ¡°It¡¯s real. Pongo told the truth.¡±


    Pongo crossed his arms and held his head high.


    The vigers wore a simple brown robe that hid their face. Large sheep-like animals grazing thend. How the grass survived in this cold temperature was out of his knowledge and logic. But in this magical world, logic wasn¡¯t always right.


    Aldred walked up to one of them. ¡°Hello, may I ask if you know how to reach the top of this mountain?¡±


    The man ignored him and kept walking. Aldred did not mind and asked someone else, but they also ignored him. Bartrem, Mira, Mary, and everyone else asked the vigers, and yet no one answered.


    ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t speak ournguage.¡± Aldred scratched his cheek.


    Suddenly, someone walked to one of the vigers and grabbed him. ¡°Tell me how to get to the top of this mountain or I will kill you!¡±


    The viger stayed silent, and suddenly, the adventurer¡¯s hand turned to dust and was blown by the wind. The effect ran up to his arms which scared him and he screamed as his whole body disappeared into particles.


    They all gasped in shock. Aldred stepped back. Thankfully he did not touch them.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Should we climb the wall?¡±


    Bartrem frowned. ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡±


    A group of four men walked past the vigers and started climbing on the wall. Just as they reach a few meters above the ground, the four of them turn into particles.


    ¡°They be dust!¡±


    ¡°How the hell are we going to climb now?¡±


    Aldred checked the status of the vigers with his godly eyes, but there was nothing. He frowned. ¡°This is so weird.¡±

 Chapter 94 Explosion!

    Night time came and everyone decided to build a camp a distance away from the vige. No one wanted to stumble upon them and turn into dust.


    Aldred sat in his tent with Bartrem, Mary, Mira, Sophia, Mareona, and even Maverick. Pongoy on the floor, sleeping.


    ¡°What is our next step?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take any risk,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We will wait for tomorrow and see what happens. If not, Aldred, you can order your undead to climb the cliff. We will see what happened to them.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°I can lose one or two of them.¡±


    The next, day. Aldred and his the others were looking up at the cliff in front of them. The adventurers were staring as well. No one tried to climb it like yesterday.


    Bartrem tapped his shoulder. ¡°Do it.¡±


    Aldred summoned his undead. One Silver Rank human warrior. ¡°Climb up.¡± He pointed at the cliff.


    The undead bowed and wed his way up. When he reached twenty meters, he was turned to dust. Aldred tried to summon him back, but he couldn¡¯t. His undead was truly dead.


    ¡°I cannot summon him back.¡±


    Bartrem crossed his arms and frowned. ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    A few days passed, the adventurers looked around the vige trying to find a way to climb. They avoided the vigers, and some even sneaked into their house. It was empty. Devoid of any bed or furniture.


    One day, a group of adventurers ambushed a viger using arrows and magic. Their projectiles turned to dust before they could hit the viges.


    ¡°Just what the hell is this ce?¡±


    The adventurer became restless and they looked for clues. Rumors started to spread.


    ¡°I say that they were not turned into dust, but teleported to the next part of the mountain.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we should just climb?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this mountain must be trying to scare us. If it was impossible to climb, then why are the astrbe here?¡±


    A lot of people were convinced and the next day, around a hundred of them climbed the cliff. Just like before they turn to dust when they reach a certain height. Some started to hesitate, but they kept going after seeing everyone did so.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Should we climb as well?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s wise,¡± Bartrem said. <sub></sub>


    After a lot of them turned into dust, the next wave of people started falling onto the ground. They all stopped climbing and stared at the man below. His eyes were empty. It was like something pulled his soul out.


    They all looked at each other and hesitated. They could ept that turning into dust might be teleportation, but the body was there for everyone to see.


    They all quickly climbed down in fear before staring at the body. Nobody wanted to touch it. One man braced himself and pushed the body with a spear.


    ¡°It¡¯s frozen hard.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of the cold?¡±


    ¡°He wore magical clothes, so that shouldn¡¯t be the case.¡±


    ¡°I am climbing it. I don¡¯t think this man died because of the mountain.¡±


    He quickly climbed up and when he reached the height, he fell down. His back slightly bounced when hended.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. The mountain killed them.¡±


    ¡°How do we climb?¡±


    ¡°There has to be a way.¡±


    Suddenly, the vigers walked toward them. The adventurers stepped back in fear, but they quickly slid a small box out of their sleeves and handed it to them one by one.


    One walked to Aldred, and he was ready to st with his fire spell.


    ¡°Wait, Aldred. It¡¯s not dangerous.¡±


    A hand-sized dice came out of the sleeves, and it was handed to Aldred. ¡°What is this?¡±


    Bartrem rotated it around to see what it was about. The dice was carved with intricate yet weird carving all over.


    ¡°Look there¡¯s writing on one side of the dice,¡± Aldred said.


    Aldred read it. ¡°Tis thing kill the hardiest of man, tallest of mountain,rgest ofke; it ends the liveliest of worlds, and drain the strongest of stars.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Maybe the dice asked us to find something,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°What can kill the tallest mountain?¡± Mareona asked.


    An adventurer inspected the dice up and down, and then threw it to the ground. He raised arge hammer and mmed it. The box was intact with no sign of damage or scratch.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    After seeing that, everyone tried to crack it open.


    ¡°zing me!¡± The dice was thrown into arge me. After a few minutes, the me died yet nothing happened to the dice.


    A group of earth magicians lifted a gigantic boulder above the dice. It fell. They were sure the dice was destroyed, but after lifting it up again, the dice was sunk slightly into the earth, but still intact.


    Maverick bared his fang and bit. It ng against his teeth and he got a toothache as a result.


    ¡°Aldred, try to destroy it,¡± Bartrem suggested.


    The boy took a deep breath as he put the dice on the ground. He summoned Will and Nicky.


    ¡°Destroy it for me.¡±


    Will¡¯s tentacle squirmed in the air and then they all came whipping at the dice at rapid speed.


    Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work Nicky, you try.¡±


    The giant velobra opened its mouth and gagged as a clump of green acid started filling his mouth. After a few seconds, he spat at the dice. The acid melted all the snow and burned all the dirt around it.


    The dice was still intact.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°My turn.¡±


    He materialized ¡®zing Serpent¡¯ and pointed the staff at the dice. The red crystal on the serpent¡¯s mouth shone bright.


    ¡°For all the milfs and incest in the world, I call upon your name to give me strength. Answer my call and have seggs for eternity!¡±


    Arge zing me appeared around him before condensing at the tip of the crystal.


    ¡°Explosion!¡±


    It burst forth and shot at the dice.

 Chapter 95 Water Razor

    BOOM!


    The moment the beam impacted the dice, a powerful explosion spread out, and it sted Aldred and hisrades dozens of meters away. The cliff shook.


    Aldred helped Mira stand up before he approached the explosion site.


    The giant crater sizzled with mes and steams. At the center, a dicey intact with no damage on its surface.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    The people heard that and gasped in disbelief. That powerful explosion was enough to kill a dozen Gold Ranks at once, yet it did nothing to the dice.


    As the people were amazed by his show of power, Bartrem and the others looked at each other.


    ¡°What kind of spell chanting is that?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°The ones that give me more power.¡±


    Aldred slid down the crater and picked up the dice. He sighed as he walked to his friends.


    Mareona picked the dice from his hands and read the writing.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Maybe we should focus on the clue. What can kill the hardiest of man?¡±


    ¡°Powerful magic?¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Powerful swords probably.¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°The strongest debuff.¡± Sophia slightly thud her staff to the ground.


    Mira was deep in thought to think of an answer.


    Mary frowned and approached the dice. She took it from Mareona¡¯s hand and then stared at the writings. ¡°Kill the hardiest of man, the tallest of mountain, thergest ofke. It cannot be. Is the answer¡­ Time?¡±


    The dice glowed in bright green and it shot out mist and particles of the same color. Suddenly, Bartrem¡¯s dice shoot out the same mist and particles. The same thing happened to Mary, Mira, Sophia, Mareona, and all the soldier¡¯s dice. Maverick and his friends¡¯ dice were shining as well.


    The onlookers looking at this checked their dice, but nothing happened.


    Suddenly, Aldred¡¯s dice made a click sound, and the green mist enveloped their bodies, making it glow.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Aldred looked at his glowing arms.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Maybe now we can climb the cliff,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred summoned his undead and ordered it to climb. Just like before, the undead crawled his way up, and when he reached the twenty-meter mark, the undead did not disappear.


    The audience gasped and was shocked. They were about to ask Aldred what was the answer to the riddle, but their dice clicked, and the riddle changed. This made it impossible for them to ask Aldred.


    Not that they¡¯d dare to as Aldred was the strongest here. Offending him meant certain death.


    They knew because some of them saw a pair of undead monsters hunting down hundreds of adventurers.


    Recalling that scene sent a shiver down their spine. They spread the news about that, and no one in the know would ever piss on Aldred.


    Aldred and his friends climbed the cliff. Hebusted some small mes on the wall to reduce the cold, and made the air warmer.


    ¡°Mira, Sophia. Can you do it?¡± Aldred asked as he wrapped the Light Formless Chain around their body.


    Sophia smiled and raised her staff. ¡°Light Weight! Sticky Grip! With this two buff, I believe Mira and I can manage.¡±


    They continued to climb under the gaze of envy and unwillingness. It was so unfair. They had the power, the wealth, and the status, and they also had the luck. These adventurers fought with all they had through gritted teeth and frozen skin to get here.


    A lot of them sighed and shook their heads, trying to solve the puzzle.


    When Aldred reached another cliff, he helped Mira and Sophia, then looked around. The wind was increasingly cold. With a slightly trembling hand, hebusted the ground into mes, sizzling the air with warmth.


    A small ice frog leaped by Aldred¡¯s feet. Its skin was frozen solid with ice, but he was more surprised that a frog could survive in this ce.


    That was when the ground started shaking, and Aldred saw a gigantic ice frog in front of him. 3 meters tall with a pair of red, sinister eyes.


    Everyone prepared themselves for another battle. They took their swords, shields, spears, axes.


    Aldred aimed his staff. ¡°Fire jet.¡±


    BOOM!


    Arge hole sizzled on the frog¡¯s chest. And it fell to its death.


    [+3,155 EXP]


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on, guys. I think we should continue this way,¡± Aldred said as the girls followed him. He didn¡¯t bother to add it to his undead collection as the frog was too weak. He promised himself that he would only collect powerful monsters, or monsters that could effectively swarm the enemy.


    The soldiers on the other hand were shocked that Aldred killed the giant frog in one shot.


    ¡°Has Aldred always been that powerful?¡±


    The boy¡¯s power was unbelievably strong, but what they couldn¡¯t believe even more was the difference in power between Gold Ranks. Just like Aldred, they were also Gold Rank, yet how could he be so much more powerful? They also recalled how they fought off the twenty Gold Ranks bandits the other day.


    If they knew that Velobra fought thirty Gold Rank by himself, they would get a heart attack.


    On their way, Aldred and his team faced all kinds of weak monsters. A swarm of icenewt came. These small little creatures were only good for target practice.


    Aldred raised his staff and gathered arge amount of mana on the crystal. When he felt it was enough, he tapped his right hand with it, transferring the powerful mana.


    Aldred widened his stance and he stared forward where the swarm of icenewt was. His right fist punched.


    A zing me the shape of a fist shot and erged before it engulfed everything in its path. The snow vaporized, the ground sizzled in heat, and the monsters could only scream before they fell off the cliff or burn to death.


    He received a bunch of EXP, but he ignored them. It would be a while before he breakthroughs to another level. He wanted to send his undead to the dungeon, but the experience he got from that was far more minuscule than killing monsters in the mountain. He only had a Copper Ranked dungeon which meant the monsters inside were only at Copper Rank.


    Farming in the dungeon did not make any sense anymore since he could farm Gold Rank monsters in Mount Fargon.


    Aldred checked his dice, looking at it to see if it would unlock another riddle. It did not, so he continued his journey and killed all the monsters he met.


    He started to get bored killing all these weaker monsters, so he summoned Be to teach him some water element spells. Mira was a water magician as well, but she didn¡¯t have any offensive spells at all.


    Aldred wondered why that was the case. All she learned was healing spells and defensive spells.


    The beautiful ice magician stepped out of the ck mist and transformed into her real form. She did not feel cold despite the freezing air.


    ¡°You summoned me, Master.¡±


    ¡°Be, can you teach me some offensive water spell?¡±


    ¡°What would you like to learn?¡±


    ¡°I want something that can cut my enemy.¡±


    Be nodded and started to teach Aldred how to manipte the water element. She was an ice magician, but ice magician was a subpath from the water magician, which meant she had to master the water mastery first.


    After a few hours of teaching, Aldred learned a lot of things about controlling water. And he even received some skills.


    [Water Razor]


    -Creating a razor sharp water to cut and pierce objects.


    -This ability can be shaped into many forms.

 Chapter 96 Byron

    A long time ago¡­ There was a small vige. Name long forgotten for it had happened far too long.


    A boy lived there, walking by the creek, living his life. His father and mother worked on the farm.


    ¡°Arthur, don¡¯t go too far. I am making your favorite food today.¡± His mother smiled at him.


    ¡°Okay, mom.¡± Arthur kept on walking as the neighbors greeted him.


    ¡°Look at you, looking so handsome and bright. Take this sweet potato with you.¡±


    Arthur smiled sweetly. ¡°Thanks, auntie.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± The auntie put her hand on her chest due to how adorable he was. ¡°Be safe and listen to your mother, okay.¡±


    ¡°Okay, auntie.¡± Arthur made his way to the grasnd where he usually yed. But then he saw something.


    Arge group of men marched, thumping the earth, and they broke into a jog before they screamed and dashed.


    ¡°Destroy the vige! Leave no one alive!¡±


    Arthur panicked and ran home only to see a man stabbing a sword through his mother¡¯s heart.


    Arthur closed his mouth and hid in the closet. A small hole let him see his mother falling to the floor alongside his father. Blood pooled under them.


    His mother weakly looked at him and smiled. Tears fell from his eyes. He closed them. It was all a dream. A dream. Just a dream. A bad dream. A terrible dream because he was a naughty boy.


    ¡®I will wake up. Wake up with mother still cooking in the kitchen and dad lifting a basket of wheat on his back.¡¯<sub>-.</sub>


    And he did wake up.


    The door of the closet opened, and a bright light came to his eyes. He squinted and that was when he met an angel. With beautiful green eyes and graceful golden hair, she smiled and patted his head.


    ¡°Can you tell me your name?¡± the beautifuldy asked.


    ¡°A¡ªArthur.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Arthur. My name is Mira.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred looked at the swarm of monsters that came from the distance. He flicked his fingers, and a thin arc of water shot forward, cutting all the monsters it passed through.


    Aldred raised his hand and clenched as a sword made out of water materialized. The water spun like a chainsaw at a high speed to help with the cutting. The boy smiled and rushed at the monsters. When the water sword touched the skin of the creatures, it spurted out blood beforepletely cutting off its neck.


    Aldred flicked his fingers again, sending a bunch of water arcs, cutting the monsters to pieces.


    Aldred kept using this ability, so much so that it leveled up by itself without him using the skill points.


    [Water Razor: Lv. 2]


    When he flicked his fingers, two arcs of water cut the monsters. So instead of one arc, it now released two arcs of water at once.


    ¡°This is awesome,¡± Aldred said.<sub></sub>


    As Aldred killed monsters with his new spell, he was oblivious to the fact that what he did was simply amazing. Mira and Sophia were staring at him in shock. How could he learn a spell so easily? Mira knew Aldred was talented and could learn so fast, but this was too much.


    Maverick who was in the know of how magicians worked was looking at him with mouth wide agape. Calling the boy talented and a prodigy was an understatement. The boy was a literal child of a god right now. How could one person be blessed by such incredible talent?


    They continued to walk. The wall was to their left, and monsters kept swarming down with Aldred shing them non stop.


    At first, Maverick thought it was normal, but hourster, Aldred was still cutting down monsters with his magic.


    ¡°Just how vast is his mana capacity? Does he have a limit in the first ce?¡±


    Eventually, they reached a wide tform with the ground covered in thick snow. Aldredbusted the ce with mes to shoo the cold away. At the west side of the tform, a pair of tall statues stood with both hands on the handle of a sword that stabbed to the ground.


    Like a pair of knights waiting for something.


    ¡°The fact that there is a statute here means that someone lives here,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°There¡¯s also that vige and their vigers,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°They¡¯re not people.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Bartrem simply nodded instead of acting shocked. ¡°It¡¯s no surprise. I don¡¯t think people can live in this ce. These statues are probably made to mark that they had climbed this far.¡±


    ¡°It could be.¡± Aldred approached the pair of statues. He felt his hands around the smooth marble. It was beautifully made with intricate details.


    The sword seemed to be made out of real steel as it gleamed under the light of the three moons. Between the statues, there was a cylinder shaped rock protruding out of the ground. On that rock was a golden key.


    Suddenly, the dices in their hand opened a keyhole.


    Everyone understood what they must do at that point.


    Aldred approached the cylinder-shaped stand and was about to take the key before both statues rotated their heads to look at him.


    Aldred and the others were shocked.


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡±


    Aldred pulled his hand back, and the statues moved their heads to look forward. He then reached out his hand again, and the statue immediately looked at him.


    He repeated this a bunch of times while the neck of the statues made a creaking sound.


    ¡°Aldred, stop ying,¡± Mareona scolded.¡±


    Aldred smiled and stopped. He looked at the statues. Clearly, they had to defeat both of them to take the key. He checked their status, but nothing appeared. Maybe it was because they were made out of rocks. Using his godly eyes, Aldred could tell there was some sort of mysterious energy within the statues.


    He wondered if he could win against them.


    A lot of people started appearing from behind. It seemed they had solved the riddle and quickly climbed up here. But there was someone that Aldred had never seen before. A handsome tall man with magical clothes followed by a dozen powerful retinue. The other people gave way and slightly bent their heads when he passed.


    The people whispered under their breath, wondering who the man was.


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I don¡¯t me you for not knowing. He¡¯s the eldest son of a count from Thignia.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s a vampire?¡±


    ¡°Not just any vampire. But a powerful one. Some say he can control the blood of his enemy, killing them from the inside.¡±


    ¡°What a terrible power.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±


    ¡°I think it was Byron Hajheletmik.¡±


    ¡°Bro, you know a lot.¡±


    ¡°Of course, how else could I info dump it to you.¡±


    The man who they talked about walked with confidence and an overbearing aura. He looked around like he owned the ce and everyone there was his servant.


    ¡°Get out of the way,¡± he said arrogantly to Aldred.


    But shockingly, Aldred and the others did not budge.


    Byron frowned. ¡°Men, kill them all,¡± he said without the slightest hesitation like he was used to this.


    ¡°Byron.¡± Maverick stepped ahead of Bartrem.


    Byron raised an eyebrow before sneering in mockery. ¡°Maverick? The man who got scared by his own brothers finally put on some courage?¡±


    ¡°Say that again and I will kill you.¡±


    Byron smiled, not caring about the threat. ¡°I will dly kill you for your brothers. And I heard you have a little sister as well. I am sure if I remove you, your brother will approve my wedding with your sister. Hahaha.¡±


    Maverick gritted his teeth in anger.


    ¡°Imagine, Maverick. Me and your sister in bed. I am going to have a lot of fun with her. I will impregnate her, and then kill her. Just for a goodugh. I am sure your brother won¡¯t mind that. Your father won¡¯t mind that as long as I gave him a son to unite both Chanterre and Hajheletmik.¡±


    Byron made a gesture of holding his sister¡¯s ass and then pushed his hip back and forth as heughed.


    ¡°What a degenerate.¡±


    Everyone was silent and turned to the person who spoke that word. It was Aldred.


    They stared at him in wonder. Although Aldred was powerful, both Maverick and Byron were the sons of a count. A count had numerous Diamond Rank under their armpits!


    ¡°Maybe the boy has a powerful background.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way. Maverick, the son of a count, acts so polite and nice to him without a background. Talent alone isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°He might be the secret son of an Adamantite Rank, otherwise there is no way he is so powerful at an early age.¡±


    Everyone looked at Aldred in awe. The envy and jealousy in their heart disappeared as Aldred¡¯s back was too far to reach. Now, they admired him for his power, talent, and background.


    ¡°And who are you?¡± Byron stared at him.

 Chapter 97 Alright, Bet

    Aldred smiled. ¡°Nobody. I am just a depressed little boy.¡±


    Everyoneughed when they heard that. There was no way the boy was a nobody. At a minimum, the boy had to be the son of an emperor.


    Byron frowned. Who was this boy? He never heard about his existence before. But it was weird. The boy clearly had a Gold Rank strength, yet he never heard of him. He must be a nobody that luckily found something that increased his rank quickly.


    ¡°Get out of my way. That key is mine.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here first,¡± Aldred replied.


    Byron furrowed his brows. ¡°Is this the type of people you befriend, Maverick? Well, at least he has guts in him unlike you.¡±


    Maverick couldn¡¯t take it anymore and pulled out his blood de.


    But Aldred stepped forward. ¡°Are you insulting my friend?¡±


    ¡°So what if I am? Do you have any problem with that?¡±


    Aldred snorted. ¡°Since you think you are so great, why don¡¯t we make a bet. If you can take the key and unlock your dice, I will be your ve.¡±


    Byron crossed his arms and smiled. ¡°I am listening.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°But if you lose, I fuck your mom.¡±


    Maverick and everyoneughed. Mareonaughed so hard that she even started rolling on the ground.


    Byron clenched his fist. ¡°Are you ying with me?¡±


    Aldredughed. He shook his head. ¡°I am joking. your mom is not enough. Maverick, does this person have a sister?¡±


    Maverick nodded. ¡°One big sister.¡±


    ¡°Add that to the te. I am hungry, you see.¡±


    Everyoneughed again. Mareona couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and struggled to breathe because ofughter.


    Byron turned red in anger. How dare this boy mocked him! He pulled the sword from his back and was about to attack but he thought better of it.


    ¡°Fine then. But we will sign a blood contract to ensure everyone follows the rules.¡±


    Everyone stoppedughing.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Aldred asked. He didn¡¯t know what blood contract was, but it seemed like magic that made sure everyone followed it.


    ¡°If I lose you can even fuck my dad if you want to, but if I win, all of you, including Maverick will be my ve.¡±


    THE STAKES HAD BEEN RAISED.


    Aldred hesitated. If this was only him, then he¡¯d take it any day, but others were also at stake, so he couldn¡¯t decide by himself.


    ¡°What do you all think?¡±


    ¡°I trust your judgment, Aldred,¡± Maverick said.


    Aldred looked at everyone else and they all nodded at him, saying that they trust his decision.


    ¡°Back in the fort, we fight against an army almost every week, and now we have climbed the lower part of Mount Fargon. If we¡¯re afraid to take this bet, then are we really a soldier?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± The soldier replied.


    Mareona sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to fuck anyone¡¯s mom, but this guy pissed me off. And I don¡¯t think fucking his mom and sister are enough. We want his treasures and his followers¡¯ treasures as well. ALL OF IT.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. ¡°This is supposed to be a joke. Why has ite to this.¡±


    Byron snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t joke about someone¡¯s mom. Now either do the blood contract or get the fuck out of my way.¡±


    Aldred looked at him like he was an idiot. ¡®This guy just now talked about Maverick¡¯s sister, and even gave an example of how he¡¯d do her in bed. What a hypocrite!¡¯


    He sighed. ¡°Fine. How do we do the contract?¡±


    Byron approached him and took his hand.


    ¡°Remember to use the contract for humans,¡± Maverick said.


    ¡°I know.¡± Byron released his hand and then bit his own hand. ¡°Give me your blood.¡±


    Aldred bit his little thumb and showed the blooding out to Byron. ¡°Now what.¡±


    ¡°Now press your thumb against my palm.¡±


    Aldred did, and then he felt some sort of energy rushing through him.


    ¡°Do all of you agree to sign this contract?¡± Byron asked.


    Bartrem and the soldiers nodded. They were not afraid of taking risks, if that was the case, they wouldn¡¯t be soldiers in the first ce. Signing this contract was no different than signing in to join the military.


    They go to the battlefield and risk their life. But this time, if they won, they¡¯d earn some treasures while the military only gave five coins per month.


    So they didn¡¯t think this was a loss.


    After a few seconds, blood mist came out of their hands and then entered through Mary and the others.


    Byron smiled. Even though he signed the blood contract, it only worked for vampires. If the other party wasn¡¯t a vampire, he did not have to follow anything written on the contract. But the other party still has to follow it. This was a one-sided contract that no one would agree to, and he loved every moment he tricked people to sign it.


    Maverick wouldn¡¯t know he used this type of contract because he had learned how to fake it.


    He grinned as he stared at the boy. ¡®What a fool. You think I would sign a blood contract with a stinking boy like you?!¡¯


    Maverick saw nothing was wrong, but he got something to worry about. Byron was a powerful warrior. Even with his blood de, he might not have the chance to defeat the man.


    ¡°Now get out of my way. You think I don¡¯t know that these two statues can attack me? I did my study before I went on this journey. That¡¯s why I amte.¡±


    Aldred crossed his arms and smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re not worried, Aldred?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°Why should I be worried?¡±


    ¡°If he wins, we¡¯d all be ves.¡±


    ¡°You think about the consequence too much,¡± Aldred said. ¡°The worst that can happen is we all will die.¡± Heughed.


    Maverick did notugh and looked at Byron as he approached the cylinder stand.


    Just like earlier, the statues stared at him as he was about to take the key. Just as his hand would like to touch the key, the statues swung their sword.


    ¡°Humph! A pile of rock is nothing against my power.¡± Byron leaped at one of the statues.


    His fist moved with a powerful aura that pressured the air around it. It created a powerful shock wave when it hit the chest of the stone knight, but the statue didn¡¯t even budge before grabbing him and mming him to the ground.


    Aldred smiled and shouted: ¡°And we have a winner!¡±

 Chapter 98 Revelation

    Everyone was shocked to see Byron lose in less than 5 moves. Those who were shocked were vampires thate from Thignia. Some humans who knew Byron or were told about him were shocked as well.


    Byron gritted his teeth. ¡°Save me!¡±


    His guards rushed forward, blocked the attack, and pulled him out. The statues did not move from their spot and simply stabbed their sword to the ground again, returning to their original posture.


    Aldredughed. ¡°What a loser. Now give me all of your treasures. As for your mom and sister, I will surely do a lovely visit to your county some other time.¡±


    The people there couldn¡¯t evenugh anymore. They were too shocked at how powerful the statues were. If Byron was defeated so easily, then what about them?


    Byron snorted. ¡°I am not done yet.¡±


    He rushed forward along with his guards who almost matched him in strength. They worked together and fought the statues, circling them, and attacking them from all directions.


    The statues didn¡¯t even lift their feet. They swung down, creating a powerful force wave that sted all the snow along with Byron and his men.


    Byron spat out blood as his whole body felt in pain. He was unwilling to admit defeat. ¡°Again! Attack again!¡±


    The guards obeyed. This time they were more careful in their movement and focused on dodging. Yet despite that, the statues kept on hitting them with theirrge stone swords. One of the guards got hit right in the face. His body was thrown onto the wall, and he slid down lifelessly.


    Byron couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. How could he not defeat these statues? They were just a pile of rocks.


    He gritted his teeth. ¡°Charged!¡± <sub>-.</sub>


    A powerful aura came from his fist. He leaped forward, and punched one of the statues in the face. His fist exploded with powerful energy. The statues did not feel that, and mmed him with its sword.


    ¡°Sir Byron!¡±


    The guards dragged him away as he coughed out of blood.


    ¡°This cannot be. This cannot be! I refuse to believe this!¡± Byron coughed out more blood.


    ¡°You lose,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°NO! I am not. Give me time and I will destroy them.¡±


    ¡°Even if you die, you won¡¯t be able to defeat them.¡±


    ¡°What a joke. Then it¡¯s your turn to fight them. Go on. If you can unlock your dice, then I admit I lose.¡±


    ¡°Say no more.¡± Aldred walked to the statues.


    It looked at him and stabbed with its sword. Aldred smiled and calmly raised his dice. The sword stabbed through the keyhole of the dice, and then it unlocked by itself. The statues turned lifeless and returned to their original position.


    The onlookers gasped in shock. What the hell just happened? <sub></sub>


    Aldred turned around and smiled. ¡°Byron, you lose the moment you try to take the key. Aldred walked to the cylinder stand. His hands pinched the key, but he couldn¡¯t take it.


    ¡°As you can see, the key is not real. It¡¯s merely a drawing. The key is right there all this time which is the tip of the stone knight¡¯s sword. All of you have been fooled.¡±


    The people whispered around with this revtion. They were shocked by Aldred¡¯s capabilities to figure that out, and were also grateful for him. If he did not tell them about this, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to climb.


    Byron wore an unwilling expression at first, but then it turned into a smug look. ¡°Humph. Let me tell you something. The contract I gave you earlier only works for you. Unless you are a vampire, I don¡¯t have to obey anythi¡ª¡±


    A red aura glowed in his body.


    ¡°Wait what?¡±


    Suddenly, numerous sharp pain prickled his body from the inside out, stabbing his stomach, liver, heart, and brain. ¡°AHH! I will obey the contract! I will obey!¡±


    The pain disappeared.


    Maverick furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Aldred. Was the boy a vampire?


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°He tried to trick you,¡± Maverick said. ¡°The contract given to you was for a vampire which means he doesn¡¯t have to obey anything if you are a human.¡±


    Aldred was a vampire? How was that possible? Bartrem and the soldiers had always lived with Aldred and they had never seen him drink blood.


    ¡°Mary, did you know?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Mary nodded. ¡°Mira, Sophia, and Mareona knew as well.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, are you afraid that we won¡¯t ept you because you are a vampire?¡± Bartrem looked at him.


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s not that. The thing is. I only turned into a vampire quite recently.¡±


    ¡°Turning into a vampire?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I was a human, but I turned into a vampire when I traveled to Ruandeurtin with Mary.¡±


    The soldiers nodded in understanding.


    ¡°We don¡¯t care if you are a vampire, Aldred. What matters is not your race, but what you have done for us. You saved our lives numerous times and weughed and ate together.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I can turn into an eagle and snakes. Do you still ept me?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Even if you turn into a frog, we¡¯d still be your friends.¡±


    Aldred looked to the side. If they knew he could turn into a vibrator¡­ wonder what their reaction would be.


    Maverick smiled. If Aldred was a vampire then it would be easier to rope Aldred in. His father had a lot of powerful blood supply for a young vampire like Aldred. But before that, he had to make a good impression.


    ¡°Byron, now that you lose, you must give all of your treasures to Aldred.¡± Maverick stared at him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Byron said. He had no choice. If he refused, the contract would kill him.


    Aldred walked towards him and received all the treasures. The man brought a lot of storage pouches. It was simr to his divine dimension, but only had a few meters of space.


    After giving it all out, Byron was only left with one set of armor.


    ¡°Take that off as well,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°This is the only thing I have.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. The contract said we will take everything.¡±


    Byron trembled in anger as he stared at Aldred. Nheless, he still took off his armor and handed them to the boy.


    Aldredughed. ¡°We¡¯re rich! Guys, if you want any treasures just tell me. I will give you anything you want.¡±


    The adventurers hearing this bit their lips in jealousy. Being Aldred¡¯s friend or his subordinates seemed like a much better prospect than being an adventurer.


    The boy nced at Byron who was still shaking in anger. ¡°Don¡¯t be so excited. I won¡¯t forget your mom and sister. I, Aldred the Great, will make a visit in the future.¡±


    Byron¡¯s vein burst on his forehead. A slight tinge of fear apanied his anger. If the boy was serious, then he would be in a big trouble.


    He then rummaged through the pile of treasures, looking for something useful that he could use. He found a small red trinket.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [me Ward]


    ¨C A powerful ward that let you control the fire elements with a radius of 200 meter (656 feet) in any direction.


    ¨C Increase your fire mastery within the effect radius by 200%


    ¨C Increase fire damage by 250%


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 99 Blood Sucking

    After storing all the treasures in his divine dimension, Aldred looked at his dice and read the writing.


    ¡°It protects from the harsh world; from rain and thunder, from ws and nails.¡±


    The boy shook his head. ¡°My head hurts just by reading it. Can you guys figure it out?¡±


    They all tried to solve the riddle, but nothing worked.


    ¡°It¡¯s too vague. We need more clues.¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡± The penguin handed a small bottle to Aldred.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Aldred opened the bottle and took out a small letter inside it.


    ¡°A ce where you can rest and be at ease,¡± Aldred read. ¡°This is a clue.¡±


    They all thought hard about the clue. At first, they thought it was an item, but the clue had ¡®ce¡¯ which meant the answer was not an object.


    ¡°What ce can you rest and be at ease?¡±


    ¡°The toilet,¡± Mareona said to her dice.


    Nothing happened.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°The bedroom?¡± Bartrem tried, but he failed as well.


    ¡°The church?¡±


    Everyone looked at Mira¡¯s dice expectantly, but she was wrong.


    ¡°Remember that we have to be quick, guys. If someone solves it, the question will change.¡± Aldred saw the people unlocking their dice one by one with his method. He hit himself in the head. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told them about the method.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t do that, Byron won¡¯t give you the treasure,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Just some small treasures are not important.¡±


    Mira smiled at him. ¡°What you did is the right thing. You prevent pointless bloodshed and suffering. If you didn¡¯t tell them, a lot of people would die.¡±


    Sophia looked at the adventurer who locked their dice one by one. She disagrees with Mira. These adventurers were better off dead rather than bing theirpetitors.


    ¡®Their sess means our failure, and for that, they must die.¡¯


    But she did not attack. It would be foolish to be hated by everyone here.


    After hours of failure, Aldred decided to camp for the night and rest. No one seeded in solving the puzzle.<sub></sub>


    Just like before, he created a bunch of hot baths. This time, he could fill up the holes with water by himself.


    Mira caressed his face in the hot bath. ¡°You grow so fast. In the future, you¡¯d be far stronger than this.¡±


    ¡°If this world doesn¡¯t curse Gold Rank being, you would be tinum Rank by now, Aldred,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even though I am a Gold Rank, I can defeat more than a hundred by myself.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°There was a huge difference in power between Gold Rank. Usually, those who could defeat multiple Gold Ranks at once had the highest chance to breakthrough and reach tinum Rank. If they could defeat tens of Gold Rank alone, then they¡¯d surely reach Diamond.¡±


    Mira smiled at Mary. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know that much.¡±


    ¡°I read books in my free time.¡±


    Mira was surprised. ¡°As a soldier, you make some time to read books?¡±


    ¡°It needs more than brawl to change an empire.¡±


    ¡°I admire your effort, Mary.¡±


    Mary bitterly smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be. Anyone can do what I do. Knowledge isn¡¯t that importantpared to power. We better think of a way to increase your strength, Aldred. The stronger you are, the more likely we are to seed.¡±


    Aldred tugged both of her hands. ¡°I can be stronger through evolution.¡±


    ¡°Evolution?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°If I drink more blood, my vampire gene will evolve and make me stronger.¡±


    Sophia approached him and showed her neck. ¡°In that case, drink mine.¡±


    She blushed. The thought of her blood being sucked by Aldred made her excited. If she had an unlimited amount of blood, she¡¯d let him drink them all day long. In fact, even without unlimited blood, she would still let him drink them. Though she still wished to live so she could stay with Aldred.


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned red and he lusted at her neck. Her smooth and beautiful skin made her neck seem so enticing. He was like a hungry child in front of his favorite food. Aldred pounced, wrapping his hand around her neck and bit.


    Sophia trembled and blushed as she caressed the back of his head with a smile. ¡®Aldred is sucking my blood. Hehe. I love this feeling.¡¯


    She moaned slightly, and after thirty minutes a notification appeared.


    [Evolution: 7/100]


    That was much faster than before. Was it because Sophia became stronger?


    Sophia breathed profusely. Her cheeks turned rosy red and she closed her eyes before slowly opening them. Those pair of shining hazel eyes looked at him with affection and desire.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Sophia nodded and hugged him. ¡°Drink my blood again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Sophia. You have lost too much. Let¡¯s take turns.¡±


    Mary grabbed Aldred, and then presented her slender neck to him. ¡°Go on. Drink my blood.¡±


    Aldred caressed her neck and licked it, making Mary¡¯s body shake. He kept on licking, making her moan in pleasure.


    ¡°What are you doing? Aagghhh.¡± Mary moaned as she wondered why Aldred didn¡¯t drink her blood yet.


    Suddenly, Aldred bared his fangs and sunk them deep into her neck. A wave of pleasure rushed through her body. She moaned uncontrobly and held the back of Aldred¡¯s head.


    She kept on moaning for the whole duration, and eventually his evolution points increased.


    [Evolution: 11/100]


    Weakly, Mary moaned and leaned on the wall of the hot bath for support.


    ¡°Sorry, Mary. I might have drunk your blood a bit too much.¡±


    She smiled at him and kissed his lips. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Mareona had been blushing as she watched this, and she couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She approached Aldred with her curvy hips and full breast. Blushing, she looked at Aldred before looking to the side.


    ¡°Drink it if you want.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am sorry about your underwear. I shouldn¡¯t have done it.¡±


    Mareona blushed even more. ¡°It¡ªit¡¯s fine. You can have my panties. Now, stop talking and drink my blood.¡±


    Aldred answered her call by immediately biting her neck. After less than an hour of moaning and squirming, Aldred stopped sucking her blood.


    [Evolution: 14/100]


    And finally, it was Mira¡¯s turn. She did not mind Aldred sucking her blood. If it helped him be stronger then why not.


    Aldred sank her fangs onto her neck. Mira trembled. The pleasure washed her whole body. She was reminded again why people were so easy to fall into temptation. This kind of pleasure pushed away all rationalities. People kill and plunder just to have a taste of it.


    Such was the power of emotion.


    Mira moaned. Her cheeks turned red. Momentster, Aldred looked at the notification.


    [Evolution: 25/100]


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Mira¡¯s blood seemed to give more points. Was it because her blood was special?


    Aldred continued to drink her blood, but then someone ripped the left part of his tent, creating a hole, and revealing Arthur with bloodshed eyes.


    ¡°I will kill you, bastard!¡±

 Chapter 100 Not Worthy

    Arthur pulled out his sword. The de shone as bright as the sun, forcing Aldred to close his eyes.


    Arthur¡¯s sword turned the dark sky into blue. Powerful killing intent exploded in all directions, waking everyone up and carving fear in their heart.


    The world trembled, and the sky dimmed, turning into night as the light condensed on the sword. With bloodshed eyes, Arthur pointed the sword at Aldred, sending a tiny beam of light that warped the space around it.


    He was precise in his control as he did not want to hurt Mira and the other woman. He just wanted to kill the boy.


    The light struck through.


    BOOM!


    A massive earthquake almost shook the entire mountains. Arge part of the cliff got cut off, and it slowly creaked before falling off. Those who were unlucky enough to camp in the area screamed as they jumped and tried to reach the cliff.


    They failed and fell along with the rocks and rubble.


    The people who were below, still trying to figure out the riddle, looked up and were shocked to see a rain of boulders.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    The boulders mmed onto the houses and tents. Some fell on top of a person, crushing them to bits.<sub>-.</sub>


    Arthur was breathing profusely and stared at the spot where the boy stood earlier. After the dirt and dust disappeared, he realized that the boy and Mira were gone. The other women vanished as well.


    Bartrem ran out of his tents followed by his soldiers. ¡°What the fuck are you doing!¡±


    Suddenly, a sh of light came and Aldred appeared with Mira and the others. He had entered the divine dimension earlier the moment that blinding light appeared. If not for that, he¡¯d be dead right now.


    The boy stared at Arthur, and dashed at him.


    ¡°Wait, Aldred,¡± Mira called.


    Aldred halted. ¡°He tried to kill me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Mira nodded and red at Arthur. ¡°What are you doing, Arthur? Why did you try to kill this boy.¡±


    Arthur noticed Mira¡¯s naked body and looked to the side. ¡°That boy sullied you, sister. I cannot have it.¡±


    ¡°Who said he sullied me?¡±


    ¡°He¡ªhe did something to your body.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I let him do that on my own ord. He did not sully me.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at me, Arthur. You didn¡¯t even have the self-control and look away, and you dare to say that this boy sullied me? Look at me!¡±


    Aldred was surprised. He had never seen Mira this angry before. Her eyes were more than anger though, they depicted a greater disappointment than before.


    Arthur took a deep breath and looked at her.


    ¡°You use your sword,¡± Mira said in anger. ¡°You use the power that God bestows upon you to kill an innocent boy. Where is your honor as a hero?¡±


    ¡°Sister¡­¡± Tears welled up in his eyes. He did not realize what he did was wrong. Blinded by rage, he stormed to the tent and attacked the boy, all because he did not want the boy to touch her body.


    ¡°I am disappointed in you, Arthur. From now on, you are no longer a hero.¡±


    Arthur widened his eyes. Golden light came out of his body, and then it siphoned to the sky, disappearing to never be seen again. The sword in his hand shattered into a million pieces.


    ¡°Sister, I am sorry,¡± he said as he looked her in the eye.


    Tears fell from Mira¡¯s eyes as her body trembled. ¡°I do not want to do this to you, child. But you are not worthy to wield this power.¡±


    ¡°Then, I am no longer worthy to live.¡± He stabbed his own neck with his hand. His eyes widened and he gagged for air.


    ¡°No!¡± Mira started to cast her spell.


    Arthur smiled as tears fell from his eyes. ¡°I am sorry, sister Mira. You will always be a mother to me.¡±


    He shed his own neck. It fell to the ground with closed eyes and a subtle smile.


    ¡°NO!¡± Mira dashed to his body, and stopped as his body disappeared into dust.


    Jake and Hugo were running towards the tent before they widened their eyes when they saw what happened. They cried.


    Hugo dashed towards the tent, crying loudly in tears. ¡°Arthur!¡±


    Jake sighed and fell to his knees. ¡°I have failed. As hispanion I am responsible for him losing control.¡±


    ¡°Arthur!¡± Hugo fell to the ground where Arthur¡¯s clothes were. ¡°Arthur! No!¡±


    He looked up at Mira. ¡°Sister Mira, what happened? Why is Arthur turning to dust?¡±


    Mira took a deep breath. ¡°Arthur lost his control and used his power for his own emotion. He is no longer worthy to be a hero, and he killed himself.¡±


    Hugo cried. He regretted that he always acted childish in front of him. If he was mature like Jake, he might prevent Arthur from dying. Now he was gone, and there was nothing he could do.


    After a while, Hugo calmed down, took Arthur¡¯s clothes, and stood up.


    Jake slowly approached them. ¡°Sister Mira, we¡¯re sorry to bother you. We are going to climb down the mountain and return to the church. I no longer have anything to do with this mountain.¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Jake nodded and put his hand over Hugo before walking away.


    Aldred looking at this could only sigh. He was conflicted. Arthur tried to kill him which justified his anger, but at the same time, he did not want Arthur to die as he seemed to be a very nice guy. His attitude changed the moment he realized Mira was a nun.


    He sighed even deeper. Mira must be a very important person to him. To kill himself because of Mira¡¯s disappointment, how could such a person be bad?


    How could one tell if a person was really evil? Arthur tried to kill him. Was he evil? Not necessarily. He might have a reason for that.


    Bartrem and the others came to check up on them.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°We¡¯re fine. I went to the divine dimension to dodge his power.¡±


    Bartrem was about to ask more questions but stopped himself when he saw Mira crying.


    On the other hand, Maverick and the others were out of their tent to see what happened.


    They were shocked to see arge part of the cliff fell down. Luckily, His camp and Bartrem¡¯s camp were not in the way, otherwise they would fall.


    The adventurers and other groups stared with widened eyes. It was like a part of the mountain was cut by a gigantic knife.


    ¡°So this is the power of the so-called hero. Looking at the damage, it¡¯s a wonder how the Ceraisian still stands as a powerful Empire.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be surprised about that. Look at the boy. He was the target of the attack, and yet he doesn¡¯t even have a scar.¡±


    ¡°Only the tent is destroyed. How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°That means he is more powerful than the hero. I saw it earlier. The hero was sapped out of his own power, and then he turned to dust.¡±


    ¡°That boy is stronger than we imagine. Do not ever offend him.¡±


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t say that. I believe nobody will mess with him ever again.¡±


    Byron looked at the cut-off cliff, and then looked at the boy. Sweat trickled from his forehead. ¡°How did he survive that?¡±

 Chapter 101 Getting Mira to GoldRank

    Aldred made another hot bath and put a tent over the bath. They all entered dejectedly. Especially Mira. The boy wanted to calm her down, but he didn¡¯t know how to.


    Mira felt her body turn weak and she fell asleep immediately.


    Aldred, Mareona, Sophia, and Mary looked at each other. They didn¡¯t say anything but they knew that deep in their heart this was a moment of tragedy. Nobody wanted this or expected this to happen. But life had to go on, and so they slept.


    When morning came, Mira woke up first thing before anyone else. Aldred was shocked to see her smiling as she donned her clothes.


    Mira noticed his confusion. ¡°I cannot let my emotions affect this journey. Although I am in grief, I must keep going so Arthur¡¯s loss must not be put to waste.¡±


    ¡°Mira,¡± Aldred called. ¡°That¡¯s my first time hearing you say something that heartless.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°I always say that you shouldn¡¯t fall for your emotions. It is unfortunate, but love andpassion sometimes have to be sacrificed to avoid sorrow and misery.¡±


    She looked at the boy. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a burden by mourning on my knees. Arthur will stay in my heart as a reminder that I should put more care and attention to my guidance.¡±


    ¡®And as a reminder so that I don¡¯t make the same mistake to you, Aldred,¡± Mira thought to herself.


    Arthur¡¯s rage killed hundreds of people, but Aldred¡¯s rage could burn an entire world. If she had to kill her sorrow to avoid that oue, she¡¯d do it many times.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I am sorry for your loss, Mira. He seems to be an important person to you.¡±


    Mira nodded with a slight tear in her eyes. She took a deep breath and shook her head to remove the sadness within her heart. ¡°I am fine.¡±


    ¡°That said, Mira. You haven¡¯t reached Gold Rank yet. Why don¡¯t you kill a few monsters.¡±


    ¡°I am not fond of killing.¡±


    ¡°Mira, if you¡¯re stronger, you can heal more people.¡±


    ¡°To be stronger I need to kill.¡±


    ¡°But to be stronger is having the ability to help others and prevent them from being killed,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It sounds hypocritical, but you have to choose which to protect and which to kill. If anyone harms you, Mary, Mareona, or Sophia, You can be sure they¡¯d be dead in my hand.¡±


    Mira sighed. Aldred made a great argument. She did not have any offensive spells because she did not want to kill. But bing stronger was a must if she wanted to help Aldred further.


    ¡°I understand, Aldred. I will do what you ask.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred smiled to hear that she agreed.


    Mary, Mareona, and Sophia woke up. They greeted him good morning and kissed him. Aldred was grateful he had them to apany his journey. He can trust them with his life.


    ¡°I want to go kill some monsters with Mira. Are you guysing?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Mareona said. ¡°We cannot figure out the riddle yet anyway, so we might as well explore around. Who knows we might stumble upon a clue.¡±


    Aldred nodded. He then pped Pongo who was floating on the hot bath.


    ¡°Pongo!¡±


    ¡°Go out and find some clues.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡± He crossed his arms, pouting.¡±


    Aldred grinned and took out arge fish from his inventory. ¡°I found this in one of the treasure piles. I don¡¯t know what fish this is, but looking at its glowing body and  powerful aura, I am sure it will taste delicious.¡±


    Pongo stared at the fish with sparkling eyes as Aldred swung it around. The penguin dashed forward, trying to take it, but Aldred was quicker.


    ¡°Find us some clues, and you will get this as a reward.¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡°Pongo!¡± The penguin slid out of the tent.


    Aldred looked at the girls. ¡°Let¡¯s go.


    Then they left the tent.


    ¡°Aldred, where are you going?¡± Bartrem asked as he cooked some food with the soldiers.


    ¡°I am about to hunt monsters.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t go too far.¡±


    Mareona waved to her female soldiers. A lot of them were pretty close to the males now. Because there were more females than males, the girls were having a hard time finding suitable partners.


    Meanwhile, the males had a wonderful time of their life. One man was even surrounded by four women at once.


    And he was Jeffery. He was blushing as four beautiful girls fed him food.


    ¡°Open your mouth wide, Jeffery.¡±


    ¡°Aaa, there you go.¡± She giggled. ¡°Hey, I wonder if I can get in your tent tonight.¡±


    But even with such disparity, some men still could not find a partner.


    One of them was Joseph.


    He was staring at Jeffery blushing and looking down. Tears streamed down his cheeks. ¡®Jeffery you traitor!¡¯


    When Aldred explored the ce, the adventurers and other groups that made camp there were shocked. They immediately pulled out their tent and made way for Aldred.


    ¡°Where is he going?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Should we follow him?¡±


    ¡°Are you mad,d? He¡¯s gon turn you to undead.¡±


    ¡°I know. But what¡¯s up with that ent.¡±


    ¡°My father used to punish me.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that even rted?¡±


    Aldred and the girls kept on walking. The boy wondered why they seemed so scared of him like he was some kind of monster.


    Soon, they arrived at another cliff. A pack of snow wolvesy on the ground below. They seemed to be guarding a cave made out of ice.


    ¡°Should we attack them?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred checked the wolves¡¯ status and deemed that they were easy prey. He also analyzed the inside of the cave just in case there was a powerful monster inside. His godly eyes detected no living being.


    That didn¡¯t mean he was safe. The pair of knight statues was an example. There were powerful non-living objects on this mountain, and they were a threat to his life and his friends.


    ¡°I will summon my undead to cripple them. After that, you can kill them one by one, Mira.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Aldred smiled and raised his fist. ¡°Arise.¡±

 Chapter 102 Snow wolves

    Hundreds of undead stepped out from the ck mist. They were ogres, wolves, humans, and monsters.


    After they were all out, the six Gold Rank undead came. They all bowed.


    Aldred was proud of his undead army. In total, he had 183 undead.


    Mary frowned. ¡°Aldred, your undead regiment is too chaotic. They are all in random order with no specialization. This is fine for now, but in the future, if you don¡¯t fix this, your undead might lose against a proper army.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about managing an army. All I do is fight and help myrades.¡±


    Mareonaughed. ¡°You got two former Knights and one former High Knight here. Just ask us anything.¡±


    Aldred looked at Milet who was a former High Knight as well. ¡°Milet, can you help me set up my undead army?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then what should I do?¡± He asked them since they were experts in this field.


    ¡°You should have at least one magic squad,¡± Sophia said. They can help you in battle in ways you never know.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I can only collect monsters.¡±


    ¡°Then rece all your Silver undead to Gold,¡± Mary said. ¡°Those wolves down there are good as a nker or cavalry. They can charge at the enemy from the sides or from behind.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so I need cavalry.¡± Aldred turned to Milet. ¡°Attack the wolves down there, but don¡¯t kill them. I want Mira to do that so she reaches Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    They all bowed and dashed at the enemy. Be smiled and waved at him before rushing to the enemy.


    The wolves lifted their heads, yawning. After licking their leg a couple of times, they feel the tremor on the ground. They looked forward and were shocked to see hundreds of menacing undead charging at them.


    Each of these wolves was at Gold Rank, so they weren¡¯t afraid. They charged at the enemy as well. Aldred got a good look at them as they approached. Each wolf was two meters tall and three meters long.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ can the undead defeat them?¡±


    Both sides bashed against each other. Milet, Brook, and Crook were dancing around the wolves, fighting against two or three at the same time.<sub></sub>


    Meanwhile, Nicky and Will were having the time of their lives. These small wolves were livestock for them.


    Nicky made a weird hissing sound and blew a breath of miasma that melted their white snow fur. The wolves yelped in pain as Will, the Phantom w, cut their limbs with his tentacles.


    Be raised her staff. Arge icy, blue circle glowed in the air, facing the wolves. Suddenly, long icences came out of the circles and rained down upon the wolves.


    They were pinned down on the ground but not killed. Her control over magic was that precise.


    Aldred smiled. His undead was so powerful.


    Mary nodded in approval. ¡°The six of them are very powerful than a typical Gold Rank. But do you see how chaotic the other undead is?¡±


    Aldred narrowed his eyes and noticed that the wolves were killing his undead left and right. Yes, they regenerated and fought again, but they were only there to fill up the spaces. They couldn¡¯t even touch the wolves before they were being ravaged.


    The boy sighed. ¡°I have to remove these weak undead.¡±


    After a few hours of fighting, all the wolves were crippled and couldn¡¯t move.


    Aldred turned into a giant eagle and grabbed the girls with his ws before he leaped andnded on the ground. Some kind of weird energy did not allow him to fly but he could glide down.


    When hended, Aldred morphed back to his real form. ¡°Mira, kill these wolves.¡±


    Mira nodded and approached one of the wolves. The wolves howled in agony and pain as all of their limbs were cut off. Some were even in worse condition; long icences pinned their body to the ground. They squirmed in pain and misery.


    ¡°This is cruel. They have done nothing wrong.¡±


    ¡°They are animals.¡±


    ¡°Animals deserve to live as well.¡±


    ¡°Animals live in a kill or be killed world, Mira. This is their life. You pitying them is a mistake because they don¡¯t see death the same as you.¡±


    Mira widened their eyes. How could Aldred, a young boy at the age of ten, learn of such a thing.


    She took a deep breath and lifted her hands. A blob of water materialized in the air, and then it turned into a sharp icence. Her hands went down. Icence stabbed through the wolf¡¯s neck, killing it instantly.


    ¡°Good, Mira. You have around forty-nine more to kill.¡±


    Mareona and Mary looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing: ¡®Is Aldred teaching a nun how to kill?¡¯


    Mira hesitated.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°You said not to fall to emotion. Your pity will not help anyone. You have to kill them to be stronger and help yourrades to stay alive. This is not Montcresia where everyone can have hope without fighting. This is the real world where everybody wants to fuck each other to death.¡±


    This time, not only Mira, but everyone was shocked. What made Aldred have that thought? It wasn¡¯t something that a young boy should realize or know.


    Mary looked at the boy. ¡®He¡¯s more than just a boy. His thought process is already simr to that of an adult.¡¯


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Aldred,¡± Mira said. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. Immediately she made a resolve and killed all wolves quickly.


    Mira had a hard time breathing. She arrived at thest wolf and then killed it.


    A powerful glow enveloped her, and then she breakthrough to Gold Rank.


    ¡°Congrattion, Mira. Now you can do so much more.¡±


    Mira looked at her hand and felt the energy within her body. Aldred was right. She could help more people with this energy and power. Her healing spells had be more potent, and her lifespan increased.


    ¡°Thank you, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°No need to thank me. Just let me drink some milkter.¡±


    Mareona hit his head.


    ¡°Ouch! That hurt!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for being naughty.¡±


    Mira and the othersughed.


    Aldred rubbed his head, and then took a step forward. Raising his hand, he wore a serious expression. He removed fifty silver undead from his capacity, and then said: ¡°Arise and be my ves.¡±


    ck mists started enveloping the wolves. After a second, they erged and menacing snow wolves in undead form stepped out of the mist.


    All fifty of them bowed their head.

 Chapter 103 No Thanks

    Aldredughed. ¡°I have more than fifty Gold ranks now.¡±


    ¡°We should set up your army now. Choose who will lead the cavalry unit.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his chin. ¡°For cavalry, I need someone fast and powerful. Will is a good choice, but I think he has a better role in the future. Let¡¯s put Nicky in charge of the cavalry unit.¡±


    ¡°What about Will?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°He will get his roleter.¡±


    Mareona nced at the cave. ¡°Since we¡¯re here, let¡¯s check out the cave.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Aldred walked to the cave. The ceiling was covered with hard ice and it was smooth to the touch. In the center of the cave, there was a bottle. Aldred manipted the water in the air to engulf the battle and broke it.


    ¡°Another clue!¡± Aldred grabbed the parchment and opened it.  ¡°A ce at the end of every journey.¡±


    The boy sighed. ¡°How can we answer with this clue?¡±


    Mareona grabbed the parchment and stared at it. ¡°I think I know the answer.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Mareona looked at the boy. ¡°Home.¡±


    CLICK!<sub>-.</sub>


    The dice hanging on their waist shone in golden light. They felt powerful energy rushing through their body.


    [+25 Intelligence]


    [Blessed Mind: Increase concentration by 68%]


    [Talent Mastery: Increase mastery in all abilities by  75%]


    [Powerful Body: increase the overall toughness and power of your body]


    Aldred checked his attributes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 45


    -Vitality: 61


    -Intelligence: 77


    -Dexterity: 42<sub></sub>


    Stat points: 72


    Skill points: 58


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wow! His attributes increase by a lot. His strength was at 33 points before, but now it has increased to 45. And his Vitality was practically doubled. What an amazing effect.


    ¡°Did you guys feel that?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mary nodded. ¡°I feel my power be stronger.¡±


    ¡°Check your stats.¡±


    Mary did and was shocked to see the improvement of her stats. ¡°It increased by a lot.¡±


    Mareona, Sophia, and Mira checked their stats as well. They were surprised and excited to be so strong at once.


    Meanwhile, back at the camp. Bartrem and the soldiers were eating when suddenly their dice shone and glowed. Maverick, seeing this was shocked, and his dice made a clicking sound as well.


    They all became stronger.


    ¡°Did Aldred solve the riddle?¡± Bartrem wondered. He saw his soldiers standing up and punching the air, creating powerful force waves. They were excited and decided to spar with each other to try their new power.


    Bartrem smiled.


    Back in the cave where Aldred and the others were.


    Suddenly, their dice shone a green light and there was an arrow on the dice. It pointed in a certain direction. Even when Aldred moved the dice around, the arrow moved itself to point in the fixed direction.


    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the camp and tell Bartrem about this.


    Aldred exited the cave and transformed into a Gargant Eagle as he leaped onto the cliff and walked to the camp.


    Without him knowing, a lot of people were sneakily looking at what he had been doing earlier.


    ¡°Did you see his undead just killed all those giant snow wolves?¡±


    ¡°All of them are at Gold Rank, yet his undead easily defeated them all.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but he also turns all the wolves into his undead.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean his undead army just got stronger?¡±


    ¡°That boy is something else. I am sure he will be famous once he climbs down the mountain. We have no chance topete against him, we have to join him.¡±


    ¡°Join him? Are you sure? We¡¯re weaklingspared to his undead. You think he will ept us?¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no chance that we¡¯ll be allowed to join. I saw their soldiers and they are powerful and diligent. Even in this environment they still train themselves to the limit.¡±


    ¡°They muste from an elite group. People like us cannot touch them.¡±


    ¡°Why do we even stay here? That boy will surely reach the astrbe.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more than one. Yes, that boy will take one, but we canpete for the others.¡±


    ¡°Right. We need to make allies to secure our own astrbe. I heard that powerful and famous figures wille at ater date. Maybe we can meet and join them.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred walked to the camp with his eagle form. Shaking the ground, the campers were shocked and immediately pulled their tents and scurried away.


    They thought that the eagle was about to eat them, but apparently, it was the boy who could transform into a monster. They knew when they saw the girls sitting on the monster¡¯s back.


    Aldred morphed back to his real form after letting the girls hop off his back. He ran up to Bartrem.


    ¡°Bartrem, tell everyone to prepare. We should follow this arrow.¡±


    Bartrem stared at the green shining arrow on the dice. He nodded. ¡°Everyone! Stop sparring and prepare your gear!.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Aldred waved his hand, putting all the tents and supplies into the divine dimension.


    When everyone was ready, Aldred took the lead and followed the arrow.


    A group of adventurers stopped him. ¡°I am sorry to bother you, sir. But we would like to ask if we can join your group. I am sure our power will be useful.¡±


    ¡°No thanks.¡± Aldred walked past him.


    The adventurer froze and was speechless. They expect to be rejected, but not that quick.


    The other adventurers that saw this were d they didn¡¯t try to join Aldred. In fact, most of them were scared to be killed and turned into undead.


    As Aldred continued his steps, a couple of men in thick robes were staring at him.


    ¡°We should inform our lord about his existence. That boy will surely be one of the top contenders for this treasure.¡±


    ¡°Our lord won¡¯t being to this mountain. We don¡¯t need to tell him as that boy might not survive.¡±


    ¡°You fool. Look at his power. Our lord might be stronger, but that boy will surely grow. And his undead will increase in the future.¡±


    ¡°Our Lord has an army as well. They won¡¯t lose out to his undead.¡±


    ¡°In any case, we have to inform him about this.¡±

 Chapter 104 Learning New Skills

    As Aldred climbed the mountain, some adventurer group decided to follow him. Aldred did not care about them. He believed that to climb this mountain, one should solve the riddle first.


    After a few hours of walking, Aldred entered some sort of hedge made from snow. He was boxed in between white walls. At first, he thought it was normal, but then he was presented with two directions. One to the left, one to the right.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hedge maze,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But made out of snow instead.¡±


    Bartrem frowned and he looked at the dice. ¡°The arrow pointed to the left.¡±


    ¡°Then we should go left,¡± Aldred said.


    They all nodded and followed the direction of the arrow. As Aldred and hisrades made the left turn, the maze suddenly moved and changed its pattern.


    This shocked the adventurers that followed the boy. With Aldred out of their sight, and the maze changing its pattern, they didn¡¯t know where to go.


    One man tried to climb the snow hedge and just as everyone expected, the man turned into dust.


    ¡°This mountain has rules to follow. We have to strictly follow it.¡±


    They all looked at each other and tried to find a way out. But they didn¡¯t realize that the only way to leave is through solving the riddle.


    Meanwhile, Aldred calmly breezed through the maze, and he arrived at what seemed to be a wonderful hot bath. The bath seemed to be almost golden in color, unlike his transparent water.


    Aldred looked at the arrow, pointing directly to the bath. ¡°Is this arrow telling us to take a bath?¡±


    The boy summoned one of his undead and told him to enter the water. The undead did as ordered, and as he submerged himself, the undead¡¯s body glowed. Powerful energy enveloped him, then his strength increased.


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°Quick, enter the bath. This can increase our strength.¡±


    They didn¡¯t bother to take off their clothes and immediately jumped into the bath. Water sshed, and Aldred¡¯s head popped out of the water. A list of notifications came to the corner of his eyes.


    [+15,000 EXP]<sub>-.</sub>


    [+15,000 EXP]


    [+15,000 EXP]


    [+15,000 EXP]


    [+15,000 EXP]


    ¡­


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    ¡­


    [You have reached level 68]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 391/391


    Level: 68<sub></sub>


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 45


    -Vitality: 61


    -Intelligence: 77


    -Dexterity: 42


    Stat points: 86


    Skill points: 72


    Aldred was deep in thought. ¡®It¡¯s time to use the stat points. Since I am a magician and toozy to study to increase intelligence, I should put all the stat points there.¡¯


    As for strength and other stats, he should train to increase them. Aldred also considered learning martial arts. Close-range weapons such as sword art were also in his consideration.


    He was foolish not using his talent and capability to the fullest potential. If he learned martial arts and magic at the same time, he would be undefeatable in long range and close range.


    The enemy would not expect a magician to have a powerful body and use a sword.


    Aldred decided. ¡®System, put all my stat points to intelligence.¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 45


    -Vitality: 61


    -Intelligence: 163


    -Dexterity: 42


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 72


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred tapped his chin a couple of times as he considered where he should put his skill points. Should he learn martial arts first and then increase its level?


    Aldred checked his inventory. He had received a lot of martial arts books from the people who bought his hot bath spots.


    And sure enough, he found a suitable martial art book.


    Aldred materialized the book in his hand. The book was called ¡®Sky Splitting Strike.¡¯ Aldred opened the book.


    [You have learned ¡®Sky Splitting Strike¡¯]


    Aldred blinked. All he did was open the book. He hadn¡¯t even read it yet.


    [Sky Splitting Strike]


    -Using all the energies within one¡¯s body, one can create a powerful attack that split the sky and destroyed the earth.


    ¡°Nice,¡± Aldred said. Even though Aldred had learned the skill, he decided to read a couple pages of the book to understand it more. And unexpectedly, hisprehension increased.


    [Sky Splitting Strike Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡®Isn¡¯t this too OP?¡¯


    As Aldred read further, he realized there was a limitation to this ability. It did not only consume mana, but also stamina which was a limited resource for him. Mana wasn¡¯t a problem, stamina was.


    ¡®Hmmm, this means that I cannot use this all the time.¡¯


    Aldred rummaged through his inventory and looked for another sword art. After a few minutes, he found another upper rare sword art.


    ¡®Execution Strike,¡¯ Aldred read in his mind.


    [You have learned ¡®Execution Strike¡¯]


    [Execution Strike]


    -Imbuing the sword with a powerful aura, one can send it out to cut or execute a target.


    Just like before, Aldred read the book for a few pages.


    [Execution Strike Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    Unlike the first sword art, Aldred could use this ability infinitely. That was important. Should he enter a prolonged fight, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry if he had this skill along with his magic spells.


    Now that he had two sword art, Aldred looked for a powerful sword in his inventory. In less than a second, he found an upper rare sword.


    It was exquisite in appearance, making one think that only legendary warriors would be able to wield them.


    ¡°What are you doing, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I have decided to learn sword art.¡±


    Mary raised an eyebrow. ¡°But you¡¯re a magician.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I can learn martial arts as well.¡±


    ¡°I know you can, but it won¡¯t be as effective. Everyone can only be talented in one area. We¡¯re not heroes that have the blessing to learn martial arts and magic at the same time.¡±


    Aldred raised his sword and swung it to the side. ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    A powerful aura covered his de, and as he swung, the shining aura created a wide arc that shed towards the snow. The snow burst and a bunch ofrge boulders behind it were perfectly cut into two.


    Everyone seeing this had their jaw dropped. Mary was especially shocked. She only saw Aldred read the two books for a couple of minutes, and he alreadyprehended its power to this level?


    If she was correct, this sword skill should at least be a middle rare skill. This skill was very hard to learn. It might take years just toprehend the basics.


    Mira wasn¡¯t surprised by this. She had seen great potential and power within the boy.


    ¡°Now I can protect myself at close range as well. If something like a Phantom w jumped at me, I know I can cut them.¡±

 Chapter 105 Ape Fall

    Aldred smiled happily, satisfied with his new skills. It was such a waste not learning a martial art. If he learned them early, he could defeat any magicians by shocking them with his martial art.


    They would never expect him to get close and struck.


    Aldredughed. He looked at his panel and wondered where he should put his 72 points to. He wanted to be a versatile fighter which mean he should mastered close range and long range skills. But each skill had their own ups and down.


    Fire bullets for example were useful for close-range attacks. They were hard to dodge and quite powerful as well.


    But his me spells were already at a high level, so he should increase his other ability.


    First, Aldred leveled up his firebustion to level 4 since that skill was very useful. That already consumed a lot of his skill points. Next, he leveled up ¡®Steam of Life¡¯ to level 3. That would be useful should he got wounded and Mira wasn¡¯t there to help.


    That left him with 58 points. Aldred clicked his tongue. The cost of increasing spell was very inconsistent. Some spell cost more, while others cost less. He didn¡¯t know what affect the cost.


    He sighed and epted his fate. All he should think about now what which skill to level up. He tried to level up his racial ability, but he couldn¡¯t.


    It seemed like the only way to increase its level was to evolve through drinking blood.


    Next, he increased ¡®water razor¡¯ from level 2 to level 4. He had an idea tobine his sword art with this skill. He would try thatter. That left him with 34 points.


    Aldred wanted to increase the level of his sword art, but before he used his points, he decided to read the books more. Surprisingly, the skill did not increase in level, though reading the book further improved hisprehension.


    ¡®Seems like I have to use my points.¡¯


    Aldred checked the cost, and luckily his points were enough.


    He upgraded both of them to level 4.


    Aldred raised his sword and activated water razor to spin around the de. It spun like a chainsaw at the edge of the sharp side.<sub>-.</sub>


    He looked for a target to try on, but did not find a suitable one. Because of that, he decided to pull out a low rare shield and use that as a target.


    Any adventurer in the world would kill to obtain that shield, yet the boy used it as a practice target.


    Mary and the others didn¡¯t mind. The shield was obtained by Aldred anyway.


    The boy took a deep breath, stared at the shield, and swung his sword. ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    A powerful arc came shing at the shield along with his water razor. The shining arc came first, and it already cut the shield in half. After that, a second arc made out of thin line of water came and entered the small cut.


    Bartrem widened his eyes. That was a rare grade shield! It was designed to hold against powerful attack, yet Aldred destroy it in one strike.


    The boy scratched his chin. Thisbination could be useful. If the first skill failed to prate the shield or armor of the enemy, his water razor would follow it from behind.


    The soldiers were amazed. Their eyes sparkled and stared at Aldred.


    Then they ran at him, begging him to teach them the sword art.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Alright, I will teach you guys.¡±


    The soldiers grabbed their swords and carefully listened to Aldred¡¯s instructions. At first, they were slow in understanding his words, but Aldred saw a skill appear in their status panel.


    [Execution Strike]


    In Progress: 43%


    Aldred thought that it was interesting, so he continued in teaching them the techniques. After a few hours, all of them learned the skill. Mary and Mareona learned it as well.<sub></sub>


    All of them were shocked. How could they learn the skill so fast? It wasn¡¯t as quick as Aldred, but this was a rare-grade skill. It should take at least 6 months for them to learn, but they did it in a matter of hours.


    They all tried the skills by using the boulders nearby as targets, creating sh marks all over them.


    Though they were disappointed the skill wasn¡¯t as shy and powerful as Aldred, they were still proud of themselves and grateful that the boy taught them.


    After attacking the boulders, the soldiers decided to do a little sparring with each other. They wore their rare grade armor, and threw Execution Strike at each other.


    When they got hit, they realized how powerful this skill was.


    Maverick and his subordinates could only stare at them. He wasn¡¯t very close with Aldred, and he used dagger as a weapon, so learning the skill was useless for him.


    Though, he wondered if the boy could teach him some dagger skills.


    Suddenly, the dice tied on their waist made a click sound. It glowed and the side of the dice slid open, revealing another riddle.


    Aldred read it. ¡°It is the warmest ce as long as there is embrace.¡±


    He looked at them. ¡°What do you guys think?¡±


    They were staring at the riddle as well. Yet, even after a few hours, they still couldn¡¯t find the answer.


    ¡°Warmest ce? Embrace?¡± Mareona frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything.¡±


    Aldred was scratching his chin when he saw a shadow zipped in the distance. He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡®Was it my imagination?¡¯


    Suddenly, the ground around the hot bath raised up, creating a wall that blocked their path from all directions.


    Aldred looked up and saw a snow ape on top of the wall. It looked simr to a silver back ape, but muchrger.


    Slowly, more of them came until they numbered in the dozens.


    ¡°ARMS!¡± Bartrem shouted, brandishing his rare grade sword. He also grabbed a powerful shield.


    He ordered the soldiers to group up and create a circle formation. They put Aldred in the middle.


    He summoned his undead. All 183 of them. 127 Silver Ranks, 50 Gold Ranks snow wolves, and 6 Elite Gold Rank who Aldred decided to be so powerful they could defeat multiple Gold Rank at once.


    That included Milet, Nicky, Will, Crook, Brook, and Be.


    Aldred understood why Nicky and Will could defeat multiple Gold Ranks at the same time, but how could the rest do the same?


    ¡®They probably get stronger over time and level up in the dungeon every time I send them.¡¯


    Aldred had been sending his undead to the dungeon whenever he could to train them, though it wasn¡¯t that effective in increasing his EXP, it did make his undead more coordinated and powerful.


    The ape stared at them and leaped down, raising theirrge fists.


    ¡°HOLD!¡± Bartrem roared as he raised his shield. The soldiers followed, and they all held against the rain of fists.


    The ce quickly became a battlefield, causing the atmosphere to change in the hot bath.


    The apes weren¡¯t their only problem. The hot bath now became a really hot bath.


    Temperatures raised in every second. Steam started to fog their sight, and it hinder their breathing.


    Apes and humans charged at each other. One mming fists, while the other swinging swords. The apes did not seem to have a problem with all these heat and steam.


    The soldiers were having a hard time fighting them.


    Aldred exited the formation and summoned his sword. Since there were monsters, he could use this to practice his sword art.


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    Aldred swiftly beheaded twelve apes at once. He then tried to attack them without skills to increase his mastery over sword.


    To everyone¡¯s astonishment, Aldred did not move like a magician, instead he was like a true sword master, weaving through the apes, dodging their attack, and cutting their head.


    Even with all the steam that fogged his sight, Aldred¡¯s attack was precise, and his dodging skill was impable.


    This was possible because of his godly eyes. It told him the blind spot of the apes, and the trajectory of their attacks before they could even raise their hands.


    None of the apes had the time to scream in pain. His cut was perfect. It was so perfect that even Gordon Jarsey wouldpliment it.


    Maverick and his subordinates widened his eyes with admiration and awe. Bartrem and his soldiers were amazed, but they locked their sight on the apes.


    They were soldiers. They understood that being distracted meant death.


    As Aldred killed more and more apes, he looked up and realized that dozens more came from above. He also noticed that these apes only gave a tiny amount of EXP even though each ape was Gold Rank.


    The boy frowned. He spun, sending out a powerful arc that cut everything in its path.


    His body suddenly exploded with powerful aura and mana. It all went to the sword like a river, making the sword glow in a blinding light so bright and thick that everyone had to close their eyes.


    Aldred stabbed towards the sky.


    A powerful bright beam of light sted upward. Mira was shocked. It was like seeing a god demonstrating his power.


    ¡°Sky Splitting Strike!¡±


    His control over the skill let him avoid friendly-fire, and cleansed the apes out of existence. They all turned into dust when the beam of light washed over their bodies.


    Meanwhile, the adventurers seeing this felt a tingle in their spine. They looked at the beam of light rushing towards the sky, and wondered what it was.


    ¡°Such power. Who could it be?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? It has to be the boy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s the most powerful one here. It has to be him.¡±


    When all the ape was cleared out, Aldred and everyone there was shocked to see that more apes came pouring.


    ¡°They never end do they?¡± Aldred frowned. Not only the apes wereing endlessly, the heat was also bing much worse with the steam bing thicker.


    ¡°I think we should solve the puzzle to make them stoping.¡± Bartrem beheaded an ape.


    Aldred ordered his undead to attack as he grabbed his dice and read the riddle again.


    ¡°Warmest ce. What can be that warmest ce if there is embrace.¡± Aldred bit his lips. But then a realization came to him.


    ¡°I know the answer.¡±

 Chapter 106 Ew,Centipedes

    ¡°Quick, Aldred! Say the answer.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath, hoping the answer was correct.


    ¡°Family.¡±


    The dice clicked, and all the apes turned to dust, except for some corpses who luckily or unluckily missed the Sky Splitting Strike.


    The tall wall also sunk into the earth.


    Everyone was drenched in sweat because of the heat. Thankfully, the temperature became normal soon after, and the fog disappeared.


    ¡°Thankfully you solved that riddle quick enough,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Otherwise we would be dead from theck of air.¡±


    Aldred nodded. The heat and steam made it hard for them to breathe. Even Aldred had a hard time breathing earlier.


    And if he wanted to escape, he probably couldn¡¯t. The mountain prevented him from flying, and those who did not follow or understand its rule turned into dust.


    That meant he had to keep ying ording to the rule otherwise he would be dead. His mother would probably not let that happen though.


    A creaking sound came from the side. The ground erected a small cave. The dice lit up, and the arrow pointed at the cave.<sub>-.</sub>


    They all looked at each other.


    ¡°I will send my undead to scout ahead.¡± Aldred summoned his undead and ordered them to enter the cave.


    After that, Aldred looked at the ape corpses. ¡°Bartrem, Mary, Mareona, do you guys think these apes are good enough to be my undead?¡±


    Bartrem crossed his arms and thought for a second. ¡°How many Silver Rank undead do you have?¡±


    ¡°Around 127.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°Turn all these apes to undead. You don¡¯t need Silver Rank undead anymore. If there is a stronger beast, you can remove the weaker one.¡±


    ¡°My undead capacity has increased since I level up. Now I can have 204 undead.¡±


    Maverick did not understand what level up meant, but he knew about undead capacity. What he did not expect was how the hell did this boy had 204 undead capacity. For all he knew, most necromancer only had 15-20 undead capacity.


    An anomaly! This boy was an anomaly! A talent among talent! A prodigy among prodigy!


    Maverick trembled in excitement. He started to not care about the treasure. If he could get Aldred to his side, that would be an absolute win. But what could buy Aldred¡¯s heart? This guy had everything from treasures to power.<sub></sub>


    And he still didn¡¯t know his background. Looking at the soldiers following him, he must be the son of a powerful noble.


    Who could he be?


    Aldred raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    Glob of ck mist engulfed the snow apes, and turned them all into undead.


    All fifty of them stood beside the snow wolves.


    ¡°Brook, Crook. Both of you will lead this unit.¡±


    Aldred decided this because both of them were asrge as the ape, and their body stature were simr as well.


    ¡°What should we call this unit?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call them snow apes infantry unit,¡± Bartrem suggested.


    ¡°Good idea.¡±


    ¡°If they work together with the snow wolves, your undead army can be a tough one to deal with,¡± Mary said.


    Maverick smiled bitterly. The undead had powerful regenerative ability, even ten of them could be troublesome, not to mention one hundred of them at once.


    ¡°I hope we can find more monsters to fit the undead army. A flying cavalry would be nice,¡± Aldred said.


    After they talked some more, Aldred checked on his undead and deemed the cave to be safe.


    ¡°I will still send the undead in front of us in case of traps and ambush.¡±


    Mary and Bartrem nodded, amazed at how Aldred had improved and grow.


    They ducked and entered the cave through the small entrance. Though the entrance was small, the cave was fairly wide and expansive. His undead were marching at the front, looking around for anything suspicious.


    They walked for hours, and yet led to nowhere else. They were still in the damp, wet, and dark cave.


    Aldredbusted the ground into mes to light up the cave. A trail of fire followed him though it did not burn those who stepped on it.


    That was the proof of his mastery over mes. He could manipte its heat to a certain degree and amplify its brightness as well.


    Suddenly, the undead found an old man, and they parted to let him see from a distance.


    ¡°Help me,¡± the old man said weakly. ¡°I haven¡¯t drink and eaten anything for 12 years.¡±


    Mira was about to step forward to help the old man until Aldred held her hand to stop her.


    The boy pointed. ¡°Fire Combustion.¡±


    The old man burst into mes, and he rolled around on the ground, screaming in pain.


    ¡°What are you doing, Aldred?!¡± Mira couldn¡¯t believe what the boy had done.


    The old man stopped moving. His corpses still burning in me.


    ¡°That was obviously a trap,¡± Aldred said. ¡°He hadn¡¯t eaten and drink anything for 12 years? How could someone live with that condition?¡±


    Mira frowned and realized what the boy said was true. She didn¡¯t think much about what the old man said earlier and simply wanted to help him.


    ¡°We have to be careful, Mira.¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°You are correct, Aldred. I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize.¡± The boy smiled.


    They continued their way into the cave.


    Suddenly, monster came into view. Aldred already expected monsters to attack them. But what he didn¡¯t expect was¡­


    The monsters were gigantic centipede.


    ¡°HII!¡± Aldred felt a tingling sensation all over his body. He freaking hated centipede with their squirming legs and body. They looked so disgusting in his eyes.


    ¡°KIll them! Kill them all!¡± Aldred shouted. ¡°You know what. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡±


    ¡°Sky Splitting Strike.¡± A powerful blinding beam burst forth, filling up the cave, and destroyed everything in its path.


    Even the undead was killed. They could only cry when their master destroyed their bodies to dust.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t give a damn thing about his undead. The centipedes were too disgusting and he had to kill them all.


    ¡°Aldred, there¡¯s moreing out of the wall.¡±


    ¡°FUCK! SKY SPLITTING STRIKE!¡±

 Chapter 107 Hey, We Useful Now

    [+3,200 EXP]


    [+3,200 EXP]


    [+3,200 EXP]


    [+3,200 EXP]


    After killing all the centipedes, and summoning back his undead, Aldred finally calmed down.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like centipedes that much?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°It tickles my skin just by looking at them.¡±


    Bartremughed. ¡°You¡¯re a soldier, Aldred. You should fear nothing.¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek, embarrassed. They continued to walk and killed a bunch of monsters on the way. There were traps as well.


    One of his undead stepped on a rock. Suddenly, a gigantic spear shot at him from the side. The undead regenerated back his body part and stood up before they dismantled the trap.


    When they continued, they triggered a lot of these traps. mes burst and burned the undead from above. The ground suddenly opened itself, making the undead fall before it closed.


    ¡°So many traps,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Imagine if we don¡¯t have undead to take the lead. So many lives would have been lost,¡± Aldred said.<sub>-.</sub>


    An explosion sound came from the front, and Aldred saw a steel javelining toward them. He was about to dodge, but his godly eyes told him that Mira would be hit.


    That must never happen.


    He took out his sword and stepped in front of Mira. ¡°Execution Strike! Fire Combustion!¡±


    Combining the two skills let to an incredible effect happen. His de was covered in me, and when the arc shot towards the javelin, it was a shining arc of mes and light.


    It cut the javelin in half and burned it to dust.


    ¡°Thank you, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°You have done so much for me, Mira. I will not let anythinge to harm you.¡±


    Mira was touched. She didn¡¯t feel like she deserved that word.


    The group reached the end of the tunnel. There was an armor sitting in front of a chess board. The armor seemed empty.


    Aldred frowned. ¡®What is the meaning of this. An empty armor and a chess board. Is the mountain wants us to y chess?¡¯


    He ordered his undead to sit down on the chair. Suddenly, the armor moved his pawn forward.


    It was like an invitation to y.<sub></sub>


    Aldred and Bartrem looked at each other.


    ¡°I will let the undead y first. I want to see the consequence of losing.¡±


    The undead moved his own piece, but shockingly he lost in less than 5 moves.


    ¡°Checkmate,¡± the armor said. All of a sudden, the chess pieces on the board returned to their original position instantly.


    Aldred stared. He was waiting for what was about to happen to his undead. Nothing happened. He ordered the undead to y again, but the undead couldn¡¯t move the chess piece.


    That meant one person only got one chance of ying.


    ¡°I will try.¡± Bartrem sat down and y.


    Unlike the undead, he took hours before taking the next move. Everyone also helped him from the back, trying to see if the armor could beat him.


    Nevertheless, he was beaten in 7 moves.


    ¡°How¡¯s that even possible.¡± Aldred frowned.


    The soldiers tried ying against the armor one by one. Mary, Mareona, Sophia, and even Pongo decided to y.


    Pongo lost the game in 3 moves.


    Aldred eventually sat down and yed with it. From his observation, it would be impossible to defeat this armor in chess. If that was the case, then there was only one thing to do.


    ¡°Firebustion.¡±


    The opponent¡¯s chess pieces burned to dust.


    ¡°I win,¡± Aldred said.


    Mareona hit him on the head. ¡°Stupid! That¡¯s not how we y the game.¡±


    The armor looked down on his chess board. ¡°You win.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Everyone stared with mouth agape. The armor just epted Aldred¡¯s victory by cheating. That was a first because thest few challenges were not very kind to cheaters.


    ¡°This means that we cannot trust everything we see. Things might not be as it seems,¡± Aldred said.


    The dice made a click sound, and it exuded a powerful aura that engulfed them.


    [Weapon Art Mastery increased by 250%]


    Suddenly and explosively, all of them felt theprehension of their respective weapon skyrocket and pierced through heaven. It was like they experienced a blessing from the gods.


    All kinds ofplex andplicated techniques were now bare naked in their mind. It was so clear to see and easy to understand.


    Aldred also felt an improvement in his sword skill. He now felt like he could do more with the sword.


    All of them wanted to try their new mastery.


    And their wishes were heard.


    The wall of the tunnel right behind the knight armor disappeared. It opened up another dark tunnel.


    Aldred narrowed his eyes. He then realized there was arge swarm of monstersing their way. ¡°At arms!¡±


    The soldiers went into a stance they hadn¡¯t even used before, but it felt like they had used it for more than a hundred years.


    Aldred scanned them with his godly eyes and noticed that the hundreds of monsters were around Silver Rank and Gold Rank.


    He was about to order his undead to attack, but unexpectedly, Bartrem charged forward with the soldiers.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Bartrem raised his sword and went forward with incredible speed. A powerful aura spun around him.


    The soldiers were no different. They charged forward with shining, sparkling mist around them.


    What Aldred sawter was arge-scale massacre. Bartrem¡¯s attack was followed by arge and powerful arc that cut down everything in his path.


    And not only that, all the soldiers had that ability as well. It was like a weaving and roaring wind. They went rampaging around the tunnel, shing the monsters to shreds.


    The boy was shocked. Hisrades had improved up to this point, and he was proud of them.


    The soldiers were proud as well. All this time, it was the boy who did all the work.


    But now they had the chance to show their power and might. That made them excited. Power rushed through their bodies, and Aldred noticed they leveled up.


    Suddenly, powerful energy radiated out of them. They roared and shed for onest time, creating a bright, blinding light.


    BOOM!


    Aldred opened his eyes and saw the soldiers looking at him with a smile. Bartrem¡¯s expression was that of relief.


    ¡°We can finally be useful for you, Aldred,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°I never thought you guys as useless.¡±


    ¡°I know. But we all felt the same thing.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am just d that you guys are much stronger now.¡±


    The dice hanging on their waist clicked. Another riddle opened and showed itself.


    Aldred read it.


    ¡°It turns the smartest man into a fool, ambition into indolence, pride into humility, aggression into meekness.¡±


    Sophia frowned for a few seconds before she widened her eyes.

 Chapter 108 Bajaragon

    Aldred looked at her. ¡°Sophia, why do you have that look of ¡®I know the answer to this riddle, but I have to be silent first for the cliffhanger¡¯?¡±


    Sophia raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡±


    Sophia looked at the riddle. She wasn¡¯t sure if her answer would be correct.


    Since Sophia did not answer the riddle, Aldred decided to solve it by himself.


    ¡°It turns the smartest man into a fool, ambition into indolence, pride into humility, aggression into meekness.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°It has to be that.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, you know the answer?¡± Mary asked.


    The boy nodded and put the dice right by his lips like he wanted to whisper to it. ¡°The answer is¡ªgay.¡±


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Seems like I was wrong.¡±


    Mareona hit his head. ¡°What kind of answer is that. Let me try.¡±


    ¡°Guys, wait,¡± Sophia called. ¡°The answer to this riddle is¡­ love.¡±


    CLICK!


    The dice glowed and washed them with golden light. For a moment they were blinded, but Aldred saw a panel in his mind.


    [All attributes doubled]<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 696/696


    Level: 68


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 90


    -Vitality: 122


    -Intelligence: 326<sub></sub>


    -Dexterity: 84


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 0


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred was shocked. His attributes were truly doubled. ¡®My intelligence is now at 326 points. My magic damage must be very high.¡¯


    The boy also noticed something. An increase in intelligence did not make him wiser. It simply made him understandplex concepts.


    This meant that his intelligence didn¡¯t really change his personality, but he wasn¡¯t sure about that either. For some reason, the increase in intelligence made him more ambitious.


    So, maybe it did change him a little, though he didn¡¯t know yet to what extent that change would be.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Aldred nced to the side to find what made that noise. That was when he saw an ice giant charging toward them.


    The soldiers prepared themselves for another battle, but Aldred stepped ahead of them.


    ¡°Let me handle this.¡± He gripped the sword in his right hand and leaped.


    The ice giant attacked, but Aldred alreadynded behind him.


    Suddenly, lines of bright light ran all over the ice giant¡¯s body. The light exploded and it shattered the ice giant like ss. Its remains crumbled all over the floor and revealed a chest.


    Aldred narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he looked at the chest. He ordered his undead to open it, and sure enough, it was eaten by the chest.


    The soldiers were shocked.


    Aldred walked to the chest, arge tongue tried to grab him, but he cut it easily. He then stabbed the chest. Blood poured out.


    He did this because he saw something within it.


    ¡°A stick?¡± Aldred analyzed the stick in his hand.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [All Devouring Stick]


    -Can manipte its length and thickness at will.


    -Can consume other treasures or weapons to be stronger.


    -Able to morph into consumed treasures.


    -Can consume creatures to be stronger


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Interesting.¡± He smiled and fed it with his ¡®zing Serpent¡¯ and ¡®Upper rare sword¡¯.


    The two items melted into the stick and disappeared.


    The stick glowed and Aldred could feel the power radiating out from it.


    It changed to a magic staff and a sword as long as he will it. It also elongated and shortened whenever he wanted it to.


    Aldred smiled, satisfied with his new weapon. The stick could also consume creatures to increase its strength. That meant this stick could grow alongside him.


    And if he found an epic treasure in the future, he could let the stick consume it, which meant the stick would be useful to him forever.


    The dice on their hand glowed. The green shining arrow pointed deep towards the tunnel.


    ¡°That¡¯s our way. Let¡¯s go.¡± Aldred walked forward.


    The others followed him from behind.


    Mareona approached Mary. ¡°Do you notice something change about Aldred?¡±


    Mary looked at the boy who had his sight forward and his posture up straight. ¡°Maybe he is more confident and sure of what path he should take.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Maybe he is.¡±


    Mira on the other hand was slightly worried. She hoped Aldred did not take the wrong turn.


    Sophia did not care about any of this. Aldred was the one who epted her and treated her properly even if she was his ve. She would go with him no matter if he became a saint or a demon. In hell or paradise, she would always be with him.


    The group arrived at a flight of stairs that led upward. Aldred counted with his godly eyes that it would take at least 3564 steps to reach the top.


    That would be too long, so he transformed into a gargant eagle, and transported everyone to the top quickly.


    What appeared in front of them was a gate. It looked tall and thick. Aldred shed it to create an opening.


    Bartrem raised an eyebrow at how easily the boy cut the gate.


    When they exited the cave, they arrived at another cliff. He then felt the air around to be much thinner than before. It was bing harder to breathe.


    ¡°This is the middle part of the mountain,¡± Maverick said. ¡°Starting from here, breathing will be a chore. But I have a solution for that.¡±


    Maverick pulled out a bottle of pills from his storage pouch.


    ¡°Take this. It will help your breathing.¡±


    They all consumed the pills, and their breathing became normal again.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Aldred said. ¡°These pills are simr in the auction right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. And yes, it is simr, but this one is more potent.¡±


    The man proved to be quite useful on this journey. Aldred wasn¡¯t a person that would forget what others did for him.


    If someone gave him milk, And if he could afford it, he would return an entire cow.


    One good deed should be paid back by a thousand times.


    But the man was the son of a count. Aldred had nothing on him that the man would want. For now, he would help him in obtaining the astrbe.


    They walked into the cliff. The familiar cold wind whirled around them. Unlike before, it was much colder and louder.


    ¡°How do we continue?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Aldred looked at the dice. The green arrow pointed to the sky.


    When he looked up, he noticed arge red dragon was flying in the sky.


    The dragon stared at him and roared.


    Maverick narrowed his eyes. ¡°A Bajaragon.¡±

 Chapter 109 Baron Blood Vampire

    Aldred and the others were prepared for battle, but the dragon flew away.


    They were relieved. If the dragon decided to fight, that would be bad because they were very tired currently.


    ¡°We should make camp and rest for a while,¡± Aldred said. The arrow now pointed down, so all they could do now was wait. It wasn¡¯t the first time the mountains made them camp in the cold.


    He summoned all the tents from his divine dimension along with all the supplies and equipment.


    After that, hebusted a few holes on the ground, filled them up with water, and then heated them up.


    He didn¡¯t need to use fire javelins now as he could manipte heat to a certain extent. That was what the increase in fire mastery did.


    He also threw the portable tent to cover his hot bath.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Aldred pulled the four girls and put them in the hot bath. ¡°Ahh, finally we can rx.¡±


    Mareona approached him and hit his head.


    ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°Just to test if you¡¯re still the old little Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. What are you talking about.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mareona showed her breast to him and Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. She giggled. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re still the Aldred I know.¡±


    ¡°Which Aldred?¡±


    ¡°The naughty and perverted one.¡±


    The girlsughed when they heard that while Aldred could only look away, blushing.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°At least I am honest.¡±


    Mareona hugged him. ¡°Hmmm¡­ I don¡¯t want you to change.¡±


    ¡°But you said I was a pervert?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine as well.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°So can I suck your breast?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Mareona took a deep breath. Aldred was prepared to be hit, but her reply came.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Aldred didn¡¯t waste any more time and sucked on her beautiful pink nipple. After a long tiring day of killing monsters, sucking on her breast, and drinking her milk was a blessing in itself.


    He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the taste of sweet milk. It was soft and smooth, and his hand went to squeeze her other nipple.


    ¡°You pervert,¡± Mareona said with a smile and a blush. ¡°If you grow up, don¡¯t be a pervert anymore, okay?¡±


    Aldred gave a thumbs up, but he apologized to her in his heart because he wasn¡¯t nning to stop. He wanted to have lots of fun after all.


    Aldred pulled out his mouth. A little bit of milk came out, so he licked it. Mareona squirmed in the hot bath. <sub></sub>


    She hugged Aldred tighter as her cheeks became rosy. She realized that the other girls were looking at her, and she became slightly embarrassed.


    Aldred sucked harder on her boob which made her moan in surprise. Aldred kissed her lips.


    ¡°You naughty boy,¡± Mareona said, licking his lips to clean the stain of milk.


    Aldred¡¯s hand then went down to her crotch.


    Mareona moaned and looked at him in an enticing way. ¡°Are you enjoying yourselves?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    Sophia nced at Mira. ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡±


    ¡°Mareona is very close to Aldred, and the boy has great self-control. I won¡¯t be mad about this. If he ran around and forced women to do this, then I would be mad.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I don¡¯t understand your thought process,¡± Sophia replied.


    Mira looked at her, wondering what part of what she said was hard to understand. What Aldred did right now was allowed because Mareona allow it, if she didn¡¯t then it would be ****¡ªwhich was something she did not allow. AT ALL.


    Aldred then asked if he could drink her blood. He wanted to increase his evolution points.


    She allowed it without much thought since she could help Aldred be stronger then why not.


    The boy looked at her beautiful sky-blue eyes and her slightly wet blue hair that beautifully draped down below her shoulders.


    ¡°Thank you, Mareona.¡± He bit on her neck.


    Her cute thin lips trembled in pleasure, and she moaned as the sky darkened.


    [Evolution: 37/100]


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. The increase was much better than before, so his spection was correct. The stronger his girls were, the more evolution points he got.


    Mareona was breathing weakly in his arms. Aldred put her to rest and kissed her lips before she approached Mary.


    ¡°Can I?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask me permission for that, Aldred. I will always allow you.¡±


    Aldred was touched. Since the beginning, Mary was always there for him. From her saving him from the wolves, taking care of him in the fort, and now apanying him on his journey.


    He would give her whatever she wanted. He nced at Mira and Sophia. They were nice to him as well. They taught him how to love, how to live, and guided him to grow.


    Mary tilted her head and showed her neck to him. ¡°Go on.¡±


    His fangs came out and it sunk into her neck. As he sucked her blood, his hands went to her breast. Her breast was a big one, but it was soft and easy to shape around with his hand.


    While Mary was moaning in pleasure with his touch, Sophia and Mira could only wait for their turn.


    After an hour, Aldred stopped drinking her blood and kissed her.


    [Evolution: 58/100]


    She then went to Mira and asked her.


    ¡°Just like Mary, you don¡¯t have to ask my permission.¡±


    ¡°I would feel bad.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask the first time you drank my blood.¡±


    ¡°I was in the moment at that time.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    Aldred drank her blood and yed around with her breast. Mira smiled and caressed his head, letting out a small moan from time to time.


    [Evolution: 88/100]


    After that, he went for Sophia. She had been waiting for this, and when Aldred drank her blood, she was extremely excited.


    ¡°Aldred, will you marry me when you grow up?¡± She asked which shocked the other girls.


    ¡°Marry you?¡±


    Sophia nodded with blushing cheeks.


    ¡°Sure, I will marry you.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up and she pulled Aldred for a hug. ¡°I am so happy.¡±


    Aldred smiled and hugged her back. ¡°Me as well.¡±


    He then nced at the other girls. ¡°Will you all marry me when I get big?¡±


    Mareona didn¡¯t take long to answer. She ran up to him and hugged him. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Mary came and hugged him from the side. ¡°I have decided to always be with you.¡±


    Lastly, Mira was deep in thought. Marriage was a sacred event and a very important thing in her culture. Marrying someone took careful thoughts and consideration. Although she considered Aldred in a favorable light, she still needed to consider this.


    After a few minutes, Mira looked at the boy and nodded. ¡°I will marry you and make sure you don¡¯t be a bad person.¡±


    He ran up to her and hugged her. ¡°If you stay with me, I won¡¯t be.¡±


    Mira smiled and kissed his lips. Aldred was smiling happily and then walked to Sophia to drink her blood.


    [Evolution: 100/100]


    [You havepleted the requirement for evolution]


    [Evolving¡­ Complete]


    [You are now a Baron Blood Vampire]


    [Baron Blood Vampire]


    -Increase strength by 68%


    -Increase vitality by 68%


    -Increase in blood mastery by 78%


    [You have received a new skill: ¡®Blood Absorption¡¯]


    [You have received a new skill: ¡®Blood Cloning¡¯]

 Chapter 110 Greedy Bastard

    The ability he had always feared¡­ ¡®Cloning¡¯. He didn¡¯t know if this was a good thing or not. Did this clone have its own personality? Or was it like an undead that followed his wishes?


    Aldred sighed. The only way to find out was to try. Hopefully nothing would go wrong with this experiment.


    ¡°Blood Cloning!¡± Aldred shouted to the surprise of Mary and the others.


    A mist of blood came out of his pores. It condensed in the air and then morphed into a clone. His face, his stature, and his posture was exactly the same.


    The others were surprised that there was another Aldred.


    ¡°A clone?¡±


    His clone nced at Mary and pounced on her, ying with her breast.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my woman.¡±


    ¡°But I am you.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense! But still!¡±


    The clone disappeared, and Aldred felt experience and memory entering his mind. From that, he assumed what the clone experienced would enter him when they disappear.


    Not only that, because the clone wasn¡¯t assigned to a particr task, it just do what the real Aldred would normally do¡­<sub>-.</sub>


    He tried this and set a particr task for the clone to do before summoning one.


    Another clone appeared and it drank the hot water.


    ¡°Why are you telling your clone to drink the hot water?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I just want to try some things,¡± Aldred said. The boy willed the clone to disappear and it did instantly.


    The experience entered his mind.


    ¡°When the clones disappear. Its memories and experience enter my mind. This can be useful in many ways.¡±


    ¡°Like how?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I can summon my clones. Go to girls¡¯ public bathroom and see all their naked bodies before telling the clones to disappear.¡±


    Mareona struck his head. ¡°Stop joking.¡±


    Aldred smiled as he rubbed his head in pain. ¡°In all seriousness, I can use the clones for very much anything. They have the same brain as me, so they would do what I would exactly do if I were in their situation.


    ¡°But they do think on their own right?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Yes, but as I said, they have the same brain as mine. So I can send them to dangerous territory and when they died, I can know exactly what they saw, felt, and thought during the operation.¡±


    ¡°What about their power?¡±


    ¡°They have the same power as mine. But sadly, I can only summon two clone at one time. I believe that can increase if I evolve more.¡±


    Mary, Mareona, Sophia, and Mira were shocked to their core. One Aldred was already a prodigy that had never been seen before in this world. Defeating countless Gold Ranks in one move, and defeating powerful monsters in a single strike was just one of his capabilities.


    Now there would be two others Aldred? Not to mention he could have more clones in the future¡­


    ¡°Aldred, are you perhaps a God in your past life?¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think my past life is that amazing.¡± Aldred scratched his cheek as he recalled his past life. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s sleep. It¡¯s alreadyte at night.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right. We should rest to regain our energy.¡± Mira hugged Aldred and she put her head on the towel.


    Sophia, Mary, and Mareona hugged around him. Aldred could only smile with four beautiful women hugging him and their beautiful pink boobs pressing against him.


    Life was bliss.


    The next day.


    People starteding out of the hole in the gate that Aldred made. They look haggard with tattered clothes and bloody wounds.


    Their chest went up and down, struggling to breathe. Some started to consume their pills to improve their breathing while others could only look in envy.


    ¡°Hey. You guys want to trade a hot bath for treasures again?¡± Aldred asked smugly as he pulled out his head from the tent.


    The neers looked at him and told him to wait so they can discuss with each other.


    After a while, they gritted their teeth and epted his offer. They were now in the middle part of the mountain which was much colder and harsher than the lower part.


    A couple of treasures to stay alive seemed cheap.


    That wasn¡¯t how the adventurers saw it. They risked their life for treasures, so none of them were willing to trade treasures for a warm bath.


    Only the rich traded with Aldred. They gave him treasures and he gave them warm baths.


    Some ran out of treasures and decided to give him gold coins instead.


    ¡°Do you really not have any treasures in you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Y¡ªyes. Gold coins are all  I have.¡±


    Aldred epted and pulled out his card to receive the gold. To be honest, he wanted to reject the offer, but the amount was too extravagant.


    In total, Aldred now had 25,527,500 gold coins on his adventure card.


    More than twenty-five million! And this was in gold coins! A Gold Rank¡¯s normal sry was 5 to 10 gold coins per month, so it could take them more than 200 hundred years to earn this much money.


    The adventurers that heard this transaction felt their eyes bulge and almost pop from shock. That huge amount of money would set them all for generations. It wasn¡¯t copper or silver, but gold.


    But what they were more shocked about was the fact that Aldred earned all of this just by selling hot bath.


    A freaking hot bathted him more than 25 million gold and arge pile of treasures.


    The adventurers wanted to cry. Maybe they should start a hot bath business in the future.


    Aldred saw an opportunity. The people that came here were rich, powerful, and influential. This meant that they must bring more treasures with them.


    He didn¡¯t care about the treasures before, but now that he had All Devouring Sticks, he had to feed it treasures for it to grow.


    And so he summoned his clone and stood in front of them as they enjoyed their hot bath.


    The rich men were shocked to see two Aldred at once.


    Bartrem and the soldiers were shocked as well. How the hell did Aldred be two? One was enough for this world to handle, now there were two?


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen. I have an interesting offer for all of you,¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°As you can see. The one beside me is my clone, and it has the same power as mine.¡±


    The clone pulled out a sword and executed the ultimate skill ¡®Sky Splitting Strike¡¯ which impressed the audience.


    The clone also morphed into a Phantom w, Giant Velobra, Cute Loli, hot woman, and Gargant Eagle


    They looked with widened eyes when the clone showed more of its capabilities such as raining fire javelins, fire arrows, and fire bullets into the distance. It showed master in blood maniption, water maniption, and fire maniption, then it showed mastery in the sword art.


    After the show, they all pped in amazement. Hell, even Bartrem and his soldiers were impressed even though they had seen him show off his power before.


    Maverick was trembling in excitement. Aldred kept on surprising him with new power. This made him want the boy to be his allies even more.


    ¡°Now that you are all amazed, I want to tell all of you that I would like to auction myself. Specifically, I would like to auction my clone, but not forever. The duration is only for a week.¡±


    They were disappointed when they heard there was a duration.


    Aldred snorted. ¡°You think you¡¯re making a loss? Look at you. What have you lost when climbing this high?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Almost everything. You risked your life, your subordinates¡¯ life, and your friends¡¯ life. For every challenge you passed, you almost died. Look at your subordinates now. How many of them are left?¡±


    ¡°Not many, and we¡¯re only at the middle part of the mountain. The higher you climb the harder the challenge will be. It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if you lose your life. But all of you know my power and know what I can do, so is hiring my clone for a week still a loss for you?¡±


    The rich men discussed among themselves the pros and cons of Aldred¡¯s offer. After half an hour, they asked Aldred how much was the cost.


    The boy smiled. ¡°I want everything that you currently have.¡±

 Chapter 111 Everything

    ¡°Everything?¡±


    The audience was shocked. Aldred didn¡¯t know what or how many treasures they brought. Even one of them brought enough treasures for a group of adventures to live afortable life.


    They discussed the price among themselves, and after a few minutes, one of them asked.


    ¡°Do list out our treasures to see who had the most?¡±


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°You are mistaken. I mean all of you must give me treasure, and that way, my clone can escort you anywhere you go.¡±


    ¡°All of us? So you¡¯re not going to divide us by group?¡±


    ¡°No. I think escorting all of you at once is much better.¡±


    Much better because he could rob all of their treasures. Aldred smiled inside. Hisrades would never run out of treasures if this transaction seeded.


    They started a discussion with each other.


    ¡°What do you all think?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good deal. Our coins and treasures is notparable to the power of that boy. Even if we all worked together, I believe he could still wipe the floor with us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. And did you see that powerful sword art? I have seen something that skill before, but not that powerful. The boy clearly had a high mastery in swordsmanship.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°How¡¯s that possible. He isn¡¯t a hero. I can tell because I¡¯ve seen a hero before, and they have a certain aura around them.¡±


    ¡°He has to be the son of an adamantite rank. Maybe they know how to master martial art and magic at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Specting about this is useless. What do you all think we should do? Do we take the offer?¡±


    ¡°I would say we take it. We bring all the treasures and Gold coins for what? So we can climb, right? If we can trade for something that is much better, then why don¡¯t we do it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got a point.¡±


    After their discussion, one of them was chosen as a representative to ask questions.


    ¡°Can we keep our armor and some useful gear?¡±


    ¡°Alright, you can.¡±


    ¡°And what aboutpetition? You¡¯re a climber as well. Don¡¯t you feel any rivalry against us?¡±


    ¡°The dice will lead you to the same ce but through different paths. This can be seen from how the riddle changed when one group solved it. So we would hardly cross paths with each other, but even if we did, I do not think any of you aspetitors. I can keep climbing, and there is nothing you can do to me.¡±


    They all gathered and talked with each other again.<sub></sub>


    One man was skeptical.


    ¡°What if he¡¯s lying. He could be robbing us right now.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. If he wanted to rob us, he can use his undead to do that. Instead, he offered us a product and a deal.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to be poor after this. The treasures we brought are just a small part of our wealth.¡±


    ¡°So everyone agrees to take this offer?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    They all turned and looked at Aldred.


    ¡°We would like to take your offer.¡±


    Aldred smiled and nodded. ¡°Good. Now put the treasures beside me. I want to see them pilling on the ground. Also, don¡¯t forget about the coins. I want them all.¡±


    They all walked out of the hot bath and took out their storage pouches before pouring all the treasures inside.


    One of them asked: ¡°Can we still get a hot bath if we meet you?¡±


    ¡°I have no problem adding that to the deal.¡±


    The man nodded and pulled out his adventure card before transferring all the money to Aldred.


    Mary and the others seeing the numbers from behind were shocked.


    One transaction already left them speechless. Bartrem, Maverick, and Byron who had lost a couple of subordinates looked at this with mouths wide agape. He wanted to join in this transaction, but he was too ashamed. And he thought Aldred would not let him anyway.


    Suddenly, some other rich men that saw this asked to join. Aldred epted them all. Who would refuse money?


    Even a priest needed money to build his church.


    The treasures kept piling up. Aldred saw a lot of upper rare treasures in there.


    Some martial arts skill books, elemental magic books, non-elemental books, sword art, spear art, PP art, hammer art, chain art, and many more.


    Many magical weapons and essories were in there as well. Some rings, fans, swords, spears, chains. There were too many treasures.


    But Aldred did not mind having more.


    Bartrem was surprised at the pile of treasures at first, but as time passed, he was horrified. The amount of treasures was too much.


    Because the pile was now asrge as a small hill. It towered over Aldred.


    Some greedy-eyed treasures would like to take action and took some, but theirrades prevented them.


    ¡°Do you have a death wish? Because if you do, I can throw you off the mountain right now.¡±


    Most of them held back, but there was always that one crazy person who listen to nothing.


    He zipped in the air with a small chain in his hand. The chain shot towards the pile of treasure, trying totch onto one of them, but then he saw a zing javelin flying at him.


    Unlike his expectation, he wasn¡¯t stabbed when the javelin touched his body, no, he was engulfed in mes and turned into dust in an instant.


    ¡°What did you fire at, Aldred?¡± Mira asked. The thief was actually quite far from them, but with Aldred¡¯s godly eyes, he could detect them even if they hide inside their mother¡¯s womb.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Aldred said with a smile.


    After everyone already poured all their treasures and transferred all their money, Aldred ordered his clone to serve them.


    The clone put both hands on its waist and looked at them. ¡°Aight. You bitches only got a week. Now show me what to cut and destroy before I strip all the women naked.¡±


    Aldredughed while the others were simply speechless.


    ¡°Oh man, that clone really knows me well.¡±


    The rich men, on the other hand, took that advice seriously.


    ¡°He¡¯s right. We only got a week. We should continue our journey immediately.¡±


    ¡°How? Our arrows pointed in different directions.¡±


    Suddenly, the mountain seemed to consider them as one group, and their dice glowed before they revealed an arrow that pointed in the same direction.


    ¡°Seems like the mountain noticed our predicament.¡±


    After talking for a few seconds, they all walked away. There were others people who different paths and did not stay. They went in different directions.


    Aldred wondered how that worked. This whole treasure hunt felt like a game where people could have different quests to reach the astrbe at the peak.


    Though the game might cost their lives.


    The boy shook his head and checked the gold in his adventure card.


    ¡°342,572,169 Gold Coins?!¡± Aldred was shocked. ¡°I am rich. I am truly rich.¡±


    He then put all the treasures inside his divine dimension. Since his dimension was more than 2 kilometers tall and wide, he didn¡¯t have to worry about space.


    The adventurers were disappointed to see therge pile of treasures simply disappear.


    ¡°How did he even store that?¡±

 Chapter 112 World Shattering Slam

    ¡°Mary,¡± Aldred called. ¡°We¡¯re rich now. We can buy anything we want in the future. And I have a lot of upper rare treasures for all of you.¡±


    He called Bartrem and the soldiers. To be honest, they were already d in rare treasures, but Aldred want to give them more.


    He summoned back the pile of treasures in front of them.


    ¡°Take however much you need.¡± Aldred smiled.


    The soldiers were excited and looked for a treasure they might like.


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia founded their treasures and they walked to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Don¡¯t you guys want to take more?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to take too much.¡±


    After hisrades were done, Aldred shouted at the other people.


    ¡°Hey! You guys want some treasures?¡±


    The adventurers¡¯ eyes lit up. They never expected Aldred to offer them treasures. Now they saw Aldred in a different light. He was like a saint. An angel that gave a blessing to their soul.


    ¡°Can we take a few?¡± One of them asked.


    ¡°No. I am just messing with all of you. HAHAHA.¡±


    The image of an angel in their mind shattered, reced by a devil incarnation thatughed on top of their corpses.


    The boy¡¯sugh intensified that image.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mira softly said with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t cheat them like that.¡±


    Aldred smiled and hugged her. ¡°I am sorry, Mira. I am just ying.¡±


    Mira smiled and caressed his head. She wasn¡¯t very mad about his little prank. After a few rounds of hugs, Aldred walked to his pile of treasures.


    ¡°Which one should I choose?¡±


    He wanted his ¡®All Devouring Stick¡¯ to be versatile, so he might have to consume them all.


    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just do it.¡± Aldred materialized the stick in his hand and touched the pile of treasures.


    To the shock of the onlookers, all of the treasures melted and got sucked in by the stick. The pile disappeared in less than a second, leaving only some books, parchment, and scrolls on the ground.


    Aldred put them all into his divine dimension.


    Suddenly, the stick in his hand burst fort with a powerful aura. Azure energy shot into the sky, radiating out a shock wave that shook their souls.


    Aldred watched in amazement as the incredible creatures appeared from the energy. Flying phoenix, raging dragon, and other weird creatures that looked like some sort of fish, serpents, and birds.


    After the energy dispersed, Aldred felt a powerful strength from the stick.


    [All Devouring Stick]


    -Can manipte its length and thickness at will.


    -Can consume other treasures or weapon to be stronger.<sub></sub>


    -Able to morph into a consumed treasures.


    -Can consume creatures to be stronger


    -Increase weapon mastery by 580%


    -Ability: World Shattering m


    The boy was excited by the new stat the stick had.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try the new ability.¡±


    Aldred raised the stick with both hands. He raised it high. ¡°World Shattering m!¡±


    Suddenly, the stick thickened and elongated. It became sorge it might as well be a stick for giants, but surprisingly, Aldred could hold it easily.


    The sticks came hammering down like a meteor. Everyone was amazed by its size.


    And when it hit the ground, they were terrified by its power.


    BOOM!


    The ground beneath their feet cracked, then it was followed by a powerful wave that sted all their tents.


    Sophia and Mira quickly cast their spells to protect the tents.


    The magical shield they made shook and almost shattered from the shock wave alone.


    After all of the energy dissipated, they all stared at Aldred.


    ¡°I did not expect that much damage.¡±


    ¡°How can you not? The name of the skill clearly says ¡®World Shattering m¡¯.¡± Mareona stared at him with both hands on her waist.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Mary came to his help. ¡°Now. Don¡¯t be too angry at him. He just got the skill and was too excited to try it.¡±


    Mareona sighed. ¡°Fine.¡±


    As Aldred went inside the tents with the girls, Bartrem, Maverick, the soldiers, and everyone else looked at the damage with widened eyes.


    Arge part of the ground was cracked, creating arge crevice that showed weird,rge worm-like creatures squirming around. The cliff in front of it was almost shattered.


    It was a disy of power, unlike many others. The onlookers felt like they were being warned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with that boy. Ever,¡± the leader of an adventure group said to hisrades


    Thinker seeing this power was interested. ¡°Transmitting data¡­¡±


    His eyes gleamed in red.


    ¡­


    When Aldred entered the hot bath. Mary and Mareona came to his sides and caressed his head while they hugged him.


    Sophia and Mira came from outside with a tray of food.


    They put the trays on the water and they floated on the water.


    ¡°Now we can eat while we take a bath,¡± Sophia happily said. She took a piece of meat and told the boy to open his mouth.


    Aldred opened his mouth and let her put the meat inside.


    ¡°Is it good?¡±


    Aldred excitedly nodded. The food was good, but the experience of having four beautiful women taking care of him was the BEST.


    The boy took a piece of food on his own and then told Sophia to open her mouth.


    Sophia was excited to be treated as such. She opened her mouth as Aldred put it in. With a bright smile, she pounced and hugged him.


    ¡°Hey, what about me?¡± Mareona pouted.


    Aldred giggled and fed them one by one.


    Pongo stared at him.


    ¡°You can eat on your own, Pongo.¡±


    The penguin red at him and sshed water at his face.


    ¡°Alright. Even though you failed to find us some clues. I will give you the fish.¡±


    Aldred summoned the magical fish and let the penguin eat it. Even though the fish was quiterge, the penguin ate it in one gulp.


    ¡°I still wonder how he keeps all those things in his stomach,¡± Mary said. ¡°Is there a storage pouch inside?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Pongo,e here. I want to see your stomach.¡±


    Pongo backed off and shook his head.


    ¡°Come here or I will cook you.¡±


    Pongo swam to the exit and was about to leave until he felt a chain wrapped around his body.


    Aldred was grinning as he pulled the chain, and grabbed onto the penguin.


    ¡°Now to finally solve the mystery.¡± Aldred opened the penguin¡¯s mouth and peeked inside.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡±


    He released the penguin and it red at him. ¡°PONGO!¡±


    ¡°Where the hell did you store all those things. Don¡¯t tell me you have a divine dimension like mine.¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡± The penguin shook its head.


    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡±

 Chapter 113 Till Daylight (R18+)

    Suddenly, Mary said: ¡°Before that, Aldred, can you turn into an adult version of yourself?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡± Aldred morphed into adult size. He looked just like his father, Hujarar, handsome, graceful, tall, and athletic. He wasn¡¯t too big nor was he too small.


    The four of them were mesmerized by his appearance.


    ¡°Aldred, you¡¯re so handsome,¡± Sophia said as she kissed him on the lips. ¡°You look better in adult form.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Aldred blushed.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Mareona pounced on him.


    Even Mary was enticed and she moved her hands around his chest. She then pulled Mira to get closer.


    ¡°What do you think,¡± Mary asked her.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s handsome,¡± Mira said honestly. She was never one to lie. She put her hands on his chest and caressed it.


    Aldred¡¯s body seemed like it was carved by a master. His appearance was something that many would consider perfection.


    So how could they not be charmed by him? They hugged all around him. Mira was in the front, Mary and Mareona on the sides while Sophia hugged him from behind.


    Now they could hug him properly with him morphing into adult size. He was over 189 CM (6,2 feet) tall. While in his child form, he was just 150 CM (4,9 feet).


    Suddenly, Mary moved her hand to his crotch as she kissed his cheek.


    His mind was then enticed by her body. She had an amazing figure with plump breasts. Aldred reached out to Mira¡¯s firm ass instinctively. Mira blushed and let herself fall to his chest.


    He grabbed Mareona¡¯s boob while Sophia licked his ear. Mary and Mareona took off their clothes and showed their breast to him. Mary was a bit shy about this, so Aldred helped her undress.


    ¡°Are we sure to do this?¡± Mira asked.


    Mary and Mareona looked at her weirdly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for a ten-year-old to have a sexual rtionship?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Mira was shocked to see another culture shock. But she understood that. Soldiers and ves died all the time, so the Ceraisian Empire need to replenish their poptions. Although a child being married in her country was not rare, it wasn¡¯t thatmon either.


    People generally live longer in Montcresia, this led people to make fewer babies, and marriage or sex at an early age was much less than in Ceraisian.<sub>-.</sub>


    Even Aldred was surprised to hear that. ¡¯10 year old and they can have sex? I hope they have an age disparityw otherwise it would be terrible.¡¯


    Just in case, Aldred decided to ask. ¡°Does the empire hasws regarding the age disparity? For example, can a 10-year-old marry a 30-year-old?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the gender,¡± Mary said. ¡°A boy can marry someone below 28. While a girl can only marry someone at her own age or lower.¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek. A weirdw, but he was fine with that. Not much he could do before he defeat the emperor. Although he wasn¡¯t sure yet what neww to create.


    He¡¯d consult hisrades in the future.


    For now. It was a fun time.


    Aldred pulled Mary into his embrace and kissed her lips.


    ¡°Since all of you will marry me. Can we do it now?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Sophia excitedly said from behind.


    While they all agreed, Mira hesitated for a bit.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, it¡¯s okay, Mira. I know you have a different culture in your country.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not rare that boys marry someone older than themselves, but I have never done this before.¡±


    Aldred was slightly surprised. Mira was a nun who test men out of their conviction using her beautiful body. She kept her purity all this time even with that?


    What an amazing woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mira. I am new to this as well. I did it once before.¡±


    ¡°You have done it before?¡± Mary asked. How could she not know that?


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ Yes, actually.¡±


    ¡°With who?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred did not want to lie. ¡°The empress.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°EH!!!¡±


    ¡°So, when she invited you into the barrack, both of you done it there?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°No wonder you act so suspiciously back then,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°You naughty boy.¡± Mareona softly hit his chest.


    ¡°How did that happen?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°We were just in the moment, and next thing we know, we did it.¡±


    ¡°In that case, we have to do it.¡± Mary kissed him on the lips.


    And they all began their forey. Mira blushed. She pulled out Aldred¡¯s pants and she ran his rods up and down with her soft hands. Because they were in the water, her hands moved without any problem.


    Sophia licked down his neck. Aldred¡¯s hand moved and squeezed on Mareona¡¯s boob, making her moan.


    She smiled and moved Aldred¡¯s hand to her wet maiden. Her moan rang clear to his ears when he fingered her deep.


    Aldred¡¯s charm intensified and he looked hotter in the four women¡¯s eyes. This made them blush and moaned even harder. Aldred couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and told Mira to put his rod inside her maiden.


    With only a second of hesitation, Mira slightly moved her panties to the side and rode on his rod.


    Mira squirmed when her buttnded on his thigh. She grabbed his shoulder and started moving up and down.


    ¡°This feels so good. No wonder a lot of people are willing to fall to their emotions.¡± She looked at Aldred with a slutty look. ¡°Aldred, you must not fall into temptation. Do not sin for a moment of pleasure. Promise me.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    Mira smiled and started going faster. Aldred slowly increased the length of his rod, slowly inching up inside her pink maiden.


    The sensation of four women ¡®taking care of him¡¯ was simply amazing and bliss. Aldred let out a small moan.


    Suddenly, he felt like he wanted to shoot. So he hugged Mira, erged his rod into her womb, and injected all his seeds into her.


    ¡°Aaahhh. Aldred. Aldred.¡± She breathed profusely while calling his name.


    Mira sat on the side to rest. Aldred stood up and grabbed Sophia before ripping her clothes. Sophia let out a small naughty scream as he did that.


    ¡°May I?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Sure, Darling.¡±


    Aldred turned her around and pushed her slightly so she put both hands on the ground. Her beautiful butt was all bare for him to see. And under it was her beautiful, hairless heavenly cave.


    He went in for the kill, grabbing both peaches, and then ramming his rod inside. Sophia moaned.


    Mary and Mareona stood. He grabbed both of them and kissed them as he rammed his rod inside Sophia.


    Their busty bombshells pressed again his chest. Their nipples tickled his skin. He lifted Mary with one hand. His strength let him do that, and then he sucked on her nipple.


    ¡°Oh, Aldred. You¡¯re still a boy after all.¡± She smiled and kissed his forehead before moaning as Aldred sucked on harder.


    Mareona was biting and licking his neck. Not wanting to keep both girls waiting for too long, Aldred elongated his rod into Sophia¡¯s womb before spurting all of his seeds inside.


    She moaned before weakly resting on the side of the bath with a delightful smile on her face.


    Aldred put Mary down and then grabbed Mareona¡¯s hips. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do this since we¡¯re in the Jovial Harlequin.¡±


    ¡°Me as well,¡± Mareona said. ¡°I was afraid you might not like me.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I like you.¡± With both hands on her hip, Aldred inserted his rod into her cave while standing up. Then he moved her back and forth, ramming his manhood inside.


    Mary smiled and hugged him from the back. ¡°Are you intentionally leaving mest?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Mary. I willpensate you for that.¡±


    Actually, he wanted to give Mary more. She had done so much for him, and he still remembered her saving him from that wolves.


    He felt bad for the others, but Aldred felt like he should give Mary a little more.


    Mareona blushed and moaned in his chest. Every time his manhood reached the entrance of her womb, her moan rang out.


    His stick went deeper and deeper inside Mareona with each powerful push.


    He then turned her around so he could pound on her ass while standing up.


    Mareona couldn¡¯t describe the pleasure she felt at this moment. It was unbelievably good for her peaches to be pounded by Aldred. She felt his warmth and love inside of her.


    She was not sure if she could sit properly after this, but Aldred¡¯s rod inside her body was the only thing that upied her mind.


    Aldred tightened his grip on her blushing peaches and rammed his rod deeper. It elongated and prated the entrance of her womb.


    ¡°Here I go, Mareona.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Pour it all on me!¡±


    The sticky white liquid shot inside of her, giving her heavenly warmth and pleasure. Mareona moaned louder, and then let herself slowly fall to the ground.


    Aldred then grabbed onto Mary. ¡°Mary, Can I?¡±


    She lightly tapped his cheek. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to ask for permission?¡±


    He smiled and put his fingers inside her maiden spot. Mary slightly moan and grabbed onto his shoulders for support, blushing.


    ¡°Aldred, why are you so good at this.¡±


    Aldred smiled and kissed her neck. ¡°I am a natural.¡±


    In reality, his godly eyes helped him in finding all of their good spots. All of his movements were done with the help of the godly eyes which was how they experience a pleasure never before.


    Mary was now in bliss. She didn¡¯t expect being fingered by Aldred would be this good. At this moment, she wished for it to be forever.


    She looked at Aldred who was looking at her lovingly. Juices came out of her maidenhood, wetting Aldred¡¯s finger.


    ¡°Are you ready, Mary?¡±


    Mary didn¡¯t answer and instead ducked down before sucking on his shaft.


    ¡°Eh, what are you doing?¡±


    She did not reply and kept on sucking and licking his rod. The sensation of her licking his rod was amazing.


    Aldred felt the warmth of her mouth as she carefully not to hurt his rod with her teeth. She was so cute as well while she doing it.


    Mary bobbed her head up and down, bringing the rod deep into her throat. She licked and slobbered it with saliva. Aldred couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and grabbed her head before moving it back and forth.


    He moaned slightly before putting it all inside her throat and injecting a shower of seeds into her. It filled up her mouthpletely.


    She choked slightly, but Aldred quickly pulled his rod. Mary stood up, licking the seeds that trailed on her lips.


    ¡°Now, I am ready.¡±


    Aldred smiled and grabbed onto her before they slowly descended on top of the mat right beside the hot bath. Both of themy on the mat. He turned her around and pulled her beautiful butt before fingering her from behind.


    ¡°Does that feel good, Mary?¡±


    Mary moaned. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He fingered her harder and harder making her moan even more and she quickly experienced an orgasm. That was when Aldred put his rod inside of her from behind.


    He raised her left leg and then rammed his stick inside of her.


    Mary felt his love tool inside of her moving so quickly and hot. She felt bliss and pleasure. It was wonderful, and she moaned uncontrobly. Aldred wrapped her neck with his hands and kissed her while ramming his rod. He released his hands it asionally to let her breathe.


    After a while, he shot his rod up into her womb and injected her with more seeds than usual.


    Mary moaned in pleasure, but he wasn¡¯t done yet. He turned her around, get on top of her, and pushed her legs wide.


    ¡°Aldred¡­ Aahhh.¡±


    He put his rod inside again and sucked on her nipple while he was on top of her. Mary hugged his head while she moaned throughout. She was blushing heavily.  The sensation of having his big rod inside of her was so arousing and amazing.


    Aldred felt her maidenhood be tighter and it hugged around his rod even more like it wanted for his rod to stay there.


    He fulfilled her wish by fucking her till the sun broke the night sky. Aldred then put her down as she breathed profusely and slept on his arm instantly. The other girls came and slept around him as well.

 Chapter 114 Hell Demon

    After his, Aldred woke up with new energy. He felt something powerful was moving within him. Mary and the others were still sleeping.


    When he checked his notification, he was surprised.


    [Racial Ability Unlocked: Dream Maniption]


    [Racial ability unlocked: Emotion Maniption]


    ¡®What kind of racial ability is that?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Hell Demon]


    Since ancient times, demons have always swayed and manipted emotions in almost any sentient creature. Emotions are the driving force of many. Only those who have a strong will could fight against their own emotions.


    -Increase resistance against emotion alteration by 250%


    -Increase vitality by 94%


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred was speechless. He got so many skills thesest few days. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t earn any more new skills because he wanted to master the ones he had first.


    But this one was a racial ability. Interesting. So his father could manipte emotions? He tried toprehend his new skills and studied them inside his mind.


    He learned a couple of things. First, the ability wasn¡¯t that potent. If he wanted to calm down a raging person using this ability, he had to time it right, and the spell must not be overused or it wouldn¡¯t work at all.


    The rules to achieve sess with emotional maniption were quite hard.


    No wonder the demons were having a hard time. Aldredughed. With religions as their enemy, the demons must be crying every time they tried to convince a person to sin.


    But the fact that countless people sinned despite the teaching and guidance of religions was quite impressive.


    This meant that demons had mastered the art of persuasion, trickery, and lies.


    ¡®Lying is easy. But for someone to believe that lie is the hard part.¡¯


    To conclude his observation of this spell; the spell worked in a subtle way, so a raging man wouldn¡¯t turn calm all of a sudden.


    But that could change if he leveled it up. He didn¡¯t want to cast this spell on hisrades though, because it would feel unnatural.<sub></sub>


    This ability could be useful in negotiations. Next time he sold his hot bath service, he might get a better price.


    Aldred smiled. ¡®I can also convince a lot of women to be my harem. Just kidding. I will not do such an evil thing. Love muste naturally after all.¡¯


    Dream maniption was much simpler. In simple terms, he could control someone¡¯s dream. He could give them nightmares or wonderful dreams.


    Aldred looked at his women. He then nced at Mary and decided to give her a wonderful dream.


    Her smile brightened. He couldn¡¯t see what dream she had yet, but it must be a wonderful one.


    In the future, if he continued to evolve, the skill might let him see their dream.


    Aldred gave them all a wonderful dream which made them smile.


    After a while, his women woke up, he greeted them with a good morning.


    Mira smiled and kissed him on the lips.


    He was still in his adult form, so the sight of him must have enticed her because she was blushing red right now.


    Mareona, Mary, and Sophia kissed him and hugged him. They blushed in his chest, but they enjoyed the moment.


    ¡°Thank you for yesterday,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I felt really good.¡±


    They let out a small giggle.


    ¡°We felt good as well.¡±


    Sophia wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him.


    Then they all went kissing and hugging each other for a little while before exiting the tent.


    Aldred went back to his ten-year-old body. Although he liked his adult form, it was quite ufortable to use for long.


    He understood though. Because he was too used by this body, even using it in fighting, his adult form became slightly unnatural to his brain.


    Mary and the others were fine with his decision to change. It was merely appearances anyway. Though they do prefer it if Aldred would turn to adult form when they were ¡®having fun¡¯.


    ¡°Bartrem, what¡¯s the menu today?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to like this. We got omelets, bacon, hams, pork sausages, fried potatoes, and pancakes with blueberry syrup.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up, and he quickly grabbed a te, but not for himself.


    He told Mary and the others to sit down, and then gave them a te of food.


    They were surprised by this act of service.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this, Aldred. We can take our own food.¡±


    ¡°I know. But I still want to do it.¡±


    Mareona smiled and kissed him. ¡°You¡¯re starting to be a gentleman now.¡±


    The female soldiers seeing this slightly hit their partner, disappointed for not being treated as such.


    The males could only blink in confusion at their nagging.


    ¡®What do we do wrong?¡¯


    That didn¡¯t apply to Jeffery. He had 4 women feeding him food.


    He was blushing and looking down in embarrassment while they fed him.


    ¡°Last night was fun, right, Jeffery? I hope we can do it again, but you know, without the pp condom.¡±


    Joseph on the other hand ate alone. Tears fell on his te.


    But shockingly, a beautiful female soldier approached him. She was blushing shy. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking at you for a long time. Will you be my partner in this journey?¡±


    For a moment, the female soldier looked like an angel in Joseph¡¯s eyes. And without hesitation¡­ ¡°Yes. Of course.¡±


    After seeing Jeffery being fed on by girls, Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia decided to feed Aldred as well.


    He simply smiled and epted before feeding them back.


    After breakfast, the soldiers immediately went to train themselves. Even though they were high up in the mountain and the wind was terrifyingly cold, Aldred had heated up the area around here by burning some mes, so the cold wasn¡¯t that bad.


    ¡°Do all of you want to train?¡± Aldred asked them.


    Mary nodded. ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t wanna be rusty.¡±


    Mira, Mareona, and Sophia agreed as well. They trained for a while with Aldred guiding them. With his godly eyes, he could see imperfection in their techniques, movement, posture, and very much everything.


    He put his hands on ¡®special¡¯ ces during the guidance. You know, like a proper coach.

 Chapter 115 Help Them

    Aldred and the others finished their training and sat down to rest. Suddenly, a group of people with luxurious armor approached him.


    ¡°Hey, I heard you guys are selling hot baths. We have some treasures that might be worth your eyes.¡± The man who seemed to be their leader showed Aldred two scrolls.


    ¡°Hmmm. That¡¯s it? I need more than that.¡±


    ¡°This is all I have.¡±


    Aldred narrowed his eyes. This guy wanted to y with him? Humph. A perfect time to try that new ability then.


    He activated the spell slightly. ¡®Emotion Maniption.¡¯


    The man blinked.


    ¡°I am not sure I can give you the hot bath with just that.¡±


    The man hesitated. Aldred saw his chances and activated the spell again. His godly eyes helped him in reading his expression.


    The man looked at him and nodded. ¡°I have a couple more.¡± The man took a majestic-looking shield and a few other weapons.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I would need a little more than that. A hot bath in this people-killing environment can be very expensive. In fact, I am already kind enough to give you a discount.¡± <sub>-.</sub>


    Bartrem could only look in silence at how shameless the boy had be. ¡®You¡¯re not giving him a discount. You¡¯re ripping him off.¡¯


    The treasures already shown by the man were already of high quality and normally enough for Aldred to give him a hot bath. Bartrem didn¡¯t know why the boy asked for more.


    ¡°Fine,¡± the man said before taking more treasures.


    Aldred took all the treasures with a grin. ¡°A pleasure making business with you.¡±


    Hebusted a hole with mes and added water to it. ¡°That is your hot bath. Enjoy your time in there.¡±


    The man and his group walked a distance for the hot.


    ¡°Hehe. I got him good.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, you mustn¡¯t do that.¡± Mira grabbed both of his cheeks and stared at him. ¡°It¡¯s not good to trick people.¡±


    ¡°I am not tricking him, Mira. We are merely negotiating, and it¡¯s just lucky that he considers the hot bath to be worth that price. But I think it¡¯s worth that price as well. Have you seen how many people died frozen because of the wind? Staying alive for a couple of treasures is worth it, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Mira hesitated. <sub></sub>


    ¡°Treasures are simply tools, Mira. They cannot bepared to lives. That man might lose a lot ofrades on the way here. That is why he is willing to trade so many treasures for the warm bath.¡±


    Mira sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right, Aldred. But next time, don¡¯t price the hot bath too much. It doesn¡¯t cost you much to create one right?¡±


    Aldred shrugged and smiled. ¡°Okay, Mira.¡±


    Mira then nced at the poor adventurer who was shivering in the wind. She sighed once again in pity for their life.


    ¡®What a person would do for their ambition.¡¯ She thought to herself as she saw one person had his fingers turned blue-gray from the cold.


    Aldred could see ice crystals forming in the finger¡¯s veins, blocking the blood flow. ¡®Those fingers are no more. They had to be amputated.¡¯


    It was a pitiful sight to see the man slowly dying in the cold, but he brought it to himself when he decided to climb this mountain.


    A man must own up to the consequence of his action.


    He nced to the side and noticed Mira was crying. ¡°Mira, why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re in so much pain. And there¡¯s nothing I can do to help them. They are ourpetitors. I understand that, but I cannot help but feel sadness for their pain.¡±


    Aldred could only apud for her innocent heart. ¡®Mira is a person who would cry at the suffering of others.¡¯


    Such a high level of sympathy made him feel slightly shameful of himself.  Compared to her, Aldred was a piece of shit human being.


    ¡°We can help them,¡± Aldred said. ¡°There¡¯s more than one astrbe, and it¡¯s not like we would lose against them. Isn¡¯t that right, Bartrem?¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°Aldred has a powerful undead army. We shouldn¡¯t be scared ofpetitors.¡±


    ¡°We can afford to help others,¡± Mary said.


    Mareonaughed. ¡°We¡¯re too tough to be scared.¡±


    Sophia hesitated but nodded at the end. She wished the person they helped weren¡¯t the kind that would bite the hand that feed them.


    Aldred smiled and flicked his fingers. Suddenly, the whole ce wasbusted with mes all around, and the chilling wind disappeared.


    The adventurers stopped trembling in the cold and watched in amazement as numerous fire dragons flew around in the sky.


    Aldred decided to have a little fun so he manipted the mes to create butterflies, grasshoppers, squirrels, and dragons. They moved around in the area.


    The people there were amazed at his mastery over the fire element. It wasn¡¯t easy to do all of this at once. And they also felt the warmth in the air. The ice in their bodies melted. The ice crystals in their veins melted as well, though some of their fingers still had to be amputated.


    The cliff was filled with these fire creatures and Aldred was satisfied with his work.


    The adventurers were smiling when the fire animals rubbed their heads on their fingers, giving themfortable warmth.


    Mira and the others were staring in amazement.


    ¡°So beautiful,¡± Mira said. She then hugged him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Aldred smiled and patted her back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    One of the adventurer groups approached him. ¡°Thank you for your help. We have nothing much, but I hope this map will help you in the future.¡±


    Aldred looked at the map and noticed that it was much better than the ones he had. He even saw some markings of dungeons.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Aldred said.


    Suddenly, more adventurers came and gave him all sorts of things such as apass, survival guidebooks that they wrote themselves, and notes of information about the political situation of certain regions, the climate of some parts of the continent, and information about some beast and nts.


    Aldred was shocked at how much the adventurers knew. They didn¡¯t have money or treasures, but their experience and knowledge were beyondparison.


    A noble who sat on his carriage all day wouldn¡¯t know much about the worldpared to an adventurer.


    ¡°Thanks, all of you.¡± Aldred smiled.


    The adventurers smiled back, satisfied that they could help the boy in some way. They looked at the mes in the area and smiled in amazement. Some evenughed at their ipetence self. The boy flicked his fingers once and he saved hundreds of lives with his fire element. Such power was akin of a god.


    Mira was looking at the boy with a sweet smile. ¡°You are so kind, Aldred. With your power and talent, you can help so many people in the future.¡±


    Mareona rubbed Aldred¡¯s head. ¡°I am so proud of you.¡±


    Mary¡¯s eyes were filled with proudness. The boy grew to be a better person because of Mira. She was d that they met her and took her along.


    Meanwhile, Sophia did not care. As long as Aldred was happy she¡¯d be as well. If he wanted to kill the adventurer for his amusement, she would support it all the way. Their lives did not matter to her.


    Suddenly, arge shadow moved quickly. They all looked up at the sky.


    The Bajaragon returned, and this time it seemed annoyed.

 Chapter 116 Battle of Fire

    The Bajaragon squinted its eyes and belched powerful mes at them.


    Aldred was shocked. The distance between them and the dragon was at least a few kilometers, and yet its me breath reached them and burned the whole surface.


    Aldred snorted and reached out his hand. ¡°Fire Absorption.¡±


    All the mes entered his hand, revealing the scared adventurers.


    The Bajaragon stared at the boy in anger and a slight shock. How could that boy looking so weak and frail absorbed his mes? It was the king of mes in this area, so this should be impossible.


    Aldred smiled and beckoned at the creature.


    Feeling challenged, the Bajaragon dove down. me jets shot out from both wings and back. Suddenly, the wavy hard scales that looked like a crown on top of its head sparked and shining red orbs materialized around the dragon.


    The Bajaragon opened its jaw and belched a concentrated fire jet at the boy. The red orbs glowed brighter and shot zingsers at him as well.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°This is interesting. Since you look like a fire dragon, I will fight you with fire as well.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred opened a wide stance and raised both of his hands. The mes that came towards him were absorbed, and the zingsers were bent, narrowly missing him by an inch.


    He then summoned his stick and transformed it into ¡®zing Serpent¡¯. His veins glowed in red as he thrust his staff into the sky. ¡°Fire Elemental. All Burst!¡±


    Suddenly, all of his fire spells; me jet, bullets, arrows, balls, javelin, fist, andbustion activated. They continuously came from the staff and shot at the dragon.


    The dragon dodged the arrow and the javelin, but the storm of arrows struck it clean. At first, the pain wasn¡¯t that bad, but the bullets were too much.


    Aldred smiled. With his new mastery and the spell fire bullets at level four, his firing speed wasparable to that of a machine gun. More than 1,500 rounds per minute.


    Such an astronomical amount was only possible with a huge mana capacity.


    Aldred did not need capacity. His mana was endless.


    Fire fist shot towards the dragon-like arge meteor. The longer the distance therger the me fist became, and now its size was more than the dragon itself. <sub></sub>


    It was terribly battered, but the Bajaragon wasn¡¯t nning to sit still. It raised its ws about to grab onto Aldred.


    Aldred had seen its movement long before with his godly eyes, so he dodged the w easily. The dragon came mming, shaking the ground with its weight and power.


    It stared at Aldred and roared.


    Aldred returned a defiant roar. Both man and dragon fought in close range with raging mes around them.


    The orbs moved around, sendingsers and me breath at Aldred. The boy absorbed them all and returned the mes to the dragon.


    Raising its ws, the dragon angrily swiped at Aldred. The boy did not back down and swung his fist at the ws.


    The sh betweenrge ws and a small fist created a powerful shock wave that made both parties take a few steps back.


    The dragon was shocked. The boy was just a small creature. How could it make the king of mes to take a few steps back?


    Not only the dragons, but the adventurers were also even more shocked that the boy could fight a dragon physically.


    ¡°Aldred! We will help you!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    ¡°No! Let me defeat the dragon alone!¡± Aldred shouted with an excited smile. The excitement of battle entered his body, and he wanted to fight the creature alone.


    He pointed at the dragon. ¡°Oy! You want to see who¡¯s better at controlling mes?¡±


    The Bajaragon only slightly understood what the boy said, but it did hear the word ¡®mes¡¯. It took a deep breath and its whole body was suddenlybusted with white mes that burn bright.


    The adventurers even had to squint their eyes from the ring light.


    ¡°Haha! Good good. That¡¯s what I am talking about.¡± Aldredbusted himself with white mes as well. His high mastery of the fire elements let him do a lot of things without learning the specific spells, though the damage wasn¡¯t high.


    The Bajaragon charged forward. Aldred as well, sending countless fire bullets at the dragon¡¯s face.


    The dragon mmed the ground and willed for one of the orbs to attack. The orb came at his face and shone in bright light.


    ¡°Humph! You wanted to explode me? Not in front of me!¡± Aldred absorbed the explosion before it could expand.


    He then threw arge fire javelin; 5 meters long. It struck the dragon¡¯s scaled belly. The javelin only prated a couple of inches through the scales.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to y.¡± Aldred raised his palm and summoned his fireball. He willed it to be bigger.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am not done yet. Spin.¡±


    The fireball spun, creating a hot wind around it.


    The Bajaragon stared and snorted small mes from its nostril. It then leaped forward before rolling towards Aldred. Its body burst intorger mes with the orbs helping the mes be bigger and hotter.


    The Bajaragon was in the shape of arge fireball, rolling towards Aldred at high speed.


    Aldredughed. ¡°I like this guy. I have to make you my undead for sure.¡±


    Aldred dashed forward and brought his spinningrge fireball forward to sh against the dragon.


    BOOM!


    The mes of their explosions expanded far and wide, but Aldred quickly absorbed them before they could reach Mary and the others.


    When the mespletely entered his hand, everyone was shocked to see the dragon¡¯s head under the boy¡¯s feet.


    But what they were more shocked to see was the long swords stabbed into its neck.


    The boyughed in a demonic way. ¡°HAHAHA! You fool! You think I will only use my fire spells to defeat you?¡±


    Mary and Mareona looked at each other.


    ¡°Since when did Aldred turn into this?¡±


    Mary smiled. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. He¡¯s always been like this.¡±

 Chapter 117 Cooking

    With the Bajaragony under his feet, Aldred was satisfied. This one was truly a fire dragon. Its control over me matched him even after all the buff he earned.


    That was amazing in its own way, but also scary as Aldred wondered what creatures would he face the higher he climbed.


    That was forter, for now, he had to get stronger to prepare for the future.


    Aldred nced at the sword that prated the dragon¡¯s neck. He grabbed the handle tight and pulled it out.


    With a quick sh, Aldred cut a piece of the dragon and then ate it. When he chewed, he didn¡¯t expect the meat to be quite chewy.


    But something surprising happened.


    [+4 strength]


    Eating this meat increased his strength?


    [User, cooking this meat will give you more benefit]


    ¡®Is that so? In that case¡­¡¯


    He nced at Bartrem and the others. ¡°Guys, we¡¯re making dragon Kebab!¡±


    The soldiers cheered and prepared the cooking supplies.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred looked at another panel that popped out.


    [Analyzing¡­ sess. You have obtain the gene for Bajaragon. From now on, you can transform into this beast and use its racial attributes]


    [Gene: Bajaragon]


    -Fire breath


    -Fire body (Basking itself in mes)


    -Fire orbs (Floating fire orbs that can shoot out jets ofser and even explodes)


    -Fire jet


    -Flight


    Aldred smiled and morphed into a Bajaragon. He was a gigantic red dragon with a majestic crown on top of his head. His feet leaped off ground and his wings pped, soaring him into the air.


    He also noticed his mastery over fire increased exponentially. His eyes glowed bright red, and suddenly, the sky around him exploded in mes.


    Opening his mouth, Aldred activated fire breath. The me belching from his mouth was nothing but spectacr. It was like the me that came out from a spaceship as it tried to escape the earth. <sub></sub>


    He also summoned the fire orbs that could cast fire spells on their own.


    Now this was what he would call a dragon. With hard scales and high control of fire, the Bajaragon was a beast among beasts.


    Aldred soared in the sky, did a barrel roll, and dove into the ground. When hended, his feet let out a small wave of mes.


    Bartrem approached him as he morphed into his normal form. ¡°Aldred, how are you going to turn this creature into an undead if we cook it?¡±


    ¡°I only need a small part of it.¡± Aldred shed the Bajaragon to pieces, leaving half of its body. He can also turn it to undead first and then cut its meat within the real form, before summoning it back again.


    He raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    The blob of darkness engulfed the red dragon. It squirmed around and erged before the menacing Bajaragon stepped out with mesing out of its nostril.


    The dragon bowed. ¡°Master.¡±


    ¡°Your name shall be Teethless.¡±


    Bartrem raised an eyebrow. ¡°But this thing has sharp teeth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. When I call it teethless, people would think it has no teeth, and not be scared.¡±


    Bartrem nced at the demonic appearance of the beast. ¡®Even without teeth, I don¡¯t think anyone would dare to approach it.¡¯


    The dragon bowed deeper. ¡°This Teethless is at service.


    ¡°Turn to your real form for a second.¡±


    The dragon morphed to its real form, then Aldred cut it down for its meats. The dragon was summoned again. It was confused as to why the master cut it down.


    ¡°Bartrem, please make a kebab of these meats.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get to cooking then.¡±


    Aldred and Bartrem walked to the camp. The boy willed the dragon to disappear because he was too big to keep around as a cat.


    Pongo came out of nowhere and tried to take the meat.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re making kebab out of this, so wait for your turn.¡±


    Mareona, Mary, Mira, and Sophia were there to help. They had olive oil, paprika, cumin powder, pepper, salt, onion, tomato, and tbread.


    Without Aldred¡¯s divine dimension, there was no way they would bring all of these supplies. The best they could do was hard bread that couldst for six months.


    But since Aldred¡¯s dimension was sorge, they could keep a lot of supplies, and some of them were cooking ingredients.


    Aldred didn¡¯tin. The food he ate tasted good and he was satisfied. It was better to bring more food and ingredients than treasures.


    If the boy said that to the adventurers, they would agree with him partly. They knew what good food did to their mood, and how it could affect the journey, but of course, they couldn¡¯t afford to bring a lot of ingredients on their journey.


    Most of the time, they only brought salt and hard bread. But those who had experience and knowledge in culinary could keep food tasty and edible for months even if they had to take supply problems into ount. This type of adventurers was the best to travel with as they had the best food with minimal ingredients.


    ¡°Congrattions, Aldred.¡± Mary and the others smiled and pped.


    ¡°For defeating that dragon? Nah, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°That dragon is so powerful. How could it be nothing?¡±


    ¡°Alright, maybe I deserve some praises.¡±


    They all giggled and hugged him.


    While they hugged and kissed him, they did not know that a powerful being was staring at them from above.


    Sat upon her seat, Ste was staring at a mirror, showing a live image of Aldred hugging the four women after defeating the Bajaragon.


    ¡°It¡¯s that snobby boy. Why is everyone trying to ruin my peace now? Even the mountain doesn¡¯t allow me to use my power to throw them off.¡±


    Ste was angry, but then she saw the boy morphing into a handsome, graceful man. Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned rosy red.


    He looked like the man of her dream, very simr to the one that came in her wet dream thesest few nights.


    ¡°How could it be? Is he the one I¡¯ve been dreaming of?¡± She zoomed in on his face and blushed harder. When the man hugged and kissed the girls, Ste squirmed, imagining it was her that was being hugged and kissed.


    She shook her head to drive the thought away. ¡°That boy has great potential. With his power, he might help me to find the main continent.¡±


    ¡­


    As everyone was cooking, Sophia sat on hisp. Aldred was in his adult form now, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be able to sit on hisp.


    She was squirming around which made her panties rub against his little brother.


    ¡°Aldred, will we do it again, likest night?¡±


    ¡°Eh, you want to do it again?¡±


    Sophia nodded. ¡°I want to do it tonight. Last night, I wasn¡¯t satisfied.¡±


    The soldiers hearing this turned beet red. What the hell did they dost night?

 Chapter 118 Kebab

    Making a kebab was simple. First, marinate the meat, cook it, and then wrap it with tbread.


    Done.


    They added the tomato slices, vegetables, and other toppings ording to their liking.


    Aldred was enjoying a kebab with his Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia.


    ¡°Guys, did you notice that Bartrem is bing better at cooking?¡± Aldred said.


    Mareona nodded. ¡°I still remember the day when you guys cooked fish without any seasonings.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Now he can make a delicious kebab.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he started to find love in cooking since we have a lot of chances to cook during our travel,¡± Mira said.


    Aldred chomped onto the kebab. The soft tbread, the meat, and the vegetables, all at the same time were dancing on his tongue. The fragrant smell enticed his stomach to eat even more.


    [+40 strength]


    [+40 Vitality]


    Wow. That was a lot. Aldred checked his attributes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Attributes:<sub>-.</sub>


    -Strength: 134


    -Vitality: 162


    -Intelligence: 326


    -Dexterity: 84


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 0


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Satisfied with the numbers, he checked his health points.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Health Points: 1,360/1,360


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred smiled and ate his food. Unfortunately, the food only increased his attributes once. So the food cannot increase his attributes anymore. Maybe because it could only increase so much before it wasn¡¯t effective on him no more.


    But as he enjoyed his kebab, Sophia kissed him on the lips. She then hugged his right arm.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Sorry, Aldred. You¡¯re just too handsome. I cannot resist myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting cold out here,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Let¡¯s grab some kebab and eat it inside the tent.


    ¡°Good idea. Bartrem, we¡¯ll be taking some more and eating inside.¡±


    Bartrem nodded and pointed at the table with stacks of kebab piling up. ¡°Everyone cane and take some.¡±


    After Aldred took some kebabs, he entered the tent and rxed in the hot bath.


    Sophia approached him and took off his shirt. ¡°It¡¯s not good to wear a shirt while in water.¡±


    She blushed as she saw his muscles through the transparent water. Her hand moved around his defined abs, and up to his chest. Her breathing became heavy, and she looked at Aldred with lust.


    Sitting on hisp, Sophia purred as she hugged him.


    Aldred smiled and caressed her head. ¡°What is it, Sophia. Why are you acting like this?¡±


    Sophia did not say anything and simply stayed in his embrace.


    Mary, Mareona, and Mira smiled when they saw her acting like this. They approached and hugged both Sophia and Aldred.


    With four beautiful bombshells women sandwiching him, Aldred felt he was in paradise. Especially with a big-chested, and voluptuous Sophia on hisp. Her panties were directly above his little brother. And when she squirmed around, it tingled his rod slightly.


    Aldred did not want toin. He enjoyed this moment.


    Mareona caressed his cheek. ¡°What are you thinking, you naughty boy.¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°I was wondering. Before this, is there any other treasure hunt?¡±


    Mary hugged him and pressed her nippled against his arm. ¡°There is one. But that was more than one hundred years ago. The one who obtained the treasure failed to reach Adamantite Rank.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? No other simr event?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot actually.¡± Mary hugged his right arm. ¡°Some do be an Adamantite Rank, but each side received the same amount, so the bnce stays.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s hand wrapped around Mira¡¯s waist and pulled her in. ¡°What about other continents? I know this continent is veryrge but is there more continents out there?¡±


    ¡°There is,¡± Mira said. ¡°The pope once met with this person and obtained some knowledge about their continent. Apparently, there are so many continents out there, but getting there is not easy.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the biggest roadblock?¡± Aldred asked as he squeezed Mira¡¯s ass.


    She moaned slightly before replying. ¡°Supplies. Depending on the wind, the speed of their ship will affect how many supplies they consume.¡±


    ¡°That will not be a problem for me then.¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to visit the other continent?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred grabbed her boob and squeezed which made her blush.


    ¡°I n to have an adventure after I conquer the empire. But this continent has a lot to explore, so I think I will be here for a while.¡±


    ¡°You will take us with you, right?¡± Sophia asked with teary eyes.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s hand went to her panties and felt the warmthing out of it. ¡°Of course, I will.¡±


    Sophia blushed and hugged him.


    Aldred pushed her slightly and ripped her Gothic dress. He squeezed her boobs hard before showing his fangs and biting her neck.


    Sophia felt a tinge of pain only for a short moment before a wave of pleasure washed all over her body. She felt her ass being grabbed, and she moaned in pleasure. While doing all these, Aldred hadn¡¯t stopped sucking her blood.


    With his vampire race evolved, Aldred could now feel more clearly the blood that moved in her veins. Her heart was visible to his eyes, and it beat faster the more he squeezed her boobs and ass.


    But other than that, Aldred could also feel her emotions. Pleasure, desire, love, lust, and the feeling of being safe when she was with him. She was feeling safe in his embrace and knew that she would be loved. Aldred was d she felt that way.


    When he finished sucking her blood, Sophia weakly fell on his chest, and her body became warm.


    [Evolution: 18/100]


    That was a good number.


    ¡°Aldred, take me with you.¡± She tightened her arms around his neck. ¡°Take me wherever you go.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I will.¡±


    Sophia smiled and got off to let the other women take a turn.


    This time, it was Mareona who sat on hisp with a smile on her face.


    ¡°I have been wanting to ask. Are you guys okay with sharing me?¡±


    Mary and Mareona looked confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for a man to have more than one wife,¡± Mira said. ¡°My religion used to have a rule that one man can only have one wife, but that rule changed a few decades ago.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°To fight against Ceraisian¡¯s growing numbers of soldiers. When a male has more wives, he had more children which produced more soldiers for the army. The pope noticed this and reformed the rule.¡±


    Aldred nodded. That made sense.


    Mary and Mareona did not know that. They thought it was normal from the start. Mary felt like her knowledge wasn¡¯t enough. She read many books yet did not realize that a man can¡¯t have more than one wife in some ces.


    She should read more in the future.


    ¡°Anyway, why does the pope make a rule that one man can only have one wife before?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°To have a better quality of children. When a man only has one wife, and a low number of children, they can put more resources and attention on them. But with more wives and children, the father only had limited resources to split. This is why only knights are allowed to have more wives. Other people still can do it, but they wouldn¡¯t receive any government money to help raise these children to discourage having more wives.¡±


    ¡°So only soldiers and rich people have a lot of wives and children?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Correct. Rich people have the resources to raise a lot of children, and most of them are smart when they grow up. That wasn¡¯t the case for poor people. The pope worked hard in creating an education system for poor children. Not much can be done, but at least they could read and write.¡±


    Mary was amazed. ¡°All of them can read and write?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s special about that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Peasants generally couldn¡¯t read or write. They only know one thing; farming. Usually, only nobles, soldiers, and scribes could read and write. The empire thought it was a waste of time to teach them those two skills.¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°What an interesting world we live in.¡±

 Chapter 119 Eye of Nightmare

    ¡°Enough about that.¡± Mareona started to undress. ¡°Aldred, suck my blood.¡±


    ¡°And you always said I am naughty.¡±


    ¡°Shut up or I will hit you.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Alright.¡± He sucked on her nipple and squeezed her firm ass. Mareona was a petite girl with smooth and soft breasts. Her hips were amazing as he put his hands on them. Her slender fingers held on to his shoulders as she moaned in pleasure.


    ¡°I told you to suck my blood. Why are you sucking my nipple?¡±


    ¡°I am thirsting for milk.¡± Aldred sucked on harder and milk finally came out. It was tastier than before; not too sweet, not too nd, it was just right.


    Her heavenly liquid leaked out when Aldred pulled out his lips and then licked the other nipple. Mareona caressed his head with rosy cheeks.


    ¡°You really like milk, huh¡­ Such a baby boy.¡±


    Aldred squeezed harder. With his adult form, the breast was now fit in his hand, and Mareona felt more pleasure than before. After kneading and weaving her breast however he liked, Aldred stopped drinking her milk and went for her neck.


    ¡°Here I go.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Mareona nodded and pulled his head to her neck. She closed her eyes, and the tinge of pain came before pleasure came in arge wave. Her whole body squirmed, and she couldn¡¯t help but move around on hisp.


    Her panties rubbed against his little brother, and she could feel it at the entrance of her maiden spot.


    After sucking her blood, Aldred let her fall into his embrace before sucking her milk. Mareona was moaning weakly before she got off hisp.


    [Evolution: 35/100]


    Mary quickly sat on hisp. ¡°I will not let you make mest again.¡± She nced at Mira. ¡°Sorry, Mira.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Aldred smiled as well.¡±I am sorry, Mary. For making youst..¡± He ripped her clothes and squeezed her breast.


    Mary had a perfect round butt, curvy hips, blue eyes, and short ck hair. She looked so beautiful with her slender neck, but before sucking her blood, Aldred wanted to enjoy her first.


    He grabbed her waist and moved her around. Her panties rubbed against his little brother, and Aldred erge it slightly so she could feel it at the entrance of her maiden spot.<sub></sub>


    Mary blushed and put her hands on his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re torturing me, Aldred. You know how bad I want it inside me.¡±


    Aldred giggled and pounced on her nipple.


    Mary smiled. ¡°I still remember the first time you drink my milk on that carriage. It¡¯s weird now that I look at you in your adult form. It¡¯s like you grow too fast.¡±


    Aldred did not reply and instead grabbed on Mira¡¯s boob as he sucked on Mary¡¯s milk. He was multi-tasking right now.


    Mira was moaning from the firm grip on her boob. Aldred squeezed her hard, and she moaned uncontrobly with her maiden bing wet.


    Aldred sucked on both Mary¡¯s nipples for half an hour, before he squeezed her ass and then bit on her neck. He grabbed her right boob and squeezed her nipple as he drank her blood. Milk squirted out of her nipple as she moaned in his embrace.


    ¡°Aldred¡­Aahhh.¡±


    Mary could feel Aldred sucking on her blood while he squeezed on her breast. It felt wonderful as she felt Aldred¡¯s body warmth over her. He seemed so big now that he wrapped his left hand on her waist.


    She felt sofortable in his chest. She let Aldred do whatever he wanted to her. His hand even when to her sweet maiden spot a few times, making it wet. Mary blushed. Aldred grew so fast.


    She didn¡¯t mind that. His adult form was amazing at making her feel good, and she could hug him better.


    After a while of Aldred sucking her blood, Mary felt weak. Aldred seemed to notice that as he released his fangs and caught her shoulders. She looked at him weakly with a slightly teary eyes.


    A notification came.


    [Evolution: 66/100]


    She saw Aldred looking at her with affection and love. She smiled at him, assuring him that she was okay.


    Aldred looked at her short hair and beautiful blue eyes. She looked so beautiful like the first time he saw her. He recalled her brave moments against the wolf. No matter how many beasts he killed, he still believe that therge wolf was the toughest because Mary saved her from it.


    Mary weakly leaned forward and kissed his lips, inserting her tongue and ying around inside his mouth.


    His pants bulged, touching her panties even more. Mary wrapped her hands around his neck and deepened her tongue y. Her busty boobs pressed against his chest as they yed for a while.


    After they were done, Aldred grabbed Mira for her to sit on hisp. When she moved around, he felt his little brother move on her bare maiden spot. That was because she did not wear any underwear at all.


    The juices leaked out and poured onto his pants inside the water. It was warmer than the hot bath which Aldred did not mind at all.


    In fact, he enjoyed it.


    She stared at him affectionately with her deep green eyes. Aldred caressed his graceful blonder hair and petite face. His left hand quickly moved behind her waist and grabbed onto her plump ass. His right hand snapped to her left breast and he squeezed at the same time.


    Mira felt his hand all over her sensitive spot. She moaned and hugged his neck before biting on his ear. His hands kept on squeezing her breast and ass. Her heart beat faster from the pleasure.


    After a moment, she felt Aldred bite her neck, and she felt a tinge of pain before pleasure came in. Aldred was ravaging her with his hands all over her body. He ripped her dress and moved his fingers on her skin.


    He even moved his fingers down to her maiden spot to y a little bit, and then came back up.


    When he finished drinking her blood, Aldred received another notification.


    [Evolution: 100/100]


    [You havepleted the requirement to evolve]


    [Baron Blood Vampire has been upgraded to level 2. Please reach level 10 to achieve evolution]


    [Baron Blood Vampire Lv. 2]


    -Increase strength by 70%


    -Increase vitality by 70%


    -Increase in blood mastery by 80%


    Aldred was satisfied with his increase in evolution. But another notification came unexpectedly.


    [For indulging in pleasure, you have evolved from ¡®Hell Demon¡¯ to ¡®Baron Hell Demon¡¯]


    [You have received a new skill ¡®The Eye of Nightmare¡¯]


    [Eye of Nightmare]


    By looking at the enemy of the target, you can trap them in a painful illusion that can kill their soul.

 Chapter 120 Copy Cat

    After the feeding session, Aldred put his rod inside each of them until night came and they went to sleep.


    They woke up the next morning. The dice hanging on their waist glowed, and it showed the green shining arrow pointing towards a new direction.


    Aldred kissed Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia good morning before they exited the tent. He morphed back to his child form.


    Bartrem and the soldiers looked at their dice. The arrows pointing up.


    ¡°We got a new direction,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred nodded. Suddenly, arge shadow cast shade upon them.


    ¡°Another Bajaragon?¡± Bartrem raised his sword.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Aldred said, squinting his eyes at the dragon. ¡°It¡¯s not here for us.¡±


    The dragonnded and belched me at the adventurer. They screamed as their bodies were burned to crisp. But there was one group with a viking helmet and a wooden shield that blocked and survived the me.


    They throw theirrge axe at the dragon, pushing it back. And then they threw ropes tied into stones to wrap the dragon¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Neck!¡± Two vikings threw ropes around the dragon¡¯s neck. They pulled to tighten and the other vikings came helping them.<sub>-.</sub>


    The dragon was held in ce, and arger viking, with arger axe, leaped into the sky and mmed the dragon¡¯s head.


    The Bajaragon fell with an axe on its head. And suddenly, the dice on their waist glowed, pointing upward.


    ¡°They¡¯re the viking men,¡± someone said.


    ¡°Viking men? The ones that people called the dragon hunters?¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°Look at their equipment. Those armors are made from dragon scales, and their axe as well. All of their equipment is handcrafted using dragon materials. No wonder they can block the me breath of a Bajaragon.¡±


    Aldred and therger viking stared at each other for a moment. They did this from a distance, both parties knew that they matched in strength.


    The viking defeated the dragon much faster than him, but that was because Aldred did not use his full power from the start. He was sure he could defeat the dragon faster if he tried.


    Aldred put all the supplies in his divine dimension and morphed into a Bajaragon.


    ¡°Hop on, guys,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°This ability is so convenient,¡± Bartrem said.<sub></sub>


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous I can make more than 70 girls ride on me, Bartrem. Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Aldred coughed. ¡°Is everyone ready for take-off?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Here we go!¡± Aldred pped his wings and soared into the sky.


    He flew beside the wall of the cliff which he was supposed to climb to get up. But he didn¡¯t need to since he can fly.


    He saw a lot of crawling monsters on the wall. Also, some flying monsters were hovering around. If Aldred did not turn into a dragon, he had to climb the wall and fought all these creatures.


    The viking stared at Aldred who morphed into a dragon. Their gaze cannot be read. Nobody knew what they were thinking.


    The adventurers on the other hand could only shake their heads in envy.


    After a few hours of flying, Aldred finally arrived at another cliff. He softlynded and let the others to jump down.


    Ahead of them, there was arge thick gate. Aldred guessed they had to go there to continue the next level.


    The arrow on the dice confirmed his suspicion. It pointed directly at the gate.


    Aldred was about to walk to the gate, but Bartrem held his shoulder and pointed.


    There was an old man with thin clothing sitting on a rock in front of the gate. The wind blew his long white hair like he was some sort of master. The cold wind did not bother him?


    Aldred sent out his undead to pass the old man. It walked slowly, and when it reached five meters from the old man, a sh of sharp light came shing at the undead.


    It was so quick. Faster than a blink of an eye. The undead was cut apart and it turned into snow and then blown by the wind.


    The old man was still sitting there with his eyes closed.


    Only now did Aldred notice a thin de on the old man¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Another moving statue?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°No. This old man is a human. Or at least, I think he is a human. But I am sure he is a living being.¡±


    Aldred looked at the old man and felt challenged. He wanted to try his swordsmanship against him. If he did not use his magic to defeat the old man and rely on his sword, his mastery might increase.


    ¡°I have decided. I will fight the old man only with sword art.¡±


    Mary frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I want to improve my swordsmanship. I have this feeling that if I defeat him using sword art alone, myprehension in the art of swords will improve.¡± Aldred summoned his rare-grade sword.


    ¡°Sorry, guys. But I will have to take this old man alone.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°All of you prepare to reinforce him.¡±


    ¡°No. All of you stay here.¡±


    Aldred smiled. He had the divine dimension, and the Ring of Doarus, given by the empress to save him. Because of the empress¡¯ warning, he had never used that ring even once, now he wondered what magic it had to have such dire consequences.


    No, he shouldn¡¯t use it right now. Only when he truly needed its power should he use it. Aldred was scared of its unknown consequence.


    He walked to the old man. Aldred smiled at him as the old man opened his eyes. They were frozen blue in color. And they stared at Aldred with indifference.


    ¡°This young one would like to learn,¡± Aldred said.


    Surprisingly, the old man spoke: ¡°I am one of the guardians in this ce. The only thing you can learn from me is more ways to die.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Then I shall learn.¡±


    The old man said nothing as Aldred charged at him and shed. Suddenly, the old man disappeared and appeared right beside the rock.


    His right hand was already swinging the sword at Aldred. He could feel the cold wind on his neck, indicating that the sword will cut off his head.


    The boy spun and parried the sword by attacking it from below and pushing it upward using his sword.


    He could simply dodge that sword strike, but that would be a mistake because the old man could change the trajectory of his sword mid-swing.


    Aldred wanted that level of mastery in sword art. It was to the point where dodging meant death, and blocking meant his arms would turn numb.


    And yes, Aldred felt numb in both of his arms. But the pain quickly subsided.


    A powerful aura burst out of his body. Aldred drew his sword over his shoulder. ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    A long thin arc of light shed at the old man horizontally, but the old man simply tapped the light with his de, and the light shattered.


    And then something shocking happened. A powerful aura burst from the old man¡¯s body. When he shed, an arc of light came hurtling towards Aldred.


    ¡°He¡¯s copying my skill.¡± Aldred widened his eyes.

 Chapter 121 Glowing Crystals

    Aldred and the old man continued fighting. Unlike other fights, their sh did not produce any shock wave that sted the snow and rocks away. This was because their movement was too precise, and all of the power and energy was intended to hit the smallest surface area possible.


    Of course, if they used their full power, some of that power might leak out and create a shock wave.


    Suddenly, the old man moved faster and stabbed Aldred¡¯s chest. Aldred spat out blood.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mary rushed after him.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯te here!¡±


    Aldred shed at the old man, but he already took a few steps back. He stared at the white-haired fellow. This guy was too strong. Thankfully, Aldred had already put a n B.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight again.¡± Aldred rushed forward.


    The old man stood still, and when Aldred was about to attack, the old man flicked his fingers and Aldred¡¯s head was cut off.


    Mary and the others were shocked. Aldred got killed just like that? How was that possible?


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Sophia screamed.


    Aldred¡¯s body burst into blood, leaving an object behind. The old man bent down to pick it up.


    Mary frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what Aldred called a vibrator?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The vibrator shook in the old man¡¯s hand, creating weird noises.


    The old man frowned and inspected it left and right to know what this device was for. But when it got closer to its face, a de suddenly morphed from the vibrator and stabbed the old man¡¯s neck.


    The vibrator morphed into Aldred and he quickly cut off the old man¡¯s head.


    ¡°HAHAHA. You old fools! I am better than you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Bartrem and the others looked at each other. Didn¡¯t he say that he would only use sword art to defeat the old man?


    Mary and the others giggled.


    ¡°You make us worried, Aldred,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Aldred grinned. ¡°The one that died was my clone. Seriously, this old man is too good at using a sword. Thankfully, he did not know that I turned into a vibrator.¡±


    Mary was speechless. Aldred could turn into something else, but why a vibrator of all things? Why not valuable jade?


    [Your mastery in the sword art has increased by 400%]<sub></sub>


    [Because you cheated, your mastery has been reduced to 300%]


    ¡°Hey! I am not cheating!¡±


    [You have learned a new skill: ¡®Martial Copy¡¯]


    [Martial Copy]


    Copy and paste.


    ¡®System, I will tell my mother to destroy you if you don¡¯t give me a proper description.¡¯


    [Sword Art Copy]


    User can now copy sword arts just by looking at them. With this skill, even an idiot can be a genius.


    Aldred was satisfied with this skill. If his enemy had better sword art, he could simply copy them, and use them against his enemy.


    ¡°So can we enter the gate now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Aldred sent his undead to approach the gate. He wanted to y it safe. One wrong step on this mountain could kill him.


    When the undead arrived, nothing happened to it, and so Aldred and the others approached the gate. Aldred shed it with his sword, but shockingly, the gate was undamaged.


    He frowned. ¡°Execution Strike!¡± The arc of light shed at the gate, but not even a sh mark appeared.


    ¡°Pongo!¡± Pongo the penguin vomited a hand grenade and sted the gate with it,  but it didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°You¡¯re so useless, Pongo. If you have a nuclear bomb or something of the equivalent, we might open this gate,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    ¡°Why are you talking so vaguely? Do you have it or not?¡±


    ¡°Pongo!¡±


    ¡°Now you don¡¯t want to talk to me? You¡¯re a weird penguin.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯re supposed to push it,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Aldred summoned his powerful undead to help push the gate.


    Bartrem and soldiers were pushing as well. The gate was wide and tall, so a hundred of them could push the gate at the same time. Yet even with everyone pushing it, the gate did not budge.


    Mary frowned and found writing on the ground. ¡°Guys, there¡¯s something here.¡± She wiped the snow to show all of the words.


    ¡°Is it a riddle?¡± Aldred read. ¡°Thickest cloud, coldest wind. Break the dark, and break the skin.¡±


    Aldred frowned and looked at the sky. It was covered by thick clouds and the cold wind blew around. ¡°So we got the thick cloud and cold wind, but what does break the dark and break the skin mean?¡±


    ¡°Is it the sun?¡± Mary asked. ¡°It can break the dark and break the skin.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. The sunlight isrgely blocked by these thick clouds and cold wind,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I know the solution to this.¡± Aldred raised his index finger. ¡°True Sun.¡±


    Arge fireball appeared above his finger. It spun absorbing the cold wind as it continued to growrger andrger. The zing mes melted the ice and snow around the gate, and at the top, a transparent crystal absorbed the fireball.


    The gate opened.


    ¡°Well, that worked.¡± Aldred entered along with the others.


    The gate closed down when they all entered, making the cave inside became dark. That wasn¡¯t a problem for Aldred. He summoned numerous fire orbs that glowed the cave bright.


    Aldred and the group walked forward and they arrived at what seemed to be a huge circr cave. A lot of people came from the other tunnel that connected to this cave. They all looked around wondering where to go from here.


    After looking at the dice, Aldred realized that there was nowhere to go but here.


    ¡°Should we wait for something to happen again?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Bartrem looked around and noticed a man was dragging his subordinate by the head.


    ¡°You useless shit! Because of you, all of us almost got killed!¡± He threw the wounded man to the floor.


    ¡°I cannot have you anymore. You better off dead.¡± The man raised his sword with both hands, the de pointing down.


    The wounded man pleaded: ¡°Please, leader. Don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°Toote.¡± He pushed the sword down.


    JLEB!


    Suddenly, a ding sound came from above. They all looked up, and a crystal glowed. Aldred stared and noticed there were 127 crystals in total. One of them already glowed in red.


    ¡°What do you think, Bartrem?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The crystal glowed the moment someone died in this cave. There is only one crystal glowing right now, but there¡¯s a lot more that hasn¡¯t activated yet.¡±


    Bartrem frowned. ¡°The answer is obvious. We have to kill until we make all those crystals glow.¡±

 Chapter 122 Nightmare

    The situation inside the cave became tense. Everyone was looking at each other. All of them knew that it would only take a few seconds before a blood bath ensued.


    Aldred looked at them one by one. He had never seen their face before, which meant they came from a different path than him. This was interesting. A lot of powerful people seemed to climb the mountain currently, but all of them were scattered on different paths.


    One man in majestic red armor clicked his tongue. ¡°I have no time to waste. Kill all of them,¡± he said to his subordinates who wore the same red armor as him, but less majestic.


    ¡°Wait!¡± A man shouted. ¡°This might be a trap trying to fool us. All this time, we face no challenge that told us to kill each other.¡±


    Some people nodded in agreement, while others still hesitated.


    ¡°Fools. It¡¯s so obvious.¡± The man raised his whip about to attack.


    Maverick widened his eyes. ¡°Ferrant?¡±


    ¡°Did you know him?¡± Aldred asked.


    Maverick nodded. ¡°He¡¯s also the son of a count like me.¡±


    What he didn¡¯t tell Aldred was Ferrant¡¯s ability. He was more influential despite their county having the same strength. Some say it was because of his decisiveness in leadership.


    ¡°Does all son of a count this arrogant? First was Byron, and now this guy.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    As Ferrant and his subordinates went on a killing spree, the crystals on the ceiling of the cave continued to glow one by one.


    Aldred was nning on doing nothing about him, but the man just had toe after him.


    ¡°Die!¡± Ferrant shouted as his whip came at Aldred¡¯s face.


    Aldred sighed. Targeting a ten-year-old as your first target¡­ how cruel could someone be. With a sh of light, the whip was deflected.


    Ferrant stared at the boy with widened eyes. ¡®Did the boy just parry my whip?¡¯


    ¡°Ferrant,¡± Maverick called. ¡°This boy is not your match. Look for someone else.¡±


    ¡°Maverick? Humph. I know you would try to obtain the treasure. Don¡¯t bother to continue. That treasure will be mine.¡±


    Maverick said nothing. He found something better than the treasure. His eyes nced at the boy who was still calm.


    ¡°Maverick, I will let you live if you don¡¯t disturb me.¡±


    Maverick sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t have the power to say that.¡±<sub></sub>


    Ferrant frowned. ¡°Are you saying your new friends can defeat me?¡±


    Maverick shook his head. ¡°Just the boy is enough.¡±


    Ferrant stared, and thenughed. ¡°I admit the boy is good at parrying my whip, but he will need more than that to defeat me.¡±


    Mira held Aldred¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him.¡±


    Welp, Aldred wanted to kill him, but he didn¡¯t want to make Mira sad too much. He had been doing a lot of killing these past few days.


    Ferrant snorted. ¡°Take this, boy!¡±


    The whip was engulfed with a powerful red aura. It mmed at Aldred, sending out dust in the air.


    When the dust subsided, everyone was shocked to see the boy holding the whip with his bare hand.


    ¡°Imp¡ªImpossible.¡± Ferrant took two steps back.


    Aldred smiled and activated his Eye of Nightmare.


    Ferrant flinched and his mind entered the realm of nightmare. In his vision, he was suddenly transported into a dark ce with water all around him.


    When he saw arge wooden spoon stirring the water, he realized he was in a cauldron. The wooden spoon was moving by itself, swirling the water around.


    The water began to warm, but secondster, it became so hot that the water started to boil. Bubbles popped. Ferrant couldn¡¯t move, and pain washed all over his body.


    ¡°It burns! HOT! HOT! HOT! AHHH!!!¡±


    Everyone was shocked to see Ferrant rolling around on the ground, screaming. Their subordinates came to his aid, but they didn¡¯t know what to do. Ferrant¡¯s eyes were hollow, but he was screaming in so much pain.


    Seeing they couldn¡¯t do anything for their lord, the subordinates stared at the boy. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I did nothing.¡±


    ¡°AHHHHH!! KILL ME! KILL ME! IT BURNS!¡±


    ¡°Lord Ferrant¡­¡± his subordinates called. Some of the magicians enveloped him in healing magic, and anti-burn magic, but their lord still screaming like he was being boiled.


    Maverick, Mary, Bartrem, and the others looked at this scene in slight fear.


    Mira on the other hand felt pity for Ferrant. ¡°Aldred, stop this.¡±


    Aldred stopped the nightmare, and Ferrant¡¯s eyes returned to normal.


    ¡°Lord Ferrant,¡± his subordinates called with worry in their eyes.


    Ferrant was trembling in fear. He caressed his skin like he was making sure they were fine. When his eyes looked at the boy, he flinched and looked away.


    ¡°I want to go home.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ but what about the treasure?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore. I want to go home.¡±


    His subordinates looked at each other. Lord Ferrant sacrificed many things to climb this far, but now he said he wanted to go home?


    ¡°But, my Lord. You spend a lot of treasure to climb here. Your father will be very mad.¡±


    ¡°I DON¡¯T CARE. Bring me home now!¡±


    His subordinates finally relented and brought Ferrant to leave the cave.


    Aldred simply smiled when he saw Ferrant did not dare to look in his eyes.


    ¡°Aldred, what did you do?¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s my new skill. I can give him a bad nightmare. What he feels and experience is simply a nightmare. It¡¯s not real. I don¡¯t think anyone could die by this skill.¡±


    Mira doubted that. When Ferrant was screaming, she saw his life force flickering like he could die at any time. This skill was like the tool of a demon to torture its enemies. Mira wanted Aldred to not use this skill anymore, but she didn¡¯t want to control him too much.


    She could only sigh and be grateful that Aldred did not kill the man.


    Aldred looked at the unlit crystals. He needed to at least kill 12 people to activate them all. ¡°Mira, we need to kill people or we wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere.¡±


    Mira bit her lips but eventually nodded.


    The other people flinched in fear when Aldred set their eyes upon them. They all saw what happened to Ferrant earlier, and none of them want to experience the same thing.


    But a new group came from a tunnel. It was the vikings earlier. Therger viking seemed to have upgraded his shield. It was the Bajaragon head.


    Aldred was impressed by these guys. They even used the head as a shield.


    What he was even more impressed about was the bravery of therge viking. He was staring at Aldred through his viking helmet.


    Aldred smiled. He did not know what beef this man had with him, but he would defeat anyone thate at him.

 Chapter 123 Mysterious Magician

    Aldred and the viking stared at each other. Both of them were in a stand-off staring contest from a distance. Aldred thought he would fight them to activate thest 12 crystals, but the other group started fighting each other, and it took them hours to activate the crystals.


    All the crystals glowed and they were making weird sounds. It wasn¡¯t a magical-type sound, but a machine-like sound.


    Suddenly, the crystals on the ceiling shattered. And a person in a dark robe slowly descended from above. His clothes fluttered, and softly, his bare feetnded on the cold hard ground.


    Aldred¡¯s system did not detect any levels from this person, but the aura he exuded was powerful. He could see it with his godly eyes.


    ¡°This is not something we can fight alone,¡± Aldred said. The viking seemed to notice that as well, as they warily stared at the man in the robe.


    Aldred looked around and noticed there were more peopleing in from the tunnels. The total was around 120 people, but Aldred did not have any confidence in them.


    He frowned. It was like the mountain intentionally cut their numbers in half.


    The man in robe raised his right hand. It was a weird hand, made out of chaotic red energy. His whole body flickered with a golden light that put heavy pressure on the room.


    And then the man pressed his palm down in a majestic manner.


    ¡°Siphon Soul.¡±


    Suddenly, white energy was pulled out of the people¡¯s bodies, and they fell by the dozens. They were panicking and quickly cast magic shields.


    ¡°Cast shield!¡±


    Sophia and Mira frowned and waved their hands, creating a bubble of protective shield around them. Maverick threw a parchment that burned in the air, and anotheryer of transparent energy enveloped them.


    ¡°Did he just suck their soul?¡± Aldred stared at the man in the robe who absorbed all the white energy that came at him.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°What a terrifying power.¡±


    There was a whirling sound, and Aldred noticed white energy was spinning below his feet.


    ¡®Crap!¡¯ He dodged to the side, and the white energy burst upward.


    He heard screams from other ces and noticed that a lot of people were struck by the spell.


    Aldred narrowed his eyes. ¡°We cannot stay like this. We have to attack!¡±


    He was about to charge forward, but the vikings beat him to it. They threw ropes at the man in the robe, but transparent energy burned the rope all the way.


    The vikings did not give up and attacked with their axe. Therge viking was at the lead. He raised hisrge axe and mmed down. A small shield suddenly appeared on top of the robed man, deflecting the axe.


    ¡°Help him!¡±


    Aldred and all the other groups came charging. They had to work together to defeat the mysterious magician or else they would die. He summoned his undead.


    Nicky led the 50 Gold Rank giant snow wolves, while Crook and Brook charged ahead of the 50 Gold Rank snow apes. That was already 100 Gold Rank, and the Elite Gold Rank: Milet, Teethless, and Will were attacking as well.


    The people were more shocked at his undead collection than the magicians, but they were mistaken because the magician is a lot more powerful. A burst of sand came from the ground, and it morphed into royal sand soldiers with golden armor and spear.


    It rushed against the wave of adventurers and stabbed. Their shield cracked and shattered before they were thrown a dozen meters away.


    ¡°Destroy them!¡±<sub></sub>


    They attacked the sand soldiers, sting them with spells, and weapons. Aldred¡¯s undead were on a rampage; stomping, biting, pouncing, and wing, they destroyed the sand soldiers one by one.


    The magician flinched, but not out of fear, it was like saying; this was the time to show my real power.


    A powerful aura sted from his person, pushing everyone by a few steps. And then he raised both palms menacingly as rock pirs raised from below, shooting upward, and mming their jaws.


    His palm went down, and a powerful stream of water came from above like a tsunami.


    He spun. A sharp powerful typhoon appeared and created chaos inside the cave. One man was lifted by the wind, he screamed, kicked, and punched in the air, but then was shredded to pieces.


    And then mes burst everywhere. Spinning along with the wind, burning anything and anyone it touches.


    Some people wanted to run, but the tunnels were closed using the earth elements. Lightning sparked in the wind, and like a hammer of god, it struck down at the people below.


    ¡°AHH!¡±


    Aldred gritted his teeth. He absorbed the fire with his spells and stared at the mysterious magician. ¡®What power is this? This magician mastered all the elements!¡±


    Therge viking roared and swung his axe. Before it couldnd, the magicians suddenly became two. He attacked one, but his axe went through the body like the magician was a mere illusion.


    ¡°Hold that guy for me!¡± Aldred rushed ahead and swung his sword. His movement was quick and precise. The de went for the neck.


    The magician raised his hand and blocked the sword. Aldred noticed that there was a small shield made out of runes on his palm.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough to stop me!¡± Aldred sted the man with his me jet, but a dark-purple circle appeared in front of the jet, and the me entered some kind of dark dimension before it was never to be seen again.


    ¡°Space maniption?¡± The people widened their eyes.


    Not only did the magician control fire, wind, water, and earth, but he also controlled space?


    To their shock, the mysterious magician did not stop there. He palmed the air slightly, and time slowed down. They all could see in real-time, but their body moved like they were in slow motion.


    The mysterious magician approached Aldred. He snapped his fingers, and the space was bent, preventing anyone to see both of them. The magician then lifted his hood, revealing a beautiful woman with ck hair, and green eyes.


    ¡°Sister Dina?¡± Aldred couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°Is this an illusion? Are you trying to defeat me using incest? Let me tell you that won¡¯t work on me! I have a powerful will!¡±


    Dina giggled. ¡°You¡¯re still the silly little Aldred I know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really you, big sister?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is me.¡± She snapped her fingers again, and time literally stopped in the cave.


    ¡°Why are you here? How could you be here?¡±


    Dina pouted. ¡°Why? Do you not want me to be here?¡±


    ¡°N¡ªno, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    Dina hugged him and smiled. ¡°I am joking.¡± She looked at him and caressed his face. ¡°Look at you all grown up now.¡±


    ¡°Sister, I am still 10 years old. I don¡¯t think I am grown yet.¡±


    She pulled him into her embrace. His face was stuffed with her big breast who was hidden under the baggy robe. ¡°I miss you so much! I can finally meet you after sneaking out from mom.¡±


    Aldred noticed a tear in her eyes. He hugged her back. ¡°I miss you too, sister. I miss you a lot.¡±


    Dina giggled. ¡°You little baby boy. Still cute as ever.¡± She pinched his cheeks. ¡°If only I can take you back. I miss spending time with you in bed, reading books, and enjoying sweets together.¡±


    ¡°I miss that too, sister. I miss It a lot. But I have to grow stronger am I?¡±


    Dina sighed. ¡°At first, we simply want to unravel your potential, but now you getting stronger is a necessity.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Dad didn¡¯t want us to tell you this, but he¡¯s actually in a different dimension.¡±


    ¡°Dimension? Not universe?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The fourth dimension specifically. Mother and I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing there, but I believe he¡¯s fighting against something powerful. Father tried so hard to hide this fact from us, but mother unlocked the mystery little by little through her power.¡±


    Aldred frowned. Dina had never used the word ¡®powerful¡¯ before, so this might be serious. ¡°Is he going there alone?¡±


    Dina shook her head. ¡°He came there along with the thousand gods.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s serious.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Dina felt sad. She preferred Aldred just to stay in the castle without going through these dangerous adventures.


    If only she could rece him, she would. Sadly, she did not have his potential. Not even in the slightest. In the future, Aldred would shake the multiverse and every dimension in existence.


    As Aldred was thinking, he heard a sniffing sound and noticed Dina was crying.


    ¡°Sister, why are you crying?¡±


    Dina hugged him. ¡°I feel sorry for you. I don¡¯t want you to go through all these.¡±


    ¡°I am fine, sister. In fact, I enjoy it. Look at how many friends I met during the journey. They have been so good to me.¡±


    Dina wiped her tears. ¡°I know. We¡¯ve been watching you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ you¡¯ve been watching me.¡± Aldred scratched his head.


    ¡°I believe you have watched me eat good food at night as well.¡±


    Dina giggled. ¡°Yes. Now you can shape shift, right? You look as handsome as dad in your adult form.¡±


    ¡®Oh shit, she saw that? Damn, how can I act like an innocent baby from now on?¡¯


    Dina held his cheeks. ¡°You look so manly, Aldred. It¡¯s so sad to see you¡¯re not that little baby boy anymore.¡±


    ¡®No, sister. In front of you, I am still that little baby boy! So love me again!¡¯


    ¡°But I love you all the same.¡± Dina hugged him. ¡°No matter how you changed, you will always have a ce in my heart.¡±


    She released the hug and kissed him on the lips. ¡°I will go now.¡±

 Chapter 124 Favor (R18+)

    ¡°But before I go. Can you do me favor?¡±


    ¡°What is it, sister? I will do whatever you want me to do.¡±


    ¡°Can you transform to your adult form?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­. Okay.¡± Aldred transformed to his adult form.


    Dina watched his transformation into a handsome well-built man, standing tall at 189 CM. She put her hand all over him, and asked: ¡°How do your clothes fit you?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Magic.¡±


    Dina shrugged.


    ¡°So what do you want me to do?¡± Aldred asked.


    Dina blushed. ¡°Can you also do ¡®that¡¯ to me?¡±


    ¡°That what?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°You know. ¡®That¡¯. Like how you did inside the tent.¡±


    ¡°You mean sex?¡±


    Dina blushed. ¡°Why are you so direct?¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re my sister.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for demons and vampires to marry their own family. After all, the purer the blood line, the better, so our mom and dad are a rare one, because vampire and demon almost never marry together.¡±


    ¡°The purer the blood line, the better? So that¡¯s why I am so weak?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re a slow grower, but mom said your potential is better than dad, so you will pass him in the future.¡±


    Aldred sighed in relief. He thought he was going to be weaker than them forever. ¡°Wait, sister. You said marrying family members is normal, does that mean milf and incest is normal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just normal. It¡¯s the norm. People will think of you weirdly if you don¡¯t marry your family members.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Ohh¡­ wonderful.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°N¡ªnothing.¡±


    Dina put her hands on his chest, blushing. ¡°So¡­ can you do ¡®that¡¯ to me?¡±


    ¡°Anything for my lovely sister.¡±


    Dina blushed as Aldred went in to bite her neck. ¡°You evolved quickly.¡±


    Aldred did not reply and kept sucking her blood. Her blood taste was so simr to mother¡¯s. To this day, he still remember that divine taste.


    Ignoring the notification that came to his eyes, Aldred turned his sister around.


    Dina¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Aldred, you are so good at this.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t started yet.¡± Aldred lifted her robes, revealing her snow-white ass in silky ck underwear. Her long smooth legs parted to give way to the heavenly cave.


    Her round butt was perky and smooth-looking. It was as beautiful as two beautiful pearlsplementing each other.


    ¡°You look so perfect, sister.¡± He wrapped his hands around her slender, curvy waist.


    He gently caressed her ass as though it was a fragile jewels. In that moment, Dina¡¯s whole body trembled. Aldred grabbed her butt cheeks with all ten fingers. A wave of pleasure ran through her.


    ¡°Uhhmmm!¡± Dina moaned in a sweet tone, inviting Aldred to keep going. She intentionally amplified her senses, so she could feel Aldred¡¯s touch even more. A tinge of pain mixed with incredible pleasure as he entered her.


    Her mind wasn¡¯t in the right ce, and she enjoyed what Aldred did to her in the fullest. She wanted more of him.


    Aldred massaged her perky butt. He looked like a master with his hands movement. With his godly eyes helping him, Aldred knew her sensitive spots. His experience in sword art helped him with his hands.


    He had better control over them, and kneaded her butt like a bread master.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Aldred¡­ More¡­. More, Aldred.¡± The amplified senses strengthened the lust within her. She only felt this way towards her dad before, but ever since Aldred came, she felt this towards him as well. She had been holding this for uncountable millennia even though she could ask her dad for pleasure, she did not do that for she felt like she wasn¡¯t worthy of him.


    But Aldred was her little brother. She felt like she was worthy of his touch.


    Her eyes sparkled with beautiful stars, and her lust grew.


    Trembling even harder, Dina felt a tingling sensation on her bottom lips. She felt safe andfortable in Aldred¡¯s hand. Then she felt something inside her.


    ¡°Aldred, keep going. Something¡­ something ising inside me.¡± She wanted to pee, but she held it.


    Aldred¡¯s godly eyes activated, and his fingers slid underneath her underwear, pinching her golden jewel¡ªThe clitoris.


    When his finger touched the pink little pearl, Dina felt as if her whole body was struck by a lightning bolt of pleasure. In that single moment, her mind was shut down, and the muscle that held the water within her body rxed, causing a flow of heavenly, sparkling juice to gush out like a beautiful waterfall.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Dina experienced an orgasm for the first time in her millennium of existence.


    Aldred then pulled his pants down and inserted his rod inside her wet cave. He ripped her robe, and grabbed onto those pair of melons.


    Dina breathed profusely every time Aldred pushed his rod inside of her. She squirmed in his embrace, and slightly moving back and forth as well to increase the pleasure. The muscle inside her heavenly cave moved to wrap around his rod. She wanted it to hug it tight.


    All of this happened while they were standing. Aldred was currently inserting his rod in and out from behind her while standing. He loved this new position.


    ¡°Get it inside me more, Aldred. Get it inside your sister,¡± she said while moaning.


    Dina experienced another orgasm which soaked his rod even more. That made the movement of his little brother to be smoother and quicker. His rod elongated bit by bit.


    He wanted to tease his sister by slowly inching up inside of her.


    Dina noticed this and smiled. ¡°You little naughty boy. You¡¯re teasing me aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Aldred squeezed her breast and moved faster, making her let out a small moan. She was huffing and puffing while he ravaged her body.


    ¡°Sister Dina. This is so amazing. Your body is so amazing.¡±


    Dina blushed when she wasplemented by him. Suddenly, Aldred felt the peak of pleasure, and thought it was time to let it out. So he increased the length of his manhood and let it prated her womb. He moved back and forth a little inside to tease his sister.


    He hugged her, pressing her melons harder. ¡°Do you want it, sister?¡±


    She was breathing profusely, cheeks red as fresh peach. ¡°I want it, brother. Give it to me.¡±


    ¡°Your wish shall be granted.¡± He increased the length more, and injected all of his seeds inside.

 Chapter 125 Your Grace

    ¡°Before I leave, do you want to suck my blood again?¡±


    Aldred pulled his pants up, and then bit her neck. After a while he received a bunch of notifications.


    [Blood Vampire level up]


    [Blood Vampire level up]


    [Blood Vampire level up]


    [Blood Vampire level up]


    [Blood Vampire level up]


    [Blood Vampire Lv. 10]


    -Increase strength by 86%


    -Increase vitality by 86%


    -Increase in blood mastery by 96%


    Satisfied with the stats, Aldred looked at his sister. ¡°Thank you, sister.¡±


    Dina smiled and hugged him. ¡°Mom and I will be waiting for you. You are a strong boy with great potential. I¡¯m d that I didn¡¯t stop mom and dad from putting you into this adventure. You have to experience hardship to truly be powerful.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I understand sister. I will be strong ande to that castle as a new person. But no matter how much I change, I will still love you all the same.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Aldred. You¡¯re such a good brother. Mother looking at us now will be so proud.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s looking at us? NOW?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s been watching since a few hours ago.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Aldred cleared his throat. ¡°Right, right. It¡¯s normal for siblings to do ¡®that¡¯ right?¡±


    ¡°You mean sex?¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re the one who¡¯s being direct.¡±


    Dina giggled. ¡°Yes, it is normal. I told you earlier that the weird ones are those who are not doing it with their own family members. Milf and incest is the norm in vampire and demon race. Although not all vampires and demons, some vampire race is already so diluted that marrying their own family members provide no benefit at all. When that happen, they usually look for better bloodline.¡±


    Aldred nodded in understanding. So for vampires and demons, bloodline was the most important.


    ¡°For humans, women usually look for males that can protect and provide. So healthy, powerful, and intelligent men can easily find mates. Vampires and demons work slightly different. It was usually for bloodline which will make their descendants stronger, so in a sense we are quite the same as humans.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡±<sub></sub>


    Dina smiled. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything yet, Aldred. In the future, you will meet races with bizarre mate preferences. Some prioritize appearance, height, build, pp size, and other unique features.¡±


    Aldred bitterly smiled. ¡°I think a lot of women wanted thest one.¡±


    ¡°For female humans, yeah. In fact, generally a lot of other female races.¡±


    ¡°Including vampire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, including vampire.¡± Dina smiled at him meaningfully. Anyway, I will be leaving now. Good luck, Aldred. We will always be watching you.¡±


    Aldred nodded hesitantly. ¡°Yes, watching me¡­¡±


    He coughed. ¡°Anyway, sister, how did you be a magician of this ce.¡±


    Dina¡¯s eyes moved to the side for a fraction of a second. ¡°I made this contraption, and hid it on the ceiling.¡± She let out a small giggle.


    Aldred blinked and did not say anything. ¡®Is she hiding something from me? She wasn¡¯t part of the challenge which means the dice shouldn¡¯t be pointing towards the crystal in the first ce. Maybe she has magic that can alter it.¡¯


    ¡°I see,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But, sis. You said you were adopted. Doesn¡¯t that make us weird?¡±


    ¡°Father and mother are also not from the same bloodline, so yes we are weird that we don¡¯t marry within the family, but I am fine with it.¡±


    ¡°I am fine with that as well,¡± Aldred said, smiling. ¡°I will be seeing you around, sister.¡±


    Dina smiled and vanished. Time and space returned to normal. The chaotic elements all disappeared as well.


    Mary, Mira, Sophia and Mareona rushed at him.


    ¡°What happen? Where is that magician?¡±


    ¡°I¡ªI defeated him with my powerful rod.¡± Aldred showed a stick in his right hand. It was the All Devouring Stick.


    Mary nodded. ¡°That rod is indeed powerful,¡± she said recalling the World Shattering m skill.


    Mareona agreed. ¡°Yes, that rod is very powerful.¡±


    Aldred smiled bitterly at how they say the word ¡®rod¡¯. If only they knew what Aldred meant by ¡®rod¡¯¡­


    ¡°Anyway, we should proceed.¡± Aldred took out his dice and looked at the shining green arrow. It was pointing up.


    Suddenly, a flight of stairs came spiraling down from the ceiling. Its movement was like a snake going down a tree by wrapping around it. The ground shook when the flight of stairs arrived on the ground.


    Aldred looked at his women and the others. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As they walked up the stairs, Aldred didn¡¯t notice that Ste was watching them with her magical mirror all this time. She was breathing profusely, and was drenched in sweat.


    ¡°He¡¯s so hot. So powerful as well.¡±


    ¡­


    An assassin was sneaking through arge sprawling city. Under the cover of the night, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop as silent and as fast as the wind.


    Leaving only a slight breeze in his step before he climbed a tall and thick wall, guarding a luxurious mansion.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A guard on guarding the wall looked around, but found nothing but a ck cat. ¡°How can a cat be here?¡±


    Behind the guard, a shadow with a pair of red dots as eyes were staring at him before the shadow vanished, and appeared on the roof of the mansion.


    The pair of eyes were currently staring through the window where a man was sitting by a wooden desk. The room inside was dimly lit, leaving the man¡¯s face to be covered by the darkness.


    The shadow jumped and perched on the window, flicking a pair of dagger to its hands.


    ¡°What news do you bring?¡± The man said. His back was all for him to see, but his face was still hidden.


    ¡°Many powerful contenders have appeared. Theye from all over the continents, and some came from the neighboring smaller continent.¡±


    ¡°Those are only the newbies,¡± the man said. ¡°The real contenders are still hiding their strength. None of them will show their hand at the first stage of this treasure hunt. Tell me more.¡±


    ¡°There is this boy. He dominates Mount Fargon and reportedly clears all the challenges easily.¡±


    ¡°Where are they now?¡±


    ¡°The middle part of Mount Fargon. And there is a rumor that he¡¯s one of the empress¡¯ chess pieces.¡±


    ¡°She has a lot of pieces with her. One is not important enough to mention.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s different, your grace. I heard that the empress gave him the ring.¡±


    The man shook so slightly that the assassin barely noticed it. If not for his years of experience as a killer, he might not realize the movement at all.


    ¡°He is protected by the curse. I cannot send diamond ranks to go after him.¡±


    ¡°Should we send our champions after him?¡±


    ¡°How powerful is this boy?¡±


    ¡°He defeated a Phantom w, and a Bajaragon. He can turn Gold Rank into his undead. Currently, he had more than 50 Gold Rank snow wolves, 50 Gold Rank snow apes, and 7 Elite Gold Rank that lead the undead army for him. We also suspect him to be a hero as he mastered the art of sword and magic.¡±


    Even the assassin trembled after recalling the boy¡¯s power. If he fought the boy in a head on battle, he wondered if he could win.


    The man sensed fear within the assassin. It seemed like this boy was very powerful among Gold Ranks.


    ¡°Sending our champion is too risky. Inform them about this, but don¡¯t tell them to move.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your grace.¡±

 Chapter 126 Water Shield [Bonus chapter]

    Aldred walked up to the spiraling stairs along with the others following him from behind. The adventurers that survived the onught also walked up the stairs. The vikings survived thanks to their powerful dragon armor.


    And he noticed therger viking who seemed to be the leader was staring at him again. Seriously, what was his problem?


    Aldred reached the top of the stairs, and stepped into another tform. The ce was still inside a cave; dark and gloomy. He lit up the ce with mes for light and ahead of him was another ck gate.


    ¡°Another gate.¡± Aldred sighed. ¡°Aren¡¯t they tired of making these gates?¡±


    Aldred raised his staff, morphed into a gigantic golden hammer and mmed it at the gate with full force. The impact sted wind and dust in every direction, forcing everyone to protect their eyes.


    And yet the gatey undamaged.


    ¡°It¡¯s one those unbreakable gate again.¡± Aldred morphed his stick to normal.


    ¡°Let¡¯s approach it. Maybe we can get some clues to open the gate.¡± Mary and  the other girls walked to the gate, inspecting it in detail to find any writings.


    Aldred had analyzed every inch of the gate with his godly eyes, but he found nothing.


    ¡°Should we wait again?¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind waiting,¡± Aldred said. He waved his hand and all the tents, equipments, and supplies appeared.


    There were cooking utensils and ingredients too. Since they were already used to waiting, they made themselves some kebabs, burgers, sandwiches, and other types of food.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred wondered what Maverick was eating. He took a peek, and saw they were biting on some sack. It seemed to made out of cow skin, and he noticed blood leaked out from the sack. The bite hole on the sack instantly closed by itself when Maverick pulled out his teeth.


    Maybe it was made out of magic?


    Maverick noticed Aldred¡¯s gaze, and pulled out another sack. ¡°Do you want one?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ sure.¡±


    Maverick smiled when Aldred epted his offer. He wondered how Aldred enjoyed normal food while being a vampire. There were some rare cases where vampires could enjoy human food, but he had never seen one before.


    Aldred said he was recently turned into a vampire. Could that be the reason?


    Aldred inspected the cow sack and bit into it before sucking in the blood. He widened his eyes at the sweet taste. He expected it to be bitter, but the taste was so good.


    ¡°This is good, Maverick. Where did you get this?¡±


    Maverick puffed his chest and proudly smiled. ¡°This blood is obtained from one of my subordinates. She¡¯s a virgin Diamond Rank vampire.¡±


    Aldred stared at him speechlessly. ¡°Tell me. How many more of these do you have, and is there a chance I can drink it directly from the source?¡±


    Maverick¡¯s subordinates looked at each other. They have the expression that said ¡®Did he just say that?¡¯<sub></sub>


    On the other hand, their master, Maverick, was coughing to remove the awkward situation. ¡°I have a lot of these, but I don¡¯t know if you can directly from the source. If I ask my father, he might let you.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s great. After we go down this mountain, we will visit your house first.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Maverick was happy that he could bring Aldred to his house, but he was worried how that might turn out. He could only pray that his father was good with words and convinced Aldred to ally with them.


    ¡°What are you eating, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a blood sack,¡± Aldred said as he sucked on the sack.


    ¡°Does it increase your evolution points?¡±


    Aldred frowned and noticed that he did not earn any evolution points at all. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. Is it because I need to drink it fresh?¡±


    ¡®So I really have to drink it directly from the source¡­¡¯


    ¡®What an inconvenient. Seems like I really have to visit Maverick¡¯s house. To increase evolution points of course, nothing more, nothing less.¡¯


    ¡°Aldred, Everyone!¡± Bartrem called. ¡°The food is done. Grab yourself something to eat!¡±


    The soldiers cheered and grabbed some food with their partner. Joseph was all smiles as his girlfriend fed him. Although he did not have four girlfriends like Jeffery, he was satisfied with one.


    While Aldred and hisrades were having the time of their life, the others could only look with hungry stomachs or salty tongues as salt and hard bread was the only thing they had.


    The well-off adventurers or rich group could afford better food in their diet. Some powerful group even brought a chef to cook for them.


    Aldred summoned Be. She was a beautiful ice goddess with dress that revealed her beautiful long legs and barely cover her private parts. He held his lusty desire, because that wasn¡¯t the reason why he summoned her.


    Not this time.


    ¡°Be, can you teach me more about the water element?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to learn more skills?¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t want to learn anymore skills, but I think I need something to defend myself. The fight against the Bajaragon scares me. I won in the end, but I cheated for that. So do you have any water skills for protection?¡±


    ¡°This skill is called water shield construction.¡± Be weaved her fingers in the air, and water moved around her. ¡°This skill is very effective against non-solid attack suck as miasma, acid, and fire, but it is very weak against solid attacks such as swords and spears. There is a solution to this; solidify the water into ice.¡±


    The water around Be crystallize into ice in an instant. She created an ice sword in her hand and stabbed into the ice shield.


    The ice sword shattered.


    ¡°I am sure you can learn this skill, because unlike lightning, it doesn¡¯t need much mastery to create ice from the sub skill of the water element.¡±


    Unbeknown to her, Aldred was staring at her with his godly eyes all this time. Ignoring the x-ray vision that saw straight through her clothes and underwear, Aldred closed his eyes and recalled every movement.


    Suddenly, Aldred opened a wide stance and moved his hands gracefully in the air. Water formed out of nothing, moved around his body as he danced in ce.


    He summoned Bajaragon. ¡°Teethless, attack me with your me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    The giant red dragon opened its maw and belched out arge me breath that heated up the air.


    Aldred stared at the me as it went towards him. He moved the water to wrap around him, and then he was engulfed by the me breath.


    Teethless kept on belching the me from his mouth for a few seconds before he stopped. The rocks turned intova. They were bubbling hot.


    Mary was looking worried. She did not want Aldred to be injured. When the me dissipated, Aldred was standing bravely while being protected by the globe of water around him.


    A sigh of relief came from Mary and she smiled at Aldred.


    [You have learned a new skill ¡®Water Shield¡¯]


    [Water Shield]


    This skill lets you manipte water to protect yourself from attacks.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°With this skill, I wouldn¡¯t be defenseless against powerful attacks. And I can protect the others as well.¡±


    Mary, Mareona, Sophia and Mira smiled gratefully.


    Mareona walked up to him and rubbed his head jokingly. ¡°Since when did you have us in mind, huh? Where is the usual pervert I know?¡±


    Aldredughed as they tickled him.


    Sophia kissed him. ¡°Thank you, Aldred. Thank you for bringing me with you. If I didn¡¯t try to enve you that day, this moment between us might never exist.¡±


    ¡°This is a blessing indeed.¡± Aldred smiled.


    One of the adventurer group was eating calmly, but suddenly, their bodies started to glow bright. They were confused, and then they heard the gate creaking.


    Dust fell off from its surface, and it opened itself revealing a grand yet empty space. It was like a colosseum but without the seats for audience. It was just arge stage like an arena for battle.


    ¡°Should we enter it?¡± Mary asked.


    Aldred looked at the green arrow on the dice. ¡°Not yet. The gate doesn¡¯t open for us.¡±


    The others seemed to realize that as well, so nobody moved. The shining adventure group felt all eyes were staring on them. They took a deep breath and entered the arena.


    The gate closed immediately.


    As Aldred wanted to return to his cuddling session, he heard a scream within the gate.


    ¡°AHH!¡±

 Chapter 127 Entertainment

    ¡°AHH!¡±


    Aldred flinched. He had never heard such a scream before.


    ¡°HELP ME!¡±


    SPLAT!


    Aldred frowned. A sound of steel nging against steel reverberated out. He heard flesh being torn, and bodies thudding to the floor.


    CLANG! CLANG!


    SCRACK!


    ¡°NO!¡± a woman screamed from inside.


    JLEB!


    Aldred heard the woman gagging for air like her air canal was being blocked.


    The scream and the sounds ended with ast thud. After a few seconds, the gate sted open. Everybody stared with widened eyes when they saw nothing but blood in the arena.


    No clothes, no armor, only blood.<sub>-.</sub>


    They trembled in fear. What happened when the gates closed? Nobody knew. Even Aldred started to worry. Not for his life, but for hisrades¡¯ life.


    Another group shone with bright light. Everyone near the group distanced themselves, afraid of being identified as the same group with them.


    The chosen group was trembling and looked around with sweat on their forehead. Left with no choice, they walked into the gate and took a deep breath for whatever they would face.


    The gate mmed shut just like before.


    And it began.


    ¡°AHH!¡±


    SPLAT! SPLAT! JLEB! JLEB! CLANG! SCRAKKKK!


    ¡°HELP ME!¡±


    Someone banged the gate from inside, screaming for help in desperation. The gate shook, and blood leaked out from a tiny gap between the gate.


    The gate sted open again, revealing nothing but more blood.


    One group shone bright again. Everyone knew that the group had to enter the gate and face whatever it was inside the gate.<sub></sub>


    The leader of the group looked at their members. Aldred noticed that he was the only man within the group while the others were females. After a short discussion, they decided not to enter the gate and walked down the stairs.


    They turned into dust and disappeared.


    Everyone now knew that there was no stepping back from this. Leave and you die. The only way to survive was to fight against whatever it was inside that gate. What could it be? Was it another monster? Something like the Phantom w? A Bajaragon?


    The onlookers gulped nervously, afraid of being chosen even though they knew they would be picked soon orter.


    A few secondster, a group was picked. Their body shone brightly. Sweat trickled to their cheeks, and dripped from the jaw.


    Taking a deep breath, they approached the gate.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Aldred called. ¡°Take this with you. You might need it.¡± Aldred threw a rare grade shield at the leader.


    The leader nodded in gratitude, but he didn¡¯t believe a shield would let him survive. Nevertheless, he entered the gate.


    SLAM!


    The gate closed.


    ¡°AHH! GET IT OFF ME!¡±


    ¡°HELP! HELP!¡±


    ¡°FUCK ALL YOU BASTARD!¡±


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!


    The sound stopped. But the gate did not move, making everyone there restless.


    Who would be picked next?


    Aldred frowned. What he gave the man wasn¡¯t a shield, but his clone that morphed into a shield. When the clone died, its memory and experience entered his mind. But all he saw was darkness. The moment that gate closed, he couldn¡¯t see anything, but he felt ticklish? And then it was followed by pain. Enormous pain. A few secondster, the clone died.


    He received that from the clone memory, but he didn¡¯t have enough information to tell what they fought inside.


    Aldred waited for the gate to open, but after a few hours, it still didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°What do you think, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He shook his head.


    ¡°It would help if the people inside the gate scream something useful instead,¡± Sophia said.


    After two more hours, Aldred decided to enter his tent with Mary, Mareona, and Sophia. The cave wasn¡¯t cold, so they didn¡¯t need  to make hot bath. Instead, they put down afortable mattress and a nket inside the tent.


    The girls hugged and kissed him and they had fun for a while before deciding to sleep. Aldred couldn¡¯t sleep. He still thought about their screams and the sound of iron being scraped and pulled.


    He sighed and drank some milk before closing his eyes to sleep.


    The next day, Aldred woke up and exited his tent, staring at the closed gate. Suddenly, the gate creaked and slowly revealed the bloody arena.


    A group was picked and they entered the arena with sweat all over their faces.


    This repeated for a few times. When Aldred was sleeping with the girls, he heard screams and blood sttered over and over again for days and perhaps weeks.


    When Bartrem served food to his soldiers, he noticed they were worried. The constant sound of desperation scared them. Even though they weren¡¯t scared of death, but being constantly reminded that they might die was torture.


    It broke their sanity, and if he didn¡¯t do anything they might turn crazy. Bartrem told this to Aldred in the hope that he might have solution for this.


    ¡°What about entertainment?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Do you guys know ser?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Pass me the ball! Pass me the ball!¡± Joseph received the ball and dribbled through his enemies. He went left, right, left, right.


    He nced at Jeffery who was following a few meters beside him. With a secret signal only the two of them knew, Jeffery received the message that Joseph will pass the ball.


    Joseph feigned that he was about to kick the ball to the left, but in reality he kicked to the right, passing the ball to Jeffery.


    ¡°Get it to the goal!¡±


    Jeffery nodded and went through his opponents.


    The female soldiers were cheering from the sides. pping their hands, and shouting for his name.


    ¡°Jeffery! I love you!¡±


    ¡°Jeffery! I will let you smell my underwear if you make a goal!¡±


    Jeffery blushed and lost focus. The ball was taken from him. He bit his lips and tried not to be distracted.


    Aldred and Bartrem were watching the game ying out from the side.


    ¡°This is good. Where did you get the idea for this?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I was sucking on milk and some divine inspiration just entered my head.¡±


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°Maybe I should drink some milk as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Hopefully Bartrem meant cow milk.

 Chapter 128 Jiggle Jiggle

    The male yed against each other for a few rounds. Joseph and Jeffery made a few goals together, receiving a loud cheers from the female soldiers.


    The adventurers that kept their distance started to get closer after a while. And eventually, all of them watched the ser game.


    ¡°Get that ball. Dangit! Don¡¯t let him slide under you like that!¡±


    ¡°Kick the ball! Kick it!¡±


    ¡°He could have kicked the ball and gotten a goal.¡±


    ¡°If you kick my balls, you would get a goal as well.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you weirdo.¡±


    Aldred noticed that the game wasn¡¯t that exciting after a while. ¡°We need to add some spices to heat up this game.¡±


    Aldred cleared his throat. ¡°The group that win the game can get two PP condom!¡±


    The game stopped for a moment and they stared at Aldred.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Per person!¡±


    ¡°YEAH!!!!!!¡±


    All of them were excited and yed the ball with ultra-super-duper-focus. When the opponent tried to steal the ball, they didn¡¯t y soft, no, they straight up punched the guy.<sub>-.</sub>


    When the ball carrier fell, another yer carried the ball, dribbling for a few meters before he was body-mmed to the ground.


    Suddenly, the game turned into a fist-fight as they mmed, punched, and kick each other.


    ¡°What the hell just happened.¡± Aldred was shocked himself.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what a male would do for a pp condom. Especially in this situation,¡± Bartrem said. His soldiers have found their partners, so he understood that his men were holding their urges from the beginning.


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    The adventurers were hyped up.


    ¡°Yeah! Kick him in the balls!¡±


    ¡°Punch those sagging sack of balls!¡±


    ¡°I love balls!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Aldred couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and told them to stop. When they calmed down, he told Bartrem to act as the referee, and told him how to use the yellow card and the red card.


    ¡°Yellow card means you might not get any pp condom while red card means you have no right to use pp condom for the rest of your life! Do all of you understand?¡± Bartrem shouted.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    The soldiers finally y by the rule. They still fought fiercely, using tough tactics such as sliding against the foot of the opponents.


    ¡®Seriously, are they trying to kill each other? Where is camaraderie they have built up until now?¡¯


    No one made a goal for hours of game y, that was until Joseph and Jeffery executed a spectacr coordination.


    Jeffery received the ball from Joseph and kicked it to the goal.


    The goalkeeper was ready to defend it with his life. He leaped to the side, not caring about injury, but even with that determination, the ball still entered the goal.


    ¡°GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±


    Jeffery shouted and ran to Joseph. They hugged and jumped around. His teammates then lifted Jeffery and threw him in the air.


    ¡°Jeffery!¡±


    ¡°Jeffery!¡±


    ¡°Jeffery!¡±


    ¡°Jeffery!¡±


    They chanted his name!


    Thedies shouted: ¡°Jeffery! Make me wet tonight! KYAA!!¡±


    ¡°Jeffery might need more than two pp condom tonight,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°He might need twelve,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°Since he got the goal, I will give it to him.¡±


    The winning group approached Aldred, and he handed the rewards to each of them.


    ¡°Pongo! Give me more of those pp condoms.¡±


    Pongo crossed his arms and looked away.


    ¡°Tsk. Fine.¡± Aldred pulled out another rare fish from his inventory. ¡°Now give me all the pp condoms you have.¡±


    Pongo smiled and dly vomited out all the pp condom before taking the fish away.


    They carefully took the reward as if it was some sort of epic treasure. They then returned to their tents to keep the treasure just in case.


    They didn¡¯t care if the pp condom was vomited out by a penguin.


    ¡°Alright, for the next game, we will have females volleyball. The winning team will get these bottles of pills. I don¡¯t know what this is but it¡¯s called ¡®PP ergement for your husband pills¡¯ or something like that. Every person will get one bottle!¡±


    ¡°YAYY!!¡± The females soldiers were excited and  they immediately rushed to the arena. Each team consisted of twenty-five females.


    The yers were more numerous nowpared to the ser game where the males divided themselves by 11 yers for each team. There were only twenty-two males after all, excluding Bartrem.


    They threw their armor to the side, revealing the sports clothes Aldred told them to wear. Their clothes revealed their long smooth legs andrge part of their butt. It was tight fitted as well, making the outline of their ass clear for everyone to see.


    The tight upper wear revealed their defined stomach. But no one focused on the stomach.


    They were all staring at the milk jugs and melons that threatened to burst out of the clothes.


    Both teams were divided into red and blue.


    The male adventurers were excited and they screamed and cheered.


    ¡°I love volleyball!¡±


    ¡°This might be my favorite game now. Fuck ser! This is the culture I want.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I love balls!¡±


    ¡°You shut the hell up!¡±


    ¡°Attention!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The female soldiers stood straight.


    ¡°All of you have been briefed about the game before so I don¡¯t have to exin anything. y by the rules or you will be disqualified. Do all of you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Bartrem threw the ball into the air and itnded on the red side.


    The red team served the ball, but the server used too much force and it was flying into the air. It took a few minutes before the ballnded.


    The blue team attacked back, mming the ball with a powerful force that made the ball explode.


    ¡°Hey, use less force this time,¡± Bartrem said before throwing another ball.


    The adventurers did not care about the ball. All they care about was the jiggling and wiggling smooth perky melons and peaches.


    Some females had big melons and peaches while others had t airports. But the adventurers had different taste with each other, so these variations of melons and peaches were weed with open arms.


    A man sighed. ¡°I love balls more than peaches.¡±


    ¡°You shut up or I will kick your nuts.¡±


    The female yers gracefully yed, showing their curvy body and their flexibility. Aldred noticed that they had be more beautiful than before, probably because of the breakthrough to Gold Rank.


    Suddenly, everyone cheered as team red scored a point. The red team excitedly jumped around and hugged their friends. Theirrge breast pressed against each other.


    Aldred nced at the adventurers who were drooling right now. ¡°I need to mize this. They shouldn¡¯t be allowed to watch this piece of culture for free.¡±

 Chapter 129 Its Working

    Aldred then went up to the adventurers and told them to pay to watch the game.


    Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t say anyint at all. They gave him tons of gold without speaking a word. Did they like watching girls y volleyball that much?


    Unbeknown to him, the reason they didn¡¯t say anything was because of the Bajaragon that was following him around. Who would dare to utter a word ofint with a gigantic dragon as his backing.


    When Aldred asked thest man for money, the man sighed, paid the amount, and then asked: ¡°When will the ball¡¯s match begin?¡±


    ¡°You mean ser?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one. I like kicking balls more than these peaches and melons.¡±


    ¡°Just think of those melons and peaches as balls.¡±


    The man widened his eyes. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re right. Thank you.¡±


    Aldred shook his head and left the man alone. ¡®What a weird cultured guy.¡¯<sub>-.</sub>


    The game was as exciting as ser and after hours of ying, the blue team finally won. The game was over and no one was disappointed.


    Aldred handed them their rewards which was a bottle of pills. The females were so excited and hugged the bottle of pills like it was some sort of treasure. They then ran to their tents immediately.


    ¡°That was a fun game. Maybe we should y as well. We can make our own or goalpost.¡±


    ¡°Although the game looks fun, I am here for the jiggle jiggle, not the game.¡±


    After the game, the soldiers had a fun night time in their tent. A lot of satisfied noises came out of their tent, but there were some voices who were begging for more, or screaming for more. It was chaotic.


    The next day, fifteen women walked out of Jeffery¡¯s tent. They all had smiles stered on their face. They chatted andughed before walking back to their own tents.


    Aldred had funst night as well. He had been doing it more frequently now with Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia.


    [Baron Blood Vampire Lv. 10]<sub></sub>


    Evolution: 53/100


    [Hell Demon Lv. 1]


    Evolution: 48/100


    It wasn¡¯t much, but he was satisfied. Aldred walked out of the tent with four satisfied women. With his skill, power, and physique, any women he brought to bed would be satisfied.


    That was true talent.


    Bartrem and the soldiers cooked some food and their faces were fresh and cheerful. Bartrem smiled at Aldred.


    ¡°It¡¯s working. Look at their cheerful faces,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We should tell them to y these games more often.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the game that makes them feel good,¡± Aldred replied.


    A group of women walked pass as they chatted.


    ¡°His PP is so big. I cannot believe it can even fit in me.¡±


    ¡°Really? Maybe I should try his as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course! We can enjoy it together.¡±


    Aldred and Bartrem were speechless. What the hell did they just hear?


    Aldred pretended he never heard anything and asked: ¡°What¡¯s on the menu today?¡±


    Bartrem pulled out the lid from the cauldron. ¡°Spicy meatballs.¡±


    A strange man in the distance felt he was called, so he looked at Bartrem, and shouted: ¡°I love balls!¡±


    ¡°You need to shut up! Fucking weirdo!¡±


    Aldred smiled and invited Mary and the others to eat as well. Theyughed and chatted as they enjoyed the food.


    Suddenly, the gate sted open. Aldred wondered who would be picked this time, but shockingly, his whole body shone with bright light.


    ¡­


    Simond and his elite group of men ughtered their way up Mount Fargon. He trusted no one else but his group so any time another group met him, they would die the next day.


    Currently, he was fighting against a group of giant eagles on top of a cliff.  They tried to take him with their ws, but he cut their limbs with his sword.


    One of the eagles was enraged and sted him with a powerful wind spell. As he fell down, he quickly got up and blocked the gigantic w.


    The weight of the gigantic eagle was enough to make his internal organs trembled in pain. His arms felt like breaking.


    The eagle cried out, as it tried to stomp him into the ground. Simond held on, then suddenly, his sword cracked. His eyes widened. This sword was the only memory he had of his sister, he could not let it break.


    Simond pulled the sword, but it was toote. The sword shattered, yet, instead of breaking like normal, the sword shone with powerful aura that spread out in every direction.


    The sword experienced a metamorphosis. Like a worming out of its cocoon. The ordinary looking sword did not look so ordinary anymore. Its light became so bright that it blinded their eyes for a moment.


    The ordinary steel de was now deep ck yet it shone under the moonlight. The length and weight perfectly fitted him, and mysterious purple aura ran from the elegant hand guard up to the tip of the de.


    Simond only had a second to admire its appearance before the eagle attacked again.


    Its giant sharp ws went after his head.


    He shed the eagle, and suddenly, a wave of purple mist struck through the creature and cut its body so easily. Simond stared at the other eagles and struck them down as well, cutting them one by one with a single strike.


    Their cries resounded throughout the mountain, scaring the other beasts away. He was a master in sword art. Even in ordinary sword he could take down anyone in his rank, but now, with a powerful de in hand, he was more powerful than ever.


    When more eagles came from above, Simond roared and sent a heavy sh towards the sky.  Arge wave of purple energy cut through the eagles, and when he put the sword in its sheath, eagles body part fell like it was raining.


    Simond stared at the elegant sword in his hand. ¡°Sister, you never told me anything about this sword.¡±


    He tightly gripped it. ¡°What else did you hide from me?¡±

 Chapter 130 Forgotten Warrior

    Aldred looked at hisrades¡¯ glowing body. They all knew what this meant. The gate was wide open, inviting them to go in. Not that they have any other choice.


    Mary and the others looked at him and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s our turn,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Prepare your battle gear!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°Enter in formation. The moment we enter that gate, we should expect something to attack us. Do not fear the unknown!¡±


    Aldred summoned all of his undead. 7 Elite Gold Rank led 50 Gold Rank snow wolves and snow apes. And he still had 76 silver undead which he had to receter.


    They all went into a formation organized by Milet.


    ¡°Are guys ready?¡± Aldred asked.


    Bartrem nodded. ¡°They¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡°Off we go then.¡±


    With a deep breath, they looked at the gate and approached it. The closer they got, the more nervous they became. Aldred noticed that, and knew that he should do something about it.


    He nced at their eyes one by one. ¡®Emotion Maniption.¡¯<sub>-.</sub>


    He did this not to do evil, but just to remove the fear in their mind.


    And with that spell activated, they became more confident with every step they took. It welled up in their heart, and they felt like they could defeat anything. When they stepped into the gate¨C


    They¡¯re a God.


    SLAM!


    The gate went shut, and everyone looked around, trying to find what or who they were going to fight.


    Suddenly, a small creature fell on Aldred¡¯s shoulder. When he looked at it, he noticed that it was a small centipede with sharp teeth.


    ¡°AHH GET IT OFF ME!¡± Aldred sted it with his fist.


    ¡°Calm down, Aldred,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°It¡¯s just a centipede.¡±


    Aldred looked up and widened his eyes in shock. ¡°It¡¯s not just a centipede. There¡¯s thousands of them!¡±


    Everyone looked up and saw small centipedes falling by the dozens.<sub></sub>


    ¡°FUCK!¡± Aldred¡¯s face went pale. He summoned his sword, ready to execute his ultimate skill ¡®Sky Splitting Strike¡¯.


    ¡°Pongo!¡± Pongo leaped into the sky, and shockingly his body transformed into a giant that filled up the space.


    Pongo opened its beak wide, and sucked in all the centipedes. He morphed into his normal size again andnded on the ground with a satisfied burp.


    Everyone looking at him was speechless.


    ¡°Pongo, since when did you have that ability?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    Aldred snorted. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to say it then don¡¯t.¡±


    He looked around  the arena. ¡°So what now? Don¡¯t tell me there will be more centipedes to fight.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the case,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Centipedes are easier to defeat.¡±


    Aldred trembled just by imagining them squirming around. ¡°They disgust me.¡±


    Suddenly, a white bright light shone from above. There was the sound of pping wings and whistling wind. Aldred squinted his eyes, trying to take a glimpse of what was above.


    He noticed a pair of majestic white wings before it entered the bright light. And suddenly, a golden warrior flew out of the light. Its face was made out of beautiful blue crystal, and its spear was glowing with blue runes.


    The warriornded on the ground with one knee bent. His majestic wings spread out before he stood up. The warrior had no eyes nor face, its entire head was a shining blue crystal d by a helmet with a pair of golden horns.


    Aldred analyzed him.


    [Forgotten Warrior]


    Level: 77


    Power: Radiant Beam, Divine Healing, Judgment


    History: Was once a guard of a princess from the nation of Paphia; the country of the winged-man race. Failed in his duty to protect the princess, the warrior was ashamed andmitted suicide, but before he did so, he vowed and cursed himself to find a worthy man to don his armor and weapon.


    ¡°Paphia? Winged-man race? I think I have heard both these terms before.¡±


    ¡°Paphia is a nation where the majority of the people there had wings, but only the elite minority one had a human face. Most winged-men have eagle faces stered on their head,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°This guy has got a crystal on his face, what does that make him?¡±


    Mary shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    It also said that the warrior was trying to find a sessor for his armor and weapon.


    ¡®How strong is his weapon and armor?¡¯


    As if answering his question, the golden warrior raised his spear. Blue lightning ran around the blue runes, and then he swung at him.


    A powerful lightning cracked and sted. Aldred widened his eyes, and conjured a water shield.


    The lightning touched the water, and vaporized it.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Bartrem shouted. He raised his rare grade weapons and shield as he charged forward. The soldiers and the undead followed from behind.


    The warrior did not cower in fear and instead charged forward, swiping away all the undead ahead of him.


    Bartrem smiled. The undead was just a distraction. The real dangers came from the soldiers that circled the warrior from the side.


    They threw magic-enchanted chains at the golden warrior. The chains shot forward and wrapped around his leg, waist, and arms.


    Before the warrior could free himself, Will, the Phantom w, appeared out of nowhere and shed at him. Surprisingly, the armor did not receive any damage on its surface, and the warrior was only knocked back by one step before sting Will with his thunder attack.


    Teethless came from behind and belched arge me breath at the warrior. But suddenly, the warrior came out of the mes unharmed and grabbed the dragon¡¯s neck.


    Nicky, the Giant Velobra charged and spat out a thick acid. The acid sizzled the air, but it slid off the armor.


    Aldred was shocked. ¡®So this is the power of that armor? What about the weapon?¡¯


    The golden warrior shed upward, creating a blue arc that cut the Bajaragon in two.


    Brook and Crook leaped into the sky and mmed theirrge axe. Both axesnded on the shoulders of the golden warrior, but it only created a tiny dent, before it fixed itself.


    ¡®Self-repair armor?¡¯


    Be chanted from the side and froze the golden warrior. His whole body crystallized into ice, but then the blue crystals on the armor glowed and sted the ice with blue lightning.


    Aldred was excited. ¡°I have to get this armor.¡±

 Chapter 131 We Have just begin

    As Aldred fought the forgotten warrior, he didn¡¯t know that many people were watching him through technology and trinkets.


    These devices were tiny, mobile, and hidden from in sight. A lot of people were watching him because of his power. They had to know his capabilities before deciding to befriend or eliminate him.


    One such device was owned by Thinker. He was currently watching the battle unfold between Aldred and the golden warrior.


    ¡­


    ¡°Fire Combustion!¡± Aldred shouted and the golden warrior was engulfed by mes. Yet it did not stop the warrior from killing his undead.


    Bartrem also struggled to keep the warrior in check. The chains did not work effectively as he expected.


    Aldred did not think much about it. He hadn¡¯t even used his main skill yet. He wanted to y around with his armor first to know what it was capable of.


    ¡°Blood Cloning.¡± Another Aldred popped out and attacked the golden warrior at the same time.


    They used the rare grade swords to attack, sending arc after arc at the enemy which was blocked by the spear. Blue lightning sted everywhere, and a powerful aura spread out in all directions.


    Aldredughed. This was such an exciting battle. He approached his enemy from the side and sted a me jet on his waist. The warrior was sent flying, but his clone ran at the enemy and sent out a storm of fire bullets.


    Like a roaring machine gun, the fire bullets were like a heavy rain as it constantly hit the warrior. When his clone got close, it opened its palms and shot dozens of fire javelins that stabbed through the armor.


    The warrior swung his spear and sted all the fire javelins away. The clone smirked and leaped to the side, revealing a gigantic fire fist that came from behind, mming against the warrior before exploding.


    The warrior was knocked back by a dozen steps, but he did not fall. He looked up and saw two Aldred withrge fireballs on their index fingers.


    They both grinned. ¡°True suns.¡±


    The tworge fireballs came like a giant sun. It mmed into the warrior as if it was a bowling ball and then exploded.


    Be, Mira, and Sophia cast magic shields around the soldiers to protect them.


    mes were burning all around the arena. After it dissipated, Aldred noticed the crystals on the armor dimmed. Though there were no cracks or scratches on the armor, the warrior had been weakened.


    Yet, the warrior raised his runic spear, and said something for the first time. ¡°Judgment.¡±


    A loud sound came from above, and thousands of giant golden swords fell like raindrops.


    ¡°Shit! Protect yourself!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Mira, Be, and Sophia casted anotheryer of magic shields. Aldred casted his water shield for them as well, but he did not enter the shield, instead, he charged at the flying swords and sted them with his fireballs, bullets, fist, and sword art.


    Teethless flew into the sky and sent out fireballs to st the swords away. Some swords slipped through them and fell on the magic shield. A few prated through, but thankfully Bartrem had ordered the soldiers to raise their shields, and they sessfully deflected the swords.


    But there was one sword that went straight for Mira. Aldred gritted his teeth, but he couldn¡¯t stop it or else more swords would fall down.


    ¡°I have to use that.¡± Aldred pulled the Ring of Doarus, given by the empress. Then he threw it at Mira.


    ¡°Mira! Use that ring!¡±


    Mira caught the ring just moments before the sword was about to kill her, she channeled her mana into it, and ck mist engulfed her before she vanished, and the sword hit at the ce where she was before.


    Secondster, ck mist appeared and Mira was back. She looked at the ring, wondering what it was.


    Aldred was still deflecting the swords, but in the background, everyone that spied on him with their mobile devices were staring at the ring.


    Thinker¡¯s device was a mechanical fly with numerous eyes. It was scanning the ring on Mira¡¯s hand, and Thinker¡¯s eyes gleamed in red. ¡°New mission: Obtain the ring. Difficulty: Hard. Requesting support.¡±


    ¡­


    After a few minutes, the rain of swords stopped. The warrior was about to cast another skill, but Will, the beast pper, used his tentacles to p him in the face.


    ¡°Good job, Will.¡±


    Aldred approached the warrior. He wanted to give the man some nightmare first, but then he was shocked to find out the man wasn¡¯t a man after all. It was just armor with no soul or blood.


    ¡°Wait, there is a strand of soul on the head.¡±


    The soul beckoned for him to get closer as the armory on the ground. It whispered inside his mind. ¡®I have found you worthy.¡¯


    ¡°I know,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But tell me about this princess of yours. Is she hot?¡±


    ¡®You have great potential and this battle gear couldn¡¯t apany you forever, but I hope you give it honor as part of your journey.¡¯


    ¡®This set of armor is called Golden Battle Gear, and it is not yetplete. Go to Paphia and visit the Lair of Treasure. It¡¯s a Gold Rank Dungeon. Defeat the guardian and take the shield. Only when youplete the battle gear can you harness its full power.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, I will.¡±<sub></sub>


    The soul seems to be happy. ¡°And yes, she is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in this world.¡±


    The soul disappeared.


    ¡°Wait! Does she have big peaks or a t airport? You need to tell me this before leaving.¡±


    Mary could only sigh and shook her head while Mareona was fuming puffs of smoke off her head and hit his head.


    ¡°Ow! That hurt.¡±


    ¡°It better be hurt or I won¡¯t stop hitting you.¡±


    ¡°What did it say to you?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Something about Gold Rank Dungeon and that I will find a powerful shield in there.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we can go there after we climb down the mountain.¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    Suddenly, the battle gear shattered into dozens of pieces before it d itself into Aldred. It fitted into his small size which meant that the armor could morph ordingly.


    Aldred morphed into his adult form and sure enough, the armor morphed to his size. He morphed into a bunch of other creatures such as Bajaragon, Phantom w, Velobra, and Gargant Eagle, and the armor kept on morphing along with him.


    ¡°This is incredible.¡± Aldred returned to his normal form and picked up the spear. He realized he could manipte blue lightning with this gear on although he needed to practice for a bit to master it.


    [Golden Battle Gear]


    -Reduce damage by Acid


    -Reduce damage by me


    -Increase strength by 90%


    -Increase agility by 90%


    -Flight


    -Self repair


    -Manipte blue lightning produced by the crystals on the armor.


    ¡°Battle gear? An interesting name.¡± Aldred chuckled.


    Mary and Mira flinched.


    ¡°Did you say battle gear?¡± Mary asked, staring at the golden armor that wrapped around Aldred.


    ¡°Do you know something about it?¡±


    ¡°I read from books, but never got to see one. It was said that battle gear can never be made, can never be looked at, but it can only be found by great luck. Many tales of legends described battle gear as the armaments of gods because it allows warriors to manipte certain elements ording to their will. As you know, only heroes are capable of doing that, but the power of this element is proportional to the warrior¡¯s strength, so to a certain extent, the armor grew alongside the warrior.¡±


    ¡®So it¡¯s just like the All Devouring Stick,¡¯ Aldred thought. Now that he thought about it, could he devour the battle gear into the stick and then use it again?


    Mira caressed the armor. ¡°The bible also described the armor as such. When the gods send an emissary down to enforce his rule, theye with powerful battle gear that push out all evil. Some scribes said that their armor was so bright to the evil eyes that they became blind.¡±


    ¡°Is that why when the warrior first appeared it sent out a blinding light?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Even though I guided many heroes to power, I never saw battle gear before.¡±


    Aldred looked at his own armor and wondered if he could absorb it into his stick. If he could, that would be very convenient.


    Should he do it?


    After some consideration, Aldred decided to do it. He tapped the armor with the stick, and it melted before being sucked in by the stick.


    Mira and Mary looked like their souls were just pulled out of their bodies.


    That was a battle gear. A legendary battle gear that only exists in legends and stories!


    ¡°Aldred, what are you doing?¡± Mary was horrified.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Check this out.¡± He flicked the stick, and then it transformed into the golden battle gear that wrapped around his body immediately. At the end of the transformation, the runic blue spear came out of his right hand.


    ¡°Now, I have a portable Golden Battle Gear that I can bring anywhere without being stared at by people.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s smart,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°If you go out with that armor, people will try to rob you.¡±


    Mareona raised an eyebrow. ¡°Will any robbers dare to do that?¡±


    ¡°Not just any robbers. I am talking about nobles and powerful scions who would like to grab your gear for themselves.¡±


    Sophia nodded in agreement. She didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to Aldred.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about robbers. I can keep the gear in my inventory, but it¡¯s more convenient if my stick can absorb it, and so I did. To be honest I was really nervous that it wouldn¡¯t work. Thankfully, it did just fine.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred looked at the dice. The green arrow had turned into a small button. When Aldred pressed it, a powerful light covered their body, and they felt something rushed inside.


    [+7,000 EXP]


    [+7,000 EXP]


    [+7,000 EXP]


    [+7,000 EXP]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    The soldiers, the undead, Mary, Mira, Sophia, Mareona, Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, Pongo, and everyone here all level up and got even more powerful than before. His 76 Silver Undead broke through the gold rank, and so he now had 176 Gold Rank undead.


    Aldred checked his status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 1,377/1,377


    Level: 70


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 134


    -Vitality: 162


    -Intelligence: 326


    -Dexterity: 84


    Stat points: 4


    Skill points: 4


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    All of that and he only got two levels, but the increase in attributes was crazy. His intelligence even went up to 326 because of Mount Fargon.


    Joining the treasure hunt was beneficial. Even if they fail, the amount of stats they earned was too good.


    ¡°The journey itself is a treasure,¡± Aldred said.


    Everyone nodded in agreement after feeling their new power.

 Chapter 132 Upper Part

    Aldred was wearing his Golden Battle Gear. He just got powerful armor so of course he had to try it. Swinging his spear forward, he shouted: ¡°Dragon Lightning!¡±


    A lightning struck the wall.


    ¡°Hmm. Why is there no dragoning out? That¡¯s just ordinary lightning. Let¡¯s try something else. Twin triple headed dragon lightning!¡±


    Another ordinary lightning struck the ground.


    ¡°Where is my twin dragon?¡±


    Mareona hit his head. ¡°You need to master the element first before you can use shy skills, silly.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°What a disappointment.¡±


    If any adventurer heard that, they would strangle Aldred for mocking such a legendary piece of treasure.


    Aldred morphed the gear back into a stick and kept it inside his inventory.


    The dice on their waist made a click sound, and the arena below their feet shook before it rose into the ceiling. The ceiling opened slowly like a gate, revealing the cloudless blue sky.


    It reminded Aldred of the hunger game where people are about to enter the arena to get some supplies and weapons before running away to survive.<sub>-.</sub>


    When the arena reached the top, Aldred felt freezing cold all over his body, but then his skin started to burn. It was extremely cold and extremely hot at the same time.


    Aldred quickly conjured water shield to protect everyone and felt much better. Sophia and Mira casted their spells as well. He summoned Be to conjure some water and ice shield for everyone.


    ¡°What is happening? Why is the temperature so hot and so cold here?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°This is the upper part of the mountain,¡± Maverick said. ¡°If my numbers are correct, we¡¯re currently 55 kilometers (34 Miles) in altitude.


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°55 kilometers?¡±


    Holy shit! Didn¡¯t that mean he was currently in the mesosphere?


    His throat started to feel the burn and the air seemed to be thinner as it became harder to breathe.


    Damn! The magic shield did not solve theck of oxygen in this ce. Aldred also felt his blood was boiling. The pressure in this ce was so low that liquid boiled at normal body temperature.


    ¡®This is no ce for human life!¡¯


    Suddenly, Maverick and his subordinates fed them another pill which reduced the effect significantly. Aldred gasped for air as his blood turned normal.<sub></sub>


    The water shield that protected them was bubbling and vaporized bit by bit. Aldred continued to add more water to thicken the shield.


    ¡°Thank you, Maverick,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°I feel bad,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You helped us a lot with your pills otherwise we wouldn¡¯t be able to keep going.¡±


    Maverick smiled. ¡°It is me who should be thanking you. Without you, I would never reach the upper part of Mount Fargon. All I did was stay in the background while all of you fought, so I am d that I can help you.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. He liked this guy because he was humble and grateful unlike most people he knew. This type of person was rare so Aldred would like to help him more.


    ¡°If you need my help just tell me,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I don¡¯t have much yetpared to you, but I am sure I can help you with something in the future.¡±


    Maverick was all smiles. He felt like Aldred liked him and he smelled a great opportunity to be his ally in the future.


    Aldred sighed. He would really like to do something for him to repay the gratitude, but the man was a noble so he had Diamond Ranks as subordinates and an exponential amount of wealth and treasures.


    How could Aldred help someone like that?


    Aldred shook his head and decided to think about itter.


    Mira approached him and handed him the ring. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weird, Mira. Don¡¯t thank me. You¡¯re family now. We don¡¯t use words to express our thanks.¡±


    Aldred put the ring back in his inventory.


    ¡°Where did you get that?¡±


    ¡°The empress gave it to me.¡± Aldred then recalled what the empress had told him. ¡°Uhh¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have used that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She told me something bad will happen if I use it, and only use it if necessary. The situation was necessary though.¡±


    ¡°She said that?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yes. So I am very worried now.¡±


    ¡°We will face anything that appears,¡± Mary said.


    Aldred nodded and summoned the tents and supplies. He conjured another water spell as it was about to vaporize. The water was now in the same dome that protected the entire camp.


    Be helped to improve the shield.


    When Aldred entered his tent with the others, he looked at the green arrow on the dice which was pointing to this ce.


    ¡°I guess we have to wait again,¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Aldred tiredly slept on her thigh.


    Mary smiled and caressed his head. She kissed him. ¡°You¡¯ve done enough for today.¡±


    Mareona, Mira, and Sophia gave him a kiss as well.


    Be decided to join them and kissed Aldred.


    Mareona was curious. ¡°Aldred did not order you to kiss him, but you can do that?¡±


    ¡°I am capable of showing affection to my master.¡±


    ¡°What about harming him?¡±


    ¡°That type of thought cannot enter my mind. So harming him is out of the question. Not only am I not capable, I cannot even think about the action. But sometimes I can do things that he might not want me to do. But the event is very rare, like that time when Velobra killed Henry.


    ¡°What?¡± Everyone asked.


    ¡°Velobra can feel anything Aldred feels. His emotions are tied to us, but some of us act upon those emotions differently. Velobra wasn¡¯t the calmest type of beast, so when he saw Henry, he went for the kill.¡±


    ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t see him around,¡± Mareona said. ¡°He was killed by Nicky.¡±


    Sophia stared at her. ¡°But you cannot harm Aldred in any other way?¡±


    ¡°No, I cannot.¡±


    Sophia was worried that Aldred might get more human undead in the future. Humans had a habit of betraying other humans, so she was very worried for his safety.


    ncing at Aldred, she felt he was too vulnerable when he was asleep. Somebody had to protect him when heys down to rest. If only she was powerful enough, she would dly take that role.


    Mary was d to hear Be¡¯s answer. She didn¡¯t want Aldred to be betrayed by his own undead. The reason for her concern was that the undead she had seen before never retained their personality.


    They were empty shells of hideous creatures, but Be was as beautiful as ever in her real form. And she wasn¡¯t empty, but full of personalities, and seemed to care about Aldred. That made her wonder if the undead was ¡®alive¡¯ or not. Aldred¡¯s power was still a mystery to her.


    Aldred snored which disrupted their conversation. Saliva trickled from his mouth. His hands tried to grab something in the air. ¡°Mom, milk. Give me milk, mom.¡±


    Mary and the others looked at each other and giggled.

 Chapter 133 Siblings

    Aldred and hisrades entered the tent and rested. Be came outside and sustain the water shield for them. She couldn¡¯t feel exhaustion, so she sustained the shield until the next day.


    When Aldred woke up, he had breakfast with the others and yed some ser games. Nothing happened so they had fun for a few days.


    People starteding from below. Some got teleported to this ce while others climbed from below. Just like Aldred, they felt the burn and theck of oxygen.


    Many died immediately because they did not have the proper treasure to survive in this environment. Aldred saw the vikings climbing up the mountain. The armor on their skin sizzled, but then they took out some sort of drinking horn and washed themselves.


    The sizzling stopped and they started making tents.


    Aldred ignored them and looked around. A group of adventurer approached him and stopped by the shield of water.


    ¡°I heard you provide magic shield for a price.¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡±


    ¡°Someone told me.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t sell this service, but let me hear your price and I might consider,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I found some rare ore on the way. I wonder if you will ept it.¡± The man showed some sparkling ores to Aldred.


    Aldred inspected the ores with his godly eyes and found out that they were in great quality perfect to create armor. Some of the ores were even better than the treasures he got. Though Aldred did not have any ck smith skills yet, he might learn one in the future.


    ¡°It¡¯s not good enough,¡± Aldred lied which disappointed the adventurer. ¡°But I¡¯m feeling generous today, so I will ept it. The area will be smaller though.¡±


    The adventurers¡¯ eyes lit up.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine with that. Thank you.¡±


    Aldred smiled. He did not want to create a big shield for them as they might rent out the extra space to other people. Heughed inwardly. Only he could rip off everyone else.


    Aldred conjured water shield for the adventurer on some plot ofnd. The area was enough for a bunch of tents to clump together or onerge tent. The adventurers thanked him again and went on their merry ways.<sub></sub>


    He frowned. Using water shield as the environment continuously vaporizes them was tiring. Aldred thought of a way to sustain the shield automatically, and with his mastery and intelligence, he sessfully created a self-regenerating water shield.


    This way he did not have to conjure a new water shield all the time.


    He also casted it to his own shield so Be could rx, not that she could feel exhaustion anyway.


    Aldred yawned in boredom. He hated the waiting part of these challenges. He looked Mary and the other girls. ¡°You guys want to y chess?¡±


    ¡­


    A brother and sister was climbing up the mountain, facing against cold wind and steep surface. Therge-filled-up backpacks threatened to rip from the weight of items they brought.


    Cold breath came out of their cracked lips as the wind blew their ragged clothes. Torn and dirty, some part of their skins left unprotected to the freezing breeze.


    Raff and Ivette was their name. The brother looked rough and tough as he was from the slums of the city. Meanwhile the sister was as beautiful as a princess of a nation. Petite and stunning even with stain on her cheeks and clothes.


    Such contrast was incredible as they came and lived in the same slum.


    Raff looked at his sister who was fighting against the force of nature beside him. He hid his pitiful gaze with a smile. With their parents¡¯ death, their lives had went from misery to hell. To feed a family of four, their dad had to take debt from a noble.


    Their parents could slowly pay the debt, but both of them died when a scion identally crashed into them with his magical bull.


    After that moment, the interest rates suddenly went up and they had to pay off the debt or be ves for sixty years.


    Raff sighed. He climbed this mountain to obtain the astrbe and sell it to pay off the debt, but he didn¡¯t expect his sister toe with him.


    Nothing he said could convince her to stay.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there, brother.¡±


    Raff smiled and nodded. He only wished the best for her, finding a rich and good husband who would never go into debt or mistreat her. He hated being poor. Being poor only brings misery and suffering. That was why he wanted his sister to find a rich husband.


    He wanted her to be happy. Especially since she was a beautiful woman. She needed a powerful man to protect her.


    As they climbed, the lungs in their body started to heat up, and their skin felt burning. Raff casted a divine golden light to protect them, and the pain disappeared.


    ¡°That priest is so generous to give us this power, Brother. If not for that we would never have had the chance to climb this mountain.¡±


    Raff smiled. ¡°Yeah.¡± He rubbed her head lovingly. ¡°We¡¯ll survive through this. Pay the debt and make a new life.¡±


    Ivette nodded and smiled. Her brother has always been there for her, so it was only natural for her to be there for him as well. Even if the sky fell upon her, she would never let her brother walk this journey alone.


    As they reached the top, they saw many tents were built, filling up the area.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to that spot,¡± Raff said. They walked to a small spot with just enough room for one small tent, but before they could build the tent, a bunch of tough looking dudes stopped them.


    ¡°This is our spot. Get out of here.¡±


    ¡°We arrived here first,¡± Ivette said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We will leave, Ivette.¡±


    ¡°No, brother. There is no other spot left.¡±


    The leader of the group nced at his sister and whistled. ¡°What a gal! Alright, I will let you be in this spot. In my bed, that is, haha!¡±


    The other dudesughed at their leader¡¯s joke.


    Ivette red at him. Raff took her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. Let¡¯s leave this ce.¡±


    Ivette was still ring at the man before she nodded and was about to walk away until the leader grabbed her hand.


    ¡°Who said you can leave? Didn¡¯t I tell you to stay in my bed?¡±


    ¡°Unhand me!¡±


    The leader grinned. ¡°Sure, after you take off your clothes.¡±

 Chapter 134 Extortion

    Aldred was taking a walk around the area. He got bored of ying chess. Since he had the highest intelligence, he easily defeated Mary, Mareona, Sophia, and Mira. Especially Mareona. Defeating her was too damn easy.


    He had some close calls against Mary though. Her creative maneuver in moving the chess pieces shocked him at times. Thankfully, he had the godly eyes to predict the possible scenarios that might happen.


    Suddenly, Aldred heard a shout.


    ¡°You bastard! Unhand me!¡±


    The leader grinned andughed. ¡°Not until you take off those clothes.¡± His eyes nced at the snow white thigh of the girl, and was about to grab it.


    Raff stopped his hand and stared at him. ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far. We will leave now.¡±


    The leader red at him. ¡°Leave your woman here. No need to lose your life for this.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my sister.¡± Raff¡¯s expression turned dark.


    ¡°You sister?¡± The leader grinned. ¡°That¡¯s even better. Leave her here, and you will live.¡±


    Raff was angered and pped the man¡¯s hand off from his sister¡¯s arm.


    Aldred and Pongo were watching this from a distance.


    ¡°Seems like they have a little conflict, Pongo.¡±


    ¡°That dude obviously lusted for the girl,¡± Pongo said, finally talking with propernguage.


    ¡°Well, she does look beautiful,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Shut up, you degenerate. Your brain is filled with too much stain.¡±


    ¡°Said a penguin who rubs his own head against¡¯ women¡¯s breast. You also did that to the female soldiers right?¡±


    Pongo snorted. ¡°You will never understand a cultured penguin like me.¡±


    Suddenly, a powerful sh resounded and Aldred saw the brother was fighting against the leader of the adventure group.


    ¡°Eat this, you fool!¡± The leader shouted as he swung his sword.


    The brother gritted his teeth and blocked.


    BOOM! An explosion rang out, startling a lot of people in the area. When they saw that it was a fight, they ignored it and returned to what they were doing.


    It was none of their business anyway.


    ng! Metal against metal resounded through the air. A gust of cold wind swept the ce, blowing the snow into the air.


    ¡°I didn¡¯te here to fight another man,¡± the brother said.


    ¡°Haha. If you don¡¯t want to fight then leave your sister. I can already imagine my hands on her, ripping her clothes and ravaging her.¡±


    The brother¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot. ¡°I have tolerated you enough. The old priest didn¡¯t give me this power to kill, but to survive.¡±


    ng! ng! ng!!


    The brother¡¯s body glowed brighter and brighter as his attack be stronger with a powerful aura rippling in all directions. The fight seemed to tilt to the brother¡¯s advantage.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°They¡¯re not bad. Not as strong as Bartrem and the soldiers, but they¡¯re fine,¡± Aldredmented.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to help?¡± Pongo asked.


    Aldred looked at the battle with a frown. This had nothing to do with him, but something inside his heart told him to do something. He smiled inwardly. It must be because of Mira. Her teaching had struck him deep.


    ¡°If the situation esctes, I will help. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to kill each other. Look, the brother is winning anyway.¡±


    ¡°Die!¡± The leader shouted. ¡°Rock Breaking sh!¡±


    The ground under their feet cracked and it cascaded to Aldred¡¯s little snow hill before blowing up a lot of snow.


    Aldred and Pongo were fully covered by snow before they shook it off.


    ¡°That bastard,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I will bury his tent with snowter.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a vengeful spirit. Mira¡¯s teaching doesn¡¯t do enough to clean your soul?¡± Pongo asked.


    ¡°Shut up, Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Divine sh!¡± A powerful golden light enveloped the sword before shing against the leader. The leader gritted his teeth and took out a small trinket that created a magic shield to block the sword.


    Crack! The transparent magic shield shattered along with the trinket.


    ¡°It¡¯s very interesting what those small trinkets can do,¡± Aldred said. ¡°How do they make them?¡±


    The fight continued for hours with the brother slowly getting more advantage.


    ¡°This is boring. The brother is going to win sooner orter. I am leaving,¡± Aldred said.


    Pongo shrugged and followed him.


    Suddenly, Aldred heard another scream.


    ¡°NO! Brother!¡±


    Aldred looked back and saw the leader¡¯s sword went through the brother¡¯s chest. At first, Aldred thought it was impossible, but then he saw the subordinates were using chains to lock the brother¡¯s limb.


    ¡°You cheated,¡± the brother said before coughing out blood.


    The leader grinned. ¡°I never said it¡¯s going to be a duel.¡±


    ¡°Bastard! I will kill you!¡± The sister pulled out her white swords and shed.


    The leaderughed, pulled out his sword from the brother¡¯s body, and parried. He easily blocked her strike one after another, before grabbing her shoulder and then ripped ayer of her armor.


    The leader¡¯s eyes turned to lust. ¡°I cannot wait to get you in bed tonight.¡±


    ¡°Alright, this has gone too far.¡±


    Everyone looked to the side to see a boy and a penguin approaching them.


    The leader narrowed his eyes. ¡°A boy?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°You never heard of me?¡± Aldred asked, surprised as everyone usually had heard about him.


    ¡°Leave this ce, boy. I don¡¯t mind giving your face a kick if you stay.¡±


    The sister nced at the boy. ¡°What is a boy doing in this ce? Leave this ce, child. You might get hurt.¡±


    Aldred was slightly surprised. She still had the thought to think about others¡¯ well being? She started to sound like Mira now.


    That made him more motivated to help her.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Aldred called. ¡°We all know where this is going. I will defeat you. You cried for your mom and requested to drink her milk, so why don¡¯t you guys leave and preserve your dignity?¡±


    Someone noticed Aldred was confronting another group and ran to call for his friends. These people knew Aldred¡¯s power, because of that, they quickly ran to not miss the show.


    Suddenly, the ce became buzzing with onlookers.


    The leader was ufortable with a lot of people showing up. What if they want to take the woman as well?


    ¡°Hey, I am talking to you, dipshit.¡±


    The leader¡¯s face turned dark. How dare the boy humiliate him in front of a lot of people. ¡°Men, kill him.¡±


    One man walked up to him with a calm smile. He thought nothing of the boy.


    He was a fool. He should have thought of how a normal boy could climb this mountain.


    Everyone that managed to reach this height must have exceptional power or treasures.


    When the man reached Aldred and was about to attack, his head fell off before a straight line of light appeared horizontally on his neck.


    The onlookers were shocked. What happened? They did not see the boy moved yet the man¡¯s head fell just like that?


    The sword master among the audience were even more shocked as they realized the high-level of mastery needed to execute that strike.


    The leader frowned. ¡°What did you just do?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I did nothing.¡±


    The leader called out for his men again, and three of them charged at Aldred. When they reached five meters in front of him, mes suddenly engulfed them and they turned into ck dust.


    Now it was the fire magicians¡¯ turn to be shocked. Firebustion was not a simple spell, and to turn a human into dust in less than a second was nothing but incredible.


    The leader was shocked again. This boy wasn¡¯t ordinary. He nced to the sides and noticed his subordinates were trembling in fear.


    This was no good. He had to show them the confidence of a leader. ¡°You did it now boy. I will be the one who kills you.¡±


    The leader¡¯s body shone with a powerful aura and his feet leaped off the ground.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Blood Maniption.¡±


    Suddenly, the leader¡¯s body bent in a weird way and it snapped his bones.


    ¡°AHH!¡± The leader screamed before he fell to the snow. ¡°What did you do to me?¡±


    ¡°I did nothing.¡± Aldred smiled. This time, his smile was that of a demon torturing the sinner.


    The leader felt great fear in his heart, and suddenly, his limbs were bent even more. ¡°AHH! It hurt!¡±


    Aldred summoned Nicky, Will, and Teethless. The three giant creatures in their undead form stared at the leader.


    He was scared out of his life when he saw them.


    ¡°Now, if you don¡¯t want to get eaten by these beasts, give me all of your money.¡±


    The leader gritted his teeth. ¡°Men, save me!¡±


    His subordinates flinched and their feet trembled. After a few seconds, they all ran away.


    ¡°Sorry, leader, but we still want to live.¡±


    ¡°Traitor!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking your subordinates to save you from these beasts?¡± Aldredughed. ¡°That¡¯s like saying you want to bring them to death along with you. Of course they will refuse, you balls sack.¡±


    ¡°I love balls!¡± Someone shouted from a distance.


    ¡°You shut up or I will throw you off the mountain.¡±


    Aldred coughed and pretended he heard nothing. ¡°I don¡¯t have all day. Give me everything you have or you will be eaten by these beasts.¡±


    The leader frowned, and then grinned. He believed the boy wouldn¡¯t kill him. Otherwise, he would have done it by now. ¡°Kill me then.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Nicky, eat him.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± The leader did not expect that.


    The giant velobra chomped on his shoulder.


    ¡°AHH! You ate my shoulder, bastard!¡±


    The velobra was about to continue eating before the leader told them to wait.


    ¡°Wait! I will give you everything I have.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. By the way, I will also bring your subordinates back.¡±


    The leader looked behind him and noticed that arge pack of Gold Rank snow wolves were biting on his men¡¯s cor and brought them next to him.


    ¡°Now pay up or be a feast! Each of you has to give me at least 10 million gold coins or you will be wolf food.¡±


    Some of them flinched, while some sighed in relief. They walked up to him one by one and gave him their treasures and transferred the money to his adventurer card.


    One man tried to be smart and said: ¡°Sir, I identally locked my adventure card.¡±


    Aldred waved his finger and Nicky, the giant velobra chomped on his head.


    Everyone there was shocked by his decisive action. There wasn¡¯t even a slight hesitation in there. With that as an example, no one tried to be smart and they became obedient pigs.


    Aldred was smiling. ¡®Trying to trick me? Foolish. The one thing you should not try to trick is the demon.¡¯


    Each of them gave Aldred all their treasure and gold coins without saying anything.


    And then someone came with cold sweats all over his body. ¡°I don¡¯t have 10 million gold coins.¡±


    He closed his eyes expecting to be killed, but Aldred told him to stand beside him instead. That worried him even more. What would the boy do to him?


    Those who could not give him 10 million gold were told to stand to the side. This was to scare the others to not trick him.


    After a while, the extortio¡ª the payment was finished.


    ¡°Okay, you guys can leave now.¡±


    The leader and his men let out a sigh of relief. Aldred nced to the side, staring at the men who couldn¡¯t pay. They trembled in fear under his gaze.


    ¡°You guys can leave as well.¡±


    Same with theirrades, they were very relieved to hear that.


    ¡°But your leader has to pay the price for your release.¡±


    ¡°What do I have to pay? I gave  you everything.¡±


    ¡°You still have your life, no?¡± Aldred nced at him with demonic eyes.


    ¡°This is not fai¡ª¡± His head was exploded by Will using his tentacles.


    When the leader died, Ivette ran to her brother and hugged him. Her brother smiled as the wound on his stomach slowly recovered.


    Aldred approached both of them. Raff smiled. ¡°Thank you for helping us. You are a good person.¡±


    Ivette looked at the boy still with tears in her eyes. ¡°Thank you. We are forever indebted to you.¡±


    Aldred looked at the siblings. His godly eyes detected divine energy within their bodies, and the both of them only recently came into power. This meant they both reached Gold Rank at such extreme speed. It wasn¡¯t as fast as him, but theparison wasn¡¯t that far off.


    Suddenly, the brother coughed out a mouthful of blood and his wound worsened.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    Aldred detected a small ck energy running around inside the brother¡¯s body. Did the enemy use some sort of magic trinkets to put this spell? It seemed to be a curse type spell.


    The golden energy tried to destroy the ck energy, but it dodged swiftly while destroying anything in its path.


    Aldred ran up to him and tried to save the man, but the ck energy was too quick, and the brother coughed hisst blood before he died.


    Ivette looked at his hollow eyes in disbelief. Tears welled up inside her eyes and she hugged him. ¡°Brother! Please save him! Anyone, please save him!¡±¡±


    Aldred bit his lips. It was toote to call Mira for help, the man had died. Even she couldn¡¯t bring back the dead to life.


    But he can.


    Aldred hesitated. Would it be fine to resurrect the man? What would the sister think about it? After all, bing an undead changed their thought process slightly.


    The sister cried on top of his brother. Aldred felt pain in his heart as he was reminded by his own sister. What if it was Dina who was crying on top of his corpse?


    He would never want her to cry like this. With a sigh, Aldred put his hand on Ivette¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I can help.¡±


    He raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    Aldred manipted the ck mist to turn into golden light beforehand. He didn¡¯t want her to think that her brother was an undead. When the golden mist erged, a man stepped out with a smile.


    Ivette ran up to her brother and hugged him. ¡°Brother! You¡¯re alive!¡±


    ¡°I am alive.¡± Raffughed.


    Aldred smiled as he looked at the two siblings reunite once again. ¡°Tell me. Do you guys want the treasure?¡±


    Raff shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re just here to sell the astrbe and pay our debt.¡±


    ¡°How much is the debt?¡±


    ¡°It was supposed to be 12 copper coins, but the noble increased it to 20 million gold coins because of interest. I don¡¯t understand how interest works, but the noble said that it¡¯s supposed to be that way.¡±


    ¡®What the hell! Even I isn¡¯t evil enough to increase the debt to more than 10 million times. That noble deserved to be killed.¡¯


    ¡°What will happen if you fail to pay it?¡±


    ¡°Both of us will be his ve for sixty years.¡± What Raff did not tell them was the noble did not want them to pay the debt at all, that was because the noble wanted to take his sister as a sex ve.


    He trembled just by thinking about it. He had to protect his sister, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough. Raff nced at the boy. When he was resurrected, all of his memories, emotions, and experiences entered him.


    The boy was a good person, talented, powerful, and wealthy. A perfect criteria for his sister. If there was any man who fit for his sister, it had to be the boy. He hesitated whether to do it or not.


    ¡°Only 20 million? Consider it paid, but both of you have to help me in my journey. Do the both of you agree?¡±


    The two siblings looked at each other and Raff nodded.


    ¡°Are you sure about this, brother?¡±


    ¡°I am sure,¡±


    Ivette nced at the boy. ¡°But we are weaker than you. How can we possibly help.¡±


    Aldred smiled and said nothing. That was when she realized that the boy did not want their help at all. It was him who wanted to help them by letting her and her brothere along with him.


    What a kind-hearted person. Powerful and kind. The boy was handsome as well. She blushed when she finally took a detailed look at his face.


    ¡°Ivette,¡± Raff called.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Ivette looked up at him.


    ¡°What do you think of marrying the boy?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 135 I Will Finish Them All

    Aldred was speechless. ¡®Ey yo, bro. Your sister is hot and I like her attitude, but isn¡¯t this too fast?¡¯


    ¡°Eh?¡± Ivette was shocked as well and she blushed. She didn¡¯t know how to reply to that sudden question. The boy was cute and seemed like a good person.


    Aldred coughed. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thatter. For now, let me introduce you to my friends.¡±


    d that she was saved, Ivette nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s meet your friends and get to know each other.¡±


    Raff sighed. He wanted to secure the boy as his sister¡¯s husband. Even though Aldred already had a lot of women with him, one more would be fine. Not to mention his women had a great rtionship with each other and no rivalry among them.


    As Aldred, Raff, and Ivette walked to his camp, the onlookers were jealous of the two siblings.


    They too wished to be recruited by Aldred and be protected under his wings. s, the world has never been fair, and it never will be.


    ¡°Those siblings are lucky. Being together with Aldred already secured them an astrbe.¡±


    A man nodded. ¡°And she can y with his balls.¡±


    ¡°Bro, if you want to die just say it. I have a spear in my arm right now.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    When Aldred arrived at his tent, he exined everything to Mary and the others.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Mary said. He nced at the siblings and smiled. ¡°Make yourself at home. We will build a tent for you guys.¡±


    Ivette slightly bowed her head. ¡°Please don¡¯t. We don¡¯t want to burden you. We can build our own tent.¡±


    ¡°Silly girl,¡± Mareona said. ¡°You will be sleeping with us.¡±


    ¡°Eh what?¡±


    ¡°Every new girl that joined the group has to sleep with us. Isn¡¯t that right, Aldred?¡± Mareona gave a wink at him.


    Aldred did not know what she was nning. It was usually her that hit his head for being a pervert, but now she supports it? Was the sky about to fall today?


    Ivette hesitated.


    ¡°Alright, Mareona. Don¡¯t tease the neer,¡± Mira said with a smile. She nced at the both of them and noticed the divine energy inside their bodies. Someone from Montcresia gave them that power. It was possibly a bishop. No, with this power, it was at least an archbishop.<sub></sub>


    What did the archbishop see in these two siblings? Nevertheless, She had to take care of them. Suddenly, she noticed something weird about the brother. Her brows furrowed together and realized that the brother was an undead.


    ¡®He¡¯s already dead?¡¯


    Aldred looked at her and slightly shook his head. Mira understood his intention. She did not want to make the sister sad.


    Mareona giggled and hugged Ivette. ¡°Are both of  you hungry? I heard Bartrem is cooking steak today.¡±


    Ivette looked down. ¡°We cannot do that. Aldred already saved us and has done a lot for us. We cannot burden you guys too much.¡±


    Sophia smiled. She already liked Ivette. At first she was skeptical about her, but she didn¡¯t seem to be a bad person. But of course, a slight wariness still stayed in her heart. If Ivette dared to harm Aldred, she¡¯d be dead


    before she could blink.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal together, Ivette,¡± Sophia said.


    ¡°Good idea,¡± Aldred said. ¡°We can introduce you to the others while eating.¡±


    And so they dragged Raff and Ivette outside the tent. Bartrem was flipping meat on the grill with mes spewing out. He looked like a master chef as his hands gracefully seasoned the meat and brushed some sauce on them.


    The fragrant smell of the meat entered their nose. It was sweet and sour, which Aldred really liked. His stomach already rumbled from hunger.


    ¡°Bartrem, meet our new members.¡±


    Bartrem nced to the side as he flipped the meat. ¡°New members? We never have new members before.¡±


    ¡°Well, now we do.¡± Aldred then exined what happened earlier.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. As the leader of Pressure toon II, I wee you.¡±


    Bartrem finished cooking with the soldiers and put the meat on arge te where everyone can take some for themselves. He also made some boiled eggs that had been peeled and beautifully sat on the tes.


    ¡°Ivette, why don¡¯t you take one for yourself,¡± Aldred said.


    Ivette hesitated for a second before she took the meat. Her hand got burned. ¡°Ah.¡±


    Aldred walked up to her and washed her hands with cold water, healing the burn mark. ¡°Sorry about that. I will cool the meat first.¡±


    Aldred absorbed some heat from the meat, reducing its temperature from hot to warm. Who knew high mastery in the fire elements had such benefits?


    He gave the meat back to her and smiled. ¡°Please enjoy it.¡±


    Mira and the others looked at each other and smiled.


    ¡°Aldred is being adies boy again,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Humph! What a y boy.¡±


    Raff seeing this was happy. He hoped that Aldred would seed in taking his sister¡¯s heart and marry her. Although, looking at her apple-red cheeks¡­ it seemed like Aldred had taken her heart already.


    Ivette tried to hide her embarrassment by chomping on the meat, when the fragrance and taste entered her mouth, she widened her eyes and cried.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Is it still too hot?¡±


    Ivette shook her head as she wiped her tears. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. It¡¯s perfect.¡±


    Raff caressed his sister¡¯s head. ¡°I apologize. She had never eaten any good food before because we saved up all of our money to pay the debt. During our journey, we can only eat crickets, centipedes and other bugs.¡±


    ¡°You guys eat centipedes?¡± Aldred widened his eyes. He couldn¡¯t even imagine touching them, not to mention eating them. Yuck!


    ¡°We have to.¡± Raff sighed. ¡°Otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have any energy to move.¡±


    Bartrem looked at them with a pitiful gaze. The others also felt some pain in their heart. Aldred grabbed a te and took a lot of meat and boiled eggs. He then handed it to them.


    ¡°Eat as much as you can. I will be angry if you don¡¯t eat until your belly is full with food. I want you guys to make big poop tomorrow.¡±


    Mareonaughed. ¡°Aldred, that¡¯s not how you offer food to someone?¡±


    Mary and the othersughed as well.


    ¡°Aldred, you are so hrious.¡± Sophia smiled.


    Aldred gave a shyugh and scratched the back of his head. ¡°I was joking, but please eat as much as you can.¡±


    Ivette looked at Aldred and then at the pile of meat. She cried again. ¡°Thank you. Thank you. I will finish them all, don¡¯t worry.¡±

 Chapter 136 Krazar

    ¡°Thank you. Thank you. I will finish them all don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Right after she said that, Ivette stuffed her mouth with food with both hands. She was like a hungry animal eating meat left and right with her face and slender fingers bing messy.


    Aldred watching this was speechless. She¡­ she must be really hungry.


    When she stuffed too much food in her mouth she closer her eyes to savor the vor and gulped it all down her throat before continuing to insert more food inside her mouth.


    Everyone else looked at her with their jaw open. If not for her brother telling the story that they only ate insects and bugs, they would have thought that Ivette was an animal in disguise.


    It was shocking and pitiful at the same time. How could all that food get inside that small, petite body of hers?


    Raff noticed Aldred¡¯s gaze, and was about to stop Ivette from eating frantically. But he stopped himself because he felt certain emotionsing from Aldred. The emotion were longing, nostalgic, pity, and other type of emotions.


    As Ivette was eating, Aldred approached her with a smile, and then wiped her face with a towel. She stopped and looked at the boy.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can continue eating. Bartrem will cook more food for you.¡±


    ¡°T¨CThank you.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me. You¡¯re already part of us now. We don¡¯t thank each other with words.¡±


    ¡°Then with what?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred smiled. ¡°With always being there for each other.¡±


    ¡­


    The floating castle.


    Eve and Dina were sitting in the living room watching TV showing Aldred wiping the stain on Ivette¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°He¡¯s grown so fast,¡± Eve said.


    ¡°He¡¯s no longer the spoiled baby boy he used to be,¡± Dina said. ¡°I feel proud and sad at the same time.¡±


    ¡°I cannot wait for him to return to the floating castle,¡± Eve said. ¡°I want to hug him again like I used to do.¡±


    ¡°Meet him then,¡± Dina said.


    ¡°I must not. We have to let him grow by himself. If I meet Aldred now, I probably won¡¯t be able to hold it and take him back to the castle.¡±


    Suddenly, she felt someone casted a world-wide divination spell. A powerful invisible aura spread out, enveloping the, and going through every continent, until one small point glowed bright yet that point was invisible to most eyes.


    ¡°A threat to my existence? A small boy?¡± A voice nobody could hear entered her mind. ¡°I must remove him.¡±<sub></sub>


    She and Dina were the only ones who could hear that voice.


    Eve stood up from her chair. ¡°You want toe?¡± She asked her daughter.


    ¡°I am gonna stay here, mom.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Watch Aldred for me while I am away.¡± She vanished and appeared in a dark dungeon where a man inrge skeletal form was sitting on top of a ancient runes made from blood.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there? How did you enter this ce? A woman? A vampire at that? Hehe, you will be one of my fine collection.¡±


    Eve raised an eyebrow. ¡°A celestial necromancer? You shouldn¡¯t be in this small. I see you are wounded and lost much of your power.¡±


    ¡°How did you know of my power? Who are you?¡±


    Suddenly therge skeleton gasped as his bones cracked. A powerful aura burst out from Eve and condensed towards the skeleton¡¯s direction.


    Fear welled up through every inch of his bones and he trembled in fear as his red eyes flickered. ¡°This power¡­ Who are you? Tell me! What a universal existence like you are doing in this ce?¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes flickered in crimson color.


    ¡°You are¡­ you are the Grand Ancestral Vampire! The very first vampire! Eve!¡±


    ¡°I did not expect you to know me.¡±


    The skeleton kowtowed. ¡°Oh Grand Ancestor, please give mercy to this low life. I do not intend to offend you in any way.¡±


    ¡°You are a threat to my son.¡±


    ¡°Your son is that boy? Please forgive me, ancestor. I will do everything you ask of me. Please give mercy.¡±


    Eve hesitated for a second. ¡°In that case, if there is any chance my son wille to this continent, you must prevent those two ranks above him from doing him any harm. If you do well, I will give you a drop of my blood.¡±


    Therge skeleton trembled in excitement. The pure blood of the Grand Ancestor herself? With that material he could grow a million times more powerful than he currently was, and all of his wounds would be healed.


    ¡°This low-life shall do its best. I thank you, Grand Ancestor.¡±


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°This lowly being is called Krazar.¡±


    ¡°I will remember you, Krazar.¡±


    ¡°This low self is grateful.¡±


    Eve vanished, leaving Krazar all alone trembling in excitement.


    ¡°The Grand Ancestor¡­ I cannot believe I met her in person. Even if I die, I will still be happy. I cannot wait for that boy toe to this continent. The ancestor¡¯s blood. I need that blood to regain my power.¡±


    When Eve teleported back to her castle, she sat down and watched the TV again.


    ¡°Are you finished, mom?¡±


    Eve nodded.


    ¡°Who casted that divination spell?¡±


    Eve blinked. ¡°Uh¡­ I forgot his name. It¡¯s not that important.¡±


    ¡­


    Ivette was eating arge piece of meat as fast as she could while standing.


    ¡°Ivette!¡±


    ¡°Ivette!¡±


    ¡°Ivette!¡±


    ¡°Ivette!¡±


    Everyone chanted her name because now, she was currently in a eatingpetition with 25 other contestant. So far, she had eaten more than 12 Bajaragon meat while the others were still at their 8th meat.


    Aldred figured since she likes eating then why shouldn¡¯t he make an eatingpetition. And here it was.


    This was herst meat, and she finished it with spectacr speed.


    ¡°And we have a winner!¡± Aldred shouted, raising her hand as her cheeks were filled with food. ¡°As the winner of thispetition, what do you have to say?¡±


    ¡°Mgat ihs dlcious. I wnt est mre nd mre.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°And there we have it, folks! Please apud for our winner and new members of our family!¡±


    ¡°Ivette!¡±


    Raff pped and smiled proudly at his sister. ¡°So will you have seggs now?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 137 Dragon Traveling Merchant

    ¡°So will you have seggs now?¡±


    All of them ignored what Raff said and continue cheering for Ivette¡¯s victory. Even Aldred was speechless by Raff¡¯s desperation to tie the knot.


    ¡°Raff,¡± Aldred called. ¡°Ivette is part of the family now.¡±


    That tranted to: I will do thatter, big bro. Don¡¯t you worry.


    Raff understood the cue because Aldred¡¯s emotion was connected to him. And he also realized that he was a bit hasty even though Aldred already epted his sister.


    Mira caressed Aldred¡¯s head. ¡°You did a good thing. I am so proud of you.¡±


    One way to encourage people to keep doing good deeds was to praise and rewards them. And they deserved to be praised and rewarded for their deeds. And so she whispered; ¡°I will make you feel good tonight.¡±


    Aldred trembled in excitement. Mira was usually shy in bed, but now she nned to make him feel good? He wondered what she would do tonight.


    Mira giggled when she saw his reaction. ¡°But don¡¯t extort people again, okay?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not extortion, but a small payment.¡±


    ¡°You take all of their treasures and gold coins.¡±


    ¡°A small price for their valuable life,¡± Aldred said.<sub>-.</sub>


    Sophia nodded in agreement.


    Mira sighed. Maybe she should be satisfied with Aldred not killing them.


    If she knew that Aldred killed some of them, and their leader, Mira might continue to talk about it with him. But Aldred did not think she needed to know that. He did not want Mira to worry too much.


    ¡®I would never be a loose monster anyway. I will be a monster with full control of my power.¡¯


    As Aldred rxed with Mary, Mareona, Mira, Sophia, and Ivette, arge group of people started climbing up and then they built a tower structure at a certain spot.


    Aldred saw them pulling out wares out of their space bag, and sign that said: Dragon Traveling Merchant.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The Dragon Traveling Merchant is here! We have lots and lots of treasure that can help you climb the mountain. Come and see! You might find something good!¡±


    A lot of people seemed to know about the Dragon Traveling Merchant because the moment they call their own brand name, the people rushed to the tower structure.


    ¡°This is what I need! I finally can breathe properly with this!¡±


    ¡°A magic trinket that can shield me from cold and hot! Finally!¡±


    One after another the adventurer found the magic items they needed. Some bought an anchor to climb the mountain.<sub></sub>


    ¡°You guys want to see some items?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mareona shrugged. ¡°Sure. We might find something useful.¡± She was interested because a lot of people were buying things at the store.


    ¡°Do we have enough money?¡± Ivette asked.


    Aldred smiled. He currently had 702,572,169 Gold coins in his adventure card, but that would be too shocking if he tell them about it. ¡°Of course we have enough money. I extor¡ª I asked a lot of people to pay me for my service.¡±


    ¡®Service in giving them mercy.¡¯


    Aldred pulled everyone to the tower where the seller presented their items. When he looked around, he found the items weren¡¯t that interesting or useful.


    ¡°Sir, if you would like to, we have more useful items at the above floor. But the price will be a little more expensive,¡± an old man said to them.


    ¡°We will check out the above floor then.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± a young man said. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can afford the items there.¡± He looked at Aldred up and down in disdain.


    ¡°Only wealthy people can go to the second floor.¡±


    Aldred sighed and flicked his card, showing the number of gold coins he had. The young man¡¯s eyes widened, and then rolled to the back of his head. He was standing yet he was unconscious.


    The old man seeing this was trembling. A wealthy man! A wealthy man! How could he bring such arge number of gold coins! This man must be the son of an emperor or a powerful and wealthy noble!


    ¡°Can we enter the floor above now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can, young master. I apologize for the misbehavior of this man. He is still young and could not s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Could not see mount tai. Yeah, I heard that statement a lot.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about mount tai, sir. I was about to say Mount Fargon.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    They stepped up the stairs and headed for the second floor. Fragrant scent entered his nose, and a luxurious store came into view. The items here were stored in a ss with crystals giving them light from below.


    Aldred inspected the item one by one and found them not that interesting. He already had tons and tons of rare items in his inventory, and he had even merged them into the All Devouring Stick.


    ¡°Good morning, Good sir anddies. Did you find any items you like?¡± A beautiful youngdy greeted them.


    Aldred shrugged as Mareona, Mary, Mira, Sophia, And Ivette looked around.


    Ivette¡¯s eyes sparkled as she stared at the treasures.


    ¡°Do you want to buy something?¡±


    Ivette shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I am not poor. If youpare the noble you have debt with, I am far richer,¡± Aldred lied. He actually did not know how rich a noble could be.


    ¡°Really?¡± Ivette asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Ivette then went out on a shopping spree, buying everything she touched, and everything she see.


    ¡°I want that one. That one. That one. And that one.¡±


    ¡°Ivette, that¡¯s a pp condom.¡±


    ¡°I want it!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    If Raff, her brother, heard that, he would give her a thumbs up. In fact, Raff was connected to Aldred¡¯s vision and emotion, so he was actually giving a big thumbs up right now.


    Aldred let her buy anything she wanted. And when she was done, the beautiful seller totaled  them at:


    ¡°That would be 11,393,196 gold coins.¡±


    Ivette was shocked. ¡°So expensive. Can we pay for that?¡±


    Aldred coughed. Although he had a lot of money, losing 11 million at once was undesirable. So instead, Aldred showed  the seller something.


    ¡°Do you ept this as payment?¡±


    ¡°What are these?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the scale of a Bajaragon.¡±


    ¡°The scales of Bajaragon?!¡± The seller was shocked.


    ¡°We will ept, but this amount is not enough.¡±


    Aldred then poured out thousands of Bajaragon scales from his inventory. The meat they ate all these days were actually from Teethless, and when Bartrem removed the scales, Aldred stored them just in case.


    Their scales were tough. Tough enough to impress Aldred. Even his fire javelin was blocked even though it had been strengthened many times.


    It was no wonder that the seller was shocked. An armor made of a Bajaragon scales could be a great lifesaver in this mountain and the whole treasure hunt.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s enough, sir.¡±


    Aldred smiled, and then put all the items they bought into his inventory.

 Chapter 138 Big Wasp

    After putting all the items, Aldred went to the upper floor and bought everything there. He literally cleaned every floor of their items which shocked the seller and the customers.


    He paid them all with Bajaragon scales. Which shocked them even more as Aldred shoved piles after piles of scales to them.


    Where the hell did this guy find such arge amount of scales? Did he have a Bajaragon farm back home?


    ¡°Aldred, is it okay for you spend so much on us?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Even if I am poor, I will spend all the money I have for you guys. But since we have a lot of money, don¡¯t worry about it. Buy anything you want. I will buy some for the soldiers as well.¡±


    Mira, Mary, Mareona, Sophia, and Ivette felt their heart thumped harder than before.


    After cleaning the upper floor, Aldred went to the ground floor and bought everything there.


    ¡°Rich! So fucking rich!¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t even look at the items before buying them.¡±


    The customers were disappointed as all the items were sold. Meanwhile, the sellers were all trembling in excitement. Bajaragon scales! If they created armor from this material, they would make a farrger fortune!<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred walked back to the camp with his women, and then poured all the treasures for his soldiers.


    ¡°What are these?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°All the items from the Dragon Traveling Merchant.¡±


    ¡°Did he just say all the items?¡± Maverick asked as he drank blood from the magic sac.


    ¡°Yeah, I bought everything in there.¡±


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Who knows you guys might find something useful in there. Take a look and pick some items.¡±


    Bartrem called for the soldiers to look at the pile of treasures.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s really weird. Why did a merchant group climb this mountain?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°They are the Dragon Traveling Merchant, known to always selling their wares in the most dangerous spots of this continent. They are always there when you explore a dungeon, a ruin, a tomb, a cave, and very much everything else.¡±


    ¡°Why not sell them below just like that Golden River Adventure group?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact reason, but I heard they send out some adventurers first to the dangerous areas to find information of the items people might need. Sometimes they pay random adventurers that return from the dungeon for information.¡±


    ¡°So everything they sell is designed to help adventurers survive in certain ces?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And they are quite pricey.¡±


    ¡°People will still buy them though since they are desperate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the point of their business.¡±


    The soldiers picked some treasures and walked away with a satisfied smile. Apparently the items were to their liking. That was good. At least, it was money well spent. More like Bajaragon scales well spent.


    Suddenly, Aldred heard something falling from above. Everything above was covered by white mist, preventing him from seeing what was beyond there. He did not think much about it, but the sound got stronger and stronger, until somethingnded with a plop.


    It was arge blob of sticky honey.


    The nearby adventurer approached it with a stick and poked it a bunch of times with a shield on their left arm.


    They were all scared of what that honey might do to them. After confirming the honey was not a threat, a man was brave enough to lick the honey.


    ¡°It tasted¡­ sweet.¡±


    They were relieved that it wasn¡¯t poisonous. But then suddenly, a gigantic wasp flew down and grabbed the man.


    ¡°Ahh! Help me!¡± The man punched and kicked, but the wasp was resilient. The wasp flew above the mist, disappearing from view.


    The adventurer below looked at this with mouth agape.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw through the thick cloud of mist. In his sight, he saw thousands ofrge wasp tending their nest and making honey.


    ¡°I thought wasps couldn¡¯t make honey. Maybe it¡¯s different in this world, or that they are a special type of wasp.¡±


    Considering they had gigantic body; five timesrger than the average human, then yes, these wasp might be special.


    But Aldred saw the wasp did not kill the man or trap him, it brought the man to the next cliff.


    ¡°Eating that honey is a good thing. The wasp did not kill the man, it brought the man to the next stage,¡± Aldred said.


    Some people with their wonderful treasures saw through this and quickly ate the honey. They let themselves be picked up by the wasp while the others were shocked.


    The fallen honey eventually ran out, as thest man licked the floor for it.


    One man frowned and realized something. ¡°The next stage is above the mist. We have to climb the wall!¡±


    Everyone has been waiting for long enough. Each day they spent waiting here was another resource and treasures being consumed to stay alive. That was why they had to climb to the next stage as fast as they could if they didn¡¯t want to run out of resources such as water, food, supplies, and necessary treasures that kept them alive.


    This was the mesosphere after all. Without all the magical items and spells, humans would never be able to reach this ce.


    They all climbed the wall using their magic items.


    ¡°Should we follow them?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Wait. Let me see how this y out.¡±


    When the adventurers climbed above the thick mist, he saw the wasps fly at them and stabbed their back with gigantic needles on their butt. Their abdomen shook and injected some sort of poison through the needles.


    ¡°Ahh! Fucking wasp! Get out of here!¡±


    One after another they were injected with venom, but before they could down a ss of healing potion, their skin rotted, and their teeth decayed.


    The skin on their face cracked and some parts fell as their eyes turned gray. Yet, they are still alive, and not alive at the same time.


    The injected victim looked at theirrades before biting them.


    ¡°Fuck! You fool what are you doing!¡±


    The victims did not hear his theirrades and kept on attacking.


    They had been turned into zombies!

 Chapter 139 Thats the challenge

    The adventurer screamed and sted their zombifiedrades in mes. After killing their ownrades in panic, the adventurers realized the bite mark on their wound started to rot.


    Then it spread all over their body before they too became a zombie.


    ¡°Fuck! Don¡¯t get bitten by them!¡±


    The adventurers killed their friends without hesitation, and their corpses fell by the dozens. They continued climbing after that, not even ncing back at those they used to call friends.


    ¡°This is the true nature of adventurers,¡± Maverick said. ¡°People picture them as a group of exciting people, but they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill each other to obtain a treasure. They are a group of ambitious men and women who dream of a wealthy life, and they are prepared to do anything for it.¡±


    Maverick looked down. ¡°And that¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to be. The path to power doesn¡¯t include a straight road filled with flowers and carpet. It¡¯s covered with bones and blood of yourrades and your enemies. Stopping midway means everything you did to get there was meaningless.¡±


    ¡°You cannot bring family with you while walking the path to power.¡±


    ¡°It must be very lonely,¡± Mira said. ¡°Walking this path of blood and bones away from your loved ones.¡±


    More zombies fell and their blood sttered on the ground.


    ¡°It is. But I am used to it. Anyway, let¡¯s find a way to climb this.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    They nced at Aldred and noticed he was eating arge wasp.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mary shouted in panic. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Aldred wiped his mouth from the stain. ¡°Wait here. I have an idea.¡± He transformed into arge wasp and flew up. All the wasps ignored him as hended on one of the nest and gobble up on a goo of honey.


    He flew back down and put the honey on the ground. ¡°The wasps will bring us to the next stage if we eat this honey. Wait here. I will bring more honey for all of us.


    Aldred went up and down a couple of times until he piled up arge glob of honey for everyone.


    ¡°That should be enough.¡±


    The honey was piled into the shape of a small hill. And when the adventurers saw this, they approached him and asked for some.


    ¡°Hello, we would like to ask some honey if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Pay up,¡± Aldred said.<sub></sub>


    They wore a troubled expression. They had spent a lot of money to buy items from the Dragon Traveling Merchant.


    ¡°How much for 70 people?¡±


    ¡°That would be 70,000 Gold coins.¡±


    Their eyes widened when they heard that. Each person would have to pay 1,000 gold coins for a mouthful of honey.


    ¡°This is extortion!¡± A man said.


    ¡°You prefer bing a zombie instead?¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mira called. ¡°I am sure you have enough honey for everyone. Why don¡¯t you lower the price a bit.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Aldred shrugged. He wasn¡¯t serious about extorting them anyway.


    ¡°Wait!¡± An old man said. He was the old man that greeted Aldred in the Dragon Traveling Merchant tower. ¡°We would like to buy the honey for 120,000 Gold coins.¡±


    ¡°The highest bidder wins. And you sir, just won the bid.¡± Aldred received the money with his card, and ate a mouthful of honey with hisrades.


    The wasps came and picked them up, leaving the small hill of honey for the Dragon Traveling Merchant.


    The old man smiled. ¡°It will be 20,000 Gold coins per person.¡±


    The adventurers gritted their  teeth and paid quickly before the old man raised the price. Some of them had the thought to steal the honey, but guards from the merchant group quickly surrounded the honey. It¡¯s a valuable assets after all.


    High in the sky, Aldred and everyone else was being lifted high into the clouds. They did not use any defensive shields to defend themselves from the cold and hot radiation. Apparently, the honey had the effect of preventing the radiation from burning the skin, and all the side effects of staying in the mesosphere.


    After a while, they finally reached the next cliff. Instead of the usual snow-covered surface, the scene they saw was beautiful and lush forest of colorful leaves and nts. Squirrel-like creatures ran around, chewing on banana-shaped nuts.


    ¡°This ce is so beautiful,¡± Ivette said. She then ran to forest.


    ¡°Ivette, wait. It might be dangerous!¡±


    Ivette did not hear him and then caught a squirrel before hugging it. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a cute one.¡±


    Aldred was relieved nothing happened. He summoned all his undead and told them to scatter to find any dangerous traps or creatures.


    In a matter of minutes, they informed Aldred that they found someone.


    Aldred led them inside the forest, and after a while, they found an olddy sitting on a wooden chair with a hat made of bamboo.


    ¡°Well, this is something new,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It¡¯s usually an old man with powerful sword skill or magic art, but an olddy? Are you a witch?¡±


    The olddy looked up, revealing her forest-green eyes. ¡°Give me something this world has never seen before.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow, then he smiled. He beckoned his hand to the penguin. ¡°Pongo, it¡¯s time for you to be useful.¡±


    Pongo snorted and vomited something on his hand.


    Aldred smiled and looked at the item. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (It¡¯s a vibrator).¡±


    ¡°I know, but why does it have spikes?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo (It¡¯s for males).¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin shit! Whatever. Olddy, is this good enough?¡±


    The olddy grabbed the item, and then took out a scroll. ¡°Find the items drawn in this scroll.¡±


    Aldred received the scroll and opened it. It was a drawing of a rock. ¡°How many do we need to collect this rock?¡±


    ¡°As much as you can. Remember that you cannot collect ordinary rock. The rock drawn in that scroll is a spiritual rock.¡±


    Aldred looked around. ¡°But all the rocks looks the same!¡±


    The olddy smiled. ¡°That¡¯s the challenge, young man.¡±

 Chapter 140 Xer Xai

    ¡°Before that, can I ask you something?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am one of the guardian of this ce.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean you have to fight me?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily. My task is simply to test and challenge if any of you are worthy to obtain this treasure.¡±


    ¡°Who gave you this task?¡±


    The olddy smiled. ¡°The world, son.¡±


    She disappeared, and then a voice came from the wind. ¡°Come back to this ce when you collect enough spiritual rocks.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if the guardians have a life of their own. Like, do they have family and friends?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mira said. ¡°The bible described the guardians as the manifestation of the world. They are simply avatars that act as the tester for the treasure hunter. But the bible isn¡¯t always right. Nothing is always right.¡±


    ¡°Manifestation of the world?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°That¡¯s like saying the world has consciousness and has a goal of its own. If that was true, what was the intention behind the treasure?¡±


    ¡°To increase the numbers of adamantite beings in this world?¡± Ivette said.


    They all looked at her which made her blush and looked away.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°That might be possible, but for what?¡± Mary said.


    ¡°We will keep that forter. For now, we should collect these spiritual rocks as much as we can.¡± Aldred stared at the adventurer that came from below and collecting rocks.


    It seemed like the olddy wasn¡¯t the only way to get information.


    The search for spiritual rocksmenced. Everyone was confused as which rock was spiritual and which was ordinary.


    The weird thing in this ce was that every rock looked identitcal. To every scratch, to every mark, to the weight, shape, taste, and feel.


    Mira raised her staff. ¡°Fortune senses.¡± A golden light enveloped Aldred and everyone else.


    ¡°This won¡¯t help much, but I believe we can find the spiritual rocks easier with this.¡±


    They suddenly felt some rocks looked different than the other. Bartrem and the soldiers picked up these rocks and ced them in a storage bags.


    Each storage bag was a rare item, and not everyone could have it. So when the adventurer saw all the soldiers had one storage bag, they felt their heart break in envy.


    ¡°I wish I could be that rich someday.¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred was using his godly eyes. His vision went through the surface appearance of the rock, and arrived at its atomic level. When he found no difference in there, his vision changed to magical perception, and there he saw green energy within the rocks.


    Only a few rocks had this green energy.


    ¡°So this is the spiritual energy.¡± Aldred picked up the rocks along with others and put them all in his inventory.<sub></sub>


    As they were calmly picking up rocks, the trees suddenly shook and their roots whipped at Bartrem and the soldiers.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Aldred shouted.


    Bartrem and the soldiers calmly brandished their swords and shed forward, cutting off all the roots and trees.


    ¡°We¡¯re not that weak, Aldred. You have been stealing the lime lights all the time so we couldn¡¯t show our might,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Alright, sorry for that.¡±


    The trees pulled themselves out of the ground and started attacking everyone in the vicinity.


    ¡°No need to summon your undead. We will handle this.¡± Bartrem charged forward with his soldier, and their power surprised Aldred.


    Each sh cut dozens of trees, and their movement was agile and quick. Rolling and ducking from the roots, before savagely cutting them in pieces.


    ¡°They improved so much.¡±


    ¡°Not just them,¡± Mareona said.


    Mary smiled. ¡°We are stronger as well.¡±


    Both Mareona and Mary rushed towards the trees and their hands moved like shes of lights.


    The trees sted into pieces, and were blown into the sky.


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Empowering Might!¡±


    Powerful red energy enveloped Mary and the others. Suddenly, their strength increased more than twice, and then thrice. Each blow shook the air, and rattled the ground.


    After a few minutes, all the trees were cut down by them.


    Mira smiled and casted a spell that returned their stamina and made them feel refreshed


    [Party system evolving¡­ sucessful]


    [EXP sharing unlocked]


    [Now every EXP received will be received by every party member]


    ¡®Wait, system. Does the EXP get split?]


    [Incorrect. Every party member receive equal EXP without reducing the original amount]


    ¡®So if I get 5,000 EXP from a monster, everyone got that amount as well?¡¯


    [Correct]


    ¡®That¡¯s wonderful! Next time he defeated a powerful monster, hisrades would receive the benefit as well.¡¯


    As Aldred was looking at the screen, the ground shook. They all frowned, wondering what caused the shaking.


    And the shaking got stronger as time passed. Suddenly, arge hill on the west was blown apart from below.


    Something dark¡ªsomething mind¡ªnumbingly enormous¡ªrose out of the hill on thick, chitinous legs. Its dark purple ws, seemingly d with ck steel-like exoskeleton crawled out of therge pit of ckness. Its head had no visible eyes with a helmet-like exoskeleton grew above the mouth and to the back of the head.


    [Xer Xai Earth Burrower]


    Level: 75


    Power: Burrow, Devour,


    History: Xer Xai was once an apex predator lurking beneath the Duchy of Aringuerao. In her true form, she was a fearsome creature with endless hungers¡ªonce devastating an entire province by herself. Now in ruins andy waste, only fearless adventurers dare to approach her hunting ground.


    Its alien-like mouth roared into the sky, striking their eardrum, and then charged towards Mira.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred was a distance away from Mira, and he quickly morphed into a Phantom w toe for her aid.


    The beast was getting closer, so Aldred hastened his steps.


    Nine hundred meter.


    That was the current distance between the beast and Mira. Aldred had to outspeed the beast or else.


    Eight hundred meter.


    The beast passed those distance within a single step. Time slowed down, but Aldred felt like he needed to be faster.


    Seven hundred meter.


    The beast towered like a mountain of gargantic purple flesh d in ck exoskeleton. Purple lightning shed around its body. Its forelegs were a pair of ws whereas its hind legs were akin to arge scythe.


    Six hundred meter.


    These giant legs made a grinding noise against stone and sted every hills and boulder in its way.


    Five hundred meter.


    ¡°Run away, Mira! Run as fast as you can!¡± Aldred bellowed.


    Four hundred meter.


    ¡°Sophia! Slow it down with your spell!¡±


    Three hundred meter.


    Sophia casted numerous debuff spells to slow the creature. Yet its speed were unhindered.


    Two hundred meter.


    Aldred turned into astral form, bing intangible and went throughrge boulders. His legs couldn¡¯t be any quicker.


    One hundred meter.


    The creature burrowed under the ground, and then came out right behind Mira, sting rocks and boulders all over.


    Mira was running, before she turned around, and arge w grabbed her.

 Chapter 141 Tale

    There was once a taleing from the Aringuearo desert . Scorching heat, sand dunes, and hills of rocks filled the lifeless desert. Despite its harsh environement, dangerous birds and scorpions inhabited thendscape.


    But the real threat did note from the sky or the surface.


    IT CAME FROM BELOW.


    BOOM! The gigantic creature burst out of the ground with sand fell of its purple skin. The adventurers¡¯ caravan said to be the most fearless of adventurers stared at the creature and now fully learn the meaning of the word they seek¨C


    FEAR.


    Lips cold, and heart frozen, the adventurer were unable to move under the gigantic and towering scale of the creature.


    And that was exactly what Mira felt when the creature¡¯s w came down, looming above her.


    ¡°Mira!¡± Aldred shouted from the distance. He was too far away from her while the w was right in front of her face.


    Suddenly, a bright silhoute rushed in front of her and shed against the w. The sh created an explosion of blinding lights that shot out in all directions.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred closed his eyes and looked away for a second. After the light dissipated, it revealed Ivette in white snow armor, blocking the w.


    Golden light rushed from the handle to the tip of the sword, sting the w away, and then piercing through the creature¡¯s chest.


    The creature roared and turned around. It burrowed into the ground.


    ¡°Where are you going, Bitch?!¡± Aldred leaped into the sky, and morphed into his adult form, d in Golden Battle Gear.


    The blue runic spear glowed in his right hand and he threw the spear at the creature¡¯s back. Like lightning, it sted the creature¡¯s back, but it did not retaliate and ran away, going deep into the ck pit.


    Aldrednded. The spear returned in his right hand with a crackle of lightning. His chest went up and down as he stared down the pit.


    He nced at Ivette who was unconscious in Mira¡¯s hand. Mira cast a healing spell on her before she looked up at Aldred.


    Aldred approached both of them. Mary, Bartrem, and everyone else rushed to their side.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I am fine. And Ivette did not sustain any fatal injuries except a few cracks on her bones. My power will heal them.¡±


    A loud roar came from the pit, followed by a violent wind that shot upward.


    Mary frowned. ¡°I have read about that thing. The nightmare of Aringuerao. Said to be so powerful and unstoppable that an entire province was destroyed after years of facing its attack.¡±


    Maverick nodded. ¡°Aringuerao was once a great province that brought much wealth through its sea trade and mountains of mana crystals. If not for that thing lurking beneath the sand, we would surpass the Ceraisian Empire¡¯s wealth by arge margin.¡±


    ¡°But now that it¡¯s here, you can reim the province right?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it was supposed to be. Until we found out they multiplied.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°So this creature reproduce and now there are a bunch of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. There is only one city left in that province, and they are filled with brave adventurers that seek wealth and treasures of the past.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I want to kill that thing someday.¡±


    ¡°That creature won¡¯t let you go. It is known that they are vengeful and will return to finish the job. In our 3rd operation to hunt this beast, we also found out that it also devours treasures to strengthened its skin and exoskeleton.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why that one is so small, but a Xer Xai is usually twenty timesrger than that.¡±


    ¡°Twenty times?¡± Aldred widened his eyes. That thing was akin to a small mountain already.


    Maverick nodded. ¡°It is said that the queen was farrger. Around forty to sixty timesrger than that.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath trying to make sense of that number. If the creature earlier was 300 meters in length, and the queen was sixty timesrger, then that meant the queen was 18 kilometers in length.


    In other words, the queen wasparable to 2 Mount Everest stacked on top of each other.


    No wonder it could destroy an entire province. In fact he was surprised and wondered why the queen hadn¡¯t destroyed the entire world with that power?


    ¡°For now we should put Ivette back to the tent. Let her rest while we continue collecting the spiritual rocks.¡±


    Everyone agreed with that n, and after gently putting Ivette back inside the tent, Aldred went out and collected the rocks.


    On the surface, they all looked calm while collecting the rocks, but their heart were now in a turmoil. That creature wasrge and powerful, but they were more shocked about Ivette.


    How could a frail young woman like her catch and repel the gigantic ws?


    Aldred was picking up rocks with Mira and the other girls. Bartrem and the soldiers were also close by. Pongo was with him too. He wanted everyone to stay close just in case the creature appeared again.


    Earlier, they were too scattered, but Aldred did not want to repeat the same mistake.


    Aldred wanted to ask what exactly happened to Ivette, but he shook his head. Instead, he decided to ask something else. ¡°Mira, how many do you think we should collect of these rocks?¡±


    ¡°The olddy said as much as we can. Maybe we should follow her instruction word by word.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. Second guessing ourselves won¡¯t do any good.¡±


    Not known to Aldred and hisrades, a group of assassins was watching him with all kinds of invisibility spells and treasures. They had watched from beginning to end of what happen earlier, but their mission had yet to end.


    They were tasked to obtain the ring, and death awaits them should they fail.


    Aldred then felt an urge to pee. Just in case, he summoned his blood clone and tasked it to protect everyone.


    He went to an empty spot where nobody could see his pp.


    One of the assassin frowned when saw Aldred approaching. Did he see me. No, that¡¯s impossible.


    Aldred pulled his pants down to the shock of  the assassin.


    And then he poured all of the liquid out of his system.


    The assassin could only closed his mouth, eyes, and nose as he was drenched in piss.


    ¡°Man, that feels good.¡±

 Chapter 142 Truth and Lies

    Aldred pulled his pants up and walked away. Seeing that Aldred was alone and isted, they appeared in front of him out of nowhere.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Someone still had the guts to challenge him? Or maybe they did not know about his power?


    ¡°We will be taking your spiritual rocks,¡± one of the assassins said. They did not want their real target to be known. After all, the ring was too important.


    Aldredughed. He couldn¡¯t help but see this scene as funny. In his eyes, these assassins were nothing.


    The assassins frowned, wondering why Aldred was so calm. They had never seen his power except when Aldred threw that spear. But that was all.


    ¡°Are you deaf? Hand your spiritual rocks and everything else you have.¡±


    Aldredughed even harder. ¡°I think this is my first time getting robbed in broad daylight.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get any ideas, boy. You are surrounded and alone.¡±


    ¡°Pfft! Haha.¡± Aldredughed again.


    ¡°Aldred, what¡¯s taking you so long?¡± Mira came and asked. She then nced at the assassins. ¡°Who are they?¡±


    ¡°Mira, look at this. They¡¯re trying to rob me. Haha.¡±


    The assassin clicked his tongue. He did not want any unknown variable to interfere with this operation. ¡°Damn, slut. Die.¡± He dashed towards her. de in hand, swinging at her neck.


    But it wasn¡¯t Mira¡¯s head that fell. It was his.<sub>-.</sub>


    Plop!


    The body fell and the head rolled away lifelessly. The assassins widened their eyes and took two steps back. What just happened? They didn¡¯t see the woman or the boy move, and yet their friend died.


    Aldred wore a dark expression. ¡°Trying to kill and even insulting my woman? All of you must have a death wish.¡±


    The assassin gritted his teeth. ¡°Attack him!¡±


    But before they could attack, numerous undead spawned out of nowhere, surrounding them.


    ¡°You are surrounded and alone,¡± Aldred said with a grin. ¡°So don¡¯t get any ideas.¡±


    The assassins panicked. They weren¡¯t told about this. The boy was too strong for them.


    ¡°You cannot kill us. We are the subordinates of¡ª¡±


    SLASH!


    A line of bright light circled around Aldred, hitting the assassins¡¯ neck. Just as their heads were about to fall, their whole body turned into snow.


    As the snow got blown by the wind, an invisible current flew in the air. A pair of red eyes, invisible to anyone under the sky, stared at the boy.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mira called.<sub></sub>


    Aldred closed his eyes, ready to be scolded.


    ¡°Thank god you¡¯re fine.¡± Mira smiled.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Aldred looked up at her. ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡±


    Mira shook her head. ¡°Some people deserve to die, and you made the right call.¡±


    ¡°A¡ªare you sure?¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°You never kill the innocent, Aldred. I know you don¡¯t, and never will. I have decided to not hinder your action too much. You have killed some people behind my back, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Aldred scratched his head at being found out. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I raised many heroes in my lifetime. Some are harder to teach than others. I know when they hide candies under their shirt.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Mira. I shouldn¡¯t have lied.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You made me realize that I control you too much. Someone will never lie if they deemed it unnecessary. You fear my reaction to the truth, and that is why you lie.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I am afraid of your reaction.¡±


    ¡°Those who cannot take the truth don¡¯t deserve it, Aldred. Your decision to lie to me was correct. But you don¡¯t have to lie anymore. Lying is a great burden.¡±


    What Mira said was true. All this time, Aldred felt guilty for hiding the truth that he had killed a lot of people behind her back. Aldred sighed and smiled at her. ¡°Thank you, Mira.¡±


    He ran to her and hugged her.


    Mira received the hug wholeheartedly. She did not want Aldred to fear her. Like a parent, their children will lie if they be too strict with their rules. The stricter they were, the smarter the lie.


    The only way to make children honest was to tolerate their mistakes and guide them withpassion and care, not an iron fist.


    After a few minutes of hugging, he kissed Mira on the lips, and then went back to collecting spiritual rocks.


    ¡°Took you long enough to pee!¡± Mary said.


    ¡°We ran into some assassins,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I am guessing they ran away?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°No, I killed them.¡±


    Mareona nced at Mira. ¡°Surprising.¡±


    They collected spiritual rocks for a few hours until Bartrem informed them that the olddy had returned.


    ¡°Do we have enough rocks already?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°I think we do.¡±


    They all walked to the olddy. A group of people were already there, giving the olddy a storage bag of rocks.


    ¡°Only one of these rocks are spiritual rocks,¡± the olddy said.


    ¡°Eh? What is going to happen to me? Do I fail?¡±


    ¡°No. Stand to the side. You have to wait until everyone is ounted for.¡±


    After all the other groups were ounted for, it was Bartrem¡¯s turn.


    ¡°30 spiritual rocks. Not bad.¡±


    Bartrem shrugged. He felt like he could get better amount.


    Mareona walked to the olddy.


    ¡°24 spiritual rocks.¡±


    ¡°Cih. I was sure every rocks were correct.¡±


    She walked away and Mary handed her rocks.


    ¡°29 spiritual rocks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± she said before walking away.


    Sophia walked to the olddy with a storage bags.


    ¡°34 spiritual rocks.¡±


    ¡°Wow, nice,¡± Mareonamented. ¡°That¡¯s 10 more than me.¡±


    After Sophia, it was Mira¡¯s turn.


    The olddy smiled. ¡°Impressive. You got 40 spiritual rocks.¡±


    Mira walked to the side. ¡°Aldred, it¡¯s your turn.¡±


    Aldred walked towards thedy, and then poured out all the rocks in his inventory.


    Mareona raised an eyebrow. ¡°How many rocks did you collect?¡±


    ¡°Around 3500 rocks.¡± Aldredughed.


    At first, the olddy was smiling, and then it turned into the look of wonder as she nced at him.


    ¡°How many did I get right?


    The olddy looked him in the eye. ¡°All of them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Everyone there looked at the boy with widened eyes.

 Chapter 143 Crazed Form

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying that all 3500 rocks are spiritual rocks?¡± Mareona asked.


    The olddy nodded.


    ¡°Wow, Aldred. How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°I have good pair of eyes.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°The reason I told you to collect these rocks is to prepare you for the next stage. It might be yourst challenge, but whether or not that¡¯s true, I don¡¯t know for sure the test will be harder than anything you have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°What effect do these rocks have?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It will empower you just like that golden hot bath. The more spiritual rocks you have, the more powerful the effect will be.¡±


    Everyone gasped when they heard that. The golden hot bath made them far stronger than they truly were. Some people even got their strength doubled because of that.


    The olddy snapped her fingers, and all the spiritual rocks were crushed into green energy. This energy then shot to their owners ¡® body, and inserted themselves to every cell.


    Aldred felt pain all over. He gritted his teeth and noticed that Mira and the others were also in pain.


    [Magic art mastery increased by 300%]


    [Sword art mastery increased by 300%]


    [All attributes increased by 50%]


    A bright blue light then came from above, washing over Aldred¡¯s group.


    ¡°Good luck, treasure hunters.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred looked at the olddy before the world was filled with blue light, and then Aldred appeared on a gigantic stage.


    He looked around making sure Mira and the others were there.


    Ivette had already woken as well. Her feet wobbled, about to fall. Aldred caught her quickly.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Aldred asked.


    Ivette blushed and nodded. ¡°I am fine.¡±


    ¡°What happened that time? How did you block Xer Xai¡¯s w?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ivette said. ¡°I cannot exin where that power came from. I just felt an urge to protect Mira, and my body moved by itself.¡±


    Mira approached her. ¡°Ivette, try to channel your energy to your sword.¡±


    Ivette pulled out her sword, and held it with both hands. She closed her eyes and channeled her energy into the sword. ¡°Like this?¡±


    The sword shined with a thick golden light.


    Ivette was amazed by her own power. ¡°It¡¯s not this powerful before.¡±


    Aldred had actually add her into the party system already. So maybe it was because of that.


    ¡°Congrattions, Ivette.¡±


    ¡°Eh? For what?¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°You are now a hero candidate.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°What?¡± Ivette was shocked. ¡°I am a hero candidate?¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°I will be your guide along the way.¡±


    Ivette was about to ask some questions, but a voice interrupted her.


    ¡°Wee to your final stage.¡±


    Aldred turned around and looked at the sky. There was a woman floating in the air. She wore a very revealing white and golden robe. Her wavy, long deep shaded taupe hair fluttered in the non-existents breeze.


    Some sort of broken golden disc floated behind her back, and she held a majestic golden staff in her left hand.


    ¡°My name is Ste Altum. I am the guardian of this ce and shall be your final examiner of Mount Fargon.¡±


    Aldred stared at her. He still couldn¡¯t believe how revealing her clothes were. Her legs and thigh were bare for him to see, and her special parts were only covered by a thin line of golden armor, while her the cover for her boobs were only for the nipples.


    Such a weird fashion style. He loved it. But it was slightly weird.


    ¡°What do we have to do?¡± Aldred asked.


    Ste sternly stared at the boy. ¡°I will give you your rewards after you havepleted the challenge. It will require you to use your brain, wit, and tactics. My test is very straigthforward.¡±


    ¡°Survive for 5 months.¡±


    ¡°Five months of what?¡±


    ¡°This.¡± She raised her staff, and the light core shone bright before hundreds of Phantom ws appeared on the stage.


    ¡°Fuck! At arms!¡± Aldred summoned his undead.


    Bartrem and the soldiers raised their weapons and shield before forming a defensive formation.


    The Phantom ws roared and charged towards them.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    The soldiers charged forward with the snow apes infantry. The snow wolves rounded the formation and attacked from the side. Aldred ran along with the infantry. He pointed his fingers and sent out storms of fire bullets at the monsters.


    With his increased strength and mastery, his fire bullets were more than powerful to st the Phantom ws to pieces.


    The Bajaragon belched out arge me out of his mouth, burning dozens of monsters at once.


    Will, his undead phantom w, was much stronger as well. He shed at his own kin with far greater speed and sharpness.


    Ivette rushed forward, enveloped by a divine light all over her body. Her snow-white pony tail hair shook up and down as she cut down the monsters in front of her. She was quick and agile, sharp and precise.


    Be and Sophia weren¡¯t staying idle. They raised their staff and casted spells after spells to support the soldiers.


    After killing all the Phantom ws, they thought the fight was over, until more monsters appeared by the edge of the stage. Hundreds of Bajaragon appeared in the sky, sending out hellish mes towards their way.


    Gargant Eagles flew through the air with incredible speed, creating wind turbulence, and sonic boom all over the sky. Gigantic centipedes crawled from below the stage.


    Snow wolves, and snow apes appeared and charged at them.


    Maverick and his subordinates rushed like an assassin. Their feet fluttered on the floor, blurry. Even though they hadn¡¯t shown their might very much, their power was not to be underestimated.


    The blood on all the creature¡¯s body burst from inside. Spikes made out of blood stabbed out of their skin, stabbing their internal organs along the way.


    It was their secret group skill¨CBlood Bath.


    Every creature that they passed died with these spikesing out of their body.


    The monsters kept oning. Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days, and days turned into months.


    After months of endless fighting, the soldiers and even Aldred started to get exhausted. Their lips cracked and dry. Their stomach rumbled with hunger.


    Aldred had long pulled out all the supplies from his divine dimension. He drank a mouthful of water from a water bottle, and then crushed hard bread with his mouth.


    They did not have time to cook a good meal.


    With a bread in his mouth, Aldred raised his hands. ¡°Fire Combustion!¡±


    All the monsters in front of him were engulfed by mes. But the wave of monsters never ends. More came from the sky, the ground, and the surface.


    ¡°Blood cloning.¡± Two other Aldred appeared beside him and rushed forward.


    The transaction had ended long ago, so it was fine that Aldred summoned his clones back. Not that he cares about other groups in this situation.


    He punched out to every directions, sending me fist, fire balls, me javelins, fire bullets, and me jets.


    The numbers of monsters were so numerous that it put his undead army to shame. He reced all of his random undead with Bajaragon and Phantom ws. Now he had a whole army of them to help fighting the monsters.


    Bartrem and the soldiers never stopped fighting. Stabbing, shing, kicking, and punching. They used all they had to survive.


    One month.


    That was the time left. They just had to survive for that long.


    Days turned into weeks, and their limbs felt heavy. They wanted to fal down and rest, but they must not.


    On thest day.


    Many fell to exhaustion. They did not give up.  Rather, their body could not handle it and shut down by itself. Unconscious. Some soldiers fight off their own body. Telling it to stand and fight.


    As Aldred killed one monster after another, he felt his demonic blood tingled inside of him. Suddenly, he was morphed into his adult state. Horns grew out of his forehead.


    ¡°Crazed Form!¡± Aldred shouted out of his own will. It was like being controlled by something within him.


    His undead burst with powerful aura, and their appearance was akin to a demon straight out of hell. Their bodies exuded deep-red mist, and their attributes tripled.


    For the next 10 minutes, Aldred and his undead were like a god of ughter. He rushed forward to the monsters and swiped with his ws.


    Everything twenty meters ahead of him were cut into pieces. He shed left and right, cutting down everything in his path. His 55 Bajaragon undead belched a powerful mes.


    Seeing that the situation was under control, Bartrem, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, and everyone else fell to the floor.


    Bartrem wanted to push himself off the ground, but Aldred stopped him.


    ¡°Let me handle this. All of you have done enough.¡±


    Aldred massacred the monsters.


    His undead burst into red mist and disappeared. His chest went up and down, as he held both knees for support.


    He could barely breathe.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Aldred asked Ste who was still floating in the sky.


    ¡°Yes, except one.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath and readied his weapon. ¡°Let ite to me.¡±


    ¡°I am sure you have met her already. Xer Xai,e out.¡±

 Chapter 144 Battle of Giants

    ¡°Your Royal Highness, why do you insist on following this boy? You realize that there¡¯s nothing we can do for him in this treasure hunt,¡± Frey said as they were floating with an invisibility spell above Mount Fargon.


    Velika pouted. ¡°We¡¯ve been following him since he was in the fort. What¡¯s wrong with following him until here?¡±


    Frey sighed. ¡°I am sure His Majesty, your father, misses you. Why don¡¯t we return to the capital.¡±


    ¡°No. I want to see his journey with my own eyes.¡±


    Frey rubbed his forehead. ¡°The guardians have been watching us. It won¡¯t be long before they do something.¡±


    ¡°But I want to keep watching him.¡±


    ¡°All he does is kill monsters and have seggs with his women. What is there to watch?¡±


    Velika stayed silent as her cheeks became red. ¡°So what if I want to watch him have seggs?¡±


    ¡­


    The gigantic creature burst out of the floor. Its exoskeletons grinding against the floor.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°It¡¯s you again.¡± Aldred stared at the beast as its ws mmed the ground.


    Aldred took a deep breath again to regain his stamina. Suddenly, a beam of golden light came towards his back. It restored his stamina, and all of his exhaustion disappeared.


    ¡°Thank you, Mira.¡±


    Mira smiled before she fell unconscious again. That spell took everything of her to cast.


    Aldred was still in his demon form, and then he activated his Golden Battle Gear. The set of armor enveloped him, and blue crystals dotted the surface. Blue mists came out of the crystals before the helmet covered his face with a crystal of the same color.


    ck wings came out of his back, and his runic spear glowed with blue lightning shed around the spearhead.


    His stepped forward. Lightning crackled under his feet. Pointing at the beast with his spear, Aldred showed no fear under the gigantic behemoth.


    ¡°You will die and be my servant. Be grateful that you have the chance to serve me, insect.¡±


    The creature seemed to understand his meaning. It trembled in rage, and then roared at him. With a powerful sweep, Xer Xai created arge gash on the floor, but Aldred was nowhere to be seen.<sub></sub>


    It looked around, then looked up to notice that Aldred was falling from the sky, roaring with a spear in hand.


    His body shed, and he mmed onto Xer Xai¡¯s head, hammering him to the ground with a spear stuck in his head.


    ¡°Die!¡± Aldred rotated the spear, and sent out lightning through the creature.


    The creature roared and swiped at him.


    Aldred snorted and met the ws with his spear.


    ng! Boom!


    The sh threw Aldred dozens of meters away, but the beast stood in ce.


    ¡°Using your giant body to fight me? You think I cannot do that as well?¡± Aldred¡¯s body slowly ballooned into a giant. Now he was of the same size as the beast. The spears, armors, and his horns were of gigantic size as well.


    The creature rushed at him, and Aldred did the same. He raised his spear and stabbed through the creature¡¯s stomach. Lightning crackled, and shot inside, creating arge wound.


    The creature roared and bit on his shoulder. Aldred gritted his teeth and punched the creature with his other hand.


    The beast retaliated by stabbing both ws into his chest. The ws prated through the armor.


    They both fought for hours, refusing to back down. Each blow was gigantic and powerful, shattering the floor, and shaking the sky.


    It was the battle of giants.


    No wonder Thignia Empire couldn¡¯t stop this beast. Its ws were so powerful that it could even prated a battle gear. The chest te of this armor was the thickest part. For the beast to destroy it was nothing more than spectacr.


    Aldred admitted its strength. But he grinned behind the crystal helmet.


    Suddenly, two others giant wearing the same armor as him, and using the same spear as him, appeared beside the creature.


    They were his blood clones.


    The two of them struck the creature¡¯s abdomen, and sted it with lightning. The creature roared and let go of his shoulder before falling to the ground.


    Aldred morphed back into his normal form. His feet wobbled and he let go of the spear before falling right in front of the beast.


    He was too exhausted. The battle sap all of his energy, and he couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Congrattion.¡±


    Yellow lights engulfed them, and restored their energy. This one seemed to be more potent than Mira¡¯s spell. They were lifted on their feet, and Ste gracefullynded on the floor.


    ¡°You have passed thest test. This is your reward.¡± She swung her staff at them, and all the stars in the night sky shot a powerful beam that engulfed their bodies.


    [You have received Extreme Endurance. You are said to oust any man in battle]


    [You have received Empowering Massacre. You received temporary buffs for every enemy you kill]


    Then suddenly, some sort of device that looked like a golden clock appeared.


    ¡°This is the astrbe. It will help you in finding the next device to unlock the treasure.¡±


    The astrbe spun around and floated in his hand.


    Aldred stretched out his palm, and the astrbe entered his body. ¡°Thank you. But I promised my friend an astrbe as well. Can you give me another one?¡±


    Maverick was grateful that Aldred remembered his promise. He was a little worried that Aldred would leave him with nothing. Seemed like he wasn¡¯t wrong about the boy in the slightest. A loyal and grateful man who never break his promise.


    Ste nodded and summoned another astrbe that entered Maverick¡¯s body.


    ¡°You can summon the astrbe however you will.¡±


    Aldred tried to make the astrbe appear, and it did, floating right in front of him, radiating white, gold, and other color of mysterious light.


    He let the astrbe entered his body again. ¡°How do we get down?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t receive yourst reward.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s more?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Ste stepped forward and hugged him. ¡°Me!¡±

 Chapter 145 New Pet

    ¡°What?¡±


    Everyone was shocked. How could a guardian offer herself as a reward?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a guardian of this ce? How can you be my reward?¡±


    ¡°I am not the formal guardian of this treasure hunt. I just lived here and was assigned to a task.¡±


    ¡°Who assigned you to this task?¡±


    ¡°The world. Or this continent to be precise. It¡¯s not the first time I was asked to be a guardian.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re definitely above Gold Rank. How can you follow me in this treasure hunt?¡±


    ¡°I am Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. How could you be this strong.¡±


    Aldred checked her status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ste Altum]


    Level: 89


    Power: Call Upon The Stars, Teleportation.<sub>-.</sub>


    History: Said to be the Daughter of Stars, Ste Altum had existed before kingdoms and empires. Living many lives as bandits and nuns. Yet, her old age did not let here to wisdom, instead, she was crazed of boredom. Isting herself in the highest peaks to stare at the stars.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred frowned. With that history, how could she only at level 89. She literally existed before human society of this world.


    Ste noticed his gaze and smiled. ¡°Did you check out my stats?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    She giggled. ¡°I have been watching you. I know you have an out-of-this-world power. Tell me. Why do you want to be stronger? Is it just because, or is there something else?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just want to have fun to be honest. But I think my dad is in trouble, so I have to be stronger to help him.¡±


    ¡°Your family is having a problem. I see. I will help you in your journey. In return, you will help me find the main continent.¡±


    ¡°Main continent? I never heard of something like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s forter. It¡¯s no use to think about it now. You are too weak. First, let¡¯s get you the treasure first, and then we will go on a journey to find it.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m up for any adventure. I want my path to power to be fun and exciting.¡±


    Ste giggled. If not for his mother, the boy would be dead by now. In a week, she detected a lot of powerful spells headed towards the boy, but all of them were deflected and blocked by powerful magic. And all the sources of that attack just vanished without a trace.


    She did not know what was the boy¡¯s mother thinking. She was so powerful and yet she let her son go on this dangerous journey?<sub></sub>


    ¡®Can I ask his mother to help me find the continent? Considering her hands-off involvement all this time, that doesn¡¯t seem to be possible. I have to rely on the boy then.¡¯


    She nced at the boy who wore a handsome innocent face. He seemed cute, so she didn¡¯t mind spending time with him.


    Unbeknownst to her, behind that innocent face was countless dirty imaginations with her as the subject.


    ¡®Damn, she¡¯s hot.¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t help it. Ste¡¯s clothes literally almost revealed her private parts. Her whole appearance was akin to a goddess.


    ¡°So what now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°That astrbe will help you find your next path,¡± Ste said. ¡°But before that I will help you climb down the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let me have some moments with the beast first.¡± He approached therge creature and raised his hand.


    ¡°Arise.¡±


    The dark mist engulfed the creature whole, and then it stepped out in a menacing undead form. Purple mist shone all over its body, bringing in fear to those who set their eyes upon it.


    The creature bowed. ¡°Master,¡±


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Xer Xai, master.¡±


    ¡°I am toozy to change your name, so I will keep calling you that. Tell me about your race.¡±


    ¡°My race is is called by my name, Xer Xai.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I am the first of my kind. I am the queen. The mother of all Xer Xai.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the queen? But you¡¯re smaller than what Maverick told me.¡±


    ¡°My power is shackled and my size has been reduced before I was captured into this mountain.¡±


    ¡°Who did that to you?¡±


    ¡°The world.¡±


    Aldred frowned. This wasn¡¯t the first time the world did something. Was the really alive?


    ¡°Is it possible to unlock your power?¡±


    ¡°I have been told that it is possible, but it will take time.¡±


    ¡°Good. From now on you will be my servant. Should I need an entire town to be devoured, you will be up to the task.¡±


    ¡°This Xer Xai shall serve.¡±


    ¡°Now be gone.¡±


    Therge creature vanished into purple mist.


    Aldred nced at Ste and nodded.


    She raised her staff, and the star core shined on them with lights before they appeared at the bottom.


    Aldred saw numerous people preparing their tools before climbing up the mountain, and when they saw him, they swarmed him before asking some questions.


    ¡°Hey, did you reach the top?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what challenges you face on the mountain. I will give you treasures in exchange.¡±


    ¡°Listen, my master is the son of a baron. You better tell me what you know.¡±


    ¡°You guys misunderstand. I failed reaching the top and all of us were all killed by a big monster. We thought we were dead, but suddenly we are here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so we cannot die?¡±


    ¡°Very much,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief to hear.¡±


    Aldred nced at Mira who was staring at him. He sighed with a smile. ¡°Alright, I am lying. 90% of you will die after entering the first challenge. Prepare yourself some warm clothes, because it gets really cold, and also bring a lot of magic treasures. Don¡¯t be shy spending all the gold coins you brought. You won¡¯t need gold coins up there.¡±


    ¡°Now get the fuck out of my way before I call my new pet to eat all of you.¡±


    ¡°How dare you speak to me that way. You deserve a p for that.¡±


    Suddenly, the earth trembled, and Xer Xai in her undead form burst out of the ground. She roared at them, making them fall to their ass and piss their pants.


    ¡°This is my pet. Do you want to talk to her?¡±


    They stared and trembled in fear. Never had they seen a creature sorge and hideous in their life.


    ¡°Answer when I talk to you guys.¡±


    They trembled and forced out a reply: ¡°N¡ªNo. We are in the wrong.¡±


    Aldred grinned. ¡°Having a pet sure is nice.¡±


    Aldred walked away with his friends. Xer Xai followed him from behind like an obedient dog.


    They all looked at the creature from behind.


    ¡°He failed even though he has that creature as a pet. Maybe we shouldn¡¯t climb the mountain.¡±


    ¡°You fool. He must be lying. That thing is at least 300 meters tall. What kind of creature would survive fighting against that? He must have reached the peak already.¡±

 Chapter 146 Bandit

    ¡°So where do we go now?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Aldred summoned the astrbe, but it did not lead him in any directions yet. ¡°Is this normal?¡± He asked Ste.


    Ste nodded. ¡°You need to wait for the astrbe to guide you.¡±


    ¡°Since we¡¯re going to wait, why don¡¯t we visit Maverick¡¯s house?¡± Aldred suggested.


    Maverick¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I will introduce you guys to my father. Besides, we can replenish our set of treasures to prepare for the next adventure.¡±


    ¡°That decides it then. Xer Xai. Let us ride on your back.¡±


    Xer Xai bowed like a dog and extended her hand for them to use as  stairs. One by one, they rose on top of therge creature.


    Aldred was sitting on her head with his women. ¡°Set off.¡±


    They went to the northwest. To be honest, the entire northwest section was almost carved fully by Chanterre. It was one of the powerful count families that had numerous Diamond Rank family members and subordinates.


    It was also located right beside the capital, and the emperor trusted Chanterre to protect its border from outside threat. For a count family to have this task was a proof of their capabilities and loyalty to the nation.


    One day, a group of merchant caravans was attacked by bandits.


    ¡°Shit, these thieves are too much!¡± The leader of the adventure group, tasked to protect the caravan, stared at the bandits who rode on horseback.


    They were exchanging arrows at each other while the caravan tried to escape to the nearest city.


    ¡°Hold on for a while. Guilles city is nearby. We can ask for reinforcement by then.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The bandits smiled and then threw a bunch of rocks tied to a rope at their wheel. The rocks went inside the gap of the wheel, and the rope wrapped around it before preventing the wheel to move.


    One carriage was taken and the bandits still wanted to take more.


    ¡°Shit!¡± the merchant leader said. ¡°Adventurers, please don¡¯t let them steal more carriages. I will not make any profit if this happens.¡±


    The adventurer leader gritted his teeth. ¡°I think you should think about staying alive instead of amassing gold coins.¡±


    The merchant leader clicked his tongue. ¡°You are an adventurer. You live by the thrill and danger. You are no different than me, risking lives for the sake of money.¡±


    The adventurer nced at the merchant and smiled. ¡°Damn right you are. Fuck it! Turn this whole caravan around. Let me have some words with the bandits.¡±


    The carriages turned around to the shock of the bandits and they crashed against their horses. Most bandits dodged the crash, but the unfortunate ones were crushed under the feet of horses.


    The leader leaped out and threw a rock at the bandit, hitting his face. The bandit fell to the ground and died.


    More adventurers leaped out of the carriages, shooting rocks with slingshots. The leader charged forward with his sword and cut a horse in half along with its rider. He spun to the left, dodging an arrow, and knocked a small rock on the ground with his de, shooting the rock at the archer¡¯s face.


    His friends charged forward as well, fighting against the bandits in closebat.


    Suddenly, the ground trembled, and something burst out of the ground, throwing rocks and dust into the air. Somethingrge blocked the sun out of their sight, creating a silhouette of a gigantic creature.


    Only when they had clear view of what it was did they properly react. Their eyes widened and all of them stopped fighting.


    It was a creature the size of a mountain with no eyes. Its hideous mouth opened wide and roared, shaking them and made them all fall to the ground.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Are these guys bandits?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°You said Chanterre has a small bandit problem. Never expect I would meet one immediately.¡±


    ¡°Well, this area is a little isted, so bandits thrive in this ce.¡±


    Everyone down below was shocked to see a group of people riding the beast.


    Aldred and his friend were currently protected by a fewyers of magic shield. This way, when they burrowed beneath the earth, the dust, dirt, and other hazards did not hit them.


    The adventure leader hesitated. Although he would risk his life for money, he did not want to throw it away like trash. ¡°My lord, judging by your conversation, I assume you are on the hunt for bandits.¡±


    The boy nced down at him. ¡°Not really. I am going somewhere, but since I detect a group of bandits, I will just remove them for you.¡±


    The bandits all dropped their weapons and kowtowed.


    ¡°Please have mercy, my lord!¡±


    All of them gritted their teeth. None of them were stupid enough trying to run from such a beast. It was as huge as a small mountain. Running from it with a horse would be a joke.


    Aldred cut off all of the bandits¡¯ head without hesitation. This action shocked the merchants and the adventurers. They did not expect this young lord to be so cruel.


    Aldred turned them into undead.


    ¡°Tell me. What is your real purpose?¡± Aldred asked.


    Maverick frowned. Why did Aldred ask that question?


    ¡°Master, our true purpose is to make Chanterre unsafe and disrupt its trade route.¡±


    Maverick widened his eyes. They had bandits problem since years ago, but he never thought these thieves would have that intention.


    ¡°Who order you to do that?¡±


    ¡°The bandit leader by the name of Stone Face Barkley.¡±


    ¡°And where is this Barkley?¡±


    ¡­


    Stone Face Barkley, as his name suggested, wore a stoic expression all the time. It was said that even in the face of death, he wouldn¡¯t flinch. Even when he was burned, stabbed, whipped, or even skinned, he wouldn¡¯t make a face.


    Some say when Barkley injected his seeds inside his wife he did not moan, but instead, kept staring at his wife with stone-like expression.


    His unique demeanor and calm attitude made him a great leader.


    Like usual, Barkley was sitting by his tent, staring at the in, waiting for his men to return and send their reports.


    He was waiting for hooves hitting the ground, but instead, a gigantic creature burst out of the ground.


    ¡°What is that?!¡± His subordinates shouted.


    They then widened their eyes after seeing the creature in its full form.


    ¡°We should run!¡±


    ¡°No wait! Look at our leader.¡±


    They all looked at him and noticed his stone-like expression.


    ¡°We should be fine. With our leader here, we can defeat anything.¡±


    ¡°Is that your leader?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    Aldred looked at the bandit leader andughed. ¡°Your face really looks like a stone. So you¡¯re known to never change expressions? Interesting.¡±


    He looked at the other bandits. ¡°You guys want to make a bet. If I can change his expression, all of you must cut your own pp. But if I lose, I will let you all live.¡±


    The bandits were enraged, but after seeing the creature one more time, they decided to not say anything and agreed to the bet instead.


    Aldred cleared his throat. ¡°Stone Face Barkley what a lousy name.¡±


    Barkley stared at him. ¡°Leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°Is that what your dad told you after seeing your face?¡±


    His expression did not change. ¡°This has nothing to do with you. Our battle is farrger than it seems.¡±


    ¡°Before that, I got a little story to tell. One day, a man with his merry wife had two children. One was a boy, and the other was a girl. They led a happy life, but an ident happened and it killed his wife. Sad and depressed, the man went to alcohol to escape his reality. But alcohol changed him. More prone to anger, he took it out on his son. When his son died, the father got drunk and slept with his daughter. Nine monthster, little Barkley popped out. Isn¡¯t that story funny?¡±


    The bandits were confused. What kind of story was that? There was no way the story was true, but when they nced at their leader, they saw his expression changed.


    For the first time!


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Barkley wore a dark expression. His whole body was trembling in anger.


    The bandits and everyone else were beyond shocked. Was the story true?


    Aldredughed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how I know.¡±


    ¡°I will kill you!¡± The leader leaped into the air, raising his sword.


    ¡°Xer Xai, eat him.¡±


    The creature left no dy before she pounced forward and chomped on Barkley.


    The bandits trembled in fear.


    ¡°You guys lost the bet.¡± Aldred grinned. ¡°Cut it off or die? Your choice.¡±


    They flinched. In their eyes, the boy was like a demon that offered them two terrible choices. Both were just as horrible as the others.


    Meanwhile, Mira was looking at Aldred with a frown.

 Chapter 147 Monthiviers

    ¡°Ahh! My pp!¡±


    ¡°Fuck that hurt!¡±


    ¡°Wait, this actually feel good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather die than be an eunuch.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if we should cut our balls as well.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. you sick bastard.¡±


    Aldred killed those who tried to run away with his fire bullets, and let the rest live. ¡°Let these be a reminder of your crime. Get yourself a new life. Be an adventurer or something, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to steal and kill for you to fill your stomach with bread. Now go.¡±


    The bandits scurried away immediately.


    Aldred nced at Barkley¡¯s remain and turned him into an undead. Xer Xai only ate half of him, so Aldred still could turn him into an undead.


    Barkley bowed his undead form on top of Xer Xai¡¯s head.


    ¡°Tell me. Who ordered you to disrupt the trade route in this region.¡±


    ¡°I do not know, master. They gave me a lot of gold coins to attack as many merchants as possible within the Chanterre County.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred nodded and made Barkley vanish. ¡°Someone is trying to give you a hard time, Maverick. Does your father have enemies?¡±


    Maverick bitterly smiled. ¡°As a trusted hand of the emperor, my father received a lot of envy from other nobles. Especially after the emperor assigned morend for my father and even took some parts of the nobles¡¯nd for him.¡±


    ¡°No wonder. Everybody must be trying to shit on you. But why don¡¯t they use tinum Rank and above? I am sure they have a lot of those.¡±


    ¡°There will be war if they use them. tinum Rank cannot be used so lightly. If they dare to be so tant, My father won¡¯t mind taking theirnd by force.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°In that case, I will send my undead all over your territory to kill all the bandits.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem. You helped me a lot. It¡¯s normal for me to do the same.¡±


    Maverick bitterly smiled. ¡°Without you I won¡¯t get the astrbe at all.¡±


    ¡°You also gave me that low Epic staff, so don¡¯t feel like you haven¡¯t given me anything.¡±


    They continued their journey. Aldred told Xer Xai to burrow under the ground to prevent people getting a heart attack from seeing her.


    The vision ahead of them was filled with rocks, dirt, stones, bugs, undergroundkes, caves, and  there are even some secret bases where the people were shocked by him appearing out of nowhere.<sub></sub>


    Xer Xai dug through a secret base. There was a man there sitting on top of a dark rune. The man widened his eyes when he saw a gigantic creature passing through his base.


    ¡°Sorry to bother you. Have a good day!¡± Aldred shouted as he waved at the man.


    Meanwhile the man was in shock. ¡°What was that?¡±


    There were a lot of secret bases down here. And the people within did a lot of weird rituals. One base even did a ritual where they licked a beautiful woman¡¯s armpit.


    ¡°What kind of ritual is that?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°These guys aren¡¯t perverts disguising themselves as ritualists right?¡±


    Meanwhile, Maverick was shocked as well. He did not know there were so many secret bases under his territory. These bases were like ants¡¯ nests. Some were sorge and interconnected with each other while some were so small that Xer Xai identally destroyed them by passing through.


    ¡°Maverick, you need to tell your father to kill all these cockroaches.¡±


    Aldred looked at a group of ritualists who bent down on the floor and sucked their own pp.


    ¡°How can you let people like this remain alive?¡±


    ¡°Pongo.¡±


    ¡°See, even Pongo agrees with me.¡±


    Xer Xai kept digging through base after base. She dug through a thick steel wall, and entered some kind of praying hall.


    A man in a dark robe stood on top of a stage reading some sort of ck bible. ¡°If she refuses to date, her mother you shall impregnate.¡±


    The other ritualist bowed on the floor.


    ¡°Such wisdom. As expected from master pepe.¡±


    ¡°Please guide us, master pepe!¡± they all chanted.


    ¡°If she refuses to give head, her father, you shall go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Master pepe, please die.¡±


    Aldred saw all the ritualists pull out a short de and stabbed the man with the ck robe.


    The man groaned in pain. ¡°If women don¡¯t turn you on, little girls must you grab upon.¡±


    ¡°Master pepe, please be quiet and die.¡±


    Xer Xai quickly passed the base.


    ¡°Well, that was something,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I should really clean these ritualistster.¡±


    ¡°I will lend Xer Xai to you if possible.¡±


    Maverick¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You will?¡±


    If he could bring this creature around town, his name would be feared and his supporters and followers would be more confident in him. After all, who else could ride on top of a Xer Xai?


    After a few hours of traveling underground, Aldred wanted some fresh air, so he told Xer Xai to ascend.


    A gori was having a great ¡®fun¡¯ time with his wife during the day. The male was smiling as he rode on top of his wife from the back.


    Hehe, good wife, good life.


    Suddenly, the ground below them shook and then sted them into the sky.


    Xer Xai crashed into the trees, knocking them away. The birds and squirrel panicked, running from the massive beast.


    Young couples who were deeply in love but are not allowed to be together were naked together in the grass about to have some seggs, but the ground suddenly shook, and they saw arge creatureing towards them.


    Panicking, they ran as fast as they could while naked.


    ¡°What about our seggs?¡± Thedy asked.


    ¡°I am not in the mood anymore, darling.¡±


    Aldred closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Finally, some fresh air.¡±


    In the distance, they saw a grand city right beside a formidable bridge that spanned the wide river.


    The guards on the wall stared at the beast with widened eyes. ¡°Call themander! Arge beast is attacking!¡±


    The guards were about to prepare their defensive treasures, until they saw Lord Maverick waving his hand above the monster.


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s Lord Maverick. The creature is not hostile.¡±


    They were relieved that it was Lord Maverick, but none of them could stay calm with arge beast charging at them. And so they still prepared their magic trinkets and treasures.


    When the creature stopped right in front of the gate, standing higher than the wall itself, that was when they truly realized that this wasn¡¯t an ordinary beast.


    Aldred looked at them with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s up, guys. The weather is nice today, right?¡±


    Maverickughed. ¡°Aldred, I wee you to Monthiviers.¡±

 Chapter 148 Meeting the Lord

    When Aldred and the others hopped off Xer Xai, all the guards were looking at the boy in awe as the gigantic creature acted like a dog in front of the boy.


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Is he Lord Maverick¡¯s friend?¡±


    ¡°I never seen anything like that before much more to even see someone ride on it.¡±


    And then one of the guard realized. ¡°Wait a minute. Isn¡¯t that a Xer Xai?¡±


    ¡°Xer Xai? Thoserge worms in Aringuerao? Impossible?¡±


    The guard pulled out a book that showed a picture simr to the beast. They all stared at the picture and then at the beast with widened eyes.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    When Lord Maverick and his friends walked to the gate, the guards could not help but ask.


    ¡°Lord Maverick. We apologize to interrupt you, but are you the one who tamed this creature?¡±


    Maverick shook his head. ¡°No. This thing is owned by my friend.¡± He pointed at Aldred.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°So it was true. The boy is the one who tamed it.¡±


    Suddenly, someone shouted from the distance.


    ¡°Where is that beast?!¡± Themander came and shouted.


    ¡°Sir, the thing is right in front of you, and is asrge as a mountain. How can you miss it?¡±


    ¡°Shut up or I am cutting your sry!¡±


    They allughed as they knew themander was joking. His rtionship with the guards were close and yful, but they do know their boundaries and know when to be serious.


    He stared at the beast and then at Maverick. ¡°My lord. Is this thing really a Xer Xai?¡±


    ¡°Yes,mander. My friend here fought one on Mount Fargon and turned it into his undead.¡±


    The soldiers were even more shocked to hear that. Turning it into his undead. Didn¡¯t that mean the boy defeated a Xer Xai?


    Themander frowned. ¡°This Xer Xai is a Gold Rank. But that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s weak. In fact, this thing seems to have a greater power but was shackled by some sort of spells. In any case, even a thousand Gold Rank won¡¯t be enough to defeat it. Unless they are the elite Gold Rank.¡±<sub></sub>


    The soldiers were speechless. Theirmander was a Diamond Rank. For him to say that the beast can defeat one thousand Gold Ranks was a great proof of its might.


    And it was also proof that the boy was so much more than he seemed.


    Aldred picked his nose as he listened to all this. Pongo looked at him and followed.


    Looking at the boy and the penguin, it was hard to know that they defeated a Xer Xai and even turn it into an undead.


    Themander stared at the boy. He must be the son of a powerful duke, wait no. At least, he had to be the son of an emperor.


    ¡°Commander,¡± Maverick called. ¡°Aldred and everyone here is my friend. I hope you can treat them properly.¡±


    Themander nodded. After seeing his pet, how could he not treat the boy properly?


    He nced at the boy. So Lord Maverick made a powerful necromancer as a friend. And at first nce, The Lord seemed to have the ambition to take back that wasted province. If he seeded, he would be the sessor for sure.


    ¡®Should I take sides? No. I have been neutral for decades, taking sides now is toote. Besides, I hate politics.¡¯


    Themander cleared his throat. ¡°Let me congratte you on your return, Lord Maverick. I assume you seeded in obtaining the astrbe?¡±


    Maverick smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Not only did you obtain the astrbe, you also obtain great and wonderful friends along the way. But your journey has only begun, why do youe to visit?¡±


    ¡°I want to introduce my friends to my father.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, so that¡¯s¡¯ why.¡± Themander nced at the lord. Lord Maverick wasn¡¯t a fool. He wanted to show off his allies and their power to his father, thereby receiving his supports and possibly getting rewarded in advance. This way, his dreadedpetitor¡ªhis own little brother¡ªwill have a hard time in amassing more allies.


    ¡®It seems the bnce of power will tilt to Lord Maverick this time after years.¡¯


    ¡°If it is okay. I will escort you to the lord¡¯s mansion.¡±


    Maverick epted the offer and called for Aldred. ¡°This is my city. Anything you see, I can give it to you.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    ¡°What about that building?¡± Aldred pointed.


    They all looked at therge sign on the wall of the grand building: Ten Thousand Goddess Brothel.


    Mareona hit his head. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­ I just like how the building looks. That¡¯s all.¡±


    Maverickughed and they walked to the clean and tidy street. The traffic here were organized by traffic police, and there was no jam at all. There were roads for pedestrians and for carriages. It was a well-organized and beautiful city.


    ¡°Your father must be an awesome man.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he is known to bepetent. That¡¯s why the emperor trusts him. By the way, Aldred. I heard you have good eyes and are also good with your hands. I wonder if you can do me a favor.¡±


    Aldred was happy to help. ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°I have a sister. And she has a terrible back pain that always return even after she got cured or massaged. And In fact, her pain seems to get worse after each treatment. Even the Diamond Ranks magician did not know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I will do what I can do.¡±


    Sometimeter, they arrived in front of a massive mansion. Looking from outside, the mansion was boxed by golden fences with beautiful gardens surrounding the building.


    ¡°Wee to my house. Let¡¯s get inside.¡±


    A pair of royal guards pushed the gate and let them in.


    Two beautiful maids greeted them.


    ¡°Wee back, Lord Maverick.¡±


    ¡°Miss, please prepare my friends here some fine meals and beverages. We are tired and would like some wonderful food to fill our hunger.¡±


    The maids bowed. ¡°Certainly, my lord.¡±


    The maids left for the kitchen, and Maverick saw a man stepping down therge set of stairs. He was a tall man wearing an elegant set of clothes.


    ¡°Father.¡±


    His father looked at him nonchntly. To be honest, he wanted to hug his son and give him a pat on the back for his return from Mount Fargon, but s he must be strict or they would never grow to be strong. Such was the heavy responsibility of a father.


    ¡°You brought a friend, I see. My name is Aleron the Count of Chanterre.¡± He nced at them one by one, and then his gaze set upon the boy. His eyes peered through the surface and detected his blood to be the rare type.


    What kind of blood was that? Aleron felt some sort of weird power from it. But he knew for sure the blood was much stronger and better than him.


    Maverick looked at his father, and then smiled. ¡°Let me show you something.¡±

 Chapter 149 Zafrina

    Outside the city, in the vast expansive in, lord Aleron was staring at the gigantic beast with widened eyes.


    Maverick felt excitement rushing through his body when he saw his father¡¯s reaction. Finally, After years of hard work, his father finally wouldpliment him.


    ¡°Is this really a Xer Xai?¡±


    ¡°In the flesh,¡± Aldred said with a smile.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°Father, Aldred fought this beast and defeated it on Mount Fargon. After killing it, he turned it into his undead.¡±


    Aleron stared at the boy. ¡°You are clearly a vampire, but why have I never seen you before?¡±


    ¡°I only turned into a vampire recently.¡±


    Not A pure born? How was that possible?


    Aleron looked at Maverick and tapped his shoulder. ¡°You have done well. Go treat your friends to anything. Make them feel at home.¡±


    Maverick widened his eyes. This was the first time his father talked to him like that. ¡°I will father.¡±


    Aleron¡¯s lips raised a bit, others might not have caught it, but Maverick did. He had been waiting for his approval for decades.


    Maverick smiled wide. He sighed in satisfaction as if all the burden finally disappeared. He jumped and punched the air. ¡°Fuck yeah!¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Maverick then danced around like a child winning a fortnite game. He then bowed at Aldred. ¡°Thank you, Aldred. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re friends. You don¡¯t need to thank me.¡±


    Maverickughed.


    ¡°Humph. It¡¯s just a Gold Rank Xer Xai. What is so special about that?¡±


    A man with pale skin suddenly shouted as he approached them with dozens of subordinates.


    ¡°I see you have return from Mount Fargon, Brother.¡±


    Maverick¡¯s expression turned dark. ¡°Renwick. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°This is my home as well. Or perhaps do you want to kick me out, brother?¡±


    Maverick bit his lip.


    Renwick grinned. ¡°So you have obtained the astrbe. Humph. While you go climb the mountain and sacrifice your blood and tears, I have my subordinates to do it for me.¡±


    An astrbe came out of his body, and floated in front of him.


    ¡°A true lord must have capable andpetent subordinates. We don¡¯t do the grunt work ourselves. That¡¯s not what a lord would do.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°And who are those behind you? Are they your subordinates?¡±


    ¡°They are my friends. I would expect you to not insult them in any way.¡±


    Renwickughed. ¡°Why would I stain my lips for that? My eyes are already dirty enough just by looking at them. If I insult them, they might take it as a blessing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble with me.¡± Maverick red and pulled out his dagger.


    Two elite guards stepped in front of Renwick.


    He grinned. ¡°Did you see that, brother? My guards fight for me, but you risk your own life. That¡¯s just how cheap your life is.¡±


    ¡°For Mareona¡¯s juicy boobs! I have enough of this shit!¡± Aldred shouted. ¡°If your subordinates are so great, then why don¡¯t you let your men fight against my lord¡¯s men.¡±


    ¡°My lord?¡± Renwick raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you are his friend.¡±


    ¡°I am his subordinate, but he treated me as a friend unlike you who treated your subject as trash. But I guess that¡¯s suitable for a trashy lord such as you.¡±


    Renwick frowned. ¡°Are you sure about this, brother?¡±


    Maverick hesitated for a bit. Renwick wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he said his subordinates werepetent. Climbing Mount Fargon and sessfully obtaining the astrbe was proof of what they could do.


    Aldred nodded at him.


    Maverick nodded back. Aldred was a powerful fighter too. With numerous undead and skills, he might defeat Renwick¡¯s subordinates.


    ¡°I will take that challenge.¡±


    Renwick grinned. ¡°What a fool. If you think that Gold Rank Xer Xai can stop my men, you¡¯re dead wrong. If it was a real Xer Xai, then I would back down, but that one is merely a fake.¡±


    Aldred wondered what his reaction would be if he knew that this one was the queen of all Xer Xai. He didn¡¯t bother telling him. Not that the arrogant man would believe him anyway.


    ¡°How do we set the rules?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Only two rules. The winner takes all, and the loser has to run around the city naked.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°You are SO going to regret that.¡±


    ¡°What do you say? Do you agree?¡± Renwick asked.


    Maverick was about to agree until someone shouted from the distance.


    It was a beautiful woman with pale skin and tight dress with wide and long sleeves.


    ¡°You guys! Stop fighting!¡±


    Both brothers nced to the side and said: ¡°Zafrina. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°What does it look like I¡¯m doing? I am preventing you from killing each other.¡± She put her arms akimbo and pouted.


    ¡°We¡¯re not barbarians,¡± Renwick said. ¡°We won¡¯t kill each other.¡±


    ¡°Humph! Now both of you go home or I will pull your ears.¡±


    Renwick stepped forward. ¡°Little sister, why are you so fierce?¡±


    SLAP!


    ¡°Stop asking questions and go home now!¡±


    Renwick blinked a few times and rubbed his cheeks like a child. ¡°A¡ªalright.¡±


    She then red at Maverick who flinched under her gaze.


    ¡°Don¡¯t p me. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°Go home.¡±


    ¡°O¡ªokayy. Come on, guys. I will take you to your room.¡±


    They followed Maverick back to the mansion. Zafrina was following Renwick into his room, and then they all heard the sound of pping and hitting for a few minutes.


    Zafrina opened the door and went out of the room.


    ¡°Maverick. Go to your room. I will escort the guests to their chambers.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Maverick stopped himself when he saw his sister¡¯s re. ¡°I will go to my room now. Sorry, you guys.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. Both brothers werepletely submitted to the sister.


    She then removed her scary expression and showed them the sweetest smile the world had ever seen.


    ¡°I apologize about that. My brothers are not bad people, but they can be troublesome when near each other. Let me bring me to your quarters.¡±


    Aldred and Mira looked at each other and then followed Zafrina inside a beautiful courtyard. The trees were bent in such a way that they made chairs and tables around the ce.


    ¡°All the rooms here are for you to use. Let me know if you need something. I will have Mavericke hereter. Be sure to enjoy yourself.¡±


    Zafrina looked at them with a smile and then her eyesnded on the boy. Her eyes immediately widened when she detected a powerful blood from him.


    Such power¡­ That made Zafrina blush and she immediately said goodbye and left.


    ¡°Wait¡­ ahh toote,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°What did you want to say?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Well, Maverick said his sister has some back problem, and after some ¡®careful¡¯ inspection with my eyes, I do detect problems within her body.¡±


    Aldred left out the fact that he saw through her clothes as well. And he loved what he saw.

 Chapter 150 Bend Down

    Zafrina was running from the hallway. She did not know why, but every time she recalled the feeling of his blood type, her heart beat harder than before.


    She arrived in front of Maverick¡¯s room. Opening the door, she looked at her brother. ¡°Your friend is in the courtyard. You can visit themter. I will tell the maids to prepare some food.¡±


    ¡°I already told them that. But anyway, why are your cheeks red?¡±


    She red at him and mmed the door shut.


    Maverick was speechless. ¡°What did I do?¡±


    Zafrina ran to her room, closed the door, and jumped onto her bed. She put her face in her pillow and screamed. ¡°Why did I run away?¡±


    Her cheeks reddened. ¡°I have never seen that type of blood before. He¡¯s so hot¡­¡± She screamed again and bashed her head onto the pillow while kicking the bed.


    And then she felt her back aching. The muscles tightened from her lower back all the way up to her shoulders and neck. She had been like this since she was a child, but she never got used to it.


    She stood up and stretched her hands upward, trying to loosen up her back muscles. She cracked her neck, and did some shoulder exercises. After that she drank a potion to reduce the pain.


    Zafrina sighed. ¡°The more I drink this potion, the less effective it bes. Sooner orter, this will not be enough to stop the pain.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was lounging around in the courtyard with hisrades. Currently he was in his adult form, and Ivette was sitting on hisp. She blushed. It was her brother that told her to do this. Although she liked it, it was still too embarrassing.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I never got the chance to ask, but where do youe, Ivette?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Ie from Thory.¡±


    ¡°The capital?¡± Mary asked.


    Ivette nodded. ¡°Things there are so expensive, that¡¯s why our parents had to take that debt.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°Everything in that ce is expensive. Even a spit might cost you one gold coin.¡±


    ¡°Considering a Gold Rank only got paid 5 to 10 gold per month, that is very expensive,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Well,¡± Mary started. ¡°The sry there is different too. You can get 100-200 coins per month if you are lucky.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised why not everyone goes to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Competition and opportunity. At first, jobs were easy to get, but since a lot of people moved in, there became less opportunities and too manypetitors. Since then, less people started to move in. And those who moved in usually end up in a slum.¡±


    Ivette nodded. ¡°My father was an immigrant, but he never talked about where he came from. All I know is I was born in Thory, and so does my brother.¡±


    Ivette nced at her brother who was sitting a distance. He used hands to signal her to get closer. Ivette blushed, and moved closer to Aldred while sitting on hisp.<sub></sub>


    Now Raff signaled her to hug him. Ivette did as instructed.


    Aldred was surprised a little at how blunt Ivette became, then he saw Raff give him a wink and a thumbs up. Aldred smiled and gave him a thumbs up as well.


    ¡®Where can I find a supportive brother-inw like him again.¡¯ Aldred smiled.


    ¡°Hey, guys. Enjoying yourself?¡± Maverick came and asked.


    ¡°We love the ce, Maverick,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. The maids wille in a few minutes to bring the food.¡±


    ¡°Where is the kitchen?¡± Bartrem asked.


    Maverick raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s straight through that hall and then to the left.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Bartrem left immediately.


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He has grown fond of cooking.¡±


    ¡°I did not expect that from someone who usually leads charging soldiers against monsters.¡±


    ¡°I did not expect that either. Ever since we began our journey, he¡¯s been growing better and better in cooking. Anyway, I wanted to help your sister with her back pain, but I did not get the chance.¡±


    ¡°I will call for herter. Oh, look. The food is here¡­ Zafrina, why are you bringing the food as well?¡±


    Coming with the maids was Zafrina who elegantly brought the tes and then set the food properly on the tables along with all the utensils.


    ¡°These are your friends that you made in Mount Fargon. Of course I have to treat them properly.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I wonder if you really are my little sister.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, you act like you¡¯re the big sister.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because both of you are too childish. Humph!¡±


    Maverick did not retort back instead asked. ¡°Sister, do you still have back pain?¡±


    ¡°I do. Why?¡±


    ¡°My friend here can help you with it.¡±


    ¡°Eh, who is he? I have never seen him before.¡±


    Maverick was confused at first and thenughed. ¡°That¡¯s Aldred. He can turn to child form and adult form whenever he wants.¡±


    Aldred then morphed into a child with Ivette still in his embrace. ¡°Hello.¡±


    When Zafrina detected his unique blood, she realized that it was true. What an amazing ability.


    ¡°A lot of healers have tried to heal me. Are you sure you can do what they cannot?¡±


    ¡°Zafrina, I can understand you underestimate me, but don¡¯t underestimate my friend here. Have you seen any person ride a Xer Xai before?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I have climbed Mount Fargon with him for quite some time. Give him a chance.¡±


    ¡°Okay. What do I do?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I need a room.¡±


    ¡°A room? You cannot do it here?¡± Maverick asked.


    Aldred shook his head and then whispered something into his ear. Maverick¡¯s expression suddenly turned dark.


    ¡°Are you still okay with that?¡±


    Maverick took a deep breath, and nodded. ¡°I am fine. Anything for my sister.¡±


    Mary raised an eyebrow, wondering what Aldred whispered to him.


    Maverick walked to his sister and whispered something into her ear.


    Zafrina blushed. ¡°Do I really have to?¡±


    ¡°If this works, your back pain will disappear forever.¡±


    Zafrina nodded and they entered a room.


    Only Zafrina and Aldred were inside.


    ¡°Now, bend down and stick your butt out.¡±


    ¡­


    Note: Join the discord server https:///yPtRt29tAg


    Give the authors some threat in his discord server for doing such evil cliff hanger.

 Chapter 151 Pleasure

    Aldred¡¯s hands approached Zafrina¡¯s rear with a calm yet serious expression. He did not seem to be affected by the beatiful peaches in front of him.


    ¡®As expected from a man from a rare blood type. He must be used to this type of scene.¡¯ Zafrina wondered if she could be one of his women.


    Suddenly, Aldred lifted her dress, revealing her snow-white buttocks, silky golden undergarment, and her long smooth legs.


    Her peach-like butt was perky and smooth as Aldred caressed his hand on it. Zafrina trembled before he pushed all of his ten fingers into her soft buttcheeks.


    Zafrina moaned, and then closed her mouth. ¡°Is this necessary?¡±


    ¡°Please be quiet. I need to focus.¡± Aldred activated his godly eyes and massaged her but. His hands was that of a master, kneading and threading like it was dough.


    Zafrina felt confused. It was her back that was in pain, but why did Aldred massaged her butt instead? Although she did not mind that because she felt his vampire blood made her hotter and her own blood seemed to be empowered as well.


    In Thignia. The majority of women prefer men with superior blood type. Only egoistic women would marry men with inferior blood type as they did not want to be below the man.


    Superior blood type gave great satisfaction during intercourse, and some blood were better than the others that it could make women wet just by sensing it.<sub>-.</sub>


    And that was exactly what Zafrina felt right now. She was wet all over down there, and she closed her eyes, hoping that Aldred did not find out.


    Meanwhile, Aldred already saw all the juices leaking out of the undergarment. He pressed harder, making Zafrina trembled even more.


    But after a while, the pain on her back subsided. The tightness of her muscles reduced significantly, and she felt like she was reborn anew. ¡°Ahh¡­ More¡­ please give me more.¡±


    ¡°So you want it that much? Alright, I will make  your pain disappear.¡± Aldred took a deep breath and pped the peaches, creating a loud p sound.


    p! p! p!


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Yes! More!¡±


    Meanwhile Maverick was hearing all this from the rooftop. ¡°I hope Zafrina can make Aldred her man. That person has a great future ahead of him. If Aldred takes her away, all of this politics can be thrown out of the window.¡±


    Maverick smiled. ¡®But I did not expect Zafrina to be good at pulling a man to her. Not even a minute passed and they have already done it. No wonder she¡¯s more mature than me.¡¯<sub></sub>


    ¡°I think something is about toe,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Be prepared.¡±


    Zafrina breathed profusely. ¡°Un.¡±


    Maverick was shocked. ¡®Eh? Are they going to make babies already? That¡¯s even better. If they have a child, Aldred would be more invested on her, and will not leave her. This is such a good development.¡¯


    Zafrina¡¯s lips tingled, and her body trembled even harder. She felt pleasure wash all over her body, and then Aldred slid his hand insider her underwear before pinching her maiden gem¡ªthe clitoris


    The dam within her went wide open, and her mind and body was shut down, releasing the fluid that she held within. The juice kept leaking out of her underwear like a waterfall.


    ¡°Ahh.¡± Zafrina moaned and blushed. She had never experienced an orgams before. Although she had asked the maids about this before, she did not know an orgams could be so good.


    Aldred pulled out his hand that drenched in her virgin liquid.


    ¡°No. Don¡¯t take it out. Please, do it more.¡± Zafrina pleaded with teary eyes.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Aldred inserted his hands again, and massaged her divine cave.


    All the pain in her body had all disappeared. She just couldn¡¯t help but ask Aldred for more because it felt too good.


    After a while, Zafrina¡¯s body became hotter and hotter, and then she pounced on Aldred, kissing him on the lips.


    ¡°Wait, we cannot do this. You¡¯re Maverick¡¯s sister.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. He won¡¯t mind.¡±


    Aldred hesitated.


    ¡°Do you not like me? Am I not good enough?¡± She looked at him with teary eyes.


    ¡°No. You look beautiful and stunning.¡±


    ¡°Then please.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Zafrina¡¯s moan rang until dawn came. She fell on his chest, breathing haggardly. Aldred¡¯s love seeds flowed out of her divine cave.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡­


    After dressing up, Aldred and Zafrina came out of her room. Maverick was already there waiting for them.


    ¡°So, did you make babies¡ª I mean is your back pain gone?¡±


    Zafrina moved her back, shoulders, and neck. ¡°The pain is gone. I can move around morefortably.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    Zafrina hugged and kissed Aldred. ¡°It¡¯s because of you.¡±


    Maverick saw her attitude towards Aldred change from polite to affection. He was happy for that, but also felt kind of sad. The little sister he knew was a grown adult now, but thankfully she got a good man to apany her.


    ¡°Will you bring me with you?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to go with me? Where I will go will be filled with danger and trials. And I am not nning to stay in this continent forever. Are you willing to leave your home?¡±


    Zafrina looked at him with hesitation. She looked at her brother, and  then shook her head. ¡°I am sorry. I cannot leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°That is fine.¡±


    ¡°But stay here for a while. I heard your astrbe is not yet activated, so you can wait here.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Zafrina was so happy and excited she jumped on him and kissed his neck. Suddenly, her heart thumped like a hammer against stone. Her eyes turned red, and her fangs came out.


    She bit on Aldred¡¯s neck, and suck his blood. As Aldred¡¯s blood entered her system. Something changed within her body. An evolution of some sort, and her blood boiled. She felt heat within her but she kept on sucking his blood until a powerful blood aura burst out of her.

 Chapter 152 Competition

    Everyone looked at Zafrina with widened eyes. The powerful aura that came out of her could be felt by everyone. Something changed in her appearance. She became more mature. Her bosoms and buttocks grew bigger. Overall, she became even more beautiful than before.


    After a while the aura dissipated and she opened her eyes.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I¡­I evolved,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°I can feel it. All of my racial abilities are stronger now.¡±


    She raised her hand and a clump of blood appeared. It spun like a typhoon around arge tree. When she clenched her fist, the blood exploded  and the tree was nowhere to be seen.


    Zafrina¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is amazing.¡±


    She turned to Aldred and hugged him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Maverick smiled when he saw Zafrina in Aldred¡¯s embrace. Everything went so well.


    A royal guard in majestic armor walked from the hall and bowed to them. ¡°Lord Maverick. Your father has summoned you. He asked for you to bring your friend.¡±


    Maverick nodded. He didn¡¯t even ask why his father summon him. ¡°Come on, Aldred.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred nodded. ¡°You guys enjoy the food. I will be going with Maverick for a bit.¡±


    Sophia nodded. ¡°I will keep your food warm.¡±


    ¡®You should keep my bed warm as well.¡¯ Aldredughed at his own joke.


    Maverick, Aldred, and Zafrina went together.


    As they were walking through the hallway, Aldred looked at Maverick. ¡°Why do you think he summoned us?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. We will know when we meet him.¡±


    A few minutester, they arrived in front of an office. The guards let them in, and there they saw Renwick.


    Maverick red at him, but they did not quarrel like they did on the in.


    Lord Aleron looked at them nonchntly. ¡°There is news that bandits and evil ritualists are running around our county. The both of you will hunt them and bring them here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father,¡± Maverick and Renwick said.<sub></sub>


    Aleron nodded. He had been feeling some animosity between the two brothers. He hoped this task could knit their rtionship to how it was before.


    Meanwhile, Maverick and Renwick stared at each other. Lightning sparked between them.


    They understood what their father wanted; Competition. As the trusted hand of the emperor, Count Chanterre had numerous Diamond Ranks to cleanse these bugs, but their father decided to let them do this instead.


    There could only be one meaning for that. Father wanted  them to show their strength. To see who is better than the other. This was also an opportunity for them to amass more supports.


    They left the office not long after that.


    Aldred was relieved when he exited the office. He could feel some tension there. The two brothers did not even say anything, and Lord Aleron only said two sentences. The man seemed to treat his words as gold.


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Aldred asked as they walked back to the courtyard.


    ¡°We hunt for some bandits and every criminal we find.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Zafrina are youing with us?¡±


    Zafrina shook her head. ¡°I cannot.¡± If she went with Aldred that meant she picked Maverick¡¯s side. Her brothers¡¯ rtionship was not good right now. She did not want Renwick to misunderstand.


    She sighed inside. Would there be ever a day they would return to the old days?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You must also be busy doing¡­ doing whatever the daughter of a count must be doing. What do you do anyway?¡±


    Zafrina giggled. ¡°I eat cupcakes and drink tea.¡±


    In reality, she been recruiting loyal maids that she picked up from a desperate situation. These maids would serve under all critical ces and eavesdrop on important figures under her father. Should they n to harm any of her family members, they¡¯d be dead with poison in their throat.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Zafrina smiled and hugged his left arms. ¡°I told the maids to make some cup cakes for us.¡±


    When they arrived at the courtyard, Sophia beckoned for him to sit.


    The food was still warm with steaming out of them. ¡°Thanks for keeping it warm, Sophia.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we don¡¯t need to thank each other?¡± Sophia kissed him on the cheek.


    Aldredughed. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Mary grabbed a te and added some food on it before cing the te in front of him. ¡°You need to eat a lot to grow.¡±


    Mareona grabbed some fruits and ced it beside the te.


    Mira took a ss and filled it with golden water before giving it to him.


    Ste casted a glowing halo on top of his head to keep him warm.


    Ivette came from the back and massaged his shoulders, neck, and head.


    ¡°Oh, this feels so good.¡±


    Zafrina felt a little bit of pain in her heart when she saw Aldred being taken care of by his women. She wanted to join in, but she felt left out since she would not apany him in his journey.


    ¡®How I wish I don¡¯t have anything that shackles me. This county and this family are too important for me to leave behind.¡¯


    Just as she was about to leave, Aldred called her. ¡°Zafrina, where are you going? Didn¡¯t you say you will share a cupcake with me?¡±


    Zafrina turned to look at his smiling face. The others were also smiling at her.


    ¡°Would you like to join us?¡± Mira asked.


    Zafrina held the tears in her eyes. She wiped her eyes, and smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±


    They ate and chatted for the whole day. The maids kept oning, taking the empty tes out, and giving them more food.


    After a while, Bartrem finally came back.


    ¡°Bartrem, how¡¯s the kitchen?¡±


    Bartrem shook his head. ¡°I felt like a bumpkin. There¡¯s a lot of magical treasures in the kitchen and I know nothing of them. I still have so much to learn.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ve been cooking good food for us during our travel. I love your food, soo cheer up.¡±


    ¡°I am d you do.¡±


    ¡°Now fill up your stomach. After this, we have some bandits to hunt.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell your undead to do that?¡±


    ¡°I did. I should tell them to stop killing and instead capture these criminals.¡±

 Chapter 153 Wildlings Gang

    While Aldred and everyone else enjoyed their food in the courtyard, the whole bandits and all the criminals in the county were panicking.


    Almost all criminals activity were put to a halt. From killing, ****, extortion, homicide, kidnapping, and stealing. Everyone was hiding, not daring to show their face.


    The gangs and other criminal syndicates wereying low under the rug.


    At night, a man with a ck robe that hid his face was walking in a crowded area. He bumped into a wealthy man, and apologized before walking away into an alley.


    The manughed. ¡°Those cowardly fools. What are they afraid of? Look at how many gold coins I got without anypetitors.¡± He opened the gold pouch that he just stole from the wealthy man.


    The man snorted. ¡°Even the Wildlings Gang went into hiding. Seems like they weren¡¯t that great after all.¡±


    Suddenly, a shadow zipped into the alley. The man turned around and frowned. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    He clicked his tongue. ¡°I am not scared like those cowards!¡±


    Nothing appeared. ¡°Was it just my imagination?¡±


    The man turned around, and he saw a hideous undead with purple mist enveloping its body. It was as if the mist was a me, constantly burning the undead. Its hollow eyes glowed and it grabbed his neck.


    The man struggled to breathe as the undead raised its spear.


    ¡°Scared now?¡± The undead grinned and the spear went through the man¡¯s body. ¡°Oh what have I done. My master told me not to kill. Hmmm. I am sure Be can fix that hole in your stomach.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    The both of them disappeared into the shadows. The alley was empty, devoid of blood or flesh.


    ¡­


    After finishing up their meals, Aldred and the others went to bed to sleep. Surprisingly, Zafrina went inside Aldred¡¯s bed too, and they all slept together.


    The next day.


    Maverick was knocking on Aldred¡¯s door.


    Zafrina opened the door. ¡°Hello, brother.¡±


    Maverick blinked. ¡°You look like you¡¯re having fun.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Zafrina giggled.


    Maverick could only smile at that.


    Aldred woke up and walked to him. ¡°Are we going now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Even though your undead are already working on it, I think we should do some hunting too.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Alright, I am bored anyway.¡± He turned around and looked at his women who were half naked and covering themselves with a nket. ¡°You guys stay here okay? I willl go y with Maverick.¡±


    ¡°I will take them around the city,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°We will go shopping! Right, girls?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°And then we will go to the mansion¡¯s hot bath!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°And then we can finger each other!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    They all looked at Sophia weirdly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred and Maverick were riding on top of Xer Xai as he scoured the in. Teethless and his Air Cavalry consisted of 55 Bajaragon were currently scouting ahead.


    Suddenly, Teethless sent a message inside his head, telling him that 400 meters southwest there is a group of bandits attacking a caravan.


    Aldred told some of his Bajaragon to attack, and then he continued scouring thend.


    ¡°This has be too ineffective. Teethless. Scatter and capture any criminals you see.¡±


    The Air Cavalry immediately obeyed and went in different directions.


    ¡°Will,¡± Aldred called. ¡°Bring your Bestial Assassins all around the county. Remember. Don¡¯t kill the bandits. We need them alive.¡±


    All 55 Phantom ws ran with incredible speed.


    ¡°I already sent Nicky, Be, Crook, and Brook out. So the surface and the sky should be dealt with. Should we go underground?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Maverick said.


    ¡°Xer Xai. Bring us down.¡±


    The creature roared and burrowed the earth. In mere seconds he was already 600 meters below the surface, leaving arge hole.


    ¡°Xer Xai. Can you close your hole after you make them? It makes thendscape look ugly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    The hole closed, and Xer Xai continued burrowing through the ground. She prated a steel wall and entered an underground base.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± A man in a dark robe said.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Aldred pointed and sent a fire bullet that struck his leg.


    ¡°Ahh! Bastard!¡±


    Aldred jumped off Xer Xai and grabbed the man by the neck before mming him to the wall. ¡°Tell me who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am telling you nothi¡ª¡±


    Aldred cut off the man¡¯s arm with a water jet stream that came out of his finger.


    ¡°My arm! You fucker!¡±


    Aldred pped him. ¡°Now tell me before I cut off your other arm.¡±


    The man gritted his teeth. ¡°I am one of the Wildlings Gang. The most feared gang on this continent. You fool, you just made an enemy of an international gang. We will kill you, **** your mama and sister, and even kill your children. We have done it many times. Any time we attack, entire families will be wiped out. HAHAHA.¡±


    ¡°The Wildlings Gang you say?¡± Maverick asked.


    The man turned to look at Maverick. ¡°So it was you. The son of Lord Aleron. Don¡¯t be too happy, Lord Maverick. Although your father is powerful, our gang has many ways to make your life miserable. I heard you have a beautiful sister. Oh just thinking about her makes my rod hard. I am sure my brothers will have some fun with her sooner orter.¡±


    Maverick stabbed the man¡¯s neck, and then his de sucked in all the blood. The man¡¯s body deted and he fell to the ground.


    ¡°I never heard of Wildlings Gang before. Are they that famous?¡±


    ¡°They are. They exist in almost every continent, and they do not care about race or nationality.¡±


    ¡°So they have no racism within the group. They do better than all the empires in that regard.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of them as the good guys. Their only motto is ¡®Kill, Steal, ****¡¯. They¡¯re not people. They¡¯re animals that won¡¯t flinch when they kill babies and females.¡±


    ¡°Why are they doing such a thing?¡±


    ¡°I do not know.¡±


    ¡°Well, we should interrogate every member to find more hideouts of this gang. This one might not tell, but I have some tricks that can make them talk.¡±

 Chapter 154 Digging

    The underground base was like a nest with numerous tunnels that interconnected to each other and linked to dozens of caves that act as housing, storage, and facilities for their rituals and some sort of drugb.


    Aldred found some potion bottles and white powder wrapped in paper.


    ¡°This powder is made from Magic Powder,¡± Maverick said. ¡°Don¡¯t be tricked by the name magic. All it does is give you hallucinations that make you feel good.¡±


    ¡°So these people are drug dealers.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s one of their main sources of ie besides extortion.¡±


    A man walked inside theb. ¡°Don¡¯t consume them too much. We need to sell them or the boss will kill us. Eh, who are you guys?¡±


    Aldred looked into the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Eye of Nightmare.¡±


    His eyes changed into deep dark, and the man¡¯s face turned expressionless. Suddenly, the man screamed in pain before rolling on the ground. He wed his face, ripping off the skin, and then bit off his own fingers.


    ¡°AHHH! It hurts! NO. DON¡¯T! AGHH!!¡±


    Aldred transformed his stick into a sword and stabbed  the man¡¯s thigh. The man came out of the nightmare and screamed again.


    ¡°Tell me. Where is the other base of Wildlings Gang.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t know. The gang is loosely affiliated with each other. We don¡¯t know where their secret base is.¡±


    ¡°Smart,¡± Aldred said. ¡°That means I just have to find all the bases and kill everyone. Since no one can answer my question, I will kill everybody.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no. Don¡¯t kill me. I was forced to join this gang. Nobody can leave once you join.¡±


    ¡°What happens if you leave?¡±


    ¡°They will torture my family and kill them. I have seen someone try. I have seen how they tortured him before hanging him inside his own home. But before that, they killed his wife and children right in front of him.¡±


    ¡°How cruel.¡±


    ¡°Please. Don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°I cannot do that, because I cannot trust you. But I will kill all Wildlings Gang in this region that way, your family and everyone¡¯s family will be safe.¡±


    ¡°Maverick, your father won¡¯t mind if I bring the corpses instead right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. But at least let the leader live for interrogation if we ever find one.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred nodded and raised his palm. ¡°This won¡¯t be painful.¡±


    He manipted the blood inside the man¡¯s brain to explode. Instantly killing the man without any pain.


    They both jumped on top of Xer Xai.


    ¡°Xer Xai. Kill everyone in this ce and destroy this base.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Xer Xai burroweed under the ground while  wing the walls. The ceilings fell and everything came into ruins. All the facilities, storages, and drugs were all buried.


    When they found some treasures Aldred kept them in his inventory. After a while, they finally found the leader. He was a Gold Rank warrior with thick armor, but in front of Xer Xai, he was merely an ant.


    Xer Xai mmed her ws to hold the man on the ground.


    ¡°I was nning to interrogate you, but turning you to undead seems to be faster. I will let Lord Aleron ask the questions after that.¡±


    The man couldn¡¯t even say any words before he was killed and turned into an undead. Aldred asked if he knew where the other base was or not just in case, but as expected, even the leader of this base did not know.


    After destroying the base, Xer Xai burrowed through the earth to find more bases. She had a powerful detection ability. Even without eyes, she could sense more than a normal human.


    Not long after, Xer Xai prated through another base. They seemed to enter some sort of wide hall that was designed for a ritual room.


    There were a lot of people here wearing dark robes. And someone familiar was standing in the center.


    ¡°Protect master Pepe!¡±


    ¡°Protect master Pepe!¡±


    Everyone raised their staff, swords, and shields.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you were killed.¡±


    ¡°Those who dare to harm master Pepe are traitors. We killed those traitors yesterday and swore to protect master Pepe.¡±


    ¡°Alright, whatever. Tell me. Are you affiliated with the Wildlings Gang?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    ¡°Then fucking die.¡± Aldred raised his hand and clenched his fist. Suddenly, all the cultists exploded into blood.


    Only master pepe was left alive.


    ¡°If your girl says you¡¯re gay, her mother you shall y.¡±


    ¡°Alright, time for you to die as well.¡±


    ¡°If a nun prevent you from sin, her anal you shall go in.¡±


    Aldred quickly killed him before he said another word. He sighed. ¡°These people are truly evil.¡±


    Maverick nodded in agreement. ¡°He¡¯s truly a master. Even in the face of death, he didn¡¯t even flinch or beg for mercy.¡±


    Aldred summoned master Pepe on top of Xer Xai to ask him some questions. ¡°Tell me. Do you know the other base of Wildlings Gang?¡±


    ¡°Dig.¡±


    ¡°Dig?¡±


    ¡°Digging on your sister you must.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! This guy is broken. Even being an undead he still talks like this.¡±


    Aldred willed master Pepe to disappear into dark mist.


    The three of them; Xer Xai, Maverick, and Aldred continued to dig around for a base. This time, the base was more reinforced and thicker. It was thick enough for Xer Xai to struggle for one second.


    After prating the wall, an alert came like a siren with slight magical noises.


    Suddenly, a lot of people with proper armor and weapons came.


    ¡°A monster?¡±


    ¡°No. Someone breached our base! Unit 1, 2, and 3 attack the beast and wait for reinforcement!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    They were currently in arge tunnel. Large enough for Xer Xai to stand. In front of them, the enemy magicians cast a shield that protected the infantry as they slowly marched forward with a thick shield.


    ¡°Archers, attack!¡±


    Dozens of arrows bounced off Xer Xai¡¯s skin and exoskeleton.


    ¡°Shit! Bring in the weapon!¡± The enemies parted, revealing a giant magic balista.


    They fired immediately, and the bolt was covered in lightning before it lodged inside Xer Xai¡¯s head.

 Chapter 155 Baldus & Arnott

    Xer Xai roared and shot out a ball of purple energy that sted the enemies to bits. She pounced forward and swiped everything with her ws.


    ¡°Keep firing!¡±


    Dozens of these lightning-covered bolts shot towards Xer Xai. She opened her jaws and fired arge purple energy at them. When the energy passed through the bolts, they turned into mist and vanished before the energy mmed into the enemies.


    They didn¡¯t even have the chance to scream.


    ¡°This is the power of Xer Xai. Even if all the enemies were at Gold Rank, she could easily kill them all,¡± Maverick said. ¡°Of course, you are an abnormality, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°Killing this thing is not that easy.¡±


    ¡°If her power is unshackled, I don¡¯t think anyone in this world would have a chance. To my knowledge, the weakest Xer Xai ever found could match and highly kill a tinum Rank. So to see one in Gold Rank was almost impossible.¡±


    ¡°Well, the world shackled her power and used her as a test. I am lucky to have a pet like her. Look at her eating those bandits like they were snickers.¡±


    ¡°Snickers?¡±


    ¡°Some type of chocte with nuts.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Maverick nodded.


    30 warriors in thick armor ran towards them. They raised their spear and threw them. Aldred analyzed the trajectory of the spear, and determined that all of them would miss.


    Less than a secondter, the spears zipped past him. It wasn¡¯t even close. But suddenly, the spears shot out strings from its handle and it wrapped around Xer Xai¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Haha! The beast is tied. Kill it and those two who ride on it!¡±


    Xer Xai moved her legs a little and the strings snapped.


    Everyone was silent.


    ¡°Did they really think they could stop a Xer Xai with strings?¡± Maverick shook his head.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Lay down your weapons and surrender. I won¡¯t kill you. If you resist, then I have no choice.¡±


    ¡°The Wildlings Gang will never surrender. We kill, ****, and conquer!¡±<sub></sub>


    Xer Xai opened her mouth. Powerful purple light started shining in her throat. And then she shot a straight beam of purple energy that destroyed everything in its path.


    The 30 warriors were nowhere to be seen.


    Xer Xai ran deeper into the tunnel. A dozen gang members jumped out from the hole in the ceiling andnded on the beast. They brandished their weapons at Aldred.


    ¡°Stop this beast or we will kill you.¡±


    Aldred stood up and transformed his stick into an upper rare grade sword. ¡°There are 12 of you and one of me. I am bored waiting for the astrbe to be activated, so I am going to have fun hunting you Wildlings Gang.¡±


    ¡°Humph! Arrogant! We will make sure to kill your families as well.¡±


    The 12 bandits charged forward and Aldred blocked them with ease. Maverick wasn¡¯t even standing as he calmly watched the show. He had full confidence in Aldred after traveling with him to Mount Fargon.


    If these bandits knew what Aldred fought in that mountain, they wouldn¡¯t even dare to look at his eyes.


    One bandit stabbed his neck. Aldred smiled, and raised his left shoulder, knocking the sword into the air. With a single sh, the bandit¡¯s head fell.


    The bandits were shocked and backed away a few steps.


    ¡°What is this? You guys are scared now?¡± Aldred asked with a grin. ¡°Only in front of harmless children and mothers you guys act so tough. In front of me, you act like cowards.¡±


    Maverick blinked. He actually thought that the Wildlings members were brave. They even fought a Xer Xai without fear, but he didn¡¯t say anything to Aldred.


    The bandits gritted their teeth and fought him.


    Aldred smiled. These gangs members had egos that they couldn¡¯t control. When someone insulted them, they just couldn¡¯t help but fight. Foolish.


    He rushed towards them and dodged all of their attacks. Compared to that old man guardian on the mountain. Their attacks were too slow. Too slow that he yawned as he dodged a sh at his eyes.


    Aldred spun. His de shed at the man¡¯s waist. He rushed forward, pushing his de into the man¡¯s chest, prating his heart. Ducking down, dodging three swords that went for his neck, Aldred shed in a wide arc.


    ¡°AHH! MY LEG!¡±


    ¡°YOU CUT MY LEG!  YOU BASTARD!¡±


    ¡°You got lucky! He cut my balls!¡±


    ¡°How the fuck did that even happen?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Aldred shouted. He summoned his undead and told them to bring these bandits away.


    The undead pulled them into the Divine Dimension and kept them there.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving forward,¡± Aldred said. ¡°By the way, Xer Xai. Try not to kill too much. We want these criminals alive.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    Xer Xai changed her energy beam into a non lethal one. Instead of disappearing into mist, their nerves to the limbs were killed, making them unable to move, but still could talk and think.


    His undead army came out of the darkness and pulled these people away.


    At the end of the tunnel, Aldred saw some sort of fortress with around 200 soldiers in thick armor standing in a formation in front of the thick steel gate. Atop the wall,rge crossbows setup with long-bow archers drawing their arrows.


    Two tall and bulky men stood atop the wall and stared at Aldred.


    ¡°Friend, we are Baldus and Arnott. Themander of this base. I am sure you don¡¯t want to mess with the Wildlings Gang. Why don¡¯t we stop the fighting here and make friends instead?¡±


    The two bulky men had an identical appearance. To their clothes, and even to their weapons.


    ¡°Twins?¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I have heard of them. They are said to have great potential and always work together. They rose through the ranks, and now became a basemander.¡±


    ¡°A Gold Rank is enough to be a basemander?¡±


    ¡°tinum Rank probablymanded multiple bases at once, and maybe they have their own secret base that we better not find or we will die.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they be scared of your status?¡±


    ¡°This gang is not like any others. They would never shy away from killing if they got the chance.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°And they expect to make friends with us? Damn, these twins are good with words. I should have a little talk with them.¡±

 Chapter 156 Fighting The Twin

    ¡°Sorry, but I refuse to be friends with the likes of you. I don¡¯t **** children, you see.¡±


    ¡°In that case, die!¡±


    The heavy crossbows fired bolts after bolts wrapped in lightning. Maverick threw a scroll that burned in the air, casting a red, transparent shield over them. The bolts bounced off the shield. The majority of the bolts went towards Xer Xai, slightly prating her scales and skin.


    ¡°Keep attacking the monster!¡±


    Aldredughed. The bolts did nothing to hurt Xer Xai because she was an undead. Even if she was destroyed, Aldred could summon her again without any cost.


    Xer Xai roared, sending out a wave of powerful wind that shook the wall. The army was pushed back a couple steps just by the wind alone.


    ¡°What a powerful roar. Just the wind itself is enough to push our formation.¡±


    Xer Xai fired a couple purple energy balls that exploded upon contact.


    BOOM! Following the explosion, the 200 soldiers¡¯ formation had fallen, and the steel gate was blown apart. The vibration alone even managed to destroy some parts of the fall, falling on many archers andrge crossbowmen atop the wall.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°That is not a normal beast!¡± Baldus muttered in horror. ¡°That¡¯s a Xer Xai.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s face turned ashen as they trembled in fear.


    Basically everyone in Thignia knew the legendary creature Xer Xai that haunted thend of Aringuerao. These creatures were considered gods by some, and even worshipped as true gods. Now that they realized they were facing such a legendary creature, the gang members started to falter.


    ¡°Surrender and you won¡¯t be killed. Resist, and face my wrath!¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him!¡± Arnott said. ¡°He is sent here by Lord Aleron. The one beside him is his son, Maverick. The noble will kill us for what we did in this county. We either fight or die trying.¡±


    The gang members got their fighting spirit back after that. Since they would be killed, they will fight till the very end.


    ¡°Kill that beast first!¡± Baldus shouted.


    The roar of battle cry came from inside the fortress and numerous warriors and magicians ran out of the gate.<sub></sub>


    The magicians raised their staff, and sentrge boulders towards the creature.


    ¡°Xer Xai, you may wreak havoc.¡±


    The creature pounced forward and mmed the warriors to smithereens. Every time she swiped her ws, dozens of warriors were killed.


    Aldred turned the dead ones into undead and will only keep them after Lord Aleron finishes questioning them. He did not have any use for these dirty criminals.


    Even as undead, they were not worthy.


    Another dozen 7 meters long bolts shot at the creature but she ignored it. The magicians sent out fireballs,rge boulders, and icy spears.


    Aldred sent fire bullets to kill these magicians. His bullets were more powerful and precise than before, so when they cast magic shields to block, they shattered immediately.


    ¡°Lord Maverick, you better stop your friend or the Wildlings gang will retaliate against your family. Your rival noble house will surely be d to support our battle against you.¡±


    ¡°I am not afraid of a mere gang. Aldred, please capture them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say the word please to me.¡± Aldred smiled. He pointed both of his index fingers and fired numerous bullets like an A-10 Warthog.


    All the targets got their limbs blown away. After a moment, all of them fell. His undead went to work immediately, pulling them inside his Divine Dimension.


    The enemies screamed as they saw a hideous creature pulling them into the darkness.


    Baldus and Arnott frowned.


    They did not know where their subordinates were taken, but they now realized that the boy mastered space maniption. And not only that, he was a necromancer, and also a magician.


    They had never seen someone like that in their whole lives. The boy was an exotic existence. Usually, someone like that would never reach Diamond Rank. At most, they would reach tinum.


    But since they were so rare, they could be sold at high prices.


    Baldus and Arnott¡¯s frown turned into a grin.


    ¡°If we sell him we can make our base bigger and expand our operation to other regions,¡± Baldus said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take him. I think that Xer Xai is a fake one. If it¡¯s real, we would be dead by now. But I think we can sell the creature too.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people in Thignia would be willing to buy that thing.¡±


    Even though Aldred had defeated a lot of their subordinates which were at the Gold Rank, the rank could be divided into two types. Ordinary and Elite. An Elite Gold Rank could defeat dozens of Gold Rank at once.


    This happened because it took a long time for everyone to break through tinum, and so, the talented geniuses increased their strength through different ways.


    Some Gold Rank were so powerful that they could even be considered pseudo-tinum Rank. Although this term wasn¡¯t that popr because tinum Rank was still a lot more powerful.


    ¡°If we can capture the three of them, I am sure the boss will give us some treasure to help us achieve tinum Rank, and be assigned to even more bases.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±


    The both of them leaped off the wall. Light shone on their hands, and a steel chain appeared.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Xer Xai, stay here. Let me have fun with these two.¡±


    Aldred dashed forward and shed. Their sh sent out a powerful shockwave in every direction.


    Theynded on the ground, and the twins threw the chains at him. Aldred calmly walked forward as the two chains went past his ears.


    Suddenly, the chain moved and tried to wrap around his head. Aldred ducked and attacked.


    The three of them moved like a master. Even Maverick, an assassin type warrior, was impressed by their speed and precision.


    ng! ng! ng! The sound of metal against metal rang out, and Aldred wasughing while the twin brothers were gritting their teeth, struggling against his attacks.

 Chapter 157 Spirit Long Sword

    Aldred shed, pushing both brothers a few steps back. They gritted their teeth and stared at him with fury.


    ¡°Aldred, take this weapon,¡± Maverick shouted. He threw a long sword along with its scabbard. It was twice as tall as a man, and impossible to use in his child form.


    So he morhped into adult form, caught the scabbard before putting it over his shoulder and on his back. ¡°This is heavier than I thought.¡±


    Aldred melted the sheated sword into his All Devouring Stick, after that he transformed the stick back into the sword.


    ¡°I bought that sword from someone who is not from this continent. He said it was made from a powerfulva monster. And it said to contain a spirit. Not sure what that meant, but I cannot use it properly, so you can have it.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°This is good sword.¡± He analyzed it with his godly eyes and this sword indeed had spirit in it.


    Well, at least he suspected the small glowing thing on the sword was a spirit. The glow could only be detectable when he activated his godly eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try this.¡± Aldred turned to look at the twin. ¡°Why are the both of you just stand there? You even let me take my new weapon and talk to my friend. You guys need some basic training.¡±


    The twin brother snorted. The reason why they did not attack was because they realized Aldred did not drop his guard at all when talking to Maverick.<sub>-.</sub>


    Only a fool would attack when he feign to drop his guard.


    Aldred rushed forward, the sword raised over the back of his head. He did not know this move, but it felt natural for his body. It was as if the spirit helped him to do this technique.


    The two brother did not expect Aldred to change his fighting style. At first he was quick, but used less power in his attack. This let them block a couple of attacks, but they knew this attack wouldn¡¯t be light.


    When the sword was swung down, they didn¡¯t even bother to block as they rolled away to dodge. If Aldred was using his normal fighting style, they wouldn¡¯t dodge because he would follow up with another quick attack, so dodging was a mistake in that situation.


    In this case, Aldred used a long sword that was heavy enough for powerful blow, but wouldn¡¯t be quick enough for a follow up attack.


    At least, that was what they thought.


    His de quickly shed horizontally which was almost impossible to do with a sword that heavy. Even Aldred was shocked by his own movement.


    Suddenly he rushed forward. His body glowed in red at the same time when his de shed at the enemy. The glow was just for a single moment when he swung his sword.<sub></sub>


    The enemy blocked with the chain,  but the weight and power pushed him back. Aldred leaped at him again, repeating the same thing.


    As if something told him to shout, Aldred roared. ¡°Spirit sh!¡±


    His body glowed in red brighter as he attacked once. And then twice, and then thrice. That was when something happened to the balde.


    A white light outlined the de. He did not know what it was, but something told him to attack more.


    Baldus gritted his teeth as he blocked Aldred¡¯s basic attack.


    Arnott came rushing at him from the side, Aldred anticipated that. ¡°Lateral Step sh!¡±


    His long de spun from above his head from the left and to then to the right as he leaped to the side.


    Surprised by the unexpected move, Arnott was cut right on his shoulder.


    Aldred rushed forward and attacked again and again. As he attacked, he noticed there was a red color was increased from the hand-guard up to the middle of the de. It slowly increased to the tip, and that feeling returned again.


    His feet left the ground, attacking the enemy with horizontal sh as his body glowed in red. ¡°Spirit sh!¡±


    After finishing one attack, the red color on the sword reduced by a third. When he attacked again, the red color reduced again. ¡°Spirit sh Twice


    Aldred attacked for the third time. Pushing the twin by two steps. He then ran to them and shouted. ¡°Spirit sh Thrice!¡±


    His de and body glowed in red longer this time as he shed left and right before sending an overhead sh.


    He then stepped forward, spun, and performed a sweep attack. ¡°Spirit Round sh!¡±


    A powerful red energy enveloped him and his de were glowing thick red for that single moment as his sword passed through the twin¡¯s bodies.


    But after the attack, their bodies were not cut, instead, their power were weakened as if a part of their souls were sliced.


    ¡°This sword is perfect for fighting against an opponent far stronger than me. If I can tear down their strength bits by bits, I will surely win in a prolonged battle.¡±


    All these times, Aldred¡¯s enemy had always been an easy fight. They either die after one attack or two. Only Elite level entity such as the Forgotten Warrior and Xer Xai could make him struggle, and if not for using tricks to defeat them, he wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.


    The white outline on the sword turned orange and Aldred felt his strength and speed increased. He raised an eyebrow. So this weapon not only weakened the enemy, but also empowering him?


    Baldus and Arnott were at their exhaustion points by now. All Aldred¡¯s attacks were heavy and quick. The weapon was well-rounded in damage, speed, and mobility. Not to mention it had a long reach due to its length.


    ¡°Brother, we have to use our ultimate skill or we¡¯re going to die at this point,¡± Baldus said.


    Arnott nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±


    Suddenly, a powerful aura burst out from the two. They went into a wide stance, spun their chains in the air, and  then whipped it at Aldred from two different directions.


    The wind around them were cuts into pieces as if there were numerous des shing and hacking in the air.


    Aldred also felt a pressure force that weighed down on him, making it hard for him to move. That was when something entered his mind. The sword spirit talked to him not with words or bodynguage, in fact Aldred did not know why, but he somehow understood what the spirit meant just by using his intuition and feeling.


    He waited for the chains to strike him instead of trying to dodge it. When the chain struck his head, Aldred¡¯s body moved backward while pulling the de. Sparkling blue aura enveloped him, and the chain passed through his body as it was merely an illusion.


    ¡°Foresight sh!¡±


    Aldredunched forward and performed a horizontal sh that created arge wound across their stomach.


    The twin brother spat out blood as they dropped their chain.


    Aldred noticed the outline turned from orange to red. The red aura spun around the blood then around him. The spirit guided his body into a proper stance before he bent his knees and kicked the ground to perform an attack.


    ¡°Spirit Thrust!¡±


    The long de struck their waist, Aldred then leaped into the air, and execute a downward sh. The tip of the de created a red trail of energy that went down between the two brother.


    When the swordnded to the ground, time seemed to freeze for a single moment before the air burst into powerful red energy that cut everything around it.


    ¡°AHH!¡± The two brothers screamed as they fell to the ground. Their bodies were intact, but Aldred could feel their power were reduced to Silver Rank.


    ¡°What a scary weapon,¡± Aldred said.

 Chapter 158 More Wealth and Treasures

    Aldred looked at their corpses and wondered. ¡°If I turn them to undead will their power return?¡±


    ¡°Only one way to find out.¡± He raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    The dark mist engulfed the two corpses, and then they stepped out of the mist before kneeling in front of him. Aldred scanned the both of them and was surprised that they returned to Gold Rank.


    ¡°So they return to their original strength when I turn them into undead. Interesting.¡±


    Maverick hopped off Xer Xai and ran to Aldred. ¡°Aldred, those sword moves were amazing. How did you do it?¡±


    Maverick knew Aldred was talented in almost every field, but he never saw someone used a long sword so beautifully before.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Aldred looked at the sword, the red color on the de, and the shining outline had long disappeared. ¡°I think the de is teaching me some skills. Guiding me on how to use it better.¡±


    Suddenly, all the criminals that were killed got their souls sucked out of their body and entered the de.


    Aldred and Maverick widened their eyes.


    ¡°Did this weapon just suck out of their souls?¡± Aldred asked.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°¡®I think it did.¡±


    Aldred felt a profound aura from the sword, and the small light grew bigger after it consumed the souls.


    So this sword could grow alongside me.


    ¡°What is the name of this sword?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The seller never told me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I will give it a name. What about Soul Sucker?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good name.¡±


    ¡°What about PP Cutter?¡±


    Aldred and Maverick turned around to see master Pepe standing beside them.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to vanish?¡±


    Master Pepe giggled and vanished immediately.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I need to discipline my undead.¡±


    ¡°Alright, what name should be suitable for you?¡± Aldred was deep in thought. After a moment, he thought of something good. ¡°I got it. Your name will be¨CSoul Reaper.¡±


    A powerful red energy burst out of the sword and entered Aldred¡¯s mind. Suddenly, all the skills he executed earlier were yed out again in his mind over and over again.


    After a moment, he now understood the fighting style of this weapon. This weapon was specifically designed to kill something far stronger than the user.


    The Foresight sh for example can make him invulnerable for a short moment before counter attacking the enemy. And all the skills that were given to him could bebined with each other to create some sort of never endingbo to attack the enemy while still allowing him to move around.


    This made the sword a weapon that let him have high-damage output, mid-mobility, and great reach.


    Aldred sheathed his sword in a standing stance. His body glowed red, and suddenly he rushed forward, and drew his sword before shing horizontally.


    The tip of the de created a powerful red trail.


    If an enemy got hit by these red trail, their power would be significantly reduced.


    Maverick stared with stars in his eyes. So this was true talent. Aldred only held the de for an hour or so, but he already mastered on how to use it.


    He had tried to use this long sword before, but it felt like the sword did not want to be used by him. It was too heavy, too long, and too hard to use.


    Aldred on the other hand felt like he was at home when he put the de in his hands. He was sofortable with it that he might not transform it back into a stick and let it rest on his back.


    There was some sort of bond with him and the de.


    ¡°We will have a long adventure ahead of us, Soul Reaper.¡±


    ¡°I hope that sword can apany you for a long time. The seller said that he found it in a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t made?¡±


    ¡°Well, he said it looks like it was made from the material of a powerful fire creature, but even he wasn¡¯t sure about it. He only said that nobody could use it even though the de seems to contain something powerful within it.¡±


    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s that spirit thing,¡¯ Aldred thought to himself.


    Aldred put the de in the scabbard. Patting it softly like it was his friend. He then noticed a piece of map on the floor.


    Furrowing his brows, Aldred took the map and saw it leads to many different continents. But it was iplete. The map was also slightly weird. There were lines that lead from one continent to another drawn on the ocean, but the lines had to go through one continent before it could go to the other.


    As if they had to visit this continent first before they could visit another one.


    Aldred wondered why that was the case. Why not just go directly to thest continent? Maybe it was for resupply. After all, even in the modern world, ships still need to rest in one ce to resupply before continuing their voyage.


    ¡°What map is this?¡± Aldred asked the undead twin.


    ¡°This is a map that can lead us to the main continent, master.¡±


    ¡°Main continent? I think Ste also said something like that.¡±


    ¡°Why do you even want to go to this ce anyway?¡±


    ¡°Those who can set foot in this continent are said to rule many other smaller continents. The Wildlings Gang are amassing resources to prepare their journey towards this ce. No amount of treasures and wealth will be enough. Anything and everything will be taken to increase their chance of sess. The funds given by the nobles also helped our process of amassing wealth.¡±


    ¡°Funds? Who gave you that?¡±


    ¡°We do not know who it was. But the Wildlings Gang are now willing to do the dirty works of many wealthy lords. Apparently feuds between rich men are so beneficial for our economy.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s misery and hell for the ordinary people.¡±


    ¡°It is. But the Wildlings Gang had never cared for them.¡±


    ¡°Right. Your motto is kill, ****, and conquer after all. It doesn¡¯t say ¡®for the people, by the people¡¯ or stuff like that. Well, at least you guys are honest which makes it easier for me to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Tell me more about this main continent. Why do you need so much wealth?¡±


    ¡°The journey is long, master. It may take years or even decades just to find it. During the journey, the time to get to the main continent is the least of your worries. Everything will try to kill and stop you including pirates, creatures, and even the native settlers on the smaller continent.¡±


    ¡°How do you know all this?¡±


    ¡°The gang has sent people to investigate. This information is obtained through many lives.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Then I should amass more wealth and treasures. And maybe more undead or even armies in the future.¡±

 Chapter 159 Trade

    After capturing the twin brothers and destroying their base, Aldred dug more tunnels to search for the other bases. He found numerous of them scattered across the county, but they were smaller and weaker inparison to the twin brothers.


    After capturing enough criminals, Aldred and Maverick dug to the surface and went towards Monthiviers.


    Maverick looked at Aldred who was currently caressing the long de in his child form. It was impossible for him to use the de in child form, but he could put it on hisp and take care of it like it was hispanion.


    ¡°You like the sword that much?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I love it. I think there¡¯s really a spirit inside this sword. It can talk to me. I know that for sure. The skills that you saw I executed were taught by the spirit of this sword.¡±


    Maverickughed bitterly. ¡°I guess the weapon chose its owner. And it deemed me as unworthy.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it has specific taste in people.¡±


    Maverickughed. ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡±


    Many minutester, they saw a formidable bridge that spanned over the Chain River. And beside it was the grand city of Monthiviers.


    Merchants flocked the in, and they were shocked to see such arge creature running in in sight.


    ¡°Mother of milf! What is that?¡±


    ¡°God of Incest! Is that a Xer Xai?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Anal canal, are my eyes ying tricks on me?¡±


    Aldred nced at them and smiled, waving his hand. He told Xer Xai to turn around and run to them.


    This made the merchants panicked. What would you do if a a creature with hideous face, ws, and exoskeleton running at you with the size of a mountain?


    RUN MOTHERFUCKER! RUN!!!!


    The merchants turned their carriages with sweat all over their face.


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°I think I scared them a bit.¡±


    Maverick smiled awkwardly. ¡®You didn¡¯t scare them a ¡®little bit¡¯. They¡¯re literally running for their life.¡¯


    ¡°Hey guys! Wait up!¡±


    Xer Xai leaped over andnded in front of them. The merchants pulled the rein of their horses.


    Some of the merchants immediately hopped off their carriages and kowtowed. ¡°Lord, please give mercy!¡±


    ¡°Wait wait! I am not here to kill you. I want to trade.¡±<sub></sub>


    They looked at him in disbelief.


    ¡°You want to trade with us?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Aldrednded on the ground. He then pulled a Bajaragon scale from his inventory. ¡°This is a Bajaragon scale. Taken from Mount Fargon itself.¡±


    One of the merchant carefully took the scale and inspect it carefully. ¡°This one is a fine quality. How many of these do you have, my lord?¡±


    Aldred poured the scales out of his hand, making a pile that reached the merchants¡¯ waist.


    Their eyes widened to see such arge amount of scales.


    ¡°So many Bajaragon scales!¡±


    ¡°What would you like to trade, my lord?¡±


    ¡°I want your whole caravan.¡±


    ¡°The whole caravan!?¡± They couldn¡¯t believe what they just heard, but all of them thought seriously about it.


    ¡°Please wait for a moment, my lord. I will discuss it with the others.¡±


    They all gathered for a meeting and discussed it for a while. One of the representative had a scared look as he approached Aldred.


    ¡°We apologize, my lord. But we cannot trade the whole caravan for this amount of Bajaragon scales.¡±


    ¡°Okay, wait a minute.¡± Aldred summoned a Bajaragon, told it to turn into real form, and then literally skinned its scales off.


    After finishing the whole Bajaragon, Aldred summon another one, and then skinned it just like before. Pile after pile of Bajaragon scales fell to the ground.


    The merchants could only stare without saying anything.


    After he finished both of dragon, he told them to turn into undead form, regenerating its scales, and then transform back into the real form.


    ¡®What the hell?¡¯


    All the merchants knew what Aldred was doing. He was farming Bajaragon scales! And it seemed he could do it indefinitely.


    That was like getting money without doing anything.


    After a moment, Aldred was done collecting the scales and he presented 6 pile to the merchants.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡±


    ¡°Enough, my lord. Enough.¡±


    Although they wanted more, they knew when to hold their greedy desire. Especially in front of a powerful lord. Nobles had put a stereotype on merchants that they were always greedy for profit. This made nobles act harsher on merchants and even punish them sometimes.


    This led merchants to control their desire a bit in front of a powerful noble.


    ¡°Good. I will be taking your caravan.¡±


    ¡°Should we bring it to your mansion, my lord?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Aldred waved his hand and all the carriages vanished without a trace. Only the horses were left.


    The merchants stared in shock. ¡®Just who is this young lord? Everything he did shocked them again and again.¡¯


    ¡°You guys have storage pouch to store these scales right?¡±


    ¡°We do, my lord. Thank you for your understanding.¡±


    ¡°No problem. If I see you with more treasures, I will trade with you again.¡±


    Aldred then hopped on top Xer Xai and waved to them as he left them speechless on the grassynd.


    ¡°Just who is that?¡±


    ¡°The one beside him is Lord Maverick. The son of Count Aleron Chanterre. But that boy¡­ I think I heard of him. He said Mount Fargon right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, many tales has spread about the legendary warrior climbing down from Mount Fargon. Many of them are so powerful they outshined every known genius in the continent. I heard they receive powerful blessing on that mountain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the most talked about was a boy. With millions of undead as his army, he was said to breeze through every challenges on the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Millions of undead? Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Mouth to mouth tale is always exaggerated. But there is always some truth in them. That must be the boy they talked about. Aldred, the Undead Lord.¡±


    ¡°What a domineering title. Undead Lord is a simr name to that story right?¡±


    ¡°What story?¡±


    ¡°A story about a powerful undead that came into power, conquering every continent and turning all the creatures there into his undying subordinates, but he got sick of it and locked himself in a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Such entity exist in this continent?¡±


    ¡°Nobody knows from which continent this storyes from. But we know¡ªhe exists.¡±

 Chapter 160 Comparison

    When they arrived at the gate of the city, Aldred jumped off Xer Xai and told her to vanish. The guard bowed to them and let them enter the city.


    Aldred was always amazed at how wonderful this city was. For a fantasy medieval world, this city has done very well in city designing as it had easy ess for merchants to park, and wide roads for them to travel.


    The sight was amazing too. All the buildings and the streets were clean. With trees, and wooden poles which hanged upon a mana crystals that light up the city at night.


    It was wondrous indeed.


    ¡°I cannot help but keep praising your dad for making this city so beautiful.¡±


    Maverickughed. ¡°You¡¯re not the first one. My father worked and still works really hard to achieve this.¡±


    Aldred nodded and continued walking on the side walk as carriages passed him.


    Soon after, they arrived at the mansion¡¯s garden. They were told to wait here for Lord Aleron toe. And Renwick was already there smiling as dozens of his guards currently overseeing the thousands of criminals he caught. They were battered terribly with wounds all over their body.


    Renwick raised an eyebrow when he saw Maverick did not bring anyone. ¡°What is this, Maverick? Are you too scared to stain your hand? I see no bandits or criminals in sight.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t concern you, Renwick.¡±


    ¡°Of course it does. After all, how could I tell father that I am much better if you don¡¯t even try topete.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Your head grows bigger as time passes.¡±


    ¡°I grow smarter as well.¡±


    Maverick snorted.


    Aldred held his shoulder. ¡°Let him be. We will show him our workter.¡±


    After waiting for a few minutes, Lord Aleron and his guards arrived at the garden.


    ¡°Father. I have captured 12,556 bandits and criminals running around our region. These people are vicious and evil, but I captured them with ease. In contrast, Maverick doesn¡¯t seem to do anything.¡± Renwick grinned.


    Lord Aleron put his gaze on Maverick.


    ¡°Excuse me, father. The bandits we captured are not here.¡±


    ¡°Lies! If you did capture some bandits, you would have brought them here. You must be too embarrassed to capture too little so you hid them to cover the fact.¡±


    ¡°Maverick, where are the bandits?¡± Aleron asked.<sub></sub>


    Maverick looked at Aldred and nodded.


    Aldred turned around and waved his hand, suddenly, tens of thousands bandits appeared on the expansive garden. He also summoned the ones he turned into undead, and told them to morph into their real form.


    Maverick smiled. ¡°I have captured more than 40,000 bandits, ritualist, and criminals. I also destroyed their secret bases that they make right under ournd. They have been dealing with dangerous drugs, and even extortion or kidnap innocent people in our region. The atrocity they did is unforgivable.¡±


    ¡°Not only that. I have captured the leaders of arge base from Wildlings Gang. The most dangerous gang in the continent.¡±


    Renwick stared with widened eyes as Maverick listed out all the things he had done.


    Lord Aleron nced at the two of them. There was no praise in his eyes. In fact, if one looked closely they might notice a tinge of sadness within.


    ¡°Well done,¡± he said expressionlessly. ¡°Both of you.¡±


    Although their father praised the both of them, Renwick looked down in shame and defeat. It was obvious who did better.


    ¡°Leave the criminals here. My men will interrogate them. Both of you are dismissed.¡±


    Aldred, Maverick, and Renwick left the garden. Renwick left immediately, not even looking at Maverick.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the courtyard,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I wonder if the others are having fun.¡±


    They walked to the courtyard, passing many maids on the way.


    The soldiers were ying ser with each other. Some went for sparring while Bartrem was reading a cook book.


    When he saw Aldred, he put down his book and asked: ¡°Took you guys long enough. What did you do anyway?¡±


    ¡°Captured criminals.¡±


    ¡°How many did you get?¡±


    ¡°Around 40,000.¡±


    Bartrem¡¯s jaw fell. ¡°40,000 in a single day?¡± He sighed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. It would be weird if you don¡¯t get that number with your skill and power.¡±


    Then he noticed Aldred was in his adult form with a long sword on his back.


    ¡°Is that a new sword?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Maverick gave it to me and I fell in love with it instantly. Anyway, where is Mira and the others?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re inside your room.¡±


    ¡°Go to them,¡± Maverick said. ¡°I will visit my father to see what he found out.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Maverick left, and Aldred walked to his room. When he opened the door, the girls were currently changing their clothes.


    ¡°Aldred, you pervert!¡± Mareona pulled his head to the ground before quickly closing the door.


    Ivette blushed when she realized that Aldred saw her naked body. Ste simply smiled as she didn¡¯t even try to cover herself.


    Aldred stood up, rubbing his nose in pain. ¡°Can you be a little softer? I almost broke my nose.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wish you broke your nose. Humph!¡± Mareona put her arms akimbo.


    Ste then walked to him and hugged him, caressing his head. ¡°Now, don¡¯t be too harsh on him. He just finished his heroic job. Capturing criminals from this region. 40,000 is a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Aldred asked.


    She giggled and kissed him. ¡°I am a magician.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t think too much about it. Why don¡¯t we have ¡®fun¡¯ right now. You look so handsome and hot in your adult form. I cannot wait for you to turn into a real adult.¡±


    She wrapped her hands around his neck, pressing her big bosom onto his chest. ¡°Do you want to have fun with me?¡±


    Aldred smiled and shrugged. ¡°Why not. If there¡¯s a hole, there¡¯s a goal.¡±


    Mareona hit his head.


    ¡°Ouch. I did nothing wrong.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    ¡°Alright. We¡¯re all going to have fun tonight.¡± He nced at each of them. They all smiled at him except Ste and Ivette who were blushing.


    Ste had that naughty blush on her while Ivette was embarassed although she would like to do it as well. ¡®Brother, please pray for me.¡¯


    Meanwhile, Raff was sitting on a wooden chair, and then he prayed. ¡°I hope you can bear some babies, sister.¡±


    Ivette would kill him if she heard that.

 Chapter 161 Together (R18+)

    ¡°Sorry, Aldred. But we would like to go shopping with Zafrina tonight. But I think Ste and Ivette are noting with us.¡± Mary smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We will be leaving now. You three have fun,¡± Mareona said before dragging the confused Zafrina away.


    Mira understood their intention and simply smiled as she left the room.


    Aldred was confused at first, but then he also understood their meaning. Because Ste and Ivette had never done it with him, they wanted to leave Aldred for only the two of them. This way, he could give them more attention.


    But Aldred couldn¡¯t just do it right away. First, he had to ask them.


    ¡°Ivette, I like you. Although we have only known each other for a short time, but I feel that you like me too. Are you willing to marry me and share me with the others?¡±


    Ivette was embarrassed. ¡°I am willing. Mary, Mira, Mareona, and Sophia are like sisters to me already. They have been taking care of me, and told me their stories about your journey. And I have never been treated so well before. I am d I found them. I am d that I found you, Aldred.¡±


    Tears welled up in her eyes. ¡°All this time, my brother and I have always suffered throughout our lives. But you give us a ce to call home. Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, Pongo. I have met them, talked to them, and have considered all of them as family. Wherever you go, I will be there. Together.¡±


    ¡°You make me feel at ease. Whatever challenge we face in the future, I know that as long as you are there, everything will be fine. Nothing will go wrong as long as you are there. I believe in you, Aldred.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred widened his eyes. He never thought that Ivette thought of him so highly. Thesest few weeks, Aldred didn¡¯t feel good about himself. He killed people, tricked them, and sometimes even scammed them. So he wasn¡¯t exactly a good person, but for someone close to him to have said such a high statement made him realize that he wasn¡¯t that bad after all.


    ¡®I will protect them,¡¯ Aldred thought. ¡®It¡¯s okay if the world see me as non-heroic. If that¡¯s what it takes to protect my family, I will be the demon king itself if it¡¯s necessary.¡±


    ¡°What about you Ste? We just met, and haven¡¯t known each other all that long yet. But I am willing to explore and get to know you as our journey goes. Are you willing to do the same?¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°I have been watching you for a long time, boy. I know you more than you know yourself. But I will let you get to know me, but first why don¡¯t you get to know my body.¡±


    She winked at him naughtily before pressing her breast onto his chest. Her action ignited his feelings of passion for her.


    She pulled Ivette as Aldred grabbed the both of them into his embrace. ¡°There will be a long journey ahead of us. We will face countless challenges in the future. Are you still willing to go with me?¡±


    ¡°Anywhere you go. I will be there,¡± Ivette said.


    ¡°What about you Ste? You said you want to go to the main continent. I will help you there, but after that, will you still stay by my side?¡±<sub></sub>


    Ste smiled. ¡°You weren¡¯t so good with words before. You grow so quickly. And of course, I will stick by your side.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Are the both of you willing to be one with me?¡±


    Ivette blushed and put her head on his chest. She nodded softly.


    Ste kissed him on the lips. That was her answer.


    Aldred kissed Ivette on her rosy lips. His hand moved to the back of her head, and release the pony tail snow-white hair and let it flow down like a waterfall.


    She looked at him with passion, love, andpassion. Within her eyes was gratefulness and desire. Desire to be loved, to be held, to be protected. In Aldred¡¯s hand she felt safe. All the nobles and scions that used to harass did not scare her anymore as long as Aldred was close.


    For the first time in her life, she felt that the future would bring her something she always dreamed of¡ªhappiness.


    Aldred¡¯s hands removed her tight, thin, white armor. She always wore white, even her sword was white. Her clothes were tied by a small blue belt, with a bright and colorful fabric that draped over her ass. Although they did not hide her thighs or the vague outline of her peaches.


    In fact, it made Aldred feel hotter to imagine what was hiding behind that fabric.


    ¡°Ivette, why do you wear white and other colorful colors?¡±


    ¡°The priest that gave me this power, also gave me this armor and weapon. He said that colorful colors gave hope to those who see and wear it.¡±


    ¡°Hope,¡± Aldred said. ¡°That¡¯s the main ideology of Zalous, the God of Hope.¡±


    Ivette nodded. ¡°In Ceraisian Empire, only the nobles are allowed to wear bright clothes. But they symbolized the sky instead. And they use strings to distinguish that even further. The nobles wore white string to symbolize the cloud, while the emperor wore blue string to symbolize the sky. As if they put themselves higher over the peasants that are only allowed to wear earth-colored strings.¡±


    Aldred kissed her. ¡°In my family. Everybody is equal. I will love you all the same. Wholeheartedly.¡±


    Her clothes slid down, and Aldred put his hand over her smooth thigh. He fondled her breast which fit perfectly in his palm. And he was surprised by how soft it was to his touch. The room was filled with muffled moans, but Aldred told her to be free, and release her voice. She obeyed, and her moans came free.


    He also did this with Ste and she didn¡¯t hold back to show what she felt.


    Soon after, the two of them couldn¡¯t hold it anymore, and begged Aldred to unite with them. In a standing position, Aldred took Ivette¡¯s maidenhood. It was her first time and she was nervous.


    Aldred whispered in her ear that everything will be fine. She smiled and nodded, letting Aldred hold her by the waist as he moved his hips.


    A soft gasp of pain escaped her lips, mixed with overwhelming pleasure that she never had before. Aldred did not rush. He was being gentle with her as she looked so fragile, and he wanted her to feel the pleasure for much longer.


    With every thrust of his hips, Ivette fell even more in love with him. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. To always be held by him. Her imaginations ran wild as Aldred kept on getting deeper inside her.


    Soon, Aldred felt Ivette had reached the peak, and that was when he shuddered and released his essence deep inside her. Marking her as his woman. He filled her to the brim with love. And Ivette melted in his embrace.


    She could feel him inside of her. And she wanted this tost forever. She felt the exhaustion, and then fell on Aldred¡¯s chest.


    He put her on the bed and tucked her with a nked.


    This time, it was Ste¡¯s turn. She had already been waiting for her turn, and Aldred¡¯s hand went right for her maiden spot. She was already wet down there, and she moaned when his finger probed her divine cave.


    She did not say anything and simply enjoyed the pleasure. He kept teasing her, making her cave leak out more of her heavenly juice.


    Suddenly, she couldn¡¯t hold it any more and she stumbled. Her arms held on Aldred¡¯s shoulder, then she opened her eyes as if begging Aldred to be one with her.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t tease her again after seeing her pleading eyes. And so he held her waist in a standing position, and put his love rod deep into her cave. She closed her eyes as Aldred¡¯s hip moved back and forth.


    Apparently, it was Ste¡¯s first time too. Aldred was slightly surprised as she already lived for so long. He gave her his love for hours as Ste wasn¡¯t exhausted yet.


    But eventually, even the Daughter of Stars started to give in, and begged for him to put his seeds into her. Aldred fulfilled her desire and shot everything he had inside of her.


    She hugged him and moaned for a few seconds before falling asleep on his shoulder.


    Aldred smiled, happily that he could make the two of them happy.


    ¡°Time for bed.¡±


    Aldred slept between the two of them as they both hugged him from both sides.


    (Yay not a cliffhanger your ¨C your favorite proofreader and editor Taylor9189)

 Chapter 162 Spirit Weapon

    The next day, Aldred woke up not with 2 women in bed, but all 7 women in bed. Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Zafrina, and Ste all were under his nket. Mary and Mira were even on top of him. Aldred was in his adult form currently, so they could hug himfortably.


    The six of them woke up and smiled at him before greeting him good morning. Aldred kissed them one by one. He treated them like they were his wives. And yes, he did consider them to be his wives, although they hadn¡¯t done any kind of ceremony yet. That could be der though.


    After a few minutes of lovey dovey, they went out of the room greeted with a fragrant smell of well-done steak. Bartrem was grilling a bunch of meats helped by the soldiers. He got a bunch of spices container on his waist, and he didn¡¯t even take a nce as he masterfully took the container, seasoned the meat, and put it in its ce again.


    He flipped the meat and pped it a few times.


    ¡°What do we have today, Bartrem?¡±


    ¡°Today is going to be a burger made out of soft bun and fish from Ermontryon.¡±


    ¡°I never had a seafood burger before.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s softer and easier to chew than a steak and other meat. I figure you guys would be bored with steak, so we¡¯ll try this instead.¡±


    ¡°I am fine with tasting new things,¡± Aldred said. ¡°After all, that¡¯s part of the adventure; trying new things.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Wait for a moment till the burger is done.¡±


    ¡°Take your time, Bartrem.¡± Aldred sat down on a chair-shaped tree along with his 7 women. Ivette was on hisp, hugging him. She was a bit clingy today, though he did not mind it at all.


    ¡°Did you guys go shopping?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes, we did. Zafrina brought us to a lot of different stores,¡± Mareona said. ¡°The clothes are so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you buy them?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re soldiers, Aldred. We don¡¯t have time to look pretty.¡±


    Aldred blinked. ¡®You guys are literally the definition of Hot Girls¡­ how could you say you don¡¯t have time to look pretty.¡¯


    Well, what Mareona said had some truth to it. Their appearance was the result of their natural beauty and training. They did not use make up or beautiful clothes. And yet they still looked so pretty.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Mareona. You look beautiful as you are. You don¡¯t need powder on your face for that.¡±


    Mareona blushed and looked away. ¡°Since when did you know how toplement someone.¡±


    ¡°You talk like I never praise your beauty.¡±


    ¡°You never did.¡±


    ¡°I did. In my brain.¡± He didn¡¯t mention that he also imagined some snu snu X-rated scene of her inside his mind.


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    ¡°Aldred, did you capture criminals with maverick yesterday?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°These guys are the most vicious and evil type of people I have ever seen. I won¡¯t describe it too much, but they won¡¯t show any mercy to harmless females and children. Homicide, extortion, ****, kidnapping. These guys are animals.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill a lot of them?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t expect God to do all the work. Lord Aleron is currently interrogating them. I already used my skills to ask them some questions. They know nothing. I am not sure what Lord Aleron will find.¡±


    ¡°My father has a lot of ways to obtain information,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°Even if the person itself doesn¡¯t know, he could peer into their memory, track the ce down, and cast a spell that could help in finding out the real perpetrator.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Nobles will never dirty their own hands. This is why this spell is developed and it makes nobles more controlled of their behavior.¡±


    ¡°What kind of spell is that?¡±


    ¡°This spell cannot be done by a normal magician. Only a non-elemental magician with a special treasure can do this. Unless¡­ Unless you are a time magician which is simply a legend in this continent.¡±


    ¡°They do not exist?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of. Anyway, why are you still wearing that long sword on your back?¡±


    ¡°This is not ordinary long sword. It¡¯s alive. It has a soul you see.¡±


    ¡°A soul?¡±


    Ste frowned. ¡°Spirit weapon?¡±


    ¡°You know something about this weapon, Ste?¡±


    Ste noddedd. ¡°Long ago when the first intelligent creature sailed to this continent, I saw one of them bring a spirit weapon with them. I fought him and won, and then he told me about his weapon. It was said that the weapon will choose its master, and it will grow stronger alongside them. I also heard that only with this type of weapon could someone reach the main continent.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Is it that powerful? I mean I know it could reduce someone¡¯s rank from Gold to Silver, but I didn¡¯t know it was that powerful.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ste asked. ¡°This sword can reduce the power of your enemy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I fought the criminals as practice. I could kill them instantly, but I used them as training targets and yes their strength was reduced to Silver Rank from Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°The man I told you said that some spirit weapon might have different power, and some are rarer than the others. Some could cut the souls of a limb, rendering them useless even if healed, some could give great strength to its user, or unique magic power. But that sword is different. It can reduce someone¡¯s rank¡­ it might be one of the rarest spirit swords that ever existed in the whole world. But my information cannot be trusted as I have only visited a few continents before, and not all of them have spirit weapons. At least, from what I know.¡±


    Aldreed nodded. ¡°Those who have spirit weapons might be in hiding, afraid that people will hunt them for their weapon. After all, this sword is too strong and valuable. I cannot believe Maverick gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Maverick did that?¡±


    ¡°He said that he couldn¡¯t use it. Seems like the sword did not choose him.¡±


    Ste nodded. ¡°They can be a little picky. You¡¯re lucky you got a good spirit sword, Aldred.¡±


    She did not say that the sword was also lucky finding Aldred. The both of them were a perfect match!

 Chapter 163 Diamond Rank Battle

    Bartrem finished cooking the burger and Aldred had a great meal while chatting with everyone. Theyughed and joked around and Mareona would hit him if he said anything dirty rted.


    She didn¡¯t hit as hard as she used to though.


    They all had a great time. It was a good thing that they visited Maverick¡¯s home while waiting for the astrbe to be activated. They used to hate the waiting part, but because of Bartrem¡¯s cooking, the soldiers¡¯ ying ser, and Aldred spouting out dirty jokes the atmosphere became so much fun.


    A few hourster, Maverick came back and said: ¡°Great news, my father found the real culprit of this incident. But we also have a bad news.¡±


    ¡°What is the bad news?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The culprit is the neighboring noble.¡±


    ¡­<sub>-.</sub>


    Radonvilter county was a rich county neighboring right to the northeast of the Holy State of Montcresia. The peaceful rtionship between the two of them and easy ess to their cities allowed merchants to flock in and bring wealth all over the county.


    With sufficient security and patrol running around the region, the merchants felt safe andfortable when they entered the county. But despite its economic strength, Radonvilter was merely an ant hillpared to the gigantic Chanterre County.


    Almost spanning the entire west region of Thignia, Chanterre was three timesrger than Radonvilter.


    With easy ess to the sea, Montcresia, Ceraisian and the capital of Thignia, Chanterre county brought riches never before seen in thest hundred years. Such achievement naturally brought envy and resentment among the ambitious and arrogant nobles.


    But with Lord Aleron as the trusted hand of the emperor, no one dared to mess with him. No one except the most daring and ambitious of them all¡ªArmand Radonvilter.


    Said to be the best house head of his time, Lord Armand brought signifcant wealth with his small territory.<sub></sub>


    With beautiful city nning andndscape designing, people of all background would praise the region for its beauty. And one could see this right after entering the region.


    But that region was currently in danger as the sleeping beast had been awakened.


    ¡­


    Standing atop his balcony, Lord Aleron was currently facing his army who stood in formation below. Numerous Diamond Rank led the attack, and they wouldn¡¯t hold back.


    ¡°Today, I found out our neighbor decided to mess with us. The neighbor that we have been at peace for generations. The neighbor that we thought of as friend is actually our enemy. I gather you today to show them the consequence of harming our region. We are here to protect Thignia without and within. For this is why the Emperor trusted me with his life, for I trusted my life in him. I am the royal servant of the emperor. I serve Thignia with my life, but the insignificant bugs that called himself Armand Radonvilter doesn¡¯t seem to have the same sentiment. I condone him as the traitor of our nation and shall be destroyed. I am the hand of the emperor. I have decided to send an all out war against the traitor!¡±


    ¡°HURRAA!¡±


    The runes below their feet glowed, and the Diamond Rank magician that stood in the middle raised his staff before mming the bottom onto the ground. The runes shone with brighter light that enveloped the army and then they vanished.


    ¡°Where did they go?¡± Aldred asked as he watched the scene unfold on the mirror.


    Ste had activated her spell to show the army through a magical mirror. The view then changed into a prosperous city, and suddenly, the army that was in Monthiviers suddenly arrived within the center of the city.


    Immediately after, they systematically charged and destroyed all military facilities, and killed all the soldiers there. They avoided killing the civilians, and even have a special unit specialized in saving, protecting, and even put these people into a safe ce.


    They worked so fast as if they knew the ins and out of the city. All the secret bases, secret weapons, and facilities were destroyed so quickly that the enemy couldn¡¯t even react.


    The destruction was like a chain. One facility after another was destroyed and they hadn¡¯t even destroyed a single house. All the civilians were safe and sound too.


    ¡°It¡¯s like they already nned this operation for months! How is that possible? Lord Aleron only learned about it today,¡± Aldred eximed.


    Because the army was already inside, all the defence mechanisms that were prepared on the wall were rendered useless. That was a high-alert security breach because Lord Armand nned to devastate the enemy by half before they could enter the wall.


    But Lord Aleron¡¯s army breached and destroyed all their defenses with ease.


    After a few hours, the Diamond Ranks started appearing, and their battle was shocking. Both sides put a protective shield around an area to prevent the shockwave from destroying the infrastructures.


    They shed against each other. Powerful bright and dark energy sted in all directions. The magicians threw numerous types of spells at the enemy. Lightning, rocks, sand storms, fire tornadoes, and even pseudo- time and space spell where they affected the time and space dimension to some extent.


    It was such a chaotic battle. The warriors burst out with powerful blinding auras out of their body one by one as they transformed into their battle mode. They became faster, stronger, and their body structure was that of a giant.


    The wind was constantly being shed, but their body regeneration was too quick for that to affect them even slightly.


    Some warriors even transformed into the likeness of a demon with horns covered with ck and red armor. The sword in their hand glowed in amethyst-color mist. When they shed out, an arc of powerful energy shot out, shaking the sky, and vibrating the transparent magic shield.


    ¡°Damn, all of them are so powerful. Look at their spell. That¡¯s not ordinary fireball. That fireball will enter from your pores and explode you from within,¡± Aldredmented. He analyzed their spell with his godly eyes, but his brain couldn¡¯tprehend them yet.


    Compared to his parents, they were ants inparison, but his parents were literal gods in some sense.


    These guys were mortal. The mortals that pushed through their limit and achieved greatness. Aldred on the other hand got a diamond spoon right inside his anus.


    But he wasn¡¯tining. In fact he was grateful to be born with this talent.

 Chapter 164 Game of Power

    As they watched the scene through the mirror, they saw a boy was walking around in the area.


    ¡°Wait, Aldred. That boy looks like you!¡± Mareona eximed.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ That¡¯s my clone.¡±


    ¡°What? What are you doing in there?¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°I was thinking maybe I could get a Diamond Rank undead, or a tinum Rank undead. That would be nice to have.¡±


    Mary frowned. ¡°Usually, it¡¯s impossible for an undead to be above the rank of their master. I am not sure about your power. Maybe you can do that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I would like to find out.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s clone ran around the battlefield, avoiding the dangerous area, and then went to the corpses. These corpses were the enemies tinum Rank. It could be known from their armor and insignia. He did not want to offend Lord Aleron by turning his subordinates into undead.<sub>-.</sub>


    As his clone raised his hand and said: ¡°Arise.¡± A notification appeared in front of Aldred.


    [Insufficient Level]


    That was disappointing. He thought he could get an army of tinum Rank. If Aldred could do that, this treasure hunt would be so easy for him, but s, he couldn¡¯t have everything in the world.


    After confirming that he couldn¡¯t turn them into his undead, Aldred decided to take their treasure instead.


    ¡°Aldred, what are you doing?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°What does it look like I¡¯m doing? I am taking their magic treasures.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°That¡¯s a stupid question, Mareona. It¡¯s literally free treasures. Anyone would want that. Besides, we might need it during our adventure to the main continent.¡±


    Mareona nodded in understanding. She thought Aldred was turning into a greedy dragon who liked to collect treasures, but apparently it was for practical reasons.


    After a while, the battle ended. The enemies were defeated, and some were running away.


    Armand Radonvilter was nowhere to be seen.


    The fight ended in less than a day. This was a battle against a county which was supposed to have the same power as Lord Aleron. But that attack earlier was so quick and so fast.


    Aleron¡¯s army literally teleported right inside the enemy¡¯s heart and destroyed it from the inside. All the defense mechanisms, facilities, and weapons were all destroyed.


    Aldred saw a lot ofrge crystals that were supposed to activate a special spell that weakened the enemy and empower Arman¡¯s army.


    But that spell couldn¡¯t even be activated before it was destroyed.


    That meant Lord Aleron knew everything about Radonvilter County.


    Aldred could already imagine the impact of this battle. Destroying a Count in a single day was not something that could be scoffed at considering the immense power and influence they had.


    And he was right. The next day, the news of Aleron¡¯s wrath spread far and wide throughout the empire. The Dukes, situated on the east side of the Empire, were shocked to hear it. Some already expected this oue.


    ¡°It¡¯s that Aleron. It¡¯s no wonder he could destroy Armand in a day. The Emperor had long wanted to promote him to be a Duke, but he refused so many times.¡±


    Every nobles in Thignia discussed this event with each other and contemte on how they should behave in front of Lord Aleron.


    But the day after that, a news came that said it was the emperor who helped Lord Aleron in destroying Armand, the traitor. With the wisdom, guidance, and support of the emperor, lord Aleron seeded in defeating Armand in less than a day.


    The news made the nobles feel relieved and they all send their praise to the emperor. Lord Aleron also built a tall statue of the emperor within the capital city of the former Radonvilter.


    Aleron spread the news that all the civilians were saved under the great effort of the emperor and it was only possible because of him.


    The people there were grateful for the emperor and spread the news of his benevolence.


    Aldred, Mary, Mira, and the others did not understand why Aleron spread such news. The emperor did not lift a hand at all in this operation.


    But they did not know that Lord Aleron was a genius for doing this.


    One golden rule that he followed was¡ªnever outshine the master.


    All the dukes in Thignia were sent far from the capital city because the emperor was afraid that they would rebel against him and take his throne. Aleron noticed this long ago because of how the emperor ced all the dukes and counts.


    A count was the mostfortable spot to be, because the emperor did not feel threatened by them. Only when they reached Marquis would the emperor start to be wary.


    That was why Aleron never epted his promotion. The emperor had to offer a promotion to a promising and meritful noble otherwise it would cause chaos, but at the same time, he did not want the powerful nobles nearby.


    Aleron stayed as a count for years and achieve a lot of sess by bing the emperor¡¯s trusted hand. The battle against Radonvilter was dangerous because he showed his true capability as an excellent nner and strategist. If people praised him more than the emperor, he would feel threatened and would remove Aleron at all cost.


    Never outshine the master.


    Such was the game of power.


    And he had been sessful by keeping this rule in mind. While the dukes were left out of favor by the emperor, Aleron received so many benefits and trust.


    But he did not do this because he was ambitious and secretly seek the throne. No. He genuinely wanted to protect his country from a terrible civil war that might ensue and keep the peace for as long as possible.


    While all of this yed out, Aldred was sleeping in his bed with all seven women. He was in peace, and in a tranquil state of mind while the nobles were ever vignt as the game of power never ceased to end. Even in sleep, you must be wary of your own bed.

 Chapter 165 Why in a Hurry?

    When they woke up and had breakfast in the courtyard, everyone seemed to already forgot about what happened. The event was too unreal, too short lived, and it happened and ended quickly as well.


    They still talked about it asionally, but that was it.


    Aldred chatted with his girls,ughing, and having fun together.


    But then something unexpected happened. A vampire visited the courtyard to see Aldred.


    When Aldred saw him, he raised an eyebrow and asked: ¡°Byron?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Aldred,¡± he said hesitantly.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t fulfilled the blood contract. Unless you do that, I still have a 50% chance to die.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred had forgotten about the contract, but this man appeared out of nowhere to remind him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it. It was supposed to be a joke anyway.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°No! You must do it. Or else I will die. There¡¯s also the possibility that my weaker families and rtives could get heavily injured.¡±


    ¡°What kind of contract did you give me. Isn¡¯t there a rule for the winner to refuse the prize?¡±


    Maverick shook his head. ¡°He gave you thetest blood contract that was not supposed to be used lightly. This contract will harm the loser if the winner doesn¡¯t take the promised prize. This was made because many nobles prevent their winning opponents from taking the prize through extortion, bribery, assassination, and many more.¡±


    ¡°So this rule was made so that these losers won¡¯t prevent the winner from taking their prize?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. It¡¯s one of the best and worst contracts there is because it can also harm your whole bloodline, not just you.¡±


    ¡°So the entire family could be killed?¡±


    ¡°To some extent.¡±


    ¡°Damn, this contract is bloody. What if the enemies¡¯ real intention is to eliminate the whole family then? Couldn¡¯t they use this as a weapon?¡±


    ¡°They can. That¡¯s why I said this should never be used lightly. Usually, the whole family bear witness for the blood contract as it was signed. Should the opposing party refuse the prize intentionally, it would be an all out war that could eliminate both families.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°That¡¯s like saying ¡®If I am going down, I will take you with me as well¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s precisely that.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ that means¡­ I have to fuck his mom and sister? Damn, I don¡¯t want that. Do you think I¡¯m some sort of pervert?¡±


    ¡­


    Hajheletmik County was located in the center of Thignia Empire, to the west from Chanterre county. It had a hugendmass and great trade route with neighboring kingdoms. Because they matched the grandeur and splendor of Chanterre, the both of them were considered as rivals.


    The lord of Hajheletmik, Lord Yanka, was a proud man with an ego, so when he heard what Byron did, he was enraged. He sent out his spies to find out who this boy was. And the news shocked him one after another.


    Climbing Mount Fargon with ease, turning millions of Gold Rank monster into undead, making the legendary creature Xer Xai be his servant. Fighting with endless power and varieties of skills.


    All of his aplishment were impossible to achieve by a normal person. Even a prodigy would think it was impossible.


    The more he knew, the more mysterious the boy became. So his spies continued to dig and found the boy in Chanterre.


    And then he found out that the boy was secretly in rtionship with Aleron¡¯s daughter. Lord Yanka frowned when he obtained this information.


    ¡°Why is Aleron hiding the fact that his daughter has a lover?¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°He wanted to keep the boy as his secret weapon in the future. Aleron you¡¯re a wise and patient man indeed. Instead of unting all your connections, wealth, and power, you hid them so cleverly. No wonder you could destroy Radonvilter in a day.¡±


    His eyes gleamed in excitement. He did not despise Aleron to be so sly and cunning. In fact, he admired him and was happy to have him as a rival.


    And to be honest, he wanted to form a close rtionship with Chanterre. Although they were rivals, they had never been in real conflict with each other.


    And Lord Yanka was a fan of Aleron¡¯s wit and wisdom.


    Now that Aldred was his daughter¡¯s lover, and also nned to visit Yanka, this could be an opportunity to tie some rtionship with Chanterre. Through Aldred, he could make a strong bond between the two counties.


    ¡°That fool of my son. Is he smarter than I thought?¡±


    He made a blood contract with his own mother and sister as bait. Yanka smiled. This son of his was more sly than he thought. Ruthless and decisive, but it was a wise choice because he was told that Aldred had a powerful blood inside of him.


    If his family could get a descendant out of the boy, that would be better for the future generations.


    Lord Yanka smiled. ¡°I should prepare a feast for his visit.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Do I really have to go?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°You have to or my family will be in danger.¡± Byron begged.


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to kill me after I do ¡®that¡¯ to your mom and sister?¡±


    ¡°Oncs the contract gets solved. We wouldn¡¯t be able to harm you unless you harm our interest.¡±


    ¡°What a convenient contract. Who made this thing?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important,¡± Byron said. ¡°When are you going to visit?¡±


    ¡°I like this ce. I can rx and eat well, so maybe in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Too long. We should go tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Bro, are you drunk. Why are you in a hurry for me to fuck your mom and sister??¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to fuck them in front of you as well?¡±


    Byron sighed. ¡°I already said that my family is at risk if you don¡¯t do it. Don¡¯t make this hard for me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we will go tomorrow. I am nning to go to the east anyway.¡±


    ¡°To do what?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°I would like to visit the Republic of Paphia.¡±


    ¡°The winged-man nation?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°The forgotten warrior told me to visit the Lair of Treasure. I got a bunch of maps from the adventures that I helped on the mountain, and it said here that the ce is located to the east from Hajheletmik.¡±


    ¡°You guys want to go as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±

 Chapter 166 Going to Hajheletmik

    Renwick and his personal butler was walking in the hallway when he suddenly bumped into Maverick. They both stared at each other, and the air the temperature around them rose.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be happy too quickly, brother,¡± Renwick said.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t defeat youpletely. I cannot be happy yet.¡±


    Renwick snorted. ¡°Keep your vignce. I still have more things up my sleeve.¡±


    They both parted ways and the pressure in the hallway disappeared, making the maids let out a sigh of relief. All of them knew that the two brothers did not have good rtionship with each other.


    As Renwick entered his own room, he closed the door and sat on his desk. On the desk was papers, a quil and ink.


    There was a small gap on the desk, only enough for his pinky to enter and use pull it up like a lever, revealing a hiddenpartment inside the desk. There was nothing inside except one picture. It was a small drawing of him, his brother, father, and sister. They were children back then, ying by the field, and hopping in the river.


    The memory put a smile on Renwick¡¯s face.


    ¡°Are you going to keep doing this my lord?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I am sure, Hobson. I have been doing this for years. It¡¯s toote to turn back now.¡±


    ¡°You love your brother more than your life. It¡¯s painful to see you do this.¡±


    ¡°I owed my life to him. If he did not distract that wild tiger in the in, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now. I can make him stronger by bing his ally, but bing his enemy, I can help him to be even more.¡±


    Hobson sighed. ¡°There are many groups that offered you their support.¡±


    Renwick smiled. ¡°ept them all. This way I can truly know who my brother¡¯s enemy is. The day he defeats me is also the day all of his enemies will fall.¡±


    ¡°I do not think it¡¯s necessary anymore, my lord. Your brother obtained a powerful ally.¡±


    ¡°An ally is merely an external power, Hobson. I can only be at ease when that poweres from within.¡±


    Hobson sighed again. ¡°It¡¯s really sad and unfortunate to see two young brothers to go against each other. It¡¯s even sadder that your brother didn¡¯t even know of your sacrifice.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°It¡¯s better that way. I will be his lesson to not trust anyone. Not even your own brother.¡±


    ¡­


    When the next day came, Byron was already in front of his door.


    ¡°The sky is still yellow and red. Can you be a little patient?¡±


    ¡°The faster we arrive, the better.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Let me put my pants on first.¡±


    A few minutester, Aldred, Maverick, Zafrina and everyone else were walking out of the mansion.


    ¡°I have prepared all the carriages for all of you,¡± Byron said.


    When they walked out of the gate, dozens of carriages pulled by a white horse with a horn. This horse was twice the size of a normal horse, and its majestic hair flowed down like a groomed noble.


    Aldred and the rest entered the carriage. Byron decided to enter Aldred¡¯s carriage, and when he stepped in, he already saw Aldred in a child form, sucking on Ste¡¯s breast.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ sometimes I forget that you are just a 10-year-old boy.¡±


    Ste smiled naughtily and jokingly asked: ¡°Would you like some milk as well?¡±


    ¡°No thanks. I amctose intolerant.¡±


    The caravan set off to their destination. First, the south and then to the east, passing two counties before arriving at Hajheletmik.


    Aldred opened his map and guessed that it would take a few weeks for him to arrive. But when he looked outside the window, he was shocked at how thendscape blurred because of how fast the carriages were moving, and yet he felt no vibration at all inside the carriage.


    He did not even need to ask. This had to be the work of magic.


    In terms offort, medicine, weapons, and vehicles, this magical world was truly ahead of the modern earth where he came from.


    The carriages that Byron gave werefortable and spacious. It was like a bus but with more space and even a table at the center. Suddenly, the door beside them opened and revealed a chef and bartender that were currently cooking and mixing drinks for them.


    ¡°Oh wow. That was a surprise,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Does every carriage have this?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Byron said.


    ¡°This way we don¡¯t have to stop and eat. We can keep going until we arrive at our destination. Bartrem is going to be so sad about this.¡± Aldred looked at the chef masterfully using the magical cooking devices. ¡°Or he might be happy to learn from them.¡±


    The chefs popped out te after te that magically floated to their table. The scent was enticing, and they hadn¡¯t eaten yet this morning, so it was a perfect time for a breakfast.


    They ate cheerfully, enjoying the food and drinks. Aldred naturally wasn¡¯t a fool so he had scanned the food with his godly eyes first. Only when he confirmed that they were safe did he allow the others to eat.


    Aldred opened his mouth while Ste and Ivette fed him while hugging him. He had transformed into his adult form, and currently, Zafrina was on hisp.


    ¡°Are you okay with your sister on hisp?¡± Byron asked Maverick.


    ¡°Shut up. Your sister is about to be fucked.¡±


    They continued their journey while filling up their belly. When they finished eating, Aldred slept on Ste¡¯sp while the girls were massaging him.


    ¡°Man, this is what I call being alive.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Just enjoying the moment.¡±


    Mary grabbed some grape-like fruits and popped them inside his mouth. He was being pampered by his girls. How could he not enjoy this moment right now.


    In mere days, they passed one county, and entered another one.


    Then suddenly, the whole caravan stopped. Ahead of them was a group of merchants being captured by bandits.


    ¡°No, please don¡¯t kill my wife!¡±

 Chapter 167 Grand Welcome

    ¡°Another bandit?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Well, this is not Chanterre county which is already cleaned of criminals, so it¡¯s normal for this to happen,¡± Aldred said.


    Suddenly, the captain of the caravan came and bowed to Byron. ¡°Sir, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Just continue. We don¡¯t want to dy our journey too much.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Aldred didn¡¯t say anything, and just as the captain was about to leave, Mira told him to wait. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you help the merchants?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not our territory. I don¡¯t want to get into any problems by being involved in something else. I only have permission to pass and have some weapons and soldiers to defend ourselves. If I move my army, the lord of this region might take it the wrong way.¡±


    Mira sighed. ¡°Aldred, wouldn¡¯t you help? You¡¯re allowed to help right?¡±


    ¡°Aldred is technically not a part of our army, so he can do whatever he wants.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Alright.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    He summoned his undead: 50 Snow Wolves and Snow apes. 55 Bajaragons, and 55 Phantom ws. With this undead army menacingly staring at them, the bandits immediately dropped their weapons and ran.


    The undead beast chased them down.


    The merchant was relieved, and then lifted his wife before he ran to the caravan and thanked the soldier. The soldier pointed to Aldred¡¯s carriage.


    The merchant then ran towards Aldred¡¯s carriage and thanked everyone inside for saving him.


    Mira smiled. ¡°Please don¡¯t go out without protection again. I heard adventurers provide protection service for an affordable price.¡±


    The merchant wore a sad expression. ¡°It¡¯s actually the adventurers that betrayed us. Normally, they won¡¯t do that as their right in the adventurers guild would be revoked, but with enough incentive they would ept it. I just don¡¯t know that my caravan is worth destroying with such arge amount of money.¡±


    Mira sighed. Disaster could still happen even if the man was already careful enough to employ adventurers.


    ¡°I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you can join a bigger merchant caravan just to be safe. After all, a profit can be earned, but your life and loved ones cannot be reced.¡±


    The merchant was in shame to hear that. To avoid splitting the profit he did indeed decide to travel by himself, but at the same time, he put his own family in danger.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Thank you, mydy. I am a fool blinded by greed.¡±


    ¡°Travel safely.¡±


    The merchant bowed and left.


    Aldred¡¯s caravan continued on their journey after that short event.


    For days they traveled through the in, up the hill, and by the river. Eventually, they arrived in Hajheletmik county.


    The capital of Hajheletmik was located by the giantke called Ocares Lake that connected Thignia to Paphia. It was one of the reasons why Hajheletmik could match Chanterre in wealth and influence. After a few more days of traveling, they finally arrived at the capital city¡ªBeressas.


    When the caravan passed through the gigantic gate, the people there had shocked him by throwing flowers, and ying drums, flutes, and other musical instruments.


    The people were smiling as they danced around the carriages. They gave him tes of fruits, and some local foods.


    ¡°Are they weing you?¡± Aldred asked Byron.


    ¡°No. They are weing you. Look over there.¡± Byron pointed at arge sign that the people lifted in the street depicting a painting of him defeating a Bajaragon.


    ¡°Your name has spread far and wide, and everyone knows of your legend. The people here are excited to wee you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I didn¡¯t know that I have such a reputation. What do they call me?¡±


    ¡°The greedy boy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s many other names such as: The sex machine boy. Scammer boy. Killer boy.¡±


    ¡°All of them are wrong. Except maybe the first one.¡±


    Byronughed. ¡°Those are just your side nicknames. People know you mostly as the Undead Lord.¡±


    ¡°Undead Lord? I have other skills such as fire magic, and sword art. And that¡¯s the best title they can give me?¡±


    Byron shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s the one that stood out.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even rely on my undead that much. I defeat my enemy using my own power.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Aldred,¡± Mareona said. ¡°The people like you for whatever reason. Just ept it.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Aldred smiled and waved back at the people and they cheered at him.


    He didn¡¯t know his reputation was so great that people would wee him like this.


    After he passed the crowd, Aldred looked at the food. ¡°I thought you guys only drank blood.¡±


    ¡°Humans and other races came to this ce as well, so we produce our own food and sell them. We don¡¯t eat them.¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    The city of Beressas did not lose out against the capital city of Chanterre. Aldred saw manyrge ships anchored by the port as the carriages passed through many workers were lifting boxes of goods.


    The city was bustling with activity. Passing  through these busy blocks, they arrived at the citadel block. The people here were fewer and calmer. There were weirdly yet beautifully many hills ahead of them. A road made out of red bricks were weaving around these hills, and some infrastructures were built within the hills, making it some sort of house.


    But these hills could not hide the grand and tall castle behind them. The carriages rolled on the bricks, and then passed another gate that guarded the castle.


    When they arrived, soldiers with majestic armor were weing them. They raised their weapons as in giving honor to the visitor.


    The carriage stopped in front of their salute formation. Aldred looked around before Byron guided him to proceed. Ahead of them was a handsome man with blonde, frizzy hair, and muscled frame, wrapped by a luxurious soft blue clothes.


    ¡°Father,¡± Byron said. ¡°This is Aldred. Aldred, this is my father. Lord Yanka, the Count of Hajheletmik.¡±


    Lord Yanka smiled at Aldred and opened his arms. ¡°Wee. I am sure all of you are tired. I have prepared your bed. Take some rest and the servants will make you some delicious meals.¡±


    A few maids walked to them and guided them away.


    As they walked through the hallway, Aldred said: ¡°This is weird. Why is your father not angry? Does he know why I am here?¡±


    ¡°He does.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Your family is weird. It¡¯s as if you guys are happy and in a hurry for me to fuck your mother and sister.¡±

 Chapter 168 Some Question

    Aldred was then escorted to his bedroom. It was a luxurious room with arge bed that could fit up to 10 people at once. It seemed like the lord knew he has a lot of women with him.


    Aldred threw himself to the bed and let out a breath of satisfaction. ¡°Sofortable. The lord told us to rest, but the journey is not that tiring to be honest. Byron¡¯s carriages are sofy.¡±


    The girls threw themselves to the bed as well. Ste and Sophia quickly hugged him.


    ¡°The carriages are not bad,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Have you rode something better?¡±


    ¡°I can use the power of the stars to summon a faster and better means of transportation.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Magic is so convenient. I would say non-elemental spells are so versatile that you can almost do anything with them.¡±


    Sophia shook her head. ¡°Non-elemental spells might be versatile, but they are the hardest to learn. Also, the spell that Ste talked about is veryplex in nature and not everyone can do that.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°But they are much cooler than the elemental spell to be honest. Elementalist can only attack.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Sophia said. ¡°If you keep learning and mastering your elements, you can even use fire to teleport somewhere. You can even transform into mes itself, rendering physical weapons useless against you. They might not look as versatile in the low-level realm, but when you reach tinum or Diamond Rank, that¡¯s where they truly shine.¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s interesting. I can teleport using the me element? That didn¡¯t even cross my mind. What about water or other elements?¡±


    ¡°As long as you master them, you can almost construct or mimic non-elemental spells with elemental magic. This is why we non-elemental magicians are jealous. You can say that we are using effort to catch up to your talent.¡±


    ¡°Is there a treasure or something else that can give you this sort of talent?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°There is. Although I have not seen it, but I heard some folktales and hearsay from the adventurers. And there are some magicians that develop elemental talentter on, or suddenly have one after eating something.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. If I get those things, I will surely give them to you.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Thank you, Aldred. I knew it was the right choice to follow you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t thank me. We¡¯re family, remember?¡±


    Sophia kissed him on the cheek. ¡°Yes we are.¡±


    ¡°By the way, are you still affected by the envement spell?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Can I release it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not many ways that you can release this spell.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, one is that you have to kill me.¡±


    ¡°What? I don¡¯t want that. I want you to live with free will.¡±


    Sophia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The ones I cast prevent the ve from charming his or her master to release the spell. So no matter how much the ve begs the master, they would never be free.¡±


    ¡°Damn, magic can also be a terrifying weapon.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°You think too negatively about the envement spell, Aldred. Long ago, when the whole continent was at war, envement spells prevented the warlord from killing their talented enemies. Instead of wasting their talent, these people were enved and treated properly since they couldn¡¯t betray them.¡±


    ¡°Envement spells give those paranoid lords the assurance that their subordinates won¡¯t stab them in the back. This had prevented many innocent people from being executed, because they cannot lie under the envement spell.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s very. How can that be good?¡±


    ¡°I am not saying it¡¯s good, but I am saying it has some good in it. If you live long enough, Aldred. You would realize there¡¯s no good and bad, only interest and happiness.¡±


    Mira frowned. ¡°I disagree with that. Zalous the god of hope wrote in the bible what people are allowed and not allowed to do. Evil and good exist in this world, and we must keep evil away by doing good deeds.¡±


    ¡°Your bible encourages you to do good deeds to make everyone happy. If people helped each other genuinely, everyone would be happy. Sadly, that doesn¡¯t happen in the real world. Every man is for himself and will fight for his own family. You cannot put your burden onto others.¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°There is some truth in that, but I believe we should continue to educate everyone to help one another.¡±


    ¡°Helping others is good, but first, you have to help yourself. I am sure you know that a lot of people will not repay their gratitude, Mira.¡±


    ¡°I am sure they will.¡±


    ¡°No. Most won¡¯t. Because gratitude is a burden. It¡¯s a debt. Nobody wants to pay their debt.¡±


    ¡°You know what they will pay back?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Revenge. Revenge is like collecting debt. It puts a smile on your face if you get it.¡±


    Aldred stopped their conversation with a p. ¡°That¡¯s enough talking for today, guys. I know we¡¯re all not tired, but why don¡¯t we go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Ste said with a smile and hugged Aldred.


    Mira decided to climb on top of him and slept on his chest. Aldred was currently in his adult form right now, so more surface area for them to hug.


    He couldn¡¯t hug all 7 of his women at once though, which made him sad¡­ wait, don¡¯t I have clones?


    Aldred activated his blood clones and two more adult Aldred popped out.


    ¡°Okay, I made clones of myself. Now I can hug all of you at the same time.¡±


    The girls looked at each other.


    ¡°Although they have the same appearances, but are these clones really you?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°You can ask  them some questions.¡±


    ¡°What is your favorite activity?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Seggs,¡± the clone said.


    ¡°They¡¯re the real deal,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°I am not done yet. What is your favorite food?¡±


    ¡°Puss¡ªI mean kebab.¡±


    ¡°Your question is boring, Mareona. Let me ask some question.¡± Sophia looked at the other clone. ¡°What is inside Mareona¡¯s underwear right now?¡±


    ¡°Heavenly flowers.¡±

 Chapter 169 Grooming

    After some rounds of questioning, and some ps from Mareona, they finally consider his clones to be him. Aldred didn¡¯t me them. After all, at one time, he also considered his clones not as the real him. But after using them a couple of times and receiving their experience and memory inside his mind, he came to ept the fact that they are truly him.


    So hugging his clones was truly hugging him in the literal and emotional sense.


    With 3 clones, he could hug all 7 of his women at once. But imagine in the future if he had 500 clones. Damn, how many women could he love at the same time?


    ¡®Nah. 6 is already good enough. How would I have the energy and time to give them attention if I have too many. It would be unfair to the girls too.¡¯


    But with 500 clones, he could give attention and love to 1000 women.


    ¡®Nah, bro. Too many women is not good. Six is enough already.¡¯


    Why take less when you can have more.


    ¡®It¡¯s not like that. Too many will overwhelm me. Wait a minute. Who am I talking to?¡¯


    Aldred looked around. There was nobody there except his two clones who were currently sucking milk.


    He frowned. That was weird. It felt like somebody was talking to him.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡®Whatever. Let¡¯s just go to sleep.¡¯


    Aldred and the girls were sleeping during the day, so when they woke up, it was night time already.


    A knock came from the door.


    ¡°I apologize for intruding, my lord.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Aldred asked as Ste hugged him from the side.


    ¡°Lord Yanka is inviting you for dinner. Your friends are invited as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let me prepare first.¡± Aldred kissed all of his girls to give them some love, and then he wore his clothes.


    It was simple yet elegant. Not too extravagant, but normal people would see him as a wealthy man. He was wealthy though. He had more than 700 millions gold coins in his adventure guild card.


    Not to mention the mountain of treasures in his divine dimension.<sub></sub>


    After he prepared himself, he went out with two girls in his arm. His clones were still active, and the maids were naturally shocked when they saw 3 Aldred¡¯s at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Those are my clones.¡±


    ¡°Y¨Cyes. Right this way, my lord.¡±


    The maid guided him to the dining hall of which the soldiers were already talking and chatting at the table. Lord Yanka was at the head seat, talking to Bartrem andughing with him.


    He seemed to be the opposite of Lord Aleron who was a little hard to approach. Aldred wanted to ask him when he could go fuck the mother and daughter so he could continue his journey, but it didn¡¯t sounds right if he asked.


    What if he got offended that he asked such a thing?


    That was his wife and daughter. If not for Maverick assuring him that the contract would prevent them from killing him, he would nevere here in the first ce. He also got the protection of Chanterre since Zafrina and Maverick were here.


    So he was calm, but also, he did not want to irritate the lord. He would not ask. He shouldn¡¯t.


    The maids guided Aldred to sit near the lord, and he did.


    Lord Yanka weed him with a smile. ¡°Sit down, Aldred. I talked to your friends and was amazed by your adventures. You¡¯re a great man. Having a lot of women, killing a lot of monsters, and I even heard that you helped Maverick in capturing the criminals.¡±


    ¡°I am not that great.¡± Aldredughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too humble. Your achievements deserve to be praised. And I see you are engaged with Zafrina as well. She is the daughter of Lord Aleron, you know?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Does he mind your rtionship?¡±


    ¡°Uhh. I didn¡¯t think about that.¡± Aldred looked at Zafrina. ¡°Does your dad mind?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You have a powerful and unique bloodline. In fact, he might want me to marry you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sadly I will be leaving this continent in the future. So, I cannot stay for long.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just remember to visit me someday.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    Lord Yanka¡¯s eyes gleamed, but it was subtle and hidden behind the curtain of his smile.


    ¡°Say, Aldred. Would you tell me about your adventures? I heard a lot of things from your friend, Bartrem, but I want to listen to the man himself.¡±


    Aldred and Lord Yanka talked as the food and drinks arrived. They talked for hours while filling their belly.


    Lord Yankaughed. ¡°So, you sell hot water at such an extravagant price? What a good strategy. You get so much while losing so little. When I first look at you, I know you¡¯re a smart man. No wonder you have a lot of women with you.¡±


    ¡°You tter me, Lord Yanka. I am nothingpared to you.¡± Aldred smiled. Lord Yanka was a count which meant he had a lot of Diamond Rank subordinates under him. And ording to what he heard from Maverick, this person was also rich as well from his hugend and great trade routes.


    If he yed his cards right, Aldred might ask for some gold coins and treasures. After all, to find the main continents he would need a lot of that.


    A lot of beautiful maids suddenly came and massaged the soldiers when they finished eating.


    Meanwhile, the females were invited for a grooming session to take care of their skin. They also offered baths and massages.


    Thedies immediately took the offer. Even Zafrina, Mary, Sophia, and everybody else took the offer.


    ¡°We will be leaving you for a while, Aldred. Have fun by yourself,¡± Ste waved her hand with a smile as they left the dining hall.


    Left alone, Aldred shruggeed it off, but then 6 maids came and massaged his shoulders.


    They all looked beautiful with their dresses tightly wrapped around the waist area. Two of them caught his attention though.


    One seemed to be a mature woman. Around 28 to 29 years of age with a graceful and elegant body. She had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes.


    The other one seemed much younger. With an energetic and cheerful appearance, maybe 18-19 years old. She had ck hair, and a simr pair of blue eyes. They looked so beautiful that Aldred couldn¡¯t help but stare at them.


    ¡°Does it feel good, my lord?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please keep going.¡±


    The both of them smiled and massaged his shoulders.


    ¡°My lord, we also have a spare room avable. Would you like toe with us?¡±


    Aldred looked at Lord Yanka. He nodded with a smile.


    ¡°Since the lord allows it then there¡¯s no reason to refuse. The girls will take a while to finish their grooming session anyway.¡±

 Chapter 170 Spa Massaging

    Aldred said goodbye to Lord Yanka and Bartrem before he left with the 6 maids.


    Bartrem was currently being massaged in the chair and he enjoyed it greatly.


    Lord Yanka smiled and stood up. ¡°I will let you enjoy yourselves. I have some matters I need to attend to.¡±


    Bartrem was about to stand up, but Lord Yanka did not let him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to stand. You are my guest and should be treated properly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Yanka.¡±


    Lord Yanka smiled and left. After walking through the hallway for a minute, his smile turned into a grin, but it was only for a moment. In fact the grin was so subtle that no one would notice it.


    A speck of shadow under his feet moved.


    ¡­


    Aldred entered the dim spa room.


    At the corner there was some sort of box that spewed out rxing steam.


    There was a pair of rolled towels on the small bed, and a white pillow. The maids told Aldred to take off his clothes,y down, and rx. So he did and closed his eyes as the maids massaged his whole body.


    Even though Aldred had no back pain, tight muscle, etc, he did enjoy the massage.


    They kneaded his back, legs, thigh, arms, and shoulders. Everything.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Men must be so envious of you, my lord,¡± the maid with the ck hair and blue eyes said.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°You have everything. Charming and powerful. Any woman in the world would like to be yours.¡±


    ¡°I am not that great. By the way, what is your name?¡±


    ¡°I am Da, my lord.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± Aldred asked the ones with dark brown hair.


    ¡°My name is Selene, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but both of you are so beautiful and I cannot help but keep staring.¡±


    The both of them giggled.


    ¡°You tter us. You¡¯re going to make my fellow maids jealous of me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that,dies.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, my lord,¡± the other maids said.<sub></sub>


    Suddenly, a small shadow passed through their legs and disappeared. The maids only felt some small vibration, and they quickly ignored it.


    The steam that came out of the small box at the corner swayed slightly.


    ¡°To make it even better, why don¡¯t you tell me your name as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not jealous in any way, my lord. Selene is joking with us.¡±


    ¡°I insist on knowing your names. In return, all six of you must only serve me during my time in this ce.¡±


    The maids looked at each other and nodded.


    ¡°My name is Teresa.¡±


    ¡°I am Velia.¡±


    ¡°You can call me Carvilia, my lord.¡±


    ¡°And I am Velma.¡±


    ¡°All of you have beautiful names,¡± Aldredplemented.


    They all blushed at being praised. Aldred was so handsome and charming in his adult form. It made it hard for the maids to resist their heart from thumping louder than normal.


    ¡°You tter us.¡±


    Aldred gave them a smile. ¡°What do nobles do in their free time?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know much, my lord. When nobles came here, they usually only talked business with Lord Yanka. Maybe Selene knows something. She is more experienced than us.¡±


    ¡°The nobles usually hunt powerful monsters. In fact, our lord had captured some monsters for his guests to have fun. After the hunting session, both of them would usually have a good understanding of each other and business talks would be smoother.¡±


    ¡°Lord Yanka is smart.¡±


    ¡°He is smart, wise, and humble.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Aldred agreed.


    Selene smiled and caressed Aldred¡¯s neck seductively. Aldred looked at her, and she quickly pulled her hand while hiding her blushing cheeks.


    ¡°My lord,¡± vina called, holding a jar of honey with both hands. ¡°Would you like us to smear this honey on your back?¡±


    ¡°What honey is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Sky Honey, but also known as Heavenly Honey. It¡¯s not as amazing as it sounds, but the name came from how high the nests of the bees are.¡±


    ¡°Bees? Not wasps?¡±


    ¡°No, my lord.¡±


    So it wasn¡¯t the same wasps that were on Mount Fargon.


    ¡°It¡¯s imported from Paphia. The nation of the winged-man. It¡¯s one of their most famous products, and is in high demand from all over the continent.¡±


    ¡°What can it do for me?¡±


    ¡°Words wouldn¡¯t be enough to describe it, my lord.¡± Da smiled. Her flowing ck hair and enticing blue eyes made Aldred smile back at her.


    ¡°Alright. Smear it on me.¡±


    Da scooped the honey and smeared it on his back. Her slender hands were so soft on his back, and Aldred¡¯s back felt refreshed. The honey felt cold to the skin, but it was afortable type of cold. The ones you get from the air conditioner on a hot summer day.


    After rubbing and kneading his back, they told him to turn around. Selene and Da then massaged his legs, and thigh. As they went upward, Da slightly touched his sensitive part.


    Aldred of course felt it with all of his existence. Da seemed to be embarrassed as well, and she couldn¡¯t hide her red cheeks and kept pretending that nothing happened.


    Suddenly, the steam stoppeding out of the box.


    ¡°Oh my. We have to rece the steam box.¡±


    ¡°We need 4 people to use that refilling machine. Selene, Da, will both of you stay here and entertain the lord?¡±


    ¡°We will be fine,¡± Selene said.


    ¡°Excuse us, my lord. We have to refill the steam box.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Take  your time.¡±


    As both Selene and Da continued on massaging him, he couldn¡¯t help but be enticed more and more by their appearances. They looked so beautiful the more he looked at them.


    Aldred idently put his hands on Da¡¯s thigh. She jerked slightly and blushed while seemingly ignorant of what he did.


    As Selene rubbed on Aldred¡¯s stomach, his hands were staying still, but because of her position it identally touched her private part.


    Selene blushed, but she continued on rubbing his stomach. In fact, while she moved her private parts were constantly rubbing against his hand.


    Aldred didn¡¯t know what to do. It felt weird if he had to pull his hand and continued to stay still like he did not feel anything. Though he did enjoy the experience.


    Suddenly, their feet slipped on the spilled honey and fell onto his chest. Their hearts beat fast as they stared at Aldred.


    Panicking, they immediately wanted to pull out, but Aldred held them instead. ¡°Both of you are so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°We apologize, my lord.¡±


    The two blushed and Aldred¡¯s hand moved on their buttocks, bringing them closer to him as if he wanted to kiss them.


    Selene and Da closed their eyes, but then the door clicked open and the three of them pulled out, pretending nothing happened.


    The 4 maids returned while bringing the steam box. They put it in the corner and activated it. Steam came out.


    Selene, Da, and Aldred pretended nothing happened. He stayed silent as the maids continued on massaging him.


    (You SOB (your favorite editor taylor9189)

 Chapter 171 Hunting Session

    After the massage, Aldred was escorted back to his room where his women were already there waiting for him.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡±


    ¡°I thought you guys would take your time. Anyway, let¡¯s go to sleep.¡±


    They went to sleep with Aldred¡¯s clones. Hugging 7 women at once was quite the experience.


    But suddenly, Aldred decided to drink their blood. It had been a while since he drank their blood. He did not want to do it too much as it might weaken them, although there did not seem to be any side effects.


    One by one he bit their neck and quenched his thirst. Their moans rang out under the night sky, filled with love, pleasure, and bliss. Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ste, and Zafrina all enjoyed the pleasure and they let Aldred do whatever he wanted to them.


    [Baron Blood Vampire Lv. 10]


    [Evolution: 69/100]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 1]


    [Evolution: 66/100]


    The three moons were at their peaks in the sky, giving dim light to the world under the sky. Slowly, they fell beyond the horizon, and arose the sun from below.


    Birds chirping softly from outside as Aldred woke up. The girls were sleeping, and Aldred looked at them with a smile. ¡°They¡¯re gettingzier andzier by the day.¡± Heughed before kissing them one by one.<sub>-.</sub>


    His clones were still sleeping. They were currently dreaming in the milking-milfnd. What a wonderful dream they had.


    Aldred looked at his women and smiled naughtily. He activated his skill ¡®Dream Maniption¡¯ and changed their dream to Aldred doing ¡®stuff¡¯ to them.


    They started to squirm and blushed. Sophia even started to breathe haggardly, and then her whole body vibrated. Ste was calm and kept smiling all the time. Ivette on the other hand turned into a red apple. Her cheeks were so red.


    After a while, all of them began to orgasm. They woke up abruptly, and Aldred giggled.


    Mareona noticed his expression. ¡°Aldred! Did you change our dream?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Mareona red at him, and pounced. Aldred was ready to be pped, but she kissed him instead.


    ¡°Humph! I will forgive you this time.¡±


    She then hugged him tight.


    Aldred caressed her back and felt bad.


    He then spent a few minutes to give each of them love until they decided to go out of the room.<sub></sub>


    Bartrem was there and he stopped when he saw Aldred while the soldiers behind him stopped as well.


    Bartrem told them to go to the dining hall first and he looked at Aldred as the soldiers passed him.


    ¡°How¡¯s your night?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It was perfect. The maids are so good with their hands.¡±


    ¡°Hey, people might misunderstand if you say it that way.¡±


    Bartrem shrugged. ¡°Some of the soldiers did it with the maids.¡±


    ¡°Did what?¡±


    ¡°Did ¡®that¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ohh.. Wait what? Is that allowed?¡±


    ¡°Lord Yanka doesn¡¯t seems to mind.¡±


    ¡°He knows?¡±


    ¡°Even Byron knows.¡±


    ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t allowed.¡±


    ¡°Lord Yanka said the maids can do whatever they want. As long as they have fun and not make any problem, there¡¯s nothing to be angry about.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s veryid back for a powerful lord.¡±


    Bartremughed. ¡°I like him. He¡¯s very different from all the nobles I see in Ceraisian Empire.¡±


    ¡°This is not Ceraisian.¡±


    ¡°I know, but almost all nobles are the same.¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    After their little chatter, Aldred went to the dining hall with Bartrem and the rest.


    ¡°Anyway, where is Pongo? I see that penguin less and less. What the hell is he doing?¡±


    ¡°He hangs out more with the female soldiers,¡± Mary said. ¡°Last time I saw him have a sleepover with 15 girls.¡±


    ¡°Damn, he defeated me.¡±


    Mareona pped his head. ¡°Defeated you in what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡±


    After a few minutes, they arrived at the dining hall and the maids already prepared breakfast for them. Aldred looked around but he did not see Selene and Da, and 4 other maids.


    He still remembers their names: Teresa, Velia, Carvilia, and Velma. Sadly, they were nowhere to be seen.


    Aldred was quite disappointed, but he shrugged and sat down with his women. Lord Yanka was sitting beside him and talked about some small things before they began their feast.


    The breakfast today was a little heavier. More meat, fruits, and veggies. There was also more wine. Aldred did not like it at first, but he started to enjoy it more and more.


    He quickly ate the food, stuffing mouth with all the meat his hands can reach.


    Mary smiled when she saw Aldred eat with such appetite. She grabbed a towel and wiped the stain on his lips.


    Ste shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not how you do it.¡±


    She leaned and then licked Aldred¡¯s lips, removing the stain. Ste giggled as Aldred kissed her before continue eating.


    ¡°You have good rtionship with all your women,¡± Lord Yanka said. ¡°I have to say that I am a little bit envious of you.¡±


    ¡°For a Count to be envious of me. I do not deserve such honor.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Lord Yankaughed. ¡°You do deserve it.¡±


    ¡°I treat them like family. Genuine love and passion. They can trust their life to me and I will never betray that trust.¡±


    Lord Yanka sighed. ¡°In our line of work, trust is an impossiblemodity. It¡¯s nice to see that people can truly be themselves. When I retire, I will surely do that.¡±


    ¡°I encourage that. Nothing is better than doing what you want to do and be whatever you want to be.¡±


    Lord Yankaughed again as they continue eating the food. When they were done, the maids came over and invited the girls to go shopping for some clothes.


    Zafrina and the others jumped right in, leaving Aldred alone once again. Aldred smiled and waved at them.


    ¡°Let them have fun,¡± Lord Yanka said. ¡°Sometimes, they need their own ¡®girls¡¯ time.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that!¡± Byron said. ¡°We also need our own BOYS time. Gentlemen! I am sure you have heard that we have monsters in the house. Why don¡¯t I invite you for some hunting session?¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up.

 Chapter 172 Monster Encounter

    Aldred, Bartrem, Maverick, Byron and all the male soldiers were currently in the forest behind the lord¡¯s castle.


    It was surrounded by tall magical fences that prevented the monsters within the man-made forest from getting out.


    ¡°There are many monsters in this forest, and thendscape is made to be confusing andplicated,¡± Byron exined. ¡°Some monsters are stronger and deadlier than the others. Of course to keep the predators upied and entertained there are lots of docile monsters for them to hunt and eat. Also be very careful about the nts in this forest. They can be your weapon, but they can also be your downfall.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°The nts can attack, entrap, and ensnare nearby targets. Even predators won¡¯t survive if they get caught by these nts. I won¡¯t tell you the details of course. But don¡¯t worry, Diamond Ranks are ready at all times to save you just in case.¡±


    ¡°There are rules to follow in this hunting session. First, we cannot use our full power. The only thing allowed is using your physical strength, techniques, and tactics.¡±


    ¡°So no magic?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°No undead?¡±<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°No powerful treasures?¡±


    ¡°Nope. You can only use ordinary armor.¡±


    ¡°What about weapons?¡±


    ¡°Weapons are the only exception. You can use whatever you want for the weapons as long as it¡¯s not too powerful. This hunt will not be fun if you can kill the beast in one sh.¡±


    Aldred pulled out the long sword on his back. All this time, except in bed, he had always carried it on his back. Powerful aura rushed through his body the moment he held it.


    He willed the sword to control its power. Aldred believed that the full power of the sword could kill any monsters in this forest. But since Soul Reaper was a living sword, it could control its strength to any level.


    Aldred was excited. Except for Xer Xai, it was hard to find someone that could match him in strength. Now, he could limit his own power, and fight something stronger.<sub></sub>


    There were benefits in doing this; first, his techniques would increase and he could use the experience if someday he fought something or someone who was truly stronger than him.


    Byron frowned when Aldred pulled the sword for the first time. It was as if a threatening aura was about to cut him into thousands of pieces. But secondster, that aura disappeared. He shook his head and did not think about it too much.


    ¡°Since all of you understand the rules, let me tell you the goals. Kill as many monsters as you can. The Diamond Ranks hidden in the forest will keep your scores. The scores can be derived from how efficient you kill, how creative you are in using the environment, and even escaping from dangerous monsters can also be an extra score for you. There will be rewards for the winner, so happy hunting, my friend.¡±


    Byron pulled the lever on therge steel fence. Suddenly, a part of the fence creaked inwardly as if inviting them toe in. Aldred walked in first, followed by Bartrem and the others.


    ¡°You can work in a team or work alone. Of course the scores will be split if you are in a team.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Sorry, guys. But I am not splitting any scores. Winner takes all!¡±


    Aldred then rushed into the forest.


    Bartrem looked at his men. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can defeat Aldred alone. Let¡¯s make a team and work together properly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll show Aldred what we got.¡±


    ¡­


    Lord Yanka was sitting in his office with a ss of wine in his hand. In front of him was a blue orb that shot out a projection, showing Aldred running into the forest.


    He drank his wine and grinned.


    ¡­


    Deep into the forest, Aldred killed any living creatures he saw. Whether they were docile or dangerous, he cut them all down.


    But he knew these monsters weren¡¯t the real deal. Byron must have something that could match him.


    And not long after, he found something interesting. It was arge beast, around 15 meter tall (49 feet), and skin fully protected by thick pir-like crystals.


    In one nce, Aldred knew those crystals would be hard to prate. Well, he could attack the monster¡¯s soul instead, but he did not want to cheat in this game.


    Aldred entered a stance, left foot in front, de parallel to his face, pointing towards the beast.


    The beast looked at him for a second. Aldred was smiling. Tense and excited for the battle that wille.


    The beast blinked and walked away before eating a boulder nearby.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    That was unexpected. Aldred snorted and charged at the beast, raising his de, he swung down at the tail.


    But the beast was quick to react. The tail swung horizontally, and Aldred saw a very small blue crystal at the tip of tail. He stepped back, narrowly missing the crystal by an inch.


    Aldred stared as the beast turned around and roared at him. A small wound opened up from his left cheek, across the nose, and ended on his right cheek.


    That crystal wasn¡¯t an ordinary crystal. It was ultra sharp.


    ¡°So you¡¯re a full defense and full offense type of beast. I will take your slow movement to my advantage.¡±


    The beast mmed its humongous jaw on the ground. Aldred wondered what it was doing until the beast rolled towards him like a giant wheel.


    When the beast was about to crash into him, Aldred raised his sword. ¡°Foresight sh!¡±


    His whole body sparked in blue particles and the beast passed through it like his body was merely an illusion. The effect onlysted for a moment, probably less than a second, but it was enough to dodge a critical attack from the monster.


    The beast stood up and mmed its thick and gigantic tail on the ground, shaking the earth before turning around and facing Aldred.


    [Guragaan]


    Level: 78


    Power: Sleepy Crystal, Nano Sharp crystal, Body roll, Big booty.


    History: Known as the wiggler, this massive beast would wiggle its big butt at powerful monsters to lure them before whipping the giant hammer-like tail in their face.

 Chapter 173 Guragaan

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Guragaan]


    Level: 78


    Power: Sleepy Crystal, Nano Sharp crystal, Body roll, Big booty.


    History: Known as the wiggler, this massive beast would wiggle its big butt at powerful monsters to lure them before whipping the giant hammer-like tail in their face.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred stared back at the beast, de at the ready. The beast stomped the ground, charging at him, and Aldred rushed forward, dodging the sharp crystals on its jaws.


    For a few minutes, Aldred kept on circling him, trying to find any weakness, but his de was deflected by the thick pir-like crystals.<sub>-.</sub>


    After a few, he finally found the way to defeat it. Aldred leaped into the sky as the beast attacked, passing below him. He held the long sword with both hands and drove the tip in between the crystal pirs.


    ZIING!


    The de went in deep in the middle of the tail, and Aldred pushed it to the right with a roar. The de sliced with much difficulty, but eventually¡ª the tail was cut off.


    The beast roared and swayed, unused to the imbnce, but eventually it stood strong and red at Aldred with steaming out of its small nostril.


    Aldredughed and charged at the beast, sliding down under and shing at its leg, dodging the jaw mming attack.


    The legs were strong, but Aldred noticed a small mark that he made. If he could keep attacking that point, the leg would give up.


    Guragaan, the beast, mmed its stone-like w at him. It felt like a gigantic sledgehammer was falling at him.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Lateral Step sh!¡±


    The long sword sweeped horizontally, attacking the leg, while also pushing Aldred to the side.


    The red color on the de increased to the tip. Every time Aldred attacked, this red color would increase from the handle and up to the tip.


    And since Aldred had attacked many times, the red color had reached the tip of the de. He did not understand much, but this red color thing let him perform special attacks such as cutting the soul of the target which would deplete the red color.


    From now on he would call it the spirit meter, since it could cut spirit and soul.


    To summarize, the Spirit Meter would increase as long as Aldred attacked, and it gave him many benefits such as increasing his strength, and letting him use special attacks such as Spirit sh and Spirit thrust. These two attacks could cut the soul of his opponent and reduce their power.


    The other feature of this sword was something Aldred called Spirit Outline. Same with Spirit Meter, Spirit Outline gave him more strength, power, speed, and when it reached the red color, it would let him execute a special move called Spirit Downward sh.


    He could do this move with White Spirit Outline, and Yellow Spirit Outline, but the damage was 10% to 20%pared to when it reached the red level.


    The Spirit Outline started from white, yellow, and then red.


    The way to increase the Spirit Outline was to use Spirit sh thrice in abo or counter attacking after a foresight sh.


    ¡­


    The heavy w mmed to the ground beside him. The mark on the beast leg got deeper, and Aldred shed it a few more times before then leaping backward.


    More steam came out of the beast, Aldred could tell it was irritated. How could it not, he just cut off its tail.


    Aldred let the beast charge at him and when the beast attacked, he activated Foresight sh, and then counter attacked its legs.


    The outline on his de changed to white. The beast attacked again. Aldred did the same thing, and now the outline changed to yellow. For the third time, the outline changed to red.


    With each outline color changed, Aldred became stronger and faster. He also used the sword more proficiently than before.


    That was when the long sword guided him to move again. His whole body shed forward while red particles covered his body. The sword shed, leaving a trail of red color, but instead of attacking the soul of the beast, all the hard scales, and thick crystals protecting the beast were shed before the de went deep into the thigh andpletely removed the beast¡¯s left leg.


    ¡®What power is this?¡¯ Aldred thought to himself. Then he recalled something Ste had said. About a spirit weapon that could cut any physical object in the world.


    Did the sword just change from cutting the soul realm to cutting the material realm?


    The Spirit Meter reduced more than half for using this ability, but it was worth it as the beast fell to its side, unable to stand up.


    That was when his sight was hyper-focused on one point. It was like his whole vision zoomed in like a microscope, staring at one celr cell on the beast¡¯s belly.


    ¡°Spirit Thrust!¡±


    The de struck, his whole body glowed red, and it shed forward before the tip stabbed through the belly.


    It seared through the scales easily, prating deep into the beast¡¯s flesh. His body was still glowing red, and the red energy pushed him into the sky before pulling him down onto the beast.


    ¡°Spirit Downward sh!¡±


    Aldred shed vertically. A red trail shed, and then the monster was cut into thousands of pieces as sharp, chaotic red energy shed all over the monster.


    Aldred understood more and more about The Soul Reaper. Like he had said before, it wasn¡¯t designed to fight weak entities. Instead, it was designed to fight something stronger than itself.


    It was also made for consecutivebo attacks. As long as he used all the skills at the proper timing, he believed he could defeat any monsters that were stronger than him. Maybe he could even defeat something that was above the Gold Rank as well.


    He was certain that he could defeat a weaker tinum Rank, but it was still uncertain since it had not been proven yet.


    [You have killed Guragaan]


    [+3,900 EXP]

 Chapter 174 Mysterious Lady

    Aldred stepped on the beast¡¯s corpse and raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    ck mist engulfed the beast. Aldred had seen this scene repeated many times before so he was used to it. But the feeling of getting new undead always gets him excited.


    So when the beast stepped out in its undead form, Aldred¡¯s body vibrated in excitement. With mystic purple lines glowing all over its body, the crystals on the beast body looked so mysterious and dangerous at the same time.


    ¡°Okay, what should I name you? You know what. I am toozy to name you. Let¡¯s just call you Juragan instead.¡±


    Aldred then told the monsters to vanish before he continued looking around the forest. He saw a lot of weird bugs on the way, and a lot of suspicious-looking nts. After what Byron said about those nts, he did not want to test his luck with them.


    After a few hours, Aldred realized that the forest was really huge. There were hills, gigantic trees that went through the clouds, and some even had roots asrge as a house.


    He passed by a lot of monsters on the way, but he killed all of them. Aldred did not know what reward Byron would give, and he wasn¡¯t that serious about ying this hunting game either. He just wanted to have fun until the astrbe activated and he could begin his journey again.


    And yeah, he still remembers that he had to go to Paphia first and visit the Lair of Treasure to obtain the shield andplete the Golden Battle Gear set.


    Suddenly, Aldred saw a shining green misting out from a cave. He frowned and took a closer look before entering the cave. Inside, there were some crystals that gave a dim light for the cave.


    The cave was small and there was nothing else inside.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°I should go back. The monsters I hunted should be enough.¡±


    Aldred turned around about to leave the cave, but a beautiful woman in a light green dress appeared and stared at him. Her whole body seemed ethereal, barely entering the physical state and non physical state.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°So you are the one,¡± The beautifuldy said.


    ¡°The one who?¡±


    Thedy smiled. ¡°Your presence affects many beings in this world, my boy.¡± Her voice was sweet. ¡°They are scared of you and yet there is nothing they can do about it.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Thedy shook her head. ¡°You will know sooner orter.¡±


    She raised her hands, and some sort of divine green energy came out of her body, condensed on her palm before forming a jade medallion.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Take this medallion with you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need something like that.¡±


    ¡°Take it. It will do you wonders in your journey.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. You¡¯re a weirddy in the middle of the forest that suddenly gives me a piece of jade. You expect me to smile and take it just like that?¡±


    The beautifuldy red at the word ¡®weird¡¯. This was the first time someone called her that way, not to mention the person in question was a boy below 15 years old.


    If she did not know who this boy was, she would punish him.


    Punish him very dearly.


    ¡°This jade will help you in getting stronger. You have a lot of enemies, child. Many people will try to kill you.¡±


    Aldred looked at her with suspicion which irritated thedy.


    Eventually she sighed and grabbed his hands by force before channeling the energy from the jade throughout his body.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing!¡±


    Thedy ignored him and let the channel cycled within his body once.


    That was when Aldred received a notification.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 250/7550


    ¡°What is this?¡± Aldred looked at his hands. ¡°I feel like my body is stronger now, but it¡¯s not strength.¡±


    ¡°The durability of your body increased. From now on, you can take attacks more effectively than before.¡±


    ¡°What is this World Refined Physique thing?¡±


    Thedy smiled. ¡°Your ability is quite something. So it told you the name of the talent you got. Interesting. That World Refined Physique is as it says, a physique refined by the world. Use this jade to further strengthen your body, but it will not always work. After using it, you need something to temper your body. Only when you tempered it to its limit can you further strengthen it with this jade.¡±


    ¡°Soplicated.¡±


    Thedy sighed again. ¡°Basically, you need to get hit a lot before using this jade to get a stronger physique.¡±


    Aldred inspected the jade.


    [Heavenly Jade Token]


    ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡±


    Thedy smiled. ¡°You will know sooner orter. For now, I will leave you on your own.¡±


    She started to fade and then vanished.


    ¡°What a mysteriousdy.¡± Aldred looked at the medallion and tried to absorb the energy within it. Only a trickle came out that cycled inside his body, but nothing came afterwards.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 270/7550


    ¡°I should keep this in my inventory.¡± The medallion vanished and entered his inventory.


    Aldred walked around the forest for a couple more hours, killing monsters, and almost getting caught by some weird nts.


    But after he had enough, he returned to the starting point. Only Byron was there, sitting on a chair with arge table in front of him. There were fruits, wines, and tes of meat. The tes gave heat to the meat using magical runes carved on them.


    This kept the meat hot and tasty.


    ¡°The others aren¡¯t back yet?¡±


    ¡°No. I am surprised you would return so soon. I thought you would hunt for longer.¡±


    ¡°Nah. I am bored of monsters. They¡¯re not challenging enough.¡±


    Byronughed. ¡°Yeah, you would say that. I believe you¡¯re going to get the treasure. With your power, you might just be able to. I am not going though.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to continue?¡±


    ¡°No. Mount Fargon is just the first stage of this treasure hunt. That¡¯s where the big yers can sit still and buy some astrbes from the adventures, but the second stage will be where they y. They will send their best men in this phase, and use everything they can to defeat theirpetitors. I am not ready to y this game yet.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°So I will face these people in the future.¡±

 Chapter 175 Scores

    After a while, Bartrem and all the soldiers returned from the forest. They were battered with dirt, mud, and leaves all over their armor and faces.


    ¡°Wow. You guys really tried hard out there,¡± Aldred said.


    Bartremughed. ¡°We had so much fun. You won¡¯t believe how many types of monsters there are in that forest. The other teams almost got eaten by a giant nt because the monster pushed him. Apparently, they learned how to utilize the environment as well.¡±


    ¡°The monsters I fought never did that to me.¡±


    ¡°You probably killed them before they even got the chance.¡±


    Aldred and Bartrem chatted about their experience in the forest. Maverick joined in on the conversation.<sub>-.</sub>


    ¡°The monsters are wild! I was fighting a weird gigantic lizard until anotherrge monster came rushing at us. I thought we were getting attacked, but the beast attacked therge lizard instead. Let me tell you. Seeing tworge beasts fighting was a fantastic experience.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why my father holds some monster diators events sometimes,¡± Byron said. ¡°He would do it every year or so, and he would invite the nobles and wealthy men to watch the show.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Maverick agreed. ¡°I sometimes go to your father¡¯s diator show.¡±


    Byronughed. ¡°Alright. Since everyone is back, let me call my men to tell you the score. So Bartrem. You team up with all the soldiers while Maverick you have your own team, and Aldred you are alone.¡±


    Six old men suddenly appeared behind Byron. They had a note in their hand, and Byron piled them before reading it aloud.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Maverick. Your team killed 27 monsters with speed and techniques, but you never use the environment to defeat them. Lack of creativity and utility makes your scores at 470 points.¡±


    ¡°Bartrem. You and your team are totaled at 24 members, making it thergest team in this game by numbers alone. But your team has great coordination, teamwork, and timing. Not only that, you masterly use the environment to trap the beast and weakened them. And here it said that you use poisonous nts, put them in meat, and then gave it to the monsters to kill them. Your strategy and tactics defeated a lot of beasts with limited effort and time.¡±


    Byron was shocked at the long list, but he continued. ¡°And you even drowned 8 beasts by theke. Lurend predators far away from their suitable environment, and make them struggle in mud and tight spaces. You use stealth tactics to ambush predators. Baiting more than 8 monsters to fight each other before killing them off, and putting the carcass of these beasts in one area to scare off predators  and use this ce as a resting spot for your team. This gives you a safe ce to retreat whenever the n goes awry and have saved you many times.¡±


    Byron was speechless. ¡°What the hell. Who the fuck are you?¡±


    Even Maverick and Aldred were shocked. The both of them only treated this as a fun game, but Bartrem seemed to think the opposite.


    One of the Diamond Ranks stepped in and looked at Bartrem with admiration in his eyes. ¡°Bartrem coordinated his team elegantly, assigning leadership and specific tasks and divided his teams into many categories and types. With everyone knowing what they needed to do, each team, and each soldier executed their task with noplications and most of the ns went well. I have to say that I am impressed by his leadership capability. If he wasn¡¯t a Gold Rank, I would beg Lord Yanka to make you the Grand Commander of the Hajheletmik army.¡±


    Byron widened his eyes. ¡°Bartrem. You should feel proud. The one that praised you is the formermander of the army and has a lot of battle experience with him.¡±


    Bartrem nodded and saluted at the old man.


    ¡°Keep up the good work, soldier,¡± The Diamond Rank said with a smile.


    ¡°Bartrem. Your score is totaled at 940 points. It¡¯s twice as much as Maverick¡¯s point. Although I believe you did not y this game seriously enough, Maverick.¡±


    Maverick shrugged. He didn¡¯t think the game would be thispetitive.


    Byron took the next note. ¡°This one is for Aldred. You defeated every monsters using precise and concise movements, finding every weakness of the monsters and strike with great timing. Your de as if alive guided your movement to be as smooth as an uninterrupted stream. Using constant consecutive strikes to overwhelm the beast, and using unique invulnerable ability to surprise the enemy before counter attacking them.¡±


    Byron raised an eyebrow. ¡°Invulnerable ability? And he still got points?¡±


    The Diamond Rank stepped forward and told Byron something.


    ¡°Oh, this abilityes from his sword. Well, I did make the rule, and that power is not really a game changer or too overpowered anyway, so I will only cut some small points. Continuing the note: You did not use the environment at all, and never considered if the monster might use its surrounding to fight you. It said here that you struggled a few times against monsters who are effective at using the rocks, nts, trees, and other objects in their surrounding to fight you. But you defeated them all purely with your high mastery of the sword art, precise hand coordination, and relentless linked chainbo.¡±


    ¡°And your score is.¡± Byron looked at him with a frown. ¡°940 points. The same as Bartrem and his team points.¡±


    Everyone was shocked. Those who knew Aldred would never have thought he would be defeated in anything that involves fighting, but this time he did lose for once.


    After the statement, the soldiers were in an uproar and they cheered as loud as they could.


    ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°We got a draw with Aldred!¡±


    They were so happy to get a draw because they didn¡¯t even think it was possible to reach his score, and yet they did it. They matched his score in this game.


    ¡°Good game,¡± Aldred said with a smile at Bartrem. ¡°You have always been a good leader since the first time I fought by your side in the fort.¡±


    From today, Aldred admitted Bartrem and the soldiers¡¯ strength, and he would rely on them should he encounter a problem against his enemies.

 Chapter 176 Enjoying Time

    ¡°Alright, since we have a draw, the reward is for everyone to enjoy. Maids please treat these warriors.¡±


    Dozens of maids guided everyone to sit and then took their armor before massaging them and wiped the dirt off their body. Some quickly gave them wine and food, while some knelt and massaged their feet.


    Aldred shook his head and smiled. ¡°Nobles really do know how to make people happy.¡±


    The soldiers were all smiling and treated like a king by the maids. Lord Yanka and Byron were really nice. They sent the female soldiers for skin care, and clothes shopping while the men were given massages and ¡®wonderful¡¯ treatment by the maids.


    But then Aldred got confused as to why the maids did note to him. That was until he saw the 6 familiar maids.


    ¡°You guys! I didn¡¯t see you all at the dinner hall.¡±


    The 6 maids bowed. ¡°We apologized, my lord. We had to attend to some matters.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I am not mad or anything.¡± Aldred sat down, and the maids went to work; feeding him, massaging, and giving him wine.<sub>-.</sub>


    Aldred was currently in his adult form, so there was more surface areas for the maids to massage. He believed it was harder to massage a child although he wasn¡¯t sure about that either, but he chose to be in his adult form when getting a massage.


    Selene walked in front of him and put both hands on his shoulders, pressing some stiff points that relieved the pain. He wasn¡¯t in much pain, but being massaged was always nice.


    Not to mention he could see the two well-endowed breasts bouncing in front of him.


    Da knelt down, and put a firm grip on his calf. He had to admit that they were really good at this as Aldred stared at her cleavage. It was smooth and slightly red. Da nced at him and sweetly smiled which made Aldred blush at being found out.


    Aldred realized that both Selene and Da wore tighter clothes than the rest of the maid. They were also more revealing, and amplified the curves of their waist, and the outline of their buttocks.


    After massaging his shoulder, Selene slid her hands down to his chest, and she pressed them with her thumb, making a back and forth movement that made her breast came closer and then farther. This scene repeated a bunch of times and he could smell her body.


    It was a sweet scent of flowers and honey.<sub></sub>


    Aldred felt desire within him formed. He looked at them differently with a slight lust and passion.


    After a few hours, it was time for the maids to leave.


    ¡°We will be leaving now, my lord.¡± Selene bowed.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself, and you can say no to me, but I want to ask. Are you willing to apany me in bed? You can say no. I give no pressure at all. I swear. Everyone here can be a witness.¡±


    Aldred did not want to pressure them to have fun with him. He knew his status as Lord Yanka¡¯s guest and the friend of Maverick, the son of Lord Aleron, which was a powerful count.


    If he only asked bluntly, they might be scared to say no which was something he did not want. Aldred wanted to know if they liked him too or not.


    Selene and Da hesitated, and after a few seconds, they looked at him and bowed. ¡°We would like to take our time to think, my lord.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. No pressure, remember. I don¡¯t want you to do this because of my status. Honestly, I like both of you, but if you don¡¯t feel the same way as I do, then it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡±


    The maids left, and Aldred sighed in his seat.


    ¡®Did they not like me?¡¯


    That hit his confidence a bit. He thought his adult form was handsome enough. After all, it looked very simr to his father, and he got a beauty like his mother as his wife with that face.


    Well, his face wasn¡¯t the only selling point though.


    ¡°I should treat them nicerter.¡± He sighed. ¡°How did I get Mira and the others to like me again?¡±


    The whole day, Selene and Da were the only thing that he thought about. The girls were still nowhere to seen. Maybe they were still shopping and grooming. Girls love those things so Aldred allowed them to take their time.


    As everyone was rxing on top of the wide balcony, overseeing the man-made forest from below, Aldred grabbed his orange juice and took a sip.


    Bartrem wasying down on a long lounge chair beside him. The sun was about to fall below the horizon, and they were watching the sunset together.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you wish this to be forever?¡± Maverick asked.


    ¡°This view?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Everything. View, the moment, the feeling.¡±


    Aldred sipped his orange juice. ¡°This moment can only be enjoyed if we suffer, so no. I do not wish this to be forever. Have you ever heard the saying ¡®happiness exists because of suffering¡¯?¡±


    Maverick nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good saying. We can only be happy if we suffer. Weird but it makes sense if you think about it.¡±


    ¡°So what is your n for the future?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am going to Paphia after this. I need to take something, and after that I will wait for the astrbe to be activated and continue looking for the treasure. I heard Byron is not going to join the second phase. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I aming, but I am not looking for the treasure.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking for more blessings from the world?¡±


    Maverick nodded. ¡°The blessings I got from Mount Fargon already gave me a huge edge against other Gold Rank. I will just apany you to get more blessings. Who knows I might have more treasures that can help your situation.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Yeah, I got a lot of treasures from selling hot baths, but most of them are weapons and armors.¡±


    As they were chatting, Byron walked to them. ¡°Guys, my father invited you to watch a y.¡±

 Chapter 177 Theater Play

    Aldred, Bartrem, Maverick and everybody else walked inside a grand hall. It was lit bright by a bunch ofrge crystals on the ceiling. The seats were already prepared, and Lord Yanka invited Aldred to sit beside him.


    They were sitting right in front of arge stage where the actors would do their y.


    When Aldred sat down beside the lord, some maids already gave him some wine and fruits.


    ¡°How was the hunting session?¡± Lord Yanka asked.


    ¡°Well, I have to say that my friend shocked me a lot.¡±


    ¡°Oh, how so?¡±


    Aldred told Lord Yanka about Bartrem and his achievement.


    Yankaughed. ¡°To be praised by my formermander, that is quite the achievement. That friend of yours is very creative.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a good leader,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It makes me happy knowing that I can rely on him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, your journey will be hard, but if you keep working together with your friends, I am sure you will pass every challenge ahead.¡±


    ?(O)??? As they chatted with each other, the grand hall started to dim, and the curtain slid to the side, revealing two actor; a beautiful woman, and a handsome man holding each other¡¯s hand, seemingly in love.<sub>-?(0)???.</sub>


    ¡°Oh, Romero,¡± Thedy said. ¡°My family does not ept you to be my lover. You know the rtionship between our family is not good.¡±


    ¡°Julietta, our family¡¯s dispute is not our concern. In fact, our love might tie a bond between our family.¡±


    ¡°How can there be a bond between our families?¡±


    ¡°Then we should run away. Leave all this and live a new life. Will youe with me, Julietta?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I w¡ª¡±


    As Julietta was about to reply, dozens of guards came and grabbed their arms, pulling them away from each other.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡± Romero shouted.


    ¡°Romero!¡± Julietta shouted as she was being pulled away.


    ¡°Julietta!¡± Romero pushed the guards, and ran to her. The guards were about to attack him, but he defeated them all.


    Such was the power of a protagonist.<sub>  ?(O)???</sub>


    He then took Julietta by the hand, and ran in ce while the people changed thendscape with bushes and small trees.


    ¡°We should be safe here,¡± Romero said. ¡°They won¡¯t find us in this forest.¡±


    Julietta was silent, when Romero looked at her, he noticed that her face was red.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Romero asked.


    Julietta looked away and pointed.


    Romero looked below and noticed that his shirt and pants were ripped, revealing his underwear that couldn¡¯t cover his big dong.


    ¡°Sor¡ªsorry for that. I will look for new clothes when we reach the next city.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s fine.¡± Julietta put her hands on his chest, but still looking away with a blush. She slightly nced at him from time to time.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers were heated up.


    ¡°Just fuck her already!¡± Someone shouted from the back.<sub></sub>


    All the audience looked at the man who was standing. The man then sat down and hid.


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°I apologize, Lord Yanka.¡±


    Lord Yankaughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be too formal with me. I love it when people can be themselves and joke around a bit.¡±


    Romero and Julietta hugged each other. Three moons appeared from above, tied with a string.


    Romero looked at his lover. ¡°I love you, Julietta.¡± He kissed her on the lips, and unbuttoned her clothes.¡±


    As his hands moved around her smooth waist, stomach, and melons, he slowly pushed her to a nearby tree and cornered her.


    Julietta put her hands on his neck, and let Romero kiss her by the chest, to the shoulder, and up to her neck.


    They went at it, making love with each other in the forest at night.


    Watching the two make love reminded Aldred of his women. Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, and Zafrina were all beautiful women who he loved dearly.


    And then there were the two maids that caught his attention. Selene and Da.


    He couldn¡¯t get them out of his head, wondering if he said something that might turn them off. They might not like him at all.


    That made him sigh and drank some wine. His head became light while his imaginations of those two maids became wilder.


    How would they look when they¡¯re naked? Both of them had supple breasts and graceful figures, and they also had the same blue eyes.


    Lord Yanka stood up. ¡°Aldred, I have some matters to attend to. You can enjoy your time here. Let me excuse myself.¡±


    Aldred nodded but couldn¡¯t let out a reply. He was too drunk.


    When he was about to drink the wine again, the cup was empty.


    Julietta was moaning on the stage, and that made Aldred¡¯s body be hotter.


    Suddenly, Selene and Da came and poured some wine in his golden chalice.


    Aldred drank the wine in one gulp. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It is our pleasure to serve you, my lord.¡±


    Aldred looked at them. His vision went slightly blurred except for their face. It felt like his eyes were zooming on them and dear lord did they look so beautiful.


    His eyes went down to their body, and he noticed that they wore even more revealing clothes than before. It was tighter on the waist, and the breasts threatened to burst out.


    ¡°My lord, would you like to see our paintings collection?¡± Selene asked.


    Aldred did not think much and nodded as Both maids helped him in getting up.


    They went out of the grand hall and walked along the hallway. Aldred looked at their tight buttocks, swaying slightly side to side, and that hour ss waist was very desirable.


    They entered a room, and Selene showed off her painting collection on the wall. She pointed at one of them depicting: a handsome man with a pair of white, long wings, flying above the clouds.


    ¡°I got this one when the Duke of Skipsia came to visit. I made friends with maids they brought, and they gave me this paintings as a gift before they left.¡±


    Selene looked at Aldred. ¡°Sorry if you aren¡¯tfortable in this room, my lord. This is my shared room with Da, we can leave right away if you want to.¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred¡¯s head was spinning, and his eyes got more blurry with only a small dot focusing on Serene¡¯s body.


    She approached him with a worried expression. ¡°My lord, are you okay?¡±


    Da also approached him and touched his cheek to feel the temperature.


    With his rationality being broken by the wine, Aldred¡¯s lust was greater than before the more he looked at their graceful bodies.


    He pulled the both of them into his embrace and ripped their clothes.


    (You jerk- taylor9189)

 Chapter 178 Tree Some (R+18)

    Aldred grabbed both of their asses and lifted them both, throwing their backs onto the bed.


    Selene and Da were shocked, but when they saw his expression full of passion, they let him rip off their dresses, revealing their bras.


    He opened his mouth and two of his teeth changed into fangs. His vision shift to blood red. All the emotions welling up in his heart was amplified. All the lust, desires, and passion, and all he could think of was devouring Selene and Da.


    He wasn¡¯t a person that did not have self control, but for some reason or another, his mind lost a part of its rationality, and he couldn¡¯t even think about self control.


    His hands went to their ass, and squeezed hard, before ripping the rest of their dresses away. Their snow-white legs, and undergarment were all clear for him to see, and both Selene and Da were looking at him with thumping heart beats and starry eyes.


    They were charmed by his passion for them, and would let Aldred do anything to them.


    He grabbed their breast and kneaded them before Aldred pounced for Selene¡¯s neck.<sub>-?(0)???.</sub>


    ¡°Ahhh~¡± Selene moaned.


    Aldred released his bite for a bit and stared at her. She looked like a gentle woman who would make every man feel warm and would want to protect her. But that passionate look on her face made him want to ravage her.


    He wanted to explore her body, and make her moan in pleasure. His hands went in and caressed her supple white skin, and then ran at her curvy waist.


    Selene¡¯s cheeks became red and she looked at Aldred more passionately. That made his body feel hotter than before, and he wrapped his hands around her waist.


    Selene grabbed onto his pants, and slowly took them off. That was when his manhood revealed itself. He rubbed his rod on her heavenly cave and whispered in her ear. ¡°You are mine tonight.¡±


    She got turned on and blushed even more. ¡°I am yours for tonight, my lord.¡± She hugged his neck and closed her eyes as her juices started leaking out from all the rubbing.<sub>  ?(O)???</sub>


    She wanted that rod to get inside of her so bad, but she must be patient to let Aldred feel more satisfied.


    Aldred grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head back. He pushed his nose onto her breast, he took a sniff to pull her flowery scent into his nose. And then he put his lips on her juggs, kissing it gently.


    He made his way up to her neck, licked it, before gently biting her soft lips.


    He then squeezed her sexy mounds rapidly until his fingers made a red mark with a shade of red, matching the color of her nipples.


    ?(O)??? ¡°My lord, can you not be so rough,¡± Selene pleaded.


    For some reason that made him squeeze harder instead, and she moaned with the mix of pain and pleasure. He twisted her niple, and squeezed at the same time.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Ahhh, my lord. Please be more gentle.¡±


    Aldred did not listen to her. His rationality was almost non-existent at this point. His hand tore the panties, making Selene feel like she was vulnerable, but yet she felt safe in his arms.


    He grabbed her tight, and then pushed his rod inside of her heavenly cave. The moment the rod entered the cave, the both of them felt a lightning of pleasure striking them. Their bodies vibrated in excitement during the first push, and they hugged each other forfort.


    Selene then moved her waist back and forth, wanting to pleasure herself with his rod. She held onto Aldred while moving, but Aldred felt it was too slow, so he pushed her down and moved his hips even faster.


    Selene moaned every time his rod reached the entrance of her womb, and her eyes became even more dreamy than ever.


    ¡°Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah My lord, please fill me with your seed.¡±


    Aldred immediately did that, and filled her up with his love seeds. They both shook while hugging each other. Aldred moved his waist a little bit more to get all the seed inside, And after he was done, Selene fell onto the bed with a satisfied expression.


    Aldred rolled over and put his back onto the bed. He was still intoxicated and his lust was still at its peak. That was when he felt something on his rod. When he looked down, Da was already there moving her mouth up and down before licking the tip of his rod.


    Wanting more pleasure, Aldred grabbed her by the head and pushed her up and down even faster.


    His rod was long and gigantic, so it was hard for Da to make it fit inside her small mouth. But she forced it, and made half of his rod enter her throat.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and he moved his waist up and down, making it hard for Da to breathe, after a few seconds, he held her head with both hands, and put in his rod as far as possible before he cummed inside her throat.


    The quantity of his scalding hot load was so much that it filled her mouth. Some leaked out, but Da quickly swallowed it all before licking the little bit that leaked out of her mouth.


    Aldred felt slightly weaker and his arms fell to his side. Da then rode on top of him, fully naked from top to bottom. Her eyes were sparkling with stars and she kissed Aldred before putting his rod inside of her.


    Her graceful ck hair fell down and she hugged Aldred by the neck before moving her waist up and down. She moaned and moaned in pleasure by his ear as she did so.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Ah. Ah. Ahh.¡± Da began with slow movement.


    But then a pair of hands grabbed her ass and then moved her up and down even faster.


    ¡°Ah. Ah. Ah Ah. Ah.¡±


    Da¡¯s eyes were filled with passion, and she moaned loudly when Aldred pushed his rod deep inside of her before releasing his seed.


    The three of them went at it for the whole night, and their moans rang within the room.

 Chapter 179 What?

    Aldred woke up with both Selene and Da still sleeping beside him. There was a blood staining the sheet, and Aldred saw the both of them smiling.


    ¡°So they do like me,¡± Aldred said with a smile. He tried to recall what happen yesterday, and he thought that it was very weird. He became very bold yesterday, pulling them and pushing them down like that.


    Maybe girls do want a confident man although maybe slightly a bit forceful, but not too much.


    In any case, everything went well. He had a good time with the both of them.


    Selene and Da woke up, staring at him with a pair of sky blue eyes.


    They smiled and hugged him from the side.


    He hugged them back and caressed them before they kissed and made love for a few minutes.


    ¡°I have to leave now. My friends are probably looking for me.¡±


    Selene and Da nodded.


    ¡°I had a lot of fun with you two.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s our pleasure, my lord.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me lord.¡±


    ¡°We must do so.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just don¡¯t call me that if we are alone.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Aldred.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    Aldredughed before he got out of bed and left the room before waving at them.


    When he closed the door he saw Pongo the penguin with a small camera in his flippers.


    The penguin blinked before he ran away.


    ¡°Wait, Pongo. What the hell did you do?¡± He chased down the penguin through the hallway.


    They saw a staircase that led upward, and Pongo slid up from the railing.


    ¡°The fuck?¡± Aldred activated his me jet and chased after him. ¡°Give me that damn camera. And how the hell do you have a camera anyway?¡±


    ¡°Pongo pongo.¡±


    Just as his hand was about to grab onto the penguin, Pongo vomited a bomb and threw it at him.


    Boom!


    Smoke filled his sight, and when Aldred came out of the smoke, Pongo was nowhere to be seen.


    He snorted. ¡°I will get himter.¡±


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mareona walked to him aggressively. ¡°Where the hell have you been? We¡¯ve been waiting for an entire night!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I got drunk and slept.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Uhh¡­ somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Humph. So you dare to have fun with other girls without telling us?¡± Mareona grabbed him by the ear.


    ¡°Ouch. Ouch. Can you please stop pulling my ear.¡±


    Maryughed and gently pushed Mareona¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on him. Aldred, Lord Yanka told us that we can leave whenever we want.¡±


    ¡°Eh, what about the ¡®promise?¡¯. You know doing that to Byron¡¯s mother and sister.¡±


    ¡°He said that they had broken the curse,¡± Zafrina said with a tinge of doubt. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they break the curse? Then we are not needed here any longer.¡±


    Aldred did not think too much about it. He had been waiting for the mother and sister toe out, but it seemed like they were trying to break the curse on their own. Since they seeded, then he had no business to stay here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Paphia and find the Lair of Treasure.¡±


    ¡°The ce where the Forgotten Warrior told you to go?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yes. We can ride on Xer Xai and burrow under ground for faster travel.¡±


    ¡°We should say our goodbye to Lord Yanka then.¡±


    They all nodded and visited Lord Yanka together.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving already? I know you don¡¯t have any business here anymore, but you can rx for a while.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I thank you for the offer, Lord Yanka. But I have to go. The search for the treasure is not yet over, and I cannot rx until my goal is obtained.¡±


    Lord Yankaughed. ¡°Well said. A man should be ambitious. Especially when you have a lot of women to take care of. I cannot escort you out, but I hope you seed in your journey.¡±


    Aldred nodded and left the castle with the others.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± Byron asked.


    ¡°Yeah, we gotta go now,¡± Aldred said.


    He smiled. ¡°Alright. I will not slow you down. I will assign some guards to escort you out of the city. Good luck.¡±


    Aldred nodded and walked to the city gate while the guards walked beside them.


    When they were out, the guards saluted and turned around.


    ¡°Xer Xai! Yip Yip!¡±


    ¡°Mooo.¡± Xer Xai burst out of the ground in front of the gate with dust and dirt falling of her dark purple shining exoskeletons.


    She put her head on the ground and opened her jaw.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get in,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Are we entering its mouth?¡± Zafrina asked. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to be a good idea.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry she¡¯s tame.¡± Aldredughed as he entered the mouth and everyone else followed immediately.


    After everyone was inside, Xer Xai closed her mouth and then dived into the ground once again.


    Aldred opened his palm and lilies of me shot out before floating slowly inside Xer Xai¡¯s stomach. He then took out a map from his inventory.


    ¡°ording to the map, all we have to do is travel south east and we will arrive at our destination.¡±


    ¡°So we will be staying here for a few days?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will be asfortable as Byron¡¯s carriage.


    He then pulled out a bunch of crates of food and wine out of his divine dimension. There were also chalices, some tes, tables, and everything else.


    ¡°Where did you get all of this?¡±


    ¡°I found them,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it and enjoy the ride. Bartrem, let¡¯s get to cooking. I have some magical cooking devices for you to use.¡±


    They set up the tables and seats as Bartrem and the soldiers started cooking.


    Meanwhile, Zafrina was frowning. ¡°This is very weird.¡±


    ¡°What is?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The blood curse cannot be broken at all, and yet Lord Yanka is able to do that. Something is going on here.¡±


    Suddenly, Pongo ran passed them and Aldred caught him. ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    ¡°Now give me that camera.¡± Aldred took the camera and Zafrina noticed a picture.


    ¡°Let me borrow that.¡±


    Aldred gave it to her.


    When she looked at the picture, she widened her eyes. ¡°Aldred, tell me. Can this small tool able to paint an image realistically?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can say that.¡±


    ¡°So you are really sleeping with these two women?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Zafrina sighed. ¡°Now, I know.¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡± Mary asked. The other girls were also approaching them with curiosity.


    ¡°Oh, they both look beautiful,¡± Mary said. ¡°You have always been a charming one, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°Maybe I am.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you see the problem here,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Are you perhaps jealous?¡± Ste jokingly said.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean. These two women. They are Karolina and vina.¡±


    Zafrina looked at them dead in the eye. ¡°These two are Byron¡¯s mom and sister.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±

 Chapter 180 Hajduvar

    ¡°What!?¡± Everyone was shocked when they heard that.


    ¡°Why did they disguise themselves as maids?¡± Aldred asked.


    Zafrina frowned and she thought for a while. ¡°What do they want from you?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ breaking the curse?¡±


    ¡°And what exactly have you done?¡±


    Aldred looked at the picture. ¡°I broke the curse. But why couldn¡¯t they just ask me?¡±


    Zafrina shook her head. ¡°You never yed this game before, Aldred. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What game?¡±


    ¡°The game of power. I already understand why they disguised themselves as maids.¡±


    ¡°You do? Tell me.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    Maverick and the others wanted to know too. Maverick was a noble but he wasn¡¯t the smart type and instead trying to rely on his talent and strength to defeat his brother. He had terrible social skills and that was why Lord Aleron only sent his daughter towork.


    That was how Zafrina knew that the two maids were actually Byron¡¯s mother and sister.


    ¡°You might not know this, but you are famous for your greed, Aldred. People have been saying that you scam merchants, nobles, and wealthy men out of their gold and treasures.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re suspicious that I would extort them?¡±


    Zafrina nodded. ¡°The curse was a terrible one. It could ruin the entire family and erase them from existence. With such a huge stake, they believed that you will extort them with an extravagant price. Although Hajheletmik county is a rich region, every noble knew that there was no limit to greed.¡±


    ¡°Look what happened when we left. Lord Yanka got what he wanted while you left without a single coin from them.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°That was right. I actually wanted to ask for some stuff, but I was upied with all the fun, food, hunt, feast, and the maids¡ª wait¡­¡±


    Zafrina smiled. ¡°Now you understand.¡±


    ¡°All of that is intentional? They wanted to distract me from extorting them?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°That¡¯s right. They veiled their intention by giving everyone 4-6 maids, and they also did that to you. So you wouldn¡¯t think of it too much because everyone got the same treatment. And then I noticed that they always tried to divide the females and the males. That was to lure you away from us. Only when you are away from us can they seduce and charm you.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his head. ¡°You¡¯re right. After the meal, they kept pulling you away from me. Mary, Mira, Sophia, everyone was brought either for grooming or shopping. They¡¯ve been ying with us all this time.¡±


    Zafrina sighed. ¡°It was foolish of me not realizing this. Right from the start, you were weed warmheartedly by the people there. Even Lord Yanka greeted you and treated you like a friend.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ they tried so hard just to do this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate someone¡¯s greed, Aldred. If he agreed to one of your requests, you might ask for another one, and then another one until you suck their wealth dry. But look at what he had done. You left his region without getting anything, and Lord Yanka got exactly what he wanted.¡±


    Aldred shuddered. ¡°You¡¯re right. Man, these nobles can¡¯t be underestimated. I was ying right into their palm.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°I cannot believe that Selene and Da were actually acting.¡±


    Zafrina held his shoulder. ¡°They are masters in the art of seduction. Acting innocent and harmless in front of you to lure you into their grasp.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Now that I think about it. It is weird that they suddenly invited me to see their paintings collection. And they timed it perfectly. I was drunk and was watching an erotic y.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Their techniques and ways are sophisticated,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°You¡¯re lucky we can leave unharmed, Aldred. This is just them protecting their own interest. There are so many ways they can harm you and make your life miserable. And the worst thing is, you might not even know that it was them who did it.¡±


    Aldred looked at the camera. ¡°If Pongo did not take this picture. I would have never known.¡±


    Aldred smiled andughed.


    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°I learned a lot today. I should feel thankful to Lord Yanka. He taught me a valuable lesson; use distraction to veil your real intentions. This will be useful someday in the future.¡±


    ¡­


    All social creatures are actors. Do not believe what you have been shown.


    ¡­


    After a few days of traveling Aldred arrived at Akrolilenai Province. It was located almost in the middle of the nation, and there was one famous city that Aldred had to visit if he wanted to enter the dungeon¡ªHajduvar.


    ¡°You have to be careful, Aldred,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°There¡¯s strict regtion that control who cane in ande out of this dungeon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a dungeon. Why do they control it like this?¡±


    ¡°This dungeon brought richesparable to mana crystal mines. Because it was located right between the border of two provinces, there has been some tension as ofte. And although they never say it formally, almost everybody knows that both province would fight tooth and nail to get the most out of the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°They fought each other?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no different than nations fighting each other for morend and wealth.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so how do I enter the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°You have to pick one between the two province. Since we¡¯re going to Hajduvar, we might as well side with Akrolilenai Province.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t care which side to pick. I just want toplete my Golden Battle Gear.¡±


    Xer Xai burrowed out of the ground, and then ran at full speed at the grand city in front of them. The city wasn¡¯t protected by walls or gates, instead it was protected by a ss sphere that went high up into the sky.


    Aldred and everyone else could see the view outside by using Ste¡¯s magic mirror.


    Giant eagles with the body of a human soared in the sky. Some had eagle faces, the others had handsome faces. Aldred noticed there were more people that had eagle faces. Maybe they were mixed blood.


    The building structures in the city were quite tall. Aldred saw that the smallest building was at least 300 meters,parable to Xer Xai¡¯s body.


    ¡°What a unique city,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred smiled. There were skyscrappers in the modern world too, but they were made out of concrete.


    Meanwhile, the city used tall, and gigantic trees before shaping them into homes. The branches were thick andrge, and it was enough for a lot of people to build their homes there.


    The entire city looked like and full of giant trees.


    When Xer Xai was getting closer to the city, the winged-men people seemed to be in a panic, and they took their weapons before flying out of the ss dome.


    ¡°We should tell Xer Xai to slow down,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°Or there will beplications.¡±

 Chapter 181 Beautiful City

    ¡°HALT!¡±


    A winged-man with handsome appearances pped his pair of white wings with a spear in hand.


    Xer Xai stopped in her tracks. Aldred walked out of her mouth with the others and waved at them with a smile.


    ¡°Sorry to scare you guys. This is just my pet. Don¡¯t worry he¡¯s tame.¡±


    All the winged-man was shocked to hear that.


    ¡®This gigantic thing is his pet?¡¯ The more they looked at the creature, the more fearful they became of it.


    The leader of the winged-man frowned. ¡°You cannot bring your pet inside the city. It¡¯s too big.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine with that.¡±


    Aldred and the others jumped off her mouth and then Xer Xai burrowed under the ground.


    ¡°She will be staying outside the city if you don¡¯t mind.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Make sure she makes no trouble. If she does, we might have to kill her.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She won¡¯t do anything.¡±


    The leader stared at him for a moment before leaving with his men.


    ¡°Xer Xai¡¯s presence will make them be on guard against you. The winged-man race is known to have great defense against air attacks and ground infantry, but they never fought against something that came from under the ground,¡± Zafrina said.


    Aldredughed. ¡°I don¡¯te here to destroy their city. And since they have the bigger fist, let¡¯s just follow their rule.¡±


    Aldred and friends approached the city. There was an opening on the ss dome where merchants of all races brought their wagons inside. A lot of winged-man were guarding the sky, and some inspected the wagons for anything suspicious.


    The inspections were stricter than any cities Aldred had visited before. They even checked the spatial bag.


    When Aldred walked in, all of his friends were checked from top to bottom. Aldred let them do whatever they wanted since most of the stuff he had was stored in his divine dimension and inventory.


    ¡°You¡¯re all clear,¡± the guard said with a slight doubt.<sub></sub>


    Aldred walked inside the ss dome and then he was given a sphere of ss.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your Identification Sphere. You will need that to do anything in this city. From renting a room, buying things, and the guards will check on you periodically. Do not lose it. If you do, tell the guards immediately or you might risk detainment.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    After they walked a few meters away, Aldred looked at the crystal sphere in his hand. ¡°Even Ruandeurtin Fort isn¡¯t this strict. And the fort was at the frontier, right in front of the enemy¡¯s face.¡±


    ¡°Most of your battles there are skirmishes,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°The fight here could decide who will be more powerful or die trying.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that the battles are only skirmishes?¡±


    Zafrina smiled. ¡°You have to study a lot when you are the daughter of a noble. Sometimes, knowledge is more valuable than power in our case.¡±


    ¡°I see. Anyway, What do we need to do now?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Let¡¯s go register as an adventurer first. If you want to explore the Lair of Treasures, you have to be an adventurer and work for them. You will be tasked to enter the dungeon, and anything you get in there has to be submitted to the city. They will give you points and rewards before you are allowed to go deeper into the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°How would they know how deep I went?¡± Aldred asked.


    Zafrina shook her head. ¡°I do not know. I think they used some sort of secret crystals. Don¡¯t try your luck. I heard that a lot of people are being punished for viting this rule.¡±


    Aldred nodded and then walked to the adventurer¡¯s inn. The building was not a building but a gigantic tree with a lot of ssless windows. Aldred saw a lot of people enjoying the scene from their room.


    When they entered the giant tree, they were inside arge hall. People were bustling but it wasn¡¯t cramped because of how spacious it was. A wooden reception desk was in the center, and Zafrina led them there.


    ¡°How may I help you?¡± The receptionist asked with a sweet smile. She was a beautiful petite woman with a pair of small white wings. Sometimes they shook a bit which made her look cute.


    Near the receptionist desk was a bunch of tough-looking guards with an eagle head.


    ¡°We would like to register as adventurers and visit the Lair of Treasures.¡±


    ¡°Are all of you in one group?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I only need one representative to hand me an adventure card.¡±


    Aldred stepped in and handed his card.


    The receptionist politely took it and used some sort of crystal to scan it. She was shocked, but she quickly hid her expression.


    She cleared her throat. ¡°I have confirmed that this is real. And may I ask if you have understood the rule?¡±


    ¡°Everything that I got from the dungeon has to be submitted here right?¡±


    ¡°That is correct. But don¡¯t worry, we will pay you fairly and ordingly. No adventurers have been dissatisfied with our price.¡±


    Aldred smiled, but inside, he doubted what the receptionist said. If the adventurer obtained aplete set of Battle Gear, no amount of gold coins would be enough to purchase it.


    ¡°We also want to get a few rooms for all of my friends.¡±


    Thedy nodded. ¡°Please put your crystal on this square stone.¡±


    There was a hand-size, square-shaped stone that glowed asionally. It was ced on the desk, and Aldred put his card on top of it.


    ¡°The cost will be 5000 Gold Coins for a week of stay.¡±


    ¡°So expensive!¡± Mary said.


    ¡°No need to worry, Mary. I have enough money for us to stay here a lifetime.¡±


    Aldred confirmed the payment and his bnce went from 702,572,169 gold coins to 702,567,169.


    It was barely a dent in his ount. After they got everything prepared, Aldred and his friends entered their own room and rested.


    Sleeping inside a giant tree with a beautiful view outside was definitely a first for him. Usually, in a metropolis-like city with tall buildings, he would be overwhelmed by the pollution, heat, and how the city was just crammed with traffic.


    But not here.


    The city almost had no traffic, the view was full of nature with trees, bushes, nts used as the building blocks of most infrastructures here. Tourist ces in his world like Bali or Hawaii were iparable to this experience. At least from what he saw on the inte.


    Aldred smiled when his girls hugged him from behind as they all enjoyed the view together. A few cups made of roots filled with a beautiful and fragrant wine were ready on their table along with some fruits.


    They cheered and sipped the wine before they made love and got some well-deserved rest.

 Chapter 182 B&S

    Aldred woke up with a beatiful whistling of birds flying by the window. Ste and Ivette were in his arms along with other girls on his spacious bed.


    He stood up and walked to the balcony to enjoy the fresh morning air. The city was full of activity, but it didn¡¯t make him feel stressed because everything was so orderly and calm here.


    Sometimes, the eagle-faced winged-man would approach someone and ask for their identity sphere.


    One of them flew to Aldred¡¯s balcony.


    ¡°May I take a look at your identity sphere, sir?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Aldred pulled it out of his inventory and gave it to the man.


    The man pulled out a small crystal that shot light towards the small ss sphere.


    ¡°You¡¯re good. Have a nice day.¡±


    Aldred smiled and nodded. The winged-man left and looked for someone else. They did not disturb someone who was in a hurry or sleeping. They were very polite too even though this city was a bit too strict for his liking.


    As Aldred was enjoying the view, he felt a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist. A kiss arrived on his neck.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°You always wake up early,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Look at that.¡± Aldred pointed towards the rising sun. ¡°Isn¡¯ it just beautiful to see the sun rising? It¡¯s the start of a new day, a new moment, a new hope, and the start of another adventure.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°If you can. Would you like the time to always be sunrise?¡±


    Aldred giggled. ¡°You might not believe this, but my parents can make that happen.¡±


    Ste smiled knowingly. She of course knew Aldred¡¯s mother and how powerful she was. One time, his mother even threatened her for trying to teleport Aldred to a random continent.


    Well, how could she not. This boy could change the normal trajectory of the world, and it might lead to chaos if left alone. But the more time she spends with Aldred, she did not have any thought that he would bring chaos to the world at all.


    She nced at Aldred who was enjoying the nature and the sunrise. Ste smiled. With a nature-loving person like him, he would never bring the world into mes.


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, and Zafrina woke up and hugged Aldred. Giving him kisses and love.


    After a while, they decided to get out of the room and came down to the receptionist hall. The hall also provide a board for points ranking.<sub></sub>


    Aldred did not care about any ranking though. He just wanted his shield in the dungeon.


    But there was a problem.


    ¡°To explore deeper into the dungeon I need to submit a certain amount of monsters carcass or treasures?¡± Aldred asked.


    The receptionist nodded. ¡°Currently, you can only ess level 1 dungeon. After you obtain 1000 points by submitting monsters carcass and treasures, you can get to level 2 dungeon.¡±


    ¡°I see. I already have some treasures and monster carcasses. How can I submit them?¡±


    The receptionist blinked. She knew Aldred and the others hadn¡¯t entered the dungeon yet, so that means Aldred was nning to buy a pass to explore the dungeon deeper.


    This had never happened before because most adventurers were poor and ambitious. They rarely were willing to pay for something if they could fight and risk their life for it.


    But Aldred was different. The amount of gold coins in his guild card alone was enormous.


    She did not want to have any trouble with this type of customer.<sub></sub>


    ¡°You can visit our B&S area to submit the treasures and monsters¡¯ body parts.¡±


    ¡°B&S? Bull and Shit?¡±


    ¡°No. It stands for Buy and Sell as we also sell monsters body parts to adventurers of which they can make armor or weapons from. Let me escort you there.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful.¡±


    Aldred followed the petite angel-like woman. Her small snow-white wings were twitching asionally.


    They entered an outdoor space with nothing but grass as the floor. There were crates and people transporting monster parts and treasures. Some winged-man with a quill and paper, jotting down something as more and more things came in.


    ¡°This is the B&S area,¡± the receptionist said before a man quickly ran up to them.


    ¡°Hello, I am one of the salesman of B&S. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I would like to submit some treasures and monster parts for points so I can get deeper into the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Alright, where are the items?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± Aldred waved his hand and mountains of Bajaragon¡¯s scales, Phantoma¡¯s ws, Xer Xai¡¯s exoskeleton, scales, and skin. Also with dozen piles of pir-shaped crystals that he got from Juragan.


    ¡°This¡­¡± The salesman looked with widened eyes. ¡°How did you get all of this?¡±


    Even the receptionist was speechless.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where I get them. Now tell me. What ess do I have now?¡±


    ¡°Out of 10 floors, we can give you ess to the 7th floor.¡±


    Aldred clicked his tongue and put all the monster body parts inside the divine dimension. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this ce guys. Seems like there¡¯s no honesty and fairness in this ce.¡±


    He walked away and the salesman panicked. ¡°Wait, we can negotiate. We will give you 8th, no 9th floor ess.¡±


    ¡°Give me 10 and we will have a deal.¡±


    The salesman hesitated.


    ¡°Why are you still hesitating? Don¡¯t waste my time. If you don¡¯t want it, I can go to Epolissa Prefecture to get a better deal.¡±


    ¡°Al¡ªAlright, sir. We will give you ess to the 10 floor. And we also give you 10 million Akrolilenai Merit points. You can use these points to buy items and services that we have.¡±


    ¡°You guys have some beautiful winged-girls that I can have fun with?¡±


    Mareona hit him in the head.


    Aldred dodged and smiled. ¡°I was joking hehe.¡±


    The receptionist hearing that was a little bit disappointed. The man was charming and wealthy. If she could, she was willing to enter his room tonight.


    She looked down and blushed before stealing a nce at Aldred.


    (Bow-chicka-wow-wow (taylor9189))

 Chapter 183 Wooden Train

    In the receptionist hall, the adventurers were busy doing their own thing. They were talking about theirtest hunt, the powerful monsters they fought, and bragging about doing seggs within the dungeon.


    One of them nced at the ranking board, and widened his eyes when he saw a name quickly rocketed up the ranks. From rank 200th to 78th, and then exploded upward to the top 25.


    ¡°This¡­ how is this possible. Who is this man?¡±


    The dungeon can only be entered by Gold Rank to prevent powerful monsters from the depth of the dungeon toe out.


    The provinces had sent some Diamond Ranks before and the result was disastrous. This was why the adventurers were shocked.


    There was no way that a group of Gold Ranks adventurers can rise to the top so quickly.


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Death Lord Army? What a domineering name. It¡¯s a group name and seems to have around 70 members.¡±


    ¡°Dead Lord Army¡­ the leader is probably a necromancer.¡±


    ¡°Whoever that is, the man must be a powerful master.¡±


    ¡°Should we look for them?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°No need. They will be in the spotlight and we will soon know who they are.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was escorted back to the receptionist hall. This time, the beautiful wingeddy walked beside Aldred and their shoulders almost touched each other.


    When they arrived, thedy took out a tiny card. ¡°Please stick this to your guild card. It will give you ess to the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°I want to ask. Is there more than 10 floor in the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°There is. We suspect that the dungeon might have an infinite floor, but you cannot go beyond the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°To go beyond the 10th floor, you have to enter an abyss. No one returns when they go in, even Diamond Ranks. And when we sent our tinum and above soldiers, hideous creatures crawled out of that abyss and fought against us ferociously.¡±


    ¡°That abyss is also called the gate of hell. It¡¯s been blocked shut, and you cannot enter it.¡±


    ¡®In that case, I shouldn¡¯t enter then. Even a Diamond Rank could die. I am not a dumbass who would throw lives for nothing.¡¯<sub></sub>


    ¡°I want to ess the dungeon now.¡±


    The receptionist nodded. ¡°Please go east from here. We have a train set up for adventurers toe and go.¡±


    ¡°Train? You mean like a real train lotive?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about lotive, sir. But it¡¯s powered by the wind, earth, and fire elemental mana crystals. Some magicians are also on the train to make the train move.¡±


    ¡°I see. I am looking forward to that.¡±


    Aldred went out of the adventure¡¯s inn, and walked to the east. His girls along with Bartrem and the soldiers quietly followed him while looking around the city.


    Ivette¡¯s eyes lit up wherever she looked. ¡°Oh my, a pair of wing-shaped candy.¡±


    ¡°Do you want one?¡±


    ¡°Can I?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I am rich.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Thank you!¡± She kissed Aldred before buying a bunch of candy. She then shared it with the others. After that, Ivette wrapped her hands around Aldred¡¯s arms.


    ¡°It sure is nice being rich.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Quickly, they found where the train station was. It was an outdoor station with a lot of trains quickly zipping in and out of the ss dome. The train wasn¡¯t made out of steel.


    It was made out of wood. The exterior looked exactly like the gigantic trees used for housings. There were small branches with leaves, and some nts on the train. It also had no wheels. The trains hovered above the some sort of tracks made out of wood. There were some crystals in there that seemed to blow out magical wind.


    Modern earth loses out to this world¡¯s technology by far. He wondered if America attacked one of the countries here, could they win? Aldred believed they could win if they dropped nukes at the very beginning. (Yes of course- taylor9189 USA USA!!!)


    Well, that was just food for thoughts.


    Aldred walked in to the train station and he was told to put his card into a square-shaped stone.


    The guard was nonchnt at first, but after he saw the small card that stuck to the guild card, his eyes widened.


    ¡°Please, this way, sir,¡± he said respectfully.


    When Aldred left, the other guard asked his friend. ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My first time seeing him, but he has ess to the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy.¡±


    The other adventurers heard this immediately talked to their friends.


    ¡°Is that the guy?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s probably the leader of the Death Lord Army.¡±


    ¡°Look at their armor and weapons. Those are at least upper rare treasures.¡±


    Aldred did not know about this as he entered the train. A train attendant looked at his card and then led him to his special spot. The seats here were so spaciouspared to others and less people.


    Aldred was hugging Ste and Ivette as the other girls were looking at the menu. Bartrem and the others got their own seat.


    ¡°The prices are so extravagant,¡± Mary said. ¡°And what is this caviar thing. 200 gold coins for a single piece of fish egg? This is nuts!¡±


    Ivette was curios so she took a look at the menu. Her eyes quickly lit up. ¡°Cake! Aldred, can I buy some.¡±


    Aldredughed and caressed her head. ¡°Of course, you can.¡±


    Her eyes lit up and she hugged Aldred. ¡°You pamper me a lot.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t have anything and had suffered enough. If there is something you want, just tell me. I will get it for you.¡±


    Ivette felt her heart thumping in her chest. Tears threatened toe out of her eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me. We¡¯re family remember?¡±


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, and everyone else was smiling when they looked at this.


    Ivette looked at the menu again. ¡°I want this chocte cake, pineapple upside down cake, red velvet, and carrot cake.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to eat all of that?¡± Aldred asked.


    She turned to look at him and smiled. ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 184 Fight

    The train started to move as the train attendants brought them the food that they had ordered. Some vegetables and meat for Mary, Mareona, and Sophia. Fruits and veggies for Mira, and lots of cakes for Ivette.


    ¡°Zafrina, Ste. Both of you don¡¯t want to eat?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡±


    Ivette hearing that sliced the cake with her golden spoon and then offered it to them. Ste smiled and opened her mouth. The cake went in, and she chewed with a smile.


    ¡°Is it good?¡± Ivette asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡±


    She then fed Zafrina some cakes too.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s cupcakes that you can order, Zafrina.¡± Aldred flipped the menu a few times trying to find a cupcake for her.


    There was none.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Aldred. I don¡¯t like cupcakes that much anymore. After all, I am a big girl.¡±


    As they chatted and ate their food. A big man with a de scar on his forehead approached him with a frown.


    ¡°I heard you bought the ess to explore the 10th floor.¡±


    Aldred ignored him and continued chatting with the girls.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Hey, I am talking to you.¡±


    Aldred still ignored him.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± The man brandished his sword.


    SHIING!


    The man stopped in his track as three sharp de threatened to cut off his neck. Three men surrounded him with vile intention.


    It was Bartrem, Joseph, and Jeffery. The man sweated as he felt the sharp cold de. With one nce he immediately knew their weapons were at least middle or upper rarity grade.


    Only the wealthy could bring something like that.


    ¡°It seems like we have a little misunderstanding,¡± the man said. ¡°I apologize.¡±


    Bartrem, Joseph, and Jeffery pulled their swords off the man¡¯s neck slowly.


    The man took a step forward, seemingly about to leave, but suddenly he shed his sword at Aldred.


    Ste smiled and raised her hand. Glittering light particles appeared on the man¡¯s bodies, and he couldn¡¯t move a single inch.


    The man gritted his teeth as he tried to push the de into Aldred¡¯s scalp.<sub></sub>


    Aldred ignored it and put a spoon of cake in his mouth.


    The light particles entered his body, and then a terrifying cracking sound of bones resounded.


    The man couldn¡¯t even scream in pain before he died. Dark mist engulfed him, and turned him into undead.


    The onlookers were shocked when they saw this.


    ¡°Who sent you to mess with me?¡±


    The man pointed at row A35.


    Aldred looked behind, and the man in question flinched. He looked like a wealthy man with a lot of subordinates around him.


    Aldred¡¯s soldiers stood up, and so did his enemies.


    ¡°What business do you have to disturb me?¡±


    The man hesitated at first, but he took a deep breath and red at him. ¡°Foreigners like you shouldn¡¯t be able to ess the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that was the problem. Childish.¡±


    ¡°What did you call me!¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°You disturb me just because I wasn¡¯t born in this ce. That¡¯s pathetic. How about this. You look rich. Give me everything you have, and I will let you live.¡±


    ¡°This is why I hate you people, always trying to rob us of our riches.¡±


    ¡°If that is what you think of me, then that is what I will be.¡±


    ¡°I guess all of your rare gears are stolen too. You earned them through scamming people didn¡¯t you? A fitting job for a dirt ball.¡±


    Aldred frowned.


    The man frowned back. ¡°Men, kill them. I have had enough of their attitude.¡±


    The enemies stood up, revealing their thick armor with middle and upper grade rarity. Their weapons were also of high quality as well.


    More warriors came out from the back, along with some archers with crossbows and magicians with their staff.


    Both sides stared at each other fiercely. Some sort of red aura sted against each other between them.


    The people that had nothing to do with this quietly left the ce.


    Aldred summoned his long sword, and his Golden Battle Gear appeared on his body.


    The tension peaked through the roof, but everyone was silent. After a moment, a man screamed and then both sides charged at each other.


    ¡°ATTACK!¡± Bartrem shouted as he charged beside Aldred. The battlefield was cramped with seats. Although the train was spacious, it wasn¡¯t designed for battle.


    Bartrem led the charge with his men following beside him. He bashed the front line with his shield, shed left and right, before leaving them to Joseph and Jeffery.


    He had done this many times before when fighting against the Montcresian. He had fought with his men many times, so they could read his n without evenmunicating it.


    The soldiers rammed their spears and blood spilled. The army retreated, revealing the magicians and archers releasing their attacks.


    ¡°Shield!¡± Bartrem roared and raised his shield while the other shieldmen rushed forward as well.


    The attacks sted the shield but they did not even budge.


    Then a white blurry image shed forward, creating lines of white trail around wherever it went.


    It was Ivette. She cut down a few dozen enemies and the Bartrem quickly reinforced her.


    Sophia gave them powerful buffs and helped from the back with Mira. Mareona and Mary charged as well, while Ste kept attacking with her extraordinary star magic.


    Looking back at how they overwhelmed the enemy, Aldred realized that he did not need to do anything.


    The female warriors and the male warriors worked together perfectly. Whenever one soldier was pushed back, the others would quickly help.


    The wealthy man gritted his teeth, and a mysterious light purple mist enveloped his body before they formed into an armor. He put on his helmet, and the visor closed shut. Mist came out from the sides while the eyes glowed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a pseudo-battle gear,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°Be careful, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think it can bepared to the real thing.¡±


    The wealthy man ignored the other soldiers and rushed at Aldred. Aldred smiled and receive the attack by raising his long sword.


    ng! ng! ng!


    With his godly eyes helping him, Aldred was dancing and weaving through his opponent¡¯s blindspot.


    He shed, and the man blocked. But mid-swing, the long sword turned into a majestic spear with arge, blue runic spearhead that sparked with lightning.


    Aldred stabbed the man in the chest, lightning current entered, and caused considerable damage.


    The man punched Aldred with a gauntleted hand. And he could feel the weight and power of that punch right in his face.


    Both of them stepped back. The wealthy man¡¯s armor regenerated with purple misting out of the broken parts.


    They red at each other, and were about to attack.


    But Aldred felt somethinging from outside the train. He looked to the side, through the window, and there he saw something he never expect to see in this world¡ª


    A missile!

 Chapter 185 Bot Fight

    BOOM!


    The missile exploded right when it came into contact with the train. Instead of exploding in every direction, this missile shot all of the shrapnels, me, and shock wave to the front. A whole block of the train was destroyed, and it detached from the head.


    Aldred and his friends were protected by golden protective field. Ste maintained the field with her magic.


    Meanwhile, his enemies were battered with their armor mostly broken.


    ¡°Who dares?!¡± The wealthy man said with charred armor.


    Suddenly, something fall from the clouds. That something shot out a jet of mes from its butt and then flew towards them.


    More kept falling from the clouds.


    ¡°Those are missiles! Be careful!¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Men!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°Grab your bow!¡±


    Bartrem grabbed his long-bow from his spacial bag, and then aimed at the missiles.


    The arrows were released and struck the missiles in the sky, causing them to explode.


    But more and more came.


    Aldred aimed with his hands and sent out a storm of fire arrows at the missiles. They exploded one after another, creating fireworks in the sky.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°How can there be modern weapons in this world?¡±


    After a while, the culprit of this attack revealed itself. It was a gigantic jet ne with white color that blended in with the clouds.


    The jet aimed its nose at Aldred, and then rained downrge-caliber bullets at him.


    ¡°Bastard, he¡¯s targeting me.¡± Aldred pointed with both of his index fingers and shot all the bullets.


    The bullets exploded in the sky.


    ¡°Those are explosive bullets! Don¡¯t let a single one of them through.¡±


    The wealthy man red at the flying object. ¡°Kill that thing for me!¡±


    His men spread their wings and flew to the sky.


    ¡°We winged-men have always been the kings of the sky. Your stupid flying object won¡¯t survive a minute against us.¡±


    The ne maneuvered to the side and sted all the winged-men from the sky. All of them fell like rain and sttered on the ground.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± The wealthy man stared with widened eyes. ¡°We are the winged-men. How could you defeat us in the sky?!¡± (USA USA USA)


    The jet sent out a missile and blew the wealthy man to pieces.<sub></sub>


    Aldred tried to bring down the jet ne by shooting fire arrows, fire bullets, and fire javelins at it, but it maneuvered quickly and dodged all of his attacks.


    Missiles and explosive bullets sted the golden projection. It shook and threatened to burst.


    ¡°Can you hold on, Ste?¡±


    ¡°I can. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Ste¡¯s shield let Aldred attack from the inside while being protected from outside attacks. This was the result of her mastery in magic.


    Aldred sped his hand, and joined both of his index finger into one. A powerful,rger, faster, and more precise bullets sted off his fingers with a powerful recoil and struck the ne¡¯s engine.


    The ne went out of control before it crashed into the ground.


    ¡°We did it!¡± Sophia said.


    Suddenly dozens of jet mes pierced through the clouds and rained hell upon them.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Tratatat! Tratatat! Tratatat!


    Aldred frowned and said. ¡°Arise!¡±<sub></sub>


    ck mist exploded in the in, and numerous undead stepped out.


    55 Bajaragon quickly shot into the sky while the others leaped with all their power and pounced on the jet ne.


    Xer Xai burst from under the ground, wing two nes, destroying them, before she opened her mouth and chomped on 5 nes at once.


    Missiles exploded on her exoskeletons.


    Aldred raised his hand, staring at the nes. ¡°Fire Combustion!¡±


    There was the sparking sound, and then the jet nes ignited before bursting into mes. Raising his long sword, he drew it back and then shed.


    ¡°Water Razor!¡±


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    Numerous water arcs, and blood red, shot into the sky, cutting the wing of the nes.


    Many of them fell.


    As more nes started to clump the sky, Aldred¡¯s eyes spun in red, and a powerful aura burst out from his body.


    ¡°Sky Splitting Strike!¡±


    The aura condensed in his long sword, and spread out in all directions. Pushing out the grass and the air itself before Aldred thrust into the sky.


    Thick beam of energy sted upward, pierced through the sky, and then exploded.


    BOOM!


    The nes in the radius of 15 KM swayed by the powerful shock wave, and they couldn¡¯t control themselves before falling to their death.


    The Bajaragons spewed me out of their mouth, contending against the fighter aircrafts in the sky. With their superior regeneration ability, they dominated the fight and eventually won the battle.


    But the war isn¡¯t over yet.


    A dot was flying in the sky. Aldred activated his godly eyes and was shocked at what he saw. It was arge cargo ne with 200 meter in length (656 feet), and a wingspan of 240 meter (787 feet).


    How could a gigantic ne like that ever fly in the sky was iprehensible to him. Even thergest ne in the modern world paled inparison.


    The side of the ne slid open, revealing numerous gigantic humanoid steel robots. They jumped off and a jetpack burst out mes from their back before they slowlynded on the ground.


    There was one robot that wasrger than the others. It was holding a sword with vibrating blue light on the sharp edge.


    Therger robot pointed at them, and all the humanoid robots raised their mechanical swords and charged at him.


    Sophia stepped forward and swung her staff. The ground under the robots instantly turned into mud. Their feet sank because of their weight.


    ¡°Destroy them!¡±


    Bartrem fired powerful arrows one after another before his soldiers quickly followed.


    Aldred was attacking them as well.


    The back of the robots opened, and an artillery barrel aimed at the golden projection field.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The artillery shells boomed right in front of the golden projection and vibrated it ferociously.


    But it was as if the golden shield was imprable, the explosions couldn¡¯t even reach them.


    That was when suddenly, therger robot held a gigantic gun with two mechanical hands. The barrel glowed in blue, making an electric charging noise, and after 5 seconds, the charge was full before, the robot released the trigger.


    BOOM!


    A streak of blue energy went straight towards Aldred, creating a blue line in the air.


    Shockingly, it pierced the golden shield and sted Aldred¡¯s chest.


    ¡°ALDRED!¡±

 Chapter 186 Negotiation

    ¡°ALDRED!!!¡±


    The beam sted a hole in Aldred¡¯s body. And he exploded into a blood of mist.


    ¡°Haha! You fool! You think I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re targeting me?¡±


    A Bajaragon in the sky dived down and mmed itself onto therger robot.


    CRASH!


    The Bajaragon transformed into a phantom w and shed. Therge robot was disoriented. Aldred then transformed into a giant velobra and belched a poisonous miasma that devouredyers of the robot¡¯s armor.


    Aldred transformed into his human adult form. Golden Battle Gear wrapped around his body with lightning sparked on its surface. He grabbed the air, and the spear appeared with lightning.


    Aldred stared at the disoriented robot, and activated his muscles to full power before throwing the spear.


    The spear stabbed the robot, and sent electric current, breaking many parts.


    A steel tube protruded out of the robot¡¯s arm, and thick me spewed out. It engulfed Aldred, but the me started spinning like a whirlwind, and it entered Aldred¡¯s palm.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Fighting me using mes? Big mistake!¡± Aldred pushed his palm. ¡°Let me return it to you.¡±


    Powerful tongue of mes burst at the robot, causing it to overheat and stop functioning.


    Dozens of 10 meter fire javelins stormed at the robots, and eventually, it fell to its knees.


    The chest of therge robot let out a steam before the door went down, revealing a humanoid robot with copper skin. The robot then transformed into human appearance.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    The robot in front of him was actually the one he had met before on Mount Fargon.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Aldred. My name is Thinker. I know this might not be a nice meeting by your definition, but I was told to be polite most of the time. I hope you don¡¯t find my remarks to be rude.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°What do you want? Why are you attacking me?¡±


    ¡°I want your ring.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Ring? Oh, you mean this?¡± Aldred took out the Ring of Doarus he got from the empress and showed it to the robot.


    The robot¡¯s eyes turned red and spun as if scanning the small object in Aldred¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Yes. My master told me to obtain that ring.¡±


    ¡°I can give it to you. But there is a price.¡±


    ¡°Everything has a price. That¡¯s what my analysis concluded after receiving enough data.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ My asking price is 100 mecha. They have to be powerful enough to fight Elite Gold Rank and easy enough to use for my soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me your definition of Elite Gold Rank?¡± Thinker asked.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Xer Xai. Show yourself.¡±


    Xer Xai burst out of the ground, and roared at Thinker. Of course, the robot didn¡¯t even flinch. He had no fear nor any other feeling.<sub></sub>


    ¡°I want each mecha to be able to survive being chased and attacked by this creature for 30 minutes. Also, I don¡¯t want to use batteries for the mecha. They have to be self-sustainable in any environment.¡±


    ¡°And of course I not only take survivability into ount. I want the mecha to have enough offensive power to at least crack the exoskeletons on this beast.¡±


    Thinker shot out a probingser at Xer Xai. The red light scanned the beast from top to bottom.


    ¡°How is it? Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°The data I received told me that it will be very expensive to meet your specification, but we can do it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, send the mechas quickly. I will give you 3 days of time before I change my mind.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Thinker¡¯s back revealed a jet pack. It shot mes, pushing him into the sky.


    The other robots were also retreating with jet packs. It was such a sight to see the hundreds of robots flying into the clouds.


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, Zafrina all ran at him.


    ¡°Aldred, is that the guy we met on Mount Fargon?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yes. My guess was right. He¡¯s a robot.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a robot?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°A robot is something non-living yet acts like it¡¯s alive.¡±


    ¡°So like undead or golem?¡±


    ¡°You can say that. But they don¡¯t use magic. Instead, they use something called technology. They onlye from one nation. I am sure you have heard of it before.¡±


    ¡°Duria,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Bacon, the Gold Rank adventurer that betrayed us, had said something about that nation before.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°They are also known as Steel Forged. Despite their technological advancement, the nation is not willing to share their knowledge. They are very isted and no one is allowed to trade in their country. Sometimes you can enter their city, but all of the technologies that you borrow must be returned.¡±


    ¡°Can they sustain themselves like that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Although no one is allowed to trade with them, their government sometimes sends a specialized caravan to trade with other nations.¡±


    ¡°So no one cane to theirnd to trade, but they cane to us?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°How can that country not be conquered by someone yet?¡±


    ¡°If the Ceraisian Empire isn¡¯t at war with Montcresian, you can be sure that Duria will be zed in mes right now.¡±


    ¡°Is the Ceraisian Empire some sort of powerhouse in this continent?¡±


    ¡°You can say that. We won many wars and many great generals were born in our nation. From what I read, Ceraisian is always ready either for a war of attrition or thunder-like victory.¡±


    ¡°I am guessing they are ying attrition with Montcresia.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°If nothing changes, Montcresia will be taken over by a few generations. Their effort in trying to increase poption is not that effective because of their past culture.¡±


    ¡°Is that true, Mira?¡±


    Mira nodded. ¡°Although the pope had changed the bible. Some people still couldn¡¯t get used to having more than one wife. They still see it as unloyal, and inappropriate. The pope is working on it by giving more financial aid the more wives a man has.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Getting money for having a lot of wives. Now that¡¯s a country I want to live in.¡±

 Chapter 187 Attack

    ¡°So what did you say to him? Why did he leave us alone?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°He wanted my ring. The ones that the empress gave to me.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And I said I would give it to him if he gave me 100 powerful robots.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Mary frowned. ¡°Why would you do that?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Mary. I said I ¡®would¡¯ give it to him.¡±


    Ste, Sophia, and Zafrina were smiling when they heard that.


    ¡°I gave him 3 days to send the robots.¡±


    ¡°But we need to go to the dungeon,¡± Mary said


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a n for that.¡±


    Suddenly, a group of winged-men came from the sky.


    ¡°Hey! What is going on here?¡±


    ¡°We were attacked and half the train got cut off,¡± Aldred said.<sub>.</sub>


    The man looked around and noticed a lot of charred grass. There were some scraps of metal as well. They flew down and inspected the battlefield.


    ¡°I have never seen something like this before. What do you think?¡±


    They nced at the boy. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s them. Otherwise, why would they stay here?¡±


    After a little discussion, they said: ¡°We will fix the rails. Another train wille afterward.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Aldred said.


    They proceed to fix the rails. All they did was cut the broken parts of the rail. Put new parts down and installed them using some sort of magic.


    They were done in a few hours.


    ¡°You guys finished already?¡± Aldred asked as Ivette fed him with a spoon full of cake.


    They were currently sitting on a mat like they were on a pic. This infuriated the workers a bit, but they let it pass since it would be foolish to fight someone just because they were rxing on the grass.


    Not to mention they did not know how strong the boy and his friends were. Looking at the aftermath of the battle, it must have happened very quickly yet deadly.


    They did not want to mess around with the wrong person.


    One of the winged-men approached Aldred. ¡°I have to see your guild card.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred flicked his hand, and the card appeared in between his fingers like magic.


    The winged-man tightened his lips and took a look at the card. He widened his eyes and respectfully returned it. ¡°Thank you, sir. The train wille in less than an hour. Have a nice day.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± Aldred said.


    The winged-man returned to his group of friends.


    ¡°Who is that? Why are you thanking him?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. That guy has ess to the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°He must be the new guy that everyone was talking about.¡±


    ¡°Death Lord Army?¡±


    ¡°Hush your voice. I heard he¡¯s one of the treasure seekers. His legends begin from Mount Fargon. You don¡¯t want to mess with someone who has climbed the peak.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s leave right away to not offend him.¡±


    Aldred watched the winged-men flying into the sky.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Human with wings. Isn¡¯t that what most religions call angels?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Mira said. ¡°There¡¯s a race of humans with deer legs, and a pair of horns on their head. They aren¡¯t called devils.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    Aldred enjoyed the pic for a few minutes until the train appeared on the horizon.


    It stopped near Aldred, and the door was opened by two beautiful train attendants.


    ¡°Please get in sir. We apologize for the inconvenience. The guild will give youpensation for this incident.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t need to bepensated.¡±


    After all, the train was attacked because of him. Aldred did not know how much the train cost, but he was sure it would be expensive.


    Meanwhile, the train attendants looked at Aldred¡¯s back with admiration. They had heard that there was a major battle here, and a group of adventurers was fighting the enemy.


    To think that man didn¡¯t even want to bepensated.


    What a good fellow.


    The train attendants closed the door and guided Aldred and his friends to their seats. Immediately, food and drinks were on their table.


    ¡°Sir, would you like a massage?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Sure.¡±


    The train attendant smiled and massaged Aldred¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°That feels so good.¡±


    The train attendant was happy that she could make Aldred happy. She became more motivated and used more power in her hands.


    The girls could only smile when they saw the train attendant¡¯s happy expression.


    Time passed quickly, and hourster, the sight of a ruined city appeared through their windows.


    ¡°Where is the dungeon?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°That is the dungeon, sir. The entrance is within the ruined city.¡±


    The train eventually came to a stop and Aldred stepped out before he marveled at the ruined yet majestic sight.


    Most of the infrastructure in this city was built with stones. There were some towers and medieval-style houses.


    A guard approached him. ¡°Show me your guild card and identity sphere.¡±


    Aldred handed him his card and the small ss sphere.


    After the inspection, the guard quickly and respectfully returned his items.


    ¡°How can I enter the dungeon?¡±


    The guard was slightly surprised that someone with 10th floor ess didn¡¯t know the entrance. That said, he knew everyone that had 10th level ess, but the guard had never seen this man before.


    Then he came to a realization.


    ¡°Sir, are you perhaps the Death Lord Army?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Aldred didn¡¯t know what name to register so he just said random stuff.


    ¡°I see. You can enter the dungeon very easily, sir. Anything that leads underground is an entrance.¡±


    Aldred nodded and entered the city.


    Along the way, a lot of adventurers withplete equipment were entering the city with theirrades. Some brought vicious beasts as pets, and some brought small carts filled with a lot of stuff.


    Aldred saw them entering through the many dark entrances around the city.


    Suddenly, there was a shout.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Arrows rained on the adventurers, and they quickly fished out their protective treasures, throwing them in the air, creating a dome of protectiveyer.


    ¡°Those guys from Epolissa are attacking us!¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡±

 Chapter 188 Bruce Davenport

    Dozens of men with adventurer equipment appeared in the distance. They stared and charged in full force.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing there! Get back here. It¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    Aldred looked at the man and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will take care of them.¡±


    Aldred walked in front of the charging warrior who was 150 meters away.


    They wondered what a lone man was doing in front of a charging infantry. They smiled, imagining this man being crushed under their feet.


    Aldred aimed his palm. He then drew it back to his waist into a fist while entering a stance. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the enemy, and then punched forward.


    ¡°me Fist!¡±


    A small fist shot forward. At first, the enemies scoffed at the weak spell, but as the fist becamerger andrger as a building, the warrior¡¯s faces became pale, and they stopped on their feet.


    ¡°RUN!¡±


    The enemies turned around to run from the gigantic fire fist, but they were toote as the fist engulfed them in mes.


    ¡°AHHH!¡±<sub>.</sub>


    They rolled around trying to put out the mes, a water magician tried to put out the mes with his water spell, but to no avail.


    Aldred¡¯s me was constantly being fed with his unlimited mana. Unless the spell was powerful enough, his fire would never die unless he willed it.


    An arrow shot towards Aldred¡¯s face. Mary quickly stepped in and caught it with her bare hand.


    In the distance, a man with silver, dreadlocks hair stood on top of a fallen wall. His thin and radiant face perfectly apanied by his narrow gray eyes.


    The right hand that held the bow had a tattoo of an eagle w.


    The man raised his bow once again and fired another arrow at Aldred. Mary caught it again.


    He fired another one, but Mary caught it.


    For the third time, the arrow shot at Aldred, and as Mary caught it, the arrow exploded with a powerful shock wave that made Mary¡¯s hand turn numb.


    ¡°Mary, let me handle this.¡±


    Mary nodded and walked to the back as Mira healed her hand.<sub></sub>


    The arrow came at Aldred, and he deflected it with his sword. Another came again, it was quick, but Aldred was quicker.


    ng!


    Aldred frowned. That one arrow was much heavier than he had expected. The vibration shook his arm which made it strained a bit.


    Another arrow came, and just like before, Aldred pped it to the side.


    At the moment of impact however, Aldred felt like he was hitting a wall of steel instead of an arrow.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Someone said, ¡°That¡¯s Bruce Davenport. I think we should retreat.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Tell me more about this Bruce Davenport.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a new guy that¡¯s on the rise in Epolissa Prefecture. His skill with the bow let him quickly rise to the top and got ess to the 10th floor. He¡¯s also known as Eagle Eye.¡±


    Aldred smiled as another arrow flew towards him.


    ¡°Water Razor!¡±<sub></sub>


    An arc of water cut the arrow in half. But shockingly, the cut arrow still went forward.


    ¡°me Jet!¡±


    The arrows were sted away.


    The other adventurers seeing this were amazed. Everyone here knew who Bruce Davenport was, and knew of his legendary skill. But for this man to deflect all of the arrows was something amazing as well.


    Aldred and Bruce then sent attacks at each other. Aldred sent his fire arrows, bullets, balls, and javelins at the man while Bruce kept sending one arrow after another.


    His arrow trajectory became moreplicated. It shot into the sky from the side, and then it maneuvered in his direction.


    Aldred grabbed a handful of rocks and threw at him as a distraction before sending a storm of arrows. The man was quick on his feet as well. Running around while constantly sending arrows at Aldred.


    ¡°Wow. Look at their battle. That man seemed to be a magician and a swordsman, but he fought the Eagle Eye at long-range.¡±


    ¡°They both have great uracy. Look at how many of those fire arrows almost hit Bruce.¡±


    Aldred frowned and he struggled to fight against the bowman as his arrows became heavier and faster. He retreated. Bruce saw the chance and advanced, sending more arrows his way.


    ¡°Look. That guy is losing ground.¡±


    Aldred threw rocks at Bruce, but the man dodged before releasing another arrow. This time, Aldred could not dodge, so he summoned his Golden battle Gear, and it deflected the arrow into the air.


    The impact made his feet slide against the ground for a few meters. The deflected arrow spun in the air, and then stabbed the ground in front of him.


    ¡°What armor is that! How could it hold out against Bruce¡¯s arrow?¡±


    Bruce pointed at him. ¡°You cheated. Take off your armor.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as cheating in battle. Besides, I am a swordsman while you¡¯re a bowman. If I get close to you, you will die.¡±


    Bruce snorted. ¡°You think you can get close to me? Many warriors died trying to do that. I thought you¡¯re the wiser one since you can use magic as well.¡±


    ¡°Who said, I cannot get close to you?¡±


    Bruce frowned and then a long sword pierced out of his stomach from the back.


    Aldredughed as his clone raised Bruce with a long sword. Bruce gasped for air as he spat out blood. His powerful bow fell to the ground.


    The adventurers watching this widened their eyes. ¡°How could there be two of him now?¡±


    Bruce looked at Aldred and then he turned his head to look at his clone.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°Everything is possible.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s clone pulled his long sword out, and then kicked the man. His body was pushed forward by inertia beforending face first by Aldred¡¯s feet.


    ¡°There is nothing personal between us. We juste from different sides. If wee from the same side, I believe we can be good friends.¡±


    Bruce smiled. ¡°You got me. You win. Now quick. End my life.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I will end your life. But I also got something better for you.¡±


    Using blood maniption, Aldred exploded the man¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 189 Help

    ¡°Did he just kill the Eagle Eye?¡±


    They saw Aldred raising his hand, and then dark mist engulfed Bruce¡¯s corpses. Suddenly, an undead with a shining purple bow in his hand stepped out before kneeling in front of Aldred.


    Everyone watching widened their eyes.


    ¡°Did he just turn Bruce into an undead?¡±


    ¡°What a scary power. Who is this guy? He can use magic, sword art, and now necromancy?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? People have been talking about him. He¡¯s the Death Lord, the leader of the Death Lord Army.¡±


    ¡°Death Lord¡­ what a domineering name.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just a nickname. Don¡¯t believe what you heard. He¡¯s not that specialpared to others who have 10th level ess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are others who are more powerful than him.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! He killed Bruce! Let¡¯s avenge him!¡±


    The enemies from Epolissa Prefecture raised their weapons and charged at him. Their numbers were around 200 consisting of warriors, magicians, and archers.


    Aldred grinned. ¡°You¡¯re all a fool for going against me! Arise my army!¡±


    ck mist exploded around him, summoning his undead army. Dozens of Bajaragon, Phantom w, Snow wolves, and Snow apes rushed at the enemy.<sub>.</sub>


    His Elite undead walked out of the mist. Be casted an area of effect spell that froze their feet, and made the temperature a lot colder. Juragan roared and shot crystal pirs at the enemy that shot out green gas which paralyzed the warriors.


    Milet danced with his spear. Nicky led the snow wolves and mmed into their formation. Will led his own army of Phantom ws, and Teethless soared into the sky, followed by numerous Bajaragon.


    ¡°ATTACK!¡± Bartrem shouted as he and the soldiers joined the battle.


    With relentless and powerful attacks, the enemy did not have a chance to retreat as his undead came from every direction.


    Aldred wanted to summon Xer Xai, but he was afraid that she would bring the entire city to the ground. Even though the city was already in ruins, the dungeon entrance might be broken because of her size.


    In a matter of minutes, the battle ended with a lot of the enemies running away.


    The adventurers from Akrolilenai were silent at first, but then they burst into cheers.


    ¡°Death Lord!¡±


    ¡°Death Lord!¡±


    ¡°Death Lord!¡±


    ¡°Death Lord!¡±


    They raised their fists and chanted his nickname.<sub></sub>


    Meanwhile, Aldred was confused. ¡°Why are they so happy?¡±


    Zafrina approached him. ¡°Akrolilenai and Epolissa have been fighting to dominate the Lair of Treasures for years. You just defeated more than a hundred of them which means all of the entrances here are for us to use. And there will be less people looking for the treasures.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I thought both sides are in a healthy rivalry.¡±


    ¡°Why would you think that?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ because both provinces are from the same nation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works most of the time. Even families who have a blood rtionship with each other don¡¯t get along sometimes.¡±


    Maverick looked away when he heard that.


    Suddenly, Aldred felt something vibrating in his pocket. It was his guild card that he forgot to put inside his inventory. He took a closer look at his card and noticed the number of merit points changed.


    ¡°Now I have 11 million merit points?¡±


    Zafrina¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It seems like defeating enemies from Epolissa earns more than obtaining treasures.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I am going to use it anyway.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Aldred. There¡¯s so many things you can buy in this ce that any other ce cannot get you.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Like ship materials. I heard the next phase is going to be at sea. For that you will need a ship. A good one. If you can buy powerful ores or materials for the ship, that¡¯s already one advantage over your enemy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Anyway, let¡¯s enter the dungeon. I want toplete my Golden Battle Gear.¡±


    Aldred walked to one of the dungeon entrances and everyone gave way to him with respect and admiration in their eyes.


    Pongo jumped on his shoulder and raised his chin high like he was an emperor looking at the peasants.


    Aldred let him be and he stepped into the darkness.


    After walking a few minutes, they saw a torch zing on the wall. Someone was running towards him with a terrified expression.


    ¡°Help! Someone please help!¡± The little girl begged.


    She was a beautiful girl around the age of 12. Tears fell from her eyes and she held on Aldred¡¯s leg. ¡°Please help! My brother! He¡¯s about to get eaten by a giant spider!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Nilerea! Wait for me!¡± Adan ran to her in the grassy field.


    Nilerea ran with a string tied to a kite that was flying in the sky. She smiled wide. ¡°You¡¯re too slow brother. You cannot catch up to me.¡±


    Adan giggled. ¡°Just wait, I will tickle you when I do.¡±


    ¡°Nooo.¡± She giggled as she ran faster in the field.


    Adan then caught her from the back and they both fell on the soft grass.


    Nilerea released the string, and the kite flew away.


    ¡°Brother, my kite!¡±


    ¡°I will get it for you.¡±


    Adan spread his little wings and tried to fly, but he wasn¡¯t mature enough to control it. His flight was unstable, and he barely reached the string.


    ¡°I got it!¡±


    And then he started to fall.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡± Nilerea ran.


    Her brother screamed in the air before he hit a tree. He fell from branch to branch before eventually hitting the ground.


    ¡°Ouch! That hurt.¡± Adan rubbed his butt in pain.


    ¡°Brother! Uwaaa!¡± Nilerea hugged him which made his back fell on the grass.


    Adan smiled and caressed her back with a smile. ¡°There. There. Don¡¯t cry again.¡±


    ¡°Uwaa. I am so scared.¡±


    Adan giggled. ¡°Why are you scared?¡±


    ¡°I thought¡­ I thought, I was going to lose you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, Rea. I am here for you forever.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Nilerea giggled and hugged her brother with a smile. ¡°You promised. Don¡¯t leave me alone, okay.¡±


    ¡°You too. Don¡¯t leave me alone, sister.¡±

 Chapter 190 Come and Fight Me

    ¡°Where is your brother?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°This way. Follow me.¡±


    She ran inside a small cave and Aldred followed immediately. The rest did not say anything and followed as well.


    The tunnel was supposed to be dark, but because of his godly eyes, he could see everything in detail.


    As they ran along the tunnel, Ste transmitted a message in his mind: ¡°Be careful. That little girl is lying to us.¡±


    Aldred was shocked at first, but he understood that this was her power. ¡®What do you mean she¡¯s lying? How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°I sensed no living being except the spider ahead of us.¡±


    ¡®That might means that her brother was already eaten.¡¯


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    Aldred clicked his tongue. ¡®If we cannot save her brother, then we should at least avenge him.¡¯<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°I will follow your decision, but you need to watch out for those traps.¡±


    Aldred quickly grabbed onto the little girl as arge, sharp, steel nail protruded out of the ground.


    Suddenly, small hideous creatures swarmed from ahead.


    Aldred frowned and raised his palm. ¡°me Jet!¡±


    A powerful me burst out of his palm and burned through every monsters in front of him. He put the little girl down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±


    The little girl nodded frantically.


    As they ran, Aldred asked. ¡°How did a little girl like you end up in a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Papa and mama told me to be strong and powerful. So they send us to fight in the dungeons. I am a wind magician while my brother is a warrior.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I am going to have a little talk to your parents after this.¡±


    They began running deeper into the cave, until they encountered what appeared to be an entrance to another area in the cave.


    As they were about to enter the, Ste stopped Aldred in ce.


    ¡°Be careful,¡± she said not using the telepathy again. ¡°The aura of that thing is very powerful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can handle everything with my power.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t, I will save you.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow at her remark, but he ignored it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Aldred entered the cave with the little girl beside him.


    But when he did that, a thick cobweb blocked the entrance, preventing his allies to enter.<sub></sub>


    Ste frowned and sted the cobweb but it was as if her attacked was absorbed and then sent elsewhere by the cobweb.


    Bartrem charged at the cobweb and shed it with his sword. His sword got stuck on the, he pulled it out, and shed again. The cobweb was still intact.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Bartrem cursed. ¡°We cannot go past this thing.¡±


    Ste¡¯s eyes ignited with her star power and she inspected the cobweb. Her eyes widened. ¡°Aldred! Watch out! That spider is created by a Diamond Rank dark magician.¡±


    ¡°What! Doesn¡¯t that mean he will die if he interferes with the treasure hunt?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes. That means that Diamond Rank is willing to die just to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! What did I do to his mom that he¡¯s willing to die along with me. Wait¡­ was it Byron?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to think. Look above you!¡± Ste shouted.


    A gigantic spider, the size of a firetruck jumped off the ceiling andnded in front of him. Taking a closer look, Aldred realized that it wasn¡¯t just arge spider. All over its body, green, disgusting pus constantly leaked out like a poisonous miasma.


    ¡°Is that the spider that attacked your brother?¡± Aldred asked the little girl.


    The little girl was oddly silent for a moment before she turned around with a dark grin. ¡°No. That is my brother.¡±


    ¡°Kekekekekeek. Good job for luring him in, Rea.¡±


    Nilerea giggled as she ran to one of her brother¡¯s many legs.


    Aldred frowned and then heughed. ¡°Just as I am about to do good deed for once. Genuinely wanting to do good things FOR ONCE. And now you just have to ruin my faith on every sentient being to ever exist.¡±


    ¡°Kekekeek. You won¡¯t need faith anymore. When you enter my belly, nothing matters anymore. Kekekekeke.¡±


    After the spider said that, a different voice came from it. ¡°No. Don¡¯t eat anymore. No. I have enough.¡±


    ¡°Silent!¡± The spider said to itself. Then it looked at Aldred. ¡°Where was I? Right, I am about to have a meal. A tasty one at that.¡±


    Its numerous eyes widened. ¡°That infinite energy¡­ kekekeke. You will be a fine feast indeed.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, be careful!¡± Ste shouted.


    Right as Ste warned him, the spider kicked its leg and pounced at Aldred with its gigantic mouth wide open.


    ¡°Fuck it¡¯s faster than I thought!¡± Aldred quickly jumped back.


    Boom!


    The moment the spidernded on the ground, it was destroyed and cracked.


    ¡°Kekekke. Yes. Yes. It wouldn¡¯t be fun if you die immediately like the other prey. The hunt is more fun if you fight back! Kekekeke!¡±


    The spider¡¯s hoarse voice started to make Aldred ufortable.


    Aldred summoned his long sword and he pulled it out of its scabbard before pointing it at the spider. ¡°You know. Most monsters I killed before. They don¡¯t speak. But since you do, let me ask you some question. How did you be a spider?¡±


    ¡°How did I be a spider? Kekeke. Funny thing. No one had ever asked me that before. I will tell you. My parents told us that we are too weak. Too weak to be the member of the family. So they threw us out. We were left in the streets for years, and I barely could give my sister food. So of course, when a man in dark robe said he could fix everything. I shook his hand without a question. The next day, I be this. A powerful being that no other Gold Rank could match. And I can keep growing as long as I eat.¡±


    ¡°If you be stronger, will you return to your parents?¡±


    ¡°Kekekek. No. They¡¯re dead. They were the first meal I had. I can still recall their taste. The cracking sounds when I ripped their limbs aparts. Ahhh¡­ How I wish I can turn back time and do it all over again.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you¡¯re the good turned to evil type of person. Since that is the case, I will give you salvation.¡±


    Aldred raised his sword. ¡°Come and fight me.¡±

 Chapter 191 Second Form

    ¡°Arrogant wordsing out of the prey. Kekekek. I cannot wait for my teeth to sink in your flesh.¡±


    Aldred snorted. ¡°If you like to eat that much, then I will let you eat my de!¡±


    Aldred rushed at the spider with the long sword in hand.


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    A powerful red aura shone on the long sword. Aldred shed forward, and the powerful aura shot towards the spider like a de.


    ng!


    The spider blocked the strike with its leg. It grinned at Aldred as if saying the attack was too weak. The impact even echoed a ringing sound that made his ears hurt a little.


    ¡®Is this spider made out of adamantite or something? It¡¯s too tough!¡¯ Aldred grimaced at how hard the legs were. It was even harder than Xer Xai¡¯s exoskeleton but that was probably because her power was sealed.


    ¡°You truly are different than the others. Kekeke.¡± The spider slowly walked forward while showing him a terrifying smile. ¡°But, you won¡¯t be able to defeat me with that strength. I was created by a Diamond Rank dark magician. Even a tinum Rank might struggle to cut my leg.¡±


    ¡°Beast, you talk too much. No wonder you parents threw you away.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    The spider was angered. ¡°How dare you!¡± The spider pounced forward and swept its legs to attack Aldred, but Aldred dodged it easily.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Now that I know your speed, dodging your attacks is much easier.¡±


    ¡°Keep dodging. We will see how long you canst!¡±


    Aldred raised his long sword. ¡°Execution Strike!¡± He activated his skill and aimed it directly at the spider¡¯s face.


    ¡°Kekeke. Foolish.¡± The spider blocked with its two limbs, but the red, sharp arc changed its trajectory.


    This shocked the spider, and the arc went from the back of the spider. ¡°I have 8 eyes. I can see from all directions you fool!¡±


    The spider blocked the red arc, but suddenly, the small rock below its belly turned into a human with a long sword, and stabbed at its belly.


    The spider quickly jumped back, but the long sword struck one of its 8 eyes.


    ¡°Ahh! Bastard!¡± The spider opened its mouth and spat out a blob of poisonous liquid at him.<sub></sub>


    His clone smiled. ¡°Foresight sh!¡±. The clone¡¯s body turned slightly transparent with glowing blue particles all around him.


    The poisonous liquid went through him, and his clone shed forward with red aura enveloping his body and de.


    ng!


    A deep scar made its mark on one of its legs.


    Aldred¡¯s de and the clone glowed with white outline. His spirit meter had increased to half of the sword while his spirit level was at white. This increased his speed and strength considerably.


    The spider on the other hand was terrified at the increased damage that the sword dealt to its leg. Earlier, the attack didn¡¯t even scratch its leg, but now there was a deep cut.


    ¡°Brother, you can do it!¡± Nilerea clenched her fist and motivated her brother.


    The spider nced at her and nodedd before turning to look at Aldred again.


    Aldred then grinned after looking at this scene. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do this at first, but ¡­ Clone! Attack that little girl!¡±<sub></sub>


    The clone dashed towards the little girl, long sword raised high.


    ¡°NOOO!!!!¡±


    The spider rushed from behind with even faster movement. The clone smirked and turned around, shing at its head.


    The spider flinched. ¡°You fooled me!¡±


    The spider blocked with a ng, but Aldred came from the side and shed at its leg. ¡°Spirit sh!¡±


    His de went through the leg, but there was no wound or scar, instead the limb felt weakened and numb.


    Aldred attacked again. ¡°Spirit sh Twice!¡±


    The leg got even weaker and the spider almost couldn¡¯t feel it anymore.


    That was when Aldred attacked for the third time. ¡°Spirit sh Thrice!¡±


    He spun and executed a swept attack thatpletely cut off the soul of the limb. And not only that, he weakened the spider¡¯s strength slightly.


    ¡°AHH!¡± The spider took a few steps back.


    Aldred¡¯s long sword turned yellow on the rim of the de. That meant his spirit outline was at the second stage which increased his strength even more.


    His clone also received this advantage and its long sword had the same glow.


    ¡°HOW DARE! HOW DARE! HOW DARE YOU!!¡± The spider red at Aldred and then rushed at him.


    Aldred and his clone dashed forward and attacked with perfect synchronization, throwing the spider away.


    ¡°HAAAAA! Let me show you my true form!¡± The spider¡¯s body bulged with dark mist leaking out of its body. Its body size ballooned and each legs was twice as big as Aldred¡¯s adult form. But then something happened, and the spider¡¯s body started to be smaller.


    ¡°NO! NO! I need more blood!¡± The spider nced at the little girl. Its 8 eyes turned dark and then pounced on her before sinking its hideous teeth onto her body.


    ¡°Brother! No!¡±


    The spider ignored her plea.


    ¡°Please! Brother, no! Arghk¡­. Brother¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s hand fell to the ground. Both of her eyes devoid of life.


    The spider picked her up with its jaws and then devoured her.


    Mary, Mira, and Mareona closed their mouth in shock.


    Even Aldred couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. It was obvious that the brother and sister had great rtionship with each other, yet now she was eaten without hesitation.


    ¡°KEKEKEKEKEKE!¡± The spider erged and the dark mist thickened. It¡¯s 7 red eyes terrifyingly rolled and then red at Aldred.


    It leaped forward in a sh, and Aldred couldn¡¯t even see it before he was kicked onto the wall while his clone was bitten before it explode into a mist of blood.


    Aldred gritted his teeth, and stood up, but before he could do that, a sticky web shot at him.


    Aldred quickly jumped to the side, and shed as another cobweb came at him.


    Aldred dashed forward and stared into one of its seven eyes. The spider stared back, and they fought each other ferociously.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Sparks lit the caves as their battle continued, Suddenly, the spider roared and pinned Aldred on the ground.


    It raised its sharp, gigantic legs, and stabbed his heart.

 Chapter 192 What?

    ¡°Kekekek.¡± The spider¡¯s saliva dripped as his jaw got closer to Aldred¡¯s face.


    ¡°You¡¯re stronger than I thought,¡± Aldred said.


    He smiled and pointed at the spider¡¯s face with his index finger. And then he bent his finger to point to the side.


    The spider turned its head and saw Aldred sitting leisurely on top of a boulder, yawning.


    The spider widened all of his 7 eyes in shock. It couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. Which one was real? Which one was fake? Its senses couldn¡¯t help identify the real one because all their auras, blood, power, weapons, and smells were the same.


    Then, the Aldred that it pinned down burst into blood before flying beside Aldred and formed into his clone again. Another bloody mist formed up on Aldred¡¯s left and formed another clone.


    In total, there were 3 Aldred¡¯s looking at the spider nonchntly.


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Aldred is bing smarter. He isn¡¯t relying on pure strength anymore.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°If he keeps ying the spider like this, eventually he will win the battle.¡±


    Aldred slid off the boulder and stood up as he looked at the spider. ¡°I have had enough y time. Do you want to see my full power?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    The spider did not reply and simply kept its gaze at Aldred.


    Aldred smiled and raised his hand. ¡°Arise.¡±


    Hundreds of undead stepped out of the ck mist, and they all growled and red at the spider.


    ¡°This power¡­ It¡¯s simr to that dark magician!¡±


    ¡°Kill it,¡± Aldred said.


    The undead growled and rushed at the spider. 55 Bajaragon belched out powerful mes at it from all directions before the phantom ws ripped it bit by bit.


    The spider retaliated, throwing dozens of undead, but the Snow Wolves and the Snow Apes swarmed it down.


    The spider was overwhelmed and it let out an unwilling cry before its body was torn apart and burned.


    The undead stepped back and moved to the side as Aldred walked towards the dead spider. It was twitching on the ground, unable to move.<sub></sub>


    ¡°At first, I was going to give you salvation, but I changed my mind. I will turn you into my eternal ve,¡± Aldred said. But just as he was about to turn the spider into his undead, the spider burst into dust, and beautiful light-blue energy fluttered around the cave.


    It formed into an image of a young boy and a young girl ying in the field with butterflies flying around them. The young girl was the one that he had seen earlier, and the young boy seemed to be the brother that had been turned into a giant spider.


    The image changed, showing them ying by the creek, catching fish, and sshing water at each other.


    ¡°This¡­. This is their memory,¡± Aldred said.


    As the siblings ran around, ying. They suddenly ran at him and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The image disappeared.


    The cobweb that was blocking the entrance disappeared as well. Ste and the others immediately approached Aldred as his clones and undead vanished.


    Aldred was still staring into the wall, recalling the image that he was shown earlier until Mary tapped his shoulder.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I am fine.¡± Aldred let out a breath. ¡°For some reason, I don¡¯t feel like going deeper into the dungeon anymore.¡±


    Mira held both of his hands. ¡°You can take a break, Aldred. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Don¡¯t let one obstacle blind you of your true goal. We will set up camp in this cave and after that we will rest.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Right. Maybe I am just tired.¡±


    Aldred sat down on the boulder as the other set up the tents within the cave.


    Suddenly, a system panel appeared in front of his eyes.


    [+4,250 EXP]


    [You have learned a new skill ¡®Sticky String¡¯]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Sticky String]


    -Let you shoot strings out of your finger.


    Some use this power to be a hero, some use this to tie girls and hang them in their house. (Insert Spiderman theme song here (T))


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°This could be useful.¡±


    Ste plopped her ass on the boulder beside Aldred. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about how those webs could prevent us from entering the cave? That¡¯s no ordinary web. My attack was absorbed and brought into a different dimension. And weirdly, the spider doesn¡¯t use it to attack you.¡±


    ¡°I am more curios of who is the culprit. I don¡¯t think that dark magician targeted me specifically. At least, from what I suspected.¡±


    Ste nced at Aldred. She knew more than him that a lot of powerful beings beyond this continent were looking at his every move. They were wary of him. Terrified even.


    Because he might bring great changes not just to this continent, but to the whole world.


    She was sure that one of those entities told their subordinates to subtlety remove Aldred. They could not send someone that was too powerful for Aldred or his mother would interfere.


    Nothing could be done if she moved her hand. In fact, they might be killed if she moved.


    Ste gulped, recalling the event of Aldred¡¯s mother threatening her at that time.


    ¡°Aldred, can you tell me more about your parents?¡±


    ¡°My parents?¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow at first, but then he smiled. ¡°They¡¯re perfect. The best family that I could ever ask for. Some might disagree with me, but I love them whole and know that they feel the same thing towards me.¡±


    ?[0)??? Aldred looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Even now. I believe they are watching over me.¡±


    ¡®They are!¡¯ Ste thought.


    ¡°What do you usually do with them?¡±


    Aldredughed as he recalled some fun memories. ¡°We used to travel around the gxy and universes. My dad would fish some monsters, and my mom would sing me a wonderful song. And I used to read a lot of stories with my big sister.¡±


    ¡°Gxy? Universes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Well it¡¯splicated to exin, so let¡¯s just say that our world is called a, and this is within a gxy, and this gxy is within a universe which consisted of billions of gxies and trillions ofs.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 193 Power Armor

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe, right?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I know the existence of other worlds that you calls, but I didn¡¯t know the concept of gxies and universes.¡±


    ¡°How did you know the existence of other?¡±


    ¡°There are some native people on Mount Fargon who invented astro scope for star gazing. Sometimes, I helped them using my spells and we found a lot of worlds out there beyond the sky.¡±


    ¡°I see. Anyway, let¡¯s have a meal and rest. I am starving.¡±


    Aldred walked to Bartrem and helped him flipping the burger.


    Ste smiled. It seemed Aldred felt much better after talking with her. To the side, Mary was looking at the spot where the spider had died.


    ¡°It¡¯s so sad to see 2 innocent souls falling in the hands of a demon,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°If you live long enough like me, you would treat this as a normal urrence. You can say that I am heartless, but it¡¯s more like I am used to it already.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it better if we can prevent this from happening?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°There¡¯s always shadows within the light, and hope within despair. Empires fell and rose. Good defeated evil and so does the other way around. I have seen it countless times ying out. It¡¯s a cycle. Never ending and eternal.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so nonchnt about this?¡±


    ¡°I am not a mortal like you. I can afford to be nonchnt. In fact, I am too tired already. I have yed the role of the devil and the angel in my lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Then why living?¡±


    ¡°There is 2 things that I have not yet tried.¡± She nced at Aldred. ¡°Bing an explorer, and a lover.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°Aldred¡¯s talk about gxies and universes intrigued me. I wonder what¡¯s out there. Trillions of world waiting to be explored.¡±


    ¡°Guys!¡± Aldred shouted. ¡°The food is done.¡±


    Ste and Mira smiled before they walked over. Mary, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, and Zafrina also approached Aldred and they all enjoyed their meal together.


    After they were done eating, Aldred and the girls entered the tent.<sub></sub>


    As he was hugged by his lovers, Aldred was staring at the ceiling, daydreaming.


    ¡°What are you thinking about, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    Aldred was silent for a second before he replied: ¡°The brother and sister reminded me of something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That powerlessness is a sin. Being weak is a sin. And that sin will make the devile to take a visit.¡±


    He was grateful to have a caring parents that took care of him in the shadows. Mom and dad must have realized that Aldred needed to grow, and he was grateful that they dropped him off the castle.


    And unlike the siblings, his parents are watching over him.


    Aldred clenched his fist. ¡°I have to get stronger. I want to protect those I love. For that I need more power.¡±


    Mary looked at him without saying anything.<sub></sub>


    Sophia was smiling. She wanted Aldred to have more power. That way nothing could harm him in any way. She also felt terrible about herself that she couldn¡¯t help him fight the spider.


    If she was stronger, she could have protected Aldred. Sophia sighed inwardly. Aldred was right. Weakness is a sin and the world would punish them for it.


    Sophia hugged Aldred¡¯s neck and put her head on his chest. Aldred caressed her head, and then they all went to sleep.


    ¡­


    As Aldred was sleeping, one of his clones ran outside the dungeon and leaped into the sky before activating jet mes that shot out from his hands and feet.


    He streaked through the sky, and after a while hended on the grassy in beside a magic train track.


    The sky was bright and less cloudy today, and eventually there was a dot in the sky.


    It becamerger andrger until it revealed itself a humongous cargo ne. It dove down, slowing down, and thennded on the uneven grassy in.


    How theynded without ident on such terrain wasn¡¯t something that he could figure out by himself.


    As the ne rolled forward, it turned around, and showed Aldred its tail, before the cargo hatch opened itself, revealing a humanoid robot.


    ?[0)??? ¡°That was faster than nned.¡±


    Thinker let out a roboticugh. ¡°I was told to make myself more hospitable to you byughing and smiling more. They said my annoying appearances might be the reason why I have to kill so much.¡±


    ¡°They who?¡±


    ¡°My master¡¯s assistant.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but why did youe this early? I give you 3 days. Are you afraid that I would leave?¡±


    ¡°I cannot feel emotion, but I do understand its concept and definition. It has allowed you living beings to survive all this time. My master added that concept to my programming. I am told to retreat if the chance of winning is below 40% or I have to avoid something if it has a 79% chance of disabling me. And to answer your question, my master told me to be faster to show our timeliness, and that we can be a reliable partner.¡±


    ¡°Partner? You want to team up with me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I will consider that offer, but let me ask you a question. What is your chance of winning against me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s 31,5%¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°And you still fought me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s 31,5% if I only fight using my own armaments and weapons within my mechanical body. But if keep requesting reinforcement, that probability might change.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a nuclear bomb?¡±


    ¡°That keyword is not avable in my database.¡±


    ¡°Never mind then. Let me see the mechas.¡±


    ¡°You will not receive the mechas.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Are you trying to trick me?¡±


    ¡°Incorrect. ording to your specifications and needs, we cannot give you mechas as they would be too big, and too hard to maintain, and they have high learning curve which require your soldiers to train at least 3 months to learn.¡±


    ¡°Instead, we are giving you a power armor that suits your specification.¡±


    One hundredrge and thick power armors walked out of the cargo ne. Their step thundered the ground because of their weight, and they towered over Aldred when they stood in front of him.


    ¡°Bartrem will love this.¡±

 Chapter 194 Team Work

    Aldred walked around the power armor, and used his godly eyes to inspect it from top to bottom. The ones inside the power armor right now were robots that looked like Thinker, but the machines on their inside was vastly different.


    At first, there was nothing wrong with the armor.


    The material it was made from was powerful, and there were a lot ofplex machinery inside of it. But the godly eyes exined all of it to Aldred.


    And that was when he caught something.


    There was an explosive within every armor.


    Aldredughed inside. It seemed the master of this robot wasn¡¯t that easy to fool. Whoever was behind this wasn¡¯t a genius nerd that never talks to anyone but with his own creations.


    The man knew that he might be tricked and created a fail-safe. Safe in this case Aldred¡¯s demise.


    ¡°Thinker, may I know where your master is?¡±


    ¡°He is currently in Duria. Would you like to meet him?¡±


    ¡°No. I just want to make sure where he is.¡± Aldred swiftly summoned his long sword and shed at Thinker, cutting off its mechanical head.


    The cables sparked as Aldred turned around facing the robots in power armor. They already brandished their guns and firedser beams at him.<sub>.</sub>


    Aldred let them hit his body as he consider them to be non-lethal.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 290/7550


    His upgrade points increased bit by bit every time he got attacked. He could have increased the points when he was fighting with bruce or the giant spider, but he was too busy dodging their attacks.


    Next time, he had to increase the points whenever he got the chance.


    Aldred rushed forward, and then executed a sweeping strike as he went past dozens of robots. The robots fell with their heads rolling on the ground.


    He kept going, only attacking their head and nothing else. He had detected that their memory chip was installed in the head, and the battery was located on the back, connected by a wire through the neck.


    By cutting the head off, he prevented the memory from running because it had no power.


    After defeating all the robots, Aldred saw the ne was about to take off. He leaped inside the cargo bay and stabbed the wall. Inside the wall was a wire that controlled the engine. With the engine cut off, the ne could not move.


    Aldred smiled, and he walked out of the ne before waving his hand.<sub></sub>


    All the robots remains vanished and entered his divine dimension.


    He then burst into a mist of blood.


    Meanwhile, a small drone was watching this from high above the sky. Its camera rotated with a glint of red.


    ¡°Downloading back up memory¡­ download sess. Thinker restarting¡­ restart sess. Transmitting new data to the database¡­ transmission sess.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was in a cave, fighting against ava golem with the others.


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Fire Resist!¡±


    Just as she said that, the golem belched searing hotva at Bartrem.


    His armor was sizzling with steam, but the buff from Sophia saved his life.


    ¡°Get its leg!¡± Bartrem shouted before raising his sword and rushing at theva golem.<sub></sub>


    The soldiers below threw chains at the golem¡¯s left leg. It was standing high with stoneva legs, and it had two arms just like a human. Its face was covered with bubblingva that constantly poured out from the top.


    The golem stumbled as the soldier pulled its left leg.


    Aldred threw water razor at the golem constantly while the undead ran around it, biting and wing its stone skin bit by bit.


    The Bajaragon attacked with their mes, but the golem ateva for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


    This made their mes ineffective.


    Be then threw her staff in the air, and it spun like a fan. Suddenly, icy runes appeared behind the staff and it blew freezing wind at the golem.


    The golem roared. Lava sshed about, and it stomped the ground.


    Boom! The ground cracked, revealing hot, boilingva that burst upward a secondter.


    Some soldiers got struck by it and were sent into the sky. Luckily, they had powerful treasures and Sophia¡¯s buff, so they were still alive albeit terribly injured.


    But that wasn¡¯t a problem as Mira immediately casted her spell.


    ¡°Holy Golden Stream!¡± Golden water passed through the soldiers and healed their wounds in almost an instant.


    Ste charged forward. Her whole body glowed in divine light, and she shed straight onto the golem¡¯s chest like a bullet.


    The impact shattered a huge chunk of the golem¡¯s stone while also being pushed back a few steps. The soldiers took that chance and pulled the chain. This made the golem fell on its back.


    Mary and Mareona moved like a train, jumped high into the sky, and mmed the golem¡¯s face with their sword. The m cracked the floor, and moreva leaked out.


    It was Aldred¡¯s turn to leap into the sky. He had a stick in his hand.


    The golem raised its left arm, about to shootva at him.


    ?[0)??? ¡°Not this time.¡± He fired a few sticky webs that prevented the golem raising its left arm.


    Aldred smiled and morphed the stick into a wide, long pole. He raised it high and then swung down.


    ¡°World Shattering m!¡±


    The stick burst out with a powerful aura and crashed against the golem.


    CRACK!


    The entire golem cracked like a vase, and then it exploded, sending everyone dozens of meters back.


    Aldred stood up, and squinted his eyes, trying to look beyond the dust cloud that obscured his vision.


    ¡°Is it dead yet?¡±


    [+4,200 EXP]


    ¡°It¡¯s dead!¡± Aldred said.


    The dust cloud was blown by a mysterious wind, and then they saw smallerva golems crawling out of the big golem.


    ¡°Shit! Prepare for battle!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Suddenly, dozens of powerful arrows sted the smallva golems to pieces.


    Looking to the side, it was the undead bowman¡ªBruce.


    ¡°Bruce. I told you not to move. We are practicing our teamwork among the living. We will do a another teamwork drill with the undeadter.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, boss.¡±

 Chapter 195 Return

    After fighting the golem, Aldred went deeper into the dungeon and cleansed any monsters he saw. Sometimes he met adventurers from Epolissa.


    At first, Aldred didn¡¯t know which province they came from, but they suddenly attacked him, so he simply told his undead to kill them all.


    Aldred¡¯s way went unhindered after that. Some adventurers from Akrolilenai even greeted or saluted him with respect.


    ¡°Death Lord! That¡¯s the Death Lord! Quick bow your head!¡±


    They all bowed as he walked through the tunnel. Aldred simply shrugged as he passed them, but he wondered how people heard of his name so quickly. He then looked at Bruce, the undead bowman, walking beside him.


    ?[0)??? ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of you.¡±


    Bruce shrugged as well, and they all entered another cave before fighting another Elite Level monster.


    As Aldred and the undead fought, Bartrem was whistling as he flipped the meat on the grill.


    ¡°Get that lizard¡¯s leg!¡± Aldred said as a stream of poison came out of the lizard¡¯s mouth.


    Bartrem grabbed his seasoning kit and hummed a calming song as he seasoned all the meat on the grill. He noticed the me started to die.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Hey! Aldred, can you give me some me!¡±


    Aldred rolled to the side as the lizard stomped on him. ¡°Can you not see I am busy?¡±


    ¡°Just throw some mes here and you¡¯re done!¡±


    Aldred threw a fireball at Bartrem before he jumped backward, dodging the tail attack.


    Bartrem pped all the meat into the sky before he lifted the grill and let the fireball hit it. Now zing in me, he put the grill down, and all the meatnded one by one perfectly.


    ¡°Good me,¡± Bartrem said with a smile before he grabbed some buns and put them on the grill.


    He hummed a song again as he flipped the meat a bunch of times. After a few minutes, he flipped the meat onto the bun, and then top it off with another bun.


    ¡°The burger is done!¡±


    Suddenly, the lizard was thrown into the sky, and then crashed onto his grill.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred said as he looked at Juragan, the one who threw the lizard away.


    Bartrem wore a dark expression on his face, and everyone stepped back after seeing that.


    ¡°You motherfucker!¡± Bartrem pounced on the giant lizard¡¯s face and pounded its head with bare hands.


    The lizard couldn¡¯t react, and his face was hit left and right, until eventually, it passed out.


    But it wasn¡¯t over. Bartrem red at Juragan. He pulled the lizard¡¯s tail and then spun before throwing the lizard¡¯s body into the sky.


    Aldred stepped to the side as the lizard crashed onto Juragan, making both of them fell.


    ¡°A chef¡¯s rage is extraordinary,¡± Aldred said as he looked at the pitiful lizard.


    They killed the lizard and cut it down to pieces. Aldred could turn it into undead and farm its pieces infinitely, but the lizard had no special power that was unique or good enough for him. It was just a big lizard that can shoot poison. He already had Nicky, the giant velobra, for that.


    After the kill, Bartrem calmed down and started cooking again. He canceled the burgers and made kebabs for everyone.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Damn, Bartrem!¡± Aldred said. ¡°Your food is getting better and better.¡±


    Bartrem smiled proudly.


    Like usual, they filled their belly with tasty food until they couldn¡¯t do it anymore. Bartrem was more than happy to cook for them, but their stomachs had limits.


    As Aldred walked through the cave, he realized something. ¡°Where is the 10th floor exactly? We have been in this dungeon for a while now.¡±


    ¡°If you want to go directly to the 10th floor, we can buy a map with our merit points,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s return then. I think that is enough for today. We will buy the map and then have some rest.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Just in case, I will let the undead wreak havoc here, and put all the monster corpses in the divine dimension.¡±


    Aldred and his friends walked to the entrance of the cave and noticed there was a great battle among adventurers.


    ¡°Kill them! Avenge Bruce!¡±


    They shed against each other, and the ruined city bathed in mes.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Bruce, this happened because of you. Go clean it up.¡±


    Bruce felt a pain in his heart. It was Aldred who killed him, now he was med for this chaos. Although he couldn¡¯t feel anything, he still had emotions.


    He dashed forward with his bow and rained arrows upon the enemy.


    ¡°Wait! Is that Bruce?¡±


    ¡°Why is he glowing in purple and dark mist?¡±


    ¡°Shit! He has be an undead.¡±


    ¡°So it was true. The Death Lord had defeated him, and turned him into an undead.¡±


    Bruce pulled his arrows and released. The arrow shot forward and precisely hit their heart.


    ¡°Fuck! Get out of here! Bruce will kill us all!¡±


    Bruce chased them away for one hundred meter before he ran back to Aldred.


    The adventurers nearby looked at Aldred in amazement. With onemand, he made all the enemies run away in fear.


    ¡°So this is the power of the Death Lord.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, he¡¯s so handsome,¡± a beautifuldy said. She nced at the beautiful women flocking around him. ¡°I wonder if he has a spot for me.¡±


    Aldred summoned Teethless. The Bajaragon knelt, letting Aldred and friends ride on it.


    The others were shocked to see such a majestic creature. Never had they seen something like it before.


    ¡°Teethless, bring us back to Hajduvar.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Teethless soared into the sky, and then dozens of mes shot out from his wing like a jet engine.


    They were faster than the train, and so, in mere minutes, Aldred arrived at the familiar ss dome. Teethlessnded a few hundred meters away from the city, and Aldred hopped off him.


    He then summoned the Snow Wolves, and rode it like a horse. The wolves were smaller than a Bajaragon so the guards were not alerted or felt threatened by their presence.


    Secondster, they arrived at the entrance.

 Chapter 196 Famous

    Aldred received a lot of looks of admiration from everyone as he approached the entrance.


    The guards looking at him didn¡¯t even inspect him before they let him enter the city.


    ¡°Being famous has its perks,¡± Aldred said as a bunch of beautiful girls winked at him.


    He then walked to the adventurer¡¯s inn.


    ?[0)??? The receptionist smiled when she saw him. ¡°Congrattions on your return. How may I help you.¡±


    ¡°I want to buy a map of the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Most certainly.¡± The receptionist grabbed a rolled parchment and put it on the table.


    Aldred rolled it out, and saw the detailed drawings of the map, and the level indication on the side. So the 10th floor was at the bottom, and going there would be almost impossible without a map because the path was like a maze.


    ¡°How much is this?¡±


    ¡°That will be 1 million merit points, sir.¡±


    ¡°What? That expensive?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°It¡¯s not an ordinary map, sir. This map is constantly renewed as the explorer team delves within the dungeon. It could tell you which path is safe to take or which route is the fastest to arrive at a destination.¡±


    Aldred looked at the map and noticed that it changed. The monster¡¯s icon decreased, and dozens of paths turned green which indicate that it was a safe route.


    ¡°Alright, I will buy this one.¡±


    The receptionist nodded. ¡°Can I please borrow your card for a minute?¡±


    ¡°There you go.¡±


    The receptionist put the card on a stone table, and she returned it after two seconds.


    ¡°Your merit points have been deducted and that map is now yours.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He looked at his friends. ¡°Do you guys want to buy something?¡±


    ¡°What items can we buy?¡±


    ¡°We have an extensive list of items such as consumables, weapons, armor, tools, books, and even food. Also note that our food is suitable for long travel and can be consumed even after a long time.¡±<sub></sub>


    The receptionist tapped a few times on the stone table, and a magic light projected a magical screen that showed them a bunch of items and the list of categories.


    ¡°What are these strengthening pills?¡±


    ¡°Those pills can increase your endurance, durability, and overall strength of your body. It¡¯s very suitable for warrior type fighters.¡±


    ¡°Can it be consumed indefinitely?¡±


    ¡°It can. But the more you consume the less potent it bes.¡±


    ¡°What is the amount you can eat before its effect bes too weak?¡±


    ¡°Five.¡±


    ¡°Give me 500 of that.¡±


    ¡°I will note that, sir. Do you want anything else.¡±


    Aldred looked at Mary and the others. ¡°See anything you like.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Most of the items are too expensive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I have 10 million merit points. It¡¯s not like I can use them outside the city when we leave. Just buy whatever you want.¡±


    The people that heard that felt like their heart jumped out. Ten million merit points! It would take a lifetime to gather that many merit points for them.


    Meanwhile, the receptionist was disappointed that Aldred was nning to leave. Most adventurers decided to live here since they made good money and a great living because of the dungeon.


    But it made sense. Aldred was a rich man, so he wouldn¡¯t be staying here just because of money.


    Mary and the others were convinced, so they bought everything that they wanted.


    Aldred also told Bartrem and the soldiers to buy anything they wanted to buy.


    They dly took the offer.


    ¡°Also, I heard you guys have ores or other materials for shipbuilding?¡±


    ¡°We do. Iolbiatos is the capital city of Paphia, and it¡¯s a naval city that needs a lot of shipbuilding materials. Since the dungeon has a lot of suitable materials we started selling them as well.¡±


    ¡°What kind of materials do you have?¡±


    ¡°Mostly the armor for the hull, and the sails. The sea is very dangerous as monsters constantly try to bring the ship down.¡±


    ¡°Is it that dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Sailors usually go to the sea in groups and bring at least one tinum Rank warrior to protect themselves. Of course, you can also sail by the shore to avoid stronger monsters, but it will take a long time to arrive at the destination.¡±


    ¡°Is tinum Rank necessary for sea exploration?¡±


    The receptionist shook her head. ¡°Most of the time, Elite Gold Rank warrior is enough.¡±


    She then showed Aldred another magic projection that revealed the cost and images of the materials. Aldred raised an eyebrow at the cost.


    ¡°The cheapest is at least 10 million. The shipbuilding industry must be raking in money.¡±


    ¡°A lot of wealth is made from the sea, sir. Naturally, a lot of people wanted some share of that. Pirates are abundant in the sea, and they are willing to sacrifice their lives to take over your ship. This is why most ship materials are expensive because they need to reach a certain standard against the danger in the sea.¡±


    ¡°I understand. But what about flight. Can people just fly over the ocean rather than using these ships?¡±


    ¡°If that was possible, everyone would be doing that, sir.¡±


    ¡°Is there something that prevents them from doing that?¡±


    ¡°You cannot fly in the sea. But each area has different restrictions. In one ce, your mana might be drained so quickly that you can only fly for a few seconds, but most ces prevent people from flying directly. If we can fly over the sea, the winged-race people would dominate the sea by now.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you directly fly overnd to trade instead of going to the sea?¡±


    ¡°We cannot bring enough things alone, sir. Even if we use spatial bags which are very expensive and do not have enough space to make the trade worthwhile. We use trains and carriages most of the time. Sometimes we use an air carriage, but those are quite expensive to use.¡±


    ¡°Air what?¡±


    ¡°Air carriage. A carriage with wings that can fly.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? So you have an airne as well.¡±


    ¡°I have heard foreigners call our air carriage with that name before.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess. Theye from Duria.¡±

 Chapter 197 Rest

    ¡°Anyway, how much is for everything?¡±


    ¡°Your total is at 6 million merit points.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. He could get merit points again by selling Xer Xai¡¯s body parts anytime he wanted anyway.


    ¡°I want to buy elemental and non-elemental books. Do you have any avable?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we even have martial arts scrolls or books for any weapon.¡±


    ¡°Give me something for air and earth. Also, is there any good non-elemental spell?¡±


    ¡°There are certain type of non-elemental spell. Offence, defence, mobility, or utility.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by utility?¡±


    ¡°Utility is mostly giving buff to your allies or healing spell. It could also be summoning simple rope to tie something. Essentially, it¡¯s a spell that can be used for various stuff that doesn¡¯t fit the other categories.¡±


    ¡°Tell me more about mobility.¡±


    ¡°It lets you move from one ce to another much faster. Earth and fire spell are especially good at this, but non-elemental spell can also reach their speed either by removing the weight of the user or turning the body into light particles. There is even one that let you teleport instantly to a destination.¡±


    ¡°Teleportation?¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow. If he was correct, the divine dimension had that teleportation function where he could put a teleportation point to a certain ce.<sub>.</sub>


    But to do that, he had to have traveled to that ce first.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need teleportation spell or mobility spell, Aldred,¡± Ste said. ¡°I can do all of that for you.¡±


    ¡°You also don¡¯t need utility spells,¡± Sophia said. ¡°I can buff everyone and Mira can heal.¡±


    ¡°You also don¡¯t need to learn defensive spell as Mira, Sophia, and I can cast a defensive shield,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°I think you only need to learn the elemental spell, Aldred,¡± Ivette said. ¡°You have a lot of powerful undead for offence. Not to mention Mary, Mareona, Bartrem, and all the soldiers can add to the offense for that.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°You should learn more elemental spells. While we attack, your variety of spells can disrupt the enemies from the side.¡±


    ¡°To be honest. You don¡¯t need to learn anything at all, Aldred,¡± Mareona said. ¡°You¡¯re too strong already. Nobody in Gold Rank can defeat you if you use your full power.¡±


    ¡°We never know,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to underestimate my enemy. Who knows what I will fight in the future.¡±


    He also recalled thatdy in the the forest that said a lot of powerful people were watching him.


    He might have to fight them all. And he did not know what they were capable of.


    ¡°For now. I will only take the air and earth elemental spell.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Is that all you want, sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What if I rmend you something. Within the non-elemental spell, there is an utility spell called golemification, and magical construction.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°Exin more to me.¡±


    ¡°Golemification let you turn certain objects into golem. Since you will be learning earth spell, you can shape your own golem. And magical construction let you build your own magical construct with various effects. For example, you can build a pir that increased the gravity within certain radius. Of course you have full control of it, so you can select your allies to not be affected by it.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Golem and magical construction. These two sounds very interesting.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, you already have undead. Why build a golem?¡±


    ¡°I need to kill monsters to obtain more undead. And not all of them are suitable because I have limited slots for my undead. But I can have an infinite amount of golems and I can shape them however I want.¡±


    ¡°We would also need magical construct to strengthened our ship, and we can use to fight stronger enemies orrger armies.¡±


    ?[0)??? The receptionist nodded. ¡°You can also use mana crystals to make your golem stronger or you can use spiritual core.¡±


    ¡°Where can I find a spiritual core?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Usually, only rare beast have them. They are very powerful, but anyone would be willing to sacrifice a lot to obtain their spiritual core.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, can you get me those two as well.¡±


    ¡°Most certainly. One air elemental spell. One earth elemental spell. One golemification spell, and one magical construct spell. Your total is at 3 million merit points.¡±


    Aldred paid in full, and then looked at his friends. ¡°Did everyone get what they wanted?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    They bought dozens of consumables. They did not need treasures because Aldred had a lot of them and it was more than enough for them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get some rest. We will directly go to the 10th floor tomorrow.¡±


    They all walked upstairs and entered their own room.


    Aldred immediately jumped onto his bed while his girls excitedly followed him and hugged him.


    ¡°Finally we can rest,¡± Ivette said. ¡°The dungeon is suffocating.¡±


    ¡°Are you guys tired?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± They all answered.


    ¡°Well, I am not letting you sleep tonight.¡±


    ¡°Eehhh!¡±


    ¡­


    Pharder was sitting on his desk, reading the report his spy had sent. At first, his face was nonchnt, but it quickly turned into rage.


    ¡°Death Lord? The Undefeatable Gold Rank?¡± He mmed his table, cracking it. ¡°What is Simond doing? I told him to kill the boy, and yet he is still thriving out there.¡±


    ¡°Your tea, my lord,¡± a meek women¡¯s voice came.


    Pharder sipped the tea and winced at the taste. He threw the tea cup away. It shattered against the wall.


    ¡°I told you not to put any sugar!¡±


    The women was terrified. Pharder pulled her by the hair and stared at her. ¡°It¡¯s because of that boy and that damn empress. You remind me of Sophia the bitch that I owned before you. That boy stole my fucking bitch!¡±


    He pped the woman which made the woman cry in pain.


    ¡°Please, have mercy, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Cih! Sophia would never beg like you.¡± He punched her in the face, making her fall to the ground.


    Pharder stood up and stepped on her face. He then grabbed something out of his pocket. It was a deep dark, glowing crystal.


    The woman widened her eyes when he saw the divine object that only exist in folktales. ¡°Eternal Mana crystal!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± He stomped on her mouth.


    Pharder closed his eyes and siphoned a trickle of energy from the crystal. His body became stronger, but there was a limit of how much he can absorb each year.


    ¡°If not for the empress, that slut in the brothel wouldn¡¯t have the thought to cut off my dick. Ever since her book spread, you women have been rebelling against us men.¡±


    Pharder grabbed the woman by the neck. She gasped for air and tried to pry his hands away.


    ¡°Since you have seen my secret. I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Akgkk. Pleese, no, my lord. Akgkk.¡±


    ¡°Toote.¡± He punched through her chest.

 Chapter 198 A Welcome Surprise

    Aldred stood up from the bed with all the girls breathing profusely. They were all smiling and closing their eyes in satisfaction of their ¡®pleasure y¡¯ earlier.


    Aldred looked at them with a smile before he walked to the balcony. He sat down by the couch, and enjoyed the night view of the city. The skyscrapper-like trees lit up. Some for housing and some were business where people came in and go for leisure activity.


    As Aldred stared into the distance, a cup made out of roots and filled with winended on the table in front of him. He turned to see the person who ced that cup.


    It was the receptionist earlier who wore a blushing and intoxicated expression. She breathed out a freezing wind as it was very cold high up here in the sky.


    ¡°Are you drunk?¡± Aldred asked.


    The receptionist wore a tight white shirt that outlined her breast and hour-ss waist perfectly. She suddenly, unbutton the top part which showed her cleavage and then jumped on top of hisp.


    She stared at him mysteriously. Yet her blushing cheeks were ever apparent. It was clear that she was drunk right now.


    But the problem right now was that Aldred only wore his underwear. So when shended on top of him, his little brother down there could feel her buttocks by a thinyer of cloth.


    Aldred was about to say something, but she put one finger on his lips, signaling him to stay silent.


    Aldred blushed when he looked at her beautiful face more closely. She really did looked like an angel. With a small pair of white wings on her back, petite body, and well-endowed breast, she was a woman any men would dream of having.


    To think that she wouldnd on hisp all of a sudden was quite surprising.<sub>.</sub>


    But it was a surprise that he would wee any time of the day.


    She then moved her hips which made his currently-very-sensitive little brother to be slightly erected. The receptionist let out a naughty smile.


    ¡°Do you like me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It would be a lie if I say otherwise.¡±


    She giggled in a cute manner, her cheeks still blushing. ¡°You¡¯re so handsome.¡± She caressed his face, and her fingersnded on his lips.


    ¡°These lips. I want to make it mine.¡±


    ¡°My lips are owned by a lot of girls.¡±


    ¡°Can I own them too?¡±


    ¡°Be my guest.¡±


    She stared at him then slowly closed her eyes before she leaned forward, about to kiss him.<sub></sub>


    But suddenly, Pongo came out of nowhere with a bomb. The penguin grinned, but Aldred wasn¡¯t in the mood to y, so he sprayed the penguin with Sticky String and wrapped him up like a spider wrapping its prey.


    Pongo fell to the floor with a soft thud, and Aldred slowly leaned forward to seal the kiss.


    After a few seconds, the both of them retracted the kiss, and the receptionist opened her beautiful eyes before looking at him.


    ¡°It tasted wonderful. I never imagined a kiss could be so¡­ amazing.¡±


    ¡°Is it your first time?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s butterflies in my stomach, and some indescribable feeling all over me.¡±


    And then Aldred felt his pants getting wet. The divine juice had been released, and when she realized that Aldred knew, she looked away in embarrassment.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It happens to everyone the first time they kiss.¡±


    She still didn¡¯t dare to look at him. Aldred smiled and gently pulled her to his embrace. She hugged him back, closing her eyes as she felt his bodily warmth that made her feel like she was in the right hands.


    ¡°I want this forever.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I cannot do that. I have a treasure I need to obtain.¡±


    ¡°I will go with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thister. You¡¯re drunk.¡±


    ¡°I am not. I am as sober as I can be.¡± She stared at him, slightly pouting. And then she huped.


    Aldred kissed her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t be too hasty. Let¡¯s talk about this tomorrow and think it through.¡±


    She fell under his charm immediately and hugged him.


    ¡°Can I ask why do you like me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re handsome. But most importantly, you treat everyone around you very well.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡±


    ¡°No one would spend 10 million merit points for their own subordinates.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    She was right. Aldred wouldn¡¯t mind spending any amount of money for his friends. Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and everyone else had been with him for a long time and were always there whenever he needed them.


    They wererades in arms. Mary and Bartrem especially had guided him from the start. They were the ones protecting him during his days in the fort.


    ¡°By the way. How did you get up here.¡±


    ¡°I flew.¡± She then wiggled her small wings at him. ¡°Do you want to touch them?¡±


    ¡°Your wings?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Aldred gently grabbed her wings and caressed it. It was soft to the touch and he could feel a refreshing breeze around it like it was some sort of magic.


    Aldred continued to y around with her wings, but when he looked at her, he noticed that her cheeks turned even more red than before. She was slightly trembling as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Keep going.¡±


    ¡°Are your wings sensitive?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It is. But for you. I will let you touch them.¡±


    ¡°I will try to be gentle.¡± Aldred caressed her wings slowly.


    She fell to his chest and purred like a kitten. She was too adorable and so he couldn¡¯t help but tease her even more.


    ¡°Aahh¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I am fine. You can continue.¡±


    Aldred did just that and continued to look at her adorable face as she continued to wiggle in his arms. Her breathing became heavier, and after a few minutes, she couldn¡¯t hold it any longer.


    She grabbed his arm. ¡°Make love with me.¡±


    (Beg and I might give you the next chapter muhahahahahhaha!) (For once not taylor writing that message)

 Chapter 199 In The Heat (R+18)

    Aldred¡¯s hand immediately grabbed onto her rear with a calm expression as he looked into her intoxicating ck eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance to hear your name.¡±


    ¡°My name is Rachel.¡±


    ¡°Funny, I only heard your name once, and here you are in myp.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to sit on yourp the moment I saw how you treat your girls.¡±


    ¡°Tell me your wish.¡±


    ¡°Treat me like I am yours.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure.¡±


    Aldred lifted her skirt, and then grabbed onto her smooth ass. Her round, perky butt made him want to squeeze hard. And so he did, which made Rachel moan.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Do it harder.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Aldred grabbed her ass even tighter and he squeezed.


    ¡°Uhmm.¡± She fell on his chest and her warm breathing fanned onto his neck.


    That triggered his lust, and Aldred massaged her butt as she sat on hisp. She wiggled uncontrobly, making his little brother get even more excited as her underwear rubbed against his.


    Her body trembled even harder as time passed.


    Aldred felt her body be hotter, and then his hand slipped inside her underwear before quickly pinching on her clitoris.


    ¡°Aaah¡­!¡± She held on to his shoulders as Aldred yerd around with her maiden jewel.


    He teased her even more by rubbing the entrance of her divine cave which made her juices keep on leaking out.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Aldred, Aldred, Aldred, uhmmm,¡± she called his name as she moaned in pleasure.


    His right hand grabbed onto her tight white shirt that wrapped on her curvy waist. Aldred ripped them apart, revealing her pink bra that revealed her bouncy cleavage. It was like two mountains with a deep abyss in between.


    It constantly beckoned Aldred toe and see what was beyond the bra. Aldred wasn¡¯t polite this time, and pulled her bra, snapping the string.


    That was when her beautiful breast came into full view. With the perfect size and pink nipples, any man would never want this to be shown to anyone else.


    They would want to own it for themselves and protect it with their own lives.


    As Aldred looked back at her full figure. She truly was an angel. Her petite body, bouncy breast, and curvy waist. Also the slight gap between her legs was just perfect.


    He slipped his right hand in between that gap and then rub her underwear. His left hand held onto her waist, and Rachel looked at him with a burning passion, letting Aldred be in full control of her body.


    Her expression was if begging him to treat her rougher and stop teasing her with this forey, but Aldred wasn¡¯t done yet.<sub></sub>


    His left hand squeezed her right breast and his right hand entered her underwear before rubbing her wet cave.


    Rachel moaned. Her mind was in turmoil as all kinds of mixed emotions flooded her heart. But she knew she felt safe in his hands. She knew this man would treat her right. She could feel it in her thumping heart.


    As she trembled on hisp, Aldred saw sweat trickled between her breast. She was so hot with her giant tits and perky bottom.


    ¡°Why do you have to be so hot?¡± Aldred asked himself. ¡°You make me impatient.¡±


    ¡°Unn¡­ It¡¯s you who keep doing the teasing,¡± Rachel pitifully said.


    Aldred¡¯s little brother twitched in desire as it bulged within the pants, touching Rachel¡¯s underwear.


    Rachel clearly felt that his manhood was right under her. Just thinking about it made her pussy lips gush a little.


    She trailed her fingers along from his face down towards his manhood. ¡°Aldred, I cannot hold it anymore.¡± She grabbed onto hisrge rod and moved her hand up and down.


    Aldred felt the bliss of her small hand. She then leaned forward and kissed him. Her taste buds were tinged with wonderful taste and the desire within her heart skyrocketed.


    She fell in love with this man immediately. Some say love came ever so slowly, other say love came at first sight.


    For her, that love came ever since the first kiss. She loved the taste of his tongue the warmth of his mouth, and the smell. All was wonderful. All was perfect.


    Moaning pleasurely, she continued to suck on his tongue. Aldred wrapped her body with his strong arms, pressing her underwear down onto his rod.


    As they kissed, Rachel¡¯s left hand slipped into his underwear and grabbed his rod. Feeling, the rod between her finger twitching, she rubbed it up and down to make Aldred feel good.


    She then pushed herself away, and then quickly tugged Aldred¡¯s pants, revealing the giant member that she craved for.


    ¡°Is it normally this big?¡±


    ¡°I can make it however big I want.¡±


    His rod then getting longer that made Rachel widened her eyes in shock. Aldred immediately shortened it to 12 inches.


    ¡°Are you fine with this length?¡±


    Rachel nodded with blushed cheeks. She put her face close to his rod, and then stick her tongue. Her tongue dangerously close to licking the tip of his rod.


    She licked the tip.


    Immediately, Aldred felt a crashing wave of pleasure all over him. It made him tremble, and Rachel noticed that.


    ¡®So men like something like this.¡¯ She continued on licking and Aldred entered a state of bliss and pleasure as he closed his eyes.


    Rachel smiled when she saw Aldred¡¯s expression, so she continued and kept licking.


    Her long tongue bathed his pulsing rod in saliva. Her saliva was hot and pleasing to him. It took all of his will to not grab her right then and there before filling her belly with his love seeds.


    She then gently kissed his cock head. Only the tip was entering her mouth. Rachel then looked at Aldred who looked back at her with passion.


    She sweetly smiled before she plunged the whole thing in her mouth. His mushroom hit the back of her throat in one thrust.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Aldred moaned in pleasure, legs shook and quivered.


    After a few minutes, Aldred pulled her head back, and then pushed her onto the table. Her snow-white buttocks was in full view, and Aldred slowly inserted his rod into her.

 Chapter 200 Too Handsome

    Within the dark room where light never exists, a man with a dark robe enveloping his body jolted out of his sleep. The cold hard floor crept onto his bony fingers, piercing the thinyer of his skin.


    His deep ck eyes spun and some sort of mysterious mist circled around his eyes.


    ¡°Viper, Terrance,¡± he called.


    Suddenly, two other men woke up. One had dirt and sand fell off his body.


    ¡°What is it Klepto?¡± Viper asked.


    ¡°The bossmands us to take care of someone.¡±


    ¡°Who? The rival gang?¡±


    ¡°No. He¡¯s only one man with a bunch of subordinates.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    Klepto grinned. ¡°He¡¯s in Paphia.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Hehehe. I will surely get myself a winged beauty when we finish the job.¡±


    Klepto lifted his sleeves, revealing a tattoo of a spiky helmet with a pair of devil horns. Under the tattoo written: Wildlings. And this writing glowed in red.


    ¡°The boss told us to take care of him immediately.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then. I cannot wait to visit Paphia once again.¡±


    Terranceughed. ¡°They have the best women. Especially their cry when I rip their wings. I just love the noise they make when I do that.¡±


    Klepto was smiling at first, but then he frowned. ¡°The boss told us to prepare to the fullest. The enemy this time is not simple.¡±


    He looked at Viper and Terrance. ¡°Bring the golem and the magical construct.¡±


    ¡­


    Rachel arched her back and moaned in pleasure as she felt Aldred¡¯s rod deep inside of her. She grabbed the edge of the table for support as he thrust his hips back and forth.<sub></sub>


    Aldred paid no mind to that and focused on iming her pussy as his own. Nothing could stop him as his rod rampaged within Rachel¡¯s hot, wet walls. Heavenly juice kept on washing his rod as he punished her with indescribable pleasure.


    With each pump, Aldred went in deeper and deeper. Eventually, his thrust hit the cervix which made Rachel¡¯s moan be louder than before. Juices coated his ramming tool and that made it easier for him to slip in and out of her womanly cave.


    His movement became smoother as she became wetter by the minutes. The mushroom head of his rod brushed against the entrance of her womb which tingled Rachel¡¯s body all over. Her toes curled, and her eyes started rolling to the back of her head.


    His balls mmed against her red-peach-like ass. Bouncing against her perky, round flesh every time he thrusted forward.


    His hips pumped at a fast tempo, and both of them felt their heart beating in a sync. How they knew that was a mystery, but they could feel it.


    Aldred leaned forward, grabbed onto her melons, and pulled her onto a standing position. While doing this, he kept on moving back and forth. Rachel moaned as she closed her eyes and grabbed the table for support while his rod went in and out of her.


    She felt his powerful arms wrapped around her as Aldred grabbed tight on her melons. The busty woman felt hot inside, and that made her move back and fort along with Aldred.


    ¡°Aahh¡­ Ahhh¡­ Aldred¡­ Aldred¡­.ahhh!¡±


    Aldred continued to fuck her from behind in a standing position. Rachel¡¯s legs turned weak, and she felt like she couldn¡¯t stand on her two feet anymore. But Aldred held her strong, and kept on going.<sub></sub>


    ¡°More. More, Aldred. More. Fuck me harder, please,¡± She begged through hagered breaths and shrieks of pleasure.


    Aldred pped her ass before kneading her breast. ¡°You¡¯re pussy is so tight, Rachel. It wrapped my rod perfectly.¡±


    He pped her ass again, receiving a pleased yelp for her. ¡°I am going to fill your belly with my baby seeds. Let me tell your pussy who is the owner.¡±


    Rachel smiled naughtily. ¡°Yes. Fill me up with your cum.¡±


    Aldred elongated his twitching rod deep into her womb. Rachel flung her head back from the pleasure and pain.


    ¡°Yes! Make me yours! I don¡¯t want anyone else, but you!¡±


    Aldred thrust his hips harder and faster, and soon after he exploded inside of her with semen. All the sperm swam inside of her womb.


    Rachel breathed haggardly, and she turned her head to look at Aldred with a pleased, sweaty expression.


    White semen leaked out of her cave, and she hugged Aldred before falling asleep on his chest.


    Aldred hugged her and caressed her head. As he did so, he wondered why his women had never been pregnant even though he had been having sex with them.


    Did his mother do something about this? Or was it because of his mixed bloodline? From what he knew, his mom and dad had been married for millennium, and yet they only had one child recently. His sister on the other hand was adopted.


    Rachel moaned in his chest, still feeling the pleasure from earlier.


    Aldred smiled and shrug the thought away. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to have a child.


    ~The Next Day~


    The morning sun gently rose, shining throgh the balcony, and lit up Aldred¡¯s face as he opened his eyes.


    When he turned around, he noticed Rachel was still naked, hugging his right arm while Mira was on his left.


    The both of them woke up at the same time, and Mira tilted her heard.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Rachel replied.


    Mira then looked at Aldred as if asking for an exnation.


    ¡°Uhhh. Her name is Rachel.¡±


    ¡°A new family member!¡± Sophia hugged her from behind, and then her hand slipped onto her breast. ¡°Oh my. You¡¯re so big.¡±


    Mira took a closer look at her. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you the receptionist?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Rachel said, turning around, feeling a bit awkward at the situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy,¡± Sophia said before squeezing her breast which made Rachel blush. ¡°We¡¯re family.¡±


    ¡°A new girl?¡± Mareona asked and stared at Aldred. ¡°Why do you keep picking up new girls? Are we all not enough for you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that I am too handsome.¡±


    Mareona flicked his forehead before looking at Rachel. ¡°So how did he scam you into his bed?¡±


    Rachel shook her head. ¡°He didn¡¯t scam me or told me toe here. I came by myself willingly.¡±

 Chapter 201 Smaller Than My—

    ¡°Why did youe?¡± Mareona asked.


    She wiggled in hesitation. ¡°I actually like Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    She nodded slowly, still looking down, feeling shy.


    Mary gently smiled and approached her. ¡°Well, since you like Aldred, and he epted you, then we have no reason to say no. As a family, it¡¯s our job to make everyone feel at home.¡±


    Sophia nodded rigorously. ¡°I will surely make you feel at home.¡±


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, and Zafrina all looked at her with warmth.


    ¡°But, Aldred will be having an adventure to obtain a powerful treasure,¡± Mary said. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re willing to leave paphia, and join Aldred in his journey?¡±


    ¡°I have nobody in this ce. I am all alone. I have been wanting to leave and find an adventure for myself, but I hesitated for a long time. Last night with Aldred was my breaking point. I have decided toe with him and follow wherever he goes.¡±


    ¡°Wait,st night?¡± Mareona asked. ¡°You¡¯ve already done it?¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± Aldred said.<sub>.</sub>


    Mary bitterly smiled before shrugging. ¡°Since Rachel doesn¡¯t have any problem with that, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth mentioning.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Mareona sighed. ¡°Let me wee you to the family.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After chatting for a while, Mareona pouted and looked at Aldred.


    ¡°What?¡±


    She then pounced on him, and pin him on the bed. ¡°Let me have fun as well.¡±


    Aldred smiled and they all made love under the witness of the morning sun.


    After their love session, Aldred and the 9 girls went to the balcony where the waitress flew to the sky with their wings and served them their food and drinks.


    This was one of the unique experiences in this inn. He could watch angel-like beauties flying around, serving him food, while enjoying the forest themed city.


    Back on earth, no matter how rich he became, he could never experience something like this.<sub></sub>


    Rachel sat on Aldred¡¯sp as they all ate. Because Rachel was the new girl, she got the privilege of sitting on hisp.


    At least that was what the girls had decided without his involvement. He felt sad that he couldn¡¯t love them all at the same time.


    But if he could upgrade his clone ability, he could make more clones and love all his women at the same time. Hopefully, he could do that in the near future.


    As they ate and talked, Rachel felt jealous of everyone there.


    ¡°All of you are amazing. Mary and Mareona are independent fighters. Mira you are a powerful nun that can heal. Ste and Sophia, both of you are powerful magicians, and Zafrina, you are a hero candidate. And Zafrina is the daughter of a powerful Count.¡±


    ¡°I am just a normal city girl. I am nothing specialpared to you guys.¡±


    ¡°Anyone can be special if they try,¡± Aldred said. ¡°For me, you are already special, but if you want to be more than that, I can help you.¡±


    ¡°We all can help you.¡±


    ¡°But I can only manipte light. It¡¯s one of the rare elements, but that also means no one can teach me and the skill book is very expensive. All I can do is this.¡±


    She raised her hand and an orb of light appeared on her palm.<sub></sub>


    Aldred activated his godly eyes, and inserted some of his mana inside the orb of light.


    ¡°Rachel, watch closely to what I do.¡±


    His serious tone caught her off guard, but she immediately nodded and stared at the spell. The construction of her magic was changed from within. What at first was a simple orb of light, was nowpletely something else, and yet the appearance was still the same.


    ¡°Ste, can you cast a protection field so nothing would be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Destroyed?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know.¡±


    Ste waved her hand, and star particles enveloped the whole room and even went beyond the balcony.


    Aldred summoned a Bajaragon in the distance.


    ¡°Rachel, try hitting that dragon.¡±


    ¡°But this orb is slow.¡±


    ¡°Just try it.¡±


    Rachel nodded and threw the light orb at the dragon. She expected the orb of light to float in the air, but instead, it shot forward like an enhanced arrow. And when the orb touched the dragon, it exploded with a rapidly expanding light.


    Rachel widened her eyes. ¡°Is that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That is the possibility of your power. You can be even strongerter on.¡±


    ¡°How did you do this? Did you also master the light element?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I simply changed the construction of your spell.¡±


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t exin how you can change it so masterfully.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about it, Rachel,¡± Mary said. ¡°Aldred is a genius. Trying to fathom his ability is not a wise decision. Have you ever seen someone who can summon undead, be a swordsman, and master magic at the same time?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡±


    Aldred smiled and pulled a small staff with a tinge of gold color. He handed it to Rachel.


    ¡°Take this staff. I found itying on the street and it can help you with your light element.¡±


    Mary and the others shook their heads with a smile when they heard that. They all knew that Aldred got that from the wealthy people on Mount Fargon.


    ¡°Can I really take this? It must be expensive.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can.¡±


    ¡°But, it must be very valuable.¡±


    Aldred sighed and grabbed her hand before moving her fingers to grab the staff. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy. Look at Ivette. She¡¯s never shy from asking me something.¡±


    They all looked at Ivette who was currently stuffing her mouth with food.


    She stopped herself, and started eating elegantly.


    ¡°Anyway, try to create a beam of light using this staff.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She grabbed the staff tight, and focused her head in trying to summon a beam of light.


    The staff had two blue cores that were ced on both ends. But she didn¡¯t know how to use an intricate staff like this, so she clumsily pointed forward and created a small beam of light that only reached 12 CM.


    ¡°That thing is smaller than my dick.¡±

 Chapter 202 Golem

    Rachel immediately canceled her spell, and looked down in shame.


    Aldredughed. ¡°I am just kidding. Try again. I will help you this time.¡±


    She nodded and activated the spell again. The beam only reached 12 CM just likest time.


    Aldred inserted his mana and changed the construct of her spell. At first, he struggled a bit, but his godly eyes kept on helping him to improve the spell.


    The beam retracted from 12 Cm to 1 Cm turning into a small orb.


    ¡°Why is it smaller? Did you fail?¡±


    ¡°I am not done yet.¡± Aldred smiled.


    The small orb sparked, and then sted with a powerful wind before it shot towards the Bajaragon at the speed of light. The beam became sorge that it engulfed the Bajaragon whole. The beam crashed onto the star particles, but it failed to prate.


    Aldred was d that it did not prate, but at the same time he was slightly surprised. He put arge chunk of mana within the spell, so it should be enough to pierce through anything.


    ¡®Is Ste stronger than I thought she was?¡¯


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Rachel¡¯s mouth opened wide as she stared at the beam of light.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Is this really my power?¡±


    ¡°Yep. I have found out that every elemental power is very powerful in its essences. All people have to do is expand or improve its capability. Don¡¯t worry, I will get you a light-elemental book in the future.¡±


    Tears welled up in her eyes. She then hugged Aldred. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. We¡¯re family.¡±


    Mary smiled. ¡°You will hear that a lot from him, Rachel.¡±


    ¡°Right, for now that is all I can show you. I cannot really teach you how to do it, since I myself do not know how to conjure a light spell.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Aldred. This is good enough for me. You show me what I can do and what I can be in the future.¡±


    ¡°I am d. Anyway, I have been nning to learn the books that I bought yesterday.¡±


    Aldred summoned the book out of his inventory and they appeared on the table. The books were: Golemification, Magical Construction, Earth Elemental, and Air elemental.


    He grabbed the book and then flipped it randomly and swiftly. He did this to all of the books one by one.<sub></sub>


    [You have learned Air Maniption]


    [You have learned Earth Maniption]


    [You have learned Golemification]


    [You have learned Magical Construct]


    Aldred smiled and then punched forward where a powerful burst of wind exploded in the air.


    He lifted both of his hands in a wide stance, and a small area of earth below shot upward, creating a pir that went hundreds of meters before stopping right in front of Aldred.


    Aldred was high in the sky as he intentionally chose a high room.


    That made the people below panic slightly, but Aldred only used a small area, so no one was injured.


    But still, the guards approached him and scolded him a bit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try your new abilities in the city. It¡¯s dangerous. Next time just visit the training area, or go outside the city.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred nodded and apologized.


    ¡°I want to test my new skills first before we enter the dungeon again.¡±


    ¡°I think Bartrem will be fine with that,¡± Mary said. ¡°Just let everyone walk around in the city to have some fun.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    They all walked out of the room and told Bartrem that they can go anywhere within the city for the day. Bartrem nodded and was shocked at the sight of Rachel but he shrugged it off as natural since Aldred had a lot of women already.


    As Aldred walked past him and stepped down the air-powered elevator, Bartrem shook his head. ¡°He even got the receptionist¡­¡±


    Aldred summoned Teethless and they all rode on top of it before leaving the city.


    Theynded on a vast in, and Aldred immediately created a humanoid statue with his earth maniption.


    It was two meter tall with a round head and no face.


    Aldred reached out his palm. ¡°Golemification!¡±


    Mysterious energy enveloped the statue and then it started to move before some sort of spiritual connection linked Aldred to the golem.


    This made him understand that he owned the golem and that it was currently waiting for an order.


    ¡°Attack me.¡±


    The golem attacked without hesitation, mming his shoulder with its dirt-fist.


    The fist shattered and the dirt fell off.


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    The golem stopped.


    ¡°This golem is too weak. I don¡¯t even feel the weight of his attack.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s because you are too strong, Aldred?¡± Mary said.


    ¡°That is possible. But then what about the damage to the golem itself. In one attack, its arm shattered to dirt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you use ordinary dirt as material,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Most people use special materials and infuse the golem with mana crystals or their own mana. Some wealthy men might add powerful treasures to their golem, making them a powerful juggernaut that are even stronger than the owner.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Aldred grabbed a rare fire mana crystal from his inventory. And then he pulled another rare mana crystal of water.


    ¡°How do you have all of these?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°I see you have a lot of rare treasures, and you don¡¯t even need a special bag to store them?¡±


    ¡°I have my own private dimension where I can store things. You might not believe it, but I grew fish, crops, and other animals within that dimension too. This way, the meat is always fresh and healthy.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, Rachel. Aldred is more amazing than you think.¡±


    Ste smiled. If they knew Aldred¡¯s mother, they would never see the world the same way anymore.


    ¡°I will tell you about thatter.¡±


    Aldred worked back on his golem, and put the two crystals one fire and one water inside its chest.


    Suddenly, an aura spun around the golem with fire and water particles before it dissipated.


    ¡°Attack me.¡±


    The golem enveloped itself in mes and then punched at him.

 Chapter 203 Test Fight

    Aldred jumped away from the ming golem. It pointed at him, and a condensed stream of  water jet shot out from its finger. He tilted its head to the side as the water cut the air around, and missed him by a hair.


    Aldred smiled and rushed forward before casting a water shield in front of him.


    Numerous water and fire attacks crashed against his shield, but with his unlimited mana, the shield was almost indestructible.


    ¡°Water Razor!¡±


    A line of sharp water flew forward at high speed, and cut the golem¡¯s arm. It sted into fine dust and fell off.


    But suddenly, the nearby earth was pulled, and then formed into its hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s self regenerating,¡± Mary eximed.


    ¡°It¡¯s using nearby elements to repair itself.¡±


    The golem belched powerful mes at him. Aldred rolled forward with the searing hot me above him.


    He quickly closed the distance, and then punched the golem¡¯s chest. His fist sunk into it, creating a hole. But the chest quickly formed once again, trapping his fist.


    The golem raised its fist and mmed him in the face. Boom! He was thrown a few meters away and another fire and water attack came at him.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Time for me to get serious. Let¡¯s see how much of a beating you can take.¡±


    Aldred pointed with both index fingers. ¡°Fire Bullet!¡±


    Numerous high-caliber bullets stormed the golems like a M134D minigun, but instead of 50 rounds per second, Aldred¡¯s spell was at 80 rounds per second.


    With such speed and power, the golem was torn to shreds in less than 5 seconds.


    Aldred stopped firing and looked at the remains of the golem on the ground.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Sophia asked.


    Ste sighed. ¡°So that was it. That¡¯s the limit of the golem.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°No, it¡¯s not the limit. I still can feel the connection with the golem.¡±


    Something moved from below, and then a hand burst out and grabbed onto his legs. Aldred widened his eyes as the golem¡¯s head came out and belched arge tongue of me right into his face.


    The me was suddenly absorbed and siphoned into Aldred¡¯s hand. It was his spell: Fire Absorption.<sub></sub>


    Aldred then reached out his palm and a spinning fireball appeared. ¡°Fire ball!¡±


    He pushed the fireball inside the golem, and then released it, dragging the golem dozens of meters away before exploding with a loud st.


    The remains fell off like mud, but it started to form into a golem again.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Stop.¡±


    The golem halted its steps.


    ¡°What do you guys think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad,¡± Mary said. ¡°It¡¯s as annoying as your undead, but I think it can be better. That said, is golemification always this powerful? That golem can be destroyed right?¡±


    Rachel hesitated. ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to be this way. Every time the golem was destroyed, it shouldn¡¯t be able to repair itself unless the master is willing to expend a lot of mana. It¡¯s much better to create another one from scratch rather than repairing the old ones, unless it was made out of powerful treasures.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ mana,¡± Ste said. ¡°Aldred never runs out of mana. And I don¡¯t think he ever will.¡±


    ¡°I will create a few more golems, and let you guys fight it,¡± Aldred said.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Before that, Aldred,¡± Maverick called. ¡°If you want to continue the treasure hunting journey, can we escort Zafrina back home, first?¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem. She¡¯s part of the family now.¡±


    Zafrina blushed. But that blush quickly turned into disappointment of herself because she couldn¡¯t join Aldred in his adventure.


    ¡°Also, Aldred. I forgot to let you drink fresh Diamond Rank blood.¡±


    Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°I wasn¡¯t serious about that, but if you¡¯re offering then I must not refuse.¡±


    Mary and Mareona looked at each other and giggled.


    ¡°Alright. Let me make a few golems for you guys to fight.¡±


    Aldred proceeded to use his earth elemental spell to make a few humanoid golems, and then some weird golems with hands the shape of a machete. Thenstly, he created golems with big hands filled with 3 holes at the front, like the barrel of a minigun.


    ¡°Fight with these guys, first. I want to test something.¡±


    It was 73 VS 73. Humans VS Bots. Who will win was not yet to be seen.


    Both side stood on the opposite side of each other. Aldred was nearby and he looked to both sides.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Fight!¡±


    Bartrem and the soldiers roared before shing forward at the same time. Powerful red arch flew at the golems and cut their waist. That disrupted their momentum, and Bartrem took that chance to pierce their formations from the center.


    That divided the golem to two, and he coordinated the majority of his force to eliminate the right side.


    But there was something he didn¡¯t take into ount.


    The gunners!


    The golems with 3 holes on their hands aimed at the soldiers and sent out a storm of fire bullets at them.


    DU! DU! DU! DU! DU! DU!


    ¡°Take those gunners out!¡± Bartrem shouted.


    Just as they charged towards the gunners,rge golems with machete hands came at them and mmed at their shield.


    These golems were farrger than the normal one, and although they were a bit slower, they very much hid that weakness with heavy blows.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Heavy shing and powerful aura intermingled in the battlefield. The once coordinated attacks were disrupted, and Bartrem noticed that with a frown on his head.


    ¡°Gather around!¡±


    The soldiers quickly gathered under hismand, and swiftly entered a spear formation where Bartrem charged as the tip.


    They kept on shing forward, sending numerous red arcs that cut down everything.


    That did it and they cut through the formation, reaching the gunners. Suddenly, another formation of golems appeared.


    They mmed the ground, and a wall of earth burst upward, knocking all the soldiers into the air.


    The gunners below fired at them unhindered.


    The fight continued, and both sides were evenly matched with Bartrem¡¯s sides gaining more and more advantage as time passed.


    The battle was intense, and it proceeded for a few minutes until the golems ran out of mana, and couldn¡¯t activate their spells anymore.


    The battle was over.

 Chapter 204 Ideas

    ¡°Aldred, how did you do that? How did these golems use spells without mana crystals?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°I use my own mana, and put it inside of them. There are limits to how many they can contain ording to their size and materials though.¡±


    ¡°If I use mana crystals on them, they can have farrger capacities, and even regenerate their own mana. But I found something out.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Look at this.¡± Aldred raised his palm, and then blue mist started to form on his palm, before it condensed into a crystal.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mana crystal!¡± Zafrina eximed. ¡°But it¡¯s not an elemental type crystal. It¡¯s pure mana.¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Mary stared with widene eyes. ¡°Mana crystals formed through condensation of the world-elements, and pure mana crystal was never seen before.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Just like you said, Mary. It¡¯s a condensation of elements. I just have to condense my mana into a physical state.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy to be said, but almost impossible to be done,¡± Ste said. ¡°Only someone who has great mastery over their mana is capable of doing that. And even so, it would require a great amount of their energy just to create one crystal.¡±


    Mareona nced at Aldred. ¡°How many can you create?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    His smile turned into a grin. ¡°This many.¡±


    Mana crystals poured out of his hands and they fell onto the grass, pilling one after another.


    They widened their eyes in shock when they saw that.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Ste was speechless. ¡°You can use these in your golem?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They can now use some of my abilities as long as I construct the spell inside of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cool, Aldred,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°But exin to me how the golem knows how to have teamwork like earlier.¡±


    ¡°I am the one who controls them.¡±


    ¡°No wonder. You basically see everything from the side. Can they act on their own?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they can. They also have their own stats such as strength and intelligence. And they can level up as well.¡±<sub></sub>


    Their jaws basically dropped at that revtion.


    Meanwhile, Aldred received a notification.


    [You have learned mana maniption]


    [Mana Maniption]


    Pure mana with no certain attributes, weak by itself, but the smartest of mind prefer it for its variety of use.


    ¡°I want to make a golem army,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Tell me how I should do it.¡±


    Bartrem, Mary, mareona, and Sophia came into discussion. They spent the majority of their lives in war, and they knew the art of warfare very well.


    Bartrem was especially a great leader and could always break through any obstacles through wits.


    After the discussion, the three of them nced at Aldred.<sub></sub>


    ¡°First, we should divide the golems into three divisions,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Melee, Ranger, and Cavalry.¡±


    ¡°Of course each division will have their own sub-divisionter on, but I am sure you understand their task and capabilities just by hearing their names. Melee are golems that can fight face to face against the enemies and use close-range weapons to fight.¡±


    ¡°What kind of sub-division will there be?¡±


    ¡°There are many, but we will start with three. One is speed-type melee, the fighter, and then the tanker.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me more about the fighter?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re basically the ones that can be put in any situation. They are not too fast or too heavy.¡±


    ¡°So they are ordinary golems?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the fighter-type, Aldred. It is most likely that you will rely on them morepared to the specialized speed-type or the tanker. From what I experienced fighting against your golem, the bigger they are, the heavier and slower they be. This means that the speed-type is easily destroyed while the tanker is too slow. Both of these types can only be used in certain situations, and it¡¯s hard to use them effectively. Fighters on the other hand are easy to use.¡±


    ¡°But my golems are basically undying. They cannot be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°That is if everything goes well. When I make ns, I always consider the worst. Otherwise it¡¯s pointless.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Aldred nodded.


    ¡°As for the ranger, I can only tell you to have the gunner as sub-division.¡±


    ¡°We can have something called Artillery sub-division.¡±


    ¡°And what is that exactly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a unit that specializes in attacking targets far beyond our sight.¡±


    ¡°You can make golems like that?¡± Bartrem widened his eyes. If Aldred could make something like that, the game of warfare would change forever.


    ¡°Well, I can put some fire spells into a golem, let it fly from point A to point B, and then explode.¡±


    ¡°So, a suicide attack?¡±


    ¡°Kind of like that. But I am nning to create arge golem that can bring a few smaller golems that act as the artillery shell.¡±


    ¡°Think of the smaller golems as arrows, but instead of having a fixed trajectory, the golems can change their course to attack its target.¡±


    Bartrem and Mary trembled. If this idea could be realized¡­ the bnce of war would change.


    Not only could the artillery be fired far beyond any weapons, it could also changed its trajectory. This meant that the enemy wouldn¡¯t even know that they were being attacked before they exploded to pieces.


    Wars did not have to be fought directly. They could send scouts, and then sent artillery shell towards a target.


    ¡°Now that I think about it. I don¡¯t think I can call it Artillery units. It should be Missile units.¡±


    ¡°The same as the robots that attacked us?¡± Mareona asked. ¡°I recall that those rockets can change their trajectory as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Simr to that.¡± Aldred did not tell them that he had a few scraps of power armor in his inventory. Not that he might need to use them though.


    He could just sell them off at Duria or fix them if possible.


    ¡°So, Duria is capable of such weapons¡­¡± Mary sighed. ¡°They are very isted and it¡¯s hard to obtain information about them. They don¡¯t want to trade with us directly, and never want to share their technology.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they are scared of us. I heard their people don¡¯t use mana in general, so they rely on this technology to protect their nation.¡±


    Mary nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 205 Experiment

    ¡°But I still cannot believe something like missiles or artillery doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    ¡°It exists,¡± Ste said.


    Bartrem and Mary nced at her. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Believe me. I have seen how all empires rise and fall. That weapon exists, but I don¡¯t think it will be used in skirmishes. I once saw the pope of Montcresia use it before. I think it was called Divine Arbiter. It basically fired a thick golden light from the sky and vaporized everything nearby.¡±


    ¡°The bible never said something like that,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°Has your bible said something about angelsing out of holy light?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°That holy light vaporized the area around it before your angels secured the region.¡±


    ¡°What about the Ceraisian Empire?¡± Mary asked. ¡°Does the empire have that type of weapon?¡±


    ¡°It does. And it¡¯s very powerful.¡±


    ¡°How powerful?¡± Aldred asked.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°It can almost reach every corner of the entire continent.¡±


    They all trembled in fear when they heard that.


    ¡°What¡¯s stopping them from using this weapon?¡±


    ¡°Other nations also have it. If you use it, they will use it as well.¡±


    Ahh¡­ so it was that¡­ Just like in modern earth. All the nations did not want to use nukes, because they knew they would be nuked in return.


    ¡°So they will never use this weapon?¡±


    ¡°Probably not. I have seen when the weapon first came out. Everyone was attacking each other, and it created nothing but chaos and death. No cities could be created, and no one wanted to stay in the cities, because they knew it would likely be bombed. Civilization almost stopped functioning at that time.¡±


    ¡°What if the nation was invaded and about to lose?¡±


    ¡°Still unlikely. A losing nation still has people living in it. So unless the ruler wants to rule with an absolute iron fist, they will not use it. Not to mention their nation will receive bacsh and face hell afterwards. But there is an exception.¡±


    ¡°What exception?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°If the ones invading are of a different race, there is a high chance that this weapon will be used. Humans enving humans is kind of eptable, but if something else did that, humans surely would retaliate with everything they got. The same can be said for other races.¡±


    ¡°Alright, enough about history,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Aldred, can you make the golems?¡±


    ¡°We can only try.¡±


    Aldred started his experiment as the soldiers enjoyed their meal and sat down on the mat. They could do nothing to help anyway, so they rxed while Bartrem and Aldred¡¯s women were watching closely.


    First, Aldred created the small golems that will act as artillery shells. He put his mana crystal inside, and constructed the fire jet spell within.


    ¡°It¡¯s smaller than I thought,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°It¡¯s 155 MM in diameter. We can make it bigger, but the golems won¡¯t be able to bring enough of it unless I make it bigger which as you know will slow it down.¡±


    ¡°What if we give them a special bag?¡±


    ¡°We can do that for special artillery units that can attack for a long time. But we should maximize the golems without special treasures like that. Spacial bags are rare, and we cannot give it to every golems.¡±


    ¡°But will this golem hold enough power to devastate the enemy? And why doesn¡¯t it have any legs?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to walk because it acts as artillery shells. It can summon a small pair of legs and walk, but it¡¯s too slow. As for firepower, see it for yourself.¡±


    The artilerry-shell golem shot out a jet of me from below and flew to the sky before it detected its target¡ªan ordinary golem.


    The artilerry-shell golem nosedived and crashed against the golem before exploding right in its face.


    BOOM!


    A powerful mes spread out as a shock wave shook the grass and blew Bartrem¡¯s hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s more powerful than your fire ball. Around 5 times more powerful¡±


    ¡°Because it is. I put five fire balls in there. So what do you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s powerful enough.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, do we really need all these weapons?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°We¡¯re not going to war are we?¡±


    ¡°Nope. But it¡¯s better if we prepare for it. But the fight in the future can be considered as war. There will be more enemies from what I heard.¡±


    Aldred looked at her, who seemed to be concerned, but not for her own safety. ¡°It¡¯s okay Rachel. As long as we keep getting stronger together, nothing can break our family aparts.¡±


    ¡°I have been with Aldred for around a year now,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°And I have not lost a single soldier. Look at our gears. Aldred gave us rare treasures all over our body and help us get stronger. Not to mention he has an undead army that can act as canon fodder.¡±


    ¡°You say it like I am the only one that made this possible. If not for you, I would be dead by now.¡±


    Bartrem shrugged. ¡°It was my duty to protect you at that time.¡±


    Aldred smiled. When he first came to the fort, he didn¡¯t even know how to kill someone, and froze in fright when he saw a corpse. Bartrem taught him how to be a soldier and he was thankful for that.


    Rachel looked at the both of them and amazement appeared in her eyes. ¡°Both of you have strong bonds.¡±


    ¡°We all have strong bonds with each other,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Now, enough chitty chatty. Let¡¯s get back to work. Since the shell is already strong enough, I should work on the artillery golem.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, we should decide what to call the golem shell. Is calling them golem shell fine?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Yeah, golem shell is fine.¡±


    ¡°What about the golem that shoots this shell?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Should we call it DFA1?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that even mean?¡±


    ¡°Death From Above 1.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, that sounds cool,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Tooplicated,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Just call it artillery golem.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Aldred raised his hand and created arge humanoid golem.


    ¡°Make it bigger,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°We want the golem to hold at least 20 golem shells.¡±


    Aldred made it bigger, from 5 meter to 8 meter (26 ft).


    ¡°Is this enough?¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡±

 Chapter 206 Discussion

    With 8 meters in height, the artillery golem towered over everyone.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too big?¡± Mary asked. ¡°What if it needs to enter a small space?¡±


    ¡°It can crawl, bringing its height to 2.44 meters (8 feet).¡±


    ¡°How many shells can it bring?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I think it can store around 28 shells. Let¡¯s test it now.¡±


    Aldred created more golem shells, at first he was bored of it, but then he summoned his clones to help him in making the shells.


    In a few minutes, he finished 40 shells in total. The artillery golem knelt and then opened its back. Aldred stacked the shells one after another inside the golem, and filled it up.


    When the storagepartment was full, Aldred had 10 golem shells left.


    ¡°The golem can store 30 shells.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough,¡± Bartrem said.<sub>.</sub>


    Aldred was satisfied with his creation. Unlike modern tanks which require fuel, repairs, and maintenance, his golems only needed resupply to stay active in the battlefield.


    With his unlimited mana, his golems could travel anywhere without the problem of refueling. Not to mention it did not need any human crew, so the problem of morale, food, andfort was non-existent.


    That got him thinking. How could nobody make something like this? It was too good to pass.


    He asked Ste about it.


    ¡°Golems require tremendous mana to create and sustain. It¡¯s better for magicians to use elemental or non-elemental spells to attack their target than using golems. It¡¯s too inefficient. That is unless that magician has a huge capacity of mana like you. Or maybe they are wealthy enough to afford mana crystals and treasures to self-sustain the golems.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    ¡°Now about storing,¡± Ste said. ¡°Where will you keep all these golems?¡±


    ¡°I can keep them in my divine dimension, but I only have 2 KM of space (1,2 miles), so I can store a lot of golems there but not too much.¡±


    ¡°2 KM is a lot,¡± Ste said.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Well, I grow crops and animals in there for our food sources, and they take a lot ofnd, not to mention I need some space for our treasure pile.¡±


    ¡°Can you increase the size of your space?¡±


    ¡°I believe it can increase, but I don¡¯t know how yet.¡±


    The system did not tell him anything about increasing the space except from leveling up. Aldred believed there were other ways to do it.


    ¡°In that case, we need to be careful of what we want to create,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Since you have limited space, every golem must be effective and suitable for our needs. Artillery golem is a must, but fighters, speed-type, or tanker is not necessary since we have the undead for that.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°I suggest we focus on the Ranger Division. This will give us long-range advantage while the undead will cover us in close-rangebat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. What about the Cavalry Division?¡±


    ¡°The undead can act as our cavalry. The Bajaragon is our air-cavalry, and the Snow Wolves are ournd cavalry. If we want to use armored-cavalry, we can use Xer Xai. What we need is scouts. The undead are too outstanding. We need something that is small and hard to spot. Or something that doesn¡¯t look suspicious,¡± Bartrem said.<sub></sub>


    ¡°And we need them to be fast,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Yes. Scout is preferable if they are fast, but it¡¯s better if they can be hidden.¡±


    ¡°What if we make two types of scouts? One is fast, the other one is hidden. One we make like mosquitoes, and the second one like birds.¡±


    ¡°Birds don¡¯t look suspicious,¡± Mary said. ¡°Which is a good thing.¡±


    ¡°And so do mosquitoes,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°So is that all we need?¡±


    Mary was deep in thought, and after a while she replied: ¡°I agree that we can use Xer Xai for armored cavalry, but there is only one of her. What if we want to fight over long-distances? Imagine soldiers inside armored cavalry rushing through enemy formations while we fought another theater of battle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. What do you guys think?¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°But remember, we don¡¯t have so much space. So although it¡¯s a good idea, we don¡¯t need it yet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Mary said. ¡°I did not consider our limited space.¡±


    Ste watched the discussion with a smile. She wanted to wait for a moment before giving her suggestion.


    After a while, her chance came. ¡°Aldred,¡± she called.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You know that you can create golems and store them in storage units in the real dimension right?¡±


    ¡°I do, but what¡¯s the point if we cannot bring them with us?¡±


    ¡°What if you put a few dozen of them here, list them as adventurers and let them do missions. When they receive enough resources, you can send an undead to bring the resources into the divine dimension.¡±


    Aldred, Bartrem, Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia and everyone else looked at each other.


    ¡°That¡¯s a genius idea!¡±


    Aldred was excited. ¡°Basically, I can make unlimited mercenaries, and all the money they receive wille to us.¡±


    Rachel stepped in. ¡°You can also tell them to farmnds or mine valuable stones.¡±


    ¡°So I have to buynd?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can buynd, but you can also get one for free.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°For years, Paphia and Yevilerian have been at war against each other. If you can help Paphia, you will naturally get and for yourself.¡±


    ¡°War fornd?¡± Aldred looked at Mira.


    Mira sighed. ¡°Try not to hurt the civilians.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t act naive at this moment. If Aldred can have more resources, he will have a higher chance to rule Ceraisian Empire, after that, she will pay for her sin by releasing all the ves and ending the war thatsted for generations.


    Also, she understood that not everyone here has the same ideology as her. If she forced her wish, everyone would have a hard time, and she did not want that.


    In this situation, she needed to have tolerance of other people¡¯s ideas. Especially the ideas of her allies.

 Chapter 207 Behemoth

    ¡°We can help the war, but first we have to finish the dungeon,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the dungeon immediately,¡± Bartrem said.


    Aldred nodded and summoned Teethless and his air-cavalry unitprised of 55 Bajaragon.


    One wasrge enough for all of them to ride on, but Aldred wanted to travel with style this time.


    They hopped on to the Bajaragon of their choice and immediately soared into the sky.


    The people in the city gaped when they saw dozens ofrge, red dragons flying into the sky. Some guards were even panicking and thought they were under attack, but after they saw the dragons headed towards east, they calmed down.


    ¡°Are they going to the Lair of Treasures? Should we tell someone about this?¡±


    ¡°You fool. That¡¯s the Death Lord.¡±


    The tinum Ranks that guarded the cities only nced at the sky a bit before they returned to what they were doing.


    As Aldred arrived above the ruined city, he saw the adventurers were in the midst of battle again.


    ¡°Do they fight everyday?¡± Aldred asked.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°It¡¯s because you killed Bruce,¡± Rachel said. ¡°The Epolissa adventurers want revenge.¡±


    ¡°I see. Bruce. Take care of them.¡±


    Bruce appeared on Teethless and before bowing at him and jumping down towards the ruined city. Immediately he shot down all the opposition one by one.


    Aldred on the other hand immediately told Teethless to enter the dungeon entrance. He nose dived to the ground, and then swiftly flew inside the small entrance of the dungeon by retracting its wing. Using inertia, Teethless entered the deep part of the dungeon before he could finally release his wings.


    All 55 Bajaragon followed suit which shocked the adventures nearby.


    Aldred did not care about that and immediately called all of his undead that had been ravaging the dungeon. All the treasures had entered his divine dimension, but he wanted to enter the 10th floor quickly.


    ¡°We should call Xer Xai,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°But it will destroy the dungeon, and the monsters in the 10th floor mighte to the 1st floor,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°I did not consider that.¡±


    Throwing the n away, aldred bull dozed through the dungeons with his undead army.<sub></sub>


    Meanwhile, Aldred kept on creating golems after golems using the stones around, and he threw some treasures in them.


    What he created was the fighter unit. Since Bartrem said that this unit was the most reliable, he wanted to create a hundred or so to help him in the warter.


    The Bajaragons belched me within the tunnel, burning all the monsters.


    The undead army marched forward in an orderly manner and the weaker monsters scurried away in fear.


    He had created a bunch of fighter golems and he let them help the undead in defeating the monsters. Some boss-type monsters appeared in the tunnel, but his army overwhelmed them quickly.


    A day passed in the dungeon, and Aldred already created 100 units of fighter golems.


    Next, he created the gunner golems. It wasn¡¯t asplicated to make as the artillery golems and it was fairly powerful.


    As they continued deeper into the dungeon, Aldred kept on forming mana crystals and inserting them onto the golems so they could use the Fire Bullet spell.


    ¡°Aldred, what about the magical construction spell? Are you not going to experiment with that?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Of course, I will. But I have to do it one at a time. You know what, I am going to do it now. Who knows it might help me win the war quicker.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred already had an idea of what to create, he just had to realize it. First, he built a small pir and put dozens of mana crystals inside of it.


    He spent a few days constructing the spell and with the help of Magical Construction spells, he sessfully created something unexpected.


    A pir was thrown in the midst of monsters. It stabbed the ground and suddenly shot out a powerful energy in all directions, bringing all the monsters down to their knees as their weight increased by a significant margin.


    ¡°Gravity spell?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really a gravity spell, but it has the same effect.¡±


    The golems gunned the monsters down with their fire bullets, and they kept going forward.


    With undead and golems working together seamlessly, they quickly reached the entrance of the 10th floor.


    In front of them was a thick gate with unimaginable height.


    Aldredmanded his army to attack the gate.


    The Bajaragons and the gunner golems sent mes at the gate.


    The mes roared and lit up the entire cave while sending a wave of hot air. The gate was sturdy and powerful, and it took them hours to melt a hole in it.


    Aldred entered the hole, and what greeted them was a wonderful yet weird sight. Glowing vines dangled from above, and there were all kinds of crystals below with some shining nts on the wall.


    The cave was like a circr hall. It was wide and tall, enough for all of his army to move around and there was still a lot of space.


    From above, his army looked so smallpared to the amount of empty space the cave had.


    Aldred looked above, and saw a gigantic semi-transparent, soft-gold egg that gave off a wonderful glow.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    Suddenly, the cave trembled and some rocks fell and shattered to pieces.


    Aldred looked to the side, and saw something.


    He narrowed his eyes, and then his heart skipped a beat. ¡°Get out of here! Something ising!¡±


    Before they could scatter a gigantic creature crashed near them, sending them rolling on the ground.


    The monster snorted out hot steam, and it roared as it mmed the ground with its gori-like arms.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    The creature spun, whipping its spiky tail at them.


    ¡°Duck!¡±


    They all ducked down and the tail missed their heads.


    The undead swarmed the monster, but it easily threw them away. Its size made all of his undead look like ants.


    [Behemoth]


    Level: 90


    Power: ?


    History: ?


    Aldred gritted its teeth. ¡°Fuck! It¡¯s a tinum Rank monster!¡±

 Chapter 208 Leveling Up!

    The Behemoth roared and leaped into the air before mming the ground, cracking it.


    The world was shaking in Aldred¡¯s vision, and the creature rushed at him with thundered steps. Aldred gritted his teeth and summoned his long sword.


    ¡°Soul Reaper!¡±


    Aldred charged bravely despite the vast difference in size and strength.


    Bartrem saw this with widened eyes and then he clenched his fist. ¡°Stand your ground!¡±


    ¡°Turn around and fight like a real soldier!¡±


    The soldiers roared and ran at the Behemoth. Bajaragons flew in the air and spat out mes at the creature while the other undead attacked from below.


    Aldred shouted with defiance, and shed at its absurdly muscr legs.


    SHIING!


    A line of red trail passed through the right leg, but it only created a small mark on the legs.


    He gritted his teeth. He used his full power in that attack. Unlike the fights against the giant spider, he did not hold anything back when he performed that sh.


    This worried him a bit.


    Aldred dodged an attack and continued to sh at the leg.


    The soldiers threw numerous chains at the legs while the bajaragons distracted the beast from above. Sadly, the soldiers failed to hold the beast in ce or make its leg budge.


    It was too heavy and too powerful.


    Sophia waved her staff. ¡°Mass strength! Mass speed! Mass regeneration!¡±


    Mary, Mareona, and Ivette charged along with Aldred and attacked the right leg.


    After a few seconds, Aldred¡¯s Spirit Meter was filled to the top. He roared and activated his skill.


    ¡°Spirit sh!¡±<sub>.</sub>


    His whole body was enveloped by a mysterious red aura and he shed at the leg.


    ¡°ROAR!!¡± The beast felt great pain in its right leg, and it raised its feet before stomping at Aldred.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t react quick enough, but Xer Xai suddenly burst from below and bit the Behemoth¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Xer Xai hase!¡± Bartrem shouted. ¡°This is our chance! Attack with all you got!¡±


    Aldred dashed at the right leg, and shed at its ankle.


    ¡°Spirit sh Twice! Spirit sh Thrice!¡±


    The beast roared in pain as arge wound was now at its ankle. Blood poured out.


    His de now had a white color glow on the edge of the de¡ªthis was his Spirit Outline. It increased his speed, strength, and overall damage by a significant margin.


    If he can bring it up to red, his damage would be very deadly.


    Aldred attacked again, filling up his Spirit Meter. Only with Spirit Meter can he use Spirit sh which was the requirement to increase his Spirit Outline.


    Suddenly, the behemoth kicked at Aldred, but he was quick to react.


    ¡°Foresight sh!¡± His whole body turned transparent, and the sharp ws on the feet went past him, before Aldred quickly spun and shed at the ankle, further damaging the wound.


    That turned his spirit outline from white to yellow. This was the second method to increase his spirit outline, and it was much faster than doing the spiritbo.


    There were three stages of spirit outline, namely white, yellow, and red.


    ROAR!!!


    The beast punched at Xer Xai numerous times sending powerful shock waves everywhere.


    The behemoth rolled around, almost trampling on the soldiers, but Ste quickly teleported them away.


    Aldred summoned his clones. The two clones quickly ran up to the leg, and then raised their sword.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    Two powerful red arcs shed at the beast¡¯s left eyes. Blood sshed and its left eye was blinded.


    It was angered and had enough of these small fries. The behemoth grabbed Xer Xai¡¯s mouth and mmed her to the ground.


    Aldred¡¯s two clones quickly took that chance to activate their ultimate skill.


    ¡°Sky Splitting Strike!¡±


    Two blinding lights burst forth from the two long swords, and they violently shed downward, sending a thick arc of golden light from the Behemoth¡¯s head to its chest.


    The impact exploded with another blinding lights that expanded in all directions.


    After the light disappeared, they all saw the behemoth still standing but with a disgustinglyrge gash on its body.


    ¡°Golems! Attack!¡±


    The fighter golems threw dozens of pirs at the beast. Powerful mana shock waves spread out from the pirs, and it brought the weakened behemoth to its knees.


    ¡°Gunners!¡±


    The gunners¡¯ golem aimed their arms, and sent out storm after storm of fire bullets.


    The behemoth roared and then punched the ground numerous times, sending everyone dozens of meters away. With the magical pirs blown away, the behemoth was free to move again, and it grabbed Xer Xai by its tail before mming her around the cave.


    Bartrem got hit and he crashed to the wall, spitting out blood.


    Mary was about to grab Mira to save her, but the beast kicked both of them. That single attack broke almost all of their bones.


    ¡°FUCK!¡± Aldred rushed at the beast. ¡°Fight me, you bastard!¡±


    The beast nced at him and swung its fist. Aldred slipped to the side, and shed at its forearm.


    ¡°Spirit sh!¡±<sub></sub>


    Blood fell on his face as he kept on charging forward.


    The beast bellowed and attacked again. Aldred rolled forward and shed.


    ¡°Spirit sh Twice!¡±


    The beast raised both fists, and mmed downward right at Aldred.


    Aldred stopped in his tracks and looked up as the two gigantic fists fell at him like a meteor.


    He raised his long sword and breathed calmly.


    One breath.


    Two Breath.


    Three Breath.


    He suddenly opened his eyes. ¡°Now!¡±


    Just as the fist about to hit, he activated his skill. ¡°Foresight sh!¡±


    The first went through his body, and Aldred counter attacked. ¡°Spirit Round sh!¡±


    He spun and cut the behemoth¡¯s right hand.


    GROAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!


    Its roar was thundering and deafening, but Aldred did not care, and raised his long sword once again. It was now at Red Spirit Outline which meant the sword gave him maximum strength and speed.


    Taking that to advantage, Aldred leaped and attacked.


    ¡°Spirit Thrust!¡±


    His body was in the air until he suddenly jolted forward, thrusting the long sword at the beast¡¯s chest. His whole body and the de was enveloped by powerful red particles.


    And after that thrust, Aldred kicked the air and jumped, raising his long sword high.


    He stared down at the beast as it stared at him in disbelief.


    ¡°SPIRIT DOWNWARD SLASH!¡±


    SHIIING!


    Aldred immediately shed down, and his de went through the behemoth¡¯s head, then down, cutting the gigantic creature in two.


    Suddenly, numerous sharp red aura burst forth, cutting the beast to pieces from within.


    Blood and meat fell like rain. Aldred breathed haggardly as he looked at the screen.


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You received 20 stat points]


    [You received 20 skill points]


    [All stats increased by 40]


    [You have received Behemoth¡¯s Spiritual Core]


    [You have received a new title ¡®True Warrior¡¯]


    [True Warrior]


    Effect: Fighting against stronger entity increase all status by 20%


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 600/1,982


    Level: 75


    Titles: True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 241


    -Vitality: 283


    -Intelligence: 529


    -Dexterity: 166


    Stat points: 24


    Skill points: 24


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [You have obtained Gold Rank Dungeon: Lair of Treasure. Now you can visit this dungeon in your divine dimension]

 Chapter 209 Krista

    Aldred was d that he finally leveled up after a while, and then he saw that his friends also leveled up and became more powerful than ever.


    Ste and Sophia casted their healing spells, healing everyone. And when Mira was able to stand up, she used her divine spell topletely heal everyone.


    Aldred looked around and made sure everyone was fine. ¡°Are you guys okay?¡±


    They all nodded.


    ¡°Where is the shield?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Forgotten Warrior said to defeat the guardian of the treasure and obtain the golden shield.¡±


    ¡°Is it inside that egg-like thing?¡± Mareona pointed.


    Suddenly, the vines that wrapped around the egg snapped. The gigantic, golden, transparent egg fell with a loud thud, and it opened itself revealing a smaller golden egg in the center.


    Aldred approached it with his golden battle gear. As if it was triggered, the chest-sized golden egg cracked open, turned into mist, and then transformed into a golden shield in his left hand.


    Boom! A powerful golden aura burst forth from him, and his whole body trembled with power. He had the feeling that the armor was more capable than this but his own power limited its strength.<sub>.</sub>


    This meant that it would still be helpful to him even if he entered tinum Rank in the future.


    Lightning crackled and it ran all over his body. Aldred roared and punched to the side. A bolt of lightning flew towards the wall and sted it apart.


    ¡°Finally, with this our chance of survival will increase.¡±


    Suddenly, his Golden Battle Gear morphed back into a stick, and then it floated in the air. A profound change was happening as a mysterious diagram and symbols floated around the sticks.


    Powerful golden aura and red aura mixed with each other, and it enveloped him before forming into his Golden Battle Gear again. But there was something weird. The gear now had a tinge of ck and red, reminding him of his long sword¡ªSoul Reaper.


    That was when he figured it out. They had be one!


    Aldred summoned his spear, and sure enough, his spear became longer, and now it had lines of red and ck at the blue-runic spear head.


    His weapon now had thebination of a spear and a long-sword. It looked unique and deadly. But, now that the weapons werebined, he wasn¡¯t sure what to call it.


    It could use spirit attacks and lightning attacks¡­ hmmm. It was hard to pick any good name. What about Phantom Doomde?<sub></sub>


    ¡°Aldred, what is that?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s my weapon. It seems to be mixing with each other.¡±


    ¡°No. I am talking about that.¡± Bartrem pointed at the center of the egg.


    There they saw a small girl wrapping herself with a beautiful snow-white pair of wings.


    Slowly, she opened her wings, and stretched her body before she opened her eyes. Her golden eyesid themselves upon them. It was calm and tranquil, but Aldred felt a tinge of sadness and loneliness from within.


    And then it was filled with fright as the girl realized she was being looked at by many people. She scurried backward with her hands and legs.


    ¡°Wait, child. We will do no harm to you,¡± Mira said. ¡°Everyone, can you look away?¡±


    Bartrem and everyone else looked away. They probably scared her because all of them were staring at her while she was naked.


    Mary brought her clothes and dressed her up.<sub></sub>


    ¡°You can turn around now.¡±


    When Aldred set his eyes on her again, she was like a small little angel with golden hair, golden eyes, and that twinkling eyeshes were heaven-like.


    ¡°What is your name, dear?¡± Mary knelt and asked her.


    The small girl hesitated and seemed to be frightened. ¡°My name is Krista.¡±


    ¡°Krista, that¡¯s a beautiful name,¡± Mary said. ¡°Krista, can I ask why you stayed inside that egg?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Krista doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any parents?¡±


    She shook her head again.


    Both Mary and Mira looked at each other and nced at Aldred. Aldred nodded.


    ¡°Krista, would you like toe with us?¡±


    She hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded her head a bunch of times.


    Mary and Mira carefully caressed her head, and she seemed to enjoy it.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Mary asked.


    She shook her head. That was when Mary heard the little girl¡¯s stomach growling.


    Mary smiled. ¡°Would you like to eat?¡±


    Krista seemed to be too shy to tell her true feelings.


    Aldred pped loudly, bringing their attention to him. ¡°Since we have a new family member, we should start a feast! Bartrem! Turn on the fire!¡±


    Aldred summoned numerous grills along with some meats, vegetables, and fruits. There was also a lot of honey and even candies.


    Bartrem and the soldiers started cooking and setting up the mat. Mary and Mira guided the little girl to approach one of the mats.


    When they sat down, Aldred brought her ab of honey. ¡°Would you like one. It¡¯s sweet and soft, so it won¡¯t hurt your teeth.¡±


    She carefully looked at the honeb, and then slowly reached out her hand before grabbing it.


    ¡°Try it,¡± Aldred said.


    She took a small bite, at first her expression was ordinary, but then an explosion of sweetness washed her mouth, and she couldn¡¯t help but close her eyes and let out a small yelp of tastiness.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Did you like it?¡±


    Krista nodded and then hugged him. ¡°Thank you, big brother.¡±


    Aldred was shocked when she hugged him like that. Especially when she called him ¡®big brother¡¯ it felt like she was really his little sister.


    He smiled and caressed her head. For now, Aldred did not care about her background and whatnot, because at this moment, Krista was his little sister.


    After seeing Aldred getting a hug, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, Rachel, and Zafrina all offered her one candy after another.


    They each get a quota of hugs from Krista. And their heart melted when she called them ¡®big sister¡¯

 Chapter 210 Merit Points

    When Bartrem finished cooking the food, Aldred quickly gave a burger, a kebab, and a steak to Krista.


    All the food was too big for her, so Aldred cut them into small pieces. Aldred then blew the steak a bunch of times before stabbing it with a wooden fork.


    ¡°Try it,¡± Aldred said.


    Krista nodded, and opened her mouth. Aldred fed her. The meat entered her mouth, and she began to chew.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Delicious,¡± she said with a smile.


    Aldredughed. ¡°It seems like Krista has the same taste as us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Mary said. ¡°We will be eating a lot of meat.¡±


    Krista threw both hands into the air. ¡°Meat!¡±


    They allughed at her actions, and sheughed back.


    She then ate the burger and kebab to her hearts content. Eventually, she got so full that she couldn¡¯t even stand up.


    Aldred chuckled when he saw her sitting pitifully. ¡°Let me help you.¡± He flicked his finger, and a small whirlwind lifted Krista up.


    She was sitting on top of the whirlwind.


    ¡°I will bring you like this.¡±


    Bartrem and the soldiers cleaned up the ce. Even though this was a dungeon for monsters, sometimes people went here, and littering was a terrible habit to have.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°So where do we go now?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to war.¡±


    Bartrem¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that. ¡°War!¡±


    His soldiers also roared out. ¡°WAR!!!!¡±


    ¡°WAR!¡±


    ¡°WAR!¡±


    ¡°WAR!¡±


    ¡°WAR!¡±


    ¡°Alright, calm down,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Why are you guys too excited for war?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re Ceraisian soldiers. Of course we have to be excited by war,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sell all the monster¡¯ parts and treasures first.¡±


    They all walked out of the dungeon, and all the adventurers were staring at them.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Death Lord! He just conquered the 10th floor!¡±


    ¡°Wow, really?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Even those in the top 10 merit ranking points couldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s stronger than all of thembined. He even killed Bruce and turned him into an undead.¡±


    ¡°What a scary power. Worthy of the title Death Lord.¡±


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s not only powerful, but wealthy as well. His first day in Hajduvar, he pulled out numerous treasures and bought himself millions of merit points, and ess to the 10th floor.¡±


    ¡°Damn! And I think he¡¯s charming too. Look at all the beautiful women surrounding him.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! He¡¯s making me jealous.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous of him. He¡¯s too unreachable. Be jealous of someone realistic.¡±


    ¡°Like who.¡±


    ¡°Like that homeless man over there.¡±


    ¡°FUCK YOU!¡±


    Aldred calmly walked the street, and then there was a man with a crazed expression.


    ¡°Rachel! Why are you with that man?!¡±


    His shout caused amotion, and all the adventurers backed off.


    ¡°That¡¯s the number one in the merit ranking! Samson the Nightmare!¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Is he really that legendary Samson? The ones who is said to be a nightmare for the dungeon monsters.¡±


    ¡°Not just to the monsters, but to the enemy adventurers as well. A few years ago, he defeated the number one Epolissa adventurer.¡±


    ¡°What is his power anyway?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s said to be his eyes. If he looks at you, you¡¯re dead.¡±


    Samson did not care what others said. In his eyes, there was only Rachel. But Rachel is currently hiding behind Aldred, and hugging his arm.


    ¡°Rachel! Answer me!¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Can you shut up? She¡¯s clearly rejected you because you look ugly.¡±


    ¡°I am not talking to you, weakling!¡± He nced at Rachel. ¡°Rachel! Come with me.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Rachel replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want you.¡±


    Aldred blinked. He didn¡¯t know she was so direct.


    Samson gritted his teeth. ¡°It¡¯s because of this bastard, isn¡¯t it? I will kill him for you. After that, you will be mine.¡±


    ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°If I kill you, will your mom be mine?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Samson red at him.


    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s the kind of reaction you should expect when you say that. Also, do you have a sister as well?¡±


    ¡°You will die here!¡± Samson dashed forward, and raised both of his hands. Sharp ws came out, and he shed at Aldred.


    Aldred counter-attacked and punched forward.


    ws and fist met against each other, and the sh blew powerful wind in every direction.


    Samson snorted and his eyes turned deep ck before staring at Aldred. Aldred froze and could not move.


    Samson smiled as dark energy wrapped Aldred from the feet up to the waist. He raised his ws and stabbed Aldred¡¯s heart.


    But suddenly, it wasn¡¯t Aldred who was trapped, instead, it was him who was trapped in an earth spell where his whole body was buried except his head.


    ¡°What? How is this possible?! I got you with my spell.¡±


    ¡°You mean this spell?¡± Aldred showed his eyes turning deep ck.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Samson stared with widened eyes. ¡°How do you have the eye of a nightmare?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because.¡± Aldred approached his ear, and whispered. ¡°I am not gay.¡±


    Samson widened his eyes.


    And everyone else was shocked.


    ¡°What did he say to Samson?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it has to be something profound and what the likes of us wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°That makes me more curious. Just what in the hell did he say to Samson.¡±


    ¡°I will not kill you since I am not in the mood,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I am just kidding.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    Aldred chuckled and used his blood maniption spell to kill the man from the inside.


    There was no wound, no scar, or pain, but the many there lifelessly.


    When Aldred walked away, the adventurers approached the corpse.


    ¡°Haish, another legendary figure died in the hand of another.¡±


    ¡°If he was promoted to tinum Rank, he would surely be more powerful than the average ones.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s without a doubt, but sadly, he threw away his life for a girl.¡±


    ¡°What a simp.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred walked to the adventurer¡¯s inn, and then went to the back room to sell all of the treasures and monster¡¯ parts that he found in the dungeon. He kept some that he thought was useful to himself.


    After making all the people there stare with bulging eyes, Aldred received more than 30 million merit points.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go buy ourselves a ship.¡±

 Chapter 211 Golem Attack

    Aldred and others walked to the receptionist desk who had been reced with someone else, and then Aldred asked to buy some ship parts.


    ¡°Would you like to buy coastal ships or open sea?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    ¡°Coastal ships¡¯ materials are only suitable for coastal ships and they can only travel by the coastline.¡±


    ¡°What if they go to the sea?¡±


    ¡°They will be destroyed by monsters.¡±


    ¡°Then I will buy the open sea ships.¡±


    A magical projection showed all kinds of materials suitable for various parts of the ship such as the hull, mast, deck, cabin, gun port, and anchor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about ships,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Bartrem, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about ships either.¡±


    ¡°I know a thing or two,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°My dad has a port, and I have been on a ship before.¡±


    ¡°Okay, what should we pick?¡± Aldred asked.<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°It depends. Do you want a fast ship or strong ship?¡±


    ¡°Can I have it both fast and strong?¡±


    ¡°You can bnce it, but it would probably be too expensive.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have 31 million merit points. We¡¯re going to spend it all on this one ship.¡±


    ¡°Just one ship? You usually need to bring a few smaller ships along with you to take care of the speedy pirates.¡±


    ¡°I am going to buy that in other ces.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Ceraisian. Where can I buy the best ship for warfare if not in the empire that always wage war on others. I figure I wouldn¡¯t be able to buy a powerful mothership there, so let¡¯s just buy the materials for the mothership here, and buy the smaller ship in Ceraisian.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, Aldred. No one can buy a mothership in Ceraisian that easily. Only nobles can do that, and most of them are assigned to the Royal Navy anyway, so it¡¯s impossible for you to get one.¡±


    ¡°Thought so. But getting the smaller ship is no problem right?¡±


    ¡°You can do that. The Navy is not at war, so there is no problem acquiring a few ships.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Good. Zafrina, use all 31 million merit points however you want.¡±


    Zafrina smiled. ¡°Will do.¡±


    She spent a few hours carefully picking the materials to build this ship. Aldred wants itrge, powerful, and fast. He wanted powerful cannons on the side, and to his surprise, they had something like that.


    ¡°Buy them all,¡± Aldred said.


    Although he could create his own weapons using golemification and magical construction, his skill paled inparison to the ones that was a master in creating magical weapons.


    So the cannon was stronger than his spell by arge margin in damage output.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t sure if Zafrina would buy one though. She knew more about ships, so he trusted her and let her pick the materials needed.


    After a while, she was done picking the materials.


    ¡°I am sorry, sir, but your order is too big, so I will have to ask you to enter the storage room again to receive your item.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You guys, wait here. I won¡¯t be long.¡±


    Aldred entered the storage room again, and he quickly received his things. He put them all inside his divine dimension.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure doing business with you, sir Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Likewise,¡± Aldred said.


    Aldred left the room, and returned back to hisrades.


    ¡°All done?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yep. Time for us to go to war.¡±


    ¡°WAR!¡±


    ¡­


    In the city of Puszlokajfa, there was a siege.


    On the defendant side was the winged-man, firing arrows, canons, and catapults at the swarming army of Bugbear.


    These hideous creatures were muscrly built. The majority of them only wore some cloth to cover their body from the waist down, and their big chest was bare to the eye.


    These hairy creatures raised their maces, and mmed at the gates before the winged-men fired them with arrows.


    But their numbers were too many.


    ¡°Sir Bavar, at this rate, the bugbear will take over the city.¡±


    ¡°We cannot let that happen! We have defended this border for decades. If this city falls, the enemy will gain momentum. Call in more adventures to help.¡±


    Another soldier ran above the wall with haggard breathing, exhausted from sprinting. ¡°Sir Bavar, news from Hajduvar. They have sent a promising adventurer to help us.¡±


    ¡°One group of adventurers is not enough to tilt the favor of this war. Ask for more.¡±


    Bavar gritted his teeth. If they could call for a tinum Rank reinforcement, that would be better. But there was an unwritten rule in warfare that tinum Rank would only be used when one side wanted full annihtion of the opposition.


    They don¡¯t want an all-out war to break out.


    Suddenly, they saw an object flying in the sky, trailing with a zing jet me on its behind.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    Suddenly, the object plummeted towards the bugbear and then exploded.


    BOOM!


    A small portion of the army was sted, and Bavar saw their formations be even more chaotic.


    ¡°It¡¯s our reinforcement!¡± Bavar shouted.


    More and more of those objects came from the sky and crashed onto the enemy before exploding.


    ¡°Such power. Who casted that spell?¡± Bavar looked to the side and noticed a dozen or so gigantic golem shooting a lot of objects into the sky. These objects kept on flying until it hit its target before exploding.


    ¡°An army of golems! Unbelievable! Only a very powerful magician could usually use them. How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°Is it the tinum Rank, sir?¡±


    ¡°No. A tinum Rank golem would devastate the enemy all at once. This is the work of a Gold Rank golem master.¡±


    What¡¯s following behind therge golems was numerous 2 meter tall golems and they charged at high speed.


    In their hand was what seemed to bemon to rare weapons, and they quickly bashed into the enemy with theirrge body.


    ¡°Are those Rare quality weapons? And a lot of these golems have them.¡±


    Bavar looked at these golems with amazement. The golem master must be very rich to arm his golems with rare weapons.

 Chapter 212 Fighting Tark

    The mes of war did not only reach one spot, but the whole corridor of eastern Paphia. Almost all of the regions by the border were at war.


    Aldred was currently camping in a safe area, where he wasn¡¯t too close or too far from the battles.


    Currently, he was on a chair along with the others watching the numerous battles unfold in the region through Ste¡¯s mirrors.


    Sitting beside him was Bart, a retired High-Knight that had studied the ongoing war for decades. The moment Aldred offered to help, Paphia sent their best man to help him understand the situation.


    ¡°The ones attacking Puszlokajfa right now are the ck Wind Division.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fierce,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°They are one of the most fierce divisions there is,¡± Bart said. ¡°If you don¡¯t intervene, the city will fall.¡±


    Bart then exined more things about the ck Wind Division. It was a powerful division that had operated for decades and was said to be fierce because of their spartan-like culture.


    It wasposed of brave warriors who never shy away from death. If their leader told them to attack, then they would attack, coupled with their intensive training, it was said to be one of the best divisions in this war.


    This was why the winged-men did not even try to attack with their swords and relied on bow and arrows to fend them off.


    Luckily, the winged-men have wings, so the bugbear could not use their powerful strength to kill the soldiers in the sky.<sub>.</sub>


    That was one advantage of being a winged-men. When the situation turns ugly, they can fly away immediately.


    In a minute, they could evacuate the whole city. But handing the city over also means handing out all the valuable resources around it which will strengthen the Yevilerian even more.


    They did not want theirnd to be upied by enemy forces. Nobody wants that.


    Bart secretly nced at the army of golems behind Aldred. This man did not use his full capability yet, but the battle was already tilted to their favor.


    If nothing unexpected happens, the bugbear will be pushed off in a few weeks or less. Bart did not ask any question. He knew Aldred was a valuable help so he kept silent and did not dare to suggest for him to send out the rest of his golem army.


    The worst mistake a subordinate can make is trying to order the boss around.


    Aldred watched the golems entering the city through the mirror and how the winged-men weed them with cheers and smiles. They quickly ran up to the walls and continued to fire arrows at the enemy.


    Meanwhile, the fighter golems were still below, fighting the bugbear tirelessly.


    After a few minutes, the bugbear retreated.


    The winged-men burst in cheers when they saw the enemy run away.<sub></sub>


    Even Bart trembled in excitement after seeing the ck Wind Division retreating.


    But then suddenly, Bart¡¯s eyes were shocked at what he saw through the mirror.


    The ck Wind Division¡­ They were going to the south west¡ªdirectly to Aldred¡¯s current location.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°They know where we are. Do you know what that means, Bart?¡±


    ¡°Spies?¡±


    ¡°Either that or they have powerful irvoyance spell like Ste. Still, with that ability, the battlefield would not be foggy for them anymore.¡±


    Over 400 ck Wind cavalry, as if whirlwind, quickly arrived to their north. Aldred was currently on a hill, so he easily spotted the cavalry charging towards him.


    Covered in a ck heavy armor, Tark dismounted from his mount with ease, and, through the visor of his helmet, looked coldly at Aldred¡¯s camp.


    The cavalry was staying still behind him, and the over 400 soldiers dismounted from their mount.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why did they dismount from the horses?¡±<sub></sub>


    Bart was confused at first, but when he saw Tark draw an enormous sword from his back and strode towards them, he realized something.


    ¡°They¡¯re mocking us,¡± Bart said. ¡°Bugbear are confident in their strength, and they think they don¡¯t need cavalry to attack.¡±


    Bart looked at his own men and told them to attack. ¡°Release the arrows.¡±


    The 10 archers that he brought with him fired at Tark atop the hill. Ten arrows came at Tark like raindrops.


    The archers were greatly trained and all of the arrows hit their target, but all of them ricocheted off Tark¡¯s armor.


    Tark was unaffected and silently charged forward like a cold-blooded killer.


    ¡°What an amazing defense,¡± Aldred said. The 10 archers were Gold Rank as well, so that feat was quite impressive.


    Within a few minutes, Tark arrived at the hill, and then he erupted with a shocking aura, and with a vigorous step, he leaped forward, then shed at Bartrem.


    Bartrem was smiling calmly while crossing his arms.


    When his enormous de was about to touch Bartrem¡¯s shoulder, Bartrem tilted his body while at the same time pulled a sword from his waist, and then used that momentum to sh back.


    ng! ng!


    They battled against each other, and the soldiers from both sides watched it unfold.


    ¡°Bartrem! Bartrem!¡±


    ¡°Bartrem! Bartrem!¡±


    The soldiers shouted.


    But the bugbear did not want to lose out.


    ¡°Tark! Tark!¡±


    ¡°Tark! Tark!¡±


    Both sides were in a loudpetition as Bartrem and Tark shing des at each other.


    After a few minutes, Bartrem saw his chance and then shed at Tark¡¯s shoulder. His de went through the thick armor, and a bloody gash appeared.


    Blood gushed out.


    ¡°How dare you injure me! Fucking monkeys! I am the Big Mek of ck Wind Division! I will crush your bones, mince you, and tear your flesh before devouring them!¡±


    The soldiers were silent at first, and then they allughed. Mareona even rolled on the grass because she couldn¡¯t hold herughter.


    ¡°What are youughing at!?¡±


    Theyughed even harder.


    ¡°Bastard! Men, attack them!¡± Tark shouted.


    ¡°This is a duel!¡± Aldred shouted with a calm expression. ¡°Those who move will be killed.¡±


    The bugbears ignored his warning, and then  a sharp glint appeared in Aldred¡¯s eyes.


    The gunner golems stepped forward with a thud, and started firing.

 Chapter 213 Killing Tark

    The golems shot numerous times, hitting the bugbear warriors, and filled their bodies with holes.


    Dozens of them fell and died immediately.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± Tark rushed forward to attack Aldred.


    Bartrem let him pass with a smile.


    And then the gunner golem aimed their M134 minigun-like arm before firing. Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The bulles prated through his armor, and struck his flesh and muscles. Tark roared in pain, and using a powerful force, expelled all the bullets within his body.


    ¡°What an amazing body. You can even expel my fire bullets.¡±


    Those fire bullets were created by his spell of mes, but what was unique about them was they acted like they were physical objects and not merely mes. This means that the bullets will keep burning the targets from within, slowly cooking them from the inside.


    Tark made a smart move and expelled all the bullets, if not for that, his wound would have worsened.<sub>.</sub>


    Out of all the races he had seen, bugbear had the most physical and durability out of all the sentient races.


    With a loud bellow, Tark drew his great sword and rushed furiously towards Aldred.


    ¡°Fighter golem, go take care of him.¡±


    One fighter golem immediately rushed forward at high speed, and drew a high-grade rare quality sword from its back. It blurred into motion, and threw itself at Tark like a fierce warrior.


    It appeared before Tark and mercilessly hacked at him.


    Tark parried the attack.


    Ding! An ear ringing, metal-striking-metal sound reverberated in the area. Tark¡¯s face turned pale, and he took a few steps back.


    ¡°How is this possible¡­ How are your arms so heavy and durable.¡± His eyes widened in shock.<sub></sub>


    The average bugbear was at least 1,8 M tall and there were a lot of bugbear who had a height above 2 M as well. Tark was one of those 2 M bugbear, and so he had great physical strength coupled with his training as a warrior and Gold Rank strength, this made him almost invincible in physicalbat.


    And yet, a human matched him in battle, and now a golem defeated him as well.


    This was hard to ept. He wore thick armor and an enormous sword, so the damage was done through weight alone.


    The fact that the bone in his arms felt great pain meant that the golem was too damn heavy for him.


    Aldredughed. ¡°I have a lot of rare materials in my pocket. Since I have too much, I put them inside the golems.¡±


    The skin of the golems then changed from dirt to deep-purple ck steel along with some random colors. Aldred had randomly given the golems his treasures.


    He did not care or have any use for them anyway, so he gave it to the golems, and apparently, they became much stronger and durable than before.


    Tark was shocked. ¡°All of that is rare grade materials. Even my armor isn¡¯t covered with those materials.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Wait¡­ don¡¯t tell me you guys are poor. You¡¯re one of the best in your division right? Is yournd poor as well?¡±


    This was not good. If theirnd was poor, then he would not make any profit by mining their region.


    ¡°Who said ournd is poor?¡± Tark shouted. ¡°They are just distributed to the tinum Rank more.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ good. I thought you guys were poor there for a second. Well, time for you to die.¡±


    The fighter golem took a step forward, and shed at Tark with its enormous rare-grade sword.


    Tark roared and erupted with a powerful life force, brandished hisrge sword, and exchanged a few rounds of strikes with the golem.


    Tark gritted his teeth, barely withstanding the violent attacks of the golem. And everytime he counter-attacked, the golem would receive without any problem because they couldn¡¯t feel any pain at all.


    Even after stimting his powerful life force, he was still in apletely disadvantageous position.


    Desperate, Tark called out for his men. ¡°Kill them all. Don¡¯t let them shame the name of the ck Wind Division..¡±


    ¡°KIll! Kill!¡±


    Aldred sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t learn your lesson, do you. Gunner golems, kill them all!¡±


    Aiming their three-barreled arms, the golems quickly activated their spell, and their arms spewed out fierce tongues of mes at once.


    The sound was like numerous zing arrows flying in the air, and that was when the sound of sizzling me burning through steel, cloth, and flesh reverberated.


    A bugbear was shot in the head, and his head burst like a stomped watermelon.


    Another bugbear was shot in the shoulder, and his whole arm was blown away with smoke, and burn marks on his wound.


    Faced with such terrifying hail of fire bullets, the bugbear did not have the ability to resist. Blood sshed everywhere, and one after another, they fell lifelessly on the grass.


    ¡°Leader, let¡¯s retreat.¡±


    Tark, the leader of this division, felt shame when he heard his subordinates asking for retreat. All these years, they had never lost confidence in battle, because they had always won in the end, but now, the situation seemed hopeless for them.


    In the next moment, numerous fire bullets tore the man calling for retreat to pieces.


    In less than 5 minutes, the ck Wind Division of the Bugbear army, which used to give the winged-men nightmares, were massacred without mercy.


    ¡°Bastard! How dare you kill my brothers in arms!¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I admire your camaraderie. For that, I will give you a quick death.¡±


    Four fighter golem dashed forward, and mmed their de at Tark. Tark blocked the attack, but the weight was too heavy for him.


    Crack!


    His arms cracked and turned limp, and that was when two fighter golem shed. One cutting his head into two, the other separating the head from the neck.


    Dumbstruck, Bart and his men felt like they were dreaming. The ck Wind Division had terorized their front line army for decades. And yet, they all now had died, torn to pieces, cut limbs by limbs, and lie lifelessly on the cold grass.


    This was unbelievable. But then, his eyes shed with excitement.


    ¡°If he can keep supporting us. We will dominate the battlefield until the bugbear decides to send their tinum Ranks. But that was almost impossible unless they wanted to bring the war to the next stage.¡±

 Chapter 214 Attacking Nakatiharna

    Nakatiharna City was one of the many militarized and fortified cities of Yevileria Tribal Union. It was located to the east of Puszlokajfa, and merely 44 miles away.


    Thendscape of the area around them was open in with a few small hills here and there. With this clear pathway, an army of thousands could easily march directly to the city and attack.


    Most of thend around Nakatiharna was unsuitable for crops, but further east was a few mountains with rich mineral sources. This gave them the wealth they needed to import food from other cities.


    By relying on these mineral veins, town-leader Bogrith built this city as a heavily-militarized fortress, arming all of his men with proper weapons.


    And as his army grew, so did his ambition. With the nearest enemy city merely 44 miles away, Bogrith kept sending other armies to whittle the morale of the enemy before nning to attack.


    But, his subordinates came with rather shocking news.


    ¡°ck Wind Division is defeated? The leader was killed and the soldiers retreated?¡±


    ¡°Yes, town leader.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible? Who could defeat Tark?¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°I was told that an army of golems attacked the ck Wind Division. Tark retreated from the siege and went to kill the golem master, but he got killed instead..¡±


    ¡°That impulsive bastard. A golem master is usually a wealthy person. For someone like him to act, what incentive did the winged-men offer?¡±


    ¡°Our spies said that they will lease thend he conquered to him for 20 years.¡±


    ¡°20 Years? Leasing an entire city to a single person in that timeframe was indeed a great incentive. But it would be a mistake if he came to my city.¡±


    Bogrith did not care too much about one yer. In a war, he needed to see the general trend, and one person could not affect everything.


    Unbeknown to Bogrith however, Aldred already moved his golem troops near his city, and then sent his undead army to reinforce other city.


    Normally, one person could not affect the flow of war, but Aldred was an exception, because he was an army by himself.


    On a hillside, two kilometers outside of Nakatiharna, a squad of 20 Artillery Golem, 50 gunners, and 100 fighter golems hid by putting bushes and grass on their skin.<sub></sub>


    Golems were very adaptable. They could absorb surrounding materials and put it on the surface of their body. This made it hard to spot them and were the perfect soldiers for ambush.


    Aldred was still rxing in his camp, using Ste¡¯s mirror spell to overlook the various battles that happened. Currently, his sight was on the golem army that slowly crawled above the hill.


    He saw the city of Nakatiharna¡¯s wall that was at least 15 meters high, and seemed to be made out of durable bricks with enough thickness. The gate was made out of ck steel. It was a very expensive material.


    Aldred did not see the city as a challenge, instead, he saw it as a goldmine.


    ¡®Capture that town for me. Kill everyone who resists.¡¯


    The golems obeyed without a word, and the Artillery Golems began their bombardment.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The thick gate was quickly destroyed, and the rest of the golems started charging downhill.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡±


    The bells on the towers were quickly rung to warn everyone in the city. Soldiers quickly reinforced the gate, and more soldiers ran on top of the wall.


    Over 100 expressionless 2 meter golems sped towards them. This gave a unique sense of fear within their heart because they knew these golems did not feel fear of death or threat.


    ¡°Attack those golems!¡±


    The soldiers grabbed their longbows, but before they could even aim, numerous fire bullets tore their arms, and then their whole body apart.


    ¡°AHH! MY ARMS!!¡±


    ¡°Duck down! Take cover!¡±


    The fire bullets went through the brick, and shot the man¡¯s head who told everyone to take cover.


    ¡°Quick! Fire the catapult!¡±


    The defensive catapults ced in the city, threwrge boulders into the sky. Soon after, they crashed onto the golems.


    Aldred clicked his tongue. Since the Golem was almost indestructible, he wasn¡¯t worried, but their numbers would reduce if they got trapped below the boulders.


    And sure enough, after seeing the catapults attack were effective, the bugbear sent more and more boulders into the sky.


    ¡®Artillery golems! Destroy those catapults.¡¯


    They fired their golem shells into the sky, and these golems shells quickly maneuvered in the air to find their target before diving down at it.


    Boom! Numerous explosions ensued within the city wall. The soldiers scrambled in panic as more golem shells fell nearby them and exploded with the power of 5 times his fireball.


    The fighter golems quickly arrived at the gate, and a bloodbath ensued as they cut the infantry down.


    All the shields, armors, maces, halberds, all were cut down by their enormous weight. The bugbear was strong physically, but they couldn¡¯t defeat the golems whose entire bodies were made out of rare-grade materials.


    Over 200 soldiers dressed in thick armor equipped with halberds came from the deep part of the city. This was the town-leader personal guards, and they were the most elite of men in this town.


    Behind these 200 elite soldiers was the castle, and on top of the wall were a bunch of heavy crossbows.


    Standing on top of the wall was a dignified bugbear with a beard that made him look like a wise creature.


    ¡°Golem master! Stop this atrocity or you will face the wrath of our entire race!¡±


    Aldred looked at Bart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him. This is a war to begin with. If we don¡¯t attack them, they will attack us.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will attack without mercy. Kill them all.¡±


    100 fighter golems charged forward while the 50 gunners killed those that came from the side and helped the fighter golems.


    Town leader Bogrith gritted his teeth. ¡°You underestimated me. Fire the arrows.¡±


    Shockingly, instead of sending arrows one by one, the heavy crossbows send out 7 meter long bolts of steel in rapid session.

 Chapter 215 Capturing Nakatiharna

    Bogrith watched with a grin as the golems were bombarded with a rain of steel bolts. Each bolt was 7 meter in length, and with its speed and power, none of the golems could dodge the attack.


    Dozens of these golems were blown to smithereens after a single volley, and all the rare materials that made up as the golem¡¯s bodies fell to the ground.


    Bogrith smiled even wider when he saw that. All of that rare material will be his now.


    But then something shocking happened. The materials on the ground moved by itself, along with some dirt, rock, and bricks in the surrounding, and then formed another golem.


    This kept on happening until the army of golems restored itself.


    ¡°How is this possible!¡±


    There were two possibilities. Either the golem master had a huge amount of mana, or the golem creation spell was very sophisticated.


    But the chance of these two possibilities were too small.


    ¡°Or maybe he has a huge amount of mana crystals and uses that to replenish his own mana. That must be it.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    It was known that fighting against a golem master was a battle of attrition. The golem master would stay in safe distance and let his golem do the fighting for him. But everytime it was destroyed, the golem master had to expend some mana to restore it.


    And most of the time, the golem master would run out of mana sooner orter, and so, the solution to tha problem was to bring a lot of mana crystals and use it to replenish the expended mana.


    Basically, you have to be rich enough to buy a lot of mana crystals if you want to be a golem master.


    Bogrith, as town leader, had met with a few golem masters in the past, and knew that all of them were very rich.


    Being a golem master was also very rewarding, but the reason why there were less of them was because the spell was hard to learn, and it needed a major investment at the start.


    So most golem masters were already rich to begin with.


    ¡°But I am not poor myself. If you want to fight a battle of attrition, then let¡¯s get it on! Send more bolts towards them.¡±


    The soldiers brought in more and more heavy crossbows atop the wall of the castle, and the rain of bolts thickened.<sub></sub>


    Aldred could connect to the golem¡¯s vision, and he saw the bolts covering the sun before it fell towards them.


    Meanwhile, the 200 elite soldiers below grabbed their powerful bows, and started releasing arrows. They were ordered to keep destroying the golems.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Can¡¯t they see that my golems are eternal?¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°They must have thought that you would run out of mana soon.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°Well, let them have their fun. We¡¯re just going to watch until they get exhausted.¡±


    The golems kept on being destroyed for hours and hours, until the archers were exhausted and the supplies of bolts were depleted.


    That was when the golem army marched forward.


    ¡°Impossible! Impossible!¡± Bogrith shouted. ¡°How many mana crystals did you have! Bastard! Those winged-men must have supplied him with mana crystals as well. Men, we¡¯re retreating!¡±<sub></sub>


    Since he was at a disadvantage, there was no use to keep fighting. Though it was a pity to lose this city, but he can take it back as long as he still live.


    But Aldred wouldn¡¯t let any dangerous enemies run away like that.


    Dozens of golem shells flew to the sky with jet meing out from behind. They looked exactly like a modern artillery shell except they were made out of dirt and rocks.


    Even so, they were still effective.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The 200 elite soldiers were bombarded, and so did the bugbear above the wall. The gunners came in guns zing, while the fighter golems rushed forward and brandished their rare-grade weapons.


    Aldred used less than 200 golems in this attack, but he sessfully besieged a fortified city in less than a day.


    That was something unprecedented in the history of warfare.


    Siege was always a battle of attrition and the battle couldst for weeks if not months.


    To conquer a city in one day was nothing short of amazing in any stretch of the imagination.


    Aldred smiled and he told the golems to enforce order. They wouldn¡¯t hurt any innocent civilians, but if they tried to create chaos by robbing or destroying homes, the golems would end their life immediately.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Time to mine the resources in the city. Also, Bart. Can you tell someone to import food to the city?¡±


    ¡°Why? Your golems don¡¯t need to eat.¡±


    ¡°My golems don¡¯t need to eat, but the civilians do. With their city in my hands, the bugbear won¡¯t import food into the city, so we have to do it.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re at war.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re at war with their army, not their entire race. We will take their resources, but not their lives.¡±


    Mira smiled proudly when she heard that.


    But Aldred had other reasons to do this as well. To reduce the hatred he received from the general public.


    Hate is a powerful emotion. Stronger than gratitude.


    Give a man milk, and he might give water back. Punch a man in the face, and he will return with a sword.


    Gratitude is a burden. Revenge, on the other hand, is pleasure.


    Next, the worker golems entered the city in masses. These golems were created purely of dirt and any nearby materials.


    And these golems weren¡¯t created by Aldred. Instead, they were created by another golem.


    Aldred called this golem Foremen Golem


    Now, instead of supervising golems, Foremen Golem created numerous worker golems to do odd jobs such as mining resources.


    Foremen Golems used two spells. First was the earth spell, and second was the golemification spell.


    They were difficult to create at first, but Aldred seeded in constructing his spells within the mana crystals in their bodies.


    And with that, he could create dozens of worker golems en masse.

 Chapter 216 Plan in Plain Sight

    As Aldred mined the resources of his newly-obtained city, the news of his lightning victory spread out.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear? Death Lord is helping our nation fighting against the bugbear.¡±


    ¡°No wonder, I didn¡¯t see him with his soldiers anymore, so he went to war.¡±


    ¡°I heard he defeated the ck Wind Division.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°And he also conquered Nakatiharna City in one day.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°My friends said he used a golem army to attack.¡±


    ¡°Golem army? Not an undead army?¡±


    ¡°No. Apparently, he¡¯s also a golem master.¡±


    ¡°What in freaking fuck! So he¡¯s a magician, a sword master, a necromancer, and now a golem master? What can he not do?¡±


    ¡°Instead of thinking that, what if you think what the kings and emperor would do to him.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°No need to worry about that. He¡¯s a treasure hunter. He¡¯s protected by a curse. Anyone above Gold Rank will die if they dare to touch him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of unfair isn¡¯t it? After all, Death Lord is now at war with the bugbear, but they cannot kill him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re mistaken. The enemymander can send in troops below tinum Ranks without any problem. But if they tried to kill him secretly using poison or curse, they would die instead.¡±


    ¡°But what if a Gold Rank dark magician put a curse on him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. The world sees everything, and it will judge ordingly.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the case, because it might happen to us as well.¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡­


    Further east from Nakatiharna was a city called Folineley. Unlike Nakatiharna, the city wasn¡¯t heavily fortified, and it was much wealthier, abundance of food, people, and resources.


    Within the town leader¡¯s mansion, five men sat down in the reception hall. Seated in the seat of honor was a bugbear with rough skin and hooked nose. Despite his calm upbringing, the man had a hint of tyranny.


    He was Town Leader Tarrar. And he began the conversation with his four subordinates.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Nakatiharna is captured. This marks our first loss in this war.¡±


    The four of them did not reply immediately.


    They were his arms and fingers in governing this city. They werepetent and rarely made mistakes, and so of course Tarrar wouldpensate them handsomely.


    But one of the reasons they could be sopetent was he let them have time to think.


    Bugbear was a warring race and relied a lot on their powerful bodies. This made them a capable warrior, but unreliable thinker.


    Tarrar realized that and chose the smartest bugbear to act as his closest subordinate.


    His bet paid off.


    ¡°Since town leader Bogrith is killed, we know that they have no intention to back down and are confident with their ability. I say we ask for reinforcement.¡±


    Tarrar smiled. If they were ordinary bugbear, they would advise him to charge at the enemy head first and battle it out.


    And if he was an ordinary leader, he would feel insulted right now. Asking for reinforcement was seen as a sign of weakness, and leaders hated it when their subordinates called for retreat or reinforcement.


    Not him.<sub></sub>


    ¡°What is the chance theye to us?¡± Tarrar asked.


    ¡°Very high. We are the second closest city from Nakatiharna.¡±


    His military strategisty out a map on the table. ¡°The winged-men called a golem master to fight us. This mean they are ready to use a lot of resources in this battle, and will capture a lot of city to make up for it.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Tarrar asked.


    ¡°I suggest we go directly to the west, and attack a city deep in their territory. This will make them retreat from the frontline. But it would be even better if we can tell other town to attack at the same time to create confusion and chaos.¡±


    Tarrar nced at his diplomat. ¡°Can you get it done?¡±


    ¡°I can, town leader.¡±


    ¡°What about provision of food, water, and other supplies?¡±


    His supply master bowed. ¡°We are ready for long and quick campaign, town leader.¡±


    ¡°Good. And our treasury?¡±


    ¡°Our treasury is in a good state, town leader. Years of export made us a lot of profit. We can use this to bribe the enemies and give our allies some incentive to move.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡± Tarrarughed. ¡°Those winged-men wouldn¡¯t know what hit them. He grinned as his eyes glint with confidence.


    Meanwhile, within the castle of Nakatiharna, Aldred and hisrades were watching Tarrar and his subordinates through Ste¡¯s mirror. They even heard all of the conversation.


    ¡°Ummm.¡± Aldred scratched his cheek. ¡°I kind of feel bad now. All of this careful nning, and we heard it all.¡±


    Bartremughed. ¡°I feel bad as well.¡±


    Aldred nced at Bart. ¡°You heard it yourself. Tell the other cities to prepare for an iing attack. I will directly go to Folineley and make their armye home running.¡±


    Bart nodded with sweat on his forehead. This group of people could never be underestimated. All of them were powerful and had unique ability very useful in war.


    Just that all-seeing mirror was enough to almost win every battle.


    Aldred stood up from his seat and walked to the balcony. There he saw numerous workers golems plowing the field and mining the hills and mountains.


    Since he knew what the enemy was nning, he wasn¡¯t too worried. His undead army was still active. They were currently on the north part of the war, reinforcing any cities in need.


    He gotrge incentive for that, and he didn¡¯t even need to do any work.


    Zafrina hugged him from behind. ¡°What are you thinking, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Just enjoying the view.¡±


    Suddenly, a group of female bugbear came, not with swords or spears, but trays of local foods.


    They set the food and drinks on the table, then they were about to leave.


    ¡°Wait,¡±


    The bugbear halted and trembled in fear.


    ¡°Here is some tip for you guys,¡±


    When they turned around, they saw Aldred holding a bag of gold coins in his hand.


    They looked at each other and didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Take it,¡± Aldred offered.


    ¡°T¡ªthank you,¡± one of the waiter took the bag, and they quickly left.


    Aldred smiled, and then he nced at the food. ¡°Ste, can you check if there¡¯s any poison in the food?¡±

 Chapter 217 Negotiation

    A bugbear was sitting in his office with a quill in his hand and a paper on the table.


    He was the Tarrar¡¯s diplomat, and his task was to convince the town leader nearby to attack and create chaos.


    His job required a sophisticated skill and creativity. Not just any bugbear can do his job, and that was why Tarrar trusted him so much.


    First, he spends a few minutes meditating, and contemting on the way of life.


    That was a necessary step. After that, he pressed the quill on the paper. Each word must be meaningful, because the art of convincing is very delicate.


    ¡°You little piece of shit, pussy motherfucker. I heard you¡¯re scared of ghost stories and trembled in bed like a little girl. If you are really brave, bring your army to the west and attack the city. Bring me the head of some winged-men leaders, you little scared cat.¡±


    The diplomat cleared his throat and put the paper to the side. Then he wrote on another paper.


    Each paper must a be a masterpiece, and every word must strike to the deepest emotion.


    ¡°You fooking weasel. I heard from my men that you¡¯re a coward afraid of battle. Go bring your ass to the west and attack or I might have to baby sit you little boy bitch.¡±


    He put that paper to the side and wrote another one.<sub>.</sub>


    He kept on doing this for a while, and when he was done, he gave the papers to his subordinates for them to send to the nearby town leaders.


    ¡­


    After a few days, the papers arrived to their destination, and all the town leaders were enraged.


    ¡°Tarrar, that fucking bastard dare to mock me?! Men, grab your weapons! We¡¯re going to the west for battle! Let¡¯s cut some wings and send it to Tarrar afterwards.¡±


    In a matter of days, the diplomat sessfuly convinced the town leaders to move their army.


    It was a legendary feat that no diplomat in history could match.


    The gears of war activated, and bugbears all over the continent took up arms and prepared for battle.


    As they prepared their army, Aldred invited the winged-men for a banquet, and showed what the bugbear was doing through Ste¡¯s mirror.


    ¡°They¡¯re really nning for arge scale attack¡­ We should do something.¡±<sub></sub>


    The meeting room was in an uproar, and they all discussed what to do. None of them could return immediately, because they knew the fight would be futile if they do it alone.


    They needed cooperation.


    ¡°No need to worry,¡± Aldred said. ¡°My undead army will reinforce you, and whittle the enemy down before they can reach your city.¡±


    ¡°Can you really do that? Their army seems to berger than usual.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can. With the right incentive of course.¡±


    ¡°We can give you 20% of the natural resources in the cities.¡±


    ¡°20%? Seems like the bugbear¡¯s offer is better.¡±


    ¡°Eh!¡± They were all shocked by his statement.


    ¡°Why are you so shocked? Of course the bugbear offered me something to make me side with them. They offered me all the mining site.¡±<sub></sub>


    They all looked at each other. All of them thought that Aldred would help them with only some small incentive. Only now did they remember that Aldred was not a winged-man.


    He was a human who wanted profit.


    ¡°Alright, just like before. We will offer you our mining site of 4 cities for 10 years, but the cities you conquered will be on lease to you for 20 years.¡±


    Aldred was happy inside, but outside, he was frowning deep. ¡°I think you guys should leave.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Fine, we will give you Westle city.¡±


    The others gasped when they heard that. ¡°Westle is a big mining city and it has funded our war against the bugbear. Giving it to him will make it hard for us to resist in the future.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± Aldred said. ¡°If you have me. You don¡¯t need to resist. I will take care of it.¡±


    They all whispered to each other.


    ¡°Can we trust him?¡±


    ¡°He conquered Nakatiharna in one day. We¡¯ve been fighting for decades and the border had never moved until he came along.¡±


    ¡°The tinum Ranks won¡¯t have any problem if we give Westle anyway. It¡¯s one of the cities that we Gold Ranks have control of, and less valuable to the higher ups.¡±


    ¡°Right, and he had reinforced us time and time again. Our walls haven¡¯t even been touched because his undead army defeated the bugbear before they could approach our cities.¡±


    After a few minutes of discussion, they looked at him.


    ¡°We agree to give you Westle City, 10 year of all our mining sites, and 20 year of the mining site you conquered.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Now that¡¯s what I like about you guys. You are all easy to talk to unlike those barbaric bugbears. Now sign the deal, and let me take care of it all.¡±


    Aldred shook their hands one by one, but deep inside he was grinning wide.


    What they gave Aldred wasn¡¯t simply some mining site and a mining town, but their ability to arm themselves with weapons.


    With no weapons, they could not defend themselves from the enemy.


    And because of that, they had to rely on Aldred for their security.


    He can keep asking for incentives as long as he defends their territory, and Aldred would not take a lot of bugbear¡¯s territory to avoid angering them.


    And with the deal done, the world continued in motion.


    Three dayster, 5,000 strong elite cavalry departed from Folineley and headed west to distract and confuse the winged-men.


    But Aldred already knew about that n.


    He watched them through Ste¡¯s mirror, and noticed that there were some magicians and archers within the enemy¡¯s ranks.


    ¡°So some of them are smart enough to be magicians. That¡¯s surprising,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°No race is worth to be underestimated, Aldred,¡± Ste said. ¡°Doing so has proved to be detrimental for any race or kingdom.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I never underestimate my enemy.¡±

 Chapter 218 Shocking Ability

    In order to distract and confuse the enemy, Tarrar sent out his best cavalry to attack deep inside the enemy¡¯s territory. This will hopefully make the winged-men retreat from the front-line to reinforce the city.


    But after that, his cavalry would be long gone, and the front line city would be defenseless.


    At the front of the 5,000 elite cavalry was a man with thick armor and arge halberd. He was Zhann, the leader of this elite cavalry.


    He was so proud and so happy that he could go to war again. Tarrar was a wise man, and Zhann admired him greatly, but at the same time, he wanted to fight as well.


    A wise man avoids battle whenever possible.


    Zhann wasn¡¯t a wise man. He was a warrior. A warrior hungry for battle and glory.


    Town leader Tarrar knew of his hunger, and that was why he let him lead this attack. But he also sent a bunch of magicians to cover for his mistake. These bugbears were smarter than the average joe.


    ¡°They look very strong,¡± Aldred said, watching the army through Ste¡¯s mirror. He was currently rxing with Mareona and Mary feeding him some fruit. While hugging the both of them of course.


    This was the convenience of having an automated army such as undead and golems.


    As Mareona popped another fruit into his mouth, Aldred connected his mind with another golem. This lets him see what the golem sees and also control the golem as if it was his own body.<sub>.</sub>


    The golem then morphed into his adult form along with his clothes. He was currently in the storage room of Nakatiharna. But instead of weapons, the storage room was filled with golems.


    Aldred wasn¡¯tzing around all this time. He knew the enemy was strong.


    So he created a lot of golems in his free time.


    The densely packed golems numbered more than 3,000.


    Their numbers consisted of 1,600 fighter golems, 1,000 gunner golems, andstly, 400 artillery golems.


    This was currently his fully golem force, but he will increase thatter in the future. With numerous golems and undead fighting for him, he did not have to risk his life or hisrades¡¯ life.


    The city of Nakatiharna was turned into a golem factory by Aldred. His worker golems mined materials, and then his Foremen Golem would produce more golems.


    Currently, they can only create fighter golems, but Aldred will modify them if he has time.


    This was important if he wanted to make a lot of money.<sub></sub>


    For now, he wanted to enjoy the embrace of Mareona, and Mary.


    Of course while watching the battle that was about to unfoldter.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Aldred¡¯s mind disconnected from the golem and let it move by itself.


    All the golems dashed at the speed of 150 kilometers per hour. The gunner golems, and the artillery golems were far slower, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for now.


    ¡°I think we need to make a transportation golem,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Not to transport us, but to transport those golems.¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that.


    In less than an hour, the 3,000 golems reached on top of a hill, andid low as they watched the cavalry trodding the in.


    After some thought, Aldred decided to only use 400 fighter golems to test their strength. He had never seen a magician bugbear before, so he wanted to know what they could do.


    And there was something weird about the cavalry¡¯s weapons. Some kind of colorful sheen asionally appeared on their de.<sub></sub>


    He had to be careful or he might lose big time.


    400 fighter golems ran down hill, a few kilometers away from the cavalry.


    When the enemy scouts saw the 400 golems, they turned around and informed Zhann.


    ¡°400 golems? That¡¯s it?¡± Zhann said. ¡°Is the enemy underestimating us? What a fool! We¡¯ll destroy those golems and raid their cities!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± One of the magicians said. He was the most powerful of all, and town leader Tarrar had told him to control Zhann when needed.


    ¡°Zhann, don¡¯t you think this is weird? Our n is a secret operation, but the enemy knows of our location, and even sends 400 golems to get in our way.¡±


    ¡°I see nothing weird. The enemy wanted to fight and we should give them the fight. That is all.¡±


    Zhann grinned. ¡°Even if there¡¯s 10,000 golems ahead of us we can still win. We are bugbears! We¡¯re strong!¡±


    The magician frowned. He felt something bad was about to happen. ¡°Alright, we will attack, but if I ask you to retreat, please order your men to retreat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever, old man! Go! GO! Go! Let¡¯s kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Kill them all!¡±


    The 5,000 elite cavalry charged forward, and soon saw 400 golems gathering in a formation.


    Zhann¡¯s eyes lit up, crazed for battle, he roared a loud battle cry.


    The magician on the other hand became even more concerned. He raised his staff and casted his buff spell. ¡°Heavy Momentum! Quick Legs! Greater Defense!¡±


    The whole cavalry glowed in a colorful light for a second, and their speed increased significantly.


    The other magicians also casted their spell to begin the battle.


    ¡°tten Terrain!¡±


    The ground around them ttened, making it easier for the cavalry to move forward.


    When the cavalry was 500 meters away, the magicians began their offense.


    They raised their staff at the same time like they were in sync with each other.


    Suddenly, the area around 2 kilometers around them turned red, even the sky turned red, and a powerful force exuded out of the magicians.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Aldred frowned.


    The magicians closed their eyes. After a few seconds, they abruptly opened their eyes.


    ¡°Red Rain!¡±


    As if literal rain, spears made out of bloody red me came down from the sky, and crashed onto the golems.


    When the golems were destroyed one by one, they failed to regenerate.


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°How did they do that?¡±

 Chapter 219 Defeat

    ¡°Charge! Charge!¡± Zhann shouted as the golems got destroyed one after another by the Red Rain.


    The 5,000 Elite Cavalry was covered with heavy armor, and their weapons were at least 2 meters long. With their powerful physique, they shed against the golems, and tore them apart.


    Just like the red rain, the golems destroyed by the cavalry failed to regenerate.


    Aldred was shocked again when he watched this. ¡°Ste, do you know how they destroyed my golems?¡±


    ¡®Their weapons are enchanted with the spell destroyer. They are used to destroy magical barriers, and sometimes disable a magical projectile such as fire ball, but they also work on your golems.¡±


    ¡°So they turned off the spell that keeps my golems alive?¡±


    ¡°You can say that.¡±


    Aldred sighed and then smiled. ¡°This magical world is very interesting. There¡¯s always a counter to something. Nothing is absolute.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°I am d you handled it well.¡±


    Aldred wasn¡¯t the type that got stressed when he faced setbacks. He faced them calmly, and with a smile on his face. Ste was d that was the case.


    ¡°Now that I know what they can do. Let¡¯s use my full power. Artillery Golems, attack!¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡­


    As the enemy cavalry cheered in triumph and victory, Zhann raised hisrge halberd and shouted. ¡°I told you those golems meant nothing to us! We are Tarrar¡¯s Elite Cavalry. We can defeat anything!¡±


    ¡°We can defeat anything!¡± His men cheered.


    The old magician on the other hand frowned. Feeling something weird again. He looked at the sky, and that¡¯s when he saw dozens of small objects flying in the sky, and headed towards them.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± The magician shouted. ¡°Cast the magic barrier!¡±


    Before they could raise their staff and cast their spell, the golem shells sped up and then exploded within their ranks.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    ¡°Ahh! My legs!¡±


    The explosion threw a lot of bugbears away, and some even lost their limbs, while a dozen or so died.


    ¡°Their armor is remarkable,¡± Aldred said. ¡°A single voley, and only a dozen died. Attack again.¡±<sub></sub>


    Arger volley of golem shells flew into the sky again, but this time the magician casted their barrier and attacked the objects in the air.


    Suddenly, atop a nearby hill, 1,200 fighter golems, and 1,000 gunner golems charged forward.


    ¡°Zhann, you take care of the golems on the ground,¡± the old magician said. ¡°My magicians unit will take care of the sky.¡±


    Zhann nodded and roared. ¡°Follow my lead!¡±


    With a heavy armor weighing more than 200 kilograms, the defense of the elite cavalry made it invincible in the battlefield. That was what made Zhann so confident.


    His cavalry charged forward, and gunner golems started firing at them.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Zhann felt his armor getting hotter and hotter, but he gritted his teeth and bulled through the storm of bullets.


    A few secondster, the two groups collided fiercely.


    Zhann grinned, and shed his halberd at the golem¡¯s shoulder only to be shocked when his attack only created a shallow wound.<sub></sub>


    The golem expressionlessly counter-attacked, beheading the beast that Zhann used as a mount.


    Zhann frowned. ¡°My weapon should be able to cut you in a single swing. I did it earlier, but why can¡¯t I now.¡±


    That was when Zhann noticed there was ayer of ck steel within the golem. ¡°Rare materials¡­ These golems are different from earlier.¡±


    The cavalrymen fell off their mounts as the golems beheaded their mount¡¯s head.


    A man immediately stood up, about to attack, only to be faced against a pair of golems. His whole body was split in half along with his heavy armor.


    Blood sshed everywhere.


    Zhann¡¯s face turned pale, but it quickly turned into rage. ¡°To hell with all of you.¡±


    He swung his halberd, beheading a golem, and then parried a pair of rare-grade weapons.


    ¡°Even their weapons are rare-grade¡­ No wonder they are so powerful.¡±


    A warrior only uses armor as external protection, but the golems use powerful materials as their whole body.


    That was apletely different thing. The weight of each golem was incredible, and each strike was so heavy.


    ¡°I refuse to lose. We can still win!¡± Zhann shouted.


    He activated his powerful life force, and shed at the pair of golems.


    But soon after, 4 golems threw themselves at him, and cut both of his arms.


    ¡°Ahh! My Arms! Bastard!¡± Zhann ran forward and head butted the golem. One golem was knocked away, but two came from the side, and impaled his body.


    Zhann bit the de with his teeth, snapping it, and then he pounced on the golem, biting its neck.


    ¡°This dude is crazy,¡± Aldred said.


    The golems swarmed him from all directions, stabbing and shing at his body until he died.


    When the cavalry started to lose, the magicians started to prepare for an escape.


    Suddenly, the gunner golems attacked with numerous fire bullets, but the old magicians quickly waved his hand, and blocked all the bullets.


    ¡°Archers, take care of them.¡±


    Arrows shot towards the golems, sting their chest, and just like before, it failed to regenerate.


    But even with that damage, the golems still moved forward without any problem.


    ¡°Shit! Aim at their legs!¡±


    Just as another volley of arrows were being released, the fighter golems blocked the arrows, and only a shallow wound appeared on their body.


    ¡°We cannot win this battle. Retreat!¡±


    The magicians and archers turned their mounts around and fled the battlefield.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t let them run away. That Red Rain spell is very interesting. I would like to learn that from them.


    The artillery golems started bombarding the fleeing. The magicians tried really hard to protect themselves, but thebination of explosions and bullet shells depleted their mana quickly.


    Soon after, their magical barrier shattered, and one golem shell arrived within their ranks before wounding them badly.


    The fighter golems immediately captured them. ¡°Surrender and you will not be killed,¡± Aldred¡¯s voice came out of the golems.


    ¡°We surrender, we surrender.¡±


    Unlike the bugbear warriors, the magicians were too smart to refuse surrender. They weren¡¯t as prideful as well, so they obeyed whatever Aldred said.

 Chapter 220 Obtaining a new skill

    After the battle was over, Aldred told his golems to bring the captured bugbears to his castle.


    The magicians were escorted to the throne room. Walking through the hallway with a lot of golems by their side, the magicians looked frightened as their feet approached the gate.


    When they arrived in front of the tall ck gate, the golems pushed it open, and revealed a grand throne hall, with dozens of hideous undead standing on the side.


    The magicians trembled in fear when they saw this, and when their eyes fell upon the man on the throne, their legs wobbled about to fall.


    Aldred was in his demon form. A pair of ck horns on his forehead, and deep ck eyes that seemed to stare directly to their soul.


    On hisp, seated Zafrina and Ivette. These two beautiful girls made him look more overbearing in the magician¡¯s eyes.


    Not to mention there were more beautiful girls standing beside the throne.


    ¡°Which one of you is the leader?¡± Aldred asked.


    Before they could reply, Milet stomped the ground with his spear. ¡°The Lord is asking you! Answer him!¡±


    Milet was the spearman that Aldred had killed and turned into undead before. He was also the first Gold Rank undead that Aldred had.


    As he got stronger, his undead form became even scarier.


    The old magician trembled and bowed. ¡°I am the leader of this unit, lord. My name is Gark.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Gark, do you want to die?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Gark trembled. ¡°Of course not, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to live for eternity?¡±


    Gark was confused. What kind of question was this? But he had to answer quickly or he might be punished.


    ¡°I do, my lord. I believe everyone wants to live for eternity.¡±


    ¡°Then I shall grant you eternity.¡± Aldred waved his hand, and a fighter golems quickly beheaded the Gark¡¯s head.


    The other bugbears gasped in shock. They were sure they would be killed next.


    ¡°Arise,¡± Aldred said.


    Suddenly, ck mist engulfed Gark¡¯s corpse, and he stepped out from the mist in his undead form.


    The bugbears gawked as they watched Gark knelt on one knee.


    ¡°Master, I am at your service.¡±<sub></sub>


    Only now did they realize that Gark had been turned into an undead.


    Then that meant¡­ the man on the throne wasn¡¯t only a golem master, but also a necromancer!


    ¡°Lord,¡± one of the bugbears called. ¡°You are powerful and mighty, but you are merely a Gold Rank. Turning a bugbear into an undead is a big taboo in our race. If you don¡¯t release Gark of his eternal very, you will be hunted by a tinum Rank of our race!¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Aldred asked Zafrina.


    Zafrina nodded. ¡°Bugbears greatly honored their warriors, especially after their death. They believed the corpse of a warrior must stay on the battlefield. Not walking around like undead.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Aldred wasn¡¯t scared of tinum Rank. He had defeated one before in the dungeon, and he believed that Behemoth was much stronger than ordinary tinum Rank.


    Not to mention that his skill was designed to defeat stronger opponents, andbined with hispleted Golden Battle Gear, he was sure he could win against one tinum Rank.


    But he didn¡¯t want to take unnecessary risks.


    ¡°If that is the case, instead of turning him into undead, I will revive him.¡± Aldred turned Gark to his real form.


    This made it seem like Gark was revived.


    The bugbear gasped in shock once again. ¡°My lord, can you really revive a dead man?¡±<sub></sub>


    Milet stomped the floor with his spear again. ¡°How dare you question my lord¡¯s ability. All of you should be killed!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Milet. Yes, I can revive a dead person.¡±


    That was of course a lie.


    But they all believed it.


    ¡°In that case, why do you summon us to your throne hall, my lord?¡±


    ¡°I am interested in your spell. Red Rain. I like that name. Give me the skill book, and I will let you go.¡±


    ¡°The skill book is in my hand, my lord,¡± Gark said.


    He slowly walked forward and handed the skill book to him.


    It was made out of leather, and slightly ripped and torn, but that was fine.


    Aldred opened the book.


    [You have learned a new skill ¡®Red Rain¡¯]


    [Congrattions. You have learned a pseudo-legendary skill for the first time. All skill mastery increased by 20%]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Red Rain]


    An effort to try to copy the god, a powerful magician created this skill, butpared to the real one, this spell was dust inparison.


    This skill lets you cast a judgement of hell upon your enemy. The fiery spears of hell shall be cast from the sky.


    -This skill can damage the soul of the enemy


    -This skill can disable the spell of the enemy


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°It¡¯s a fire elemental spell,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Let me warn you something, my lord. Using this spell will deplete all of your mana and possibly your life force. This is why we can only use it with other magicians. And even then, the majority of our mana is already depleted.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you ran out of mana so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Well, since I got what I wanted, all of you can be dismissed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± All of them left immediately.


    Aldred smiled when the gate closed with a thud. He caressed Zafrina as shey on his chest beside Ivette. He then gently pulled Ivette to his chest, and caressed her head as well.


    ¡°I am bored of letting my golems do the job. We¡¯re going to attack Folineley after this.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to conquer all the front line cities?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to anger the bugbear. I will only take Folineley, and that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°What do we do afterwards?¡±


    ¡°I will bring you home first, and then begin my journey again.¡±


    Zafrina raised an eyebrow.¡± Begin your journey¡­ you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Aldred summoned his astrbe, and it floated in the air with a mystical green aura. It then formed a green arrow that pointed towards the south.


    ¡°The astrbe has been activated. The treasure hunt will begin.¡±

 Chapter 221 Attacking Folineley

    Aldred wanted to fight immediately to stretch his muscle, but he wasn¡¯t a naive fool anymore. The bugbear¡¯s magicians surprised him with their spell-disabling abilities. Who knew what else they had under their sleeves.


    To be safe, Aldred had to send his army first to test the water. This was exactly what he did against the 5,000 elite cavalry.


    He sent 400 golems first to see their capabilities.


    Since town leader Tarrar was so smart, the Folineley City might be in a state of emergency right now.


    Aldred stopped specting and went out to produce more foremen golems and artillery golems.


    After a week or so, Aldred sent 4,000 battle golems to Folineley City.


    ¡°Ste, can you help me?¡±


    ¡°Sure, darling.¡± She kissed him on the cheek and summoned her magical mirror.


    She had a lot of convenient spells that were useful for warfare.


    With unlimited mana, the golems tirelessly sprinted along thendscape. After an hour or so, his golem legion appeared in front of Folineley City.


    Just as Aldred thought, the city was already in lockdown. No one was allowed to get in or get out. A lot of heavy crossbows, catapults, and other weapons were ready atop the wall, and hundreds of carriages made a formation in front of the gate.


    Aldred did not know what was the intention behind that. But the fact that they already prepared for his arrival meant that they had their own means of obtaining information.<sub>.</sub>


    Atop the wall, a mysterious particle condensed into a bugbear. It was Tarrar. Apparently, he was a magician.


    And seemed to be a powerful one at that.


    Tarrar stared at the golem legion. ¡°Golem Master, Aldred. I have heard of your name. It seems like you are a very famous figure. Your myths have spread far and wide. And I am told of your benevolence and generosity in your adventure.¡± He sneered in a sarcastic tone.


    Tarrar knew that Aldred was a greedy bastard that would suck the living soul out of people. There was no use in trying to stop him with words. What he could do was anger him and bait him to use all the cards he had.


    Warfare was simply a mind game.


    One of the golem stepped forward. Its eyes turned red. ¡°Since you know that I am generous, then surrender, and I will let you live under me. I like yourpetent town-leader Tarrar. Be my subordinates and handle all of my territory.¡±


    Tarrar grinned. ¡°You talk like I already lost the battle, Golem Master. Need I remind you that no blood has been shed yet.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for blood,¡± Aldred replied. I want you to be my subordinates, but if you think I will mistreat you, you¡¯re wrong. I will give you a chunk of my own army for your personal use.¡±


    ¡°That offer seems interesting, but I have to apologize. I like being a boss.¡±


    ¡°Humph! You¡¯re still subordinates to the tinum Rank. Being subordinates to me is simply changing your boss. Not to mention you will have more benefit.¡±


    ¡°We should talk about this after the battle, golem master.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Right. Let me show you what I can do, and what you can be if you are under me.¡±


    ¡°Arrogance. A typical trait of a foolish leader.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called confidence,¡± aldred replied.


    Tarrarughed. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    Aldred smiled coldly. ¡°Attack!¡±


    1,400 gunner golems took a thundering step and sted all the soldiers atop the wall with bullets.


    In the meantime, 400 out of 2,000 fighter golems rushed forward.


    Aldred wanted to test something first.


    Numerous bugbear magicians raised their staffs and swung them in the air. Thick magical barrier appeared and blocked all the fire bullets.


    Tarrar¡¯s men quickly ordered for the crossbow to attack, and they rained arrows upon the fighter golems.


    But instead of destroying the golems, they were pinned on the ground.<sub></sub>


    Smart move, but the golems quickly shed the 7-meter bolts, and started running forward again.


    But then the golems got pinned down again as the heavy crossbow¡¯s attack was rapid.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°We cannot advance with all of that heavy crossbows on the wall. Artillery golems, attack them!¡±


    All 600 artillery golems sent out a volley of golems shells, and they exploded consecutively.


    ¡°Damnit! We cannot hold on anymore!¡± the magician gritted his teeth and blood leaked out of his nose.


    A momentter, the barrier shattered and the golem shells exploded on the soldiers atop the wall.


    ¡°Fighter golems, attack!¡±


    Aldred sent another 600, totaling the attacking the fighter golems at 1,000 unit.


    ¡°Wet Mud!¡±


    The surviving magicians cast a non-elemental spell that made the ground wet and muddy.


    This made the heavy golem¡¯s feet sink into the ground, and their movement speed slowed down.


    ¡°Attack them!¡±


    ¡°Fiery arrow!¡±


    ¡°Icy Breath!¡±


    ¡°Sharp Tornado!¡±


    ¡°Heavy Weight!¡±


    ¡°Ergement PP!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    They all looked at the magician who shouted thest spell.


    ¡°Not the right time, dude.¡±


    ¡°Cough! Cough! My bad.¡±


    Tarrar watched the chaotic battlefield, and the ever approaching fighter golems. Those golems might look ordinary from the outside, but the materials inside of them were expensive and rare.


    If he sends his infantry unit out and to fight them head on, they will have a very hard time.


    Thankfully, he already made a n to fight against the golem master.


    ¡°Send out the sacrificial carriages.¡±


    The soldier beside him nodded, and ordered the archers to fire at the bull-like beasts that were strapped to the carriages.


    The arrows struck their ass, and these beasts roared before they charged forward.


    ¡°Are they nning to crash into the golems with those?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± Ste replied.


    Aldredughed. ¡°My golems are made out of heavy materials. Those bulls couldn¡¯t even make my golems take a single step back.¡±


    And it was true.


    When the bull-like beast crashed into the golems, they only halted the golems¡¯ step, and could not push them even an inch.


    But Tarrar wasn¡¯t nning to push them backward.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The carriages exploded, and the mes engulfed all the golems.


    The bugbear soldiers atop the wall cheered.


    Aldred¡¯s eyes shed with disbelief. But his lips moved into a smile. ¡°I want that bugbear to be my subordinate.¡±

 Chapter 222 Fighting Tarrar

    After the huge explosion swallowed the 1,000 fighter golems, Aldred saw a lot of the wreckage were salvageable, but his golems faiiled to regenerate.


    His fighting force reduced from 4,000 to 3,000.


    Aldred thought the town leader was out of cards to y until suddenly a lot of small bugbears popped out from the ground, and attacked the artillery golems and the gunner golems.


    ¡°Assassins!¡± Aldred eximed. ¡°They use assassins to attack the back line. This bugbear has brains.¡±


    The gunner golems could still retaliate, but the artillery golems weren¡¯t designed to fight anything in close-range.


    Not to mention these bugbears had smaller bodies than normal.


    Tarrar grinned. These were his special assassins unit. Bugbears actually hated small bugbears because they were seen as weak and useless.


    They cannot lift big weapons. They cannot lift bricks or wood for construction. They were very useless even as ves.


    So they were outcast.


    But Tarrar saw their potential as a deadly, precise, and quick unit.


    And his vision was right. After years of training, these small bugbears had developed their skills in quick assassination.<sub>.</sub>


    And now their abilities shone like a star as dozens of artillery golems fell.


    Aldreds¡¯ golem army was unfeeling. It was hard for the enemy to create chaos within the ranks, but these assassins ran around the golems.


    The golem¡¯s slow rotational speed made it hard for them to attack these small rats.


    And with that hundreds quickly fell under their small des.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Seems like I have to use my card as well. Send in the undead.¡±


    ck mist leaked out from the ground, and numerous snow wolves stepped out before pouncing on the small bugbears.


    They bit the neck of these small creatures and raised a storm of flesh and blood.


    It was a literal massacre.


    Tarrar clicked his tongue in anger when he saw the assassins unit being hunted down.


    But it wasn¡¯t over.<sub></sub>


    Numerous Bajaragons flew to the sky and shot mes at the soldiers.


    Meanwhile, an army of Phantom ws galloped their way to the gate.


    Tarrar widened his eyes. He had heard that Aldred was also called Death Lord by a lot of people, but he didn¡¯t know the man had a powerful undead army.


    ¡°Activate the magic tower!¡± Tarrar shouted, losing his calmness.


    The soldiers were shocked to see that as well. In their eyes, Tarrar was a wise andposed man. For him to panic slightly made them hesitate.


    But their years of training calmed them down, not to mention the doctrine of bugbear warrior made them resilient at heart.


    In the middle of the city, arge part of thend shook, and arge tower came out of the ground, throwing the houses into the sky.


    The magicians quickly surrounded the tower, and casted a mysterious spell.


    The tower shone, and it started firing powerfulser-like beams at the Bajaragons.


    Some of the Bajaragons were vaporized, and Aldred found out he cannot summon them back again.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Fuck! Retreat! Xer Xai, bring that wall down!¡±


    Xer Xai crawled out of the ground. The gigantic creature dwarfed over the city wall, and the bugbears were shocked to their core when they saw such a giant of a beast.


    Xer Xai roared and mmed her head to the wall. The soldiers screamed as they fell.


    Xer Xai opened her maw and sted a powerful purple beam at the magic tower.


    Tarrar clicked his tongue, and teleported in front of the beam. He moved his hand, creating a shining circle in the air. The purple beam struck the circle and the attack was blocked.


    ¡°I have to use that to contain this beast.¡± He grabbed his ne and threw it at the mountain-sized creature.


    Suddenly, colorful bright light shone upon Xer Xai, and a cage created from the colorful light trapped Xer Xai within it.


    Xer Xai roared and mmed the cage but it didn¡¯t even budge.


    ¡°I will destroy your soul!¡± Tarrar sped his hand, and mysterious glowing runes started appearing all over his body.


    He pushed his palm towards the creature, and Xer Xai roared in pain as her soul started to weaken.


    ¡°Dammit! I cannot make Xer Xai vanish!¡± Aldred stood up. ¡°Ste, teleport me there.¡±


    Ste nodded, and immediately raised her right hand. The slightly-broken golden disc floated above Aldred, and thick star particles engulfed him.


    In the next moment, the thick particles appeared above the city, and Aldred stepped out of the particles.


    ¡°Release my pet, you fucking bastard!¡±


    Aldred punched Tarrar in the face, but the runes of his face activated and created a circr magical barrier the size of his fist to block his attack.


    Aldrednded on the wall, facing Tarrar. He smiled. ¡°What an interesting power you have.¡±


    Tarrar on the other hand was breathing haggardly. That one attack earlier was very powerful. If he got hit, he would surely die.


    Who is this man really? A necromancer, a golem master, and now a martial artist as well. Wait, he teleported to this ce, did that mean he was also a magician?


    ¡°Just what are you?¡± Tarrar asked. ¡°Your existence is abnormal!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and release my pet now!¡±


    Tarrarughed. ¡°Try me.¡±


    ¡°I am a martial artist. You¡¯re a magician. I can kill you in close-range.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who has subordinates.¡±


    Tarrar pulled his ne and crushed it. Suddenly, four warriors appeared in front of him, facing Aldred.


    Two of them seemed to be an assassin type with their sharp dagger and agile build.


    The other two looked like heavy strikers. They hadrge built, bulky muscles, and arge war hammer.


    ¡°You think these two can stop me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s four of them, and one of you.¡± Tarrar smiled.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Who said I was alone?¡±


    ck mist formed around him, then Be, Milet, Bruce, Crook, and Brook appeared.


    Tarrar bit his lips. ¡°Elite Gold Ranks¡­ you surprise me more and more.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°As it should be.¡±

 Chapter 223 Cheating

    2 assassins charged forward, trying to reach Be and Bruce, the squishy-type undead.


    But Brook and Crook got them covered. Using theirrge axes, they mmed down, shattering the floor, and making the assassins back off.


    The two heavy stricker came from behind and made contact with Brook and Crook. This let the two assassins to slip forward.


    First, they wanted to eliminate Bruce because he was the archer.


    Bruce smiled and kicked the floor, his body sliding backward as the de missed his face.


    He was an archer, but he was the agile type. Not to mention his arrows were precise and powerful.


    Two arrows whistled in the air, and struck the assassin. They bent their body in an impossible way and dodged the arrow.


    Be tapped the floor with her staff, and the floor was frozen, making the assassins slip and fall.


    Milet immediately charged forward, and stabbed one of the assassins¡¯ puppet in the chest, and then shed at its head.


    Aldred smiled while Tarrar gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Surrender now, Tarrar. Your puppets cannot match my undead.¡±


    Tarrar frowned. The four puppets were actually his best card to fight against warriors that wanted to attack him in close-range.<sub>.</sub>


    They usually catch the enemy off guard, but Aldred wasn¡¯t an ordinary person.


    He had undead, and they were more powerful than his puppets.


    ¡°If I be your subordinate, what will I get?¡± Tarrar asked.


    ¡°I will go for an adventure to obtain the legendary treasure. In the meantime, my golems will mine and guard the resources here. I want you to manage my territory and the business I have.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t mentioned what I will get,¡± Tarrar said.


    Aldredughed, and then his hand snapped at empty space.


    He then summoned his Phantom Doom de and stabbed the air.


    ¡°Kaghkkk!¡±


    A bugbear appeared in Aldred¡¯s hand. His neck was being choked, and his stomach was stabbed by Aldred.


    ¡°This is why I like you, Tarrar. You¡¯re smart. Smart people wouldn¡¯t ept being subordinates to others. But you know what a smart man can do? Relying on someone stronger to lift them higher.¡±


    ¡°You can rely on me, Tarrar.¡±<sub></sub>


    Tarrar sighed, and closed his eyes. Suddenly, the runes on his body shone brighter, and his body shed forward.


    He appeared in front of Aldred, and his palm came at Aldred¡¯s chest.


    The both of them fought ferociously. Their movement was quick and blurry, and the city wall cracked and some parts even shattered to pieces.


    Aldred parried all the attacks, and counter attacked a bit. He did not want to kill Tarrar after all.


    Tarrar felt like he was being mocked. For the first time, his warrior heart did not ept being looked down upon.


    He put his palms together, and mysterious runes flew in the air, orbiting around Tarrar.


    He then dashed forward, pulling his right palm back as all the runes floated around his arm.


    Aldred sneered. ¡°So you¡¯re a close-range magician. Not bad.¡±


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Tarrar shouted.


    The palm attack was about to strike Aldred¡¯s chest when suddenly a golden majestic armor wrapped around him.


    The visor closed, and blue mist came out.<sub></sub>


    The palm made a direct contact with the armor and produced a powerful shockwave in every direction.


    Too bad for Tarrar. It didn¡¯t affect Aldred in the slightest.


    ¡°What is this armor?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a battle gear.¡±


    ¡°Battle gear¡­ The legendary battle gear?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to surrender now?¡±


    Tarrar backed away a few steps. ¡°I am not done yet.¡±


    Tarrar pointed his palm at the magic tower in the distance, and suddenly, a huge amount of mana was siphoned away from the tower, and it entered his palm.


    Tarrar¡¯s skin started to turn blue. Runes started appearing on his skin, and when they ran out of space, they flew off and hovered near him.


    At first, Aldred was smiling, but as Tarrar¡¯s power grew, his smile turned into a frown.


    ¡°How did you be this powerful?¡±


    Tarrar grinned. ¡°Now I am as powerful as a tinum Rank.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re merely at the gate. You¡¯re a pseudo-tinum Rank at best.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference? I can defeat you with this power.¡±


    Aldred smiled wide. ¡°You think I haven¡¯t killed a tinum Rank before?¡±


    Tarrar frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. Die!¡±


    A gloomy and tyrannical aura exploded and a huge amount of mana gushed out from Tarrar.


    The area around Aldred turned gloomy blue, and he felt his attributes started to reduce.


    ¡°This is a debuff spell?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. And sooner orter, you¡¯ll be too weak to walk. Now, let me kill you!¡±


    A hideous w cut open Aldred¡¯s chest. Blood sshed in the air as Tarrarughed in a crazed manner.


    That was when Aldred realized that Tarrar¡¯s body had be 3 meter tall with sharp ws and strong muscles. Glowing runes floated around him.


    Aldred took a couple steps back as he gritted his teeth in pain.


    ¡°You want to be my boss! Look at you! You¡¯re weaker than me!¡± Tarrar charged forward, and his ws ripped a hole in Aldred¡¯s chest.


    He pulled his ws, and what came out was a beating heart.


    Aldred gasped for air, then Tarrar crushed his heart as Aldred fell to his knees.


    When Aldred saw that, his expression of despair expression turned to a smile before pointing towards the side with his thumb.


    Tarrar nced to the side, and saw Aldred sitting calmly with an orange juice in his hand.


    ¡°Bravo. Bravo. You did a good  job.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Tarrar widened his eyes.


    Aldredughed. ¡°I like that expression of yours. You are the second person who fell for my trick.¡±


    ¡°Trick? No, I killed you. This is a real corpse. I crushed your heart!¡±


    Aldred beckoned with his finger, and his clone¡¯s corpse burst into blood mist before forming back again beside him.


    ¡°This is my clone.¡±


    ¡°Clone¡­ impossible. The battle gear. The weapon. Everything is real.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my power not only clones my body, but my clothes, and weapons as well.¡±


    Tarrar widened his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s not a power anymore. That¡¯s fucking cheating!¡±

 Chapter 224 Business Plan

    ¡°Now that you know of my power, would you like to surrender?¡±


    Tarrar sighed and all the runes floating around him dissipated.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can win. I surrender.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t ask for much. Just manage my business and territory within Paphia and Yevileria. In the meantime, I will leave the golem army for you. Do whatever you can to obtain the most profit as possible. Of course, do it safely.¡±


    ¡°Those golems can be useful if we rent them as adventures or mercenaries.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I know you won¡¯t disappoint me. I have the same thought as well. I will make more golems so you can start the business and handle it on your own.¡±


    Tarrar raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re not staying?¡±


    ¡°The astrbe has been activated. I need to start my journey again.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Tarrarughed inside. This man came and wreaked havoc on the battlefield and then wanted to leave just like that. Well, that was good for him. No one would micromanage his movement, and he had a golem army under hismand.<sub>.</sub>


    Of course Tarrar wasn¡¯t stupid. If he did something that angered Aldred, the golems under hismand would turn against him in a sh.


    ¡°I will stay here for a few days so I can set up the golem army, after that I will leave.¡±


    Tarrar nodded, and prepared all the materials Aldred needed. Aldred immediately went to work and modified the foremen golem.


    He wanted the foremen golems to be able to create all types of golem. Currently, they could only create fighter golems and worker golems.


    He experimented for a few hours, and found some sess. Aldred put more than 5 mana crystals in each foremen golem. This allowed him to put more spell construction within, and after a day or two, his creation came into being.


    The foremen golems looked ordinary from outside, but it was now an artisan of golem creation.


    It could use earth spell to shape the golems. It could also use other materials to create golems, and could even construct a spell within a mana crystal.


    This enabled the foremen golems to create the gunner golems and the artillery golems.


    But there was a catch. Aldred had to supply the pure mana crystals. That wasn¡¯t a problem for him. With his unlimited mana, he created tens of thousands mana crystals for them to use.<sub></sub>


    After 4 days, Aldred created 50 foremen golems for Tarrar.


    That would be enough for now.


    ¡°Use these golems to expand the business everywhere,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°What about politics?¡± Tarrar asked. ¡°Who will you side with? The winged-men or bugbear?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°You¡¯re my manager now, so you have to think like a businessman. It doesn¡¯t matter which side we pick, what matters is what decision will give us the most profit. This war between the two sides is a good time to milk their money. Prolong the war and give them our service.¡±


    Tarrar widened his eyes. ¡°So that¡¯s how you want me to y this game. I understand.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Make sure you protect these 50 foremen golem. They are the ones who will make more golems for you.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He stepped into the carriage and turned around. ¡°If your performance pleases me, I will let you manage my territory in other continents in the future.¡±<sub></sub>


    Tarrar was shocked when he heard that. So his ambition wasn¡¯t confined to one or two countries, but the entire continent and even more!


    Tarrar felt ashamed that he simply wanted to be big enough in 2 or 3 regions. He had to think big and far.


    ¡°I also set up a teleportation point in this city.¡±


    Aldred opened up the teleportation portal. This function was given by his divine dimension. When he reached Gold Rank, the system gave him 3 teleportation points that he could ce anywhere.


    With this teleportation point, he could go to the designated spot anytime he wanted.


    But he put the teleportation point here because he wanted easy ess to send supplies of mana crystals when needed. Other than that, he wanted this ce to be his golem factory, and so whenever he needed a golem army, he could open up a portal, and bring the golem army whenever he wanted.


    ¡°I will send you more mana crystals through this portal if you need more.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±


    ¡°No need to call me master. Just calling me Aldred is fine.¡±


    Aldred entered the carriaged and closed the door.


    Mary hugged him as he sat down. ¡°Is it wise trusting that man?¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°If he tries something, my golems will kill him. He¡¯s a wise man. He knew the risk and the reward I could give.¡±


    Mareona hugged him from the side.


    ¡°What is this? You usually p me. Why the change of heart?¡±


    ¡°I cannot hug you now?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡±


    ¡°Then nothing needs to be said.¡± She continued to hug him.


    Aldred smiled and caressed both of their heads.


    ¡°So where are we going now?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going back to Chanterre County.¡±


    ¡°Zafrina¡¯s home?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Yes. Since she cannot join us. We have to escort her home before we begin our journey.¡±


    Ste nced at Zafrina. ¡°Are you sure you want to stay home?¡±


    Zafrina sighed. ¡°I cannot leave the estate alone. I have things to take care of.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I started to like you,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Zafrina smiled. ¡°I like all of you already. Don¡¯t forget to visit me when you have the time, okay?¡±


    ¡°Should I use my teleportation spell so we can arrive faster?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°No need,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I want this journey to be slower than usual.¡±


    Zafrina blushed when she heard that. She wanted to be with Aldred as long as possible as well.


    ¡°Come here,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Un.¡± She pounced at him and sat on hisp before wrapping her hands around his neck.

 Chapter 225 Take Off Your Clothes (R+18)

    Aldred¡¯s current carriage was longer and bigger than a modern earth limousine. Such a luxurious carriage of course had its own wine cer.


    And with that, Aldred was currently having the time of his life with Zafrina sitting on hisp feeding him wine through her mouth.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Love it.¡± He grabbed her waist, and sucked on her lips even harder.


    ¡°I will miss you.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Mareona nced at Maverick. ¡°How does it feel looking at your sister on another man¡¯sp?¡±


    Maverick sighed and then shrugged. ¡°Aldred is my friend. I know he won¡¯t treat any of his girls badly. And my sister like him as well, so I have no problem with their rtionship.¡±


    ¡°d to hear that.¡± Mareona smiled.


    Krista curiously looked at the half-filled ss wine. She grabbed it and was about to take a sip.


    Mira picked the ss out of her hand. ¡°Krista, this is not for you to drink.¡±


    ¡°But everyone is drinking it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not at the proper age yet.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Can I please just get a sip?¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ Just a sip¡±


    Krista smiled and sipped the wine a bit. That was when her cheeks turned red and she was intoxicated immediately.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know this wine was so powerful,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°Well, we got it from the bugbear,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°No wonder this wine tastes so good. Bugbear loves strong wine,¡± Zafrina said, grabbing the bottle and chugging a mouthful before she put her lips on Aldred¡¯s lip.


    Aldred closed his eyes and let Zafrina feed him wine through their kissing.


    After they were done kissing, Aldred grabbed her butt and squeezed.


    ¡°Ah, Aldred, don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Your expression says otherwise,¡±


    Zafrina was flushed red. ¡°My brother is here¡­¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t mind. Right?¡±<sub></sub>


    Maverick took a deep breath. ¡°Can I at least leave this carriage first?¡±


    ¡°No, brother. You must stay. It¡¯s nobility tradition for a brother to watch his sister having intercourse.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an old tradition! Literally no one does that anymore!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should bring the old tradition back?¡±


    ¡°Hell no. I am getting out of this carriage.¡±


    Zafrina smiled. ¡°Girls, hold him.¡±


    All the girls grinned while Mira sighed in pity for Maverick.


    Mary, Mareona, and Ivette quickly grabbed Maverick, and then Ste and Sophia casted magical ropes to tie him down.


    ¡°Shit! I¡¯ll just close my eyes.¡±


    Ste waved her finger, and some start particles forced his eyes to open wide.


    ¡°Fuck! All of you are merciless. Just let me out of here.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re fine with Aldred having your sister?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Yes, I am fine. But that doesn¡¯t mean I want to watch you guys doing it.¡±


    ¡°Brother, you sily. You think I don¡¯t know that you eavesdropped on me while Aldred gave me a massage that day?¡±


    Maverick blushed in embarrassment. ¡°Alright, I admit it. But Please let me get out of this carriage.¡±


    ¡°No. Stay here and watch.¡±


    Zafrina then turned to look at Aldred with a sweet and slightly intoxicated smile. ¡°Come now, darling. Take off your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Uhh. Is this fine? Your brother seems to be ufortable with this.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. Now lift your arms so I can take off your clothes.¡±


    Aldred nced at Maverick with a troubled expression. ¡°Sorry brother inw. I have no choice either.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!!! Let me out!!!!¡±


    Ste waved her finger again and forced his mouth to close shut.


    ¡°HMmmmm huummmm hmpph.¡±


    Ste giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t hate me, Maverick. It¡¯s your sister who told me to do this.¡±


    ¡°Noohumppp!¡±


    Zafrina giggled. ¡°I am just kidding brother. Girls, please release him and let him leave the carriage.¡±


    All the restrictions on Maverick¡¯s body disappeared then he immediately jumped out of the fast-moving carriages.


    ¡°There are a lot of other carriages following us with Bartrem and the soldiers inside, so don¡¯t worry about him,¡± Zafrina said.


    She turned around and looked at Aldred with lustful eyes and desire. She took off his clothes, and her eyes sparkled when his defined musclesy bare naked.


    She put her head closer to his abs and kissed it all the way up to his neck before she kissed his lips.


    She did all this while she sat on hisp.


    Then she took off her clothes, revealing her smooth boobs immediately. Apparently, she didn¡¯t wear a bra today.


    Aldred grabbed her left boob, and Zafrina moaned softly.


    The girls looking on the side felt their body bing hotter.


    Aldred caressed her body up and down, feeling the smooth and soft skin of her stomach.


    ¡°You look so beautiful, Zafrina. How I wish I can keep you by my side forever.¡±


    Zafrina blushed but her slender hands slowly went down to his pants and took it off switly, revealing hisrge rod.


    The girls watching this became even more heated up, and their cheeks turned red.


    Zafrina¡¯s finger slowly went from below to the tip, and then grabbed it tight before moving her hand up and down.


    ¡°Does this feel good?¡±


    ¡°It feels like Angel herself came down to give me a hand job.¡±


    Zafrina giggled. ¡°We don¡¯t have angels in my religion, but I understand your point.¡±


    She kept moving her hands up and down in a gentle movement. That made Aldred feel so good, and his desire for her became stronger.


    In his heart, he wanted to grab on Zafrina, and make her body as his. He wanted to ravage her inside, and put his seeds inside of her womb.


    Suddenly, Aldred felt something wet and warm around his rod. Looking down, he saw Zafrina putting it inside her mouth.


    Gently moving her head up and down, she licked around the rod. ¡°This tastes so good.¡±


    Her soft voice turned Aldred on even more, and his rod increased in length slightly.


    After a few minutes of gentle strokes, Zafrina hastened her pace, pushing the rod in and out, and eventually, the rod trembled.


    She put the rod deep inside her throat, and felt the hot semen shoot out. She gulped and then pulled her head back. A string of saliva got stuck between her tongue and Aldred¡¯s tip.

 Chapter 226 Travel Home

    Aldred then pounced on Zafrina like a ferocious animal, pinning her down on the soft chair. He forced his tongue down her throat. His hand ripped her dress, and rubbed his naked rod on the lips of her maiden cave.


    ¡°Put it in me, Aldred. Make my body yours,¡± She growled out while panting between kisses. Giving herself to her lover, she let Aldred lined her body so his rod could be inserted.


    When it was in, Aldred plunged all the way in with one thrust.


    Aldred grunted as the tight, soft, warm, and wet wall mped on his manhood.


    ¡°YES!¡± Zafrina shouted with a lusty and slutty smile. ¡°Your rod is inside, me Aldred. It makes me happy.¡± Her body was shocked by pleasure as Aldred moved his hips.


    The woman could only hold Aldred¡¯s shoulder as his rod went in and out. Each thrust was a great wave of pleasure and it sent a tingling sensation down her spine. It was so good, that she wanted his rod to keep moving inside her.


    The two tangled up in a hot steaming session for hours. Aldred banged her so hard that Zafrina¡¯s eyes began to roll up. Her expression became more slutty as time passed.


    Aldred spread her legs wide. She wasying on the sofa, and Aldred was on both knees. Her divine cave was below him, right in front of his rod.


    Then he continued the session, and banged her so hard her expression became even more slutty.


    ¡°Does my expression also turn like that when Aldred bangs me?¡± Mary asked herself.


    Ste on the other hand smiled with desire, but she held herself back even though her pussy was already wetting her thin clothes.<sub>.</sub>


    Aldred shot his fifth load deep into her womb, but he didn¡¯t stop and kept going. Zafrina had lost count of how many orgasms she experienced during the session. Her cave leaked out white and transparent juices.


    After a few more hours, Aldred injected his seeds onest time into her womb. He theny on her, using his elbow to lift his body slightly.


    The both of them breathed heavily, and Zafrina moaned as she hugged him in pleasure. His pp was still inside her maiden cave.


    ¡°Does it feel good?¡±


    ¡°Un.¡± She nodded. ¡°It feels so good.¡±


    ¡°Ummm, big sister Mira, what are they doing?¡± Krista asked.


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re doing¡­ wait! Krista! I forgot that you¡¯re here.¡± (parenting fails)


    Everyone there gasped in shock. What in the hell had they done¡­


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Krista asked.


    Ste then quickly casted her spell. Star particles entered through her nose and went inside her mind. Suddenly, she fell asleep on Mira¡¯sp.<sub></sub>


    ¡°What did you do to her?¡±


    ¡°I remove her short term memory of this event, and made her sleepy.¡±


    All of them sighed in relief.


    ¡°Krista is not 16 years old yet,¡± Mary said. ¡°So we should try not to expose her to this ¡®stuff''¡±


    Aldred and Zafrina wore their clothes, and they all looked at each other awkwardly.


    ¡°Thankfully Ste can remove her short term memory,¡± Aldred said, sighing.


    ¡°Since the problem is solved, let¡¯s start eating, I am hungry,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°Right, I think we have some fruits in the carriage as well.¡±


    And so they rxed in the carriage, chat around, and enjoyed the wine and fruits.¡±


    After 30 minutes of travel, they passed a beautiful water fall.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Wow, the water came from such a high ce,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It¡¯s very loud,¡± Krista said, covering her ears with both hands. She had woken up earlier.


    Ste waved her hands, and the sound reduced, enough for them to befortable to hear it.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be like that, Krista. Nature should be seen and felt to its purest. That¡¯s how we enjoy the journey. You will be going to a lot of ces like this in the future.¡±


    Krista looked down. ¡°Sorry,¡±


    Aldred caressed her head. ¡°No need to worry. We will start small.¡±


    Krista¡¯s eyes lit up and nodded. She then looked out the window and noticed an animal.


    ¡°Look over there!¡±


    They all looked at where she pointed.


    ¡°Is that a group of fairies?¡±


    Four small fairies hovered around a flower, taking its pollen and spreading it in the area.


    ¡°Wow, so beautiful.¡± Krista stared at them as they did fairy things.


    Aldred then took out the honey that he got in Mount Fargon, and sure enough, the fairies sniffed the air then flew at the carriages.


    ¡°Here, give them this.¡±


    Krista took the honey, and then the fairies hovered around her, using mysterious magic to slowly whittle the honey down.


    Krista was so happy that she could see the fairies up close. One of them had golden hair and a green dress that seemed to be made out of leaves.


    That one fairy bopped Krista on the nose which made herugh.


    When the honey on her hands ran out, the fairies waved at her and flew away.


    The carriage continued its pace after exiting the forest. It went up and down on the rolling hills.


    They rarely saw mountains, and that made Aldred wonder why.


    ¡°The west side of the continent has a few mountains, but that¡¯s it,¡± Mary said. ¡°If you go to the east, you will see arge mountainous region between Torvenia and Hofnmoen.¡±


    ¡°Torvenia is the nation of the leonin race right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They are once a warring race like bugbear, but a war against Ceraisian, and Duria took its toll on them. Don¡¯t think lightly of them though. They are more ferocious than bugbears when needed.¡±


    ¡°What about Hofnmoen?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where the lizardfolk reside.¡±


    ¡°I am curious of their nation. How does it look?¡±


    ¡°If you go to Duria, you will be shocked,¡± Ste said. ¡°Their civilization is out of this world. You cannot find something simr like it.¡±


    ¡°They use robots and technologies right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and they willingly stop using magic or life force, and instead rely on technology.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if we can visit them in the future.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, I have a request,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can we go to Ceraisian first and procure the ship? I want to be with you as long as possible.¡±


    Aldred brought her to his embrace. ¡°Alright. I can put a teleportation point in your home as well, but I know we wouldn¡¯t be able to spend much time together.¡±

 Chapter 227 Someone in Distress

    After filling their belly with food and wine, all of them slept on the wide andfortable couch.


    Aldred on the other hand sat cross legged and took out his Heavenly Jade Token that he received from the mysterious ethereal woman.


    He let the token siphoned some part of his mana, and then that mana was refined into some sort of energy before it trickled into his palm, then spread throughout his body.


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡± Aldreds started to feel pain. It felt like his bone was being chewed, and his veins were about to snap.


    He knew this pain was necessary to make his body stronger, so he clenched his fist and gritted through the pain for hours. The fight against Tarrar taught him that no enemies should be underestimated. Even though he had the Golden Battle Gear and World Refined Physique, he could still prate through his chest and take his heart out.


    If that wasn¡¯t his clone¡­ he would be dead by now. But Tarrar¡¯s ability was more of a cheat than his. The man could literally match the strength of a tinum Rank, though it seemed he could only use it for a short amount of time.


    Nevertheless, it was a powerful ability to have.


    After a few hours of cultivating the World Refined Physique, he faced against a wall and his body spasmed as he experienced mind-numbing pain.


    He stopped the mana transmission, and breathed haggardly.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 600/7550<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°This will take a while to upgrade, and it¡¯d better be worth it.¡±


    ¡­


    After Aldred left the Paphia-Yevileria war, the battle became even more chaotic as both sides started to hire golems to attack each other.


    On the battlefield of the vast grassy ins, hundreds of fighter golems charged against each other and cut each other to pieces.


    Gunner golems on both sides sted one another with fire bullets, while artillery golems targeted the other¡¯s side artillery golems and sent out volley of golem shells.


    All of this happened while the winged-men race, and the bugbear stayed at the back.


    They were waiting for something to happen. Maybe one side would advance, and they could send their real army to attack.


    But most of the time, they just bought more golems and put them into the battlefield. They were currently battling in numbers.


    But even though the battlefield did not move an inch from its spot, the problem was resources.


    Both nations needed to pay Aldred¡¯s Golem Factory money to hire these golems. The more they hire, the more money they needed to pay.<sub></sub>


    With the golems fearless and undying advantage, both nations could not afford to be losing out against the other side. And so they kept buying and buying more and more golems.


    Tarrar was all smiling because of this. He purposely controlled how many both nations could buy at once. He would not allow one side to have a greater advantage over another.


    Sometimes he would let one side buy more, before giving the other side even more golems.


    This made them fight a back and forth battle while making almost no progress.


    That was good for him, because the longer the war, the more money he could earn.


    Of course both the winged-men and bugbear noticed this.


    They were nning to kill Tarrar to end this money-sucking-back-and-forth-battle, but they knew that if he died, another one would rece him.


    In fact, it was Aldred who they would like to hunt. And so, both nations putrge bounties on his head.


    If Aldred died, the golems would disappear.


    Of course, the government did not admit putting a bounty on him, instead they told a private adventurer group to put money on his head.<sub></sub>


    Thisrge scale bounty hunt made Aldred famous in both nations.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Death Lord who helped us in war? Why does he have a bounty on his head?¡±


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s also helping the bugbear in the war.¡±


    ¡°What? He¡¯s a double agent?¡±


    ,??m ¡°Most likely.¡±


    ¡°Damn, the price for his head is huge too. If I didn¡¯t see his power personally, I woulde after him.¡±


    ¡°Going after him is a death wish. No Gold Rank in existence could match him. Even Bruce became his undead.¡±


    ¡­


    After cultivating the physique skill, Aldred rxed as he watched thendscape move.


    Suddenly, the carriage stopped.


    ¡°Eh. Why are we stopping?¡±


    ¡°Sir, Aldred. I think we¡¯re on the wrong side of the map. ¡°We¡¯re not in the Ceraisian Empire, but we¡¯re in Torvenia,¡± the coachman said.


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a mountainous region to our west. The Ceraisian Empire is on the other side of that region.¡±


    ¡°I thought there¡¯s no mountainous region in the empire. Whatever. Should we go back?¡±


    ¡°It would be faster if we keep going forward. The mountainous region ends around 70 miles away from here.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Do what you think is best.¡±


    Just as they were about to continue their journey, a carriage rushed towards them and a leonin coachman waved their hands, shouting for help.


    Behind that carriage, was a group of lion-man, riding a muscled, horse-sized lion.


    ¡°Help!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ this type of scene again.¡± Aldred sighed.


    Suddenly, the lion-cavalry sped up and pounced on the carriage¡¯s wheel. Ripping it off. The carriage lost control and it rolled on the ground a few times. The coachman was thrown  several meters away.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Aldred jumped out of his carriage, and stopped the rolling carriage with his hand.


    The lion-cavalry stopped nearby and the leader pointed at him. ¡°Mind your own business, human.¡±


    ¡°Right, I should mind my own business. But can I ask why you chase this carriage?¡±


    ¡°Cih! Kill this filthy human!¡±


    Aldred sighed and shook his head. ¡°All I did was ask a question.¡±


    The lion cavalry pounced at him. The rider on top thrust their spear while the lion opened their maw to bite him.


    Majestic golden armor wrapped around his body, and it deflected all the weapons, teeth, and ws that came at him.


    The lion-cavalry leader widened his eyes when he saw this.

 Chapter 228 Teaching The Enemy a Lesson

    ¡°All of you retreat!¡± the leader shouted. ¡°Since you are powerful, I will give you the honor of fighting me.¡±


    He dismounted from his lion.


    Aldred looked at the lion-man with a smile. He wasn¡¯t worried that he had to fight a muscr, lion-like man. He had fought countless monsters in his journey. Some were powerful, some were so cruel, and some were gigantic. Which one of them wasn¡¯t a creature that could shake an entire city?


    Especially that Behemoth monster. Sadly that thing was a tinum Rank so Aldred couldn¡¯t turn it into his undead.


    ¡°Do you want to fight me all by yourself?¡± Aldred asked with a mocking smile. He then summoned his Doom de, and a powerful aura burst out from his gear. It was two conflicting energies yet it mixed in harmony against one another.


    When the cavalry leader saw Aldred¡¯s weapon that was emitting a powerful and sharp aura, his eyes widened in shock and a slight fear.


    ¡°What kind of weapon is that? I feel a monstrous-like power within it. This weapon shouldn¡¯t be held by anything but God himself.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s a spirit weapon and also a legendary battle gear weapon!¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re smarter than you look.¡±<sub>.</sub>


    ¡°Such quality of weapon¡­ who are you?¡±


    ¡°None of your business.¡± Aldred smirked.


    The cavalry leader frowned deeply after realizing that the man in front of him was not an ordinary man. Aldred got a high quality weapon whilst the lion-man only held a rare medium quality spear.


    But the fear in his eyes and heart disappeared. As a warring race, and a warrior of the leonin pride. He always yearned for a challenging fight. He did not look at this situation lightly, instead, he looked at Aldred as if he was a greater beast that he had to defeat.


    Aldred noticed the change of attitude the lion-man experienced. He smiled. This was an interesting world indeed filled with all kinds of unique sentient creatures.


    Instead of being scared, the lion-man was eager to fight and prove himself.


    ¡°Why are you standing still and staring at me like that? Do you want to fight or not?¡± Aldred asked.


    The lion-man grinned. ¡°I want to fight! I might be at a disadvantage, but a warrior has no excuse to back down from a fight!¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Hahaha! What if you lose?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°So what if I lose? A warrior should fight and die for honor and glory. We leonin are not cowards.¡±


    ¡°You guys are very simr to the bugbear.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯tpare us to those disgusting lowlives. Unlike them, we have majestic mane and beautiful fur. We are also much smarter than them.¡±


    ¡°Do you really not fear me?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I fear you. But, I have always been fighting in fear.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. He had never heard of such a mindset before. ¡°Always fighting in fear¡­ what a strong statement. You have my respect. Tell me your name.¡±


    ¡°The name is Parthos Goldenbelt.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°My name is Aldred. I never fought a leonin before, Parthos. Show me the strength of your race.¡±


    ¡°I will show it. After that I will take your weapon as mine.¡±


    ¡°Good luck with that.¡±


    Parthos roared and his feet kicked the ground. The spear in his hand was held tight.


    ¡°Spear Beast Strike!¡±


    A transparent image of arge lion, enveloped Parthos. His strength seemed so powerful, heavy, and unstoppable.


    It made Aldred feel that even a hundred shields won¡¯t be able to defend against this one attack.


    But Aldred was calm because his godly eyes predicted all the trajectory with precise calctions.


    In the next instant, Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde, parrying the attack with a single move.


    Parthos widened his eyes in shock as Aldred smiled, looking at his reaction. The parry was so perfect that all the weight and momentum pushed Parthos back a few steps instead of pushing Aldred.


    This shocked Parthos even more. It was almost impossible to block his momentum, but this man in front of him not only did that, but also pushed him back as well.


    But despite that, Aldred felt a slight tremor on his arm. ¡°Not bad. You have potential Parthos Goldenbelt.¡±


    Parthos on the other hand felt like his arms was about to snap. Even his whole body felt great pain after that one sh.


    ¡°How is this possible¡­ I know you are stronger than me, but you¡¯re still a Gold Rank. Our strength should still be equal.¡±


    ¡°Our strength is equal, but a lot of your technique is wrong. Instead of putting all your weight into the thrust, you should keep your feet firm to the ground and use that for leverage. So if I dodge or parry, you can still move around to dodge my counter attack.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡±


    They both shed against each other again, and the lion-man followed his advice. He kept his feet firm on the ground, and thrust forward. When Aldred parried the spear to the side, Parthos used the momentum, and his feet for leverage before spinning and struck at Aldred¡¯s head from the side.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I am talking about!¡± Aldred smiled proudly as if he just taught a student,


    Aldred ducked to dodge the spear, but the lion-man quickly moved his spear down. This was possible because his feet were always firm on the ground.


    The power on that thrust was also more powerful than normal. Aldred tilted his head to the side. The spear missed his ear, and then Aldred jumped backward.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I cannot believe this. Just one simple tip will improve my fighting capabilities by multiple levels.¡±


    ¡°Strength is useless if you cannot use it properly. Use the right technique, and you can fight against anything.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me more? What is wrong with my technique?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too direct with your attack. It¡¯s too predictable. Some attacks should be fake, some should be real. This way you can confuse the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but don¡¯t bother trying it on me. I have good eyes so you cannot fake anything in front of me.¡±

 Chapter 229 Kiara

    ¡°Even so, please let me try, master.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow when the lion-man called him ¡®master¡¯. Well, having a talented student wasn¡¯t that bad.


    Parthos charged forward and executed three quick spear attacks. Aldred did not move and let the speare at him. But that was a fake attack, before itnded, the spear was being pulled back. This happened three times before Parthos thrust towards his chest.


    That was when Aldred tilted his body. Parthos immediately mmed his spear to Aldred¡¯s face, but Aldred did not move, because the spear was suddenly being pulled back and stabbed at his leg instead.


    Aldred calmly raised his leg and stepped on the spear, making it stick in the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s real! You can see all of my fake attacks!¡±


    ¡°Told ya.¡±


    ¡°How did you do it, master?¡±


    ¡°Practice. Try staring at a fly¡¯s wings, and count how many ps it did per minute. If you can do that, you would have good eyesight like me.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now will you leave this carriage alone.¡±


    ¡°Haish¡­ this is a hard choice, master. Themander is my brother. He¡¯d kill me if I let the carriage go willingly.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Who is in that carriage anyway?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know myself. All I told was to hunt and kill anyone inside.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Well, since you cannot disobey order, I will beat you until you sleep on the floor.¡±


    Parthos sighed and epted his fate. The other lion-men also did not have any choice. What were they going to do? Fight him?


    This human literally taught their boss a lesson on how to improve his strength. How the hell could they defeat that?


    ¡°Alright, all of you line up, and let me p you in the face.¡±


    Parthos looked at his men and shrugged. They then started lining up one by one.


    One of them stepped forward in front of Aldred.


    SLAP!


    Another one stepped forward.


    . SLAP!<sub></sub>


    One after another they were pped unconscious until thest lion-man, Parthos stepped forward.


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn now. I don¡¯t think you can make me sleep in one p, master. I have a strong neck.¡±


    SLAP!


    Parthos fell to the ground.


    ¡°I have a strong hand,¡± Aldred replied.


    Aldred then turned around and approached the carriage. He opened the door and found a girl was unconscious inside.


    ¡°Holy sweet god! This is a leonin beauty!¡±


    (Author note: Remind me to put the reference image if I didn¡¯t do it yet.) (You didn¡¯t do it ¨C T)


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to be wounded in any way.¡± Aldred jumped inside the carriage, and lifted her up before bringing her inside his carriage.


    ¡°Mira! Help me heal this girl.¡±


    His shouting woke everyone within the carriage. Then they immediately saw the beautiful girly on the table.<sub></sub>


    She had gorgeous, majestic long hair, and wore a beautiful, thin clothing with white stockings that was outlined by soft gold outline.


    But most shockingly, this girl had a tail!


    ¡°Where did you find her?¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°Well, a group of lion-men chased her, and I saved her from them. Anyway, can you heal her? She doesn¡¯t seem to be wounded but her carriage rolled a few times.¡±


    Mira reached out her palm, and a trickle of golden water made their way inside the leonin girl¡¯s body.


    ¡°Her head got hit a few times,¡± Mira said. ¡°But it¡¯s not critical.¡±


    Her golden stream then softly went inside her head and fixed all the damage from within. With Aldred¡¯s EXP sharing system, everyone within his party became stronger every time he killed a monster.


    This made Mira¡¯s spell even more potent as she enjoyed some of the buff that he received from the system. Such buff increased her magic mastery by 300%, and increased all of her attributes by 50%.


    With those two buffs, her already potent healing spell became so powerful that healing potions became useless in front of her power.


    After a few minutes, the beautiful leonin girl woke up, and looked around.


    ¡°Where am I?¡±


    ¡°You are in my carriage,¡± Aldred said. ¡°And all of them are my friends. This one is Mira. She¡¯s the one who saved you.¡±


    The leonin girl held her head in pain. ¡°I cannot remember anything.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­ memory loss?¡± He looked at Mira.


    Mira nodded. ¡°It will heal, but it might take some time.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember your home?¡±


    The leonin girl shook her head.


    ¡°Great. Now how can we bring her home if she can¡¯t even remember her home? I guess we have to bring her along with us. Hehehe.¡±


    All the girls there smiled bitterly at his naughty joke.


    ¡°But in all seriousness, we should drop her in a city somewhere. We cannot bring her on our adventure.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a city nearby. We can put her down there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t leave me. I cannot trust anyone else, and putting me in the city will not do me any good. I don¡¯t know who I am. Where will I stay if you leave me in the city?¡±


    ¡°She got a point,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But can we really bring you along? You have good clothes and essories. You might be the daughter of a noble or something.¡±


    Currently, Aldred did not want to have any problem with any noble. The weakest of them had 4 Diamond Rank at their beck and call.


    Although they couldn¡¯t hunt him if they want to, it would still be dangerous.


    ¡°We should bring her along in the meantime,¡± Ste said. ¡°When she gets her memory back, we can escort her home.¡±


    ¡°But we will be at sea when that happens.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°Did you forget that you set up a teleportation point in Folineley City?¡±


    ¡°Right, didn¡¯t think about that. If she recalled her memory, we could just teleport her home.¡±


    Ste nodded. ¡°In the sea, some part of the area might disable my teleportation spell. But your teleportation point is not a simple spell. It was a dimension with its own rules.¡±


    Then they all looked at the leonin girl.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Kiara.¡±

 Chapter 230 Bounty Hunter

    ¡°Hello, Kiara. My name is Aldred. Would you like to sleep with me tonight?¡±


    Mareona struck him in the head.


    ¡°I am joking.¡± He chuckled.


    Kiara chuckled and smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re funny.¡±


    ¡°He can be annoying at times, but Aldred is a good person. Nice to meet you, Kiara,¡± Mareona said. ¡°You can call me Mareona.¡±


    Everyone introduced their name one by one, and Kiara smiled and shook their hands intimately.


    Lastly, it was Krista¡¯s turn to introduce her name.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Kiara said. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re one cute girl. My name is Kiara. May I know yours?¡±


    ¡°Krista.¡±


    ¡°Krista. What a beautiful name. Just like you.¡± She caressed Krista¡¯s head which made Krista blush.


    Kiara was a beautiful leonin girl. She had never seen someone so beautiful, graceful, and majestic before.


    If someone told her that Kiara was a queen of a nation, she would believe them in a heartbeat.


    Her appearance, clothings, and essories were also the important factors Aldred thought she might be the daughter of a noble.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Alright, coachmen! You can continue our journey now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    The coachmen whipped the beast and the carriages continued their journey.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Kiara asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the Ceraisian Empire to procure a ship,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You said earlier you will go to the sea. Why?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard or remembered about the ¡®treasure¡¯? The ones that can give you a chance to be an Adamantite Rank?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Basically, after obtaining this treasure, I can reach tinum Rank immediately which would usually take decades even for the most talented person. I don¡¯t know who put this curse, but it even works on an anomaly like me.¡±


    ¡°I was shocked as well,¡± Mary said. ¡°At first I thought the curse won¡¯t work on you since you are so powerful.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Aldred nodded. His blessings were given by the gods, so it didn¡¯t make any sense that a mere curse from a low-level could constrict his talent.


    Something big must be at y here.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Ste,¡± Aldred called.


    ¡°Yes, darling?¡± she sweetly replied and put her slender hand on his chest.


    ¡°You said the world assigned you to be the tester in Mount Fargon right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°How does the world tell you to do that?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes a voice appears in my head, sometimes there is a weird urge telling me to do something.¡±


    ¡°What will happen if you refuse?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. I never had the thought of refusing. It¡¯s like obeying its order was a natural thing, and disobeying it didn¡¯t even pass my mind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is weird now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like you were brainwashed.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ it does feel like I was brainwashed.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°So even an ancient existence like you cannot fathom the world¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡°I am not the world, Aldred. I am merely an intelligent life that borrows the world¡¯s power, trying to mimic its true might. With magic anything seems possible, but rules still exist. Though a lot of those rules don¡¯t apply to you.¡±


    Aldredughed at that.


    ,??m Krista was talking with Kiara until Krista suddenly frowned and looked out of the window.


    ¡°Big brother Aldred, can we not pass that hill?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Krista doesn¡¯t know but Krista¡¯s feeling says to avoid it.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everyone here is a powerful warrior. Did you know that we climbed the tallest mountain on this continent and defeated a lot of beasts and challenges on the way. Besides, we have a lot of soldiers escorting us. Each one of those guys have been with me from the start. I have confidence with them.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, so you don¡¯t need to worry. Which hill are you scared of anyway?¡±


    ¡°That one.¡± She pointed.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a small hill.¡±


    She then pointed to a bunch of hills in the area.


    ¡°You pointed to all the hills around here.¡± Aldredughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re afraid of hills.¡±


    Krista shook her head. ¡°Krista is not scared of hills.¡±


    Suddenly, the hills disappeared and what reced them was group of cavalries.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Death Lord! Kill him!¡±


    ¡°Kill him and we can retire with the bounty on his head!¡±


    ¡°I want to buy 30 prostitutes after this! Let¡¯s get him!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Bounty hunters?¡± Aldred asked calmly. Not a single frown appeared on his face when he saw the enemy.


    Even his girls were still calmly drinking juices and eating fruits as the enemy cavalry approached them.


    The coachmen, Bartrem, and all the soldiers were silent as if they didn¡¯t notice the army.


    No. It was more like the enemy was too insignificant for them to look at.


    No one could me them for having this mindset. After traveling with Aldred and fighting through every monstrosity avable, the scene of hundreds of cavalry warriors charging at them felt like nothing.


    It was no different than rxing on top of a hill with a ss of wine in hand.


    ¡°Death Lord!¡± one of the cavalry at the front shouted. ¡°Hand over your head and we will let your women go. If not, then I guess I can have fun with them before I kill you! Hahaha!¡±


    They licked their lips at the thought of having Aldred¡¯s women. They all knew how beautiful the Death Lord¡¯s women are, and any male in the world would salivate at their sexy body.


    ¡°Come on, boys! Follow me for glory and wealth! We will take the so-called Death Lord¡¯s head and then we will take his women away.¡±


    ¡°I heard a lot of his soldiers are female and all of them are as beautiful as angels!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! Just thinking about it makes me hard! Come on, leader! Let¡¯s go faster.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    They kicked their horses, making them gallop faster towards Aldred.


    Mary popped a grape-like fruit inside Aldred¡¯s mouth as he watched the cavalry approaching.


    He then raised his hand slowly and then pointed at them.


    ¡°Red Rain.¡±

 Chapter 231 Thory

    The area around 2 kilometers of the carriage turned red. Even the white clouds and the blue sky turned bloody red.


    The enemy cavalry felt a suffocating feeling in their chest. It felt like their lungs were being squeezed, making it hard for them to breathe.


    The magicians couldn¡¯t even cast their spell because the mana turned chaotic and it pained their body by even trying to use mana.


    ¡°What is this power?¡±


    ¡°I cannot cast my spells.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t breathe. Help!¡±


    The horses slowed down, struggling to breathe. With the heavy soldiers atop of them, the pressure on their body increased, and they fell to the ground immediately .


    The armor and weapons on their body started to grow heavier as their bodies became weaker.


    Some couldn¡¯t even stand up anymore because of the weight.


    And then the sky rumbled. Red lightning shed.


    That was when hell began.


    Hundreds of 10 meter long fire spears fell from the sky like ferocious rain drops.


    ¡°Fuck! Run!¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Leave your armor and run!¡±


    ¡°Leave everything behind!¡±


    They all tried to run away, but it was toote.


    Jleb! Jleb! Jleb! Jleb!


    Dozens of them were being stabbed every second.


    One man tried to run away but a fire spear prated his leg. He fell, and was about to stand up again before he realized his leg was being pinned to the ground.


    He grabbed the fire spear about to pull it out, but the me burned his hands and then spread to his fingers and arms.


    ¡°AHH! It burns! Help me!¡±


    No one could help anybody as the same fate befell themter on.


    The vast in was drenched in blood and covered in mes.


    ¡°Trying to kill him was a mistake! My friend tried to warn me not to hunt the Death Lord. I should have fucking listened.¡±


    This man got both of his legs pinned on the ground as he recalled his friend¡¯s warning. He then looked at the sky and a zing spear stabbed his heart.<sub></sub>


    ¡°Gaggh!¡± Blood came out of his throat, and as he held on for dear life, another spear stabbed him in the head, making everything look dark.


    Aldred scoffed when he saw two or three people had sessfully escaped from his spell. He then nced at Mira who saw this atrocity with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Are you okay, Mira?¡±


    ¡°I am fine. Don¡¯t mind me, Aldred¡±


    ¡°Do you want to talk about it? It helps to make you feel better.¡±


    Mira sighed. ¡°I know what you¡¯re doing is not wrong, but it¡¯s sad to see so many people being killed.¡±


    ¡°Some people kill to defend their family, to defend their country,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But on the other side, some people will kill for wealth, honor, glory, jealousy, greed, and anger.¡±


    Aldred softly grabbed her hand. ¡°What do we kill for, Mira? What do we fight for?¡±


    ¡°Peace?¡±


    ¡°No. We fight for power. Because only when having power can you do something.¡±


    He looked at Mira. ¡°Without power, you can affect nothing.¡±


    Mira widened her eyes. ¡°Without power, you can affect nothing¡­¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°We don¡¯t bring a sword and knock on people¡¯s door, Mira. We bring a sword, so we can be ready when someone knocks at our door.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I understand. I don¡¯t want to bring you down. I know of your noble ambition.¡±


    ¡°But my ways might be not so noble,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Sadly yes, but we have no choice.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sometimes we have no choice, but I am not a kindhearted person either. I can let them live without killing them. Instead, I drop hell upon them.¡±


    p??(?)? ?o??? Mira shook her head. ¡°They wille again. When you let demons live, they always return or wait for a chance. You cannot risk that.¡±


    She then took a deep breath. ¡°I am good now, Aldred. Thank you for talking with me.¡±


    Aldred gave a smallugh, and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°Why are you thanking me? We¡¯re family, remember?¡±


    Mira smiled as his hand caressed her head.


    The both of them stayed like that until the night came.


    They camped for the night, creating a bonfire to cook their food, and set up their tents.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Bartrem sat down on the log ahead of him.


    ¡°What do you need, Bartrem?¡±


    ¡°I want to ask where you want to buy the ship?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Shouldn¡¯t we get the ship in the capital?¡±


    Bartrem sighed and looked down. ¡°The capital is a good ce to look for a ship, but that¡¯s where a lot of emperor¡¯s men stay.¡±


    ¡°The empress has a lot of influence as well, right?¡±


    ¡°She does have a lot of influence in the capital as well, but that makes it even more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Will they really fight in the city?¡±


    ¡°Their fight will not create a ruckus. It will happen in the dark.¡±


    ¡°Assassination¡­¡± Aldred frowned.


    ¡°Yes. They might not kill you immediately, but kidnap your friends and ckmail you.¡±


    ¡°Crap! With their power, they can do that easily. But we will still go.¡±


    ¡°Eh. Why?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I have a n. Even though they are more powerful, I believe we can do something about it.¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°Alright, since you are so sure about it. You¡¯re not the type that will recklessly do something unless you have something good in mind. Well, a year ago you might, but not currently.¡±


    Aldredughed.


    A few dayster, they arrived in Thory.


    The capital city of the Great Ceraisian Empire.


    Like every capital city, it was located near the sea because that was where wealth mostly came from.


    And as the most important city of the empire, the city was enormously vast.


    Even from a distance away, Aldred already saw its grandeur. Tall, thick walls with Gold Rank guards patrolling around.


    ¡°I can finally see this city again,¡± Mary said. ¡°It felt like so long ago that I brought you out of this city, Aldred.¡±


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°I left this city for more than 10 years. A lot has changed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a fast-changing city after all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Bartremughed.

 Chapter 232 Hell Yea!

    Right when Aldred¡¯s caravan arrived in front of the gate, the guards stopped him and used numerous magical treasures to scan his carriage.


    The soldiers were tense and Aldred told them not to move a muscle.


    After the inspection was done, the guards let them enter the city.


    Aldred sighed in relief after that.


    Bartrem nced at the soldiers, and he noticed one of them gave him a weird look. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this city after we get our ship. This is not a good ce to stay. The bnce between the two sides is stable, but they might feel threatened with our existence.¡±


    ¡°How can a bunch of Gold Ranks scare them?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°They have dozens of Diamond Ranks.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but remember you are a treasure hunter, so anyone above Gold Rank cannot attack you.¡±


    ¡°That is kind of important in a situation like this. But they still can attack in self-defence though. The world will judge my actions, and I cannot lie to it since the world sees everything.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate their ability to obtain information Aldred. You think your action in Paphia doesn¡¯t reach them?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ I should be careful.¡±


    Mary looked at the road ahead, and then told the coachman: ¡°Turn to the right.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t going straight faster?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s his majesty¡¯s territory. They probably won¡¯t do anything, but it¡¯s better if we avoid trouble.¡±<sub></sub>


    Aldred noticed the guards had an insignia of a dragon on their chest, and when he turned to the right, the guards here had an insignia of a phoenix.


    Mary and Bartrem drop their wariness after they saw the guards¡¯ symbol on their chest.


    ¡°Mary, the phoenix symbol on their chest means they are the empress¡¯ men, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We are safe here. This city block is owned by the empress. Formally it¡¯s in the royal family¡¯s hand, but that¡¯s not how things really work. If you put enough soldiers in a certain ce, then you own it. Who can say otherwise?¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. But who owns the shipbuildingpany?¡±


    ¡°There are two shipbuildingpanies. One of them is owned by the empress so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief.


    After a few hours, they finally arrived at the shipyard. There were already a lot of ships being made by the shipbuilders.


    ¡°Wait here. I will talk to the boss.¡± Mary walked out of the carriage and entered a room that seemed to be an office.


    Minutester, Mary walked to the carriage and told them to get out.


    ¡°The boss wants to talk to you about what ship you need. It¡¯s okay. He¡¯s on our side, and you can be slow in deciding what ship you want. He wanted to give you the best and mostpatible ship.¡±


    ¡°How nice of him.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°We¡¯re on the same side after all.¡±


    They entered the office, and then a big man immediately stood up and hugged Bartrem.


    ¡°Bartrem! Long time no see! Look at you, still small as always.¡±


    Bartrem groaned. ¡°I am not small. It¡¯s just that you are too big, Tulban.¡±


    Tulbanughed. ¡°Good one, Bartrem. You always know how to make meugh.¡±


    He nced at Aldred who was currently in his adult form. ¡°They tell me you are a boy. Who is this man?¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± He transformed to his real form.


    ¡°Wow. You can change forms? That¡¯s cool.¡± He then put his big arm on Aldred¡¯s small shoulder. ¡°Tell me, can you transform into a sexy woman as well?¡±


    Tulban grinned which sent a terrifying shiver down Aldred¡¯s spine.


    ¡°HAHAHA! I am joking! Youngsters these days have different tastes in humour. Or maybe I am just too old for this.¡±


    ¡®Who the fuck jokes like that!¡¯ Aldred thought.


    ¡°So. What kind of ship do you want?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°I want a mothership.¡±


    ¡°A mothership!¡±


    ¡°Is it possible?¡±


    ¡°It is possible, but it will take time.¡±


    ¡°Can you finish it in 3 weeks?¡±


    ¡°3 weeks? Hahaha. You have some sense of humour with you boy. A mothership could take years to build.¡±


    ¡°Years¡­ I cannot wait that long. I have a treasure to hunt, and everyone else will be ahead of me by then. Give me the fastest option.¡±


    ¡°If you want it fast, but still hold the standard quality, then you might have to use an existing mothership.¡±


    ¡°Is there one?¡±


    ¡°No. You think a mothership is so cheap we just have one or twoying around?¡±


    ¡°What takes shipbuilding so long anyway?¡±


    ¡°Mostly materials and manpower.¡±


    ¡°Say that again.¡±


    ¡°Materials and manpower?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Say it again, please say it again.¡±


    ¡°Materials and manpower. Why do you tell me to repeat it?¡±


    Aldredughed maniacally.


    Tulban looked at Bartrem. ¡°What did you all do to this boy?¡±


    Aldred then opened up a portal on the ceiling and a lot of materials poured out into the office.


    Tulban widened his eyes when he saw all the rare materials on the floor, but then he had a look of panic when the materials were about to drown him.


    ¡°Stop! Stop!¡±


    The office was huge and yet the materials almost drowned him.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡±


    ¡°This is a lot of materials, but not enough.¡±


    ¡°This room is too small. I have so much more in my storage.¡±


    ¡°Follow me. You can put your materials there.¡± Tulban did not question how Aldred brought all of the materials with him.


    The reason why materials were a problem for the shipyard was because of logistics.


    Transporting arge amount of materials for each ship could take days, weeks, and even years depending on the ship.


    And since the shipbuilding had a lot of orders, a lot of the manpowers was already busy. This was why any new orders could take years to finish.


    Aldred arrived in arge warehouse.


    ¡°You can put all the materials in here.¡±


    Aldred nodded and opened the portal to his divine dimension again.


    All the rare materials poured in like a loud waterfall, and it took Aldred hours to finish pouring it.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡±


    Tulban looked at the sea of treasures and smiled. ¡°Hell yeah!¡±

 Chapter 233 Which Ship to Pick?

    ¡°With this much material, I think we can make a very good mothership. Do you want the ship to have any specific task?¡±


    ¡°What does it normally do?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s usually used to secure dominance in the sea by using supreme firepower. We can have numerous powerful cannons on the deck, and in the hull of the ship. These cannons work well in long-range, and the fleet admiral will destroy all the smaller vessels of the enemy using it. Though arger fleet will let the other ships destroy these small fry.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I am not sure what I want. Dominating the sea sounds like a good idea. But I want to know other options.¡±


    ¡°Well, some use it to transport powerful magic aircraft. This let the navy army to dominate the sea using air dominance.¡±


    ¡°But I heard a lot of things cannot fly in the sea.¡±


    ¡°You are correct. That¡¯s why these types of motherships are not very popr. But if you are in a situation where you can use it, you will surely be the winner of every battle.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Some admirals use their mothership as a main support vessel. It will have arge storage space, and a magical tower that can enhance or strengthen allied vessels. This mothership only works well in arge fleet, and it couldn¡¯t defend itself on its own. But if you bring it to the battlefield, you can double if not triple the power of your fleet.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That sounds scary¡­¡±


    ¡°It is scary. That¡¯s why when the enemy sees a mothership like this, they will do everything they can to destroy it first. For its time, it was known to be the best mothership, because it supported all the smaller vessels by transporting a lot of munition and also food and water for the sailors. Put them out in the sea, and they canst for years without resupplying onnd.¡±


    ¡°But people eventually figured out a way to take it out right?¡±


    ¡°Eventually, yeah. Its era wasn¡¯t long, but it is the most bloody era in the history of this continent.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me how a support mothership is taken out?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of ways, but the mostmon is focusing all of your firepower on the mothership. For this you need a united group that will take orders without hesitation, and you have to do it quickly. Some fleets have more submarines, and they would just send dozens of them under the mothership.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Can these submarines be defeated?¡±


    ¡°Yes they can. Very easy, actually. As long as you detect them, the frigate-ss vessels can use their magic torpedoes to blow them to pieces.¡±


    ¡°This is hard. Now I am more confused on what mothership I want to build.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy. What do you want to use it for?¡±


    ¡°I want to hunt for the treasure.¡±


    ¡°I see. You will face a lot of enemies in the sea which means your fleet must be strong and durable enough to win against them beforeing back to the shipyard for repair. And you might need arge fleet to win against the enemy, so your mothership has to have arge storage space.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, I don¡¯t think you needrge storage space to support the smaller vessel,¡± Mary said.<sub></sub>


    . Aldred nodded. ¡°I will only hire a few sailors, and the rest of my crew will be golems. So I don¡¯t have to bring a lot of food and water with me. And not to mention I have arge storage space anyway.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, so you have a power that can store a huge amount of materials,¡± Tulban said. ¡°In that case I have good news for you. We can create a hybrid.¡±


    ¡°A hybrid of what?¡±


    ¡°A main support mothership and supreme firepower mothership. We can install magic towers to strengthen nearby vessels, and use the extra space to add powerful cannons.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! Can you make that happen?¡±


    ¡°I can make anything happen. I¡¯ve been here for decades.¡±


    ¡°I see. That said, How can you create all these powerful ships while you¡¯re still in Gold Rank?¡±


    ¡°Most of the critical equipment for the ship is already enchanted or modified by the empress¡¯s Diamond Rank magicians. The rare materials that you give me are strong, but it will shatter like ss if hit by a mothership-ss cannon. So the Diamond Rank magicians created a powerful treasure that can strengthened the material nearby.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ I thought you guys could create something so powerful on your own.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Sadly, that¡¯s not how the world works. The cannons and the magical towers are created by them as well. This is why ocean warfare is so deadly for us Gold Ranks. One cannon can st dozens of us at once.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Aldred realized that these ships made all the sailors on the sea equal.


    As long as they were tinum Rank and below, one shot of a cannon can kill them instantly if they did not use any defensive treasure.


    Tulban grabed a quil and a piece of paper. ¡°One hybrid mothership.¡± He jotted it down. ¡°So what else do you want?¡±


    ¡°What do people usually add in their fleet?¡±


    ¡°Cruisers, Destroyer, Frigates, Submarine, Fast Attack Boat, and Cargo Ship. And sometimes an Amphibious Ship.¡±


    ¡°So many to choose from. Can you exin to me what a cruiser is for?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s smaller second only to the mothership and cargo ship. It has better armor and firepower than other vessels, but it¡¯s slower than a destroyer.¡±


    ¡°I see. So it can be used to escort a mothership and help her in battle.¡±


    ¡°Smart. Yes, that¡¯s what they are usually for.¡±


    ¡°What about the destroyer?¡±


    ¡°Destroyer is an escort ship as well, but unlike cruisers, these ships are faster and more agile. Created for fast and devastating attacks, these ships carry torpedoes that can go underwater and create a hole on a ship¡¯s lower hull.¡±


    ¡°Can we only buy the mothership?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Tulbanughed. ¡°If you want to be destroyed, sure.¡±

 Chapter 234 Buying The Ships

    Aldred¡¯s group continued to discuss which ship to buy and how many they would buy.


    After hours of discussion, Tulban listed out their order.


    ¡°So you want one hybrid mothership, 4 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 6 frigates, and 10 submarines?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s enough,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Wait, Aldred,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°I think you need one or two cargo ships.¡±


    ¡°Why? I have enough storage already.¡±


    ¡°You do, but a cargo ship can be an extra storage space for you. When you destroy a ship, you can salvage their wreckage and store them in your cargo ship.¡±


    ¡°And I can use them to build more ships!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. The cost of building a ship isrgely dependent on their materials. You can save a lot of money to procure more ships.¡±


    ¡°Great idea! Tulba, add two cargo ships to my list.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°So how long do I need to wait?¡±


    ¡°Well, since you do have the materials, it will take less time, but it will be done in 6 months.¡±


    ¡°6 months!? That¡¯s too long.¡±


    ¡°Too long? Damn, son, I thought you would be surprised at how fast we are. Mind you, other nations couldn¡¯t evenprehend how we build these ships so fast.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Fuck yeah really! A mothership can take them 3-4 years to build. I can give you an entire fleet in 6 months, boy!¡±


    ¡°Now that you say it like that, it does sound impressive.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and don¡¯t worry too much about time. Yourpetitors might still be nning their fleet too.¡±


    ¡°I know. But the faster the better. You said you have a slight problem with manpower.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°Can you use golems to speed up the process?¡±


    Aldred opened up a portal in Folineley City, and he willed for 200 worker golems to enter the portal. He had more than 2,000 worker golems already, and they were all spread out in his territory. But taking 200 from Folineley was fine.


    He had warned Tarrar that he might take a hundred or two hundred golem somewhere when he needed it.


    The golems walked into the portal one after another, and they stepped on top of the expensive ship materials.


    Tulban then raised an eyebrow after all 200 golems arrived.


    ¡°Impressive. These golems might not have the specific skill to build a ship like my workers, but they can help around.¡±


    Aldred smiled. His golems can actually level up and learn like humans do. If they watched the workers how to build a ship, they might learn how to build it on their own.


    In the future, he can build his own shipyard on an ind.


    ¡°How long will it take with these 200 golems helping you?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. 5 months maybe?¡±<sub></sub>


    ¡°What if I give you 2,000 worker golems instead?¡±


    ¡°2,000? That will help a lot. It will possibly speed up the process to 3 months possibly.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s fast.¡± These people can build an entire fleet in 3 months¡­ No wonder the Ceraisian Empire was feared.


    They were literally the super power of this continent. In modern earth, they might beparable to America in military might.


    Well, the Ceraisian Empire was groomed by the God of War so it was no wonder they had a great military, but how could they not defeat the Holy State of Montcresia already?


    Montcresia was also protected by a god, so that might exin it.


    ¡°Okay, so how much do I need to pay?¡±


    ¡°Ony 700,000,000 gold coins.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s skin turned pale when he heard that. Bartrem and Mary staggered and about to fall to the floor.


    ¡°Seven hundred million?¡±


    ¡°Yep. And I already gave you a 99% discount because you are on the empress¡¯ side.¡±


    And it was already discounted by 99%! Holy demon of hell! What was the real price then?


    Meanwhile Zafrina was still calm. ¡°Why are you so surprised? A mothership requires a few Diamond Rank magicians to make. 700 million gold coins is so cheap for an entire fleet.¡±


    ¡°Does that really justify the cost?¡±


    ¡°The mothership can even kill tinum Rank and wound Diamond Rank if used correctly. And you think 700 million gold coins for that type of weapon is expensive?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t make things hard on me now, boy. You only need to pay 1% of the total cost. But luckily you have brought your own material, if not you might need to pay more.¡±


    Aldred took a deep breath. He made the right choice to buy the ship materials in Paphia, if not then he would have to sell an arm and a leg to pay it.


    ¡°Okay, I will give you the money.¡± Aldred took out his adventure guild¡¯s card.


    Tulban took out his card as well, and they tapped the card against each other.


    Aldred sighed as he sent 700 million gold coins, leaving him with 2,567,169 gold coins left.


    ,??m ¡°Haish. I am poor now.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, 2 and a half million gold coins is a lot. Only tinum Ranks can earn that much.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I worked hard for that money.¡±


    Mary and Bartrem rolled their eyes. Both of them knew Aldred got it by scammming rich people on Mount Fargon.


    ¡°You still have a lot of treasures, right? Those could be worth more than 700 million gold coins,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Yeah, most likely,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°So where do we stay as we wait for the ships to be made?¡±


    ¡°There are two major adventurer¡¯s inn in the city. One of them is controlled by the empress. Let¡¯s stay there in the meantime,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Everything big is split between the empress and the emperor, huh.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be able to grow so big,¡± Mary said. ¡°In fact, we can stay at the pce as well, but that will rm the enemy even more.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s y it safe then.¡± Aldred said. He wasn¡¯t usually the type to be scared, but this turf was filled with Diamond Ranks.


    A single nce from them could prove disastrous.

 Chapter 235 Assassins

    They left the shipyard, and entered their carriage before heading to the inn.


    Minutester, they arrived at the inn, and booked rooms for everybody. The process was quick, and Aldred did not have to pay a single penny.


    Having a backing was very convenient. Not only did he got 99% discount, he also got free amodation that would normally cost thousands of gold coins per day.¡±


    After they got to their room, the soldiers immediately jumped to bed and to sleep.


    Meanwhile, Aldred had a different idea. ¡°I want to explore the city.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Me as well,¡± Sophia and Ste said.


    All 9 girls wanted to explore the city with him. And so they told Bartrem to take care of the soldiers as they walked out of the inn.


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t get paid enough for this.¡±


    Aldred and his girls were all smiling as they left the inn. On the bustling street, they saw a lot of clean and proper shops with a lot of customersing in and out.


    ¡°Business is good here,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°All the empress territories offered lower tax for business. This made things cheaper while keeping the profit high,¡± Mary said


    Aldred smiled as Ste clung on his left arm while Rachel clung onto his right arm.


    With 9 beautiful girls following him, he caught the eyes of amazement and jealousy of the people.


    He looked to the side at a mirror shop and looked at himself. He was currently in his adult form. Tall and with more defined muscles. His face stood out among the ordinary and average, and his outfit looked good on him no matter what. Although he wore a pretty good outfit currently.


    ¦Ñ?n?a (n??)???? His ck eyes were also brighter than before. As if there was hope for the brighter future ahead of him.


    A lot has definitely changed since a year ago, but his goal was still far from his reach.


    As they continued walking on the street, Aldred identally knocked against a little boy which made him fall.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Aldred bent down to reach out with his hand, intending to help the boy.


    The boy grinned under his hood, and slipped his hand into his pocket about to take the knife and stab this man.


    But then suddenly, he felt a terrifying aura. No. Not one, but four sources of pressuring might. He looked up and saw four girls were ring at him with sharp sheen in their eyes.


    The boy trembled and almost pissed himself.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I¡ª I am okay.¡±


    ¡°Good. Here. Have some candy.¡± Aldred then gave the boy some candy made out of honey.


    The boy received the candy with a dumbfounded face. ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Take it as my apology.¡± Aldred stood up and continued walking with his girls, leaving the boy staring at his back. After a few seconds, he sighed in relief. ¡°That was close. The girls around him are scary. Uhh, uncle will be mad at me for failing the mission.¡±


    Aldred nced at his girls, and noticed that Mary, Mareona, Sophia, and Ste were frowning.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the long face?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°That boy earlier, he was about to kill you,¡± Mary said.


    Aldredughed. ¡°You think a small knife can kill me?¡±


    ¡°You knew already?¡±


    ¡°I am a soldier as well, Mary. I can sense danger from miles away.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right. I think Krista has better senses than you. She can even detect that the enemy was hiding in the fake hills.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it. Krista, how did you know the enemy was hiding?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Krista had a feeling.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? You simply use your feelings?¡±


    Krista nodded. ¡°Un. Krista can also tell that there¡¯s five people staring in that window.¡± She pointed at the second floor of the building next to them.¡±


    And sure enough, the five people immediately pretended to drink their coffee after being found out.


    Mary and Aldred narrowed their eyes. Now that he realized those five men, he could see with his godly eyes that they had weapons in them, and some sort of bottled powder. Further analysis showed that the powder was poisonous.


    ¡°This city is more dangerous than I thought. We¡¯re still in the empress¡¯ territory right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mary nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t believe those five people can pass the guards.¡±


    ¡°Krista, can you tell us more about any danger?¡±


    Krista nodded innocently and pointed at a beautifuldy on the second floor of her house. ¡°Thatdy is dangerous.¡±


    Aldred analyzed her and saw nothing wrong, and then he analyzed the pot of flowers on her balcony. All of them were filled with magic knives, and they were rare quality.


    ¡°Shit¡­ political warfare is scary. The empress faced all of this for years?¡±


    ¡°Are we still going to explore the city?¡± Ivette asked with one hand on the handle of her de. She was ready to strike at any time.


    ¡°We have to,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be scared by these assassins. They will think that the empress is weak.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°I am sure. Let¡¯s keep looking around the city.¡±


    ¡­


    The assassins nced at Aldred as he kept walking in the city. The 5 males looked at each other and gave a slight nod before they stood up and left the cafe.


    They scattered immediately, but still followed Aldred from a distance. As Aldred nced at them, they quickly hid in an alley.


    After a few minutes, one of them tilted their head from around the wall to check if Aldred noticed them or not.


    ¡°We¡¯re safe.¡±


    Just as they were about to go, 5 pairs of hands came out from the wall and grabbed tight on their mouth, preventing them from screaming. Then quickly, they were pulled into the shadows, never to be seen again.


    This scene repeated itself numerous times.


    One assassin spied on Aldred on top of the room before suddenly his leg was pulled by a hand that came from a circle of darkness on the rooftop.


    He was about to scream, but a pair of hands came out and shut his mouth.


    More and more hands grabbed onto his body before pulling him into the darkness. The assassin could only struggle for a second before he was engulfed by the shadow.


    In a hidden room nearby, a man entered an office.


    ¡°Boss, we lost a huge number of our spies.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°No one knows, but a lot of them failed to report back after a few hours.¡±


    ¡°It must be the Phoenix.¡±


    ¡°What should we do boss? Should we send the Dragons?¡±


    ¡°No. We don¡¯t want to turn this into an all-out war. Tell our spies to retreat.¡±

 Chapter 236 Theory

    Aldred scanned the area with his godly eyes, and saw no more suspicious people around him. But he sent his undead out to patrol just in case.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°They seem to be retreating. My undead have scared them.¡±


    ¡°How many are there?¡±


    ¡°Around 40 assassins retreated. Most of them are 2 to 4 kilometers away from us.¡±


    ¡°So many¡­ and how did you see that far?¡± Mary asked a little bit surprised though she shouldn¡¯t be surprised by his ability anymore.


    ¡°I have good eyes,¡± Aldred said with a smile.


    Ste gave Aldred a nce. She could also detect all those assassins from far away without even using her magic mirror. But it wasn¡¯t as effective as Aldred¡¯s eyes.


    All of Aldred¡¯s victories against stronger enemies were the merit of his godly eyes. Not only could it predict the trajectory, it could tell him the weight, speed, and even power of an attack. In high speed battle, the eyes could give him valuable information such as weak spots, imperfect technique, and can even suggest something to counter the enemy.


    ¡°Those 40 assassins are a threat to our territory,¡± Mary said. ¡°If they can put more than 40 men in our turf then there must be more.¡±


    ¡°We should inform the Phoenix,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I already did,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bartrem asked.


    ¡°I told my undead to kidnap those assassins, then my undead tied them up before throwing them on the Phoenix¡¯s feet.¡±


    ,?-?m ¡°That¡¯s a good move. They will obtain some information about the Dragon that way,¡± Mary said.


    The Phoenix would probably look further into this matter. Thepetition between the emperor and the empress was very fierce after all. Though the surface of this city seemed calm, there was major unrest within the shadow.


    Suddenly, Ivette stopped walking and looked at a big stuffed bear being sold at a toys¡¯ stall.


    ¡°Do you want that bear, Ivette?¡± Aldred asked.


    Ivette was silent for a moment, and Aldred looked at her for confirmation, but to his shock, he saw her crying instead.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Aldred asked.


    The other girls also approached her and tried to calm her down?


    ¡°When I was a child. I used to have a stuffed bear like that, but to get money I had to sell it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let me buy the whole store for you.¡±


    Ivette shook her head. ¡°That was me in the past. I am all grown up now. The bear just reminded me of terrible memories, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Then let me buy all the stuffed bears in this city and destroy them.¡±


    Ivetteughed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I will get used to it eventually.¡±


    ¡°By the way, now that you mention it. Isn¡¯t your home in this city?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I told you that my grandparents migrated here, but the house is already sold. My brother and I were nning to leave this city after paying the debt.¡±


    ¡°Where did you n to go?¡±


    ¡°Montcresia.¡±


    ¡°Eh, why?¡±


    ¡°The priest that gave my brother and I power told us to visit Ocray, the capital of Montcresia.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Aldred said as his mind wandered into thoughts. The priest that gave Ivette power probably knew that she had the potential to be a hero.


    There was no way a priest would randomly go to a pair of siblings and just give them power. But Aldred was more surprised that a priest could enter this city. Montcresia was currently at war with the Ceraisian empire, so the priest would be apprehended immediately if he was found out.


    The fact that a priest could enter the capital of Ceraisian spoke volumes of their infiltration skill.


    Aldred even suspected that these priests go all over the continent to spread their power and gospel.


    He then widened his eyes at that realization. Back in modern earth, Aldred read a lot of conspiracy theories to pass time. One such theory was the concept of proxy war. It was said that powerful world leaders use religion or ideologies to influence people in other nations and gather them in a group. These groups would then wreak havoc within the country and try to take control, effectively making them a puppet state of the one who spread the ideologies.


    Was it possible that Montcresia was nning to do this? During his travels, the concept of angels and heroes of montcresia was verymon for all the people he met.


    That meant their religion spread far and wide although it wasn¡¯t very influential currently.


    But a single unrest could create chaos, and chaos could destroy lives.


    At that point in time, if a religion said they could give the people hope, who would refuse?


    But most countries are protected by their own god, so this theory was hardly correct.


    Or maybe they simply wanted to find potential heroes to add to their ranks.


    Ivette was one example. They did not tell her to stay here, but instead told her to go to Montcresia. This confirmed his suspicion that they might be recruiting talented people all over the continent.


    Well, he didn¡¯t have any problem with that. As long as both Ceraisian and Montcresia did not enter a full-out war, he would be fine with it. After all, when he became emperor he would make peace with Montcresia.


    As for satisfying the God of War in Ceraisian, he would just wage war on other hostile nations or even go beyond this continent.


    Aldred and his girls continued to walk in the streets. There were some guards with armor and uniform. On their chest was an insignia of a phoenix.


    They nodded with respect when they saw Aldred.


    Aldred simply nodded back with a smile.


    And these people were immediately amazed by his small gesture. They were informed that dozens of spies were being beaten up and tied like pigs. And the culprit of that was Aldred.


    This made people talk about him and his nickname ¡®Death Lord¡¯ even came out in the conversation.


    For a man to have the title ¡®Death Lord¡¯ nodding and smiling at them¡­ they didn¡¯t expect someone like that to be so humble.


    As Aldred walked passed, the guards talked with each other.


    ¡°We¡¯re lucky to have someone like that on our side.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Most of the Empress¡¯ high ranking soldiers are nice and humble. This is why I sided with her. I feel more epted.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Dragon¡¯s work environment is very toxic. Everyone is holding their chin to the sky. They really embodied the arrogance of a dragon.¡±


    ¡°But to catch more than 30 spies in less than a day¡­ don¡¯t you think that Death Lord is too amazing?¡±


    ¡°He is. I even heard the empress herself once visited him in Ruandeurtin.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Who is he to enjoy such a visit?¡±

 Chapter 237 Heavenly Waitress

    After walking in the city for an hour, Aldred and the girls decided to have lunch in a nearby restaurant.


    ¡°Heavenly Waitress?¡± Aldred looked at the sign above the door. ¡°This is a restaurant right? Why does the title sound¡­ you know what, I am not going toin. Let¡¯s go in.¡±


    Mareona could only sigh as she followed the rest walking inside the restaurant.


    ¡°Wee to the Heavenly Waitress,¡± the receptionist greeted them with a sweet smile.


    ¡°Table for eleven people please.¡±


    ¡°Certainly. Please follow me.


    The receptionist then led them to arge table that could fit arge family. Aldred and the other sat down immediately.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the menu, dear customers,¡± she said with a sweet tone.


    ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t need to look at the menu. Just give me everything on the menu.¡±


    ¡°Everything?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and double them. We¡¯re big eaters.¡±


    The receptionist giggled and nodded before she walked away.


    Not a minute passed and a group of beauties came with their drinks.


    ¡°Here are the drinks, dear customers.¡±


    Aldred took a look at them and sure enough they were so beautiful with a variety of clothes. Some were very revealing, some were very tight, in any case, Aldred now realized why this restaurant was called ¡®Heavenly Waitress¡¯.


    After putting the drinks down, all the waitresses gave Aldred a naughty nce and they left.


    ¡°I like this ce,¡± Aldred said.


    All the girls rolled their eyes when they heard that.


    ¡°What do you think, Kiara? Do you like it?¡±


    Kiara sipped her drink and nodded. ¡°I like the drinks.¡±


    ¡°What about you Krista?¡±


    Krista sipped her drink and she immediately experienced brain freeze. ¡°I like it. The drink is sweet.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°See. They both like it. So, for the duration of 3 months, we have to go here at least once a day.¡±


    The girls rolled their eyes again. They all knew Aldred just wanted to look at the beautiful waitresses here that were serving them.


    They all then chatted merrily for a few minutes before the food quickly arrived.


    ¡°That was quick,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°We don¡¯t like to make our customers wait, sir,¡± a waitress said.


    ¡°I like that. Is that some sort ofpany motto or something?¡±


    ,?-?-m ¡°You can consider it as such, sir.¡± She then approached Aldred and subtly caressed his neck.


    Aldred looked at her and she left with a smile. ¡°I like this ce more and more.¡±


    They began eating the appetizer course. It was a selection of fresh vegetables, sd, and soups. There were some tasty dipping sauces, chicken broth, and creamy soup with mushrooms.


    It was tasty and fantastic but they were not done yet.


    The beautiful waitresses picked up the empty tes and they brought in the second course.


    This one had a little challenge in it, and Aldred licked his lips at the sight of so much food. The choice includes poultry-like meat such as chicken, duck, and geese. Aldred wasn¡¯t sure what animals they were, but they looked simr to the animals that he listed. There were fish and other seafood as well. Roasted beef, pork, and boneless chicken breast. All were perfectly roasted to golden brown color. And the smell¡­ he couldn¡¯t wait to dig his teeth into them.


    And most importantly, the restaurant had their own signature sauce. Aldred grabbed the sauce bottle and dipped it onto his te. He dabbed it slightly with his pinky and licked it.


    His eyes widened at the taste. It was spicy, but it didn¡¯t burn his tongue or throat. It was slightly sweet as well. Immediately, he dipped his meat in the sauce and devoured it like he was some sort of beast.


    Aldred grabbed his fancy ss of Blue Milk. It was a beautiful glittering blue drink made out of butterfly pea, cardamom, cinnamon, and other stuff.


    He savored the taste, and did not realize that he had finished it all in one gulp.


    A waitress immediately came and refilled his ss.


    ¡°This is wonderful. I never went to a restaurant where the waitress readily refills my ss.¡±


    ¡°We thank you for the praise, dear customer.¡±


    Aldred looked at his table and saw everyone was eating in glee. Ivette and Krista loved eating and they stuffed their face with food.


    Mareona was already full while Mira ate slowly. Mary, Rachel, Krista, and Zafrina on the other hand ate gracefully.


    Aldred chuckled as he watched them eat. What an adorable family he had. He couldn¡¯t help but stare at them for a while.


    After they finished eating the meal, they felt a profound power building up inside their body, and suddenly they glowed for a short moment.


    Aldred was glowing as well.


    [All attributes increased by 3 points]


    [All attributes increased by 3 points]


    [All attributes increased by 3 points]


    [All attributes increased by 3 points]


    [All attributes increased by 3 points]


    Aldred widened his eyes. All of his attributes increased by 15 points. Increasing them had always been hard without leveling up, so getting these points just by eating food was a steal.


    Sadly, these foods only had a one limit upgrade. Which means eating them again wouldn¡¯t increase his attributes unless he eats a tremendous amount of them.


    ¡°My strength increased,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Me as well.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Uhmm¡­ Krista didn¡¯t know what happened, but Krista¡¯s senses are now strengthened.¡±


    ¡°Did you detect anything weird, Krista?¡± Aldred asked.


    Krista pointed at a waitress. ¡°Thatdy¡¯s underwear got wet when she looked at big brother Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­.¡± All the girls eximed.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the answer I expect but I would wee it with open arms,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Eat more, Krista. You will need all the nutrients to grow.¡±


    ¡°Un.¡± Krista nodded innocently.


    After finishing their main course, the waitress came again and reced the empty tes with desserts.


    Aldred, Krista, Kiara, and Ivette¡¯s eyes lit up when they saw the deep fried banana with vani ice cream and drizzled with honey on the te.


    ¡®We have ice cream in this world?¡¯ Aldred asked himself.


    They all grabbed one fried banana and dipped into the ice cream.


    ¡°So sweet,¡± Krista happily eximed.

 Chapter 238 Saphira Marshtride

    After they finished eating the fried banana, they were served with fruit sd. The dish was called Fruit Fantasia which already gave an image of what to expect. The variety of fruits were incredible. A lot of the fruits looked simr to modern earth such as sliced watermelons, strawberry, dragon fruits, and many more. They were then slightly drizzled with cheese and yogurt. (Cheese doesn¡¯t go on fruit ¨C T)


    Overall, it freshened their throat after a heavy meal.


    When they finished everything, Aldred leaned on his chair, feeling so full. ¡°That was so damn good. I really feel like I was in heaven when eating all of that.¡±


    The girls nodded in agreement as they leaned on their chairs too. Their belly was so full because they ordered a lot of food.


    ¡°I will definitelye again when I have the chance,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Hello, can I have the bill?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, dear customer.¡± The beautiful waitress immediately gave the bills in a fancy board to Aldred.


    Aldred took a look at the bills and his eyes bulged. ¡°1.7 million gold coins?! Heaven is a short yet expensive experience apparently.¡±


    ¡°Unless you die. Heaven is free if you die,¡± Mira said jokingly.


    They allughed when they heard that. Mira was a nun, so hearing it from her made it even funnier.


    ¡°Technically, you paid the ticket to heaven with your life, but I admit that joke was good,¡± Aldredughed.


    Aldred was about to take out his adventure guild card until a woman approached him from the side.


    She was a beautiful woman with a tight ck dress that wrapped around her curvy waist and slender ass.


    ¡°Hello, I am sorry to bother you.¡±


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± Aldred asked.


    She giggled with a cute voice. ¡°I heard you¡¯re a humble man. Seeing you now, I know that to be true. But you didn¡¯t hesitate to treat your friendsvishly.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Money is there to be used after all. I cannot bring it to my grave, so why not treat my friends so they can enjoy life.¡±


    She giggled again. ¡°My name is Saphira Mashtride. My father is Bravar Mashtride.¡±


    The customers nearby immediately widened their eyes when they heard her name and her father¡¯s name.


    ¡°Bravar Mashtride? The headmaster of Phoenix Military School?¡±


    ¡°No way. That¡¯s his daughter? Damn, she¡¯s so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s out of your league, bro. Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±


    ¡°A man can dream.¡±


    Aldred heard their conversation. ¡°So how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°I will be blunt and honest. My father wants you to teach temporarily at our school. I heard your fleet will be ready in 3 months?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what Tulban told me.¡±


    Saphira smiled. ¡°While your fleet is being built, why don¡¯t you be a teacher at our school? I heard a lot about your legendary feat. Riding an eternal beast the size of a mountain you bulldozed through opposition and cleared an entire province of bandits. I also heard of your skills in the sword arts and magic. With that capability, how can we not invite you to teach at our school.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. I think I am good at teaching, but I usually use my own methods of teaching.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s totally fine. You have full control on what and how you want to teach the students. There will be no curriculum to follow. Only guidelines. But the guidelines are merelymon sense written in words, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±


    ¡°I am still not sure. I ran out of money for building the fleet. I was nning to do something to earn money.¡±


    Saphira giggled. ¡°You¡¯re a funny one. Of course we willpensate you handsomely. You¡¯re on our side, and so it will be fair to you.¡±


    ¡®Does that mean you will not be fair if I was your enemy?¡¯ Aldred bitterly smiled. Thisdy was exceptionally honest.


    ¡°I can do that. But I don¡¯t think I can work for long hours.¡±


    ¡°No problem. You cane whenever you want and leave whenever you feel like it. No restriction.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? This sounds too good to be true.¡±


    Saphira slightly tapped off the dust on his shoulder. ¡°You think too lightly of your worth, Aldred. I heard you have a good pair of eyes that can see the imperfection of a technique.¡±


    ¡°You even know that?¡±


    ¡°We have the habit of gathering a lot of information about a person before we meet them.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a breach of privacy.¡±


    ¡°Everyone does things this way.¡± Saphira shrugged.


    ¡°I am fine actually. But I am still not sure if I can teach or not.¡±


    ¡¢ ¡°I think you should do it, Aldred,¡± Mary said. ¡°There¡¯s no harm in teaching. You¡¯re a very good teacher.¡±


    Aldred then recalled how he taught a leonin in improving his technique.


    ¡°Yeah, I will try it then.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Mary said. ¡°Try your best. The students in this school are our allies. If you can make them stronger you will help the empress a lot.¡±


    ¡°I will do that. By the way, Saphira. I forgot to bring my card, can you pay the bills for me?¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± She took the bill and her eyes widened when she looked at the cost.


    Aldred wasughing inside when he saw her reaction. Today was a good day. He ate a lot of good food, and now his bill was being paid by a beauty.


    It was the best day ever.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Saphira called.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Is this all your bill?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡±


    ¡°I thought you would eat a lot more than this. This is too cheap. Next time, I will bring you to a fancier ce.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    So the shocked expression earlier wasn¡¯t because it was too expensive, but because it was too damn cheap.


    ¡°So when can you begin, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°I can begin tomorrow. I have nothing to do in this city except walking around with my girls.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a perfect job for you. Being a teacher is not that stressful.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. If the students dare to y around while I teach, they better be prepared to experience the word ¡®hell¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 239 Reliable Source

    Saphira giggled. ¡°May I sit down?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Aldred said. ¡°How can I let a beautiful girl such as yourself stand while all of us are sitting.¡±


    Saphira blushed at the praise before sitting down. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, Sir Aldred. Where do you n to go with your new fleet?¡±


    ¡°Looking for the treasure of course. But I don¡¯t know the exact location. The astrbe will lead me to it. But I heard the blue sea will be our next journey, that is why I prepared a fleet. And if you ever meet the empress, please ry my thanks. Because of her I got a big discount.¡±


    ¡°I will do that for you.¡± Saphira smiled. ¡°But the blue sea is a dangerous ce, Aldred. Are you sure you want to go there?¡±


    ¡°I heard people say that. How dangerous is it really?¡±


    ¡°The blue sea is filled with powerful creatures that even tinum Rank would never feel safe at sea without a proper boat. Because of how vicious the sea was, monsters were known to have Gold Rank strength at minimum, and tinum Rank beasts were abundant. You might even encounter a Diamond Rank monster on your journey.¡±


    ¡¢ Aldred nodded. ¡°It may be a dangerous ce. But if others dare to do it, then why shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Saphira smiled. ¡°I admire your bravery. It is no wonder a man such as you would be apanied by beauties in your journey. Looking at them, I can feel their bravery and power. But most importantly, I can feel their unbreakable trust in you.¡±


    The girls smiled when they got praised by her.


    ¡°The blue sea is a dangerous ce, but that was where opportunitiesy. Only those who are willing to risk their lives will prevail and reach the peak. I really admire you, Aldred.¡± Saphira nced at him with an adoring gaze.


    ¡°You know so much about me, miss Saphira. But I have to apologize for myck of knowledge. I only know you recently, and I don¡¯t even know the existence of Phoenix Military School.¡±


    Saphira giggled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to speak with such formality. I have heard of your unique personality, and would like to know your true self.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you see my true sizeter in bed as well?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The girls looked at Aldred dumbfoundedly in awkward silence, until Saphira broke it with augh.


    She cutely closed her lips with one hand while giggling. ¡°You are a charming man, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I will take that as a yes.¡±


    Saphira nced at him, but did not deny anything.


    So there was probably a chance. Though Aldred didn¡¯t actually want to take the risk. She was the daughter of the headmaster from a renowned school. Her father must be of nobility to obtain that position, and he did not want to offend a noble, especially if that noble was on his side.


    ¡°Would you like to visit the school to take a look?¡± Saphira asked.


    ¡°Good idea. What do you girls think?¡±


    ¡°We can take a look,¡± Mary said. ¡°I want to see the school as well.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we eat more food before we visit the school.¡±


    ¡°Yay! We will eat again!¡±


    Saphira shrugged her shoulders with a smile. ¡°Please eat as much as you want. I will cover the bills.¡±


    It was really nice having a rich beauty as a friend.¡±


    ¡°No need to do that, Miss Saphira,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°You have covered our bill earlier. This time, I will be the one who covers it.¡±


    Saphira nced at her elegant demeanor and was impressed at how noble-like she portrayed herself. Just by her posture in sitting down, she could tell that this woman was a noble.


    ¡°May I know who you are?¡±


    ¡°I am Zafrina Chanterre, Daughter of Count Aleron.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯vee from Thignia. Chanterre is very far from here.¡±


    ¡°It is. But the longer I can be with Aldred, the better.¡±


    Saphira smiled. ¡°Even the daughter of a count said to be as powerful as a duke is in love with you, Aldred. All men in this continent must have a dream of living your life.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Yeah, some even tried to kill me.¡±


    Saphira giggled. ¡°Oh look, the dishes areing. Please enjoy yourself once again.¡±


    When the waitress put all the tes down, they immediately stuffed their faces with food. Only Zafrina, Mira, Rachel, Kiara, and Mary ate their food elegantly.¡±


    They ate so gracefully, that one might stare at them for hours and not get bored.


    ¡°Hey, you guys heard about this Aldred guy? His bounty is everywhere.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow when he heard his name being called.


    ¡°How big was the bounty?¡±


    ¡°It was 25 million gold coins before, but now it was increased to 75 million gold coins.¡±


    ¡°For the smell of my dad¡¯s armpit! What the hell did he do to get thatrge bounty? Even a tinum Rank might be enticed by such arge sum.¡±


    ¡°You fool. Are you living in a cave? How could you not know Aldred the Golem Master and the Ruler of Death.¡±


    ¡°If you know something then tell us. Don¡¯t insult us like that.¡±


    ¡°I heard he cleansed an entire province of bandits using his undead, and then he went to a dangerous dungeon and wreaked havoc there. But what made his bounty so high was his action in Paphia-Yevieleria war¡­¡±


    ¡°What! He sessfully conquered a city in less than a day?¡±


    ¡°How could a lone Gold Rank do that?¡±


    ¡°His army of golems was said to be asrge as the ocean, and the power of his undead enveloped the sky with darkness. He also has a mysterious power that can paint the sky red and suck your soul out slowly. During the process your body will feel weak and heavy.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible? Don¡¯t give me bullshit.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, bro. I heard this from a reliable source.¡±


    ¡°Man, fuck your source.¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred ignored them and continued eating his meal.

 240 Chapter 240

    ¡°So where do you think this Aldred is?¡±


    ¡°Word says that he¡¯s here. In Thory City.¡±


    ¡°Should we hunt him down?¡±


    ¡°A lot of people tried and became his undead. Do you want to be one of them?¡±


    ¡°We can surely bring him down with enough people.¡±


    ¡°Sigh. Let me ask you simple question. If you gather your people now, can you go and conquer a city in one day?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. This man can do it, and you think enough people is enough to defeat him?¡±


    ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re right. But with that amount of money, why haven¡¯t the tinum Ranks made a  move yet?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s protected by the curse of the treasure hunter.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. So he¡¯s one of those treasure hunters. No wonder.¡±


    After an hour or so, Aldred finished eating his food. Then they all stood up to leave the restaurant after paying the bills.


    But before that, he slowly passed the table that talked about him earlier and gave them a haughty smirk.


    The people there were immediately irritated, but then they took a closer look at his face, and their eyes widened in shock. They watched as Aldred left the restaurant.


    ¡°Is that Aldred?¡±


    ¡°He looks like the same guy in the poster, it has to be him. Should we jump him?¡±


    ¡°Are you a fucking idiot? You know thatdy beside him? That¡¯s Saphira Marshtride. She was the daughter of Duke Bravar. The head of Marshtride family and also the headmaster of Phoenix Military School. Do you want your whole family to be ughtered?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ no?¡±


    ¡°Then sit your ass down, idiot.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Where are we going now, big brother Aldred?¡± Krista asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to visit Saphira¡¯s school.¡±


    ¡°A school?¡± Krista¡¯s eyes turned bright. ¡°Krista wants to see a school too!¡±


    Aldredughed. He had never seen anyone be so excited to go to school before. Back on modern earth, everyone just wants to y and avoid school. school sucks. (FACTS!!)


    Though for him, school was the best time of the day. Not because of the lesson, the friends, or teachers, but because he was away from his parents.


    He shook his head and drove the bad memory away. That wasn¡¯t his life anymore. He should forget about them and be the new Aldred.


    ¡°Saphira, can you lead us to the school?¡±


    Saphira smiled. ¡°I will be happy too. But I cannot let you walk there. Let me call my carriage.¡±


    She snapped her fingers, and looked up towards the sky.


    At first, they saw nothing, but then, a pair of white flying horses neighed in the sky while pulling a luxurious carriage.


    The horses flew down with high speed, but theynded without the slightest vibration and stopped in front of them.


    ¡°I am sure flying is not a new experience for all of you, but please let me host you during our journey in the air.¡±


    ¡°I have never flown before,¡± Kiara said. ¡°Or I think I haven¡¯t. I cannot remember.¡±


    Saphira was slightly surprised by that. In her view, Kiara was a noble as well. Her majestic hair and clothes made her look like she was a princess from the Leonin race. Looking at her amazing curve, Saphira felt a tinge of jealousy.


    They all entered the carriage. From outside it lookedpact and elegant, but inside was a spacious space of elegant white color, and when Aldred sat down, he could feel the soft and refreshing texture.


    ¡°This is nice stuff.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s much better than riding on Teethless¡¯ back or staying inside Xer Xai¡¯s stomach.¡±


    ¡°That is true.¡±


    They allughed after that.


    Aldred caressed the soft sofa. ¡°I think I should get a carriage like this.¡±


    ¡°If you want one, I can arrange for our craftsmen to build it for you.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Thank you for that. But I don¡¯t want to burden you anymore than this, so please let me politely refuse the offer.¡±


    Mary, Mareona, and Mira thought that it was suspicious for Aldred to reject free stuff. Did he really feel bad about burdening her?


    No way. Impossible.


    And yes, it was impossible. Aldred did not want to waste his favor for a mere carriage. He might find something better in the future, and he can ask for it without the risk of being called shameless or greedy.


    They were his allies after all, it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if he did them evil like that.


    He¡¯d try his best teaching in this school. With his ability, teaching students shouldn¡¯t be a problem at all.


    As they enjoyed wine and juice in the carriage, they saw the beautiful view of the city. It was a magnificent sight.


    ¡°Look at this view,¡± Saphira said. ¡°It¡¯s a view that only someone like us can experience. Isn¡¯t it sad that a lot of people cannot enjoy this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how this world works. Some people are born at the top. Others have the chance to fight for it. And the rest can only toil at the bottom. Forever.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a very realistic way of seeing reality.¡±


    ¡°I would like to be as real as possible.¡±


    Although this world was a fantasy world in its essence. Well, in this case, it wasn¡¯t a fantasy anymore. But a magical reality.


    ¡°Look, we have arrived.¡±


    What they saw below was a vast school that in itself was asrge as a city. It had thousands of buildings, proper streets, a few gardens, training grounds, and many more. The cafeteria was bustling with students, and he saw their food was magical as well.


    Those foods can increase attributes stats, and they cost a tremendous amount of money. To feed the students here with that type of food, just how rich is this school?


    When theynded in front of the school, therge gate automatically opened itself as dozens of guards saluted respectfully. The carriage went in and parked in front of the majestic building.


    As they exited the carriage, a man with expensive-looking clothes was standing in front of the building.


    Saphira ran to him with a smile. ¡°Father!¡±

 241 Chapter 241

    ¡°Saphira, my daughter.¡± The man caught his daughter in his embrace. He then nced at Aldred. ¡°So you must be Aldred. I have heard of your tale. It¡¯s an honor to have you visit my school.¡±


    ¡°It is my honor to visit such a prestigious school. I am nothing inparison,¡± Aldred said.


    Bravar Mashtride smiled when he received a humble reply from Aldred. This meant that he wasn¡¯t one of those arrogant entitled bastards who had their chins stuck high in the clouds.


    ¡°You are too humble. There is no Gold Rank in history that has ever matched your legend. Some tinum Rank even paled inparison to you.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I thank you for the praise, Lord Bravar. I am very ttered.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me lord. Bravar is fine. I am sure you have met my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have. She¡¯s a beautifuldy and a kind host.¡±


    Bravar smiled. ¡°So what do you think of sleeping with her tonight?¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    Bravarughed. ¡°I am joking. Stop hitting me, dear daughter. Let us not be rude in front of our guests.¡±


    Saphira pouted at first, but she regained her demeanor of a noble.


    Aldred could see that the rtionship between father and daughter was very close.


    ¡°So, would you like to take a little tour of our school? It¡¯s nothing much, but I hope you like it.¡±


    Aldred bitterly smiled. ¡®Nothing much¡¯ did not describe the school in the slightest. The school might as well be as huge as a city. Earlier, from above, Aldred even saw the school produce its own products, so it had its own market and economy as well. A school that big was called ¡®nothing much¡¯ by Bravar.


    In the end, Aldred agreed for having a little tour, and Bravar personally guided him around the school.


    ¡°This is our chemist building. This is where our finest alchemists teach their young students about the art of making and refining potions.


    A student was mixing a blue liquid with a red liquid into a ss tube. Suddenly, the tube exploded and his whole face turned ck.


    The other students thenughed at him while the teacher sighed and shook his head.


    After passing the chemist building, they arrived at a vast training ground where martial artists sparred with one another. There were training dummies that dodged, blocked, and even counter attacked the students.


    Next was the magic training field. Students there threw a lot of elemental and non-elemental spells at a distant target. Next to it were close-range magicians using fancy and colorful close-range spells to fight one another.


    After passing that, Aldred saw a beast taming field.


    ¡°Beast Taming. That¡¯s a thing?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We have a lot of talented teachers in beast taming.¡±


    ¡°How does that work? Are they non-elemental spells?¡±


    ¡°Good question. We actually couldn¡¯t categorize it to the magician type, martial type or the non-elemental type.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because even martial artists can learn this art.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. So this art doesn¡¯t use mana or life force?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s more like you can use mana or life force to assist you in beast taming. But I heard of your golem army and undead army, I don¡¯t think you need to learn this art as it¡¯s very inefficientpared to your power.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that.¡±


    They continued to walk for a few hours and arrived at a field where the students were making golems out of mud.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s where the students learn their golemification art. As you can see, they barely learn how to construct their own golem. But that is only the 1st grade. The second grade students already know how to fight with one golem.¡±


    ¡°I thought golem spells are only for the rich.¡±


    Saphira and Bravar looked at Aldred weirdly.


    ¡°Aldred, all the students here¡­ they¡¯re the sons and daughters of wealthy people.¡±


    - Aldred wanted to p himself. Of course the students here are privileged kids. Who was he kidding? Who could learn in a state-of-the-art school like this except the kids of rich people?


    ¡°Most of them are the sons and daughters of wealthy merchants, and a lot of them are the children of nobility.¡±


    ¡°I see. I have one question.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can I beat them up?¡±


    Both Bravar and Saphira were speechless at that question. Why would Aldred want to beat these kids? Didn¡¯t he just hear that these kids were from wealthy people.


    ¡°I would ask you to follow the guidelines while you teach,¡± Bravar said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the guideline?¡±


    ¡°Well, number one is to never physically harm or wound the students.¡±


    ¡®Ohh¡­ physically. So if the wound is mental, it¡¯s fine?¡¯ Aldred was grinning like an evil demon inside.


    ¡°But they¡¯re good and obedient kids, I am sure you will have a great experience in teaching them.


    ¡­


    ¡°Fuck you! You stupid low-wages teacher. My dad can buy your whole life including your wife and your kids!¡±


    Aldred was currently in the field of martial arts where students trained their martial arts techniques. He was standing in front of the ss, and he came a bitte, so he casually said sorry and would like to start the lesson.


    Who would have thought that one kid would insult him the next moment.


    ¡°What did you say you little bastard?¡± Aldred stared at him and his eyes turned deep ck. The pair of eyes stared into the children¡¯s soul, and they felt chilling cold on their neck as if a demon¡¯s hand was about to grab it.


    ¡­


    Bravar was currently guiding the parents of the students on a tour. Every year, he would do this to show thepetence of his teachers and the grandeur of his school. He was confident, and would dly show it off to the parents.


    ¡°Bravar,¡± one of the parents said. ¡°I heard you sucessfully got that Aldred to be your temporary teacher.¡±


    Bravarughed. ¡°Yes. I did. He has talent in teaching students. His legends are worth their salt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I want to see how he teaches.¡±


    ¡°Most certainly.¡±


    As they walked through the pathway, they arrived at the martial arts field.


    And there they saw Aldred grab the kids by the cor and spanked their butts.


    ¡°You little rascal! Repeat what you said to me! Repeat it if you dare!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry! I am sorry!¡± The kid begged for forgiveness.


    ¡°¡­¡±

 242 Chapter 242

    ¡°Uwaa!¡± The kids cried like babies.


    Bravar and the parents immediately rushed to Aldred.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Bravar asked in disbelief. Didn¡¯t he just tell Aldred yesterday not to beat these kids?


    ¡°I am teaching them a ¡®lesson¡¯.¡±


    One of the parents calmed his kid down, and red at Aldred. ¡°What kind of teaching is this? You clearly harm my kids. Bravar, you are my friend, and I respect you, but how can I save my dignity if people know your teacher beat my child.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for this. I will talk to him in my office.¡±


    ¡°No. Talk to him right now and right here. We want to hear his exnation.¡±


    Bravar sighed and looked at Aldred. ¡°Please exin yourself.¡±


    ¡°What I did is merely opening up their life force channel. It might look like I beat them up, but I have to for them to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Bull shit. I never heard of such a thing before.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Tell your kid to follow my instructions very carefully.¡±


    ¡°Jeben, do what he asks for once. If he lies, I will do something for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Widen your stance. Stare forward. Bend your knees, and tighten your thigh. Tighten it more.¡±


    The parents all frowned as they never saw a stance like that before.


    ¡°This is ridiculous. Are you making fun of my son?¡±


    ¡°I am not done yet. Jeben, now take a deep breath and imagine the air spreading to your whole body.¡±


    Jeben closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Now punch!¡±


    ¡°Hiyaa!¡±


    Jeben punched forward and a powerful wind sted forward before crashing onto a window and shattered it to pieces, making all the kids inside the ssroom scream.


    The parents widened their eyes. Jeben wasn¡¯t even a Bronze Rank yet because he hadn¡¯t reached 20 years of age, but that power earlier could match if not surpass a Bronze Rank warrior.


    ¡°How is this possible,¡± Jeben¡¯s father eximed.


    Even Jeben was in awe with his own power as he looked at his arms. ¡°Is this my power?¡±


    ¡°This has to be some sort of trick!¡± Jeben¡¯s father said. ¡°My son is not powerful enough to do that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s real,¡± Bavar said. ¡°I see it with my own eyes. That stance, that breathing, and the life force within his body was his own.¡±


    The parents looked at each other. Bravar was a prestigious headmaster and their rightful ally. Not only was he powerful, he was a Diamond Rank on his own. His analysis would not be wrong, and he wouldn¡¯t lie to them.


    ¡°I believe you, headmaster Bravar. But I still want to confirm this.¡±


    ¡°How do you want to do that?¡±


    ¡°I want to put Aldred in a mana shackle. This way he cannot cheat.¡±


    Bravar was shocked. A mana shackle was a treasure that could block all flow of mana and life force. Only a criminal was sentenced to such an act. Putting Aldred in that shackle would be an insult.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°What, are you afraid now?¡±


    ¡°I have a better suggestion.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s futile. We know of your lies now that you refuse to be shackled.¡±


    Aldred scoffed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you test my ability to find the weakness of your technique?¡±


    ¡°The weakness of my technique?¡± Heughed. ¡°I am a tinum Rank. How can you a mere Gold Rank find my weakness?¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    The man frowned. ¡°Fine. Watch carefully.¡±


    Jeben¡¯s father held his right forearm and pushed his right palm to the sky. Suddenly, a ze of spinning me shot out high to the sky. The air around the area seemed to burn, as heat waves spread out.


    After a few seconds, he pulled his palm back and the me disappeared. ¡°How about it?¡±


    ¡°There are many weaknesses in your technique.¡±


    ¡°What! My me is one of the strongest. Not many can defeat me in the art of me elemental.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Listen to me. Start breathing from your mouth, and close your eyes.¡±


    The man was skeptical at first, but he followed the instruction in the end.


    ¡°Make your breathing as a rhythm. Time it perfectly. One, two, one two. Now, put your arms up. Circte the breathing in your lungs, and when you fire, blow it all out.¡±


    The man breathed in for a few seconds, and when he was ready, he blew all the air from his lungs, and activated his spell.


    BLAST!


    A booming sound echoed before a tongue of me spat out at the speed of sound. The spinning me this time was thinner and smaller, but it was more concentrated. There was no heatwave or burning air, this was because the heat was focused in a smaller area.


    Everyone here realized this, and knew that the spell had been improved more than twice.


    Jeben¡¯s father pulled his arms and looked at his palm. He couldn¡¯t believe that the me spell he studied for years wasn¡¯t perfect.


    He hadn¡¯t been able to improve it for decades, yet a single lesson from this man made it possible?


    How could he believe this? It was like a fairy tale. But the proof was right in front of him.


    Jeben¡¯s father nced at Aldred in awe.


    Aldred crossed his arms and gave him a look that said ¡®told you so¡¯.


    ¡°I apologize for being rude. I hope you will keep teaching my son.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I am going to quit.¡±


    The parents there were all shocked to hear that.


    They just saw a tinum Rank spell being improved by a significant margin by this man, if he taught their children, their improvement would be much faster.


    To hear this man about to quit, they felt an urgent need to do something.


    ¡°Please, teacher Aldred. We apologize for this misunderstanding. We¡¯re just worried for our child.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like being called a teacher.¡±


    ¡°Then, master Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the capital?¡±


    ¡°Master Aldred.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am still not sure if I should stay or not.¡±


    The parents then swarmed him and tried to convince him to stay and teach the kids.


    Bravar at the back smiled bitterly when he saw this. He had heard a lot about Aldred. Not just his spectacr action, but also his greedy endeavor.


    Surely, a man like him would take great benefit from all these rich parents. And he wouldn¡¯t be shy about it.


    Especially after he just paid more than 700 million gold coins to procure a fleet.


    He needed more money now than ever.


    ¡°Please, Master Aldred. I will give you 100 million gold coins per day.¡±


    ¡°We will as well.¡±


    ¡°I am still not sure. I think you need to add one more zero to that.¡±

 243 Chapter 243

    After some back and forth negotiation, they finally came to a conclusion. Aldred would get 900 million gold coins per day, and when he entered the business that they owned, he could get anything there for free.


    So Heavenly Waitress was actually owned by Jeben¡¯s father. If Aldred went there next time, he would not be charged no matter how much he eats.


    ALL FREE.


    But he didn¡¯t care too much about that. HE IS RICH NOW!


    900 million gold coins! PER! FUCKING! DAY!


    He didn¡¯t feel regret of spending all his 700 million gold coins now. It was peanutspared to 900 million gold coins per day.


    So this was how it felt to be a super wealthy oligarch. Imagine how many fleets of ships could he buy with that money. Imagine how many rare materials he could buy to make more powerful golems with that money.


    Aldred now talked with the parents with the brightest and sweetest smile he could. These people were his goldmine. He had to treat them very nicely. Hehehe.


    ¡°Yes. I will teach your children to the utmost of my ability. When they turn 20, they will defeat a dragon at Bronze Rank.¡±


    They all believed what Aldred said without questioning him. After all, he was a Gold Rank that can improve a tinum Rank¡¯s spell.


    There wasn¡¯t any man that could do that in history. Not a single one! This was the first.


    ¡°Master Aldred. If you like, you can visit our home sometimes. We will surely host you properly.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Sure. If I am in the mood.¡±


    They allughed, knowing what he meant.


    ¡°Of course, we willpensate for your time handsomely, Master Aldred. We can even give you 1 billion Gold Coins per visit.¡±


    Aldred took in a deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, super duper deep breath after hearing that.


    If he visits every day, wouldn¡¯t he double his ie? Just how rich are these people? No wonder they had dozens of Diamond Ranks working for them. Their wealth was unfathomable. 1 billion gold coins for one visit was nuts!


    But this also made him realize that the people here, and more specifically the entire empire was much more wealthy and powerful than it seemed. He didn¡¯t know about other nations, but an all-out war with any of them would cause a terrible catastrophe.


    With that much wealth, how many Diamond Ranks can be moved to enemy territory at once? It had to be greater than Chanterre¡¯s raid against that one province. That was dozens of Diamond Ranks. Then what if the whole empire went out for war? Would there be thousands Diamond Ranks fighting?


    That concept was too scary to think about. Each Diamond Rank might be a nuclear weapon in its own. Although they do have the power to limit the impact of their battle which was a good thing.


    ¡°In that case, I will make some time to visit,¡± Aldred said.


    The parents all smiled after hearing that. Making Aldred visit their home was just not to host him, but they also wanted Aldred to teach and strengthened their subordinates even more.


    ¡°Sorry for being rude, Master Aldred, but can you improve a Diamond Rank¡¯s spell?¡±


    ¡°I never tried it before.¡±


    ¡°Then, headmaster Bravar, would you show him your skill?¡±


    Bravar nodded. He raised his palm at the sky, and slowly clenched his fist as if he was trying to destroy something in his hand.


    Aldred looked at the sky, and saw that there was a hole in the air. It was so weird. It¡¯s like the sky was a piece of paper and now there was a hole in that paper.


    That could only be one thing. Space Maniption! Aldred activated his godly eyes, and after a short analysis, he found that it wasn¡¯t a natural Space Maniption.


    It was a non-elemental spell that mimicked Space Maniption. In simple terms, it was a fake space spell.


    ¡°What do you think, Aldred? Can you improve my spell?¡± Bravar asked. Although he looked calm from outside, but inside, he was very excited. If Aldred could make him stronger, that would be very good.


    ¡°Your spell is amazing, Headmaster Bravar. But there are many imperfections in its construction.¡±


    Bravar¡¯s eyes lit up. He had always known that this spell wasn¡¯t perfect. It took him decades to learn this spell, and he had only learned about 10% of it.


    ¡°What do Ick?¡± Bravar asked.


    ¡°Well, the major one is your strength. You are not strong enough to use its full power. And the second one is your mana. You can only sustain that hole for a fraction of a second, because your mana will quickly be depleted.¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡± Bravar was impressed. ¡°This spell drains my mana so quickly and that is why I cannot sustain it for long.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a fool.¡±


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    Everyone there was shocked. Did he just call the Headmaster a fool?


    Who would dare to do that?


    Bravar was confused as well. He didn¡¯t feel insulted, because he felt that Aldred had a deeper meaning to his words.


    ¡°Instead of letting the spell consume your mana, you should let it consume the world¡¯s energy.¡±


    ¡°The world¡¯s energy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Energy is abundant in this world. Magicians and martial artists take this energy from the world and use them. They will cast many spells until they run out of mana. This wasmon and that was how battles were fought everywhere. But because of that, they forgot that your spell can also take energy from other sources. Try again, Headmaster, but this time, imagine the sun itself as the source of its power.¡±


    Bravar nodded and casted his spell again. And right after the hole appeared, Bravar blocked his mana, and let it consume the world¡¯s energy from the sun. And sure enough, the hole expanded and sustained itself for far longer.


    Currently, one meter of the sky was a hole, and it sucked in the rooftop and other items.


    Bravar quickly canceled his spell to avoid catastrophe.


    They all looked at Bravar for one second before they looked at Aldred.


    ¡°How about we raise thepensation to 3 billion gold coins per visit?¡±

 244 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244 Feuds Between Students


    After Aldred showed his teaching capability that even a Diamond Rank like Bravar could only stay silent and listen to him like a dog, all the wealthy parents now nodded their heads to whatever Aldred said and licked his shoes to please him.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t a degenerate, so even though he always had his own interest at heart, these people were his allies, and he wouldn¡¯t do them injustice.


    Even though they annoyed him a bit earlier, these people were actually nice.


    Bravar continued to ask some questions about his spells, and the parents followed suit.


    Eventually, the students felt left out and called out for their dad.


    ¡°Father, when will I have time to train if you continue to talk with Master Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. Where are my manners? Master Aldred has to give our children a valuable lesson. Maybe we should end our visit today.¡±


    No one wanted to end their visit after they realized that Aldred was a supreme teacher, but they had to do so not only for their dignity but also for the development of their children.


    ¡°We will leave our children in your hands, Master Aldred. Should they misbehave, please punish them as you like.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡±


    The students shuddered in fear after their parents said that. Earlier, they couldin to their parents, but now, the teacher got personal approval to beat them up. (Spare the rod spoil the child)


    Their easy days in school would be gone. Poof! Like dust.


    But they weren¡¯t mad because now they know that Aldred was a powerful teacher. All of these children were ambitious because they were indoctrinated to be so.


    Wealthy people knew that to keep being rich for generations was to strictly design the mindset of their young.


    And so usingpetition, honor, dignity, jealousy, and other various aspects, they motivated their children to best their friends.


    They weren¡¯t thinking of ying with fun toys. That mindset ended when they were 6 years old.


    The moment they can read, their parents put a stack of books in their face, but of course they knew their boundaries and let their children have a break whenever necessary.


    The difference between smart parents and foolish parents was that they had experienced the same hardships before.


    They knew that humans had a breaking point, and passing this breaking point would destroy their children¡¯s mind.


    Aldred smiled at the parents as they shook his hands and left the school.


    ¡°I will leave these children with you, Master Aldred,¡± Bravar said.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Headmaster Bravar. You don¡¯t have to call me master.¡±


    Bravar smiled. ¡°In that case don¡¯t call me headmaster.¡±


    They both smiled and had a little chat before Bravar left.


    Aldred nced at the students. ¡°Are you ready for your first lesson?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    The students were obedient and listened more to him now. They respected their parents, and when they saw that even their parents respected Master Aldred, it was only natural that they would respect him as well.


    ¡°Now all of you show me your skills one by one, and I will give you advice ording to your needs.¡±


    The students obeyed and showed their skill one by one. Aldred gave them their much needed advice and they could implement them immediately.


    They were so happy when the result of his advice could be seen and felt. They had never seen something like that before. Most advice would take time to be fruit, so no one really knows if that advice was good or not.


    ¡°Master, how long are you going to stay?¡±


    ¡°Oh, did you not hear that I was a temporary teacher? I will be staying here for around 3 months.¡±


    The student¡¯s eyes lit up when they heard that.


    ¡°Why? You cannot wait to see me leave?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, Master. There is apetition for 1st grade ss. And our ss will be fighting against other sses.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so this is only the 1st grade? What ss are you guys?¡±


    ¡°Master¡­ How could you not know? We are Martial ss F.¡±


    ¡°ss F? That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡±


    ¡°We are actually the worst bunch. Other kids always call our ss F for failure.¡±


    ¡°F for failure, huh¡­ When will thepetition start?¡±


    ¡°In a month.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, I don¡¯t really care about thepetition. It doesn¡¯t matter for me if you win or lose.¡±


    The students were disappointed to hear that.


    Suddenly, a group of young students, around 7-8 years old, were shouting at them.


    ¡°F ss for failure! Boo! Failure ss!¡±


    These students were jeering at F ss, and the F ss could only grit their teeth and red at them.


    Aldred did not care about this smallpetition. It was a fight between children.


    He then saw a fit male looking at him with an arrogant glee and he snorted.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow as the man approached him.


    ¡°Are you the new teacher?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Biran. I am the teacher of 1st Grade Martial ss A, the best ss of 1st grade. I have heard some rumors about you. They called you by the name of Death Lord and Golem Master. But I was never affected by myth and tale, and when I see you with my own eyes, it is no wonder that they put you in ss F.¡±


    There was a glint of mockery in Biran¡¯s eyes.


    Aldredughed, acting like he didn¡¯t feel insulted, but deep inside he wanted to p this man in the face.


    ¡°I am not as great as people say I am, but I believe my teaching will improve my students¡¯ skills.¡±


    The students of ss A walked behind Biran. Suddenly, one of them rushed to one of Aldred¡¯s students and pushed him, making him fall to the ground.


    ¡°Hey! How dare you push!¡±


    Aldred was about to step forward and prevent them from fighting, but Biran reached out with his hand. ¡°These are simply small feuds among children. It¡¯s important to nurturepetition in them.¡±


    Aldred narrowed his eyes. Instead of preventing a fight, this teacher wanted to encourage it? He didn¡¯t know if it was the culture of this school or this teacher might be sick in the head.


    ¡°You¡¯re just an F ss, what can you do against me?¡± He pushed the kid again.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± The F ss kid stood up and attacked.


    The A ss boy snorted and kicked his opponent¡¯s leg, making him fall face first to the ground.


    All the A ss boysughed after seeing that. ¡°F ss is full of losers. Just a simple kick and he fell face first. Look at his dirty face.¡±


    The F ss children clenched their fists in anger, and they all red at the A ss.

 245 Chapter 245

    Biran smiled when he saw his students bullying the F ss kids. He then nced at Aldred, expecting him to be angered or annoyed.


    But what he saw was simply calmness. He was like a monk meditating on top of a mountain. So calm as the birds chirped around him, and animals quietly sipped water from a stillke.


    How could this man stay so calm? Aldred¡¯s smile did not indicate any anger or annoyance at all.


    Biran couldn¡¯t believe it. This man must be hiding his emotions. Anyone would feel angry if their students were bullied by another ss.


    Biran was right. Inside Aldred, there was a humanity-massacring apocalypse as hell burst through his heart and filled it up with bubblingva.


    That was how he described the rage inside of him now. Aldred calmly nced at Biran, but behind the mask, there was a re of a demon.


    If Biran could peel that mask, his soul would be trapped in eternal darkness and he would never be cocky in his life ever again.


    But Aldred wanted to be civilized this time. Bravar had been good to him, and so were the student¡¯s parents. There was no reason for him tosh out like a demon to this teacher. After all, this teacher was on the empress¡¯ side at the end of the day.


    Biran snorted. ¡°Kids, let¡¯s go to our training field and start our training.¡± He then held his head high.


    Aldred watched as they left, and his smile turned into a nasty grin.


    The F ss students seeing that grin were terrified. In their eyes, Aldred let out a dark terrifying aura that made it seem like a dark wed hand was crawling to their heart.


    Only when he removed that grin on his face did the suffocating feeling disappear.


    ¡°Students,¡± Aldred called.


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    ¡°I am going to tell you a little something I call ¡®Spartan Training¡¯.¡±


    The students gulped when they saw the teacher looked at them with a serious expression.


    ¡°I will make you go through the mes of hell. Are you all ready?¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned deep ck.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    How could they say no when they were being stared at like that.


    And so their training began. Aldred was shouting while the students were doing their push up.


    ¡°50. 51. 52. 53. Ahh, I cannot do it anymore.¡±


    Whip!


    ¡°Get your butt up and do some more.¡±


    ¡°But Master.¡±


    Whip!


    ¡°Any unnecessary word you say will be replied to by this whip.¡± Aldred raised his whip. ¡°Someone wants to say something?¡±


    ¡°No, Master!¡±


    And they began their push up once again.


    After the push up,es the sprinting. Aldred created a wooden sledge and tied it to a rope before telling the students to pull him around the field while sprinting.


    ¡°Faster! Tell me who you are!¡±


    ¡°I am a horse!¡±


    ¡°Say it louder!¡±


    ¡°I am a horse!¡±


    Aldred mmed his whip to the students as they pulled his wooden sledge. The whip wasn¡¯t that painful as they were still children, he didn¡¯t want to be too harsh on them¡­


    But maybe telling a bunch of 7-8 years old to pull an adult on a wooden sledge was a bit too much.


    It was too much indeed. The students were sprinting with great exhaustion. Sweat drenched their body, and they never felt so tired and breathless before.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw that some of the children had their life force stimted. That was a good thing. At this rate, they might have a chance to pass their limit.


    ¡°Faster! Where are my horses!¡±


    ¡°Here we are!¡±


    ¡°Where are my horses!?¡±


    ¡°Here we are!¡±


    That chant lifted their spirit and they ran even faster than before. It was a weird chant, but it did the job properly.


    After circling the field three times, Aldred told them to stop, and all of the kids immediately fell to the floor in exhaustion.


    Aldred whipped the ground, raising dust. ¡°Stand up! You¡¯re a warrior now! Lift yourself!¡±


    The students groaned and stood up. Some of them were still on the floor and Aldred shouted in their ear, forcing them to stand.


    ¡°A warrior must have great stamina to oust his enemy.¡±


    ¡°Master, we are tired. Can we have some rest first?¡±


    ¡°You think the enemy will let you rest? They will kill you in your sleep if they can! Now STAND UP!¡±


    The students stood up with their wobbling legs.


    ¡°Battle stance!¡±


    They raised their fists.


    ¡°Fight!¡±


    ¡°Eh? Fight who, master?¡±


    ¡°Fight amongst yourselves!¡±


    ¡°But all of us are friends.¡±


    ¡°Not at this moment. You are all soldiers, and everyone you see here is your enemy. Fight for your life!¡±


    Aldred whipped the ground, starting the fight.


    The 7-8 year olds obeyed and started punching their friends.


    ¡°I am sorry, Jacob. I have to hit you.¡±


    ¡°Do not apologize! Hit him like you mean it!¡±


    Jacob¡¯s friend hesitated, and then Jacob punched him in the face.


    ¡°Jacob?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my enemy right now.¡±


    And they all punched each other as hard as they could. Some kids dominated the fight and put their enemy down before barraging them with punches. It was a chaotic battle where the kids hit anyone they saw.


    After a few minutes of fighting, Aldred told them to stop.


    The kids then helped their friend to stand up and they smiled at each other.


    After the battle, they did note to hate each other, instead, they felt a stronger bond that tied them even closer. Some quiet kid that was isted before was epted by the ss after the fight. He earned the respect and the appreciation of his ss because of his skill.


    In reality, that kid put all of his time into training that he couldn¡¯t put any time into making friends. That, and he didn¡¯t know how to socialize.


    But after this battle, they learned of his quality as a warrior and admired him.


    Aldred smiled when he saw this development. ¡°You all can rest for 15 minutes. After that, return to this field.¡±

 246 Chapter 246

    The students walked with wobbly legs and helped each other from falling to the ground.


    When they reached their resting area, they started to feel pain all over their body. Aldred¡¯s training was brutal and vicious. Just like the name of the training, this training was inspired by Spartan history that he had read.


    Children of Sparta trained since they were a child. Punching each other was a daily urence. Each Spartan warrior was an elite of itself and was said to be worth 5 ordinary men.


    Whoever is raised in Sparta would have mental toughness unlike any other.


    Aldred noticed that his students were a bit spoiled. They had the ambition, but their will wasn¡¯t enough. At first, he wanted to take things slow and steady, but Biran, the teacher of A ss, pissed him off.


    If not for that, he would only tell them to do mild training. Though he had to admit the children of A ss were incredible.


    He had analyzed them with his godly eyes and could tell that they had higher life force than normal children at their age.


    Aldred watched his students in the resting area eating a boxed lunch that their parents had prepared.


    Aldred decided to be a little cruel. Not just because he wanted to be cruel, but because he wanted these kids to really have the mindset of a warrior.


    ¡°Students! Come forth!¡±


    ¡°Master, we haven¡¯t finished our food yet.¡±


    ¡°Are you disobeying my order?¡± Aldred asked.


    The students immediately put their lunch boxes away and walked to him.


    ¡°Who told you to walk?¡±


    The students started sprinting and gathered in front of him.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Organize yourself! You¡¯re a soldier now. Get in formation!¡±


    The students quickly entered into a proper 4 by 6 formations.


    ¡°When I told you to gather, I wanted order, not a bunch of mess like earlier. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, for your next training.¡± Aldred opened up a portal and a bunch of fighter golems came out.


    The students were surprised that their teacher could open up a portal with a wave of a hand, but they did not dare to ask questions.


    ¡°Do you know what these are?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Uhh, training dummy?¡±


    Aldredughed. This was the first time someone called his fighter golems a training dummy. Anyone that had fought one of his golems would tremble in fear when they see one.


    Not only were they almost indestructible, they were also unstoppable.


    ¡°These are not training dummies. These are my fighter golems. Let me show you what they are capable of.¡±


    Aldred waved his hand and a screen appeared that showed his golem army swarming into a city and took it in less than a day.


    The students looked in amazement when they saw the golems cut the enemies apart without mercy.


    But after the recording was over, the students trembled because of what Aldred said next.


    ¡°I want all of you to fight my golems.¡±


    After watching that video earlier, and understanding the true power of these golems, the students couldn¡¯t help but shake when they looked at these 2 meter tall hulking warriors.


    ¡°Master, how can we possibly fight these golems?¡±


    ¡°Your task is not to defeat them.¡±


    ¡°Then what is our task?¡±


    ¡°All you have to do is to be on your feet as long as possible. I don¡¯t care if you dodge, run, or attack. For 30 minutes, I want you to survive against my golems. But my golems won¡¯t use their full power.¡±


    The students sighed in relief after they heard that. If the golems used their full power, it would be a massacre.


    ¡°Now get ready!¡±


    The students tensed up.


    Aldred nced at them. They were sweating on their forehead.


    ¡°FIght!¡±


    The golems rushed forward while the students ran away immediately.


    Aldred smiled. He knew they would run away immediately, so he specifically told the golems to hit those who run away harder.


    The golems raised their wooden swords and mmed against the children¡¯s back. They were thrown a few meters away and then rolled on the ground.


    ¡°Never show your back to your enemy! This is your lesson!¡±


    ¡°Ahh! My leg!¡±


    Aldred saw one child had his leg snapped. He immediately used his Blood Maniption spell to control the bone, and muscles within. In a blink of an eye, he snapped the leg back in ce.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want your leg to be broken again, stand up and do something!¡±


    For 15 minutes straight, the golems beat the children left and right. It might look cruel from outside, but it wasn¡¯t that painful. The golems controlled their attack, making the pain to be a little bit more powerful than a spank.


    Of course idents sometimes happen and kids were thrown here and there, some legs snapped, and bones broken.


    But that was normal and Aldred could fix those types of wounds easily.


    After 20 minutes, Aldred told the golems to stop and saw that none of the kids managed to keep standing.


    They all fell on the floor while breathing heavily.


    ¡°Rest for 15 minutes. We will begin the next round after that.¡±


    ¡°Master, this is too much.¡±


    ¡°Do you guys want to win?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°We do, but there has to be a better way. Why don¡¯t you improve our technique instead?¡±


    Aldred shook his head in disappointment. ¡°You have wealthy and powerful parents, yet your mindset is still that of the poor.¡±


    The students didn¡¯t know what to say about thatment.


    ¡°You think life is easy? You think there¡¯s a shortcut to everything? If you want to win, you have to suffer more than your enemy. While your enemy is sleeping, you run until your legs give up. While your enemy is sitting and eating, you push your body until you cannot move.¡±


    The students listened intently. Their eyes lit up when they heard his speech. Suddenly, all the pain they had experienced today was all more than worth it.


    The more pain they feel, the more they think that they are one step ahead of their enemy.


    (¡°Come back with this shield, or upon it¡± (a Spartan mother to her son))

 247 Chapter 247

    After school was over, the students all ran to their luxurious private carriages. This school was really for the rich as the student¡¯s carriages looked more impressive than the others. And the beasts that pulled these carriages weren¡¯t ordinary at all. At minimum, these beast were at tinum Ranks.


    Dozens of tinums ranks even guarded these children as they went home. Everyone was excited when the school was over.


    Especially 1st grade martial ss F.


    Although their body was so exhausted that they couldn¡¯t even run to their carriage. One after another, the kids entered the carriage and weakly told the coachmen to bring them home.


    When they arrived at home, their parents asked what happened. Of course, they told them about the training and how tough it was. But there was no animosity to Aldred in their tone. In fact, they were proud that they just experienced the hardest training they had ever seen.


    The parents on the other hand were slightly disturbed by the training. Some of them wanted to talk to Aldred again. But the students told them not to.


    ¡°How can I let the teacher train you like this. I know you respect Master Aldred, but I need to talk to him.¡±


    ¡°No, dad. Although the training is hard, all of us went through the same thing, and we started enjoying it.¡±


    ¡°I still have to talk to him. This is too much.¡±


    ¡°Dad, look at this.¡± The boy punched forward, and a small sonic boomed burst forth, throwing the table into the air.


    The father frowned. ¡°That attack¡­ it¡¯s approaching the power of a Bronze Rank. You haven¡¯t even entered that rank yet.¡±


    ¡°It must be because of the training, dad. Master Aldred doesn¡¯t torture us for fun. He really wants us to win against ss A.¡±


    ¡°That yearlypetition is near?¡±


    ¡°It will begin in a month.¡±


    ¡°In a month?! I need to tell your master to increase the training.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    Although the students began to enjoy the training, that didn¡¯t mean they want to do it again.


    Not to mention making it even harder.


    But s, the parents still talked to Aldred to increase the training even more. They also tried to invite Aldred to their home.


    Aldred shrugged and thought to spend an hour or so visiting their home.


    He was weed with a feast, a littleughter, and chit chat. After that they asked Aldred to teach their subordinates a thing or two.


    Aldred epted immediately. He knew they paid him 3 billion gold coins not for chatting, and they were his allies, so there was no need in scamming them more of their money.


    The Diamonds Ranks were skeptical at first. Aldred was just a Gold Rank. How would someone two ranks lower than them be eligible to teach them?


    But their boss told them to listen to Aldred, and so they did.


    In less than a minuteter, these Diamond Ranks were shocked and looked at Aldred in a different way. The spells, skills, and martial techniques that they trained for decades was improved and strengthened in mere minutes.


    This made them respect Aldred like he was their father.


    ¡°Master.¡± They bowed at him.


    Aldredughed. ¡°No need to call me master. Aldred is fine.¡±


    None of them dared to call him with such a casual name. It was hard to improve oneself when one was already at Diamond Rank. No one could teach them as they were already the strongest. The only way to improve was decades of training and experimenting.


    Everyone knew this. So when Aldred improved their strength, they knew that Aldred was a national treasure and should be respected for his skill.


    When they heard that Aldred was paid 3 billion gold coins for each visit. They were shocked.


    ¡°Why so little? Master, you should ask for more.¡±


    Aldred waved his hand. ¡°I am not here for money. I am here because I want the Phoenix to be stronger as a whole.¡±


    That was of course a lie. How could he show his greedy tendency in front of his students? He had to set a good example.


    The Diamond Ranks widened their eyes when they heard that. They didn¡¯t expect Master Aldred to be so generous,passionate, and loyal to the Empress¡¯ ideology.


    ¡°Master, I believe you will be the strongest Diamond Ranks in the future. There¡¯s even a high chance that you will be an Adamantite Ranker. But if there¡¯s ever a chance that you want to be the emperor of this nation, please be assured that you have our full support.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I thank you for your words. Now, I have to take my leave and go to other ces. I have a lot of Diamond Ranks to teach.¡±


    ¡°Please let us escort you out, Master.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°We insist.¡±


    The Diamond Ranks then escorted Aldred out of the manor to the shock of the guards and servants. Even the lord of the house was shocked. Earning the respect of these Diamond Ranks was like creating a house in the sky¡ªnear impossible.


    For Aldred to have gained their respect in a snap of a finger was very impressive.


    Even the house servants couldn¡¯t help but talk about it.


    ¡°Who is that? Howe he¡¯s escorted by the Diamond Ranks?¡±


    ¡°They even call him ¡®master¡¯ like he was their most respected teacher.¡±


    ¡°Shhh. Don¡¯t talk too loudly. That¡¯s Master Aldred. I heard he¡¯s a new teacher in Phoenix Military School.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin why the Diamond Ranks respected him so much.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? He even taught Bravar, the Headmaster of the Phoenix Military School, some lessons about his power.¡±


    ¡°What? Who can give the headmaster himself a lesson?¡±


    ¡°That man is a legend. I heard of his tale and nicknames, but I never expected a Gold Rank like him would earn the respect of a Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred walked out of the gate and turned around as the Diamond Ranks bowed.


    ¡°Please have a safe trip, master.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Aldred smiled and entered a carriage that was given to him by the lord.


    He then traveled around the city and taught the subordinates of the noble and wealthy merchants, earning him their respect and tons of money. TONS!


    Aldred looked at his adventure guild card while sitting on his carriage.


    The number showed in bright golden light.


    ¡°36 BILLION! I am so rich!¡±

 248 Chapter 248

    After he was done for the day, Aldred went to his inn, and had a great bed time with his women.


    He sucked on their blood one by one, further increasing his vampire evolution.


    [Baron Blood Vampire Lv. 10]


    [Evolution: 99/100]


    And after indulging in pleasure with his women. His demon blood line also increased by leaps and bounds.


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 1]


    [Evolution: 100/100]


    [You have evolved]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 2]


    -Increase resistance against emotions alteration by 270%


    -Increase vitality by 98%


    -Increased the proficiency of Baron Hell Demon Racial skill


    Aldred nodded in satisfaction. The racial skills of these two weren¡¯t that strong yet, but he had high hopes for them in the future. He felt like these two blood lines would bete-game type of power.


    ¡°Are you enjoying your new job as a teacher?¡± Ste asked as she hugged him in bed along with other girls.


    ¡°The kids are obedient bunch and hardworking ones. I like them.¡±


    Ste¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Are you nning to have children?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I am not strong enough to protect them.¡±


    Aldred would like to be as strong as his father, Hujarar, before he decided to have kids. But the fact that his father struggled against the gods meant that he had to be even stronger if he wanted to protect his family.


    Ste giggled and kissed him on the cheek. ¡°I will be waiting for that.¡±


    Zafrina blushed when she heard that Aldred and Ste were talking about making kids. Although Aldred had done it inside her, she didn¡¯t harbor any kids yet.


    If she could, she wanted to have his children inside her.


    She shook her head and blew the thought away. It was too embarrassing to think about.


    Her body jolted as Aldred grabbed her waist and pulled her into his embrace. Zafrina looked into his eyes, wondering why he pulled her all of a sudden.


    Aldred did not say anything and simply caressed her head while looking at her lovingly.


    Her heart melted and she closed her eyes with a smile beforeying her head on his chest.


    Her blood circted faster. Heart thumped harder, and she felt a burning thirst in her throat. She opened her eyes and locked onto Aldred¡¯s neck.


    Aldred smiled and tilted his head to the side, showing his bare neck to her.


    Zafrina¡¯s eyes turned red with thirst and she bit on Aldred¡¯s neck before sucking his blood.


    The girls all looked at her as she sucked on Aldred¡¯s blood.


    ¡°I never tasted Aldred¡¯s blood. Is it good?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to suck my blood.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯splicated. Zafrina is a vampire so it¡¯s fine, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe for humans to consume it.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we try.¡± Mareona bit on his neck and licked his blood. ¡°That doesn¡¯t taste like ordinary blood.¡±


    ¡°How is it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweeter, and hotter as well. Wait, my body¡­. I feel hot. It felt like drinking hot tea, and it¡¯s making my stomach warm.¡±


    The heat increased, but the delicious taste on her tongue still permeated around her mouth. She only licked a bit of Aldred¡¯s blood, and yet there was wave after wave of delicious vor on her tongue.


    She couldn¡¯t help and suddenly her clothes got torn to shred as she moaned in pleasure.


    Everyone was shocked. How could the clothes just be torn apart like that.


    And why is Mareona moaning?


    Aldred was shocked as well. He had seen orgasms and foodgasms before, but this was the first time he saw bloodgasm.


    Mareona¡¯s expression turned into a craze of pleasure and thirst. That was when she pounced on Aldred¡¯s neck as well and sucked on his blood.


    ¡°Mareona what are you doing?¡± Mary asked.


    She didn¡¯t reply and kept sucking and licking his neck.


    ¡°Aldred, you said your blood is not safe to consume for humans,¡± Mira said. ¡°Why does Mareona seem to like it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe my blood tastes good?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mira bit on his arm. ¡°It¡¯s really a weird taste.¡± She then kept sucking his blood.


    Soon after, the other girls started biting as well.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t bite my finger. No, not my legs. Wait! No! Not that ce. Please! I can grow it back, but it¡¯d be damn painful!¡±


    ¡­


    Tomkin sat in his office as he put a stamp of approval on a paper. That paper was about evicting 15 families out of their homes because they failed to pay ¡®security money¡¯ to his unit. He had been patient with them for 3 weeks, and had sent out a few officers to throw them out of the building.


    But today, he decided to tear down the building while they were still within it.


    This was amon urrence for him. These families would say they didn¡¯t have money because business was bad, but he didn¡¯t care. If they cannot pay, then they cannot stay.


    Tomkin smiled. A few years ago, he was an Urban Officer as well, and he got to personally bring their house down. The look on their face as the house copsed on them was still fresh in his memory.


    Usually he would evict families out of their home after 2 or 3 months, but Phoenix Urban Management was reported to have higher profit than the Dragon Urban management. This forced him to speed up the eviction process.


    The door opened and one of his officers walked in.


    ¡°Sir Tomkin, I am here to bring 150 documents. In here, there¡¯s a plea from the family you¡¯re about to evict.¡±


    Tomkin grabbed the documents and casually threw them in the trash bin. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    The officer gulped in nervousness. Sir Tomkin didn¡¯t even hesitate to throw the documents to the pile of trash. This showed just how ruthless this man was, and if he wanted to survive in this job, he had to be ruthless as well.


    ¡°Sir Tomkin, I am here to send a message for the higher ups. They have someone they want you to eliminate.¡±


    ¡°Give me name, location, and power.¡±

 249 Chapter 249

    Aldred woke up in bed with 9 beauties on his bed. 10 if he counts the sleeping Krista who was sleeping by herself on a separate bed.


    When Aldred had fun with his women, they would sing a luby song for her to sleep first. And then Ste and Sophia would cast a silent spell so the sound wouldn¡¯t disturb her sleep.


    ¡°Morning, darling,¡± Ste said before kissing his lips.


    ¡°Morning, darling,¡± Mareona said and also kissed him on the lips.


    They all greeted him good morning and kissed him one by one.


    ¡°I am so lucky to have all of you.¡± Aldred hugged them tight and enjoyed their warmth.


    They all felt happy when Aldred expressed his gratitude to them. Though in reality, it was them who were thankful to have him as a partner. Aldred never neglected them, and loved them all the same. He didn¡¯t favor one over the other. With that personality, the girls also developed a strong bond with each other. Even new members such as Rachel and Kiara were epted quickly.


    This was because they knew that Aldred wouldn¡¯t treat them unfairly just because there was a new girl.


    ¡°Are you going to school now?¡±


    ¡°Not sure, I am toozy to go in the morning. I just want toy in bed with all of you.¡±


    The girls giggled.


    Aldred had mixed feelings about school. He hated it and loved it at the same time. It was the ce he could get away from his abusive parents, but it was also one of the reasons his parents would beat him if he scored low on a test or something.


    He shook his head and removed that terrible memory. He wanted to live a new life, and threw away the old Aldred. That was why he wished the god would erase his old memory when he got a rebirth in this fantasy world.


    But, that memory taught him to be more grateful of his current situation, so it wasn¡¯t all that bad.


    ¡°I like this ce,¡± Kiara said as shey on his chest. Her body was on top of him.


    ¡°You like the city?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°No. I mean. This ce. This family and this rtionship.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re only with us for a few days.¡±


    ¡°And I want to stay for years.¡±


    ¡°That was a quick decision. What if you recall your memories?¡±


    Kiara shook her head. ¡°I am sure those memories are forgotten for a good reason. I don¡¯t have anywhere to go except here.¡±


    ¡°You can stay as long as you like,¡± Mary said with a smile.


    ¡°Yeah, no one is going to make you go anywhere,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°We all will ept you as one of our own,¡± Ste said. ¡°That said, why is your tail so cute?¡± She grabbed her tail.


    ¡°Kyaa!¡± Kiara blushed and her whole body shook. ¡°Please, don¡¯t grab my tail like that. It¡¯s very sensitive right now.¡±


    Ste grinned naughtily and caressed her tail.


    ¡°Kyaa! No!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Now that you¡¯re one of us, you cannot escape from my grasp.¡±


    Kiara looked at Aldred with teary eyes like she was asking for help.


    Aldred shrugged with a smile, and instead of helping her, he hugged her tight to prevent her from moving.


    ¡°Aldred, you¡¯re evil!¡±


    Ste tickled her tail for a good few minutes, and she was exhausted fromughing out loud. Eventually, she fell on Aldred¡¯s chest and breathed weakly.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough, Ste. She looks exhausted.¡±


    Ste giggled. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, Aldred. You¡¯re not going to work?¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Having a job is really hard, huh. Before this, I could do whatever I want, whenever I want.¡±


    ¡°Just think of it as helping the Phoenix.¡±


    ¡°Right. I want to ask Bravar to assign me more sses. Only teaching 24 students is not good enough for me when I can do more.¡±


    Aldred stood up. Mary then dressed him with the help of others, making sure that he looked clean and handsome.


    ¡°And we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I am off to work now. By the way, let me transfer 5 billion gold coins so you can use them as daily money. I am sure Bartrem and the soldiers will need to buy something in the city.¡±


    The girls were shocked, except for Zafrina.


    ¡°How much did you just say?¡±


    ¡°5 billion gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get so much money?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± Aldred transferred the gold coins to Mary¡¯s card. ¡°Just let them buy whatever they want. I am off to work now.¡±


    Aldred jumped off of the balcony and flew to school using me Jet.


    As he was flying in the air, a group of people shot magicals at him. Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Fire Combustion.¡±


    All thes burned to ashes as Aldred hovered in the sky.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°You are breaking the rule. Your flight is too loud and it disturbs the public.¡±


    Aldred looked at the dragon insignia on their chest and immediately understood what was happening.


    ¡°I have students to teach, so don¡¯t mess with me.¡±


    ¡°You dare!? Come down here so we can fine you. If not, we wille for your family!¡±


    ¡°I live in Phoenix¡¯s territory. What can you do there?¡±


    ¡°Humph! You think we cannot send assassins to them? If you leave, you¡¯ll find them dead.¡±


    Aldred stopped on his flight, and took a deep breath as his body trembled in rage.


    Hended on the ground and red at the officers.


    The officers grinned andughed.


    ¡°Good. Now give us all your money. This is your fine for disturbing the peace.¡±


    Aldred stayed silent and kept ring at them.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said?! Give me all your money!¡±


    Aldred looked to the side, and saw that these officers were currently tearing down a building with people still in it.


    ¡°What are you people doing? There¡¯s still people in that building!¡±


    ¡°None of your business. They can¡¯t pay rent so we have to destroy the building. And these people don¡¯t want toe out of their house.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie. We always pay the rent for thend in a timely manner. We even paid extra to bribe them, but they increased the payment. We could barely eat anything now, and they keep asking for more.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the officer shouted. ¡°You have no right here to speak!¡±


    Aldred sneered. ¡°People like you don¡¯t have the right to live.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± The officer red at him.


    ¡°I am done with talking. All of youe at me.¡±


    ¡°You think you can fight the 8 of us at once? Hahaha! What a fool!¡±


    Aldred sighed and summoned his Phantom Doomde. Lightning crackled around the de, and red mist slowly circled around the de.


    The officers didn¡¯t know why, but they shuddered when they saw the de appearing out of nowhere. The more they looked, the more they became fearful of it.


    ¡°What a powerful de¡­¡±


    The onlookers started to back away, and nearby stores closed their stores. Some people hid on the rooftop to watch.


    The officers saw a chance. ¡°Give us that de, and we will let you go.¡±


    If he could bring that de to his superior, he would surely get promoted.


    ¡°Let me ask you something,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Have you experienced hell before?¡±

 250 Chapter 250

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The officer red at him. He then nervously nced at Aldred¡¯s weapon. He gulped with hesitation until he looked at his men.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can win against us just because you have a strong weapon.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to fight or not? My de is itching to taste your blood and flesh. If you¡¯re scared then get the fuck out of here.¡±


    When the officer heard that, his eyes fiercely red at Aldred. How dare this man speak to him like that. He was one of the seniors in the Urban Management unit. Everyone in this area feared him and listened to anything he said.


    Sir Tomkin told him to make trouble for this man, but he didn¡¯t know Aldred would be so domineering. But looking at the clothes of this man, he seemed to be a teacher in the Phoenix Military School. Will it be fine to kill someone like him?


    The officer shook his head. He didn¡¯t care. This man had angered him, and he wanted this man to die.


    ¡°It seems like I need to teach you a lesson. If you haven¡¯t already known, I am the senior officer of Urban Management. I am the one who runs this area. And let me show you what happens to those who disobey me. Kill him!¡±


    Seven Gold Rank guards rushed at him. One had drooping eyes and messy hair. He looked at Aldred with a crazed expression and pulled out a dagger from his waist.


    ¡°You should have given the officer your weapon. Fool!¡±


    Aldred simply continued staring at the man calmly.


    Seeing his calm expression, the man was annoyed and raised his knife to stab Aldred.


    With a smile, Aldred reached out and grabbed the man¡¯s wrist before the man could even react. The man panicked, but Aldred already pulled him and mmed him into the ground, face first.


    He lifted his leg and then kicked the man¡¯s head like he was kicking a ser ball.


    His small de fell with a ng.


    One man was neutralized in less than 3 seconds.


    At this moment, the rest of the guards widened their eyes. They didn¡¯t expect theirrades to fall so quickly.


    The onlookers were watching in silence, but secretly they were cheering inside their hearts. They hoped that Aldred could kick these Urban Management people because they had been robbing for years. Not only do they arrogantly take their items without paying, sometimes these people would even grab the money from their cashier, making the owner suffer tremendous losses.


    Some businesses even went bankrupt because of this, and in return, a lot of people were now unemployed.


    ¡°Bastard! How dare you attack our friend. Die for me!¡±


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°So I cannot hit you, but you are allowed to hit me? Did your mom teach you that logic?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The man lunged towards Aldred.


    Aldred took a step back to dodge the man¡¯s sword attack before returning a kick to his jaw.


    The man¡¯s head was thrown back, and his jaw cracked from the impact while his body was knocked into the air.


    While the man was in mid air, Aldred grabbed the man¡¯s neck, and quickly mmed the man to the ground. The back part of the man¡¯s head cracked the ground, and foam came out of the man¡¯s mouth as he was now unconscious.


    The onlookers let out a small cheer in their home as they peeked through the window. This man defeated 2 people already, and that was very satisfying to watch.


    People even hoped that this incident would stop these urban management people from harassing them.


    ¡°Bastard! Surround him and attack at the same time!¡±


    With a simple side step, Aldred dodged 2 attacks at once. He then unleashed a side kick to the stomach of the nearest guard.


    With a painful yelp, the man was sent flying a few meters while he spat out blood, then crashed onto the ground.


    The onlookers cheered again. There were 5 enemies left.


    Aldred smiled, dodging a knife easily that went towards his throat. He then formed a w on his left hand, and pierced the man¡¯s neck with his nails. He pulled his hand, and performed a palm attack to the man¡¯s jaw, knocking him out.


    Four enemies left.


    At this moment, the four guards were already hesitating whether to attack or not.


    Aldred was smiling all this time. He didn¡¯t kill the Dragon Guards, because he didn¡¯t want to go to war with them now. A lot of people in this city will die if that were to happen.


    But he wasn¡¯t aplete samaritan. If people want to harm him, he¡¯d harm them in a painful way. What he did to these guards might not kill them, but they will suffer a lot of pain when they wake upter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. All 4 of us attack at the same time.¡±


    The senior officer charged forward at the front. Aldred¡¯s eyes let out a fierce dark glint.


    He rushed forward, grabbed the senior officer by the neck, and with quick spin, he tossed the officer towards the other three, hitting them hard, and causing them to be knocked away a dozen meters.


    Aldred then cleaned his hands like he just threw away a bag of trash.


    That wasplete annihtion!!


    The onlookers couldn¡¯t help but cheer and jumped around in their home.


    All this time, Aldred didn¡¯t even use his sword, and yet he defeated 8 men in the same rank!


    Aldred thought that it was a shame that he couldn¡¯t kill these guys. If this was the Phoenix¡¯s territory, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do that.


    Whatever, now that the trash had been cleaned, it was time to leave.


    Aldred turned around and walked away.


    ¡°Wait, respected sir. Please wait.¡± An old man quickly approached him. ¡°I want to thank you for what you have done. These people are cruel. Even when me and my grandson are still in the building, they keep trying to tear it down. None of us wanted to leave, because we have nowhere to go.¡±


    ¡°Why not go to the Phoenix¡¯s side?¡±


    The old man sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not easy. People on the Dragon¡¯s side can¡¯t really move to the Phoenix¡¯s territory because they fear of possible espionage. I understand their concern, so I am not resentful of them. But to thank you for your service, let me give you this.¡±


    The old man handed him a piece of paper.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Aldred opened the dirty paper and widened his eyes. ¡°Old man¡­ this is¡­¡±


    ¡°I really hate these people, young sir. I want them to fall and rot in hell.¡±


    ¡°This is not enough to destroy thempletely.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but at least I contribute to their pain.¡± The old manughed.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Show me your card.¡±


    The old man was confused but he still showed his card. Aldred then quickly tapped the card with his own card and transferred 1 billion gold coins to the man¡¯s ount.


    The man widened his eyes. ¡°Young sir¡­ this is too much. I cannot ept this.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°This information is more valuable than that amount. Use it wisely. Help yourself and your grandson with it. And if you want to, you can also help your neighbor with that money.¡±


    The old man was about to bow his head, but Aldred held his shoulder.


    ¡°No need to thank me.¡± Aldred quickly left the scene and flew away.

 251 Chapter 251

    When Aldred arrived at school, he realized that he waste already because his students had been waiting for him.


    Hended on the training field, and the students were pouting.


    ¡°Master, where have you been? We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°I have urgent matters to take care of. You guys do 500 push and 500 sprint around the field first. I have to visit the headmaster.¡±


    The students looked at his back, then looked at each other.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just listen to what he told us.¡±


    The students began their training as Aldred walked through the hall, passing teachers and students along the way.


    He entered the headmaster¡¯s room without knocking. Bravar wasn¡¯t angry, but only felt slightly surprised.


    ¡°Why are you in a hurry?¡±


    ¡°I have something to tell you. Take a look at this paper.¡±


    Bravar took the paper and read the content. ¡°This¡­ is this real?¡±


    ¡°You can send someone to check. But if this is real, then we have to tell the Phoenix to make a proactive decision.¡±


    Bravar nodded. ¡°I will take care of this. You must focus on teaching the students.¡±


    ¡°About that. I would like to teach more sses if possible. I can teach magic as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I thought you wanted less work?¡±


    ¡°Just think of it as me helping Phoenix¡¯s future generations.¡±


    Bravarughed. ¡°Good. We¡¯re lucky to have someone like you. I will send the studentster.¡±


    Aldred chatted with the headmaster for a short moment before he left and oversaw the training of his students.


    A half an hourter, more students came to the field with confused looks.


    ¡°Excuse me, are you teacher Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°We are the 1st Grade Magic ss F. We were told toe here. Are you our new teacher?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I am your new teacher. My time is expensive and valuable, so we¡¯re going to skip the introduction phase. I have better ways for you to know me better.¡±


    The students were slightly disappointed. The introduction phase was their favorite phase. That was when they took things slowly, and didn¡¯t have to do any study.


    ¡°What are we going to do, teacher?¡±


    ¡°Simple. The magic ss will fight the martial ss.¡±


    ¡°Soldiers, gather around!¡±


    ¡°HAA!¡± The martial ss quickly dropped everything they were doing and made a formation in front of him. Their body was straight, and they had the demeanor of a soldier.


    Aldred nodded with a smile. He trained them well.


    The magic ss on the other hand was shocked. They only saw something like this when their personal army was being trained by their generals. Each soldier would have a fierce aura umted from battles, and looking at them, the magic ss could almost feel the same aura.


    ¡°All of you have new friends today. But sadly, they didn¡¯t know you well yet. Would you like to introduce yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Go!¡±


    The martial ss students charged towards the magic ss.


    The magic ss was confused and slightly scared at the charging students, but they still reached out their hand for a handshake.


    The martial ss students also reached out their hand, but not for a handshake.


    It was for a punch to the face.


    But they still introduced themselves while hitting the magic ss students.


    ¡°My name is Zeth. Nice to meet you!¡± a student shouted as he barraged the magic student with punches.


    The magic students were helpless at first, but they then started throwing magic at the martial students.


    A small fireball struck a student. There was heat. But that was it, it didn¡¯t feel painful at all.


    The martial students continued pummeling the magic ss as they told them their hobbies, pets, and favorite food.


    ¡°I like cake.¡± Punch! ¡°What about you? Do you like cake as well?¡± Punch! ¡°I sometimes eat vegetables, but not that much.¡± Punch!


    After a few minutes, Aldred thought it was enough.


    ¡°Stop! Return in position!¡±


    The martial ss students stopped punching and stood in a formation.


    Meanwhile, the magical students wereying on the floor in pain.


    ¡°Now that you know each other, we can begin our training.¡±


    The magical students groaned. What kind of introduction was that!?


    ¡°All of you stand on your feet and make a formation!¡± Aldred shouted to the magic students.


    They stood up and formed a formation, but it took some time for them to do it.


    ¡°Too slow. Do better next time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡±


    ¡°I want you to call me sir, during the training.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Good. Do you know why I told the martial ss to beat you up?¡±


    ¡°No, sir!¡±


    ¡°One is to introduce you to your new friends. Now you know their strength, name, pets, and favorite food. And I don¡¯t think you will ever forget what they told you as they hit you in the face.¡±


    The magical students thought about it for a moment and realized that the teacher was correct. They remembered every detail the martial students said to them.


    ¡°The other reason is because I want to let you know how it feels to be punched in the face. All of you are magicians, so you think it won¡¯t be necessary to get hit, but that¡¯s wrong. A magician should get used to being hit, because when the timees, you will be prepared for it. Do you all understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Alright, the martial ss can resume their training. The magic on the other hand will be showing their magic spell to me one by one.¡±


    The magic students showed Aldred their ability, and he wasn¡¯t impressed at all.


    ¡°Why are you all so weak?¡±


    ¡°Sir, we haven¡¯t even entered the Bronze Rank yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no excuse. You all should work hard to improve your spells.¡±


    The students sighed and groaned. Aldred frowned. These students seemed so dejected and unmotivated.


    ¡®How can I motivate them? Oh right.¡¯


    ¡°By the way, tomorrow you will be fighting against the martial ss again.¡±


    ¡°But we will lose again.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good time to start training. I will teach you one by one.¡±


    ¡°It will be a bad result anyway. We have been taught a lot, but our magic has stagnated.¡±


    ¡°Just do what I told you guys.¡±


    Aldred then instructed them on how to cast the spell properly. He taught the basics first just to improve their mana cirction, and strengthened their spell by a significant margin.


    The students casted their spell and their eyes widened at the huge improvement.


    Their tiny fireball now transformed into the size of their head, and they could even feel the heat from it.


    ¡°See. Now are all of you motivated to learn more?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

 252 Chapter 252

    For weeks, Aldred taught the students, beat them up, and let them fight among each other. The other students and teachers seeing their training routine were terrified.


    How could teacher Aldred do this to his students every single day?


    Every day, their bones would crack, their skin would be burned, and the training got harder as the day progressed. Sometimes, Aldred even gave them a surprise test such as fighting against the undead or running away against the barrage of golem shells.


    Running away from a behemoth creature called Xer Xai. They were even told to charge against a storm of fire bullets.


    Everyday, the students would look at Aldred¡¯s ss just to see their training. Each day was brutal and fierce. It was like survival of the fittest.


    Today, the students were told to put their head inside a bucket of water for as long as possible. Behind their head was sharp and hot nails, so every time they pulled their head out of the bucket, the back of their neck would be stabbed and burned.


    The teachers were shocked. How could the parents allow this? How could the headmaster allow this?!


    What they didn¡¯t know was the parents of these students had already let Aldred do whatever he wanted. All these years, they had been so disappointed in their son¡¯s and daughter¡¯s improvement that they were helpless in what to do.


    At first they were skeptical of what Aldred did to them, but when they saw the improvement of their child, they even thanked Aldred personally like the parents of the martial ss students.


    Of course, they offered Aldred to visit their home and offered him a few billion gold coins for each visit.


    Aldred smiled and said he would take some time to visit them. Strengthening the Phoenix¡¯s forces was one of his agenda as well. The stronger the empress¡¯ forces, the easier it would be for himter on.


    Some parents stayed in school to see what training was personally. And the longer they watch, the darker their expressions be. Such torturous training¡­ their heart breaking when they saw their children struggled with all they had, but after seeing the benefit, they took a deep breath, and contained their heartache.


    The next day, Aldred built a bunch of pirs using his earth spell. These pirs were connected to each other using a narrow bridge made out of stones.


    Currently, the students were on top of these pirs and Aldred told them to fight each other.


    Fighting in the small pirs, and the narrow bridges required great stability. On the first day, a lot of them fell and broke their backs.


    The parents closed their eyes as they watched their children fall. Though they didn¡¯t die, the pain must be so great.


    ¡°Master Aldred,¡± one of the parents called. ¡°I know you have good intentions. But they are still 7 and 8 years old. Don¡¯t you think it would be better to reduce the intensity a bit?¡±


    ¡°The best time to suffer is when you¡¯re young,¡± Aldred said as he watched the training with both hands behind his back. ¡°When you¡¯re old and your own back breaks down, it¡¯ll be toote.¡±


    Aldred looked at the father. ¡°Do you want to waste the best time of your child?¡±


    ¡°But they are still children. They need entertainment.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Take a look at them. Did you see them suffering? Yes, but are they having fun?¡±


    The father watched the students fight each other with a slight smile on their face.


    They all hated the training at first, but as time progressed, they came to love it. The pain and struggle they felt together strengthened their bond with each other.


    They even pushed each other to pass their own limit that they thought was at first impossible at first. This changed their mindset fromzy and unmotivated to being ambitious and thinking that nothing is impossible.


    Aldred was d that his spartan training worked out well. Peer pressure was great. If he only taught one student, this type of training would demotivate them. But by suffering in a group, they felt relieved that others were also suffering with them.


    Yes, humans were dirty. They be happy when others suffer with them.


    But all the students in his ss could rte to the pain and suffering, so they had a good rtionship with each other.


    By making them fight against each other, they change their mindset. When a student was punched or kicked, they wouldn¡¯t feel annoyed, but excited for a fight instead, and it didn¡¯t matter if they won or lost.


    They¡¯d fight again and again, making them a true warrior.


    After 3 weeks or so, their improvement was so vast that even the parents couldn¡¯t even believe what they saw.


    Aldred visited the nobles and wealthy parents during that time, raking in 72 billion gold coins!


    His concept of wealth changed after that. He didn¡¯t think having a few billions was as rich anymore. These people clearly had trillions of wealth.


    No wonder they could sustain a lot of Diamond Ranks. Where did they get their money anyway? How could an empire have so many trillionaires?


    If the nobles were this rich, then what about the empress? Just how rich is she?


    After every visit to their home, all the Diamond Ranks respected him, and even shared his existence to other Diamond Ranks. Aldred became the big talk among the Diamond Ranksmunity.


    With him bing so important, everyone tried to give him something to make him happy.


    That was when they heard that Aldred was building a fleet.


    The nobles asked him how big his fleet will be and they were shocked.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!?¡±


    ¡°Master Aldred. You should have told us that you are building a fleet.¡±


    A noble nodded. ¡°Now that we know, we will give you a better fleet.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will contribute some cruisers to your fleet.¡±


    ¡°I will send my destroyers then.¡±


    ¡°I will give you my frigates, Master Aldred.¡±


    ¡°My submarines are some of the best. They will surely protect you in the sea.¡±


    ¡°Some speed boats will be useful for you to take over enemy vessels. I will send 30 of them to you.¡±


    ¡°And we all will send more materials to improve your mothership.¡±


    Aldred smiled at all of them. ¡°Thank you all of you.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. How can we ept your thanks, Master Aldred. We haven¡¯t even thanked you enough for what you have done for us.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I am really thankful. I will make sure your kids win in the yearly tournament.¡±


    ¡°When will that begin?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow.¡±

 253 Chapter 253

    The day of the yearlypetition began with students and teachers gathered around a vast arena.


    Teachers all the way from first grade to sixth grade all appeared here. The yearlypetition was usually done only for the first grade and the sixth grade.


    Headmaster Bravar thought of this system so the students had time to improve themselves after their yearlypetition in the first grade.


    A lot of students who failed when they were in first grade became powerful at sixth grade because they really wanted to prove themselves.


    But this year, the sixth grade had been sent to a special training camp, so only the first grade could join the tournament.


    The sixth grade teachers were still in the school though, although the majority of them were also sent out along with the sixth grade students.


    Aldred was standing in front of a board with his students behind him.


    ¡°Master,¡± Jeben called. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No. I am just wondering how thepetition works. Which ss will you fight first?¡±


    ¡°Master, how could you not know?¡±


    ¡°I am a new teacher.¡±


    ¡°And the headmaster didn¡¯t notify you?¡±


    ¡°He did tell me toe for a meeting, but I didn¡¯te.¡±


    Jeben sighed. Even though Master Aldred was a genius in teaching, and was respected by all the students, sometimes Master Aldred didn¡¯t care about things.


    ¡°There are six sses in total: A, B, C, D, E, F,¡± Jeben said. ¡°The tournament will make each ss fight against each other. The first round is ss A against ss B, after that ss C against ss D, our fight against ss E will best.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s the first round?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Whichever ss won the first round will go to the second round.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I want your ss to fight ss A first.¡±


    At this moment, a teacher and a group of students came.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here, teacher Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Why is that, teacher Biran?¡±


    ¡°I thought you would run away to avoid shaming yourself like all the other teachers who had taught ss F before.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Why would I run away when the other ss is too inadequate to fight my students.¡±


    Biran snorted. ¡°My ss wins this tournament every year. Everybody knows who will win this year as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course they do. Other than my ss, who could have won?¡± Aldredughed.


    ¡°We will see about that.¡± Biran left.


    ¡°He¡¯s so arrogant.¡± Jeben red at Biran¡¯s back as he left.


    ¡°It makes you want to beat him right?¡±


    Jeben shook his head. ¡°I want to beat his students. They always looked down on us like we¡¯re trash.¡±


    ¡°Before meeting me all of you were indeed trash.¡±


    Jeben sighed again. Master Aldred, shouldn¡¯t you be motivating us at this moment. Why did you call us trash instead?!


    ¡°Aldred!¡± A beautiful voice shouted from a distance.


    Aldred turned around and saw Mareona waving her hand in the air as she and the other girls walked towards him.


    ¡°You came!¡±


    ¡°Of course we did. How can we pass your first everpetition.¡±


    ¡°Thepetition is for students only.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re the teacher, so you can be counted on to participate in it as well.¡±


    ¡°I am sure you can win, Aldred,¡± Kiara said, motivating him.


    As all of his nine girls motivated him and talked to him sweetly, the students looked in awe and amazement.


    ¡°Master Aldred.¡± Jeben tugged his clothes. ¡°Who are they?¡±


    ¡°They are my women.¡±


    ¡°Ehhh!¡±


    Jeben and the students widened their eyes. They had seen a lot of beautiful big sisters in their life, but they still couldn¡¯t help but have a crush on Aldred¡¯s girls.


    Especially Kiara who looked like a beautiful princess with lush hair and petite body. She was the best big sister any little brother could ask for.


    Kiara noticed their eyes on her and smiled which made the young boys blush.


    ¡°Are you guys nervous?¡± Kiara asked.


    The students shook their heads vigorously, and puffed their chest.


    ¡°We can win big sister. Master Aldred taught us a lot.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes. We can win this tournament. It should be very easy.¡±


    Kiara chuckled sweetly. ¡°Then, I promise to give you all a kiss if you can win.¡±


    That was when their heart thumped as loud as a war drum. Refreshing wind of flowery fragrance blew their hair, and the will to fight burned in every cell of their body.


    Jeben was of course very excited when he heard that.


    ¡®Getting a kiss from a beautiful big sister¡­¡¯ Jeben looked at Kiara who noticed him and sweetly smiled at him.


    ¡®I have to win. I have to win this tournament no matter what!¡¯


    ¡°Yoshaaa!¡± Jeben shouted. ¡°We can win this! We have to! Come on guys, let¡¯s use our battle cry.¡±


    ¡°HURRA!¡± Jeben raised his fist.


    ¡°HURRAA!¡±


    The other ss noticed their battle cry, and wondered what made ss F, the lowest ss, be so excited.


    Teacher Biran noticed this and snorted while headmaster Bavar smiled.


    As time passed, and the arena became more bustling with people. A man walked on stage, and faced the crowd.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you all waiting,¡± the man said with a booming voice that reverberated to the whole arena. ¡°Before we begin the tournament, please give a round of apuse for our winnerst year, Teacher Biran!¡±


    Teacher Biran smiled as everyone looked at him and pped.


    ¡°For years, Teacher Biran has created many geniuses with his teaching ability, and won the yearlypetition for decades! Will we see teacher Biran win again this year?¡±


    The other teacher smiled bitterly. ¡°Teacher Biran basically owned thepetition in this generation. No one can defeat him.¡±


    ¡°To think that I ced my bet against him for 10 years¡­ I was a fool.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no more betting avenue right?¡±


    ¡°Why would anyone open a gambling avenue when everyone knows that teacher Biran will win?¡±


    That was when a group of people split up with a box on their hand offering people to ce their bets.


    ¡°Pressure toon bet avenue has opened. ce your bet to earn a fortune,¡± Bartrem shouted.

 254 Chapter 254

    ¡°Is that Bartrem?¡± Mary asked. ¡°What is he doing with the soldiers?¡±


    ¡°I told them to make money,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°So they open a betting avenue?¡±


    ¡°They also open a food stall. Look over there.¡±


    Mary looked to the side and saw a small stall where a soldier was selling pre-cooked food wrapped in paper.


    ¡°You¡¯re already rich, Aldred. Why would you tell Bartrem to make money? The profit from selling those foods must be very low,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Each piece of food cost 50 million gold coins.¡±


    ¡°What! Why is it so expensive?¡±


    ¡°You might not know this, Mary, but all the people here are rich people. 50 million gold coins is nothing to them.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you increase the price?!¡± Mary then went to each stall that Bartrem had set up and changed the price to 100 million gold coins for each food.


    Sure enough, none of the customers nced at the price and simply bought anything they wanted.


    This level of spending was unprecedented in her life. She had never seen something like this before even though she was a guard in the royal pce, she didn¡¯t really know how much money nobles spend on day to day.


    The only time she had seen so much money being spent was when Aldred bought a fleet. But the cost was justified with how powerful the ships were.


    But a simple food for 100 million gold coins? She was drooling every time someone bought food from the stall.


    Aldred shook his head and smiled bitterly after seeing this. He looked to the side, and noticed Ivette was drooling too.


    ¡°Are you drooling because of how much money we got, or are you drooling at the food being sold at the stall?¡±


    A teacher walked towards Aldred. ¡°Are you a new teacher?¡± He said with a smile.


    ¡°Yes. I joined recently.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am the teacher of 2nd grade ss B, Huevod.¡± He reached out his hand for a handshake.


    ¡°I am Aldred. The teacher of first grade ss F.¡±


    Huevod immediately pulled his hand and looked at him with disgust.


    In an instant, he became uninterested and walked away.


    Aldred didn¡¯t take the action to heart and simply raised an eyebrow. He was surprised at the level of discrimination in this school.


    Each student were the children of rich parents, so why would they be so discriminated against? It didn¡¯t make any sense.


    ¡°Ugh. I almost touched the hand of that ss F teacher.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s ear twitched as he heard Huevod talk about him a distance away.


    ¡°That new ss F teacher?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He has good clothes and good looks, but I didn¡¯t expect he¡¯s ss F teacher.¡±


    ¡°Too bad. Looks can be deceiving indeed. If he¡¯s a teacher of ss D or C at least, then I would have courted my daughter to him.¡±


    ¡°He must be a very weak Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°My graduated students could probably defeat him with one hand tied on his back.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I agree with that. All ss F teachers are losers after all.¡±


    Aldred frowned, and approached them. ¡°Are you guys insulting me?¡±


    They all looked at him with a smug look. There was no hint of guilt. They truly looked down on him and ss F.


    The teacher looked at Aldred clenching his fist, and snorted.


    ¡°Please act more dignified, ss F teacher. You¡¯re not in the countryside school. This is a prestigious ce where not just anybody could enter. Of course sometimes a little trash slipped inside.¡±


    ¡°Are you calling me trash?¡±


    ¡°Oh, when did I say such a thing? Do not use me, ss F teacher.¡±


    The man said ¡®ss F teacher¡¯ as if it was an insulting word.


    ¡°LIke my friend said, act with dignity and grace. If you don¡¯t want to be marked as trash, then don¡¯t act like trash.¡±


    Aldred was pissed. He had never insulted them, and yet they kept insulting him. He controlled his emotions and smiled.


    ¡°There¡¯s a saying. Those who speak a lot of trash are trash themselves.¡±


    The teachers frowned. They didn¡¯t expect Aldred to counter them. Aldred implied what they said was trash, and that they were also trash.


    The teachers looked at each other and thenughed before putting their eyes on Aldred.


    ¡°Why are youughing?¡±


    ¡°Clowns are supposed to beughed at.¡±


    ¡°Are you calling me a clown?¡±


    ¡°I never said such a word, ss F teacher. Didn¡¯t I tell you not to use me?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I heard the 2nd grade ss B teacher is a powerful martial artist. But my students said I am much stronger even with both my legs tied.¡±


    Huevod frowned. ¡°Are you saying that I am weaker than you?¡±


    ¡°I never said such a word. Please don¡¯t use me. But when I look at you, teacher Huevod, I think what my students said were¡­ logical.¡±


    Huevod¡¯s vein bulged on his forehead. Aldred didn¡¯t insult him directly, but instead use polite and indirect words. This pissed him off even more.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Aldred started. ¡°Since I am a new teacher, I would like to give you a present.¡±


    He summoned a high quality rare shield from his inventory.


    Huevod was quite impressed by the shield. Not only did it look good, he could feel some sort of defensive power from it.


    ¡°Please ept this gift.¡± Aldred handed the shield with both hands, but suddenly, the shield cracked and crumbled to the floor.


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. I might have held it too tightly.¡±


    The teachers widened their eyes when they saw the high quality shield crumbled to the floor.


    Aldred smiled and left, but the teachers were still shocked.


    That shield could hold against their attacks for a few hours, but Aldred destroyed it in an instant.


    This made them reconsider their judgment. Just how strong was Aldred?


    ¡°It has to be a fake shield.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It has to be a fake. It¡¯s impossible for a high quality shield to be destroyed like that.¡±

 255 Chapter 255

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen!¡± The host on the stage shouted. ¡°Now that all the students have prepared themselves to fight, are all of you ready for this year¡¯spetition?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! ss A will win!¡±


    ¡°ss A!¡±


    ¡°Although ss A has won all these years, we have seen a lot of close calls that threatened their position. Last Year, ss D even defeated ss C in the first round and fought against ss A!¡±


    ¡°Yeahh! ss D will win again!¡±


    The host smiled. ¡°For our first round, ss A will fight against ss B. Both sses pleasee to the stage.¡±


    Aldred crossed his arm as he watched the students stepped onto the stage. ¡°The tournament is a group fight?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Aldred. It has always been a group fight.¡±


    ¡°Will there be any duel fight?¡±


    ¡°No. There¡¯s only group battle.¡±


    ¡°The tournament will be over quickly then.¡±


    ¡°Actually no, Master Aldred. Each fight usuallysts for hours with a few rounds of break.¡±


    ¡°How do you decide the winner?¡±


    ¡°When one ss has no more students that can fight, that ss loses.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you guys keep fighting until all of you are tired or unable to fight?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°And I thought my training was brutal, thispetition is a literal war.¡±


    ¡°At least we don¡¯t get to be drowned in hot boiling water.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, Master.¡±


    Suddenly, everyone burst into cheers and gasps.


    Aldred looked at the stage and noticed that ss A had defeated ss B already. All of ss B studentsy on the floor while ss A stepped on them.


    ¡°Did they win already? That was fast.¡±


    ¡°This has never happened before,¡± Jeben said with widened eyes. Even though ss A won all these years, I heard their fight was always a struggle. It usually takes them 10-15 rounds to win. At least, that¡¯s what I was told.¡±


    ¡°Wow! A spectacr performance from the ss this year!¡± the host shouted. ¡°This is the first time in history that a battle ends in one round!¡±


    The audience were shocked to see this result as well.


    Aldred noticed teacher Biran ncing at him in disdain.


    ¡®Damn, these teachers are so arrogant,¡¯


    ¡°Jeben, you better win this tournament or I will torture you and the whole ss for 2 months.¡±


    Jeben gulped. ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    After ss A¡¯s victory, the host shouted for ss C and ss D toe to the stage.


    Both sides fought against each other and what Jeben said was true. None of the students fell in the first round or the second round.


    It was a battle of attrition as no one could really overpower each other.


    ¡°Fantastic performance in the second round for ss D. Will it be likest year when they won against ss C?¡±


    The rest session was only 5 minutes, after that, the students from both sses battled it out again on the stage.


    Their fight was brutal and fierce. Well, brutal for a bunch of 7 years old, but there was blood and some teeth knocked out.


    Hours passed, and it was now the tenth round. The students were exhausted, but they still fought with all they had. Eventually, the fight ended with one student standing.


    The crowd burst into cheers.


    ¡°And yet again, ss D has won the fight against ss C! Even though ss D is considered to be the underdog of this battle, a lot of us wanted them to win, and they did it!¡±


    They couldn¡¯t believe it. ss D won again. It was very rare for the lower ss to defeat the ss above it.


    ¡°Alright, before we begin ourst fight for the day, let¡¯s have a rest of two hour. Freshen yourself with food and drinks and after that we can start thest battle.¡±


    A lot of people left the stage and walked out, looking for food, but when they saw a lot of small stalls nearby selling food, they were curious and bought some food.


    ¡°Bartrem, we¡¯re running out of food!¡± Mary shouted.


    Bartrem flipped the burgers on the grills. ¡°It will be done in 15 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! We have customers waiting!¡±


    Bartrem sighed. ¡°I am not paid enough for this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Bartrem. The profit from this sale will go to everyone. You can buy anything you like after that,¡± Aldred said. He then nced at the girls and told them to help.


    Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, Rachel, Zafrina, and Kiara all went out and promoted the food stall.


    ¡°Tasty and easy to eat burger here!¡± Kiara shouted as she waved the wrapped burger in both hands.


    Looking at these beautiful girls promoting the food, a lot more people were interested and sales went up through the roof.


    ¡°What is this?¡± A student looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s the utensils? Where¡¯s the ting? You expect me to eat it with my own hand? This is uneptable. I bet it doesn¡¯t taste good.¡±


    ¡°Hello, if you want to, you can try one for free,¡± Kiara said with a smile.


    The student was instantly mesmerized by her appearance. He blushed but he hid it with a stern face. ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t want to eat it with my hands.¡±


    Kiara sweetly smiled. ¡°In that case, let me use my hands.¡± She unwrapped the burger. ¡°Now open your mouth. Aaaa.¡±


    The young student blushed even more. This beautiful big sister melted his heart, and he couldn¡¯t help but open his mouth then took a bite.


    ¡°Is it good?¡± Kiara asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡±


    Kiara giggled and ruffled the young boy¡¯s hair. ¡°I am d you like it. Would you like to buy one?¡±


    He blushed even more. ¡°I will buy it. I will buy a lot of it.¡±


    He immediately ran to the stall and bought as many burgers as he could carry.


    This happened repeatedly as all of his girls promoted the food stalls. Many young boys, especially those who didn¡¯t have a big sister would buy a burger or two after being convinced by Mary, Mira, and the others.


    Aldred saw this, and a glint appeared in his eyes. ¡°I should tell the golems to do this instead.¡±

 256 Chapter 256

    Aldred  teleported to Folineley and entered Tarrar¡¯s room.


    Folineley was once Tarrar¡¯s city in the Yevileria nation, but Aldred had defeated him, and now he was Aldred¡¯s subordinate and the rich city of Folineley became one of Aldred¡¯s assets.


    Tarrar sat in his office, reading a paper and jotted something on it before grabbing another one.


    When Aldred entered his office, Tarrar camly looked at him. ¡°Is there something you need?¡±


    ¡°Everything going well?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°The situation is under control. The twopanies: Aldred¡¯s Golem Mercenary and Aldred¡¯s Golem Miner are raking millions of profit per day.¡±


    ¡°Is there any problem?¡±


    ¡°None need your intervention. Although we have some tinum Ranks threatening to destroy us, they didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°Oh, why?¡±


    ¡°Well, if a tinum Rank from Yevileria wants to destroy us, I tell them that I will not support their war effort, and put thepany fully on Paphia¡¯s side.¡±


    Aldred smiled. Tarra made a smart move.


    His golem mercenary had been rented from both nations and it prevented a lot of casualties from both sides. But the cost of his golems weren¡¯t cheap. Paphia and Yevileria paid millions of gold coins per day to keep the golems fighting on the field.


    It was a battle to see who had the most amount of money, and who dared to spend them. Both nations were rich, so this amount of spending wouldn¡¯t take a hit on their economy, but it pissed some of them off because a single person was benefiting so much from this conflict.


    Aldred could onlyugh at that. Defensepanies be rich when war and conflict happen, and now that he dominated the market in this region, all the money went through him.


    He wasn¡¯t the onlypany that offers mercenaries and weapons. There were a lot of domestic and foreignpanies who wanted to eat some parts of the pie.


    Their weapons were very interesting. A particr one that caught Aldred¡¯s eyes was a magic pir that could detect enemies from 150 kilometers away.


    This was probably made using an intricate non-elemental magical construction spell. Aldred had this skill, but he hadn¡¯t fully developed it yet.


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have anyrgepetitors,¡± Tarrar said. ¡°We can keep expanding steadily, and I have some ns to expand to more nations.¡±


    ¡°Expand to Ceraisian and Montcresia,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Tarrar asked. ¡°You are a soldier of the Ceraisian Empire, no? Won¡¯t you make a lot of enemies from your people if you helped Montcresia?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Expand to Montcresia under a different name. That way I can just say that it¡¯s not mypany.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡±


    ¡°What about the miningpany?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Aldred¡¯s Golem Miner received a lot of mining sites. The contracts wildly varied but most of the time we are offered 20% of the materials we mined. We also bought some abandoned mining sites.¡±


    ¡°Why buy abandoned mining sites?¡±


    ¡°These mining sites are abandoned because of dangerous hazards most of the time. Your golems don¡¯t care about hazards.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the perfect tool for this job.¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°So what is our monthly ie?¡±


    ¡°We get more than 30 billion gold coins per month.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so we got 1 billion gold coins per day? I didn¡¯t know this business is so lucrative.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not lucrative for others. Developing weapons, paying mercenaries, bribing governments. There¡¯s a lot of money needed to be spent through the normal route, but yourpany is different. You don¡¯t need the government, the government needs you. Thepany doesn¡¯t need to pay for anything at all, except a small amount of taxes. But our tax has been reduced to 1% from both nations.¡±


    ¡°Why did they do that?¡±


    ¡°When they increased the tax rate, I increased the price. A few weeks ago, they increased the tax to 30%. When that happened, I increased the price 30 times.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°The government must be clenching their fist and mming their tables right now. I am surprised that they didn¡¯t kill you yet.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re afraid that you will act more discreetly if I was killed. At least now they can see what we are doing and they can negotiate with us reasonably.¡±


    ¡°That is true. If thepany went underground, the gangs and mafias would have a lot of weapons to fight against the government,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°That is correct. So did youe just to check in?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of creating anotherpany.¡±


    ¡°Whatpany?¡±


    ¡°A foodpany.¡±


    ¡°Food? We know nothing about foodpanies, and it¡¯s less lucrative than what we are doing right now.¡±


    ¡°Just hire some chefs to train the worker golems. They might look stupid and can only do simple stuff, but they can actually learnplex things.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s golem could level up when they do repetitive activities and kill enemies. When they level up, their stats would increase, and they would either get stronger or smarter depending on what repetitive task they do.


    Tarrar sighed. ¡°You see this stack of paper? It¡¯s height already passed my head, and now you want to add more workload on me?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°You¡¯re a vital part of my business, so I will give you 10% share.¡±


    Tarrar¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°I am. You¡¯re a valuable employee, so this much is normal.¡±


    ¡°I am more motivated now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly my intention. Well, I am going to leave now. I will check on you at other times.¡±


    Tarrar nodded as Aldred entered his portal and returned to school.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Just handling some stuff. Has thepetition begun yet?¡±


    ¡°It will be in a few minutes. Do you think ss F canpete against ss E?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate my students. I have put them through hell for this moment.¡±


    Soon after, the host excitedly walked onto the stage with a wide smile. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you have been waiting for hase! This is thest fight for today. ss E will fight against ss F!¡±

 257 Chapter 257

    The crowd started to fill in the surrounding of the arena with the burgers that they bought from one of Aldred¡¯s many stalls.


    ¡°Students from both sses pleasee forward to the stage.¡±


    Aldred nodded to Jeben and the other students. ¡°Fight as if your life depends on it. Remember all the hell you had gone through.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    ¡°You guys can win! I am sure of it,¡± said Kiara while raising her fist and motivating them.


    ¡°Y¡ªyes, big sister.¡±


    Kiara nodded. ¡°Un. I will be your big sister if you can win this.¡±


    Their heart thumped with a me of passion, and their fiery gazes were now focused on their enemy.


    ¡°Boys, we have to win this,¡± Jeben said.


    ¡°Hell yeah, we are!¡±


    Aldred scratched his neck. ¡°These boys shouldn¡¯t be so motivated by ady at this age.¡±


    The students walked onto the stage, and they stared at each other. ss F was ring fiercely at ss E, so they were confused and slightly terrified.


    ¡®Why do they stare at us as if we insulted their mother?¡¯ was what they thought at that moment.


    Even the audience noticed the fierce fighting will in ss F¡¯s students.


    ¡°Wow, look at those eyes. It feels like those students are about to kill someone.¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re ss F. They¡¯re the weakest of the weak. The teachers must have taught them how to bluff against their opponents in the hope of scaring them. These students have no skill.¡±


    ¡°Hey look, there is a betting avenue for this fight.¡±


    ¡°Who is stupid enough to do that? It¡¯s obvious that ss E will win this round.¡±


    ¡°I am going to bet on it. Let¡¯s see. It¡¯s 100 million gold coins to bid on ss E, and if they win, I can get 1 million gold coins? Sigh. What a cheap bidding avenue. Whatever. Let¡¯s just do it for fun.¡±


    A lot of the audience didn¡¯t even care about the amount of money due to how little it was, but they did it anyway just for the sake of bidding.


    Aldredughed maniacally inside. There were thousands of people in this arena, and a lot of them would surely bid just for the sake of it.


    He¡¯d get a lot of money after this.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    ¡°What are youughing about?¡± Kiara asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    The host looked at ss E students. ¡°Are you ready to fight?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± ss E shouted.


    The host turned his head and looked at ss F. ¡°Are you ready to fight?¡±


    ¡°HURRAAA!¡±


    ¡°A weird reply, but we all can feel their fighting spirit!¡± the host shouted. ¡°Now, with both sides ready, all of you may begin your fight!¡±


    The crowd started chanting: ¡°ss E! ss E! ss E! Defeat those losers! ss D might be a great underdog, but there¡¯s no way ss F can crawl out of the pit!¡±


    Mira frowned. ¡°Why are they against ss F that much? These are only young children.¡±


    Aldred thought it was so weird as well. Each student had influential, powerful, and wealthy parents, so discriminating against any of them should be uneptable.


    Kiara clenched her hands. ¡°I hope they win. Those poor children. How sad it must be to have the entire crowd booing at them.¡±


    It was very sad and demotivating indeed.


    Jeben and the students looked around and all they saw were people booing at them and saying that they were a loser and would lose no matter what.


    This brought pain to his heart, and he felt like he didn¡¯t want to fight at all.


    ¡°You guys!¡± Kiara shouted. ¡°No matter what you all do, win or lose I will still be your big sister!¡±


    When ss F heard this, they all widened their eyes and all other voices were silenced. Fighting spirit seeped into their heart, and they regained the fierce me in their eyes.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what other says!¡± Jeben shouted. ¡°We have to win this for big sister! Let¡¯s shout our new slogan! MILF FOR LIFE!¡±


    ¡°MILF FOR LIFE!¡±


    ¡°Say it again!¡±


    ¡°MILF FOR LIFE!¡±


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t this a wrong slogan?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Meh who cares! MILF FOR LIFE!¡±


    ¡°MILF FOR LIFE!¡±


    A few secondster, the fight began.


    ¡°HAA! Fight! Fight! Fight!¡± ss E shouted as they charged forward.


    ¡°MILF! MILF! MILF!¡± ss F shouted as they rushed at their opponent.


    ¡­


    ¡°Who told them to shout that?¡± Mary asked. ¡°And what does MILF even mean?¡±


    Aldred coughed a few times. ¡°I am not sure myself.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°You ss F will lose against us!¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? We will see about that!¡± Jeben widened his stance and took a deep breath. He then red at the enemy before punching forward.


    BOOM!


    A powerful shockwave immediately threw 5 students a few meters away.


    The audience was shocked.


    ¡°A shocking attack from ss F!¡± the host shouted. ¡°One strike from the student pushed 5 of his enemies back. Is this their true power? Or is it a one-time-use ability?¡±


    More students of ss F widened their stance and punched forward, sending shockwave by shockwave that knocked ss E students away.


    ¡°WOW! Not just one student but all of ss F has this ability! What is this?! How is this possible?¡±


    The audience widened their eyes.


    ¡°Could they actually win?¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    Suddenly, the students of ss F set a formation.


    Jeben looked at his friends. ¡°Remember our training!¡±


    They stomped their left foot forward and pushed both of their fists to the ground.


    Boom! The area cracked and all of the ss E students were blown out of the stage.


    ¡°All of the ss E students have been thrown out of the stage!¡±


    ¡°ss F win this fight!¡±


    The audience was speechless for a second, but then they exploded into cheers.


    Aldred was surprised. Didn¡¯t they mock and insult his students before?


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    Jeben and his friends looked around and people were smiling and cheering for him.


    It was a weird sight at first, but then they cried out of happiness. They had faced discrimination for a while, and only now did they get some sort of validation from the spectators.


    The feeling of being cheered and congratted was so good because they had never felt it before.


    ¡°Congrattion ss F! You may step down from the stage.¡±


    Jeben and his friends walked to down the stair, and the people were pping and cheering for him.


    The crowd spared them a path as they gave the students handshakes and high five.


    ¡°Congrats on winning!¡±


    ¡°That slogan was awesome! Did your teacher teach you that? Anyway, amazing fight!¡±


    The students passed the crowd and saw Aldred standing proudly with a smile on his face. ¡°You all did great.¡±


    The students embarrassingly scratched their heads and giggled.


    And then Kiara came. ¡°You guys did wonderfully! Congrattions. Come here and let me give you all a hug.¡±


    ¡°Big sister!¡± They all ran up to her and hugged her.


    Aldred¡¯s eyes showed a fierce glint, and a terrifying aura bursts out of him.


    The students trembled and they turned around only to see Aldred smiling at them.


    With the aura disappeared, the students continued hugging Kiara.


    ¡®I will let you kids achieved this victory for now. After this tournament, all of you will experience another level of hell.¡¯

 258 Chapter 258

    After the first day of the tournament was over, Aldred told his students about some tricks and refined their technique for a few minutes before he told them to go home and rest.


    The rest of the audience was going home either. Most of them smiled and congratted him.


    Aldred saw the host walk by and he decided to ask something.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± the host asked.


    ¡°I am a new teacher here so I would like to ask you a question.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that is fine. Ask away.¡±


    ¡°Why did people discriminate the ss F so much? The students here have rich parents, don¡¯t they?¡±


    The hostughed. ¡°I think you should ask the headmaster directly about that.¡± He tapped Aldred on the shoulder a few times and walked away.


    ¡°Why so mysterious?¡±


    ¡°What happened, Aldred?¡± Kiara asked.


    ¡°Nothing. I am just wondering why ss F is so discriminated against. Anyway, I want to know how much profit I got from the food stalls and the betting avenue. Where is Bartrem?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s over there.¡±


    Aldred walked to Bartrem and asked him about the profit.


    ¡°We got a lot today.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that to me. Tell me the exact number.¡±


    Bartrem smiled. ¡°Mary, would you like to tell him the number?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Why are you guys so dramatic?¡±


    Mary chuckled. She took a deep breath and looked Aldred in the eye. ¡°We got 235 billion in total.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°Wow! So much money!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re rich now!¡± Mary raised her fist.


    Mareona and the other women also cheered. ¡°We¡¯re rich!¡±


    They all cheered and jumped around in excitement except Zafrina. She was calm all the time.


    ¡°Are you not happy?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I am happy for you guys.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the word 235 billion interest you?¡±


    ¡°I am the daughter of a Count.¡±


    Mareonaughed. ¡°I almost forgot that you¡¯re a noble. Your father must have earned 235 billion per day or something, right?¡±


    ¡°Per day?¡± Zafrina shook her head. ¡°Per second.¡±


    Their jaws all dropped to the floor at this moment.


    ¡°Why are we even gathering money at this point? We can just ask Zafrina for money instead,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Just because she has a lot of money, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s okay for us to ask her.¡±


    ¡°She literally earned more than 200 billion gold coins per second!¡± Mareona shouted. ¡°Let me repeat that for you: PER SECOND!¡±


    ¡°We cannot do that. Even if she earns that much money per second, we shouldn¡¯t ask even for a single penny.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°What would her father think of us if we do that? Instead of asking like a beggar, we should try to match their ie and help her father in the future.¡±


    ¡°Aldred is right,¡± Mira said. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t beg for money.¡±


    ¡°Does your religion have anything to do with money, Mira?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°There is some guidance in the bible which said that no one should beg and strive to be self-sufficient instead.¡±


    ¡°But your bible also said to always give the excess, right?¡± Mary asked.


    Mira nodded. ¡°The bible told people to give away their surfeit resources. This applies mostly to the riches.¡±


    ¡°So the riches donate money, and the poor avoid begging?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°That is correct. A lot of times, when rich people are very generous, the poor ones stop working and only want to beg on the street. This left a lot of jobs are being vacant, and the nation will stop growing. Ever since the pope added another guidance, the people be more proactive in working, and the money of the riches can be allocated to more useful activities.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Like funding the search and rescue for the victims of war, rebuilding destroyed viges, and feeding thousands of people who lost their homes.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s the dark side of war.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°I understand the Ceraisian folk has a different perspective about war. You view it as bravery, honor, conquest, and pride, so I can¡¯t really me the Ceraisian for their culture that shaped you.¡±


    ¡°That is correct,¡± Mary said. ¡°We do view it as an honor. Soldiers all over the Ceraisian Empire are respected and admired by society no matter what rank they are. For them, whoever is brave enough to risk their lives out on the battlefield, they deserve respect.¡±


    Aldred and thedies talked about some random things before they decided to leave the school.


    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Kiara asked as she hugged Aldred¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we check out the shipyard?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°I want to know how much progress Tulban made.¡±


    ¡°Sure. We got nothing else to do anyway,¡± Mary said.


    They all walked through the city and stopped a bunch of times along the way to buy some sweets for Krista.


    When they arrived at the shipyard, Krista was pointing at the docked ships while she was hopping on Aldred¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°So big!¡± Krista stared at the ships with wonder.


    Aldred giggled and looked at hisdies. ¡°That¡¯s what you guys always said to me at night.¡±


    Thedies all blushed and hid their faces.


    When they arrived at Tulban¡¯s office, he guided them to the dock.


    ¡°Your ships are halfway done, and I have stored the extra ships that the nobles and wealthy merchants gave you. You really did it for yourselves. They gave you a lot of ships, did you know that?¡±


    ¡°How many do I have in total?¡±


    ¡°If things go well, you will have 19 cruisers, 22 destroyers, 16 frigates, 15 submarines, 4 cargo ships, and 30 speedboats. That¡¯s 72 main battle vessels with a bunch of auxiliaries.¡±


    ¡°So many ships!¡±


    ¡°For a short time sea-goers like you, it¡¯s a sufficient fleet.¡±


    ¡°How many ships does a nation bring when they go to war?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Hundreds if not thousands. The naval battle is ruthless and gory. If your ship is wrecked in the middle of the ocean, there¡¯s nothing you can do about it except slowly sink and then get eaten by monsters.¡±


    ¡°What about lifeboats?¡±


    ¡°Lifeboats? Are you kidding me? The monsters will eat you before any ships could arrive. The moment you touch water, a monster will detect you and eat you whole.¡±


    ¡°The sea is very violent and wild, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±

 259 Chapter 259

    Aldred looked around the shipyard for a few hours as Tulban told some stories about war and ships.


    He learned that Ceraisian fought a lot on the sea. Thousands of battles and hundreds of wars urred and countless ships and even the motherships were sunk.


    ¡°Who is the toughest enemy on the sea?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s Duria, no doubt. Duria has the strongest naval force that can match ours. As a matter of fact, all of us felt threatened by their power on the sea.¡±


    ¡°Duria¡­ they don¡¯t use magic, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They use a sort of mysterious field called ¡®science¡¯. I am not sure what that is, but it¡¯s very mysterious, and only a few magicians couldprehend it.¡±


    Aldred blinked. ¡°O¡ªokay. Do you think science is stronger than magic?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. But I heard science gives ordinary people the power to kill Gold Rank and even tinum Rank. Can you imagine that? Imagine millions of ordinary people instantly possessing the power to kill Gold Rank. Ceraisian has no shortage of ordinary people.¡±


    ¡°How does science give ordinary people such power?¡±


    ¡°I am not so sure about that as well, but I think they created some sort of powerful weapons using science. A handheld device which I believe called ¡®gun¡¯ ismonly used by the citizens of Duria.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. And they use metallic human-shaped golems to fight, right?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I fought one before.¡±


    ¡°You did? Where and why did that golem attack you?¡±


    ¡°They are called robots, and they attacked me because they wanted to rob me. It happened when I was in Paphia.¡±


    Tulban nodded. ¡°If it happens on Ceraisian soil, it might be a deration for war. But I am d you¡¯re fine. What did you do to those robots?¡±


    ¡°I destroyed them.¡±


    ¡°Good. It¡¯s better to destroy them to pieces because I heard these robots are highly intelligent and so quick at adapting to any situation. The Ceraisian¡¯s navy always had a hard time against them after each fight, because every time they came back, the enemy just got smarter and smarter.¡±


    ¡°That is indeed a scary thing.¡± Aldred frowned. Those robots must have recorded the battle and analyzed the information to conjure a better battle n. So the more they fought, the robots would be better and better.


    Aldred and Tulban talked some more about histories before Aldred decided to leave.


    ¡°Thanks for the tour, I will check on you again asionally.¡±


    Tulban waved his hand. ¡°Next time bring food with you. I heard Bartrem is a fine cook.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I will tell him that.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Mareona asked as she clung to his arm.


    ¡°Is there anything to do in this city?¡± Aldred asked.


    Suddenly, a group of children rushed towards him.


    ¡°Master!¡±


    ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡±


    ¡°We searched the whole city for you,¡± Jeben said, both hands on his knee as he breathed haggardly. ¡°We would like you to train us. Thestpetition is tomorrow. We want to win, Master.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fine. Let¡¯s go to the school training field.¡± Aldred turned around and looked at hisdies. ¡°Do you guys want to see me train these kids?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    When they arrived at the school training field, Mareona, Mary, Mira, Sophia, Rachel, Zafrina, and Kiara all had a look of concern on their faces.


    In front of them, the students were currently fighting against themselves on top of the pirs with hot boiling water beneath.


    They tried to push each other off the pirs, but none seeded as they desperately didn¡¯t want to fall into the hot boiling water below.


    ¡°Is this the training?¡± Mareona asked with a terrified expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s a standard routine.¡±


    ¡°But what if they fall?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Then they will fall into the boiling water.¡±


    ¡°Is this fine? Did the parents allow you to do this?¡±


    ¡°The parents encouraged me to do whatever I want to their kids.¡±


    Thedies were even more shocked. What kind of parents would let their children train like this!?


    But even after hours of fighting, not a single student fell. Mary noticed that all the students tried their best not to fall. No matter how many times they were pushed, they always kept their feet on the pir.


    One student was punched in the face and pushed away. His feet almost fell from the edge, but he quickly jumped and rolled forward in mid-air.


    There were many such close calls and Mary was amazed by their skills.


    Aldred was smiling the whole time and he was a little proud as his students improved their skills.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± someone called.


    Aldred turned around and noticed it was the headmaster who called his name. ¡°How can I help you, Bravar?¡±


    ¡°The thing you gave me before. I confirmed it. It exists. So we decided to probe it a little bit, but we received harsh retaliation. I can push further, but we will be making losses that benefit the other party.¡±


    ¡°Do you want my assistance?¡±


    Bravar nodded. ¡°You can coordinate with my daughter about the n.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Aldred,¡± Saphira said, standing beside her father.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice you were here.¡±


    Saphira giggled. ¡°It¡¯s my skill, the [Undetectable Presence].¡±


    ¡°Interesting. Can you do that again?¡±


    ¡°Once you notice me, it¡¯s impossible to do that. But, this little girl noticed me from the start.¡± Saphira caressed Krista¡¯s head.


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°Krista has good senses. Anyway, I haven¡¯t seen you for a while.¡±


    ¡°I have been busy due to something, I am sorry that I cannot meet you.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Bravar smiled. ¡°Alright, I will take my leave now. Both of you can talk.¡±


    When Bravar left, hisdies approached him and asked.


    ¡°Aldred, what are you guys talking about?¡±


    ¡°The Dragon is making tunnels under Phoenix¡¯s territory.¡±


    ¡°Tunnels?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. They sent spies and weapons through this tunnel, that¡¯s why we were followed by a lot of spies at that time.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I have mapped a few entrances of the tunnel,¡± Saphira said. He grabbed Aldred¡¯s hand. ¡°Come with me. I will show you something.¡±

 260 Chapter 260

    ¡°You guys stay here and train,¡± Aldred told the students.


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    Aldred tightened his grip on Saphira¡¯s hand and looked her in the eyes. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    Saphira just noticed what he had done and she couldn¡¯t help but blush. ¡°Let¡¯s go to my office first.¡±


    They ran to Saphira¡¯s office, passing many teachers who were surprised to see Saphira holding hands with Aldred.


    ¡°Is that the new teacher?¡±


    ¡°Teacher of ss F right? Why did Saphira hold hands with him?¡±


    ¡°Damn. Does that new teacher have a secret charm? Saphira is the headmaster¡¯s daughter. I have never seen her hold hands with anyone except her father. What is happening?¡±


    All the male teachers talked about Aldred, more so even the female teachers talked about him as well.


    ¡°Aldred is a handsome and genius teacher. It¡¯s no wonder Miss Saphira would have interest in him.¡±


    ¡°But he has a lot of women already. Will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°I heard rumors that Aldred is very generous and treats all of his partners fairly, and unlike many others, his harem has afortable social environment.¡±


    ¡°So they don¡¯t have to fight for his love and attention?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I wish I can be one of his harems. It would be a blessing,¡± A beautifuldy said as her cheeks blushed.


    A beauty nced at Aldred as he was running. Aldred noticed her and smiled.


    That small nce made thedy¡¯s cheeks blush. ¡°Maybe I have a chance.¡±


    When Aldred and thedies arrived in Saphira¡¯s office, they all sat down on the couch, and Saphira rolled a scroll of a map on the table.


    ¡°The red dots are the entrance of the tunnel, and the yellow lines are the tunnels.¡±


    Aldred looked at the map and frowned. ¡°There are so many lines¡­ but, they¡¯re notplete.¡±


    Saphira nodded. ¡°Ever since I sent a lot of people to the tunnels, the Dragons retaliated and killed them. This is why a lot of the yellow lines are cut off.¡±


    ¡°So you want my assistance to map these tunnels?¡±


    ¡°I just want you to help us protect the men that will map the tunnels.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a protection job. It should be easy for my undead and golems.¡±


    Saphira looked sad. ¡°I am sorry to burden you.¡±


    ¡°What are you sorry for? I am your ally, and I am d to help.¡±


    Saphira smiled. ¡°I will give you a highpensation for this.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I will do it for free. I already consider Bravar a good friend. He gave me anything I asked for, one of the martial fields is even given personally to me.¡±


    Saphira chuckled. ¡°Even so, I still have to give you something.¡±


    Saphira flicked her slender fingers, and a small beautifuldy pouch appeared in her right hand.


    She inserted her left hand and pulled something out. It was a thick book. Saphira put the book on the table and gently pushed it towards Aldred.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Take it as my gift for you. I heard you are quite good at the art of golem creation, so I figured I should give you something rted to that.¡±


    Aldred touched the book.


    [Advanced Golem Creation]


    ¨C Increase overall attributes of golems by 250%.


    ¨C Golems have a random chance to obtain a unique skill such as martial art technique or magic spell.


    ¨C Golems receive 1 point of durability for every golem within a 10 kilometers radius.


    [Would you like to learn this skill?]


    ¡®Yes,¡¯ Aldred replied in his mind. Suddenly, a surge of the information entered his mind, and all the applications, theories, and techniques about golem creation made a mark in his brain.


    After a few seconds, Aldred fully learned the book word by word.


    ¡°Thank you, Saphira. This book must take you a while to obtain.¡±


    Saphira smiled. ¡°Not at all.¡±


    It actually took her quite some time to obtain this book. She had been thinking hard about how to impress Aldred with something, but since he was very talented and powerful, and had a lot of treasures, she had a hard time on what to give him.


    When she found out that Aldred had an army of a golem, she thought of an idea to give a skill book rted to that.


    And looking at Aldred¡¯s grateful face, she knew her n was sessful.


    ¡°I am very happy with this gift,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let me give you something in return.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± Saphira said.


    ¡°I insist.¡± Aldred waved his hand and a portal opened beside him.


    Saphira was slightly shocked at how easy it was when Aldred opened that portal. She knew it wasn¡¯t a space-elemental space by the energy being used, and that made it even more impressive because non-elemental spells had a lot of restrictions on mimicking elemental spells. Especially space. It was one of the top 3 hardest and rarest elements to find or master.


    Three 12-meter golems stepped into the room. Saphira was amazed by the dozens of mana crystals dotted all over the golem¡¯s body.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Mary asked. ¡°I never see your golem looking like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an experimental golem. I have been experimenting with making a new type of golem, and this is what I came up with.¡±


    ¡°How strong is it?¡± Mary asked.


    Aldred smiled. It can at least hold three full-power attacks from a tinum Rank, and fight against it for a few minutes.¡±


    Everyone there widened their eyes.


    ¡°Is that real?¡± Saphira asked.


    How could she not be surprised? A lower rank couldn¡¯t defeat a higher rank, so for Aldred to create a golem that can defend against a tinum Rank was nothing short of amazing. That meant he was unbeatable in the Gold Rank.


    ¡°But I know you are protected by a lot of Diamond Ranks, Saphira, so this golem will do nothing for you. Of course, knowing it means I wouldn¡¯t give you something useless. There is one ability that made these golems worthy to be your gift.¡±


    Everyone leaned forward to listen to Aldred¡¯s next word.


    ¡°It can teleport you to a ce through a mysterious dimension.¡±

 261 Chapter 261

    ¡°What do you mean through a mysterious dimension, Aldred?¡± Saphira asked.


    ¡°When your father showed me his spatial spell, I saw something through the hole of the space. I was curious, so I studied at the school¡¯s library about space and dimension, and then tried to enter it.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    ¡°I cannot exist in that dimension for long. If I stay there, I would be erased. But I found out that the distance is rtive there. If I take one step forward in that dimension and return, I would be 10 kilometers away from my original spot.¡±


    ¡°But, Aldred, teleportation spells can be blocked or be canceled,¡± Ste said. ¡°Diamond Ranks have a lot of treasures to do that.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Not this time. The spell I used required high-level mana to execute, and this level of mana can only be found in mana crystal.¡±


    Even though Aldred¡¯s mana was limitless, its level wasn¡¯t high. One thing that separated ranks from one another was their mana potency. Aldred might have had a lot of mana, but his mana potency was lower than a tinum Rank.


    This made his spell a lot weaker than tinum Rank and above.


    The amount was not the same as the quality.


    ¡°So this cannot be blocked?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°In theory, yes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it.¡± Ste stood up and waved her hand, enveloping the golems with glittering particles. But it¡¯s different from usual, the star particles had a powerful aura that shocked everyone.


    Four diamond ranks immediately appeared and guarded Saphira with their body.


    ¡°Ste¡­ you.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°Sorry to hide this from you. I am actually a Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°No way,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But a Diamond Rank cannot involve themselves with me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how it should be, but I can change my power whenever I want, and when I want to help you, I have to reduce my power to Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of cheating isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Ste rolled her eyes. ¡°Your whole existence is a cheat already.¡±


    ¡®Not to mention you have your mother watching over you from above,¡¯ Ste thought.


    Thedies were all shocked to hear that news.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Hehe. I want to surprise you guys.¡±


    Thedies started smiling after a few seconds. Now that they had a Diamond Rank by their side, they felt much safer than before even though she couldn¡¯t really use her full power to help them.


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe you even tricked me.¡±


    Aldred had analyzed her power before and the system told him that she was at the peak of Gold Rank. Who would have thought that she was a Diamond Rank?


    Ste smiled. ¡°Enough chit-chat, Aldred. Let me see the power of your golem.¡±


    Aldred told the golems to activate their ability.


    The numerous crystals on the golems¡¯ bodies shone, and the space around them bent and torn before a powerful vacuum power sucked them in, and they disappeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s real!¡± Ste eximed.


    Even the 4 Diamond Ranks beside Saphira were shocked.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Saphira asked them.


    ¡°The teleportation blocker by thatdy is a powerful, Miss Saphira. If it was me trying to teleport away from it, it would be impossible.¡±


    ¡°So the golems can bypass that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. From what I saw, the spell wasn¡¯t created from processed mana, but pure high-level mana from the crystals. And I have never seen a non-elemental spell perfectly mimic a space-elemental ability like that before.¡±


    ¡°That mysterious dimension, what is that ce exactly?¡±


    One of the four Diamond Ranks shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not a particr dimension, Miss. The three golems each entered apletely different dimension, so I think they are not entering a specific dimension but instead entered randomly.¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I cannot make the golem enter specifically one dimension. It¡¯s always random.¡±


    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s good enough,¡± Saphira said with a sweet smile. ¡°I like these gifts, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred smiled as the golems teleported back to the room.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± Saphira said. ¡°Can these golems teleport to the enemy base? Usually, their territory is protected by a spatial blocker treasure, and my men cannot teleport there directly.¡±


    ¡°I think my golems can do that.¡±


    Saphira¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s so amazing. So I can simply teleport the golems there, let them wreak havoc, and then teleport them back.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Yes, you can do that, but remember that the crystals need some time to regenerate their power. So after two teleportation processes, it will need a few hours to recharge.¡±


    ¡°How many of these golems do you have?¡±


    ¡°I now have 7. They are pricey to make. One golem cost me tens of billions and took a lot of time to create. They cannot be mass produced like my other golems.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough. Now, let¡¯s talk about our n to attack. Since we can only send Gold Rank, your golems and undead are the perfect tools for this.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°I want you to send your golems to these 7 points first, and eliminate the enemies there. My men will map the tunnels afterward.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we destroy the tunnels?¡±


    Saphira shook her head with a smile. ¡°We want to take over the tunnel and expand it for ourselves. It¡¯s much better that way.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡­


    Tomkin sat in his office, reading the reports that his men had sent. This was his daily routine. Read reports, and approve proposals. Other than that, he either received bribes when wealthy people wanted to buy high positions in the urban management division, or they wanted him to stop sending people to their store.


    Now he was currently reading a report about the secret tunnels that went through Phoenix¡¯s territory. For thest few days, he had sent a lot of Dragon units to the tunnel to eliminate the Phoenix, and it was working well.


    Last time, the Phoenix breached the tunnel so badly that the higher-ups even put his office under the ground to punish him.


    Now if the tunnel was breached, he had to personally fight the enemy.


    ¡°Those old bastards. If I reach tinum Rank, I will remove them first.¡±


    Suddenly, an officer barged into his room with a terrified face. ¡°Sir Tomkin! We are under attack!¡±

 262 Chapter 262

    Numerous fighter golems swarmed through the tunnel like a group of vicious ants. The enemies were caught off guard, and they were torn to shreds one by one.


    ¡°Where is our reinforcements?!¡±


    ¡°They wille in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! The golems will overrun the tunnel in less than a minute!¡±


    ¡°Hold the tunnel! Hold it until reinforcementse!¡±


    The soldiers raised their shields and brandished their swords, but their foreheads were drenched in sweat when they saw the emotionless golems staring at them with a pair of red eyes.


    When the golems were a distance away, the soldiers were shocked.


    ¡°How is this possible! Those golems¡­ all of them have rare treasures!¡±


    The soldiers gasped in shock.


    ¡°Wait. Look at that spear. Isn¡¯t that our spear! Those golems stole our weapons and are using it for themselves!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! Some parts of our armor is on their skin.¡±


    Morale dropped low when they realized that these golems would kill them and use their treasures to the fullest afterwards.


    ¡°Should we retreat?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? Sir Tomkin will kill us. All we can do is fight. Raise your shields! Focus on the defense!¡±


    The soldiers entered a defensive formation that they were trained to use against a charging infantry. This formation relied on the shields of the soldiers to interlock themselves side by side, while the soldiers behind helped in bracing the weight.


    They were confident this formation would hold on for a while.


    But that confidence was destroyed, torn to shreds by a hail of fire bullets.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The fire bullets nged against the shield a bunch of times before some of them pierced through and shredded the flesh of the soldiers.


    Their screams echoed in the tunnel, full of despair and pain.


    The soldiers behind couldn¡¯t even react properly as the fire bullets filled their vision and sted their arms and legs.


    ¡°AHH!¡±


    One soldier seeing this from behind wore a terrified expression. He saw hisrades being killed one by one like a butchered animal. His hands trembled, then he heard a sound of ripping flesh. He looked to the left and realized that his left arm disappeared.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± He fell on his butt and that was when he saw something tall stepping in front of him.


    It was a golem, raising its de, and then swung at his head.


    He saw the world was spinning a few times before his headnded on the ground. A few secondster, everything went dark.


    These attacks happened to all the tunnels, and no one could fight off the golem army.


    Tomkin frowned when he received this report. He expected an attack in his tunnel, but he didn¡¯t expect to be attacked in every direction all at once. This was the first time he felt distressed so much by a problem.


    ¡°What should we do, Sir Tomkin?¡±


    ¡°Send the ves to slow them down.¡±


    The officer widened his eyes when he heard that. The ves that Sir Tomkin mentioned were ordinary people that were dragged out of their home and forced to work in the tunnel. They were pulled away from their home and family, and they were treated badly and barely given any food.


    To send them to their death after years of ving away in the darkness¡­


    The officer trembled in fear. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    All the soldiers ran to the underground jail cell where they kept the ves from walking around.


    ¡°All of you get out!¡± a soldier said.


    ¡°Are we finally free, sire?¡±


    The soldier grinned. ¡°Yes. You are all free now. Get out and go to the east.¡±


    The ves all excitedly walked out of their cell with the thought of finally being free. A 67 year old man cried when he stepped out of the cell.


    ¡°I finally can see my granddaughter again. I wonder if she still remembers me.¡±


    ¡°She will grandpa.¡±


    The old man smiled. ¡°You should already marry her at this age, Ely. When we get out, I want you to ask her.¡±


    The young boy named Ely nodded with a smile. He was a childhood friend with Nia, the old man¡¯s granddaughter.


    Ely had a great rtionship with her grandfather, and so he already considered this old man to be his grandfather as well.


    He always yed with Nia in her house, but unfortunately he and her grandpa was taken into this tunnel.


    But now all was good because they were about to be free.


    At least, that was what he thought.


    ¡°RUN! We are not being freed! We are being killed!¡±


    Fire bullets came from the distant tunnel where darkness hid numerous red eyes that stared at them.


    He saw a lot of ves being killed from the cross fire between the soldiers and the monstrosity within that darkness.


    But then, the soldiers were told to retreat. The ves wanted to follow them, but the soldiers shouted at them to stay or they would be killed.


    They were terrified, but thankfully, the fire bullets stopped.


    All of them were trembling in fear as something stepped out of the dark. It was a tall statue, walking on two legs with majestic armor and powerful weapons.


    They were golems!


    Ely was scared and he held grandpa¡¯s hand. When the golem was near, grandpa stepped forward.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill this child. Take me instead. He has suffered enough.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± tears fell from his eyes. He ran in front of the old man, and opened his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t take my grandpa. Just take me!¡±


    ¡°Ely, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I am protecting you, grandpa.¡±


    ¡°You are young and still have a lot to do in this world. I told you to take care of Nia, so step back and let me handle this.¡±


    ¡°No. I won¡¯t. I am sorry, I cannot take care of Nia, but I will not let them take you.¡±


    Suddenly, the golem knelt down and dropped his weapon. ¡°We are not here to harm you. We¡¯re here to save you.¡±


    The ves all had tears in their eyes and they were relieved as they hugged their friends.


    Ely was so relieved. He turned around before hugging his grandpa.


    (Author Note: And then the golems pulled his sword and cut all of their heads. The end. This is a joke btw)

 263 Chapter 263

    ¡°The tunnel is deeper than I thought,¡± Aldred said as he sat on the sofa, staring at the map on the table.


    The map on the table changed the moment the soldiers in the tunnel mapped the tunnel. So whenever they add something on their own map, it would show on Saphira¡¯s map.


    With this, they could see how deep the tunnel was immediately, and with Aldred¡¯s ability to see whatever the golems see, and Ste¡¯s magic mirror, their surveince capability was unmatched.


    Of course they could tell the Diamond Ranks to do that, but that would bring the enemy¡¯s Diamond Rank as well.


    It was like using a nuclear bomb. If he used one, the enemy would use one as well.


    They could threaten to use it, and aimed it at the enemy, but that was all.


    ¡°Anyway, what are we going to do about the civilians?¡± Ste asked.


    The golems met a lot of civilians in the tunnel who were blocking they way. Some of them died because of the cross-fire, but he had sent some golems to guide them out of the tunnel.


    ¡°We will bring them to Phoenix¡¯s territory where they can live in safety,¡± Saphira said.


    ¡°Did you see the chain on their neck?¡± Aldred said. ¡°They¡¯re treated like ves. Look at their frail body.¡±


    Mira was especially sad when she saw that. She could feel the pain in their eyes.


    ¡°We will feed them food and give them warm baths when they reach the surface,¡± Saphira said. ¡°We¡¯ll build them a home and give them a new life.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to do that?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°We have a lot of money to spare, Aldred. Our ie is more than a trilion per month. Spending some money on these pitiful people is not only fine, but necessary.¡±


    Mira smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡­


    As the golems went deeper into the tunnels, they were immediately shrouded by deep darkness. The tunnel became wider and taller, and there were even a few glowing moss and nts here and there, but it was so dark that no one would realized if their eyes were open or not.


    The golems had no problem with that however.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Saphira frowned as she stared at the magic mirror. ¡°Wait a minute. This is not the tunnel anymore. It¡¯s a natural cave. And it seems to be inhospitable for people below Gold Rank. Even a new Gold Rank will experience severe pain and possibly die after a few hours of staying here.¡±


    ¡°Is this the real reason why they dug a tunnel?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It could be.¡±


    At this moment, numerous red grasshoppers appeared and swarmed at the golems.


    ¡°Grasshoppers? Why are they inside a tunnel?¡±


    ¡°Those are not ordinary grasshoppers. They are very poisonous. A Gold Rank would feel an extreme burning sensation when touched by them. If they are swarmed by that many grasshoppers, they will be burned from the inside out.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will tell my golem to eliminate them all.¡±


    The gunner golems in the cave stepped forward and they activated their jet me spell all at once. More than a hundred gunner golem spat out a tongue of me like a methrower from their arms.


    The grasshoppers that entered the me immediately burnt to a crisp before they dropped to the ground.


    They quickly rushed forward after cleaning the insects, and after a few minutes, they saw a group of soldiers running away.


    ¡°It¡¯s them! Quick attack them!¡±


    Aldred willed his golem to be even faster.


    Tomkin who saw the golems were on his tail was angered.


    ¡°You!¡± He pointed at a bunch of men. ¡°Distract them!¡±


    The men were terrified, but they obeyed his order nheless. They pulled their swords out with trembling legs, and charged at the golems.


    But their bodies were torn to shreds a few secondster by a barrage of fire bullets.


    ¡°You!¡± Tomkin pointed. ¡°Stall them!¡±


    ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t want to die.¡±


    ¡°Do it or I will kill you myself!¡±


    ¡°No, Sir. I will not.¡±


    Tomkin brandished his sword and cut the man¡¯s head off.


    ¡°Now who wants to disobey me?!¡±


    The soldiers were terrified and they turned back to face the golems, they all died in less than a second.


    A bunch of soldiers looked at each other, and nodded. They pulled their swords, and attacked Tomkin.


    ¡°I am sorry, Sir Tomkin, but all of us want to live.¡±


    ¡°You think you can kill me?¡± Tomkin activated his life force, and shed out, sending a wave of flickering light that cut the traitors in half.


    ¡°I am stronger than all of youbined, so don¡¯t even think of betraying me!¡±


    The soldiers erased the thought of betraying their leaders, and prayed that it wouldn¡¯t be them who will be chosen to stall the golems.


    Tomkin kept on pointing at his men and sent them to stall the golems. Their sacrifice did nothing. The golems were still as fast as ever, and they were unstoppable.


    After a few hours, all of his men had died, and he was left alone.


    He bit his lips in anger, and that was when golems came out of the tunnels in front of him.


    He was surrounded from all sides.


    ¡°Surrender now, and we will spare you,¡± Aldred¡¯s voice came out of the golems. He was told that this man was the leader of the Urban Management Division. Capturing him was important because he had a lot of information with him.


    Tomkin didn¡¯t show fear or hopelessness, instead, it was rage.


    He had never been put in this situation before, and he couldn¡¯t take it that someone surrounded him with golems.


    Raising his sword, he red at the golems. ¡°Show yourselves, bastard! If you¡¯re not a coward then fight me face to face! Only a fool would hide behind their golems!¡±


    Aldred scratched his head. ¡°If you want to bait me to fight you one on one, you bettere up with something better than that.¡±


    ¡°I will fuck your mom!¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned deep ck. ¡°How dare you talk about my mom! If death is what you want, then I will shove it down to your throat!¡±

 264 Chapter 264

    ¡°Ste, teleport me to this guy.¡±


    Ste smiled and waved her hand. A glittering star particles enveloped Aldred, and he was teleported inside the tunnel right in front of Tomkin.


    ¡°So you are the leader of the Urban Management Division. Your name is Tomkin, right?¡±


    Tomkin frowned. ¡°Are you Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Oh? You have heard of me?¡±


    ¡°I was ordered to annoy you, but now that you¡¯re here, I am just going to kill you instead.¡±


    Aldredughed and raised his fist.


    Tomkin frowned again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a magician? Why are you using your fist?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? I am a magician, a warrior, a necromancer, and a golem master all in one.¡±


    ¡°Impossible! That is impossible!¡±


    ¡°I hear that a lot,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Humph. No matter. I will kill you nheless.¡±


    Tomkin flicked his hand, and a powerful gust of wind shot towards him. Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw that it was a small needle headed towards his eye.


    Aldred creased his eyebrows and stretched out his right and, grabbing the needle mid-flight.


    A poisonous needle? He nced at Tomkin who was staring at him with an expression of utter disbelief.


    ¡°How did you catch my needle?¡± Tomkin asked. He had always caught his enemies off guard with that attack, and it was one of the reason why he always won 1 vs 1 fights. But this man caught his needle so easily.


    Saphira watching this was shocked as well. She asked her Diamond Ranks guards what they thought about this.


    ¡°When I was a Gold Rank, I don¡¯t think I could catch that needle. Most likely, it will hit my arm, and I will be poisoned. This Aldred guy has a fast reflex.¡±


    ¡°Are you really trying to kill me with a small needle like this?¡± Aldred asked. Don¡¯t you have something better?¡±


    Tomkin roared in anger and rushed at him with a sword in his right hand. He leaped forward and shed down, sending a wave of flickering light.


    Slightly stepping to the side, the wave crashed into the ground, and cut it numerous times. If anyone got hit by that attack, they would be minced to pieces.


    Aldredughed and kicked the man¡¯s leg. The bone cracked, and Tomkin yelped in pain as he retreated a couple steps.


    His left leg was throbbing in pain.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± One of the Diamond Ranksmented. ¡°Aldred did not wear any armor, and he kicked Tomkin¡¯s leg which is protected by a rare grade armor. It should be Aldred who feels the pain of that impact.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean then?¡±


    ¡°It means that his body is stronger and more durable than the armor.¡±


    ¡°A physique that is stronger than a treasure?¡±


    The Diamond Rank nodded. ¡°Usually, a warrior would envelop themselves using their life force to make their body more durable, but Aldred doesn¡¯t do that at all.¡±


    Tomkin receiving the direct hit of that attack also knew this. He gritted his teeth in pain while also wondering how Aldred could harm him using his pure body strength and durability.


    ¡°I will attack your left arm now.¡± Aldred dashed forward. His movement was so quick, that Tomkin only saw a sh of wind, and dust all around.


    He panicked and randomly shed forward. Aldred¡¯s face suddenly appeared to his left, grabbing his left arm.


    CRACK!


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Tomkin swung his sword, but Aldred leaped back to dodge.


    Tomkin couldn¡¯t move his left arm anymore, and his left leg kept getting more painful as time passed.


    ¡°I heard you destroy people¡¯s home while they are still in it,¡± Aldred said. ¡°And I heard you dragged innocent men from their family and bring them to this shit hole.¡±


    ¡°So what? Why are you talking like a priest? We don¡¯t worship the god of hope.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an excuse to be evil.¡±


    Tomkinughed. ¡°I was raised by the devil. When everything around you is evil, you have to adapt. Sorry, but I don¡¯t have the privilege to be a saint like you.¡±


    He burst with a powerful life force and attacked. Aldred slipped to the side, and summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    The de radiated out a terrifying red aura and red lightning crackled around the de.


    Saphira, the Diamond Ranks, and Tomkin was shocked by the appearance of that de.


    They had never seen something so hideous and vicious before. It felt like this de couldn¡¯t wait to kill and devour the soul of its victim.


    The de sliced through the man¡¯s right arm. The arm spun in the air along with a sword and blood.


    Aldred turned around and saw Tomkin weakly stepping a few steps back. The arm fell, then followed by the sword stabbing into the ground beside Tomkin¡¯s feet.


    At the brink of death, Tomkinughed. ¡°I am not done yet. You can¡¯t kill me so easily.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over. Surrender or I will turn you into one of my undead.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet.¡± Tomkin knelt and bit the handle of the sword before he pulled it off the ground.


    With his right arm cut off, and left arm couldn¡¯t be used, he could only use his teeth to fight. His left leg, weakly trembled under his weight, but he still stood tall.


    ¡°What makes you fight so hard?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for you to struggle so much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± He charged forward.


    Aldred sighed. He¡¯d just kill the man and turn him into an undead. Raising his sword, about to cut the man¡¯s head, Tomkin suddenly released the sword out of his mouth and grin.


    ¡°I am not going alone.¡±


    Blinding light came out of Tomkin¡¯s body, and he exploded, sending bright light through the tunnels.


    Mary and the girls all jolted out of their seats and frowned. They all believed that Aldred will be fine, but they still couldn¡¯t help but worry about him.


    When the light disappeared, they all saw Aldred sitting in the corner wearing a majestic golden armor. It was his Golden Battle Gear.


    ¡°Well that was a waste,¡± Aldred said. He couldn¡¯t even turned the man into an undead now.


    Sighing, he looked around and noticed a blue orb on the ground. He picked it up and brought it near his eyes. ¡°This is¡­¡±

 265 Chapter 265

    Aldred activated his godly eyes.


    [Orb of Scorch]


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Orb of Scorch? Sounds like a fire orb.¡±


    Suddenly, the orb shone bright and flew into his Phantom Doomde, entering it.


    A powerful force spread out from the de. Aldred widened his eyes as his hand felt the scorching heat, but he couldn¡¯t let go of the de.


    He screamed and gritted his teeth as the force got even more violent.


    After a few moments, the force and the pain disappeared.


    A wave of information entered his mind. Then as if his body moved by itself, he spun and shed the air.


    A powerful beam of light came out of the tip of the de, sending it straight in a circle as Aldred spun. The beam scorched the wall of the tunnels, creating deep, sizzling hole.


    ¡°This is nice.¡±


    A voice came from nowhere. ¡°Aldred, get out of there. I detect a lot of peopleing towards your location,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Let theme. I want to test my new power.¡±


    Soon after, dozens of Gold Rank soldiers swarmed from the tunnel.


    ¡°You! Surrender yourself or die!¡±


    Aldred sneered and raised his Phantom Doomde. A dark-red force sted towards the enemy, making them tremble in fear.


    ¡°What is that weapon¡­¡± one man widened his eyes with trembling legs.


    ¡°I have never seen something so scary before.¡±


    The leader of this group was also shocked, but he shook his head and red at Aldred. ¡°Surrender yourself and that weapon! We might spare your life if youply.¡±


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Are you perhaps blind? You are surrounded by my men. Now drop your weapon and kneel!¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°My knee is too stiff to kneel.¡±


    The leader was enraged. ¡°Kill him!¡±


    Aldred smiled when he saw the enemies charging towards him. He raised his weapon, spun it, and then pointed it at them. ¡°Scorch!¡±


    A bright beam of light shot towards them, it burned, then pierced through their bodies. Their armor melted. Skin, flesh, muscles, and bones charred by the light before they were evaporated into dust.


    ¡°Ahhh! Ru¡ª¡±


    The leader couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. Dozens of his men died in less than a second from that light. Everyone was running with a terrified scream as theirrades turned to dust one by one.


    The leader¡¯s leg shook, and liquid drenched his pants. That was when he saw Aldred approaching him with a pair of deep dark eyes. He immediately fell to his butt.


    Aldred looked down at him.


    ¡°Please spare me,¡± the leader said with a trembling voice.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°No.¡±


    sh!


    Aldred nced at the retreating enemies. ¡°Should I chase them?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± Saphira¡¯s voice came. ¡°You can return now.¡±


    ¡°Have you mapped the natural tunnel? It seems to be filled with resources.¡±


    ¡°We have, and my men are investigating it further.¡±


    Aldred nodded and Ste teleported him back to Saphira¡¯s office.


    ¡°Thank you for your help, Aldred.¡± Saphira looked at him with adoring eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. It should be me who is thanking you for the Advance Golem Creation skill book. It will help me tremendously.¡±


    Saphira blushed. ¡°No need to thank me. Anyway, my men have set up defensive perimeters in the tunnels.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Do you need anything from me?¡±


    Saphira looked down, hesitating with a blush on her cheeks. ¡°I was thinking of spending some time with you.¡±


    ¡°I am training the students right now, would you like toe?¡±


    Saphira¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°Sure.¡±


    The Diamond Ranks and the girls looked at this with a smile.


    Aldred and the girls left the office, leaving the Diamond Ranks.


    They looked at each other. ¡°Should we tell Bravar about this?¡±


    ¡°I am sure he already knows. And that boy is a genius no one has ever seen before.¡±


    ¡°A golem master, a necromancer, a swordsman, a magician¡­ even the strongest hero of Montcresia pales inparison.¡±


    ¡°I heard the empress put special attention on him.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible he will be the next emperor?¡±


    ¡°If he reached Diamond Rank, there is no doubt that he will be the emperor of this nation.¡±


    ¡°If Saphira could make a rtionship with him¡­ it would do the Marshtride family good.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that happens.¡±


    ¡­


    Saphira walked beside Aldred with a slight blush. The other girls were surrounding Aldred as well, and their beauty mesmerized everyone.


    ¡°Wow, so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°All of them are Aldred¡¯s girls? Fuck! Lucky bastard! If I could get one, I would be happy for life.¡±


    The school staff talked about Aldred and his girls.


    ¡°Each and everyone of them is a goddess¡­¡±


    All the males sighed because they knew they would never get a beautiful girl in their life. All they could do was dream.


    Not to mention having a harem filled with beauties, they couldn¡¯t even get one girl.


    After walking for a while, Aldred and his women arrived at the martial field where the students were still training.


    ¡°Master!¡±


    ¡°Get yourself some rest.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    They jumped down from the pir, and immediately grabbed their lunch box to eat.


    After lunch, Aldred continued to train them while his women were watching. They evenid out a pic mat, and had some food while chatting.


    ¡°What do you usually do in your free time, Saphira?¡±


    ¡°Well, I would rx by the in, watching the animals live their lives.¡±


    ¡°That sounds peaceful.¡±


    ¡°It is. I like peace and calmness. The city is too busy and loud for that.¡±


    ¡°I understand you. During our travels, we would eat and watch nature as well.¡±


    Mary and everyone else nodded in agreement. Even Kiara who only joined them recently had learned of their habit.


    ¡°Must be nice traveling the world.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°We have seen a lot of beautiful things. Do you know that Paphia made their cities out of gigantic trees? Like they are really tall, and big, that you can make an inn out of them.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You should visit them sometimes.¡±


    Saphira smiled and slowly touched his hand. ¡°Maybe I will.¡±

 266 Chapter 266

    ¡°You know what. Let¡¯s go out of the city.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s bring the students as well.¡±


    ¡°But thepetition will start tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°We can simply teleport back. I think a change of pace will be good for them.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Are we going now?¡± Saphira asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Ste raised her hand, and her staff magically appeared with glittering stars particles around it.


    Ste smiled and spun her staff, enveloping everyone including the students with tiny, glittering particles.


    She swung her staff to the sky. ¡°Teleportation!¡±


    All out of a sudden, the ground disappeared, the wind blew, and they realized that they were falling in the sky.


    The students screamed while Aldred and Steughed. Sophia held her dress down as the wind blew upward.


    ¡°Master! We¡¯re falling from the sky!¡±


    ¡°Rx,¡± Aldred said.


    Their falling speed increased, but when they were about to crash onto a hill, their falling speed decreased, and they gentlynded on top of the hill.


    The students sighed in relief, and when they saw the view from atop the hill, their eyes widened.


    Below them, a sprawling foresty beautifully before their eyes. Animals, fairies, nts, rivers, andkes. It was so beautiful. They had never seen something like this before because they stayed in the city their whole lives.


    ¡°So beautiful¡­¡±


    Aldred walked to the edge and took in a deep breath. Saphira then hugged his left arm as she stared into the distance. ¡°This is beautiful.¡±


    Kiara approached him and hugged his right arm.


    They stayed like this for a few minutes, until Zafrina called for them.


    ¡°Aldred, the mat is ready.¡±


    Aldred turned around, and sat down on the mat along with all of his women. Zafrina smiled and spoon-fed him warm rice drenched in curry.


    Mira unpacked a few wooden boxes filled with food and called for the students.


    The students cheered when they got more food even though they just finished lunch.


    Mary poured tea into a bamboo cup, and then smiled as she handed it to Aldred.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Families don¡¯t thank each other with words.¡± Mary kissed him on the cheek. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you taught us?¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Krista¡¯s little wings moved ever so slightly as she enjoyed the scenery.


    ¡°Krista, do you like what you see?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Un.¡± Krista turned around and nodded. ¡°Krista likes this ce.¡±


    Suddenly, Pongo popped out from her back.


    ¡°Where have you been? I haven¡¯t seen you in a while,¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Pongo. Pongo.¡±


    ¡°Krista found her when brother Aldred was at school.¡± She cuddled with Pongo, and Pongo purred like a kitten, enjoying her soft skin rubbing against his body.


    Aldredughed, and threw a big fish at Pongo. The penguin swallowed it all at once.


    ¡°You still have a big appetite as usual.¡±


    ¡°Can Krista keep it?¡± She asked as she hugged the penguin.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? That is Pongo. He¡¯s my pet, but he can be yours now.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Krista giggled and hugged Pongo even tighter.


    The students on the other hand finally realized Krista¡¯s adorable appearance. They were all charmed by her, and invited her to y.


    They then ran around, ying on the hill with a penguin and a girl with a pair of angel-like wings.


    Aldred chuckled and so did his women. Mareona looked at him with a blush and kissed him on the lips without hesitation.


    ¡°What is this? Did you miss my touch?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mareona straightforwardly said.


    Aldred smiled and brought her to his embrace as she sat on hisp. He and Mareona hugged each other for a few minutes before his other women took turns with each other.


    And even Kiara joined in. Aldred still didn¡¯t understand his rtionship with her. She seemed to like him, and he liked her as well, so he had no problem when she approached him.


    ¡°Do you like me?¡± Aldred asked to make sure. Although many people prefer rtionships to be made slowly, Aldred already liked her from the start, and not just because of how beautiful she was. She was a kind and caring woman.


    ¡°I like you,¡± Kiara said before kissing him on the lips.


    After the kiss, Aldred looked at her. ¡°I will help you regain your memories back.¡±


    Kiara shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. This is a memory. There is nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about who you really are? When I found you, a group of lion-man wanted to kill you. I think the leader of that group was called Parthos Goldenbelt or something.¡±


    Kiara widened her eyes.


    ¡°Did you know him?¡±


    ¡°N¡ªNo. It just sounds familiar in my ears that is all. How did you know he wanted to kill me?¡±


    ¡°He told me about it. Said it was his brother giving the order. I forgot his brother¡¯s name. Xeres Goldenbelt I think.¡±


    ¡°Xoros. Xoros Goldenbelt.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Xoros. Oh, did you recall your memory?¡±


    ¡°J¡ªJust a little bit. But I don¡¯t know who he is or why he wants to kill me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Take it slowly.¡±


    Kiara nodded and Aldred smiled at him as he caressed her head. Looking at his genuine, caring eyes, she felt slightly guilty.


    ¡°Aldred, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Guys! Let¡¯s go fishing by theke!¡± Mareona shouted. ¡°It¡¯s nearby.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let¡¯s all go fishing!¡± He turned to look at Kiara. ¡°Did you want to say something?¡±


    Kiara shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    They all went down the hill and arrived at theke.


    Around theke were trees with pink flowers. Like a cherry-blossom, and they all bloomed so beautifully. Some of the petals gentlynded on the water.


    ¡°Did we bring any fishing rods with us?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Who needs a fishing rod?¡± Aldred stepped forward, and a fire javelin appeared in his hand before a burning chain formed and wrapped around his arm.


    He heaved back and threw it at the water. The fire javelin sizzled the water, creating bubbles.


    Aldred pulled the chain, and the fire javelin was pulled out of the water with a big colorful fish stuck onto it.


    They all pped and cheered.

 267 Chapter 267

    After Aldred caught a few fish, Sophia wanted to try catching some with her spell. She flicked her finger and the water burst, causing the fish to wiggle around in the air.


    Sophia dragged her hand, and the fish were pulled towards the ground where they hopped around.


    The students cheered again.


    ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Me,¡± Ste said. She swung her staff forward, and suddenly, dozens of fish appeared in the air, being stiff and still like they were frozen through time.


    The fish then teleported to the ground, unmoving.


    ¡°What did you do to those fish?¡±


    ¡°I froze their time.¡±


    ¡°You can control time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a non-elemental spell. I don¡¯t really manipte time. If you touch them, they will return to normal.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. If you could control time, you would be too strong.¡±


    Ste chuckled. ¡°No one in this world will be stronger than you, Aldred. The continent is lucky that you are still a Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s anything stronger than the Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°There is. Haven¡¯t you heard of the Adamantite Rank?¡±


    ¡°I have, but those guys never show themselves, right? They simply protected each race beyond the shadow, and will not take any movement for war, political unrest, and whatnots.¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± Ste said. ¡°But they are the strongest existence in this continent. I believe there are stronger beings outside the continent.¡±


    ¡°Above Adamantite? What are they called?¡±


    ¡°They are called Mythical. Just like their name suggests, they are believed to be a myth. Their strengths are too unfathomable, and are believed to be nothing but imagination.¡±


    ¡°Too strong that they are only believed to be imaginary?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Many tales said that beings with such strength could easily destroy worlds and even consume them. Can you believe that?¡±


    ¡®I can,¡¯ Aldred thought. His father literally destroyed gxies for him when he was still a baby. Now that he thought about it¡­ at what stage was his father currently?


    If he recalled it correctly, his father was around level 978¡­ when he was a baby he didn¡¯t think much about that number, but now that he understood how weak others were, he couldn¡¯t help but think how overpowered his father was.


    Aldred shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s continue our fishing. Who¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Me!¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°What are you going to use?¡± Aldred asked since Mareona wasn¡¯t a magician.


    ¡°This.¡± Mareona threw a rock at theke and sted a few fish out of the water.


    ¡°Nice. Who¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°I want to try,¡± Saphira said, stepping forward. She raised both of her hands and entered a stance. She started dancing gracefully immediately.


    Her movement was smooth without any nuisance. The water of theke moved. It was subtle at first, and then it formed many spikes that came from theke up to the surface.


    The water spikes pierced through the fish, and then a small wave brought them tond.


    ¡°Nice job.¡±


    Then, all of them went fishing using their techniques and spells for a moment. After they were done, Aldred stored the fish in his divine dimension.


    That was when an idea came to his mind. ¡°Guys, why don¡¯t we swim in thiske?¡±


    ¡°Good idea,¡± Mareona said. ¡°I will swim in first.¡± She took off her armor, revealing her beautiful body even more, and then jumped into theke.


    She popped out of the water and waved at them. ¡°Come on in!¡±


    They all looked at each other before throwing their clothes away and leaping into the water.


    Ssh! Ssh!


    ¡°The water is so cold!¡± Kiara said.


    Seeing Aldred having fun, the students wanted to jump into theke as well. That was until a crocodile-like creature jumped out of the water and opened its jaws wide at Aldred.


    ¡°Hah! You think I didn¡¯t notice you?¡± Aldred held the crocodile¡¯s mouth using his bare hand, and he wrestled with it under the water.


    After snapping the crocodile¡¯s mouth, he came out of the water and invited the students to join in.


    ¡°We are fine, Master. I think it¡¯s better if we stay on thend!¡±


    Who the hell would like to jump into theke after seeing a gigantic crocodile?!


    Even Krista didn¡¯t want to get into the water.


    Meanwhile, Aldred and his women were sshing around theke, ying with each other.


    Aldred sshed a wave of water toward Saphira.


    Saphira giggled and sent him an entire tsunami.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t really do anything but to bewildered at the massive wave that shed upon him. His vision was spinning around in the water until the wave passed and his head came out of the water.


    All the girlsughed when they saw that, and they continued to y.


    This time Aldred decided to be a little naughty. He submerged and swam under the water and approached Mareona. She was currently wearing nothing but some clothes covering her sensitive spots.


    Grinning, he grabbed onto her legs and kissed her belly button. Mareona yelped and was about to kick Aldred before he quickly swam away and pounced onto his next target.


    ¡°Be careful, guys! Aldred is under the water.¡±


    They all looked around to find Aldred, but even so, they couldn¡¯t see himing and fell to his prey one by one.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± They all shouted at him with blushed cheeks and swam under the water to chase him.


    ¡°Holy shit! Time to escape.¡± Aldred swam away, but a powerful force sucked him back, and his arms were grabbed by Mary and Mareona.


    Bubbles escaped his mouth, and that was when Sophia smiled and kissed him as Ste, Rachel, and the rest dragged him to the bottom of theke.


    They looked like a bunch of beautiful mermaids dragging the prey down.


    When they were at the bottom of theke, they simply rxed while viewing the fish, nts, and colorful corals around.


    They could hold their breath for hours under the water, so that wasn¡¯t a problem.


    Ste gently waved her hand, and an air bubble formed around their mouth.


    ¡°Okay, we can talk now,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°I never know the scene below theke can be so beautiful,¡± Ivette said.


    ¡°There are so many things we can explore. Things we have never seen before,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I want to take all of you to see it.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement except Zafrina and Saphira who looked down, seemingly deep in thought.

 268 Chapter 268

    Aldred, thedies, and the students went for a little adventure until sundown.


    They flew through the clouds, went deep into caves, and climbed some mountains. They had a lot of fun exploring things they had never seen before, when they were done, they teleported back to school.


    Aldred told them to go home and get some rest before thepetition tomorrow.


    ¡°We will be leaving now, Master.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the trip, master!¡±


    ¡°Take care, Master!¡±


    One by one the students said their goodbyes and bowed to him before they left.


    Aldred smiled and he brought hisdies home and had a wonderful time that night.


    Later, the sun rose along with the chirping birds and the breezing morning air.


    It was thest day of thepetition. All the students woke up early, and so did Aldred.


    He wore his clothes in a hurry and was about to fly to school, but Zafrina stopped him.


    ¡°You cannot go to school with such an appearance. What will people think of you? Let me tidy you up for a moment!¡±


    Zafrina quickly dressed him, making his wrinkled shirt to be neat. She fixed his hair and sprayed him with some perfume.


    She sniffed him around and nodded when she was sure he had a fragrant. ¡°Now you¡¯re ready to go to school.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I will be going now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere without proper meals,¡± Mary said as she brought a tray of food while the others set up a chair and a table. They had him sit down, and poured him a beverage.


    When he already sat down, thedies all brought a spoon and a fork before feeding him one by one. As he gulped the food down his throat, Ivette took a ss of wine and handed it to him.


    Aldred downed the wine. His body, mind, and heart were refreshed. Thedies all beamed happily when they saw him look so satisfied.


    Soon afterward, he finished breakfast and kissed them one by one. He was so grateful to have them all in his life.


    ¡°I will be going now.¡±


    ¡°Take care,¡± said all of his women at the same time.¡±


    Aldred waved at them and jumped out of the balcony before he activated a me jet from his palms and feet. He streaked through the air and arrived at school.


    When hended on the school ground, the students were already there waving and calling out to him.


    ¡°Master, you¡¯re here.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°Are all of you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. Make sure you do your best. Don¡¯t ever forget your training. Show them how much you want the victory.¡±


    Suddenly, a loudugh came from the side.


    Aldred turned around and saw Biran walking toward them with a group of students behind him.


    Frowning, Aldred nced at Biran. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Biran sneered. ¡°I am here only for friendly greetings. Why do you have to be so defensive against me, Mr. Aldred? Now, don¡¯t you ever think that just because you defeated ss E means you can defeat us.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There is still a ss D and you haven¡¯t fought them yet. Chances are, ss D will defeat you, and my ss will sweep this year¡¯s tournament.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a tournament for children. You think too much of it.¡±


    Biran chuckled. ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t know anything. The winner of this year¡¯spetition will be granted the position of Deputy Headmaster.¡±


    ¡°I am not interested in such a position, but if I can take it from you, then I will dly do it.¡±


    A glint appeared in Biran¡¯s eyes. ¡°You have ss D to worry about. Before that, I suggest you should talk humbly, especially to me.¡±


    ¡°I will speak anything to you whenever I want.¡±


    Biran snorted and left.


    Aldred smiled and crossed his arm confidently. He had to show his students how to stand their ground and refused to be bullied by anyone.


    ¡°Jeben, who is our next opponent?¡±


    ¡°We have to fight ss D first before we can fight ss A. They got the top-ss privilege, so we have to duke it out first to see who is worthy to fight them.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°After this, they will realize that they aren¡¯t even worthy to be seen by your eyes.¡±


    The students lit up. Their master¡¯s confidence and arrogance assured them that they were better than their opponents.


    After a few hours, the tournament began.


    ss F versus ss D.


    Both sses looked at each other on the stage. ss F was calm. They looked at ss D as if they were looking at bugs.


    ss D felt this gaze and felt insulted.


    ¡°Why are they so cocky? They are just the ss F.¡±


    ¡°Just because they defeat ss E in one round, now they think they already owned the world.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s show them our power.¡±


    The host hyped up the crowd, and after a few minutes, he told both sses to start the fight.


    ss D rushed forward. Fueled by rage, they quickly attacked.


    But in the blink of an eye, all of the students from ss D were thrown upward to the sky and fell outside the ring.


    The teacher of ss D widened his eyes and so did the audience. A secondter, the audience exploded in ps and cheers.


    They thought that ss F won thanks to sheer luck yesterday, but this time they believed it was real.


    One time might be luck, but the second time must be because of skill.


    ¡°Now I wonder who will win the fight between ss F and ss A.¡±


    ¡°Who could have expected this result? We are bombarded by surprises. First, ss D won against ss C, and ss F won against ss E, but now ss F won against ss D!¡±


    ¡°All the underdogs have proved themselves that they are not who we thought they were. The question is, will ss F keep this winning streak?¡±


    Bravar who¡¯s seeing this from a magic orb smiled. ¡°Too bad that I cannot make him my Deputy Headmaster.¡±

 269 Chapter 269

    ss F walked down the stage under the cheers of the audience. Their smiles were as wide as they can be. Jeben and his friends were all proud of themselves. Some of them even cried.


    They could now properly hold their head high without being looked down upon again. They had been underestimated in school all this time, but now, everyone gave them praise and congrattions.


    When the crowd parted and revealed Aldred nodding at them with a smile, they realized that all of this would not be possible if not for their master.


    They wanted to rush at him and kowtowed under his feet for giving them this power, but Aldred did not allow them.


    ¡°Win thispetition first,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Only then will you all be worthy to pay your respect to me.¡±


    The students looked at each other with a smile. ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    Everyone got a half hour break, and Bartrem¡¯s stalls raked in millions of gold coins. Profit went up through the roof. Food that cost them 1 silver to make earned them more than a million gold coins. The profit margin was huge.


    That was the advantage of selling products to the rich. And this ce was packed with rich people.


    After half an hour, the break was over.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen. The moment that you have been waiting for is here. As all of you know, teacher Biran has shown his supreme teaching skills year after year, and this year is no exception. But, we have seen that ss F has broken the norm and now has the chance to contend for first ce.¡±


    The audience cheered as they split into two group. One side cheered for ss A, one side cheered for ss F.


    ¡°ss A!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss A!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss A!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss A!¡±


    A lot of people cheered for ss F, the underdog of thispetition. But even so, the support for ss A was stillrger than theirs.


    Biranughed when he saw this. ¡°You have done enough. Even though you will lose thispetition, you are allowed to be proud to reach this far.¡±


    Aldred simply smiled and did not reply to him.


    Biran noticed this and was slightly annoyed.


    ¡°Let our students do the talking, Biran. Our job now is to sit back and watch.¡±


    Biran snorted.


    ¡°ss F pleasee to the stage.¡±


    Jeben and his friends walked up the stage again with the same confident they have before.


    ¡°ss A pleasee to the stage.¡±


    ss A walked to the stage and they all had their chin up.


    Jeben frowned, and then he lifted his chin. He lifted so high that he barely could see ss A.


    ss A was angered to see this arrogant act.


    ¡°You¡¯re just ss F. Two lucky wins means nothing!¡±


    The supporters of ss A cheered when they saw this.


    ¡°Destroy the underdogs! ss A will win!¡±


    ¡°Destroy ss F!¡±


    ss F supporter retaliated. ¡°ss A will be dethroned. There is a new king in town!¡±


    The supporters and the students spat out insults at one another until the host stopped them.


    ¡°Let words be kept on your tongue and let your fist do the talking! Ladies and gentlemen! I am sure you want this argument to be solved with violence!¡±


    ¡°YEAH!¡±


    ¡°Then without further dy, began the fight!¡±


    Both sides rushed at each other. They were as powerful as bulls charging at each other. And when they sh, the force cracked the arena.


    Jeben frowned. ss A was stronger than he thought, but he roared in defiance and refused to back down. His friends were inspired by his roar, and they let out a roar of their own as they fought with all they had.


    They just had their chin up, they couldn¡¯t afford to put it down again.


    ss A couldn¡¯t lose as well. They burdened the expectation of many people, and they didn¡¯t want to disappoint any of them.


    Both had strong motivation to win this battle, and so they all gave everything to this fight.


    The audience watching this was both shocked and amazed.


    ¡°Their power increased as the battle progress¡­¡±


    ¡°And not only that, their power is already approaching the Bronze Rank. When have we seen a 7 year old having the power of a Bronze Rank before?¡±


    ¡°Anyone would be considered genius among genius if they can reach Bronze Rank power at the age of 7.¡±


    ¡°But they are ss F, so they are not talented.¡±


    ¡°No amount of treasure has proof of being able to do this, so that can only mean one thing.¡±


    They looked at Aldred. He was ss F¡¯s teacher, and ever since he came, ss F shockingly defeated ss E, and C so easily.


    ¡°I heard rumors he trained the students with a unique method.¡±


    ¡°What kind of method.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I was told the method was too vicious to describe. They even say the training doesn¡¯t look like training, but torture from hell itself.¡±


    They trembled when they heard that, but they were also curious as well.


    ¡°What kind of training did they experience¡­¡±


    Round one was over, and the students retreated to their side.


    They all breathed haggardly, exhausted from the first round already.


    Aldred and Biran frowned. Both of them did not expect that the battle would be this long.


    ¡°I have to say, your students are quite resilient,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I could say the same thing to you.¡±


    After a few minutes, the second round began.


    Jeben did not care anymore and he recklessly charged forward and pounced on someone before using his full power to upper cut their jaw.


    His enemy took that hit cleanly, but still could fight back.


    The battle was brutal. It reminded Aldred of that spartan movie where children beat each other without care.


    Only now did he recall that this empire was protected by the god of war. Training children for brutal battle shouldn¡¯t be a surprise.


    Anyone thates from a civilized nation would be shocked when they see something like this, but for the citizens of the Ceraisian Empire, this wasmonce.

 270 Chapter 270

    Suddenly, Jeben punched a student in the face and he got knocked out.


    The audience gasped and cheered to that, and ss A started to focus their attack on Jeben.


    ¡°Protect Jeben!¡±


    As the battle progressed ss A knocked someone from ss F.


    Both sses were evenly matched.


    The fight went on for hours, and round after round came to pass until the 8th round where Jeben was the only one standing left against one student from ss A.


    Both of them were covered in wounds and blood from all the punching, kicking, biting, and pulling. His clothes were torn with holes, and his skin were scraped a couple of times.


    ¡°What is your name,¡± the student asked.


    ¡°Jeben. What about you?¡±


    The student smiled. ¡°My name is Bosk.¡±


    They both smiled as the battle began and calmly approached each other.


    The audience couldn¡¯t wait to see the result of this battle. Both sses had fought for hours, and now they were down to thest man.


    Even the host did not say anything and let the students look at each other for a few seconds.


    Suddenly, bosk charged forward and grabbed Jeben¡¯s cor. Jeben camly smiled. He had sparred with his friends numerous times. For the entire 3 months, when the school was over, he stayed at school to spar and train, so being grabbed by the cor was not a surprising thing to him, and he already knew how to counter it.


    Bosk pulled him with his weight. This was expected. Jeben knew that Bosk wanted to throw his bnce off and m him to the ground.


    Knowing this, Jeben stepped forward and wrapped his hand around Bosk. This shocked Bosk, because he had never went through this situation before. So he continued what he was doing, but it was toote.


    Jeben pulled Bosk¡¯s neck, and then kneed his abdoment. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and Jeben used that opportunity to perform a punch on the man¡¯s jaw, making him fall to the ground.


    The audience widened their eyes in silence. Even the host was silent as well, looking shocked.


    After a few seconds, they all erupted in an explosive cheer. The cheer was so loud that Jeben¡¯s eardrum shook from hearing it. The people outside the school wondered what the noise was because it was so loud.


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    ¡°ss F!¡±


    The audience ran to the stage and lifted him up before throwing him into the air. Soon, the people also lifted the other ss F students and heaved them up and down.


    They were all shocked at the result. Some of them doubted ss F would win, and supported ss A through thepetition, but when Jeben won, they couldn¡¯t help but congratte him.


    At this moment, Bravar appeared in the sky, and looked at the winner.


    ¡°Congrattion on your victory.¡±


    The students bowed. ¡°Thank you, headmaster.¡±


    ¡°What would you like to be your reward? I am sure you have thought of it beforehand?¡±


    Aldred showed a confused expression.


    ¡°Master, when the ss wins, they can ask anything from the headmaster,¡± Jeben exined.


    ¡°I see. What do you guys want?¡±


    ¡°To be honest we haven¡¯t discussed anything yet. We are too focused on training.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can decide now, I can wait,¡± Bravar said.


    Jeben and the ss discussed it for a few minutes, then Jeben turned to the headmaster.


    ¡°Headmaster, our victory is earned with our own blood and sweat, but we would never have reached this point if not for Master Aldred, so can you give this reward to him?¡±


    The onlookers looked at the students in a different light. Usually the students would ask something for themselves and not thinking about the teachers that brought them to victory. It was nice seeing something different this time.


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Bravar asked.


    The students nodded.


    Bravar then turned to Aldred. ¡°What would you like your reward to be?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything in mind.¡±


    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t I give you this pill.¡± Bravar waved his hand, and a small glowing, blue pill appeared in the air, floating towards him.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes.


    [Pill of Attributes]


    Increase your attributes significantly.


    ¡°This is nice. I will take this, headmaster.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± Bravar waved his hand, and dozens of pill appeared.


    [Pill of Senses]


    [Pill of Agility]


    [Pill of Intellect]


    [Pill of Battle]


    [Pill of Life]


    Aldred consumed all the pills, and his attributes increased.


    [Health Point increased 2,132 -> 3,419]


    [Strength increased 256 -> 292]


    [Vitality increased 298 -> 348]


    [Intelligence increased 544 -> 620]


    [Dexterity increased 181 -> 273]


    Aldred checked his status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 3,669/3,669


    Level: 75


    Titles: Tough Boy


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 292


    -Vitality: 348


    -Intelligence: 620


    -Dexterity: 273


    Stat points: 24


    Skill points: 24


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡®Not bad. Hmm. Let¡¯s use the stat points towards intelligence.¡¯


    -Intelligence: 644


    A powerful refreshing energy circled around his head, and Aldred felt like his spells all increased in damage. Even his sword skill increased in damage, because they didn¡¯t only deal physical damage, but magical damage as well.


    ¡®Now for skill points¡­ where should I put them in. Hmm. Magical Construct seemed good.¡¯


    Aldred had been informed by Tarrar that a lot of his rival sold powerful Magical Constructs such as gravity pirs, weakening pirs, or even small wards that could turn thendscape into a swamp. Basically, Magical Construct let him create a treasure with various abilities. He could do that, but its potency was still weak because he didn¡¯t have enough skill.


    If he improved this, his golems could use it in the battlefield forrge area-of-effect weapons, and he could even sell it for arge sum of money.


    ¡®This is such a good idea.¡¯

 271 Chapter 271

    Aldred put all the skill points to Magical Construct. That was when a wave of information struck him, and he realized something.


    ¡®I need a blueprint or make one to create this magical treasure.¡¯


    The reason his gravity pir wasn¡¯t very potent was because he was a newbie in constructing magical treasure. However, if he had a powerful blueprint, he could follow it step by step and create something stronger.


    Magical Construct: Lv. 3


    Aldred smiled. He was quite satisfied with everything today.


    ¡°Do you like your gifts?¡± Bravar asked.


    ¡°These are wonderful gifts, Headmaster. It will surely be beneficial in my journey.¡±


    ¡°I am sure it will.¡± Bravar tapped his shoulder.


    Aldred sighed with a smile. ¡°I know this is a great victory for all of us, but I have an announcement to make.¡±


    ¡°I am leaving.¡±


    The students were shocked.


    ¡°Where are you going, Master?¡±


    ¡°The construction of my fleet is finished, I have to continue my journey.¡±


    The students shed tears in their eyes when they heard that.


    ¡°Do you really have to go?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have to go whether I want it or not.¡±


    A lot of people relied on him. He couldn¡¯t ck off. Not yet.


    The students all cried and hugged him.


    ¡°Waaa! Master, we will miss you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry. You¡¯re a soldier! Puff your chest and wipe your tears!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± They all stood straight, but the tears in their eyes couldn¡¯t be held.


    ¡°This is a farewell, but before that, let me give you something.¡±


    Aldred opened up a portal then 30 golems stepped out.


    The students¡¯ eyes lit up when they saw this. ¡°The training golems!¡±


    ¡°They are yours now. They can train you until you reach Gold Rank. Train diligently.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    Twinkling particles enveloped Aldred, and he disappeared immediately.


    The students all sighed dejectedly after that, but then Jeben shouted at them. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad! Master will only leave temporarily. In the future, he will return to visit us, so before that happen we should train as hard as we can!¡±


    The students all nodded in conviction and they started training against the golems.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Aldred was back in his room. All his women greeted him with a smile as they waited for him.


    ¡°Are you ready to leave?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°We have to bring Zafrina home first.¡±


    They all walked out of the inn along with Bartrem and the soldiers.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Saphira ran to him. ¡°Are you leaving already?¡±


    ¡°I have to go.¡±


    ¡°Can you stay at least for a few more days?¡±


    ¡°Time is ticking, Saphira. The more I wait, the farther my enemies will go.¡±


    Saphira clenched her fist in hesitation as she bit her lip. ¡®I¡­ I want toe with you,¡¯ was what she wanted to say.


    But she couldn¡¯t say it.


    Holding tears in her eyes, she nced at Aldred. ¡°Farewell. Will I see you again?¡±


    ¡°You will. Sometime in the future.¡±


    Saphira hugged him. She stayed like that for a while until she released her arms.


    Aldred smiled and stepped into his long carriage. The horned horses pped their wings and pulled him to the sky.


    Saphira waved her hands from below as Aldred soared through the sky.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Aldred to arrive at Monthiviers City.


    Landing in the pce garden, they saw Lord Aleron already waiting for them.


    They all stepped out of the carriage, and Zafrina slowly approached her father. She turned around and saw Aldred and everyone else looking at her.


    ¡°Father¡­ my friends are going to leave.¡±


    All kinds of emotions rushed inside her. She wanted to stay with Aldred and the others, but she had responsibilities at home.


    ¡°Leaving?¡± Lord Aleron raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you were going with them.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What? Are you not going?¡±


    ¡°I can go?¡±


    ¡°I never forbid you, did I?¡±


    Zafrina had tears in her eyes as she hugged her father. ¡°Thank you, Dad.¡±


    Lord Aleron felt his heart melt under his daughter¡¯s arm. How long had it been since she called him ¡®Dad¡¯ like she used to do when she was a child?


    ¡°Go now. I will take care of everything here.¡±


    ¡°Can you do it alone?¡±


    Lord Aleronughed. ¡°Are you underestimating me? My own daughter is questioning my capabilities now? Did you forget who your father is?¡±


    Zafrina chuckled. ¡°I would never forget.¡±


    Both of themughed a bit and talked for some time before Lord Aleron spoke: ¡°Go now. Don¡¯t let your friends wait for too long.¡±


    Zafrina hugged him for onest time. ¡°I am going now.¡±


    Lord Aleron nced at Maverick. ¡°Maverick, take care of your sister.¡±


    ¡°I will, Dad.¡±


    Zafrina ran back to Aldred¡¯s side and nced at her father. She waved her hand with a slightly saddened look.


    Renwick walked out of the building and stopped beside Aleron as he looked at Maverick. ¡°Don¡¯t stop your journey, Brother. I will be going after you.¡±


    Maverick usually felt annoyed or enraged by anything he said, but this time, he didn¡¯t feel anything. In fact, it felt like Renwick was cheering for him and motivating him.


    ¡°We will be going now,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Thank you for trusting your daughter with us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make her cry.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I will. Unless in bed.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Aldred coughed a few times.


    They talked for a bit before they got in their carriage.


    Zafrina waved her hand one more time at her father as the carriages teleported into the sky.


    Lord Aleron set his eyes to the sky with both hands behind his back. ¡°Renwick, when he said that he will not make her cry unless in bed, what does that mean? Is this a new ng among the new generation?¡±


    Renwick sighed. ¡°I think it¡¯s better for you to not know, Dad.¡±


    His father had always been a master in politics, but sometimes he also could be dense in this kind of situation. Renwick was d that his father was dense though. Otherwise, he would invite Aldred for a heart-to-heart conversation.

 272 Chapter 272

    ¡°Wait, Aldred,¡± Maverick called. ¡°Stop the carriage for a minute.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Just wait.¡± Maverick jumped out of the carriage, free-falling from the sky, and entered a building. Not long after, a magician teleported him back into the carriage.


    ¡°Here. Take this.¡±


    Aldred took the item. ¡°It¡¯s a blood sac.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s fresh from a virgin Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to drink it directly from the source though¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up and suck the blood already.¡± Mareona hit his head.


    Aldred bit into the sac and sucked the blood. The moment when the blood entered his throat, a refreshing and warm sensation permeated through his whole body.


    After a while, a notification appeared.


    [You have evolved]


    Baron Blood Vampire -> Viscount Blood Vampire


    [Your blood maniption skill has evolved to the second level.]


    Blood formed out of nowhere and circled Aldred. His eyes turned crimson red as he pointed his palm at a distant bird. The bird was at least 8 kilometers away (about 4,9 miles).


    He grasped the air. Suddenly, spikes of blood burst outward from the inside of the bird¡¯s body. Then, its whole body exploded.


    A group of giant birds roared like a dragon and charged at him.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Perfect time. Let me test my new skills on you.¡±


    He jumped out from the carriage, using the me jet to charge back at the birds. Then, Aldred was gracefully moving his arms, sending out waves of blood forward. They formed a shape of a massive crescent and sliced the birds effortlessly.


    Veins were shown around his eyes as he stared at the birds. In his sight, he could feel the birds¡¯ beating hearts.


    ¡°Rupture.¡±


    The birds¡¯ hearts and veins burst. From the outside, the birds looked fine, so anyone would think that it was weird that this bird perished so suddenly.


    But, even though all of these offensive abilities were great, nothing will beat his following skill.


    ¡°Blood Teleportation.¡±


    A blood vortex engulfed him and he instantly appeared in the carriage as the vortex scattered into thin air.


    ¡°This is awesome! I can teleport now.¡±


    They all pped and congratted his evolution.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as potent as Ste¡¯s teleportation power though.¡±


    ¡°But your divine dimension teleportation is stronger than anything I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but it has some restrictions as well. Like I have to go to a certain ce and set up the teleportation point before I can use it. Your power lets you teleport anywhere you want just by remembering the ce or looking at it.¡±


    ¡°You will improve in no time.¡± Ste smiled.


    ¡°So what else can you do with Blood Maniption?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I can do this.¡± Aldred reached out his palm and increased their blood flow. It increased their strength, speed, and reaction time by a significant margin. In other words, he could buff others.


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. This is the best skill I got from this evolution.¡±


    Aldred closed his eyes and mmed his own chest. Blood aura burst out from his body, and now there were four Aldreds at the same time.


    ¡°Now I can have 4 clones!¡±


    Thedies pped excitedly while Maverick and Bartrem simply shrugged.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the shipyard and explore the sea!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Thedies toss their hands in the air.


    As they were chatting about what they would do at the sea, the carriage trembled. Aldred frowned and looked outside only to be shocked by the sight of a gigantic golem.


    The golem was so tall that it prated the cloud above and it even stood at the same height as the carriage¡­ The carriage was flying high in the sky!


    The golem had to be at least 600-800 meters tall (about 2,000-2,600 feet).


    The golem moved slowly, but its mass looked so powerful that Aldred did not think speed would matter at this point.


    On top of the golem¡¯s head were three figures covered in dark robes. On the golem¡¯s forehead was a gigantic crystal.


    The crystal shone and fired a bright beam at the carriage.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Aldred leaped out of the carriage. ¡°Blood Shield!¡±


    The blood formed a shape of a giant shield and it blocked the beam of light. Aldred gritted his teeth as more and more blood siphoned out of his body to sustain the shield. The beam¡¯s attack was stronger than he thought, and the longer the attack urred, the more blood woulde out of his own body.


    Health Points: 3,354/3,669


    He still had a lot of blood left, so this shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°Let me help you.¡± Sophia cast her buff spell.


    [Durability increased by 80%]


    [Health Regenerations increased by 200%]


    Ste also cast her own spell to assist Aldred.


    [Health Regenerations increased by 400%]


    Ste, Sophia, Zafrina, and Rachel did everything they can to help.


    Rachel struggled to repel the trajectory of the light, trying to bend it to the side to reduce the damage.


    Zafrina siphoned her own blood to sustain the shield.


    ¡°What kind of power is this?¡± Mary frowned. ¡°This is not the first time Aldred struggled against something, but he has be stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°That is a high-quality golem,¡± Ste said. ¡°The magic crystal on its forehead was constructed with a high-level magic construct as well. In any case, that golem is very powerful and it could cost hundreds of billions to make.¡±


    ¡°Can you use your Diamond Rank power?¡±


    ¡°No. The ones that controlled the golems are Gold Rank. If I break the rules, I will vanish.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that then,¡± Mary said. ¡°Ugh¡­ It infuriates me as I cannot do something to help.¡±


    Aldred struggled more and more.


    Health Points: 2,877/3,669


    ¡°Shit! I will die if this keeps going. I have to do something.¡±


    Aldred dismissed the blood shield, summoned his Phantom Doomde, and shed the light beam.


    The beam of light was cut in half only for half a second before it struck him directly.


    Health Points: 1,600/3,669


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred conjured his blood shield again. He was pissed off, but he at least received some benefits from that attack.


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 1]


    Upgrade points: 3,000/7,550


    His physique finally got some points. But he couldn¡¯t do it again unless he wanted to die.


    ¡°Aldred! Suck my blood!¡±


    Aldred turned his head and nodded. He reached out with his hand, and blood came out of Mary¡¯s pores before entering his body.


    Health Points: 1,700/3,669


    Health Points: 1,789/3,669


    Health Points: 1,983/3,669


    Health Points: 2,888/3,669


    His health increased bit by bit and then Mira started to heal him while Mareona, Ivette, and Zafrina offered him to suck their blood as well.


    His health points regenerated exponentially, and soon he was back at full health.


    ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± Aldred shouted. But after a while, he realized that the light beam would not stop any time sooner.


    Suddenly, the shoulders of the golems opened and a pir was slowly erected from both shoulders. The pirs made a whizzing sound like an electric device, and magical particles surrounded them.


    ¡°Hahaha, behold! My ultimate creation!¡± Terrance shouted.


    Using his godly eyes, Aldred could see those two pirs were a powerful treasure, but he didn¡¯t know what they could do.


    The next moment, the pirs shot out a wave of particles in every direction periodically. When the wave struck him, Aldred felt dizzy.


    [You have been inflicted with Dizziness]


    [You have been inflicted with Mana Drain]


    [You have been inflicted with Slowness]


    [You have been inflicted with Fatigue]


    [You have been inflicted with Nausea]


    [You have been inflicted with Blindness]


    [You have been inflicted with Weakness]


    Aldred¡¯s vision darkened and his sight was limited to only a couple of meters, but his godly eyes shone a light into the darkness and removed them.


    [You have removed the Darkness effect]


    Aldred then controlled his own blood and removed all the debuffs one by one.


    [You have removed Dizziness]


    [You have removed¡­]


    ¡°He¡¯s removing the debuffs!¡±


    ¡°Bah! I know you are useless Terrance! You said your Magical Construction will be potent and powerful.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! That kid is not normal! Activate the other magical construct!¡±


    The chest of the golems slowly revealed a hole and numerous orbs flew out.


    The orbs shone with bright light, and Aldred felt a terrifying powering from them.

 273 Chapter 273

    ¡°Die!¡± someone shouted from the golem.


    Hundreds of orbs let out blinding lights and they shot tiny yet powerful beams at Aldred.


    The blood shield took the attack, and his health dropped once again.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you attacking us?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Kekekekek! We are the Wildlings gangs. You messed with the wrong people, and now you will pay for it.¡±


    ¡°I cannot wait to cut your chest and see through you without any skin or flesh left. Let me see what makes you so powerful so you can hold on against our golem.¡±


    ¡°The Wildlings Gangs¡­ I destroyed you guys.¡±


    ¡°You merely destroyed some of our branches. They were merely ants inparison, but we still have to send a message that no one can mess with us.¡±


    Aldred recalled that Maverick said the Wildlings Gang was a huge crime organization and was very active. They even had the ambition to expand to another continent. Something every nation of this continent deeply wanted.


    ¡°Klepto, Terrance, activate the full power of this beam. This has taken too long.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do, Viper,¡± Terrance said. ¡°I know what I am doing.¡±


    The beam turned from bright light to ck in color. The damage increased significantly, and Aldred¡¯s health points dropped at an rming rate.


    ¡°Fine! I will show you my true power!¡±


    Aldred¡¯s body glowed and he was covered by the Golden Battle Gear. He raised his shield, and when the blood shield shattered, the dark beam crashed against the golden shield but the impact only pushed Aldred back a few steps.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Viper frowned.


    ¡°That¡¯s a Battle Gear!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! We got a jackpot! Let¡¯s kill him and take that gear off him.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I can make a lot of treasures with that,¡± Terrance said, licking his lips.


    ¡°You want to take my Battle Gear? First, you have to kill me to do that. Xer Xai!¡±


    Xer Xai burst out from the ground and pounced on the golem¡¯s leg. The golem only took a step back. This proved that the mass of the golem was very high. So high that even Xer Xai failed to make it fall.


    ¡°What is this creature?¡±


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s a Xer Xai. It¡¯s usually found in Aringuerao. To think that this guy even tamed one, this kid is not some ordinary guy. He¡¯s something else.¡±


    ¡°Who cares about that? Let¡¯s kill it so I can make treasures out of its scales.¡±


    The golem stomped on Xer Xai, destroying her body in half, but suddenly she regenerated quickly and attacked again.


    ¡°This thing is an undead!¡±


    ¡°Klepto, kill it!¡±


    Klepto clicked his tongue. ¡°You two cannot do anything without me, huh.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re the only dark wizard here so dealing with the undead is your specialty.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, losers.¡± Klepto pointed at Xer Xai, and she suddenly stopped attacking and screamed as if she was in pain.


    That was weird for Aldred because the undead shouldn¡¯t feel any pain. Xer Xai¡¯s size started to shrink little by little.


    ¡°Fuck! I am not letting that happen!¡± He called Xer Xai back and she vanished.


    ¡°Shit. It¡¯s gone!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, Klepto! Now, where can I find such fine materials for my next creation?!¡±


    ¡°You are so fucking useless, Klepto. I could have modified my golems with its scales!¡±


    ¡°Shut up you two. It¡¯s not like any of you can do anything to it.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Aldred called. ¡°You three all talk too much!¡±


    He raised his Phantom Doomde. ¡°Sky Splitting Strike!¡±


    An arc of bright light cut through the beam andnded on the golem.


    BOOM!


    After the smoke dissipated, the three gang members red at Aldred.


    ¡°Fuck, he almost killed us with that attack!¡±


    Aldred attacked with the same skill again.


    This time the attack came in the form of a golden beam that shot out from his sword and rushed at the gigantic golem.


    The three gang members widened their eyes when they saw the image of a dragon within the light.


    ¡°Damnit, Viper! Activate the shield!¡±


    ¡°I am doing it!¡±


    Before he could activate the shield, the golden light already reached the gigantic golem and consumed its head, before destroying it piece by piece. A terrifying crimson aura burst forth, shing the golems down to its waist.


    It wasn¡¯t over. After the terrifying red aura. Red lightning sparkled and exploded the golem from top to bottom. The remains of the golems sted in every direction. Those that got thrown in the sky started falling down like rain.


    Aldred waved his hand and the smoke moved to the side. On the ground, the three gang members were unconscious.


    Aldred flew down and activated his godly eyes. The system informed him that all of them were at the peak of Gold Rank and their equipment was all top-notch, even the ugly-looking robes.


    ¡°I will be taking your stuff.¡± Aldred knelt down and started looting his opponent until they only had their underwear.


    He then pped their face with water.


    They woke up in shock.


    ¡°Where are my clothes?!¡±


    ¡°Shit, my equipment! All gone!¡±


    ¡°I take them all.¡±


    The gang members red at him and were about to attack until they realized that their hands and legs were tied.


    ¡°You¡¯re messing with the wrong people, kid. We¡¯re not going to be thest person sent to hunt you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not worried that I will kill you?¡±


    ¡°I live in the gang life. I always know that I will die someday. If you don¡¯t kill me, then someone else will.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a unique mindset to think of it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s part of the job. Either you kill for money and entertainment, or you get killed for money and entertainment.¡±


    ¡°Killing is such entertainment for you guys, huh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t have any fun in killings. You¡¯re a powerful Gold Rank. I can smell a lot of blood in your hand.¡±


    ¡°It depends on who they are. If they are dirty sewer rats like you guys, then I don¡¯t mind killing them at all.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Kill us now.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°You three are really weird. I never see someone telling me to kill them like this.¡±


    ¡°You expect us to beg to be spared? No chance. A lot of people begged us, and we never spare them, so why would we expect you to spare us?¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Whatever. Up you go to the afterlife.¡±


    SLASH!

 274 Chapter 274

    Right after Aldred cut their head, their soul was sucked in by his Phantom Doomde, and he could feel it bing stronger than before.


    Aldred made his sword vanish and then he checked his loot.


    [Advanced Magical Construct]


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw this skill book. ¡°This is exactly what I need. I have leveled up the skill to level 3, but now with this skill book I can make an even more advanced magic artifact.¡±


    [User, you can alsobine this skill with Magic cksmith skill to create a powerful weapon]


    ¡®Like what?¡¯


    [Anything. You can create any artifacts you want. Even the sky won¡¯t be your limit]


    ¡®Can I create a magic F-22 jet?¡¯


    [Yes]


    ¡®A spaceship?¡¯


    [Yes]


    ¡®A space station?¡¯


    [Yes]


    ¡®A sex toy?¡¯


    [Yes¡­]


    ¡®Oh wow! So something Death Star is possible as well? You know that moon-sized super weapon that can literally destroy a?¡¯


    [Anything is possible as long as you have the right skill, level, resources, materials, and knowledge]


    ¡®Alright. I will try to learn to be a Magic cksmith then.¡¯


    Aldred flew back to his carriage, and all of his women checked if there was any wound on him.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Ste said.


    Everyone sighed in relief.


    ¡°No need to worry about me. Anyway, I want to ask you all. Do any of you know about cksmith?¡±


    ¡°I know a thing or two,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°I have seen a lot of cksmiths in thousand years of existence in this continent,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°I know a few powerful ones,¡± Zafrina said. She was the daughter of a noble so of course, she knew someone.


    ¡°Okay, can you guys tell me how to be one?¡±


    ¡°I think you have to learn this craft by practice,¡± Ste said. ¡°Out of all the cksmiths I know, the great ones, all of them learned by practice. They might learn the basics through books, but they honed their craft by doing.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like martial arts.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but cksmithing focused more on the practical side since you have to learn it by doing.¡±


    ¡°I have learned cksmithing before, isn¡¯t that right, Mary?¡±


    Mary nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you did it, but yes, you do know some cksmithing skills.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s only the basic,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I want to be a Magic cksmith.¡±


    ¡°Magic cksmith?¡± Ivette asked.


    ¡°A Magic cksmith is abination of a magician and a cksmith. To be one you need to have an affinity for magic, and you also have to learn the cksmith craft as well.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like learning two things at one time.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Magic is already hard enough, if you add in cksmithing, it bes even harder,¡± Ste said, ncing at him. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it will be a problem for you.¡±


    ¡°I have something in my bag that might help you.¡± Zafrina pulled out a thick book from her hand-sized pouch.


    Aldred touched the book and a notification came.


    [Advanced Magic Smith]


    Would you like to learn this skill?


    ¡®Yes.¡¯


    [You have learned Magic Smith]


    ¡°This is awesome!¡±


    As the carriage flew in the air, Aldred spend his time with his women and learning about smithing.


    He pulled out a bunch of ores and smelt them with his powerful fire maniption. He didn¡¯t even need a furnace.


    He created a bunch of mediocre weapons, but with the help of his godly eyes, he managed to create one low rare quality sword.


    It wasn¡¯t good, but it was a major leap in development.


    His women could only smile when they saw his progress. Aldred was a prodigy. A terrifying prodigy. Even Ste, an existence that lived on this continent for more than a thousand years had never seen something like him before.


    Soon after, they arrived at the shipyard.


    ¡°Finally we are back at the shipyard again. I cannot wait to look at our fleet,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Yo, I been waiting for you,¡± Tulban called. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    They all smiled and followed Tulban to a dock.


    And that was when their eyes widened in shock.


    In the main dock, a gigantic ship, the size of a cruise ship floated majestically on the water. She was like a floating ind with numerous cannons and other weapons on her deck and hull.


    Aldred didn¡¯t even realize that he already considered the ship to be a ¡®she¡¯.


    Apanying the mothership were 19 cruisers, 22 destroyers, 16 frigates, 15 submarines, 4 gigantic cargo ships, and 30 speedboats!


    Nowpared to modern naval ships, they might not beparable, but the ships did not need any skilled sailors to operate. It took years to train ship engineers and all of its staff that every staff worth their weight in gold.


    These ships ran with magic, so it wasn¡¯t asplicated. He could even put golems on the ship and there would be no problem.


    ¡°I cannot believe it¡¯s finally done,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It took all of our manpower to quickly build this fleet, but I understand you are racing against time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Tulban. I will surely remember this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Now go. Go out there and find the treasure. Don¡¯t let the enemy get ahead of you. Also, I have a few experienced sailors on board your mothership just in case.¡±


    Aldred chatted with Tulban for a few seconds before they all boarded the mothership. A sailor greeted them.


    He was a man in his early twenties with short blonde hair.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Sir. My name is Burchard and I will guide you in controlling your fleet.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Burchard. I will trust your guidance.¡±


    Burchard smiled at how polite and weing Aldred was. ¡°Please follow me to the wheelhouse.¡±


    The ship looked very simr to a cruise ship with buildings stacked upon each other, but these buildings were not for amodation. They were for weapons. Gigantic cannons!


    Just by looking at those cannons, one would understand the power and destruction they could cause to the enemy.


    ¡°I have to try shooting something with thatter.¡± Aldred followed Burchard.

 275 Chapter 275

    Burchard walked through the steel hallway. The exterior and the interior of the ship truly depict a ship that mold only for war. The thickness of the steel would be enough to hold against an all-out attack from a tinum Rank or even a Diamond Rank.


    This meant Aldred couldn¡¯t even destroy his own ship even if he tried to.


    This wouldn¡¯t be possible with steel alone. At the very least, two or three Diamond Rank magicians were enhancing the ship, making it stronger and lighter.


    After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at some sort of altar.


    ¡°Where is the wheelhouse?¡±


    The wheelhouse was the ce where the wheel of the ship was located. In the modern world, it was called the bridge ormand center.


    ¡°Please stand on the altar, Sir.¡±


    Aldred and the others stood on the altar. Suddenly, the floor on the edge of the altar moved up, creating some sort of wall around them. Later, the floor floated upward.


    ¡°This is an elevator!¡±


    Aldred couldn¡¯t believe it. He had seen a lot of weird magical effects, but who would have thought they would make an elevator with magic?


    Bartrem and some of his women were surprised as well. Ste, Mary, and Zafrina had seen a magic elevator.


    ¡°Its real name is called magical levitation tform, but over time people have called it a magic elevator,¡± Burchard said.


    ¡°The first name is too long after all.¡±


    The elevator arrived at the top floor and the wall slid down, revealing an expansive wheelhouse. There was a lot of magical apparatus, and for some reason, it looked asplex as modernputers.


    They weren¡¯t so different after all, huh?


    Burchard walked closer to the wheel and pressed a shining orb. A small projection of the mothership appeared, floating in the air. ¡°This will be your main tools to see the condition of your ship, Sir. All you have to do is press it, and it will show the projection of your ship. If your ship is damaged, the projection will indicate a red color to any damaged part, and even show you how badly damaged they are. Here you can see the number of ammunitions we have.¡±


    Aldred was surprised when he saw thousands of cannons on the ship. Around 14 of them had the caliber of 780 mm shell¡­ just imagining a shell thatrge crashing against something made Aldred feel excited.


    ¡°Those 14rge cannons you see are our main cannons. They can reach a target at a minimum of 47 kilometers away, and the maximum distance is almost unlimited.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by unlimited?¡±


    ¡°As long as you give it more mana, the cannon can shoot at any distance. Of course, you will have a problem hitting a target that¡¯s beyond our horizon. This ship has its own ship finder, but it had a limited distance of around 2,000 kilometers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough.¡±


    2,000 kilometers¡­ in the modern world, only an inter-continental missile could reach that distance.


    ¡°What else can I see from this thing?¡±


    Burchard hovered his hand around the orb, and the projection showed the entire fleet. ¡°As you can see, you can also see your fleet as a whole. You can see how many ammunitions they have, how many mana crystals they have left, the crew, and another status such as maximum speed, weight, and length.¡±


    ¡°This is very useful.¡±


    ¡°Also, forgive me for being rude, but I can¡¯t help but notice that the other ships have no amodations at all. Is there a reason for this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I only use golems. I don¡¯t n to hire a lot of sailors to man my ships.¡±


    ¡°But you will need hundreds if not thousands of golems to do that, my Lord.¡±


    ¡°Tulban haven¡¯t told you?¡±


    ¡°Apologies, but he didn¡¯t say anything to me except guide you on how to control your fleet.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I will show youter. Now tell me what else can I do?¡±


    Burchard showed Aldred what the orb could do such as activating the defensive apparatus that covered the entire ship or sending out powerful particles to nearby ships to make them stronger and faster.


    ¡°This mothership is very unique, so it has advantages other motherships cannot have. Not only does it have powerful firepower, but it can also act as a support vessel by helping other ships. This is all possible because you remove all the amodations space.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Let me show you my golems.¡±


    Aldred waved his hand, and a portal appeared in the sky above one of his ships. Then, golems started pouring out of the portal, filling the ship one by one as Aldred changed the locations of the portal above the ships.


    Burchard¡¯s eyes widened when he saw more than 15,000 golems pouring out of the portal.


    ¡®How could this man control over 15 thousand golems at once?¡± Burchard nced at Aldred and saw him in a different light.


    ¡°Is this enough to man the ships?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I¡ªit¡¯s more than enough, my Lord. But do these golems know how to run a ship?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where your rolees into y. You and the other sailors will teach my golems how to run the fleet properly. How many sailors do we have?¡±


    ¡°Including me, we have six sailors in total.¡±


    ¡°Call them here.¡±


    Soon, the five sailors arrived in themand room. Aldred looked at them with both hands behind his back. The sailors¡¯ eyes looked bright and they were excited to work. Aldred was d that Tulban gave him a group of motivated sailors.


    Aldred asked for their names and their experiences as a sailor. After talking to them for a few minutes, he gave them their position.


    ¡°Burchard, you will be themodore of this fleet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord!¡±


    ¡°Kenway, you will be the 1st captain.¡±


    ¡°Wickham, you will be the 2nd captain.¡±


    ¡°xton¡­¡±


    ¡°Ewert¡­¡±


    ¡°Andstly Briggs¡­¡±


    In total Aldred now had onemodore and five captains. He didn¡¯t understand much about their roles, but overall, all they had to do was teach the golems and helped Aldred in controlling the fleet.


    ¡°Okay, before we do anything else, we have to test our power.¡±


    Aldred crossed his arms as he stared at the ocean through the window. ¡°Commodore! Find us an ind, and bombard it with our cannons.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Lord! Captains! All hands on deck, get ready to fire!¡±


    The captains sprinted out of the wheelhouse and went to their designated ships. Each captain had control of around 12 ships consisting of destroyers, cruisers, submarines, and other ships.


    They prepared all of the golems on each of those ships and submarines. To their surprise, the golems were so easy to train.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the golems to learn how to load the shells or torpedos, and when to start cleaning the ships.


    This took ce while Burchard the fleet slowly sailed towards an ind.


    ¡°This ind will be our target, my Lord. It¡¯s a small ind, just 200 miles in length, and 93 miles in width. It¡¯s also free of people, so no one is going to get hurt.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Start firing when everyone is ready.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Lord!¡±

 276 Chapter 276

    It took them a few days to prepare the golems. Although they learned fast, there were so many ships and so many golems to teach at once, and there were only 6 people to teach them.


    In the meantime, Aldred was having fun around the ship with his women and friends. The mothership was the only ship with an entertainment lounge, food storage, and kitchen. The other ships did not have this kind of luxury.


    But if the captains wanted to enjoy themselves, they could visit the mothership to do so.


    A few dayster, all the ships were prepared and all of their cannons pointed at the ind.


    ¡°Preparing to fire in 3. 2. 1. Fire!¡± Burchardmanded.


    And that was when the whole world trembled.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    All of the cannons on all of the ships bombard the ind. When the shells crashed against thend, they exploded and burst forth with powerful magic particles and aura that engulfed nearby objects and then turned them to dust. Each shell created a crater more than 7 meters deep, and 13 meters wide with the surface of the crater covered in sizzling smoke.


    The animals, trees, and rocks were all obliterated as they were engulfed by mes. Some of the shells even contain lightning elements and it crackled throughout the ind, killing all lives even when they were deep under the ground.


    One shell was fired from a destroyer, exploded in mid-air near the beach, and it spread out a blinding light that scorched and melted the stones around it.


    After firing at the ind for a few hours, Aldred told them to stop and let the smoke dissipate.


    They all took in a deep breath when they saw the state of the ind. What was once a green, a beautiful small ind was now a destroyednd filled with ugly craters, burnt marks, and destruction.


    Even Aldred trembled in fear when he saw this. He didn¡¯t believe that he would stand a chance if that shell hit him directly.


    Mary, Mareona, and the others were all watching this as well, and they were no more amazed than Aldred.


    ¡°This so powerful¡­ no wonder it cost so much to build a ship.¡±


    ¡°Shipyard doesn¡¯t usually ept gold coins as payment,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°Everything is mostly priced in mana crystals.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°I guess, the Empress really helped me a big time. Even though we couldn¡¯t meet her, her influence is so huge that we can enjoy a benefit we wouldn¡¯t dare to imagine.¡±


    Zafrina giggled. ¡°If you want to buy ships, my dad can always help.¡±


    ¡°Must be nice, having a rich family,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°At first, I didn¡¯t think much of it, but after hanging out with you guys, I now see the privileged I have as the daughter of a noble.¡±


    ¡°You can say we humbled you,¡± Maryughed. ¡°Anyway, where are we going now, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Right. I almost forgot.¡± He took out something from his inventory. It floated in the air, radiating a gentle golden light.


    ¡°It¡¯s the astrbe¡­¡± Burchard said.


    ¡°You know your stuff, Commodore. Now, tell me where I have to go.¡±


    The golden, clock-shaped devices spun and then projected a golden arrow that pointed towards the east.


    ¡°You see that, Commodore? Set sail to the east!¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Lord!¡±


    The fleet turned around from the scorched ind and they headed to the east.


    Aldred had 106 ships in total. 30 of them were speedboats that were tied to the bigger ships, so he had 76 ships sailing on the sea.


    Thisrge fleet might not beparable to a full fleet owned by nobles, but it wasrge enough to scare pirates.


    Pirates usually consisted of 24-58 ships, and they usually looked for easy targets. The moment they saw Aldred¡¯s mothership apanying the fleet, they knew they had to turn around and run away.


    ¡°Look at all those pirates running away from us.¡± Aldredughed. ¡°But it¡¯s very surprising to see one already.¡±


    ¡°Pirates are verymon, my Lord. Anyone that sailed to the sea usually will see one or two.¡±


    Aldred yawned. ¡°If they dare to approach just destroy them. Right, Burchard. From now on, I will call our fleet The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet, and this mothership will be called Mother of Destruction.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a very domineering name, my Lord.¡±


    ¡°It fits our power.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°I will take my leave now. You can take care of everything.¡±


    Burchard slightly bowed while Aldred left with his women to have some fun in hispartment.


    ¡­


    Inside Hammer and Tongs, a man with big arms mmed the sword on the anvil with his hammer.


    ng! ng!


    Each strike produced a spark, and with each spark, the sword came into being. When he was done, Dobbs grabbed the sword and dipped it inside the water, making a sizzling sound.


    Dobbs was a bulky man with rough hands from years of smithing and forging. He had thin hair lines and his whole body was always sweating from all the heat inside his cksmith shop.


    Suddenly, a group of well-dressed men entered his shop and looked around. The one on the lead wore noble-like clothes and his face looked like it had never smiled.


    ¡°What do you need, my Lord?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°Look at you. Once was known as the Great Smith, is now living in a run-down shop, making mediocre swords all day long?¡±


    ¡°I lived my life however I wanted, my Lord. I know you have the power to change that, but I will not involve myself in this treasure hunt. Not anymore.¡±


    ¡°You still feel upset about that sword?¡±


    ¡°That sword which I created for a decade specifically for your son, and you sell so easily to a neighboring country. Yes, I still feel upset about that, and I don¡¯t want my weapon to fall to any unwanted hand.¡±


    The lord frowned and red at him. Eventually, he shook his head. ¡°Come to me when you change your mind.¡±


    ¡°I will never.¡±


    ¡°Your head is as hard as an anvil, but I am a patient man. I will be waiting for that day.¡± He left the shop with a bitter heart.


    Dobbs watched the lord leave and grabbed the ordinary sword before hanging it on the wall among many other ordinary swords.


    He sighed. Years ago, he would spit on these swords due to mediocre they are. He hated any cksmith who created mass-produced low-quality swords such as these.


    But now, he became something he despised the most.


    Dobbs sighed again and looked through the window where there was arge mothership on the ocean.


    It was the Lion¡¯s Gate, the lord¡¯s personal mothership which had defended the sea against numerous enemies.


    ¡°I was the one who created that.¡±


    His story was the typical falling from grace story. An arrogant cksmith who fell due to his own ego. He put himself in this position, but he didn¡¯t know if he could return to glory once again.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time to go out and explore the world.¡± Dobbs looked at his workshop for a few seconds before he packed his bag.

 277 Chapter 277

    Chapter 277: A Pirate Attack 1


    Aldred¡¯s fleet sailed on the south sea. Currently, his view of the world was limited only to a single continent, so the sea here was basically near the main continent. On the sea, there were only small inds and most of them were inhabitable.


    Aldred rxingly sat on a reclined chair together with his women by his side. A small table to his left held a ss of wine and a bowl of berries. He was enjoying the view of a sea creature attacking one of his ships before it was killed by a single st of a 700 mm shell. The sight was quite astounding, and 15 speedboats immediately brought the carcass of the tinum Rank sea creature aboard his cargo ship.


    His fleet had killed a few hundred sea creatures in thest few days. Most of them were Gold Rank, and at times, a tinum Rank creature usuallye to visit.


    At first, he was terrified to notice that a tinum Rank beast could die so easily, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to ept such a fact.


    As the fleet made its way, Aldred pondered on his expansivework of skills. He had too many skills and even though all of them were useful, he had a headache on which skill to prioritize. The elemental spell was important for different situations, but most of the time, his de would sh any problem he faced.


    Although mastering the other elements would make him more versatile and harder to defeat, he didn¡¯t have enough time to learn them all.


    Not to mention he was currently learning the art of cksmithing.


    cksmithing was crucial if he wanted to strengthen his fleet even further. Combined with the magical construct spell, he could modify his own ship however he liked.


    But it would take time before he was qualified to modify a Diamond Rank-made ship.


    ¡®At least there¡¯s a chance that I can modify and strengthen the ship even if I¡¯m at Gold Rank.¡¯


    Currently, the fleet was still heading to the east, but Burchard had nned to make a stop on a small ind because Aldred wanted to purchase some materials and hire cksmiths and shipwrights so he could repair or modify his ship on the go.


    They would not be able to make any significant modifications though.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Mary asked as she popped a berry inside his mouth.


    Aldred chewed and gulped the berry down his throat. ¡°Just thinking about things that might be necessary.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to that small ind?¡± Mary pointed at the distance.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and zoomed in miles away. In his sight, there was a port city on that ind and it was filled with people. Numerous ships docked at its port and goods were being lifted with magic.


    ¡°Seems like so. I think we can buy anything on that ind. It¡¯s a bustling port city.¡±


    ¡°What would you want to buy?¡±


    ¡°Still unsure. Some materials for the ship, hiring shipwrights and a cksmith maybe. I will have Burchard take care of it.¡±


    Aldred had a little chat with his women while Bartrem and his soldiers were having a barbeque on the lower floor. There was a swimming pool on that deck, and some of them decided to go for a good swim.


    Life as a soldier was good for them. A year ago, they wouldn¡¯t have even imagined being in this position. Now they had a bed partner, tasty food always at the ready, and funpanions. Let alone they enjoyed traveling around the world and meeting new people such as Maverick who were currently drinking and chatting with them.


    He wasn¡¯t drinking alcohol, but blood. However, he said it had a special chemical that worked the same way as alcohol. So his cheeks were currently blushing as he slowly got drunk.


    As the soldiers were having time of their life, one of them noticed a ship in the distance waving a red-skull g.


    ¡°Pirates!¡±


    ¡°Another one? They¡¯re just going to run away like before.¡±


    ¡°No, this time is different. Look, they are attacking the ships that areing to the ind.¡±


    ¡°Those are small fleets. The pirates wouldn¡¯t dare to attack a mothership.¡±


    That was what they believed, but then they saw it.


    Out of thin air, an enormous ship appeared. It was asrge as Aldred¡¯s mothership but looked much more menacing with its ck steel hull, and the head of a hideous dragon at the front.


    A loud whistle reverberated from all the ships. It was a signal for an attack.


    The Mother of Destruction pushed three gigantic pirs that sted out particles to the allied ships, enveloping them.


    Then, the attack came. The pirate¡¯s mothership fired its numerous cannon at The Destroyer¡¯s fleet.


    The impact shook the world and Aldred widened his eyes when he saw the shells exploding on the barrier.


    This was the power of a mothership¡­ if not for the barrier, he wouldn¡¯t even be alive right now.


    Aldred took out a small orb and held it near his mouth. It was amunication orb. ¡°Commodore, how is the situation?¡±


    ¡°The situation is still under control, my Lord. Our mana crystals are still at 99% capacity.¡±


    ¡°Good. Make sure you destroy them. I cannot bear my first debut at sea by losing.¡±


    ¡°I will take care of it, my Lord.¡±


    Burchard narrowed his eyes as he activated the status orb. The projection appeared in front of his face, showing his fleet as a whole, and also the pirate¡¯s fleet.


    The pirates only had 38 ships consisting of cruisers and destroyers. There were no submarines.


    Burchard did not underestimate his enemies. Although this was his first time controlling an entire fleet, he had his fair contribution in naval battle before and was aware of what to do in this situation.


    He sent in 5 submarines forward and told them tounch the torpedoes as a test.


    Soon after, 4 destroyers got their hulls exploded. One of them got a broken stern and was unable to change its course.


    ¡°No counterattack against the submarines? Are these pirates stupid?¡±


    Burchard was still suspicious, and his suspicion paid off. In the distance, there was another fleet apanied by a mothership.


    This means that the enemy had two motherships!


    Burchard frowned. ¡°All ships head to the northeast at full speed. Don¡¯t turn your rear to the enemies! I repeat don¡¯t turn your rear to the enemies!¡±


    For now, all he could do was stall and prayed for reinforcement.

 278 Chapter 278

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Aldred cursed as he saw another mothership appear on the horizon. ¡°I thought a mothership cost a lot, how could the pirates even afford them?¡±


    Amid a fierce explosion, Burchard¡¯s voice boomed as he announced something to the pirates: ¡°Stop attacking us or we will unleash our full power to bring you down!¡±


    He used the ship¡¯s voice amplifier to send a warning to the pirates.


    ¡°Burchard is smart. Now we can negotiate with the pirates.¡±


    A gigantic ballista bolt from the pirates¡¯ mothership prated through the barrier and directly headed to Aldred.


    ¡°Oh hell, no!¡± Aldred jumped to the side as the bolt prated the steel floor for half a meter.


    He stood up and saw the giant steel bolt produce a cloud of smoke and it was hot red from its only impact. The bolt was four times his height, and it seemed to be enchanted with a prator as well.


    ¡°The negotiation ended before it even started. These pirates are too much!¡±


    Ste approached the steel bolt and touched it. ¡°Let the stars return this bolt to its owner.¡±


    Star particles twinkled around the bolt, pulling it out of the steel floor and then throwing it back to where it came from.


    ¡°Great, now my ship has a giant hole on it.¡±


    ¡°I can fix that. Short Rewind!¡±


    The floor was covered with twinkling light, and when it disappeared, the floor was back to its normal state.


    ¡°Wow! What a nice spell. Seems like you can almost do anything with your power.¡±


    ¡°If you live for more than a thousand years, you can¡¯t help but learn a thing or two.¡±


    ¡°I am d you did. Anyway, we have to do something against these pirates. They¡¯re not going to make a hole in my ship again and get away with it.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    Aldred grinned. ¡°Let me speak to Burchard first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my Lord?¡±


    ¡°When can you start attacking?¡±


    ¡°The enemy is still bombarding us, my Lord. If I attack, the barrier will go down, and our ships will surely get hit.¡±


    ¡°So if I disrupt their attacks, you can shoot back at them.¡±


    ¡°I cannot see how that situation will be possible currently, but yes.¡±


    Aldred put themunication orb in his pocket. ¡°Ste, can you teleport me inside that mothership?¡±


    ¡°Teleporting you there is impossible.¡±


    Aldred clicked his tongue. ¡°My teleporter golems also cannot teleport me that far. Is there any other way I can reach their mothership?¡±


    ¡°There is a way,¡± Ste said.


    ¡­


    ¡°AHH!¡± Aldred zipped past arge cannon shell as he flew near the water. Wrapping around his body were bright star particles that elerated him faster than Mach 3. This kind of speed will let him reach the mothership, but on the other hand, he had to manually dodge the cannon shells that went toward him.


    One shell went towards him diagonally, and he flew down to dodge it. But it exploded in mid-air and sent hot shrapnels at him.


    Luckily, he was so fast that those shrapnels couldn¡¯t even reach his skin.


    Even so, the idea that 0,7-meter shells exploding right in front of his face was a scary thought.


    He tried to shoot the shells with his fire bullet, but the speed of his fire bullets was much slower than his own speed. This made the fire bulletse back right at his face.


    So, dodging was the only thing he could do.


    When he was near, smaller rapid-firing cannons started raining him with bolts.


    He performed a loop-de-loop andnded on one of the motherships.


    The pirates were shocked to see him on board. They pulled their weapon out and charged at him.


    ¡°No greetings? This is surprising.¡±


    Aldred summoned three of his clones, and all of them wreaked havoc on the ship. He went to their cannon room which was protected by a lot of pirates, but he killed them all with his me spell.


    The whole hallway was aze in the shape of a sea serpent and it engulfed everything it passed through.


    When he kicked the steel door, it didn¡¯t budge at all.


    ¡°As expected of a mothership. Everything here is indestructible. But I am not running out of ideas yet.¡±


    Aldred put his finger inside the keyhole and through his finger, he spewed out a jet of mes that burnt everyone inside the cannon room.


    ¡°Ahh! Let me out! Let me out of here!¡±


    The pirates banged on the steel door numerous times as they tried to get out, but they couldn¡¯t even reach the door before their entire bodies turned into charcoal.


    ¡°That¡¯s one cannon eliminated. We still have eleven more. Spread out and destroy them all!¡±


    His three clones spread in different directions and killed all the pirates they saw while trying to find all the big cannon¡¯s room.


    He also tried to find one, and after he killed a bunch of pirates, he found his target. This time he wanted to do something different, so he morphed into a small insect, slipped through the keyhole, and morphed back into human form when he was inside the cannon room.


    The pirates shook when they saw him appear out of thin air.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Death!¡± His whole body burst out mes in every direction which burnt all the pirates inside.


    Aldred then steered the gigantic cannon, pointed it at the pirate¡¯s mothership and he pressed a lever that fired the shell.


    BOOM!


    The recoil threw Aldred to the wall, but he saw with clear sight the shell mmed against the pirate¡¯s mothership and exploded one of its cannons.


    ¡°Hahaha! Take that, sucker!¡±


    The door mmed open and twelve pirates were ring at him.


    ¡°Kill that man!¡±


    Aldred stoop and straight-up mauled these pirates. None of them survived his attacks.


    As he steered the cannon again, more and more guards came after him.


    ¡°Rise my undead legion! Protect me while I do my business!¡±


    More than 176 undead appeared and wreaked havoc on the hallway.


    Aldred smiled as he aimed at the pirate¡¯s other mothership. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can get a good shot this time.¡±

 279 Chapter 279

    Aldred aimed at the middle hull, intending to sink the mothership. But, when he fired the cannon, its aim was deflected to the side, making its shell only strike at another cannon.


    He nced to the side and noticed that one of the pirates destroyed the cannon and changed its aim.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna destroy you first!¡±


    Aldred was about to steer the cannon toward its direction until he saw thirty wooden speedboats quickly traveling on the water with mana particles pushing them from behind.


    Aldred narrowed his eyes and saw that it was Bartrem and the soldiers.


    ¡°What the hell are they doing?¡±


    Then, he saw the soldiers approach the pirate¡¯s ship, threw a grappling hook on it, and then climbed onto the ship before attacking the pirates.


    Aldredughed. ¡°They want to join me for fun, huh?¡±


    He got back to steering the cannon, but arge shell came at him and sted his cannon. It came from the other mothership that he was trying to attack.


    ¡°Shit! Time to get out of here.¡± He morphed into an insect and slipped into the keyhole again before morphing back into a human. He quickly ran away before the cannon room exploded to ruin.


    ¡°This ce is dangerous. I have to get away.¡±


    As he ran away, a minotaur appeared in front of him. It held itsrge hammer with two arms and snorted steam out of its nose.


    The minotaur mmed Aldred to the wall.


    Aldred spat out blood to the side. ¡°I am too handsome for you to kill!¡±


    He summoned his Phantom Doomde and shed at the minotaur¡¯s head. Its soul was immediately consumed.


    Aldred was going to find more cannon rooms, but then he saw a group of people pushing a cart with a 7-meter-long cannon and pointing it at him.


    At that moment he knew had to get the fuck away from there. ¡°Blood Teleportation!¡±


    The shell flew at him right before he vanished and it made a dent in the wall. Even Aldred couldn¡¯t make such a dent on the wall of a mothership.


    Appearing on the deck, he saw his undead and clones wreaking havoc on the mothership, but more and more people came out pushing out the cart of cannons to counterattack.


    His undeads were sted, and one of his clones even got killed.


    ¡°Time to leave.¡± Aldred set up a teleportation point here just in case before he leaped into the sea.


    A whirlpool spun around his body and it pushed him toward the other mothership. ¡°Water elemental spell does have the benefit.¡±


    The whirlpool then pushed him out of the water and headed straight to one of the mothership¡¯s cannons.


    The cannon fired at The Mother of Destruction and Aldred quickly took that chance to enter the barrel and went in inside the cannon room.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?!¡±


    ¡°Kill him! He¡¯s the enemy!¡±


    Aldred grinned and moved his hand elegantly, creating a whip out of water. He then shed at the pirates, killing them all instantly.


    The door opened, and Aldred was about to attack until he saw Bartrem.


    ¡°Aldred!¡±


    ¡°Bartrem!¡±


    ¡°How did you manage to get here?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I stole the key. Anyway, I will go to the other cannon room since you have already taken over this one.¡±


    ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re on the deck, fighting those pirates.¡±


    ¡°Alright, be careful with the smaller cannons. Even my clones got killed by them.¡±


    ¡°I will keep that in mind.¡± Bartrem ran off.


    Aldred steered the cannon and destroyed a few destroyers nearby. ¡°Hahaha! One of those could cost billions of gold coins. These pirates will be broke after this.¡±


    Just as he was about to steer the cannon to another mothership, a group of men entered the cannon room.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I destroy ships in peace?¡±


    ¡°Fire!¡± The group of pirates aimed at some sort of wooden object with magic engraving on its surface. It looked like a gun, and it shot out a steel ball covered in a blue aura.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and knew that he couldn¡¯t dodge the steel balls due to they were too damn fast. It seemed like these handheld cannons were made by Diamond Rank as well.


    ¡°Golden Battle Gear!¡± The Golden Battle Gear wrapped him, and Aldred raised his golden shield before he was enveloped by his blood barrier.


    The steel balls crashed through the blood barrier as expected, but it reduced their power.


    They then mmed against his shield and threw him to the wall. Aldred spat out blood before he red at the pirates and reached out with his hand. ¡°Blood Leech!¡±


    Blood particles flew at the pirates and formed into leeches before they pounced on their bodies and sucked out their blood.


    ¡°Ahh! Get it off! Get it off!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s sucking my blood! Kill it!¡±


    ¡°Ahh, fuck it!¡± A pirate shouted before he shot the leech off his shoulder. It exploded the leech, but it also exploded his whole arm in the process.


    The pirate was enraged and aimed his weapon again at Aldred.


    ¡°I will kill you, bastard!¡±


    ¡°Not today, buddy.¡± Aldred shot a sticky string at the weapon and snatched it off the pirate¡¯s hand.


    [Soul re]


    ¡°Soul re? An interesting name for a gun-looking thing.¡± He aimed it at the pirates and fired.


    The man¡¯s head exploded like watermelon and his body fell to the floor.


    The orb in his pocket vibrated. He took it out.


    ¡°My Lord, we¡¯re ready to counterattack. Please leave the enemy¡¯s warship immediately.¡±


    ¡°Okay, give me a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Please do hurry, my Lord. I can only give you three minutes at most.¡±


    ¡°Will do!¡±


    Aldred immediately got out of the cannon room and luckily met Bartrem on the deck. ¡°Leave this ship immediately. Burchard is about to counterattack.¡±


    Bartrem nodded and shouted for his men to leave as well.


    They all ran to the edge of the ship and met fierce opposition from the pirates.


    Aldred and Bartrem led the charge and they cut the pirates one by one. Aldred noticed that the soldiers were also using Soul re. It seemed like they had stolen it from the pirates as well.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time! Two minutes left and Burchard will attack.¡±


    ¡°Dammit! Men! Push and shove!¡± Bartrem shouted before he and the soldiers were covered in the red aura and charged like a raging bull. The pirates were all knocked away, and they quickly neared the edge of the deck.


    Aldred fired a couple of times using his Soul re and shed at a pirate with a water spell.


    ¡°Keep going! We have one minute left!¡±


    ¡°Why does time pass so quickly when we need it to be slow!?¡± Bartrem shouted.


    ¡°That one sentence cost you thirty seconds. Run faster!¡±


    They ran as fast as they could while fighting against the pirates. Steel balls were flying everywhere along with blood and screams apanied by the booming sound made by the cannons.


    It was loud, chaotic, and a whole mess.


    A steel ball burst right by his feet, and it threw a shard of steel at his cheek. The shard made a cut, but it wasn¡¯t anything fatal.


    Aldred retaliated with a direct stab of fire javelin right into the man¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Fifteen seconds left! GO! GO! GO!¡±


    They dropped their swords and hastened their pace.


    The clock was ticking inside their mind.


    5.


    They were approaching the edge. The water was already in their sight.


    4.


    More pirates came, shooting steel balls and shells at them.


    3.


    Shrapnels cut through their armor, but they ignored the pain and kept running.


    2.


    The edge became near.


    1.


    They were already at the edge and jumped.


    BOOM!


    As they were in mid-air, a shell from the main cannon struck the deck and created a powerful explosion that threw them away.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± They all screamed as the world spun. They couldn¡¯t even tell which way was up and down because the water looked so simr to the clear blue sky. Their sight became blurry and their ears rang from the explosion.


    Eventually, theynded on the water. Aldred swam to the surface as he saw the other soldiers do the same.


    When their heads popped out of the water, they saw the Mother of Destruction sending out shell after shell at the enemy¡¯s mothership.


    Aldred¡¯s cruisers and destroyers were firing their cannons as well. He even saw some of the submarines underwater sending out magical torpedoes, using a water elemental spell to quickly navigate deep within the ocean.


    Aldred, Bartrem, and the soldiers saw numerous ships being blown apart. A dozen speedboats came and the soldiers climbed on them before they raced back to the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet.


    They watched as the pirate¡¯s mothership took a shell attack to its hull. Water poured in.


    But even so, the two motherships were still strong. Even their cannons were still functional after taking a direct hit.


    This was because the Mother of Destruction was too far away, so the damage was reduced significantly. Not to mention the pirate¡¯s motherships had activated their defensive mechanism to further lessen the impact.


    But even so, the pirates still turned around and retreated.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to destroy these motherships,¡± Aldredmented.


    ¡°At least we win,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°It could be worse.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. At least we win, and we also sunk a couple of their ships.¡±


    Bartrem smiled and nodded. ¡°By the way, do you think some of our ships are sunk as well?¡±


    Aldred looked at Bartrem with a terrified face. ¡°I hope they don¡¯t because I will chase them by myself if that happens.¡±


    One ship could cost billions of gold coins, so even one ship lost would make his heart aches.

 280 Chapter 280

    Aldred got attacked by a bunch of sea monsters on the way back, but he killed them all. What Tulban said was right. Monsters would viciously attack anything that moves on the surface. If not for the immense battle that was going on right now, there would be more monsters chasing after him.


    After he returned to The Mother of Destruction, Burchard reported that he had lost one cruiser and two destroyers.


    Aldred mmed the table. ¡°Fucking pirates! I will kill every single one of them if I have the chance!¡±


    ¡­


    There was a skull ind on the southern sea, veiled by mountains and thick mist, many went in but were never seen. But if a person were peering through the mist and traveling past the maze-like canal, one would notice a volcano in the shape of a skull. Both its eyes lit up red with bubblingva within it.


    It was said that a brave Commodore from the Ceraisian Empire once traveled to thisnd to eliminate the pirates, but his existence was long forgotten as he never came back.


    Living on this ind was the Red Skull Pirate.


    Ships of all sizes and conditions docked nearby. Most of them were destroyed, and two out of three motherships were heavily damaged.


    Inside the volcano, Marshton took a slow step forward as the guard pushed the gate of the throne room for him.


    Sat upon the throne was a tall man. His face was covered by a red skull that barely hid his long, blonde hair.


    It was said that Admiral York was a handsome man. So handsome that a noblewoman would forget about her dignity and throw herself at him.


    ¡°Admiral York,¡± Marshton slightly bowed when he arrived six feet away from the throne.


    There was pin-drop silence. Marshton gulped as he could even hear his own sweat falling to the floor. He had made a grave mistake this time, and he was worried that he might fall out of favor.


    He had been York¡¯smodore for years, but Marshton knew that York would remove him if he proved to be ipetent. The captains under him would rece him with a wide smile on their faces.


    ¡°This is the first time you disappoint me.¡±


    ¡°I have no excuse for my failure. Please punish me however you see fit.¡±


    York stared at him. Marshton couldn¡¯t tell if he truly stared or not because the skull hid his eyes.


    ¡°Your punishment will be presenting me with treasures and fine women from Subiabiterbo.¡±


    Subiabiterbo was the name of the ind that they tried to blockade, but failed because a powerful fleet with one mothership forced them to retreat.


    It was a rich ind with only one port city with the same name. Marshton had nned to attack that ind for months under York¡¯smand, but he return with broken ships instead of chests filled with gold and jewelry.


    In other words, York did not punish him at all. However, Marshton did not show any sign of relief. He knew he could die any time soon because he earned this position by witnessing personally how York had disposed of themodore before him.


    ¡°I will learn from my mistake and fulfill your wish, Admiral.¡±


    York snapped his finger, and two guards dragged a muscr man before pushing him to the ground.


    ¡°Use him to strengthen your ship. He has thick skin so make sure you whip him hard if you need him to obey.¡±


    Marshton frowned, wondering who this man was. He grabbed the man¡¯s head and tilted it up. His eyes widened when he saw who the man was.


    ¡°Dobbs the Great Smith.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Ahh! I will kill those damn pirates! My ships!¡±


    ¡°Rx, Aldred. You only lose three ships.¡±


    ¡°Each of those ships cost billions to make! Billions! I cannot forgive those pirates! I will find them and sell their kidneys to rece my destroyed ships!¡±


    Ste held his shoulder and looked him in the eye. ¡°Calm down. Look at the bright side. You made great damages to two of their motherships, and you destroyed more than a dozen of their ships.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mareona joined in. ¡°People said that an eye for an eye, but you took their entire heart out.¡±


    All of his women calmed him down and eventually, Aldred stopped raging.


    ¡°Burchard, can we scrap the destroyed ships and rebuild them?¡±


    Burchard nodded. ¡°We can, but the water here is deep, and we cannot swim far too down below or we will die.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I have something to get rid of it.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Up. Up. Slightly to the left. Good. Now drop it,¡± Aldred instructed Xer Xai as she drop the scraps onto the cargo ships.


    ¡°Good job. Now go down there again and pick more scraps.¡±


    Xer Xai did not hesitate and dove into the water.


    ¡°You too. Go do something useful.¡± Aldred looked at Pongo.


    Pongo snorted and belched out two tons of metal scraps from his stomach.


    Aldred spat on the floor. ¡°Xer Xai can bring 150 tons of scraps at once.¡±


    Pongo red at him and he leaped into the sea.


    ¡°Aldred! Where should I put this?¡± Ste asked with her hands glowing and arge bulk of scraps about 200 tons worth levitating above her.


    ¡°Just put it next to Xer Xai¡¯s scraps.¡± Aldred gulped. He was slightly jealous of Ste¡¯s power that it could do almost anything from teleportation, levitation, buff, and even create a vehicle.


    Ste slowly lowered the bulk of scrap and released her spell when itnded safely.


    They had been diving into the sea and collecting scraps for a few hours now. Aldred also told them to collect the enemy¡¯s ships and recycle their materialter. Since he defeated them, those ships can be considered his property now.


    He was sure he destroyed about fifteen to twenty ships.


    ¡°Hehe, fighting pirates might be a beneficial activity. I can steal their ships and no one will think of me as a criminal.¡±


    While collecting the scraps, Aldred did not forget his real purpose: to sail to the east and find the next treasure.


    But the battle against the pirates taught him that his fleet wasn¡¯t strong enough just to sail about anywhere. What if his enemies bring three motherships next time?


    So he had to strengthen his fleet and create an effective strategy to fight more than a numerous and powerful fleet.


    He had discussed this with Burchard and went to talk to the captains about this. Compared to the vast sea, they were merely small in power.

 281 Chapter 281

    It took Aldred and his team more than a week to collect all the metal scraps and store them on the container ship.


    In total, he collected more than 200.000 tons of scraps. His cargo ship could only hold 165,000 tons of cargo, but he had four cargo ships in his fleet so there was no problem with the storage.


    After collecting and storing all the scraps, his fleet approached Subiabiterbo.


    At this time, no one dared to interrupt his fleet anymore. Everyone on the ind had seen the battle the week before, and it was being a topic of the town.


    Aldred left together with his women as the cargo ship docked on the ind while the rest of the fleet kept guarding the area.


    The moment Aldred came out of the ship with his women andrades, the people gathered and cheered for him.


    ¡°What a handsome hero! He saved our city.¡±


    ¡°His fleet forced the pirates to retreat even though he was at a disadvantage. The pirates have two motherships! Can you imagine that?¡±


    ¡°I rarely see a naval battle that massive before, not to mention the epic one where the weaker side actually wins.¡±


    ¡°Who did you call weak? That fellow must be very powerful. Look at the beautiful women who followed him.¡±


    ¡°So beautiful¡­¡±


    ¡°The soldiers around him¡­ all of them wore high-grade rare quality treasure! Even a tinum Rank might not be able to afford all of that.¡±


    ¡°A rich young master. He must be a rich young master!¡±


    ¡°And not just an ordinary young master, but a powerful one as well!¡±


    The people there chattered with awe and their gazes were filled with respect.


    When the local guards saw Aldred and his entourage, they approached and bowed. ¡°Wee to Subiabiterbo City, Young Lord.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the crowd?¡± Aldred asked.


    The guards panicked, thinking that the crowd annoyed this young lord. They turned at the crowd. ¡°Hey, all of you go away. Don¡¯t fill up the street.¡±


    ¡°I was just asking a question, why do you shoo them away? I don¡¯t own this ind so they can stand wherever they want.¡±


    ¡°I¡ªI apologize, my Lord.¡±


    ¡°Also, you don¡¯t have to call me Lord.¡±


    The crowd was surprised by how humble this young lord was. Not only was he a hero who saved the entire ind, but he also respected their dignity by not shooing them away.


    Thedies blushed when they saw him. ¡°No wonder he has a lot of women with him. I wonder if I keep staring, will he notice me?¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? There is no way he will ept us. Look at his women. All of them looked like goddesses.¡±


    ¡°A man like that only exist in fairy tale¡­ look at him. So handsome, humble, wealthy, and powerful.¡±


    The guards gulped. ¡°Then can we call you big brother?¡±


    ¡°Big brother? I am eleven years old, for god sake.¡±


    The guards and everyone there stared with wider eyes after hearing that. Eleven years old¡­ They looked him up and down and saw that this appearance looked at least neen or twenty years old.


    Aldred noticed their weird gazes and then transformed into his real form. ¡°This is my real form. I am too short in this form, so I morphed to my adult form.¡±


    Aldred transformed back to his adult state again.


    The crowd nodded in understanding, but now they were shocked to see an eleven years old having the power of a Gold Rank, and also the leader of a powerful fleet.


    The guards looked at each other. What kind of person could reach Gold Rank at the age of eleven? It was hard to believe. Unless he was the son of a god himself, such possibility was null.


    No one dared to retort his im, however. A lot of them did not believe his im, but those with keen eyes stayed silent and simply contemte how his existence was even possible in the first ce.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to let them call you Lord,¡± Zafrina said as she fixed his clothes and hair. ¡°After all, you fit that title.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°I will let them call me however they wanted then. It¡¯s not the first time I was being called a lord.¡±


    The guards wiped their sweat and politely asked: ¡°I am sorry, my Lord, but may I ask your purpose for visiting this ind?¡±


    ¡°I want to repair my ships, and hire many shipwrights. Maybe, I want to look around as well before I continue my journey.¡±


    A little girl looked at Kiara. Kiara noticed her, smiled, and waved at her. The little girl giggled before running away to her mother.


    ¡°Young Lord. This might be a little rude, but can we suggest that my Lord stay at the Duke¡¯s Manor please?¡±


    ¡°The Duke? Is it okay if I stay there?¡±


    ¡°Aldred, this means the Duke is inviting you to his house,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°It¡¯smon that a lord of the region invited a wealthy or influential figure to his dwelling to get to know each other. Nowadays in ages, it¡¯s necessary to invite people like you or it would be considered an insult.¡±


    ¡°So, the Duke wants to meet me?¡±


    ¡°Simply, yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I ept his invitation. My friends cane, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they can, Lord. Since they are your affiliations, we will treat them with the finest hospitality.¡±


    ¡°Alright, lead the way.¡±


    The guards bowed. ¡°Please follow us.¡±


    As Aldred and his group followed the guards, Zafrina tapped his shoulder and whispered. ¡°In this situation, the Duke will usually expand hiswork by befriending you. He can be a good acquaintance and can help you get ess to more things on this ind. So if you don¡¯t want any trouble, don¡¯t show any negative view about Duria.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Although this is a neutral ind, formally, it¡¯s recognized as Duria¡¯s territory.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s mouth opened wide. ¡°What!?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.

 282 Chapter 282

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Mary said. ¡°The ind is only Duria¡¯s territory on paper. Their influence is next to nothing in this region.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Decades ago, Duria and Ceraisian Empire were at war with each other. The battle was mainly at sea, and both sides tried to reach the other¡¯snd using ships. But they both failed. This ind was once a key point for Duria to attack the Ceraisian because it¡¯s only 200 miles from Ceraisian¡¯s territory.¡±


    ¡°And why did they let go of such a strategic spot?¡±


    ¡°You think the Ceraisian¡¯s fleet would let its enemies stay right on its doorstep? They used everything to destroy Duria¡¯s facilities in this ce, and the struggle was so fierce that Duria didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be worth it to upy this ind anymore. After that, the native people on this ind rebuild themselves. Peace came thatsted for more than three decades, and this ce became the hub for the west continent and the east continent.¡±


    ¡°So the ind is rich now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it doesn¡¯t seem like they have built a powerful fleet to protect themselves.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe the Duke will tell you about it.¡±


    A few minutester, they arrived at a well-decorated mansion. It was always nice to look at mansions. And nobles liked to show off their mansion as it indirectly showed their wealth.


    When the fancy gate opened itself using magic, a very beautifuldy appeared.


    ¡°Wee to Subiabiterbo, distinguished guests.¡± She greeted them with a friendly smile. ¡°I am Francesca Subiabiterbo, the sole daughter of Rurcam Subiabiterbo, Duke of Subiabiterbo.¡±


    ¡°I lost count at how many times you said Subiabiterbo.¡±


    Mareona kneed Aldred¡¯s arm. ¡°Sorry, he can be a bit rude sometimes, but he doesn¡¯t intend to insult you.¡±


    Francesca giggled. ¡°Do not be worried. We prefer it if the atmosphere bes humorous. May I know your name?¡±


    ¡°You can call me Aldred.¡±


    Francesca nodded. ¡°As for thedies and the others, I will get to know you and your nameter. For now, please let me bring you inside.¡± She bowed slightly while stealing a nce at Ste. She felt a powerful aura from that woman but did not dare to be rude, so she averted her gaze quickly.


    ¡°Alright, please guide us.¡±


    ¡°This way.¡±


    Meanwhile, the people nearby were talking about Aldred.


    ¡°Is that the owner of that fleet?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And he seems to be an influential figure judging by the Duke inviting him to his mansion.¡±


    ¡°Are you dumb? Of course, he¡¯s influential. His fleet defeated the Red Skull Pirate. They brought two motherships, but his fleet still won.¡±


    ¡°Did you know that his fleet is called The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet? And the mothership is called Mother of Destruction.¡±


    ¡°What a domineering name¡­¡±


    ¡°I think the fleet deserved that name after the battle against the Red Skull Pirates.¡±


    ¡°But I am worried, won¡¯t the pirates return for revenge?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Ships are expensive to build and repair. They won¡¯t move a muscle until The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet leaves this ind.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I want to ask,¡± Aldred said as they were walking in the garden of the mansion. ¡°The pirates I fought a week ago, what was that about?¡±


    ¡°They are called the Red Skull Pirates, and they always sail around this water collecting protection money from us, but they seem to have a different intention this time.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I think they want to take over the ind. For years, we aren¡¯t allowed to build a fleet of our own, or we will be attacked. We have obeyed their order and they let us prosper, but that also means we are under their mercy. If not for you, we might be destroyed by now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s dumb. If they destroy you and take over this ind, no one will be willing to go here. This ce will bewless, dangerous, and infested with pirates who will surely scam them and forcefully asks them for money.¡±


    ¡°My father and I think the same, but the pirates don¡¯t seem to think that far. Although we have a bunch of Diamond Ranks, it will be hard to protect the whole city against a barrage of attacks from the ships.¡±


    ¡°Even Diamond Ranks are helpless against ships?¡±


    ¡°Not really. They can run away whenever they want, but the city and the people they left behind will have a tragic fate. It¡¯s not that easy to kill a Diamond Rank. A fleet might be enough, but that is the case if the Diamond Rank doesn¡¯t choose to retreat. And the number of shells and mana crystals it takes to take a single one of them down would be enormous. It¡¯s much more efficient to use another Diamond Rank to kill a Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Aldred said, but he noted in his mind that it was possible to kill a Diamond Rank with ships.


    ¡°I am going to be straightforward with you. My father wants your help in dealing with the pirates. Of course, we don¡¯t expect your help for free. I am sure you know that this is a rich ind, the only thing weck is military power at sea. Ourpensation will surely be enough to make you happy.¡±


    ¡°Well, if thepensation is good, I don¡¯t mind helping.¡±


    He had destroyed two motherships and understood that they didn¡¯t fare well against enemies boarding their ships. Sure, the pirates might learn their lesson, but Aldred also had more cards under his armpit to use.


    Fighting the pirates once again shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Francesca¡¯s eyes lit up. She bowed. ¡°Thank you. The people on this ind and my father will be very happy to hear this.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°I am not a greedy person, but my subordinates have a big sry, so I expect thepensation to be well-deserved or my subordinates will go crazy. And again, I am not a greedy person.¡±


    His women, Bartrem, and the soldiers rolled their eyes. They all knew Aldred loved collecting wealth and hated losing them to any unwanted cause.


    ¡°Of course, we willpensate you handsomely. You need not worry. Now please, follow me quickly.¡±

 283 Chapter 283

    ¡°Lady Francesca, how may I help you?¡± A maid bowed slightly.


    Francesca. ¡°Where is my father?¡±


    ¡°Lord Rurcam should be here after he finished with the other guests.¡±


    ¡°How can my father meet other guests in this situation? Please tell him to hurry.¡±


    ¡°No need for that, daughter.¡± A tall man with a warrior-like bearing walked toward them with confidence. The man had chestnut, shaggy hair, and a scar left by a sword just under his right eye.


    The man¡¯s tight, luxurious clothes defined his muscle, and Aldred could tell that he was a powerful Diamond Rank warrior.


    ¡°Wee to my home, Lord Aldred. Or should I say Lord of The Death?¡± The manughed. ¡°I heard so many things about you.¡±


    ¡°I assumed everything you heard is positive?¡±


    The manughed again. ¡°Yes! Everything is positive. Destroying the Wildlings Gang¡¯s underground base. Killing criminals everywhere. You¡¯re the type of person I need.¡±


    Aldred nodded a bunch of times proudly while his women rolled their eyes.


    ¡°Where are my manners? I am Rurcam Subiabiterbo, the Duke of this ce. The guards have told me about your presence. Thank you for saving us from the pirates.¡± Rurcam quickly grabbed Aldred¡¯s hand and shook it up and down.


    Aldred felt like he could be thrown away so easily by his arm strength alone, and he could only smile bitterly at that.


    Well, Rurcam was a Diamond Rank, so the gap of strength was horrendous.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. The pirates attacked us first, I simply retaliate for self-defense.¡±


    Rurcam smiled. ¡°You are as humble as people said you are. When the pirates attacked, you could have run away, but you choose to fight instead. There¡¯s no need to hide it. I know you have a great heart and did not want the people of this ind to suffer.¡±


    Aldred could only blink at that. He did not intend to save the ind at all. He was simply enraged that mere pirates had the guts to fight against his fleet, so even though the enemy had two motherships, he didn¡¯t even consider retreating. If the pirates had brought three or four motherships, he would get out of this region as fast as he could.


    Why would he sacrifice his fleet for others?


    But since Lord Rurcam thought of him as a hero, then let it be.


    ¡°Please, let us continue speaking in my office.¡± The maids bowed and opened the door to his office before they walked inside.


    ¡°Tell me, does your friend like molten honey?¡±


    The maids prepared the cups and poured in a shining golden liquid that easily poured into the cups.


    ¡°That looks tasty.¡± Aldred sat down and took a sip. ¡°Not bad.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not ordinary honey, and in fact is one of our trademarks, but we¡¯re not here to talk about honey. But before that, let me give you a taste of our true product. What you consume just now is the cheap and mass-produced one. Francesca, can you help me treat our guest?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father. Please excuse me, Lord Aldred.¡± She left the room.


    Aldred nodded and nced at Rurcam. ¡°I heard you need my help.¡±


    ¡°I do. Direly so. Has my daughter exined the situation to you?¡±


    ¡°She has.¡±


    ¡°Then you must know how desperate we are?¡± Rurcam nced at him in a meaningful way.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I am not going to extort you, Lord Rurcam. I see you as a potential long-term business partner. I am sure, you know that long-term profit is better than short-term benefit.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, and I am d you are straightforward and honest with me. I am tired of ying words and mind-guessing.¡± Rurcam sighed and leaned on his chair.


    ¡°Sometimes I want to quit being a Duke and drop it all on my daughter, but how can I be so cruel to do that?¡±


    Aldred smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Sorry for ranting at you, Lord Aldred. Let¡¯s talk business. I want you to protect the ind while we build our own fleet. I know you are a treasure hunter so you cannot stay in one ce.¡±


    ¡°How long do you want me to protect the ind?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long. The pirates don¡¯t let us build our own fleet, but I have prepared all the necessary materials and people to do it. If you can give me two months, I can make three motherships, and more than 120 warships. That will be enough to scare the pirates.¡±


    ¡°Two months? That is a little too long. Although I understand that it takes time to build a fleet.¡±


    ¡°Can you not spare two months? I already pushed my resources to the max with that speed.¡±


    ¡°I have a solution, Lord Rurcam. I can rent you my worker golems to help you build your fleet.¡±


    ¡°Ah right, I forgot about your golems. Can they help me?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t offer them if they can¡¯t.¡±


    Rurcamughed. ¡°Alright. I trust you for that. How many worker golems can you give me?¡±


    ¡°I can rent you 25,000 worker golems for 1 month.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my time to talk,¡± Aldred said. ¡°What can you give me?¡±


    ¡°A fleet.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°After we destroy the pirates together, I will give you one of their motherships, and more than 70 warships to you. Of course, we will also rece all the destroyed ships after the battle.¡±


    ¡°I like that offer.¡±


    ¡°So do we have a deal?¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    Rurcam and Aldred shook hands andughed manically.


    Francesca returned with a jar of sparkling honey, and she poured it into a teacup before politely cing the cup in front of Aldred.


    ¡°Please enjoy our Sparkling Honey Dew, Lord Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Finally, Aldred. Go taste this honey. I am sure you will like it so much, that you will ask more from me.¡±


    Aldred smiled and activated his godly eyes to check the content of the honey. He even checked the cup, the table, and the sofa.


    Everything was safe. So with that in mind, Aldred drank the honey.


    [You have consumed Sparkling Honey Dew.]


    [Charm increased]


    [Error. The charm has been set to maximum. Obtaining a new skill¡­]


    ¡®Oh, since my charm is at maximum level. I get a skill instead?¡¯


    [Skill obtained: Random Arousal]


    ¡®The fuck?!¡¯

 284 Chapter 284

    [Random Arousal]


    ¨C Randomly make women near you feel aroused.


    ¨C This ability cannot be canceled or deactivated.


    ¨C Only works toward women at the age of 19 and above.


    Increasing the level of this honey will strengthen the arousal effect. Consume more Sparkling Honey Dew to increase its level.


    ¡°This¡­ What kind of honey is this?¡±


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Rurcam asked.


    ¡°Like it? I love it! Give me more.¡±


    Rurcamughed.


    ¡°Can I try it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. This honey is only for males. If women consume it, there will be a dire consequence,¡± Rurcam said.


    Aldred could onlyugh at that as he drank another cup.


    [Random Arousal Lv. 1 ¨C Lv. 2]


    ¡®Nice,¡¯ Aldred thought.


    ¡°Well, I will not take any more of your time. Francesca, will you apany our guest while he¡¯s on this ind?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡± She nced at her father and noticed his meaningful gaze.


    ¡°Lord, Aldred. You can stay in this mansion in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I have nowhere to go anyway.¡±


    Rurcam smiled. ¡°If you need anything, just tell my daughter about it.¡±


    ¡°I will surely rely on her.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Francesca led Aldred out of the room, and Aldred followed her to a hall with numerous doors.


    ¡°This ce will be where your friends stay. We also have a courtyard if you like outdoor view.¡±


    ¡°This will be fine,¡± Bartrem said. ¡°Soldiers, get to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    The soldiers then held hands with their partners and went inside the room.


    Joseph went in with one woman. Meanwhile, Jeffery went in with twenty women dragging him into a room.


    ¡°Come on, Jeffery. We will do your favorite activity tonight.¡±


    Jeffery could only blush while the women closed the door shut.


    Francesca then led Aldred to arger room. ¡°This is where you and your partner will be staying, Lord Aldred. And should I pick a different room for the little girl?¡±


    ¡°Krista? She will be staying with us.¡±


    ¡°The room has onerge bed that can fit twenty people, but there are also multiple beds inside.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Though I wonder why would anyone want a bed thatrge?¡±


    Francesca blushed. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to amodate someone like you, Lord Aldred.¡±


    When Aldred entered the room, he was amazed at how spacious it was. The ceiling was so high as well with many detailed carvings of sea gods and beasts.


    ¡°This is nice,¡± Aldred said as his women threw themselves onto therge bed.


    ¡°The bed is so big!¡± Mareona leaped onto the bed and grabbed all the pillows around her.


    Even Krista covered herself with pillows.


    Aldred jumped onto the bed as well, and he enjoyed the sensation and smell of the new sheet. ¡°This is good.¡±


    ¡°Now that we secure a ce to stay, why don¡¯t we go out and look around?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Good idea. This mansion seems vast. Is it okay to explore it?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°You can explore the mansion however you like.¡± Francesca smiled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Kiara said. ¡°I want to look around as well.¡±


    ¡°You guys go. I will stay here and enjoy thisrge bed alone,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t go anywhere. We will be exploring for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Aldred said as he closed his eyes and moved his arms and legs up and down like he was in the snow.


    After a few moments, he opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He thought of his journey. From being brought to the frontline, climbing the toughest mountain, traveling to thend of vampires, killing bandits and gangs, and then traveling to the nation of the winged men and bugbears. A lot has happened in less than two years.


    He had fun. All the hardships, friends, and partners he made. Everything was fun.


    ¡°Should I join them in exploring the mansion?¡± Aldred sat up and then saw Francesca standing near the bed.


    ¡°I thought you went out with them.¡±


    ¡°The maids are there to guide them in case they got lost,¡± she said. She looked at him more closely, and her cheeks blushed.


    Slowly, she untied her hair, and it gracefully fell down like a river. Her breathing became heavy as her slender fingers unbuttoned her clothes.


    ¡°Are you doing this because of your father?¡± Aldred asked, already knowing what she intended to do. He wasn¡¯t a naive and innocent boy anymore. He got a harem now, so of course, he understood more things.


    If he acted surprised and asked what she was doing, then that would be weird.


    Francesca shook her head. ¡°After you drink the second cup of Sparkling Honey Dew, I feel something inside of me that I couldn¡¯t contain.¡±


    ¡®Oh, crap. Is that skill activated already? Now that I think about it, this skill is quite dangerous.¡¯


    At first, he was happy to obtain this skill to arouse his harem partner, but he didn¡¯t consider what would happen to the other women nearby.


    Her clothes dropped to the floor, revealing her bare skin of wless perfection.


    Aldred felt warm. He only saw her as a beautiful woman at first, but now¡­ why was she looking so hot?


    Francesca showed him a full view of her body; her big tits and luscious bottom.


    Looking at it, his little brother couldn¡¯t help but be stimted. He shook his head. He couldn¡¯t think like this. If his father did not order this, then it might offend him instead.


    It would be bad if Lord Rurcam stabbed him in the back because he put his little brother inside his daughter.


    Even with that thought, Aldred couldn¡¯t avert his gaze from her amazing figure. She stood at 5¡¯5 with an hourss figure and all the right curves.


    The sight of her plump ass and the gap between her thigh made Aldred want to put his hand there and pleased her.


    Just imagining made his little brother twitch.


    ¡°Lord Aldred,¡± she called with a sweet voice. Her face was right in front of him, looking so beautiful and petite.


    She put her hand on his cheek and asked in a pleading way: ¡°May I be your partner tonight?¡±

 285 Chapter 285

    On the bed, Francesca was breathing slowly and heavily with sweat all over her bare skin. On the sheet, there was a bloodstain.


    She opened her clear blue eyes and looked at him with a blush. ¡°Did you feel good?¡±


    ¡°I sure do.¡± Aldred smiled.


    They both got dressed and sat on the bed.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t regret what we just did.¡±


    Francesca shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    Francesca giggled. ¡°Are you worried?¡±


    ¡°How can I not?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the good guy type, huh?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t consider myself as so. I believe I am not evil, but good is too far-fetched to me.¡±


    ¡°That nun must have guided you so well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you can tell she¡¯s a nun?¡±


    ¡°Anyone can tell she¡¯s a nun. Only a nun would wear clothes like that.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, tell me more about this ind.¡±


    ¡°I am d you ask. Subiabiterbo is a beautiful ind filled with wonder and nature you wouldn¡¯t be able to find anywhere else. And this ce is the only ce where Sparkling Honey Dew can grow. We are the biggest and only exporter. Ever since we built the port, we have never run out of wealth, and with no one bothering us, we live a very peaceful life. That was until a week ago.¡±


    ¡°You think everything will be fine?¡±


    ¡°With you here, I am sure of it.¡±


    ¡°You have too much confidence in me. Well, since I already make a deal, I n to follow it.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask where you came from?¡±


    ¡°Me? Ie from a small vige.¡±


    ¡°You already reach Gold Rank at the age of 11, I don¡¯t think someone like that cane from a small vige.¡±


    ¡°Ie from Ceraisian Empire.¡±


    ¡°That much I can tell by looking at your fleet, but I know you don¡¯te from there.¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    Francesca stared into his eyes. ¡°I can tell by looking at your eyes. Ceraisian isn¡¯t your home. It¡¯s¡­ somewhere else. Are you the son of an Adamantite Rank?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then the child of a god?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ you can say that.¡±


    ¡°R¡ªreally? You¡¯re the son of a god? Which god? Is it the God of War? All your power seems to be made for battle and war, so it has to be.¡±


    ¡°No. Not him. No one has asked this question before.¡± Aldred did not what to say at this point.


    ¡°Do you not want to tell?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯splicated. After exining one thing, I have to exin another. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Exining things about reincarnation, the universe, godly power, etc was veryplicated.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I am not forcing you. By the way, I am surprised that your wives can get along with each other.¡±


    ¡°Why are you surprised?¡±


    ¡°You know. Usually, wives have to fight for their husband¡¯s attention.¡±


    Aldred shrugged. ¡°I give them all equal attention. It wasn¡¯t that hard.¡±


    Francesca giggled. ¡°Any woman would be lucky to have you.¡±


    ¡°I am not that amazing.¡±


    ¡°I will pretend to believe that.¡± She stood up and pulled his hand. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s take your wives and friends for dinner.¡±


    Soon after, they all gathered and went to the dining hall.


    Aldred sat down beside Mira and Mary. ¡°What have you guys been doing?¡±


    ¡°Just looking around. This mansion is huge,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Even bigger than the royal pce?¡±


    ¡°You cannotpare anything to the Royal Pce of the Ceraisian Empire. That thing is as big as a city. Even if you keep walking for a week, you wouldn¡¯t reach its end.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that huge? I should have visited it.¡±


    ¡°No one can just visit the Royal Pce. And especially not you.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where the Phoenix and Dragon are the most active. You¡¯d be a target for them, and the Phoenix might didn¡¯t have the chance to protect you, although the probability is low.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad, that we cannot visit the Empress.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Being near her right now is not a good thing. The Dragon is getting more and more aggressive.¡±


    Rurcam walked in and sat down on the main seat. ¡°I am sorry toete, Aldred. Thank you foring for dinner.¡±


    ¡°How can I refuse your offer? I am sure you will bring me good food.¡±


    Rurcamughed. ¡°I heard your wives are fond of eating, so I tell the chefs to cook extra tonight.¡±


    The maids elegantly and efficiently put all the food on the table and set up the cutleries.


    Aldred looked at the te ced in front of him. There was a napkin in the shape of a flower on it. When he unwrapped it, it became a warm, folded napkin.


    ¡°Your maids have great skills.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, my Lord.¡± All the maids bowed.


    They began eating and chatting with each other. Lord Rurcam talked about Aldred¡¯s day, and he didn¡¯t mention anything that happened in bed.


    He still didn¡¯t know how Rurcam would react to that.


    ¡°Father, I have sex with Aldred.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s spat out his drink.


    ¡°Oh, you did? Well, he is the perfect man for your first time.¡±


    Aldred coughed a bunch of times as he got choked by his own saliva.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Aldred? Is my daughter not good in bed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. I mean she¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am d that you both are happy.¡±


    Aldred scratched his head before looking at Mary who also seemed confused, and so did Mira.


    They got culture shocked.


    To make sure, Aldred decided to ask. ¡°Lord Rurcam. Are you fine with your daughter doing that with me?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a grown-up. She can do whatever she wants. My time to teach and guide her is over. It¡¯s time for her to make a decision for herself, and if she makes a mistake, she only has herself to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of a nonchnt way to put it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I love my daughter and wanted the best for her. I will help her whenever she needs it. But enough about that. Daughter, tell me how did he do in bed?¡±


    Aldred spat out his drink again. ¡°Can we not talk about that in the dining hall?¡±

 286 Chapter 286

    Lord Rurcamughed. ¡°Alright, I will not talk about it. In that case, tell me more about you. How is your adventure?¡±


    ¡°Well, we have a lot of fun.¡±


    ¡°Fun? I never heard someone say that about treasure hunting.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Rurcam showed a confused expression. ¡°Treasure hunting requires a lot of resources, and you need to take a big risk. How many people died during the first phase on Mount Fargon? How many wealthy men and nobles sent their sons out there? It¡¯s tiring, risky, time-consuming, and basically a resource drain. Only major power has the chance to obtain the treasure.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t have the right mindset. I think it¡¯s very fun. I met my partners during my journey, and they have been with me ever since.¡±


    Lord Rurcam sighed. ¡°That only applies to you. Others didn¡¯t even know if they¡¯re going to die the next day or not. Anyway, what is the hardest hurdle you faced during your journey?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not part of the treasure test, but the hardest hurdle for me is fighting against the Behemoth in the Lair of Treasure in Paphia.¡±


    ¡°Behemoth? Are you talking about that giant beast?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I believe it has hideous horns and a terrifyingly muscr body.¡±


    ¡°And you defeat it?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± Aldred nodded.


    Rurcam frowned. ¡°But that thing is at tinum Rank at the weakest.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And we defeated it.¡±


    Francesca and Lord Rurcam widened their eyes.


    ¡°You guys defeated a tinum Rank beast?¡± Francesca eximed in a shocked voice.


    The maids standing in the dining hall had the same expression as Francesca. Even they knew that it was very hard to defeat something or someone of higher ranking than themselves.


    ¡°You guys are more amazing than I thought,¡± Francesca said.


    ¡­


    A few weeks passed, and Aldred had been going around the ind with his wives guided by Francesca.


    Lord Rurcam had begun his fleet production, and its progress was quick. Aldred¡¯s 25.000 worker golems helped the Lord tremendously.


    Today, Aldred had another breakfast with Lord Rurcam and Francesca. All of them were very close to each other now and could speak with less and less formality.


    They were chatting and eating together, until suddenly¡­


    Therge door of the dining hall burst open with a guard running toward them with a terrified expression.


    ¡°Sorry to intrude, my Lord, but the pirates areing!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lord Rurcam stood up. ¡°Our fleet is not ready until next week.¡±


    Aldred stood up. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lord Rurcam. We expect the pirates toe from the start. This is why you make a deal with me. I willmand my fleet to face them.¡±


    ¡°I will send the finished ships to your aid,¡± Rurcam said.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s better for your fleet to stay here, and only when you finished everything will youe to my aid. Sending your unfinished fleet will only be delicious targets for them.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I will tell the workers to work faster. I am relying on you, Aldred. I will pray for your safety.¡±


    Aldred grinned. ¡°Maybe you should pray for the pirates¡¯ safety instead because I will destroy them like I didst time.¡±


    Ste teleported Aldred and his group inside the mothership.


    Aldred saw through the windshield of themand center and noticed gray, thick fog on the sea.


    ¡°Burchard, what¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°The pirates are still outside our firing range, Sir. And I only detect one mothershiping with them. We detected a slightlyrger fleet thanst time, but it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°The ships can tell even when there¡¯s a thick fog ahead of us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I was worried that we have to fight three at once. By the way, I have an idea, and I want you to do it, the moment the pirate ships get into range.¡±


    Aldred whispered something in his heart.


    Burchard frowned. ¡°I think I can do that, Sir. But are you sure about this?¡±


    ¡°I am sure.¡±


    Soon after, the pirate ships sailed closer at around 32 nautical miles (about 59 kilometers).


    That was already within firing range.


    ¡°FIRE THE CANNONS!¡± Burchard shouted.


    All the warships let out a sky-shattering roar as their cannons sted shells at the thick fog where the pirate ships hide.


    The pirate ships also fired back, and the sky changed from clear blue to dirty and smoky.


    The shells flew, but one of those flying objects wasn¡¯t a shell, but a human.


    It was Aldred who was shot from a gigantic cannon that went straight towards the fog.


    Aldred smiled when he saw the mothership in sight. He nned to wreak havoc on the ship likest time and take over their cannon.


    He activated his godly eyes and see through the ships to n his routes, but when he looked to the side, what he saw shocked him.


    Twelve nautical miles behind the enemy mothership, there were two more motherships of the same size!


    ¡°Three motherships¡­ How could Burchard fail to detect them?¡±


    Aldred crashed onto the mothership and he was quickly surrounded by pirates.


    ¡°Bastard, we already expected you toe!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re the guy who boarded our ship!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking and kill him!¡±


    The pirates pulled their Soul re and fired at him.


    Aldred already saw that they would use their Soul re minutes before, so when they did, he quickly ran into their midst.


    The steel balls quickly killed their ownrades.


    ¡°Stop shooting your own friends you fool!¡±


    Aldred smiled as he maneuvered around the crowd.


    ¡°Out of the way!¡± A man pushed a small cannon, aimed at him, and fired.


    Boom!


    ¡°Ahh! Bastard! Why the fuck did you shoot me?!¡± a pirate roared as he held his sted leg.


    ¡°I told you to get away!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! At least give us time to do so, fucker!¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred was in the sky, and he fell behind the cannoneer.


    Aldred beheaded the man with a simple swipe of his hand, and he fired the canons at the pirates.


    [You have received 3,200 EXP]


    [You have received 3,350 EXP]


    [You have received 3,500 EXP]

 287 Chapter 287

    ¡°Commodore! A pirate naval squad is sailing to the east. I believe they are nning to destroy the shipyard,¡± Kenway reported through themunication crystal.


    ¡°Intercept them and don¡¯t let them destroy the shipyard.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Commodore!¡±


    Burchard frowned as he looked at the projection of the enemy ships being damaged. A lot of them even got destroyed and sunk into the sea. He even saw the mothership of the pirate getting damaged from inside.


    Everything was going well, but he couldn¡¯t remove the feeling of uneasiness in his heart.


    ¡°Something is off.¡±


    Suddenly, Aldred¡¯s voice came. ¡°Burchard!¡±


    There were sounds of explosions. Soul re was firing, and pirates were screaming in pain.


    ¡°What happened, Sir? Do you need any help?¡±


    ¡°No! The pirates have three motherships!¡±


    Burchard¡¯s eyes widened. He checked the projection again, but he didn¡¯t detect any other mothership at all.


    That was when the pirate ships came out of the fog, and Burchard saw none of the enemy ships received any damage at all.


    ¡°The magic detection¡­ they are fooling the detection spell. Kenway! Come back to formation! There is no pirate naval squad going to the east! They¡¯re tricking us!¡±


    Kenway jolted out of his seat and immediately turned the wheel while ordering his squad to retreat.


    But it took time for a ship to fully turn around, and the pirates took that opportunity.


    Two naval squads came from the fog, from 17 nautical miles behind Kenway¡¯s naval squad.


    The pirates fired their cannons.


    Immediately the shells crashed onto Kenway¡¯s ships, and some of those shells sted the back end of the ships also known as the aft.


    Kenway mmed the table when he saw this. ¡°Activate the protection spell!¡±


    The golems activated the magic crystals and a thinyer of barrier enveloped each ship. It wasn¡¯t as effective as the shield provided by the Mother of Destruction, but it was enough for now.


    Suddenly a shell crashed onto his ship, and it shook him to the left and right.


    ¡°For God of War¡¯s smelly armpits! I will kill those damn pirates! Golem artilleries! Fire!¡±


    Aldred had put his Artillery Golems on each ship just in case. Because they did not require to move around, eat, drink, or sleep, they could just stay in a confined space, and the roof above their head would open when needed.


    This was the time of need, and all the roofs were opened by using magic. The artillery golem fired their golem shells which were basically golems who could fly and explode.


    Because these shells were golems, they were fairly intelligent and could make their own decision if necessary.


    The shells flew into the sky, and as they saw steel shellsing at them, they simply dodged and kept moving forward.


    ¡°Captain! Those weird flying things areing at us,¡± one of the pirates shouted.


    ¡°Keep firing at them! I don¡¯t know what they are, but I am sure it¡¯s not something you can eat.¡±


    The pirates stopped attacking Kenway¡¯s ships and focused their attacks on the golem shells.


    These golem shells had the size of 155 mm, they were fast and agile so the pirates had a terrible time shooting one down.


    The golem shells then swarmed the pirate ships and exploded when they got near the pirates.


    The pirates screamed as they were engulfed by the fireballs. Some of their smaller cannons exploded which caused further damage. Some of the golems even flew deep within the ships and then exploded when they saw critical facilities were nearby.


    But even with that, the ships barely felt a dent. The ones that felt the most damage were the crew. Most ships¡¯ crew were Gold Rank, and very rarely did they use tinum Rank and above on a ship. This was because sailors died all the time.


    Either from monsters or got hit by cannon shells. Sailors generally had a short lifespan. Around 5-8 years.


    And this could drop to 1-3 years in the time of conflict.


    And on the battlefield, sailors die all the time.


    There was not much a tinum Rank could do anyway when a shell struck their ships.


    This made it a terrible decision for any nation or power to put them on a ship.


    So even though ships could cost billions to make, they were still not willing to put their tinum Ranks on them.


    So even though the barrage of golem shells failed to sink the ships, it did eliminate the crew of the ships.


    Ships require arge amount of crew to function, so when they were killed, the ships were basically sitting ducks.


    Kenway, the captain of the 1st Destroyer¡¯s Naval Squad, smiled when he noticed this.


    ¡°The Lord¡¯s weapon is much more useful than he said it was.¡± Kenwayughed.


    ¡°Approach their ships and aboard them. We will steal everything they have!¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Aldred was still wreaking havoc on one of the three motherships.


    The pirates he in didn¡¯t even have the chance to scream before they turned into a corpse.


    And when the other pirates saw how effortlessly he killed theirrades, most of them started to hesitate.


    Aldred, face covered in blood, grinned at the pirates with a Phantom Doomde in his right hand.


    The de crackled with red lightning and a red aura that had consumed all the souls of the dead.


    The pirates personally saw the de consumes the souls of theirrades, and they were terrified of it.


    ¡°What is this? Are you all scared now?¡±


    The pirates trembled and took two steps back. Even though they kept shooting at him with their Soul re which was a weapon that could kill a tinum Rank, they still couldn¡¯t get rid of him.


    Aldred always anticipated their shots, and he would dodge them long before they could even pull the trigger.


    ¡°Fucker! I will kill you!¡± The pirates fired their Soul re, but they were shocked because Aldred suddenly disappeared.


    ¡°Where is he?!¡±


    ¡°Are you looking for me?¡±


    The pirates turned around and saw Aldred standing behind them with a cannon beside him.


    ¡°See youter.¡±


    The cannon fired.

 288 Chapter 288

    The st blew away the pirates and made a hole in the wall behind them.


    The pirates screamed as they fell into the water, but Aldred just chuckled.


    He pulled out his sword and shed at the pirates, cutting them up into pieces.


    ¡°You are all going to be my experience points!¡± His sword became ck like it was soaked inva and it was burning hot. He shed, sshing out the burning liquid at them.


    All the pirates were burned alive. Their screams echoed. Some of the pirates jumped to the sea, in the hope that the water would kill the fire. But they were still burning in mes despite diving down into the sea. Aldred¡¯s me would never die even underwater because it constantly consumed his unlimited mana. As long as Aldred did not deactivate the spell, the pirates would keep on burning.


    Aldred walked past the floating corpses and stepped onto the deck of the ship.


    The pirate captain was looking at him with terror in his eyes. His eyes showed fear, but Aldred could see he had a smug expression. It was obvious that the captain knew Aldred was far stronger than him. But he still dared to look at him with respect in his eyes.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m afraid of your tricks?¡± Aldred snorted.


    The captain gulped and shook his head. ¡°We have no more tricks.¡±


    The captain trembled in fright even with the protection of his men. He had heard of this man from his subordinates a few weeks ago. They said that he was like the devil himself. Everywhere he passed, blood would ssh. And there was nothing they could do about it.


    Aldred was a monster. They thought that he was a demon sent by the gods to destroy them. They believed that the gods themselves were punishing them for their sins.


    Aldred walked toward the captain, and he could feel the fear of the captain.


    The pirates couldn¡¯t help but take a few steps back, but the captain stood still.


    ¡°I figure the captain would be at least a tinum Rank.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to rece ships than a powerfulbatant,¡± the pirate captain replied.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°It took decades for someone to reach tinum Rank, but with enough resources, you can build a mothership in a few weeks. But that doesn¡¯t mean we think the cost is cheap.¡±


    In modern times, pilots were considered more valuable than the aircraft they rode. That was why they weren¡¯t punished at all should they crash a jet ne. Even though each jet could cost millions of dors.


    ¡°So that means you are receable?¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡°We are pirates. We value wealth more than the lives of our subordinates. And this is especially true for those above us.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Judging by how you can be so calm, are you trying to betray them and join me?¡±


    The captain nodded. ¡°We are tired of the pirate life. Most of use from the ind of Subiabiterbo, so attacking our own hometown doesn¡¯t feel right. At first, it¡¯s impossible for us to return as honest workers, but you already killed all of the pirates that sided with the Red Skull.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so daring to meet me after all the damage I did. Alright, I will tell the Duke to pardon you, and even reward you and your crew handsomely after this. Turn your ship and attack the pirates. From now on, all of you are no longer pirates, but proud sailors under the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet!¡±


    The pirates cheered.


    ¡°Tell me your name and the name of this mothership, Captain.¡±


    ¡°My name is Tilford, and this mothership is called The Disgraced Grail.¡±


    ¡°Wee to the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet. Now, let¡¯s plunder those pirates.¡±


    ***


    Burchard frowned when he saw the lead pirate mothership turn around and attacked its own allies.


    That was when Aldred¡¯s voice came. ¡°Burchard, one of the pirate captains has joined me. Gather your forces and push through.¡±


    Everyone in themand center room was shocked. Burchard activated hismand crystal and announced: ¡°Attention to all captains! One of the pirate motherships has joined us. Do not attack it.¡±


    Kenway, Wickham, xton, Ewert, and Briggs were shocked.


    How could a pirate mothership surrender to a disadvantageous fleet? The battle was three against one, but now it had turned around to two against two.


    Everyone was wondering how Aldred convinced a pirate captain to join him.


    But Burchard and the captains of the Destroyer¡¯s fleet didn¡¯t have time to think about it, because the two pirate¡¯s motherships were at the range.


    ¡°Commodore Burchard,¡± Aldred called.


    ¡°Yes, My Lord?¡±


    Aldred stood on the bow of the mothership he just acquired. He grabbed a magical spyss and put it over his right eye.


    Through the spyss, he saw two pirate motherships slowly sailing towards them.


    With a deep breath, Aldredmanded: ¡°Commodore, show them the true might of our fleet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡±


    Soon after the Mother of Destruction shone with a terrifying aura that spread out in every direction. The people on Subiabiterbo Ind all watched this happen, and even the pirates felt chill in the back of their heads.


    Commodore Burchard stared at the projection depicting the enemy fleet.


    ¡°Attention to all captains.¡±


    All the captains stood straight in their designated warships.


    ¡°BRING THEM HELL!¡±


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet roared as their cannons rained shells at the pirates.


    Aldred teleported to one of the pirate¡¯s motherships.


    He had set this teleportation point during the first battle.


    When he teleported on their deck, he opened up a portal for his golem army to enter.


    The fighter golems raised their rare quality weapons and ughtered the pirates. Gunner golems swarmed the ce with fire bullets and spat out mes, burning the area.


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned deep ck and shadows appeared around him. They all formed into his undeads and scattered within the ships, pouncing on the pirates, and biting them off limb by limb.


    Suddenly, Xer Xai burst out of the water andnded on the mothership.


    ¡°Kill it!¡± the pirate shouted.


    They aimed the cannon, but Xer Xai quickly swiped them away with herrge ws.


    Her one attack caused dozens of men and cannons to be destroyed.


    But even with that, a cannon managed to fire its shell and it sted Xer Xai¡¯s head.


    ¡°We got it! This creature is damned!¡±


    The pirates cheered for their small victory, but Xer Xai¡¯s head regenerated as quick as their ejaction in bed.


    They looked at the gigantic creature, approaching them with its vicious maw. The pirates were shock stricken with mouth wide agape.


    ¡°Mercy mama.¡±


    Xer Xai roared and mmed down, smashing the pirates.


    The other pirates screamed and ran for their life.


    ¡°RUN! We cannot kill that thing!¡±


    Aldred wreaked havoc on the pirate¡¯s mothership as both fleets fired at each other.


    The atmosphere was loud and dangerous with shells flying everywhere creating destruction and explosions. Screams of men filled with misery and regretting their life decision to be a pirate despite their mom telling them not to.


    The two fleets shed with full force. Smaller warships on both sides started to sink because of the damage, and dozens of pirates were being eaten by sea monsters as they desperately swam to nearby ships.


    But even so, the battle didn¡¯t seem about to end. The pirate¡¯s mothership that Aldred intruded on was still functional because their cannon room was locked without a hole he could slip through, and it was protected with a magic field, preventing him to teleport inside using Blood Teleportation.


    He had told Burchard and Tilford to focus on the mothership because he wanted to disable this one. But it seemed the pirates were smarter than they look.


    ¡°How do I enter their cannon room? Wait, I have an idea.¡±

 289 Chapter 289

    Aldred recalled one of the pirate¡¯s face, body shape, and clothes before he morphed himself into that appearance.


    He then banged the steel door. ¡°Hey, let me in.¡±


    The door slightly turned transparent, and a pirate inside stared at him. ¡°Why should we let you in?¡±


    ¡°I bring the rum.¡±


    ¡°Get in.¡±


    The door opened, and Aldred entered without any problem.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the rum?¡±


    ¡°You will get them in the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    All the pirates saw after that was me. They didn¡¯t even feel pain before their whole body turned to charcoal and fell to the floor with smokeing out of them.


    Aldred smiled and steered the cannons to fire at friendly targets. This was his favorite part of the battle. Ships were hard to destroy. Even a tinum Rank had a hard time doing it, not to mention a Gold Rank like him.


    Not to mention ships usually fight in long range, so it was almost impossible for anyone to approach and board a ship.


    Aldred was a different case.


    He aimed at one of the pirate¡¯s destroyers and sted its hull with a single shell. The impact exploded the water upward, splitting the ship in half, and the crews immediately jumped to the sea before they were eaten by sea monsters.


    ¡°No wonder nobody puts tinum Rank on the ships. It¡¯s such a waste of talent.¡±


    His second target was a destroyer, but he failed to hit it because of the distance. He still fired at it anyway, just in case.


    The third ship was a cruiser, and this time, Aldred scored a perfect hit. A chain reaction explosion erupted from the ship, and Aldred continued firing until the boat was nothing more than a wreck of metal and wood.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Take that sucker!¡±


    He grabbed hismunication crystal and squeezed it. It shone. ¡°Burchard, how¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°We have significantly damaged the pirate¡¯s mothership, My Lord. They are currently retreating.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then you can start shooting at this ship.¡±


    ¡°I will. Please leave the site quickly.¡±


    ¡°You will know when I do.¡±


    Suddenly, the whole ship shook, but it wasn¡¯t because someone was attacking. It was because the water was moving violently.


    Suddenly, the cloud above turned thick and dark. Lightning shed as the storm started to brew.


    Waves crashed against ships. It was so vicious that a couple of pirates even fell from the deck.


    ¡°What is going on?¡±


    ¡°It appears a storm ising, My Lord.¡±


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and he was shocked. ¡°This is not a storm.¡±


    His eyes followed the source, and he squinted his eyes in the distance.


    A gigantic mothership with a bow part in the shape of a skull sailed towards them with great speed.


    ¡°I cannot believe he woulde¡­¡± Tilford said. ¡°I have to warn them.¡±


    He activated hismunication crystal. ¡°My Lord. Get out of there, and return to your ship.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Please return first. There¡¯s no time.¡±


    A roar of a beast reverberated and their ears rang. The captains closed their ears, but their heads still feel pain. Blood leaked out of their nose.


    The pirates fell to the floor, wriggling in pain.


    Even Aldred was in pain, and his sight became blurry. ¡°What is this power?¡±


    The roar stopped, and everyone shook their head to clear their dizziness.


    Aldred stood up and ran to the deck.


    The violent cold wind blew his hair. The wave crashed against the hull.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t even move anymore. He was paralyzed with fear.


    ¡°My Lord, please run!¡± Burchard¡¯s voice came from themunication crystal.


    Aldred turned around and saw the huge ship approaching. The ship was as tall as a mountain, and it had two giant wings on its back. The ship was also filled with cannons, and the ship looked like a living creature. Its entire body was wrapped in ck armor, and its red skull was covered in shining gold.


    It roared again, and waves began to rise.


    The gigantic ship showed all of its cannon arsenals. There were at least 150 giant cannons on it.


    Aldred froze as his face turned pale and his eyes wide.


    ¡°My Lord, get out of there!¡±


    ¡°No, I have to board the ship. There is no way, you guys can fight or outrun it.¡±


    The Red Devil Skull, the name of the ship, fired its weapon.


    Even the sound of thunder was nothing inparison as the shells sted the ship Aldred was on.


    In a single attack, a mothership was destroyed in pieces.


    ¡°ALDRED!¡± Mary shouted. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Ste, teleport me there!¡±


    She shook her head.


    Mary grabbed her cor. ¡°Teleport me there or I will swim on my own!¡±


    Ste frowned. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Bring me there too!¡± Mareona shouted.


    ¡°Me too!¡± Zafrina stepped forward.


    ¡°I am not going to stay here while Aldred is in trouble!¡± Sophia stepped in.


    Ivette, Rachel, and Kiara, all wanted to save Aldred.


    ¡°Alright, since all of you are so stubborn. Let¡¯s go there.¡±


    ¡°WAIT!¡± Bartrem appeared from the door. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere without us.¡±


    The soldiers behind him all nodded, ready to do anything to bring back Aldred to safety.


    Ste nodded and raised her staff.


    ¡­


    Lightning shed within the dark cloud, and rain violently sshed onto the ship.


    Marshton walked into the hallway with two of his men dragging an unconscious boy.


    Opening the door, Marshton¡¯s men threw the boy in front of a man with long blonde hair, and a red skull mask.


    ¡°This is the one that attacked our motherships from within,¡± Marshton reported.


    ¡°Wake him up.¡±


    The two pirates stomped on Aldred¡¯s back, making him gasp and cough.


    When Aldred woke up, he looked around and saw that his hands and legs were tied. He was in a dimly lit room with the floor made out of thick steel. He could tell immediately that he was inside a mothership.


    He turned his head forward and saw a man with long blond hair sitting on a throne. The man put his right elbow on the armrest, and his cheek rested on his fist.


    Activating his godly eyes, Aldred stared at the masked man, trying to detect his weakness, but what he saw shocked him.


    The man on the throne wasn¡¯t a man, but a beautiful woman. Her face was hidden behind that mask, and her clothes made her look like she was a man.


    ¡®Why did she pretend to be a man? In any case, I have to pretend I don¡¯t know about it, or she might do something.¡¯


    For now, he had to think of a way to escape.

 290 Chapter 290

    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet and the pirate¡¯s fleet were still in a locked battle against each other with ships constantly firing shells at each other.


    But below the water, Ste and everyone else was swiftly swimming using magic. Protected by a thin barrier around them coupled with their speed, the sea monsters could not attack them at all.


    Aldred¡¯s wives and Bartrem¡¯s soldiers were there.


    ¡°Ste, are you sure Aldred was taken by the pirate?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I am sure. We have to climb on their ship and take him back.¡±


    ¡°Aldred is strong. He is surely fine, right?¡± Ivette asked. In her image, Aldred was undefeatable and supremely powerful. She could never imagine him in a weak position, not to mention being captured.


    He always got things in his control, and that assured Ivette of his safety, but now, she couldn¡¯t help but be worried.


    Aldred changed her life for the better. She owed him everything, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to take it if she lost him.


    ¡°He will be fine,¡± Ste said. ¡°We just have to bring him back, and after that, we retreat from this region.¡±


    ¡°What about the ind?¡±


    ¡°We cannot defend it. The pirate is too powerful. And I prioritize Aldred¡¯s safety more than some random inds.¡±


    Everyone agreed with that statement. Although they promised the Duke to protect the ind, it meant nothing if Aldred¡¯s life was on the line.


    After swimming through the water, Ste detected the ship and cast sticky limbs spell on everyone. They slowly crawled on the hull of the ships.


    Their hands stuck to the hull like they were a lizard. Bartrem was at the top. As they crawled, a pirate stood at the edge, smoking a cigar.


    Bartrem signaled for everyone to stop.


    The pirate inhaled the smoke and puffed it out. Bartrem slowly put his hand on the handle of his de. Should the pirate notice them, he would jump and cut off the man¡¯s head.


    The pirate threw the smoke to the sea and left.


    Everyone sighed in relief after that. They began their crawl and boarded the ship.


    Their steps were silent, and even their breath didn¡¯t make any sound. Ste¡¯s spell was very effective.


    After hiding behind some boxes, they discussed where to go from here.


    ¡°Should we spread out to find him?¡±


    ¡°That will reduce our power,¡± Bartrem said.


    ¡°Then what can we do? How do we find Aldred like this?¡±


    ¡°Krista knows where big brother Aldred is.¡±


    Everyone looked at her.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Un.¡± Krista nodded.


    ¡°Wait a minute, howe you¡¯re onboard?¡± Mira asked. ¡°We should not put her life in danger.¡±


    ¡°Krista wants to help big brother Aldred.¡±


    Mira sighed and nodded. ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, there¡¯s nothing we can do. Stay near me okay?¡±


    ¡°Un.¡±


    ¡°Now tell us where Aldred is.¡±


    ¡°Big brother Aldred is three floors below us.¡±


    They didn¡¯t question her and immediately moved. Bartrem and his men ambushed a few pirates and snapped their necks in silence before tying their legs with weight and throwing them into the ocean. This was to prevent their bodies to float and warn the other pirates.


    They made their way from the stern to the midship. Ivette ran through the hallway, and the pirates patrolling the ships were shocked.


    Before they could say anything, Ivette¡¯s de cut their throat. Ste cast the silence spell as they gagged and fell to the floor. Sophia cast her own spell which removed the blood and odor of their body.


    Ste approached the body and turned them into dust that was swept by the air.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They went down the staircase with Bartrem at the front, making sure there was nobody to intercept them.


    As they made their way, they realized they were in the mess deck. Currently, there were no pirates here except two men kissing and hugging each other in bed.


    ¡°Those two are men¡­¡± Mary blinked a few times.


    Mira was shocked as well.


    ¡°Leave them be let¡¯s proceed.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, put your rod in my poop hole.¡±


    ¡°Your poop hole stinks like fish. I like it.¡±


    Rachel wanted to throw up, but she held it in.


    She had heard rumors about this kind of thing before. And she knew the pirates were the ones who did such shameful things. But seeing them with her own eyes was something different altogether.


    It disgusted her. But she didn¡¯t want to judge.


    ¡°Hurry up, let¡¯s move.¡±


    They passed the mess deck and heard Aldred¡¯s voice.


    ¡°You want me to join you? Dream on!¡±


    Ste and the others ran towards the room where that voice came from, and kicked it open.


    ¡°ALDRED!¡±


    Aldred turned around. ¡°You guys! What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Saving you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be saved. I can handle it. You guys go back to the ship.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here now, so let¡¯s return together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere. Marshton, kill them all.¡±


    Marshton expressionlessly looked at them before his face suddenly changed into that of wrath. And then his skin turned red as his body bulged with spikesing out of his back.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s turning into a demon.¡±


    The pirates within the room were terrified. They knew this was theirmodore¡¯s secret technique, and he only used it when necessary. Nobody would be alive when Marshton transformed into the red devil. That meant the pirates here, except Admiral York, would die.


    Marshton, now turned into a terrifying red-skinned demon with ck spikes on his back red at them. He charged forward and raised his fist.


    Bang!


    The pirates widened their eyes. Not because Marshton turned the enemy into pulp, but he himself was turned into a pulp by getting smashed to the wall.


    Ste¡¯s hand glowed with star particles, and when she released her hand, Marshton¡¯s devil body fell to the floor¡ªdead.


    ¡°So you limit your strength to Gold Rank to help this boy?¡± the masked man on the throne said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I am stronger than any Gold Rank you have.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need Gold Rank. My ship can handle you.¡±


    The wall was deformed and arge cannon that was supposed to be outside, appear behind York and aimed at them.


    ¡°Fuck! Are you nning to destroy your own ship?¡± Aldred frowned.


    York looked at him. ¡°Worry about your own hide. Fire!¡±

 291 Chapter 291

    The cannon fired. But before the cannonball reached them, Aldred opened a portal that led outside where he had set up a teleportation point randomly. His n was to destroy the ship from within and when things were dangerous, he could simply escape, but his wives and soldiers came to rescue him so he had to change the n.


    Meanwhile, York was frowning at the weird portal. Her mothership was covered by a magic field that blocked a teleportation spell or a portal spell. Only someone with space-elemental affinity could open up a portal within her ship.


    ¡®Is this kid a space-elementalist? That¡¯s not possible. They only exist in legend.¡¯


    York was about to fire the cannons again, but Aldred raised his hand and shouted: ¡°To the divine dimension!¡±


    A sh of light enveloped Aldred and his friends before they vanished.


    York was shocked. ¡°That kid¡­ he has to be a space magician.¡±


    ¡­


    Inside the divine dimension, Aldred and his group appeared in the sky and they crashed to the ground.


    ¡°Why did you guyse?¡±


    ¡°We were worried about you,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°And ¡®let¡¯s approach a powerful mothership that can kill Diamond Ranks¡¯ is what you think of?¡±


    ¡°We do not consider risk. And I don¡¯t care if I have to die to save you,¡± Mary said.


    That silenced Aldred. He looked down, deep in thought. ¡°Right, I am sorry. Thank you for trying to save me.¡±


    ¡°I forgot that he can enter the divine dimension for a while,¡± Mareona said. ¡°And even teleport using the teleportation points. You got three teleportation points to use right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I can put them anywhere. I put one in Folineley, so I can go there whenever I want, and open a portal for my golem army toe.¡±


    ¡°So did we just break your n?¡± Sophia asked.


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I am nning to destroy the ships from within, and then escape through my divine dimension. I even n to join the Red Skull Pirate and go to their secret Red Skull ind. So the answer to your question is yes, Sophia. You did break my n.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Aldred,¡± Sophia said. ¡°I believe we just want to be useful to you. All this time, you have been doing the heavy lifting.¡±


    ¡°I never said you are useless. Staying by my side is enough. You guys don¡¯t know how grateful I am to have you as friends and wives, huh?¡±


    His woman blushed while Bartrem and the soldiers felt touched.


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°We have to return to the Mother of Destruction. Our fleet is still fighting against the pirates.¡±


    ¡°You know what, Aldred. Since you can put the teleportation points anywhere, and you can open up a portal led to them anytime, why don¡¯t you set up one in the pirate¡¯s mothership, and then open a portal in front of our main cannon?¡± Mary said.


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think of that.¡±


    Even though Aldred put intelligence in his status, his creativity was stillcking. Ideas were created by creativity, intelligence was only a tool to solveplex problems andprehendplicated concepts.


    Sadly, he couldn¡¯t increase creativity points. If he could, he didn¡¯t know how many wild ideas he would think of in the future.


    ¡°You guys stay here,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I will set up a teleportation point in their mothership ande back.¡±


    Aldred disappeared, and a few minutester, he came back into the divine dimension.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s return.¡± Aldred nodded to them.


    Aldred opened a map. This map was one of the functions given by the divine dimension. It was a 2D map, but there was a 3D function in it as well.


    It showed the ocean with the pirates¡¯ fleet and the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet.


    ¡°The dimension has a map?¡± Ste asked in curiosity.


    ¡°Yes, I can even move my teleportation points. Look at this dot. This is my teleportation located on one of the pirate¡¯s motherships. Now I will move it to a ce I have visited before.¡±


    Aldred tapped and dragged the dot and moved it to his own mothership.


    ¡°So what would happen if the mothership moved to a ce you never visited before?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Then I simply cannot teleport there. The map only shows the region I have visited.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so that means you can teleport to any ce you have visited?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Though I have to move my teleportation points to do that.¡±


    ¡°Then what if the mothership moves while you¡¯re putting the teleportation point on it?¡±


    ¡°I think the teleportation point will move with it as well.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know myself. And don¡¯t forget that we cannot enter the dimension immediately after we exit. There is a 5-minutes cooldown. It was 24 hours before, but since I leveled up it keeps on reducing.¡±


    ¡°Five minutes is not that long.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. But in battle, it can be forever. Anyway, let¡¯s return now. We will destroy the pirates and leave this ocean. I have a treasure to hunt for.¡±


    They all vanished from the divine dimension and appeared on themand bridge of the mothership.


    ¡°My Lord! You are saved!¡± Burchard greeted.


    ¡°Yes, I am saved indeed.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look very happy.¡±


    Everyone looked down in shame except Aldred. That confused Burchard. Weren¡¯t they going out to save Aldred? Why did they look embarrassed?


    ¡°Enough chit-chat, Commodore. Tell me the situation.¡±


    ¡°Many of our warships are being sunk. In thest 3 hours, we have lost 4 cruisers, 3 destroyers, and 6 frigates. None of our submarines have been sunk, fortunately.¡±


    The ship shook as a loud explosion reverberated.


    ¡°The magic barrier has been prated a couple of times, and their attacks dealt significant damage to the mothership.¡±


    ¡°Wait here,¡± Aldred said as he left themand room.


    Burchard was confused.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± Ste said to him with a smile.


    Soon after, Aldred teleported back into themand center. ¡°You can fire now, Burchard.¡±


    ¡°But we cannot shoot when the barrier is still activated.¡±


    ¡°Just fire our 6th main cannon.¡±


    Burchard obeyed themand even though he was still skeptical. He activated themand crystal and fired the 6th cannon.


    Suddenly, the projection on the map showed that the Red Devil Skull mothership was damaged.


    ¡°How could this happen?¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred was grinning when the n worked.

 292 Chapter 292

    The Mother of Destruction kept firing its 6th cannon, and it bombarded the Red Devil Skull mothership with shells from within.


    The st exploded the mess crew and other vital facilities. Even though the mothership was strong, constant bombardment made it give in. Yet, the mothership was still floating and functional, but it wouldn¡¯t be long unless something happened.


    York was of course enraged. She realized that she fought a kid with space magic, and there was nothing she could do to counter it.


    ¡°Retreat!¡±


    The pirates turned their ships around and retreated. This shocked the people on the ind that watched the battle unfold for days.


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet struggled hard and they were being pummeled for a while, and then suddenly, the Red Devil Skull exploded from within, and they all retreated.


    But when they realized what this mean, the people on the ind burst into cheers and hug each other.


    ¡°The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet drove away the pirates! We won!¡±


    ¡°WE WON!¡±


    ¡°Even the Red Devil Skull retreated! The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet is the greatest fleet ever!¡±


    ¡°Long live the ind! Long live the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet!¡±


    ¡°Long live the ind! Long live the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet!¡±


    ¡°Long live the ind! Long live the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet!¡±


    ¡­


    The Duke sitting in his office hearing this report was astonished. ¡°Aldred¡­ He¡¯s truly something else.¡±


    The Red Devil Skull was a feared mothership known for its grotesque firepower. It was said that it could defeat two or even three motherships in a fight, and its ability to change its form made it easy to move cannons from one ce to another. So if one cannon was destroyed, it could be reced by another cannon.


    For decades this mothership had be The Red Skull Pirate¡¯s number one weapon.


    But the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet managed to defeat them.


    This was a legendary feat.


    ¡­


    When the Mother of Destruction came to port, the people on the ind were cheering for it. Tens of thousands of people gathered near the port, and when Aldred came out the people went crazy.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Admiral of Destroyer¡¯s Fleet. He¡¯s Admiral Aldred.¡±


    ¡°I heard rumors that he could wrestle against 50 sea serpents underwater and defeat them all with his legs and hands tied.¡±


    ¡°I also heard something like that. People say he impregnated 80 mermaids, and so he was blessed by the sea itself.¡±


    Aldred hearing this held his shocked expression. ¡°Who the hell spread such rumors!?¡±


    The people surrounded Aldred, and Bartrem and the soldiers had to create a perimeter around him. Even the ind guards had to step in and control the crowd.


    ¡°Admiral Aldred, thank you!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my hero!¡±


    ¡°Oh my God! Impregnate me with your child!¡±


    Zafrina held Aldred¡¯s arm and pouted. ¡°Aldred hasn¡¯t even given me a child yet, how dare a stranger asked for it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. They¡¯re just joking.¡±


    A beautiful woman crazily ran through the guards. ¡°Admiral! Give me your seed!¡±


    Bartrem and a few other soldiers had to pounce on her and took her down before she got close to Aldred.


    Mary blinked when she saw this. ¡°I don¡¯t think these people are joking at all.¡±


    After that incident, Aldred was treated like a hero on the ind. His poprity grew even more when he came back with the loot he collected from the pirate¡¯s sunken ship. It was rumored that the loot was worth 12 trillion gold coins.


    Since Aldred was staying in the pce, Zafrina decided to take him with her to the royal castle as soon as possible.


    ***


    ¡°Admiral Aldred, wee back.¡±


    The Duke was waiting for Aldred in the dining hall.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be back.¡±


    ¡°You went beyond my expectation. The n was to stall the pirates and wait for my fleet.¡±


    ¡°Well, you guys took too long so we had to finish the pirates first.¡±


    Lord Rurcam stared at Aldred. Aldred stared back. After a few seconds, the both of them startedughing.


    Bartrem¡¯s soldiers and Rurcam¡¯s guards could only sigh in relief. If both of them had a tense rtionship, they wouldn¡¯t know what to do because Aldred was the hero of this ind, and Lord Rurcam was a respected Duke.


    It would be like having two wives bickering at each other, and the husband could not take sides.


    ¡°I heard all kinds of stories of your battle, Aldred. I even heard some things about mermaids.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t believe any of them. Those rumors can be very wild.¡±


    Aldred shuddered when he recalled one of the rumors saying that he impregnated more than 50 mermaids¡­


    ¡°You are truly blessed by the sea. Did you know that the Red Devil Skull is undefeatable in this region of water?¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. I feel its power directly.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I got hit by its cannon.¡±


    Rurcam¡¯s lips quivered. ¡°That can¡¯t be. Even a Diamond Rank would be injured if they got hit.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I am just lucky. The attack destroyed the entire pirate¡¯s mothership that I was on.¡±


    Rurcam nodded. ¡°It is known for its incredible firepower.¡±


    Aldred bitterlyughed. ¡°Too bad, I cannot steal it from the pirate.¡±


    He woulde back and take that ship from the pirate, after all. He still had his teleportation points on the ship. For now, he had to increase his fleet.


    ¡°Seems like I have to change our deal,¡± Rurcam said. ¡°I was supposed to give you one of the pirate¡¯s mothership, but you already obtain one, and the other two got destroyed during the battle. So I guess I can build you another mothership.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of merging the mothership into one. Making it stronger and bigger. You know, instead of having a lot of motherships, I figured that I can have one but truly powerful one like that Red Devil Skull Mothership.¡±


    Rurcam was silent for a while before he nodded. ¡°I heard you are looking for a magic cksmith.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I need one that can make ships.¡±


    In this world, the cksmith didn¡¯t only make swords and spears. They also make other magical weapons or devices such as warships. Their task was mainly to refine metals and materials for the ship, however. Rarely do they design the ship itself. Those jobs were for the shipwright or shipbuilders.


    ¡°Follow me. I have someone to show you.¡±

 293 Chapter 294

    After working for the smaller warships, Dobbspletely disassembled three motherships; The Mother of Destruction, The Disgraced Grail, and one unnamed mothership that Duke Rurcam gave to Aldred.


    It took around two weeks for Dobbs to reassemble them again into one, gigantic, monstrous-like ship.


    The size was unfathomable. It was so big, that Aldred¡¯sst mothership looked small inparison.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°This¡­ this is amazing!¡±


    ¡°If you can get the Red Devil Skull, I can merge that mothership with yours.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. What Dobbs created was so much better than he could ask for. Using his godly eyes, he could tell the interior and exterior of the ship were stronger than anything he had seen before.


    This was the effect of [Divine Craftsman]. Any material he touched became blessed and had a status effect that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there.


    ¡°What should we name this ship?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I will leave that to you. My job is only to build it,¡± Dobbs said.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°In that case, I will name it¡ªThe Devourer.¡±


    With 92 main cannons that could move basically to any part of the ships, and with Dobbs having the skill to merge other motherships into it, the name ¡®Devourer¡¯ seemed like a great fit.


    His wives, Bartrem, the soldiers, Burchard, and the captains all looked at this in awe with their mouths agape.


    The shipbuilders that watched the entire process were amazed as well. They had learned so many things just by watching him, and they couldn¡¯t wait to test out their new knowledge.


    With everything done, Aldred¡¯s fleet now became much stronger than before.


    Beforehand he only had 17 cruisers, but now he had 40 cruisers, 44 destroyers, and 39 frigates!!!


    His naval force literally doubled, and not to mention his mothership was as strong as 3 mothershipsbined!


    With thisrge army, he was confident he could run through any opposition in the future.


    ¡°We have no time to waste. Let¡¯s continue our journey,¡± Aldred said. He turned around to look at the Duke. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality.¡±


    ¡°It should be me who¡¯s thanking you. You free this ind from the pirates. I thank you for that. The people of Subiabiterbo Ind thank you for that.¡±


    The shipbuilders and the citizens there bowed at him.


    ¡°No need to mention it. We will be leaving right now. May fate let us meet again.¡±


    Lord Rurcam nodded.


    Aldred and his wives boarded the new mothership.


    Suddenly, someone shouted: ¡°See you again, Aldred!¡±


    When Aldred turned around, he saw Francesca waving her hand with a smile.


    Aldred smiled and waved at her before entering the ship.


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet rang a loud bell to say goodbye to the people of the ind. And all the people ran to the beach crying as they waved their hands at them.


    The people shouted their thanks. So loud that even Aldred could hear it despite the distance.


    He was the hero of Subiabiterbo, and the people on the ind felt nothing but gratitude towards him.


    The Duke smiled when he saw the ships sailing beyond the horizon. He nced to the side and saw his daughter sighing. ¡°Did you miss him already?¡±


    ¡°Dearly,¡± Francesca said.


    ¡°You should have joined him.¡±


    ¡°I will simply be a burden. I don¡¯t want to be a dead weight to him. He¡¯s not as simple as he seems.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the child of a god.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was on the front deck of The Devourer. In front of him was Burchard with all the captains standing behind him.


    ¡°I am sure you have met Tilford?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± They all replied.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of us now, so treat him like how you treat the other captains.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Sir!¡±


    Aldred nodded, d that everyone was so understanding. ¡°All of you know that there will be danger ahead of us. Treasure hunting is not a leisure activity, so I want everyone to do everything they can. Not just to win against our opponent, but so you can survive and return home someday.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    ¡°Alright, all of you are dismissed.¡±


    A golem then hugged the captains, and then a jet me came out of the golem¡¯s feet before they were brought to their assigned ships.


    Aldred nced at Burchard. ¡°What do you think of our new mothership?¡±


    ¡°I love it, Sir. Especially the idea that we can devour other motherships in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I was told that this ship can morph its structure to however we want it to be just like the Red Devil Skull.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to chase that ship, Sir?¡±


    ¡°I want to, but I can¡¯t.¡±


    For some reason, his teleportation point wasn¡¯t on the ship anymore, this made it impossible for him to track the Red Devil Skull.


    ¡°For now, set sail to the east. Keep looking for any danger.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    Burchard saluted and left.


    ¡°So what do you think, Dobbs?¡± Aldred asked as he saw Dobbs rxing with a golem serving him a ss of orange juice with ice.


    ¡°Well, I would say your treatment is far better than how the pirates treat me.¡± Dobbs then looked at the female soldiers ying by the pool. ¡°The scenery is much better too.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you¡¯refortable enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am. So much morefortable than before. Especially with all the avable orange juice and fresh meat. Where the hell do theye from?¡±


    ¡°I will tell you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Bah, so secretive. I heard you n to learn more about magic smithing.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Well, I have some free time to spare. What would you like to ask?¡±


    Aldred then sat down before he called for a golem to bring him some strawberry-like juice and a te of grilled steak.


    He asked Dobbs some questions, and Dobbs dly taught him.


    After a few hours, Aldred with his high intelligence status easily consumed all the information.


    [Magic Smith Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    ¡°Now I can finally create my own weapons. Hmm¡­ I wonder if I can fuse other weapons too,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You can, but I can do it better, so just do it as practice,¡± Dobbs said.


    ¡°As long as you can help, I won¡¯tin.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll show you the basics first. Here, use this.¡± Dobbs handed a silver rod.


    Aldred took it with both hands and examined it closely.


    ¡°How does this work?¡±


    ¡°This is a new type of creation tool. It¡¯s called magic crafting. This is a prototype of it. Its name is ¡®Magic Crafting Rod¡¯.¡±


    Aldred was surprised. ¡°What is it for?¡±


    ¡°Just hold it like how you¡¯re holding this. Look, there are seven holes on the end of it.¡±


    Seven different colors appeared above each hole.


    ¡°Why seven? Are these mana levels?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Each color has a certain level of mana, and it¡¯s easier to control the mana flow with that number.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. But why is blue the highest?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s the purest color of mana in the world. Blue mana is considered as the base mana of all other mana.¡±


    ¡°I see. That also exins why ck is the lowest.¡±


    ¡°ck mana is the least pure mana among all the colors. It¡¯s not as easy to control as the others. The only use of ck mana is in creating anti-magic shields. Or Dark magic. But least pure doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s weak. Sometimes, ck mana or dark mana can even devour any other type of mana and convert it as its own power.¡±


    ¡°Anti-magic¡­ Devouring mana¡­ Seems like power for evil.¡±


    ¡°No power is evil, boy.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°But this rod will help you control your mana so you can craft anything you want. Right now, it only creates simple objects.¡±


    Aldred focused his mana and tried to use it on the rod. A faint light glowed on the rod.


    ¡°¡­!¡± Aldred gasped in surprise. ¡°This rod is cool and all, but I don¡¯t want to rely on it.¡±


    ¡°Then you must learn the hard way.¡±


    ¡°I am willing to do that.¡±

 293 Chapter 293

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Aldred asked, curios of what was going on.


    ¡°It¡¯s better if I show you first,¡± Rurcam replied as he walked through the cramped, dark, underground hallway.


    The guards noticed the Duke and straightened their shoulders before saluting.


    ¡°Open the door.¡±


    The guard grabbed his keys and inserted one of them into the keyhole. He twisted it to the left.


    Click!


    The soldier then pulled the steel door as it creaked.


    They entered the steel door, but there was nothing except another dark tunnel. Torches dimly lit it which was weird because people mostly use mana gem which was a byproduct of amon mana crystal. It was a cheap product for lighting, and couldn¡¯t be used to increase power.


    After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a room with a steel cage filled with pirates.


    ¡°These are the pirates that my men captured after you defeated them. Sorry about the cramped tunnel, that is intentional so it¡¯s hard for the prisoners to escape.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re lucky they didn¡¯t get eaten by sea monsters.¡±


    ¡°Some of them managed to stay safe, but the majority of them died. If my men weren¡¯t quick enough, there would be nobody left.¡±


    ¡°So, why do you bring me here?¡±


    Rurcam did not say anything and walked towards a cell. Unlike the other cell, this one only had one person.


    ¡°Dobbs, introduce yourself.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Wondering what this was all about.


    Dobbs was sleeping on the floor, his back facing them. Then he opened his eyes and turned around. He pointed at Aldred. ¡°Are you the one who damaged the Red Devil Skull?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡±


    Dobbs stood up, revealing his tall and muscr body. He was like a giant, and when he held the steel cage, it felt like he could rip it anytime he wanted.


    ¡°You¡¯re younger than I expected you to be.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any business with me?¡±


    ¡°I was, but not anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just a kid. What can you give me?¡±


    ¡°It should be me who asks that question. Who the hell are you? And what can you give me?¡±


    Dobbs was silent for a while before he spoke: ¡°I am the cksmith you are looking for.¡±


    ¡°I can find another cksmith better than you.¡±


    ¡°I alone fixed two motherships in less than a month, modified them to be stronger, and even reinforced the materials for the Red Devil Skull. I don¡¯t believe you can find someone like me.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Aldred asked the Duke.


    ¡°My magician cast a spell on him. He does not lie.¡±


    ¡°These lips only speak the truth, boy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re valuable. How can I make you join me?¡±


    Dobbs let out a heavy chuckle. ¡°Let me do anything to your mothership without you bickering out a singleint.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡±


    ¡°Nothing irks me more than ayman, who knows nothing about my job, telling me how to do things.¡±


    Aldred frowned. If he epted this guy, he would take risks, but judging how confident this man looked, he seemed to have a real skill.


    To make sure, Aldred activated his godly eyes. That was when he saw divine energy moving around his body. Dobbs had a Gold Rank power, but this divine energy was something else. It went up to Diamond, and even beyond that.


    But what was this power for?


    [Divine Craftsman]


    Aldred¡¯s eyes widened. He had never seen a skill, title, or status effect with the word divine before. At most, Mira was the only one who got ¡®holy¡¯ in her spell, but that was all.


    Without no more doubt, Aldred said: ¡°Wee aboard. You¡¯re in the team now.¡±


    ¡°So you will let me do whatever I want to your mothership?¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure.¡±


    ¡°You sure you¡¯re not going to regret it?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Are you really sure?¡±


    ¡°One hundred percent.¡±


    Dobbs raised an eyebrow. ¡°This is easier than I expected. You sure you don¡¯t want to debate with me more?¡±


    ¡°No need. You can do whatever you want.¡±


    Dobbsughed. ¡°The Duke next to you wouldn¡¯t even dare to consider that, but you¡¯re something else, boy. Fine, I will join your fleet. Your lousy fleet will be better with me working on them.¡±


    The people there could only smite bitterly. That ¡®lousy fleet¡¯ literally defeated the Red Skull pirate.


    Aldred was happy that Dobbs epted.


    ¡°I figure you will continue your journey after this?¡± Rurcam asked.


    ¡°Yes, after you give me the rewards.¡±


    ¡°What was the reward?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°Seventy warships, and a mothership.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Just give me the materials. I will be the one who builds the ships. And I will need to destroy your mothership to modify them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Dobbs was confused again. Anyone would be shocked to hear that their mothership would be destroyed because they prized it too much.


    ¡°Okay. I will begin my work as soon as possible.¡± He pushed away the steel bars and walked out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    And for the next few weeks, Dobbs was building the ships by himself. He didn¡¯t let anyone help him except the golems to move tools and supplies from ce to ce.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need a shipbuilder to design the ship?¡±


    ¡°I can design a ship while I take a shit. Those guys can take weeks to draw a simple line on the blueprint!¡±


    And with that, he worked in the shipyard by himself. The workers were sent home, but most of them chose to watch the man make a fool of himself.


    He didn¡¯t make a fool of himself, however. Instead, Dobbs impressed them with his skill and efficiency.


    Dobbs finished the ships at a record speed that any shipbuilder wouldn¡¯t dare to imagine. Even when they saw the process from day one, they still questioned how it was possible to build a ship in such a short amount of time. Not to mention the quality was far better than what they could build.


    If it kept going this way, Aldred¡¯s fleet would be sailing again in no time.


    Note: sorry guys, the upload timer mess up the update and it uploaded chapter 294 first before 293. I did not realize it happened until midnight. I cannot trust these timers anymore. It usually worked well, and I can trust them, but it mess up a couple of times before and this is the final fuse lol. I am done using this timer which mean I have to manually upload the chapter at 12:00.


    Anyway, hope you guys like the chapter and please support the story with power stones if you do. I apologize again for this mistake. I will do my best to prevent it from happening again. And because of this stupid mistake, I have to add 100 extra word into this chapter sigh¡­ I will make up for it with extra chapters in the near future when I am not busy. College just started so time is getting packed.


    Ignore the message after this one. I have to add word count just to fix chapter list. I will make it up tho.


    Ignore the message after this one. I have to add word count just to fix chapter list. I will make it up tho.


    Ignore the message after this one. I have to add word count just to fix chapter list. I will make it up tho.


    Sorry again, will upload extra chapter for you guys when I have the time. Hopefully I do lol.

 294 Chapter 294

    After working for the smaller warships, Dobbspletely disassembled three motherships; The Mother of Destruction, The Disgraced Grail, and one unnamed mothership that Duke Rurcam gave to Aldred.


    It took around two weeks for Dobbs to reassemble them again into one, gigantic, monstrous-like ship.


    The size was unfathomable. It was so big, that Aldred¡¯sst mothership looked small inparison.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°This¡­ this is amazing!¡±


    ¡°If you can get the Red Devil Skull, I can merge that mothership with yours.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. What Dobbs created was so much better than he could ask for. Using his godly eyes, he could tell the interior and exterior of the ship were stronger than anything he had seen before.


    This was the effect of [Divine Craftsman]. Any material he touched became blessed and had a status effect that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there.


    ¡°What should we name this ship?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I will leave that to you. My job is only to build it,¡± Dobbs said.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°In that case, I will name it¡ªThe Devourer.¡±


    With 92 main cannons that could move basically to any part of the ships, and with Dobbs having the skill to merge other motherships into it, the name ¡®Devourer¡¯ seemed like a great fit.


    His wives, Bartrem, the soldiers, Burchard, and the captains all looked at this in awe with their mouths agape.


    The shipbuilders that watched the entire process were amazed as well. They had learned so many things just by watching him, and they couldn¡¯t wait to test out their new knowledge.


    With everything done, Aldred¡¯s fleet now became much stronger than before.


    Beforehand he only had 17 cruisers, but now he had 40 cruisers, 44 destroyers, and 39 frigates!!!


    His naval force literally doubled, and not to mention his mothership was as strong as 3 mothershipsbined!


    With thisrge army, he was confident he could run through any opposition in the future.


    ¡°We have no time to waste. Let¡¯s continue our journey,¡± Aldred said. He turned around to look at the Duke. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality.¡±


    ¡°It should be me who¡¯s thanking you. You free this ind from the pirates. I thank you for that. The people of Subiabiterbo Ind thank you for that.¡±


    The shipbuilders and the citizens there bowed at him.


    ¡°No need to mention it. We will be leaving right now. May fate let us meet again.¡±


    Lord Rurcam nodded.


    Aldred and his wives boarded the new mothership.


    Suddenly, someone shouted: ¡°See you again, Aldred!¡±


    When Aldred turned around, he saw Francesca waving her hand with a smile.


    Aldred smiled and waved at her before entering the ship.


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet rang a loud bell to say goodbye to the people of the ind. And all the people ran to the beach crying as they waved their hands at them.


    The people shouted their thanks. So loud that even Aldred could hear it despite the distance.


    He was the hero of Subiabiterbo, and the people on the ind felt nothing but gratitude towards him.


    The Duke smiled when he saw the ships sailing beyond the horizon. He nced to the side and saw his daughter sighing. ¡°Did you miss him already?¡±


    ¡°Dearly,¡± Francesca said.


    ¡°You should have joined him.¡±


    ¡°I will simply be a burden. I don¡¯t want to be a dead weight to him. He¡¯s not as simple as he seems.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the child of a god.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred was on the front deck of The Devourer. In front of him was Burchard with all the captains standing behind him.


    ¡°I am sure you have met Tilford?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± They all replied.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of us now, so treat him like how you treat the other captains.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Sir!¡±


    Aldred nodded, d that everyone was so understanding. ¡°All of you know that there will be danger ahead of us. Treasure hunting is not a leisure activity, so I want everyone to do everything they can. Not just to win against our opponent, but so you can survive and return home someday.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    ¡°Alright, all of you are dismissed.¡±


    A golem then hugged the captains, and then a jet me came out of the golem¡¯s feet before they were brought to their assigned ships.


    Aldred nced at Burchard. ¡°What do you think of our new mothership?¡±


    ¡°I love it, Sir. Especially the idea that we can devour other motherships in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I was told that this ship can morph its structure to however we want it to be just like the Red Devil Skull.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to chase that ship, Sir?¡±


    ¡°I want to, but I can¡¯t.¡±


    For some reason, his teleportation point wasn¡¯t on the ship anymore, this made it impossible for him to track the Red Devil Skull.


    ¡°For now, set sail to the east. Keep looking for any danger.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    Burchard saluted and left.


    ¡°So what do you think, Dobbs?¡± Aldred asked as he saw Dobbs rxing with a golem serving him a ss of orange juice with ice.


    ¡°Well, I would say your treatment is far better than how the pirates treat me.¡± Dobbs then looked at the female soldiers ying by the pool. ¡°The scenery is much better too.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you¡¯refortable enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am. So much morefortable than before. Especially with all the avable orange juice and fresh meat. Where the hell do theye from?¡±


    ¡°I will tell you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Bah, so secretive. I heard you n to learn more about magic smithing.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Well, I have some free time to spare. What would you like to ask?¡±


    Aldred then sat down before he called for a golem to bring him some strawberry-like juice and a te of grilled steak.


    He asked Dobbs some questions, and Dobbs dly taught him.


    After a few hours, Aldred with his high intelligence status easily consumed all the information.


    [Magic Smith Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    ¡°Now I can finally create my own weapons. Hmm¡­ I wonder if I can fuse other weapons too,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You can, but I can do it better, so just do it as practice,¡± Dobbs said.


    ¡°As long as you can help, I won¡¯tin.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll show you the basics first. Here, use this.¡± Dobbs handed a silver rod.


    Aldred took it with both hands and examined it closely.


    ¡°How does this work?¡±


    ¡°This is a new type of creation tool. It¡¯s called magic crafting. This is a prototype of it. Its name is ¡®Magic Crafting Rod¡¯.¡±


    Aldred was surprised. ¡°What is it for?¡±


    ¡°Just hold it like how you¡¯re holding this. Look, there are seven holes on the end of it.¡±


    Seven different colors appeared above each hole.


    ¡°Why seven? Are these mana levels?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Each color has a certain level of mana, and it¡¯s easier to control the mana flow with that number.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. But why is blue the highest?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s the purest color of mana in the world. Blue mana is considered as the base mana of all other mana.¡±


    ¡°I see. That also exins why ck is the lowest.¡±


    ¡°ck mana is the least pure mana among all the colors. It¡¯s not as easy to control as the others. The only use of ck mana is in creating anti-magic shields. Or Dark magic. But least pure doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s weak. Sometimes, ck mana or dark mana can even devour any other type of mana and convert it as its own power.¡±


    ¡°Anti-magic¡­ Devouring mana¡­ Seems like power for evil.¡±


    ¡°No power is evil, boy.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°But this rod will help you control your mana so you can craft anything you want. Right now, it only creates simple objects.¡±


    Aldred focused his mana and tried to use it on the rod. A faint light glowed on the rod.


    ¡°¡­!¡± Aldred gasped in surprise. ¡°This rod is cool and all, but I don¡¯t want to rely on it.¡±


    ¡°Then you must learn the hard way.¡±


    ¡°I am willing to do that.¡±

 295 Chapter 295

    Dobbs smiled when he heard that. ¡°I will teach you thatter.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I guess I have to make do with what I have. I will try my best to control my mana.¡±


    ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    They ended the conversation there.


    Aldred then went back to his room where he was greeted by his wives.


    ¡°Wee back, dear husband. How was your trip?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°I learned a lot from Dobbs.¡±


    ¡°I see. I hope it was fruitful for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Now I can craft whatever I want. Not really, but I am going there.¡±


    ¡°Yay! That is wonderful news! I am so happy for you.¡±


    ¡°I am happy as well,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Soon, I can craft a more powerful golem army. Who knows, maybe I can make a golem as powerful as a warship.¡±


    Aldred chatted with his wives in bed before they make love all night. The next morning, the magic rm rang.


    ¡°Pirate,¡± Burchard announced. ¡°Just a small group, but why do I get pissed when I see them?¡±


    The Devourer¡¯s fleet sailed past the small pirate fleet.


    The pirates were of course terrified to see such a gigantic fleet near them, so they scurried away.


    ¡°Should we destroy them, My Lord?¡± Burchard asked through hismunication crystal.


    ¡°Kill every pirate you see. They might be spies.¡±


    Burchard grinned. ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡±


    Right after that was utter destruction for the small pirate fleet. The pirate couldn¡¯t even react as 90% of their ships were sted. The pirate on the lead ship was shocked. ¡°Why did they attack us? We didn¡¯t do anything!¡±


    Sadly, they would never get those answers as arge shelling from the main cannon of The Devourer, engulfed them in a powerful explosion.


    In less than 30 seconds, a pirate fleet was destroyed.


    Burchard smiled. ¡°Even though it was sad that the pirate didn¡¯t have a mothership, I am more than satisfied to kill people like them.¡± He looked at the sea. ¡°Come on pirates. Come to me so I can destroy you.¡±


    Unbeknown to him, hismunication crystal was on, and his voice was transmitted to all the captains.


    The captains scratched their heads. They didn¡¯t know theirmodore was this crazy about pirates.


    Tilford shuddered. As a former pirate, he somehow felt the wrath of hismodore on his spine. He was thankful that he quit pirate life.


    They set sail without any obstruction. Bartrem practiced his cooking skills. The soldiers were having fun in the pools. Dobbs was watching the female soldiers with his ss of juice kept being refilled by the golem. The captains had leisure time in theirmand center but still kept an eye for danger.


    And then there was Aldred with his wives in the bedroom making love.


    Life was peaceful for everyone.


    Sure they met a bunch of pirates again and some sea monsters. They met a bunch of tinum Rank monsters. The destroyers and frigates bombarded them with shells, and they died. Their carcass was quickly stored in the cargo ship.


    They steamrolled through the ocean of monsters. Even Aldred shuddered in fear when he saw the number of monsters that wereing at them. The majority of the monsters were at Gold Rank, but tinum Ranks were there too. No wonder nobody put a tinum Rank on the ship. The threat didn¡¯t onlye from pirates but sea monsters as well.


    ¡°These are the weaker monsters,¡± Ste said as she watched things unfold through her magic mirror in the bedroom with Aldred and the other.


    ¡°We might meet something strongerter. A tinum Rank monster with Diamond Rank durability.¡±


    ¡°Is that possible?¡±


    ¡°It is. Some creatures might even have the speed of a Diamond Rank while still at tinum.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s scary.¡±


    ¡°You should be. They are practically invisible in the tinum Rank, just like you who are invisible in the Gold Rank. Almost nobody in this world could defeat you.¡±


    ¡°Almost?¡±


    ¡°I know some Gold Rank who can probably defeat you. But I know for sure you have to struggle to fight them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I might meet them.¡±


    ¡°You will. Those kinds of people are more desperate than anyone else to obtain the treasure.¡±


    Suddenly the ship shook.


    ¡°Burchard, what happened?¡± Aldred asked through hismunication crystal.


    ¡°I think you need to see for yourself, My Lord.¡±


    A projection appeared, showing the fleet, and in front of them was a gigantic sea serpent.


    ¡°So big¡­ it almost matches the size of my mothership.¡±


    Ste frowned. ¡°Not good. This thing has the durability of a Diamond Rank. And possibly even stronger than themon Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°Will we be in trouble?¡±


    ¡°Are you in doubt of my creation?¡± Dobbs¡¯ voice came. ¡°Just sit back and rx. See how your mothership handles this situation.¡±


    The sea serpent roared, creating ripples in the water. But The Devourer shone out light that protected itself and all the ships.


    Enraged, the sea serpent dived into the water before pouncing on the mothership.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    BOOM!


    One cannon fired at the head of the sea serpent and sted its right eye.


    GAAH!!


    The sea serpent cried out in pain as another shell came at its slender body, creating a massive wound.


    The sea serpent struggled to remain afloat as it tried to heal itself using its regeneration ability.


    ¡°Keep attacking it. Another one ising as well.¡±


    ¡°All ships keep firing. Make sure this beast dies before its friend arrives,¡± Burchard announced.


    BOOM!


    Another cannon fired at the same spot asst time, and the sea serpent roared in pain.


    ¡°I am done here.¡± The destroyer pulled back to the fleet.


    ¡°Do not hesitate to attack even if the enemy is already dead. Do it until they are nothing but dust,¡± Burchard ordered.


    ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡±


    As the sea serpent was bombarded, it roared onest time before its body mmed into the water. It died, and then another one came.


    ¡°Time to test all 92 main cannons at once,¡± Burchard grinned. He moved his hand around themand orb, and the ship¡¯s structure moved around. All the cannons that were located on the sides were moving to the front. They all aimed at the sea serpent that was approaching them.


    ¡°Fire.¡±


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The sound of the explosion reverberated even deep under the water, scaring the other sea creatures. And the sea serpent was sted into a million pieces.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Aldred shouted when he saw this through the projection.


    Burchard smiled. ¡°Good job everyone,¡± he said. ¡°My Lord, I found something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Please wait, My Lord. I will send it to you.¡±


    The mothership sent out a magic perimeter, and then two glowing orbs came out of the water and flew to the mothership. The two orbs passed through the hallways and then arrived at Aldred¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°What are these?¡± Aldred inspected them. ¡°Monster core?¡±


    ¡°Oh, these are quite rare. You¡¯re lucky Aldred.¡±


    Aldred used his godly eyes to obtain more information about the monster core. ¡°I can eat this?¡±


    ¡°First you have to refine them with a special solution and spell. After some time, you can turn them into liquid and drin¡ªwait! Don¡¯t eat it yet!¡±


    Aldred swallowed the two orbs immediately.

 296 Chapter 296

    [me Jet Lv. 3 -> Lv. 4]


    [Fire Bullet Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Fire Arrow Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Fire Ball Lv 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Fire Javelin Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [me Fist Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3]


    [Fire Combustion Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Fire Absorption Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    [Red Rain (Pseudo-legendary) Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    [Shape Shift Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    [Sword Art skill all increased by one level]


    [Sky Splitting Strike: Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Execution Strike Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    [Sword Art Copy Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    [Body Durability increased]


    [Stamina increased]


    [Mana Quality increased]


    [Advanced Battle Instinct]


    ¡­


    Aldred looked at the list of perks he got from consuming the monster core and he was shocked.


    ¡°This monster core is too powerful!¡±


    ¡°That is why they are greatly valued.¡±


    ¡°Can we look for it again?¡±


    ¡°You got lucky this time, Aldred. Killing the sea serpents doesn¡¯t guarantee a monster core. You obtaining two at once would make anyone think the Goddess of Luck is sleeping with youst night.¡±


    ¡°They are that rare, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are very rare.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    While Aldred was absorbed in his own thoughts, Ste was looking at him with a smile. She couldn¡¯t believe it herself, but she had seen it with her own eyes. Her husband¡¯s battle prowess rose to a whole new level. His sword art skills became more developed. And he obtained a rare type of monster core that no other person could acquire.


    She thought this was the best gift that the Goddess of Luck gave her.


    Or maybe it was someone else.


    ***


    The next day was spent inside the mothership. Aldred and his wives were busy training and practicing their magic. They were also busy eating, swimming, or drinking tea with the captains.


    Aldred helped his wives improve their magic. Currently, he was guiding Zafrina on how to effectively control her blood maniption spells.


    ¡°Like this?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Yes, but push your hand forward more, and think of moving the blood as a whole instead of some part in their body.¡±


    ¡°Like this?¡± Zafrina moved, identally knocking on Aldred. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s try that again.¡± He raised her hand and showed an example of what she needed to do. Zafrina moved her hand slowly and steadily, and then applied pressure as she pushed forward. She sessfully created a small hole in the palm of Aldred¡¯s hand.


    Zafrina was happy, but she noticed something. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, dear.¡±


    ¡°You look a little pale.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, dear. You concentrate on your spell. Your blood maniption is getting better, but you still need to work on your control.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I will.¡± She nced at him with a blush. When she created a hole in his palm, she secretly siphoned some of his blood into her. That made her turn on for some reason.


    She felt guilty about it, but she wanted to feel that sensation again.


    She was enjoying life in the mothership. The food was delicious, and the room was veryfortable. Maybe she was being too casual, but she didn¡¯t care anymore.


    There are no pirates.


    Aldred was also trying to improve his stamina and strength. He did so by drinking potions and eating nutritious foods. He spent most of his time on the training grounds with his wives. When not in training, they would be rxing by the pool, chatting, and having a barbecue with the captains, soldiers, and Bartrem. He liked it when Bartrem would cook for them. The man was an excellent chef. Everyone enjoyed his cooking. Making a full-course meal was an easy task for him now, not to mention flipping meat on the grill.


    After a few hours of having fun by the pool, Aldred analyzed the soldiers using his godly eyes as they trained. He improved their posture and techniques by lecturing them before they implement it in their spars immediately.


    When dawn arrived, the soldiers pulled their partner to the bed and so did Aldred.


    Aldred pretty much made love with his wives every night now. They never got bored of it, and even tried various positions they had never done before.


    Of course, they did this while Krista was asleep and Ste was casting silent spells around her.


    After they were done for the night, Rachel kissed him on the lips before she closed her eyes, breathing heavily.


    Ste was breathing heavily as well, but she asked for second, third, and even fourth. As a Diamond Rank, she was the most resilient out of all his wives.


    When she finally got enough baby seeds in her tummy, Ste smiled, kissed him, and yed with his tongue for a while.


    When they were done, Aldred asked them: ¡°Do you all regreting with me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± they replied.


    ¡°Really? You can be honest, I won¡¯t be mad.¡±


    ¡°You opened my eyes, dear,¡± Mira said. ¡°I used to stay in the abbey for years because I thought that was the ce of truth. Turns out the truth is different in every region. I would like to explore the world to find the universal truth, and I want to do it alongside you.¡±


    His wives all approached him and worried about why he asked such a question.


    ¡°I am fine. I am just wondering if any of you want to return to your home.¡±


    Zafrina shook her head. ¡°Going with you is the best decision I ever made. I feel bad for leaving my father, but at the same time, I feel thankful that he let me do so.¡±


    Ivette crawled on the bed and sat on hisp. ¡°You changed my life and my brother¡¯s life. Now we can enjoy everything without problem debt free. You are my everything, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Kiara?¡±


    ¡°My mind is a nk page, but when I saw you, I knew you would be the one who¡¯s filling it. I feel nothing but gratitude for meeting you on that grass in. If not, I wouldn¡¯t know where I would end up right now.¡±


    Sophia wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed herrge boobs into his chest. ¡°What made you ask this question, Aldred? We all love you with all of our hearts.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t question that, Sophia.¡± He kissed her sweet lips. ¡°I just want to make sure you are all as happy as I am.¡±


    Mary and Mareona kissed him as well.


    And they all made love again.

 297 Chapter 297

    The next morning, Aldred woke up first after having another dream about Mary. It wasn¡¯t as vivid as before; it was more like a memory.


    He was standing on top of the hill, overlooking the ocean.


    It was peaceful, but he was confused. Why was he here?


    He heard a voice in the distance.


    ¡°Aldred, wake up.¡±


    He turned around.


    It was Mary. She was wearing a white dress. Her beautiful face was shining brightly.


    ¡°Mary?¡± He wondered what she was doing here.


    ¡°I came to tell you something, dear.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I have finally realized my dream.¡±


    ¡°Your dream?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my dream. I told myself that I should be a great warrior someday. But now I have realized that I only want to be your wife.¡±


    Her words were so lovely and pure.


    He was speechless.


    Mary smiled at him.


    Their eyes met, and then Aldred kissed her.


    Mary blushed deeply and kissed back.


    They kissed passionately, and Aldred¡¯s feelings were growing stronger than before.


    When their lips parted, Aldred looked deep into her eyes. He reached his hand toward her, and gently caressed her cheek.


    He kissed her again and rubbed his nose against hers. Then he whispered in her ear.


    ¡°I love you, Mary.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, darling.¡±


    With that, they shared a passionate kiss.


    Aldred stared at the ceiling, wondering about the meaning of that dream he had earlier. Was it real? Or was it just a dream?


    ***


    The next day, Aldred was walking with Ste when he suddenly remembered the dream he had.


    ¡°¡­Is there something on my face?¡± Ste asked.


    Heughed and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the deck to get some sunlight.¡±


    Aldred entered his bedroom and invited his wives and Krista to go up.


    When they arrived, they went for breakfast and rxed as usual while chatting and joking with each other.


    ¡°My Lord, there¡¯s a problem,¡± Burchard¡¯s voice came from themunication crystal.


    ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well, we are currently more than 200 kilometers from Duria¡¯s shore.¡±


    ¡°Is there any problem with that?¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be, My Lord, but their fleet ising toward us.¡±


    Not long after, Aldred saw four aircraft carriers with all kinds of advanced technologies. The nes on the carrier floated. They didn¡¯t seem to use a jet engine like the nes he destroyed before, this meant that those aircraft were much more advanced.


    Drones rushed out of the carrier and floated around 5 km away from them.


    ¡°What business do you have in this water?¡± a robotic voice came from the drone.


    ¡°We¡¯re just sailing past,¡± Burchard replied.


    ¡°Stop your fleet. We need you to undergo a deep inspection before you can proceed.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Burchard sternly replied. ¡°This region of water is not under your jurisdiction. Anyone can pass here without being questioned.¡±


    Aldred nodded with a smile. He liked Burchard¡¯s attitude towards the Duria¡¯s fleet.


    ¡°This is your final warning, stop your fleet or else.¡±


    ¡°Or else what?¡±


    The mothership moved its cannon towards the sci-fi-looking fleet.


    The warships on both sides were rmed and started aiming cannons at each other.


    One was a modern ship while the other was magical.


    Aldred called for the projection and the mothership projected the entire fleet of the enemy with their submarines under the water facing off with Aldred¡¯s own submarines but no one attacked.


    There were more drones in the sky now. Looking at this, Aldred told his golems to fly in the sky and brandished their weapons.


    Even the artillery golems started locking targets.


    If the battle did break out, Aldred wanted to obtain some drones so he could analyze them and copy their function to his golems.


    A few secondster, Duria responded by sending out more drones.


    Aldred grinned and open a portal for his golem army toe.


    About 7.400 fighter golems now fitted with a me jet could fly around in the air and 9.600 gunner golems were furthermore strengthened with his Fire Bullet spell increased in levels. Plus, they could fly on their own too.


    These two golems made up his air force within his fleet, plus his 900 artillery golems that would st everything in the sky.


    This stand-off became tense, and it seemed Duria didn¡¯t have a strong reason to call the attack.


    They said nothing and slowly made their drones back off.


    Burchard also steered the fleet farther from Duria.


    When both sides were far enough, they all sighed in relief.


    They continued their journey after that tense situation, and soon, Aldred saw something weird.


    ¡°Is that a market? In the middle of the sea?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be so,¡± Mary said as she looked at the floating market.


    The market was bustling with people, boats, and wooden rafts. The merchants sell fruits of all kinds on the boats. There were those who use big rafts, and there were those who use small boats.


    There were a lot of ships stopping nearby and the people bought a lot of fruit.


    After a closer inspection, he found out that the buyers were all rich people with luxurious clothing.


    This meant that this market must have something valuable.


    ¡°This is the Sea Fruit Market,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°They are known to sell fruits that grow in the deep part of the sea.¡±


    ¡°Fruits that grow in the deep sea? What about monsters?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why there are so many people in that market. Not just anyone is brave enough to risk their life diving down to obtain fruits.¡±


    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s go there then. I want to take a look.¡±


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet stopped 1 kilometer away from the market, and everyone was astonished to see such a huge mothership.


    Some were worried that the market would be attacked, but after they saw some speedboatsing from the fleet, they were relieved.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Aldred, his wives, and the soldiers to arrive at the market. Burchard and the captains were still on the fleet, just in case Aldred needed to bombard the market.


    Aldred looked around and picked one fruit. ¡°Can I try this?¡±


    ¡°Sure, My Lord,¡± the seller said.


    He bit into the fruit and was shocked at how good it tasted. Not to mention it seemed to help increase his strength too, but not by much. Still, it would help his wives and soldiers a lot.


    ¡°How much does this cost?¡±


    ¡°One fruit will cost 10,000 gold coins, My Lord.¡±


    ¡°Right, I expect that price.¡±


    Note: this is the extra chapter I promised you guys because of the timer mistake.

 298 Chapter 298

    If this was a year ago, they all would be shocked by the price, but they had earned a lot of money during their travel and now 10.000 gold coins weren¡¯t that much to them.


    Aldred bought a couple of fruits for his wives, and they all love them.


    ¡°I heard you find this fruit deep under the sea. Aren¡¯t you people scared of sea monsters?¡±


    The sellerughed bitterly. ¡°Of course we are scared, but most people will only do this once, and never do it again.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Most people don¡¯t, My Lord. Earning 10.000 gold coins is enough for them to live their whole life and save enough for their children and even grandchildren if they manage the coins well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°I know, but many people in this job died before they can obtain a single fruit.¡±


    ¡°Why do they still do it despite the danger?¡±


    The seller sighed. ¡°The people in this job are a bunch of desperate men who have everything to lose. This job can give them a new life but most die while trying.¡±


    ¡°What happened to their families?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Their families are left to tend for themselves, but around a decade ago, people who have been in this job before started giving gold coins to the family of the fallen diver.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Those sessful divers that had managed their money became wealthy and they even created businesses. They now will give aid to the family¡¯s fallen divers, but I think their most important project is making more jobs to prevent more people to dive deep into the sea. This is why the fruit price has increased even more since fewer people are willing to do it.¡±


    ¡°And I guess that most divers are Bronze Rank and below, correct?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, My Lord. Silver Ranks can have a decent life, they don¡¯t need to risk it.¡±


    Aldred let out a smallugh. ¡°I am just d that there are people out there preventing more divers to appear.¡±


    ¡°Why, My Lord? The number of sea fruits will decrease. Won¡¯t that be terrible for you?¡±


    ¡°Their lives are more important than these fruits.¡±


    The seller was astonished. ¡°I am quite shocked. I never see someone from the ruling ss who is sympathetic for these divers.¡±


    ¡°I guess I am just different. Well, pack all the fruits for me. I am buying it all.¡±


    ¡°Y¡ªyes, My Lord.¡±


    Aldred hoped the sessful diver would make more jobs and increase the quality of life, so less of divers would appear in the future.


    After buying the fruits, Aldred and his wives walked around the floating market.


    Aldred identally bumped onto a person, and he apologized. ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    To his surprise, the person didn¡¯t receive his apology. ¡°How dare you touch me!¡±


    ¡°I apologized, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You think mere words are enough to cool my wrath?¡± The man looked young and he wore luxurious clothes. Behind him, there were strong-looking guards with rare-grade armor and weapons.


    The young man looked at Aldred¡¯s women and there was lust in his eyes. ¡°You know what? I will forgive you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, whatever.¡±


    ¡°Only if your women stay with me.¡±


    Aldred sighed. He already expected this when he saw the lust glint in the young man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡®Why can¡¯t I go anywhere without any arrogant person bothering me? Seems like I have to kill this young person as well.¡¯


    Aldred was about to summon his Phantom Doomde and cut this man to pieces until someone came.


    ¡°Fubam, what are you doing here?¡± a beautiful girl appeared and asked the young man with a slightly harsh tone.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Lura, this man bumped into me.¡±


    ¡°Has he apologized?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then let it pass. Don¡¯t act like a child.¡±


    Fubam smiled bitterly but secretly gave Aldred a re.


    Aldred sneered which made Fubam even more enraged.


    Eventually, Fubam left.


    ¡°I apologize on his behalf.¡±


    ¡°You need not to.¡±


    ¡°He is my acquaintance, so I feel like I should. May I know your name?¡±


    ¡°Only if I know yours.¡±


    Lura smiled. ¡°My name is Lura Hildom, and you are?¡±


    ¡°Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Again, I apologize, Lord Aldred.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    Lura grabbed something from her pouch and handed it to Aldred. ¡°These are five sea tokens. Please take it.¡±


    ¡°What is this for?¡±


    Lura raised an eyebrow. ¡°Lord Aldred, are you perhaps never gone to the sea before?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am quite new to this.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will exin it to you. Those sea tokens are a sort of currency that you can use for the sea market. You might notice that the Sea Fruit Market does ept gold coins, but a lot of markets don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    ¡°And how much does each sea token worth?¡±


    ¡°You will know in the future. For now, I will bid my farewell.¡±


    She left immediately.


    ¡°Weird. She just came and give me 5 sea tokens without giving a proper exnation on how to use them.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a weird one.¡± Mary nodded. ¡°But she¡¯s nice.¡±


    ¡°Beautiful too,¡± Ste said. ¡°Have you ever thought about adding her to the harem when you talk?¡±


    ¡°What do you guys talk about? Do you think I want to add every girl I see to the harem?¡±


    His wives rolled their eyes at that.


    ¡°I am punishing all of you hard tonight.¡±


    His wivesughed and even joked around.


    ¡°Kyaaa, please don¡¯t do it, dear,¡± Sophia said in a pitiful-joking voice.


    ¡­


    A fleet sailed through a violent storm. The sky was covered by dark clouds. Lightning shed and heavy rain fell.


    A man was standing inside themand center, staring through the window and beyond the horizon. On his back was a pitch ck sword, seemingly able to devour anything it touched.


    He was 182 cm tall with a sword mark on his mouth. And thick armor wrapped around him all the time. His strong and bulging muscles couldn¡¯t be hidden by the tes.


    Suddenly, as thunder growled, the door opened and an officer saluted. ¡°Lord Simon, we found their tracks. They are heading to the east.¡±


    Simond was silent at first before he replied: ¡°Use all of our magic crystals to chase them.¡±


    ¡°In this storm, My Lord?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat my word, Commodore.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ My Lord.¡±

 299 Chapter 299

    Aldred walked around the sea market with his wives some more. He had never seen something like this before in fantasy books or modern reality.


    Why do they sell their wares in the sea? Why not onnd? After asking the merchants around, it got to do with the quality of the fruit. The Sea Fruits lost their quality when they got nearnd. This forced the merchants to set up their wares in the middle of nowhere.


    The fact that these merchants use rafts and small boats to sail the sea was proof that they were willing to risk their lives for gold coins.


    During his travel in the sea, Aldred saw a lot of sea monsters in the tinum Rank. The market only had a few ships to protect themselves from the monsters. If they met a powerful sea serpent, all of them would be ughtered.


    ¡°Ten thousand gold coins seem too cheap now the more I think about it,¡± Aldred said.


    Mary agreed. ¡°With all the risk they take, this fruit should be worth at least fifty thousand gold coins each.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, my dear,¡± Zafrina called before hugging his arms. ¡°Why don¡¯t you set up a golem mercenarypany here? This way, people can hire your golems to dive into the sea to help them collect the fruits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, but wouldn¡¯t that mean I steal their jobs?¡±


    ¡°You can use the money to invest in other businesses which will create more jobs for people.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, the problem is¡­ That¡¯s a good idea. I will tell Tarrar to manage this business.¡±


    ¡°Who is that again?¡±


    ¡°Did you already forget the wise bugbear I defeated? You know, the one who can obtain tinum Rank power temporarily using a magic tower.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that guy.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s apetent worker. He¡¯s been managing the golem business in Paphia and Yevileria. I told him to expand to the food category, and business is booming.¡±


    ¡°Are both nations still at war?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are. They have been pouring money into mypany, but on the bright side, almost no life is lost during their war.¡±


    Zafrinaughed bitterly. ¡°You squeezed their money, but saved their lives.¡±


    ¡°Two birds with one stone.¡±


    Zafrina and Aldredughed.


    ¡°There are stillpetitors though. Ever since I opened the business, there have been more than 5panies trying topete with me.¡±


    ¡°Are they any good?¡±


    ¡°Well, they are nothing at first, but they are improving rapidly.¡±


    ¡°You cannot have the monopoly forever.¡±


    ¡°I know. I don¡¯t intend to, but I am sure, I will still be the top contender.¡±


    ¡°What if a Diamond Rank made apany and can make better things than you?¡±


    ¡°There are. My selling point is quantity, speed, and price. A tinum Rank or Diamond Rank can make something better than my golem for sure, but they cannot match my quantity, price, and production speed.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I can make my own mana crystals. Although they are not as powerful as the real mana crystal, they are more versatile and almost cost me nothing to make.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a walking gold mine, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Then you all better start digging.¡± Aldredughed.


    After chatting with his wives, Aldred opened up a portal to tell Tarrar to set up a golempany on the sea market.


    There was a small problem¨Cdistance. Tarrar couldn¡¯t store the gold coins if it was too far away, and he could not rely on Aldred all the time.


    Thankfully Tarrar had a solution.


    ¡°A teleportation device?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It cost a lot, but it will be more than worth it,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°Alright, I will trust you with the details.¡±


    Tarrar nodded. ¡°I have to say, this sea fruits business is really a good idea. Maybe I can further expand to different exotics foods or items.¡±


    ¡°I like that idea. Do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°You trust me that much?¡±


    ¡°All I see is good resultsing from you. How can I not trust you that much?¡±


    Tarrar shrugged.


    ¡°How¡¯s the business?¡±


    ¡°As usual. Somepanies offered us to coborate and merge.¡±


    ¡°What do you tell them?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Are you not interested in coborating with them?¡±


    ¡°Bah! Those guys are useless. If we coborate, they will make us do 70% of the work.¡±


    Aldred and Tarrar chatted about the business a bit. The ie from the threepanies: Aldred¡¯s Golem Mercenary, Aldred¡¯s Golem miner, and Aldred¡¯s Tasty Food were enough for Aldred to do anything.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Tarrar started. ¡°Gold coins might seem good, but there is a better currency out there that is not within our reach yet.¡±


    ¡°Mana crystal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that, but there is something better out there.¡±


    ¡°Like this sea token?¡± Aldred showed him a token.


    Tarrar¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yes, like that one. Some things cannot be bought with gold coins. And those things are the good stuff.¡±


    ¡°I understand. If we want the good stuff, we need to have a better currency.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I believe it¡¯s not good to think about it now. Maybe we can discuss it again after you enter tinum Rank or Diamond Rank.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    After some small talk, Aldred walked to his boat and returned to the mothership with his wives.


    Bartrem and the soldiers returned as well.


    ¡°What did you guys buy?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Some fruits, and a couple of sea essories,¡± Bartrem replied. ¡°Some of them can even increase my speed. Just like an actual treasure.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Aldred bit into a sea fruit.


    [You have received one teleportation point]


    ¡®Eh?¡¯


    Teleportation points: 2/4


    He could get a teleportation point by eating fruit?! That was shocking. A teleportation point could let him open a portal anywhere in the world and teleport to pre-set teleportation points.


    He had used two: one in Folineley City, hispany headquarters, and the other one was on his mothership, The Devourer.


    With an extra teleportation point, he could set it up to another ce for any kind of function such as a golem factory, or simply storage where he could dump anything he found in that ce.


    ¡®I should eat more of these fruits.¡¯

 300 Chapter 300

    Aldred leaned on his chair on the front deck with the morning sun above him.


    ¡°Dear, say aaa,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Aaa.¡± Aldred opened his mouth as Mary fed him a sliced sea fruit.


    He had been eating the fruits since yesterday, hoping for something to happen. Maybe he could get another teleportation point.


    The sea fruit was sweet in his mouth and made him feel happy. It didn¡¯t give him any new ability or point but he liked that it brought joy into his life.


    Mary smiled at Aldred. She put a slice of fruit to her lips and closed her eyes, enjoying each bite.


    ¡°So where are we going now?¡± Mary asked before feeding him another fruit.


    Aldred chewed and swallowed. He summoned his astrbe, and the arrow still pointed to the east. ¡°We¡¯re still going east.¡±


    He frowned.


    Mary noticed that and asked: ¡°Is there any problem?¡±


    ¡°Well, usually we have to pass through a bunch of hurdles to reach the destination.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we face pirates and sea monsters on our way here?¡±


    ¡°We did, but I am not sure if that¡¯s part of the test or not. What do you think Ste?¡±


    ¡°It might be. The world might manipte the right circumstances for the pirate to attack when you are near the ind.¡±


    ¡°The pirate attack was weird,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°Lord Rurcam said that the pirates never attacked before, but now they suddenly changed their minds?¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± Aldred said. ¡°They even used all of their fleets to took over the ind even though Lord Rurcam had given them tax money for years. They basically earned money for doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s a pretty good chance that everything we have been faced was a part of the test?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Aldred replied.


    Zafrina sat on top of him and smiled. ¡°You have been eating this sea fruit a lottely.¡±


    ¡°Last time I got an extra teleportation point by eating it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t you tell us that?¡± Zafrina grabbed a slice of fruit and put it in her mouth before kissing Aldred and feeding him through her mouth.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°It tastes even sweeter than before.¡±


    ¡°You flirt.¡±


    ¡°The weather is getting hot. Let¡¯s go for a swim.¡±


    ¡°Sure, dear.¡± Zafrina stood up and helped Aldred get up from his chair.


    Aldred was currently wearing beach clothes and his wives wore bikinis.


    Of course, there was nobody on this deck to see them except Aldred. Bartrem and the soldiers were on the lower deck.


    Aldred jumped into the pool and his wives followed.


    ¡°Ahh, that feels good.¡±


    Kiara giggled before she swam to Aldred and held his shoulder.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°You look so cute.¡±


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°You too.¡±


    Kiara blushed. She looked at his lips and thought about how sweet they would taste. Even though she had kissed him many times before, and Aldred even plucked her peach a couple of times in bed, she still felt butterflies in her stomach whenever she was around him.


    ¡°Can I kiss you?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Why do you need to ask?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can kiss me whenever you like, Kiara.¡±


    Kiara leaned forward. Her red lips nearing his. Eventually, she kissed him on the lips, and savored the taste. It was fruity.


    She released the kiss, licked her own lips, and kissed him again.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you today?¡±


    ¡°Is me wanting to kiss you wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Kiara smiled and pecked him over and over again.


    While Aldred was kissing Kiara, he suddenly saw the Red Devil Skull mothership in the distance. His eyes widened, but the ship was not there.


    ¡°Was it an illusion?¡± Aldred activated his godly eyes, and his sight zoomed in and scanned the area.


    There was nothing. Despite that, he felt like his senses were telling him something.


    ¡°Aldred?¡± Kiara called. ¡°Is there something over there?¡± Kiara turned her head to see what Aldred saw.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    After Kiara ended her bombardment of kisses, Aldred swam around and y with his wives.


    ¡°Aldred, don¡¯t pull my underwear.¡± Mareona hit his head.


    Aldred and his wivesughed as they swam around.


    ¡°Guys, check this out.¡± Sophia moved her hand, and the water in the pool moved around her before forming a small horse with a horn. The water horse galloped on the water.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    They were amazed.


    ¡°I think I can do something like that.¡± Aldred make a graceful pulling motion with his right hand, and the water morphed into a horse as well.


    The horse then chased Sophia¡¯s horse.


    ¡°Oh, are they going for a race?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Go faster, Sophia. Don¡¯t let Aldred¡¯s horse catch up to you.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s horse sped up, but Aldred¡¯s horse was much faster and caught up to her. His horse then leaped on top of Sophia¡¯s horse, and then they mate.


    ¡°Ehh¡­..¡±


    They all looked at him. ¡°ALDRED!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just water horse.¡±


    ¡°Krista is here!¡± Mira scolded.


    Aldred then looked at Krista who was staring at the mating water horse with stars in her eyes.


    ¡°Big sis, what is that horse doing?¡± Krista innocently asked.


    ¡°They¡­ they are having a fun race. Yes. They are racing.¡±


    ¡°Racing¡­ sounds fun.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­ you can say it¡¯s fun.¡± Mira didn¡¯t know how to reply to that, so she just said whatever came to her mind.


    They yed in the pool all day until the sky darkened.


    Aldred and his wives wiped their bodies with a towel and wore a new set of clothes. He looked proudly at his wives who were so beautiful. He could stare at them all day and he wouldn¡¯t be bored.


    ¡°Why are you looking at us like that?¡±


    ¡°You guys look beautiful.¡±


    They all blushed at hisment and secretly felt very happy at the same time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed.¡±


    They all entered the bedroom and told Krista a fairy tale to bring her to sleep. After that, they made love all night.


    Satisfied, Aldred closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 301 Chapter 301

    Aldred opened his eyes, and saw that his room was dark. He wanted to reach out for the mana gem to get some light, but a lightning shed, the light entered through his window, and a silhouette of a man appeared.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Aldred asked. He stood up and moved away from the bed to prevent the attacker from attacking his wives.


    ¡°Have you forgotten about me already?¡±


    A mana gem activated, creating a dim light showing the figure of a man with muscled arms and brawny frame. He was tall with a middle-aged appearance. He had hazel hair and a sculpted chest with no beard or mustache.


    The man stabbed the wall with his right hand, and then moved towards Aldred. His hand dragged through the steel, crumbling and breaking it.


    ¡°Do you remember me now?¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Pharder. You cannot harm me. I am protected by the curse.¡±


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s not me who will take your life.¡±


    Thunder boomed and lightning blinded his eyes with light. Aldred closed his eyes and then opened them. Then he realized he wasn¡¯t in his room anymore, he was on the front deck of his mothership with a violent storm raging the sea. Rain drenched the floor.


    Aldred frowned as his eyes locked into the distance. A pitch-ck ship sailed through a giant wave and pierced through it. On that ship there was no one but one man, and that man stared at him from miles away.


    ¡°Simond?¡±


    Simond raised his hand and shouted something that Aldred couldn¡¯t hear. But after that, the pitch-ck mothership fired an orb of dark energy at him.


    Aldred widened his eyes as the dark energy approached. His eyes filled with terror when he saw the amount of terrifying energy in it. And when the orb came close, he shouted: ¡°NO!¡±


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and shed at the orb. ¡°Stop!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°STOP!!¡± Aldred woke up in bed with his wives looking at him worriedly.


    ¡°Aldred, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Mareona approached him and asked. ¡°You¡¯re sweating.¡± She wiped the sweat off his face.


    Aldred was confused at first, but then he realized. ¡°I think I just had a nightmare.¡±


    His wives sighed in relief after hearing that.


    ¡°You made us worried there, dear.¡± Zafrina hugged him.


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Aldred,¡± Ste said. ¡°You must be so scared. But we have a little surprise for you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Ste waved her hand, and a table with a bunch of tasty food appeared. ¡°Tada, we have prepared all of this for you.¡±


    ¡°You guys made all of these?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We asked (forced) Bartrem to teach us how to cook.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s heart melted and all of his fear and worry disappeared. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    His wives all hugged him and said: ¡°Families don¡¯t say thank you to each other.¡±


    Aldred blushed and scratched his head.


    Ste pulled him. ¡°Come, my dear. Let me feed you.¡±


    ¡°No, let me feed you,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°No. Me.¡± Sophia shoved them away.


    ¡°It¡¯s my turn.¡± Mareona pushed her to the side.


    ¡°Big brother. Can Krista feed you?¡±


    His wives went silent after that and they all looked at Krista. She smiled sweetly.


    ¡°I guess we can let Krista feed Aldred first,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Krista giggled and grabbed a small spoon before feeding Aldred a cake.


    She identally put a cake on Aldred¡¯s cheek. ¡°Sorry big brother.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Aldredughed.


    ¡°Krista will clean it for you.¡± She kissed Aldred¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°There you go, big brother.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Krista.¡±


    ¡°Un.¡± Krista nodded with a smile and fed him more cakes.


    After eating the cakes, Ste, Mary, Mareona, Mira and the others took turns to feed him.


    As he was happily eating, Ivette¡¯s body shone.


    Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.


    ¡°Ivette, you¡¯re glowing.¡±


    Ivette didn¡¯t notice it at first, but she looked at her hands and noticed that light came out of her body. ¡°What is happening?¡±


    Mira frowned. ¡°Someone is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Someone? Who?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the person who gave you that power.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s good if he¡¯s looking for me. I can finally say my thanks.¡±


    After that, Krista and Kiara glowed as well. Different from Ivette, their light didn¡¯t have an aura of holiness.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you two?¡±


    Ste casted a spell on them, and glowing runes appeared in front of her. She read the runes and furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°Someone is looking for the both of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Who?¡±


    ¡°My Lord, we detect a fleet ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°What fleet?¡±


    Burchard showed Aldred a projection. Frowning, Aldred stared at the projection with mixed feelings.


    ¡°The Red Devil Skull.¡±


    ¡°That pirate again? Why are they chasing us?¡±


    ¡°My best guess is the Duke defeated them, and now they are chasing after us for revenge.¡±


    ¡°What a petty pirate.¡±


    ¡°Burchard, tell everyone to prepare for battle.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet loaded the shells to the cannon and aimed it towards the west. They were all ready to fire at any time.


    The Red Devil Skull Mothership roared and shook the ocean. And then it fired.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°My mothership is not as weak as before.¡±


    The Devourer moved all of its 92 main cannon to the west, and sted one shell after another.


    It then projected a protective shield to the other ships, protecting them from enemy attack.


    Meanwhile, the pirate¡¯s ships were sunk one by one.


    As the battle ensued, another mothership appeared from the distance.


    Aldred frowned as he walked to the railings. Activating his godly eyes, Aldred¡¯s eyes zoomed in miles away and saw a pitch ck mothership that he saw in his dream. On the hull of the ship carved the name of the ship; Dark Eater.


    When his eyes went to the deck, he saw Simond was there staring at him. What he brought wasn¡¯t just a fleet of ships, but an entire dark storm whenever he sailed.


    It was exactly like his dream.

 302 Chapter 302

    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet deviated half of their firepower to the oing fleet.


    All the ships that came with the Dark Eater mothership were painted ck as well, unlike the pirates who didn¡¯t have any specific color but a simple red skull g for identification.


    Dark Eater fired a bunch of dark orb and it sted against the magic barrier, shaking the sky.


    ¡°That ck orb consumed a lot of our mana crystals! We are running at 79% capacity.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred opened both of his palms and created hundreds of mana crystals per second. ¡°Worker golems! Bring all these crystals to the storage.¡±


    The worker golems came by the hundred, and they scooped in tons of mana crystals before they left one by one to the storage.


    Aldred looked at the projection, and the mana capacity of the battleship kept on decreasing.


    ¡°We cannot stay on the defensive.¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± He summoned his 2 clones. And they all stood in front of him. ¡°Ste, teleport them as close as possible to the enemy ship.¡±


    ¡°But the ships are too far.¡±


    It¡¯s okay. Just do it as close as you can.¡±


    Ste nodded and teleported his 2 clones about 27 kilometers from the enemy ships. They were teleported in the sky.


    ¡°Are you nning to let them swim to their motherships?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°No. That¡¯s not the n.¡±


    The 2 clones set up a teleportation point in the sky. One for The Red Devil Skull, and one for Dark Eater.


    The two fleets detected his clones in the sky and quickly bombarded them with explosive shells.


    The sky was filled with explosions and his clones werepletely destroyed.


    ¡°Those guys are truly vicious.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°But I can be even more vicious than them.¡±


    Aldred summoned his clones again, and told them to open the portal in front of the main cannon.


    ¡°Burchard, direct the aim of your cannons into the portal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    When the fabric of space was ripped, and a portal appeared, therge cannons on the ships moved around until they aimed at the portal.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    After dozens of sky-shattering sts, the shells all went into the portal and appeared above the pirates fleet and Simond¡¯s fleet.


    This was Aldred¡¯s n. Open a portal in unexpected locations and fire the cannons there.


    The result was a destruction unlike many others.


    Dozens of warships were sted and sunk deep into the sea. Even the two enemy motherships suffered significant damage.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Serves them right!¡±


    ¡°My lord! There¡¯s an enemying in from the portal.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred looked at the portal and saw there were pirates and soldiers with powerful gearing in from the portal.


    ¡°Fire at them!¡±


    The main cannons started sting, and a lot of the soldiers inside the portal were killed, meanwhile the rest were trying to find the crew of the mothership.


    ¡°Kill everyone here!¡±


    But to their shock, there was no one on the mothership.


    ¡°Where are all the crew?¡±


    ¡°This ship doesn¡¯t need a crew. It¡¯s run by golems.¡±


    A fighter golem appeared from the hallway, standing 2 meters tall with a giant de in its hand. Its two cold-blooded eyes made the pirates and the soldiers shiver.


    And then numerous golems came out from the hallway, staring at them.


    ¡°Destroy these golems and find the captain!¡±


    The pirates and the soldiers charged at the golems, but what happened next was an outright massacre.


    The golems charged forward with thundering steps, raising their giant rare quality des and shed down, cutting 8 people at once.


    Blood spattered with screams and cries of their victims.


    But for Aldred, this is just an ordinary day to him. He simply stood there, watching the ughter without emotion.


    ¡°My Lord, the enemies are attacking us through our own portals.¡±


    ¡°Stop attacking. I will close the portal. Move the cannons to the appropriate trajectory.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    Aldred closed the portal, and the cannons moved to their position before firing again.


    As the two continued to fire shells at each other, they also closed the distance as time passed.


    Aldred didn¡¯t n to back down. He would end this battle once and for all and consume their motherships to strengthen his own.


    ¡°Aldred, you are cause for my master¡¯s wrath. For that he sent me to you with a small fraction of his power,¡± a mechanical voice said.


    Aldred looked at the projection and saw an enormous mechanical fleet apanied by mechas, helicopters, jets, battleships, aircraft carriers, and numerous other advanced vehicles.


    All the ships opened their missile pods, and fired to the sky. It made a trail of smoke before it arched towards Aldred¡¯s fleet.


    Explosions arose as they struck the barrier. The barrier was unstable for a few seconds, but it repaired itself.


    ¡°Fuck! We have to fight three fleets now?¡±


    He didn¡¯t. Because another fleet appeared in the distance. The mothership was the shape of a gigantic golden lion with majestic mane. On the side carved: King of Beast.


    A lion-man walked to the front deck and his voice boomed: ¡°My name is Xoros Goldenbelt. Stranger over there, please hand over our princess.¡±


    ¡°Princess? What princess? The fuck are they talking about?¡±


    Mary frowned. ¡°Is it possible?¡± She looked at Kiara.


    ¡°Kiara is a princess?¡±


    Kiara stepped back. ¡°No. I am not. Don¡¯t let them take me. Please, don¡¯t let them take me.¡±


    ¡°Calm down. I will not let anyone take you from me,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are a princess or not, if you don¡¯t want to go, then I will do anything and everything to prevent them from taking you.¡±


    Soon after, a holy light sted from the sky and exploded the water as a fleet of white, bright, shining ships appeared out of nowhere. On the lead, arge mothership with a giant cathedral on top was brightly shining, blinding everyone nearby for a moment.


    ¡°Mister Aldred, please hand over our most valuable member of the church.¡±


    ¡°What is it this time?¡±


    ¡°Please handover Sister Mira to us.¡±

 303 Chapter 303

    ¡°Mira?¡± Aldred asked.


    Mira frowned when she saw the mothership. ¡°Holy Cathedral. That is the Grand Holy Fleet! The Holy Montcresia has sent one of their naval fleets!¡±


    ¡°They mentioned your name. What will you do?¡±


    Mira frowned. ¡°I will talk to them.¡±


    Aldred nodded and gave her themunication crystal. ¡°Believers from Montcresia, my name is Mira. I am grateful that you went out of your way to look for me, but I leave on my own ord. Please don¡¯t attack this fleet for I am not being captured.¡±


    ¡°LIES!¡± the bishop of the Holy Cathedral replied. ¡°They also took our hero candidate, Ivette. We have to rescue Sister Mira and Ivette.¡±


    Mira¡¯s face turned grim. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to believe us.¡±


    ¡°They believe you,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But they choose not to. Something is weird. What do they want from both you and Ivette?¡±


    Another fleet appeared in the distance, and leading the fleet was a gigantic mothership with wide bright wings that spread to both sides, sending a breeze towards the back which sped up the entire fleet.


    Rachel frowned. ¡°That¡¯s one of Paphia¡¯s mothership: Grand Flight! And that is the Glorious Paphia Fleet!¡±


    ¡°Sir Aldred! We are thankful that you found our dear princess Krista. Now please hand her to us.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± Aldred asked in confusion.


    ¡°There is no time for questions, Aldred. Those guys areing at us!¡± Ste shouted.


    The Mechanical Fleet charged forward while bombarding Aldred¡¯s mothership.


    But then something happened, the Bestial Fleet from the Leonin race also attacked the Mechanical Fleet.


    It was said that Ceraisia and Duria contributed to Torvenia¡¯s downfall. This led Xoros Goldenbelt to attack them.


    Not only that, but the Glorious Paphia Fleet also attack Simond¡¯s fleet, and both of them also attacked the pirates.


    And now, everyone was shooting at each other.


    That was a relief for Aldred. If they all worked together to fight him, he wouldn¡¯t survive for long.


    But even so, the battle went on for days with all the ships firing shells at each other and explosions ringing endlessly.


    The sea raged, shaking with submarines bombarding each other with magic torpedoes and mechanical torpedoes.


    One mechanical submarine sent a special torpedo at a magic submarine, and when the torpedo exploded, it created some sort of electromaic field around the area. At first, nothing happened, but suddenly, all the submarines nearby were crushed by a mysterious pressure.


    A whirling sound echoed deep in the water, and all the sea creatures exploded into the blood.


    Magic torpedoes were hurled at each other and the explosions created sting waves in the water and on the surface.


    One torpedo created a typhoon of water within the ocean and swept the mechanical submarines, mincing them into pieces.


    While the submarines and warships fought within and on top of the water, golems, mechanical drones, aircraft, magic beasts, and even magic puppets swarmed the sky and crashed against each other.


    The mechanical drones and aircraft fared fairly well against the others with their seamless synchronization system. They were able to work with each other with urate calctions and adapt to the situation much faster.


    But nobody held an advantage against one another.


    The sea raged on for more than a week until all the fleets were at close range.


    That was when the next phase began.


    ¡°Mister Aldred,¡± Thinker¡¯s voice came from the mechanical fleet. ¡°You have enraged my master, and he demanded you to give me the ring.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°Response received. Initiating n B: Tactical Force.¡±


    Numerous mechas appeared on the deck and leaped onto The Devourer.


    ¡°Give me the ring, and we will leave.¡±


    ¡°Get the fuck off my ship, and I will not pull your memory chip!¡±


    ¡°Threat detected. Proceed to attack.¡±


    The mechas raised their hand, and blue light shone from their shoulders to their arms and end to their hand before a long sword materialized out of nowhere.


    The sword was enveloped by lightning, and it created a trail of smoke in the air.


    ¡°Fighter golems, attack!¡±


    Thousands of fighter golems came out from the hallway with their rare-grade armor gleaming under the sun.


    They raised their magic sword and shed, shing des with the mechas.


    ¡°Aldred, the pirates are boarding our ships!¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Kill them. Kill everyone that boards my ships!¡±


    Ste and all of his wives nodded before they charged toward the pirates and ughtered them.


    Bartrem lifted his cooking grill and threw it at the pirates. ¡°Soldiers! Attack!¡±


    As the motherships were shooting giant shells at each other, the infantry made their way to the motherships of their opponent and attacked everything they see.


    Aldred opened a portal. Thousands of fighter golems, gunner golems, and artillery golems rushed in.


    The gunner golems fired a storm of fire bullets at the enemy. The mechas were rained upon with their armor making a nging sound.


    ¡°Long-range threat detected. Proceed to eliminate.¡±


    The mechas squad shone and leaped towards the gunner.


    Unbeknownst to them, a group of fighter golems were ready to intercept them and defended the gunner golems.


    The golems used all of their weight to crash onto the mechas. The sh was heavy because the golem¡¯s entire body was made out of rare-grade treasure. This made them heavy and highly durable.


    But the mechas were no ordinary mechas as well. They were made out of refined materials and the technology within them was not to be underestimated.


    The mechas raised their fist, and a super-hotser sted forward, cutting the golems in half.


    Aldred summoned his three clones and willed them to fight.


    Soon after, all of the mechas and pirates were killed under the sharpness and ruthlessness of the Phantom Doomde.


    The sea was covered in debris and blood.


    The battlested for another week, and now all of their protective barriers had run out of mana or energy.


    ¡°The magic barrier is down! Prepare for impact!¡± Burchard shouted.


    That was when the full firepower of every mothership was felt. Shooting in close proximity with each other, the shells punched through the armors of the motherships and exploded.


    A shell struck the deck he was on, and he was sted to the sky. When hended, he summoned his clones again and ordered them to refill the mana crystal in the storage room.


    ¡°If this keeps on going, all of us will die here.¡±

 304 Chapter 304

    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mary shouted and approached him. She lifted him. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I am fine.¡±


    ¡°Your arm¡­¡± Mary looked concerned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will grow back.¡± Aldred looked at his left arm which was sted in half, but slowly growing back again.


    ¡°My Golden Gear is useless against the attack.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take the shells head-on. You know even a Diamond Rank would feel threatened by a warship.¡±


    His wives then came to him, panicking as they saw his wound.


    ¡°I am fine. Don¡¯t worry. Let me make it grow faster.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s arm grew immediately with pale skin.


    They all let out a sigh of relief after that.


    ¡°We should stay inside. We cannot fight this battle anymore,¡± Mareona said.


    Suddenly, Aldred pushed all of his wives to the side and summoned his golden shield.


    A dark orb sted against his shield and Aldred was knocked eight meters away.


    ¡°Simond!¡±


    ¡°Simond?¡± Mary, Mareona, and Bartrem all looked at the man with the dark sword.


    ¡°How did he get this powerful?¡±


    Aldred frowned and his eyes shone. ¡°That sword. I don¡¯t know where he got it, but that sword is feeding his body with power.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, you will die here!¡± Simond shouted.


    ¡°Why do you want to kill me so much?¡±


    ¡°I know your n to support the Empress. I will not let you give women a ce on the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just let them do whatever they want?¡±


    Simond red at him. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand. Now die!¡± Simond charged forward and shed, creating an arc of dark energy that shot towards Aldred.


    Aldred¡¯s body was wrapped in majestic golden armor, and a terrifying aura spread out from him. ¡°I am much stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°So do I!¡±


    They shed against each other, and a shockwave pushed both of them by three steps.


    Suddenly, a giant mechanded on the deck with a loud boom. It aimed its two gigantic guns at Aldred. ¡°Handover the ring, and my army will retreat.¡±


    ¡°The Empress gave me that ring. I cannot give it to anyone.¡±


    ¡°The Empress?¡± Thinker sent the data to his master. ¡°Order received: obtain the ring at all cost.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred thought hearing that the Empress owned the ring would make them retreat, who would know that they were more motivated instead?


    Whoever the master was, he had to be one of the top elitists in Duria.


    ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Simond shouted. ¡°He¡¯s mine. And after I finish him, I will destroy you as well.¡±


    Thinker nced at Simond. His robotic eyes scanned him up and down. ¡°You have an interesting sword. Unfortunately, my master is not interested. Let us work together to take him down. You can have him, and I can have the ring.¡±


    ¡°No. That ring will not be yours. Since the ring is from the Empress, then it¡¯s the property of the Ceraisian Empire.¡±


    ¡°In that case, you are to be eliminated.¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    Thinker fired two missiles at Simond and exploded with arge me. The robot also fired an electric at Aldred.


    Aldred cut the, and punched forward, sending a giant fist of mes that erged as time passed.


    Simond came out of the explosion with his des devouring the me. He swung at Thinker, sending out a wave of dark me.


    ¡°Eater Skill: Dark me!¡±


    The dark me engulfed the mechas, but then they saw the mechas floating in the sky.


    ¡°Targets locked. Firing all missiles.¡±


    Right after that, Thinker¡¯srge mecha fired hundreds of missiles from its back and they headed straight to Simond and Aldred.


    Simond and Aldred cut all the missiles and devoured the mes.


    But then, a neernded on the deck. He was the lion-man with defined muscles all over his body and a majestic mane over his head. ¡°Return the princess!¡±


    ¡°What princess? Didn¡¯t you try to kill her before? I will not hand her over to you.¡±


    ¡°Then you will die!¡± Xoros Goldenbelt rushed at Aldred and pounced.


    ¡°You dare!¡±


    Xoros¡¯ body stopped in mid-air, and he couldn¡¯t move a muscle.


    And then he was mmed to the ground before he was thrown into the sky.


    ¡°Attack him!¡± shouted Aldred.


    Rachel nodded and pointed at the lion-man falling in the sky. She had been trained thesest few weeks by Aldred, Ste, and Sophia. With their resources now, it was so easy to make Rachel be stronger than ever before.


    ¡°Burning Light!¡±


    ZIIING!


    A small streak of light shot towards the sky and pierced through the lion-man.


    Xoros widened his eyes in shock, but that shock quickly turned into rage. ¡°Bastard!¡±


    His whole body turned bloody red, and he kicked the air beforending on the deck, sending out a massive shockwave that pushed everything nearby.


    He bared his fang before his eyesnded on Kiara. ¡°Princess Kiara¡­ please return to the kingdom with me.¡±


    Kiara stepped back. ¡°No. I don¡¯t know who you are.¡±


    Xoros frowned and he nced at Aldred. ¡°What did you do to her?¡±


    ¡°I did nothing. It¡¯s you who wanted to kill her.¡±


    ¡°Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°A lion-man warrior by the name Parthos Goldenbelt.¡±


    ¡°Parthos¡­? He¡¯s my little brother! That fool!¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you ordered your own little brother to kill Kiara? And you want me to hand her to you? Fuck off!¡±


    Xoros grumbled. ¡°You know nothing. I will take her back with or without your consent.¡±


    Xoros rushed on all four towards Kiara, but Aldred blocked his path. ¡°Get out of the way.¡±


    ¡°I will not!¡± Aldred raised his de and shed at the lion-man, but a de blocked his attack.


    It was Simond. ¡°I am your enemy, Aldred. Don¡¯t be distracted.¡±


    That was when a masked person leaped from the sky and attacked him. It was York, the pirate admiral. ¡°I am your enemy, Aldred. You destroyed my fleet!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! Everyone is my fucking enemy!¡±


    Suddenly, an old man with grey hair slowly floated in the air andnded on the deck. ¡°My name is Bishop Horris. Sister Mira, please return and bring our hero candidate with you.¡±


    ¡°Bishop Horris,¡± Mira replied. ¡°Ivette is here on her own decision, and so am I. So you can leave without us.¡±


    ¡°I cannot do that, Sister Mira. If I don¡¯t bring back the two of you, then I have to destroy this whole fleet.¡±


    And then a tall, handsome man pped his white majestic wings before he gracefullynded on the deck with dozens of winged soldiers.


    ¡°Princess Krista.¡± He knelt followed by the guards behind him. ¡°Please return home.¡±


    Mary looked at Krista. ¡°Do you know them?¡±


    Krista hid behind Mary¡¯s leg and shook her head.


    ¡°None of them wanted to leave, so can all of you fuck off?¡± Aldred said.


    The winged man ignored him. ¡°If that is the case, then I have no choice but to take you by force.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°I am sick of all of you. I will not let them be taken away. I will stand by your path and die fighting!¡±


    He summoned three of his clones, and they stood beside him. He raised both of his arms, and arge portal opened behind him along with shadows moving around as his undead army came out.


    ¡°Bastard, if you want to die thene at me!¡±

 305 Chapter 305

    As Aldred summoned all of his cards for the battle, his wives ran to him.


    ¡°What are you doing? Get out of here!¡±


    ¡°We will not let you fight alone!¡± His wives shouted.


    Everyone including Kiara stood beside him.


    ¡°Ivette,¡± Bishop Horris called. ¡°You are our hero candidate. Pleasee with us and return to the fathend.¡±


    Ivette shook her head and brandished her snow-white sword. ¡°My ce is here. I am thankful that the church give me this power, but I cannot go to Montcresia yet.¡±


    ¡°What about you Sister Mira?¡±


    ¡°I also cannot return to the abbey, Your Excellency.¡±


    ¡°Have you all lost your mind? This is an order by the church. How can you defy the church?! Fine, if you are noting with me willingly, I will use force.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency, please don¡¯t use force and return to Montcresia. I will someday return after I finish my journey.¡±


    ¡°Is your journey more important than the church, Sister Mira? Have you possibly lost your faith?¡±


    ¡°I would never.¡±


    ¡°Your action doesn¡¯t dictate that.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstood me. My intention has always been to spread hope all over the world, and this boy can help me do it.¡± She looked at Aldred.


    ¡°He¡¯s a Ceraisian!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s different.¡±


    ¡°They are all the same! They all love killing! This is yourst warning. Return or you will no longer be considered as our own.¡±


    Mira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°I am sorry, Your Excellency. I cannot lie to my heart.¡±


    ¡°Then so be it.¡±


    The old man raised both of his arms. ¡°Holy Magic: Battle Warrior zer!¡±


    A holy light crashed upon him from above, and when he stepped out, a body of white me zed around him. He then red at Aldred. ¡°It¡¯s because of you. You poisoned their mind. I will kill you and cleanse their soul.¡±


    ¡°I will kill you before you can do that.¡±


    ¡°We will see.¡± Bishop Horris charged forward, raising his right arm. Suddenly, a bright fire burst forth from his arms and it formed into a zing sword of white fire.


    ¡°Holy Magic: zing Cut!¡±


    SHIIING!


    Aldred raised his shield and blocked the attack. White a me burst in every direction, but he was unscathed.


    Frowning, Ste reached out with her hands and sted the bishop with her spells. Star particles flew everywhere creatingrge explosions.


    Aldred was about to rush forward, but Simond appeared and disrupted him. ¡°You have too many enemies.¡±


    ¡°They are your enemies too,¡± Aldred said.


    Simond, Bishop Horris, York, Xoros, Thinker, and winged-man rk all considered each other enemies and wanted to kill each other.


    Xoros pounced on Thinker¡¯srge mecha and attacked ferociously with his ws. ¡°Fucking Duria¡¯s robots! I hate your kind!¡±


    Thinker fought the lion-man and their battle was worth a story on its own.


    Aldred roared, and shed at Simond, cutting three of his fingers.


    Simond took a few steps back and saw the blood leaking out from his fingers.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who can regrow limbs.¡± Simond raised his left hand, and all of his fingers grew.


    York jumped at Aldred and swung her scabbard. Aldred hated the guts of these pirates. She was a woman but wore clothes that made her look like a man. Not to mention she wore a terrifying red skull as a mask.


    ¡°Why did you chase me this far?¡±


    ¡°At first, I am looking for revenge, but now I want that ring as well.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Simond roared and kicked her.


    York raised her leg, blocking the kick.


    ¡°That ring belongs to the Ceraisian Empire. I will not let anyone take it.¡±


    ¡°Fuck. It¡¯s just a ring. It has no special effect. All it can do is make you indestructible for a few seconds. And I heard there will be consequences, although I don¡¯t think that is true.¡±


    Bishop Horris was shocked when he heard that. With trembling lips, he said: ¡°Ring of Doarus¡­ that¡¯s one of the abilities of that ring. Who gave you that?¡±


    ¡°Ring of Doarus?¡± York nced at Aldred. ¡°Give me that ring.¡±


    ¡°No. Even though it doesn¡¯t have much use, the Empress gave it to me, and I will protect it.¡±


    Meanwhile, Thinker heard that and sent the information to his master.


    Even Xoros, the lion-man, stopped attacking Thinker after hearing the name of the ring. ¡°Ring of Doarus? That ring of myth?¡±


    Aldred stepped back. ¡°Why do you want this ring so much?¡±


    ¡°You know nothing, boy,¡± Bishop Horris said. ¡°Give me that ring. It will do you no good keeping it.¡±


    ¡°The more you all want it, the more I want to protect it.¡±


    Bishop Horris frowned. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s kill him first before we fight for the ring.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Simond said. ¡°I will not let any of you have the ring.¡±


    Bishop red at him. ¡°If that is the case, I will kill all of you first.¡±


    Bishop Horris suddenly shed in front of Simond.


    Simond snorted and shed at him, and their de shed.


    One was dark, and the other was light.


    ¡°Light kills dark. Have you ever heard of that?¡± Bishop Horris said.


    Suddenly, the bishop widened his eyes as blood trickled from his lips.


    When Horris fell to the floor, Simond saw the masked pirate standing with a bloodied sword.


    Without a word, the pirate rushed forward and attacked him.


    Simond frowned, but he didn¡¯t say anything and parried all the attacks before performing a counterattack.


    York gracefully leaped backward and pointed the sword at him. She fired the trigger, firing a small steel ball at Simond.


    Simond was shocked by that. He didn¡¯t expect the sword was also a long-range weapon. Raising his sword, he blocked the ball. His feet dragged backward for a few meters.


    ¡°You have grown, Simond.¡±


    Simond red at the masked pirate. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me, filthy pirate!¡±


    As Simond and York fought, Aldred was fighting against three people: Xoros, Thinker, and Commodore rk.


    Simond saw this and was about to attack the people that attacked Aldred. He cannot let anyone take the ring.


    But York blocked his path.


    ¡°Get out of my way!¡±


    ¡°Not until you defeat me.¡±

 306 Chapter 306

    Simond tightened the grip on his sword. ¡°Get out of my way or die, pirate!¡±


    York didn¡¯t say anything but simply raised her sword. That was when Simond couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk again, and they fought.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was struggling.


    A shell crashed into the ship and exploded a part of the building. The debris fell, and Aldred used that chance to counterattack.


    There were four Aldreds now, and they all moved around the dust and debris, making it hard to spot.


    ¡°Now!¡± Aldred rushed at Commodore rk along with his three clones.


    The handsome winged man could not react quickly enough. He managed to block three attacks, but Aldred sliced one of his wings off.


    ¡°Ahh! You cut my wings!¡±


    Aldred snorted. ¡°I will cut your balls if I can.¡±


    rk was terrified that Aldred would do what he said. So he turned around and ran.


    ¡°Big mistake.¡±


    Aldred and his clones used blood teleportation to surround rk and they pushed their Phantom Doomde from four different directions.


    ¡°How dare you¡­¡± The handsome winged man red at him as blood spilled from his lips. ¡°The winged men will not forgive you for this. They will hunt you down.¡±


    ¡°Not if no one lives to tell the tale.¡± Aldred spun and beheaded the man.


    ¡°Cih! So that¡¯s where you are.¡± Xoros stepped out from the dust cloud. ¡°I will take the ring from your dead body and bring back the princess with me.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a need to tell me your reasons? Because I don¡¯t even ask.¡±


    ¡°It means you have to give them to me or die, you uncultured brutes!¡±


    ¡°How dare you call me uncultured! Let it be known that I once had a full disk with cultured material: Lolicon, milfs, step-sister, 2D girl, 3D girl, and even 5D girl. You name it, I have it!¡±


    Xoros raised an eyebrow. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Aldred cleared his throat. ¡°Nevermind. Uneducated filth like you doesn¡¯t deserve this knowledge.¡±


    Xoros grunted like a beast who was about to pounce on its prey. ¡°I will kill you! Bestial Spirit! Give me strength!¡±


    The lion-man roared into the sky, and his whole body burst out with a bloody aura. That was when blood-red armor wrapped around his fur, and scaly vambraces fitted onto his arms.


    ¡°I will mince you to pieces, and devour you!¡± He kicked the ground and rushed forward at high speed.


    Aldred almost couldn¡¯t react to his movement, before he tilted his head. He couldn¡¯t even see the w attack as blood sttered from his cheek.


    Aldred took a few steps back and activated his godly eyes. He didn¡¯t have the chance to activate it earlier.


    ¡°You have a good battle instinct. I apud you for that.¡± Xoros nced at Aldred¡¯s clones.


    ¡°And these clones¡­ they are as strong as you. But my bestial spirit is powerful enough to fight them all.¡±


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Aldred sneered. ¡°Let me show you something. Blood Lust!¡±


    Aldred and his clones¡¯ eyes turned crimson red, and the Blood Lust aura came out from their body. Their hair stood on end, and their muscles contracted, ready for battle, ready to kill.


    ¡°What is this power?¡±


    It didn¡¯t stop there. The Phantom Doomde detected the Blood Lust, and its spirit meter went to the maximum while the de¡¯s outline glowed red, indicating that the Spirit Outline was at the highest level. This meant that each attack had the ability to reduce the enemy¡¯s level by consuming some parts of their soul.


    The maximum Spirit Meter was like special mana that let him perform soul-cutting techniques. These techniques could almost pass through any defense.


    Aldred and his clones vanished into thin air, shocking Xoros. And then they appeared around him, with their des raised high.


    ¡°SPIRIT SLASH ONCE!¡±


    ¡°SPIRIT SLASH TWICE!¡±


    ¡°SPIRIT SLASH THRICE!¡±


    Aldred performed threebo attacks, and they paralyzed the lion-man. His body could not move at all in that short time frame, but it was enough for Aldred to execute his final move.


    ¡°SPIRIT THRUST!¡±


    Aldred shed forward and stabbed Xoros¡¯ abdomen. He pulled the de, leaped into the sky, and mmed the de down. ¡°Ultimate Attack! SPIRIT DOWNWARD SLASH!¡±


    All Xoros saw at his final moment was the terrifying de touching his skull, and then the sound of countless sharp des mincing his whole body.


    But his body was still intact, and yet lifeless.


    Aldred watched a light-green ethereal gase out of Xoros¡¯ body and it got sucked by his Phantom Doomde. It was the soul of the lion-man.


    Aldred took in a deep breath as he could feel his strength increasing.


    ¡°NO! BROTHER!¡± A lion-man appeared from the distance and saw his own brother slowly crumble into dust.


    Aldred recognized him. ¡°Parthos¡­¡±


    He felt slightly bad now. He had met Parthos before and taught him some stuff before, so Aldred could even consider him as one of his students. He was quite a good student too.


    ¡°I am sorry,¡± Aldred said.


    Parthos fell a tear from his eyes. A single tear before he stood up and nced at him. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, Master. He died an honorable death. A warrior must die in battle. I understand that you are merely protecting yourself, but as a brother, I must avenge him.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    ¡°Apologize, Master. I have considered you to be my teacher, and always will be.¡± He shed forward and thrust his spear.


    Aldred stepped to the side, dodging the spear, but the spear suddenly turned into a shing attack.


    The spearhead grazed his chest, but his golden armorpletely nullified any damage.


    Aldred stepped forward and stabbed. The spear-length de went through Parthos¡¯ body.


    Parthos spat out blood.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, Master. I am honored to die in your hands.¡±


    ¡°Do you really have to do this? I can let you live if you leave this ce.¡±


    Parthos shook his head. ¡°If my brother dies here, then so will I.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Since I consider you as my student, let me give you mercy.¡±


    His Phantom Doomde quickly sliced Parthos¡¯ head, and then his clones minced his head until it burst into blood mist.

 307 Chapter 307

    After Parthos¡¯ body fell and slowly crumbled into dust, Aldred set his sight to the side and noticed arge mecha approaching him.


    York and Simond were still fighting in the distance, and their battle didn¡¯t seem like it would end soon.


    ¡°This is your final warning,¡± Thinker said with his robotic voice. ¡°Give me the ring.¡±


    ¡°Your speech changed,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It was more robot-like before.¡±


    ¡°My master has improved me. Making me more¡­ human. He said that I need the creativity of a human to solve problems, and require me to ignore some of my calctions.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a fool for that.¡±


    ¡°HE¡¯S NOT A FOOL!¡± Thinker shouted. ¡°I apologize forshing out. This attachment called ¡¯emotion¡¯ is uncontroble sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Since you are more human now. Do you feel pain?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°You should thank your master for that.¡±


    ¡°I figure you will not hand over the ring?¡±


    Aldred shook his head.


    After that interaction, they both went to each other and fought.


    ¡­


    Simond shed forward. Dark energy violently moved around him and crashed in every direction, but the masked pirate masterfully dodged all of his attacks.


    He had been fighting with this pirate for a while now, but this masked woman was so skilled.


    York gracefullynded and fired. A steel ball came out of her sword. This was one of her special weapons. It worked very well when the enemy didn¡¯t know it could fire a projectile, but after that, it became an effective distraction for the enemy.


    Simond had always been wary of that weapon, and so he dodged to the side. York leaped at him and swung her sword down.


    Blocking with his de, Simond shed towards the mask.


    York took a few steps back. Suddenly, a crack appeared on the mask.


    She immediately retreated to her ship.


    Simond snorted. ¡°Filthy pirate.¡±


    He turned around and saw Aldred looking at him.


    Simond noticed a broken giant mecha beside Aldred. It was damaged very badly.


    ¡°You cannot defeat me,¡± Aldred said.


    Simond frowned and stepped forward until he saw a lot of women standing beside Aldred. They all exuded a powerful aura of their own.


    He then saw thousands of golems and hundreds of powerful undead around him.


    Simond grunted. ¡°I wille back for you.¡±


    ¡°You think I will let you leave?¡±


    Aldred shed forward and shed, but his de went through Simond as he turned into a dark mist.


    After a second, he was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°He teleported. That sword gives him the ability to do it.¡±


    ¡°Finally, he¡¯s gone.¡±


    Aldred jolted and raised his de as he looked to the side. It was the masked pirate York!


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡±


    ¡°I want to join you.¡±


    ¡°Ha?¡±


    ¡°I said I want to join you.¡±


    ¡°I heard you, but why?¡±


    ¡°I believe you can obtain the treasure.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°And you think I will let you join my fleet?¡±


    York snorted and calmly approached him. Aldred took a step back, wary of her.


    She ignored his wariness and caressed his shoulder. ¡°Did you forget what you did to me on my own mothership?¡±


    ¡°Is this the part where you tried to kill me with the main cannon?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s the part where you ask me to blow your rod.¡±


    ¡°You offer it to me!¡±


    ¡°You said, you would join me if I do it.¡±


    ¡°Not my fault that you believed it.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± York lifted off her mask, revealing her beautiful face.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Mary asked as she approached them.


    ¡°And you, why are you still here?¡± Mary pointed at her.


    ¡°She wanted to join us.¡±


    ¡°HA?!¡±


    ¡°I have the same reaction,¡± Aldred said.


    Mareona stepped forward and pointed a sword at her. ¡°You tried to kill Aldred, and now you want to join us? You think we are stupid enough to let you do that?¡±


    York smiled. ¡°What if you put a ve spell on me.¡±


    ¡°We still wouldn¡¯t let you join!¡±


    ¡°Why are we still talking? Let¡¯s kill her now,¡± Sophia said.


    ¡°Everyone, wait.¡± Ste walked forward with a smile. ¡°You know, our dear Aldred left a sweet memory on her.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°She had sex with Aldred.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you guys before?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°When did you tell us?¡±


    ¡°I am pretty sure I told you guys after we made love.¡±


    ¡°They were asleep, Aldred,¡± Ste said. ¡°I am the only one who knows about it.¡±


    ¡°But why would you make love with a pirate?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I asked the same thing at that time.¡± Steughed. ¡°Apparently she tried to convince Aldred to join her using that method.¡±


    ¡°He said, he will join me if I do it.¡± York pointed at Aldred.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t use me of anything. You guys don¡¯t believe that right?¡±


    Meanwhile, his wives were staring at him with a knowing look.


    ¡°But still, she tried to kill us before. We can¡¯t just let her join us,¡± Sophia said.


    Ste smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what she said earlier? She¡¯s willing to be put on a ve spell.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°We need an experienced and capable sailor. Burchard and the captains are good, but they are fairly new. This pirate knows the troubled water for years. We need her as our guide,¡± Ste said.


    Everyone was silent.


    Mira nodded. ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°What? Mira, not you too,¡± Sophia said.


    ¡°Do you remember who you were before, Sophia? You were once our enemy, but what happened after you joined us?¡±


    ¡°She became one of our greatest allies, a friend, a family,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Mira nced at York. ¡°I see something within her eyes. She¡¯s yearning for something. Possibly love, a family maybe.¡±


    They all looked at her.


    ¡°Did she fall in love with Aldred?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t me her,¡± Kiara said while crossing her arms. ¡°Anyone would fall for him after doing that in bed.¡±


    York blushed, but she didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°So do you all agree for her to join us?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°I guess so,¡± Mary replied.


    ¡°But remember the ve spell,¡± Sophia said.


    And everyone agreed to it after some hesitation.


    ¡°What about my opinion?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Your opinion will not be heard in this situation. We will decide if she is a good girl for you and our family.¡±


    Aldred could only scratch his head after that statement.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Ste looked at her. ¡°What was your name?¡±


    ¡°I go by the name York, but my real name is Mally.¡±


    ¡°Mally, since everyone agreed to let you join, I will cast an envement spell on you.¡±


    Ste smiled and summoned her half-broken disc. It projected a light that scanned Mally¡¯s entire body and turned her clothes transparent.


    Her sexy body was revealed, and Aldred nodded a few times. ¡°I still remember it like it was yesterday.¡±


    Mareona flicked his forehead.


    After detecting no magical treasure to cancel the envement spell, Ste raised her staff.


    ¡°Call Upon The Stars: Absolute Obedience!¡±

 308 Chapter 308

    Aldred¡¯s battle against many other fleets was seen by a lot of merchant ships passing by. The news spread that on the southern sea of Duria, there was a major battle between fleets.


    A lot of people came with their own private ships and stayed at a safe distance to watch the battle. It had been decades since a naval battle thisrge urred, and since there were many epic stories about sea battles, almost everyone wanted to see it.


    A ship exploded from the distance, and the people gasped in shock. Some cheered and apuded for such an amazing show.


    ¡°What ship is that?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s from one of the winged-man races.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, nice explosion.¡±


    ¡°That fleet from Ceraisian did most of the killing.¡±


    ¡°There are two fleets from Ceraisian. Which one are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The ones with a steel wood. You know, powerful magic steel that looks like wood. Wait, now that you mention it, why are those two fleets from Ceraisian fighting each other?¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±


    The man was silent at first, then he realized. ¡°Ahh, right. The Dragon and the Phoenix conflict.¡±


    Soon after, all of the fleets began to retreat.


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re stopping already?¡±


    ¡°They have fought for more than a week now, so they must have run out of supplies.¡±


    After the battle ended with all the fleet losing dozens of ships, the audience named the battle ¡®Raging Sea¡¯ due to how destructive the battle was to the surrounding ocean.


    Not only was it destructive, but it was also personal as the motherships approached and boarded one another.


    A lot of money was being made because of this battle. People with ships rent the ships to wealthy people and offer them dinner and fine wine on the ship as they enjoy the scene.


    Sadly, after the battle ended, these people had to find a different way to make money.


    Nevertheless, everyone got a good show, and the ship owners got a big chunk of money.


    ¡­


    The conclusion of the battle was Aldred won and everyone else was defeated, although with a huge cost. The Devourer received significant damage to its upper deck, and especially to the cannon deck.


    Its hulls were fairly intact as it was the strongest part of the mothership.


    Three important figures died in this battle: Bishop Horris, Xoros Goldenbelt, and Commodore rk. These three were very influential in their nation, and their death might bite Aldred in the ass.


    And sure enough, right after the battle, Tarrar reported that their tax had been increased, and almost everything was taxed. From transportation, collection of minerals, and transactions. Everything.


    It was also said that Paphia funded Aldred¡¯s rivalpanies to create something better and possibly cheaper.


    Aldred didn¡¯t feel threatened by the second part, but the meaning was clear¡ªPaphia considered him an enemy.


    ¡°After I help them stall the bugbear¡­ is this how they repay me?¡±


    Tarrar further reported that their expansion to Torvenia, the nation of the leonine race was stopped. And their shadowpany in Montcresia was also banned because they found out Aldred was the real owner.


    This was their way of punishing him. By giving him sanctions on his business.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t worried about that. He got a big customer in Thignia where Zafrina¡¯s father personally helped his business. Not to mention there were a lot of nations on the east side that needed his product and service.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Tarrar¡¯s voice came from themunication crystal.


    Aldred had given him one before, so he now couldmunicate long distances.


    ¡°Expand anywhere we can, and flood the ck market with our product. They cannot sanction me that way.¡±


    ¡°They will be angry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my intention. I want to let them know that even if they banned me, they will see my product in their everyday life. Make sure you produce a lot of worker golems and make them cheaper. I want my golems to be everywhere.¡±


    Aldred was nning to sell his golems like drugs. They can be banned, but could not be stoppedpletely. Sure they might fine or imprison his customers, but there will be people who are smart enough to use his golems effectively and discreetly.


    His worker golems were more efficient and obedient than a ve. Anyone in this world would have a use for ves, especially ones that could never tire,in, felt hunger, and cold. They didn¡¯t need shelter from the environment, and they could be treated as objects. Literally.


    With that advantage, the government would never seed in stopping its product from entering the nation.


    Aldredughed maniacally.


    ¡°What are youughing about, Aldred?¡± Mareona asked. ¡°What do we do with this girl?¡± She pointed at Mally who was known as York before.


    Aldred looked at her from top to bottom. She was beautiful and petite.


    Standing up, Aldred crossed his arms and pretended to think. ¡°I got an idea.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s bring her to bed. She must be so tired after all of that fighting.¡±


    ¡­


    Deep within the sea, a mighty creatureid dormant with hundreds of its eyes closed shut. If one saw the size of its tentacles, one would be terrified, but if they looked closely, they could see that there was a door under its body.


    ¡­


    A fishing boat sailed past.


    ¡°Joger! We should turn around and leave this ce. This ce is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of fish here. We can catch a lot of them.¡±


    ¡°You fool! Haven¡¯t you heard of that thing?¡±


    ¡°What thing?¡±


    The man approached him and dragged him to a corner. ¡°A lot of ships never return from this ce. I heard this ce is cursed.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. Listen to me. Do not believe any of that stuff. We will cast our here and catch a lot of fish.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just listen to me?¡±


    ¡°I am sick of listening to you. It¡¯s your turn to listen to me.¡±


    ¡°I am your big brother!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! You were born five seconds before me. It doesn¡¯t count!¡±


    As they argued, something moved and shaded them over the sun.


    When they turned around, their eyes widened, their skin turned pale, and they aged 50 years at that moment as their skin wrinkled like paper, and their knees turned weak.


    That thing approached, and soon, the whole ship vanished.

 309 Chapter 309

    After the Raging Sea battle, Aldred and his wives had decided to let Mally, the former leader of Red Skull Pirate, join them.


    After they brought her to the bedroom and talked all night, Aldred and his wives more or less knew how to treat her.


    After that night, they decided to let Mally be Burchard¡¯s assistant.


    Burchard stared at the projection, looking out for any threats to the fleet, and overseeing the scrap collection projects.


    Since Aldred won the battle, and the enemies had fled, all the ships which sunk into the seabed were theirs to collect.


    Every day, tons and tons worth of materials were lifted and stored on the cargo ships.


    As he was doing his job, as usual, the door to the bridge sted open. Mally entered the room with thumping steps, chest puffed, and chin up like she owned the ce.


    ¡°How¡¯s the project, Commodore?¡±


    Commodore Burchard sighed. Aldred said that Mally would be his assistant, but for thest few days, Mally would never ept any order from him and instead would order him around.


    ¡°The project goes well as usual.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now go and make me a cup of coffee.¡±


    ¡°I am the Commodore of this fleet. I don¡¯t think making coffee is part of my job.¡±


    Mally red at him and slowly but intimidatingly walked toward him. ¡°You¡¯re now under me, Commodore,¡± She said thatst word with sarcasm. ¡°And now my order is part of your job.¡±


    ¡°I am above you in the hierarchy.¡±


    Mally grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down to his knee. Staring at him, she said: ¡°Not anymore. Now bring me my coffee before I p your teeth.¡±


    Burchard sighed and obeyed. He wanted toin about this to Aldred, but Mally could be considered to be one of his harem members. Burchard had seen her entering Aldred¡¯s bedroom before.


    As Burchard left the bridge, Mally nced at the door and smiled. ¡°Aldred thinks he can fuck me and run away? Now I am in control of his fleet! Hahaha! Let¡¯s see, what can I do to annoy him? Should I block the toilets? Or rece the drinkable water with seawater? Hahaha, there are so many ways to annoy him.¡±


    Meanwhile, Aldred and his wives were in the bedroom, hearing everything she said.


    ¡°So she¡¯s still upset about that apparently,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You fucked her in her own ships, and then escaped. How can she not be mad?¡± Ste said.


    ¡°She got a point,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°I am surprised she didn¡¯t n to kill you, and instead just annoy you,¡± Mareona said.


    Suddenly an rm activated in the bedroom and water came from above, making Aldred and everyone there wet.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Mally¡¯sugh came through Ste¡¯s magic mirror.


    His wives were annoyed.


    ¡°Aldred, if she keeps doing this, our life on this ship will not be peaceful anymore,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Go apologize to her, Aldred. If not, she will keep annoying us.¡±


    ¡°That is true. We will leave now. Make sure you talk to her, okay?¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Aldred sighed as his wives left the bedroom.


    Aldred looked at the magic mirror, watching Mallyughing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± Aldred teleported inside themand center using blood teleportation.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here. How do you like your bed wet?¡± Mally said.


    ¡°Can we talk?¡±


    ¡°What is there to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Aldred held her hand.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Aldred hugged her and teleported the both of them inside the bedroom.


    Mally retreated a few steps. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Hey, youe here to join me. Why are you annoying me instead?¡±


    ¡°You fucked me that night, and you want all the goodies?¡±


    Aldred looked at her in silence for a few minutes. ¡°Okay, I am sorry. How can I make it up to you?¡± He asked sincerely.


    Suddenly, Mally didn¡¯t feel anger anymore when she saw his eyes. She could feel that he really felt bad for what he had done to her.


    ¡°You want to stab me?¡± Aldred asked. He summoned the phantom Doomde. ¡°Use this to stab me if you want to.¡±


    Aldred approached her and handed her the de.  ¡°Come and stab me if that will make you feel better. But don¡¯t kill me though. Just make me feel pain.¡±


    Mally grabbed the de and raised it above her head.


    Aldred took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But then he heard a nging sound, and a warm sensation wrapped over him.


    When he opened his eyes, he realized that Mally was hugging him. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the deal? Didn¡¯t you want to annoy me earlier?¡±


    Mally pouted, but her cheeks turned red. ¡°I don¡¯t want to annoy you anymore.¡±


    ¡°So you will be a good girl now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the way you say it.¡±


    Aldred smiled and grabbed her ass. ¡°Will you be a good girl?¡±


    Mally blushed. ¡°I am not falling for that again.¡±


    ¡°I thought we enjoyed each other that night. Are you not?¡±


    Mally didn¡¯t reply, but her embarrassed expression could not lie.


    ¡°No wonder you wear a mask all the time.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± she looked to the side, but her hands were still holding onto his shoulders.


    Aldred pulled her closer and whispered. ¡°Do you want to do it again tonight?¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything, but a small nod was enough for Aldred to understand.


    Aldred squeezed her ass which made her body jolt, and her cheeks turned red even more. She almost looked like a tomato at this point, and Aldred couldn¡¯t help but think that she was cute.


    In front of him was not a pirate leader who ruled the middle southern sea. Right now, she was just a woman. A woman who desired his love.


    Aldred kissed her on the lips. Mally let him do what he likes without any resistance. Her hands were held, and she feltpletely vulnerable. Slowly, she was pushed to the wall and Aldred continued to kiss her.


    Mally¡¯s mind was in turmoil, but his lips tasted so sweet, and she couldn¡¯t have enough of them. Her body heated up, and Aldred continued to kiss her even harder.


    A low moan came out of her lips as Aldred sucked them. Her heart thumped, wondering why she felt this way. That night, when Aldred fucked her, this sensation would ovee her as well.


    As she was being kissed, Aldred¡¯s hands went to her buttocks, caressing her long legs, and then lifted her up with her back still on the wall.


    Aldred¡¯s crotch area came into contact with her as they kissed. Mally wrapped her hands around his head and kissed back.


    Soon after, Aldred put her down on the bed and told her to put her knees and hands on the bed.


    She obeyed, and she could feel her pants being pulled down from behind.


    After her pants went all the way down, Aldred approached and whispered into her ear. ¡°Do you want it rough?¡±


    Mally was silent at first, but she replied softly: ¡°Yes.¡±

 310 Chapter 310

    Mally felt Aldred¡¯s fair hands on her rear. She felt pleasure just being touched by him, and a secondter Aldred pulled her panties down, revealing her beautiful buttocks as a whole.


    Running his hand on her pearl-like ass, Aldred lightly pped it, making Mally moan. Even though Aldred had a lot of women now, he still felt turned on by Mally¡¯s beautiful ass.


    He gently caressed it for a while and he felt Mally trembling in pleasure. Aldred put both hands on her ass and squeezed into her buttcheeks. It was soft like bread. Hard to imagine that a powerful pirate like her would have an ass like this.


    Mally moaned while blushing. The pleasure ran from her butt and into her whole body. She couldn¡¯t describe how it felt, but Aldred managed to find all of her sensitive spots and used enough strength to stimte them.


    And she wanted more of that.


    ¡°Aldred¡­ Don¡¯t stop. Give me more.¡± She turned around and looked at him with a pleading look as her eyes filled with lust.


    Mally felt nothing but lust right now. All of her annoyance towards Aldred was thrown out of the window. She didn¡¯t feel nervous, but simply impatience about why Aldred hadn¡¯t put his rod inside of her yet.


    Just thinking about his rod made her cave wet, and Aldred saw the juice trickling slowly.


    ¡°Let me warm your body first,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    Aldred put his finger inside her cave. At first, he only put one finger and pushed it back and forth. Mally moaned, but she didn¡¯t feel satisfied. So she moved her ass vigorously.


    Aldred smiled and understood that she was very impatient so Aldred put three fingers in and fingered her cave.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­. I cannot wait anymore. Aldred, put your rod inside me. Put your rod in and fuck me!¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Aldred pulled his pants down and immediately put his rod inside her wet, juicy cave.


    The length and width of his rod entering her cave made Mally¡¯s eyes roll to the back of her head due to pleasure.


    She recalled the same sensation she felt when Aldred fucked her the first time on The Red Devil Skull. It was an unforgettable experience.


    Aldred pushed his rod in and out for hours on and they even changed positions a couple of times. One of Mally¡¯s favorites was when Aldredy on her back, and she moved up and down as his rod dug into her cave. She could control how much pleasure she wanted to feel by controlling her speed. If she wanted it more, she would do it faster.


    Aldred enjoyed the position as well. His personal favorite was from the back, as he enjoyed the sight of her ass, but the view of herrge breast from below was fine as well.


    After hours of intense pleasure, Aldred decided that it was finally enough and pushed his rod in before injecting her with his seeds.


    Mally trembled. Aldred pulled out his rod, and the semen leaked out. Mally felt weak and tired, so she fell on his chest, hugging him, as her body still trembled in pleasure.


    Aldred¡¯s chest went up and down as she hugged her and caressed her head.


    ¡°Do you forgive me now?¡±


    ¡°Haaa¡­ Haaa¡­¡± Mally could not reply because she was struggling to breathe. Aldred messed up her cave, and it mess up her mind and body as well. He really treat her rough as she requested.


    Time passed slowly as they embraced each other. Eventually, Mally regained her stamina, and she looked at Aldred with a smile.


    Kissing him on the lips, she excitedly hug him and pressed herrge breast onto his chest.


    ¡°So you forgive me now?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I will only forgive you if we do this every night.¡±


    ¡°The others will not like that.¡±


    ¡°Then let them join us.¡±


    ¡°I guess that will be fine.¡±


    Mally chuckled and kissed him again. Aldred pped her naked ass and squeezed her breast before hugging her.


    ¡­


    The next day.


    In themand room, Mally was sitting on Aldred¡¯sp as the project of collecting the sunken ships continued.


    The Red Skull¡¯s fleet helped as well since Mally had joined them now. Of course, the pirate crew was shocked to see their leader was in fact a woman, but they had zero care. Pirates only care about wealth, and as long as the pay was good, they would even let a pig be their leader.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you rece the pirates with my golem? Those guys aren¡¯t loyal to you.¡±


    ¡°And let you have full control of my fleet? No thanks. I don¡¯t want you to act smug and push me around.¡±


    ¡°You know I can just bribe your crew, right? One of your captains had even defected to me.¡±


    ¡°Humph. Fine. And I do this not because I trusted you. I will make sure I sleep with one eye open tonight.¡±


    ¡°You think I will let you sleep tonight?¡±


    Mally blushed and softly hit his chest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the pool. I am bored in here.¡±


    His wives agreed to that and they cheerfully walked to the pool.


    Commodore Burchard sighed in relief now that hismand center was in his control again.


    With both Mally and Rachel sitting on his shoulders, Aldred ran to the edge of the pool and jumped into the water. His wives joined in and they yed around as worker golems served them snacks and drinks.


    ¡°Is this what you guys have been doing on the ship?¡± Mally asked.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± They all replied.


    ¡°You guys have so much fun, huh? Almost nobody would put a pool on their mothership. This thing is a weapon of war.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s our home as well. I don¡¯t know how long we will be on the sea, but I know it will be a long time, so a pool is necessary if we want to have fun,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°How can you have fun in this dangerous environment¡­? I guess you are an exception.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I am an exception.¡±

 311 Chapter 311

    In the pool, Aldred looked at the astrbe, and it still pointed toward the east. ¡°Hmmm¡­ I am surprised.¡±


    ¡°Of what?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Of how long we are on the sea.¡±


    ¡°Most sea voyages are long and lengthy.¡± Zafrina caressed his muscled chest. ¡°You just have to be patient.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I am morefortable onnd. All these powerful ships that could kill me in one attack terrified me as we fought more of them.¡±


    ¡°They are terrifying indeed.¡±


    ¡°That said, why do I never see them being used onnd to defend a territory?¡±


    ¡°It depends if the territory is worth defending with ship-grade cannons. You know these things cost a lot to make, right?¡±


    ¡°I think I know far better than anyone else how expensive they are.¡±


    Zafrina chuckled. ¡°And it¡¯s actually moreplicated than that. Cannons onnd are targets for sabotage, and there are a lot more ways to sabotage a cannon on a stationary castle rather than a mothership with a lot of sailors and guards. Most warships fight from the distance, and it¡¯s almost impossible to board one another.¡±


    Zafrina looked at him. ¡°And yes, you are an exception, Aldred. The battle a few days ago was very rare too. Boarding the enemy ships is usually out of consideration due to how difficult it is to do that. Teleportation range is limited and not to mention a ship can project an anti-teleportation field. And warships have tremendous firepower to destroy anything thates at it, even if theye at high speed.¡±


    ¡°That is true.¡±


    ¡°When Bartrem and the soldiers followed you and boarded the enemy ships, they were lucky your undead and golems were wreaking havoc on the enemy ships which let them be free of enemy attack.¡±


    ¡°So boarding an enemy ship is a bad idea?¡±


    ¡°A terrible idea to try, but if you seed, then there¡¯s nothing much you can do either when you¡¯re surrounded by sailors with soul re and magic-infused cannon. These two weapons are small enough to move around and can even kill a tinum Rank.¡±


    ¡°And again, I am an exception.¡±


    ¡°Yes. You are an exception to many things.¡±


    ¡°And because I am an exception, I can do this.¡± Aldred kissed Zafrina on the lips for a few seconds.


    ¡°I can kiss one of the most beautiful women in the world, and a daughter of a powerful count.¡±


    Zafrina smiled. ¡°Yes, you can.¡±


    Aldred grabbed her ass and pulled her for another kiss.


    ¡°By the way. What is your n to increase your strength?¡± Zafrina asked after the kiss.


    ¡°I have a Gold Rank Dungeon in the divine dimension, so I have been sending the golems to level up there.¡±


    ¡°Your golems can level up?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but their strength is still affected by what materials they are made of. A level 1 steel golem can probably defeat a level 5 wood golem.¡±


    ¡°Can they reach a level where they are stronger than Gold Rank?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I am not sure, but there has to be a limit. Imagine having a Diamond Rank golem while still in Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    As Aldred and Zafrina were chatting, Mally swam to them and asked: ¡°What do you guys think about Simond?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that guy?¡± Aldred replied. ¡°He¡¯s been our enemy from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a long story, but in short he¡¯s been meaning to kill us when we are still in the army.¡±


    ¡°In what army were you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember, but we were stationed at Ruandeurtin.¡±


    ¡°Ruandeurtin¡­ that fort in the frontline?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ how did you know?¡±


    ¡°You think the ocean is all I know? Anyway, who is the captain there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Pharder. Ugh¡­ just remembering that guy¡¯s name pissed me off.¡±


    ¡°Pharder¡­ sounds like a familiar name.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about him. I hated him to the core. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°I just want to know. And what¡¯s up with that robot? Is Duria hunting you as well?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the whole nation of Duria is hunting for me. I believe it¡¯s just one wealthy man who apparently has a robot that he ordered to take something from me.¡±


    ¡°And he is willing to sacrifice a lot of ships for it? He wanted the Ring of Doarus, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know why a lot of people wanted it. It¡¯s not that special.¡±


    Mally frowned. ¡°Have you used it before?¡±


    ¡°I do. It just makes me invulnerable to any attack for a few seconds. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°And what happened after that? What happened after you used the ring?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. The Empress said there might be consequences, but nothing happened even after a few months. Maybe it¡¯s a little broken, so there are no consequences.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Mally said. ¡°It¡¯s not because it¡¯s broken.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me the ring?¡±


    Aldred lifted his palm and the ring appeared out of thin air.


    ¡°It¡¯s real¡­¡± Mally stared at the ring with mesmerizing eyes.


    Mally reached out with her finger and touched the ring, suddenly terrifying images flooded inside her mind, and her soul shook. She immediately pulled her hand while terrified.


    Cold sweat trickled from her forehead.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Quick, keep it wherever you keep it earlier.¡±


    Aldred put the ring back in his inventory.


    When the ring vanished, Mally let out a breath of relief.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°How many times have you used the ring?¡±


    ¡°Only once.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Listen. Don¡¯t ever, ever take that ring out. Where is the ring now exactly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s somewhere safe,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Keep it there all the time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I used to wear it on my finger all the time until a certain fat guy named Bacon tried to rob me.¡±


    Mally was silent.


    ¡°Are you going to tell me?¡±


    Mally sighed. ¡°For whatever reason the Empress gave it to you, I am sure she must have a strong reason for it.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°That ring possesses a power far more than this world could imagine.¡±

 312 Chapter 312

    ¡°What kind of power?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I am qualified to tell you.¡±


    ¡°I see. So it¡¯s better for me not to use this ring?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I agree as well,¡± Ste said. ¡°When she touched the ring, I felt something terrifying leaking out.¡±


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s terrifying, then it must be true. You¡¯re a Diamond Rank after all.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore.¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred and his wives sailed for months on the open water, killing monsters and dumb pirates who thought they could take on a gigantic fleet with two motherships and more than a hundred warships apanying it.


    Aldred showed no mercy and cleansed them on the face of this.


    Monthster, they saw a lot of fleets entering the Persley Strait. The strait was a narrow canal for ships to pass through. There were some tensions in the air, but not one moved their cannons, so Aldred didn¡¯t do anything.


    He was amazed by the design of their ships, though. All of them were unique, and he even saw some sentient races he had never seen before. One of those races had a crystal on their forehead, and they were looking very attractive and elegant with their unique clothes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Shardmind people,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Shardmind?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Look at the crystal shard on their forehead. They can amplify their power using that.¡±


    Aldred squinted his eyes. ¡°I notice the females have a smaller shard than the males.¡±


    ¡°That is normal. The male¡¯s shardmind tends to be bigger, but the desirable one is a square, blocky-shaped one. That crystal can give them powerful physical strength. As for the female¡¯s, the smaller and narrower one is better. Not only does it lure in a potential mating partner, but it gives the female powerful control over spell and the elements.¡±


    ¡°So smaller is better for the female and bigger andrger for the male.¡±


    ¡°Yes. In their race, most males don¡¯t even think about being a magician, and females don¡¯t even consider strengthening their physique. They were designed to fit in a specific role, and they long had epted it.¡±


    Aldred nodded and noticed that their physique also matched the size of their shard. The males who gotrge shards also had taller heights and bigger bodies. Meanwhile, the females who had narrow and small shards had a petite and slender bodies.


    ¡°Can those shards be strengthened or do you get them from birth?¡±


    ¡°It depends on their talent, but everyone got a small shard when they were born. The age of 15 to 21 years old is when they can reach their peak. After that age, it¡¯s unlikely for their shard to be smaller or bigger.¡±


    ¡°I saw some females who have long and narrow ones.¡±


    ¡°Those are the most talented. The vertically long and narrow shards on their forehead usually mean that they can easily reach Diamond Rank as long as they grow old enough.¡±


    ¡°So you can already see their potential at an early age, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s why the Republic of Selia is one of the strongest nations out there. It even stands shoulder to shoulder with Ceraisian Empire in military might.¡±


    ¡°Why is that the case?¡±


    ¡°They can allocate their resources much better since they know which one has the better talent.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    ¡°They are also very ambitious,¡± Zafrina joined in. ¡°One of my dad¡¯s spies got a hold of their n to attack the west and conquer Yevileria.¡±


    ¡°The bugbear nation? Can they do that?¡±


    ¡°The spy got this information a decade ago, so they are probably preparing for war.¡±


    ¡°If they conquer Yevileria, won¡¯t that mean their border would be next to Ceraisian?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If I know anything about Ceraisian, it is that they wouldn¡¯t let another major power stay close to them.¡±


    Aldred talked about the geopolitical situation as their ships sailed to the Great Lake.


    The Great Lake was a giganticke that bordered threerge nations. On the north was Hofnmoen, also known as the nation of the Lizardfolk. They are once a timid race with their short and weak bodies, but because they live near the ice orc, they evolved into something bigger and more ferocious.


    Now the Lizardfolk was powerful and brave, and fighting is part of their culture.


    Just like the Ceraisian, war is in their blood.


    Their nations weren¡¯t as strong as Ceraisian Empire, however, so they couldn¡¯t really wage war against anyone since their neighbor was the mighty Duria.


    But that didn¡¯t stop them from joining the treasure hunt.


    Their ship sailed past, and Aldred was amazed by its design. The ship looked and felt like a giant lizard as it moved its feet back and forth like it was swimming.


    They were fast as well.


    ¡°The Lizardfolk can be said to be the fastest nation on water, though theyck the firepower needed to dominate the ocean,¡± Ste said.


    Aldred chatted for some time before he pulled out the astrbe. It now pointed to the west which was the direction they sailed, but a few hourster, the arrow pointed down.


    Aldred saw the other fleets also stopping here, so he told Burchard to stop the fleet.


    Aldred walked to the edge of the ship and looked around. The people on other ships did the same thing. They were all wondering why the arrow pointed down.


    ¡°Maybe our destination is below the water,¡± Zafrina said.


    Ste summoned her magic mirror and tried to see what was below them, but nothing appeared in the mirror. ¡°There¡¯s something that blocks my spell.¡±


    Aldred saw people ordering their subordinates to swim down below to check the situation.


    ¡°Send the golems down there,¡± Aldred said.


    Numerous fighter golems dived into the water.


    Aldred closed his eyes, trying to connect his mind with the golems, but it failed. He couldn¡¯t see anything, but he could still feel the existence of his golems.


    ¡°I will send my clone down.¡±


    Aldred summoned his clone, and it entered the water immediately.


    Now he sat and waited for something to happen.

 313 Chapter 313

    Aldred waited and waited, but nothing seemed to happen. He looked at Ste, but she shook her head as well. Seemed like she couldn¡¯t do anything in this situation. Whatever it was down there, it was powerful enough to prevent a Diamond Rank from peering at it.


    Suddenly, his connections with the golems and his clone vanished. He didn¡¯t feel their presence anymore, and the memory that was supposed to enter his mind never came.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±


    Other people seemed to realize this anomaly and discussed what to do next.


    Aldred frowned. This situation was terrible. He didn¡¯t like it when he didn¡¯t know something. Even his godly eyes couldn¡¯t do anything.


    This must be the power of the world itself, which means this must be one of the challenges they had to pass.


    ¡°I am going to dive.¡±


    ¡°What? No! It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just wait for something to happen.¡±


    ¡°Hey, back in Mount Fargon, we waited all the time for something to happen.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s different this time.¡±


    Suddenly a powerful ssh reverberated, and when Aldred turned around his eyes widened.


    What came out of the water were giant tentacles. Larger and longer than any motherships he had ever seen.


    And these tentacles came swinging down.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Numerous warships were cut in half with the sailors within died in an instant.


    ¡°Kill that beast!¡±


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    ¡°Kill it! Kill it!¡±


    All the other ships quickly fired their cannons and dealt significant damage to the tentacles, but right after, the tentacles regenerated as if nothing happened.


    Even when Aldred¡¯s mothership attacked, the tentacles still regenerated as usual.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Kraken!¡± Ste said, astonished.


    ¡°You guys have a Kraken in this world?¡± Aldred asked.


    The ships attacked numerous times but the tentacles never stopped attacking.


    ¡°Fuck, that thing must have a weakness.¡±


    ¡°Big Brother!¡± Krista called. ¡°Attack the eyes.¡±


    ¡°What eyes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in the water.¡±


    Aldred looked down and realized something. ¡°This creature is deep under the water. Burchard! Send the submarines and aim the cannons toward the ocean.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lord!¡±


    Suddenly, a tentacle came swinging at him. The tentacle was sorge that it covered the sky.


    ¡°I will cut you!¡± Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    ¡°Stupid! That¡¯s a Diamond Rank beast!¡± Ste quickly waved her hand and teleported everyone inside the ship.


    The tentacle crashed onto the deck, destroying arge chunk of the mothership.


    Burchard ordered one of the cannons to st the tentacle. The tentacle made a screeching sound as it dipped back into the water.


    And then, all 92 main cannons pointed downward and released shells.


    After the barrage, a loud screeching noise came from the deep water.


    It was a sign that something was working. Soon after, all the fleet nearbying from almost all nations, started firing towards theke bed.


    After thousands of shellster, they all stopped shooting and waited again.


    Sweat trickled from their scalp, and everything was silent.


    And then suddenly, something gigantic rose out of the water.


    With hundreds ofrge eyes on its body, it red at all the ships.


    ¡°Everyone watch out!¡±


    Purple light beams shot out of the Kraken¡¯s eyes. Hundreds of purple beams prated through the ships and exploded.


    The Admirals were of course enraged by this. Their ships quickly counter-attacked and rained the creature with powerful shells.


    ¡°GAAKKK!¡± The Kraken screamed in pain as its body was punched with numerous holes.


    Aldred looked at the projection and recalled Krista¡¯s advice. ¡°Burchard, aim for its eyes!¡±


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet received the order and fired at the eyes.


    When the shell struck, it sted open the Kraken¡¯s head, and all of its brain¡¯s matter was falling like rain.


    With a loud screech, the Kraken copsed with a huge ssh.


    ¡°Look, there¡¯s arge door in the water,¡± Aldred said as he pointed at the projection. Now that the Kraken died, they could see everything in the water.


    The other fleet noticed it too, and they used their submarines to dive into the water.


    But Aldred had something else. The Devourer, Aldred¡¯s mothership, morphed into a gigantic submarine and sank into the water before approaching the seabed.


    When they saw that, they rubbed their eyes in disbelief.


    ¡°Did that mothership just turn into a submarine?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before!¡±


    ¡°Who is Admiral of that fleet?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from the Ceraisian Empire.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of fleets here thate from the Ceraisian Empire. I need something specific!¡±


    Everyone was in a rush to find out who the man in question was. Who was the owner of that ship that could turn into a submarine?


    As they dived into the water, the other submarines quickly gave way and even distanced themselves from him.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Dobbs, I know I can rely on you.¡±


    ¡°My Lord, should I destroy the other submarines?¡±


    ¡°Let them be for now,¡± Aldred said. If he destroyed them now, the fleet on the surface would attack his ships.


    After diving for a few minutes, they arrived at therge entrance. It was a gate facing upward, and it was closed.


    It wasn¡¯t a problem for The Devourer though. After a single barrage, the gate was wide open, and the mothership entered the gate.


    What appeared below was out-of-this-world. Below was a vast sea with magical corals, seaweed, and a school of fish: small andrge.


    Aldred was mesmerized. ¡°So beautiful¡­¡±


    The mothership slowly moved forward in its submarine shape.


    Aldred looked to the side, to the circr window that let in the view from outside. A small green fish was swimming by the window.


    ¡°Ohh¡­ such a cute fish,¡± Mareona said.


    That cute fish looked at her, then suddenly it transformed into monstrous-shaped fish with devilish teeth. It bit the ship, but the teeth failed to prate the powerful wall.


    Burchard quickly sted it with a cannon shell.


    ¡°Okay¡­ so everything here might look beautiful and cute, but that¡¯s simply a disguise,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°We have to make a new rule while we are here. Don¡¯t approach anything small and colorful.¡±

 314 Chapter 314

    The Devourer quickly passed the other submarines and went deep into the sea cave.


    A few minutester, they saw a building in the shape of a pyramid.


    ¡°A pyramid? Wait, it¡¯s a tomb,¡± Aldred said. Aldred looked at the astrbe and the green arrow pointed toward the building.


    ¡°Let¡¯s enter it,¡± Ste said.


    The mothership approached the tomb.


    ¡°The entrance is too small.¡± Mary frowned.


    ¡°We have to swim inside if that is the case,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°But what about the other submarines?¡± Zafrina asked.


    Aldred looked at the projection and noticed a lot of submarines were approaching.


    ¡°Destroy them,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Mira asked. ¡°What if they attack our ships on the surface?¡±


    ¡°Then we should make sure that none of them survived,¡± Aldred said. He took amunication crystal from his pocket. It let out a purple light as Aldred brought it close to his lips.


    ¡°Commodore,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, My Lord?¡± Burchard asked though he already knew what his order was going to be.


    ¡°Make sure no one survives.¡±


    Burchard clicked at all the red dots on the projection. This let the 92 main cannons of the mothership lock onto the targets.


    A few secondster, the cannons thundered, as the shells struck through the deep water without any reduction in speed.


    This was because the shell was imbued with magic, and the material it was made further strengthened that magic. Making it harder, faster, and deadlier.


    And submarines weren¡¯t known for their maneuver as much as their stealth. But that stealth meant nothing under the detection magic of the mothership.


    With their locationsid bare, the shells cruised in the water at a high speed and sted them one by one.


    It was like a firework underwater. Aldred couldn¡¯t really hear the explosion, but he could imagine it in his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go out.¡± Aldred brought his wives, Bartrem and the soldiers, and his golem army out of the mothership.


    The mothership opened its gate, and water flooded in. Aldred swam outside and the gate closed again.


    ¡°Burchard, guard this area, and don¡¯t let anyone get in.¡±


    After ordering that, Aldred swam to the entrance of the pyramid. When he entered, he was shocked to see that the water could not flow past the gate, and he fell to the ground.


    Looking back, he saw the water stopped in the air as if it was blocked by transparent ss.


    His wives and the soldiers entered the tomb, followed by the golems.


    ¡°That was weird,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Nothing is weird in this world of magic, Aldred,¡± Ste replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Aldred chuckled and turned around, staring at the narrow hallway. There were blue crystals embedded on the wall, giving them dim lights.


    ¡°I guess we have to keep walking?¡± Mary suggested.


    ¡°We cannot turn back now,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let me lead the way.¡±


    As Aldred began to walk around the narrow hallway, the sound of ws dragging themselves on rough stones was heard.


    And then there was a growl.


    Aldred frowned. He activated his godly eyes, but they failed to see through the wall. ¡°This challenge is not as easy as before.¡±


    ¡°Mount Fargon is merely the starter level,¡± Ste said. ¡°The real challenge begins now.¡±


    As they were chatting, they didn¡¯t realize that a pair of yellow eyes were staring at them from the ceiling.


    ¡°I wonder what challenge we have to pass. Another riddle? A maze?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I hate riddles,¡± Mareona said. ¡°I prefer we fight monsters.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Aldredughed.


    As he wasughing, Aldred saw somethinging from the corner of his eyes.


    ¡°Heads down!¡± Aldred shouted and summoned his Phantom Doomde as he swung it to the side.


    ng!


    His de shed against therge, stubby leg of a beast.


    The beast opened its long, crocodile-like mouth and roared, sshing saliva onto his face.


    ¡°How dare you spit on me!¡±


    Suddenly, the long tail of the beast snapped from above and attacked Aldred.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Aldred cursed as he watched the tail going after his head.


    ¡°I am not letting you!¡± Mary roared and shed at the tail, making a sound of steel against steel, deflecting the tail.


    ¡°Call upon the star: Circr Control!¡± Ste waved her staff, and a dark purple circle appeared below the beast.


    The circle projected mysterious light, and entrapped the beast, making its muscles struggle to move.


    Sophia buffed everyone else, and they all pounced on the beast. Slicing and cutting it to pieces.


    The beast roared, and it fell to its death.


    Green energy came out of the monster and entered their body.


    [+4 Strength]


    Aldred and his wives looked at each other.


    ¡°We can increase our strength by killing these monsters,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°We should kill more of them,¡± Mary said.


    Mareona nodded. ¡°This is why I like killing monsters from the challenge.¡±


    Aldred agreed to that. One of the reasons why a lot of people participated in treasure hunting was because of the benefit and the test. Solving puzzles and killing monsters would give them extra attributes, stats, or even powerful treasures.


    This motivated everyone toe even though they were not confident they could get the ultimate treasure.


    These benefits made them stronger than their peers of the same rank. A Gold Rank treasure hunter was generally much stronger than a Gold Rank who never participated in this continent-wide event.


    ¡°This tomb is supposed to be raided by thousands of people,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But since we blocked ess to this tomb, we can have it all for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°So that means?¡±


    ¡°That means we can increase our stats as much as we like. Come on, let¡¯s kill some monsters!¡± Aldred shouted and ran around.


    He even summoned his golems and undead to help kill the various monsters within the tomb.


    [+4 Vitality]


    [+4 Strength]


    [+4 Dexterity]


    [+4 Strength]


    [+4 Intelligence]


    [¡­]


    Aldred and hisrades killed hundreds of monsters. It was a ughterhouse with blood sttering all over, and with the help of the golems and undead killing and weakening the monsters systematically, the killing became so much easier.


    But sadly, he found out that the more he killed these monsters, the fewer attribute points he received. After killing more than a dozen or so, he only received one attribute point for them.


    After massacring the monsters, he looked at his attributes.


    Attributes:


    ¨C Strength: 430


    ¨C Vitality: 482


    ¨C Intelligence: 778


    ¨C Dexterity: 407


    Aldred widened his eyes when he saw this. That was because almost all of his stats doubled. His dexterity was once 273 points, but now it was 407 points!


    If his attributes kept increasing, he might even be faster or stronger than a tinum Rank while he was still a Gold Rank. Of course, there were different gap of strength among tinum Ranks as well. Monsters tinum Rank generally much stronger than the average human or any other sentient race.


    But the idea of easily killing a tinum Rank while in Gold Rank¡­ just imagining it would make anyone in the world shudder in fear.

 315 Chapter 315

    After killing the monsters, Aldred continued to walk around with his wives and soldiers following him from behind.


    As they were walking, they saw another group of people.


    ¡°Eh¡­ how could somebody be here?¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You.¡± A man pointed hisrge sword at Aldred. ¡°Where did you enter this ce from?¡±


    ¡°From the sea,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°From the sea¡­ Are you saying that we¡¯re underwater?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°We were falling inside a ravine, and we suddenly appeared here.¡±


    ¡°I see. So there¡¯s another entrance,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Well, that¡¯s normal. It was also the same on Mount Fargon.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to go together?¡± The man asked. ¡°You seem to bring a lot of people there, adding a few more is no problem, right?¡±


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and checked whether they brought something suspicious. He found nothing of the sort.


    ¡°I guess you can go with us, but let me remind you that we are not saints. We will protect ourselves first before thinking about anyone else.¡±


    The manughed. ¡°I prefer it that way as well. Everyone must lift their own weight. My name is Nali. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. Let us pass this trial together.¡±


    Aldred did not reply but nodded nheless.


    The narrow hallway now became wider, and enough for twelve people to walk side by side. The ceiling was taller too.


    Nali approached Aldred with a smile and shook his hand. ¡°I am d I met other people here. This ce is filled with monsters.¡±


    ¡°You killed all of them?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± A petite, beautiful woman said. ¡°Nali is our leader, and he¡¯s a kind man. It¡¯s because of him that we can survive in this ce.¡± She hugged Nali¡¯s arms.


    Nali chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It¡¯s because of all of us that we survive. By the way, this is Bne. She¡¯s my childhood friend, and we have been adventuring together for years.¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± Bne greeted with a cute smile. ¡°Are you a treasure hunter as well?¡±


    ¡°If I am not, I wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    Bne giggled. ¡°You guys look strong.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Bne. Don¡¯t annoy them.¡±


    Bne pouted and softly hit him. ¡°Who said I am annoying?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s set up a camp here,¡± Aldred suddenly said.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Nali asked. ¡°We can keep going.¡±


    ¡°I like to take things slow instead of rushing in. Besides, it¡¯s not about how fast we pass this trial, it¡¯s how far we can go.¡±


    Nali was amazed. ¡°That¡¯s a good saying.¡±


    They then set up a camp in the wide hallway. The hallway was now wide enough for five tents to sit next to each other.


    As Bartrem and his soldiers made campfires, Aldred¡¯s wives sat on the logs while Aldred was inside the tent doing something.


    Suddenly, Bne came with flushed cheeks.


    ¡°Bne was it?¡± Mira asked. ¡°How can we help you?¡±


    Bne hesitated and she squirmed around. ¡°Ummm¡­ can I ask something?¡±


    ¡°What would you like to ask?¡± Zafrina replied while Sophia was gripping her staff, ready to strike.


    ¡°Ummm¡­ If it¡¯s okay to ask, how do you make a man like you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± They looked at each other.


    ¡°I have been waiting for Nali to make love with me, but it¡¯s been years and he hasn¡¯t made a move yet. Now, I wonder if he likes me at all.¡±


    Sophia released her grip from the staff.


    ¡°Ummm,¡± Mary hesitated as well. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly the best person you can ask.¡±


    ¡°That is true. All we did was throw ourselves at Aldred.¡±


    They all nodded at thatment.


    ¡°Throw yourselves at him¡­? Will that work?¡±


    ¡°It worked on him, I don¡¯t know about anyone else though,¡± Mary said. ¡°Aldred is one of a kind.¡±


    ¡°How can I throw myself at him? Do I just pounce on him?¡±


    Sophia shook her head. ¡°Wait when he¡¯s on his bed. At night, when he¡¯s about to sleep, enter his tent, andy on top of him as you stare into his eyes.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­. And then what do I do?¡±


    ¡°And then you lick your lips, and tell him your feeling,¡± Sophia said.


    Bne¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°So that¡¯s how¡­ Okay, I will do that.¡±


    That night, Bne did something she never thought she would dare to do, but desperate for confirmation she did what she had to do.


    ¡°Nali!¡± She called when she opened his tent, and then pounced on him.


    That night, a soft moan could be heard.


    ¡­


    The next day.


    Nali and Bne walked while holding hands with each other. Their faces flushed red because of their activity yesterday.


    Mary and the other women looked at each other with a smile. Bne noticed them and gave them a thumbs up.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Aldred asked his wives.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Mary said.


    Aldred shrugged. He put all the tents in his divine dimension and waited for Nali¡¯s team to clean up.


    ¡°Your power is very convenient,¡± Nali said.


    ¡°Everyone says that.¡±


    After they folded their tent and put it back in their spatial bag, they continued their journey.


    As they walked forward, they heard hundreds of thumping footsteps from the front.


    Aldred squinted his eyes and saw that the hallway was gued with monsters.


    ¡°At arms!¡± Aldred shouted as he summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    Aldred dashed relentlessly and shed with his sword again and again.


    His wives also charged forward and attacked, ughtering dozens of monsters at once, and his fighter golems leaped forward, jumping above their heads andnding behind the monsters before shing left and right.


    They passed a lot of people as they killed the monsters, increasing the number of people in their party.


    They didn¡¯t have time for an introduction however as they fought the monstersing from four different directions.


    Suddenly, a green shadow appeared, charging towards Nali at lightning speed.


    Nali gritted his teeth as he raised his sword and blocked the attack. When he saw the full figure of the monster, he was shocked to see a three-meters tall mantis.


    The mantis was clearly much stronger than him, so he thought of a way to escape.


    ¡°Nali! I will help you!¡± Bne ran towards him with her magic staff.


    ¡°Perfect chance!¡± Nali ran towards her, grabbed her by the cor, and threw her at the monster.


    The mantis shed forward and Bne was suddenly cut in half.


    Bne¡¯s eyes widened as she couldn¡¯t believe what just happened. She would never imagine Nali, her childhood friend, her best friend, and now her lover would do such a cruel thing.


    It was unimaginable, unthinkable, and never in her life would such a thought pass through her mind.


    Time seemed to slow down as her upper body started to fall to the floor. She started to question whether she really knew Nali or not.


    She had been with him for years, but apparently, she knew nothing of the real him.


    Within that short moment, right before her world turned to eternal darkness, she realized that she had been living a lie.


    Ste noticed this but she did not care. She had seen her fair share of betrayals, lies, and cruelty. For her, this was not a moment for sympathy, but merely a natural cycle of survival.


    Sacrificing others for one¡¯s own survival. People might think it was cruel and disdain those who act upon it, but they did not realize that they butchered animals every single day, just so they could fill their own bellies.


    Those who call themselves saints but still feast upon others are nothing but hypocrites.

 316 Chapter 316

    Aldred raised his hands and snapped his fingers. ¡°Fire Combustion!¡±


    Suddenly, all the monsters around him were burned and turned to ash. Some of the monsters were strong enough to hold against his mes, but his wives quickly killed them off.


    And then there was one stubborn monster in the shape of a mantis. Sensing the powerful presence of Aldred, it lunged in blinding speed, but luckily Aldred already activated his godly eyes, so for him, the three-meters tall mantis moved in slow motion.


    Despite this, he had struggled a bit to match its speed.


    ¡°Crazy bastard,¡± Aldredmented. ¡°My dexterity is more than double, but this mantis can match my speed?¡±


    The more he thought about it, the crazier it got. The treasure hunting test would get harder and harder as he went on, but he already struggled in the first stage.


    ¡°Time to go into avatar mode!¡±


    Aldred sped his hand, and a small bump appeared on the floor, making the mantis stumble on it, and lost its bnce.


    Aldred smiled and threw an arc of water razor at it. The mantis reacted quickly, shing the water, and making it ineffective.


    It did this while it was falling to the floor, its movement speed was too crazy.


    Aldred did not give up though, he punched a bunch of times, sending a quick barrage of air punches.


    Therge mantis stabbed the ground and used it as leverage to move its body, dodging all the attacksing at Aldred.


    Its vicious mouth was right in front of Aldred¡¯s face, but the most dangerous weapon came from the side.


    Two sharp, spiky forelegs came swinging at him left and right. If he was hit, there was a chance that he would be sliced in half or suffer significant damage.


    But Aldred wasn¡¯t about to let that happen. He shapeshifted into a Phantom w and activated the ¡®intangibility¡¯ skill.


    The mantis¡¯ forelegs went through him before Aldred morphed back into his adult form and spun, creating a circr arc of crimson light that cut through the mantis¡¯ body.


    The mantis fell, and Aldred stepped on its eyes. ¡°Ughh¡­ I hate bugs.¡±


    [12+ Dexterity]


    ¡°Are you not going to eat that?¡± Mary said. ¡°You can transform into the beast that you eat, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it. It doesn¡¯t have any valuable skills except for its speed.¡±


    ¡°But anything can help.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat bugs.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a scaredy cat and eat it,¡± Mary said.


    Aldred epted his fate and tried to ignore his disgust as he ripped a chunk of the monster, and bit it.


    [You can now shapeshift into Speedy Mantis]


    ¡°Yuck!¡± He spat the mantis meat.


    Mary giggled.


    Fighting against monsters was always a huge risk for anyone in this world. This was because monsters were generally faster and stronger than humans or any other sentient race counterpart.


    Out of all the sentient races, humans were known to be the weakest in speed, strength, and flight, and are always at a disadvantage in harsh environments. But those weaknesses were usually filled with their wit and intellect.


    In fact, humans were so powerful that they could even afford to have conflict among themselves.


    Montcresia, Ceraisian, and Duria were super nations, and all of them were nations of humans.


    The only difference these nations have was their cultures.


    Suddenly, Aldred saw a scrollying beside the mantis¡¯ body.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Aldred picked up the scroll.


    [Would you like to learn ¡®Mantis Martial Art¡¯?]


    ¡°Ohh¡­ it¡¯s a skill book. This one looks weak though.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a skill book about martial arts, but it¡¯s not of good quality.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we will find something better soon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hope so. I am going to keep it. Who knows we can sell or trade it for something.¡± Aldred threw the scroll into his divine dimension and immediately forgot about it.


    He then looked at all the people in the hallway. Other than his group, there were a bunch of other groups as well.


    ¡°I am guessing none of you entered this ce through the ocean?¡±


    They all shook their heads.


    Aldred then looked at Nali, the leader of the first group he met.


    ¡°Where is your friend? I am pretty sure her name is Bne?¡±


    Nali shook his head.


    Ste approached Aldred and whispered to his ear, telling him what happened.


    ¡°He did what?¡± Aldred looked at the man again. He couldn¡¯t believe he would meet someone this cruel.


    If Aldred remembered correctly, Bne was Nali¡¯s childhood friend.


    But this wasn¡¯t Aldred¡¯s problem, however. He wouldn¡¯t avenge Bne, but he wouldn¡¯t treat Nali kindly either.


    Meanwhile, Sophia had been ring at Nali the whole time when Ste told her about the event.


    She hated men that used women however they liked. Although Sophia only met Bne for less than a day, she felt rted to her when she asked for advice.


    She didn¡¯t expect her to die so soon and by the hand of Nali of all people.


    Mira was also enraged as well. Betrayal was such a sinful thing. It was one of the most forbidden acts in the bible, and those who betray their friends or lovers will always be isted in Montcresia.


    Aldred coughed a bunch of times. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±


    Everyone agreed with him. All of them saw how powerful Aldred was. Killing dozens of monsters with a flick of his finger¡­ only a fool would not agree with him in this situation.


    After walking for a few hours, they arrived in front of a massive gate. The gate had dark-blue color with intricate shapes all over it.


    One particr shape took Aldred¡¯s attention. It was a creature withrge eyes, and people worshiped it. The creature looked like a giant eyeball with a tail. And behind this creature were smaller eyeballs.


    ¡°What do you think of these pictures, Ste?¡± Aldred asked.


    Ste squinted her eyes and caressed the image with her tan-skin hand. ¡°I have never seen them before.¡±


    ¡°Since you have never seen them before, these creatures must be hidden or new.¡±


    ¡°The continent never uses the same creature for the test,¡± Ste replied.


    ¡°That exins it. This lets new treasure hunters won¡¯t have the advantage of past information.¡±


    ¡°In some sense, yes,¡± Ste replied.


    The gate creaked. Dust and dirt fell off its surface, and then a small gap appeared on the gate before it made a heavy creaking sound and opened itself.

 317 Chapter 317

    When the gate opened itself, water started to enter the hallway and filled it to the ceiling.


    Aldred had no problem breathing in the water, but the others had to use spells and treasures. Thankfully, his group had no shortages of useful treasures.


    After countless scamming¡ªcough, countless trading, Aldred had amassed enough treasures for any situation.


    Some of the groups he met didn¡¯t have such luxury. They suffocated for a few minutes, and eventually died with their teammates couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    This was the danger and cruelty of this test. The reason why not everyone was willing to participate in this treasure hunting was due to the danger and the high amount of casualties.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t even count how many people died on Mount Fargon, either freezing to death or being eaten by monsters.


    Sophia waved her hands, creating an air bubble around their heads.


    ¡°Do we go in?¡± Sophia asked. She could speak now with the air bubble around her head


    Before Aldred could reply, however, a bunch of water zombies rushed in.


    ¡°This reminds me of that time when therge wasp stung someone, they turned into a zombie,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°That¡¯s cool and all, but are we going to fight these zombies or run away from them?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred sent out a couple of water razors at the zombies, but it only created a small cut on their bodies.


    ¡°Seems like water elemental spell will not work on them,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Icy Spikes!¡±


    A pleasant voice of a woman came from behind, and Aldred saw ten spikes of ice drift through the water at a high speed and struck at the zombies, piercing their heads. Not only that, when the spike hit the head, more ice spikes burst from the zombies, making sure that all of them were dead.


    Aldred was watching all of this with his godly eyes, and he was fairly impressed with the quality of the mana, and the level of mastery over the spell.


    He turned around and saw the woman slowly swimming to the front line, and Aldred raised an eyebrow when he saw her appearance.


    Long silver hair, mesmerizing blue eyes, and her small petite body¡­ if she was put on modern earth, she would be thought of as a celebrity.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t impressed very much though, after all, he had nine beauties apanying him all the time.


    Still, having a lot of beauties didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t look at another one.


    ¡°Aldred, that girl has a better quality of mana than you,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°So her spell is stronger than mine?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she can defeat me?¡±


    ¡°If you are stupid, she can, but you have fought a lot of enemies who are stronger than you before, so I have my confidence in you.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°So there¡¯s someone out there who can match me¡­ interesting.¡±


    ¡°Did you forget about Simond? Didn¡¯t he match you?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°No. His strength relies on his sword. I don¡¯t know what kind of sword that is, but it constantly gave him power.¡±


    ¡°But there are at least sixty zombies there. She only kills ten.¡±


    A crackling sound echoed in the water, and lightning sted through thirteen zombies at once. Aldred looked at the culprit and noticed a man in a metallic, high-technology suit. The suit was thick and bulky with two glowing eyes, and blue energy lines running around its body. Lightning crackled around its hammer, and when the man swung the hammer, the lightning current did not spread and instead headed towards the zombies.


    ¡°Someone from Duria?¡± Aldred asked.


    A Lizardfolk quickly charged through the water as if a bird was flying through the air, he stabbed his trident through three zombies at once, before rotating it, and sted a powerful water cyclone, killing more than a dozen zombies.


    ¡°Another powerful contender.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°This has be even more interesting.¡±


    ¡°Are you bored of weak adventurers, Aldred?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Yeah. The only fun time I had was dueling against Simond,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can ask them for a spar.¡±


    ¡°They might spar with you if you ask politely,¡± Ste said.


    Aldredughed at that and continued to watch the three powerful figures killing the zombies.


    After all the zombies were killed, the power-armored man from Duria, the silver-haired girl ice mage, and the Lizardfolk with a trident looked at each other with wariness.


    Aldred crossed his arms and smiled. This was typical. Anyone would be wary when they saw someone as powerful as them.


    Not for Aldred. He simply thought it was interesting and even eager to have some fun with them.


    The tension between the three increased, and that made the others back away.


    Aldred looked around, trying to find their allies, but apparently, they came here by themselves.


    ¡°These people are brave,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I have never seen anyone enter a challenge site by themselves.¡±


    ¡°They must be one of those hidden genii,¡± Zafrina said. ¡°These people don¡¯t want to be controlled by any major power or group, so they hide and increased their strength alone.¡±


    ¡°They are young too,¡± Ste said. ¡°That young woman is 19 years old.¡±


    ¡°Not as young as me,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You are an anomaly.¡± Ste giggled.


    As the three figures stared at each other, the Lizardfolk spoke: ¡°Why don¡¯t we work together? The three of us can pass this test easily.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± a manly voice came from the power armor.


    The silver-haired girl coldly nodded.


    ¡°What about him?¡± The man in power armor pointed at Aldred. ¡°He can join us. He is powerful enough.¡±


    The Lizardman nced at him and nodded. ¡°Would you like to join us?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Aldred said with a smile.


    ¡°Wait,¡± the silver-haired girl said. ¡°You cannot bring your friends with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you underestimating my friends?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I hate burdens.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°Guys, show them your moves.¡±


    Bartrem was the first to move forward and executed his sword art, shing around, and sending out bloody arcs in every direction.


    The soldiers then followed, doing the exact movement Bartrem was doing.


    The Lizardman widened his eyes. ¡°Impressive¡­ all of them are at the level of Elite Gold Rank.¡±


    Elite Gold Rank is an informal qualification for powerful Gold Rankers. To be identified as an Elite, they must have the power to at least defeat two ordinary Gold Ranks at the same time.


    The silver-haired girl squinted her eyes. It was obvious that she didn¡¯t like to be proven wrong.


    At that moment, a heavy creaking sound came from the side, and they all turned their head toward another gate.

 318 Chapter 318

    When the gate went open, weird creatures appeared. They looked likerge eyeballs around two meters in diameter, and they had a tail.


    [Living Eyes Lv??]


    ¡°Living Eyes?¡± Aldred frowned. Such weird creatures, but they looked just like it because, unlike other monsters, these ones didn¡¯t have scales or tough skin.


    Suddenly, one of the Living Eyes stared at a beautiful girl and fired a light-purpleser beam. To their astonishment, the skin on the face of the girl peeled, revealing the flesh and muscles inside.


    The girl screamed in panic, but the skin all over her body began to peel. Her beauty was nowhere to be seen as blood gushed out.


    An old man was struck by the purple light, and his wrinkled skin turned to prosper, and his face became young again. He could feel his muscles were stronger than before, and his back pain was no more.


    Everyone thought that was a good thing, until the man became younger and younger, became a baby, andstly back to a speck of sperm.


    On the other side, a young man met the opposite fate. Instead of turning younger, he turned older. His fair skin turned wrinkled, and lush hair fell off as white hair reced them. He screamed for help, but it was toote as his body became so dry and skinny, and then he died of old age.


    Everyone screamed in panic, running away from the Living Eyes.


    A petitedy got struck by the beam, and her whole body experienced a vicious mutation. Thick hair grew on her hands, and her mouth elongated, as she turned into a werewolf.


    ¡°NO! I don¡¯t want this. I don¡¯t want any of it! Return me my look!¡± Eventually, even her mind was turned into that of a wolf and she began to thirst for meat.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw that the people who got struck by the beam would get disintegrated, teleported to a random ce, vicious mutation, organ failure, internal bleeding, peeling skin, and even zombification.


    ¡°NO! Somebody, help me!¡± Nali shouted at his friends for help as his young skin wrinkled.


    His friends swam away from him, their faces showed a clear disgust.


    ¡°What are you doing? Quick! Do something!¡±


    ¡°Since you are going to die, we are not pretending to be your friends anymore, Nali.¡±


    ¡°You arrogant fuck! We just follow you around because you are strong. At first, I was simply annoyed by your arrogance, but you throwing your own childhood friend was my limit.¡±


    ¡°Now rot and die, you rat!¡±


    Nali widened his eyes before his whole body became dried and he died.


    A purple beam struck the man in power armor, but the man lifted his arms so an electronic field sted out, and it deflected the beam in another direction.


    ¡°No wonder Duria cannot be underestimated,¡± Aldred said.


    A purple beam came at him at a high speed. Aldred opened a portal in front of him, and the beam entered it.


    Another portal opened itself beside him, and the beam came out, lunging at one of the Living Eyes. Suddenly, the creature shook, and its body slowly turned into stone.


    The stone then cracked as something came out of the weird creature. It was an orb. Aldred used his water maniption to bring the orb to him.


    [Living Eyes¡¯ Essence]


    Consumable


    ¨C Collect the essence to obtain its power


    1/100


    ¡°Ohh, I can turn people into sperms if I collect enough of these? Bartrem, kill them for me.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± the Lizardfolk shouted. ¡°These weird creatures are not as weak or stupid as you think!¡±


    Bartrem and the soldiers did not listen to the Lizardfolk and charged forward.


    The Living Eyes focused their attack on them, but Bartrem shouted: ¡°Cutting Edge!¡±


    It was a signal for the soldiers to send out a powerful arc toward the enemies, and they did it seamlessly.


    Dozens of bloody red arcs shot toward the purple beam and devoured it before the arcs struck the Living Eyes. The struck creatures were minced to pieces.


    The bloody red arc that wasing from the skill ¡®Execution Strike¡¯ had been further improved. Not only did it cut anything it passed through, but it could also now explode in powerful energy that dealt shing damage around the area.


    So when the arc cut a chunk of the creature¡¯s body, an explosion followed it up, and further cut the body into smaller pieces.


    The soldiers kept on using ¡®Execution Strike¡¯, sending wave after wave of arcs.


    All the creatures were killed, and Aldred took all of the orbs.


    [Living Eyes¡¯ Essence]


    Consumable


    ¨C Collect the essence to obtain its power


    78/100


    ¡°Nice,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let¡¯s find more of them. I cannot wait to have a skill that can turn someone into a sperm.¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Just because.¡±


    After Bartrem and his soldiers cleared all the monsters, the man in power armor, the Lizardman, and the silver-haired girl could not help but nod in amazement. To gather this many Elite Gold Rank, and make them obedient was a tough endeavor.


    Elite Gold Ranks were arrogant because they knew they would be Diamond Rank in the future. This let them hard to put in a group, especially under the direct order of someone in the same rank.


    The silver-haired girl looked at Aldred. Now that she took a proper look, she felt a mysterious yet powerful aura from the man, and not just that, thedies behind him were also very powerful. Especially the tanned-skin girl with minimal clothing. She felt ancient power within that woman.


    ¡®Who is he? How could he gather a force this powerful?¡¯ she thought to herself.


    When Bartrem and the soldiers helped pick up the orbs, they all felt something in the water.


    Something heavy.


    Something big.


    The water felt denser, and their body felt heavier.


    It was harder to breathe as well despite using a special spell or device.


    ¡°What is this feeling?¡± Aldred frowned.


    [You have been inflicted with slowness x 1000. For the next three minutes, you cannot move.]

 319 Chapter 319

    Aldred felt his whole body restricted, as if he was tied by a powerful rope, and his whole body became a thousand time heavier. He could barely move his eyes, but he saw somethingrge appeared.


    It was arge eye, ten timesrger than normal Living Eyes.


    [Ancient Living Eye]


    Level: ??


    Power:???


    History: Ancient beings of old. Its existence was worshiped and feared. Its body contain a vast dimension of 74 worlds where sentient races of all kinds were subjected to his power. The Ancient Living Eye use its power to suck anyone and anything and put them in one of its 74 world. It was said that those who entered this world will never be able to get out, and the ancient being can control their fate however it wishes.


    Aldred deeply frowned. What a crazy history! A creature that had a vast dimension of 74 worlds? Such creature must be so powerful, and yet this treasure hunting test managed to put a monster of this caliber.


    Just like Xer Xai, the Ancient Living Eye were captured and its power weakened thousands of times and were ced here as a test for  the treasure hunters. Usually, the creatures around would be powerful and hard to defeat, but asionally, something like Xer Xai or this Ancient Living Eye would appear.


    But Aldred was slightly jealous of this creature. His divine dimension only had 2 KM of space, but this creature got 74 worlds? How much was that exactly? If 1 world equaled a, then that meant the dimension was as big as earth times 74.


    But Aldred might be wrong. The world might be muchrger than that.


    If Aldred fought this creature in its true form¡­


    ¡®I don¡¯t think I will survive at all,¡¯ Aldred thought.


    But luckily, the creature was weakened, so he easily removed all the debuff from his body.


    The three figures: silver haired ice mage, power armored man, and the lizardfolk used special treasure to break the spell.


    And Ste easily waved away the spell from herrades.


    The other people were shocked to see them easily removing the debuff while they could not do anything about it. Truly, Elite Gold Ranks were a different ss on their own. Each one of them were specials and seemed to be blessed by the goddess of luck herself.


    Aldred¡¯s body then moved forward, as he approached the creature.


    The ancient being were quite surprised to see that. Anyone that saw its appearance would tremble in fear. It had seen a couple of foolish creatures before, but this human felt no fear. In fact, it seemed like the human was looking down at it.


    The man in power armor creased his eyebrows, and so did the silver haired girl, and the lizardman. The three of them wondered if Aldred was nning to fight this monster alone.


    The lizardman frowned. ¡®There is no way he would fight that thing alone. Even I can feel that it is not a normal monster.¡±


    The man in power armor activated its scanner attachment, and found some readings  that cannot be tranted, and unreadable data. ¡°What is that thing¡­ I cannot measure its power.¡±


    While everyone was staring at the creature in fear, Aldred smiled and curled his finger a few times as if he was saying: Come and fight me.


    The gigantic eye looked at this human in indifference, but suddenly the entire eye turned bloody red, and it seemed angered.


    ¡°Did he just angered that thing?¡± the lizardman said.


    ¡°Foolish¡­¡± the man in power armormented.


    ¡°I will watch this man got himself killed,¡± the silver haired girl said.


    Therge eye with a tail trembled, and then limbs began to grown from below. Aldred raised an eyebrow to that, and t he monster even began to grow ws and fins.


    Soon after, it lunged at Aldred with ferocity unmatched against any beast he had fought before. Aldred yawned, and took a small step to the side, dodging the the attack, and causing the ws tond on empty water.


    Aldred smiled. That was within his expectations.


    Chuckling, he summoned his sword and was about to unleash his attack when the Ancient Living Eye turned around and wed him. Aldred Blocked the attack, but he made a mistake of blocking his own sight from his enemies. His godly eyes needed less than a second to adjust, but that was enough time to catch Aldred off guard.


    Another w attack struck him, and he was sent drifting a few meters away.


    When Aldred take a close look at the Ancient Living Eye, he saw that the eye had be purple, and a notification appeared on the corner of his eyes.


    [EYE OF FATE: The eye has set its gaze upon you. No matter your skill, luck, or item,  you have a 60% chance of dying]


    Aldred frowned. He had never seen this type of notification before, so it must be serious. But what was this skill? A skill that can control probability?


    ¡®It said here that no matter what, my chance of dying is always fixed at 60%.¡¯


    That was utterly overpowered!


    No wonder this thing was called ¡®Ancient¡¯. It was too powerful. Even Aldred got more jealous of its power.


    The Ancient Living Eye lunged at him again, and executed a series of w attacks.


    The lizardman tightened his grip on the trident. ¡°We should help him. If we fight together, we might win.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bring me with you, if you want to die,¡± the silver haired girl coldly said. ¡°That creature has control over fate itself. Something that powerful, only my master can defeat it.¡±


    The lizardman clicked his tongue.


    ¡°No need to be worried,¡± a please voice came.


    When the lizardman turned around, he saw a beautiful woman with tan skin.


    ¡°My husband doesn¡¯t need help,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Is he your husband?¡± the lizardman asked.


    ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t got married yet, but I might as well call  him that. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just weird that a woman over a thousand years old would marry an eleven year old boy.¡±


    ¡°You have keen eyes.¡± Ste smiled. ¡°No wonder you are an Elite.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, your man doesn¡¯t need help?¡±


    ¡°He can handle it by himself.¡±


    The three of them were of course shocked to hear that. How could this woman be so confident while her man literally fought something powerful.


    As the battle progressed, the Ancient Living Eye let out a powerful shock wave as if it was roaring. The eye erged, and a powerful wave came from the eye.


    At first they were confused what that attack was for until they realized their body were slowly turning into stones. Even the man in power armor slowly turned into stone while he was inside the armor. He and the two Elite Gold Rank had to use another special treasure to break the spell.


    They then looked at Aldred, since he received the direct impact, he should be turned into stone immediately.


    But to their shock, they saw Aldred was staring back at the creature without being turned into a stone.


    The Ancient Living Eye shook. It felt something wrong, and then realized that its ws were turning into stone, and so did the limbs. It could not believe that. Did that man deflected the spell and threw it back at it?


    The creature looked at the man one more time. Aldred¡¯s deep ck eyes were glowing. What a powerful human!


    The ancient being had only met a few powerful human before, and it was very impressed by the skill.


    It didn¡¯t felt remorse or sadness as it was being turned into a stone, it simply felt astonished to be defeated by such a young human. That was the difference between the ancient being and a mere mortal.


    The Ancient Living Eye formed a small mouth and asked: ¡°What is your name?¡±


    An ear formed next to the mouth, as if telling Aldred to reply.


    Aldred approached  the creature and whispered: ¡°My name is Jeff.¡±


    After Aldred said that, the creature waspletely turned into stone.

 320 Chapter 320

    Aldred looked at the Ancient Living Eye which was turned into a stone. Its size was slightly bigger than Xer Xai, and Xer Xai was more than 300 meters tall.


    The stone cracked, shooting out blinding lights in every direction, and then it shattered. Aldred squinted his eyes, and he noticed a golden key float as the stones crumbled and fell.


    Aldred approached the key and reached out with his hand. The key let out a radiant light which made his heart calm and tranquil. It had some sort of soothing effect, and even everyone else calmed down when they saw that. The petrification spell was broken, and most of the treasure hunters there survived. It was all thanks to Aldred who quickly killed the Ancient Living Eye.


    If not, then all of them would be stones by now.


    Grabbing the key, Aldred heard the voice of angels singing from above, and an ethereal light came down. Aldred looked upward and saw shining particles spinning around and condensing before materializing into a chest with magic circles sparkling all around it.


    The chest slowly went down and stopped in front of him.


    ¡°Is this my reward?¡± Aldred asked himself.


    Ste swam and stopped beside him, staring at the chest. ¡°Open it. There might be something good in there.¡±


    Aldred inserted the key into the chest and opened it.


    Click!


    A purple eye floated out of the chest with purple sparkles all over it.


    [Eye of Fate (Iplete)]


    Contains the power of the Ancient Living Eye. Collect Living Eye¡¯s Essence toplete it.


    ¡°Wow. If Iplete this eye, I can even control fate in the future.¡±


    Even Ste was excited to hear that. As a star magician, she could predict fate and destiny, but changing it was out of her control. If Aldred could control his own fate¡­ that would be a power that anyone would sell a soul to get.


    Aldred reached out with his hand, about to grab the eye.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    A man appeared with a dozen or so subordinates. He looked at Aldred with a frown. ¡°I am the son of Lord Wargdon, the governor of Town Wargdon. This Sea Tomb falls under my father¡¯s territory, and therefore everything here is mine, including that eye.¡±


    Aldred sneered.


    ¡°I am not asking you to give the eye to me. It is mine, to begin with.¡±


    The three figures red at the man in annoyance. The three of them were Elite Gold Rank, but they were also lone wolves. asionally, the son of a noble woulde and steal their treasure. This made them feel resentment towards the man.


    Aldred smiled again. He had seen this situation far too many times. He got something, and someone would try to take it from him. ssic.


    Seeing theck of response, the man was enraged. ¡°Guards, kill this man for his disobedience! No one will respect my father if hisws are not enforced!¡±


    The guards nodded and were about to attack Aldred until a bloody red shadow fluttered past the young master.


    The young man widened his eyes, and to the shock of the guards, the man¡¯s neck got separated from his body. When they see what the bloody red shadow was, they noticed it was another Aldred.


    There were two Aldred!


    ¡°That¡¯s my clone if you are wondering,¡± Aldred said with a smile, though for the guards, that smile looked like the smile of a devil.


    The guards were shocked. They couldn¡¯t even see the clone move. In less than a second, the young master they had served was killed!


    How could a clone be this powerful? Their young master was an Elite Gold Rank.


    They were so shocked and terrified, so they decided not to attack Aldred and dragged their master¡¯s body as they retreated.


    ¡°You¡¯re a brave one,¡± the lizardmanplimented. ¡°Most people will give in.¡±


    ¡°More like a foolish one. His territory is near, and you let the guards escape with his body. What do you think his father would do?¡± The silver-haired girl said.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, Wargdon is the territory of the lizardfolk,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°That is true, but Wargdon is located on a small ind. We don¡¯t really care if a human takes control of it. In fact, they pay us a lot of taxes. And, those are the government¡¯s problems, not mine. I am a lone lizardman.¡±


    ¡°Cough cough,¡± the man in power armor began. ¡°Sorry to disrupt, but is there any chance that you will sell that eye?¡±


    ¡°Do you have anything worth as much as this eye?¡± Aldred asked with a smile.


    The man in power armor smiled. ¡°No. I have nothing.¡±


    Aldred grabbed the eye and squeezed it. It exploded like a balloon, and purple mist entered Aldred¡¯s eyes.


    Aldred closed his eyes as various abilities entered his mind. Most of them were iplete, but that was fine, he could collect more essence to strengthen the skill. Apparently, it can absorb other essences too, so he didn¡¯t have to hunt for Living Eyes specifically, but they did give more essence.


    [You have level up to level 76]


    [You have level up to level 77]


    [You have level up to level 78]


    [You have level up to level 79]


    [You have level up to level 80]


    [You have obtained a new title ¡®Treasure Boy¡¯.]


    [Treasure Boy]


    ¨C Increase your chance of finding valuable treasure.


    ¡°Oh, nice.¡± Aldred checked his status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 3,669/3,669


    Level: 80


    Titles: Treasure Boy


    Power:


    ¨C Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    ¨C Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    ¨C Air Maniption


    ¨C Earth Maniption


    ¨C Mana Maniption


    ¨C Non-Elemental


    ¨C Shapeshift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    ¨C Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    ¨C Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    ¨C Strength: 430


    ¨C Vitality: 482


    ¨C Intelligence: 778


    ¨C Dexterity: 419


    Stat points: 10


    Skill points: 10


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    If he remembered correctly, level 90 was tinum Rank.


    So he was 10 levels away from reaching that? Was it that simple? No, there had to be some sort of blockade that he had to break through. Like one of those cultivation novels that he had read.


    Well, the treasure that he looked for was supposed to help him reach tinum Rank, and even reach Adamantite Rank.


    Aldred stared at a random creature and activated his Eyes of Fate. Suddenly, the creature mutated into a devil-like beast, and it aggressively pounced on him.


    Aldred pped the beast, exploding its entire body. ¡°That work,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let¡¯s find more Living Eyes if it¡¯s possible. That way I can strengthen this eye¡¯s power.¡±


    Aldred proceeded towards the gate where the Ancient Living Eye came from. His wives and soldiers followed, and so did the others. They didn¡¯t have anyone to rely on, and now that they understood how dangerous this tomb was, going further from Aldred would be a death wish.


    Going further, Aldred saw a staircase that led downward. The whole tomb was filled with water, so they didn¡¯t have to walk. Aldred swam down, telling his wives to do the same.


    Ste sent out numerous star particles that lit up the ce. Aldred didn¡¯t need it since he had activated his godly eyes all the time. He didn¡¯t want the enemy to catch him off guard.


    After swimming down for a while, they arrived in a narrow hall, and then they saw something standing in the distance.

 321 Chapter 321

    It was a short creature. Almost like a goblin, but blue in color, with a pair of big, fish-like eyes, and long floppy ears. The ears almost became the hair at this point. On its hand was a shining blue trident, and the creature grinned at them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Agile Fiz]


    Level: 85


    Power: ?


    History: A slippery creature who loves to make a lot of trouble. He was once a fish caught by a sailor, but he identally consumed a mysterious orb and mutated to be something different. In his adventure, he sessfully became amander of deep sea creatures.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°I am guessing that you are not a friendly creature?¡± Aldred asked.


    The creatureughed like a child. It then moved forward and attacked Aldred.


    With his godly eyes, Aldred could read the creature¡¯s movement like reading a book. He shed at it, but the creature smiled like a child and slipped away.


    It then passed Aldred and attacked the other treasure hunters. It slipped side to side and up and down. No matter what they did, they couldn¡¯tnd a strike on it.


    Agile Fiz then lunged forward, and struck three men with its trident, killing them instantly before swimming away, and striking around a dozen men in quick session.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t hear their scream, but he could imagine their voice. Blood mixed with the water, making everything look red.


    The silver-haired girl fired an ice crystal at the creature, but it quickly tilted its head, dodging the attack. The crystal hit another man and turned him into ice.


    The creature chuckled and slipped away from all the attacks.


    Mary attacked it with her sword, but it easily moved away. It was a slippery creature that moved around very nimbly.


    After killing a bunch of treasure hunters, and wounding arge part of them, the creatureughed and swam away.


    It then entered a crack in the wall and vanished.


    Everyone approached their friends and tended to their wounds, meanwhile the others were discussing what to do next.


    They all knew that the creature was still around, and had a high chance ofing back and attacking them.


    ¡°That thing is slippery,¡± Mary said. ¡°I cannotnd a hit on that thing.¡±


    ¡°The water is its territory,¡± Aldred said. ¡°We are at a disadvantage here.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised that you could not hit it,¡± Ste said. ¡°Are you getting slower?¡± she jokingly asked.


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°That thing is too fast. I bet you can¡¯t even catch it, Ste.¡±


    ¡°I wonder,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°It will returnter,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Gut feeling. Anyway, let¡¯s rest here for now,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°How can we rest underwater?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Well, I am sure Ste has something that can help us.¡±


    Ste smiled and summoned her staff. She waved it at them, and star particles enveloped them all before it materialized into softly-glowing seaweed that wrapped around their body like a sleeping bag.


    ¡°Wait, how can we rest without having a barbecue first?¡± Joseph asked.


    ¡°I agree. We need to eat before we sleep,¡± Jeffery said. He was surrounded by a bunch of female soldiers. They usually drained him every night, so he made sure to eat a lot in preparation for that. If not, he might die of exhaustion.


    ¡°Okay, we will have a feast first. Bartrem, prepare the grill!¡±


    ¡°I already pulled it out the moment you tell us to camp here,¡± Bartrem said, heating up the grill. How the hell did he heat up the grill while they were underwater? The answer to that was magic.


    Magic solved everything.


    Aldred summoned more grills and also a lot of food.


    The soldiers cheered and they helped Bartrem in grilling the meat. Some of them were tasked to make the sauce. Ste waved her hand, and a carpet made out of seaweed appeared, floating in the water.


    With another wave of her hand, a magic bubble enveloped the seaweed, and it fell to the floor, removing all the water within. The carpet was huge as well. It was enough for 300 people to sit on it at the same time and still had enough space for them to move around.


    Aldred¡¯s soldiers were no more than 100 people, so this was a huge space for them.


    Aldred and his wives entered the bubble and noticed that there was no water at all. Instead of floating, now they could walk on the seaweed carpet.


    ¡°Magic¡­ what a wonderful thing,¡± Aldred said.


    Ste chuckled, happy because she feltplimented. The soldiers pushed the grill onto the seaweed carpet, and they continued their grilling as normal.


    Aldred could already smell the tasty food. ¡°Bartrem, did you make a new recipe?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s called Bosalo Garlic Steak. It¡¯s made out of Bosalo meat, garlic powder, mermaid¡¯s tears, and a bunch of other spices.¡±


    ¡°I want to ask what Bosalo is, but where the hell did you get mermaid¡¯s tears?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°On the Sea Fruit Market. They sell a lot of stuff other than sea fruits.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ I didn¡¯t notice they sell mermaid stuff there. But what effect would a mermaid¡¯s tear have on food?¡±


    ¡°It makes the food more fragrant and enhances the taste even more.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ too bad that they have to kill mermaids for that.¡±


    ¡°Who says they have to kill mermaids? The seller herself is a mermaid. All I had to do was pay, and she would shed a tear in this bottle.¡± Bartrem showed him a sk full of mermaid¡¯s tears.


    ¡°So a mermaid sells their own tears?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. I don¡¯t see anything wrong with that.¡±


    ¡°Right, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. Enough about mermaid tears, let us enjoy the food.¡±


    ¡°The food is not done yet, wait for a few more minutes,¡± Bartrem replied.


    An hourter, the food was ready, and the bubble was filled with its delicious fragrance. What Bartrem said was true. The smell was truly powerful, and Aldred couldn¡¯t think of anything else except imagining how the food would taste.


    When the food was ready, Aldred and his wives widened their eyes as the meat was beautifully decorated with golden bread, potatoes, and vegetables on the side. Bartrem came and personally poured the sauce onto the meat. It drizzled like twinkling stars, and Aldred couldn¡¯t help but salivate.


    ¡°Enjoy the meal,¡± Bartrem said before the soldiers cheerfully grabbed their knife and fork and dug into the food.


    The other treasure hunters were jealous of him as they couldn¡¯t help but also salivate when they looked at his food.


    Their stomachs shook, and when they looked at their own food, they didn¡¯t feel excited. But when they looked at Aldred¡¯s feast again, their stomach shook, and their mouth got watery.


    They sighed and epted their fate. At least they had some food to eat. Most of the people here already ran out of food. This was the life of a treasure hunter. Always nearby danger, and always full of suffering.


    Only Aldred could have a journey full of fun adventures. upations such as adventurers, treasure seekers, and soldiers were nothing but grit and pain.


    Suddenly, Aldred called out to them: ¡°Hey, we have a lot of food here, you guys want to have some?¡±


    The treasure hunters¡¯ eyes lit up when they heard that.

 322 Chapter 322

    The treasure hunters approached the magic bubble, and the soldiers handed them food. A lot of people were skeptical at first, thinking that the food was poisoned, but after they saw the food was being taken directly from the grill and even the soldiers were eating from it, they epted the food and inspected it with their magical treasure and detection spell.


    Aldred could onlyugh at their action. It was good that they were being wary, so he didn¡¯t me them at all. In fact, he would mock them if they didn¡¯t even do such a basic thing. Kindness was rarer than a gem. It was foolish to think that a stranger would give you something for free without any hidden intention.


    A lot of people live by this rule, so a lot of them didn¡¯t even consider epting his offer and ate whatever they had left. A few of them were so desperate that they took some seaweed from the sea tomb and ate them.


    Most people that came here were very poor, so they couldn¡¯t afford spatial bags to keep their food safe. Now that their bags had been flooded with water, it was impossible to eat their food. Some of them had special packing cases or non-elemental spells to protect the food, so they still could eat.


    The food tasted terrible though.


    The ones who epted Aldred¡¯s food on the other hand were in heaven. Someone even joked that even if the food was poisoned, he would eat it again and again.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± The peopleughed when they heard that.


    Aldredughed as well when he heard that.


    He looked at the silver-haired girl and approached her. ¡°So, what makes a girl like you eat alone in the corner?¡±


    ¡°None of your business.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I want to show you something.¡± Aldred took out a m. ¡°Hello, magical m. Should I talk to this girl?¡±


    He shook the magical m and it opened like a chest. ¡°No,¡± the m said.


    ¡°What? I cannot hear you. Let me shake you again. Magical m, should I talk to this girl?¡±


    Aldred shook the m again, and it opened before saying: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I finally heard you,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Well, the magic m told me to talk to you.¡±


    The silver-haired girl chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re so stupid.¡±


    ¡°I heard that a lot.¡±


    She chuckled again. ¡°When I see you for the first time, I thought you were a stupid, dumb, perverted man.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, and what do you think of me now?¡±


    ¡°Turns out that¡¯s exactly what you are.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­¡± Aldred blinked. ¡°That¡¯s not the answer I expected.¡±


    Aldred summoned something on his hand. It was a wrapped kebab. ¡°It¡¯s for you. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s still warm.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, are you trying to poison me with a love potion and bring me to your bed?¡±


    ¡°I am just a nice guy offering food to a beautifuldy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right. Is this how you get your women to stick with you? By giving them food?¡±


    ¡°I fill their belly with something else other than food too.¡±


    The silver-haired girlughed.


    Mareona walked towards him. ¡°Aldred, are you hitting on a girl again?¡±


    ¡°What? How can you keep hitting on a new girl when you have us?¡± Kiara looked at him with both her arms on her waist.


    ¡°Are we not enough?¡± Zafrina jokingly asked. In truth, she didn¡¯t have any problems with Aldred making more women join his harem. It was normal for a man to have more than one woman anyway. It was also seen as a sign ofpetence and confidence. Besides, she loved it if her family could be bigger and bigger.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Sophia said. ¡°Are you really going to make her join our family, Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Do you think of me as a perverted boy?¡±


    Mareona rolled her eyes before looking at the silver-haired girl. ¡°Sorry if he bothers you.¡±


    Zafrina smiled at her. ¡°He can be naughty at times, but he¡¯s a good guy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The girl smiled. ¡°At first, I was annoyed, but he¡¯s kinda fun.¡±


    ¡°See. She said I am fun,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°Anyway, my name is Aldred. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Richa.¡±


    ¡°Beautiful name.¡±


    ¡°Is this his way of hitting on girls?¡± Richa asked Mareona.


    Mareona shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how he does it, but suddenly our family grows bigger and bigger as time passes.¡±


    ¡°I love big families,¡± Aldred said. ¡°By the way, I am not hitting on her. I just cannot stand when a girl eats alone with no friends.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need friends,¡± Richa bitterly said. ¡°They are nothing but a burden.¡± She looked at the wrapped kebab in her hand with destion in her eyes.


    ¡°Did they betray you?¡± Aldred asked. ¡°Did they treat you terribly even when you tried your best to be a good friend? Did they nevere to your side even though you were always there for them? Did they turn their back on you after everything you had done for them?¡±


    Richa widened her eyes. ¡°H¡ªhow do you know?¡±


    Aldred cleared his throat and told the system to make her status panel disappear. He knew this because Aldred read her history just earlier, but he wouldn¡¯t say that he could read people¡¯s history anytime he wanted.


    ¡°I can see it in your eyes,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You can tell that much by looking into my eyes?¡± Richa was shocked.


    Richa¡¯s past was a dark one. When she was young, she saw a girl the same age as her being bullied by everyone else. Richa protected her and invited her to y all the time, but a weekter, the girl she protected became friends with the bullies. Eventually, all of them, including the girl she protected, began to bully Richa.


    But even after that event, she never shed her kindness. Yearster, she found out that one of her friends was in a financial crisis, so she bought food for her whenever she could, but when her friend became rich, she looked at Richa as if she was a mere insect, and didn¡¯t acknowledge her as a friend.


    She didn¡¯t give up her kindness even after this. She was heartbroken of course, but she kept making friends and helping those in need until she came at the age of 18 when a man she loved stole her savings and ran away.


    Those savings were supposed to be used for paying her parents¡¯ debt.


    And now here she was. Using cold expressions and rudements to make everyone stay away from her.


    With that past, Aldred couldn¡¯t help but approach her and make her friends. He couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy for her. He had it rough when he was young as well. Not only from his past parents, but also from his friends.


    Recalling that, Aldred couldn¡¯t help but tear up and feeling grateful that he was reincarnated to having new parents and to be on this journey while meeting a lot of friends on the way.


    It was a dreame true. Lovely parents, epic adventure, good food, great se¡ªcough, great sleep, and lovely wives.


    Recalling his parents made him miss them.


    ¡°Richa,¡± Aldred called before reaching out with his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s be friends.¡±

 323 Chapter 323

    Mareona raised her eyebrow when she heard Aldred say that.


    ¡°Friend?¡± Richa asked, staring at his hand. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t need friends.¡±


    ¡°I understand that you participate in this treasure hunt for your parents,¡± Aldred said. ¡°They have a big debt right?¡±


    ¡°How do you even know that?¡±


    ¡°I can see it in your eyes.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Your parents have debt too?¡± Ivette asked. ¡°Are you here to make money for paying them?¡±


    Richa nodded. ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°Poor thing,¡± Ivette said. ¡°I participate in this treasure hunting for the same reason. I am so scared,  but I have my brother apanying me. And now, I have Aldred as well. It¡¯s thanks to him that I can pay my debt.¡±


    ¡°Why are you still here if you already paid for it?¡± Richa asked.


    ¡°My parents are no more, and I want to apany Aldred on his journey.¡±


    Richa looked down. ¡°So you¡¯re the same as me, huh.¡±


    ¡°You said you don¡¯t need friends,¡± Rachel said. ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±


    ¡°How am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°Those you consider friends, are not your friends, to begin with.¡±


    ¡°Friends are there to help you as well, so give us a chance.¡±


    Richa was silent. ¡°Why¡­ Why do you want to be my friend so much? It doesn¡¯t make any sense. From the beginning, I see people being betrayed left and right. Especially when they see a rare treasure, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to stab their own lovers in the back to obtain it. So why are you guys so different?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re family,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Family doesn¡¯t stab each other for a mere treasure.¡±


    Richa¡¯s breathing became heavy as tears streaked down her cheek. ¡°Why are you doing this to me? I have decided to not give anyone a chance. Why do you guyse and make me want to break a promise I made to myself?¡±


    Aldred and his wives slowly circled her and calmed her down. They then listened to her story from when she was young. It was exactly like what Aldred had read with more details.


    After telling her story, she cried, but at the same time, she was feeling happy that she could tell someone about her burden.


    Aldred¡¯s wives calmed her down and invited her to eat together. And that was the first time that Richa felt genuinely epted.


    Aldred told Bartrem to cook more food and Bartrem held nothing back.


    Richa smiled when the girls asked her to eat and chatted with her.


    Her cold maskpletely disappeared as if she was apletely different person.


    ¡°Hey, can I get some of that food as well?¡± the lizardman asked.


    ¡°I would like to have a taste as well,¡± the man inside the power armor said.


    ¡°Come here and take some,¡± Aldred said.


    Both of them excitedly entered the magic bubble and sat down with the others as they ate their food.


    They merrily ate together until someone screamed.


    ¡°Damn, that Fiz creature is back!¡± a man shouted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it run away again.¡±


    The creature swam around the crowd, shing left and right while slipping their attack whileughing and wiggling its butt at them.


    ¡°That thing is too arrogant,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I¡¯m having enough of it.¡± Aldred stood up and summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    ¡°Blood Lust!¡± Aldred shouted as his aurapletely changed from a fun-loving person to a bloody murderer.


    Unexpectedly, the Agile Fiz stopped in its tracks and its big clear eyes turned crimson red. Not only that, its blue skin turned red and its face became vicious, turning into that of a terrifying midget.


    The creature raised its trident and shouted in an unknownnguage.


    Glowing whirlpools appeared everywhere, spinning like madness as they swept everyone nearby.


    ¡°There are powerful monsters inside the whirlpool!¡±


    ¡°Get away from them!¡±


    ¡°AHH!¡±


    The beasts came out of the whirlpool. They looked like giant sharks with huge, sharp teeth. The treasure hunters didn¡¯t see theming before they were shredded.


    One man reacted quickly enough to save his own life, but he realized that his left arm disappeared, and his shoulder was leaking a lot of blood.


    Before he could get to safety, a wide-open jaw was right in front of him and chomped him whole.


    It was a ughterhouse, and the treasure hunters were the pigs.


    After devouring dozens of people the beasts exploded into red mist and the mist entered Agile Fiz¡¯s body.


    [Agile Fiz]


    Level: 119


    Skill: ???


    Fiz exploded with a powerful aura, and Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°A tinum Rank¡­ and it¡¯s more powerful than that Behemoth we met a while ago.¡±


    Not only did it reach tinum Rank, but its level was also near level 120 which was the level for Diamond Rank!


    It could even be considered that this beast was a pseudo-Diamond Rank monster. If the monster was level 90, Aldred might have a chance to defeat it, but at level 119¡­ it would be a miracle if he could even survive this ordeal.


    Ste frowned as well. ¡°That thing is too strong. You cannot defeat it, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Aldred said. He had activated his godly eyes, and he knew for sure that he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat this creature unless he sacrificed his life.


    But the creature red at Aldred with its pair of crimson eyes before charging toward him.


    ¡°Fuck, I have to fight it. Try to shoot it with Soul re while I buy some time.¡±


    Richa stepped forward and blocked him. ¡°I can handle this. You stay back.¡±


    ¡°No. You cannot handle this. Get away.¡±


    Richa didn¡¯t look at him and kept her sigh on the creature. ¡°My parents are in the city of Burlisleho. Their names are Lina and Nordig. When you meet them, tell them I am sorry that I cannot see them for onest time.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can go further from here,¡± Richa said. ¡°The monsters are bing stronger, and they will be stronger the further I go. This is my limit. Please, Aldred. Please help my parents.¡±


    ¡°Fuck! I am not letting you!¡± Aldred was about to grab Richa and bring her to the divine dimension.


    ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡± Richa turned around and smiled at him. Then she turned into ice.


    Aldred looked toward the distance and noticed that Richa appeared right in front of the creature.


    The creature stabbed her stomach with its trident, but that was part of her n. She held onto the trident with gritted teeth. ¡°World of Ice.¡±


    SHEEENGG!


    The whole world stopped for a fraction of a second. And then everything around 10 meters of her turned to ice, including herself and the creature.


    Aldred and his wives approached the globe of ice. It was 10 meters in diameter, and they saw Richa and the creature trapped within it.


    Ste caressed the ice. ¡°This is a soul spell. She used her soul as a source of energy.¡±


    ¡°So we cannot save her?¡± Aldred asked.


    Ste shook her head.


    Ivette cried. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. We just got to know her.¡±


    Sophia sighed. ¡°I just began to treat her as a part of our family. I should have treated her even better.¡±


    Aldred got tears in his eyes. He believed it was his fault.


    Ste put a hand on his shoulder.


    Aldred breathed heavily. ¡°Such a poor thing. I was trying to be a proper friend to her. We just met, and this happened¡­¡±


    ¡°You cannot me yourself, Aldred,¡± Ste said. ¡°Let it go, and let us proceed.¡±


    Aldred grabbed her hand and looked down. ¡°Now I know why so many people stopped their journey midway. This treasure hunting¡­ it¡¯s not about our own lives, but those who we consider as friends.¡±


    Even though Aldred had just met her, he already considered her as family and wanted to bring her on an exciting journey together with his wives and the others. He had imagined so many scenarios in his mind, but all of them shattered.


    ¡°I will not let her death be in vain. I will learn from this mistake. I will be stronger. So strong that not even the world can¡¯t stop me.¡±

 324 Chapter 324

    After what happened earlier, Aldred questioned whether he should even continue this journey. He had never felt like this before. A feeling of doubt about whether to continue or not. He had never felt it because he had never lost someone he considered important¡­ until now.


    But stopping now and walking back would make everything pointless. Aldred looked at his wives: Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, Rachel, Zafrina, and Kiara. Then he looked at his friends: Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and all the soldiers that joined him in his journey.


    ¡®I must not let them down. I have to continue. I have to keep going.¡¯ Aldred took a deep breath. ¡°Lina and Nordig¡­ She said that was the name of her parents. They are located in Burlisleho. Do we know where that is?¡±


    Ste shook her head.


    ¡°I know where that is,¡± the lizardman replied. ¡°It¡¯s located on the south coast of Lympsian Theocracy. South from here.¡±


    Ste waved her hand, and a magical projection of a map appeared in front of her. She zoomed in and pointed. ¡°Is this the ce?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The lizardman nodded.


    ¡°We will find her parents after this,¡± Aldred said. ¡°We have to.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement. Just like Aldred, they thought that Richa would join their journey. Even though their interaction was short, they already treated her as one of their own.


    After looking at the ice globe onest time, Aldred sighed and proceeded to move forward.


    In a dimly lit hall, Aldred saw a man floating straight. His skin was reced by scales, and his face was hidden by a robe. Behind the man were three doors.


    ¡°Give me something the most valuable to you, and I will tell you the right path,¡± the man said without any greetings. His voice entered their mind, and his lips didn¡¯t even move.


    Aldred¡¯s body moved forward in a standing position within the water as if he was flying. His maniption of water was quite advanced despite having only a few amounts of skill in it.


    The fish-man showed his right palm as if asking for the item.


    Aldred raised his right arm, and then punched him in the face.


    The fish-man was shocked and so did everyone else. Before the fish-man could react, Aldred followed up his first attack with another strike and pummeled the man for more than a minute.


    Grabbing his neck, Aldred asked: ¡°Which door is the right one?¡±


    The fish-man stayed silent. Aldred frowned and raised his right hand again. Dark-red energy appeared around his hand and then formed into Phantom Doomde.


    Without hesitation, Aldred swung, cutting off the man¡¯s right arm, and scalping half of his face.


    The fish-man let out a bloodcurdling scream. The people that saw this could only imagine the pain and secretly prayed that they would never be subjected to that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me ask twice,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It¡¯s the left door,¡± the fish-man helplessly said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Aldred summoned a chain, tied the man with it, and opened the left door. What appeared was a dark-red portal.


    Aldred looked at the fish-man. ¡°This is yourst chance. I will throw you into the portal. If you lie, then you will face the consequences.¡±


    ¡°I am telling the truth,¡±


    ¡°Then you have nothing to worry about.¡± Aldred threw the man in the portal and waited for a few minutes before pulling him back.


    The fish-man was fine without any injuries. Aldred even scanned him with his godly eyes,  but there was no poison, illness, or parasites within his body.


    After confirming that the portal was safe, Aldred ruthlessly drove his Phantom de into the man¡¯s chest.


    His wives saw the rage within Aldred¡¯s eyes. It was terrifying, boundless, like the eternal me of hell. But when Aldred set their eyes on them, they saw love and passion, as if he would do anything to protect them from harm. Aldred had always been caring towards them, but this was way more than that.


    They felt rather worried about his situation.


    ¡°Let him be,¡± Ste said. ¡°He has never lost anyone before, so he still can have fun and leisure in his journey, but now there are stakes involved.¡±


    ¡°Will he stop having fun from now on?¡± Mary asked with a worried expression.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Ste said ¡°But he will surely work harder than before. But he still hasn¡¯t lost his way yet, so we should avoid doing anything for now.¡±


    They all agreed to do that because they didn¡¯t know what to do. They didn¡¯t want to make it worse for Aldred.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in, guys,¡± Aldred said to them with a smile before entering the portal.


    After entering the portal, they found themselves teleported deeper into the Sea Tomb.


    ¡°We¡¯re 12 kilometers below the surface,¡± Ste said. ¡°The monsters here will be stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°Will something like the Agile Fiz appear?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°From my experience, a special creature like Agile Fiz exists in this dungeon to kill at least one person or wipe the entire group before disappearing and never being seen again. And there is usually one of them in a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s a low chance something like that might appear again?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°A very low chance.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°All of you stay behind me. If something like that appears, I will open a portal immediately and all of you should enter.¡±


    ¡°No, Aldred. We will fight alongside you,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t lose any of you.¡±


    ¡°And we cannot lose you,¡± Mary said. ¡°Don¡¯t be selfish, and let us fight together.¡±


    Aldred looked her in the eyes and realized that he was being selfish.


    ¡°We are not that much weaker than you.¡± Mareona crossed her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us.¡±


    ¡°Also, did you forget that I am a Diamond Rank?¡± Ste asked. ¡°Even if I limit my power to Gold Rank, I am stronger than you.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Okay.¡±


    As they kept moving forward, they found an entrance to an underwater cave and swam inside.


    Surprisingly, the underwater cave was huge with a lot of glowing algae and nkton moving around. There were a lot of monsters, but they were weak and ugly. Aldred wasn¡¯t interested in killing them because they were too low-level. But just as he was about to head further, his senses detected something.


    Aldred frowned and swam towards the direction where his senses led him.


    After passing by arge boulder, Aldred saw five blue-scaled goblins chasing three women ahead of them.


    These goblins were different from the normal goblins he knew. They had fins, tails, and scales.


    [Deep Sea Goblin]


    Level: 85


    Power: Water Shard, Deep Water Echo Location¡­


    One of the goblins spat out a fast-moving water shard at the threedies, the shard exploded and created a powerful current that slowed them down.


    ¡°You guys stay here. I will handle them.¡± Aldred teleported using blood teleportation. Without a sound, he appeared behind a goblin and kicked the back of its head, the head burst.


    He then grabbed two goblins by the neck and crunched them like twigs.


    ¨C 3000


    ¨C 2451


    ¨C 4400


    His ruthless movements dealt a horrendous amount of damage, and it was instant death for the three goblins.


    The two goblins seeing this were terrified, and as they were about to run away, Aldred was already grabbing their necks.


    Slightly moving his thumb, he snapped their necks without any problem.

 325 Chapter 325

    Aldred looked down and found out that the monsters dropped some sort of treasures when he killed them. These weren¡¯t rare, but they weren¡¯t thatmon either.


    The threedies on the other hand were astonished to see the goblins being defeated so easily. They saw Aldred defeat the goblin, but it felt so unreal in their mind.


    ¡°Who is that man?¡± one of thedies said. ¡°He¡¯s too powerful for a Gold Rank.¡±


    Everyone knew that monsters were generally stronger than any sentient race. This was especially true in this deep sea tomb because the monsters here were summoned by the world¡¯s power. Most people needed to use their brains and kite the monster one by one to defeat them, but this man¡­ with a simple move of his finger, the goblins were no more.


    Aldred swam towards them and scanned their bodies with his godly eyes. He detected that they were fine, but he asked just in case: ¡°Are you guys hurt?¡±


    ¡°We are fine, Senior.¡± Thedies blushed when they saw him approaching.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me senior. I am 11 years old.¡±


    That made them even more shocked! Eleven years old and already reaching Gold Rank? Not to mention an Elite Gold Rank?


    Aldred waved his hand, and all the items dropped by the goblins floated beside him.


    [Scroll of Sword]


    Containing the basic knowledge of sword art.


    [Water Teleportation]


    Containing the knowledge of water teleportation.


    [Ne of Water]


    Let you breathe indefinitely underwater.


    There were a bunch of other treasures as well, but Aldred gave them all to the threedies. He didn¡¯t need any of these treasures. Besides, he already had a hill-size pile of treasures in his divine dimension.


    Thedies were of course shocked when they received the items.


    ¡°Uhh, what do you want us to do with these, Senior?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me senior. Those items are yours.¡±


    ¡°Ehh! Are you sure?¡±


    Aldred nodded as his wives approached.


    Thedies were mesmerized by their appearance immediately.


    ¡°So beautiful¡­¡±


    The wives smiled and waved at them which made the threedies blush.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Ste greeted.


    ¡°H¡ªhello.¡± The three of them bowed. They were very nervous at this moment, and they detected a powerful aura from this tanned-skin woman. Something about her felt so powerful and ancient.


    ¡°I am d that you guys are fine,¡± Ste said. ¡°How long have you been chased by those goblins?¡±


    ¡°Just recently,¡± one of thedies said. ¡°If not for this respectable man¡­ we might be dead right now.¡±


    Ste chuckled. ¡°This respectable man is my husband. His name is Aldred. My name is Ste by the way.¡±


    ¡°Your husband?¡± The three of them looked at Aldred and thought that it was a pity that he already had a wife.


    ¡°My name is Mary, and I am also his wife.¡±


    ¡®Ohh, so he has two wives,¡¯ thedies thought.


    ¡°I am Mira, and I am also Aldred¡¯s wife.¡±


    Then the wives proceeded to introduce themselves one by one.


    The threedies couldn¡¯t believe it. These nine goddess-like women were all his wives??? It was normal for a man to have multiple wives, but for them to be this beautiful and powerful¡­


    ¡°We thank you for saving us,¡± thedies said at the same time.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Aldred said.


    His wives smiled. They were d that Aldred didn¡¯t get consumed by his hatred and refused to help other people. Although helping people didn¡¯t give them direct benefits, it was still good to do it whenever possible.


    ¡°But are you sure to give these items to us?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want them, then I will take them back,¡± Aldred jokingly said.


    ¡°We want them.¡±


    Aldred chuckled.


    The threedies consisted of one magician, one warrior, and one healer. It was a typical adventure group that was perfect for small hunting in the forest, but for treasure hunting¡­ They need far more people to survive.


    The healer spoke: ¡°My name is Lanalra. The magician is Sefni, and the warrior is Shaniya.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Sefni and Shaniya said.


    ¡°My name is Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Aldred¡­ That name sounds familiar,¡± Lanalra said. ¡°Wait a minute, are you the Death Lord Aldred? The Golem Master Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Some people call me that,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You are also called the Death Merchant,¡± Sefni added.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Your golempany is famous. Whenever someone buys your golem, thousands will die,¡± Shaniya said.


    Aldred creased his eyebrows. ¡°I believe both sides buy golems and fight each other with it.¡±


    ¡°That is true, but there are always casualties. Paphia and Yevilerian aren¡¯t your only customers.¡±


    ¡°I cannot deny that. Anyway, how did you guys get in here?¡±


    ¡°We entered through a smallke,¡± Lanalra said. ¡°When we looked around, we found a treasure chest, but apparently it was a trap, and a group of goblins chased us. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I entered through the Great Lake,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°I see. So there are different entrances to this ce.¡± Lanalra nodded. ¡°Thank you again for saving us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡±


    Lanalra took out a bag from her spatial pouch. ¡°There are five Sea Tokens within this bag. Please take it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The threedies were relieved that Aldred received their gifts. If not for that, they would feel uneasy.


    ¡°We will not bother you anymore. Please excuse us.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Mary asked. ¡°We are going through this Sea Tomb anyway. Come and join us. There are a lot of peopleing along with us too.¡±


    Lanalra looked behind them and saw dozens or so of people. ¡°Can we join?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Ste said. ¡°Come with us, and I will make sure to groom you guys properly.¡± Ste approached them and took their hands.


    Sophia swam towards them and smiled with glee. Zafrina, Kiara, and Rachel decided to approach and grabbed them as well.


    The threedies were happy, but they couldn¡¯t help but be worried as well.


    ¡®Grooming for what exactly?¡¯ was what they thought at the time.


    Proceeding further, they found an empty patch of ground, surrounded by thick seaweed.


    ¡°Let us camp there,¡± Ste said.


    Theynded on the ground, and immediately set up a camp.


    The threedies experienced a culture shock.


    ¡°Do you guys normally camp while treasure hunting?¡± Lanalra asked.


    ¡°We like to enjoy ourselves whenever we have the chance,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Ste said. ¡°Come, let us put proper clothes on for you three.¡± Ste dragged them into a tent.


    They are helplessly dragged inside with Sophia and the other women pushing them.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Aldred said to himself. He shook his head as he entered his own tent along with Rachel and Ivette.


    ¡°Are you guys tired?¡± Aldred asked as he sat down.


    Rachel and Ivette shook their heads.


    ¡°We have a lot of fun,¡± Rachel said before she threw herself at him.


    Rachel sat down on hisp and looked at him lovingly. Her breath became heavy and she was blushing.


    ¡°Why are you two looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°When you save those three girls, I can¡¯t help but feel a little jealous,¡± Rachel said. ¡°But more than that, I feel warm.¡±


    Ivette kissed him on the cheek. ¡°I feel the same thing.¡±


    ¡°So what do you guys want to do now?¡± Aldred asked.


    Rachel and Ivette chuckled before they pushed Aldred down.

 326 Chapter 326

    Both Rachel and Ivette were breathing heavily with passion in their eyes as they looked at him.


    ¡°Haa¡­ Haaa.¡± Rachel hugged Aldred¡¯s arms and closed her eyes.


    Ivette did the same thing. Even though she was a hero candidate, her physique became weak when Aldred ravaged her body. It felt so good, but her body couldn¡¯t hold on. She was feeling quite sad and worried that Aldred wouldn¡¯t be satisfied because of that.


    Of course, Aldred didn¡¯t feel that way. In fact, he was worried that he couldn¡¯t satisfy his women.


    After resting for a while, Aldred decided to leave the tent and let Rachel and Ivette rest.


    When he left, he saw Lanalra, Sefni, and Shaniya standing outside with Ste, Mary, and the others.


    ¡°Perfect timing,¡± Ste said. ¡°What do you think of their new appearances?¡±


    Aldred looked at the threedies from top to bottom with their new clothes. Earlier, they wore simple fabric and armor, but Ste had dressed them up with a beautiful dress that revealed their long legs, and the clothes tightly hugged their waist.


    ¡°They looked beautiful.¡±


    The threedies blushed when they heard that.


    ¡°But will this dress protect us?¡± Shaniya asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That dress is a rare-grade treasure.¡±


    ¡°Rare-grade?!¡± Shaniya was shocked. ¡°This must be very expensive. Can we really use this?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you can. It¡¯s my gift to you three,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°How can we pay for it?¡± Lanalra. ¡°We have no more sea tokens.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay,¡± Ste said. ¡°But I do have a request.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sefni asked.


    ¡°You three have to sleep with Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­¡±


    ¡°I am joking.¡± Steughed. ¡°You should have seen your faces.¡±


    The threediesughed at being found out that they liked Aldred.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tease them like that,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I am sorry, dear.¡± Ste approached him and kissed him on the lips. ¡°I don¡¯t me them for liking you. After all, who wouldn¡¯t fall for your charm?¡±


    Aldred cleared his throat after hearing that. ¡°Anyway, have you guys eaten yet?¡±


    They all shook their heads.


    ¡°Bartrem?¡±


    ¡°I am still grilling the food!¡±


    ¡°Do you guys do this often?¡± Lanalra asked.


    ¡°Yeah, almost every day,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You even grill deep underwater¡­¡± Sefni couldn¡¯t believe their dedication to grilling.


    Aldred chuckled. ¡°We will do it in the sky if we have to.¡±


    ¡°Have you three visited Mount Fargon before?¡± Ste asked.


    The three of them shook their heads. ¡°We actually never n to participate in this treasure hunt. We don¡¯t have an astrbe, so it¡¯s impossible for us to find the ce for the next stage.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re here unnned?¡± Ste asked.


    The three of them nodded.


    ¡°We are ordinary adventurers. We hunt monsters and sell them. We are not very ambitious.¡±


    ¡°Living like that is fine as well,¡± Aldred said. ¡°A stable and safe life is preferable to a lot of people. And there¡¯s nothing wrong with it.¡±


    The threedies nodded, but Lanalra nced at Aldred. ¡°Do you have any reason to live like that? With your power and wealth, you can live your lives happily.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I have a goal, but it¡¯s not only about that. During my adventure, I realize that I need the power to control my own fate. Sure, living a stable life is good, but someone more powerful than me can take that life in a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°Like who?¡±


    ¡°The nobles, the wealthy merchant, Wildlings Gang, and anyone else who is more powerful than me. Being weak means that our fate is in the palm of their hands.¡±


    The threedies widened their eyes when they saw the sadness in Aldred¡¯s eyes. It seemed like he fought for this treasure for a much greater cause.


    In his past life, Aldred¡¯s life was dictated by others. He was poor and unwanted. He couldn¡¯t control his own fate.


    This reminded him of something: Without power, you can affect nothing.


    ¡°You must have experienced something that makes you think this way,¡± Lanalra said.


    ¡°Yes, and I wish you three never have to experience it,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°Anyway, Bartrem! Is the food done yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet!¡± Bartrem flipped the meat and told his men to do the same. As he was about to increase the me, he sensed something behind him.


    Without any dy, he spun and shed. An orc was sliced in half. ¡°Enemy attack! Get into position!¡±


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw that numerous deep-sea orcs were hiding within the tall, thick seaweeds.


    [Alpha Dire Wolf]


    Level: 86


    Power: Poisonous Bonesaw, Crippling Strike, Deathly Swing


    These orcs brought axes and some kind of weapons used for sawbones. They brought a variety of weapons such as a long ck axe, two short axes, and even a long, thick serrated sword.


    Their appearance was unpleasant, to say the least. They looked like three meters-tall zombies with two big teeth sticking out rather than an actual orc.


    More of these monsters appeared, and they surrounded the camp.


    ¡°Yo, what you enter my territory for, yo?¡± A small orc appeared and spoke.


    ¡°Oh, you can talk. That makes it easier. Leave us alone, and you will not die,¡± Aldred said.


    The small orcughed. ¡°You came to my territory and threatened me, yo. Do you think I am stupid, yo?¡±


    ¡°Do you have to end your sentence with ¡®yo¡¯? Every time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my style, yo.¡±


    ¡°Let me show you my style.¡± Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and charged toward it.


    Seeing the menacing-looking de, the small orc grabbed a bottle from its waist and threw it to Aldred.


    The bottle exploded into a blinding light, which made everyone close their eyes by reflex. Aldredughed as he kept his eyes open. His godly eyes were immune to this. He charged through the light, and punched the small orc in the face, before stabbing its neck with the Phantom Doomde.


    ¨C 4890


    When the light disappeared, the other orcs gasped in shock when they saw their leaders being killed.


    ¡°Leader. Death. Not. Good. Kill. Man. Get. Revenge.¡±


    ¡°You guys sound like a broken speaker,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°REVENGE!¡± the orcs screamed before they charged toward him.


    ¡°I am sick of having weaker monsters ganging up on me. Red Rain!¡±


    The whole world seemed to turn red at that moment, and powerful,rge spears of me rained upon the orcs.


    The people that followed him all this time were shocked. Their bodies trembled when they felt the suffocating power around them. It was so much harder to breathe than usual.


    And when they saw the me spears turn the orcs to mist, their eyes widened.


    There were hundreds of orcsing from the dense seaweed. Despite Aldred killing them by the dozens without lifting a finger, the orcs kept oning like cockroaches.


    [You have earned 5,160 EXP]


    [You have earned 5,350 EXP]


    [You have earned 5,040 EXP]


    [You have earned 5,220 EXP]


    As Aldred killed more and more orcs, a hoarse shout came from the distance.


    ¡°Who dares kill my underlings!¡±


    A gigantic arm stabbed out of the ground, and pushed itself, revealing a 10-meters-tall orc with spears, swords, axes, and various weapons stuck on its skin.


    [Seagorge Bazag]


    Level: 89


    Power: ???

 327 Chapter 327

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Seagorge Bazag (Elite BOSS) (Power Restricted)]


    Level: 89


    Power: ???


    History: Once was a great War General among the orcs, Bazag was banished when an envious Commander took notice of his skill. Feeling his position threatened, the Commander used him of betrayal and banished him to the Deep Sea while all ten of his younger siblings were executed. Deep in resentment, Bazag rose from his supposed eternal sleep and evolved to control the sea as he wished.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°This is terrible,¡± Aldred said.


    The tall orc looked like a demon that came from a children¡¯s nightmare. Parts of its body were covered by zing red mes that made the surroundings warmer. Its hideous skin was as tough as a nail, and it was covered by some sort of tough exoskeleton that formed like armor around its body.


    ¡°I never see an orc like this. I know they are tall and muscr, but this¡­ this is far more than that.¡± Aldred couldn¡¯t avert his gaze from the orc¡¯s murderous eyes. It felt like something bad would happen if he did so.


    ¡°That orc is too powerful,¡± Ste said. ¡°If I was correct, its true strength should be above a Diamond Rank.¡±


    Aldred slowly nodded. ¡°I will fight it.¡±


    ¡°We will help you.¡±


    Aldred smiled at them. ¡°Help me when I need it. Let me test its power first.¡±


    He said that, but in his heart, he would like to fight the orc alone to prevent it from harming his wives and friends. With that in mind, he rushed towards the orc and then ran to the side.


    ¡°Where are you going, boy?!¡± The orc chased after him.


    Aldred looked over his shoulder once before he hastened his pace. He tapped his feet against each other, and the water around his feet burst into bubbles as jet me powerfully pushed him forward, further increasing his speed. With 419 points in dexterity, he was so fast that the orc couldn¡¯t even see his movement.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rely too much on your dexterity, Aldred!¡± Ste called. ¡°That orc is not that foolish.¡±


    Right after Ste said that, the orc shouted: ¡°Insect! Homing Water Arrow!¡±


    The orc grabbed its giant bow and formed a thick water arrow on his finger as he drew the string. Releasing the string, the water arrow cruised through the water like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier.


    The orc licked his lips as he watched the arrow go. He sensed that Aldred had a powerful, tasty soul. If it could devour the man, then he might break through his talent and increase his strength much further.


    The orc wasn¡¯t the only one thinking this way. Aldred too would like to devour its experience. He was sure that killing this orc would increase his attributes even further.


    He wanted power too. Not just for himself or to live a better life, but also to protect his loved ones, and prevent anyone from dictating his life. He didn¡¯t need to bow to someone unwillingly. He could lift his head and protect his own family.


    As the water arrow was about to hit him, he burst into the blood and teleported above the orc. Without dy, he was already swinging his Phantom Doomde at the orc¡¯s neck.


    The orc couldn¡¯t be underestimated, however. It abruptly swung the giant bow, mming him tens of meters away.


    The orc was about to follow up its attack until it felt an ominous feeling from behind. Before it could react, it felt a searing hot pain on its left hand. Looking at it, the orc realized that one of his fingers was cut off.


    The orc roared and punched Aldred in the face only for him to turn into blood mist.


    Another searing pain was felt from its back, the orc turned around, giving Aldred a backhand p, and he turned into blood mist.


    But another attack came towards the orc¡¯s right leg, creating arge gash on his ankle.


    ¨C 1442


    The orc kicked Aldred, bursting him into blood mist again. The orc groaned. ¡°Cowards! Show yourselves!¡±


    Four Aldreds appeared in front of him. Each of them held the same sword and had the same aura.


    ¡°Clones? Impossible. How can your clones have the same strength and even the same treasure as you?¡±


    ¡°You ask too many questions for a monster,¡± Aldred said.


    Bazag, the orc, was angered by that remark. It grabbed tight the bow and fired wildly, sending scattered water arrows in Aldred¡¯s direction.


    Guided by his godly eyes, dodging the arrows was an easy job, although getting hit by them would be lethal, so he still had to be careful.


    While he dodged, he rushed forward along with his three clones and attacked.


    The four of them attacked at the same time, and they precisely attacked at the wounds they made earlier.


    The sound of flesh being ripped was echoed despite them being underwater.


    Aldred¡¯s attack was deathly and relentless, using his Spirit Long Sword ability, he cut off some parts of the orc¡¯s soul and absorbed them, further increasing his own strength.


    ¨C 1142


    ¨C 1443


    ¨C 1104


    ¨C 1899


    ¡°ROARRR!!!¡± Bazag roared and leaped upward.


    Aldred looked around but the monster seemed to vanish.


    ¡°Where is that thing?¡±


    ¡°Aldred, watch above you!¡± Ste shouted.


    Aldred looked up and saw a yellow-fiery, meteor-like ball crashing towards him.


    Aldred rolled to the side.


    BOOM!


    The impact created a powerful explosion that pushed everyone and everything away. A giant crater could be seen because of the impact, zing with yellow mes despite the water.


    Seagorge Bazag stood up, and four eight-meter-tall boulders lifted themselves from the ground, rotating around him before they quickly went towards Aldred.


    Aldred was about to dodge until he felt a heavy pressure preventing him from moving. When the boulders were about to m onto him, powerful star particles crashed against the boulders and exploded the boulders to pieces.


    Aldred turned around and saw Ste nodding at him.


    Bazag kicked the ground, leaping high, grabbed tworge bone-des from its back, and spun in the water.


    Aldred and his three clones raised their de before they ran at each other, and jumped towards the orc, spinning.


    Both sides were like two spinning tornadoes shing against each other.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!


    The sh onlysted three seconds, but the damage was significant. Blood came out of Aldred¡¯s lips as his clothes were torn, and his skin was cut. It was the same with his clones as well, though they got it far worse.


    Using blood maniption, he quickly healed his wound, but he only looked good on the surface. His health points still would take some time topletely heal.


    ¡°Deep Sea Wave!¡± Bazag leaped again despite the injury it had all over its body. This was the tenacity of an orc. They were an ideal warrior any race could ask for.


    Raising both bone-des in an X shape, Bazag mmed the ground, sending powerful waves forward.


    Aldred and his clones were still wounded, and they were unable to react before the waves mmed their body.


    Bazag took that chance to m the ground, cracking the sea bed. Fourrge boulders floated around him. ¡°Boulder Smash!¡±


    The four boulders streaked upward before they arced down towards Aldred.

 328 Chapter 328

    As the boulders were about tond on him, a powerful light exploded, and the boulders stopped in mid-air.


    Aldred then saw Ste, Sophia, and Rachel pointing their palms towards the boulders, their hands glowing. They had stopped the boulders with magic. All his wives were here, along with Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and the others.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°We believe this is the time you need help,¡± Ste said with a smile. Mary, Mira, and Mareona nodded at him.


    Ivette brandished her sword and pointed toward the orc. ¡°Attack!¡±


    ¡°Hiyaaa!¡± The soldiers, led by Bartrem, charged forward.


    The orc snorted fumes out of his nose. It felt like its pride was being stomped when the enemy sent out his subordinates. ¡°Mere insects! Die!¡±


    He raised both of his bone-des and swung them towards Bartrem.


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡± Bartrem met the attack with an attack on his own and sessfully repelled the attack albeit he was thrown five meters away.


    The orc was forced to take half a step and it was shocked by the power of that human. It then took a clear look at the charging soldiers and realized each and every one of them was more powerful than the average Gold Rank. As a former General of his race, he knew the gap between Gold Rank could be vast. One orc might be so much better than the others that one Gold Rank orc could defeat five Gold Rank orcs at once. They were called Elite Orc formally, but they are more known as War Orc.


    But these types of orcs were rare. Out of a thousand orcs, only one would appear.


    And yet, all these soldiers were of the same strength as a War Orc.


    Where did theye from?


    His question was unanswered as the soldiers swarmed him from every direction. One group distracted him by carefully attacking in close range, others threw their chains at his leg, limiting his movement.


    ¡°Execution Strike!¡± Dozens of soldiers shouted at the same time, sending numerous bloody-red arcs toward the orc.


    His tough skin was prated, and green blood oozed out of the wounds. With the pain upying Bazag¡¯s mind, he became angered and roared out before attacking six soldiers with a powerful kick.


    The soldiers summoned their rare-grade shield and held against the attack properly. The orc¡¯s kick was nullified, and that was when Mary and Mareona leaped forward and raised their de above their heads.


    ¡°Flesh sher!¡± Both Mareona and Mary shouted before they arrived near Bazag¡¯s shoulder and shed with a powerful swing.


    The sword passed through the monster¡¯s shoulder. A thin wound appeared, jetting out green blood, but then it expanded like a shark just chomped a chunk of the shoulders.


    Mary and Mareona didn¡¯t stop there. They turned around and charged at the orc, before sending three shes at the same time.


    ¡°Multiple sh!¡±


    It was as if the des came in three different directions. Six parts of Bazag¡¯s body were wounded at exactly the same time. There was no dy between them.


    ¡°Hyaaa!¡± Bazag ignored the suffocating pain and mmed his des to the ground. The water current surged downward and it pressured all the soldiers nearby to kneel as if their weight had be much heavier.


    When he pulled his de, water spun around the de like a whirlwind. He leaped forward and was about to attack both Mary and Mareona until a blinding light precisely came at his forehead.


    Bazag raised his des to block the attack. ng!


    He was pushed by two steps which made the orc widen its eyes in astonishment. Someone even more powerful than the soldiers? Who?


    When Bazag took a proper look, he realized that the attacker was a petite girl with white flowing hair and armor. Holy lights came from her body.


    ¡°Mary, Mareona, are you two fine?¡± Ivette asked, still keeping her gaze on the monster.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine. Don¡¯t worry about us.¡±


    ¡°A tiny girl?¡± The orc frowned.


    ¡°Who do you call tiny?¡± She rushed forward with blurry speed, and stabbed consecutively, poking holes in the orc¡¯s body.


    After a few seconds of battle, Bazag got a grip on her pattern of attack and began to turn the table. Ivette retreated as Mary and Mareona switched with her.


    ¡°You two again!¡±


    ¡°Not just two, but four!¡± Ste and Rachel swung their staff and thick glowing vines grew out of the ground before they wrapped around the monster¡¯s limb.


    ¡°Did you guys forget about me already? Count me in as number five!¡± Kiara shouted before she joined the attack.


    ¡°I am not losing out! Call me six!¡± Zafrina shouted, raising both of her hands and both of her eyes turning crimson. ¡°Blood Burst!¡±


    Sophia and Mira looked at each other. ¡°Count eight!¡±


    Ivette lifted her sword again and smiled. ¡°And I am nine!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Bartrem walked forward with the soldiers behind him lining up. ¡°How can you forget about us? Call in eighty three!¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes me the eighty fourth,¡± Aldred said as he stepped ahead of them.


    They all smiled at each other before turning their heads to look at the tall orc.


    Aldred summoned his three clones and raised his Phantom Doomde. ¡°Charge!¡±


    They all roared at the same time before charging toward the orc. His undead appeared from the ground and surrounded the creature, and a portal opened as golems flooded in.


    The orc was surrounded in every direction. There was nowhere he could go.


    Xer Xai burst out of the sea bed and chomped on his left arm. Bruce, the bowman, shot ten precise shots at its weak spots, further wounding it. Be, the ice magician, cast her spell and froze Bazag¡¯s limb, and slowed his movement.


    Bazag was in a dire situation as numerous Phantom ws and Bajaragons barraged him with ws and fireballs.


    His golems which were made out of rare-grade treasure and had been further improved were no small matter either. Their attacks were relentless, and they didn¡¯t care about Bazag¡¯s lethal counterattack. They were unfeeling.


    Ivette roared and sliced off Bazag¡¯s right arm. Mary and Mareona cut off the legs.


    Bazag bit his own lips, and his limbs were regrown.


    ¡°You cannot defeat me! I am Seagorge Bazag! I dominated the deep water!¡±


    ¡°Not anymore!¡± Aldred threw a chain that wrapped around Bazag¡¯s body, disabling his movement. The orc was about to break the chain until thorns appeared on the chain and stabbed through the skin.


    The chain began to suck on his blood and soul.


    Bazag panicked, but before he could do anything, Kiara wed the creature¡¯s face, scalping the top part of his head, revealing his cold, beating brain.


    Zafrina raised her hands and clenched the beating brain. Blood surged from the brain and exploded, sending brain matter all over the water. But it quickly regenerated as if nothing happened.


    Aldred had enough of it already. He transformed the chain back to Phantom Doomde and attacked along with his three clones.


    ¡°Sky Splitting Strike!¡±


    His voice reverberated, and a thick beam of light came from above before smashing towards Bazag with an explosive force.


    Bazag¡¯s eyes were filled with despair as the light engulfed him whole.


    After the light disappeared, Bazag was no more, and green mist entered Aldred¡¯s Phantom Doomde.


    They looked at each other.


    ¡°We did it.¡±


    ¡°We did it! We defeated the monster!¡±


    They all cheered for their victory.


    Aldred smiled and nodded proudly at them. They all could feel their strength increase after defeating the powerful orc.


    He looked at the notification.


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [All attributes increased by 25 points]


    [You have received the ¡®Deep Sea¡¯ buff]


    [Deep Sea (Buff)]


    ¨C Your dexterity and strength will be doubled when you touch the water.


    ¨C Allow you to breathe in the sea.


    ¨C You canmunicate with sea creatures.


    ¨C You receive affinity with sea creatures. They can be your allies.


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 1 ¡ú Lv. 2]


    After looking at the notification, a chest suddenly appeared on the ground.

 329 Chapter 329

    ¡°By the way, Aldred. Why didn¡¯t you turn all the monsters we killed as  your undead?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Well, ignoring the weaker ones, the monsters we killed are eitherpletely obliterated like this orc, or they were frozen within an unbreakable ice orb,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°And I feel like the world is preventing me from obtaining more powerful undead.¡±


    ¡°That could be the case,¡± Ste said. ¡°So, should we open the chest?¡±


    ¡°Of course! This is one of the reason why we fight strong monsters.¡± Aldred pried open the chest, and dozens of rare deep-sea materials came out. These materials werepatible for shipbuildings or to make armor, and even weapons.


    Aldred¡¯s and his wives¡¯ eyes lit up. All of them were excited to find this treasure. Even skill books about ship buildings popped out of the chest. There were others treasure as well, such as boots that could increase speed passively, or boots that could be activated to increase speed in burst, although they had cooldowns and restrictions.


    Weapons of all kinds came out of the chest. Aldred were fairly surprised at the quality, and he absorbed some of them to his Phantom Doomde. His Phantom Doomde was abination of all kinds of weapon, and it could change shape and sizes. Not only could it summon red-bloody lightning, and consumed soul of living beings, it could also devour treasures to strengthened itself.


    Just like Aldred, the Phantom Doomde could be stronger and stronger in the future.


    Aldred smiled when he looked at his de frantically devouring some of the weapons. It was kind of alive, and could even choose which weapons to eat. He already considered the sword to be a partner and a friend. Sometimes, in the midst of battle, the Phantom Doomde would whisper in his head, guiding him in defeating the enemy.


    As treasures after treasures came out of the chest, something incredible popped out. It was Bazag¡¯s giant bow!


    [Deep Sea Bow (Epic)]


    Aldred grabbed the bow which was three times bigger than his body, and was amazed. ¡°This is a good bow.¡±


    ¡°Try to use it,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Oh wow¡­¡± Mally¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you would get the bow.¡±


    Aldred let the de absorbed the bow, and then willed it to morph into smaller size. He said smaller, but it was still taller than him. Drawing the string took some of his strength, but he didn¡¯t have any problem with that. A water arrow automatically formed on his finger as he drew the string.


    He released it.


    The arrow  stroked through the water and struck a boulder, exploding it to pieces.


    ¡°Nice. This will be a good long-range attack,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Though I prefer close-range.¡±


    ¡°Having a variety of attacks can be used to catch the enemy off guard,¡± Mareona said. ¡°Imagine the enemy didn¡¯t know you have a bow, and you pull it out all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that will shock them.¡± Aldredughed.


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget about the golems, undead, and your magical capability,¡± Ste said. ¡°One of the reason we can defeat the orc was you caught it off guard when you summoned the undead army and the golem army.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°You are correct. I should use all of my skills to throw the enemy off their bnce. I need to put doubts in their mind. Never letting them know what my next move will be.¡±


    Kiaraughed. ¡°Aldred, you should throw all of your magic elemental spell at the enemy and then attack them with a sword. They will be so shocked they wouldn¡¯t have the chance to react.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good strategy,¡± Aldred said.


    After the bow, another amazing treasure appeared from the chest.


    It was Bazag¡¯s dual bone-de.


    [Bazag¡¯s Dual Bone de (Epic)]


    Aldred immediately absorbed the weapon into his Phantom Doomde, and then morphed it into two bone-de. The two de was three times thicker than his arms, and four times longer than the entire length of his arm.


    Fortunately, he could manipte the size and length however he like. The de had blood-red lightning crackled around it, and some sort of blood mist floating around it. Not only that, a thin line of water spun around the de, further mystifying the des.


    Not only did he leveled up, his de also became so much stronger than before.


    A powerful aura spread throughout his body, and Aldred took in a deep breath of water. He could normally breathe without treasures or spells. His movement was more fluent now. If he fought Bazag again, Aldred believed he could defeat it alone.


    After the chest stopped pumping out treasure, there was silent in the air, before something small came out. It was a glowing red orb.


    ¡°That¡¯s the next item. If you put it on your astrbe, it will guide you to the next destination,¡± Ste exined.


    ¡°Will something happen if I take this orb?¡±


    ¡°Usually, we have to leave this ce immediately,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°You guys heard that?¡± Aldred looked at the group of treasure hunters following him. ¡°I will take this orb, so you guys better get out of here quick.¡±


    The treasure hunters were not fool, so they heeded his advice and ran away.


    Aldred waited for some time before he turned around and grabbed the orb. He summoned the astrbe, and they went towards each other like ma before merging. The red orb was now at the center of the astrbe. Red light spun around it once, and the orb spun before shooting a straight red beam towards north-west.


    ¡°So that¡¯s where we need to go,¡± Aldred said.


    Suddenly, a hole opened under the chest, and engulfed it.


    ¡°We have to leave, now!¡± Ste shouted.


    Aldred waved his hand, trying to open the portal, but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°Fuck, the world¡¯s force is blocking my portal.¡±


    ¡°We need to swim to safety,¡± Mary said. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Let me use my mask, first,¡± Mally said.


    ¡°Why do you need a mask in this situation?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°My mask give me luck. As long as I use it, luck will always be on my side,¡± Mally said as she wore the red-skull mask.  ¡°I am ready now. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They swam away from the ever-erging holes that sucked in everything nearby. Boulders, monsters, seaweed, sand, rocks¡­ everything.


    ¡°We have 20 minutes to get out of this ce,¡± Ste said. ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    Aldred and his wives felt restless. Twenty minutes didn¡¯t sound much especially when their life were at risk.


    An explosion sounded from behind, and a weird phenomena happened. Coming out from the hole was a weird purple glob of light, that started to spread in every direction. One of the light hugged a goblin, and that goblin vaporized.


    The hole was also getting bigger at an rming rate.


    ¡°Our time just got cut in half!¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Ten minutes doesn¡¯t sounds like enough time to get out of this sea cave,¡± Aldred replied with gritted teeth.


    One of the purple light went pass them and struck a shark which vaporized it immediately. Aldred panicked, and his wives were restless.


    ¡°Hey! Come over here!¡±


    Aldred turned around and saw a man in red rod called for them.


    Aldred and his wives didn¡¯t have a choice and immediately approached the man.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± The red-robed man swam inside a small cave.


    Aldred and his group entered, and the cave entrance was closed, leaving a small hole for them to see an enormous amount of purple light going pass.


    Aldred and his wives let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°That was a close call,¡± Aldred said. He looked at the red robed man, his face hidden under the robe. ¡°Thank you for saving us.¡±


    Aldred scanned the man only to find out that his godly was disabled by the world¡¯s power. He cursed the world in his heart. He didn¡¯t like how the man hid his face, but who was he to judge.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over,¡± the mysterious man said. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Aldred followed the man, and they saw a spiral staircase carved upward. He followed the man. Sprinting as they went up.


    After a few hours, Aldred and his groups saw light, and they came to the surface.


    ¡°Finally! Sunlight!¡± Mareona shouted. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know how many days have passed since we are deep under water.¡±


    Aldred was relieved as well. He tapped the shoulder of the robed man a few times. ¡°We are indebted to you. If not for you, I don¡¯t know if we can survive.¡±


    The man was silent for a few seconds, before he replied: ¡°Well, knowing you, you might find other ways to survive. I cannot afford that.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The robed man took off his robe and revealed his face¡ªand they were shocked to see who it was.

 330 Chapter 330

    ¡°Simond?!¡± Aldred was shocked and immediately entered a battle stance.


    Mally was shocked as well. She held her face, making sure her mask was in ce.


    ¡°Are you offering yourself to us?¡± Mally said, pointing her gunde at him.


    ¡°No. I am here for a duel,¡± Simond said.


    ¡°You think we will let you fight Aldred? There are more than eighty of us. We won¡¯t fight fair,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°I know,¡± Simond said. ¡°That¡¯s why I bring my fleet.¡±


    Suddenly, dozens of warships threw their magic camouge away and revealed themselves. Two motherships were in the distance, and dozens of warships were aiming their cannon at this ind.


    ¡°If you kill me. The warships will engulf this ind with mes,¡± Simond said. ¡°But if Aldred can defeat me one against one, all of you will live.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°You could have stayed at a safe distance and told someone else to lure me here. Why take the risk for a mere duel?¡±


    ¡°Unlike you, I have honor,¡± Simond said.


    ¡°What honor? What have you done to deserve the honor?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I prevent misguided women from taking arms and fighting. It should be men who grab the swords and shields and then die on the battlefield. It has been that way since ancient times, and it should be in the future.¡±


    ¡°Times change,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°You sound like a nagging old man.¡±


    ¡°Your radical views will bring the entire empire down. Men have their roles on the battlefield, and your ideas to let women participate will destroy our future!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. My team consists of men and women, and you see us just fine. We have killed so many powerful monsters and enemies. I trust them with my life. In fact, it¡¯s much more fun that way. Right, guys?¡± Aldred asked his soldiers.


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Of course, it was fun. Not only could they eat and sleep together, but men and women also match up letting them release their sexual urges any time they want. Soldiers were very active physically, but other than swinging swords, they needed to do something before bed too.


    ¡°Seems like you are blinded,¡± Simond said, ¡°Raise your weapon. Because you¡¯re a Ceraisian, I will let you die with honor.¡±


    Simond raised his dark sword, and for a second, all the light around ten meters from him was engulfed, and there wasplete darkness. The force was so powerful that space and time were bent, but only for a fraction of a second.


    ¡°You have be stronger,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I cannot let you defeat me,¡± Simond said. ¡°I have to grow.¡±


    Aldred sneered and raised his Phantom Doomde. Terrifying blood lightning crackled around the de.


    Simond frowned as he could feel an ominous feeling from that sword. It was an oddly-shaped de. It looked like abination of a spear, and a long sword with demonic ir to it. He didn¡¯t doubt that the weapon was powerful because he had exchanged fights with Aldred before. But the de seemed much stronger as well.


    He was suspicious¡­ Could that sword grow just like his own Dark Eater sword?


    If that was the case then his odds against Aldred weren¡¯t that far, to begin with. p


    But even if he had smaller odds, he would fight to the death. He was no coward.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°I am your enemy. You don¡¯t need to ask me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± Aldred smiled.


    Simond widened his eyes, and spun around, blocking an attack, before he pulled his head back as another sword came for his throat. Within that one-second time frame, two of Aldred¡¯s clones attacked at the same time.


    Simond stepped back and stared at the four Aldred one by one.


    ¡°It¡¯s four against one,¡± Aldred said. ¡°My clones are as strong as me. You cannot fight four of me at the same time.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with the power.¡± Simond¡¯s dark sword shot out three globs of ck goo and they morphed into his own figure.


    Clone technique!


    Aldred was quite surprised. He thought he was the only one with a powerful clone technique that could mimic 100% of his own power and treasures. This made Aldred even more curious about that sword, and he wondered how much stronger he would be if Phantom de could devour it.


    Phantom de let out a terrifying aura, showing its thirst to devour that dark de as well. Just like Aldred, it was hungry for power.


    Aldred and Simond rushed at each other, and their des shed. Nobody knew which one of them was real or a clone. They fought with the same style, power, and treasures.


    Their blurry movement impressed everyone there as they should. Any warrior, even at tinum Rank, would be impressed by their battle skills. Some tinum Rank would say they were inferior in techniques and skillpared to Simond and Aldred.


    As they fought, Aldred was annoyed that he couldn¡¯t activate his godly eyes. If he could activate it, this fight would end much sooner.


    Simond kicked Aldred on the stomach and his feet slid a few meters back.


    Aldred snorted. ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    Simond got cold sweat on his forehead when he realized the powerful technique Aldred executed. It was nothing like he had ever seen before.


    ¡°How can you be this strong so fast?¡± Simond hastily raised his sword to block the iing attack.


    Bang!


    When the swords collided with a bloody aura, a powerful trembling sensation went from the de to the hilt, and finally to Simond¡¯s arms. It felt like he was holding the entire weight of a mountain as his arms became weak immediately. And that lingering blood aura siphoned a tiny part of his soul, making him weaker.


    ¡°I will kill you now!¡± Simond burst the dark aura, and darkness engulfed his whole body, ripping his clothes, and turning his skin into shadows. Only a pair of hollow glowing eyes made his appearance resemble that of a human. His legs were nothing but floating darkness of mist.


    ¡°What kind of form is that?¡±


    The dark figure then suddenly appeared behind Aldred and stabbed his body from the back. He spat out blood as he saw the dark de go through his chest.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    A sinisterugh came from the dark figure. Nobody knew if it was still Simond or not.


    ¡°You¡­ just got fooled!¡± Aldred¡¯s lips curved into a smile, confusing the dark figure.


    Suddenly, Aldred burst into a blood mist, and then a de went through the dark figure¡¯s body. Simond turned around and saw Aldred smiling at him as he pushed the de even further.


    His clones disappeared, and Simond morphed into his real form.


    When Aldred pulled the de, he fell to the ground, breathing heavily as he stared at Aldred.


    ¡°Anyst word?¡± Aldred said, raising his sword.


    ¡°Stop this nonsense and kill me.¡±


    ¡°If that is what you wish then¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Mally walked toward Simond and then lifted her mask.


    Simond widened his eyes in shock. ¡°You¡­ is it possible that you are¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Simond. Yes, I am your sister.¡±


    ¡°Wait what!¡± Aldred and his wives were shocked. Even Bartrem and the soldiers were shocked by this revtion.

 331 Chapter 331

    Simond couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He stared at her tall figure and long, blonde hair. It was her. It was truly her. ¡°This cannot be. They said you were dead. You must be an illusion! Aldred, what kind of spell did you put me into?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t put any spell on you. Even I am shocked to hear this. Mally, is Simond really your brother?¡±


    ¡°Mally? That was her name. How did you know her name?¡± Simond asked.


    She sighed. ¡°My name is Mally Fairburne. I am a High-Knight of the Ceraisian Empire, and,¡± She looked at Simond. ¡°Simond¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡°You cannot fool me. My sister died a long time ago.¡±


    Mally reached out with her hand, and the dark sword swiftly flew at her beforending on her palm gently.


    Simond widened his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s really you.¡± Tears welled up in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s truly you. Sister, you¡¯re alive.¡±


    Mally knelt down and hugged him. ¡°Yes, I am alive. You must have it hard all this time.¡± She caressed his head.


    ¡°Why? Why did you leave us?¡± Simond asked.


    ¡°Long story short. I was assigned to a secret mission, and to do that, I need to have apletely new identity. So they said I was killed, but in truth, I just put a mask on and go somewhere.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s been years! How can you not send us a letter or a message?¡±


    ¡°That will put the mission in jeopardy,¡± Mally replied.


    ¡°Is the mission more important than your family?¡±


    Mally was silent at first before she replied: ¡°No. You are more important than anything, but it has to be done.¡±


    ¡°What is the mission?¡± Simond asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡±


    Simond nodded in understanding. Since he was a soldier for a long time, he knew that a secret must be guarded not only to protect the nation but to prevent unnecessary death. If Mally told Simond about the secret, her enemies mighte and torture him to obtain it.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Simond said.


    ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been a naughty boy,tely.¡± Mally rubbed his head with a smile.


    ¡°I am not a kid anymore.¡±


    Mally chuckled as she kept rubbing his head. ¡°To me, you¡¯d always be a kid.¡±


    Simond hid his face, no one could see it, but he was actually smiling.


    ¡°Anyway, stop preventing girls from joining the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°And stop hunting Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Mally said, nodding her head.


    Aldred and his other wives were speechless. Simond had been bothering them and hunting them down for more than a year. For an entire year, all they wanted was to kill each other, but a single word from Mally threw it all out of the window.


    ¡®What about all that talk about saving the empire from copsing, and saying that letting women on the battlefield will make Ceraisian Empire fall?¡¯ Aldred thought to himself.


    ¡°Sister, will you being back home?¡± Simond asked.


    ¡°No. I will be joining his journey until he gets the treasure.¡± Mally pointed at Aldred.


    ¡°I see. If possible pleasee back home. Mom and Dad want to see you get married soon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I am married already.¡±


    ¡°What? When?¡±


    ¡°A few weeks ago, I guess. Right after I fought you on the mothership.¡±


    ¡°With whom?¡±


    ¡°That guy?¡± Mally pointed at Aldred.


    ¡°What?! But how could you marry him?¡± Simond was distressed. ¡°He¡¯s not a good man for you, sister.¡±


    ¡°I can marry whoever I like,¡± Mally said.


    ¡°But¡­ does that mean you two have done it already?¡± Simond asked.


    ¡°Oh, for sure. A couple of times in fact.¡±


    Simond¡¯s expression turned dark. His wounds healedpletely, and he brandished his de. ¡°Aldred, I challenge you to another duel to the death!¡±


    ¡°Hell no. I don¡¯t want to kill my brother-inw.¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡±


    Before Simond could charge at him, Mally mmed his face to the ground. ¡°What did I say earlier?¡±


    ¡°Stop hunting Aldred,¡± Simond said as his mouth was kissing the sand.


    ¡°Good boy. Now stand up and go home.¡±


    Simond did as ordered and then looked at his long-lost sister. He sighed before hugging her again. ¡°I miss you so much.¡±


    Mally hugged him back with a smile. ¡°You know what. Don¡¯te home yet. Let¡¯s enjoy ourselves a feast first.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that. To wee my brother-inw, I ordered a grand feast to be held!¡± Aldred shouted. He didn¡¯t know what the heck just happened, but he¡¯d immediately dived in. If his year-long enemy was actually his brother-inw, then so be it. Aldred did not want to harm a family member.


    Simond was of course agitated every time he heard the word ¡®brother-inw¡¯. The fact that this man did her sister¡­ It enraged him inside, like a father who was unwilling to let go of his daughter.


    Night came, and a huge bonfire was lit as the soldiers sang and feasted upon the food Bartrem made.


    Aldred and his wives sat around the bonfire. Of course, Mally and Simond were there. They were the star tonight.


    ¡°Simond, did you remember how you used to hug my legs every time I disagree with you?¡±


    ¡°Sister! Don¡¯t bring that up.¡±


    Mallyughed maniacally when she saw Simond¡¯s cheek blushing.


    ¡°By the way, why didn¡¯t you tell me when we fought on the mothership that day?¡± Simond asked. A few weeks ago, he had fought against a pirate with a red skull mask who was actually his sister. The question was, why didn¡¯t she tell him about it that day?


    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t nning to tell you. But Aldred was about to kill you earlier, and I cannot let that happen.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my brother-inw now. So we¡¯re cool,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Who said we¡¯re cool?¡± Simond red at him. ¡°I am watching you.¡±


    Aldred smiled and rubbed the back of his head. ¡°I will take care of your sister, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Simond almost stood up from his seat and fight with Aldred right there and then.


    ¡°Calm down brother-inw. Here, have a kebab.¡±


    Simond was about to p the kebab away until he saw his sister ring at him. He sighed and resigned to his fate, epting the kebab and eating it. Thankfully, the food tasted good and the drinks were great.


    That night, Mally and Simond chatted about their childhood memory when they used to hunt pigs near the river and train sword art together. They had a goodugh, and Simond still couldn¡¯t believe that his sister was alive. It was unreal. For years he had believed that his sister was killed in battle, but now here she was, smiling andughing with him, reminiscing about their childhood memory.


    Simond had pinched himself a couple of times, making sure that it wasn¡¯t a dream. He smiled every time he did it.


    ¡°It¡¯ste night,¡± Mally said. ¡°Go get some sleep. We will chat again tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sister.¡±


    As Simond walked to his tent, he turned around and saw his sister entering her own tent. And then Aldred came, looked at him, and gave a thumbs up before entering the tent as well.


    That man was so annoying.


    And then he heard his sister¡¯s cry from inside the tent. ¡°Fucking bastard! I am going to kill you!¡±

 332 Chapter 332

    For three full days, Simond spent his time with his sister and Aldred¡¯s group. Since he was now Aldred¡¯s brother-inw, Bartrem invited the warship¡¯s crew to eat. So they left their warships and used a small boat tond on the small ind.


    It was a grand feast indeed.


    On thest day, Mally told Simond to return to the mothend.


    Simond sighed. Deep inside, he wanted to stay close to her, but it would be impossible. They had their roles in society now.


    ¡°If you doe back, please let me know, sister,¡± Simond said.


    ¡°Sure. Now go. Make Mom and Dad proud. And don¡¯t tell anyone that I am alive.¡±


    Simond nodded before he boarded the small boat. He turned around and waved at her for onest time.


    ¡°I thought you will spend more time with him,¡± Aldred said. ¡°You haven¡¯t met each other for years.¡±


    ¡°I know. I want to, but¡­ if I do that, I am afraid I couldn¡¯t let him go. He grew so well, so fast. He¡¯s even taller than me now. How time flies.¡±


    ¡°By the way, did you give him back the sword?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s unfortunate.¡±


    Mally hit him softly. ¡°Don¡¯t take my brother¡¯s sword. I gave it to him.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get it? That thing is quite powerful.¡±


    ¡°I found it in a dungeon. But even I didn¡¯t expect the sword to grow that powerful.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°So even you didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Mary called. ¡°Are we going to continue our journey?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Ste, please call Burchard to pick us up.¡±


    Ste nodded and closed her eyes to transmit a message using her star magic.


    Aldred turned around and saw Mally sighing as she stared at the empty sea. Simond was long gone along with his fleet. He approached her and tapped her back. ¡°You will see him again.¡±


    ¡°I hope so,¡± Mally said.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I will make sure of that. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Mally smiled and hugged him.


    Aldred¡¯s group waited for a few hours until the Destroyer¡¯s Fleet arrived.


    Dozens of small boats quickly went towards the ind with golems as the driver. The golems picked them up and escorted them back to the mothership.


    In themand room, Aldred asked: ¡°What about other ships that stay in the Great Lake?¡±


    ¡°They are still there,¡± Burchard said.


    ¡°So where are we now?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°We are actually still on the Great Lake, but quite far from the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Okay, before we can continue our journey, we have to go to a ce first,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Where to, My Lord?¡± Burchard asked.


    ¡­


    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet arrived at the southern part of the Lympsian Theocracy, at the city of Burlisleho. A port city that relied on trades for its ie.


    The people on the merchant ships were of course shocked to see such a huge fleeting towards the city. All of them were on alert for an attack, and the wealthy men were already preparing to leave the city as soon as possible. But the coast guards had some dialog with Burchard and tell everyone in the city.


    They all sighed in relief. A fleet thatrge could bombard the city into rubble if it let, though most of them were quite confident in the power of the coast guards. After all, this city depended on the sea, so it had quite a lot of warships to protect it.


    When the bridge was connected to the dock, Aldred and his wives walked out and stepped onto the dock.


    They took a deep breath and let it out with a smile.


    ¡°Finally, a city!¡± Mareona lifted her fists. ¡°I am bored of seeing the ocean.¡±


    ¡°Say that to the sailors, Mareona,¡± Aldred said. ¡°They got it worse.¡±


    As they were chatting with each other, a group of guards approached them with a nervous expression. They were a part of coast guard members, but they were even nervous to talk to the boss of this massive fleet. Not to mention they had dozens of soldiers wearing rare-grade treasure from top to bottom.


    Just by looking at them, the guards knew they were dealing with a powerful man.


    ¡°Wee to Burlisleho, My Lord. May I know the intention of your visit? ¡± The guard bowed slightly.


    ¡°I am just looking for someone. Don¡¯t worry about us,¡± Aldred said to the guard.


    ¡°And what can I call you, My Lord?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Aldred. Will you be willing to spend some time meeting Lord Langdon Hildom, the governor of this city?¡±


    ¡°Langdon Hildom? That sounds familiar.¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you meet someone on the Sea Fruit Market named something Hildom that time?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah, her name was Lura Hildom if I am correct.¡±


    The guard showed a surprised expression. ¡°Lord Aldred, do you perhaps know the youngdy?¡±


    ¡°You can say so. She gave me a bunch of sea tokens.¡± Aldred summoned a small bag that Lura gave him.


    When the guards noticed the symbol on that bag, their eyes widened. That was Lady Lura¡¯s personal bag. For her to give this man her own bag¡­ who was he?


    ¡°Will you be willing to meet the governor, My Lord? Lady Lura is his daughter, so I am sure you will meet her there as well.¡±


    Aldred looked at his wives. ¡°Should we meet her?¡±


    ¡°Why not. We don¡¯t know her for too long, but having free amodation would be nice.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I am willing,¡± Aldred said to the guard.


    ¡°Please follow me, Lord Aldred.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Who did you say his name was?¡± Lura asked the guard.


    ¡°He said his name is Aldred, and he even brings your personal bag with him.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, that guy. I never thought we would meet again. Wait, did he bring the whole fleet with him?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lady Lura. The fleet is massive, consisting of two powerful motherships, and more than seventy warships.¡±


    Lura almost got a heart attack when she heard that. ¡°You can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The guard bowed and left the room.


    Lura left her room as well and entered her father¡¯s room without knocking.


    ¡°Lura, what makes you in a hurry?¡± her father asked.


    ¡°Aldred is here.¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°The person I told you about the other day.¡±


    ¡°The ones with a massive fleet as strong as ours?¡±


    ¡°His fleet might be stronger than ours now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go out and see it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°He brings his whole fleet? Here to my city?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Shit. We should meet him right now to avoid any mimunication.¡±


    ¡°The guards are bringing him to us right now.¡±


    ¡°What? I am not ready yet! Maids! Clean this room, bring our most expensive food and drinks, and don¡¯t forget to burn the magical agarwood so this room can smell nice.¡±


    The maids bowed and immediately went to work. They cleaned the room inch by inch as more maids came in to help. They lifted the furniture away and brought in a new one. It was so new that someone would think the craftsman just crafted it a few seconds ago.


    ¡°Lura, you get ready as well. Don¡¯t let the guest think you disrespect him by wearing casual clothes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±


    A few minutester, the door opened and the guards escorted Aldred inside.

 333 Chapter 333

    Lord Langdon looked at Aldred with an expressionless face at first, but when he saw the smile on Aldred¡¯s face, Langdon smiled as well. In his line of work, expression was important to send out a message about how you wanted to be treated. If you wanted a pure business rtionship and respect, then stone-cold expression was a great choice. It made the opponents wonder what you were thinking, and less prone to trick you.


    When dealing with merchants, this was the best expression to use. But Aldred¡¯s stance was still unknown to Langdon. Did hee here for trades? Alliance? He didn¡¯t know yet.


    Though he couldn¡¯t predict Aldred¡¯s intention, he could peer through his power. Activating his ultra instinct, Langdon was shocked to realize that Aldred was a young boy in an adult¡¯s body. He was 11 years old and already at Elite Gold Rank.


    ¡°I heard about you, Lord Aldred,¡± Langdon greeted.


    ¡°Please, no need to call me lord.¡±


    Langdon raised an eyebrow. This boy was exceptionally humble. ¡°Please, sit down.¡±


    Aldred and his wives sat down on the couch.


    When they already sat, the maids immediately went to work and served them light snacks and drinks.


    ¡°If I may, how old are you, Aldred?¡± He asked for confirmation even though he already knew.


    ¡°I am 11 years old.¡±


    The maids and guards were shocked but Langdon simply nodded. ¡°You are very talented. Did you know that this world has never seen someone like you? Only heroes in a fairy tale can match your talent.¡±


    ¡°I am ttered.¡±


    ¡°May I ask how big your fleet is?¡±


    ¡°Currently, I only have two motherships, 40 cruisers, 44 destroyers, 39 frigates, 15 submarines, 4 cargo ships, and some speedboats.¡±


    ¡°That many?¡± Langdon eximed. He had heard the report about Aldred¡¯s fleet, but he thought that it would consist of simple warships. But Aldred didn¡¯t even have simple warships. All of his ships were specialized battleships such as cruisers and destroyers. This was not the level of a private fleet, it had reached the level of a medium power!


    Langdon wanted to know where Aldred got so many ships, but he didn¡¯t want to pry too deep or he would be suspicious of him.


    It was at this moment, the door opened and a beautifuldy with simple yet elegant clothes came inside. ¡°Hello, Lord Aldred. We meet again.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me lord. And thank you for saving me the other day.¡±


    Lura giggled. ¡°You are funny. If I let Fubam bothers you, he wouldn¡¯t be able toe back home to his family.¡±


    ¡°Fubam? That kid from the neighboring city? Did he bothers?¡±


    ¡°It was a small annoyance. No need to continue it. Let bygone be bygone.¡±


    ¡°Fubam is lucky,¡± Langdon said. ¡°Anyone else, and he would be erased.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, Aldred. Howe you grow so fast? If I remember correctly, you are five times stronger than thest time I met you which was around a month ago.¡±


    Langdon frowned. He trusted her daughter¡¯s assessment. If Aldred could increase his strength five times in a month then that would be supreme talent.


    ¡°I am a treasure hunter,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Ahh, that exins it,¡± Langdon said. ¡°Big risk, big reward, that is the motto of a treasure hunter. So you participate to look for the ultimate treasure?¡±


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s my goal.¡±


    ¡°A lot of nobles and wealthy men have sent their men to look for it. You arepeting against giants.¡±


    ¡°I am not an ant myself,¡± Aldred replied.


    Langdonughed. ¡°I like that answer.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, why don¡¯t we have dinner first? I am sure all of you are hungry,¡± Lura said. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, your guards will be fed properly as well.¡±


    The maids came with food. Steam came out of them which made the room smell even better. Aldred checked the food with his godly eyes and confirmed that it was safe.


    As they ate, Langdon asked about his adventure.


    Of course, Aldred was excited to tell his story. From Surviving Mount Fargon, and literally making weapons for war between Paphia and Yevileria, defeating all kinds of monsters, and even encountering some tinum Rank beast.


    Langdon and Lura were shocked to hear his story. Both of them thought that Aldred would use his powerful men to clean out the path for him, but instead, it was him who clear the path most of the time.


    ¡°What¡¯s your hardest fight?¡±


    ¡°I would say it was against a monster called Seagorge Bazag. That thing was a giant orc with powerful bows and dual bone-des. It was so much more powerful than a tinum Rank Behemoth. Though that Behemoth was not walk in the park to defeat either.¡±


    ¡°That is such an amazing story,¡± Langdon said. ¡°I was about to tell my own adventure when I was young, but I¡¯d be too embarrassed. Compared to you, my story is nothing.¡±


    ¡°I am sure you have an amazing story as well. Every Diamond Ranks have an epic tales to tell.¡±


    Langdon gave a smallugh. ¡°Aldred, would you be willing to join the GLA?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°The Great Lake Alliance. The member consists of every nation bordering the Great Lake, and powerful merchants that make their trades here. Paignia, Lympsian, Hofnmoen, and Trelder are the main nations that protected this water. You can receive a lot of benefits such as tax-free trades, special routes, a special port spot for your ships, and many more. All you have to do is put one of your motherships and a squad of warships on thiske to protect it.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a great deal, but I am a treasure hunter and I need all the warships I can get.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Langdon nodded. Aldred was right. He now needed all of the firepowers he could get because treasure hunting was a dangerous job and enemies not only came from the dungeon but also from other treasure hunters as well.


    ¡°But I at least want to make a deal with you. You know, I have a golempany.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you said that before. But yourpany is located in Yevileria, can you bring your golems here?¡±


    ¡°We can do something about that.¡± Aldred waved his hand and a portal opened beside him.


    Tarrar stepped out of the portal. ¡°What do you need me for?¡±


    Langdon was surprised. ¡°Aldred, you can control space?¡±


    ¡°Not really. It¡¯s hard to exin, but I can open portals although with some limitations.¡±


    Langdon nodded a bunch of times. Sometimes, a sentient race would receive an innate ability such as transformation, speed, strength, teleportation, levitation, telekinesis, and other abilities that didn¡¯t require any energy at all. This ability usually had limitations, but they were quite useful.


    ¡°Tarrar, this is Lord Langdon. He is the governor of Burlisleho, a rich port city on the southern part of the Great Lake.¡±


    Tarrar slightly bowed towards Lord Langdon. ¡°My name is Tarrar. I am the CEO of Aldred¡¯s Golem Mercenarypany which was 100% owned by Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to sell your share?¡± Langdon asked.


    ¡°Not right now,¡± Aldred said. ¡°And probably not in the future. I like to have full control over mypany.¡±


    Langdon nodded. ¡°So how do we proceed?¡±

 334 Chapter 334

    Tarrar smiled at Langdon who seemed eager to do business with Aldred. Since he was the CEO of thispany, Aldred had given him a lot of bonuses. In fact, the bonus could even reach 50% of the profit generated. This made him work even harder.


    ¡°We have two types of golems: Soldiers, and workers. We use to limit our buyers on how many they can buy per month, but since you are a good friend of my boss, I will let you buy as much as you want.¡±


    Langdonughed. ¡°I appreciate that. But can I take a look at the golem first? I see you are very confidence about your product, so I am very eager to see it.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed,¡± Tarrar said before he called for a bunch of worker golems and fighters golem to enter the room through the portal.


    Langdon nodded with satisfaction. ¡°I have heard that your golems are created purely from rare-grade treasures. Why are these golems not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the economical version,¡± Tarrar said. ¡°You know our golems can be destroyed, but they will regenerate soon after.¡± Tarrar then punched a hole on the golem, and everyone saw it regenerated.


    Langdon was impressed.


    ¡°The golems can do this indefinitely.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Langdon ask. ¡°What about mana crystal? Do I have to rece it when it run out?¡±


    Aldred and Tarrar smiled and said at the same time: ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡±


    ¡°This is one of the reason why so many people and groups wanted our golems. These golems are hard, relentless, and tireless. In fact, people have been calling the golem as ¡®Undying¡¯ due to how tough they are to disable.¡±


    ¡°There has to be weakness,¡± Langdon said.


    ¡°There are,¡± Tarrar replied. ¡°Either you disintegrate the golem¡¯s entire body at once, or you trapped it with a spell. This can be done by burying the golems, ensnaring them, freeze them, or petrify them into unmoving stones. But the mostmon way to disable them is to destroy the spell that enable them to move around in the first ce. Of course there might be other ways to destroy the golems that we have not know yet.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, your golem does not require a mana crystal to function?¡±


    ¡°For some models yes. The ones with mana crystals is of course a lot more expensive, but you don¡¯t have to rece them because they will never run out of mana.¡±


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Langdon asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret,¡± Aldred replied with a smile.


    Langdon smiled back. ¡°Right, forgive me for asking.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize. So, are you interested?¡± Aldred asked


    ¡°Of course, I am interested. But can you show me the power of these soldier golems.¡±


    Tarrar nodded and ordered for two fighter golems to step forward and face each other. ¡°These are our fighter golems. Their de can be made with anything, and so does their whole body. If you want to be cheap, they can be made of stones and wood, but if you want better protection and durability, you can give them rare-grade treasure.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®give¡¯?¡±


    ¡°They can absorb nearby materials and used them either as armor or weapons.¡±


    Langdon and Lura widened their eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite amazing,¡± Langdon said.


    Lura nodded a few times. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things we can do with that function. Like raiding the enemy¡¯s base, and then telling the golems to absorb everything for them to use, and when they return, we can tell the golem to give back the treasures that we need.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I want to see them fight,¡± Langdon said.


    Tarrar nodded and raised his hand. Immediately, the two fighter golems shed the floor, throwing dirts to each other¡¯s eyes before they charged forward.


    Raising their swords at the same time, they kicked each other in the chest, sending both golems crashing to the wall. The golems didn¡¯t waste any time and pounced at each other. They had the same fighting style and attack pattern, but Langdon noticed that their style improved as the battle went on ever so slightly, and each golem tried to do a unique maneuver to get an advantage over the other.


    Langdon frowned. ¡°I noticed their fighting pattern are quite unique and changing as time went on.¡±


    ¡°Our golems can adapt to their enemies and will change their fighting style if the battle is prolonged.¡±


    ¡°So they will change style if theye to a disadvantage?¡±


    ¡°Not only that, the golems will also learn the fighting pattern of their enemies and try to find out a weak spot to defeat them.¡±


    Langdon and Lura was speechless. They had never seen a golem like that. Most golems were brainless, moving stones that were only useful for their strength. Not only were they expensive to build, use, and maintain, their toddler-level intelligence also made it hard to use them as anything.


    But these golems were different.


    ¡°They are a better fighter than the average warrior. In fact, it might reach the Elite level.¡± Langdon said.


    Lura was shocked to hear her father¡¯sment. Her father was a Diamond Rank warrior, and if he said that these golems were at the Elite level, then they must be.


    After the fighter golems fought each other for a few minutes, two gunner golems lifted their weapons and bombarded each other with thick fire bullets, and me throwers.


    ¡°Stop the fight,¡± Langdon said. ¡°I have see everything I need to see.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to show you the artillery golems, but they will destroy this room,¡± Tarrar said with a slight disappointment.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I believe in your product. I am buying all type of golems you have for 10,000 units.¡±


    ¡°Father, are you sure you want to buy that much?¡±


    ¡°Daughter, don¡¯t let others think that our city is too poor to afford their product. Of course, I want to buy that much. There are a lot of criminalstely, and the guards needs a lot of extra help to take care of them. And There are more pirates in the sea nowadays. And don¡¯t forget that we found a new mining site. We can use the golems to dig the dangerous site.¡±


    ¡°Yes, our golems are perfect to do jobs that are too dangerous,¡± Aldred said. ¡°They are after all not humans and therefore fearless and couldn¡¯t feel pain, so feel free to put them in the harshest environment possible.¡±


    After a little bit of chatting, they signed the deal and was very happy with it. Aldred will get a lot of money, and Langdon will get a lot of fearless and undying subordinates that would do everything he told them to do.


    After the deal, they talked happily while enjoying the food and drinks. His wives were happy to see this deal seeded, after all, if they had more money, they could get more ships and treasures.


    ¡°What was it that make youe to this city again?¡± the lord asked.


    ¡°I am looking for a friend¡¯s parents.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, maybe we can help. What are their names?¡±


    ¡°They are called Lina and Nordig.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Get some rest. I will take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Governor.¡± Aldred smiled.

 335 Chapter 335

    Aldred thanked Lord Langdon and Lura before they left the room and were escorted out by the maids.


    Inside the room, Langdon asked his daughter: ¡°Lura, what do you think of him?¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s the most talented person this world has ever seen. He will surely be a great figure in the future.¡± Lura objectively said. As the daughter of a governor, she had to learn how to analyze someone and decided if that person was suitable to be a partner.


    ¡°I mean, do you like him as a man or not?¡±


    Lura was caught off guard by that question. ¡°Father, you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am nning to betroth you to him.¡±


    Lura sighed. ¡°Father, I think Aldred is a wonderful man, and any woman in the world would want to be his partner, but I don¡¯t think I am worthy. He already had a lot of wives and all of them are very powerful and talented on their own.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°No. I am not disappointed. I think we can still be an ally to Aldred even if you don¡¯t have an intimate rtionship with him.¡±


    ¡°I hope that is the case, but in the future, he will be so big, that he wouldn¡¯t be dealing with us anymore. Instead, he will directly talk to the ruler of this nation, not a governor who only ruled a single city.¡±


    Langdon bitterlyughed. ¡°That¡¯s quite a reasonable prediction you made. It might indeed be true, but if we helped Aldred in finding Lina and Nordig, he might helped us to rise in the future.¡±


    ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a gamble after all, but don¡¯t really take it into heart. In the world of politics, it¡¯s all a game of interest,¡± Langdon said. He had always talked to his daughter in a straightforward and teaching manner. He wanted her to learn the reality of this world. To obtain more power and maintain it. To not ever take things too personally because emotion was easy to manipte.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in bed, his wives were already sleeping. Aldred, on the other hand, could not sleep. He tried closing his eyes, and waited, but he had been waiting for hours, and still could not sleep.


    ¡°What is going on with me? Sleep usuallyes very easy.¡±


    Suddenly, his eyes turned crimson red, and a great thirst for blood overwhelmed him. His teeth turned into fangs of a vampire, and he pounced on Kiara, baring his teeth on her neck before he held himself.


    ¡°This is very dangerous,¡± Aldred said to himself, shaking as he struggled to control his own body.


    ¡°Aldred?¡± Kiara rubbed her eyes before she looked at him.


    Her face was so beautiful, and paired with her amazing hour-ss figure, and majestic golden hair, Aldred could not wait to devour her. No he must not! Control yourself Aldred!


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Aldred?¡± Kiara held his hand.


    It was warm, and Aldred could see feel her blood moving in her veins. He wanted to devour it.


    ¡°I am sorry, Kiara.¡± Aldred bit on her neck which shocked her.


    Kiara put her hands on his shoulder about to push him, but she decided not to and let him drank her blood. ¡°I almost forgot that you are a vampire.¡±


    She caressed the back of his head as Aldred sucked on her neck harder which made her blush. She weirdly felt turned on as her thigh rubbed against each other. A few secondster, she felt wet around her thigh area which made her blush even more.


    ¡®How could I be so shameless to be wet in this situation?¡¯ She thought to herself.


    Aldred released her fangs from her neck and looked at the notification that appeared in front of him.


    [You have evolved]


    [Viscount Blood Vampire Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2]


    Aldred felt a refreshing energy all over his body. His blood felt thicker and lighter, and he could now control blood much better now. Usually, a stronger enemy would be harder to control their blood, so this was of great benefit to him as he could weakened his enemies as he fought them.


    Blood maniption have different types of offensive abilities. One was short and lethal attack like Blood Burst. This ability could explode the enemy from within, but this only worked with weaker enemies. The second type was forming a weapon using blood. This could be spears, or swords, and elemental spell have this ability too. It wasn¡¯t that usefulpared to his Phantom Doomde, but maybe he could do something about it.


    The third type was debuff. Blood maniption can be used to slow the enemy down, make them dizzy, and even constrict their oxygen. With a some limitation, he could even control the muscle of his enemies, like turning the muscles on their arms, disabling them for a certain time.


    Aldred smiled, and removed the notification before he looked down and saw Kiara was blushing and breathing heavily while she looked at him with lust in her eyes.


    ¡°Kiara?¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear?¡± she replied in a cute manner while subconsciously revealing her breast.


    Her pink nipples made another emotion welled up in his heart.


    ¡°Do I look cute?¡± Kiara asked.


    ¡°Yes, Kiara. You are very cute.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me?¡±


    ¡°I want you so much.¡±


    Kiara unbuttoned her clothes and revealed her smooth and small belly.


    Aldred kissed her stomach which made her giggle and rubbed his head in a loving manner.


    His lips slowly went up, and then he licked on her nipple before sucking on it.


    ¡°Ehmmm¡­ Ahhh¡­ More, Aldred. More.¡±


    Aldred put the nipple inside his mouth and y with it with his tongue, making her cave even wetter than before.


    Aldred¡¯s hand moved downward, and he quickly removed her clothes, revealing her wet cave.


    Kiara felt vulnerable and safe in his embrace. It was a weird yet familiar feeling. She would never get bored of this emotion, in fact, she wanted to feel it every night.


    Aldred¡¯s fingers caressed her thigh and slowly went up to the spot between her thigh. He rubbed her cave up and down, making sshing sound as it was so wet.


    Kiara moaned while gripping Aldred¡¯s hand. ¡°Aldred, I can¡¯t stand it anymore. Put it in me.¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Aldred put one finger in her cave, slightly entering anding out again a few times.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Kiara felt so good and started to move her hips up and down to feel the pleasure even more. Aldred felt bad to make her waiting, so she spread her legs and put his rod in front of the gate.


    Kiara looked at him in anticipation. He was right on top of her, his rod aimed at her cave.


    She smiled and caressed his cheek. ¡°I love you, Aldred.¡±


    ¡°I love you too, Kiara.¡±


    The ram burst through the gate, and both couples moaned in pleasure and satisfaction. They now be one, moving around in each other¡¯s warm and embrace.


    They indulged in the pleasure the entire night with moans and kisses. In the end, Aldred cummed inside her as she hugged him tight.


    She spasmed for a few seconds beforeying weakly on the bed.


    Aldredy beside her and pulled her into a hug.

 336 Chapter 336

    The next day, a knock sounded on the door. Mary opened the door and saw that it was Lura who was neatly dressed.


    Lura looked at Mary who wore light, revealing clothes that seemed veryfortable to use in bed. No wonder she could be one of Aldred¡¯s women. Even her breast was of the right size and with pristine skin. Lura envied her slightly.


    ¡°How can I help you, Lura?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Is Aldred inside?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he is currently sleeping. Do you want me to wake him up?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. I don¡¯t want to bother him.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so stiff.¡±


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Lura greeted, surprised that he was already awake.


    ¡°Good morning, Lura,¡± Aldred greeted. ¡°What do you need from me?¡±


    ¡°We found Richa¡¯s parents.¡±


    ¡°That fast?¡± Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    Lura nodded, feeling proud of her subordinates¡¯ capability. She had promised them a good amount of bonus if they could find Lina and Nordig in a day. Though, it wasn¡¯t that hard to find them as every citizen here was noted by the administration.


    ¡°Can we go and visit them now?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Sure, I will lead you there.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let me wake up the others.¡± Aldred went to bed and called for his wives to wake up.


    After waking up, they quickly got dressed and walked to the door.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Aldred said.


    Lura nodded and led them out of the mansion. Walking on the streets, Aldred noticed the bustling activity of the port city. It was a busy city and perfectly designed.


    Aldred and his wives were currently walking on the pedestrianne. On the other side, there was the transportation and cargone where big carriages brought goods and people at a high speed.


    This city was very productive and all the people here were walking with smiles on their faces.


    Aldred nodded. This city was a peaceful city with a growing economy, political stability, and low crime rate, though Lura said during their walk that crime was starting to increase due to an increase in pirate activity near the region.


    The group of powerful fleets sailing around the greatke looking for treasure was also the cause of the unrest, but Lura believed it was a temporary problem. If the fleets went away, so would the problem.


    ¡°The golems will make sure the crime rate to be as low as it can get,¡± Aldred assured.


    ¡°I am confident of that,¡± Luna replied. ¡°After all, I have seen the golems with my own eyes, and there is no doubt that they will take care of the citizens in this city.¡±


    Aldred smiled. He was d that his golems weren¡¯t only used for wars, but also for protection and security. With these tireless golems walking around the city day and night, the people will feel much safer now.


    ¡°Help!¡±


    As they were walking on the street, they heard a screaming from the alley.


    Aldred, Lura, and the wives looked at each other before rushing towards the alley.


    When they arrived at the scene, they saw a golem already neutralizing two men with a knife in their hands. A middle-ageddy was breathing heavily while holding her purse tight.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± thedy said to the golem as it left without a word.


    Aldred and the others were relieved that thedy was fine.


    ¡°Thankfully, the golem already took care of it,¡± Lura said.


    Aldred approached the two criminals. ¡°Your father doesn¡¯t order the golems to kill the criminals?¡±


    He asked this because he detected the two men were still alive.


    ¡°No. He doesn¡¯t really like killing. He believed that peoplemit crimes because they are desperate. Killing these desperate people is too much for him. But, there is an exception. Those psychopath murderers are true criminals. My father showed no mercy to them.¡±


    ¡°The people here are lucky to have your father,¡± Aldred said. ¡°It¡¯s not every day I see a person in power using it to the benefit of the people.¡±


    Lura smiled. She was also proud of her father and wanted to be like him in the future. When she heard Aldred praise her father, she couldn¡¯t contain her happiness and pride.


    They saw the middle-ageddy leave, and they also left the alley.


    After walking for several blocks, they arrived at a small, worn-down house. It was neat like it was cleaned and taken care of regrly, but time rotted the wood away, and the homeowner didn¡¯t seem to be able to afford to buy wood to rece the rotten parts.


    They then saw a pair of middle-aged couples sitting together at a table as if they were waiting for someone.


    ¡°Are those them?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Yes. They are the parents of Richa.¡±


    ¡°I see. You guys wait here.¡± Aldred took a deep breath and approached the couple.


    Lura and the wives watched Aldred as he spoke to the middle-aged couple. There was an expression of disbelief on the couple¡¯s faces at first, but as Aldred exined to them, tears came out of their eyes.


    They saw Aldred calming the couple. He then said that Richa told Aldred toe here and pay their debt.


    They cried even more.


    ¡°It¡¯s our fault,¡± the mother said. ¡°It¡¯s because we have too much debt so she had to go. We wish for her happiness, but we be her burden instead. She should have lived her own life and left us.¡±


    The father didn¡¯t shed any tears anymore, but his disappointed expression at himself would make anyone think that he wouldmit suicide because of guilt.


    Lura sighed. Looking at the couple made her fearful of losing her father. For all of her life, her father was her whole world. Her mother had died when she gave birth, so her father was the only one that was there for her.


    If she lost him¡­ even imagining that possibility pained her.


    ¡°Lura, are you okay?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I am fine.¡±


    Aldred returned to them with a sigh and seemingly with a heavy heart as well.


    ¡°How are they?¡± Mareona asked.


    Aldred sighed again. ¡°They have been waiting together for the day their daughter woulde back. Instead, they were visited by the news of her death. I don¡¯t think any parents in the world could take such a blow.¡±


    They all went silent after thatment.


    ¡°Lura,¡± Aldred called. ¡°Can you please take care of them discreetly?¡±


    Lura nodded. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Lura smiled at him. She would take care of the two couples genuinely. Not only did she sympathize with them, but she also thought it would be a good chance to form a good rtionship with Aldred.


    That made her feel terrible. It was as if she only did this to form a connection with Aldred and obtain benefit from it¡­


    She recalled her father saying that to obtain and maintain power, one must do something near the line of morality while still maintaining kindness and a genuine appearance on the surface.


    Basically, do something bad while looking good on the outside.


    Her father also said not to overuse this as it might create a culture in the political sphere where trickery and corruption ran rampant.


    She shook her head to remove theplicated thought. This was no time to think about it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aldred. I will take care of them discreetly as you asked.¡±

 337 Chapter 337

    After that, they walked back to the mansion with gloomy expressions. After a few minutes, Ste stopped them and tried to cheer them up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not be all negative and gloomy,¡± Ste said. ¡°Today is a sad day indeed, but the world also consists of sunshine and rainbows. Why don¡¯t we do something fun?¡±


    They all looked at each other and understood that being all gloomy wouldn¡¯t help anyone.


    Mary tapped her face a few times to cheer up. ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the local herb store? Maybe being inside a room full of fragrance and beautiful herbs will cheer us up,¡± Lura suggested.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Let¡¯s go there.¡±


    Everyone smiled and chatted, trying to change the mood for the better as they walked on the street.


    A few minutester, they arrived in front of the herb store.


    ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s quite a big store for selling herbs,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°This is the average size for a herb store,¡± Lura said. ¡°After all, herbs are very expensive.¡±


    ¡°Expensive? Why?¡±


    ¡°Aldred, herbs can be used to make potions with all kinds of effects. Healing potions are made out of herbs.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you guys are talking about magic herbs¡­¡± Aldred almost forgot that almost every herb in this world was magical, so everyone else was kind of confused by hisment.


    They didn¡¯t say anything to him though.


    Entering the herb store, they all smelled the unique intertwining fragrance that entered their nose and stayed in their lungs. It was soothing and calming. It was likeying down on the bed after a long day of work or being massaged while having cramped muscles.


    ¡°Hello,¡± an old clerk greeted them. He had white wrinkled skin and a white long beard that reached his chest. His posture was straight despite his age.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind us. We are just looking around,¡± Lura said.


    ¡°Ahh, you must be Lura, the Governor¡¯s daughter. You are more than wee to look around. Stay as long as you want, and if you need any help, don¡¯t be shy and call for me.¡±


    ¡°I will. Thank you,¡± Lura said.


    The old man bowed slightly and tended to his herbs.


    Lura led them around the store. The store was mostly made out of wood with big and small tables around them. The herbs were ced on these tables. Some herbs were protected by a ss casing, while some were ced right at the window, basking in the sunlight.


    There were all kinds of herbs with all kinds of needs and sizes.


    One herb was of dark color. It looked like a tiny tree that was spilled over with ck paint, and it was located in the darkest spot of the store.


    Ste exined that the herb could not touch any sunlight, or it would die.


    ¡°How much does this herb cost?¡±


    ¡°The herbs here are quite high-end, so at minimum, you need to spend 10,000 gold coins for a single herb.¡±


    ¡°You have got to be kidding me,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Actually, the seller didn¡¯t make that much profit. It¡¯s very expensive to grow high-quality herbs. You cannot pick it up randomly in the wild. You have to groom it with magic powder, mana crystals, and all sorts of treasures. When these high-quality herbs are used to make potions, their grade will surely increase, and their effect will be potent as well.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Aldred nodded a bunch of times until he saw a business opportunity. ¡°I am going to buy every type of herb in this store.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, are you sure about this?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we are not poor anymore, Mary. We have so much money that we can¡¯t even spend it all.¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to buy all these herbs? We don¡¯t have a chemist.¡± Mareona was confused by his decision.


    ¡°They look and smell nice,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°I will talk with the clerk.¡± Lura then looked for the old clerk and talked with him about every type of herb avable.


    The old man was shocked, but he did as ordered and put all the herbs in a spatial bag. Lura then paid with her cards and thanked the old man before giving Aldred the bag.


    ¡°How much do I need to pay you?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°You can have it,¡± Lura replied.


    ¡°I cannot do that. These things could cost a lot.¡±


    Lura smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. This much is nothing for me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Aldred would tell Tarrar to give a discount to this cityter on if they wanted to buy more golems from him.


    After buying the herbs, they returned to the mansion.


    ¡°Young Miss Lura,¡± a guard greeted. ¡°Your father is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, everyone.¡±


    Aldred nodded at her before she left. He walked to his room alongside his wives.


    After closing the door of their bedroom, Rachel asked: ¡°So why are you buying the herbs? I am sure you have something in mind.¡±


    ¡°We can grow these herbs ourselves and sell them to people.¡±


    ¡°Where would you grow them?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°Humph, didn¡¯t you remember what Lura said earlier? Growing these herbs is not easy,¡± Mally said.


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Aldred waved his hand, and everyone was teleported inside the Divine Dimension.


    Lush ins, thick forest, a wide and deep river. Cows grazed the ins, fish swam in the river, and all kinds of animals were here.


    On the side, there was a plot ofnd for farming crops, vegetables, and fruits.


    Aldred wanted to grow the Sea Fruit here, but it wasn¡¯t possible yet because his river is not deep enough.


    He wanted to try to grow the herbs he just brought into this dimension. If it worked, he could make another source of ie.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any instructions on how to grow these herbs. How are we going to do it?¡± Kiara asked.


    Aldred smiled and raised the spatial bags containing the herbs. ¡°System, grow these herbs for me.¡±


    The herbs automatically floated out of the spatial bag, and then another plot ofnd magically transformed into wet soil that was suitable for a certain herb.


    One of the herbs floated and nted itself on the wet soil. The next soil became dry and hot air blew around it. Another herb floated and nted itself on the dry soil.


    Each time, a small plot ofnd would be transformed to amodate a specific herb. Even the herbs that could not touch sunlight were not a problem for the system.


    The system created a small pocket of space where only a small amount of light could enter it. This made it a suitable ce for the herb.


    Soon after, all the herbs were nted in their perfect environment.


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad that I cannot grow Sea Fruit here. Even though I am like a god in this dimension, there are still some limitations.¡±


    ¡°It can grow herbs, but not Sea Fruit¡­ Herbs are much better though, so it¡¯s fine,¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Not really. Sea Fruit can have a random effect and trigger randomly, but its effect is so valuable that it might even be more valuable than the herbs,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°So, Sea Fruit is like a lottery, and you said it¡¯s more valuable than the herbs?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°Well, it depends on the type of herbs too, I guess.¡±

 338 Chapter 338

    ¡°Aldred, look. The herbs are growing so fast!¡± Zafrina¡¯s eyes lit up as she watched the herbs grow.


    Aldred was happy as well. ¡°The more I level up, the faster this dimension can grow stuff. Even animals reproduce a lot faster.¡±


    ¡°What? Is that true?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Of course. Why would I lie?¡±


    Ste then hit Aldred on the shoulder.


    ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°If that was true, then why are you growing ordinary cattle? We should get some magic beasts and let them reproduce here. Their meat and organs can be used for various things, and some regions can use the animals as a workforce for farming, transportation, and construction.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have the time to think about that,¡± Aldred replied with a low tone. ¡°I guess we need to focus on the divine dimension for some time. This treasure hunting stuff is upying my mind most of the time.¡±


    Ste crossed her arms. ¡°Get Tarrar to make a list of animals that have a good price on the market. Tell him to buy a few of them, and put them here.¡±


    Zafrina stepped beside Ste. ¡°And also tell him to get more herbs and set up apany for selling meat and herbs respectively.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Aldred waved his hand and a portal opened inside Tarrar¡¯s office. Tarrar entered the portal without much thought. It was like a normal routine for him.


    ¡°So what do you need me for? Does Burlisleho want to order more golems?¡±


    ¡°No. I want you to take a look at those herbs.¡±


    Tarrar looked to the side and saw all kinds of rare and exotic herbs ready to be picked. His eyes widened. ¡°These are¡­ these are high-quality exotic herbs! How did they grow here?¡±


    ¡°I want you to make anotherpany specifically for selling and buying herbs,¡± Aldred went straight to the point.


    ¡°Are you not going to exin anything to me?¡± Tarrar asked.


    ¡°All you need to know is that I can grow slow things much faster than anyone else.¡±


    Tarrar smiled and looked at him with an understanding gaze. ¡°You said you can grow slow things much faster, does this include animals?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°I know you would pick up on that. Yes. I also want you to set up apany for selling and buying magic beasts. I can make them reproduce a lot faster.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I already have threepanies in my hand,¡± Tarrar said in a meaningful way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t y hard to get, Tarrar,¡± Aldred replied with a smile, knowing that Tarrar wanted to get more benefits for this. ¡°The deal is the same. You will be the CEO, and if you work enough you will get a lot of bonuses. And don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know you build a lot of connections and influence in a lot of regions because of your status.¡±


    Tarrar grinned. ¡°I am wondering. How did you know?¡±


    Aldred grinned back. ¡°I have my ways. Say, you wouldn¡¯t turn your back on me someday, right?¡±


    ¡°How can I turn my back when you already know all my moves?¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like I treated you as a ve. You are doing much better than you are before. Much richer, much more influential, and much more respected.¡±


    ¡°That is true. I love my job.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now I have more jobs for you, and you will love them even more.¡±


    Tarrarughed. Aldred found out that he loved making newpanies and tapping into new markets. Because each market had a lot of people involved in it, more people would respect him, and he would be even more influential.


    Even though thepany was named with Aldred¡¯s name, not a lot of people in the business world actually know who Aldred was, so they thought Tarrar was the real boss.


    ¡°Just how fast can you grow these herbs?¡±


    Ste stepped in and said: ¡°Herbs that take months to grow can be reduced in mere days.¡±


    Tarrar frowned. ¡°It¡¯d be terrible if this newses out. I will have to reduce the number of herbs I sell per month.¡±


    ¡°You take care of it, Tarrar. I believe you know what you need to do,¡± Aldred replied


    This was one of the reasons why Tarrar was happy with his job. Aldred gave him a great amount of freedom in doing things.


    ¡°Okay, what about the magical beast?¡±


    ¡°Same thing. Procure rare magic beasts and herbs, bring them here, I will make more of them, and you will sell them under thepany.¡±


    ¡°I like how you simplify stuff like this within a single sentence,¡± Tarrar said. ¡°I will get it done.¡±


    ¡°I will summon you in a few days. Make sure to get enough magic beasts and herbs.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± Tarrar stepped into the portal.


    The portal copsed and Aldred looked at his wives. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s pick our herbs and grow more of them. System, do your thing!¡±


    The system obeyed and lifted the herbs. There were various ways to grow herbs. Some had seeds, some needed to be cut, and some needed a mere leaf to reproduce. The system knew how to handle the herbs perfectly, and took the necessary procedures before keeping the ripe herbs in a separate space.


    This space worked like his inventory. Aldred could ess it through a panel and saw the name of the herbs and the quantity he got.


    [Tundra Mint 4X]


    Tundra Mint is a rare, small nt that can be found only in a cold region where warmth could not take ce. This nt exuded a chilling cold sensation that will freeze bones and blood as a defense mechanism.


    ¨C Can be used to make a spell scroll: ¡®Freezing Strike¡¯


    ¨C Can be used to make Freeze Powder


    [Demon Ginger 3X]


    Demon Ginger is a rare nt that can be found within caves and deep holes where sunlight could not reach. As a defense mechanism, the nearby creature that dares to approach it will experience internal bleeding and suffer great pain.


    ¨C Can be used to make a curse scroll: ¡®Hemorrhage¡¯


    ¨C Can be used to make an ¡®Eyrie Draught¡¯ potion that caused the user to exude a red mist that caused internal bleeding to nearby creatures.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wow¡­ no wonder these things are so expensive.¡±


    Aldred looked at the plot ofnd where the herbs nted had already grown ripe enough. ¡°System, pick the herbs that are ready and then nt more of them before you store the ripe herbs. I am not sure if herbs can be ripe or not, but you know what I mean.¡±


    The system apparently understood what he meant thankfully. The herbs were sliced in some parts, and those parts were nted back before the herbs were stored.


    This happened numerous times as the herbs grew, the system would cut them, nt them, and store them.


    It was an automatic farming system!


    ¡°I¡¯d be rich without doing anything,¡± Aldred said


    ¡­


    A few dayster, Tarrar entered the portal and a lot of exotic magic beasts came in.


    ¡°These are the magic beasts. They are quite pricey which is a good thing for us. And these are more herbs for you to grow.¡± Tarrar gave Aldred a bag of herbs.


    ¡°Good job.¡±


    ¡°I am not done yet. Here is a bag of seeds. Within it are seeds for magic trees and nts. I am not really sure what they are for, but they are expensive. I will do my research about them, but my time is limited and there are so many nts I can research.¡±


    ¡°Just pay someone to do it for you, and write you a list. You are a CEO now, you don¡¯t have to do things by hand on your own.¡±


    ¡°You are right, but most people are ipetent, and I despise ipetence.¡±


    ¡°Then rece them until you find apetent worker. Didn¡¯t you have a bunch of subordinates?¡±


    ¡°They are not suitable for business, though they are quite useful to take care of territory. Their hands are full.¡±


    ¡°Then create a Human Resource Division. Make a team to scout talents, and filter people if they want to work for thepany. Offer high sry, and protect them with golems. Make sure to study their background, and watch them all the time using golems.¡±


    ¡°Human Resource Division¡­ That never crossed my mind before. I will do as you said, and create a team to recruit and filter people.¡±


    ¡°You can even hire delegators to go to ces and make deals with various powers.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t delegators only for a government institution?¡±


    ¡°Who cares. This way you can send a lot of people to a lot of people at once and negotiate with various powers. Of course, if they are important enough, they can ask to meet you directly. This way, you don¡¯t have to leave your office too often.¡±


    ¡°Seems like I underestimated your capabilities, Aldred. I thought you¡¯re only good at fighting,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°Stop with the ttery and get to work.¡±

 339 Chapter 339

    ¡°Before I leave, I need to tell you that these animals need different grass,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I can handle them.¡± The system knew how to take care of any herbs, so it should know how to take care of magic beasts as well.


    Tarrar nodded though he was slightly curious how Aldred knew such information. Aldred didn¡¯t tell him that the system could take care of everything.


    ¡°I want to talk about expanding the business to the east,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°Do it as you usually do. Just be careful when you expand to the Republic of Selia where the Shardmind dwells.¡±


    ¡°I want to expand to Duria.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. That¡¯s the most isted country on this continent.¡±


    ¡°So even you think it¡¯s impossible, huh? Alright, I will settle with the rest. What about the region around the Great Lake?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good time to do business,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Pirates are rampant nowadays, and so does crime. The cities around thiske will have a spike of criminals, so they will buy a lot of golems for sure.¡±


    Aldred and Tarrar talked some more about the expansion for a few hours.


    ¡°By the way, I want you to procure ship materials for me. Buy the best materials and buy as much as you can.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling that my next journey will be a tough one.¡±


    Tarrar smiled. ¡°I will quickly expand the business to the east, near the East Sea. Should your ships need resupply or reinforcement, I can bribe the politicians there to make a move.¡±


    ¡°Will that work?¡±


    ¡°Trust me. Even though every region has a different culture, I know what is inside the mind of those politician rats.¡±


    ¡°I will leave that to you. Anyway, I think I am going to visit Hofnmoen, the nation of the Lizardfolk. I will think of a way for us to expand our business there.¡±


    Tarrar nodded before he entered the portal.


    After the portal copsed, Aldred looked at his new magic animals.


    [Grindua]


    ¨C This curious and rare creature is a type of amphibian. It has eight legs with smooth and slick skin. The skin is so slippery, making it very hard to catch or attack with a sharp-type weapon. They are very tame, and only get aggressive when their offspring are threatened.


    ¨C This beast is mainly hunted for its slippery skin that can be used as armor, but its organs can also be used for various rituals, creating medicines, and other stuff.


    [Dark Phoenix]


    ¨C A variant of the Phoenix family. It wasrger in size and said to be the most vicious out of other Phoenixes.


    ¨C Its organs could be made into a potion that can prolong one¡¯s life.


    ¡­


    Aldred nodded after he looked at the magic beasts one by one. Each and every one of them was rare and exotic. Tarrar must have paid a huge price for them.


    Most of the animals were vicious and hyper-aggressive, which was why most of them were chained and locked inside a cage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how strong you are, dark phoenix.¡± Aldred opened the cage and broke the chain. He wasn¡¯t worried that the phoenix would escape since this was his dimension and there was nowhere to go.


    The dark-feathered phoenix cried. It was standing four meters tall with a wingspan of six meters, but as it stared at him viciously, the phoenix grew bigger until it reached 6 meters tall with a 10-meter wingspan.


    Aldred smiled as he summoned his Phantom Doomde, ready to fight.


    But surprisingly, the phoenix softly cawed and rubbed its head on his shoulder.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    [Dark Phoenix has been tamed]


    ¡°Oh¡­ I can do that?¡±


    ¡°What happened, Aldred? Why is the bird not attacking you?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°I think this dimension tamed it,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°The dimension can tame monsters for you?¡± Zafrina raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You keep giving me surprises one after another, Aldred,¡± Ste added, feeling awed by his power. ¡°I wonder how many more surprises you have.¡±


    Ivette looked at her white sword, and then looked at the holy light that asionally came out of her hands. ¡°Aldred is so powerful that it makes me think this heroic power is too far aparison.¡±


    ¡°I thinkparing ourselves to Aldred is a mistake in the first ce.¡± Mally rubbed her gunde with a cloth.


    ¡°You guys are strong as well. Remember that I wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat that deep sea orc without you guys. Anyway, system, make these beasts reproduce.¡±


    Suddenly, the cages vanished and the beast showed lust within their eyes as they pounced at their own species and mated right then and there.


    ¡°Thank god, we didn¡¯t bring Krista with us,¡± Aldred said.


    The beast mated with ferocity like they could not wait to make a lot of babies.


    This made the wives look withplicated expressions and bated breath.


    ¡°Aldred,¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Is it possible for the system to make humans go crazy like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Now that she said it, it made Aldred think.


    Could the system make humans go crazy on the opposite gender and make them go full lust mode?


    Aldred didn¡¯t even want to find out.


    After the mating session, the female beast immediately let out a few eggs. Some mammals got pregnant as their belly bulged, and in a few hours, the baby came out. The eggs also hatched, and they saw the baby dark phoenix crying for milk.


    Milk came out of nowhere, and entered the baby phoenix¡¯s mouth, and it grew to two meters tall in mere minutes.


    More hours passed, and all of the beasts grew into adults.


    That was when the system activated its full lust mode again, making the beast go crazy and mated with the opposite sex.


    ¡°It¡¯s kinda disturbing to look at,¡± Aldredmented. ¡°System, can you make this process happen far away from us?¡±


    The beasts were teleported a distance away, and a wall of rocks was erected to block them from view.


    Aldred let out a breath of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s leave them here. I want to visit the Lizardfolk nation.¡±


    His wives nodded in agreement as they rubbed their thighs together.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you guys?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Mary replied. ¡°Let¡¯s get out.¡±


    Aldred waved his hand, and they were teleported back inside the bedroom.


    The time was still a day in the real world. It was like they had never left.


    ¡°Ste, can you teleport us to the mothership?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Ste waved her hand, and golden star particles engulfed them.


    When they reappeared, they were already in themand room.


    ¡°Big brother!¡± Krista ran at him and hugged his leg.


    ¡°Are we ready to leave, My Lord?¡± Burchard asked.


    ¡°I am nning to visit Hofnmoen. But before that, how is the situation around here?¡±


    ¡°Some criminals tried to board our ships, but the fighter golems had minced them to pieces and fed them to the fish.¡±


    ¡°What reckless criminals.¡±


    ¡°You would be surprised at how many there are. This region of watercks security.¡±


    ¡°My business flourishes when people need more security. Bring me to Hofnmoen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡± Burchard started the mothership and set sail to the north.

 340 Chapter 340

    The mothership didn¡¯t take long for it to arrive at Hofnmoen, the nation of the Lizardfolk.


    While Burchard was looking for a port to berth the ship, he frowned because he saw that a lot of ships were entering a vast swamp.


    ¡°Is that the port?¡± Burchard asked himself.


    Aldred frowned as well as he stared at the ships that were entering the swamp. ¡°Wait a minute, the entire swamp is a port!¡±


    He was shocked to see that the swamp was actually a port with a lot of trees, moss, lily pad, and other nts.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Swamp Port,¡± Zafrina said. She had studied geopolitics for years, and understood that different races had different cultures and ways to defend themselves.


    ¡°The Lizardfolk¡¯s port looked like a swamp to defend their territory. But it¡¯s not for looks or for deceiving the enemy. Stories I read suggest that the swamp is actually alive, and will engulf any ships that threatened the Lizardfolk.¡±


    ¡°This swamp alive?¡± Aldred activated his godly eyes, but he saw nothing except fish, crocodiles, and other swamp creatures.


    ¡°It is said that the Lizardfolk have to offer food, wealth, and valuables to the nasty creatures that control this swamp for protection. Should the Lizardfolk fail to satisfy the creature¡¯s insatiable hunger, their whole civilization will be devoured.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a very interesting story, though I am not sure if I can believe that or not,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t clear yet, but the Lizardfolk believe it with all their heart, and every year, they would perform a big ritual where they would bring all kinds of offerings such as gold, meat, magic beasts, rare exotic fruits, rare items, treasures, beautiful maidens, and even sinister criminals. They will circle the city, and then throw all of their offerings into the swamp. The swamp will then devour their offerings, and the Lizardfolks will cheer.¡±


    Aldred and his wives were surprised by that story.


    ¡°There¡¯s also an interesting story of the Three Lizardmen Brother. They are said to be a promising candidate for Adamantite, rank, so much so that they didn¡¯t even need to participate in the treasure hunt.¡±


    ¡°How powerful are they?¡±


    ¡°I heard they managed to defeat an early tinum Rank. In any case, they are quite a legend despite still being at Gold Rank.¡±


    ¡°Just the three of them?¡± Aldred asked. Defeating a tinum Rank was a hard feat. He had defeated a tinum Rank Behemoth before, but that was possible because it just entered the tinum Rank. As for that Agile Fiz, that creature was at the Mid-stage of tinum Rank, so it was too powerful for him.


    ¡°Yeah, they are still at Gold Rank, but they must be much stronger now.¡±


    ¡°Welp, maybe we can meet them someday.¡±


    Their ships entered the swamp. It was deep enough for the gigantic ship to enter, and dock.


    The homes here were made out of mossy stones, and the people looked like lizards, walking on two legs. Most of them were quite tall. At a minimum, these people were two meters tall.


    Except for the children, they were quite adorable as they chased each other with a stick.


    Aldred saw the people here brought a basket and a wooden trident with them. A man walked by, three fish were stuck on his trident, and his basket waspletely filled with fish.


    ¡°Most people here work as a fisherman,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°Do they have any other specialties?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. I didn¡¯t study their civilization enough since they are too far from my father¡¯s territory.¡±


    Suddenly, a group of lizardmen approached them. Most of them wore armor, but it only protected their shoulders, while their abs and chest were bare.


    The one on the front, who wore full armor seemed to be the leader, and he brought a silver trident with him.


    ¡°Hello, good Sir. May I ask why you visit this humble city?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just tourists and we want to look around.¡±


    The guard bitterly smiled. ¡®Tourists my ass! How can tourists bring an entire mothership!?¡¯


    The guard looked in the distance and saw the scout¡¯s eyes. He blinked a bunch of times, signaling them to stay put. Because of the mothership¡¯s presence, the city of Jungendyr entered a state of wartime, and all the soldiers were secretly preparing for an all-out battle.


    If he sent the message, this whole ce would be a war zone in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Anyway, here is a tip for you guys. We¡¯re tourists, and need some guides to take us around.¡± Aldred gave them a bag of gold coins.


    The guard blinked in confusion and felt the weight of the bag. He guessed there were at least 20,000 gold coins inside.


    ¡°We will dly guide you around the city.¡± He smiled and led them away.


    Meanwhile, the scout was confused. ¡°Do we attack or not?¡±


    ¡°Just wait for the signal. We cannot move carelessly. I have studied that mothership, and let me tell you, it will destroy half of our city before the swamp can devour it,¡± one of the soldiers in hiding said.


    ¡°Half of our city?¡± A buffed, short man scoffed. ¡°That thing can level our entire city in one barrage.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a shipbuilder with ten years of experience. If you don¡¯t believe him, then don¡¯t believe anyone else. Not even yourself.¡±


    The lizardman was silenced by thatment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep watching them.¡±


    ¡­


    The guards continued to guide Aldred around the city and exined some things about history, and culture.


    ¡°So when does the sacrifice ceremony begin?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Youe at the wrong time of the year, Sir. The ceremony will not begin until six months.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. Tell me, what do the people hereck?¡±


    ¡°I would say ores and raw materials, Sir. Most of our metal, iron, and even magic ores and metals are imported.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, doesn¡¯t your county have a lot of mountains and hills in the northwest?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, but our race is not built for mining. We can fight, and make our own weapons, but mining consumes too many casualties. We are not very proficient in using magic for mining either.¡±


    ¡°I see. What else?¡±


    ¡°Well, except in the cities near the coastline, there are quite a number of crimes. Our race is only good at fishing, so when the city is far fromkes and ocean, the people don¡¯t have jobs and resort to crime.¡±


    The scout watching on top of the rooftop frowned. ¡°Why is he telling that foreigner about our nation?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he wants them to leave.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe he wants that foreigner to invest in our nation.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a human! He will suck us dry. Humans are greedy bastards.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so racist even though a human had saved your life before?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Aldred looked at the rooftop, and the scouts quickly hid. Smiling, Aldred looked back at his guides. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s possible for me to meet the Count.¡±


    ¡°O¡ªOf course,¡± the guard said. Any man that had a mothership would be able to meet the Count.


    Led by the guards, Aldred easily entered the castle, but he noticed the guards were quite wary of him.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t worried, however. He could escape to the divine dimension at any time.


    A butler approached them. He was a tall lizardman with a long mustache that went sideways. He wore a ck and white suit.


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± the butler called. ¡°The Lord is expecting you. Please let me lead you to the Grand Garden.¡±


    The guards nodded and led Aldred to the garden until a bunch of soldiers stopped him.


    ¡°Only the guests are allowed to enter. The rest may return to your own station.¡±


    Aldred gave them another bag of gold coins. ¡°Thanks for guiding me here.¡±


    The guards received the bag and bowed before they left.


    ¡°This way, please.¡± The butler walked confidently with trained steps, and soon after, they entered a vast and beautiful garden.


    A lizardman was sitting leisurely with a bunch of beautiful lizardwomen feeding him and giving him a massage.


    ¡°My Lord, the guests are here.¡±


    The said lord lifted his head and looked at Aldred. ¡°So you¡¯re the man who brings a mothership to my swamp.¡±

 341 Chapter 341

    The Lord stood up and approached him. His tall height towered over Aldred.


    Lizard¡¯s eyes looked at Aldred up and down. ¡°Are you here for war, human?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Are you here for our women? Our skin? Scales? Feet? ws? Tongue? What do you want?¡±


    Aldred was weirded out. Who the hell wanted the tongue of a lizardman?


    Unbeknownst to Aldred, however, a lot of dark ritualists need lizardman¡¯s tongues for their ritual.


    ¡°No,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°I want to invest in your county.¡±


    ¡°Invest? What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Well, I heard you import most of the materials like wood, iron, and other materials.¡±


    ¡°So what of it?¡±


    ¡°Well, do you know that you can obtain all of those materials in your own territory?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I know. Do you think of me as a fool, human? I am way smarter than you.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ right. If you already know then why are you still importing?¡±


    The lizardman seemed unable to answer. ¡°I do what I like, you fool. If I want to import then so be it. This is my territory.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°I am 14. What are you gonna do?¡±


    Aldred and his wives were shocked.


    ¡°You¡¯re 14?¡± Aldred¡¯s eyes widened, finally realizing why the Lord acted like a snobby child.


    ¡°Yeah, you got a problem?¡± The lizardfolk looked at Aldred¡¯s eyes like he wanted to fight the man.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Shagatik.¡±


    Aldred looked at the butler who had no expression on his face.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk in private for a minute,¡± Aldred said as he walked away for some distance.


    ¡°What? I am not afraid of you.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I am here to make you rich. More powerful, more influential. How many guards do you have?¡±


    ¡°Around 5,000.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not enough. How can a lord like you only have 5,000 guards? And how many castles do you have?¡±


    ¡°I have one.¡±


    ¡°Only one?¡± Aldred shook his head as if showing disappointment. ¡°How can a lord like you only have one castle? You should have twenty, or at least a few hundred.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± the lizardman frowned.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I can make you rich and powerful, Lord Shagatik.¡±


    Shagatik still frowned, but his eyes secretly lit up. In all of his life, only his subordinates considered him a lord. Others who had a high status looked down upon him, even merchants looked down on him when they were rich enough.


    But this man had brought a mothership here, this meant his status was very high. And he considered Shagatik as a lord. Because of that, he began to see Aldred in a different light.


    ¡°Imagine, hundreds of thousands of guards at your beck and call. Hundreds of grand castles with thousands of beautiful maids. Everyone will respect you no matter if they are a wealthy merchant or a count.¡±


    Shagatik¡¯s eyes lit up. Because he took the throne at an early age, no one respected him except the peasants, but he wanted more than that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. How can you give me all of that?¡± Shagatik asked.


    Aldred grinned and whispered in his ear. Shagatik listened intently, and the more he listened, the more excited he became.


    ¡°Done,¡± Shagatik said.


    ¡°Are you not going to think this through?¡±


    ¡°I have thought long enough. Get it done quickly.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Aldred grinned.


    Right after that, the both of them returned to the gardenughing and chatting with each other.


    His wives were confused by this situation, and after Aldred finished chatting with the lord, Mary asked: ¡°Aldred, what did you talk to him about?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. In any case, we can do anything we want here. I will tell Tarrar what to do.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Aldred,¡± Shagatik called. ¡°I like you. You can stay in the mansion while you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Then we will stay here as you wish, My Lord.¡± Aldred slightly bowed which made Shagatik even more excited.


    ¡®A man who has a mothership actually bowed to me! This is the best day of my life!!!¡¯


    Aldred grinned inside. He already knew what this young lord was thinking.


    ¡°We will excuse ourselves now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you may leave.¡±


    Aldred and his wives left, escorted to their room by the butler.


    In their room, Mary asked again: ¡°Seriously, what did you say to him?¡±


    ¡°I said what he wanted to hear. Status, wealth, assets, power, influence. Anything a lord would want.¡±


    ¡°And how do you n to give him all of that?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Give him more golems, build him castles, make new roads for his city, build infrastructures under his name, and build statues of him.¡±


    ¡°You yed with his ego.¡± Ste smiled.


    ¡°At least I am not scamming him,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°So what do we get, after giving him all of that?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°Everything.¡± Aldred grinned. ¡°We can do anything we want in this territory.¡±


    He waved his hand, and Tarrar quickly stepped inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s very convenient that you are avable at a moment¡¯s notice,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°It¡¯s part of the contract,¡± Tarrar replied.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Zafrina raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yeah, I have to be in the office most of the time, and when I leave the office, I have to be always in a hurry to return.¡±


    ¡°What about days off?¡±


    ¡°Days off? What¡¯s that?¡±


    Zafrina smiled bitterly.


    ¡°So what do you need me for?¡± Tarrar asked that question to Aldred.


    ¡°Set up all of ourpany here.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I will contact the local lord for permission.¡±


    ¡°No need. I already take care of that. You can make a small office here, and begin the expansion.¡±


    Tarrar frowned. ¡°That usually needs permission from the local lord. And there¡¯s usually a lot of tax involved.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything. Treat this city like we own it.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Seriously. But just do whatever the lord wants you to do.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Building more castles, or fixing the road, and maybe making statues of him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°That is it.¡±


    Tarrar started to smile, knowing the situation. ¡°How old is the lord?¡±


    Aldred grinned. ¡°14.¡±


    Tarrar startedughing. ¡°No wonder. You better hope he doesn¡¯t have an old adviser.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t listen to no one as long as I feed his ego.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Now I understand. It should be easy to handle this territory,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°Yes, politics is very easy for you. Handling a 14-year-old lord won¡¯t be a problem. But try to make him dependent on us, so even if he realized it in the future, he couldn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, that is very evil,¡± Mira said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not evil, Mira. That¡¯s business,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Besides, I am building infrastructures and better roads for the good of the people as well. That dumb lord, wouldn¡¯t even think about the situation of his own people.¡±


    What Aldred said was true, so Mira couldn¡¯t really retort that. And now that she thought about it, she supported Aldred¡¯s idea fully.


    ¡°Are we going to other cities as well?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Of course. There are a lot of hills and mountains to the south and west. We need to make a base there, and mine the resources before selling it directly to the lizardman.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t that upset the Lizardfolk if you mine the resources in their territory?¡± Tarrar asked.


    ¡°Then I have a better idea. We will let them rent our golems for mining.¡±

 342 Chapter 342

    ¡°My Lord,¡± the lizardman butler approached Shargatik.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Shargatik replied with an annoyed tone.


    ¡°May I ask what you and Lord Aldred spoke about?¡±


    ¡°It is none of your business.¡±


    The butler showed a worried expression. ¡°I am worried that he is deceiving you, My Lord. Whatever he promised to give you, he might not fulfill it. After all, he¡¯s a human.¡±


    His butler¡¯sment made Shagatik frown. ¡°If he dares to do that, I will off his head.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure if we can off his head considering he has a mothership on our port. ording to the shipbuilders, that ship can bombard this castle and destroy this entire city in less than a minute.¡±


    ¡°The mothership is that powerful?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, it was a different ss of mothership, My Lord. If my source is correct, then that mothership could even threaten the Hofnmoen¡¯s Navy.¡±


    Shagatik became worried. ¡°Fuck! What did I do? I didn¡¯t really treat him with the best attitude I have.¡±


    ¡°For now, we should calm down, and see what he will do.¡±


    ¡­


    In the next few days, thousands of golem workers suddenly appeared in the city of Jungendyr, and they began working on the streets. They fixed potholes, and used very expensive materials, making them stronger andfortable to pass through. It also made the street and roads look so much better than before.


    Not only that, the golems started to erect a tall pole on which they ced a crystal shard that exuded a soft light at night, making the city be alive when the sun was down.


    Dayster, the citizens were shocked to see the golem build dozens of castles at once. And the castles even looked so much grander than the Lord¡¯s castle!


    ¡°Where are these golemsing from? There are thousands of them everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, I even saw them catch a criminal, and then drag them to the guards.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t believe this, but the golems even fixed my roof yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Is this the Lord¡¯s doing? Has he finally heard our pleading?¡±


    ¡°Possibly. Hey look, that¡¯s our Lord¡¯s statue!¡±


    ¡°What the hell? How can those golems finish it in less than one hour?!¡±


    All around the city, a beautiful statue of a dignified lizardman was erected. It was Lord Shagatik wearing a cape and posed in a cool position: he stood with his trident to show his might, a book to show his intelligence, and his crown to show his wealth.


    No matter what the meaning behind the statue was, the people there were impressed. And when the golems started helping them fix their houses, they became even more excited for their lord.


    The next day, thousands of golems approached the beach and started to build boats for the fishermen. They built paddles, and tridents, and even renovated their docks. They worked so fast, in a blink of an eye, everything was done.


    ¡°What in the Swamp King¡¯s name¡­¡±


    With a lot of strong and reliable boats, the fisherman could go further into the sea, making a lot of jobs as a result.


    After making the boats, the golems began constructing hospitals, and water facilities such as aqueducts and water wells.


    They even built schools for warriors, cksmiths, magicians, and other types of jobs, adding books within the library that might be useful for the locals.


    They then posted an announcement that they are hiring teachers, making even more jobs while single-handedly creating an entire education system within the city.


    The golems were not done yet. They began to make roads outside the city, connected them to fertilends, and created dozens of farming plots that were cheaply sold to the citizens.


    In less than a week, the entire city system and appearance werepletely changed. In that short time frame, the people¡¯s hope for the future skyrocketed.


    And that night, hundreds of thousands of people went out at night while chanting for their lord¡¯s name. Their chant could be heard miles away.


    Lord Shagatik was standing on his balcony, looking at his bright and lively city under the moonlight. ¡°This¡­ is this really my city?¡±


    ¡°Lord Shagatik we love you!¡±


    His heart pounded in pride every time he heard that. Whenever his subordinates praised him, he would always feel their praise was fake and not genuine. But this time, everyone was praising andplimenting him from the deepest part of their hearts. Either old or young, everyone loved him!


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Shagatik looked to the side and was surprised that Aldred and his wives were there.


    ¡°This¡­ how did you do this?¡±


    ¡°You see the progress from day one. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°This is wonderful. I love it!¡±


    ¡°I will make your city the best city in this region. All the lords nearby will be jealous of you.¡±


    Shagatik nodded ferociously. He hadplete trust in Aldred now. This man literally aplished the impossible.


    Aldred smiled. Making this city better was also part of his n. Better economy, better social structures, better city nning. All of this would draw a lot of people to move into this city, which would make the lord nearby panic, and wanted to do something.


    And when that happened, Aldred could step in and offer them his help. After that, business expansion shouldn¡¯t be that hard.


    This was the best business strategy. Give them what they need, and you will get what you want.


    He wasn¡¯t very fond of scamming since that was a bad business model for long-term profit.y


    ¡°I almost forgot to tell you about your new guards.¡±


    ¡°Guards?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Take a look below you.¡±


    Shagatik leaned on the balcony and was shocked to see thousands of golems standing in a military formation.


    ¡°They all yours. You can tell them to do anything you want. They will always be there for you.¡±


    Shagatikughed maniacally. ¡°With this huge army, I can conquer Solvend County.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Aldred was confused. Solvend County was one of Hofnmoen¡¯s county located northeast of here. This meant that Solvend was also a Lizardfolk.


    If Shagatik attacked, that would mean civil war.


    ¡°Are you allowed to attack other lords?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Of course, the lords are very much divided since we are very far from the capital. The royal family doesn¡¯t give a shit about us.¡±


    Aldred blinked. This wasn¡¯t what he had in mind. He wanted to expand peacefully, but if Shagatik wanted war, he could also expand that way, but¡­ hispany would have a bad reputation than it already was.


    The war between Paphia and Yevilerian was already bad enough, now if hispany was used of creating a civil war¡­ almost everybody would be wary of him.


    This was a big dilemma. Should he go to war? Or should he not?


    Going to war would earn him a quick buck, and he could have better control over the region.


    But reputation was also important¡­ If hispany had a bad reputation, people would be less eager when making deals with him.


    Aldred sighed inside. After thinking for a few minutes, he gritted his teeth and decided to fuck it. ¡°You want to go to war? Well, then I am in.¡±


    If the world thought of hispany as a war-supportingpany then so be it.

 343 Chapter 343

    ¡°You¡¯re in? Are you going to help me win my war?¡±


    If Aldred helped Shagatik win the war, he could have had more control over the region.


    ¡°Of course, I will. But only if you give me the same deal,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Whatever you want, I will give it to you.¡± Shagatikughed.


    ¡°In that case, let us go to war now.¡±


    ¡°Now? Like right now?¡±


    ¡°The faster, the better. The enemy will not expect it.¡±


    ¡­


    Shagatik said that he wanted to go to war, but he didn¡¯t have a n on how to attack. Aldred insisted on taking over the war nning and told the young lord to sit down and watch.


    First, they were nning to conquer Solvend County. It was a small, poor county that only had one city. This city had no jobs or affordable homes. A lot of people here were homeless, and the majority of them resorted to crime, and they stole from the poor because they had no choice. The rich were too untouchable because they had guards.


    Although it was a poor city, there were a number of hills and mountains rich with minerals and ores, but as the Lizardfolk couldn¡¯t mine those, so they were considered worthless.


    Not for Aldred. His golems would take care of the mining, and he didn¡¯t have to pay any tax to Shagatik once he helped the young lord conquer it.


    ¡­


    Aldred and Shagatik stood upon a hill, overlooking the city they were about to attack: Utsbak.


    Aldred¡¯s wives were behind him, setting up the camp with Bartrem and the soldiers. Behind the camp was the golem army that Aldred had prepared for this invasion.


    ¡°How do you n to conquer this city? Even though it was poor, the lord still put guards and strong walls to protect it.¡± Shagatik became doubtful about the attack. After all, he had never gone to battle before. Now that he was here, he had a desire to return and stay at home.


    Aldred held himself from scoffing at the naive lord. ¡°Just sit tight, and let me handle it. This city will fall into your hands before the moon rises.¡±


    ¡°Ohh.¡± Hearing that, Shagatik became excited, and all the feelings of doubt disappeared.


    ¡°Can you take over this city, and transform it like what you did in my city?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can.¡±


    Shagatik nced at Utsbak City with sparkling eyes. He already considered the city as his, and he couldn¡¯t wait for the people inside to wee him as their savior.


    Aldred simply smiled and whispered. ¡°Attack.¡±


    Suddenly, the city shook, and arge creature burst out of the ground in the middle of the city. The creature towered all the buildings nearby like it was a literal mountain.


    ¡°Don¡¯t destroy the houses, Xer Xai.¡±


    Xer Xai, the giant beast, moved carefully.


    The soldiers below her stared at the beast in fright, their whole bodies shivering in fear.


    Opening herrge jaw, she shot a purple beam that vaporized them.


    ¡°A giant beast! Run!¡±


    The city was in a panic, and everyone started to run away from the center of the city.


    The guards wanted to run away as well, but theirmanders came. ¡°Grab your weapons and stop running! You¡¯re a soldier, so act like one!¡±


    Themander red at the beast and frowned. ¡°What creature is that? Activate the defensive tower!¡±


    Dozens of towers nearby lit up, and magic orbs appeared on top of them. The orbs spun and shot numerous fire arrows at the beast.


    The arrows ricocheted off her scales, and they did no damage to her at all.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Themander could not believe his eyes.


    Xer Xai roared and raised her ws, before mming it down.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    BOOM!


    Hundreds of soldiers were crushed under her ws.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Golems, enter the city.¡±


    Right after he said it, thousands of golems climbed out of the hole that Xer Xai made and rushed at the running soldiers.


    ¡°Archers! Attack those golems!¡±


    The archers on the wall aimed their bows, about to release their arrows.


    Before they could do that, however, a sparkling storm of fire bullets viciously came at them at a high speed, shredding them to pieces. Those that managed to dodge, gritted their teeth at the smoking wound that they suffered.


    Zut, the lord of Utsbak City, panicked as he was escorted out of his castle, and entered a carriage.


    ¡°Quick, go!¡± he shouted.


    The coachmen whipped the fish-scaled horses, and they pulled the carriage as fast as they could.


    Not long after, the horses were suddenly cut in half, and the wheels shattered, making the carriage tumble on the ground a few times.


    Zut crawled out of the carriage with blood pouring from his forehead. He looked up and saw two tall golems pulling him out.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡±


    The golems ignored his plea, and they rushed towards the hill where Aldred and Shagatik were.


    Zut looked at Shagatik and frowned. ¡°You¡­ Did you do this?¡±


    ¡°How dare you look at me that way!¡± Shagatik kicked the lizardman in the face.


    Zut spat out blood and red at him. ¡°Why did you attack my city? Are you really going to break the peace?¡±


    ¡°Humph! I do this because of the way you look at me. You think I didn¡¯t know? Just because I am young, you dare to look down on me, and ignore my opinion!¡±


    Zut gritted his teeth and looked to the side where he saw Aldred. ¡°I was wondering where you get all of these golems. Now I know what is happening here.¡±


    Zutughed. ¡°You naive lizard. If you think relying on a human is a good idea, then you deserve to be looked down upo¡ª¡±


    His head fell to the ground. The golem behind him sheathed its sword again.


    ¡°Aldred, why did you kill him? I am not done talking to him yet.¡±


    ¡°We have more important matters at hand. Look.¡± Aldred pointed at the city.


    Shagatik followed Aldred¡¯s finger and saw tens of thousands of worker golems flooding into the city, and began fixing the walls, helping the civilians, making roads, building infrastructures, fixing houses, and they even began building schools, apartments, farming plots, and many more.


    Not only that, but the worker golems also brought boxes filled with food, clothes, and medicine that could be used by a family of four for three months.


    These boxes were then given to everyone which shocked them. A minute ago, their city was under attack, and they were running for safety. But now suddenly, these golems came, building houses and roads for them, and even giving them food and clothes.


    Their feelings were mixed right now. Should they be scared, or should they be happy?


    They were confused, that was for sure, but after they saw the golems building Shagatik¡¯s statues all over the city, now they understood what was happening.


    ¡°Lord Shagatik is taking over this city!¡±


    ¡°Is that a good thing?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I heard Jungendyr is a rich city, and in thest few days, it has transformed into something amazing. If Shagatik is taking over Utsbak City, then we will surely receive great benefits, and no one has to live on the streets anymore!¡±


    These talks spread throughout the city, making the people there happy and relieved.


    Those lizardmen that spread the news weren¡¯t real citizens, in fact, spies that Aldred nted. Their only job was to tell how great Lord Shagatik was, and whying under his rule was a great thing.


    It totally worked.


    When Aldred and Shagatik entered the city, the people cheered and threw flowers at him while chanting his name.


    ¡°Lord Shagatik, our savior, has arrived!¡±


    Shagatik wore the brightest smile that day as he waved at his people.

 344 Chapter 344

    After taking over Utsbak, Shagatik indulged himself in the praise and cheer of the people outside, while Aldred was inside the castle with his wives and Bartrem. Tarrar was also there.


    ¡°I left you for a few days, and you already took an entire city.¡± Tarrarughed.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Send the worker golems to mine everything in this region.¡±


    ¡°The Lizardfolk¡¯s territory is rich with minerals and other natural resources. It was unfortunate they cannot harvest it themselves.¡±


    ¡°You mean it was ¡®fortunate¡¯ that they cannot do it themselves?¡± Aldred asked with a smile.


    ¡°Hahaha, indeed. It was fortunate for us. Are you going to keep ying this game until you conquer all the western territory?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡±


    ¡°What about the treasure hunt?¡± Tarrar asked.


    Aldred summoned his astrbe and saw that the red orb spinning in the center shot out a red beam toward the east. ¡°I don¡¯t know what challengesy ahead of me. This is the perfect time to gather resources and more power.¡±


    ¡°Should I reduce the number of golems we sell?¡±


    ¡°Preferably yes. And if you can, obtain a few treasures that can help me in the battle, specifically against stronger enemies like tinum Rank beast.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡±


    ¡°Also send some scouts to other regions in Hofnmoen. See if there is any more territory worth taking over.¡±


    Tarrar nodded and entered the portal.


    ¡°What are you going to do now, Aldred?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°I am going to visit the vault. Wannae?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Aldred and his wives entered the castle¡¯s vault. Bartrem and soldiers followed them from behind.


    The vault was quite huge, and the moment they entered it, they already saw a pile of rare treasures all over the ce.


    Aldred¡¯s feet hit something. He looked down and picked it up. It was a mana crystal with the shape and color of a clear diamond. Activating his godly eyes, he identified that it was an air elemental mana crystal at the Epic Rarity.


    He looked around and saw a variety of Rare and even more Epic crystals. He could use this for making new golems or weaponster on.


    Aldred put them all inside his divine dimension and continued to look around. He saw some weird things such as dragon bones that exuded a dark aura, and a small unassuming stone that was apparently a chipped part of a powerful sword.


    After a few minutes of looking, Aldred saw an orb. Approaching it with curiosity, Aldred grabbed the orb only for it to slip away and floated in the air.


    ¡°This is a Golem Master¡¯s Essence?¡± Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up and he touched the orb before it turned into a ball of energy. It looked like a red sun, radiating out red light.


    It shot into his body, and Aldred felt extreme heat from within. Sweat formed on his forehead, and he gritted his teeth in pain.


    Mira quickly swung her spell: ¡°Holy Rejuvenation!¡±


    A soothing, powerful, and yet calm energy entered his body and helped him to bear the pain.


    After a few minutes, the pain dissipated.


    [You have absorbed ¡®Golem Master¡¯s Essence¡¯]


    ¨C Increases 30% Speed to all of your golems.


    ¨C Increases 30% Durability to all of your golems.


    ¨C Golem Creation skill proficiency increases by 50%.


    ¡°Nice.¡±


    ¡°What was that Aldred?¡± Mira asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Golem Master¡¯s Essence. Absorbing it makes my golem stronger, and my skill in creating golems increases.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°I know right? I didn¡¯t expect to find something like this in Lizardfolk territory.¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to make a stronger golem?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the intention.¡± Aldred nodded. ¡°I wanted to use warship-grade materials to make the golems but that is impossible because they are too heavy and require aplex technique.¡±


    ¡°Can Dobbs help you?¡±


    ¡°No. He¡¯s not a golem master. He¡¯s a cksmith and shipbuilder. It¡¯s a different practice. It¡¯s like asking a bird to swim or a frog to fly.¡±


    Mary looked at Aldred. ¡°So what will you do now?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can use a small part of ship-grade materials, the lessplex one, so it would have better materials than its predecessor.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to make a new golem now?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I got an idea of what to make.¡±


    Aldred opened his palm, and a small portal appeared beside him parallel to the ground. That was when rare materials poured out, making a pile on the ground.


    Soon after, Aldred began the construction of his new golem.


    With the help of his godly eyes, Aldred would quickly fix any problem that popped up and even fine-tuned any imperfection.


    The golems began to take shape, and beautiful blue energy moved around it, like a sea of tiny blue neutron stars, sparkling and twinkling.


    It took him hours, but Aldred managed to finish the golem in one single day.


    The golem was five meters tall. Forparison, a giraffe was about 5,70 meters.


    Aldred took a few steps back and stared at the golem with pride.


    ¡°It looks powerful,¡± Marymented.


    ¡°What will you call it?¡± Mareona asked.


    ¡°I will simply call it, Fighter Type 2.¡±


    ¡°Such ame name, but you can do whatever you want, Aldred,¡± Mareona replied. ¡°So what can it do?¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Show your power,¡± he said to the golem.


    The 5-meter tall golem raised both of its hands over its back and pulled out the 2-meter tall sword made out of various rare materials. On the cross-guard of the sword, was a shining mana crystal. On the right side was an Epic Ruby crystal, and on the left was an Epic Diamond crystal.


    When the golem activated the crystal, the right sword was covered in zing me, while the left sword had sharp, vicious winds spinning around it.


    The golem swung the swords to the side, and the wall waspletely destroyed by thebination of fire and wind.


    The golem then shone brighter as a me and wind created a vortex around its body. It then moved at a high speed and shed at Aldred.


    Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde and blocked the attack, but he was still thrown a few meters away, feet sliding against the ground.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s powerful indeed.¡±


    The golem pointed the right sword at him, and a vortex of me shot from the sword directly at Aldred.


    Aldred absorbed the me and returned the attack. The golem shed with its left sword, cutting the me with a powerful wind attack.


    A burst of me and winds shot out from the golem¡¯s feet, increasing its movement speed as it charged toward Aldred like a train.


    Aldred and the golem fought for a few minutes. The longer he fought, the more satisfied he became. He couldn¡¯t help but think that he could make it even better in the future.


    The fighting stopped, and the golem was standing still, like a true warrior, it was ready to fight, whenever Aldred wanted it to.


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    Aldred looked to the side and noticed Shagatik approaching him with a bunch of beautiful maids and female guards.


    ¡°Aldred, is this your new golem? That thing is so huge and powerful. Are you willing to sell it to me?¡±


    ¡°Sadly, it¡¯s not for sale.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. But are you going to use it to conquer Mgeid County?¡±


    Mgeid County was a vast county located north of here. It was their next target to take over.


    Aldred nodded. ¡°I want to test its strength in battle.¡±

 345 Chapter 345

    After some preparation, Aldred sent his golem armies from Utsbak and Jungendyr straight toward the south where the city of Setbokery.


    With a total of 20,400 fighter golems, 12,000 gunner golems, and 900 artillery golems marching towards the city, Aldred was more than confident to take it down.


    That was what he thought until he received a report that his army was intercepted.


    His golem army was divided into two. One came from Jungendyr, and the other came from Utsbak.


    Apparently, Mgeid County knew of his n to attack and intercepted both of his armies within a thick jungle. The thick jungle put the golems at a disadvantage because the lizardmen used hit and run tactics.


    They rode atop a raptor-like creature. It was small and fast, making the jungle a perfect ce for them to attack.


    The golem, however, had a hard time fighting them in the jungle because there were so many trees and bushes blocking their sight.


    The artillery golems could not do anything either, because they had limited missiles, shooting them randomly would do nothing.


    Aldred, Shagatik, Bartrem, and all of Aldred¡¯s wives were watching the battle in the war room.


    They all stared at Ste¡¯s mirror, depicting a thick forest being burned in mes, and lizardmen and golems fighting against each other.


    ¡°I cannot detect them using my power. They are using a secret treasure to hide their presence,¡± Ste said


    ¡°A secret treasure that can hide the presence of an army¡­ that¡¯s very interesting.¡± Aldred nodded with a smile.


    Meanwhile, Shagatik had a nervous expression on his face. ¡°Aldred, are you not worried? Your golems are being defeated.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°My golems are undying.¡±


    What Aldred said was half-true. His golems had a powerful regenerative ability that could restore their broken parts, and even absorb treasure to repair or strengthen themselves. This made them hard to fight.


    The lizardmen noticed this, and they were troubled by it.


    A lizardman hiding atop a tree branch frowned. ¡°Those golems cannot be killed with ordinary means. We have to do something.¡±


    ¡°Activate our life force. Those golems require a spell to run, if we can cut the spell, they will be unmoving objects.¡±


    ¡°We can also ask for magic-infused weapons from the army.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡±


    Soonter, the lizardmen charged at the golems, using their life force and new weapons, they managed to ¡®kill¡¯ the golems.


    Aldred frowned. The battle began to heat up as the lizardmen became more daring and attacked the golems more and more.


    His golems were destroyed one by one, and their numbers were reduced significantly.


    ¡°Ste, move the mirror to the battle on the east,¡± Aldred requested.


    The mirror changed the scenery to the battle in the east, but the same thing happened. The golem army in the east was also fighting in a thick jungle, and they were being pushed back many times.


    ¡°We have to win the battle in the east, and then reroute the army to the west to reinforce the First Battalion.¡±


    The First Battalion was the golem army fighting in the west, while the Second Battalion was fighting in the east.


    ¡°But how can we win? Those lizardmen are killing your golems left and right?!¡± Shagatik stood up from his seat while wearing a scared expression on his face.


    ¡°At this rate, they will advance to my city and take everything.¡±


    Aldred sighed as he held the urge to p the young lord to sleep.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I have sent a reinforcement.¡±


    ¡°What reinforcement?¡±


    ¡°I believe you have seen it a few days ago.¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡­


    In the thick jungle, a lizardman was leading the charge and then shed at the fighter golems with his trident. ¡°Kill these moving irons!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡±


    After killing a bunch of golems, they quickly ran away deeper into the jungle, barely dodging a storm of fire bullets.


    A few minutester, they charged again, this time from the side, and managed to take down the gunner and artillery golems.


    ¡°Yeah, kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Kill these golems!¡±


    ¡°That Shagatik bastard will pay for this. Kill these golems and we will march toward Jungendyr and take it for our lord!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    They attacked one more time, cutting the golem forces in half, and let out a cry of victory even though they had not won yet.


    ¡°We will surely win this battle,¡± the lead lizardman said with a confident smile.


    Suddenly, a 5-meter tall giant golem pierced through the canopy andnded on the ground with a bang.


    The lizardmen widened their eyes as they craned their neck to see this tall monster.


    The golem slowly reached for the swords on its back before pulling them out quickly with a schwing sound.


    The lizardmen were silent. Their hearts thumped a little harder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared! Size means nothing! Attack!¡±


    The lizardmen forgot about their fear and attacked. But, they also forgot about their rationality.


    The type 2 fighter golem burst forth with great power and dashed at the lizardmen with a terrifying speed.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    There was only a bright sh of light, and suddenly, dozens of lizardmen were cut into pieces, the meat and blood falling from the air, and sttered onto the trees and bushes.


    The type 2 fighter golem continued to charge forward like an unstoppable juggernaut. With its two-meter tall sword, it easily sliced through any trees along

 346 Chapter 346

    Qrox stood still, waiting for the golem¡¯s master toe out. But no one showed themselves, and instead, the golem charged at him, swinging a sword.


    ¡°You fucking coward!¡± Qrox charged forward and parried the 2-meter sword with his light-blue trident that seemed to contain water-elemental power.


    But before they could get into close range, the golem showed something shocking. It raised its right sword, and sixrge fire javelins shot toward Qrox.


    Qrox did not expect that the golems would have range capabilities, so the six fire javelins plunged deep into his body, and prated through the back.


    Frowning, he gritted his teeth and expelled six fire javelins out of his body.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Other Gold Ranks would surely die after that attack.¡±


    Aldred had fought against the golem, and he was the one who created it by hand, so he knew its power was nothing to scoff at. Even Elite Gold Rank would be in great pain after being shot by six fire javelins enhanced with Epic fire-elemental mana crystal.


    Billowing with a powerful life forceing out of his body, Qrox raised his trident and rushed furiously towards the type 2 fighter golem.


    ¡°Waste no time, kill him,¡± Aldredmanded.


    The standing type 2 fighter golem blurred into motion, and for a moment, it looked as if it disappeared from sight. It appeared before Qrox, and mercilessly hacked at him.


    Qrox raised his trident to block.


    Ding! An ear-ringing, metal-against-metal sound rang in the jungle. Qrox¡¯s face turned pale, as he retreated a few steps. His arms were strained from the impact.


    ¡°How can a golem be this strong? This is impossible. Only a tinum Rank golem master can make something like this, and it will consume a lot of resources to keep it running!¡±


    What Qrox said was true. Golems were generally hard and very expensive to use. They require a lot of mana crystals as a source of energy.


    And it also depended on the quality, materials, weight, speed, and other stats that affect how much mana it consumed to run

 347 Chapter 347

    Aldred frowned. He had been hearing about this Three Lizardmen brother for thest few weeks. It was said that they could defeat the early tinum Rank by working together.


    Shagatik pulled his face in fear. ¡°We should retreat, and apologize.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so fearful of them?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. They might be Gold Rank, but they are powerful and talented that even a Diamond Rank would respect them.¡±


    Mary scoffed inside. If Shagatik knew that numerous Diamond Ranks called Aldred their ¡®master¡¯, how would he react?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, my golem is quite powerful.¡±


    Shagatik gritted his teeth. ¡°If we lose, this is on you.¡±


    Aldred ignored him and watched the battle that was about to ensue.


    ¡°Oy!¡± Brath shouted while looking down at the golems. ¡°Walk back home, and don¡¯t bother this city.¡±


    The golems¡¯ eyes shone with red light and began charging forward.


    Brethughed, almost falling because he threw his head back too far. Holding on to his magic staff for support, he wiped the tears ofughter and said: ¡°Seems like they don¡¯t care at all.¡±


    ¡°Can I start shooting now?¡± Broth asked as he used an arrow to pick his nose.


    ¡°Wait for a moment.¡±


    The golems kept charging and reached 100 meters from them.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Broth grinned and ced his snot-covered arrow on the bow. The arrow shone with a bright light when he released the string.


    It struck forward before bursting into thousands of arrows. They were like a narrow stars with a trail of lighting out behind them.


    The arrows pierced through the golems,ing out of the back. The golems slowed down and slowly turned into rocks.


    The arrows were not done with one golem each, they kept piercing through golem after golem, and then they arced upward into the sky, before falling back down again, changing their own trajectory to hit as many golems as possible.


    Brethughed before he tapped his magic staff to the ground.


    ¡°A dark and evil spirit, the infinite devil of the world, witness me in my time of need. Sustain me with your power so I may save my eternal soul and serve you for eternity. I request this of you with true devotion, o bountiful devil. Exalt me with your dark power.¡±


    Dark energy swirled around him, and his veins bulge on his forehead. Raising his staff, he pounded it on the ground onest time. ¡°Hell Tower!¡±


    Bang! The staff was light, yet the impact shook the ground like an earthquake.


    Suddenly, the ground a few meters ahead of them cracked, and the rocks and dirt fell into the abyss before a dark tower, covered by hideous spikes erected from the abyss and stood more than 200 meters tall.


    The sky darkened, and the clouds turned red.


    ¡°Ultimate Evil: Bloody World!¡± Breth bit his finger, and his blood was siphoned by the tower.


    After the tower absorbed his blood, it burst with an evil aura, and holes started appearing of which small, red, goblin-like creatures rushed out of the hole and began attacking the golems.


    The devil goblins pounced on the golems, engulfing them in mes, and slowly melting them as they fought.


    More holes appeared on the tower from the bottom up to the top. The bottom holes kept summoning devil goblins while red arrows shot out from the top holes.


    It was raining arrows, and they pierced through the golems. Its heat prevented the golems from regenerating.


    Broth and Breth looked at Brath.


    ¡°What are you two looking at?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to show your power?¡± Breth asked.


    ¡°Nah, I will let you two handle these golems.¡±


    ¡°Just say that you are too weak and don¡¯t want to embarrass yourself.¡± Brethughed.


    ¡°Fuck. Fine, I will show my power.¡± Brath lifted hisrge sword, and it burst into blue me.


    Raising the sword above his head, he stared towards the golem army, and then swung down. ¡°Blue Nova.¡±


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Numerous blue explosions exploded within the golem formation, sending dozens of them into the air, and evaporating hundreds of them at once.


    Shagatik panicked. ¡°Aldred, tell your type 2 golem to attack now! Your golem army is being defeated.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the right time yet.¡±


    After thousands of golems were killed, Aldred ordered them to retreat.


    This made the three lizard brothersugh.


    ¡°Look at them running away like a group of ducks.¡± Brathughed.


    Breth let out a satanic giggle.


    Meanwhile, Broth sighed in disappointment. ¡°I wish I can shoot more of them.¡±


    ¡°Welp, the job¡¯s done. Let¡¯s go back to the brothel. I was getting it good with that petite girl until these stupid golems showed up.¡± Brath sheathed his giant sword and was about to walk away with his brothers when a loud bang was heard from behind.


    The three of them turned around and saw a gigantic 5-meter-tall, hulking steel standing before them.


    Brath¡¯s lizard eyes spun and his lips curled into a smile. ¡°Now this is more like it. Those small golems are nothing, but this¡­ this is something worthy to fight.¡±


    Broth¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I wonder how many times I can shoot it before it goes down.¡±


    Breth lifted his magic staff. ¡°Stop talking and prepare for battle. I sensed something weird.¡±


    ¡°You three are strong. Imend you for that,¡± a voice came from the golem. It was rough like sandpaper rubbing against concrete.


    ¡°A golem that can speak¡­ interesting.¡± Breth rubbed his chin with a smile. ¡°From what I can see, you have a consciousness of your own. The other golems have it as well, but you are far stronger¡­ it¡¯s almost like you have a soul. Like a true living being. But why are you still obeying your master?¡±


    ¡°I am his creation. Therefore, he is my father.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Aldred and his wives were shocked.


    ¡°Aldred, that golem considers you as his dad,¡± Mary said.


    ¡°Who would have thought that your first child would be a golem¡­¡± Mareona said.


    ¡°Wait a minute, I don¡¯t consider that golem to be my son. It¡¯s a golem.¡±


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t you dare say that in front of him,¡± Sophia red at him. ¡°I have always been wanting a child, now my dream can finallye true.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, that thing is a 5-meter-tall golem. If it was my child, at least be a baby first!¡±


    ¡°A child can be in any shape and size. Don¡¯t treat your son like that, Aldred,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°Ughh¡­ can you guys stop teasing me about this?¡±


    They allughed at being found out.


    ¡°Your father, you said?¡± Breth raised an eyebrow. ¡°Very interesting. I am looking forward to meeting your creator.¡±


    ¡°You cannot. You will die here.¡±


    ¡°Big word.¡± Brath brandished hisrge sword. ¡°I like it.¡±


    ¡°Can I shoot?¡± Broth asked


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Brath replied as he stared at the golem. ¡°Do you want to fight, sir golem?¡±


    ¡°That is the order given to me. Die!¡±


    The type 2 golem charged forward and shed with a wave of powerful wind and me. These two elements wreak havoc on the surrounding area.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Brath, Breth, and Broth smiled as they fought back.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Fun Fact: Their names are inspired by the sound of fart.

 348 Chapter 348

    Brath roared and shed the golem¡¯s right arm. Arge cut appeared on the golem¡¯s shoulder, and Brath shed once again, cutting it off.


    The arm went flying a few meters away, and the 2-meter tall de stabbed the ground. The type 2 fighter golem staggered a few steps back before a gigantic lightning arrow sted its chest, making it fall on its back.


    ¡°Devil Lightning!¡± Breth shouted.


    w-shaped lightning came from above and struck directly at the golem, creating a ten-meter-wide crater. The golem had lightning crackling around its body as it struggled to stand up.


    ¡°This thing is quite resilient,¡± Brethmented


    ¡°But it¡¯s already on itsst leg.¡± Brath lifted his sword about to attack, but he frowned when he saw cut-off limbs move back toward the golem, and then connected back again.


    Breth widened his eyes. ¡°A golem that can regenerate¡­ this is very interesting. To have this power, a golem must consume an enormous amount of mana. How can this golem contain it so much? And there¡¯s no sign of it running out of energy either.¡±


    After a few seconds, the golem stood tall once again. It was inexhaustible, tireless, emotionless, and even unfeeling.


    This was the true power of a golem. Itcked flesh and blood, which meant itcked the weakness of a mortal being.


    Brath snorted. ¡°All I need to do is cut you faster before you regenerate.¡±


    Aldred smiled in the war room when he heard that. ¡°Time for phase two.¡±


    A portal opened above the golem and a weird-evil-looking weapon, thebination of a longsword and a spear fell from the portal.


    Brath, Breth, and Broth shivered when they felt the presence of that weapon. Breth was especially sensitive to aura, and his expression was dark.


    The type 2 fighter golem put its two swords and picked up the Phantom Doomde. Suddenly, bloody-red lines ran from its arms and went all over its body. Its strength was increased manifold because the Phantom Doomde not only contained the soul of every creature Aldred killed, but also a small part of his blood essence.


    The type 2 golem raised the de and swung forward. Suddenly, the de shattered into dozens of parts but was still connected by an invisible link.


    Like a whip, it went towards Broth.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Broth fired his bow. ¡°Precise Arrow!¡±


    One powerful arrow shot toward the de, but the arrow was engulfed by me when it got near.


    He could not react as the de parts wrapped around his left arm and ripped it off.


    Broth screamed in pain before the de moved toward his neck and beheaded him.


    ¡°Broth!¡± Brath and Breth shouted.


    ¡°Fuck, we have to get out of here.¡± Breth activated his haste spell.


    ¡°No, we have to avenge Broth.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead! And we will suffer the same fate.¡±


    ¡°You go. I will stay and kill that thing.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself. I am out of here.¡± Breth rode on his magic staff and flee.


    ¡°Golem, fight me!¡± Brath charged toward the golem, leaping, and swinging his sword downward.


    The Phantom Doomde retracted to its original form, making a clunking sound as the de parts shed with each other.


    Brath¡¯s swordnded on the golem¡¯s head, but it was blocked with its hand. It didn¡¯t even manage to make a dent, unlikest time.


    ¡°Impossible¡­¡± Brath widened his eyes in disbelief.


    That was when the Phantom Doomde shed his neck. His head fell.


    Breth looked back and gritted his teeth. ¡°That fool! I am going to avenge you two. I will find whoever did this and torture him for 1000 days!¡±


    A mist of blood appeared in front of him, and it transformed into the type 2 fighter golem.


    Breth pulled his magic staff, breaking in the air before he steered it toward the side. ¡°FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! Get away from me!¡±


    Suddenly, the magic staff was stopped abruptly and he tumbled onto the ground, rolling a few times before he hit a rock.


    Opening his eyes, he saw his magic staff was wrapped around by the de parts. ¡°Shape-shifting weapon¡­ not only that, it even has a soul of its own. Just who is your creator?¡±


    The golem approached him and mercilessly stabbed his chest.


    The atmosphere on the battlefield and in the war room became silent.


    The lizardmen on the walls wore dark and worried expressions. Now that the Three Lizardmen Brothers were killed, who would protect them?


    Shagatik widened his eyes in disbelief as he slowly stood up from his seat. ¡°I have killed the Three Lizardmen Brother¡­ My name will be legendary!¡±


    Bartrem and Aldred¡¯s wives nced at Shagatik with weird looks. It was obvious that Aldred¡¯s golem was the one who killed the Three Lizardmen Brother. Yet, this young lord dared to take credit.


    Aldred nodded at them, signaling that it was okay. In fact, he was fine with being discredited for the kill. Killing not one but three of the most prominent figures would put a lot of bad attention on him. Especially from the Lizardfolk.


    Should he cut off his deal with Shagatik, he could still make other deals with other lords in this nation.


    So in his case, being discredited for the kill was actually a good thing.


    Aldred conquered Solvend County under Shagatik¡¯s name because he didn¡¯t want to have a bad reputation.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, Aldred? Take over the city for me.¡± Shagatik pointed at Ste¡¯s mirror which showed the image of the city.


    Aldred took a deep breath and opened his palms. ¡°Send in the army.¡±


    Numerous portals opened in front of the city walls, and the golems began to flood in. Not only that, hundreds of hideous undead creatures appeared out of the shadows, and Xer Xai tunneled out of the ground and roared.


    This scene made the lizardmen on the walls shiver.


    ¡°We cannot win against them. This is useless.¡±


    ¡°No. We can still fight.¡±


    ¡®Shut up! They have killed the Three Lizardmen brothers. What can ordinary Gold Rank like us do?¡±


    The lizardman that tried to rile them up was astonished by that reply. He looked at the army in front of them and sighed. ¡°Is there really no hope?¡±


    The type 2 fighter golem walked towards the gate. Pointing its de at the guards, it said: ¡°Surrender and you will be spared.¡±


    The guards listening to that were d and finally saw some hope. They quickly threw their weapons and opened the gate for the golem army to enter.


    Immediately the golems entered a rigid formation and stomped the ground with every step. The ground shook with a bang, and each time the bang echoed, the hearts of the lizardmen thumped even harder.


    After they entered the city, all the lizardmen looked at them with worry, not knowing what would happen to them from now on.


    Suddenly, two golems lifted a g of Haukjar County, Shagatik¡¯s g.


    Suddenly, Shagatik, Aldred, Bartrem, Mary, and the others appeared in front of the gate. The golems turned around and lifted their swords, weing them.


    ¡°Bow before your new lord and savior, Lord Shagatik Haukjar!¡±


    Shagatik held his chin up and grinned.

 349 Chapter 349

    Just like the usual, Shagatik enjoyed himself on the street of the city, showered with praises and admiration as Aldred¡¯s golem gave them food, coins, and clothes, and even built or renovated their houses.


    In this continent, almost no government would spend money to build a home for the low ss. Thankfully, Shagatik was a fool who was hungry for validation and praise, so tricking him was easy.


    Aldred was inside the vault. It was empty because he had taken everything in it. He didn¡¯t find anything worthwhile. However, he wasn¡¯t disappointed, because he got something better.


    ¡°Brath, Breth, Broth.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The three undead lizardmen bowed.


    ¡°Tell me, did you really manage to kill a tinum Rank?¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lord,¡± they replied at the same time.


    ¡°Exin it to me.¡±


    The three of them began exining it to Aldred. Apparently, their feat of defeating a tinum Rank didn¡¯t rely on their strength, but actually on their wit. They exined that to defeat a tinum Rank, they yed the long game. First, baiting the enemy to a faraway ce where there was no reinforcement, and where they had nted a lot of traps.


    After that, it was a hit and run operation for months until they exhausted the tinum Rank.


    That made much more sense than the three of them fighting the tinum Rank head like what Aldred did to fight against that Behemoth.


    But Aldred got more than eighty people to help him including his wives, Bartrem, and the soldiers. Not to mention he had a powerful sword that could surpass the limitation of ranks. So, his situation was apletely different case.


    Aldred looked at his three new undeads and was satisfied. ¡°If I can get more undeads like them, my journey will be much safer.¡±


    He was worried that the next challenge would be harder. After all, he had finished the second phase, and the third phase was said to be thest.


    What would he encounterter? How strong would they be? He didn¡¯t know, so he had to prepare.


    Tarrar entered the vault and approached Aldred. ¡°The job is done. I have put thousands of worker golems to mine the region, and I have sent thousands more to the north.¡±


    ¡°What about the ship-grade materials that I ask?¡±


    ¡°I have sent them to Dobbs. And he wanted me to give you something.¡± Tarrar took out his spatial bag and gave it to Aldred.


    Aldred received it with curiosity before he pulled something out of the bag. It was a soul re, an ancient-looking gun that was mostly used by the pirates. It might look small and weak, but it was known to be able to kill tinum Rank.


    But it only worked in the middle of the sea. That was its biggest weakness and the reason why it was never used onnd.


    ¡°This thing works onnd,¡± Tarrar said.


    ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°I have no time to waste on a lie,¡± Tarrar replied.


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    ¡°Dobbs said that it needs to consume your blood essence if you want to kill a tinum Rank with it. But it only needs your mana for normal use.¡±


    ¡°I can only replenish my blood essence once per day. Though, that will improve if I evolve further.¡±


    ¡°I have no doubt that you will.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You are dismissed.¡±


    Aldred opened a portal for Tarrar. After he left, Aldred looked at the Soul re.


    ¡°A weapon that can kill a tinum Rank¡­ Finally.¡±


    In truth, Aldred had a lot of weapons that could kill a tinum Rank. His ship-grade main cannons, magic-infused cannons, and soul res.


    But, they either only worked at sea, or they were too powerful or too heavy for anyone to hold and bring.


    A shadow moved in the corner. Aldred smiled. ¡°Whoever you are, show yourself unless you want to die.¡±


    The shadow zipped left and right, and then came at him. The shadow formed into a xenomorph-like creature. It was a 2-meter tall alien with four limbs, and all of those limbs held a shark-teeth de.


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and blocked. Sparks came out of the impact.


    The creature was astonished that Aldred didn¡¯t even retreat by a single step.


    The Phantom Doomde¡¯s sharp surface transformed into chainsaw teeth. With a speed of 20,000 rotations per minute, the de easily went through the alien¡¯s weapon and cut off its body in half.


    Green blood sttered on the floor before his de absorbed them all including the body of the alien.


    Numerous shadows started to move around, and they all rushed at him.


    One alien pounced at him from the left, baring sharp, hideous teeth.


    ¡°What a weird creature.¡± Aldred shed to the left, killing the alien before he swung the de in every direction.


    The Phantom Doomde shattered into different pieces and was connected by an invisible energy. Moving like a whip, it cut everything in its path.


    After killing all the aliens, Aldred looked to the side, in the dark part of the vault.


    Arge foot stepped into the light before a creature, standing four meters tall, appeared.


    ¡°Just my luck. An early tinum Rank monster.¡±


    [Devil Xenorph]


    Level: 90


    Power: Devour, Evolve, Stalk,


    History: Escaping from a group of Ultra Soldiers, this wild Xenorph found itself hopping from one universe to another.


    ¡°A runaway, huh? Let me end your life here.¡±


    Devil Xenorph let out a screech before it charged forward, cracking the ground with each step.


    Aldred raised his de to block the attack. He then transformed his weapon to Soul re and sted the alien¡¯s left leg.


    The alien fell to its knees, and the Soul re transformed to Phantom Doomde again before it plunged into the creature¡¯s chest.


    Aldred bit his finger, and smeared the blood onto his de. The de glowed in eerie red light before it absorbed the alien¡¯s life force dry.


    ¨C1423


    ¨C1952


    ¨C2110


    The flickering life on the alien¡¯s eyes came to a shut, and when Aldred pulled his de, the alien fell to its death.


    Aldred looked at his de in pride. Now that it absorbed Dobb¡¯s Soul re, it had a function to consume his blood essence much better and gave it the ability to kill a tinum Rank.


    Though it was useful, his overall strength, max health points, speed, and the quality of his mana dropped by a few percent. He had to rest for a day in order to restore his blood essence.


    Suddenly, the alien jolted awake and lunged at him.


    His Soul re sted the alien¡¯s head.


    [You have killed Devil Xenorph]


    [You have received Xenorph¡¯s blood essence]


    Suddenly, a green energy orb formed on Aldred¡¯s palm.


    ¡°This is a blood essence?¡±


    Opening his mouth, the orb entered his throat.


    Suddenly, the alien¡¯s memory entered his mind:


    Big soldiers with thick power armor hunted it down with rocket bullets. Big mechas stomped the earth while sending house-sized bullets at each other. Ind-sized ships entered the atmosphere and stedser beams at the mechas and aliens below.


    Aldred returned to reality.


    [Viscount Blood Vampire Lv. 2]


    [Evolution: 100/100]


    [You have evolved]


    [Viscount Blood Vampire Lv. 3]


    ¨C Increase the quality and amount of your blood essence.


    ¨C Blood Essence regeneration is 50% faster.


    ¨C Blood Maniption mastery increased by 80%.

 350 Chapter 350

    Aldred removed the notification and frowned as he looked at the alien¡¯s body. The alien¡¯s history said that these aliens hopped from one universe to another, and just happened tond on this continent.


    But he was more intrigued by its memory. Outside of this was a vast world with myriads of cultures, technologies, magics, and creatures. He had seen it with his father and mother because they took him around different universes a few years ago, but there were an endless amount of gxies and universes out there.


    Even if he was immortal, Aldred didn¡¯t think he could explore them all.


    ¡°That makes it even more exciting. There¡¯s an endless amount of worlds to explore out there.¡±


    Now the question was, would there be more Xenorph in this region?


    ¡°Ste,¡± Aldred called.


    Ste instantly teleported by his side. ¡°Dear, did you call?¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me where that thinges from?¡±


    ¡°Let me try something.¡± Ste knelt by the corpse and star particles glowed around her arms. Soon, they moved forward and enveloped the corpse.


    ¡°I found it. It¡¯s to the northwest from here.¡±


    ¡°Bring me there.¡±


    Ste teleported the both of them, and they appeared in a world of snow and ice. There was a heavy storm of snow as well, and Aldred would not be able to see anything if not for his godly eyes.


    In this world of snow and ice, there was a bubbling active volcano that spewed smoke andva to the surface.


    ¡°It¡¯s below that volcano.¡± Ste pointed before they teleported right below it.


    Aldred felt the heat of theva around them, but the snowstorm made it cold all over again. It was a weirdbination of hot on his lower body and cold on his upper body.


    Creatures with thick fur trod on thendscape. Most were docile looking for some nts to eat.


    In front of them was a cave. It was small and narrow, but Aldred could tell that someone or something had done something to it that made it so.


    Originally, the cave was wide. At least, that was what he discerned from his analysis. The dirt and stones on the surface were slimy, almost as if something spat on them to make them stick to the cave.


    ¡°This is the ce?¡±


    ¡°Yes. See that footmark on the ground? It¡¯s the same as that weird creature.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get inside.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Ste held his hand and frowned. Raising her hand, she held a tiny star before throwing it into the sky.


    The tiny star streaked upward and shattered, revealing the stars in the sky even though it wasn¡¯t nighttime yet.


    Staring at the stars, Ste frowned even deeper. ¡°Don¡¯t enter this cave. It¡¯s full of traps and monsters that are not safe to handle. Not even for me.¡±


    Aldred nced at her and nodded. ¡°In that case, we have to send golems and undead inside.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t send the undead. I am afraid there is a cave that can attack your soul by attacking your undead.¡±


    ¡°But sending golem is fine?¡±


    Ste nodded.


    ¡°Weird, but okay.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, Aldred.¡± Ste held his hand again. ¡°How long do you n to dy our journey? We have not set off yet for more than 3 weeks.¡±


    ¡°I am still preparing for the third andst phase. You should know that the third phase is the most dangerous one.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, but taking too long is not a good thing either. Others may surpass you.¡±


    ¡°I am confident that no one will surpass me. But, you¡¯re right. I need some sort of deadline. How about this, after taking care of whatever is inside, we will begin our journey again.¡±


    Aldred looked at the cave. ¡°Hopefully, I will find something good inside.¡±


    ¡°Do you think your golems can handle whatever is inside?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Nope. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going toe back and prepare.¡±


    ¡­


    Dobbs looked at the report he was given the other day. It was about the ship-grade materials that Aldred had ordered, and he was reading them to determine if it was enough for modification and creation of new ships.


    ¡°Dobbs.¡±


    Dobbs jolted from his seat until he saw the one who was calling him. ¡°You scared the shit out of me. What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Help me build a golem,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not my field of specialty.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you can take part in making the de. What I made is not very good.¡± Aldred summoned the type 2 fighter golem¡¯s de which was 2 meters tall.


    Dobbs looked at the 2-meter-tall de and shook his head in disappointment. ¡°What a waste of quality materials. Fine, I will help you. What is your n? Do you just want me to improve the de?¡±


    ¡°I am thinking of making you my adviser. My n is to make a strong golem. The type 2 fighter golem is not bad, but I want to make a golem that has an advantage in any situation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a tough wish to fulfill.¡±


    ¡°But I think we can do it.¡± Aldred looked at him with conviction. He was sure with Dobb¡¯s Divine Craftsman skill, anything is possible.


    Dobbs stood up and smiled. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    They entered the workshop inside the mothership and began to work.


    First, Aldred began to write a list of the features and capabilities of the golem, and draw the design.


    Dobbs was at his side, advising on what to add and remove. Their nning took more than three days before they began creating the golem.


    First thing they made was the armor, which was one of the prominent features of this golem. It was created with custom-made materials that Dobbs crafted with his own hand. This armor was durable and also flexible to allow the golem to move much more freely.


    It also allowed them to easily withstand brutal attacks that would rip Elite Gold Ranks.


    What came next was the sword. Apparently, what Aldred made for the type 2 fighter golem was considered trash by Dobbs, and he made apletely new de.


    It was called the Spellsword. Though its name has the word ¡®spell¡¯, its purpose was not to cast spells, but rather consume them.


    The sword had the ability to consume mana and spells which meant if a mage cast a defensive barrier, the golem could cut through it easily. Not only that, but it could also consume spells, and convert them to power, before releasing a powerful explosion.


    Of course, it has other abilities as well.


    In any case, it would be his most powerful golem of all time. The only disadvantage this golem had was that it was impossible to mass produce, and Aldred and Dobbs had to work on it by hand.


    And it took weeks to finish.


    What stood before them was 2.4 meters of hunkering steel. Aldred and Dobbs intentionally made it much shorter than the other golem to make it nimbler, but its durability, strength, and destructive power was much higher than his previous golem.


    ¡°I never thought that making a golem would be this much fun.¡±


    ¡°Wait until you see it in battle. It will be so much more than fun.¡±


    ¡°Should we give it a name?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°For sure.¡±


    ¡°I will let you name it. What will it be?¡±


    ¡°I have prepared a name for it, but I thought it would be unsuitable, but when I look at it, I know it is the perfect name. I will call this golem as¡ª


    Ultra Golem.¡±

 351 Chapter 351

    Aldred, Dobbs, and Ste were sitting inside a dimly lit, windowless room. They were watching Ste¡¯s mirror which showed the scene in the world of ice where the four Ultra Golems stood still in front of the cave¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Aldred, you said we¡¯re going to run a test first.¡±


    ¡°This is the test.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that those four golems cost almost all of your savings, right?¡±


    Aldred slightly winced when he heard that. Because Aldred believed in the golem so much, he decided to build 4 of them. That put a strain on his budget, but he was not worried too much about it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just annexed a few counties in the lizardmen territory. We will get our money back.¡±


    ¡°Thankfully you don¡¯t have to tap into thepany¡¯s savings.¡±


    Aldred bitterly smiled. ¡°Tarrar will be very upset about that. He¡¯s not very happy about spending money, but he loves it when the numbers on the paper increase.¡±


    ¡°Okay, enough about Tarrar. Tell the golem to enter the cave.¡±


    ¡°Not before they send in the scout golem first.¡±


    After that statement, the four golems threw in a bunch of tiny, flying golems inside the cave. Entering it, the fly-shaped golems looked for any danger or precious materials.


    Ste summoned a bunch of more mirrors and they connected to the fly¡¯s eyes.


    After they got in deeper, they suddenly disappeared, and the mirrors turned nk.


    ¡°What happened to them?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°The cave has a powerful aura, possibly because a lot of powerful creatures live in it, or they have fought and killed each other in this cave. This aura makes it impossible for weak beings to enter.¡±


    ¡°But those fly golems are not even beings.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that the aura has a property that could crush any weak objects that enter it. If you bring an ordinary sword inside, it will either snap or turn into hot liquid. The blood inside your body will boil, and your eyes will bulge before they burst.¡±


    Aldred rubbed his chin. ¡°So basically, the aura increases the pressure inside the cave.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot moreplicated than that. If you¡¯re a mage, your mana might be drained dry. Whatever was inside that cave, it created a chaotic aura with unpredictable side effects.¡±


    Dobbs took a sip of his water to clear his mind. ¡°We¡¯re lucky to have Ste to exin stuff to us.¡±


    Since they couldn¡¯t send more scout golems inside, Aldred decided to send the golem army to enter. Leading the way were the four Ultra Golems followed by a bunch of gunner golems and fighter golems.


    It was dark inside. The gunner golem lit up some fire to illuminate the way.


    Mucus dripped from the ceiling, sizzling as it vaporized the dirt. Any sentient race with a brain would retreat immediately, but the golems kept going.


    They kept going for several kilometers. Dobbs couldn¡¯t help but yawn a couple of times.


    But a few minutester, the golems arrived at a square. The square was covered in mucus and a stain of red and green blood.


    ¡°Someone has visited this ce before,¡± Ste said.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s hope that someone didn¡¯t take anything valuable.¡±


    ¡°Look, there are two statues in the middle of the square.¡±


    Standing in the middle of the square were two humanoid silver statues with engravings all over their body. These statues were quite tall and intricately made, but something was weird.


    The statues looked like a human with a small difference. On the back of their heads was a spine-looking thing that connected to their upper back.


    ¡°These statues are not made with the images of humans in mind.¡± Ste narrowed her eyes.


    Electricity ran through the spine-looking thing on the back of the statues¡¯ heads, and suddenly their eyes glowed blue.


    ¡°Those statues are alive!¡±


    The two statues stepped forward, raised their hands, and clenched their fists.


    Dozens of golems were suddenly destroyed.


    ¡°They have telekic power! Quick, attack them!¡± Aldred ordered.


    The gunner golems started firing only for the bullets to be blocked by a transparent hemisphere barrier. The bullets were still in ce before the statues slightly moved their hands and sent all the bullets back with greater force, sting the golems with holes.


    The fighter golems charged forward with their des. Feet stomping the ground, indicating their weight and power. But before they could reach the two living statues, they all stopped in ce and their body shattered like ss.


    All the golems were annihted except for the four Ultra Golems standing still at the back. Aldred wanted to keep them as his hidden card, but he got no choice now that the other golems were destroyed.


    ¡°Ultra Golems, destroy those statues.¡±


    After the order was given, two Ultra Golems lifted their arms and they morphed into a cannon.


    Aldred called the weapon Vanquisher. Because he came from a modern world, he thought it would be cool for the golem to have a gun-like weapon that can fire bullets made out of mana.


    With Dobbs Divine Craftsman, the golem could send 12,000 mana bullets per minute. The bullets that came out of their arms were made from pure mana energy and were further enhanced, so they were more powerful than Aldred¡¯s fire bullets.


    When the mana bullets were blocked by the statues, they exploded which forced the statues to take three steps back.


    Two other Ultra Golems charged at them at high speed.


    One of them reached one of the statues and swung its Spellsword at the neck. The statue reacted quickly, raising its hand, and made the golem struggle to move. The surface of the golem started to crack until a suction force siphoned all the energy nearby, deactivating the telekinesis ability for a mere moment.


    But that moment was crucial for the Spellsword to plunge deep into the statue¡¯s neck, prating it, and cut off the spine-looking object that connected the back of the head and the upper back.


    The golem pushed the dead statue to the side and rushed at the other statue which was currently preventing an Ultra Golem from moving.


    The golem raised its left arm, turning into a Vanquisher, but the statue turned around and pped it to the side before it could shoot.


    The golem reacted quickly and shed only for its hand to be blocked in mid-air by a telekic power.


    Two Ultra Golems were unable to move, and their surface armor began cracking as if a giant invisible hand was holding them as tight as possible.


    The other two Ultra Golems from the distance began charging their Vanquisher for two seconds before they fired.


    Two blue beams went straight at the 2,5-meter tall statue and exploded, creating a smokescreen of dust.


    After the dust disappeared, the statue appeared to be fine because it blocked the attack with the hemisphere energy shield.


    But now it was four against one, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before the golem took it out.


    The statue sped its hand, sending out an explosive force field that pushed the Ultra Golems twenty steps back. It then punched the ground, cracking the ground, and all the rocks floated as they glowed blue.


    Electricity sparked on the rocks with the statue at the center as it red at the golems.

 352 Chapter 352

    ¡°Just what in the hell is that thing?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a golem. By the looks of it, it seems like the creator is much more skilled than you,¡± Ste said.


    Aldred agreed to that. One of those statues could hold against four Ultra Golems. If not for the Spellsword¡¯s ability to devour mana, the golems might not even be able to defeat one of them earlier.


    From his analysis, the statue seemed to be able to learn as well. Just like his golems.


    The statue sent the rocks flying at the Ultra Golems. Each of those rocks was enormous and weighed tons. Even if the golems were not destroyed, it might suffer tremendous damage, and because of the golem¡¯s special material, it couldn¡¯t regenerate as well as his other golem.


    The golems used their agility and flexibility to dodge all the rocks, sometimes cutting the rocks in half or sting them with mana bullets.


    The rain of rocks kepting and they struggled to dodge, at least that was what the golems made the statue think.


    In reality, they were positioning themselves to encircle the statue, and after a few minutes, they charged at it from four different directions.


    Just likest time, two Ultra Golems attacked at long range, and the other two attacked from close range.


    The mana bullets came at the statue before it stopped in mid-air and exploded. Two Spellsword appeared out of the dust cloud,ing directly at the statue.


    The statue stopped the sword in mid-air only for the golems to st its arms with the Vanquisher.


    The golems then stabbed through the neck, piercing through, and cutting off the spine-looking object on the back of its head.


    The statue fell to the ground with a thud.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally over,¡± Aldredmented.


    The four Ultra Golems approached the statue. It was taller andrger than them. They knelt, touched it, and began absorbing the materials.


    Slowly, they consumed the whole statue and integrated its materials with their own.


    Aldred checked to see if they have a telekinesis power from absorbing the materials, but sadly that wasn¡¯t the case. The materials did make it easier for the golems to fire mana bullets and absorb mana though, so it wasn¡¯t a lost cause.


    ¡°I cannot believe our golems fought those two statues for nothing,¡± Dobbs said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for nothing. They got to absorb materials that we never saw before.¡±


    ¡°Not too useful, but I will stopining.¡±


    The golems proceeded to move forward and they saw a 2-meter-tall cross made out of ck steel.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and noticed something inside.


    Apparently, it was a chest in the shape of a cross. With Aldred¡¯s order, the golems pried open the steel cross and an orb floated out.


    ¡°That¡¯s a soul orb,¡± Ste said. ¡°From its aura, it should be the soul of a tinum Rank.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s Phantom Doomde appeared on his hand by itself. It flickered with life, seemingly hungry for the soul stone.


    ¡°Send the worker golems to retrieve the soul orb, and every other treasure the Ultra Golems found.¡±


    Dozens of worker golems entered the cave and scavenged everything they saw. One of them grabbed the soul orb and put it in a spatial bag.


    Aldred wasn¡¯t brave enough to teleport directly into the cave, so he let the golems do the work for him.


    The worker golem brought the spatial bag out of the cave, and then Ste teleported it inside the war room where Aldred was waiting.


    The Phantom Doomde flew at the spatial bag, ripped it, and then absorbed the soul orb.


    The sword glowed and it trembled ferociously. Only after a few minutes did the light disappear and the sword calmly returned to his hand.


    ¡°This thing is bing more alive by the day.¡± Aldred looked at his sword. He could feel the immense power within it had increased.


    ¡°Your sword consumes souls. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was really alive,¡± Ste said.


    Dobbs stared at the Phantom Doomde with curiosity. As he stared, however, he felt like he was being stared back. The sword seemed friendly to him.


    ¡°Entering this cave is not a waste of time.¡± Aldred smiled. ¡°We should explore it, and see what we can get.¡±


    The Ultra Golems proceed forward. They entered a narrow hallway and then arrived at some sort ofb. There were broken pipes and tubes with green liquid spilling all over the floor.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Ab?¡±


    ¡°Only Duria will make a ce like this to perform their experiments. This ce is not made by mages, dark mages, or ritualists,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°Have Duria always ced theirbs outside their nation?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Of course. Duria is a military nation, and they have a lot of different factions fighting for control. To have control, they need power, and thisb must be owned by one of the factions.¡±


    Aldred frowned. Something didn¡¯t add up. The Devil Xenorph he defeated was a universe hopper, and it came from this ce. So unless Duria did something to summon that Devil Xenorph from another universe it would be impossible for them to own thisb. Or maybe a person from another universe was teleported here and brought some Xenorphs with him.


    Just thinking about it made him dizzy. There were too many questions, and he would not find an urate answer unless he kept moving forward.


    Passing theb, they arrived in front of arge steel door. The Ultra Golem kicked it through and entered a dark, wide chamber.


    The Ultra Golems detected a bunch of Xenorphs inside, and they fired the Vanquisher, sting them by the dozens.


    There was a steel bridge above the chambers, and people came sprinting on the bridge with some sort of sci-fi-looking weapons.


    ¡°Musuh! Musuh! Tembak!¡±


    [Unknownnguage discovered. Trantion begin]


    ¡°Intruders! Intruders! Fire on sight!¡±


    The weapons fired aser beam at the golems numerous times, but it did nothing to them.


    The people wore some sort of gas mask, and their shock was visible despite their faces being hidden.


    The golems retaliated by sending ten thousand mana bullets per minute at them, ripping them to shreds.


    ¡°Quick, keep going forward as fast as possible,¡± Aldred ordered. Now that he knew there were people in here, there was a possibility that they might escape with a valuable item that was kept in this secret cave.


    Whatever they hid under this volcano must be valuable.


    The four Ultra Golems kept going forward, entering another hallway. Enemies came from different directions, firing theirser guns at the golems.


    The Ultra Golem shot once and the mana bullets pierced through six people before exploding and turning their bodies to mush.


    They proceeded forward, killing anything and everything that was moving.


    In the distance, four enemies pushed a giant machine gun forward. It aimed right at the golems and sprayed bullets like it was heavy rain.


    The golems swiped their left hands forward and an energy cape appeared, blocking all the bullets.


    Their right hand transformed into Vanquisher in sniper mode and they sted the giant machine gun.


    They didn¡¯t even have a chance to scream before they died. The golems found another gate and shot it open.


    Inside, they found a group of enemies pushing arge ball of spikes made out of steel.


    Aldred¡¯s prediction was correct. These people did have something to hide. ¡°Kill everyone and secure thatrge ball of spikes.¡±

 353 Chapter 353

    The Ultra Golems went guns zing, killing all the guards in the room.


    Suddenly, four gically-modified 3-meters tall humans came stomping at them. Their muscles were abnormally big, and their skin looked like they were made out of steel.


    One of the superhumans punched an Ultra Golem in the chest, denting it, and pushed the golem a few steps back.


    ¡°Amazing.¡± Aldred¡¯s eyes lit up. Whoever engineered these humans must be a super genius scientist. He could tell that these humans did not have life force like ordinary warriors, but simply ordinary humans that were modified from birth.


    If whoever created them could produce Gold Rank superhumans¡­ it would be so much scarier than his golem army or undead army.


    The Ultra Golems traded blows with the superhumans for hours. Throughout the fight, the superhumans didn¡¯t even feel any exhaustion, in fact, the superhumans became faster as the battle progressed.


    The Ultra Golems were troubled by that, but their fighting style changed as well, adapting to the enemies.


    They were fairly matched, but Aldred did not think this was fair at all. The golems were created out of high-grade materials, and their whole body was a weapon of itself.


    To think that they matched against four superhumans with bare hands was uneptable.


    ¡°Ultra Golems, use your full power,¡± Aldred gave the order.


    Immediately, all the mana crystals stored within their body were drained, and the golems shone with radiant blue light.


    This was their skill: Ultra Power. They consumed all the mana crystals within their body at once to produce momentary explosive power.


    Because they were fighting in long range, the golems directed all of that energy to their fist and punched through their enemy.


    The four superhumans crashed against the wall. Two of them were killed immediately while the other two barely hung for their life.


    Swords plunged into their chests, and they died within seconds.


    The Ultra Golems turned around to look at the 8-meters-tall spike ball. Approaching it, they cut the ball open, revealing a floating smooth metal ball.


    The surface of the ball moved like it was a group of snakes hugging each other and slithering around.


    The ball shattered and engulfed the golems.


    ¡°Fuck! Second Battalion, enter the cave now!¡± Aldred shouted.


    As the Second Battalion of the golem army entered the cave, the slithering metal snakes integrated themselves with the Ultra Golems as wings.


    Aldred could not believe what he just saw. On the back of the Ultra Golems was now a pair of steel, spiky wings. The ones that he usually saw in the Gundam cartoon.


    The wings shot wind elemental out, making the golems float, and then they flew around the room with supersonic speed.


    ¡°Attention intruders, leave this ce at once or you will be eliminated. This is your final warning!!!¡±


    Aldred frowned, trying to locate where that voice came from but failed.


    ¡°I will count to three. Leave, or I will open the gate.¡±


    Aldred looked at the giant gate on the side of the room. The gate was around 25 meters in height and width and was at least 5 meters thick.


    ¡°One!¡±


    The Ultra Golems entered a battle stance, and they began to charge their weapons with mana.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    The mana crystals within their body began to replenish, absorbing Aldred¡¯s mana while they were kilometers away using intricate magic.


    ¡°Three!¡±


    The gate roared as it slowly opened. Then, a loud screeching scream came from inside, blowing powerful wind that pushed the four Ultra Golems dozens of meters back.


    Ste widened her eyes, lips trembling. ¡°That¡¯s Adamantite Rank being!¡±


    Dobbs widened his eyes. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe this. I have heard stories, but I didn¡¯t think I would see one.¡±


    The aura of that powerful being came from within a dark chamber. Aldred activated his godly eyes and peered through the darkness.


    He noticed something weird. ¡°The Adamantite Rank being¡­ it¡¯s chained and wounded.¡±


    That gave Dobbs and Ste an even greater shock. An Adamantite Rank entity was regarded as heroes in mythical stories. They have always been depicted as winners that defeat everything in their path with ease.


    No one would expect them to be chained in this ce.


    The Ultra Golem threw an orb inside the chamber, and it shone the whole room, revealing a 50-meter-tall terrifying Xenorph, chained to the floor.


    The Ultra Golems approached, but Aldred prevented them from getting too close.


    ¡°What a magnificent beast.¡± Aldred¡¯s eyes twinkled.


    Ste was amazed beyondprehension. ¡°I never see anything like it.¡±


    ¡°This is truly a one-time experience. I have no regrets about joining this venture now. Even if I die now, my life is fulfilled!¡± Dobbs shouted as he stared at the creature.


    The creature was the stuff of a nightmare with six limbs. The front limbs were a pair of scythe arms, the middle was a pair of sharp ws, and thest pair of limbs were strong legs made for jumping and stomping on its target.


    Not only was it huge and exuded a powerful terrifying aura, but it also looked hideous.


    But the Ultra Golems had no fear and approached it at a safe distance.


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Grant Vision!¡±


    His eyes glowed in blue, and suddenly, the red light on the Ultra Golems¡¯ eyes turned blue as well.


    They looked at the upper left corner and noticed a man was climbing the wall with an invisibility cloak.


    One of the Ultra Golems spread its wings and released one of the spikes into the air. It arced towards the man and stabbed him from the back before bringing him in front of the golem.


    The man wore sses and a whiteb coat. He was fairly young, around the age of 28 years old.


    ¡°Who are you? What is this ce?¡± Aldred¡¯s voice came from the golem.


    The man huffed and puffed, barely able to breathe. He then took a syringe from his pocket and stabbed his thigh.


    The wound instantly regenerated, and the man nced at the golem, seemingly without fear but ridicule.


    ¡°Whoever you are, the master of these filthy objects, leave this ce and forget everything you see.¡±


    The Ultra Golem swung its sword, cutting the man¡¯s right arm.


    The man gritted his teeth in pain, but he did not scream. In fact, he even red at the golem in anger.


    ¡°Answer the question, or it will be your head next time,¡± Aldred replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath, heretic. Kill me if your daemon master wishes so.¡±


    ¡°Heretic? Are you from Montcresia? This is impossible. They are not a nation of science.¡±


    ¡°So you are a native of this primitive world. I apologize for the misunderstanding, native. This is a ce of secrecy and of the utmost importance for the imperium. Leave, and the emperor will send his angels for you in times of need.¡±


    Aldred, Ste, and Dobbs looked at each other in confusion. None of them understood what this man in ab coat said.


    ¡°You are right when you say I don¡¯t have to waste my breath. This is the ce where you die.¡±


    The Ultra Golem swung once again.


    The man grabbed a small orb out of his pocket, crushed it, and the space around him bent before it shattered into a portal that led into a ce full of mes, demons, and the screams of the tortured.


    The man was sucked inside, and the portal vanished.

 354 Chapter 354

    ¡°Shit, he got away,¡± Aldred said. But where did that portal lead? It was only a short moment, but he was sure that the ce the man teleported to was¡­ hell.


    As his father was a demon king himself, Aldred had teleported to hell a couple of times to y with the demons. They were funpanions, and Aldred considered them to be his friends. He even considers some old demons to be his uncle.


    But his father said that there were many hells, and his father only owned several billions of them.


    Aldred looked at the Adamantite Rank entity and analyzed it.


    [???]


    ¡°Nothing, huh?¡±


    The creature stared at one of the golems for a few seconds.


    Ste¡¯s mirror was connected with one of the golem¡¯s eyes, so what Aldred and the others were seeing was what the golem saw.


    Suddenly, the creature averted its eyes at the leftmost Ultra Golem where Aldred¡¯s point of view was.


    [You are inflicted with nk Mind]


    [You are inflicted with Agitation]


    [You are inflicted with Rage]


    [You are inflicted with Blood Lust]


    [You are inflicted with Soul Parasite]


    [You are inflicted with Shatter Morale]


    Aldred¡¯s mind was filled with rage and hopelessness. He was agitated and an evil intention formed within his heart. His thoughts were flooded with images of him killing all of his wives and devouring their flesh.


    ¡°NO!¡±


    His scream failed to remove the images, and instead, it got stronger before it shattered.


    [Mind Debuff neutralized]


    [Transforming into Baron Hell Demon form]


    Suddenly, his whole body ballooned into a four-meters-tall dark demon with long arms end with hideous ws, and a pair of horns. His whole body was charred ck, and his eyes were red.


    Dobbs and Ste charged at him with craziness, but Aldred stared into their eyes. ¡°Sleep! Emotion Maniption! Dream Maniption!¡±


    The two fell to the floor, sleeping.


    Aldred breathed in relief. He looked at Ste¡¯s mirror and saw that the creature was frowning. ¡°What a scary entity. I am so far away from it, yet a mere nce could almost kill me.¡±


    His father and mother were more powerful, butparing anything to them was pointless. Anything hepared to them would be akin to ants.


    After a few minutes, Dobbs and Ste woke up, holding their heads in pain.


    Dobbs asked: ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°That creature attacked our mind and soul,¡± Ste replied. She had realized what happened, but could not do anything to prevent it.


    ¡°Luckily, Aldred saved us, if not we would be killing each other like a possessed barbarian.¡±


    ¡°We got lucky,¡± Aldred said. ¡°If you don¡¯t limit your power to Gold Rank, I wouldn¡¯t be able to make you fall asleep.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so what do we do with that thing now?¡± Dobbs asked.


    ¡°Human, release me from this chain and I will give you a valuable secret to be stronger. Adamantite Rank is not my true form, I am far stronger than anything this world has seen. I can give you power.¡±


    Aldred burst intoughter. ¡°You might not know this, but I am a half-demon, so I know how to allure people. And that is exactly what a chained demon says to trick someone.¡±


    Judging by the creature¡¯s appearance, it was sufficient to say that it came directly from hell itself.


    ¡°You are too naive. An opportunity arises in front of you, and you are too afraid to seek it.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes shed with a cold glint. ¡°Yes, I see an opportunity. Your body will be a good material for my ship! Ultra Golems, kill that thing!¡±


    The four Ultra Golems fired a fully charged Vanquisher at the Xenorph, sting at its hard shells.


    ¡°Your primitive weapons are no use against me.¡±


    The attack did nothing to the creature at all. There wasn¡¯t even a single trace of damage.


    ¡°All Battalions, enter the chamber and kill it.¡±


    Thousands of golems entered and started firing. Thousands of fire bullets and golem shells flew at the creature and exploded.


    The next scene came with no surprise. After the smoke and dust disappeared, the creature¡¯s body was revealed with no harm.


    It grinned with ridicule. ¡°I shall close my eyes and sleep.¡±


    Ste¡¯splexion darkened. ¡°That thing is an Adamantite Rank. It¡¯s impossible to kill it.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is impossible. I don¡¯t want to leave this ce knowing a valuable treasure is right in front of me.¡±


    Hundreds of fighter golems hacked at the creature¡¯s shells only for the de to shatter upon impact.


    ¡°Thanks for the back rub,¡± the creature snorted.


    ¡°In that case, what about your wounds?¡±


    The fighter golems stabbed the wounds on the creature¡¯s body, and it made the creature bleed.


    ¡°The stab isn¡¯t deep, but its progress keeps going!¡±


    The artillery golems and the gunner golems began shooting the wound as well.


    The creature roared in anger. ¡°You insolent walking flesh! I will destroy your tools!¡±


    The creature¡¯s towering body stood up, trembling hard as the chain stretched, seemingly about to break. With its hind legs, it stomped on the golems, crushing them into millions of pieces.


    ¡°Haha! They are ants indeed. A little stomp and all of your toys are destroyed. What will you do now, filthy human?¡±


    Ste¡¯s beautiful eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this thing first, Aldred. We cane back anytime we want to.¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°No need to worry about that. I have a n to kill this thing.¡±


    Coming from the gate was arge army of fighter golems. The army even stretched from the chamber all the way to the entrance of the cave.


    Numbering more than 100,000 thousand units, the numbers were staggering, to say the least.


    ¡°I only sent you the appetizer, this is the main dish! Enjoy it while you can!¡± Aldred gave a cold smile.


    The creature could not believe its eyes. ¡°How could you have so many golems¡­ are you one of the Adeptus? No, this technology is not from them. This is magic, are you one of those Elves? I heard they trapped their ancestor¡¯s souls into a puppet to let them fight once again. But that technique has long been forbidden.¡±


    ¡°You talk like an old man! Attack!¡±


    The fighter golems swarmed the creature in all directions, jumping onto its back and looking for any wound they could exploit.


    Ste sensed a shiver down her spine looking at this scene. ¡°Aldred, how can you have so many golems?¡±


    ¡°I have created more than 5,000 foremen golems. In return, they each produced 50 golems per day. If I weren¡¯t selling them to others, I would have millions of golems in this chamber right now.¡±


    ¡°Millions of golems¡­¡± Ste nced at the mirror. Even though the golems that came here were far lower quality than what Aldred usually brought, they were at the level of ordinary Ghe was protected from assassination.


    The over 100,000 golems engulfed the creature like fire ants, and the Xenorph could not do anything about it except stomp and p a few thousand golems each timold Rank. Millions of Gold Rank golem army¡­ if Aldred had the backing of a nation, he could conquer anything as long as he liked.


    Still, it could not stop the swarmpletely.


    ¡°Damn, you filthy human!¡±

 355 Chapter 355

    The 100,000 golems fought the Xenorph for more than 2 months, and in that time frame, only 25,000 were left.


    The Xenorph breathed heavily, struggling to stand on its feet. ¡°Your little ants cannot kill me. Soon, you will run out of toys to throw.¡±


    ¡°Ultra Golems, it¡¯s your turn.¡±


    The four Ultra Golems stepped forward.


    The Xenorph snorted. ¡°These four cannot do anything to me. Stop wasting your energy, fools.¡±


    Suddenly, thousands of worker golems entered the chamber with a stack of crates. They opened the crates, and thousands of mana crystals poured out.


    The four Ultra Golems revealed their Vanquisher and aimed as it shone. The mana crystals around them got drained, and the light on the Vanquisher became brighter.


    After a few seconds, a powerful, earth-shaking explosion urred as four bright, thick beams burst forth toward the Xenorph¡¯s wound.


    Ste watched the four beams sting toward the wound, and she could not help but feel amazed.


    The Xenorph roared in pain. ¡°Your kind will pay for this, human!¡±


    Therge creature¡¯s head fell to the ground with a loud thud. Even though its size was smaller than Xer Xai, its body was one thousand times heavier. The fact that the floor wasn¡¯t dented, and the chain managed to keep it in ce meant that the ones who made thisb were not an ordinary group either.


    For one reason or another, when the creature died, the golem could now prate its scales though it still took hours to do it.


    ¡°So the durability of its body relied on its life force. When it died, it became easier to cut,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Monsters naturally have a powerful body, but there are those who have the durability of a Diamond Rank while at Gold Rank. They are a beast among beasts that defy ranks,¡± Ste exined.


    ¡°I see. Well, its body wasn¡¯t that weak either. It should be stronger than the surface armor of our ship.¡±


    ¡°It also has less weight than our ship-grade materials,¡± Dobbsmented.


    The four Ultra Golems approached the beast, held it, and then slowly absorbed the scales before integrating it into their body.


    When the scalespletely covered their body, they stopped.


    Dobbs rubbed his chin as he stared at this event. ¡°Hmmm, even though the Ultra Golems are now more durable, their speed is reduced because of the weight of the scales.¡±


    This was why they could not use ship-grade materials. Not only was it hard to use them for a small object, but they were also too heavy for Gold Rank golems.


    Suddenly, the Ultra Golems exuded a powerful life force, and then they dashed around in the chamber to show off their speed.


    ¡°Ohh, what a surprise. The scales of that entity stored some of its life force and increased the speed of our golems!¡± Dobbs watched in excitement


    The golems then cut the Xenorph piece by piece. It took them more than 3 weeks to finally cut the body to pieces, before bringing it outside.


    Once outside, Ste teleported them to the storage room within the mothership.


    Aldred, Ste, and Dobbs visited the storage room to see the creature¡¯s body.


    Up close, they could feel the powerful life force that the Xenorph had. If they met the creature directly when it was alive, they would surely die.


    Aldred touched the scales and then absorbed them into his skin. His skin did not change, but it was much more durable, and the quality of his life force increased exponentially.


    Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed within his body. ¡°Ahh! It hurts!¡±


    ¡°Keep absorbing, Aldred!¡± Ste said. ¡°Don¡¯t stop or you won¡¯t be able to absorb it anymore.¡±


    After absorbing the scales, the flesh, blood, muscles, and organs followed. Throughout the process, Aldred was in great pain, and his scream echoed for hours.


    Closing his eyes, he began to refine his body.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 4,000/7,550


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 5,000/7,550


    [World Refined Physique Lv.1]


    Upgrade points: 7,550/7,550


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 1 ¡ú Lv.2]


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 2 ¡ú Lv. 3]


    [World Refined Physique Lv.3]


    Upgrade points: 3,000/14,250


    [Viscount Blood Vampire Lv. 2 ¡ú Lv. 5]


    [New skill unlocked: ¡®Blood Lock¡¯]


    [Blood Lock]


    Consuming the blood of your target will increase your damage to that particr target. The more blood from the target you consumed, the higher your damage.


    [Blood Bath]


    Covering your body with the blood of your enemy will increase all of your stats.


    Aldred gritted his teeth for a few good hours until all the pain dissipated.


    He punched the floor and it actually made a small dent.


    Everyone there was shocked, including Aldred.


    ¡°This floor is made out of high-grade ship materials¡­¡± Dobbs¡¯s eyes were filled with amazement. ¡°Even a tinum Rank would barely be able to dent it.¡±


    Aldred could not believe himself either.


    Suddenly, his Phantom Doomde appeared out of nowhere, wanting to consume the soul of the Xenorph.


    It looked around left and right but found nothing.


    ¡°This creature. It has no soul,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°No soul?¡± Aldred frowned. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°This creature is probably a small part of a powerful monster.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that this powerful monster cut off some of its flesh or something, and then a powerful Adamantite Rank Xenorph form out of it¡±?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a new concept. Look at your clone ability. You can make three of yourselves with the exact strength and the exact treasure. Your power is beyond anyone¡¯sprehension. That should not be possible at all.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°In normal cases, a Gold Rank can only make a clone with Silver or Bronze strength. A Diamond can make tinum Rank clones and lower.¡±


    ¡°So, you are saying that this creature is stronger than Adamantite Rank?¡±


    Ste was silent for a few seconds before she nodded.


    Aldred gulped in fear. Hopefully, his mother would save him if that creature came for his life.


    ¡­


    ¡°Mom, what should I do with this lizard?¡± Dina said as she grabbed a 3,000 kilometers long Xenorph by the neck.


    They were currently in space having a tea party until they detected a lizarding nearby.


    ¡°If you want to, you can put a chain around its neck and give it to Aldred as a pet.¡± Eve sipped on her tea calmly.


    ¡°A pet?¡± Donna looked at the lizard. ¡°No way. This is too ugly. Aldred will hate me if I gave it to him. Maybe we can cook it instead.¡±


    The three kilometers beast widened its eyes at the thought of being cooked. It teleported to this world to find the one who killed its clone, but suddenly this girl came out of nowhere and grabbed it by the neck.


    And there was nothing it could do to get free.


    ¡°Maybe I should make a stew,¡± Dina said to herself. ¡°I have decided!¡±


    The 3-kilometer-long Xenorph flinched as the girl dragged it to the floating castle.


    Shit! Was this how it would end? A powerful creature feared by many, a conqueror of worlds? Would his life end in a boiling pot?


    ¡°I will make a good stew out of you, okay?¡± Dina tilted her head in a cute manner with a smile as she said that.

 356 Chapter 356

    Aldred grabbed some blood, flesh, and organs of the monster and fed it to the Phantom Doomde.


    Even though the creature has no soul, the Phantom Doomde could devour some of the life force and essence in the organs. It wasn¡¯t that effective, but it was better than nothing.


    ¡°Dobbs, Ste. Try absorbing some of the blood or flesh.¡±


    Ste used her star power to refine the innards and consumed it while Dobbs directly ate the flesh.


    Both of them experienced incredible pain as shown on their face.


    Their bodies turned hot, brimming with power. They punched, creating a powerful airflow.


    Aldred kept the rest of the innards in a bottle for his wives and the soldiers. This should be useful for them as it could increase their strength further.


    He could absorb more, but it wouldn¡¯t give many advantages anymore, so it was better if he gave it to them.


    The four Ultra Golems inspected the chamber, looking for something valuable. Dobbs had put a powerful inscription within their eyes, letting them see what normal men would not be able to see. Not to mention Aldred had shared the power of his godly eyes with them.


    This made them able to see to the molecr level.


    In battle, they could even see the weakness of the enemy in less than a second. Aldred¡¯s godly eyes were just that powerful.


    After searching for hours, and making sure there was nothing else inside, the Ultra Golems returned to theb.


    There wereputer-looking devices in theb. The Ultra Golems approached them and tried to obtain information only for the screen to be filled with ck color. It seemed like theputers had a shut-down function if someone without authorization tried to ess them.


    Aldred did not have too much problem with that. He already felt satisfied with what he obtained in this secret cave.


    ¡°Leave the cave.¡±


    The Ultra Golems were about to leave until one of the worker golems identally dropped a few mana crystals to the floor.


    The sci-fi-looking altar beside the mana crystals siphoned the energy within the crystals and activated a portal.


    It only activated for two seconds before the portal vanished as the mana crystals had run out of mana.


    Aldred and Ste looked at each other.


    ¡°Where does that portal lead to?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ste replied.


    ¡°Should we go in?¡±


    Ste shook her head. ¡°Not now, Aldred. That portal could lead to a dangerous world or dimension with differentws. Exploring the unknown is good, but we better get you to Diamond Rank before exploring something that dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Why Diamond Rank?¡±


    ¡°You might not know this. When people reach Diamond Rank, they begin their real exploration. Looking for treasures, secret techniques, and entering deep into a dangerous dungeon to find a way to reach the legendary Adamantite Rank.¡±


    Aldred looked at the sci-fi altar in silence. ¡°Alright, I guess I will wait until Diamond Rank before entering it.¡±


    Mary and the others entered the storage room and greeted Aldred.


    ¡°What is that smell?¡± Ivette asked.


    Rachel closed her nose. ¡°Yeah, what is that?¡±


    ¡°Perfect time!¡± Aldred said. He summoned the bottles filled with the Xenorph¡¯s innards inside and gave them to them.


    ¡°Drink this. It will make you stronger.¡±


    They each grabbed a bottle and opened the lid.


    ¡°Ughh! It smells terrible.¡± Mary coughed.


    ¡°Do we really have to drink this?¡± Mally asked as she looked at the bottle in disgust.


    ¡°Of course, you have to.¡±


    The wives looked at each other in hesitation before they nodded and drank it together.


    ¡°Yuck! It tasted like shit!¡± Mally almost vomited.


    ¡°Well, the worse the taste, the better the benefits.¡±


    Soon after, hot energy spread through their bodies, and they gritted their teeth in pain for a few hours.


    Soon after, they felt their body bing so much stronger than before.


    Aldred¡¯s wives nodded a bunch of times as he analyzed their bodies with godly eyes. Their body now became more durable, and they would not get easily hurt even by Elite Gold Rank.


    Looking down, he also saw their forbidden body parts.


    Mally walked toward him and flicked his forehead. ¡°Like what you see?¡±


    Aldred gave augh. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re done here. We should set sail again.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready for the third phase?¡± Ste asked.


    ¡°Of course I am. I just absorbed the innards of an Adamantite Rank beast, how can I not feel confident after that?¡±


    ¡°So the thing we drink earlier is the innards of a beast?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me for a second, I think I am going to vomit.¡± Rachel ran off.


    ¡°Rachel, wait for me. I am going to vomit as well!¡± Ivette ran after her.


    Aldred shrugged with a smile. ¡°Ste, bring us to themand room.¡±


    Ste teleported them to themand room.


    ¡°Commodore Burchard, let us begin our sails.¡±


    ¡°Finally, I have been waiting for that order, My Lord.¡±


    ¡°What about Lord Shagatik?¡± Zafrina asked.


    ¡°I already got what I wanted from this ce. He can take care of himself. If he needs my golem army, he has to pay.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Where are you going?¡±


    On the port, a lizardman was running toward the dock. ¡°We haven¡¯t conquered the region yet. Why are you leaving already?¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought this guy was in Setboker City.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s been looking for you. After all, we have left him on his own for more than two months,¡± Ste replied.


    ¡°Yeah, my babysitting time is over.¡±


    Aldred used the announcement magic of the mothership: ¡°I appreciate everything you have done for me, Lord Shagatik. Unfortunately, I now have to leave for my quest for treasure.¡±


    ¡°No. You cannot leave! There¡¯s an armying for me. I need your strength. Serve me!¡±


    ¡°Arrogant bastard,¡± Aldred scoffed before he announced: ¡°Serve yourself. If you want my golem army, then pay for the service. The manager will take care of the paperwork.¡±


    Lord Shagatik frowned. ¡°How dare you disobey me! We have a deal!¡±


    ¡°The deal was to let mypany do whatever we want to the region. This means we can extract all the resources avable without any taxes.¡±


    ¡°Then I will break the deal.¡±


    ¡°With what power?¡± Aldred grinned.


    ¡°You have no army, Lord Shagatik. The well-being of the people within the city relies on my golems. Once they stop working, the people will suffer and the mes of riots will storm your castle.¡±


    ¡°Bastard! You tricked me!¡±


    ¡°I did not trick you. I gave you what you wanted: praise, admiration, honor, territory, and legacy.¡±


    Shagatik gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°Just wait, you will pay for this!¡±


    Aldredughed before he told: ¡°Burchard, ignore that lizard and set sail.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡±


    As the mothership set sail, Shagatik became even more enraged. He picked up a rock on the street and threw it.


    ¡°Bastard!¡±


    The rock bounced off the super-durable armor of the mothership. Not to mention a rock, even an attack from a Diamond Rank would only dent it.


    One of the main cannons on the mothership moved, and aimed at Shagatik.


    Shagatik wet his pants as he fell on his butt.


    Aldred and Burchardughed at that scene.

 357 Chapter 357

    The Destroyer¡¯s Fleet set sail toward the northeast.


    That was where the astrbe directed them, and that was where they would go.


    Aldred and his wives were in themand room with Burchard steering the mothership. They were sailing near the shore, and on their left was the nation of Trelder.


    Beside it, in the north was the Republic of Selia. That was where the Shardmind lived. But these two nations were not part of his destination.


    Well, not really. His destinationy on a small ind. It was actually part of Trelder¡¯s territory but had enormous autonomy.


    It took them less than a minute to arrive, but docking was quite a hassle. The ind was called Obern Ind, and even though it was located right in front of the rich and powerful nation of Selia, its economy was very low and the cities here were primitive.


    Aldred¡¯s fleet had arrived at a port in a city called Dirik City. Supposedly, this was the ce where the third phase should begin.


    The port side of the ship opened like a gate, and a wooden bridge came down with magic.


    Aldred, his wives, Bartrem, and the soldiers walked down and stepped foot onto the dock.


    In the distance, children were staring at his mothership with big open mouths. They were in awe of its sheer size and magnificence.


    Unlike other cities, there were no guards or some authority figure to greet them.


    Aldred and his entourage walked to the city. Some people looked at him, but they did not say anything and kept walking.


    ¡°The city is not that primitive,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°It¡¯s primitive to the world¡¯s standard,¡± Ste said.


    ¡°So where do we go next?¡± Rachel asked.


    Aldred summoned his astrbe, but its direction went all over the ce. ¡°This thing cannot point to the exact location. We should find clues. Ste, do you have any idea?¡±


    ¡°Well, rumor said that the third phase will happen in the sky.¡±


    Aldred looked up. ¡°I see nothing but clouds and blue sky.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it has yet to begin.¡±


    ¡°Can we trust rumors anyway?¡±


    ¡°Rumors can always be trusted most of the time. It¡¯s how the world trying to tell us something.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean most of the time?¡±


    ¡°Somerge organizations can spread false rumors, further confusing us from the real information. But I know which one is fake and real, so no worries in that regard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Okay, let¡¯s find a ce to eat. I want to try the local food.¡±


    They walked around the city and finally found a ce called The Jester¡¯s Pub.


    They sat down at a table and began ordering some food.


    What Aldred noticed the difference in this city from other cities was how diverse the race was. There were elves, dwarves, vampires, winged men, bugbears, and even the leonines.


    Most cities he visited did have a diverse poption, but not as much as this.


    The atmosphere was very calm as well, with humans and leonines chatting with each other as if they were long-time friends.


    When the food arrived, Aldred and his wives ate together while listening to the people around them.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear? The Necromancer is in the act again.¡± A vampire whispered to a group of dwarves.


    ¡°Again? Who got the curse this time?¡±


    ¡°I heard it was the new widow.¡±


    ¡°Damn! She just lost her husband a week ago, now she got cursed. What an unfortunate life.¡±


    ¡°What is her curse?¡±


    ¡°I heard she bes extremely terrified of darkness. The other day, she almost burned her whole house to scare away the night.¡±


    ¡°Pitiful. Have the women in town helped her?¡±


    ¡°Well, my wife is going to visit her tomorrow with her friends. They are going to bring a lot of torches and mana gems for her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The dwarf nodded a bunch of times before he drank his beer.


    Aldred sighed after hearing that conversation. ¡°There is no clue about the third phase.¡±


    ¡°Be patient, Aldred. The opportunity wille.¡± Ste patted his shoulder.


    Mira fed Krista while she was sitting on herp. ¡°Will we find any clue by listening to the locals here?¡±


    Zafrina elegantly cut the meat. ¡°That¡¯s how most people do it. When the phase begins, the locals will find something unusual or weird. And they will talk about it with the other locals. Our goal is to listen to that unusual thing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how we find the first two phases.¡± Mira wiped the stain on Krista¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Every phase is different. My family has sent a lot of people to document as many challenges of the treasure hunt. And this kind of challenge has happened a number of times.¡±


    Mareona sipped her orange juice. ¡°Does every big family like you do that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the case.¡± Zafrina nodded.


    ¡°Maybe we can find more clues in another ce,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look around after we are done eating.¡± Ivette grabbed a handful of food and chomped it all down.


    After they were done eating, Aldred left a big tip on the table and left.


    A local noticed the big tip on the table and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s a rich man visiting our town.¡±


    ¡°That guy with a lot of guards and wives? You should have seen his ship. It was so big.¡±


    ¡°How big?¡±


    ¡°Bigger than your house. I think, even if all of our houses were put together, that ship will still be bigger.¡±


    ¡°Really? Let¡¯s go out and see it.¡±


    After leaving the pub, they walked around the street for a few minutes, trying to listen to any rumors.


    They did not find anything, however, but they found a stone obelisk on top of a hill.


    ¡°That is the shrine of Azar.¡± An olddy approached them with a hunchback. ck goo leaked out of her left eye, but she kept her sweet smile.


    ¡°Sorry for this unsightly eye.¡± The olddy grabbed a cloth and covered her left eye. ¡°It¡¯s from that damn Necromancer. You all should be careful as well. I don¡¯t want to see any pretty faces to be destroyed like mine.¡±


    Mira put Krista down and approached the olddy. ¡°Let me help you.¡±


    The olddy shook her head. ¡°No need, young one. There is no cure for this curse. I have no hope anymore.¡±


    ¡°In the Gospel of Foido, hope always exists even in the darkest of pits.¡±


    Mira pointed. ¡°Holy Golden Stream.¡±


    Golden water came out of her finger and enveloped the olddy before it entered her left eye. A few secondster, the ck goo vanished, her skinplexion became healthier, and all of her bodily pain disappeared as well.


    The olddy stood up straight and was in disbelief at what just happened. Tears dropped as she looked at Mira in deep gratitude.


    ¡°Thank you! How can I repay this debt?¡±


    ¡°There is no debt to pay. But if you want to, you can read this Gospel.¡± Mira gave her a thick book with the symbol of Zalous, the God of Hope, on top of it.


    The olddy grabbed her hand. ¡°Such a beautiful woman with a beautiful heart. Is the man behind you your husband?¡±


    ¡°We are not formally married, but I already consider him as my spouse.¡±


    The olddy looked at Aldred with a smile. ¡°Please take care of this beautifuldy with love andpassion.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Aldred nodded with a smile.

 358 Chapter 358

    358 Chapter 358 h Frayte


    In a dark chamber, a fire arose. It lit up the room and heated the pot. The green liquid within boiled, bubbling. It shook and spilled.


    Sizzling, the liquid seeped into the ground. A thin, frail hand quickly grabbed what was left.


    Another hand wed the dirt, grabbing the green goo.


    It wasn¡¯t enough.


    Another hand appeared, then another, then another.


    The me died, and the chamber returned to darkness.


    ¡­


    Aldred and his wives chatted with the olddy for a few minutes as she exined the local tale of the Goddess of Luck, Azar.


    They allughed and giggled as they told their adventure. Apparently, the olddy was an alchemist when she was young, but her power waspletely gone when her experiment went wrong. She said that all of the medicines in this town were originally created by her, and that she was the first alchemist of this town.


    ¡°I wish I can be young again, so I can do my experiment. Oh well, at least I can still teach the young generation the art of alchemy. They are very driven youngds. I just hope that I can stay here to guide them for much longer.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I may not be able to give your power back, but I can do this.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned purple and she stared at the olddy. A powerful aura burst forth. ¡°Reverse Aging!¡±


    The olddy¡¯s body shook as her eyes widened, and the wrinkle on her slowly turned into smooth snow-white skin. The bag under her eyes retracted, revealing a pair of young beautiful eyes. Gray hair transformed into beautiful golden hair, sparkling under the sunlight.


    In less than a minute, the hunchback olddy was transformed into a young, beautiful, healthy beautiful woman.


    ¡°This¡­ how is this possible?¡± The olddy looked at her once wrinkled hand that was now transformed into a slender smooth white arm.


    Her hair dangled right in front of her eyes, and when she touched it, she felt the softness of the texture that she had years ago.


    ¡°You have done this¡­ am I dreaming?¡±


    ¡°No, you are not. This is reality.¡± Aldred smiled.


    The now youngdy¡¯s eyes once again streamed in tears. ¡°Please! Please tell me how to repay you!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, I cannot live with this. I have to do something to repay this gift.¡±


    Aldred looked at her for a few seconds before he replied: ¡°In that case, you will continue to guide the children here in the art of alchemy for your whole life.¡±


    The now youngdy widened her eyes. ¡°How is that a payment¡­?¡±


    ¡°I like this town. It will be nice to see the children have you as their teacher.¡±


    The youngdy sighed with a bitter smile. ¡°It is my dream to teach children alchemy. This is not payment, this is another gift.¡±


    ¡°Consider it both.¡± Aldred smiled.


    ¡°Then, please, at least ept this.¡± The youngdy took something out of her pocket and gave it to Aldred.


    [Protective Ne]


    This protective ne will shatter and cover the user with a protective mist when the ne detects danger.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothingpared to what you have done. Can I ask where you are going?¡±


    ¡°We are looking for the third phase,¡± Aldred replied. ¡°Have you seen anything unusualtely?¡±


    ¡°Something unusual?¡± She tried to recall anything. ¡°Except for the Necromancer spreading curses in this town, I don¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, we are going to look around. Maybe we can get some information.¡±


    ¡°I am really sorry that I can not help. I will ask around. If I find anything, I will look for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Aldred nodded.


    Aldred and his group parted ways with the youngdy.


    They then asked the locals if they saw something unusual. The people here were kind and open, so they told him everything, but some still raised an eyebrow at the question.


    ¡°Anything weird?¡± A dwarf raised an eyebrow as he was painting. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The widow next door got cursed by the Necromancer, though it¡¯s not weird anymore now that it happened frequently.¡±


    ¡°I have been hearing a lot about this Necromancer. Why hasn¡¯t the town not handled it yet?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°No one knows who the Necromancer is, son. Nobody knows who will get the curse, or what the curse will be. This ce used to be so calm and peaceful, but no one can sleep at night nowadays. Maybe you can look for that Necromancer. Who knows he or she might know something.¡±


    ¡°How can I find this Necromancer?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Some people said they have seen the Necromancer. He or she wears a thick ck robe, so it¡¯s hard to tell what race or what gender the person is.¡±


    ¡°I know where the hiding ce is,¡± someone suddenly said.


    They all looked to the side and saw an olddy.


    ¡°h, you always said that you know where the Necromancer is, but every time we follow you, we return empty-handed.¡±


    ¡°I am sure of it this time.¡± She nced at Aldred. ¡°Young man, are you looking for the Necromancer?¡±


    ¡°I am actually looking for information, but perhaps this Necromancer knows something that I want to know.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Something weird. A dungeon, a monster, weird phenomena, missing people. Nothing specific.¡±


    ¡°The Necromancer throwing curse left and right is exactly what you need to look at then.¡±


    Aldred did not think of that possibility. Was it possible that their third phase was to find this Necromancer? The rumor said that the third phase will be in the sky, but the rumor wasn¡¯t one hundred percent true either.


    ¡°We should try to find this Necromancer, first,¡± Kiara said. ¡°Maybe we can learn something from this person.¡±


    ¡°Learn something from a curse-spreading Necromancer?¡± Mallyughed. ¡°Yeah, I think we are going to learn something.¡±


    Mira stepped forward. ¡°Preferably, we can ask the Necromancer to stop terrorizing the city as well.¡±


    Ivette nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, I see a lot of unfortunate people along the way. The curse is hideous.¡±


    ¡°Ask? Why not just kill the Necromancer?¡± Mally crossed her arms.


    h cleared her throat. ¡°So, do you want to find the Necromancer?¡±


    Aldred nodded.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Aldred and the rest followed the olddy.


    The dwarf stopped his painting before ncing at their back. His eyebrows furrowed.


    ¡­


    ¡°Please, make yourself at home.¡± h opened the door and entered.


    Aldred and his wives entered the house while the rest waited outside. The house wasn¡¯t very spacious, and could not make room for the soldiers.


    h came from the kitchen with a te of steaming cookies. ¡°Oops, I almost forgot the milk.¡±


    She returned to the kitchen and returned with a big jug of milk and a bunch of wooden mugs.


    Aldred smiled and scanned the olddy.


    [h Frayte]


    Level: 5


    Power: Bake cookies


    History: An olddy who is very nice but is known to lie very much about anything.


    Aldred was speechless about that description. Lie very much about anything¡­ sigh. He should have analyzed her earlier.


    ¡®Oh well, at least we get cookies and milk.¡¯

 359 Chapter 359

    ?359 Chapter 359 The Necromancer


    His wives chatted with h Frayte with giggles andughter as she told stories about when she was young. Aldred let them talk as he figured those old people here loved to tell stories to the young ones. Maybe it was their tendency to share.


    Apparently, it was very rare to see someone with a lot of wives here. Most men here only had one wife. Aldred did not think that was weird since he came from the modern earth. The olddy even teased him if his rod could stand upright after puncturing many holes.


    If only she knew his rod could even puncture the moon¡­


    "You have told me a lot about this husband of yours. Your name is Aldred, right? What do you girls think of him?" h asked the girls.


    Mary giggled. "Where do I start? Ummm, I guess he''s funny. But more importantly, he''s determined. And he''s really great in bed."


    "Yeah, he''s great in bed." Ste nodded, and so did his other wives.


    Aldred smiled with pride at thatment.


    h giggled. "What a weird rtionship you all have. As long as all of you are happy, then it is fine."


    Aldredughed. "Of course we are happy. Anyway, can you guide us to the Necromancer first?"


    He said that, but Aldred knew she was lying.


    "I will take you when nighttimees. Why don''t we have a little chat until then."


    "Sure. I love chatting with you," Mareona excitedly said.


    "I am fine with that," Aldred replied.


    And they chatted for a few hours until Aldred asked: "Can I ask where the bathroom is?"


    "Sure. Just go straight and to the left."


    "Thank you." Aldred got up and followed the instruction.


    He pushed the wooden door and entered the primitive-looking toilet where you had to squat to take the big two.


    He was about to take his pants down to pee when he saw the water on the toilet bubbling green.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes to identify what it was, and his eyes widened.


    He put his pants up, opened the door, and walked to the living room.


    "And we have gone on a lot of adventures, killed a lot of monsters, and even experienced many close calls!"


    "You won''t believe me if I tell you how many times we almost died."


    "Yeah, thankfully Aldred was always there to help us."


    h smiled. "He sounds like a powerful man, and not just in bed."


    His wives burst intoughter when they heard that.


    "Hey, I think your toilet has a leak. Can I see the basement? Maybe I can find something there?" Aldred asked.


    "That''s fine. Just leave it."


    Mary stood up. "No, Mam. We have to help you with the leaks. Come, guide us to the basement. We can chat while Aldred does his thing."


    "Oh no, that''s fine. It''s normal for this city to have some small leaks. This happened because the city rains a lot. And whatever you do, do not enter the basement."


    "Oh¡­ Okay." Mary looked at Aldred.


    "You know what, maybe we can look for the Necromancer tomorrow. You all should rest here. I have a big room for a big family." hughed.


    Night came, and Aldred and his wives were in the bedroom. The bedroom was spacious, and h told them she had a lot of children before and slept together with all of them. That was why she needed a big bed, but she hadn''t used it since a long time ago.


    "Hey, let''s check the basement," Aldred said.


    "Hmm? Why?" Kiara asked while she hugged him naked.


    Aldred did not tell them what he saw in the toilet. "h is a nice olddy. We should surprise her by fixing her leaks, and maybe we can clean the basement while we''re at it. She''s old, and cannot do hard tasks anymore."


    Kiara nodded with a smile and kissed him. "I agree with that."


    "What do you all think?" Aldred asked his other wives.


    Mally, who was breathing heavily from their usual night routine, looked at him with blushed cheeks. "Of course, but you better be quick, because I want the 10th round."


    "Me too." Rachel sat on top of him.


    Sophia crawled onto the bed and sat beside his head. Her pair of mountains was clear for him to see. "Let''s clean the whole house, and we can have fun again."


    She hugged his head, breast pressing onto his face, before giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.


    Aldred smiled. "Alright, let''s go."


    They dressed up and slowly opened the door. Aldred slightly pushed the door upward, to prevent it from creaking.


    They could use an anti-sound spell, but where was the fun in that? So they tiptoed their way to the basement. The girls couldn''t help but let out a giggle or two as if they were doing something naughty.


    As they were walking down the dark stairs, a weird smell started to enter their nose.


    "Seems like there''s a lot of fungi here. We got work to do." Mira summoned her staff, ready to clean.


    After they took thest step down, Rachel clenched her fist, and orbs of light appeared around them.


    What they saw were not fungi or leaks, however.


    It was a giant pot in the middle of the room, bubbling with green liquid that started to spill all over. A skeletal hand grabbed onto the rim of the pot, pulled itself up, and revealed a head.


    "H¡ªelp me."


    They all gasped in shock.


    "Is that a person?" Mary frowned.


    "I think so," Mareona replied.


    "Why does the olddy have this pot in her basement?" Ivette asked.


    They all looked at each other and said: "She''s the Necromancer!"


    The door to the basement mmed shut, and the orbs of light flickered as if something tried to kill the light.


    Dark mist formed beside the pot, and h Frayte stepped out, staring at them. "I was nning to bring you here, but it seems like we are ahead of schedule."


    "Defenous Candashio!"


    Time and space froze for a fraction of a second before the entire room turned intoplete darkness and transformed into a graveyard with thick mist in every direction.


    Numerous death warriors with a scythe rushed toward the mist, and hughed.


    "All of you pretty girls, along with that dumb boy will be the sacrifice for my ritual. Everyone in this town will fall under my curse and be my undead army!"


    Suddenly, the mist spun slowly, the speed increased, and then burst out of the way.


    Her eyes widened as she saw a green mist protecting Aldred and his wives from the attack of her undead.


    Aldred grabbed the [Protective Ne] and saw that it had lost its splendor.


    "My turn." Aldred dashed forward, Phantom Doomde forming in his hand, and then he shed as Blood Lust leaked from his eyes.


    His de went through the undead like it was never there, and they were not cut, instead, their souls were absorbed into the sword.


    h widened her eyes in shock as she took a couple of steps back. "Cih! I have more cards than you think!"


    "Intimiortis Viralortus!"


    A skeletal hand burst from the grave, and then dug itself out, revealing a skeleton with shining, hollow green eyes. More skeletons appeared from the grave, and then dark mist engulfed them all, vanishing before reappearing as one three-meter-tall skeleton.


    Green mist leaked out from its eyes, while its body was covered in a dark mist.


    hughed maniacally. "All of you will die here. My skeleton is a tinum Rank, and no one can defeat it!"

 360 Chapter 360

    ?360 Chapter 360 Going to a Casino


    Aldred scoffed. "Didn''t my wife tell you about my adventure?"


    "Everyone brags, boy. You think I will believe that you can defeat a tinum Rank monster?"


    "We''ll see about that."


    Four Ultra Golems appeared beside Aldred, and they burst into a powerful life force akin to that of a tinum Rank.


    The smile on h''s face disappeared. "Impossible, how can you have tinum Rank golems?! And not just one, but four of them?"


    "There are many things that my wives haven''t told you yet." Aldred grinned.


    The four Ultra Golems charged at the undead with blurring speed. The Spellswords on their hand activated, absorbing the green mist and dark aura which caused the undead''s defense to drop sharply for a short moment.


    That moment was enough for the Ultra Golems to cut it to pieces.


    SHIING! SHIING! SHIING! SHIING!


    Four shes at the same time, and then, the undead roared before exploding into a mist.


    h wore a terrified expression on her face as she retreated a few steps. "No¡­ this is impossible! This cannot be."


    "What is impossible?" Aldred''s voice came from behind.


    She was about to turn back when a long de pierced through her stomach from the back. She grabbed Aldred''s hand, a dark aura entering his body.


    Aldredughed. "I forgot to tell you. I am also a necromancer."


    Dozens of undead appeared in the room.


    h could not believe her eyes. "You''re a swordsman, a golem master, and also a necromancer?"


    "I am also a magician."


    Aldred released his hand from the sword, and h''s body floated before turning around and facing him.


    h spat out blood, trembling. "What will you do to me?"


    "I will absorb your lifespan, and give you death."


    "No, I can be your subordinate. I will do as you tell. Wait, put a ve spell on me! I will do anything! Just don''t kill me!"


    "You''re more useful dead than alive. elerate Aging!"


    Aldred''s eyes turned purple as he absorbed h''s lifespan. One of the reasons why Living Eyes could live so long was that they could absorb someone''s lifespan. They could also increase someone''s lifespan, but there is a big limitation to that. Some curses or diseases cannot be fixed by increasing their lifespan. Richa''s situation was probably like that.


    "No!" h''s old body got older. Her skin wrinkled and folded like paper before her whole body got drained.


    Right at that moment, her body exploded with a powerful dark aura that shot upward, sting the house, and releasing thousands of screeching screams from her victims.


    Her whole house shattered like ss, and all of her curses disappeared.


    The family of the victims were shocked and were so happy about their child, husband, and wives that they returned to normal.


    Hundreds of families were affected by this curse, and when it was all finally gone, they hugged and cried in tears.


    They were all wondering: who broke the curse?


    A youngdy with beautiful golden hair was standing on the hill where the shrine of Azar was.


    "Elean? Is that you? The curse¡­ it disappeared!"


    An old woman said in shock.


    Elean smiled sweetly. "Yeah. It disappeared."


    "But how did you look young again? Don''t tell me the disappearance of the curse brought some side benefits?"


    Elean kept her smile as she looked into the distance. "Maybe, who knows."


    "I am going home. My brother, I want to make sure he loses the curse."


    Elean did not look at her friend as she ran home. Her eyes were locked in the distance where a particr man was standing.


    "Aldred, huh?" An ethereal image of a pair of wings flickered on her back before itpletely materialized.


    She turned around and whispered. "I hope to see you on the Ind of The Thousand Gods soon." She pped her wings and disappeared.


    ¡­


    "Aldred! Are you okay?" Bartrem shouted as he brandished his weapon. The soldiers prepared for battle behind him.


    He looked around. "What happened to the house?"


    "Things happened." Aldred sighed.


    "Why are you sighing, Aldred? You defeat the Necromancer." Mary tapped his shoulder.


    "It feels like a waste. I defeated her, yes, but we got nothing. No reward, no secret treasure, nothing. At least leaving a few coins or something. What a poor necromancer."


    If h heard thatment, she would die twice from the emotional damage.


    "You know, I saw a casino on the way here. Maybe we can forget about all of this, and have fun," Sophia said.


    Mira sighed. "Gambling is not a good habit."


    "Hey, it''s fine. Aldred here earns a billion gold coins per day or something. A few chips here and there should be fine," Rachel said.


    "Gambling is a sin only for poor people." Aldredughed.


    They all then went to a casino. The casino wasn''t like what Aldred imagined it would be. He had never gone to modern casinos before, but he had seen them in movies where people sat at a table and threw cards, balls, or dice.


    There were things like that in this casino, but there were also other games. Not the slot machine though, it was more traditional¡­


    "Cup guessing! Come and double your money!"


    "Cup guessing! Come and double your money!"


    A man was calling as he prepared a table with three cups on top.


    Aldred approached the man. "How do I y?"


    The man smiled. "It''s very simple. Do you see this small rock? I will put it in one of the three cups and swap them around. If you can guess where the rock is, you can double your money."


    "That''s easy."


    Zafrina frowned and whispered: "Aldred, this game ismonly known as a fraud. You cannot win this game."


    "Don''t worry about it." Aldred smiled.


    The man smiled as well. "Alright, how much will you y?"


    "One."


    "One thousand gold coins? Alright."


    "One billion gold coins."


    The entire floor of the casino suddenly became silent.


    The man gave an awkwardugh. "That''s a funny joke, Sir."


    "I am not joking." Aldred showed his adventure card.


    "Sir, I don''t have one billion gold coins."


    "Then how much do you have?"


    "One million gold coins."


    "Okay, I will y with that."


    The man sighed in relief. He put the rock on the table and put a cup to cover it. He then ced the next two cups.


    "Because we are dealing with a lot of money, we will go two out of three."


    Aldred nodded with a smile. "Sure."


    The man then ced a crystal that created an anti-magic field. "I hope you don''t mind."


    The anti-magic field crystal could prevent a magician from creating a spell, but it was very easy to destroy. Simply exuding enough mana would break the field, but that would let everyone know that someone is using magic and the game wasn''t valid.


    "I don''t mind at all." Aldred smiled even wider which made the man nervous.


    "Okay, I will begin now." The man began to swap the cup left and right. At first, his speed was slow, but it got faster and faster until his whole arm looked blurry.


    The man smiled. Nobody could see his hand.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was crossing his arms with a smile as he watched this.

 361 Chapter 361

    ?361 Chapter 361 Wena


    After the man finished swapping the cup, he crossed his arms and looked at Aldred. "Pick one."


    "It''s on the left," Aldred said without the slightest bit of hesitation.


    The man frowned. "Are you sure? You don''t want to think this through?"


    "I am sure. Just pick it up."


    The people nearby seemed amused and started to gather around them to watch.


    The man grunted and lifted the left cup. And there it was. The small rocky bare.


    The people there cheered and pped.


    "It''s not finished. You still need to win one more time."


    "Okay." Aldred smiled.


    The man put the cup on the rock again as the crowd got bigger. He sneered inside. ''You think I will let you win? What a naive guy. In every casino, the house always win!''


    He began swapping the cups left and right again. This time his speed became much faster, and the crowd that tried to find out where the rock was gave up after a few seconds.


    As the cup was swapping ces, the small rock inside one of the cup suddenly moved upward, to the roof of the cup.


    Aldred smiled when he saw this.


    "Now choose," the man said.


    "This one."


    The man lifted the cup, and the stone was not there.


    The crowd punched the air and cursed as if they were the one losing money. They then tapped his shoulders saying that he would get it next time.


    "You lose. It''s one to one now. If you fail, I will get the money."


    Aldred showed a worried expression as he bit his nail. He even released a little bit of sweat on his forehead.


    The man seeing this was excited. ''Seems like I will get an easy one million gold coins.''


    The man began to swap the cup again. This time his hand was even faster, and just like before the rock flew to the roof of the left cup.


    "Choose."


    "It''s the middle cup," Aldred said.


    The manughed inside. Aldred didn''t even know he was tricked, but he also picked the wrong cup.


    "You lost." The man smiled as he picked the middle cup.


    But shockingly the crowd exploded into cheers as they hugged each other and jumped around.


    Aldred smiled. "I win."


    The man frowned. "What?" He looked down and saw the small rock below the cup he lifted.


    "How is this possible?" He widened his eyes.


    Aldred''s eyes revealed a trace of purple energy. He pped. "Well that concluded this game. Where is my one million gold coins?"


    The man slowly looked at Aldred. "No. You must be cheating. The rock is on the left cup." He lifted the left cup only to see nothing.


    He turned the cup around, and the rock wasn''t there. "Where is it? Where is the rock?"


    "The fuck are you talking about!?" a stranger shouted at him. "The rock is in the middle cup, and this gentleman guessed it correctly. Stop ying and give the man his money!"


    "Yeah!"


    "Yeah! Give his money!"


    "Or is the casino nning to scam the yers by not paying?!"


    "Yeah!"


    The man panicked. "Wait, the rock was supposed to be on the left cup. I know because I moved the rock."


    ''Crap!'' the man closed his mouth at the realization that he identally spilled his secret.


    Aldred smiled as his eyes glinted with dark aura.


    "So, you''re cheating! And not only you cheat, you also lost!"


    "Fuck! So that''s why I have been losing a lot in this casino. The game is rigged!"


    "Let''s get out of this ce."


    "Spread the word. This casino sucks!"


    "What a scam!"


    "Before we go, let''s force him to pay first."


    They approached the man while preparing the fist.


    "Wait, I will pay!" the man showed his card to stop the crowd.


    Aldred smiled and showed his card as well. They then tapped each other''s card as the man sent one million gold coins.


    "There. We''re done, right?" The man asked with a worried expression as he looked at the crowd.


    "Sure."


    The crowd disappeared, and the small rock below the middle cup disappeared, and a rock appeared on the left cup.


    The man breathed in as he looked around, blinking. "Where¡­?"


    He kept looking around and saw the people were ying calmly. There was no loud crowd, there was no people about to beat him up and leave the casino.


    "W¡ªwhat happened?"


    "What do you mean? I win, and you lose." Aldred smiled before he walked away with his wives.


    The man was confused. He wanted to call for the man to exin the situation, but he thought better of it.


    Aldred wasughing inside as he walked away. Everything the man see earlier was an illusion that he created. Aldred knew the man would argue with him, so he made a crowd to pressure the man to give in the money.


    It worked, and he got the money without saying a single word.


    "Aldred, don''t you think what you did is a crime?" Mira asked.


    "Scam the scammer, steal the stealer," Aldred said. "I am not making sin, Mira. I am the karma that will fall upon the sinner."


    Miraughed. "Okay."


    As they walked around, the saw Bartrem scratching his head.


    "Are you winning, Bartrem?"


    "I have lost a couple of times already. I will keep ying though, trying to get back the money I lost."


    "Okay, keep ying." Aldred looked at the yers with a smile. His eyes glinted with purple light.


    "Hey, Wena. You have been exploring the nook and crannies of the Reich Province for years. Why don''t you tell us some secret dungeon spots?"


    Wena humphed. "You gotta give me something in return, bastard."


    "Old hag, you''re old. Soon orter, you''re gon to die. Why don''t you help the younger generation."


    "Younger generation my ass! You''re as old as me!"


    The old menughed as they yed their card. They loved teasing Wena, the olddy, as they hangout with her.


    "Hello," Aldred greeted.


    Wena looked to the side, revealing her beautiful green eyes. Despite her age and wrinkly skin, she still looked so beautiful because of her ck hair. And that dreamy green eyes¡­ if she was 20 years younger, any men would be dreaming to have her.


    From what the system told him, Wena was a powerful Gold Rank that was fascinated with battles and legendary heroes. She spent her entire life on exploring the Reich province and unfold many of its secret. Sadly, her age made her bones weak, and she couldn''t explore the dangerous corner she so desire.


    "Halo, miss Wena. I heard you know a lot about this ind. May I ask some question?"


    "Don''t talk to me, kid. Don''t you see I am busy?"


    Aldred tried to negotiate with her, but her mouth was shut.


    "What if I can give you back your youth."


    "Bullshit. I heard some many folktales and set out to find the truth. They are all fake except for a few."


    Suddenly, her wrinkled skin unfolded, bing smooth, fresh, and healthy. The white hair that threatened to grew, disappeared and was reced by lush, strong, ck hair that grew to her waist.


    The old men that yed cards with her had their mouth open wide. "Wena¡­ you look so beautiful."


    Aldred gave her a mirror, and she picked it up and stared at her own look. She caressed her face, feeling it around.


    It was real. No wrinkles, no brown spots, all disappeared. Her tight skin became flexibility, and the texture was as soft as tofu.


    "This¡­ this is me." Tears trailed down her cheeks.

 362 Chapter 362

    ?362 Chapter 362 To Mount Savy We Go


    After she epted reality that she was young again, Wena looked at Aldred in a different light. "What do you want to know?"


    "I want to ask. Have you seen or heard anything weird in this province?"


    "Ah, you''re one of the treasure hunter."


    Aldred was surprised that the olddy picked up that quick.


    "Go climb to the top of Mount Savy, and you will see your destination there. Don''t worry, it won''t be like climbing Mount Fargon."


    She looked at his wives. "You all looked pretty strong. That will make it easier to tame them."


    "Tame what?"


    "Nothing. Go buy a map of the province outside the casino, and make your way to the mountain."


    "That''s all we need to do? Climb Mount Savy?"


    Wena smiled. "Believe me. You return my youth, this is the least that I can do. Oh wait, I got something for you."


    She gave Aldred a ss sk, with clear liquid inside.


    "What is this?"


    "A charm. When you''re in trouble, smear it all over your body. Now I know you are strong, but I am not talking about strength trouble. You do know that the challenge requires more than strength, right?"


    Aldred nodded before analyzing the sk.


    [Wena''s Spit]


    It''s Wena''s Spit. What do you expect?


    Aldred was dumbfounded. "I am sorry, but. Is this your spit?"


    "Oh, you can tell? Damn, that was supposed to be a surprise."


    "Why would you give me a spit, and tell me to smear it all over my body."


    "I can''t tell you. The spit will lose its effect, if I did. Now go before your rival get to that ind."


    Aldred felt a little weird about thatst sentence but he thought nothing of it and nodded.


    They said their goodbyes and left. The old men actually wanted to ask Aldred to turn them young again, but they had nothing to offer him, so they could only sigh in oldness.


    "Aldred, are we climbing another mountain?" Mary asked.


    "Yeah, I guess so."


    His wives sighed at the prospect of climbing another mountain. They were already traumatized because of Mount Fargon.


    "What''s wrong with climbing a mountain?" Kiara asked.


    Ivette sighed again. "You won''t know unless you climbed Mount Fargon."


    "Mount Fargon?"


    "It''s a big freaking mountain. And when I say big, I mean really freaking big." Mareona moved her hands to describe it.


    "Pass the cloud?" Kiara asked.


    "Pass the cloud? I can directly see the stars from up there.


    "I have heard about the legendary Mount Fargon," Zafrina said. "After all, my brother climbed it. Isn''t that right brother?" She looked back at Maverick, her brother.


    "Yeah, I climbed the mountain with Aldred. Though I did nothing to help, and he bulled through the challenges by himself."


    "You did help by providing us with useful equipment. You know we would die without those equipment right?"


    "Yeah. Well, I have never been mentioned by the author these days because I am useless. And no one missed me anyway."


    "That sucks."


    ¡­


    When they walked out of the casino, and looked around for a store that sell map.


    After ten minutes of walking, they saw a store that might have a map.


    The Cat''s Scriptorium.


    "Cute name," Zafrina said. "Let''s enter it."


    They walked inside the store while Bartrem, Maverick and the soldiers waited outside.


    Inside the store was filled with scrolls, books, and the smell of paper waved on their nose.


    Fat cats were lying on the floor, licking their feet and fur. When they saw a customer, they did not give a shit, and sometimes looked at them in disgust.


    "So many cats!" His wives eximed as their eyes lit up. They each picked up a cat and yed with their fur.


    The cats let out an annoyed meow. ''How dare you touch me with your foul hand, earthlings!''


    Meanwhile, the cat on Kiara''s hand was staring at her with sparkling eyes. It approached her face and rubbed its face against her cheeks.


    "I think this one likes me," Kiara said.


    And then a lot of cats noticed her and approached her, meowing and waving their paws at her.


    One cat bit her tail, and she yelped in pain. "Ouch, bad cat." She then grabbed the cat and bit its tail back.


    "Meow!"


    "That''s what you get for bitting my tail." Kiara scoffed.


    "Haha. I see you all have enjoyed thepany of my cats."


    They all stopped ying and looked to see the man who spoke those words.


    Aldred and his wives blinked as they tried to contain their shock expression.


    The man that was walking behind the reception table had the legs, waist, torso, arms, and shoulders of a human.


    But his head¡­ it was the head of a cat.


    "So, how can I help you?" the catman said.


    "Uhh, we are looking for a map," Aldred said.


    "A map? Okay, would you like the map of Dirik City?"


    "No, I was thinking of the whole ind."


    "The whole ind? Alright, let me get that for you. Meow meow meooooww."


    The cats nodded and began to look for the map.


    "Please wait for a minute." The catman smiled.


    "Okay¡­"


    After a minute, a cat leaped to the table and put a scroll down. The catman opened the scroll and nodded.


    "I am sure this is what you are looking for."


    Aldred inspected the map and nodded. "Yes, this is what I need."


    "Okay, that will be five sea tokens."


    "Oh, will you receive gold coins?"


    "Sorry, not for this map."


    "Okay." Aldred gave the five sea tokens to the man.


    "Pleasure doing business with you. If you need anything please doe again."


    "We will," Zafrina said. "We love ying with cats."


    "That is a wonderful news."


    They then left the store afterwards.


    Aldred asked: "Ste, have you seen his kind before?"


    "That''s a human, Aldred. Didn''t your godly eyes tell you that?"


    "Hmmm, for some reason it told me something else."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Nom Nom Nom]


    Level: 84


    Race: Half-catman


    Power: Nom, w attacks


    History: a man who loves cat too much.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Technically, he''s a human that merged with a cat. Apparently, the spell wasn''t perfect, that''s why he only has the head of a cat."


    "People are really weird, huh?"


    "You just realized that? Imagine what I have seen for thousands of years."


    As they walked, they saw a man with a dog head. "Woof, top of the morning to you."


    The dogman continued to walk past them. And then they saw the dogman entered the The Cats'' Scriptorium.


    "Meow!"


    "Hiss!"


    "Let''s get out of here," Aldred said.


    He summoned an undead Bajaragon and used it as a mount.


    After everyone climbed the dragon, they set off into the sky only to fall down.


    "Hmm? Can you not fly?" Aldred asked the undead.


    The undead shook its head.


    "It''s the curse," Ste said. "The world doesn''t want your undead to fly in this ce. That also mean that we are at the right ce."


    "I guess we have to walk."


    They get off the undead Bajaragon before it vanished.


    They walked to the north where Mount Savy was located ording to the map.


    Aldred looked up and saw a giant eagle flying above them.

 363 Chapter 363

    ?363 Chapter 363 Ranehawk


    The giant eagles increased in number and they flew by the hundreds. Aldred frowned and caught a glimpse of someone riding one of the giant eagles before they quickly sped away.


    "Hmmm. I wonder if I can ride one of those," Aldred said.


    They continued to walk toward the north. The temperature was quite hot during the day on the vast in.


    After walking for more than thirty minutes, they saw the ruins of a tower, and beside it was a shabbily made stall.


    "Hello, would you like to buy some cold juice for your journey?" A man said behind the wooden table, showing a ss of orange juice with ice cubes.


    "Should we rest here?" Aldred asked.


    "I mean, we are not that tired, but being hasty isn''t good as well," Mary said.


    Zafrina nodded. "We should buy some juice before we begin walking again."


    Aldred approached the stall. "Get us one hundred orange juice."


    He hovered his hand on the table, and gold coins started to pour out like a waterfall.


    The man was shocked. "Sir, this is more than enough for 100 orange juice."


    "Consider it as a tip." Aldred walked back as the soldier and his wives already prepared the mat on the ground as if they were having a pic.


    The merchant took a while to prepare 100 orange juice, but he worked as fast as he could because he was alone.


    After everyone got their orange juice, Aldred sipped his drinks and asked: "Why is that tower destroyed?"


    The man fixed his headdress. "That''s the ruins of the Cyne Tower, My Lord. Legends said that a powerful lord created this tower to drive off giant eagles in his territory. It worked for years until the eagles got smarter and prated his defense."


    "But that''s a mere story. It''s not real, right?"


    "Who knows, My Lord? With folktales, you can''t really tell the truth from the lies."


    "Yeah, anyway, what will I see if I keep walking north? Will there be any vige? Or a small stall like yours?"


    "Hmmm, there are pubs, inns, and taverns along the way. And you might meet with some wandering merchants as well."


    "And I am a wandering merchant as well, Sir. So I will not be staying here all the time. After the day bes less hot, I will pack up and leave."


    Aldred looked around. "Well, you won''t find a lot of customers in this ce."


    The manughed. "I am very lucky to meet you in this ce, My Lord. I make quite a fortune."


    "What about monsters and bandits? Aren''t you worried about that?"


    "Hmmm, we don''t really worry about that. I have be a wandering merchant for 20 years, and I have never been robbed. As for monsters¡­ the most dangerous animal that I have met on the road was a rat."


    "This ind seemed¡­ tame."


    "If you go to the jungle then it''s a whole different thing, My Lord. Especially if you go to the mountains."


    "Right, I just saw a pack of giant eagles. Do you know something about them?"


    "Ah, yes. They are called the Ranehawk, and to my knowledge, they only exist on this ind."


    "I have seen a couple of giant hawks before, but this Ranehawk seems a little different."


    "I was told by a foreign that the Ranehawks have longer wingspan than most giant eagles. Though I am not sure if that was true or not as I have never left the ind."


    "When you said the mountains are dangerous, is it because of these hawks?"


    "That is correct, My Lord. These Ranehawks are very aggressive and territorial. If you approach them, they will attack you viciously. I have heard stories that a group of Gold Ranks was attacked, and their innards were dropped from the sky as a message."


    "Really? I saw someone riding one of those eagles."


    "That''s impossible! The Ranehawks are hostile to humans."


    "Then, what do you know about Mount Savy?"


    "Mount Savy¡­ My Lord, don''t tell me you n to go there?"


    Aldred nodded.


    The man put his index finger into his nose three times, licked it, and then spun around before sping his hands together in prayer.


    "What are you doing?"


    "I am doing my prayers, My Lord. Please don''t mention the name of that mountain. And if you do see it, please do not point at it. In fact, don''t go near it, or even go there in the first ce."


    "Is it the nest of the Ranehawks?"


    "It is not just their nest, but their shrine, their church, their holynd. I once read that a king tried to send his army to pass through the mountain, not only was the army massacred, the whole kingdom was destroyed by relentless attacks from the sky. Some stories said the battle went on for years, and others said it went on for months, but one thing was for sure, it was bloody hell for them."


    "I see. Thanks for telling me that."


    "Yes, you''re wee, My Lord." The man walked back to his stall.


    When the man returned to the stall, Aldred asked Ste. "Do you know anything about this?"


    "Sadly, no. I have heard stories about the Ranehawk, and it''s pretty simr to what he said."


    "We should continue our journey after this. Talk to some locals, maybe we can have more information."


    Aldred and everyone else drank their orange juice, ate their sandwich, and then went on with their journey.


    "See youter, My Lord." The orange juice seller waved them goodbye.


    They walked on the wheel trail, created by hundreds of wagons that passed this in for years. Humans had natural ways to make trails in nature.


    "The seller said we will see an inn ahead of us. Will we stay for the night?" Rachel hugged his arms and asked.


    "Maybe. It depends on the situation."


    The sun began to set, and soon, it was nighttime.


    Aldred blew cold air out of his mouth as he saw lights from the distance.


    "That''s the tavern."


    "Finally. Let''s get inside," Ivette said.


    They approached the tavern.


    "The Exalted Beggar." Aldredughed. "What a unique name."


    They got inside and were greeted by a beautiful woman.


    "Hello, would you like to stay for the night?"


    "Yes. Do you have room for more than 90 people?"


    "Of course, Sir. Adventurers tend to pass by and they usually stay, so we have everything you might need."


    "That''s good," Aldred said. "And we would like a meal now."


    "Sure. Please pick your table and we will bring the food for you."


    Aldred and his group sat down and chatted while they waited for the food toe.


    A man with well-made clothing moved his silver eyes at Aldred. "Where are you going, may I ask?"


    Aldred looked at him.


    The man smiled. "My name is Sige. A Gold Rank adventurer. I am a wizard specifically, but I bring a dagger and a sling with me just in case."


    "My name is Aldred. I am a swordsman."


    "I don''t see you bringing any sword. You know, a swordsman is usually proud of their sword and brings it out with them all the time."


    Aldred raised his hand and it was engulfed by dark me. The whole room became chilling, and Sige''s hand trembled subconsciously.


    The wizard held his hand to stop it from trembling, and then he looked at Aldred''s hand as the dark me transformed into a terrifying weapon.


    "What kind of weapon is that¡­"

 364 Chapter 364

    ?364 Chapter 364 Bur¡¯alloth


    Sige was shocked by Aldred''s weapon. He had never seen something like it before, and that terrifying aura that he felt¡­ It felt like a giant spider was crawling on his scalp.


    The Phantom Doomde vanished in Aldred''s hand, but everyone in the tavern already saw it. Now, they looked at him with respect and fear in their eyes.


    Not only do Aldred had a lot of soldiers with him, he also had beautiful wives, and all of them were very powerful. It was clear that Aldred was not someone they could mess with.


    "S¡ªsir¡­ where are you from?" a female gnome asked. She sat beside Sige, looking like a cute, little girl with silver hair and dark brown eyes. She also had a small staff in her hand.


    "I am from the Ceraisian Empire. Far away from here."


    "Ceraisian Empire¡­ I have heard of that nation. They said it once enved the whole continent, and even managed to conquer some territory in other continent."


    "That story is probably too exaggerated. The continent has some powerful nation that could keep the Ceraisian at bay."


    "So, what are you doing here, sir?"


    "I am a treasure hunter."


    The adventurers in the room gasped in shock after they heard that.


    "At what phase are you now?"


    "I am currently looking for the third phase."


    "So that means you have passed the other two¡­ I heard each phase took more than one hundred thousand lives because of its numerous, highly dangerous challenges."


    "I don''t know about the numbers, but the challenges are indeed dangerous."


    The gnome''s eyes lit up. "Can you tell me more about your journey?"


    "What, are you nning to be a treasure hunter too?"


    She shook her head. "I am too weak for that. And, I am too scared to join."


    Sige nodded. "We also don''t have enough money to travel outside the ind."


    Aldred sipped his drink. "Well, I won''t rmend it. Unless you have enough resources, equipment, information, and allies, this treasure hunting is too dangerous."


    Everyone gulped after hear that. Aldred was a powerful man, all of them could see that, but for him to say that the treasure hunt was dangerous meant that this was the real deal.


    "Thankfully, we didn''t join," Sige said.


    The gnome nodded. "That''s right. I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Bonde. I am a gnome wizard." She cutely pointed at her cheeks and smiled.


    "I am Aldred."


    "Hi, Bonde." His wives waved and greeted her with a smile.


    Krista popped out from Mira''sp and her eyes lit up when she saw Bonde. She thought Bonde was at her age and wanted to y with her until Bonde said:


    "Oh, a child. What a cute one. Would you like to y with big sister?"


    "Krista is a child. Bonde is a child as well," Krista said.


    Bonde shook her head. "I may look small, but I am actually 19 years old."


    Krista showed a disappointed expression.


    "Would you y with big sister?"


    "No thanks." Krista turned around and hugged Mira.


    Sigeughed. "You could have said you are a child, and she would y with you."


    Bonde hit his shoulder. "How could I do that to her."


    She looked at Aldred. "So where are you guys going now?"


    Aldred was about to say Mount Savy, but stopped himself. "I am about to go to that mountain."


    "What mountain?"


    "You know, ''that'' mountain." Aldred emphasized the word ''that'' so they could understand.


    Sige and Bonde was confused at first, but then they understood his meaning.


    "Why would you go to that ce?" Bonde asked.


    "It''s the third phase."


    Bonde was terrified. "Whatever the promised treasure must be so valuable for you to be willing to go to that ce."


    "It is valuable. If I seed, I can rule the Ceraisian Empire with my hand." But more than that, he could finally return and see his family again.


    "Ruling the Ceraisian Empire?" Sige was in disbelief when he heard that. "No wonder people are willing to die over this."


    "You don''t know what people are willing to do for this treasure. I see childhood friends, spouse, and brothers killing each other just to pass a challenge."


    "That''s¡­ shocking, and very sad at the same time," Bonde said.


    Sige nodded as he chugged his juice. "It was nice talking to you. I would love to talk some more, but we have to leave now."


    "Where are you going?"


    "We have a mission to hunt for some Giant Deer in the forest." Bone hopped off the chair and patted her skirt.


    "Wait," Aldred said.


    Bonde turned around. "Do you need anything?"


    "No. Never mind." Aldred shook his head.


    Sige and Bonde walked towards the exit. Aldred stared at their back.


    "What is it, Aldred?" Sophia asked.


    They were 10 steps away from the exit.


    "Aldred?" Kiara put a hand on his shoulder.


    5 steps away.


    "What''s wrong, Aldred?" Ivette looked at him with worry.


    The two of them stepped out of the tavern.


    "Blood Field!" Aldred stood up and shouted.


    Blood aura burst out of him and pulled his wives and his friend near him before creating a sphere of blood barrier.


    At that exact moment, the whole tavern exploded with blinding blue light that shot from below the floor up to the sky. The blue light pierced through the table, roofs, ss, mana gem, and the people that were eating and drinking in the tavern.


    When the blood barrier disappeared, the whole tavern was already wrecked with the customers and the serversy on the ground, wounded. The roof fell on the corpses.


    One man screamed in pain while his legs was stuck under a heavy wood. "My legs!"


    Aldred approached, about to help the man. The man''s head exploded.


    Aldred halted his footstep and looked at the distance where Sige was pointing towards his direction. Smoke came out of his finger.


    Blowing the smoke off his finger, Sige grinned. "The lord was right. Killing them is not easy."


    Bonde pouted. "It takes a while to set that trap. I even spend some time to talk with them so they would stay in ce."


    Aldred frowned.


    His wives stood beside him.


    "Aldred, who are they?" Mary asked.


    "They were send by a Ceraisian. A lord, but I don''t know who."


    Bonde giggled. "Are you surprised?"


    Aldred''s frowned turn into a smile. "I already expected it."


    "Hoo¡­ I thought that Blood Field was a reflex. How did you know?"


    "You''ve been pouring mana on the floor while we''re talking. Your n is obvious."


    Bondeughed. "You knew, but you did not stop me, and let everyone else in the tavern die. I have to say, handling someone like you is more difficult than those hero wannabe."


    "So are you prepared to die?" Aldred asked.


    "Die? Do you really think the lord only send the two of us?"


    "Whoever they send will be death in my hand."


    Bonde grinned. "Not this one. Bur''alloth! Come out!"


    Dark-ish red me ignited from the ground and then revealed the figure of a demon with a long, ck steel sword. The sword was wide, and in the middle, a red me came aze.

 365 Chapter 365

    365 Chapter 365 Killing Bur¡¯alloth


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Bur¡¯alloth]


    Level: 89


    Power: Deathbringer, Cursein de, Infernal Pull, World Devourer, de Soul.


    History: Pulled from the deep hell, Bur¡¯alloth breathes in the air of the world for the first time. His demonic appearance leads the natives of the new world to hunt him down. But using his wit, he puts his soul within his de. Now, if anyone is foolish enough to wield his weapon, their mind will endure eternal corruption, and soon their flesh and bones will be his.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°So that¡¯s what she meant.¡± Aldred grinned.


    Bonde pointed at Aldred. ¡°Kill him.¡±


    Bur¡¯alloth turned his head and stared at Aldred. His Demonic Eyes expanded as he activated a spell.


    Aldred activated his Demonic Eyes and blocked the spell.


    Bur¡¯alloth was shocked at first before he roared. mes burst out of his body, burning the grass and ground nearby.


    Bonde extinguished the fire off her head. ¡°This is why I hate being near him.¡±


    Sigeughed. ¡°At least he¡¯s an effective warrior.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Demonic Eyes that can create the illusion. Seems like this demon is not all brutes.¡±


    ¡°Can you handle it by yourself, Aldred?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°Can we help?¡± Ivette asked.


    ¡°Well, after I test his strength, sure.¡±


    His wives smiled and nodded. They knew that Aldred loved fighting, especially against the strong monster. Though if Aldred could not handle it by himself, his wives would help whenever he needed it.


    Bur¡¯alloth slowly walked down the hill, leaving a trail of darkish mes. The long, huge sword was dragged on the ground as if it was a heavy piece of iron, creating a deep crater as it went.


    ¡°Ohh, scary,¡± Aldred said jokingly.


    He summoned his Phantom Doomde. me azed in his hand, and a terrifying aurashed out.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with a cool, scary sword,¡± Aldred said.


    Bur¡¯alloth¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the Phantom Doomde. Theva which acted as his blood boiled, and steam came out of his mouth.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    Bondeughed. ¡°When we talk, I deliver some information to the Commander as well.¡±


    She pointed at him. ¡°Your sword is the biggest problem. Bur¡¯alloth is a sword eater, and once he eats your sword, you will be done for.¡±


    ¡°Really? Well, my sword eats souls for breakfast. Let¡¯s see if he can handle that.¡±


    Bur¡¯alloth broke into a jog, and then he sprinted at Aldred. ¡°HAAA!¡±


    ¡°All you do is grunting, and now you begin to scream?¡± Aldred smiled and raised his sword to block the attack.


    The impact shot out mes and heat waves all over the ce.


    His wives took a few steps back in order to not disturb Aldred.


    The demon opened his mouth and belched a powerful me right at Aldred¡¯s face.


    Sige puffed his cigar. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Who said I am dead?¡± Aldred sucked the me using his mouth, and he burped.


    ¡°Delicious.¡±


    Aldred kicked the demon, sending him twenty meters away.


    Sige scoffed. ¡°You will die sooner orter.¡±


    Aldred and Bur¡¯alloth fought each other, sending me attacks while hacking each other with a sword.


    ¡°Fire Bullet!¡±


    ¡°Fire Arrow!¡±


    ¡°Fire Ball!¡±


    ¡°Fire Javelin!¡±


    ¡°me Fist!¡±


    ¡°Fire Combustion!¡±


    Aldred used all of his me abilities and Bur¡¯alloth countered them all.


    ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re good with mes. But what about the other elements?¡±


    Water, air, and earth evidently became chaotic around him.


    The ground shook as two earth pirs shot from below and hit the demon right by the chin. Its teeth cracked and shattered before an invisible hammer created by an air elemental mmed down, bringing his chin down to the ground before water ropes slithered around his body and neck.


    Bur¡¯alloth roared and cut the water ropes with his sword.


    ¡°Sticky String!¡±


    Aldred shot numerous sticky strings that wrapped around the demon.


    The demon struggled to break free before me burst out from every inch of his body, destroying the string.


    ¡°Not bad. Petrification!¡±


    Aldred¡¯s eyes shone purple as he stared at the demon, charging at him.


    The demon¡¯s legs slowly turned into a stone. He roared and cut off his own legs, falling onto the ground as another pair of legs grew to rece them.


    The demon charged again, leaping from the ground as he pulled his de over his head.


    The ground around Aldred was already lit in me as if telling him where the impact would be.


    The swordnded right in front of him, bursting with a me that knocked him up a few meters in the air.


    Aldred¡¯s Phantom Doomde transformed into Bazag¡¯s Dual Bone des with a re of mes and demonic aura into it.


    The dual des multiplied into twelve des, and Aldred threw it in mid-air.


    The demon moved its body, dodging the des.


    ¡°Rake!¡± Aldred shouted.


    The thrown des expanded, bingrger as they cut the arms, the legs, and the neck before returning back to Aldred.


    mes burst out of the wound and the demon¡¯s limbs regrow.


    Bondeughed. Herugh sounded cute but maniacal at the same time. ¡°I told you, he won¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°What a weird loli,¡± Aldred muttered. ¡°You¡¯re not cute at all!¡±


    Aldred¡¯s Bone des transformed into Deep Sea Bow.


    Aiming at the loli, Aldred took a deep breath. ¡°Homing Water Arrow.¡±


    The arrow shot from the bow and went straight toward Bonde. Bonde cast a barrier to block as the demon attacked Aldred.


    The barrier shattered and pierced through the loli¡¯s chest. Aldred smirked before punching the demon in the face.


    ¡°Damn you!¡± Bonde cursed as she struggled to get up. Sige walked to her side and healed her wound. The healing was slow because the damage done to her body was too heavy.


    ¡°Sige, let¡¯s gang up on him!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this fight has been going on for too long.¡± Sige grabbed his staff and raised it to the sky. ¡°Power Lightning!¡±


    The sky rumbled, and out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck down at Aldred.


    Bonde stood up, almost stumbling on her feet. ¡°Quake Eart¡ª Gah!¡±


    She spat a mouthful of blood as she saw the wound on her chest expanded. Her eyes widened. ¡°The healing spell¡­ it didn¡¯t work!¡±


    Aldredughed. ¡°You¡¯re right, this has been going on for too long. I am going to kill this demon!¡±


    ¡°Fade!¡± Aldred vanished from his spot and reappeared behind the enemy before he cut off all the demon¡¯s limbs. Then, he drove his sword right into the demon, piercing it through.


    The demon spoke for the first time. ¡°Impossible!¡±


    The Phantom Doomde lusted for the demon¡¯s soul and wasted no time absorbing it.


    ¡°AHH!¡± The demon screamed as his body crumbled like rocks.


    [You have absorbed the soul of a demon]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 1 ¡ú Lv. 2]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 2 ¡ú Lv. 3]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 3 ¡ú Lv. 4]


    [Baron Hell Demon Lv. 4 ¡ú Lv. 5]


    [New skill unlocked: Possessed]


    [Possessed]


    Your consciousness is able to enter the mind of an entity, effectively controlling its body.


    ¡°Oh not bad.¡± He looked at Sige.


    Sige flinched in fear as he took two steps back. He turned around and ran away.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Possessed!¡±


    Sige halted his steps and smiled. Grabbing the small dagger from his waist, he slit his own throat, still with a smile on his face.

 366 Chapter 366

    ?366 Chapter 366 The Power of Ranehawks


    [You have received 4250+ EXP]


    Aldred coldly looked at the two corpses, and then they were engulfed by mes.


    "Who do you think had sent them?" Mary asked Aldred.


    "It has to be the Emperor, Pharder, or people that sided with the Dragon."


    "To send assassins this far, they are quite motivated to erase you," Mareona said.


    "Well, if Simond is not going to do it, then they will send someone else."


    Aldred sighed and then looked at the ruined tavern. "Too bad. It was quite afortable tavern."


    "Well, things happen," Ste said. "Should we continue our journey? The mountain should be close."


    "Sure."


    They continued to walk to the north, and after a few days, they finally arrived at the foot of Mount Savy.


    When he arrived, he saw a lot of people were already gathered there. They were mostly in small groups with a lot of spatial bags hanging on their waists.


    Most of them were lone adventurers or adventurers within small groups. Only a few of them came from a big group, bringing a lot of soldiers and logistics.


    In history, it wasmonly known thatrge groups or organizations almost never seeded in obtaining the secret treasure. It was always the lone prodigy that battles through hardship without the backing that obtained the treasure. And when they obtain it, therge organization would offer anything to invite them to their ranks.


    Everyone was silent as they distanced themselves from each other. Tension seemed high as they looked at each other aspetitors.


    Those who reached this phase had to be the best of the best. After thousands of people died in dungeons and on the road, these people prevailed either through wit or pure strength.


    Aldred respected everyst one of them. After all, he fought through gritted teeth to get here as well, so he understood their pain. Not to mention they did not have the advantages as he had.


    A man bumped into someone. They stood still, staring at each other for a few seconds before they slowly backed away.


    Aldred nodded. The people here were careful. They would not risk it for a small bump.


    "So what are we waiting here for?" Ivette asked.


    "Hmm, I don''t know."


    "Brother." Krista tugged his sleeve.


    "What is it, Krista?"


    She pointed at the mountain. "Climb."


    Aldred looked at his wives. "I guess we should start climbing."


    Right after Aldred said that an eagle dove down, and picked up a man.


    The man screamed as the eagle caught him by the throat. The eagle stabbed his stomach and devoured his innards.


    "The Runehawk!"


    "Ahh, Tom, help me!"


    Numerous Ranehawkes, giant eagles, dove down on them. A female wizard was being grabbed by her shoulders and legs, and the eagle ripped her in half.


    An eagle set its eyes on Krista. Circled the sky once, and then pped its wings to dove down. It let out a cry before turning its ws forward.


    Aldred''s sharp re was locked onto the eagle, and the eagle exploded from within.


    [4325+ EXP]


    "Kill the eagles!" someone shouted.


    The adventurer began to retaliate, throwing powerful spells at the sky.


    A giant earth javelin shot from the ground, straight toward the sky. It mmed against a Ranehawk right in the head before mming three more eagles and shattering into numerous rock spikes that wounded the eagles nearby.


    The corpses of the eagle fell like rain.


    The adventurers think their counterattack worked, but they were not prepared for even more retaliation. Thousands of birds flew from the mountains and the forest nearby.


    They almost blocked the entire sky with their terrifying numbers, and then they cried at the same time.


    Their cry rang in their ears like mad. Aldred''s wives quickly conjured a magic barrier to block the sound wave, but some still went through and shook their eardrums.


    Ste raised her staff. "Nullify Sound!"


    Suddenly, the world became quiet. Aldred and the rest of his group could not hear anything. Their hearing sense waspletely deactivated. Outside their magic barrier, the scene was horrific with exploding heads and bleeding from orifices.


    asionally, some birds would fly down and grab onto the unassuming prey as they were distracted by the pain.


    "No wonder the locals are so scared by these birds. They might not be that problematic alone, but as a group, they are a force to reckon with," Aldredmented though he knew that no one can hear him right now.


    A man crawled with blood leaking out of his ears. He tapped the magic barrier and muttered something.


    "Sorry, friend. I cannot open the barrier," Aldred said.


    The man read his lips, understanding what he meant. A Ranehawk cried and picked him up.


    After a few minutes, the Ranehawk cried for onest time and left.


    The sky was bright again.


    Ste deactivated her spell and their hearing sense returned.


    All around them, people wereying with blood leaking out from every hole in their bodies. Some groups managed to get away by using secret artifacts and treasures.


    One man even had powerful armor that could create a magic barrier around him.


    A lot of people died, but a lot survived as well. The birds only managed to kill around 25% of the adventurers'' total number.


    That was impressive, considering that these people havee this far by passing a lot of challenges on the way.


    "What a disaster," Mira said.


    "It''s not the first time that this happened," Ste replied.


    The others nodded. In some challenges, there would be an event that could wipe out arge percentage of treasure hunters in one go.


    If they were ill-prepared, they would surely die.


    "So what do we do now?" Mareona asked.


    "What else can we do? We proceed forward," Aldred said.


    "Hey, you over there." A man with well-made clothes approached him. "Give me all your treasure¡ª"


    Aldred shed his head off. He looked at his wives. "Let''s go."


    They left the man as the headless body fell, making the guards behind him gasp in shock.


    "What just happened?" someone asked.


    "I don''t know. That guy approached someone and was about to rob him. But he couldn''t even finish his sentence before his head got cut off."


    "That man is vicious. Be careful about what to say to these people. You never know if they will let you finish your words or not."


    "Yeahhh," the man replied nervously.


    Aldred set off to climb the mountain with Krista pointing out the route. Aldred was curious. She sometimes got the power to point out the direction, but it couldn''t be activated at will. Sometimes it happened, but most of the time, it didn''t.


    A Ranehawk perched on an unassuming tree high on the mountain. It looked around and then moved its back, revealing a woman who was riding it. The woman frowned and stared at the group of people below. Specifically, she was staring directly at Aldred.


    ¡­


    "Pharder, My Lord. One of Lord Arthard''s champions was killed."


    Pharder looked at the soldier. He grabbed the stack of paper on the table and ced it on the side before he leaned on his office chair.


    "How many champions are he willing to send at once?"

 367 Chapter 367

    ?367 Chapter 367 Begin Climbing


    Aldred looked up, right at the peak of Mount Savy. The mountain was silent except for the footsteps of the adventurers, trodding. He was walking in front of all of them until a few groups walked a bit faster and passed Aldred''s group.


    Aldred saw them ring at him as if saying that they would take the lead.


    He shook his head. It was clear that the group did not fight their way to the third phase. Anyone that had passed the first two phases would understand that being overconfident could cost their life.


    Aldred did not care about them. He could kill them now, but it would be better if they walked in front, and suffered whatever traps the third phase would offer.


    A giant boulder fell upon the front group, smashing them to bloody pieces before the boulder rolled and fell down the mountain.


    ''That was quick,'' Aldred thought before he began walking again.


    Meanwhile, the people behind him were trembling in fear. Some looked unconcerned because this had happened to them a lot, but there were those who bought their way to the third phase with money.


    And of course, they never expected all of this to happen. First was the swarm attacks from the Ranehawkes, now an entire group got killed by a giant boulder.


    What else would they faceter on?


    Aldred and the others who had passed the third phase looked at death, corpses, blood, and spilled internal organs like it was a daily urrence.


    Well, it was a daily urrence anyway, so there was no reason to be surprised all the time.


    His wives and soldiers were already used to it as well.


    Krista on the other hand would get her eyes covered by Mira every time this happened, so she did not get to see the bloody gore most of the time.


    "Sister Mira, why can''t Krista see?"


    Mira rubbed her head. "You cannot see, Krista. It will be too scary for you. I will get you some candiester, okay?"


    Krista nodded. "Un."


    They continued to climb the mountain, walking ever so slowly, conserving energy. They knew up ahead there would be something that required their strength more than now.


    Aldred looked to the back and saw some familiar faces. It was the viking men. They were wearing thick dragon scales, as their helmet, armor, gloves, and even their weapons were the fangs of dragons and teeth of other creatures.


    "Hey, Aldred," Mary called. "Aren''t they the vikings we saw at Mount Fargon?"


    "Yeah. I can''t believe they survived."


    "Seems like they''re lucky," Mareona said.


    "Maybe they are that strong," Aldred replied.


    "I doubt it. You and Ste are already super powerful, and even five hundred Gold Ranks cannot defeat you," Mareona said. "And even with such strength, we barely came out alive."


    "I would have run away if I had to fight five hundred Gold Ranks," Aldred said.


    "You can simply call your golem and undead army."


    "Oh, I didn''t know I was allowed to do that. In that case, even a thousand Gold Ranks would not be a problem."


    "Exactly. With your power, we are still struggling to pass every phase," Mareona exined. "How can they pass the challenge with strength alone? They have to be sleeping with the goddess of luck every night."


    "Maybe," Aldred said.


    CRACK!


    A loud sound boomed as the mountain shook.


    The ground in front of them cracked, and then a portion of the ground got cut off from the rest before it slid down the slope.


    "Fuck! Run!"


    The people standing on that mass of earth tried to run back, but a lot of them were toote, and they fell.


    The ground crushed everyone below.


    "That was quite thendslide," Aldred calmly said.


    He stepped forward, stopping at the edge as he looked down. "Yeah, no one will survive that fall. Ste, can you teleport us to the other side."


    Ste spun her staff and activated her half-broken golden disc. It shone with sparkling star particles and then, they suddenly vanished.


    "As expected, the world prevented teleportation," Aldred said.


    A man walked forward. "What a loser. Let me show you guys something. In this situation, you need to rely on speed."


    The man stretched his body before kicking the ground and sprinting. He then leaped on the wall, and then kept on sprinting, feet stuck on the vertical wall.


    A boulder rolled and struck him.


    A Ranehawk cried from above, and then it left.


    "Seems like we need something other than speed," Aldred said.


    The adventurers gasped in shock as Aldred was thinking of a solution.


    "I got an idea. Xer Xai!"


    Xer Xai suddenly appeared in front of him. Aldred climbed on top of his head, and walked across, using the gigantic undead as a bridge. "Let''s go guys."


    His wives andrades leaped onto Xer Xai and crossed to the other side.


    "Wait!" a man shouted with a bunch of people following from behind. "Respected Sir. Can we also use your creature as a bridge?"


    "No."


    "Eh¡­" the man was stunned. He obviously did not expect a blunt reply like that.


    "Please, Sir. I can give you money."


    Aldred looked at him with a smile. "I can give you money to turn around and walk back home. How much do you want? One billion gold coins? Two billion? Or ten billion?"


    The people there were shocked by what Aldred said. Ten billion gold coins? Was this man for real?


    "I can pay you as much as I want to reducepetitors."


    Aldred wanted to say he could kill everyone here and there, but he did not want to look arrogant.


    "So is that a no?" the man asked.


    "Yes. It''s a no."


    Xer Xai vanished before Aldred began walking again.


    "Damn, what an arrogant bastard!" a warrior stomped on the ground.


    The man in the lead narrowed his eyes. "He''s got the strength to be arrogant. Ignore him. Let''s think of a way to cross to the other side."


    "HURAA!!"


    "HURAA!!"


    "HURAA!!"


    The adventurers turned their heads to look at the viking men who were sprinting at full speed while wielding their heavy weapons. Right after they reached the edge, they leaped high into the sky and arrived at the other side.


    The gap was more than 200 meters. So that meant they just jumped and passed a 200-meter crater, all while using pure strength.


    "Cih! If I can use my levitation magic!"


    A bunch of them eventually managed to cross, but some failed and fell like many others.


    Aldred looked back and smiled. Everyone here understood that they were one step away from obtaining the treasure. The only thing that stopped them from killing each other now was the fear of what was in front of them. Some challenges require sacrifices, and they would not be able to pass without enough bloodshed on the ground.


    In Aldred''s eyes, these people were beasts waiting to murder each other at the right time.


    The wind blew Aldred''s hair. "The wind is a little harsher here."


    "It will be harsher the higher we go," Ste said.


    Aldred shrugged. "At least it wasn''t as bad as Mount Fargon."

 Chapter 368 Sword Guild

    ?368 Chapter 368 Sword Guild


    The viking men walked passed and stared at him. They brandished their axes while huffing their nose.


    Aldred frowned. "I don''t seem to have any problem with you gentlemen."


    The vikings puffed their chest and walked past him. A viking bumped his shoulder, but Aldred stood his ground like a statue.


    The viking that bumped him growled as if he was a beast. He pointed at Aldred''s face. "You¡­"


    After saying that, the viking stopped and walked away.


    "What is their problem?" Ivette said, sheathing back her sword. If that viking dared to touch Aldred, she would have cut his arms to pieces.


    "They''re weird people for sure. I don''t think they are from this continent," Aldred said.


    Ste nodded. "They probably don''t. I don''t see a particr region where they would wear a horned helmet. They are human but acted like an orc: brutal and vicious. Did you notice that they have no wizard or bowman?"


    "They loved to be close and personal," Aldred said.


    "Yeah, look at their bodies. Those people spend their entire lives training. They are forged to be warriors."


    "Forged to be a warrior¡­ Bartrem, do you think you can beat them?"


    Bartrem looked at the vikings in the distance. "Not by pure strength, that''s for sure. But, I believe I am more skilled than them."


    They all kept on climbing the mountain for a few days before they decided to stop and rest.


    Some people were shocked when they saw Aldred''s group setting up tents and even grills. Theyid out their mats and had a nice pic as they ate all kinds of delicious food.


    Some people who had seen Aldred before were not surprised, but for those who saw this for the first time was shocking, to say the least.


    "Is that a kebab?"


    "Oh, you know kebab?"


    "Yeah, I bought it from this store called Aldred''s Tasty Food."


    "Oh, they''re everywhere. I heard they are owned by a war trader."


    "War trader?"


    "Merchants that profited off wars. They mostly sell weapons, but there is apany that''s called Aldred''s Golem Mercenary."


    "Ugh, I hate thatpany. They promised some reliability, secrecy, and money-back guarantee bullshit. The adventurers in my region are all out of jobs because of these golems."


    "If I could meet the owner of thatpany, I would kill him myself."


    Rachel giggled as she wiped the stain on Aldred''s mouth. "Did you hear that? Someone is nning to kill you."


    Aldred chomped onto his kebab. "I don''t know why they areining. Mypany policy dictates that at least five adventurers are to apany ten golems. This means that for every ten golems rented, a group of adventurers must be hired. They should not be losing a job, in fact, they should be getting more jobs than before."


    "Aren''t you making a loss that way?" Ste asked.


    "People can hire worker golems individually, and some people have special deals. Besides, I want my mercenary golems to only ept the high-paying mission."


    "They are Gold Rank golems after all, so they are supposed to do high-paying tasks." Rachel nodded in agreement.


    A rock flew at Aldred, and he caught it with two fingers.


    ring to the side, he saw the vikings pointing andughing at him. "Is this a deration of war?"


    "Calm down, Aldred. They are just ying. Let them live. We don''t know what''s ahead of us." Ste tried to calm him down.


    "Hello," a man greeted Aldred.


    Aldred turned his head to look at the person and saw a tall blonde man. He was a handsome man with powerful leather armor crafted from a deceased tinum Rank monster.


    "My name is Baendjbi." The man smiled as he tapped the handle of his sword strapped to his waist.


    Aldred looked at the group and noticed that everyone was a swordsman.


    "I noticed that you are a swordsman yourself," Baendjbi said. He pointed at Aldred''s Phantom Doomde that wasying on the ground beside him.


    "What an interesting dark aura it has. Where do you find it?"


    "None of your business."


    Baendjbiughed. "We''re here to make friends. Please, we mean no harm."


    "Last time someone tried to make friends with us, I had to kill them a few hourster."


    Baendjbi showed a troubled expression before he smiled andughed. "You''re a funny man. No wonder these fairdies are falling over heels for you."


    He grabbed something from his pouch. Baendjbi tossed it.


    Aldred caught the object. It was a token. Written on the token was: ''The Buzzing de''.


    "The Buzzing de?"


    "We are a swordsman guild. We approach you because you seem to be a good sword master. If you want, you can join us as a member. Don''t worry, our guild recruits everyone and anyone without caring about where they are from and whates out of their body. It means we ept you whatever your race is. Hahaha!"


    "What is the benefit of joining a swordsman guild?"


    "Well, one thing for sure is that you will get a sword technique, and even meet some Diamond Rank sword masters as long as they are willing. But the Diamond Ranks in the guild are very passionate about sword arts, and they will always spare their time to talk about it."


    "Interesting."


    Baendjbi''s eyes lit up. "I knew you would be interested. So will you join?"


    "Maybe not now. I don''t want to be bound by anything."


    Baendjbiughed. "You won''t be bound by anything. As long as you are a swordsman you can join and do whatever you want. If you want to obtain sword skills or be taught personally by one of our masters then you have to pay with merit points. Otherwise, there is no obligation at all."


    "So I can do whatever I want?"


    "You can do whatever you want. Of course, if you kill one of us without any reasonable cause, then we have to kick you out."


    "That''s all?"


    "That is all."


    "I will think about it."


    "That''s fantastic! Uhh, may we sit down?"


    "Yeah, sure," Aldred replied.


    Baendjbi and his friends sat down, they nodded and smiled at Bartrem and the other soldiers with respect.


    Most of the soldiers used a sword, so they had a lot to talk about.


    Aldred and his wives asked Baendjbi some questions to get to know him. Unsurprisingly, Baendjbi was the leader of this group.


    "I have passed the first and the second phase. We lost some brothers along the way, but we arrived here with most of our members."


    Baendjbi and his friends closed their eyes and prayed for their deadrades. "I hope they never regret participating in this treasure hunt."


    His friend put a shoulder on his hand to calm him down. "No one regretted anything. We know the risk."


    Baendjbi nodded. "On the bright side, we emerge even stronger than before. If we return to the guild, we can exchange the treasure we got for a lot of merit points."


    "Seems like the merit points are very valuable," Aldredmented.


    "They are valuable. Don''t you think getting a Diamond Rank as your private tutor is valuable? Their time is worth much more than any gold coins or treasure. We are lucky to even have the opportunity to meet them."


    If they knew that Aldred even taught Diamond Ranks how to improve their skill¡­ how would they react?

 Chapter 369 11 Years Old

    ?369 Chapter 369 11 Years Old


    Aldred''s wives prepared some food and drinks for the guests. Aldred talked with Baendjbi and he was fairly impressed. Baendjbi had a firm knowledge of the theoretical and practical in sword art. Aldred even learned one or two things from him.


    With Aldred''s godly eyes, he could see the imperfection and weakness of a technique that was already overpowered, but he could not really create a new technique from scratch.


    As Baendjbi impressed him with all sorts of tricks and techniques, Aldred surprised and even shocked Baendjbi at how easily he saw the weakness within the techniques.


    "You have keen eyes, Aldred," Baendjbi said with awe.


    "A lot of people say that."


    "No, really. I have never seen a genius like you. These techniques are taught by a tinum Rank swordmaster, and you just saw through it in a blink of an eye."


    "I just see things from a different perspective."


    "Yeah¡­ perspective. I think I need that."


    Baendjbi did not think he could emte what Aldred did. The techniques that he told Aldred were something he had studied for years, but he would never be able to find the weaknesses.


    "Approaching you was the right thing. I learned so much from you. Maybe I should be calling you master from now on."


    Aldredughed. "Don''t be. I still have so much to learn."


    Baendjbi smiled. "What a humble man. The guild will love you. Maybe one of our Diamond Rank swordsmen will take you in as a personal disciple."


    "Not interested," Aldred said.


    Baendjbi was shocked when he heard that. "You''re not interested in bing a disciple of a Diamond Rank swordsman?"


    Aldred looked at him. "I want to find my own path first."


    "Oh, I understand."


    Aldred of course lied. If he became a disciple of a Diamond Rank, it would be Aldred doing the teaching.


    Another rock flew at Aldred. Itnded beside him, sending dust everywhere.


    The viking men in the distance pointed andughed at him.


    Baendjbi red at the viking. "Aldred, are these people bothering you? If they are, we will help you to handle them."


    "No need. The mountain will kill them," Aldred said.


    Aldred looked up and saw some Ranehawkes watching them from above. Those giant eagles had been watching the adventurers for some time now. They did nothing but watch.


    That made some of the adventurers nervous.


    Mira brushed Krista''s hair as she sat on herp. "Krista, are you a princess?"


    Krista stopped munching on her food. "Krista don''t know."


    Mira recalled what happened at sea. She and the others did not talk about it because they didn''t want to traumatize her, but now she felt like it was the right time to ask.


    The winged men came with aplete armada of battleships to get her back. And after they failed, the nation of Paphia reduced their business involvement with Aldred''spany. Clearly, they were very upset about the failure to get Krista.


    Enough to cut off a part of Aldred''s business in the region.


    Mira understood Aldred''s business strategy. He was a smart man, so he must have done some things to prevent the local government from pulling his business out. Either with bribery, or making them rely on hispany, he always had ways to hurt the government when they mess with hispany.


    And Tarrar. That guy was very smart in management as well. Aldred gave the ideas and tricks, and Tarrar was like the hand that executed them.


    So it was without question the nation of Paphia suffered a lot of losses just to get back to Aldred.


    That led to the first question. Who was Krista?


    "Krista, how did you get inside that egg?"


    Krista shook her head again. "Krista don''t know."


    She looked at Aldred with sparkling eyes. "All Krista know is big brother is a nice person, and Krista must follow him wherever he goes."


    "Why do you think that way?"


    Once again, she shook her head. "Krista get a feeling."


    Mira giggled. "So you get a feeling and you just follow through with it. You''re so funny, Krista."


    The Phantom Doomdeying on the ground sparked with the image of the Golden shield for a split second.


    [You will be safe with him]


    "Krista know."


    "Did you say something?" Mira asked.


    Krista shook her head and smiled. pping her cute wings, she stood up from Mira''sp, ran to Aldred, and hugged him.


    Aldred was talking with Baendjbi until Krista hugged him from the side.


    Aldredughed and caressed her head.


    "Is she your daughter?" Baendjbi asked.


    "Aldred is Krista''s big brother," Krista replied.


    "There you got your answer," Aldred said.


    Baendjbi raised an eyebrow. "I didn''t expect you to have a sister this young."


    "Uh¡­ I am actually 11 years old."


    Baendjbi was speechless. "Wait, you are 11 years old?"


    The other swordsmen were shocked by that revtion. Eleven years old? Even if their fathers told them that, they wouldn''t believe it.


    He looked at the wives. "And you guys are 11 years old too?"


    "No, we''re not. Aldred used an appearance-changing spell, so he looked older," Mary replied.


    "I thought you would be at least 20 years old. To think that you are merely 11 years old, is it even possible for you to reach Gold Rank?"


    "Well, it''s possible for me." Aldredughed.


    Baendjbiughed as well. "I don''t want to be rude, but I can''t help myself to ask. May I see your sword?"


    Krista looked at him and blinked.


    "Sure," Aldred replied as he grabbed the weapon.


    Krista held Aldred''s shoulder.


    "What''s wrong, Krista?"


    Krista shook her head.


    Aldred looked at her in confusion as he handed the sword to Baendjbi.


    "What a magnificent sword¡­ It''s heavier than it seems. It would take four Silver Ranks just to lift this thing."


    "It''s not that powerful."


    "If this weapon is not that powerful then what about ours? Please, don''t be too humble."


    As Aldred and everyone else chatted with each other, the wind on the mountain became harsher. One of Aldred''s tents got blown away and crashed onto the ground.


    Ste waved her hand. "Star Barrier."


    Star particles suddenly appeared around them, freezing the time and space for a moment, before rerouting the harsh wind to other directions.


    The sword warriors were impressed.


    "Miss Ste was it? You are quite an impressive magician."


    "I thought you only had swords in your eyes," Ste said with a naughty tone.


    Baendjbi blushed as Ste was a beautiful woman with tan skin, and her clothes did not hide her thigh at all.


    He shook his head. Ste was Aldred''s wife, he couldn''t disrespect Aldred by staring at his woman.


    "Well, should we continue our journey?"


    "Sure." Aldred stood up and put everything in his divine dimension, shocking the swordsmen once again.


    "Let''s go." Aldred walked forward with his wives and soldiers while the swordsmen processed what had just happened.


    "Did he just make everything vanish?"


    Baendjbi looked at Aldred''s back in awe. "I think he did."


    "Isn''t that what magicians do? From what I can see, he is a swordsman, not a magician," a man said.


    "Maybe he can use swords and magic," another man replied.


    Baendjbi looked at his friends. "From what I heard, that man is a magician, a swordsman, and a necromancer all at the same time."


    "¡­"


    "You gotta be kidding me."

 Chapter 370 Ogre Attack

    Chapter 370 Ogre Attack


    Ever moving, never descending, the ind floated high above mountains and clouds. Birds yearned to reach it, and men dreamed of it in their sleep.


    But never would they ever set foot in this holynd. Not without broken bones and spilled blood.


    Elean stood at the edge of the ind. Behind her, angels with harps, flutes, and trumpets yed a heavenly sound that would bring pleasure to the ears, and salvation to those in despair. This sound was said to be able to bring back death, turn evil men into good, and turn any situation for the better.


    The angel stopped ying and dropped to their knees, bringing their hands together as they closed their eyes.


    In front of them was the hall of the thousand gods. Their bibles were each put on an altar with holy light basking them from above.


    "O'' great Lords. Please let us serve you for eternity. Let us toil in your garden, and serve your table with fruits and wine."


    The angels recited all kinds of prayers for each god. Each god preferred different things, and the way to pray to them was also different.


    Elean looked down again. She was looking for something, but when she failed to find it, she turned around and left.


    ¡­


    Aldred, his wives, and the soldiers kept on walking despite the harsh wind. With the star barrier protecting them, they didn''t have any problem proceeding.


    It wasn''t the same for the other adventurers. A lot of them were pushed to the wall so hard, their whole body became ck and blue.


    Baendjbi looked at this and was terrified. If he didn''t befriend Aldred, he would suffer the same fate.


    Mount Savy was known as an impossible mountain to climb not because it was high and the wind was harsh, but because monsters and Ranehawkes were always ready to strike and kill anything they saw.


    The moment Aldred and his wives walked for a few kilometers, a group of monsters surrounded them.


    They were ogres with a club in their hands. Aldred counted their numbers and they were 150 in total.


    They were quite powerful too.


    [Mountain Ogre]


    Level: 88


    Power: Club Smash, tough skin


    If anyone looked at this ogre, they would be able to tell immediately how evil they were. These were the kind of creatures that would enter your home and eat your babies.


    "Oh hooo¡­ It''s been a while since I have had humans for breakfast. Do you dare toe this far to meet this lord? Eat my club!"


    As Aldred was staring at their ugly faces, one of the ogres suddenly shouted and raised his club.


    Hearing that shout, the other ogres followed from behind. Some brought crossbows with them, and they fired toward Aldred.


    "This is damn discrimination. There are hundreds of people here, and you all attack me?"


    Aldred dashed forward, to distance himself from his wives before he twisted his body and dodged the ogre''s sh while casually flicking the arrow out of the air with his fingers.


    "You are surrounded by beautiful women, so you deserve to die first! Ogres! Kill him!" an ogre leader shouted.


    "So you are the leader." Aldred ran toward the ogre leader. He wanted to send the message, and what is the better way to send it than killing the leader?


    Seeing Aldred rushing toward, the ogre leader roared and activated [Tough Skin]. Its ugly skin shone with bronze color. He also grabbed something from his pouch and threw a handful of powder at Aldred.


    "Shit!" Aldred halted his step and jumped back.


    The powder exploded in mid-air.


    "A smart ogre. I thought you all would be stupid."


    "Not me." The ogre threw another powder that formed a white mist, blocking the ogre leader from sight.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes andughed maniacally. Charging right through the mist, he saw the ogre was running away.


    "Where are you running, you piece of shit?" Aldred shed his shoulder.


    "Gah! Impossible! How did you see me in this mist?"


    Aldred did not reply and cut the ogre leader''s head, before sending mes in all directions, removing the mist.


    His senses activated as he detected the movement of the air and the vibration of the earth. This was his battle sense. It warned him of threats without him even looking with his eyes.


    Aldred did not even turn around as he stabbed in the back. An ogre groaned in pain, Aldred pulled the de and spun, cutting off his head.


    Soon after, he kicked an ogre in the head, knocking him up tens of meters in the air.


    More ogres came from above, and they attacked the other adventurers too.


    Aldred''s soldiers and his wives were attacked as well, but they could defend themselves.


    In the midst of the battlefield, Aldred was dancing, killing ogres left and right.


    ¨C5130


    ¨C6125


    ¨C4214


    ¨C5525


    All of Aldred''s attacks were fatal and deathly. A single sh and three ogres could die in an instant. And for those who survived, they wouldn''t be able to fight ever again.


    Aldred ducked, and performed a sweep attack, cutting off their legs.


    Twisting his body again, Aldred avoided the second wave of arrows. The ogres behind him groaned because arrows got stuck in their throats.


    "Be careful where you''re firing!" one of the ogres shouted.


    Stretching both of his arms, Aldred grabbed the ogre that shouted before and kneed him in the face.


    The ogre was sent flying in the air, with a bleeding nose, and his eyes went to the back of his head.


    "[Tough Skin]!" the ogres shouted which made their skin shine in copper light.


    To Aldred, however, such action waspletely futile because his attacks were too powerful. All of them were fatal strikes!


    No matter how much health or defense the ogres had, they were nothing in the face of his de. Phantom Doomde was on a soul-absorbing spree!


    "Spirit sh!"


    "Lateral Step sh!"


    "Spirit Round sh!"


    "Foresight sh!


    "Spirit Thrust!"


    "SPIRIT DOWNWARD SLASH!"


    Leaping high in the sky, Aldred came down like a zing meteor and mmed into the ground, sending out mes with a dark red aura in every direction.


    "GAHHHH!"


    The ogres screamed as they were devoured by the me. Not just their skin, blood, and bone, but their souls as well.


    Aldred had cleansed the ogres around him while the other ogres that saw this were terrified of him and quickly retreated.


    Aldred looked around and saw dozens of rare items. Most of them were clubs, but there were sabers, crossbows, and swords.


    Aldred picked one of the items and realized that they were trash. He sighed before throwing them away.


    The adventurers that saw this gulped. Did he just throw away a rare-grade item?


    "All of these are trash. Let me just burn them."


    "Wait, wait, wait! My Lord, if you don''t like them please give them to us."


    Aldred looked at them. "Sure, whatever."


    The adventurers quickly sprinted and threw themselves at the item.


    A lot of them stood still because they already had a bunch of rare items, but most of them knew that fighting for a few rare items was not worth it.


    Aldred sat down and was about to rx when he heard a monstrous roar from above.

 371 Chapter 371

    ¡°WHO DARES!?¡±


    Aldred looked up and saw a silhouette of a humanoid giant with four arms. The giantnded on the ground, four fists smashing the earth, creating an explosive wave in every direction.


    The giant slowly stood up and revealed his powerful muscles. On each of the arms, the ogre wielded a golden club, an ax, a sword, and a whip.


    The ogre looked like an embodiment of an ancient god.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Vicious Ogre, Gubra?¡±


    Aldred frowned as he analyzed the ogre.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Gubra, The Vicious Ogre]


    Level: 89


    Title: The Vicious Ogre, Human Eater, Infant Hunter, Alpha Ogre


    Power: Four Arms Smash, Weapon Mastery, Mountain Shaking Blow, Four Multi-Directional Attack


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°A monster with titles. I have never seen something like that before,¡± Aldred said. ¡°This will be interesting.¡±


    ¡°WHO DARES TO KILL MY UNDERLING?¡±


    HP: 250,000


    Stamina: 150,000


    Aldred was slightly startled after looking at the ogre¡¯s health points and stamina. That was beyond what level 89 could have. That was when Aldred realized that this boss was beyond anything he had seen before.


    Inparison, Aldred¡¯s health was merely three thousand.


    This had to be a special monster. A boss-type monster, perhaps. Most monsters he fought only had the name of their species or races, but this one had a name. Aldred had learned any monster with a specific name would be far more powerful and intelligent than other monsters.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the piece of tiny, weeny, skinny crap that killed my servants?!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, back up,¡± Aldred said. ¡°This is not something we can handle easily. In fact, we might not be able to handle it.¡±


    ¡°No, Aldred. We are here to help you, not be your burden,¡± Mary said. ¡°You have given us all kinds of treasures and honed our techniques to perfection. Believe me, Aldred. We are more than capable to help you.¡±


    Ste and the others nodded.


    ¡°Alright, but do it safely. Don¡¯t get hit by it. We will y the long game.¡±


    Sophia raised her staff. ¡°Potent Strength! Speedy Agility! Improve Senses! Greater Defense! Heightened Reflexes!¡±


    Aldred and the others glowed with all kinds of colors as Sophia continued to cast all kinds of buff on them.


    ¡°Army Coordination!¡± Sophia shouted herst buff.


    Everyone shone with a golden color that seemed to connect everyone by an invisible link in their mind. For some reason, they could tell each other¡¯s intentions.


    Suddenly, the four-armed ogre charged toward Aldred and jumped at him.


    The monster activated [Mountain Shaking Blow], making all of his weapons reveal a powerful aura.


    Aldred retreated, and so did his wives and the soldiers. They followed his intention without the need ofmunicating it.


    The ogre mmed the ground, and that was when six soldiers dashed from the side, shing his arms, and then quickly retreated.


    Aldred was kind of surprised that they read his mind. It was like telepathy but deeper and faster. They could feel his emotions, reasons, and intention at the speed of light. It was as if they had the same mind.


    Not only that, they could even feel their techniques improved a hundred times better because they were connected with Aldred¡¯s mind and they realized their shorings at that moment.


    Aldred was shocked by this development. He did not expect Sophia to be this powerful since thest time.


    Sophia looked at him with a smile. ¡°You can trust us to watch your back. There is no need to fight alone.¡±


    ¡°That is right!¡± Ivette charged forward like a beam of white, bright light, and stabbed her sword at the ogre¡¯s leg.


    The ogre groaned in pain, but it didn¡¯t stop his club from swinging at her.


    Mary and Mareona dashed forward and blocked the attack. Zafrina raised her hand, stopping the blood in the ogre¡¯s arms, reducing the ogre¡¯s power in the process.


    Mally fired a grappling hook at Gubra¡¯s chest and pulled herself forward. In mid-air, she fired her gunde, sending a powerful steel ball right at Gubra¡¯s face.


    Gubra staggered and retreated a few steps as his forehead was slightly dented by the steel ball.


    When he opened his eyes, the ogre became even more enraged. His whole body shone red. ¡°Four Multi-Directional Attacks!¡±


    As the soldiers swarmed the ogre from every direction, Gubra¡¯s four arms moved independently, blocking and parrying every attack that came at him.


    The other adventurers that watched this battle were in deep awe.


    Baendjbi and his swordsmen had their jaws dropped when they saw the soldiers had powerful sword art.


    ¡°Such mastery in the sword arts¡­ the perfection in their techniques¡­¡±


    ¡°It was like staring at a work of art.¡±


    ¡°A masterpiece! Each and one of them could be content against our best Gold Rank Swordmaster. And I think some of them are very close to tinum Rank sword mastery.¡±


    Gubra was like a spinning wheel. Turning back and forth as the soldiers attacked from all directions.


    The soldiers leaped back and raised their swords. The swords glowed in red as they shed. ¡°Execution Strike!¡±


    A powerful red arc came at the ogre from more than 73 directions.


    Baendjbi gasped in shock. ¡°Execution Strike¡­ isn¡¯t that a legendary skill that had been lost long ago?¡±


    ¡°The master has said something about it. He said that it¡¯s a simple attack technique, but its simplicity did not undermine its power.¡±


    ¡°Where did they find it? And how did they learn that legendary skill? Even a tinum Rank would take decades to use such a skill.¡±


    Rachel sped her hands and spread them wide. An stic beam of light connected from her left palm to her right palm. She then spun and then threw the beam of light at the ogre.


    The beam of light moved like a rope in mid-air and then wrapped itself around the ogre¡¯s head, covering its eyes.


    ¡°Gahh! Get it off!¡± The ogre grabbed the beam of light, but his fingers went through it.


    ¡°This is our chance, attack!¡±


    Mary, Mira, Mareona, Sophia, Ivette, Ste, Rachel, Zafrina, Kiara, Mally, Bartrem, Joseph, Jeffery, and Maverick all charged forward and attacked the ogre.


    ¨C12,141


    ¨C13,125


    ¨C25,152


    ¨C22,151


    ¨C12,512


    ¨C29,412


    ¨C14,242


    ¨C30,222


    Thousands of damages were sent to the ogres per second.


    Within a few rounds, They reduced Gubra¡¯s health by 60%.


    Gubra fell to one knee. Three of his arms had been terribly wounded, and they were barely able to wield the weapons.


    The ogre breathed heavily as he weakly stared at Aldred and his wives and friends. ¡°Mere humans could defeat me? This is far from possible.¡±


    ¡°You are one of the most powerful monsters I have ever fought. Take honor in that.¡±


    ¡°There is no honor in being defeated by humans!¡± Gubra swung his whip with hisst bit of strength.


    Dodging to the right, the tongue of the whip passed right by his face. The whip then smacked to the left, and Aldred ducked. All of Gubra¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t even able to touch a strand of his hair.


    As Aldred had spent more than a year of his life fighting powerful monsters, he had always been calm and collected in front of the enemy.


    As the whip went for his face again, Aldred grabbed the whip. Smokes came out of his hand because of the friction.


    Gubra saw this with widened eyes and mouth wide agape.


    Aldred pulled the whip, bringing the giant ogre flying in the air before hended by the jaw.


    Gubra opened his eyes as he looked at Aldred stepping on his head.


    In all of his life as an ogre, this was the scariest moment he had ever experienced.

 Chapter 372 Giant Killer

    Chapter 372 Giant Killer


    There was a tale of a giant. Hunkering the earth with four arms. Every year or so, he woulde with his army, massacring small towns and viges. Eating the men, raping the women, and killing the children.


    That was the small tale of The Vicious Ogre that terrified the people in the region.


    But now that giant was under a man''s feet.


    "No! I am The Vicious Ogre! Men trembled when hearing my name!"


    "I fear nothing under the sky," Aldred dered, raising his Phantom Doomde under the weakened giant.


    "Your time in this world hase to an end. Like I said before, you better consider it an honor to die in my hands."


    Aldred closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Circting his mana all over his body, he abruptly opened his eyes as it shone with powerful golden light that ran all the way to his arms.


    He swung down. "Sky Splitting Strike!"


    "NO!!!"


    The thick, golden beam of light engulfed Gubra whole. Wrapping around his body like a snake, and then he vanished into dust, blown by the wind.


    Four epic items fell onto the ground. Aldred didn''t really like them, but because of their strength and rarity, he decided to absorb them into his sword.


    Because his sword could devour other weapons and could even transform into their shapes without reducing any damage or removing any effect at all, his weapon could be said to be the most versatile weapon in the world. It could even turn into aplete set of armor and shield or turned into numerous des.


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have received a new title ''Giant Killer'']


    [Giant Killer]


    Type: Title


    Effect: Increased speed, strength, and damage by 250% when fighting againstrger enemies. Therger the enemies, the greater the effect.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 4,000/4,000


    Level: 87


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 2 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 434


    -Vitality: 485


    -Intelligence: 782


    -Dexterity: 423


    Stat points: 22


    Skill points: 22


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred put all the skill points to [Red Rain (Pseudo-Legendary)], increasing its level from level 1 to level 2.


    And then he put all of his stat points to intelligence.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 4,000/4,000


    Level: 87


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth ManiptionF


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 2 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 434


    -Vitality: 485


    -Intelligence: 804


    -Dexterity: 423


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 0


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred felt his mind had be clearer, and he could now perceive magic and sword techniques from way higher dimensions. And not just sword techniques, but any weapons that existed.


    Aldred turned around and saw his wives and the soldiers were also leveling up as their bodies glowed with a bright light.


    After the light was gone, the soldiers moved around to feel their new strength.


    Aldred nodded. "With this, I am confident that we can defeat low-level tinum Rank monsters."


    His wives smiled and nodded. The soldiers looked at each other and smiled as well. They were very proud of what they aplished.


    Aldred picked Gubra''s head which was the only thing that survived the attack. It was a big head, at least four times the size of his own head.


    The head wore an expression of indignation and unwillingness. As if it couldn''t take that a group of humans defeated it.


    Well, technically, Aldred wasn''t a human. And his group did notpletely consist of humans anyway. Ste was a star''s child, who wasn''t even close to being a human. Zafrina was a vampire, Kiara was a leonin race, and Rachel was a winged person.


    She literally got a pair of wings on her back, and the ogre still said that he was defeated by humans.


    Maybe because all of them looked like humans.


    Aldred shook his head and did not think about it.


    He looked around and saw gold coins everywhere. Apparently, the giants had amassed quite an amount of wealth. But they were nothing in Aldred''s eyes. Gold Coins were worthless now. Only mana crystals and valuable treasures would be worthy for him.


    One thing caught his eyes. It was a skill book.


    [Skill Book: Towering Charge]


    Vicious charge toward the target with increased speed and weight. When hit, the enemy might be stunned for a few seconds.


    Aldred did not need it though, but it might be useful to learn for his soldiers. He decided to keep it for now.


    Looking to the side, Aldred saw the adventurers were waiting to make a move toward the treasures. They knew that Aldred did not even consider these trash as valuables, but another man''s trash was another man''s wealth.


    "I will be taking it all," Aldred said before taking all the items inside his divine dimension.


    The adventurers groaned in disappointment.


    The viking threw rocks at Aldred and thenughed.


    Aldred frowned. "You guys have been bothering me. Do you want to fight?"


    The viking did not answer and simplyughed again.


    "I am not known as a patient man. The more you fuck around, the sooner you''ll find out."


    Aldred turned around and continued his walk.


    Baendjbi looked at the vikings for a few seconds before he followed Aldred. He was staring at the Phantom Doomde that was hanging on Aldred''s back.


    "I still cannot keep my eyes away from it," he said to himself with a feeling of desire. "Where can I find a sword like that?"


    As Aldred climbed the mountains, he chatted with his wives and the others about the fight earlier.


    "You guys are awesome," Aldred said.


    "It''s all because of you, Aldred," his wives said before they hugged and kissed him.


    "I am very satisfied with our teamwork," Aldred said after kissing and hugging his wives.


    The soldiers cheered and high-fived each other.


    "Well, after what happened, I think we can defeat something stronger," Bartrem added.


    Joseph raised his fist. "I agree with that. With our power now, only a Diamond Rank can defeat us."


    Aldredughed. "Let''s not get too far with ourselves. A Diamond Rank can wipe us out with a mere nce. But, we are here to be stronger, so there will surely be a day when we can kill Diamond Ranks."


    "Yeah!"


    "Now, let us climb this mountain and see where it will take us."


    All the adventurers including Aldred climbed the mountain peacefully. Well, except for fighting with monsters, avoidingndslides, and fighting against harsh wind, it was quite peaceful.


    Above them, however, the Ranehawkes were piling up boulder after boulder on a giant nest. One of them cried as it took a peek down, making sure their targets were in ce.

 373 Chapter 373

    373 Chapter 373 Raining Boulders


    While the Ranehawkes were preparing for their trap, the viking men approached the swordsmen and bumped into them.


    ¡°Hey, watch where you¡¯re going!¡± Baendjbi replied.


    ¡°Or what? What can you do with your measly swords?¡± The viking spoke.


    Baendjbi gritted his teeth in anger before he realized he was surrounded by the vikings.


    There were around twenty of them who appeared before him.


    An ax flew at him at high speed. It spun in the air as it went directly toward his face.


    Baendjbi blocked the attack with his sword, but he was forced to retreat by five steps. His arms trembled, and if the others weren¡¯t here, he would spat out blood right now. But no, he must not be seen as a weakling in front of his enemies or his friends, so he swallowed his blood.


    The vikingughed. ¡°Swords are for weak men. Real men use axes!¡±


    Baendjbi stood up and patted his clothes. ¡°It is clear to me that you brutes don¡¯t know what manners means. Perhaps your mothers have never spanked you before.¡±


    ¡°You dare?¡±


    ¡°If that is the case,¡± Baendjbi continued, ¡°Let me do the spanking.¡±


    He charged forward and swung his sword at one of the vikings. The viking blocked with his shield, and then kicked him, sending him to the ground.


    Everyone was silent after that.


    ¡®Bro, you acted so cool earlier, but you got your own ass beaten¡­¡¯ was what everyone got in mind at that moment.


    ¡°Leader!¡± The swordsmen rushed to help him.


    Baendjbi held out his hand, telling them to stop.


    ¡°Leader, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I am fine.¡± Baendjbi stood up.


    ¡°What is this? Are you not going to cry and grovel before that guy and begged for his help?¡± the viking pointed at Aldred.


    Aldred was quite annoyed at being brought up. But if Baendjbi needed help, he would give it to him. Though Aldred did not know the man for long, he had a favorable impression of the guy.


    ¡°Let me show you my true power!¡± Baendjbi shouted. He grabbed the spatial bag from his pouch and threw it to the sky.


    Everyone waited with bated breath. Baendjbi looked like a powerful swordsman, so they really wanted to see his true power.


    The spatial bag fell and all kinds of treasure fell. Baendjbi wore them. All kinds of rare-grade armor wrapped his body.


    Some of them were powerful powder, potions, side weapons, and two swords.


    ¡°This is my true power! Are you ready to die?!¡±


    Everyone was speechless once again.


    ¡°So your true power is¡­ wealth?¡±


    Aldred watched in disappointment. Baendjbi¡¯s equipment was of the highest grade, and almost matched Aldred¡¯s armor, but he could not believe that Baendjbi said this was his true power.


    The vikings shook their heads.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. Kill the man and take his treasure.¡±


    The viking sneered and then charged with ferocity. Two axes were raised, and then they swung down with a powerful force.


    Baendjbi¡¯s eyes shed with a cold glint and then he shed forward.


    There was silence for a short moment as a soft wind spun around them. And then a loud shing sound reverberated, ringing their ears, as a powerful wind burst out like a shock wave.


    The viking that charged toward Baendjbi earlier trembled with widened eyes before he fell to both knees, and then fell to his death.


    No one could see what just happened. It began in less than a second and ended so quickly, that they couldn¡¯t even fathom the event. When did that man move his sword? How did viking die without an apparent wound on his body?


    The sight stunned everyone there.


    ¡°You bastard! How dare you kill one of us?!¡±


    Six vikings charged at him with the intention to take revenge.


    ¡°Baendjbi,¡± Aldred called. ¡°If you need help, just tell me.¡±


    Hearing that, the six vikings sped up their attacks and increased the intensity of their strikes. They knew how strong Aldred was, and even though they were here to piss him off, they wanted to kill Baendjbi first before dealing with Aldred.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I got this.¡± Baendjbi blocked the attack from six different vikings and the bones in his arms almost broke.


    ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t get this. Help me!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! And you call yourself a leader. If this is the leader of a swordsman, then I expect the rest must be trash.¡±


    Baendjbi frowned. ¡°You know what. I don¡¯t need help. I can handle the six of you by myself!¡±


    ¡°Leader, don¡¯t forget about us. You can call us for help as well. There are six vikings fighting so, they are the losers, not you.¡±


    The other vikings grinned and then attacked the other swordsmen after hearing that.


    After seeing that, the adventurers realized that this was infighting between adventurers. Because a lot of them had passed the first and second phases, they knew that adventurers fought each other all the time for all kinds of reasons. Whether it was because of treasures, pride, envy, or rage, the battle always turned bloody.


    And sure enough, as they shed and hacked at each other, blood spilled.


    They fought for hours, and the others kept on watching in silence except with the asional cheers as the person they supported killed someone, and they groaned in disappointment when their favorites died.


    They already treated this as if it was a game.


    After fighting for a few more rounds, both sides backed off with major wounds.


    Baendjbi breathed heavily as his chest went up and down. His armor took the brunt of the damage and it still held up because of its high quality. But his stamina was depleting ever more slowly. If this kept going, he might die because he ran out of stamina.


    Raising his expensive sword that would make any normal adventurer cry in blood, he red at the vikings. ¡°Come at me!¡±


    The vikings roared and charged forward only for them to be crushed by a boulder. Blood sttered.


    They all looked up and their faces darkened.


    ¡°It¡¯s raining boulders!¡±

 374 Chapter 374

    374 Chapter 374 Teleported


    What came from above was hundreds of gigantic boulders, rolling at them with powerful momentum. When the boulders smashed onto the ground they stood upon, they crushed dozens of men, and destroyed a chunk of earth, pulling it down to the foot of the mountain.


    Aldred transformed his Phantom Doomde into a hammer before he swung the boulder. The force created a crack in the boulder and then it exploded. The power made Aldred back off by a few steps, however.


    ¡°They are no ordinary boulders. They are imbued with magic!¡± Aldred shouted.


    Ste and Sophia stepped forward, casting a magical barrier. Three boulders mmed onto the barrier, creating cracks.


    Rachel pointed with her fingers and sted the boulder with a beam of light.


    Mareona punched the boulders with her fist.


    ¡°We have to get out of here. These boulders are going to keeping!¡± Kiara said as she cut a boulder in half with her ws.


    ¡°I will make a tunnel for us. Xer Xai!¡± Aldred summoned his undead. Xer Xai immediately tunneled out from the mountain, roaring as she crushed a boulder with her jaw.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get in!¡± Aldred entered the tunnel with the others.


    Some of the other adventurers saw this and they entered with him.


    One boulder fell and closed the tunnel.


    ¡°Wait! Open the tunnel for me! Let me in!¡±


    ¡°Let me in, please!¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of meat and bones being crushed was heard, and the screaming of pleas ended.


    Aldred looked at his wives as they breathed heavily. ¡°We should be safe here for now.¡±


    Baendjbi approached Aldred and sped his hand while bowing his head slightly. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±


    ¡°Why are you calling me a senior now?¡±


    ¡°You are more powerful than me, and I respect you. Therefore, I must call you senior.¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°Okay, you can call me whatever.¡± He looked at the boulder that blocked the tunnel. ¡°What¡¯s our next move?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should wait,¡± Rachel suggested. Her expression conveyed worry and fear. She recalled how the boulders almost destroyed the barrier and killed them all.


    If she died, then that was fine, but she couldn¡¯t let herself watch Aldred die in this ce.


    Even after seeing Aldred¡¯s powerful abilities, she still worried for his life.


    Zafrina summoned globs of blood that shone with bright red light. She frowned and knelt down as the light shone upon a bone. Turning her head to the side, she realized it was a hidden cave. ¡°Aldred, I think you need to see this.¡±


    Aldred approached her and activated his godly eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a tunnel in the mountain.¡±


    ¡°That means there¡¯s a different way to get to the top,¡± Ste said. ¡°Well, there are always different ways to finish a challenge.¡±


    ¡°Well, every road leads to Rome.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Rome?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not important.¡± Aldred walked forward. ¡°Should we go from here or from outside?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get crushed by boulders. So, this tunnel seems like a better choice,¡± Zafrina said.


    ¡°Okay we will do that, then,¡± Aldred said. ¡°But first we should check for any traps. Sometimes the dungeon can block my godly eyes.¡±


    A group of adventurers dashed forward, wanting to get ahead of everyone else. ¡°See youter, sucker!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Sophia shouted. ¡°How dare they do that! This tunnel was found by Aldred.¡±


    ¡°Let them be.¡± Aldred smiled.


    As the adventurers ran, they stepped on an unassuming rock and activated something with a click. The ground below them suddenly fell like a trapdoor, making the adventurers scream as they also fell into the abyss.


    One man managed to hang onto a protruding rock. He looked up and screamed: ¡°Hel¡ª¡±


    The trapdoor closed, cutting off any noiseing from below.


    The other adventurers gulped in fear and looked up and down, left and right to watch out for any trap.


    ¡°Hey! Be careful with your steps!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move! Everybody, don¡¯t move!¡±


    They were causing amotion but did not dare to move a single step from where they were.


    ¡°You guys are such a pussy! How many traps can this dungeon hav¡ª¡± that man fell into a hole that closed immediately.


    ¡°Welp¡­ There¡¯s only one thing for me to do.¡± Aldred waved his hand and multiple portals opened around him.


    Dozens of golems stepped out like obedient soldiers.


    Aldred pointed forward. ¡°March forth!¡±


    The worker golems marched forward and dozens of them immediately fell onto a hole.


    Aldred and the others avoided that trap, and they continued their way in.


    Some traps were very tricky to deal with because they only activated when a certain weight was put on them or they needed to be stepped on a couple of times. So, even though Aldred had the golems clearing the traps, some adventurers fell to their death.


    After walking for a few hours and witnessing the death of a dozen adventurers, Aldred was provided two directions: One to the south, and the other to the west.


    Aldred decided to take the south tunnel, and he saw a simple wooden door up ahead.


    The worker golem punched the door, destroying it as they entered the room.


    After making sure it was safe, Aldred and the others entered as well.


    The room was quite wide, and ahead of them were three doors.


    Aldred heard noises from above, and a pair of red lit eyes set its gaze at him.


    Suddenly, numerous red eyes appeared on the ceiling, and they all hissed before throwing themselves down.


    ¡°A spider swarm!¡±


    [Spider Swarm]


    Level: 84


    Power: Vermin, Darkvision, Tremor Sense, Mind Eating Poison.


    Thousands of small spiders fell down and pounced on their faces.


    ¡°Get it off me! Get it off me!¡±


    The spiders injected their fangs right into their face. The venom melted the skin as the victim screamed.


    Aldred and his group fended the spider swarms using their weapons and spells.


    Aldred was like a god of fire as he moved around, burning everything in his path.


    [+5040 EXP]


    [+5040 EXP]


    [+5040 EXP]


    [+5040 EXP]


    As he punched through a spider¡¯s gut, he saw ck gooe out of the torso, falling to the floor, and then slowly crawled into the center of the room.


    It did not onlye from the spider he killed, the other spiders that died also produced this ck goo.


    Aldred was curious, but he did not want to find out. Raising his hand, his eyes glinted with fire. ¡°True Sun!¡±


    A tongue of me ignited on his palm before it zed into a gigantic fireball that burned every spider that foolishly jumped into it.


    Aldred stared at the glob of ck goo in the center of the room as it got bigger.


    ¡°Be burned!¡± Aldred threw the fireball forward.


    Suddenly, the ck goo moved up, transformed into a demonic face, and then two pairs of giant ws, seemingly made out of darkness spread out, covering the whole room, and devouring the light.


    [You have been teleported]


    The darkness disappeared and Aldred found himself in an unknown ce. Water droplets fell from the stctites on the ceilings.


    He was still inside the earth, and a clear blue pool was formed in front of him as the water dripped from above.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± Aldred looked around, but his wives and friends were not there.


    They had been separated.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Aldred turned around and looked forward.


    He had to find the others first.

 375 Chapter 375

    375 Chapter 375 Tiny Stranger


    Water dripped into the small undergroundke in front of Aldred. He looked around and sensed nothing nearby.


    Currently, he did not know to which part of the mountain he was teleported. Was he teleported to the bottom? To the top, or was he still in the middle? He couldn¡¯t tell.


    Aldred picked a random direction and set forth.


    ¡°Mary!¡± He shouted as he walked. ¡°Where are you guys?¡±


    ¡°Ste?!¡± he shouted again.


    His voice boomed and echoed, but there was no reply.


    ¡°Seems like the teleportation is random but precise enough to make everyone far away from each other.¡±


    As Aldred kept walking, he saw a forge and an anvil sitting on a small cave. An iron chain hung from the ceiling.


    Aldred approached to take a look and saw a skeleton leaning on the wall. The skeleton wore a dirty robe, and a hammerid beside it.


    Looking to the side, there was a carving of writings on the wall.


    Aldred read:


    ¡®There is no escape to this ce. I have counted my days here, but I have long lost track. I didn¡¯t even know if it was day or night here.¡¯


    Below the writing was another message:


    ¡®Don¡¯t trust anyone. That is my advice. Trust is an impossible thing to have. Kill anyone you see. Kill everything. Even your friends, and your lovers, because they are not who you think they are.¡¯


    A sound was heard which made Aldred abruptly turn around in the direction of the noise.


    There was nothing. The sound disappeared. Aldred was about to turn around to read the next message until a kobold screamed and charged.


    STAB!


    Aldred pulled his de and kicked the creature away.


    [+5,250 EXP]


    Aldred frowned as he looked in every direction. There was nothing. It was just this one kobold.


    In the distance, a familiar figure appeared.


    ¡°Mary!¡±


    The figure turned around and ran.


    ¡°Why the hell is she running? Mary, wait for me! Where are the others?¡± Aldred sprinted in her direction.


    In the small cave, carved on the wall with blood, a message read out: DO NOT FOLLOW THEM.


    ¡­


    When Aldred arrived where Mary stood earlier, there was nobody.


    ¡°Mary! Where are you?¡± Aldred frowned. ¡°Did I see it wrong?¡±


    Aldred entered a nearby tunnel where he believed Mary ran.


    There was a sound of sshing and giggling.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mareona cheerfully waved at him with a smile. ¡°Come here! Swim with us in this pool! It¡¯s made out of wine!¡±


    Aldred was wary at first, but after he saw all of his wives and friends swimming in the undergroundke, he let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°I thought it would take a while to find you guys.¡± Aldred approached them.


    Ste knelt by theke and scooped the water with a bamboo cup. She smiled and gave it to Aldred. ¡°Have a taste, my sweet handsome man.¡±


    Aldred kissed her and took the cup before drinking it. ¡°Ahh¡­ this water tastes like wine. I can¡¯t believe ites from thiske.¡±


    Theke was glowing blue from underneath because there were a lot of shining blue rocks at the bottom. It was a beautifulke, and this small cave they were in was decorated with all kinds of minerals and crystals that let out their own light.


    Kiara swam to him and softly held his hand. ¡°Come in, Aldred. Let us swim deeper. There¡¯s a lot of beautiful fish down here.¡±


    ¡°Kiara, didn¡¯t you say that you dislike water?¡±


    ¡°I do, but maybe it¡¯s fine to do it once in a while.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Phantom Doomde formed in his hand, and it stabbed through Kiara¡¯s chest.


    [Activating Demonic Bloodline]


    [Breaking the illusion]


    Space and time shattered, his wives and friends transformed into ck goo, and the beautifulke turned into a disgusting mouth of a creature.


    The Phantom Doomde was piercing through the head of the creature, making it scream and wriggled in pain.


    A sharp tentacle came out of the mouth and whipped at Aldred. Summoning his golden shield, Aldred easily blocked the attack.


    ¡°Vile demon! I shall banish you back into hell. When you meet my father, tell him you were being a bad boy!¡±


    The Phantom Doomde moved like lightning and cut off the tentacle. The tentacle fell on the ground, wiggling like a worm on a hot pan.


    Aldred swung once again, cutting half of the creature¡¯s head.


    ¡°I serve those who thirst! You cannot kill me, HUMAN!¡±


    ¡°I can kill whoever I want.¡±


    SLASH!


    The creature¡¯s head popped off and fell to the ground, rolling as it left ck goo behind.


    [+5,540 EXP]


    Aldred looked down and saw a bamboo cup that had ck goo inside. ¡°Ughh¡­ did this creature really just make me drink this disgusting thing?¡±


    After killing the creature, Aldred left the cave and looked around once again. He was lost. He did not know where to go, but he had to find his wives.


    STOMP!


    The ground shook. Aldred looked to the side and saw a naked giant with nothing but a tear-off cloth covering his genitals.


    Aldred raised his de as the giant approached, but he walked past, and then struck the wall with a giant pickaxe.


    With each strike, arge part of the wall was removed while many crystals spilled out.


    Aldred ignored the giant and walked away. That was until he saw all the crystals were at Epic rank. Not just one, two, three, or four, but dozens if not hundred of them.


    ¡°This is¡­ I have struck it rich! But I haven¡¯t found the others yet.¡± Aldred sighed as he put all the crystals on the ground inside his divine dimension.


    The giant stopped mining and slowly turned to him. It wore a calm expression, but slowly turned into a frown, and then into a rage.


    The giant roared, blowing out a powerful wind that ferociously blew his hair, and pushed him by ten inches.


    ¡°My bad. Why don¡¯t I trade the crystals for something else.¡±


    Aldred summoned a Sea Fruit and then threw it at the giant¡¯s mouth.


    The giant¡¯s angry expression slowly turned into calm and then turned into happiness. He mmed the wall again, spilling dozens of crystals likest time, and then signaled for Aldred to pick them up.


    Aldredughed and then put all the crystals in his divine dimension. ¡°Okay, I have to go now. I have to find my wives. After that, I will look for you here.¡±


    The giant let out a groan of sadness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will give you a bag of this fruit.¡± Aldred summoned the bag and threw it at the giant.


    ¡°See youter!¡± Aldred waved him goodbye before he sprinted away.


    The giant watched Aldred leave and then looked at the tiny, weeny, little bag in his hand. Carefully opening it, the giant smiled when he saw numerous sea fruits inside.


    ¡°Thank you, tiny stranger,¡± the giant slowly and hoarsely said.


    Aldred heard that from miles away and smiled. ¡°So you can actually talk.¡±


    As he ran for an hour or two, a giant statue of a gargoyle stood atop a pedestal.


    The eye cracked open, shining in golden light. ¡°Solve this riddle, and your question shall be answered.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    A/N:


    ¡°Solve this riddle, and your question shall be answered: What walks on two during the day, but wiggles on four during the night?¡±


    Answer below.


    Answer: Your mom in my bed.

 376 Chapter 376

    <h2 style="font-size: 22.4px;">?376 Chapter 376 Being Separated</h2>


    "Riddles?" Aldred frowned. "It''s like Mount Fargon all over again."


    "Are you ready, treasure hunter?" the gargoyle asked, its voice boomed and echoed.


    "Tell me. What is the riddle?"


    The gargoyle tilted its statue head down.


    "What begins, but has no end, yet ends all that begin?"


    ¡­


    A 20 meter long titanoboa flicked its tongue as it looked around in the cave. It sensed ake nearby and slithered its way towards the water.


    The snake looked at the body of water, making sure there was no threat. After it was sure, it dip its mouth in.


    "HAAA!"


    The snake turned its head to face the threat, but it was toote. The de already chopped its head off.


    The head crashed to the ground and rolled onto a woman''s feet.


    Mary let out a breath. "Where is everybody?"


    Mareona approached the snake and cut a chunk of it. "This snake shouldst us for a few weeks."


    "Food should not be a concern. This ce is packed with monsters."


    "I am not eating goblins or ghouls for breakfast, thank you very much."


    "We have a much more pressing matters at hand."


    "Aldred will find a way to find us. He always does," Mareona said as she struck an iron rod on her sword, creating fire to roast the meat.


    "Do you want some?" She looked at her.


    Mary sighed. "Sure."


    ¡­


    Ivette shed through a monster''s body, and it exploded. ck goo sttered everywhere.


    "I cannot believe it was an illusion¡­ Aldred, everyone. Where are you guys?"


    She cleaned her clothes of the ck goo, and making sure she did not step on them.


    "Hoo. What do have here? What do a girl like you do in this cave?"


    Ivette looked around for the source of that voice, but found nothing. And then she looked up, and saw a giant centipede with a human face.


    "Hello, my dear." The centipede smiled.


    ¡­


    Krista held tight on Mira''s shoulders as she pointed her staff at the ghouls.


    "Holy Light!"


    Golden light beam sted towards the ghouls, making them screamed in pain as their whole body turned to dust.


    "Krista, where do we go from here?"


    "Over there." She pointed.


    Mira nodded and sprinted towards the direction Krista pointed.


    Ghouls ran at her like a bunch of hungry predators, eager to tear her apart.


    "Holy Aura!"


    Golden energy burst from her body, throwing all the ghouls away.


    "Wait for me, Aldred. I wille for you."


    ¡­


    "Hahaha! Die you foul creatures! Your tough scales is nothing against my weapons!" She fired her gunde at the humanoid reptilian.


    "I''ll kill you all! Hahahaa! I will eat your children, so be wary of me!"


    She dashed forward and shed, killing five reptilian at once before she fired, sting the heads of three monsters.


    More monsters came from the tunnels. She frowned and fired a grappling hook towards the ceiling before pulling herself up.


    "See youter sucker!" she shouted before throwing a few steel balls.


    The steel ballsnded on the ground, with a burning fuse. Apparently, they were bombs.


    BOOM!


    "Hahaha!" Sheughed as she swing away like a tarzan.


    ¡­


    In the deep cave where darkness was eternal, a small dot of light came to be. Then it ballooned, shining light upon this cave, revealing Rachel''s face.


    "Where am I? Aldred? Mary? Hello! Is there someone here?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Despite the light ball, the cave was still dark. The light ball that she created was supposed to lit the entire cave, but for some reason, the light was absorbed by mysterious power, and she could only see 2 meters in radius.


    She summoned another light orb, and sent it forward as a probe.


    It bounced against something, and then rows of sharp teeth appeared.


    ¡­


    The half-broken sun disc floated in front of her. Star particles poured out of her fingers, and the disc projected an image of star constetion.


    "Did you see anything?" Sophia approached.


    "No. Not yet. This cave is interfering with my power."


    Zafrina crossed her arms with scorn. "Aren''t you a Diamond Rank? Why can''t you find Aldred with your power?"


    Ste frowned. "Sorry to say this, but this challenge is managed by the world power. Even an Adamantite Rank would be a mere insect if it wished to."


    "Cih, so being a Diamond Rank isn''t so great after all."


    "I have lived for thousands of years, so I know you are not in the right mind right now. I suggest you to shut up if you don''t have any solution to our problem."


    "You shut up."


    "No you."


    "Guys." Kiara stepped in between them. "We need to look for the others. Chirping at each other like birds won''t solve anything."


    "It''s her fault." Zafrina pointed at Ste. "She could have prevented that dark demon from teleporting us away, but she did not."


    "How dare you put the me on me!"


    Kiara sighed as she looked at Sophia helplessly.


    Sophia sighed and shrugged.


    ¡­


    Bartrem stepped on a corpse of a giant eel. His men shed and stabbed the other eels as he looked around with narrowed eyes.


    "Keep going forward."


    "Yes, sir!"


    The giant eels kept popping out of the muddy terrain. They opened their circr mouth, revealing their vicious teeth that they used to grip on the flesh of their target. In the center was a triangr mouth with a digging teeth, used to prate the skin and literally bore through the flesh before sucking their blood.


    "Disgusting creature they are," Bartrem said before cutting a giant eel in half.


    "Sir, we found a tunnel nearby."


    "Let''s go there."


    ¡­


    Maverick breathed heavily as he ran inside a narrow crevice. He looked behind and saw monsters chasing him.


    He punched the wall, cracking it, and causing the rocks to fall. The rocks crashed onto the monsters and blocked the crevice.


    The monsters screamed echoed.


    Maverick smiled before he looked at the front and stopped. "You gotta be kidding me."


    A snake with six legs slowly crawled towards him. "I won''t hurt you, darling. Stay here, and I will make love with you."


    "Shut up, you ugly demon! Get out of my way or I will kill you."


    The snake licked her lips and then she transformed into half-naked beautiful woman with glittering scales on her knees and shoulders. The rest of her skin however were smooth and pristine.


    "Pleasee with me, dear. I wouldn''t bite you. I promise."


    "Crazy demon. I am going to kill you!" Maverick pulled his de and shed at her shoulder.


    "Ahh." The woman screamed in pain. She looked at him in disbelief and teary eyes. "Please don''t do this. I won''t hurt you."


    "Just die!" He drove his sword towards her chest, but suddenly, she transformed into a small snake, slithered around his de, onto his arms, and then wrapped his body tight.


    Maverick could not move as he gritted his teeth. "Let go of me."


    "Now, my dear. Let me show you the nest." The snake flicked her tongue as her tail caressed his cheek.


    "NO!" Maverick screamed as the snake dragged him away.


    ¡­


    Aldred halted as he heard someone shouting. "Who''s there!"


    There was no reply.


    "This dungeon is a lot trickier than I thought."


    He looked at the gargoyle. "Wait here. I am going to find some clues to solve your riddle."


    Aldred recalled that he could find clues to solve any riddle or puzzle in Mount Fargon. He figured it would be the same here

 377 Chapter 377

    Aldred ran around the cave but failed to find the source of that voice. He then saw a cramped and narrow crevice.


    Entering, he noticed someone or something had destroyed the wall and blocked the way to the other side. There also seemed to be a sign of battle here recently.


    Aldred knelt down and felt the dirt and rocks. A blood stain caught his attention. Using his finger, he dabbed it and smelled it.


    ¡°Snake¡­ but why does it smell like a human as well?¡±


    Aldred stood up and kicked the rubble away. After that, he made his way deeper into the crevice.


    At the end of the crevice was another vast cave,plete with stctites, undergroundkes, shining crystals, minerals, and whatnot.


    Aldred sighed. He felt like he was going in a circle. He was annoyed, and also enraged. The emotion that bottled-up inside urged him to rampage and burned the whole cave to the ground.


    ¡°No. Control yourself, Aldred.¡±


    His demonic bloodline protected him from emotion maniption, but he was more prone to be controlled by the emotion that came from his own heart. This meant that his impulses might get ahead of him.


    But burning the whole cave did not seem like a terrible idea to get attention.


    ¡°Should I do it?¡±


    Aldred sighed. ¡°You only live once.¡±


    Summoning all the Bajaragon, Aldred ordered them to burn everything they saw whether they moved or not.


    Fifty five giant dragons went on a rampage, belching their breath of mes in all directions. The whole cave was aze.


    [+4,241 EXP]


    [+5,156 EXP]


    [+5,990 EXP]


    [+5,691 EXP]


    [+4,325 EXP]


    [+5,521 EXP]


    All the creatures that dwell in this cave were burned to a crisp. They were calmly sleeping and were busy doing whatever underground cave creatures do, but then all of a sudden, the whole cave was engulfed in me.


    Aldred and his Bajaragons kept going forward. The creatures that managed to survive were shocked to see this.


    A human and his pet dragons were burning the cave¡­ what a sight to behold.


    Some of them trembled in fear as their habitat was destroyed.


    A group of monsters was enraged. How dare they destroy the cave. This was their home! With anger in their heart, they threw logic out of their minds and charged toward the dragons.


    When the me touched their body, however, they were turned to dust. Instantly.


    The creatures scurried away immediately after seeing that. As they escaped, they spread the word to the whole cave that a madman brought hell into the cave.


    The whole underground ecosystem hid, terrified of the rumor.


    me Demon was what the creatures called him, and Aldred did not even know that as he went inside cave after cave, throwing mes all over as if he was doing pest control.


    A group of goblins ran away as they put out the mes on their shoulders. They looked back to see the wave of mesing after them, and their feet ran faster.


    That was until they were stopped by a snake. The snake red at them, making them unable to move.


    ¡°Why are you running?¡±


    ¡°Please, we don¡¯t mean toe to your territory. It¡¯s because of that person.¡±


    ¡°What person?¡±


    ¡°The human that calls himself the me demon. He¡¯sing to our homes with his dragons and burning us all!¡±


    The snake transformed into a beautiful woman. ¡°I will handle it.¡±


    The goblins salivated when they saw her body. Their crotch went hard.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare set your disgusting gaze upon me!¡± her left arm moved in a blur, beheading the goblins in less than a second.


    As the heads rolled to the ground, she entered her small cave which a man was inside, sitting on a nest while being tied with seaweed.


    It was Maverick.


    ¡°Wait here, my love. I am going to handle something. I wouldn¡¯t be long.¡± she smiled, knelt down, and kissed him on the lips.


    ¡°This human me demon. He¡¯s going to kill you,¡± Maverick smiled.


    The woman lost her smile for a moment before it returned to her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my love. Nothing will hurt me.¡±


    ¡°When you lose. Please tell him this.¡±


    Maverick beckoned her toe closer before he whispered something into her ear.


    The woman was shocked but nodded nheless, ¡°I don¡¯t know you have a sibling.¡±


    ¡°Just tell him that when you lose.¡±


    The woman chuckled. ¡°I will tell him that, after I win.¡±


    Maverick scoffed. ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    The snake woman walked out of the cave and her sweet smile left her face. It was reced with wrath and annoyance. ¡°Whoever dares toe to my territory shall learn a lesson!¡±


    She red at the person fifty meters away from her.


    ¡°A human? Wait, no. You¡¯re not a human,¡± Aldred said as he sat on top of one of his dragons.


    ¡°But you looked like a human, so I will let you leave. I know this is kind of racist, but I don¡¯t want to burn your beautiful face.¡±


    ¡°Arrogance. Your army of lizards is too weak. Leave now, and you can keep your head intact. If not¡­ you may find yourself leaving without your soul.¡±


    ¡°Calling my dragons as lizards¡­ and calling me arrogant. Fine. Fight one of my dragons.¡±


    A Bajaragon charged forward and then rolled a ball of me.


    The woman¡¯s face showed wrath as veins popped on her beautiful face. She transformed into a giant snake, and then chomped on the zing ball of me, stopping itpletely.


    The snake was farrger than the dragon inparis

 378 Chapter 378

    ¡°Death Lord?¡± The beautiful snake trembled.


    ¡°Have you heard of me?¡±


    ¡°I have. In The Tale as Old as Time. You are the one who killed an entire continent worth of creatures whether they are demons or insects. You killed them all and turned them into your undead army.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t where you heard that, but that doesn¡¯t sounds like me at all.¡±


    The snake frowned. ¡°Then how dare you use his name to refer to yourself. You are treading with death itself.¡±


    ¡°I will kill whoever that is. The Death Lord will be my title, and mine only.¡±


    Two Aldred appeared out of nowhere beside the snake, staring at her with cold blooded eyes, and a terrifying grin.


    They shed, blinding one of her eyes as she shot out her tongue in the shape of a trident. It prated to one of Aldred¡¯s clone, but the clone didn¡¯t even let out a groan in pain. He keep smiling before cutting off her tongue.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± The snake screamed in pain and agony.


    ¡°Die, and be one of my undead.¡±


    ¡°Never!¡±


    The snake turned around and ran away, but Aldred chased her along with his clones and undead.


    The Phantom ws dashed forward, they were designed for speed and stealth, so it didn¡¯t take long for them to surround the snake.


    ¡°Out of my way!¡± She chomped four Phantom ws at once before slithering away.


    Aldred leaped on top of her head and then stabbed down. The de created a hole through the head, and down the jaw.


    The snake¡¯s head fell to the ground weakly. She struggled to open her eyes as Aldred approached her.


    ¡°Anyst word?¡±


    The snake didn¡¯t reply for a few seconds until. ¡°Someone tell me to give you a message.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You have fucked my sister every night, nowe and save me.¡±


    Aldred frowned. ¡°Who would say tha¡­ Ahh. Where is he now?¡±


    The snake transformed into a beautiful half naked woman, weakly holding herself up with her hands.


    She then pointed at the small cave.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Will you let me live? I just want to see him for onest time?¡±


    ¡­


    Maverick waited in the small cave the half-snake woman called nest. Mana gems probed out of the wall, bing the sources of light for this cave.


    Looking around, he had to say that this cave was quite beautiful. It was perfect for children and husband and wife.


    Shaking his head, he put the thought out of the way.


    ¡°What am I thinking? That crazy snake woman must have put something in my mind.¡± He sighed.


    ¡°When is Aldred going to kill her? It¡¯s been 5 minutes. She should be dead 4 minutes and 50 seconds ago.¡±


    ¡°Maverick!¡± The snake woman ran inside the cave and gave him a hug. ¡°I missed you so much! Muah! Muah! Muah!¡±


    After the barrage of kiss, Maverick asked in shock. ¡°How can you still be alive?¡±


    ¡°How can you ask that? Of course I am alive and well. And now we can be together, forever.¡±


    Maverick frowned. ¡°Wait. What happened to Aldred?¡±


    ¡°Calling for me?¡±


    Aldred walked inside. ¡°Yo what sup.¡±


    ¡°What sup my ass. Why didn¡¯t you kill this snake woman yet?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Then why is she still here?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my undead now.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s your what¡­¡± Maverick looked at the snake woman.


    The snake woman smiled sweetly and innocently. ¡°Hehe. Now I can never die, and stay with you until the end of time.¡±


    ¡°Can you at least make her vanish?¡± Maverick pleaded.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the problem. She got a curse that doesn¡¯t let me remove her. So, she¡¯s going to stay with us.¡±


    ¡°Yayy!¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    ¡°Why are you so upset? At least now you got someone to hug you in bed,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°I like my single and virginity status, thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Lies! I dare you to look at her boobs and not get hard.¡±


    The snake woman pressed her chest to make it bigger and shove it into his face. Maverick froze before he looked to the side, blushing.


    ¡°Hahaha. What a loser,¡± Aldred said.


    The snake woman giggled. ¡°Come and take a look, Maverick. Don¡¯t be shy. I am yours to have.¡±


    ¡°Get away from me, demon!¡± He pushed her away.


    The snake woman fell on her hands as she looked at Maverick with teary eyes. Sniffing, she began to cry like a girl. ¡°How can you do this to me. Wuaaaaa!¡±


    ¡°Your sister will kill you if she saw you treat a girl like this,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°What the hell she know!¡± Maverick replied.


    He looked at the snake woman who was crying and hiding her face. Sighing, he approached her and tapped her head. ¡°Alright, I apologize. Stop crying now would you?¡±


    The woman pounced on him and hugged him tight. Smiling, she said: ¡°I love you so much.¡±


    Aldred smiled and nodded. ¡°I like the look of this. Now all I have to do is find a woman for Bartrem.¡±


    ¡°Shit! Are you intentionally doing this to me!?¡± Maverick shouted at him.¡±


    Aldred shrugged and left the cave.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! Don¡¯t leave me with her!!!¡±


    His scream was then muffled by sweet giggles of a woman.


    ¡­


    Aldred and Maverick walked side by side as they explored the cave. Giggling and smiling was the snake woman who did not want to leave Maverick¡¯s back. So she hanged there like a sloth hanging onto a tree.


    ¡°Will you get off now? You¡¯re as heavy as elephant.¡±


    The woman pouted and poked his cheek. ¡°How can you say that to ady. I never met your sister, but I will tell you on this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡±


    ¡°Stop quarrellings like married couples.¡±


    ¡°Who you call married?¡± Maverick red at Aldred.


    ¡°I have something to ask. Can you guys solve the riddle?¡±


    ¡°What riddle?¡±


    ¡­


    Aldred, Maverick, and the snake woman stood in front of the gargoyle statue.


    ¡°What was the riddle again?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°What begins, but has no end, yet ends all that begins?¡±


    Maverick thought about the riddle hard. ¡°I think I know the answer.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Drinking sea water. You can start drinking, but you won¡¯t be able to finish.¡±


    ¡°Wrong!¡± the gargoyle shouted and then raised its giant hand, before mming down.


    Maverick widened his eyes as he trembled in fear. Aldred grabbed him by the cor and threw him to the back.


    The giant hand mmed down, creating a deep print.


    After that, the gargoyle returned to its normal position.


    ¡°Okay, so it will try to kill us if we answer it wrong¡± Aldred said.


    Looking to the side, he saw the snake woman was closing her eyes as if she was deep in thought.


    ¡°Death. The answer is death.¡±


    Aldred entered a stance, ready to push her away in case the gargoyle attacked.


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    Aldred raised an eyebrow before he looked at her. ¡°Nice job.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet.¡± She looked at the gargoyle intently. ¡°Tell me. What is the second riddle?¡±


    ¡°Wait. The gargoyle only asked one riddle. Why did you ask for a second riddle?¡±


    ¡°Solving the first riddle will make the gargoyle answer what you ask, but answering the second riddle will make the gargoyle fulfill your wish.¡±


    Aldred did not know that. Thankfully, he turned her into his undead.


    The gargoyle leaned forward and looked at them as if they were mere ants.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t tell the rank of this gargoyle, but one thing for sure, it could kill him with one p.


    ¡°What can run out, but never ends?¡±

 379 Chapter 379

    ¡°What can run out, but never ends?¡±


    Aldred and the snake woman looked at each other.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a clue to answer that,¡± Aldred said, ¡°Maverick, what do you think?¡±


    Maverick thought for a moment before he shook his head. ¡°I have no clue either. And I don¡¯t want to try answering it unless I am ny percent sure.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can spend our time thinking about it, or we can look around for clues.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± Maverick agreed.


    ¡­


    Mally whistled as she looked around, ¡°For the armpit of my mother, where is everyone? All I see here is a goblin.¡±


    A goblin popped out of the rock and charged at her.


    Sighing, Mally threw a b, a weapon consisting of a number of balls connected by a strong cord. It entangled the goblin, making it fall.


    The goblin wiggled ferociously, trying to break the rope.


    ¡°Disgusting little fe,¡± Mally stomped on the goblin¡¯s head.


    ¡°Right, now where should I go? There are so many holes and tunnels in this cave.¡±


    Suddenly, the earth under her feet shook as the sound of something heavy thumping the ground echoed in the cave. Mally hid behind a rock with her arms ready.


    The sound became heavier and closer. She became tense, muscles ready to jump out and attack whatever it was that came close.


    After a few seconds of waiting, she decided to fuck it ande out of hiding.


    Her expression changed when she saw a giant hitting the wall with a pickaxe. Dozens of mana crystals spilled out.


    Stars filled her eyes. Because she became a pirate for a few years, she knew how much each of these crystals was worth and knew that Aldred would be very happy to obtain them.


    She was thinking of a way to steal some of the crystals until the giant stopped mining, sat down, and opened a tiny bag in its hand.


    Inside the bag was a Sea Fruit. The giant picked one and ate it before it shook the bag. ¡°

 380 Chapter 380

    Aldred, Maverick, and the snake woman looked around the cave.


    Aldred looked at her and asked: ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°I am called Nalythra, but you can call me Naly.¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°So do you have any idea on how to get any clue for the riddle, Naly?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure. Everything changes around here. I have never seen that gargoyle before, and I noticed a lot of powerful monsters started to appear.¡±


    ¡®That must be the world doing its things to make the challenge,¡¯ Aldred thought.


    ¡°Maybe we have to kill the monsters to find the clue.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, Aldred said.¡±


    ¡°So are we going to kill monsters?¡± Maverick asked.


    Naly hugged his arm. ¡°We are not going to do anything, dear. Aldred will take care of everything. Now that I be his undead, I know everything about him including his power. He is so powerful, but there are other secrets that will make you see the world in apletely different view.¡±


    ¡°What secrets?¡± Maverick asked.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Sorry, my love. I cannot tell you that.¡± She giggled.


    As Aldred and his twopanions explored the cave. They arrived at a narrow and thin bridge. Below the bridge was a crater, filled with bubblingva.


    ¡°Should we keep going this way? I don¡¯t think the bridge is safe to use,¡± Maverick said.


    ¡°We should keep going. There is no other way,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°Okay, whatever you say, man.¡±


    The three of them walked towards the bridge. Aldred saw the bridge connected far to the other side. When he looked down, he saw a deep abyss.


    A strange sound entered his ears. He turned around. ¡°Did you guys heard that?¡±


    ¡°Hear what?¡± Maverick.


    ¡°Did you really not heard that?¡± Naly looked at him, unsure. ¡°I heard it loud and clear.¡±


    Another sound echoed. Rustling like tiny feet. Lots of feet.


    Aldred frowned and pulled his de. The tip ignited with me. Then, the me spread down to the hilt.


    Looking around, Aldred slightly bent his knees. Entering a battle stance as he prepared himself for battle.


    Naly¡¯s eyes turned into that of a snake. She looked to the left. Shadows moved. She saw something but she wasn¡¯t sure what it was. And then another sound came from the right. She narrowed her eyes. ¡± there¡¯s something in there. Something big. And there seems to be a lot of them.¡±


    ¡± yeah, I know. Tell me what you see.¡±


    Aldred¡¯s godly eyes is currently being blocked by the world power. So, the power of his eyes is currently restricted.


    If it wasn¡¯t the case. He could have seen everything. Aldred then took something out of his inventory.


    It was a small device. Made out of copper. With the shape of an eye. He throw it. It floated in the air, then it began to shine.


    It entered his forehead. Suddenly his eyes glowed and everything he set his eyes upon, he could see everything as clear as day.


    Aldred smiled. ¡± now I can see. They are dangerous monsters.¡±


    ¡°What monsters?¡± Naly asked.


    ¡°Monsters with a thousand face. And not only that they have consumed more than a thousand soul.¡±


    Aldred took a step back. ¡°You two might want to step away from me.¡±


    Maverick and Naly obeyed as they both took a few steps back.


    Suddenly, a hideous centipede appeared. On its shells were the imprint of faces. They all wore the expression of fear and pain as if they were tortured and begging to be killed.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Soul Eater Centipede]


    Level: 88


    Power: Consume Soul, Petrification, Dark Vision, Enraged.


    History: The Soul Eater Centipede is a creature born from the literal nightmare of men. It stayed in the dark, and would hunt on anyone that dared to get close.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The centipede stepped on the bridge as more than half its body hanged onto the high ceiling.


    Aldred could tell that this beast was definitely huge not just in size, but in length as well.


    Pointing his sword at the creature, Aldred asked: ¡°Do you have any clues about a riddle?¡±


    ¡°Riddle?¡± The creature replied with a woman voice.


    Aldred honestly did not expect the monster to reply.


    ¡°Ah, you must be one of those treasure hunters.¡± This time the voice changed to the voice of a little girl. ¡°Your kinds have the sweetest souls. So full of ambition, desire, and dreams. I love it.¡±


    ¡°I take it that you don¡¯t want to tell me about any clue?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Only if you can defeat me, young soul.¡± The centipede moved at Aldred in high speed.


    With its length and size, the centipede looked like a literal train going at him with full momentum.


    The bridge was too narrow for him to dodge, and flying was out of the question.


    Aldred sheated his de and jumped off the bridge.


    ¡°Foolish, you are killing yourself,¡± the centipede replied.


    Aldred smiled before he reached out, and shot a sticky string at the centipede¡¯s body, swinging before hended on top of the centipede.


    ¡°I am fairly disgusted with centipedes. But you¡­ you are so much more disgusting.¡± Aldred pulled his Phantom Doomde and shed.


    ¡°Spirit sh!¡±


    Powerful red aura went in an arc, prating the tough scales of the monsters.


    ¡°Gahh! You will pay for that!¡±


    One of the face on the centipede¡¯s scales opened its mouth and fired a miasma of poison.


    [You have been affected with Dizziness]


    [You have been affected with Partial Blindness]


    [You have been affected with Slowness]


    [You have been affected with Hallucination]


    Aldred was disoriented from all the debuffs he suffered. His mind and body was in turmoil before his eyes transformed deep ck.


    [Baron Hell Demon Bloodline activated]


    That was when most of the debuffs disappeared in an instant.


    The centipede hissed. ¡°Who are you? You are supposed to be a mortal! But why¡­ why do I smell that blood in you?¡±


    ¡°I am the Demon King Hujarar¡¯s son!¡±


    Aldred tightly grabbed the de and drove it deep into the centipede. Powerful dark energy rushed out of his body, ran towards the de, and then entered the centipede.

 381 Chapter 381

    381 Chapter 381 Blood Lock


    The centipede roared in pain before all the faces on its showed an expression of rage. They all opened their mouth, and Aldred saw des made out of bones shooting out from the mouth directly at him.


    The de looked extraordinarily sharp with some small protruding bones on its tip which could create extra damage when the de first entered.


    Aldred slipped to the left, and parried a de that came at him before he rolled on the centipede''s back, and jumped as a bone de went for his leg.


    There was a face on that de, screaming as it stared at him.


    Aldred looked around and noticed that the centipede had actually moved its body on the wall. He thought there was a lot of monsters, but in reality, it was just one centipede, but the length and size was huge enough for it to make a circle around the entire width of the cave.


    This also caused a problem. Because the centipede''s body circled around the cave, that meant the ugly faces on its body could attack him in any directions.


    And that was exactly what the centipede did. Thousands of des made out of bones were flying at Aldred at an incredible speed.


    "Hey, you guys get out of here!" Aldred shouted to Maverick and Naly.


    The two of them knew they were useless in this situation, so they ran away immediately.


    "I will think of something to help you!" Maverick shouted.


    "Don''t do anything! The centipede might put a target on you if you do."


    Maverick gritted his teeth and nodded.


    Aldred rolled in the sky, shing and hacking as he deflected all the desing his way.


    When hended, he stomped on one of the faces, destroying it as disgusting green liquid spilled out.


    The eyes on the faces shone.


    "PETRIFICATION!"


    Aldred widened his eyes as his face began to turn into stone. His right hand moved and punched himself right in the nose, destroying the stones.


    He then spun and shed. "Execution Strike!"


    The powerful red arc went along the centipede''s scales, cutting all the weird faces it passed through.


    The centipede roared before it moved at the ceiling. Aldred rushed towards its head, but the constant barrage of attacks from every directions hindered him.


    "Fire Bullet!"


    "Wind maniption: Air ball!"


    22:50


    Aldred created a wind sphere in his hands, and then he rode on top if it as he rushed towards the "Fire Arrow!"


    "Fire Ball!"


    "Fire Javelin!"


    "me Fist!"


    Aldred used all his fire elements to burn, deflect, and destroy all the bone des and some of the weird faces.


    "Wind maniption: Air ball!"


    Aldred created a wind sphere in his hands, and then he rode on top if it as he rushed towards the centipede''s head.


    As more des came at him, he activated another spell: "Wind Barrier!"


    A powerful sphere of wind enveloped him and deflected all the bone des.


    The faces changed expression again, and they shot miasma at him.


    "Water maniption: Imprison!"


    Thick body of water came out from his hands like a whip and then entrap all the poison mist that came at him, locking them in a floating bubble of water.


    The scene of the battle was chaotic with the entire caved filled with poison mist and des raining up and down.


    But Aldred managed to defend himself from all of this attack and kept on approaching the centipede''s head.


    "This is where you''re going to die, damn centipede!"


    When Aldred got closer, he leaped off his air ball, and then raised his Phantom Doomde.


    The de then grew in size, more than 8 meters in length, and three meters wide.


    Aldred then swung it precisely at the head.


    SLASH!


    The de went through the head like cheese, but it stopped halfway.


    The centipede''s eyes turned eerie red. Then its whole scales and all the faces on its body shone red as well.


    This had to be the skill [Enraged].


    Hot steam came out of the centipede''s whole body. It was so hot, that Aldred could feel it on his skin. It was burning.


    Gritting his teeth, Aldred shot out water from his feet, and turned it into ice before forming a water and wind barrier around him.


    But that wasn''t even the real threat.


    Under his shocked gaze, the centipede bulged in size, revealing its huge well-defined muscles underneath the scales.


    The centipede rose, towering over Aldred like a monstrous giant.


    "Oh shit."


    Maverick and Naly peeked from a distance, trying to see what they can do to help.


    The centipede roared and pounced on Aldred.


    Boom!


    Smoke and dust flew everywhere.


    "Fuck! Aldred is fine, right?" Maverick gripped his weapon. He was prepared to rush there and save Aldred.


    "Well, I am still alive, so he should be fine," Naly replied. Because the system had exined everything to her, she understood that Aldred''s death would mean her death as well.


    When the smoke and dust disappeared, Maverick and Naly were shocked too see the scene.


    Aldred had turned into a giant as well, and he held the centipede by the neck.


    The centipede roared right in front of Aldred''s face, fangs almost touching his skin.


    "Disgusting creature!" Aldred punched it in the face, but the bridge copsed, making him fall.


    He tightened his grip on the centipede, hanging onto it like it was a rope.


    "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Maverick''s legs tickled as he watched this scene.


    As he hanged onto the centipede, the monster roared and bit his right arm.


    "Ahh, you fucking bastard!" Aldred heaved himself up, and bit the centipede as well.


    It disgusted him, but he had to do what he had to do. He sucked the blood of the centipede.


    Because he was a vampire, he had the ability to suck blood at an rming rate. This weakened the centipede significantly.


    [Blood Lock activated]


    [Blood Lock]


    Consumed the blood of the target will increased your damage to the target.


    [Increased damage by 20%]


    [Increased damage by 30%]


    [Increased damage by 40%]


    The longer Aldred sucked on its blood, the more damage he could dealtter on.


    And soon after, he decided to stop sucking the blood and attack.


    [Increased damage by 100%]


    "Haaa!" Aldred punched the centipede right in the face, shaking its head like crazy, and he was sure the centipede would get brain damage after this.


    The centipede loudly roared before it turned weak and limp. Aldredughed but then he realized something.


    "Oh no."


    The centipede lose its grip on the wall, and then fell to the abyss, bringing Aldred along with it.


    "Fuck, Aldred!" Maverick was about to jump until he saw a string attached to the wall.


    It was Aldred as he pulled himself to the wall, and grabbed the wall like his life depended on it. Literally.


    Maverick let out a sigh of relief. "You always have some things in your sleeves."


    Naly giggled. "This much wouldn''t kill him, my dear. He has far more cards. Even if an Adamantite Rank would not dare to attack him if they know who his parents are."


    "Stop making me curios. You keep teasing me about his parents, but never tell me when I asked."


    "Hehe." Naly stick out her tongue like a naughty girl.


    "Hey, you guys alright?" Aldred shouted.


    "I should be the one who ask you that!" Maverick shouted back.


    Aldredughed as he kept hanging onto the wall. He looked at the abyss. "It should be about now."


    Secondster, a notification came.


    [You have killed Soul Eater Centipede]


    [+8,000 EXP]


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. ording to his memory, a monster below tinum Rank would never give experience above six thousand. But this centipede gave eight thousand exp at once.


    So maybe the system did not give him exp ording to the level of the monsters, but also have different parameters as well. Maybe difficulty, or special skill.


    "Well, extra EXP is good EXP."


    Suddenly, a small shining orb floated from the abyss.


    It stopped in the air, and then slowly approached towards Aldred.


    Grabbing it with one hand, the orb shattered.


    [You have received Aquamarine]


    [You have received Aquamarine]


    [You have received Milky Quartz]


    [You have received Deep Dark Pearl]


    [You have received Scroll of Darkness]


    [You have received Master Work Scythe]


    [You have received Scroll of Greater Spell Immunity]


    All the items instantly entered his inventory, and Aldred confirmed them to be quite valuable, though he would probably don''t have any use for them.


    Not much items or objects could be considered valuable now. He earned billions of gold coins per month from his business, and he had a super legendary weapon that could change shape, size, and could even devour the soul of his enemy.


    Not only that, his weapon could even devour other weapons to strengthened itself.


    Suddenly, another item entered his inventory.


    [You have received A Piece of Note]


    Aldred opened his inventory and tapped the item.


    It materialized on his palm as a literal piece of note.


    "It might be a clue," he said to himself.


    When Aldred opened the note, his face turned into a frown.


    Sorry, guys. Only 1 chapter today. My back and neck still hurts. Even writing this chapter is a struggle. My dad told me to quit writing for a few weeks, but I don''t want to make you guys wait. Harlyboy

 382 Chapter 382

    There was a clue on the note that read: Can¡¯t be touched, and it only exist in the mind.


    Aldred smiled before he burned the note.


    ¡°Aldred, is that the clue?¡± Maverick asked from the distance.


    ¡°I think so yeah!¡±


    ¡°Did you figure it out?¡±


    Aldred¡¯s smile widened. ¡°I do.¡±


    His feet pushed off the wall before he swung back from where he came from.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Aldred, Maverick, and Naly made their way to the statue.


    But what they saw shocked them.


    ¡°I told you the answer will be wrong! How can you be so stupid for a Diamond Rank?!¡±


    ¡°Stupid? You didn¡¯t even dare to try answering the riddle. All you do here isin when my answer is wrong.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the statue will try to kill us every time we answer it wrong.¡±


    ¡°Well, too bad, princess. Deal with it!¡±


    Aldred could not watch them argue anymore and approached them. ¡°Hey, what is going on here?¡±


    ¡°Aldred!?¡± Zafrina, Sophia, Ste, and Kiara eximed in shock. Their eyes lit up, and they were about to rush towards him for a hug.


    ¡°Wait! It might be an illusion!¡± Ste stopped them.


    After that statement, Zafrina, Sophia, and Kiara looked at him warily.


    ¡°He¡¯s not an illusion, guys,¡± Maverick said.


    ¡°Brother?¡± Zafrina raised an eyebrow. ¡°Who¡¯s that beside you?¡±


    ¡°I am his wife!¡± Naly hugged Maverick¡¯s arm and kissed him on the cheek.


    Zafrina¡¯s eyes turned bloody red. ¡°Everyone backed off. This is a trick.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so convinced?¡± Sophia asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way my stupid, virgin, awkward, dumb, senseless brother got a beautiful wife like that. Whoever made this illusion doesn¡¯t study us very well.¡±


    Her words were like an arrow that stabbed through Maverick¡¯s heart. ¡°Sister, you really have to so be cruel.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, prepare for an attack!¡± Zafrina shouted.


    ¡°Wait! I can convince you that I am not an illusion.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Sophia red at him with wary.


    Aldred smirked. ¡°None of you wear any underwear.¡±


    The women blushed instantly except for Ste. She had never wore any underwear for thousands of years.


    ¡°Cheap tricks!¡± Zafrina shouted.


    ¡°Okay, then what about this. Zafrina, your favorite position is standing bent from the back. Ste, your favorite position is hanging from the ceiling, Sophia you like it rough no matter and not picky about the position, andstly, Kiara, you love it when I bite your tail.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the real deal,¡± Sophia said.


    Zafrina and Kiara were blushing.


    ¡°He¡¯s the real deal, but how can he say that when my brother is here.¡± Zafrina looked at him with red cheeks.


    ¡°Standing bent from the back? Sister, you got taste.¡± Maverickughed.


    ¡°Shut up, Maverick!¡± Zafrina red at him. She couldn¡¯t wait to beat him upter.


    Naly caressed Maverick¡¯s chest. ¡°Maverick, maybe we can try your sister¡¯s favorite positionter?¡±


    ¡°Get away from me, demon!¡±


    The four womenughed when they see that. Suddenly, they ran at Aldred and hugged him.


    ¡°We missed you so much, Aldred.¡±


    Aldred hugged them back. ¡°I missed you guys too.¡±


    They spend a few minutes like this until Sophia kissed him and asked: ¡°So what do we do now? We still have to find the others?¡±


    ¡°We can do that.¡± Aldred looked at the gargoyle statue. ¡°I am ready to answer your riddle.¡±


    ¡°The answer is¡­ time!¡±


    The stones cracked and revealed the pristine skin of the gargoyle. It wasn¡¯t a normal gargoyle, instead, it was majestic creature with pristine scalespleted by intricate carvings.


    ¡°You have one wish,¡± the gargoyle said with a divine voice.


    Aldred smiled. ¡°I wish¡ª¡±


    Before Aldred could even finish his sentence, white light filled his vision, and he was teleported on top of a tform.


    The wind blew his hair as he looked at the night sky. The three moons were still there, blue, yellow, and red.


    ¡°Aldred!¡± Mary, Mira, Mareona, Ivette, Rachel, and Mally all rushed at him for a hug.


    ¡°I have been looking around for you!¡± Mira said before Krista pounced on Aldred and hugged him tight.


    Just like before, Aldred spend a few minutes hugging them. He missed them all so dearly even though they were only separated less than a day.


    ¡°Welp, I always knew you will solve the problem,¡± Bartrem said.


    Ivette kissed him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, I can¡¯t say goodbye to him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did you found someone else in the cave?¡±


    ¡°Well, he was a centipede.¡±


    ¡°A centipede? I killed one earlier.¡±


    ¡°Ehh! Why did you killed him? He¡¯s a nice centipede.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Ivette. The centipede got more than a thousand face on its scales, and it wanted to eat me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, maybe not all centipede is nice.¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ centipede are not supposed to be nice. I think I killed a lot of centipedes back in Mount Fargon.¡±


    ¡°You did,¡± Mary confirmed.


    Aldred looked around, and saw that he was still on the mountain. He summoned his golems and undead to scout the area, making sure it was safe.


    ¡°I want to hear your story. Why don¡¯t we make a camp here, and rest?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± They all excited to hear that.


    One of the best parts about this adventure were camping, because they could eat, chat, andugh. The soldiers also loved this because they could cuddle with their partners.


    Of course there were sometimes conflict among them, but it never got too big.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Zafrina called to Ste. ¡°Sorry for everything. I shouldn¡¯t have insulted you like that.¡±


    Ste smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I also apologize for my wrongdoing.¡±


    They both smiled at each other and hugged.


    That night, they all told their story to Aldred.


    They chatted,ughed, and ate as they did so. It was a long night filled with tales and mystery.


    ¡°So, apparently, the soldiers that kill those eels were Bartrem and everyone else all along,¡± Rachel said. ¡°I was really scared.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we detect a small light from behind. I thought it was some sort of creature, but apparently it was Rachel,¡± Bartrem replied.


    Aldredughed. Then he recalled something. ¡°Damn, I forgot to meet that giant first.¡±


    ¡°Giant? Did you meant the giant that mined the cave?¡± Mally asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Did you met him?¡±


    ¡°I did, and I gave him Sea Fruits to trade the crystals.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence. I did the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, so it was you that gave the giant the Sea Fruit. I saw him ate one, and I immediately thought about trading.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe we can find another opportunity to enter the cave,¡± Aldred said.


    ¡°No!¡± His wives shouted. They did not want to be separated from Aldred ever again. Although they were powerful, and got enough powerful treasure to defend themselves, they still depended on Aldred emotionally.


    Aldred giggled. ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t. Let¡¯s get to bed.¡±


    ¡°Un!¡± His wives excitedly nodded after hearing that.


    Mira lifted Krista as he had long been asleep.


    Entering the tent, they did it all night long. Aldred also could not control himself, and satisfy himself and his wives to the fullest. They missed each other so badly, that they went for multiple rounds.


    Aldred couldn¡¯t count how many times he ejacte, and only when the sun began to rise did they stop and hug each other to sleep.


    Waking up, theyughed and giggled before hugging each other again.


    After a few hours, they left the tent with a satisfied expression.


    ¡°So where are we going now, Aldred?¡±


    Aldred looked at the distance. At the tip of the mountain. ¡°We¡¯re going there. It should take a few days.¡±


    ¡°At least it¡¯s easier than Mount Fargon,¡± Mary said.


    Aldredughed. ¡°Mary, this isn¡¯t even the challenge. The third phase has not yet begin.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. That makes me worry. What kind of challenge will we have to faceter?¡±


    ¡°We will be fine,¡± Aldred said.


    His wives believed that word. They have full trust in him. How could they not after everything they had been through.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Aldred said.


    As they packed up their things, and set off towards the tip of the mountain, they saw someone familiar.


    ¡°Baendjbi?¡± Aldred frowned when he saw the man and his friends got wounds all over their body.


    ¡°Mira, please heal them for me.¡±


    Mira nodded and quickly casted her spell to heal them.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Baendjbi said, breathing heavily. ¡°We¡¯re lucky to meet you here. If we didn¡¯t we would have died.¡±


    ¡°Did you get teleported to the cave as well?¡±


    Baendjbi nodded. ¡°Yeah, some of us were separated, but thankfully, none of us died.¡±


    Aldred scanned their body and noticed a weird, sharp auraing from them. Before, they looked like weak swordsmen who got proper technique, but now¡­ now they looked like a true warrior.


    Was it because of the sword guild? What was the name again? Oh right, The Buzzing de.


    Aldred smiled. Interesting. If he had a chance, he would pay this guild a visit to see how they got that aura.

 383 Chapter 383

    A few dayster, Aldred and the others arrived on top of the mountain. It was cold and harsh wind constantly bombarded them.


    Ste casted a barrier to protect them against the weather.


    As they stood and looked around, they saw adventurers crawled to the top. Ice formed on their skin, and they breathed in and out heavily as they heaved themselves up on the tform.


    Only a few thousands adventurers managed toe here. There were still tens of thousands people down at the bottom of the mountain.


    ¡°Prepare for battle,¡± Aldred said. He knew that the top of the mountain had to be a test for them.


    The soldiers prepared their weapons, which made the other adventurers wary, but they noticed that the soldiers were looking at the sky.


    They looked at each other before brandishing their own weapon and lookout for anything in the sky.


    A few hourster, a cry came. Then, it was followed by thousands of cry.


    ¡°They havee! The Ranehawks havee!¡±


    The blue sky was covered shut as the hawks filled the sky.


    A Ranehawk flew closer to them, and revealed a beautiful woman riding on top of the bird.


    This shocked everyone.


    ¡°Leave this ce and you will live!¡± the woman shouted.


    None of the adventurers say anything or move.


    ¡°Fine! If death is your wish, I shall grant it. Attack!¡±


    The Ranehawks dived down simultaneous under hermand.


    Aldred¡¯s eyes turned purple and burst out powerful energy that spread around him. It made him and his friends invisible to the birds, and not only that, they unconsciously avoided Aldred.


    Baendjbi and his allies were shocked by this.


    ¡°Put away your sword. This spell is only effective as long as you put away your intention of harming the birds,¡± Aldred said.


    Baendjbi looked at his friends before he put away his sword. ¡°Aldred, what kind of spell is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion spell of mine.¡±


    Bartrem and his soldiers sheated their swords as well.


    A Ranehawk flew past them and bit onto the neck of its target, decapitating the man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make sudden movement,¡± Aldred said. ¡°Move very carefully like you¡¯re afraid of waking someone up. Ande together to me, very slowly.¡±


    They obeyed his instructions, tip-toeing their way towards him.


    All around them, the Ranehawks were attacking the adventurers and the adventurers retaliated with all they got. Swinging axes, throwing des, shooting arrows, casting spells, screaming, running, ducking, and everything in between.


    It was a chaotic scene. The adventurers mostly came in a group of four to eight. This meant that they only worked together in a small group, but in arge scale, they were very scattered and only protect their own hide.


    Although it was logical, it wasn¡¯t effective, and the birds managed to kill them one by one very quickly.


    A few minutes, passed, and a man roared. Bright light came out of his eyes as he went onto a rampage. Heaving his sword on his shoulder, he shed towards the sky, cutting hundreds of Ranehawks at once.


    More adventurers activated their ultimate skills, trembling the tform. Birds fell by the dozens, but even so, their numbers were too much, and the adventurers could not fight them for long.


    Hourster, the tform was filled with corpses and blood of the Ranehawks and the adventurer. Either humans, elves, winged-men, dwarfs, all died.


    The woman on top of the bird looked at this scene with cold, unfeeling eyes. There was no sympathy, only contempt.


    Just as she was about to leave, Aldred and his group appeared out of nowhere.


    This shocked her. How could this man hide not only himself, but also his allies that numbered more than one hundred?


    That shock quickly turn into a rage as she was about to order another attack.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Aldred held up his hand. ¡°I have something to show you.¡±


    Aldred grabbed something from his inventory. It was [Wena¡¯s Spit] and then smear it all over his body.


    Right after doing that, the woman widened his eyes as the birds made weird sounds.


    ¡°That smell.¡±


    Aldred smiled. He finally understood why Wena gave him that bottle of spit. These birds must be familiar with Wena, and smearing it onto his body would make them think that Aldred was a friend.


    ¡°That wretched woman send you here?! I am going to kill you myself!¡± The woman grabbed a spear as her bird dove down.


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Aldred did not expect the even to turn out this way. Wasn¡¯t Wena their friends? Weren¡¯t they suppose to ept him?


    The bird came at him at a high speed. Aldred summoned his shield and braced for impact.


    Before that could happen however, another woman appeared right in front of the bird. She got both hands behind her back, but the bird stopped right in front of her.


    It was Wena!


    ¡°Come on! Onward!¡± the woman on top of the birdmanded.


    The bird cried, shaking its head.


    The bird actually refused to attack Wena!


    ¡°Wena?!¡±


    ¡°Good to see you again, Zara.¡± Wena smiled.


    Zara was confused. ¡°But¡­ you appearance.¡±


    Wenaughed. ¡°This kid over here do something to me. It makes me look young again. I am not like you who can barely age.¡±


    Zara frowned. ¡°Is that why you protect this child and led him to me?¡±


    ¡°You think I would do that just to look young again?¡± Wena smiled at her.


    ¡°Then why? You would have never led a human to this mountain.¡±


    ¡°He can give you what you always wanted.¡±


    ¡°This again?¡± Zara retorted.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Aldred said. ¡°I have been letting you two talk with each other, but can you tell me what is going on?¡±


    The two women looked at him.


    ¡°I will tell him,¡± Wena said to Zara before turning towards Aldred. ¡°Have you heard the legends about the Ranehawks and what they have done?¡±


    Aldred nodded. ¡°They have destroyed an entire kingdom before.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, but there are changes to the story. You see, these Ranehawks are actually not Ranehawks. They are dragons.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Everyone, you can reveal your true appearance now,¡± Wena said to the birds.


    The Ranehawks cried to the sky, and their form changed into dragons with various shapes and sizes. Some had two to three heads, some had red vibrant color, and some were asrge as a hill.


    Aldred was shocked. ¡°Why did they hide their appearance?¡±


    ¡°They are the special kind of dragons. One that can connect to the soul of another sentient race. This makes them a greatpanion as the dragon can double or even triple the fighting force of a single man. But with that benefit, many kings and emperors set their greedy gaze towards them. They wanted to force the dragons to connect to their soldiers and fight their war.¡±


    ¡°So the nation that they destroyed was?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That long forgotten nation tried to control the dragons. Lured and fooled, these innocent dragons suffered envement for thousands of years. Dragons live a very long live, and they have suffered for most of their lifetime. Zara and I fought a long battle to free these dragons, but to keep them free, they have to stop being a dragon.¡±


    Zara snorted. ¡°Because of that, the dragons are in pain every single day. The transformation spell weakened them greatly, and once they revert back to their dragon form, they cannot revert back to be a Ranehawk.¡±


    Aldred widened his eyes. ¡°Then that means?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, apparently Wena trusted you enough to throw away our disguise that we have keep for hundreds of years.¡±


    Aldred looked at Wena with curiosity.


    Wena smiled and nodded at him. ¡°I know I can trust you, Aldred. I know you would agree to our wish.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t even know your wish yet.¡±


    Wena walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder. She stared at his eyes. ¡°I know your intention of bing the ruler of the Ceraisian Empire in the future. My wish is for you to protect these dragons and let them roam free in your territory.¡±


    ¡°This is foolish!¡± Zara shouted. ¡°You trusted him too much for this, Wena! Even if he could kill the emperor, and fulfilled his promise, what happened when he died? What about the nobles under him?!¡±


    ¡°How can the son of a demon king died and be controlled by mortal nobles?¡± Wena smiled.


    ¡°Eh?!¡± Everyone was shocked.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Aldred asked.


    Wena shrugged, making Aldred even more curios.¡±


    ¡°Aldred, you¡¯re the son of a demon king?¡± His wives asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, I will tell youter,¡± Aldred said.


    Maverick looked at Naly. ¡°Did you know about this?¡±


    Naly smiled. ¡°I cannot unfold my master¡¯s secret can I?¡±


    ¡°You better tell me more about him tonight.¡±


    ¡°Kyaa! Anything for you, darling!¡±


    ¡°So what is your answer?¡± Wena asked. ¡°Will you do that for us?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. What will I get to do this for you?¡± Aldred asked.


    ¡°Right, I forgot you did not know yet. Your next challenge will be in the sky. The world will not let you fly on your own, and yourpetitors will use everything they can to defeat you. Don¡¯t you think using the strongest dragons in the world will give you any advantage?¡±


    ¡°I thought we are looking for clues where we go from here. I didn¡¯t know we are looking for dragons.¡±


    ¡°This challenge involves mystery in it, child. You are lucky to meet me, but luck is also part of the game. It always has.¡±


    Aldred smiled. ¡°That is true. Fine, I agree to your wish.¡±<!--


    -->

 384 Chapter 384

    ?384 Chapter 384 Special Kind of Dragons


    Wena smiled wide while Zara huffed as she was still doubtful of this decision.


    "Zara, the egg has cracked, and the baby has to crawl out," Wena said. "You have no other choice but to agree with this."


    Zara sighed before shended on the ground. She hugged her long-time friend. "You old hag just love to piss me off."


    Wena hugged her back. "You''re an old hag as well."


    "You both are old hag." Aldred nodded.


    Wena and Zara red at him.


    Mareona kneed him in the nuts, making Aldred yelp in pain.


    "Sorry about that. He can be out of control sometimes." Mareona apologized to the two women.


    Aldred scratched the back of his head, feeling wronged. Trying to avert the topic, he said: "So what do we do now?"


    "We wait," Wena said. "When the three moons turned white, that is when your destination will appear."


    "Turns white? I have never seen the moons do that. When will that happen?"


    "Tomorrow."


    ¡­


    On the vast ocean, under the cover of night, a massive fleet of ships crashed against the waves.


    In their ranks, ten powerful motherships led the fleet, and one of them in particr was so gigantic that no one would believe it was possible to create a ship that big.


    A man withrge built stood on top of that ship. With thick arms, and chiseled jaw, his deathly gaze set forward. The wind failed to move his long, thick braided hair that reached his chest.


    "My lord. We have found another continent." The soldier knelt.


    "Was this the fifth that we encountered?"


    "Yes, lord Brago. You have conquered the other four, so this will be the fifth."


    He narrowed his eyes into the distance. "I can smell them here."


    "Will we finally encounter them on this continent, my lord?"


    "I have to make sure." Brago raised his long bullhook and pulled the neck of a dragon, chained on the bow of the mothership.


    The dragon was awaken. It moved violently, trying to break the chain. But Brago punched its head, and stared into its eyes.


    The dragon stopped moving and cowered in fear.


    "Show me where they are."


    The dragon looked ahead. Its ears vibrating.


    Brago''s eyes widened. "They are here. We found them. Hahaha!"


    He turned towards his men. "Tell every ships to sail as fast as they can. I want this fleet to arrive at sunrise."


    His lips curled into a grin.


    ¡­


    The wind blew Aldred''s hair as he caressed the fine scales of the dragon he rode on.


    "Where are we going?" Aldred asked Zara.


    "You will see."


    The dragons passed a mountain, and then entered arge opening. It was dark at first, but after they went deeper, thousands of crystals lit up the cave. Dragons looked up from their wooden stand. Some were still sleeping while others were feeding their young.


    Mary was amazed by this sight.


    Krista''s eyes lit up when she saw baby dragons feasting on a basket of fruits.


    "You have been taking care of them," Aldred said to Zara.


    He expected a reply from her, but she said nothing.


    "Don''t worry about her," Wena said. "She can be rather protective of these dragons. They are family to her."


    "I understand. Family is very important."


    Aldred considered family to be his everything. Especially his father, mother, and sister. He would die for them without hesitation.


    The dragonnded on a stone tform, and everyone jumped down.


    "What are we doing here?" Aldred asked.


    "Do you believe in god, Aldred?" Wena asked.


    "I do believe they exist, but I don''t worship any of them."


    After all, he had met some of the powerful gods that had fought his father before.


    "Dragons have their own god as well. Come, let me show you."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "So you guys worship statues as well?"


    Wenaughed. "You will see."


    They walked through therge tunnel. Around them were dragons, walking towards the same direction as them.


    After a few minutes of walking, Aldred was greeted with a bright shine of lighting from outside with huge waterfall spilling down.


    The dragons flew in and out of the water with fish in their mouth. Below, there was a giantke that seemed to be the center of this ecosystem with all kinds of nts surrounding it. These nts spread to the wall of the cave and went all the way up. Dragons would asionally bit on these berries as snack.


    "I see." Aldred''s eyes lit up. "Your god must be thiske."


    "You''re not quite right," Wena said. She pulled him to her side, and then pushed him down to one knee.


    "Are we going to pray?"


    "More like bowing, but you can say that. Now, keep your head down, and don''t say anything."


    Aldred obeyed the instruction, and saw his wives kneeling at the edge of his vision. He also saw the dragonsing down and bowing their heads.


    The scene was then filled with the loud sound of the crashing waterfall. Everything else was silent.


    A few secondster, something burst out of theke below, sshingrge body of water in every direction.


    That was when a humongous dragon pped its wings, sending powerful wind that blew his hair.


    The dragons bowed even deeper while Aldred was too mesmerized by the creature''s majestic appearance.


    The antennas on the dragons vibrated as it stared ad Wena.


    Wena raised her head, and looked at the dragon in the eye. She seemed to bemunicating with the dragon with telepathy.


    After a few minutes, therge, white dragon nced at Aldred. It blew a icy mist at him, making his hair freeze into ice.


    "What did it do? Does that mean it likes me?"


    "She just spit at you."


    "Why?"


    "No reason."


    "Uh¡­" Aldred thought there would be some kind of meaningful gesture.


    "So what do we now?"


    "The dragons agreed to help you," Wena said.


    "Which mean?"


    "We can set off by tomorrow when the three moons turned white." Wena nodded.

 385 Chapter 385

    The cloud was thick that night, but Aldred and the others kept staring up, waiting.


    "Just wait. It will appear," Wena said.


    A few secondster, the clouds parted and the three moons revealed itself.


    "They have turned white!" a soldier eximed in shock because he had never seen the moons done that before.


    "Wait! Look over there!"


    Everyone narrowed their gaze towards the distance.


    "It''s an ind!"


    "It''s a flying ind!"


    "That''s our destination!" Aldred shouted. "Everyone, fly up!"


    The dragons roared and leaped off the ground before they pped their wings, piercing through the air at high speed.


    Aldred smiled. "This is it. This is ourst destination. We will change the world after this."


    Everyone smiled after hearing that including Wena while Zara hoped that day would evere true.


    But suddenly, thousands of creatures leaped off the ground and flew skyward.


    "Adventurers!"


    Aldred clicked his tongue. "Seriously,                                                     how am I still havepetitors."


    "The world is bigger than you think, Aldred. A lot of people doesn''t have your skills and abilities, but you also don''t have theirs," Wena said.


    "That might be true." Aldred nodded in agreement. These adventurers were tough. They always find ways to get back into the game.


    "But they don''t have dragons." Aldred smiled.


    When the adventurers noticed the presence of one another, they              were shocked that someone else knew what they knew.


    Zakos Valik was sent here by a noble from the Ceraisian Empire. Almost every noble had a few adventure group under their thumb to do their biddings. And it was especially useful to have in situations like this.


    He was the leader of VenomBow, and   just like its name, the main weapons of this group was a bow coated with poison magic.


    "Kill every target you see," He calmly said as he drew his bow and fired an urate arrow to the neck of a pegasus.


    The pegasus was pushed, but it kept going until its skin turned purple, and its feather began to shed.


    "Fuck, my mount has been poisoned!"


    Even though the man realized that, it was toote for him. The pegasus began to fall, bringing the man along with him.


    His scream was only one among many that fell from the sky.


    "Not bad for a group of human."


    Zakos looked to the side and noticed arge group of elves aiming their bows at them.


    "My name is Carmaris Cedarfond. Make sure to remember that in your afterlife, human."


    Zakos'' whole body jolted as his mouth went wide open to givemand to his men.


    Carmaris grinned as his subordinates rained arrows upon the enemy.


    But VenomBow wasn''t an easy group to defeat. For one reason or another, they managed to avoid critical injuries from the volley of arrows, and began to counter.


    Aldred watched the adventurers killed each other with all kinds of weapons.


    "Stupid. Fighting in the sky is no use. They all should wait until ind," Zara said.


    "No. It''s a good thing. This way, we can cull their numbers before we set foot on the ind," Aldred said with a smile.


    "Wena, pleasemunicate my instructions to the dragons.  Helped me eradicate the enemy."


    Wena nodded without hesitation.<sub> </sub>


    Aldred looked at his enemies and his eyes glinted with cold sheen.


    Under hismand, the dragons all dived down, and struck everything in their path.


    With their true form revealed, the dragons could now use their true power, and it painted the sky with myriads of color.


    Aldred''s dragon belched a powerful green beam that vaporized everything it touched.


    He gave it a pat as he pointed at another target. The dragon understood his instructions and sted the man out of the sky.


    "Fuck! What are these dragons!? Their attacks are more powerful than any dragons I have seen!"


    Zakos and Carmaris noticed Aldred and his army of dragons.


    "Hey, elf. We should set aside our battle and deal with them first." Zakos pointed.


    Carmaris furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the dragons massacring the adventurers. "Fine."


    Zakos and Carmaris led their men away from each other and began attacking the dragons.


    Aldred noticed this development soonter. "Someone from the Ceraisian Empire?"


    His dragon vaporized dozens of archers before he stopped in front of Zakos. "Wee from the same nation. Work with me."


    Zakos frowned and took a careful look at Aldred''s face. "You are... hahaha. I can''t believe this. You are Aldred."


    "How did you know my name?"


    "Your face and name has been announced in every corner. There is a big bounty for your head."


    "How much did they put on me?"


    "Death or alive. Whoever did it will be a Duke."


    Aldred grinned, and then he burst intoughter.


    Zakos frowned. "Why are youughing. Everyone will be hunting you."


    Aldred could not hold hisughter, and he keptughing like a maniac. He then stopped and looked at Zakos. "Them putting a high bounty on me means that they cannot kill me with their own hand. The emperor is weaker than I thought."


    Zakos wore a difficult expression after hearing that. ''This man doesn''t'' feel scared or anxious at all when an entire nation is hunting him. And it''s the Ceraisian Empire. One of the strongest nation on this continent!''


    Being affiliated with him in any way would be a bad idea.


    "I am sorry, but I have to refuse your offer," Zakos said.


    "Oh, so you have chosen death?"


    Sweat trickled down Zakos'' forehead. "No. I want us to stay away from each other until we get on the ind."


    Aldred''s gaze became cold. "Only the strong gets to decide their fate. You are weak. You are my enemy. Therefore, you will die."


    "Arrogant bastard!" Zakos fired his arrows.


    Aldred ferociously bit it and held it with his mouth.


    "Impossible!" His eyes widened


    "Now die!" Aldred reached out with his hand.


    "RED RAIN."


    The sky instantly turned crimson red, and everyone halted in mid-air before they looked up.


    That was when a sharp pain struck their mind and they held their head, holding the pain with gritted teeth.


    "What is this power?" Zakos watched in shock.


    "The power that will let me rule the world."


    Giant red spears became falling from the sky by the thousands.

 386 Chapter 386

    It was like the scene of an apocalypse. Giant red spears fell from the sky like rain.


    "Run for your life!"


    "Ahh!" A man screamed as his whole body melted before the giant spear even made contact with him. But a secondter, the giant spear ran through the man, turning him into dust immediately before passing dozens of people more in its way beforending on the ground, shearing the earth.


    This scene repeated itself hundreds of times. No. Thousands of times over. Filled with the blood curdling scream of the victims, Aldred watched on with indifference in his eyes.


    Mira closed her eyes and prayed. "May your souls be forgiven."


    Aldred chuckled. "You don''t have to pray for them, Mira. They are not worthy of your prayers."


    Zara and Wena were shocked to see Aldred''s power for the first time.


    Wena had always trusted her got feeling, and she had felt that Aldred was a very powerful person, which was the reason why she let the dragons revealed themselves to him. But this¡­ this power is beyondparison. If the dragon horde fought against him¡­ the dragons could win, but the price they pay would be too big.


    "Zara," Wena called. "You lead the dragons. Show them our power."


    Zara nodded and immediately brought the dragons away. Aldred was surprised at this because he thought he got the dragons under his control. But then he watched them ughtering everything in their path.


    They opened their jaw, and spewed massive me on the same direction. One group of a particr dragon species with wide wingspan approached each other and then spun like a tornado as mes came aze all over their body. Creating hundreds of me tornado that swept through the treasure hunters in the sky.


    "Fuck!" The elf, Carmaris, stared at Aldred. "Human. Stop your attack on my men, or the elf nation will never forgive you."


    "Fuck you and your elf nation."


    Carmaris gritted his teeth in anger. "How dare you. The elf is so much powerful than you humans. We will wage war for this."


    Zakos scoffed at that statement. As someoneing from the Ceraisian Empire, he knew the military power of the Ceraisian one of the mightiest in this continent. The empire was so strong that it could have a war against two nations at once while still having a civil war.


    The Dragons and the Phoenix was the civil war he talked about. These two group with the emperor and empress at the head respectively, were at each other''s throat all the time.


    "Aldred. It''s your win. We''re leaving this ce." Zakos called for his men to retreat, and left immediately.


    "Cowards!" Carmaris mocked. "Let me show you the power of the elf. Grand Tree Bow!"


    A magnificent bow appeared in his hand, and he aimed it Aldred.


    "Be prepared to die!"


    An arrow seemingly made out of powerful magic wood materialized on the bow, and then the arrow disappeared before a powerful wind blew the elf''s hair followed by a sonic boom.


    Aldred pulled his [Deep Sea Bow (Epic)] and fired back.


    The arrow was formed out of water, and just like the elf''s arrow, it also released a powerful wind and sonic boom.


    The arrow sh against each other and exploded, throwing powerful energy in every direction.


    ? Carmaris clenched his fist. "Who are you? How can your bow matched mine?"<sub> </sub>


    The elf should be the strongest archer in the world, and their bow had to be the best. This was the source of his confidence, but now he saw a bow that could match his power. This made him see the world in a different light.


    Aldred did not reply, but instead activated another skill. "Explosive Water Arrow."


    A water arrow zipped towards the elf and exploded with a ssh of water that destroyed the elf''s left shoulder down to his chest.


    Carmaris gagged as he was too shocked by this. Then the pain registered as he screamed.


    "Retreat!"


    The elves fired their bow for onest time before they pulled their pegasus and retreated.


    Aldred stood straight on the dragon, both hands sped on his back. He watched this and reached out with his hand. "Fire Maniption."


    Fire circles appeared in the air, and then a barrage of fire fist came out, mming at the retreating elves.


    Carmaris gritted his teeth in anger when he saw  this but a me fist mmed onto him from above. Crushing his skull and burning his scalp before he crashed to the ground.


    "Leader!"


    The elves tried to save their leader, but the barrage of me fist engulfed thempletely. The surviving elves quickly gave up and ran away as fast as they can to save their own lives.


    "Look at them running." Bartremughed.


    Wena looked at Aldred. "You''re too powerful for this world."


    "Am I?"


    "Well, at least against an army you would win. Your power is more suitable to fight arge number of people rather than one strong entity."


    "Perhaps." Aldred smiled.


    The dragons turned around and headed towards the ind.


    Because of what happened earlier, the other treasure hunters distanced themselves away from Aldred and his group of dragons.


    The red spears raining on the enemy, the dragons ughtering everything they see, these two scene were carving fear in their hearts.


    "Don''t mess with them. You guys hear me?" A man said to his friends.


    They all nodded frantically. Who would dare to challenge them after that show of force? In fact, some of them even wanted to give up this treasure hunting idea and go home.


    But after they recalled what they had to sacrifice to get here, they gritted their teeth and kept flying towards the sky ind.


    Aldred smiled as he rxed on the back of the dragon while hugging his wives. "After this, no one should dare to attack us. We can rx until we get to the ind."


    Mary nodded with a smile until she noticed something in the distance. "Aldred, I don''t think we can rx right now."

 387 Chapter 387

    "What is it?" Aldred asked as he turned around and he was shocked.


    "It''s them again." Mareona brandished her sword.


    Ste Sophia raised her staff. Mira tucked Krista away and pulled out a jade that could cast a defensive barrier.


    <o>,m Bartrem frowned. "They just never give up, huh?"</o>


    "Aldred, do you know them?" Wena asked.


    Aldred bitterly smiled. "Unfortunately, yeah."


    "They looked a little weird to be your friends."


    "They are not friends," Aldred said as he stared at them. "We meet again, Thinker."


    "Hand over the ring, Aldred." Thinker raised his palm.


    Aldredughed. "You are more human the more I meet you. The first time we met you would be like all robot and stiff. now, it looked like someone glued  metals on a human body."


    "My master is losing his patience. If you don''t give me the ring, the consequences will be too vast for you to handle."


    "Who is your master?" Aldred asked.


    "You do not need to know."


    "I guess we have no deal."


    "In that case, violence will be our option," Thinker said.


    "Since when did we never choose violence," Aldred said.


    "In Paphia, you promised me the ring if I gave  you the power armor. But you tricked me."


    "Hey, no hard feelings, okay. Oh wait, you don''t have feelings."


    Thinker furrowed his iron eyebrows. He was much more expressive than before. "My master wanted to test his weapon. You will be the perfect target for this. Bafni Heartwatcher,e forth."


    A slim beautifuldypletely made out of steel floated forward with a square tform below her feet.


    Thinker wasn''t alone. He came here with advanced-looking fighter aircrafts as if they came from a sci-fi movie. All metalic, all electric, and all robot-like.


    And the irondy beside Thinker looked like a much more advanced, emotionless, killer robot.


    "Bafni," Thinker said. "He is your target. Eliminate him."


    Bafni''s face did not move. She was a true robot with theplete face of a human female but did not have the feature of expressing her emotions. If she even had one in the first ce.


    "Yes," Bafni replied. Her eyes shone with blue light and spun around with metalic ir.  "Target confirmed. Analyzing¡­plete. Danger Level: S. Calcting probabilities¡­"


    "Calctionplete. Victory: Absolute."


    Aldredughed after he heard that. "Thinker, this robot of yours is quite arrogant," he said as if Thinker was not a robot himself.


    Thinker did not reply and kept his silent. That made Aldred felt a little weird. Did he really felt confidence about the robot''s calction? Can a robot even felt confidence?


    Aldred shook his head. "If you want to fight, let''s fight."


    "Go," Thinker said.


    "Yes." Bafni immediately vanished from the spot and appeared in front of Aldred.


    That was when the rest of Thinker''s army attack without warning, firing thick blue beams at the dragons.


    "Attack!" Zara ordered the dragons and performed a counter attack.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was having a hard time blocking, parrying, and dodging Bafni''s attack.


    She was a slick and slim female robot. Her slender body was sharp, flexible, and more importantly¡ªfast.<sub> </sub>


    She was so fast, that Aldred could barely guard against her movement.


    If not for his godly eyes, Aldred''s life would be over by now.


    Bafni attacked. Sharp knife protruded out of her iron fist, and shed across his nose. But it did not end there.


    Her forearms opened, revealing a set of extremely sharp knife. And when Aldred took a closer look, all the knives were vibrating at an extremely high speed. To the normal eyes, these knives might be still in ce, but they were actually vibrating too fast.


    She spun in mid-air and kicked him in the stomach. Aldred swung his de to counter-attack but a force field suddenly appeared around here and bounced his sword off.


    Every time, Bafni attacked she would release a sudden force field that prevented him from counter-attacking. So all he could do now was dodge and block her attack.


    Not only that, the more she moved the faster she became. It was as if she stored a portion of the kic energy she released to further increased her speed overtime.


    "Aldred, do you need any help!?" Ste asked.


    "I will handle this. You guys handle the rest!"


    Ste nodded and turned to look towards a fighter aircraft. It fired a beam at her, but before the beam could reach her face, it bent and actually returned towards the ship.


    Raising the staff in front of her, she closed her eyes. "Sacred master that drive away the shadows, grant me  your light, and grant me your power."


    Her eyes shone with golden color as she opened them. Violently pointing forward with her staff, her half-broken disc transformed into itsplete form and then fired numerous golden beams  that destroyed the aircrafts in an instant.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Good job, Ste!" Bartrem shouted as he jumped on top of a ship and shed it in half before jumping to the side.


    The ship exploded behind him before hended on the back of a dragon.


    "Thanks, buddy." Bartrem gave the dragon a pat as if it was his dog.


    "Joseph, Jeffery, how''s the situation?" Bartrem asked through themunication crystal.


    "Everything is going well, sir!" they both replied.


    Bartrem nodded. "These dragons are quite powerful."


    He said that because when the blue beam struck the dragons. They only received minor wounds. Their scales and skin were exceptionally tough.


    "I wonder if Aldred would make an armor out of them."


    The dragon under him groaned.


    "Hehe. It was a joke buddy." Bartrem gave the dragon a few pat and cuddles.


    Meanwhile.


    Bafni raised her feet high. Her flexible body let her raised it right in front of her face, and then her leg swung down.


    Aldred crossed his arms above his head as the leg mmed at him with a bang.


    He was send to the mountain, crashing before he fell inside a crevice.


    Aldred stood up inside the narrow space and entered a battle stance as he saw the steeldynded on the ground.


    "This narrow ce will not let you use your speed." Aldred smiled.


    Bafni shed forward and kicked him right in the face, and then she barraged him with a flurry of punches.


    "Fucking robot! You think I will let you keep beating me? If I cannot defeat you on my own, then what about my clone!"


    Blood mist leaked out from his body.


    "Blood Clone!"

 388 Chapter 388

    Suddenly, two more Aldred appeared behind him, and they charged forward.


    It was three against one.


    Bafni struck forward, bending and moving her body masterfully in the narrow space.


    The clones summoned their Phantom Doomde and hacked at her, but all of their attacks failed to hit or were bounced off by her force field.


    They fought like this for a few minutes until Aldred got an idea.


    He and the clones charged at the robot, and then fired a bunch of sticky strings at her.


    She sliced all the strings without any problem, but it was merely a distraction.


    "Petrification!" All three clones shouted as their eyes burst with purple aura.


    To Aldred''s shock however, the petrification spell did not work on the robot.


    "So it had to be a living being, huh!"


    Aldred decided to change his strategy again. One of his clone leaped to the distance and transformed his weapon into the [Deep Sea Bow (Epic)] and began firing endlessly at Bafni.


    The other clone transformed his weapon to [Bazag''s Dual Bone de]. He then rushed at the female robot, fighting her at close range.


    Aldred kept using the Phantom Doomde, attacking the robot using the length of his weapon. It was quite hard for him to use this weapon in this narrow space actually.


    They fought for hours until one of his clones shed at the robot''s left leg.


    The sh made a spark, and Aldred saw the left leg was damaged.


    He smiled after seeing that and kept on fighting.


    The robotdy jumped at clone who brought the bow.


    With cold, unfeeling gaze, she punched him right in the face, sending him hundreds of meters away. The robot chased him.


    "Fuck, follow her!" Aldred said to the other clone.


    Bafni speed was so fast she reached Aldred''s clone again as he was still flying in mid-air, and then punched him in the face, sending him further and further away from their original spot.


    After Aldred stopped, he realized he was now inside a huge cave with a lot of pirs and stctites hanging from the ceiling.


    "Where is she?" Aldred looked around, and then he saw an iron rod stabbed into the ground beside him. The iron rod was connected by some sort of iron cable.


    Then a sound of friction reverberated in the cave. Next thing he knew, his face was kicked by a super hard alloy that made him crashed against the wall.


    Two metal rods stabbed to the wall to his left and right.


    Aldred opened his eyes and saw the irondy using the cable to pull herself towards the rods.


    It was like spiderman, but the difference was that she was fully made out of metal, and the pulling momentum was much faster than a normal eye could see.


    Bafni mmed both of her metal feet right into Aldred, making the hole on the wall even bigger.


    Aldred spat out a mouthful of blood as he saw the clones fought of the robotdy.


    "Piece of shit." Aldred stood up and then opened a portal right in front of him.


    Four Ultra Golems stepped out and knelt in front of their master.<sub> </sub>


    "I can''t believe I found my match that I have to rely on you guys," Aldred said. "Whoever created that robot thing is surely a better craftsman than me."


    Aldred believed that whoever made Thinker or Bafni had to be a genius among genius. If he think about it, Bafni was simply a chunk of steel with a program. And yet she could fight Aldred who was an existence that could match early-level tinum Rank monster.


    What Aldred did not know was Bafni cost quite a huge amount of resources to create. The materials she was made out of could not be found but can only be created in ab, and it took time to manufacture it.


    If that was not the case, Bafni would be mass produced.


    "Let me summon one more clone," Aldred said. He could actually summon three clones at once, but only used two because he wanted to keep his card.


    Now there were four Aldred, and four Ultra Golems.


    Bafni kicked the two clones away before they leaped back and regrouped with Aldred.


    "It''s one versus eight." Aldred sighed. "I can''t believe I have to be in a numerical advantage to fight you."


    Bafni did not reply and slowly stepped towards him.


    "Alright, Ultra Golems. You fight her first."


    "New enemies detected." Her eyes scanned the golems up and down as they charged towards her.


    When they pulled their spellswords and shed at her, she elegantly dodged it by bending her body.


    While she fought them, she vigorously recorded all the moves, and studied them. This was all possible because she actually had a second processing chip in her head.


    Because of this, she quickly learned the golem''s movement, and she could block and dodge them just after a few seconds of fighting.


    The reason why she could make Aldred having a hard time was she knew where and how he would attack before he even initiated it.


    The fact that he even survived fighting against her was impressive enough. She was designed to be a fighter. Her only disadvantage was that she did not have an area of effect weapon.


    No. Her purpose was to kill the leader of an army in a duel.


    "Let''s kill her!" Aldred and his three clones shed forward.


    "Extreme Brightness!" The four of them raised  their Phantom Doomde and it fired a beam of light right towards her.


    Bafni deactivated her sigh and began using the other sensor such as vibration and heat.


    "Hellish me!"


    "Rocking Earth!"


    The whole cave was filled with me, and the earth beneath their feet shook like never before.


    "My undead army! Arise!"


    All the undead stepped out of the shadow and charged at Bafni.


    "Golem legion. Come to my aid!"


    Aldred opened a bunch of portals of which thousands of golems came through.


    "If I can''t fight you alone, then I might as well gang up on you."


    Aldred smiled. "It''s gang banging time."

 389 Chapter 389

    Thousands of golems fired hundreds of thousands fire bullets at the robotdy. Bafni had to activate her force field at all times to protect herself.


    But Aldred was confidence that she could not keep it for long.


    "This is a war of attrition." Aldred smiled. He had unlimited mana. His undead and golems were tireless. Bafni was a mere robot. She required energy to function.


    While she was fighting against Aldred''s army, Aldred took something out of his inventory. It was a small ck orb.


    He threw it at her. She easily dodged it, but that was not a problem.


    The ck orb transformed into a pir that stood straight on the ground. It oozed out powerful mana that strengthened the golems and undead around.


    Aldred threw more orbs with various color this time. One red pir covered his golems and undead in zing mes that would only cause damage to their enemies. With the other pirs, their strength, speed, durability, and all other attributes increased significantly.


    After that, Aldred began throwing debuff pirs. The gravity around Bafni became heavier. The pirs targeted her move, so whenever she was, the gravity would only change around her. This made her slower and slower as Aldred threw more and more gravity pirs.


    Gravity pir was one of the most useful pirs he created. It made the enemy slower and they needed to use more energy to move.


    Sure enough, Bafni''s movement became sluggish and she wasn''t used to her own body because its weight had increased.


    "Now, for the offensive pirs."


    Aldred threw a whole lot of orbs and the transformed into pirs as they mmed to the ground, standing up.


    The pirs let out a crackle before firing lightning at Bafni constantly, making electric sound.


    The robot flinched for a second before she began to move again, dodging and attacking the undeads and golems around her.


    ¡­


    Unbeknown to Aldred. A team of engineers and researchers were watching this fight scene through Bafni''s eyes.


    "Bafni''s program has been trained endlessly for thousands of hours. She had fought against capable duelist Diamond Rankers, monsters, and even a well-coordinated army. It is impossible for her to lose in a direct battle."


    The engineers and scientist turned around where their eyesy on a figure sitting on a throne. Face covered by darkness.


    The man did not reply nor did he show any sign of praise or disappointment. But everyone could tell that he was judging them.


    "Bafni has fought various elementalist magician. She could handle earth spell, wind spell, me spell, and all other non-elemental spell. Most debuff would not work on her because she did not have a soul or organic organs."


    "That person is powerful, but he is no match against Bafni."


    The engineers and scientists nodded in agreement. They had seen the fight and was very impressed at how many skills Aldred had. They had never seen someone like him before. He was a magician, but also a swordsman, but he also a golem master, a non-elementalist magician, and had other various abilities that were bizarre in nature.


    They hoped to capture him and study him to mimic or maybe obtain his power.


    "We don''t need to watch the fight anymore. It''s clear who will win. We just have to wait."


    They all nodded and looked at the screen for onest time.


    They saw Aldred and his clones throwing water-elemental spell.


    A newbie engineer scoffed. "This robot is made by the best of the best, how can a mere water damage Bafni."


    When the water sshed against her, her whole body sparked as shepletely stopped moving.


    "Eh!" Aldred, the scientist, and the engineers all had the same expression at this moment.


    ¡­<sub> </sub>


    Aldred was shocked by this. All robots from Duria should be waterproof. After all, these robots would be fighting against magicians. Why the hell would a powerful nation made a robot that would be defeated with water?


    Aldred was just trying his luck when using that elemental spell, but who would have thought¡­


    "Uhh. Are you broken?" Aldred asked as he watched the robot twitching and crackling with electricity.


    He summoned his Phantom Doomde, and then shed her head. It popped off and rolled on the ground before her body fell with a thud.


    "Wait, it''s that easy?" Aldred could not hold hisugh.


    The engineers and scientist hearing this from the other side was in an awkward situation.


    "Are we getting fired?"


    "That''s for sure."


    ¡­


    Aldred immediately put Bafni in his divine dimension. There was no way he would let the enemy took her back. He knew nothing about Duria''s tech, but he knew that an expensive technology and advanced technology like that would make the enemy angry when it was being stolen.


    "Hmmm, what is this?" Aldred picked a finger-size object. He pressed the tiny button, and a forcefield appeared around him for half  a second. He pressed it again, and the force field appeared again.


    [Force Field Generator]


    "This is nice. I don''t know if it canst for long though."


    Aldred immediately put all his undeads and golems to their ce before he left the cave, and jumped out of the crevice.


    A dragon then picked him up and brought him to the sky.


    "How''s the situation?"


    "The enemies are retreating!" Bartrem reported. "These dragons are very powerful, Aldred."


    "Yeah." Aldred watched a thick blue beam engulfing the dragon, but it came out of it unscathed.


    "We''re lucky to have these dragons. We are almost invincible in the sky."


    "There is one problem," Bartrem said.


    "What is it?"


    "The ind is constantly moving. We have to catch up or it will go away."


    Aldred nodded. "Let''s quickly take care of business here, and go."


    And with that Aldred helped the dragons fought off the sci-fi fighter jets.


    He did not need to do much because the dragons already destroyed a lot of them.


    After a few hours of fighting, all the fighter jets ran away from battle.


    The dragons and the soldiers cheered in victory.


    "Let us chase that damn ind," Aldred said.

 390 Chapter 390

    He told his dragons to follow the flying ind so they would get closer every time the ind flew farther. But the ind would not move far enough for him to jump down. So he decided to make it happen.


    It took some work but eventually he was able to find something on the ind. It was an object like a crystal ball but smaller than his fist. He was curious why this was even there. There were many things like this throughout this world, but none of this made any sense.


    Aldred smashed the orb and saw something inside of it, but at first, he thought it was just dark fog, but after concentrating, he could see what looked like a map of the ind and around it. The area around the ind was very deste with only forest as its neighbor. There was nothing interesting nearby. There was signs of ancient ruins. Like a temple being buried by time. He walked to an altar, and saw skeletons in a kneeling position, praying to a long-broken statue.


    "What happened here?"


    Aldred suddenly heard someone screaming outside.


    He opened up a space warp above the floating ind and jumped through it to where people were crying out in pain.


    A group of knights had been attacked by monsters. One knight who couldn''t move tried to block the monster with his sword, but failed. The sword shattered when the creature got hit by the spell. Another knight swung his de horizontally to slice open the back of one beast while another used her shield to fend off two more creatures. A few knights managed to stab their swords into other beasts before dying themselves.


    The monsters that killed them didn''t die either because they are too tough for death spells and curses to work on them. Aldred recognized that they must be some sort of golem from the description given to him.


    The rest of the knights run away from these creatures that did not have a life bar. They all fell down or ran away from the golems chasing after them.


    Aldred summon his Phantom Doomde, bringing all the attention to him as it appeared with a terrifying zing red me. Then he charged towards the monsters, attacking and killing each one, ignoring any cries of fearing from the knights nearby. Thest monster standing was trying to attack Aldred but stopped once it saw how strong he was and was about to retreat until it was sliced apart by a lightning bolt thrown by one of the fallen knights nearby.


    All the knights cheered in joy upon seeing Aldred save them.


    "You''re..."


    Aldred turned around and found a tall man wearing te armor approaching him.


    "Aldred."


    He introduced himself as General Kusov of the Holy Knight Brigade. Aldred raised an eyebrow. Usually the word ''holy'' means that he was a part of the Holy State of Montcresia. However, this general wore no holy symbol on his chest like a knight should, only a round-shaped gem with three white dots surrounding it. The symbol belonged to the Church of Light, which were followers of Goddess Aura. That was what the system told him in the history section.


    Goddess aura... Church of Light. Aldred had never heard of that before. And how can there be an entire city in this ind. He thought the ind was small, but it had an entire forest, mountain ranges, and cities. In fact he just noticed that the ind seemed like a world in itself the moment hended here.


    There could be some possibilities, but the most probable was space and dimension magic. It looked small from outside, but when entered it would reveal its true space. Aldredughed inside. Of course it would not be an ordinary ind.


    "Thank you for saving us," General Kusov bowed his head to Aldred who simply smiled back at him as they exchanged greetings.


    "Are these monsters still around?" Aldred asked as he nced at the corpses of monsters lying all over the ce.


    "No, they retreated once they saw your strength."


    Aldredughed. "Then these monsters are smarter than I though they are."<sub> </sub>


    General Kusov nodded in agreement. "We''re d we survived this time. Do you know why those beasts attacked us? There''s an ancient ruin nearby with undead worshipping statues nearby."


    "Oh, ruins nearby? I found some ruins on the way here as well." Aldred remembered he found something simr near the flying ind.


    The two knights walked to where one of the fallen knights was holding a broken sword, and pointed towards the direction the monster came from. Then General Kusov continued to tell him about what happened after their encounter with the monsters. He said that many of them had been killed by golems which appeared out of nowhere and went berserk when attacking them. They had also lost half of their men before getting help from them. That was when they heard that this was actually an ancient dungeon.


    "Golems, huh." Aldred wondered if he could obtain a better blueprint for golems, or maybe something that could make his golem stronger.


    Aldred suddenly recalled an idea he just had. "General, did you say there were undead worshiping statues in the ruined temple?"


    "Yes..." General Kusov frowned as he confirmed what Aldred told him before continuing to talk to him. "You must be careful as you explore there, as there is no telling what might happen to you inside that ce."


    "I''ll be fine, thank you." Aldred waved away the general''s worries. After all, even if things get ugly inside, it would still take longer for him to find some kind of information than doing it himself. He wanted to hurry up and see how strong the golems were first.


    "General! What should we do now? If we can''t fight anymore then we have to run away!" One of the knights called out in fear after hearing that monsters are roaming the forest near their location.


    "Calm down... Don''t worry about it, I''m going back with Aldred." The general answered calmly while looking at Aldred who nodded back at him with confidence.


    Aldred had never lost his confidence in fighting. Well, except for fighting with that robotdy. He kinda felt fearful of what Thinker and his master would create next. He had to grow stronger. Much stronger!


    "I want to see how strong these golems are," Aldred said.


    "Are you sure you want to explore that ruined temple?"


    "I am a treasure hunter. I havee this far, and there is no way to back down."


    The general then guided Aldred and his entourage to the ruined temple. When they arrived, there was already a crowd of people surrounding the area. Everyone was afraid since they saw the bodies of the fallen knights scattered on the ground nearby. A few of them had tried entering the temple but were turned away by undead creatures waiting outside.


    Turned away, but more like being ughtered.


    "So there''s undead and golems in there?"


    "Yes," The general replied. "I lost a lot of my men because of them."


    "I am sorry for your loss, general."


    "Don''t worry about it," he said. "I have lost a lot of men more than I can count during this treasure hunt. I just hope it''s all worth it in the end."


    Aldred was silent for a few moment. "I hope so as well."

 391 Chapter 391

    "Aldred, you sure want to go in there?" Mira asked. "I feel a terrible aura is oozing out of that ruined temple."


    "That''s the aura of death. And if we don''t go, how can we proceed further?"


    Bartrem frowned as he stared at the temple. "I feel what Mira is saying. Whenever I look at the dark entrance, I feel I shouldn''t go there."


    "We have entered a lot of ces we should not have entered. Are we going to step back now? After all we have been through?"


    They all looked at each other in thought.


    "Sorry, Aldred. It''s just some short hesitation," Bartrem said.


    "Having hesitation is normal. It makes us think. It makes us prepare and n for what is ahead."


    "What about the dragons? Should we bring them in the dungeon?" Bartrem asked.


    Wena and Zara stood side by side, waiting for the answer.


    "Well, the dragons are huge. I don''t think they can fit in the ruined temple."


    Mary sighed. "I am sick of dark, smelly, underground dungeon!"


    Suddenly, the ruined temple shook.


    "What is going on?!" someone shouted.


    "Look. The temple is crumbling!"


    "What!?"


    The ruined temple crumbled like sand, and then a gigantic tree burst from it and grew up into the clouds, and went pass it.


    The trunk becamerger as it grew taller and taller to the point that the adventurers had to run away.


    After the tree went so high, the adventurers watched from the distance. The branches spread out, throwing green particles of nature in every direction looking like flower petals.


    The branches were as big as an entire city, and the tree was like a continent.


    In other words, the tree was a world in itself.


    They looked at the biggest mountain nearby andpared it with the tree. There was noparison. The mountain looked so small and insignificant. No. Small wasn''t the right word. It was microscopic.


    "Goddess Aura! What is that?!" The general widened his eyes in shock. He had never seen such thing before in his life. It was like miracle as if goddess herself created this tree.


    "We should climb it," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, a little girl''s voice reverberated in the sky, singing.


    "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,


    Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,


    All the king''s horses and all the king''s men,


    Couldn''t put Humpty together again."


    The song ended with the girl''s giggling, and her voicepletely disappeared after that.


    Everyone looked at each other and had the same look of confusion and wonder on their face.


    Aldred began to think twice of climbing the tree. But another voice whispered in his ear.


    "Aldred¡­ climb the tree¡­ I will help and guide you."


    Aldred looked to the side but there was no one there except a single leaf blown by the wind.


    "What should we do, Aldred?" Mareona asked.


    "We climb. It is clear that this here is our next challenge."


    "This is our final phase. The third phase," Ste said.


    "Yes. And after this, we can go home."


    Everyone had different feeling when hearing that statement. For most of them, home was the Ceraisian Empire, but for his wives, home was staying by Aldred''s side.


    For Aldred, home was the floating castle where his father, mother, and sister reside.


    "Let''s go."


    Aldred rode on the dragons with the others, and they immediately flew to the sky.


    The treasure hunters below were amazed that these dragons could fly here.


    "Ste, try to use your teleportation spell," Aldred said.


    Ste waved her hand, andrge portal opened in front of them that teleported them high in the sky.


    "This is the limit. I cannot use it near the tree."<sub> </sub>


    "That''s fine."


    Theynded on one of the branches.


    "Can we go higher?" Aldred asked.


    Zara talked with the dragons and said to Aldred: "It''s impossible. You have to defeat the monsters here."


    "Why?"


    "They said if we continue to fly, we will fall."


    "As I expected. So I have to kill monsters here before we can begin flying again?"


    "That''s what they said," Zara replied.


    "Oh, look! There are monsters over there!" Ivette pointed.


    "Let''s get hunting!" Aldred shouted before he leaped towards the monsters while summoning his Phantom Doomde.


    Wena was speechless when she see this. "I just noticed, but he really loves fighting."


    Mary and Mareonaughed.


    "He do indeed loves fighting."


    Aldred was shing left and right at the monsters until he received a notification.


    [You are in the Holy Nature''s presence]


    [Your mastery over the sword has increased]


    [You have obtained ''Sword Will'']


    [Sword Will (Not Yet Learned)]


    As a sword master, your mere presence can be sharp. It is so sharp that with a breath, the heart of your enemy will be cut to pieces.


    ''Not yet learned?'' Aldred looked at the notification with a weird expression. He had never seen a Not Yet Learned skill before.


    ''So how do I learn this skill?''


    The system then told him everything.


    "I see. So I just have to keep killing with the sword while pondering about my technique."


    Baendjbi saw the sharp aura oozing out of Aldred''s body and he was shocked to see this.


    "Sword Will? Have Aldred reached that stage of mastery already? Impossible! But yet, that aura¡­ that aura cannot lie. Only a master-level swordsman could let out such aura. It has to be the sword will."


    Baendjbi approached Aldred to feel the aura a little more, and he confirmed it was a sword aura.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Sorry, but how can you obtain Sword Will already?"


    "I just did."


    Baendjbi was bbergasted when he heard that.


    "Is it that impressive?"


    "The Sword Aura is impressive! Only true swordsmen can learn it! It can''t be acquired just by training with a sword, as you can train with a sword for your entire life without understanding Sword Aura. However, some people learn it within a couple decades of training! In order to be a swordmaster, you need to have Sword Aura! However, you have only been practicing with the sword for less than a year! People will be begging you to be their disciple if they learn of your talent!" Baendjbi said to him with excitement.


    "Wait a minute. Why do I have to be their disciple. Why don''t they be my disciple instead?"


    "Uhh¡­" Baendjbi did not think of that. Usually, swordmasters would recruit talented swordsman so they could pass the torch and increased their status. But all of them have to learned the Sword Will for their entire life. Aldred had done it around a year, so why didn''t they ask him for guidance instead?


    A Diamond Rank swordsmaster asking a Gold Rank for guidance¡­ no matter how he looked at it, it seemed so¡­ impossible.


    Don''t even mention asking for guidance, even looking at Gold Rank would make the Diamond Rankers felt disgusted sometimes.


    And yet, there was Aldred, who was asked by his peers to teach them! He couldn''t believe what was happening! And most importantly, the auraing out from this boy was amazing!


    "You really are something else! Do you realize you are one of those people born with genius?"


    Aldred replied with an expressionless face: "No."


    "But that''s a very high level aura," Baendjbi told him in awe after being enchanted by it.


    "Meh. It''s not that great."


    It''s just a skill that let him hurt his enemy without moving. It wasn''t anything special because he had a lot of skills like that.


    If Baendjbi heard that, he would be bleeding from the ears.

 392 Chapter 392

    "Well, I haven''t fully learned it yet, actually."


    "Then you should start to learn it. I am sure with your talent, you can learn it quick." Baendjbi already thought of Aldred as an idol, so he believed he could do anything.


    "I guess so."


    After they both talked about the sword will for a few minutes, they began killing monsters again. Baendjbi stared intently at Aldred, trying to study him as if he was a rare specimen.


    Aldred killed monsters for hours.


    "Even though I have been practicing with the sword nonstop for five hours now, I am still unable to learn how to utilize the Sword Will..." Aldred sighed.


    "If you could in fact learn Sword Will in such a short period of time, it would be even more shocking. Even the top geniuses within the Buzzing de sword guild need to spend long decades of training before they can be trained to learn Sword Aura. And let me remind you that they usually need to reach Diamond Rank first before they could even touch the edge of Sword Will."


    "If you train long enough, you will certainly be able to learn Sword Will sooner orter." "You should not be impatient, Aldred. You are without a doubt a genius with a high affinity for swords. If you train long enough, you will definitely be experienced with Sword Will sooner orter."


    "You have that much confidence in me?"


    "Why of course." After all the thing he saw from Aldred¡­ it would be no surprise if he could learn the Sword Will in a year.


    Aldred nodded and killed more monsters.


    There was a notification that appeared on Aldred''s screen after he killed a few monsters.


    [You have received the title ''Monster Hunter'']


    [Monster Hunter]


    You have killed so many monsters in your lifetime that the world decided to give you something. All damage to monsters will increase by 10%. This title can be upgraded as you kill more monsters.


    Aldredughed as he killed monsters even faster.


    Baendjbi was surprised at how fast Aldred killed the monsters. "In a day, his sword skill increased by a significant margin¡­"


    Aldred shed a 3 meter tall n monster and he smiled as purple blood sttered on his face.


    ''The titles are very beneficial. He got a lot of titles such as [Little Hunter] that increased his speed when chasing fleeing targets, and reduction of noise when sneaking up on the target, and more.


    The title [Giant Killer] was one of his favorite. It increased his damage by 250% when the enemy wasrger than him. And therger the enemy, the greater the effect.


    Should he fought a colossal space entity the size of a in the future, he should not be scared.


    He chased after a buffed reindeer standing on two legs, and attacked it from behind with his de. The de passed through its neck, shoulder, torso and finally ended in its heart. When it fell down to the ground, Aldred heard Baendjbi cheering happily and praised him for it.


    When Aldred arrived at the ce where they rested for the night, there were already 20+ monsters dead. There were still several hours left before they would arrive at their next destination, so they decided to sleep first before going back out hunting again.


    Their next destination was at the trunk. Wena told Aldred that the dragons felt like they needed to go there before they could fly again.


    But the branch seemed so vast that he guessed he would arrive after weeks of travel.


    He did not think much about it and began resting with the others. They started hearing strange soundsing from the forestte into the evening. But then a tree monster suddenly appeared in front of them.


    They stared at each other without saying a word as a battle between a giant spider-like creature and a tree monster started. The battle onlysted for a few minutes before the giant spider monster fled, leaving nothing but burnt grasses on the ground.


    Seemed like the monsters were notmanded to only attack treasure hunters, but also each other, like real animals.


    The sun set soon, signaling that it was time for everyone to prepare themselves for another day. They got ready and continued moving forward while watching their surroundings closely.


    After some time had passed, Aldred saw something unexpected in front of him. It was a humanoid dragon! Its head looked differentpared to the dragons he knew of, and its body was covered by golden scales.


    "I guess it''s our next opponent," Aldred said.


    "That''s a dragonborn."<sub> </sub>


    "So like half-dragon, half men?"


    "You can say that, but they are far stronger than a dragon."


    "How can that be? A half-dragon should be weaker."


    "Humans can be one of the top of the food chain. Why do you think so?" Wena asked.


    "Because we are strong?"


    "No. It''s because we are weak."


    Aldred thought for a second and he understood immediately. "I understand. We are weak, therefore we are dangerous."


    Wena nodded. "We have to be dangerous and deadly so we can survive as a weak being. Some creatures evolved to be able to reproduce a vast number of babies in a short moment, but we evolved to be a problem solver."


    "A human is weak, a dragon is strong. Combine that into one, and you got that dragonborn."


    "A dangerous and powerful creature..." Aldred realized as he watched the golden dragon sitting on a stone, meditating.


    Aldred used his godly eyes on the dragon, and what he saw shocked him.


    "This thing is going to kill me when I get close... Shouldn''t we avoid this area altogether...?" Aldred suggested hesitantly. He was afraid of getting killed by the dragon. There was no point if he died here after all.


    He was strong, but he wasn''t stupid either. If he fought this dragonborn, he would die.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Kelxikmordel Herakas]


    Level: 180


    Power: Super Strength, Enhanced Senses, Extrasensory Perception, Master Swordsmanship, Magic Construct, Elemental Maniption, Stealth Mastery, Martial Master, Damage Nullification, Portal Destroyer, Anus Sucker, Greater Aura.


    History:


    Born at the time of this continent''s creation, Herakas have seen many things. As a young dragonborn, he only knew was alone in this world. He was alone while world was against him. He was weak, so he has to be strong. Through breaking bones and bathing in the blood of his enemy, he had triumphed over them and reached the peak of existence.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hahaha! That''s right. You are quite clever." The golden dragonughed out loud as it stared at Aldred. It stood up from its stone seat as it revealed itself with glowing golden light. "I am Kelxikmordel Herakas."


    "Herakas?" Aldred asked back nervously as he looked around for a way to escape.


    "Hahaha... This name is just temporary for now," the dragon replied yfully, noticing that Aldred was frightened by his presence. "No need to fear me, young boy. If I want you to die, you would be by now."


    "That makes sense."


    "You were able to find my treasure ind without much trouble, weren''t you? How long did you take to get here?"


    "Your treasure ind? This whole ind is yours? I thought the continent create it to challenge the treasure hunters."


    "Ahh, so it''s that time of the year. Treasure hunting was it? Well, how was your journey."


    "It''s fun, I guess."


    The dragonbornughed. "Not many have that answer. You are quite honest. That''s rare, but it might be a facade. Tell me, are you a honest man?"


    "Depends on my mood."


    The dragonbornughed again. "I like you. Come sit down next to me."

 393 Chapter 393

    Aldred walked closer and sat down next to the dragon. His divine senses were telling him that the dragon was emitting a very weird aura.


    "How long do you intend to stay on this ind?" the dragon asked.


    "As long as I get the treasure," Aldred replied.


    "I see." The dragon caressed his thin strands of beard. "You are a powerful boy, so there is no doubt you will get the treasure."


    They were relieved when they heard that. They had confidence in Aldred, but when an extremely powerful Dragonborn said that Aldred would get the treasure, their certainty increased even more.


    Herakas, the Dragonborn, chatted with Aldred about his days. In between, he also taught Aldred how to control his magic and improve his swordsmanship.


    In return, Aldred told his journey as well.


    "Hmmm. This year''s treasure hunting seemed to be harder than anything I have ever seen."


    "Seriously? This is the hardest?" Aldred asked.


    Ste nodded. "I have that thought as well."


    "Well, for one. There shouldn''t be any tinum Rank monster involved."


    "What about you? Howe you are here?" Aldred asked.


    "This is my home."


    "It''s not the first time the world use the home of a powerful entity as an obstacle," Ste said. Her home was Mount Fargon.


    "I have never seen your kind before. It was nice meeting you, but we have to leave now," Aldred said.


    "Wait. Let me give you something." The dragonborn reached out with his hand, and a golden light lit up on top of his palm before a scroll appeared.


    [Scroll of Meditation]


    Aldred took the scroll and read about its information. "This scroll can reduce all damage by 90%, but in return, I cannot move at all when I used it."


    The dragonbornughed. "This scroll is supposed to be used to cleanse your mind, body, and soul. But yes, it can be useful in battle as well. Try it."


    Aldred nodded before he opened the scroll. He took off his hands from it and it floated as it released green mist that swirled around him. It was such a refreshing energy. So soothing, and so calming. Aldred began closing his eyes, and feet began to levitate.


    He sat in mid-air with a lotus position, end began meditating.


    [All damage received will be reduced by 90% in Meditation State]


    [You cannot move in Meditation State]


    [Scroll of Meditation]


    Entering a state of meditation will regenerate your loss health points over time, and reduce any damage taken in this state by 90%. When entering a state of meditation with full health, the maximum limit of health points will be increased.


    It was such a wonderful item. If Aldred kept on meditating with full health, his maximum health points would increase. How amazing was that!


    Aldred continued to meditate as his maximum health points increased. After about two hours passed, Aldred woke up as if he just had a nap. His entire body felt refreshed as he got up to greet Herakas.


    "Not bad. There is almost no impurity within you." The Dragonborn smiled.


    Aldred looked down at his feet and noticed a tiny speck of ck goo.


    "By the way. There is a spirit tree in a cave nearby. You should go there."


    "Spirit tree?" Ste asked. "Aldred, we should go there. Spirit tree can produce spirit fruit that can increase our strength significantly."<sub> </sub>


    "Alright." Aldred nodded.


    Then they followed Herakas'' distraction to visit the cave that contained an ancient Spirit Tree. In front of it was a dead giant spider.


    Ste readied her magic staff while Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    "It''s that spider who fought against the tree monster," Aldred said. "Maybe this is its home, but it died because it was wounded."


    "That can be the case," Ste replied.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes. "Wait no. The wound is fresh. Something killed it just recently."


    Ste stared at him with curiosity. "Something? What do you mean by ''something''?"


    "I don''t know what or how did it kill the giant spider. But I feel like something was here not too long ago and attacked that creature," Aldred said as he used his godly eyes. He scanned every inch of the area and then he saw the presence. A human mana aura wasing from inside that cave!


    "Let''s get inside.


    "There''s someone in there!" Ste pointed out, when they were still outside the entrance to the cave. The two could sense dangering towards them so quickly that they rushed into the cave to find the source of threat.


    Then they saw something. A man. He was wounded as he breathed up and down, struggling to survive.


    The man noticed them, and tried to force a word toe out of his mouth. But because he stopped focusing on his breathing, he died.


    Aldred approached the corpse.


    "Wait, Aldred. It might be a trap."


    Aldred summoned one of his undead to run around area. When he confirmed it was safe, he finally approached the corpse. "Bruises, internal wounds, broken bones, shattered teeth, cracked skull. Whatever the thing that killed this man used blunt weapons.


    When they had given some thought to it, they decided to go deeper into the cave.


    After entering the cave, he found himself in a spacious area that was simr to the cave when he fought that Behemoth. There were, however, a dozen silver-furred apes and a massive glowing tree in the middle of this spacious area. Many of the Silver Apes were asleep around this gigantic tree, which reached nearly 90 meters in height, with a few of them ying on its thick branches.


    "I don''t know what''s going on here but I''m sure we have stumbled upon an unusual situation." Aldred walked closer while activating his divine senses. Then his godly vision allowed him to see magic energy flows through these creatures'' bodies as well as their spiritual body.


    These were not ordinary apes that was for sure. 6 of the apes seemed to be the alpha amongst them. They had the bigger body and higher level. They were also the only ones that had female partners while the rest could only look in jealousy.


    Aldred sighed. "Welp, its killing time." Phantom Doomde appeared in zing me inside his hand.


    The apes noticed.


    "Ook-ook! Eeek-aak-eek!"


    "Aak! Aak!"


    They immediately woke up all the Silver Apes that were sleeping when they spotted Aldred''s presence on the tree.


    The leader of Silver Ape roared at Aldred with a deep sound. The entire area vibrated due to how powerful the roar was. Even the ground beneath Aldred''s feet quaked. The other apes began to make a great fuss, creating even more noise than before.


    Aldred replied with a loud yell, and then a magical spell was created from his staff, which caused the trees around them to bend and break. Not the Spirit Tree though. It seemed that tree was sacred for them.


    "Are you guys, ready?" Aldred asked.


    His friends brandished their weapons and entered a battle stance.


    The Silver Apes made another huge ruckus as they charged forward in order to fight against this enemy. They puffed their chest and pounded their own chest as a show of force. However, the majority of those apes were far too weakpared to Aldred. But despite being weaker, these apes didn''t give up fighting without any hesitation. They ran towards the group of intruders while throwing rocks, logs, or branches.

 394 Chapter 394

    In an instant, 36 Silver Apes surrounded Aldred, who stood calmly, unfazed by the situation.


    Suddenly, some Silver Apes with powerful arms spread wide jumped at Aldred.


    Aldred held up his hand to stop them all in midair and said "Don''t be ridiculous." He then shot a ball of fire into their chests, killing a bunch of them instantly. Some survived with a horrifying charred wound on their bodies, blood and even their internal organs wanted to leak out. It was a miracle they survived, though they knew that would not be the case for long.


    The remaining members rushed at him but he grabbed them with telekinesis before they could reach him. The moment those silver apes were inside his fist, there was a sh of light as several parts of them got sliced off or broken apart entirely. After letting go of these limp body pieces, which fell like dead weights onto the ground, Aldred moved towards more approaching enemies and killed another three or four of them just like that. They didn''t get any warning signs from their senses telling them about attacksing. Aldred was like a stealthy assassin. Fast and unseen.


    In an instant, he sliced ten thousand times, cutting everything that came in his path.


    [You have learned the skill ''Ten Thousand Cuts'']


    [Ten Thousand Cuts]


    Cutting ten thousand times within a single timeframe. There was no dy between the first cut, and the tenth thousandth cut.


    Aldred smiled and he activated the skill. "Ten Thousand Cuts!"


    His Phantom Doomde flickered, blurring as if it wasn''t real, then multiple arcs of terrifying red light appeared around him.


    Reality took a second toprehend what he just did as the apes stood still, then they fell like bricks.


    The other Silver Apes panicked when they saw this. In spite of this, they didn''t flee.


    Aldred began his own assault after killing a few Silver Apes, targeting the Silver Apes with the highest level. Those were his primary target.


    After a few minutes, only the weakest Silver Apes remained, having been in by the stronger Silver Apes.


    "..." Baendjbi was speechless when he saw this. "Funny how I tell people that I am a swordsman...pared to him, I am merely a man with a stick."


    When they saw their strongest members in by Aldred without any effort, the Silver Apes stopped surrounding him and even backed away from him.


    Aldred looked to the side and saw his friends were finishing up as well. The apes were stepping back.


    With that, he began to approach the spirit tree, but when the apes noticed that, they growled and became aggressive again.


    "It seems like the tree is very valuable to them."


    "Look!" Mary pointed. "There are fruits on that tree, and they are glowing."


    "That must be the spirit fruits Herakas talked about."


    Aldred went closer to examine them. They all glowed faintly.


    "Let''s go! We''ll try eating one of those fruit first." Aldred walked towards the tree, and everyone followed him closely.


    As he did so, the silver apes began approaching as well, baring their teeth.


    Aldred pointed with his Phantom Doomde, reminding them of what will happen if they dare to get close.


    "This spirit fruit took decades to grow, and they are very enticing for monsters. For these apes to control themselves and not devour the fruits... there has to be a reason behind it," Ste said.


    The moment she said that, a gust of wind blew past them violently. It was powerful enough to make everyone flinch. When they got over their surprise, they found out that the trees nearby had grown incredibly fast and now surrounded the entire area, making a wall. That was the only thing keeping the Silver Apes at bay. The aura from the spirits within the fruit prevented the Silver Apes from approaching any further.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow and said: "I wonder why the spirits decided to protect us."


    "Please save me," a soft voice of a distressed girl was heard. "Please. Save me."


    Aldred looked around and realized that it was the spirit of the Spirit Tree that was talking.


    "Save you. Save you from what?"


    "GROAARRRR!"<sub> </sub>


    A powerful roar came from a tunnel to their side.


    Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!


    The earth shook with each stomp, and then a 12 meter tall silver ape appeared. It scoffed as it scratched its hairy chest.


    Everyone was silent at first before Aldred shook his head in disappointment. "I was expecting something stronger. Ivette, can you handle it?"


    "Sure!" Ivette excitedly stepped forward and brandished her snow-white sword.


    She approached the beast slowly, careful not to make sudden moves. She stayed calm but alert. There was no need to rush; she didn''t want to underestimate the opponent.


    As the giant Silver Ape moved to attack Ivette, she thrust her de towards him, but he swiftly dodged by a fraction of a second, which gave him time to take a swing at her.


    Ivette blocked the blow with her longsword, while counterattacking herself by swinging back with her sword. However, the gigantic silver ape managed to block both attacks effortlessly using only one arm. He took advantage of that momentary opening and began chipping away at Ivette''s defenses until she fell down on the ground, exhausted.


    Aldred looked over at Mary who nodded and they agreed that Ivette wouldn''tst much longer if they continued like this. They had toe up with another n quickly.


    "Mary, try your best!"


    Aldred frowned. The giant silver ape should not be that strong. Then he noticed something weird.


    "Wait a minute, the ape is sucking power from the spirit tree."


    As more time passed, the silver ape became stronger and stronger without getting tired.


    Aldred noticed a piece of root on the ape''s body. "I understood now, that root is connected to the spirit tree, resulting in its power to be absorbed by the ape."


    "So we have to stop that?" Mary said with worry in her voice. "But how?"


    Aldred recalled what Ivette did when she fought the ape. Ivette was very agile. She used her swordsmanship well against it despite having just been injured. As she knew Ivette was fast and able to react quickly, but she still got pushed back despite that.


    "y time is over." Phantom Doomde appeared in his hand. "Ivette, back up for me."


    Ivette nodded and leaped back.


    The giant silver ape tried to chase her down, but Aldred shed, creating an arc of mes that charred the ground and turned its attention to him.


    "Pick your own size," Aldred said.


    The ape was confused by that statement. It was Ivette who initiated the attack so what was the meaning of this?


    Mira quickly healed all of Ivette''s wound. She was barely taking any damage though because she dodged all of the fatal attacks.


    Aldred stepped forward slowly with great confidence. He pointed at the ape with his sword. "Give me that spirit root."


    The Silver Ape took notice of that, which caused Aldred to move faster, shing towards its head as he approached it. The silver ape jumped backwards and then threw itself on the ground, making its body harder than steel, or rather, rock-like, and rolled around whileughing loudly, trying its best to evade its attacker.


    However, even after doing so multiple times, Aldred continued chasing after it until it finally stopped rolling and stood back up, staring right into Aldred''s eyes.


    "You canugh in this situation? You''re so simr to me." Aldredughed as well.


    "Did he just say that he is simr to an ape?" Bartrem asked Baendjbi.


    "I don''t know. But whatever that is, it has to be profound."


    "What...?" Bartrem was confused by that answer. What part of that was profound?


    Unknown to Bartrem was Baendjbi had be Aldred''s fan by now.

 395 Chapter 395

    Aldred stood in front of the giant silver ape, ready to fight. "I will be your opponent now."


    The silver ape opened its mouth and showed its fangs. It roared and charged towards Aldred with an intimidating growl. Aldred moved backwards slightly but it didn''t matter; he didn''t intend to run from it anyway.


    He used Phantom Doomde and swung it horizontally towards the giant silver ape''s head. The sword didn''t make any impact but a momentter arge shock wave emerged from it, sending the ape flying into the air with incredible force andnding on its back on top of the rock floor.


    The silver ape growled and snarled in anger as it tried to stand up but it was unable to do so because it couldn''t stand up properly with its back on the ground.


    Baendjbi was once again shocked by this. Sword usually could only cut and slice the enemy, so when there was an enemy that was highly immuned to cutting damage, swordsman would have a terrible time. But some sword master developed a skill to cause blunt damage using their swords, and some of them used shockwave to do it. How could Aldred learn such skill? When did he learned it?


    The silver ape roared and absorbed more energy from the spirit tree. It stood and and both of its arms shone in green. Raising both arms, the ape mmed down.


    Boom!


    The floor cracks from impact, and the cracks made its way towards Aldred. Powerful energy exploded forth from the cracks right in front of his face.


    "Aldred!" Mary shouted.


    After the energy dissipated everyone saw Aldred had entered the state of meditation, effectively reducing 90% of the damage taken from the energy explosion.


    The ape raised both its arms again and charged at Aldred once more but before it could do anything, it suddenly froze in ce and started trembling violently. Then it exploded into countless pieces that were sent flying around as it turned into dust.


    "..."


    "What happened?" Mareona asked.


    "It exploded because it absorbed too much energy," Aldred said. "The ape did not realize its body has limit."


    Mareona was amazed by that exnation and said: "Is that possible?"


    Aldred nodded with certainty as if it was something he had done many times before. "Yes, it is possible because it''s not normal for a living creature to have that much energy inside itself. At least until you reached a higher rank. The higher you rank, the more quantity and quality of energy you could create and store."


    "I see." Mareona said with a smile on her lips. "That''s great. Now we can pick the spirit fruits."


    "You can pick them already? Let''s hurry then." Aldred began walking towards the spirit tree again when he heard Ste speak up: "Wait."


    "Why?" He asked curiously as they neared the tree.


    "The spirit tree is shining again." She pointed at it. "It looks like it has enough spirit fruits now."


    Aldred looked closely at the tree, which had started glowing as well.


    "Thank you," a little girl''s voice said.


    "Are you the one that sang the song?"


    "Song? No, I believe not."


    ''I see. So that''s a different spirit." Aldred turned his head to look at the silver apes that were surrounding them but they were gone; they were nowhere to be seen.


    "Thank you again for saving me. I don''t have much, but you can pick my fruits as much as you like."


    "Let''s pick these spirit fruits then," Mareona said excitedly, looking forward to taste those fruits as well. They looked so fat and juicy.


    While his friends looked at which fruits to pick, Aldred asked the spirit tree. "What is your name?"


    "Name? I don''t know... I don''t think I ever have a name."


    "I see." Aldred saw his friends plucking the fruits. "Is this okay? Are you not hurt when we pick the fruits?"


    "Not at all. You can take as much as you like."


    "Okay, but won''t you run out of fruits? After all, it could take decades for you to create one, right?"


    "Oh, not at all. I can make as many fruits as I want, but I mostly held back because the silver ape would hurt me. But the problem is, I cannot stop producing fruit. Every decade or so, the excess energy would produce fruit."


    "Hmmm. I have never heard that a spirit tree could talk before," Ste said.


    "Have you seen one before?" Aldred asked.<sub> </sub>


    "Nope. By my guess, it''s almost non-existent on the Coureroy continent."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes," Ste continued. "It''s a myth that one of those trees is located in the kingdom of Sorci?? and that one fruit can bring eternal life."


    "Can your fruit bring eternal life?" Aldred asked the spirit tree.


    "I am not sure, but the apes love eating my fruits, and they do get stronger because of it."


    "Really?"


    "Really."


    Aldred smiled at the spirit tree and picked another fruit. "Well, I guess I will take some."


    Mareona, Ste, Mary and Aldred were standing near the spirit tree. They had already picked up all the spirit fruits that were nearby but there were still many more to pick. Some fruits were bigger than their size and some were smaller. They had also found a variety of colors such as blue, green, yellow and even purple.


    Mareona looked at all the different fruits and then to the spirit tree. "So we are going to take all these fruits and put them in your stomach? Is that safe?"


    "Yes, it is," the spirit tree said.


    They then sat around the tree and enjoyed the fruits. Aldred and his friends chatted with the spirit tree and they shared stories.


    "Oh my... I don''t know there''s such a wonderful world out there. I wonder if I would ever have the chance to explore it," the spirit tree said with a tinge of sadness.


    Aldred was eating a piece of fruit when he got an idea. "You know. Maybe you can."


    "How?"


    "I can turn your body into a golem!"


    "..."


    "A... a golem?"


    "Yes. If I turn your body into a golem, you can move around however you like."


    "I... I can do that? Really?"


    "Really."


    "Okay. Turn me into a golem."


    Aldred stopped eating and put away his fruit into his pouch. Then he focused on the spirit tree with his eyes closed and began meditating while sending mana to his body to move it to where he wanted it to be. He made sure he was only focusing on the spirit tree while doing so so that he didn''t identally mess up his body''s form while he was doing it. It was an advanced skill that took a lot of effort to learn, so he didn''t want to mess up something just because he wasn''t


    "Usually I have to carve you bit by bit to turn you into a golem."


    "Eh?" the spirit tree yelped at the idea of being cut.


    "But my golemification skill has improved, so there is no need for that."


    "Ohh... that is... fortunate." The spirit tree was relieved to hear that.


    Opening his eyes, Aldred activated his golemification skill.


    "I feel something weird. My body. It''s changing!"


    The spirit tree began to be smaller and smaller, until it formed into a wooden, shining golem with the appearance of a little girl. She wore a cute clothes with the texture of leaves, and a little hat was on top of her head.


    The little wooden girl looked at her hands, and then looked at her feet. Then she ran around the cave. "I can move! I can move!"


    She giggled like a small child. "It''s great! It''s great! It''s great! It''s great! I can move!" she continued to say, as if she was repeating herself over and over again.


    Mary, Mareona, Ste and Aldred watched the little wooden girl move around. She jumped from one spot to another andughed non-stop.


    They were all happy for her.

 396 Chapter 396

    Aldred and the others chatted with the spirit tree some more and even stocked some of her spirit fruits.


    "Well, we have to continue our journey now. It was nice meeting you," Aldred said.


    "It''s nice to meet you too!" The wooden girl hugged him like a child, and giggled. "Thanks to you, now I can explore the world."


    Aldred caressed her head. "Be careful out there, okay. Don''t trust in strangers. The world has its beauty, but it also has its ugly side."


    The wooden girl nodded.


    "Wait. I have some treasures that can protect you." Aldred gave her a bunch of weapons, trinkets, andstly a ne.


    "This ne will change your appearance. Make sure no one can take it from you." Aldred put the ne on her, and her wooden skin turned into that of a human. This transformation happened to her whole body. Her hair, eyes, nose, lips, and everything else looked very much like human. She even had the same facial structure and facial expressions.


    Her face was a bit smaller and she had more facial features than the average human, but other than that she was human.


    Ste summoned a mirror, and the Spirit looked at herself.


    "Is that me?"


    "Yep. That is you."


    "I am so beautiful..." She giggled and turned towards Aldred. "Thank you."


    Aldred smiled. "So, will you think of a name for yourself?"


    "A name?"


    "Yeah, so people can call you."


    "Silva. Nima Silva."


    "That''s a beautiful name. Does it have meaning?"


    "I think so. A few hundred years ago, I saw an old man talking with thisnguage."


    "Nima Silva?" Ste raised an eyebrow. "I believe it means Spirit Tree."


    "Ohh. That''s the perfect name for you," Aldred said.


    Silva giggled. "What about you, Aldred? Does your name have meaning?"


    "My name means wise."


    "But we have never seen anything wise from you, Aldred," Mareona said which made everyoneugh.


    The group decided to part with Silva. She wished them well, and promised she would see them again when opportunitye. They were about to leave, but Ste stopped them.


    "Aldred, I found a city a few hundred kilometers from here. We should check it out."


    "What do you think, Aldred? Shall we check it out?" Mareona asked him.


    "It''s better than staying here and doing nothing." Aldred shrugged.


    "Let''s go," Ste said, and the group left the cave with Silva, then they parted ways as she wanted to explore the world on her own.


    After Aldred watched her leave, he checked his own body and realized that he had be much stronger because of the spirit fruit.


    Not only his stats, but also his intellect toprehend skills, spells, and techniques were improved so far and wide. He had to train hard to keep his skills sharp.


    "Let''s head to that city!" Mareona said cheerfully.


    Aldred nodded. The city was right in their way as well, so it was no problem going there. Who knew he could find something useful for the journey.


    "Let''s go!" Mareona said.


    As they were about to leave a familiar face appeared in front of them.


    "Hello, we meet again. Have you ate the spirit fruits?" Herakas, the powerful dragonkin, greeted them.


    "Yeah we do. Lots of them," Aldred said.


    Herakasughed. "Good, good. All of you looked much stronger now. I overheard that you are trying to reach the next city."


    "We do. It''s on the way of our destination, anyway."<sub> </sub>


    "Well, let me bring you there. I have some familiarity with the city."


    "That would be wonderful," Aldred said.


    Herakas shed the air beside him, and space itself peeled off like the skin of an apple, revealing a portal. "Let''s get in."


    Herakas entered the portal and Aldred followed soon.


    When they all arrived at the other side, they saw a grand city with lots of people and wagons stretched for miles seemingly waiting in line.


    "Damn, the traffic is much worse than the modern world!" Aldred said when he saw this.


    "It''s only natural that this ce is so crowded. As a result of its rich environment and abundant treasures, Golden Dragon City is among the most popr ces in the World Tree, so powerful cultivators and merchantse from all over to do business here," Herakas exined


    "Golden Dragon City? Why does that sounds like you?" Aldred asked.


    Herakasughed. "I told you I am a bit familiar with the city."


    "Hmm, how did you get an entire city to be named after your race? Are you like a god for them?"


    "Something like that." Herakas looked at the city while he recalled the past. "Anyway, go get in line. More people areing soon, so hurry up. I won''t be attending you. I will take my leave. Here take this." He gave Aldred a golden emblem.


    "The city doesn''t ept gold coins, so you can use that. It should be enough for you to have fun in the city."


    "Thanks," Aldred said.


    Herakas nodded. "Go now."


    Aldred nodded and the group started to walk down the road. When they reached the line, Aldred saw the line was made of people and horses waiting on both sides of the road.


    They waited for half an hour, and finally got their turn.


    "That would be 1 Epic Crystal."


    "1 Epic Crystal?" Aldred was shocked by that price. Epic Crystal was a rare item, and even tinum Rankers wouldn''t think about giving them away. It could even be considered to be a family heirloom for some people.


    Aldred had a few, but he did not have a constant source of Epic Crystals. Sure, he could buy these crystals with his business, but that did not mean he would give one away for an entrance fee.


    "Is this the normal price?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, it is. Now pay up!" The guard was annoyed.


    "Aldred, use the emblem," Ste said.


    "Alright." Aldred took out the golden emblem that Herakas gave him.


    The guard widened his eyes, and his whole body trembled.


    "Can I pay with this?"


    "What? O--Of course."


    The guard took a stone tablet that had a slot for the emblem. After the emblem slid inside the slot, the tablet shone.


    "Usually, non-residents in this city can only stay here for a week at most, but you can stay here as long as you''d like. Here is your emblem back, sir. Please enjoy yourself, and do forgive me for my rudeness."


    "Uh, yeah, sure."


    The guard bowed as Aldred and his entourage entered the city with confused expression.


    They entered into Golden Dragon City, and saw that it was much more crowded than what Aldred thought of. They were surrounded by people from all walks of life. The group walked around until they found an inn that could amodate all of them. The city was also filled with shops of various kinds.


    "Umm, Aldred. Are you sure we should enter this luxurious inn?" Mary asked.


    "Since when have we scared of entering luxurious buildings before?"


    "Since the guard asked 1 Epic Crystal for merely the entrance fee."


    Hearing that made Aldred had second thoughts about entering the inn.


    "Hello how can I help you?" a beautiful woman came from inside the inn.

 397 Chapter 397

    "Ah, no, nevermind." Aldred hid the golden emblem in his pocket. He did not want to be embarrassed by anyone here.


    The woman on the other hand had her eyes lit up when she noticed the emblem. "Excuse me, respected sir. May I take a look of that emblem?"


    "No, no, it''s okay. We will take our leave now."


    "Please, sir. I just want to take a look."


    Aldred hesitantly nodded and took out the golden emblem out of his pocket.


    The beautiful woman''s eyes lit up. "Sir, are you looking for a ce to stay?"


    "Yes, we actually do."


    "In that case, you can stay in our inn."


    "No, that will be fine."


    "It''s okay, sir. You can stay here as long as you like free of charge."


    "Seriously?"


    "Yes. My name is Avre Heartdancer. I am the owner of the Golden Scales Inn." She bowed slightly, and her eyes averted towards Aldred with a sweet smile on her face.


    ''This man has the Golden Emblem that was only owned by one of the ten founders of this nation. If the stories were right, nine of the founders were a dragonkin, but one of them was a human. For thousands of years, nobody knew where the dragonkins were gone.


    But this man... perhaps he was the son of the founder.''


    "Not only am I the owner of the Golden Scales Inn, but I also owned the Golden Treasury. I collected unique treasures from all around the world, and the items I have is only one of a kind. If you wish to take a look you can tell me about it. For now, let me guide you to your amodation."


    Avre then led Aldred to the 90th floor where the room was so spacious and beautifully furnished.


    Aldred and his wives looked around, but they didn''t seem so impressed. Avre almost made a mistake of shooing them away. Thankfully, she kept her professional attitude in front of them, and noticed the golden emblem.


    If not for that, she could have offended one of the most important person of this city.


    As they looked around, Aldred feeling bored and summoned a Spirit Fruit out of his inventory. Then he ate it.


    Avre widened her eyes. At first she had doubt that she met the son of the founder, but after watching Aldred grabbing and eating a Spirit Fruit so nonchntly, she believed it was true.


    A few secondster, she saw everyone grabbed a Spirit Fruit of their own.


    This shocked her even more.


    "I liked this ce. We''ll take it. But are you sure we can use this ce for free?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, you can use it. But I would like you to see our Golden Treasury as well."


    "But how can I pay for it?"


    "Sir, you can use the Golden Emblem. If my guess is correct, there should be an enormous amount of wealth in it."


    "Oh, I see." Aldred nodded as he recalled Herakas'' face.


    ***


    Avre guided the party to the Golden Treasury, and showed them some of the treasures. The treasure chests were made out of gold, silver and ivory. And inside the treasure chests were even rarer treasures such as magical swords and orbs, gemstones and rare books.


    Aldred''s eyes were sparkling like stars. He couldn''t stop himself from drooling. His wives were equally ecstatic, as their eyes shined brightly with awe.<sub> </sub>


    After seeing that the treasury contained many valuable items, Aldred asked how much it cost.


    "The treasury has many floors. The treasures on the first floor at minimum is priced at 100 Epic Mana Crystal. The next floor is priced at 200 Epic Mana crystal, so on and so forth."


    Aldred and the others were of course speechless when they heard that.


    "The first floor is probably too cheap for your taste. Why don''t we go down to the fifth floor where the treasure are 500 Epic Mana crystals at minimum."


    Aldred gulped.


    Mary looked at him. "The Golden Emblem will pay for us. I am sure there''s a lot of Epic Crystals in there."


    Aldred nodded and agreed to go down to the fifth floor.


    Two men in fancy traditional robe bowed. "Weedy Heartdancer."


    Avre ignored the guards as she led Aldred and the others inside.


    Aldred was surprised that the fifth floor wasrger than the fourth floor, but at least it wasn''t as big as the first floor. Avre took them to a treasure chest in the center of the floor, which was locked with golden padlocks.


    Avre touched a golden lock and whispered amand word. The lock opened. The door opened too.


    Aldred''s eyes lit up at what was inside the treasure chest. The treasure chest contained many different things such as jewelry, weapons, armor, shields, artifacts, magical stones and rare books. There was even a golden shield in there that seemed to be made of gold metal with golden dragon wings attached at the back, a sword with a golden scabbard, and a spear with a golden tip.


    Aldred was staring at the spear when Avre tapped on his shoulder.


    "This is the spear that the founder of this nation used."


    Aldred turned his eyes back to Avre.


    "Well, it was only an imitation. But it was made by a renowned cksmith of this city long ago. Many people tried to imitate the founder''s weapons, but he was the closest to do it."


    Aldred looked at the spear and knew that its power was far from Herakas'' weapon. Herakas could literally slice space with his spear. Aldred did not believe that anyone could create that spear. Except for Dobbs.


    Aldred believed that Dobbs could create anything as long as his power increased. He had to make sure to keep Dobbs in his rank so he could create better weapons not only for him, but also for his army in the future.


    "I would like to take that spear." Aldred said. "Do you have any other weapons that could match that spear?"


    Avre nodded as she took out several spears that matched the size of the real spear from the treasure chest.


    "How about this spear?" Avre asked. "It is a replica made by a talented an apprentice cksmith. It is still good though."


    "Hmm... I do not think this will match with my spear."


    "Then how about this?" Avre said as she pulled out a golden scabbard with a spear inside it. "It is also made by a skilled cksmith. It is a replica though."


    "No. I don''t think so."


    "In that case, may I take a look at your weapon?" Avre asked.


    Aldred raised his hands and summoned his Phantom Doomde. Avre gasped when she saw that Aldred was wielding the most powerful sword in this world. Avre had no idea how Aldred had obtained such a powerful weapon.


    Avre looked at her hands nervously and then looked at the Phantom Doomde in front of her. She didn''t dare touch it, especially when Aldred held it so proudly. Even the soldiers who had traveled with Aldred for a long time still looked at that de with such admiration.


    "I am sorry, sir. But I don''t think every weapon in my treasury could match your weapon."

 398 Chapter 398

    "Show me your best weapon," Aldred said.


    Avre took a deep breath before she nodded and led them to the deepest floor.


    When she pushed open the gate, they entered a wide round hall, but there was no item there.


    Except one.


    In the center of the room, on a pedestal, a majestic swordy dormant. It seemed like a sword only worthy to be wielded by a king. It radiated out a golden aura, as though it could cut through anything.


    As Aldred stepped forward, the sword shed. A shimmering light went through the de, and the golden aura intensified Then, with a faint sound, the sword drew itself from its pedestal, gliding through the air toward Aldred. It stood tall as if it was a king looking down at its subordinates.


    Then, when Aldred summoned the Phantom Doomde once again, the golden aura from the de faded. It shook then lowered itself.


    "Sword of the King bowed?" Avre was shocked to see this. The Sword of the King was known to judge anyone it encountered and would decide if they were worthy to held him. Its always oozed out an aura of pride and arrogance, but now it looked like a sheep under a lion''s w.


    "I have never seen this sword do anything else," Avre said. "The Sword of the King always rules the other swords with a fierce will of iron."


    "Has it ever act like this before?" Aldred asked.


    "Never. I don''t think that the Sword of the King ever do this before."


    The Phantom Doomde flew out of his hand and met the Sword of the King de to de.


    "They seemed to bemunicating with each other," Aldred said.


    Avre was silent.


    A few secondster, the Sword of the King melted into liquid form and was absorbed by Phantom Doomde.


    "W¡ªwhat!?" Avre trembled. How could have this happened.


    "Doomde, what did I tell you about consuming items inside a store?"


    The de made a gesture of shrugging its hilt, saying that it did not care.


    "Uhh, sorry about this. We will pay for it," Aldred said. He was still puzzled and felt a little bad for Avre. She had put so much time to finding these weapons and now she was losing her possessions because him.


    "It''s fine," Avre hesitantly said.


    "No, I have to pay for it."


    "How much was it?"


    "It''s supposed to cost 10,000 Epic Crystal."


    "10,000 Epic Crystal?" Aldred''s jaw almost dropped if not for him to hold himself.


    "O¡ªokay, take my Golden Emblem." Aldred handed out the golden emblem, praying that there is enough money inside.


    Avre took out a small stone tablet and put the emblem inside the slot. The payment was confirmed.


    Aldred let out a breath of relief inside when that happened. He took his emblem back and looked at his Phantom Doomde. ''I am going to spank youter.''


    "S¡ªso would you like to take a look at our pills collection?"


    Now that he had paid over 10,000 Epic Mana Crystals, Aldred was sure that the Golden Emblem contained much more money inside. He wondered how much was the exact amount of crystals was inside this emblem. Herakas was a powerful Adamantite Rank Dragonkin. Someone of his caliber must have tremendous amount of wealth.


    "Sure," Aldred replied.


    They put the unexpected event to the back of their head. Aldred put Phantom Doomde back in his inventory, but before that, he noticed the red aura had a tinge of gold in it.


    Avre led Aldred and the others to the pills section. After entering, Aldred breathed in, savoring the smell of medicine.


    "It smells nice in here."


    "Our pills are of the most highest qualities, so of course the smell would be nice. And unlike most pills, our products taste sweet."<sub> </sub>


    "That''s wonderful. What are the price range?"


    "Each pill could cost 70 to 5,000 Epic Mana Crystals."


    "What are their effects?"


    "Well, this Soaring Dragon Pill cost 3,000 Epic Mana Crystals and it could break open the talent limitation in your body. Basically, if you are born with mediocre talent and stuck in Silver Rank for a long time, you can consume this pill to break through."


    "I see." Aldred did not need that as his Party System break all talent limitation. So as long as he added his friends to the party, they could level up along with him.


    So in his eyes, the pill was worthless, though he understood that for many people, this pill would be very valuable.


    Avre pointed to another pill. "This is Golden Wing pills. Just like its name suggested, it gives the user the power to summon a pair of golden wing simr to that of a dragonkin."


    "Interesting."


    "This one lets the user to summon dragon scales to cover one''s body, effectively increasing your defense."


    "This one let you grow your muscle as strong as that of a dragon if you keep consuming it everyday with enough dose. A dragon''s muscle will increase your speed, strength, and power."


    "Have someone bought these pills from you before?" Aldred asked.


    "We received lots of orders all the time. From sects, guilds, cults, nobles, merchants, and anyone that has money will order something from me."


    "I see." Aldred grabbed a spirit fruit from his inventory and ate it as he looked around.


    "I noticed you have an extraordinary amount of Spirit Fruit. Would you be willing to sell some for me?"


    Aldred''s business sense tingled. "How much are you willing to pay?"


    "250 Epic Mana Crystals for each Spirit Fruit."


    Aldred pretended to frown. "I have to pass."


    Avre did not expect Aldred to refuse the offer so quickly. Usually her clients would offer a counter offer or something else, but Aldred looked uninterested.


    "Then, what about 260?"


    "Forget about it, miss Avre. Why don''t you exin us about the pills?"


    "300! No, what about 500 for each Spirit Fruit?"


    "Sorry, miss Avre. But these pills looked more interesting than your offer."


    Avre clenched her fist. "Okay, 1,000 for each spirit fruit."


    Aldred looked at her with a weird expression. He then looked troubled and then sighed heavily. "Fine. I will agree to this because my sword identally consumed yours."


    Avre nodded a bunch of times in excitement. Thankfully Aldred ate the Sword of the King. If not for that he would not agree to this deal. She just made a killing!


    Aldredughed inside. Little did she knew that she was ying with the devil all along. He then opened a portal and dozens of spirit fruits fell to the floor. "Here are 130 Spirit Fruits."


    "ording to your decided price, it would cost you 130,000 Epic Mana Crystal."


    Avre nodded and transferred the crystals into the emblem.


    ''Hehe. I just make a killing,'' both Aldred and Avre thought inside.


    Both thought that they got the other side fooled. Both thought that they other side lose.


    But in reality. Everyone made money.


    "Now that''s done why don''t you show us the pills again," Aldred said.


    "Sure." Avre led Aldred and everyone else and exined each pills one by one.

 399 Chapter 399

    After hours of looking around and listening to Avre''s exnation about each pills, Aldred and his friends finally decided on what to buy.


    The soldiers bought mostly the Golden Wings pill and the pills that could grow their muscleparable to that of a dragon.


    They bought a lot of various pills that could increase their stamina, mana, sensory senses, aura sense, and reflexes.


    "Are these all the pills you wanted?"


    "Yeah, that would be enough," Aldred said. "Do others bought a lot from you."


    "Of course they do. Just like you, they have a lot of mouths to feed. Far more mouths, actually."


    Avre was probably talking aboutrge organizations such as a noble house that had numerous subordinates. They probably earned a lot of Epic Crystals. That said, how could the inhabitants of this World Tree so damn rich?


    "Avre, I want to ask some questions about the World Tree."


    "Hmmm? Are you not from the World Tree itself?"


    "No. Not really."


    Avre blinked. ''Isn''t he the son of one of the founder of this city?''


    Then she realized something. The founder must had put his son away from this world, and leave that Golden Emblem with him.


    Now it made much more sense.


    She remembered that she had talked to the boy before. He had a very strange aura around him. She didn''t know if it was because he was the son of the founder or if it came from his own power.


    She decided to shake the thought out of her head. "Anyway, just by chance, are you willing to sell your weapon?"


    "My Phantom Doomde? Don''t even think about it." Aldred smiled.


    Avre smiled. "I figured so."


    "But why do you want it?"


    "I have something to ask you about it. What is this weapon made from?"


    "I am not sure. All I know is it has soul in it. It canmunicate with me," Aldred said.


    "So a soul weapon?"


    "Oh, you know?"


    "I have heard of them, but I have nevery my eyes on one of them. No wonder people always talked about these type of weapons. And by the looks of it, its power is limited by your rank."


    "That is true." Aldred nodded. "If a Diamond Rank wielded it, it would unlock more of its power. But that power is far too strong for me."


    "How powerful would it be if it was an Adamantite Rank?" Avre asked.


    "I don''t know. But I doubt I could ever wield it."


    Avre sighed. "That''s a pity." She looked at Aldred''s soldiers. "Hmmm, I see your friends are still using low-grade weapons. Would you like to see our Epic Grade weapons, instead?"


    "Sure!" The soldiers shouted.


    Then they went to look at weapons section. To be honest, the soldiers'' weapons were already really good, but for Avre, they were still mediocre.


    It took two hours for the soldiers to decide on what they want. They looked at the swords, shields, machetes, axes, hammers, and all kinds of weapons.


    "Our stores are inspired by the theme of our city. Dragons, so you will see a lot of weapons which resembles the dragons. Some of them were even made out of dragon scales. Don''t worry. These scales were not forcefully taken. Dragons shed their scales every one hundred year or so, and we will collect them before forging them into armors and weapons."


    "Oh, wow." One soldier looked at a sword that was forged from dragon scales. It was a huge axe, almost as long as an sword. "It''s amazing. How much does this cost?"<sub> </sub>


    Aldred looked at one white armor and activated his godly eyes.


    "You have keen eyes," Avre said. "These are made out of dragon bones. Like we said, we never hurt dragons for it. These bones are made out of death dragons. And we are not the one who killed them."


    "Does the dragons have any predator here?"


    Avreughed. "Of course not. They died either because they fought among themselves, or they died because of old age. Dragons are at the top of the food chain here. I don''t think even an army can defeat a dragon. You must have seen it yourself. I am sure you know that a dragon can fly in the sky and you can only see its enormous shadow if you are at ground level."


    "Now let me show you another item from our stores," Avre said. She took out a silver shield from her storage and handed it to the soldier.


    "This looks nice," Jeffery said.


    "You said that an entire army cannot defeat a dragon. Are the dragons here much stronger than normal?"


    "Sure they have six powerful ws, and powerful scales. They are almost undefeatable. Not to mention hurting a dragon is a taboo here. Dragons generally did not disturb us as well. And whenever we encounter one, we would tell the tale for weeks."


    "Hmmm, six ws?" Aldred?" Aldred asked.


    Ste nodded. "I have heard stories about the six ws dragons. They are far stronger than the dragons we encounter on our way which usually have three to four ws."


    "I see." Aldred looked at the soldiers. "Have you picked what you wanted?"


    They all nodded while bringing the dragon spears, dragon swords, dragon shields, and dragon armor.


    "Alright," Aldred said. "We will get back to our rooms and equip ourselves with our new weapons."


    As they walked back to the inn, they could hear the sounds of the armor clinking against each other.


    "That was a satisfying purchase," Bartrem said. "I don''t regret getting those golden wings pills. Maybe I can fly soon. Hahaha!."


    They walked back to their inn, and when Aldred closed the door of his room. Mary began to undress and pushed herself to Aldred.


    Aldred smiled and kissed her on the lips, until the Phantom Doomde called for him.


    He summoned the de, and it radiated out an aura of gold and red.


    "It''s evolving," Aldred said as he watched the de with his godly eyes.


    "Is it?"


    All his wives approached to take a look.


    The Phantom de was one of a kind. It was a particr de with a terrifying appearance. It was long, sharp with a little bent here and there and some small teeth. It was a sword made for the devil.


    But then a sharp light radiated out, and the de transformed. It still had its demonic appearance, but now it had a sense of royalty into it with some golden ir here and there.


    A powerful shockwave pushed Aldred and his wives by a few steps. Ste casted a magic barrier.


    "What a powerful aura," Aldred said. "This definitely worth the 130,000 Epic Mana Crystals."


    "Even my father would think twice to obtain that much Epic Mana Crystals," Zafrina said. "And it would take months to buy them from various sources because realistically, no one had over 100,000 Epic Mana crystals lying around."


    "What kind of sword was it anyway?" Mareona asked.


    "Phantom Doomde consumed a very powerful sword," Aldred said. "The only thing itcked was a soul. But now it merged with a soul weapon, and its true power could be brought forth."


    "How powerful can it be?" Ivette asked.


    "I don''t know," Aldred replied.

 400 Chapter 400

    After the aura dissipated, Ste removed the barrier and they began approaching the Phantom Doomde.


    Its majestic aura washing all over them.


    "Such an amazing de."


    "It looked monstrous and devil-like before, but now it has an aura of an emperor."


    The demanded awe and respect, and when it flew to Aldred''s hand, his aura as a whole was of that of a great general.


    This made the soldiers looked at Aldred in a different light. They already considered him to be a great general, but with that sword in hand, he looked even more favorable in their eyes.


    They revered him even more than before, and as if on cue, Aldred stopped mid-step and turned around to look at them.


    "I will have your obedience." He said this loud enough for everyone to hear.


    After that statement, they had a powerful urge to bow, but Aldred quickly removed the aura.


    He looked at the sword in his hand. "The Phantom Doomde made me say that."


    "It must be its new prideful nature," Ste said. "Before, when you wield the de, you would only have a great desire to kill and slice your enemies while bathing in their blood, but now the de wanted you to lead your men."


    "I think that is the case," Aldred agreed. "I wonder if the enemies I face from now on will be able to stand up to me."


    Ste giggled. "You are truly a monster."


    Aldred''s body started glowing again. "You don''t need to tter me so much, Ste."


    Ste did not let it bother her, instead, she watched as the aura surrounded Aldred and covered his entire body. It seemed like the Phantom Doomde was happy with its new aura.


    "Watching the Phantom Doomde grew in power made me wanted it to grow even stronger," Ivette said. "Maybe we can find something else in the Golden Treasury for it to eat."


    "Maybe, you''re right. But before that." Aldred softly caressed her neck and gave it a kiss.


    Ivette''s body shook and she closed her eyes as Aldred brought her to bed.


    ...


    The next day, Avre Heartdancer was about to board her luxurious carriage until one of her female assistants came and bowed in front of her. "Lady Avre, someone wants to meet you?"


    Avre frowned. "I don''t recall this in my ns."


    The assistant wore a troubled expression. "Hees rather unexpectedly, but I believe you must meet him."


    "Who is he?"


    "A tinum Rank adventurer, mydy."


    "A mere adventurer isn''t worth my time."


    "No. But what he brings to us is."


    "... Lead me to him."


    The assistant bowed one more time before guiding the way. The entered a private roomplete with chairs, tables, and some arts.


    "Isn''t there something that you have to trade me with? The armors and weapons are good and the treasures are one of a kind, but none of them suits me," a man said to a receptionist.


    "I am sorry, but I have shown you everything we have. But we have a widework of connections. We can connect you with nobles and wealthy merchants. I am sure they will have something of your interest," the receptionist replied.


    "No way. If they see the items in my hand, they will take it away forcefully."


    "We will guarantee your safety. We have done this numerous times."


    "But not with the items in my hand."


    "What is the problem?"


    "Ah, Lady Avre. Thankfully you are here." The female receptionist bowed.


    "Are you the owner of this store?" The man asked.


    "Yes, how can I help you?"


    "I want to do a trade."


    "We have a lot of fine quality of treasures. I am sure you will like one of them for the trade."


    "No. I have seen all your items. I cannot find something good."


    "What is it that you want to trade exactly?" Avre asked.<sub> </sub>


    The adventurer lifted what seemed to be a guitar case, then opened it. "I want to trade this."


    Avre''s eyes lit up. "A soul weapon."


    ...


    Aldred grabbed Ste by the neck and lightly squeezed as he pushed her on the bed.


    Her cheeks blushed as Aldred rode on top of her.


    "Are we ying rough now?" Ste asked in between her moan.


    "Aldred, when will be my turn?" Mally asked.


    "Everyone will get their turn," Sophia said to her. "Just be patient."


    "Yeah, but I am always at thest. It''s driving me crazy." Mally sighed.


    "Exactly. I like to see your desperate face." Aldredughed.


    He grabbed Ste''s perfect cup and ravaged her body like there was no tomorrow. Her loud moan made the other turned on as their tits hardened.


    After a few hours, Aldred pulled Mary and Mareona into his embrace. Inserting his divine rod into Mary, while fingering Mareona''s cave.


    "Ahh~"


    Their mount echoed within the room with none of the sound leaked to the outside because Ste had already put a sound barrier around the room.


    Ste smiled at the two girls as they enjoyed themselves. She wrapped her arms around both of them as she licked their necks and nipples.


    She looked at Aldred, who was still hard inside Mary.


    "Ste, what are you doing?" Mareona asked.


    "I hate waiting, so I might as well join in."


    Seeing Ste licking on Mareona''s nipples made the others became harder and their cheeks blushed even more.


    Mally looked at Ste and Mareona, and then turned her head to look at Zafrina''s naked body.


    "Why are you looking at me like that? No, don''t!"


    Mally pounced on her and held both of her hands as she sat on her stomach. Zafrina weakly tried to release herself, but it was futile against Mally''s strength. As a former pirate leader, she was a tough one to handle.


    She neared Zafrina''s face, and then stared at her lips.


    "No. Don''t do this. Only Aldred can touch my body."


    "Not for long. Hehe." Mally kissed her by the lips and then fondled her breast. "This is surprisingly nice. A good thing to do to pass the time while I wait for Aldred."


    Then she devoured her while Zafrina begged for help. After satisfied with her, Mally looked at Ivette with hungry eyes.


    Ivette quickly wanted to get away, but a rope wrapped around her arms.


    "You''re not getting away from me."


    She had tears in her eyes. "Aldred, save me."


    "This pirate will do you good. Hehe." Mally tied both of Ivette''s arms while she yed with her cave and tits. Ivette could not do anything as Mally''s finger moved around inside her. "You''ll enjoy this too. Hehe."


    "No! Aldred, please, save me."


    Mallyughed. "You say that, but deep inside, you like it when my finger enter your hole."


    Mally then licked Ivette''s stomach down before she looked directly into the cave. She reached out with her tongue until suddenly she felt something from behind.


    "Don''t be naughty while you wait for you turn," Aldred said while pounding her ass.


    "You took too long." Mally moaned and blushed then put her head in between Ivette''s thigh.


    "Kyaa!" Ivette yelped.


    "This is called forey. Hehe."


    "Don''t y with my cunt," Ivette said, and her words made Aldredugh. "Stopughing. This is serious."


    Suddenly the door burst open. "I am sorry to barge in, sir. But I need you toe with me." Avre came in.


    "..."

 401 Chapter 401

    Avre''s cheeks blushed and quickly shut the door.


    Aldred and his wives looked at each other awkwardly and got dressed. A few minutester, Aldred took a deep breath, opened the door, and smiled at Avre as if nothing happened.


    "What do you need me for, miss?"


    Avre tried to forget what she just saw, but she could not hide her flushed face.


    "Ummm, you need to see this man."


    "Can I ask who?" Aldred asked.


    "He''s a tinum Rank adventurer."


    "Why would an adventurer be looking for me?"


    "Because he has something that you might want."


    Aldred was silent at first before he replied: "Show me."


    Avre Heartdancer led Aldred and his wives to a private room where a man was waiting on the sofa.


    "Are you the guy?" the man asked Aldred.


    "I believe so," Aldred replied despite not really knowing what was going on.


    Avre noticed his confusion. "Aldred, this man is Kegrar Shorguk. A tinum Rank adventurer. And he wanted to trade something with you."


    "A trade? What would you like to trade?"


    Kegrar frowned. "You''re a Gold Rank. How can a mere Gold Rank have something worthy of my item."


    Avre turned to Aldred. "Show him your de."


    Aldred nodded and the majestic yet terrifying sword appeared. Spewing out pride and arrogant aura of a conquerer.


    Kegrar could not believe his eyes. "A soul weapon!"


    "Now do you think he is worthy to trade with you?" Avre asked.


    Kegrar nodded a bunch of times, and then opened the guitar case.


    Aldred looked at the long, thin, ck sword with his godly eyes and he was impressed.


    [Death de (Dark)]


    Attack Damage: 2,400


    Attack Speed: 80%


    Critical Chance: 45%


    Lethality: 20


    Life Steal: 15%


    Effect:


    -Death Aura: Your enemy will be reminded the fear of death. Their minds will be filled with horror and tragedy unimaginable.


    -Death ve: Turning the death to be your ve.


    -Death Inspire: All of the damage dealt by your undead will increase by 50%


    "Beautiful." His eyes lit up.


    The guitar case closed.


    "Now show me what items are you going to trade it with."


    Aldred was slightly disappointed that he could not look at the sword a little longer. "Hmm, what should I give you."


    He pulled out something from his inventory. It was the [me Ward].


    "What about this me Ward? It can give you powerful control of the efire elements within 200 meter radius. Basically, you are the god of mes in this area as your fire mastery increased by 200% and so does your fire damage."


    "That''s cool, but it''s not worthy of this soul weapon."


    The adventurer was right. After reading its stats, Aldred could hardly think of anything he could trade it with.


    Aldred opened a portal, and a giant golems with a lot of crystals embedded on its body appeared. "This is a teleportation golem. It can save you from dangerous situation and even passed through an anti-teleportation spell casted by a Diamond Rank."


    Avre was shocked to hear that. Diamond Rank spell was almost impossible to escape from unless one was also a Diamond Rank. If any wealthy merchant heard this, they would dly bought it for their many children.


    Even Kegrar was enticed by the golem. "Not enough."


    "Then what about five custom gunner golems."


    Five tall gunner golems came. They looked much more menacing and powerful than Aldred''s normal golem. "They are as powerful as peak Elite Gold Rank adventurer."


    "Not enough."


    "I will add twenty custom fighter golems into that."


    Twentyrge built golems with swords and shields appeared.


    "Not enough."


    "Then what about ten Artillery Golems. With their power, you could bombard the enemies from 200 KM away."


    Avre widened her eyes. Did she just heard that right?


    "It¡ªit''s not enough." Kegrar went through great length to obtain this soul weapon. He hesitated, but he did not want to let the chance to be rich go. He had to get as much as possible from this trade.


    "What about this Spellsword that can consume the mana of your enemy and the mana around you. You can absorb the mana, or release it as an attack."<sub> </sub>


    "What about this energy cape? Lightweight, but extraordinarily powerful. It can even block the attack of a low-level tinum Rank at full force."


    "What about this weapon that I made for my golem. It is called the Vanquisher. It used mana crystals as it source of energy, and it can release one powerful shot or rain the enemies endlessly."


    "This skill book is pseudo-legendary skill about swordsmanship. Learning it will make you a master in the art."


    Aldred then proceed to exin each treasure after another. Each time Avre was impressed again and again.


    ''What is this¡­ my Golden Treasury paled inparison to what he had,'' Avre thought.


    "And Finally. Spirit Fruits. It can increase your stats, and even helped you break through your rank."


    Aldred took a deep breath after exining all of that. "So, what do you think?"


    Kegrar was overwhelmed by all the treasure in front of him. "This is all wonderful, but I don''t feel like it''s enough for a soul weapon."


    "Okay. I will give you 10,000 type 2 fighter golem. 20,000 Gunner golems, and 5,000 Artillery Golems. This way you have an army of your own."


    Kegrar blinked. He did not expect to receive that many golems. Based on what he saw, these golems were extremely powerful, and they could kill any Gold Ranks they saw. If he had more then thirty thousands of them¡­ he wouldn''t even need to do anything and could retire for good.


    "I can also give you 100,000 Worker Golems. They can mine resources, build castles and fortification, fish, farm, and do other grunt works. They are not powerful, but they are very useful."


    "Okay, deal."


    Aldred''s eyes lit up. He thought he would need to give something else, but thankfully the man agreed to the deal.


    They all went outside and traveled to a vast in.


    That was where Aldred summoned all of the golems and gave them all to Kegrar.


    Kegrar was shocked to see the vast number of golems that now under hismand. He felt like he was a generalmanding a well-trained, disciplined, powerful army.


    Avre opened her mouth. She was speechless at this spectacle. Not only was Aldred powerful. He also had this powerful army at his beck and call? What else did he had under his sleeves?


    "Now. Please give me my soul weapon," Aldred said.


    "Sure, sure." Kegrar happily gave the guitar case to Aldred.


    Aldred opened it and grabbed the sword, raising it to the sky with a bright smile on his face.


    He raised his other hand, and Phantom Doomde appeared.


    "What are you going to do with the soul weapon? You know the weapon has to choose you, right? If not, it would be useless," Kegrar said to him.


    "My weapon can consume other weapons." Aldred shed both des, and Phantom Doomde began to chew on the Death de.


    A powerful dark aura leaked out from the Death de as it tried to fend of the Phantom Doomde.


    The Phantom Doomde, now had an aura and arrogance of a king, was angered. With a powerful force, it brought the de down to the ground and then devoured it with a powerful red, golden me.


    When the me disappeared, the Death de was nowhere to be seen, but the aura oozing out from the Phantom Doomde was more clear than ever.


    Dark, red, gold. Intertwined, intermixed, and asionally sh against one another.


    Aldred grabbed it by the handle, and his body shook as monstrous power entered his body.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Phantom Doomde (Legendary) (Full Potential Locked)]


    Health: 1,600


    Attack Damage: 4,800


    Attack Speed: 250%


    Critical Chance: 100%


    Lethality: 80


    Life Steal: 70%


    Effect:


    -Soul Eater: consume a part of the target''s soul, weakening them, and could even killed some part of their soul, disabling their limbs.


    -Form Changer: can manipte its shape, length, and thickness at will


    -Treasure Eater: Can consume other treasure to copy its form, effect, or to upgrade the weapon


    -Organic Eater: Can consume organic property to be stronger


    -Soul Mentor: Whoever is worthy to wield this de will be guided by the sword itself


    -Death Aura: Your enemy will be reminded the fear of death. Their minds will be filled with horror and tragedy unimaginable.


    -Death ve: Turning the death to be your ve.


    -Death Inspire: All of the damage dealt by your undead will increase by 50%


    -Unseen de: Your attacks have the chance to be unnoticed by your enemy.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Marvelous." Aldred smiled. With this de in hand, he would hardly to ever find a match. Should thedy robot, Bafni Heartwatcher, came to him again.


    He would surely defeat her in less than a minute.


    Aldredughed. His confidence in himself return yet again after it was broken by Duria''s damned dog.


    If he met Thinker again, Aldred would kill him first.

 402 Chapter 402

    "Awesome. Aldred, now you are much stronger than before," Mary said.


    "Yeah." Aldredughed, feeling proud of himself. "But, it''s all because all of you apany me in my journey. This would be such a nd, boring, and dull journey without all of youing here with me."


    His wives all smiled when they heard that, and even Avre felt a tinge of jealousy when she heard that statement. She felt like she had the need to obtain this man''s affection, but she knew that it was simply a passing emotion.


    She took in a deep breath and smiled. "I am d that you are happy with the trade.


    Aldred nodded with a smile.


    Kegrar nodded a bunch of times. "I am happy with my trade as well. The soul weapon is useless in my hand, but all of these treasures and golems would set me up for life."


    Avre nodded. "Because I am friend with this gentleman over here, you don''t need to pay anymission to me."


    Kegrar nodded. "Thank you,dy Avre."


    After a little chat, Kegrar left with his golem army.


    Avre then pointed her attention back to Aldred. "So you have a lot of golems, huh?"


    "I am a golem master myself, so it would be a waste not to make some."


    Avre''s eyes lit up. ''A swordmaster, a magician, and also a golem master? This man can be anything.''


    "Would you care if you are to sell some golems to me?"


    "Not at all. I have a lot of golems."


    "Fantastic. I would like to procure a few hundred thousands."


    "That''s kind of a big order." Aldred had a lot of golems because hispany produced thousands every single day. But he had never sold more than thirty thousands to a single group at once to avoid monopoly.


    But this wasn''t the continent, so it should be safe to sell arge amount of golems to Avre.


    "How much are you willing to pay per golems?" Aldred asked.


    "1 Epic Crystals for every ten golems."


    "Done." Aldred smiled. The price Avre offered was hundred times better than what he had in mind. Besides, nobody would pay 1 Epic Crystals for 10 golems in the continent. Not to mention 10 golems, even 1 thousand golems would not be enough for 1 Epic Crystals.


    The value of Epic Crystals in the continent than in The World Tree was vastly different.


    If he sent these crystals back to thepany, Tarrar would have arge financial power to defeat their rivals.


    Aldredughed inside.


    They then spend the next few hours deciding on how much golems Avre would need. After much spection, Avre decided she would like to buy 500,000 golems.


    Aldred opened up a portal and contacted Tarrar.


    "500,000 golems?" Tarrar asked in shock. "We never let someone buy this much golems at once before."


    Avre blinked when she heard that. The fact that Aldred was willing to sell her this amount of golems only to her made her heart throbbed.


    "So do we have the golems or not?" Aldred asked.


    Tarrar sighed. "Thepany currently kept 845,000 golems ced in various regions to protect our business. I can bring some of them here, and produce more. But it would take a few weeks to get all 500,000 golems here."


    "What do you think?" Aldred asked Avre.


    "Sure." Avre nodded. "I didn''t expect you could get suchrge numbers of golems in a short time anyway. In fact, I expect to wait for a few months."


    "Does this city has no golem maker?"


    "We do, but they are not as versatile as you. Your golems are almost immortal, and they don''t need to be fed with mana crystals constantly. Sure, the Epic Crystals could sustain them for a long time, but their huge numbers would cost me a lot more."


    "So my biggest advantage is numbers, cheap, and versatile."


    "Yes, and that is exactly what I need. It''s unfortunate that you don''t have tinum Rank golems. Otherwise, I could pay you a lot more."


    "That is indeed unfortunate," Aldred said. He sadly could not create a tinum Rank golem because he wasn''t a tinum Rank himself.


    He could sell his Ultra Golem, but he only had 4 of them, so he put that out of the way.<sub> </sub>


    After dealing with the golems, Aldred offered Avre some nts that he bought and grew in his divine dimension.


    Avreughed at his nts, and offered her own nts.


    "This nts can create a temporary armor for you, and protect you against the full power of a tinum Rank attack."


    She then proceeded to list all kinds of nts and their effects.


    Aldred was so impressed he decided to buy some and nted them in his divine dimension.


    He spent quite a sum, but if he sell them to the continent... he would make a lot of money.


    Avre and Aldred had already established them both as an important business partner. They both had what they others need.


    After they finished talking about the nts, Avre invited them to explore the city.


    "There is a lot of things you haven''t seen in the city. We have beautiful cultures, rituals, and even dishes unmatched."


    "Well, I do like food."


    "Then you''d like it more here," Avre said.


    Aldred, his wives, the soldiers, and Baendjbi along with his guild mates all entered a fine restaurant.


    Near the entrance, a beautiful stoney near a man-made waterfall.


    "Golden Dragon''s Restaurant," Aldred read. "Don''t tell me it''s yours." He looked at Avre.


    Avre shrugged with a smile.


    "Thisdy owned everything in this city," Aldred said as Avre walked past him.


    "She must be the tycoon," Mary said.


    A couple of servers came and guided them to arge table, specially prepared for them with beautiful incense that soothed their nose and minds.


    It was a rxing atmosphere.


    When Aldred was offered the menu, he was shocked at the list of food that he had never seen before.


    "Kraken''s tentacles, Devil''s leg, Phoenix''s heart. What the hell. Are all of these food, or treasures?"


    "Both." Avre giggled.


    Aldred was curios, so he decided to select everything on the menu.


    After a few minutes, the food came, and it was as fantastic as Aldred imagined it would be.


    When he bit into them, the taste was out of this world. Heavenly, outworldly, and never before his tongue savor such delicacy before.


    "How is it?" Avre asked.


    "It''s perfect," Aldred replied.


    After they were done eating, Avre led them to walk around the city and watched some rituals and cultures that the locals have.


    Dragon kites were flying in the sky at all times.


    "What a beautiful city," Aldred said.


    A couple of childrenugh as they ran around with a dragon costume.


    Mira looked at them with a smile. "This is beautiful indeed. Don''t you think so, Krista?"


    Krista''s eyes were lit up as she saw the dragon costume. "Krista think this is beautiful"


    They enjoyed the city until evening came, and that was when the city was most lively as everything lit up with beautiful lights.


    They then decided to enjoy the city and all of its beauty the whole night.

 403 Chapter 403

    Back in Thignia, where Tarrar decided to build Aldred''s headquarter, Tarrar received a lot of Epic Mana Crystals in his office.


    He was shocked by this. How could Aldred obtain so many Epic Crystals? Even nobles could only dream to obtain this amount of.


    On his table was a small note by Aldred: "Use it wisely."


    Tarrarughed. "What a wonderful boss I have."


    For the next few weeks, Tarrar sent golems to the portal while expanding hisworks. He met with rebels of small nation to the west of Selia. Aldred had told him to create influence around this region just in case Selia marched to the Ceraisian Empire.


    It seemed his boss wanted to be the emperor of the Ceraisian Empire. At first he thought it was foolish, but after he heard that the empress herself was his allies, the n made a lot of sense.


    How did he get the empress to help him? On paper he was just a powerful Gold Rank. A talented Gold Rank with a lot of powerful abilities for sure, but a Gold Rank nheless. A Diamond Rank could kill Aldred a thousand times over.


    Tarrar also heard about the emperor and his generals trying to kill him. If not for the curse, he would be dead long ago.


    The existence of Aldred''spany was a secret. Tarrar had been told to change their name and its association to Aldred was erased.


    This was to protect thepany from the Dragon''s gaze. Even though the Phoenix was there to help, it was better to remain unseen.


    Tarrar had increased thepany''s influence inside the Ceraisian''s empire. This naturally brought the attention of the local lord, but he remained neutral and did business without contacting any of them.


    This of course confused the lords. Thepany did business in the Dragon''s and the Phoenix''s territory. Paying tax properly, and never did anything wrong or suspicious.


    This confused them as business usually sided with one side over the other. But every time they tried to contact the owner, Tarrar would send letters that he could note. No one could really force Tarrar toe because he had revealed how big thepany was.


    Thepany was called Golem For Hire. GFH for short, but he had a lot of different names for different regions.


    Golems were everywhere ever since he expanded the business. Either for protection, odd jobs, dangerous work, exploration, grunt works, service, and so much more.


    ves were almostpletely removed because of this. It was far easier to buy a golems than to have a ve.


    A ve needed homes, food, medicine, toilets, and whatnot. Not to mention they looked ugly and smelled terrible a lot of times.


    But golems always looked the same, and smelled the same. They could even ordered something more fragrance or changed the way the golems look. They are tireless, did not need to eat, and would do anything told to them. They were quite powerful too.


    So powerful in fact, the adventurers were threatened to be reced by these golems.


    But Aldred had made them a little stupid and a tiny bit unreliable. This let the adventurers kept their job as an overseer of the golem.


    This also made the nobles relieved because a too perfect of a subordinate made them cautious and wary.


    Overall, Golems For Hire was too big, and too useful to offend. And in fact, they were d that thispany was neutral and they could enjoy the benefits without any trouble.


    Tarrar was also careful to make any deals regarding the Ceraisian Empire. Every time he epted a deal from the Dragon, he would ept a simr deal from the Phoenix.


    He would treat both sides the same, keeping neutral at all times.


    His influence changed a lot of things. Particrly for the ves. They now found themselves free of shackles of chain from their master. Now they could go wherever they want and do whatever they wanted.


    Most of them decided to leave the city and start a smallmunity in a forest. Relying on nature for food and water.


    More and more ves decided to go to nature, and they epted each other with open arms because they could rte to the pain and suffering they had endured for decades.


    Tarrar felt a sense of pride deep within him. His action just change the entire customs and tradition of a whole kingdom.<sub> </sub>


    "But this is not because of me. This is because of Aldred."


    If not for Aldred''s power to create golems without relying constantly on mana crystals, this would not be possible.


    Tarrar smiled and did had a new motivation, a new purpose to do his job properly. Not just for money and power, but making people''s lives reminded him of his days as a young governor of his own city where his only focus was make the people live afortable live.


    He felt like he had relived that past, and he wanted more of it.


    Two weekster, he had sent all 800,000 golems to Aldred. It caused a significant gap in their security division, but thepany would fill the gap back in six days. No one wanted to offend Tarrar anyway.


    "Nice job," Aldred said as they met in his office.


    "How did you get that number of Epic Mana Crystals?" Tarrar asked, still feeling curios.


    "Don''t worry about it. I have a new job for you." Aldred then took a spatial bag and put it on the table.


    "Inside, there''s a few thousands rare herbs and nts. You can sell and distribute them under thepany''s name. I will send you more of them every few weeks or months. Also, I will give you some rare treasure that you can auction as well."


    "Should I make an auctionpany?" Tarrar.


    "You can do that. I will give you the treasures that I don''t need, and you can auction them."


    "That will be good." Tarrar nodded. "Do you have one right now? I prefer to start fast, and theatrical, so something good is necessary."


    Aldred then showed him about the dragon pills that could give dragon bodies, and even wings. Powerful armors, swords, spears, and shields. And not only that, skill books of powerful spells and techniques were among the list.


    "You found all of these? No wonder so many people are drawn to treasure hunting," Tarrar said.


    "I will probably find more during my journey," Aldred replied.


    Aldred and Tarrar chatted about business a bit until  he decided to leave.


    "Before you leave," Tarrar said. "I just want to say I am thankful for this job, and I will dly do it in your stead, even if you don''t pay me."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow thenughed. "Don''t make me stop paying you now, Tarrar. You are irreceable for me. For thispany. All of this won''t be running without you. Keep the great job."


    Aldred entered the portal, leaving Tarrar alone with his thoughts.


    "Such wonderful boss."


    ...


    Aldred was in bed with his girls hugging him from left and right. He looked at the ceiling.


    "What are you thinking about, Aldred?" Ivette asked.


    "I just realized something."


    "What is it?"


    "I just realized what a wonderful employee Tarrar is."

 404 Chapter 404

    The next day, Aldred and his wives woke up and went downstairs.


    "What, you guys decided to leave already?" Avre asked.


    "Yeah, we cannot dy much longer. We have to continue our journey," Aldred replied.


    Avre nodded. "I understand." She then grabbed a bunch of golden spatial bags, and gave them to Aldred.


    "I noticed you like to collect treasures and rare herbs. These are some of my private collections. Consider it as our parting gift."


    Aldred''s eyes lit up. "Thank you. In that case, I have to give something back."


    He bit his finger, and blood poured out before it floated in the air and condensed into an orb. "This is my blood essence. Take it."


    Avre''s eyes lit up. She had suspected that Aldred was the son of one of the founder. If she could get a hand on his blood essence, that would be the rarest treasure she could get.


    The blood orbnded on her palm and she felt a powerful aura washed over her. It was demonic, yet alluring and seductive. It was evil, dangerous, yet full of adventure.


    ''What is this feeling?'' she thought.


    Besides the weird feeling she felt, it was undeniable that the blood was powerful.


    If she consumed it, she could evolved into something more than human. But a prized treasure like this... she couldn''t have the heart to do it.


    Like a dragon, she loved to collect priceless items as her collection.


    "Thank you," Avre said.


    "No worries," Aldred replied. His blood essence would regenerate again after a few weeks anyway.


    They chatted for a few minutes before leaving the inn.


    "May fate let us meet again," Avre said.


    Aldred nodded and left the city.


    As they walked on the in, they looked back at the city one more time.


    "What a wonderful city," Aldred said.


    "Avre was a nice girl," Mary said. "I hope we can meet her again."


    "Maybe someday we will," Aldred said before he turned around and began walking.


    He grabbed the Golden Emblem and looked at it intently. "I wonder if we can use this in other cities as well."


    "Probably," Mareona said.


    They kept walking for another hour before arriving at the mountain range. In the distance, there was a gate made out of ancient stones.


    Aldred and the others made their way to this gate.


    The gate was the shape of an arc, standing on top of a circr altar with runic writings.


    Ste''s eyes shone in golden color. The runic writings changed shape and form in her eyes.


    "World Tree''s Portal," Ste read. "It''s a portal!"


    "So how do we use it?"


    Zafrina looked around the altar. "I think it''s broken."


    "Wait. Look at all these holes and cracks. And look at the stones all around us. If we fill the holes and cracks, maybe we can fix it," Aldred said.


    "Let''s do that," Mary said.


    For the next few hours, Aldred used his godly eyes to find the stones and which holes or cracks it belong to. Everyone else scoured thend, and picked up the rocks and rubbles they could find, trying to fix the portal together.


    Hours passed, Baendjbi wiped his sweat off his forehead as he put thest piece of stone. "And we''re done."


    They all smiled and waited but nothing happened.


    "It''s not working," Mary said.


    Suddenly, a deep, mysterious voice sounded from above. "Are you treasure hunters?"


    They looked up and saw a three meter tall man, face hidden by a worn and torn robe. He was floating in the air with a weird stick on hisp.


    Aldred used his godly eyes, but he received no information.


    The man went down and gracefullynded on the ground.


    "I am the guardian of this test," the three meter tall man said.


    He was like a giant with athletic built.


    "Do we have to pass a test before we can use this portal?"


    The man nodded.<sub> </sub>


    "What is the test?" Aldred asked.


    The man lightly tapped the portal with his stick, and a blue energy appeared like a bubble. "Enter this portal, and you will find out."


    Aldred looked at his wives and they nodded at him.


    He entered first, followed by his wives and friends.


    They appeared in a vast in that seemingly span over tens of thousands miles. Aldred also saw some other people here who seemed toe here through other portals.


    Like him, they were confused as to what to do here.


    Suddenly, a booming voice came from above. "Wee, treasure hunters."


    They all looked up and saw arge, ck dice floating in the sky.


    "In this challenge, all of you need to find a token inside the stomach of white rats. These rats are always on the move, and they stay in the ground most of the time. Your task is to find them and pull the token out. Only when you have the token will you pass this challenge. There are no other rules."


    Murmured of people talking to each other was heard. Some of them wanted to make an alliance.


    "Also," the voice came again. "There are more than 100,000 of you, but There are only 1,000 tokens."


    "Good luck."


    Everything became silent at that moment. Now they did not see each other as potential allies, but absolute enemies.


    There were only one thousand tokens, but there were more than 100,000 treasure hunters. Which mean 99,000 of them had to die.


    That was 1% chance survivability.


    A few secondster, everyone roared, brandished their weapons and charged at each other.


    Baendjbi pulled out his weapon as well.


    "What are you doing?" Aldred asked.


    "We need to kill the others," Baendjbi said. "Isn''t that what we supposed to do?"


    "No. Not yet," Aldred said.


    A group of adventurers charged at Aldred.


    Aldred shouted: "Stop!"


    The adventurers stopped but their gaze were still fiery and dangerous.


    "What do you stop us for? It''s do or die."


    "How many people is in your group?" Aldred asked.


    "Around one hundred."


    "There are one hundred in my group as well. We should make an alliance."


    "And how do I know that you won''t stab our back?"


    "There are 1,000 tokens. That means we can make allies with 1,000 people and then kill the rest."


    The other group was so shocked to hear that.


    "Why didn''t we think of that?"


    The group discussed about it before their leader agreed to the alliance.


    "Great. Let''s find 800 more people," Aldred said.


    Then they walked around the ins, watching the adventurers killing themselves while they recruit one group after another.


    Some groups were stubborn and arrogance, so Aldred and his newly-made friends had to massacre them. But other than that, the recruitment went very well.


    "We got 900 people now," Aldred said. "All we need is another 100."


    "Umm. I have a question." A man raised his hand and stepped forward. "Won''t it be better if we hunt for the rats? Why are we still looking for people."


    "We can simply take the tokens from people. It''s better to make alliance first to increase our chances."


    They all nodded in understanding like a group of students.


    "Hey, sir. I invited a group that wanted join us." A man excitedly sprinted at him with a bunch of people.


    "How many are they?"


    "One hundred people, sir. Exactly how much we need."


    They all cheered after hearing that.


    "Well, boys. It''s killing time." Aldred smiled.

 405 Chapter 405

    "Well, boys. It''s killing time." Aldred smiled.


    The adventurers were excited and nervous all at the same time as they brandished their weapons.


    "Oh, what would not be necessary," Aldred said. "I will take care of it all."


    He looked at the giant dice in the sky and realized there was numbers, indicating how many participants were left in this test.


    Currently, there were 49,828 people left. Aldred wasn''t surprised that in a few hours more than 50% of the treasure hunters were killed.


    It seemed like the test was much more challenging than before. After all, only 1% of the total participants were allowed to pass.


    Some of the treasure hunters realized this and vowed to leave this ce when they passed the test.


    1% was too small of an odd for them to consider.


    "What do you mean you will take care of it all?" a man asked Aldred.


    "It''s exactly what it meant."


    Suddenly, three more Aldred appeared, standing side by side, surprising the treasure hunters.


    And then portals opened up as thousands of golems marched in like a soldiers. Then, undeads of vicious monsters stepped out from the shadow, looking dangerous and deathly.


    Xer Xai burrowed out of the ground with a bang. Her mountain-like size made the treasure hunters stared at her in awe.


    Standing on her back was Aldred''s most powerful undead: Milet, Nicky, Crook, Brook, Be, Will, Teethless, Juragan, Bruce, Brath, Breth, and Broth.


    "Go and kill everyone you see," Aldred ordered.


    They bowed and shed away.


    Aldred then calmly looked at the giant dice in the sky.


    The numbers went from 49,828 to 38,250 in less than a minute, and it kept going down endlessly.


    32,310


    26,440


    21,540


    The treasure hunters were in shock. How could the numbers go down that fast?


    "What a powerful army. Did you see the undead and the golems earlier? Let me tell you they are the most powerful one I have ever seen in my life. At least, no Gold Ranks in the world could defeat them."


    "And don''t forget their numbers. If my eyes are correct, there should be more than 100,000 golems.


    "But there were only around 175 undeads though."


    "Don''t underestimate those undead. I am sure each one of them could take down at least 200 to 400 golems by themselves. And did you see thatrge creature?"


    "I know. That thing is a Xer Xai thates from Aringuerao."


    "The creatures that turned an entire province into desert?"


    "Yeah, that one."


    "How the fuck did this man turned something like that into an undead. I heard the weakest of them is a tinum Rank."


    "I don''t know. Perhaps he obtained it during one of the challenge."


    "That is possible. But if he had this much power, he could just kill all of us at once. Why did he recruit us first before he began his massacre?"


    "How would I know? All I have to say is we should be thankful that he did not kill us."


    They were indeed thankful after they saw his power. They hadn''t seen hisbat capability yet, but the fact that hemanded such arge, powerful army already earned him their respect and fear.


    Now, they saw Aldred in apletely different light. Those who had an idea of stabbing him from the back wiped their sweat and let out a breath of relief that they hadn''t done such a stupid thing yet.


    After a few minutes, the numbers of participants came down to 4,000.


    Aldred frowned. "The army encountered a problem. Ste, bring us there."


    Ste hit the air with her magic staff, and a powerful star magic sted the space, creating a portal.


    They all stepped in, and arrived on a mountain, overlooking two thousand men and women fighting against the undead and golems.<sub> </sub>


    They were led by a man knight in white armor with a powerful shield and sword, cutting every golems and undead he could see.


    "Don''t let them break our formation!" the knight shouted.


    Artillery golems constantly raining them down with explosions along with the gunner golems who endlessly attacked them with fire bullets.


    But a team of mages managed to block all the projectile attacks with their barrier.


    Aldred looked to the side and noticed his 3 clones, and Xer Xai had not make a move yet. His most strongest undead, Milet and the others, were also not making a move.


    Aldred had appointed them as the leaders of the undead, so he trusted their judgment. But because he also connected to them in spiritual level, he understood that they were testing ways to break the enemy''s formation as practice.


    Aldred had sent the undead and the golems to the dungeon in his divine dimension numerous times to practice.


    And whenever they found a particr worthy enemies, they would try to break the enemies'' formation without involving directly. This was to make the army stronger as a whole, and so they won''t have to rely on them too much.


    "How long do you think they willst?" Mary asked.


    "Six hours?" Mareona replied.


    "I don''t they think they canst that long," Mary said.


    A Phantom w zipped through their line of defense. All the attacks went past its ethereal body as if it wasn''t there in the first ce. This was Phantom w''s main ability.


    It entered the formation and pounced on the mages, devouring them whole with a single chomp.


    The barrier weakened.


    "Do not panic!" the white knight shouted again as he beheaded the Phantom w.


    The head regenerated, but this time the knight shone in bright white light and killed the Phantom w.


    Aldred had to wait 24 hours before he could summon the killed undead again.


    10 Bajaragons dove down, pressure their entire weight on the barrier.


    A mage gritted his teeth. "We can''t hold on much longer!"


    "Just hold on as long as you can!"


    The Bajaragons opened their maw and a spinning vortex of me shot out of their mouth, drilling through the barrier and engulfing the mages.


    The barrier shattered, then all hell break loose.


    Fighter golems went in with their swords and mmed against the enemies'' shield.


    The warriors gritted their teeth in so much pain as their arms turned weak.


    A few secondster, they could not hold the shield high enough, and their heads were off with a single sh.


    Aldred looked up to the sky, and the numbers went down from 4,000 to 2,000.


    "Only 2,000 left," an adventurer said. "If my guess is correct, they probably made a group just like us."


    "Search them!"


    The army scattered again trying to find the group.


    The treasure hunters that Aldred recruited looked down at the battlefield where they saw dead bodies and burn marks everywhere. Broken armors, cut off limbs, and spilled blood were the only thing they could see.


    Such savagery! The golems and the undead had no slightest hesitation when they killed.


    The scene carved fear in their heart.


    "So what do we do now?" Mary asked.


    "We wait." Aldred smiled. "Bartrem, prepare the grill for us."


    ***


    The sound of gunfire rang in the forest, and a man screamed.


    The man was in his early twenties and wore a tattered robe. He was in the middle of the forest, hiding in the bushes.


    "Fuck, who brings an entire army of golems to this ce!"

 406 Chapter 406

    Aldred held the small token in his hand. It looked like a coin with a square hole in the middle and runic writings all around it.


    At this point he had gathered all the tokens he needed to pass the test, but there were still a few other tokens he needed to find for his recruits to pass.


    He did not do this out of goodwill. The recruits he picked were particrly weak, and that was exactly what he wanted. When he found a powerful group, he would create an excuses to not recruit them and instead, kill them.


    Aldred did this to let the weak survive, so when there was a time they had to go against him, they would be easier to kill.


    Aldred received a transmission from his clones.


    "It seemed like the enemies are hiding. Let us help them."


    They teleported again. This time, they stood on top of a hill overlooking a thick forest.


    Ste stepped at the edge of the hill and raised her staff. "Starry Eye!"


    Ziiing!


    Star particles came out of her staff and formed into a golden eye, floating in the sky.


    Suddenly, Aldred and his subordinates could see whatever the starry eye see.


    The eye scoured thend, and its sight prated through anything unimportant.


    "There, below that thick tree."


    Three golem rushed to the three, stabbed the trunk, and when they pulled the de, it was washed with blood.


    "That rock is actually a person."


    Two golems rushed in and stabbed the rock. The rock transformed into a man, gritting his teeth in pain. "How did you know?"


    He then looked up and saw the big, golden eye in the sky. "Fuck. I am so unlucky."


    For the next few minutes, the golems were hunting those that hid around the forest. They were hiding as animals, trees, roots, staying under the cave, under the rock, turning into a fish, some even morphed into animal poop.


    A man was running through the forest. He looked behind his shoulder, golems running after him.


    "Shit! Shit! Shit! I lose contact with the others! Did they get them?"


    The man shook his head. "I need to think about my own ass first."


    He slid down under a small hole through the bush. Apparently it was a steep surface, and he kept on sliding down before he saw an edge. "Crap."


    The man wed the ground to stop himself from falling. He turned his head back, and saw the golems.


    He sighed. "Fuck it." The man leaped off the edge.


    Two fire bullets sted his right elbow and four more missed his head by a few millimeter.


    The man yelped in pain as he fell down and rolled on the ground. He looked up. The golems stood at the edge and sprayed fire bullets at him.


    The man began running again, holding his right arm as it spilled blood on the ground.


    "This guy is good," Aldredmented. "Let''s see how long you can run away from my golems."


    The man ripped arge leaf off a branch, and then quickly tied it to his back, making his footstep and the blood trail slightly distorted.


    He saw an animal in front of him. Quickly pulling his de, he stabbed the animal right in the butt. The animal yelped in pain and sprinted away, creating a blood trail of its own.


    The man continued to run away, and found an animal the same as before. He cut off the animal''s legs, and used them like a shoe, before he stabbed every animal he see for them to confuse the enemy.


    He looked back, and to his horror, he found out that the golems manage to track him down.


    "How?" The man gritted his teeth. He pulled something out of his spatial bag. It was a green, sticky ball.


    He stick the ball on a small tree.


    The golems sprinted past and the ball exploded into arge tree that blocked the way.


    "That should slow them down," the man said.


    The sound of mes igniting was heard, and the golems burned through the tree to make a passage.


    "God be damned!"


    The man grabbed another ball. It was brown this time. He threw it on the ground, and it dug itself into the dirt.<sub> </sub>


    "Now what about that one?" the man smiled this time, feeling confidence.


    The golems passed by, and the ground suddenly copsed.


    "Hahaha!" the manughed as he kept running away.


    Suddenly, he saw something in the sky. It was small, and constantly ejecting me from its rear.


    He squinted his eyes and realized that it was going after him.


    "Fuck!" He jumped forward as the object mmed near him.


    BOOM!


    The explosion threw him off a few meters away. He rolled and kept on running. "What the fuck was that?"


    Suddenly, a fighter golem appeared in front of him.


    The man grabbed a white ball and threw it, creating a thick white fog.


    The man ran out of the fog, escaping death once again.


    Six fire bullets came from the side, and the man halted his steps as the bullets went right by his eyes. He threw more smoke balls and rolled away.


    "These guys are everywhere." The man threw more balls in every directions. Creating various effect such as traps, illusion, smokes, trees, ruins, and buildings.


    He was miles away from his original spot, and no matter where he hide, the golems always found him sooner orter.


    The man looked up and saw a giant golden eye in the sky. "Is that the cause?"


    He squinted his eyes and grabbed a slingshot, loaded it with a ball, and fired.


    The ball flew to the sky, straight towards the eye, and then it exploded into bats that blocked the sky.


    "The bats are blocking our sight," Ste said. "My vision cannot go through them. It must be a special treasure."


    "Don''t worry about it," Aldred said.


    The manughed once again and kept running. He kept on running until he arrived behind a hill and sat down with heavy breath.


    "Fuck! That''s so tiring."


    His hand rummaged inside the spatial bag, finding a couple pills and he popped them all into his mouth. His broken right arm was healed immediately, and his stamina regenerated.


    "I didn''te this far to die." He stood up.


    But just as he was about to leave, a powerful fire bullets prated his left knee.


    "Aghh!!!"


    The man yelped in pain, but forced his legs to run.


    Another fire bullets went to his left calf, making stumble to the ground. He kicked the ground with his right leg, but another fire bullet came, striking his right calf.


    Both of his legs could not work. They werepletely destroyed. The man rummaged through his bag again, looking for a pill.


    And yet again, another fire bullets pierced through his right hand.


    The man screamed before he saw a group of golems withrge swords approaching him.


    "What do you want?"


    "I want you to work for me," Aldred''s voice came out of the golem.


    "I refuse."


    "I didn''t say you have an option."


    "Wai--"


    The golem thrust its de into the man''s neck.


    "Bring his corpse to me," Aldredmanded.

 407 Chapter 407

    A golem threw the man''s corpse right in front of Aldred.


    "You did wonderfully trying to escape from my golems. For that, I will give you the honor to be my undead. Arise."


    Dark goo engulfed the man, and then transformed him into an undead. The man stepped out of the shadow with dark yet bright purple aura oozing out of him.


    He knelt.


    "What is your name?" Aldred asked.


    "My name is Jereim, master."


    "What is your power exactly?"


    "I am an alchemist, master. But unlike others, I create magical orbs that can have certain effects."


    Aldred smiled. "Is that why you are able to escape even without having any power?"


    Everyone else was shocked to hear that. This man that managed to run from Aldred''s golems for a few hours didn''t even have power?


    Jereim was an ordinary mortal, but his skills and knowledge in alchemy made him a hard man to deal with.


    "An ordinary man survived far longer than your other victims." Ste giggled. "What an interesting world we lived in."


    Aldred looked at Jereim. "To create these orbs must take you a while. Do you need time for preparation and ingredients?"


    "I do not need much time, master. I can even create these orbs on the run while obtaining the ingredients from any part of the world. I have mastered my craft. I can turn one substance from one to another, creating stones out of leaf, and even diamonds out of dirt."


    "Wow. That''s impressive," Sophia said. "I mean for a man who does not have magic, spiritual power, or life force, you are one amazing guy."


    Jereim bowed. "It is my honor to be praised by the mistress. But I am not that impressive. I simply use what nature provide me."


    "You sound like the people from Duria," Aldred said. "Didn''t they also use natural resources to create weapons?"


    "In essence, everyone needed natural resources to create anything," Jereim replied. "But people from Duria generally doesn''t burn with magic, spiritual power, or life force. So in order to survive, they created this field of knowledge called science. It was a wonderful thing. You will be surprised at what ordinary men can do with their brains and hands."


    "Are you from Duria?"


    "No. I was born a ve in Selia, but my mother brought me to escape where I luckily stranded in Duria. That''s where my life begin."


    "Did you learn how to make these orbs from Duria?"


    "No. Knowledge are very sacred in Duria. They are conservative, and would hardly let strangers in. But they also yearned for greater weapons because they knew they are too weakpared to others. I merely steal their philosophy."


    "What philosophy?"


    "That I can use nature as weapons. Everything around us can be turned into a weapon. Of course it wasn''t as simple as grabbing a rock and throwing them at your enemy. I am saying that their raw elements can be used to create a weapon. Like my orbs. I use organic and non-organic things to create them. And since mana, energies, spiritual power, and life force is actually all around us, we can use that as well."


    "I see. Well, I will send you to Tarrar. You can ask him anything for you to create your weapons. I would prefer it if you make something that can disturb the enemy or confuse them."


    "Yes, master."


    ¡­


    Tarrar was busy writing something on the paper until suddenly a portal opened inside his office and a man was thrown inside.


    "Now what the hell is this?"


    The portal closed.


    "No exnation as always."


    The undead stood up and patted his clothes. "Hello."


    Jereim proceeded to exin everything to Tarrar.


    "Hmmm, making orbs that can have magical effects you say? Mostly used to escape precarious situations you say?"<sub> </sub>


    "That is correct."


    "I guess Aldred wanted me to make a newpany. Tell me. What do you name your products?"


    "Umm, magic orbs?"


    "Magic orbs? That''s not very specific."


    "We can name each orbs with different names ording to their effects."


    "Good idea. Now tell me what you need to get working. I want to make money as much and as fast as possible."


    ¡­


    After throwing Jereim to the portal, Aldred looked at the ck dice in the sky, and noticed there were only 1,003 people left. Which mean, there were only three people left to kill.


    "I am surprised there are still people other than us," Mary said.


    "Are they hiding in the forest?" Aldred asked Ste.


    "No," Ste replied. "They are standing openly on a vast grasnd.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and his vision zoomed in miles away where he saw three person walking slowly towards the south.


    One of them were tall, huge man. His face, and whole body was hidden by a brown robe, but the man was at least 8 meters tall.


    The second one looked like a girl with blue hair. She looked petite and around 150 CM tall. She was also fully covered with brown robe with only some of her hair being revealed.


    Thest one seemed to be a slim man with small legs and thin hand. And just like thest two, this man also fully covered by a brown robe.


    "They looked powerful," Mary said.


    "We will find out about that." Aldred transformed his weapon into a bow, and took aim.


    An arrow formed out of water in his hand as he drew back. After a few seconds, he released the arrow.


    Swish!


    The arrow flew into the sky at high speed, and precisely went for the little girl. Aldred targeted his weakest opponent first. There was nothing wrong with that.


    But suddenly, the 8 meter tall man moved. His movement looked blurry. He was too fast!


    And easily he caught the arrow without any trouble even though the impact blew dust everywhere.


    "Not bad," Aldred said. Then he proceeded to release hundreds of arrows per second all at the same target.


    But the huge man kept blocking the arrows one after another with great precision. His movement was very efficient and effective.


    "Explosive Water Arrow!"


    The huge man noticed this arrow was different than the other one. So it entered into a stance, and blocked with two hands.


    Boom!


    The explosion blew the hood, and revealed the man''s face. He looked like a monster. Extremely intimidating, and imposing. He had red skin and long ck hair. He also wore a helmet that covered most of his face, excluding his nose and mouth which bare rows of sharp teeth.


    He looked calm, and so did the other two. They did not try to look for cover from his arrows or pulled out something to defend against them. Instead, they just stood there like they were enjoying the breeze.


    Aldred thought it was weird that they only the three of them teamed up. And when he looked what was behind them, he noticed something weird.


    A few kilometers behind the three mysterious robed person was an ocean of corpses. Literally, stretched for miles was full of bloody corpses. it was hideous and terrifying.


    "The reason why the numbers of participant reduced so fast was not only because of me nor was it because the treasurer hunters killed each other." Aldred said.


    "They contributed 50% of the kill!"

 408 Chapter 408

    The treasure hunters were shocked to hear that. They could understand Aldred massacring more than 50,000 people with his army, but how could a group with merely three people do such a thing?


    It was impossible to imagine.


    Aldred''s wives also thought the same. They could imagine Aldred wracking around with his Phantom Doomde, taking lives whenever he went, but this was not true for anyone else.


    If their spection was correct, then, these three people must be very dangerous.


    The menacing giant reached out, pushing off the robe and revealing his powerful hand, holding a red spear. He also revealed the powerful ck and purple armor under the robe.


    From the information he obtained through his godly eyes, Aldred knew the name of this giant was Narver Stursk. Just like Aldred, he was also at the gate of tinum Rank. But like every Gold Rank, he could not break through it with brute force and talent.


    The giant took a step, drew the spear over his shoulder, and then threw it at Aldred.


    The spear punctured through the trees without the sign of slowing down. It also exudes powerful aura around it that destroyed everything 10 meters around it.


    "Everyone get away!" Aldred took a step forward and grabbed the spear in mid-air.


    BOOM!


    The impact pushed him off by a step.


    "I truly have grown stronger. Hahaha! Is that all you got!"


    Narver, the giant, reached out with his hand, and another red spear formed. Once again, he threw it at Aldred.


    Aldred scoffed and caught the spear again. But this time, the impact threw him 300 meters away before his body mmed against a small hill.


    Aldred teleported back to his original position as he coughed up some dust.


    "That guy got you really good." Maryughed.


    Aldred smiled. "They are quite an interesting people. I want to fight them."


    Ste sighed and shook her head. "I know you would say that. Let me give you some buff."


    "Me too," Sophia joined in.


    They both casted buffs on him.


    "Greater Strength!"


    "Greater Speed!"


    "Extreme Sensory Perception!"


    "Resistance to Magic!"


    "Resistance to Poison!"


    After a few minutes, they finally finished giving him buffs.


    "Are you guys done?" Aldred asked.


    "Yeah." Ste nodded.


    "Alright." Aldred vanished, leaving blood mist floating in the air.


    And then he appeared in front of Narver Stursk. The giant dwarfed over Aldred.


    "I have seen bigger monster before," Aldred said. "So, you guys are pretty strong, huh?"


    The three of them did not reply. The silent was eternal before it was followed by a breeze.


    "Alright. Not very fond of talking I see. Then, would you like to fight?"


    Aldred raised his hand and Phantom Doomde appeared with golden and red zing me.


    The three of them flinched when they see the weapon. But still, they did not speak at all and barely react.


    "Are you guys a robot or something. Even Thinker has better facial expression than you. And he''s a literal robot."


    They kept their silent.


    "Haish. Alright, if you don''t want to talk, then let''s fight."


    Aldred charged towards the giant and attacked. The giants moved nimbly, dodging and blocking the attack with his spear.


    But despite that, Narver was constantly pushed back as he received tremendous damage. Aldred''s Phantom Doomde was not the de it used to be. It had received tremendous upgrade.


    As he kept attacking, one of the passive ability [Unseen de] activated, and Phantom Doomde managed to create arge gash of wound on the giant''s chest.


    Aldred looked to the side where the two other enemies were, but they still did not move despite their friend already got injured.


    He nced at the giant. "You have such a terrible friend. Are you sure you want to be with them?"


    The giant wordlessly reached to the side with his hand, and then a mysterious purple energy began to spin beside the giant. It grewrge before it condensed into a single point, and then fired at Aldred.


    Aldred tilted his head to the side to dodge. When he looked back, he realized the beam had prated more than 2 kilometers of rocks.


    Such power!


    Aldred turned around and saw that the giant was about shoot another beam at him.<sub> </sub>


    Aldred opened a portal right in front of him. The beam entered, and then another portal opened that directed the beam to struck the giant''s right shoulder.


    It waspletely destroyed. But the giant didn''t even let out a grunt. He seemed unaffected by it.


    And then Aldred watched the arms regenerated back.


    "You are very powerful. Would you be interested in working for me?" Aldred asked genuinely.


    As always, the giant did not reply and simply charged at him.


    "Alright, I have enough ying around."


    Three clones appeared beside him, and the four Aldred began to attack simultaneously.


    With four Phantom Doomde attacking at once, Aldred was sure the giant would die with a single sh.


    But suddenly, a weird cube around 100 cm in diameter appeared in front of them and suddenly ballooned in size, blocking their attack.


    "What is this?" Aldred looked to the side and noticed that the other two people were moving. The petite girl named Shevli Makode seemed to be controlling this cube.


    While the other one, the 180 CM tall, fit and slim assassin type, named Falmik Ungoka, circled them and attacked from behind.


    He pulled out two small de and attacked with such precision and high speed. But Aldred was not to be underestimated. With his buffs, and godly eyes activated at all times, he managed to dodge the attack while only suffering a small wound to his cheek.


    One of his clone attacked the assassin, and managed to create a wound on the man''s thigh.


    They all leaped back after that.


    The assassin threw four shurikens. Aldred and his clones each caught one. Then the shurikens moved their teeth down, bitting on their finger. A needle inside the shuriken jolted, prating the skin and injecting poison into him.


    [You have been poisoned]


    [Poison has been neutralized]


    Aldredughed. "Thanks to Sophia and Ste''s buff, your poison is nothing for me."


    The three of them still did not speak.


    Aldred sighed. "My name is Aldred. Nice to meet you. Narver Stursk, Falmik Ungoka, and Shevli Makode."


    The three enemies were shocked.


    "How did you know our name? Who are you? Are you not going to ask question like that?" Aldred said with a smug face.


    Instead of being curios as to how Aldred knew their name. They seemed to worry, cautious, and fear. But this fear led them to stare at him in a different way.


    Before this, they simply looked at him normally, but now, they wanted to kill him with everything they had.


    The giant charged forward while the weird dice floated into the sky and fired a blinding light.


    The assassin burst into mist before appearing again with ten clones, and then ambushed Aldred from behind.


    Aldred and his clones fought with them for hours. When Aldred tried to assassinate the magician, the giant would always be there to protect her no matter what.


    The assassin also gave him a hard time. It was hard to move around when the assassin always aimed to cut his throat.


    After six hours passed, the three enemies backed off and nodded at each other.


    The dice became smaller, the size of a pinky. And then it fired a tiny blue beam at Aldred.


    He of course dodged it easily. "It''s not that easy to hurt me." Aldred smiled at them.


    A voice came from above.


    "Congrattions!"


    "Congrattions!"


    "Congrattions!"


    Aldred looked up at the giant ck dice in the sky and noticed that the numbers of participant was exactly 1,000.


    Aldred turned around and saw that three of his recruits were killed.


    So they killed three of his recruits so the test would be over?


    Suddenly, bright light began to envelop them.


    The petite girl approached him and said: "Do not chase us any longer. Tell my father I refuse to return."


    And then they were all teleported back to their ce.


    Aldred looked around and realized that he was back at the mountain range.


    He recalled what the girl said. "Did she think her father ordered me toe after her?"


    "How is the fight, Aldred?" Mary asked.


    "It was very interesting. Those three are very powerful. I hope I can meet them again."


    "Maybe we will."

 409 Chapter 409

    "Okay, so what do we do now?" Mareona asked.


    "Maybe we can use this token to activate the portal?" Ivette asked.


    "Probably," Zafrina replied.


    "Let''s try it." Aldred stepped forward with a token in his hand.


    The portal made a whirring sound as another blue energy formed within the gate. The runes on the altars lit up, and it began to turn.


    "It worked!" Aldred eximed.


    "Should we go in?" Kiara asked, wagging her tail.


    "Of course we do!" Mally pushed her into the portal from behind, and then entered it herself.


    The wives giggled and jumped into the portal before Aldred got in. The soldiers and Baendjbi and his group followed afterwards.


    After entering the portal, they realized they were teleported to some sort of high-altitude tform.


    Just like before, some people were gathered here.


    "Seriously. There are still people keeping up with this treasure hunt?" Mary said. "Thest challenge literally only have 1% survivability rate."


    "There are lot of challenges that happened at the same time. All have different difficulties," Ste said. "Some people might be lucky to get all the easy test."


    "Is that even possible?"


    "Perhaps. But don''t underestimate what people will do to obtain this treasure. After all, you''re fighting against the whole continent."


    Aldred nodded. "I see some groups that came from the Ceraisian Empire. Probably sent by nobles or wealthy merchants."


    "Ughh. There are also some robots and people in power armor. Probably from Duria," Mareona said. She was very annoyed by people from Duria because she thought of Thinker.


    "I did not see the mysterious trio," Aldred said.


    "Maybe they got a different test," Ste replied.


    Suddenly, in the middle of the tform, a circr altar was erected. It spun, and the runes carved upon it shone with bright light. And then, the light turned into glowing mist, dancing in the air for a few seconds before forming into the figure of a woman.


    The woman was beautiful with angelic wings and she exuded divine light from her eyes.


    "In this test. Each group will be assigned a mountain to defend. On that mountain is a vige with ants living in it. Your task is to protect the vige and the ants that live in it."


    "Wait! I have a question!" a man stepped forward and raised his hand.


    Seeing the ethereal woman did not reply, the man proceeded to ask: "How can you tell which people is part of our group or not?"


    "I can tell."


    "But what if you make mistake?"


    "I never do."


    The man was taken aback by the reply.


    Ste giggled when she saw this happening.


    "What will we defend it from?" Another person asked.


    "You will have to find that out by yourselves."


    The ethereal angelic woman flicked her hands, and they all teleported away.


    Aldred and his friends arrived on top of a mountain. Below them was a town with houses, stores, and everything else. But instead of people, it was filled with ants. Not tiny ants, but 2 meter tall walking ants who pulled carts, mine stones, plowed the field, and diligently working.


    A few kilometers away was the other mountains that other treasure hunters had to protect.


    "I wonder if we can attack their mountains to win this test," Aldred said.


    "You probably can," Ste replied.


    "That would be too cruel." Aldredughed.


    "Since when did you begin to consider that your action is too cruel?" Miramented.


    "You''re right. I want to see what we''re going to fight against before I consider to do that."


    Aldred then opened the portal to call his golems and undead. He told them to construct towers and walls around the mountains and to install defensive weapons all over the ce.


    With more than 100,000 golems working endlessly, the began to construct a ditch around the mountain 30 meters deep, and a coupleyers of wall 60 meters in height, and 10 meters in thickness.<sub> </sub>


    Not only that, Aldred also told them to build towers all over the ce, and also with their own ditch and walls.


    The golems also sand-papered the mountains, making them slippery and steep because the surface was as smooth as ss. Aldred also told them to put oil, and build some small caves for the gunner golems to stay.


    "Wena, Zara," Aldred called. "Can I trust the dragons to take care of the sky?"


    "Sure," Wena said.


    Zara simply kept her silent.


    Aldred summoned Be and told her to create ice spikes below the ditch, around it, and on the walls.


    "What else should I add?" Aldred asked.


    "You can tell Xer Xai to make even more ditch outside our walls," Zafrina suggested.


    "That''s a good idea."


    And so Xer Xai was summoned and told to wreck havoc on the earth outside their walls.


    The ground waspletely wrecked, and Xer Xai moved the stones and dirt into her stomach before vaporizing them.


    Now there was an evenrger ditch outside their walls. It looked like a literal abyss with no one able to see the bottom of it.


    The other treasure hunters perched on their mountains were of course shocked to see this.


    "What in the hell. Did he just created a super fortress in less than a day?"


    "Bro, nobody can get to that mountain. Don''t even mention the mountain, even passing the first wall would be impossible."


    "If he was a general in the army, and he created this fortress out of thin air, his enemies would surrender right then and there."


    They had seen the process of how Aldred built the fortress, but they still could not believe their eyes.


    Some other adventurers had a magician that could cast [Instant Fortress] or [Fortification] to reinforce their defense, but it was nothingpared to what Aldred did.


    "What else should I Add?" Aldred asked.


    "Maybe that''s enough?" Mary said.


    "Nothing is ever enough," he replied.


    "Maybe it''s time for magic," Ste said before swinging her staff and reinforcing the wall, strengthening them.


    Sophia also do her magic. She created magic circles all over the ce that could slow down, poison, hallucinate, and even killed the enemy.


    After seeing this, Aldred called Breth. He was one of the three lizardmen brother who specialized in magic. Specifically, dark magic. But he could do other type of magic with ease as well.


    "Breth, do something to make the fortress stronger," Aldredmanded.


    "Yes, master."


    Breth stepped forward. His footprint left a mark of death and decay. He pointed with his staff and shouted: "Hell me!"


    "Nightmare Area!"


    "Mist of Blindness!"


    "Despair Aura!"


    "Mental Dy!"


    The area around them was then filled with dark mist, hellish me, and aura of eeriness.


    It looked like a haunted fortress. From outside, every sounding from the mountain made their scalp cold.


    Every time a golem hammered something, it would sound eerie, and the image of horror would sh in their head.


    "Wow. This ce looked really scary now," Mary said.


    "This won''t stop a determined army," Breth said. "But it will make them doubt themselves the deeper they entered."


    "Interesting." Aldred smiled.


    "So what do we now?" Mareona asked.


    "Well, as always, we wait for something to happen."

 410 Chapter 410

    Something howled from the distance.


    It was earthbreaking loud, and then, a few kilometers away from Aldred, a giganticva hand burst out of the ground before it pushed away the earth, revealing a zing abyss of which creatures seemingly from hell crawled out and roared to the sky.


    These creatures had various shapes and sizes but most of them stood at 3 meter tall with long tail and an arrow shape at the end.


    They nced towards the mountains and began charging.


    "Hell be damned! They areing towards us!" Strannon Shieldshaper shouted. He was the leader of the group tasked to defend the mountain a few kilometers from Aldred.


    "Strannon! What will be your order?" Stath Mistcaller, his trusted friend, shouted.


    "We will do as nned. Drop the boulders!"


    Stath turned to his subordinates. "You heard him! Drop those boulders!" He then climbed to the small wall that they managed to build. It was lousy, and a single attack would destroy it, but at least Stath could see the whole situation from here.


    Strannon jumped to the wall, and stood beside him.


    "Should we tell the archers to fire?" Stath asked.


    Strannon replied: "No. Not yet."


    Stath nodded without any question. He had been with Strannon for decades, and trusted him fully.


    The boulders dropped from above, rolled on the wall of the mountain and then crashed to the demons below.


    The soldiers cheered and raised their weapons.


    Strannon did not smile. Victory was not yet at hand, so there was nothing to be happy for. "Keep your vignce!"


    "Yes, sir!"


    The soldiers shut up immediately and returned to their post.


    After the boulders fell to the bottom, more demons swarmed to climb the mountain. Their long ws helped them do that without much trouble.


    Stath looked at Strannon.


    "Not yet," Strannon replied.


    Strannon raised his right fist, and the archers drew their arrows to the max.


    The demons approached.


    1,000 meter


    700 meter


    500 meter


    400 meter


    300 meter


    "Now!"


    The arrows were released and struck the demons urately on the heads. None of the soldiers were amateurs. They had passed two phase of this treasure hunt with incredible scores. Even though their numbers depleted, their adventures, and all the treasures they obtained along they way made their team so much stronger than before.


    Even Strannon became much more intelligent, experienced, and wise regarding leadership, coordination, and how tomand an army properly.


    But even with that, the demons were relentless and they kept on climbing despite the arrows on their heads.


    "Fuck!" one of the soldier shouted.


    "Afraid not! Tell the others to bring more boulders, the rest draw your sword and fight!"


    Strannon drew his own de and leaped to the edge of the mountain.


    Stath brandished his sword and roared before following his lead.


    The others also did the same.


    When the demon managed to climb up, Strannon kicked it, making it fall and knocked against four other demons. He rushed to the side and shed the hands of the demons trying to climb the mountain.


    A demon was about to attack him from behind. Strannon frowned as his gaze was locked onto it. But when he saw someone came to his aid, he smiled and turned around.


    "I trust my back to you," Strannon said.


    "Sure!" Stath shouted before shing the demon''s head.


    They continued to fight the demons for hours and this take a toll on their energy.


    "Where is the boulders?" Stath asked.


    "They are still pushing them, sir!"<sub> </sub>


    "Fuck! Tell them to hurry up!" Stath stabbed a demon in the neck and kicked its corpse off the cliff.


    A fiery de sheared through his shoulder. Stath gritted his teeth, but he did not even let a grunt before he roared and beheaded the demon.


    Stath looked at his right shoulder. The wound was charred as blood leaked out and trailed to his forearm.


    "Sir, at this rate, we will lose to the demon!" a soldier called.


    Stath realized the man was right. The demons were relentless and endless like an ocean.


    The soldiers knew this and their moral dropped.


    This caused a lot of demons managing to climb the cliff, and the soldiers were pushed back.


    "Fuck. We''re going to lose."


    "Not when I am still standing." Strannonnded on the ground, stabbed his sword down, and a powerful shockwave pushed all the demons off. He then rushed forward as more demons climbed up.


    His body was so fast that the soldiers could only see trails of light of where he was. But as they were busy trying to see his moves, the demons were already beheaded left and right.


    The soldiers cheered and roared as they fought with greater intensity.


    With their leaders at the lead, they would dly fight until dead.


    But then suddenly, an 8 meter tall down flew to the cliff. His ck wings retracted before he flicked his hand of which a long, ck de appeared.


    Strannon frowned. The aura exuded by this demon was not ordinary. For some reason, his mind was slightly clouded with his past nightmares and it was hard for him to focus.


    And then he bit his lip until blood came out.


    The demon grinned, showing his ck hideous teeth.


    "Don''t y with my mind, demon!" Strannon charged forward and they exchanged some attacks.


    They fought for half an hour until the demon kicked Strannon to the wall then pinned him down. His sword fell to the side.


    The demon let out a maniacalugh as he drew his de back and about to stab Strannon right by the heart.


    "You''re too slow!" Stath rushed from the side, and then shed the demon''s thigh.


    Strannon released himself from the demon, quickly grabbed his sword, and stabbed the demon in the neck.


    The demon gagged, but still managed to raised his sword. Strannon frowned.


    And then another de stabbed to the demon''s neck. It was Stath''s.


    Strannon looked at him and noticed his body was full of wounds. His left arm even seemed to be broken.


    The demon dropped its sword and fell to its death.


    "Sir, the boulders are here!"


    "Drop them!"


    All the soldiers began to push the boulders as the archers from the walls shot the demons from above.


    They pushed and pushed with all their strength until it fell and crushed all the demons on the way.


    This time, they brought more boulders and released more and more towards the demons below.


    Strannon stood at the edge, and looked down. He saw another demon with ck wings shouted for a retreat.


    Stath approached him, chest heaving up and down as he was desperate for air. "Do we win?"


    Strannon nodded. "For now."


    "Let''s look at how the other team fair against the demon."


    Stath and Strannon climbed the wall and looked to their left. Just like them, they seemed to struggle with the defense, some structures were even destroyed. They also saw some dead bodies being buried on the other side.


    "They don''t get it easy, huh," Strannon said.


    "Yeah." Stath nodded. He then looked to the left again, and his eyes widened.


    Strannon noticed his unusual behavior. "What happened?"


    "Look." Stath pointed. "Are they... are they having a pic?"


    On top of the thick wall on the mountain was Aldred, his wives, the soldiers, and even some ants sitting around with kebab, burgers, and other food in their hands.


    "Oh, did the demons retreat?" Aldred looked down.

 411 Chapter 411

    Aldred chomped on a kebab filled with magic meat, vegetables, and special sauce made by Bartrem.


    "Why did they stop attacking?" Aldred asked as he took another bite.


    "It seems like they are gathering their forces," Mary said as he saw the demon army retreated and gathered at a particr area.


    There seemed to be hierarchies among the demons. Therger demon that had wings seemed to be the squad leader. But those who had horns were even more higher in hierarchies. The bigger and thicker the horn, the stronger, and the higher they were within the ranks.


    At least, that was what Mary assumed from her observation. She told this to Aldred and he nodded in agreement.


    "I think you are correct, Mary. Look at their position. The high-ranking demons stayed deep inside the formation while the lower ranking demons stayed outside."


    They began to chat and enjoyed their lunch while watching the demons.


    "Oh, look. The demons are charging towards us."


    "Are they not going to the other mountains as well?"


    "It doesn''t seem like so."


    Aldred smiled. "So they realized that they need their full power to siege my fortress?"


    Heughed with both arms on his waist.


    His wives rolled their eyes at him.


    The first wave began.


    An army of demons, around 100,000 in size began to charge towards his super fortress. But they encountered an obstacle. Arge and deep ditch stretching more than 130 meters with the depth farther than their eyes could see.


    Suddenly, their legs grew bigger, and they kicked the ground to jump high.


    A pair of terrifying eyes shone from the abyss and Xer Xai pounced at the demons, grabbing a mouthful with her mouth and devoured them.


    That did not stop the demons. The majority of them still managed to pass the ditch, and began to climb the wall. Half of them tried to destroy the wall with pickaxes.


    What they did not expect was the thousands of gunner golems situated on top of the wall, ready twenty four seven for situation like this. Soon enough, rain of fire projectiles burst through their chest, and their bodies fell like rain drops.


    "Wow. What a group of powerful golems. How many mana crystals do you think they consume after all of that?" Stath asked.


    "I don''t know," Strannon replied. "But I don''t think the owner of these golems have that concern.


    "He has to be sent by an emperor. There is no way an unknown group have the resources to deploy hundreds of thousands of golems."


    Strannon nodded while he looked at how well-defended the fortress was. The demons could barely past the ditch, and 15% of them fell to their death. 5% killed by that huge creature, and the rest were cleansed by the golems.


    It was unfathomable how they could build a fortress like this in such a short amount of time.


    "While the rest of us have to fend for our lives, these guys can have a pic and have fun," Stath said with a sigh.


    "Life has never been fair, Stath. Don''tin over it."


    Stath nodded.


    The highest ranking demon, lord ss demon, Grax furrowed his brows in anger. He was 12 meter tall with wide wings, and thick, bulging horns on his forehead.


    A 8 meter sword appeared in his hand, then he stabbed his subordinate with it. The de sucked the life out of the demon''s heart, then pulled it out as his subordinate fell with a thud. He looked intently at the de, ignoring the deathrade he just killed with his own hand.


    The other demon did not seem to care as if this was a daily urrence to them.


    Grax looked at the wall, pointed it with his sword, and then roared.


    All the demons roared after him and then they charged towards the wall.


    As the demons leaped over the ditch, Xer Xai again pounced on them.


    Grax leaped to the sky, spread his wings, and flew towards Xer Xai at high speed. He mmed his feet to Xer Xai''s face, mming her to the wall.<sub> </sub>


    Xer Xai roared, about to fight back, but the 8 meter tall de, fully engulfed with mes made its way into her skull.


    Runes appeared around her skulls, and Xer Xai vanished.


    "That guy is quite strong," Aldred said.


    Grax noticed Aldred''s gaze and stared back at him.


    Aldred smiled at the challenge. "If you cane here, I will fight you."


    Grax trembled in rage. He pped his wings and appeared atop the wall before shing forward. A 100 meter arc of red mes appeared in front of him, engulfing the golems and destroying them all.


    He roared again, and thousands of winged-demons made their way to the sky and flew forward, spitting fire breath towards the golems on the wall.


    The demons below managed to crack a hole on the wall, and they surged inside only to meet resistance by thousands of fighter golems who had waited for their arrival.


    But the winged-demons in the sky changed the game. These demons dove down and burned the golems, making the demons had the advantage.


    But after defeating the fighter golems, they realized they had another ditch to leap over, and more walls to break through.


    "Too slow." Grax raised his de and mmed down, sending an arc of fire that stretched over the abyss.


    But unlike normal me, the demons could step on it, and then used it as a bridge.


    They sprinted through a hailstorm of fire bullets. A lot of them died, but death had never stopped these demons from charging forward.


    The demon archers began to counter-attacking, taking down the gunner golems atop the walls.


    After half an hour, they managed to breach the second wall.


    Aldred simply watched all of this with interest.


    Baendjbi on the other hand looked worried. "Aldred, how can you be so calm?"


    "Why would I not?"


    "There are more than 400,000 demonsing towards us."


    "Why are you so scared of them. I think they look cute. Especially that guy with big wings and horns."


    Grax frowned deeper when he saw Aldred''s gaze towards him. For some reason, Aldred''s face pissed him off.


    After prating the second wall, the demons marched through destends filled with traps and potholes all the while receiving attacks from gunner golems and artillery golems from all over the ce.


    One demon stepped on a rock, and a dark explosion engulfed everything 50 meters around it.


    Not only traps, the more they sprinted deeper, their sight became fuzzy, and their minds became confused.


    Some demons were so affected by this they forget how to walk and began to crawl forward.


    This was Breth''s dark magic. His dark magic was so strong that even demons were affected.


    Aldred was proud to turn him into his undead.


    Grax roared in anger when he saw his army was being slowed down significantly.


    Aldredughed. "Why don''t youe directly to me, big guy? Are you that scared to be far away from your army?"


    The demon army was currently on its way to the third wall, which mean it was still more than 70 kilometers from Aldred''s spot.


    Grax scoffed. "A lord alwayse with his army."


    "That''s what a pussy would say."

 412 Chapter 412

    Strannon and Stath looked at the demons army charging through the super fortress in awe. Both the defensive capability of the fortress and the power and the versatility of the demons army was amazing.


    "If this keep going, the demon will soon break through the fortress," Stathmented.


    "Perhaps. But for each wall they destroyed, tens of thousands demon died. I don''t think the master of the fortress would let his mountain to be breached so easily."


    The others who watched this scene unfold were sitting on the edge of their seat. They had survived the attack earlier and they could barely survive. But now they watched an attack far greater than what they had experienced.


    Currently, the demons were struggling to rush at the third wall with all the traps that were nted all around it. The distance between the second wall and the third wall was around 5 kilometers. So they had to run through 5 kilometers of fire bullets, traps, and even fighter golems.


    "Aldred, can we help as well?" Ste asked. "We can shoot them with long-range spells."


    Mary nodded. "I also have techniques that can attack target at long range as well."


    "Alright, sure," Aldred said.


    His wives smiled when they heard that and they stood at the edge of the wall.


    Ste threw her staff in the air. It spun and created circles of runes that shone and then fired golden beams of light towards the demons.


    Ivette on the other hand closed her eyes before her body exuded a holy aura. She then pointed towards the distance with her sword, and dark clouds in the sky was pierced by a thick white beam that casted judgment to the demons below.


    Mary and Mareona brandished their swords and shed. Their de shot out a powerful arc of energy that cut through the demons.


    "Sister Mira, are you not joining them?" Krista asked.


    "Maybe I should." Mira smiled at her and stood up. She spread her hand wide as she closed her eyes. "Lord from above, please cleanse the devil around me."


    A small dot of light came from above and gently entered Mira''s head. When she opened her eyes it was shining brightly as the sun and all the demons that caught her sight was burned in agony.


    "Ahh!"


    "Make it stop. It burns!!!"


    Aldred smiled until he saw his skin was burned as well. "Hey, Mira. Slow it down. I am not a devil."


    Mira''s eyes returned to normal. "The divine light told me that you are the biggest devil out of everyone here. If not for me controlling it, the light would do more than burning your skin."


    "Whoever that divine light is, I want to have a talk with it. Face to face. And what do you mean I am the biggest devil here? Look at how many demons are charging towards us."


    Mira shrugged. "Maybe you are the devil."


    "Of course, he is the devil. Who else can it be." Mallyughed.


    His wivesughed after hearing that statement.


    Hourster, the demon army managed to arrive in front of the third wall. That was when they met against 100,000 fighter golems, charging towards them without fear.


    Complete with shield and spear, the golems bulled through the demon'' unorganized ranks. Since the golems were connected to each other, they constantly learned from their failure and constantly improving. Not to mention they could also level up after each battle because of Aldred''s power.


    Aldred also had always put them inside his dungeon to train them.


    All of these factors made the golems a tough enemy to deal with.


    After seeing the army was stalled again, Grax ordered the winged-demons to attack from above. But the gunner golems anticipated that and focused their attacks to the sky.


    With hundreds of fire bullets flying urately to the sky, the winged demons were quickly devastated with their corpses falling down.


    Grax was angered once again. "You are all so useless!" He then shed horizontally, cleaving all the gunner golems atop the wall in half.


    Aldred giggled. "Broth, Bruce,e forth." The two archers stepped out from the shadow and knelt on one knee.<sub> </sub>


    Broth was one of the three lizardmen brother and he was a skilled archer. His power was suitable to attack multiple targets at once. While Bruce was a talented human archer with powerful single-shot attack.


    "Broth, you will rain the enemies with arrows."


    "Yes, master." Broth vanished as he went to work.


    "Bruce, you will annoy that big demon in the sky."


    "Yes, master."


    A few secondster, the sky was covered with ck dots. When the demons looked up to see what it was, they realized it was arrows.


    "Raise your shield!" the squad leader shouted.


    They obeyed his order immediately. But they underestimated the rain of arrows. Even after twenty minutes had passed, it had not stopped yet.


    Combined that with the attacks from the fighter golems and the gunner golems, their numbers were cleaved more and more as time passed.


    All while that happened, Bruce shot one arrow after another towards Grax.


    Grax pped the arrow in mid-air, but the powerful force pushed him back by a meter. The demon was angered, but also impressed by the power.


    "How can that man have so many powerful subordinates and undead under him. Even his soldiers are so strong and full of life force."


    Grax decided to be a more proactive in this siege. There were a total of 10 walls, if he let this went as it was, his army would be depleted before they could attack the mountain.


    It took them weeks of non-stop attacks until they arrived at the 10th wall. Grax''s direct help let the army kept much of their numbers.


    This time, the dragons and Aldred''s soldiers directly joined the battlefield.


    They fought day after day with worker golems constantly fixing the walls even when they got a little crack on the surface.


    Because of the intensity of the fight, the demons had actually retreated a few times to rest before they charged again the next day.


    This pattern repeated countless times.


    ng! ng! ng!


    The bell rang as the soldier swing the bell left and right to announce an attack.


    Bartrem stepped out of his tent located near the 10th wall. "What day is it?" He asked a soldier.


    The soldier looked towards the distance. "The demon bulls are attacking."


    "So it is Monday. Is the sandwich ready?" Bartrem asked.


    "Completely filled with eggs and ham, sir."


    "Good." Bartrem grabbed a sandwich by the table, put it in his mouth and then charged towards the demons with his men.


    Grax floated in the sky, watching the battle unfold. Two kilometers in front of him was Aldred, staring at him with a smile.


    Aldred expected the demon to charge at him, but it seemed like the demon wanted to prove to Aldred that the demon army was much better than his.


    Aldred also wanted to see the result. Will his subordinates lose against the demons? Only with time could he find out.


    "Are they fighting with a bread in their mouth?" Stath asked in shock. He was busy coordinating the soldiers to reinforce the mountain thesest few weeks.


    "Yeah. They have been doing that for two whole weeks," Strannon replied.

 413 Chapter 413

    Wena and Zara coordinated the dragons in the sky to fight against the winged-demons. They were in a huge advantage as the demons were not ready to fight against the superior firepower of the dragons.


    Everything was going well for Aldred''s army.


    "How?" Grax asked from 2 kilometers away. "How did you have this powerful army?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Aldred replied.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I am far more handsome than you."


    Grax grunted. "Your army might be better, but I have the numbers. GRAAA!"


    His roar shook the earth, andva burst out of abyss of which the demons crawled out. And then, more demons crawled out. This time, they looked far stronger and bigger than before, and their numbers far surpassed the first one that came.


    Grax grinned and thenughed.


    "More than 980,000 demons, huh? Not bad," Aldred replied. "But now it''s my turn to call for reinforcements."


    Aldred opened a bunch of portals and golems endlessly stepped out. He had ordered Tarrar to stop selling golems because he feared this situation might happen.


    Now, he had more than 1,000,000 golems ready for battle.


    "How is this possible? Who are you?" Grax said.


    "I am not done yet." Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde. It''s golden and vicious aura was reced by the aura of death. And then, the aura sted all over the battlefield, washing over all the corpses.


    Suddenly, the corpses moved and they stood up, reanimated as undead.


    Because his sword could turn corpses into undead, he did not need to use his own skills to do that. And unlike his own ability, the sword did not have limit to how many undead it could have.


    But there was one disadvantage.


    The undead could not level up, and he could not add them to his party system either.


    Aldredughed. "With over 1 million golems, and 300,000 undead I got from your own demon army, I now have over 1,300,000 subordinates."


    "My army is powerful, but better yet, my army has more soldiers than yours."


    Grax trembled in anger. He roared and flew towards Aldred with his 8 meter tall de.


    Aldredughed. "I have been waiting for this to happen. Let the lords fight against lords, king against king!"


    His Phantom Doomde reignited with zing me  of three different color: gold, red, and dark. Its powerful aura affected his mind and heart and he became even more crazed for battle.


    They shed against one another and the impact made a powerful explosion.


    "Demonic Edge!" Grax roared and swung his de. A devil aura shot out in an arc


    "Sword Art Copy: Demonic Edge!" Aldred roared back and copied the exact ability.


    This was his ability [Sword Art Copy] that he obtained long ago, but never been used.


    "Devil Strike!" the demon roared.


    "Sword Art Copy: Devil Strike!" Aldred shouted back.


    Whatever sword skill Grax executed, Aldred would do the same thing. This infuriated the Grax to no end.


    They fought for hours and Grax realized that his sword was far inferior. Soon after, it was cut in half, and the Phantom Doomde managed to wound his right shoulder.


    The blood sttered on Aldred''s face while he was grinning, making Grax thought that this man was the demon instead of him.


    Aldred took in a deep breath as his power increased. Whenever his enemies blood sttered over him, his stats would increase. And this effect was stackable which mean more blood equal more stats.


    Not only that. Aldred licked the demon''s blood on his cheek and a powerful aura washed over him.


    This was [Blood Lock]. Whenever he consume the blood of his target, his damage to that particr target would increase.


    The more he consumed the blood, the higher the damage. Aldred flicked his hand, and all the blood on his cheek condensed into an orb and went into his mouth.


    His eyes flickered with a cold red light when he stared at Grax. And the demon felt chill when he saw that.


    ''What is this feeling? I am a demon. How can I feel¡­ fear?''


    The realization that this human made Grax made him felt fear made his heart came aze with rage. He was a lord. He ruled an entire kingdom in the underworld. How could a mere human dare to shame him!<sub> </sub>


    Raising his sword high to the sky, Grax bit his own tongue of which the blood shot to the sky. "I am your lord! Appear by mymand!"


    Dark cloud surged above. Spinning like a vortex as lightning shed here and there. He then pointed at Aldred.


    "Dark Lightning!"


    A dark lightning silently, quickly, much faster than the speed of sound struck Aldred directly.


    Only after that happened was it followed by a loud sound of explosion.


    The lightning was so powerful that it blinded everyone that caught the sight of its light. Only after a few seconds did they manage to regain their vision.


    That was when they saw Aldred falling from the sky, unconscious.


    Everyone was shocked to see this. Especially his wives and friends. Baendjbi would never imagine someone in Gold Rank managed to defeat Aldred.


    Mary was in disbelief. "No. No way. Aldred cannot lose. He never has."


    Ste frowned in confusion while Sophia stared at the demon with trembling rage.


    The onlookers on the other mountains gasped in shock. They had seen how the man fought the demons and had the advantage all these time. They also could not imagine he would be defeated since he was the one who created the super fortress.


    "Should have known. Nothing is impossible," Strannon said. "Even a strong man like him would be defeated."


    Graxughed maniacally. "Your strongest man is dead. Now time for you all  to die!"


    "Is that so?"


    "Huh?"


    Grax looked to the side and saw Aldred floating in the sky without any wound.


    His wives and everyone else sighed in relief.


    "Big brother Aldred really loves to y pranks," Kristamented.


    "You! How can you still be alive?!" Grax shouted.


    "Bro. You took 5 seconds to cast your lightning spell. You think I will just sit there and let you strike me?"


    "Then who is that?" Grax looked down and saw Aldred''s ''corpse'' turned into blood mist.


    "Hehe. That''s just my clone."


    "A clone?" Grax could not believe it. His eyes could identify that the clone was very powerful and even matched the real Aldred not just in ranks but in aura, durability, and mental power. A clone usually cannot match the original strength of its caster!


    "Yes, that''s my clone. Which is now behind you."


    Grax was about to turn around, but before he could do so, Phantom Doomde already prated his chest from the back.


    "This isn''t enough to kill me!" Grax shouted.


    Suddenly, another clone appeared and stabbed him.


    "I can¡­ still fight."


    Another clone appeared and struck his chest.


    "Im¡­po..ssible. Your clones¡­ all of them¡­ have your¡­ strength."


    "That is correct." Aldred approached slowly.


    "You cannot kill me. I am subordinates of one of the strongest entity in hell."


    "My father owns hell."


    Jleb!


    Aldred stabbed Grax''s neck. Soon after, the demon died with unwillingness in his eyes.


    [You have killed Grax]


    [You have obtained a skill book ''Gate of Hell'']

 414 Chapter 414

    [Gate of Hell (Skill)]


    Activating this skill will summon a gate towards hell. Be very careful of your every step for it might be yourst.


    "Gate of hell? Interesting." Aldred learned the skill just in case he wanted to enter hell.


    He then nced at the dead Grax. His clones vanished which made the demon lord started to fall. The demons below watched with bated breath as their lord crashed to the ground.


    Aldred set his gaze down and his eyes sheen with a cold glint. "Red Rain."


    The dark clouds began to turn red and the air became hot for the demons. Cold crept to the back of their head, and when they looked up, they saw their lives shing for a split second.


    That was when 15 meter spearspletely made out crimson me fell upon them in huge numbers.


    Aldred grunted in pain. This pseudo legendary skill was iplete which caused this skill to consume his blood essence to activate. If that wasn''t the case he would have used it with every chance he got.


    "I have to find a way toplete this skill somehow."


    Strannon widened his eyes, both hands trembling. Stath also did the same.


    And so did everyone else that witnessed this event.


    The demons army waspletely cleansed in under a minute. All with a single spell from Aldred.


    "If he have that kind of power¡­ why didn''t he use it first?" Stathmented.


    "That kind of spell must have consumed a lot of mana," Stath replied.


    Everyone had the same question and spection. Why did he not cast that spell the first time? What was the cost to use that spell?


    "Wait a minute. Isn''t he a swordsman? How can he use magic?"


    Everyone gasped in realization. They were too shocked by the spell that they forgot the caster  could actually used sword as well. They had seen Aldred''s battle against the demon lord, and they concluded that his swordsmanship was unmatched under the sky.


    So how could a swordsman cast a spell?


    That question may never be answered.


    Suddenly, the crimson sky was reced by clear, blue sky with white fluffy clouds. Then a holy light cleansed thend of corpses and blood.


    A body of light came down from the cloud and approached Aldred. The light vanished and was reced by the angelic woman they met before the test. Her charming eyes gaze upon Aldred with indifference.


    "You have passed the test," her soothing voice came to Aldred.


    "I know," Aldred replied.


    "Before you go. Tell me who you are."


    Aldred smiled. "I''m the demon king''s son."


    Then he was enveloped by bright light and vanished.


    Aldred was teleported back to the tform high on the mountain. His friends were teleported there as well.


    "That was a good fight," Mary said.


    Mally hit Aldred''s shoulder. "Good job, Aldred."


    "That demon put up a good fight." Aldred nodded. "Though he wasn''t as strong as Bafni."


    "You still remember about that female robot?"


    "I can''t stand the fact that I was weaker than her. Only by defeating her can I rest well."


    "So where do we go now?" Ivette asked.


    Aldred pulled the astrbe out of his inventory. The red orb spun and then a golden light came from above, struck the astrbe and turned the red orb into gold.


    Suddenly, it shot out a beam that expanded into a portal of light.


    "I guess that is where we''re going."


    "Wait!" a voice came from above.


    They all looked up and noticed it was the angelic woman earlier.


    "Can I help you?" Aldred asked.


    The woman looked at Aldred right in the eye. "I would like to invite you to be the guardian angel of our church."


    "Ehh!"


    "I am sorry, but I am not interested."


    "Then what about a position in the middle order."


    Aldred shook his head. "Not interested."<sub> </sub>


    "This position will grant you immortality and great power. If you are worried about the treasure don''t be, because this position is far more valuable than a mere chance to be an Adamantite Rank. Anyone else would have epted this offer."


    "That''s the thing," Aldred replied. "I am not just anyone else."


    The angel''s cold face red at Aldred for a few seconds before it turned into a smile. "I know you would refuse. By the way, we actually should give out rewards to how many demons you kill, but you killed too much that it took a while to count."


    "Now, I am intrigued. So can I pick you as my reward?"


    Mareona hit the back of his head. "That''s an angel you''re talking to. Have some manners."


    "Ouch! I am joking."


    "If you ept the position as a middle order angel, then you can have me anytime you want."


    "Ohh¡­ I am starting to consider."


    His wives rolled their eyes at him.


    Mally grabbed his shoulder with a wide smile on her face. "If you dare to ept that position I will put a rope on your neck, and pull you down to earth myself."


    "Your friends and wives can join you in the celestial pce as well," the woman replied.


    Aldred sighed. "Sorry, I can''t. It was an interesting offer though."


    The woman nodded. "I understand. Give me your de. I will bless it with my power."


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and handed it over to the woman.


    The angel felt all kinds of emotion just from wielding it. "What a powerful de. It crazed for battle, blood, honor, and death. Not a weapon generally wielded an angel, but we do need something like this."


    "It''s not for sale if that is your intention," Aldred said.


    "Of course not." The woman smiled and then caressed the de. "Transius Acheiatis."


    [Your de has been blessed by Seraph]


    [Your control over fire increase by 500% when wielding the de]


    [Your fire damage increase by 500% when wielding the de]


    [Your immunity to fire increase by 500% when wielding the de]


    [Your movement speed increase by 300% when wielding the de]


    [Your strength increase by 300% when wielding the de]


    "There. All done." The woman handed the de back.


    "Thanks." Aldred received the sword with a smile.


    "I will also grant your friends blessing ording to how many demons they killed."


    She casted them with a bright light and their overall stats increased.


    They were all happy to receive her blessings. Some a bit sad that they didn''t kill enough demons.


    "If I know I can get stronger by killing more demons I should have killed more." Baendjbi sighed.


    Bartrem and his soldiersughed.


    "If you want to get stronger, killing should be your hobby," Bartrem said.


    "That doesn''t make any sense."


    "I learned that from Aldred. Now look at how strong he is."


    "You got a point." Baendjbi considered the advice. After all, Bartrem learned this from Aldred so it had to be true.


    "Now you are all set," the angelic woman said. She approached Aldred and kissed him on the lips. "The offer will always be valid. I am waiting for you¡­ demon king''s son."


    She said the threest word with a whisper before she vanished.


    "They really wanted you, huh?" Mareona said.


    "Aldred doesn''t seem like a person suitable to be an angel," Mary said.


    Aldredughed. "That''s where you are wrong. No one is more worthy than me to be an angel. After all, I am kind, helpful, forgiving, and spread all the good things about life to people."


    His wives and even Bartrem rolled his eyes at that.


    "Well, let''s get inside the portal."


    When they entered the light portal, they arrived in front of a mountain. People with robes walked towards it. On top of the mountain was a temple.

 415 Chapter 415

    "Where are these people going?" Mary said.


    "Maybe we should ask them." Aldred approached a man with a long-sleeve robe. A sword hanged on his waist.


    "Hello."


    "Hello, how can I help you." The man cusp his hand as a greeting.


    "Can I ask where you are going?"


    "We''re going to that mountain to take the test."


    "Oh, so that''s where the test is."


    "That is true my friend."


    "Alright, thank you."


    "My pleasure." The man cusp his hand again and walked away.


    "So, apparently that''s where the next test is," Aldred said.


    "Well, what are we waiting for?" Mally asked.


    They all proceeded to walk towards the mountain. When they arrived at the bottom, they saw a flight of stairs that went up for more than a few kilometers.


    "That''s a long stairs," Mary said.


    "At least we have stairs. Usually, we have to climb the mountain with our hands," Mareona said.


    "That''s true." Ivette began to climb the stairs with the others.


    After half an hour, they arrived in front of the temple where a lot of people gathered.


    "So are we waiting again?" Mary asked.


    "This treasure hunt has a lot of waiting involved. Why can''t we finish one challenge after another immediately?" Mally grunted with annoyance.


    "If that was the case then the casualties would be far higher," Ste said as she recalled a lot of treasure hunt in the past.


    "Has there been any treasure hunt that has no waiting?" Aldred asked her.


    "There are. I think it was a few hundred years ago. The world instantly teleported the participants right after finishing their test. Casualties were very high because a lot of them were very tired."


    "Has anyone manage obtain the treasure?"


    "No."


    "No?" Aldred was shocked. "I thought every time a treasure hunt happen, someone would be able to obtain it."


    Ste shook her head. "That was never the rule. In fact, a lot of times, the treasure hunt ended with all the participants died."


    That shocked Aldred and everyone else.


    Aldred took a step as he processed that information. But he identally bumped against a girl.


    "Sorry about that." Aldred looked at her and nodded.


    Her friends gasped.


    "How dare you! Don''t you know¡ª"


    The woman raised her hand to silence her friend. She looked at Aldred and nodded before walking away.


    "What was that about?" Mary asked.


    "Typical attitude of an arrogantdy," Mareona said.


    "Well, at least the girl I bumped into was polite. Her friends tried too hard licking her shoe." Mally crossed her arms with a smile. "Too bad. Back in my pirate days, I would have tied her to my ship and let the barnacles peeled her skin. Hahaha!"


    They all looked at Mally with weird expression.


    "What? It''s called keelhauling. You guys haven''t executed a traitor before?"


    "Not like that," Aldred replied.


    "Cih. Youck creativity."


    "I think you put your creativity in the wrong ce, Mally." Aldred shook his head.


    For the next few hours, they just stood there and chat. Everyone else did the same. Then, Aldred noticed a man looked around timidly. He got no one to talk to, so Aldred talked to him.


    "Yo, wasup."


    "Uhh¡­ Hello, fellow daoist."


    "Daoist?" Aldred raised an eyebrow. Was this eastern china or something, why was he called a daoist? He shook the thought away thinking it might be some simrities in the culture. As a man who had traveled many region, he understood that people had different culture and long used to them.


    "So, do you have anyone else with you?"


    "No. I am by myself."


    "Ohh. Impressive. Finishing all the test all on your own, and now you are here. You must be very strong."


    The man gave an awkwardugh. "Not really."


    "My name is Aldred by the way."


    "Nice to meet you, daoist Aldred. I am Kang Huan."


    "So, any idea what the test might be?" Aldred asked.


    "Uhh, I think we will be asked to pass the silver stairs."


    "What silver stairs?"


    "The silver stairs is able to test your potential. Not just physically, but spiritually, mentally, and of course, your talent as a whole. Each step would feel like an entire mountain is on your shoulder. The higher you climb, the heavier it will be."


    "That''s very specific. How do you know?"


    "They have posters for it everywhere."


    "Hmmm, I might have missed it."


    Kang Huan blinked a few times but did not say anything.


    Aldred and Kang Huan chatted for a few minutes until Aldred saw a handsome, tall man with his chin up. He was also apanied by a lot of people.


    "Who is that?"


    "That''s Wen Shuren. He''s a prodigy among prodigy. Everyone was sure he could go to the 100th stairs."


    "He''s that great, huh?"


    "Not only his talent, but also his background. His family owned a lot of business and has enough money to give him rare treasure for his cultivation."


    "A rich brat, I see."


    Kang Huan looked at Aldred worringly. "Daoist Aldred, I think you should refrain from making suchments. Wen Shuren is a proud man. He will invite you to a duel if he heard you nder his name."


    "So, a rich brat with big ego."


    "Daoist Aldred¡­"


    Aldredughed. "Fine. I will stop stating the truth and keep my mouth shut."


    "So what about that Shi Xin girl?"


    "Daoist Aldred, you know who Shi Xin is?"


    "I know her name." Aldred knew because that was the girl he bumped against and he got her information through his godly eyes. Overall, her background was the same as Wen Shuren; rich family, talented, and pampered since young.


    When Kang Huan exined who she was, Aldred''s guess was correct.


    "But I heard a rumor about her."


    "What rumor?" Aldred asked.


    Kang Huan looked left and right and then whispered. "It was said that she was born with a frozen heart. She couldn''t feel love, anger, sadness, or anything else. She was as cold as ice."


    "An exaggeration."


    "That maybe the case." Kang Huan nodded.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and looked at Shi Xin. And then he was shocked. What Kang Huan said was real. Her heart¡­ it was covered in ice.


    At first, Aldred did not notice because he only x-rayed through her clothes to look at her breast, which wasn''t a bad size, but the fact that her heart was covered in ice was so shocking.


    "Her parents are very protective and rarely let her leave home, right?"


    "That is true daoist Aldred. What else do you know about her?"


    Aldred smiled and did not reply. ''Bitch, I even know there''s a mole on her left butt."


    "Hey, look! Wen Shuren is approaching Shi Xin!"


    "Wen Shuren has been waiting for this moment a long time. Shi Xin had never went out of her home before, but her beauty was always in our mind."


    "Can Wen Shuren get the heart of the Ice Lady?"


    Wen Shuren approached Shi Xin with a bright smile on his face that could melted the heart of every woman that see it.


    And sure enough, All the girls fell on their knees when they looked at him.


    But Wen Shuren only had Shi Xin in his eyes.


    "Hel¡ª"


    "Please leave." Shi Xin red at him, ice cold.


    Wen Shuren was heartbroken. Before he could say anything, he was told to go away.


    "Welp, that was anti-climatic." Aldredughed.

 416 Chapter 416

    Wen Shuren gritted his teeth in anger at being humted. How dare this woman reject him so bluntly when they were in public space! At least pretend to ept him to save his face!


    ''No matter. I will get you sooner orter. Xin family wouldn''t be able to refuse an offer of alliance with my family.'' Wen Shuren thought to himself.


    ''When that happen. I will surely tear you apart.'' Wen Shuren smirked inside.


    "Hahaha!"


    He frowned and looked to the side. "Are youughing at me?"


    "No," Aldred replied before heughed again.


    "Daoist Aldred, I don''t think you should offend him," Kang Huan said.


    "I don''t offend anyone. I simplyugh."


    Wen Shuren frowned. What was this? Was this her n to humiliate him? He looked at Shi Xin who already walked away from him.


    Why did she want to humiliate me? Was this the order from the Xin family?


    No. That can''t be.


    ''But even so, I must not be humiliated.'' Wen Shuren stabbed the air with his de that show a mysterious energy, flying towards Aldred.


    Aldred pushed Kang Huan away and blocked the attack with his bare hand. The skin on his hands melted with a bunch of bruises around his arms.


    "Consider that a warning," Kang Huan said.


    Aldred grinned as the wounds on his hands regenerated. New skin formed and his arms were as good as new.


    He then casted a fire-elemental spell that spun like a vortex towards Wen Shuren.


    "How dare you!" Wen Shuren shed the fire vortex in half but the fire consumed his de and burned his arms.


    At the end, his arms were covered with hideous burn marks and the sword in his hand was almost destroyed.


    "Consider that a warning," Aldred said.


    "Wen Shuren." His friends approached him.


    Wen Shuren red at Aldred. He pushed his friends away and summoned another sword. "You dare!"


    The handsome man was about to attack Aldred until an old man with a beard came.


    "The elder is here!"


    Everyone kept their silence and put their attention to the bearded man. Even Wen Shuren sheated his sword.


    "Ohh, the test is about to start it seems." Aldred smiled.


    "Aldred, why did you attack him?" Kang Huan asked. "Your life in the future won''t be good if you offend a man like him. Now is not toote. You can turn him into a friend by apologizing."


    Mallyughed. "Don''t bother telling him to apologize. He won''t do it. Not to an arrogant prick."


    "Haish. He might be arrogant but he is from the Shuren Family. Your life in the sect will not be good."


    "We will see about that." Aldred smiled. He had offend a lot of arrogant pricks who thought the world revolved around them. Of course he killed them because of their impudence. He wouldn''t dare to do that if the enemy was much stronger than him of course. He wasn''t stupid.


    As he thought about that he recalled what Kang Huan said. ''My life in the sect will not be good, huh?''


    ''Wait. Life in the sect?''


    "Kang Huan. What do you mean my future life in the sect?"


    Before Kang Huan could reply the bearded man, standing atop a stage said with a calm expression: "The test will start now. As truth seekers, all of you should have manners and discipline. But not only that, you also must have the will and the talent to seed."


    "Your test is to climb the Silver Stairs. If you can reach the 40th steps, you can pass."


    The people here slightly gasped  when they hear that. They looked restless, but tried really hard to contain their emotions.


    "What''s happening?" Aldred whispered with his mental power.


    "The test is twice as hard asst time. It was 20th steps to pass before."


    Aldred nodded. ''So Kang Huan have participated in thest treasure hunt. But if everyone here is restless, does that mean a lot of people have participated in thest treasure hunt?''


    That meant everyone here was older than 100 years old.


    "The world is really interesting." Aldred smiled.


    What Aldred didn''t realize was the fact that this test was not for the treasure hunter, but for cultivators to enter a sect.


    "Everyone follow me." The elder turned around.


    Everyone followed him, entering the temple, walking through the wooden hallway. Incense scent entered Aldred''s nose. It was soothing and calming. He also saw some statues of Buddha here and there.


    This ce looked oddly simr to cultivation world he had read in his past life.


    Minutester, they arrived in front of a towerpletely made out of light where they could see through it and saw stairs that led upward which were also made out of light.


    "This is the Silver Stairs. Proof yourself worthy by climbing as high as you can."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Nothing about the stairs could be identified as silver. It should be called Ethereal Stairs or something like that.


    A lot of people began to enter the tower, and climbed the stairs. Aldred watched from outside as they struggled to climb it. Every step was heavier than thest.


    But two people: Shi Xin and Wen Shuren climbed the stairs with ease.


    In a secret room, the elders were seated as they watched the contestant through a screen.


    "Shi Xin and Wen Shuren should pass this test easily," an elder said.


    "Of course they can. They would shame their family name if that is not the case."


    "So who will pick them as disciple?"


    The elders looked at each other. "Arguments will lead to nothing. Infighting will lead to division. We should give luck the power to decide."


    "Coin toss?"


    The elders all nodded in agreement.


    ...


    "This doesn''t look hard," Aldred said.


    "Daoist Aldred, it might not look like much, but those people at the bottom are trying as hard as they can to climb every stair."


    "Should we try?" Mary asked.


    "Of course we do." Aldred looked at the tower. "Let''s go."


    Before they could enter the tower, something happened. A man on the stairs was teleported out and he fell on his butt.


    "What happened?" Aldred asked.


    "That man was eliminated at the 17th floor because he couldn''t climb further even after 2 minutes."


    "Ohh, I see. I wonder how many stairs can I climb."


    Aldred and everyone else entered the tower of light.


    "Solid light. This is new." Aldred took a step and he began to felt a tiny pressure on him. Like gravity suddenly increased.


    He took two steps and the sensation increased, but it wasn''t a lot. In fact, it was barely noticeable.


    "Let''s see if I can run." Aldred did. He ran up the stairs to the shock of others.


    "Is that guy running?"


    "Fools! No one can run on the Silver Stairs. He will fail himself."


    Aldred felt the pressure on him mounting, but it wasn''t a problem. He looked back and saw his friends were following him. Except for Baendjbi and the other swordsmen. They were struggling at the bottom.


    Currently, Aldred and friends had passed 30 stairs.


    The elders that watched this event unfolded were shocked. Not only did they ran up the stairs, they looked like they did it with absolute ease.


    Only someone whose talent was boundless and could not be measured could so such a thing. And someone like this could only appear once every ten thousand years!


    "And there''s not one, but more than 70 people who can do this!"


    The elders looked at one another.


    "The heaven is blessing us with talents! Our good deeds, uncorrupted culture, and noble bearing must be the cause!"


    The elders all nodded despite the fact that they knew their sect was one of the most corrupt sect in this world.

 417 Chapter 417

    After the 67th steps, Wen Shuren began to feel the pressure bearing down on him.


    "The rumor is true. It does feel like a mountain is on top of my head." He took a step while his whole body trembling like crazy. His forehead was covered in sweat, but he kept on going.


    Suddenly, someone passed him. It was Shi Xin. She was struggling as well, but not as much as him.


    Wen Shuren gritted his teeth. How could he be defeated by this woman?! No. He had to surpass her if not, the Xin Family would act all smug.


    He forced himself to move faster and a few minutester, he managed to stand beside her. He smiled, thinking that he could defeat Shi Xin.


    Suddenly, another man passed him.


    "Hello."


    It was Aldred.


    Wen Shuren ignored him because this test required so much focus. He did not want to fail because of a foolish reason.


    "Why are you sweating so much?" Aldred asked with a grin.


    Wen Shuren was annoyed but he kept his focus.


    "And why is your body trembling? Are you holding your pee?"


    "I have just the thing for you. Here." Aldred pulled out a bucket out of his inventory and put in front of Wen Shuren.


    Wen Shuren red at him. "Get the fuck out of my face, Bastard!"


    Suddenly, the pressure on top of his head increased by ten fold and Wen Shuren almost fell to his knees. He gritted his teeth in anger. This man made him lose focus and almost failed him in this test.


    Aldredughed. "Well, see ya then."


    He then run up the steps.


    Wen Shuren was shocked when he saw Aldred running so fast with ease. Shi Xin was surprised as well, but she took a deep breath and regain her focus.


    "Aldred, wait for us!" His wives run up to catch up to him.


    This scene made Wen Shuren''s eyes widened. The Silver Stairs test the will, spirit, mental, and talent of an individual. No one under the heaven is perfect. Some may have talent, but alsozy. Some have the will, butck the talent aspect.


    This stairs test all of that by bearing pressure on top of them. Only the talented, motivated, and disciplined individual could pass this  test. But usually, it would take them a few hours to pass the test because each step was a struggle, each step was them breaking their physical and mental limit.


    But why. Why do they made it looked like these stairs were nothing but ordinary stairs.


    They had to be cheating!


    "They are leaving us again. Men! Let us run after them!" Bartrem shouted before he led his soldiers upward.


    More than 70 people, men and women ran up the stairs.


    This shocked Wen Shuren even more. Not only him and his wives, but his entourage can also do this.


    Wen Shuren shook his head. "Now I am more sure that they are cheating. Humph! See what the elders will do to youter."


    Heughed inside at the thought of them being punished.


    Aldred and the others arrived at the 70th stairs.


    "Why did you stop?" Mary asked.


    "This test is too easy. I feel like there''s a catch."


    "I don''t know, Aldred. The others seems to have it a lot harder than us." Mareona looked down where she saw the people barely able to take a step before their 2 minute time limit passed.


    "Hmmm, why is it so easy for us then?" Aldred asked.


    "Maybe we are just that good?" Ivette replied.


    "Possibly."


    After that conversation, they walked up the stairs while chatting with each other.


    The failed participants that were watching this were overwhelmed with emotions. The first emotion was shocked, then amazed, and then depressed.


    They were shocked to see people could reach over 70th steps which was considered to be impossible, then, they were amazed at how easy these people do it. Andstly, they were depressed at knowing that there were far more talented people than them.


    "I think I am going to quit being a cultivator," a man said, sighing.


    "Me too. The heaven is too high for me to reach."


    "I am going back to my farm. Even though I quit, at least I have enough strength to be respected back at my vige."


    These conversations spread wide and far. Aldred''s didn''t even realize that his action caused a lot of dreams to be shattered.


    After 2 minutes, Aldred managed to reach the 80th steps.


    This made the elders felt some concern. They expect these people to be talented, but their talents were too damn high.


    No one in thest 5,000 thousand years manage to reach the 80th steps.


    "Even I only stop at the 74th step."


    "And they did it with food in their mouth!"


    The elder was right. Aldred and the others were currently munching on kebabs and burger while they climbed the stairs.


    After Aldred stepped onto the 90th step, the whole tower trembled.


    "Oh, an earthquake?" Aldred asked.


    "I think it''s the tower," Ste replied.


    Aldred looked down. "We''re quite high in the sky now."


    "Yep. Move forward Aldred. We almost reach the 100th stair." Mareona pushed him gently.


    When Aldred took the next step, the stair under his feet became silver. He took another step, and the same thing happened.


    "Now, I see why it was called the silver stairs.


    The elders trembled when they watched this.


    "What do we do?" an elder asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do we let them set foot on the 100th stair?"


    "Why would we not?"


    "What if the other sects heard about this? More than 78 people manage to reach the 100th step of the Silver Stairs? All of our enemies, and even our allies will point their swords at us, and split these talented people amongst themselves."


    The atmosphere grew tense after that. Talents were the most important currency a sect could have. The more talented disciple they have, the brighter their future would be.


    But having a lot of talented disciple, yetcking the power to defend it was like being a fat sheep for a lion to eat.


    "So, what should we do?"


    "I don''t know."


    ...


    Aldred had now reached the 98th steps. "Two more steps and we''re done." He then took one step and then another finishing all 100 stairs.


    Suddenly, all the stairs turned to silver, including the one at the bottom. And not only that, the pressure increased by twice, eliminating dozens of participants immediately.


    And then, the stairs shattered one by one, beginning from the first stairs, all the way to the top making everyone fell.


    "Air maniption!" Aldred casted a wind spell that lifted him, his wives, and friends before gently putting them down.


    "Daoist Aldred, what did you do?" Kang Huan approached him.


    "I just reached the 100th stair."


    "Monster! I barely passed 40."


    Suddenly, five elders appeared and approached Aldred.


    Wen Shurenughed. "You damn cheaters! The elders are here to punish you."


    "Cheating? All I did was walk and run."


    "Congrattions!" The elders said at the same time. "You have passed the 100th stairs of which even the founder of this sect has never manage to do. For that, you will be regarded as the highest Core Disciple and can call upon the elders, and even the sect master whenever and wherever you want."


    Everyone gasped when they heard that.

 418 Chapter 418

    What the elders offered to Aldred was shocking to everyone. They literally said that the elders and even the sect master were at his beck and call. This also meant that all the resources the sect have would be avable for his use.


    Even a core disciple did not enjoy such privilege!!!


    Wen Shuren of course could not believe what just happened. Aldred was obviously cheating. How else could he reach the 100th stair?


    But the way the elders treated Aldred made him question his own logic. Could he really not cheating? Did he really finished all the 100th stair?


    If that was the case, then that meant Aldred was far more talented than he is.


    "Wait a minute, what do you mean I can call the elders and the sect whenever I want?"


    "It means that you can summon us anytime you want while you are in the sect."


    "Is the next test also in the sect?" Aldred asked.


    "There is no need for more test. You can be the disciple of our Dragon Art Sect immediately."


    "Disciple? Wait, are you saying that the test is to join the sect?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "Ahh fuck! No wonder it was so easy."


    The other participants trembled when they heard the word ''easy''.


    Easy for you motherfucker! We barely able to reach the 40th step! Some of us didn''t even get the chance because you destroyed the tower!


    "Are you not participating to join our sect?" an elder asked.


    "No. I am here for the treasure hunt."


    "Treasure hunt? Oh, so you are a treasure hunter. What phase are you right now?"


    "I am now at the third phase."


    "Ah, no wonder. That exins it."


    The participants whispered among each other.


    "What treasure hunter?"


    "What treasure are they hunting?"


    "The elders seem to know about it."


    "Elders." Shi Xin approached. "Who are they? And why do you call them treasure hunters?"


    "They are treasure hunters from another realm," the elder said.


    "Another realm?!"


    The elder nodded. "Every 100 year or so, some treasure hunters would appear here to pass a test. Each test is more difficult than others. Some test even has a low chance of less than 1% to survive."


    Less than 1%? What kind of test was that?


    Shi Xin could not believe that the man she bumped against was a treasure hunter who survived such test.


    "So what now, elder? Are you still letting him to enter the sect?"


    The elder shook his head. "It is impossible. Once the treasure hunt is over, they will be teleported back to their realm. And no one can force them to stay either because they are protected by a curse. This curse will kill anyone even a Supreme Dao Cultivator if they tried to wronged a treasure hunter."


    The participants whispered among each other again. A curse that could even kill a Supreme Dao which was the highest stage of cultivation said to lose the ability to die. Yet this curse could kill them?


    Shi Xin was intrigued about Aldred''s existence even more. Who is this man from another realm so great and powerful he could passed two phase of such ridiculous test.


    "But since you have passed the test with the highest mark, it is our obligation to give you a reward."


    "I won''t reject free stuff," Aldred said.


    The elder was about to take something out until a zing rift appeared in the air. The rift widened and a man stepped out.


    "Sect master." They all bowed.


    "I have heard that not one but 78 people manage to reach the 100th stair."


    "Actually, it''s just me. My friends didn''t have the chance to climb thest stair because the tower is broken before they could do that."


    The sect master smiled. "So you are a treasure hunter. That''s too bad."


    "Oh, you can tell at first nce?"


    "I have seen so many treasure hunters over my lifetime. I can smell them when I near one."


    "Okay¡­ kinda weird, but okay."


    The sect masterughed. "The elders won''t have something worthy to give you. But I have something that you might like."


    The sect master ripped the space beside him, creating another fiery rift. He put his hand inside and pulled out an item.


    It was a beating heart. But it wasn''t an ordinary heart because it was covered in me.


    "The fire heart. I was nning to give this to Wen Shuren, but he isn''t worthy of it."


    Wen Shuren flinched.


    Meanwhile, Shi Xin looked at the heart with light in her eyes. Her cold icy heart beat faster than normal. And for some reason, she felt slightly warm inside.


    The heart floated and entered Aldred''s body. His body heat up and Aldred began to feel pain. "Shit! It burns me from the inside."


    "Control it! I know you can."


    Aldred gritted his teeth and used his limitless energy to surround the fire heart. The me threatened to wreck havoc on his body, but the mana swept in and killed the me. Even so, the sh between energies made him spat out blood.


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and stabbed his own heart. "Fire Maniption!"


    Because his control over fire increased by 500% when wielding the de, he managed to control the fire heart and a few minutester, it settled as his new heart.


    Hot air began to ooze out of him. Aldred let out a breath, and thick steam came out.


    Seconds after, everything turned normal.


    [You have received the ''Fire Heart'']


    [Your control over fire increase by 1000%]


    [Your fire resistance increase by 1000%]


    [Your fire damage increase by 1000%]


    Aldred looked at the sect master. "Thank you. This gift. I cannot ept it without giving something back."


    Aldred raised his de and then shed the air. A trail of fire appeared and then it moved around before condensing into an orb. He grabbed it and presented it to the sect master.


    "This orb contains unlimited energy that will never run out. You can absorb its power with a mana crystal or something else."


    The sect master was impressed. "I did not expect you have something like this."


    Shi Xin approached. "Sect master. Can I borrow the orb?"


    "Sure, young one."


    Shi Xin grabbed the orb, and the cold sensation in her heart lessened. She could finally feel. When she looked at the sect master''s graceful appearance, she felt respect and awe. And also a little shy and timid.


    Her head turned to the side and looked at Aldred. Suddenly, his figure seemed to jolt out. He looked so dazzling, handsome, and perfect in every way. Her heart throbbed, and she did not realize her cheeks were blushing while her pupil erge.


    "Shi Xin, are you okay?" the sect master asked.


    "I¡­I¡­" She stepped back, closed her eyes, and ran away.


    "Shi Xin, wait for us!" Her friends scurried after her.


    "Shi Xin wait¡ªHaish." The sect master shook his head.


    Aldredughed. "Don''t worry sect master I can give you another one."


    The fire orb was created out of his own power, so it cost him nothing to create.


    A few secondster, Aldred made another orb for the sect master.


    "How many of these do you have?"


    "I have a few," Aldred lied. If he said that he could made unlimited number of this, the sect master would tell him to stay for a while.


    After a little chit chat, Aldred said goodbye to the sect master and the elders before leaving the sect.


    Aldred stepped out of the gate and looked back. Shi Xin peeked from the corner, and when she realized Aldred was looking at her, she hid.


    She then looked at the fire orb in her hand and blushed.


    "That fire was from my heart. Keep it," Aldred''s voice whispered in her head.


    Shi Xin came out of hiding and looked at Aldred who was smiling at her from the distance before he turned around and walked away.

 419 Chapter 419

    Aldred and the others continued their journey with the Astrbe as their guide. They passed by a river, and rounded a mountain where they arrive in a ce between two tall cliffs.


    "We should camp here," Aldred said. "The view is good. The air is fresh. It''s a perfect ce for leisure."


    "I agree with that."


    "Me too."


    Bartrem nodded. "Men, we camp here."


    "Yes, sir!"


    Aldred summoned all the necessary things from his divine dimension. It was the usual; tents, grills, mattresses, tables, basket, and everything else they needed for camping.


    Bartrem and the soldiers began grilling. After traveling so long with him, some of the soldiers picked up the trade and helped Bartrem with cooking the food. Their help made it easier and faster for them to create more food for everyone.


    And then Aldred took out the wine, booze, and beer. Everything for every kind of taste. Fruits were neatly ced on a basket which was enough for everyone.


    One of the reason why traveling the world was so good was because Aldred brought unlimited supply of high quality meat, fruits, andplete gears for camping. Most people starved and eat whatever the could while camping for a long period of time, but Aldred was like a walking luxury.


    This was one of the reason why treasure hunters were so respected. They did not have a lot of chance to replenish their supplies, and even if they did, they would not fill it with high quality food such as Aldred. Some who had extra spatial bag might do that, but it wasn''tmon.


    They drank, ate, chatted, andughed together.


    Maryughed at Aldred''s joke about impregnating the moon. Sheughed so hard she fell on all four. Suddenly, a small rock fell from the cliff above.


    She looked up and saw nothing there.


    "I am serious, Mary. I am not joking when I say I impregnate the moon."


    Maryughed again.


    Everyone was slightly drunk because of the wine, so they let loose. Of course, with their powerful body, the alcohol would not be able to affect their behavior unless they let it. Aldred could remove the effect of the alcohol immediately, and he could also let it run around in his bloodstream.


    They sang a song, and told a story about what happened earlier.


    "You should have seen that man''s face. He was really shocked when you reach the 100th stair."


    Aldredughed. "Ah, that''s right. I almost forgot about Kang Huan. He was a good dude. I should have give him something before we part."


    "Maybe you will meet him again," Mareona said.


    "I doubt it, but I hope that''s true."


    Mally looked up. "Time to get some sleep."


    They all nodded and cleaned the ce before they entered their own tent.


    Red eyes peeked from above the cliff. Staring at the camp with great hatred.


    The shadow turned around and looked at a silhouette of a man who stared at the camp with a deep intensity.


    The shadow kept looking at the man, as if waiting for an order.


    The man nodded.


    The shadows turned around and whispered: "Silent Spell: Obliterate."


    Soundless, odorless, and without warning a dark beam came from above and struck down at the camp. The impact engulfed the trees, nts, and rocks, turning them into dust. Even arge part of the cliffs were devoured.


    The silhouette grinned. And then heughed. He stepped forward, revealing the figure of handsome and tall man.


    It was Wen Shuren. "That man finally died. He finally died! Because of your stupid orb, Shi Xin has been acting weird and it''s hard for me to seduce her because of that!"


    The dark beam vanished, revealing nothing but a huge crater.


    A fabric slowly floated towards Wen Shuren. It was the material for the tents.


    Wen Shuren smirked, and threw the fabric away. The shadows nodded and stood up, revealing a bunch of men with luxurious robe. They were Shuren''s top cultivator. Even though their cultivation was at the Gold Rank level, but they could match against a weakened tinum Rank.


    So many resources were put to train them, and it wouldn''t be long for them to reach Diamond Rank. It was only a matter of time.


    "I see. So that is your n," a voice entered Wen Shuren''s head. Time and space seemed to freeze, and he could not move a muscle.


    Suddenly, the world shattered, and he found himself being tied to a tree with Aldred standing in front of him.


    "W¡ªwhere am I? And you. You are supposed to be dead!"


    "I bring my strongest men with me. They won''t leave any stone unturned to kill you."


    "Are you sure about that?" Aldred pointed to the side where the Wen Shuren''s subordinates were, tied to the ground and unable to move nor speak.


    "How can this be? I see it with my own eyes. You are death! Not even your corpse survive the dark beam!"


    "It''s all in your head, buddy. This is the reality."


    "No! I cannot have this! You are dead! Dead!"


    "No. It''s you who is going to die." Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    Wen Shuren looked terrified after he saw the de right in front of his face. "No! No! No! You cannot kill me. My family will hunt you down! They won''t let you live an easy life!"


    "I heard that a lot!"


    STAB!


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. He stabbed for the neck, but a small transparent shield suddenly appeared and blocked his attack.


    The projection of a man appeared beside Wen Shuren. The man stood tall and dignified as he looked at Aldred with nonchnt eyes.


    "Give him a quick death," the man said.


    "Uhh¡­ did I heard that right?"


    "Father! What are you saying. I am your son!" Wen Shuren''s face darkened.


    "You are useless and not worthy of the resources it will take to avenge you. The least I can do is to give you a painless death."


    "FATHER! No! Don''t let this man kill me! Please!"


    "You are no longer my son. From now on, I officially disown you."


    Wen Shuren''s dark face immediately turned into disbelief and despair.


    The projection disappeared.


    Wen Shuren looked down and cried, sobbing like a child would. Snot and tears filled his face. His handsome face that would make alldies turn their sight was no more.


    He looked weak and disgusting.


    Even Aldred did not want to kill the man anymore. "This punishment is far worse than death. To be disowned by your own father. I can understand your pain which is the reason why I will let you live. Not to make you feel good, but let you suffer much longer."


    Aldred vanished, leaving nothing but blood mist.


    A few minutester, a man appeared with the same appearance in the projection.


    Wen Shuren looked up. "Father?"


    "You foolish of a child. Let this lesson carve itself into your heart. What did I tell you about the rule of this world?"


    "Never offend the wrong person."


    "Then why did you?"


    "I am sorry. I was wrong."


    "Your ego, your emotion. You let them control your behavior. Learn to control them better."


    "I will. But, do you really disown me?"


    "Of course not. It is the only way I can prevent him from killing you."


    "But how can you be so sure?"


    "That man has seen arrogant fucks like you so many times. I can see the disdain in his eyes. The desire to cleanse dirt like you in this world was so strong in his heart. I indirectly offered him a far worse punishment. And he epted it. Even if he didn''t, at least it would gave you a few minutes for me toe."


    "Why didn''t you just kill him?"


    "He is protected by the curse. Nothing above Gold Rank can touch him without fatal consequences."


    "I see. Thank you, father. I don''t know what I will be without you."


    "Now, you will go with me. I will teach you the art of maniption."


    Wen Shuren smiled and nodded.

 420 Chapter 420

    Aldred continued his journey with the others, not knowing that he was tricked to spare Wen Shuren. He did not realize that even though cultivators live in a strong devour the weak world, they were very well-versed in the art of maniption. This was because of how their education system were designed.


    Within the sect, anything was allowed, but only if you do it with subtlety. Their culture hated directness and bluntness. Everything must be indirect.


    This also made it hard for some people to determine the intention of the other person which led to a lot of misunderstanding. If the person wasn''t strong enough, then that misunderstanding could cost them their life.


    In this world, not only must people be talented and skilled in cultivation,  they also had to know how to be the perfect courtier; to manipte someone high above them or someone that called the shot.


    Just like Wen Shuren''s father manipting Aldred, he also manipted his own son. He knew his son was an arrogant with a high ego. That would soon orternd him in trouble. He also knew that youngster tend to do the opposite of what their parents told them to do.


    So he let his son be while giving him a protective treasure to save his life. And sure enough, after years of anticipating, the even he had predicted to happen, urred.


    Wen Shuren''s father did not despise Aldred for beating his son. In fact, he felt grateful, because now, Wen Shuren would definitely listen to him.


    Aldred, still not knowing about this, simply kept walking along with his friends.


    "This world seemed different than thest," Ste said. "I think we have reached a higher branch. Look at the World Tree. the branches above us looked different."


    "You''re right." Aldred nodded. "We should test if the dragons can fly now."


    Aldred turned to look at Wena and Zara.


    Wena and Zara ordered the dragons to spread their wings and try to fly. Of which they did. They flew around, hovering, and shooting into the sky.


    "Nice. Now we can fly again."


    They all rode onto the back of the dragons. Seconds after, they were in the clouds.


    Below them was a sprawling city with farms and a river that made its way through a canal of which small ships entered one after another, bringing supplies and goods. The city''s theme looked very simr to ancient China.


    The buildings were quite unusual for Aldred because most houses he had seen were built in medieval-style.


    He of course loved to see different things. This was why an adventure was so exciting.


    "What a beautiful world," Aldredmented.


    "It is beautiful," Ste said. "But we should go up."


    Aldred nodded.


    The dragons soared higher into the sky, and hourster they passed another branch with tons of civilization. Each branch was like another world, connected by the trunk of the tree.


    Aldred see a lot of people climbing the branch by hand. And there were those who could fly.


    He kept going up and passed by branch after branch. It took him months.


    And soon, Aldred got his 12th birthday.


    "Happy birthday to you!"


    They cheered as they blew the candle.


    They were still in the sky, on the dragon''s back, but the dragons were big enough for them to have a pic and celebrated Aldred''s birthday.


    "I still cannot believe he was 12," Baendjbi said. "It''s so unreal."


    Bartrem sighed. "Say that to me. I am more than 30 years old."


    His wivesughed and giggled as they put cakes on his face.


    Bartrem shook his head. "Haish, that cake took a while to make."


    Aldred counter-attacked. He grab a handful of cake, and smeared on Ivette''s face.


    Mally grabbed him from behind. Mary locked his leg, and Mareona hugged him from the front.


    Aldred waspletely locked in ce, and so his wives immediately get to work.


    "This is cheating!" Aldred said.


    "Hehehe." His wives approached with cakes on both hands and they sttered it on his face.


    They all released him andughed.


    After that, they hugged him. "Happy birthday, Aldred!"


    Aldred smiled as his wives kissed him.


    "Fuck! This makes me jealous!" Baendjbi said.


    Bartremughed. "You should have seen my soldiers."


    Baendjbi turned around and saw that all the males soldiers had one or two females partner. "This world¡­ this world is not fair."


    "Now that I think about it¡­ you guys have the best adventure out of everyone. Sufficient female partners. Good food all day. Pics from time to time, and Aldred which take care of most of your problem without you guys doing anything."


    "Adventures are supposed to be fun, no?" Aldred asked.


    "Not for the most part. During our adventure, a lot of people try to rob us. We met monsters, bandits, killer nts, traps, and I haven''t even mention the test and challenges that we have go through."


    Maverick approached him and put a hand on his shoulder as he looked at Baendjbi with pity.


    "Why are you looking at me like that."


    "I did not realize that you and me are the same."


    "Hah?"


    Maverick wiped his tears and walked away.


    "What''s wrong with that guy?"


    "I think he''s trying to say that he can rte to your situation. We found him during our first challenge in Mount Fargon. From then on, he had been with us."


    "Ohh¡­ pitifuld. Maybe I will treat him better."


    "Maverick!" Naly ran to Maverick and hugged his arms. "Why are you leaving me like that. Come on, Maverick. Let''s eat some cake.


    Baendjbi clenched his hand. "Did he say he can rte to my situation?"


    Naly pulled Maverick away and fed him some cakes.


    Bartremughed. "Well, not anymore."


    "Why are youughing. Aren''t you single like me too?"


    "Bartrem, the cake was delicious. You''re such a great cook." A woman approached him and gave him a kiss on the lip. "So, can Ie again, tonight?"


    Baendjbi let out a sigh and walked to his group of single boys. They patted his shoulders andforted him.


    "Don''t worry, guys. You will find your own partner sooner orter," Aldred said.


    Baendjbi sighed again which make everyoneugh.


    As they kept going up, flying along the trunk of the World Tree, a giant worm created a massive hole out and let out a world-shaking roar.


    "Shit! What is that!"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [World Tree Worm]


    Level: 180


    Power: Parasitic Abilities, Super Strength, Excessive Agility, Greater Senses, Devourer


    History:


    Born within the roots of the World Tree, World Tree Worm had continuously became the parasite that fed of the energy and nutrients provided by the World Tree. But it is more known for its habit to kill anyone that tries to climb it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Oh crap! It''s an Adamantite Rank beast!" Aldred shouted.


    Wena frowned. "Everyone get away from that beast!"


    The dragons turned around and flew away from the worm.


    "Look at the size of that thing!"


    "It''s bigger than Xer Xai. Far far bigger than Xer Xai."


    The worm shook, then suddenly, hundreds of wings appeared on its body.


    "Fuck! It''s about toe after us."


    The worm roared one more time before it leaped off the hole. In an instant, it appeared right behind Aldred''s group with mouth open wide, revealing a set of powerful rotating teeth.


    "Shit!"


    A golden light came from above and crashed against the worm, knocking it against the tree trunk.


    The golden light vanished, and revealed someone.


    Aldred and everyone else was shocked, but they were also happy to see him.

 421 Chapter 421

    "Herakas!" Aldred eximed with a smile.


    Herakas smiled at him as well. "We meet again, Aldred. How are you doing?"


    "I am doing fine. Where have you been?"


    "Doing my job."


    Aldredughed. "You don''t have a job. You don''t need one. Watch out for that worm!"


    Herakas smiled, turned around, and pped the worm with his spear. The worm mmed onto the trunk again.


    "This is my job, Aldred." Herakas charged forward. His speed was so fast, that Aldred''s brain couldn''t even process it.


    The spear tore through the worm''s mouth, and it was sliced to pieces. The blood, bones, and organs disappeared as golden me devoured them.


    Aldred''s eyes widened and his body trembled in excitement.


    Herakas floated towards Aldred.


    "Herakas, you are so powerful!"


    Herakasughed. "Not really. You will be much stronger than me in the future."


    Aldred could not believe how humble Herakas was. The worm was at the same level as him, and even seemed more powerful in physical strength. And yet, Herakas defeated it in three stroke.


    He didn''t even seriously attack the first and the second time.


    So Aldred could say that Herakas defeated the worm in a single attack.


    It meant that Herakas was just like him. He was far superior than most creatures in his rank.


    "It will take a long time before I can reach your level," Aldred said.


    Herakas smiled. "It will not be long."


    "So, how have you been doing? It feels like we haven''t met for a while."


    "I am doing very well, Aldred. Just cleaning up some parasites."


    "You said it was your job to cleanse these worm?"


    "I put it onto myself to protect this tree." Herakas touched the trunk of the tree, looking at it with adoration. "This tree is the reason why so many worlds could exist. It would be a pity if those worlds are to be destroyed. And what about you? Did the Golden Emblem helped you?"


    "It did! Also, can I return it? I think there''s too many valuable crystals in there."


    "No need. It is yours now."


    "Alright, I won''t reject free money."


    Herakas let out a smallugh. "Aldred, I want you to promise something."


    "What is it?"


    "Promise me, you won''t ever destroy this tree for whatever reason."


    "Sure. No problem." Aldred wasn''t a viin. He did not want to destroy the world. He just wanted to have fun and be stronger.


    Herakas smiled and grabbed his hand before putting something on his palm.


    It was a small ring box.


    "What is it?"


    "It''s a gift. Open it."


    Aldred opened the ring box, but inside it was not a ring, but a pair of golden ball.


    [Ancient Greater Dragon''s Eyes (Mythic)]


    Description: A pair of eyes from an Ancient Greater Dragon. With this eyes, all dragonic race and sub-race shall heeded yourmand. A single re from you will cause mortals and gods to bow and tremble.


    "This. Why are you giving me this. This gift is too valuable."


    "You are worthy of it. Son of the Demon King Hujarar."


    Aldred gasped but Herakas was already gone.


    "How did he know?"


    Aldred grabbed the [Ancient Greater Dragon''s Eyes (Mythic)] and put it on his eyes. It fitted inside immediately, without pain and difort.


    Aldred turned around and looked at the dragons. Suddenly, the dragons felt an overwhelming force of greatnessing out of him. He was like their king, their gods, their idol. It was this feeling that Aldred was their everything.


    They bowed their heads whenever he gaze upon them.


    Wena and Zara noticed this and was shocked.


    "He is now one of the dragons. The dragons will do anything for him," Wena said.


    Zara also felt the same thing with the dragons. She was connected with them, and so she knelt on one knee and bowed.


    What Herakas gave Aldred was a valuable gift. A Mythic rarity was above Epic and Legendary.


    Usually, Legendary items were used by Adamantite Rank and Mythical Rank, but Mythic items were only used by Transcendent.


    Transcendent Rank is two rank higher than an Adamantite Rank.


    This meant that the pair of eyes on Aldred''s head right now was meant for someone above Adamantite.


    Even the system could not identify it''s full power currently. And Aldred could not yet unlock its potential.


    Just like his Phantom Doomde, its capabilities were limited by his rank.


    But that was fine since that meant he did not have to find other weapon to use.


    Aldred looked up. "Let''s go."


    ¡­


    "Bargoosk Stugulze, are you really not going to tell us the key to reach the top of the World Tree?"


    Bargoosk drank the wine and put a tasty magical grape in his mouth. "This one is really good, but it''s too acidic for my taste. Tell the servants to bring me sweet fruits."


    A beautiful maid bowed and left right away.


    "Bargoosk! Do not pretense deafness!"


    "Retijer, you haave been asking me this question for weeks. Why don''t you sit down with me and we will enjoy this wine together. Is your so called Duke of Paury from the said Ceraisian Empire so stiff to not let you have fun with me?"


    Retijer gritted his teeth in anger. "That''s enough. Put him in a dungeon. This time, only bring him bones to eat!"


    Soldiers surrounded Bargoosk, but the man kept his smile as the soldiers dragged him to the dungeon.


    "This dungeon again? I thought some of you would have a little creativity."


    The soldier kicked him into a jail cell and locked the door before they left.


    Bargoosk was then left alone, in the darkness, and cold. But he did not seem affected by his situation.


    This was because he knew he held the cards. He knew the enemy needed. They would torture and hurt, but they won''t kill.


    They won''t break his mind either, because they needed that the most. As long as he kept this dependent rtionship, and as long as he never revealed all of his secret.


    He would be alive. They would give him carrots and sticks, it would be painful, but it would also be full of pleasure.


    Bargooskughed before hey down on the floor.


    ¡­


    Retijer walked through the hallway and entered his office. There, a man stood, in waiting.


    "How is the progress?"


    "He still won''t disclose the information."


    The man frowned deep. "It''s been months! Months! The treasure is one step away from us, but you failed to make even a little bit of progress. Why are you so ipetence? Be done with this task in two months, or Lord Athar will have you reced by someone else."


    The man left the room.


    Retijer sat down on his chair. After a few seconds, he mmed the table with his fist, veins bulged on his forehead.


    "That sucker! He think he can talk to me like that because the lord assign him as a messenger! After I am done with this treasure, I wille for your fucking head! Bastard!"


    "And that Bargoosk bitch! He better give me what I want or I will cut off his limbs with my own hand!"


    ¡­


    Bargoosk was awaken by the squibbling sound of a rat.


    "Oh, you havee. Tell me what you got." Bargoosk leaned his ear into the rat''s mouth.


    "Aha, ah I see. So that''s why. I understand."


    He grabbed something out of his butt. "Here you go. Eat it while it''s warm."


    The rat munched on the cheese and then left.


    "Seems like I have to find a way to remove Retijer. Either that, or I have to leave this ce."


    Bargoosk stood up, looked around to make sure there were no one before he approached the wall. He grabbed one of the bricks and pulled it out, revealing a hole.


    He then grabbed a paper out of his butt, then write something with his own blood.


    "Squible," Bargoosk called.


    The rat came, chirping. "Take this and go outside. Go whenever you want to go, but always bring this with you."


    The rat grabbed the paper with its mouth and left the dungeon through hole.


    Bargoosk closed the hole, and sat down. "Now, all I have to do is wait."

 422 Chapter 422

    After months of flying up, the dragons finally was finally about to reach the top of the World Tree.


    Aldred and the others were excited. "Just a little bit more, and we can reach the top!"


    They all nodded in excitement, wondering what was up there and what challenges they would face.


    When they were 100 meter away from the top however, the dragons began to fall.


    "Shit! The dragons cannot fly towards the top." Aldred frowned.


    "What should we do then?" Ivette asked.


    "I don''t know, but we have to figure something out."


    Suddenly, a heavy pressure washed over them. It was so powerful that everyone spat out blood.


    "Aldred, maybe we shouldnd on that city while we think of something." Ste pointed down.


    Aldred agreed with that idea. The dragons flew down andnded near the city. The guards guarding the wall trembled in fear when they saw groups of gigantic dragonsnding nearby.


    "Is it an attack?"


    "Prepare the weapon!"


    "Wait, I don''t think they''re attacking us."


    Aldred and the other dismounted the dragons and began to walk to the city. The dragons stayed outside because they were too big.


    As they approached the gate, the guards walked towards them.


    "Hello, sir. Can I ask the intention of your visit?"


    "We just want to take a short stay."


    "Ah, I see."


    Aldred entered the city.


    The other guard was dumbfounded. "Why didn''t you ask for the entrance fee?"


    "You think I have the guts to do that? Look at those dragons outside!"


    As the guards were quarreling, Aldred''s group entered an inn and took a seat at the table.


    "So, what''s next?" Mary asked.


    "I don''t know. Even the astrbe is useless in this situation." Aldred summoned the astrbe and it pointed up.


    "Maybe all we need to do is waiting," Sophia said. "Maybe we can fly to the top at a specific time."


    "That''s reasonable." Aldred considered her word.


    Soon after, the food they ordered arrive, but despite the beautiful look of the food, it tasted nd in their tongue.


    They were truly disappointed. Just one more step yet something happened that prevent them from reaching the top.


    A few minutester, they finished the food and sighed.


    "I want to get some air outside." Aldred stood up and left the inn. He then walked to the fence, leaning into it as he watched boats traveling through the canal.


    Aldred looked up. The crown of the tree looked mesmerizing and sparkling. So close yet so far.


    He sighed one more time and looked down. There he saw a rat with a paper in its mouth. The rat walked around, looking for food. After it found nothing, it walked away.


    "A rat with a paper?" Aldred pulled the rat with his sticky string, and then grabbed the paper. The rat struggled to get away before Aldred released it and it sped off.


    Opening the paper, Aldred saw the letters were written with blood. But he did not care about that, he only care about the content.


    And the content made his eyes widened.


    He ran back to the inn. "Guys, we have to go! I think we can reach the top."


    They all stood up immediately and left the inn.


    "Where are we going, Aldred?" Rachel asked.


    "Just follow me."


    Aldred looked around and mumbled something. "There it is. The castle with the tallest tower. Come!"


    They ran towards the castle but then realized that it was surrounded by walls and guards.


    "Stop right there! You cannot enter this ce!"


    Aldred stopped. "Okay, sorry for bothering you."


    Aldred walked away.


    "What do we do?" Mareona asked.


    "We sneak in of course."


    They rounded the castle, and opened a portal that led inside. They arrived in the garden.


    "Duck," Aldred whispered and they all ducked, hiding behind the bushes.


    A man passed by, seemingly in rage. "That fucker! In 5 days, if he did not give me something in 5 days, I will cut off his limbs!"


    The man saw a maid was trimming the nts in the garden and decided to grab her and rip her clothes.


    Aldred frowned but decided to walk away. "I will deal with himter."


    They tip toed their way out of the garden and arrived at a horse stable.


    "The building should be next to the stable." Aldred activated his godly eyes and saw a man inside a dungeon cell.


    "There he is. Ste, get us inside."


    They teleported into the cell which awakened the man from his sleep.


    "Are you Bargoosk Stugulze?" Aldred asked as formality. He already read the information he received from his Godly eyes.


    "No. I think you are looking for someone else."


    Aldred rolled his eyes. "I am the man he sent to save you."


    "Ohh, finally. Took you a while toe. Quick, get me out of here."


    Aldred nodded. "Stel¡ª"


    "Oy! You think I won''t see you sneaking into my dungeon?"


    Aldred turned around and saw the same man he encountered in the garden. He was apanied by a few swordsmen and magicians.


    "Wait, you are! You are Aldred! Hahaha! Who would have thought I would find you here. My rivals all tried to hunt you down, yet here you areing to me on your own ord."


    "Ste, teleport us away from here."


    "No, you don''t."


    The magicians casted anti-teleportation spell around the dungeon.


    "Now you can''t escape. I will torture all of you. I will make sure you will never forget about me. Make sure your nightmare will be filled with me. Only then would I hand you over to Lord Athar."


    "You think you can defeat me?" Aldred asked.


    "Don''t be arrogant. The others are ipetent fools, but I am not them."


    "Really?" Aldred summoned his dragon eyes.


    Suddenly, a powerful pressure crashed onto his body and he suddenly knelt on both knees, hands to the ground.


    He looked up with gritted teeth, staring at Aldred. "How? What did you do?"


    "You are weak." Aldred approached, summoning his Phantom Doomde.


    "You dare to kill me? Lord Athar will not forgive you."


    "A lot of people don''t." Aldred beheaded the man to the shock of his subordinates.


    If their leader was killed, then next would be them.


    When Aldred set their gaze on them, they trembled in fear. "I have to kill all of you."


    "No, plea¡ª"


    They all exploded into me under his dragon eyes.


    Bargoosk''s mouth opened wide when he saw this. ''I hope I don''t leave the wolf''s cave only to enter the lion''s nest.''


    "We''re done here. Ste, teleport us out, please."


    Ste teleported them outside the city, right where the dragons were.


    "So, where is he?" Bargoosk said.


    "There is no he. We are your new employer," Aldred said.


    "Are you going to threatened me?"


    "No. I will give you power." Aldred shed his palm and shove his blood into the man''s mouth.


    The man could not react to his speed. He couldn''t even move in the first ce.


    Suddenly, a powerful energy formed within him and he roared to the sky as every inch of his body was filled with power.


    "Congrattion, now you are no longer an ordinary person."

 423 Chapter 423

    Bargoosk was stupefied. "What did you do to me?"


    "I gave you power," Aldred said with a smile.


    "But how? To turn someone ordinary into a Gold Rank immediately¡­ that would require a tremendous amount of rare treasure. Generally, it would be a waste of resources to turn an ordinary person into a Gold Rank because the treasure could help hundreds of Silver Rank to advance."


    "Hmmm, it only take me a handful of blood," Aldred said. "By the way, you are no longer human."


    "Then what am I?"


    "Half vampire and half demon, I guess."


    "So, you''re a mixed breed. But your blood seems stronger than most mix breed. It should be impossible for you to turn me into a Gold Rank immediately."


    "Don''t think too much about it. Now, will you tell me how to reach the top? Don''t worry about your former client. Now, I am your client, and I can offer something better."


    Bargoosk turned silent right after that. What he wrote in that letter was a fake. He wrote it as if he was talking to a powerful lord that would save him from the dungeon. It also mentioned that he had the knowledge to reach the top of the tree.


    Aldred seemed trustworthy and generous enough to turn him into a Gold Rank. He was an ordinary person with no power. Like every ordinary person, he wanted to taste what it felt like to have super power. Physical strength, magic spell, elemental maniption. All of this seemed godly to people like him.


    But now, his fantasy, his dream had been realized. Although he wasn''t exactly ordinary, but he had no power to defend himself. He couldn''t fly, couldn''t jump high, or had super natural strength.


    Being ordinary was the saddest thing that could happen to anyone. And sadly, the majority of people were ordinary.


    "I will tell you," Bargoosk said. He had sensed a little impatience in Aldred''s gaze. Other than his gratitude towards Aldred, there was a tinge of fear.


    ''This man is not like Retijer whom I can y around with.''


    Aldred smiled. He was actually prepared to torture the man to obtain information from him. But now that he agreed to it, he discarded that n.


    Bargoosk made the right call to not mess around.


    "The only way to reach the top is to¡­"


    ¡­


    Thirty years ago.


    In Atheron City, a child was staring at a food stall. The child was malnourished, clothes full of holes, and he was dirty from top to bottom.


    His eyes were focused. Feet inching closer and closer.


    The clerk smiled at a customer and greeted. The child observed. Waiting.


    And  then, when the clerk turned around, the child rushed forward. His hand was quicker than the eye could see, grabbing onto a piece of bread.


    His feet never stop. He sped up.


    "Hey, thief!" The clerk shouted. The man gritted his teeth in anger.


    "I will pay for him," a customer said. He was a man with noble clothes. His bearings was elegant, and he looked like a noble of high status.


    But the clerk could not see his face because of the sun, although he could tell the man was handsome.


    Seeing this man was willing to pay for the bread, the clerk did not dare to say anything.


    Meanwhile, the boy was huffing and puffing as he passed through alleyway after alleyway to make sure no one could chased him down.


    He then arrived at thest alley and stopped before he looked back. He took in a deep breath. He was tired. With his frail body, it was a miracle that he could run that fast.


    He had to be fast. To be caught meant a round of beating and starving.


    He did not want to starve.


    He smiled, looked at his bread, and then was about to find a ce to sit down until a silhouette of a man appeared before him.


    The child stepped back and bared his teeth, like an animal trying to scare away its foes.


    "What is your name, child?"


    The question was asked in such a soothing and calming voice that the child could not help but calmed down immediately. There was warm in his heart. It told him trust this man.


    "My name¡­ my name is Zehmud."


    "Are you willing toe under my care, Zehmud?"


    Zehmud hesitated. But after a few seconds, he nodded his head.


    The silhouette smiled. "Take my hand."


    He did.


    ¡­


    Zehmud, now forty years old, stopped in front of the lord''s door. He took a deep breath before he knocked.


    There was no reply, but he entered it anyway.


    "Lord Athar." Zehmud bowed. "Retijer has been killed."


    He slightly looked up, trying to see the figure behind that desk. But he could see nothing but darkness. Ever since the man found him that day, he had never caught a glimpse of his appearance.


    No one had.


    "I noticed," the lord replied. "That boy should have been Pharder''s problem. But now it bes mine. If it wasn''t for his mysterious rise to power, I would have killed him first."


    Pharder''s rise to Diamond Rank was too quick. At first, he was just an ordinary Silver Rank, but suddenly, in less than ten year, he managed to reach Diamond Rank. Some say he was a genius, but those in power knew he had something else with him.


    "What is yourmand, lord?" Zehmud asked.


    "Take care of that boy."


    "And Pharder?"


    "We''ll let him be. For now."


    "Yes, my lord."


    ¡­


    "Wait, wait. What did you just say?" Aldred asked. "Are you serious about this?"


    Bargoosk nodded. "It is not the only way, but it''s the only way that I know of."


    Aldred sighed.


    Bargooks just told them that to be able to reach the top of the World Tree, they had to rely on the World Tree Worm. The exact parasite that Herakas killed the other day.


    "We cannot use The World Tree Worm to get to the top," Aldred said. "Its strength is at the Adamantite Rank. Even being close to it is too dangerous."


    "Not if the worm doesn''t know you are nearby," Bargoosk said.


    "That thing has extraordinary perception. It can see things most people cannot see."


    "Yes, that is usually the case. But did you know there is a treasure that can make you invisible to the worm''s eyes?"


    "What kind of treasure? Where can I find it."


    "Ah, sorry. I don''t meant treasure. I meant a person. A person that can make you invisible to the Adamantite Rank worm."


    "Who is that person?"


    "She is someone from the other world connected by this World Tree. She had many aliases, but her hobby of collecting rare items earned her the nickname Treasure Keeper. She will sell and trade to you all kinds of treasure, but the truly valuable ones were hidden. To hide these treasures, she even locked her memory of them deep inside her consciousness. Even the most painful form of torture wouldn''t make her slip a single word of their existence."


    "How do you know all of this? And who is this person? Give me a name."


    "Her name is¡ª Avre Heartdancer."

 424 Chapter 424

    "What?" Everyone was shocked.


    "Are you sure her name is Avre Heartdancer?" Aldred asked.


    Bargoosk nodded. "I am sure of it. Why? Do you know her?"


    "We have met before." Aldred nodded. "In fact, we have stayed in her inn and bought a bunch of things from her. Bartrem, show me your wings."


    A pair of dragons wings shot out from his back. Then he activated his draconic blood, and his skin was reced by dragon scales.


    Bargoosk was impressed by how much power Bartrem exuded just by doing that.


    "We bought some pills that let Bartrem  have dragon wings, dragon scales, and even dragon muscles."


    "Must be very expensive," Bargoosk said. "Bartrem is a special soldier to you, right?"


    "I bought it for everyone."


    "What?"


    Suddenly, the soldiers revealed their wings and scales to the amazement of Bargoosk.


    "How much money did you spend? Even a wealthy merchant would not dare to do this."


    "I am not a merchant. I am an adventurer."


    "Regardless, no one could spend as much money as you. At least, not for the soldiers. This kind of resources are usually spend to nurture geniuses or the son of a lord."


    "What are you talking about? All of my friends are genius."


    Bartrem and the others smiled when they heard that.


    Bargoosk smiled as well, finding out a new aspect of Aldred. He must be a very trustworthy leaders. Without a doubt, the soldiers would sacrifice themselves for him. It could be seen in how they look at him. It was always with admiration, respect, but there was no usual distance of a subordinate to a leader.


    He smirked inside. This was a solid group. If anyone was foolish enough to sow discord amongst them, it would be their own destruction.


    "Since you already knew Avre Heartdancer, when can we look for her?" Bargoosk asked.


    "Ste, can you teleport us back to Golden Dragon City?"


    "Sure. My power doesn''t seem to be restricted here."


    "Welp, should we go then?" Aldred asked.


    Ste raised her staff, and then mmed it to the ground. Start particles enveloped them.


    ¡­


    Thick, dark clouds filled the sky above a castle. Thunder boomed, followed by lightning, then rain.


    Avre Heartdancer, leaning onto the ssless window at the top of the highest tower, watched this scene with unrest.


    She was captured. Or she she thought. She did not understand why that man brought her here. He was handsome, charming. It brought her guards down, and all of a sudden, she was led here.


    At first, the man came to talk business, talk about buying a particr treasure, and searching for one. One conversation led to another.


    The wooden door behind her creaked. Avre''s heart shook and she turned around.


    Lightning shed, masking the man''s figure with darkness for a split second.


    He slowly approached Avre. Tall, with fitting clothes that revealed his well-built body. Small, red-ish lips, making women wanted to kiss it so bad. But something about his demeanor seemed dangerous. Not too much, but enough to induce curiosity and desire.


    When the man was in front of her, he looked at her eyes. Avre''s heart throbbed. She felt like she was being charmed, hypnotized even, but she knew there was no magic spell involved. It was his character.


    "Tell me about the true treasure."


    "What?" Avre did not heard his voice clearly.


    "Tell me how you like it in here."


    "Ah, well, I think it''s a lovely ce. I got firece, a couch, a bed, fruits and drinks." She didn''t actually meant topliment the ce, but she just did it.


    The man let out a smallugh and caressed her hair. "Would you be willing to stay?"


    Avre wanted to say ''I am.'' But reason convinced her otherwise.


    "I haven''t got your name yet," Avre asked.


    "Dromimvot Chorgathivze."


    Avre giggled. "What a long name. But, it''s a beautiful one."


    "Not as beautiful as you, Heartdancer. Are you given that name because you make people''s heart dance?"


    "I hope so." Avre smiled.


    Dromimvot smiled back and held her arms. His face leaned in, closing his eyes and went in for the kiss.


    Avre did the same thing. But just as their lips were about to touch, something jolted inside her mind.


    ''Don''t trust him.''


    Rage suddenly welled up inside her heart, and her hand move by itself to p the man.


    k!


    "Sorry about that. I don''t know what came over me." Avre looked apologetic.


    "It is fine. Perhaps I am too hasty." The man took a deep breath and sigh. "I shall give you time and space. In the meanwhile, please enjoy yourself."


    The man walked away and left the room.


    The door closed with a click.


    Avre took a deep breath. Her body trembled. Fear was in her eyes.


    "That man¡­ he''s an Adamantite Rank."


    ¡­


    "I am sorry, butdy Avre is on a business trip," the inn keeper said.


    "Is there any way I can reach her?" Aldred asked.


    "She will return in a few days. Lady Avre never go out too long. But, you don''t have to wait for her presence if your intention is to buy treasures from us."


    "No, I actually needed something directly from her. But it''s fine. We will stay here in the meantime."


    Aldred paid for all the rooms and gathered at the table before ordering the food.


    "So all we do now is wait?" Ivette asked.


    "That''s the only thing we can do."


    Their meals came half an hourter, and they filled their stomach before they retreated to their room.


    Aldred grabbed Ivette''s slender body and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.


    "Aldred," Ivette called as she moaned under his kisses and touch.


    His hand moved to her clothes and began to undress her. A few secondster, she was bare to his eyes with only some garments that thinly covered her breast.


    Aldred smiled and kissed her again while he fondled with her left breast.


    The others were already asleep because they already had their session with Aldred. Ivette had waited patiently for her turn, and it was worth it.


    Ivette let her man have the control over her body. His hands on her breast, his lips on hers, and his breathing. It was so charming. She was so in love with Aldred. He was her everything.


    Aldred went down to kiss her neck, her shoulder, and then licked her nipple which made her wriggle.


    Breathing heavily, Ivette looked at Aldred with blushed cheeks which made him even more excited. He immediately sucked on her nipple.


    "Ahh¡­. Aldred, I love you."


    "I love you too, Ivette."


    Ivette smiled and moaned again as his tongue yed on her nipple.


    Aldred''s finger went down and slipped inside her underwear. It was wet down there, so he decided to y around with the lips of the cave.


    Ivette''s turned warm and she couldn''t help but wrapped her arms around his neck.


    After a round of forey, Aldred roughly yet yfully grabbed her underwear and ripped it.


    She immediately felt vulnerable under his gaze. But she embraced it and let Aldred yed with her cave even more.


    A few minutester, Aldred executed the deed which made her let out a satisfied moan throughout the session.


    After he was done, Ivette kissed him and went to sleep.


    This was their daily routine, but they never had enough of it.


    Seeing his wives all asleep with a smile on their face, Aldred was satisfied. He was about to sleep as well until a letter slipped under his door.


    Aldred frowned, and took the letter. "She was kidnapped?"

 425 Chapter 425

    The next morning, Aldred and the others gathered in the dining hall.


    "I found this letter yesterday," Aldred said. "I don''t know where ite from. I tried to look for the person who slip it under the door, but I found nothing."


    "Do you think this information is correct?" Ivette asked.


    "I don''t know. Krista, can you sense where Avre is?"


    Krista was sitting on Mira''sp while Pongo was sitting on herp.


    "Krista can tell where she is."


    "Really?" Aldred asked with excitement.


    "Un." Krista nodded.


    "In that case, we should look for her. It would be terrible if she was really kidnapped," Mary said.


    Aldred stood up. "We should go now. There is no time to waste. Every second we dy, is another second that her life is at risk."


    They left the inn immediately and rode atop the dragons.


    "Where is she, Krista?" Aldred asked.


    "That way." Krista pointed towards the south.


    Aldred looked at that particr direction and then his eyes turned gold.


    The dragons could sense hismand in their minds, and they immediately flew to the sky.


    Wena and Zara was fairly impressed by this. Dragons could read social cues like human did, but to order them all at once with telepathy was another different thing.


    As they flew high in the sky, they passed by a group of migrating birds. These weren''t ordinary birds, but predators.


    "Weird, these birds are lone hunters. They never migrate in group," Bargoosk said. "And we should be prepared for battle as well. They will eat anything they can see."


    The dragons prepared for battle under Aldred''smand.


    But to their surprise, the birds simply passed over them.


    Bargoosk furrowed his eyebrows. "What happened? The birds. They were malnourished."


    "Is it that weird?" Aldred asked.


    "It''s very weird. They are predators. They can hunt anything under the sky." Bargoosk looked forward with unease. "I don''t feel good about this."


    "You will be fine. Sometimes animals behave in ways we never expect."


    "You underestimate my specialties, Aldred. I have learned more things about animal more than my wife''s pussy, so don''t insult my knowledge about animals."


    "Okay¡­"


    They kept flying for 30 minutes. Aldred and the soldiers were ready for battle, but nothing happened.


    "There did not seem to be anything," Aldredmented.


    "I can''t be wrong."


    Aldred nodded and kept his vignce.


    Six hourster, Aldred and the soldiers still looked around looking for any threat.


    Bargoosk was kind of impressed by that.


    And then weeks passed, yet Aldred''s eyes was still wide open. The soldiers too. They never let their guard down.


    ''What a formidable group,'' Bargoosk said. ''It has been weeks, yet they keep their eyes peeled. The soldiers barely sleep, and Aldred didn''t even hit the bed even once.''


    No one could caught them off guard with that kind of mentality. But more than that, Bargoosk was moved that Aldred trusted his judgment.


    "Aldred," Bargoosk called. "I think I got it wrong. Maybe there''s no threat at all."


    "You sure?"


    "I think s¡ª"


    "Enemy below us!" Bartrem shouted.


    Suddenly, dozens of arrows came from below. Most of them were deflected by the dragons'' powerful scales.


    "Burn them!" Aldredmanded and the dragons opened their jaws.


    me welled up inside their mouth before they discharged it at the enemies.


    Like a gigantic, flying me thrower, the dragons sprayed me straight for 30 minutes as they burned the trees, bushes, and animals that unluckily did not get away.


    Even rocks began to melt intova.


    Aldred detected a lot of enemies with his godly eyes. They were soldiers from the Ceraisian Empire. But he wondered who sent them. The said Lord Athar? And how did they found him here?


    Aldred turned his de into [Deep Sea Bow] and began firing. His shot were not one by one, but multiple at once. Water arrows went out like abination of shotgun and machine gun, hitting the heart with precision.


    His attack did not look as shy as the dragon breath, but its deadliness was unquestionable.


    "Aldred, there are enemies in the sky as well," Bartrem said.


    Aldred looked forward and saw a bunch of soldiers riding birds with bows and arrows. Behind them however, the soldiers use some sort of flying wooden ship with cannons.


    Andstly, there were smaller magic contraption with wings and smaller cannon pointed towards the front.


    "I did not know that the Ceraisian Empire has a sky fleet," Aldred said.


    "We aren''t only the best at producing soldiers. Our weapons, technologies, and experts are far more numerous than other nations," Bartrem said. "We just didn''t use the cutting edge technology regrly, resulting in the loss of thousands of soldiers, but in return, they produced the best of the best."


    Aldred nodded. "That makes a lot of sense. But I don''t think they can defeat my dragons."


    Aldred''s eyes turned gold once again. They lit up and suddenly the birds fell, and the ships were badly damaged. Arge numbers of them even caught in fire and crashed to the ground.


    Smiling, Aldred was satisfied with the power of his eyes.


    "Attack!"


    The dragons rushed forward and caught the enemy soldiers off guard because they were distracted by the mysterious pressure that damaged their ships.


    They were about to man the cannons, but it was toote. The dragons were faster than them, boring through their ship with their powerful dragon breath.


    The enemy soldiers screamed as they were devoured by the fire. Aldred and the soldiers began to firing at the enemy with their bows.


    Aldred''s bow in particr not just killed an enemy, but prated through them, struck the ship and exploded it from within.


    "Aghhh!!!" A group of soldiers leaped from the ship and attacked Aldred.


    Big mistake. His bow morphed into Phantom Doomde and sliced the enemies before turning back into a bow again.


    Magicians on the enemies ship worked together to create a magic circle, and then summoned an orb of fire.


    It was like a miniature sun, radiating off heat in every direction. Suddenly, a golden sphere engulfed it, before opening a tiny hole.


    A powerful fire energy ejected out of the hole and came towards Aldred.


    With a swift movement, Aldred''s bow turned into Phantom Doomde, and absorbed the fire energy.


    The magicians were in disbelief when they see this.


    "How can he do that?"


    "That sword. It must be a Legendary Treasure!"


    "If I can present it to the lord, he would surely give me a title andnd!"


    More soldiers directed their gaze towards Aldred, and the de he wield.


    They all eagerly threw themselves at him only to be cut, sliced, and stabbed.


    Raising his Phantom Doomde to the sky, Aldred''s  hand ignited a powerful me that extended for 300 meters. Now in his hand was not a sword, but a 300 meter fire. He swung it left and right, destroying every ships that came in touch with the me.


    He was like an Asura. A god of war that controlled the entire battle by his mere presence.


    The soldiers that saw this from the distance was terrified, and had the thought to retreat.


    But a whirling noise came from above. The noise were all too familiar for them. It was the noise of strength.


    "It''s Sir Grigradd! He''sing to our aid!"


    Aldred looked up and saw arge fleet of flying magic contraception in the shape of a long Chinese dragon.

 426 Chapter 426

    "Grigradd, The Sky Dragon!" Mary''s eyes widened. "I can''t believe they send someone like him to chase us."


    Aldred activated his godly eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Grigradd The Sky Dragon]


    Level: 89


    Power: Ultra Reflex, super sight, Multi-Tasking Capabilities, Spiritual Focus, Advanced Tinkerer, Advanced cksmith, Advanced Craftsman, Fine Control, Precise Movement, Advanced Air Contraption Control, High Spatial Awareness.


    History:


    Known as The Sky Dragon, Grigradd delivered fear to his enemies through the air. His flying dragons contraption would roar in the sky, making all heads look up, and then he would drop hell towards them¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "So he''s a craftsman like Dobbs," Aldred said.


    "That is correct." Mary nodded. "But his work focused on making flying contraption. Using magic and mana crystals he created his infamous Sky Dragons."


    Grigradd stood up from the seat of his dragon contraption. He had white beard and mustache. He was short, standing around 145 CM. But he had big muscles and belly, making him look like a dwarf.


    "So you are the famous Aldred." Grigraddughed. "I heard so many things about you. The Lord of The Dead, Golem Master, Master Swordsman, Fire Monarch. They tried to stop me from hunting you, but your head will be my tickets to get more investment from Lord Athar."


    "I keep hearing this Athar guy. Who is he?"


    "You will know that answer after I destroy you!"


    The dragon fleet dived down and then opened their mouth. Like a gatling gun, fire bullets came out rapidly.


    Ste waved her staff. "Star Barrier!"


    A transparent energy protected them, but Aldred could see that theyers were continuously being thinned bit by bit.


    Sure enough, a few minutester, the shield shattered and they had to protect themselves with shields.


    Aldred looked at the scales of his dragon, and saw that the scales were being thinned as well.


    "We can''t be on the defensive for long. We have to counter attack!"


    Aldred stood up and red at the sky. Golden veins bulged all over his body and they all led towards his eyes as it turned shining gold.


    "Dragon Gaze!"


    The sky boomed as cracks appeared on the dragon contraption.


    Grigradd was shaking in his seat. "What the fuck is that power!?"


    "Everyone, keep your distance from them!"


    He gritted his teeth and steered his contraption to make some distance.


    "Don''t let them run away!" Aldred shouted, ordering his dragons to give chase.


    Grigradd grinned. "Foolish! Drop the bombs!"


    The belly of the dragon contraption opened and wooden crates with runes carved all over it began to drop. The runes glowed and then went straight towards Aldred.


    With Phantom Doomde in hand, full of fire, Aldred shed forward. Slicing the crates, it exploded in mid-air, sendingva particles in every direction.


    His soldiers also helped by shooting the crates with arrows or sending energy arc towards them.


    Aldred sliced another crate, but this time, it exploded with white phosphorus-like substance, creating a smoke screen in front of them.


    shing the air, the smoke was blown away by the wind as Aldred red with anger.


    But the dragons fleet had turned around and began to send fire bullets towards them again.


    Grigraddughed. "You can''t defeat my Sky Dragon!"


    Aldredughed back. "You are truly stupid. You know I was called Fire Monarch, and yet you use fire against me?"


    "Let me show you my power." Aldred raised his hand, and all the fire bullets stopped in mid-air. Suddenly, they all rotated towards the direction they came from.


    Grigradd mmed his fist. "Shit! Retreat!"


    "Toote!"


    The fire bullets shot forward, destroying dozens of them.


    "Charge!" Aldred pointed with his sword.


    His dragons swooped in released their dragon breath at the fake dragons.


    "This is the power of a true dragon!" Aldred shouted. He jumped off into the sky,nded atop a dragon contraption and stabbed the pilot by the neck. He then kicked the contraption towards another flying contraption which made them crash and exploded.


    Bartrem and the soldiers revealed their dragon wings and took flight towards the enemies.


    Their powerful dragon muscles enabled them to slice through the powerful materials. The dragons were not idle.


    If they were not burning, then they would be crunching the fake dragons with their mouth. Something about these contraptions irritated them.


    Grigradd kept on fighting. mming his contraption to another dragon and barraged it with fire bullets at such a close range.


    The dragons were stronger than he expected however. With its dragon paw, it pped his contraption to the side, which made him lost control and spiraled downward.


    Grigradd tried to take back control, but when he saw the tree in front of him, he was hopeless. "Shit!"


    Crash!


    The rest of the dragon contraptions were no match against the real dragon. Their powerful ws, dragon breath, and flight speed was far more superior.


    After 10 minutes, all of them were eradicated.


    Grigradd crawled out of his seat. As he was about to stood up, a man stepped in front of him. He looked up and realized it was Aldred.


    "Are you going to kill me?" Grigradd asked.


    "Of course. Did you expect me to spare you?"


    "No. Do it then."


    Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde and stared at the eyes of his enemies. Grigradd stared back.


    Laughing, Aldred lowered his weapon. "I won''t kill you. Instead, I offer you to work with me. I will give you anything you need. Help me build something stronger than the dragon you make. I prefer something that can fly. I believe you like making flying things?"


    Grigradd frowned. "I tried to kill you. Why did you spare me? What if I betray you?"


    "All you wanted is investment. Why would you kill your investor?"


    Aldred smiled. "I can see it in your eyes. Your only purpose is invention. Killing people is just the side effect. So what do you say?"


    "I am guessing the other option is death?" Grigradd asked.


    "Nope. You can leave if you want to. But if youe after me again, there won''t be a second chance."


    Grigraddughed. "No. I am willing to join you."


    "Good choice. Let me introduce you to your working partner."


    "Hmmm, I don''t really like having a partner."


    Aldredughed. "You will like him."


    "You guys wait here. I am taking him to Dobbs." Aldred opened a portal and led Grigradd to the mothership.


    They entered the workshop and Dobbs was there, working on some project of his.


    "Dobbs!" Aldred called. "Meet your new partner. His name is Grigradd."


    Both Grigradd and Dobbs stared at each other. None of them like working with others.


    Grigradd looked at the weapon in Dobbs hand and noticed that it was of very high quality.


    "That weapon. Did you made it?"


    Dobbs nodded.


    "How did you make it so perfect? The weight, the shape, length, and the mana conductivity is so high as well."


    "Well, if you must know¡­" Dobbs exined his theory to him.


    Grigradd nodded a bunch of times. "I have never tried that method before. And what is that?" He approached a golem.


    "That''s a golem that I am trying to make. It''s supposed to fly."


    "No. This cannot do. The weight is all over the ce. You should made this part lighter, and put more weight to that. You also don''t need wings."


    Grigradd exined his theory on how to improve the golem and Dobbs listened intently.


    "Aldred, I think I like this guy," Dobbs said.


    "I know you would. I will leave you two nerds alone. Make something good for me."


    Aldred walked back to his portal.

 427 Chapter 427

    "Wait, Aldred. We need to discuss more details of what you wanted us to make."


    Aldred halted his step and turned around. "In that case, let''s talk elsewhere." He closed the portal.


    They then took a walk to a private room where Aldred exined what he wanted. He did not really exin it in detail, but it was enough to give them an image. Aldred did not want to limit their creativity.


    After a few hours of talking, both Grigradd and Dobbs left the room.


    Aldred took a sip of his hot cup of coffee. He enjoyed it very much, but he needed something to wash it down first. He poured some wine for himself, drank it and sighed as it refreshed his body. He sighed again as he thought about Grigradd''s contraption.


    "I am d he epted my offer," Aldred said to himself as he walked out of his room and into theb where Grigradd and Dobbs were working together. "You two nerds got along quickly, huh."


    The two men stared at each other as they worked on their project, looking for ws and fixing them.


    Dobbs had made a golem that could fly, but it was hard to control because of its heavy weight and awkward shape. Grigradd had suggested that it should be made lighter, but it required more mana to be used.


    As they worked on their project, Aldred felt that he could see a glimpse of a new invention in Grigradd''s eyes. "This guy is not an ordinary inventor." Aldred thought to himself. "He is going to do something big."


    Unlike Dobbs, Grigradd did not have a divine blessing. But his inventive mind made him a valuable employee.


    Aldred didn''t really mind whether it was good or bad, he just wanted to see his contraption flying in the skies above. "I must make sure to give him all the necessary materials."


    Failure is after all a part of the journey to sess.


    He walked into a storeroom in hisb and saw a wooden crate. Inside the crate were all kinds of rare materials that Tarrar had sent for Dobbs. He might have to contact Tarrar again to send more materials.


    He must be annoyed by all the workloads he had to carry.


    Aldred chuckled to himself as he picked up the crate and walked back into the mainb, carrying it with him. He handed the crate to Grigradd and watched as the inventor opened the box and stared at the crystals and other materials in it.


    He stared at the runes for a few minutes, before he finally understood what it was for. "All of these are rare materials, and could cost a fortune to obtain. This will help with my research." Grigradd nodded in understanding and nodded at Aldred who nodded back at him as he was about to leave.


    "I hope you make a good invention." Aldred left them alone as Grigradd began to work on the golem once again.


    "I must be patient and wait until the timees." Aldred whispered to himself as he left the room with his hot coffee.


    ***


    After a few weeks of hard work, Grigradd finally made something new and useful that caught everyone''s attention. It was a golem which looked like a dragonborn made out of wood.


    It stood tall like a proud dragon warrior with scales, powerful legs, and arms. It was also slender and looked agile. No one would have thought that this golem was designed to fly.


    "Wings would make it an easier target to hit," Grigradd said. "This golem is small and slender. It can move in the sky at a high speed. Good luck trying to hit it. It''s also very powerful, so you can fit it with short range weapon or long range weapon of any kind."


    It was still a prototype however. The real golem would be made out of powerful material.


    They were so impressed by his contraption that they asked him to demonstrate it to them, so he did. The golem''s eyes lit up and it leaped into the sky. Moving left and right, up and down before executing barrel roll, rudder roll, and aileron roll.


    After a few minutes, it came back on the ship.


    As they stared at the contraption, Grigradd spoke. "The name of this new invention is Phantom Sky."


    "It is named after Aldred''s sword." Grigradd smiled and pointed his sword to the contraption. "But I think it''s a fitting name because of its speed in the sky it might as well be a phantom."


    "I am thinking of fitting one weapon for the golem. We can add two weapons, but that would add to the weight." Grigradd.


    Aldred crossed his arms and smiled. "I like this. And this is only the prototype right?"


    "That is correct. The real golem would be much faster than this," Dobbs replied. Both he and Grigradd made this together so he understood the golem as his own creation.


    "Incredible!" Aldred eximed.


    The crowd apuded and cheered at this moment, which made Grigradd proud and happy to see everyone happy for him. "Thank you, everyone!" Grigraddughed. "It feels great!"


    He was d that he epted the offer. In this ship, he had total freedom. He could work whenever he wanted and however he wanted. Also, his every needs were fulfilled be it materials, food, or entertainment.


    Aldred and Dobbs were watching from afar. "What do you think?" Aldred asked Dobbs.


    Dobbs was smiling as he stared at Grigradd''s Phantom Sky. "It can be said to be one of the best things I have ever created. Well, I can''t really take the credit myself. Grigradd is the one who makes this possible." He said after a while.


    "So, I can finally have a proper flying golem army!" Aldred said. "It also looks cool without wings. Grigradd is a fantastic designer."


    "Are you going to use the most expensive materials you can find?" Dobbs asked.


    "Of course." Aldred answered with a smile. "As long as the supply is sufficient, I want my golems to be the best they can be."


    Aldred opened a portal to his divine dimension and poured in more materials for Grigradd and Dobbs to use. They both were not surprised by this, because they had known Aldred''s spending for improving his golem.


    "How do you have all the money to buy all these?" Grigradd asked.


    Aldred smiled. "I owned the golempany."


    Grigradd''s eyes widened. "So it''s you! No wonder. Thatpany might be in the top 200 wealthiestpanies on this continent."


    Dobbs looked at the treasures piling up on the deck. "This is why I like working with you. My past employer is very stingy with his damned materials."


    "I can rte." Grigraddughed.


    Dobbs turned his head towards Aldred and whispered to him. "I must admit, I was wrong about Grigradd. I thought that he would be an annoying person, but now I can see that he is much better than that."


    Aldred nodded his head as he watched Grigradd fly around with the dragon wings attached to him. Aldred had given him the dragon wings pill to make it easier for him to move around.


    "Yes, you are right about that." Aldred said to himself as he thought about Grigradd''s inventions and what they will be able to do in this world. "I gave him a fantastic work environment, and he gave me his brilliant invention. I would say it''s a good deal." Aldredughed softly to himself as he watched the two nerds working together as they checked the golem for any mishap.


    "He is good at making golems, but he is better when ites to inventing." He added on as he was looking forward to seeing what kind of inventions will be made by the two nerds in the future.


    They continued to work on their projects. Tweaking some imperfections here and there. Then, they continued to test the golems for a few days.


    At the same time, Aldred continued to search for Avre Heartdancer, but Krista told him that she was still far away, so it would take a while.


    ***


    Grigradd and Dobbs finished their projects, and they both stared at them with amazement. They were both very excited about what they had built together and what they could do with them.


    Dobbs walked up to Grigradd who was still looking at the contraption he made and looked down at him. "That looks great."


    Grigradd''s ears twitched in excitement as he looked at Dobbs with a smile on his face. "Yes, it does."


    Dobbs grinned as he patted Grigradd''s shoulder, then walked away from him and stared at his own contraption again.


    Grigradd turned around and followed Dobbs, who was staring at his creation with pride as well. He stared at it for a few minutes before he finally got an idea in his head. He took out his sword from its scabbard and put it on the ground in front of him as he sat down on the ground next to it, closed his eyes and put his hands together in front of him with his fingers spread apart like a bird''s ws, and started to hum a soft melody.


    The crystal on the wooden crate began to glow as if it had been lit with fire as a bright sh of light came out of the crystal. And then, as if moved by an invisible force, the crystal embedded itself onto the chest of  the golem.


    Phantom Sky was finished. And it was ready to take on the sky.

 428 Chapter 428

    Aldred was back on the mothership again, staring at Phantom Sky as it flew around in the air.


    In satisfaction, he nodded to Dobbs and Grigradd. "Impressive work. So many people is going to buy my golems."


    "Uhh, are you sure you''re going to sell it to someone else? What if they use it against you?" Grigradd asked.


    "The golems are fully under my control. Besides, I will sell them the weaker version by using less rare materials. That way, we can cut cost as well."


    "How much are you nning to make?" Dobbs asked.


    "Probably 100,000 this month."


    "Why so much at once?" Grigradd asked.


    "Mypanies already announced the news of a new golems. Empires from all over the continents have ced arge orders on it. Some just want to see the new golems, but those who trust mypany really wanted to use it for war."


    "War? Which war?" Grigradd asked.


    "Ceraisian against Montcresia, Paphia against Yevileria, and I heard there''s a huge problem in the East Sea of Selia. Arge fleet of ships,plete with motherships are wrecking havoc. Even pirates avoid that ce right now."


    "Wait, aren''t we nearby that part of the sea, currently?" Dobbs asked.


    "That is true. I will tell Burchard to steer the ship away. I am currently busy and don''t want to deal with war right now."


    Aldred chatted with the two of them before he teleported back on top of the dragon.


    "All done?" Mary asked.


    Aldred nodded. "The new golem is amazing. They can fly without wings, very agile, and quite powerful."


    "I bet nations all over the world are crazy about it now," Ste said.


    "You bet they did. They cedrge order before they even see one. Tarrar is going to be so busy this week. Anyway, Krista, can you tell me how close we are to Avre?"


    "She is close. There." Krista pointed towards the north.


    "She''s on that mountain?" Aldred asked.


    Krista shook her head. "That''s not a mountain."


    The dragons approached the mountain, and flew near its surface. Aldred looked around. "There''s no one here."


    "Enter the mountain," Krista said. "You have to enter the mountain, big brother."


    "Through a cave?" Aldred asked.


    "No. Just dive down."


    "Alright."


    The dragons soared to the sky before they flipped and dived down. When the dragons were about to crash to the mountain, they went through it like it wasn''t even there.


    And what they saw was a huge castle. And unlike the outside world, it was night time in here. The sky had stars and a single moon.


    Aldred felt like he just teleported to another.


    "Even my godly eyes failed to see through it. What treasure did they use?"


    "To create another world in this realm, it has to be at least Legendary Grade treasure," Ste said.


    Aldred bit his lips. "Then we have to be very careful. Krista, where is Avre right now?"


    Krista pointed at the tallest tower. "Over there."


    "We shouldn''t approach too close," Aldred said.


    The dragonsnded on the ground.


    "I think they should hide as well."


    The dragons began to dug a hole and covered themselves.


    Aldred turned around. "You guys stay here. I will bring Avre back."


    "We areing with you."


    "Too dangerous. This is a sneaky mission. Bringing all of you will defeat the purpose."


    After a few minutes of argument, his wives finally relented.


    "Alright." Mary sighed. "Make sure to be careful."


    She gave him a kiss. He nodded and morphed into a mosquito before he flew towards the castle.


    As he entered, he realized there was a strange force permeating the ce. "I can''t open my divine portal in here. This castle must be Legendary Grade treasure as well. But why did they use this type of item just to lock Avre in?"


    Aldred''s eyes widened. "Did they also realized that Avre hold the key to reach the top of the world tree?"


    He made his mosquito way from building to building, hall to hall, and then he found a staircase. He flew up.


    Suddenly, a man appeared with butler clothings. The man saw the mosquito and pped it.


    "Annoying bugger," the butler said before walking down stair.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was on the wall, shaking his head. "That bastard dare to p me. I will get himter."


    He continued to fly up. And met more butlers and maids along the way that tried to kill him.


    Aldred learned the lesson and dodged before flying away. He found Avre locked in a room with a guard at her door.


    The guard was wearing ck armour and a helmet that had an eagle on it. He had a red scarf and gloves. His belt was made out of leather and he carried a sword on it. The sword glowed in the dark as well.


    Aldred flew near and studied the man carefully.


    The man noticed him as well and came closer.


    He punched the wall before looking up.


    The man jumped down from the wall and came face to face with Aldred.


    The man snarled and raised his sword before Aldred morphed back into his original form and held his Phantom Doomblde in front of him.


    The man blinked at him before he attacked.


    Aldred blocked the attack with his sword.


    The man lunged with a quick jab followed by a long swing from the left and right side. Aldred parried them all before pushing the man back.


    The man swung down at Aldred who ducked under it before hitting him with the end of his de in the gut.


    ? The man grunted as he staggered back from the attack.


    Aldred charged and mmed his sword down on him with a thump before he pinned him against the floor with his sword underneath his chin. He bent down and looked at the man with an angry re.


    The man red back at him as he struggled to breathe. He was gasping for breath, unable to move from the pressure Aldred used on him.


    The man struggled against his strength until he finally managed to speak up.


    Aldred grabbed his face and mmed it on the floor.


    The man groaned as he struggled to breathe.


    Aldred mmed his sword on the ground, shattering it into pieces. The man gasped for breath as he tried to push himself up but Aldred put him down with another m. He pushed harder this time, sending a crack in the floor that opened a pit that wasrge enough to swallow a dragon whole.


    The man crawled away from it in fear before he got up and looked at Aldred, gasping for air.


    Aldred put his de back together and stood up while staring down the man who stared back at him, still gasping for air.


    Aldred leaned on his sword and stared at the man who slowly stood back up and wiped the blood off his face.


    The two stared at each other for some time before Aldred broke the silence by speaking up in a calm tone. "Why do you want Avre?"


    The guard rubbed his chest where Aldred struck him and grumbled before speaking up with a croaked voice. "You don''t need to know."


    The guard charged with incredible power that almost had Aldred flying across the room as he pushed the man away before he put him on the ground again with a m of his de on the ground, this time cracking the entire floor that opened a hole that was big enough to swallow the entire tower.


    "A mere guard could match me in strength. This is more serious than I thought."

 429 Chapter 429

    Aldred watched as the man struggled to stand up and stood up himself after he finished bleeding out from all of his wounds. He cleaned himself off his own blood before looking up at Aldred with a grim expression on his face.


    "So, you are here for Avre."


    Aldred nodded as he stared at the man for any sudden movement. "I want to know why you locked Avre here."


    "Only my master knows." The guard replied as he breathed heavily, still holding his sword in his hand. "You are an intruder."


    Aldred nodded and stood up while keeping his chin up. "You are a powerful man, and yet you work for someone else."


    The guard growled as he stepped forward and thrust his de forward at Aldred who used his sword as a shield and pushed against it before pushing it back, breaking it into pieces and throwing it away from him.


    "I will kill you," The man said coldly as he kicked Aldred''s legs out from under him and then he punched Aldred in the face multiple times, leaving him unconscious on the floor while he clutched his bleeding face and ribs.


    He grabbed Aldred''s hair and lifted his head up while he pressed the tip of his de to Aldred''s throat before speaking with a cold tone. "This is too easy."


    Lightning shed and Aldred''s body vanished.


    Suddenly, he appeared a few meters away. "I am not that easy to defeat." Aldred softly tapped his Phantom Doomde.


    The guard frowned, wondering what he was doing until suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Then as if a powerful force was pulling it, his right arm began to tear away from his shoulder.


    "AHHH!"


    The arm fell while blood sttered on the grass. "What did you do?"


    "Sorry, no time for an exnation." Aldred appeared behind the man and beheaded him.


    He looked up at the tower, and quickly climbed up again using his mosquito form again. There, he saw Avre standing by the window.


    Aldred morphed into his human form. "Avre!"


    "Aldred!?" Avre turned around in confusion. "Why are you here?"


    "I am here to save you."


    "Save me?"


    "Someone tell me that you are kidnapped." Aldred blinked. "Don''t tell me that you''re actually not."


    He just killed that guard earlier. If Avre wasn''t kidnapped then he just did something horrible.


    Avre thought for a few seconds before she nodded. "That''s right. I am kidnapped. But you should go immediately."


    "Why? I can''t bring you out of here."


    "You cannot."


    "Tell me why?"


    "It''s because he''s an Adamantite Rank."


    BOOM!


    The door sted along with the nearby wall. A charming man stood with his tuxedo and red at Aldred. "Who are you?"


    "Fuck! Jereim!"


    An undead stepped out of the shadow. It was Jereim. The man who managed to run away from Aldred''s golem army.


    "Bring us out of here."


    Jereim immediately threw a ball that shattered on the ground, filling the whole room with smoke.


    The charming man punched forward. The power destroyed the entire top section of the tower and also blew the smoke away.


    But, Aldred and Avre were nowhere to be seen.


    The man gritted his teeth and punched down. His attack prated floor after floor and even destroyed the ground floor.


    Aldred and Avre almost got hit, but they kept on running with Jereim at the lead.


    "Both of you are too slow!" Aldred shouted before he grabbed Avre and Jereim and dashed forward.


    Something came crashing down. The sound and the trembling ground made it seemed like it was an elephant that fell.


    Avre looked back and saw Dromimvot ring at them with rage. Dark aura oozed out of him which made the nearby light dim.


    "Aldred, we should go faster."


    "Jereim, do something," Aldred said.


    Jereim grabbed another ball and threw it to the ground. It shattered and created hundreds of clones that ran in different direction.


    Dromimvot snorted and rushed at them, killing all the fake clones he passed by in the process. He was so fast that Aldred''s speed was a snail inparison.


    They ran and ran until they reached the end of the corridor, then they stopped and hid in the shadows before waiting for Dromimvot to pass by.


    Finally, the man stopped in front of them. He snarled, his face twisted into a terrifying expression. He reached out with one hand to grab them and pull them out of hiding.


    Avre pulled her body to her side as Jereim kicked a ball at Dromimvot and hit him in the head, making him stumble back a bit and make his body twitch in pain.


    It wasn''t exactly painful, more like annoyed at being bitten by an ant.


    Jereim immediately fired another ball, destroying the floor underneath them and creating a hole through which they could run.


    They jumped through it and ran outside as Jereim destroyed the wall behind them with a powerful st of magic. They kept on running through the grass until they found a big hole in the ground.


    Aldred and Avre fell inside, while Jereim used his power to manage to crack the space and time itself.


    "What is this?" Aldred asked.


    "A teleportation ball."


    "Where does it led to?"


    "I don''t know," Jereim replied.


    "FUCK!!!"


    When they got out, they saw that they were in an area filled with trees and hills. The sun shone through the clouds and cast bright light over the surroundings.


    The two of them slowly looked around as they tried to catch their breaths. Avre held her face, feeling that she was still bleeding slightly.


    Jereim pulled a small red bottle from his pocket and put it against Avre''s wounds before she screamed. Her eyes turned white and she looked like she was going to cry.


    "Hmmm, they put a curse on you," Jereim said. "The only way to remove it is to inflict pain."


    Aldred pinched Avre''s hand.


    "Ouch."


    Jereim looked at Aldred and smiled. "That is not enough." He reached behind his back and pulled out a long sword. "Don''t move." He took a deep breath. "I will cut off your hands."


    Avre panicked as Jereim removed his gloves. She looked up at Aldred who looked serious and concerned. He looked away from Jereim and nodded at Avre who gave him an affirmative nod as well.


    Avre closed her eyes as she felt Jereim''s de touch her fingers. She was trembling. She heard someone screaming in agony nearby but couldn''t hear what it was saying. A few secondster, she realized that it was her scream.


    Jereim then cut her arm off and smiled as blood spurted everywhere. The fact that he was in his undead form made it even more creepier.


    Aldred walked forward and punched Jereim in the face as he grabbed his hair to push him down to the ground. "Do you have to be  that savage to ady?"


    "We have to do that, or that man will track us here," Jereim said calmly. He was an undead, so he couldn''t feel pain when Aldred punched him.


    He wasn''t offended by it either.


    Avre was screaming while holding her bloody arm as Jereim was about to stab her with his sword.


    She then saw her own gut cut in half, blood sshing everywhere, and felt her inside fall to the grass while Jereim let go of it as blood spurted out from her wound. She then passed out from pain.


    Aldred pulled the sword from Jereim''s hand before he stood up and turned towards Avre''s direction.


    "Is all of this necessary?" Aldred looked at her with pity.


    She was lying on her back while moaning softly. Her face was pale as she stared at him with wide eyes. "Aldred..." Her voice was barely a whisper.


    "I am sorry for what happened." He said sadly before turning to Jereim who was standing like he did nothing wrong.


    "Is this enough now?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, master."


    Aldred sighed and began to heal Avre.

 430 Chapter 430

    Avre stood up and red at Jereim. "I will kill you."


    "He''s an undead, so technically, he''s already dead."


    Avre scoffed. "Is the curse gone now?"


    Jereim nodded. "What they put is a charming curse. It let them track you wherever you are, and also, it manipte your heart to keep staying. It''s usually used by lovers to keep their partners. A nasty curse I would say."


    Avre frowned. "I didn''t realize that he cursed me."


    "Of course not. He is an Adamantite Rank."


    "But, more than that, how are we able to escape from him?" Avre asked.


    This time, it was Aldred''s turn to reply. "Jereim is an escape master. He managed to run away from my golem army for quite awhile all by himself. I bet if he did not have a limited amount of magic ball, he could have escaped for a long period of time."


    "So you killed him and make him your undead?"


    "That is true."


    Avre understood now. Aldred''s ability was very useful. Most necromancers could not turn an expert into undead. If they did, the expert would only retain 25% of their expertise. Not only that, it would require tremendous rituals and resources.


    "So what do we do now?" Avre asked.


    "Jereim, can you get us back?" Aldred looked at him.


    "Yes, I can." Jereim threw another ball that created arge hole. "Let''s get in." He jumped.


    Aldred and Avre looked at each other before they jumped into the hole.


    After they passed through the hole, they appeared right in front of the castle.


    "Dromimvot is gone," Avre said. "Where is he?"


    "He must have entered my hole which teleported him elsewhere," Jereim replied.


    "Good. Let''s get back." Aldred led them to the hiding spot.


    "Aldred!" His wives called and hugged him.


    "We saw what happened, and was about to help you, but you managed to enter the hole."


    Aldred nodded. "It''s fine. Let''s get out of here."


    Suddenly, a man crashed onto a hill nearby. The impact cracked the entire hill and it crumbled.


    "Fuck! Jereim, get us out of here!"


    Jereim rummaged through his spatial.


    "You''re not going anywhere!" Dromimvot kicked the ground with a powerful force that cracked the earth below him, and he rushed at them.


    "Jereim, be quick!"


    Dromimvot opened his palm as he was flying. A powerful red energy formed in his hand. And just as he was about to attack, a voice entered his head.


    ''Do not attack them.''


    Dromimvot stopped in his track.


    "I found it!" Jereim shattered the ball and a blue mist engulfed them all before bringing them somewhere else.


    Dromimvot looked at the ce where they were before, but he closed his eyes and knelt on one knee. "Lord Krazar, I have let them go. May I ask who he is?"


    ''He is the son of a powerful being. Try not to block his path. And if you can, help him indirectly.''


    "Yes, my lord." Dromimvot stood up and gazed at the distance. "The son of a powerful being¡­ so there''s someone stronger than lord Krazar himself."


    ¡­


    Krazar was sitting in a dark throne room. He was a giant skeleton. Below his throne was an intricate ancient runes made with blood.


    "The son of the Grand Ancestral Vampire grows quite slowly. Why? Is there a reason for this? If he was truly her son, then he should be a Celestial the moment he was born. Wait¡­ he''s a mixed breed. And not only that, he is mixed with the blood the demon king."


    The red dots that acted as his eyes expanded. "No wonder his growth is so slow. Both the demon king''s blood and the Grand Ancestral Vampire''s blood counteracted on each other. This man is as good as mortal regarding growth."


    "But¡­ there is also no limit to his potential. With enough time, he could even surpass his father and mother. Even when the strength of his two parentsbined, they wouldn''t be able to match him at all in the future."


    Krazar trembled in excitement. "This man is going to be the ruler of the universes!"


    "I have to help him. I have to make him feel indebted to me."


    Being a subordinate of Aldred was much more appealing than Eve''s drop of blood.


    "Grow my future lord. Grow." Krazar smiled.


    ¡­


    Aldred and the others teleported above a mountain. The scenery here was beautiful and peaceful. Avre could see the valley of trees nearby with her naked eyes.


    The entirendscape had a mystical aura that felt as if he was standing in a forest of spirits.


    Avre was looking at the trees while she was wearing a white robe. It felt as if she could enter the forest right now, and talk to the spirits and fairies that lived there. But it wasn''t the time to be dreaming or daydreaming.


    The forest was very peaceful, but the calmness of it was hiding the threat lurking within its borders. The menacing trees and nts were waiting for their prey toe so they could feast on their flesh and souls.


    Avre was staring at a group of fairies flying above the trees. She had to look away from them because they could make people hallucinate. They were a blend of fantasy and reality, with colorful wings, long hair, and fangs that were almost invisible due to their small size. Their beauty was mesmerizing and made Avre fall deep in their eyesight, though only slightly.


    Jereim cleared his throat.


    Avre snapped back to reality. She saw Jereim who was holding two green balls in his hands.


    "So what do we do now?" Ivette asked.


    "We can''t get back to Golden Dragon City," Avre said. "He will surely wait for us there. It seems like I have to go exile for a few years."


    "But more than that. Tell me, how did you know that I was kidnapped?"


    "Someone told me. I don''t know who. But I received a piece of paper that said you were kidnapped."


    "But how do you know where I was?"


    "Krista guided us to you. She had the power to track something or someone, though her power mysteriously couldn''t be controlled. So we cannot rely on it every time."


    "I see. Thank you, Krista. And, I should say thanks to you all of you. Especially you, Aldred."


    Avre turned to the side and noticed someone new. "And you are?"


    "I am Bargoosk Stugulze. I was also saved by Aldred. The only difference was that he did not have to run away from an Adamantite Rank."


    "We have a favor to ask," Aldred said. "I want to reach the top of this world tree. Avre, I heard you have the treasure to let me do this."


    "Treasure that lets you reach the top of the world tree? I am not sure if I have one. Maybe I can check in my vault."


    "The treasure is not in your vault." Bargoosk stepped forward. "You know what I am talking about."


    "No. Ipletely do not understand what you are talking about."


    "I am not talking to you Avre. I am talking to the Heartdancer."


    Avre frowned in confusion until suddenly her eyes rolled to the back of her head and turned back again. But this time, her eyes was filled with glittering stars.


    "What do you need me for?" Her voice seemed louder than before even though she spoke with such calmness.


    "We need the True Treasure to make us undetectable from the Tree Worm."


    "My prized treasure has never been loaned, borrowed, or stolen. Do you think I will risk it now?"


    "Those treasure is useless if they won''t ever be used."


    "I can use them anytime I want."


    "Lies! You don''t even use them when you got kidnapped. Instead, you rely on Aldred to save you."


    Heartdancer furrowed her eyebrows. "These treasures are more valuable than my life. Give me something worthy enough for me to let you borrow it."


    "What about this?" Aldred opened his hand and revealed the golden emblem.


    "The Golden Emblem of Herakas. Are you sure you want to give it to me?"


    "Until I return you your treasure," Aldred said.


    "Fine."

 Chapter 431 431 Race To The Top

    "So where is the treasure?" Aldred asked.


    "It''s in my heart."


    "I have no time for riddles, Avre. Just tell me where it is."


    Avre stabbed her own chest, and with a disgusting sound pulled a shining smoke pipe. "This is the treasure you need."


    "¡­ So it''s literally in your heart."


    "I always keep my prized treasure whenever I go."


    "Okay¡­ here is the golden emblem."


    Avre received the emblem. "Be sure to return me my treasure."


    "Okay, I will."


    Avre vanished into thin air.


    "So are we going to look for the worm now?" Sophia asked.


    "Yep."


    Then they traveled to the tree trunk once again. It took them a few weeks, and when they arrived, they flew up again with the dragons, trying lure the the World Tree Worm.


    "Hmmmm, we have been looking for a few days now, but there are no signs of worms. Do you think Herakas has killed them all?" Sophia asked.


    "That can be the case," Aldred replied.


    His wives looked around in boredom. They had everything here: food, warmth, and water. But since their life were full of danger, theck of action let boredom grew.


    Eventually they tried to y some games like chess to chase the boredom away.


    They also chatted and joked around.


    "Remember the first time Aldred be a soldier?" Mary asked. "He could barely use his power. And when someone charged at him, he froze."


    Mareonaughed. "Yep! Yep! I remember the stupid look on his face when I saved him. He was kinda cute though. Now he never return to his children form."


    "I am alreadyfortable in this form," Aldred said.


    "Try to turn to your children form."


    "No." Aldred shook his head.


    "Come on, just once," Mareona said.


    "I don''t want to."


    "Just do it."


    "Uhhh, fine." Aldred transformed into his children form which looked so young and cute. He was technically 12 years old in this body.


    "Owhh!!!" His wives began to surround him.


    "Look at you. You are so cute." Ivette pinched his cheeks.


    The others also began to do the same thing. And then they kissed him and hugged him like they couldn''t help themselves.


    Meanwhile Aldred was being pulled around, squeezed, pinched, and kisses all over his face. It was so suffocating he felt like he could die.


    20 minutester, they finally let him go. Aldred breathed heavily, chest up and down as he tried to calm his heart.


    "You guys almost kill me."


    His wivesughed due to how cute he was.


    They looked around for a few days more, and eventually a worm came out.


    "There it is. Let''s do this." Aldred sucked the pipe and blew the smoke towards the others, making them invisible. But they could still see each other.


    They then approached the worm which was confused as to why the humans nearby disappeared so suddenly.


    It looked around for a second before it returned to its hole.


    They werepletely entering a whole new world when they entered inside the tree trunk. It was a weird thing. There was no cities, mountains, ins, hills, and other things that you might normally see, but there were other creatures that looked bacteria, viruses, worms, and whatnot.


    It felt like he was being downsized to microscopic scale, so everything became bigger.


    Luckily, the worm kept going up which was where they wanted to go.


    Aldred looked at his wives which were smiling as they marveled at the scene. He smiled as well. Part of adventure was seeing new things they had never seen before, and experienced things they had never experienced before.


    He was d that he could give his wives a wonderful journey.


    Suddenly, he saw other people riding other worms too. But instead of being invisible like him, they were actually inside the stomach of the worm.


    Aldred knew this because he had activated his godly eyes. As he looked around, he realized that a lot of people used this method.


    Some people managed to stick themselves to the worm''s skin. They were terribly wounded though. A few even died from bleeding out, but their bodies still hanged onto the worm''s skin.


    Aldred looked to the left and saw some robots grabbing onto the worm using suction-cup-like technology.


    ''Nothing is going to stop these adventurers,'' Aldred thought to himself.


    He had seen the challenges from the very beginning. It was hard, tough, and seemed so impossible that it felt like only gods could pass the challenge. And yet, all these treasure hunters kept going. They kepting.


    Aldred had passed every single test with hardship. He knew his power was better than most people, yet even he needed to struggle.


    These other people were mortals. They did not have the blessing of gods like him. They did not have supremely powerful parents either.


    And yet they managed toe here. wing their way. Watching their friends died left and right.


    What made the treasure so valuable? Was it just power? Just to have the chance to reach Adamantite Rank?


    And.


    Will it be worth it?


    The only way to know for sure, is to go up there.


    Aldred looked up. "Just a little bit more."


    Suddenly, the whole world seemed to shake. Aldred looked to the side and saw Thinker, riding atop a worm with his army of robots.


    To the other side, he saw another worm with lots of Ceraisian soldiers.


    "Not this again."


    Both sides from left and right attacked Aldred.


    "Shield!" Bartrem shouted.


    The soldiers blocked the attack, and even counter-attacked.


    They fought intensely for hours but the worms did not seem to be bothered. After all, they were creatures at the Adamantite Rank.


    Aldred only hoped that the worm kept going up and not get distracted by their fight.


    Suddenly, the worm shook and Aldred felt like it was about to change direction because of their fight.


    "Fuck. I don''t want any dy anymore!" Aldred leaped off the worm. His Phantom de came aze as he shed left and right.


    Thinker charged at him.


    "You damn piece of can! I am stronger than before!"


    A vortex of me shot out from the Phantom Doomde and engulfed everything in its path.


    When the me dissipated, Thinker appeared in a badly damaged state. Electricity crackled all over his body.


    "This time, You won''t be able to recover." Aldred shed, cutting the robot in half.


    Thinker''s eyes flickered before it diedpletely. Aldred watched it fell from the worm.


    He sighed at finally getting rid of that thing.


    Ste frowned and stared at the enemies before her. Pointing with her staff, she channeled her energy, and chanted: "Star Beam!"


    A thick star particles came out from her staff like a beam that vaporized the enemy.


    "Why didn''t you use that sooner?" Mareona asked.


    "I have to make them tired first."


    Aldred jumped back to his worm. "Is everybody safe?"


    They all nodded.


    "Alright, let us keep going." Aldred looked. Thankfully, the worm did not change its course and kept going up.


    The other adventurers that watched their battle earlier prayed that they did not have to fight. Nobody wanted to fight since their destination was so near.


    "What is the treasure? What does it look like? I want to see it." Aldred''s eyes lit up.

 Chapter 432 432 Giant Palace?

    The worm crawled all the way to the top and they came into what seemed like a giant pce.


    Aldred and the others dismounted the worm as it left right away.


    Aldred looked left and right. There were furnitures the size of one hundred mountains. He felt like he was an ant inside a home of a human.


    "Where are we?" Mary asked.


    "I don''t know." Aldred looked up and saw a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. And, like everything else, it was humongous.


    "So where is the treasure?" Ivette asked.


    "I don''t know either." Aldred summoned his Astrbe.


    "It pointed over there. Let''s go."


    They sprinted towards the pointed directions. After a few minutes, they encountered a monster. It looked like a giant rat with lightning crackled around its body.


    Summoning his Phantom Doomde, Aldred killed the rat with a single attack.


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    And then about a dozen more of them came.


    "Let me take care of this." Aldred shed forward, his sword already extended to the right. He sheated his sword, then suddenly, all the rats were engulfed by me.


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Rat +4,250 EXP]


    "Let''s go."


    They entered a hallway of which they encountered more rats and even cockroaches. Aldred and the soldiers killed them all.


    After running for a few hours, they arrived at what seemed to be a dining room for giants. There, Aldred saw cats.


    Giant cats, big as a mountain. One of them leaped from the table andnded right in front of Aldred, staring at him with its curios eyes.


    "Hello, beautiful. Now, you might want to ignore me because there''s a lot of rats down there." Aldred pointed to the side to distract it.


    But it kept on staring at him. Licking its lips, it raised its paws and mmed.


    Blood sttered.


    But it wasn''t his.


    Aldred shed. A powerful arc sliced the cat''s paw. It roared which made him dizzy a little bit, but it wasn''t a problem as he leaped and sliced the cat''s neck.


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    The cat fell to its side which shook the ground under him.


    More cats meowed. But to Aldred, those meows were like a roar of a lion. They all stood up and leaped off, walking slowly towards Aldred.


    Bartrem stood beside Aldred. "Seems like we have to kill them all first before we can proceed."


    "It seems like so." Aldred''s eyes flickered with killing intent. "It''s not to my taste to kill these cute cats, but I don''t think they see me the same way I see them."


    "My men and I will take care of this side," Bartrem said.


    "We will be taking the right." His wives smiled at him and faced the cats on the right.


    "I guess I will take the front." Aldred looked forward and saw dozens of huge cats in front of him. This made him excited.


    "Come and fight me!" Aldred leaped into the sky. Dragon wings shot out of his back. me covered his whole body and powerful jet stream came out of his feet.


    The me pushed him forward, increased his speed and the momentum it created helped him in his attack.


    Roaring, Aldred dodged a w attack, and beheaded a cat. He looked to the right. "Dragon Gaze!"


    His eyes shone brightly in golden color. Then five huge cats instantly exploded into puddle of blood and flesh.


    "Execution Strike!" Aldred shed, sending a powerful red arc that cut everything in its path. The cats dodged, but the arc managed to cut their paws.


    A cat leaped at Aldred, opening its mouth wide.


    "Ten Thousand Cuts!" Aldred shed and the cats fell to the ground in thousands of pieces.


    More cats swarmed towards him in every direction. Aldred kept his calm. But he was excited. Fighting against these mountain-sized cats were something he had never experienced before.


    Now this was adventure!


    "Fire Combustion!" Aldred shed left and right. Any cat he touched would immediately engulfed in mes.


    "Fire arrows!"


    A fiery magic circle appeared in the sky, shooting fire arrows endlessly at the cats. The arrows shot through the air, then prated the cat''s skin, burning them. One arrow might be nothing, but what if hundreds if not thousands of arrows?


    Some of the cats were in so much pain it died.


    "Fire Bullets!"


    "Fire Balls!"


    "Fire Javelins!"


    "Fire Fist!"


    "Red Rain!"


    Hundreds of fiery magic circle appeared in the sky and shot all kinds of fire abilities at the cats.


    Everywhere was fire. In this state, Aldred truly looked like the Monarch of me.


    Thousands of cats died under his spell.


    Aldred wasughing as he threw spell left and right while killing them with his Phantom Doomde.


    He dived down onto the ground, driving his sword into the nape of a cat. The cat meowed in pain as me shot out of his de and burned its internal organ into charcoal.


    The cat fell and Aldred red at the other cats which made them flinched and backed away a few steps. After a few seconds, all of them ran away.


    Aldred looked at the list of notifications.


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Giant Cat +4,400 EXP]


    ...


    He smiled. "Not bad."


    ? [You have leveled up. Level 87 -> Level 88]


    Aldred closed his eyes as he felt a powerful sensation. His mana churned all over his body, evolving into something of a higher quality. He was closer and closer to tinum Rank.


    The major difference between ranks were always quality of mana. His supremely high stats could give him an advantage against low-level tinum Rank, but mid-level tinum Rank were impossible for him to defeat because their quality of mana or life force were vastly superior. This meant that their spells would have much better effect or cause greater damage.


    Higher quality of mana also naturally increased stats, intelligence, reflexes, strength, agility, and overall power.


    In low ranks, the quality of mana might not change that much, but now, each level was like a higher existence.


    Aldred turned around and saw hisrades and wives leveled up too.


    "Is everyone okay?" Aldred asked.


    "We''re fine."


    Aldred scanned them with his godly eyes, and none of them seemed to be hurt. These cats were not a big deal for them. Each one of hisrades could be considered the elite of the elite.


    After all, he had mentioned their imperfection and guided them to hone their skills to be sharper every single day.


    Not only that, they also frequently fought against powerful opponents. So battle was like second-nature to them. It was ingrained in their bones.


    "Let''s go, guys." Aldred smiled.

 Chapter 433 433 Golden Egg

    Aldred continued, passing the dining hall, they arrived in another hallway. This one was bigger and wider, and there were statues of giant men with full body armor and halberds. These statues wererger than the cats. And the cats were asrge as mountains.


    So he was literally the size of an ant inparison.


    "Will we meet any giants?" Kiara wagged her tail left and right in fear and a little bit of excitement.


    "I hope not." Aldred did not want to meet any giants at all. The cats were quite powerful, so what about the giants? They had to be at least at Adamantite Rank.


    "Whoever owns this ce, we have to avoid them at all cost. The treasure is ced here for a reason. And that reason is to keep treasure hunters like us away from it."


    THUD!


    A shoended beside Aldred. It wasn''t a normal feet. But a mountain-size feet!


    Aldred looked up and saw a gigantic human towering high above him. The man was 7 times taller than the cat he fought.


    So that was like 7 mountains stacked atop each other. The size was so incredible that it would be impossible to imagine. A normal human brain wouldn''t have the capacity to process something thisrge.


    Aldred scanned the giant with his godly eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Umnus]


    Level: 200


    Power: ???


    History: ???


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    His eyes widened. Both of his feet trembled under his own weight. This was the first time that he had seen someone or something had a level over 200. Except his parents and sister of course.


    "What in the world is that?" Mary''s knees bent. Sweat covered her forehead.


    "Don''t make any noise," Aldred said.


    They waited until the giant left before they let out a breath of relieve.


    "That thing is too powerful for us to handle. Even Herakas might think twice before confronting one."


    A giant that was as tall as 7 mountains stacked on top of each other.


    "This must be how an ant feels when they see us." Aldred sighed. "Let''s go."


    They followed the direction of the Astrbe, and after a few hours. They arrived in some sort garden. The garden had giant roots entangled around each other with nts and mushrooms growing on it.


    Atop this root was a giant golden egg, basking in the sunlight as it radiated a divine energy that drew all eyes on it.


    "Is that the treasure?" Aldred looked at the Astrbe. It pointed towards the egg.


    "So it is. After all this time, the treasure is just a golden egg?"


    "Maybe there''s something inside that golden egg," Ste said.


    "Let''s check it out."


    They all rushed towards the giant roots. The roots were as big as a highway for them. And the flowers, nts, and mushroom were taller than most trees he had seen before.


    They encountered a worm. It slowly stretching and contracting their muscles to move forward.


    A magic circle appeared in the sky, and a fire javelin came out, flying towards the worm at a high speed.


    The worm detected the threat and spat out sticky liquid at it only for the liquid to vaporize. The javelin stabbed its head and it wriggled in pain.


    Two secondter, it stopped moving.


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]


    They encountered more worms in the way, and they killed them all.


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]


    [You have killed Wriggly Worm +4,400 EXP]


    Aldred pulled his Phantom Doomde from the worm''s neck. It then turned into dust and got blown by the wind.


    "That was a good workout." Ivette wiped the sweat on her forehead. "These worms are squishy."


    She tapped the worm''s body which moved like jelly.


    "They are weak indeed. But their levels are quite high," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, they heard a scream.


    "Don''t attack it''s body! It''s immune to sharp and blunt objects!"


    Aldred looked to the side, and saw a group of people struggling to fight against the worm. They stabbed it with a spear, but the skin bounced it off. The shed with their sword, but its slippery surface made the sword slip.


    Then they tried with a hammer, but the bouncy texture returned the hammer''s momentum back.


    Aldred saw a lot of other groups that suffered the same problem.


    "Hmmm, they make it a lot harder than it look," Aldred said.


    If the treasure hunters heard what Aldred said, they would cry. It wasn''t that they made it harder, but it was Aldred that made it look too easy.


    "Should we help them?" Ivette asked.


    "Nope. That''s their problem. Let us proceed."


    Aldred moved forward, killing every monster that disrupted their way.


    As they were killing monsters however, the stumbled upon some familiar faces.


    "Oh, you three again," Aldred said.


    It was the trio the mysterious trio that Aldred had found before. ording to his godly eyes, these three did note from Coureroy continent, but from somewhere farrger and stronger.


    Aldred had ns to visit other continents, so the three of them interested him. He wanted to kill them and turned them into undeads, but they were much stronger than he thought. Not to mention they seemed to have treasures that let them escape from him.


    As usual, the trio remained silent. Behind them, corpses of worms and other monstersy on the ground.


    Behind Aldred was also a lot of corpses of monsters.


    People that looked from far away thought that these two groups were about to fight. Some stayed to watch, but others decided to move forward and further dy would be risky.


    "Why did you chase us?" Shevli said. She was the female magician that like the other two, wore a robe that covered her entire body except her mouth.


    The godly eyes did not provide further information, but Aldred could tell that the three of them were chased by a powerful group, and were on the run. The reason they came here was probably for obtaining that treasure and attack the ones who chase them.


    What funny was how they thought that Aldred was told to chase them.


    "I didn''te here to chase you. Youe from other continent right?"


    "Lies. If you continue to chase us. We will kill you."


    "And you think you can?" The Phantom Doomde in his hand ignited in mes, and the temperature around them increased.


    "We are capable of things you cannot fathom."


    "Don''t act like you''re some mysterious stuff. I can see in that blue eyes of yours. I see it far too many times. I see¡­ fear."


    Shevli flinched. ''How did he see through my robe?''


    Aldred looked down. "Also, I can also see that thin blue, thin lingerie."


    Shevli opened her mouth in shock, cheeks blushing. "You¡­ you¡­ how did you know?"


    Aldredughed. "Did I guess correctly?"


    ''Oh, so he just guessed.'' That made her let out a sigh of relief. But she still red at Aldred for pulling tricks on her.


    If only she knew that her clothes was nothing for his godly eyes¡­

 Chapter 434 434 Dad?

    "If you are not chasing us, then we will take our leave," Shevli said.


    "Sure, sure," Aldred said.


    Shevli looked at him skeptically before she turned around and walked away.


    Aldred smiled as he looked at their backs. "Interesting. I hope we can meet again."


    "What part of her is interesting? Is it her story or her lingerie?" Mareona red at him.


    "What about both? Ouch!"


    "Aldred, we have to make haste." Bartrem pointed at other treasure hunters that approached the giant golden egg.


    "Alright."


    They all rushed towards the center where the golden egg stood. When they were already in front if, Aldred finally realized how huge it was. ording to his godly eyes, the golden egg was more than 10 KM tall. That was taller than Mount Everest!


    But he could not see through the egg.


    "So what do we do now?" Mary asked.


    "I don''t know," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, they heard a noise.


    "You fucking traitor! How dare you fuck my wife behind my back!"


    STAB!


    The man stabbed his neck, and then kicked his body.


    A small crack appeared on the golden egg.


    They all looked at each other right after that. They knew what this meant. In the first phase, during the Mount Fargon challenge, there was a test to kill every other team to shatter every crystal on the ceiling.


    Aldred figured it would be the same thing. And everyone else seemed to think the same.


    The atmosphere was tense. Hand getting tighter on the handle of their weapons. They all began to widened their stance and started eyeing their enemies.


    Aldred sighed. "This treasure hunter is just so full of bloodbath. Let me make it faster for everyone. RED RAIN!"


    Thousands of bloody circle appeared in the sky and fired bright red javelin at the targets below.


    One man was struck right in the eye, and his whole head burst.


    Another one got hit on the chest, and his heart exploded from the impact. It was carnage!


    And then another one got hit by a spear in the leg, and his knee shattered. Blood sttered everywhere.


    Aldred shook with excitement. The scene of bloodbath always excite him. He did not know why that was the case.


    Mira watched this scene in silent. Two years ago, she would have been shocked to see something like this. But now, she saw it as a natural course of life. She had seen how difficult every test was, and knew that the only way to pass the test was to be ruthless. Being naive would only bring harm, not just to her, but to her friends as well.


    Ivette also looked at this scene in silent. Different from Mira, however, she did not mind seeing her enemies die. She was like Aldred in that regard. It might be selfish, but everyone needed to be selfish to survive.


    Why wouldn''t you be selfish if everyone is selfish anyway?


    She had experienced the dark side of the world at an early age, so she got no problem at all with Aldred massacring the enemies.


    "AHH!"


    "It BURNS!!!"


    "What is this power!"


    A man got his arm chopped off. He screamed in pain, and was about to escape, but another javelinnded on his back, then pierced through his heart. The man fell to the ground lifelessly.


    Everywhere, there were screams of pain and suffering. Those who did not have a defensive treasure immediately torn to shreds. The luckier one got struck by the head, dying painlessly.


    Even those who had defensive treasures were constantly in pain. There was fire everywhere, and it cooked their skin. Even magicians forming a barrier around them could still feel the heat. It was like being inside an oven. They were slowly cooked.


    After a few minutes, Aldred stopped his spell. He got a slightly weaker because the spell consumed his blood essence to use.


    It was a pseudo-legendary skill, and his strongest skill to date. Though he did not want to use it very frequently because of its requirement. He believed there was a way to reduce its consumption and that was to upgrade it to proper legendary skill. He did not know how to do that yet, but he believed he would find something in the future.


    Aldred looked around and saw that everyone were injured except his own team and the mysterious trio.


    A man stood up, bringing his broken shield down. The once thick shield was now burned and thin as a sheet of paper. If Aldred kept the spell for a few seconds, he would have died.


    The man looked to the left and saw that his arm were burned all the way to the shoulder. He was of course astonished by such a powerful ability.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    They all looked at Aldred in fear.


    "If you all want to live, leave this ce immediately. If not then I shall show you no mercy."


    "He''s bluffing. Look at his pale face. He cannot do anything anymore. Attack him!" A burly man led his group to attack Aldred.


    He charged, raising his halberd and shed at Aldred''s neck.


    ng!


    The halberd bounced off his neck. The burly man widened his eyes and trembled. He looked at his weapon and then looked at Aldred''s neck.


    "What is this?"


    He attacked again.


    ng!


    Likest time, the weapon bounced off his skin.


    The burly man could not believe what just happened. "How did you do that?"


    "I guess you''ll never know." Aldred thrust his sword to the man''s heart.


    The man gasped in pain. His grip on the halberd weakened, and it fell, nging, on the ground.


    "So who''s next?" Aldred looked around.


    Everyone was silent.


    "I will give you to the count of 3 to leave. One."


    A lot of them began to leave immediately.


    "Two!"


    They shook their heads and left.


    "Three!"


    Everyone left.


    Everyone except for three.


    "So here we are," Aldred said. "Are you going to fight me properly this time?"


    Shevli frowned. "If you are not chasing us, stay away from this golden egg."


    "That''s not how the world works, honey. We have to fight for the things we want. It just happens that I also want this golden egg."


    "I willing to fight for it, but do you?"


    Shevli gritted her teeth. She had seen his power before. He could make clones as powerful as his original body, and that bloody sword¡­ it was too powerful for her to fight. If she wanted to win, she had to use a lot of cards.


    She sighed. "We will take our leave."


    Aldredughed. "Suit yourself."


    The three of them walked away.


    "Alright." Aldred looked at the golden egg which already had a lot of cracks.


    When the tree of them leaped off the tform, the shell of the golden egg shattered.


    Blinding light burst forth which even his godly eyes could not see through. It was so bright that even Aldred had to close his eyes.


    The light vanished, and they began to open their eyes again.


    Aldred looked at the center. There was someone there, but his vision was still slightly blinded.


    A few secondster, the image got clearer, and Aldred widened his eyes at what he saw.


    "Dad¡­?"


    Everyone gasped.


    "DAD?"

 Chapter 435 435 Diamond Rank

    "DAD???!"


    "Aldred, is he really your dad?" Mary asked.


    Aldred nodded. "He is. I can''t be wrong."


    He ran up to him. His father was handsome as always. So beautiful yet manly with an athletic built. He had short ck hair, and that deep ck eyes fondly looked at Aldred.


    "What''s sup, son."


    "Dad, don''t say those words. You soundedme."


    Hujararughed. "Alright, I won''t. So how have you been doing?"


    "I am doing fine. It''s been fun. A lot of fun!"


    "Good. So are these your wives?"


    "Yep."


    Hujararughed. "Good. You truly are my son!" He looked at thedies. "I am sure my son have treated you all well?"


    Aldred''s wives all nodded.


    "He''s a bit naughty, but he treat us very well, sir," Mareona said.


    "No need to call me, sir. Hujarar is fine, but you can also call me dad."


    "Dad¡­" Mareona blushed at the thought of calling Aldred''s father a dad. Was that meant his father epted her status as Aldred''s wife?


    "So where is mom and sister? Are they noting with you?"


    "Nope. It''s just me this time."


    "But they said you were going somewhere. To a mysterious ce or something, and they tell me that you are in danger."


    "Yeah, well, I am not really in danger. But that is correct. What you currently see is a part of my soul. My true self is not here, but somewhere else."


    "Where exactly?"


    "You will know when you grow stronger."


    Aldred was still confused as of why his father refused to tell him. But Aldred trusted him with all his heart, so he did not think much of it.


    "So why are you here, dad?"


    "Oh, I was the one who made this treasure hunt."


    "EHHH!!!"


    "You made all of these? But this treasure hunt had existed for thousands of years from what I heard."


    "That is true because I have made the treasure hunt from long ago. I was bored you see. Every day, every year, the same pattern repeated numerous times. So I decided to make a little event every once in a while to make the lives of these mortals fun."


    Fun¡­ literally millions died because of this treasure hunt¡­ Aldred''s wives did not know what to think of that. Although it wasn''t exactly Hujarar''s fault, because the treasure hunter could quit any time they wanted to.


    And it was very well-known that only one person had the chance to obtain the treasure, so the survival rate was lower than 10%.


    If that wasn''t enough to stop them, then they could not me anybody.


    "I see you have grown stronger," Hujarar said with a smile.


    Aldred nodded proudly. He was so happy at being praised by his father. "Look at this weapon, dad." Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    "It''s the best weapon I have."


    Hujararughed. "If you have taken the sword that I offered you."


    "What sword?" Mary asked.


    "The sword that can send any entity to hell regardless of ranks."


    Mareona grabbed Aldred by the cor. "Why didn''t you ept it?"


    "I don''t remember why, but if I can return back in time, I will surely p myself in the face."


    Hujarar giggled. "I knew you would regret it."


    Aldred smiled. "But I won''t ask another gift from you dad. This godly eyes have helped me a lot, and it saved me multiple times."


    "So you want to grow stronger without my help?"


    Aldred nodded. "If I keep relying on you, I wouldn''t be able to reach my true potential."


    Hujarar smiled. "That''s my boy."


    "So what now?" Aldred asked. "Where is the treasure?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "I am the treasure. Whoever managed to open the egg will be able to meet me. Usually I give them power, but sometimes I was asked other stuff."


    "So¡­ you will turn me to a tinum Rank?"


    "Nope. Those who managed to open the egg will get to be a Diamond Rank."


    "Seriously? I can be a Diamond Rank?"


    "Of course. How else could they survive when they returned to their homnd? You know how people are. They will kill the winners to prevent them from growing in the future. So, I just turned them into Diamond Ranks to prevent easy assassination."


    "That makes sense," Aldred said. "So I will be a Diamond Rank?"


    "Yep." Hujarar nodded.


    "That''s like two stage above me."


    "Anyone that manage to destroy the golden egg deserved it. Every challenge is harder than the others, and some challenges were designed to massacre the entire contestants at once."


    "Why?"


    "Luck is part of it. If you are unlucky to get that challenge, then it''s your bad luck."


    "Is there any challenges that doesn''t require any effort."


    "There is. But the third challenge is always the hardest. You can''t rely on luck to pass it."


    "I think I got all the worst challenges, dad."


    Hujararughed. "I think you did. But they are also the most rewarding."


    Aldred agreed. After every challenge, he would grow stronger, experienced, and more powerful than before.


    "So can I get my Diamond Rank now?"


    "Before that, let me show you something.


    Hujarar waved his hand and a floating projection appeared. It showed some sort of video of a baby.


    "Wait a minute, is that¡­ mom?"


    "Mom? Is that your mother?" Ste asked.


    Aldred nodded. "That''s my mother when she was a baby. Right, dad?"


    The projection showed baby Eve walking on all all four in the forest. She then stumbled upon a sleeping dragon the size of a mountain.


    The dragon opened its mouth, about to eat her, but she pped its jaw, which literally sent the dragon out of the atmosphere.


    "¡­"


    "What just happened?" Ivette asked.


    The projection disappeared.


    "And that''s the end of it."


    "What? That''s it? Do you have any more, dad?"


    "I do, but you cannot watch it yet."


    "Why?"


    "I will show you at another time." Hujarar disappeared.


    "Wait, dad! I want to watch more!!!"


    His voice went through empty air because his father had vanished. He sighed, until he felt some sort of power within him.


    Aldred''s body suddenly shone. His eyes radiated out powerful energy and every inch of his body shook uncontrobly. He felt like a newborn being born.


    "Are you okay?" Ivette asked.


    Aldred shook his head. It was so intense that he almost passed out, but the feeling slowly subsided.


    "WOOOH!!"


    He shouted, shouting the pain away.


    Suddenly, a new form of aura appeared from his body. In the blink of an eye, his aura exploded in every direction. His wives could felt his newfound power. It was farrger than they had seen before. The aura was so powerful that it pushed them back a few steps. It did not harm them, instead, the aura enveloped them all as if it protected them.


    It was warm and lovely. His wives felt like they were being hugged by Aldred. They could smell him, and sensed his touch. Their heart beat faster than before. Excitement welled up in their chest as they watched Aldred shouting to the sky, getting stronger and stronger every second.


    His body underwent a massive change, especially to the quality of his mana. It was much thicker and physical now. Before it was merely gas that could be removed with a wave of a hand, but now it almost looked like a liquid. It churned around his blood vessels at rapid speed.


    "This... this is the power of Diamond Rank."

 Chapter 436 436 Returning Back

    Aldred clenched his fist.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 32,580/32,580


    Level: 120 (Diamond Rank)


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 2 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 3,472


    -Vitality: 3,880


    -Intelligence: 6,432


    -Dexterity: 3,384


    Stat points: 66


    Skill points: 66


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred looked at his own stats in awe. Most of his attributes were under 1,000 points, but now they were over 3,000!


    And the quality of his mana was far higher than before. Even his weakest spell could decimate an entire army of Gold Ranks.


    Summoning his Phantom Doomde, Aldred felt great power coursing through his arms and then his whole body. The de had always been something that a higher rank should use. When he was a Gold Rank, the de limited its power to avoid killing him.


    If he received too much power from it, he would explode. But now his body, mana, and spirit could take on more power from the Phantom Doomde.


    Aldred turned around and saw hisrades lit up, engulfed by a bright light.


    "Will they turn into a Diamond ranks as well?"


    Ste shook her head. "No. They can only get tinum Ranks, but their growth will be much faster from here."


    After the light disappeared, everyone instantly became a tinum Rank. Their powerful aura oozed out of their body, and the floor under their feet cracked.


    "I can''t believe there will be a day I can reach this height of power." Bartrem looked at his fist.


    Mary smiled and looked at Aldred. "Now we have a chance to take the throne."


    Aldred nodded. "Now I have the chance to take my steering wheel back."


    The steering wheel that could be used to control the flying castle was still in the Emperor''s hand. Now that he became a Diamond Rank, he had a fighting chance to take it back.


    Aldred punched down with a fraction of his power, but what happened next baffled him. The giant roots were pierced through by the powerful wind, and kept going down, sting holes, and creating destruction.


    A Diamond Rank beast roared and jumped out of the hole. Angered that its sleep was disturbed. The beast roared, lightning shed all over its body, and lunged at him. Aldred smiled and use a single finger to poke its nose.


    The nose of the beast caved in, then fractions of secondster, the beast exploded.


    [You have killed Lightning Beast +8,400 EXP]


    Aldred smiled. "Not bad."


    "Do you think you can kill the Emperor with that power?" Mary asked.


    Aldred thought for a second. "But the Emperor has a lot of Diamond Ranks protecting him right? How can I fight him alone?"


    "We should consult the empress with this. I am sure she will find a solution for us," Mary said.


    "Alright, let''s go back."


    Space and time stopped and the world shattered like ss.


    The next thing they founded themselves standing on a vast in. The wind blew the grass around them, and moved their hair.


    A few hundred meters to their north was a fort they were familiar with.


    "It''s been a while," Bartrem said. "Ruandeurtin. That fort has never changed."


    Aldred smiled. "I wonder if he''s still there. Let me do something to test him out."


    He closed his eyes for a few seconds before abruptly opening them again while a thick and powerful aura burst forth from him. Aldred directed the aura straight towards the fort.


    The soldiers, horses, rats, and even cockroaches felt a suffocating sensation and stopped in their tracks. They all stopped what they were doing and wondered what this pressuring sensation was.


    "This is an aura of a Diamond Rank!"


    "Who? Who is it?"


    "Is Montcresiaing to attack us? Is this a full-blown war?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Pharder was sitting in his office and he frowned when he felt the aura.


    "Sir, is it the Montcresian?" His assistant asked.


    "No. It''s someone I am far too familiar with. Take care of the rest." He vanished into thin air.


    And then he appeared in a vast in. In front of him, Aldred stood there, all alone, except for a tanned beauty who stayed silently beside him.


    "So you have obtained the treasure."


    All out of a sudden, the sky trembled and a loud explosion was heard in every part of the continent.


    ''What was that?'' Aldred asked Ste with telepathy.


    ''That was the announcement that someone has obtained the treasure and that the treasure hunting has ended.''


    ''So everyone will know that I obtained the treasure?''


    ''No. But those major powers probably know about you. After all, you do spare some people.''


    "So what now? Are you going to kill me?" Pharder asked. "You just obtain this power. You think you can do it?"


    Aldred smiled. "Kill you? No, that would be too easy. I am here simply to see you. Not much has change from what I observed."


    Pharder frowned. "Are you mocking me?"


    "Perhaps."


    Ste and Aldred vanished.


    Pharder stood still, and gazed into the distance. "What is his n?"


    ¡­


    Edeline sat on her throne. Icy cold gaze set forward. She was expressionless, and distant, making everyone in the throne room nervous as they couldn''t predict what she was thinking.


    Beside her, sitting on another throne was the Emperor. Unlike her, the Emperor was full of expression, and he was currently dissatisfied with the fruit in his hand.


    "What a low quality product. Find the farmer and kill his entire family!"


    "Yes, your majesty."


    A group of soldiers set out immediately.


    Suddenly, Edeline stood up and walked away.


    "Where are you going?" the Emperor asked.


    She ignored him and kept walking.


    "Edeline Rose Wildingham!"


    Even when her full name was mentioned, Edeline did not care and left the throne room.


    The Emperor mmed his fist onto the throne in anger. "That fucking bitch!"


    Edeline kept her ice cold expression as she walked back to her room. The Emperor disgusted her by his tyrannical abuse of power. She had enough of his presence for today and would like to return to her bedroom.


    She entered her room, and closed the door. Right after that, however, two person appeared in front of her.


    Her cold expression quickly turn into a smile. "Aldred."


    "I am here, your highness." Aldred slightly bowed.


    "You''ve done it. When I see that announcement, I knew it would be you."


    Aldred smiled back. "I am d that you have a high expectation of me, your highness."


    "Drop the formalities when we are alone."


    Aldred nodded. "So, what''s next? How can I take the throne? Just killing the Emperor is not enough I believe?"


    Edeline nodded. "We cannot kill the Emperor yet. The Dragons will riot and it will truly divide this empire into two."


    "So what do we do?"


    "I have a n. I heard that you have a friend from Montcresia. Can you bring her here?"


    "Why?"


    "We need her for this n to work."


    "Alright, I will bring Mira here."


    ¡­


    Leaders around the world looked at the trembling sky. From Montcresia, Ceraisian Empire, Thignia, Paphia, Yevileria, Duria, Hofnmoen, and all the way to Selia.


    Everyone stared at the sky with mixed feeling.


    "Someone has obtained the treasure. Who is it?"


    "More importantly, who''s wings will he hide under, or perhaps he already has wings above him."


    "Is it the Montcresia? They desperately needed it to fight against the Ceraisian?"


    "Is it Duria?"


    "I just got news! It''s regarding the treasure."


    "Did they found out who it was?"


    "They did. They told me that this boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Ceraisian, and in less than 3 years, he had reached the peak of Gold Rank. He passed every challenge with absolute ease, and he had obtained the treasure."


    "What is his name?"


    "He goes by the name¡­ Aldred."

 Chapter 437 437 Manipulation

    At night, in Thory, the capital city of the Ceraisian Empire. To the north section of the Royal Pce, Edeline sat by the tree in the courtyard. Her bare feet brushed against the soft grass.


    Aldred was sitting in front of her with Mira and Ivette.


    Both of his wives were currently having a troubled expression.


    "I cannot betray Montcresia. There has to be another way," Mira said.


    Edeline calmly said: "You do not betray Montcresia. You will simply help me eliminate them, and I will put you in power."


    Mira shook her head. "You want me to help you kill thousands of Montcresian? I cannot do that. Even if Aldred is my husband, I cannot do that."


    Ivette nodded her head. "I also disagree with this. There has to be a way. I think Aldred also wanted a peaceful way to solve this problem."


    "There is a powerful treasure inside Montcresia''s capital," Edeline said. "With that treasure, you can protect millions of lives. Like I said, you are not a traitor, but a savior. Millions of lives will be saved in exchange for a few hundred thousands."


    Mira abruptly stood up. "NO!"


    "Even if you refuse, I still have ways to defeat Montcresia. Do note that the Ceraisian Empire hasn''t even used a fraction of its power to fight this war."


    "Then we will fight to the death."


    "So  you have chosen to be our enemy?" Edeline asked.


    Aldred stood up. "Mira, don''t do this. I am sure we can work something out."


    "Knowing you, I don''t think you can''t think of any other solutions except killing everyone and everything in your path. And I cannot stop you. I stayed by your side all this time, but I have tolerated enough! I am leaving."


    "Where are you going?"


    "Back to Montcresia."


    "I am leaving too." Ivette stood up.


    "Come on you two," Aldred said. "Hey, wait."


    "Let them be, Aldred," Edeline said.


    Aldred stopped in his tracks and sighed.


    Suddenly, the wind blew, rustling the leaves on the trees.


    "They have left," Edeline said.


    Aldred smiled. "Alright, Mira, Ivette, you two can return now.


    Mira and Ivette popped out of the corner.


    "Did they leave yet?" Ivette asked.


    "They have. Now we can talk properly."


    Ivette let out a sigh. "Acting is really hard."


    Mira sighed as well. "That is true. I wonder how you guys do it so naturally." She looked at Edeline and Aldred.


    Edeline smiled. "It is part of my job, so I am used to it."


    "So who are they anyway? Why do we have to trick them and make an act?" Ivette asked.


    "They are spies. Spies of the Dragons specifically," Edeline replied.


    Edeline had detected spies monitoring them, so he told Aldred and the others to set up an act. The Empress wanted the Dragons to think that she wanted to go all out against Montcresia.


    The reason she did this was because she wanted to lure the Dragons to send their best soldiers to the front line, leaving their lords all alone back home.


    But to make that happen, she had to show great enthusiasm for going to war.


    "You also said that almost no Montcresian soldiers will be killed. How can that be possible?" Mira asked.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "I have my ways." Edeline smiled. "I have some friends in Montcresia. They can help me."


    Mira flinched. The Empress of the Ceraisian Empire had friends within Montcresia? Mira couldn''tprehend Edeline''s thought process. She was supposed to be enemies with Montcresia, and yet she did not seem to have the intention to destroy it.


    "I wanted peace," Edeline said, staring at Mira''s eyes. "Just like you. But to achieve peace, I have to prepare to fight my enemies. And my enemies are not within Montcresia."


    "No wonder why so many women admired you, Empress Edeline. You not only have a noble goal, but you also have the power to reach it."


    "I also heard a lot about you, Sister Mira. They said you are the mother of all heroes, and idols for many sisters."


    "I am nothingpared to you."


    "I wouldn''t say that." Edeline smiled.


    "So what do we do next?" Aldred asked.


    "Mira and Ivette have to pretend they left for Montcresia. Aldred, you stay in your room and do nothing. This also applies to your friends. I will inform you what you need to do next."


    ¡­


    Pharder was sitting in his office as he intently listened to the spy''s report.


    "The Empress is nning to send her main army to Montcresia? Powerful treasure inside the capital? We have to take action immediately. We cannot let them get ahead of us."


    Pharder immediately vanished and visited his friends of Diamond Ranks, telling them about this news and suggested for them to move quickly as well.


    His suggestion was heard, because he had always maintained a good reputation among his friends. This made him at ease, because he could quickly move arge army.


    But on the other side, Lord Athar was very skeptical about this news.


    Frowning, he deeply thought about something. "We haven''t managed to spy on the Empress for a very long time. Now that we did, we obtained such a valuable piece of news? This is too coincidental. Almost as if it was orchestrated."


    "I think so too, my lord. But¡­"


    "But what?"


    "Our spies have found movements among the Phoenix. They are gathering their forces, and have begun taking positions in the front line."


    Lord Athar frowned deeper. He closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he mmed his fist on the armrest. "Prepare our soldiers to the front line. Don''t let the Phoenix get ahead of us."


    "Yes, my lord."


    The man left the room, leaving Athar alone.


    "Is this because of Aldred? Why did the Empress suddenly dare to make a bold move?" His frown got deeper and deeper, until he realized something.


    "Aldred obtained the treasure¡­"


    "That must be it. He obtained the treasure, so that''s why the Empress got the guts to make such a massive movement. She was confident in her power."


    Lord Athar clenched his fist. "In that case, I have to convince the others to make a move. Only by doing this together could they get an advantage over her.


    The lord quickly sent his messengers all over the ce to ry the information he received, and also giving them ideas on what he thought about this situation.


    Unlike Pharder, Lord Athar''s credibility, status, and influence was far farrger. Because of his movement, other powerful nobles also made their move, and all gathered their forces to the front line.


    The Holy State of Montcresia was shocked by this news. All out of a sudden, thousands of powerful armies gathered at their border, threatening to attack at any seconds.


    And yet, the heroes hadn''t been deployed. What was going on?


    A lot of questions arose from the soldiers, but they had faith in their government, so they did not utter a singleint.


    The Dragons also made a move on the Phoenix. Using a passive-aggressive approach, they managed to push the Phoenix to the back. Of course, they also paid a price for this action, but they thought it was more than worth it.


    They did not know however that their action waspletely manipted by one single woman.

 Chapter 438 438 Taking Over

    The Dragons were happy that they managed to take the front line away from the Phoenix, but news came that Ruandeurtin was taken over by the Empress and was given to Aldred.


    They did not think much of it. Ruandeurtin was only one section of the entire battle. The Empress couldn''t possibly get much benefit from it.


    But Lord Athar thought otherwise. Since Aldred was the one who obtained the treasure, his power must have been greater than normal Diamond Ranks. It was also weird that the Empress focused her army on Aldred.


    With this spection, Lord Athar decided to increase his army.


    The other noble lords followed his footsteps. They did not know why he did what he did, but it had been proven that following him was a very wise decision time and time again.


    A few dayster, they received a shocking news that Aldred had attacked first. He and his massive armies given by the Empress easily rolled through the first fort¡ªCoinnerelle.


    Coinnerelle had stood against the Ceraisian attacks for years. It was one of the most heavily attacked fort in the war. For it to be taken down in a day was quite impressive and shocking.


    But the higher ups did not think much about it. They simply thought that they had to attack as well.


    And so they pushed towards the west, entering the Montcresia border. They took fort and cities effortlessly.


    Aldred arrived in front of arge city. Sprawling massive armies stood behind him, ready to attack. Pharder was beside him. He was assigned as the Vice Captain for Aldred. He wanted to leave, but the Dragons ordered him to stay so he could spy on Aldred.


    Aldred was his enemies, and he knew Pharder tried to kill him numerous times. Acting as his spy wouldn''t be very effective, but he had to follow order.


    "I would suggest you not attack this city," Pharder said.


    "And why would I heed your advice?" Aldred asked.


    "This city is the home town of the famous warrior Ercor tefeather. He is an old-time Diamond Rank, and was known to fight multiple Diamond Ranks at once and win."


    "So you''re scared?" Aldred sneered. "Pussy."


    Pharder gritted his teeth in anger. "If hee here, I will not help you fight him."


    "I don''t need cowards to help me."


    ''Bastard!'' Veins bulged on Pharder''s forehead. ''After this war is over, I will surely kill you''


    Aldred looked up. "So that''s him."


    He leaped off the ground, cracking the earth as he shot into the sky. Aldred swung his weapon and it nged against a massive ck axe.


    BOOM!


    The sky shattered for a fraction of a second before it returned to normal.


    Aldred smiled as he looked at the man in front of him. He was tall with muscr built. And his arms were as thick as a tree trunk.


    "So this is, Darius?" Pharder was shocked to see the man and his powerful aura. With this power, he could even fight three to five low-Diamond Ranks. That also mean he could kill Aldred.


    Pharder smiled. What a foolish boy.


    Unbeknown to Pharder however, Darius was not Aldred''s enemy.


    ''So when do I pretend to lose?'' Darius asked with telepathy.


    ''After you receive one direct attack from me.''


    ''Alright.''


    Pharder stood still with excitement at the thought that Aldred was going to be killed.


    But a few secondster.


    "DIE!" Aldred shed Ercor''s shoulder.


    "Aghh!" He crashed to the ground.


    "Eh¡­" Pharder blinked a few times. What the hell just happened?


    Aldred thenbusted a huge me over Ercor''s body before he secretly teleported away.


    "Hahaha. Too easy!"


    Pharder stared at Aldred as he wasughing maniacally in the sky. "This is impossible. One single attack and Ercor tefeather was defeated?"


    Pharder could hardly believed it, but he still had to send this information to the others.


    ¡­


    "Aldred managed to kill Ercor tefeather?" Lord Athar was shocked by this news. This also confirmed his suspicion that he was the Empress main card.


    With this piece of information, Athar couldn''t hold back anymore and called for his armies in the other parts of the empire.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Naturally, the others also did the same thing.


    And dayster, Lord Athar told his army to attack as fast as possible.


    The Holy State of Montcresia was swarmed with armies from the west. They had never experienced such an attack before. Cities were destroyed every single day.


    This shocked the entire continent. Especially Thignia and Torvenia since they were directly bordered with the Ceraisian Empire. They had watched the war with amusement, but now they were in fear.


    What if the Ceraisian Empire attacked them next? The Holy State of Montcresia didn''t seem to put up a good fight against the armies. They hadn''t even send their heroes out yet which meant that they were cowards and probably gathered their forces in one ce. This let them had greater strength.


    Even if that was the case, their cities and territories were taken, so it was still a lost in their part.


    The whole continent trembled after this fact. So many cities were taken, and the Montcresia couldn''t do anything about it.


    Aldred smiled when he see the n worked. The Dragons had entered deep into Montcresia''s territory.


    So the next n could begin.


    ¡­


    Lord Athar was sitting in his office. One piece of paper materialized in the air, andnded above his desk. He read it, then put it away before another paper appeared.


    "The war is going well, but Aldred is still ahead of us. But the Dragons couldn''t be underestimated. The Empress put too much trust on Aldred." Lord Atharughed.


    Suddenly, he frowned and pulled out his de, then shed to the side.


    Three swordswomen blocked his attack, and then another four pointed their swords at his neck.


    Two magicians were standing on the side.


    He waspletely surrounded. "What is the meaning of this?"


    "You are captured for treason. Come with us."


    Lord Athar was confused at first, and then he realized something. "You all should be helping Aldred in the front line. But here you are¡­ so that is your n."


    They smiled. "You realized it a little toote."


    ¡­


    All over the Empires, one noble after another was captured. None could escape. None could fight back because their Diamond Ranks were fighting a war in the front line.


    The Phoenix captured thousands of nobles in a single day. They had to be quick, they had to be decisive, because any dy would destroy their n.


    The army kept fighting in the front line. Easily taking over one city after another without receiving any significant resistance.


    They all thought that the Montcresia gathered their heroes in the capital and did not dare to send them out.


    However, they did now know that it was all a bait to lure them in, and away from their lords at home.


    ¡­


    Edeline entered the throne hall. The Emperor sat there in his throne, currently manhandling a maid.


    When he saw the Empress bringing a lot of Diamond Ranks with him, the Emperor frowned and threw away the maid.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    "I am taking over the throne," Edeline said. "You are not worthy of it."


    "So you are ready for a civil war? The Duria and Selia is going after us, and you want to start the civil war now? If that is what you want it is fine by me."


    "There will be no civil war."


    Her subordinates rushed at the Emperor.


    "Guards!" The Emperor shouted.


    Twenty Diamond Rank appeared in the throne hall.


    Edeline snapped her finger, and sixty Diamond Ranks entered the room.


    "Why did you bring so many¡­ wait, none of them went to the front line! You tricked us all!"


    Edeline smiled. This was the first time the Emperor had seen her wore that expression.


    "I have someone else to rece you in that seat."

 Chapter 439 439 Fighting Pharder

    The whole Empire was shocked. They just found out that all the nobles in the Dragon''s side, and even the Emperor had been captured. It all happened within a day. No one could react to this piece of information, and it was toote to react. Without their lords, the Diamond Ranks couldn''t receive any order.


    It was also impossible topletely unite them all, and form a single leader since everyone thought they were the best, so it would only create chaos if they tried to unite. Not to mention they had an ego as high as the Emperor himself.


    Pharder was of course shocked to hear this news as well. It happened so quickly. No one expected the Empress to revolt. They were all too focused on Montcresia.


    Wait¡­ That was it. The Empress tried to distract them and lure them away from their lords!


    Pharder trembled in fright. That woman¡­ how could she think of this stuff. Every time he looked at her, he couldn''t predicted her thoughts or moods. She was always veiled with mystery, but even with that Pharder still looked down on her.


    Now, however, it was impossible for him to underestimate her.


    "What will her next move be? What will she do?" Her unpredictable action made him feel scared.


    In a single day, she managed to capture all the nobles and even the Emperor himself. She basically controlled the entire Empire.


    No one would riot against her, except the foolish ones. Unless they managed to unite all the Diamond Ranks and revolt together, fighting against the Empress would be a futile resistance.


    Suddenly, something crashed into his office. Bits of woods flying everywhere, and dust were all over the ce.


    "Aldred, what do you think you are doing?"


    "I am getting the job done. It''s finally my time to kill you!" Phantom Doomde pierced out of the dust cloud and went straight towards Pharder''s heart.


    Pharder stepped back to dodge, but his clothes were ripped, and a small wound appeared on his chest.


    "You''ve done it now!" Pharder grabbed something out of thin air. It was a deep dark, glowing crystal.


    Aldred frowned. "That crystal¡­ where did you find it?"


    "None of your business. Now fight me!" Pharder absorbed the mana within the crystals. Every inch of his body was filled with power, and he rushed towards Aldred. His speed was so fast, and uncontrolled that the entire building exploded before he appeared in front of Aldred.


    Pharder struck Aldred right in the face which made another sonic boom that created huge crater and sent Aldred flying 10 kilometers away.


    Aldred gritted his teeth as he was still flying in the air. Suddenly, Pharder appeared right in front of him, and punched straight down.


    With a loud sound, Aldred crashed straight down, and bore a hole 1 kilometers deep.


    "With this crystal, you are nothing in front of me!" Pharder absorbed more mana from the crystals, and gathered its power in his right fist.


    Then he mmed down which created a powerful explosion that sent dust cloud 80 KM high into the sky.


    The result of that attack was a massive crater the size of a small city. The seared red hot surface of the crater made it seemed like it was struck by an asteroid.


    In the center, Aldredy on the ground with blood on his lips.


    Aldred looked at his health points.


    Health Points: 24,551/32,580


    The attack dealt a significant damage to him.


    Pharder approached him with an Eternal Crystal in his left hand.


    "Tell me where you obtained it."


    Pharder frowned. "You are about to die, and that is the question you ask me?"


    "I know you are not supposed to be the one who should have it."


    "Ah, so you knew that old man?" Pharderughed.


    "How long ago was it. 8 years ago? I couldn''t remember the exact time, but I do remember his pathetic old face. Ah, the way he begged me to spare his grandson. I could remember it like it was yesterday. What a fond memory."


    "What did you do to him?" Aldred red.


    Pharderughed again. "I thought you''d never ask. That was the best part." He grinned. "I told my men to stab him. Over and over and over again until he die full of holes. HAHAHAHAHA!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Bastard, I will kill you!"


    "Try if you can!" Mana surged from the crystal and into his hand. He attacked, swinging his fist at Aldred.


    BOOM!


    Pharder raised his eyebrows because Aldred had actually manage to block his attack with his sword.


    Aldred shed, creating a small wound on Pharder''s finger.


    "You think this will hurt me?"


    Aldred did not reply, instead, he raised his de to his lips, and licked the blood on it.


    "What a sicko. Licking the blood of your enemy. You think that will scare me?"


    Aldred moved forward and shed Pharder''s forearm. This time, the wound was slightly bigger.


    Pharder frowned. The attack was much stronger than before. He then looked at Aldred who was licking the blood on his de again.


    "You fucker! Go to hell!" Pharder pped his hand. Suddenly, arge amount of ck fog gushed out and shrouded Aldred.


    He waspletely engulfed by the darkness, and all of his senses were turned off. All except one, his sight.


    His godly eyes glowed in the darkness.


    "Die!" Following the angry roar, a powerful fist, overloaded with unstable mana, came at him.


    Practically at the same time, Aldred stabbed his fist.


    "This won''t stop me!" Pharder used his other hand to punch Aldred in the chest.


    His fist punctured through his heart, and made Aldred spat a mouthful of blood.


    Pharderughed. "Die! Die! With this crystal, I am the most powerful!"


    The darkness faded, and Aldred fell to both knees.


    Pharder looked at him and smiled. "All that effort to obtain the treasure, and you still die in my hand. What a joke."


    Suddenly, he heard someone pping nearby. It was Aldred who watched this scene with a smile.


    "How?" Pharder looked down and saw Aldred''s bodyying on the ground. "What did you do? I killed you already."


    "My enemies asked the same thing. And the same thing happened to them afterwards."


    Pharder red at him. "What?"


    Two Phantom Doomde pierced through his chest from the back. Pharder was shocked. The attack happened out of nowhere.


    His feet was lifted from the ground. Pharder struggled to move, but he managed to absorb the mana from the crystal. He swung his fist until Aldred cut off his arm.


    "AHH!!!" Pharder breathed heavily. "My arms! They are protected by the mana. How can you¡­ how can you cut it off."


    Aldred smiled, and licked the blood on his de.


    "You¡­ your strength actually increased from licking my blood!"


    "You are almost correct. Specifically, the damage I dealt to you will be increased the more I licked your blood."


    "Humph! Even with that power, you still cannot kill me!" His arm regrow, and he punched the des out of his body.


    Aldred sighed and summoned another clone. Now there were 4 Aldred.


    They closed their eyes and abruptly opened them. "Sky Splitting Strike!"

 Chapter 440 440 Killing Pharder

    ? Four powerful attacks crashed onto him. The only thing Pharder saw was a blinding golden beam.


    "Such powerful skill!" Pharder could sensed the power within the attack was greater than anything he had received before. This meant that Aldred had the highest skill in swordmanship in the Empire. He had fought against all of them, and none could match Aldred''s technique.


    Pharder raised his arms to block while the golden light engulfed him.


    Boom!


    Right after the golden beam vanished, Pharder could barely stood on his two feet. His whole body was covered in wounds and blood. The attack left him weak, and his eyes twitched. The only thing that left them open was his will power.


    Pharder looked at the weapon in Aldred''s hand. "You cheated. That weapon is too powerful."


    "In that case, I will let you use a weapon while I use my bare hands."


    Pharder grabbed an axe out of thin air. It was a massive ck axe, and then he mmed his eternal crystal onto it. Powerful energy spread throughout the axe, and then made a channel into his arm.


    Pharder roared as he charged towards Aldred with the axe in his grasp raised high in the air.


    "Triple Axe Strike!"


    Pharder connected three attacks together at once. It was so fast that it seemed like he attacked three times for every movement.


    Aldred was calm. He had been fighting every single day for the past two years. Not much could shock him anymore. He had fought against something weaker and something far stronger than him. He had seen his enemies using tricks, wit, or pure power to try to defeat him.


    In the end, they all died. This wouldn''t be any different.


    In the next instant, a ming sword appeared in Aldred''s hand. It was created using his own spell. He raised the sword to block the axe, but it went through because the me was not solid.


    "Foolish!" Pharder grinned and struck his shoulder.


    Aldred smiled and thrust the ming sword into his chest. And then magic circles appeared everywhere and fired fire needles at an rming speed.


    Despite being able to damage his opponent, Aldred was wounded as well. He retreated 5 steps and looked at his left arm. It was cut off from the shoulder. But it immediately regrow anew.


    Pharder was covered in fire needles like porcupine. He wasn''t really hurt by it, but more like annoyed. He roared and all the needles disappeared while the magic circles in the air shattered.


    "Is this all you got? Are you nothing without your sword?"


    Aldred scoffed. "Why don''t I show you then."


    mes burst out of his feet, and Aldred rushed towards Pharder at a high speed. His whole body ignited into mes, and Aldred punched Pharder in the face.


    "You''ve done it now!" Pharder swung to Aldred''s shoulder, but he dodged it.


    He swung again, but Aldred managed to dodge easily. Pharder was enraged and kept attacking, and yet Aldred kept on missing the attack.


    It was as if Aldred could see through his movement.


    Aldred smiling as he activated his godly eyes. He already knew how, where, and when Pharder will attack.


    He ducked as an axe went to his neck. He then rolled to the side, as the axe quickly changed direction.


    Aldred opened his palm and then mmed it towards Pharder''s leg. "me Jet!"


    A powerful burst of fire went out of Aldred''s palm and sted Pharder''s left leg.


    Pharder leaped away, but when hended, his leg could barely held his own weight.


    Gritting his teeth, Pharder red at Aldred.


    "You said I was nothing without my sword. But you can''t even defeat me with an Eternal Crystal in your hand."


    Pharder trembled in rage, and then shed forward. A powerful arc of energy went straight towards Aldred.


    Aldred stepped to the side. The arc sliced a strand of his hair, but that was it.


    Pharder sent more arcs towards Aldred. Left and right. Horizontal and vertical.


    Aldred simply stepped to the left, ducked, and jumped.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    The hills behind him were cut open though.


    "It''s time to end this," Aldred said.


    Raising his hand, gigantic magic circles began to appear in the sky.


    Pharder was shocked to see this. Even though he wasn''t a magician, he had magician friends, and had studied some of their books to understand that to create massive magic circle such as this would require a massive amount of mana.


    Aldred had always been a weird one. He could use swords, but he also used spells. And of course Pharder had heard about his undead and golem army.


    Only now did he realized that Aldred wasn''t even using his full power to attack him.


    "Is he mocking me? He can kill me any time, but he wanted to make me feel I have a fighting chance. Is this what he wanted?"


    "Are you prepared to die?" Aldred asked.


    Pharder took a deep breath. "You can''t kill me."


    "We will see about that."


    Aldred bring his hand down, and all the gigantic magic circles in the sky began to rain fire javelin, fire fist, fire balls, and fire arrows at Pharder. It was an endless amount, and even the size of the fire arrows were as big as a carriage.


    Pharder mmed his the butt of his axe to the ground, and a protective barrier appeared around him. The barrier fed off the energy from his life force, and his life force got its energy from the Eternal Crystal.


    The Eternal Mana Crystal contain endless power. It could sustain the barrier until the end of time. But, his body couldn''t sustain it. Every attack blocked by the barrier was another toll taken to his body.


    Each attack however was like a mountain being mmed into him.


    And his body proved to be unable to block such an attack for a very long time.


    A crack appeared on the barrier. It gotrger andrger. Pharder gritted his teeth and forced himself to hold on, but eventually, the barrier shattered, and all fire arrows, fire javelin, fire balls, and fire fist crashed onto him.


    BOOM!


    The impact shot out a dust cloud. Aldred stopped the spell, and pped the dust cloud away.


    There, he saw Pharder lying on the ground with a huge fire arrow on his stomach.


    Pharder weakly gazed at Aldred.


    "You shouldn''t have taken the crystal from him." Aldred grabbed the Eternal Mana Crystal and put it in his inventory.


    "That old man. He was a nice guy with a sick grandchild. His daughter left him in that small vige. Can''t you see his suffering?"


    "Everyone suffers, Aldred. We are all just blinded by our own."


    "Some people suffers more than others."


    Pharder let out a smallugh. "A man who lost his arms, or a man who doesn''t have arms since he was born. Which one suffers more?"


    "What kind of question is this?"


    "Never mind. Do what you have to do. Put an end to me. I have failed because I am weak. That''s all there is to it."


    Aldred breathed in. He recalled the moment the first time he met Pharder. For a long time, Aldred had expected Pharder to die in his hand. He had imagined this scene numerous times.


    But now that it happened, he couldn''t help but felt a little dissatisfied.


    The fight was too easy.


    But he wouldn''t make a mistake of sparing his enemy. That would make him a fool.


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and raised it high. "This will be ourst meeting, Pharder."


    "So be it."


    STAB!

 Chapter 441 441 The Next Step

    Aldred looked at Pharder who''s eyes were open yet there was no life inside. Pulling his de, Aldred sighed as he looked at the corpse. The wind blew, but it didn''t bring his heavy feeling away.


    He was slightly confused. Pharder had been his enemies for a long time, and he yearned to kill him. He was also enraged to find out that the old man was killed by Pharder.


    And yet, he still felt empty inside. The victory was too easy to obtain.


    "Haish, I shouldn''t be too dramatic about this. I killed my enemy, now is time for the next step."


    "Is everything done, Aldred?" Ste appeared out of thin air.


    She had stayed hidden far away because Aldred wanted to fight Pharder alone. Ste was fine with that since she understood that Aldred had bad blood against him.


    Aldred nodded. "Where are the others?"


    "They are in a safe ce. This war is dangerous for everyone. Since they are not Diamond Ranks yet, they have to keep hiding."


    "That''s good. A lot of Diamond Ranks will die. I cannot let them join this war when they are not yet ready."


    "It will end quickly. The Empress guaranteed it."


    "I know. I trust her judgment. So what''s next? Did she say anything."


    "She need you toe back after you finish your business." Ste looked at Pharder. "From what I see, I think you have finished it."


    "I do. Let''s go back."


    Aldred tore a portal, and entered it with Ste. They then appeared inside a living room of which Edeline was there, sitting as she enjoyed her cup of tea.


    "Are you done?" Edeline asked.


    "I am." Aldred nodded. "So what do we do next?"


    "The object that you called ''Steering Wheel''. It is still in the Emperor''s hand. I did not take it from him yet, since I thought you would want to do the honor."


    "I appreciate that."


    "Would you like to do it now?"


    "Not yet. I want to keep itst. What I want to know is the next step to solidify the throne."


    "You want to be Emperor?" Edeline asked.


    "Yes."


    "Then I shall be your Empress. Just like what I have promised."


    "I wouldn''t say no to that." Aldred smiled.


    Ste sighed. "If Mareona was here, she would smack you in the head."


    "Hehe."


    Edeline stood up. "Our next move is to convince the Diamond Ranks to side with us."


    "How are we nning to do that?"


    "You are the key to this n."


    "Just tell me what needs to be done."


    Edeline smiled. "Kill 10 Diamond Ranks."


    "Uhh. I thought I heard the word ''convince''. Did I hear it wrong?"


    "To convince stone-headed people like them. You have to hit them hard enough to crack their mind. I want you to kill 10 Diamond Ranks, and make it as easy as possible. Effortless like you could kill as many of them you wanted."


    "I can do that."


    "You will need some of my treasure."


    "That won''t be necessary."


    Edeline raised an eyebrow. "Are you nning to use my ring?"


    "Nope. By the way, I haven''t really used it much."


    "That''s good. I intended you only to use it when your life are truly threatens."


    "So, who do you want me to kill?"


    "You can pick anyone you wanted. Currently, they are in the front line. The Montcresia has sent their heroes, and the Dragons could not return back to Ceraisian Empire because their lords are captured. They are sitting ducks, Aldred. Enemiese from both sides. There is only two options. To die, or to join me."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "But their ego doesn''t let them choose the obvious choice," Aldred said.


    "That is correct. This is why your role will y a big part in my n."


    "I will get it done. Wait here."


    "Should Ie with you?" Ste asked.


    "Nope. I can do it alone." Aldred smiled.


    Ste sighed. "Just say that you wanted to fight Diamond Ranks."


    Aldredughed. "You know me so well."


    Edeline stood up and approached Aldred with a smile. She put her hands over his neck, and kissed him. "Be careful out there, my Emperor."


    "I shall return safely, dear." Aldred vanished.


    "So just like that. You be one of his wives now?" Ste asked.


    "You might not know this, but the first sex he ever had was with me."


    "What???" Ste''s mouth went wide open. "Are you serious? With you? The first time? I thought his first time was Mary."


    Edeline nodded. "I thought so as well. But he was a virgin when I did it with him."


    "I learned something new." Steughed.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Aldred was sneaking up on a castle that was recently built. Diamond Ranks had high pride. They wouldn''t stay inside a simple buildings. They needed 1 hectare ofnd just to build their castle, and thousands of people to maintain its cleanliness.


    Sneaking through the guards and the workers were easy.


    What Aldred had to be careful of was the Diamond Rank''s detection spell.


    His current target was named Trum Gorelight. He was one of the strongest Diamond Ranks in the Empire. It could be said he was one of the top 10 strongest Diamond Rank.


    Aldred wanted to send a message, and he wanted to send a loud one.


    What''s a better way to do that than killing their strongest pir?


    Aldred turned into a fly and entered a luxurious room. He thought it was a hall, but apparently, it was the office.


    An old man sat there, meditating, levitating, with blue orbs circling around him. He looked so ancient, so ethereal, and so powerful.


    Trum Gorelight was a powerful and mysterious magician. Rumors said that his power did not purelye from mana of this world, but something else as well.


    "I see you there," the old man said. His voice was ancient and deep. From the information Aldred received with his eyes, he knew that this man was around one thousand years old.


    "I presume you are here to kill me."


    Aldred morphed back into his human form andnded on both feet. "Unfortunately, yes."


    "Unfortunately?" The old man asked.


    "You looked like a man who had experienced everything in life. A lot of people must have wanted to hear your life story. So, it is unfortunate that you have to die in my hand."


    Trum threw his head back andughed. "You are the first to say that. Out of the millions of people that tried to kill me, you are the most amusing. The world offers so much more. I haven''t experienced everything yet."


    "Have you went to other continents?"


    "I have."


    "What it''s like over there?"


    "A lot of powerful beings like me roam around there like ants. I was considered mid at best. But here, I was treated like a god. I wish I can be stronger, but here is the limit of my talent."


    The old man turned his gaze towards him. "You are different. I can''t see it."


    "What?"


    "Your limit. I cannot see it. I can tell someone''s talent at a nce. But not you."


    "I take that as a good thing. Anyway, enough chit-chatting. I am here to kill you, and I have prepared your coffin as well."


    Arge, wooden coffin appeared beside him.


    The old man looked at the coffin and then smiled.

 Chapter 442 442 Trum Gorelight

    "A coffin for me?" Trum, the old man, asked.


    "Yep. This coffin cost me a lot to buy, so we better not put it to waste, right?"


    "HAHAHAHA!" The old manughed. "You truly are amusing. I like you, young man. I really do."


    Aldredughed as well. "Would you get in the coffin if I asked you to?"


    "You need to do more than asking, child."


    The old man''s eyes suddenly shone in blue, and the blue orbs erge. The inside of the orbs was a spinning water. It looked like some sort of well.


    The old man moved his hand around, and siphoned off powerful magic energy from these well.


    Aldred frowned. The mana he felt from the well was different than the mana from this world.


    The mana pulsed in the air, but the old man did not absorb it, instead, he manipted the energy, and turned it into lightning that struck towards Aldred.


    BOOM!


    The entire half of the castle waspletely destroyed by that one attack.


    "You''re fast," Trum said to Aldred who managed to dodge his attack.


    "You''re just too slow, old man."


    Trum let out a smallugh as a lightning struck towards Aldred consecutively.


    Aldred ducked down, a bolt of lightning passed by his head. He tilted his neck to the side, and a bolt almost caught him by the ear. He turned, he rolled, and side stepped.


    His movement was graceful as if he was dancing. Trum frowned, wondering how this young boy able to dodge all of his attack.


    "Dragon lightning!" The lightning bolt gathered into onerge shape of a dragon, and it flew towards Aldred, spreading its ws wide.


    Aldredughed. He spun and shed. me came out of his de and formed into a dragon that charged forward.


    The two dragon. One me and one lightning shed against each other, creating arge explosion that leveled the entire city.


    Aldred stood on rubbles. In front of him, Trum was floating calmly.


    "You are tougher than you look," Aldred said.


    "Many have underestimated me before," the old man replied.


    "I never underestimate my opponent." Aldred raised his sword and looked at the Spirit Meter.


    The Spirit Meter was a unique energy of the Phantom Doomde that he could use to cut soul. He hadn''t use his it for a while, because it wasn''t necessary. But now seemed to be the right time.


    Aldred shed forward. "Spirit sh!"


    Aldred''s whole body radiated out a faint red light.


    "I may be a magician, but it would be your mistake to shorten the distance too soon!"


    "Lightning Wall!"


    A wall of lightning burst forth in front of him. Trumughed, thinking that the boy would receive significant damage from the lightning wall.


    To his shock however, Aldred''s sword passed through the lightning wall. And not only that, his whole body passed through as well.


    Trum Gorelight was shocked, but he reacted quickly, tilting his head back.


    The tip of the de passed through his finger.


    The wall of lightning vanished.


    Trum looked at his left pinky. He couldn''t move it nor feel it. "You cut the soul of my pinky?"


    Aldred did not reply, instead, he rushed forward and attacked again.


    "Spirit sh Twice!"


    Trum, now realizing the danger of the attack, retreated immediately. However, Aldred was too fast, and his de managed to cut off the soul of his left foot.


    Aldred attacked again. "Spirit sh Thrice!"


    This time, Aldred struck the old man''s thigh.


    Trum growled. "You think cutting off my limbs will assure you of victory? I am a magician. My limbs has nothing to do with my power."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Aldred smiled as he raised his de. A white outline blinked into existence around his de.


    This was Spirit Outline. There were three type: White, Orange, and Red. From left to right, every outline give significantly more damage, speed, strength, and reflexes boost to him.


    If he could get it to red, he could surely kill anything in Diamond Ranks with ease.


    Aldred attacked again. He was relentless with his attack. shing left, right, up, and down.


    Trum learned from his mistake and he grew artificial muscles from his body. It was weird that all of a sudden, an enormous arm grew on top of the old man''s shoulder, blocking Aldred''s attack.


    When the soul of the arm died, Trum reced it. He used this technique over and over again.


    The old manughed. "Your de can get through anything, but it''s useless if it can''t touch me."


    "Yeah?" Aldred smiled, raising his de. The outline blinked from orange to red.


    Trum frowned. He did not understand what was the meaning of the color on Aldred''s sword.


    "It''s my time to attack. Summon: Angelic Lightning!"


    Powerful lightning sted from the orbs that were floating around Trum, and it created two 5 meter tall angels of lightning.


    The angels had two pair of wings and a pair of sword.


    Their eyes were full of electricity as they stared at Aldred.


    They shed forward, leaving a trail of lightning behind their wake, and then they shed at him.


    "Lateral Step sh!"


    Aldred step to the side, dodging the attack, and shing the angel''s arm.


    The other angel swung at him, and just as the lightning de struck his head, Aldred activated another technique.


    "Foresight sh!"


    His whole body became ethereal for a fraction of a second as he slid backward, and then dashed forward swinging his ded down.


    The lightning angel was cut into two, and it vanished. The other angel that lost one of its arm swung its de at him.


    "Spirit Round sh." Aldred spun, easily dodging the attack, and cut the angel in half from the waist.


    Suddenly, he heard a shout from the old man. "Power Smite!"


    The orbs shot blue lightning bolt towards Aldred. Aldred dodged it, and they went passed him, but suddenly, the lightning crashed against each other, turned into a golden lightning bolt, and flung itself towards Aldred''s back.


    Aldred was surprised by this, but he dodged without any problem. To his eyes, the lightning bolt was as slow as a snail.


    Suddenly, as the golden lightning bolt passed him, it yet again jolted directly at him.


    "A living lightning bolt?" Aldred continued to dodge, ducking and rolling.


    Trum Gorelightughed.


    "You think this one lightning bold is enough to defeat me, old man?"


    "Who said I only have one?"


    Thousands of lightning bolt shed out of the orb and they condensed together, creating numerous golden bolt that homed towards Aldred.


    With hundreds of lightning bolting at him from every direction, his movement became even more impossible.


    After dodging a few more minute, he got enough of it.


    "Get in here!" Aldred opened a portal in front of him of which the lightning bolt entered identally. He closed it immediately before charging towards the old man.


    "Impressive."


    "Wait, until I cut open your skull. That will be more impressive."


    Trum Gorelight smiled and they shed against each other. The old man with his lightning, and Aldred with his de and me. Their sh thundered the earth, and they fought for hours.


    After enough time, Aldred decided to activate that spell.


    "Dragon''s gaze!" His eyes turned golden and a powerful aura burst out of him.


    Trum Gorelight froze in ce. "What in the world?"

 Chapter 443 443 According To Plan

    Trum Gorelight couldn''t believe what he just saw. "That pair of eyes¡­ Isn''t that the mythical object in many tale? How did you have it?"


    "Someone gave it to me." Aldred rushed forward, de held directly at Trum.


    "Time to die, old man. Spirit Thrust!" Aldred''s body shone with red light, and his speed increased by ten times.


    Trum struggled to move. He could not dodge the attack because his whole body refused to move. Fractions of a secondter, the de pierced his stomach, and through the back.


    The old man spat out a mouthful of blood. Aldred pulled the de, spun, and leaped into the air. Trum looked at the young man who was in the air, staring at him with the intention to kill. But there was no hatred or resentment in his eyes.


    It was simply business.


    "SPIRIT DOWNWARD SLASH!"


    SHEEEENG!!!


    Aldred shed down, creating a vertical, thin, red line that went through Trum''s body right in the center.


    The old man widened his eyes as his breath were sucked out. His eyes flickered, and then he fell to the ground. The orbs fell along with him and they shattered.


    "That one is a hard fight."


    Aldred knelt down and rummaged around the old man''s clothes, looking for any treasure. He found some Epic-grade items, and even a few Legendary treasures.


    This old man had lived for a long time, so of course he had some Legendary Item with him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ancient Magician''s Earrings (Legendary)]


    -Increase mana maniption by 1200%


    -Increase Elemental Spell mastery by 1200%


    Passive:


    -Condensation: preventing the wide-spread of energy within your spell to increase its damage even further.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred''s lips curled into a smile. "This isn''t bad." He wore it on both of his ear, and then summoned a mirror. His handsome face seemed even more dignified after wearing the earrings. He looked like royalty.


    "Nice. I wonder if I can get more legendary items from the other Diamond Ranks."


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the Diamond Ranks that were watching this battle from far away was shocked out of their mind.


    As Diamond Ranks, they not only trained in offensive and defensive spells and abilities, but also auxiliaries abilities as well. These abilities weren''t very useful for fighting directly, but they were used to gather information either through charm, espionage, trickery, hallucination, and whatnot.


    And it was very hard to detect these auxiliaries spell when you were fighting.


    That was why they could watch Aldred''s battle from beginning to end. They all thought that Trum Gorelight would win. He was a powerful magician with powerful control over lightning. There was a story when Trum was young he fought against a Diamond Rank and managed to kill them with a single strike.


    His lightning was so fast and so powerful that even a single strike could kill a Diamond Rank. Because of his old age, he even helped some people to be Diamond Ranks and they considered him to be their master.


    For such a figure to die¡­ the world seemed to flip over.


    "Trum Gorelight is dead? That old man¡­ he was supposed to outlive this generation as well."


    "It''s because of that Aldred. He killed Trum."


    "What do we do next?"


    "The Montcresian are sending their heroes, and the Empress wouldn''t let us return to Ceraisian. We are trapped from both sides."


    "What if we go to Thignia?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Are you dumb? That''s thend of vampire. I have better chance to join Montcresia. At least they are still human."


    "So there are only three option? Join Montcresia or the Empress?"


    "No. In reality, there are only two. Join the Empress or die."


    The Diamond Ranks shook when they heard that.


    Zehmud Dihle, Lord Athar''s right arm, frowned when he heard of this news. "Even Master Trum Gorelight is killed. This Aldred is not an ordinary enemy."


    He had to re-arrange his ns. Sending the Diamond Ranks seemed to be a foolish idea since the Empress clearly had his back. But if the Dragons did not do anything, the other Diamond Ranks would began to join the Phoenix''s side.


    "Empress Edeline, what a fine woman you are. To be able to think this far, your wisdom are truly impressive."


    ¡­


    Aldred used telekinesis to lift Trum Gorelight''s body, and he put it inside the coffin.


    Looking at the dead body, Aldred said: "I wanted to say may your soul rest in peace, but your soul is already in pieces."


    Aldred''s ultimate attack did not harm the body, rather, it destroyed the soul itself. The source of life, will, intention, desire, and even power. The brain was merely the steering wheel. It was the soul that truly had the control.


    To date, Aldred did not know if there was a defensive spell against a soul attack. There might be treasure for it, but he doubted it. A soul attack was almost unheard of, so the chance to find a treasure that could defend against it would be very rare.


    Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the ground 20 meters away from Aldred. A man appeared out of the bolt. He was a tall man with tight-fitting clothes, and currently, he was ring at Aldred.


    "You killed him! Bastard! You killed him!!!"


    "Sorry, is he your father or something?" Aldred asked.


    "He''s more than a father to me!" Electricity crackled around the man''s body, then he kicked the ground, bursting with speed as he charged towards Aldred.


    Aldred sighed. "Dragon''s Gaze!"


    The man suddenly froze in ce, and then Aldred appeared behind him, thrusting Phantom Doomde through the back.


    "Death Aura!"


    The man trembled as his eyes became dark. All kinds of horror filled his mind. He held his head and screamed.


    "AHHHH!"


    "You''re a low-level Diamond Rank, but I will take you as my first Diamond Rank undead."


    Aldred wanted to make Trum Gorelight as his undead, but the old man already lost his soul, so it was impossible to turn him into undead. He could animate its corpse, however, it wouldn''t have any of its original power.


    Aldred stabbed the man''s neck, killing him instantly. Dark fog engulfed the man, and then transformed him into his undead form.


    The man knelt. "Master, this Zunescin Pomeste is yours tomand."


    Once again, the Diamond Ranks that spied on this ce was shocked. Not only did Aldred killed Trum Gorelight''s student with such ease, he could also turn him into undead with its original power.


    They could feel Zunescin''s power did not reduce one bit. In fact, they even felt his power increasing when he became an undead.


    Now, they truly couldn''t ignore this and had to acted quickly. They believed that Aldred was sending a message to them.


    Aldred could kill them anytime he wanted, and even if they refused to join him, and chose to die instead, he could simply turn them into his loyal undead.


    Nobody wanted to be an undead. Especially not the Diamond Ranks.


    The next day, thousands of Diamond Ranks began to calmly walked towards the Royal pce and bowed towards the Empress.


    They swore their allegiance towards her. Some even killed their former lord who was locked in the dungeon by the Empress to prove their loyalty.


    All in all, it went ording to Edeline''s n.

 Chapter 444 444 Let The Subordinates Fight

    Aldred sat inside a cave. He was told to hide from the detection of other Diamond Ranks. The cave was protected by anti-detection and anti-espionage spells. It would require a Legendary treasure to spy into this cave. That was the case if they could find it in the first ce which was harder than looking for a needle in a haystack.


    Sitting on a rock, Aldred held a piece of paper in his hand. It was the list of Diamond Ranks that had sword allegiance to the Empress. Suddenly, the paper elongated, and another name carved itself.


    "The n works better than I expected. Edeline told me to kill ten, but apparently one is enough."


    What Aldred did not realize was the one he killed was one of the most respected Diamond Ranks in the Empire.


    Aldred simply thought the old man was strong, but he underestimated his reputation and influence. Not to mention the scene of which he turned Zunescin Pomeste, Trum Gorelight''s disciple, into undead was mind blowing to them all.


    The idea of being killed did not scare them, but being turned into loyal undead? Even thinking about it made them shiver.


    Now Aldred was hidden in a cave that they could not find. This scared them even more. Everyone that hadn''t sword loyalty to the Empress were scared out of their wit.


    When would Aldred attack? Who would he attack? The longer he stay hidden the more anxious they became.


    Edeline was a master in maniption. Without this skill, she wouldn''t be able to create an overwhelming force under their nose for years. Having power was not just having greater quality of mana, more treasure, and better technique.


    True power came from the skill of letting others to do the work for you. Now that was true power.


    ? Aldred kept on waiting in the cave. He was told about the n, so he waited patiently. In truth, he was a bit excited at the thought of scaring the Diamond Ranks without moving a single muscle.


    "Edeline is so smart. All I have to do is sit still and yet people keeping in one by one."


    The paper kept getting longer after every hour or so. One after another, the Diamond Ranks in the Dragons began to give in.


    But after a few days, the list stopped growing.


    "Aldred," Ste''s voice came.


    "What happened?" Aldred asked.


    "Edeline need you to kill someone."


    Aldredughed. "I was waiting for you to say that. Who is it?"


    "Zehmud Dihle. He is Lord Athar''s right hand man. The one that has been sending assassins after you was him. He''s also the one who convinced the Dragons to not giving in to the Phoenix."


    "Is he strong?"


    "Not particrly, but he has strange abilities, and I heard he alsomanded a massive demon army."


    Aldred smiled. "That won''t be a problem."


    Aldred''s sword contain more than 300,000 Demon, although all of them were currently at Gold Rank. The undead that had been turned by his Phantom Doomde couldn''t level up. And when they died, they could not revive.


    The advantage, however, was that there is no limit to how much undead it could contain. Basically, the sword was useful to create a massive army of cannon fodder.


    Standing up, Aldred stretched his limbs as if he was going to do a routine workout.


    Well, killing was a routine for him, so it wasn''t wrong.


    "Zehmud Dihle, where is he?" Aldred asked.


    "I will open a portal for you."


    Right after that statement, golden light ripped out the space in front of him, and opened a portal.


    Aldred stepped in and found himself standing atop a mountain. Below him was a city which had been captured by the Dragon.


    Using his godly eyes, Aldred detected Zehmud Dihle was sitting in his office.


    It was night time. A perfect time for ambush.


    Aldred raised his hand and created a super massive magic circle in the sky. The magic circle was as wide as the city itself.


    With the [Ancient Magician''s Earrings (Legendary)], his mana maniption and elemental spell mastery increased over 1200%. So this was an easy work for him.


    Not to mention the condensation of energy would increase his damage even more.


    Taking a deep breath, Aldred stared at the city. "Red Meteor!"


    A gigantic red meteor came out of the magic circle. It was super massive, wider and bigger than the city itself.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Aldred saw the meteor falling in slow motion, but in reality, it was moving ten times faster than the speed of sound. For something thisrge and heavy to move at super sonic speed. The damage couldn''t be imagined unless it was being shown firsthand.


    And in less than a secondter, the meteor crashed onto the city with powerful explosion that shot out powerful shock wave, leveling an entire forest, hills, and even mountains.


    The mes spread in every direction, and the color of the sky began to turn red. It was like hell was brought down into this earth.


    There wasn''t a single sign of life, except for one person.


    Aldred stared at him from the distance with a grin.


    Zehmud Dihle crawled out of the ground. His clothes were tattered, and he wiped the blood on his lips.


    "I knew you would survive," Aldred said with a smile. If Zehmud died with a single attack from him, then that wouldn''t be very fun. But he could see that the spell already did a huge damage on him.


    His feet could barely stood without trembling.


    "No wonder they called you the fire monarch," Zehmud said.


    Aldred vanished and appeared 10 meters away from Zehmud.


    "I heard you have powerful demons under yourmand. Show me."


    "You think I alone isn''t enough to defeat you?"


    "Of course not," Aldred said.


    Zehmudughed. "Alright, we will see your face of regret. Demon Summon: Garmartin!"


    Huge me came aze and morphed into a 8 meter tall demon with huge built and a pair of thick, dark horn.


    The demon red at Aldred and roared.


    "Zunescin,e out."


    ck fog floated from the ground, and Zunescin stepped out in his undead form. Lightning crackled around his body.


    Zehmud frowned. "So it was true. You did transform him into undead."


    "And so what if I do?"


    "Even though we are enemies, you still need to have manners, young man."


    "I will show you manners when you can defeat me. Zunescin kill that demon."


    "Yes, Master." Zunescin shed forward. His movement was instant, and he struck the demon right in the face with a powerful fist covered in lightning.


    BOOM!


    The demon''s head shattered along with its whole body.


    In one attack, the demon waspletely annihted.


    "Seems like my subordinate is far stronger than yours." Aldredughed.


    "Humph! I still have other demons under mymand. Demon Summon: Cusintar."


    Another me came aze, but this time, a smaller and leaner demon appeared with two small de in its hand. The demon cracked its neck, and then shed forward, his movement speed was invisible to anyone below Diamond Rank.


    He shed at Zunescin only to be blocked by his lightning armor.


    And so the two of them fought against each other. Demon against undead. Lightning against me.


    "So are we going to fight ourselves?" Aldred asked Zehmud.


    "That is not my style. I prefer to let the subordinates fight for their master."


    Aldredughed. "What a pussy."


    The word angered Zehmud slightly.

 Chapter 445 445 Fighting Zehmud

    The sky thundered and shook as the battle between fire and lightning continued. It went on for a few hours, before Zunescin managed to struck the agile demon right in the face.


    With a loud explosion, the demon''s body was vaporized.


    Zehmud frowned once again. Zunescin was one of Trum Gorelight''s top disciple, but he did not expect him to be this strong.


    Aldredughed. "Is this all you got?"


    Gritting his teeth, Zehmud''s eyes turned crimson red. "I will show you my army. Demon Summon: Grand Army!"


    Suddenly, the earth trembled violently, and cracks appeared all over the ce. And then, the cracks widened as if giant hands were pushing them.


    Demons crawled out. Their bodies were red from head to toe with no hair. Their nails were ck, and those looked as sharp as a de.


    Aldred scanned the demon army and saw that most of them were Gold Ranks with a bunch of tinum Rank in the mix.


    "What a disappointment."


    "What did you say?"


    "I said what a disappointment your army is. I expected somethingrger and stronger, but this... this is child''s y."


    "Big words."


    Aldred shook his head. "Let me show you a true army."


    Raising his Phantom Doomde in the sky, the de flickered with red light and then suddenly, 300,000 demon appeared.


    "You think a mere 300,000 demons are enough to defeat my army of 5,000,000?" Zehmud sneered.


    "I am not done yet."


    A bunch of portals opened, and golems began to flood in.


    Zehmud creased his eyebrows. "How is this possible? 6 million golems?"


    Filling the entire in was an army of unfeeling golems, ready to take arms, and kill anything their master ordered them to.


    "Humph! Their materials are very cheap. At best, they have a defensive level of a Gold Rank. And There are no tinum Ranks among your demon army. You may have numbers but you are actually weaker."


    "Your tinum Rank demons will be overrun by my golems."


    "Really? What about my Diamond Rank golems? Summon Demon: Ten Sin!"


    Ten me came aze from different spot, and from each of those spot, a demon appeared.


    Zehmudughed. "Now I have ten Diamond Rank demons to back my army. You think your weak golems and demon is enough to defeat me?"


    Aldred smiled. Even though the ten demons were at Diamond Rank, their true power were still farpared to a real Diamond Rank. These demons were pseudo-Diamond Ranks at best.


    Which meant, they were slightly above tinum Rank, and right below Diamond Rank.


    That made sense, otherwise Zehmud would be one of the strongest Diamond Rank in the Empire.


    Aldred then raised his fist. "Arise."


    Suddenly, 177rge undead appeared. And they were all at tinum Ranks. These were his main undead. They were almost immortal since they would regenerate right after being hit, and they could revive if someone managed to kill them.


    After that, both Aldred and Zehmud stared at each other.


    The atmosphere was tense. After a few seconds they both shouted:


    "ATTACK!"


    The demons and undead roared, and the golems began to charge forward, raising their weapons high.


    It did not take long for both sides to sh against each other. The unfeeling fighter golem shed left and right, systematically killing everything in their path. When their arms were chomped by the demons, it regenerated back in less than a second, and the golems were back into fighting mode.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Gunner golems fired in every directions including the sky. A lot of flying demons bombarded them with fireballs, but with the golems'' increase in power, these demons were quickly turn into shreds of meat.


    The artillery golems were constantly at work, sending volleys of explosions towards the enemies. Thousands died for every second in this battle ofrge numbers.


    At hindsight, Aldred''s army seemed to take the advantage. But it all changed when the ten Diamond Rank demons began to make a move.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Large explosions ensued within the golem''s ranks, disturbing their formation, and destroyed tens of thousands of them at once. When they tried to regenerate their parts, a powerful me engulfed them and constantly melting them into liquid form.


    "Zunescin, take care of them," Aldred ordered.


    Zunescin sped his hand as electricity crackled around him. With a super sonic speed, he rushed towards the ten demon and fought them all alone.


    The sky shattered with lightning and me all over.


    But because the ten demons were preupied, Zehmud''s army were being wrecked.


    Aldred''s army could constantly regenerate and attack without end because Aldred''s mana was infinite.


    They could not tire, not need to stop, or even pause for thoughts. They were constantly hacking and shing while also being in sync with each other.


    This made it impossible for them to attack their own allies which wasmon inrge battles.


    Zehmud saw that his army was being depleted, and he did not like it at all.


    Aldred grinned when he saw Zehmud''s expression. "What now. Are you going to surrender?"


    Zehmud scoffed. "Far from it." He raised his hand, and suddenly, the demon army bulged in size. They became stronger and faster than before.


    "Oh, what a nice ability. It would do me good if you be my undead."


    "Dream on, Aldred."


    "You really think I can''t kill you, huh?"


    Raising his hand in the air, Aldred muttered: "Red Rain."


    The sky turned crimson red and giant crimson spears began to fall like rain drops. Each spear was longer than 8 meter, and they precisely struck the enemies. The precision was so scary that even enemies huddled among the golems were still got hit without hurting the golems.


    In a matter of seconds, Zehmud''s army was obliterated.


    Zehmud was shocked by this development. With a single wave of Aldred''s hand, his whole army waspletely wiped out.


    Zunescin and the ten Diamond Rank demons were still fighting, but the ten demons were at a disadvantage. Their power proved to be far below Zunescin. Aldred of course knew that since their levels, power, and quality of mana were all detected by his godly eyes.


    He basically knew his enemies better than themselves, so when he went into battle, he already knew if he had a chance to win or not.


    Despair was stered all over his face. Zehmud had never encountered something like this before. He was considered to be one of the Elite, because he could fight against two or three Diamond Ranks at once.


    "I have enough of ying this game. This time we will fight. You and me one on one!" Aldred shouted.


    "Come and get it then!" Zehmud epted the challenge.


    Aldred kicked the ground, shattering it as he flew towards Zehmud.


    Zehmud''s eyes turned deep dark, and a gray, transparent barrier blocked the attack for one second before it shattered.


    He gritted his teeth before retreating a few steps.


    "Is this all you got?" Aldred taunted.


    He stared at Aldred for a short moment. His eyes brimmed with power, and then an invisible wave erupted from them, sting toward him, which caused Aldred to back up about 5 steps.


    "Not bad." Aldred smiled.

 Chapter 446 446 Fifteen Against One

    Zehmud was about to attack again until he saw a faint light in Aldred''s eyes. Suddenly, he couldn''t even move a single inch of his muscle.


    "You¡­ What did you do to me?"


    Aldred slowly approached the man. With a smile, he put the tip of the de dangerously close to Zehmud''s neck.


    Sweat began to form on Zehmud''s forehead. "I cannot have this. How can you defeat me? You! You''re just a new Diamond Rank. I have be a Diamond Rank before you were even born."


    "Maybe that''s the limit of your talent."


    Zehmud gritted his teeth in anger. "I may be defeated but I refused to be insulted by you!"


    "What are you going to do about it?"


    That statement made him realize that he was in a hopeless situation. Aldred was right. What was he going to do about it?


    Zehmud''s face turned dark as he looked down.


    "I actually am just ying with you. Letting our subordinates fight and all that. Those things are useless if you don''t have real power yourself. Sure you can send your armies to conquer distant kingdom, but what if a powerful enemy knocked on your doorstep? I see my army as external tools, but you are delusional enough to see them as your own power."


    Aldred stared at Zehmud. "That is why you lose."


    Zehmud was silent at first, but he began to giggle. And then he burst intoughter.


    "Have you be mad?"


    Zehmud smiled. "No. I ampletely sane, and you have fallen to my trap."


    Aldred quickly stabbed his neck and beheaded him before the sky violently shook and thundered.


    Giant dark-red pirs came down and crashed onto the ground in a circle formation with Aldred in the center. Aldred vanished from the spot, sprinting away, but the pirs shot out a transparent energy that prevent him from leaving.


    Aldred touched the energy. It worked like a barrier, and he couldn''t get pass through it. He channeled his mana into his right arm and then mmed his fist into the barrier.


    Boom!


    Smoke came out of his fist, but the barrier was still intact.


    "It''s useless."


    Aldred turned around. A group of 15 Diamond Ranks floated down and gracefullynded on the ground. They all looked at him, and their intentions were very clear to Aldred¡ªthey wanted to kill him.


    So this was the trap. He smiled when he realized that somebody manage to fool the Empress. He believed Edeline was a strategist, but she wasn''t omniscience so of course she would make mistakes.


    "Killing you will make the Empress pay a huge price."


    "Then why don''t youe here and do it?" Aldred said.


    "We thought of a better option. Join us, Aldred."


    Aldred was silent for a few seconds before he burst intoughter. "Are you stupid? Join you? You''re the losing side. Don''t forget that the Dragon have tried to kill me multiple times during my journey to obtain the treasure."


    "Old wounds close, new friendship bloom."


    "The only thing that bloom is my sword up in your ass."


    "Fighting 15 of us is a death punishment. You think the Empress is on your side?"


    "Don''t try to poison me with words. I am not that naive nor foolish. I have seen many things during my journey."


    "Then you should have seen through her ploys, Aldred. Think about it. The Empress send you to Zehmud, and now you are trapped here."


    "You think the Empress wanted me death?"


    "And you really think she wanted to share the throne with you? She had enough of men telling her what to do. She is enemy to all male. She sent you here to die along with us."


    "Think about it, Aldred. You think the Empress is foolish enough for sending you to your death unless she intended to?"


    "Like I said. I wouldn''t be fooled by mere words."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "You really wanted to fight 15 of us?"


    "I can fight 15 of at once at any time of the day."


    "Arrogance! This will be your end, Aldred. I hate to dirty my own hand to do the Empress'' dirty work, but we will have to kill you here."


    "Stop trying to convince me to point my sword towards my own allies. You brute-headed fucktard are too stupid for that."


    Aldred raised his de and it flickered with red aura. Suddenly, thousands copies of him appeared and rushed towards the enemies.


    "Clones?"


    "How is this possible. All of them have the same power as the original?"


    "Wait, no. Those are fake. They don''t have the same power."


    A man took a rock and threw it at the clone, it burst into blood immediately.


    "These clones are weak, but we can''t detect which one is the real one."


    The diamond Ranks kept on killing the clones by the hundred. But each clone could create tens of copy of itself. So instead of decreasing in numbers, Aldred''s copy increased even more.


    The clones did not bring any threat by themselves, but they acted as decoys for Aldred to take an opportunity to attack.


    Suddenly, one of the Diamond Rank''s arm was cut off.


    "Fucking bastard!" The man grew the arm back, but four Phantom Doomde struck at him from different direction and powerful fire energy injected into his body. The man screamed and exploded.


    "Fuck! Stick together! Don''t let him take a chance to iste us."


    Right after that statement, a 2 meter long red spear pierced through his chest. The man quickly turned around and swung his axe, killing a hundred clones at once. But a chain began to wrap around his neck.


    "Help him!"


    The other 13 Diamond Ranks rushed towards him to help. One man pped the chain away, and rushed towards Aldred. They exchanged a few attacks, but out of nowhere, a de came swinging and cut off his arm.


    The man screamed in pain. "This pain¡­ what is this power. It''s nothing like I have ever felt before!"


    Usually, Diamond Ranks were immune to physical pain. They still could feel it, but it was more like a pinch to them. Only when they received Aldred''s attack did they feel that their heads were stirred by the pain.


    "Dragon''s Gaze!"


    A powerful pressure struck them down, giving Aldred a chance to attack. Immediately, Four Aldred beheaded four Diamond Ranks at the same time, and then vanished into the crowds of fake copies.


    "Bastard!"


    Suddenly, all the fake copies vanished, and there was only one Aldred standing 20 meters ahead of them.


    The 10 Diamond Ranks were bloodied and wounded. Aldred had asionally struck them at random to confuse who his real target was.


    Even though there were 15 of them, they werepletely yed.


    But the 10 Diamond Ranks were still confidence.


    "After all of that, you must have run out of mana to use. It doesn''t matter if you kill 5 of us, killing you will be worth it."


    "That''s the mistake you make. You see, I never run out of mana."


    "Bullshit!"


    "I have nothing to speak with you. Let me show you what I obtain from Pharder." An Eternal Mana Crystal appeared in his hand.


    The ten Diamond Ranks were shocked.


    "So it was true. Pharder really did have an Eternal Mana Crystal."

 Chapter 447 447 Promise

    The ten Diamond Ranks were speechless of what they saw. The Eternal Mana Crystal in Aldred''s hand seemed brimming with power. It was to the point where they couldn''t sense the end of it.


    Every mana crystal contain a limited amount of mana. The more you absorb it in less amount of time, the quicker it will dry. It would then take some time to replenish the crystal depending on the grade.


    Eternal Mana Crystal was only known to exist in fairy tales. Some do believe of its existence, but most Diamond Ranks thought of it as bull shit. But now they saw it with their own eyes, and they could not react properly.


    "Aldred, are you truly do not want to join us?"


    "Are you stupid? I just killed five of your friend."


    "They don''t matter. What matter is the future."


    Aldred scoffed. "I valued friendship and camaraderie. The fact that you think so lightly of your friends proved that I am already on the right side."


    "Do you really think that an Eternal Crystal is enough to kill us? Even Pharder isn''t brave enough to reveal it."


    "Because he was weak. His talent isn''t suppose to let him to break through the Diamond Rank, but he forced it with this crystal. He is the weakest among you."


    "Do not underestimate us."


    "I just killed five you right in front of your fucking eyes. You are all weak."


    They gritted their teeth in anger. No one had ever dare to talk to them like that ever since they became a Diamond Rank. Even their seniors treated them as equal, and always spoke politely.


    But this young man dared to be improper towards them?


    Insolence!


    "Let''s gather our power and kill him once and for all."


    The ten Diamond Ranks agreed, and activated their spell together, connecting with each other. The mix of energy and life force created an ever expanding colorful orb.


    Aldredughed. "Alright, let me see your desperatest attempt to survive."


    The expanding orb reached 100 meter in diameter, and then suddenly, it condensed into a smaller orb but contain the same power. And then it teleported right in front of Aldred.


    Aldred reacted quickly and smiled.


    BOOM!


    The power explosion created a st that knocked all the Diamond Ranks into the barrier. The Diamond Ranks defended themselves with all kinds of treasures but they all cracked and then shattered. Even the barrier showed a little bit of cracks.


    After a few seconds, the powerful energy finally disappeared. The ten Diamond Ranks were battered and their clothes could barely be discern as clothes anymore.


    With a quick wave of their hand, their clothes were reced with new ones.


    "Did we get him?"


    When the dust settled they saw Aldred was still standing while closing his eyes.


    Opening one eye, Aldred said: "Oh, it''s over already? I got bored so I took a short nap."


    "How did you do that? Even the barrier almost crack because of ourbined power."


    The Eternal Mana Crystal on Aldred''s hand flickered.


    "Pharder is too weak to use the crystal''s full potential. He couldn''t even take a tiny amount of mana before his body couldn''t take it. But I can absorb a huge amount without any problem. So, do you see the problem you are in right now?"


    Aldred stared at them. "It is your mistake to put this barrier and entered it. You need to see this differently. I am not trapped in here with you. YOU ARE TRAPPED HERE WITH ME!"


    Aldred mmed the crystal onto his de and it absorbed a crazy amount of mana at once. It absorbed so many mana that it began to shook violently. Aldred held on tight, and then with a roar, shed towards the enemies.


    Basked in me, the Phantom Doomde shone and then sent an arc of fire towards the enemies.


    "Earth Barrier!"


    "Wind Blockade!"


    "Water Elemental: Wall of Ice!"


    "Fiery Wall!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    They used all kinds of spell to defend against the attack, but the arc of me devoured through everything in its path.


    The Diamond Ranks widened their eyes, and they failed to react as the me began to devour them as well.


    They vaporised,pletely erased without the slightest trace. The only proof of their battle was the destruction they had incurred towards thendscape.


    "Hmmm, I shouldn''t have done that. They could be a good undead. And most importantly¡­ I can''t loot their treasure."


    The me even manage to devour the five Diamond Ranks that he killed earlier.


    But At least I got Zehmud. Earlier, when Aldred beheaded the man, Aldred immediately turned him into undead. So now, he had Zehmud as a loyal undead who could summon arge army of demon for him at any time of the day.


    That would be useful in the future if he wanted to conquer kingdoms and empires.


    Aldred then sent a telepathy to Ste, telling her that the job is done.


    A secondter, Ste appeared right beside him.


    She looked around and nodded. "Quite the damage you''ve done here."


    "Yeah, well I was fighting against 15 Diamond Ranks."


    "What???"


    "Why didn''t you ask for help? The Empress has prepared 100 Diamond Ranks to your aids if you couldn''t take the mission. She wanted to send you alone to give the enemy a message, but if you can''t do it, then we can pull you back. The 100 Diamond Ranks are on standby and ready toe to you at any time."


    "Hmmm, why didn''t she tell me that. I didn''t let her, because I knew you love fighting. But¡­ I did not expect you could even kill 15 Diamond Ranks. They are not Gold Rank, but Diamond Ranks!"


    "It should take me a while to kill all of them, but I have this now." Aldred showed her the Eternal Mana Crystal.


    "No wonder. I thought you would decide not to use them."


    "I don''t want to at first, but the fight is just too boring."


    Steughed. "Even you found the fight as boring? A fighting maniac like you?"


    "What can I say? They truly are boring."


    "Maybe you will found someone you can find as interesting."


    "The only fight that interest me is with that robotdy. I forgot her name."


    "The one that Thinker brought?"


    "Yeah, that one."


    "They are out of your league now Aldred. You are at Diamond Ranks now. They won''t bother you anymore."


    "I would prefer it if they do, so I canpletely crush them with my hand."


    Steughed. "Alright, tough guy."


    "Ste," Aldred called. "Do you think we can trust the Empress?"


    Ste looked at him. "Why do you ask? You know her more than I do."


    "I am just looking for a new perspective."


    "I have looked into her. Mary seemed to trust her so much, and so does Bartrem. She was like their idol."


    "I know." Aldred nodded. "But, do you think she would share her power with me?"


    "Power?" Ste burst intoughter. "Aldred, do you really want to stay in this continent and rule the Ceraisian Empire? Or do you want to go out there and explore the other continent? Remember your promise to me."


    "What was it again?"


    Ste pouted. "You promised to bring me to every continent in this world. I wanted to map every inch of it."


    "Right¡­"

 Chapter 448 448 Killing The Former Emperor

    "So what now? Who do I need to kill?" Aldred asked.


    "I don''t think you need to kill anybody. Not yet at least."


    Aldred sighed. "That''s no fun."


    "Come on. Killing isn''t your only hobby, right?"


    "Of course." Aldred smiled as he wrapped his hand around Ste''s waist and pulled her closer into him.


    Ste flicked his nose. "Not now."


    Aldred giggled. "Alright."


    "Let''s get back to the pce first."


    They immediately teleported back into the pce. This time, they visited the throne hall where Empress Edeline stood and walked down the steps the moment they appeared.


    "So what now, Edeline?"


    "What now? It''s over already. We won. The Dragons have sumbed to us."


    "Really?"


    Edeline nodded.


    "That''s just too easy."


    Edeline sighed. "I don''t think killing 15 Diamond Ranks alone is easy. Especially not to someone who just be a Diamond Rank."


    "It''s all in a day''s work." Aldredughed.


    Ste let out a bitter smile when she heard that. If she didn''t know the soft side of him, she would think of him as a killer maniac.


    "Would you like to sit on your throne?" Edeline asked.


    "Not yet. Where are my friends?"


    "They are in a secret pce. Since they are below Diamond Ranks, our enemies might take hostage of them. Everyone knows they are your weakness Aldred. The moment their location are known that is when we should really worry."


    "Thank you, Edeline. I owe you a lot."


    "No, Aldred. It is I who owed you a lot. So what would you like to do now?"


    "I want to take my steering wheel. Where is the Emperor?"


    "He''s no longer the Emperor. You are."


    Aldred smiled. "What was his name again? You know what, I don''t care. From now on, I will call him A Piece of Shit."


    They traveled to the dungeon. At the entrance, a guard bowed deeply at the sight of the Empress herself.


    "Your Majesty the Empress!"


    Edeline pointed towards Aldred. "Greet him as well. He is your new Emperor."


    The guard widened his eyes. He did it so abruptly that they almost popped out of their socket. "The.... The Emperor! Yes, this guard greet the new Emperor."


    "Uhh, you don''t have to do that. I am not veryfortable with this type of formality."


    Edeline giggled. "You''ll have to get used to it."


    The guard was even more shocked. He had been working for the Royal Pce for 40 years and he had never seen the Empress cracked a smile.


    But now she even giggled andughed in front of this new Emperor? The guard took a careful look at the face of the new Emperor.


    He then realized something. This man was one of the most talked figure in the Ceraisian Empire. It was said that the Dragons tried to kill him while he was in his journey to obtain the treasure.


    But he was here. Alive. Well, and even became Diamond Rank. Last but not least, he even became the Emperor.


    So he survived against the chase of the Dragon!


    The guard looked at him fully with admiration and respect. No one could be alive when the Dragon was determined to kill them off. Usually, the Empress would retaliate, but still, the target would always be taken down.


    And yet they failed to take down this one man.


    No man on earth was worthy enough for the throne and the Empress, but this man... he believed this man was worthy enough.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Hello?" Ste waved her hand in front of the guard''s face.


    The guard jolted back into reality, realizing what he did, he quickly bowed again. "I am sorry, your majesty. Please punish me for my insolence!"


    "No need. We all feel tired at work sometimes," Aldred said. "Now, please show me the way to the Piece of Shit--I mean the former Emperor."


    "R--right this way, your majesty."


    The guard guided them inside the dungeon. It was dark and narrow. So narrow they couldn''t walk side by side.


    And the wall, it wasn''t bad at first, but the deeper they went, the more disgusting it get. Moss, dirt, stain, and even blood.


    After walking for a few more minutes, Aldred even saw rats.


    He looked at the small jail cells. The cells were small, but there were a lot of people inside, cramped like fish.


    After using his godly eyes, he realized that all of them were nobles.


    Nobles were put in this disgusting jail cell! The Empress were truly cruel to his enemy. At least with Aldred, he would simply kill them.


    But this... this is torture for the nobles since they were used to be treated like gods.


    Now they were sleeping with rats.


    At the deepest end of the dungeon, there was a door. The guard opened it and Aldred sensed a reek of disgusting smell.


    The Piece of Shit was lying there on the ground with his rat piss and shit.


    "You really are a Piece of Shit."


    The former Emperor opened his eyes and red at Aldred. "It''s you. It''s all you! Because of you everything went wrong! I should have killed you the moment the guards bring you in the throne room. If not for Edeline who convinced me otherwise, this wouldn''t have happened!"


    Aldred smiled."It''s funny how you me others for your downfall. If you return me my steering wheel that time, you wouldn''t be in this position right now."


    "Steering wheel... that damned thing."


    "Give it back to me."


    "After all you have done, you think I will simply give it back to you."


    "HAHAHAHA." Aldredughed. "Oh please, the longer you refuse the happier I am. It just means I can torture you a lot longer."


    A sharp sheen appeared on Aldred''s eyes. The former Emperor trembled. Something about those pair of eyes told him that he would regret doing this. That he better off chose to die rather than facing what this man would do to him.


    After much hesitation, the Emperor took out a spatial bag.


    Aldred scoffed. "Cowards." He raised his Phantom Doomde.


    "No wait. Spare me! Pleas--"


    SLASH!


    His head rolled on the ground.


    Edeline looked at the head with a little bit of relief because she finally get rid of her enemy. The Emperor wasn''t a particrly a smart one. His power was mere illusion. The true enemies were the nobles.


    But the Emperor still acted as the symbol. As long as he was on the throne, the nobles could work together.


    Now that he was death, there was no one to unite them anymore.


    Edeline could finally began her n to reform the Empire. To be a peace loving civilization.


    Grabbing the spatial bag, Aldred took out his steering wheel.


    He stared at it and caressed it. "It''s been a while."


    He sighed. "I finally got my steering wheel back."


    "What is it for?" Edeline asked.


    "It''s a secret." Aldred smiled. "But maybe I will show you."


    Edeline smiled. Aldred always had a little mystery about him. His identity, and howe hended on the harem''s bathroom. And why was he so talented, powerful, and able to master all kinds of elements and techniques.


    She yearned to know the answer, but she wanted to do it slowly. It wouldn''t be fun if all the answers simplyy bare in her eyes.

 Chapter 449 449 Meeting The Parents?

    Aldred kept staring at the Steering Wheel.


    "What is it? Why is this thing so important to you?" Ste asked after a while.


    Smiling, Aldred replied: "This is the key to return home. I am finally worthy to return home."


    Ste recalled meeting Aldred''s mother the first time. She was still at the top of Mount Fargon, and she sensed that Aldred could alter the course of the future itself.


    If someone like that appeared, she took it to herself to remove them because it would bring destruction to this continent. But Aldred''s mother came and threatened her.


    Thankfully, Aldred did not want to bring destruction to this continent. He just wanted to explore and had an adventure.


    "So, will you return now?"


    "I am nning to."


    "Are you going to bring us with you?"


    "Of course. I want all of you to meet my parents."


    "In that case, let me bring you to where your friends are," Edeline said.


    She grabbed an emblem out of her pocket and threw it in the air. The emblem floated and slowly spun. It shone slightly and then shattered, creating a portal in its ce.


    "Come inside." Edeline stepped in.


    Aldred and Ste followed.


    After entering the portal, they arrived at some sort of garden. The sun was shining in the sky. Clouds were bare, but the view was beautiful with forest and mountains.


    "Aldred!"


    Aldred turned around and saw his wives running towards him and jumped for a hug. Aldred hugged them back with a smile.


    Mary inspected him up and down. "So, are you okay? I heard from the Empress that you are on a dangerous mission."


    "I am fine. Who do you think I am? Even 15 Diamond Ranks could barely scratch my clothes."


    "Fifteen? Did you fought against fifteen Diamond Ranks at once?"


    "Uhhh¡­ Maybe."


    "Alright, I did," Aldred said after his wives looked at him with knowing face.


    "And you won?"


    "I wouldn''t be here if I didn''t."


    "Aldred¡­ aren''t you a little too overpowered?"


    Scratching his cheek, Aldred said: "I guess so. But I can fight all of them because of this."


    Aldred showed them the Eternal Mana Crystal.


    "I obtained this from killing Pharder. It''s an Eternal Mana Crystal, known to has limitless energy."


    His wives looked at the crystal as if it was a treasure. Although, it was indeed a treasure. One that could alter talent and strength. It was one of the most powerful item anyone could ask for.


    Edeline''s eyes twinkled with stars when she saw that as well. "So Pharder did have that thing."


    "Seems like a lot of people suspected Pharder to have it."


    "That is true. His rise to Diamond Rank is too fast. Everyone thought that he was ate bloomer, but when his strength stuck at early Diamond Rank, everyone got a suspicion."


    "No one tried to find out and steal from him?"


    "No one managed to find out."


    "Pharder is really good at hiding things, huh. But at least I got it back."


    "What do you mean, you got it back? Is this crystal yours to begin with?"


    "Uhhh¡­ it''splicated."


    How could Aldred tell them that his parents were universal-level existence and that this mere could be erased by their mere cough.


    They would experience a heavy existential crisis if exined it to them.


    "So, Aldred. When are we going to meet your parents?"


    "Meeting your parents???" His wives asked.


    "Yep. I want all of you to meet my parents."


    "Meeting Aldred''s parents¡­" Ivette blushed. "What if they don''t like me."


    "They will. Don''t you all worry."


    "But we have to prepare first!" Zafrina said. "We need perfumes, dresses, ne, earrings, shoes, and so much more. We can''t just go as we are right now."


    "Uhh¡­ you can to be honest."


    "No!" Zafrina red at him. "How can I show this lesser version of me. I want to show my best side. My best appearance. We have to impress your parents Aldred."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Seriously, you don''t have to."


    "But I insist. Come on, girls. Let''s prepare ourselves for battle."


    "Yeah!!!" They raised their fist and ran inside the pce.


    "Welp. There they went," Aldred said. He looked at Edeline and Ste.


    "Are you two not going to prepare?"


    Ste waved her hand and her dress changed immediately. She wore blue this time instead of the usual golden color. For some reason, it looked beautiful with her tan skin and voluptuous body.


    Edeline snapped her finger, and her dress changed as well. Even her earrings and bracelet changed.


    "Magic is truly convenient."


    "By the way Aldred. What happened to the ring that I gave you."


    "Oh, I still have it." Aldred grabbed the ring out of his inventory.


    "I have only used it once, and I don''t get any bacsh."


    "That''s a little weird. But it''s good that nothing bad happened. You can keep the ring, but I would prefer you not to use it unless absolutely necessary."


    "Alright."


    "Aldred, before we meet your parents, can you tell us a bit about them?" Ste asked.


    "Well, my sister likes to read novels."


    "You have a sister?"


    "I do. When I was a kid, I used to drink hot chocte milk with her and read on her bed."


    "Aldred¡­ you are still a kid."


    "Hehe. It feels like a really long time ago."


    "What about your mother?"


    "She got easily embarrassed. My dad like to tease her to make her blush."


    "Does she like anything?"


    "Not particrly."


    She got whatever she wanted because of her reality-changing power. If she wanted to destroy an entire gxy, she can do it with a blink of her eye.


    That was probably the reason why she didn''t really want anything. Except for spending time with her family probably. Aldred recalled that she was always smiling whenever they go out and y.


    Sister Dina also only read novels to waste time. Her favorite hobby was spoiling Aldred with cuddles, love, and hot chocte.


    It was a wonderful time.


    "I wonder what kind of gifts should I bring?" Ste asked.


    "You don''t need to bring any gift. In fact, don''t bring anything."


    "That would be impolite, no?"


    "Nope. Don''t worry too much about it. Just be yourself."


    Aldred''s parents were so powerful that they probably did not want any materialistic object anymore. They literally fought against gods, ruled over hell, conquered gxies, and so much more.


    Bringing gifts would be counter-productive.


    But maybe there might be something they can bring.


    "What about toys?" Aldred asked.


    "Toys?"


    "Yes, family toys. You know like Jenga, chess, cards?"


    "I believe we have something like that," Edeline said.


    "But why family toys? Bringing jewelry would be wise or even better, treasures."


    "Nope. Family toys are good enough


    "If you say so."


    Suddenly, there was amotion made by the soldiers. Aldred turned around and saw that his wives had finished prepping themselves up.


    Complete with make up, new dresses, and essories. They looked like angels that came down to this earth. They looked so perfect, so beautiful with their slim-fit dress.


    They approached him and smiled.


    "What do you think, Aldred? How do we look?"


    Aldred smiled. "I think all of you look beautiful."

 Chapter 450 450 Great Reform

    His wives got all smile and excited when Aldred praised them.


    "So are you all ready to meet my parents?"


    "Yeah!"


    Aldred smiled and grabbed the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button in the middle.


    The runes on the steering wheel let out a faint light. Aldred smiled at the thought of meeting his mother and sister again. Hopefully, he could meet his father as well.


    But a few secondster, the runes died.


    "What happened?" Mary asked.


    Aldred frowned. "I don''t know."


    He pressed the button again, but the runes still remain inactive. "It doesn''t work."


    "Maybe the Emperor broke it."


    "No. It''s not broken." Aldred had scanned the Steering Wheel. If it was broken, the system would have told him.


    There was nothing wrong with the steering wheel. Then that could only meant one thing¡­ something was wrong with the castle!


    Mother¡­ sister¡­ where did the two of you go?


    Everyone noticed his bitterplexion and looked at each other in worry.


    "Aldred, we can try again tomorrow. I am sure it will work," Mareona said.


    Aldred smiled, realizing that his wives worried for him. "Alright, let''s try again tomorrow."


    Edeline nodded. "We can try again after your coronation as Emperor."


    "That''s right! How can we forget about the coronation!" Zafrina eximed in excitement. As the daughter of a noble, she loved the idea of the coronation for Aldred.


    "I will take care of it," Edeline said. "I will let everyone in this continent know that the Ceraisian Empire now has a new Emperor and will lead it to apletely different path."


    ¡­


    For the next few days, everyone was busy preparing for the coronation for the Emperor. News spread to every ss of citizens in the Empire.


    "A new Emperor? Does that mean the old Emperor is dead?"


    "That''s probably the case."


    "Damn, I have heard there are bad blood between the Empress and the Emperor. Do you think she killed him?"


    "That''s probably the case. Lord Athar had not been seen for a while, and so does his allies. It''s clear that the Empress has taken over the Empire for herself."


    "Is this a good thing or bad thing for us?"


    "I don''t know. Their battle doesn''t usually involve us. Nobody cares about the peasants."


    They wereter proved wrong as delegations from the Royal Pce came to every corner of the Empire and created free facilities for the locals. Health Care, education, security, banks, and even transportation were now readily avable for everybody.


    ves were now freed and millions of golems created a well-built house for each of them. Basic food necessity like grain and eggs were given to them free of charge.


    In less than a day, the whole Empirepletely changed. The change was so fast that the nobody could react to it properly to this change.


    Only after a day had passed, when the people realized that it wasn''t a dream, did they finally rejoiced and took it to the street to celebrate.


    "LONG LIVE  THE EMPEROR!"


    "LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS!""


    "LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR!"


    "LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS!"


    In every city, in everymunity, in every vige, in every home, in every shop, the excited shout and roar of the people calling for their ruler was heard.


    All of a sudden, the future seemed so bright. The painful days they expected toe was now reced with leisure and fulfillments.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    That day, every peasants in the empire smiled.


    ¡­


    Aldred was in an office with Edeline sitting next to him. "So everything is done?"


    "Yep," Edeline said. "I also put the books about science in our education system. I don''t know why we needed to teach them this? We can do things better with magic."


    Aldred shrugged. "Maybe the people can surprise us."


    "Also, why give free food? Won''t that make themzy."


    Aldred smiled. "The food we gave is only the basic. If they wanted to eat fancy meals, they will have to work hard for it. People got bored easily, I am sure they will find that as motivation to work hard."


    "Besides, we won''t see any sick or hungry people anymore with this system.


    The Ceraisian Empire was vast, and with the power of magic, they could easily turn anynd to farmnds. They can grow any crops high up in the mountain, down in the hottest desert, and into the darkest of cave.


    This was the power of magic.


    "I still don''t understand why we need this science and art subject in the education system. Magicians proved to be a better painter."


    "Don''t worry about it, Edeline." Aldred smiled.


    Duria was a powerful nation, and from what he knew, the nation condemned its people from using magic if they had the talent to use it.


    They relied on science and art to innovate and create technologies. Their technologies were so powerful that they could even match the military might of the Ceraisian Empire.


    What if Aldred could obtain that power? Wouldn''t his Empire be much stronger than before?


    He also obtained some robot parts, and even knowledge about science during his journey. He had copied them and spread them to every new school he built.


    "Has the roads been fixed?"


    Edeline nodded. "The houses and buildings were also repaired and repainted with magic. Every building is as good as new."


    "That''s good. I want everyone to feel that a new age ising."


    Edeline smiled. She did not expect to be so good in dealing with this matter. She first thought that she would have to deal with it alone, but apparently, Aldred got better ideas than her.


    She was good in politics, but shecked the knowledge to reform the life of the peasants.


    Aldred came from a poor family in his past life. Going to hospital could actually be worst than death for some people because of how much it cost.


    So much so that they could spend their entire life paying it off.


    He also understood how expensive schools can get. Families would eat less and saved the money to pay for the school.


    Roads and facilities in poormunities could be so bad, terrible, and disgusting that made it seem like prisons were a better ce for them to live in.


    With this experience, he knew what he needed to do to fix it all. He did not know much about politics, but he was d he could help Edeline in some matters.


    "The coronation is in a few weeks, but everyone already knew of your name," Edeline said.


    "I am just doing my job." Aldred smiled.


    Edeline giggled. "Anyway, I did not expect that the golempanies in the Empire is yours. I have heard that you are a golem master as well."


    "I don''t want the Dragons to disturb mypanies."


    "That''s a wise decision for you to make. Did you also own the potion shop, herb shops, and the auction hall?"


    "Yep."


    "That would make you one of the richest man on this continent," Edeline said. "The moneying in towards thosepanies is huge."


    "How did you know?"


    Edeline smiled. "You think I am naive enough not to spy on a neer?"


    "Make sense. And yes, the money I have is huge. In fact, money for me is as abundance as water."

 Chapter 451 451 Coronation Day

    "But as big as my earning, I think the earning of an entire Empire is much bigger than mine."


    Edeline nodded. "The tax we got from merchants and nobles do sum up into a significant amount."


    "I figure so. Mypanies paid a lot of taxes."


    Edeline giggled. "Should I revoke the tax for yourpanies?"


    "No need to do that. Besides, the money will be used for the improvement of the Empire anyway. How''s our corruption rate anyway?"


    "It should be low by now. But to keep things in control, a little corruption is necessary."


    "How necessary?"


    "Very necessary. Everyone only cared about themselves, Aldred. Who give a damn about the lives of peasants when you can enjoy expensive wine and huge mansion? This is what is in their mind. A lot of them don''t have the interest of the Empire."


    "Can''t we remove this people?"


    "Sadly, no. Although they are corrupt, they also had thepetence to back it up. Think of the money they stole as bonuses for their skills instead."


    "They better not take too much."


    Aldred said that statement with great killing intent. In fact, since he was now Diamond Rank, his aura could permeate into the astral dimension and this made all the corrupted officials to produce cold sweat.


    They did not know what just happened, but for some reason, their heart is telling them to reduce the amount of money they were about to steal.


    Not only that, they also had an urge to initiate a project to better improve the lives of the locals.


    This made everyone shocked. What had came to these corrupted officials? A lot of people knew they only cared for themselves, but all of a sudden, they became a saint.


    With their intellect andpetence, so much things were built, water filtration system, waste management system, pest control system, and everything else were created. They even proposed a mandatory workout routine for every able citizen.


    Aldred saw all of these amazing proposals and was ted.


    Edeline was also impressed by this.


    "A thousand mind is so much better than one. We can''t think all of this by ourselves. Only with the collective mind power of the entire Empire could we be better than everyone else," Aldred said.


    For the next few days, so much construction project happened all around the empire. Millions of worker golems tireless working day and night. No one had ever seen something like this before. Golems require a huge amount of energy to sustain. Only a very rich figure could create an army of golems.


    So it was impossible to see golems working on mere construction job.


    Aldred''spanies also had never received any order from the peasants since they were too poor to afford his service. Only nobles, merchants, and sometimes adventurer asked for his service.


    He thought it was fine though. He believed he was the robin hood, taking money from the rich, and then giving it to the poor, except this time, the way he did it waspletely legal.


    Of course he did not want to simply give people money. He wanted them to be self-sufficient.


    That was what the education system is for. Hopefully, with the knowledge they earned from it, they could create or do something useful.


    Just as Aldred and Edeline worked on to reform the entire Empire, a shocking news came like a train.


    The Republic of Selia had conquered its western side. The Grand Duchy of Erachinia, Principality of Land, and the Principality of Aliravilia were all taken over.


    Now The Republic of Selia bordered with Yevileria which was Tarrar''s home town and the former ce for thepany''s headquarter.


    If Selia manage to conquer Yevileria, the republic will be bordered with the Ceraisian Empire.


    Selia was one of the strongest nation in this continent, rivaling Duria, and the Ceraisian Empire. Duria was close to Ceraisian Empire but the ocean and the nation of Torvenia kept the two afar.


    Now if Selia were to be nearby, Ceraisian Empire could fight against two behemoths at once.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Let theme if they are so brave," Aldred said.


    "No, Aldred, you don''t understand. You will not only fight Diamond Ranks, but also their secret weapons. This isn''t like the civil war where only Diamond Ranks fight against each other. Every nation  has a secret weapon."


    "That also mean we have one, right?"


    "We do, but we can''t fight against two at once."


    "Isn''t the Holy State of Montcresia our ally now? Can''t we ask for their assistance?"


    "My only alliance with them is to keep peace between the both of us. I don''t think they will help us with a war."


    "In that case, I will infiltrate and destroy their weapons."


    "I don''t think we have someone with that capabilities."


    "Yes we do. Me."


    "Not this time. It''s too risky. You will be fighting inside enemy territory. I can''t send my forces to you in a short time frame."


    "You don''t have to send any help."


    "You are now the Emperor Aldred. As a ruler, you shouldn''t be fighting in the front line."


    Aldred smiled. "That''s not how I do it."


    "We should think about this more after your coronation."


    "We should postpone my coronation. I don''t want a war knocking on our door the moment I will be coronated."


    "No. The coronationes first. We can think about the warter."


    Aldred was confused. "Why?"


    "The Throne can''t be kept empty for long, Aldred. Someone has to fill it."


    "Alright."


    For the next few weeks, Edeline and the others continued to prepare for his coronation. But she also sent more spies all over the continent to keep a lookout for the enemies.


    Aldred also ordered his golems in all over the continent to sent valuable information.


    For the next few weeks, they found out that Duria had been building a new type of super weapon. They didn''t know what was it exactly, but its existence should be noted with caution.


    The Republic of Selia was still cleaning their territories of rebels and riots. They also conquered nearby viges with their powerful armies.


    Since Republic of Selia did not have any agreement on his golempanies, he sold the golems to the rebel forces at a cheap price, letting them fight back and even took some territories.


    The battle went back and forth, but Aldred just want to buy more time to gather information. He did not care the losses on both sides incurred.


    The Yevileria Tribal Union also saw this threat and they stopped fighting against the winged-man race.


    Aldred''s help manage to slow Selia''s advancement, but the enemy quickly increased their army and managed to push through.


    Aldred retaliated by sending more golems for the rebel forces to buy. The rebel forces didn''t even have to use money to buy his golem. A simple paper of agreement to let him collect local resources was enough, and the rebel forces was more than d to give it to him since they couldn''t even protect those local resources alone anyway.


    The Republic of Selia was of course enraged by this tant retaliation from the golempanies.


    All of this news were ignored however, because today was Aldred''s coronation day.

 Chapter 452 452 All Hail The Emperor!

    All over the Empire, the citizens were out in the street with the proud g of a phoenix which was the new g for the Ceraisian Empire. The g depicted the rebirth of the Phoenix, telling everyone that a new era will began.


    The me symbolized their burning desire for something new. A rebirth of an entire nation. To be better and stronger.


    They were no longer the hungry dragons they were once. Now they were Phoenix.


    The peasants were of course thrilled to see what this era will bring. The merchants were worried on what would happen to their business, the nobles on the other hands were all smiling. Because the nobles from the Dragons were all eliminated, their territory were free to take. The Empress had distributed the territories fairly through merits which make everyone satisfied.


    And all of these nobles gathered in the throne hall with smiles and approval. It was a rare sight. No matter who was crowned Emperor, someone would always find him distasteful.


    They were kind of amazed by this coronation, because it was the first time ever in the Ceraisian Empire''s history that the people from all ss: peasants, merchants, soldiers, and nobles became so excited for a coronation of their new Emperor.


    The peasants couldn''t care less who their Emperor was. As long as they could fill their belly, it was enough. The merchants had a little bit of stake. Depending on who took control, it could affect their business greatly. The nobles had the most to lose. Their territories could be taken, and their privileges revoked.


    Every time a new Emperor arise, it brought anxiety, concern, and a terrible premonition for the future.


    But not this time.


    This time was different. Greatly so.


    Using their magic, the magicians created screens all over the sky for the people to watch the Royal Pce.


    No matter in which corner of the Empire the people were, as long as they looked at the sky, they could see the sight of the pce.


    Its grandeur and magnificence made the peasants all excited. Because they were too poor, most of them had never traveled to the capital city.


    So when they saw the majestic Royal Pce, they were excited that their Empire was so powerful and wealthy. Millions of soldiers guarded the Royal Pce. Thousands of them were Diamond Ranks. All kinds of barriers and defensive treasures lit up around the Royal Pce.


    And yet, even after all of these mors and amazing scene, they still waited with bated breath for the sight of their new Emperor.


    Who was the man who changed their life? Who was the man that will lead them to greatness?


    A red carpet began to roll from inside the pce. It kept on rolling down stairs after stairs until it reached the opened gate.


    Suddenly, a huge, golden pnquin appeared in front of the gate. The pnquin was covered by red and gold cloth, hiding the figure sitting inside. The pnquin was obviously the Emperor''s since it took 10 Diamond Rank warriors to lift it up.


    The pnquin moved forward.


    Behind, a line of soldiers d in golden armor followed the pnquin. Their armor gleamed under the sun light. Some people even got blinded by the reflection.


    Suddenly, the clouds in the sky parted.


    "Ceraisian Empire! Hand over your new Emperor!"


    A robot appeared in the sky, and it spoke with monotonous voice. The robot was bulky with thick armor all over. It did not seem to wield any weapon.


    The peasants were of course shocked by this. They had never seen robots before in their life. Although the Ceraisian Empire had fought many battles against Duria, it was usually outside the sight of the peasants.


    Even if the peasants watched the fight, they usually died as coteral damage.


    "Duria! Get your robot away from here or you will face war!" the general shouted.


    "We are never scared of war. Your new Emperor is a foul existence for this continent. He has to die."


    "You think one robot is enough to do that?"


    "Yes." The robot began to fell towards the pnquin. Its body shone with blinding light.


    After seeing that light, the Diamond Ranks realized that it was something they had never seen before. In seconds, they determined that it was the rumored weapon that was being built by Duria.


    The probability was small, but they had to react!


    "Quick! Protect the Emperor!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Thousands of Diamond Ranks rushed towards the pnquin, activating all kinds of spells and treasures, but a voice inside their head stopped them.


    "Stop. I will handle it."


    BOOM!


    The nuclear explosion produced enough force to engulf and leveled the entire city,pletely devouring it and turning it into dust and rubbles.


    At least, that was what supposed to happen.


    But before the explosion could even expand, it was pushed by a powerful force from every direction, Condensing it, and reduced its size before it was absorbed inside the pnquin.


    The peasants were amazed. When they saw the robot shone, they almost thought that a second sun would appear on the Royal Pce.


    But it was absorbed by their new Emperor. They did notpletely understand what just happened, but they do know that their Emperor just blocked a powerful attack.


    The peasants roared and cheered for their powerful Emperor.


    Not only the peasants, even the generals and the Diamond Ranks guarding him were impressed. Although any Diamond Rank could take on the attack and survive, their Emperorpletely absorbed the explosion and prevented the destruction of their Royal Pce which had been standing for thousands of years.


    Not only Aldred showed his might, he also preserved historical artifacts at the same time.


    Realizing that there were no interruption, Aldred ordered everyone to continue. The pnquin was lifted into the pce and then into the throne hall where Empress Edeline already sat on her throne.


    The pnquin was gently put down.


    The people held their breath and lifted their arms in excitement to see who it was.


    Aldred stepped out,plete with royal garments and essories. He looked like a dignified person. Powerful and wise. Tall and handsome. He seemed so perfect in every way.


    Slowly, he walked towards the throne and climbed the staircase.


    He sat on his throne, next to Edeline.


    A man came with beautiful red pillow. The crown was sitting on top of it.


    Edeline stood up and grabbed the crown, lifting it above Aldred''s head.


    "I Empress Edeline am not worthy enough to put this crown upon the Emperor''s head. So I will let his majesty himself to do the honor."


    Aldred grabbed the crown and nodded towards Edeline.


    He lifted it high and then slowly put it on top of his head. The weight on his head made him realize the heavy responsibility he took by taking this throne. He was no responsible for every well-being of his people.


    The people all over the empire roared and pped.


    A few secondster, they all went down on their knees and bowed.


    "All hail the Emperor!"


    "Long live the Emperor!"


    "All hail the Emperor!"


    "Long live the Emperor!"


    "All hail the Emperor!"


    "Long live the Emperor!"

 Chapter 453 453 Celebration!

    Aldred was crowned Emperor. With the support of the entire Empire, his rule was unchallenged. The nobles did not form a group against him because they werepletely loyal under the Empress, and since the Empress herself chose Aldred as Emperor, it meant that he was one of them.


    With the Empire inplete unity, they could defend themselves against any outside threat.


    It was amazing what Aldred and Edeline manage to do. Edeline''s decades long nning, Aldred''s overwhelming strength.


    These two factors let them take a quick swoop and took over an entire Empire. Nobody had ever seen something like this before.


    Usually, when someone forcefully took over an Empire, a lot of people would be angered and riots and protest would fill every corner of the nation. Even if those riots were to be destroyed and eliminated, secrets and hidden enemies would make the ruler wary on who to trust.


    Sooner orter the nation would crumble from inside.


    This was the first time they saw a peaceful take over. Well, it wasn''t exactly peaceful since thousands of nobles were killed in the process.


    Edeline was ruthless to his enemies. Since the Diamond Ranks had pledged alliance to the Phoenix, then killing the nobles in the Dragon''s side wouldn''t be a problem.


    This way, they couldn''t return to their lord since they were now all dead.


    She also gave the same privileges and benefits to the Diamond Ranks, and even increased some of it. He told the Phoenix to ept their newrades and never to discriminate. Those who got caught in the act will be isted and got their privileges revoked.


    She had to take this extreme action to assure peace.


    For politics, she was the person to go to. And Aldred was d he got her by his side. If not, this Empire would crumble and he wouldn''t even know why.


    After the coronation, it was feast for everyone. Large beast were cooked in the cities square and everyone was distributed the tastiest wine they ever tasted.


    Some peasants never drank wine before and were slightly surprised by the taste. They despise it at first, but after a few drinks, they couldn''t get enough of it.


    Five huge pot of soup, boiled in the city square with the best chef in town watching over its quality.


    Aldred made sure everyone got the time of their life.


    Aldred also stood up and greeted the nobles one by one. Talking and getting to know them. He studied what they wanted with small talks and gained some information.


    He did not believe that people in power were genuinely good. No one was truly good. Everyone always had their own selfish desire.


    Even he himself. He killed people all the time. It did not mean he was evil, but he wasn''t a saint either.


    No human on earth is a saint.


    But by treading carefully, everyone would act like a saint towards you.


    After talking with the nobles, he found some of their desire and their reason to side with the Empress. They wanted a change. Most of them felt sympathetic towards the ves, and believed that they did not even need ves for farming work since magicians did a better job.


    They believed that these ves were tortured for entertainment purposes only. Which was kind of true since magic did a better job in growing crops and most other task such as creating wine, weapons, armor, and even buildings.


    Peasants did not really have a role in this world of magic except to serve the people in power.


    This was why Aldred put great importance on education. If they could create art and technologies, they would have a better role in society, and their standings would be appreciated.


    The other desire the nobles had was to their name and statues to be carved as revolutionizer. They wanted to became a huge part of the Empire''s history.


    It wasmon for nobles and rulers to be part of history. They did not want mundane things like bigger mansion and more wealth since they already had enough of it.


    It was true for Aldred as well. He got too much money. The earning of hispany was huge.


    Now Aldred understood why rich people said things like: "Money is not everything."


    Of course it wasn''t everything, they already got too much of it.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    He also understood now why these people were willing to buy a simple food for tens of thousands of dors.


    They got too much money that they did not know how to spend it.


    Being ultra rich was a whole new experience.


    After getting a better understanding of the nobles, Aldred now knew what to do to keep them happy. He did not want to be a fool. Just because he was the Emperor did not meant he could do anything he wanted.


    The Emperor only ruled when his subordinates heeded his order.


    After talking with the nobles some more, Aldred and Edeline excused themselves and teleported to the secret pce where his wives and friends already waited.


    "Congrattions, Aldred!" Everyone shouted.


    "Congrats for being the Emperor!"


    Bartrem and the soldiers knelt on one knee and bowed. "We greet the Emperor."


    Aldredughed. "Are you guys joking with me?"


    He grabbed the crown off his head and put it in his inventory.


    "Emperor, you can''t put the crown away. It is the symbol of your power."


    "Power my ass. I can be walking around naked and I still can take on 10 Diamond Ranks on my own. HAHAHAHA!"


    The soldiers looked at each other with a little bit of worry for their Emperor''s behavior, but at the same time, they were happy that he did not change at all despite being the Emperor.


    "Come now. Stand up and let''s celebrate!"


    The wives cheered and popped champagne towards Aldred. The soldiers also stood up and smiled. They then began talking to him like usual, ignoring his status as Emperor.


    That all changed when they saw the Empress though. They still bowed and talked politely towards her.


    "What is this? Am I not considered to be your friend as well?"


    She said that with a sarcastic smile on her face.


    Everyone knew that she wanted to be treated how Aldred was treated.


    It was a bit awkward for Bartrem to do so since he had always thought of her as his idol. She was his savior.


    When he was thrown away by his own parents, the Empress'' maid picked him up. The Empress ordered the maid to take care of him and even trained him to be a Knight. The rest was history.


    He had felt a long-life gratitude towards her, so he always spoke with a little bit of reverence in his voice.


    Aldred ate and drank to his heart content. Back in the Royal Pce, he had to keep his image as the dignified Emperor, but here, he could be himself.


    He even ripped his clothes and danced away with glee.


    Edeline giggled to find this side of him. And so she danced along with everyone else.


    After their party, they enjoyed the view from the balcony and watched as the sun began to set.


    "Bright future is ahead of us," Edeline said as she leaned on the railings.


    Aldred nodded. "Yeah."

 Chapter 454 454 Thank You

    Darkness.


    It wasplete darkness. Like a void in space with no stars.


    Suddenly, a speck of light came forth, it blinked a couple of times and expanded, revealing itself as a light bulb.


    Suddenly, more light bulbs shone, removing the darkness and showed the room full of cables and tubes. The metallic scent was extremely thick, so much so that a normal person would suffocate if they went inside.


    All around the room wasputers, processing lots of data at once. There was no one there, except for one man.


    His face was hidden by a red robe that draped over his shoulder and down to his feet, dragging onto the cold steel floor.


    On the screen, some sort ofplex codes went all over the ce.


    "Aldred¡­ HE. HAS. TO. DIE."


    ¡­


    Aldred and Edeline smiled. Mary and his other wives also looked at each other and smiled.


    "This might be my first day as Emperor, but for me, it''s another special day with my friends and family. No matter what crown on my head, and no matter what people call me, I still be and will be the Aldred you know."


    The soldiers raised their ss of wine and cheered!


    Edeline also raised her ss and cheered at the top of her lung. Bartrem and the other soldiers were shocked to see this side of her.


    Empress Edeline had always been known as cold and expressionless. Her mind and intention was impossible to predict.


    It was known that no one was able to please her because they did not even know what she wanted.


    Her expression was like a dark abyss. Deep, mysterious, and trying to explore it could be one''s doom.


    But now they all saw her smiling,ughing, giggling, and touching yfully with Aldred.


    Anyone that knew the Empress would be shocked to see this scene.


    Edeline on the other hand was very happy. As someone in power, she only had few people to trust, so she couldn''t really be herself in public setting.


    Truly, she was just a woman who wanted friends to y with, and a man to love.


    And she got it all here, she thought as she stared at Aldred with a smile.


    Grabbing a fork, she stabbed it into a slice of mango and put it in front of Aldred. "Open your mouth, darling."


    Aldred smiled before he opened his lips.


    His wives wanted to do the same thing, so they grabbed their own fork and stabbed on a random fruit before feeding it to him at once.


    "Whmait, wjait, mhe muth ihs fhull." Aldred swallowed all the food and took a deep breath.


    "Are you guys nning to kill me?"


    They looked at each other andughed.


    Aldred looked at them who seemed to have a good time and his lips curled into a smile. Their happiness was his happiness as well. At this point in time, the thought of political affair and every other affairs were out of his head.


    He wanted to enjoy this moment to the fullest, and he did not want to ruin it by thinking about works. Of course, if his wives wanted to talk about works, then that would be fine as well.


    He could be flexible. He would talk about whatever the mood was.


    After their drinks, Bartrem stood up and volunteered to grill food for them.


    Everyone cheered because of that.


    "You will like his food. During our journey, he was the one who cooked for us all the time." Aldred pointed.


    "Oh, is that so?" Edeline looked at Bartrem.


    "Yep. He can use any ingredients he found in the wild. He could pick up a random leaf and turn it into a fantastic dish. He''s that good."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Edeline smiled. "Good work, Bartrem."


    Bartrem jolted. This was the first time the Empress had praised him.


    His idol¡­ his idol praised him. His savior. The very reason why he could be here, meet Aldred, and grilled for the Emperor and the Empress, and everyone else¡­ it was all because of her.


    Suddenly, his body moved a little smoother, and he was more confidence in his skill.


    The me came aze along with the meat, flipping perfectly in the air before theynded back on the grill.


    The soldiers cheered for his show of skill which made Bartrem even more confidence.


    Nalythra leaned on Maverick''s shoulder. "Maverick, you''re a vampire right. Why don''t you drink my blood?" She slightly pulled her clothes, revealing her left shoulder and then craned her neck.


    Her neck seemed so enticing. If Maverick leaned in and bare his fangs, he could dig in and suck her blood.


    Maverick shook his head. "You''re an undead."


    "Aldred said I can have blood when I am in my real form."


    "But you still an undead."


    "Oh,e on. Isn''t vampire some sort of undead as well? Just try it. Drink my blood."


    They debated back and forth as Naly tried to force Maverick to drink her blood.


    Zafrina giggled at her brother''s problem. She thought that the snake woman was cute and should be suitable for her brother.


    Even though she was an undead already.


    After half an hour, Bartrem finished cooking and Ste teleported all the meat and the tes on every table.


    It was a burgerplete with thick and juicy meat with melted cheese, tomatoes, and Bartrem''s homemade sauce.


    "This looks good." Edeline gracefully moved her hands with the knife and sliced it into a smaller part and put it in her mouth.


    She did not have any dramatic expression, but she nodded and praised the food. "It''s good. Perhaps even better than our Royal Chef."


    Bartremughed. "I don''t think I am that good yet."


    "I believe your cooking is the best in the world," Aldred said.


    "Really?"


    Aldred nodded. "No matter how many expensive restaurants we have visited, your food will always be the best."


    Everyone nodded when they heard that. Bartrem''s cooking was not only good in taste, but it contain so many meaning. First of all, it symbolized how far they have went.


    His first time cooking, he knew nothing about it. It was to the point that Mareona had to pull a flower out of her underwear to add some taste to the food.


    Thankfully, they did not have to do that anymore.


    Not only that, wherever they go, Bartrem was always there cooking for them. Whether it was in harsh cold weather, extreme heat, inside the darkest cave, and on the deadliest mountain, Bartrem was always ready to cook a good food for them.


    Whenever they ate his food, they would feel energized and motivated again. One of the reason why the journey was so much fun was because of Bartrem''s cooking.


    They said this to Bartrem and the man''s heart shook hard. It even manage to get him teary eyes. But he collected himself and reminded his own mind that he was a Knight, a captain, and a leader for his soldier. He had to show strength.


    But Aldred stood up and hugged him. "Thank you for your service all these time, Bartrem."


    His wives stood up and hugged Bartrem, the soldiers also gathered around him and hugged him with a smile.


    Tears began to drip from his eyes.


    "Thank you. All of you."

 Chapter 455 455 A Secret Mission

    After they were done eating and celebrating, Aldred took out the steering wheel again.


    "Let''s try it again. Who knows it might work this time."


    His wives nodded at him.


    Lifting his finger, Aldred pushed the button gently. The runes on the steering wheel shone, and the mana leaked out like gas. But then the light flickered, and died.


    Aldred frowned. "It still doesn''t work."


    "Is it perhaps broken?"


    "No. It''s not broken. If it is, I would know."


    The steering wheel was perfectly fine ording to his godly eyes. It was without a doubt that nothing was wrong with it. So it was probably had something to do with the castle itself.


    Where did his mother and sister go? Why didn''t they tell him? Were they in danger?


    It would be hard to imagine that a universal level existence, the Grand Ancestral Vampire herself would be in danger.


    Not a lot of entity could pose a threat to her. She was extremely powerful with myriads of reality-bending power in her hands.


    To a lot of people she would never be in danger.


    She was the danger.


    However, to Aldred, Eve was simply his mother, and he was worried sick about his mother and sister.


    Aldred sighed in sadness at the thought of never seeing them again. He wondered where they were and what they were doing right now.


    "Calm down, Aldred. I am sure the steering wheel will work some day. Or maybe you are not yet strong enough to use it," Ste said.


    Aldred thought about that. "Maybe you are right."


    Maybe she was right, Aldred thought. He wasn''t strong enough, so he couldn''t return yet. He looked into the distance mountain and clench his fist. He had to get stronger.


    Aldred mistakenly thought that he could return home when he was at Diamond Rank, but for his mother, Diamond Rank was as weak as ants.


    He wanted to explore other continents, and became much stronger.


    "Let''s start our next journey in a new continent."


    Edeline was shocked to hear that. "You did not n to stay?"


    Aldred shook his head. "I am sorry, Edeline, but no, I am not nning to stay. But before I leave, I will make sure you will have your peace."


    "What are you going to do?"


    "Increasing the strength of our military, tightening the ties in our diplomacy, and removing threats all for once."


    "Are we going to go to war?" Edeline asked.


    "No. It won''t be a war." Aldred smiled. He understood that thest thing Edeline wanted was war, so he had to think of alternatives.


    In a war, the majority of people actually did not want to fight. It was the people above them that wanted war.


    So his solution was simple; kill the highmand, and if he could, rece them with someone that was anti-war.


    "First, I have to neutralize the secret weapon that they are currently building in Duria. To do that, I need to go there. This will be a secretive mission, so I have to go alone."


    "At least bring me with you," Ste said. "I am a powerful Diamond Rank like you as well."


    Everyone nodded.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "That''s right, Aldred. Bring Ste with you."


    "Alright. So when do we leave?"


    "We''re going right now?" Ste asked.


    "The sooner the better."


    ¡­


    Flying vehicles swoosh all around the high-rise buildings thatpletely looked like they were build out of ss. The streets were filled with high-speed vehicles. They seem to be in perfect sync as they passed each other, narrowly crashing against one another at a high speed.


    All these vehicles were automatic, controlled by some sort of artificial consciousness with a  processing power of a trillion human.


    The humans here were always stuck on their screen. Whether they were inside their vehicles or out in the street, they looked at a small box of screen most of the time. Those that do walk on the street used a small hover board that helped them moved from one ce to another without moving a single muscle.


    A man and a women with sses and thick coat looked at their own screen as they floated next to one another.


    They were Aldred and Ste in disguise.


    ''Aldred, this whole city is monitored. Every piece of object in this city is watching and listening to us.''


    ''I know. This is why we must keepmunicating through telepathy. Also be careful with your mana. I believe they have devices to detect magic energies and life force as well. We have to contain it as much as possible."


    ''I got it. But how do we look for the secret weapon?''


    ''I have heard that there is a rebel force that revolt against Duria. They must have the means and technologies to be under radar. That also means they might know something about the secret weapon.''


    ''So we are looking for them?''


    ''No, we are waiting for them. I just leaked some false information to bait them toe out.''


    Aldred and Ste hovered to a mall and sat by the outdoor cafe. Suddenly, a notification popped on their screen, showing the menu.


    Aldred and Ste picked random items.


    ''When will theye?''


    ''It should be about¡­ now.''


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Rockets came from above and struck the highest floor of the malls, creating a series of explosions. The building parts were jetted out, sending it down with me. Many flying vehicles got struck and crashed onto one another and then crushed the pedestrians below.


    Everyone panicked. They screamed and ran, but to their dismay, their feet had forgot how to move. The hover board wasn''t quick enough to save their life, and most of them got crushed.


    Aldred looked up and saw a high-speed ne, seeminglying out of sci-fi movie, hovered in front of the mall and fired high-caliber bullets at the rate of 10,000 bullets per second.


    Itpletely wrecked an entire floor.


    "That''s our target," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, a loud siren red the sky, and a group of flying vehicles came approaching. These group of vehicles were red and blue. It was obvious that they were the police.


    The high-speed ne fired a smoke screen and then dashed away.


    "Let''s follow it!"


    Aldred and Ste kicked the ground and flew towards the high-speed ne. Activating his godly eyes, Aldred saw that inside the ne was a woman.


    "Naley Zanidi, what an interesting name."

 Chapter 456 456 Two Crazy People

    Naley looked at the screen that showed his rear view. The city security force had long gone because of her smoke screen, but who the hell were these two fuckers that were chasing her ne?


    "Who are these fuckers? They''re not from Duria."


    Duria''s citizen did not use magic and would never use them. Even though the techniques and energies were avable to use spells, Duria decided to use human augmentations to mimic warriors and magicians. These modified human however hadn''t been able to match against the strongest warrior or magician but it was good enough for Duria because they could put them inside a powerful machine and benefit from their extraordinary senses, reflexes, and creativity that robots or artificial intelligence did not have.


    Judging by their flight, it was obvious these two people were not from Duria. Even after Naley scanned their face, she only found data about ordinary people.


    It was obvious. These two were in disguise.


    "Whoever you think you are, you think you can catch me?"


    She steered the ship upward and flipped over, aiming the barrels towards Aldred and Ste.


    "Oh¡­" Aldred stopped in mid air.


    Suddenly, a loud sound burst from the ne but before the sound could reach their ears, the bullets already stormed towards them.


    Ste raised her hand and a transparent golden barrier appeared in front of them. When the high-caliber bullets touched the barrier, it entered a state of slow motion, moving very slowly as the barrier redirected its trajectory to the side. Only when the bullets escaped the barrier did it move with its normal speed, but by that time, the bullets were already redirected.


    Naley gritted her teeth. "These bastard! Eat my rockets!"


    Dozens of rockets flew out of her ships and rushed towards Aldred. A jet of blue fire boomed making the rockets faster.


    When they reached Aldred they exploded, creating arge area of fire in the sky. Though suddenly, the fire was sucked in into Aldred''s palm.


    "What are these two???" Naley widened her eyes.


    She shot a powerful sma beam towards them.


    Aldred moved forward and deflected the beam with his finger.


    Her eyes expanded ever more. "These two are mad! I have to escape!"


    Her ne made a u turn and sped up into the distance.


    Aldred and Ste vanished from the spot and suddenly appeared behind the ship, chasing after her.


    "Fuck, these two won''t give up!"


    "Hey, can we talk for a second?"


    Aldred suddenly appeared in front of her windshield which shocked her and made her do a quick barrel roll.


    "I just want to talk," Aldred said, still stuck on her windshield.


    "Get off my fucking ne!"


    "I meant no harm."


    "How the fuck did your voice get inside my ne anyway. It''s moving at Mach 6!"


    "Listen to me."


    "Get off my fucking ne!!!"


    "Sigh, alright."


    Aldred disappeared and Naley suddenly saw a hill right in front of her. She did not have time to react and her ne crashed onto it with an explosion.


    Something came out of the explosion with a trail of smoke. It was a metal ball. The ball opened up and revealed Naley inside a power suit.


    "That bastard!"


    "Hello, I was about to save you earlier."


    "What do you want?" Naley asked.


    "We want to help you revolt against Duria. I know you have an organization behind your back."


    "Are you being serious?"


    "We do." Ste approached Aldred in mid air and stayed by his side. "Wee here to help you reform the nation."


    "Can I trust you two?"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Sure you can."


    Naley frowned, and stared at them with a suspicious look. "So you want toe to the headquarter of our organization?"


    "If we are allowed to."


    "Alright, but hold this first." Naley gave Aldred and Ste an object.


    "It''s¡­ an animal poo?"


    They moved their head to look at her, but she already rushed forward and punched them right in the face.


    "That''s what you fucking deserve, you two piece of shit!"


    Her jet pack shot out two powerful me that sped her away.


    Aldred and Ste stood still, rubbing their cheeks.


    "Have you put a tracker on her?" Aldred asked.


    Ste lifted her palm and a projection of her astral location appeared.


    ¡­


    Naley activated the full power of the jet pack to get away as fast as possible. She looked back and saw that those two hadn''te after her.


    Suddenly, the me from her jet pack died, and she began to fall.


    Hitting a lever on her waist, the exhausted jet pack got detached from her back, and her shoes began to glow with blue light.


    She hovered in the sky, looking around there was no one chasing after her.


    Below her was another busy city. She floated down and her power suit transformed into a thick coat and high waisted shorts. She grabbed a pair of sses from the pocket and began to blend in with the crowd.


    The watch on her left arm blipped, hacking onto nearby surveince device and began to rewrite any information about her.


    Her footsteps, body structure, weight, face, and every other data were all rewritten, essentially making her invisible.


    Even if she got buck naked right now, the government would not know.


    She grabbed a hand watch from her coat and drop it at a nearby coffee shop. She did the same thing at a convenience store, super market, and an old warehouse.


    She was informed that Duria''s personnel was secretly kept here to build the secret weapon.


    She wanted to blow up the police station as well, but the police station for each city block was located in the sky.


    It was a floating ind and no one was allowed near it with the radius of 10 kilometers. With wide perimeters, and high-tech defensive barriers, it would cost tremendous amount of resources to even attack a local police station.


    She walked away for half an hour, and then half the city block exploded in an instant. Fire came aze and the police station was alerted. Automatic Fire Extinguisher system was activated and white gas came out from below the street, killing the fire.


    But even with that, her job was done. She had killed those secret personnels.


    She did not know however that the information she got was a fake.


    Walking into an alley, she entered a quite bar with a bunch of big looking dudes drinking beer as if they were the only thing they could consume. She walked inside the kitchen. Everyone ignored her like she was a ghost.


    She kept walking to the warehouse, then opened arge refrigerator. It was filled with cheese that had been rotting for thest ten years.


    The foul smell did not affect her however. She went inside and closed the door.


    Suddenly, a hole opened under her feet and she fell for 25 minutes before she saw the ground.


    Her whole body stopped in mid air right before she was about to crash. Slowly, her body went down and her feetnded.


    The room was dark at first, but upon her arrival, lights became to lit up the ce.


    Around the room, a lot of guns, cannons, explosives, hacking devices,


    Sighing after a tired day, she sat on her bed. "I hope I don''t ever meet those two ever again."


    "Hello, how are you doing?"


    Naley turned to the side and screamed at the top of her lung.

 Chapter 457 457 Sofiel The Singer

    "Wow, calm down there,dy," Aldred said.


    Naley grabbed a small gun beside her and pointed it Aldred. Aldred simply raised both hands. He knew the gun was no threat to him after his godly eyes analyzed it. At most, it could hurt a low-level tinum Rank, but not kill them.


    "Hey, I meant no harm," Aldred said calmly.


    "Shut up!" Naley pulled the trigger, shooting an energized projectile towards Aldred.


    The projectile mmed on Aldred''s forehead, the force ttened it into a coin. Aldred grabbed the object and looked at it for a few seconds.


    Yep, that force was at least enough to kill a Gold Rank.


    "How can you survive that with your own body?" Naley was still confused about the power of this man. Not only he manage to chase after her ne, he was also able to track her to her secret base.


    Aldred turned to look at her which made her retreated by a few steps.


    "I am a Diamond Rank. This simple ball of steel wouldn''t be able to harm me."


    That wasn''t a simple ball of steel, Naley thought. That was an energized alloy. It was a special alloy that increased its weight ording to the eleration it received. Meaning it could produce a much greater force than a normal steel.


    "Okay, so let''s talk."


    "Before that, where is your other friend?" Naley frowned.


    "Hello."


    Someone touched her shoulder.


    Naley screamed again as she turned around and saw Ste standing behind her with a smile on her pretty face.


    "How did you¡­ fuck! What do you want from me? You want to know the location of the organization? You better kill me now, because there is no chance for that to happen."


    "I understand," Aldred said. "I won''t ask for a location. But we would like to help you with your mission."


    "Which mission?"


    "Overthrowing the government of Duria, to end the life-long istion of the nation, and to let magic be a part of every people''s life."


    "I have tried for years, and I barely made a progress. You think you two can do better than me?"


    "Believe in us. We have powers beyond yourprehension. All you need to give us is information."


    "What information?"


    "The location of the secret weapon? Secretb?"


    "They have many of those. Destroying one or two wouldn''t do anything."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "You sounds pessimistic, but you keep doing all these. Why?"


    Naley looked down. "Maybe I just want everyone to see a slight of truth."


    "Doesn''t everyone know there is apletely different world out there?"


    Naley shook his head. "Although tourists are sometimes weed, they are only allowed to stay within the fake cities. These cities are not the real city of Duria. And the citizen within these cities are never allowed toe near our real cities. Everyone''s location and thoughts were monitored. They didn''t even realize it, but they were actually in a huge cage."


    Aldred approached her. "I know you have a n. Show it to me, and we will help you."


    Naley looked up and saw Aldred''s face right in front of her. "There is one woman I know who can lead us to him."


    "Lead us to who?"


    "Victor. He is our real enemy. The true ruler of Duria." Naley decided to let them in on her n. It was useless to hide it away from them anyway since they were too powerful for her to handle.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. He just realized that he did not know who the king, president, or emperor of Duria was. He did not even know what kind of governing system this nation used.


    When he was walking around in the street, he saw everything was controlled by robots. Be it the police, emergency services, they were all robots.


    If his conclusion was correct, the nation of Duria might be controlled by one person.


    "Victor¡­ so who is this woman that can lead us to him?"


    ¡­<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Hine Fepveb woke up from her slumber with great mood and energy. She opened her window and breathed in the fresh air.


    She was unusually energetic and excited because today was the date for the concert of her favorite singer¡ªSofiel. She looked at the digital clock. It was 3:40. The concert began at 7: 20, so plenty of time for her to prepare.


    She went inside her bathroom and sang while she cleaned herself. After she was done, she wrapped herself with a towel and grabbed the set of clothes that she had prepared yesterday.


    It was 5: 23 already. She took a longer shower than usual, because she wanted to look fresh and great.


    Putting on some powder on her body, she dressed up, and began to put some make up and lipstick on her face.


    Looking at herself in the mirror, she fixed her hair and smiled.


    A projection appeared in front of her eyes. Her friends, Sara, messaged her: Hey, I am down stairs. Come quickly, I want to stand close to the stage.


    She looked at the top left corner of the projection and saw the time was already 6:12


    Okay, she replied using her minds of which the message wrote by itself and sent automatically.


    Technology was already advance enough for them to read minds and intention. If she thought about bad words, but did not want to say it, then nothing would happen.


    The technology let peoplemunicate faster and also safer since it had Bad Word Impulsive detection that will warn the user if they wanted to use bad word or no.


    This could be deactivated at any time.


    Hine hopped onto her hover board and rushed down the stairs and hugged her friend. "Sara!!!"


    Sara smiled and hugged her back. "Let''s go. We don''t want to bete."


    They hovered out of the building and entered an automatic taxi.


    "Seraphim''s za, please."


    The vehicle moved and drove towards their location.


    Sara looked to the side and saw that her friend was trembling in excitement. "Would you calm down?"


    "How can I calm down? I have been waiting for her toe to this city for a long time! I finally can attend her concert! Oh my god, I can''t wait!!!"


    She took out a small object and it floated away a few inch from her. "Make a pose."


    They both posed and smile.


    The small object clicked and took a picture of them, automatically sending it to their social media.


    Secondster,ments came in:


    Yay Bestie!!


    y girl!


    Yas!


    Looking tH!


    Boobiees!!


    So Beautiful!


    They took a few more picture and kept sending it to their social media story.


    After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the za.


    "There''s already so many people here!"


    The za waspletely filled with people, and they struggled to get inside.


    After they got their spot, they chatted while they waited for Sofiel toe on stage.


    An hourter, all lights were shut except on the stage, and suddenly, Sofiel appeared on stage with her iconic pink hair, colorful dress, and a pair of small, transparent wings on her back.


    Everyone screamed in excitement at her arrival.

 Chapter 458 458 Kidnapping

    Sofiel smiled and looked at her fans with starry blue eyes. This was her persona. Colorful, fun, and energetic. She was the idol for many young women because she filled their gray world with colors and excitement.


    Her song was the best of the best. It''s lyrics, tone, intonation, and background music struck the heart of every teenage girl in Duria.


    Especially the lyrics, any women who heard her song for the first time would surelye to love her.


    "Everyone! Are you all excited?"


    "YEAHHH!!!"


    Hine and Sara screamed at the top of their lung. This was the moment they were waiting for.


    Sofiel excitedly punched the air, and a bubble burst in her fist before it turned into a flower-shaped microphone.


    She then cutely punched the air a couple more times and a bunch of flower-shaped speakers floated in the air.


    The fans screamed in excitement once again.


    Sofiel giggled. "Now, I will begin to sing, okay?"


    "OKAY!!!" the fans screamed. It was not only okay for her to sing, the fans begged her to sing. It was the only reason why they came to this concert.


    Sofiel sang. Her voice so soothing and so beautiful at first. The lyrics calmed their heart, making her fans stood still in silent, closing their eyes as their minds were in a tranquil.


    Her voice was like magic. Everyone was affected including the producers and staff backstage. Usually it would be a problem but they had enough experience to not repeat any mistake.


    Sofiel looked at her fans with a smile on her faced, and then she kept on singing: "The wheels on the bus, go round and round. Round and round. Round and round."


    "The wheels on the bus go round and round, all around the town¡­"


    Her song was truly the best. It spoke to their soul, heart, and mind. It was surely better than the so called rappers with robotic voice which was weirdly the hype in this age. Sofiel offered something better, something unique, and something they needed.


    Sofiel opened her eyes. Stars twinkled within them, and suddenly, her fans cheered.


    Smiling, she pulled her microphone near her mouth and continued to sing.


    But suddenly, a light jet; A thin, versatile, agile, high speed ne with v-shaped tail. It made a loud engine sound in the sky and then drop a smoke bomb that exploded above the audience.


    The fans screamed in panic because they could not see anything. They ran around on their hoverboard, hitting people all around them. A lot of people fell, but thankfully, the hoverboard prevented them from being crushed.


    Hine and Sara looked at each other. They were scared and wanted to leave, but they couldn''t even see the exit.


    "Let''s go there."


    "Are you sure?"


    "All we can do is try."


    The both of them picked a random direction and hovered as calmly and quickly as possible while being careful not to be hit by someone else.


    Suddenly, they heard a scream.


    "Let go of me!"


    "We will exin it to youter. We meant no harm."


    Hine widened her eyes. "They''re taking Sofiel away! Someone is trying to kidnap her!!!"


    Hine rushed towards the source of the voice. After a few seconds, she realized she was on the stage, but no one was here. Her vision perimeter was only around 1 meter.


    But suddenly, the smoke vanished and she could see everything again.


    The fans were running around below the stage, but Sofiel was nowhere to be seen.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Hine looked around in panic before her eyes dropped some tears. "She''s gone! They''re taking her away!"


    The fans heard her and saw that Sofiel was gone. The production team ran on stage and looked for her as well.


    The fans could piece the puzzle together after looking at this scene. All of them figured out that Sofiel was kidnapped!


    Everyone began to cry soon after.


    ¡­


    Sofiel slowly opened her eyes and she realized that she was in a dimly lit room. She jerked in shock when she saw two strangers in front of her.


    "Who are you two? Why did you bring me here?"


    "I heard that you have a piece of information that we might need."


    "I am a singer. What kind of information would I possibly have?"


    Suddenly, a footsteps came in from the side. Naley approached her. "8 months, you were secretly brought to the police''s headquarter in the capital city. You stayed inside for 5 days, and suddenly, you went on a hiatus for 2 weeks. At that time, you weren''t very famous. Your songs were mediocre, and you barely could sell any album. But right after your hiatus, your voice bes magical and you gathered millions of fans overnight. Later, all of yourtest song sounds much better than thest."


    "What does that have to do with this?"


    "The secret weapon that they developed. It wasn''t a bomb, a gun, a cannon. It''s¡­ human augmentation."


    Naley grabbed a device and scanned her body. The scanner detected something in her throat, heart, and mind. "What did they do to you?"


    Aldred scanned the woman with his godly eyes as well. There was strange device on some of her body parts. Inside the device was some sort of crystal that collected and processed the mana around her.


    "She''s using magic," Aldred said. "Her voice. The reason her fans liked her song so much is because she used magic."


    "That is not true," Sofiel said. "I can hear the voice of souls. Using that gifts I can attune to everyone''s desire. That is why people like my songs."


    "So, you''re saying that if I don''t return this to you, you will retain your fans?" Aldred''s showed a small device on his hand.


    Sofiel widened her eyes in shock as she put her hand on her throat. "How did you¡­"


    Naley approached her. "You better tell me his location, or you won''t see your fans again."


    "Who are you talking about?"


    "You know exactly who I am talking about."


    "I¡­ I don''t know."


    "Stop lying unless you want scars on that pretty eyes of yours." Naley red at her.


    Sofiel gulped in fear.


    "That''s right. I hate this pretty of yours. It takes great strength for me to hold back from ripping it off like a piece of paper. Here I am hiding under the sewer and you can go out there being praised and loved? As a pop star, I know you understand the danger of a jealous woman."


    Sofiel''s face darkened. She understood very clearly how dangerous can a woman be when they were jealous. A lot of her rivals had tried to attack her in the past. They tried to ruin her voice, her voice, her image, using all kinds of ways.


    It happened not to long ago, so the bitter memories were still fresh to her. Luckily, she had a protective team now, and they all protected her from these kind of people.


    But still, they never thought she would be kidnapped like this.


    "Tell me now!"


    "No need to shout at her, Naley. I can take care of this."


    Aldred stared into her twinkling eyes. His eyes turned red. "Look into my eyes."

 Chapter 459 459 Victor

    Aldred sent her through the world of dreams and hallucinations. And, after a few seconds, she was ready to answer any question.


    "Ask her away," Aldred said.


    "Where is Victor?"


    "He is in Anley."


    "Where is Anley?" Aldred asked.


    "It''s our capital city," Naley answered.


    "What is his secret weapon?"


    "I don''t know."


    "What did he do to you?"


    "He augmented my body."


    The three of them looked at each other.


    "So it was true," Naley said. "The secret weapon is body augmentation. I believed he was nning to make an army of super human."


    "But why did he augment Sofiel. She wasn''t a fighter," Ste said.


    Naley frowned. She was confused by this situation as well. What good would it be to augment Sofiel? She wasn''t a really good singers. Her lyrics were mediocre at best. Why pick someone so under-talented to augment?


    "Did you see her fans?" Aldred asked.


    "Why? Something wrong with them?"


    "No. It''s just they are extremely fanatical. They treated her as if she was their god. Victor did not augment her out of curiosity. He was experimenting with something. I believe he was a genius that could create robots that obey him, but people¡­ some always manage to revolt. Like you. But what if he could create something that could make every people move ording to his intention?"


    "You''re saying that he wants to control people with super humans?"


    Aldred nodded. "True power does not onlye from fighting prowess, but the ability to control others. An Emperor could be as weak as ants, but if he could order 200 Diamond Ranks, he would still be considered powerful."


    "Victor¡­ so caging the people isn''t enough. He wants to control them even more."


    "It''s normal for dictators wanting full control over its people. But I believe he only used Duria as an experiment. Once the result was to his satisfactory, he would sent singers all over the continent, stole the hearts of every people and took over every nations from within."


    "He don''t even have to spill a drop of blood once that happen."


    "It''s a lot scarier than bigger explosions and beams attack," Ste said.


    "Definitely, scarier."


    "THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW NOT TO CROSS ME!" a harsh robotic voice came from Sofiel''s body. Suddenly, her whole body shook and her twinkling eyes were reced by a pair of metallic eyes.


    Sofiel opened her mouth and strange sounds depicting metals grinding against metal came out and filled their head. The usual soothing and calming sound was no more. She was like an instrument from the reaper of life itself. The sound she produced could be used to torture sinners in hell.


    Aldred and Ste turned off their hearing senses, but Naley could not do that. She gritted her teeth in pain.


    She was after all a normal human being. One of the reason why Aldred respected her was her ability to be so brave despite being so weak.


    Ste casted a spell over her, and she began to feel better.


    "MY POWER CAN PIERCE THROUGH THE SENSES!"


    The pain return with greater intensity this time.


    But what shocked Sofiel was how disaffected Aldred and Ste were. To them. The pain was nothing. Because they were Diamond Ranks, they had greater resistance to pain and could still think logically.


    But it was more like being bitten by ants.


    They approached her calmly.


    "Are you Victor?" Aldred asked.


    "So you are Aldred. No wonder this trash couldn''t harm you."<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "You know my name¡­ are you Thinker''s creator?"


    "Take your guess."


    "So I was correct. I have been meaning to find you. Who would have thought that I will meet you so soon."


    Victor was kind of annoyed that Aldred was smart to guess correctly. It was indeed him who sent Thinker and Bafni Heartwatcher. He could have sent a far stronger robots, but the curse would affect him.


    "You''re still a youngling in my eyes. I have lived before the Ceraisian Empire even formed."


    "I know someone older than you." He pointed at Ste.


    "Don''t get in my way."


    "You tried to kill me during my journey, threatened the safety and peace of my Empire, and now you ask me to give way? Are you aedian? Because I really want tough right now."


    "You will not win."


    Something clicked inside Sofiel''s body. Using his godly eyes, Aldred saw that a bomb was about to detonate right in Sofiel''s heart.


    Aldred reacted quickly. Right as the me came out of the bomb, Aldred used his power to contain with a powerful barrier. The bomb went off but not even a sound came through. The me and power were stuck in this small barrier the size of his palm.


    Aldred teleported it away.


    Sofiel rubbed her eyes and opened them. "What happened? Can I leave now?"


    "You can. After I take all the device off your body," Aldred said.


    "No! Don''t take it away from me. They''re the only reason I am loved. I don''t want to¡­ I don''t want to be casted away anymore."


    "Uhhh¡­ we can give you magic. It''s much better than the bombs that they put in you."


    "Bombs???"


    "Believe it or not, but you were about to explode earlier."


    "Of course, Victor is trying to kill us."


    Suddenly, a bunch of heavy robots crashed from the ceiling. They aimed their weapons and fired their sma rifles.


    "Get behind me!" Aldred pped the sma beam, but he failed to deflect it and it burned his skin. "These beams, they''reparable to Diamond Ranks attacks."


    Aldred rushed forward and shed thousands of times in a fraction of a second. The robot was cut into pieces almost instantly. Then Aldred moved again, magic circles forming around him, shooting fire bullets, fire spears, and fire fist at every robots urately.


    Ste moved as well. Runes appeared all over her body, and she moved nimbly, dodging all the beams, and then firing a star particles beam back which deleted everything it touched.


    One robot got its upper half bodypletely vaporized.


    After killing all the robots, a man suddenlynded from the hole on the ceiling. It was a massive man, standing nearly 2 meters tall with a green tubes all over his body, and exhaust pipesing out of his back.


    Green smokes came out of the exhaust pipe and the man rushed towards Aldred, swinging its fist.


    Aldred raised his arms to block, and the ground beneath his feet cracked. "Is this the human augmentation?"


    "Why are you surprised by how powerful I am?" the man asked with glee.


    "Yeah. I am surprised, but because of how weak you are." Aldred spun and cut off the man''s right arm, then ducked, and cut off his left leg.


    The man screamed.


    "Even after all of these augmentation, you still feel pain?"


    "I am merely a failed experiment. My only use is to test you."


    "Then Victor should see that nothing can defeat me." Aldred swung his Phantom Doomde right at the man''s neck, beheading him.


    When the head rolled, Aldred engulfed the body in me, turning it into ashes.


    Aldred looked at the scared Naley and Sofiel. "Let''s get out of here."

 Chapter 460 460 Something I Need To Tell You

    Aldred and Ste casted a spell that teleported the four of them away.


    Suddenly, the appeared on top of a tall mountain.


    "We should be safe here," Aldred said.


    "Just what the hell happened? Those scary robots¡­ what are they?" Sofiel asked.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Of course those robots are send by Victor to kill you."


    "What? How did he make those kind of things?"


    "What are you talking about? Those are Duria''s military weapons. From what I heard, they are one of the primaries robots used to fight external threats."


    "Seriously? I¡­ I did not know. So our country has those kinds of weapon."


    "You think your nation isn''t capable of creating those?"


    "No¡­ I never thought about it."


    Aldred looked at Naley. Naley noticed his gaze and sighed. "The information is strictly controlled. Anything about war, the outside world, politics are almost never mentioned. The citizens are fully distracted with entertainments such as cat videos, cute girls punching air, or handsome boys showing their abs. Sometimes there are videos about natures, traveling etc. It depends on the algorithm, but it barely mentioned anything about politics and military."


    "So that''s why. The entire nation ispletely fooled. Controlling the media is like controlling their mind already. But now he tried to control them even deeper using idols and singers."


    That was a genius move. In Aldred''s past life, dictators would use propaganda and changed the school system to manipte the thinking of its citizen, but Victor used idols instead. He also strictly controlled the contents distributed in the media which was a ssic dictator technique to control the nation.


    Anyone realizing this would think that Victor was very intelligent enemy, and that they should tread carefully if they decided to go against him. But Aldred saw otherwise. He saw weakness and fear.


    "He has the needs to control the minds of the citizen. That is his weakness."


    "How can that be a weakness?" Naley asked.


    Aldred simply smiled after hearing that. "Knowing his wants and needs means it''s easy for us to annoy him and upy his mind."


    "What is your n?"


    "Listen to me," he said with a grin.


    ¡­


    It was a calm yet busy day in Duria. The streets and skies were brimming with vehicles as always. People''s eyes were stuck on their screen, scrolling through social medias, and finding more entertainment in it than real interaction.


    It was a normal day.


    But suddenly, rain of papers began. The people began to look away from their floating screen and looked up. Papers filled their vision. It was everywhere.


    They grabbed the paper and because of curiosity they began to read the text on it. They thought it was weird that someone would write on papers. Only movies with ancient theme would have something like this.


    But as they read the text, they were deeply intrigued. The text contains all kinds of facts about the government, asking questions such as who was the ruler? Why politics rarely discussed in the media, and what was it like outside the country of Duria.


    A lot of people threw the paper and went on with their life, but some kept on reading, while others already had theories but kept it in for themselves.


    This scene rmed the police stations around the cities and they sent drones to destroy these papers. Despite that, the ideas were already nted in their minds.


    Aldred and Ste kept on dumping hundreds of thousands of papers in every cities. Naley worked hard to dy the police as much as possible.


    For a full week, they managed to drop the paper in every corner of Duria.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But after seven days, the police prepared thousands of me throwers ready to burn all the papering down from the sky, rendering them ineffective.


    Or so they thought. This act alone made the citizen suspicious. Why the police tried so hard to burn these papers? Those who weren''t interested at first, began to ask questions to those who had read it.


    And then a lot of people got caught for spreading the information. The citizen were rmed, and they got even more curios. Soon, low whispers began to spread.


    After a month or so, they managed to find ways on how to talk without being monitored. And they also realized now that their actions and thoughts werepletely observed.


    This angered a lot of people, but they stayed still, waiting for the right opportunity toe.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Aldred, Ste, and Naley were thinking of ways on how to further spread their propaganda.


    "Naley, why don''t you ask your organization for help?"


    "No. We cannot rely on them. You only got me."


    "They managed to do a lot over the years. Have some trust in them. We can do so much more with a lot of help."


    Naley looked down in silent.


    Aldred came to a realization. "There is no organization. Is it?"


    Ste looked at Aldred in wonder.


    Sofiel was also with them on the mountain, but she understood nothing of the situation.


    "All these years. You fought alone? There is no secret underground organization. There are no other members¡­ there is only¡­ you."


    "That''s right." Naley stood up and looked at him in the eye. "I did it all alone. All these years, I fought, and I fought alone."


    Sofiel was shocked to hear that. "I have heard about the Revolution Group. They have done so much damage to the nation. Although I am quite surprised the media never show it, but because I am famous, my fans would sometimes tell me about its existence and told me to be careful."


    "You have done a lot of nasty things, they said. You blow up a lot of buildings, but¡­ weirdly a lot of my fans said that you somehow opened their eyes about the state of this nation. But before they could borate further, the assistants bots would rush them away."


    "Who would have thought that the rebel is only one person."


    "Yeah, surprising right? It''s hopeless, right? You can go and leave now like everybody else. You have done enough."


    Aldredughed. "Who said I am leaving. Here I am standing with a legend, and you wanted me to leave? No thanks, I am nning to stay."


    "What do you mean, a legend?"


    "You fought against Victor by yourself. He is someone who can control over millions of robot, each one could kill you in an instant. Not only that, he has surveince devices all over the nation, and yet you manage outsmart them all. Too bad Victor doesn''t try to use magic to track you. If he did, it would be he who find you, not me."


    Naley looked at Aldred. The only reason why he managed to track her in her spot was because he used magic, and she did not have counters for that yet.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was thinking on how the hell did Naley get away from Victor all these years.


    It was close to impossible to keep running for so many years with the amount of information technology Victor had in his hand.


    Naley noticed Aldred''s gaze and knew what he had in mind.


    "There''s something I need to tell you."

 Chapter 461 461 Barne

    "What do you need to tell us?" Aldred asked.


    Naley hesitated. "You know what, never mind. It''s nothing important."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow, and he detected her heart thumping with fear. There was something she wanted to say but her fear got ahead of her.


    Aldred did not think too much about it. "So what''s our next step? How can we track Victor?"


    "Maybe he''s in the capital city," Ste said.


    "Trying to track him is close to impossible. He might be even out of Duria since he could control the robots from any corner of the continent," Naley replied.


    That was true. Since the robots were mostly automated, and could function without his direct instruction. It was very difficult to track him down.


    "I just wish I can get his blood or something," Aldred said.


    "Why would you need his blood?"


    "I think I can track someone using their blood."


    "Oh, seriously?" Ste asked.


    "I haven''t unlocked all of my new abilities as Diamond Rank, but I feel like I can do it."


    Ste nodded. "Your rise to Diamond Rank is too abrupt so that is normal. You will learn more of your abilities in the future."


    "I don''t mind waiting. But how do we proceed from here?"


    "Maybe I should cast a divination spell," Ste said. "It''s not very urate, but it should give us something."


    Ste closed her eyes, and mysterious power radiated out of her body. She began to float as star particles circled around her. Suddenly, all the mana nearby got sucked in, and then Ste abruptly opened her eyes. They were shining like a golden star.


    A few secondster, Stended on the ground. "He''s at the north most part of the nation. It''s a city near the mountain of ice."


    "Vorozelsk," Naley said. "That is the name of the city you described. It''s one of the most vital city in Duria."


    Aldred looked at her. "Why?"


    ...


    Vorozelsk


    Thousands of mining robots raised their drills and hammers then pounded on the mountains of ice. The hardened ice cracked under the pressure, and revealed some sort of tunnel.


    The ground shook, and then the roar of a creature came from the tunnel. Suddenly, something leaped out of the tunnel. It was a huge creature with 6 legs, and a stinger as a tail, and a pair of two sharp pincers. It jolted forward, two pincers closed in on dozens of robots at once and cut them in half.


    Suddenly, a group of robots in the rear moved forward. Their eyes leaked blue energy as they leaped in the sky, and mmed their hammers at the creature.


    The creature roared and fought back, mming them to the ground. But the robots managed to stand back up and smashed one of its leg.


    The pincers were Archanite''s strongest parts, so the robots didn''t even try to attack those. It''s legs, however, especially the tibia, were one of its weakness.


    Aldred watched in the sky with Ste and Naley with invisibility spell.


    "Those creatures are called Archanite. These robots are luring them out to kill them and collect the crystals inside their body. The crystals are called archnite."


    "I have heard of it before. These crystals allows for the creation of a more powerful weapons, right? Even those robots earlier had some fragments of archnite in it to fight those scorpion thing."


    "How did you know?"


    "I have good pair of eyes."


    "Victor might be here to collect these crystals and experimented with his research," Ste said.


    Nodding, Aldred agreed with that spection. "Let''s scan the city."


    Just like every other city in Duria, Vorozelsk was a metropolis with thousands of high-rise buildings seemingly built out of ss. Most of the buildings were in box-shape, but there were some with artistic shape. Aldred was d Victor did not hinder the citizen''s creativity.


    Victor actually did not want to put a blockade on people''s creativity. He, in fact, wanted to harness it. If a lot of people tried to make a weapon together, Victor was sure he could get something powerful. But he did not want someone else to have it, which was one of the reason why he wanted to control the nation first.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ste casted a spell that sent invisible particles to every part of the city. They swirled in every buildings, and every holes under the ground.


    "I detected an underground secretb."


    "Good. That must be it," Aldred said.


    "I think I found him!"


    "Let''s go there, right now."


    Ste teleported the three of them inside the underground secretb. Unlike Naley''s secret room, this one was brightly lit with a lot more heavy equipments all over the ce.


    "Who''s there?"


    A 3 meter tall robot aimed its two heavy rifle towards them.


    "How did you get in here?!"


    "There''s no ce for you to run away, Victor. We got you now."


    "First of all, I am not Victor. Second of all, this ce is a secret, and I will have to kill you three to keep it that way."


    The robots began firing itsrge caliber weapons. The bullet was as big as Aldred''s fist, and it shot towards them at such a high speed.


    Ste casted a barrier in front of them, redirecting the projectile to the other direction. But she found something weird. Her barrier actually began to crack, and then it shattered.


    Aldred quickly rushed forward and created another barrier. "The robots have archnite with them. The energy is almost the same as normal mana, but with the quality of a Diamond Rank."


    Something told Aldred that the quality could be higher than this.


    Aldred stomped the ground, and an earth pir came out then mmed towards the robot''s head, disorienting it.


    Aldred then threw his Phantom Doomde towards the robot''s chest. It prated deep, and then exploding it from within with a powerful burst of me.


    The Phantom Doomde returned to his hand right after.


    Scanning the room with his godly eyes, he quickly found his target. His feet shed, and his fist mmed through a steel wall before pulling out a small man with white beard and white hair.


    "You''re not victor." Aldred frowned.


    "Didn''t I tell you that I am not?"


    "Where is he? Tell me or I will give you hell."


    The small old man pped Aldred in the face. "You think I would know?"


    Aldred was quite surprised by this reaction. Usually, someone would feel fear when they threatened him because of his aura and terrifying eyes.


    Naley approached the old man. "You are Barne?"


    "You know this guy?" Aldred asked.


    "Hmmm, that''s right youngd. How do you know my name?"


    "I have hacked into Duria''''s security system and read their most wanted list. Your name is on the top five."


    "Oh, really? No wonder they tried so hard to find me. It''s really hard to go out. I have been stuck inside this ce for years."


    "So, he''s one of Revolutionary Fighter?" Aldred asked.


    Naley shook her head. "There is no Revolutionary Fighter. He simply don''t want his work to be taken by someone else."


    "That''s right! My creation should only be used for myself. I don''t want their money or anything, I only want my robots to be used for me."


    "Is his robots better than what Victor make?"


    Naley nodded. "Far better. The only downside was that his robot couldn''t be mass produced. Barne is one of the best weapon engineer I know."

 Chapter 462 462 Who Could Find Who?

    Aldred looked at the small old man. The old man was as tall as Aldred''s knee. He was an ordinary man with no sign of magic at or life force at all, but he manage to create a robot that could almost harm him.


    That was the power of technology.


    "Since he isn''t our man, we have no further business here."


    "Wait," the old man said. "Why do you want to meet Victor?"


    "Because I don''t want him to fool the people anymore. All of us deserve to know the truth and not being manipted by him."


    "Does that involve me being free?" Barne asked.


    "Y...yeah sure."


    "Well then I am in. Tell me what kind of weapons you need and I will work on it."


    "We don''t need weapons," Aldred said. "What we need is something that can tell us his location. We have a divination spell but it''s not that urate which is why we found you instead of Victor."


    "Hmmm, in that case, the young girl on your side should do a better job than me. Isn''t that right Naley, The Ghost of Duria?"


    "Why is she better?"


    Barne smiled. "She''s a master in information technology. The only person who could move around so freely in Duria is her because she managed to go anywhere undetected. People like me have to stay under the ground most of the time, but The Ghost of Duria could blend in anytime she wanted."


    "I don''t have the skills to track him," Naley said. "All I can do best is prevent him from tracking us."


    "Victor didn''t manage to track me and Ste though."


    "That''s because he did not use a more advanced mana detection tech. Now that he knew the existence of you two, he will surely use it."


    "So he didn''t activate this tech all the time to catch Diamond Ranks like me?"


    "Usually, ordinary means are enough, but you are smart enough to blend in as someone who lives in Duria."


    The first time Aldred and Ste came to Duria, they had stole someone''s identities. Aldred put these two people in the Ceraisian Empire, and then he and Ste morphed into their appearance.


    Aldred watched enough spy movies to think of this. Who would have thought that it was a genius move.


    "So our usual disguise won''t work?" Aldred asked.


    "I activate my anti-tracking device all the time, so we are practically invisible."


    "I see. That''s convenient."


    "So what do we do now?" Ste asked. "How can we track Victor?"


    "Naley," Barne called. "I think if we work something together, we can creating something that can track Victor."


    "Creating what?"


    "A device that can track energy zone. Theoretically, this device should be able to detect a location''s energy zone. If we can scour the nation with this device, we should be able to pin point his location."


    "But everything requires energy. The cities are lit with energy," Naley said.


    "Yes, but I believe Victor''sb requires far greater energy that all the citybined. Something like that would glow as bright as the sun amongst the tiny stars."


    Naley looked at Barne with great interest. "That could work."


    "Let''s do it," Barne said.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aldred and Ste looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders as Naley and Barne began to write their theories.


    It took them a few weeks before they actually testing something. Few weeks more, and they drew a blueprint.


    Aldred teleported inside the room. "Guys, I am back. I bring hamburgers, sweet baguette, and some donuts this time. I figure your brain would needs sugar in them."


    "I love baguette." Ste grabbed one and took a bite.


    "Hey, you two. You want some?" Aldred asked Naley and Barne.


    "Just put them on the table," Naley said as she was busy working on something.


    "They really can''t take their eyes off of those," Aldredmented after he put the bag of food on the table.


    "It''s better that way. The device seems to be almost finished," Ste replied.


    Aldred sighed. "I really hope we can catch Victor soon."


    "What''s the hurry?"


    "Selia is getting more aggressive in their approach. It won''t take them long for them to take the southern part of Yevileria and bordered directly with Ceraisian."


    "Those Shardminds are known to be intelligent and persistence," Ste said. "It won''t be easy fighting them, Aldred. They are arrogant, but they will never underestimate their foes. And especially not you."


    "I won''t underestimate my enemy either," Aldred replied. "Do you know anyone that can possibly match me in strength?"


    "I think Edeline said his name once. I believe it was Zikaok Jalruhk. He got thick crystal on his forehead."


    "You do mention that shardminds'' power are proportionate to the size of their crystal."


    "Yes, for the male, the bigger the better, but for the female, the smaller and narrower is better."


    "And the size of their body is also affected by the crystal, right?"


    "Most of the time, yes. Males have simr bodies ording to the crystal. So men are preferred to be bulky, and big, but womens are preferred to be small and petite."


    "And so who is this Zikaok guy?"


    "He''s supposed to be one of the nation''s genius child."


    Aldred sighed. During his journey he had met many so called geniuses from all kinds of powerful, influential, and wealthy family. All of them died when they crossed him.


    That said, their families never try to hunt him down or anything. He wondered why was that the case.


    What Aldred did not realized was that many people have sent assassin after him, but he killed them all with absolute strength. It was to the point that killing him wasn''t worth the price.


    Now that he was at Diamond Rank, barely anyone could harm him.


    Aldred waited. Weeks turn into months.


    Aldred hoped the waiting was worth it.


    As Naley and Barne kept working on the device, Victor''s robot scoured the nation for them as well. It was like hide and seek, except in this game, both sides were the seeker and also the hider.


    The goal of the game was: who could find who first?

 Chapter 463 463 Undead VS Robot

    Aldred stared at Ste''s mirror which was floating in the air. The mirror revealed the image of the city from the sky. A lot of flying vehicles scanned the buildings and the streets at all times, looking for them.


    "Will they find us?" Aldred asked.


    "Nope," Barne said. "I have lived here for decades, and they hadn''t found me yet. Unless they start digging underground."


    Suddenly, a loud beep sound came from Naley''s waist. She grabbed the device and widened her eyes in shock. "It''s the tunneler. The robots are digging underground."


    "Oh, fuck!" Barne stomped his little, wrinkled, old feet on the ground.


    "What are we going to do?" Ste asked. "Should we destroy them?"


    "No." Naley shook her head. "They will know that we are here if we do that."


    Aldredughed. "In that case, I will destroy the robots in other cities."


    "That will also be suspicious. All robots in other cities are destroyed, but not here? Surely, he will know what we are doing."


    "Then I will also destroys one here. If I destroy all the robots in all the ces, he wouldn''t know where we are."


    "How will you be able to do that? If you destroy the robots here first, it will be suspicious as well."


    "Littledy, Victor isn''t the only one who has an army." Aldred grinned as the dark aura of undead exuded out of his body.


    Naley and Barne were shocked by his sudden change in aura. The two first saw him as calm and reasonable person, but now, he was like an untamed monster who could go on the loose at any time.


    If Aldred did not control his aura, these two people would die immediately.


    "Ste, help me teleport my army to all corner of Duria."


    "Sure." Ste''s half-broken disc floated atop Aldred and casted a star halo above his head.


    Aldred closed his eyes and sent numerous shadow into the halo. Then, Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and pushed it through the halo. The part of the de that entered the Halo became invisible as if the halo was a portal that led somewhere else.


    Naley grabbed a small box from her small pocket and flicked it. The box widened into a tablet and when she activated it, she immediately essed her own surveince cameras that she put all over the country.


    Everywhere she looked, she saw shadows in the shape of demonic creatures and beast rampaging around the cities, leaping onto every robots and ripped its internal apart. These things were as vicious as animals, but the more she looked she realized that their movements were very coordinated with each other.


    They were almost like a robot in synchronization!


    Naley frowned. Robots did not have the ferocity of a living being, but they do have systematic approach in attacking, so their weakness were filled. But these undead has the advantage of a robot-like sync, and the ferocity of a vicious creature.


    This made them an army to behold!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Naley''s analysis was spot on. Aldred''s undead couldmunicate with each other faster than the speed of light. This made it impossible for them to identally killing each other, but instead, manage to kill the most important target because they could work together so well.


    If a robot require more undead to kill, more undead woulde at a moment''s notice. They also did not feel fear which was already a big advantage in itself.


    Duria''s main methods of winning a war was with overwhelming power that could kill thousands of people at once to scare the enemy. With their hearts demoralized, their effectiveness in fighting would significantly be reduced.


    Most creatures are emotional. When they see their friends died, they would felt down.


    But not undeads and robots. These things didn''t even care if they were torn to shreds because they couldn''t even felt pain in the first ce.


    What Naley further surprised about was how good these undeads were at ''killing'' robots. Each of their movement, spells, and techniques was so elegant and powerful.


    Aldred''s undead had been strengthened because of the many buffs he received during his journey, and the quality of his mana also affected their strength as well.


    The chaos and destruction caused panic and unrest in every part of Duria. Then suddenly, hundreds of thousands of military-grade nes came down and precisely fired at the undead.


    The citizen of Duria finally got a glimpse of Duria''s true military might. All these time, only the most intelligent and creative people were selected to know about the military. Most military devices were hidden from the public view.


    Victor admired the power of creativity, but he also feared it. He was scared that someone would try to create a weapon to fight his rule.


    That was why he did not show himself as ruler, but instead, controlled the nation from the shadow.


    Naley''s eyes lit up. Finally, finally the citizen could see more truth about their nation. She hoped that they would be able to piece the puzzles themselves and realize that the governments are hiding a lot more information from them.


    The propaganda paper from before would also help with this.


    Naley looked at Aldred. Because of this man, she made so many progress that could take decades to do. But she managed to do it in a few months because of him.


    What an incredible power this so called ''magic''. Why didn''t Victor use them?


    Aldred kept looking at the mirror. The power of advanced technologies kept making an impression of him. Not only their power in military, but also in information gathering, social engineering, health, education, and even transportation.


    Technologies changed people''s live in so many different aspect. Aldred wanted this knowledge to be spread in his empire so ordinary men would be more appreciated and had bigger roles to y in society.


    In his opinion, the current society was too harsh for ordinary people. Buildings could be built with magic, farms could be taken care of with magic, battles could be fight off with magic. Almost everything could be done with magic.


    This made the normal people almost have no roles in society, despite them being the majority of the poption.


    "After taking out Victor, I should bring some knowledge back to the empire."

 Chapter 464 464 Big Robot

    Hundreds of thousands undead were decimated by the Victor''s air forces.


    Naley bit her nail. "His forces is too many. Your undead wouldn''t be able to handle them."


    "Rx. Undead is not the only thing I have. Ste, help me again."


    Aldred opened a portal of his own but instead of golems, star particles came out of his portal and entered the halo.


    Suddenly, millions of golems appeared all over Duria. Hundreds of thousands of Artillery Golem filled the sky with explosions. People''s scream were muted as the sound of explosion and sting beam reverberated all over the ce.


    Fire bullets and metal bullets went against each other while metal robot shed de against de with the fighter golems.


    Naley and Barne was shocked to see this.


    "What are those?" Barne asked.


    "Those are my golems."


    "Golems? They look kind of simr with robots."


    "Essentially, but they don''t have wires inside of them. Instead, they use mana crystals as their source of power, and as for their consciousness, it''s easier to say that I use magic for that."


    "Their movements¡­ it''s the same as your undead; fully synchronized and organized. Every movement was systematic almost like a great general wasmanding their every move," Naleymented.


    Barne began to look at Aldred with apletely different light. He thought this man was a simple brute, but he was far more amazing than he thought. How could he have this power? Undead, Golems, magic spells, and swordmanship, what else did he had under his sleeves?


    Aldred''s power was always a mystery for those who took a glimpse of it.


    The golems kept appearing out of nowhere and began to push the robots.


    "How many did you have?" Naley asked.


    "I lost count to be honest." Aldred smiled. Because this was time of war, he had instructed Tarrar to create as many golems as fast as possible while also reducing the sells. This meant that he was losing money, but that was fine since he had lots of money already.


    Not to mention he had other business that grew very well such as his auctionpany, minerpany, foodpany, and magic orbspany that Tarrar and Jereim made.


    All thesepany earned him billions of gold coins. He was so rich that even Edeline looked at him with jealousy. Not saying that the Empire was poorer than him, but its expenditure was too huge as it had more Diamond Ranks than any other nations.


    It was a miracle already that the Empire could pay off all of its soldiers to a satisfying levels. Maybe the reason why it went to war so often was because it wanted to reduce the number of soldiers and trained them at the same time.


    Aldred kept thinking about it and realized something¡­


    Didn''t that meant the nation needed war to survive? Without war, it would be unreasonable to spend so much money for the military.


    Hopefully, he could do something for that. Maybe he could bring his soldiers to conquer another continent or something.


    The golems swarmed in and overwhelmed the robots. Thousands of scrapped metals fell to the ground and then were absorbed by the golems.


    "These things can absorb nearby materials?" Barne widened his eyes.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yep. They can use anything nearby to use as camouge or simply reinforcing itself. It can also regenerate its broken parts."


    "How¡­ something like that would cost you valuable space within its internal."


    Aldred smiled. "Magic, my friend, magic."


    "Damn, I really want to know how this ''magic'' work."


    "That won''t be possible, but you can work together with someone who knows magic."


    Barne''s eyes lit up. "That''s a fucking good idea. You know what. I have seen enough. It''s time for me to contribute something."


    "Oh, you finally sending your robots?


    "Maybe just a few. I don''t have a lot."


    "Which one are you sending? I want to see how good your robots are."


    Barne grinned. "You''ll see."


    A few minutester, a gigantic robot, the size of a skyscraper appeared. On its two hand was a giant ster cannon with a diameter of at least 30 meters. It charged up with a bright blue light, and then fired a beam so thick, so wide, and so powerful it cleansed an entire area of robots in one massive attack.


    "Wow¡­ that''s very impressive." Even Aldred was impressed by what he saw, and he wasn''t easy to impress at all.


    Sure his parent''s power were far more impressive, but it would be unfair topare anything to their power.


    They literally ate gxies, mortals couldn''t even imagine such power.


    Barneughed. "I know you will be impressed. But I it''s not done yet."


    Tiny holes appeared on its body, and thousands of missiles sped out, before flying towards the enemies.


    They exploded with such force that its shock wave alone leveled some of the nearby buildings.


    Barne''s robot began to let out all of its armaments;ser beams, incendiary bombs, scatter bombs, missiles, and me throwers that could reach 500 meters.


    His robot''s weaponry was insane.


    Naley was impressed by its capabilities as well. She could never make something that huge. She wasn''t specialized in weaponry either, though she do have some powerful blueprints that she stole.


    Aldred on the other hand was more determined to bring back more knowledge to Ceraisian Empire. Just like what Edeline said, if he wanted peace, he had to prepare for war. If his nation manage to build a powerful robot like this, less and less people would die as casualties in a war.


    As Aldred thought about this, something happened. In the sky of a particr city in Duria, a giant disc like the shape of an alien ship appeared.


    It was super massive; at least 2 KM in width, and then it fired a powerful beam at Barne''s robot, destroying it and the entire block of the city. The attack also consumed hundreds of thousands of his golems at once.


    "Victor, he is much more powerful than we thought." Aldred clicked his tongue.

 Chapter 465 465 Getting Caught

    "Dammit!" Barne stomped the ground in anger. "How dare he destroy my creation! Help me teleport another thing. I have something much bigger."


    Aldred smiled. "Keep your robots forter. I will take care of this."


    Aldred vanished out of thin and then reappeared right below the space ship. Using his godly eyes, Aldred saw no humans within the space ship. This gigantic massive mechanism waspletely automated.


    In Aldred''s past lives, this kind of technology was only possible in science fiction movies.


    A secondter, Aldred detected a lot of weapons were pointing at him. Before they could do anything however, Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and shed upward.


    A wide arc of me appeared at the speed of light and shed the space ship in half. The attack was then followed by a series of explosions and shock wave that threw numerous mechanical parts in every direction.


    Barne''s and Naley''s jaws went to the ground. With a single sh from him, the kilometers wide space ship waspletely obliterated. They couldn''t ever imagine a human would be possible of such things.


    Sure they had seen a glimpse of the outside world and the power of magic, but not like this.


    In fact, even Diamond Ranks would be shocked to see Aldred''s power. Even a being as ancient as Ste was amazed by him.


    So their reaction was not over dramatic. It was just Aldred''s power was that dramatic.


    Suddenly, dozens of blue vortex appeared in the sky and thousands of fighter jet with x wing came out. Their speed was impressive for normal Diamond Ranks, but Aldred wasn''t a normal Diamond Ranks.


    In his godly eyes, these nes were as slow as snails. Raising his fingers, he smiled and aimed at them.


    "PEW PEW PEW!"


    Instead of firing one fire bullets at a time, Aldred fired hundreds in session. Like a machine gun with steroids he kept on firing endlessly, destroying hundreds of nes.


    The nes tried to make a maneuver to dodge his attack, but despite their rigorous calction, it was physically impossible to do so.


    They then turned around and counter attacked, firing thousands of bullets in a fraction of a second.


    The bullets struck against Aldred''s skin and it got deflected.


    "This is too weak. Come on, Victor. Show me your true power! Is this the nation that manage to fight Ceraisian Empire to a draw?"


    Aldred raised his left fist and clenched. "Fire Combustion!"


    Suddenly, the entire sky was filled with me. The me was so bright and so hot that it melted steel and ss far away from it. When the me disappeared, the nes had been turned into liquid metal and they all fell to the ground.


    "Weak! Too weak, Victor!" Aldred shouted at the sky.


    After Aldred said that, electricity sparked all around him, and a barrier with the shape of a cube trapped him inside.


    "Trying to trap me? You think your weak tech can do that?"


    Aldred shed the barrier, but his Phantom Doomde was deflected. Aldred frowned and kept hacking at it, but to no avail.


    Suddenly, the whole cube barrier, and along with him was teleported into a vast,pletely white room.


    There was a bulky, golden robot in the room with a pair ofrge hands.


    "Is this your best robot?"


    Suddenly, the robot punched out, and its fist detached from its arm and went straight towards Aldred. It grabbed him and pulled him towards it.


    Aldred raised his sword about to thrust it into the robot but the robot swung its left fist at him. With a powerful bang, he was knocked into the air, while also being electrocuted.<novelnext></novelnext>


    When Aldrednded on the ground, the robot were already rushing at him.


    Aldred rolled to dodge the giant fist and then shed its arm. The right arm flew into the air, but cables shot out from its arm and re-attached it back.


    Aldred moved forward and shed it off again before he spun and cut off its left leg. The robot was disoriented, and Aldred thrust his de into its chest. The de burst in mes, burning its internal part from the inside.


    The robot slowed down and the light in its eyes died.


    "Weak," Aldred said before he turned around and saw hundreds of the same robot standing thirty meters from him.


    Aldred let out a sigh.


    For the next hours, Aldred fought endlessly against the robots. Hours then turns into days, and it turn into weeks until he got exhausted and defeated.


    The robots surrounded him and tied him with all kinds of strange devices.


    A few hourster, a man came. His feet nging against the room as if steel against steel.


    Aldred looked up and saw a man, no a machine. Wait, it was a half-man half-machine.


    [Victor]


    Level: 135


    Power: Mechanical Body, Super Strength, Super Speed, Fast Thinking, Ultra Focus, Deep Thought, Self-Engineering, Tech Master, Artificial Brain Network Connection...


    History: Once was an ordinary man under constant oppression, Victor saw a chance to bring humanity to a greater equality and fight for it. Developing science and technologies in secret, he manage to carve a territory for himself after years of fighting.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. An ordinary man managed to get the strength of a Diamond Rank.


    That meant it was possible for other ordinary person to achieve this height. Even if that wasn''t the case, they could at least reach Silver Ranks.


    "You are a threat," Victor spoke with heavy and harsh robotic voice.


    "Am I?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, you are. You define the thing I despise. Someone so talented and so powerful in the art of magic. The art of non-physic! No one should have learn magic. It brought great suffering for the majority of people who could not wield its power. And people like you, who stand the highest above them all would do everything you can to keep your rule and satiate your endless ambition for countless conquest."


    "I did not expect you to be so talkative."


    Victor raised his arm, and it shed with blue energy before a blue light saber appeared. "No one can understand my thoughts. Even though I exined it to them numerous times, the people, they always find ways to have contact with the non-physics. These emotional beings are too engrossed with the mystery and seduction of taboos."


    "So that''s why you restrict so many information from them."


    "My existence is the only reason why they can enjoy their life without someone whipping their backs! But humans are ungrateful. They always have."


    Aldred smiled. "I thought wrongly of you. I thought you wanted to control the nation and controlled the world. Maybe we can work together."


    "I have no desire for such things, but you think wrongly of me. I have no intention for world domination, but if that is what it takes to force equality, then I will dly do it. I will kill everyone except the mortal kind. All the books of histories about your existence will be gone. There will be no such thing as magic."


    "That''s not what I have in mind," Aldred said with a frown.


    "It is the only choice I have. So now, die, Aldred. I have failed to kill you during your journey, but you still end up here under my mercy."


    Victor raised his light saber and shed.

 Chapter 466 466 A Shocking Ability

    As victor swung his light saber, Aldred reached out with his hand and grabbed the saber. His skin sizzled as the light burned him.


    "How did you¡­?"


    "You underestimate my power, Victor. I did note here to lose to your robots. I am here to lure you out!"


    Aldred shed forward, Phantom Doomde forming in his hand, and he wanted to thrust into Victor''s chest.


    Victor''s body suddenly moved backward and an energy exploded from him, knocking Aldred away.


    Aldred''s feet dragged against the floor for a second before he came to a stop. "As expected from a level 135 entity. You wouldn''t be that easy to kill."


    Victor''s robotic eyes lit up and two powerful beams shot towards Aldred.


    Raising his de, a wall of me ignited in front of him and absorbed the beam. Aldred then spun, his me followed his movement as if he was dancing gracefully, and then swung his de forward, throwing the me towards Victor before it formed the shape of a vicious dragon.


    Victor''s right arm shed with electricity and fired a powerful lightning bolt at the dragon, sting it into pieces, creating a beautiful fireworks of fire and lightning in between them.


    Aldred smiled. "I was afraid that you might be some sort of weak mortal who relied on your robots to fight. I was wrong. You are much better than I anticipated. But with this strength, why use robots to fight?"


    "This power I own is only something I create to assure my safety. Like I said, my existence keep equality afloat. I have to protect myself from all kinds of threats. You are not the first one that manage to lure me."


    "At least I manage to lure you though," Aldred said with a smile on his face.


    He intentionally mocked Victor and calling him out. After that, Aldred simply pretended to be defeated by the robots to lure Victor.


    The n worked.


    "We could be working together, you know. We can create peace for this continent."


    "There will be no peace if your kinds still exist."


    "You know equality is a terrible thing if you take it too literally right?"


    "It''s much better than the current system. Tell me, have you ever seen the live of ves?"


    Aldred suddenly recalled the first time he came to Ruandeurtin Fort. He recalled the scene when he was jogging and saw the ves working under the ring sun despite their sickness and pain.


    He remembered that he manage to cure a man''s disease by killing a parasite in his body. He also remembered that he met the man''s child who only had one arms but manage to skillfully spear a fish in the river.


    He forgot their name as it was quite a while ago.


    "I have," Aldred said.


    "Then you should know that the current society is a failure. I am not like you. I want none of those materialistic things. What I want is to enforce my ideologies."


    "And you must think that you''re a saint by doing that, right?" Aldred asked.


    "I am no saint. Just a man who wanted less suffering for this world."


    "Killing millions of people is your solution?"


    "Kill millions to save billion. I have no problem with that."


    "Sorry, I have a lot of important people who are magicians and warriors. I have to end you here to save them."


    Victor and Aldred vanished from their original spot and fought at close range at extremely high speed.


    Ste, Naley, and Barne watched the battle unfold in silent, but their hearts were beating like mad.


    Except for Naley, They did not know that Victor was actually this strong.


    "He is stronger than most Diamond Ranks I''ve seen," Ste said.


    "You said that you have lived over thousands of years, right?" Barne asked. "What was the state of thisnd a thousand year ago?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Nothing like anything you see here. It was barrennd."


    "I see¡­ I did not expect that."


    Aldred continued to fight against Victor back and forth. mes burned all over Victor''s robotic body, and electricity crackled all over Aldred''s body.


    They both backed up and stared at each other. They did this for a few seconds before they rushed back into battle.


    Aldred swung his Phantom Doomde, Victor ducked to dodge, until suddenly, another Aldred appeared from the side and shed. Victor''s body moved automatically to dodge, but another Aldred appeared and attacked from below.


    Victor''s body moved in mid-air, managing to dodge the fatal attack, but the de cut his right foot.


    Victor wanted to re-attached the foot, but Aldred reached out with his hand and crushed it into pieces.


    The three Aldred then rushed towards Victor, but surprisingly some surface parts moved quickly and emerged as his new right foot. Victor quickly kicked the ground and dodged the attacks.


    "Not bad." Aldred summoned another clone. In total, there were four Aldred now.


    They all then rushed at Victor. One was engulfed in me, one in water, one covered in earth, and thest one was inside a whirlwind.


    Aldred attacked with the four basic elements. Sending fire fist, earth pirs, water razor, and wind attacks at Victor.


    Victor''s chips became overloaded with data. There was so many attacks at once that even his advanced chip struggled to process the information it received. The result was a slower reaction, and Aldred''s attack hit him a bunch of times, causing damage to his body.


    Aldred and his clones then attacked at the same time, sending all four elements towards Victor.


    The attack knocked Victor in the air.


    And a split second after, Aldred and his clones raised their Phantom Doomde.


    "Execution Strike!"


    Each one of them sent a bright red arc towards Victor.


    When it reached him, it cut off all of his limbs, then a series of shes followed throughout his body.


    Victor''s robotic eyes widened in shock. Even though most of his body were mechanicals he still retain his human features because he needed that to invent new things.


    And now, his senses just told him that he was cut into thousands of pieces!


    Quickly, his body re-connected itself andnded on the ground. He seemed to be unwounded but that attack took great toll on his robotic body. Though it can''t felt tired, it could break under constant pressure.


    "Would you like to surrender?"


    Aldred asked with a smile as his godly eyes detected a lot of damage on Victor''s body. On the surface, it might looked pristine fine, but it was terribly damaged inside.


    Victor raised his right arm in silent. With a few mechanical clicks, a small pod with blue liquid came out of his forearm.


    "Your offense is nothing to me, Victor. Don''t try to resist any longer. You have nowhere to go."


    "I do," Victor said before crushing the pod.


    Suddenly, time and space stopped. And then slowly, time began to reverse. Aldred''s body moved and he could not control it as everything he had done before werepletely reversed. The attacks, the fightings, the broken parts, the explosion all reverted. Time went backward as far as when he was captured by the robots, but it did not end there.


    It then returned to the point when he was trapped inside the cube barrier.


    When that happened, the time returned to normal again, and Aldred could move his body around.


    The cube barrier vanished.


    Aldred was shocked out of his mind after what just happened.

 Chapter 467 467 We Need Your Help

    "Did he just turn back time?" Aldred widened his eyes in shock. He had seen the power of manipting time before, but it wasn''t to this extent!


    Most time maniption power only let faster reaction, faster thoughts, and faster agility. Victor, on the other hand, literally reverted time!


    Aldred did not know how far he reverted, but it had at least to be more than hours. But when he looked at the cities, he noticed that Victor''s power had some limitation.


    It did not affect everything, but only him, Victor, and the room.


    The city was still destroyed, and the scraps from the battle was still all over the ce.


    Frowning, Aldred immediately teleported back to their secret room.


    Ste, Naley, and Barne looked at him in shock.


    "Did you guys see what he did?" Aldred asked.


    The three of them nodded at the same time. They too were shocked to see that ability.


    "He literally reverse time," Aldred said. "I can defeat a powerful man. I can defeat a fast man, but I don''t know how to defeat someone that can return in time."


    Naley looked at Aldred. "I think I know someone who can."


    That statement made Aldred turn to look at her. "Are you for real? Who can defeat someone that can return in time?"


    Naley stood up. "Someone that can return in time."


    ¡­


    Despite the strict surveince in Duria. Many underworld criminals always manage to move around under its watchful eyes.


    Some even manage to create something called ''Dark City''. These kinds of cities were always built underground. Never seeing the light of day, the cities relied on basic light bulbs as the source of light.


    The cities were brimming with underworld criminals. Everyone used thick dark robe to hide their appearance. Yes, they were all criminals which was enough reason for them to not trust each other.


    If they dare to enter the city without hiding their face, a desperate criminal might reported them to get the bounty.


    The Dark Cities were known to be safe haven for criminals. None of them had ever been found by authority for decades. That was why an underground society could form in these ces.


    Criminals could create their own things without being monitored here. Most of them like their freedom.


    Zaxary was one of those people. He was a thin, frail boy, at the age of 15. But his intellect and creative thinking always led him to create something. When he was 4 years old, he already manage to create a working toy air ne. That was when his parents saw his potential and sent him to Inventor University.


    In two years, he found out that he was strictly monitored. He did not like that and decided to quit college. Despite that, he was still monitored by the government.


    After a few years, he decided to join the underworld society to regain his freedom.


    Now, he was 15 years old, had his own smallb that was enough for his need.


    He loved to live here, but it wasn''t easy for a 15 years old to live in this world of criminals.


    nging sounds came from above, and steam leaked out from one of the many pipes on the ceiling.


    Zaxary sighed and strapped a pod of blue liquid to his back. He then grabbed a hand-made sword that he made on his own. He squeezed the handle and the edge of the sword shone in blue.


    Turning to the side, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was skinny with only a little bit of muscle on his arm that was visible. He also saw a shadow at the corner of the mirror.


    Suddenly, the shadow lunged at him, revealing itself as a vicious werewolf. Its body were extremely muscr, bulging with power, it roared and shed its ws at him.


    Zaxary quickly turned around and swung his de.


    It shed against the ws but he was thrown a few meters away and rolled on the ground. The werewolfshed at him again.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Zaxary gritted his teeth and rolled around to dodge. Using his small, and surprisingly agile body, he managed to dodge the fatal attacks.


    He only received minor scratch on his face.


    The werewolf quickly rushed towards him.


    Angered, he grabbed a small ck object from his pocket and threw it at the werewolf.


    The object expanded into a time-distortion field. The field slowed the werewolf''s movement while also wounding it, prating its leg.


    The object then rewind back to him, this time, it went through the chest, and the werewolf fell to the ground face first.


    Zaxary huffed and puffed as his body was desperate for air. He raised his sword, and pulled the small pin at the bottom of the handle.


    Suddenly, a projection of him appeared by his side. The projection threw some sort of object in the air.


    That was when the werewolf abruptly woke up, roared, and rushed at him again but with greater ferocity than before.


    It arrived in front him in less than a second, raising its ws.


    But before it could swing the ws, the projection of the object fell to the ground and timepletely stopped 3 meters around him.


    Zaxary closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then drew the sword back, the de shone brighter and brighter, until suddenly reality was warped and the de seemed to went towards the werewolf''s jaw at the speed of light.


    With a loud bang, its head exploded like watermelon.


    The blue light on the de dimmed immediately after that.


    Zaxary sighed and put the de on the table before the werewolf''s body fell to the ground. This time without the head.


    "I have to change location again."


    This was a free city. He could have his freedom here. But that also meant that everyone else was free to attack him. Ever since the existence of a boy who could travel in time spread, every group wanted a piece of him.


    Sometimes he was tired with this kind of life and wanted to return to Duria. But he knew he would regret that decision.


    At least, in here, he could do anything as he liked. Sure this ce was like a jungle full of predators, but it was better than entering a prison.


    "Good work," a voice came that shocked Zaxary.


    He abruptly grabbed his de and pointed it towards the source.


    "Hello, my name is Aldred." Aldred smiled.


    Zaxary did not reply and he slowly put his hand into his pocket.


    Aldred saw what was inside the pocket and smiled. "I am not here to attack you. I need your help. But even if you throw that temporal disc at me, it wouldn''t do anything.


    Zaxary clicked his tongue. The enemies probably saw his fight earlier and had studied him, which mean that this man know his fight pattern, meanwhile, Zaxary did not know anything about this man and how powerful he was.


    "Ie in peace," Aldred said. "So don''t be too tense."


    "Sigh¡­ Aldred, you really need to work on yourmunication skill." Ste suddenly appeared.


    "Hello, I am sorry if Aldred is scaring you. Truly he is a good guy, but he really did not know how tomunicate properly."


    "What do you want?" Zaxary asked.


    "We need your help," Ste said.

 Chapter 468 468 There Is A Way

    Zaxary kept staring at them with wariness inside his heart. "My help?" He continued to act like a fool. He already knew what they wanted.


    They wanted to obtain him and used him for his skill. After capturing him, they probably forced him to do things that he did not want to do.


    "Before you refuse," Aldred said. "I have an offer that you cannot miss."


    "And what is that offer?" Zaxary asked while getting ready to throw his temporal disc.


    "Complete freedom and absolute protection."


    His hand stopped moving when he heard that."


    "What do you mean?"


    "If you help us fight against Victor, I, as the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire, will assure you of your freedom and protection."


    "Ceraisian Empire¡­ That''s the distantnd that I have been hearing for quite a while." He looked at Aldred. "And you said you are the Emperor?"


    Who was he fooling? Just because he was 15 years old, this man think he could easily be fooled?


    "I know you are a smart person, Zaxary," Aldred said. "So you might not believe the word I just said. But I am actually the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire."


    Aldred looked at Zaxary and noticed that he wasn''t convinced. "Ste, can you bring Naley here?"


    Ste nodded and waved her hand. Suddenly, Naley appeared with a look of confusion in her face.


    "Naley, did you record my battle against Victor?"


    "Y¡ªyeah," Naley said after organizing her thoughts. She was just watching this scene from the secret base until suddenly she was teleported here.


    "You¡­ I know you. You are that rebel kid. What did they call you¡­ Right, The Ghost of Duria!"


    "Don''t call me a kid. You are a kid as well."


    "I have to be older than you, so I can call you a kid," Zaxary said. "And knowing your ability, you must have checked on my data, so you know that I am older than you. Tell me your age."


    "¡­ fourteen."


    "Hah, so you really are a kid."


    "You''re just one year older than me!"


    "That doesn''t change anything. You are a kid to me."


    "Hey!" Aldred said. "Stop quarreling. Both of you are kids to me, alright."


    Ste smiled. She knew that Aldred was just 12 years old.


    But Aldred wasn''t wrong though. When he died, he was around the age of 20, so really, he was an adult.


    "Why are you working for them?" Zaxary asked Naley.


    "I don''t work for them. They help me for their own benefit," Naley replied before throwing a small ck object at Zaxary.


    He caught it and pressed a button. A projection appeared, showing the recording of robots against golems. And then show of power by Barne''s giant robot until the space ship appeared.


    That was when Aldred came and cut the space ship in half with a single sh.


    Zaxary widened his eyes when he saw this scene. Clearly, he had been left out of a lot of information on the outside world.


    This groundbreaking news should have spread everywhere. First of all, he knew who owned that giant robot. It was Barne. One of Duria''s most wanted engineer, but it was easily defeated by Victor''s spaceship.


    And then this man appeared and cut it in half!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Zaxary was also an inventor and an engineer. He knew that the armor of that space ship was as tough as it could be, and yet with a single sh, the space ship was cut in half like a stick.


    After that scene, Aldred was trapped in a cube barrier and transported somewhere else. Somehow, the recordings followed him into the white room.


    "How did you record this?" Zaxary asked.


    "These two can do magic," Naley said.


    Ste waved her hand and a mirror appeared in the air, revealing the view of a surface city.


    "These are the people that Victor is trying to hide from us."


    "I thought they are only myths and legends," Zaxary said.


    "They are real. These people have god-like powers. Something that we couldn''t ever imagine possibly of doing."


    "And they need my help?"


    "Yes, apparently, even they struggled to defeat Victor."


    Zaxary was quite relieved that these people were not truly impossible to beat, and that technology could even match against god-like being such as them.


    "And why should I help you?"


    "Defeating Victor means releasing the least put on the neck of every citizen in Duria. Now, not just you, but everyone can have their own freedom of thoughts, andrger ess to information."


    Zaxary looked at her in silent and then he turned to look at Aldred. "And what do you get out of this?"


    "The ordinary people in my empire are unappreciated. I want the knowledge of science to spread in my nation to give them better roles in society."


    "And what about you?" Zaxary asked Ste.


    "I am his wife, so I will just follow whatever he wants to do."


    Naley was kind of surprised to hear that. She did not expect they were husband and wife. Though she sometimes saw them doing couple things.


    "Would you like to continue the video?" Naley asked.


    "Yeah, sure. I want to see how powerful Victor is."


    The video yed again and this time it showed Aldred''s fight against Victor. Just like before Zaxary became more impressed by Aldred''s power. His ability to clone himself, to manipte elements, and so much more fantastic abilities.


    But what was more impressive was Victor''s ability to take on all of that attacks. He noticed that a lot of his human organs were reced with mechanical parts as well, and even the neurons in his brain were modified.


    When Aldred defeated Victor, he suddenly grabbed a small pod with blue liquid and smashed it, reverting back time to hours ago in less than a minute.


    Zaxary was shocked. "That pod¡­"


    "Did you know what he used?" Naley asked.


    "That pod is one of mine."


    "Did you make one for him?"


    "No. He stole it from me, but the effect is much greater. I believe he added a very expensive material into it to increase its potency. My power could revert back time to a few second at most."


    "Can you make something to prevent him from reverting back in time?" Aldred asked.


    "There is a way."

 Chapter 469 469 The Power Of Magic

    "How?" Aldred said. He was so close to defeating Victor that he did really wanted a quick solution to kill him.


    "I will have to make a time machine for you as well."


    "So using time against time?"


    Zaxary nodded. "I cannot make something stronger than his. Not in the short term."


    "What can you give me?"


    "A few seconds back in time."


    "How will that help me fight him?"


    "When he reverted the time to hours ago, all you have to do is revert time again. I just watched what he did. The capsule managed to reverted time to a few hours ago in a few seconds. After the reverse time stopped, you have to reverse time back again."


    "So it''s like throwing a reverse uno card, only for your opponent to throw the same thing."


    "What''s a uno card?"


    "Never mind."


    "When can you get this done?"


    "I already have it. All I have to do is customize it for you."


    "How long will that take?"


    "Hopefully, not for long. I never make something for others before, so this might take a while."


    Aldred sighed and nodded. "When can we start?"


    "But before that, can I really trust you to keep your promise?"


    "My goal is to spread knowledge to my people," Aldred said. "I in fact want you to be a teacher in my establishment if possible. If you don''t want to, then it''s fine, I will give resources for your experiment."


    "What will you earn from it?"


    "Well, you can share the knowledge you earn from your experience with even more resources and wealth if that is what you want."


    "Did he also promised you that?" Zaxary asked Naley.


    "He didn''t promise me anything."


    "Why?"


    "I didn''t ask for anything," Naley said. "All I want is the freedom for the citizen of Duria. They are helping me doing that."


    "And what about Barne? I know that skyscraper-sized robot was his."


    "I am not sure about that," Naley said. "What did you promise him?" She asked Aldred.


    "I promised him that his creation could be used for anything he wanted, and no one would force him to create robot for others unless he wanted to."


    "Hmmmm."


    "I have no reason to kill you. Your existence benefits me more."


    "So if I be useless, will you kill me?" Zaxary asked.


    "After everything is done, whether you are dead or alive won''t be a concern to me. But as long as you contribute something you will earn more wealth than you can imagine. With your skills, I believe you can earn so much money that you won''t need to work for the rest of your life."


    "Also," Aldred continued. "In my empire we have something called potions and elixirs that can even give you an increased lifespan. So you might be able to live for more than a thousand year if you have enough money."


    "Sounds so too good to be true," Zaxary said.


    "Nothing is too good for magic. You saw my power. If I really want to, I can destroy an entire city with my power."


    "Let me give you an example of my power."


    Suddenly, a cold de touched Zaxary''s neck. He looked to the side with his eyes and noticed another Aldred appeared behind him.


    "It''s that easy for me to kill you. For some people who hunted you down, it might be too good to be true, but for me, it''s as normal as breathing."


    Zaxary gulped as Aldred pulled his sword back.


    "So, now you can trust me?" Aldred stared at him.


    Zaxary rubbed his neck. "For now."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aldred pped and smiled wide. "Great. So let''s get back to work. Bring everyone here. And what do you all want? I can buy you all food and drinks that you might like."


    Aldred''s change in attitude slightly surprised Zaxary. Suddenly, Barne and Sofiel was teleported here.


    "Fuck! Can you at least warn me before you teleport me?" Barne shouted.


    Sofiel on the other hand shook her head as she got a headache from the sudden teleportation.


    "Sofiel! The one that kidnapped you was them!?" Zaxary was shocked again.


    "Why, you know her?" Ste asked.


    "I¡­ used to be a fan."


    Naleyughed when she heard that. "What a loser."


    "No worries. Sofiel will sing for us to motivate you all to work," Aldred sing. "In the meantime¡­ what do you all want? I will get us something to eat."


    "Tell him what you guys want," Ste said. "That''s the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire asking you."


    Aldred''sid back attitude made it hard for them to treat him as Emperor. It was fine though. Aldred did not want them to act all stiff and formal.


    Though if he was out in the public, he had to act dignified because his head held the pride and dignity of an entire nation.


    That was the responsibility that he had to upheld at all time.


    "Can we ask for kebabs and burgers?"


    "I think I have some in my inventory." Aldred pulled something out of thin air, and it was stacks of kebabs. It then floated atop a nearby table, still steaming with heat.


    "How did he just get those?" Zaxary asked in confusion with a mix of wonder and amazement in his expression.


    "Magic," Naley and Barne said at the same time.


    "Magic¡­ it''s that convenient?" Zaxary couldn''t believe that he just found out about this thing called ''magic''. It was much more useful than technology.


    Imagine if he could get hot kebabs anytime and anywhere he wanted.


    He could live under the sewer with the rats and cockroaches and still be satisfied with his live with that kind of power.


    "Don''t even think about it," Barne said. "Magic requires mana affinity and talent. What they showed you is the highest form of magic. No one can simply pull food out of thin air even if they are good in the art of magic. These two are anomalies among anomalies."


    "Ohh¡­ so it''s impossible for me?"


    "Unless you can master space and time theories and create device to manipte them, it''s basically impossible to do what he just did," Naley said.


    "His magic is that advanced?"


    "Well, my magic keep the kebab warm and I kept them in some sort of astral dimension that only I can ess it."


    "That''s¡­ amazing. It''s like having a cloud drive where you can store data and ess it through yourms devices."


    "Exactly like that, but I can store physical objects instead of data."


    "Can this power somehow be blocked like a bad connection or something?"


    "This power doesn''t rely on signals or mana, but nothing is impossible in the world of magic, so someone might have the power to prevent me from essing my inventory."


    "How many items can you store in this so called astral dimension?"


    "I haven''t checked again, but it''s probably as big as a huge ind by now. It increased in size every time I get stronger."


    "Wow¡­ is it possible that it will be as big as a?"


    "That is a possibility," Aldred replied.


    "You would be a god of your own world. Imagine putting people and animals in there. You can watch over them, change their fate and destiny or something like that."


    "Boring," Aldred said. "I don''t like ying gods. I like adventure and exploration."


    "And yet, you be Emperor."


    "I don''t n to stay in this continent for long. I just want to make sure that no one would create chaos before I left. Enough talking, when are you going to begin your work."


    "Let us start right away."

 Chapter 470 470 Monarch Of Flame

    Zaxary, Barne, and Naley worked together while Sofiel sang some song for them.


    Apparently, Sofiel''s song was quite effective in giving them a thought of inspiration. This was because her song moved not only the heart but also the mind. Her voice was as magical as true magic, but unlike magic who had rough side effect on the mind, her voice was subtle and soft, causing no side effects.


    Magic was like a pill. If someone consumed it too much, they would get overdosed, but her voice did not had side effect.


    If Aldred could bring her back, she could inspire millions to reach their full potential. Most people did not reach their full potential because of many things; depression,ziness, etc.


    They were too afraid to try, tozy to stay consistent, and too unmotivated to even began the first step that they did not know how far they could have went.


    Aldred could mass hypnotize them to make them feel motivated, but it''s too obvious and direct. He preferred the effect to be subtle and vague.


    Sofiel would be the perfect figure to do that.


    "And we''re done," Zaxary said.


    "That was quick," Aldred replied.


    "I don''t actually have to do anything to my temporal drive. I just need to make it bigger so it fit you. These two were just actually looking at me work," he said thest statement to Barne and Naley.


    "How do I use this?"


    "There''s a handle on the side. To use it, simply pull the handle. After that, the temporal liquid will activate and reverse time a few seconds ago."


    "How many times can I use this?"


    "Until you ran out of temporal liquid. Its consumption is vastly inconsistent, so it''s impossible to know how many times exactly can you use it. But in average, probably¡­ once."


    "Why is the consumption inconsistent?" Aldred asked.


    "I don''t know myself. I am not the type of guy looking for the why''s, I am the guy that will ept anything as long as it works as intended."


    "A true engineer!" Barneughed.


    Zaxary approached Aldred and strapped the temporal drive on his lower back. The temporal drive was big pod thaty horizontally on his lower back. On its side was a handle that he could pull. The pod was transparent, and the shining blue liquid stayed dormant inside.


    "How did you create this liquid?"


    "That''s a secret," Zaxary said.


    "Alright, I will respect that. But it''s a mystery to me how a liquid could manipte time."


    "It''s more a mystery to me how you grab hot kebabs out of thin air."


    Aldredughed. "I guess you''re right. Even I can''t really exin how my magic works. It doesn''t really work through logic or cause and effect. It''s more like imagination, intention, and control."


    "So magic is like grasping the power of imagination¡­ but to make it a reality, you have to have talent to control the energy of realities which is what you call mana."


    "Something like that," Aldred replied.


    "That is very interesting. I wonder if technology can manipte mana."


    "I believe it can. Sofiel had something inside her throat, her heart, and her mind. The devices allowed her to manipte mana in the air to a certain extent. But her power was to manipte the heart and mind of the masses."


    "Who create that?"


    "Victor."


    "I see. No wonder he is so strong. He can make a device that control the energy of reality. But I am d that technology could be magical as well. That means I can grab hot kebabs out of thin air someday."


    Ste giggled when she heard that.


    "So what do we do now?" Zaxary asked.


    "Now we have to find Victor."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hmmm, you think he will fall for your lure again?" Barne asked. "He''s not stupid you know."


    "If he''s not stupid then he bettere to me."


    "What are you going to do?"


    "I noticed the crystals Archnite is used all over his powerful machines. That is the main source of power of his military."


    Barne nodded. "I used them quite a lot. But what about them?"


    Aldred smiled. "Archnite can only be obtained by killing Archanite creatures. Those giant scorpions, right?"


    "That''s right."


    "So what if I wreck havoc in their Archanite farm? I will kill as many Archanite as I can, even the babies, and remove this renewable resources once and for all. With that kind of threat, do you think Victor wille to me?"


    "That''s¡­ sounds like an evil n to me."


    "Sometimes you have to be the devil to win against your opponent."


    "You guys wait here. I will take care of this." Aldred vanished.


    Barne looked at Ste. "How did you meet this guy?"


    "Oh¡­ it''s a long story."


    ¡­


    Aldred appeared on the mountains of ice. Everywhere he looked, there was hardened ice as if if it was an ocean before it got frozen.


    All kinds of robots dug the ice, lured the creatures out, and then hunted them. Victor had systematically hunt the Archanite just enough to let them reproduce, preventing their extinction, and keep its resources renewable.


    It was like grazing cows, only killing them, after two babies were born.


    Aldred was about to change that.


    He dove down, raising his palm, and mmed the ice as hended. The impact created a massive crater that sent all the robots away. He then opened his mouth and belched a thick and wide me in every direction, quickly increasing the temperature in the area.


    Thousands of magic circles appeared in the sky and gigantic fire balls rained down on the world of ice like an apocalypse.


    The ice melted and thousands of Archanite came out of their holes only to be burned by the fireballs.


    Aldred summoned his clones and they all spread out, destroying every robots they saw and taking the Archanite to the divine dimension.


    Aldred rushed at a giant driller robot, raising his de, and then shed through it. It exploded as soon as Aldred vanished and attacked another robot.


    Hundreds of war robots rushed towards him, but they were nothing in front of the Monarch of me. With a snort of his nose, an explosive mepletely melted them into liquid.


    High tech aircrafts began to appear in the sky,ing out of a portal. But before they could even do anything, the sky exploded with fire. More magic circles appeared in the sky, on the ground, and almost everywhere the eyes could see.


    These magic circles fired arrows of fire in every direction. There was no blind spot. The moment the aircrafts appeared it was destroyed by his fire arrows.


    Aldredughed and punched the ground. His fist dug deep, and then a powerful jet of me came out of his fist, melting the ice in the surrounding area into water.


    Aldred then raised both of his fist and sent a powerful me into this water, creating massive steam while also changing the temperature of the water into boiling temperature.


    The body of water was as a big as a massiveke, and yet he managed to boil it.


    The water became so hot that the giant scorpions swam to the surface and desperate fornd area, but they were toote and got cooked from the inside.


    "Aldred, stop this madness!!!"


    Smiling, Aldred looked in the air. "Finally, you havee."

 Chapter 471 471 Fighting Victor

    Victor had decided long ago that to survive in this harsh world, he had to stop being a human. A normal human is weak, and are prone to the will of the powerful. So he reced his human organs with mechanical ones, using all kinds of rare ores, and technologies to mimic their power. At one point in time, he even manage to be stronger than most of them.


    They even began to invite him to their circle, but his hatred towards them was too deep. He was disgusted and fought them to the death. That was when he realized that he had shed his mortality.


    There was advantages of modifying himself. First, he was hard to kill. Second, he did not have to rely on external devices to do his bidding.


    But, there were also disadvantages. Because the strongest weapon he had was himself, he couldn''t help but had to make a move on his own to take care of some problem.


    He knew that his strongest robot would be nothing in front of Aldred. Instead of wasting resources, he reluctantly appear to stop Aldred. If not, the Archanite would extinct and his n to dominate the continent would be harder to achieve.


    Aldred understood that the weakness of a nation is their resources. Strike it, and they will go all out to defend it.


    As intelligent as Victor was, he couldn''t do anything else if Aldred decided to destroy the mountains of ice. He had toe out by himself to stop him.


    If Edeline knew about this, she would be very impressed by his strategy. Aldred might not know much about politics, but he knew how to fight battles and win wars.


    "You said you wanted to work together with me before," Victor said. "I have changed my mind. Let us work together. Help me liberate the continent from oppression and let us give justice to the world."


    Aldredughed manically. "I am not some naive fools, Victor. A thousand year old hunk of can like you wouldn''t change your mind so quickly. I know you will kill all magicians and warriors including me when you have the chance. I don''t like to y that kind of game, so juste and fight me to the death!"


    "So be it." Victor raised his palm towards Aldred. A small hole opened up and a bright blue beam shot out at the speed of light.


    The beam was so small and significant that it might looked nothing, but when itnded near Aldred, it created a massive fireball 4 KM in diameter. The power of the explosion was more than 1 megaton TNT. That was about 1 billion kilogram of TNT.


    It was hard for an ordinary human mind to imagine that sort of power. And if they wanted to see it, it would cost their eyes and their lives.


    The mountains of ice was of course melted, boiled, and turned into steam because of this power. Victor wanted to destroy Aldred once and for all. Even though a lot of Archanite would die from this, he did not care as long as Aldred died.


    He also wanted to show his enemies that he did not have true weakness that they could exploit.


    But suddenly, the ball of fire reduced in size and got sucked in from the inside. After a while, it was revealed that the me entered Aldred''s palm.


    "You know that I was called the Monarch of Fire, right?"


    "You look fine, but the impact has done quite a damage on your body," Victor said after he analyzed Aldred''s physical state.


    "That might be true. But I have these." Aldred grabbed a leather sac from his inventory, and drank the liquid inside.


    Suddenly, Victor saw Aldred''s body healed and regenerated at a rapid rate.


    Aldredughed. "Are you surprised?"


    "The thing that you drank. It''s blood."


    Aldred smiled. "That''s right. I am actually not a normal human. I am a vampire, and this is the blood of a young, maiden Diamond Rank. I can heal my body using this over and over again, but you will run out of spare parts sooner orter."


    "And you think you will have enough blood before that happen?"


    Aldredughed again. "When I was crowned as Emperor, the Vampire King gifted me with an entire carriage of maiden blood."


    "I can manipte time to my will," Victor said. "No matter how powerful you are, it will be all for nothing."


    Aldred smiled. He had put the temporal drive in his inventory, so Victor did not know he have it.


    "I want you death, Victor. You are a dangerous existence. I wish we could work together, but you are too stone-headed in your ideology. I will have to kill you. Old ideas must be reced by new ones."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Your new ideas will bring injustice to this continent."


    "Not under my watch."


    Victor reached out with his hand, and a de materialized out of thin air. The edge of the de then flicked with electricity. Aldred also saw that the de vibrated one billion times in a quarter of a second.


    That sword might not beparable to his Phantom Doomde, but the damage dealt must not be underestimated.


    Suddenly, Victor was sucked in by a portal and appeared right beside Aldred, shing the de.


    Raising his de to block, Aldred felt the vibration running through his arms then to his whole body. It created small cracks on his bones, although it quickly regenerated, but as the vibration was constant, the bones kept on getting broken and repaired all the time.


    All of that happened in less than 1 second before Aldred kicked Victor away.


    Aldred took in a deep breath to soothe the pain while Victor looked at his own sword which was slightly chipped and burnt.


    Phantom Doomde specialized in devouring soul, Victor only seem to only had a little of it, so the Phantom Doomde couldn''t affect him as much as to his other enemies.


    That made sense since Victor did not require souls to channel his power.


    That little bit of soul was probably the only bit of humanity he had.


    If not for that, he would simply be an empty can of steel.


    Aldred was impressed by Victor''s sword, and Victor was deeply impressed by Aldred''s de as well.


    Victor made this sword with the best technology and knowledge he had in his arsenal. He did not believe there would be many that might match its power as it could shatter mountain with just a touch.


    "You aren''t so easy to defeat," Aldred said.


    "You as well. I have known you would be troublesome when you grow. That is why I tried so hard to kill you during your journey."


    "Yet, you failed."


    "I have. The curse of the treasure hunter affect everything; direct or indirect, aware or unaware. I cannot find any loophole in the curse to kill you without killing myself as well."


    Aldred smiled. ''Father makes a really good system. Without that curse, I would probably long be dead.''


    All these time, his parents had actually protected him from all kind of hidden danger. His talent, his prowess, and his fame had spread even outside of this continent and many powerful beings had even tried to kill him without him knowing.


    Aldred did not even know how many times his parents saved him.


    But more importantly... he did now know where they were as the steering wheel did not work yet.


    "You don''t want to prolong this fight," Victor said.


    "Why?"


    "As we speak, my army is currentlying towards your Empire, and I have informed that the Republic of Selia to attack together."


    Victor''s robotic eyes shone in sharp light. "You dare to attack my territory, and so, I will attack yours."

 Chapter 472 472 Playing With Time

    "You y dirty," Aldred said.


    "I can say the same thing to you. You are quite cunning for a Diamond Rank. Only old fogies usually act like that."


    "Maybe I am older than I look."


    "I know your true age," Victor said. "You are 12 year old child."


    It maddened him just processing that information. A twelve year old and yet already at Diamond Ranks. And not just any Diamond Rank, but a powerful one that could even contend against him who had been a Diamond Rank for hundred of years.


    Aldred received a piece of information through telepathy and then smiled which confused Victor.


    "Are you not worried about your Empire?"


    "We are the strongest Empire in this continent. Of course I would not be worried."


    "Selia is a force to reckon with. And my army is ready to provide vital information to them. Your Empire might survive but it will receive great destruction."


    That might be the case if we do not have allies."


    Victor''s eyes flickered. "Montcresia¡­"


    "Not just them. Thignia will also move to my aid."


    "Thend of vampire. I recalled you married the daughter of a powerful count."


    "That''s right." Aldred smiled. "Now, I have enough time to beat the crap out of you."


    "You can try." Suddenly, millions of tiny holes appeared of Victor''s body and then billions of micro satellites flew out and went into the air. These satellites were smaller than dust particles, and even though Aldred could see them, it was hard to keep track of them all.


    Victor did not have  that kind of problem because he had processors installed in his brain. Unlike a brain that could only focus on one thing, the processors could process thousands of things at once.


    The satellites worked as eyes and information gatherer for Victor. This way, he did not have any blind spot at all.


    Aldred roughly understood their function, but he wasn''t worried. So what if he had a billion eyes in the air? It all won''t matter if he used the element of surprise.


    He could teleport instantly for short distance, and his enemies couldn''t even react despite seeing his move.


    Victor raised his hand and clenched his metallic fist. With a boom, the space around him warped and 400 ded robots abruptly acted and quickly darted towards Aldred.


    "Field of Fire." Aldred pointed. The tip of his finger shed and a powerful fluctuation of mana suddenly enveloped a tract of space in front of him before it ignited into me.


    "Using your robots, Victor? You know they are too weak for me." Aldred smiled.


    "Yes, but they provide enough distraction." The robotic voice came from behind. Aldred quickly spun to attack with his Phantom Doomde but a mechanical stinger was quicker than him and stung him in the waist.


    Aldred gritted his teeth and continued with his attack only for Victor to block it with his vibration sword.


    His eyes shed with excitement. Aldred hated it when his enemies were too easy to defeat, but Victor continued to surprised him again and again.


    Aldred kicked Victor in the chest, throwing him away. But suddenly, a distant cannon fired a beam that struck Aldred directly.


    He easily withstand that attack.


    Aldred looked around and saw all kinds of robots and weapons were stationed on hills, mountains, by the trees, and even in the air. He could sense that they were aiming towards him.


    Sighing, Aldred snapped his fingers and thousands of magic circles appeared in the air, shooting fire spears at all the weapons and robots.


    Seven-meter long heavy spear made out of fire shot directly at a robot, exploding them from the impact and heat.


    These spears had weight even though they were made out of me, and the heat they exuded was enough to burn the skin of an ordinary man if they stood 100 meters away from it.


    A giant fireball, looking like a meter falling from the sky weighing more than one hundred ton smashed into an area and exploded, destroying the robots in the vicinity.


    "Don''t waste your resources, Victor. One million weak enemies wouldn''t do a thing to me. I specialized in area of effect skills. Killing numerous fragile thing is what I do best."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Victor did not need to look around to see that a lot of his robots were sted and reduced into scraps of metal. "I do not care. I will use everything in my arsenal to defeat you."


    Gradually, robots appeared from the distance.


    It was one hundred at first, but the numbers grew to 1,000, then 10,000, and then suddenly, the army grew into 10 million robots.


    "Foolish! Stop using your robots and fight me! If you think all of them can tire me out, then you are wrong. My mana is limitless."


    Aldred raised his fist and punched the ground. Suddenly, the area 20 KM in diameter cracked and bright me shot out of the cracks, burning everything it touched into dust.


    Victor was shocked to see this power. Though he had studied Aldred''s skill for a whole year, he did not expect that this man could create a new skill so suddenly simply because of his high mastery over his power.


    The whole world seemed to be filled with me. It was like Aldred could bring hell itself.


    Suddenly, he appeared right in front of Victor and punched. Victor leaned his head back, but me of fist came out and struck him, destroying his right shoulder.


    All kinds of data entered Victor''s mind, informing him of the damage done. Aldred''s me etched onto the broken parts and constantly burn the parts.


    The fire only died after a cold gas leaked out from his metallic body.


    Victor roared in anger. A rare thing since he rarely expressed his emotion. He had long shed a major part of his humanity, thinking that he would remove his human weakness.


    But for the first time after decades, Victor felt a powerful emotion in his ''heart''.


    He moved towards Aldred at blinding speed, his fingers turned into ferocious sharp, metallic ws.


    They stabbed through Aldred''s chest and pierced his heart.


    "DIE!" Victor shouted and a powerful electricity current ran through his ws and sted Aldred''s heart.


    Aldred''s knee fell to the ground as he spat out blood.


    He held onto Victor''s arm and smiled with blood on his lips. "Not bad. But I win this round again."


    Victor trembled and was about to turn around until the Phantom Doomde pierced through his chest.


    "How¡­ My satellites. They should have detected you."


    "Well, there is a lot of dust particles around here, so I figured, why don''t I turn to dust as well."


    Victor grunted.


    A blue pod moved within Victor''s body and then a piston tried to crush it.


    Before that could happen however, Aldred punctured a hole in his body and grabbed the piston with his hand.


    "I won''t let you do that."


    Victor''s eyes shed. "Unfortunately, you cannot."


    A small bombbusted in Victor''s body, destroying the pod and suddenly, space and time stopped.


    Just like before, time began to revert back into a few hours ago. All the fire spears came back into the magic circle and the robots were undestroyed.


    The time went all the way back to when Victor first appeared.


    That was when it became normal again.


    Victor looked at Aldred one more time before he turned around, about to leave.


    Aldred smiled and quickly summoned the temporal drive. "You think you are the only one who can control time?"

 Chapter 473 473 Choice

    Victor could not believe what he just saw. Aldred actually had a temporal drive with him!


    Aldred smiled after seeing his reaction. Victor was a half cyborg and his face waspletely made out of steel. This made it hard for him to read any expression at all. But the small tremor, and flickering eyes satisfied him.


    He grabbed the handle and pulled it. The temporal drive spun and time was reverted back again. It all went so fast and went back to when Aldred stabbed Victor in the back.


    "And here we are again," Aldred smiled.


    "How did you obtain it? How did you obtain the temporal drive?"


    "I meet a kid named Zaxary. He''s a good kid. A little paranoid, but a good kid nheless."


    "I should have kill that kid, but his talent is too good to waste."


    "I don''t want to make that same regrets, so I want to kill you."


    Another clone appeared and shed at Victor''s right leg. He fell to the ground and looked up at Aldred.


    Aldred looked into his robotic eyes. "But I won''t kill you yet. You have some information that I need."


    Aldred grabbed Victor by the head, and then teleported inside Zaxary''s secretb.


    Zaxary, Barne, Sofiel, and Naley could not believe what Aldred bring to them. Victor, the powerful ruler of Duria, the most feared, and most intelligent being was captured!


    Victor''s existence was the reason why ''Dark Cities'' Exist. Every criminals in Duria feared him, but he was so powerful and mysterious that no one even had the idea or n to kill him. Fighting against him was useless since nothing they do could affect his rule over Duria.


    Only one person continued to fight and that was Naley, but even so, her effort was nothing but mere annoyance.


    "Aldred, you did it!" Ste hugged him and gave him a kiss on the lips.


    Aldred hugged Ste''s waist and french kissed her. "Took me a while, but I did it."


    "So this is Victor," Barne approached. "He''s more powerful than I expected. And what a fine material he use to rece his own bodies. I have never seen this type of materials before. If I have them, I could probably make something stronger than this. Though it could take months."


    Zaxary was also in disbelief. Victor''s existence was like a shadow that always followed him. Because of him, he had to run away from home and hide in this shit hole.


    But here he was¡­ weak and powerless.


    "Be careful with him. He is still alive and I don''t know what else he can do. My power is containing him though, so there shouldn''t be much we needed to worry about."


    Naley took a few step forward and looked at Victor withplicated expression.


    "Okay, let''s get all the information we can before we kill him," Aldred said. "Naley, you are good at obtaining information. Can you crack his head and download all the data or something?"


    Victor lifted his head and nced at Naley. His usual cold, metal, and expressionless face suddenly curled into a smile. For some reason, Aldred saw some warm in that expression.


    He wondered why.


    "Don''t try to do anything, Victor. You have lost. The least you can do is give us all the information and knowledge you have regarding science and physics, or even blueprints for some of your tech," Aldred said.


    "Sure," Victor said.


    "Eh¡­ I thought you would threatened to delete the information and self destruct or something. Why you agree so easily?"


    Victor ignored him and kept looking warmly at Naley. "Isn''t this what you wanted¡­ daughter?"


    Everyone widened their eyes and gasped in shock. What in the hell did they just heard? They looked at Naley and saw that she stood in silent. She did not refute the statement which meant it was true.


    "Victor''s daughter¡­ he has a daughter? And it was her?" Zaxary spoke to himself to process that information.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I can''t believe this. What a shock." Barne rubbed his head.


    Aldred nced at Naley. "Naley, is Victor your father?"


    "That is correct," Naley said.


    Ste read her heart and sensed no lie in them. "She''s telling the truth."


    "Is he doing something bad for you when you were a child? Is that why you are going against him?" Aldred asked.


    "No. He was and still is a good father. He¡­ he never abandon me. He always gives me love. Even after everything I have done, he always forgive me for my mistake."


    Aldred and Ste looked at each other.


    Aldred was now confused. He wanted to kill Victor, but now that he knew that Naley was his daughter, he couldn''t bring himself to kill this robot man. Aldred owe a favor and already thought of her as a friend. He couldn''t kill his friend''s father.


    Unless that father was a bad father.


    "Why did you go against him then?" Ste asked.


    "I¡­ I only wanted everyone to know the truth. I don''t want him to die. I never wanted to hurt him."


    Victor smiled. "You won''t ever achieve your goal unless you are ready to kill me, daughter. I will do everything I can to stop the flow of information. The only way to prevent that is for you to kill me."


    "Why can''t you just stop being this mysterious puppet controller and retire?"


    "And let everything I have build crumble to dust?"


    "I would never be able to do that. But if you truly desire it, then kill me. I won''t delete any knowledge I have. Take them all with you."


    Tears began to trickle out of Naley''s eyes. "I will disable you. I will make you unable to move, so you can keep living and stay with me. I will show you how beautiful the world can be."


    "You know you cannot stop me. As long as I have my mind, it doesn''t matter if I don''t have limbs. You know I will find my way."


    That was true. Now that Aldred understood Victor''s grit and intellect, even he wouldn''t dare to leave him alone even without a proper body.


    "What about a time capsule?" Zaxary suggested. "We can put him in a time capsule that will stop any thought process."


    "How reliable is this time capsule," Victormented. "Any machine will be broken with time, any man will die, and old ideas will disappear. That will be when the time I came out and do it all over again with nobody to stop me."


    Victor nced at his daughter. "Kill me."


    In truth, Victor was already tired, but he could not stop or retire. In his darkest days, when he was consumed with hatred and rage, he made sure to modify his brain to make sure that he would kill every person that used mana and life force. He made sure that he could never remove this desire.


    That was why he still went on with his n that was thought of more than a thousand year ago.


    But all these time, his soul just wanted to rest. He was already too old. His world was full of white and ck. The only color he had in his life was his daughter.


    But even she decided to stay away from him.


    That event shook his soul and realized that he needed to stop.


    But he could never.


    Aldred stepped forward. "Naley, what is your choice?"

 Chapter 474 474 Making A Choice

    Naley trembled in hesitation. "Do I really have to make a choice?"


    "No one is going to make it for you, Naley. Do you want to do it or not?" Aldred asked.


    Victor let out a smallugh. "I didn''t know that you love me this much, daughter. I am d that I didn''tpletely remove my humanity. If not for that, I wouldn''t know how to feel to be loved."


    "Dad..." Naley approached him. Even though Victor looked like a terrifying terminator right now, to Naley, he was her harmless, loving, and caring father.


    Anyone would tremble when hearing his name, not to mention seeing him person. His existence was shrouded with mystery and he achieved it by killing anyone that caught a glimpse of him.


    Every criminals knew they would face certain death if they met him.


    That was why he was so feared. But Naley had never felt fear towards her father. Even though Victor had destroyed her secret base, he had made precise calction that it wouldn''t harm her in anyway.


    And Naley knew that.


    "Let me help you to decide." Victor stabbed his own chest with his metallic hand, and then pulled some sort of small, glowing reactor.


    "Dad, NO!"


    "Take my heart. It''s the only thing that I can give you. Use my heart as your paint." The light in his eyes flickered a couple of times before they died.


    "DAD!"


    Naley hugged her father. His arm still reaching out with the glowing reactor.


    As she cried in tears, Aldred and Ste looked eye to eye. Zaxary took a step back, afraid of ruining the moment. Barne did the same thing.


    Sofiel also looked at the father and daughter in tears before she began to sing a beautiful song:


    "I need someone to keep me sane."


    "Pull me from hell, bring me back again. You''re the only reason I live."


    "I love you, baby. You fill my empty soul."


    "I love you, baby. You keep my heart and soul."


    Her voice filled the entire room and affected everyone, even Aldred and Ste.


    Naley cried out her heart and for some reason Aldred began to see a warm smile on Victor''s still face. It was a weird feeling, but he now see through her perspective.


    She cried and cried and no one said a thing. Aldred couldn''t imagine the feeling of losing his father. He loved his father, mother, and sister too much. Losing any of them was painful enough.


    Losing his wives would do the same thing to him. He loved them with all of his heart, and he had shared a lot of moments with them together.


    Unforgettable moments.


    Full of adventures, colors,ughter, and excitement.


    Aldred wondered if Naley experienced the same thing with her father.


    His guess was almost correct. Ever since she was born, Victor brought her to all kinds of ces and see a lot of things ordinary people couldn''t even imagine.


    Her live was so full of adventure, love, colors and excitement. She had nevercked love because her father had given everything he had to her.


    Which was why when she looked at the state of Duria, she rebelled against her own father, her source of love and colors.


    Because she believed that they too deserved to see the things she saw. A world full of colors and excitement.


    Victor knew this which was why he said: ''Use my heart as your paint.''


    It was Naley''s dream to spread the color she had seen to everyone.


    She eventually stood up, wiping the tears in her eyes and grabbed the ''heart''.


    Right after she did that, Victor''s body crumbled into dust.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Naley intently looked at the heart. After a few minutes, she said: "All the knowledge and blueprints my father has is in here. Do you want me to copy them?"


    "You can take your time," Aldred said. "I am not in a hurry."


    Naley nodded, feeling thankful that Aldred did not hurry her. She wanted to spend some time alone with his father''s heart.


    Ste noticed that and whispered to Aldred.


    "We will be going out to buy some food now. Are you guys alling?"


    "Yeah, yeah, sure."


    They all agreed since Aldred had winked at them. So they teleported out of the secretb, leaving Naley by herself.


    Aldred, Ste, Barne, Zaxary, and Sofiel appeared on the street of a particr city in Duria.


    They, of course, did not go out for food, but simply to let Naley some time alone to organize her thoughts.


    But now that they go out, they might as well grab some food and drinks for real. They visited a nearby shop and ordered.


    They chatted together about some things that wasn''t really rted to what happened thest few days.


    If anyone listened to their conversation, they wouldn''t know that they were in the presence of an Emperor, a thousand year old Star Magician, a genius weapon engineer, the kid who can control time, and Sofiel the Seraphim Singer (She was in disguise).


    No one could have guessed that the five of them could shook the entire nation with their capabilities.


    But for now, they were just customers enjoying their time in a cafe.


    Ste casted a subtle spell around them, preventing any vital information to leak out. Only then she spoke about their situation.


    "So what are we going to do next?"


    "I want Duria to open their country and make trade with Ceraisian Empire," Aldred said. "Now that Victor is dead, his army has retreated and Selia seems to have the same intention."


    "Who is in control now that Victor is gone?" Ste asked.


    "That would be his daughter," Barne said. "She now held Victor''s heart. With her skills and my capabilities, we could be powerful enough to prevent chaos in this nation."


    "Me too. I want too contribute," Zaxary said.


    "Me as well," Sofiel followed.


    Aldred smiled. "You all have nothing to worry about. I believe Victor still has a lot of robots left, and knowing Naley, she could probably control all of those robots. And more importantly, no one would dare to create chaos because I will cleanse them for you."


    "So the Ceraisian Empire will be a close ally to Duria?" Barne asked.


    "Of course, why not. I want technologies in my nation as well. And, I can export magic knowledge to your nation. It''s a win-win situation."


    "What about Selia?" Barne asked. "I heard they are quite powerful."


    "Don''t worry about that."


    Ste giggled. Only Aldred could be calm when a powerful nation attacked his Empire. He believed he was already the strongest in this continent, so he wasn''t worried.


    "The first step is to solidify your rule. Let everyone in the underworld know who the boss is, and do it in a spectacr way."


    "How are we going to do that?" Zaxary asked.


    "Who''s the biggest and baddest organization in the underworld currently?"


    "That would be the Cult Mechanicum," Zaxary replied.


    "Then we destroy them. Swiftly with lightning speed. It will be so fast and so sudden that everyone would be shocked and couldn''t react to it.


    Zaxary smiled. "They actually have been chasing me for a few years now. I would be d if you can destroy them."

 Chapter 475 475 Picked The Wrong Enemy

    In a gigantic underground hall with pipes and cables all over the ce. A masked man with red robe slowly walked forward.


    His iron feet nged for every step, and his mechanical joints make grinding noises. In the middle of hall was an altar with bright light shining from above it. On this altar was a particrly muscr man.


    Standing 3 meters tall, the man stood strong and had the eyes of a soldier. But when the masked man approach, the 3 meter tall, muscr soldier knelt on one knee and one fist on the ground.


    "Subject 3341 is ready to serve the Mechanicum," the soldier spoke with rough voice, almost like sandpaper grinding against each other. People with a little bit of trouble in their ears would have a hard time listening to his words even though it was loud.


    "You have done very well. In this generation of Supreme Warrior, you might bested them all.


    Subject 3341 did not change his expression. He was cold but his eyes always showed respect to the tech priest. But in his heart, he was satisfied with his work.


    To be a Supreme Warrior, he had to kill more than five thousand test subject who were as muscr, as powerful, and as cunning as him. Not only that, their faces, appearances, and body shape were all simr to him as well.


    The tech priest had told him that they were clones, and only the best of the best would survive. Subject 3341 did not know if he was the clone or not, but only one thing mattered--


    He was the only one.


    The tech priest seemed satisfied despite the mask hiding his face, not that he had a expressive face to begin with.


    ? It took decades to train one Supreme Warrior, each one should be more powerful than thest generation. This was possible because they kept advancing new serum and getting more data from the previous generation.


    Supreme Warrior did not only had their powerful body to aid them in battle. The tech priest also provided them with the best armor and weapon they could create.


    These weapons were made with the best technology and knowledge they have. It was cutting edge, hard and expensive to maintain, but they would do anything to keep its performance at the top.


    All kinds of mechanical arms came from above.


    "Receive your blessing, Supreme Warrior."


    A thick and bulky armor was installed onto his body. It wasn''t just fit in, the mechanical arms literally put nails and bolt into the armor that pierced into the holes in on his body. Those small holes were created specifically to fit the armor.


    This way, it would be hard for the enemies to dismantle them.


    The shoulder tes came next. They were bigger than the soldier''s head, and when they were put on his shoulder, he leaned a bit because of the weight.


    The armor was one thousand times heavier than his own weight. Because of his super strength, the tech priest had more space to create a more powerful armor.


    More mechanical arms came down and installed the armor from tip to toe. There was no weak spots. Every spots was strengthened to the maximum. Inside the armor was oxygen,munication devices, and strengthening serum.


    The first generation of the armor provided antidote for all kinds of diseases, but the Supreme Warrior was now immune to all kinds of diseases.


    After the armor was installed in ce, the mechanical arms slowly lifted the main weapon down. It was a superrge assault rifle with rocket-propelled high-explosive high-caliber bullets.


    The weapons had been tested and improved numerous times. It could even destroy the gate of a bunker with 20 shots. And it took less than a second for the weapon to fire that amount of ammunition.


    Not just ranged weapons, a powerful de was also given to the warrior. The de had two function; to cut or to destroy. The sharpness of the de should be able to cut any known material while the vibration would shatter the target if it failed to cut through it.


    It was a long andrge weapon.


    The Supreme Warrior deserve this type of weapon. They were the symbols and the muscle of the mechanicum. If they needed to show their strength to their enemies, the Supreme Warrior would bulled through any fortress and bunkers in the world to proof their might.


    Even if an entire army was standing in their way, they would push until their body won''t let them anymore.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But a Supreme Warrior was usually attended by an army of his own that ready to assist him in any type of mission.


    And for every birth of a new Supreme Warrior, the mechanicum would propose something crazy.


    "Supreme Warrior, your first task is to kill Victor. All the data about him is already sent into your brain chip."


    Data about Victor entered his mind at a rapid rate, but his brain wasn''t overwhelmed. Because of  the modification, his brain was like aputer processor in its own right, able to process multiple things at once.


    "When can I begin my mission?"


    "You can begin as soon as possible. All of our resources will be yours to use to achieve this goal."


    Once a Supreme Warrior was given a goal, he will use any means possible to achieve it. This also meant they used a lot of resources for every mission.


    It was one of the reason why they were rarely used except for vital operation.


    "Then I will begin now."


    "Begin what exactly?" A foreign voice came which made the tech priest and the Supreme Soldier to turn towards the source.


    They noticed a man was leaning on the wall before he smiled and walked towards the altar.


    "What a cool looking armor. I think I have seen something like those before."


    "Intruder," the tech priest said. "Kill him."


    "You will be my first kill as Supreme Warrior." He rushed towards Aldred. Weight so heavy that the reinforced floor under his feet cracked.


    He appeared before Aldred and pulled the trigger of his weapon at point nk range.


    Therge assault rifle fired, its sound boomed in the hall as the rocket-propelled bullet came out.


    Not only was the bullet heavy, it was also packed with explosive. In literal words, it was a miniature rocket that would explode after it punched through its target to make sure fatal damage to its internal organ.


    When the bullet reached Aldred, he stopped it with his teeth which made the Supreme Warrior raised an eyebrow.


    The bullet exploded which filled the hall with smoke.


    Their scanners scanned the area and their expression slightly changed. When the smoke dissipated, Aldred was still standing with a smile on his face.


    There was no damage at all. Not even to his clothes.


    The tech priest started to wonder if he gave the Supreme Warrior with the right weapon or not. He had never make such mistake before because the motto of a tech priest was ''to be as precise as machines.''


    So they only made mistakes 1% of the time in average. But not him since he was the leader among tech priest.


    His chance of making a mistake was zero ording to statistic for the past hundred years.


    But maybe this was his first mistake ever.


    Though what he did not realize was something else. He did not pick the wrong weapon. He picked the wrong enemy.

 Chapter 476 476 Interesting Proposal

    Aldred moved forward and swung his sword towards the Supreme Warrior''s right arm. In a single motion, his de cut through the arm, making it flying in the air before it fall into the ground with a loud thud.


    It all happened so quickly which shocked the tech priest and the Supreme Warrior.


    "You¡­ who are you? Are you Victor''s Super Warrior?"


    The mechanicum had heard of Victor''s experiment in trying to create human with super powers. But they did not believe Victor could be better than them in that regard because the mechanicum had perfected their serum every year and spend all of their resources to improved it.


    One of the reason why the mechanicum became powerful so fast was their drive to progress and advancement. Since the tech priest had shed most of their human weakness, emotions such asziness, loneliness, and depression would not affect their work. This meant that they could work every single day day and night. They were literally robots.


    But even though they barely could feel emotion, today was an exception because the tech priest were truly shocked by what Aldred had done.


    He just cut off the Supreme Warrior''s right arm like it was an apple.


    "Victor is dead," Aldred said.


    "What!" The tech priest was even more shocked to hear that. "How is that possible? Who killed him?"


    Smiling, Aldred looked at the man in the eye. "Me."


    Right after saying that, Aldred jolted forward and stabbed the Supreme Warrior right in the chest. The Supreme Warrior did not even show a face of pain or made a sound because his pain receptors were removed.


    That made Aldred raised an eyebrow. "So you cannot feel pain? But I wonder. Can you feel nightmare?"


    Aldred''s eyes turned deep ck and the Supreme Warrior widened his eyes, staring at them. He tried to avert his eyes but he couldn''t.


    That was when he suddenly screamed in deep agony. His body trembled like mad as if every inch of his body was being tortured.


    "What did you do?" The tech priest asked. He could not keep his calm in this situation.


    "I am letting him know what pain feels like," Aldred replied.


    The tech priest took a step back and his brainputed at hyper-speed. "Since Victor is death, there must best a new ruler to rece him. We assumed that the ruler will be you?"


    "Not me."


    "Then it must be your allies or your employer. You are here to destroy us to give warning to others?"


    "Smart." Aldred smiled. "That is true. I am here to send a message to the underworld."


    "In that case we have a better proposal."


    "I am listening."


    "We shall stay under your rule. We will be your hand and eyes in the underworld. If you want to send a message, we will send it as loud as we can and we''ll make sure that every ears heard it."


    Not just anyone could make the Supreme Warrior so defenseless. The tech priest had consulted with hisrades using neural connection, and hade to a conclusion after exchanging ideas and opinion for less than one second.


    They concluded that this man could destroy them. This conclusion came from various data they had obtained.


    They had seen Aldred before in a particr city, bringing demons and golems to fight against Victor''s mechanical army. They also obtained some recording of Aldred fighting against Victor within the Archanite mine.


    And by the looks of it, he was winning the fight. So it was true that Victor was killed by Aldred.


    Since he could kill Victor, and made their Supreme Warrior look like a weak child, there was only one way to survive.


    Serve him.


    Aldredughed.


    That scared the tech priest a bit. They had never handled a person like this before. He had never felt fear before, but this person was something else.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I like that proposal," Aldred said. "Alright, from now on, you will be under me."


    Aldred tapped the Supreme Warrior on the shoulder and he suddenly returned to reality, gasping sharply for air before breathing in and out.


    He looked around and realized that he was back in the hall. The man processed the information in split seconds and realized that he was thrown into some sort of hypnotize.


    Supreme Warrior should be immune to any drugs that affect the mind.


    "Supreme Warrior," the tech priest said. "From now on, the mechanicum is under his rule. As our strongest weapon, you will also be serving him."


    The Supreme Warrior knelt and bowed.


    The Supreme Warrior were designed to have absolute loyalty to the mechanicum. Whatever their decision was, the Supreme Warrior should follow. They were not human with opinions, but tools and weapons used to destroy and intimidate the enemy.


    As the weapon of the mechanicum, they should be destroying the enemies, not the other way around.


    Aldred smiled. "Since you are now under me, I will help you in obtaining resources and give you ess to mypanies and connection."


    Aldred opened a portal of which Tarrar stepped out after a few second.


    "It''s been a while since you summon me."


    "You are busy anyway."


    "That is true. So what''s the business?"


    "They are the business." Aldred pointed. "Let me introduce you to them. They are the tech priest and the Supreme Warrior of the mechanicum."


    "Oh, thergest underworld organization in Duria?"


    "You knew already?"


    Tarrar nodded. "The more business deals I made, the more friends I also made. Especially from criminals organization. They know a lot of things, and I learn a lot of things from them. The Mechanicum is kind of closed organization. While others madework, they made fortresses and rarely do trades."


    "Well, now they are under me."


    "I see¡­ WAIT WHAT?"


    "They sword their loyalty to me now."


    "They are the mechanicum! Strongest underworld organization in Duria. They should have thousands of Diamond Ranks under their belt!"


    Aldred sighed. "Did you forget that I am the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire? The Fire Monarch? The Lord of the Dead? The Golem Master? Soul Devourer, and also a Legendary Swordsman?"


    "Right¡­ you alone should be able to destroy the mechanicum."


    "Tech Priest," Aldred called. "This here is my subordinates, Tarrar. He is the CEO of mypanies namely the golempanies, minerpanies, tasty food, auction, and magic orbs."


    "So CEO Tarrar is  your subordinates," the tech priest said. "We have heard of his name, but avoided contacts with him. We don''t really deal with magical objects."


    "Why don''t youbined magic with technology? Create something mechanical and magical. With your precise calction and magical effect of magicians, I am sure you could create something more powerful than what you are capable of now. We also have many potions that could be mixed with your serum to create a far stronger Supreme Warrior," Aldred said.


    "That is an interesting proposal," the tech priest said.


    "Alright, you two work together, create something for our own and also create something cheap and easy to mass produced to earn ourselves some money," Aldred said. "But before that, I want the mechanicum to destroy all the known organization in the underworld. Tarrar will also help you with that with our golem army. Make sure all of them are destroyed within a day."


    Tarrar and the tech priest looked at each other.

 Chapter 477 477 War Engine

    Other than The Mechanicum, there were other major underworld organization. An organization would only considered major if they could at least control one Dark City. These organization were Anarchy, Ash Corps, Virus Undetected, and Automatic Sinner.


    Each of them controlled one or more dark city and could ask for ''tax'' however they wanted in these Dark Cities. The catch was they had to defend it and protect it if they wanted to make profit. If people were getting robbed and attacked constantly, people would stay away from their cities.


    Naturally, no sane criminals would dare to attack anyone in these mafia controlled cities.


    But these organizations were nothing whenpared to The Mechanicum who had 10 Dark Cities under their rule. The 4 of them had to work together and even by doing that they barely able to contend against The mechanicum.


    The Mechanicum did not wanted their cities, if they do, they would have destroyed these four long ago.


    But now that they had ''proper'' reason to do so, they began to send out their legion.


    All over the underworld, huge, mechanical worms dug through thend and breached the defensive perimeters of the city.


    A man was walking in a dark city after transporting an illegal item. It was business as usual, but suddenly, the whole world shook which shocked the man since the city was supposed to be earthquake-proof.


    But then, a giant mechanical worm burst out of the wall and opened its mouth wide, retracting the spinning teeth of which tens of thousands mechanical army began to flood into the city.


    "An attack! The Mechanicum is attacking this city! Run for your life!"


    "Why is the Mechanicum attacking the city?" a man asked despite the chaos."


    "Who fucking care! RUN!"


    The Mechanicum had never attacked other cities before. If they wanted something, they usually threatened the ruler directly, using intimidation and negotiation. They rarely used massive-offense operation such as this. But when they do¡ªit created great chaos.


    Buildings exploded left and right, the ground under their feet cracked, andva spewed out from below and above.


    Luckily, the Mechanicum already gave enough time for the people to flee the city before the mechanical legion fired their sma beam at the buildings, leveling them into dust and rubbles.


    Thousands of people in vest came out of a bunker and retaliated, but small drones from above obliterated them before they could even fire a single shot.


    The drones swiftly flew inside the bunker, firing sma beam at every living being they found.


    Axtin, the leader of Anarchy was sitting in his office inside the bunker. His room was currently shaking and dust fell of from the ceiling. Lights flickering which made him worried that the enemy coulde in at any time.


    The screen in front of him showed how the Mechanicum destroyed his city. Gritting his teeth, he pressed a red button below his table and a projection of the other leaders appeared.


    "Two of cities are under attack by the Mechanicum. All of you have to help me." As he said that however, he noticed that their expression were not good either.


    "Our cities are under attack as well. As we are speaking, tens of thousands robots are rolling through my defenses."


    Axtin pressed another button and a bunch of projection appeared, showing their cities being attacked by the Mechanicum.


    The Ash Corps sent their powerful giant robots, but it was destroyed within a few minutes by the Mechanicum''s farrger robot.


    "My team has attacked as well, but they cannot do anything," the leader of Virus Undetected said. "Instead, ourworks got attacked and some of our information even got stolen."


    "Stop the attack," Axtin said. "We have to attack them physically."


    "Can''t you see? We are losing in the informational realm and the physical realm as well," the leader of Automatic Sinner said.


    "We have to do something. We can''t be destroyed just like this."


    Suddenly, Axtin''s ceiling fell. Smoke and dust filled the room which made him cough.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw two pair of lights staring at him as it approached, revealing a three meter tall human in thick armor.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You¡­ you are the Supreme Warrior!"


    "No. I am simply a Super Warrior. A Supreme Warrior is too much to take you out."


    "Are you going to kill me? You cannot do this. Tell your boss that we are willing to serve."


    "The order is to kill all and destroy all. No negotiation."


    "NO WAIT!"


    SLASH!


    The other 3 leaders panicked and immediately turned off their projections. They stood and immediately activated their emergency protocols to escape, but before they could do that, they were greeted by a Super Warrior.


    Tarrar and the Tech Priest were standing in a dimly lit room with a bunch of projections showing the scene of destruction of various underworld cities.


    Tarrar saw an army of ten thousand being incinerated by 10 meter tall robot who could shoot me thrower and sent rockets in any direction.


    There were 30 meter tall robots as well withrge cannons as their arms. Every shot was so heavy and so explosive that it destroyed 5 buildings per shot.


    Small drones in the air, and dog like robots onnd were on the move as well. There so many things that happened, but it wasn''t chaos on this side as everything was perfectly nned and instrumented.


    Tarrar was impressed by the Mechanicum''s careful and perfect nning, and its variety of forces. There were small robot units, big robot units, and huge robot units, and there were even super human warriors.


    There were so many robots for all kinds of specific task such asmunication, information gathering, defense pration, and so much more.


    Tarrar was amazed how the Mechanicum could keep with all of these things. An army usually consisted of soldiers with different group assigned to a couple of basic task. But the Mechanicum made warfare seemed much moreplicated than it seemed.


    But Tarrar was sure that if he fought the Mechanicum, he would lose. Though he was confidence in his ability as a general, he better of managing cities andpanies.


    Tarrar looked at the Tech Priest. He had talked to him before and knew that his name was Corduul Thassentoth.


    He was the Lead Tech Priest of the Mechanicum. Judging by his character and the value he could bring, Tarrar could say he would be a key subordinates for Aldred.


    Especially since the idea of mixing technology with magic was even more likely now. Tarrar had heard that Aldred wanted to go to other continent.


    He was sure that with Aldred''s ambition, he would wanted to carve somend for himself. And for that he would need an army and resources to keep that army strong and growing.


    Tarrar believed he could bring enough wealth for Aldred, but to grow his army¡­


    That would be Corduul''s task.


    Tarrar approached him and tapped him in the waist.


    Corduul looked at him.


    "I am looking forward to be working with you from now on."


    Corduul did not know the hidden meaning, but he shook the man''s hand nheless.


    Tarrar was known to be Aldred''s Wealth Generator.


    But Corduul will be Aldred''s¡ª


    War Engine.

 Chapter 478 478 Zarg Slimeskin

    Naley, Barne, Zaxary were shocked to hear the news.


    Especially Naley. She was a master in gathering information and knew the major organization in the underworld and how powerful they were. And yet, all of them were destroyed in a single night!!!


    She also knew the the attacker was the Mechanicum, but why did they attack all the underworld group? Not just the 4 main organizations but also otherrge group as well.


    Suddenly, there were no enemies for her to worry about.


    Zaxary sat on the sofa while taking a deep breath as he looked at the projection. "Aldred, really did it. He is truly something else."


    "How did he convince the Mechanicum to do his bidding?" Naley asked.


    Barneughed. "He must have done something to their leader. Knowing him, there is no wall that can prevent him from grabbing the neck of their Tech Priest."


    Aldred even manage to defeat Victor which was the strongest being in Duria. Everything else were ants to him.


    "So that''s it? We solidify our rule?" Naley asked.


    Suddenly, a portal appeared of which Ste and Aldred stepped out.


    "Hello," Aldred greeted.


    "Aldred! Did you do all of these?" Naley asked.


    "Are you asking me did I destroy all the underworld organization, removing their cities, eliminating all their army, destroying their secret bases, and assassinating all of their key members? If that is the question then yes."


    Ste rolled her eyes when she heard that. Aldred could be a little braggart sometimes.


    "So you really did it¡­ I can''t believe this. You made it too easy."


    "It was easy to be honest."


    The three of them looked at each other and realized their levelpared to Aldred was far off. This man could literally fixed the world''s problem in a single day which was impossible for them to do.


    "Now that there is no troublemaker, you can set up your own army. I am sure Victor left a lot of mechanical legions to defend his nation. Now make sure all of those robots are serving you."


    Naley nodded. It wasn''t aplicated procedure, but it would take some time before Naley could take control the entire nation''s automated robot.


    "What about the Mechanicum?" Naley asked.


    "They are now working for me. I was expecting a coboration with your team as well. Maybe we can make something useful for everyone."


    With Naley controlling Duria, Victor''sb should also fall in her control. Aldred was sure hisb contain far more technologies that the Mechanicum  could only dream of having.


    Aldred smiled. He now got the Mechanicum, a powerful organization that always looked for improvement and progress. He also got the best weapon engineer in Duria, an information master, the boy who could control time, and a singer that can manipte emotions.


    This was an amazing team. He could destroy any nation with them.


    Or even better, built a nation with them.


    Suddenly, Ste frowned. "Aldred, Selia is not retreating."


    "Why? Did their arrogance got ahead of them?"


    "No, it''s not that. Apparently, they have an ally thates from outside."


    "Outside?"


    "Apparently, they are not from this continent."


    ¡­


    In the principality of Aliravilia, the nation of Gnolls.


    Atop a mountain near the city of Kisz, stood a particrly tall and handsome gnoll. Unlike other gnolls, he was handsome and noble-like.


    He was the leader of the revolution army. Ever since the Republic of Selia took over the nation, he rose up and inspired many gnolls to join him. But, with no experience of fighting andck of equipments, their battle were filled with defeats.


    But Zarg Slimeskin proved to be a firm inspiration for the gnolls. They intently listened to every word during his speech, and they way he bring himself in front of his men made him the figure of respect and awe.


    Despite their losses, the gnolls never lose their trust in him.


    Zarg kept promising them of a bright future and that they will take over their nation once again. And that future seemed so close after tens of thousands of golems were sent for their aid.


    Now, they were hiding atop the mountain. Below them was Kisz, one of the major cities in Aliravilia.


    It was guarded by a powerful army.


    But they still wanted to take it.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Zarg raised his hand. The jewelry in his wrist reflected the light which made everyone looked at him. He was now the center of attention.


    "Gnolls of Aliravilia! The foreigner that came from the east saw us as weak and tiny! Let us show them what we can do!"


    "YEAH!!!"


    They nged their des onto their shield as they shouted in excitement.


    "Attack," Zarg said that in a low voice, almost a whisper, but everyone heard it loud and clear.


    They charged down the mountain along with the golems, the steep surface increased their speed it and by charging together, their spirits were lifted. It was okay if they die today because they would die for a good cause.


    The guards atop the wall noticed them and frowned. They grabbed the nearby fence to prevent themselves from falling and took a deep breath.


    The crystals on their forehead lit up and suddenly, a powerful beam shot out from them and struck towards the charging gnolls.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Dust clouds flew everywhere, but then the gnolls army rushed out of the dust cloud, some sort of transparent barrier flickered around them.


    Some golems had crystals atop their head, apparently, they were the ones who casted that barrier.


    "Corn Nuts! Those golems are big trouble!"


    "Use the big weapon to destroy them!"


    Republic of Selia did not be strong merely relying on their talent, but also their intelligent and creativity. It was long known that the Shardmind were smart. It was one of the reason why they were so feared. In negotiation, they never take the bad deal.


    Naturally, in warfare, they would have the same mindset.


    A powerful cannon, made with the crystals of their deceased warrior stood behind the wall. With careful aim, they precisely set the direction of the barrel.


    "Fire!"


    BOOM!


    What came out of the barrel was a powerful concentrated beam.


    The golems erected the barrier, thicker this time, but it was nothing for the beam as it pushed through it and vaporized arge chunk of area, killing dozens in a single shot.


    That was one cannon, the next second, came another three cannons and they fired one after another.


    The gnolls charged through explosions and mes with theirrades dying every second.


    At one moment they were screaming side by side, the next moment, half of their body got decapitated.


    It was brutal.


    But they kept charging through. There was no fear in their heart nor mind.


    There was only one thing and that was to charge forward.


    Soon after, they reached the gate and with the help of the golem, they managed to destroy it within seconds.


    The Shardminds attacked, using the crystals on their forehead, they lifted the nearby swords and using telekinesis to throw them at the gnolls.


    The golems, using theirrge body and shield protected the gnolls and counter-attacked.


    The gunner golems sending bullets precisely at the crystals, killing them instantly.


    In half an hour, they manage to conquer the city.


    Zarg looked at his men with pride. "Gnolls! We have won!"


    "YEAHHH!!!" Their cheers reverberated which was heard by every citizen within that city. And those cheers were like a call of victory to them as well. A call that they were now safe.


    "Clean this mess. We are going to have a party tonight!" Zarg shouted.


    The soldiers quickly get to work with the golems to fix the gate and removing the bodies.


    Zarg watched his men work before he turned around and noticed something in the distance.


    At first, it was a weird silhouette of something, but then so many of it appeared.


    And then Zarg''s eyes widened. "Are those¡­ battleships?"

 Chapter 479 479 Making Plan

    Hundreds of warships that were supposed to sail on sea, but instead, they sailed onnd!


    The hundreds of powerful cannons atop them and their sides, aimed towards the city.


    Zarg trembled as he took a step back. "No¡­"


    He shook his head. "This can''t be."


    Zarg knew the power of warships. They were so powerful that even Diamond Ranks had to run away if they encountered one.


    But now, there were hundreds of such ships here.


    The ships fired.


    "NO!"


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    The explosion engulfed the entire city, sweeping away all the buildings and infrastructures. Every living being; humans, and animals were consumed by me. None could have survived that attack. Not even Diamond Ranks.


    In a single volley, the entire city was obliterated. Nothing but dust and rubbles were left on the city-size crater.


    The crater was wide and huge, enough to fit three mountains and still had more rooms left.


    The destruction was hard to imagine.


    ¡­


    Aldred watched this event in his room with Ste.


    "Who are they?" Aldred asked.


    "They called themselves Serpent of The Ocean."


    "Seriously?" Aldred looked at the mirror again. "Then why the hell do theye onnd?"


    Aldred was still confused as to how the warships could move onnd.


    None of his ships were able to do that.


    "Edeline''s spies told us that their leader, Brago, had attacked the Republic of Selia. But for whatever reason, Brago became allies with them."


    "So now he''s helping Selia to attack us? He thinks these hundred ships will be enough to do that?"


    "This is merely a fraction of the ships he has," Ste replied.


    "Is that so?" Aldred thought for a while. "But why did he destroy that city. I am sure it was rich with resources."


    "I don''t know as well."


    "Where are they heading now? Is there any other squadron of these ships somewhere?"


    Ste nodded. "Up north."


    The mirror zoomed out, past the cloud, and revealed arge map. Some red dots appeared on the map.


    "Those red dots are where the ships are."


    "There are more ships on the south," Aldred said. "And they are advancing non stop towards the west."


    "They areing towards us."


    "Can you handle them, Aldred?"


    Aldred looked at the ships and shook his head. "Not with that many ships. Each squadron at least had 4 motherships, and a bunch of other warships. It''s very risky."


    "Even you said it is risky¡­ seems like we have a worthy opponent this time."


    Ste could not recall when was thest time Aldred thought that a mission was too risky. He always had confident that he would win every time he faced a challenge.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But this time, he felt doubt?


    "Those are not ordinary ships like ours. They are far far better and stronger," Aldred said. His godly eyes had analyzed those ships and the materials they were made of did note from this continent.


    "Theye from a distantnd, far more powerful than us," Aldred added.


    "So what do we do now?" Ste asked. "If their power is as great as you said, our army might be not strong enough to defeat them."


    "We need to think of a n. Brute is not enough to solve this problem."


    "Let''s go to Edeline. She might have some ideas."


    They immediately teleported into the Royal Pce and asked the guards.


    "The Empress is currently in her room, your majesty."


    Aldred and Ste teleported to her room.


    Edeline calmly turned to look at them as if she already expected them toe. "The enemies are more than you can handle it seems."


    "That''s right."


    Edeline giggled. "Otherwise, you wouldn''te to me."


    Aldred scratched his head at being found out. "Do we have any solution?"


    "I have heard of your deeds in Duria. And I took a little inspiration from them."


    "What is it?"


    "Spreading rumors. We should spread rumors that Brago, a conquerering from another continent is here to take over everything, and he will stop at nothing to get it. Currently, he has put Selia as his subordinates, but how many more would he take? The less the better, so it would be better for him to kill us all."


    Aldred widened his eyes. "You are going to pull everyone into this war¡­"


    "That''s correct." Edeline smiled. "This continent will be engulfed in war."


    "But¡­ isn''t that what we are trying to avoid?"


    "I never expect someone from another continent toe to this ce. But, though we will be in another great war, I believe this is also our chance to achieve true world peace. With all the nations working together, we can create stronger bonds between different races. Bonds that willst for generations! Bonds that is stronger than blood."


    "Edeline¡­ but so many will die."


    "And so many will be saved," Edeline said. "Don''t think of the bad days now, think of the good days in the future."


    "What do you think of my ideas?"


    Aldred truly did not expect this idea toe from her. As the advocator of peace, Aldred expected a negotiation tactic or assassination n, but a war that included every nation on this continent¡­


    Even Aldred, a battle maniac, thought that idea as something terrible. But she was right.


    After this war, the continent will be even more united, and coborated together to explore out.


    "You are correct, Edeline. That idea will be good for the world in the future. Let''s do that. I will tell my subordinates to spread the rumors."


    "My subordinates will be up to the task as well," Edeline said. "I have many spies all over the continent."


    "That should make things quick. And should we also kidnap political figures that is known to be impossible to bribe?"


    "Kidnapping the ''good'' political figures? Why?"


    "It will be more convincing since people will think that Brago is trying to bribe their government. And the government will have to move to attack Brago to prove their innocence."


    Edeline giggled. "Aldred, you are one of a kind. Even I did not think of that. Alright, you can go and kidnap them. But try not to hurt them, and don''t reveal our identity. Better yet, use disguise of Brago''s subordinates.


    "Alright." Aldred smiled.

 Chapter 480 480 Continental War

    Paphia, thend of the winged-men. They were once thought upon as angels, but when humans realized that they were simr in traits: deceitful, vengeful, and greedy, their status and name quickly dropped into a human with wings.


    That was when the terms ''winged-men'' was born. Winged-men was no different than human except the fact that they had wings and could fly. And just like human, they also had their good sides.


    Good people were considered rare, especially in the political world where everyone seemed so evil and could not be trusted. Lies were spouted like breathing, and corruption was not just normal but also a necessity.


    But of course, one or two political figures were known for their honesty. These figures were loved by the people, but they never had enough power to change the whole nation.


    Nevertheless, the people loved them.


    One of those loved figures was Manius Heranus. A tall, old, schrly man who spend most of his time reading. He preached that the day to day fulfillment of the majority of people should be a priority. Basically, he wanted people to be contend with their life, and he wanted to do this by spreading his mindset and philosophy and integrating them into schools.


    But his opposition strongly disagreed because they argued that a contend nation would never aim for greatness. Instead, they would bezy and stagnant.


    The rulers could care less about the happiness of their citizen so they didn''t even take his advice seriously.


    Currently, Manius was in his office, writing about the pros and cons of his philosophy and how he should change it to make it better.


    After a few hours, he realized something. "To be content is not to be stagnant in life, but to always be growing. Growing in strength, and financially. Creating strong rtionship with loved ones, and be confident in day to day life. Being fulfilled doesn''t have to bezy and stagnant at all!"


    Manius wanted his citizen to have an objective view of the world, and that they should not take things personally. This will be better for their mental health, and they can do things with a more rationalize thinking.


    This way, they can be more fulfilled in life.


    He stood up and grabbed his paper. He was about to share this with his students and discussed this with them. He always wanted a different perspective before he preach something to the masses.


    As he opened the door out of his room, however, a shadow immediately engulfed him. He vanished without a trace.


    Suddenly, another shadow rose up and formed into a man that had a simr appearance with Manius. And then another shadow came with the appearance of a soldier with spiky metal armor.


    They both smiled at each other before the man in spiky metal army grabbed the old man and ran out of the buildings.


    The guards noticed them and shouted. "Sir Manius is kidnapped! Notify all the guards!"


    One of the guards climbed the tower and rang therge bell. Making all the guards in the building alerted. They all saw a man in spiky armor pulling Sir Manius by the cor.


    Suddenly, a guard shouted. "That''s the armor of Brago''s subordinates! They must have tried to bribe Sir Manius, but he refused!"


    The guards quickly became confused. Who the hell was Brago?


    No one really knew who Brago was. His existence was kind of a secret, and Edeline only manage to know because she had so many spies all over the ce.


    After running around the buildings, the two vanished which confused the guards.


    "They''re taking Sir Manius away!"


    Soon the news spread that their beloeved Manius Heranus was kidnapped. Almost every citizen in Paphia was shocked to hear that news.


    Why would they kidnap someone as kind as Manius?


    At first, they directed their attention towards the government, but then rumors spread that Brago, a conquerer that came from a strange continent ising and wanted to take over the world.<novelnext></novelnext>


    They said that Brago is trying to bribe the governments, and those who refused were kidnapped and tortured.


    People was hard to believe that news at first, but then more political figures got kidnapped one after the other.


    It did not matter if the figure was a Diamond Rank, they all vanished without a sign of fighting back.


    Naturally, this caused a turn moil among the governments and the people.


    Who the hell had the guts to kidnap a Diamond Rank?


    Naturally, an investigation ensued and they all led to one person...


    Brago, the conquerer that came from another continent. They found out that the thousand of ships were currently marching onnd!


    Ships marching onnd was shocking enough! But then they also found out that they were led by Brago.


    That was when another rumors came, saying that Brago ising to conquer the world and enving them all.


    These kind of events happened to every nation on the continent. From Thignia Empire (Thend of Vampire), Holy State of Montcresia, Torvenia (Thend of Leonin), Hofnmoen (Thend of Lizardfolk), Lympsian Theocracy, Yevileria (Thend of Bugbear), Trelder and many more.


    The events and the rumors happened and spread so quickly.


    And the longer they took action, more and more political figures were kidnapped. They just vanished without a trace except for some clues such as helmet, armor piece, or weapon that was found to be simr to the weapon of Brago''s subordinates.


    All the nations asked the Republic of Selia for answers, but they refused to give any information about Brago.


    That was when they immediately dered war on them.


    It was a shocking news for the world. The whole continent was in war. This kind of event had only happened once before, and the destruction it caused was written in details.


    They were scared to imagine what the future looked like, but also, they did not want to back down. Because this wasn''t a war between nations in this continent, but a battle against invaders.


    Quickly, all over the continent, powerful generals moved their grand armies towards Selia.


    Naturally, Aldred also moved his army or else they all would be suspicious of him.


    But he was also surprised to receive so many letters of gratitude.


    Ceraisian Empire was always known to be the strongest Empire in this continent. It was usually getting a lot of hates for how powerful it was, but now, everyone loved the Ceraisian Empire and their soldiers were served with special treatment whenever they went.


    Aldred, Ste, and Edeline watched the projection that showed the movement of the army.


    Aldred smiled. He had never seen so many armies before. Literally, soldiers from every nations came to fight Selia. And none of them held anything back because Aldred had spread some of the items he stole from Brago''s ships, showing them that their weapons were much more powerful than their own.


    He also leak some footage that he kept showing the destruction and capabilities of Brago''s ships.


    With all of that information, none of them dare to hold their army back. They knew they would be destroyed if they do that.


    "Now, how will this war develop? Will it be long or quick?"

 Chapter 481 481 Brago

    Zikaok Jalruhk, known as the crystallized hope of Selia stood on the bow of a mothership as it leveled an entire mountain range.


    His expression was cold and look uninterested. But deep inside, he was quite fond of these warships that could walk onnd. The strangers that came from another continent interest him as well. After taking over this continent, he would join him to explore the other continent.


    His ambition wasn''t locked in this backward ce.


    Suddenly, a man walked out of the shade. He was a bulky man with long, thick, braided hair. In his right hand was a fearsome, long bull hook, and a thick ck cape covered his back and shoulders.


    As Brago stood next to Zikaok, his figure towered over the shardmind. But Zikaok kept looking forward as if he did not notice him.


    Brago let out a littleugh. Usually, any man he met would bow their head a little as a show of fear. But this man had never shown fear. His chin was always held high, and that dead-looking eyes as if he did not care about anything made him look so mysterious.


    This little man seemed very talented as well, so he was nning to bring him into the ocean and see his growth. That is after he get the dragons.


    "Zikaok," Brago called. "Are you sure that Aldred, the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire, hides the dragons?"


    "Didn''t you said that you do not care if the information is true or not?"


    Brago smiled. "Even if the Ceraisian Empire does not have the dragons, I will still destroy it to the ground."


    "Why do you need these dragons?" Zikaok said with a little bit of disdain in his tone. "Aren''t you powerful enough to defeat them? If so, why do you need them?"


    "The dragons, in their current state now, they might not be that useful. But I can breed them into something stronger and more subservient to me. At that time, I will truly have an army that can help me conquer any sea."


    "Relying on external things is not wise. Better to rely on your own power." Zikaok turned around and left.


    Brago snorted. "We will see about that."


    Suddenly, a soldier in spiky armor approached him and presented him a letter.


    Brago opened the letter and read it. His lips curved wide into a hideous smile. "War¡­ this is perfect. I am bored of an easy fight. If the whole continent wanted to fight against me, then let theme. I will destroy them! And maybe someone can show me something interesting for once."


    ¡­


    Dobbs were pounding on a peace of metal until someone shouted for him to stop with a robotic voice.


    It was Corduul.


    Both Corduul and Dobbs were in a secretb. They were trying to make something together.


    "What''s wrong this time?"


    "You hit it too hard. Instead of using 25% of your power, you use 25,4% and hit the peace of iron with greater velocity than I requested. Now the iron is 0,4% more dented than what I expected."


    "Are you serious right now?"


    "You need to be more precise in your craftsmanship."


    "My power doesn''te from precision. Ites from feelings and magic wonders. I can make tougher shield than you using my skills."


    "But for our coboration to work, you need to be as precise as a machine."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yet, in order for my magic to work, I need to use my feelings. And I won''t apologize, but my feelings are not very precise. And you know what, your creation is too cold. There is no spirit in them. I need something more alive!"


    Tarrar sighed as he looked at the two of them arguing. They had been like this for a while now. He expected them to work together with harmony since both of them were essentially an inventor, but things were not that simple.


    After hearing them arguing for minutes, Tarrar had enough.


    "Guys, why don''t we implement something in this coboration."


    "What?" They both asked.


    "It''s a little something I call ''tolerance''."


    "Tolerance?"


    "Yes, it means tolerating and epting how each other works instead of forcing the other to work the way you wanted them to. But also keep in mind to always try to be as amodating as possible which mean thinking what your partner wanted and expected from you."


    "In other words, instead of thinking for yourselves, you need to start thinking for your partner. Do my words easy to understand?"


    Dobbs sighed. "Fine. But, first, let me say something. Your work is dead. A true master piece is something that has spirit in them as if they are alive. But yours feel death. Like they are merely an object. I am not used to creating something like that."


    "I have problem with your creations as well," Corduul replied. "They are too imbnce, imperfect, so many micro bents, and barely symmetric."


    Tarrar smiled. "I think both of you are the perfect partner. Now that you know each other''s weakness, work together to fill them."


    "Haish, I can''t believe I have to work with this walking tin can. What does Aldred wanted us to make anyway?"


    "A super weapon that could destroy something tough."


    "Can you be more specific?" Dobbs asked.


    Tarrar grabbed something out of his spatial bag. It was a pieece wood. "The enemies have their ships made out of these. Now, build something that can destroy it."


    Dobbs stared at the piece of wood and shook his head. "I have never seen this before."


    "Ites from another continent."


    "No wonder."


    "Do you have any more?" Corduul asked. "I might be able to find its weakness if I put it in my dissolving solution."


    "I do. Aldred stole a lot of it. In fact, you can even recreate the entire ship if you knew how it look."


    "How many warships did he destroy?"


    "I am not sure about that. But he said that even he has to be careful around this ship."


    Corduul and Dobbs looked at each other after that statement.


    "In that case we have to work quickly."

 Chapter 482 482 Going After Brago

    Aldred stared at the projection of a map with red dots all over them. These red dots were Brago''s individual ships, and the green dots were the allies.


    He was currently looking for any ships that were isted from the others. He would then destroy them and take their parts. It would be useful for him if they could analyze the materials, and found its weakness.


    But it seemed like the enemy already understood his intention and gathered the ships in a group of four. It''d be hard for him to destroy one without risking major injury.


    "Aldred." Edeline suddenly entered the room. "Thignia is asking for your help."


    "What are they nning to do?"


    "There are warships that is heading towards the west from Yevileria. The vampires wanted to destroy them."


    "That would be difficult," Aldred said. "I am afraid a lot of Diamond Ranks will die."


    "If we all do nothing, the warships will advance into our territory."


    Aldred sighed. "I will think of something."


    Although all the nations waged war on Selia, no one really dare to send their forces directly to stop the warships. These warships were weapons of destruction that could kill Diamond Ranks. Even hundreds of thousands of Gold Rank would be nothing for them.


    "Also, they said that they know where Brago is."


    Aldred turned and looked at her. "Where?"


    If he could kill Brago, this war would end a lot quicker.


    "In the middle of Yevileria. He ismanding and managing the warships from there."


    "So that''s why they are so daring. What about the others? Are we not going to tell them this. They already know, their task is to distract the other forces from reaching you."


    "They rely on me too much."


    "They already know you killed Victor."


    "Damn... news spread fast." Aldred sighed. "I will be going now."


    Edeline nodded. "Be careful out there."


    Aldred vanished and appeared on a vast in. The breeze made the grass dance. The warships were a few kilometers from here.


    Before they reached this ce, Aldred had to set up a trap.


    He floated down,nding on the ground. Raising his palm, arge amount of mana came out of his pores and formed into an orb on his palm.


    The orb fell to the ground and the earth covered it.


    Suddenly, Aldred flew into the sky, and mana orbs came out of his body at a constant rate. Dropping hundreds of mana orbs every second.


    They all fell and hid under the ground.


    After he was satisfied with his work, Aldred vanished and entered a campsite.


    The guards were shocked by his sudden appearance and were about to confront him. But then they saw the insignia on his clothes and realized that he was the legendary Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire. The one who killed Victor, and took over the most powerful Empire for himself. He even had many names such as the Lord of the Undead and Fire Monarch which made him so fearsome.


    With that in their mind, they did not dare to even look at his eyes, afraid they might offend him in some way. So they simply stepped to the side and bowed.


    Aldred walked pass them and entered the biggest tent in the camp.


    There, a beautiful woman was leaning on a table as she was staring intently at a map ced on it.


    "Are you Lyra?" Aldred asked.


    Lyra looked up, her beautiful face shining. She looked more like a world ss model rather than a powerful general. But her eyes said otherwise. Though they looked beautiful, it contained strength. No one would dare to underestimate her if they took a look at those pair of eyes.


    "You are a bitte," Lyra said. "Your Majesty," she said thest two words with a little bit of disdain.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "No need to call me that. Aldred is fine."


    Lyra frowned for a fraction of a second. She had never met a royal member to be so humbling. Even nobles wanted everyone to call them by their title.


    But the Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire was not? Impossible. He must have hidden intention.


    "What is your n?" Aldred asked.


    "We are told to distract the enemy, and while we do that,  you will destroy the warships."


    Lyra looked at Aldred with doubt and a slight anger. She had received a small piece of material of the warships, and she knew that it was tough to destroy even for her.


    But could Aldred really destroy them? He did not look much stronger than her.


    "You better be prepared then," Aldred said. "The warships are going to arrive in a few minutes."


    "I don''t believe that you can destroy these ships. Save your energy and stay here."


    Aldred smiled. "Who do you think give everyone all of those scrap pieces? Enough talk, let us execute our mission."


    The warships sailed on the ground. Rising up the hills as if they were waves, leaving a giant trail behind their wake.


    "That''s the warships. Distract them, and I will destroy them for you. Remember, don''t try to attack. Focus on dodging their weapons." Aldred said as he, Lyra and the rest of the soldiers hid behind a hill.


    "Cih! Attack!"


    Lyra rushed forward. Blood energy suddenly formed around her palm and she released towards the warships.


    The blood energy expanded and engulfed a ship.


    "Yes!" Lyra''s eyes lit up, thinking that her power worked. She might could not destroy the ship, but she could kill the sailors.


    Her excitement fade when a powerful beam pierced through the blood energy and removed it from existence.


    The cannons them aimed towards her.


    "Shit!"


    Bright light burst out of the cannons, firing a powerful beam directly at her.


    She thought she was going to die until she heard a sigh and suddenly she vanished from her original spot and appeared atop a hill.


    "Didn''t I told you to focus on dodging the weapons?" Aldred said as he stared straight in her eyes.


    Lyra looked at the man that saved her. Suddenly, she realized that she was in his arms. "Get off of me."


    "Stay here," Aldred said before he disappeared.


    Lyra frowned. She felt her heart beating. "Fuck. So embarrassing! How dare he used me to act cool!"


    Meanwhile, Aldred snapped his fingers and all the mana crystals in the ground shone and let out arge explosions. It was so powerful that its shock waves leveled hills and created a huge crater still with dancing fire all over the ce.


    The ships were terribly damaged, but it was fine. Even the sailors on the ship was protected by a powerful barrier that let them survive. They all were shaken, but they stood up and got back to work.


    At least that was what they were supposed to do until they saw a giant ming fisting from above. And not just one, but thousands of them were falling from above like meteor shower.


    "Destroy those me fists!"


    The cannons pointed upwards and began firing powerful beams at the me fist, destroying each one with only one shot.


    They continued to fire at the sky, not realizing the real threat came from below.

 Chapter 483 483 Different Kind Of Torture

    As they fired towards the sky, the ground beneath them shook.


    And then a powerful beam of light burst out of the ground up into the sky revealing Aldred with a pair of shining eyes, Phantom Doomde raised high above his head.


    "SKY SPLITTING STRIKE!"


    SHEENG!


    A light burst forth from Aldred. A light so bright it blinded everyone and everything that cast their gaze towards it. Even people from the other side of the continent thought there was a second sun appearing.


    Everything was blinding white. The sailors had no chance to react because it happened too fast and they too were blinded by the light.


    And when the light disappeared, the sailors had vanished, and the vast in became bald with no greens in sight.


    The warships had been cut into ten million pieces.


    Lyra watched this all happening from a distance, the wind moved her hair in the air. Her pupils expanded and her body jolted.


    "What is that power¡­" Even she couldn''t imagine to reach that level of mastery in her blood spell. And she was considered to be very talented. That meant that this man was more talented than her.


    She had heard rumors about him. That he was an extremely powerful person, an especially dangerous one. And absurdly talented. They called him the Death Lord, the Fire Monarch, the Legendary Sword Master, and whatnot.


    Lyra did not believe.


    Until now.


    Aldrednded on the ground  and then waved his hand. The scraps of the warships vanished and entered his divine dimension. He would give them to Dobbs and Corduulter to help in their research.


    Aldred looked around and found one man who was unconscious. He had intentionally spared one.


    Grabbing the man, he casted his water spell and sshed his with water. The man suddenly woke up and gasped for air.


    Blood mist came beside Aldred and Lyra appeared. "What are you nning to do?"


    "Gathering information." Aldred grabbed the man by the cor and then cut off his right arm.


    "AHHH!" The man screamed in pain.


    "What are you doing? You didn''t ask him anything yet."


    "I just want to show him that I am not bluffing."


    Lyra couldn''t believe it. This man cut off an arm so heartlessly before even asking a question. She¡­ loved that attitude.


    "Now." Aldred turned his head towards the soldier. "Tell me, is Brago really at the center of Yevileria?"


    "No." The man shook his head but his expression was full of fear.


    Aldred closed his eyes and sighed before they opened abruptly and turned crimson red.


    The man''s eyes turned ck and he screamed in pain scratching his skin so hard that he began to bleed.


    Lyra took a step back out of fear. "What did you  do to him."


    "I put him in the worst kind of torture he could possibly imagine. But all of that happened inside his mind."


    "You can torture people''s mind?" Lyra''s eyes lit up. What a wonderful man. Torturing someone this bad without even lifting a finger. How lovely!


    "Sorry, I misjudged you," she said.


    "What?"


    "Never mind." Lyra smiled and took a step forward to get closer to him. "So how long will you torture him."


    "A few second can be weeks for him. So I will stop now."


    The man returned to reality and he breathed in and out weakly. The light in his eyes reduced as if his spirit was being sucked by a devil.


    Lyra pouted thinking that Aldred should torture the man some more.


    But suddenly, the man''s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he screamed in pain again. This time he rolled around on the ground. "BURN! IT BURNS! PLEASE STOPP!!!"


    "Didn''t you said you want to stop?"


    "I did that just to give him hope and then destroy that hope to nothingness."


    "Oh my¡­" Lyra put a hand over her mouth.


    "What?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    She shook her head and stayed silent. Lyra kept looking at Aldred and the more she looked the more satisfied she was. He was looking more and more handsome.


    Aldred did not think much about her behavior and grabbed and snapped the man back to reality. The man was about to puke before Aldred used telekinesis to shut his mouth, forcing him to swallow it back.


    "Where is he?"


    "He¡­ he is in the city of Ercsat. Now, please kill me! Kill me!"


    "As you wish."


    His head exploded, and the body fell to the side with a thud.


    "Now that we confirm our information, we can proceed to go further. Going there directly is a bad idea. Brago is surely guarded by a lot of warships. I say we pretend to be on the defensive while eating their numbers."


    Lyra nodded in excitement. "Whatever it is. I agree with you."


    Ste suddenly appeared in front of him. "Aldred, Paphia asked for your help. Three squadron of warships are currently marching Puszlokajfa. They desperately need your help or the city will be destroyed."


    "Isn''t that city near Nakatiharna?"


    Nakatiharna was one of Aldred''s cities that he had taken over. The government actually did not change, but all of its natural resources nearby was his.


    That city was also near Folineley which was where Aldred found Tarrar.


    He was a bit nostalgic. At that time, he helped Paphia fought against the bugbear with his golem army. What a wonderful time it was.


    But now the bugbear was his allies.


    "Are you going to help them?" Ste asked.


    Lyra red at Ste. She did now know who this woman was, but the way she looked at Aldred irritated her. And what was up with her clothes being so tight and revealing!


    Her clothes barely hid her private part! How can someone walked around with that kind of clothing.


    "I will. My n is to reduce the number of warships before I began to fight Brago. We need to be on the defensive. We have to pretend to lose."


    "Are you going to let them take the city?"


    Aldred nodded. But I will destroy some of their warships in the progress.


    "Let me help you this time." Ste smiled.


    "Sure. That will make thing easier."


    "You almost diedst time. I cannot bring you with me."


    "That''s because my power is actually not for offense. I am specialized in helping armies to win wars."


    Aldred looked at her. "Alright, let''s go."


    They vanished from the spot.


    4 squadron consisted of 4 motherships and dozens of smaller warships marched towards a city. When it was in sight, the cannons atop them moved.


    But this time, instead of a beam, they fired a shell that arched in the sky.


    "Enemy attack!"


    "Defend the city!"


    "NO! The higher ups told us to retreat! Evacuate the people quickly!"


    "Are we giving up our city!"


    "This is an order!"


    "How can we bring so many people?"


    "There are many teleportation altars set up around the city. Everyone will be safe."


    The shells in the sky burst open, revealing thousands of smaller shells.


    It was a scatter bomb, and uncountable numbers of them were popping up in the sky.


    And when they fell, the whole city was razed to the ground.

 Chapter 484 484 Strongest Weapon

    The war continued.


    Brago''s unstoppable warships continued to advance in every direction. The more they advanced the more distance they had with one another. Which mean, Brago had to send more warships out.


    That was why Aldred let the warships keep advancing. Though his allies were screaming at him for every cities that they destroyed.


    Aldred convinced them that they may lose the battles, but they will surely win the war. The fact that he was the only one who could effectively destroyed the warships made them listen.


    There were other Diamond Ranks as well that could destroy the warships, but their ways need a more meticulous nning and secret treasures.


    "Why not use the secret weapon?" Aldred asked the leaders.


    He was currently sitting in his room with the projection of the world leaders all around the table.


    "Don''t every nation has a super weapon that you wouldn''t use because that would destroy everything?"


    "It''s exactly why we don''t want to use," a man said.


    Aldred still did not know what the exact weapon was despite being an Emperor. He just did not have the chance to ask Edeline about it.


    "This is something that threatened the whole continent. Since Brago has gone this far, he will not back down until he get everything. Just how destructive this weapons is anyway?"


    "It''s not that it is very destructive, we also can only use it once."


    Everyone went silent after that. Aldred immediately understood why the topic never even came in the conversation. The super weapon could only be used once, and all of them were worried that a nation would attack them in the future.


    "In that case, there is only one solution for this problem. All the nation should use their super weapons."


    The intention was, if everyone used their one-time-use-super weapon, then no one would have a super weapon anymore.


    But no one was assured by that proposal. What if a nation refused to use their super weapon? What if they secretly kept one?


    They did not haveplete trust with one another. There were always wariness inside their heart. Of course that was the case, if would be naive to be thinking otherwise.


    Aldred sighed. "Since no one is willing to use their super weapon, then we have to fight this battle slowly. Grind the numbers of the enemy bit by bit and then strike the heart.


    All over the continents, thousands of Diamond Ranks were working together to destroy the warships.


    The Diamond Ranks used all kinds of methods such as sacrificing hundreds of thousands of Gold Ranks, distracting the enemy with numbers, using secret treasures, orbining their spells into one massive ultra-powerful attack.


    Some even used their lifespan to destroy these warships.


    But even though the number of warships were reduced, Brago''s army continued to advance.


    Aldred looked at the map and was satisfied. Edeline''s spies had counter that there were over 2,000 squadron. Which mean, over 2,000 motherships. Each one could kill tens of Diamond Ranks.


    But 14-20 motherships were destroyed every single day.


    Which mean, the war shouldn''tst longer than four months.


    Aldred couldn''t wait to explore the other continent. But first, he had to get rid of Brago and create a powerful army to protect this continent.


    It was too bad that he couldn''t increase his strength from destroy Brago''s ships. The sailors on board were not even Diamond Ranks.


    That made Aldred wonder. Did Brago brought any Diamond Ranks with him?


    "Aldred," Edeline called and pointed towards the map. "Something changed."


    Aldred shook the thoughts away and looked at the map. There, he saw the red dots were changing direction and all went towards the Ceraisian Empire.


    "They areing after me," Aldred said.


    "Selia''s spies must have known that you are the key."


    Aldred bit his lips. "If they gathered and attacked the Ceraisian Empire, there is nothing I can do to stop them."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Though he could destroy 4 squadrons at once, it would be extremely hard to do more than that as the enemies became smarter and smarter the more they encountered him.


    He relied on the element of surprise to defeat the warships, but if they already expected it, the element of surprise would be no more.


    Surely, after getting attacked by Aldred for a bunch of times, the generals would have figured out his fighting patterns.


    Past strategies that worked before might not work this time.


    Suddenly, Ste teleported into the room. "Aldred, Dobbs and Corduul have something to show you."


    "Did they made something powerful enough to solve our problem?"


    "You need to see it for yourself."


    Aldred nodded and teleported together with Ste.


    They appeared in a secretb. Its locations were only known by a handful of people, and it could only be essed through teleportation.


    "I don''t have much time," Aldred said. "Show me what you made."


    Dobbs smiled while Corduul was as expressionless as always.


    "We made you something that can solve your problem." Dobbs pushed a cart with ck cloth covering it.


    He grabbed the cloth and pulled it down, revealing a weirdly shape, majestic ck armor with eight wings. There were some signs of mechanical parts and magical parts in the joint. Copper lines and runes intermixed with each other on the surface of the armor.


    It gave of a weird but yet powerful appearance into it.


    "An armor? I thought I told you to make a weapon."


    "It''s impossible to make a weapon powerful enough to destroy those warships," Dobbs said. "Not with our current materials and knowledge."


    "But we already have a powerful weapon."


    "What is it?"


    "You, Aldred. You are the most powerful weapon that we have. We made this armor so you will be even more unstoppable."


    "I am listening."


    Dobbs smiled. "What it can do is increase your speed the more mana you feed it. The speed limit is almost limitless, but judging by your vast amount of mana, I believe you could very much reach the limit in no time. With your power, I believe you can increase your speed by a thousand time."


    "A thousand time? Are you serious?" Aldred could not believe what he just hear.


    "That is true."


    "I am amazed at what you two could create."


    Dobbsughed. "This isn''t made by just the two of us."


    "Who else helped you?"


    "Us." Naley, Barne, and Zaxary came out of a room and greeted him.


    "Using my father''s vast library of knowledge, I thought I could be of some use. So I did."


    Barneughed. "I thought my engineering skill is needed so why not."


    Zaxary gave him a thumbs up. "This armor had a small temporal drive inside it. You would at least be able to revert time back to 3-5 seconds ago. And you can also increase the speed of your mind, making it look like the world was in slow motion."


    Aldred nodded with a smile. His godly eyes already gave him that kind of ability, he wondered how slow the world would look like if he used the temporal drive along with it.


    "With this armor, you will be undefeatable." Dobbs smiled with confidence.

 Chapter 485 485 New Armor

    "How do I use it?"


    Suddenly, the armor moved by and wrapped itself around Aldred''s body, covering him from tip to toe. The armor even covered his face.


    Inside, Aldred had some kind of advance user interface that showed the information about the armor; its status and etc. And also it analyzed everything around him. It even had identity identifier.


    When Aldred looked at Ste, the description said she was Aldred''s wife. That was it. Corduul only know that information about her so that was the only thing added to the memory of this armor.


    Aldred''s godly eyes were far more powerful than that, but it was a neat feature nheless. The user interface could even connect to external devices such as cameras or drones.


    This would let him see so many things at once just like what Victor did during their fight. Victor still lose because Aldred was too fast for him.


    But in Aldred''s hand, that power would be in good use.


    Right when Aldred activated that function, thousands of live feed appeared showing scenes all over the continent.


    "Corduul, does the Mechanium always have this many satellites?"


    "Yes. Although we are closed organization, we are always watching. Although our means are very limited since magic is not a part of our study. It is hard to figure out how magicians always manage to find out our satellites."


    "Well, you have more than ten thousand already."


    "And it has been proven that it wasn''t enough. Otherwise, we would have been even stronger than now."


    "Knowing your enemy is one thing, but growing in strength is another thing. Anyway, Brago''s ships do not seem to notice the satellites."


    "They probably don''t see it as a threat," Dobbs replied.


    "That makes sense."


    "So, what are you going to do now?" Dobbs asked.


    "What else is there to do?" Aldred smiled. "Of course, I am going to attack them."


    "Don''t you want to test the equipment first?" Ste asked.


    Aldred shook his head. "I believe in their ability."


    That statement made Dobbs and everyone that contributed to the creation of the armor proud.


    In reality, Aldred already scanned the armor with his godly eyes and the information he received told him that there was nothing wrong with the armor.


    His godly eyes had never lied before, so he trusted the information.


    "By the way, where is Lyra?" Aldred asked Ste.


    "She stayed in the royal pce. She said she will stay there until you meet her. I don''t know why but she insisted on fighting alongside you."


    "I fight better when I am alone," Aldred said. "Just let her be."


    Ste sighed. Truly, she also wanted to help Aldred. But it was true, Aldred''s battle tactic worked so well when he fought alone. This was because he could go all out and crazy.


    "But I really need to learn how to fight in a group. When we go to the other continent, I might need some help. Anyway, I will take my leave now."


    Ste smiled and nodded. "Take care."


    She approached him and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe out there."


    "I will." Aldred grabbed her by the waist and kissed her on the lips.


    Ste blushed and her body shook with excitement. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes.


    "Oh wow¡­" Zaxary reacted. "Did you guys see that?"


    Dobbs giggled. "I am already used to it. Back when we sailed the sea, he used to do that with all of his wives all the time. Can''t me them though, there aren''t that much thing to do aboard the ship."


    "Wives¡­ how many does he has?"


    "I think he has ten."


    "Ten¡­ he''s living the dream!"


    Dobbs sighed. "Don''t you know that most nobles have a lot of wives? And don''t even count their concubines."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Seriously? Damn, and here I am thinking if I would ever get a touch of a woman."


    Dobbsughed. "You''re pathetic, boy."


    Corduul snorted steam. "Don''t waste your time chasing your opposing gender. They have this embedded instinct to y on your emotion. Be a steel, strong and firm, be a machine, it does its job no matter the weather."


    Barne raised an eyebrow. "I can''t believe you can be philosophical."


    "You misjudged us. We are a very philosophical group."


    "Despite losing your humanity?"


    "We simply remove our weakness, but retain our strength. Humanity''s greatest strength is its mind. Unfortunately, no machine could ever defeat its endless potential and possibility."


    "Hmmm." Barne began to rethink his judgment on the Mechanicum. Perhaps they weren''t as bad as he thought they were.


    Aldred finally released the kiss and rubbed Ste''s hair. "See youter." He vanished right after saying that.


    Ste blushed and put both hands on her chest as she sighed. "Love is such a wonderful thing."


    She then looked at everyone and smiled. She wasn''t shy in showing her affection towards Aldred at all. "Well, let''s watch Aldred''s fight shall we."


    She summoned her mirror.


    ¡­


    Aldred appeared atop a mountain. Suddenly, the warships below aimed their cannon towards him and fired without dy. The upper part of the mountain got struck and literally deleted from existence.


    Aldred was nowhere to be seen.


    "The general is right. That man wille to destroy us."


    "Did we get him?"


    "I think so."


    Suddenly, the barrier of the ship activated, but in a fraction of a secondter, it shattered and a man in full armornded on the ship.


    A me burst out from his right hand, forming into a terrifying de and then he shed.


    For the sailors, Aldred''s movement couldn''t even be processed by their brain. To Aldred, however, it was like driving the fastest car in the world and used its full speed.


    He was moving so fast, he could feel it, but with his godly eyes, he saw everything in slow motion.


    In other words, he felt like he was the sh right now. He zipped left and right, shing and hacking, before he sprinted inside the ships and destroyed it from the inside.


    Aldred opened his palm and a fire lotus blossomed. He threw it inside the ship and it exploded, damaging the ships from within.


    Although his spell was powerful, the warships held on. It was very hard to destroy Brago''s mothership, but a few secondster, Aldred managed to destroy one.


    Before he could go to the next target, the other warships bombarded him with powerful beams, destroying the warshipspletely.


    But Aldred was long gone.


    "He''s in the sky! Shoot him!"


    Hundreds of beam came right at him.


    Aldred flew left and right. Dodging all the beam so easily. Hended at another mothership and summoned a fire dragon that devoured all the sailors in it.


    He then sent his clones. Four Aldred now flying around with ultra-speed.


    Quickly, the four motherships were destroyed, and the smaller warships began to retreat.


    Aldred wasn''t about to let that happen. Tens of thousands of fire javelin began to rain down from the sky. The earth suddenly shook and created cracks all over with earth pirs continuously appearing out of the ground and mming into the warships.


    Typhoons appeared and blinded the sailors with dust clouds.


    That was when rain began to fall, but instead of raindrops, the sailors were greeted with razor sharp ice.


    The warships were filled screams of pain and everyone was scared. They had never experienced something like this before.

 Chapter 486 486 Fighting Zikaok

    "SKY SPLITTING STRIKE!"


    Aldred used his ultimate attack, coupled with his the speed of his armor, his attack went so fast that the sailors only saw a sh of light before they werepletely erased out of existence.


    After destroying four squadrons of warships, Aldred let out a satisfied sigh andughed as he looked at his armor. He was very satisfied with the performance. What Dobbs said was true. The more mana he injected into the armor, the more speed he got.


    Unfortunately, only he could use this armor because it consumed too much mana. Anyone that dare to use it would get drained very quickly.


    Aldred looked around and collected the scrap parts of the warships before quickly sending them to his secretb.


    He wanted to have enough materials to create a new warships. Who knew he might needed it when exploring new continents.


    Suddenly, Ste''s voice came inside his head. "Aldred, more warships ising your way. Be careful."


    Aldred smiled. "Do not worry about me, Ste."


    "ALDRED!" Mary''s voice came which shocked him slightly.


    "Be careful, okay! We are watching you."


    Aldred giggled. "Then I have to show you how awesome your husband is!"


    Aldred''s body turned ethereal for a moment. His body seemed like splitting for a fraction of a second and then his clones appeared.


    The three of them vanished, each going towards different direction. Aldred smiled and vanished from his original spot.


    All over the ce, a ck object flying at ultra-speed were moving around faster than the eye could see. The sailors on the warships only saw a blurry ck object and before they could even figure out what it was, their whole body were cut off in pieces along with their ships.


    Four motherships suddenly engulfed by a massive me. The barrier activated, but it shattered and the me moved inside like a snake before devouring everyone it encountered.


    The sailors screamed and ran for their life but no one manage to escape.


    In another ce, every sailors on the mothership were wriggling on the ground, screaming in pain as  they wed their own eyes and pulled their own tongue. Their eyes were hollow as if their mind were in a ce of torture.


    Every minute, a squadron of warships would be destroyed.


    Ste and the others watched on the map as the red dots disappearing one after another.


    With his new armor Aldred was confident in dodging all the beams and weapon that came towards him. Each of those beam could delete half a mountain, and razed an entire city down.


    Even Aldred would be significantly wounded if he received one of those.


    ¡­


    Brago growled and mmed his fist into a wooden table. It shattered like ss which made his subordinates shook in fear. They were afraid that Brago would kill them to calm his anger.


    "Aldred¡­" Brago''s eyes sheen with great killing intent. He grabbed a locket and crushed it. A green mist moved into the air and formed a projection that showed a ck object moving around all over the ce while destroying his warships.


    "So this is the so called Emperor of the Ceraisian Empire?"


    Brago frowned. "All he do is dodging the beams. Cowards! If he was a man he would have received every single one."


    His subordinates looked at each other. They knew that no one could take those beams directly. Even Diamond Ranks stood no chance.


    "I will fight him." Zikaok stepped forward. His expression was cold as always, but he said that statement with extreme confidence. As if his victory was assured before the battle even began.


    Brago''s face turned from anger into a smile immediately. "Sure."


    Zikaok vanished from the spot and appeared in front of a massive crater with mes dancing everywhere.


    A ck object streaked in the sky and then mmed down onto a mothership. The impact created a hole on the mothership, and then it exploded from the inside.


    ? The ck object streaked out of the me and stopped in the air.


    "Aldred, the Emperor of Ceraisian Empire. I challenged you to a duel."


    "Who are you?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Zikaok frowned. "You do not know my name?"


    "Have we met before?"


    Zikaok clicked his tongue. "I am Zikaok Jalruhk. The most talented Shardmin¡ª"


    "Ah, right! I have heard of your name before. So you want to duel me?"


    "You have just turned into a Diamond Rank. You are not worthy of the title Emperor."


    "For that reason you want to duel me?"


    "I don''t need reason to kill anyone."


    "But you will need strength. You think you have enough of it to take me down?"


    "Don''t be arrogant."


    Aldred smiled. "Alright, let me end this quickly."


    "Big words!" Zikaok vanished and appeared right beside Aldred. The crystal on his forehead shone and the space and time nearby froze.


    Suddenly, Aldred could not move, but the temporal drive in his armor activated automatically, and reverted  back time to 4 seconds ago.


    "What!?" Zikaok widened his eyes in shock, but he could not fully process the information as Aldred was already rushing at him with such a high speed that all he saw was a blur.


    Aldred mmed his body onto his which made Zikaok spat out a mouthful of blood.


    ''Such speed!'' Zikaok gritted his teeth and a powerful beam came out of the crystal on his forehead.


    Aldred flew to the side, but suddenly, theser beam bent, following Aldred''s direction and struck his shoulder.


    Smoke came out of Aldred''s shoulder. The wound sizzling with heat, but it healed a secondter. The armor also fixed itself.


    "Powerful regeneration ability¡­ you are not human are you?"


    "Take a guess," the voice came from the side as if he was whispering.


    Zikaok widened his eyes in shock once again as another Aldred appeared right beside him and punched him right in the face.


    The impact thrown him hundreds of meters away. Aldred chased him down and struck him again. Then again, then again, then again. He kept repeating this for a dozen times before Zikaok roared in anger and froze time once again.


    But the same thing happened, time reverted back to 4 seconds ago, and Aldred pummeled him left and right.


    Four Aldredughed at the same time and said: "This is too easy! I cannot believe the strongest Shardmind is this weak!!!"


    "YOU DARE!" Zikaok''s crystal shone bright and hundreds of beams shot out from it to every direction.


    Aldred and his clones moved nimbly in the air, dodging all the beams with ease.


    Aldred continued tough. He even sent hisugher with telepathy. Making it loud and clear for Zikaok.


    This angered him so much. He wanted to kill Aldred more than anything in the world.


    "This is useless. You are too weak. Aldred suddenly exploded with speed and appeared in front of Zikaok.


    His eyes turned golden and suddenly, a great pressure bore down on Zikaok. His mind froze, and he could not move a muscle.


    Then a long de prated his chest from the back. He spat out blood and his eyes widened in disbelief.


    "How is this possible¡­ how can you be so strong?"


    Zikaok was the strongest Shardmind in Selia. So the fact that Aldred could toy with him meant that he was stronger than anybody in Selia.


    ''How could an individual have such power?'' Zikaok thought to himself before he closed his eyes, never to open again.

 Chapter 487 487 Serpent Of The Sea

    Aldred grabbed the crystal on Zikaok''s forehead and yanked it out.


    [Shard]


    The main source of power for the Shardmind. On its own, this crystal is useless, but with intellect and creativity, this crystal could create great power. The limit of a shard is determined by its size. The bigger it is, the more possibilities it has.


    Aldred looked at the crystal carefully. He wondered if Dobbs and Corduul could add this crystal to his armor. That would be neat.


    The storm brewed in the sky. Aldred looked at the dark clouds and snorted.


    In the distance, Brago stared at Aldred''s projection in anger. "That Zikaok is useless after all! Fine, I will do it myself."


    Brago raised his massive leg and stomped the ship. The ship shook violently, making all the sailors fell. The ground below the ships shattered, creating massive crater, but suddenly, the ship soared into the sky.


    The ship was 2 kilometers wide in the shape of a metallic serpent. When it soared into the sky, four massive wings came out from its hull and it streaked into the clouds.


    In less than half a minute, the massive ship arrived above Aldred, looking so massive and gigantic. From below, it really looked like a massive dragon was flying over him.


    Aldred smiled wide when he saw that ship. Brago walked on the bow of the ship and red down at him.


    Brago was a massive man with dark, thick coat covering his broad shoulder. With a long bull hook in his hand, he pointed towards Aldred.


    "Aldred. You will die here!"


    Aldredughed maniacally. "Try to kill me o great serpent of the sea."


    Brago roared and the mouth of the ship opened wide before it belched a wide and bright beam at Aldred.


    With a smile on his face, Aldred quickly flew to the, dodging the beam, and flying upward parallel to the beam.


    Suddenly, the hulls of the ships opened, revealing massive cannonsing out of the hull. They all fired beams and shells at him. Dodging the beams, the shells came afterwards and then exploded when they were near him.


    Aldred came out of the explosion but more and more shells came. A series of explosions ensued wherever he flew, all the while constant beams attack wereing towards him as well.


    But even with all of that, Aldred was stillughing. He wasughing so loud that even Brago could still hear him.


    Every second, Aldred came closer and closer and soon he stopped right in front of Brago.


    "Stop relying on this ship and fight me."


    "With pleasure!"


    Aldred charged forward and mmed against Brago''s body before they crashed into a wall. Brago kicked him and swung his bull hook, grabbing onto Aldred''s arm and then with a heave, mming Aldred onto the floor.


    Aldred quickly stood up and shed Brago''s waist with his Phantom Doomde. The de made a nging sound as it struck against the thick coat.


    Apparently, it was strong enough to defend against his de.


    "Thend where youe from must be a very interestingnd," Aldred said.


    "It is. That is a ce where people are truly strong. Unlike here... everyone here is weak."


    "Are you saying that there are a lot of Diamond Ranks there?"


    "No. I am saying that there is no powerless people there."


    Aldred frowned. "No powerless people. You mean everyone has super power?"


    Brago snorted. "This continent is too weak. Too weak that the majority of its living being don''t even have the ability to control the energy around them."


    "Then why are you here?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I am here for the dragons. They are not from thisnd."


    "What dragons?"


    "You know what I am talking about. Where do you hide them?"


    "Ohh, you mean them. Sorry about that, but I promised to protect them. I am a man of my word."


    "Let''s see if you are still a man of your word after I destroy your neck!"


    Brago charged forward and mmed Aldred with his bull hook. Aldred quickly blocked it, but when the weapon touched his, the impact shocked him.


    Unlike before, the attack now was a hundred times stronger. Because of that, he was thrown away dozens of meters away before his back knocked against the wall.


    "Not bad. But I am not even using my full power yet."


    Aldred''s eyes lit up, and then he vanished from his original spot before appearing right in front of Brago. His right fist already connected with the man''s square jaw, knocking his head upward.


    Suddenly, Brago''s hand moved and grabbed Aldred''s neck. But another Aldred appeared from the side and stabbed Brago''s waist.


    The Phantom Doomde lit up and burned Brago''s inside.


    Now they both locked in this position in constant pain and suffering.


    But a few secondster, both Aldred and Bragoughed.


    Brago tightened his grip while Aldred increased the intensity of his me.


    "You are different," Brago said. "You are not from this continent are you?"


    "Not really." Aldred wasn''t even from this.


    He was reincarnated here.


    "I thought so. What do you say, Aldred? Why don''t we explore the worlds and conquer it?"


    "I am not sure if I want to do it with you. After all, you are after the dragons."


    Bragoughed. "Too bad then." He crushed Aldred''s neck while pping the other Aldred in the face.


    Two more Aldred appeared and stabbed Brago''s back at the same time.


    "These clones spell are very annoying."


    "I have more annoying things up my sleeve," Aldred said before his eyes turned purple.


    Brago''s arm began to turn into stones.


    "Petrification? This does not work on me." Brago clenched his fist and the stones disappeared.


    But then something happened. Blisters appeared on his skin, and his muscles bulged in a weird way.


    "Mutation? Did you really just tried that on me?"


    Brago breathed in and all the weird mutation on his body disappeared.


    "I have the perfect warrior body. Diseases won''t work on me."


    "You really are a tough enemy to handle." Aldred smiled. "But it''s better that way."

 Chapter 488 488 Problem & Solution

    Aldred and Brago continued to fight. Their power even manage to damage the ships even though it was created with tough materials. Average Diamond Ranks would need to attack it a hundred times to make a dent.


    Brago did not even try, but they managed to tore apart the ships from the inside.


    Aldred punched Brago right in the face, but the huge man took it with a smile. "Is that all you got? Your punches are weak!"


    "Then you will like my de!" Aldred shed, the tip of the de created a mark across Brago''s nose.


    Brago took a few steps back and wiped the blood on his face. "Is that all you got?"


    "No," Aldred said. "It''s not even my full power yet."


    Suddenly, a burst of mana came out of him, and his armor lit up. Some mana leaked out of the armor as if it failed to consume the excess energy given to it.


    Dobbs said that this armor could only be used by Aldred. He got that damn right. Only him had the capacity to use this armor to its fullest potential.


    Brago frowned. "What are you going to do?"


    Aldred grinned.


    Brago, for the first time, felt a tinge of fear when he saw that grin. He suddenly recalled the first time he encountered a dragon. At that time, he was still a boy with only a stick in his hand. But.


    He killed that dragon nheless.


    But still. It reminded him of the thrill. Of the feeling of fear and then oveing it.


    "ALDRED! I WILL KILL YOU!" He said that with a smile on his face. It was not anger. It was bliss and nostalgic.


    Aldred rushed forward. His speed was so fast that Brago seemed like he was moving in a slow motion.


    The Phantom Doomde transformed into a pair of terrifying gauntlet that wrapped around Aldred''s fist and covered part of his forearm.


    With full power, Aldred swung his fist right at Brago''s chest.


    His fist moved at rapid speed. Speed of which that Brago''s armor cracked after the impact and then his chest caved in. It was not over yet. His chest then exploded from the impact.


    The mana in his armor waspletely used up and steam came out.


    Brago staggered and his back leaned against the wall. His feet trembling before they could not hold his weight and he slowly dropped down.


    Brago''s eyes were filled with disbelief.


    "How could you¡­ how could you be so powerful?"


    "I am not that powerful. Without this armor, it might take me a while to defeat you."


    "No. I can see by the quality of your mana. You only just recently achieve Diamond Ranks. And yet, you defeated me."


    "I guess I am just abnormal."


    Brago coughed before he said hisst word. "Perhaps¡­"


    The light in his eyes slowly disappeared.


    Aldred let out a breath. "Finally."


    [You leveled up. Level 120 -> Level 121]


    [You leveled up. Level 121 -> Level 122]


    [You have received 2 teleportation points]


    [Your Divine Dimension has now expanded to 200 KM in diameter]


    [Your maximum undead capacity is now 10,000]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 38,880/38,880


    Level: 122 (Diamond Rank)


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    ? -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 2 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)<novelnext></novelnext>


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 3,667


    -Vitality: 3,920


    -Intelligence: 6,890


    -Dexterity: 4,150


    Stat points: 86


    Skill points: 86


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred looked at his stats for a moment before he decided on what to do. He dumped all the stat points to dexterity.


    And decided to upgrade his blood cloning ability.


    [Skill: ''Blood Cloning'' has been upgraded. Now you can summon 4 clones at once]


    Aldred smiled in satisfaction even though upgrading the skill cost him all of his skill points.


    Ste teleported right beside him. With a smile on her beautiful face, she ran up to Aldred and hugged him.


    "Did I gave you a good show?"


    "You did. That Brago guy worried me. I thought I would need toe and help you."


    Aldred giggled. "Let''s go back."


    Ste nodded.


    Aldred waved his hand and the warships were teleported into his divine dimension. And then both he and Ste vanished.


    They re-appeared in Edeline''s room of which all of his wives were there.


    "Aldred!" They all came running at him and hugged him.


    Aldred closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment.


    "I miss you all."


    His wives smiled and gave him a kiss.


    "Now, they are safe," Edeline said. "For now. They are still your weakness, Aldred. Someone with a vengeful heart might still try to take them hostage. Or worse, take them away from you, forever."


    Aldred sighed. "I thought getting to Diamond Ranks would solve my problem. Turns out, it gives me more trouble than before."


    "It''s okay, Aldred. Aren''t we going to leave this continent and explore the world?" Mary asked.


    "Are you all going toe?"


    Mareona pouted. "Are you nning to leave us?"


    Aldred looked at his wives and realized that they wanted toe with him. He then nced at Edeline.


    "I will have to stay here," Edeline said. "I am looking forward to explore the world with you and apany you in your journey, but, this Empire will notst long if I leave it now."


    Aldred nodded. "I understand."


    "I will need to find something to increase your strength. It''d be terrible if someone far stronger than me try to take you away," Aldred said.


    He was being realistic. Should he visited another continent, there must be a higher rank than Diamond Ranks. And he might be powerless to them.


    From what he learned in his journey, the people were not very nice. Especially the strong and the rich. They thought they could do anything as they liked and get away with no consequences.


    He was afraid that he might be too weak to protect his wives.


    During the treasure hunt, they were protected by the curse. But now, there was nothing to protect them.


    Mary and the others knew what Aldred was thinking. They used telepathy tomunicate with each other, and then came to a decision.


    "Aldred." Mary approached him and held his cheek. "Maybe it''s not the right time for us to join your next adventure."


    Ivette''s eyes tear up after Mary said that. The thought of being away from Aldred terrified her. She was so used to his touch and presence.


    "I cannot leave all of you here, either," Aldred said. "There has to be a way."


    "Umm," Rachel stepped forward. "Aldred, can we just stay in your Divine Dimension? I know there''s a limit to how long we can stay there before, but is it still the case?"


    Aldred blinked, dumbfounded as he never thought about that. "I don''t think the divine dimension has that limit anymore."


    "So that means we can stay there for as long as we like?"


    "Yeah¡­" Aldred smiled. "I can bring all of you with me!"

 Chapter 489 489 New World

    "YAYY!!!"


    His wives burst into cheers when they finally found a solution to their problem. They wanted to stay with Aldred wherever he go. But the ces he would explore in the future would be brimming with dangers.


    Aldred might barely able to survive on his own, so protecting the others could be out of the question.


    "What about yourpany and the Mechanicum?" Ste asked.


    "They will stay here for now. After I establish that I am strong enough in the new continent, I will let them expand their influence there."


    "How are we going to travel to other continents anyway?" Mary asked. "Did you already know?"


    Aldred smiled and grabbed a map out of his inventory. "I found this from killing Brago. He has mapped all the continents he encountered. Most of them are the same like us with the majority of the people having no power. But some continents in particr have this weird power that let everyone to reach Gold Rank easily. Naturally, Diamond Ranks are abundant, and even something higher than Diamond Rank exists there."


    "What is the name of the continent?" Mary asked.


    "It''s called Combreia continent. It is located quite far from here. Well, every continent is very far from each other actually. And there are some notes of the monsters and the dangers in the sea. Judging by what was written, it was no wonder nobody could travel out of this continent for so long."


    Traveling to other continent in this world was harder than modern human traveling to other.


    Modern human simply needed to fly out of the and waited until they arrived at the destination. In this world, the sea was filled with danger. Not only powerful monsters, but the weathers would try to kill them as well.


    "Can we do it?" Sophia asked.


    "We can. I have gathered so many materials by destroying Brago''s warships. It should be enough. And I want to make a fast one. I don''t want to stay in the sea for too long."


    ¡­


    Dobbs, Corduul, Zaxary, Barne, and Naley began to work on the design of the ships.


    The ship was predicted to be the fastest and the toughestpared to any ship made in this continent.


    Aldred would not ept anything with low quality. He wanted the best no matter what it takes. But it would be a one time use. Once he reached the continent, he could ce his teleportation point there, and he would have ess to it forever.


    And once he set up his teleportation point, he could bring hispany and the Mechanicum in. They could create industries and shops there which would earn them so much money and resources.


    The team worked day and night, and Aldred waited for months for the ship to be finished.


    And after 8 full months, the ship finally finished. It was in the shape of a giant serpent with the length of 3 kilometers long. Its tough materials would be hard for any Diamond Ranks to destroy. Even Aldred would need to attack it a bunch of times to make a dent.


    "We also install the ship with the elerator," Dobbs said.


    "The same as my armor?"


    "Yep. So now you can speed up as much as you like. The ship is far faster than your armor because it can consume a lot more energy than before."


    "Great." Aldred smiled. He then turned around to look at his wives and opened the portal to his divine dimension. "Get in guys."


    They all went inside and Aldred came on board the ship before entering themand room.


    Dobbs and Corduul taught him how to use it, and after a few hours, he already knew how to do it.


    Edeline came to visit him.


    "Well, it''s time for me to take off," Aldred said.


    Edeline slowly approached him and held his hand. "I will be waiting for you." She leaned forward and kissed his lips.


    Aldred nodded, grabbed her waist, and teleported with her out of the ship.


    "I will be going now."


    "Take care."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aldred stopped for a moment before he teleported back inside the ship.


    He put his hand on a crystal and a huge amount of mana rushed in.


    Slowly, the whole ship began to glow in a soft blue light. It made a soft whirling sound and then with a swoop, it vanished from its original spot and already sped up in the distance.


    The wind only reacted a secondter, sting the waves away.


    Edeline watched as the water fell and rainbows appeared. She put her hand over her chest. "Be safe, Aldred."


    The serpent-shaped warships sailed 100 times the speed of sound. That was 123,480 Kilometers per hour.


    That means, Aldred reached the distance of 2,058 kilometers in only a minute!!!


    The speed was insane, and there were a lot of mountains in the sea. But because the ship was the shape of a snake, it easily slipped left and right. But the ship did not actually needed to do that.


    Even if they crashed onto the mountain, it would receive no damage at all.


    Aldred looked at the map and realized that he would arrive in a few hours.


    "This is too damn fast¡­ how could Dobbs and the team made something like this? Those guys are too amazing."


    It wasn''t they that was amazing. It was Aldred. Even as a concept, the ship was actually an impossible thing to run. It consumed too much energy to run, and it''s fuel efficiency was less than 1%. The only reason it could work so well was because of Aldred''s unlimited mana.


    Aldred was like the sun and the ship continuously sucked his energy. But Aldred had zero problem with that.


    Hourster, he sawnd from the distance, but when he blinked he already arrived next to it.


    "Damn¡­ this ship is too crazy!"


    When Aldred stopped, steam began to came out from every part of the ship. The monitor showed that it was overheating.


    Aldred moved his hand and water snakes began to move around the ship, cooling the engine down.


    Aldred then put the ship inside his divine dimension and thennded on the new continent.


    He took in a deep breath of air and realized that the quality of the mana here was much higher.


    "Aldred, have we arrive already?" Mary asked through telepathy. They could see what he see even though they were inside the divine dimension.


    "I think so. Let me scan the area for any human settlement."


    Aldred grabbed a ck object from his inventory. Corduul gave it to him, saying that it would help in exploring new world.


    "Began scanning," Aldred said.


    "Bip! Bip! Begin scan mode¡­ scanning the area of 200 kilometers in scope¡­."


    "Scanplete: detecting civilization 20 kilometers to the south."


    "I guess that is where we are going," Aldred said.


    "Bip! Bip! A human corpse is detected. Scanning and studying it is advised."


    "Why would I study a dead body?"


    "Collecting its memories to know more about this world is advised before proceeding further.""


    "Oh¡­ that''s actually a good advice. Let us do that."

 Chapter 490 490 Reading Memories

    Aldred walked in a slow pace, looking at the trees and bushes around him. The trees here were muchrger and thicker than the ones he usually saw.


    After walking for about one kilometer, Aldred arrived at a hill. That was when he found a corpse of a young boy.


    The boy had a ck hair and brown eyes. He seemed to be only 13 years of age. His clothes were simple leather. Which mean he wasn''t a son of a wealthy family.


    The ck object floated from Aldred''s hand and hovered above the boy''s head. It then hovered down and a drill came from the bottom, creating a hole on the boy''s head.


    After drilling the skull, a needle stabbed into the brain.


    "Are you taking his memories?"


    "Affirmative."


    In a few seconds, the ck object pulled its needle and hovered back to Aldred''s palm. "How do I read the memories? Will it be in a form of writings?"


    Golden tentacles came out of the ck object and pierced onto Aldred''s head. Sadly, the tentacles knocked against his hair.


    "Let me help you with that." Aldred weakened his body, and the golden tentacles now managed to pierce his scalp.


    "Memory transfer begin."


    The young boy was known as Bhurud Hukhor. He was apparently the son of a knight from a local town called Towbone. Apparently, the boy wanted to train to be like his deceased fathe who was a powerful knight and quite well-known within the town.


    He came here to this forest to train, but because of an ident, he died. He also learned a lot of things from the boy''s memories. Apparently, the warrior''s status here were far less inferior than magicians.


    Magicians were considered nobles and civilized. They usually had more moneys and power. The leader of a group was usually led by magicians. And they tend to be more powerful than warriors.


    One magicians in average could defeat two to three warriors at once.


    It was very different from his continent. Back there, warriors and magicians were pretty bnced and had their own fighting styles. Magicians usually need to create distance to get and advantage, and warriors need to close the distance.


    That was not the case here, because magicians here were not restricted by elements. They mostly used non-elemental spells unlike in his continent where most magicians used the elements for their attack.


    Magicians here could even transform into fiends, dragons, ogres, and orcs. Overall, they had more versatile spells.


    That was probably why warriors were weaker since they could only attack at close range. Of course, there were always exception. ording to the boy''s memories, there were legendary warriors who could easily kill magicians.


    They were called by many name such as Magic Killer, Anti-Mage, Warlock Hunter, and whatnot.


    Aldred''s eyes glimmered. "This boy worked hard and studied a lot. He could have been a powerful warrior if he had a little bit of luck by his side."


    This information was obtained by the boy because he was brave enough to sneak into a magician''s library and read. Most warriors did not read, but the boy believed that he must also train his brain and not just his brawn.


    Even though he was weak and constantly defeated by his friends, he kept this principle in mind and was sure he would be as strong as his father in the future.


    Aldred sighed. "What a story. Sadly, he wasn''t as lucky as me."


    Aldred was basically fed with a diamond spoon. The moment he was born, he got two universal-being parents that gave him a lot of god-like talents.


    This boy had to work hard every single day, and yet he died here for nothing.


    "Hmm?" Aldred found a new information.


    Apparently, the small town of Towbone was too insignificant for any magicians to rule. So they let the city ruled by warriors.


    But the leader was not picked by voting¡­ it was picked by fighting. With diator style, warriors were put in an arena and fought to the death if they wish to rule the city.


    He also found out that anotherpetition for that position wille in a few months.


    "This is a perfect chance."


    By winning thatpetition, he could get this city as his territory. The city would be the gate for hispany to enter and spread.


    Aldred smiled. "Hey, robot thingy, lead me to the city."


    "Affirmative." A projection appeared with an arrow that pointed towards the south.


    As Aldred slowly walked towards the south, he asked: "What are you called anyway?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I am called 05151rffags12f1*3*213."


    "Seriously? Can I call you with something simpler?"


    "You are free to change my name."


    "Hmmm, what should I call you¡­"


    Aldred thought for a few minutes until he decided. "Alexa, your name now is Alexa."


    After walking for some time, Aldred arrived at Towbone. It was a very small town and quite poor as well. Most people here wore tattered clothes and dirty skin.


    When everyone saw him, they looked at him weirdly because they had never seen his clothes before, and foreigner rarely came to their city.


    After they noticed that he was quite wealthy, some of them took a leap of faith to beg him for food.


    It wasmon knowledge that begging was useless. Every rich people like him would have guards to kick the poor away.


    But Aldred simply gave them some gold to test if gold would work here as currency. Apparently, it was.


    They thanked him and many more came to ask for money.


    Aldred did notck money, so he gave them as much as he could.


    Soon so many people came that Aldred had to teleport away from there.


    "How can there be so many poor people here?"


    He was currently hiding atop a roof, but someone saw him and pointed.


    "Look, he''s over there!"


    "Mister, please give us money!"


    "Mister, money please!"


    Aldred sighed and teleported away again. "What should I do? Wait¡­ I can disguise myself."


    With a snap of his finger, his appearance change to the death boy he saw in the forest. Judging from the memory he received, Bhurud Hukhor was quite well-known because of his father.


    But Aldred did not have any problem with that. He could switch disguise at any time anyway.


    So now he had the appearance of a 13 year old boy.


    "Bhurud! You fucker dare to show your face here again? Didn''t I told you to leave until you are strong enough to fight me?"


    A big, bulky boy approached him with his group.


    Aldred sighed. He had seen this scenario too many times.


    Ste''s giggle entered his mind. "Go easy on them, Aldred. They are still children after all."


    "Fine," Aldred said.


    "What do you mean fine!" Zirem shouted.


    Suddenly, Aldred rushed towards the boy and then pped his chubby cheek. The impact pulled all of his teeth out and the boy was sent flying into the air before crashing onto a trash box.


    His friends were dumbfounded when they saw this.


    "Monster¡­ Monster!!!"


    "How can he be this strong. Zirem beat him up a few days ago."


    "Maybe it was true what they said. The blood of a great warrior runs deep!"

 Chapter 491 491 Gladiators

    The boys looked at Bhurud Hukhor with fear in their eyes. Their feet trembled but after a few seconds they screamed and ran away.


    "Did I use too much power?" Aldred asked to himself.


    "You did well, Aldred," Ste'' voice came into his head. "The boy is a Gold Rank, so he should be fine."


    "All those children are Gold Ranks. Can you believe that, Ste? Any one of them would be considered a prodigy if they go to our continent."


    "It''s a big signs that someone in Adamantite Ranks might exist in this ce."


    The only time he saw Adamantite Ranks existence was during his journey in treasure hunting. At that time, he met a legendary dragonborn named Kelxikmordel Herakas.


    That dragonborn was also the one who gave him a pair of dragon eyes. He also met giant worms that infested the world tree of which they too were Adamantite Ranks.


    In Coureroy Continent, there were said to be a few Adamantite Ranks that protected each nation, but they never appeared no matter what. Even when Brago threatened to destroy the whole continent, the legendary heroes never appeared.


    In fact, when Aldred talk to the world leaders, this topic never evene up. Luckily, they also did not need to use the one-time-use super weapon.


    Aldred was still curios of what the weapon was, but Edeline said that it could not be revealed. Once it was revealed, it had to be used.


    For that reason, Aldred did not pry further about the weapon.


    Judging by the power of his newfound continent, he knew he would be stronger than the secret weapon anyway.


    "Ahh, darn it! I forgot to ask them how to join thepetition!"


    Ste''s giggle came inside his head. "Maybe you should ask around."


    "That''s a good idea."


    Aldred walked out of the alley and looked around for people he would like to ask. Before he could ask however, someone glued a poster onto a wall.


    Aldred read that poster and noticed that it was about thepetition.


    Bhurud Hukhor did not have any memory of where and when thepetition would be held because it was different every time.


    Not that he would like to join thepetition any time soon because you at least had to be a tinum Rank to be eligible.


    tinum Rank seemed to be the strongest rank in this town, because anyone higher would leave the town and get a far better quality of live. This ce could be considered to be backward, poor, and boring.


    Nobody wanted to live here. If they could leave, they would do so immediately.


    But Aldred had other ns for this town. He would take it over, and changed it into a paradise full of entertainments and leisure activities.


    "Let''s see. Thepetitions is going to be held in a coliseum in the center of the city in a week."


    That was a little weird. ording to the memory he got, thepetition should be held in a few months.


    "What should we do in the meantime, Aldred?" Ste asked through telepathy.


    "Well, we wait."


    As Aldred was waiting for thepetition, he entered the divine dimension and had some fun with his wives.


    They built wooden a wooden home by hand. Now that Aldred''s divine dimension was vast, they could fill it with a lot of stuff.


    They cooked meals, yed around, and slept together all the time. It was like paradise, and Aldred enjoyed every second of it.


    He did this for a whole week, and he did not feel like he wanted to go back to the real world. But he had to do what needed to be done.


    "See youter, Aldred." Mary kissed him.


    Aldredughed. "I will be back soon."


    When Aldred left the divine dimension, he saw the streets of the city was brimming with people walking towards the coliseum. It was loud and bustling, and some people even brought signs with the name of the fighter they supported.


    "This is interesting."


    As Aldred walked towards the coliseum, he saw that fighters were going towards a different direction. They all looked like middle-aged man while Aldred still use Bhurud Hukhor''s appearance.


    "Where are you going, boy? This line is for diators only."


    "I am a diator," Aldred said.


    The manughed. "That''s funny. Now get out of here." The man grabbed Aldred''s shoulder and pushed him away.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But then he found out that Aldred didn''t even budge. The man tried pushing him again, but he could not. It felt like he was pushing a mountain, not a 12 year old child.


    "Can I stay in this line now?"


    "Su...sure." Sweat formed on the man''s forehead. He had never encountered something like this before.


    Everyone else that saw this scene only scoffed, thinking that it was a y the kid did to scare them.


    After a few hours of waiting, Aldred finally entered the coliseum. But it was not his turn to fight yet. All the fighters waited behind a cage.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, I presented to you our first challenger! Mumud Bohrum!"


    The people burst into cheers when they heard that name and a man with body full of muscles walked out. He had a hammer in one hand, and an iron mask on his face.


    Mumud looked around at his audience and waved at them.


    "That is Mumud Bohrum. People say he will be the town leader after thispetition," a stranger next to Aldred said as he stared at Mumud.


    "Is he that strong?" Aldred asked.


    The man turned around and was slightly surprised to see a boy in this ce. "What are you doing here?"


    "I am a fighter."


    "You think I will believe that?"


    Aldred sighed. Maybe he should have used his real appearance beforeing here. He was worried that people would ask him for money, so he did not do that.


    "And here ites! Our mighty champion, Rhareid Bennir!!!"


    Rhareid Banner leaped out of his seat andnded on the arena. His lion-like eyes stared at Mumud.


    Champion was the current town leader. Every five years or so, apetition would be held where the first challenger could fight the town leader directly. If the first challenger he won, he would be a town leader immediately. Which mean the rest of the fighters will go home.


    But if the first challenger lose, everyone else had to fight among themselves before fighting the town leader at the final.


    "How can I be the first challenger?" Aldred asked.


    "Your strength," the stranger said. "If you are strong enough, you will be picked as the first challenger."


    "So that means he is the strongest than the rest of you?"


    "You can say that."


    If that was the case, then if the first challenger lose, the other fighters would have far less chance to defeat the town leader.


    And yet, they still came here and fought.


    But Aldred did not have time to waste.


    "Can I rece him?"


    "Unless he died, it''s impossible."


    "I see." Aldred smiled.


    As Mumud and Rhareid stood across each other, Aldred suddenly bent the cage and walked out.


    "Hey! What are you doing!"


    "The fuck is he doing?"


    "Who is that boy?"


    The audience began to notice and so did the host.


    "It seems like a young boy is walking in the arena. What will the two fighters do?"


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and raised it high. "I want to be the first challenger!"


    Right after that statement, silence followed.

 Chapter 492 492 Get To Work!

    "I want to be the first challenger!"


    Right after that statement, silence followed.


    A few secondster, the whole coliseum burst intoughter.


    "That boy thinks he''s the main character of a novel! HAHAHA! Dumb ass!"


    "Get out of there before you get your neck cut off boy! Hahaha!"


    Everyone jeered andughed at him. Aldred took a deep breath and sigh. Suddenly, he vanished and then appeared right in front of Mumud, Phantom Doomde raised high and back over his shoulder.


    With a powerful swing, Aldred shed Mumud''s head.


    SLASH!


    Blood sttered in the air, and head rolled in the sky.


    Everybody was silence once again this time with widened eyes and mouth wide agape. Some jaws even dropped to the floor.


    Three secondster, the head fell and everyone roared in disbelief.


    "How did the boy do that!?"


    "Did he just kill the first challenger?"


    "I did not see his movement at all. I am a tinum Rank, but I cannot see it!"


    "What in the hell! How old is he?"


    "I can''t be seeing this right! That kid just killed Mumud in a single sh!"


    They all could not believe what they just saw, but reality did not need their beliefs. Facts would not change even if nobody believed it.


    And in a few seconds, they all began to ept reality.


    Even the host was speechless for a moment.


    "It seems like we have a sudden change in n. What is your name, boy?"


    "Bhurud. Bhurud Hukhor," Aldred said with a smile. He decided to use the boy''s name for now.


    "Bhurud Hukhor! Isn''t he that legendary warrior''s son?"


    "The former leader of this town years ago?"


    "The one that reached Diamond Rank."


    "It was said that Ferad Hanman did not leave the city after he reached Diamond Rank. Instead, he died of a mysterious cause."


    Aldred heard thatst statement and tried to dig into Bhurud''s memories for the reason. He did not find any. Apparently, even Bhurud did not know why his father died.


    He simply came home and were told that his father died. He did not even have the chance to see his father''s body, because they said his body could not be recovered.


    The city was going towards the right direction at that time under his lead. But without him, the town fell to this poor, dirty state.


    Bhurud trained hard to be as strong as his father. He failed before he reached his goal and died. The more Aldred looked at that memory, the more he felt bad for the kid.


    "Anyway, so can I be the first challenger?"


    The host was shook by Aldred''s calm bearing. "S¡ªsure. That''s part of the rule."


    Aldred looked at Rhareid. "Let us fight."


    Rhareid grinned. "You''re fast kid, but speed alone won''t sa¡ª"


    He did not have the chance to say thatst word as it got stuck in his throat. The throat however would not be able to say another word ever again.


    Because.


    It was no longer there.


    SPLAT!


    THUD!


    Blood painted all over the floor and the head rolled.


    Once again, the whole coliseum was silenced. The audience could not speak, and even the host could not think of any words. They werepletely frozen by the scene.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Only after a few seconds did the host finally let out some words. "T¡­ the winner is Bhurud Hukhor! He is now the town leader of Towbone!"


    The announcement was greeted by a wave of silence.


    Then, suddenly, a burst of cheers came!


    "Bhurud! Bhurud! Bhurud!"


    "Bhurud! Bhurud! Bhurud!"


    "Bhurud! Bhurud! Bhurud!"


    Now that they knew Bhurud was the son of a legendary warrior, his feat today seemed realistic, and they were happy as well that Ferad''s son would lead the town.


    The town had a bright future when he was steering it. They expected the same result when his son would take over the wheel.


    And judging by how he killed the two most powerful fighter, that possibility seemed really high. Since he was this powerful, he must be very smart as well.


    The fighters that were waiting for their turn to fight could only look at each other and sigh.


    But some could not ept the result and thought that it was rigged. They punched through the cage and, with big, wide steps, walked into the arena.


    "Just because he is the son of a legendary warrior, does not mean he is fit to be the town leader. My name is Zarrur, and I am here to challenge you. Be prepared to eat my punch!"


    Zarrur rushed forward and raised his fist. But suddenly, his right fist blurred and disappeared as if it was deleted.


    A secondter, blood burst out of his right hand, and Zarrur screamed in pain. "What did you do to me? I did not see you move!"


    "Maybe I am just that fast." Aldred smiled.


    "Impossible! This is impossible!"


    His head disappeared, and blood burst out of his neck. The body fell with a thud.


    The rebellious fighters stopped in their track when they see this. At first, they did not believe it, but now they do.


    But that was only for a second. They believed Aldred was strong, but they cannot ept that a 12 year old boy took their chance at being the leader of this town!


    And so all of them rushed towards him.


    Aldred simply brandished his sword with a wide smile stered on his face. As they approached he moved forward, gracefully, like a dancing peacock.


    He smoothly moved left and right, his de flowing like water as it shed through all the enemies that came towards him.


    For Aldred, the fight happened in a slow motion, but for the audience, all they saw was a blur of movement.


    In one minute, all the fighters were minced to pieces. This made some of the audience puked after seeing Aldred''s brutality.


    Aldred rarely ever showed mercy to his enemies. He made sure to destroy thempletely, and never return to make troubles for him again.


    He learned that past enemies could make a troublesome future. His enemies such as Thinker and Pharder had continuously make his life difficult.


    He killed the two of them, and even killed Victor, so he had no past enemies anymore. Not that he knew of.


    "So, do I own this town now?" Aldred asked the host.


    "Y¡ªyeah¡­ well, you don''t exactly own it. More like the leader of it."


    "So who owns it?


    "The Count of Withokere. This town is under his juridiscation. Formally, anyway."


    "Hmmm, so basically, I own the town now, right?"


    "I have noment on that, boy¡­ sir."


    "Great. I will take that as a yes. I have big ns for this town."


    The audience were excited to hear that. They wondered if this town could return to the golden age it once was.


    Aldred did not waste any time, he immediately entered the city''s government office and asked all the staff for reports.


    He found that the staff did not do any actual work. They were just there to¡­ exist.


    Apparently, their former town leader did not even care, and all the budget were cut off.


    "Well, now the budget is going to increase 1 thousand times, so I need everyone to work properly. All of your sry will be increased by a hundred times. Get to work or get fired!"

 Chapter 493 493 Preparing For War

    For the first time in years, people that was working in the governments finally got paid. And better yet, they could finally do their job since their budget was not only restored, buy also increased by a thousand times.


    People began to wonder how the hell did Bhurud got so much money. All kinds of conspiracy spread out, saying that the legendary Ferad Hanman might have stashed a lot of money in a secret vault and only Bhurud knew about it.


    Some criminal-minded warriors had the thought of capturing Bhurud and force him to spill out the location of the vault, but¡­ the 13 year old kid just killed two strongest warrior in Towbone with such ease.


    It scared them and a lot of these criminals canceled their n. But there will always be those that was foolish enough to do it.


    As Aldred was reading his reports in his office, still in Bhurud''s body, he sensed a movement.


    Aldred sighed. "Again? When are they going to stop bothering me?"


    Two warriors in a ck mask jumped out of the shadow with a pair of de in hand.


    With blurry speed, Aldred grabbed two quills and threw it at them. The quills were fragile, but because of the speed Aldred gave them, it had enough force to pierce through the assassins'' throat.


    "KAKK¡­"


    The two assassins fell and gagged as they struggled to breathe. Aldred stood up from his chair, grabbed the two assassins by the cor and then threw them out of the window.


    The window shattered and the two assassins fell head first. The people outside saw this in shock, but the criminals saw it with fear.


    "That is it. I have decided," Aldred said. "I am going to bring the golems here right now."


    At first, he hesitated whether he should bring the golems now. But the city was filled with criminals. He had to stop them or his n for the city would not work.


    Towbone was always known as the shit hole of civilization. Filled with poor beggars and petty criminals.


    But three dayster, everyone in town was shocked by arge army of golems patrolling the city and capturing all the criminals.


    One time, a poor woman was about to be robbed. She only had a bread in her hand, but that was the only food she had after a week.


    "Please, let me go!"


    "Give me your bread first."


    Suddenly, four golemsnded around them.


    "Fuck! Run!"


    The golems rushed forward with incredible speed and then shed their legs.


    The robbers screamed as their body fell. They looked back and saw that their legs were no longer there.


    The golems were vicious in their operation. Thesest three days, words about them had spread, and everyone knew that these golems did not know the concept of mercy.


    Yes, these golems did not kill, but what they done to criminals might make them wanted to die.


    In four days, all criminals activitypletely stopped. With Aldred''s golems, and some drones that he got from Corduul, everything was being monitored and watched.


    Aldred could even prevent any robbery before it happened. And, he even managed to find their secret bases, of which he had destroyed them all.


    Towbone''s greatest export was farnd. The reason why the people was so poor here was because the profit of those farnd were not put in good use. Instead of improving securities, paying civil servants, and fixing roads, the money was used forvish luxuries for the town leader.


    "Well, I will change that."


    The golems began to work. Aldred had experienced city-building before, so it was easy for him tomand the golems to build school systems, transportations systems, roads, bridges, public facilities, health care, and everything else.


    Corduul''s drones also detected some mine veins around the city, so the golems began to dig and collected some valuable rocks.


    "How is everything Tarrar?" Aldred asked as he sat in his office.


    "Well, I thought I would have to wait for a few years for you to get a territory in this ce, so this is very sudden for me."


    "But you still did good." Aldred smiled.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "The town is small so it''s easy for me to set up shops. But, that is also a problem. The city is too small. It''s not worthy enough to set up shops here."


    "Don''t underestimate this city, Tarrar. This ce has a lot of Gold Rank childrens. Naturally, the resources here will cost more back in Coureroy continent."


    Tarrar nodded. "That''s a great idea."


    "And how about you, Corduul?"


    The robotic man said in mechanical tone: "There are five cities nearby. Each one of them has a significant military power. Diamond Ranks are abundant. And my drones even detected something with far greater power."


    "I wonder if I can kill an Adamantite Rank." Aldred thought to himself for a few seconds. "I think I can. I have ns to kill them. And it might work."


    "Are you nning to attack other cities, right now?" Tarrar asked.


    "Sure, why not." Aldred grinned.


    He began his preparation for war. With Corduul as his adviser, they began to transport all kinds of golems and robots into a secret base under the city.


    On the first day, it was 100,000 golems.


    On the second day, the number increased to 200,000.


    Third day, it went up to 400,000.


    And the fifth day the golems totaled at 800,000.


    And that did not include Corduul''s powerful mechanical army.


    In total, Aldred''s army numbered more than 2 million.


    "But there is a problem," Aldred said. "All of them are weak. We have numbers but we don''t have strength."


    Corduul suggested. "We can extract resources from this continent and create our army with them."


    Aldred agreed with that suggestion. "Seems like we really have to expand."


    "Which city should we attack?"


    "To the south, there is a city called Marldon. It has sufficient resources for our expansion. It will be a crucial point of our n to conquer thisnd," Corduul replied.


    "Let''s waste no time then."


    Aldred and Corduul teleported into a secret base under the city. The base was vast and it was filled with golems and robots. The robots stood from 6 meters to 50 meters tall.


    They brought great firepower with their capabilities. There were artillery robots, and ded robots weighing more than 6 tons and they had 8 arms with super-alloy sword.


    There were also gunner robots equipped with 8 six barrel vulcan cannons that could tore walls of a fort.


    And Corduul''s new invention. Shield Robots that could be used in the front line to protect the gunners.


    Science and magic did not seem much different now. Aldred also had golems that could use des and even fire bullets.


    He even had artillery golems.


    "You and Dobbs should began to create golems thatbines science and magic."


    "Yes, master. The Mechanicum and Dobbs are currently working on it."


    "Maybe I should make a magic organization, fill it with smart magicians and have them work together with your engineers and scientist. I would call them Maginicum."


    "That''s a terrible name, master."


    Aldredughed. "I know. I will think of something better."

 Chapter 494 494 Dark Horse

    Aldred looked around in the secret underground base with Corduul. He nodded in satisfaction as he looked left and right with a hot cup of tea in his hand.


    Corduul''s mechanical army got a lot more auxiliary troops than Aldred. He got information-gatherers robots that could obtain information about local geography, numbers of enemies, the enemies'' firepower, secret bases, key personnels, vital target, and so much more.


    This was the reason why the Mechanicum could destroy the otherrge underworld organization so fast. Not only they could gather data and information so quickly, they could n out hundreds of steps ahead in only a few hours and sometimes even minutes.


    Whereas Generals used their experience and instinct to fight wars, the Mechanicum used a data-specific approach for their strategy in fighting a war.


    The only thing that stopping them from defeating Victor was theck of firepower. The Mechanicum consisted of thousands of tech priest that couldbine their creativity and thought process to invent something new and create a n to achieve an objective.


    But they still failed to match Victor''s invention. That should show Victor''s true value, but sadly, Aldred had to kill him.


    It was fine though. The Mechanicum was more than enough for him. He was satisfied with how goal-oriented they were. Aldred did not have to worry about them beingzy or use funds for pleasure and entertainment.


    The tech priest and the super soldiers within the Mechanicum considered their jobs and duty as pleasure. If they did not get to work, they would suffer tremendously.


    In other words, these people were obsessive workaholic.


    As their boss, Aldred was more than happy to have them under his wings. dly, he had sent them billions of gold coins and tons of resources. The Mechanicum worked much more efficiently now that they got so much resources in such time.


    That was how they could build this mechanical army that was much stronger than before.


    But of course, they need an upgrade because they now fight in apletely different continent.


    "When can we attack?" Aldred asked.


    "Right away. ording to calction, if we march now, our army should arrive at Marldon under twenty minutes. Our assassins bots would kill anyone around the area to prevent a leak of information. The arrival of our army would be a surprise to the enemy, and they will not be able to react properly."


    "What if they have Adamantite Rank?" Aldred asked.


    "My robots have collected some memories from the locals. The chance of encountering an Adamantite Rank is quite low."


    Aldred smiled. Corduul really was an effective worker. He killed locals and sucked the information out of their brain before he even needed to tell him to.


    The man or robot was aspetent as Tarrar. Tarrar was more like his go to manager for all kinds of things, but Corduul was his war general and battle adviser.


    "So is everything ready?"


    "Yes, our army is ready to attack. In our estimation, the city should be taken over after 45 minutes."


    Aldredughed. "Any other person would not believe what you said." He drank his tea right after that statement.


    Corduul suddenly looked to the side and then reported: "Master, there are hostiles approaching.


    ...


    Outside Towbone, there was a wide expanse of vast grasnd. Near this grasnd were the farnds where farmersboriously worked for some bread. The farnds were beautiful with dazzling rice crops waving in the wind. But of course, they could only dream of consuming one.


    Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes thumping against the ground came from afar. When the people who worked on the field looked to the east, they saw a fully armed cavalry cloaked in ck galloped towards them.


    The farmers looked shocked and then sprinted away immediately, throwing their tools away.


    "The Dark Horse! They are the Dark Horse!"


    "Run back to the city!"


    Men and women scrambled away, running as fast as they could.


    The cavalrymen, cloaked in ck, rushed towards the city with a sinister smiles on their faces. They were as fast as arrows.


    "Get inside quickly! We are about to close the gate!"


    The farmers ran inside the city before the guards began to close the gate.


    The guards'' faces pale when they see the cavalrymen in the distance.


    "They are two kilometers away from our city," Corduul reported.


    "Let''s go outside." Aldred and Corduul teleported atop the wall. The wind blew his hair as he stared into the distance.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Look, the town leader is here! We are saved! We are saved!"


    The people burst into cheers when they saw him.


    Aldred waved at them and smiled with one hand holding his tea. He wondered why they had so much confidence in him.


    "Who are they exactly?" Aldred asked.


    A soldier approached and bowed. "My lord, the Dark Horse is a notorious criminal group around this area. Their members are consisted of powerful tinum Ranks cavalry warriors, and they have massacred an entire vige before when they refused to give him ''protection money''."


    "Are they that strong?"


    "Very, master. It''s weird. They usually attack at night. This means that they are underestimating us."


    "I see." Aldred''s eyes shone as his lips curled into a grin.


    There were only a few hundreds warriors in Towbone at tinum Ranks, and of course, none of them came here to aid the city.


    They actually did not live in Towbone. They only came here topete to decide who could rule Towbone and get all of its riches. When they became the town leader, they did not even stay in the city. Instead, they used the money to spend it wherever they want.


    Basically, they wanted to use the city as their cash cow. So, nobody in Towbone was actually at tinum Ranks.


    "Dark Horse! Charge!"


    The cavalry galloped towards the city.


    "Attack! Attack!"


    The guards atop the wall fired their arrows, but when the arrows struck the armor, it ricocheted.


    Within a few seconds, the cavalrymen arrived at the bottom of the wall. Akhen, the leader of the Dark Horse, erupted with a powerful aura, and with explosive strength, leaped, and thennded atop the wall.


    He brandished his long serrated de and then tore all the guards that came towards him.


    "Akhen! Akhen!"


    "Akhen! Akhen!"


    The cavalrymen below raised their weapons and burst into excited cheers. After that, they also leaped atop the wall and ughtered every guards they saw.


    They all stopped when they saw a weird robotic man standing next to a 12 year old boy.


    Akhen scoffed. "What are these two? A walking can of metal, and some random snotty kid with a tea in his hand?


    "You are not that impressive," Aldred said, sipping his tea. "Well,pared to the tinum Ranks in my hometown, your strength is better, but there is not much in differences."


    "I don''t know what you are talking about, kid. But let me give you a slow and torturing death!"


    Akhen rushed forward, but suddenly, Corduul raised his right hand and a metal projectile fired.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Akhen was shot three times. The bullets prated his armor, and even pierced through his back.


    Akhen spat out blood as his vital organs were injured. "Bastard! You''re a magician! They did not tell me that the enemies have magicians on their side!"


    "Magician! That walking piece of metal is a magician?!"


    "No wonder he looks so mysterious and lifeless. Every magician always have that unique aura to them."


    Akhen gritted his teeth. "Men! Don''t be scared! There is only one magicians! If we work together, we can kill him and bring his head for a big bonus!"


    "Fuck yeah!!!"


    Aldred sighed and drank his warm cup of tea.

 Chapter 495 495 Obtaining Information

    Akhen expelled the bullet out of his body which made Aldredughed. "Corduul, what kind of bullets did you use?"


    "Those were made with 90% of air and some dust particles I gathered."


    Corduul could produce bullets out of thin air, but naturally, the damage wouldn''t be that great. And of course, he barely used his power to injure Akhen.


    However, anyone below tinum Rank would die after receiving that kind of attacks. Corduul wasn''t even trying either. However, Akhen was just a trifling bandits. A petty criminals in this continent.


    He was some small, insignificant person in this world. Aldred hadn''t even met the most powerful ss of this continent--the magicians. How strong would they be?


    Aldred could not wait to meet them.


    With a roar, Akhen raised his serrated sword and rushed furiously towards Aldred.


    Aldred said with indifferent: "Corduul, tell some of your close-range robots to fight him. And don''t destroy his head. We might need his memories."


    "Yes, master."


    Two ck iron orbs suddenly shot out of Corduul''s chest. They then transformed into 6 meter tall robots with 8 arms.


    Akhen was slightly shocked by that scene, but he still charged forward. "Come! Kill them all!"


    The 6 meter tall robots rushed forward, drawing its 8 super-alloy battle swords one after another. It then threw itself at Akhen like a ferocious bear, appearing before him and mercilessly shed at him.


    Akhen raised his de to block.


    DING!


    The sound of metal striking metal pierced their ears. Akhen''s face turned pale and he retreated by two steps. His de was bent, and his arms were shaking in pain.


    "A tinum rank golems! These things are not living being! They are golems!"


    That scared the Dark Horse a little bit. Golem Masters were one of the scariest ss to fight among magicians. There were a lot of magicians type that was feared by the warriors. Some of them were the Curse-type magicians, Dark-type magicians, Disease-type magicians, and Bloodline-type magicians.


    These type of magicians could inflict terrible curses that couldst a lifetime, and made their entire life hell after a single encounter. Bloodline-type magicians were even worse. They could even kill everyone that is rted to you, including your son and daughters.


    These were usually used to destroy an entire n. In a single night, a patriach of a family group could lose his entire family tree.


    Golem Master on the other hand were feared, but they were thest on the list. Fighting them would be hard because of their golems, but at least, they did not have a permanent curse.


    Golem Master was quite rare as well. And they were usually known to be very rich since golems took a lot of money to maintain.


    "Not bad." Aldred''s eyes shed with excitement. "A tinum Rank in my hometown would not be able to block that attack so easily. This continent is truly interesting."


    Akhen frowned and forced himself to raise his arm. "Men! Follow me into battle! We will kill that magicians and retire with so much riches!"


    "Kill the magician!"


    "Kill the magician!"


    Their eyes filled with blood lust at the thought of obtaining so many wealth. Magicians were hard to kill, and they were very valuable as well. The body of a magicians could be sold to a group with a high price because they could extract information from them. A Golem Master naturally would be priced at premium cost.


    "Corduul, did you bring any gunner robots with you?" Aldred asked.


    "I did, master."


    Four  8 meter tall robots appeared behind them, and then aimed their powerful Vulcan cannons.


    With a powerful roar, the cannons spewed fierce tongue of me. The sound ofrge-caliber bullets tearing through skin and flesh reverberated.


    One bandit was shot in the neck and his whole upper body exploded. Therge caliber bullet was not an ordinary bullet. It was rocket propelled and when it came into contact with the target, it would pierce inside and then exploded, making sure to create the most damage possible.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And the bullets have all kinds of extra effects inside of them. Some bullets exploded and spilled burning substances, burning and engulfing the body in me. Some had acid in them, which made the nearby bandits screamed in pain as the acid devoured their skin, flesh and bones.


    Faced with with such a terrifying attacks, the bandits were filled with fear. Blood and organs spilled everywhere.


    Akhen roared in anger. "Bastard!"


    A close-range fighter robot stepped in and cut off Akhen''s arms.


    "AHHHHH!!!"


    Akhen fell to his back as he stared at his arms. "My arms! You cut my arms!"


    The Dark Horse leader looked up at Aldred with rage, but more than that, he was looking at him with fear.


    Aldred smiled. "I shall end your suffering."


    Snapping his finger''s, Akhen''s head suddenly popped out of his neck and rolled to the ground.


    "Read his memory," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, a burst of cheers came from inside the city. Apparently, the people have watched the battle and saw that Aldred manage to massacre the Dark Horse so easily.


    "Bhurud! Bhurud! Bhurud!"


    "Bhurud! Bhurud! Bhurud!"


    "He is truly the son of a legendary warrior! He saved this city from a disaster!"


    "Ferad Hanman must be proud of his son!"


    "This city will grow so well! We are saved! We are saved!"


    Aldred simply smiled and waved at them.


    After that, he and Corduul vanished before appearing inside their secret base. There were already a bunch of tech priest working on some advanced high-techb equipment that were installed here.


    There were also some magicians performing magic rituals to protect the secretb from surveince.


    The tech priest also deployed some kind of maic forced field that could prevent mana froming in oring out. Apparently, it also helped in preventing magicians from tracking them.


    Duria had fought against the Ceraisian Empire many times before. Of course, the Mechanicum had learned how to counter magic as well. Though their specialty were more in information gathering and creating mechanical army.


    Corduul immediately began to work, extracting the memories of the Dark Horse and of course, Akhen, their leader.


    Apparently, the Dark Horse was the count''s hidden fingers. Akhen was actually a guard working under the Count of Waralia. But he was offered a different task.


    His job was to control the area around here which was why he taxed viges and smaller cities. He also had a job to control who ruled the city.


    Thest town leader that Aldred killed apparently paid a lot of taxes to the count which was the reason why he could rule for so long.


    That meant Bhurud Hukhor''s father might be killed by the count because he refused to pay a lot of money to the count. Instead, he used the money to improve the city.


    Sadly, he died of a mysterious causes which Aldred now know was not mysterious at all.


    He was killed.


    It would not be long before the count make a move and tried to kill him as well.


    Aldred would not let that happen. Now that he had a lot of subordinates, he believed he could win this war.

 Chapter 496 496 Attacking Marldon City

    Marldon was one the 10 big town under the jurisdication of Waralia County.


    Corduul''s satellites had scanned the area and concluded that it was rich with minerals and other valuable resources useful to create more robots and advanced weapons. There were also some crystals that could be useful for magicians as well.


    That was expected since Marldon was actually known for its exports for mana crystals and other objects for magicians to use. There were some rocks such as hardened-alloy that were used as armor for warriors. They were cheap and considered to be low-value, but for Corduul, it was the perfect materials to strengthened the mechanical legion.


    Atop the mountain, eight kilometers away from Marldon City, Aldred and Corduul stood side by side. With both hands behind his back, Aldred overlooked the distant city.


    Behind him, thousands of golems and mechanical robots blend in with the environment. The element of surprise was very crucial in warfare. It could decide victory or defeat.


    "Is everything in position?" Aldred asked.


    Corduul''s eyes lit up as all kinds of information entered his mind. "Yes, master. Everything is in ce. Our legion is ready to attack."


    Aldred smiled and pointed at the city. "Take that city for me."


    The next instance gunners robots came out of their hiding; below the rocks, bushes, roots, grass, and then fired a shell up in the sky.


    The sky arched down, and some of the guards noticed the weird silver objects.


    "What is that?" The guard squinted his eyes.


    Suddenly, all the shells exploded with a bright sh of white light, blinding everyone in the city. It waspletely wife, and ringing sound filled the ears of the guards.


    When the white light disappeared, and the guards could see again, thousands of mechanical robots were already at the gates, banging with theirrge swords.


    The guards panicked and began to counter-attack, but gunner robots, and artillery robots sted them off the wall.


    Of course, Aldred''s golems also participated in this battle. Spreading mana-fueled fire all over the wall.


    Hundreds of archers appeared atop the wall, and began to draw their bow.


    Sadly for them, they did not even had the chance to release the arrows before metal and fire bullets tore them apart.


    Corduul released countless projection, showing maps, datas, charts, and graphs of all kinds of things. Apparently, he could process all of that information at once.


    Corduul did not directlymand the mechanical army. They were already programmed for war, so he did not need to use his valuable processing power for this.


    Only when it was necessary would he be involved in directlymanding them. In grand-scale war, all of the tech priest wouldbine their processing power to process all of the information and create a fool-proof battle n.


    If Aldred went war with them, he would definitely lose. Luckily for him, they did not even expect his visits to their headquarter at that time.


    The only thing that let Aldred get inside their base was they did not take note of his existence. But even so, the Mechanicum manage to survive, and in fact flourish under his rule.


    They managed to convince him to recruit them which was a win more for them because they received tremendous amount of resources. Not just from the Ceraisian Empire, but also from Duria as well since the two nations were now allied and had great rtionship with one another.


    The Mechanicum could even be considered to be a joint military organization of Duria and the Ceraisian Empire. Combining the two super power into one. No one in Courery continent would be messing around because of that so Aldred was in peace.


    BOOM!


    The artillery sted the walls as the earth shook. The steel gate was blown apartpletely, and the terrifying vibration ruined dozens of buildings.


    "Magicians! They have magicians!" The guards shouted in horror.


    Magicians were the most powerful ss in this continent. A single magicians could generally defeat 4-5 warriors of the same rank. They were high value target and were usually protected by dozens or so guards.


    "Those are not magicians! They are golems!"


    That shocked the guards even more.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "A golem master is attacking this city! What should we do, captain?"


    The captain gritted his teeth as he could not think of any solutions. Only the most elite and fearsome warriors would dare to fight against a magician. Magicians could inflict damage from a long range, yes, archers could attack them from far away, but it could easily blocked because most magicians had learned defensive spells.


    And golem masters were even more dangerous than an ordinary magicians!


    "KNEEL!" The robots shouted in a terrifying mechanical voice. It sounded cold and emotionless, as if they would be killed any second if they dare to refuse.


    The guards stopped and hesitated if they should attack or not.


    A guard bit his lips and roared, charging towards the enemy. Suddenly, with a bang, his head exploded and his body fell, sttering blood all over the face.


    The guard''s faces paled immediately. And some of them let out a terrifying scream before dropping their weapons and mmed their forehead on the ground.


    Fear was spreading among them, and like a domino effect, all of them began to kneel, dropping their weapon as far away as possible.


    ? As more golems and robots entered the city, people scrambled inside their house. Most did not even dare to peak through a small gap in their windows.


    Silence ruled within the city, only the sound of engines, and heavy steel thumping against the ground was heard.


    The guards looked down in fear.


    "Where is the town leader?" a 8 meter tall robot asked the captain. They had obtained enough information to know who the leader of the guards was.


    The captain slowly looked up. "I believe he has fled."


    Corduul immediately ran an underground scan after he heard that, and the satellites detected a person slowly walking inside a narrow cave.


    The leader of this town was a Diamond Rank by the name of Fahnin Hamon. He was a magician, but the moment he heard there was a Golem Master attacking him, he fled immediately.


    "Cowards! Corduul, bring him here." Aldred wanted to see the differences between the magicians here and back in his hometown.


    Four robots immediately transformed their arms into a drill and they began to dig under the ground. Quickly, they created a hole connecting to the tunnel and more robots entered it.


    Entering the tunnel, they rushed towards a particr direction. In less than a minute, they manage to find Fahnin.


    "Fuck! How did they found me! Dark Bolts!"


    A dark bolt, seven meter in length appeared out of thin air and shot towards the robot.


    The robot was struck in the chest and took a few steps back before it pulled the bolt out and rushed towards him again.


    "Impossible! What kind of golem is that!"


    Over twenty mechanical robots rushed towards the magicians, dodging all the dark bolts and then pping him with their special-alloy de.


    Fahnin was mmed into the wall, blood dripping from his lips.


    "Fuck!"


    A robot blurred into motion and shed his shoulder.


    "AHH! My arm!"


    "Too weak! It seems like the strength of magicians here are too exaggerated," A voice suddenly came.

 Chapter 497 497 Time On His Side

    The mechanical robots quickly dragged Fahnin and threw him under Aldred''s feet.


    Fahnin looked up and was shocked when he saw the 12 year old boy. "You... are you the golem master? You cannot kill me. I am a Diamond Rank magicians. We can work together. Wait no, I will be your subordinates!"


    "I don''t need you specifically. I only need your memories."


    The ded robot immediately beheaded the man''s head right after that statement.


    And just like that, a Diamond Rank magician, feared by the warriors, died.


    Corduul began to crack open the magician''s head and golden tentacles came out of his arms before it stabbed into the brain.


    "Any valuable information?" Aldred asked.


    "Only in the category of magic spells, master. And we confirmed that the Dark Horse worked for the Count of Waralia. We also find out that the count might attack us since town leaders are not allowed to attack each other."


    Aldred scoffed. "The count will find excuses to attack us sooner orter. I am not afraid of him. We have powerful army. Even if the count was an Adamantite Rank, I believe we can kill him."


    Aldred was excited at that thought. With Victor''s blueprint and knowledge, the mechanicum had advanced their mechanical legion every single day. Aldred had also upgraded the strength of his golem now since he was a Diamond Rank. And every day, he got stronger and stronger as he stayed in this continent.


    "With the resources in this city, it should be sufficient for us to create a mechanical factory in this ce," Corduul suggested.


    "Do that. Work with Tarrar to transport the supplies."


    Aldred and Corduul entered the city and took control of the government building. Everyone already fled the premises, but that was fine. Aldred did not need them. He did not care about this city, he only care about the resources it offers. The only city that he was willing to develop was Towbone.


    Since Aldred decided to make that as his temporary home base for now and as the gate for his expansion. The other reason was because he had sympathy for Bhurud Hukhor.


    Ever since Aldred received the kid''s memory, it made him recall his past life.


    Suddenly, roar of men came from outside. Apparently, the people had been taking arms and wanted to rebel.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "This is new. When was thest time I see civilians rebellion?"


    Since this was the world of magic and power ruled over justice, the idea of rebellion was too idealistic unless you had the power to back it up. Most rebellion happened among two powerful groups or smaller groups that formed into a big group.


    But civilians? They were called civilians for a reason. They were weak and powerless. They were working ss, and were basically ants for people at the top who fought bloody teeth and pulling nails every single day to get that position.


    "What is yourmand, master?"


    Aldred looked down from the window of his office. Seeing the people rising up against him was quite irritating. He did not even n to harm their interest. In fact, he even wanted to improve their life a little.


    "Kill them."


    One thousand gunner robots and golems aimed their weapons at the people and began to fire.


    mes were spat out and, and in a split second, the mass of people in the street waspletely covered in blood. Under the sweep of the hail of metal bullets and fire bullets, the street literally became meat mincing machine and the people down there were the cattles.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Fifty artillery robots bombarded the ones that tried to flee. The mes burned and melted the skins while the shrapnels shredded them inside and out.


    Then came the ded robots and golems, brandishing theirrge battle-des they were like a blender cutting everything into millions pieces.


    There were no ordinary people in this continent, almost all of the people here had Gold Rank strength. But they barely experience any fighting since they were not soldiers. So, of course no one dared to fight after they saw their friends being massacred.


    "Quickly mine the materials in this city and build the factories. I want all the resource veins to dry up to fuel our expansion," Aldred said.


    The next day, arge numbers of huge buildingspletely made out of cold steel erected all over the ce, within and without the city.


    Large vehicles came and go as they transported the materials the robot had dug up.


    The materials were right below the city. Corduul had set up all the mining robots in ce, and they were digging non stop. Constantly, the sound of machines were ringing day and night, removing the word ''peace and quiet'' from the citizen''s vocabry.


    It was so loud that anyone could barely talk to each other.


    Engineering robots swarmed all over the ce, like ants, they worked non-stop, building munition factories after munition factories.


    Every single day, tons and tons of robots, were built with the new materials. They were stronger, better, faster, and much more intelligence because they had farrger memory and processing power than before. They were also heavier.


    Seeing this, the people in Marldon decided to leave. Aldred left them be. In fact, he even paid for all of them to leave this city.


    When they all left, he leveled the entire town, andpletely reced all the buildings with factories.


    This world might be ruled by an iron fist, but lords did not usually let their citizen go. This was because the city''s poption paid all kinds of tax to funds the lords''vish lifestyle. So the more poption was considered better.


    Aldred had so much money already. He did not need to collect more money from tax. What he needed was resources; metals, materials, and things that could increase his strength or the strength of his army.


    Every single day, Corduul''s old robots were reced with the new generations of robots.


    "What about your super human project, Corduul?" Aldred asked. He had always been interested about the serum that could turn ordinary human into super human. They even manage to turn ordinary human into Diamond Rank warriors purely because of strength, speed, endurance, and physical toughness.


    "The Mechanicum is also developing in that category. With the magicians help from the Ceraisian Empire, our progress is even faster than before."


    "That is good. Maybe we can sell those serums in exchange for valuable resources. Some things could not be bought with gold coins alone."


    It was true. Most high rank warriors and even magicians did not even consider gold coins as currency. They only ept mana crystals as they could use those to increase their own strength, perform rituals with them, and all kinds of other things.


    Aldred did not had a lot of crystals with him, only gold coins, but he would find ways to gather more wealth.


    He wanted to get things done quickly, but it seemed like the Count of Waralia did not make any move. This made him smile as his army increasedrger by the day.


    Time was on his side. The more he got time, the more advantage he had.

 Chapter 498 498 Chawbigton

    Chawbigton was Waralia County''s capital city. A kingdom had its capital city as a symbol for power, and under the kingdom was the princedom, dukedom, etc. Every territory had one provincial capital city to manage said territory.


    Chawbigton was the County''s capital city. It had a poption of more than 200,000 people and expansive economic opportunity bloom in this city.


    The streets were filled with people buying and selling with carts pulled by powerful beast, transporting people and items all over the ce. It was a perfect functioning society with a satisfying economy.


    On the center of the city, was arge pce where Heled Waralia, Count of Waralia, lived. He was currently in the reception hall, dimly lit with barriers all over the wall to prevent any sound froming out.


    Seated in the seat of honor, Heled sat straight with a perfect posture. In front of him were the leader of wealthy merchants that had helped him in building the city from scratch. He trusted merchants more than nobles.


    Nobles always had the intention to rise up the ranks and would find ways to stab your back. Merchants were simple. All they want was money and that was it.


    "Fahnin is death. Townbone and Marldon has been taken," Count Heled started the conversation with a heavy topic.


    The four wealthy merchants looked down at their table and frowned. They had never faced any situation like this before. Most of the problems they faced before could easily be solved with money. But a 12 year old warlord with his golem army suddenly appeared to threaten their lives. Not only that, he even took two cities in a short amount of time.


    The four wealthy merchants did not know if they could solve this kind of problem with money alone.


    "A golem master is hard to defeat. Even Diamond Rank magicians would not want to deal with them," Dakar, one of the wealthy merchants, said.


    There was arge gap in strength between ordinary magicians and a special type magicians. It might not look that different at first, but a golem master could literally kill dozens of magicians while staying at home. This also applied to curse-type magicians, and dark-magic magicians.


    They could even harm someone they had never ever seen before.


    No one wanted to get the attention of these type of people.


    Sure powerful magicians could defeat ten or even more warriors of the same rank, but they would still refuse to handle a golem master.


    Count Heled said in a calm voice: "ording to our spies, the enemies only bring one hundred golem to capture the city. All the guards surrendered the moment one of them was killed."


    That was all a lie. A lie not created by Count Heled, but by Corduul. The Mechanicum not only manage to read information within the brain, but they also able to rewrite, delete, copy, and even rece memories. One of the reason why they were so confident in the loyalty of their super human was they were inserted with false memories.


    The moment they were taken by the Mechanicum, they were no longer the same person.


    They also used this technology to cure trauma and depression. Simply by removing the triggering memories had been proven to solve the problem. After they done the procedures, the soldiers were battle-ready once again.


    But now, they used that technology to spread misinformation for the enemy.


    And Count Heled was very confidence in the information that he obtained.


    "Count Heled''s spies have never been wrong before," Palnce said. "If they only use 100 golems, then we need to hire more than 200 magicians to fight them."


    "That would cost us a lot," Wyverngrip said.


    "It is fine," Buultad consulted. "Consider it as investment to secure our future profit."


    Count Heled had let the four wealthy merchants and their family to create some sort of monopoly in the territory he ruled. Of course, they had a lot of businesses and stores set up all over.


    Because of that, the livelihood of his territory became their concern as well.


    His problem was their problem. This let him had four financially-powerful, well-connected, and intelligent, organized group working by his side.


    He knew he could fully trust them as well, because they needed him.


    "In situation like this, can''t we ask for help from our neighbors?" Dakar asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    All of them looked at him weirdly.


    "My¡­ my bad."


    Everyone knew that the moment they asked for help, they would be underestimated and Count Heled might even be removed from his position.


    Every nobles had to solve their own problems. They could pay other nobles to help, but they would rip him off. Kingdom of Withokere was literally the second most smallest kingdom, so everyone wanted more territory for themselves.


    "Let us invite 200 magicians to defend the city," Dakar said.


    All of them agreed to that proposal.


    ¡­


    All over the ce, mechanical robots and golem tread thend. When they encountered a vige, they approached it, and gave everyone food and supplies before leaving without any word.


    The vigers were of course confused. They tried to talk to the golems, and even invited them for tea, but they said nothing and left immediately.


    This phenomenon happened all over Waralia County, and even in the neighboring province which was Northingia Earldom.


    It was very weird phenomenon and everyone was talking about it.


    And it did not only happened once, but for a whole week. Every single day, a hundred robots and golems or so would visited all the viges and gave them supply.


    They even fixed broken roofs, fences, doors, and the roads.


    Dirty water that was unsafe to be drink, or ake that was full of dangerous beast with Gold Rank to tinum Rank strength near the viges were also taken care of. The dirty water became crystal clear. It was so clear, that the vigers could not believe it was real.


    The dangerous animals onkes were also gone of which the vigers now had ess for drinking, swimming, and even fishing.


    Corduul was confused by this as well, and he asked Aldred.


    "Master, what is the purpose of this operation?"


    Aldred smiled as he looked through the window of his 7 story-tall office. "This ce will be mine sooner orter, so I want the people that lived here get to know the golems and the robots, and know that we are not the evil men. In fact, we are the good guys."


    "You wanted to instill ideas in their mind, indoctrinating them to perceive you in a good light."


    "I don''t like the way you said it, but yeah, that was the idea."


    "We can simply rewrite their memories if that is what you wish for, master."


    "Nope. I don''t even know how long would it take to rewrite the memory of millions of people. Besides, it feels too artificial that way."


    The phenomenon soon reached the ears of Count Heled and his allies.


    And all of them were confused of what the golems were doing.


    "They give food and supplies to vigers¡­ that''s all they do every single day."


    Even Count Heled began to frown and could not think of a single reason why the enemy did this.

 Chapter 499 499 Battle In The Sky

    In the middle of the pce, a vast garden with all kinds of magical botanical nts grew. A three stories tall majestic towers, made out of royal white bricks, stood firm at the center of the garden.


    Count Heled tread upon the pathway that led towards the tower. Four magicians bowed when he him passed by. He was not only the Count of Waralia, but he was also a powerful magician himself. It was mandatory that a magician should be the one who controlled a territory.


    Warriors simply did not have the qualification most of the time.


    Entering the tower, Count Heled closed the door. Inside, the tower waspletely empty from ground level all they way to the top.


    This was magic tower, made with extraordinarily expensive materials. But its function far worth the cost. It let magicians such as himself to increase their strength far quickly. Not only that, the tower could help magicians gather more mana, or evenbining their power to defend against intruder.


    His city had never been attacked before, so the tower was never used, but its existence had kept the enemies at bay.


    Count Heled was a mid Diamond Rank. But with this magic tower, and a bunch of low Diamond Ranks, he could even defeat a top Diamond Rank magician.


    Every vital cities needed this kind of tower to defend itself.


    Count Heled sat down and closed his eyes before he began to chant his spell. The walls lit up, and from outside, energies began to form in the sky and circled around the tower.


    After a few minutes, the energy dispersed and formed a barrier around the city.


    Count Heled exited the tower and looked at the sky. Nodding in satisfaction, he said: "This should be enough to protect the city."


    "Are we going to wait for them, my lord?" a magician asked.


    "No. We will attack. Send 30 magicians to attack them."


    "Yes, Master."


    Hourster, 30 magicians and around a hundred warrior rode upon a giant dragon and flew to the sky. The dragon was 100 meters in length, and its back was so wide that the people on it could move around freely.


    It was a literal flying castle.


    Aldred and Corduul watched this through a projection screen.


    "More than 130 Diamond Ranks are sent towards us." Aldred smiled. "Only an emperor could do that kind of thing. But in this continent, even the smallest county have a lot of Diamond Ranks."


    "Should we eradicate them, master?" Corduul asked.


    "Wait." Aldred watched the screen as more dragons flew out of the city.


    The dragons were smaller and they brought magicians and warriors with tinum Rank strength.


    Aldredughed. "This kind of army would be enough to threaten the Ceraisian Empire. Though we are likely to win, we would surely incur arge damage."


    But now that Aldred had built a powerful mechanical legion and golems, this was not enough to defeat him.


    "Send our sky legion," Aldred said.


    The underground base lit up, and the ceiling began to move to the side, revealing the sky. The mechanical army activated and all kinds of high tech robots began to enter the aircraft. The golems entered as well before the advanced aircraft flew to the sky.


    Thousands of them set out from under ground.


    ¡­


    Khisam Rommom looked straight ahead as he stood atop the dragon''s head. He was the leader of this operation, and he was  also the strongest magician of this team. He was informed about the existence of a golem master, and he was excited to fight.


    "Sir, there are enemies ahead."


    Khisam frowned. "In the sky?"


    "¡­ yes sir."


    Suddenly, huge metallic objects dived down,ing out of the clouds like a group of powerful wolves.


    The dragons roared and belched their dragon breath towards the metallic objects. mes engulfed the sky for a few seconds until the iron aircraft came out of the me.


    Unscathed.


    With only some damage to their surface pain, the gigantic aircraft flew strong and then began firing.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Shells the size of a human were fired like a machine gun at the rate of 5,000 rounds per minute.


    "Quick, summon the barrier!"


    The magicians raised their hand and a field of energy covered them and the dragons.


    The shells mmed into these barriers and were deflected. But in a few minutes, the barriers cracked.


    Khisam gritted his teeth and grabbed a crystal out of his pocket. Energy came out of the crystal and it turned into dust, but the barrier was repaired and strengthened.


    "Fight back!"


    "Magic Projectile Storm!"


    Tens of thousands Purple shards began to form in the air, glistening under the sun, and then they all shot towards the aircraft.


    With nging sound, the shards ricocheted off the armor but a lot manage to pierce through and destroyed vital parts of the aircraft.


    With a whirling sound, some of the aircrafts began to experience engine failure and began to fell with mes all over them.


    "Haha! Take that you piece of shit!"


    Suddenly, the door of the aircrafts opened and thousands of robots and golems spat mes from their back, flying into the air before rushing towards the enemies.


    More and more of them fill the sky.


    "Fuck!"


    The magicians were troubled and they casted spells in every directions.


    "Melting shards!"


    "Explosive orb!"


    "Storm of Razor!"


    All kinds of magic spells exploded in the sky. The golems and robots were flying all over, trying to dodge the spells while also approaching them.


    The gunner robots and gunner golems supported from the back.


    A few minutester, the ded robots and golems closed the distance and attacked the barrier, swarming it like bees.


    "The barrier will hold on! Destroy these golems!"


    Right after Khisam said that, the falling aircraft suddenly jolted in the air and then flew to the sky again.


    Every aircraft had an engineer robots within them to fix any damage that it might receive. This was very useful since any aircraft could be repaired during the battle.


    With all the aircrafts flying to the sky again, they began to rain storms ofrge caliber bullets to the barrier.


    The barrier shattered and the ded robots and golems swarmed in.


    "Burning Fist!" Khisam charged towards a ded robot and punched out. His fist exploded a powerful fire in a cone shape that sted all the enemies in front of him.


    "Draconic transformation!" a magician transformed himself into half human and half dragon creatures. A powerful, thick tail grew behind him. With hideous ws and scales all over him, he charged towards the ded robots and fought them.


    Hundreds of robots fell from the sky, broken and tattered. They shattered into pieces when they hit the ground.


    Aldred''s eyes lit up. "Interesting, the magicians here are truly stronger And they also have all kinds of interesting spells."


    The stronger the people in this continent were, the more excited Aldred became. He could not wait to expand his empire to this territory. And he also wanted to grow stronger as well.


    "Don''t let a single one leave! Each golem cost a fortune to make, especially the big ones! Destroy them all!"


    "Yeah!"


    Aldredughed when he saw their spirit. "Corduul, send the big ones."

 Chapter 500 500 Battle In The Sky 2

    The space warped and popped like a balloon, creating a spatial tear in the sky. Large mechanical flying devices came out of the tear.


    These groups were evenrger than before. Each aircraft spanning over 1 kilometer in length alone. And at the top of these aircrafts were a flying ind of steel with all kinds of anti-gravity device below it.


    Khisam widened his eyes in shock. His whole body trembled when he saw the armying out. "Didn''t they say the enemies only have one hundred golems?"


    "That is what we are told, sir."


    "Then why is there more than thousands of them here???"


    Thousands ofrge ships kept popping out of the spatial tear, dwarfing over the dragons which seemed tiny inparison.


    "Fire," Aldred gave themand with a low tone. And the mechanical legion rumbled into battle mode. Thousands of aircrafts kilometers in length aimed their cannons and started a storms of shells, fire, and explosions.


    Because they were controlled by advanced A.I, these aircrafts were designed to fire every shot precisely to the target. Almost each and every shells were calcted to kill.


    In Combreia, Diamond Ranks, especially magician Diamond Ranks, were considered to be very high in status. They rarely died even in a great war between nations because they could simply escape with a variety of spells.


    But today, dozens of them died the moment the barrier shattered. Failed to protect them, the hail ofrge-explosive caliber shells rain down upon them. They all tried to escape but only a few manage to do so.


    The moment the shells hit their body, the eleration, the weight, and the toughness of the material created such force that even the durability of a Diamond Rank could be prated.


    The shells were literally bigger than their own body. So every shell was like being hit by a train moving faster than the speed of sound. Not only that, it exploded aftering into contact with its target, making it even deadlier.


    Khisam shouted in the midst of the explosion: "RETREAT!"


    The dragons immediately turned around, but it was toote. The rocket-propelled shell could achieve the speed of 40 KM per second, in other words, it was over 30 times the speed of sound.


    Even the heavily armored dragons, d in thick ck steel, were still punctured with gigantic holes and got exploded from within.


    The warriors screamed in pain as their limbs were torn apart by the explosion. They were the lucky ones as they could regrow their limbs back. But with the Mechanicum active sensor, no living entity was allowed to survive.


    With that mission, the aircrafts adjusted their cannon slightly and began firing,pletely decimating all the warriors and dragons.


    Khisam saw this from a distance and his whole body trembled. Out of the 30 magicians that was brought here, only three survive, him included.


    And the three of them were heavily wounded as well.


    "What the hell are we fighting..." Khisam had never seen an army of golem like this before. Generally, golems should not even be able to fly. Most golems used bow, swords, and shields. They were more like warriors.


    But what were those gigantic flying object! The small cannons ced all over its surface were terrifying as well.


    "What are we going to do now, sir?" One of the subordinates asked.


    "Nothing. This province is gone for good. Let''s get out of here before they detected us."


    The three of them turned around and flew away.


    One of the aircraft detected their movement and a long barrel specially created to hit long-distance target came out from the side.


    With a loud roar, three shells fired in rapid speed.


    Khisam sensed something was wrong and quickly summoned a barrier to protect himself.


    A shell mmed against it and exploded. The other two magicians were toote to react. The shells mmed onto their chest, caving it in, breaking all the bones protecting it, and then the shell exploded, shooting out a cone of fire and shrapnels.


    The shell was actually designed to prate bunkers and fortress. A Diamond Rank''s durability might be hard, but the shell still manage to significantly injure them. Especially since they were magicians.


    Warriors had higher durability than magicians. The only disadvantage they had was that they had to fight in close range and had limited abilities to fight against magicians who could use all kinds of spells.


    Khisam saw his subordinates being injured, but there was nothing he could do as another volley of shells came flying at high speed and sted them to bits.


    The barrier around him shook like mad and then it shattered.


    Gritting his teeth, Khisam immediately teleported away. But when he appeared again, another shell was already in front of his face.


    "What!!! How!!!"


    Khisam teleported again and again as one shell after another kept appearing wherever he teleported to.


    After a few seconds, he had enough of it, and struck the shell instead. It exploded me in a cone shape, but Khisam managed to dodge.


    Aldred looked at this scene through the projection screen and smiled. "How did the aircrafts predicted where he would teleport?"


    Corduul replied: "Our Artificial Intelligence has been improved countless times through simted battles. We have trained it in all kinds of situation and one of those training involved attacking an enemy capable of teleportation. After thousands of test, the A.I finally achieved 95% uracy rate."


    "So you are telling me that the robot is guessing where this man would teleport?" Aldred was impressed. A.I could really do a lot.


    But this was also possible with magic. In fact, magic could even dy the time it took for the enemy to teleport.


    Aldred asked Corduul about this.


    "It is possible to vibrate space and time within a certain area to achieve this effect, but it would consume tremendous amount of energy for that. We do not think that the current target is worthy of such weapon."


    Aldredughed. "I see."

 Chapter 501 501 The Capital City

    Khisam roared in anger: "Coward! If you are brave and honorable, show yourself to me and fight!"


    Aldred grinned andughed maniacally.


    Corduul looked at Aldred and pulled back the mechanical legion a few hundred meters. He already knew what kind of a man Aldred was. A battle maniac, inelegant yet graceful, cruel yet kind, impulsive yet cautious.


    What that meant was that Aldred knew when he can be impulsive, and of course he knew how when to  be cautious. Aldred was a flexible person, adapting to circumstances and situation.


    So even though Corduul understood him, he still did not know what his decision would be.


    "Kill him," Aldred said.


    "Are you not going to engage a battle with him?" Corduul asked.


    "He''s too weak."


    Corduul was silent for a fraction of a second as he processed that reply. After saving it into his memory, he ordered the mechanical legion to attack at once.


    Hundreds ofrge aircrafts rumbled. Their cannons lit up.


    Khisam frowned and then he shouted. "COWARD!!!"


    Suddenly, Aldred vanished, appearing right in front of Khisam and then beheaded him before  reappeared in his original spot.


    The aircrafts detected no life from Khisam so they hold their fire.


    "He pissed me off," Aldred said.


    "Why didn''t you let us kill him for you?"


    Smiling, Aldred replied: "I actually want to kill him myself, but he might set traps around him, so I act like I don''t want to have a direct fight at all."


    After saying that Aldred opened the notifications tab.


    [You have killed a Diamond Rank. +9,250 EXP]


    [You have killed a Diamond Rank. +8,240 EXP]


    [You have killed a Diamond Rank. +9,281 EXP]


    [You have killed a Diamond Rank. +10,210 EXP]


    ¡­


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    [You have level up]


    ¡­


    All kinds of notification popped up in front of him one after another.


    In total, his attributes literally doubled. And he also got 280 stat points that he all dumped to dexterity.


    "Now what should I do? Oh, I also got 280 skill points. Nice."


    Aldred thought what skills should he upgrade. He got a few options: Sky Splitting Strike, Red Rain, Blood Absorbtion, Blood Clone or Advanced Golem Creation.


    If he chose Sky Splitting, he could have an ultimate skill to fight against stronger enemies. This also applied to Red Rain though it consumed his blood essence to use.


    Blood Clone was also a nice skill. If he could have more clones, he could defeat stronger opponents.


    Aldred considered Advanced Golem Creation. With this skill, the strength of his golem would increase in folds, and he could even create more types of golems in the future.


    If he used this, he could be just like Victor, sitting back in the shadows and let his massive army of golems conqueringnds for him.


    Aldred tapped his own forehead. "What am I thinking? I wanted to explore this world, not conquer it."


    Grabbing some territory for himself should make his exploration easier. By having a territory, he could have more resources to be stronger.


    Sure conquering nations were fun, but that should not be his focus.


    With that in mind, Aldred crossed Advanced Golem Creation in his list. It was a useful skill, but he did not want to upgrade it now.


    "That''s it. I am upgrading Blood Clone."


    [Blood Clone Lv.4 -> Blood Clone Lv. 5]


    Now Aldred could create 5 clones at once. In total, there would be six of him fighting the enemy.


    That would be crazy! Even one Aldred was a tough enemy to fight. Not to mention six!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 78,890/78,890


    Level: 150 (Diamond Rank)


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior<novelnext></novelnext>


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 2 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 6,362


    -Vitality: 6,239


    -Intelligence: 9,240


    -Dexterity: 7,760


    Stat points: 0


    Skill points: 0


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred smiled. With this kind of stats, even an enemies at far higher level than him would be nothing for him. And he also had this weird confidence that he could even kill an Adamantite Rank.


    Of course that would require all the power at his disposal.


    Aldred summoned his clones and one of them teleported to the battlefield.


    Aldred yawned and a massage chair floated behind him. He softly fell on it and closed his eyes. "I want to take a nap. Talk to the clones about everything. Do not worry. They are me, I am them. Our consciousness are basically the same and so does our feeling."


    "Yes, Master."


    Corduul scanned the clones and was slightly terrified at what he saw. Every cell and even every atom making up of Aldred''s existence was 100% identical.


    It was not supposed to be possible. Every creature had something different about them. Even though there were billions of creatures, the world always manage to create them with some sort of mark that made them unique or different from each other.


    One creature could never be the same with another. They might look the same, act the same, like the same thing, and even talk or behave the same way, but in molecr level, they were different.


    The Mechanicum had run test on living beings for decades, so of course Corduul know a lot about biology.


    This was not his first time encountering magic. He had seen and fought against clones before. Their appearance were the same with their master, but their strength were vastly different.


    Aldred was another case. Each and every clone had the same strength as him.


    Suddenly, the clones summoned their own massage chair and slept.


    "¡­"


    So there was only one clone that was not sleeping, and he was currently in the battlefield.


    Aldred''s clone hovered in the sky. The mechanical legion were still staying there, scanning for any sign of life.


    Looking below, thendscape was littered with holes, and burnt marks. There were some flesh and blood, but there were no bodies.


    They were destroyed during the battle.


    The Mechanicum had a practice of absolutely destroying their enemy.


    Aldred was proud to have such a devoted group under hismand.


    "Now, let''s see if I can take the capital city."


    Aldred waved his hand and all the gigantic aircrafts followed him flying through the clouds.


    At full speed, they shattered the sound barrier and arrived at their destination in seconds.


    Aldred frowned. "This is the capital?"


    The city was surprisingly packed with people and all the buildings were nice too. Every families got a wonderful home and everything seemed affordable for them.


    Public facilities such as school, transportation, parks, libraries, and many others were there as well.


    It was the perfect city!


    Aldred had never seen something like this before because rarely there was a town leader that actually cared about the lives of their citizen.


    "It would look bad if I siege this city."

 Chapter 502 502 Demon

    Aldred considered other ways to take the city, but he see no other options.


    "Corduul, send an announcement for the citizen to leave the city. Otherwise there will be casualties."


    One of the gigantic aircraft moved forward and a small speaker came out from its belly. Then, a mechanical voice red in the sky.


    "ATTENTION!"


    "ATTENTION!"


    "ATTENTION!"


    The people in the city stopped whatever they were doing and began to look at the sky. When they saw numerous gigantic flying objects they were shocked.


    "Inhabitants of this city, please leave the area immediately for a siege is about to proceed!"


    The citizens were surprised and they all looked at each other, wondering if they should believe them or not.


    "Repeat! Inhabitants of this city, please leave the area immediately for a siege is about to proceed!"


    "Repeat! Inhabitants of this city, please leave the area immediately for a siege is about to proceed!"


    Suddenly, a loud rm came from all the aircraft. It was so loud that all the ss in the city shattered.


    The people covered their ears as they gritted their teeth in pain.


    When the rm turned off, the people screamed and evacuated from the city immediately.


    The guards atop the city wall frowned when they saw this. They had heard the rm and was afraid of what other thing these weird metallic objects have.


    "Attack!" Eyes, shing with a cold glint, Aldred pointed towards the city and ordered.


    20 Gigantic aircraft summoned their cannons and unleashed all of their firepower towards the Chawbigton City.


    "This city is under the protection of Count Heled himself. You cannot attack this city!"


    Therge caliber shell did not stop. Far surpassing the speed of sound, the shell mmed right onto a guard and then exploded.


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    "Archers! Attack those metal beast!!"


    "What the fuck are they? Are they really a beast?!"


    "I don''t give a fuck what they are. Shoot them down!"


    "Bring the bows!"


    TING! TING! TING!


    A resonant rm boomed in the city, and an army stationed nearby quickly emerged with long-bows and thick arrows.


    "DRAW!"


    They pulled the string.


    "RELEASE!"


    They let go of the string, and the arrows rushed into the air.


    One of the smaller aircrafts detected the arrows and activated its mini machine gun, shredding the arrows into bits.


    It then sent information to the database, and therge aircraft aimed one of its cannon towards the army.


    "Fuck, run away!"


    Right after that statement, arge shell mmed in the center of their formation and exploded.


    They all screamed in pain as they were thrown into the air. A lot of them died on the spot, but some managed to survive with destroyed limbs and burned face.


    The leader of this squad even got half of his destroyed, and even his brain was visible from outside.


    Aldred looked around before he ordered: "Stop the attack and send the robots and golems. Don''t damage the city too much."


    After thatmand, holes opened on the sides of the ships. Golems and robots leaped out before they charged towards the city.


    There were some guards that tried to stop the golems, but they were quickly neutralized.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "This isn''t that hard," Aldredmented.


    The army rushed towards the center of the city where an enormous castle stood.


    Five thousands robots and golems quickly arrived in front of the castle.


    But then, a rain of 10-meter-long bolts were shot from atop the wall. The bolts struck the robots and mmed them to the ground.


    The remaining robots kept rushing towards the castle without fear. As they were heartless, they did not even understand the concept of fear. They were tools, machines made out of steel and earth.


    As Aldred always say, they were the ultimate soldiers.


    The gunner robots and golems began to fire in the sky, deflecting the bolts away while the close-range squad approached.


    Two hundred archers appeared atop the wall, but the gunner golems quickly massacred them in seconds.


    Small drones began to fly, firingser beams at their targets.


    "Call the magicians!"


    People in robes rushed out, waving their staff at the sky and sting the drones with magic spells.


    Ten thousand archers came out as well. They darkened the sky with packs of arrows.


    The golems and the robots deflected the arrows by shing them aside, though some arrows manage to hit their body.


    But they were not designed to feel pain, so they ignored the arrows like they weren''t even exist.


    The archers watched this and took a step back in hesitation. Should they even continued to fight?


    The arrows were imbued with their life force, meaning that each arrows contain the punch of a tinum Rank. And if the arrows were made with special materials, it could even increase the force by twofold.


    And yet, the enemies kept charging like nothing could ever stop them.


    "Is this the true power of a golem master?" One of the archer stared at the massive number of golemsing towards them.


    Then, six low Diamond Ranks appeared atop the wall.


    Diamond Ranks were divided into three. Low, mid, and high.


    When Aldred analyzed the difference between the three, low Diamond Ranks were at the level of around 120 to 139. Mid Diamond Ranks were at the level of 140 to 159.


    And High Diamond Ranks start from level 160 to 179.


    "Swamp Field!" A low Diamond Rank pointed below and casted a spell.


    The ground instantly turned into a mud field of which with the weight of the golems and the robot, they immediately sunk in.


    Several low Diamond Rank archers locked onto them. With lightning speed, the arrows shot at them and sted them into bits.


    "Dark Shard!" Another low Diamond rank magicians pointed, and fired numerous dark shards that sted onto the golems and robots.


    When the dark shard shattered onto the surface armor, it put a ck mark onto them, and suddenly, the armor began to crumble.


    When Aldred''s vision zoomed in, he saw the ck mark was actually tiny creatures that was eating the robots and the golems.


    "Object animate!"


    Dozens of golems and robots lit up, and they suddenly turned around and fought their own allies.


    "Ohh, this is interesting."


    Aldred had never seen a spell that could make his golems go against his order before. He could feel the golems were still connected to him. He tried to shatter the spell, and the golems returned to his control.


    But the robots were still controlled by the enemy.


    The low Diamond Rank that casted the spell was surprised that the golem master manage to break the golems free. But why didn''t he do the same thing for the metallic golem as well?


    With that knowledge, the low Diamond Rank magician casted his spells onto the metallic golems instead. More and more metal golems turned into his puppet.


    "What a hassle," Aldred said before he raised his hand.


    Phantom Doomde burst forth, zing in fire, and radiating out a powerful aura in every direction.


    Suddenly, all the low Diamond Ranks felt an overwhelming pressure bearing on top of them.


    "What is this power...?" They all looked up and saw a demon staring at them with a pair of bright, crimson eyes.

 Chapter 503 503 Taking Chawbigton City

    Aldred raised the de high above his head and then violently swung it down. Extremely powerful me came out of the sword in a form of a wide arc that went straight towards the wall.


    In that moment, the whole world seemed to be filled with bright light and extreme heat. It was so hot that their armor began to melt and their skin felt like burning.


    All the soldiers screamed in pain as they hurried to take off their armor. Most of them were toote, and their armors melted into their skin. They desperately tried to push the melting armor away, but it was a futile effort. Slowly, they were cooked to death.


    The six low Diamond Ranks grit their teeth in pain.


    "Everyone! Let''s use our power to cast a barrier!"


    The six low Diamond Ranks raised their magic staff and casted a thick barrier enveloping the castle.


    The temperature began to drop immediately, but the wide arc of me was still floating in the sky, slowly inching towards them.


    "When will that arc of me disappear? We cannot hold this barrier for long!"


    The barrier continuously consumed huge amount of mana. The more powerful the attack they defended against, the more mana it took to sustain the barrier.


    But this was a rare case. They were six low Diamond Ranks, and the enemy was only one. How could he made them struggle this much just by himself!?


    After a few seconds, the barrier shattered, and heat waves washed over them again. It was as if the sun wasing towards them.


    The soldiers'' eyes burnt charcoal as they screamed in pain.


    And when the arc of me arrived, it smashed onto the wall and exploded with three zing typhoon of fire.


    The typhoons only appeared for less than three seconds because Aldred did not want to damage the city too much.


    After Aldred''s attack, the survivor began to look around and trembled in fear at the destruction. The world was full of fire and charcoal corpses.


    There were even bodies covered in hot melting steel. If Hell truly exist, this must be how it looked like.


    However, it was not over yet. Thousands of golems and robots nimbly rushed in and brandished their weapons.


    They sliced and diced anyone that was alive without mercy.


    A tinum Rank knight, wearing heavy armor and grasping a great sword, roared into the sky. A powerful life force erupted from him, and he charged at Aldred''s army.


    Raising the de, he chopped off a golem''s head, and sent it flying.


    However, before the knight could do another move, the headless golem moved its four arms and stabbed the knight from four different direction.


    The tinum Rank knight was powerful. In fact, this one was considered to be one of the most talented in the army, but he didn''t even manage to properly ''kill'' a golem before he was turned into mince meat.


    With the wall destroyed, Aldred''s army entered the castle with ease.


    The six low Diamond Rank magicians gathered again after drinking a bunch of potions.


    After Aldred''s army killed all the soldiers, they all rushed towards the six magicians.


    "Dark Shards!"


    "Mass Puppets!"


    "Slippery Surface!"


    "Rain of Spear!"


    All kinds of spells sted towards the robots and the golems. Many fell to the ground because it became slippery all of a sudden. And the never-ending-rain-of-spear kept stabbing onto the golems and robots.


    The close-range units were in trouble.


    That was when the long-range units came in. Hundreds of artillery robots and golems fired towards the six magicians.


    Loud explosions rang in the air and the spells stopped. The golems and robots rushed into the cloud of smoke.


    The six magicians were quickly overwhelmed. They managed to destroy a few thousands golems and robots, but they went down nheless.


    Aldred''s golems and robot were as powerful as a tinum Rank.


    In fact, Corduul even had a lot of robots that had Diamond Rank power. The gigantic aircraft for example had the cannon that could kill Diamond Rank with ease.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aldred did not use it because he wanted to keep the city intact.


    "Count of Waralia!" Aldred shouted. "I am the Grand Emperor Aldred. Ie here to take your territory."


    Aldred was never known as the Grand Emperor, but he thought it would be cool to have that nickname.


    "Grand Emperor?" Count Heled flew out of his castle. "Did you just call yourself as the Grand Emperor? You are not even an Adamantite Rank yet, and you dare to call yourself with such title?!"


    "Why should I be afraid?" Aldred smiled.


    "Humph! Such arrogance! I can see that you are not from here. Leave this ce at once. This continent is not for you. If you still insist to take my territory, the Kingdom of Withokere will deal with you. Many nobles will be happy to take my territory as theirs."


    "That will be my problem. Now, will you die?"


    Count Heled clenched his fist and an aura of high Diamond Rank erupted from him.


    Aldredughed. "Arise."


    Shadows engulfed the dead body of the six low Diamond Ranks, and suddenly, they came out in their undead form.


    Count Heled frowned. "You¡­ did you just turn them into undead?"


    "Is it that surprising?"


    Zunescin suddenly appeared beside Aldred. He was the undead with lightning abilities.


    And then Zehmud appeared. He was the demon summoned that Aldred had killed before.


    In total, he got 8 Diamond Ranks undead now.


    "Kill him," Aldred ordered.


    "Yes, master."


    They shed and appeared in front of Count Heled and struck him immediately.


    Count Heled struggled to fight against 8 Diamond Ranks at once, but he managed to hold them off for a few hours.


    "Aldred!" Heled shouted. "We have no enmity with each other! Why do you do this?"


    "In order to be stronger, I need more resources. It just so happens that I wanted yours."


    "Resources¡­ you think that is enough to increase your strength? All the resources in the world will not be enough if you don''t have the talent."


    "I believe I have the talent."


    "Then how many territories will you take? How many enemies will you make? Sooner orter, you will be defeated by someone far stronger than you."


    Aldred thought about it for a second. "You''re right. After taking your territory, I will make a lot of allies. I am sure, I can offer them something better than you. In fact, they might even be grateful to have me instead."


    "You cannot do that."


    "I have powerful golems, I can turn Diamond Ranks into undead, and I am far more powerful than you. You think you are better than me?"


    Count Heled gritted his teeth and rushed at Aldred. "I will kill you!"


    "Didn''t I just said that I am stronger than you." Aldred smiled, and suddenly his eyes turned gold.


    A loud boomed reverberated inside Heled''s head. He felt dizzy and his whole body seemed very heavy.


    "What are those eyes¡­"


    "It''s useless to tell you anyway. Now, die."


    Aldred''s eyes lit up and suddenly Heled''s body exploded.


    Looking down, Aldredmanded: "Clean the city and rebuild all the destroyed buildings."

 Chapter 504 504 Taking Over

    When Aldred was about to leave, particles began to gather in the distance and formed into Count Heled.


    Aldred squinted. "Hoo, so you can revive yourself? Impressive."


    Count Heled breathed in and out. It was clear that he expended a huge amount of energy to revive himself. Aldred''s godly eyes informed him that Count Heled lost 15% of his original strength, and he was currently wounded terribly.


    "I want you as undead." Aldred smirked which sent a chill down Heled''s spine.


    Aldred appeared right in front of Heled and beheaded him. Thick dark shadow engulfed him and disappeared.


    He put the Phantom Doomde back into his inventory and rubbed his hand. He looked down and saw the golems and the robots rebuilding and repairing the city.


    "These army are not strong enough."


    Suddenly, space and time warped beside him and Corduul appeared. "That is because you did not allow our aircrafts to attack, master. These robots are only used for certain missions. Our true firepowers are the cannons installed on the aircrafts."


    Aldredughed. "I guess that is true. Let''s go inside the castle."


    The both of them floated down and walked inside the castle. The guards there trembled and took a few steps back.


    "You kill the Count! You kill the Count! I will avenge him with my life!!!"


    A man roared and rushed at him, swinging his de directly at Aldred''s neck.


    With a ng, the de ricocheted as if he just struck against a thick steel. The soldier''s arms trembled in pain and the de fell to the ground.


    "Your Count is dead. And so is your Diamond Ranks. Drop your arms and go. This is my mercy to you."


    Aldred could care less about these guards. They presented no threats to him in any form. Even if they told his existence to other powers, they would know about him sooner orter anyway.


    Snapping his fingers, Count Heled appeared beside him in his undead form. The man knelt on one knee and bowed his head.


    "Count Heled!!!"


    "Is that really Count Heled?"


    "Your Count has now be my eternal subordinates. He will follow whatever mymand is."


    The guards'' morales dropped after that. Count Heled was turned into undead. It was hard to believe, but the fact was right in their eyes.


    The dead of the Count meant that the entire province would be taken over. Usually, this meant war, but Aldred did not represent any kingdom of this continent. He simply came and took over the capital city.


    The guards had overheard the conversation earlier, and they too thought that the kingdom would make Aldred their allies since he was more powerful than Count Heled.


    But they still did not know what would happen.


    The guards eventually dropped their armor and weapons, then walked away. 6 meter talls robots and golems watched their every move. If they dare to do anything stupid, the price would be death.


    In the throne room of the castle, Aldred sat on the throne with Corduul standing beside him.


    "What happen to the rest of the Diamond Ranks?" Aldred asked.


    "They are all eliminated, master."


    Count Heled actually had more than one hundred Diamond Ranks serving him, but before they all could aid him in battle, Corduul already sent his mechanical legion to kill them off.


    "Too bad, I cannot turn them as undead. Well, not that I would like to turn every Diamond Rank into undead anyway. I want only the strong ones."


    "Master, it seems like we have to stop expanding our territory for now."


    "Why?"


    "The satellites detected an eruption of a powerful energy in the center of this kingdom. I am afraid said individual could can destroy us with ease. We advice to y the long-term strategy."


    "Do you think they are Adamantite Ranks?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "We calcted 97% that they might be Adamantite Ranks."


    "You think I cannot defeat them?"


    "Not in your current situation, master."


    Aldred sighed. "Alright, I was thinking of fighting one actually, but maybe I should not be so foolish."


    "Master, someone wants to meet you."


    Aldred nodded and the gate opened, revealing a tinum Rank magicians walking in.


    "What do you want?" Aldred asked.


    "I would like to offer you my service, my lord." The magician knelt.


    "What kind of service would you be able to give me?"


    "Diplomacy. My lord, I am sure you understand that the nobles will not simply stay quiet about this. They will find ways to sabotage you, my lord."


    "I have the power to defend myself."


    "That is true. But it''s better for us to benefit from an alliance rather than take loss from making enemies. Maybe I need to change my wording a little my lord. What I offer is not diplomacy, but the ability to turn enemies into friends."


    "You think you can do that merely with words? Those nobles at the very least are at Diamond Ranks. They will see you lesser than ants."


    "That is why this job is perfect for me, my lord."


    Aldredughed. "Fine. Ruhnan Noku, the son of Heihmir Noku, from now, you are my diplomat."


    Ruhnan widened his eyes when he heard his name being called. From the moment he met Aldred, he had never mentioned his name. But Aldred even know his father''s name.


    What power¡­ what kind of power was that?


    There were some magicians that were able to cast a nasty curse simply with a name. If Aldred had that power, he would be the scariest magician to ever live.


    Not only he had an army of powerful golems, mastery in swordmanship, but he also had the power of a magician?


    This was too unreal!


    But Ruhnan was d he took the opportunity toe here. Bing this man''s subordinate had to be the right thing to do, because he had never seen someone so skillful in almost every realm before.


    And maybe, just maybe, Aldred would grant him power he could only dream to achieve.


    "Ruhnan, your first mission to make allies. I want to trade resources to be even stronger than before.


    Ruhnan smiled. "In that case, I have some ideas, my lord. Why don''t you join Withokere University."


    "University?"


    Ruhnan nodded. "In Withokere University, there are several Adamantite Ranks and numerous High Diamond Ranks professors to teach students there. Only Diamond Ranks are allowed to enter the university, and they have to have the blood or a strong connection to nobility to enter. If not that, then they have to be extremely wealthy."


    "Joining a university¡­ what is the benefit of joining in?"


    "You can ess to vast amount of books, and even have the privilege to listen to lectures from Adamantite Ranks professors. The resources in the university is simply cannot bepared to any noble house at all. It is the best ce to get stronger, so much so that people could even sell their own brother to join."


    "And you can get me ess this university?"


    "I will get it done, my lord. It will take me a few days to teleport to the capital, but I will finish it as soon as possible."


    "Hmmm, no problem. One of the aircrafts will bring you there along with some robots and golems. I want to show them my power."


    "Yes, my lord."

 Chapter 505 505 Diplomacy

    Night time came, and the usually lit and bright city of Chabigtown went into a standstill for the first time. Almost no people walked out in the street, and the atmosphere was gloomy.


    Because Aldred just took the city, and with the golems patrolling the street, no one dare toe out at night even though there were no cases of violence act by the golems.


    Aldred was quite sad that this city be so quiet, but he believed he could change it for the better. After all, this wasn''t his first time taking over a city. Soon, the people here would love him for what he could offer them.


    Count Heled might did a good jog in managing the city, but like every nobles, he did not truly care about the people''s well being. The city look grand and flourish from the outside, but people were actually pressed to make money and work hard because of how expensive thing were.


    Especially the cost of potions, medicines, and general health products.


    From now on, Aldred distributed the product for free. It wasn''t expensive anyway, and health rted services became much cheaper.


    It was way more expensive before because the practitioner needed to pay a huge amount of money for their licenses. Aldred removed the cost of licenses which made the price of their services dropped exponentially. Of course, the money that they earned did not reduce at all.


    As Aldred looked around during the night atop the balcony, he saw no activity of people at all. He did not even oppresses them or threatened them at all.


    And yet they still feared him.


    Aldred detected shadow moving in into the castle. One of the satellite detected it as well, and four metallic robots rushed in, bringing a huge assault rifle and began sting.


    The sound of flesh and skin being torn reverberated. 20 ded robots rushed over from afar at high speed.


    Near the gate, a man and a woman fell on the floor. Their legs were terribly wounded with bones sticking out of the wound while blood made a puddle under their feet.


    "Please, have mercy!"


    "There is no mercy for spies," a robot said with a mechanical voice before they blurred into motion and pounced at them.


    "Slip!" the woman pointed at the floor below the robot, and the robot fell.


    The gunner robots began firing theirrge assault rifles.


    The man gritted his teeth. "Acid Wall!"


    A wall of green liquid suddenly appeared in front of them. It stopped the bullets and melted them.


    Ten ded robots rushed in from the side.


    "Fuck! We surrender!"


    "No prisoners allowed!" The robots did not stop and then shed their head off.


    Aldred appeared right after and looked at the spies. "Read their memory."


    A satellite floated down and silver tentacles came out of its body, piercing into the man''s head.


    Right after that, it did the same thing to the woman''s head.


    The robot processed the information first before uploading it to the database.


    "What is it Corduul?" Aldred asked through telepathy.


    Corduul appeared beside Aldred in a sh. "These two are spies sent by the Earl of Northingia. His territory is neighboring us in the east."


    "Do you think he will be mad at us for killing his spies?" Aldred asked.


    "No. In fact, he might even respect you."


    Aldred scoffed. "He sent the spies right in front of my gate. I think it''s his way of underestimating me."


    "What would you like to do, master?"


    Aldred thought for a second before he asked: "What is the most destructive weapon you got?"


    ¡­


    In the Capital of the Withokere Kingdom, the Tinediga city, within the throne room.


    A man with a dignified aura sat on the throne with a majestic crown atop his head. His posture was tall and sturdy, and his gaze seemed to be filled with courage.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "A man suddenly appears and kill a noble  of our kingdom," a noble said. "And are we not going to do anything about it?"


    "Yeah! We should destroy the invader or else the other nations will consider us weak!"


    Heshad Withokere sat calmly on the throne. Withokhere was a small kingdom, but all the soldiers and nobles of thisnd had the courage and pride of a dragon. One of the reason why it survived despite their small territory was its culture in warfare. They were not only brave and loyal, but they also use intelligent in battle.


    Those two things were usually hard to bnce, because to be brave, sometimes you need to be a fool. But they always manage. They never lose a war, but they also never initiate one.


    People always came and attack them, but the kingdom never once lost a territory. In fact, it even gained a little from the war.


    With this history, the soldiers, the people, and even the nobles had a strong patriotic honor in their heart.


    Heshad was no exception. He felt proud to be the king of this kingdom.


    "Your majesty, ording to our spies, the invader is a golem master with arge army of golems. These golems are weird however. They said that they have never seen golems like these before."


    "How so?"


    "The golems¡­ half of them do not use mana. And there are these castle-sized ships floating in the sky with powerful cannons."


    Heshad coldly spoke: "We are a kingdom, while the enemy is only one person. Eradicating this man should be easy."


    Heshad Withokere was an Adamantite Rank himself, so if he took hands directly, he could finish the job with a snap. But Adamantite Ranks rarely made a move, because they wanted people below them to proof themselves and gave the opportunity to rise up the ranks.


    Not only that, the biggest reason was Adamantite Ranks were high-priced targets for assassination. If they reveal themselves, a team of Adamantite Ranks might capture them for ransom.


    And any kingdom would pay a high price for it.


    Suddenly, a guard entered the throne room and knelt. "Your majesty, an envoy from the Lord of the West hase to see you."


    "Lord of the West?"


    "That''s what the envoy call his superior."


    Ruhnan Noku could not say that Aldred titled himself as the Grand Emperor. If he said that to the guards, the nobles would order him to be killed on the spot and they will send an army towards Aldred.


    So he could only lie and said a random title.


    "Let him in," Heshad said.


    Ruhnan entered the throne room all by himself. He was wearing a minimalist yet luxurious clothes. He looked dignified and confidence, but he was also harmless and could be trusted.


    "What does your master want?" a noble asked directly.


    "Before that, may I share a little story?"


    "We have no time for your rubbish. Speak it out or I will kill you now!"


    Ruhnan smiled. "I am merely a tinum Rank, my lords. You can kill me whenever you want but you will lose a valuable piece."


    Heshad frowned. "Exin."


    "I am sure all of you know Count Heled as a wise and intelligent Count."


    They all nodded in agreement. Heled''s territory was quite rich and the economy was booming.


    "I am not here to refute that fact," Ruhnan continued. "But despite his bright qualities, he also has a shadow within his heart as well. You see, apparently, he love to molest women. There is nothing wrong with that, but what if the woman was your wife?"


    The nobles nodded again. Molesting women was fine, but if their wives were molested then that was a different thingpletely.


    "Count Heled dared to molest Aldred''s wife right in front of his eyes. Enraged, he returned with shame and then bring his golem army to swept Heled''s territory. Only when my master killed Count Heled did he realize his mistake. And so, to pay for that mistake, he is willing to give all of you a satisfying amount of his golems."


    The nobles looked at each other after that statement.


    Ruhnan smiled inside.

 Chapter 506 506 Dragon Army

    "We will consider this generosity. In the meantime, you can stay in the pce and wait for our decision," King Heshad said in a polite way yetmanding tone.


    Ruhnan bowed. "I thank you for your generosity, your majesty."


    The guards escorted Ruhnan out of the throne room.


    "Your majesty, are we really going to ally ourself with this invader?"


    "Test him first. Send a small army. I want to see what he can offer to us."


    "Your majesty, the emissary bring some golems with him and one of therge flying ship."


    "Where are they now?" Heshad asked.


    "They are stopped outside the city. The guards are currently watching them."


    Heshad waved his hand and a projection appeared, revealing the scene outside the city.


    A gigantic ship made out of steel was hovering in the sky. Below it, an army of golems stood still. Their expressionless face made them look like fierce warriors, ready to strike, ready to kill.


    "Let them stay here," King Heshad said. "But I still want to test them. Duke Hushum, send your army to the west."


    "Yes, Your Majesty. I shall do my very best to test him."


    "If he proved to weak and useless, destroy him." King Heshad''s eyes shed with cruelty.


    A strange man came from a strangend and dared to kill his noble. If it wasn''t for the emissary proposing an interesting idea, he would have sent his Royal Army and swept everything.


    Corduul had calcted that Aldred could not fight against an Adamantite Rank yet. Aldred was at the level of low Diamond Rank, but his strength and abilities made him possible to fight against mid Diamond Ranks. But against high Diamond Ranks, he would have to struggle to defeat them.


    Adamantite Rank was an impossible level to defeat for now.


    The next day, Duke Hushum sent a small army towards the west.


    Ruhnan stayed all day in his room. He purposely stayed in his room to avoid suspicion. But even though he stayed inside, he still received information.


    A mosquito-sized drone entered through a small hole on the door andnded in his ear. It injected the stinger right into his veins.


    A mechanical voice came: "Ruhnan, why is the kingdom sending an army towards us?"


    Ruhnan already expected this. "Kingdom of Withokere is a kingdom of warrior. They value honor, strength, and loyalty. They do not know your value and loyalty right now, but they can test your strength."


    "They wanted to test our power? In that case, why don''t we activate the golems and CS-Armageddon-57? And destroy a nearby mountain."


    CS-Armageddon-57 was the name of the 2KM long aircraft.


    "That is not wise. They will know that you spy on them."


    "Don''t they want to test our strength? Information gathering capabilities are part of our strength as well."


    Ruhnan was silent for a few seconds. "Don''t destroy the mountains. Instead, ambush the army. Show them that you already know. That is my advice."


    "So be it."<novelnext></novelnext>


    ...


    High above the clouds, an army of dragon riders flew slow and steady towards the west. Following the dragon riders were a bunch of other flying beast. Soldiers with swords and bows sat on top of them.


    Some of the flying beast were thin and small. They were the speed type.


    The other were the big and strong. They were the ones who brought the supplies. Stack of bags were tied to their backs.


    The soldiers wore a thin, light-weight armor with folded wings on their back.


    Withokere was a powerful kingdom with great military power. The reason how Aldred could easily take a territory in the west was because that territory had the weakest military. In fact, everyone considered the territory to have no military might at all. Though it had good economy, it barely could bepared to the others.


    Ekham Sinu, the leader of this army stood at the head of a ck dragon as it flew above the clouds.


    He was a very respected mid Diamond Rankers and a wise general on the battlefield.


    A silver dragon approached from the side, then it spoke: "Ekham, the lord wants you topletely eradicate every trace of Aldred. The lord did not like the invader at all. Give no mercy!"


    Ekham''s eyes shed with blood thirst, and his lips curled into a grin. "It''s been a while since I have a proper battle. The other nations are too scared to fight us. My arms are getting rusty."


    Inside the castle, a bunch of floating screen showed the scene of the dragon army. Aldred looked at them as he sat on his throne.


    "Quite arge army for a test." Aldred smiled. He could smell their intentions far away. It was clear that the enemy did not want to test him.


    They wanted to eradicate him.


    Corduul stepped in beside Aldred''s throne. "The leader of this army is called Ekham Sinu. He is a mid Diamond Rank magicians who seem to be specialized in close-range battle."


    "Why is that?"


    "Apparently, it''s fairlymon for highly-talented Diamond Ranks to choose close-rangebat skill even though they were magicians. Their variety of spells let them close the distance with teleportation skills or other skills that could increase speed or slow the enemy down. They are more formidable than ordinary magicians and warriors would never be able to defeat them."


    "Interesting. So they are basically like me."


    "That is true, master, though they do not really have a warrior''s physique, rather, they used spells, potions, or treasures to have the durability, speed, and strength of a warrior."


    Aldred was different. He was a warrior and a magician at the same time.


    "So, what is your n for them?" Aldred asked.


    "Our legion is 20 KM away from them. Using active-camouge, our army are hidden from detection."


    "Can your legion kill a mid Diamond Rank?"


    "The possibility is not zero percent," Corduul replied.


    "Hahaha. I like that answer. Well, then what are you waiting for? Destroy them."


    Corduul''s eyes lit up as he transmitted the order.

 Chapter 507 507 Powerful Technology

    The CS-Armageddon-57 came out of its camouge mode. Cannons appeared all over its sides. They made a whirling sound as if they were engines heating up.


    Ekham''s ear trembled and then he looked to the side. Squinting his eyes, he noticed something shocking. "Crap! Activate the barrier!"


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    All of the magicians raised their staff and casted a barrier as the high-caliber bullets stormed at them. Thousands upon thousands of car-sized shells mmed into these barriers endlessly. The magicians that saw the size of these shells were terribly shocked.


    If they did not activate the barrier earlier, they would have been shredded to pieces.


    "The barriers are breaking down!"


    "Use the mana crystals and the treasures!"


    They began to unload the mana crystals and shattered it to fuel the barrier.


    "Activate the buff!"


    "Quick Mana Regeneration!"


    "Spatial Slowness!"


    "Reduced eleration!"


    "..."


    The magicians casted all kinds of spells to reduce the impact created by the shells, and also strengthened the barriers.


    But even though they used everything in their arsenal, the never-ending shells would soon orter destroy them if they do nothing about it.


    Ekham grunted. "Hold the barrier and counter-attack!"


    The dragons opened their mouth and shot a bunch of fireballs towards the aircraft. The aircraft shook, but the armor stood strong.


    Despite the constant fireballs, the CS-Armageddon-57 was unfazed as ever. All of its cannon roared louder than a thousand dragonsbined, and it vicious firepower made the enemy struggled.


    Ekham''s eyes shed with graveness and he slowly spoke: "What kind of contraption is this? I have never seen a warship that could fly and expend so much firepower. Although it couldn''t bepared to a spell of a Diamond Rank magician, but its still scary when there''s no end to the attack."


    An army of warriors would stand no chance against this weird floating warships. Even with powerful armor and shields, the ship would eradicate them all with time. Beside that, the ship was terrifyingly fast as well.


    Ekham had seen it move earlier, and its speed was simply unheard of for its size.


    A normal warship usually had to take some time to reload and properly aim the cannon for each shot, but this one waspletely different.


    Of course, the kingdom had powerful weapons fornd battle as well.


    But he did not bring it with him, because he thought he wouldn''t need it.


    "But, it''s not impossible to destroy. In the end, true strengthe from a magician!" Ekham roared and the space around him bent before being torn apart, creating a hole of darkness. A bunch of mystical paper came out from the hole, and floated around him. THey were glowing.


    Suddenly, all of the paper was engulfed by a dark me and turned into blobs of darkness. The blobs shot out of the barrier and consumed the shells. Every time they consumed a shell, the blobs became bigger and bigger.


    They moved faster and consumed more shells at an rming rate.


    The A.I wasn''t foolish however. Detecting a problem, it quickly generated a possible solution. In seconds, it changed the shells to explosive shells.


    Explosions began to reverberate in the sky right after, filling it mes.


    The dark blobs were reduced in size as they got burned by the fire.


    Ekham clicked his tongue. "Warriors, charge forward!"


    The dragons flew at high speed towards the aircraft.


    The smaller cannon on its belly began to move and aimed at them, firing bullets.


    The dragons agilely dodged left and right, up and down. Some bullets manage to struck the tough scales on its body. The warriors atop protected themselves with shield.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Archers, release the arrows!"


    Imbued with powerful life force, the arrows zipped towards the ship, prated 0,5 cm of its armor and then exploded with green energy.


    Hundreds of arrows flew towards the aircraft.


    Aldred looked at this scene from the throne room. "Corduul, why is the aircraft sit still in the sky? Can''t you just ram them? With its size and speed, it should be able to do that."


    "That would incur significant damage to the ship. Those dragons were quite heavy and durable."


    Aldred thought for a moment. "Indeed, some of them even wear armor. Then, release the missiles."


    "Yes, master."


    More holes opened on the CS-Armageddon-57, and dozens of missiles flew out of them.


    They streaked in the air, leaving a trail of smoke before they rushed towards the enemy.


    "What the hell is that?" Ekham frowned.


    Suddenly, a series ofrge explosion rang in the air. A huge ball of mebusted and devoured hundreds of dragons at once.


    Those at the edge of the fireball got blown away by the shock wave. Even those at around a hundred meters felt the heat from the fireballs.


    The dragons roared in pain.


    Ekham could not believe his eyes. This floating metal had so much power inside it! And this was just one ship, Ekham had heard that the enemy had multiple numbers of them.


    He was not scared however. He was enraged. Exploding with a powerful energy, he leaped from his dragon and flew directly towards the aircraft.


    Gripping his spear, he pierced forward. A powerful light beam came out from the tip, and sted twelve cannons at once.


    The aircraft changed its focus on Ekham, almost all the cannons aimed and fired at him. The missiles were about to hit something else, but they changed trajectory and mmed into him.


    BOOOM!


    A ball me expanded more than 200 meters. Suddenly, Ekham came out of the fireball.


    He was wounded, but it did not stop him from approaching the aircraft.


    "I will destroy you!"


    Ekham was deeply enraged because his army was defeated so easily by a single aircraft. This army was his pride, his symbol of status, and also strength. Who would have thought that almost half of them were already killed.


    The dragons were especially expensive. He had to buy them when they were still an egg, and groom them for decades before they be big and strong.


    It pained his heart for every dragons killed, and he wanted to destroy the aircraft more than anything.


    Just as Ekham was about to pierce the aircraft with his spear, a small cannon appeared at the front and fired a powerful concentrated beam of light.


    Ekham took the beam and stopped in the air. When he looked to the right, he saw his right arm was gone.


    "Powerful, too powerful," Aldredmented. "Technology could even injure a mid Diamond Rank so badly."


    "It''s all because of the materials we mined in this continent," Corduul replied.


    "We should obtain more materials in the future. I want to see how strong technology can be."


    Corduul''s mechanical eyes lit up when he heard that. Even though almost all of his organs were reced with mechanical parts, his obsession with technology was as human as ever.


    So when Aldred looked like he had the same enthusiasm as him about technology, he became excited as well.


    Bing Aldred''s'' subordinate was the correct choice. Not only they were given so many resources to advance and expand, he also wanted to see how far technology can go.


    Corduul transmitted this information to the Mechanicum, and in less than a second, every member of the organization worked slightly differently. They were not only working for the Mechanicum anymore, they were also working for their Emperor.

 Chapter 508 508 City Killer

    Ekham''s right arms grew immediately, but for a Diamond Rank to regrow their limbs, they had to sacrifice their life essences as well. Life essences were basically their life span, potential, and overall power.


    Diamond Ranks rarely lost a limb because their body were extremely durable. Warriors had easier time regrowing their limbs, magicians needed some sacrifice, but it could easily be fixed with some potions and rituals.


    As long as Ekham survived this battle, he would replenish his life essences again, though it would cost a lot of money. Diamond Ranks generally consumed a lot of resources to keep growing stronger. Even though they only became stronger by a tiny percentage, it was all worth it in the long run.


    Most Diamond Ranks needed someone with a lot of resources to rely on. That was why nobles and kings could have so many Diamond Ranks under them. Of course, these people value loyalty as well, and the Diamond Ranks had to proof it.


    The kings and nobles also had many ways to ensure their loyalty.


    Spark shed on the cannon, and another beam of light shot towards Ekham.


    "Spatial Warp!" Ekham pointed and casted a spell that vibrated the space in front of him.


    When the beam struck again, it was bent to the side. But the aircraft began shooting shells and missiles at him.


    Ekham warped the space around him a bunch of times, but under the endless hail of shells and missiles, the spell could onlyst a minute before he had to cast them again.


    "If this continues, my mana will be depleted soon!"


    Even though Diamond Ranks had a vast amount of mana, they still had their limits. Not everyone was like Aldred who had unlimited amount of mana.


    The CS-Armageddon-57 was one of the Mechanicum''s most powerful weapons specifically designed to destroy bunkers and level an entire city. It brought enough batteries and shells topletely change andscape within a single day.


    Ekham was a powerful mid Diamond Rank, but even he had to struggle against such machine.


    "Sir, we have to retreat. We cannot defeat them," One of his subordinates shouted as he created a barrier to protect himself against the hail of shells.


    "The lord ordered us to destroy the enemy. How can we return without finishing the task?" Ekham replied.


    "Sir, the enemy is stronger than anticipated. We can retreat and ask for more support."


    Ekham frowned. He was enraged and became emotional because half of his army were killed, but thinking rationally, it did not make sense for him to fight a losing battle.


    "Wait, the golem master is usually weaker than his own golem. Find his location!"


    The Diamond Ranks magicians began to gather around him and some of them casted a barrier to protect themselves while the others created a circle and sat down in a cross legged position.


    "Began the ritual!" Ekham pushed both of his palms out and blue energy came out of them, moving around in the center of the circle.


    The other magicians did the same thing, and the energy formed in the center, creating a crystal clear mirror. The mirror then revealed the location of Aldred sitting in his throne room.


    "So that''s where you are." Ekham smiled.


    Aldred saw himself being seen through the floating screen and raised an eyebrow. "If you think you can defeat me,e here."


    "I will." Ekham vanished along with his magicians and appeared right inside the throne room. But suddenly, the space around him warped and he was teleported 20 KM outside the castle.


    "Spatial defense¡­ this man is not ordinary at all."


    Spatial defense was the term created for magic that prevent teleportation for a certain area. It usually prevent or dy the teleportation spell. It was a very hard spell to learn and master. Most people used special treasure to achieve this effect, and they cost a lot.


    Golem masters were known to be wealthy, so it wasn''t surprising if he could buy the item. Not all golem masters own this type of item however, because it was very rare.


    "You cannot hide in your castle forever, Aldred!" Ekham shouted from outside.


    Suddenly, ten CS-Armageddon-57 flew out of the mountain nearby and floated above the castle.


    "Oh, I think I can," Aldred''s voice came.


    "Shit! Spatial Warp!" When Ekham saw the cannons on the aircraft lit up, an ominous feeling welled up inside him. He instantly casted a defensive spell, and activated some of his defensive treasure.<novelnext></novelnext>


    His magicians did the same thing and theybined their power to create a thick barrier.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The ear piercing noise of car-sized shells mming onto the barrier was mind-numbing.


    Each shell was as powerful as an attack from a low Diamond Rank. And thousands of shells were constantly flying towards them every second.


    The barrier copsed on after another, but they continued to cast more and more barrier to rece them.


    However, the defensive spells copsed secondster. The magicians were torn to shreds by the fearsome shells.


    Ekham activated his teleportation spell. His body shed, but he stayed still in his original spot.


    "Fuck! Spatial cancetion! How did he do this?"


    Before he got an answer, thousands of shells crashed onto him. Half of his body was sted to pieces, but he managed to fly into the sky all the while casting barriers that that kept getting destroyed.


    "Use everything in our arsenal to kill him."


    Ten CS-Armageddon-57 revealed their beam cannon and began firing an extremely powerful beam directly at him.


    Ekham turned around and his whole vision was filled with white light as he waspletely devoured by the beam.


    When Aldred saw Ekham being engulfed by the light, Aldred mused: "Even mid Diamond Ranks were killed. And CS-Armageddon-57 isn''t even the Mechanicum''s strongest weapon."


    There were a lot of defensive mechanism all over city. He also built these defenses in other cities of his territory. So if anyone wanted to attack him, they should be ready to take a big loss.


    "Corduul,"


    "Yes, master?"


    "What is the biggest mountain in this kingdom?"


    "From the information within my database, the biggest mountain in the Kingdom of Withokere is located in the center. It is called nd Mountain. It stands 19,848.89 m tall."


    "Destroy it. Destroy it and make sure everyone in this kingdom can see that it is being destroyed."


    "Yes, master."


    The underground base under the city whirled and churned with mechanical arms and robots moving around assembling arge rocket.


    It took them a few hours to assemble, but when it was done, it was fitted in a slot and entered a silo.


    "Coordinates received. Checking status¡­ checkplete."


    "Rockets ready. Deliver?"


    Corduul looked at Aldred awaiting for affirmation.


    "Launch it."


    The silo sted open and the rocket was pushed upward before it fired upward high above in the atmosphere.


    The rocket sped up so fast it trembled despite the reduced air friction.


    The rocket was called CK-47, also known as City Killer. Its speed was around 25 KM per second and it bring the payload equivalent to 150 million tons of TNT.


    One could already imagine the destruction of such a weapon.

 Chapter 509 509 Visiting Aldred

    The CK-47 lit up in the sky. From below, it looked like a moving star in the night sky. In two seconds, it arrived atop nd Mountain.


    It was said to be the biggest mountain in the whole kingdom. One was said to be able to see the mountain from every corner of the kingdom. Standing 19 km tall, the mountain seemed to indestructible.


    They were about to be proven wrong.


    BOOM!!!!


    A massive ball of fire appeared so suddenly and blinded everyone below tinum Ranks because of the intense light. The fire ball grew to humongous size,pletely engulfing the mountain in its whole.


    Right after that, the shock wave followed, making a shattering sound as trees, hills, smaller mountains, rivers, and evenkes werepletely blown away, ttened, and erased out of existence.


    All the animals that did not have time to get away were thrown into the sky. Smaller viges, surrounding the mountain werepletely wiped out.


    It was so powerful that tinum Ranks in the radius of 400 KM felt their skin burning, while Gold Ranks had third degree burn. They wriggled on the ground like worms on a hot pan.


    Every city in the kingdom summoned their barrier to reduce the impact of the heat.


    When it was all over, the people looked towards nd Mountain and noticed it was no longer there. The biggest and tallest mountain in the kingdom no longer exist. Gone. Erased from existence.


    The nobles that gathered in the throne room could not believe what they just saw.


    Even Heshad squinted his eyes after looking at the destruction of the mountain.


    "That attack was as powerful as pseudo-Adamantite Rank!" a noble shouted in shock.


    "Is it possible the golem master has the backing of an Adamantite Rank?"


    "What do we do? Should we tell our Adamantite Ranks to fight?"


    "No," Heshad said in amanding tone. "We tested Aldred for his power, and he has passed. The next thing to do is make him our allies. Since he passed beyond our expectation, he deserved a little bit of special treatment from us."


    Heshad look at the where the mountain once stood through a magical projection and had a weird feeling inside.


    "Tell the envoy toe here," Heshad said.


    A few minutester, Ruhnan Noku, the diplomat picked by Aldred, walked into the throne room.


    "It''s been a few days, your majesty." Ruhnan knelt and bowed. "I am thankful for all the pleasantries the maids have presented to me."


    Heshad grunted. Ruhnan had actually never came out of his room the whole time he was within the pce. He didn''t consume any food or drinks given to him, and even though beautiful maids offered to give him massage and ''special service'', he never opened his door.


    "Ruhnan," Heshad spoke. "Tell your master that I offer him a Count title. He will have Waralia County as his territory. Also, he has toe here for the ceremony."


    "Thank you, your majesty. But my master would like to propose something of interest to you."


    "Speak."


    "He wanted to stay in this city to join the University of Withokere."


    "And how will is that of interest to me?"


    Ruhnan smiled. "In return, my master will help you win your war against the Dominion of Ber."


    The Dominion of Ber was a small neighbor kingdom located to the north. It was smaller than Withokere so Heshad had confidence in conquering it. But a war consumed tremendous amount of resources. If Aldred could help him with his golem army, it would save him a ton of money.


    "Done. But if he is here, who will take care of his territory?"


    "Actually, it will be his son that ising here to study, your majesty."


    "His son... alright."


    "Your majesty, I have an objection," A noble steppe forward. "This man just killed a noble, and not only is he given a territory, even his son can have the privilege to join Withokere University? I don''t think this is fair."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It is not fair. Since when do I run my kingdom with fairness?" Heshad said with a harsh tone which made the noble stepped back.


    "But, Aldred has to help us in the war. All of you will receive a territory while Aldred will receive none."


    Basically, Aldred had to fight their war while receiving no conquered territory at all should they win the war.


    The nobles began to nod after that statement. All of them knew the cost of war would be huge.


    "I shall convey this message to my master." Ruhnan bowed.


    Heshad nodded. "Hmm, Duke Hushum will go with you tomorrow with the contract."


    "Yes, your majesty," both of them said.


    Duke Hushum looked at the envoy and smiled. He was curious to know who this Aldred was. He even managed to massacre an entire squadron of his dragon army.


    Chawbigton City, within the throne room.


    Aldred scoffed. "They wanted me to fight their war for free?"


    "But in return, you can enter the Withokere University, my lord. ording to the information we gathered, it is close to impossible for just anyone to enter it. One had to be at least had a direct blood rtion to an Earl and above, or are extremely talented in the art of magic. It is also very expensive. Even the food there could bankrupt apany."


    "That''s just their way to filter out the poor and the weak. I am both rich and strong," Aldred said.


    "But why do you said that it was your son that will join the university?"


    "They have Adamantite Rank. What if they threatened me to get my secrets? I am not risking it. I am sending my clones over there in my young form.


    Aldred waved his hand and mist of blood came out of his pores before forming into a young Aldred.


    "Aw, so cute!!!" his wives'' voice entered his head. They were still in the divine dimension.


    In this continent, even Aldred had to tread a little lightly because nobody knew when an Adamantite Rank would decide to move against him. Especially now that he was a famous person.


    "Aldred, don''t you think your alibi is iplete?" Ste asked with telepathy.


    "What do you mean?"


    "You have a son, so of course you will have a daughter as well. I can change to my children form, we can be brother and sister at school!"


    "Absolutely not. The university is the most dangerous ce in this continent. Even I isn''t brave enough to go there with my real form."


    "Too bad," Ste said.


    Aldred sighed. "Now, prepare the mechanical legion. We are weing a Duke. Make sure he sees how grand we are."


    The next day. A CS-Armageddon-57 hovered in front of the castle.


    The center opened, and shone a blue light that teleported two people.


    One was Ruhnan the envoy, and the other was the Duke of Wihnd.


    In front of the gate, thousands of mechanical robots and golem stood at 6 meter tall. They stood like a statue yet their appearance of a warrior exuded great might.


    The duke smiled and nodded a bunch of times as he entered the gate. That was when he was greeted by all kinds of armored vehicles, gigantic robots standing more than 30 meters tall, and all kinds of hovering aircraft seemingly made out of special steel.


    Of course the Duke knew that they were showing their forces.


    "I like this guy already," Duke Hushum said.

 Chapter 510 510 Aldreds Son

    Duke Hushum entered the throne room with Ruhnan Noku.


    Aldred sat on his throne with Corduul standing beside him. Duke Hushum frowned when he saw the weirdly tall metallic person slightly covered in red robe. The man was around 2-3 meter tall, looking thin and fragile despite being made out of metal.


    But that was not weird. There were a lot of weird magicians with weird forms. Most of them in the shape of demons, animals, demonic beast, and even undead. Though Duke Hushum had never seen one like the metallic man before, he wasn''t weirded out by his appearance.


    Rather, it was the way that the metallic man did not exude any energy at all. Just like the metallic golems that he saw earlier. None of them had a tinge of mana, and yet, they had devastating firepower.


    Duke Hushum wanted to think that the metallic person next to Aldred was a golem as well, but the Duke was a Diamond Rank. He could see that the metallic person had a small life forceing out of him. Which mean, he was a human. A living, breathing, human being.


    Duke Hushum had heard that Aldred could turn Diamond Ranks into his undead, could he possibly turn a human into a golem as well? But what was the point?


    Duke Hushum''s thought process was interrupted when Aldred spoke.


    "Nice meeting you, Duke of Wihnd."


    Duke Hushum smiled. "I like your toys, Aldred. I want you to give me some of it. Especially, the one beside you. I want him."


    "The one next to me is not for sale. But I will give you some of my golems for free as a gift for your son''s birthday."


    Duke Hushum''s smile slowly disappeared and his face darkened.


    Even Ruhnan Noku was shocked as well. Why did Aldred say that? Everyone knew that Duke Hushum got cursed to never had a descendant.


    Hushum''s face returned to his bright smile. "I believe you are mistaken. I don''t have a son."


    "Hmmm, really? I believe his name was Fuhned. Then again, maybe I was wrong."


    Duke Hushum trembled, fist clenching. "How-- again. I think you are mistaken."


    "I see," Aldred said with a grin.


    Duke Hushum was enraged at Aldred''s behavior. He actually wanted to threaten Aldred a bit and obtain some golems for himself. But instead, Aldred was the one who threaten him.


    Nobody knew he had a son. His existence waspletely unknown. Even his own wife thought the child was dead. Aldred might be lucky to guess that he has a son, but how could he know the name?


    How did he do that? Divination magic should not have worked.


    Aldred was alreadyughing inside. This Duke Hushum was the one who had sent the army towards him. Aldred knew it was a test, but still, he did not believe that the Duke would not destroy him if he got the chance.


    Aldred had activated his godly eyes the moment the Duke entered the throne room. From there, he had received so many informations about him that maybe Aldred even know more about the Duke more than his own wife.


    Duke Hushum unclenched his fist and calmed down. It seemed like he had underestimated his opponent too much. Not only he had superior army, but his ability to gather information was exceptional as well.


    Even though he hated Aldred''s guts, he had to praise him for that.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Duke Hushum," Aldred called. "I also have a son of my own. His name is Tom Nichs. I heard you are quite influential in the Withokere University. I hope you can take care of my child. Of course, I do not expect to receive this favor for free. What about this, I will give you the aircraft that brought you here."


    Duke Hushum raised an eyebrow of interest. "Therge metallic flying thing, you are willing to give away that?"


    "Sure, why not. Anything for my son."


    Aldred''s wives giggled within the divine dimension when they heard that.


    "Alright, I will take care of him. Where is he?"


    "Tom,e here."


    Suddenly, a bright fire shed into existence and Aldred, in his child form, appeared. He bowed to Aldred. "Why do you call me, father?"


    "Tom, this is Duke Hushum. He will protect you while you are in the university."


    Duke Hushum silently activated a spell to gather information about the boy. To his shock, he actually learned that the boy was also a low Diamond Rank just like his father.


    At such a young age and already a Diamond Rank. Aldred must be very fond of his child. The boy must have been fed with thousands of rare treasures to achieve this result.


    And not only that, the energy from the boy and Aldred felt the same. As if they were an identical person.


    No wonder Aldred loved his son so much. They were so simr, not just in appearance.


    But seemingly in body and spirit as well.


    Tom turned around and bowed towards the Duke. "I thank you, uncle."


    Aldred flicked on Tom''s head. "That is the Duke of Wihnd for you."


    Duke Hushumughed. "No, no. Uncle is fine. So, tell me what kind of magic have you learned?"


    "I can manipte fire." Tom moved his hand around and small fire dragonspletely with scales, hair, and teeth flew around him. They looked so animated and alive.


    "Not bad." Inplete honesty, Duke Hushum was impressed by what the boy just done. The fire dragons looked so real as if they were real dragons.


    Most magicians could only create something stiff and fake. But the boy made it look like he added souls into these fire dragons.


    "Is there anything else?"


    "I can control wind as well, though not as good." Small tornado formed in his palm, then suddenly, it turned into the shape of a fairy with a pair of wing. It moved on Tom''s head, blowing his hair yfully.


    "That''s quite impressive."

 Chapter 511 511 Straight To School

    Duke Hushum was really impressed by the boy''s skill which further motivated him to do his other task¡ªspying on Aldred. He had only been here for less than an hour, and he already saw a lot of things. In fact, Aldred did not seem like he hid anything. He even showed his own son which was an achilles'' heel for most nobles.


    It was hard for Diamond Rank to produce a child. Though that also meant they could sleep around, the negative side was that every child was very valuable. The children produced by Diamond Ranks were also much more talented and capable than normal, all the more reason to value them highly.


    What did this mean? Why did Aldred reveal his son so easily?


    Duke Hushum''s eyebrows slightly shook as he came to conclusion. Aldred''s action was a show of trust and loyalty. Not only did he revealed his child, but he''s also sending him to the capital, directly under the king''s gaze.


    That meant Aldred was nning to put his weakness in the king''s hand which signified that Aldred would never betray the kingdom.


    This¡­ What a powerful move!


    Someone like this must not be turned into enemies, rather, a friend.


    Duke Hushum smiled. "Sir Aldred, I will dly take care of your son. But can I ask for a favor?" His tone changed from arrogance to politeness. He even called Aldred respectfully this time.


    Aldred noticed the change of behavior. "What favor?"


    "I would like to make a special agreement between our territories. The trades between us will not be taxed."


    Aldred''s eyes lit up. That was the greatest thing the Duke could have offered. Aldred had nned to bring hispany here to sell his products. Tax free means that he could maximize his profits even more!


    Most foreign territories would tax him at about 50% or more because of his high ie. Of course, Tarrar always found ways to reduce that number, but the amount was still huge.


    So the Duke''s proposal would work really well in his favor, because he believed his products would sell like hotcakes here.


    "I would love to shake hands with you on that matter," Aldred said before standing up and approaching the Duke.


    The Duke smiled and shook hands with him. He wondered if he could kill Aldred right here and now. A golem master was usually protected by a golem far stronger than his own strength. That was why Golem Masters rarely came out and usually sent their golems to do their biddings.


    They were also known to be very wealthy, because creating and maintaining a golem cost a tremendous amount of resources.


    "I would like to give you some golems as well. Would you like to see what they can do?"


    "Sure."


    Two mechanical robots pulled their de out and rushed towards each other before fighting without holding anything back.


    CLANG! CLANG CLANG! CLANG!


    Ear-ringing sound of steel shing against steel echoed within the throne room. The two mechanical robots fought as if they were warriors trying to kill each other. Their movements were graceful and deadly, dodging agilely left and right while also counter-attacking at difficulty angles. They were like dancing, looking dazzling to the eye.


    Those that never fought in close-range would have thought the two robots were dancing, but each move was a set up for another even though each move was designed to kill the target.


    "That is very impressive!" Duke Hushum nodded in admiration. The strength of the golem was at least a high tinum Rank. Just a step away from low Diamond Rank strength. Though the step was quite big.


    Even though they were only tinum Ranks, with enough numbers even a Diamond Rank magician would be overwhelmed.


    After the robots fought for 20 seconds, the two robots stopped and returned to their post.


    "I can give you 10,000 of these Fighter-ss IT-5 robots."


    "Ten¡­ ten thousand? Are you serious?" Duke Hushum was shocked. Just how many golems did Aldred have? For him to be able to give him ten thousand, he must have had way more than that.


    "I am serious. And let me show you our newest golem."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Two 10 meter tall robots with four arms walked into the throne room. Then they started fighting immediately.


    CLANG!!! CLANG!!! CLANG!!!


    Unlike the two robots earlier, the two new robots that came fought with much greater intensity. Winds were blown in every direction each time they moved, and every time they shed, an ear-shattering sound reverberated and broke the ss nearby. The chandelier, hanging on top of the throne room cracked before shatteringpletely.


    "Amazing! These two have the strength of a low Diamond Rank!"


    After 5 seconds, the robots stopped fighting.


    "These two are called Fighter-ss IT-6. It''s not as powerful as a true low Diamond Rank warrior, but it should be enough to protect someone."


    "This is your newest golem?"


    "Yep."


    Duke Hushum did not believe it. Aldred must have a secret golem that was far powerful than he was. But he did not want to force things out.


    "I will give the two of them to you as well," Aldred said. "Also, whenever you want to purchase a golem, you cane to me, I will give you special prices."


    Duke Hushum smiled. "I don''t think I can buy more from you. Maintaining a lot of golems is very expensive."


    "My golems do not need to be maintained."


    "What do you mean? Won''t the mana crystals in their body need to be reced?"


    "My golems are different. They do not need to be reced at all. But yes, the mechanical ones do need some annual maintenance. We can do that free for you."


    "The mechanical ones are made from steel right? And the golems that seem to be made out of special stones are made with magic?"


    Duke Hushum noticed two different type of golems when he came here. Some golems exuded mana, while the ones that were made out of steel do not exude any mana at all. They only produce heat and steam from time to time.


    "Yes, the mechanical ones are called robots."


    "The robots need maintenance, while the golems do not."


    "I see¡­ I never heard of this type of golems before."


    "For now, the robots are stronger than the golems. But like I said, they need maintenance and more time to create."


    Aldred''s golems could be stronger as well. Unlike the robots who need software upgrade, and special machinery to be improved, the golems only need to absorb powerful materials.


    As long as Aldred increased his strength, the golem would be stronger as well. And they would be even stronger if Aldred increased his Golem Creation skill.


    Though, he had decided to upgrade hisbat abilities instead. That was fine though, Corduul would create an army of mechanical robots for him, so it wasn''t a big loss.


    "I ask you again, Duke Hushum. Take care of my son."


    "I will. He is a talented boy. He will go far in the future, maybe even surpassing his father."


    "All sons must surpass their child." Aldredughed.


    "Right." Duke Hushumughed as well. "Now,e with me, Tom. We will go straight to school."

 Chapter 512 512 Titans Palm

    "Also, is there a way to be an Adamantite Rank even faster?" Aldred asked.


    "Not that I know of. It took hundreds of years even for the most talented magician to be an Adamantite Rank. And I didn''t even take the rare treasures, potions, pills, and fortunate encounters into ount. One thing for sure is that, the path take time and extremely hard work. And nobody knew if one could enter Adamantite Rank in the first ce."


    If one wanted to be an Adamantite Rank, one had to go extreme routine every single day. Magicians and warriors usually go out and explore the world, killing as many beast, gathering as many resources and experiences to increase their odds to be an Adamantite Rank.


    One of the most popr belief to be an Adamantite Rank was that, one had to constantly fight through obstacles such as fighting monster stronger than oneself. And this had to be done frequently.


    No one couldze around if they want to be an Adamantite Rank.


    "Even I don''t know if your son has the chance," Duke Hushum said.


    "I am sure he can. But I need your help. If you have anything that can help my son, please tell me. I will do everything in my power to pay you with the appropriate price."


    "Hmmm, I actually do have a potion form that can increase the odds, but it''s too minuscule even if you drink it every day. Though it will be beneficial for any Diamond Ranks. But you have to pay a hefty price for this form."


    "Of course, do you want more golems?"


    "It''s fine. You can pay me with 10,000 Epic Mana Crystals."


    Aldredughed. "Alright." If he was in Coureroy Continent, he would be shocked to hear that price. Each Epic Mana Crystal was a valuable piece of treasure for anyone in that continent. But here, it was simple currency for the nobles.


    Although 10,000 Epic Mana Crystals was still noughing matter to them.


    Aldred had earned a lot of these crystals when he mined the cities. The robots and golems had collected thousands every single day. Their effectiveness were simply unmatched in doing simple and repeatable work. They were basically machines with unlimited energy. The robots constantly absorbed power from the sun with their advanced sr-energy system. His golems were fueled all the time with his unlimited mana.


    If Aldred wanted to, he could dig the entire continent if nobody stopped him.


    Duke Hushum snapped his finger and an orb of light appeared in front of him. The orb of light slowly floated towards Aldred andnded on his palm.


    Aldred crushed the orb of light, and the information about the form rushed inside his mind. After analyzing the information, he sent the information to Corduul through telepathy. Corduul then saved it into the database of the Mechanicum.


    Duke Hushum smiled lightly. "Aldred, I will take care of your son. You have my word for it."


    Aldred was a powerful Golem Master with hundreds of thousands powerful golems under him. He even had those things called robots and golems that could never run out of mana.


    Duke Hushum had never heard of such things before. The reasons why Golem Master were wealthy was because they needed a lot of money to run the golems.


    Aldred might not need much money to run the golems, but that would exactly be the reason he would be wealthier than most Golem Masters. Golem Master earned a lot of money by sending their golems to dangerous ces to obtain treasures. Sometimes they even rent out their golems to wealthy merchants either for protection and all kinds of jobs.


    Golems were fearless. They would do as told without hesitation. A human guard might betray you or run away when the situation is not fit, but golems would dly sacrifice themselves to protect the master.


    That was the reason why Golem Master could be so wealthy. Their services were so valuable and expensive as well. That was why they rarely be a noble or a lord of the territory. They simply did not need to do that since they could rent out their golems as mercenaries or adventurers.


    Most golems masters valued their life so much that they never went out of hiding. Wealthy merchants and nobles didn''t even know who they rent the golems from.


    So Aldred''s existence was a little different that the norm.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "By the way, have you learned any martial art?" Duke Hushum asked Tom.


    "I learned some art about swordsmanship."


    Nodding, Duke Hushum snapped his finger again and a thick purple book with no title appeared. "This is Titan''s Palm. It''s a powerful martial art that should be useful to you. A powerful magician must be well-versed in every realm. You cannot be good at one andcking in another. If your enemy found out, they will use that to their advantage."


    The book floated to Tom''s palm.


    Quickly, a notification appeared that asked whether he wanted to learn the skill or not. Tom clicked yes, and the book shone its light as he absorbed the information.


    "Eh¡­" Duke Hushum was shocked to see this scene.


    Opening his eyes, Tom nced at one of the Fighter-ss IT-6, the low Diamond Rank robot. The robot suddenly rushed at him, raising its de and shed.


    With a loud bang, Aldred blocked the 3 meter tall de with his palm and then sent his other palm towards the de.


    The de snapped in half while the 10 meter tall robots were pushed back by 6 steps.


    "Incredible¡­ did you just learn the skill?"


    "I did, uncle. It''s fairly simple."


    Simple¡­ The Titan''s Palm was an Epic Grade skill! Even a genius would take a year or two to learn it. And for most people, it would take decades just to learn its basic.


    Tom looked like he had mastered the basic after a single nce of the book.


    Duke Hushum looked at the robot and noticed cracks in its body. The Titan''s Palm was designed to break the body of its enemy. If they did not expect iting, they would be shocked to see their body felt so much pain and bing weaker.


    Aldred was d that he could obtain this skill. Though he had skills in close-range battle, it wasn''t as good as the Titan''s palm.


    "I think the teachers will like you," Duke Hushum said.


    "That would be good."


    Aldred wanted to make great rtionship with the teachers as well. Maybe he could visit them one by one and help them with the imperfection of their techniques. With his godly eyes, it could even detect the imperfection of a god.


    Aldred was still d that he picked this when his father offered him a bunch of things before he began his adventure.


    "Well, it seems like our business is done here," Duke Hushum said.


    Tom nodded before he ran to Aldred and hugged him. "Good bye, father. Take care."


    Aldred rubbed Tom''s head like he was his real son and smile. "Don''t work too hard."


    Duke Hushum watched this scene and got reminded of his own son. ''Maybe I should introduce Tom to him.''

 Chapter 513 513 Setting Up

    Aldred had learned a lot of knowledge about this continent. Corduul Thassentoth had operated a subtle mission to obtain memories from many sources. In fact, they even killed some knowledgeable individuals just to get their memories.


    Though Aldred told them to control the frequency of killing because it would be suspicious. And they also avoid killing people that was too important and could cause major panic among the elite-ss.


    The elite-ss had a lot of valuable information about the society, magic, culture, and history of this continent.


    Magicians in this were like devoted scientist. They worked tirelessly toprehend thews and rules of this world, and use this knowledge to change reality itself. What they did was mind-blowing to normal people.


    Back on earth, normal people could not understand the maths, physics, etc. Numbers, diagrams, and charts were like aliennguage for a lot of people.


    But there were always those who understood thenguage of the world and could even use it to see things that could not be seen. Things such as oxygen, atoms, particles, dark matter, etc could never be seen with human eyes.


    Mana were the same. It was a mysterious energy that let magicians bent reality to their own will as long as they understood itsnguage. The more theyprehend, the more they can do with it.


    There were many ways to bent reality as well. Not just mana, but all kinds of energy exist, and all of them could bent reality in their own unique ways.


    Every techniques and spells however were guarded secrets. Knowledge were valuable in this continent. Highly so. They cost tremendous amount of money. That was why magicians were highly regarded. They were more rare and needed a lot of money to grow.


    Being a warrior was simple. Just keep fighting other warriors and beast, and you could grow. Magicians needed to train their mind and body. They needed to study theory and then apply it numerous times before they could master a spell.


    Aldred was apletely different monster though. He couldprehend a technique in a single nce.


    That was why Duke Hushum was so shocked by Tom''sprehension. His talent was simply unheard of.


    The Titan''s Palm technique was an Epic-Grade close-range technique that could convert mana into life force. Life force were generally better for close-range technique which was the reason why warriors were much better at close-range fight.


    Magicians stood almost no chance in close-range battle, but most magicians now had teleportation, spatial maniption, and even control time to a certain extent to either slow down the warrior or trap them.


    This was why it needed more than two warrior to defeat a magician. They simply had too much spells under their sleeve while warriors could only punch and swing.


    Some warriors mastered ranged attacks, but they were not that effective because most magicians had defensive spells and treasures.


    Only when a warrior became a Diamond Rank could they match a magician in a fight, though, it was extremely hard for a warrior to became Diamond Rank.


    There were twenty times more warrior than magician, but there were more Diamond Rank magicians than Diamond Rank warrior.


    Diamond Rank warrior could fly like magician with their life force alone, and their speed matched the teleportation of a magician. Their prowess could shatter any defensive spell very easily as well.


    They were a force to be reckoned with and were feared by every magician. But they were extremely rare.


    Not only that, they were often hunted down by magicians when they appeared. Their existence were simply too dangerous for magicians.


    Aldred wanted to learn more about this continent. He even considered killing some of the nobles including Duke Hushum to obtain their memories, but it was simply too dangerous.


    He talked with the Duke some more, he decided to stay here for three days. Aldred brought him to tour his castle and his grand army of golems.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The more he looked around, the more satisfied the Duke be. He already saw bright future ahead of Aldred, so the Duke decided to be more friendly as an investment.


    Aldred also became more friendly so he could get more benefits out of the Duke''srge territory and wide range of connection.


    Both sides knew what they wanted from each other, so it was a perfectly healthy rtionship of friends with benefit.


    Three dayster, the Duke left with Tom with his new CS-Armageddon-57.


    Duke Hushum could not believe he was gifted this magnificent piece of object. He could show off his closeness with Aldred and also his power to others with this.


    Inside the throne room, Aldred sat on the throne with Corduul loyally standing in silence beside him.


    Corduul''s eyes shed and emitted rays of light that formed a map of the kingdom. A green line appeared, and circled some part of the kingdom. It was his territory and sphere of influence.


    "Now that we have no enemies to worry about. We can begin to bring ourpanies here."


    "Aldred''s Golem Mercenary, Aldred''s Golem Miner, Aldred''s Tasty Food, Aldred''s Auction, and Aldred''s Magic Orb. Are we going to bring them all here?" Corduul asked.


    "Yep. We can earn a lot of money in this kingdom. And maybe we can expand to other kingdom as well."


    "This kingdom is a neighbor to one of the biggest kingdom of this continent: The Divine Empire of Stotford. Currently, we don''t know much about them, but from the data we collected, they are extremely powerful with a vast sphere of influence."


    "Divine Empire of Stotford... what a grand-sounding name. Maybe we can begin to build stores in some rural areas first before slowly inching towards towns and then cities."


    "Also, make deals with nearby nobles. We may be friends with Duke of Wihnd, but his territory is quite far from ours."


    "We will work on that," Corduul replied.


    Aldred nodded with satisfaction. He was d he got the Mechanicum under his wing. Every time he thought about, he could not help but be very happy to have Corduul by his side. The man, robot, human with robot skins and organs was an effective and efficient employee.


    He did notze around, he did not need to eat, he did the work as told with precision unmatched. He also did not have to do the work himself because he had hundreds of thousands of robots and vessel that he could channel his voice through and control.


    Basically, he had a lot ofbat-capable drones, and he could even control its body like he possessed it.


    It was like having thousands of clones.


    "I will be going to my Divine Dimension. You can manage things here. If you need my presence, just go to this throne room and call for me."


    With everything setup, Aldred could spend some time with his wives within the Divine Dimension. After that, he might explore this continent on his own a bit while his clone study in Withokere University.


    Hopefully, he did not have to stay in school for long. Aldred hated school so much! But maybe a magical school might be different. After all, he had be a teacher before, so it wouldn''t hurt to be a student this time.

 Chapter 514 514 Setting Off

    As Tom was about to get inside the CS-Armageddon-57 with Duke Hushum, he suddenly stopped.


    The Duke turned around and asked: "What''s wrong, Tom? Come in."


    "Sorry, uncle. But you can go first. I am going to catch up with you onnd."


    "Why? Wouldn''t it be faster if we use this aircraft thing?"


    "I just arrived in this continent, uncle. I want to take the longer route to learn some things about this ce."


    "Hmmm, the road ahead is filled with bandits and criminals. I promised your father that I will protect you."


    "Do not worry, uncle. My father''s mechanical legion will apany me along with some golems."


    "Are you sure about this?"


    "I am sure, uncle."


    Duke Hushum thought for a second before he nodded. "You are quite powerful and talented, and the golems will apany you as well. I think it will be fine."


    "Can I ask why are you so worried, uncle? Is there really Diamond Rank bandits out there?"


    Duke Hushumughed. "Of course, there are thousands of rogue Diamond Ranks out there."


    "Why? Wouldn''t it be better to work for a noble or someone wealthy?"


    "Some people are just drawn to evil, child. They cannot take orders, and even take offense at the thought of someone can order them around. These people loved chaos and violence. They misunderstood the true purpose of having power. It is not to rule over others. That''s just the side effect. The true purpose is to find truth and eternity."


    "Find truth and eternity¡­"


    "Yes, and to find this truth, you have to look for it by yourselves. Maybe taking the longer route to Withokere University will be beneficial for you."


    Tom nodded. "I believe so."


    "In that case, good luck to you. And be safe out there."


    "I will, uncle."


    Duke Hushum nodded and entered his CS-Armageddon-57. Since he had traveled to this city with it before, he understood a little of how it work. The aircraft work with voicemand, so he did not have to press anything at all.


    A few minutester, the aircraft hovered in the air and then set off into the sky.


    Tom turned around and sawrge vehicles with thick armor rolling up near him. They had six wheelspletely protected with armor. Four mounted machine guns on top, fully automated and battle-capable. The truck also had no drivers, and inside them were only robots and ammunitions.


    These vehicles will apany him as protection. There wouldn''t be any CS-Armageddon-57 protecting him. Tom was a clone anyway, so even if he died, Aldred could summon another.


    But the clone was also Aldred, so whatever Tom felt, saw, and experienced, would also be experienced by Aldred. So if Tom died, Aldred would experience death although not literally.


    So with that in mind, Tom also brought 2,000 beautiful servants who would cook, clean, bath, massage, and apany him on the road.


    There were over 500 heavily-armored trucks with all types of weaponry. Some brought heavy-machine gun, rocketunchers, me throwers, grenadeunchers,ser weapons, sh bangunchers, and there were some trucks designed to be as thick, heavy, andrge as possible. They were slower than the other trucks, but they would be the shields for the convoy.


    With this convoy, Tomfortably entered a longer truck. Inside, the room was spaciousplete with sofas, bars, kitchen, toilets, a bedroom, a massage room, a pool, and even a sauna.


    It was like a mobile hotel.


    Only twenty beautiful maids were inside the truck with him, the other maids stayed in the other truck.


    After preparing all the supplies, they set off into the wilderness.


    They began their journey to the east. Passing a few mountains, and some carriages and people that looked at the convoy with awe and fear. Never had they seen 500 giant metallic carriage moving with such speed.


    It was like looking at a herd of raging bison, except these bisons were made twenty timesrger and were made out of tough steel.


    The sensors detected a bunch of criminals groups, but they ran away the moment they saw therge convoy.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Cowards," Tom said as he sat on his sofa with two beautiful maids sitting on hisp.


    Tom caressed their waist and opened his mouth as the maid popped some berries in it. One of the maid leaned in for the kiss right after that.


    Tom smiled and walked them to the bedroom.


    Hours passed, and Aldred ordered the convoy to stop.


    The maids came out immediately, setting up the grills, cooking utensils, tables, chairs, tents, fruits, drinks, and everything else.


    Tom came out and called for two Fighter-ss It-6 toe to him. They were the next generation battle robots that the Mechanicum created from the materials of this continent with the strength of low Diamond Rank.


    Aldred was a low Diamond Rank as well.


    "Fight me," Tom ordered. The two expressionless 10 meter tall robot kicked the ground, sending dirt into the air, as their body blurred in action.


    They wereing from two different directions, swinging their long, ultra sharp, vibration de.


    When Tom blocked the attack with his bare skin, a notification appeared.


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5]


    World refined physique was one of the ability he learned for quite some time, but he didn''t really prioritize in upgrading it even though it was quite simple to do. Simply get hit.


    The more he got hit the sooner it would upgrade. Upgrading this skill increased the durability and toughness of his physique.


    A magician had weaker physiquepared to warrior, but Aldred was different. He got the physique of a warrior since the beginning, but with this ability, he had far stronger body than a warrior on his level.


    One of the reason why he could kill so many Diamond Ranks so easily.


    The robots attacked him for a full five minutes.


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 5. Upgrade points: 3,000/42,750]


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 5. Upgrade points: 6,000/42,750]


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 5. Upgrade points: 8,770/42,750]


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 5. Upgrade points: 12,445/42,750]


    He kept letting himself getting attacked until it leveled up for another level.


    [World Refined Physique Lv. 5 -> Lv. 6]


    Aldred could feel his body bing far stronger than before now. He recalled the one who gave him this ability was a mysteriousdy in green that he met in a forest. He wondered why thedy gave him that, and also wondering whether she was in this continent or not.


    Probably not, ording to what the Mechanicum had gathered, there were stronger continent than this one, and the existence of someone higher than Adamantite Rank might be there.


    One maid came as Tom sat down. She opened the a potion and helped him drank it.


    "So good¡­" he leaned on his chair and rxed.


    "Sir Tom, would you like a massage?"


    "Who are you calling Tom? Oh, right¡­ it''s me."


    The maid was a little confused after that statement.


    Aldred wasn''t really used to be called Tom. It was just a name he made up in the moment. His clones were basically him, his thought process, his emotions, and all the quirks were all the exact copy of him.


    That was why it still felt weird to be called Tom. "Whatever, I will get used to itter."

 Chapter 515 515 Magical Dragon

    For the next few days, Tom practiced the new technique he just got from Duke Hushum. Like the Duke said, it was a very effective close-range battle technique that could take down someone in a single strike if Tom did it properly.


    A warrior could take a few hits from hit, but after that, they had to recover their injuries, or face death. Magicians would definitely be crippled if they do nothing after a single attack of this.


    A maid came over with a tray of valuable potions. Tom downed them all, some of them gave him experience points, some increased his attributes, and some increased his mana quality.


    Their main benefit was supposedly to increase a magician''s potential, but Tom was Aldred''s clones, so basically he had unlimited potential.


    And whatever Tom drank, Aldred''s original body would also receive the benefit. In simple terms, if Tom feel full because of eating something, Aldred would also feel full.


    Aldred did not know how that worked, but everything could be exined with one word¡ªMagic.


    "Master, lunch is ready."


    Tom walked to the table, and a maid brought a chair behind him before he sat down. The table was of the highest quality soft wood round table, imported from the most eastern part of the kingdom. Aldred''s territory was in the west, so the table had gone from one end of the kingdom to another end. The cost was fantastic, and only a noble as wealthy as Aldred would bought something like this.


    It was too bad that he could not show it off to others. He only brought the maids.


    Atop the tables, all kinds of foods were prepared meticulously. Spicy and sweet oysters, ck pepper giant salmon, wildeebeast tongue, dragon tail soup, baked naga with cheese, and othervish cuisine. Each of these food had a faint glow in them as if they were containing some sort of power. Their fragrance got sucked deep in Tom''s nose which increased his appetite.


    His senses were tingling just by looking at the food.


    Tom looked around at the maids who were standing around him, readily waiting for his next order.


    "What are you guys standing for? Grab yourself a chair and eat with me."


    "Ehhh¡­."


    Everyone was shocked after Tom said that. A servant eating together in the same table with their master was simply unheard of. No, it was impossible, and anyone would think if a servant dared to do that, then they would deserve death ten thousand times.


    The maids were scared. They thought Aldred was unsatisfied with their services and wanted to get rid of them.


    "It''s lonely to eat alone,e on. Eat with me."


    The maids trembled. No one dared to make a move."


    The maids were scared but they sat down nervously.


    "Now, eat."


    Tom began snapping his fingers, the te floated andnded right in front of each maid.


    "Help yourself," Tom said.


    The maids looked at each other. They were deeply terrified, but they began to eat, because Tom had told them more than twice already.


    As they began eating, Tom smiled and asked each of them how their days went. He even asked about their family, financial troubles, and other mundane stuff.


    That was when the maids began to realize that Tom was apletely unique noble. The maids began to befortable with him, but they stayed polite and respectful, afraid of passing his boundary. After all, he was still the son of a powerful noble.


    With Aldred''s current forces under hismand and territory, he could establish a small principality on his own, but that would not be very beneficial, because he had no Adamantite Rank protecting his territory.


    For now, it was better for him to stay under the Withokere Kingdom''s rule. Even though he had to pay a lot of taxes, at least he would not be destroyedpletely.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The majority of his forces consisted of robots and golems. Aldred had never stopped their production and their numbers increased every single day. This was all possible because his army did notck energy at all. Unlike Earth''s civilization who deeply relied on gas and oil which was a limited resources and needed to be mined, The Mechanicum had a highly-advanced technology of obtaining sr energy.


    Not to mention with Aldred''s unlimited mana, which made the golem had unlimited energy to use, the golems could be used to move a propeller that would in turn create energy for the Mechanicum.


    Aldred had proposed this idea before, but apparently, it was already implemented after Corduul and Tarrar discussed it.


    That was the benefit of having highly motivated andpetent employee.


    After finishing lunch, a piece of information was transmitted into his head. "Hmmm, a warrior is fighting against a magical dragon?"


    A magical dragon was different than a normal dragons who had powerful fire breath and physical prowess. Magical dragons could literally create their own spells, and even learn or steal the spells of other magicians.


    They were one of the most dangerous creatures of this continent, and even got into the list of creature titled as Magician Killer.


    A drone appeared and projected a screen, revealing the scene of a warrior, wielding a great sword and staring at arge dragon.


    "Low Diamond Rank warrior¡­"


    Diamond Rank warrior was a rarity. It was hard for warriors to break through the tinum Rank, and a lot of them were hunted down by arge group of magicians because they were afraid of them.


    But from what Corduul had gathered, a Diamond Rank warrior could be epted by the elite society if they manage to bring the head of a magical dragon.


    A magical dragon was far more dangerous for magicians than a Diamond Rank warrior. Their ability to steal spells were simply a terrifying possibility.


    Suddenly, the dragon roared in the sky. Arge, white, bright, magic circle appeared behind his head, and arge, wide, powerful beam struck the warrior and drilled him deep into the ground, creating a massive crater that went more than 30 KM deep.


    "What a fantastic power. It was a wonder the warrior could even survive the attack."


    The maids looked at the screen in fear. They had never seen a magical dragon before.


    The warrior jumped out of the crater and stared at the dragon. He raised his de, and suddenly ran away.


    "Fuck! I cannot beat this thing. It''s too strong!"


    "Ehh¡­" Tom was dumbfounded by the warrior''s reaction.


    But there was another problem. The warrior just happen to be running to his direction, and the magical dragon was currently following him from the sky.


    "Since when did I have such a bad luck," Tom said.


    The maids looked at him, wondering if they could run away from the dragon.


    "The dragon is a low Diamond Rank as well, maybe I can capture it."


    Tom looked at the screen again. "Hmmm, it will be hard, but should be manageable."


    Waving his hand, Tom ordered: "Battle formation!"


    The trucks summoned all of their arsenals at once, and aimed at a certain directions. The shells, rockets, and everything else were already loaded before they even set off for this journey.


    Tom smiled. "Let''s catch a magical dragon."

 Chapter 516 516 Master

    The warrior saw the huge convoy in front of him and began to shout: "Help! Please help me!"


    The magic dragon also noticed the huge steel convoy and roared.


    Tom waved his hand, and the weapons mounted atop the truck began to lock onto their targets.


    The dragon stopped in mid-air. "Pitiful human," it spoke in a world-rumbling, and extraordinarily deep voice.


    "Oh, you can talk?" Tom raised an eyebrow.


    "That warrior tried to kill me. It is in my right to do what he about to do to me. If you wish to interfere, then be prepared to face my wrath."


    Aldred scanned the dragon with his godly eyes again:


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Zastor Throastadammovik]


    Level: 139


    Power: Force w, Spell Thief, Spatial Mastery, Dragon Force¡­


    History: Hunted for all the duration of his life time, the magical dragon despised the human. But thousands of yearster, it came to an understanding that they could be talked to. Most of them are honor-less however, and that any dragon should never fall for the word of a human. Always be wary, always prepared. For a human would not hesitate to stab their own kin in the back. Much less a dragon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Tom smiled. "I do not care about the warrior. I want you. I want you to be my subordinates."


    "Human, I bow to no one."


    "I will change that soon."


    Tom snapped his finger again, and this time, thousands of mechanical robots and golems stepped out of the trucks.


    The warrior looked at this from the distance and thought that they were dumb. What would these golems do against a flying golem?


    "What a dumbd. I have to run before that dragon chase me again."


    "Human, half of your golems don''t even have magical energy within them. How do you expect them to defeat me?"


    "You will see." Tom smiled.


    The warrior that listened to this also thought that the kid was stupid. But that was a good thing as it gave him time to run away.


    5,000 golems and robots came out and then rushed forward.


    The dragon roared, me began to swell in its mouth. After a few second, the dragon let out a raging breath of fire towards the ground.


    "Fools! The golems are now wiped out in that single attack!" The warrior shouted while he looked back.


    Suddenly, all of the golems and robots came out of the raging fire. To everyone''s shock, the golems were actually flying!


    "Those golems can fly?"


    Even the Zastor, the magical dragon, was quite surprised by this.


    But even so, these small golems were still nothing for him.


    Gathering a mouthful of fire, Zastor released another breathe of me towards the golems. Hundreds were destroyed, but some of the managed totch onto his scales.


    Zastor flew around trying to get them off, but then he felt a sharp pain all over his body.


    The steel golems actually managed to pierce his scale!


    The robots had low Diamond Rank strength, but most people could not see that because they did not have mana.


    Magicians and warriors could determine the rank of others by peering at the quality of their mana or life force. This could not be done for the robots, because they did not have mana. Instead, their strength came from their mechanical parts, special alloys, artificial intelligence, and other things that Aldred could not understand as well.


    The Mechanicum consisted of thousands of tech priest, gathering their brain power to create the best blueprint possible.


    Aldred still wondered how they could not taken over Victor''s rule at that time.


    In truth, the Mechanicum had actually nned to rebel for decades, and wanted to execute their n. But before they could do that, Aldred already defeated victor and manage to enter the Mechanicum''s headquarter.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Mechanicum did not have any choice but to submit to him because he was able to defeat their Supreme Warrior.


    Aldred was lucky that he identally entered the headquarter of the strongest underworld organization of Duria.


    He was actually nning to destroy them all, but got a golden goose instead.


    The magical dragon roared and fierce me burst out of every inch of its body. The robots began to melt, and their system shut down.


    That was the time for the golems to shine. Using the unlimited mana inside of them, they created water out of thin air and cooled the robots, letting them for a few more hours.


    But the me was too powerful, and eventually, all the robots and golems were meltedpletely.


    "So this is the power of a magical dragon. Hahaha. I want you more and more. Imagining you as my pet already give me excitement."


    The dragon roared as it felt its honor was sullied. It gaze sharply towards Tom.


    "Alright, let''s end this quickly," Tom said.


    Right after that, the weapons on the trucks began to fire. Missiles were screeching in the air, looping around beforeing straight towards the dragon.


    With loud explosion, the dragons were significantly damaged before a hail of bullets were shot towards the sky.


    Light came out of Zastor''s body and a magical barrier appeared in front of him, blocking the shell.


    Suddenly, light beams came from below and shattered the barrier.


    When the bullets struck the dragon, copious amount of blood sprayed on the ground. A bunch of gigantic dragon scales began to fall to the ground one after another with a thud.


    "Low Diamond Rank¡­ how can you have so many!"


    The warrior in the distance stopped in his track when he saw this. "Those golems¡­ all of them are at low Diamond Rank. How is this possible. Who is he?"


    Tomughed. "How is it? Are you willing to be my pet?"


    "Over my death body!"


    "That''s exactly what I wanted. I wanted your death body!!!"


    The dragon roared in anger and ignored all of the damage done to its body. It flew towards Tom at full speed despite his scales and skin being torn apart by the constant attack of shells.


    "Hahaha! You think you can defeat me?"


    Tom leaped into the air and charged towards the dragon head on.


    Both of them crashed against each other.


    Boom!


    With a loud crashing sound that trembled the earth, the dragon were sent flying a few hundred meters into the air.


    The warrior''s jaw dropped when he saw this. The boy looked like he was only 13 years old, and yet he punched a dragon flying???


    What dream did he got himself into? Was this even real? Was he still sleeping in bed?


    The dragon looked at the boy with a little bit of fear. "Boy¡­ who are you?"


    "I am the one who will be your master."


    "This power should not be owned by a human. You¡­ you are not a human, are you?"


    Tom''s eyes gleamed with crimson color.


    The dragon trembled when he saw that.


    Suddenly, it turned gold, and the dragon trembled even more.


    The dragon crashed himself to the ground and then bowed its head. "Forgive me, master."


    The warrior widened his eyes in shock. "What just happen? The boy looked at the dragon a bunch of times and it surrendered? What the hell is going on?"

 Chapter 517 517 Turning To Undead

    "You''re not that impressive," Tom said to the dragon.


    The warrior''s expression turned bitter after he heard that. The dragon did not seem impressive because the boy had only fought it for a few hours. It did not have the chance to reveal all of its power yet.


    A luxurious convoy came approaching from the distance. There were about 9,000 carriages in the group, but they did not seem to be lead by one noble family because there were all kinds of gs and insignia on the carriage.


    The convoy stopped nearby, and a bunch of guards and men and women with luxurious clothes stepped out. They were amazed at what they saw. A magical dragon right in front of their eyes!


    They had actually seen the battle from the distance, but they could not believe that thousands of golems actually had the strength of a low Diamond Rank.


    Recruiting low Diamond Rank wasn''t easy. One had to be extremely wealthy, influential, and had a widework of connection.


    Generally, only noble family that had survived for thousands of years could recruit arge number of low Diamond Rank. New nobles could only hire a bunch, and their loyalty were often questionable.


    "Wait, the magical dragon is still alive!"


    After careful look, they realized that the magical dragon was still up and breathing. Earlier, they thought the magical dragon died when it crashed to the ground.


    "But why is it bowing to that boy over there?"


    "Is the magical dragon surrendering?"


    "Impossible! There is no magical dragon that ever submitted itself to another being."


    One hundred Engineer Robot came out of the trucks, scoured thend for broken robots and mechanical parts and then signaled the trucks to activate its mas.


    The ma activated and all of the broken parts were pulled nearby. After the parts began to piled up, the engineering robots began to work, fixing the broken robots that could still be fixed and destroyed those that could not.


    A few thousands robots flickered and came back to life. They gathered in a formation like a true undying soldier.


    "So many golems¡­"


    Tom averted his gaze to the side. "Who are you people?"


    The nobles sped their hand and bowed slightly. "We are students and about to go to Withokere University."


    Tom frowned and activated his godly eyes. Most of them were very young, from around the age of 18 to 22, and they all were at low Diamond Rank.


    There were some low Diamond Rank magicians and even six mid Diamond Rank magicians hiding in the carriages.


    The rest were tinum Rank warriors.


    "I am actually going there myself," Tom said.


    They were slightly shocked after hearing that.


    "Are you a student as well?"


    "I just got enrolled."


    "May we know from which family you areing from? I have never seen a low Diamond Rank as young as you."


    "Family? My dad conquered the Waralia County with his golem army. He has made an agreement with the king of thisnd, and now the territory is his to rule. Add to that, I am also offered to be a student in Withokere University."


    "So you are his son?"


    "I can''t believe we actually encounter his son in this wilderness."


    "My father is new around here, but all of you seem to have heard of him."


    "How could we not. Your father killed a noble, took hisnd, eradicated his army, and even make peace with the king. What your father did was an invasion and yet you are epted into this kingdom. That was simply an impossible thing to do. But looking at you now, it''s no wonder that the Conquerer of the West is epted into this kingdom."


    "Conquerer of the West? Is that what they call my father?"


    "That''s right."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Tom thought that it wasn''t a terrible name, but it didn''t sound cool enough. Looking at his golems and mechanical robots, he thought of something.


    ''Maybe I should make my golems looked like they were made out of steel as well. That way, people would call him Commander of Steel or Steel Emperor.


    Tom nodded with a smile at the thought of that. With a snap of his fingers, the golem began absorbing some of the mechanical parts, and now they looked metallic on the surface.


    "My father does not like that name," Tom said. "From now on, you will address him as Steel Emperor."


    "Steel Emperor¡­" the nobles looked at each other. "O¡­okay."


    "And what is your name?"


    "Just call me Tom."


    A noble approached and introduced himself. "The Steel Emperor''s golems are truly amazing. Who would have thought that you could even conquer a magical dragon with it. It is simply inconceivable. Even though it was only a low Diamond Rank magical dragon, it''s strength could even match against mid Diamond Rank magician."


    "I heard Diamond Rank warriors could defeat it though," Tom said.


    "Only the bravest and talented of Diamond Rank warriors could defeat it. Entering the Diamond Rank was simply the entry point."


    "I see." Tom snapped his finger and suddenly, a warrior appeared in front of him.


    The warrior was shocked the he suddenly got teleported to this ce. He quickly reacted, but the space around him froze and he could not move.


    "You are a Diamond Rank warrior. Be my subordinate," Tom said.


    The other nobles were yet surprised again. They were just talking about a Diamond Rank warrior, and suddenly one appeared out of nowhere.


    "Be your subordinate¡­ are you really willing to take me in?"


    "Of course, I am not like other magicians who are too afraid of you. I even have a magical dragon as my pet, what can a Diamond Rank warrior do to me?"


    The warrior blinked for a few times and thought that it was true. The magical dragon was hundred if not thousand times more dangerous for magician.


    If Tom could even conquer the dragon to submission, then a warrior was simply nothing for him.


    "But you already have thousands of powerful golems. Why would you need me?"


    "I like rare things. Your existence, just like the magical dragon, are quite rare."


    "I¡­ I see. In that case, can I ask what my payment will be?"


    "Resources, knowledge, weapons."


    "In that case, I agree. I am Edam Maheim will be your subordinate."


    Tom nodded before ncing at the magical dragon. "Zastor, I will kill you now and revive you as my undead. Once you be my undead, you will truly be immortal, and your growth in strength will be much easier."


    "Yes, master."


    Tom teleported on the dragon''s back, Phantom Doomde appeared in his hand, and then he swing.


    SLASH!


    The nobles and everyone else widened their eyes when they saw this.


    Suddenly, shadow engulfed the dead magical dragon. A few secondster, a glowing dark purple creature stepped out. It was the same magical dragon, but now in his undead form, looking bigger and more menacing than before.


    "Did he just turn the magical dragon into his undead¡­"


    "I cannot believe it. To turn a Diamond Rank into an undead, a great amount of rituals and treasures need to be sacrifices! How did he do this???"


    "I have to inform my family. The Steel Emperor and his son must not be our enemy. Ever!"

 Chapter 518 518 Prepare For Battle

    A skinny noble took the chance to approach Tom and introduced himself. "My name is Helid Ninel, nice to meet you, Tom. Since we are going to the same ce, can go along with you?"


    Tom scanned the aristocrats youngsters with a nce. A glint shed past his eyes. "Sure, since we are going to the same ce, then why not."


    The Withokere University had strict rules on who could enter and who could not. Since they were able to be a student there, it meant that they had met the requirement which was to be wealthy, influential, and well-connected enough.


    Also, these people had to be talented enough to be a Diamond Rank at such a young age. Basically, they had to be better than 99% of magicians before they could even dream of entering.


    As the other nobles began to gather around him, he began to look a little out of ce since he looked younger than them all. But that was fine since he would be the center of attention.


    The younger he was, the better his talent looked. Though he wasn''t sure if getting such attention was good or bad. If someone was jealous, they might be out to kill him.


    Not that it was a problem anyway, since Tom was a clone. Even if he died, Aldred could summon another Tom to rece him.


    Anyone that wanted to assassinate Aldred''s son would be surprised that they could not kill Tom.


    Helid Ninel then introduced the other nobles to Tom. Apparently, they were the sons and daughters of the nearby territory. Their fief were quite close to Aldred''s. That was a good thing, this way, he could establish a future alliance with them. It was always better making friends than enemies.


    Tom then looked at the magical dragon. "Return to the shadow."


    "Yes, master." Zastor vanished into Tom''s shadow.


    "Wow, did it just¡­ did the dragon just entered your shadow?" Helid could not but he shocked as he asked the question.


    If they knew that Aldred had a high Diamond Rank as one of his undead, how would they react?


    Aldred currently had one high Diamond Rank magician. And that was the Count of Waralia, Heled. Aldred had managed to kill him with Corduul''s mechanical legion and of course a bunch CS-Armageddon-57.


    "Don''t think too much about it, it''s just magic," Tom said with a smile.


    "Magic¡­"


    The youngsters were talented magicians, so they knew magic than most people, but Tom made them look like they were new to this field.


    In front of Tom, they were like babies who just born into this world.


    "Let''s go. There are still a long road ahead of us," Tom said.


    They all nodded and entered their carriage. Tom invited them to his carriage however, he was bored, and wanted to know some information about these youngsters.


    Entering the steel carriages, the youngsters looked around and saw that it was very spacious inside andvishly decorated. There were kitchen, spa, pools, bedroom, living room, dining room, and so much more!


    It was like a moving castle!


    Tom smiled when he saw their reaction and invited them to sit down in the living room. As the maids prepared some snacks and drinks for them, Tom received a notification from the drones.


    "Hostile camp detected. 3 KM South East. Proceed with caution." The mechanical voice came directly into his head. Corduul had installed a chip inside Tom''s head where he could receive and even send information to the Mechanicum directly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aldred''s real body did not have that. He trusted no one to put something in his head.


    Tom smiled after receiving that information before he talked to the youngsters.


    ¡­


    3KM South East from Tom''s position, an enormous camp that extended for kilometers hid behind the mountains.


    A fast moving cloud moved in the opposite direction of the wind suddenly turned into a white dragon before descending and headed towards the camp.


    Landing in front of thergest tent, the cloud dragon bowed. "Helid Ninel and his friends is 3 KM away from here. They meet a boy named Tom, the son of the Conquerer of the West."


    A brawny man came out of the tent. His clothes were thergest he could find, and yet his muscle threatened to rip them off his body. His gaze exuded a brutal aura, which made the cloud dragon bowed once again in fear. His thick forearm made it look like he could rip the dragon in half with his strength alone.


    He was Jazad Busta, a mid Diamond Rank warrior. He was an assassin, secretly groomed by a noble of this kingdom. But this noble was so secretive that even Jazad did not know who his employer was. For years, he had killed so many magicians and nobles for the man, but still, he could not figure out who his boss was.


    Jazad Busta was a rare warrior. As warrior had a hard time breaking through low Diamond Rank, it was even harder to reach mid Diamond Rank strength.


    At this point, even High Diamond Rank magician needed to be wary of him. That was why he often hid his true strength when assassinating a target.


    This time, Helid Ninel was his target. A prodigy among prodigy, his father managed to earn him a spot in Withokere University after a terribly hard work with great hope that his son would grow into a powerful magician.


    Jazad Busta was assigned to destroy that hope.


    "How many?" Jazad asked.


    The cloud dragon spoke: "More than 5,000 golems with the strength of low Diamond Rank."


    Jazadughed. "Those golems may have the durability of a low Diamond Rank, but they cannot match against a true warrior."


    "So it seems, thousands of them are destroyed during the battle against a magical dragon."


    "Magical dragon?"


    "Indeed, it seems Tom defeated the dragon and turned it into his undead."


    Jazad frowned. "Magical dragon cannot be revived much less turned into an undead. It could be a fake magical dragon used to impress the young nobles. Tom is a new kid in town, he needed that much to impress his peers to be epted in the elite-circle."


    "What if they are true?" the cloud dragon asked.


    "Then we kill them all. I don''t obtain this strength because I cower in fear. A warrior must push forward no matter what!"


    Turning around, Jazad shouted: "Prepare for battle!"

 Chapter 519 519 A Good Show

    As Jazad entered his tent again to look for his equipment, a bright green magic circle appeared and shattered, revealing a magician in thick green robe.


    Jazad gave the magician a side nce. "What are you doing here, Bhazud?"


    "Kekeke, we haven''t met for a few weeks, and this is how you greet me? Come on, I miss having a little spar with you."


    "I have task needs to be done. Don''t bother me, or I will not hesitate to kill you."


    "You always seem to forget that I am an assassin as well."


    "It''s not that I forget. It''s just that youck the skill for me to consider you as assassin."


    Bhazudughed. "You might be a powerful warrior, but you still don''t have the thing us magician can do. Espionage spells, mind and emotion maniption, elemental maniption, space time, creating illusion, there are so many things we can do that you cannot."


    "I don''t need to do much. All I need is my axe." Jazad reached out with his hand, and an axe nearby glowed in divine blue light before flying towards his hand.


    Bhazud grinned. "Your enemy is much powerful than you think. For your information, he defeated the Count of Waralia. The Count was a high Diamond Rank magician. You think a mid Diamond Rank warrior could stop him?"


    "Stop lying to me. It was his father that defeated the count, not the son."


    "HAHAHA! I heard rumors that the son might even be stronger than his own father."


    "You are foolish to think so. His father is a golem master. His strength is in a different category," Jazad replied.


    "Ie here to offer you my help, Jazad. Don''t dwell in your arrogance that you can do this mission alone. You might excel in silent assassination, but what you are about to face is a small-scale warfare. Not only that, you have to be quick and certain that the targets will die, because the Conquerer of the West will not be at rest until he found the assassin."


    Jazad looked at his axe as he was deep in thoughts. "What is your price?"


    "Simple, you help me once if I''m assigned to a mission."


    "Done, but tell me. Do you know how the Conquerer of the West defeated the Count of Waralia? I am sure he hired a lot of Diamond Rank magicians."


    Bhazud''s expression changed. "There''s this thing called CS-Armageddon-57. There''s not much I know, but this thing is like arge flying warship."


    "A warship? Like ship for the sea?"


    "Something like that, but it can fly. It''s also extremely powerful."


    "A warship¡­ but that should not be enough to defeat the count."


    "He doesn''t only have one. From what I know, he has dozens if not more of these. The other day, the Duke of Wihnd showed off the same flying warship. Apparently, they are called aircraft."


    "The Conquerer of the West gave it away?"


    "Only one to the Duke, but he might give one to the king as well."


    "He''s making connection, blending in with the kingdom," Jazad concluded.


    "And our employer doesn''t like that," Bhazud said. "His son is also epted to Withokere University."


    "No wonder they are going together. But his son is not my real target. It is Helid Ninel."


    Bhazud smiled and grabbed a pendant before crushing it. The powder flew into Jazad''s nose and he closed his eyes.


    "I see¡­ so they want us to kill Tom as well."


    Jazad looked at Bhazud. "And you are also assigned to this mission, so I owe you nothing."


    Bhazudughed. "Too bad I cannot fool you."


    Jazad grunted. "I will distract his golem army. That''s when you appear and kill them all."


    Bhazud grinned and vanished immediately.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ¡­


    "Wow, Tom, I don''t know there are so many wonderful things outside this kingdom," Helid Ninel said. "The story of adventure about your father is so amazing. I love the part where he climbed atop Mount Fargon, and fought his way on the World Tree."


    "He''s an amazing man." Tom nodded with a smile.


    "For someone that came from a lesser continent, he sure is quite powerful."


    "Lesser continent?" Tom asked.


    "Continents that limit its people from reaching Adamantite Ranks. There are many of those continents."


    "Can you travel to these continents?"


    "We can, but what''s the point? All the resources, knowledge, and everything else isckingpared to here. It''s like staying in a big mansion, then suddenly moving to a poor house."


    "I see¡­ is there any continent that is more powerful than this one?" Tom asked.


    "Maybe. But I do know that we are neighbors to two powerful continent. They are as powerful as us."


    Suddenly, the carriage shook.


    "It finally begin," Tom said.


    "What happened?"


    "An attack," Tom said. He snapped his finger, and a screen appeared, revealing the grasnd. One bandit troop after another rushed over the hill,ing from different directions. Their numbers extended without end, numbers sorge that it was a shocking sight to behold.


    The youngsters'' legs turned soft like noodles when they saw this scene. They had sparred and trained hard, but they never saw an actual war before.


    So even though they were quite talented, they were not mentally prepared for battle to the death.


    "It''s muchrger than I expected," Tom said.


    "Tom, you already know that they are going to attack us? Why don''t we change our direction?" Helid asked in panic.


    "Why would I? I wanted to meet them."


    "Meeting them¡­ are you crazy?"


    "You just saw me defeating a magical dragon. What are you scared of?"


    That was true. A magical dragon was more terrifying than an army, but still, how could Tom be so calm in this situation?


    Suddenly, a series of roars came from the sky. The unassuming clouds turned into white dragons with archers and magicians atop them.


    Thergest cloud dragon was at the front, with Jazad standing on the head, gazing down at the convoy with his fierce eyes.


    "Tom! The son of Aldred! Ie here to kill you!"


    The youngsters looked at Tom right after that.


    "Crap, are we going to die?"


    "Cowards," Tom mocked. "All of you are Diamond Rank magicians. Most of our enemies are not."


    "But the cloud dragons, and that warrior is a mid Diamond Rank warrior!"


    "He''s a literal magician killer. All of us doesn''t have the chance to fight against him."


    Tom sighed. "Nothing will happen. Now sit down and rx. We''re going to watch a good show."

 Chapter 520 520 Efficient Killer

    "Tom,e out and show your face!" Jazad shouted.


    Tom sighed andzily stood up before he opened the door then looked towards the sky.


    Jazad grinned. "There you are. Surrender now, or you will die under my axe."


    Tom looked carefully at him before smiling. "That axe. It''s made out of the carcass of a magical dragon."


    Jazad frowned. "How did you know?"


    "I just killed one earlier."


    "Seems like you don''t know the situation you''re in, boy. This is no time for you to show off. You might be a Diamond Rank, but I am a mid Diamond rank warrior. Even high Diamond Rank magician fears my existence."


    Tomughed. "Perfect! I just found a low Diamond Rank warrior, and now I found someone better. Jazad Busta, surrender now and I will spare your live! Otherwise, you will die and be my undead!"


    "I was told that the Conquerer of the West is an arrogant man. Who would have known that his son would behave the same way. In that case, I will kill you along with your undeserved pride! Attack!"


    Jazad pointed forward, ordering his army to attack. Even though his soldiers wereprised of criminals, bandits, and scums, they were highly organized and well-trained. Jazad was a great general, and he could turn any men from all kinds of background into a proper soldier. All of them looked up to him and were willing to die for him.


    All of this was possible because Jazad had been trained to manipte the masses and individuals. He knew how to be charismatic and inspiring. In fact, for him, these people were much easier to control. Most of them did not have family or parents. They wander the world with nothing to lose and no reason to stay alive. They had nothing that was greater than their own life. Ever men needed that.


    And Jazad gave them just that.


    The bandits came from above and below, rushing in from different directions.


    Expressionless, 5,000 robots and golems brandished their de and sprinted forward, kicking up dust and dirt into the air.


    "Archers! Fire!"


    Tens of thousands of archers fired at the same time, blocking the sunlight with darkness.


    The robots and golems raised their de above their head and then spun their arms, cutting and deflecting all the arrowsing at them.


    Tom smiled. "We should retaliate as well."


    The machine guns atop the truck jolted and aimed at the bandits. After loading the magazine, they began to fire thousands of shells per second.


    The next moment, countless bandits were blown apart when the bullet struck their bodies. Limbs flew as arge number of bandits and their mounts were tore to shreds.


    That was when the close-range golems and robots arrived and sliced and diced through their formations.


    The bandits surrounded the robots and golems from all direction, but they were unstoppable killer machine. They stab with a spear only to find that their spear broke in half.


    They swung swords at them, but the swords bent. The head of the hammer broke off when the bandits mmed them onto the robot''s hard steel.


    None of their attacks seemed to work against these killer machines!


    Even though they had unleashed all of their power, the robots and golems moved quickly and ughter them like pigs.


    When the bandits in the rear saw the atrocity that these golems did, their legs trembled and they almost pissed themselves.


    Helid was in awe. "Those golems are truly something else. Each of them could match the power of a low Diamond Rank Warrior.


    Countless screams of pain and misery reverberated in the grasnd. Every second, arge numbers of bandits were sliced and cuts into pieces. Blood, flesh, and limbs were torn, thrown all over the air.


    The grasnd were painted red.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Run! Run! We cannot win!" a bandit took a step back and shook his head. He turned around, dropping his weapon as he ran away for dear life.


    One of the golem saw this and began to charge at him, cutting down the other bandits that blocking its way and then drove its long de through the man''s back and out of his chest.


    The bandit spat out blood before the golem raised another de and cut off his head.


    His head flew off into the air, eyes full of terror.


    "Do not falter! We can win this fight!!!" a bald bandit with low Diamond Rank strength charged towards the golem.


    That surprised Tom a little bit. "Another low Diamond Rank warrior. Didn''t people say they are rare?"


    The reason why Diamond Rank warriors were rare was because they were hidden most of the time. Staying in the shadows, powerful noble families, and ancient wealthy families would sometimes groom warriors to be a Diamond Rank. They were rare in public, but in the elite-circle, it wasmon knowledge that every noble families had more than a hundred Diamond Rank warrior working for them.


    Diamond Rank warrior were like a raremodity only served to the ultra-powerful. Because one had to have the ability to keep their existence a secret. Which was very hard in this world of magic.


    Magic was a mysterious thing. No one really knew how it work, yet just a littleprehension could let magicians do so many things with it. Creating spells to spy on people, and even bending reality to their will.


    Magic was simply amazing.


    But it seemed like technology could match them as well.


    The low Diamond Rank warriors were surrounded by the robots. 20 Robots jumped in, raising their four thick, steel arms, powerful de in hand.


    "Bring it!" The warrior roared. In the blink of an eye, his body exploded with life force, and attacked 100 times in a second.


    Right after that moment, the robots were sliced in half.


    Tom raised an eyebrow. "Even though the robots have the strength and speed of a low Diamond Rank warrior, they could not really match in battle, huh. Corduul will probably improve their designter."


    The robots could send information and data to the Mechanicum at all time. Whenever they won, whenever they lose, the information was send to them which would be used to further improve their performance.


    The robots were also constantly learning about their enemy, so they could adapt fairly quickly to situations.


    So after analyzing the situation, the robots quickly made a n. Unlike humans, they did not need to think for a long time, and they couldmunicate without even saying a word.


    These traits made them valuable soldiers!


    Forty robots rushed forward this time, distracting the warrior before one hundred robots came in and sliced the man into pieces.


    The robots quickly scattered regrouped and looked for other bandits to kill after that.


    They were efficient killers. No animals, human included, could match their efficiency.


    They needed no respite, no rest to take in the information, no nothing. All they did after they killed their target was to look for the next one.


    "Impressive, simply impressive!!!" Helid praised. "Tom, would you be willing to sell some of these golems to me?"


    "You have to talk to my dad about that." Tom smiled meaningfully.


    Helid bit his lip. He had to convince his father to make a rtionship with the Conquerer of the West soon.


    Jazad Busta saw his army being butchered and frowned. "Seems like I have to make my move as well."

 Chapter 521 521 Failed Asassination

    Jazad roared. "Dive!"


    Right after that order, the cloud dragons in the sky began to dived to the ground, opening their jaw wide and chomped down on the golems and robots.


    The bandits cheered as the cloud dragons ripped the golems apart.


    Tom sneered. "Focus the attacks on those dragons."


    The machine guns changed their target and continued firing. For thest few hours, these machines guns had never stopped killing men after men. But now their targets were the cloud dragons.


    The cloud dragons roared at the hail of shells. Suddenly, the wind in the surroundings was disturbed and an a wind storm rose up, deflecting the shells away.


    "Hoo, so these dragons can control the wind," Tom said.


    "Those are cloud dragons," Helid said. "Each and every one of them is currently at low Diamond Rank, but in a few hundred years, they could grow to mid or even high Diamond Ranks."


    "But they are nothing in front of a magical dragon, right?" Tom asked.


    "Of course¡­ magical dragon could reach Adamantite Rank with age alone. Unlike humans, they did not need expensive resources or break through to anything. All they need was time."


    Tom nodded. He already knew this because he had analyzed the magical dragon with his godly eyes.


    Jazad bulled through the robots and golems with ease before he roared and charged forward along with his bandit army.


    Tom sighed. "Release all the robots and golems."


    Helid was shocked to hear that. Tom hadn''t released all of his golems yet?


    The back door of the trucks burst open as robots and golems stomped out and then stormed towards the bandit.


    Numbering more than 10,000 robots and golems, they charged like unstoppable force and cut through everything in their path.


    Tom stepped off his truck and watched this scene with ease.


    A few hundred meters away from Tom, a spatial warp appeared, bending reality and tearing it apart, creating a portal. A man in thick green robe stepped out of the portal and set his gaze towards Tom.


    Pointing his finger, he casted a mid Diamond Rank level spell¡ªGreen Lightning.


    Bhazud Jeihlo was a mid Diamond Rank magician specialized in assassination. Half of his spell knowledge were designed to kill. And his sess rate was more than 90%. He had extreme patience and logical mind, using anything and anyone to increase his odds of sess.


    It did not matter if so many bandits died, he did not even care if Jazad Busta, his ally, died. As long as he seeded in killing his target, that was all that matters.


    His mighty spell could even kill low Diamond Rank in an instant, and significantly injure a mid Diamond Rank. Bhazud was specifically train to use fatal attacks.


    Bhazud smiled at the image of Tom dying under his smile. However, that image shattered as Tom raised his hand and received the attack with his bare skin.


    The area around Tom exploded, and pushed the youngsters away. But when the smoke vanished, Tom stood still unfazed as he nced at him.


    "How is this possible. The boy is a low Diamond Rank." Bhazud could not process this scene in his mind. He had seen variety of things in his life, but he had never seen something like this before.


    "Green Lightning! That was a mid Diamond Rank spell!!! Someone really wanted to kill us!"


    The rest of the young nobles looked terrified and stepped away from Tom.


    Only a secondter did they realize that Tom resist the attack with his own body.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "How did he still stand?"


    Tom''s eyebrows creased and he pointed towards the green-robed man. "Kill him!"


    In a fraction of a second, twenty machine guns quickly adjusted their aims and began firing their shells.


    Not only that, thousands of robots rushed out of the formations and went towards the magician.


    "Blinding mist!" The green-robed man pointed and the whole world seemed to be filled with ck and grey mist.


    Tom felt dizzy when he looked at the mist, but then heughed. "I know realize the weakness of magic. They put too much focus on affecting human''s senses. But they don''t know that ''unliving'' being can also be used to kill them."


    The robots moved inside the fog, their sensors red up, and they detected the magician''s location without any trouble.


    "Crap! Temporal Magic: elerate!" Time stopped for a fraction of a second for Bhazud before his body moved a lot faster than it was physically possible.


    Tom gnashed his teeth in anger. "Fire the rockets!"


    The rocketsunchers activated immediately and send volleys of rockets towards the magician. Bhazud turned around and snapped his finger.


    Suddenly, green mist appeared and blocked the shells from hitting his face inches away.


    "Fuck! How is these things so strong?"


    Suddenly, the robots arrived and began to attack, shing and hacking at him.


    Bhazud was attacked by robots and the hail of shells. It was hard for him to keep his barrier at all times while fighting against thousands of robots at the same time.


    "Jazad! Kill him!" Bhazud shouted.


    Jazad Busta leaped off his cloud dragon and broke out with his fastest speed in a split second. He darted towards Tom ten times the speed of sound, leaving afterimages behind.


    Mid Diamond Rank warriors were extremely powerful and fast. One of their most feared trait was their speed. Their incredible speed surpassed most magicians, and before magicians could even react, a de would already cutting off their neck.


    It was one of the reason why magicians hunted them down. The nobles did not fear them however, and instead, used them as tools.


    With that speed, it only took a second for Jazad to appear before Tom.


    Raising his axe, Jazad''s arms bulged as he swung it down at Tom''s neck.


    Tom turn around and then sneered.


    Jazad was shocked to see that reaction. He was about to die, how could this boy still smiling in this situation?


    A fraction of a secondter, a gigantic dragon, covered in dark-purple me appeared. Itsrge eye stared at him.


    The axe was an inch away from Tom''s neck, but the dragon moved so quick that it managed to parry his axe away.


    Jazad was pushed 10 steps back, his arms trembled. He then looked up and saw a magical dragon dwarfing over him.


    "A true magical dragon¡­ it''s been a while since I see one."

 Chapter 522 522 Arise

    Jazad stood still as he stared at the magic dragon. His body trembled in excitement and hisrge axe shone.


    "So you really did kill a magic dragon. Impressive. Very impressive."


    "Thank you for the praise." Tom smiled.


    Jazad sneered. "But you are not the one who kill the dragon. It''s the golems, right? You rely on your dad''s power to help you. How can you be strong with that mentality?"


    "That''s where you are wrong. It wasn''t the golems."


    Bhazud teleported beside Jazad with tattered robe.


    "Jazad, his golems are stronger than expected. We might have to retreat."


    Shaking his head, Jazad replied. "No, there is no other chance. We have to kill him now."


    Bhazud clicked his tongue. "Then you fight the magic dragon. I will handle the golems."


    "Fine by me." Jazad roared as he burst out with formidable life force in an instant. Brandishing hisrge axe, he unleashed a powerful skill.


    "Dragon Cut!"


    A bright and sharp ray of light exuding a terrifying aura mercilessly shed at the magic dragon.


    Arge wound appeared on the chest of the magic dragon, but it healed soon after.


    "Hahaha!" The magical dragon, Zastor,ughed. "My master has turned me into one of his shadow soldier. Ordinary attacks no longer works on me."


    Zastor was a low Diamond Rank magic dragon. But because he had been turned into Aldred''s undead, his power had increased exponentially because now he had unlimited amount of mana to use. In fact, miraculously, Zastor even manage to increase his strength to that of mid Diamond Rank which was the reason why Jazad''s attack barely work on him.


    Magic dragon had extreme durability. Their body was like immovable mountain. Coupled with their magical abilities, they were a force to reckon with. If an Adamantite magical dragon appeared, usually, more than three or four Adamantite Rank magicians had tobine their power just to match it.


    In history, there were even cases of six Adamantite Rank magicians died while fighting a magic dragon.


    They were simply that powerful. Some call them as the force of the world, and killing them was a great symbol of power.


    Tom not only manage to kill, but he also turn it into his undead which was hard to believe.


    Helid and the other nobles could not believe it was real at first, but only now did they realize that the dragon was real through and through.


    Zastor roared and his whole body glowed. Raising his w, he pped Jazad in mid-air, and his whole body exploded at the moment of impact.


    When Bhazud saw Jazad''s tragic death at the hand of the magical dragon, the hair on his body jolted.


    "I know it wasn''t a fake magic dragon! It''s able to kill a mid Diamond Rank warrior with a single strike! The Conquerer of the West actually has a magical dragon to protect his son!"


    Bhazud still did not believe it was Tom that owned the magical dragon and believed it was the Conquerer of the West who forced the magical dragon to submission with his grand golem army.


    Bang! Bang! With loud sounds, two trucks opened their storage unit and two Gunner-ss IT-6 appeared. Standing 10 meter tall, they quickly reached out for their guns strapped on their thigh and began firing. Their eyes flickered non-stop as they received countless data at every second.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Spatial Barrier!" Bhazud waved his hand and casted a defensive spell. The space around him warped in weird way, creating a formidable barrier.


    When the shells mmed into the barrier, their shape were suddenly distorted, and then they shattered in mid-air.


    However, the two Gunner-ss robot fired their shells at more than 3,000 shells per second, and they did have a variety of shells at their disposal. Quickly assessing the situation, the robots changed their shells into explosives.


    When the shells arrived, they were distorted but still manage to explode.


    BOOM!


    The spatial barrier crumbled and the shells entered the magician''s body before they exploded at once.


    Helid''s eyes glimmered. "A mid Diamond Rank magician was killed by the golems¡­ this is too powerful. No wonder Tom wanted his father to be called the Steel Emperor. It might sound arrogant, but it''s a fitting title."


    The bandits scattered immediately right after. Fear stered on their faces.


    ? Tom raised his hand, ordering his legion to stop attacking.


    "Are you not going to kill them all?" Helid asked.


    "Killing them would consume resources. They are simply not worth it. But, I will let my magic dragon to kill as many as possible."


    Tom looked at Zastor and nodded. Zastor nodded back at him before pping his wing, shooting into the sky, and then gazing down at the fleeing bandits.


    He licked his lips before he dived down and released a beam of light from his mouth, burning them all to ashes.


    A bunch of cloud dragons tried to attack it, but the magical dragon reign supreme and chomped them down like snacks.


    Helid gulped when he saw this while the other youngster were shock stricken at what just happened.


    One mid Diamond Rank warrior, and one mid Diamond Rank magician just tried to kill them. But not only that, they saw the mighty force of Tom''s golem, and the power of his magic dragon.


    And there was more. They now knew Tom could turn magical dragon into his undead.


    So many things were happening today and even though they had the brain power of a Diamond Rank, this information was simply too hard to process right away.


    Defeating a magical dragon was considered to be impossible for a lot of people already, but turning it into undead ve???


    "What are you guys daydreaming about? Get inside the truck so we can continue our journey."


    "¡­"


    "R¡ªright, let us get in."


    As they entered the truck, Tom waited with a smile. When all of them entered the truck, Tom turned around and whispered: "Arise."


    Shadow engulfed the whole battlefield, along with the corpses that littered it.

 Chapter 523 523 The Power Of The Mechanicum

    After they  all entered the truck, Helid and the other youngster sat down on the sofa and looked at Tom with curiosity.


    "Tom,  how many golems did you bring?"


    "I brought around 50,000 golems for my protection."


    "And all of them are at low Diamond Rank?"


    "Yes. They are not for sale though. Even uncle Hushum only got 4 of them."


    "Hushum? You mean the Duke of Wihnd?! To call the Duke of Wihnd as your uncle¡­"


    "It''s fine. The duke is very close to my father."


    Helid and the other youngsters bit their lips after that. Duke of Wihnd was a highly influential yer in the elite-circle. It was no surprise that the Duke would make the first move and create a rtionship with a powerful neer.


    But despite their rtionship, Tom said that the Duke only received 4 golems. This meant that the golems were still a valuable secret and could not be distributed so freely.


    "But we do n to sell some golems at tinum Rank level. You guys can buy them in the future."


    "Right¡­"


    tinum Rank golems wasn''t that useful, but if they bought more than 10,000 golems, they could have an army on their own.


    Though the resources it would take to maintain them would be too huge.


    "And do not worry about recing mana crystals or repairing these golems. They can replenish energy on their own and can fix themselves. In fact, they can upgrade their strength by consuming nearby resources or materials. If you tell the golems to siege a powerful wall, they could literally consume the materials that the wall is made of and increase their strength."


    "That''s¡­ that''s very convenient. I have never heard of such golems before."


    "That is why my father is so powerful. His golems are far better than anything this world has ever seen."


    "No wonder he dare to call himself the Emperor of Steel."


    Tom giggled. "I think it''s a fitting name for him."


    "Indeed it does. But what about you? What is your title will be? Emperor of Death? I think it will fit you since you can turn a magical dragon to an undead. By the way, how many undead can you have?"


    "Less than six thousand."


    "Ohhh." Helid sighed in relief because he thought Tom would said unlimited amount.


    Well, Aldred could have unlimited amount of undead because of his Phantom Doomde, though they were not as strong as his undead raised from his own power. In fact, he even had more than 300,000 demon. But they were all at Gold Rank, so basically useless in this continent.


    They were a distraction or a hindrance at best.


    But they could be useful for upying small territory or taking over unguarded cities.


    A few minutester, the maids came over and served them smoking delicious food.


    The youngsters did not what to think of this. Just a minute ago they saw a battle of epic proportion but now they rx on a sofa while being served with food.


    And Tom acted as if this was his every day life.


    Well, Aldred had went on a fantastic adventure and had fought against creatures of any sizes. He even saw an Adamantite Dragonkin, Adamantite worm, and had climbed atop the World Tree itself.


    And every single day, his life was basically threatened from all directions. Victor tried to kill him countless times, Pharder and Simond making him restless, and he also made so many enemies along the way.


    Aldred already grew numb to it which was why the youngsters were so shocked by his nonchnt attitude.


    "Tom, do you have any brothers or sisters?"


    "I do," Tom lied just in case he wanted to summon another clone. "But they are not here. Maybe they wille maybe also not."


    "Are they your age?"


    "Sort of."


    Helid sensed that Tom did not want to talk about his kin, and so he quickly thought of something else.


    "Tom, where did your father learn how to create these powerful golems?"


    "He learned it himself."


    "Amazing. Your father is very incredible."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "These golems are not his strongest creation."


    "It''s not? Then what is it?"


    "It''s a flying aircraft called CS-Armageddon-57."


    "Flying aircraft? What''s that."


    "Basically, a mothership that can fly."


    "A mothership¡­ are you serious? A mothership that can even harm high Diamond Rank magician?"


    "Yep, my father has quite a bunch of those. But he has something stronger than that."


    "Ehh!!! What else did he create?"


    "It''s called CK-47. You can say that it''s a secret treasure as tall as fifty ox."


    "What can it do?"


    Tom smiled. "You guys didn''t know that my father is the one who destroyed nd Mountain?"


    The youngsters were shocked.


    "We¡­ we know it was your father. But we don''t know that he used a secret treasure to do it."


    nd Mountain was the biggest mountain in Withokere Kingdom. It was so tall and huge that everyone could see it on every corner of the kingdom.


    It was said that only Adamantite Rank could destroy it in a single attack.


    Who would have known that Tom''s father could create a secret treasure that could produce the same result.


    Aldred''s military might was simply too powerful. In fact, if two to three Countbined their power, they might not be able to defeat him.


    No wonder he was epted by the king, and was even befriended by Duke Hushum himself.


    Helid cleared his throat. "Tom, let''s be friend from now on."


    "Sure." Tom said. Having more friends never hurt. Of course, he would never trust them 100%. Friends were more likely to back stab rather than helping in precarious situation.


    He would make as many friends as possible, but he would never ever trust them with his life.


    He only trusted in himself. And so, he would only put his fate on his own hand.


    Humans were ungrateful after all. They might felt grateful when you help them, but feeling was temporary, and there was no certainty if they would help you in the future.


    Aldred had learned this lesson from his past life. Because of that, he never help someone while expecting something in return.


    So when the day betrayale, he wouldn''t be disappointed nor surprised.


    ¡­


    Aldred''s territory, Chawbigton City, Inside the underground secretb.


    Tens of thousands undead bandits appeared in formation. After they all gathered, they transformed into their human form and countless drones flew from above, revealing a needle and then stabbing it into their head.


    Countless information and knowledge were absorbed and quickly sent to the Mechanicum.


    The knowledge received from foreign sources were kept in separate ce because they needed to confirmed. Their methods of confirming the information was by calcting how many people had the same information.


    And not just that, the status, strength, and history of the individual was also taken into ount.


    The masses were easy to fool. A little bit of propaganda and misinformation wasmon among rulers and dictators to control their nation.


    So if an ordinary soldier had the information of A while the general of the army had the information of B then they would prioritize the information received from the general instead.


    Not every information was true after all.


    With this system in ce, the Mechanicum manage to filter useless and false information, and then using vital information and knowledge about the world to further strengthened the organization.


    In the future, Aldred''s power would further increase more and more.

 Chapter 524 524 Business Idea

    Night time came. Tom''s caravan still rolled towards their destination at high speed.


    The youngsters were assigned their own room. Tom''s truck was very spacious. Not only were there room for maids, there were also a bunch for guests. And each room was like a luxurious hotel room with its own bathroom.


    In Helid''s words, it was like a moving mansion.


    They also had buttons they could press at any time to call the maids should they needte night snacks, massage, or anything else.


    The youngsters did not do such things however. Instead, they closed their eyes and meditate. To be a powerful magicians, one had to have a firm control over one''s mind. Temptation, doubt, fear, and other emotion could cloud one''s judgment.


    The more powerful a magician, the more they were able to resist these emotions. Eventually, they could be bound by no emotion at all. They could still feel, but it would never cloud their judgment.


    Warrior would also grew firm control over their mind as they got stronger, but it could not bepared to be a magician.


    Magician needed to think all the time. Because of their power, theypletely saw the world in a different light. In their eyes, every shape, form,w, and reality could be changed.


    Anything could change in this world.


    This kind of mindset forced their mind to be focused all the time.


    Warrior were quite different. When warriors train, their mind could be somewhere else while they were doing physical training.


    Tom entered his bedroom and closed the door.


    After making sure no one was eavesdropping, he summoned Jazad and Bhazud.


    They both knelt and bowed. "Master."


    Tom smiled. "Now I have 3 mid Diamond Rank undead, and 1 high Diamond Rank undead."


    With this force, nobody could push him around without thinking about the consequences.


    Well, Aldred had showed that he could leveled the biggest mountain of this kingdom, so everyone should already understand his power.


    "Do the two of you have any valuable potions?" Tom asked.


    Jazad bowed and replied: "I do have one, master."


    He snapped his finger, and a bottle of potion appeared in his hand."


    Tom scanned the potion with his eyes. "Philter of Growth. This potion could strengthened my physique and mind at the same time. It''s both good for magician and warrior, but it''s much more effective for warrior to use it."


    Philter of Growth had the effect of strengthening one''s physique. Every warrior was born with powerful physique. Some had stronger physique than others, and there was limit to how far it could be trained, depending on one''s talent.


    The Philter of Growth however could help to break that limit.


    Aldred did not have a limit, but it still could increase the durability of his body.


    More importantly, he could recreate these potions and sell them.


    Philter of Growth was a rare and expensive potion. Only rarely it appeared in elite auction ces exclusive for the nobles and extremely wealthy family with years of history.


    "Corduul," Tom called.


    The space beside tom warped and Corduul walked out, his metal feet thudding against the wooden floor.


    "You called, master?"


    "Scan the property of this potion and began to make more of it. I n to make it as one of our top product."


    "Certainly, master."


    The space warped again and sucked Corduul in, vanishing from the spot.


    With the Mechanicum''sputing power andrge amount of Tech Priest working behind the scene, it wouldn''t take long for them to scan the form and began production.


    He would have to make anotherpany called Aldred''s Potion Shop or something.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It would sell all kinds of potion, but especially the rare and expensive ones. That way his brand could grow.


    "Wait, since knowledge in this world is very valuable, maybe I could sell all the skill obtained by the Mechanicum."


    That was a fantastic idea. Since Aldred had killed a lot of people and sucked all of their memories, information about their magic spells and martial technique were also absorbed.


    These could be written in a book and be sold again.


    Except for secret and forbidden technique, everything could be sold without any problem.


    Aldred''s Knowledge Shop. That would be the name of his newpany since he would not only sell spells and martial art, but also other information about everything else such as nts, magic beast, dragons, formation, strategy, and other knowledge.


    It would be like a library.


    After thinking about his business, Tom pulled out a small metallic device out of his pocket and stabbed both Jazad and Bhazud on the head, absorbing their information.


    "Hmmm, so despite working as assassin for years, they do not even know who their boss was?"


    Whoever was employing these two were very careful. But to be able to groom mid Diamond Rank magician and warrior as assassin meant that their former boss was a wealthy and resourceful person.


    It had to be a noble family.


    "But, what would they think of me now since two of their assassin failed to kill me?"


    They would probably think that Aldred deployed a very powerful golem to protect his son. That meant they would send something stronger in the future.


    Tom sighed. He could handle a high Diamond Rank, but Adamantite Rank was impossible for him now.


    The more information he absorbed the more he realized how powerful an Adamantite Rank was. In this continent, they were considered a god-like entity.


    Due to Aldred''s emissary, he had the chance to enter the university where Adamantite Rank themselves would teach.


    With his capability, he could absorb so many skills and information without any problem.


    Tom checked Bhazud''s memory next. He was a powerful mid Diamond Rank magician with all kinds of deathly spell. While Tom browsed through his memories, filled with the scene of assassination, there were other scenes that caught his eyes.


    Bhazud, using his charming spells manage to charm the daughter of an emperor. And not just any emperor, it was the emperor of Divine Empire of Stotford!


    The Divine Empire of Stotford was ten times more powerful than the Kingdom of Withokere with its territory stretching far and wide!


    Who would have thought that a simple assassin could have any contact with the daughter of such figure.


    But thankfully, the princess manage to dispel the charm.


    However, that was after Bhazud took her virginity.


    "... this man is crazy."


    Aldred loved sleeping with women, but even he would have thought a hundred times before sleeping with the daughter of an emperor. (Not him forgetting that he had slept with the wife of an emperor before)


    Tom shook his head and told the two of them to return to the shadow.


    Sighing, he called for the maids to enter his room and gave him a massage as he stared out of the window.


    Looking at the sky, he expected to see something. A floating castle, or something else.


    But there was nothing.


    The night was especially lonely and quiet.


    After enjoying his massage, Tom ordered the maids to leave as he climbed up onto his bed.


    Staring at the ceiling for a few minute, Tom began to close his eyes.


    As he went to sleep however, a speck of light passed by in the sky.

 Chapter 525 525 Arriving

    The next day, everyone woke up and gathered in the living room.


    Everyone was looking fresh and fit with no wrinkles on their clothes. They all wore a magical clothes would always looked good, clean, and neat. It wasmon for the wealthy and nobles to have one in this continent.


    Even Tom had some. Although these clothes were only used for long-distance trip, and rarely used for formal asion, because they would be consideredzy.


    The easier it was to mess the clothes, the more fashionable one would seem.


    "We should arrive within a few hours," Tom said to them.


    Helid nodded. "I have checked my magical map. These carriages are so fast. Our carriage would need days to arrive to the capital city."


    The other youngsters also nodded in admiration.


    "Tom, is your dad nning to sell these carriages as well?"


    "First of all, they are called trucks. As for selling them¡­ I think my dad has n for that."


    "That''s great. With these carriages we could bring soldiers, supplies, and even magic beast to long-distances with much ease."


    "But¡­ these carriages must be expensive right?"


    Tom smiled. "Not at all. Its cheaper than the golems, so you can buy them in batches."


    The youngsters were relieved to hear that. Their parents would be proud if they could bring back this news.


    Tom''s iron carriages, the trucks, were very fast, and needed no rest at all.


    The trucks had continued their trip non-stop.


    Most carriages were pulled by magic beast that could run for weeks, but they were not as fast as Tom''s trucks.


    Also, the carriages were not as luxurious as Tom''s.


    Helid Ninel snapped his finger and a ring appeared in his palm. He flipped his palm and then a dark staff appeared.


    "Tom, this is my gift to you. Considered it as payment for letting me travel in the same truck as you."


    Tom analyzed the staff with his godly eyes, and he was quite satisfied with it.


    [Staff of Darkness]


    Magic Damage: 3,400


    Casting Speed: 120%


    Lethal Magic: 40


    Effect:


    -Dark Fog: Creating a wide and expansive field of dark fog. Anyone that got caught within this fog would experience hallucination.


    After looking at the staff, Tom raised his hand and summoned his Phantom Doomde.


    The appearance of the de shook the youngsters, including Helid. Under the presence of the Phantom Doomde, they were like weak sheep ready to be ughtered.


    In fact, they even had this premonition that the de had the intention to kill them if they did something wrong.


    Tom felt the de''s powerful killer aura and then suppressed it immediately.


    The atmosphere became calm again and everyone let out a breathe of relief.


    The youngsters were fine, the maids however tried really hard to hold their legs from shaking.


    Their legs usually shake like that after they left Tom''s bedroom, but this was more intense than that.


    As days passed by, the more they realize that their master''s power was far and beyond they couldprehend.


    How powerful was Tom? What other secret treasure he had? And if he was this strong, then what about his father?


    Tom tapped the staff with the Phantom Doomde, and the de immediately sucked the staff in.


    That surprised Helid a bit.


    The Phantom Doomde morphed into different shapes as it consumed the staff.


    Tomughed as he looked at the stat of his Phantom Doomde.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    -[Phantom Doomde (Legendary) (Full Potential Locked)]


    Health: 3,400


    Attack Damage: 6,800


    Magic Damage: 3,400<novelnext></novelnext>


    Attack Speed: 370%


    Casting Speed: 120%


    Critical Chance: 100%


    Lethality: 80


    Lethal Magic: 40


    Life Steal: 70%


    Effect:


    -Soul Eater: consume a part of the target''s soul, weakening them, and could even killed some part of their soul, disabling their limbs.


    -Form Changer: can manipte its shape, length, and thickness at will


    -Treasure Eater: Can consume other treasure to copy its form, effect, or to upgrade the weapon


    -Organic Eater: Can consume organic property to be stronger


    -Soul Mentor: Whoever is worthy to wield this de will be guided by the sword itself


    -Death Aura: Your enemy will be reminded the fear of death. Their minds will be filled with horror and tragedy unimaginable.


    -Death ve: Turning the death to be your ve. (No limit to undead, cannot level up, cannot revive)


    -Death Inspire: All of the damage dealt by your undead will increase by 50%


    -Unseen de: Your attacks have the chance to be unnoticed by your enemy.


    -Seraph''s Blessing: Control over fire 500%, Fire Damage 500%, Immunity to fire 500%, Movement Speed 300%, Strength 300%


    -Dark Fog: Creating a wide and expansive field of dark fog. Anyone that got caught within this fog would experience hallucination.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Obtaining the Phantom Doomde was the best thing that had ever happen to him. Not only could it absorb other treasure to strengthen itself, it also absorbed the unique effect of said treasure. Which mean, he did not need to rece his weapon at all.


    If he found something more powerful, he could simply absorbed it, and the Phantom Doomde would evolve. Beside, the de''s full potential was still locked because Aldred did not meed the requirement for its full power yet.


    Who knew how powerful this truly was.


    Not only consuming treasure, this de could also consume soul as well.


    After proudly looking at his de, Tom made it vanish into his inventory.


    "Wow, Tom. Your father gave you that?"


    "Yeah, I got it when I reached Diamond Rank."


    "Damn¡­ you must be your father''s favorite son."


    "Not really, all of my brothers and sister receive a sword just like mine."


    "No way¡­ he got more than one of those?"


    "I think so." Tom lied.


    Aldred''s cloning ability was the best cloning ability there is. Not only did his skill copy all of his strength, it also copy the exact equipment he had.


    Say he had a nuke that could destroy an entire continent, if he clone himself, the nuke would also be cloned.


    It was one of Aldred''s top spell, and one of the reason why he could survive for so long despite fighting against so many odds and tough enemies.


    He fought against rulers, powerful monsters, natural catastrophe, and so much more.


    Luck might be part of it, but it was Aldred''s skill that let him survive thus far.


    A few hourster, the caravan encountered a bunch of carriages of merchants on the way.


    Ahead of them, a city wall standing 300 meter tall casted of pristine white wall came into view.


    Above the ever majestic wall, flying around in the sky, all kinds of dragons in thick white armor kept their watch below.


    The warriors on the dragons were also d in white, holding a 4 meter-long spear with a bow on their back.


    After Tom analyzed them, he found out they were all mid Diamond Rank warrior and magician.


    If Tom fought them, he would certainly lose unless he called for backup.


    Smiling, Tom was excited to see how powerful the university was. If mid Diamond Ranks personnel were just mere guards, then the teachers must be at least High Diamond Ranks!


    He could obtain so many information in this ce!

 Chapter 526 526 Dorm

    As the convoy approached the gate, ten guards in thick white armor stopped them. They brought a spear in their hand, a sword hanging on their waist, and a crossbow on their back. They also had a small shield on their left forearm.


    After close analysis, Tom realized that their gears were quite expensive and powerful.


    These guards were at Low Diamond Rank warrior too!


    "As the capital city of Withokere, this much protection is very much needed. No other cities in this kingdom has this many Diamond Rank warrior," Helid told Tom.


    "Aren''t they raremodity? They are hated by magicians right?"


    Helidughed. "There are always exception."


    Of course, the king of Withokere, and the professors here were at Adamantite Rank. Why would they be scared of mere Diamond Rank warriors?


    "Stay in your carriage while we scan you!" the guard shouted.


    One of them grabbed a small object with turtle shape. He threw the object into the air and it floated before moving around the trucks.


    After the scanning, the guard frowned and looked at Tom through the window. "Why are you bringing so many golems with you?"


    "I am the son of Aldred. I am here to study in Withokere University, and also to start a golem business."


    "To conduct a business here, you need a permit. I cannot allow you to bring so many golems into the city."


    "Can I bring at least four?"


    "You can."


    "Fine. The rest of my trucks will stay outside the city."


    After the guard nodded, the truck moved onward and entered the city.


    Right after passing the gate, the trucks rolled on a wide expanse of road. There were dozens of carriages left, right, in front, and behind.


    There were all kinds of carriages as well. Some were pulled by magic beast, others moved by magic. Some used flying carpet.


    Tom even saw some unique carriages that looked like Harley Motorcycle.


    There were open-roof carriages, and a long carriage with a bar of which men and women were drinking and having fun while they were on the road.


    Looking around, Tom saw shops, hotel, motel, vi, homestay, malls, restaurants, and so much more! It felt like he was back on earth again.


    The Nation of Duria resembled earth far more, but their technology was too advanced that it barely resembled earth. This one however was very simr to the city he used to see on television, well, except the magical parts.


    A small, glowing fairy entered the truck and smiled. "Hello, wee to Tinedigan City! My name is La. Would you like some drinks or cakes? We have a list of menu you can see."


    The fairy waved her hand and a magical projection of food and drinks appeared in the air.


    Tom raised an eyebrow. He had never seen a service like this before. Maybe he could copy it and make one of his own.


    That would be the perfect idea.


    "Give me one of everything," Tom said.


    He then looked at the youngsters. "You guys want something?"


    "I want salted caramel rice cake crumbs ice cream."


    "I want crushed oats cake."


    They ordered one by one and the more they ordered the happier the fairy seemed.


    "Is that all the order, master?"


    "Yes, that is all."


    "That will be 25 Epic Mana Crystals."


    With a snap of his finger, a small bag appeared in Tom''s hand. "There''s exactly 25 crystals inside."


    The fairy peeked inside and nodded. The magical projection vanished along with the small bag.


    "Thank you for your order, master. Enjoy your meal!"


    Right after the fairy said that, food magically appeared out of thin air and was served on a fancy table and tter. Dozens of small fairies appeared and sprinkled the food with extra magical seasoning that seemed to glitter and sparkle.


    There were some fairies that rode a small dolphin, cheerfully doing her job as she flew around the food.


    Tom watched all of this with amusement. Magic was truly something else.


    Things as simple as food could be so amazing with a little touch of magic.


    More and more food appeared within the truck. There was so much food that in fact there wasn''t enough room for all of them.


    And so the tes floated above one another. Tom could simply looked at a te and it would approach him should he needed to take something from it.


    "The food is amazing! Isn''t that right, Tom?" Helid asked.


    "Not bad, I guess."


    Helid giggled. "I see that you are not impressed. Later, I will show you a good restaurant. The meal that we just ordered are simply for quick and convenient. The real food are made with time. The price won''t be cheap though."


    "You  think I''m poor?" Tom asked teasingly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Helidughed. "How would I dare to say that?"


    "By the way, where are we going now? How do I enroll into the university?"


    "First, we are going to the dorm. There should be people waiting for us there. They will take care of everything."


    "That''s good." Tom nodded.


    After a few hours, they arrived at a gatedmunity area. The area was like a golf course with small hills, rivers,kes, garden, and there were huge mansions every 300 meters, each with their own unique design.


    It was clear that this space was exclusive to the rich.


    Though it wasn''t what Tom expected when he heard the word ''dorm''.


    "Sir, Tom!" a beautifuldy waved on the side of the street.


    The truck stopped.


    "Sir, Tom. This is your assigned mansion."


    Tom took one look at the mansion and his godly eyes activated, scanning the whole area and the surrounding as wide as 10 KM.


    There were a lot of protection magic, traps, hidden guards, magic beast, and other things to protect the students that lived here.


    But, there were also some contraption for espionage.


    Tom sighed. "So this is where I will live?"


    "Yes, sir. If you don''t like it, we can look around and you can pick any avable mansion."


    Helid and the other youngsters were shocked to hear that. They had never heard that a student could pick a mansion. Usually, they would be assigned one and not allowed to pick.


    This meant that they really treated Tom as a respected guests.


    "No need. I will have this one. What about my friends here?"


    Thedy pointed to the side and a carriage appeared out of thin air. "This carriage will bring them to their dwellings. For now, will you be willing to see your mansion?"


    "Alright." Tom exited the truck along with the others.


    "See you guyster," Tom said before following the beautifuldy into the mansion.


    Walking through the driveway, Tom nodded as he was satisfied with what he saw. Maybe he should tell Corduul to design some Sport Car or Super Car so he can show it off.


    And after showing it off, people would ask where he got one. And then, he could sell those super cars at an extravagant price.


    Tomughed inside as he thought of a n to scam wealthy kids out of their money.


    "Sir, Tom?"


    "No need to call me sir. Just Tom is fine."


    "How can that be. Please, at least, let me call you, Master."


    Tom raised an eyebrow. "What is your role here?"


    "I am responsible for giving you a tour of this establishment."


    "Alright then, show me what this ce can offer."


    Tom said that but he already knew in and out of this mansion.


    There were a lot of training room for magicians to train their mental and even physical capacity. One hundred meter below his feet was a room with special materials. These materials could turn the mana nearby into chaotic property.


    If a magician manage to cast spell in this room, their casting speed, and effectiveness would definitely increase by twofold at least.


    There were other simr room, but all of them were designed to train or study.


    This mansion had no ce for entertainment at all!


    What a boring mansion. Tom would definitely modify this mansionter, so he could bring some girls in and had fun.


    Tom would probably the only one who could think this way. Every student in Withokere University was in constant pressure of studying and practicing.


    If they failed just one test, they would immediately expelled.


    Entering Withokere University was extremely hard, but the hardest part was maintaining the status of a student in this university.


    Because of this, the university students barely had time for entertainment. All they do is study and practice. Most of them did not even sleep, and used pills to remove the need of sleep.


    That was why despite being assigned huge mansions, the students did not have time to enjoy it.


    "You will also be assigned maids and servants to serve you, master."


    "I see. And are you going to be the head maid, Elfie?" Tom asked.


    Elfie widened her eyes. "Master... how did you know my name?"


    Tom smiled. "I am a magician."

 Chapter 527 527 Corduuls Proposal

    Elfie was still in shock at how her new master just call her name. She hadn''t had the chance to introduce herself, but Tom already knew her name.


    Magic was strange with all kinds of abilities. Knowing someone''s name might not seem much, but the situation this time was different. Elfie was a low Diamond Rank magician, so she had spells protecting her at all times. This included protection from someone to peer through her.


    Magician could curse someone just by knowing their true name. Which was why the fact that Tom could find out about her true name was very terrifying.


    Tom already knew about the existence of curse magic. He just did not want to learn about it, because it wasn''t very effective at killing. At best, it could annoy someone and they needed to buy expensive potions, but that was it.


    He wanted abilities that could make his enemies explode with a single attack. Something fatal and deadly, making anyone that witness it trembling in fear.


    That was the the type of skills and ability he wanted. Curse magic was for cowards.


    "I already like what I see," Tom said. "You don''t have to give me a tour."


    "Ehh¡­ but."


    "And you are also released from your position as the head maid. In fact, I want every maids and gardener here to stop working because my golems will rece them all. I feel much safer with the golems around, so I hope you can understand. Besides, my father strictly wanted me to use the golems as protection, and he will not rest will until I do."


    "I¡­ I understand. If that is what Sir Tom wanted, then I have toply."


    Elfie immediately bowed and left, calling out for all the maids and gardeners, ten thousand workers in total, and told them to go home.


    After making sure everyone was leaving, Tom said: "Corduul."


    The space beside him warped and Corduul''s steel feet stepped into the living room.


    "Yes, master?"


    ? "There are espionage contraption all over this ce. Do you have any technology that can prevent them from hearing us?"


    "We can use sound wave barrier, and voice change A.I. That will solve our problem."


    "Do that. And also, contact the school administration. Do whatever it takes for me to bring ten thousand golem into this mansion."


    "That might be hard to achieve, master."


    "Tell Ruhnan Noku to take care of it."


    Corduul was silent at first before he nodded in agreement.


    Ruhnan Noku was a fantastic diplomat. Not only he manage to make lots of great deals for Aldred, but he also created a widework of useful personnel that would further help in their information gathering mission.


    He was a mastermunicator. People drop their guards after talking with him for 5 minutes, and his charm was so great that even females Diamond Rank magicians showed some interest in him.


    That was an extremely rare case, because most female always wanted a partner that was stronger than them.


    Theparison was like a mortal peasant charming a goddess of heaven.


    And he did all of this simply with his bodynguage and verbal skill.


    Ruhnan had now became one of Aldred''s essential subordinate, and every diplomatic matters were dumped to him of which he dly epted them all.


    With his skill, allowing Tom to bring in 10,000 golem might be tough work, but should be manageable.


    "I have a proposal to make, master," Corduul spoke.


    "What is it?"


    "The Phantom Doomde. The Mechanicum has gathered enough data about magical weaponry of this world. With Dobbs'' skill, we can further improve the capabilities of your weapon."


    Tom considered that option. Dobbs was a cksmith with innate divine skill in forging and creating weapon, so leaving the Phantom Doomde with him for a while should not be a problem.


    "What are you nning to add?" Tom asked.


    "We proposed to add long-range capabilities to your weapon."


    "Likeser beam?"


    "Or projectile release mechanism. We detected that the energy within your sword could materialized into a powerful object which then could be released at high velocity."


    "Hmmm, my de can already turn into a bow though."


    "Adding more forms to your weapon might also add an element of surprise, master."


    "Hmmm,pared to a bow, guns looked a lot cooler. What will the shape look like?"


    "However you like, master."


    "Giant pistol?"


    "That can be done. Besides, your de could shape shift to any form it liked. The tech priest will only install our technology around it."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I still don''t see the significant benefit."


    "Your de has the power to absorb soul when it came into contact with the enemy. This is not true when you are using it in its bow form."


    "You are saying that I can absorb the soul of my enemy with long-range attack?"


    "Indeed, the de with imbued a tiny part of itself to every projectile, but it will not affect the de in anyway since it could self-repair immediately. But the small part of the de would increase the damage of the projectile by many-fold. In our calction, even a mid-Diamond Rank would be terribly wounded by a single projectile if they do not use their protective spell."


    "That''s quite powerful¡­"


    Tom looked at Corduul. "But why are you so excited to be working on my weapon?"


    "The Mechanicum strive for advancement, master. Any possibilities of creating stronger activate a cell in our brain to excite and stimte us. This let us work harder and more ambitious."


    "Wait, so you manipte your own brain to be more ambitious?"


    "Precisely."


    Tomughed. "That is so smart. Imagine you removeziness in every human. How far would they go?"


    Working and inventing on every waking hour, how far technology could advance with that kind of civilization?


    "It still needs to be bnced. Removingzinesspletely is very dangerous as it affect other emotions as well. After some time of removingziness, the brain would forget the meaning of diligence."


    "That makes sense. Without knowing what is light, one cannot know what is darkness. Without knowing pain, one cannot know the meaning of pleasure."


    And this could be taken very literally. As Corduul said, the brain will forget one emotion if its opposite waspletely removed.


    "Alright, I agree." Tom summoned his Phantom Doomde. "Take it."


    Corduul reached out with both hands and carefully grabbed the de.


    After taking the de, Corduul warped the space in front of him and created a portal before leaving the mansion.


    Tom was left alone with a bunch of maids that he brought from home.


    "Well, since we just arrive why don''t we have some fun in the bedroom."


    The maids looked at each other and smiled before they followed Tom into the bedroom.


    ¡­


    Duke Hushum, the Duke of Wihnd, one of the strongest, influential, and wealthiest noble in the Kingdom of Withokere, sat on his balcony overlooking the sky where a gigantic metallic ship floated above his city, Thaxted.


    "CS-Armageddon-57. What a weird-sounding name. It''s like it isn''t from this world. But¡­ a ship like this has never been seen before."


    A ship that can fly wasn''t new. But unlike warships that was put on the sea, flying warships were smaller and weaker, but they consumed tremendous amount of resources for every minute of flying.


    The flying warship that Aldred gave however, could fly all year round non-stop. It did not need any manpower to run, and he could tell the ship to do whatever he wanted with a simple voicemand.


    For a few weeks now, Duke Hushum had told the ship to fly around the kingdom and stayed a couple of days above his city. He even destroyed a bunch of mountains with it.


    In fact, he even collected thousands of magical beast using this ship. And he did all of this while rxing on his balcony.


    "Those nobles must be so envious of me." Duke Hushumughed.


    The Duke looked to the side, his eyes shed with magic power, and his vision zoomed in 300KM away.


    On a vast grasnd, tens of thousands of golems were creating roads. On the side, more golems were installing iron bars that Aldred called rail tracks.


    He said it would make transportation of goods much faster. Aldred''s territory was quite far from Duke Hushum''s territory.


    And so, they passed by many fief, but with the Duke''s name, they easily agreed to let Aldred installing these roads.


    Besides, everyone will also be benefited from this road. More roads equal more opportunities to sell which equal more wealth, and more tax.


    Things were going well.


    Knock! Knock!


    The sound of knocking door came from behind.


    Not bothering to look back, Duke Hushum ordered: "Come in."


    The door creaked open, and the sound of metal boots thudding against the ground approached.


    The guard stopped beside the Duke and then knelt. "My lord, Tom, the son of Aldred, has arrived in his dorm."


    Duke Hushumughed. "Well, I should visit him then."

 Chapter 528 528 Going To Campus

    Tom looked around and saw mechanical drones flying all over his mansion. They were actively-scanning for any magical objects, living entity, and possibly anything that would let his enemies spy or even harm him.


    Tom was a clone, so his death would mean nothing, but he did not like the feeling of death, so this much protection was necessary. Any organization that wanted to kill him had to expend a significant amount of resources from personnels to nning and information gathering.


    This was also done to let others knew that Aldred would protect his son. And also to confirm their suspicion that Tom was really his son.


    The rtionship between the nobles and Aldred was still vague. Aldred killed a noble of the Withokere Kingdom, and it was a major crime, and he should even be punished with death.


    But weirdly, the nobles not only let him live, but he even got a fief of his own. At first, they thought nothing of it, but the when the nobles went home and began to think, they realized that something must have went wrong.


    All of this was possible because of Ruhnan. His performance was perfect in its execution that even these old, and supposedly wise nobles did not realize what happened until they organize their mind.


    Activating his godly eyes, Tom peered outside his mansion and spied on other students. Indeed, most of them were meditating, training, consuming pills, or reading books. And ording to the information the godly eyes gave him, they had been training for a full week non-stop.


    Sad truth about bing powerful magician was that their progressive growth require boring and constant training of studying and meditation.


    Luckily, Aldred had a better system. All he needed to do was kill something strong, and he would get experience which would let him level up. Though it was significantly getting harder to level up.


    Tom sighed. "Let''s get to sleep."


    Tom went into his bedroom and slept for the night.


    The next day.


    Tom opened his eyes, sunlight came through the window from his left while a mechanical drone floated right above him.


    "Master," it let out a mechanical voice. "Miss Elfie is waiting for you outside. She said that she will escort you to campus."


    "Hmmm, I already know the location, but whatever."


    Tom stood up from his bed, snapped his finger, and clothes magically appeared out of thin air before wrapping all around him.


    Tom looked at himself in the mirror. There was a sense of nostalgic inside his heart. Back on earth, his life wasn''t as amazing or magical as this. It was constant battle against depression and mental suffering.


    He had no money, no love from his families, and no friends. The world seemed so bitter back then.


    But looking at himself now, he felt like he was in heaven. He wore the best clothes anyone could possibly have, had the power nobody could even dare to imagine, and garnering the wealth that he could never ever run out of.


    It was as if all of this adventure was a blessing from the gods.


    Tom let out a breath and smiled. For some reason, his mood became better and his anxious heart dropped down a bit.


    When he left his room and met with Elfie, Tom immediately gave her the brightest smile he could give.


    Elfie was slightly taken aback. Yesterday, it felt like Tom did not even want her to be around him, and he even mentioned her true name which was some sort of threat in itself.


    Now, Tom looked like a gentleman, with a big loving heart. That made Elfie blushed a bit.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Elfie. It is my pleasure to be escorted by you."


    "¡­ it is my pleasure as well, Master Tom. If you are ready, please follow me."


    "Of course, please guide the way."


    When they walked out of the mansion, a luxurious carriage was waiting for him, pulled by two 30 meter-long lightning beast.


    "This is the carriage that was prepared for us, but if Master Tom wanted to, we can change it."


    "It''s looking good. I am satisfied with this."


    "¡­ That''s¡­ good."


    They both entered the carriage and Tom made himselffortable. "So how is your day, miss Elfie?"


    "I am doing fine, master," Elfie replied with slight hesitation because people of Tom''s status would rarely asked someone like her a question like this.


    Tom then proceeded to talk with her as if they were on a date. During the journey, Tom asked all kinds of question about her as if he was truly interested in her. He even made some jokes that made herugh.


    Miss Elfie was drowned in all kinds of emotions. She felt like she was truly cared, and that Tom genuinely wanted to know her.


    Tom was d that he could make someone''s day. When he was in a good mood, he would try to spread and share this mood to others. Doesn''t matter if he did not know the other person very well.


    Happiness should be shared after all.


    After three hours, they arrived in front of the gate of the campus.


    Hundreds of students entered the campus with all kinds of luxurious carriages or exotic magic beast.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "There''s surprisingly a lot of students."


    "Of course there are. Most students have been enrolled in the campus for hundreds of years. As new generation came, the numbers of students increase."


    "Ohh¡­ so¡­ most students are hundreds of years???"


    "Master Tom, the path to be an Adamantite Rank is very long. I am sure you know that."


    "Right¡­"


    That meant that his peers would be older than him.


    "But new students had to be young?"


    "Of course, that''s one of the requirement. A new student has to be at least a Diamond Rank at the age of 16-24. You can say it''s a filter for those who truly have talent."


    After they entered the campus, Elfie and Tom stepped out of the carriage.


    Four 10-meter tall mechanical golems with four arms followed from behind him.


    Most students brought their own guards or guardian pets, so it was fine for Tom to bring his golems.


    However, when they saw the golems, the students were immediately interested. They had never seen a golem made out of metallic materials before. Most golems were made out of magical wood or y.


    And when they used their powerful sense to spy on the golems, they were shocked to know that it had no mana at all!


    "Is that the one named Tom? The son of Aldred?"


    "The Conquerer of the West? The one who killed Count Heled and got away with it. Yes, I think he''s the son."


    "But is his golems really that powerful? It was said that because of these golems Count Heled was defeated."


    "I am not sure. I cannot sense any mana at alling from the golems."


    "Is it possible that these golems are too strong that even we cannot detect the quality of their mana?"


    The students were shocked at that revtion. Powerful magicians could block others from peering their power. If they could not see the mana quality of a magician, then that could only meant that the magician in question was far stronger.


    But it could also be secret treasures, or pills that allow them to hide their quality of mana temporarily.


    "I even heard that Duke Hushum made a deal with Aldred."


    "Duke Hushum is one of the most powerful noble of this kingdom. If someone like him made a friend with Aldred, then that could only mean one thing¡­ he is just that powerful."


    "Haven''t you see the floating warships that the Duke been showing off all over the kingdom? They said that the Duke received it from Aldred himself."


    "Everyone wanted that thing, but apparently Aldred refused to sell it."


    Tom was walking in the campus with Elfie beside him, and he heard all of this conversation loud and clear. He simply smiled about it.


    It was better to be feared rather than ignored. In school, Tom had learned that being ignored was the worst thing because it was usually followed by istion, and istion signify weakness, and weakness attract predators.


    Reputation was highly important in school. If you had a lot of friends, socially active, and had status, no one would bother you.


    But sometimes, there were always those who wanted to test your reputation.


    A young lord by the name Zerdar Nastun also heard this conversation and was interested by the new kid called Tom.


    "Hey, Hemur," Zerdar called.


    Hemur was his loyal subordinate that Zerdar''s father picked up when he was a child. They were the same age, and out of pure chance, Hemur was apparently talented enough to enter the university.


    Though Hemur was not as talented as Zerdar, but he still could get in because of Zerdar''s influence.


    Since they were close, and Hemur always followed his order, they became some sort of big shot around school.


    And one of Zerdar''s favorite activities was bringing down neer.


    Hemur looked at Zerdar and smiled. "You want me to test the new kid?"


    "Of course, what else do I want you to do to him? Kiss him?"


    Hemurughed. "Alright, let me see what he got."

 Chapter 529 529 New Friend

    Tom was walking with Elfie beside him until a bulky young man bumped into him.


    "How dare you!" The bulky man scolded.


    Tom rolled his eyes and sighed. As he had been through a lot of journeys and adventure, he naturally had met people like these all the time.


    He shouldn''t be surprised that he would encounter one in a new continent.


    "Every human is unique and different, but there are always patterns in their behaviors."


    "What did you say? I am talking to you."


    Tom reached out with his hand to the side, and then pped the bulky young man so hard that his jaw bones snapped, and all of his teeth flew into the air.


    The bulky young man was thrown into the air before he crashed onto a nearby tree.


    Elfie trembled in fear after he saw this. "Ma¡­master Tom, what did you do?"


    "I pped him," Tom casually said.


    "But¡­ but he was just talking to you, master."


    Tom took in a deep breath. "He wasn''t just talking to me. He was intentionally bumping onto me, talking with disrespectful tone, and stepping over my boundary. He deserved that p."


    Zerdar immediately ran to Hemur to check his condition.


    Hemur pushed himself up. "Seems like he''s no pushover, boss."


    Zerdar nodded a bunch of times in relief. "Did he attack you with his full power?"


    "I do not think so. He doesn''t even look like he''s trying."


    The sound of footsteps was heard from behind.


    "Are you his friend?" Tom asked.


    "Yes, I am." Zerdar stood up.


    "No, disrespect, but I have quite a slippery hand and it sometimes move on its own," Tom said.


    Zerdar''s eyes twitched. Hand moved by itself¡­ what a lousy excuses, who would believe a Diamond Rank magician could not control his own hand?


    "I also apologize for my friend''s rude behavior." Zerdar walked towards Tom with confidence.


    Tom raised an eyebrow and scanned the man with his godly eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Zerdar Nastun]


    Level: 159


    Power: Magic Mastery, Magical Physic, Mana Affinity, Charm


    History: A young talented lord from the east known for his mboyant yboy persona. Despite his undisputed strength, he is still more known for his game in charming women rather than his strength.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Tom almost wanted tough. This young lord was so simr to Aldred.


    Not only was he talented, but he was also good at charming women.


    "I hope we can be friends." Zerdar reached out with his right hand.


    "Sure, I am always open to making friends." When Tom grabbed the hand, a notification appeared.


    [You have been inflicted with ''Charm'']


    [Effect negated]


    Tomughed inside. Not only he charmed women, did he charm men as well?


    Meanwhile, Zerdar was confused as of why the spell hadn''t taken effect. His charm skill had been perfected and improved countless time. asionally, he would use women to test his skill, but the one he truly wanted to charm were the powerful and influential men.


    If he could make them his friends, then they would help him up.


    Zerdar understood that by making your enemies as friends was the same as killing them.


    Tom released the hand and yawned. "Alright, since you are a senior here, why don''t you show me some things about the campus."


    "Uhh¡­ right. I will do that."


    Tom nodded. "Follow me, Elfie."


    Elfie stopped. "I am sorry, master. But this is where I cannot take another step forward. Only students are allowed to enter the campus."


    "Alright, then wait for me at home."


    "Eh¡­ alright." Elfie left immediately with a little blush on her cheeks.


    That was when Zerdar realized something. Tom was a charmer!!!


    The way he walked, talk, and behave was graceful and charming, and so did the way he dress!


    Zerdar did not see it at first, but they were quite simr!


    No wonder the charm spell did not work on him. A seducer could not seduce another seducer!


    Zerdarughed. "It''s really nice meeting you, Tom. I heard that your father is not from this continent, tell me about it."


    And so, while they looked around the campus, Zerdar and Tom talked about themselves one after another.


    "Oh, so you are from the east," Tom said, acting surprised as if he did not know that already. "Isn''t that where the border is?"


    "Yes, and my family is protecting it every single day for years."


    "Don''t worry. I can help you with that."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "What?"


    "Protecting the barrier. My father can simply send his golems."


    "You can do that. But your territory and my territory is very far."


    "Distance won''t matter that much. You must have heard that my father and Duke Hushum are building a road connecting our territory. This will not be just any road, but a special road for a special carriage that could carry so many supplies."


    Zerdar''s eyes lit up. "My father will be so happy to hear this. Naturally, our family willpensate if you do send your golems."


    Tomughed. "We can give you discounts with that."


    Zerdar and Tomughed as they walked around the campus like they were the best of friends.


    Tom naturally did not do this for Zerdar. Spreading his golems as far and wide as possible was a really important thing to do.


    He would produce more golems and sell them out, and even though they obey the customers, their true master was still Aldred.


    So by having more golems on their territory meant that Aldred could take it over whenever he wanted.


    Not only that, should he needed an emergency support in a foreign ce, he could order the golems nearby toe to his aid.


    He could be a global force that would be feared and respected whenever he go.


    After they finished walking around the campus, a surprising guest came to see them.


    "Uncle Hushum?"


    "So you have arrived, Tom?" Duke Hushumughed.


    "Yes, and I just made friends with Zerdar."


    Duke Hushum raised an eyebrow. "The two of youe frompletely different edge of the kingdom. This is a good thing."


    Tom nodded. "I am nning to tell my father to advance the train track to the east."


    "That indeed would be good. Tell your father I will help him regarding that matter."


    "I sure will."


    Duke Hushum then chatted with Tom for a few minutes, asking if he liked his dorm, and what he thought about the campus.


    The Duke seemed to really care about Tom which shocked Zerdar and the onlookers around them.


    The Duke himself visited Tom just to ask how he was doing. What was the meaning of this?


    What did he had that even the Duke had toe personally to visit him?


    Tom''s image seemed so mystical, mysterious, and powerful in their mind. The hidden enemies that were plotting his downfall began to reconsider their n, and some even threw it out window.


    Duke Hushum was a powerful noble with great influence. His presence alone could silence so many enemies.


    But despite this, he would still have enemies for killing Count Heled.


    So Tom had to be very careful. In a world of magic, he could die at any time despite his strength.


    It was one of the reason why Aldred''s real body hid in the divine dimension while his clones explored the continent.


    After a few hours, Duke Hushum finally said his goodbye and left.


    The CS-Armaggeddon rumbled the earth and sky before it shot into the distance with explosive speed.


    If not for the barrier protecting the city, every ss pane and windows would shatter.


    "Is that the flying warship that your father gave to the Duke?"


    Tom nodded. "Yep."


    "Damn¡­ that looks so cool."


    "Sadly, it''s not for sale."


    "Too bad."


    Tom smiled. He had to keep the value of CS-Armaggeddon high. The more the duke show it off to the people, the more they would want it, and the value automatically increase.


    There was only one of it in this world, which made it even more rarer.


    Although Tom had heard from Corduul that some magicians, tinkerers, and cksmith had tried to imitate the design.


    Space and time suddenly warped beside Aldred, and then Corduul stepped out.


    "Master, it is ready."


    Zerdar was shocked. "Who is that? No. What is that?"


    "He is my father''s subordinate, Corduul. Anyway, see youter, Zerdar. I will have to take my leave now."


    "Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then."


    Corduul set his gaze on Zerdar before he waved his hand and vanished along with Tom.


    "What a weird looking guy. I cannot sense his mana, but he has a powerful soul. More powerful than anything I have ever seen before. This Tom is so mysterious."


    When Zerdar turned around, he saw four 10-meter tall golems.


    "Ah, Tom left them here. I wonder how powerful they are."


    Zerdar approached one of the golem and tapped its powerful, steel leg.


    "This material¡­"


    Zerdar looked at the golem. "Hey, can you spar with me for a bit?"

 Chapter 530 530 Assassin

    Tom arrived inside his new mansion with Corduul.


    "My weapon is done already?" Tom asked.


    "Yes, master. It did not take long for us to modify because of ourprehension and with the help of Dobbs'' mastery."


    "I have no doubt about Dobbs'' skills. So where is my weapon?"


    Corduul reached out with his hand, and a dot of dark energy burst from his metallic palm, creating a small portal of which the Phantom Doomde came out.


    The de flew around a few times before going straight towards Tom''s hand.


    Tom looked at it carefully. The fiery dark aura wrapped by lightning now had a tinge of mechanical re into it. The de was also thicker around the handle


    "The de now can transform into three different mechanical function," Corduul began to exin.


    "The first one is Rapid-Fire Machine Gun, the second is Long-range Precision Gun, and the third is Particle Bomb."


    "What do you mean by Particle Bomb?"


    "The de could explode, sending all of its tiny particles in every direction at a high speed. All of these particles could be controlled by you which let you create millions of tiny weapons."


    "So, the de exploded, bing nano particles of which I can control however I like?"


    "Yes, master. And of course it can also return to its original form whenever you wish."


    Tom smiled. "I like that. I would like to test its power."


    Just as Tom was about to walk away, a notification came inside his head.


    A small drone flew out of Tom''s pocket and fired out a ray of projection, depicting Zerdar fighting against the four mechanical robot.


    "Is he testing the robots?" Tom asked with amusement.


    The four robots moved with great agility, attacking Zerdar from four different directions at the same time.


    Zerdar raised his fan to block, but the moment he blocked one attack, three others would came immediately.


    He had to roll, jumped, and moved his body in tricky angle just to barely dodge the attack.


    Getting tired of being on the defensive, Zerdar decided to rush forward and palm attacked one of the golem on the stomach.


    The force dented the armor and pushed the robot back, but as it was pushed, its four arms moved in quickly in a shing motion.


    Zerdar widened his eyes and kicked the air to retreat.


    After hended on the ground, he saw that there was a torn on his clothes.


    A fraction of a secondter, three golems were already swinging their de at him at the same time.


    Cold sweat poured from his forehead, and he raised his hand. "I gave up."


    With a loud thud, the golems stopped moving immediately.


    The onlookers that saw this spar was shocked to see the performance of these golems.


    Golems were not that rare, but most of them were not very powerful. A tinum Rank magician could defeat 5 to 10 tinum Rank golems. Most golems win their battles with numbers not the quality of their strength.


    But Tom''s golems manage to get Zerdar gave up. Zerdar was a child prodigy, trained with the best resources and techniques avable.


    And yet, four golem was enough for him to give up? Sure, he did not use his full power and his secret treasures, but he still should be able to win against the golems.


    Zerdar did not want to admit it either, but he did not think he could defeat the golems unless he used secret treasures.


    Tom smiled when he saw this. "Maybe I should rent my golems to the nobles so they can train their sons and daughters with it."


    "But, Master, you only give four of these golems to Duke Hushum. If you began to rent them out now, he might devalue your gift to him."


    "Then I should limit the number of golem they could buy. Except for Duke Hushum, all the other nobles family could only buy ten of these golems."


    That should be enough to tell the nobles that these golems were high-value goods. And with this limitation, Tom could sell each golem at an extravagant price.


    He needed to amass as many wealth as possible, because ording to the information Corduul gathered, it was very expensive for magicians to advance. They needed so many resources and treasures to improve their strength.


    Tom could spend his time killing monsters all day, but it would still take him decades if he did not use the necessary resources such as potions, herbs, and magical pills.


    "Master, there is a problem," Corduul said.


    "What is it?"


    "A stampede of magic beast has been detected 48 KM from our territory. They are currently heading towards us."


    Tom scoffed. "Someone must have orchestrated this."


    "There is a high probability for that, master."


    "It''s fine. I will consider it a perfect chance to test my Phantom Doomde. Let us visit the stampede."


    They both teleported out of the mansion and appeared in the sky.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Below them, a massive horde of magical beast stomped thend like a group of mad animals. Their eyes were red and they seemed to be angered.


    "In 20 minutes, they will reach our capital city," Corduul reported."


    "Activate our long-range defense mechanism."


    Corduul''s eyes lit up as his brain connected with all the satellites nearby, gathering their information, and then sending it to the Command Center. Giant cannons, huge machine guns, rockets, sma ster, and many more appeared within the city. They aimed high into the sky, seemingly into nothing, but actually their aim were already precisely calcted by the Mechanicum''s powerful processing power.


    "Fire!"


    Loud rumbling sounds of tens of thousands of weapons red. So many magical barrier appeared in the city to protect the people. If not for that, their ears might explode because of the sound.


    And then, in less than a second, a wave of bullets decimated tens of thousands of beast at once, and kept on counting for every second they kept charging towards the city.


    The horde of beast was 20 KM away from the city, with Corduul''s long-range defense protocol, this distance was nothing.


    In fact, the city could even neutralize threat as far as 500 KM. This was not taking the City Killer and the squadron of CS-Armaggeddon into ount.


    Tom and Corduul continued to watch the magic beast being killed by the thousands from the sky.


    "Are we waiting for something else, master?"


    Tom nodded. "The ones who orchestrated this should appear sooner orter."


    Corduul looked down. "After seeing this massacre, will they reallye?"


    Tomughed. "Right, I bet they have never seen something like this before."


    Tom was fine with making powerful enemies. After all, he needed experience to level up, and to get experience, he needed to kill powerful beings.


    He could also get experience to level up through pills, but the amount he received reduced each time he consumed the same pill.


    After a few hours, the magic beast finally decided to turn around and retreat, but their numbers were already cut more than half.


    "Stop," Tom ordered before hended on the ground.


    The firing stopped.


    "Corduul, collect all of these animal corpses. They are valuable materials that we can sell."


    "Yes, Master. I will arrange a unit for that."


    Tom looked around while squinting his eyes. "Now¡­ will theye out?"


    After a few minutes of looking around, Tom saw no one.


    "It seems they are cowards. Let''s get back."


    Tom turned around until he heard a voice.


    "I expected for Aldred toe to this ce, but it was his son that came. Kekeke. Well, his son should be fine."


    Tom heard that voice as if it was whispered in his ear, but actually, the man was 100 meter away from him.


    He was a frail, thin man. Standing at 180 CM tall with oversized clothes.


    "What a weird man. Who did they send this time?"


    Tom activated his godly eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Nhn Bhehen]


    Level: 165


    Power: Super Human Physic, Enhanced Senses, Dark Sight, Energy Maniption, Break Item, Extra Perception


    History: A High-Diamond Rank assassin that loves to torture his enemies. Nhn Bhehen has been trained to kill ever since he was born. Armed with great talent, he had killed more people than the amount of time he breathe.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Nhn Bhehen. What a weird name."


    Nhn''s terrifying smile disappear when he heard his name being called. "How¡­ how did you know my name?"


    Tomughed. "I even know the name of your mother that you barely remember. Shia, was it?"


    Nhn''s eyes widened. Suddenly, he vanished from the spot and appeared right in front of Tom.


    Tom gritted his teeth, not expecting the sudden explosion of speed. He reacted quickly, summoning his Phantom Doomde and blocking the attack.


    After a closer look, Nhn''s weapon was actually a simple pair of scissor. It wasn''t magical or anything, but the reason why it wasn''t destroyed whening to contact with the Phantom Doomde was because of Nhn''s power.


    "Tell me! How did you know?"


    Tom gritted his teeth as he struggled against Nhn''s strength, but then his lips curled into a smile.

 Chapter 531 531 Escape

    Nhn swung his scissor right past Tom''s face. A secondter, a wound appeared with blood dripping out.


    Tom swiped the wound and it healed immediately. "My healing skills are very potent. Even a High Diamond Rank like you wouldn''t be able to harm me."


    "You''re just a mid Diamond Rank. You do not understand my power." Nhn rushed forward once again.


    Tom stepped back about to block, but then suddenly, hundreds of cuts appeared in his body, while Nhn was standing 10 meters away from him.


    Tom looked at his wounds, and they did not heal. Some sort of dark energy was gnawing on the wounds, preventing his body from healing them.


    In fact, the dark energy absorbed his mana at a constant rate. Anyone else that suffered this type of injury would fall out of exhaustion after a few minutes.


    Tom red at the assassin before his body exploded with greater power, and both of them rushed towards each other.


    CLANG! The sound of metal against metal resounded as gust of wind boomed out of their attacks, sweeping the animal corpses all around them.


    Their battles shook the earth, and then both of them lifted up into the air before continuing the battle.


    Visible ripples filled with great profound power smashed the clouds. The animals nearby trembled in fear and ran into hiding.


    Nhn gritted his teeth as he fought against Tom. Despite being a high Diamond Rank, he could not get any advantage in a battle against Tom.


    This was Aldred''s Son? If so, then how powerful was the father?


    ? Nhn took a careful look at the de in Tom''s hand. ''That has to be his source of power. If I can knock it away then I will win.''


    Nhn increased the intensity of his speed. As an assassin, speed was one of his most trained skills.


    "Vacuum Speed!"


    Nhn''s body seemingly went into overdrive as he came towards Tom with speed never been seen before, leaving small vacuum behind him.


    His scissor went towards Tom''s face. Tom leaned back.


    "Gotcha!" Nhn grinned as his scissor went straight towards his right arm, and sliced it off.


    Blood sttered as the Phantom Doomde rolled in the sky.


    Nhn reacted quickly and grabbed the de.


    "Hahaha! Without this, your power means nothing!"


    Suddenly, a dominating pressure overwhelmed Nhn, making it difficult for him to breathe.


    He looked at the de and saw that it was ballooning and then exploded.


    BOOM! A massive explosion shook the heaven, producing an invisible shockwave that leveled hills and trees.


    After the smoke vanished, Nhn found himself covered in shrapnels, and these shrapnels were devouring on his soul!!!


    "Get out of my body!" Power burst forth from every inch of his skin and pushed the shrapnels away.


    The tens of thousands of shrapnels flew around and flew towards him from every direction, creating wounds all over his body. And for every wound, a small part of his soul was consumed.


    Nhn grunted and then punched the air, producing a shockwave boom that pushed the shrapnels away. He then nced at Tom.


    "You''re a tough nut to crack."


    "I have heard of that before," Tom said.


    Nhn scoffed. "It seems like my strength is not enough to fight you right now. Let us meet again."


    "You are not running away from me!"


    The shrapnels gathered back into a Phantom Doomde and quickly flew into Tom''s hand. It then transformed into the shape of a devil-like assault rifle.


    Tom pulled the trigger, spraying bullets towards Nhn.


    Each of these bullets had a tiny part of the de embedded inside of them, and they were created using the de''s soul power and Tom''s mana, so it was basically limitless.


    Nhn agilely dodged the bullets. Only a few manage to injure him slightly.


    His limbs began to weaken though. The bullets not only attacked him physically, but spiritually as well. Every minute, he was weakened, and his knees trembled of exhaustion.


    Nhn''s heartbeats began to thump in his ears. He screamed, light bursting from his mouth like radiant smoke, and he threw himself into the distance, skidding in the sky, soaring into the air.


    In less than a second, Nhn was already 50 KM away.


    "Fuck, he''s really getting away."


    The devilish assault transformed into an assault rifle. Getting into position, Tom used his godly eyes to precisely sense Nhn''s location.


    He was already 325 KM away, and counting.


    "Time to put this weapon to the test. Don''t disappoint me."


    He pulled the trigger.


    With a world rumbling explosion, a small bullet came out of the barrel and speed up into the distance with the recoil pushing Tom hundreds of meters away.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The bullet, instead of slowing down after each second, increased its speed. Thew of friction was foreign to it as it was flying straight towards Nhn.


    Nhn turned around and could only stare at the small bullet in the air with wide eyes. He was too shocked too think at this moment.


    He had never seen anyone faster than him, not to mention someone with lesser strength than him. He even believed that only Adamantite Rank could defeat him at this point.


    But it was today that he knew that he wasn''t as powerful as he thought he was.


    SPLAT!


    The bullet lodged into his head and exploded, scattering his brain parts out.


    Nhn held his head, trembling as he saw a huge amount of blood dripping onto his hand.


    ring into the distance, he bit into his lip. "TOM!!!! I will kill you!"


    Right after that statement, he vanished.


    Tom sighed.


    Corduul approached. "I am sorry, Master. We have failed to widen our anti-teleportation mechanism."


    "It''s fine. 350 KM is already good enough. Though we do indeed need to improve it."


    The reason why Nhn didn''t just teleport away from the start was because Corduul had ced anti-teleportation devices all around the ce.


    Besides, it was normal for magicians to ce anti-teleportation treasures secretly when they fight to prevent their enemy from fleeing.


    Though, even with these measures, Diamond Ranks usually manage to escape from losing situations.


    Tom looked at the Phantom Doomde in its sniper form. "Well, it performed well than expected at least. Too bad, that I cannot kill that assassin.  Corduul, do you have any information about him?"


    "No, master. Only unconfirmed information and all of them does not match with each other."


    "So we basically know nothing about him," Tom said.


    In his case, he already knew a lot. He just ask Corduul to gauge how well-known Nhn was. Corduul had killed a lot of people just for the sake of reading their memories.


    And despite that, they still did not know much about Nhn. That meant the assassin was a very crafty figure.


    The problem was, Tom did not know who wanted to kill him so badly.


    The first time they tried, they send one mid Diamond Rank magician and one mid Diamond Rank warrior.


    Now they even send a high Diamond Rank warrior.


    Who had the resources and influences to send these assassins? Grooming them was not easy.


    Diamond Rank require decades if not hundreds of years to reach.


    Each and every one of them was a valuable piece for the noble family.


    "Whatever, we will find out sooner orter. For now, let''s return to the campus."


    When Tom and Corduul vanished, they did not notice a weird fluctuation appearing a distance away.


    Hundreds of masters, and nobles were watching the battle secretly.


    They were naturally shocked by Tom''s powerfulbat capabilities. The assassin he fought had high Diamond Rank strength, while Tom was simply at mid Diamond Rank.


    Their strength should be day and night. The assassin shouldn''t even struggle a little bit to kill Tom, but not only he survived, he significantly injure the assassin, forcing him to retreat.


    "We have to reevaluate Aldred''s strength. If his son is this powerful, then he must be even more powerful."


    "He easily took over an entire County by himself. This should be proof of his strength, why do we need to evaluate him?"


    "Could it be a bluff?"


    "Unlikely, their battle is not staged. I don''t know who that assassin is, but I can see his killing intent is real."


    "Other than Tom''s strength, we need to talk about the metallic figure. Who is that?"


    "I believe he is Aldred''s right hand man. My spies spotted him a couple of times conversing with Aldred. They died right after sending me this information."


    "It''s getting harder and harder to spy on Aldred. We don''t even know his location."


    "Some even say that he isn''t even inside the capital city."


    "That''s impossible. Look at how well his territory is being run. He is working on so many projects at once, and I see his cities are constructing tall buildings called skyscrappers."


    "Why would he build such things?"


    "My informants heard that their primary function is to have more rooms for people, because they are nning to reduce residential area for something they call ''Factory''."


    "Hmmm, we need to know more about this. Let''s send more spies towards his territory."

 Chapter 532 532 School Day

    Returning to Withokere University, Tom saw Zerdar approaching him.


    "Tom, your golems are amazing! Is your father really not nning to sell them?"


    "I think he does, but not atrge amount."


    "That''s expected. Creating these golems must have cost him a lot of resources."


    Indeed, creating these Fighter-ss IT-6 golems required a lot of resources. They were as powerful as low Diamond Rank warrior, though they couldn''t really match their power, but it was close enough.


    "But," Tom continued. "There are golems slightly weaker than these, and my father can sell them atrge amount."


    "How strong are they?"


    "As strong as high tinum Rank warrior."


    "That''s fantastic. How many is your dad willing to sell?"


    "50,000. 100,000. Just say the numbers and my father will deliver."


    Zerdar''s jaw fell to the ground. 100,000 tinum Rank warriors¡­ such force. Any noble in this kingdom would have trembled in fear when they heard of such numbers, and Tom mention it like he was mentioning the weather.


    If Tom''s father could sell more than 100,000 golems, then how much did he really had in his army?


    Zerdar gulped. He thanked all of his ancestors that he was born with a smart brain. If he was a fool, he would have make Tom his enemies, and he would be destroyed.


    As Tom and Zerdar was talking, a young skinny man walked up to them.


    "Hey, Tom."


    "Helid." Tom nodded.


    "Is he your friend, Tom?" Zerdar asked.


    "Hello, my name is Helid Ninel. I met Tom a few days ago."


    "Nice to meet you, I am Zerdar Nastun."


    "I have heard of your name before. A child prodigy from the east. They said your power even match a mid Diamond Rank magician."


    Zerdarughed. "They are exaggerating. The one that is truly powerful is our buddy, Tom."


    "We don''t have to argue over that fact." Helidughed.


    "What are you talking about. I am sure, there''s someone more powerful than me in this university."


    Zerdar nodded. "There always are, but you will surpass them all. I  have been here for a couple years already."


    Tom nodded. "I am still not sure what I will be doing. When will the ss start?"


    "Students can freely enter any ss they want. A teacher would schedule a ss, and its their choice if they want to attend it or not."


    "The school doesn''t group students ording to their age, strength, or anything else?"


    "Ummm, why would they? When we are already inside the university, age is just a number. Sure you can tell how talented they are from it, but it did not proof anything."


    Suddenly, the students around them stopped in their tracks and gasped in amazement.


    Tom was curios, so he looked to the side and saw a goddess-like figure with pristine skin and hour-ss figure walking on the side walk.


    The eyes of young men were set onto her, admiring her beautiful existence. Her flourishing white hair fluttered as did her skin-tight robe the wrapped her body.


    Surprisingly however, she was walking towards Tom.


    "Miss udia." Zerdar bowed slightly.


    Tom did not bow, instead, he activated his godly eyes and was shocked at what he saw.


    ''High Diamond Rank, but she is far stronger than the assassin earlier. Like far far stronger.''


    She looked at Tom with judging gaze, looking him up head to toe. "Tom, son of Aldred. You are a special case. Thirteen years of age and already at mid Diamond Rank. Other than that, your physical attribute is even stronger than most warriors I have met."


    The other students were shocked to hear that. Thirteen years old and already at mid Diamond Rank???


    But more surprisingly, how could Tom had a physical attribute stronger than a warrior?


    Unless he was constantly bathed in expensive potion from the moment he was born until now, it was pretty much impossible for a magician to have the physical durability of a warrior. Of course, there were always exception such as strengthening pills or defensive treasures.


    Miss udia cold gaze turned warm all of a sudden. Her eyes sparkled with stars as she reached out with her soft, smooth hands, caressing Tom''s cheek.


    "I can guide your talent. I will be your personal teacher, and gives you personal guidance. I have never offered this to anyone before, but I will give you ''Special private lesson'' at home as well."


    Everyone gasped and almost choked on their own saliva after hearing that. Miss udia was a considered to be a young teacher, but she was already a very powerful high Diamond Rank magicians. She was extremely beautiful, and a lot of nobles even courted her to marry them, but she rejected them all.


    She was cold, and seemingly never care about the students.


    But then why Tom was treated differently?


    Who the hell was he really? First Duke Hushum personally visited Tom, and now, one of the most famous teacher in the best university of the entire kingdom approached and even treated him with special care.<novelnext></novelnext>


    A lot of young boys gritted their teeth in resentment towards Tom. They had been fantasizing about Miss udia the first time they saw her. She was simply the image of beauty and female grace.


    The fact that she gave Tom special attention angered them.


    Tom was about to refuse, because he did not know much about thisdy, but Zerdar sent a telepathicmunication.


    ''ept it, Tom! It''s one-in-a-lifetime chance! No teacher in history has offered something like this before!''


    Tom considered his option, and after a few seconds, he decided to agree.


    "Alright, Miss udia. I agree."


    Miss udia slightly smiled. Her words earlier didn''t even sound like an offer, instead, it sounded like a statement that could not be refuted.


    "In that case, visit me in my roomter."


    She walked away right after saying that.


    Zerdar tapped Tom on the shoulder. "Congrattion, man. You are set up for life."


    "What was that about?"


    "Miss udia is one of the best teacher in campus. You wouldn''t regret it."


    "But aren''t the best at Adamantite Ranks?"


    "Tom¡­ Although they are teachers in this establishment, they barely appear."


    "What¡­ isn''t the point of getting in this university is to meet them?"


    You think they have time for us? We can see them if we''re lucky, but even I never see one in my life ever. They are very busy individuals. And the students are simply not their priority."


    "Has someone reached Adamantite Rank by studying in this university?"


    "A couple of times from what I have heard."


    "At least it has credibility."


    "Of course it has credibility. It''s the best university in the kingdom. Now, let''s get you started to some beginner ss since you just joined the campus. Come, all of you follow me."


    Helid and the other youngsters followed suit, along with Hemur.


    Tom was led to a ssroom. A lot of students were already inside, and a high Diamond Rank magicians were exining things about magic with uncaring attitude on the podium.


    After a few minutes, the professor left.


    "Ehh¡­ that''s it? We just got here?"


    "The higher the rank of the teacher, the less enthusiastic they are about teaching."


    "Are you serious right now? What''s the point of this university then?"


    Tom began to consider killing the professors of this campus and absorbed their knowledge. That would be a much faster route than being yed around like this.


    "Don''t worry. There are a lot of ss every day."


    Zerdar led them to another ssroom which ended after a minute, then he led them to another one, then another one, then another one.


    "Stop, I barely learn anything from these ss hopping exercise. Is this what you guys do every single day?"


    Zerdar shook his head. "Then you are not listening, Tom. The teacher might only teach for a short time, but each word carries their weight. After their lesson, we should be meditating and trying toprehend their words. That''s what most students do."


    Tom kept that in mind, and as he entered another ssroom, he began to see what Zerdar meant.


    Although, the teacher only spoke for a minute or two, everything that came out of their mouth was actually very beneficial for magician''s growth.


    "What about asking questions? Are we allowed to ask?"


    "You have to pay 10 Epic mana crystals for each question."


    Tom sighed. He might be rich, but spending that much for simple questions seemed too extravagant.


    "Its quite expensive, which forced students to only ask the necessary question."


    "They really think this through, huh?"


    "It''s the best school in the Kingdom. Even students outside the kingdom came here to study."


    "It''s that great?"


    "Of course. But the best university in the world is probably within The Divine Empire of Stotford or in the Kingdom of Presteria. These two states are the powerhouse of this continent."


    Tom nodded. He actually got some information about that from Corduul.


    As they were walking in the school hall, Tom saw arge stone with names carved on them.


    "What are those?"

 Chapter 533 533 Student Ranking

    "Ah, those are student ranking. It goes from 1 to 100. Students in Withokere University are at the strength of low Diamond Rank to High Diamond Rank."


    "Hmmm, isn''t the teacher at High Diamond Rank as well?"


    "You can begin to apply as a teacher when you reach High Diamond Rank, and your status as student can also be maintained. Of course, you need to pay a lot more as your strength improved."


    Withokere University wasn''t free. Every students here pay a lot of money every month just for tuition. And this did not include the resources required to increase their power.


    Even though most of them came from wealthy and influential family, they still felt pain for paying the tuition. That was why some students became a teacher at the same time, because then they would get funds to pay their own tuition. Also, they could ess to more knowledge and resources that was only avable for teacher.


    High Diamond Rank needed a lot of resources every single day just to improve a tiny weeny bit. Their pills, potions, herbs, and magical fruits were enough to create 100 tinum Rank magicians per day. Of course, high Diamond Ranks were more valuable than mere tinum Ranks.


    A single high Diamond Rank could even destroy an army of 10,000 tinum Rank by using hit-run tactic.


    "Who is that at the top of the ranking?" Tom asked.


    "He is Nerdam Biv. He''s been at the top of the list for 50 years now. Everyone is sure that he will reach Adamantite Rank soon. The king has a lot of expectation on him. The moment he reached Adamantite Rank, there will be a fief given to him."


    "The king will give up some his territory?"


    "Nope. He will wage war and take some." Zerdarughed.


    "Is that a safe approach to take? What if another kingdom attacked us because we are too aggressive?"


    "Withokere is not a nation of cowards, Tom. We do not think ''what if''. We always expect someone out there wille and attack us, therefore, we must prepare our best for that day. And for thest 100 years, we have been invaded many times. We lost no territory at all, and even obtain a little bit."


    Tom was very impressed. ording to the information Corduul gathered, Kingdom of Withokere was a small kingdompared to its neighbor. The Divine Empire of Stotford and Kingdom of Presteria was the two giant of this continent. And despite that, Withokere still manage to held its head high.


    ording to what he had gathered, the Adamantite Rank within Withokere had tight friendships with each other. And this apply to the noble families as well. They dopete with each other, but they had this code of never betraying each other.


    And this all happened because they respected their king.


    ''Heshad Withokere¡­ how did he manage to do this?''


    Aldred would never trust anyone with his back. He only trusted his undead and golems to do the work for him. As for managing people, he wasn''tpetent enough for that.


    The king of Withokere reminded Tom of Edeline, the Empress of  Ceraisian Empire, she was a master at managing those nobles.


    ''I still can''t believe that I get to sleep with someone like that.''


    Empress Edeline manage to form her power under the Emperor''s nose. It grew so powerful that it even matched against the Emperor''s side.


    And with Aldred''s help, she manage to take over the entire Empire.


    "Isn''t the kingdom at war against Ber and Winch right now?" Tom asked.


    "Yes, they both are smaller state evenpared to us. It''s only a matter of time before we take over."


    "After taking those two, are we going to attack the Divine Empire?"


    "Hardly. The Divine Empire is scattered, everyone knows that, but if they are threatened, nobody can say that they will stay scattered for long. So probably, we will set sail and look for new ground to cover."


    Tom nodded. Corduul had gathered a map, and there were two other continents nearby with the same power level. They were very near as well, one could see the continent just by standing on the edge of the beach.


    As Tom was talking with Zerdar, a man called out for him.


    "Oy."


    Tom looked to the side and saw a tall man with tight-fit clothes that revealed his muscr body. He also had a fair skin, almost making him looking like an angel as he gazed at Tom with his clear blue eyes.


    "Are you Tom?"


    Tom nodded.


    Zerdar bit his lips and whispered on Tom''s ear. "That''s Russam Bummei. He''s at the top 15th in the ranking. Naturally, he''s a high Diamond Rank, and a very powerful one at that."


    "I will be fine." Tom nodded.


    Russam approached, he was towering over Tom. Tom was in his child form, so this was natural.


    Tom kept looking at Russam''s eyes. He did not see any ill intent in it, instead, it was curiosity, hesitation, and maybe a little bit of jealousy.


    "Do you want to fight, Tom?"


    Helid, Zerdar, Hemur, and the other youngsters gasped in shock. Why would a top 15 student wanted to fight Tom? They were with him all day, and he never disrespected anyone.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Besides, Russam was a high Diamond Rank, challenging a mid Diamond Rank, a new student at that, to battle seemed inappropriate.


    "Can I refuse?" Tom replied.


    "Don''t worry. It will just be a light spar. I am a senior here. I won''t harm you."


    Tom began to see ill-intent in his eyes, but the emotion of jealousy grew as well.


    ''Why is he jealous of me? Is it because of my handsome face?''


    "I would like to refu¡ª"


    "I will take that as a yes."


    Without warning, Russam charged forward. He did not use any mana, but his speed was ten times faster than the speed of sound.


    Tom tilted his head to the side, wind blew his hair intensely. The sudden speed, surprised him a bit. Russam was definitely faster Than the assassin before.


    But Russam was not a warrior, he was a magician, so this physical speed must have been achieved through hellish training.


    As expected for top 15th student. Tom wondered how powerful the number one was.


    Tom tilted his left and right, rolling side to side like a boxer as he dodged every punching towards his face.


    Russam''s movement speed was so fast in a blink of an eye, he already swung more than 100 times.


    The air around them rippled from the power of Russam''s movement. Even the ground began shaking as well. If the ground wasn''t made out of high-quality material, the whole school might be destroyed by the impact.


    Russam took a step back, surprising Tom slightly, but then he punched forward, mana burst out from his fist, forming a tornado attack.


    Tom widened his eyes and tilted his head to the left, the tornado spun like a blender, and missed his scalp narrowly.


    Russam rushed forward again, bringing the battle to close-contact.


    As he was about to dodge another punch however, the chip inside his head warned an iing threating from the side.


    The punch was a feign, the real attack was a side kick. A metallic liquid moved out of his pocket and hardened on the left side of his waist.


    The kicknded, throwing Tom a few meters away, but the blow was mostly absorbed by the armor that Corduul had created for him.


    Russam nodded. "Impressive," he said that as the his left sheen let out a hot steam, resulted by the kick earlier.


    Walking forward slowly, Russam spoke. "That armor is strong, but it won''t be able to protect you any longer."


    Right after saying that, the armor on Tom''s waist, cracked and crumbled.


    Tom tried to activate the armor''s self-repair mechanism, but it waspletely destroyed.


    "Interesting armor. Does your father made that for you?"


    "You can say that," Tom said calmly.


    Zerdar was in awe at how Tom could stay calm in this situation. That wasn''t a spar at all. It was more like murder attempt.


    Zerdar''s bones would break the moment he received that kick.


    "Senior, am I allowed to use my weapon?"


    Russam was silent at first before he spoke: "Sure."


    Tom raised his hand, and then an infernal me came aze, revealing a devilish de as tall as a man. It then exploded with a terrifying aura, like a demon king roaring into the sky.


    The atmosphere seemed heavy and dark for a second, before the aura returned inside the sword.


    Russam frowned when he saw that de. "How did you find a weapon like that?"


    "I didn''t find it. It grow along with me."


    "A weapon that can grow¡­ a soul weapon usually has that property. You are quite well-equipped. Not a lot of people has a soul weapon as powerful as yours."


    Russam''s eyes gleamed. "How many people have that de kill?"


    Tom''s eyes turned red. "Too many too count."

 Chapter 534 534 Sparring

    A lot of students came rushing on the square, wondering what it was all about.


    "Russam is fighting Tom."


    "Who the fuck is Tom?"


    "The new kid. He is the son of that person."


    "Conquerer of the West?"


    "Yes, that one. Serves him right. Russam will beat his ass. He is at the top 15th for a reason."


    Russam stood calmly, gazing at the de like it was a simple stick.


    Tom squinted his eyes. Most people would react shocked the moment they saw his de. But Russam was as calm as water. And Tom did not sense any fear within his eyes either. It was still jealousy and hesitation.


    "Russam," Tom called. "Are you perhaps¡­ jealous of me?"


    The students'' expression looked weird after they heard Tom said that statement. Why in the world would someone like Russam be jealous of Tom?


    Russam came from a wealthy and influential family. He was one of the best student in Withokere University. He was born with great talent. He already had everything in life!


    Russamughed. "Why do you think so?"


    "I just feel it from you."


    Russam smiled. "Indeed. I am jealous of you."


    The students gasped. Even Zerdar looked at the two of them and didn''t know what to think of this situation.


    "Why?" Tom asked.


    Russam looked at Tom carefully. "I am actually not sure myself. I got this feeling that you have something I don''t."


    "Aren''t you the guy that has everything?"


    "No¡­ not everything."


    "Wealth, influence, looks, talent. What more can you ask other than that?"


    "What about somebody to love?"


    Tom widened his eyes. Was this man for real?


    "Somebody to love¡­? You have got to be kidding, right? Who don''t want to be your partner?"


    A man like Russam could get any girl he wanted. So this was nonsense to Tom.


    Zerdar finally realized something. He approached Tom and whispered. "Tom, it''s actually an open secret that Russam liked Miss udia."


    "Ahh¡­ so that''s why."


    Tom looked at Russam. ''What a pathetic kid. Fighting me because his crush give me more attention.''


    "Senior Russam. Let''s fight for real. I will fight with my full power."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I know you wanted to do it," Tom said.


    Russam smiled. "Alright."


    He reached out with both hands and then pped. The p produce an explosive sound and suddenly aplete set of green jade armor covered Russam from head to toe.


    Three green spikes were etched on the shoulders, and a pair on the elbow. Russam looked like a warrior of jade on the battlefield.


    Raising his hand above his hand, a shining nunchaku appeared andnded on his palm.


    "That''s his Great Jade Armor, and Glowing Nunchaku. Russam is fighting that kid for real!"


    "Is he nning to kill him?"


    "Killing is forbidden, but a man like Russam might get away with it."


    "It''s not the first time someone get away with murder in this university, so we might see someone die today."


    Tom also opened his inventory and selected his Armor of Agility. Armor of Agility was the one Corduul, Dobbs, and the others made for him. It could increase his speed by 1000% and could even revert time in the surrounding area by 3-5 second.


    Though he was told that it might not work as effectively in the new continent because the quality and quantity of the mana here was much different back home which affect the tech a bit.


    The ck armor wrapped around Tom. With the devilish Phantom Doomde in his hand, Tom looked like a fully-geared demon king.


    Tom''s aurapletely changed when he wore the armor. Even Russam could feel it.


    The students took some steps back, erging the circle, they used as arena.


    Tom and Russam circled one another on the brick.


    Russam took one step forward, standing in his unique battle stance; both hands on the nunchaku, palm pointing towards the enemy, arms all the way extended.


    Tom could care less about battle stance. It was simply a stance. But he wanted to look cool, so he figured a battle stance of his own. Right leg pulled back, both hands on the handle of the de, with the tip of the Phantom Doomde pointing towards the enemy.


    Russam attacked first, taking a hopping leap forward and striking by whipping his nunchuk over his shoulder, then down to his right in a powerful blow, delivering the most possible momentum and strength behind the strike.


    Tom found the attack stupid and slow. With his agility armor, his speed increased exponentially and he managed to jumped back out of the way.<novelnext></novelnext>


    To the onlookers, it looked like as if Tom was teleporting, but it was simply his speed.


    "Did he used teleportation?"


    "Impossible. There are anti-teleportation spells here."


    Russam looked at the armor with gleaming eyes. "You have so many treasures that even I would want to have. And that treasure seemed like it was made by your father as well."


    "Not really, but you can say that."


    Russam scoffed.


    "It''s my turn now, Senior." Tom rushed forward. The armor enhanced his legs, giving him the speed and nimbleness that defied the physicalw that would require a fine control over magic. Even High Diamond Rank magician could not increase their speed this much.


    In a blink of an eye, Tom arrived right in front of Russam, roaring as he swung his de precisely at his left vambrace, cracking the forearm te.


    Tom attacked again, his speed twice as fast than before, and scored a hit on Russam''s left thigh.


    Russam was overwhelmed by the speed, but after a few seconds he began to see the pattern and danced his way to dodge all the attack.


    Despite wearing thick, bulky armor that weighed over ten thousand elephants, his movement was quick and elegance. He didn''t even see Tom attacking, in fact, Russam was closing his eyes as he dodged all of the attack!


    "What in the hell???"


    Even Tom was quite enraged by this. His attack was avoided and dodged. Russam moved far earlier before he even attack. And even when he made some feign, Russam still manage to avoid him.


    This wasn''t just strength anymore¡­ it''s a mastery!


    "Russam is amazing. He dodged all of that attack while closing his eyes."


    "Of course, he is good. He is the 15th top student of this university."


    "He is beyond everyone''s expectation."


    Zerdar heard their conversation. He was impressed by Russam''s performance, but these people were looking at things wrongly.


    Instead of looking at how well Russam dodged those attacks, look at how Tom didn''t even let Russam counter-attacking.


    Some people began to notice that and they spoke.


    "Wait, but why is Russam on the defensive? Shouldn''t he be the one attacking instead?"


    "Russam might be able to dodge the attacks, but he is still on the defensive side. He couldn''t even counter-attack."


    "Does this mean Tom is stronger than Russam?"


    Everyone was silent. How could Tom, a new kid, be stronger than the top 15th student.


    And yet the fact was in front of their eyes. It was Tom who pro-actively attacking, not giving a chance for Russam to retaliate.


    As they fought, five hidden figures appeared in the sky. They were invisible to everyone else.


    They looked old yet powerful with their gray beard flowing down majestically.


    Their body were exuding an extremely powerful aura, but they manage to kept it hidden. If they were to appear, every living being would have felt their presence.


    "Is that his son?"


    "He''s quite good for his age."


    "Bah, he''s even better than you were. At his age, you didn''t even reach mid Diamond Rank."


    "More importantly, is he on our side?"


    "The king said not to kill Aldred and his son."


    "Can we trust this Aldred?"


    "He send his son right in our doorstep. He''s sending a message that we can trust him. It''s very hard for Diamond Ranks and above to create offspring."


    "What if this isn''t his son?"


    "No. I can sense it. His looks, smells, aura, and even blood is identical. There''s almost no difference. This kid is truly Aldred''s son."


    "Is Aldred still in his territory."


    "Yes, he always stay in his throne room talking with with that metallic man."


    "Why did the king agreed for this? Killing a noble is a major crime."


    "Aldred offered the king his full loyalty. He said that he will even wage war with the Divine Empire of Stotford to prove it if necessary. Of course, the king doesn''t let him do that, and instead told him to send his golem army to Ber."


    "And did he keep his promise?"


    "He did. He sent 300,000 golems to Ber, and our territory is expanding every single day."


    "300,000 golems¡­ it must have taken him years to create this many. Aldred really wanted to serve the Kingdom. We should give him our appreciation for that."


    One of them nodded in approval. "He even rented his tinum Rank golems at a cheap rate to every nobles and merchants in the kingdom. Currently, the kingdom is having arge amount of manpower. Production increase while the cost be much cheaper."


    "He is improving the economy of the kingdom by himself. We should protect him."


    The old man looked at Tom. "And his son."

 Chapter 535 535 Adamantite Rank

    Tom leaped up, raised his de high overhead, and then swung down.


    Russam, still closing his eyes, jumped to the side, dodging the attack.


    But then something weird happened.


    Another Tom appeared out of nowhere, and swung the de straight towards Russam''s neck, stopping half an inch.


    "I got you," Tom said.


    "You think?"


    Tom raised an eyebrow and saw the nunchuk wrapped around his left leg.


    The atmosphere became silent except the sound of blowing wind.


    "You defeated me, senior. I thank you for the lesson," Tom said before pulling his de.


    "No. It''s a draw."


    The students were in uproar. A draw! How could that be possible. Russam, a high Diamond Rank, and the top twenty student fight a draw against a mid Diamond Rank?


    There was no logic to that result. If they tell this to their friends, no one would have believe them.


    "A draw¡­ does Senior Russam say that to not humiliate the new kid?"


    "Senior Russam is not a bully so that might be possible."


    "But he never give mercy to his enemies before. Even against lower rank, Senior Russam always put them in their ce, so why is  Tom different?"


    "Does their fight really a draw?"


    "Are you fucking dumb?"


    Murmurs of students start to be loud as they could not believe what they just saw.


    Russam looked at Tom''s Phantom Doomde. "It''s a good weapon."


    "Thank you, senior," Tom replied.


    Russam turned around and left the premise immediately.


    "Just like that? The fight ended just like that?"


    "Damn, I was sure that new kid will die today."


    "Maybe senior Russam is just not in the mood."


    Zerdar, Helid, and Hemur approached Tom.


    "Are you okay?" Helid asked.


    "I am fine."


    "Are you sure?" Zerdar continued: "Senior Russam''s attack is known to left a lot of internal wounds. Unlike swords which left external wounds, his nunchaku only showed some bruises and strain, but the internal organs of their enemies would always be wrecked. One of the reason why he is so feared is because of this ability. Internal organs takes much longer to heal, and sometimes, you couldn''t tell until it''s toote. Let me tell you, some people didn''t have the symptoms until they are on their deathbed."


    Tom frowned and activated the chip inside his head to execute a scanning procedure.


    ''Beep! Scanning began¡­''


    ''Scan Complete: damage detected: brain 8%, lungs 12%, liver 2%,  dder 10%, kidney 4%''


    Tom frowned. When did Russam attacked him? He could not remember during the battle. Tom was pretty sure that Russam''s attack was non-fatal, and should not cause any trouble, but apparently he was wrong.


    "Dangerous¡­ truly dangerous. The top students should not be underestimated at all."


    "What did you detect something?" Zerdar asked.


    Nodding, Tom spoke: "My father gave me something that allows me to scan my body. The device told me that my internal organs are slightly injured."


    "We need to bring you the healers then. I can do healing magic myself, but they are not as potent."


    "Don''t worry. I can heal myself."


    Tom looked around and pointed at a beautiful student. "Hey, you. Can youe here?"


    Thedy was confused as to why she was called, but she weirdly obeyed.


    "What do you need from me?"


    Tom''s eyes turned red and he stared deep into her blue eyes. "May I drink your blood?"


    Thedy''s muscle rxed as she spoke. "Sure thing."


    "Thank you." Tom grabbed her by the shoulder and bit into her neck.


    Zerdar and Hemur looked at each other.


    Even Helid was slightly surprised.


    After a few minutes, Tom pulled out his teeth and smiled at the woman. "Thanks again."


    "Anytime," she said before leaving.


    "Uhh¡­ what just happened?" Helid asked.


    "I can drink someone''s blood to heal myself. I can usually use my own blood, but for some injuries, I need to use the blood of others."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Are you a vampire?"


    "You can also say that. What''s wrong?"


    "Well, I did not expect that. A lot nobles had mixed bloodline with demons, vampires, elves, and even ogres, but most of them are pure human."


    "I know. It''s because mixing your bloodline will limit your potential, although it give you temporary boost in strength. Isn''t that right?" Tom said.


    Zerdar nodded. "Most human has low talent, and so they mix their blood with other race to improve further on their strength. But these depends on the quality and purity of the blood essence they use. The nobles of course use the best thing they can find."


    Tom smiled. "Don''t worry. It won''t affect my talent at all. I will reach Adamantite Rank in no time."


    "Enough about that. How did you get thatdy to let you suck her blood?" Helid asked. He was a skinny guy and even though he could get as many peasants girls as he wanted, Helid did not want them, and wanted the high-ssdy instead.


    "I simply asked, and my handsome face do the rest of the job." Tomughed.


    Helid could not tell if Tom was joking or not. He was even prepared to take some notes.


    "Come, let''s go somewhere else," Zerdar invited. "I know a good ce where we can eat."


    Tom felt a little hungry, so he nodded in agreement and followed them.


    As he took a step however, space and time froze and the world turned ck and white.


    Tom could not move, but his eyes saw a magic circle appearing above him. He tried to activate the chip installed in his head but it did not work. He even tried to open his Divine Dimension, but he could not.


    Nothing worked.


    Suddenly, The magic circle shattered the space above, creating a vacuum that sucked Tom deep into the darkness.


    He twirled, spun, and rolled, but then suddenly, he was walking on a carpet. Looking left and right, a dozen or so teachers with white robes looked at him.


    He looked forward and saw a man seated in the seat of honor.


    Tom activated his godly eyes, but got no information. It was a projection. This whole reality was a projection, so he could not scan it.


    What a powerful magic. How did they do it? What kind of spell was it? Creating an entire alternate reality¡­ if that was the case, then where was the exact location of his body?


    Tom tried to open his inventory and divine dimension again. It did not work. A theory appeared in his mind. Perhaps he was unconscious and his consciousness was brought here. It was even possible that his entire soul was brought here.


    There were so many possibilities because magic was almost limitless.


    "Do you know who I am, Tom?" The man spoke as he sat with dignified yet rxed posture on the seat of honor. He looked old yet firm. He long white beard trailed on his chest and ended on his thigh.


    "I apologize, but I do not know."


    A teacher in white robe stepped forward. "You are now facing one of the Great Grandmaster of Withokere University: Stordisk Tough."


    Tom tried to ess more information about Stordisk Tough, but his internal chip did not work at all, so there was nothing he could do.


    But he had heard of that name before. Stordisk Tough was definitely one of the ancient being that had protected the Kingdom of Withokere for many wars.


    He was one of the few that survived. His status was even considered to be higher than the current king, and the king was reported to ask for advice from them.


    "Tom," Stordisk called in a calm voice, yet something about it made Tom tremble in fear. It was like the grunting of a lion. The lion was rxing on the ground, but Tom knew that it could rip him apart anytime it wanted.


    "I offer you to be my student."


    Tom bowed. "With respect, Grandmaster Stordisk, but I am already your student. ording to the school, every student in Withokere University are your student."


    Stordiskughed. "You amused me. But that is not what I meant. I want you to be my personal disciple."


    Tom considered the option. Bing the personal disciple of an Adamantite Rank doesn''t sound bad. Maybe he could even obtain a lot of secret skills and potion.


    "We can formalize with blood-ritual."


    Crap! Blood ritual was a powerful magic spell that could bond his fate with the other person. In this case, he would really have to obey the master''s whim.


    ? Aldred trusted no one with his fate. If god himself appear and write his destiny, he would steal the pen and break it with his knee.


    Though he was still grateful that the gods reincarnated him into this life.


    But still, the point remain, he would not leave his fate to someone else.


    "I apologize, Grandmaster."


    A teacher frowned and took another step. "Tom Nichs! Are you really going to refuse the Grandmaster''s offer?"


    "It is unfortunate, but my father always taught me to be the man of my word. I have epted Miss udia''s offer to be her personal disciple. Therefore I have no choice but to refuse."


    "udia?" Stordisk raised an eyebrow.


    A teacher walked to the Grandmaster and whispered something into his ear.


    "Ah, a young beautiful teacher. You are indeed still young, Tom. I am slightly disappointed, but I must remind myself of your age. When you are older you will soon realize that beauty means nothing."


    Tom blinked a bunch of times. Did the Grandmaster think that he picked Miss udia because she was beautiful?


    He did not like that assumption, but he could not refute it either, because he did not have any other good reason to reject Stordisk''s offer.


    "So be it. But since you are already here, let me give you some things."


    Tom''s eyes lit up.

 Chapter 536 536 Fine Meal

    Stordisk flipped his palm and it seemed like a tiny gxy exploded on his palm as the dust expanded in a slow motion before gathering again, forming into a bottle of potion.


    The bottle of potion floated into the air, before another one appeared on his palm.  This repeated a bunch of times until dozens of potions floated in the air.


    Tom could not analyze the potions, but by the looks of it, each one of them would cost an entire fief to buy. But nobody would be willing to sell them because they were too valuable. He could not wait to bring them home and see their effects.


    "Too bad, Tom," Stordisk said. "If you''ve agreed to be my student. I would have bring you to my secret tower."


    Tom had heard that some Adamantite Ranks had an ethereal secret tower that floated in the astral realm, impossible to find, even for Adamantite Rank, it was like looking for a needle in the ocean.


    The secret tower was said to be a cheating device as it could elerate growth and potentially break the limit of human talent. From what he knew, these secret tower was known to be the absolute best treasure for producing Adamantite Rank magicians.


    The potions in the air floated in front of Tom and then magically entered his body. He didn''t understand what just happen, but Tom felt the potions dwelling within him.


    "Thank you, Great Grandmaster." Tom bowed.


    The other teachers frowned and could not ept the fact that Tom rather chose Miss udia rather than the Great Grandmaster Stordisk Tough himself.


    It was very rare for an Adamantite Rank to pick someone as their student. And they never had pick a student that just got enrolled into the university before.


    This was once-in-history moment, and yet Tom ruined it.


    "Before I let you leave, Tom."


    "Yes, Great Grandmaster? What else do you need from me?"


    "Tell me. How is it that I cannot quantify the amount of mana you have?"


    The teachers trembled in shock with widened eyes. The Great Grandmaster could not quantify the amount of mana a mid Diamond Rank magician had?


    How was that possible? If it was the other way around, then it''s normal for a Diamond Rank to not being able to quantify an Adamantite Rank''s mana.


    "I am not sure, Great Grandmaster. I have been having this anomaly since I was a child."


    "An anomaly indeed." Stordisk nodded. "Even your father has the same anomaly."


    Tom''s eyes twitched. His suspicion was correct. Everyone was spying on him. Aldred''s true body was actually hiding in the divine dimension. The one that stayed on the capital of his fief was actually another clone.


    Aldred had intentionally left his clone there just in case someone is watching without him knowing. And sure enough, the old fogies would poke their nose out and take a sniff.


    "Maybe we are just born that way."


    "Perhaps¡­ Tell your father that I liked him. Ever since he came here, he''s been helping the kingdom grow."


    Tom let out a sigh of relief inside. Aldred, Corduul, and Ruhnan Noku had discussed on what to do to survive in this kingdom, and their conclusion was to make as many friends as possible while trying not to offend anyone.


    So Aldred had been sending his golems all over the ce, buildings roads and infrastructures, also renting the golems to the nobles with such a cheap price. Of course the low Diamond Rank golems were not for sale yet.


    Still, his numerous golems had helped the kingdom fought against the neighboring kingdom, reducing their burden on manpower and supplies by a huge factor.


    The Adamantite Rank could go down personally and helped, but that would trigger a reaction from the enemy kingdom, pushing the war into a much bigger deal.


    That rarely happened in the early part of the war. At the beginning, every kingdom would send their cannon fodder, testing their soldiers and transportation capabilities while also taking some territories.


    Only when one side turn desperate would an Adamantite Rank appear in battle.


    "I will tell him that, surely," Tom said.


    Stordisk nodded. "Good. You can leave now." He waved his hand, and space and time bent, the whole world spiraling before it shattered and Tom was back in the square.


    Tom looked around, slightly confused as his chest went up and down.


    "Come on, Tom. I will show you a good ce to eat," Zerdar said.


    "Ah, right." Tom followed them.


    After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at what seemed to be a luxurious seafood restaurant. The whole ce had green and red theme.


    Even beautiful waitresses wore red dresses as they served the guests.


    One of them approached the group and slightly bowed.


    "A table for ten, please," Zerdar said.


    "Certainly, Sir Zerdar. Please follow me."


    "Seems like you''re a regr here," Tom said.


    "You can say that." Zerdar smiled.


    They were escorted to a floating table with white glowing smokes covering the floor, barely revealing the chair around it.


    This wasn''t the first time Tom visited a luxurious restaurant, in fact, he couldn''t recall how many times he had visited extravagant establishment before.


    He was so rich. Too rich in fact.


    After they all sat down, beautiful women and handsome males came. The beautiful women stood behind the males while the handsome waiter stood behind the female member of their group. They then leaned forward and put a thick, red menu on the table in front of them.


    After putting the menu down, the waitress put her hand softly on Tom''s shoulder and massaged him. He looked around and saw his friends were treated the same way.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Zerdar, on the other hand, pulled the waitress to his arms which made her giggle. Then he yed with her boobs as he was looking through the menu.


    ''Oh, so it was this kind of restaurant¡­''


    Tom looked at his female friends and saw that the handsome waiters were ying with their boobs. And some even requested to put their hands down in their sensitive spot.


    The waitress behind Tom giggled and licked his ear. Tom was never shy about liking a woman''s touch. In fact, he embraced it. Even though he already had a lot of wives, he never had enough of women. He loved them all. Their touch, their voice, their energy, it was soothing, calming, and full of joy.


    So he pulled into his arm and sucked on her boob which made her moan.


    "What is your name?" Tom asked.


    "My name is not important, master. Enjoy me however you like."


    Tom squeezed her boob which made her moan a little louder. "Tell me."


    "¡­Cai Tia. That is my name."


    Tom turned her around and slipped his hand below her revealing red dress. Caressing her smooth snow-white thigh.


    "Master, you are still young but you seem to be experienced in this."


    Tomughed. "I will take that aspliment."


    Right after saying that, his fingers caressed Cai Tia''s divine cave which began to wet immediately.


    "Cai, can you flip open the menu for me."


    While her cheeks were still red and her whole body trembling, Cai obeyed and opened the menu.


    Tom twirled his finger inside her cave as he read the menu. The sound of Cai Tia''s moaning was music to his ears.


    "There''s so many food."


    "Don''t worry¡­ ahh¡­ master. You can take your¡­ ahh¡­ time as long as¡­ uhhmm.. you want to."


    With his right hand deep inside her cave, Tom moved his left hand to her left boobs and squeezed.


    A little bit of milk squirted out which weirded Cai Tia a bit.


    "That never happen before?" Tom asked.


    Cai Tia shook her head.


    ''Does all my wives have breast-milk because of me?'' Tom wondered. It was quite magical. Every women he touched would produce breast milk.


    Maybe it was some sort of hidden power of his.


    Tom did not think much of it and began to suck on the nipple, enjoying the taste of Cai Tia''s breast milk.


    "Ah¡­. Ahhhh¡­ Master¡­ yesss¡­"


    Her moan was louder than the other waitress because of good Tom''s movement was. He sucked on her tits, fondled on her breast, and also twirled his finger deep inside her cave.


    She waspletely enthralled by the experience.


    After a few minutes, Tom lifted her up which surprised Cai Tia a bit. He turned her around once again.


    Looking at her dripping pussy, Tom snapped his finger, and his pants vanished, revealing a huge stiff rod.


    Even the female nobles widened their eyes when they saw that.


    "Tom''s thing is so big¡­"


    Cai Tia gulped in excitement then Tom pulled her down, inserting his rod into her cave.


    "Ahhh¡­."


    She wrapped her hands around his neck for support as her whole body trembled.


    Tom moved her up and down and ravaged her inside as he sucked on her tits, draining her milk.


    Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and after more than an hour, Tom finally decided to cum inside of her.


    Cai Tia fell on his chest and breathed in and out, exhausted. She regained her strength and smiled.


    "Are you satisfied, master?"


    "I am. You are a wonderful woman."


    Cai Tia''s cheek turned even redder. She moved her hips around with Tom''s dick still inside of her.


    "I will clean your treasure now, master." Cai Tia pulled herself and Tom''s rod came out with a ''plop'' sound.


    She knelt on her knees and began licking his rod, cleaning it properly.


    "Okay, now let me take a proper look at the menu," Tom said as Cai Tia still cleaned his rod.

 Chapter 537 537 Comparison

    "Are you ready to order yet, master?" Cai Tia asked as she stroked up and down softly.


    "Hmmm, sure. Give me the Magical Giant lobsters of Eastern Pesterian Sea, the Sea Blue Dragon of Northern Stotford, and The Ox of Haydonian Mountain."


    Tom listed some side dish and snacks, and sweet desserts after the main dish.


    The three main dish he mentioned cost 20 Epic Mana Crystal each. They were worth the price though, because the animals could only be found outside the kingdom and it took many weeks for the fishermen to catch one. They were extremely popr in their home country as well which increased the cost even further.


    20 Epic Mana Crystal would ruin a small noble family if they consume a dish like this often.


    Even Tom was slightly reluctant to spend his crystals on such food, but he had the philosophy of enjoying everything the world has to offer.


    Money could be made at anytime, but there might be time where he would lose everything and die, so might as well enjoy every moment while he could.


    Cai Tia stood up. "Is that all, master?"


    "For now." Tom nodded.


    "In that case, please wait as our chef is cooking them. Unlike other food, the dish you mentioned are special which require more time to cook."


    "I am fine with that."


    Tom already knew that special dish require time to cook. Magic could cook normal dish with a snap of a finger, turning raw meat into cooked meat in a blink of an eye. Newly made wine could be aged up to hundreds of years with a simple spell, and water could be turned hot or cold at theirmand.


    Such was the power of magic. Technology could do those things, but it wasn''t as convenient. Technology needs electricity, etc, but magic only need mana. And mana is everywhere, like oxygen. Even under water, they still exist.


    "In the meantime, I can entertain you as you wait, master. Cai Tia sat on hisp. Her skin directly touched his as she wore nothing under her red dress.


    Tom smiled and enjoyed her voluptuous body for half an hour in every way he could.


    When he was done, Cai Tia waspletely wet and red, especially her butt cheeks from all the spanking.


    Tom then excused her.


    She left with a smile.


    The other waiter and waitress were also done and so they left.


    In fact, it was improper to call them waiter and waitress, because they did nothing a normal waiter and waitress do.


    Tom could onlyugh as he thought of that.


    "No wonder you are a regr here," Tom said to Zerdar.


    Zerdarughed. "How is it? Did you enjoy it? All the waiter and waitress here are low Diamond Rank, so they are beautiful inside and outside, unlike those low quality peasants."


    Tom didn''t really like how Zerdar word that out, but it was true that the more powerful you became the better you look. Everyone that reached Diamond Rank look like they were A-ss celebrities, Kpop star, and top ss korean actor that many male and female would envy.


    If they were teleported to earth, they would immediately rise to be the top models and actor in no time. Not to mention that their voice were also beautiful, and if they were taught how to sing, they could even make the entire world resonate.


    Such was the power of Diamond Rank individuals. They were demi-god like existence which was so much better in any human realm either intellectually, mentally, physically, spiritually, and everything else.


    To be a Diamond Rank, one naturally had to have the talent. Which mean, they were all top students. But of course, there were always dragons that flew higher above the clouds, sky above skies.


    In front of Tom, Zerdar, and the nobles around him, these Diamond Rank were nothing special. If they were demi-gods, then Tom and Zerdar would be considered true gods because they have higher talent and more capabilities.


    Of course Diamond Ranks were not exactly cannon fodder. The only restaurants that manage to hire Diamond Ranks as their waiter had to be one of the best restaurants in the entire world.


    Not just any restaurant could hire them for this kind of position.


    Tom chatted with the others for a good two hours before the food finally came.


    Cai Tia masterfully brought stacks of tes and presented them in front of Tom one by one.


    She then kissed Tom and give him a ring. "You can use that whenever to call me."


    Tom smiled. "Alright."


    Cai Tia then pped her beautiful hands and the lid on the tes vanished, revealing the glowing and sparkling food on the table.


    The smell permeated all around them. The ce they were sitting right now were decorated with magical flowers and trees with thick white mist moving all around them.


    It seemed to be an open-space, but it was actually arge private garden, and they were the only ones in here.


    This was a special room, and not every students could have ess to this ce.


    It was only possible to get a table in here, because Zerdar was a regr.


    Tom grabbed one of the fork and stabbed through the soft blue dragon''s scale. When it was alive, it naturally isn''t this soft. The cook intentionally made it soft so its easier for the consumer to eat it.


    That was very thoughtful of them. Aldred had ate leftover crabs before, and it was so hard to get the meat because of their hard shell.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Putting a chunk in his mouth, Tom immediately trembled in bliss. The food was so good, that he didn''t bother to chew more than 5 times before swallowing it.


    He believed that the taste of food reduce the more he chew them, and so he ate fairly quickly.


    And then something happened, his whole body, and his mana trembled, and even increased in strength. ording to his analysis, his strength increased at around 0,5%.


    It wasn''t bad at all. For Diamond Ranks, every percent could decide victory or defeat.


    And it wasn''t only his strength, his rity of mind increased as well, making it easier for him toprehend things that weren''t as clear before.


    After a few minutes, Tom grabbed his drink: sparkling iced orange juice and drank it with joy.


    "Ahh¡­ it''s really good."


    "Hehe, I told you I know a good ce," Zerdar said to him.


    "Melisa, please fetch my drink."


    "Certainly, master." The waitress took the ss and drank it before she sat on Zerdar''sp and mouth-feed the juice into his mouth.


    Tom was quite speechless after seeing this.


    "Master, would you like me to do the same to you?" Cai Tia asked.


    "Maybe someday," Tom said.


    They spend the rest of their time talking and ordering more food.


    After a few hours, they stood up and decided it was time to go.


    "See you again, master." Cai Tia hugged his arm and kissed his lips.


    It was kind of awkward to be hugged by her, because she was tall, and Tom was quite short in his child form.


    When hugged by her, his mouth were at the same level as her boobs.


    "Before I go, let me give a farewell gift." Tom bared his fangs and bit onto her neck.


    Tom sucked her blood which made Cai Tia moan in pain, but she actually felt more pleasure than pain in that moment.


    She let Tom sucked on her blood, but then something happened. A hot liquid rushed through her bloodstream, and her whole body trembled in strength.


    Tom released her and smiled.


    "What¡­ what just happened?" Cai Tia asked.


    "Thank meter." Tom turned around and walked away, leaving Cai Tia dumbfounded.


    She might not realize it yet, but her blood was now mixed with Tom''s blood essence which will expand her mana capacity and quality while also increasing her physical prowess, making her far stronger than before.


    Not only that, it would improve her talent which gave her the chance to rise above low Diamond Rank.


    If she manage to improve her strength, it would be life changing for her. Diamond Ranks require a lot of money to maintain and even more to improve their strength.


    A lot of Diamond Ranks do jobs they did not want to do for resources. This wasn''t the case for tinum Ranks and below since the resources they need were in abundance and pretty much limitless because most of the materials they needed is renewable.


    "What did you do to her?" Zerdar asked.


    "Nothing. I just drink her blood. That''s all."


    "You really like drinking a women''s blood?"


    "From time to time," Tom replied.


    "Not gonna me you. If I was a vampire, I would drink their blood as well."


    Tom looked up and saw that it was already nighttime, though the ce was still brimming with people. There were a lot of students here which mean a lot of Diamond Rank magicians.


    Tom still could not believe his eyes. Back in Coureroy Continent, it was almost impossible for more than 10 Diamond Ranks to gather.


    But here, there were thousands of them. And some even worked as waitress and waiter.


    It almost felt like the whole world flipped upside down. Of course, Tom knew that this was one of the few ces that this could even. Diamond Ranks were still rarepared to overall poption.


    Perhaps 5% of the poption was at the Diamond Rank level. If there were 8 billion people in this continent, then there would be 400,000,000 Diamond Rank.


    That seemed like arge number, but still nothingpared to the 8 billion people.


    Suddenly, Elfie came running from the distance and stopped in front of Tom. "Master, Miss udia is waiting for you."

 Chapter 538 538 A Test

    "Miss udia is looking for me?"


    Elfie nodded. "She is waiting in her mansion right now."


    Tom sighed. He actually did not want to be udia''s student, but now he used that excuses to avoid performing a blood ritual with an Adamantite Rank, so he had to act like he was the student of miss udia.


    What could a high Diamond Rank like her offer him anyway? Aldred had killed a high Diamond Rank, and he was the former Count. Corduul had extracted a lot of valuable information out of him, so Tom did not expect he could receive much from miss udia.


    As Elfie escorted Tom towards the mansion, she looked at the boy''sck of enthusiasm.


    "You don''t look very excited to meet her, master."


    "Yeah, well, not really."


    Elfie looked forward and stayed in silent for a few second before she opened her lips: "There''s something you need to know, master."


    "About what?"


    "About miss udia. I want you to act careful around her."


    "Why? is she a strict teacher?"


    "Not that. It''s her background that you need to be concerned with."


    "Her background?"


    Elfie nodded. "Miss udiae from a mysterious family called the Axbrid family. No one know much information about them, but a few thousand years ago, they suddenly appear out of nowhere and was given arge fief and the title of a Duke. Their territory was so big and profitable that even ancient noble families are jealous of them. The nobles could not ept that a random family got thisrge fief without merit, so they asked the past king for the reason, but he refused to give one."


    "They still don''t know even after thousands of years?"


    "Every time the king changed, the nobles gathered and asked, but the reaction is always the same. The king would shake his head and refuse to give any reason. Even the current king, who is known to be reasonable and easy tomunicate, even friendly with every nobles, and yet still refuse to give the reason."


    "Has this cause any conflict?"


    "Many times. Neighboring noble families that cannot admit their fief would sometimes challenge them to a war, but every time that happened, their armies would be decimated at arge numbers."


    "The Axbrid family have a powerful army?"


    "No, master. The nobles that challenge them, a few days before they could march to battle, their army suddenly die on the spot. No wounds."


    "No wounds? Perhaps Adamantite Rank attack?"


    "They thought of that, but they detected nothing. Also, the members of the Axbrid family refuse to meet anyone. They are not interested in partnership of any kind. And no one has meet any of them, except for miss udia. She was the first to evere out of the Axbrid territory. And as you know, she is cold to everyone, and barely speak to anyone."


    "Everyone must be so curios of miss udia and stalk her," Tom said.


    "That''s true." Elfie nodded. "But all of her stalker died. Even high Diamond Rank magicians could not spy on her. I am not sure about Adamantite Ranks."


    "They probably can, considering their god-like power." Tom had experienced first hand what an Adamantite Rank could do. Spying on a single high Diamond Rank magician should be easy.


    "If that was true, then the information about the Axbrid family would have spread far and wide. There are only two possibilities. The Axbrid family had a powerful treasure that can even prevent Adamantite Rank from spying on their family, or second, the Axbrid family had a powerhouse that even Adamantite Ranks could not handle.


    Tom could hardly believe the second possibilities. The first one still make sense. In a world of magic, a treasure like that might be extremely rare, and possibly one-of-a-kind item, but it might be the reason why no one could spy on the Axbrid family all these years.


    "Actually, before serving you, I was assigned to be miss udia''s maid."


    "Ohh, really?"


    "I shouldn''t be telling you this, but I think she''s a--"


    Elfie suddenly stopped in her track, body trembling and eyes widened as her neck looked like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. She gagged and couldn''t breathe.


    She fell to her knees.


    "Shit." Tom activated his godly eyes and saw a strand of red rope wrapping around Elfie''s neck. He summoned his Phantom Doomde and cut off the rope, releasing the pressure from Elfie''s neck.


    "Cough! Cough!" Elfie gasped for air desperately.


    "What just happened?" Tom asked.


    "I don''t know."


    Tom frowned. "Is this why no one is able to get any information about the Axbrid family? For now, let''s stop talking about her and her family."


    Tom activated the internal chip inside his head, essing the Mechanicum''s database. He searched for any information about the Axbrid family and there was nothing in there. There was no rumor, no unconfirmed information, nothing at all, nk.


    That should not be possible at all. Axbrid family was a noble family with arge fief. That should be enough for people to know their existence. There should be at least rumors in people''s head.


    ''How could there is no information regarding them at all?''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Tom was deep in thought. ''Who is miss udia? Why does she want me to be her student?''


    Tom thought the teacher was interested of him because of his handsome face, but he now thought differently.


    "Follow me, master. The mansion is near."


    Tom followed Elfie. After a few minutes, they entered a garden. Their feet stepped onto the smooth stone pathway, perfectly trimmed grass sided the pathway as if weing the guest.


    Beautiful tall trees decorated the garden with their shining fruits hanging down. The whole scene was a very simr depiction of Eve''s garden.


    As they were walking in the garden, they did not know that a bunch of high Diamond Rank teachers were secretly watching them.


    "What is that kid doing in udia''s garden?"


    "We have been watching her movement for years. No one except that head maid has entered her garden before."


    "Isn''t that Tom?"


    "Tom? You mean the son of that person?"


    "Yes, he is the son of the person that killed Count Heled."


    "Humph! The kid is as arrogant as his father. Just because the king spared them, he think he can mess with the Axbrid family?"


    "Hmmm, I forgot to tell you this, but miss udia actually invited him here."


    The man frowned. "She invited him?"


    ''That''s a rare case. She barely speak to anybody, and suddenly she invited this kid to her garden? What is the chance of that?"


    "She do something unusual this time. Let''s keep a close watch."


    "Careful. Remember what happenst time when we get too close."


    They all rubbed their neck right after hearing that. The Axbrid family was aplete mystery. No one knows a thing about them. That was why any information about them could be sell at a high price. These teachers had been watching udia ever since she arrive in this university. They watched her every move for decades, but failed to find anything significant.


    But today, they might find something useful.


    As Elfie and Tom were walking, Elfie stopped and looked around.


    "That''s weird. The mansion should be visible by now."


    Tom looked around as well. The garden was as big as a small town, so he wondered how would the mansion look like. He then sensed something in the air.


    Suddenly, the earth shook and a loud explosion rumbled their ears. They looked into the distance and saw a grand tower protruding out of the ground before it became taller and taller, piercing through the clouds.


    "What is that?" The teacher that secretly spying on them frowned.


    The tower looked like very simr to eastern Chinese style, except this one looked devil-ish and strongly reeked the smell of blood.


    Tom saw the silhouette of a woman with her scarf waving around in the air. She red  at him with a pair of red eyes. He was about to activate his godly eyes but the woman vanished.


    Suddenly, the tower trembled which shook the ground, creating a wave-like earthquake that flung both Elfie and Tom into the air.


    As they were about to use magic to levitate, a powerful invisible pressure mmed them down to the ground.


    Tom looked to the side and saw Elfie struggled to stand up only for the pressure to push her face to the ground.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    "Master, this is miss udia''s Spiritbound Tower."


    "Haa? What does that even mean? Spiritbound Tower is used to test students  if they have the will and spirit to be a teacher. Not just any students can be a teacher. Their mind and spirit will be tested."


    "So what do I need to do?" Tom asked.


    "You need to stand up and approach the tower."


    Tom could barely able to speak in this situation, how could he even approach the tower?


    Suddenly, a notification appeared.


    [Ding!]


    [You received 3,500 points for World Refined Physique]

 Chapter 539 539 Benefit

    [You received 3,500 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 3,500 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 3,500 points for World Refined Physique]


    Tom saw all the points he got and was ecstatic. If he keep getting pushed by the pressure, his World Refined Physique will increase in level. It was getting harder and harder to get points these days.


    "A Spiritbound Tower¡­ how does she has something like that?"


    "A Spiritbound Tower is known to be extremely rare. So rare that only Adamantite Ranks could dream of obtaining them."


    "udia is just a high Diamond Rank. How did she obtain it?"


    The teacher discussed this with each other in a secret room as they spied on her garden. It wasn''t easy to spy on her. The ten of them had to gather their secret treasures andbine their power just to take a glimpse of the event around her dwelling.


    And if they get any closer, they will be attacked. They had done this for years, and were quite experienced in stalking her.


    Though they had find nothing of significant yet.


    But now they knew that udia had a Spiritbound Tower with her. This was an extremely critical information. The tower was a powerful treasure with all kinds of utilities. If a group wanted to attack her, and they did not know that she had a Spiritbound Tower, they will surely fail.


    "Let''s see what she is nning to do with it."


    A teacher scoffed. "Reminds me of my student days when I really want to be a teacher in this university. But ever since I be one, I don''t feel as happy as expected."


    "Are you going to quit?"


    "Not really. I don''t feel as happy, but I am living my dream."


    The other teacherughed. Bing a teacher of Withokere University was no easy matter. It was a prestigious establishment in the whole kingdom, and the only ce where they could smell the presence of Adamantite Ranks. Not to mention the ce had the best resources in terms of knowledge, secret treasures, crystals, and everything else a magician need to advance.


    Even nobles might fail to be a teacher in this ce.


    "Wait, look. That kid is crawling towards the tower."


    "What is he thinking? Only a teacher candidate can approach the tower, and you need to be at high Diamond Rank to even consider approaching it."


    All of them knew about the test. The university use Spiritbound Tower to select new teacher every year. It was one of the most effective tools to filter out the losers from the best. The school wouldn''t just ept anyone as their teacher. And nobody could rely on their connections or influence to be a teacher in this ce. Pure skills, pure will power, that was what it take to be a teacher in this ce.


    Tom continued to crawl inch by inch towards the tower with a smile on his face. The notification kept popping in, telling him that his physique was getting stronger and stronger by the minute.


    [You received 4,750 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 4,750 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 4,750 points for World Refined Physique]


    The closer he got to the tower, the harder the pressure, but also, the more points he received. If this kept happening for a good few hours, his physique would be so powerful.


    "HAHAHA!" Tomughed maniacally as he crawled his way forward.


    Elfie was made speechless when he saw Tomughed. She stayed in her original spot, and could not move an inch, so she knew the pressure was still there, but she couldn''t figure out why Tomugh in this situation.


    Even the teachers that spied on him were confused.


    "Why is that kidughing? The pain from Spiritbound Tower not only hurt your body like you are about to be crushed by a mountain, but it felt like your soul will be pulled out as well."


    "He''s just a foolish kid. He will regret for even trying to approach the tower. Let''s see his tears the moment he cannot move a muscle and receive constant crushing pressure."


    [You received 5,445 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 5,445 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 5,445 points for World Refined Physique]


    [World Refined Physique Lv.6 -> Lv.7]


    Tomughed again and began to stand up which shocked everyone.


    "Did he just stand?"


    "He''s standing! He''s standing! How did he stand in this situation?"


    Tom gritted his teeth with a wide smile as he took a step forward. His upper body almost lurch forward, but he manage to find bnce his bnce.


    [You received 3,445 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 3,445 points for World Refined Physique]


    The points he received reduce when his skill level up. That meant he had to advance further to get more points.


    Tom walked step by step. Each step took him a minute to make. This went on for a few hours, and the tower was still far away.


    The more he walked, the harder it get.


    Suddenly, both of his knees bent, threatening to fall.


    But a notification appeared.


    [World Refined Physique Lv.7 -> Lv.8]


    Tom straightened his leg and continued walking.


    The high Diamond Rank teachers were shocked to see this.


    "Even I have to crawl my way from start to finish¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Most of the teachers barely able to pass the test. But this kid was only at mid Diamond Rank. This shouldn''t be possible at all.


    "He''s 670 meter away from the tower!"


    "So quick!"


    "Wait, he stopped."


    They saw Tom stopped and could not move any further.


    "Ha! I told you he will fail."


    Then they saw him sitting down cross legged and closing his eyes.


    That made the teachers confused.


    "Is he meditating? Why is he meditating in this situation?"


    "Nobody can focus their mind in a situation like that."


    Elfie looked at Tom from the distance, wondering what miracle would he pull this time.


    Hours passed, Tom opened his eyes. Then, abruptly, he stood up and dashed.


    Everyone that saw this widened their eyes, mouth wide agape.


    Anyone that went through this test barely able to crawl forward inch by inch, but this kid manage to run through it???


    "The pressure must have been decreased. Otherwise, there is no chance for him to dash towards the tower."


    Tomughed to the sky as his feet sprinted forward like never before.


    "Wohoo!!!"


    [World Refined Physique Lv.10]


    Tom smiled when he saw this. His physique now was extremely powerful. He was confident he could now defeat that top 15th student with his physique alone.


    The tower was very close to him. 10 meters. 5 meters.


    And then suddenly, the pressure increased to the extreme. His body trembled and stuck in ce.


    Everyone watched with bated breath.


    "This is the hardest part of the test. Thest 10 steps of hell. So many high Diamond Ranks died trying to pass this test."


    The teachers all frowned as they recalled the terrible memories of their friends and colleague being crushed into a pulp. The test was truly cruel. High Diamond Ranks were extremely rare and valuable, and yet they were not spared at all.


    This test was only for the brave, not the weak-willed. It was do or die type of thing. So if they were not prepared to die, then they will be advised not to join the test.


    Tom was only ten steps away. When he took another step, the pressure increased threefold.


    "Fuck!"


    [You received 7,220 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 7,220 points for World Refined Physique]


    His whole body felt like it was being crushed by the entire weight of the ocean. His knees trembled, and it took all of his power to keep them from falling


    His internal organs felt like dying as well. His veins bulged and every cell in his body worked really hard to keep him standing.


    Blood trickled out of his nose, but he gritted his teeth and took another step.


    The pressure increased yet again.


    He looked at the notification, praying for his skill to level up sooner or the pressure would crush him before that.


    [You received 8,115 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 8,115 points for World Refined Physique]


    [You received 8,115 points for World Refined Physique]


    [World Refined Physique Lv.10 -> Lv. 11]


    "Yes!" Tom took another step, and then another, then the pressure pushed him again.


    But he did not give up.


    It took him hours, but he finally get to reach thest step.


    "Is he really going to do it?" one of the teacher asked with disbelief in his eyes.


    "He is right in front of the entrance of the tower. Just one more step and he will seed."


    "Is this real? Is this really possible for a mid Diamond Rank?"


    "No. Don''t entertain that thought. So many high Diamond Rank died in this test. Don''t even mention something lower than that."


    Tom trying to lift his leg, but couldn''t. And then he roared and burned half of his blood essence, giving him momentary power to take thest step.


    "YES!!!"

 Chapter 540 540 Miss Claudia

    Utter disbelief!!! The teachers could not believe what they saw at all. Not in the slightest of the imagination would they think it was possible for a mid Diamond Rank to approach a Spiritbound Tower!


    Hundreds if not thousands of high Diamond Rank would die just for attempting it.


    "This can''t be¡­ How is this possible? Not in a thousand years would anyone below high Diamond Rank even dare to attempt something like this. No one even thought it was possible!"


    "We have witnessed a historic moment! Now we know it is possible for a mid Diamond Rank can pass the Spiritbound Tower test. A feat that might never be replicated ever again. In this lifetime or even the next."


    "Who is this Aldred really? How could he has a son this powerful?"


    "I saw him fight against Russam."


    "Russam? The top 15th student?"


    The teacher nodded. "They fought to a draw."


    "Russam is a high Diamond Rank with a lot of battle experience. How can he fight to a draw?"


    "Russam never show mercy. Even to someone less powerful than him. But I refuse to believe Tom can fight him to a draw."


    "But the facts are presented before our eyes! Tom passed the Spiritbound Tower''s test. And he passed way better than all of us."


    The teachers were silent right after that. Even though they could clearly see Tom''s achievement, it was still hard to fathom.


    One of the teachers sighed. "Enough. We need to think what to do now that we know this information."


    "Tom is the son of Aldred. His existence is quite controversial now, but the Duke of Wihnd already made a close rtionship with him. Perhaps he know what we don''t and quickly made the first move."


    "He is always ahead from the rest of the nobles. We should do the same before it''s toote to reap the benefit."


    "I Agree. Let us tell Aldred that we are on his side by taking care of his son."


    "That too, but we also need to send an emissary to his territory just to make sure his stance on us."


    They all nodded in agreement. Making friends with a powerful figure was a very important thing. Even though the teachers already had high status, incredible god-like power, they were not arrogant and fully aware that they could not survive alone.


    Those who had the lone-wolf mentality were quickly left behind. One had to learn how to make friends. Two great mind working together is better than one. Ten is even better.


    "Do you guys think Aldred has an Adamantite Rank behind him?"


    "There is a high possibility of that. Otherwise, there is no way the king and the nobles epted him so quickly."


    "For now, let''s keep a watch on him."


    Tom turned around and saw Elfie standing up. The pressure was already gone. Elfie than walked towards the tower and stood beside Tom.


    "Master, congrattion. You have passed the test."


    "Why does she has to test me?" Not that he reallyined since his physical durability increased by manifold because of it.


    "Perhaps to see if you are worthy to be her personal student."


    Worthy¡­ even an Adamantite Rank offered to be his teacher. Tom didn''t even want to be anyone''s student. He could kill high Diamond Rank and absorb their memory. If not for his lie, he wouldn''t be here. Who knows if Stordisk Tough, the Great Grandmaster, was spying on him.


    But something about miss udia intrigued him. He had scanned her with his godly eyes before, but he thought she was only a beautiful and talented teacher. Who would have known that she had such a mysterious family behind her.


    Suddenly, a passing cold wind blew behind Tom''s neck. And then a soothing voice came.


    "Elfie, you can now leave."


    Tom turned around and saw miss udia standing gracefully with a tight red dress that revealed her thick bosom. A thin purple robe covered around her shoulders and went down below her knees, though it failed to cover her smooth white thigh.


    A beautiful bird with blue and white feathernded on her shoulder, chirping and suddenly the whole atmosphere changed, almost as if the world turned so colorful and bright. The flowers looked much more beautiful and the grass a lot greener.


    Tom activated his godly eyes.<novelnext></novelnext>


    [???]


    "Ehh."


    "Is something wrong, master?" Elfie asked.


    "No, nothing."


    "In that case, I will take my leave now. Excuse me, master udia and Master Tom."


    Tom nced at udia and noticed that she did not averted her eyes from him even for a second. Her gaze was locked in


    He did not care much about that. What he wanted to know was how did the godly eyes fail to scan her information. It worked before, why didn''t it work now?


    The godly eyes were a potent item given to his father, an universal level entity. It shouldn''t be able to fail scanning a mortal. There had to be an exnation for this.


    "Miss udia." Tom bowed.


    Suddenly, the whole tower trembled. Tom flinched and saw that miss udia was still calm.


    The gate abruptly closed with a bang. Tom looked out of the window and saw that the tower was descending into the ground. The light slowly disappear as the windows were blocked until it was pitch ck.


    Tom heard a snap and light orbs appear, floating around in the air.


    "Miss udia, why do you call me here?"


    She didn''t reply and kept looking into his eyes.


    ''What is wrong with this woman?''


    Tom blinked a couple of times as he took a more detailed look at her. She looked like a literal goddess. Her long hair was tied into a bun with a lotus hair pin at the top. The rest were flowing down her back.


    She suddenly grabbed the pin and pulled it out, making her hair messily fell, covering half of her face. Walking towards him, udia looked down and bent her back before kissing Tom on the lips.


    ''What the hell is going on?'' Tom thought as he stood still, not daring to push her away. Not that he wanted to push her away anyway. The kiss was delicious and he closed his eyes to enjoy it.


    The kiss from a powerful high Diamond Rank, a goddess-level beauty at that was fantastic. It waspletely a whole new experience. A new continent to explore, a new territory to conquer. Excitement and joy rushed into his heart and mind. Even his soul trembled in bliss.


    This wasn''t like the kiss he was used to. He still loved his wives, but he didn''t mind to enjoy the experience.


    udia pushed him down. Tom thought he wouldnd on cold, hard floor, but his fall was cushioned by a soft and warm bed. The ceiling was reced with a chandelier with soft lighting.


    He was about to look around until he felt a wet slippery thing inside his mouth. It was her tongue. Tom closed his eyes again and wrapped his own tongue with hers. As they did this, Tom moved his hands around her voluptuous body. His right hand pushed the robe away, and caressed her smooth thigh and then slipped inside her dress to caress her butt cheek.


    Tom''s heart thumped harder than before. This had never happened before. He had sex so many times with so many different woman. He shouldn''t be feeling flustered or nervous, but his heart couldn''t stop beating faster and faster. His blood rushed towards every inch of his being.


    It felt like he had sex for the first time ever. Tom increased the intensity of his kiss and his fingers went down between the area of her thighs. Her plump vagina was already wet which made Tom excited and caressed it softly, making it wetter.


    After a few minutes, Tom put one of his finger inside. Feeling the wetness and warmness rejuvenate him. It felt like drinking the most expensive potion in the world. His body condition felt like it was at its peak performance.


    His heart thumped harder as if he was sprinting as hard as he could. He could even almost heard the sound of his blood rushing through his veins.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    Tom put two fingers in, and he yed with her wonderful cave as if he already owned it. He wanted to own her. She was so wonderful and beautiful. He wanted to experience this sex every night. Life was hard, and Tom believed he would work a little harder if he had miss udia waiting for him every night.


    udia released the kiss which saddened Tom a bit. But her lips approached yet again. Her tongue came out and licked his lips before it went down to his neck.


    Suddenly, Tom felt a pricking pain on his neck and realized miss udia was bitting on his neck. A secondter, he felt his blood was absorbed.


    That was when Tom realized something.


    ''She''s a vampire!''

 Chapter 541 541 Vampire Claudia

    Tom''s hand moved quickly, pushing miss udia away from him. But she did not budge. Her arms wrapped around him and he could not get them off.


    "Miss, please let me go."


    She did not reply.


    ''Fuck, I am going to die running out of blood!''


    Miss udia was like a hungry leech, prating her teeth deep into his neck and sucking his blood. He felt weaker by the second. He wanted to push her away, but despite the pain, he felt waves after waves of pleasure.


    ''Is this what my victim feels when I drink their blood? No wonder they are quite happy.''


    Tom felt the pleasure quite overwhelming. It was like consuming the best drug in the world. Not that he knew how it felt, but if he had to guess, this must how it feel.


    Slowly, his strength left him, and he felt sleepy. His eyelids began to close and slowly it was only darkness.


    Suddenly, a deep dark voice called him out.


    "AWAKE!"


    Tom abruptly opened his eyes and his body suddenly produced explosive strength, enough to push miss udia away.


    Miss udia was slightly startled as she wiped the blood on her lips. Her red dress and beautiful robe was reced by a dark Gothic dress. Her snow-white skin, and red lips matched perfectly with the dress she wore.


    But Tom was not focusing on that. He stood on battle stance as udia''s heels nging against the floor, approaching him with threatening cold gaze.


    "Miss udia, why are you doing this?"


    "Your blood."


    "My blood? What about it?"


    "It''s different than anything I have ever taste. The quality, the scent, the taste. Everything is different. Before, I find blood to be distasteful, but now I can see why most of my family members love it."


    "Miss udia, are you a vampire?"


    "Are you not as well?" udia asked.


    Tom was actually half vampire, half demon, and half human, so calling him a vampire wasn''t wrong.


    "You can say that."


    "Then you will not find my presence to be an anomaly."


    "But why is your family hiding? From what I know, there''s a lot of vampire family growing in the kingdom."


    udia frowned. "You do not need to know that. Nowe here and let me feast on you."


    "Not now, Miss udia. I think I am running out of blood, so I will take my leave." Tom walked to the gate and pushed it open only to find out that he was unable to open it at all.


    Turning around, he said. "Miss, can you help me opening this door?"


    "You are mine now. You will not go anywhere."


    Tom gritted his teeth. ''Fucking hell! I am really going to die now. I am just a clone, so it''s fine, but I hate the feeling of dying. And I certainly will not let this woman what she wanted to easily.''


    As Tom was deep in his thought, a dark after-image appeared beside him. His eyes moved to the side only to see a hand grabbing at him.


    "Shit!" Red energy exuded out of his body and gave him incredible strength as Tom punched out, pushing udia a dozen meter away.


    Tom looked at his hand wondering where that power came from. After he checked, he realized the Phantom Doomde had lend its strength for him.


    His body was incredibly weakened because udia sucked his blood for a while.


    "I am going to rely on you, buddy," Tom said.


    Miss udia was far more powerful than him. And she was certainly more powerful than the top 15th or even top 1st student. Not to mention her mysterious background made Tom worried of what she was capable of. Even his godly eyes failed to analyze her true strength.


    udia nced at him calmly. She raised her palm and spelled out: "Blood Magic: Lances of Pain."


    Red magic circles appeared in the air, glowing with runes. They shotnces one after another.


    "Shit! Phantom Doomde,e out!"


    Fire came aze in his hands as the de appeared with fearsome aura. Miss udia slightly frowned when she saw this. Tom then knocked all thences to the side one by one. His movement was so fast, and thences that he could not hit were dodged by ducking, rolling, and tilting his body in unique angle.


    udia snapped her fingers and the number of magic circles quadrupled. Their speed of shooting thences at him increased by tenfold.


    "Fuck!" Tom reached out with his hand and shouted: "Enchanted Barrier!"


    A transparent screen wrapped around Tom, protecting him from thences.


    "Your barrier will break soon."


    Right after that statement, the barrier shattered. It could not hold against udia''s fearsome attack.


    "Enchanted Barrier!" Tom casted the same spell again.


    A few secondster, the barrier shattered.


    "Enchanted Barrier!"


    "Enchanted Barrier!"


    "Enchanted Barrier!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Enchanted Barrier!"


    "Enchanted Barrier!"


    "Enchanted Barrier!"


    The barrier shattered again and again, but Tom simply casted the same spell over and over.


    udia stood still and coldly looked at Tom as if she was waiting.


    Hours passed, then it turns into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turns into months.


    "Impossible. Your mana¡­ why are you not running out of mana yet?"


    Tomughed as he casted a barrier spell. "I can do this for eternity if you want me to."


    Tom said that but he was actually pretty tired. His mana might be limitless, but he was feeling tired mentally.


    But he was also confused. How could udia sustain her spell for so long?


    Tom looked around and noticed the tower actually fed the magic circles with energy. He did not know how long could the towerst, but he did not want to take a guess.


    "Miss udia. I am now your student. I will let you drink my blood, but in return I want rare skills, potions, herbs, secret treasure, and special ess to information."


    udia red at him as if angered that he dare to bargain with her. "Is that all?"


    "Actually, there is one more. I want to drink your blood as well."


    Her lips twitched, but she let out a sigh and spoke: "I agree."


    She snapped her fingers and the attack stopped.


    Tom let out a breath of relief as he disabled the barrier.


    The gate mmed open. Wind rushed inside, blowing Tom''s hair. Then suddenly, udia''s beautiful face was right in front of him. Her lips was so close to his.


    "If you dare to against your words¡­"


    A knife appeared in udia''s hand and she stabbed it into his neck.


    Tom trembled. His body couldn''t react properly, but a secondter, he realized it was an illusion.


    ''How did she do that?''


    udia reached out with her hand and then flicked his forehead, pushing him at high speed, making everything else seemed blurry. But he smoothly stopped, feetnded on the ground.


    The tower trembled and went under the ground.


    Tom shook his head in fear. "Crazy. Everything in this continent is crazy!"


    Tom was really grateful that his true body was hiding in the divine dimension. Who knew what the hell would happen to him if his body was outside.


    The magic power of the beings here were still out of his reach. It was not just reality-bending, but their spells made Tom questioned his own consciousness.


    "I shouldn''t be thinking about this. It will only hurt my head."


    Tom was about to walk away until something bumped against his feet. It was a bag.


    Opening it, he saw dozens of shining potion bottles and jade box with magical aura all over them.


    Tom''s eyes lit up. "This is¡­"


    He scanned the items one by one.


    "Heavenly Blood Pill. This can triple my blood essence in an instant??? A pill like this exist?"


    "Essence of a Thousand Warrior. This essence can increase my physical durability by 250%."


    "Blood Mana Herb. If I consume this herb, the quality of my mana will increase the more blood essence I have."


    "God-Poison Dagger. This dagger is so powerful its poison can even injure high Diamond Rank! If my Phantom Doomde consume this dagger, it will be stronger than before."


    Tomughed as he put the items into his inventory one by one.


    Happy with his items, Tom humphed a joyful tone as he walked out of the garden.


    Meanwhile, the teachers that secretly spied on him were confused.


    "What just happened?"


    "He''s been inside that tower for a day, but a Spiritbound Tower is not bound by time or space, so in reality it might be much longer than that."


    "Why did udia gave him a lot of valuable items?"


    "Perhaps she''s making a deal with him to receive his father''s favor."


    "Bullshit. The Axbrid family never make a deal with any noble family before. Why would they make one with a new noble family all of a sudden? Not to mention Aldred''s existence was controversial."


    "We need to watch Tom more closely."


    "Be careful. The Axbrid family might put a protection around him."


    "I know."

 Chapter 542 542 Thieves

    "Master!"


    "Elfie, how long have you been waiting?" Tom was quite shocked to see Elfie here.


    "I waited the whole day, master."


    "The whole day? What are you talking about? It''s been months."


    "Months¡­ Master, are you perhaps been inside the tower for months?"


    "Yeah. It feels like forever already."


    "That is normal. The Spiritbound Tower is not bound by space nor time. It is bound by the spirit of its owner, and they can manipte time and space however to the owner''s wish."


    Tom frowned. "Can it affect space and time outside the tower?"


    "To a certain extent, yes. It is a very powerful treasure. From what I know, only Adamantite Ranks supposedly have these kind of treasure."


    "I see. Anyway, I need to return for now."


    "What are you going to do, master?"


    Tom flicked his hand and a thick scroll appeared. "I need to learn this skill."


    [Scroll of Beastly Rip (Legendary)]


    Transforming mana nearby into its most chaotic and violence nature, enabling the user to rip apart objects and even space itself.


    Elfie''s eyes widened in disbelief. "Master, you shouldn''t show that scroll so lightly. Please quickly hide it."


    Tom immediately put it in his inventory. "I will be fine. You worry too much, Elfie."


    "Master, that is a legendary skill. It cannot be bought at all. It never even appear in auctions after thousands of years. Did miss udia gave you that? If that is the case you should safely keep it."


    "You underestimate me, Elfie. I am the son of Aldred. His army has spread far and wide. Who would dare to fight me? Hahaha!"


    "Master, a lot of people are willing to kill for a simple Epic-ss skill. Not to mention a legendary skill. Please be very careful."


    "Alright. Come on, let''s go back to the mansion."


    "A legendary skill¡­ did udia really gave him that?" A teacher eximed in the secret room.


    "udia is serious about him. She really consider him to be her personal student."


    "Just what has happened inside the tower for udia to give him a legendary skill?"


    "I am not sure, but it has to be something profound."


    "I don''t me her. Tom manage to pass the Spiritbound Tower test that only high Diamond Rank prodigies manage to reach. He is an anomaly among anomalies. His talent might only be found every 100,000 years."


    "But learning a legendary skill could take years. Most learn it in decades. I think it''s too soon for him to get a legendary skill."


    Everyone looked at the teacher who said that.


    "Moroud, don''t even think about it. Tom is protected by udia and possibly the Axbrid family. Not to mention his father is a controversial figure right now. I also heard that he is very protective of his son. If you tried to take that legendary skill away from him, we don''t want to handle the consequences."


    "You''re thinking too deep. I am just saying that he need to grow first before he could properly learn that skill. As for stealing the legendary skill, I am not foolish enough to do that."


    ¡­


    At night, Tom was walking side by side with Elfie.


    "Master, why don''t we just teleport to the mansion?"


    "I want to enjoy the moment."


    "I¡­ I see."


    Tom''s lips curled into a smile. "There they are."


    "Huh?" Elfie was confused.


    Ten shadow figures jumped out of the trees andnded on the ground. The ten of them were wearing ck clothes and ck mask that fully covered their body.


    "How did they get in here? This area is fully monitored and protected."


    Tomughed. "It''s an inside job. Step back, Elfie. I will take care of this."


    Tom intentionally reveal the legendary skill to lure a high Diamond Rank to attack him. This way, he could kill them and get an extra high Diamond Rank undead. But what he saw disappointed him. Instead of a high Diamond Rank, they send ten mid Diamond Rank.


    "Haish¡­ why do they send 10 losers to fight me."


    The ten thieves were quite enraged to hear that word from Tom. All of them moved in a sh, pulling out a small dagger out of thin air and jumped at him.


    "Oh, you guys are as slow as snails."


    Tom rushed forward, then suddenly appeared in front of one of the thieves.


    The thief widened his eyes in shock, but his hand reacted, gripping the de tight, and stabbed towards Tom.


    Tom pped his hand away with a wide smile on his face. "Tell your master to send someone stronger next time!"


    Tom kicked the man''s balls in mid air, crushing them instantly. The man screeched in pain before Tom spun in the air, his leg came from above and mmed the man on the head, sending him crashing to the ground.


    ''One down, nine to go.''


    Two thieves sprinted at him. The dagged in their hand glowed a dark blue light and killing intent locked in towards Tom.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Tom turned around and grabbed their wrist, the tip of the de stopped right in front of his face.


    Sudddenly, the tip of the de revealed a hole and a needle shot out.


    Tom blew. The powerful winding out of his mouth knocked the needles away.


    He then tightened his grip on the two men and then pulled, snapping their wrist.


    "Ahh!"


    As they screamed, Tom beheaded them, ending their scream in an instant.


    Their bodies fell to the hard pavement and blood dripped from Tom''s nails. He did not use his sword to behead the two thieves which made it even scarier.


    ''Three down, seven to go.''


    The rest of the thieves gulped as they hesitated to attack.


    "I pitied you all," Tom said. "Whoever send you here are sending you to your death. There is no chance for you to harm me."


    Tom summoned his Phantom Doomde, then he vanished from the spot, shocking the thieves.


    "I am right behind you."


    Before they could turn around, Tom shed in a wide arc. The Phantom Doomde was in its long and thin form, edged sharp on both sides. Tom swept it out, carving a line of dark-red energy in the air as the de cut three thieves in half.


    "Four to go."


    "What are you?" One of the thieves asked as he took a step back.


    Tom appeared in front of him, raising the de above his head as he stared into the man''s eyes. "I am death."


    He shed the sword downward and the man was split into two.


    "Three left." Tom turned around before he swung the sword to the side, pping the blood to the ground.


    Elfie watched this scene in silence. She finally get to see how Tom fight. It was brutal and terrifying style of fighting.


    The three thieves shed away in different directions.


    "You cannot escape from me!" Tom swung his de, a golden thread came out of the tip of the de, decapitating two thieves at once.


    Tom turned around about to attack thest thief until he saw that Elfie was captured.


    "Let me go, or I will kill this woman." The thief had his dagger on Elfie''s neck.


    "Ignore me master, just kill him."


    Tom had a bright future ahead of him. Not only was he extremely talented, he also had miss udia behind his back. Meanwhile, Elfie was just a maid. Her position was nothing important, and she had no future after this.


    Tom sighed and transformed his Phantom Doomde into a sniper.


    BANG!


    Then fired it urately at the thief''s head, exploding it like watermelon. Blood sshed all over.


    ? Elfie turned around and saw the headless corpse fell.


    "That was a good workout," Tom said.


    "Master, thank you for saving me." Elfie bowed.


    "Don''t mention it. Let''s go. The mansion is near."


    Elfie nodded and stepped over the corpse before she walked beside Tom.


    An old man in his sixties, yet had an athletic figure walked on the rooftop. He was tall with and pale with grey hair and barely any wrinkles.


    He stopped beside a beautiful woman and looked towards the distance.


    "That boy is growing strong."


    The old man turned to look at the woman. "Are you still insisting on helping him, princess Vel¡ª miss udia."


    "There is no reason to stop now."


    "Your father might not like this."


    "That''s because he doesn''t see what I see. Once he does, he will let me do whatever I want."


    "There are people watching him," the old man said.


    "Kill some of them as warning."


    "Even the teachers?"


    udia frowned slightly. "Let them live."


    "Certainly."


    That night, thousands of scream was heard in the capital city of Withokere. Blood filled the street as people randomly died at night. What was weird was that all of them were at the level of high Diamond Rank.


    This phenomena shocked the people, but for the people above, they knew it was a warning.


    A deadly one.

 Chapter 543 543 Learning Legendary Skill

    [Scroll of Beastly Rip (Legendary)]


    Transforming mana nearby into its most chaotic and violence nature, enabling the user to rip apart objects and even space itself.


    Tom looked at the scroll in his hand with a wide smile. He was sitting cross legged in his room, preparing to learn the skill.


    ''Okay system, learn this skill.''


    [Unable to learn this skill]


    ''Eh, why? Did I not meet the requirement?''


    [The Scroll of Beastly Rip (Legendary) is a type of iplete script. To learn this skill, the user has toprehend it on their own]


    ''Fuck! An iplete script? Why would miss udia give me an iplete script?''


    [User, most legendary skill in this world is iplete, and the same skill might have different effect, fatality, and mana consumption depending on who and how theyprehend it. It''s a unique skill that wille out differently each time someone tried to learn it]


    ''So if I learn it, there is a chance that it might be much stronger than it intended to.''


    [Correct]


    Tom sighed. ''Alright. I willprehend this skill on my own then. With my intelligence points, this should not be a problem.''


    His highest attribute was his intelligence point. Even though he rarely used his magic now days and mainly used his Phantom Doomde to defeat his enemy. But if he did use his magic, his enemies would be shock at how powerful they are.


    Opening the scroll, Tom found out that the script was written innguages he had never seen before. Activating his godly eyes, the words moved around and warped to writings he finally understand. Apparently, it was thenguage of dragons. Like humans, dragons had differentnguages because they also had different races among other dragons; Silver, Gold, ck, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Green, tinum, Red, White, and many more. There were even vampiric dragon and demonic dragon. Each had their own specialty, weakness, strength, culture, and behavior.


    Some species of dragons loved to gather in a herd like sheep, and some loved to hunt alone like a tiger.


    Tom wasn''t sure which part of the dragonnguage this was, because even among the silver dragons, they had differentnguages.


    In fact, there were so many differentnguages in this kingdom. The only reason why he couldmunicate with them was because the system tranted their voice and his voice back to back.


    Without the system, he had to learn theirnguage one by one.


    "Okay, let''s begin learning this skill. Elfie, please don''t let anyone to disturb me at this time."


    Elfie bowed. "Yes, master." She then left and closed the door.


    After she left, Tom called: "Corduul."


    The space beside him warped and Corduul stepped out.


    "Make sure no one is able to disturb me. There are people who wanted to obtain this legendary skill. Your first priority is to prevent them froming to my room, and the second is to extract the memories of the attackers and find out who send them here."


    "What if no one attacks, master?"


    "Then, it''s a good thing."


    Corduul bowed and vanished with a sh of light.


    Robots and golems came out of the basement and stood guards at every corner and every hallway. They stood watch atop the rooftop, the garden, and even the sky.


    Small drones were flying everywhere. Scanning everything in their path. There were even sensors to detect heat, vibration, and sound under the ground. Every wiggling worms and other insects under the ground were detected and quickly terminated with precision bullets.


    Meanwhile, Elfie was standing still behind Tom''s door, not knowing that the whole mansion was fully protected and even ready to fight a whole army.


    Ten thousands golems stayed under the ground, ready to be teleported to ces that needed support. And fifty thousands more were stationary back home, while Corduul opened arge mechanical portal in front of them. Should Tom needed more golems for reinforcements, they would be ready.


    A dragon with eagle-like eyes flew above a mountain, 12,000 meters away from Tom''s mansion. It stared Tom''s mansion with watchful eyes.


    "The protection is too tight. We need more soldiers if we want a chance to seed," the dragon spoke.


    A man with tall stature and bulky armor stood atop a boulder at the top of the mountain looked at the dragon. "Are you sure what you see is correct?"


    "Are you questioning my eyes, Khebar?"


    "What about Tom? Where is he?"


    "He is in the center of the mansion, trying to learn the legendary skill. Are you sure we are allowed to do this?"


    "Don''t worry. No one will bother us," Khebar said. "We will gather more soldiers. You keep a watch on them."


    The dragon nodded and gazed towards the mansion. "Wait, the golems are doing something weird."


    "What are they doing?"


    "They are gathering towards one golem, and then they merge to be arge and very long pir. Oh, the pir is now installed atop one golem. There is a hole on the pir and its pointing her¡ª"


    BANG!<novelnext></novelnext>


    The dragon exploded in mid-air. Blood and hard scales rained on the mountain.


    Khebar widened his eyes and leaped to the side as the boulder below him shattered into pieces.


    "Fuck!" Khebar ran to the back of the mountain as another boulder beside him got blown apart. He slid down as arge piece of iron went over his head.


    "Shit. What kind of weapon is that?" Khebar''s heard thumped before he calmed himself down. And then he mmed the ground in anger. "Bastard!"


    He did not detect any mana fluctuation from the weapon at all. One could usually anticipate an attack by sensing the mana around them. Powerful weapon usually fluctuate the mana around them even stronger and more violent than most weapon, so he should be able to detect the attack.


    The fact that he couldn''t detect such a powerful attack made him reconsider his n of attacking Tom.


    "No. I cannot miss the chance of obtaining a legendary skill. I have to obtain it."


    Meanwhile, Tom was in the beginning stage of the learning process.


    [Beastly Rip (Legendary): 15%]


    Tom smiled when he saw the number increased. It had only been a few hours, and he made huge progress that would normally take decades for most people.


    A few hours passed.


    [Beastly Rip (Legendary): 19%]


    Just a little bit more and he would be a quarter of the way.


    [Beastly Rip (Legendary): 20%]


    ''Yes!'' Tom was excited. Seemed like it might be possible for him to learn this skill today.


    Suddenly, tremendous pain came all over his body. A dominating pressure came from the scroll and mmed onto him, as if it tried to crush him into pulp making him difficult to breathe and he felt like he was shouldering three stacks of mountains.


    ''The Spiritbound Tower pressure is much easier than this!''


    Tom could even feel heavy strain on his bones, threatening to crack.


    ''I should stop and continueter. This is too much.''


    [User, if you stop the learning process now, you will explode into a thousand pieces, and the legendary scroll will be destroyed]


    ''What the fuck! I thought most people learned it in decades! Why do I have to learn it in a day?''


    [User, most people doesn''t reach 20%prehension in a day]


    ''Ah crap! I really cannot stand the pressure!''


    Blood trickled out of his nose. And even his soul felt the pain.


    Quickly, he opened the inventory and pulled thousands of healing potions, strengthening potions, and numerous other potions that could temporarily boost his attributes.


    Using telekinesis, the corks all opened up and the liquid entered his mouth. Tom gulped and the pressure eased a bit.


    He began closing his eyes and focus his spiritual senses on the scroll, trying toprehend it using his spirituality.


    After hours of point-focus concentration and holding the pain, a notification appeared.


    [Beastly Rip (Legendary): 21%]


    The pressure increased instead of easing, but Tom had to keepprehending the skill or he would lose the skill.


    He began to focus again, but suddenly, the whole ground trembled and a loud explosion came from outside.


    ''Fuck! What the hell is that!'' The noise disturb his focus which increased the pressure even more.


    [User, regain your focus]


    ''I am trying!''


    Tom then quickly connected his mind to Corduul. "Corduul! What the hell happened outside. Listen, do not let any noise or disturbance again or I will lose a legendary skill!"


    Corduul received the message as he stood on the highest point of the mansion, overlooking the entire battle below.


    Tens of thousands of tinum Rank fought against thousands of robots and golems. Bullets and arrows flew towards each other and metal against metal shed while bombs exploded in every direction.


    A bunch of magicians threw bottle of potions in the air which shattered and enveloped the area with green smoke that withered the nts nearby and decaying the robots'' armor.


    Corduul lifted his steel arms, then suddenly, four more steel arms came out from his body. With a sh of electricity, weapons appeared on each hands: a steel whip, arge mace, a battle-axe, a giant hammer, a machine gun, and an extremelyrge sniper rifle.


    His robotic eyes shed with blue-electric light. "I have to end this battle quickly."

 Chapter 544 544 Corduul Vs Khebar

    Corduul raised his machine gun and sprayed it in every directions. The powerful recoil would enough to break a tinum Rank warrior with no trouble but his firm arm of steel held the weapon with absolute ease. Coupled with his quick processing brain power, he manage to precisely fire the bullets right on the face of the enemies, exploding one head with every bullet.


    His sniper rifle wasn''t at bay, it constantly aimed left and right, firing at a rapid tempo. When a bunch of fools approach him, his steel whip tore their bodies apart.


    Four low Diamond Rank magicians manage raised their hand and froze the whip in motion, making it in stuck in the air. Two of them rushed towards Corduul, their palms glowed with mysterious green light.


    "What a weird looking golem, be destroyed!" one of the magician shouted as he pushed his palm towards Corduul''s face.


    With deep mechanical voice, Corduul spoke: "It always amuse me how the so called-magicians considered themselves as the supreme being of every living entities. But yet, their attacks are too slow."


    Right after that statement, therge mace crackled with bright electricity and then it mmed towards the magician with the speed of a lightning.


    Bang! Crackled!


    The magician''s head exploded, followed by electricity running through his whole body, killing all of his organs at once.


    The other magician was shocked to see this. He wanted to escape, but Corduul''s hand that was holding the battle-axe elongated and then cut the man in half.


    The two magician in the back widened their eyes and quickly retreated.


    "My master told me to give no mercy to our enemies."


    He aimed his sniper rifle and fired twice, creating a hole through the chest of the two magicians.


    Right after doing that, Corduul jumped high into the air, his machine gun fired nonstop, killing dozens in minutes, before hended on the ground, mming his hammer.


    The hammer created a shock wave that pushed hundreds of attackers, throwing them in the air.


    Khebar saw the weird looking golem and frowned. "His father truly love his son, sending a powerful golem like that. That thing must be expensive to make. Humph! I must destroy it. His son killed my dragon, so I will kill his most expensive golem."


    He then looked at the two subordinates beside him. They wore thick robe that hid their tall figure.


    "You two. Fight him."


    "Yes, sir." They nodded and vanished.


    ¡­


    Corduul spun around, swinging his battle-axe, giant hammer,rge mace, and steel whip, all the while firing his machine gun and sniper rifle at every direction. The close-range robots and the gunner-robots were all around him, killing as many people they possibly could.


    The scene was like a massacre as the enemy barely had any chance to approach him.


    Suddenly, two small daggers flew towards him. Corduul pulled one of his arm, and the steel whip knocked the daggers away.


    The daggers spun andnded near his feet. Then they exploded into thick ck mist that disturbed his sensors.


    "Heat detection malfunction, vibration sensor malfunction, motion sensor malfunction¡­ began repairing process. Repair seed."


    All of this dialog happened in a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the attackers to appear in front of Corduul and drive their long sword into his body.


    Corduul reacted swiftly, his battle-axe came swinging at them, making them retreat. But Corduul never think one step at a time. He was always ahead.


    So right after, making them retreat, his sniper rifle pointed at them and fired.


    The two men did not expect that, and the bullets tore their their arms.


    Corduul''s whip came from above and shed one of the man in half.


    "Fuck! This thing is too strong!" The man threw a ck orb into the ground, creating another thick ck mist before running away.


    In a second, he was hundreds of meters from his original spot.


    "That thing shouldn''t be able to chase me this far." He looked back and suddenly saw a giant hammer flying at him, wrapped in electricity.


    Bang! Crackle!


    His whole body exploded into blood mist, and the hammer flew back to Corduul''s hand.


    In the secret room where a bunch of teachers gathered to spy on Tom.


    "Is that thing really a golem?" one of the teachers said.


    "Then what do you think? Look, it has metallic re and those weapons they called ''gun'' or something. We only know that only Aldred can create something like that."


    "It seems to be too powerful to be a golem."


    "I think we are missing the point here."


    "What?"


    "Who send the attack? This is more important than any other question. Nobody should be able to send this many soldiers to the students'' dormitories, so it has to be one of us."<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Withokere University had a strict protection for their students. There were so many traps and so many monitoring magic that it was impossible for anyone to sneak in not to think to send an entire army inside. The only way it could be possible was if a teacher or staff disable those traps and monitoring magic temporarily.


    In other words, it had to be an inside job.


    "Hmmm, there''s also a barrier 5km in diameter. Nobody outside this space can see or hear anything out of the ordinary. The attackerse with preparation so they must know that Tom has a legendary skill."


    "So what do we do? Do we help Tom or the attacker?"


    The teachers looked at each other.


    "Maybe we should just watch and consider our optionster."


    Magicians had a lot of ways to escape precarious situation. If they help the attackers, and Tom manage to escape, they would gain a very powerful enemy that could bring them down.


    In a high-level environment like this, one wrong move could spell their death and everything they had fought for their whole life would be gone for good.


    This was the reason why a lot of Diamond Ranks exile themselves to the wilderness or the sea to find freedom. Only those who wanted power, influence, and wealth stayed. Naturally, since most people that able to reach Diamond Ranks were full of ambition, only a handful of them chose freedom.


    "Wait, who is that person?"


    "That''s¡­ isn''t he Khebar? He was one of our student. Didn''t he exile himself a long time ago?"


    "Did he return for the legendary skill?"


    "Khebar is a talented student. I wonder how strong he has be since decades ago."


    ¡­


    Khebar leaped from the top of the mountain andnded a few meters away from Corduul.


    Corduul''s eyes red with blue light, scanning the person in front of him. "High Diamond Rank warrior."


    "A speaking golem? Nothing new, but one that can analyze my strength? I never see one like that before. Your creator must be a one-of-a-kind."


    "My master is indeed one-of-a-kind."


    Khebarughed. "I wonder how he will react if I destroyed you. You are expensive to make, right?"


    "My master will lose nothing but a bunch of scrap metals should you destroy me."


    "Humph! Are you the one that killed my dragon?"


    "That will be one of my robots."


    "So it was you. Perfect. Let me destroy you here and I will kill that boy afterwards."


    Corduul''s eyes shone brighter than before. "For that I shall not allow you."


    "You think you can defeat me?" Khebarughed and then the ground beneath his feet exploded as extremely powerful aura came out of his body.


    "Hoo¡­ not bad. Khebar has improved his strength tremendously. He is not at our level, but its quite impressive considering he doesn''t have the resources that we do," one of the teachersmented.


    "Now, I want to know how long the golem can hold him."


    "We will see."


    Khebar red at Corduul and closed the distance in rapid strides, feet exploding the ground for every step.


    In the next moment, Khebar appeared in front of Corduul, raising his hand. A sword magically appeared, then he shed down, his muscles bursting with energy.


    Corduul raised his axe and hammer to block the blow like a shield, however, it still sent him hurtling a few meters in the air.


    The robots nearby turned their attentions towards Khebar, charging at him with their des raised.


    "Out of my way!" Khebar shed in a wide arc, cutting all the golems in half. Then he rushed towards Corduul again.


    This time Corduul reacted properly. Dodging and parrying Khebar''s attacks.


    They both were flying back and forth, throwing powerful strikes at each other that created ripples after every sh.


    As they fought in closebat, Corduul found his chance to point his sniper rifle at Khebar and fired right on his face at point-nk range.


    "I am a warrior! It''s not that easy to attack me!" Khebar quickly shed the bullet that came at his face in half. And then he swung his de once again, hitting Corduul''s shoulder.


    The de went past his chest then got stuck there.


    Corduul aimed his machine gun. "My turn."

 Chapter 545 545 Corduul Vs Khebar 2

    Corduul''s machine gun went into overdrive mode as it expelled all the bullets in its magazine in less than a second. From a normal human''s perspective, the machine gun burst into mes as Khebar was knocked dozens of meters away.


    Small mechanical spiders crawled out from within his arms and revealed their tools as they began to fix the machine gun.


    Khebar coughed a mouthful of blood, but still mange to stand with ease. He looked down at his armor, it was full of holes and dents with, sizzling with heat. He took off his armor.


    It fell to the ground with a loud thud, indicating its weight.


    "Not bad for a golem," Khebar said before he took out a stick from his pocket. The inscription on the stick glowed and then the stick snapped as a new set of armor magically appeared on his body.


    Khebar really felt the pain from that attack. He was a warrior with incredible physical strength and durability. It was rare for something to harm him. Even magicians barely able to make him feel pain. Sure, they were annoying and hard to catch, but their spells never manage to harm him significantly.


    It was different if the magician is a lot stronger than him, but at the same level, he would beat most magicians, if not all.


    Khebar did not know what type of golem Corduul was. The injuries he felt wasn''t sourced from mana, instead it was purely from speed and the weight of the projectiles itself.


    But how did this golem produced such force to push these heavy objects at such speed? And how did they make these object so heavy despite their size?


    The bullets were smaller than his finger but their weights could not be underestimated. They weren''t as heavy as his armor, but it might beparable to a weapon of a warrior.


    Each bullet was like a de, going towards him with incredible speed. This confirmed Khebar''s suspicion. This golem must be very expensive.


    "What an incredible power," one of the teacher said.


    "How does that golem do that?"


    "Those things they called guns. I heard Aldred''s golems have so many variation of them."


    "Can humans use them?"


    "I heard not. Those ''guns'' thing are connected to the golems."


    "I also heard he has two different type of golems. One with mana, and the other one with no mana at all."


    "That is true. Our spies confirmed that with their lives."


    "What is the difference between the two?"


    "The ones with mana cost a lot less in the market, and they can self-repair far better than the ones without mana. And they also don''t need anything to maintain. On the other hand, the ones without mana need you to resupply their ''bullets''. Bullets are the ones that weird golem using to kill the attackers and push Khebar away."


    "Those small objects?"


    "That''s right. If you buy the ones without mana, of which they call ''robots'', you will have to resupply their bullets from time to time. Aldred has been selling these golems for a few weeks now, and its already all over the kingdom."


    "What''s the advantage of these ''robots''? My informant tell me the difference isn''t much, but the robots are far more destructive. And its already known that Aldred has robots with Diamond Rank strength."


    "But he has no Diamond Rank golem?"


    "Nobody know. If he can make a manaless golem with Diamond Rank strength, what''s stopping him from creating one with mana?"


    "You''re right..."


    Khebar slowly walked towards Corduul. "I have studied Aldred''s golems before this attack. I know your weakness."


    Corduul finished repairing his machine gun and he aimed it at Khebar again, but he didn''t fire.


    "I know you can run out of those so called ''bullets'' soon. How many more times can you fire before you run out? Hahaha!"


    Corduul''s eyes shone with electric blue and then a portal appeared beside him. A box of magazine came out. The box then merged with his body, staying on his back, making him look bulkier.


    Khebar knew what those were and he was angered. "Explosive Fist!"


    He punched out and suddenly the air around Corduul exploded, creating a huge smoke.


    Corduul came out of the smoke, a thinyer of blue energy protected him from harm.


    "You always have something, huh?"


    "My battle n prepares me for anybat situation," Corduul replied as his eyes scan while also receiving information from tiny drones that he sent out earlier.


    Quickly, Corduul raised all three of his left hand and his weapons merged and transformed into a huge shield as Khebar''s fist came smashing at him.


    Bang!<novelnext></novelnext>


    The impact created a ripple before knocking Corduul a dozen meters away. Corduul''s shield transformed back into a machine gun and a sniper rifle. Both firing madly.


    "You think these can hurt me?"


    "If that is the case, then." Corduul''s weapon vanished, and then a gigantic gun appeared. It was so big that all of his six arms had to hold it.


    A sh of blue lightning bolt streaked towards Khebar.


    Khebar widened his eyes and blocked with his two arms.


    BOOM!


    Khebary on the ground, his armor broken, his skin charred. Corduul''s eyes flickered with light as he scanned for any sign of life.


    He was about to turn around and kill the other enemies until his sensor picked up something. His giant gun immediately turned into a thin, long weapon, and he swept it around.


    The de nged against Khebar''s armor.


    "You think it''s that easy to defeat me? I am a warrior. The most powerful of all!"


    His body exploded with powerful aura and then he punched Corduul''s chest.


    One of Corduul''s arm transformed into a needle, and then he stabbed Khebar''s chest back.


    Khebar was angered. "You''re just a golem! How dare you!"


    His arm''s shone red and steam came off from the heat, heating up and began melting Corduul''s body.


    "Be destroyed, golem!" Khebar raised his other arm, sizzling hot likeva, and then mmed it at Corduul''s head.


    Electricity crackled.


    Then Khebar mmed it again. He repeated this a few times, and every time the hitnd, more and more of his sensors malfunction.


    "Requesting backup," Corduul said with such a calm tone it felt like it wasn''t him being pummeled by Khebar.


    The robots from around came and swarmed towards Khebar, brandishing their des and shing at him.


    "Get out of my way!" Khebar punched a golem right in the face, creating an explosive shock wave that sted dozens of golems at once.


    He then summoned his de and then swept it in a wide arc, cutting all the golems around him in half. His movement was quick, every second, more than 30 robots were destroyed.


    Still, the golems kept swarming like ants. The ones that were broken were pulled by big mechanical ants and began to repair them on the spot. Unlike the golems, the robots could not fix themselves as effectively. They could fix small damages, but the damages done by Khebar was simply too fatal for them.


    So Corduul created these mechanical ants to repair the robots on the spots should they need it.


    "How many of these golems do you have, huh? I will destroy them all! I know a golem cost quite a fortune to make. I will make your master poor!" Khebar enjoyed destroying the golems. He was like a battle-maniac, swinging left and right, kicking, and punching with incredible strength.


    Robots were flying in the air at all times as Khebar kicked them into the air or cut them in half.


    Corduul grabbed a box of metal and put it in his chest. The box opened itself and merged into his chest, filling in the broken parts. In a matter of second, he was fully repaired like the battle never even happened.


    And then, four of his arms slid back into his body. The huge backpack on his back also began deforming along with his full body. His form began to change into a taller and slimmer robot.


    A few secondster, Corduul stood 16 meters tall standing with an agile body with two arms. And then a long, thing sword appeared in his right arm.


    The golems swarming Khebar retreated immediately as Corduul came rushing in like a sh of lightning. Electricity crackled all over his metallic body, and then with blinding speed, he shed the sword down.


    Khebar reacted quickly and raised his sword.


    BOOM!


    Right after the impact, Khebar felt tremendous pressure as the weight proof to be too much for him to bear.


    "Impossible! How heavy is this sword! How can I a high Diamond Rank warrior can possibly struggle to block this attack???"


    Corduul lifted his sword and kicked Khebar away, the force instantly threw Khebar into a nearby mountain and he made a huge dent in it.


    Khebar coughed out a mouthful of blood until suddenly, Corduul appeared again, drawing his sword back with the tip pointing at him.

 Chapter 546 546 Level Up!

    Corduul drove his sword forward, the tip prated deep into Khebar''s chest. And as he prated deeper and deeper, Khebar belched out a mouthful of blood.


    Khebar then red at Corduul with rage. "Now you did it. I really have to praise your master. He made a really powerful golem, and he even sent it to protect his son. Not only an incredible golem master, but also a wonderful father. Hahaha. I would like to see his reaction when I killed his son."


    "You are going to die here," Corduul replied.


    "No. You are mistaken."


    A red pill suddenly appeared in front of Khebar, and then it entered his mouth. After he gulped the pill whole, a powerful aura exploded from him.


    "Mountain Palm Strike!" Khebar pped the de that got stuck in his chest, and it snapped like a stick.


    He then jumped off the dent on the mountain and then pulled out the remaining part of the de that got stuck in his body.


    "No more game. I will destroy you now." Khebar widened his stance and then pushed his palm forward.


    A ripple far superior than the previous swept through Corduul and then sted him into the air. His mechanical parts rattled against each other and his sensors let out numerous warnings.


    "Hahaha! Feel my incredible power!" Khebar leaped into the sky, flying above Corduul, and then he shed his palm downward.


    At that moment in time, the heaven seemed to have split into two. With a crack of thunder, Corduul was mmed into the ground.


    His right leg waspletely crushed while cables came out of his body with electricity sparking all over.


    Khebarnded beside the broken Corduul and scoffed. "I can''t believe a mere golem can give me so much trouble."


    He then walked towards the mansion. A bunch of golems tried to stop him, but he pped them away.


    Suddenly, something held on to his leg. Khebar looked back and saw it was Corduul holding on to his left foot.


    "You are not going anywhere."


    Khebarughed. "Now I understand why a lot of people prefer to rent golems for protection. Even when their bodies are broken apart, they will still do their job. I have to say, you are the best golem I have ever seen. Now, let me give you the honor of death. You deserve that much."


    Khebar raised his foot and was about to stomp on Corduul''s head until he heard a voice.


    "Hey! What are you scoundrels doing in my house?!"


    Khebar looked to the side and saw a short boy ring at him with his head held high.


    "Hahaha! Youe out atst. Where is the legendary skill. Give it to me or die!"


    "Legendary skill? Alright, I will give it to you."


    Khebar scoffed. "Cowards. You give in that easily? Your father will be so disappointed in you."


    "Here take this. Beastly Rip!"


    Tom wed the air in front of him and suddenly the space around Khebar was ripped apart.


    Khebar widened his eyes and reacted quickly, kicking the ground to get away. But the attack manage to rip his right arm in half.


    He roared in pain and then looked at the boy with widened eyes. "You¡­ you manage to learn the legendary skill in a day?"


    Even the teachers that secretly spied on Tom was shocked by this.


    "Did I see that right? He learned a legendary skill in a day! He did it!"


    "You didn''t see wrongly. He did learn the skill."


    "This boy is a prodigy among prodigy. Nobody has ever learned a legendary skill in a day. The fastest time someone did that was in a decade."


    "No wonder Aldred is so protective of his son. His talent is simply too precious! How far could he go in the future! There is a high chance that he will be the strongest Adamantite Rank in the kingdom."


    The teachers looked at each other.


    "If that is the case then the Adamantite Rankers would probably know about his talent. And maybe some even reach out to guide him personally."


    "It was good that we decided not to help the attackers. If we do help them, then our lives will really be destroyed."


    Now that they knew Tom''s talent, they wouldn''t even dare to attack him openly.


    "We have to strengthen our rtionship with Tom and his father. If there is a chance the he will be an Adamantite Rank in the future, we might earn ourselves a powerful backer."


    "Good idea."


    They all nodded in agreement


    Khebar stood still, staring at the boy as he gritted his teeth in pain.


    "How?! How did you learn the skill so quickly???"


    "I am just that smart."


    "Bull shit! Even the smartest magician wouldn''t able to learn it that fast!"


    "That''s because they are not the smartest. I am the smartest." Tom put both hands on his waist andughed like a maniac.


    "I can''t believe this. This is impossible!"


    "Nothing is impossible!" Tom wed the air once again, and the space between Khebar''s body was ripped in half.


    Khebar widened his eyes as his whole body was shredded in pieces.


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    Tom checked his status.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 102,557/102,557


    Level: 153 (Diamond Rank)


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 4 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 7,634


    -Vitality: 7,511.4


    -Intelligence: 10,512


    -Dexterity: 9,032


    Stat points: 30


    Skill points: 30


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Not bad. Not bad at all." Tomughed.


    Looking to the side, he saw the robots already began sweeping the retreating attackers.


    "When the leader died, the honchos retreat."


    Tom walked towards Corduul. "Thanks for defending me, buddy."


    "It is my duty, Master." Corduul then transformed into his original form. A humanoid metallic like figure with a bunch of augmetic limbsing out from his back.


    He retracted those limbs and then a red robe began covering his body. The robe was actually made out of nano technology that helped Corduul hiding his arsenal and provide some protection for his body.


    "Tell me, Corduul. If you are destroyed, can I get you back?"


    "Although I constantly send my memories into the Mechanicum''s database, once my brain is destroyed, then I am truly death. You can recreate me with thetest memory I sent to the Mechanicum."


    "But then you are not you."


    "Who decides that, master? Once you recreate me, it doesn''t matter if the brain is organic or mechanical."


    "But you do said that the human brain''s of creativity is the most powerful advantage. If you don''t have that human brain, then you will not have that capacity anymore."


    "That is true. My ability to invent new technologies will certainly be limited should I lose my brain, but that will be no concern to you, master. There are a lot of tech priest in training that might surpass me in the future. The Mechanicum will keep growing and continue to serve you."


    Tom sighed. "That''s not what I meant. I already consider you as part of my family, Corduul. If you are death, I will certainly feel sad."


    "Sadness¡­ We already delete that function of our brain."


    "That¡­ is kinda sad to hear."


    "It is to the benefit of the Mechanicum. Sadness slows down progress with unnecessary suffering. We figured out our brains often made feelings at unspecified time and we often cannot predict the feeling it produce. This has proved to be one of the factor why our progress is so slow during the initial stage of our organization. We remove all the negative feelings and our progress skyrocketed."


    "But what about the good feeling? You know, excitement, joy, love?"


    Corduul''s eyes flickered. "We never consider those. Perhaps, we lose that too."


    "That''s because you need toprehend sadness to know happiness. Now you are just a machine. Haish, what a sad existence to live in. You know what the difference between living being and object? Feeling! If you can''t feel, you aren''t alive."


    "But, feeling slows our progress. It makes us weak."


    "No, it makes you strong. Those who can do the job despite their feeling is the true strong men. Removing thempletely means that you are no different than a rock."


    Tom sighed. "But I guess I don''t have the right to tell you that since your organization do grow big because of this. Not everyone can act opposite of what they feel. Maybe what you guys do is much more practical."


    Tom thought for a second. "But who is actually the leader of the organization before? Who formed it?"


    "The Mechanicum doesn''t have a leader. Every major decision is discussed through our virtual-neuralwork with all the tech priest participating. After everyone send their opinion, we will have toe to a conclusion."


    "But who formed it first?"


    "It was Victor, the former ruler of Duria."


    "Ehh¡­"

 Chapter 547 547 Mother Figure

    "Did you just tell me that Victor formed the Mechanicum?"


    "That is correct, master."


    "But¡­ then why do you want to destroy him?"


    "Victor''s goal was to brainwash every human being on this world, making them no difference than obedient A.I. The counsel decided that his goal was heretical and decided to fight against him."


    "Wow¡­ and despite that you still need to hide under his rule. It really showed how powerful he was back then."


    "Yet, you manage to destroy him, master."


    "Yeah, I guess I am just that good." Tomughed.


    "Anyway, I don''t think we can find anyone as genius as Victor ever again. He was just a normal human and yet manage to build a nation as powerful as the strongest kingdom in the continent."


    "Perhaps, master, but you never know the limit of the human brain. They are extremely rare, but the probability is never zero."


    "That kind of scares me¡­ but if we do ever find someone like that, let''s hope he or she doesn''t want to brainwash every living thing they see."


    "Anyway, let''s get some rest. I am very tired."


    Three dayster.


    Tom walked inside the campus square and saw Zerdar in the distance waving his hand.


    "Tom!" Zerdar ran at him and asked: "What have you been up totely?"


    "Just meditating and studying more skills."


    "Ahh, just meditating and studying is not enough. You need to practice your skill. Come on, let me show you to a ce."


    On their way, Tom and Zerdar met Hemur, Helid, and the other youngsters. In campus, their group were quite well-known now because Tom always manage to made a ruckus. He was the talk of the whole campus for days ever since he fought against Russam Bummei.


    And whenever he appeared, they could not help but take a second nce and wondered how strong he really was. This was especially true for the women.


    To them, he was extremely mysterious and charming. Whenever he was nearby, the girls would steal a look at him a bunch of times.


    "Where are we going?" Tom asked as he saw a cute girl smiling sweetly at him.


    "We''re going to the arena to practice our skill."


    "We''re going to fight someone?"


    "Of course, how else would you test your skills?"


    A few minutester, they arrived at arge square with hundreds of stages. People were fighting atop these stages, some do a light spar, while some do it heavy.


    Diamond Ranks were not that easy to kill though. Unlike normal humans who would get brain damage so easily, Diamond Ranks could even grow limbs and brain matter with some potions. There were even cases where a Diamond Rank revive just from a drop of blood, though that case was extremely rare.


    Suddenly, a beautiful woman fell from the stage and her back was wounded.


    "Ouch."


    "Can I help?" Tom asked.


    The woman looked at him and unconsciously nodded her head.


    "Take off your clothes for me."


    "Ehh¡­"


    "Otherwise, I can''t heal you."


    "O¡­Okay." The woman obeyed. She didn''t know why she obeyed so easily. She felt like she should refuse, but her body just acted on its own.


    She took off her shirt, only revealing a smaller cloth that wrapped around her back and her breast. The wrap was very tight, however, making her breast looked so much bigger.


    Tom then sat behind her and put both of his palm on her back. All of a sudden, an extremely powerful energy rushed into her body, and she couldn''t help but let out a little moan.


    She put both hands on her mouth. ''What the hell am I doing??? But¡­ what kind of energy is this? Why does it feel so good?''


    Her whole body trembled for a moment, but then a calming and soothing sensation relieved her of the pain and her wounds healed.


    "It''s done."


    The woman wore her clothes again and said: "Thank you."


    "You don''t have to mention it."


    Suddenly, a scream of a man was heard nearby. Tom immediately walked to help, but he turned his head and looked at the woman, smiling. "See youter."


    "See you." The beautiful woman waved.


    "Vele, are you okay? Did he do something to you?" Her friend approached and asked her.


    "Who is that?" Vele asked.


    "That''s the one that I talked about. He''s Tom. The one that fought against Russam and the boy that drink a girl''s blood. He is an evil person."


    "Really? He seems so¡­ nice."


    Tom walked to a man whoy on the floor in pain. His arms snapped in a weird angle, and both legs were broken. His nose even bent to the left.


    "You got hurt pretty bad," Tom said.


    "Yeah, we are doing a heavy spar. Can you heal me for a bit, buddy?"


    "Sure." Tom pped the man in the face.


    PLAK!<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hey! What was that for!" The man stood up only to realize that his whole body healed. "Ehh¡­"


    "No need to thank me." Tom smiled and walked away.


    Zerdar walked beside Tom. "So, uhh¡­ Tom. You can actually heal someone with a p?"


    "Something like that."


    "Then why do you need the girl to take off her clothes?"


    "Uhhh¡­ because I need to warm up my skill." Tom said that with a straight face, but Zerdar could see through his lies.


    "You are a cultured man, Tom. I have to admit that."


    Tomughed, not embarrassed at being found out. "You want a little spar?"


    "Uhh¡­" Zerdar recalled that Tom fought against the top 15th student into a draw. "Can we do light spar?"


    "Of course. In fact, all of you can fight me all at once."


    Helid, Zerdar, and Hemur looked at each other. The other youngsters also looked at one another.


    There were 9 of them and one Tom. They thought for a while, and they believed they could get a chance to fight him.


    But, it would be embarrassing for all of them to gang up on Tom though.


    "Come on, what is it going to be?" Tom asked.


    "Uhh, why don''t we just fight you one on one. The losing one will switch with the others," Zerdar suggested.


    "I am fine with that."


    And so for the next few minutes, Tom literally beat them one by one with absolute ease. He did not break anything though because he promised a light spar.


    They continued for a few rounds until all of them gave up. Tom didn''t even give them a chance to touch him.


    "Hahaha. That was fun," Tom said.


    All of them rolled their eyes at his remarks.


    "You are too strong, Tom," Helid said. The skinny man was really trying hard to attack Tom, but there was nothing he could do.


    "Maybe. But I can always improve my strength."


    Zerdarughed. "I like that attitude. Nobody is too powerful to stop growing. You can always be better, stronger, richer, more influential."


    "And happier."


    "Perhaps that too. But I think the idea of continuously climbing mountain after mountain makes me quite happy, because I know there is no end to this. I might die without even reaching Adamantite Rank, but I will keep fighting to reach it."


    "You can, and even above that."


    Zerdarughed again. "No one else would dare to say that Tom. For a lot of people, Adamantite Rank is the limit. Nobody has ever seen anything above it. Nobody."


    "That''s because they haven''t fly high enough. The higher you fly, the more you will see."


    "That''s¡­ I didn''t expect that toe from you."


    "You think I am stupid?"


    "I just didn''t think that you can be¡­ philosophical."


    "I am a man of many things." Tom smiled.


    "Are you really a 13 year old boy?" Zerdar asked.


    "Of course. I might be as wise as a turtle, but I am still young."


    Zerdar chuckled. "Your father must be really proud of you. Having a son as powerful, as intelligent, and as talented is a dream for many parents."


    Smiling, Tom replied: "I am lucky to have them too. My mother and father is the best thing that ever happened to me."


    Tom recalled Eve and Hujarar, his father and mother. They are his parents. No one else can take that title.


    "I never heard anything about your mother though. Is sheing with your father to this continent?"


    "Nope. She stayed back," Tom lied. He didn''t think that he needed a mother figure in this continent, but perhaps he need it to make his enemies less suspicious.


    In fact, they might even try to find his old continent. That would be a terrible idea. Though there are a number of Diamond Ranks protecting the Ceraisian Empire, the numbers paled inparison.


    So he might need to summon another clone acting as his mother.


    ¡­


    In the divine dimension, inside a big mansion.


    Aldred was looking at himself in the mirror. Long hair that reached his waist, big breast, big butts, and curvy waist.


    His wives chuckled when they see him looking all beautiful.


    "It looks good on you, Aldred," Mareona said before sheughed out loud.


    Aldred scratched his cheek. "I guess I can make a clone with this appearance to act as the mother of the family."


    "Yes, and also don''t change your appearance. You look quite good in that form."


    Aldred sighed at being teased by his wives which make themugh.

 Chapter 548 548 Entering The Library

    Tom and his friends sat on a nearby bench. They were currently in the campus garden. Looking around, he saw the ce was covered with grass and magical nts. Not a lot of people walking on the stepping stones. Most students were busy after all.


    "I am really curios about your parents," Zerdar said.


    "Why do you want to know so much?"


    "Well, to have a son as amazing as you, your parents must be amazing as well."


    One of the girl nodded. "You are very handsome Tom. Is your parents good looking as well?"


    When the girl said Tom was good looking that meant he was truly good looking. Every Diamond Rank looked beautiful and charmingpared to the people on earth, so for another Diamond Rank to praise his appearance, then he must be very handsome.


    "I guess my parents are good looking as well."


    Tom recalled the appearance of Eve and Hujarar. They were indeed good looking. In fact, everyone here looked like shitpared to them.


    They chatted for a few minutes, until a teacher approached their table.


    "Hello."


    Everyone stood up immediately and bowed. Tom followed. He did not want to be disrespectful and make unnecessary enemies.


    He already had a lot of enemies. He didn''t mind if more appear, but he wasn''t foolish enough to make more.


    "Are you Tom?"


    Tom nodded. "That is my name, teacher."


    The teacher was pleased with his respectful tone. "My name Fordemvak Nucruunthueld. I am responsible for teaching students on how to concoct their own potions and also knowledge in biology and botany. If you need to know anything feel free to ask me."


    "Thank you, teacher. I will surelye to you if I need help in your field."


    "That will be great. I also heard that your father is an aggressive and ambitious businessman. I am sure my potions should be an interesting topic for him. I also have shops to sell my potions, one of the best in the kingdom."


    Tom''s eyes shed. When he heard the word ''business'' his brain activated immediately.


    Having a High Diamond Rank potion master did interest him. If he had a potion master under him, that would be great for his business.


    Suddenly, Tom received a message in his mind.


    Smiling, he looked at the teacher. "Perfect time, teacher. My mother ising to visit. She deeply assist my father in his business, and she can even make huge decision without consulting him."


    "Oh, when will shee?"


    "Now."


    Space and time warped a few meters beside them. It bent in weird angles until finally the space shattered, creating a spinning vortex of which a woman with long legs walked out. White dress tightly wrapped around her breast, waist, hip, and butt, but the rest of the dress was transparent, revealing her smooth thigh and snow-white legs.


    Her long, ck flowing hair, apanied by a pair of earrings and a tiara on her forehead made her seemed so divine.


    Everyone gape in amazement at her appearance. Her glow overshadowed all the beauties this garden had to offer.


    Even Fordemvak''s mouth slightly opened at the scene.


    "Tom, is¡­ is that your mother?"


    "Yep." Tom wanted tough after seeing the teacher''s reaction. He was d that he had a shape-shifting abilities, enabling him to change his shape and form into anything he wanted. Of course, that wasn''t enough to impress Diamond Ranks. Simple symmetry and tones wouldn''t be enough.


    Aldred had used a lot of magical potions to enhance the aura, and the nes, earrings, and even the dress itself had a magic effect to charm anyone that gaze into it.


    Now, the clone was the perfect mother for Tom.


    "Mother!" Tom ran towards the woman and hugged her legs. He even rubbed his own head onto her thigh.


    ''This woman is my clone, so does that mean I am rubbing my head on my own thigh? But I am a clone too,'' Tom thought as he kept rubbing his head.


    All the males jumped in shock when they saw that it was Tom''s mother. What a lucky person to have a mother this beautiful¡­


    Zerdar and the others were also in shock. He was just talking about Tom''s mother, and there she appeared.


    The woman rubbed Tom''s head for a bit before she approached the teacher. "My son has tell me everything. My name is Armaita Nichs. I am Aldred''s wife and Tom''s mother. Are you mister Fordemvak?" She reached out her hand.


    The teacher was bbergasted and even froze for a moment before he shook her hand. "Y¡­Yes that would be me."


    "Let''s have a talk somewhere else. We don''t want to bore the youngsters with business talk."


    "S¡­Sure."


    Armaita walked away with the teacher while giggling and smiling, making the teacher blush.


    Tomughed inside. He should have done this since a long time ago. If he turn himself into a hot, stunning beauty, he could have make a lot of deals to his benefit!


    Zerdar approached Tom. "Tom, you said your mother is noting with you."


    "That''s because she still need to take care of business somewhere else. But it seems like she has finished it, and cane here."


    "Your mom is so beautiful, Tom."


    "Hey! Don''t even think about it."


    "I don''t even dare. But damn! Your father must be a very happy father and husband."


    "He is," Tom said.


    Suddenly, Corduul''s voice entered his mind: "Master, we have received an information that there is a public library within the campus."


    "Yes, there is," Tom replied within his head.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Can you ess the library and scan all the books inside? This will enrich the Mechanicum''s database and help us further."


    "Hmmm, I will see what I can do."


    Tom looked at his friends. "Guys, want to go to the library?"


    "Oh, why all of a sudden?"


    "I just want to take a look. Maybe there''s a skill that might interest me."


    "Sure. We''re fine with that. There''s a lot of books containing general knowledge of different field as well, so we can spend a lot of time there."


    With everyone agreeing, they all walked to the library.


    After a few minutes, they stopped in front of a giant building, protected by tall fences and a luxurious gate.


    Two statues, 8 meter tall, holding a shield and spear guarded the gate.


    When they stopped in front of the gate, the statues moved their head, making the sound of stone grinding against stone.


    "Show your id," The statues spoke harshly.


    Tom and everyone else revealed their card, proving their identity.


    The eyes of the statues lit up into a vortex and magic particles covered them.


    "These magic particles allow us to enter the library without activating the rm. The library is a sacred ce because knowledge is sacred. Not just anybody can enter this ce. We all should be grateful to be even allowed to step foot in here," Zerdar said.


    "Knowledge is sacred, huh?"


    Therge gate creaked open, revealing the huge building inside.


    They walked in and the gate closed shut immediately.


    "I can already smell books from here."


    "Ahh¡­ the smell of pages."


    When they entered the building, what greeted them was shelves and shelves full of books.


    Tom looked above and saw hundreds of flying shelves. Magicians flew around, looking at one shelf after another.


    There were even tables and chairs in the air where magicians sat and read a book together.


    A floating coffee shop moving around in the air, ready to cater the students of their needs.


    Fairies flew in front of them.


    "Greetings, students! What books would you like to read today?"


    Tom replied: "I just want to take a look."


    "Do you have any specific needs?"


    "Hmmm, what about books in general knowledge? Do you have that?"


    "Most certainly. Please step onto this cloud."


    Tom looked down and a fluffy cloud wiggled itself like a dog. Tom stepped on it. It felt like stepping on empty air, but then it lifted him up.


    "See you guyster," Tom said to the others as they waved back at him.


    The fairy circled around Tom as he flew higher and higher.


    "You smell funny, sir," the fairy said.


    "Oh, how so?"


    "You smells sweet and full of fragrance. Kinda like the taste of blood. Everyone here have it, but you are a particr one."


    "Perhaps because I am special?"


    The fairy giggled. "Perhaps, sir."


    They flew up for a few minutes until they stopped in front of a bookshelf.


    "Here it is. Books about general knowledge of this continent, nearby continents, and even this world as a whole. There are even research, theories, and conclusion of the writers about the concept of the universe that we live in. They are not popr though as they are considered useless knowledge by magicians."


    "Knowledge about the universe is considered useless?"


    "What is the use of knowing the universe if it didn''t make them stronger? Is what they said."


    "What a practical mindset."


    They didn''t question existence and reality. They epted it as it is and only focused on bing the best of the best. Magicians were verypetitive in this continent, all of them did everything they could to be better than themselves and everyone around them.


    But there didn''t seem to be a lot of arrogant young masters around. Tom had read a lot of eastern novels before, and he would expect a lot of arrogance bastard to be walking around.


    ''Perhaps it''s because everyone here has high status. After all, only the sons and daughters of a noble family can enter this ce. And even that isn''t enough to enter this university.''


    "So, do you still want this shelf? Or do you change your mind?" The fairy asked.


    "No, this one is fine."


    The books of general knowledge would enrich the Mechanicum''sprehension of this continent. Having a wide range of knowledge would be helpful in the future.

 Chapter 549 549 A Mind Reading Mermaid

    Tom grabbed a book and open them page by page as the internal chip inside his brain scanned them and upload them to the Mechanicum''s database immediately.


    After he was done, he grabbed another one. "Magical Vision Through The String Theory."


    "What Are Those Spinning Disk In The Sky?"


    "What is That Spinning ck Thing With A Ring Of Light Around It?"


    Tom read the name of the books before he began scanning. Some of these books were about the study about space, the ce outside this.


    The Mechanicum and Duria had studied the stars and space for years, at least that was what the data told him. But they never made a ship to leave this world.


    Why was that the case?


    Tom tried to ess more information about this within the Mechanicum''s database, but he founded nothing.


    ''Hmm, perhaps, I need to ask Naley about this."


    Naley was Victor''s daughter. She was the one who now manage Duria. She also held Victor''s core which contain everything his memory and everything he knew about the world and technologies.


    It did not make sense for Duria to not expand outside this because their technology was far too advancedpared to Earth. And Even Earth''s humans manage tond on the moon.


    Tom began to read the books as he scanned them one by one. Most of the books were just about simple observations of space objects such as asteroids,s, and stars. Apparently, the magic societies stillck the necessary tools to observe space. Technologies win in this regard.


    But as Tom read on, he began to see how magic might benefit the space observation. Apparently, magic could see things that telescopes could not see. For example, the movement of dark energy and dark matter that elerate the expansion of the universe was very clear to the eyes of these magicians.


    They described it as: "An infinitely multiplying forces that filled empty space."


    Tom got bored the further he read so he just skimped through them and let the scanner do its work.


    After an hour, he had finished the entire bookshelf.


    "Are you done, mister?" The fairy asked.


    "Can I take a look at every book in this library? I am hungry for knowledge."


    "You can, but what''s the point of reading if you don''t spend the time to meditate andprehend thempletely?"


    "I want to have a wide range of knowledge first, before I decide to point which field I want toprehend."


    "In that case, I will leave you to your own device. Look as much as you want."


    "That will be fine."


    The fairy left.


    Tom looked up and saw thousands of bookshelves floating around in the air. He sighed. ''So many books in this ce. I wonder if I can finish them all in a day.''


    "So many books in this ce. I wonder if I can finish them all in a day."


    Tom gasped and turned around as he saw  a beautiful woman with eyesses looking at him. As Tom began to observer her, he realized she was not a human, but a mermaid!


    Colorful scales covered her breast down to her... tails. She got not one, but multiple and she was floating in the air.


    "Why do you want to finish all the book?"


    ''Crap! Quick, empty my mind!''


    "Empty your mind? How would you empty your mind?" The mermaid asked.


    Tom''s eyes turn nk and his faceck any expression.


    The mermaid frowned. "So why do you want to finish all the books?"


    Tom''s face began to be more expressive again. "I want to learn as much as I can."


    "Is that so?" The mermaid''s eyebrows vibrated as if trying really hard to read his mind. "Your mind... it''s empty. No mind is ever empty before. How did you do it?"


    "That''s a secret."


    "Humph! I am watching you. I am one of the Keeper in this library. Any suspicious activity is not tolerated."


    "I am just here to gain knowledge."


    The mermaid let out her tongue at him then left.


    After making sure she left, Tom''s body jolted and he let out a sigh of relief.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Thank God. If not for Corduul setting up this device in my head, she would have read my intention."


    Corduul had predicted all kinds of disaster to befall on Tom. One of them was a mind reading entity. Corduul had the tech to absorb information, so there might be something of simr function, therefore, he created something called ''mind copy''


    Basically, it analyzed Tom''s behavior and kept them in storage. The internal chip within Tom''s head could takeover his brain, making his brain asleep without any activity except for consuming energy and nutrients. This disable his brain from ''thinking'', but his body still able to act and behave like him.


    If the mermaid knew that Tom wanted to absorb all the knowledge here and then bring them to the Mechanicum, he might be kicked out from the library.


    In this continent, knowledge was extremely valuable. Thousands died every single day just to obtain a book, a scroll, or a piece of writing containing valuable information.


    The path of Magicians was hard, filled with confusion and mazes. Knowing where to go was already a big step, otherwise they would spend most of their time in a circle.


    ''I have to do this quickly.'' Tom flipped his hand, and thousands of micro drones came out of his sleeves, flying all over the ce, invisible to the eyes. They were as small as dust, and they even mimic the movement of these dust particles so they look less suspicious.


    The dronesnded on nearby books and patiently scanned all the pages. This was actually very risky. If he got caught, he might get into a big trouble.


    As Tom opened another book, a pristine scale floated in front of him. It twitched left and right like an eye.


    Tom turned around and saw the mermaid pointing at her own eyes and then pointing at him.


    Tom ignored her and continued reading the book. Suddenly, the scale shone and the mermaid appeared in its ce.


    Tom immediately activated his chip.


    The mermaid frowned and circled around him. "I am pretty sure I can hear your thoughts earlier. So you can do that multiple times, huh?"


    "Can you stop bothering me?" Tom replied. "You are disturbing my focus."


    "I am the Keeper of this library. I keep the knowledge of this library from being misused."


    "Does reading the books here allowed?"


    "Yes."


    "Then I am not doing anything wrong, so please stay away from me."


    "Humph! I have heard of you. Little troublemaker. Tom was it? You fought against Russam to a draw?"


    "Yes, that is me."


    "That''s a good way to get fame the moment you enter the school. What did you give him for him to willing to fight you to a draw?"


    "I gave him nothing. It was truly a draw."


    The mermaid''s eyebrows vibrated at greater frequency. "Gahh!! I cannot read your mind!"


    "So stop trying."


    "I will keep watching you! Humph!" The mermaid left once again.


    Tom''s brain was re-activated again and he looked at the mermaid. ''If you try to peer into my brain again, I will let you see what''s inside. Hehe. Corduul, when that mermaid tries to read my mind, fill my thoughts with all the dirty stuff."


    "..." Corduul was basically a robot by now, but even he became speechless after hearing his idea. "Yes, master."


    "Now, let''s get back to reading."


    Tom spend the next hours reading books after books. It was a boring task, but one that had to be done. He prefer the job of conqueringnds and killing enemies, but currently, it was too dangerous to blindly do something like that.


    His best option was helping the kingdom fight a war and ask some territory after winning it. With his army of golems, he could contribute a lot which will justify his action of asking for more territory. Beside, he had Duke Hushum as his ally which was an influential figure in the whole kingdom.


    Also, Aldred seemed to have a reputable reputation among the Adamantite Ranks as well. Apparently, his action of boosting the kingdom''s economy pleased them.


    What a surprise. Most Powerful figures could care less about economy and the state of a nation. They only care about their well-being and only use the state to fund their live style.


    Well, that was a wee surprise. This way, it was easier to please them.


    Hours passed, and the mermaid appeared once again. "I am back haha! Let me see what''s on your mind."


    Tom smiled and activated his internal chip.


    The mermaid''s eyebrows vibrated and suddenly, all the images within Tom''s head was clear for her to see. Even the sound was as loud as it can get.


    "Kyaa! What... what were you thinking in this sacred ce? How... How dare you think of such things!" The mermaid blushed. "I never heard of such positions before. Doggy? Corkscrew? Cowgirl? What are these?"

 Chapter 550 550 Prepare The Army

    Tomughed in glee when he saw the mermaid''s reaction.


    The mermaid noticed his expression and she pouted her mouth. "How dare you think of such things in this sacred ce?"


    "That''s your fault for annoying me."


    "Humph!" She huffed and puffed as she smacked her tail in the air, flying into the distance.


    Tom shook his head. "Corduul, how is the progress?"


    "The drones have scanned 89% of the books in this library."


    "That was quick."


    "This is not the first library we have scanned."


    "That exin it," Tom replied. "Is the Mechanicum still actively gathering knowledge?"


    "We have never stopped since we arrive on this continent, master. The knowledge that we gather is proving to be useful."


    "In what ways?"


    "Mostly in biologies and craftmanship. But it also helps in our diplomatic needs. We have feed Ruhnan Noku with the necessary information for him to make advantageous deals under our name."


    "What about potions form? Spells? Secret treasures? Creation of unique magic?"


    "We don''t have the division for that, master."


    "Hmmm, indeed. We don''t have anyone that ispetent enough for those roles. Except if we got Fordemvak as our Potion Makers."


    "The Mechanicum is capable of synthesizing most of the potions."


    "Yes, but it will not be as good as magicians doing it. Creating potions is not as simple asbining and mixing the same materials over and over again. It''s about adding spirit, magic, mana, and the essence of the universe. Technologies cannot do all of that."


    "That is true. The potions we create is not as high quality as what the magicians made, but it''s cheaper and faster to mass produce."


    Tom was intrigued. "Well, we can sell those mass produced product cheaply, then put the expensive product on the luxury shelf."


    "Yes, that is what we and Tarrar have discussed."


    "Tarrar, that man is always quick regarding business."


    "He has open a lot of potion shops already."


    "Oh, really?"


    "Yes, master. He even set up the robots as wandering merchants, selling all kinds of items to adventurers."


    "Has he went out of the kingdom?"


    "The wandering merchants division has indeed expanded outside the kingdom."


    "Is it possible for them to gather information?"


    "It is. But we have to be a lot more careful."


    "That''s fine. It still would help us knowing what to do next with sufficient data."


    Corduul and Tom talked about business for a while until Corduul spoke: "Master, the scanning process is over. You can now leave the premise."


    "Finally." Tom flipped his hand, and all the micro drones flew back to him, entering his sleeve.


    Then suddenly, one of the micro drone was picked up by a pair of gigantic finger.


    Tom looked and saw that it was the mermaid that picked it up.


    "What is this tiny little thing? It''s not dust or dirt." The mermaid tilted her head left and right as she tried to find out what it was.


    ''Crap!'' Tom cursed in his heart. "Corduul, deactivate that micro drone."


    "It''s done, master. Should we let it initiate a self-destruct protocol?"


    "No. The whole library might be rmed. Just let it be."


    The mermaid''s eyes shone and then it peered through the micro drones. Inside, she sawplex mechanism of devices sending electric signals all over the ce. "What kind of creature are you?"


    Tom slowly turned around and floated down to the ground, hoping the mermaid wouldn''t notice him.


    "Hey, you! Where are you going?" The mermaid approached him.


    "I am leaving. I got something to do."


    The mermaid frowned and tried to read his mind again, but to no avail. "You are very good at hiding your mind."


    "Won''t you get in trouble for reading people''s mind?"


    "I am the Keeper of this library."


    Tom sighed. "Whatever. I am noting here ever again."


    "Humph! That''s good then. I don''t want this sacred ce be sullied by your dirty thoughts."


    The mermaid flung the micro drones into the air, and it quickly flew into Tom''s sleeve.


    She huffed and puffed before leaving.


    "What a weird mermaid," Tom said. He then connected his mind to all of his friends and spoke through telepathy: "Guys, I am going home first."


    "Sure, Tom," They all replied.


    Tom walked out of the library immediately. He was afraid of being caught. Today was a fruitful day. Scanning all the information within Withokere''s most prestigious university would make him able to create a school of his own.


    In fact, he might trade some of these knowledge with someone outside the kingdom. Magicians traded knowledges all the time. Since the currency such as crystals and secret treasures sometimes were not enough, they traded valuable knowledge instead.


    As Tom walked outside the library, he saw his mother walking with Fordemvak side by side.


    Armaita stopped and then looked at the teacher. "It''s very nice talking to you. But this is where we have to part ways."


    The teacher nodded. "I understand. You are a very busy person."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Isn''t that everybody?" Armaitaughed.


    "Right." Fordemvakughed back.


    Magicians were very busy learning and practicing their skill. Only rarely did they have time for pleasure and entertainment. In fact, a lot of them consider studying and improving their skill as a fun activity.


    "I am taking my leave now. See youter," Armaita said with a coquettish voice.


    "I will be seeing you again." Fordemvak nodded.


    Armaita giggled before a portal appeared behind her. She turned around and entered the portal.


    Tom walked to the teacher. "So? What happen now?"


    "Your mother and I have reached a great deal. I will be responsible for making the potions and your mother will be responsible for selling it. The name of my shops will also be changed for your brand."


    "What about the profit?"


    "It''s fifty fifty."


    "I see." Tom almost wanted tough inside. Making high-quality potion was extremely hard. For Fordemvak to even agree on 50-50 split was crazy!


    With Fordemvak''s skill, he should be able to negotiate a 90-10 percent deal, and Aldred would have agreed. The profit for selling a high-quality potion was tremendous. It could even be priced at one hundred times the price of the ingredients required to make it.


    It didn''t even make sense for Fordemvak to agree on this kind of deal.


    ''Man, the power of charming woman is really scary.''


    "Do you need anything from me, Tom?" Fordemvak asked.


    "Ah, no, sir."


    "In that case, I will take my leave. Tell me if your mother wanted to visit me. I will make time."


    "Okay." Tom gave him a thumbs up.


    The teacher smiled and walked away.


    Tom''s eyes shed. ''You want my mother! Haha! On your dream!''


    Although Armaita was actually a clone of his, it still pissed him off!


    "Haish, whatever. I need to get back and study."


    ¡­


    Armaita appeared inside an office. Sitting on the sofa was a handsome and dignified bugbear wearing a tuxedo.


    "Wow. This is your clone?" Tarrar asked.


    Armaita put her hand over his mouth and giggled. "Yes, what do you think?"


    "Fuck. You even talk like a proper woman."


    "My wives have been teaching me this."


    "Ah, no wonder. So what is the deal?"


    "Fifty percent profit."


    Tarrar was silent at first, and then he burst intoughter. "Are you serious? Fifty percent? Hahaha! You make me want to turn myself into a woman."


    "You don''t have to. I assign this clone to assist you in the money-making department."


    "Hoo. How many clones can you make in total?"


    "Right now only 5. Three is already used: Tom, Armaita, and the clone Aldred that is now sitting on his throne."


    "The real Aldred is still hiding in the divine dimension?"


    "It''s too dangerous to go out right now. The more I learn about this world, the more I wanted to stay in the divine dimension. But do not worry. As long as the clone increased its strength, the real Aldred will improve at the same rate."


    "That''s scarily convenient," Tarrar replied. "What about your wives?"


    "They are pampered with the knowledge we obtain from this continent and is also supported with all kinds of treasures, herbs, potions, and elixirs. I will make sure my wives are not left behind."


    "How strong are they now?"


    "All of them are currently at mid Diamond Rank, but soon they will reach high Diamond Rank."


    "How much resources do you spend on them?" Tarrar said in disbelief.


    "I lost count. But all of them are very talented. Extremely talented. So it''s not taking them a very long time to improve."


    "Hmmm, their strength are limited by theck of resources before, but here, it''s a world full of abundance."


    "Indeed," Armaita replied.


    "So, Tom''s task is to study in the university, Armaita''s task is to assist me in business, what''s Aldred clone''s job?"


    "He is in the Empire-building business."


    "Empire-Building?"


    Armaita smiled. Her beautiful face made the room a little brighter. "He is in charge of war and diplomacy. With Corduul as his general and Ruhnan as his emissary, we should be able to expand our influence even more."


    ¡­


    Aldred sat in his throne. This wasn''t the real Aldred. But a clone of himself he created to manage his territory. Well, it was kind of wrong to call them clones since all of them is Aldred himself.


    They had no different thought process, and the real Aldred could receive all of their memories in real-time. Aldred''s brain was powerful enough to do that now. Like aputer''s processor, his brain could multi-task like never before.


    Corduul walked towards the throne and then knelt. "Master, the king of Withokere has dered war against the Dominion of Ber. This is your chance to show your power."


    Tom''s eyes shed. He raised his hand, Phantom Doomde appeared, covered in me. He pushed the de to the ground, helping him to stand up.


    "Prepare the army."

 Chapter 551 551 Discussion

    All the factories within Aldred''s territory churned out hot steam, gas, and smokes as they worked harder than before, constantly churning out mechanical parts after parts, assembling robots, and producing war supplies of unimaginable quantities.


    Thousands upon thousands of Fighter-ss IT-6, standing 10 meter tall with the strength of a pseudo low Diamond Rank warrior were constantlying out of the factory before they entered their designated trucks, ready to be shipped in any part of the battlefield.


    Aldred, sitting on his throne, watched his forges through a screen.


    "Master," Corduul called. "The king is gathering all the nobles to discuss the battle roles."


    "Is everyone there already?"


    "Most of them are. What about Duke Hushum?"


    "He is one of the first to arrive."


    "Hmmm, let''s go there then."


    Corduul swiped his mechanical fingers in the air, ripping space apart, and creating a portal.


    They both stepped inside and arrived in the grand hallway. Numerous other portals appeared and nobles walked out. They all nodded at him. Aldred nodded back.


    They all approached the gate of the throne room. Two high Diamond Rank warrior guarded with thick white armor. They were standing 2 meter tall with arge shield and a majestic spear in the other hand.


    Aldred could tell they were an amazing fighters. Far stronger than the top 15th student. In fact, Russam wouldn''t stand a chance at all fighting against them.


    The two warrior pushed the gate with all of their strength. It proved that the giant gate was so heavy that a warrior such as them needed to use all of their strength just to push it.


    After the gate was opened, Aldred and the other nobles entered.


    Duke Hushum was talking to a noble with a wine in his hand until he noticed Aldred. "Excuse me. Hey, Aldred!"


    The Duke approached Aldred with a wide smile. Aldred smiled back.


    "It''s finally happening. A war! This is your time to proof yourself."


    Nodding, Aldred replied: "I will conquer Ber for this kingdom."


    The Dukeughed. "I like the spirit, but this is not a one person job. You cannot conquer Ber alone. All of the nobles here will contribute a part of their army to attack them. The King''s army being thergest."


    "Do we have a n already? Have we dered a war publicly?"


    "We will use our advancement as our official deration. For now, the king only dere it within the royal circle."


    "Do we have a war n?"


    "That is the reason why we are here. The king will and all the nobles here will discuss it."


    "Where is the king?"


    "He hasn''t arrive yet. He will when all the noblese. For now, let''s have a chat. How''s the rail track going?"


    Aldred and Duke Hushum talked about business for a few hours until all the murmurs became silent.


    They looked at the throne and saw the king already sat there with two old men standing beside him. They both were at the Adamantite Rank.


    "Let''s begin the discussion," Heshad Withokere, the king of Withokere, spoke.


    The nobles didn''t say a word.


    The king was satisfied that everyone was silent. "The Dominion of Ber is a nation far smaller than us. This war will not be long, but the territory we able to take is too small."


    All the nobles nodded. That was why most of them did not have the interest to join this war. Some of the nobles here had a territory farrger than Ber.


    "The n is simple," the King said. "My army will take the ocean as our route, while the rest of you will attack fromnd. Distract the enemy onnd, and my army will take their capital from the ocean."


    "Your Highness, if I may?" Aldred raised his hand.


    All eyes set onto him.


    "What is it Count Aldred?"


    "I would like to bear the responsibility of distracting all the enemies. My army will advance from the south all the way to the north."


    Some of the nobles looked at Aldred with a knowing smile, while some were shocked. A lot of them already expected that Aldred would want to proof his loyalty to the king by taking dangerous mission, but they did not expect he would take a suicidal role.


    Although the Dominion of Ber was small, they still had arge army. Fighting them would take a lot of resources and could bankrupt an entire region. Although they knew that Aldred was wealthy, he might take a huge hit in his finance.


    Duke Hushum saw this and take a step back, letting Aldred enjoy all the limelight.


    "What do you all think?" The king asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I believe he will fail, Your Majesty. Although Aldred has arge army, the Dominion of Ber is still powerful enough to fight him. Aldred is not from this continent andck the experience of fighting enemies that born on thisnd."


    Some of the nobles looked at Aldred with disdain because of his arrogance to propose such n. They all knew Aldred wanted contribution to proof his loyalty, but this was too much.


    "If that is the case, Count Aldred will attack from the southwest and attack a few cities. The rest can send their armies from the south."


    The nobles nodded after hearing the King''s decision. This way he gave Aldred an opportunity to earn a contribution points while also giving the other nobles the same chance.


    Being a king was hard. Terribly so. The nobles were like children fighting for his love and attention. He had to give them the same amount of love and attention or one would get jealous of one another.


    But that Aldred was really brave. Nobody wanted to distract an army of an entire nation alone. Even though Aldred had a lot of golems, half of them, and even more, could be sacrificed just to do that.


    No nobles in the world would want to lose half of their army.


    "Count Aldred, are you satisfied with this decision?"


    Aldred bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."


    A noble sneered at him. "What an arrogant bastard. Be thankful that we saved you from your foolish decision."


    A lot of nobles had a negative view about him. In their eyes, he should be punished with death for killing a noble of Withokere.


    Aldred couldn''t really me them. The nobles here seem so different than the nobles back home. Here, everyone seemed a lot more honest when making deals, and backstabbing almost never happen. The nobles also had a very close rtionship with each other, in fact, Aldred felt like they treated each other as brothers and sisters.


    ording to what he learned, the culture in Withokere Kingdom was very unique. The noble circles put their young sons and daughters and let them fight physically with one another very often.


    Everyone would thought they would be enemies, but when they grow up, they actually be very close and had a deeper understanding of each other.


    ''Maybe I should tell the other clone to fight with as many noble kids as possible."


    "Since you are satisfied, this discussion is over. We will attack in a week. I hope all of you are prepared."


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    The King vanished and all the nobles used all kinds of teleportation spells to return home.


    Aldred was about to leave with Corduul until Duke Hushum approached him.


    "Aldred, if you need any help, just tell me. I can send my secret forces to aid you in battle. Nobody will know."


    "Thanks. I will let you know if I need help."


    Duke Hushum smiled when Aldred didn''t reject his offer.


    Aldred chatted with the Duke for a few minutes before taking his leave. He believed that he didn''t need any help at all, but he didn''t want to say that to Duke Hushum''s face.


    Back in his own throne room, a projection revealed a map of Ber.


    "There are six main cities with great military power in our way, Master," Corduul said.


    "Only six. We can handle that."


    "What about the appearance of Adamantite Ranks?" Corduul asked.


    "I am sure the king will handle that. I remember that they only appear in times of desperation."


    "The king nned to conquer the entire Dominion. The probability of such figures appear is very high, Master."


    "I am not scared. I am just a clone, remember?"


    Corduul nodded. "We will send more surveince drones to scout the situation."


    "Do that. Let''s prepare properly for war. It''s been quite a while. I missed wrecking havoc on the battlefield."


    Aldred walked to his throne and sat down.


    ...


    All over the kingdom, the nobles prepared a number of their soldiers and set off towards the northwest of Withokere. That was where the border between Withokere and Ber located.


    Naturally, since the movement of so many soldiers could not be hidden, the Dominion of Ber caught onto the information and prepared themselves for an invasion.


    The micro drones that were flying all over their territory sent information to the Mechanicum non-stop.


    They might be well-prepared, but they surely were not preparing enough for what was about toe.

 Chapter 552 552 Attack

    6 figures gathered around a round table. They were the rulers of the six main cities and the territory under it.


    Seated on the seat of honor was the ruler of Ber: Muzen Mode.


    "My lord, the Kingdom of Withokere is nning to attack us. It''s so obvious," Ehlem Puma said as his Grand Bow made rattling noises on his back.


    "I agree." Kasha put her slender hand on the table. Her beautifulplexion did not disappear despite it was filled with anger. "We should attack before they attack."


    A small de appeared in front of her and then it multiplied dozens of times, circling around her with sharp aura.


    A dark-purple energy then appeared around the des and then consumed it.


    From the shadow, Tanvul teorb walked out with dark-purple body armor covering him and a demon-like mask on his face. "You are in front of the Lord, Kasha Be. Show your manners," He said.


    Kasha clicked her tongue. "Shural you agree with me right?"


    A woman with a long staff was leaning on the table. She had a thick mascara on her eyes, slightly trailing down to her cheeks. She wore a robe with arge cor that went higher than her own head. The robe also failed to hide her curvy figure which was only covered by a piece of cloth to cover her breast. Below, she wore a short skirt that end above the knee.


    Shural smiled and hugged her long staff. "I am always on your side, Kasha."


    "See. Even Shural is on my side."


    Ehlem shook his head. "Shural is always on your side, but that isn''t the point. You need to stop your childish act in front of the lord. Shen, are you not going to say something?"


    A man stepped forward. He wore a metallic mask with a pair of glowing holes as eyes. He wore some sort of traditional baggy clothes with some part of his body covered by metal armor.


    He also had a particrly long de tightly stuck on his back. "I will agree with whatever the Lord has to say."


    Ehlem sighed. "So, what will it be, my lord?"


    Muzen Mode didn''t mind their attitude. "There is a high chance Withokere will send Adamantite Ranks to attack us. You six will not stand a chance if that moment appear."


    "Will the Guardians helped us?"


    "The Guardians will help if any Adamantite Ranks appeared. Even though we are much smaller than them, our numbers of Adamantite Rank should not be that far from them. Therefore, you can fight with ease."


    The six of them nodded.


    "So are we allowed to attack first?" Kasha asked, still wanting to bring the battle to the enemy.


    "No. We are at an advantage when we defend our position. We know thendscape, and we are near the supply chain. The enemies traveled far and beyond before they arrive here. They will get tired. Now, all of you return to your territory and prepare yourself for an attack."


    "Yes, my Lord."


    They all glowed brightly before vanishing out of the room.


    ¡­


    "There are six rulers that I need to defeat?"


    "Yes, Master," Corduul replied. "Although there are many high Diamond Ranks within Ber, there are six that might be hard for you to defeat."


    "Why are you so sure?"


    "These six individuals are one step away from reaching Adamantite Ranks. They are far stronger than the average high Diamond Ranks. ording to our calction, it''s possible that they can fight ten high Diamond Ranks alone and win."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Wow¡­ that''s very interesting. Can the robots kill them?"


    "It will cost tremendous resources to eliminate them."


    Aldred sighed. "I haven''t even reach high Diamond Rank yet. I wonder if I can defeat them?"


    "It might be possible with your legendary skill, master."


    "That thing is not that easy to use. Every time, I use it, my soul shakes and trembled. I still need to learn it properly."


    "In that case, we must throw this n away. The air force and the ground force will work together to defeat them once they appear."


    "Nope. I will still help. I am just a clone anyway. It''s okay if I die. Besides, I want to see if I can defeat someone that is about to reach Adamantite Rank."


    Aldred looked at Corduul. "What city will we attack first?"


    "It''s¡­"


    ¡­


    A weekter. Within Ber''s territory.


    Aldred stood atop a hill. "So this is the first city I will attack. The city of Nordence."


    The city of Nordence was average in this continent, but for Aldred it was still a gigantic metropolitan. If this city was ced in the Ceraisian Empire, it would be one of the most biggest city in the entire Empire.


    Corduul had sent numerous micro drones to scan the city, and had a deep understanding of its forces and defenses.


    "Corduul," Aldred called. "Begin the attack."


    "Yes, Master."


    The archers standing above the city gate was looking around, keeping their eyes peeled as if they were expecting an attack.


    Suddenly, they saw a bunch of ck dots in the distance. Quickly, they sounded the rm.


    "An attack! Everyone get ready!"


    Thousands of soldiers sprinted on the wall, grabbing their magic bows. Giant crossbows were pushed and apparently the civilians buildings nearby were modified to be a tower with ballista and archers.


    Seeing over ten thousands weird metallic human rushing towards the city at a high-speed made the guards nervous.


    "Destroy that gate!" At Aldred''s orders, five Light Weight Air Fighter came out behind a mountain and rushed towards the gate.


    Light Weight Air Fighter Pulsar, LWAF Pulsar for short, was Corduul''s new invention. They were fighter air-craft with V shape built. Designed for speed and agility, they were perfect for distracting the enemies below.


    "Attack those flying objects!"


    The archers released thousands of arrows into the sky, but the Pulsar had an amazing sensors and thin design of which it could move and spin its body to dodge all the projectiles.


    After they dove down for a few minutes, all of them fired a hotser beam towards the gate at once.


    BOOM! Following an earth-shaking explosion, the steel gate waspletely blown apart.

 Chapter 553 553 Kill Me Or Die Trying

    "Warships! They have flying warships!" Atop the city wall, a captain muttered in fear.


    The archers were ashen-faced, hands trembling.


    Warships were one of the most powerful weapons in this world. Most warships could only exist in the sea because of their weight and size, but further development had made it possible for some of these ships to be walking onnd and even flying in the air. Their actual names were not warships, but since warships became the symbol of destructive power, they call everything as that.


    It''s like people would call anything that explode a ''bomb''.


    It was known that only warships could fight against another warships. It would be impossible to fight a warship because their destructive capabilities was just too monstrous. The soldiers were all trained to hide under cover when they encountered a warship, because it was simply impossible for foot soldiers to destroy them.


    All the soldiers here were Gold Rank at the lowest, and there were tens of thousands of tinum Rank here as guards as well.


    Back in his former continent, a Gold Rank was big deal. They would be a leader of a division. But here, they were just another foot soldier.


    The warrior robots immediately rushed into the broken gates like crazed ants. Arrows rained from above, most of them ricocheted against the strong armor.


    "Fire the ballista!"


    Dozens of ballista began firing their 12 meter bolts towards the gate. Since the gate was quite narrow, the bolt manage to skewered dozens of robots at once, and knocked many of them aside.


    But these ballistas only survived for a while before the LWAF Pulsar turned around and firedser beams at them.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The ballistas exploded in mes, throwing the soldiers that man them into the air.


    Aldred watched the city covered in mes and corpses. Some guards still fought atop the city wall, but they werepletely swarmed a few minutester.


    Most of the robots Aldred sent had a tinum Rank strength with a few thousands having pseudo low Diamond Rank warrior strength.


    Aldred wanted to overwhelm his enemies with number first. The tinum Rank robots were basically worthless to his eyes. No matter how many of them were destroyed, he wouldn''t care.


    "This city is too weak. It''s too easy to take."


    If anyone heard that statement, they would look at him with a weird expression. Taking a city guarded by hundreds of thousands of Gold Ranks and tinum Ranks and a couple of low Diamond Ranks were not easy at all.


    The only reason why it was easy was because of Corduul''s systematic attack. Information gathering, sufficient fire power, and overwhelming numbers gave the enemy no chance to survive the attack at all.


    In less than a day, the city guards surrendered and the whole city was for him to take.


    Aldred calmly put both of his hands on his back as he nced at the burning city. "Corduul, kill the fire and rebuild the city."


    "Yes, Master."


    Behind the hill Aldred stood upon, hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of thick, long, metallic trucks were parked neatly.


    Construction robots came out of the trucks and rushed into the city. A part of them immediately approached a nearby well, pushed a pipe down onto the bottom and then used the water to spray on the fire.


    Aldred rubbed his chin. "We need a magic division to take care of this kind of thing."


    He could cast a spell to summon heavy rain to befall upon the city, but he felt like he needed to create a system in which someone else will do all the work for him. Because that was what a ruler would do. Aldred needed to be a proper ruler, if not, the nobles would look down on him.


    "I will take care of it, master," Corduul replied.


    "Hmm." Aldred nodded in satisfaction. Corduul had been his right-hand man since he came to this continent. He proved to be verypetent and any assignment given to him would be done with great result.


    Aldred suddenly vanished from atop the hill and appeared in front of the gate. He walked into the city as thousands of mechanical ants walked passed him. They crawled to the broken buildings and quickly fixed them up. The broken roads were made brand new, and everything looked so sparkling and shiny.


    Some bums tried to steal from an abandoned shop but the ants quickly chomped them in half. Although these ants were not designed for killing, they were still capable of it.


    The people trembled in fear behind closed windows as the ants crawled on their rooftops, fixing the hole created by the battle.


    Aldred was fine if the people here fear or hated him. Soon, they wille to love him anyway, because any city he conquer would flourish and bloom like flowers. With high living standard, great education, and a little bit of propaganda to make his picture seen in a brighter light, the people of Nordence City would consider him their rightful ruler.


    As Aldred was walking on the street, looking at his newly conquered city, Corduul suddenly appeared beside him. "Master, be careful!"


    Time and space stopped and suddenly two dark figures came rushing at Aldred with incredible spreed. They pulled a small green de out of their waist and pounced at him like a venomous snake.


    Their des were about to pierced through his neck, until Aldred''s eyes turned red and red at them.


    "Weak!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    The attacker widened their eyes and suddenly, they felt hollow under their waist. Looking down, they realized that half of their bodies werepletely ripped away.


    "Beastly Rip!"


    Time and space returned to normal again as the attacker fell to the ground with only their upper bodies. Their eyes looked at Aldred with horror.


    "Early stage high Diamond Rank. Truly, the enemies don''t y around this time," Aldred said.


    "They probably know that you are a high value target, master," Corduul said.


    The two assassins bit their tongue and they vanished into green smoke.


    Corduul opened his palm and a metallic ring floated before letting out a bright glow. A barrier appeared around them and prevented the assassins from escaping.


    "You cannot kill us!"


    "Matter of a fact, I can. This is war, gentlemen. You either kill me or die trying," Aldred said as he swiped his hand and Phantom Doomde appeared.


    The two attackers had now regenerated their lower body parts back. Losing limbs or even getting their bodies cut in half were never much of a problem for Diamond Ranks, especially not for a high Diamond Ranks. But of course the more fatal the wound, the more energy and resources it require to heal.


    The wounds they received from Aldred took a huge toll on their bodies. It was only one attack, but it was enough for them to decide to retreat right away.


    "Now, will you please knelt and extent your neck for me to cut?" Aldred said.


    The attackers were enraged.


    "You will regret this! Come, brother. Let us bring him down with us!"


    They rushed towards him again.


    Aldredughed and appeared in front of one of them and beheaded the man immediately. He was about to kill the other one, but he saw Corduul, shing a long sword covered with thick electricity through the man''s neck.


    When the heads fell, Aldred looked at him. "You have be stronger."


    "We are always yearning to improve, master. That is our ultimate mission."


    "Thest fight must have taught you a lot."


    "That''s correct."


    "Is all tech priest as strong as you?" Aldred asked.


    "No, master. Currently, I have the strongest battle power out of all of them, but we never really focus on individual power, instead, we rely on overwhelming numbers."


    "But sometimes you do need an ultimate weapon, right?"


    "That''s what the CK-47 is for."


    "Well, it''s side effect is that it destroys everything around it. Can you create aser beam that can regenerate the same amount of power?"


    "Currently not, but that is in development. We might need stronger materials and more knowledge."


    "What about Victor''s knowledge? You can ess them right?"


    "We can, but we haven''t fullyprehend them yet."


    "I see. Even you guys take time to learn his knowledge, huh?"


    "His mind is much more powerful than ours. It takes all of the Tech Priest in the Mechanicum just to match his processing power."


    "That''s very powerful."


    "But we continue to increase our numbers and improving our brain capacities and capabilities. Soon, we will be better than him."


    "That''s good to hear. You can also explore the treasury and see if there''s any potions to improve the brain. This is a magical world after all."


    Aldred looked at the drones flying over the assassins head and stabbed through it with a spinning needle. The lights on the drones glowed as they absorbed every information out of the brain.


    "Welp, I guess you guys already know that."

 Chapter 554 554 The Silver Swarm Army

    The war had officially began. But the impact it had to the whole world wasn''t much. Everybody knew that Ber was going to be consumed sooner orter. Most of them expect the Divine Empire of Stotford would do it, but it was no surprise that the Kingdom of Withokere would want to expand their territory as well.


    Ber was a small nation. Basically any of its neighbor would be able to take it with a little bit of effort.


    The invasion came from the south and west. Withokere could not attack from the east or north because that was where Stotford''s territory was.


    But it didn''t matter.


    The armies marched forth with thick armor andrge supplies. Carriages of every size followed from behind, bringing mostly weapons and armors.


    Warriors and magicians at higher rank didn''t really need to eat. They could hold their hunger and thirst for months if needed. But their armors and weapons broke all the time after a fight. Even a magician''s staff would crack and snap after it had been used numerous times. This was especially true if the quality of their mana was high.


    Earl Nirder Swadedon, a particrly powerful Earl withrge territory was a greatmander that had experienced many major battles. His army, The Silver Swarm, had never sneak an attack upon the enemies, but they always caught them by surprise.


    Far to the east of Aldred''s position, the Silver Swarm Army marched forth. The sound ofrge beast thumping the ground as they pulled the carriages tied to them was heard all over the valley.


    Earl Nirder led the army at the front, riding atop a majestic horse with a shining silver armor. One of the reason why many nobles respected him so much was his fearless attitude. He was never at the back, under the protection of his army, instead, he led with courage.


    And this behavior inspired his men to work and train even harder. If their lord is brave enough to be the tip of the spear, why would they be afraid?


    Nirder frequently trained and sparred with his soldiers as well. Nirder was a warrior, but because he was a high Diamond Rank warrior, he was extremely respected and feared. Every magicians he sparred with would not want to fight him for real for they know they would lose their heads if they do so.


    "My lord, Normingham city is 15 kilometers away," Meben said. He was one of the Two Silver des along with Roa who rode a horse to Nirder''s left.


    Both of them were incredibly handsome with thick, shining armor, not as shiny as their lord''s, but it was still impressive. A long de sheated on their back, and two more sheated on their waist.


    The Two Silver des were Nirder''s best warrior. Every year, Nirder would held apetition to im these position, and for past decades, nobody could defeat Meben and Roa.


    Swadedon was a warrior family. They had produced so many Diamond Rank warriors, and most of their army was consisted of warriors.


    Magicians might held a great advantage below Diamond Rank, but nobody would want to mess with Swadedon''s trained warrior.


    Nirder, as the current head of the family had great respect for this tradition and he embraced it with his whole life. A warrior must be tested, so although he liked Meben and Roa, he still let otherspete for their position. That way, Meben and Roa would never dare toze around.


    And it worked. Both of them worked harder than anyone else. Nirder also sparred often with them to make sure he didn''t lose his edge.


    Nirder pulled his horse to a stop and raised his hand. The entire army stopped at once like a synchronized machine.


    "Why are we stopping?" Roa asked.


    Nirder pointed with a gauntleted finger. "There. The enemies are approaching."


    After a few seconds, arge cavalry was seen approaching from the distance. They rode ck horses with heavy armor. The cavalries brought a spear, a sword, a shield, and a bow.


    Meben, Roa, and Nirder was silent at first before they burst outughing.


    "HAHAHAHA!"


    The three of themughed like a maniac.


    "These fools leave the safety andfort of their walls to fight us! Did their brain get fucked by the horses?"


    The soldiers behind himughed as well. Their lord was a yful man and joked around a lot. They were disciplined warriors, but they know when tough and have fun with their lord.


    Nirder stoppedughing and his expression turned serious immediately. He pulled a sword as long as a man from his back and pointed forward. "Since they willinglye out of their nest to be killed then let''s give them what they ask."


    He took in a deep breath before he kicked his horse. "Charge!!!"


    Nirder, Meben, and Roa charged first. The soldiers behind them rushed forward on foot until suddenly, they jumped into the air and white horses appeared below them.


    Landing onto these horses, they raised their silver swords and roared.


    "Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm!"


    "Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm!"


    "Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm! Silver Swarm!"


    The enemy cavalries grabbed their bows and began firing into the air. Waves after waves of arrows flew into the sky, then arched down towards the Silver Swarm Army.


    "Men!" Nirder shouted. "What do we do when there''s a rain?!"


    "WE DANCE!" they all replied before they stood on the back of their horse and shed all of the arrows that came their way. Their swords moved left and right, cutting and knocking all the arrows nearby. Their movements were like dancing and they do all of this while standing on top of a stupidly-fast horses!<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Fuck!" The enemy cursed and gritted their teeth when they see that their attacks did not work.


    "Archers! Fire again!"


    The archers raised their bows, about to fire another volleys of arrows towards the Silver Swarm Army.


    "As if I will let you!"


    Nirder roared and his horse let out a blinding, bright glow. Meben and Roa''s horses did the same and the three of them rushed towards the enemies with unimaginable speed.


    Within a blink of an eye, the three of them arrived in front of the enemy cavalries and then exploded with a silver aura that pushed hundreds of people at once.


    Nirder lunged forward with his horses and beheaded five men at once, blood sttered all over his silver armor. Meben and Roa followed by his side, slicing and dicing anyone that dare to approach.


    "That''s the Earl of Swadedon! Kill him!"


    Nirderughed. "That''s right! Come to me! I am the Earl! Kill me if you can!"


    Meben and Roa could only shake their heads with a smile when they heard. Their lord just made the battle much more difficult.


    Nirder leaped off his horse. The horse vanished into silver lights when hended on the ground. Charging forward, he shed downward and an arc of silver light shot forth, cutting dozens of men at once.


    "There''s just three of them! How can you fail to kill three men!?" their captain shouted.


    Right after they captain said that, the rest of the of the Silver Swarm Army arrived and bull dozed through the enemies. Horses collide against horses, des against des.


    From above, the silver dots were overwhelming and devouring the ck dots at rapid speed.


    "Kill! Kill! Kill!"


    The soldiers roared in fervor as they raised their silver des then swung it down. They repeated this motion countless times, killing numerous enemies each second.


    After the whole enemy cavalry was decimated, Nirder, Meben, and Roa looked at each other andughed.


    "Is that all the enemy has? The Dominion of Ber is weaker than I thought," Nirdermented.


    "Don''t say something like that, my lord. Last time you said that, you lose your hands," Roa said.


    "Stop being a cowards, Roa," Nirder replied. "How can mere words scares you? We''re warriors! Even death trembles under our gaze."


    Meben just chuckle on the side hearing their banter.


    Suddenly, shadow went past them.


    Nirder looked up and saw more than a dozen magic warships flying high in the air.


    He frowned. "Flying warships? Why are they deploying these weapons so soon?"


    "More than that, my lord! I think we need to retreat first!" Roa rmed him.


    Suddenly, the warships in the sky lit up and shot a vortex of fire to the ground.


    "Fuck!" Meben shouted.


    Nirder raised his de high before he was engulfed by the me.


    "My lord!"


    Suddenly, the vortex of me dissipated and a part of the flying warships exploded.


    "You guys retreat first. As your lord, it''s my duty to charge first and retreatst."


    "My lord, we have went through numerous battles together. If you don''t want us to retreat just say so," Meben said.


    Nirder smiled. "You read my mind like it was a book. That''s right. Instead of retreating, we should attack!"


    He hopped into the air and a white horse with four wings appeared in front of him. Grabbing the rope, he urged the horse to fly higher and faster.


    Meben and Roa looked at each other before they looked at the soldiers.


    "Well, I guess some of us will be cooked today."

 Chapter 555 555 Warships!

    "What? What are they doing?" a captain on the flying warships widened his eyes as he saw a streak of silver lights soared into the air, dodging all of their attacks.


    "Sire, they are approaching! In a few minutes, they will reach our ships!"


    "What are you scared of? This is a warships! They cannot prate our armor before we burn them to crisps! Deploy our main weapon!"


    "Prepare the Frost Charge!"


    The air around the warships turned icy cold. Freezing mist spilled out of the ships and the series of fire vortex stopped.


    "They stopped firing. Be prepared for their main weapon!" Nirder shouted as he hastened his pace.


    The warships above shone, turning the surrounding air into snows.


    "Fuck, we''re not going to make it!" Meben shouted.


    "We can! Everyone, gather around! We will pierce through with everything we got!"


    "Yes, my lord!"


    The Silver Swarm Army positioned themselves in such a way that they looked like a silver spear from the distance with Nirder, Meben, and Roa at the tip.


    The warships above let out a loud humming sounds and then sted out an icy beam energy, all of them directed towards the tip of the silver spear.


    "Silver Swarm!!!" Nirder roared. "Prate!"


    "PENETRATE!" the soldiers shouted back before all of them brandished their des and stabbed upward.


    The icy beam of frost engulfed the whole spear.


    But then, a few secondster, the icy beam let out a blinding light and then exploded, as the Silver Swarm Army flew ever higher and punctured through one of the warships like a silver spear through a wooden shield.


    "YEAH!!!" Nirder and his men roared in triumph.


    They kept pushing, flying higher into the air and prating one warships after the other.


    The captain panicked. "Quick, get us out of here!"


    Suddenly, the whole warship tremble and it broke in half. The captain stumbled as he saw the other half of the ship broke off.


    "How is this possible¡­" The captain widened his eyes.


    The broken warships crashed onto the ground one after another. The magicians quickly flew out and make their escape, but suddenly, silver arrows punctured through their hearts, and they too began to fell from the sky.


    Meben and Roa was sending arrows after arrows as they shouted: "Kill them all! Let no one return alive!"


    "Sir, there''s a high Diamond Rank Magician over there!"


    "Quick, activate the anti-teleportation treasure!"


    Meben quickly pulled out a silver turtle from his storage ring and then raised it to the sky. "Silver Turtle Space Barrier!"


    The turtle moaned and then its whole body shattered like ss.


    A thin, transparent film of energy covered the area of 15 KM around them.


    The captain gritted his teeth. "For fuck sake!"


    He grabbed a small wooden staff out of his storage ring and then smashed it against the barrier. The staff shattered, but the barrier only trembled slightly.


    "You cannot get away," Meben said, slowly approaching him in the sky. Diamond Ranks warriors generally could float and fly. Their physique was too strong that a lot of them could even mimic some magical abilities. For people on earth, that would be a hard concept to grasp. How could someone be so powerful physically that thews of physics bent to their will?


    In theory, it didn''t make sense. But that was Earth''s theory, not this world.


    The captain scoffed. "Bring me to your leader! You two do not have the right to speak to me."


    "I believe they do." Nirder appeared between Meben and Roa. "In fact, you are not even worthy to set your filthy gaze upon these two warriors."


    The captain gritted his teeth in anger. "I am Dacordun Analdi. I am the Captain of the 12th Sky Ship division. Invader, if you kill me here, the entire Sky Ship Division wille for you. Let me leave, and you can have your victory."


    "I have another offer. Leave your head here, and you can walk home without it."


    Meben and Roaughed at their lord''s joke.


    "Are you mocking me?" The captain frowned.


    "If you don''t want to do it yourself, then let me do it for you!" Nirder vanished and then appeared right in front of Dacordun. His de pierced through his flesh immediately.


    Dacordun spat out a mouthful of blood as he saw the silver de went through his heart and out of his back. "You¡­dare?"


    Nirder smiled wide. "Why would I not?"


    "You¡­ fool. All of you are dead."


    Nirder scoffed until he heard something from the distance. He looked to the side and then saw hundreds of warships appear in the distance.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "For fuck sake!" Roa cursed as he watched an entire battalion of warships came approaching.


    Nirder frowned. "This doesn''t make any sense at all. Why did they deploy warships so early into the war? Warships should only be deployed when they were really struggling. The war only began for less than a week."


    "My lord, we have to retreat now. We cannot y the same game as before. Our energy is expended, and the enemies is too much for our current army," Meben said.


    "The current army is only intended to test the water anyway. Our main battalion is resting in the rear," Roa said.


    "We need to retreat. Now!"


    All of them kicked the air like it was a hard concrete wall. The action propelled them high into the air before the space below them glittered with silver lights and their horses with wings appeared.


    "Ride as fast as you can!"


    Suddenly, a beam of icy frost went passed them and turned dozens of soldiers into sculptures of ice.


    "Fuck! Move faster!" Meben shouted as he urged his horse to be quick. He then saw his lord stopping mid air and turning around. "My lord, please don''t be a fool today. A smart and great warrior survive to fight for another day."


    "I know. I am not stupid. All of you retreat quickly! I will stall them behind you!"


    All the soldiers stopped.


    Nirder shed out, the a silver aura exploded from his sword and cut all of the icy beams that came his way into pieces.


    He did not need to turn around to know that his soldiers hesitate to retreat. "Never hesitate! Follow my orders with absolute obedience! Retreat! Now!"


    The soldiers moved immediately, going as fast as they could. Meanwhile, Meben and Roa pulled their bows and fired at the icy beams.


    Exploding them one by one, but the numbers of beams increased overtime, and they struggled as each time passed.


    "We can''t hold on any longer!" Roa shouted.


    "Hold on a little bit longer!" Nirder ordered.


    Suddenly, the warships stopped firing and they took a second to power up, the whole body of the warships turned into ice as they all shot a bright, thick beam of frost.


    "Fuck! We can''t handle that!" Roa gritted his teeth.


    Suddenly, a fast flying object flew towards the beam and exploded with a powerful force, creating a huge ball of fire in the sky. The power pushed Nirder, Meben, and Roa a few meters away.


    "What was that?" Nirder looked around and saw Thousands of V-shaped metallic objects flying around in the sky, circling around the warships and sending hotser beams towards their magical armor.


    "Those small V-shaped warships is too small and weak! They cannot fight for long!"


    Just after Roa finished his sentence, a wide thin beam of light shed like lightning, in less then a secondter, the world was blinded by bright explosions.


    BOOM!


    Dozens upon dozens of warships exploded at once.


    Nirder looked to the side and saw a bunch of gigantic, weird-looking, metallic warships. They were much bigger than the warships enemy had.


    "Those warships¡­ those are Aldred''s!"


    A small circr drone floated in front of him. It fired a projection of Aldred.


    "Lord Nirder," Aldred greeted.


    "Aldred, thank you for saving us," Nirder said which surprised Aldred quite a lot.


    "It is very rare for someone to thank me these days."


    "As warriors, anyone that aid us in battle is naturally our ally. We only have respect and honor for our allies."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. He rarely met a person with a status as high as Nirder with his humility. Most nobles were too arrogant to say thank you, that even the thought of saying it shame them.


    Nirder, without hesitation, expressed his thanks to Aldred. Even though they were just words, it gave him a sense of what kind of person Nirder was.


    "Lord Nirder, perhaps you want to join me in my ship and watch as I burn your enemies to the ground?"


    "That would be a view to watch. Please, let me join you."


    Aldredughed at his enthusiasm. "Come on in."


    The three of them were scanned by a ray of light and then were quickly pulled into the  ship.


    There, the three of them looked around like a caveman at all theplicated devices around them.


    "Is this magic?" Meben asked.


    "Wee to my aircraft! You people would call it warships, but whatever. Take a seat and let me show you the power of this thing."

 Chapter 556 556 Brother In Arms

    Dozens of CS-Armageddon-57 fired powerful light beams towards the flying warships. On impact, the warships exploded with a blinding bright light. It was like a show of fireworks in the sky with broken parts flying all over, and then smashing to the ground.


    Looking at this scene, Nirder was of course impressed. "How can this thing produce the power of a high Diamond Rank at such rapid rate?"


    Warships were generally manned by at least one high Diamond Rank magician to maximize its capability. Unlike technologies and sea warships, flying warships still very much rely on its users. Its main effect is to amplify the magician''s power more than tenfolds.


    That was why the flying warships were mostly manned by magicians with a bunch of high Diamond Rank warriors as guards just in case someone manage to break in.


    Aldred told him that these ''aircrafts'' moved by themselves and there were nobody in it. That meant that these aircrafts were able to produce high damage without relying on high level magicians.


    That was simply incredible! If Aldred could create a golem like this, what else could he create? His potential seemed to be boundless


    The flying warships retaliated, firing frost beams towards the aircraft.


    Nirder saw something on one of the screen. It was the approaching frost beams, and then some words he didn''t understood appeared all over the screen.


    "Threat detected¡­ sending rockets to neutralize."


    Dozens of missiles flew out of the aircraft and made their way towards the frost beam before exploding right on impact, preventing the frost beam from reaching the aircrafts.


    "Wow, how many weapons does this thing have?" Nirder wondered.


    "The aircraft doesn''t have a lot of weapons, but each of them is very effective at their task," Aldred replied.


    "I can see that," Nirder said as he looked at the flying warships exploding one after the other.


    The CS-Armageddon-57 could freely destroy the flying warships withforts most of the time because the thousands of LWAF Pulsar distracting the flying warships.


    The Pulsars were like annoying flies. The flying warships could destroy them in one hit, but hitting them was terribly hard. They also could not ignore these small critters either, because it would crash into them and then self-exploded, causing massive damage.


    After a few hours of fighting, the flying warships began to retreat.


    "They''re retreating!" Nirder shouted. "Are you going to chase them?"


    "Nope, I am going to take their city."


    The city of Normingham was only around twenty kilometers away.


    All the aircrafts rushed towards the north, and in less than a minute, they arrived in front of an huge city.


    The soldiers in the city rushed outside, pushing magical ballistas and aiming towards the aircrafts. They fired. 20 meter long steel bolts, spinning at rapid speed while being covered by violent wind elemental energy.


    It struck through three LWAF Pulsar and then lodged itself 4mm deep into the CS-Armageddon-57.


    "Hmmm. That thing is weaker than I thought. Okay, destroy them to pieces."


    A chamber opened below the CS-Armaggedon-57''s hulls, and then they all rapidly sending volleys after volleys of rockets towards the city, creating waves after waves of explosion.


    Nirder was speechless. "I cannot sense any mana from this thing, so how is this possible? Aldred, would you mind telling me?"


    "It''s veryplicated, and you can trulyprehend it if you spend decades of your lifetime to learn. But in simple terms, this much destruction is caused by a mix of chemicals obtained through processing natural minerals mined from the earth. These chemicals is then triggered to cause a reaction."


    "Uhh¡­ you call that simple?


    Aldred blinked. "Imagine if I exined the whole thing."


    Nirderughed. "Well, you magicians always confuse us anyways. I only got a little understanding about spells and magic, just enough to kill them. Hahaha!"


    Aldred raised his palm and moved it around gracefully. Mana sparked on his fingertips, and blue mist formed around his palm. "It''s not thatplicated. First, understand yourself, and then understand nature. Just with these two, you can change the world around you."


    He hovered one palm above the other, and the blue mist turned into a blue roaring dragon.


    "I prefer the simple motion of swinging up and down, left and right," Nirder replied.


    Aldredughed. "Indeed, I prefer that as well."


    "Huh? Are you a battle-magician?"


    Battle-magicians were magicians that prefers close-range battles. They were also called dare-devils by others magicians because no magician ever wanted to get close to a warrior. Battle magicians usually had powerful spells that could only be used at close-range, but once hit, the damage they cause could knock a warrior of the same level out.


    "I am a magician and also a warrior."


    "Huh? Is that even possible?"


    Aldred was quite surprised. "You didn''t know?"


    "Of course, I don''t. One can only be one or the other."


    Meben approached Nirder and whispered something in his ears.


    "Why didn''t anyone tell me this? A man that can be a powerful warriors and magician and is also a great golem master? Why didn''t you tell me about this before?"


    "I forgot, my lord."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Forgot, my ass! What did I hire you for?"


    "My lord, you didn''t hire me. In fact, you don''t even pay me, or any of our soldiers. None of us have ever received any payment."


    "Didn''t I assign someone to do that in my behalf."


    "That person is already dead long ago, my lord."


    "Then why didn''t you say something?" Nirder raised his hand in annoyance.


    "Well." Meben smiled. "I think we receive something far greater than anyone else can give."


    Roa let out a smallugh and smiled as well.


    Nirder smiled, knowing what they meant. "It''s simply my duty to lead you all properly."


    Meben and Roa looked at each other and chuckled. Only Nirder was the only noble who would try to sacrifice himself to protect his own army. He had done this many times and earned the absolute loyalty of his soldiers.


    So even though they never receive any payments, none of themined. They got food, a ce to sleep, a ce to train, and that was enough.


    In effect, The Nirder family''s spending on its military budget got reduced more than half ever since Nirder was the head of the family. This way, they could spend more towards their armors and weapons, and other resources, making the Swadedon''s soldiers even more powerful than before.


    "You have great underlings," Aldred said.


    "They are not my underlings." Nirder turned around. "They''re my brothers in arms."


    Aldredughed. "You are really something else. I admire you. Let''s be friend."


    "I admire the strong as well. Let''s be an ally and help each other." Nirder shook Aldred''s hand.


    "So, what are you going to do to the city?" Nirder asked.


    "My robots will fix the destroyed buildings. And then, you can have it."


    "What? You take the city on your own."


    "But it''s supposed to be yours. I am just here to help."


    "You saved our life, and you think I will let you give me the city? We owe you our lives, brother. Our hearts will be filled with shame if we take this city."


    "I guess some people really do have honor," Aldred whispered to himself.


    "Fine," Aldred said. "I will take this city. But should you need my help, just call me." He toss out a big metal telephone.


    "What is this?"


    "Just click that green button to call me if you need my help."


    "In that case." Nirder threw a silver turtle at Aldred.


    "Just crush that turtle if you need my help."


    Aldred blinked as he looked at the silver turtle. "This is a weird-lookingmunication tool."


    "You cannot say that, brother. Yourmunication tool looks like a steel pillow with a needle on top."


    All of themughed.


    "Would you like to visit my territory?" Aldred asked.


    "Of course! I would love to! In fact, you can visit me at anytime. I want to show you our great warriors! They are the best of the best!"


    "I want to show you my golem army. They are the most numerous."


    "I will visit you. I want to know what else you make. This aircraft thing really interest me."


    A portal appeared beside Aldred, and Corduul stepped out.


    "Wow! What the fuck is that?" Nirder pointed at Corduul.


    "No worries. He is my friend."


    "I could barely sense any living cells in his bodies¡­ only the brain is normal. But¡­ that soul, I rarely see a soul this powerful before."


    Aldred always wondered about Corduul''s soul as well. It was much thicker and violent than other tech priest. One theory he had was the soul was the source of creativity. Most of Mechanicum''s top invention was created by Corduul. This include the CS-Armageddon-57, the City Killer, and the pseudo low Diamond Rank fighter robots.


    He was probably the biggest contributor to the Mechanicum''s arsenals.


    But Corduul said there were other tech priest that was as smart and creative as him. Aldred wondered if that was true, because most Tech Priest were reluctant to show themselves.

 Chapter 557 557 Mysterious Crystal

    "We will take our leave," Nirder said. "Thanks for helping us and showing us such a good show. I will return the favor."


    Aldred nodded. "No need to thank me. One of my aircraft will escort you."


    "I appreciate that, but I don''t want to burden you any further." Nirder grabbed another silver turtle out of his pocket. "See youter."


    The silver turtle moaned and covered them in silver light before they vanished.


    "Did that turtle just moan?" Aldred blinked.


    "ording to my sensors, the intensity level of vibration and sounds detected indeed confirmed that the silver turtle was moaning," Corduul replied.


    Aldred was speechless before he shook his head and put his attention to the matter at hand. Looking at the screen, he saw the LWAF Pulsar chasing the retreating warriors and magicians before pulverizing them with powerfulser attacks.


    The other divisions of air forces repeatedly scanned the city numerous times for any enemies. Every time, they found one, they would immediately swarmed the ce and eliminate all the enemies. The civilians were mostly unharmed and there were minimal damages to the buildings because theser attacks were quite precise.


    Hours passed, and Corduul spoke: "Master, we have confirmed that there is no more hidden enemies within the city, and redeem that you are safe to enter it."


    "Hmm." Aldred nodded. "Let the CS-Armageddon-57 to patrol the sky and be wary of everything. The enemies might surprise us."


    "Yes, master."


    Aldred and Corduul teleported above the city. They were floating with the wind blowing their clothes.


    "And yet another city is taken," Aldred said. "Proceed to dig all the resources around here. The king might want this city and give it to someone else. Before that happen, I want to get as much as I can from this city."


    ? "Yes, master. Proceeding to send the miner division."


    Aldred nodded. "Hmmm. And take the smaller viges and towns around here."


    "Yes, master." Corduul raised his palm and a circr metallic object floated on top of his hand.


    The metallic object flew 5 kilometers away from the city, fell to the ground, and then disturbed the air around it, and then it created a crack in space itself.


    Back on Aldred''s territory, inside the secret underground base, thousands upon thousands of robots with drills, pickaxes, and lights were walking forward in the darkness.


    Behind them, a whole batallion of metallic haul trucks followed.


    Suddenly, in front of them, a gigantic portal opened up with a spinning blue vortex. All of them entered the portal and came out near the City of Normingham.


    Corduul gave themand and hundreds of drones began to scan the area for valuable materials. After hours of scanning, the mining division finally began to move. Rushing towards the nearby mountains, hills, and riverside, they began to digrge holes and and found valuable ores and stones.


    These ores and stones could be sold at a high price, because they could be turned into armor or as materials to create a fort. There were many other uses for these materials as well. Some could be turned into powder to increase the mana quality in the area for a set amount of time.


    Which made it valuable for high ranking magicians because they needed it for optimizing their meditation and training.


    That, or Corduul could use it for experiment in order to create stronger robots.


    The drones scanned the area for 20 kilometers outside the city. Apparently, there were a lot of expensive minerals around here, but nobody knows about it, because it was too deep.


    "I am pretty sure magic can be used to find valuable mineral veins. I wonder why didn''t they do it?"


    Corduul replied: "ording to what we gathered. The ruler of this city was afraid that the enemy will attack if they know his city was rich with minerals. This city was very close to Withokere which allows it to became a sort of trading points from both nations. It already earned enough wealth, so they didn''t need to risk it."


    "I forgot about the ruler of this city. Did we kill him already?"


    "He tried to escape with a flying warships earlier, but we manage to catch and obtain all the information he has in his brain."


    "That''s d to hear. By the way, what do we know about Nirder Swadedon?"


    Corduul''s eyes flickered with blue lights as his brain grabbed some information from the database. "Swadedon Earldom is located to the east of Withokere. His territory is right next to Duke Hushum''s territory. It was also located right next to Brand Parish, one of the Divine Empire of Stotford''s territory. Reportedly, Swadedon had a lot of skirmishes against them."


    "That makes their warriors so strong. They train and fight all the time," Aldred said.


    "Swadedon''s military had increased and expanded ever since Nirder was put as the head of the family."


    "Are they powerful?"


    "Data suggest that they are more than likely to be stronger than ours."


    Aldred nodded. "The army we see earlier was just a small part of their battle strength. I even heard that they weren''t even nning a serious attack. And yet, they manage to destroy an entire division of flying warships."


    Corduul and Aldred chatted for a while until Corduul received a report.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Master, we have found something that might be of use to you."


    "What is it?"


    "Follow me." Corduul swiped the air, ripping the space apart.


    Corduul stepped inside and Aldred followed.


    They were now in a dark tunnel. The portal closed behind them.


    "Where are we going?" Aldred asked.


    "Over there." Corduul pointed forward.


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Why are you acting so mysterious. This is unlike you."


    Corduul was silent as he led Aldred walking forward in the dark tunnel. After a few hours, they saw a giant crystal, standing 15 meters tall inside the cave. It let out a mystifying purple glow.


    "What is that?" Aldred activated his godly eyes, and his whole body trembled in pain. His eyes widened, refusing to close as veins bulged all over his body. Blood trickled out of his nose.


    "Fuck!"


    Corduul stood in front of Aldred, blocking his sight from the crystal. Aldred finally could move again as he took a bunch of quick breath and turned off his godly eyes.


    "What the fuck is that?"


    "Our scanners failed toprehend its existence, meaning, we do not know what it is."


    Aldred did not want to activate his godly eyes again. Whatever this crystal was, it had the effect of paralyzing him if he look into its true form.


    But he did remember that the crystal arge amount of violent and chaotic energy. Although, for some reason, he cannot sensed it despite being this close.


    If an object really have that kind of energy, any living entity from kilometers away would be able to detect it.


    Aldred and Corduul walked towards the crystal. They felt nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the crystal seemed like any other crystal. There looked to be nothing special of it.


    "Can we cut a small part of it?" Aldred asked.


    "We can try."


    A ded robot was called as Aldred and Corduul stepped back. The ded robot make sure that its masters were in a safe distance before it began to sh at the crystals.


    ng!


    The de made out of hardened special alloy snapped into two.


    "Try using this." Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and threw it at the robot.


    The robot caught it and shed the crystal again.


    This time, the robot''s arm cracked.


    "Hmmm, it seems to be impossible," Aldred said.


    Aldred and Corduul approached the crystal again. After a few seconds, they decided to touch it.


    Suddenly, their visions went inward, towards their mind, everything they think about appeared in their sight as if they were in a dream. The minds worked and think at all times, so the scenes changed rapidly as Aldred was confused and his thought in a shamble.


    After a few minutes, his consciousness returned to reality. He was confused for a few seconds, until he realized something. All the skills he learned became much clearer to him as if he had practiced them for an extra one hundred years.


    "Beastly Rip!" Aldred wed the air, ripping the space apart and created ten kilometer long cave. "This... this is amazing. This crystals can help me master my skill to their utmost potential!"


    Aldred looked to the side and saw dozens of notification telling him that his skills had leveled up.


    Even his golem creation and magical construct skill increased in levels. He didn''t even n to upgrade this skill for quite a while because Corduul had handle these problems for him.


    But most importantly, his [Beastly Rip (Legendary)] skill had tripled in strength. From level 1 to level 3 in an instant!


    Even Aldred was shocked by the sort of development made possible by this crystal.


    "This thing is too valuable. Make sure no one knows about it."

 Chapter 558 558 Treasures

    "Is it possible to move this crystal elsewhere?" Aldred asked.


    "It might be possible if we relocate the ground it stand upon," Corduul replied.


    "Do that then. I don''t want anyone to know about this thing. Wait, I have better idea."


    "What is your idea, master?"


    "Just watch." Aldred approached the crystal again, and then opened his palm.


    Suddenly, a mysterious gray mist appeared and engulfed the crystal, making it vanish instantly.


    Corduul''s eyes flickered. "Where does it go?"


    "To my Divine Dimension." Aldred smiled. "It''s probably the safest ce we can store that thing, and probably the best as well as my wives will benefit a lot because of it."


    The mysterious crystal had the ability to made the brain into a state of extreme hyper-focus, but it also let the brain process other topics which was why when Aldred touched the crystal, he was like in a lucid dream situation. He was thinking about his skills at that moment. The hyper-focus effect let himprehend the skill much better, improving it and strengthened it without him needing to use it thousands of times to increase its level.


    But there seemed to be a limit to the crystal, as Aldred couldn''t enter that state when he touched the crystal again. He also felt some sort of weakness as if his soul was depleted after the event. This meant that he might need to re-energize his soul again before using the mysterious crystal.


    "Master," Corduul called. "One of the robots found a stash of treasure nearby."


    "Oh, another treasure? What great luck we have."


    Corduul led Aldred to walk to another cave, after walking for a few minutes, they arrived in the cave with a single treasure chest inside. The chest let out a golden glow with all sorts of magical carvings around it.


    Aldred approached the chest and opened it. It smoothly opened as if the chest was newly made, and what he saw amazed him. His godly eyes activated.


    "Elixir of Bloodlust! This thing can increase the quality of my blood essence, increasing my recovery speed and power!"


    Aldred looked around and saw more amazing stuff. "This¡­ Draught of Vampiric Blood. It strengthened my blood maniption skill!"


    Blood maniption wasn''t just an offensive skill. It was also a buff or debuff skill. If he used it to himself, he could increase his recovery further move coupled with the Elixir of Bloodlust''s effect. If he used it against his enemies, he could slow down their recovery speed, drains their stamina, and increase their mana expenditure. Which mean, the longer they fought against him, the more likely they will lose.


    Aldred could only be defeated if the enemy had an absolutely greater strength. A strength that could kill him in one single attack. For now, only Adamantite Ranks could be capable of that, so essentially, he might be invisible among Diamond Ranks.


    With that thought in mind, Aldred quickly grabbed the Elixir of Bloodlust and drank it.


    Suddenly, a violent force of energy rushed all over his veins. He could feel the searing hot sensation in his blood as if they wereva. Sweat poured out of his skin before they quickly turned into steam.


    Corduul saw this and immediately sprayed a cooling agent all over him. The cooling agent immediately vanished when it touched Aldred''s skin, forcing Corduul to keep spraying.


    Aldred''s health also dropped at an rming rate. "Fuck, I should have drink half of the bottle first."


    Just as his health reached the lowest bar, the heat and pain disappeared, then a soothing and cooling sensation rushed all over his body.


    Corduul detected the change in temperature and stopped spraying.


    Closing his eyes, Aldred took in a deep breath as he felt his blood cirction be so much better than before, perhaps more than 100 times. His health points also replenished itself at high speed. It was one of the benefit of bing a vampire.


    He didn''t really use his vampiric skill that much, but the passive buff had always helped him in battle. The demonic bloodline within him also made him resilient in psychic attack, hallucination, illusion, charm, and other nasty things.


    After making sure his body was healthy again, Aldred grabbed the bottle that contain The Draught of Vampiric Blood and drank it.


    This time, he felt no pain or difort at all. Perhaps it was because he had already drink the Elixir of Bloodlust.


    [Viscount Blood Vampire Lv. 5 -> Earl Blood Vampire Lv. 8]


    [You have received a new skill: Blood Pool]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Blood Pool]<novelnext></novelnext>


    Allows the user to store the blood of enemies and use it for magic. Spells when being used with blood will give extra damage and affect the target''s mind in unknown ways.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred nodded a bunch of time with great satisfaction. "This makes me even more undefeatable. Hahaha!"


    He turned around and saw Corduul just stood there in silence. "What about you? Do you get something from the crystal?"


    "I do, master. Right when I touch the crystal, all sorts of technical innovations and solutions came into my mind. I have sent this information to the database, and it will be applied to all of our machinery. In a few days, our military power will double in strength."


    "What?! What kind of innovation is that? Do we need more materials to upgrade them?"


    "No, master. It is simply a design improvement."


    "A design improvement that can upgrade our military power doubled in strength¡­ Corduul, you are even more terrifying than me."


    "Master, this military power will be useless without a strongmander like you. Our tech priest has discussed about your power, and we have concluded that you are a one-man-army that could raze an entire nation in a matter of years perhaps months. Your rate of improvement was simply terrifying that even we cannot predict what will be of you the next decade. What we predict you could reach in a decade, you manage to achieve it in months. Our calctions to your rate of improvement has zero percent uracy which made you a terribly terrifying existence."


    "Hmmm, I never think of it that way."


    Aldred always thought that making the Mechanicum his subordinates was the best thing that ever happened to him, but the Mechanicum was actually d they get to be his subordinate. Aldred solved their biggest problem as an organization¡ªan absolute leader.


    The Mechanicum was an organization with absolute democracy. The Tech Priest discussed with each other and then concluded a decision. Although their decision all these times were good enough, theyck an active, and slightly radical leader who dare to take charge no matter what other people say.


    Aldred basically owned the Mechanicum, so whatever he said had to be done. His ambition of bing stronger and stronger let him to thirst for resources which in turn also strengthened the Mechanicum at a rapid pace.


    It hadn''t been a year, but the Mechanicum had be far stronger than what they had been.


    "But, is your battle prowess increased as well?" Aldred asked.


    "A part of my brain is currently processing a new design for me. It will be done in three, two, one."


    Corduul''s body lit up, and then some mechanical parts moved around. Aldred saw some sort of cables, screws, metal rods, energy cores, and other stuffs moving around within Corduul''s body. Making nking and nging sound for hours, Corduul finally finished his transformation, bing taller and perhaps cooler than before.


    Corduul raised his right arm, a de jolted out of wrist. It let out a ringing sound as it vibrated at high frequency while also covered in powerful energy.


    "Nice." Aldred smiled. "Maybe now you match my strength."


    "Far from it, master. I will not survive fighting against you. But my strength should be enough to aid you in battle."


    The Mechanicum had always prioritized to be of use to Aldred. They wereprised of very smart and motivated people, so they knew that if they want to have Aldred as their backer, they need to be useful to him.


    And useful they were.


    Aldred''s life be much easier with Corduul and the Mechanicum as his hands and legs. They did most of the jobs that he usually did by himself such as sending golems to designated cities, fixing and rebuilding, opening shops, creating roads, infrastructures, tightening securities, and conquering cities.


    Diplomacy was also handled well by his newfound subordinate who he rarely met now because he was too busy moving around in the kingdom.


    His business was also being dealt with by Tarrar and his other clone, and he also gained a lot of information from Withokere University.


    Everything was going well.


    "Where is the King''s army?" Aldred asked.


    "They are 5500 KM away from the designated point."


    "Our main task is to distract the enemies from the sea. Send more robots to Ber and wreck havoc in this territory."


    "Yes, master. And what will you do in the meantime?"


    Aldred''s eyes shed. "I want to solidify my rule over this city. Even though, this city might not be handed to me, but I can considered it mine if all the wealthy merchants that controlled most of the market bow to me."

 Chapter 559 559 Sending Assassins

    In the city hall of Nordingham, a lot of people with luxurious clothes and jewelries gathered.


    "Why are we gathered here?"


    "It''s the new city ruler. He calls all the merchants in this city toe to the town hall."


    "Merchants have never been involved in this fight and conquer game. What is going on here?"


    Merchants were practically civilians. They only make money and did not care who ruled the city. They would try to find loopholes through tax andws, but they would never fight against the strong. Their focus was on making as much money as possible unlike nobles whose main goal was usually to create legacy and history.


    The merchants had no interest in that. The only legacy they want is to be known to be one of the richest man in their era.


    The city hall was filled with murmurs of hearsay as they wondered why the new ruler would gather them. Some of them were worried that the tax will be increased more than twice. It wasn''t umon for the conquerer to increase tax because war was a very expensive activity. But usually, they wouldn''t do it too much, because increasing tax automatically increasing price. And a sudden high intion could copse the economy.


    Nobles weren''t that stupid so this rarely happened thankfully.


    Suddenly, therge gate opened and a handsome man with ck coat walked in. Behind him was two beautiful mid Diamond Rank maid with peach-colored tight dress. While walking on his side was a tall man covered in mysterious red robe. Light reflected against his metallic fingers.


    Whispers spread.


    "Who is that?"


    "That''s the new ruler."


    "I know him. He is that Conquerer of the West. They said he killed a noble of Withokere and took over his territory. Funny yet, the king did not give him any punishment at all."


    "I heard he has arge powerful golem army."


    "No wonder. The king decided not to punish him for his power. He must be desperate to earn contribution."


    "Rumors said he has an extremely talented son and he manage to get him to enter Withokere University."


    "Who is he truly? He juste in this continent and he manage to do that? He has to have a great backer! An Adamantite Rank must be behind him!"


    "That is for sure, otherwise why would the king of Withokere forgive him that easily."


    They all looked at Aldred in awe aftering to that conclusion. His image suddenly became so great, and the sound of his footsteps became even clearer as he arrived at the seat of honor.


    "Do you all know why I gather you here?" Aldred asked as he eyed them one by one.


    The merchants trembled in fear under his gaze.


    "I call you all here, because I have a business idea that will make all of us a lot of money."


    The merchants looked at each other in disbelief. They all knew about Aldred''srge golem and his business empire that had quickly spread all over Withokere kingdom. For some reason, his golems were better, cheaper, and stronger than the other golems. Not to mention, there were numerous of them all over the ce, essentially almost dominating the entire golem market in Withokere.


    Not to mention his other branch of business such as auctions, potion shops, food shops, magic orbs shops, knowledge shops, and perhaps many other businesses.


    Golem masters were known to be wealthy, but Aldred was perhaps the most richest of them all.


    If he wanted to make a business deal with them, then that would be very beneficial for the merchants here.


    "I want to buy half of your business," Aldred said. "In turn, I will let you open a branch of my businesses."


    The merchants began talking, turning the silence town hall into a loud market.


    Someone suddenly asked.


    "My lord, does that mean we are allowed to open a golem mercenary shop of yours? And if yes, how will the profit be split?"


    "Yes, you can. The profit will be split half."


    The merchants gasped in shock. Half of the profit was a really great business deal because they basically had to do nothing except building a ce where people coulde and pay. The golems or the products will be provided by Aldred.


    Aldred had a lot of business type, so even if the merchants herepete with each other, there were many business to choose to not overcrowd the city with the same product. But it did not matter that much to be honest, because Aldred''s product was always in high demand.


    Aldred''s Potion Shoppany for example. The Mechanicum had synthesized cheap yet effective potions that anyone could afford. And he also had a premium product now that Fordemvak, a potion master, was working for him.


    Fordemvak was one of the best potion master in the whole kingdom. The fact that he be a teacher in Withokere University made him much more amazing, and it was no question the quality of his potion would be very high.


    Aldred smiled. "Ie here with the expectation that all of you ept my offer. It will greatly disappoint me if otherwise."


    Suddenly, metallic golems fell from the ceiling andnded all around the merchants, brandishing their des, and pointing theirrge guns right at the merchants'' face. Standing so close with the killing machine made the merchants gulped in fear of being killed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    They all understood that there was no stepping back from this deal.


    "We all agree on this deal, my lord."


    "Good."


    Aldred then talked about the details with them. He exined everything to them so they all could understand what they got. In reality, he did note here to scam these merchants. He wanted control over the economy of this city, and to do that he first needed to build an economy that relies on hispany. If the entire economy stood on the shoulder of hispanies, then the city would have no choice but to keep hispanies in the city.


    After a few hours, the merchants finally satisfied with the exnation and signed the paper. They all left with a wondering thought if they just get scammed or did they just made the best deal of their life.


    After all of them left, Aldred sit still on the seat of honor with a smile.


    "Corduul, how''s the invasion going?" Aldred asked.


    The battalions is advancing towards Dunver City, north from here.


    "Show me."


    "Yes, master." Corduul waved his hand and a projection appeared.


    ¡­


    In Dunver City, under the dark night, guards patrolled the wall and the streets at all time. No one was allowed to go outside in this time of war. Everyone was worried. The guards expect for an army toe at anytime now.


    One of the captain stood by the window inside a tower.


    "Captain Zio," a guard called.


    "What is it?" The captain turned around.


    "The guards are all in ce. Even flies wouldn''t be able to pass our sight."


    The guard walked to him with a proud smile.


    "That''s good," Captain Zio replied. "I should check on them to show that their captain is not azy person."


    Captain Zio stepped down the stairs and then he saw a corpse with arge wound on its neck. Blood puddling up under it.


    His eyes widened as he quickly turned around, but he was toote as a sharp de pierced through his neck. Captain Zio gagged as the de lodged inside his neck, making him unable to breath.


    It was the guard earlier. His right arm had turned into a thick metallic de. The guard was still smiling until its face turned into a metallic skull.


    "Assa¡­ssin."


    That night, a lot of officers were mysteriously killed. The next morning, everyone was panicking because their head officers were all dead with a de wound on their neck.


    "What the fuck is going on? How did this happen?"


    "Assassins! There has to be assassins inside the city!"


    "How did they get inside?"


    "More importantly, what do we do now?"


    The guards were in confusion.


    Ehlem Puma, a handsome man with long hair, woke up from hisfortable slumber. He grabbed his Grand Bow by the side of his bed and stretched his body with a smile on his face. "Ahh, that feels good. What a great time to start the day."


    Suddenly, his door mmed open.


    "My lord!"


    "Ugh! What is it? Can''t you see I just woke up?"


    "My lord! All of our head officer is dead!"


    Ehlem Puma''s eyes widened and then his expression turned into anger. "How dare they! How dare they sent assassins to my city!"


    Another guard approached. "My lord, arge army of metallic golems is approaching this city. They alling from every directions! Without the head officers, we cannot coordinate the soldiers properly on ground level."


    "Get out of my way." Ehlem pushed both guards away. "I will take care of it myself." His eyes shed with anger.

 Chapter 560 560 Long Range Battle

    Ehlem Puma rushed atop the wall, full of rage of the fact that his head officers were killed. As he arrived on the wall, the guards stepped back and made space for him as he looked into the distance.


    Thousands of metallic golems stretched far and beyond the horizon. They were on the ground, and on the sky, making a weird thumping and humming sound.


    "Whose army is this?" Ehlem frowned.


    "My lord, reports said that this is the famous steel golem army of Aldred."


    "Who the fuck is Aldred?"


    "He''s a foreign. Not from this continent."


    "So that''s him. Aldred. I have heard. The Conquerer of The West. So this is his army?"


    "That would be so, my lord. He is famous for his weird golem that most people call steel golem, although for some reason he call them robots or something."


    "I could care less what they were called. Start the defensive spells!"


    "Yes, my lord! Prepare for siege!"


    The other soldiers heard that and shouted. "Prepare for siege!"


    Suddenly, tall and ck towers all over the city lit up. Bright mist gathered all around them. If one looked close, one would realize that the mist was actually a clump of manaing together, covering the tower.


    Then, the mist rushed up into the air and an intricate magic circle lit up the entire sky.


    Aldred''s eyes shed with curiosity. "What is that?"


    Ehlem raised his bow. "Aim!"


    "AIM!" his soldiers repeated.


    "Draw!" Ehlem shouted.


    "DRAW!" his soldiers shouted back as they drew their bowstring.


    "Release!"


    "RELEASE!"


    They each fired an arrow into the magic circle. The arrows went flying upward at the same time. And then, the moment they went through the magic circle, something miraculous happened. All the arrows multiplied by a thousand times, and then their speed increased ten thousand times, making them rocketed through the clouds.


    But then the arrows seemed toe alive as they all want in every directions and then flying towards the robots.


    "Shit!" Aldred cursed.


    Each arrows pierced through one robot, punching arge hole through their chest, making them fall to the ground as if they were scrap metals.


    The aircrafts above tried to escape, but the arrows manage to catch up to them, and pierced through their engines. Some of the aircrafts exploded in mid-air, most of them crashed to the ground.


    "Hahaha! You didn''t expect that did you?" Ehlem raised his bow in triumph.


    Aldred turned to Corduul. "Tell me you have a n to counter that."


    Corduul''s eyes flickered and rotated, indicating that he was thinking. Secondster, he spoke: "I have discussed this matter with the Tech Priest and we do indeed have a solution, but Master, you will have to contribute to this n."


    "What is it?"


    "You need to bring Ehlem Puma away from the city. Ehlem Puma is the ruler of this city, and is one of the strongest high Diamond Rank of this nation."


    "So he''s one of them." Aldred recalled that Corduul told him about the six powerful individuals. "I would fight him, but I want to create a military that can fight my battle without my personal involvement. Do you have a solution to that?"


    Corduul went silent for 3 seconds before he reply: "We do have a solution, but it will consume more resources than our original n. And there is a high chance that we will take a huge loss just to take this city."


    "What do you mean?" Aldred asked.


    "We might lose one or two of our CS-Armageddon-57."


    "Can you just use the CK-47?"


    "Our objective is to capture the city, Master. Not destroy it."


    "So, I really have to be involved, huh?" Aldred did not want his valuable aircrafts to be destroyed when he can prevent it. Although, more of these aircrafts were in production, it would take time and lots of resources.


    "I will take care of it." Aldred vanished from the spot.


    And then appeared in the battlefield.


    All around him, metallic corpses filled thendscape likendfill. In the distance, he saw Ehlem Pumaughing like a maniac as he destroyed dozens of golems with each attack of his bow.


    "Seems like I need to get more distance." Aldred teleported away.


    He looked around. It was afortable spot with green grass and even surface. "Okay, this is a good spot."


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde, and then it transformed into Long-range precision gun. It looked like a 4 meter long sniper rifle with an extremely long barrel.


    He then aimed it at Ehlem''s face, then without hesitation, pulled the trigger.


    With a loud bang, the bullet, with a small part of the Phantom Doomde inside flew at rocket speed. It was so fast that it left a trail of heat behind.


    Ehlem noticed. His reaction was quick, drawing, aiming, and firing in less than a thousandth of a second.


    His arrows went straight against the bullet and they both shattered in mid-air.


    "Hoo, not a bad bow," Aldred praised before he fired a bunch of times.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ehlem grunted as he epted the challenge and fired back. Every time he released the string, violent wind would explode around him, making the soldiers nearby to stay at a distance.


    "Who is the lord, fighting?"


    "I don''t know. I cannot see. He is too far away."


    "All I can see is the lord''s arrows shattering into dust numerous times. None of the arrows ever reached their target."


    "How is that possible? Lord Ehlem is the best bowman in this kingdom. No one should be able to match him in ranged battle."


    "Wait, let me use my magic to see who it is."


    One of the magician casted a spell on his eyes, and his frown got deeper and deeper. "This¡­ this person is more than 150 KM away."


    "150 KM?! This person can shoot targets urately at that distance?"


    "Fuck,  I can''t even see the target at that distance."


    "Wait, I know who that is. That''s the Conquerer of The West himself!!!"


    "Conquerer of The West??? Aldred? A noble of Withokere personallye and challenge Lord Em?"


    "I have heard that Aldred need to prove his loyalty to King Withokere."


    "But still, almost no nobles would be willing to fight in the battlefield without their entire army following with them. Aldred must have a lot of guards around him right now."


    "No¡­ in fact, he''s all alone."


    "Then we should go there and attack him!"


    "NO!" Em shouted. "This is my battle. Stay out of my way!"


    The guards stopped in their track and stayed silent as they watched the battle.


    More and more bullets and arrows came flying towards each other, destroying one another in an endless cycle.


    "How long can  you keep it up?" Em smiled. "I can do this for eternity if you want to."


    As Aldred was busy firing his bullets, a portal appeared beside him, and an extremely beautiful woman stepped out.


    It was Armaita Nichs, Aldred''s other clone that act as Tom''s mother.


    "Sorry, I amte. I got a little business deal to make," She said sweetly before summoning her own Phantom Doomde and transformed it into a sniper rifle.


    Ehlem saw this and was in disbelief.


    When Armaita started firing, Ehlem struggled to keep up. The storm of bullets increased, forcing Ehlem to increase his pace as well.


    "Fuck! This is not fair!"


    A bullet struck his left shoulder, instantly destroying it. "Fuck!"


    Another sted his right arm, forcing him to drop his bow. And for some unknown reason, the lord became unconscious.


    "His soul faltered! Protect the lord!"


    "Protect the lord!"


    More than a dozen guards covered Lord Ehlem with thick shield which were quickly prated through.


    "Lord Ehlem, let''s get to safety!" The guards lifted their lord and jumped off the wall. Landing on the ground, they rushed into the distance to make sure it was safe.


    Suddenly, bullets punctured through the wall and killed one of the guard.


    "Fuck! Get the shield!"


    Two guards lifted their shield up, only for a hole to appeared on their shield, and also¡­ on their heart.


    They slowly looked at their bleeding chest before they fell to their death.


    "Get behind a wall!"


    "No! The wall is not safe. Even a shield is not safe as well! We should get some distance. Bring the lord back to the castle!"


    While the guards ran to save their lord, bullets kept oning at them. One by one the guards, sacrificed their life to protect their lord.


    Suddenly, Ehlem woke up, his wounds healed instantly, and he roared in rage as he pushed the guards away.


    Raising his hand, the Grand Bow on the wall lit up, and flew to his hand instantly.


    He pulled the string to its maximum length, and arge arrow created purely out of light came into being.


    "Take this!"


    The light arrow shot into the air, punctured through the wall and came at Aldred and Armaita.


    They both stood up and pushed their palm forward.


    "Blood Wall!"


    A thick red wall seemingly made out of blood formed in front of them and blocked the arrow of light, destroying the red wall instantaneously.


    Both of them immediately picked up their weapon and fired at the same time.

 Chapter 561 561 Mercy

    Two deadly bullets immediately pierced through Ehlem''s heart, exploding it into pieces.


    "My lord!"


    "Save the lord!"


    The guards quickly swarmed in front of Ehlem, trying to block any attacks that came towards him. The guards were prepared to die, but the attacks never came.


    "Bring the lord to safety and call the healer!"


    "Healer!"


    Aldred and Armaita lowered their weapon and looked at each other.


    "I guess we are strong enough to defeat a peak high Diamond Rank."


    "There need to be two of us though," Armaita replied.


    "We can create 5 clones in total now. So, in theory, we can defeat 2 peak High Diamond Rank that almost stepped into the Adamantite realm."


    Armaita looked at the sky. "He should be dead by now."


    "The shard of the Phantom Doomde will soon kill him."


    A few secondster, a notification appeared.


    [You have Killed Ehlem Puma. You received 16,119 Experience Points]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    [You have leveled up]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Health Points: 123,068/123,068


    Level: 156 (Diamond Rank)


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 4 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    -Strength: 8,015


    -Vitality: 7,886


    -Intelligence: 11,037


    -Dexterity: 9,438


    Stat points: 60


    Skill points: 60


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Nice." Aldred smiled. "Thanks for your help, you can leave now."


    Armaita vanished before Aldred could finish his words. They were clones after all. They could actually read each other''s intention and thought. In fact, they did not need tomunicate verbally at all. They didn''t even need to use telepathy. It was far far faster and deeper than that, because the clones were essentially the same person.


    Back in the castle, the guards and the medics looked in disbelief as they saw their lordy lifelessly on the bed.


    "Lord Ehlem is death¡­ the lord is death."


    "What do we do now? The enemy will attack again, and without our lord, we won''tst for long."


    "Should we surrender?"


    "I heard Aldred is a vicious man. He won''t give mercy to his enemies."


    "That is not true!"


    The guard turned around and quickly brandished their de as they entered a battle stance.


    "Who are you?! State your identity!"


    The guards pointed their des at a tall man with red robe with metallic hands.


    "That''s a golem. Look at his hands! Those are not gauntlets but his real hands!"


    "How did that thing get in here?"


    "Please, calm down," Corduul spoke. "My master has sent me here in good intention."


    "What kind of good intentions could he possibly offer after killing our lord?"


    Corduul was silent for a second before he speak a word: "Mercy."


    "The city is currently surrounded by our army of 100,000. You stand no chance in this battle. Therefore, we offer you mercy. You are free to leave this city or stay if you will. But as long as you drop your weapons we will not kill."


    The guards looked at each other. The head officers were killed, and all the guards here were at the same rank, so nobody could really decide the fate of the entire city.<novelnext></novelnext>


    One of the guard looked left and right. "I say we decide on ourselves. I choose to surrender and leave this city." He dropped his sword to the floor.


    "The rest of you can decide what you want to do," the man said before leaving the room.


    "How could you leave so easily! Didn''t you have an ounce of loyalty towards our lord? The enemy is right in front of us, and you drop your weapon instead of attacking! Cowards!" The man shouted before pulling out another sword then charged towards Corduul.


    When the man took a single step forward, his head exploded.


    Everyone gasped in shock at how easy their friend was killed. Corduul stood still with a high caliber pistol smoking in his hand.


    "Those who wants to leave are free to do so. While those who do not will never have the chance."


    The guards looked at Corduul in fear. Eventually, they all threw their weapons away and left the room.


    Corduul looked at Ehlem''s corpse. "Perhaps this specimen can help boost our biology division."


    With a swipe of his hand, the corpse was teleported elsewhere. He then walked outside the castle and then raised his palm. Two portal appeared beside him and hundreds of golems rushed out. They all had a built-in-speaker inside them that shouted: "Throw your weapons or you will be killed!"


    This announcement was sounded numerous times while the robots scoured the city and killed anyone that refuse to drop their weapon.


    Almost no civilians were harmed during this process.


    ¡­


    "Ehlem Puma is killed. Denver City is officially taken," Rubeir said as his 8 eyes were set to 4 different people in the room, two eyes for each person.


    "How did he die so easily!?" Kasha''s flying des spun around her, moving so fast and violent indicating her rage.


    "Who killed him?" Shural asked.


    "It''s by a man named Aldred. They called him the Conquerer of The West."


    "I have almost never heard of him."


    "I know some things," Gruckarth, while crossing his arms, said. "He suddenlye to this continent, killed a noble, and then received a nobility title and a fief himself."


    "That''s shocking.. The King of Withokere has always been fair to his fellow nobles. One of them got killed, and they don''t react?"


    "Apparently, this Aldred guy is too powerful and valuable for them to punish. In less than a month, he has taken almost the entire western part of Ber."


    "What should we do? Should we gather and attack back?"


    "He is not the only enemy. More areing from the south."


    "So we''re just going to sit still?"


    "Reinforce the city, and gather all the armies from nearby smaller towns."


    "And leave them defenseless?"


    "If they take therge cities, the smaller ones will be taken as well."


    Everyone considered all their options and agreed that it was the best decision they had right now.


    "Won''t our Adamantite Ranks helps?"


    "They won''t unless we are at the brink of destruction or the enemies send their Adamantite Ranks as well."


    "No problem. We can handle this ourselves. Let''s get back to work."


    ¡­


    Aldred was standing in a secret underground base. In front of him, dozens of screens showed the scene of the cities he hadn''t taken over yet. He watched the soldiers moved around, busy as ever as they increased the defense of the cities.


    "There are five more enemies left, master," Corduul said. "We can handle the rest."


    "Who are they? Why are they so important?"


    "They''re the five greatest figures under the Adamantite Rank of Ber. We can handle the rest, but these five will consume a lot of resources and time."


    "I will assassinate them," Aldred said. "Tell me about the nearest target."


    "That would be Gruckarth. His territory is in Apseare City. To the east from Dunver. The city we just conquered."


    "And what is his ability?"


    "Gruckarth is a unique warrior, said to have the power of the spirit realm at his hand. He wields a de of steel and use arcane energy to defeat his enemies. Reports find that he used some sort of energy called Ki to strengthened himself and use it in all sort of ways."


    "So like mana?"


    "Yes, but different from mana. He also seems to have the ability to enter the spirit realm as he pleases."


    "Spirit realm¡­ I wonder what''s there."


    "Currently, we have no information about that, master."


    "Too bad. What else do I need to know about this Gruckarth?"


    "He has high phsyical durability. It was said that he fought against more than 10 high Diamond Ranks for months and didn''t break a sweat."


    "What a powerful endurance."


    "He also seems to be able to negate arge percentage of the damage he received."


    "So it''s like trying to remove a mountain with a pickaxe. Except that this one can fight back."


    "That will be a correct simplification, master."


    "So I have to kill him quickly. If not, he might call for reinforcement."


    "Do you have a n, master?"


    "I do, Corduul. Trust me in this. I just have to summon all 5 clones.


    There were only 3 clones assigned, one act as Aldred, one act as Armaita, and one act as Tom.


    Aldred might have to summon two more clones to kill Gruckarth faster.


    "Also, be very careful, master. Since Gruckarth can enter the spirit realm at any time, he could escape a situation very easily."


    "So it''s like my divine dimension. I will see what I can do."

 Chapter 562 562 Runaway

    Gruckarth was sitting cross legged in a meditation room. Eyes closed his face revealed tranquility. Calm yet firm. He was like a mountain.


    Taking a deep breath, Gruckarth slowly opened his eyes. His steel mask fully covered his face. One could only see a pair of light as eyes.


    "And who are you to disturb my meditation?" Gruckarth said.


    "You have great instinct." Aldred walked out of the darkness.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes and peered through the mask. The man barely showed any expression. He was as calm as a mountain.


    "Are you sent here by the man named Aldred?" Gruckarth asked.


    "No."


    "Then who?"


    Aldred smiled. "I am Aldred."


    Gruckarth became silent at first, before he slowly pulled out the de off his back. "It''s honorable of you toe here. Are you prepared to die?"


    Laughing, Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde and pointed it at his enemy. "What do you think?"


    Gruckarth''s eyes flickered. "I think you are."


    Right after that statement, he vanished from the spot, leaving an after image behind before arriving behind Aldred, de going horizontally towards the neck.


    The de went through the neck, but Aldred vanished. It was a fake body. Not wasting time to think, Gruckarth turned around and shed. He had sensed something behind and attacked immediately. But it was another fake.


    Gruckarth looked around while he was in a battle stance, wondering where the attack would came.


    "You''re quite fast," Aldred said. His voice sounded like it came from every direction. "To be honest, I didn''t expect you to be this fast."


    Gruckarth kept his silent. His guard was never down.


    "You''re not really into talking, do you?"


    "I usually not fond of it when I fight," Gruckarth replied.


    Two gunshots were heard, and two bullets pierced through the wooden wall, going straight to his head. Lifting his de up, Gruckarth shed the bullets, making them missed.


    He then turned around and raised his right arm.


    ng!


    Aldred''s Phantom Doomde was blocked by the tough vambrace. It was constantly being devoured by the Phantom Doomde, but some sort of mysterious energy constantly repair it at rapid rate.


    "What an amazing power. Anyone else would have lose their arm," Aldred praised.


    He whipped his Phantom Doomde back over his head and then down to his right in a powerful blow. This happened in less than a fraction of a second. A Diamond Rank''s battle happened at such speed that normal human wouldn''t be able toprehend. For them, the fight might be at normal speed, but for ordinary people, it was like seeing the fastest F1 car passing by them at maximum speed.


    Gruckarth raised his arm again, blocking one attack after the other. At first, he manage to block the attack with ease, but as time passed, Aldred became more and more fierce with his attack, putting more speed and strength.


    Aldredughed as his eyes turned crimson red. He was like a killer maniac that had a passion for killing.


    "What is this power¡­" Gruckarth slightly frowned.


    "Aren''t you the spirit warrior? Show me! Show me your power!" Aldred roared as he constantly pushed him back.


    "In that case, I will." Lifting his de, it shone with an ethereal blue light, and then shed diagonally. The de went through Aldred''s body.


    There was no physical wound, but Aldred leaped back and coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    "That attack¡­ it damaged my soul."


    The attack earlier was simr to the passive attribute of his Phantom Doomde. It was able to devour a part of the enemy''s soul, but Gruckarth''s abilities did not seem toe from his de, rather from his power to ess the spirit realm.


    Aldred wiped the blood off his lips and smiled. "It''s not over yet."


    "Of course not," Gruckarth replied. "It is only over when I kill you."


    "We''ll see who will die today!" Aldred rushed forward, and then leaped up into the ceiling. "Gravity Maniption!" His body glowed and suddenly, his body fell to the ceiling, not the floor.


    He ran through the ceiling, and then kicked it, pushing himself towards Gruckarth. That was when gravity changed again and his speed increased.


    "Hiyaa!" Aldred mmed his de down.


    Gruckarth raised his de to block, but the impact destroyed the ground under their feet.


    They then exchanged attacks. Blows for blows, counter-attacking each other numerous times. They dodged, block, and tried toe for each other''s throat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The fight ensued for weeks, and Aldred had decided it was already long enough.


    "I have to admit. Killing you is very hard."


    Gruckarth stood his ground calmly. He didn''t break a sweat and seem to be full of stamina. He wasn''t surprised by his own physical capability, but he did not expect his opponent to be in the same state as him.


    Aldred was as vigorous as ever. He did not seem tired, rather bored that he could barely make any progress.


    "Are you going to give up?"


    "Of course not. Like you said earlier. It''s not over until one of us dies."


    Suddenly, bullets came from the side. Gruckarth moved left and right, shing the bullets with absolute precision.


    As Gruckarth cut the bullets into pieces, however, Aldred attacked with a maniacalugh.


    When Gruckarth blocked Aldred''s attack, some of the bullets manage to hit his waist, damaging his armor.


    This pattern repeated numerous times. Aldred would attack, making it almost impossible for Gruckarth to dodge or block the bullets. As time passed, more and more bullets struck him, destroying the armor on his waist. The bullets punched his body, creating dents and nasty wounds.


    "You think you can kill me with this? This will not work on me."


    Mysterious ethereal energy covered the wounds and bruises, healing it instantly.


    "Alright, then what about this?"


    Another Aldred stepped out of the darkness, wielding the same Phantom Doomde.


    Gruckarth frowned a little deeper this time. "A clone? No. This is not a normal clone. You two have the same strength, the same de, and the same power. But more than that, your souls are the same."


    A clone was usually just an imitation of the real body. As imitation, of course it wouldn''t be as good as the real original body.


    But this was not a simple cloning spell. It was duplication. This meant that the real body was literally duplicated with literally no differences at all.


    "I have never seen something like this before."


    The two Aldred smiled and then rushed forward to attack. The attack came from two different direction, but with the same strength and deadliness.


    Gruckarth blocked, but his arms and whole body trembled in pain. Not only that, two bullets came and struck his waist, further damaging his body.


    Gruckarth roared. His de turned ethereal and then shed at the two Aldred at once. The attack made them cough a mouthful of blood, but the two Aldred did not care, and keep pushing forward and then drove their de into Gruckarth''s chest.


    The Phantom Doomde exploded with power, crushing Gruckarth''s internal organs and a part of his soul.


    Another Aldred appeared and then drove the same Phantom Doomde into Gruckarth''s neck.


    Gruckarth''s eyes lit up even more and then an ethereal aura exploded around him. Arge ethereal de hovered above Gruckarth, releasing a wave of aura.


    Aldred then realized that the aura negated almost 90% of the damage, making his attack as good as useless.


    "Fuck! In that case, I have to use this skill!"


    "Beastly Rip!"


    The three Aldred swiped at the same time, and then, a momentter, space all around them turned into chaos, shattering and breaking, destroying the fundamental reality around them.


    It bent, twisted, and then wrecked half of Gruckarth''s body.


    The space returned to its normal state as Gruckarth fell to the floor. Therge ethereal de above flew towards him.


    "Quick, Don''t let him escape!"


    Three Aldred rushed forward and stabbed his neck right before Gruckarth vanished.


    The other two Aldred vanished immediately.


    "Did I get him?" Aldred wondered. He had used four clones for this attack, and yet Gruckarth manage to escape. "Fuck! He better be death!"


    Corduul teleported into the room. "There is a 50% chance that Gruckarth will die master. Your Phantom Doomde shards are embedded inside his body and continuously gnawing on his health."


    "I hope that is the case," Aldred replied. "That man might be one of the strongest one I have ever fought. He survived against three legendary skill casted at the same time."


    "We have recorded your battle with him. We will spend most of our resources to think of a better battle n for you."


    "You do that. I want my enemies to die!"


    Aldred finally experienced how it felt. Most people in Diamond Ranks hardly able to kill their enemies at the same rank because they always manage to escape. All these time, Aldred just killed all of them in such a short time, that they could not escape. His attack was too deadly.

 Chapter 563 563 Tree Of Wudan

    "So what will you do now, master?" Corduul asked.


    "Take over this city and reinforce it. We are now quite deep in enemy territory. I believe we will face retaliation."


    Gruckarth resided in Apseare City. Now that he was gone, the city could be taken over from the inside. But this city was in a dangerous spot. Aldred''s main task was to distract the enemy from the sea and let them think that the main forces wereing fromnd.


    Killing two of their strongest generals should be enough to make them think that way, but one escaped already.


    ''It should be fine. I manage to kill one of their strongest general, so heavily injuring one of them should be enough.''


    As Aldred was deep in his thought, a flower petalnded on his nose. Suddenly, his messy thoughts vanished and his sight and mind was only in the presence. He thought about nothing else except for the softness and the beauty of the petal. The wind swept it away. Every strands of hair on his body moved in motion, and Aldred could felt that much more sharply.


    After a few seconds, Aldred shook his head. "What was that?"


    His thought became so calm and focused all of a sudden earlier. He almost could not think of anything else.


    Aldred looked out of the door, staring at the tree in the center of the courtyard. He pushed a sliding door to the side. The room actually looked very simr to traditional Japanese room he used to saw on television.


    Outside, the tree stood 15 meters tall with colorful petals. It looked like a sakura tree, but instead of all the petals having the color pink, this one had a varieties of colors.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Tree of Wudan]


    Coming from the spirit realm, the Tree of Wudan exuded and invisible energy that could affect the spiritual reality around it. It was known to increase focus and let creatures with consciousness to enter the spiritual realm momentarily at random times.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "What an interesting Tree. It almost has the same effect as that mysterious crystal, but this one can let me enter the spiritual realm as well."


    Spiritual realm¡­ Aldred was very curios of it. What would be inside there? Would there be treasures? Weird animals? Apletely different universe with its ownws of reality?


    Aldred already believed in the theory of reincarnation, transmigration, multiverse, and realms.


    The differences between realms and universes was that, realms exist within a universe. In simple terms, it is the sub-reality within that universe. Which mean, that particr realm could only be essed through that one particr universe.


    Should that one particr universe vanished, all the realms inside it will vanish as well. It was like a world in a world, but the two world almost couldn''t interact with each other. Some people could enter these realms, gain powers from it, and use it in reality.


    Aldred also heard about the existence of infinite realm. Infinite realm was basically a realm that was not bound by any universe, and in fact, any universe could ess it.


    This spiritual realm might be one of those infinite realm. It might be possible to enter another universe through it.


    Aldred was not sure if Earth was located in a different realm or in a different universe.


    A universe usually hadws of reality that was applicable in all of its territory. So if Aldred could use magic here, he could probably use magic in another or another gxy of this universe. It also depends if mana exist there. Some continents had stronger mana than others, making the creatures inside it either be weaker or stronger.


    Although the universes always seemed to bnce itself. The stronger creatures were few, the weak were many. That was always the case.


    Even though Aldred had met a lot of powerful figures, those people were actually the top 3% of the poption.


    It was also very hard for stronger entities to produce an offspring. Normal people could reproduce like rats, but most Diamond Ranks could barely reproduce every few decades.


    Even though they were inflicted by such a terrible curse, most Diamond Ranks did notin since their could had a high chance of having a great talent. If two talented Diamond Rank produced an offspring, there was a chance that their child could have a greater talent than them.


    Although that also depends on many factors. Some prodigies written in history were too strong and too talented, that nothing couldpare to them.


    Aldred had even read about an entity that could cleave an entire continent in half, separating one piece ofnd into two. Such power was simply amazing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    But of course, if Aldredpare them to his parents, then nothing would have meaning. He had topare this kind of power from a normal human perspective. What these people could do were simply god-like.


    But his parents were literal god-like entity.


    "That makes me wonder. Where are they? Why isn''t the steering wheel works? Am I not strong enough?"


    Aldred actuallye to this continent to look for that answer. His first theory was that he wasn''t strong enough. But he did not know exactly how strong he needed to be to make it work.


    He wanted to meet his parents so bad.


    "I have to be patience. I will meet them again. It''s only been a few years. For them, it''s probably a blink of an eye."


    Both of his parents were universal level being. They could even hop onto another universe that was impossible for a spaceship that could travel faster than light. In fact, his father alone could fight against ten gods by himself.


    These gods could delete an entire universe by themselves. The fact that Hujarar could fight ten of them was proof of his power.


    "Can I be that strong in the future?"


    The system did not seem to indicate any limit on him. So it might even be possible for him to surpass his father and mother.


    Aldred shook his head. "I shouldn''t daydream too much."


    He needed to focus on the task at hand. This is his only chance to expand his territory. All the other territory would be impossible to take. He could not kill or wage war against another noble. The fact that King Withokere tolerated him was a miracle already.


    The neighboring nation was also very hard to attack. Their size was simply toorge. If Aldred provoke such enemy, he could lose all of his territory.


    That was why he needed to secure a lot of territories on Ber. And then perhaps expand his business to other nations before using the wealth to strengthened his army.


    He could also use money to buynds in other nations, or make a deal with the local lords about tax reduction.


    For the time being, he could not use force on the Divine Empire of Stotford. He could send another clone as a wandering adventurer though.


    "That might be a good idea." Aldred considered that thought. "My clone could make a reputation of himself, and if he is seen in a good light, then he could have privileges in that nation."


    Adventurers were neutrals most of the time. They refused to fight for political battles, which make it easier for them to go to any nation without much problem.


    This way, Aldred''s clone could go anywhere.


    "And I can tell Corduul to send a few secret golems to kill some people to obtain their memory."


    Obtaining memory was a very important activity. It almost removes all the mystery, and the Mechanicum found a lot of treasures from it. People had secrets. And some people had valuable secrets.


    Corduul sometimes used these information to ckmail someone and convince them to pay with a secret treasure. So, even without conqueringnds and taking over cities, the Mechanicum had gathered a lot of wealth from all kinds of shady activity.


    And nobody knew it was the Mechanicum''s doing.


    Because for other people, the Mechanicum basically did not exist. They only see Aldred as the golem master who created all of these weird metallic golems, and they were all rented for a cheap price and would follow any order without restriction.


    So even if they manage to see a metallic golem somewhere, they would not think of Aldred because a lot of people rented these golems for weeks, and even months as bodyguard.


    The golems were so cheap and so convenient that some people even rece their maids.


    In other words, Aldred''s golems could remove jobs. Thankfully, it did not went that badly as Aldred began to charge a little higher so people could still have their jobs.


    Nothing would happen if they lose jobs though. No one dare to gather and protest. The strong stepped on the weak. If they dare to protest, a single Diamond Rank would be enough to decimate them.


    "I should stop thinking and start doing something. Since Gruckarth runaway, I must look for the other four." Aldred''s eyes shed with great killing intent. This time, he didn''t n to let anyone escape.

 Chapter 564 564 Hino

    Back in Withokere University, Tom stepped out of his mansion and suddenly saw short cute woman waiting in front of his gate.


    "Who are you?" Tom asked.


    "My name is Hino, big brother Tom. I¡ªI mean, master Tom."


    Tom smiled. "Big brother is fine. How old are you?"


    "I¡ªI am nine years old."


    Tom activated his godly eyes. "Nine years old and you are already mid Diamond Rank. That''s very impressive."


    Hino blushed and wiggled her waist in embarrassment. "Hehe."


    "So why are you here?"


    "Big brother, Hino is told to bring big brother to sister udia."


    "Miss udia?"


    She cutely and vigorously nodded her head with both of her little fist raised. "What does she want from me?"


    "Hino doesn''t know¡­"


    "Alright. Bring me to her."


    Hino nodded and led the way. As they walked towards their destination, Tom pulled out a chocte bar and gave it to her.


    "Have a taste."


    "What is this, big brother?"


    "It''s our new product. Aldred''s Chocte Bar."


    "Who is Aldred?"


    "That''s my father''s name."


    "Is it good?" Hino asked.


    "Why don''t you try it and tell me."


    Hino grabbed the chocte bar with her tiny hands and unwrapped it. "It looks¡­ tasty."


    She slightly bit the top part of the bar and the moment it touched her tongue, her eyes lit up. "This¡­ this is so good!"


    Smiling, Tom replied. "I am d you like it. That means the product will sell well."


    "Are you nning to sell this?"


    "Of course. My father is a great businessman. He loves to make money."


    "Is he as nice as you?" Hino asked.


    The question surprised Tom a bit. People usually asked if someone else was as strong as you or as influential or wealthy as you. Never had he heard this type of question before. Perhaps it was because Hino was still a child so she had different priorities.


    "I think he''s a lot nicer than me." Tom nced at Hino who bit onto thest part of the chocte. "Do you want more?"


    "Can I?" Hino stared at him with big sparkling eyes.


    "Sure." Tom grabbed into empty air and a chocte bar appeared in his hand.


    Hino eyes glittered and snatched the chocte from his hand which made Tom chuckle in amusement.


    She then tripped upon a hole and fell face first. The chocte bar fell to the ground as well.


    Hino looked at the chocte bar and teared up. "Huwaa! Big brother, I am sorry! I wasted your chocte."


    Tom immediately lifted her up and conjured a wind magic to clean the dirt off her clothes. He then patted her head. "It''s okay. I can give you moreter."


    "You''re not mad?"


    "Of course not."


    Hino wiped her tears and smiled.


    Tom was quite speechless. Hino was a mid Diamond Rank. She was a top tier existence ifpared to the entire poption. Even though she was nine years old, he still could not believe that she act so childish. The path of magic was not for the weak willed and immature.


    Or perhaps there was more to her than what he saw. His godly eyes could only tell the details about her history and power, but it did not exin about her personality.


    "Come, big brother. We have to be fast or big sis is going to be mad." She grabbed his hand and pulled him away.


    After a few minutes, they arrived at the dorm''s gate and then head towards the jungle.


    "We''re not going to the campus?"


    "No, big brother. Sis udia is not there."


    They ran through trees and bushes, the trail got worse and worse as they entered deeper into the jungle. Later on, there was no more trail.


    "Are you sure we''re going to the right direction?"


    "I am sure, big brother. Don''t worry."


    Tom saw tworge tree standing between each other. A piece of magical cloth wrapped around these two trees like a ring. When the both of them ran in between these trees, the wholendscape suddenly changed.


    Instead of a forest, they appeared atop the clouds. Tom looked around and saw blue sky, white clouds, and far below them was the continents: Ezo, Presbuton, and Tarford.


    Aldred had first arrived at Ezo. To the south west of the continent which was where Withokere located. Ezo was dominated by tworge nations: Divine Empire of Stotford and Kingdom of Presteria. The rest were smaller nations.


    Continent of Presbuton was located to the east of Ezo. It was to the west of Tarford, so it was exactly in between Ezo and Tarford.


    Aldred didn''t know much about these two continents yet, and he didn''t need two, since he didn''t n to explore them yet. He nned to get as much territory as possible in Ezo, before he went somewhere else.


    "Big brother,e with me," Hino called out.


    "Sorry, I spaced out," Tom replied. "Where are we going? There''s nothing here."


    Suddenly, the clouds moved upward and then vanished, revealing a white tower.


    The tower was far away at first, but then Tom''s sight seemed to zoom in and suddenly he was ten steps away from it.


    "What a weird spell."


    "Let''s get in, big brother."


    Hino pulled him into the tower and he was greeted by ten beautiful maids with pale skin. They bowed at him slightly.


    Standing a distance away, udia looked at him with a pair of cold eyes. Seemingly angry yet not.


    She strode towards him. High heels cking against the ground. When she was in front of him, she stood way taller than him.


    Tom was a clone tasked to be Aldred''s child. So naturally, he picked his child form. That resulted in him being shorter than udia.


    But Aldred''s didn''t pick a look too young. He picked a teen''s appearance. On paper he was thirteen, but he looked around seventeen or eighteen.


    "You all can leave now," udia said.


    The maids turned around and left the three of them.


    Right after that, udia pulled his cor and kissed Tom by the lips. He was quite shocked by the sudden kiss, but since it was actually nice, he let it be.


    Hino watched this scene with shock and her cheeks turned red.


    After a few seconds, udia released the kiss and then bit his left lip. Her teeth caused a small wound on his earlobe, and she licked the drop of blood before the wound healed immediately.


    Her eyes turned crimson and she thirst for his blood. Not wasting any time, she immediately revealed her fangs and bit into Tom''s neck. Her whole body trembled in excitement as she pulled in Tom''s hand to fondle on her breast.


    Hino''s cheeks turned even redder. "What is going on here¡­?"


    Tom enjoyed the sensation of her plumb breast and her sweet lips on his neck, but it was quite upsetting to be dominated by her. He would make sure that he would be far stronger than her so he could dominate her.


    His manhood was at risk here.


    Tom slid his hand down to her waist, her thigh, and then itnded in between her legs. udia pped his hand and moved it to her breast again.


    She looked at him fiercely with her crimson eyes. "I didn''t tell you to go there yet."


    ''Fuck! Someday I will do whatever I want to you.'' Tom thought in his mind.


    Although udia wasn''t an Adamantite Rank yet, her power was much greater than him. Even if Aldred and his five clones fight udia together, he might not be able to defeat her.


    In terms of level, she was the same with Ehlem. The bowman that Aldred had killed. She was on the same level, but her strength was actually far beyond because of her unique skills and secret treasure.


    The Spiritbound Tower was an extremely powerful treasure that only Adamantite Rank should own. There were even a tiny percentage of Adamantite Rankers that did not own a Spiritbound Tower.


    Its unknown how a Spiritbound Tower is created or formed. It''s entire existence was still a mystery for Tom, because it barely exist in reality. When he scanned the tower with his godly eyes, it would give out nothing, because its physical form was somewhere else and yet it was able to project its form and effect without any problem.


    It was like an illusions, but it affect reality. Kinda like pointing a finger at someone like a gun, and when Tom say bang, the person died with a hole in his head. The gun was never in his hand, but its effect was real.


    That was an oversimplified exnation of the Spiritbound Tower. Tom did not know how it truly worked yet or what it could do. It might be possible for the tower to give unlimited energy to its owner.


    Tom win most of his fight because he could use all the skills he had without worry. His enemies had to restrain themselves.


    "What were you thinking?" udia asked.


    "Nothing," Tom innocently said.


    udia released him and said: "Hino, bring him to the library and let him pick one book."


    Tom''s eyes lit up. ''Another skill!''

 Chapter 565 565 ...Oh

    "I have promised you benefits in return for your blood," udia said. "I always keep my promise. Therefore, I allow you to ess my library, but¡­ I only allow you to get one book. You cannot take a peek at each of them. You can only read their titles and then pick one."


    "Alright," Tom replied.


    udia looked at him up and down. "Even though you already learned a legendary skill, that is still not enough for what you about to face in the future. You need a skill that makes it hard for someone else to kill you."


    "How did you know I learned a legendary skill?"


    "Doesn''t matter. Hino, bring him there."


    "Yes, big sister!" Hino grabbed Tom''s finger and bring him into a hallway.


    As they were walking, Hino looked at Tom and asked: "Big brother Tom, do you like sister udia?"


    "Do I like her? Hmmm, I am not sure. Well, I don''t hate her."


    "Emmm, sister udia seems to really like big brother a lot."


    "You think so?" Tom wondered what of udia''s behavior made Hino think that way.


    "Un." Hino nodded. "Big sis udia rarely talks with anyone else. She barely even look at them in the eye."


    "And you think she likes me because she do those to me?"


    "Hino never saw sister udia let anyone touch her before."


    Tom thought about it but then shook his head. "She just wants my blood. You see, I have a special type of blood and she greatly benefit from it."


    "Hino doesn''t see it that way. Hino believe sister udia really really likes brother Tom."


    "So you think I should wife her?" Tom said jokingly.


    Hino''s eyes lit up. "That''s a great idea big brother Tom. You should wife her. I am sure she will agree."


    Tom chuckled. "She is a very powerful teacher of the best university in the entire kingdom. Not to mention she was a member of a powerful mysterious family that nobody wants to mess with. Why do you think she will agree to marry me?"


    "Emmm, because sister udia likes brother Tom?"


    "It''s not that simple. You are still a child Hino. In the adult world, we don''t really use feeling to affect our decision. Feeling is not a very effective measurement for us to do something. After all, feeling is a temporary think. For example, say you are feeling hungry, but if someone is willing to give you a powerful treasure, are you willing to hold your hunger for a day?"


    "Ummm, Hino probably would."


    "See. Now you get it. Most of us will choose to hold our hunger because we know by doing that we can get a higher feeling of pleasureter on by suffering today," Tom exined.


    "Say that miss udia really likes me. She won''t probably marry me despite that, because she know she can marry someone with an even greater status than me which would enable her to receive more status, wealth, and resources."


    "Is every adults like that? They marry someone who can give them the greatest benefit?"


    "I think so."


    "That''s¡­ boring. Hino wants to marry someone that is kind, lovely, and fun to y with. Hino wants an adventure!"


    "An adventure?"


    "Yes! Hino wants someone that can bring Hino to explore new things every day! It''s okay, if he doesn''t know a lot of stuff. We can learn together!"


    That statement reminded him of his adventure with his wives. Climbing the Mount Fargon, sailing through the sea, getting into the World Tree, and so much more.


    That was a fun time. They made camps together, cook together, eat and sleep together.


    Well, not saying that it wasn''t fun here, but he missed those days sometimes.


    "I believe you are right, Hino. We should bond ourselves with those who are kind and adventurous. And maybe not just an adventure of exploring new cities or traveling around, but perhaps adventure through life, trying new things, learning new stuff, solving problems together with smiles andughter."


    "Has brother Tom experienced that before?"


    "Maybe." Tom smiled.


    Hino was slightly confused at that answer, but she was quickly distracted. "We are here!"


    They entered the library, but Tom did not see any books. Instead, glowing words floated in the air.


    [Barbarian Codex]


    [Scroll of The Lion]


    [Voice of Covenant]


    [Frostward]


    "Hmmm, there are many skills here, but none to my liking."


    "Ah, Hino was told to rmend a movement skill book."


    "Movement skill book? You mean skills that will help me escape?"


    "Un! Not only for escaping, brother Tom can also use it for setting up an attack."


    Tom nodded in agreement. Though he was quite agile, he did not actually have any agility skill book. Most of his skills were for offensive purposes. And he loved it since he could easily defeat his enemies with overwhelming power. He had so many offensive skills, but he only use some of them.


    "What book would you rmend?"


    "This one." Hino pointed.


    [Cat of The West]


    "That book? It doesn''t seems very powerful."


    "The Cat of The West book is a good agility book," Hino said.


    "Does it let me move around like a cat or something?"


    Hino pouted. "It''s not like that."


    Tom chuckled. "Alright alright. I will pick that one then."


    A book appeared in Tom''s hand.


    [Cat of The West (Epic)]


    [Would you like to learn this skill?]


    "It might take you a while to learn this book, big brother. Even Hino took a while to learn it."


    "Yes," Tom said. Suddenly, Tom''s body lit up and all kinds of magical runes appeared on his body for a few seconds.


    A momentter, Tom bent his knee and he vanished from the spot. Appearing atop a balcony before vanishing again and reappearing on the ceiling.


    Hino watched Tom appear and disappear over and over again with shock in her eyes.


    Lastly, Tom appeared in front of Hino.


    "This skill is not bad."


    "Big brother, how did you do it!?"


    "Do what?"


    "How did you learn the skill so fast?"


    "I guess I am a fast learner." Tom smiled.


    Hino looked at him in awe. "Big brother, we should tell sister udia of your talent. If she knows your talent, she will agree to marry you."


    "Why do you want me to marry her so bad?"


    "Ehh¡­ she kissed you and you even touched her¡­ so, shouldn''t you two marry?"


    "Uhh¡­ she did that just to warm my blood."


    "Ehh!!!"


    Tomughed. "You shouldn''t think much of it, Hino. You will understand a lot of stuff when you grow older."


    Suddenly, the door to the library opened, and udia entered. "Have you picked yet?"


    "Yes, I have," Tom replied.


    "Which one did you pick?"


    "The Cat of The West."


    "Good one. You will need that in the future."


    "You keep saying that. What will I face in the future anyway?"


    "The school is going to held apetition. It''s officially 50,000 years since Withokere University has been formed."


    "What? The university is that old??"


    "Why are you so surprised? Besides, it''s not very oldpared to other things in history."


    Tom essed the Mechanicum''s database and confirmed that the University of Withokere had existed for around 50,000 years. Apparently, not much stuff was known about its history. Most of them were lost, because wars, battles, betrayals, assassination weremons. The Kingdom of Withokere had went through many dark ages and golden ages. In this era, and thest few era, the kingdom had thankfully went through more golden ages than the dark ones.


    "Whatpetition?" Tom asked.


    "Actually, it''s not just Withokere. All the top universities in Ezo, Presbuton, and Tarford will participate. They will send their best students in apetition, but before that happen there will be a small and quickpetition in every university to decide who is the best."


    "I am not interested in joining," Tom said.


    udia squinted her eyes. "The grandpetition will be held in a spirit realm."


    "Spirit realm? Are you serious?"


    "Yes. It''s a mysterious world with possible differentws and rules than ours. Perhaps, you can find something useful in there that might help you break through Adamantite Rank."


    "Spirit realm¡­ now that interest me."


    "Train as hard as you can. You might fight Russam to a draw before, but he never stopped improving on his strength. He also has a big brother that wants to defeat you more than anything."


    "Nerdam Biv? The number one student in Withokere?"


    "Yes. Do not underestimate him. He is the number one student for a reason."


    "I never underestimate my enemy." Tom smiled.


    "That is good. For the next few months, I will summon you here."


    "What for?"


    "I have found a new method to increase your strength and mine. It''s a very effective technique despite you being far weaker than me. But thanks to your blood, I can grow in strength as well."


    "What kind of technique is it?"


    "Dual Cultivation."


    "¡­Oh."

 Chapter 566 566 Awry Business

    Dual Cultivation. Tom had heard of that terms before out of the countless novels he had read. Everyone knew what Dual Cultivation is. Well¡­ everyone of those that were cultured anyway.


    For the uncultured audience, the meaning of Dual Cultivation was very simple. It was the act of bonding two bodies of separate genders into one to increase or improve one''s strength. It was a term usually used for eastern nations where cultivators with great power strive for greatness.


    It was very simr to the world here, except there were no cultivators. Instead, they were called magicians or warriors.


    ''But howe udia know something about dual cultivation? Does cultivator exist in this world? If so, how different is their powerpared to magicians or warriors?''


    For Tom, warriors mainly rely on their physical prowess while magicians rely on their mana to bend reality. That did not mean magicians had a fragile body and warriors could not bend reality at all.


    They just focus on different aspect and was extremely limited in the other. It was like building a war tank. Do you want it to be fast or tough? It was almost impossible to get a fast and tough tank. One had to decide which aspect to prioritize.


    As for cultivators¡­ Tom only knew them from fantasy novels. From what he had read, they usually had the power to fight with all kinds of abilities and can learn anything they wanted. But of course, they always focus on one thing, because a master of all is a master of none.


    "But dual cultivation is not good if both parties doesn''t have the same level of strength," Tom said. "It will not be good for me."


    udia''s eyes gleamed. "You will be fine. Because of your blood, this restriction will not apply to you. But before that¡­ tell me, how do you know about this restriction? Dual cultivation is a forbidden technique. It''s so forbidden that even the king might not have heard about it."


    ''Crap!'' Tom panicked. ''I opened my mouth too soon!''


    "I¡­I am just very knowledgeable," Tom said with slight arrogance, acting a little mysterious.


    "You are really interesting." udia approached him and then whispered into his ear. "I just want to rip that head of yours and see what''s inside. But that''s not possible. After all, you''re just a clone."


    Tom''s eyes widened as udia stepped back and looked at him with a smile.


    "How did you¡­"


    He was in a state of shock. How did this woman knew that he was a clone? Could she read mind? That was impossible. After the encounter with that mermaid in the library, Tom had implemented a secret treasure to prevent mind readers to read his mind. But it might be possible for her to have a powerful treasure to counter that as well.


    If that was the case, then why udia showed no indication that she could read his mind before? She only knew that Tom was a clone, but she didn''t seem to know anything else. If she was a mind reader, then this was a very terrible thing because all of his secrets would be exposed.


    ''No wait. If she read my mind. The system would have notified me.''


    Tom was relieved after that realization. She wasn''t a mind reader, but somehow she knew that I was a clone.


    "How¡­ how did youe to that conclusion," Tom said as if he was dismissing that statement.


    udia squinted. "You do not need to know. For now, return to your dwelling ande to me by tomorrow morning. I will be preparing for our dual cultivation." She turned around.


    Tom gnashed his teeth. ''Ordering me around like that. It pissed me off.''


    "Do you have any problem?" She turned again to look at him.


    Tom smiled. "Nope."


    "Good. Now leave." udia reached out her palm and suddenly he was pushed with the force of an entire mountain. The door behind him pped open as he was thrown outside the tower. Hended on a grass before the tower vanished.


    "Fuck!" Tom stood up in anger. "Just watch! Just you watch!"


    "Master."


    A woman voice called behind him.


    It was Elfie.


    "Master, I have been looking for you everywhere."


    "Why? I am used to go out on my own."


    "Master, you have been gone for three month. It''s not that long if you are entering a meditation state, but students usually inform their head maids about it."


    "No. I wasn''t in meditation. I was in udia''s tower. Why does she manipte time faster than reality? What''s the need for that?"


    "I do not know, master," Elfie replied. She didn''t understand why teacher udia would do something like that.


    "She probably do it just to piss me off." Tom sighed. "Anyway, I heard there will be apetition in the near future. Tell me more about that."


    "Are you talking about the Three Great Dragon Competition?"


    "Great Dragon?" Tom asked.


    "It refers to the three continents: Ezo, Presbuton, and Tarford. Yes, thepetition will be held in around a year."


    "I see. What about thepetition in Withokere to pick the best student?"


    "I believe they have canceled that."


    "Canceled? Why?"


    "The Three Great Dragon Competition has now changed. They no longer send the best students into the spirit realm. Instead, they send all the students that wants to participate."


    "All the students? What will be of thepetition?"


    "I am not sure. The information about that is not disclosed yet."


    "Hmmm. In that case, I must prepare myself. Elfie, buy me everything I need for my meditation. And don''t forget to wake me tomorrow morning. I have an appointment with miss udia."


    "Yes, master."


    ¡­


    Armaita and Tarrar walked side by side. They were escorted by ten elite guards. Five marching in front of them, and the other five behind them.


    They were currently in the city of Leford. It was one of the biggest city in the Divine Empire of Stotford, was also the capital province of Watchia Parish. One of thergest territory in Stotford.


    The Divine Empire of Stotford ruled with religion at the center. So in every province, and in every city, a priest of some kind will act as the ruler.


    They had aplex system that Armaita could barely understand. She didn''t know how their hierarchies worked yet, but she knew that the ruler of this parish was called a Parish Priest.


    Basically, he would be a noble that owned the entire territory and was responsible for it.


    Formally, each city was still led by a town leader, but the shot callers were the church. Their religion was called Oluxism or something. Armaita did not know how their god worked. Do they worship nature? The universe? Or an entity that they thought as all powerful and all knowing?


    Stotford wasplicated because it wasn''t really a theocracy. It was still ruled by an Emperor, but a lot of stuff were still managed by priests.


    In any case, the Divine Empire of Stotford was one of thergest nation in Ezo, and had one of the mostplex government system they had ever seen.


    Armaita and Tarrar were not here for politics however. They were here for business. But of course studying the political situations would be beneficial as they could avoid which rock to step on.


    "We have arrived," one of the guard said. "Remember to be careful of your words. You are talking to the Parish Priest. In this city, he is the most respected figure and you should talk to him as if he is your god. Not that you heretics would know the concept or meaning of god."


    Armaita and Tarrar stayed silent. They were already used to the insults and the rudeness of the people here. Apparently, they really think of people that didn''t join their religion as heretics.


    Whenever people saw them, they would showed an expression of disgust. Apparently, the believers had a way of telling if someone was a heretic or not, and it was said to be very potent and useful to know if someone was an enemy or an ally.


    That didn''t mean they refuse to do business with someone outside their nation though. Faith is important, but money is important as well.


    Armaita and Tarrar was at least relieved that these people talk the samenguage as them: Money.


    The guard opened the gate, and there they saw an old priest sitting on a chair with a quill on his hand as he quickly jotted down something on a scroll.


    "Greetings, father."


    "Speak to the point. I wish not to dirt this holy ce with your breath."


    Tarrar did not mind. "We are here to make business. We will open seven type of business in your territory, and in return you will receive 30% of our profit."


    "Not enough."


    Armaita stepped forward and put her hand on the desk. "I am sure we can negotiate the deal as we walk around."


    Her eyes shone and her aura changed. The guards standing near the gate trembled as they looked at her curves. Suddenly, the heretic in front of them seem so beautiful and amazing as if she was an angel.


    "Herecy! To dare to seduce a priest like me! The two of you must be burn at the stake!"


    ¡­


    "Master, please awake."


    Tom opened his eyes. "Is it morning already?"


    "Yes, master. You said you need to meet teacher udia today."


    "Right. I have to meet her."

 Chapter 567 567 Claudia In Distress

    Tom woke up and with a snap of his finger, glowing blue stream of water appeared in the air and rushed all over his body. The cold water cleansed his skin of any impurities, making them sparkle and glitter like stars.


    Closing his eyes, Tom enjoyed the refreshing sensation. A lot of stuff was in his mind today. Since there were three clones active at all times, his brain became a little stressed because he had to handle so many important matters at once.


    The war against Ber, business expansion to Stotford, and now this Three Great Dragon Competition. Thepetition wasn''t a problem. Tom had more problem from miss udia. That women had been ying with him as if he was a toy.


    She was a hot beauty for sure, but being yed like that hurt his pride a bit. Although¡­ the burning desire to own her came even greater. Tom wanted to wife her, but to do that, he needed to be far stronger than he is now. Perhaps reaching Adamantite Rank might not be enough for that because she had a mysterious family behind her.


    Miss udia''s existence was aplete mystery. It was unusual for him. Usually, Tom would be able to unlock anyone''s secret just by ncing at them with his godly eyes. But, he cannot analyze udia at all.


    That might be the effect of the Spiritbound Tower. The Spiritbound Tower was able to project its form and its power to any reality without being present. The tower might gave that effect to udia''s body. That meant, if she died in reality, it would be fine, because she wasn''t in reality anyway, but somewhere else.


    The more Tom thought about it, the more impressed he be. The tower was truly a treasure for Adamantite Rank. He could not see anyone else except them to own something like that. How did miss udia even got one in the first ce? Was her family so generous that they would give her something like that?


    Being able to project one''s existence without being presence could mean that udia was technically immortal.


    Aldred could be said to be immortal as well. He could hide in the divine dimension and tell his clones to do his bidding. No matter how many times the clones died, he could summon them over and over again.


    "Master, are you okay?" Elfie asked.


    Tom opened his eyes. "Yeah, I am fine, Elfie. I am going now. Take care of the mansion for me."


    "Certainly, master."


    Tom left the mansion by himself. He looked to be alone, but small drones actually followed him from the sky, scanning and monitoring everything around him. They never entered udia''s tower however. They weren''t able to. He moved his feet to udia''s garden. That was where the tower usually stayed.


    After he arrived, the tower wasn''t there.


    "Where is she? She told me toe in the morning, but low and behold she isn''t even here yet."


    "Big brother!"


    In the distance, a short, cute girl was huffing and puffing as she ran with her little feet. "Big brother! It''s bad! It''s bad! Big sis udia got caught!"


    "She got caught? How?"


    "You must help her, big brother!"


    "How can I help her when she can''t even help herself? She''s stronger than me. Her kidnappers must be far stronger as well."


    "Someone identally grabbed her spiritual pocket. Because she was meditating, she couldn''t move away and now she''s being taken somewhere else."


    "Wow. Wait a minute. What the hell is spiritual pocket?"


    Hino clenched her fist and her little body wiggled as if she was in a hurry. "Spiritual pocket is a ce where big sis'' real body located. Her spiritual pocket should be located in the infinite realm, and nobody should be able to locate her, but because of some random chances, her spiritual pocket was thrown back into reality, and someone identally took it."


    "Well, if someone took it then you should have asked for it back."


    "Hino is not strong enough."


    "You''re not strong enough? Just who the hell is it?"


    ¡­


    Flying in the sky, a 60 meter long dragon flew unhindered. All the creatures in the sky that called themselves predators scattered upon its sight. With the wing span of 45 meter, the dragon was like a massive airship in the sky. Skin made out of tough, rough rocks indicate that it was an Earth Dragon.


    It caught sight of its mountain and dived down, before it was about to enter itsir. However, a hissing sound came from behind and the dragon stopped and turned around.


    It was arge snake with a pair of horns. It circled the dragon and bared its fangs, challenging it to a fight. The Earth Dragon seemed unconcerned before it let out a loud roar that made the giant snake trembled in pain.


    Shaking its head, the snake seemed anger instead of fear. It rushed forward and lunged towards the Earth Dragon.


    Suddenly, arge boulder appeared above the snake and mmed down. Pinning the snake as it tried to escape. The Earth Dragon rushed forward, and using its powerful jaw, crushed the snake''s head.


    It then roared into the forest, announcing its victory, and giving a warning to any challenger.


    After it was satisfied, the dragon entered itsir.


    Tom and Hino was watching from a distance.


    "That thing take the Spiritual Pocket?"


    "Yes," Hino replied. "Big sis udia could have handled it herself, but a spiritual pocket shouldn''t be moved so carelessly when it was in reality. Sadly, the dragon identally took it when it was hoarding gold."


    "And now she cannot move?"


    "She is stuck in her meditation state because the way time worked bes unpredictable."


    "What does this spiritual pocket look like?"


    "It looks like an orb."


    "Alright. I will get in there and see what I can do."


    "You can do it, big brother!" Hino cheered him as he ran to the cave.


    Tom hid behind a wall and took a peek. Inside their, the Earth Dragon was asleep.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Earth Dragon]


    Level: 178


    Power: Earth Maniption, Earth Elemental Creation, Mana Maniption, Dragon ws, Earth Sense


    History: Living for ten thousand years, the Earth Dragon is bored of life and all it does is hoard gold and eat rocks.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Simple exnation. Simple but still dangerous."


    The dragon was technically stronger than he was. Tom was level 156, meanwhile the dragon was at 178. The dragon was 22 levels above him. Tom had defeated enemies with higher levels above him, but this time was different.


    Dragons were generally far stronger than humans. A dragon could defeat at least 3 or even 10 humans at the same level. That was why those who killed a dragon was respected among their peers. It meant that they could defeat three people at the same time which requires an overwhelming power or extreme talent and skills.


    Tom looked around their. He saw a lot of treasures, gold, mana crystals, weapons, chest, and even herbs.


    His eyes lit up when he saw an orb. He thought that was the one until he saw hundreds of other orbs that looked like it.


    ''Fuck! How am I gonna find the spiritual pocket? Should I steal everything?''


    Tom transformed into a worm and wiggled his way inside their. He went slowly, being careful not to disturb the giant dragon.


    A demonic cockroach came approaching. Disgusted by its appearance, Tom made it explode into pieces.


    The earth dragon opened its eyes which made Tom stopped wiggling.


    After a few seconds, the dragon closed its eyes again.


    ''That was close.'' Tom thought before wiggling forward again.


    "Just keep wiggling, just keep wiggling, just keep wiggling, wiggling, wiggling. What do we do? We wiggle, wiggle."


    Minutes turned into hours, but Tom was still quite far. His worm form was too small, and it took time to traverse the distance. In the meantime, he kept entertaining himself with songs.


    "I like to wiggle, wiggle. I like to wiggle, wiggle. Ya like to wiggle!"


    After a few hours, Tom finally arrived inside their. Sparkly and shiny treasures trashed everywhere. The ce almost looked like andfill. Except, this one was filled with valuables items instead of trash.


    Tom moved around in his worm form, trying to find the orb.


    "There are so many orbs around here, how will I find which one is it?"


    The orbs were many things. Some orbs were actually mana crystal in the shape of an orb, some were dimensional pocket to store stuff. These kinds of orbs weremon and could even be used to store a powerful spell, potions, nts, and even living human.


    Tom had to scan the orbs one by one, trying to find where udia is.


    He searched for days until finally, he found an orb that he could not scan. Finally, the problem was solved.


    But then he realized something. The orb was located right under the dragon''s nose.


    ''Hopefully I don''t awake it.''


    Tom wiggled its way to the orb. It took him a few hours, but he made great progress. It was a few meters at first, but now he was around 15 inches away from it. He would get near the orb and put it in his divine dimension before leaving thisir.


    Minutes passed and he was 8 inches away.


    "Just a little bit more."


    Suddenly, the Earth Dragon woke up and squinted its eyes.


    Tom then saw a group of people in robes walking into their.


    ''Oh, crap,''


    The dragon was enraged and it roared, creating a powerful wind force that swept the treasure, throwing them in every directions; the orb and Tom included.


    ''Fuck!!!!''

 Chapter 568 The Power of The Earth Dragon

    568 Chapter 568 The Power of The Earth Dragon


    Tom was in his worm form, so a little breath from the Earth Dragon sent him flying far away before mming onto the wall. The spiritual pocket just happen to be at the opposite side of his location.


    "Fuck!" Tom cursed with his worm mouth.


    The appearance of those weird men in robes destroyed all of his n. He turned his little worm head in anger, ring at the men in robe. Not that he had eyes in the first ce.


    The men in robes walked slowly inside their. The Earth Dragon stared at them in anger than a bunch of people actually dare to disturb its peace.


    One of the men in robe pulled his hood down and revealed a face full of nasty scars.


    "Kill it," the man said.


    The robed men vanished from the spot and appeared in the air.


    The Earth Dragon red at them with fire in its eyes. It let out a mighty roar that seemingly crack space in the surrounding area, destroying the cultists immediately.


    "Using your ultimate attack so suddenly? As expected, defeating an ancient dragon won''t be easy. But It''s not so easy to defeat us as well!"


    "Lumpa Lumpa Consilundo!"


    Tom burst intoughter after hearing the name of the spell. What kind of stupid spell would have a name like that?


    Suddenly, the cracked space repaired itself, and the destroyed body of the cultists regenerated before all of them returned back to their original position. Time was reversed to a few seconds ago.


    Tom frowned. "So I finally meet someone that can control time in this continent."


    His Suit of Agility actually had the power to reverse time as well, but it became restricted in this continent due to the thickness of mana. Different continents had a slightly differentws of physics. It was like a different worldpletely.


    The cultists gathered in a circle around the massive Earth Dragon, chanting in unison as they prepared to strike. The dragon roared in defiance, its massive body coiled and ready to defend itself from the onught.


    The cultists began to move as one, their movements precise and fluid. They attacked the dragon with a flurry of spells and enchanted weapons, but the dragon was quick to respond,shing out with its massive ws and tail.


    One of the cultists lunged forward with a sword, but the dragon easily dodged the attack and retaliated with a st of fire from its jaws. The cultist narrowly avoided the mes, but the heat singed his clothes and caused him to stumble.


    The other cultists continued to press their attack, using their magic to create barriers and illusions to confuse the dragon. But the dragon was not so easily fooled, and it continued to fight back with all its strength.


    As the battle raged on, the cultists began to tire, their movements bing slower and more sluggish. The dragon, sensing its advantage,unched a fierce attack, striking several of the cultists with its powerful ws.


    As the cultists fought against the dragon, Tom wiggled his way to the orb again. Fire, lightning, light, swords, axe, and hammers flying above him and everywhere.


    An axended an inch away from, creating a dent on the ground.


    "Fuck that almost got me!"


    The hit wouldn''t kill him, but it might force him to return to his human form which would blow his cover. He didn''t want anything to do with these cultists and the Earth Dragon. He just want to save udia and get the hell out of here.


    The battle raged on, each side determined to emerge victorious. The cultists unleashed a barrage of spells and enchantments, creating a dazzling disy of light and sound. The dragon roared in defiance, unleashing a st of fire that scorched the earth beneath their feet.


    Despite the danger, the cultists pressed on, their spirits unbroken. They fought with all their heart and soul, channeling their energy into each strike, each spell.


    "Haa! Take this you filthy dragon! Firiato Serpucto Espresso!"


    Tom got stopped in his track for a second after hearing that spell. "Who the fuck are these people? Where did they learn these spells?"


    Storm Clouds formed around their, and then sted countless powerful lightning towards the Earth Dragon, creating cracks on its scales.


    The ground beside Tom turned charcoal. The lightning almost got him as well. "These cultist are all high Diamond Rank warriors and magicians. Why are they attacking this dragon? Who cares. I need to save udia first." He kept on wiggling forward.


    The Earth Dragon growled, enrage, at the audacity of these pest.


    "YOU HAVE ANGERED ME. HUMAN."


    The dragon spoke with a deep, loud voice.


    "Everybody watch out!"


    "EARTH SURGE!" the dragon roared. With a deep breath, he began to chant, the words of the spell tumbling from its lips like a river of fire. It closed its eyes, focusing its energy and channeling it into the spell.


    Suddenly, the ground beneath the cultists began to tremble, the earth itself rising up to do the dragon''s bidding. The cultists let out a scream of panic,shing out with their powerful attack. But the dragon remained focused, pouring all its energy into the spell.


    The earth rose up in a massive wave, enveloping the cultists and carrying it high into the air. The cultists struggled, They used all kinds of spell to destroy the rocks and boulders around them. But it was no match for the dragon''s magic, the spell holding them tight.


    Tom was carried by one of the boulders and got further away from the Spiritual Pocket. "Fuck!!! Not again!!!"


    Suddenly, the boulders crashed into one another, sending the cultists into a world of bone crushing pain. Tom was knocked to the wall again, but when he tilted his head, he saw the spiritual orb was only 10 meters away from him.


    "Yes!"


    The cultists stood up immediately. With a deep breath, the magicians began to chant, their voices rising in unison like a choir of demons. They raised their hands to the heavens, their fingers tracing the patterns of ancient runes in the air.


    Outside their, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the world in a blinding sh of light. The magicians stood firm, channeling the raw power of the storm into their spells. Stormclouds roared and rumbled the world. Before a powerful lightning struck and moved into their as if it was alive. It went straight towards the magician and moved around their body.


    The lightning danced across their fingertips, sparking and crackling with an intensity that could onlye from the gods themselves. They summoned the very essence of the storm, drawing it down from the heavens and into their waiting hands.


    With a fierce cry, they unleashed the lightning upon the Earth Dragon, a bolt of pure energy that struck with the force of a thousand thunderstorms. The ground trembled beneath their feet, the air filled with the deafening roar of the storm.


    The powerful lightning cracked nearby boulders, sting them apart. Tom was just a few inch away from the Spiritual Pocket until he was knocked away again.


    "NO!!!"


    Out from the smoke, the Earth Dragon stumbled on its steps. The attack proved to be very effective as most of its boulder-like scales were crumbling.


    "This dragon is too stubborn!" The cultist gnashed his teeth in annoyance.


    The dragon''s mighty wings beat against the still air, sending gusts of wind swirling through the lit up cave. Its scales glinted in the flickering light of glowing orbs in the air, and the sound of its breathing echoed through the cavern like the rumble of distant thunder.


    Everyone knew that the dragon was pissed for real this time.


    With a fierce growl, the dragon called forth the very essence of the earth itself, drawing upon the raw power of the world beneath its feet. It closed its eyes, focusing its will with a fierce intensity, until it felt the very rocks around it begin to tremble and shake.


    And then, with a roar that shook the very foundations of the cave, the dragon unleashed its attack.


    "Fuck this shit. I am taking that Spiritual Pocket with my human form!" Tom transformed into a human and ran to the Spiritual Pocket, reaching out with his hand.


    The cultists was distracted by his sudden appearance, that they could not focus.


    The attack came with sudden speed.


    A wave of pure earth surged forth from the dragon''s maw, a torrent of stone and soil that swept through the cavern like a raging river. The walls shook and trembled, sending showers of dust and debris raining down upon the cultists.


    These stones and soils were heavier than normal. A finger sized rocks could weighed in tons. Normal people would be crushed immediately.


    When Tom''s fingers was about to touch the Spiritual Pocket, he was mmed into the wall and the Spiritual Pocket was dragged by the soil.


    "You little piece of sh¡ªgrkkk." The soil blocked his mouth.

 Chapter 569 Finally

    569 Chapter 569 Finally Tom punched out with an explosive force, sting all the rocks and soil that buried him.


    The cultists did the same thing, and they looked at Tom in anger.


    "We cannot let that boy steal our dragon. We have to kill him."


    "I am not interested in your dragon in the slightest."


    "Lies! No one would go to a dragon''sir while the dragon is still in it unless they want the dragon''s heart. Kill him!!!"


    "Fuck! I told you I am not after the dragon!"


    The Earth Dragon beside them roared and swooped down towards Tom with its jaw open wide and tried to chomp him. But Tom was ready for it. He leaped aside with grace, jumping high in the air beforending near a pile of treasure.


    The roar of the dragon hurt his eardrums. An Earth Dragon had a powerful roar and they could injure their enemies using it. They were also located in a tight space which made the sound bounced off the walls and intensify the damage.


    This bastard of a dragon pissed him off. If saving udia wasn''t his priority, he would take his time to kill the Earth Dragon and the Cultists.


    Activating his godly eyes, Tom scanned the area to locate the Spiritual Pocket, and noticed that if he wanted to reach for it, he had to pass the Earth Dragon and the cultists.


    "Fucking hell! These guys are pissing me off!"


    The dragon charged forward. Large legs trembled the earth as its massive size and speed resembled a train going straight towards Tom.


    The dragon came at him with a speed and ferocity that was almost unmatched. It brought its massive ws down upon Tom, hoping to crush him underfoot. But the Tom was quick, and he darted aside just in time.


    "Stop getting in my way!" Tom shed upward, the de opened a wound on the dragon''s neck.


    "Shit! He''s about to kill the dragon! Don''t let him.


    15 dark-robed cultists were closing in, their hands wreathed in crackling energy as they prepared to unleash their magic upon him. The cultists began to chant, their voices rising in a crescendo of dark power. Lightning crackled around their fingers, and the air was filled with the acrid scent of magic.


    "As if I will let you cast your stupid spells!" Tom lunged forward. his de shing in the dim light of the cavern. The cultists only see a line of light before suddenly dozens of line lights appeared all over the ce.


    Screams of agony filled the cave as the cultists looked at their limbs that were no longer there.


    "Extingucto Totsi"


    Their wounds began to glow with a soft, pulsing light. The light grew brighter and brighter, until it was almost blinding. Suddenly, the magicians'' limbs began to grow back. Arms sprouted from stumps, legs from hips, and fingers from palms. The process was quick and steady.


    The cultists now understood Tom''s power and charged at him systematically. Half of them rushed in with their serrated de, while the other half threw magic at him.


    Tom easily out speed the cultists, parrying all the attacks while also dodging the magic.


    "I said! I don''t want the dragon!" The Phantom DOomde in Tom''s grasp glowed a terrifying crimson light, and killing intent filled the cave, suffocating the cultists.


    "What is this killing intent? How much people has that boy killed???"


    "Who is that boy really?"


    "Enough talking. Let us use our real power."


    Suddenly, powerful killing intents exploded from each of the cultists. At first, they were weakpared to Tom''s killing intent, but then they begin to dwarfed over him.


    Tom watched with widened eyes as the killing intent raged like a storm in the sea. "These guys¡­ they have murdered over millions of people."


    "I am not dealing with you guys." Tom immediately sprinted away towards the location of the Spiritual Pocket. When he arrived on the location, he sted the soil to reveal the orb.


    "Finally." Tom reached out with his hand only for a rock pir to suddenly came from beneath his feet and mmed him into the ceiling. The force of the pir made him cough a mouthful of blood that sttered on the floor.


    The cultist ran a finger on the blood and licked it.


    The dragon stood up and roared in anger. The wounds on its neck healed.


    One of the cultists rushed forward and grabbed the orb. "Is this what you are looking for?"


    Tom punched the pir andnded on the ground. His expression was filled with rage. "Yeah, give that to me or I will use all of my power to kill you and everyone here including the dragon."


    The cultist threw the orb at him. "Please leave this ce, Son of Hujarar."


    He waved his hand and an invisible force pushed Tom out of the cave before it was filled with rocks, blocking the entrancepletely.


    "How did he know? I have to find out." Tom was about to destroy rocks until suddenly, the entire mountain glowed with a bright light and vanished.


    "Fuck!!!" Tom was angered at first, but then he sighed and could only ept his fate. From what he learned by analyzing them with his godly eyes, these cultists came from a group called Cult of Devour. These cult believed they could be stronger by devouring the enemies they defeat. That meant they were also cannibals since they also ate humans that they killed.


    "Ughh¡­ how does these disgusting people know who I am? Did they worship my dad or something?"


    His dad, Hujarar, was the ruler of hell. He was basically the strongest demon that could possibly exist. His dad said that there were strongest entities out there, but his dad would probably be at the top percentile. Since he had trillions of demons under him, and he literally owned hell, it was no wonder that some evil group would worship him.


    "I wonder if there''s a group of people that worship my mother."


    Eve, his mother, was a Grand Ancestral Vampire. A universal-level entity, just like his father. From levels alone, Tom could say that she matched Hujarar in strength. Though, Hujarar''s fighting experience was probably more since he fought against the thousand gods for almost his entire life.


    She was the first vampire that ever exist. Essentially, she was the ancestors of all vampires in this universe, and possibly other universes as well. Though, Aldred was actually her first offspring, because Dina, Aldred''s sister, was adopted.


    So these vampires might pop off because Eve identally spilled a drop of her blood or something.


    "Now¡­ how do I get her out?" Tom asked.


    "Big brother!" Hino ran and approached her. "Did you get the Spiritual Pocket?"


    "Yeah. Here it is." Tom showed the orb.


    Hino then grabbed her small pouch and grabbed a needle. She then stabbed the orb with the needle and pulled it out. A spiritual mist leaked out from the orb then it cracked and shattered as udia appeared with her eyes closed.


    "Finally¡­" Tom said. "Took me a while to save you."


    udia gazed at Tom, raised her hand, and then pped him in the face.


    "What the fuck is that for?"


    She pped him again.


    "Stop that!"


    "What took you so long?" udia asked coldly.


    "Aren''t you stuck in time and space? How can you tell how long it took?"


    "I can. Now, stop wasting time. Let us do just like what we nned."


    "Huh? What n?"


    "Dual Cultivation."


    "Ah¡­ right. Alright, then. It will be beneficial for me anyway."


    "Let''s do it right now."


    "What? Right now? In public?"


    udia squinted her eyes. Tom noticed she did that a lot. She never showed any expression to other people though. Her expression always stayed cold. Maybe what Hino said was right. udia became more expressive and talkative around him. Not that he could consider her cold words as talkative.


    Tom kinda wish she could be a little nicer to him. She was a beautiful woman. Her kind words and smile could probably charm an entire nation.


    "What public?" udia asked. "We are in the mountain ranges. There''s no one here but animals."


    "For the love of my father and mother in the sky, are you out of your mind? I like sex, but even I havemon sense. Let'' just do it inside a room or something."


    Hino silently listening intensely to their conversation which worried Tom a bit.


    "If that is what you want, then fine. I shall grant your request. What kind of room do you want? Tell me?"


    Tom was weirded out a bit. She never asked for his opinion before, always wanting to do whatever she wanted to him. So what was the big idea?


    "Quick, what do you want?"


    "I am fine with anything to be honest. Who cares about the room anyway."


    Aldred had done intercourse with his wives in all kinds of rooms before, but he didn''t really care about the room.


    "Alright, in that case, I shall decide."


    As udia moved her hand in the air, about to teleport them, a shadow shade them from the sun.


    A secondter, a gigantic stone golems with red lines around its bodynded with a loud thud. It''s


    bodyposed entirely of rough boulders. And at the center of its head was a bright red light that act as the eye.


    "Son of Hujarar, pleasee with me."

 Chapter 570 Soul Energy

    570 Chapter 570 Soul Energy


    The stone golem began to spoke: "Son of Hujarar, pleasee with me."


    "You''re with the Cult of Devour!" Tom eximed.


    udia frowned. "Cult of Devour. You are a golem of a filthy group."


    "Come with me, Son of Hujarar. We are all waiting for you in Caster. The Elders¡­ they are ready for your arrival."


    "Where the fuck is Caster? And, why should Ie with you?"


    "You have toe with me, Son of Hujarar. Only you can fix this. No one else can."


    "Fix what exactly?"


    "Come with me. I will sho¡ª"


    The stone golem''s body exploded from within. Rubbles and stones flew in every direction, only leaving the head on the ground.


    "Your life is in dange¡ª"


    udia stepped on the golem''s head, crushing it before it could say anything more.


    "Why did you destroy it?"


    "Do not believe a word they say. They are a filthy group."


    "Maybe they know something."


    "They are group of dangerous and hideous men. Do notpare them to a normal cult. When I say they are the worst of the worst, you better believe me." udia looked into the distance. "They have done horrendous atrocities like nothing you have ever seen and could ever imagine."


    "You could at least let it finish speaking."


    "They are not only criminals, but also mind readers and maniptors. A lot of people fell victim to their mind tricks and be loyal members to the church. Even an extreme narcissist who only care about themselves could be a devoted member of this cult. Do not fall for their trick. Their words could make you their ve."


    Tom was about to say something else, but udia''s mysterious gaze made him hold back. He was still curios about the existence of this cult. Who were they? Did they really know his father? Or did they read his mind and use it to lure him to theirir.


    But if they read his mind, the system could have notified him. Although he was busy with fighting earlier, and so many notifications actually popped up while he was fighting the cultists and the dragon. His mind was actually being pushed to the limit already. Three clones were active 24/7 with their own problems. One was handling a war, the other handling a business expansion, and Tom acting as the student in Withokere University but also associated with udia which proved to be a troublesome existence as well.


    His cloning ability might seem like a very potent ability, because he literally duplicate himself with all the treasures and power. Essentially, the cloning ability let him double, triple, and quadruple his fighting prowess.


    But they weren''t supposed to be activated all the time since it put a heavy load in his mind and soul. The only reason why Aldred could go so long with the clones being active all the time was because the real Aldred meditated in the Divine Dimension all the time.


    He almost didn''t have time to get in bed with his wives, to their dismay. But they understood that Aldred had a big problem to handle.


    udia nced at Tom. "You look tired."


    "No shit. I just fight a group of weird cultist and a powerful Earth Dragon."


    "No¡­" udia approached him and caressed his cheek as she stared into his eyes. "Your soul¡­ it''s tired. Go get some rest."


    "What about the dual cultivation?"


    "We can do that in a few days. For now, you need to rest."


    "I need to get stronger. I want to win the Three Great Dragon Competition."


    "The date for thatpetition is still not announced. You will have the time to prepare." udia snapped her fingers, and three red orbs appeared and circled around her.


    The orbs then slowly floated on her palm before condensing into three red pills.


    "Give each of these pills to one clone."


    Tom frowned again. He checked the notification and there was no system alert. How did she know then? How the hell did she know???


    Should he y dumb? Perhaps she was guessing and wanted to use his reaction as confirmations likest time..


    "What clone?"


    "Just follow my instructions." She vanished.


    Hino walked up to him and said her goodbye. "I hope we will meet soon, big brother."


    Tom nodded before she teleported away.


    "How the hell did she know¡­"


    So many things happened today. First, he fought against a group of cultists who apparently knew the name of his father, and the reason how udia knew that he was a clone, and not only that, she also knew that there were two other active clone beside him.


    "That was simply impossible. Nobody should have known¡­ unless¡­ unless it''s with the power of an Adamantite Rank."


    Adamantite Rank power seem to be able to transcend reality itself. They were probably the entities that closely matched the power of gods.


    Tom sighed. "I fucking hate this shit. So many things left unanswered."


    Life used to be easy because of his godly eyes. All the mysteries of the world open up like a book for him. When he looked at someone, he could read their histories and know who their father, mother, grand mother, and great great great grandparent was.


    Not actually that detail, but the point remains. But he could not analyze udia''s status at all.


    "So even the godly eyes have limit¡­"


    [User, you are not strong enough to unlock its true power]


    "Ohh¡­ I knew it. There is no way my dad would give something that is not potent."


    If he remembered correctly, his father even offered him a sword that could send anyone to hell with just a touch, so of course this eyes had to be at the same level.


    Tom shook his head to remove the distracting thought away and looked at the three red pills.


    "I should consume one and give the other two clones their pills."


    ¡­


    Armaita was sitting cross legged on a cold, hard concrete. Her eyes closed. In front of her, a magic infused bar locked her in. A rat sniffed around, then identally touched the bar. Immediately, it crackled with thunder and what was left was only dust and burned mark on the floor.


    Suddenly, small pocket of space bent in front of her, and a red pill came into being.


    Slowly opening her eyes, she raised her hand and pinched the pill. Her eyes shone.


    [Pill of Soul Restoration]


    Replenish the energy of soul.


    "Simple exnation. Simple often means potent." Opening her mouth, the pill quickly entered her body and her body shed with light for a fraction of a second as her eyes changed color hundreds of times.


    Taking a deep breath, all the mana nearby got sucked in into her. Then she pushed her palm forward. With the sound of thunderstrike, a powerful wave sted the bar.


    She stepped over the bar then looked at the flight of stairs in the distance. "I have to save Tarrar first. I hope he''s still alive."


    ¡­


    Aldred, the clone, was standing atop a mountain. Corduul stood loyally beside him.


    20 kilometers, in the vast grasnd, an army consisted of 200,000 chivalries charged towards an army of 500,000 steel robots.


    "We cannot advance any further, master. The enemies seems to be very desperate to protect theirnd. Since our main task is distraction, we can hold our ground here and let the enemiese to us."


    Corduul looked at Aldred who looked into the distance nkly.


    "Master?"


    Suddenly a red pill appeared in front of him and entered through his mouth. Just like what happened to Armaita, Aldred''s body shone and the color of his eyes changed thousands of times.


    "Ahh¡­ finally. I feel so relieved."


    "What has happened?"


    "My soul is getting tired from maintaining all three clones at once."


    "Is there a way to negate this side effect?"


    "Perhaps I need resources that can replenish my soul energy or perhaps strengthened my soul. My Phantom Doomde is capable of devouring souls actually, so it might be able to help."


    "Can it transfers some of those soul energy to you?"


    "Maybe a little bit. When the Phantom Doomde devour a soul, they turn into chaotic energies that could only work in the Phantom Doomde''s favor, but perhaps it is not good for me."


    "We will prioritize in searching for soul rted treasures, pills, and knowledge."


    "Please do that. I and the other clones could not function without this soul energy. I actually have never done something like this before. My clones usually only appear when I fight someone. I didn''t study the skill enough, but apparently, the longer the clones exist, our mind be scattered, and easily distracted sometimes. But what I fear is that there might be a possibility the clones would develop a split personality. If that were to happen, the clone would be like a cancer cell. Sucking in energy and doing whatever it wanted."


    "That will be the worst of situation," Corduul replied. He understood what Aldred could do. If one of his clone went rogue, they would have a hard time defeating the clone.


    "But I believe I can make the clone vanish at anytime though. So even if I went rogue, the real me could probably eliminate me with a simple thought."


    "Well¡­ At least, I hope that will be the case," Aldred continued.

 Chapter 571 Escape

    Chapter 571 Escape


    Inside an underground prison with a lot of starving prisoners, a dark and oppressive ce, where the harsh reality of confinement and deprivation was felt by all who were held there. The prison was likely to be located deep beneath the ground, with few windows or openings to the outside world. The air was stale and musty, and the only light came from dim, flickering torches that casted eerie shadows across the walls.


    Armaita rushed through the darkened hallway. Prison cells from both directions, filled to the pack with starved people. When they saw Armaita run past, they ferociously jumped to the bar and reached out with their dirty hands. They did not know who she was or what she was here for. All they knew was that she might be the answer to their escape.


    The cells were small and cramped, with little room to move or stretch. The floors were cold and hard, and there was no bedding or furniture to make the space morefortable. The prisoners were likely to be malnourished and weak, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Some may be emaciated to the point of death, while others may be barely hanging on to life.


    Armaita saw their desperate eyes and body so skinny that their skin only wrapped around bones.


    "Hmmm, I have an idea." Armaita swiped her hands, and all the cells broke open.


    The prisoners stepped out of their prison cells for the first time. At first, they had an explosion of bliss, then mixed feelings of freedom and frenzy. They looked at each other in confusion. They couldn''t believe it. They were free! FREE!


    "Your freedom is not yet assured," Armaita said. "Out there, guards with steel swords are going toe and put you back in your cells."


    They were still confused. They hadn''t talked for so long and all of them forgot how to move their lips. People could imagine the hell they had to go through. They were packed in a cell and starved for decades. These people could survive because of their power, but the damage was mostly done to their minds and souls.


    One man tried to move his lips. It was trembling at first, but he managed to let out a sentence with much effort. "What¡­ c-an¡­ we¡­ do?"


    Armaita was silent at first as she stared at the man. The man was actually a bard magician, using his voice to sing out spells. It was why he was able to speak.


    "Fight! Kill them! They have locked you up for decades! Give them no mercy and make them pay!"


    The crowd was silent, and then they burst into a roar.


    "KILL!!!"


    KILL!!!"


    KILL!!!"


    Armaita grinnes. "Go."


    "Yeah!!!"


    The prisoners ran in every direction like animals ready to shred their prey.


    Armaita smiled then rushed towards a particr direction. She flicked her arm. Hundreds of tiny drones came out of her sleeve, and flew everywhere. "Find him for me."


    The drones pushed out another pair of rotors, and sped up. They were as tiny as mosquitos but they have the speed of a train.


    As the hundreds of micro drones buzzed through the cramped corridors of the underground prison, their whirring wings cast eerie shadows on the walls. Their small size and agility allowed them to dart through narrow passages and around obstacles, searching for their target: Tarrar


    The drones were equipped with advanced sensors and cameras, which scanned every nook and cranny, looking for any sign of their quarry. They were also armed with stun guns and other non-lethal weapons. These weapons were not designed to kill, but only to annoy and distract.


    Tarrar, meanwhile, was on the run, darting from one hiding ce to another, hoping to evade the relentless guards that were chasing. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the faint footsteps sound getting closer and closer. He knew that if he was caught, he would face severe torture. Since he considered himself a businessman, he did not heed Aldred''s advice to increase his strength. Now, a lot of guards here were tinum Rankers. He was a tinum Rank as well, but his battle experience could not bepared to them. His past job was a city manager anyway. He usually let his generals do the fighting.


    He got evenzier in martial arts ever since he became Aldred''s subordinate. Aldred was so powerful and his army was so massive that he didn''t think he would need to protect himself from anything.


    Who would know that he would be imprisoned in a foreignnd just because of one wrong move.


    "This is my mistake. I shouldn''t have let Armaita seduce the priest. I should have studied the culture here first before doing anything. I was too arrogant!"


    He cursed at himself for making such a foolish mistake. Tarrar worried that Aldred might look down on him because of this. All these time, he had zero to none failure, and Aldred had been satisfied with hispetence.


    He wasn''t afraid of losing his position, rather, he was more afraid of losing Aldred''s trust.


    "I have to find Aldred¡ªI mean Armaita."


    Suddenly, a mosquito-sized drone hovered in front of his eyes.


    Tarrar''s eyes lit up. "A drone!"


    "Hey, stop right there!"


    "Crap! I got too excited!"


    Tarrar scurried away. The small drones following him.


    The wall beside him exploded, throwing him a few meters away. Two guards with thick steel gloves stepped out from the hole on the wall. ring at him, they sprinted forward and raised their gauntleted fist. A heavy energy formed around the fist, seemingly ready to st with terrifying power.


    Tarrar widened his eyes when the fists wereing at his face. He closed his eyes instinctively. But when they were 1 inch away, the fists stopped.


    "AHHHH!!!!!"


    Two terrifying screams echoed, bouncing against the wall of the underground prison.


    When Tarrar opened his eyes again, he saw the guards were gritting their teeth as if they were in extreme pain. The veins on their arms were bulging, and they increased in size as time went on, like a balloon filled with air.


    A secondter, the veins on their arms exploded, and their arms twisted in a nasty way. But it did not end there, the twist and turns ran along their shoulders, and then their neck snapped like twigs.


    Their eyes flickered for onest time before they both fell with a thud.


    What Tarrar saw standing behind them was Armaita with both of her eyes lit up in crimson color. The way she looked made Tarrar shiver in fear. He was like a frog being stared at by a snake.


    "I finally found you. Come with me."


    "O-okay¡­"


    "Hey! Halt your steps!"


    Four guards appeared and their necks snapped immediately.


    "Let''s go."


    Tarrar stood up and nodded as he immediately followed Armaita. They went through many alleys and stairs, all the while killing all the guards they met on the way in the nastiest ways possible.


    "We''re not gonna be able to conduct business with them if we do this," Tarrar said.


    "You''re still thinking of doing business with them?" Armaita asked.


    "Money is money," Tarrar said.


    Armaita sighed. She then tried to bend the space around her to teleport away but she failed. "They have a strong spatial blockade in this ce."


    She could enter the divine dimension to escape, but she was wary that an Adamantite Rank might be watching her and find out her secret. If they found out, they might kidnap her into a reality bending dimension again and they could probably read her minds with some kinds of legendary treasure or something. She did not want to risk that. She better be dead if that happen. She was just a clone anyway.


    But she could not lose Tarrar. He was a very valuable part of his organization now. Besides, Aldred already considered him as a very close friend now. Tarrar already helped out a lot in growing his organization.


    "I cannot teleport us away from this ce. We have to kill anyone and everyone that blocked our path. Come with me!"


    Tarrar sighed with regret, but what Armaita said might be the best choice they had. He could probably think of something else. Maybe a little expensive gift for the priest will make him forgive them and let them do business with a little higher tax. No matter what, the business must expand.


    More money meant more resources for the organization. Tarrar wanted to contribute as much as he could to Aldred.


    Five guards appeared with swords and shields, however, with a swing of her hand, Armaita managed to kill them in an instant.


    Armaita saw a wooden door


    "We are almost out. Let''s go."


    They sprinted with all of their power. When they reached the door, Armaita pulled the handle and opened it.


    "We''re finally out!"


    Right after saying that, she saw thousands of soldiers outside in full gear, pointing their spears at them.

 Chapter 572 Armaita’s Pet

    Chapter 572 Armaita¡¯s Pet


    Tarrar trembled in fear for his life when he saw an entire army with full gear was waiting for him.


    Their numbers stretched on and on beyond the horizon armed with swords, shields, bows, halberds. At the back, divisions of magicians were at the ready with their magic staff. They were prepared to bombard them with magic.


    They surrounded the hill from all sides, making it impossible to escape without fighting a tough battle. Even the sky was not left without thousands of dragon riders with spears and bows.


    "Heretics!" A captain stepped forwards and called out. "You dare toe here and stain this holynd with your presence and foul breath. The fact that we allow you to step in our divinend should make you grateful enough. But you dare to step over the boundary and make a n for your escape. For that you deserve to be punished."


    Armaita clicked her tongue. "Is this the kind of people that I am making business with?"


    "In business, there are all kinds of people. A lot of them are weirder and nastier than you possibly think."


    "Yeah, I shouldn''t even be surprised by this. But can we just conduct business with normal people?"


    "We wouldn''t be able to grow properly if we work with normal people. Sadly, the people at the top, and those that are in charge are not normal. Almost none of them are."


    Armaita groaned and sighed. "I am going to consider doing business with them is me stealing their money. That will make me feel better."


    "You can consider it that way. It''s better if the money went through us, instead of someone else."


    "So what do we do now? Should I kill them all?"


    "It''s going to be very hard to conduct business with then if you do that. Can you teleport us away now that we are outside the dungeon?"


    "Impossible." Armaita shook her head. "This whole ce is covered with anti-teleportation spells."


    "Is it possible to destroy them?"


    Armaita became silent. "I might have to call one of my pets to do that."


    "Pets?" Tarrar was confused.


    Armaita smiled.


    Suddenly, the captain shouted: "Put your guards down and let us put an anti-energy shackle on you! Otherwise, we will give you something worse than death!"


    "Sigh¡­ these weakling bastards make me sick!"


    "What did you say!?"


    Armaita grinnes. "I said all of you bastards are weak! Even my pet can defeat you."


    The captain''s body shook like crazy as he red at Armaita. How dare this woman underestimate him?! He was the leader of 200,000 men. Everyone respected and would bow down when they noticed his presence. Who was this woman to be so daring towards him? Was she not scared of the army surrounding her? And what was this pet she talked about?


    Armaita pointed forward. "My dear lovely pet. Today is a feast day for you. Come out! Xer Xai!"


    Suddenly, the entire earth seemed to shake. The ground moved left and right like an extreme earthquake. The soldiers barely able to stand on their two feet, and even the dragons in the sky felt the vibration.


    "What is going on?" The captain frowned.


    The ground trembled as an enormous, mountain-sized creature emerged from the earth in front of the terrified army. It was a menacing sight, with four massive legs ending in two powerful ws each, perfect for digging through the earth. The creature had a sleek, armored carapace instead of fur, made up of interlocking tes that looked imprable.


    The creature''s eyes glowed with a fierce, angry light as it let out a deafening roar that echoed through the valley. Its enormous jaws were filled with razor-sharp teeth, and its breath was hot enough to scorch the air. The soldiers were frozen in fear, knowing that they were facing a nearly unbeatable opponent.


    "Is that Xer Xai???" Tarrar nced at the magnificent creature in awe. "She''s a Diamond Rank now! And a powerful one at that!"


    Armaita smiled. Her eyes lit up. "Yeah, she''s beautiful."


    As the creature advanced towards them, its ws dug deep furrows in the ground, sending rocks and dirt flying through the air. The soldiers could feel the tremors from its massive footsteps all the way to their bones. They knew that they were facing an impossible challenge, but they refused to give up.


    "Men! Don''t be scared. We are fighting for our holynd! The divine protector is with us!"


    The soldiers drew their swords, bows, and other weapons, forming a tight perimeter around their leaders. They knew that their only chance was to work together and attack the creature from all sides. The archers took aim, and the swordsmen prepared to charge.


    The two sides were silent at first, until the captain shouted: "Attack!!!"


    The creature lunged forward with terrifying speed, its enormous ws slicing through the air. The soldiers scattered, trying to dodge the creature''s attacks. But its armored carapace seemed impervious to their swords and arrows, and the creature seemed unstoppable.


    "What kind of creature is that?! I have never seen anything like it before!"


    The monstrous creature towered over the battlefield, its enormous body blocking out the sun as it advanced towards the division of swordsmen. It was a terrifying sight, with its hulking frame covered in thick, armored scales that seemed impervious to any weapon the soldiers could wield.


    "Attack it with everything you got!!!"


    The swordsmen charged towards the creature, their des gleaming in the sunlight. But their courage quickly turned to terror as the creature unleashed its fury upon them. With one swift movement of its massive ws, it sliced through the first line of soldiers, sending them flying in all directions, their innards spilling out.


    Those that survived quickly healed their wounds and stood up. The swordsmen tried to regroup, but the creature was too fast and too powerful. Itshed out with its enormous tail, sending soldiers crashing into each other and the ground. Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that glinted in the sunlight. The soldiers tried to strike at the creature''s unprotected underbelly, but its quick reflexes and armored scales deflected their blows.


    Dragon riders dived from above. Firing arrows as their dragon belched out powerful fireballs. But their attack resulted in nothing but slight itch.


    The creature seemed to relish in the ughter, letting out a deafening roar as it tore through the division of swordsmen. It seemed almost invincible, shrugging off any attack as if it were a mere annoyance. The soldiers fought with all their might, but it was clear that they were no match for the monstrous creature.


    As the battle raged on, the ground became slick with blood and littered with the bodies of fallen soldiers. The cries of the wounded and dying filled the air, and the stench of death was overpowering


    The captain watched this scene from a distance away and every second of it horrified him to the soul. Today, his ego and pride was crushed. He thought he was invisible because he had an army with him, but the creature flipped his world upside down.


    "This can''t be true¡­"


    "Captain! What should we do? Should we retreat?"


    The captain came out of his thoughts and quickly thought of a strategy. He could not retreat. If he retreated, he would lose everything. The respect from his soldiers, the trust from the higher ups. He would lose his positions, status, and wealth! He might even be executed for his failure.


    He used his cold expression, making him look brave, wise, and unaffected despite their situation looking so desperate.


    "The beast is tired. Keep attacking. Our army is undefeatable within the holynd."


    Tarrar watched all the blood and death bodies on the battlefield. "She gave no mercy to the soldiers at all."


    "Why would we give them mercy?" Armaita smiled. "They want to kill us, so we have to kill them."


    "Well, we are much more powerful than them. So a little mercy should be fine."


    "Hmmm, wait until they put you into the dungeon again."


    "No thanks. Wait, look! What is that?"


    In the distance, hundreds of wooden contraptions moved at a high speed. The wooden contraptions had six wheels, and they were lifting an extremelyrge ballista.


    From Armaita''s perspective, they looked like tanks.


    Suddenly, loud sounds rang in the air, like a p of thunder. Then, with powerful force, giant bolts struck Xer Xai, pinning her onto the hill.


    destroy them in a short time."


    Armaita lightly smiled. "She isn''t just grow strong in strength and Xer Xai roared in anger and pped the giant bolts off her body.


    "Those things are too far," Tarrar said. "Xer Xai won''t be able to destroy them in a short time."


    Armaita lightly smiled. "She isn''t just grow strong in strength and speed. She also has new abilities."


    "What abilities?"


    The captain smiled. "The reinforcements havee! Distract the creature and don''t let it escape. The giant bolts will kill it!"


    Xer xai roared into the sky before leaping into the air and vanished. It was not teleportation, because that was impossible to do in the area with powerful anti-teleportation spell.


    But where did she go? All the soldiers looked around. Wondering where she went.


    And then, in the distance, where the wooden contraptions were located, a cloud of mist appeared and Xer Xai suddenly leaped out from it. ws reaching forward and swipe, destroying dozens of wooden contraptions at once.


    "How did she do that?" Tarrar wondered.


    "She''s such a good pet, right?" Armaita smiled happily.

 Chapter 573 Blood vs Lightning

    Chapter 573 Blood vs Lightning


    After hours of battle, the roars of brave men charging towards the beast began to be reced by the terrifying screams of desperate soldiers trying to flee.


    "We cannot defeat that thing! It''s too powerful!"


    "Run! Run for your life!"


    The captain noticed the desperation of his soldiers, and despite him screaming at the top of his lungs, telling them to stand their ground and fight, none of them heeded his words. He felt like he had lost his authority over his own men. Authority was everything for him, so losing it felt like he lost the very thing that made him proud of himself.


    "I cannot let this be! If you cowards refuse to fight, then I will fight that beast on my own! Hyaa!!!" The captain leaped high into the air and grasped the sky. Dark clouds began to gather, filling the once bright and clear sky with darkness. Thunder struck into the captain''s hand, shing with an extremely powerful light that blinded the eyes.


    After the light vanished, a man appeared in the center of the battlefield. All eyes were on him as if the world put him in the spotlight, his muscr framemanding attention as he gripped a magnificent spear in his hand. The spear''s shaft was made of gleaming silver metal, with intricate patterns etched into its surface, and it glimmered in the light. At its tip, a brilliant bolt of lightning crackled and sparked, hinting at the great power it held.


    The man''s clothing was simple, a mix of leather and fur, but it was clear that he was a warrior of great skill and strength. His eyes glinted with a fierce determination, and his face was set in a stern expression, as if he was ready for battle at any moment.


    It was apletely different demeanor and aura than what Armaita saw from the captain earlier. But after he analyze him with her godly eyes, she found out the man was actually a determined and skille warrior before he became a captain.


    The man changed after he didn''t get the chance to be at the front of the battlefield and his fighting senses were dulled. But now he felt alive and free again.


    He took a deep breath. As he held the spear aloft, the air around him seemed to crackle and hum with electricity. The power of the lightning coursing through the weapon was palpable, and it was clear that the man knew how to wield it with great skill.


    The captain looked at his own hand and then clenched it. He felt great power rushing through his every veins. "Ahh¡­ it''s been a while since I have to fight directly. This power¡­ I missed it."


    Xer Xai roared, catching his attention.


    Smiling, he lifted his spear and pointed it at the beast. "Thank you. Beast. Because of you I am now free. Now I will take your head and present it as a gift. I will lose my position as the captain, but presenting your head will give me a chance of salvation."


    "Now¡­ die for me."


    With a mighty shout, the man lunged forward, the spear held out before him like a deadly extension of his arm. The lightning that coiled around the weapon seemed to intensify, the crackling energy building to a fever pitch as he drew closer to his opponent.


    Xer Xai saw the magnificent show of strength but did not back down in fear. Instead, she roared and charged forward, and ferociously attacked with her ws.


    "Nice try, beast. But your power is nothing for me!" The captain pushed the spear forward. The tip released a powerful lightning bolt that pierced through Xer Xai''s ws, prating through and then sted a huge wound on her shoulder.


    She roared in pain and was about to counter attack. But the captain wouldn''t let that happen.


    "Too slow!" He swung the spear with all his might.


    As the spear connected with its target, a blinding sh of light illuminated the battlefield. The lightning that had been coiled around the weapon surged forward, striking the man''s opponent with a devastating st of electricity. The man stood firm, his grip on the spear unyielding as he channeled the lightning''s power into the strike.


    As the captainnded on his two feet, arge head fell with a loud thud behind him. Blood then poured like a rain, dripping and showering all over his body. His eyes were locked towards the distance, staring at his true enemies with fierce intention of murder.


    "He defeated Xer Xai," Tarrarmented. "What do we do now?"


    Armaita nced at him. "You think Xer Xai is stronger than me?"


    "Hopefully not."


    "You even forgot about my true power. It seems like you need to study the prowess of our organizations."


    "That might be wise," Tarrar said. "So what do we do with him? He''s slowly walking towards us right now."


    "I am gonna handle him." Armaita snapped her fingers and Xer Xai vanished into the shadow. Xer Xai was an undead, so she essentially could not die. She could revive endless times unless the enemies used special powers to kill her. When they do that, it could take days or weeks to revive the undead.


    Armaita leaped into the sky, her dress moving gracefully in the air before she slowly began tond.


    "Are you going to fight me?" The captain pointed arrogantly. It was like he was thinking that Armaita was his inferior.


    Armaita''s eyes turned crimson red. Blood particles formed all around her. The way he pointed at her angered Armaita. How dare this man point at her that way!


    The air around her popped and the air turned hot from the pressure. The aura from the captain also caused some disturbance to the region around them.


    The grass nearby withered and then suddenly regained their health before withering again. This repeated hundreds of times as they stared at each other.


    The captain frowned as he stared at her. After careful look, he began toe to a conclusion. "That red eyes. You are a vampire."


    Armaita did not reply, but the captain kept looking at her, studying her.


    The vampire was a striking figure, with porcin skin and dark hair cascading down her back in waves. Her crimson eyes glowed with a fierce intensity, and her lips were full and lush, stained a deep red anything he had seen before.


    "You might look pleasing to the eyes, but you are a vile creature with fresh blood.


    He could tell that she was an extremely powerful vampire, but the captain felt this powerful blood lust from her, stronger than anything he had seen before.


    "You might look pleasing to the eyes, but you are a vile creature inside," the captain said.


    "You are not pleasing to the eye," Armaita replied. "I will see who you truly are after I pull your organs out."


    As she advanced on the spearman, her movements were sinuous and graceful, almost hypnotic. She held her hands out before her, and with a flick of her wrist, tendrils of blood coiled around them like serpents, pulsing with dark energy.


    The captain was slightly surprised by her power. ''What is this magic? I have never seen something like this before.''


    He had fought against dozens of vampires before, but her power was different than them. Her power was much darker and much¡­ much terrifying.


    The spearman braced himself, his own magic crackling around him in a protective shield, but the vampire was undeterred. She closed the distance between them in a blur of motion, her blood magicshing out at him like a whip.


    The spearman dodged and parried with expert skill, but the vampire was relentless, her attacksing from all angles with blinding speed. The air was thick with the scent of blood, and the ground beneath them became puddle of blood.


    For each attack he blocked, he felt an extreme pain in his arms and whole body. Each attack was like being pped with the weight of an entire mountain. The pain wasn''t too much for him to handle, but if he let this be, the situation would be to his disadvantage.


    Armaita noticed the struggle and kept on pressuring him. She summoned a lot of dark blood tendrils and attacking from almost every directions. The dark tendrils sprouted from the ground, turning them from lush green to dark red, sucking in all the life force from the ground.


    The tendrils came swinging towards the captain with incredible speed. When they came into contact with his armor, the tendrils released thousands of tiny needles that stabbed into his skin and injected poisons into his body.


    His health points dropped rapidly and his stamina was constantly devoured.


    The captain breathed in and out as he got weakened over time. "This is not normal poison¡­ you don''t just damage my body. You damage my soul."


    Armaita ignored his words and closed in, shing upward with her palm and suddenly blood formed a sharp de around her palm.


    The captain stepped back, the de almost got his arms, but then the de expanded and cut off his fingers.


    "Ahh!" The captain looked at his left hand with no fingers. He looked at it with anger before the fingers regenerated back and he red at Armaita.


    "You will pay for that."


    "Make me."


    With a fierce cry, he rose to his feet and lifted his spear once more. With a powerful thrust, he drove it towards the vampire''s heart. The vampire tried to dodge, but it was toote.


    The captainughed. "Hahaha! What an arrogant vampire. What can you do now that my spear is piercing through your heart."


    Suddenly, the captain jolted as he noticed his chest turned cold. When he looked down, he saw a beautiful white hand with long nails, covered in blood, and the hand was holding his heart, beating.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The captain struggled to breathe. A breath of cold air crawled to his neck. Armaita grinned before crushing the heart.

 Chapter 574 Terrible Thing

    Chapter 574 Terrible Thing


    After crushing the heart, Armaita watched the captain fall to the ground with amusement. "These guys are too weak. Howe a man this weak manage to be a captain. Perhaps the Divine Empire of Stotford isn''t as strong as people think."


    Armaita looked at the corpse and flipped her hand of which a long mechanical needle appeared. At the tip of the needle, fine strands of golden hair twitched, ready to attach itself to any brain nerves to absorb memories.


    She approached the corpse. Raising the needle high before thrusting it down. The needle stopped an inch away from the left eye. Armaita was shocked to see the hand moved and grabbed the needle.


    "What is this? Undead? No¡­ there is a dark evil soul hiding inside!"


    Dark mist moved around the captain. He still looked dead. Armaita felt no lifeforce from the body and the heart did not beat. But suddenly, the captain''s body moved. His heels stuck to the ground while his body slowly moved into a standing position. It was as if someone lifted him up from the back of his head.


    Armaita leaped back and summoned his Phantom Doomde. But instead of in the shape of a demonic de, it looked like a dark long needle with crimson hue. She stood normally but she was actually in a battle stance, ready to strike at any moment.


    She walked around the captain. But suddenly, the head snapped 180 degrees and the eyes opened. The eye had no flicker of life in them, but they moved, staring towards Armaita. The mouth opened and then the standing corpse began tough.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!"


    "What are you?" Armaita asked.


    The corpse stoppedughing and looked at Armaita up and down. "SoN Of HuJARrar."


    Armaita frowned. She activated her godly eyes to scan for any information, but she only got the information of the captain. She knew this wasn''t the captain talking, but the dark soul.


    She suddenly felt a tinge of pain in her nose. The corpse let out a powerful stench. It was so powerful that even breathing became slightly harder.


    But she was more worried about how the evil soul knew that she was the son of Hujarar. Armaita was Aldred''s clone, but no one should know about that.


    "Who are you?" Armaita asked. She intentionally did not confirm the corpse''s statement.


    "We HaVe WhAt yOu LoOk fOr. CoMe wItH uS, sOn Of HuJaRrar."


    The stench became stronger than before. It was like the smell of rotten corpse but intensified for one hundred thousand times. It was suffocating, and Armaita''s body felt a little sluggish .


    She couldn''t understand what kind of power this was. There was no mana or energy involved. It was pure smell, and yet, even though she blocked her sense of smell, the stench managed to prate that. It did not make any sense at all as it did not follow the rules of this reality.


    Armaita groaned. "I don''t know what you are, but stop bothering me. Otherwise, I will destroy you."


    "We ArE THe DvEeRrour."


    "The Cult of Devourer¡­ so it is you people. What do you mean you have what I look for?"


    "The pOwEr to attaIN AdaMantitE RaNk iS No lOnGer aVailAbLe iN tHis wOrlD. No One cAN REAch AdaMAntite aNY loNGer. But wITh yOU, wE CAn brEAk This shACKle aND rULE ThIS WoRLd aNd maNY othERs."


    Armaita frowned. "I am open to rule the world, but I am going to do it on my own terms!"


    She attacked. The needle in her hand shed like a streak of lightning, glinting in the sunlight as it sliced through the air. In an instant, it was upon its target, the edge biting into flesh with a sickening crunch.


    The attack was so swift that it seemed to happen in slow motion. The victim stumbled backwards, but he didn''t even make a change in expression. He just looked at the wound in his chest and calmly looked at Armaita again.


    "We wiLL coME tO SeE YoU aGain, SoN Of HuJJarRar."


    The captain''s body exploded before violent blood particlespletely consumed every molecr cell that was left.


    After all of that, Armaita finally put her guard down as she looked into the distance. Still, what the corpse said stuck in her mind.


    "It''s impossible to attain Adamantite Rank¡­ humph! As if I would believe that."


    The system only needed him to gather experience points to level up. As long as he consumes pills, potions, and kills powerful creatures, he could gather enough experience to level up to a certain level and reach Adamantite Rank.


    "They think they know everything." Armaita sneered and formed a blood spear in her hand before throwing it with all her might. The spear went flying with airsonic speed, and then it piercec through a Diamond Rank beast inside a cave.


    [You have killed Scally Draconic Mud]


    [You received 5,450 Experience Points]


    Armaita smiled. "See. I just have to do this over and over again until I level up."


    [Error! Error! Error!]


    "Eh? The fuck is going on?"


    [You have failed to receive any experience points]


    She widened her eyes in horror. Her legs trembled like crazy as she clenched her fist. She could not ept this fact. Howe she could not receive the experience points? This had never happened before. Armaita thought that the system was a tool that was all powerful. After all, it was a blessing from a thousand gods and also from his father and mother.


    This tiny should not be able to constrict the system in any way. Armaita felt weird. At first, the godly eyes power was countered by people who could enter the spiritual realm, and now his leveling system was hindered.


    "Someone must be behind this. Perhaps my father''s enemies."


    That might be it! He hadn''t heard from his parents for a while, so they might be fighting something powerful. So powerful in fact that they could even affect his leveling system in this world.


    But then what about those Cult of Devourer? They said they knew something about attaining Adamantite Rank.


    "Attaining Adamantite Rank is my first priority right now. Getting to that level will answer a lot of questions."


    Tarrar sprinted and stopped beside her. "Armaita, is everything fine now?"


    "No. Not really. In fact something terrible had happened."


    "What? Is it that bad?" Tarrar showed a concerned expression.


    "I cannot reach Adamantite Rank anytime soon."


    Tarrar expressions change from concerned to confused. "That''s the problem?"


    "You think it isn''t a big problem?"


    "From what I know, it took hundreds if not thousands of years for someone to reach Adamantite Rank. We just arrived on this continent for around a year. Nobody expect you to reach Adamantite yet."


    "Ughh, you don''t understand."


    "Maybe you worked a little too hard. Now, listen to me. Pull back Now go and meditate. Let your subordinates do the job."


    the clones, and only leave one in our capital. Focus on meditating. We will only talk about this in a few years."


    "Years???"


    "Of course. Things usually take time toe into fruition. You are too hasty. It''s a good thing, but this time, you need to slow down. Now go and meditate. Let your subordinates do the job."


    Armaita was silent at first before she teleported them away. They arrived in a grand hall where arge round wooden table was ced in the center.


    Corduul teleported in and slightly bowed. "You call for me, master?"


    Armaita nodded. "I call the both of you here to talk about what would happen when I leave. Only one clone will stay."


    "Which clone?" Corduul asked.


    "Tom. He is studying in Withokere University. I cannot make him disappear all of a sudden."


    "What about the capital? And the war?" Corduul asked.


    "This war willst for decades anyway. I am sure you can hold on while I am away."


    Tarrar nodded. "We will take care of everything. Have trust in us."


    "I shall call the tech priests to delegate their work to someone else. They shall help me run this organization."


    "I am confident that all of you will be fine while I am away."


    "You can count on it with my life," Tarrar said.


    "Thank you. I am counting on all of you."


    ¡­


    Aldred sat cross legged atop a beautiful hill in his divine dimension. He was the original Aldred. Not a clone. A few secondster, two dots of light fell from the sky and entered his body. Suddenly, his breathing became much calmer and the mana circting in his body improved. Soothing sensation wrapped around his head.


    For months, his mind had been stressed to the limit. The stress was so high that steam could evene out of his head. The temperature of his body dropped. Stronger entities had hotter body temperature. If they want to interact with entities that were much weaker than them, or if they did not want to destroy the environtment, they had to regte their temperature.


    They were too strong that just by existing they could kill and destroy everything around them.


    Suddenly, Aldred opened his eyes. "I want to see my wives."

 Chapter 575 Slow Pace

    Chapter 575 Slow Pace


    "I want to see my wives." Aldred stood up, and began to walk.


    As Aldred walked down the winding stone steps, he marveled at the stunning sight that greeted him. Spread out before him was a rollingndscape of emerald green hills, dotted with wildflowers of every color. In the distance, he could see a majestic hill rising up towards the sky, its sides covered in a dense forest of ancient trees.


    As he approached the hill, Aldred noticed that the nts and animals here were unlike anything he had ever seen before. The trees were tall and gnarled, with twisting branches that seemed to reach out towards him as he passed. Moss and vines clung to their trunks, creating a lush carpet of greenery that seemed to glow in the sunlight.


    "They must have evolved from the divine dimension''s energy." All the creatures and nts here were brought by him, but they did not look like this before.


    The animals were even more fantastical, with bright feathers and scales that shimmered in the light. A pair of glittering hummingbirds darted past him, their wings beating so fast that they were almost invisible. A family of graceful deer grazed in a nearby meadow, their antlers adorned with delicate blooms and trailing vines.


    Aldred smiled. This was what he had in mind when he brought all those nts and animals to this ce. He wanted to create a heaven. Looking at the majestic animals, he was quite satisfied.


    But it was the nts that truly took Aldred''s breath away. Everywhere he looked, there were flowers of every hue and shape, each more beautiful than thest. Some glowed with an otherworldly light, while others seemed to change color before his very eyes.


    As he climbed up the hill, Aldred could feel the magic of the ce seeping into his bones. He felt lighter and more alive than he had in years, and he knew that he would never forget this wondrous ce. At the top of the hill, he paused to take in the view, marveling at the beauty of the world and all the wonderful things it held.


    "Look at what I have created." Aldred took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he enjoyed the wonderful fresh breath of air, he felt a pair of warm hands wrapped around his waist.


    Opening his eyes, he tilted his head and saw Mary was hugging him from behind. A secondter, another pair of hands wrapped around his shoulders. Turning his head, he saw Mareona looked at him with a pair of beautiful eyes and a sweet smile.


    Mary was a vision of beauty that seemed to have stepped out of a fairytale. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, glimmering like spun gold in the sunlight. Her skin was wless and radiant, with a soft pink flush on her cheeks that made her look as if she had just stepped in from a brisk autumn day.


    As Mary seemed to be the epitome of sunlight, Mareona looked more like an incredibly clear ocean with colorful reefs that spread joy to those who put their sight on her.


    Her hair was a shade of blue that shimmered like sapphires in the light, cascading down her back in long, flowing waves. Her eyes were the same shade of blue, deep and mysterious, with a glimmer of intelligence and yfulness in them.


    Without saying a word, the both of the kissed him on the cheeks.


    Aldred let out a breath, smiled, before pulling them into a hug. "I miss you too."


    "It''s been a while," Mary said. "How long was it since you meditated?"


    "More than a year."


    "It''s not very long," Mareona replied. "But it feels like forever."


    "Where is everyone else?" Aldred asked.


    "They are meditating. It seems like they are going through a breakthrough."


    Aldred analyzed both of them. "You two have reached mid Diamond Rank."


    "We are very close to a high Diamond Rank as well." Mary giggled. "This way, we can help you in your journey. Although our power means nothingpared to you."


    "What are you talking about? I will really need your help. I wouldn''t be here without you all."


    "Really?" Mareona asked.


    "Of course. When was thest time I lied to you?"


    Mareona pinched his waist. "You always lie to me."


    "Ouch. That hurt."


    Mareona smiled and hugged him which also created a smile on Aldred''s face.


    "Want to dance?" Aldred asked.


    "Sure," both of them replied.


    Aldred flicked his fingers and the wind breezed through the leaves, flowers, and other nts, magically creating a beautiful melody. The three of them danced together atop the hill, with glowing musical notes appearing all around them before popping away like twinkling stars.


    ¡­


    Tom was on his bed. Eyes closed as he entered a deep state of slumber. Diamond Rank did not actually need sleep. They were always in the state of meditation when resting. Meditation wasn''t clearing one''s mind, instead it was focusing onprehension of knowledge. Warriors and magicians alike would meditate to increase theirpetence and skills. Their mind was powerful enough that even without physically practicing the skill, their capability of using the skill could increase.


    In fact, on Earth there were athletes who used their mind to train their techniques before practicing them. The result was significant.


    Opening his eyes, he slowly woke up from bed, still sitting on the bed, feet dangling 2 inches away from the wooden floor. A mechanical motion sensor detected his movement, and then a coffee machine began to crush the beans inside the container before pouring boiling hot liquid over them. The liquid moved into a tube, went through a filter, and dripped over a cup.


    Tom had heard that there was a magical cup of coffee that was said to have been brewed by the elven sorcerers themselves. The coffee was made from beans that were grown in the enchanted forests of the east, where the trees were said to sing when the wind blew through their branches.


    The process of brewing this magical coffee was shrouded in mystery, and only a few trusted elves knew the recipe. The beans were first roasted over a fire made from the wood of the ancient trees of the forest, and then ground by hand using a mortar and pestle made from the finest crystal. The grounds were then carefully ced in a silver urn and infused with water from the mountain streams of the north, which had been blessed by the gods themselves. The urn was left to sit for three full moons, during which time the coffee was said to absorb the magic of the forest and the blessing of the gods.


    Finally, the coffee was poured into a golden cup that had been enchanted to keep the brew warm for years.


    Atleast, that was what Tom received from the Mechanicum''s database. Even though they had absorbed a lot of information about this world, there were still mysteries out there that hadsted for millions of years. Questions unanswered for eternity.


    Tom hopped off the bed and gently took the cup of coffee as it was already filled. He pushed the sliding door to the side before his feet stepped onto the soft grass, wet with morning dew. The morning sun arise and he enjoyed it from the wooden chair within the courtyard.


    The courtyard was surrounded by tall, marble pirs that were adorned with intricate carvings of dragons and unicorns, and there were fragrant flowers and lush greenery everywhere. At the center of the courtyard was a serene, crystal-clearke that was fed by a small, magical stream. The water was so pure that one could see all the way to the bottom, where schools of shimmering fish swam gracefully.


    These were not ordinary fish, however. They were magical fish that would glow with a soft, otherworldly light when the sun began to set. The fish were said to be able to grant wishes to those who caught them. But that was in fact a myth. Only mortals still believe in it.


    Along the edge of theke were rows of weeping willows, their branches trailing gracefully in the water. In the evenings, fairy lights would dance around the trees, casting a gentle glow over the entire courtyard.


    "What a wonderful morning." Tom tilted the cup over his reddish lips and enjoyed the fantastical vor of the coffee that was made with the best magical beans and science uracy.


    He did not n to do anything much over the next 10 years. He simply wanted to live his life as a student, avoid trouble and try not to get too much attention.


    "I have been living like a crazed maniac since I came into this world. For now, I should change and enjoy peace."


    And so, for the next 10 years. Tom went to campus, studied, hung out with his friends, and enjoyed his life at a slow and yet wonderful pace.

 Chapter 576 School Trip

    Chapter 576 School Trip


    The sleek high-tech train glided along the tracks with a low hum, its futuristic design turning heads as it passed by. Inside, the passengers settled into theirfortable seats, marveling at the digital disys and advanced control panels that surrounded them.


    Tom smiled in pride as he sat on one of the seats. His ssmates: Helid, Zerdar, Hemur, Zyta, Tressa, and Wilma all looked around like they were a bunch of children.


    Well, technically they were teenagers. But all of them were now at mid Diamond Rank. A power level that only few can reach. For 90% of the poption, they might as well be gods.


    They were currently inside one of Aldred''s high-tech trains. Most of the trains were actually designed to bring supplies, but he also made some for public transportations.


    They were in the train because of a school trip. Since the ce was very far and it could take them weeks or even months to arrive, they decided to use the train since it was the fastest transportation they had avable.


    As the train picked up speed, the scenery outside became a blur, the world rushing past in a blur of colors and shapes. The windows were tinted, but passengers could still make out the outline of buildings and trees as they sped by.


    "Tom, your dad really made this?" Helid, the skinny boy, asked.


    "Yeap. This is one of many trains he created for the kingdom."


    Everyone looked at him in awe. They wished their father could create something as marvelous as this as well.


    Tom said that, but it wasn''t Aldred who actually designed or manufactured the train. It was all Corduul''s work. But since Corduul was his subordinate, it was okay to im the credit.


    The train moved at a staggering speed of 3,600 kilometers per hour. If the fastest jet on Earth was flying beside the train, then the train would match its speed beforepletely destroying it in a race.


    The speed was possible because the train''s propulsion system was cutting-edge, powered by aplexwork of electromaic fields and superconducting materials. It could reach speeds that were once thought impossible, traveling from one end of the to the other in a matter of hours. That was an exaggeration, but people should get the idea.


    Now, such extreme motion should have wrecked the nearbyndscape to shreds while also destroying the ears of the people around it. But thankfully, with thebination of science and magic, they manage to create a powerful barrier, reducing the impact of such high velocity, and causing the train to almost make no sound.


    Despite its high speed, the train''s interior was serene and peaceful, insted from the outside world by thickyers of soundproofing and vibration-dampening materials. Passengers could rx and enjoy the ride, secure in the knowledge that they were traveling on one of the most advanced pieces of technology ever created.


    The train wasn''t the only thing that was pleasing to the eyes. The train attendants glided down the aisle with effortless grace, their flowing garments trailing behind them like ribbons in the wind. Their clothes were crafted from fine silks and satins, embroidered with intricate designs and adorned with delicate beading and jewels. Some wore flowing gowns with long, trailing sleeves, while others donned fitted bodices and billowing skirts. Their hair was styled in borate braids and twists, ented with glittering hairpins and adorned with jeweled headbands.


    Their movements were as enchanting as their attire, and they moved with a fluidity that seemed almost otherworldly. As they passed by, passengers caught the faintest scent of exotic perfumes, a hint of the fantasticalnds from which these attendants hade.


    Aldred had recruited them far from this kingdom. Giving them amazing ces to stay, satisfying wages, and low work hours. With such benefits, a lot of people agreed to take the job, but many refused because they were too far from their homnd. Most of the attendants here felt out of ce in their home, while some just wanted an adventure, or a new ce to stay.


    Most of them brought their family here as well, making sure they were not lonely in this foreign ce.


    Their smiles were warm and inviting, their eyes sparkling with the light of magic. They attended to the passengers'' every need with a graceful efficiency that belied their otherworldly nature, leaving a sense of wonder and awe in their wake.


    Sadly, with such unique and enchanting beautiful women working in the train, there tend to be some problems.


    A tinum Rank warrior grabbed one of the attendants and forced her to sit beside him.


    "I am sorry, but you are not allowed to do this."


    "Yeah? Who dares to say anything? I can rip your clothes open in this train and nobody will stop me. Hahaha."


    Before the man could do anything more, a cable came from above, wrapped around the man''s head and then electrocuted him.


    Soon after, one 4 meter tall robot lifted the man and the window nearby opened itself before it yeeted the unconscious man out of the train. Without the protection of the force field, the man waspletely destroyed as it was moving at high speed.


    A lot of people cheered and pped after that. Before boarding the train, everyone was informed that misdemeanor would be punished. Sexual harassment towards the attendants was repeatedly pointed out many times and they had clearly said that the result of this act will allow them to execute the perpetrators on the spot.


    If they didn''t enforce the rules, this kind of act will repeat itself.


    Suddenly, the train began to slow down, and the tinted ss be clear.


    "Hmm, what''s going on?" Zerdar, the young lord that fought against Tom when he first came to the university, said.


    As the train passed by a mountain, they were struck by the breathtaking sight thaty before them. A stunning waterfall cascaded down the rocky face, the water shimmering in the sunlight like a thousand diamonds. But this was no ordinary waterfall, for it was infused with the magic of thend, and its beauty was beyondpare.


    The waterfall was surrounded by a kaleidoscope of autumnal colors, with trees and shrubs painted in hues of gold, orange, and red. Leaves floated down on the gentle breeze, dancing in the air like fireflies, as though celebrating the magic of the fall.


    As the train moved closer, they saw that the waterfall itself was more than just water. It was a symphony of colors, each droplet infused with a different hue of the rainbow. The water shimmered and sparkled, casting rainbows of light across thendscape.


    The windows opened and the air was filled with the sweet scent of wildflowers and spice.


    As they sat there, mesmerized by the beauty before them, a gentle melody began to drift on the breeze. The people looked around, trying to find the source of the music, but it seemed to being from everywhere at once. It was as though thend itself was singing, its voice a soothing balm to their souls.


    "Wow¡­ incredible. What is this ce called?"


    "Autumnspell Fall." Tom replied. "I believe it is one of the most beautiful ces in the whole entire world."


    They all nodded in agreement.


    This magical fall was more beautiful than any they had ever seen. It was a ce where the natural world and magic intertwined, creating a masterpiece of unparalleled beauty that would stay with them forever.


    Suddenly, blinding lights came from a distance, forcing everyone in the train to squint their eyes. After careful look, they realized that it was a gigantic creature¡ª a blue sea dragon to be exact.


    The sea dragon roared as it swooped down from the sky, its massive wings stirring up a gust of wind that sent ripples through the magical fall. The dragon''s scales shimmered a brilliant blue in the sunlight, and its eyes glowed with an inner fire as it prepared to engage in battle.


    But with whom?


    A loud screech rang in the air. Everyone''s gaze moved to the side. The phoenix soared high above thend, its magnificent wingspan casting a shadow over the trees and mountains below. Its feathers were a brilliant red and gold, gleaming in the sunlight like precious metals. As it flew, the air around it shimmered with heat, a testament to the phoenix''s magical power of mes.


    The phoenix''s eyes glinted with an inner fire, and its beak shone like polished steel. Its talons were razor-sharp, and the sight of them alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of any who dared to oppose it.


    As it flew, the phoenix let out a deafening screech, mes licking at its feathers. It was a sound that spoke of power and majesty, a reminder that this was a creature to be respected and revered.


    "Don''t tell me these two creatures are going to fight!" Zerdar watched in excitement.


    Elfie, Tom''s maid, leaned towards Tom and asked: "Master, is it safe for us to be here while these two beasts fight?"


    "My father has prepared reinforcement units for every train should ite under danger. He fully understands that the wilderness is a dangerous ce."


    Elfie put her hands over her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, your father is wise."


    The phoenix''s magical power of mes was evident in everything it did. As it flew, it left a trail of fire in its wake, scorching the earth below.


    The two magical creatures circled each other warily, each waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, the sea dragon unleashed a powerful st of magic from its mouth, sending a torrent of water crashing towards the phoenix.


    The phoenix responded with a burst of me, creating a wall of fire that met the water head-on. The two elements shed violently, steam rising as they battled for supremacy.


    The waves of energy wash over the passengers, though the force field managed to turn them into harmless heat waves.


    The passengers were slightly pushed, but then they burst into cheers as they cheered for the dragon or the phoenix.

 Chapter 577 Ancient vs Future

    Chapter 577 Ancient vs Future


    As the sun sets behind the towering mountains, a magical waterfall cascades down into a crystal-clear pool below. It is in this enchanted setting that the colossal blue sea dragon and the majestic phoenix engage in an epic battle of strength and power.


    The sea dragon and the phoenix shed into action. They wrapped their grip tightly on one another then sted all sorts of powerful magic.


    The sea dragon, with shimmering scales as blue as the deepest ocean, rears up on its hind legs, unleashing a deafening roar that echoes through the valley. Its eyes, glowing with an otherworldly intensity, lock onto the phoenix as it spreads its wings, preparing to take flight.


    "Look at how beautiful that dragon is! I wouldn''t think a creature like that would be dangerous if not for its disy of power."


    The phoenix, with feathers as vibrant as a rainbow, takes to the sky, soaring high above the waterfall. With a flick of its mighty tail, the sea dragon sends a massive wave crashing into the phoenix, but the bird manages to dodge the deluge with graceful ease.


    "The phoenix is amazing as well. Those fiery wings makes it seems like it is the king of the sky!"


    With a fierce cry, the phoenix summons forth a searing wall of me, but the sea dragon is not deterred. It charges forward, jaws open wide, ready to strike. The phoenix dives down to avoid the attack, swooping in low to rake its talons across the dragon''s scales.


    "Such power!"


    The battle rages on, each creature striking and parrying with deadly precision. The water churns and boils, and the air is thick with smoke and fire. But neither side seems to gain the upper hand, as they are equally matched in strength and determination.


    As the epic battle between the giant blue sea dragon and the majestic phoenix unfolds in the magical fall outside, the passengers within the train watch in awe and amazement. Some of them are standing up, leaning against the windows to get a better view, while others sit transfixed in their seats.


    Everyone enjoyed the view. As the sea dragon unleashes a deafening roar, the passengers gasp and stare in shock at the sight of such a massive creature. They are captivated by the dragon''s shimmering blue scales and its powerful movements as it charges forward to attack the phoenix.


    When the phoenix takes to the sky and summons a wall of me, the passengers'' eyes widen in disbelief. They watch in amazement as the bird deftly dodges the dragon''s attacks and swoops down to deliver a counterattack with its razor-sharp talons.


    Tom''s friends were also as excited as everyone else. Both of these creatures were at high Diamond Rank. Ordinary magicians and even warriors wouldn''t be able to defeat them. At the very least, an extremely powerful artifact is required for one person to kill a dragon or a phoenix. They were creatures of legends after all, capable of living for tens of thousands even millions of years.


    The sun sets below the horizon, casting a golden glow across the valley. That was when the sea dragon and the phoenix finally ceased theirbat. They stare at each other across the churning water, each respecting the other''s power and prowess. And with a final nod of their heads, they turn and fly away from each other.


    Everyone pped and cheered. Their excitement filled the entire train.


    "Isn''t that an amazing fight, master?" Elfie smiled at him.


    "It is very incredible." Tom nodded with a smile. He was so impressed by these two creatures that he consider capturing them and turning them into his undeadter.


    Suddenly, the bright sky turned dark and two massive ck magic circle appeared in front of the dragon and the phoenix.


    Tom saw this and looked at the passengers. All of them chatted with smiles and excitement as they talked about the battle earlier, seemingly not noticing what happened outside.


    The dragon and the phoenix were wrapped with dark runes all over their body, and their figure flickered in and out of reality.


    "What is this?"


    "What are you looking at, Tom?" Elfie asked.


    "Are you not seeing that?" Tom pointed.


    "Look at what?" Elfie looked out of the window but seemed confused. "I am not seeing anything. The dragon and the phoenix already left, no?"


    In the distance, the sleek, futuristic air-ne soared through the clouds, its engines roaring as it approached its target. Its sleek "Yes, they are," Tom said as he watched the dragon and the phoenix roaring in the sky with dark runes carved all over their bodies.


    Suddenly, the dragon and the phoenix soared into the sky and flew towards the train.


    Tom"s eyes flickered and suddenly two missiles streaked in the air and mmed onto the dragon and the phoenix before exploding.


    In the distance, the sleek, futuristic air-ne soared through the clouds, its engines roaring as it approached its target. Its sleek metal exterior was armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry, capable of taking on any foe that dared to stand in its way.


    People from earth would call this ne a spaceship that could fly through the atmosphere with ease. But this world was much different than Earth. Even with their current technology, they could not yet fly through the atmosphere and leave this.


    The ne was actually the customized Armageddon. Corduul had improved all of their arsenal numerous times. With thousands of tech priests working together on improvement, their weapon of war always became better day by day. Now, the Armageddon had be faster and even deadlier.


    But its enemies were no joke either. The blue sea dragon, a massive creature of the deep, towered over the magical fall, its scales reflecting the sunlight as it bellowed a challenge to the air-ne. And hovering above, the phoenix, a mythical bird of fire, red down with piercing eyes, ready to strike.


    The air-ne banked sharply to avoid a st of fire from the phoenix''s beak, unleashing a volley of missiles that streaked towards the blue sea dragon. But the creature was too fast, diving beneath the water and disappearing from sight.

 Chapter 578 Ancient vs Future (2)

    Chapter 578 Ancient vs Future (2)


    The air-ne''s sensors beeped frantically as it detected movement behind it. Turning just in time, it evaded a swipe from the blue sea dragon''s massive tail, firing its machine guns in retaliation. But the creature was too agile, darting away before the bullets could strike.


    From the passengers'' perspective, they only saw a massive flying hunk of steel wreaking havoc in Autumnspell Fall.


    "Tom, isn''t that your father''s airship?" Zerdar asked. "What is it doing?"


    Tom clicked his tongue. "You guys might not be able to see it, but something actually possessed the dragon and the phoenix and try to attack us."


    "What? Where?"


    "They are invisible to you all."


    Zerdar frowned and grabbed a pair of magical sses before he put it on. The sses glowed and he widened his eyes. "It''s true! The dragon and the phoenix are fighting against that airship!"


    "What!?"


    In disbelief, some of the people who had special artifact began to use it while others casted a spell on their eyes. After doing that, they finally saw the truth.


    The phoenix swooped down, a trail of mes following in its wake. The air-ne banked sharply to avoid the fiery onught, unleashing a barrage ofser beams that singed the phoenix''s feathers. The mythical bird screeched in fury, circling around for another attack.


    The sea dragon lunged towards the airne, its jaws snapping dangerously close to the aircraft''s frame. The phoenix swooped down for the second time, its wings trailing mes. The unmanned airne tried to dodge the creatures'' attacks, but it was quickly apparent that they were too powerful to evade.


    The airne''s systems analyzed the creatures'' movements, looking for a pattern or weakness. Finally, it detected a gap in the creatures'' defenses. The airne fired a barrage of energy beams, and one of them found its mark, hitting the magical fall below.


    The energy disrupted the magical fall, sending waves of power rippling through the air. The sea dragon and the phoenix let out a deafening cry as they were thrown back by the force of the energy.


    "So powerful! It can even fight against two mystical creatures by itself! Tom''s father must be a great golem master and also a fantastic alchemist to be able to make something like that!"


    Tom epted the praise, but it wasn''t actually because of the Armageddon''s power that it was able to push the dragon and the phoenix, rather, it was because of the powerful A.I and scanners that were supporting it.


    But. The two mythical creatures weren''t so easy to defeat. Quickly, the both of them began to chase onto the airne and let out a powerful elemental magic.


    Boom!!!


    The water vortex and the fire spear struck the aircraft, causing an explosion, and ck smoke toe out.


    "Oh no! The airship is crashing!"


    "Tom, can you tell the train to speed up?" Elfie asked.


    Tom looked concerned at first, but a secondter, his lips curled into a smile. "Don''t worry. My father is prepared for every situation."


    Four massive advanced airnes appeared in the sky, seemingly out of nowhere. They looked like they hade straight from the future with their sleek designs and advanced weaponry. The airnes were so big that they blocked out the sun, casting a shadow over the surrounding area.


    The airne''s systems alerted it to the presence of tworge creatures: a massive sea dragon and a majestic phoenix. The airne''s programming identified the creatures as potential threats, and it quickly began to assess the situation.


    "Targets identified. Order to eliminate confirmed."


    The airnes fired a barrage of missiles and energy beams at the dragon and the phoenix, causing them to cry out in pain. The creatures tried to defend themselves, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer force of the airnes'' attacks.


    The dragon''s mes and the phoenix''s fiery wings were no match for the advanced technology of the airnes. The creatures werepletely destroyed to shreds, defeated by the sheer force of the airnes'' weapons.


    This was one of the Mechanicum''s greatest weapons. Should Tom need heavy firepower, Armageddon would be at the top of the list. But the Mechanicum was constantly developing new weapons, so they might surprise him in the future.


    The airnes circled back, scanning the area for any remaining threats. Finding none, they began to fly away, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.


    As the airnes disappeared into the distance, people on the ground could only stare in wonder and awe at the incredible disy of power they had just witnessed. The future had truly arrived, and it was a force to be reckoned with.


    "Such power¡­ it''s not even funny anymore. Even five high Diamond Rank magicians could not for certain defeat these mystical creatures, but four of these metallic airships is enough to destroy thempletely."


    "Mind you. They are very expensive and time consuming to make," Tom said. To be honest, it wasn''t that long nor expensive. The resources they had were enough to sacrifice one or two Armageddon. Any more than that would hurt him slightly though.


    But as long as they could get the wreckage back, it should be fine. Tom already saw some heavy heavy helicoptersing from the distance to pick up the fallen Armageddon.


    "Still, it is still amazing that your father can create something like this," Zerdarmented. "If we have just one of them, the war in my territory will be a lot easier as it can send reinforcements instantly."


    "Maybe I should make a service for that. Sending reinforcements for payment."


    Zerdar''s eyes lit up. "Can you suggest that to your father?"


    "Of course. My father loves money. But as this aircraft is a very important tool, we can only send it to only a select few noble families."


    "I understand." Zerdar nodded.


    "Now, excuse me. I need to go somewhere else."


    "Where are you going?"


    "Number two."


    "Ehh¡­ but Diamond Rank don''t'' need¡­" Zerdar didn''t finish his sentence as he saw Tom walking away.


    Tom entered the toilet, locked the door, and vanished.


    The next moment, he appeared where the body of the dragon and the phoenix was.


    "You two caused me a lot of trouble. But that is fine since I will be turning you two into my undead."


    Tom''s eyes turned dark purple as dark mist leaked out of his eyes. "Arise."

 Chapter 579 Going to The Right Place

    Chapter 579 Going to The Right ce


    After turning the two high Diamond Rank creatures into his undead, Tom was greatly satisfied. Although fixing the fallen Armageddon would be costly, at least it was worth it. It had been ten years ever since Aldred pulled all the clones back and only left Tom to do the work. The organization still functioned well, but it didn''t run as effectively and efficiently as before. Having three ''Aldred'' at once really helped running some things get done much faster.


    But it was fun. All these years he had found out that his mind and soul had begun the healing process. The blood clone ability was never meant to be used so carelessly. The only reason why his mind and soul could heal was because the original Aldred had stayed in the divine dimension and absorbed countless resources to cultivate the soul and mind. If the original Aldred came to reality, and coexisted with the clones for 10 years, there might be unexpected side effects.


    "I have to return or they will start looking for me." Tom vanished.


    But what he didn''t know was that dark magic runes let out a glow on the de of grass near where he was.


    Tom exited the toilet and began to walk back to his seat.


    "Took you a while," Zerdar said. "Did you eat the wrong pill today?"


    "I think so. I let out a big one earlier."


    Zyta grabbed Tom''s hand and looked at him with her big round eyes. "You should be more careful, Tom. Next time, I should visit your ce and make sure this never happens again."


    "It''s fine. One bottle of High Grade Healing Potion should fix it."


    "Still, I want to help you."


    "Alright, fine."


    Tressa Hemlock sat with her head down, silently looking at Zyta who was all touchy with Tom. Her cheeks turned slightly red. She wanted to be close with Tom as well.


    Over the years, after going through many trials of the universities, their circle of friends had actually changed many times. Some died, some left because of family matters, and a few just joined. Actually, most of them died because the university tested them every year to go into the wild and obtain the head of a creature slightly more powerful than them.


    Those who failed usually died. Those who thought they would fail usually left the university and returned to their family.


    Most of Tom''s friends died. Now they were in a group of six friends: Helid, the skinny noble that Tom first met during his journey to the university, Zerdar, the one that tried to bully him when he first arrive in the university, Hemur which was Zerdar''s right hand man who grew up with him at a young age.


    The rest were girls: Zyta, Tressa, and Wilma.


    "By the way. Where is Wilma?" Tom asked.


    "I am here!" Wilma waved her hand as she brought a tray of food with her. Suddenly, she slipped and fell on her face. The food crashed onto the ground and sttered everywhere.


    "Haish, we keep reminding you to be careful, Wilma." Tom pointed and all the food, tes, and the tray seemingly went back in time as they flew back and floated in the air.


    Wilma pouted. "I told you that this is the side effect of my power."


    It was indeed true. Wilma''s power was irvoyance and long-range explosion. These two capabilities let her put her sight on distance targets and destroy them. She seemed to be the best at these categories. But, the consequence of her power was that her sense of her immediate surroundings reduced to almost nothing. She was supposed to be blind and unable to bnce herself. But with special rituals and spells, she was able to function like normal, but with extreme clumsiness.


    A few years ago, she was a disabled blind person who could only stay still on a chair. She wasn''t useless though, because her power was quite dangerous: able to effectively detect an enemy from a distance and obliterate them.


    Now that Tom thought about it, her power was actually very simr to a nuke. If she developed her power more, she might be able to destroy a small town with magic alone.


    "Okay, okay. Sit down and eat your food. You could have just told the attendants to serve you." Tom shook his head.


    "Humph! She sat down and the tray followed her beforending on the table."


    Tom was about to sit down as well until Corduul''s mechanical voice entered his head. "Master, there are intruders detected trying to enter the train."


    "Where are they?"


    "On top of you."


    Tom looked up and understood what it meant. "Sorry, guys. I think my stomach hurts again."


    stabilized his footings and stood tall.


    He quickly ran to the toilet, mmed the door, and teleported to the rooftop of the train.


    Suddenly, a powerful wind force mmed into his body, forcing him to back step a few times, and stumbling on his feet. He stabilized his footings and stood tall.


    The train was moving too fast. They had passed the Autumnspell Fall, so it had begun to increase its speed.


    Even for a high Diamond Rank like him, this intense speed also caused him some annoyance. Though a normal person would already be dead.


    But that wasn''t his concern right now. Instead, it was the ten ck robed men standing in front of him.


    "I knew it was you people who led the dragon and the phoenix to attack the train. Too bad, I promised absolute safety for the passengers, and I cannot let you ruin its reputation."


    The cost of the train was actually very expensive, but Aldred had promised incredible safety and quick transportation. Distances that would take months could be traversed in mere hours. Because of that, many people decided to use it despite the price. Most of them here were wealthy men or businessmen who value time.


    After all, not everyone could use teleportation magic. And not everyone could use it as much as a spatial magician or Tom. They could use a teleportation altar, but that was even more expensive.


    "Son of Hujarar,e with us. We need you as our king. We need you to guide us."


    Tom frowned. "I don''t want to do anything with you guys. Leave me alone or I will kill every single one of you."


    He summoned his Phantom Doomde. The de glinted in the sunlight, covered in a dark crimson aura of blood lust and demonic energy while also being wrapped in hellish me.


    The robed men trembled, not in fear, but in excitement. They were looking at him in reverence as if he was their god. It made Tom felt weird and slightly disgusted.


    "Such power!!! Oh, lord! Worthy being the son of the King of All Hell!"


    With a wave of his hand, he summoned a ball of fire that crackled with energy circling around the de. The cultists looked up in surprise, but they did not falter, instead, they began to chant.


    Tom wanted to burn these dark and evil beings to dust. He wanted to light them up, letting them see the brightest light before evaporating them from this world. For some odd reason, he did not like these people at all. Perhaps because they were worshippers of hell and did so many things that were outside Tom''s moral values.


    Tom leapt forward, his sword raised high. He brought it down with a thunderous crash, and the de sliced through the air, cutting through one of the cultists. The others turned to face him, their eyes filled with emptiness. It was as if they were dead, but somehow Tom could feel the feeling of worship and admiration from them.


    Though¡­ not in a good way.


    He summoned another ball of fire, and this time it exploded in a shower of sparks, engulfing several of the cultists in mes. They screamed in agony as they burned, but Tom did not stop. He charged forward, his sword shing as he cut through their ranks.


    The cultists fought back, their dark magic mming into Tom like a wall. But he was too strong, too determined to be stopped. He summoned more fire, and this time it surged forward in a torrent, engulfing the remaining cultists in a zing inferno.


    As thest of the cultists fell, Tom stood and tried to turn them into his undead.


    He failed. There was even no notification that came out.


    "They aren''t real¡­ they are bodies from the spiritual realm¡­ but they are able to kill and do things in reality. A power only Adamantite Rank is capable of doing. Or someone with a Spiritbound Tower."


    Tom actually agreed toe to this school trip because Corduul found out that there were clues about the Cult of Devour in their destination. He wanted to investigate with his own eyes. Corduul had an army of spies with him, but there were certain things that only the godly eyes could see.


    "I cannot extract information from these cultists, but the fact that they are here means that I am going to the right ce."

 Chapter 580 580 City Of Light

    ?


    Soon after, the train arrived at their destination.


    The tinted window if the train opened itself, revealing the perfect view of the Xorfast City.


    They were greeted by the sight of tall white towers that reached towards the sky, adorned with intricate golden carvings and glowing with a soft, magical light. The city was nestled among rolling hills and surrounded by lush greenery, giving it a sense of peace and tranquility.


    The train stopped at a train station. Just like the city, the station was full of open space where the sun lights could bless everyone and anyone freely.


    As they entered the city, they were immediately struck by the beauty of its architecture. The buildings were made of pure white stone, with arched doorways and soaring pirs that created a sense of grandeur and elegance. Each building was adorned with intricate carvings and magical symbols that seemed to dance in the light, creating a sense of wonder and enchantment.


    "So this is Xorfast city¡­" Wilma looked all around her. "What a beautiful ce."


    Suddenly, she stumbled on her feet, almost falling, but Hemur quickly caught her.


    "Are you okay?" Hemur asked gently. Hemur was a big bulky man, but he actually had gentle hearts towards women.


    Wilma smiled. "I am fine. Can¡­ can I hold your hands so I don''t fall again?"


    "If you want to."


    Wilma quickly wrapped herself around his big, strong arm. She hid her face with her hair, but she was actually smiling wide.


    Tom and Zerdar could only look at each other after seeing this. Both of them already knew they had feelings for each other but one was too arrogant to say it while the other was too dumb to understand.


    Hard to believe that these two were actually Diamond Ranks, one of the top existences in this continent.


    "You know. Xorfast city is also called the city of love. Many couples went here for vacation or wedding," Zerdar said.


    "I thought it was called the city of light," Tom said.


    "That too. But light shines upon beauty, and beauty ignites love."


    "Is that what the people here say?" Tomughed.


    The streets of the city were lined with trees and gardens, with colorful flowers blooming in every direction. As they walk through the city, they can hear the soft sound of a gentle breeze, carrying the sweet scent of blooming flowers.


    In the heart of the majestic fantasy city stood a grand and majestic colosseum that would take anyone''s breath away. The colosseum was an architectural masterpiece, with towering walls made of gleaming white marble and adorned with intricate golden carvings.


    "Even in this city of love and light, fighting still exist," Tommented.


    "What are you talking about, Tom?"


    "This is supposed to be the city of love, right? Isn''t fighting the opposite of love?"


    "I don''t think that''s how the people here understand it. I believe they see beauty in battle, in victory. And I believe they see love within each warrior as they strive to be the greatest."


    "I agree with that. Their philosophy is not as shallow as most people think."


    "So they are not contradicting themselves?"


    "I believe not. Otherwise, why would this city have such a wonderful reputation?"


    As his friends admired the colosseum, Tom''s eyes began to look elsewhere. Specifically, to the people that popte this city.


    The people of this majestic fantasy city were as diverse and enchanting as the city itself. They were a culture of magic and wonder, with a deep respect for nature and the elements. Tom could see that on the houses that were decorated with nts, flowers of which animals happily perched and lived alongside the home owners.


    Ady walked past , caught Tom''s nce, and nodded with a smile.


    The people here were known for their gracious hospitality and their love of beauty. They weed visitors with open arms and were always eager to share their culture and traditions. They took great pride in their city, and worked tirelessly to maintain its beauty and magic.


    The clothing worn by the people of this city reflects their love of beauty and magic. The garments are made of the finest materials, with intricate embroidery and delicate details. The mostmon colors are white and gold, which represent purity, light, and magic.


    Women often wore long, flowing dresses that were made of silk or other fine materials. The dresses were adorned with intricate embroidery, delicate beading, and shimmering jewels. They also wore ornate headpieces and jewelry, which were passed down from generation to generation.


    These headpieces and jewelry could not be bought so easily. They were proof of identity that they were the citizens of this city.


    Men wear long, flowing robes that were made of fine linen or silk. The robes were often adorned with gold trim and embroidery, and they were worn over loose-fitting pants. They also wore ornate jewelry and headwear, which symbolize their status and importance within themunity.


    But despite all this light, beauty, and love, Tom knew there was darkness, vile, and evil hiding under the light.


    The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.


    Corduul had detected a cult activity within this city. He had to find out where.


    "Tom," Zerdar called. "Everyone is going to visit the inn. Are youing?"


    "I willeter. I want to explore the city by myself first."


    "Okay, suit yourself."


    "Should Ie with you, master?" Elfie asked.


    "You should go with them. I will contact youter should I get lost."


    Elfie nodded.


    After chatting with her for a little more, Tom said his goodbye and walked around the city. A few minutester, he arrived in front of a library.


    As Tom approached, he was greeted by a grand entranceway with tall, majestic doors that seemed to beckon him inside.


    The doors opened into a spacious foyer, where Tom was greeted by a warm and weing atmosphere. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with books of every shape, size, and subject. The air was thick with the scent of old paper and leather, and the soft glow ofmps illuminated the room.

 Chapter 581 581 Under The Light

    ?


    "Hello, wee to the Grand Light Library. Are you looking for any particr book?" A beautiful librarian approached him.


    "Thank you. I am just looking around if you don''t mind."


    "We don''t mind at all. You are not from this city, right?"


    "Yes. I am on a study tour."


    "From what establishment?"


    "Withokere University."


    "Oh my¡­ okay. You can take as much time as you want here. The library is filled with the knowledge of our culture and philosophy. If you are interested in that, you will have a wonderful time."


    "Thank you." Tom smiled.


    "Oops, almost forgot." Thedy put a bracelet over Tom''s left wrist.


    "This device lets us know how long you are staying in the library. We value people who study about our culture, so there might be rewards if you study long enough. Of course there is a test before you get it."


    "I''ve never seen something like this before, but thank you again."


    "Enjoy your time."


    Toom entered the maze of shelves. The library was grand: tall and spacious with wooden stairs leading to seemingly anywhere. There were alleys of book shelves and even hallways of books. Everywhere, he looked, books were there.


    It was as if the books were part of the building itself, bing one of the building blocks of this grand structure.


    ''Corduul said I will find my clue here. But how?"


    Suddenly, a cat meowed as it perched on a table.


    He activated his godly eyes and no information came out.


    ''That cat¡­ is it my clue?''


    Tom approached the cat slowly, trying not to scare it away. "Come with me."


    The cat looked at him then leaped away. When itnded, its feet let out a vibrating string, like the string of a guitar perhaps.


    Every step it took created that particr sound.


    Tom let it walk away before sneakily following it. Currently, the cat was his only lead. It walked through the hallway of books, making seemingly random turns and even went up and down on the flight of stairs.


    After a few minutes of this, the cat entered through the small opening of a door.


    Tom waited a few seconds before he slighty pushed the door and took a peek inside. There was nothing inside except a set of spiraling stairs that led down.


    He entered, and closed the door behind him. He looked at the wall. It was only made out of simple bricks. Simple and hastily made, very unlike the architectural philosophy of Xorfast.


    "I am at the right ce." Tom walked down the stairs. His godly eyes were activates and he was ready to fight at any time.


    The spiraling stairs kept on going. Looking from above, it seemed to go down endlessly without end.


    After a while, Tom arrived in a tight tunnel. "Where is that cat?"


    Suddenly a sound of chanting rang within the tunnel. It came from the other side.


    The sound of cultists chanting a dark ritual was unsettling, to say the least. The air was thick with an eerie energy, as if the very fabric of reality were being twisted and warped by the dark forces at work.


    The chanting itself was a low, guttural sound, with a monotonous rhythm that seemed to build in intensity as the ritual progressed. The words were whispered in anguage that was not quite recognizable, but the meaning was clear: they were calling upon powers beyond theprehension of mortal men.


    As the chanting continued, the air began to grow colder and more oppressive. The sound seemed to reverberate throughout the room, as if the very walls were alive with the dark energy of the ritual.


    asionally, a sharp burst of sound would pierce through the chanting, like the shriek of some unearthly creature. It was enough to send shivers down the spine and make the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end. The sound of screaming women and crying babies came without warning.


    Tom frowned before he began running inside the tunnel. He raised his fingers. "Silent steps."


    His movement stopped making any sound and he began to run on all four. His speed increased exponentially. He went so fast that he was basically vanishing from one spot to another.


    When he arrived, he saw the cultists from above.


    The group of cultists performing the dark ritual was a terrifying sight to behold. They were shrouded in ck robes that seemed to absorb the very light around them, making them appear as though they were cloaked in darkness.


    The cultists began to chant in a low, guttural voice, their words twisted and distorted into anguage that was not quite recognizable. The chanting grew louder and more intense, as if the very air were beingpressed by the dark energy of the ritual.


    As the chanting continued, the air grew colder and more oppressive, and the room began to take on a sickly green glow. Strange symbols began to appear on the walls, glowing with an otherworldly light that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of the chanting.


    The cultists were arranged in a circle, their faces obscured by the shadows of their hoods. In the center of the circle was an altar, upon which rested a grotesque idol of some dark deity. The idol was twisted and malformed, its features warped into a grotesque parody of humanity.


    Tom widened his eyes. He knew what statue it was. It was one of his father''s demonic ves. It was one of the weakest demons he had, but its power was still nothing this world could handle!


    If that demon was summoned here, the whole continent, no, the whole world might be turned into hell!


    Suddenly, the cultists fell silent, and a hush fell over the room. A figure stepped forward from the shadows, its form twisted and distorted by some dark magic. Its eyes glowed with an unholy light, and its voice was filled with an otherworldly power.


    "Teke ke Dal''goxon!"


    "Teke ke Dal''goxon!"


    "Teke ke Dal''goxon!"


    "Oh, hell no. I am not letting you guys destroy this beautiful city!"


    Tom whipped his hand and Phantom Doomde burst forth.


    He pointed his de down where the cultists looked at him in surprise. "Phantom Doomde! Show your power and burn my enemies to nothingness!"

 Chapter 582 582 The Unholy

    ?


    "Son of Hujarar! That is the Son of Hujarar!"


    The cultists trembled in excitement and ecstasy as if they were seeing their god they had been worshiping for the first time in their life.


    "That me. That power! The Son of Hujarar is mighty."


    "O''Son of Hujarar, have youe here to bless our rituals?"


    "Bless?" Tom red at them with hateful eyes. "I am here to kill you all!"


    He swung his Phantom Doomde down, the zing me that covered it whipped like a whip of rolling waves, filling the entire room.


    The cultists screamed in pain as the me engulfed them. Tom leaped down and beheaded two cultists at once.


    He watched the other cultists rolling around on the floor, unable to kill the fire that was burning them to death.


    "The cultists here aren''t the problem. That thing is." Tom looked at the giant demonic statue that began to grow bones and flesh.


    "I must destroy it!" Tom leaped forward. The height of his jump defied his small frame, leaping over 50 meters with a single jump. Holding the de with two hands, he raised the de and swung down.


    The de went towards the statue''s head in full chaotic power. Tom usually control the chaotic energy, but he felt like he needed the de''s chaotic attributes to destroy the statue.


    Ding!


    Tom''s eyes widened when he saw that his de was blocked by a giant, dark, evil looking hand with hideous sharp nails.


    Tom looked down and saw the head of the statue was already turning into a cow head. Hot steam came out of its nostril as it breathed out.


    "Return to hell! This ce does not belong to you!" His father''s demon was incredibly intelligence, so they had a high chance to know that Tom was Hujarar''s son. If they knew he was the son, they might obey him. They were also able to understand intention, andnguages just by hearing it for the first time.


    The demon king''s army was unlike anything the world had seen after all. Each soldier was an intelligent schrs and also an experienced and brave fighter. They were able to research, study, and learn their enemy to create the best way to defeat them.


    But, the demon did not reply, in fact, it did not show any sign of intelligence higher than that of an animal. After looking at Tom, it roared at the top of its lungs.


    The demon''s roar echoed through the darkness, sending shivers down the spines of any who heard it. It was a sound that seemed toe from the depths of the underworld, a guttural and primal growl that reverberated with a bone-chilling intensity. The very air seemed to vibrate with its power, and the ground trembled beneath the weight of its fury.


    The demon''s eyes glowed with a fiery red hue as it looked upon the man before him, its immense power radiating from every inch of its being. Without warning, the demon raised its massive, wed hand and with a guttural growl, grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him as if he were nothing but a mere insect.


    With a roar that shook the very foundations of the earth, the demon summoned all of its demonic strength and hurled the man with tremendous force towards the nearest wall. The impact was bone-jarring, a sickening crunch filling the air as the man''s body mmed into the unforgiving surface with devastating force.


    As the dust settled, the demon looked upon its handiwork with a cruel smile, satisfied with the destruction it had wrought. The many motionless on the ground, before he coughed a couple of times and stood up.


    Tom wiped the blood on his lips and red at the demon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Name: Zethirion, the Unholy (weakened)


    Level: 170


    Race: Demon


    ss: Demon Lord


    Health Points: 1,000,000


    Mana Points: 500,000


    Strength: 15,400


    Dexterity: 10,440


    Intelligence: 11.200


    Physical Defense: 2,500


    Magical Defense: 2,000


    Skills:


    - Inferno st: Unleashes a st of hellfire that deals massive damage to enemies in arge radius.


    - Demonic Rage: Increases Zethirion''s strength and speed for a short period of time.


    - Abyssal Vortex: Creates a whirlpool of dark energy that drains the life force of all enemies in the area.


    - Summon Imps: Summons a horde of lesser demons to aid Zethirion in battle.


    Equipment:


    - Shadowsteel Armor: Provides exceptional physical and magical defense.


    - Void de: A sword forged in the depths of the underworld, imbued with dark energy that deals massive damage to enemies.


    - Crown of the Damned: An artifact of immense power that enhances Zethirion''s demonic abilities.


    Background:


    Zethirion, the Unholy, is one of the most powerful demons in the underworld (the weakest world in hell). He has been a demon lord for centuries and has conquered countless realms, leaving only destruction and chaos in his wake. His mastery over dark magic and his immense physical strength make him a formidable foe for any who dare to oppose him. Zethirion is a cruel and ruthless demon, who delights in the suffering of others and has no mercy for those who cross him.


    But, despite his background, he is only suitable to be a foot soldier under Hujarar''s Grand Infernal Army.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Tom admired his father more and more. A demon this powerful was only a foot soldier for him, and this wasn''t even its full power. The demon had been weakened because it didn''t fully transport its bodies yet.


    If Tom was a little bitte, the demon might get its full power, and no one might be able to stop it. Especially if it had itsplete sentience.


    A demon''s main power was to lure and seduce people. They didn''t destroy civilizations or realms using physical force, but by manipting the hearts and minds of the people. By turning people into evil, these people would dly do their bidding for absolutely nothing.


    That was why they were extremely dangerous.


    Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to win. If he got defeated here, the demon might had enough time to get stronger and destroy this whole world.


    "Sigh¡­ it''s tough having the demon king as your father." Tom opened his eyes and entered a battle stance.


    "I will destroy you and return you to hell!"

 Chapter 583 583 Being The Son of The Demon King is Tough

    <h4>Chapter 583 Chapter 583 Being The Son of The Demon King is Tough</h4>


    The air crackled with energy as the Tom stepped forward, his de alight with mes that danced and flickered along its length. He raised his sword in challenge, facing off against the mighty demon Zethirion, who towered above him with a malevolent grin on his face.


    With a fierce battle cry, Tomcharged forward, his de shing through the air with deadly precision. Zethirion met his attack head-on, his own sword ringing out as the two des shed in a shower of sparks.


    Tom''s eyes turned red, activating his demonic bloodline, making the demon pause for a fraction of a second. He took his valuable moment. shing the demon''s shoulder and cutting off its left arm.


    Zethirion roared in agony as Tom''s sword cut through his left shoulder, severing it from his body. Blood sprayed from the wound as the demon stumbled back, his remaining arm iling aggressively, mming towards Tom.


    He raised his de to block, but the impact threw him onto a wall at high speed, so fast that his body dug a dozen meters inside the wall.


    Tom walked out of the hole, rubbless falling off his dirty clothes. Cracking his neck left and right, he summoned his Phantom Doomde again and walked towards the demon.


    "Are you really the weakest foot soldier my father has?"


    The demon roared and tried to regrow his limbs, but the wound on its shoulder shone and sizzled with dark purple light mixed with crimson energy.


    Tom sneered. "I am tired of my enemies growing limbs right after I cut them, so I created a skill that can prevent that."


    The demon roared and stomped its feet, shaking the earth violently. Suddenly, dark energy rose from the grounds, creating the shapes of small creatures before they turned into hundreds of imps that charged towards Tom.


    "You''re not the only one with subordinates." Tom raised his arm and hundreds of undeads rose from the shadow with their dark purple form. The undeads shed against the imps, raising their weapons and stabbing each other.


    The imps and undeads were like ants that were swarming at each other. Both sides had warriors with swords, spears, maces, even bows and arrows. Not only that, they also had magicians that threw spells at one another.


    After a few hours of battle, the imps showed a sign of losing, mainly because the undead seems to be unkible. Every time one undead died, it would revive a secondter and fight like nothing happened. While the imps kept losing numbers, the undead lost none at all.


    Zethirion saw this and was enraged. "Inferno st!" It raised both of its fists and mmed it to the ground, rocks and stones were flung into the air, as the ground under their feet cracked. Suddenly, bright yellow light came out of the cracks, sting out a bright hell fire that vaporized all the undead and imps.


    "Hahaha, tired of losing?" Tomughed.


    Zethirion grunted. It stepped forward and suddenly vanished, before immediately appearing in front of Tom, and kicked him like a ball.


    The demon grinned in satisfaction until it realized its left foot was gone.


    Tom stood up again and wiped the blood on the corner of his lips. "You can m me to the wall many times, but you won''t be able to kill me."


    Footsteps rang in the darkness. A secondter, a group of cultists appeared.


    "Son of Hujarar, please stop this madness. We are here for you! We will turn this world into hell to expand your empire!"


    "I think my father already quit the hell-building business. So all of you should quit too."


    "That''s¡­ impossible. It is our eternal duty to keep on expanding hell because hell must be ever-reaching and ever expanding to every world and every realm that ever exists. Even if we have to sacrifice ourselves, we will devotedly do our duty!"


    Zethirion looked at the group of cultists and pointed with his nasty finger. "Abyssal Vortex."


    The cultists suddenly fell into a pool of dark vortex, consuming them whole and turning them into energy that fed Zethirion.


    Its left foot grew, and it could stand properly again.


    "So much for a sacrifice," Tom said before he charged and fought the demon.


    The battle raged on, the swordman''s ming de cutting through the demon''s defenses with ease. Zethirion roared in frustration as he struggled to keep up with the swordman''s lightning-fast strikes, his own attacks barely scratching the swordsman''s armor.


    Tom wasn''t fighting an easy battle here. The demon was much more powerful than he was, so he had to rely on his skills and techniques to defeat it.


    After two hours, Zethirion roared in anger and covered itself in hellish mes. It struck Tom , sending him a few meters in the air. He looked at his health points and was shocked to see that it didn''t regenerate.


    "That me¡­ it''s constantly burning my body from the inside."


    It''s not that his body fail to regenerate, but the fire just kept on reducing his health points.


    Both sides red at each other. Both severely injured, but none had the desire to surrender.


    They roared and then shed.


    As the battle wore on, Tom began to feel the strain of the demon''s relentless assault. His muscles ached, and his breath came in ragged gasps as he fought to stay upright.


    But despite his fatigue, Tom refused to give up. With a fierce determination, he redoubled his efforts, his ming de glowing even brighter as he unleashed a devastating attack on the demon.


    Cutting off his remaining arm.


    Zethirion stumbled back, his defenses finally breached by Tom''s relentless assault. With a final burst of energy, Tom plunged his de deep into the demon''s chest, the mes erupting in a blinding burst of light.


    As the demon''s body crumpled to the ground, the Tom stood victorious, his sword still zing with the heat of battle. He had defeated one of the most powerful demons in the underworld, proving himself to be a true master of the sword.


    "Well, for my dad. This thing is probably the weakest demon. I wonder if I ever have to fight a stronger demon of his. Ahh, being the son of a Demon King is really tough."

 Chapter 584 584 Secret Admirer

    <h4>Chapter 584 Chapter 584 Secret Admirer</h4>


    Tom looked at the dead body of the demon and watched it slowly burn away into nothingness.


    When a demon died, they didn''t exactly die, instead, they returned to hell, revived, and prepared for another battle.


    "The soldiers of theherworld are undying, eternal, ever expanding, and ever growing. Just like hell itself, it always is and always will be."


    Tom looked away. The Phantom Doomde in his hand vanished. But the battle wasn''t over yet.


    "I need to destroy this whole underground structure."


    More importantly, he needed to find more information about the Cult of Devourer. It seemed like they had a grand n to destroy this world and burn it to the ground. Summoning Zethirion was the proof of that. That demon had the power to engulf this world in me and turn it into one of the trillions world of hell.


    Footsteps rang again. This time, there were 20 cultists that came out of the cave.


    "Who are you?"


    Tom felt a little odd. This group did not seem to know who he was. Every time he met a cultist, they would know his identity. Perhaps those who knew held a higher position in the cult or something.


    "Answer me! Who are you!?"


    Tom raised his hand and a giant dragon flew out of the shadow before pouncing at them.


    "Ahhh!!!"


    Their screams didn''tst long as they entered the mouth of the dragon.


    "Kill all the cultists you see," Tom ordered. The dragon nodded and flew away. Itsrge body knocked against the stone wall, because the space was too tight.


    Another twenty cultists came running from the other cave. This time, Tom summoned the Phoenix and let it burn the cultists into dust.


    He also told them to find more cultists and kill them all.


    "All of these cultists cannot be scanned with my godly eyes. All of them did not exist in reality."


    A powerful entity must be behind this organization. Perhaps, all of its members were put in a spiritual realm and do their job from there.


    But the power needed to do that had to be out of this world. Even a Spiritbound Tower might not be enough to do this.


    Tom walked towards a cave. There were many caves in this ce, and they might lead to different ces. But a cat suddenly appeared.


    It was the same cat that led him here.


    "Thank you for bringing me here, otherwise, this world will be destroyed."


    The cat red at him and wed his face, causing blood to flow from his cheek.


    "What was that for?"


    The cat hissed at him and then leaped into the air beforepletely disappearing.


    Tom rubbed his cheek, the wound already healed. "How did that cat wound me?"


    Tom was a powerful Diamond Rank with incredible physical durability. He had a skin stronger than most Diamond Rank warriors which proved to be stronger than any materials that ever exist in this world. That was why they didn''t wear armor sometimes.


    But, that cat managed to wound him with a simple swipe.


    "Nothing is normal anymore." Tom looked up. He decided not to explore this ce personally since people might look for him.


    "I should let the undead and Corduul do a cleanup of this ce."


    He vanished from the spot and thousands of undead crawled out of the shadows: monsters of every kind, soldiers of every shape and size, roared and rushed to every direction.


    When he returned to the library again, he returned the bracelet to the librarian.


    "Thank you for your visit. Hopefully you have a wonderful time."


    "I do. And I hope I can return soon," Tom replied.


    The librarian''s eyes changed color from blue to purple, and time and space suddenly stopped. "You don''t have to. We will handle it here. But we will need your power."


    Tom furrowed his eyebrows. "Who are you?"


    "The enemies of the cult. Someone who doesn''t want this world to be burned."


    "You knew the cults were here?"


    "We were."


    "And you don''t stop them?"


    "No one can stop the summoning except the Son of Hujarar himself."


    "Everyone seems to know who I am but I know nothing about you all."


    "Perhaps in time, you will. But let me give you a warning, Son of Hujarar. The less people know about their existence, the better."


    "Why?"


    "The more people know, the more active the cult will be. If their existence bes public knowledge, no one under the sun will have a peaceful time."


    "Besides, they cannot do anything anyway."


    The world returned to normal and the librarian''s eyes became blue again. "You can return anytime you want," she said with a bright smile.


    If only she knew what was under the library. She didn''t even realize she was possessed a few seconds ago.


    Maybe it was really better for no one else to know about this.


    Tom walked out of the building with the librarian happily waving goodbye at him. He returned to the inn and saw his friends happily having a meal.


    "Tom, where have you been? Come here and eat." Zerdar pulled him to sit down and grabbed a te full of food for him.


    "Where did you go?" Helid asked as he filled his mouth with a big spoon of food. Even though he ate a lot of food, his body was always skinny. Of course he could use magic and potions to change his bodyposition, but he liked being skinny.


    "I went to a library."


    "Ohh. I heard their library is only filled with arts, cultures, and stuff like that. There are no magic spells or techniques."


    "That''s true. But I believe they have a different library for that as well."


    "I heard the magicians and warriors of this city are strong, so that has to be the case," Zerdar replied.


    "So when does thepetition start?" Tom asked.


    "It''s tomorrow, but can I ask if that is your pet?"


    "What pet?"


    "The one on your shoulder."


    Tom looked at his left shoulder and realized a cat was sitting on it. It was the same cat in the library. How could he not notice it!?


    Zyta stood up and immediately grabbed the cat. "A, so cute and fluffy! I just want to hug and cuddle with it forever. That''s right. Tom, why don''t we bathe this cat together?"


    Everyone rolled their eyes while Wilma looked down and blushed. She wanted to bath with Tom too.


    "I don''t think cat like water very much."


    "She would be fine." Zyta hugged Tom''s arms.


    They all looked like handsome men and women now. It had been 10 years since then. So now they have aged 10 years more. Tom was now at the age of 23 years old. At that age, of course Tom changed his appearance into a very handsome and tall man. Everywhere he went, people would look at him in admiration, especially from women.


    Diamond Ranks women also looked at him like he was the price. For normal people, Diamond Ranks always looked beautiful. They had the clearest skin, and the fairest hair. From shape to color and texture, they looked amazing in every way imaginable.


    But since Diamond Ranks see each other all the time, they had far higher standards than normal humans. So for even Diamond Ranks to look at Tom in awe meant that he was truly good looking.


    A beautiful girl approached Tom with a blushing smile and she handed a letter to him before leaving immediately.


    "What is this?" Tom looked at the letter, but before he could read it Zyta grabbed it and burned it into dust.


    "Hey, why did you do that? I haven''t read it yet."


    "You don''t need to." Zyta smiled. "I will write a letter for you."


    "That''s not the point. Who knows she might try to say something important."


    "Trust me. It''s nothing important."


    Tom and Zyta debated for a few minutes and they didn''t realize a small drone swooped in and sucked all the dust from the letter.


    ¡ª¡ª


    In a room full of high techputers, multiple screens of various sizes, and thick metallic cables all over the walls and ceiling, Corduul stood at the center. All of these contraptions were all in his control.


    "Began reconstruction," he said and theputers began to scan the dust millions of times as they tried to reconstruct it.


    After a few seconds, the letter appeared before a highly advanced 3D printer began printing the letter atom by atom.


    When it''s done, Corduul opened the letter and read it.


    Tom, I have always had my eyes upon you since 10 years ago. As the sun rises, I see your figure in the sky, as it falls, I see you in my sleep. My mind is filled with you and I wish you can fill my inside too. I have a fear of you rejecting me, but I fear more of not conveying my feelings to you.


    Love you -your secret admirer


    Corduul''s eyes flickered after he read the letter. "What is the meaning of this? Send this letter to the tech priest. Tell them to analyze every word of this letter. Perhaps it contains important information."


    Theputer replied with a female robotic voice. "Calling all tech priests and sending the information¡­ transmission sess."


    Corduul read the letter again. "I shall read this letter ten thousand times to analyze it."

 Chapter 585 585 boring competition

    <h4>Chapter 585 Chapter 585 boringpetition</h4>


    Tom looked at the cat in his room. "Who are you? No, what are you? Are you one of the cultists or my allies?"


    "No, if you are my enemy, you wouldn''t lead me to their base."


    The cat meowed and ignored him as ity on the bed.


    "You are a little annoying, but thank you for helping me." Tom grabbed a fish from his inventory and gave it to the cat. The cat looked at the fish in disdain and pped it away.


    "Hey!" Tom frowned. "This damned cat is too arrogant."


    The cat moved to the center of the bed and closed its eyes. Tom sighed and wanted toy on the bed as well, but the cat hissed at him.


    "This is my bed."


    It hissed again.


    Tom red at the cat. "You think you owned the ce now, huh?"


    After a few seconds, Tom relented and slept on the floor.


    The next day, Tom and his friends left the inn. The cat perched on his shoulder, grooming itself with its tongue and looked at people as if they were peasants.


    "I wonder how strong the people in thispetition will be," Zerdar asked. "Could they be stronger than us?"


    "Maybe. But perhaps not. This is just a smallpetition after all."


    Tom only went here because of the cultists, otherwise, he wouldn''t bother with a smallpetition. And they weren''t here topete either, just watching. Only a few people from the university actually took the time to go here.


    After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the colosseum. The grand building was as amazing as the first time Tom looked at it. Xorfast City was truly an architectural wonder.


    But because they were focusing on art, Tom didn''t expect much from their fighter.


    They entered the colosseum and got VIP seats. For them, the cost of these VIP seats were peanuts. But to most people, they were unreachable. Which was why a lot of people stared at them in envy.


    "There aren''t a lot of Diamond Ranks in this ce," Wilma said.


    Diamond Ranks were too busy improving their strength. Almost all of them were extreme workaholics, coupled with their resilient body and mind, they could work non-stop for decades if they wanted to.


    Working hard did not assure them to be stronger however. Most of the time they get stuck in their study or practice and have to search for enlightenment either from a master or through experience. If they didn''t do this, they would be stuck.


    So sometimes Diamond Ranks spent time exploring the world.


    "Oh, look, the battle is about to start." Zyta pointed.


    Two tall men in thick white armor entered the arena. They both held a very long white spear encarved with magical runes.


    "Hmmm, no announcer?" Tom asked.


    "The people believe there is no need for an announcer here," Zerdar started. "They think that the announcer is just a distraction, and the fighters should be able to grasp the attention of the audience with their skills."


    Tom activated his godly eyes and noticed the fighters were just low Diamond Rank.


    ''This isn''t worth my time,'' Tom thought.


    Suddenly. Someone whispered in his ear. "Meet me at the back."


    Tom turned around and saw no one there. He frowned. Was it some sort of magic? Or did someone moved too fast that he couldn''t react? Either way, he had to find out who it was.


    Standing up, Tom said: "You guys enjoy the show. I need to go somewhere."


    "Ehhhh!! Let mee with you," Zyta said.


    "You stay here. I just want to read some books about their culture."


    "Those are boring." Zyta pouted.


    "That''s why I tell you to stay."


    Sighing, Zyta replied: "don''t go too long."


    Tom nodded and left his seat before going to the back. There, he saw someone he didn''t expect.


    "udia. What are you doing here?"


    "That''s what you said after 10 years of not seeing me? I came here to get your promise."


    "What promise?"


    udia clicked her tongue. "The dual cultivation."


    "The Three Great Dragonpetition is still far away right? We can do it at another time."


    "I am not waiting 10 years to hear that." She red.


    "Fine. But not now. I will do it after my study tour."


    udia squinted her eyes at him. Even after ten years, she still looked at him that way. But Tom always reminded himself that she never showed any emotions to other people, so perhaps this was for the best.


    "I will be waiting for you, but not for long. End your trip as soon as you can or there will be consequences." She vanished.


    "Cih, ordering me around like that. Just you watch, I will dominate you someday."


    Suddenly, a white robed figure appeared in front of him. Tom could see that it was a woman from two long strands of blonde hairing out of the hood, but he could not see her face.


    More disturbingly, he could not see her status.


    "Son of Hujarar," she spoke.


    "Do you need my help again?"


    "I am afraid so."


    "You all seem more powerful than me. Why do you need my help?"


    "Because these people worship your father."


    "And?"


    "The demons be weaker when they fight you as you have your father''s blood. The cultists we can handle, but the demons can only be effectively killed by you. We have our ways, but since we have you now, it is in our interest to use your strength."


    "You talk like I am your subordinate."


    The figure approached him. "Don''t let ego blind you, Son of Hujarar. We never think anyone is above us or below us."


    She grabbed something within her sleeve and handed it to Tom, revealing her snow white hand. It was apass made out of pure green jade. Tom tried to analyze it but it didn''t work.


    "What is thispass for?"


    "The cultists are nning to kill the contestants of thispetition."


    "Oh, should we tell them about this?"


    "No. We warned you not to spread the existence of this war."


    "But the cultists are about to reveal themselves by killing these people?"


    "They are not killing these people in reality. They will do it through the spirit realm."


    "The spirit realm¡­ how can I stop them? I have never been there before."


    "Thatpass will bring you to the spirit realm. When the timees, be prepared for battle."


    Tom looked at thepass and contemted the information. He never went to the spirit realm before. Would his power still work there? After all, even his godly eyes became no use now because a lot of figures seemed to be able to put their true form in the spirit realm.


    "Why do we have to save the contestants anyway?" Tom asked but the robed figure was nowhere to be seen.


    "Fuck! These girls are the same. Ordering me around and leaving so suddenly."


    The cat meowed and licked its paw.


    "Also, can you get off my shoulder?"


    "Meow."


    His words were ignored¡­ as expected.


    ¡ª¡ª-


    The audience cheered.


    In the center of the colosseum stood two towering figures, both d in thick, majestic white armor. The first man, named Gdron, held a grand white spear, its tip adorned with intricate runic carvings that glowed with an otherworldly power. The second man, named Aurius, wielded a massive sword of pure light, the de radiating with a blinding brilliance that illuminated the arena.


    The twobatants circled each other warily, their movements fluid and graceful. With a sudden burst of speed, Gdron charged forward, his spear gleaming in the sunlight. Aurius parried the attack effortlessly, his sword deflecting the spear with a shower of sparks.


    Tom yawned while the people burst into cheers. He wiped his tears of boredom and wondered how people could watch such a boring show. The students in the University could offer a better show while sparring.


    The crowd roared with excitement as the two fighters shed again and again, their weapons ringing out in a symphony of steel. As they fought, magical energies crackled and surged around them, creating dazzling disys of light and sound.


    Gdron called forth a st of icy wind that buffeted Aurius, sending him staggering back. But Aurius quickly recovered and unleashed a torrent of searing mes that engulfed Gdron.


    "Tom, who do you think will win?" Zerdar asked.


    "I think that swordman named Aurius will win."


    "Are you sure?"


    "I am very certain."


    "Wanna bet?"


    "The stake?"


    "If I win, you gotta help me beat up the new guy that scoop up the chicks back at the University."


    And if I win?"


    "I will stop inviting you to a prostitute restaurant for a year."


    "Deal," Tom said. He was very annoyed by that. Zerdar could prove to be very persistent in inviting him to that kind of ce.


    Undaunted, Gdron chanted a spell of his own, causing the ground beneath Aurius to crack and splinter. Aurius leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the copsing earth.


    With a final surge of strength, the two warriors charged at each other once more. Their weapons met in a shower of sparks, and for a moment it seemed as though the twobatants were evenly matched.


    But then, with a mighty roar, Aurius plunged his de into the ground. A brilliant shockwave rippled outward, shattering the earth and sending Gdron flying backwards.


    As the dust settled, Aurius stood victorious, his weapon raised in triumph. The audience erupted into cheers and apuse, marveling at the magical spectacle that had just unfolded before their eyes.


    "Fuck!!!" Zerdar cursed. Zerdar looked at Tom who was smiling wide.


    Zerdar shook his head and sat down.


    Tom chuckled. "I will surely enjoy my peace this year."


    Suddenly, the jadepass in his pocket shone.


    "Or not."

 Chapter 586 586 Spiritual Realm

    <h4>Chapter 586 Chapter 586 Spiritual Realm</h4>


    Tom was suddenly thrown into an unknown ce. He couldn''t understand what ce it was.


    He was surrounded by ssy orbs with gxies inside of them. Some of these orbs depicted worlds he had never seen before. He could barely look at each one as he was spinning in space. One particr orb showed an army of demons with spikes on their tongues descending upon a and turned the blue atmosphere into red. He caught a glimpse of another one, revealing titanic robots the size of mountains crushing the earth''s tectonic te. There were trillions of these orbs and they seemingly multiplied endlessly.


    After a few seconds, he returned to reality. He was standing in the arena. The crowds cheered. There were two men standing to Tom''s left and right.


    "I need to get out of here."


    Both men rushed towards each other, swinging their des. Tom was too slow to dodge. For some reason his mindcked focus. But what happened next surprised him. The des did not hurt him at all, instead they went through him like he wasn''t even there.


    The two men fought, their des letting out sparks as they did. Multiple times they went through Tom, but they didn''t seem to feel it.


    "Is this the spiritual realm?" Tom asked himself. "This is like the boundary between reality. This must be how those cultists hide from my godly eyes. But the system said I am not strong enough to unlock the godly''s power, so in the future, I will be able to unlock any secret."


    The first swordsman, Sir Galen of the Silver Shield, d in shining silver armor, wielded a sword as long as he was tall, its de glinting in the sunlight. He raised his de high and shouted to the other fighter, "Come at me, if you dare!"


    The second swordsman, Baron Dante of the ck de, dressed in dark, ominous armor, drew his own de, a wicked-looking weapon with jagged edges and a ckened steel de. He sneered at his opponent and replied, "You''ll regret challenging me, boy."


    As the two swordsmen charged towards each other, their des met with a deafening sh, sending sparks flying in all directions. Blow after blow was exchanged, their movements precise and calcted, each fighter attempting to gain an advantage over the other. The audience looked on in rapt admiration as Sir Galen of the Silver Shield and Baron Dante of the ck de engaged in an epic struggle of skill and valor.


    "Hmmm," Tom wasn''t impressed by their skill at all. If he entered thispetition, he could defeat both of these men with a single finger.


    "Why do I have to protect these people?" Tom had problems if an entire world was about to be burned, but he didn''t mind if a few millions died every year. After all, that was the natural order of things.


    "Besides, why would the cultists try to kill them? More importantly, where are they?"


    That was when all of a sudden, ten figures in ck robes slowly appeared. At first their form was transparent before they began to take shape as they rushed towards the two fighters with a de in hand.


    "I am not letting you!"


    Tom charged at them with his Phantom Doomde, shocking the cultists.


    "Who are you!?"


    "The one that will send you to hell!" Tom beheaded the man in question before he rushed towards another.


    Nine cultists attacked him, all the while the crowds were cheering as Galen and Dante fought.


    From the crowds'' perspective, there were only two men fighting in the arena. They didn''t see the battles happening in the spiritual realm which was even more epic.


    Tom drew his sword, his eyes zing with the power he held within. Nine cultists stood before him, their dark magic swirling around them like a malevolent aura. Without hesitation, Tom charged forward, the mes leaping up around him as he called forth his power.


    With a flick of his wrist, Tom sent a st of wind hurtling towards the first cultist, knocking him off his feet. Blood magic followed next, as Tom used his power to manipte the cultists'' own blood, causing them to falter and stumble. But the cultists were not so easily defeated; they retaliated with their own spells, their dark magicshing out at Tom with deadly force.


    Tom countered with a barrage of fire spells, engulfing them in a zing inferno. The cultists screamed in agony as Tom''s mes licked at their flesh, but they refused to yield. With a wave of their hands, they conjured up a whirlwind of ck smoke, obscuring Tom''s vision and causing him to cough and wheeze.


    But Tom was not so easily defeated. Using his control over the wind, he dispersed the smoke with a gust of air, revealing the cultists standing before him once more. With a roar, Tom summoned forth a powerful st of blood magic, causing the cultists to stagger backwards in pain.


    Tom was a whirlwind of power, his mes, blood, and wind magic working in harmony to take down his foes. The cultists were fierce opponents, but they were no match for Tom''s relentless onught.


    As the cultists closed in, Tom took a deep breath and began to focus his power. mes erupted around him, casting a flickering glow over his features as he drew his sword. The cultists hesitated for a moment, taken aback by the sudden burst of fire, but then they charged forward, their own magic crackling in the air.


    The first cultist lunged at Tom, his de shing in the light of the mes. But Tom was too quick for him; he sidestepped the attack and delivered a swift strike with his own sword, slicing the cultist''s throat open. The cultist fell to the ground, gurgling and gasping for air, while Tom moved on to the next target.


    "That''s the best you can do?" Tom sneered.


    Tom summoned a st of wind magic, sending the second cultist tumbling backwards. He followed up with a flurry of strikes, his sword moving in a blur as he cut down the cultist''s defenses. The cultist screamed in pain as Tom''s de pierced his heart, and then he fell silent.


    The rest of them were enraged when they saw their partners being killed.


    "We are the ves of hell! Killing us will guarantee you a ticket there!"


    "My dad owns hell, bitch."


    "How dare you insult us! Only the Son of Hujarar can say such things!"


    "I guess you weren''t told."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I am the Son of Hujarar.


    The cultists trembled and then red at him.


    "Nobody is allowed to insult our lord''s son! Kill him!"


    The remaining cultists closed in, their eyes filled with hatred and fear. But Tom was not deterred; he called forth a powerful st of blood magic, using it to immobilize his foes. They struggled and thrashed, but they could not break free from Tom''s grip. One by one, Tom dispatched them with a series of deadly strikes, his sword slicing through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter.


    "Ahhhh!!!" The cultists screamed as their organs were seared with heat.


    They immediately broke off Tom''s control and leaped back. Blood spilled out of their stomach like crazy.


    "How can you be this powerful?"


    "I eat a lot of chicken, that''s how."


    The cultists groaned in anger. Dark aura exploded from their body. There were only five of them left.


    Tom eyed the cultists warily, his grip on his sword tightening as he prepared for their attack. But to his surprise, the cultists began to chant in unison, their dark magic pulsing through the air. Tom watched in horror as they began to transform before his very eyes, their bodies contorting and twisting as they took on the form of dark demonic creatures.


    The first of the creatures lunged at Tom, its ws shing through the air. Tom dodged the attack and countered with a st of wind magic, sending the creature tumbling backwards. But it was undeterred; it rose to its feet and charged forward once more, its eyes zing with a fierce intensity.


    Tom summoned his own magic, calling forth a burst of mes to incinerate the creature. But it was no use; the mes simply bounced off the creature''s thick hide, leaving it unscathed. Tom knew that he had to find a way to defeat these creatures, and quickly.


    "Where do they get this magic?"


    The second creature attacked from the side, its massive horns goring through the air. Tom ducked beneath the attack and countered with a burst of blood magic, hoping to immobilize the creature. But the creature simply shook off the magic and charged forward once more, its jaws gaping wide.


    Tom evaded the creature''s attack once again, but he knew that he couldn''t keep this up forever. He took a deep breath and summoned forth his most powerful magic yet, a st of wind and fire that engulfed all five of the creatures in a maelstrom of destruction. When the mes cleared, the creaturesy scattered and defeated, their dark magic extinguished by Tom''s power.


    Tom stood there, panting and sweating, his sword still held at the ready. The air was thick with the scent of smoke and ash, but Tom was victorious.


    The crowd cheered and Tom noticed that Galend had won the fight.


    Tom stabbed the sword to the ground, leaning on it as support. He was exhausted from the battle. "These guys are not ordinary."


    Suddenly, a powerful cultist appeared out of thin air. He was tall and imposing, his skeletal face sending chills down Tom''s spine. The air around him seemed to hum with dark energy, and his eyes glowed with an eerie green light. Everything about this figure depicted dead and rot. Its hollow eyes seemed to be infinitely hollow.


    When the figure looked at Tom, his knees felt weak immediately.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Name: Zelrath the Corrupt


    Level: 200


    ss: Cultist


    Health Points: 10,000,000


    Mana Points: 8,000,000


    Strength: 350,000


    Dexterity: 250,000


    Intelligence: 800,000


    Wisdom: 700,000


    Equipment:


    Robes of the Necromancer (+1000 Intelligence, +500 Wisdom, +400 Charisma)


    Staff of the Undying (+500 Intelligence, +300 Wisdom, +200 Strength)


    Amulet of Dark Sacrifice (+400 Intelligence, +400 Mana Points, +250 Health Points)


    Skills:


    Necromancy: Expert


    Dark Magic: Master


    Elemental Magic: Advanced


    Ritual Casting: Expert


    Summoning: Master


    ¡ª¡ª


    An Adamantite Rank cultist!


    "This is not good."

 Chapter 587 587 Forced Teleportation

    <h4>Chapter 587 Chapter 587 Forced Teleportation</h4>


    Name: Zelrath the Corrupt


    Level: 200


    ss: Cultist


    Health Points: 10,000,000


    Mana Points: 8,000,000


    Strength: 350,000


    Dexterity: 250,000


    Intelligence: 800,000


    Wisdom: 700,000


    Equipment:


    Robes of the Necromancer (+1000 Intelligence, +500 Wisdom, +400 Charisma)


    Staff of the Undying (+500 Intelligence, +300 Wisdom, +200 Strength)


    Amulet of Dark Sacrifice (+400 Intelligence, +400 Mana Points, +250 Health Points)


    Skills:


    Necromancy: Expert


    Dark Magic: Master


    Elemental Magic: Advanced


    Ritual Casting: Expert


    Summoning: Master


    Tom trembled in fear. This figure was too powerful for him. Even a slight breath out of his mouth would erase him from existence.


    "Hmmm, SON OF HUJARAR¡­" The skeletal figure spoke in a loud and clear tone. His voice did not hurt his ear, but the whole world seemed to vibrate because of it.


    "Your souls are in shambles. Let me fix that for you." Zelrath slowly extended his skeletal arm out of his worn sleeves.


    Tom could not move a muscle. He willed his body to run, but nothing happened. With strange elegance, the figure snapped his fingers, and Tom''s head jolted back.


    Suddenly, Aldred, who was inside his Divine Dimension, abruptly opened his eyes and tried to run away until a strange force pulled him out and then entered Tom''s body. All parts of his soul condensed into one, and Tom''s body transformed into Aldred''s real body.


    "How did you¡­" Aldred was sure that no power in this world had the ability to detect his Divine Dimension or even had the capacity to influence it. The fact that someone could pull him out so easily meant that his power wasn''t as powerful as he imagined.


    "The world is a lot more mysterious, young prince of hell," Zelrathughed and patted Aldred''s head. "This realm is too small for you. I will send you to another realm, where you will be trained and hammered into a great warrior. Your father will be so proud."


    "Wait, I don''t want to leave. I have friends and family here."


    "You have no choice. Family and friends only weaken you. You must tread your path to greatness alone."


    Zelrath grabbed Aldred''s head. "Now, farewell, my prince. May fate let us meet again."


    A ck hole appeared in the air, and Zelrath immediately threw Aldred inside. Aldred was about to speak, but the force of the ck hole stretched andpressed him into long, thin shapes like spaghetti. Everything turned dark after that. All of his senses were gone. Numerous times, Aldred wasn''t even sure if he was conscious or not.


    Other times, he even forgot that he existed. Then, after what felt like an extremely long time, Aldred was pushed out of the ck hole.


    He found himself falling in space. As his sight became clear, he realized he was heading towards a. The was mostly blue with some green on it, just like his home, Earth.


    But then, a nce to the side made him realize that this wasn''t Earth at all. A massive metropolis sprawled on the. Huge, tall buildings that would put the tallest buildings on his home to shame were numerous, and dozens of them were asrge as mountains.


    However, something was happening on this. He saw a sea of small dots shing against an army of other small dots. A closer look revealed that they were actually demons fighting against soldiers with modern weapons. The soldiers were firingser guns, while the demons looked like something that came from a terrible nightmare.


    The demons'' appearance shocked even Aldred, who had seen a lot of hideous stuff before. They had the appearance of humans, standing around 2.1 to 2.4 meters tall (7 to 8 feet tall). They had deep red skin, making it hard to recognize if it was the blood of their victims or their skin.


    They were crushing through the soldiers with their muscr arms and wed hands, easily rending through armor and flesh. When the soldiers retaliated with theirser guns, the demons used their legs, which ended with cloven hooves like a goat, enabling them to move with great speed and agility.


    These nightmarish-looking demons did not seem to have any fear. They kept charging forward despite many of theirrades dying in battle. In fact, the death of their allies seemed to excite them instead.


    Suddenly, a strange, gigantic, heavily armored spaceship appeared. The spaceship wore Gothic-style architecture with spires, buttresses, and intricate detailing. These features gave the spaceship an imposing appearance.


    The spaceship hovered in low orbit above the besieged. The was a nightmarish sight filled with hordes of demonic creatures, threatening to overwhelm the human defenders.


    That was when batteries and cannons protruded from the spaceship.


    Aldred watched in awe as the more than 500 meter-long spaceship began to turn into battle mode.


    Without warning, the dozen or so batteries on the battleship activated, firing intense crimson energy beams that pierced through the atmosphere, disintegrating demons and leaving smoldering craters in their wake.


    The cannons rotated to adjust their aim. With a deafening roar, these massive guns unleashed a hail of high-explosive shells and kic projectiles. The ground, the sky, and the whole seemed to tremble as the cannons devastated entire swathes of demons, destroying them into smithereens.


    The spaceship wasn''t done yet. Multiple torpedounchers sprang into action, firing torpedoes that streaked through the atmosphere like meteors. Each torpedo was equipped with warheads containing deadly payloads. As they impacted, they created massive explosions, engulfingrge groups of demons in fire and sma.


    With each salvo, the demonic horde was thrown into disarray. Demons were reduced to smoldering ash, their once-mighty numbers dwindling rapidly. Columns of smoke and fire rose from the impact zones, obscuring the battlefield below.


    Aldred was amazed. He wouldn''t dare to imagine that his team of tech-nerds would be able to create something this gigantic and powerful. At least, it would take them a few hundred years to unlock this technology.


    As the demonic horde retreated in disarray, the spaceship delivered a final, devastating salvo. Torpedoes rained down in a symphony of destruction, creating a zing inferno that engulfed the remaining demons and left a scorched battlefield in its wake.


    ''It''s finally over,'' Aldred thought. He had somewhat mixed feelings about the scene he had just witnessed. Clearly, the people here were much more powerful than the warriors and magicians on hisst, although they might not be strong in individual strength, but rather collective power that relied on technology.


    He sighed as he kept falling closer and closer to the. He had been falling for hours, but the still seemed distant.


    A small ship was deployed from the gigantic spaceship. It whirled its engine and approached Aldred.


    "Zorplik m''gark! Flibberflop yarkonaxi klexaroon!"


    "What?" Ald


    red only heard gibberish, before he realized that the man inside the small ship was able tomunicate with him in space, where there shouldn''t be any sound!


    [Trantion process begins]


    [Trantion seeds]


    "Who are you? Identify yourself!"


    After the second time, Aldred realized that it was telepathy. The sound directly entered his mind using strange magic, a kind of magic that he had never experienced before.


    ''So they do have magic in this world. Well, considering there were literal demons, why wouldn''t magic exist here.''


    "Ie in peace," Aldred replied. "I mean no harm."


    "Give your identification code!"


    "Sorry, I don''t have one."


    The small spaceship revealed a gun that was aimed at him. "Only aliens don''t have identification codes. This is yourst chance."


    "I don''te from this world, okay? Instead of shooting me, why don''t you handcuff me and bring me on board of that big spaceship?"


    "Why would we bring an alien inside our vital asset?"


    ''Damn, he makes a really good point,'' Aldred thought.


    "Okay, why don''t you let mend on that first, and then we can talk properly. It''s kind of hardmunicating with you guys with a big gun in my face while I am falling through space."


    The gun that was aimed at him was retracted. "Your request is epted."


    Aldred let out a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 588 588 Wasteland Citadel

    <h4>Chapter 588 Chapter 588 Wastnd Citadel</h4>


    Wastnd Citadel. That was the name of the city. It was a formidable, heavily fortified city located in the heart of Destia Prime, the name of the. The city was located in the harshest and most barren region. It was a grim and imposing structure that rose like a monolith from the destendscape.


    Its architecture was characterized by massive, obsidian-ck walls adorned with menacing gargoyles and defensive turrets. Razor-wire barriers and moats filled with toxic sludge surrounded the outer perimeter.


    The air within Wastnd Citadel was thick with tension as Aldred moved through itsbyrinthine streets. There were more than 100 guardsmen with various weapons surrounding him. They were wary and afraid of a man who could fall in space without equipment and survive. Not only survive, but Aldred did not seem to have any trouble ''breathing'' andmunicating with them during the fall.


    Aldred turned a corner and stumbled upon a makeshift clinic. Inside, he watched as a young woman tended to wounded soldiers, her face smeared with dirt and blood, yet her hands steady as she cleaned and dressed their injuries. The soldiers barelyined; instead, they smoked and drank alcohol as if it was just another day.


    As Aldred continued his exploration, he noticed a group of children ying amidst the rubble of a partially copsed building. Theirughter echoed through the ruins, and their innocent smiles remained untouched by the grim reality outside. They yed with scavenged toys, showing an unyielding determination to find joy even in the midst of despair.


    Aldred made his way to the city''s industrial district, where towering foundries belched smoke and sparks lit up the darkening sky. Amidst the deafening tter of machinery, he spotted a group of workers d in heavy, heat-resistant gear. They toiled tirelessly, forging weapons and armor from salvaged materials. Each hammer blow resonated with purpose, and the sweat on their brows glistened like badges of honor.


    These workers, bathed in the glow of molten metal,bored without a word ofint, knowing their craft would contribute to the city''s defenses.


    Aldred began to understand the characters of the people here; unyielding determination. That was the word that could describe them. He saw at least hundreds of thousands of people died during the demon onught, and yet after it was over, the people immediately went back to work.


    "Incredible. These people are tougher than the fiercest warriors I know," Aldred said.


    The guards escorted him to the Command Citadel, located at the heart of the city. It was a towering, heavily fortified structure with walls reinforced with powerful steel and materials.


    Not long after, Aldred was put in a room. It was filled with paintings of battleships and guardsmen fighting against the demons. In all the paintings, humanity seemed to prevail and grasp victory every time, as if convincing those that entered that humans would always win against the nightmarish forces.


    When Aldred sat down, the door opened, revealing a tall and imposing figure with amanding presence. He had a weathered face, marked by the harsh realities of war and countless battles.


    "I am Captain Gaius Vallon. I am the captain of the Daemonhunter ''Purity''s Edge.'' That is the name of the cruiser-type battleship you saw in space."


    After saying those words, the captain stared at Aldred as if studying his reaction, trying to find any information from his bodynguage.


    Aldred blinked a bunch of times, feeling weird to be stared at so intensely by an imposing man. "Right¡­ It''s an incredible machine, Captain."


    "So you know what a machine is. Tell me, who are you? Ordinary humans will turn into balloons when they are exposed to space without equipment and survive. Are you a super?"


    "A super?"


    The captain frowned. "So you aren''t from here. Any human being from the Celestia Neb should know what a super is."


    "Wait a minute, what is the Celestia Neb? And what do you mean by super?"


    "It''s the name of our gxy. And super means that you have power beyond ordinary humans."


    "Ahh." Aldred finally understood.


    The captain rounded a massive desk and sat down. His back was straight, and he kept his gaze on Aldred. "Now, tell me who you are."


    Aldred sighed. "This will be a long story, but I will exin to you as concisely as I can."


    He then exined who he was. About a world, a gxy, or even perhaps a universe that was far from here.


    "A full of supers with almost no technology?"


    "There is actually technology created by a non-super because he hated how supers seemed to dominate the. But I haven''t explored the fully yet. There are supers and perhaps non-supers that are capable of creating far more powerful machines than I have described."


    "And all of these supers are humans?"


    "Well, there are elves, dwarfs, and other races sometimes within the academy I enrolled in."


    The Captain frowned. "Elves and dwarfs are ced within the same academy with humans?"


    "That''s correct," Aldred replied with a bit of hesitation. Perhaps the human here had a bad link with elves and dwarfs? He also now knew that there were elves and dwarfs in this gxy.


    "Do you perhaps know the coordinates of that? Maybe we can eradicate all the non-humans and recruit more supers into our army. Don''t worry, the Empire has wealth beyond any human could imagine. Our territories span almost half of the gxy, so you can be sure we canpensate our soldiers."


    Aldred''s jaw dropped. "Half of the gxy? Are you serious? Humanity is that strong?"


    Hearing the words ''Humanity is that strong'' put a smile on the Captain''s face. "We are also thergest and strongest forces here. No one can defeat us."


    Aldred couldn''t help but feel those two sentences were only said to convince the captain himself that humanity was strong.


    "Back to the topic, I do not know about the coordinates of the. Even though I lead a bunch of tech-nerds there, we don''t really have the technology to determine our exact location within our gxy. Our focus is to advance in weaponry and transportation for war."


    "Hm, I am no longer interested in your home because you cannot help us locate it. Tell me about your power. What kind of super are you?"


    Aldred smiled, ready to impress the man with his abilities which were able to manipte every element, able to shapeshift, teleport, and even enter a dimension that was capable of saving his life in dire moments.


    "Be ready to be impressed." Aldredughed as he raised his palm and shouted. "me of Sun!"


    However, despite his grand gesture, nothing appeared, and there was an awkward silence in the room.


    Aldred coughed. "Let me try again. Yoga Fire!"


    Just like before, nothing happened.


    The Captain sighed. "Perhaps I am wasting my time. Our conversation, forget everything about it."


    Aldred saw the Captain''s disappointed gaze as if he were fooled by a dumb person. "Wait, wait. I really do have power! I can control all the elements."


    "Show me then."


    Aldred bit his lips and tried really hard to feel his power. There was nothing.


    "How could this be..."

 Chapter 589 589 The Sanctum of Experimentation

    <h4>Chapter 589 Chapter 589 The Sanctum of Experimentation</h4>


    "What is going on?" Aldred tried to activate his magic, but he couldn''t do it. He closed his eyes to sense his unlimited mana, only to find out that he had none.


    "My mana¡­ It used to be an entire ocean of them."


    He then tried to enter his Divine Dimension, but that resulted in nothing as well. He tried everything, but nothing worked as if he had turned into an ordinary person.


    The captain had had enough. "Stop. Perhaps there is an exnation for why you are able to survive in space. Stay here. Someone will talk to youter."


    The captain opened the door and left without looking back.


    Aldred clicked his tongue. "Dang it! Why is my power gone? Is it because I am in a different universe? Maybe the universe here works differently? No, the unlimited mana given by the gods should work in every universe. But that should also apply to the divine dimension. Wait, what about the system?"


    Aldred recalled that the system was still active, proved by the fact that it tranted thenguages here for him.


    "Okay, at least I still have the system." Aldred looked around the room and sighed as he sat down. "Hopefully, I can return. I didn''t even get the chance to say goodbye to everyone. They must be so worried that I am gone so suddenly."


    After a few hours of waiting, a man in a uniform entered the room. "Mister Aldred?"


    "Just call me Aldred."


    "The Captain has reported about you. Because of your unique situation, we cannot actually do anything except to conduct some experiments on you. Please understand because we cannot risk a disguised demon among us."


    "Sigh¡­ Alright, fine. Do whatever you want." Aldred was fine with being experimented on. If he were in their position, he would do the same. Those demons were nasty as hell. Not only were they three timesrger than humans, but they also possessed resilient physical strength and speed. Even just one demon could destroy an important facility or eliminate key members in this city if the guards weren''t careful.


    "Please follow me," the man said before turning around about to open the door.


    Aldred followed him. He did not say a word during the walk; instead, he looked around the city. He passed by a square where rows of citizens, young and old, practiced theirbat skills. Instructors barked insults, the air resonated with the sh of des and exploding gunpowder.


    He watched as a group of adolescents engaged in a mock skirmish, their moves precise and coordinated. Entering a sprawling armory, Aldred was greeted by a vast array of weapons and equipment neatly organized along steel racks. Citizens in military attire inspected, cleaned, and maintained their arms with meticulous care. The walls were adorned with rows of shields, suits of armor, and rows upon rows of rifles and energy weapons.


    As he passed the armory, Aldred saw a foreboding and heavily fortifiedplex. Its towering gothic-style architecture was imposing and eerie, with spires that seemed to reach for the heavens. Barbed wire, forbidding iron gates, and watchtowers surrounded theplex, making it nearly impossible to intrude.


    "This is The Sanctum of Experimentation. It''s where we conduct experiments on demons, supers, and humans."


    "Ummm, I know I agreed to experimentation, but something tells me to change my mind."


    The man firmly nced at him. "You cannot refute this decision. Remind yourself that you are still a threat to us. If you want to prove otherwise, then you will have to agree to some rounds of testing."


    Aldred sighed and nodded. He hoped that he did not lose his resilient physical prowess to endure the experiments.


    The iron gates sprung open. Their speed was unimaginable for a construction of such size. A couple of guards with cold expressions began following from behind as they entered.


    Aldred followed the guard into a dimly lit chamber deep within the Sanctum of Experimentation. The air grew heavy and oppressive as he entered, and a palpable aura of malevolence hung in the air.


    "KAKKK!!!"


    A sudden grotesque scream reverberated along the steel walls.


    In the center of the chamber, a massive stone circle adorned with arcane runes dominated the floor. It pulsed with an eerie, faintly crimson glow. Encircling the circle were tall, iron-wrought containment cells, each one housing a grotesque and twisted creature. These were demons, captured and bound through dark rituals and powerful wards.


    Some figures in mysterious robes and ssy masks covering their faces pointed their palms towards the demons and chanted weird incantations.


    Aldred couldn''t tear his eyes away from the sight. The demons writhed and hissed, their forms shifting and contorting within their cages. Their otherworldly powers were undeniable, as tendrils of shadowshed out at the protective wards, only to be repelled with a blinding burst of light.


    "Are those supers?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, they are supers with the power of light and soul. They are the ones capable of controlling and containing demons effectivelypared to other types of supers."


    Researchers d in ornate robes moved cautiously around the containment cells, scribbling notes in ancient tomes and adjusting the mystical symbols that adorned the chamber''s walls. They spoke in hushed tones, invoking incantations to maintain the fragile bnce between control and chaos.


    After the researchers finished their notes, they nodded towards the supers below, who then pointed both of their palms towards the demons.


    The demons roared for onest time and exploded with a burst of light. Their organs sttered over the thick ss wall in front of Aldred.


    The man watched the stain slowly dripping down from the ss wall and said: "Let''s hope you really are human. If not, then you might suffer the same fate."


    "Right¡­" Aldred took in a deep breath as he walked along with them as they went deeper into theplex.


    That was when he realized something. ''Wait a minute, my father and mother are not human. My father is a demon king while my mother is a vampire.''


    Aldred was terrified at finally realizing that.


    ''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What do I do now? That goddamn spaceship is still on this. That thing could obliterate me within seconds.''


    Aldred had cold sweats forming on his forehead as they entered a room.


    There were a bunch of people there. Most of them seemed to be scientists in white robes. There were guards within the room as well with their energy guns.


    "Cleone, Smander, Shinari. Come here," the man spoke.


    The three of them approached the man. "Yes, sir! What orders do you have for us?"


    "The three of you will stand guard in this room until we finish an experimentation to check if this person is human or not." The man pointed at Aldred.


    "Hello. My name is Aldred. Nice to meet you."


    "Cleome Stormbringer," a tall strikingdy said as she grabbed Aldred''s hand and electrocuted him.


    "Ouch."


    "Hahaha!" Cleomeughed.


    "I am Smander Ironheart." The massive, heavily armored warrior said and grabbed Aldred''s hand with his huge mechanical arm. His face was obscured by a helmet adorned with glowing crimson eyes, making him an imposing presence.


    "I am not a super, but I


    make machines to make up for my strength." He grabbed a nearby shield and activated his energy de before slicing the shield in half. "I hope I don''t have to use it on you."


    Aldred let out a dryugh.


    Someone then tapped on Aldred''s shoulder from behind. He turned around, surprised that someone managed to sneak up on him.


    It was a lithe and agile woman in dark and stealthy attire. She smiled and waved at him. "Hello! I am Shinari Diascia."


    Shinari vanished and appeared behind Aldred in an instant. "As you can see, I can teleport and sneak up on you easily. So don''t even think of running away. Hihihi." Sheughed while coquettishly covering her lips.


    "Right¡­" Aldred said, but inside his head, he was screaming like crazy. There was no way he could get out of here.


    Aldred even tried to analyze the strength of these people using the system, but nothing came out.


    A scientist pulled the door to a ss chamber. "Come inside, Aldred. This won''t be long or painful if you are human, of course."


    Aldred''s expression turned sour. "Okay."

 Chapter 590 590 Defending The City

    <h4>Chapter 590 Chapter 590 Defending The City</h4>


    Aldred reluctantly entered the ss chamber, and as the door sealed shut behind him, he felt a growing sense of unease.


    The chamber was filled with an eerie, bluish light, and strange symbols adorned the walls.


    Inside the chamber, there was a peculiar, futuristic-looking apparatus with various wires and sensors attached to it. Aldred gulped as he looked at the contraption. It seemed like something out of a sci-fi horror movie.


    The scientists outside the chamber began adjusting controls and monitoring screens, their faces obscured by masks and goggles.


    The tension in the room was palpable.


    This was where they would decide if they would need to kill Aldred or not after all.


    Aldred''s newfoundpanions, Cleome, Smander, and Shinari, watched through the transparent walls of the chamber, concern and curiosity etched on their faces.


    They had read the reports about Aldred able to survive outside the''s atmosphere which was impossible for a normal human to do. Not even all supers could achieve such a feat.


    But, most aliens such as orcs, demons, and elves could survive without equipments. Although the appearance of these races were very distinct from human, some of them had the capacity to shape-shift and disguise themselves as human.


    A scientist''s voice crackled through an inte inside the chamber. "Aldred, please stand still and rx. This won''t take long. We''re going to scan your body to determine your true nature."


    Aldred nodded nervously, trying to suppress his fear. He knew that if they discovered his non-human heritage, the consequences could be dire. His mind raced, considering all possible oues.


    ''Would they torture me if they know I am not a human? Fuck, I shouldn''t have agreed to do this test.''


    Still, even if Aldred regretted his decision, he couldn''t runaway with his magic power being loss for now. The spaceship that massacred the demons were still on this. Trying to run away would be futile from a ship like that.


    He realized he really was powerless right now. It had been a long time since he felt that way. For almost all of his time in his new life, he had always able to overpower his opponents and defeat them. His fate was always in his hands.


    But now, his life would be decided by the result of this test.


    The apparatus hummed to life, emitting a low, steady sound that sent shivers down Aldred''s spine. A soft, bluish glow enveloped him as the scanning process began.


    As the seconds ticked by, Aldred couldn''t help but think about his parents. His father, a demon king, and his mother, a vampire¡ªboth powerful beings from different realms. He had always known about his mixed heritage, but it had never been a problem until now.


    The world he was put into didn''t had racism at all. Different mix of races were put together in school and society never even considered racism.


    Everything was equal, instead, their social status was determined by strength. If you''re powerful, it didn''t matter if you''re an orc, elf, or human.


    Being teleported to this strange ce gave Aldred a culture shock.


    The scientists observed the data on their screens with growing interest, their hushed discussions barely audible through the inte. Aldred''s heart raced as he wondered if they had already discovered his secret.


    He did not want to be tortured like animals.


    Suddenly, An rm red throughout the chamber, and red alert light went on and off.


    "Attention to all personnel! Please proceed immediately to the designated evacuation route and ensure your safety.? This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"


    The scientists looked at each other before the guards came in and escorted them.


    "Hey! Hey! What about me! Don''t leave me here!" Aldred shouted.


    Before they could response an explosion sted the south side of the chamber, sending rubbles and mes all over.


    Aldred, however, was protected by the thick ss. The me couldn''t reach him.


    "Holy shit!" Aldred was shocked by the sudden explosion. He was scared right now because he did not know if his body was as strong as before or not.


    "I cannot stay here! This building might get bombed again!"


    Aldred walked to the door and pulled the door. To his surprise, the whole steel door got pulled from its base. He threw the door to the side, but the door went flying instead. He threw it so fast that it lodged into the wall.


    "Okay, at least I know I still have my strength," Aldred said.


    He looked around the room and saw a person with silver hair under a fallen wall. He quickly approached and lifted the wall and throwing it away.


    "Are you okay?" Aldred lightly pped her face.


    The woman opened her eyes and groan. When she saw Aldred she stood up immediately, her face serious. "Where are the others?"


    "Over here!" a mechanical voice said as he used his heavy mechanical arms to lift a wall, revealing Shinari, the agile rogue with jet ck hair.


    Smander touched the young woman with his steel finger, sending small amount of electricity that jolted her awake.


    "What happened?" She said as she stood up.


    "Something attacked us. We need to exit this building to assess the situation." Smander nced at Aldred. "You,e with us."


    "No." Cleome stepped forward. "No. The attack came right when he appeared on this. He might be a demon in disguise."


    "If that is the case we will kill him," Smander replied. "For now, we need an extra hand. We also need to contact the Captain-Commander for our order."


    Cleome relented and the four of them rushed out of the building and looked towards the sky.


    A massive ball of fire spread out in the sky, followed by a massive explosion that increased the size of the fire.


    "That''s our battleship!" Shinari watched in horror.


    Above the atmosphere. A gigantic red warp portal spewed out three red, grotesque-looking battleships that kept firing missiles andser beams towards the ball of fire.


    "The demons! They are destroying the battleship!" Smander remarked.


    "This is not good. It will take a while for reinforcements to arrive. The demons will overtake this before then."


    A massive object fell from the ball of fire. It was the human''s battleship, covered in me, and much of its parts scattered as it fell to the ground.


    BOOM!


    The whole vibrated followed by a massive explosion when the battleship crashed onto a mountain.


    Smander activated hismunication device. "This is WC-S-1. Is anyone there? Over."


    His call received no reply. Smander tried again. "This is WC-S-1. Is anyone there? Over."


    Skrrt! Skrrt!


    "This is WC-IG-5. The demons are deploying their army. The Imperial Guardsman squadron will try to shoot them in the air. In the meantime, we need you to kill those who manage tond on the."


    They looked towards the sky and saw a massive amount of red dots falling from the demon battleship.


    They were falling like raindrops. When Smander used the zooming function on his helmet he saw these things were actually demons.


    Suddenly, massive anti-aircraft guns fired 100 of shells per seconds into the air, before exploding and sending numerous tiny steel balls that destroyed the demons. Still, even with that, there were some demons that manage to evade all the attack.


    "How can the four of us help defending the entire city from these demons?" Shinari said.


    "We are supers. It is our duty to do the impossible," Cleome said.


    Her current attitude surprised Aldred a bit. Her first impression was a yful young woman who smiled easily, but now, looking at her, it was hard to imagine she ever smiled.


    "I will help you guys," Aldred said. He did not understand the situations he fully. He didn''t know anything about those demons. But his chance of survival right now depends on the people living on this. If they died, Aldred was not certain those vicious demons would let him live either.

 Chapter 591 591 Commander Brenea

    <h4>Chapter 591 Chapter 591 Commander Brenea</h4>


    "So what do we do now? Shinari asked?


    Smander pointed towards a massive, thick tower made out of ck steel. "We need to reach themand center first. The demons are disturbing ourmunication system and we cannot contact the headmand with our currentmunication device."


    Smander''s back popped open, revealing a small steel box with an antenna popping out. It was the radio. However, there were some cracks all over it, indicating that it could barely be used formunication.


    Cleome looked up. "Going there means we need to kill hundreds of demons in our way."


    "That''s a good n. Let''s do that," Smander said, not even considering the difficulty of achieving such feat. "We have no time to waste. Aldred, I hope your stamina can keep up with us."


    Smander started running. His hulking machine of steel thumped the ground with each step. Steam came out of the exhausts on the back and suddenly, his speed increased.


    Cleome swiped her hand downward, summoning lightning that covered her whole body before she shed away.


    Shinari teleported in and out of shadows.


    "Seems like everyone has a unique way of moving fast," Aldred said. "Okay, let''s hope this work."


    His feet dug into the ground before he pushed the earth, then suddenly, with a loud boom, his whole body vanished as he moved with incredible speed, leaving a crater on the ground for his foot.


    In less than a second, he arrived next to Smander, and adjusted for his speed.


    Smander, Cleome, and Shinari watched withplex expression. First they were surprised, then they were nodding as if admitting his power.


    They ran through wreckages and rubbles, passing through a small number of demons. They chose to ignore those demons because their numbers were insignificant.


    Five minutester, however, they found a horde of demons that blocked their path.


    "Push through!" Smander shouted and his arms nked and clinked as it transformed into a fire-spitting methrower. The machine spun at high speed before thrusting out high-temperature me towards the demons.


    Cleome''s eyes seemed to be filled with storm as both of her eyes lit up and a forcefield made out of lightning appeared around her, sting all the demons that came nearby.


    Shinari was not to be outdone either. Her agile steps and lithe figure enabled her to move quickly coupled with the fact that she could teleport into shadows, she was able to appear and re-appear in almost every ce at quick session. For every time she appeared, dozens of demons were cut into pieces by her Shadow Daggers.


    Shinari leaped high into the air, doing an acrobatic move as she flipped mid-air and threw a dozen throwing knives at once.


    When she was in the air however, she saw Aldred moving through the horde of demons, punching demons with his bare fists left and right. When his fist struck upon a demon, the impacted body part exploded, sometimes, the whole body exploded as well.


    More shockingly however, when the demons struck him with their sharp ws or sh at him with their hellish de, he waspletely unharmed.


    "What body does that guy has?"


    Shinari always had a sharp eyes. It was one of her primary job to assess the situation during battle while everyone was distracted. So she quickly noticed Aldred''s remarkable strength before anyone else.


    It was only when they bulled through the horde of demons did they realized Aldred''s strength was phenomenal.


    "Did you use your bare hand to kill those demons?" Smander asked.


    "Yeap. I use to have a sword with me." Aldred was sad that he couldn''t even ess his inventory. There were many life-saving items in there, and that include his best weapon; The Phantom Doomde.


    "If only I could have my sword, I would be able to eliminate all of this demon with a single swipe."


    Smander ignored his statement and put it aside as Aldred just exaggerating. No way anyone would be able to eliminate an entire horde of demons with a single swipe.


    "We are 25 KM away from the headmand. It will take us a few more minutes to arrive," Smander said.


    The group pressed onward, killing some leftover demons on the way. Aldred''s powerful fists and the allies'' unique abilities made their path basically unobstructed.


    As they continued their sprint towards themand center, their surroundings began to change. The once-ruined streets of the city gave way to more intact structures, indicating they were getting closer to the heart of the city. They could see the signs of intense battle. Burned-out vehicles, shattered windows, and scorched buildings.


    Approaching closer to themand center, the sound of battle grew louder. The loud, terrifying roar of demons and exploding gunpowder filled the air.


    In the distance, they saw the guardsmen erecting barricades out of steel walls and armored trucks. There were some gaps on those walls for machine guns which endlessly shooting towards the demons.


    Smander halted the group, his mechanical eyes narrowing in concentration. "Let''s use our strengths. Cleome, provide cover fire with your lightning. Shinari, scout for an opening and create distractions. Aldred, continue to lead with your incredible strength. I''ll use my methrower to clear a path."


    With a shared nod, the group formted their n.


    Cleome unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts into the sky, creating an impressive disy that drew the attention of the demons.


    Shinari, using her teleportation ability, appeared on rooftops and created shadowy illusions to divert the demons'' focus.


    Aldred charged forward, his fists crashing into the demon ranks with explosive force. His invulnerability allowed him to wade through the battle without fear of injury.


    Smander followed closely behind, the mes from his methrower scorching and dispersing the demonic horde.


    The guardsmen saw them fighting against the demons and began to provide fire support.


    Theirbined efforts pushed the demons back, creating a path toward themand center. The defenders on the inside noticed their approach.


    "Open the gate!" the guardsmen shouted.


    The steel gates opened, allowing the group to enter.


    "Smander!" one of the officer shouted. "The Commander is expecting you. Come with me."


    Inside themand center, they were greeted by a scene of organized chaos. Guardsman officers and soldiers rushed to and fro, coordinating the defense. At the center of it all stood Commander Brenea, her silver hair gleaming in the dim light.


    Brenea''s piercing gaze met Aldred''s as he approached. "You''ve arrived just in time," she said, her voice unwavering. "We have much to discuss, and our defenses must hold. The fate of Wastnd Citadel hangs in the bnce."

 Chapter 592 592 A Mission

    <h4>Chapter 592 Chapter 592 A Mission</h4>


    Inside themand center, the group gathered around Commander Brenea, who stood in front of arge tactical map disying the city''syout and the demon army''s positions. The atmosphere was tense, with officers and soldiers rushing about, coordinating defenses and receiving updates from the front lines. The distant roars of demons that sometimes came through themunication tools served as a grim reminder of the ongoing battle.


    Commander Brenea''s eyes scanned the map, her silver hair gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights of themand center. She spoke with authority, her voice cutting through the tension in the room.


    "The battle began abruptly but it caused thousands of casualties. This isn''t a simple city defense like before. The demon army is bringing three battle-ships with them. These ships can and will provide air-support whenever necessary. Which mean, we cannot mobilize our army with much freedom."


    "What can we do in this situation?" Smander asked.


    "After hundreds of our scouts died, we''ve identified the leader of this demon onught. Azrakar." Brenea dered, her finger pointing at a marked location on the map.


    "He''s a powerful demon working under Lord Margorth and our scouts report that he wields dark magic that has been bolstering the demon forces. If we can take him down, we may disrupt their coordination, and reduce their strength to turn the tide of this battle."


    "Lord Margorth. Isn''t that one of the most terrifying demon lord that roam the Celestia Neb?" Shinari asked. "If we killed his underling, won''t hee here for revenge?"


    "Are you afraid?" Commander Brenea stared with her sharp eyes. "So what if Lord Margorthe here? Killing his underlings is much more important because we will be helping humanity as a whole by reducing the evil forces. Our continuation as a species is much more important than individuals life."


    Smander nodded, his mechanical features reflecting determination. "All of us know the importance of this battle. We''ll do everything in our power to neutralize Azrakar. But we need a n."


    "You know yourself best. Tell me what you have in mind," Commander Brenea said.


    Cleome, her fingers crackling with electric energy, chimed in, "Shinari and I will infiltrate their lines, get close to Azrakar, and disrupt his magic. It won''t be easy, but we can create chaos among their ranks."


    Shinari nodded, her shadowy presence seeming to blend into the dimly lit room. "We''ll use our unique abilities to slip through and sow confusion. If we can draw their attention away from themand center, it should buy you time to reinforce our defenses."


    Commander Brenea shook her head. "Even if we manage to out-strength the demon army, we cannot send reinforcement to your side. You have to eliminate Azrakar on your own."


    The weight of Commander Brenea''s words hung heavily in the air as the group absorbed the gravity of their mission. Cleome and Shinari exchanged a determined nce, their resolve unwavering.


    "We understand the risks," Cleome said, her voice steady. "We''ll do whatever it takes to get to Azrakar."


    Shinari added, "Our unique abilities give us an advantage in slipping past their defenses. We''ll create the chaos you need."


    "It''s not chaos that I need. I need absolute elimination of Azrakar. Keep that in mind," Commander Brenea firmly spoke.


    "We will kill Azrakar for you. Before that, keep holding on the fort," Smander said with metallic voice.


    "This city depends on you. I know you just fight your way to reach this stronghold, but I need you to leave right this instant as our resources cannot sustain us for long. The guardsmen will support your way out of this area."


    Smander nodded. "Let''s go."


    They all walked out of themand center immediately.


    Aldred was impressed at how quick things were moving. In less than an hour, they had created a n to solve their problems after considering all the information they had.


    That wasn''t an easy thing to do, recalling they had tens of thousands of demons barging at their doorstep.


    A minuteter, the group entered a fortified Humvee.


    An officer approached them. "Use this Humvee to escape the area. We will provide cover fire for you guys."


    Smander nodded. "We will be depending on you."


    The officer shook his head. "It is us who will be depending on you. There aren''t many supers left and we cannot send out more since we need them for emergency situations. Your roles are key if we want to gain victory with minimal casualties." The man looked at Smander dead in the eye. "Now go. You have no time to waste."


    Smander floored on the gas and the Humvee roared into life, charging towards the gate that opened for them.


    Immediately, they were faced with demons that charged towards them. They scratched, punch, sh, and crashed themselves onto the Humvee, but the vehicle was powerful enough to defend against these attacks.


    Smander rolled down the window. "Show them your power."


    Immediately after, lightning bolt and shadow arrows came out of the Humvee and cleared out the demons that was charging at them.


    Machine guns roared, sending rain of bullets towards the demon, preventing them from reaching the Humvee.


    The wheels of the Humvee screeched as it sped through the chaos of battle. Cleome and Shinari unleashed their powers, creating a formidable protective barrier around the vehicle. Lightning crackled and danced, striking down demons that dared approach, while shadowy arrows pierced through the enemy ranks.


    Smander skillfully maneuvered the Humvee, dodging debris and demon attacks with precision. His mechanical reflexes ensured that the vehicle only received minimal damage.


    Aldred stayed inside the Humvee. He couldn''t do anything because he had no magic. Sometimes, he would punch a demon or two that manage to reach the Humvee but that was all.


    ''Damn, I feel useless. If I still have my magic, I could create a sea of fire that will burn all these demons to crisps."


    As they approached the city''s outer defenses, the guardsmen provided cover fire, suppressing the demon horde that pursued the Humvee. Explosions and gunfire echoed through the air as the battle raged on.


    Finally, they broke through the demon lines and reached the rtive safety of the city''s outskirts. Smander brought the Humvee to a screeching halt, and the group jumped out.


    "We need to head south for 30 KM to reach Azrakar."


    Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed in the sky. They looked up and saw a lot of of air-forces were trying to attack the battleships.


    The aircrafts moved at super sonic speed while activating their most advanced stealth technology before sending missiles towards the battleships.


    However, when these missiles reached the battleships, they couldn''t even create a dent on their exterior. Battleships were apletely different ss of weaponspared to aircraft. These aircrafts were never meant to fight against a battleship, rather they were used to provide support to the ground troops.


    Battleships, on the other hands, were created specifically to fight against everything.


    The three battleships created a loud whirling noise in the sky before shooting thousands of small shells in every directions. These shells exploded sending hundreds of steel balls that wrecked the aircrafts.


    One explosions after another reverberated in the sky.


    Cleome clenched her fist. "We need to move quick. The doesn''t have enough aircraft to distract those battleships for long."

 Chapter 593 593 Stampede

    <h4>Chapter 593 Chapter 593 Stampede</h4>


    "Smander, start the Humvee. We need to reach our destination as fast as possible," Cleome told.


    Smander turned on the Humvee immediately. But then, a high caliber bolt prated through the engine, killing the engine in the process.


    "Fuck! Watch out! There are snipers!"


    Cleome spread her arms, creating a lightning force field that blocked the iing projectiles.


    Aldred saw the projectiles were a piece of sharp hot red metal that kept on rotating as if trying to prate the force field.


    Those were very interesting for Aldred. The demons in this world were not only vicious but technologically advanced as well. The battleships and these snipers might only be one of the many weapons they had avable at their disposals.


    "Not only do they have an edge in physical prowess, but they can match humanity''s technology. How could we hold on for so long?"


    "Damn it!" Cleome said through gritted teeth. "I cannot hold these force field for long. Do something."


    Aldred saw a sniper hiding atop a ruined building. He exited the vehicle, grabbed a small rock, and threw it towards the demon at shocking speed.


    The demon, perched atop the ruined building was unaware of the impending danger. He continued to peer through the score of his rifle. Then, with a sudden and unexpected impact, the rock struck its target.


    Upon contact, there was a resounding crack as the rock struck the demon''s shoulder with tremendous force. The rock was like a powerful high-caliber bullet as it took arge chunk of the shoulder, revealing a nasty wound.


    The weird-looking, alien-like sniper rifle slipped from the demon''s grasp and tumbled to the ground. The demon let out a guttural cry of pain as it was shocked by the force created by just a small rock.


    Smander saw this through his mechanical screen. The zooming capabilities let him clearly knew exactly what happened. Aldred''s quick thinking, precision, but more importantly physical strength shocked him to the bones. Throwing a small rock urately over 3 KM away was an almost impossible feat for any super, but this guy can do it within a breath.


    ''Thankfully, he''s an ally.'' Smander let out a sigh before he turned his mechanical arms into a pair of machine guns and went guns zing at every demons he detected.


    Shinari joined as well. She wasn''t very proficient in long-distance targets, but she make sure she trained herself in almost all field exactly for a situation like this. With a p of her hands, she created a bow out of shadows, and an arrow immediately formed when she pulled the string.


    She was a trained scout as well, so her eyes very as sharp as an eagle. With that, she easily killed the demons in the distance.


    ''Hoo, these people are very impressive,'' Aldred thought. ''Not only can they fight at close-range, they are also proficient in killing distant targets. And, with Cleome''s forcefield they can defend themselves against attacks as well.''


    What an incredible team!


    After killing all the snipers, they continued their journey on foot.


    They moved with caution through the war-tornndscape. The once-thriving city had now be a battleground between humans and the technologically advanced demons.


    Cleome, leading the way with her force field, couldn''t help but feel angered when she saw what the demons had done towards the city. She had lived in this city for all her life, and the demons razed it to the ground. Clenching her fist, she was even more determined to protect her home and her people.


    Smander noticed her expression. He also felt a sense of duty like never before to perform this mission sessfully especially the stake being so high. He couldn''t afford to let them down.


    His mechanical arms shifted back to their normal form as he continued to scan the surroundings for any sign of danger.


    He knew these vicious demons would stop at nothing to take this city and create a cult to brainwash the survivors and worship their dark gods.


    The worshipers would further strengthen the demonic forces, threatening to bring humanity to extinction.


    Suddenly, a 2,7 meter tall demon? with a sword appeared out of the rubbles and charged at them.


    Aldred lunged towards it, and blocked the de with his forearm, before pping the demon in the face, twisting its neck in the process.


    "How did it manage to slip out of our detection?" Smander frowned.


    "Our abilities to scan danger are not perfect, and surely these demons have their own ways to evade your detection," Aldred said as he picked up the sword the demon had held.


    The de was 157 CM tall (5,1 feet). It could be said to be as tall as a man. A very short man at least.


    It was crimson dark, the color of darkened blood with sharp, serrated edges.


    With a nce, one could tell it wasn''t meant to be wielded by a human.


    Aldred easily picked it up and swing it left and right, creating a disturbance with the wind he produced. "This will do for now."


    "Everyone, on guard! There are demons approaching us!" Smander shouted.


    In the distance, a massive cloud of yellow dust rolled towards them like an avnche. A few secondster, a nightmarish horde of grotesque demonic spawns appeared. Their twisted forms shrouded in sickly, yellowish flesh and bearing a cacophony of disgusting features, charged relentlessly at Aldred and his allies.


    Their frenzied advance was a terrifying spectacle of iling limbs, gnashing ws, and unhinged desperation for blood and flesh. As they closed in, the very ground trembled beneath the weight of more than ten thousand stampede.


    The air grew thick with an oppressive stench of decay and rot. The horde''s corrupted aura left a trail of destion and withering in its wake, turning the ruined streets to something even worse.


    However, Aldred and the rest of the team stood resolute at the face of the onught.


    Smander stepped in front of them, determined to be the tip of the spear. "I am proud of you all. Especially you, Aldred. We never fight alongside before, but you act like you''ve been with us this whole time. Have you no fear?"


    "Fear? Of these horde? I''ve seen much worse." Aldred smiled.


    "You''re one of mystery." Smander smiled as well. "Be sure to tell your story after we''re done with this."


    "You got that."


    They all looked forward after the short conversation, and then charged at the horde while letting out a battle-cry.

 Chapter 594 594 Mutated Demonic Spawn

    <h4>Chapter 594 Chapter 594 Mutated Demonic Spawn</h4>


    Demonic spawns. A grotesque-looking creatures without a mind of their own. They were like feral beast incapable of self-reflection or rationalization. Their very existence were sustained by instinct and the feeling of hunger for flesh.


    These creatures were created as a result of the demonic energy that came out of the warp, the red spinning portal of which the demons used as a door to invade worlds. The demons were also contributing to the creation of these creatures as their aura spread. They let out these aura or some scents every time they breath, fight, or even die.


    An unfortunate animals or humans would unknowingly absorb the aura and transformed into a demonic spawn that would kill anything it set its gaze upon.


    As more creatures died, the demonic aura intensified to the point it got so powerful that even corpses could turn into demonic spawn.


    That was the reason why there were tens of thousands demonic spawn currently charging at them.


    The group charged forward, meeting the grotesque demonic horde head-on. The ground trembled beneath the stampede of these twisted creatures, their frenzied and grotesque forms seemingly untouched by reason or sanity.


    It was a nightmarish sight, one that would haunt the dreams of any who witnessed it.


    Cleome unleashed her lightning in a blinding disy of power. Her bolts of electricity danced among the demons, creating a frenzy of sparks and screams.


    The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as she continued to unleash her wrath upon the horde. "May you all rest in peace!"


    She knew that these creatures were just actually unfortunate victims of the demonic aura. She felt no hatred towards them, but pity.


    Shinari teleported around the battlefield, her shadowy form darting in and out of existence. With each reappearance, her swift and deadly strikes felled demons left and right. Her teleportation skills allowed her to strike from unexpected angles, creating confusion and chaos among the enemy ranks.


    "I will make it swift and painless for you," she said.


    Aldred, wielding the crimson-dark sword he had picked up earlier, swung it with devastating force. The serrated edges of the de cut through demon flesh like a hot knife through butter. He moved with a grace and power that seemed impossible for a man of his size, each swing of the sword a testament to his incredible strength. "There are so many of them."


    Smander, with his mechanical precision, turned his arms into a pair of high-powered machine guns.


    Bullets sprayed forth like a storm, tearing through demon bodies and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. He maintained a steady barrage, ensuring that none of the demons could break through their line. "We will get through this! Everyone, keep fighting!"


    Despite the relentless onught of the grotesque horde, the group fought with determination and unity.


    As the battle raged on, Cleome''s lightning continued to strike down demons, while Shinari''s teleportation skills allowed her to evade attacks effortlessly. Aldred''s swordsmanship remained unmatched, and Smander''s firepower was unrelenting.


    But the horde seemed endless, their numbers replenishing faster than the group could cut them down. The air grew heavier with the stench of death and decay as the battle wore on.


    "Their numbers keep increasing!" Shinari said as her shadow de cut down a demon spawn in half.


    Aldred swung the huge sword in quick-session with one hand as he realized the number of the enemies were not decreasing.


    ''So this is what my enemy feels when I send my undead and mechanical robots at them.''


    No wonder they hated him so much.


    Smander''s mechanical eyes scanned the battlefield, assessing the situation. "We can''t keep this up forever. There''s just too many of them."


    Cleome who seemed tired already nodded in agreement. "We need to find a way out of this or we''ll be overwhelmed."


    Shinari, her teleportation abilities pushed to the limit, managed to speak between her swift movements. "There''s a building up ahead. We can try to make a stand there, create a bottleneck."


    "I will open up a path!" Aldred shouted as he charged forward and swung the de wide.


    "I will assist!" Smander advanced behind Aldred as he fired in every direction.


    Cleome and Shinari nodded before they joined the group, creating a bubble of space in the midst of the demon spawn horde.


    As they advanced however, they realized the demonic spawns stopped moving and letting a particrly tall demon with two antennas slowly walked towards the group.


    "Fuck! That''s a mutated demonic spawn!" Smander shouted.


    "Is that bad?" Aldred asked.


    "Really bad!" Cleome gritted her teeth.


    Smander fired a couple of shots at the mutated spawn. The monster raised one of its six arms and the bullets stopped in mid air.


    "Psychic abilities! A powerful one as well," Shinarimented.


    "They can only do telekinesis. Why are you all so worried?"


    The monster then raised three of its arms and an aircraft that was high in the sky was being pulled towards them at high speed.


    Fractions of a second before impact, Cleome and Shinari created a defensive barrier. The pilot was wide-eyed, unable toprehend the situations that his aircraft moved by itself and at such a high speed too.


    Cleome and Shinari closed their eyes and looked away after they saw the pilot''s face. The aircraft crashed into their barrier and exploded.


    "I am going to attack!" Smander shouted as he fired two incendiary canisters that exploded and engulfed the monster in me.


    I apologize for the oversight. Let''s return to the moment when the group was in imminent danger from the mutated demonic spawn.


    The mutated demonic spawn, despite being engulfed in mes, was not entirely defeated. It emerged from the inferno, its body scorched and charred, but its psychic abilities seemingly unaffected. The creature''s six arms waved wildly in the air, and a sinister aura enveloped it, casting an eerie crimson glow.


    The creature''s twisted mouth contorted into a grotesque grin, and it unleashed a barrage of telekic projectiles at the group. The force of these attacks was unlike anything they had encountered before, sending cars and debris hurtling toward them with deadly speed.


    Cleome and Shinari''s barrier strained under the relentless assault, and their stamina waned. They gritted their teeth to pour more energy into the barrier to keep it from copsing.


    Aldred suddenly exited the barrier.


    "Wait, what are you doing!?"


    They thought Aldred was about to kill himself until he shed the air and all the cars and debris were minced into a thousand pieces, reducing the impact they had on the barrier.


    When they saw this, the rest of the group watched in disbelief.

 Chapter 595 595 Support From Above

    <h4>Chapter 595 Chapter 595 Support From Above</h4>


    As Aldred''s swordsmanship sliced through the iing projectiles, reducing them to harmless fragments, Cleome and Shinari couldn''t help but watch in awe. His skill and strength were truly extraordinary, and they realized that they were fighting alongside a formidable ally.


    Smander, on the other hand, shifted his tactics. He transformed his mechanical arms into a pair of rapid-firing energy sters, unleashing a continuous stream of powerful energy bolts at the mutated demonic spawn. The creature''s distorted form was bathed in searing energy as it howled in pain.


    "I will block the debris for you. Attack that thing with all of your power!" Aldred shouted.


    Cleome and Shinari began sending their ranged attacks towards the mutated spawn.


    Thebined efforts of the group began to take a toll on the monstrous creature. It struggled to maintain its psychic onught, and its movements became more erratic. Smoke and sparks emanated from its charred body.


    Seeing an opportunity, Cleome and Shinari focused their energies on a coordinated counterattack. Cleome''s lightning bolts struck the creature''s limbs, causing it to convulse and twitch. At the same time, Shinari utilized her teleportation to deliver precise and deadly strikes, targeting vulnerable spots on the creature''s body.


    That was a very risky move of her. If the mutated spawn grabbed a hold of her with its psychic power, she would be done for.


    The battlefield crackled with energy as the group unleashed a relentless assault on the mutated demonic spawn. Theirbined powers created a symphony of chaos and destruction as lightning bolts, shadowy strikes, and energy sts converged upon the creature.


    Aldred, determined to protect his newfoundrades, continued to intercept iing projectiles with his crimson-dark sword. His movements were a blur of precision and strength as he deflected each threat, ensuring that Cleome and Shinari could focus on their attacks.


    The fact that the mutated spawn still able to attack them was nothing but incredible. Cleome''s lightning attack, Smander''s rapid energy sters, and Shinari''s shadowy strike would kill any monsters within seconds.


    Cleome''s lightning struck the creature''s arms, eliciting agonized shrieks from the mutated spawn. She channeled her anger and frustration into her attacks, determined to avenge the fallen city and its people.


    Aldred could tell that she was the most emotional of the group.


    Shinari''s teleportation skills allowed her to strike from unpredictable angles, making it difficult for the creature to anticipate her moves. Her strikes targeted the creature''s vital areas, causing it to spasm and writhe in pain.


    Every time the mutated spawn tried to grab her with its psychic power, she would vanish into the shadow.


    Smander''s energy bolts tore into the creature''s charred form, leaving scorch marks and craters in its wake. The relentless barrage of firepower seemed to weaken the creature''s psychic defenses, making it increasingly vulnerable.


    The battle seemed to tilt to their favor, but could they truly defeat this abomination? The creature''s psychic powers were formidable, and despite theirbined efforts, it showed no sign of relenting.


    Cleome and Shinari, too, were feeling the strain. Their energies were depleting, and the sustained intensity of their attacks was taking a toll on their bodies. Beads of sweat formed on their brows as they gritted their teeth.


    Smander''s mechanical voice broke through the chaos. "We can''t keep this up much longer. We need to finish this."


    Aldred nodded in agreement, his gaze never leaving the mutated spawn. "We have to give it everything we''ve got."


    But just as they prepared tounch their final assault, the mutated demonic spawn let out an unearthly howl, and a surge of psychic energy erupted from it. The ground quaked beneath their feet as the creature''s powers reached their zenith.


    The sound was a nightmarish symphony of anguish and despair, a chilling cacophony that sent shivers down their spines and made their blood run cold. It was a sound that seemed to reverberate not only in the ears but in the very souls of those who heard it.


    The unholy howl was not merely a sound, but a palpable force of terror.


    As it reverberated through the air, the very atmosphere seemed to warp and quiver in response.


    The ground beneath their feet rumbled and groaned, as if the earth itself were writhing in agony. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the creature, snaking their way across the ground like veins of despair. Stones were upturned, and the very earth seemed to cry out in anguish as it sumbed to the psychic onught.


    Aldred and his allies struggled to maintain their footing as blood trickled out of their orifices.


    It was as though the very fabric of reality was unraveling before their eyes, and they found themselves caught in the grip of a force beyondprehension. In that moment, they knew that they were not just facing a creature of flesh and bone, but a nightmarish embodiment of malevolence that threatened to consume not only their bodies but their very souls.


    Cleome and Shinari screamed in pain as their knees hit the ground. Smander was standing still like a statue, but inside his mechanical armor, he was wriggling in pain.


    Aldred too felt the pain to the very essence of his soul. He could bare the pain, but his body could barely move.


    And with passing seconds, the effect got worse and worse while their heads felt like they''re about to explode.


    In that moment, it seemed as though all hope was lost. The group was pushed to the brink of defeat, their bodies and minds strained beyond limits.


    That was when the monster howled even louder and reached to the sky with all of its six arms. Massive destroyed buildings rose to the sky, casting shadow upon thend.


    And then, when it seemed as though the mutated spawn''s devastating attack would be unleashed, two aircraft streaked across the sky. Their missiles struck the creature with pinpoint uracy, causing a series of explosions that enveloped it in mes.


    The force of the explosions sent shockwaves rippling through the area, knocking the group off their feet. Debris and smoke filled the air as the mutated spawn''s howls of agony were drowned out by the chaos.


    As the dust settled, Aldred, Cleome, Shinari, and Smander slowly rose to their feet, their bodies battered and bruised. They looked up at the two aircraft making a manuever in the sky that hade to their rescue.


    Amunication request prompted on Smander''ss device.


    "Keep going, soldiers. Themander cannot let you stop now."


    "Affirmative," Smander replied before ending the call.


    They aircraft entered super-sonic speed end left immediately.


    The group then looked at the explosion site.


    The mutated demonic spawny in ruins, its once-powerful form reduced to smoldering wreckage.


    "If a demonic spawn is already this strong. How much stronger is the enemy we''re going to face?" Aldred asked.


    "A mutated demonic spawn is a very rare urrence," Smander replied. "But I am not saying that Azrakar will be any weaker. We will never know until we face that demon. Still, the fact remain that we must attack him to reduce the power of the demons. His dark magic amplify the demonic aura in this, strengthening basically every individuals demons that is attacking our allies."


    "Our destination is already ahead of us," Cleome said. "That mutated spawn is the gate keeper and probably Azrakar''s most powerful guard."


    "Where is it?" Aldred asked.


    "The location is right below us," Cleome said before looking at Smander.


    Smander''s arms turned into a boring machine. "Let''s start digging.

 Chapter 596 596 Azrakar’s Lair

    <h4>Chapter 596 Chapter 596 Azrakar''s Lair</h4>


    Destia Primena, a heavily-fortified world designed to fight against the diseases that gnawed the gxy. A world full of warriors with all of their skills and efforts put into one thing and one thing only¡ªkilling demons.


    For decades, they fought against countless demon onught, defeating the force of darkness over and over again without end. To be a man or woman on this one must be prepared to lose their life and the life of their family members.


    With death at the door, the people train their body and mind beyond what could even be imagined to be possible and they reproduced like rabbits, producing endless supply of relentless warriors, scientists, and craftsman that was ready to die to defend the Imperium.


    Currently, the was sieged by the demonic forces with greater forces than ever before. Three battleships were deployed just to take this one alone.


    For aparison, one battleship could already decide the fate of the entire star system for its almost absolute aerial supremacy.


    Sending one was already too much, sending three was beyond than pushing it.


    Yet, despite that, humanities prevailed and kept on thousands of aircrafts in the air as the guardsmen roared and fought against the demons onnd.


    Every second, hundreds of aircraft exploded as high-frequencyser beams tore them apart.


    Anti-aircrafts gunnery roared nonstop onnd, firing numerous shells into the sky to support their allies, but their projectiles did nothing but tickle the thick armor of the battle-type cruiser spaceship.


    Smander knew the exact number of casualties on his screen, and every time he looked at it, his chest hurt. So with a heavy heart, he deactivated the live statistics and get on to work.


    Smander''s mechanical arms shifted into a pair of powerful digging tools, resembling giant drills. The ground beneath them trembled as he activated the machinery, and they began to descend into the earth, leaving a tunnel in their wake.


    Cleome jumped on top of Smander. Her eyes shone and hands crackled. She mmed her hands on his mechanical armor and send electricity running through it.


    Like an angered bull, Smander wreck havoc on the ground, digging faster and sending rocks into the air.


    Cleome pushed one of her palm into the sky, pushing all the debris out of the hole with her lightning as they went deeper into the ground.


    After ten minutes, they entered a tunnel.


    Smander checked his readings and said: "Follow me."


    The passage was dark, and the air was thick with the scent of damp soil. Aldred, Cleome, and Shinari followed closely behind Smander as they descended deeper into the undergroundbyrinth.


    As they delved further, the walls of the tunnel seemed to close in around them, and the earth became morepact. The tunnel descended at a steep angle, making it increasingly challenging to maintain their footing.


    "Are we going the right way?" Aldred asked.


    "Hush," Smander whispered.


    Cleome generated a soft, pale light around her, illuminating their path. The eerie glow cast eerie shadows on the walls, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.


    The light however woke up a sleeping demon. It abruptly opened its eyes and pounced at them. Smander quickly mmed the demon''s head to the wall.


    "Turn that off. We''re going dark," Smander said as his mechanical helmet activated dark vision.


    Aldred had no problem seeing in the dark and so did Shinari. Cleome began to release small amount of electric currents in the air to ''feel'' the environments around her. Like a bat which used sound waves to determine their location.


    Aldred couldn''t help but feel a sense of foreboding. The battle against the mutated demonic spawn had left them physically and mentally drained, and now they were plunging into the unknown depths of the earth to confront a powerful foe.


    He actually did not feel tired at all. In fact, his physical body seemed to be a lot stronger now as if his true power became more avable with every challenges he faced on this.


    Smander''s mechanical arms made short work of the dirt and rock, and they continued to descend deeper into the earth. The tunnel seemed to stretch on indefinitely, and they couldn''t help but wonder whaty ahead.


    Their journey was a silent one, each member of the group lost in their thoughts. The weight of their mission and the looming confrontation with Azrakar hung heavily in the air. They hade so far, faced unimaginable challenges, and yet, the ultimate test still awaited them.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tunnel opened up into a vast underground chamber. The sight that greeted them was nothing short of astonishing.


    They stood on a rocky precipice overlooking a massive cavern. Below them, a sprawling city of darkness stretched out as far as the eye could see. Twisted spires and ominous structures rose from the shadowy depths, giving the underground city an eerie and malevolent appearance.


    Cleome''s pale light revealed the grotesque architecture of the ce, and they could see that it was inhabited by demons of all shapes and sizes. It was a nightmarish metropolis that seemed to pulse with dark energy.


    There were subus-like demons with a whip of thorns striking on the pitifully chained humans as they were dragged to some kind of dungeons.


    Although they looked like subus, their faces weren''t beautiful at all. The shape of their bodies might be enticing, but their thorny tongue, red skin, and ck arrow-pointed tail made them a nightmarish sight.


    Aldred looked to the side and saw humans literally nailed on a dark-steel cross, then they chanted some kinds of spells as if doing a ritual.


    Smander''s mechanical sensors went into overdrive as he scanned the area. "This is it. Azrakar''s domain."


    Aldred tightened his grip on his crimson-dark sword. "Are we going in?"


    "We need to form a n," Smander begin. "Going in blindly is not a wise idea. Do you guys have any idea?"


    "I can scout the ce alone first," Shinari suggested. "With my skills, I should be able to sneak in and out easily."


    "That''s too much guesswork. Never underestimate the enemies," Smander said. "We don''t know what they are capable of."


    "What is our primary objective?" Aldred asked. "Is it defeating Azrakar or helping our allies? From what I can see, those rituals they were doing by using human sacrifices were the source of their power. I can feel their dark energy strengthened the demons."


    "Are you saying we should prioritize destroying those dark-steel crosses instead?" Smander asked.


    Aldred nodded.


    "But that is almost an impossible task. Trying to destroy one will bring the entire demon in this cave to go after us. We need some sort of distractions and chaos, but we don''t have enough manpower for that."


    Aldred smiled before he flicked his fingers.


    And then to their shock, another Aldred materialized out of thin air.


    "Doppleganger!" Shinari was wide-eyes in shock. "I heard only special supers could do something like that."


    However, the second Aldred smiled, and then a third Aldred appeared.


    "Two clones?!" Shinari was yet shocked again.


    Aldredughed. "I am sure now we have enough manpower to create chaos."

 Chapter 597 597 Pure Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 597 Chapter 597 Pure Chaos</h4>


    Shinari was a super capable of manipting shadows with her will. She had various abilities such as teleporting into the shadow, summoning weapons with shadow, and so much more. She wasn''t the first shadow maniptor however, she had seniors that taught her in the academy who also had control over shadow.


    They had abilities that she had yet to master, and one of them was creating shadow clones. They said that creating a clone was the most difficult skill one could learn. It wasn''t just creating and forming shadow in the shape of oneself, but one had to put the very essence of one''s soul as well otherwise the clones would just be a moving objects without its own will.


    With that hurdle, it was very hard to even create one clone, but Aldred effortlessly create three clones at once!


    Shinari still could not believe her eyes as she processed the information. Aldred just did something she could only dream of doing, and that bring her self-esteem down a little.


    Smander was shocked as well, but he shook his head and put his mind back to the current situation. "That''s good. Tell your clones to create chaos and distractions while we will destroy those steel crosses.


    The two Aldreds exchanged knowing nces, their minds working in perfect unison. With a silent nod, they dispersed in different directions, each taking a unique path into the underground city of darkness.


    Aldred stepped forward.


    The group looked at him with a slight apprehension.


    "Don''t look at me like that. I am not a clone. I am the real Aldred. Besides, my clone is no different than me. They have my mind and soul."


    "So you are the real Aldred?" Cleome approached and looked at his face left and right before poking his cheek. "How can I tell?


    "That''s the thing. You cannot differentiate me and my clones." Aldredughed.


    However, Shinari was notughing. Creating a clone that was hard to differentiate from the real person was terribly hard. A clone could actually be said to be a lesser version, an imitation of the real thing per say.


    Clones only contain a handful amount of soul essence, power, and intellectpared to the real person, therefore they were usually much weaker.


    Shinari couldn''t believe what Aldred said and thought that he was only joking.


    "Let''s go," Shinari said. "We have no time to waste. Aldred''s clones might notst for long."


    Suddenly, the west section of the massiveir exploded. Smoke billowed into the air, but because they were underground, the smoke had nowhere to go, so they got stuck in their and spread to every direction.


    Screams of demons and rms rang, Smander detected more demons began to move to the west side of their.


    "Let''s go!" Smander said before the sprinted towards the east side of their and avoided the detection of the demons as they were going to the west.


    "Aldred, is your clones okay?" Smander asked.


    "Nice of you to ask," Aldred said as he sprinted as well. "They are fine. Don''t worry. We will have enough time to destroy all the steel crosses."


    The first or the real Aldred, apanied by Smander, Shinari and Cleome, headed toward the nearest dark-steel cross where a ritual was taking ce. As they approached, the demons surrounding the cross turned their attention to the intruders. With a confident grin, Aldred charged forward, his crimson-dark sword cutting through the air with deadly precision.


    Smander''s mechanical arms unleashed a barrage of high-powered energy sts, creating chaos among the demon ranks. Cleome, with her lightning powers, targeted the thorn-whip-wielding subus demons, incapacitating them with bolts of electricity.


    The demons, taken by surprise, scrambled to defend their dark-steel cross. They howled in agony as the cross began to tremble, its dark energy disrupted by the group''s onught.


    Aldred charged forward. The demons enraged and attacked him, but they were cut into pieces by his sword.


    The demons noticed this but there was nothing they could do as the other humans were also attacking them with terrifying forces.


    With a final swing of his sword, Aldred shattered the cross into pieces, releasing the tormented humans from their nightmarish imprisonment.


    However, Aldred found out that the humans were already devoid of life. Their eyes were deep white as if their souls were already sucked out. They were nothing but flesh, and although they were still breathing, their mind could no longer work.


    "Too bad."


    But the victory was short-lived, as the demons in the vicinity rallied for a counterattack. The battle raged on, and Aldred, Smander, and Cleome fought valiantly to protect the newly-freed humans and maintain their advantage.


    "Damn! There''s too many of them!" Smander shouted as he used his shotgun sters to kill dozens of demons at once.


    Meanwhile, the second Aldred had infiltrated the heart of the underground city. His goal was to locate the source of the dark energy that fueled the demons and eliminate it. He moved stealthily through the twisted streets and shadowy alleyways, his every step guided by an unerring sense of purpose.


    Aldred did not want his clones to be a mere distractions. He knew these demons were not as stupid as they look. It was impossible for them not to notice that they were being distracted.


    So, while the clones pretended to distract the demons, they were actually looking for something important.


    He soon came upon a towering obsidian obelisk, its surface etched with runes of power. The obelisk pulsed with malevolent energy, and second Aldred could sense that it was a focal point for the dark magic that fueled the demons.


    Aldred raised his crimson-dark sword and struck the obelisk with all his might. The impact sent shockwaves through the surrounding area, and the obelisk began to crack and crumble.


    But as it shattered, a deafening roar echoed through the underground city, and Aldred knew that he had drawn the attention of the demon forces. He had to fight his way out of the area while demons closed in from all sides.


    The third Aldred had a different mission. He sought to create chaos and confusion among the demon ranks. One clone was enough to create enough chaos for the demons to be distracted enough because his power had increased yet again.


    With a single swing of his sword, the demons exploded into mist of blood while the structures shattered and copsed.


    As the de made contact with the grotesque bodies of the demons, they erupted into a gruesome mist of blood and ichor. The air was filled with the sickening sound of flesh being rent apart, apanied by the wails of the defeated creatures.


    The surrounding structures, dark and foreboding, quaked under the force of Aldred''s strike. Cracks spiderwebbed through their stone foundations, and the eerie runes etched into their surfaces shattered like fragile ss. With a deafening crash, the structures copsed, sending plumes of dust and debris billowing into the air.


    The demons were shocked by his show of power, but they were not terrified. Instead, they became even more crazed to throw themselves at him.


    As the battles raged on in different parts of the underground city, the group fought with unwavering determination. The odds were stacked against them, but they knew that the fate of their depended on their sess.


    But what they didn''t know was that their actions had not gone unnoticed. Deep within the shadows, a pair of malevolent eyes watched their every move, and a sinister presence began to stir.

 Chapter 598 598 Fighting Azrakar

    <h4>Chapter 598 Chapter 598 Fighting Azrakar</h4>


    The malevolent eyes watched from the shadows as the chaos unfolded within the underground city. The sinister presence, previously dormant, began to awaken with a newfound intensity. Azrakar, the demonic ruler of the undergroundir, felt the disruption in his dark magic. His twisted mind, filled with malice and hunger for power, sensed an intrusion into his domain.


    With a wave of his wed hand, Azrakar sent out a mentalmand to his demonic minions. He ordered them to find the intruders and bring them to him alive. He desired to personally deal with those who dared to challenge his reign.


    Meanwhile, the Aldred, along with Smander, Cleome, and Shinari, continued to battle the demons, their every move calcted and fierce. Despite the overwhelming numbers, the group fought valiantly.


    The first clone, also called as second Aldred, having shattered the obsidian obelisk, now faced an onught of demons closing in from all sides. He used all of his strength within his body to swing the crimson-dark sword in precise arcs, each strike taking down multiple demons.


    His stamina seemed endless as more and more demons flooded him like tsunami.


    The third Aldred, amidst the copsing structures and exploding demons, moved with swift efficiency. His clones danced through the chaos, striking with lethal precision. Each swing of his sword sent demons to their demise, their forms disintegrating into the air like ashes in the wind.


    As the battles intensified, the group''smunication devices crackled to life. It was Aldred''s voice, calm and determined, reaching out to his allies.


    "We need to regroup," he said, his voice cutting through the cacophony of battle. "Our distraction is working, but we can''t keep this up forever. We need to find the source of their power and destroy it."


    Smander agreed. "I agree with your n. Killing these demons will not contribute much to the war. We need to find Azrakar and kill him."


    Cleome sted the demons around her. Lightning crackled all over her body. "We have destroyed their steel crosses. That should reduce the demon''s strength significantly, but still, I agree that we should kill Azrakar. He is still the true source of the dark energy that strengthen the demons. Killing him will reduce casualties on our side."


    With all of them agreeing to the n, they fought their way through the demons, carving a path toward the heart of the underground city.


    Amidst the chaos, the malevolent eyes in the shadows narrowed. Azrakar''s curiosity turned into something more sinister¡ªan eagerness to confront these intruders and crush their hopes. He began to gather his dark energy, preparing for the inevitable sh.


    The group, unaware of the dark presence watching their every move, pressed on. They knew that the final battle loomed ahead, a battle that would decide the fate of Destia Primena.


    Deep within the bowels of the underground city, the group advanced. They feared the thing that waited for them. They knew Azrakar wouldn''t be an easy enemy to defeat, but they''vee this far and could not afford to go back until they achieved their objective.


    As the group ventured deeper, the air grew thick with the scent of sulfur and decay. Sinister whispers echoed through the twisting tunnels, carrying the malevolentughter of demons. The walls seemed to close in around them, the illusion made them slightly suffocate and had a hard time breathing.


    This feelingsted for hours as they moved through the tunnels until they came upon a massive chamber.


    Its walls adorned with grotesque carvings and symbols of dark power. At the center of the chamber stood Azrakar, his form towering and imposing. His eyes glowed with malevolence, and his voice resonated with a chilling echo.


    "You are brave to venture this far," Azrakar sneered, his voice sending shivers down their spines. "But your bravery shall be your undoing. Destia Primena will fall, and your defiance will be but a footnote in its history."


    "This is my first encounter with a talking demon," Aldred said. "I hope you''re smarter and stronger than the demons I killed."


    Azrakar frowned at the human''s attitude. How dare such a weakling spoke to him that way.


    "The demons will lose," Smander said. "Humans will prevail once again. No matter how much of youe to invade this world, humanity will always win."


    "Arrogance!" With a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the underground city, Azrakar, his monstrous form illuminated by an eerie, malevolent glow, surged forward.


    The chamber echoed with the sh of steel, the crackle of lightning, and the roar of energy sts. The group fought with all their might, each member unleashing their most powerful abilities in a desperate bid to defeat the demonic ruler.


    Three Aldreds advanced at the same time, raising their sword up high before swing down at the demon lord.


    Azrakar raised his ws to block and swiftly counter-attacked, ripping two Aldred into shreds.


    "Hahaha! I will kill you one by one!"


    Suddenly, however, two Aldred clones appeared again.


    Aldred smiled. "Good luck with that."


    The two clones moved forward and attacked without a care if they were going to be killed or not. When one of them die, another appeared immediately, recing them.


    Shinari was shocked to see this. A clone required arge amount of energy to summon and sustain. If a clone died, the user usually couldn''t summon another one again for some time.


    Aldred, on the other hand, summoned clones as easily as breathing. The clones died over and over again but they keep oning towards Azrakar.


    Azrakar, initially confident in his power, found himself increasingly overwhelmed by the relentless assault of the Aldred clones. His frustration grew as the clones recklessly charged at him.


    His wed hands moved furiously to defend himself, but with every strike, he found himself met with another clone, each as skilled and determined as thest. The demon lord''s frustration grew with each passing moment.


    Smander continued to unleash his devastating energy sts, targeting Azrakar''s vulnerable spots with pinpoint uracy. Cleome''s lightning arced through the chamber, striking the demon lord from multiple angles, preventing him from focusing on a single target. Shinari manipted the shadows to create illusions, further confusing and disorienting their foe.


    It was a grand battle within the chamber with sparks, lightning, and shadow all over.


    Despite theirbined efforts, Azrakar proved to be a formidable adversary. His monstrous form allowed him to endure their attacks with unnatural resilience.


    The battle raged on, with neither side giving an inch.


    "You''re finished, Azrakar!" Aldred shouted, his voice echoing through the chamber.? "Your defeat is only a matter of time!"


    Azrakar''s response was a deafening roar, his dark energy surging to new heights. His form seemed to shift and contort, growing even more grotesque and nightmarish. With a burst of power, he shattered the Aldred clones that had been hounding him, their forms dissipating into smoke.


    "You haven''t even seen my true power!" Azrakar, in his form, spoke with nightmarish voice. "Now, face my wrath!"


    But before he could revel in his new strength, Cleome emerged with incredible power. Her lightning surged to their peak and then she unleashed a devastating bolt of electricity that struck Azrakar head-on.


    The demon lord howled in pain as the lightning coursed through his monstrous form, leaving it charred and smoked


    Shinari appeared from behind and stabbed the demon''s neck with two des before vanishing.


    Smander, seizing the opportunity, fired a series of energy sts at the weakened Azrakar. The demon lord''s defenses crumbled under the onught, and with a final, powerful st, Smander struck a decisive blow.


    Azrakar''s monstrous form shattered into countless fragments, his malevolent presence dissipating into the air. The chamber trembled, and the grotesque carvings on the walls crumbled, falling to the ground in pieces.


    "Is it over?" Aldred asked.


    Suddenly, the fragments on the ground burst into crimson fire and then flew in the air, circling the chamber before forming a gigantic demon made out of me.


    It stared at the group before roaring in anger, making the whole chamber to shook violently.


    "Be prepared to die!"

 Chapter 599 599 Well Deserved Praise

    <h4>Chapter 599 Chapter 599 Well Deserved Praise</h4>


    Despite their victory over Azrakar, the group found themselves facing an even more formidable opponent¡ªa colossal demon made entirely of crimson mes. Its roar echoed through the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the undergroundir.


    Aldred, Smander, Cleome, and Shinari were all exhausted from the battle. They had fought against countless demons on their way here, and had eliminated many more demons in the undergroundir.


    After fighting Azrakar, they had expended most of their energy and resources already. They couldn''t be put to fight against another monster.


    "We have to run away," Smander. "We cannot stop that thing in our current condition."


    Aldred nodded in agreement. "I will distract that thing with my clones. Let us all run away!"


    The fire demon roared once again before raising its hand and mming down.


    "RUN!" Smander grabbed Cleome with one arm and dashed to the exit.


    Aldred summoned his clones again and sent them towards the fire demon before running away as well.


    Shinari followed behind them.


    The group sprinted through the twisting tunnels of the undergroundir, their footsteps echoing in the darkness. Behind them, the roar of the ming demon reverberated, its colossal form hot on their trail. Despite their exhaustion, fear fueled their legs, propelling them forward.


    Aldred continued to summon clones, sending them back to engage the fiery behemoth and slow its pursuit. Each clone fought valiantly, buying precious seconds for the group to put distance between themselves and the relentless demon.


    However, every time the clones died, Aldred felt an ufortable tingling sensation in his head. He couldn''t exin what it was.


    Smander''s mechanical legs propelled him forward at an incredible speed, his eyes scanning their surroundings for the quickest route out.


    Cleome who was still in Smander''s arms prepared her lightning just in case she needed to defend her team.


    Smander, his mind working quickly, shouted, "There''s an old gate just ahead. If we can reach it, I might be able to rig it to copse and block its path temporarily!"


    As they neared the gate, Aldred sent his clones one final time,manding them to hold off the fiery demon while the others enacted their n.


    Upon reaching the gate, Smander swiftly set to work. Using his advanced knowledge of mechanics, he rigged the gate to copse with a powerful explosion. Cleome infused the mechanism with her lightning, enhancing its destructive potential.


    With a final nce back at the clones valiantly battling the fire demon, the group sprinted away, putting as much distance between themselves and the impending explosion as possible.


    As they reached a safe distance, a deafening st echoed through the tunnels. Rocks and debris rained down, sealing off the path behind them. The fiery roars of the demon were muffled by the rubble, indicating that, at least for the moment, they were safe.


    "It worked," Shinari said, breathing profusely.


    "That will keep the demon only for a minute or two," Smander said before he took in a deep breath.


    "We can''t afford to rest for long," Aldred said. "We have to continue. Azrakar is destroyed and so does the steel crosses that produced the dark energy. We have achieved our objectives."


    Smander nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Let''s move, but cautiously. We don''t know what other dangers might lurk in these tunnels."


    However, before they could move, the demon''s massive fire ws burst out of the rubble. The demon roared before releasing a breath of fire towards them.


    Cleome and Shinari widened their eyes as they couldn''t do anything to block the fire. They were out of energy and stamina.


    The powerful me engulfed them whole.


    But then, something shocking happened. The massive fire began smaller and smaller and revealed the group who was closing their eyes as if epting their fate.


    But when they opened their eyes, they saw Aldred standing in front of them, sucking in the fire with his mouth.


    All of them watched in disbelief.


    The demon was shocked as well. How could a puny human sucked in his me of abyss.


    When the demon stopped releasing the me, Aldred smiled and said: "My turn."


    He then released a breath of fire from his mouth, pushing the gigantic fire demon back.


    The demon crashed onto the rubble. Aldred leaped high into the air,nded on top of the demon''s head and began sucking in the air.


    The demon was then terrified because he was also being sucked in.


    As the fiery demon was drawn into Aldred''s mouth, its colossal form diminished rapidly.


    "NO! How is this possible! You''re just a human! Even a super human wouldn''t be able to do this!"


    Aldred ignored the demon''s remark and sucked him until he was no more.


    Aldred gulped and barfed as he rubbed his stomach. "Ahh, that felt great."


    The group watched in awe as the once-mighty demon was reduced to nothingness. Aldred''s eyes glowed with an otherworldly light as he absorbed the demon''s power, its essence bing a part of him.


    Smander, Cleome, and Shinari approached him cautiously, their amazement mixed with concern. They had never witnessed such a disy of power.


    "H¡ªhow did you do that?" Shinari asked with wonder in her eyes. "You disy an incredible show of physical strength, summon clones, and now you suck a fire demon with your mouth? What kind of super are you?"


    "I am just a simple magician," Aldred said with a smile.


    Aldred then raised his palm. A ball of fire burst forth. "Hehe. At least my fire magic has returned."


    The group was yet surprised again. Aldred always manage to surprise them by revealing a new kind of power.


    "Well, it''s over now. That''s all that matters," Smander said. "Now we need to return to base to aid our allies.


    Suddenly, the undergroundir shook violently.


    "Ughh, what is it this time?" Aldred was annoyed.


    The vibration became more and more violent as time passed then suddenly, the walls of their crumbled, revealing dozens of heavy drilling machinery. After the drilling machinery moved to the side, they revealed heavy tanks, trucks, and hundreds of guardsmen moving into the undergroundir.


    There were some demons that tried to attack these guardsmen, but they were quickly obliterated withser guns.


    "The guardsmen are here!" Cleome''s eyes lit up. "Does that mean we are winning?"


    "There are three demon battleships invading our," Smander said. "We cannot be said to win until we destroy them."


    Suddenly, a group of tall human with thick, hulking armor appeared.


    "Super soldiers!" Smander''s eyes widened. "If they are here, that means we truly are winning."


    "Who are they?" Aldred asked.


    "They are gically enhanced super soldiers designed for war. You see the armor that they wear? Those armor are created with special materials that made them extremely hard to be killed. They possess immense strength and speed. Their helmet also provide advanced targeting system, and these guys wield devastating weapons that would blow powerful demons apart."


    "Are they really that amazing?"


    "You don''t understand. They are not only physically powerful, but also extremely intelligent. Even though there were only 24 of them here, I believed they alone already enough to destroy the three battleships. In fact, sending 24 were already too much."


    One of the super soldier approached them. His solid form towered over Smander who was over two meter tall.


    "We''ve detected a high trace of demonic energy in this undergroundir."


    "Yes, sir. We have defeated that demon," Smander responded with enthusiasm.


    "You''ve done well. The Imperium owes you."


    The super soldier left immediately after saying those words, but Smander was shock-stricken. Receiving a praise from a super-soldier was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.


    People rarely could meet a super soldiers. Even if they could ever meet one, they would almost die immediately, because super soldiers were only deployed in the harshest environment possible.


    "Congrats, Smander," Cleome said with a smile. "You deserved it."


    "That praise is not only given to me, Cleome." Smander looked at Aldred and Shinari.


    "It''s given to all of us."

 Chapter 600 600 Stars

    <h4>Chapter 600 Chapter 600 Stars</h4>


    After the guardsmen cleaned up the undergroundir, all of them, Smander and allies included, reach for the surface.


    After they finally got out of the undergroundir, they saw the battle was already over. Guardsmen began to put out the fire and cleaned the rubbles. The city began rebuilding itself in no time as citizen also came to help, slowly fixing the destroyed buildings en mass.


    Aldred was amazed by how efficient the people were.


    "That was one tiring day," Cleome said with a sigh of relief. "And I am d it''s over."


    "Me too," Shinari said, taking in a deep breath. "Let''s go back and have a rest."


    The group returned to head base along with the guardsmen.


    After they arrived, a familiar face greeted them. It was Commander Brenea.


    "All of you have done well. It was because of you that we manage to survive," Commander Brenea said.


    "We only do our job," Smander replied. "Besides, we don''t do much. I am sure the super soldiers will take care of everything anyway."


    "Yes. I am not denying that. But it is still because of your efforts that we don''t suffer as much casualties. When the dark energy disappear, the demon forces weaken significantly, allowing us to push them back."


    "That''s correct. Thanks to you lot, I am still alive."


    Another familiar face appeared, but it was a shocking sight, because the person was actually Captain-Commander Gaius Vallon.


    He was the Captain of Daemonhunter Purity''s Edge that was destroyed in battle. Apparently, he had survived.


    The man limped his way towards them, and the all saluted.


    "I was wrong about you, Aldred. You really hold great power. Not just anyone can defeat sub-lord demon."


    "What''s a sub-lord demon?"


    "It means the demon lord''s direct subordinates."


    "Wait, so Azrakar wasn''t even a demon lord?" Aldred asked.


    Captain Gaiusughed. "Of course not. He''s just one of theckeys."


    "Then who is the true demon lord?"


    Captain Gaius'' face turned dead serious. "There are many demon lord in this gxy. One of them is called Lord Malgorth. He is a demon lord of immense power, known for his ruthless ambition and insatiable hunger for conquest. I am not even sure if he attacked humans for resources or territory or simply to spill blood on the gxy. He doesn''t differentiate strategic or not. He attacked and destroyed them all the same."


    "Damn, what a Blood Lord."


    "That''s exactly what people call him. Blood Lord. And many argues that it isn''t a fitting name because no one has ever seen him manipte blood. But he does have power to seemingly control space. He can bring an entire army to a specific point which made him a terrifying presence."


    "If this demon lorde here, we are basically fucked right?"


    "Well, we would need something stronger than the super soldiers to face him."


    Suddenly, the sound of heavy steel hitting steel approached. It was one of the super soldier with thick, hulking armor standing over 2 meter tall. "This is safe. The teleportation portal has been closed. The Imperium is expecting you to rebuild in seven days and prepare for any Abyssal Onught in the future."


    "Are we going to get any extra materials or weapons?" Commander Brenea asked.


    "The Imperium isrge and resources are stretched thin. Sending 24 of us here is already a gift from the Emperor. And now, we will have to leave. There are far more worlds under siege by the demonic forces. Your world is only one of them."


    Commander Brenea let out a breath and nodded. "Thank you for your help."


    The Super Soldiers nodded before a jet engine roared on his backpack and he streaked into the air along with the other Super Soldiers.


    Arge and robust yet sleek and aerodynamic spaceship appeared to pick them up before immediately flying away. The ship then shimmered and distorted as if the fabric of reality around it were being stretched and warped. Lights and energy patterns on the surface flickered and danced erratically, creating a dazzling disy of colors and shapes.


    Lights and energy patterns on the ship''s surface might flicker and dance erratically, creating a dazzling disy of colors and shapes.


    The ship''s form fluctuated constantly shifting and warping before it vanished.


    ''Teleportation,'' Aldred thought. He wondered if his tech nerds back on hisst world could make something like that.


    Actually, magic could do teleportation with rituals and by expending a lot of mana crystals, but they for sure could not teleport stuff out of the.


    Those spaceships could probably travel around the gxy which was a scale way beyond the or even the entire star system.


    Aldred realized again that this was apletely brand new world, not just world, but a brand new gxy.


    He sighed. ''My dad can probably explode this gxy to pieces though.''


    The more he lived his life, the more he admired his father''s strength. And the more that level of power seemed so unreachable for him.


    Shinari looked at Aldred who was watching the stars above. "Have you ever think of exploring the gxy?"


    "What? Oh." Aldred thought for a minute inside his head. Since he was a child, he was actually very curios of the stars and the gxy. Such a huge distant, and uncountable amount of worlds. He wondered what existed in each of those worlds.


    "Actually, I always imagine how it would feel like exploring the stars."


    Shinari smiled. "Me too. Since I was born, I''ve always stayed on this. I am happy and proud of my home world, but I can''t help but keep imagining to sail the gxy."


    "I don''t know," Aldred said with a smile. "I don''t see anything stopping us from doing that."


    "We have a duty on this. Protecting humanity is a number one priority."


    "That''s correct," Smander joined. "Whatever we do, it must contribute to humanity. Anyway, why don''t you all have a rest. It''s been a long day."


    The group entered their assigned room and all of them slept right away except Aldred.


    He was standing on the balcony, staring at the stars, wondering which one of thoses were his.


    His wives were still back there. Aldred felt terrible for leaving them so suddenly. And what happened to his divine dimension? His wife were inside the dimension.


    Were they still in the dimension or were they got sucked out and entered reality?


    There were many questions that he could not find the answer to.


    "System, are you there?" Aldred asked.


    There was no reply. He had tried tomunicate with it a bunch of times, but nothing appeared.


    Sighing, he leaned on the railing and stared at the stars once again.


    "Can''t sleep?" Shinari approached him with two cups of tea in her hand. "Take this. It might help you rx."


    "Thank you." Aldred received the cup of tea before staring at the stars again.


    The both of them leaned on the steel fence in silent as the wind softly brushed against their hair.


    "This scene reminds me of a story," Shinari began. "It''s just a folktale told to children around here. It''s about the demon. I don''t remember the exact words, but deep within the Celestia Neb, dwelt a fearsome being named Malgorth. He was said to be the embodiment of darkness, possessing a wicked mind with cunning intellect and mysterious power that enables him to tear open rifts between worlds, summoning hordes of loyal demons to hismand."


    "That''s all I can remember. His power is often exaggerated, but it''s true he can travel to any worlds because of his magic scepter."


    Aldred was intrigued. "And he can travel to any part of the gxy with this scepter?"


    "Not just this gxy. It was said he could travel to anywhere he wanted."


    "Can the humans also travel beyond this gxy?"


    "They can, but such journeys are very rare and perilous. Traveling beyond our gxy would be exponentially more hazardous and practically insurmountable due to the vastness of space and the chaotic nature of the dark energy that constantly stretched space infinitely. Also, the Astronomican, the devices that provide navigational references for the ships will not be able to aid our navigation system. So if you tried you will most likely get lost inplete and eternal darkness."


    "I see," Aldred said as he was deep in thoughts. "Have anyone tried to steal Malgorth''s magic scepter before?"


    "What?"

 Chapter 601 601 Terrible News

    <h4>Chapter 601 Chapter 601 Terrible News</h4>


    "Stealing Malgorth''s Magic Scepter?" Shinari replied. "Ummm, I am not sure. It never cross my mind before."


    "I mean. It seems to be a very powerful device. Wait, not really. Humans can also do teleportation right? I saw those spaceships warping out of existence."


    "Well, we do have a warp technology for faster-than-light travel, but it has a very strict limitation."


    "Oh yeah?"


    Shinari nodded. "Different ships have different range of FTL travel and you need to wait for a long time after each warp. You also need to replenish your warp battery after each use. A bigger warp engine can sustain two or three warp, but only a small percentage of ships have that. The warp engine also require an intensive maintenance and inspection after every use. It''s a veryplicated, sensitive, and expensive piece of machinery."


    "Ohh, now I really wonder how humanity had conquered most of the gxy."


    "I''ve thought of that too. People told me because humanity is much stronger and that we are blessed by a god. Some say it''s because the Emperor is protecting us."


    "The Emperor?"


    "The Emperor is said to be an extraordinary human capable of godly feat. He has lived over 10,000 years far of what normal humans are capable of and has protected us with his mysterious over millennium."


    "Is that a fact or an exaggeration?" Aldred asked.


    "I am not sure. There are too many stories of his valor and greatness. But in every history book. None of them denies that he has lived over that period of time. And none denies his great power."


    "Is he a super?"


    "Far beyond you can imagine. They said he can blow aparts with his bare hands, summon a ck with a breath, and create a super nova with a p of his hands."


    "I am sure those are exaggerated."


    "Perhaps," Shinari said.


    "If he is really that powerful. The demons would already be gone."


    Shinari smiled. "The demons are not our only enemies. There are far more threats in the gxy not less dangerous than the demons. There''s the xenos, the aliens, the disgusting elves and orcs and dwarves. There''s also that ancient cursed robots, and many more. Humanity is attacked at all direction at all times."


    "Kinda makes you think that living in peace with them is much better no?"


    Shinariughed. "Living in peace? With the aliens and demons? Please, they will rip your organs out the moment youy down your arms and eat them with a smirk on their face while staring in your eyes."


    "That was a very detailed description," Aldred said with a small sweat on his forehead. "So the chance of co-existence is zero?"


    "It''s less than zero. They will never stop until we are ceased to exist, and we will do the same."


    "It''s a never ending battles of life and death. Destruction among the billions stars," Aldredmented. "Something about that saddened me as no one really able to really live in peace with this constant threat."


    "It''s not that bad," Shinari said with a sweet smile as she got closer to him. "Despite the wars, people still meet with each other, fall in love, get married, and make children. Instead of focusing solely on the war, you should also see the beauty of humanity''s resilience to fall in love despite living in a dark age."


    Shinari leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Good night, Aldred. You should get some sleep while you can."


    After those words, Shinari returned to bed, leaving Aldred alone with his thoughts on the balcony.


    ¡­


    The next day, Aldred and the group woke up.


    Smander stretched his body and his joints made popping sound. "That feels great."


    "You need to do a yoga, old man," Cleomemented. "You won''t be able to use that heavy armor with stiff joints."


    "If you must know, I do stretching exercise regrly and is more flexible than any feline on this."


    "Whatever you say, old man."


    "Anyway, why don''t we go to the training facility right away. I''ve received reports that they''ve already finished fixing it."


    "There''s nothing else to do anyway. Let''s go," Cleome said.


    Smander looked at Aldred. "Are youing with us?"


    Aldred was in a trance before he return to reality. "Yeah, sure."


    The group then went to the newly-built training facility. Shinari and Cleome immediately sparred with each other while Smander entered the engineering room.


    Aldred followed and see what he was up to. He got nothing to do anyway.


    "Oh, you want to see me work? Sure do. Hopefully it''s not boring to you."


    A heavy machinery with arms began disassembling Smander''s heavy armor, and with a seemingly high-tech precision tools, Smander began fixing the armor while whistling.


    A projection screen popped out of the tool, conducting a rapid diagnostic scan. The sensors made a humming sound as it mapped out the damaged areas of the armor, highlighting the stress fractures, scorched ting, and malfunctioning energy conduits.


    There were so many damage that Aldred wondered how the armor still able to work.


    "Did you really made this?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, I do," Smander proudly said. "Do you think it''s cool?"


    Aldred nodded. "It''s really cool. But more importantly, I am quite surprised at how much power you can bring in such a small frame. Well, small ifpared to a battle-tank at least."


    The armor was actually a massive bulking metal. It was smaller in sizepared to the super-soldiers, but still, it was quite huge. So Far, Aldred had seen it used energy-sters gun, gunpowder shells, and me throwers.


    It also enabled the wearer to run at a very high speed.


    "It looks quite simr to what those super soldiers are wearing."


    Smander chuckled. "I am embarrassed to say this, but actually, the armor''s design is inspired from the their power armor. Butpared to the real thing, mine is just a junk."


    "You cannot say that," Aldredforted him. "What''s so special about their power armor anyway?"


    "Their power armor is fitted with special mechanism that allows for enhanced strength, enhanced speed and agility. It also includes life support system allowing the super soldiers to survive in hostile environments such as high-pressure underground cave, ming high temperature or freezing low temperature.? Their sensory augmentation includes a HUD that provides vital information such as targeting data, tactical readouts, status updates, night vision, infrared, and other vision modes¡­"


    Smander then proceed to exin more about the power armor with great enthuasm.


    Aldred could tell that the man really admired the super soldiers, so he kept his mouth shut and kept listening to his story.


    After one hour, Smander finally finished.


    "And that is just a few of the armor''s capabilities. I can tell you more about the feats of the super soldiers and how the Tech-Master engineered the power armor."


    "Sure," Aldred said. "I am happy to listen."


    As Smander wanted continue his story however, the TV in the room suddenly turned on.


    Aldred was quite surprised that a highly-futuristic civilization still had TV while he never watched once back on earth.


    He soon forgot about that because the TV presented a terrible news.


    The holographic projection flickered to life, disying a sleek and futuristic news studio. Aposed gctic news presenter, dressed in professional attire, appeared on the screen, her expression grave. Behind her, a graphic of the attacked world, Lyronis-7, glowed ominously.


    "Good evening, viewers of the Celestia Neb. We interrupt your regr programming with urgent news from the outer regions of our gxy. Reports have juste in that the notorious Lord Malgorth hasunched a full-scale invasion on the peaceful of Lyronis-7."


    A holographic image of Lyronis-7 floated beside the presenter, showing a once serene now engulfed in chaotic turmoil. Explosions lit up the atmosphere as the''s defense systems valiantly tried to repel the iing forces.


    "The invading army, estimated to be in the millions, isposed of various demonic legions and technologically advanced war machines. Lyronis-7, a thriving hub of trade and culture, now faces an unprecedented threat to its existence."


    The presenter''s tone turned somber as she continued, "Experts fear that if Lord Malgorth seeds in taking control of Lyronis-7, he may use it as aunching point to invade and attack nearby star systems, plunging our region of the gxy into further chaos."


    Images of terrified citizens fleeing their homes shed on the screen, their desperation palpable even through the holographic projection.


    "Communications with the star systems is currently unavable, but the Royal Guardsmen have released a statement announcing that they are sending troops immediately. However, some sources said that the arrival of the troops will be for naught because Lord Malgorth will vanish once its wreck-havoc on the star system and the star systems nearby because his Spaceweaver Scepter allows him to mobilize his forces at a terrifying efficiency."


    The screen disyed holographic star maps, indicating the potential trajectory of Lord Malgorth''s invasion if he sessfully conquered Lyronis-7. Several nearby star systems were highlighted, indicating their vulnerability.


    "As we speak, brave soldiers from various star systems are converging on Lyronis-7, prepared to defend it at all costs.


    The news presenter''s holographic image faded, leaving the viewers in a state of shock and uncertainty. In the room, the atmosphere grew heavy with the weight of the news. Aldred, Smander, Cleome, and Shinari exchanged worried nces.


    "Lyronis-7. That''s just a few star systems away," Smander said.

 Chapter 602 602 Picking A Spacecraft

    <h4>Chapter 602 Chapter 602 Picking A Spacecraft</h4>


    "Lyronis-7. That''s just a few star systems away," Smander said.


    "Is there a chance Lord Malgorth wille to our world?" Cleome asked.


    "I don''t know," Smander replied. "The maps the news presented includes our star system, but the chance is lower than others."


    Aldred clicked his tongue. He was quite enraged after he saw the news. He did not understand it either. He just entered this new gxy and didn''t really know the people here, but for some reason, he felt some sort of anger when he saw an entire world was being invaded.


    He calmed himself down and took in a deep breath. "I need to tell you guys something."


    Smander and the others put their attention towards him.


    "I am sure all of you already know," Aldred began. "I am not from here. I don''t exactly know where I am from either, but I am pretty sure it''s not in this gxy."


    The group was silent as they waited for Aldred to continue.


    "Here is the thing. I want to return to my hometown and the only thing that might give me a chance to return is to steal that Spaceweaver Scepter from Lord Malgorth."


    Thest statement shocked the entire room. They could not believe what they just heard.


    "Aldred, I don''t think you understand how powerful Lord Malgorth is. An entire regiment of Royal Guardsmen has to be deployed just to hold him off. Fighting him means fighting an entire army of demons. And its scale is muchrger than what we just fought against to defend this," Smander said.


    Cleome nodded in agreement. "The demon only send 3 battle ships to attack this, but Lord Malgorth will bring tens of thousands of ships and with farrger armaments than we''ve faced. Going after Lord Malgorth must be a collective decision with multiple military organizations and requiring the support of the Royal Guardsmen because the price is just too steep for anyone to handle."


    "Still, I have to go. Besides, stealing the scepter will help humanity as a whole. I cannot stay still on this."


    Shinari stepped forward. "If anyone else said that, I would''veugh, but I don''t hear a joke from your tone. Are you serious about this?"


    "I am dead serious. I am always an adventurer and explorer. Staying at home is just not my style."


    "How are you nning to leave this?" Smander asked.


    "That''s why I need you guys. I need your help. What do you suggest? I don''t think obtaining a spaceship will be easy?"


    "Actually, there is a way," Smander said.


    Cleome hit Smander on the arm. "Are you really going to let him go?"


    "It''s his choice. What rights do we have to stop him? He has risked his life and helped us fight against Azrakar. What a terrible friend I would be if I dare to stop him."


    Cleome hesitated before stepping back after hearing that.


    Shinari''s face turned bitter. "I didn''t get the chance to know you more. Why don''t you wait for a couple of weeks before deciding again?"


    Aldred shook his head. "I cannot dy any longer. Smander, tell me what you know."


    "You can loan a spacecraft with the military for your own personal use, but you have to pay a huge price. As you know, our are always in constant need for resources, so we cannot give away spaceships for cheap."


    Aldred tried to ess his inventory, but he could not. Sighing, he asked again: "I don''t have anything on me. How can I pay?"


    "You can sign a contract with the military for the leasing the spacecraft, as for the payment, I would suggest you join the Gctic Mercenary Group and be a mercenary. That way you can earn Gctic Credits to pay the loan."


    Smander grabbed some sort of watch-like device and tapped it on Aldred''s right wrist. The watch automatically strapped itself on his wrist, adjusting its tightness to hisfort level.


    Suddenly, a projection appeared, revealing a website of the Gctic Mercenary Group.


    A video immediately popped out.


    "Hey, folks! Got nothing to do? Are you bored staying in your peaceful? Well,e and join us. Here you can fight aliens and monsters all day everyday. Better yet, you get paid for it! What you waiting for! Sign up right now at Gctic Mercenary Group right now and get the best thrill of your life!"


    Suddenly, a digital registration form appeared. "Uhh, I am not a citizen of the Imperium. Can I still register?"


    "I will help you create your IDter. For now you can register as a mercenary and the identity confirmation can wait forter."


    Aldred nodded. "Thank you for your help."


    "It''s the least I can do after what you''ve done for us." Smander tapped his shoulder. "I will escort you to pick your spacecraft."


    "That would be convenient."


    Smander and Aldred reached the military air-base and they went to the spacecraft department.


    "We only have a limited list of spacecraft you can choose. As you know, most of the higher-grade spacecrafts are used by the military and not avable formercial use," a thin man named Zozha said.


    "That''s fine," Aldred said.


    Zozha brought them to a presentation room where arge projector disyed some pictures of the spacecraft avable. However, there weren''t many choices Aldred could pick.


    Zozha, the spacecraft dealer, cleared his throat and began his presentation. "Wee, esteemed customers, to our spacecraft department. While our selection might not be as extensive as you''d find in the heart of the Imperium, we do offer some reliable models suited for various missions. Please have a look."


    He pointed at the projector screen where images of the avable spacecraft started to flicker.


    "First up, we have the Ster Hawk. It''s a nimble cruiser designed for reconnaissance and lightbat. While its speed ismendable, don''t expect heavy armor or advanced weaponry. It''s perfect for hit-and-run tactics, though."


    Aldred examined the Ster Hawk on the screen. Its design was sleek, with a streamlined body that suggested speed. He did not know much about spacecraft, but he was sure the shape of the spacecraft did not matter much in space since there was no friction of air.


    He talked to Smander about this.


    "Well, that only applies if you n to stay in space all the time. As a mercenary, you will go in and out ofs a lot of times, so the streamlined shape will help you. Also, you might meet unexpected ster storms in space or perhaps celestial debris."


    Aldred nodded, thankful that he bring Smander to this ce. "What about its weaponry?" he asked.


    Zozha nodded. "The Ster Hawkes equipped with dualser cannons and a sma torpedouncher. Basic, but effective for dealing with smaller threats."


    Aldred contemted. "What else do you have?"


    Zozha clicked a button, and the image shifted to a bulkier spacecraft named Cosmic Defender. "This one, the Cosmic Defender, is more of a heavy artillery ship. It''s slower than the Ster Hawk, but itpensates with powerful shields and a reinforced hull. Good for taking a beating while dishing out damage."


    Aldred nodded, considering the options. "What about stealth? Do you have something less conspicuous?"


    Zozha scratched his chin. "Ah, you''re looking for the Shadow Seraph. It''s a stealth cruiser, equipped with cloaking technology and silent engines. Perfect for infiltration and surprise attacks. But keep in mind, it sacrifices armor for stealth."


    As Aldred weighed his choices, Smander chimed in. "What about maintenance? We need something sturdy but not overlyplex. We might have to repair it on the go."


    Zozha smiled. "For ease of maintenance, I''d rmend the Gctic Rover. It''s a versatile spacecraft, easy to repair even with basic tools. Its modr design allows for quick part recements, and it''s rtively fuel-efficient, considering the distances you might cover."


    Aldred considered his options. Each spacecraft had its advantages and drawbacks, and he needed to make a decision based on their uing mission. "I''ll go with the Gctic Rover. It sounds like the most practical choice given our circumstances."


    "Excellent choice, sir," Zozha said, jotting down the selection. "I''ll get the paperwork ready. Please follow me to the registration office, and we''ll finalize the details."


    "Did I make the right choice?" Aldred asked.


    "You did. The stealth aircraft is tooplex and expensive to repair and the maintenance cost will bankrupt you. The stealth technology is not that good anyway," he said thest sentence with a whisper.


    As they walked towards the office, Aldred couldn''t shake off the feeling of determination mixed with apprehension. The prospect of venturing into the unknown, facing Lord Malgorth, and the vastness of the gxy before him stirred a mix of excitement and fear.


    But he also did not forget his purpose to return to his lovely wives. He couldn''t rest easy with his wives being so far away. What if his enemies took revenge by attacking them?


    He must quickly steal the scepter and try to go back.


    Aldred clenched his fist and entered the office.

 Chapter 603 603 Take Off

    ?


    Shinari sparred against Cleome. She easily dodged her lightning bolts, and even counter-attacked a bunch of times. She vanished into the shadow and appeared behind Cleome, about to execute a final attack, however, she suddenly got distracted and Cleome struck her.


    Shinari''s feet slid backward. She only suffered minor injuries as Cleome did not attacked her with full power.


    "What''s wrong? It''s very unusual of you to lose focus," Cleome said.


    "It''s nothing."


    "It''s about Aldred, huh?"


    Shinari looked down, showing a mixed feeling on her face. "Yeah."


    "What are you so worried about?"


    "I think he''s going to get himself killed."


    "Oh, he''s n about chasing Malgorth? Do you think Aldred will ever reach the demon lord? Not even the Royal Investigators manage to track him. My best bet is Aldred will be chasing endlessly, but along the way, he will kill aliens and demons, so I am fine with him leaving."


    "I am not only worried about that."


    Cleome looked at her. "You really cared for him, huh?"


    "Without him, we would probably be dead by now. If he leaves the all by himself, his chance of survival might be very low."


    "So what are you going to do, apany him?" Cleome asked jokingly.


    "That''s actually a great idea. Yes! I should apany him. I owe him my life after all. Thanks, Cleome."


    "Uhh¡­ I did not expect that answer."


    "I am going after him now before he leaves." Shinari rushed out of the sparring room.


    "Wait!" Cleome followed her.


    ¡­


    "Pleasure having a business with you!" Zozha shook Aldred''s hand with a big smile on his face. He rarely got customers and so he was ecstatic when Aldred really closed the deal with him.


    "Now, let me escort you to your spacecraft."


    The three of them went to some sort of hangars for spacecraft and there Aldred saw his first ever spacecraft.


    The Gctic Rover was a medium-sized spacecraft with a streamlined, aerodynamic design. Its length measures 25 meters, providing a bncedbination of space efficiency and maneuverability.


    Zozha handed him the key. "This is yours now. Enjoy."


    Aldred received the key and turned to look at Smander.


    "Remember, Aldred," Smander started. "Be careful out there. Although this is a good spacecraft, it''s just a scout-ss spacecraft. It is designed to fight against small threats at most. This thing is formercial use after all and the cheapest product in the spacecraft category."


    Aldred''s eyelids jerked when he heard that. The spacecraft wasn''t cheap at all. It cost him more than 70 thousand Gctic Credits. Forparison, the average ie on this was 3 thousand Gctic Credits per month.


    He would need to work for 2 years straight without spending a single penny to pay off the loan.


    "I wish I could apany you. I am actually interested in exploring the stars as well. There isn''t much I can do here with the limited resources that we have, but s, I have to take care Shinari and Cleome."


    "Aldred!"


    Suddenly, they heard a loud shout from a distance. It was Shinari shouting and waving at him with Cleome following her from behind.


    Shinari immediately sprinted to Aldred. "I aming with you."


    "What?" Aldred and Smander asked at the same time.


    "I cannot have you go out of the all by yourself. At least, I can watch your back if Ie along."


    "Dang it! I was joking when I told her to go along," Cleome said. "Who would''ve thought she would take it seriously."


    "You don''t have to do this," Aldred replied. "This is my decision. I will face its consequences on my own."


    Shinari shook her head. "You know it is also my dream to explore the stars. Consider you helping me as well. Bring me with you."


    Cleome sighed. "Smander, talk some sense into her will you?"


    Smander thought for a moment before he replied. "Actually, I would want toe as well."


    "Huh?!" Cleome was in disbelief. "Are all of you go nuts? The three of us have been together for a while now, and now you''re going to leave me?"


    Smander looked at her with a smile. "Why don''t you join us?"


    "Wait a minute. This is my spacecraft. Aren''t you going to ask for the permission of its owner first?"


    "Fuck it! Count me in!" Cleome said.


    "Damn, all of you just decided on your own," Aldred said, helpless at the situation.


    Without saying a word, Smander, Shinari, and Cleome entered the spacecraft.


    "Come on, Aldred. I will show you how to control this thing," Smander said.


    Aldred scratched his head. "How did ite to this?" He entered the spacecraft and the door closed automatically.


    Smander sat on the captain seat and urged Aldred to approach him. Meanwhile, Shinari and Cleome were making themselvesfortable on the avable seats.


    Smander patiently exined the intricate controls of the Gctic Rover to Aldred, pointing out each button, lever, and disy screen. Aldred''s eyes widened as he took in theplexity of the spacecraft''s dashboard.


    "This lever here controls the propulsion systems," Smander exined, his fingers tracing over the control panel. "And these buttons adjust the energy distribution between shields, engines, and weapons. It''s crucial to find the right bnce during flight."


    Aldred nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I think I got it. And this red button?"


    Smander grinned. "Ah, that''s the emergency warp drive activation. You''ll want to avoid using that unless it''s a life-or-death situation. It drains a massive amount of energy and can leave you stranded if not used wisely."


    As Smander continued his tutorial, Shinari and Cleome watched attentively. Cleome, always the quick learner, chimed in with her own insights asionally. Shinari, on the other hand, seemed lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the vast expanse beyond the spacecraft''s windows.


    After a thorough briefing, Smander guided Aldred through the process of activating the spacecraft. Aldred''s hands trembled slightly as he pressed the necessary buttons and pulled the designated lever. The Gctic Rover hummed to life, its engines purring as it prepared for liftoff.


    "Take a deep breath, Aldred," Smander encouraged. "You''re about to embark on a journey beyond the stars."


    He said that, but Smander was actually excited for this journey as well. He had knowledge about the spacecraft controls, but he had never actually fly in one.


    Aldred followed Smander''s instructions, guiding the spacecraft away from the hangar. It slowly moved its wheels and began to speed up in the runway.


    "Increased speed," Smander said.


    "Increase speed," Aldred repeated as he pushed the throttle.


    "Now engage the thruster."


    Aldred did as instructed and the spacecraft sped up.


    "Pull!"


    Aldred pulled then the spacecraft hovered before getting higher and higher in altitude.


    The''s surface began to shrink below them as they ascended, the familiarndscapes turning into miniature versions of themselves.


    "Engaging thrusters for atmospheric exit," Aldred announced, his voice steady despite his nerves.


    The Gctic Rover rumbled as it pierced through the atmosphere, leaving behind the protective shield of Destia Primena. The darkness of space surrounded them, dotted with distant stars and celestial wonders. Shinari''s eyes widened in awe as she beheld the vastness of the cosmos.


    "Congrattions, Aldred," Smander said, pping him on the back. "You''ve officially left the. Now, let''s set a course for a nearby Gctic Mercenary Group branches. We''ll need to get your mercenary license andplete your identity registration."


    Aldred nodded, his determination solidifying. He nced at Shinari and Cleome, who were both wearing determined expressions.


    "To new beginnings," Aldred said, his voice firm.


    "To new beginnings," echoed Shinari and Cleome in unison.


    With those words, the Gctic Rover surged forward, its engines propelling them further into the depths of space.

 Chapter 604 604 We Arrive

    ?


    In the vast expanse of space, the Gctic Rover cruised smoothly, Aldred at the helm, his hands steadier now as he grew ustomed to the controls. Smander, Shinari, and Cleome were strapped into their seats, observing the stars as they passed by.


    "Look over there! What is that?" Aldred pointed and asked.


    Everyone looked over.


    "That is called neb. They are vast interster clouds of gas and dust where new stars are born and where the cycle of ster life and death ys out on a grand scale," Smander exined.


    "They look so beautiful," Aldred said, his eyes twinkling.


    Shinari was also in awe when she saw this. Although she often saw one in pictures, looking at the real thing with her own eyes was apletely different experience.


    The vibrant colors observed in nebs are a result of various elements and molecules present within them. Ionized hydrogen (HII regions) typically appears red, while other ions such as doubly ionized oxygen and ionized sulfur can emit green and blue light, respectively. The presence ofplex molecules and dust can also contribute to the palette of colors, ranging from pinks and purples to oranges and yellows.


    As they journeyed deeper into the gxy, they encountered various celestial phenomena: vibrant nebs, distant pulsars, and colossal asteroid fields. Each sight was more awe-inspiring than thest, reminding them of the infiniteness of the universe.


    Aldred enjoyed the sight with a smile. In the future, he would certainly bring his wives and the others to enjoy this view as well.


    During their travels, Smander continued to educate Aldred about the intricacies of space navigation. He exined the importance of charting safe routes, avoiding potential hazards, and understanding the peculiarities of differentary systems.


    Shinari, although captivated by the cosmic wonders, couldn''t shake off her worries entirely. She kept stealing nces at Aldred, who was determinedly focused on the task at hand. In the quiet moments, she found herself contemting the challenges thaty ahead.


    ''What kind of aliens will we meet in the future? we are no longer under the assistance of the military, so we have to fight for our own.''


    As Shinari was worrying, Cleome, on the other hand, was brimming with enthusiasm. She explored every corner of the spacecraft and bothered Smander to exin to her for every single thing she touched.


    "Can you ask me first before you decide to touch things?"


    Cleome mockingly showed her tongue at him.


    Days turned into weeks as they traversed the gxy, finally arriving at the Gctic Mercenary Group''s branches.


    "Star sytem: Astralonis," the spaceship spoke with ady-like robotic voice.


    "What''s that?" Aldred asked.


    "That''s the automaticary system weing us."


    "Well, here we are. Go closer to that."


    Aldred did as instructed and on the screen, a name popped up. "Seraphara. That''s a beautiful name for a."


    Viewed from space, Seraphara appeared as a testament to human innovation. The had been transformed into a bustling hub of activity, its surface twinkling with the lights of advanced human settlements and shielded infrastructures.


    Theary shield, a translucent, shimmering dome, encased Seraphara like a protective cocoon. It glowed softly, reflecting the distant light of its parent star, Luminara, creating an ethereal aura around the entire.


    Beneath the protective shield, the surface of Seraphara was dotted with clusters of brilliantly illuminated human settlements. These settlements were carefully designed, their geometric patterns visible even from space, showcasing the order and precision with which they had been nned. The buildings, aglow with artificial light, created intricate constetions against the''s surface.


    "What a beautiful," Aldredmented.


    Everyone else was excited as well as they had never went to space before.


    asionally, glimmers of movement could be observed ¨C human spacecraft docking and departing, shuttles zipping between settlements, and the asional sh of light as defense systems were tested and monitored. Seraphara''s appearance from space had been a testament to the symbiotic rtionship between humanity and technology, illustrating the harmonious coexistence between advanced civilizations and the cosmic wonders that surrounded them.


    ''Perhaps Earth could be like this in a few thousand years,'' Aldred thought to himself. ''Well, at least I know that humans will not bepletely extinct.''


    Suddenly, a projection popped out. It was Commander Brenea.


    "Oh crap," Smander cursed before he saluted in a nervous manner.


    "Smander," Commander Brenea called with a frown. "You leave your ranks without saying anything. Do you care to exin?"


    "I¡ªI apo¡ª"


    "You should have tell me. I would''ve given you a better spacecraft."


    "Huh?" Smander and everyone else was shocked.


    "The four of you are joining the Gctic Mercenary Group right?"


    "That''s correct, ma''am."


    "Then I have no problem. The Gctic Mercenary Group is a vital organizations for humanity fighting against the aliens and demons. I wouldn''t have forgiven you if you runaway from your position because of cowardice. Joining the mercenary simply means that you have better ideas in eradicating the demons."


    Smander, Shinari, and Cleome were quite embarrassed.


    "My prayers will be with you. Good luck out there."


    "Thank you, ma''am!" they saluted.


    The projection vanished.


    "Oh, well. Thankfully, we''re not used of treason," Smander said.


    Suddenly, a beeping noise came. "Commencing auto-docking system. Please do not move your vehicle."


    Aldred quickly pulled his hands from the control system.


    The spacecraft made its dock on one of the many space stations orbiting the.


    "And we''ve arrived!" Smander shouted before heughed.


    The door of the spacecraft opened and all of them walked to the bridge where they were greeted by a man with a pair of sses.


    "Before you can enter the, I will have to confirm your identity."


    ''Uh oh,'' Aldred worried. He hadn''t had any ID yet.


    Smander pulled out four cards out of his mechanical hands and gave it to the officer.


    The officer nodded. "All clear."


    Smander retrieved the cards and kept it.


    As they walked along the space bridge, Aldred asked. "When did you create an ID for me?"


    Smander smiled. "Don''t worry about it."


    They entered a space elevator with other people. The space elevator was just a big ss tube with no wires. Aldred saw some sort of thrusting engine on the top and bottom of the ss tube that allow its movement.


    They slowly entered the.


    As the space elevator descended, Aldred and the group were treated to a breathtaking view of Seraphara, the technologically advanced. The elevator moved gracefully through the''s atmosphere, offering a panoramic disy of bustling tech-activity, glittering cityscapes, and awe-inspiring structures.


    The surface of Seraphara was a testament to human ingenuity. Skyscrapers made of sleek, reflective materials stretched towards the sky, their surfaces adorned with holographic disys showcasing various advertisements and announcements. Flying vehicles zipped through the air with remarkable precision, following designated pathways in the sky.


    Gigantic screens adorned the sides of buildings, disying news updates, art exhibitions, and interactive advertisements. People walked along transparent sidewalks, their footsteps lighting up the path beneath them. Automated drones whirred above, performing tasks ranging from delivering packages to monitoring the city for any signs of trouble.


    As the space elevator reached the ground, the doors slid open, revealing the heart of Seraphara. The ground beneath their feet was made of a smooth, iridescent material that seemed to shimmer with every step. Aldred couldn''t help but touch it, marveling at the advanced materials used to construct the city.


    The people there looked at Aldred weirdly.


    Smander quickly pulled him to stand up. "Don''t act like a country bump. You''re going to embarrass us."


    "Sorry about that."


    They ventured further into the city, guided by the holographic signs that adorned the streets. The city was a blend of traditional architecture and futuristic designs. Ancient-looking temples stood alongside sleek, metallic structures, creating a unique juxtaposition of the past and the future.


    "It''s so amazing despite all the tech around them, people still pray to god."


    "Hmm? That''s normal though. Gods exist so people often pray to them."


    "Huh?" Aldred blinked a couple of times in confusion."


    "Ahh, does your gxy or universe has no gods"


    "Uhh¡­ we kinda have." Aldred exined his concept of gods.


    "It''s kind of the same thing here. But they are not really all-knowing and all-powerful. And unlike your god, the gods here have showed themselves and actually got involved in the material realm direct or indirectly."


    "Does the gods sided with us?" Aldred asked.


    "There are many gods. The demon gods, the alien gods, the elves gods, and so many more."


    "What is your definition of god exactly?"


    "An entity capable of altering the current situation of arge region of the gxy with their action?"


    "Ah, I see. So is the Emperor a god for you?"


    "Of course. The Emperor is one of our main gods and almost every human prays to him. His power is beyond anything you can imagine."


    Aldred nodded in understanding. Shinari had told about the magical feats the Emperor had done. Still, he still could not believe that a man was capable of creating a super-nova with a p of his hand.


    A supernova was a catastrophic explosion that urred when a star died leading to an incredibly powerful burst of energy.


    From what Aldred learned, a supernova can release an enormous amount of energy, equivalent to the energy output of an entire gxy for a brief period in the form of shockwaves.


    These explosions would destroy anything in the distance of 50 light years.


    Such power¡­ if true then the Emperor would be worthy to be called a god.

 Chapter 605 605 Commander Thiharri

    <h4>Chapter 605 Chapter 605 Commander Thiharri</h4>


    Aldred and the others looked around the for half an hour before they quickly looked for the Mercenary branches.


    When they arrived at the branch, they saw a long line of people registering to be a mercenary.


    "There are a lot of people here," Aldred said.


    "Mercenary is a high incentive job after all," Smander said. "So long as you don''t mind dying that is."


    They quickly entered the queue and waited. The queue progressed at a rapid rate which indicate that bing a mercenary wasn''t thatplicated.


    Aldred looked at the strangers around him, silently looking at their armor and weapons. Most of them wore some kind of armor and Aldred could tell that their armor could activate space mode which would let them survive in space if needed.


    However, not all of them seem to be able bring armor. Most of them wore small amount of protection that only protected their stomach and chest area. They also brought a sub-par version of theser gun that Aldred saw the guardsmen used.


    "Those that joined the mercenary are usually battle-hungry or eager to find thrill and excitement. But on the other side of the coin, desperate men or women joined for money. These people are not good enough for the military, so they be a mercenary."


    Aldred could understand. Desperate people will take desperate measures.


    He, in fact, could be said to be desperate to return to his wives.


    That was why he was crazy enough to go after Lord Malgorth despite knowing his immense power.


    After an hour of waiting, Aldred and the group finally got their turn to register.


    The receptionist presented them a tablet with a digital form that Aldred had to fill. It was just basic information such as their name and address. Shockingly however, Aldred did not even need to show his ID.


    After they were done, Aldred asked about this to Smander.


    "Most mercenaries die during their first job. With untold billions of mercenaries dying every single day, the Gctic Mercenary Group just simply stop counting."


    "It''s that bad, huh?"


    "With theck of training and equipments most mercenaries have, it just makes sense," Smander said.


    "But how would they repay their loan for the spaceship they leased?"


    "Uhhh¡­ there are different ss of mercenaries. Those who can afford to lease, and those who cannot. Those who cannot lease a spaceship work for those who have spaceships."


    "So¡­ they are cannon fodder?"


    Smander quickly shut his mouth. "Hush. Lower your voice."


    Suddenly, the line became hectic and people murmured loudly.


    "What''s going on?"


    Aldred checked what was up and saw a woman withmanding stature and undeniable presence walked in with 12 guards in full armor protecting her.


    The guards walked with such certainty that the people moved to the side by instinct.


    "Is that who I think that is?" Cleome was shocked.


    "I think you''re right. That''s Commander Thiharri!" Shinari widened her eyes.


    "Holy shit! I cannot believe I would see her here of all ces." Smander was shocked as well.


    On the other hand, Aldred had no clue who that person was. "Who is she?"


    "I forgot that you''re not from here," Smander started. "That is Commander Thiharri. She is the leader of one of the most powerful Mercenary group in the whole gxy. Her organization is so powerful that she no longer need to answer to Gctic Mercenary Group instead she worked as an equal partner with them. She has proved to be a vital figure in eradicating demons and aliens and named her organization as Gctic Sentinel Mercenary as a conviction that she will guard humanity from harm."


    "Wow." Aldred was amazed and humbled immediately. He was once a powerful figure on a capable of waging war on a whole kingdom by himself with his numerous undead army and hundreds of thousands robots under hismand.


    But still, even at the peak of his power, he could only influence one or two continent at most. But that woman could probably influence an entire ster clusters by herself.


    The amount of power and influence needed to do that must be immense.


    "I wonder why she''s here," Cleome said. "And¡­ I wonder if I can get an autograph."


    "Are you a fan of her?" Aldred asked.


    "Are you crazy? Everyone is a fan of her. I''ve been watching her since I was a child. She''s one of the figure that inspired me to work so hard to fight for humanity."


    Commander Thiharri talked with the branch manager for a few minutes, and then she faced the people in the queue.


    "I am sure all of you already know who I am."


    The people in line cheered and roared in excitement.


    "First, let me praise you all for taking a brave step in defending humanity. All of you are brave souls."


    She paused for a few seconds. "I will tell you my purpose ofing here. I need your help. Humanity need your help. The Empire is stretching its resources thin, and the demons are invading our territories, so I need you humans of NovaSphere to take arms and fight with me."


    "YEAH!!!"


    The people roared in excitement as they waved their weapons in the air.


    "NovaSphere?" Aldred asked.


    "That''s the name of our Ster Clusters."


    "What''s that?"


    "In short, Ster Clusters are group of stars that are gravitationally bound, often containing thousands to millions of stars. Our star system and the star system of Astralonis is within NovaSphere."


    "I can say I learned a lot of things now."


    "We will never stop learning. No matter how old or smart you are, the universe always offers something new to learn."


    Commander Thiharri continued, her voice carrying the weight of the gxy''s struggles. "Now, I know the life of a mercenary is tough, and many of you might have doubts. But remember, we are humanity''sst line of defense. We are the ones who stand between our civilization and the darkness that threatens to consume it."


    A hush fell over the crowd, each person hanging on to her every word.


    "You might be risking your lives, but you are also defending your families, your homes, and everything we hold dear. We are not just soldiers; we are protectors. Protectors of our way of life, our freedom, and our very existence. And together, we will prevail."


    The spirit in her eyes was contagious, spreading like wildfire among the aspiring mercenaries. The atmosphere was charged with newfound resolve.


    Aldred felt a surge of determination within him as well. He might be an outsider, a stranger in this gxy, but the call to defend humanity resonated deep within his core. He clenched his fists, ready to face whatever challengesy ahead.

 Chapter 606 606 Enggage

    <h4>Chapter 606 Chapter 606 Enggage</h4>


    Commander Thiharri''s words echoed in Aldred''s mind, stirring something deep within him. As he looked around at the diverse crowd of aspiring mercenaries, he realized that he was no longer just a lost soul from another world; he was a part of something greater. The determination in their eyes mirrored his own, and for the first time since his arrival in this alien gxy, he felt a sense of belonging.


    [You are affected with ''Charismatic Speech'']


    [Breaking process¡­]


    [Breaking seeds]


    Suddenly, Aldred''s mind cleared and the surging feeling of patriotism towards humanity in this gxy reduced to normal level. The feeling was like bing sober instantly after being drugged.


    ''That was really scary," Aldred thought. He then saw the mercenaries gaze full of admiration towards Commander Thiharri.


    Even Smander, Shinari, and Cleome were affected.


    Thiharri''s words were not that inspiring on its own, but somehow she was able to put some sort of power into her speech that convinced people to listen and admire her.


    That kind of power was equivalent to soft brain control or maniption. No wonder she was able tomand a powerful presence.


    Aldred was terrified. If a woman in the local ster cluster was able to do this then what about the Emperor himself?


    How much powerful was he, really?


    Suddenly, a notification beeped into Aldred''smunication device strapped on his left arm. A screen projected into the air.


    The screen was about a formal invitation letter asking everyone here to join the Sentinel Mercenary Group in defending a star system called NovaGuardia.


    It was a nearby star system only 20-light-years away.


    "We have no time to waste, soldiers!" Cimmander Thiharri. "Lord Malgorth''s army is currently invading our fellow humankind. It is our responsibility to hand-in-hand go there immediately and help them."


    The people roared in excitement again as they quickly epted the invitation.


    Smander, Cleome, and Shinari epted as well.


    "Wait, are you guys sure about this?" Aldred asked.


    Cleome looked at him weirdly. "What''s not to sure about? This is a battle for humanity. We don''t leave the to avoid it. We leave it to go after it."


    That was a fine argument and Aldred couldn''t find any ws in it. What Thiharri invited them to do was actually for the good of humanity, only, the way she manipted his emotions left a bad taste in his mouth.


    Aldred relented and agreed to the invitation.


    Commander Thiharri nodded and left immediately after she was satisfied with the result.


    Suddenly, a fully armed man approached Smander.


    "The four of you will join group 2453," the man immediately said without dy. He grabbed a tablet and showed them a scene that the demons were already trying tond on the surface of a.


    "The you are currently seeing is called Nova Prime. It serves as the military and administrative hub for NovaGuardia. As you can see, despite aggressive defensive action by the local military, some demons still manage tond on the."


    Aldred saw the scenes of small spaceships sending missiles andser beams towards one another. There were even scenes where the spaceships ran out of ammo and crashed itself to another spaceships.


    The scene was full of explosions andser beams.


    Aldred began to feel nervous. In such a grand scale of battles, could he really contribute much? The risk of his spacecraft exploding before he could even reach the was extremely high.


    The officer noticed his concern and exined: "Our main battleship will open a massive warp hole. Together, we will appear right in front of them. With our numbers we can give them a much more important distractions. Our numbers are muchrger than they are, so you don''t have to worry. Your goal is simple. Prevents as many demons fromnding on the."


    Smander nodded. "It''s fine, officer. Even if the demons fight us 10 to 1 we will make sure to bring victory."


    Shinari and Cleome nodded as if it was a natural thing.


    Meanwhile, Aldred retained a more realistic mindset.


    "The four of you must enter your spacecraft now. We are leaving in 10 minutes."


    They nodded and immediately sprinted.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was confused at how in a hurry everything seemed to be. Why amander of arge mercenary organization need the help of new mercenaries who barely had any training or experience?


    In less than five minutes, the group entered their spacecraft. Smander manned the spaceship.


    "I hope you don''t mind me being the captain for now, Aldred. This is an urgent matter."


    "I am fine with that. But I have a question. With this spacecraft, how the hell can we stop a demonnding on the?"


    "You will seeter. The Sentinel will give us something."


    2 minutester. An industrial spacecraft approached them and installed some kind of drilling device at the front of the spaceship. It also installed some kind of thick armor on his Gctic Rover.


    "Just like that my spaceship got an upgrade?"


    A few thousands other spacecraft also got the same upgrade as him.


    "This is the Sentinel''s Breaching Kit. With this kit, our spacecraft can puncture through most small spacecraft with ease. The front drill isn''t the only thing working. The kit also have some small boarding device that we can use. I cannot believe I would one day fight alongside the Sentinel and even got their kit!"


    Aldred was so confused at how these Smander could be so happy in this situation. They were about to go to battle where they could die at any time.


    "Attention to all soldiers! The warp hole wile open in two minutes. Please be ready!" An announcement rang in the spacecraft.


    All the spacecraft gathered near a massive destroyer-ss spaceship.


    Aldred was in awe when he saw that spacecraft. His Gctic Rover was like a small rockpared to the huge mountain of that spaceship.


    "Warp hole will open in 1."


    "2."


    "3."


    "Commencing."


    As the ship''s colossal engines roared to life, a brilliant cascade of vibrant lights enveloped its form, casting iridescent hues across the surrounding space. A mesmerizing aura of azure, violet, and electric blue shimmered along the spaceship''s edges, marking the activation of its space-time distortion systems. An ethereal glow extended outward, creating intricate patterns in the cosmic fabric.


    At the ship''s bow, a massive array of arcane technology sprang to life. An enormous circr structure, brimming with intricate runes and symbols, began to rotate with hypnotic grace. Brilliant beams of light emanated from the structure, intertwining and converging at a focal point, forming a luminous singrity¡ªa warp hole.


    The warp hole, a rippling vortex of distorted space-time, crackled with raw energy. It seemed to tear the very fabric of the universe, creating a passage to realms unknown. A kaleidoscope of colors, reminiscent of a cosmic aurora, danced within the vortex, casting an otherworldly glow on the surrounding spaceships.


    Aldred was amazed yet again. He could not believe what he was seeing was real. The way the warp hole was so beautiful that it felt like seeing an art-piece was being created.


    Tens of thousands of spacecraft, ranging from agile fighters to colossal battleships, gathered around the Destroyer-ss vessel, their hulls reflecting the vibrant hues of the warp hole. Each ship bristled with advanced weaponry and protective shields.


    The Destroyer-ss spaceship propelled itself forward, leading the charge. As it breached the event horizon of the warp hole, space itself seemed to stretch and contort, swallowing the armada in a whirlwind of light and energy.


    The ships followed suit, one by one, disappearing into the enigmatic depths of the warp hole.


    Inside the confines of their spacecraft, Aldred and his group experienced a mixture of awe and trepidation as they entered the warp hole.


    The interior of their ship seemed to vibrate with an otherworldly energy, and the crew felt a subtle but undeniable shift in the very fabric of reality.


    Their expressions mirrored a blend of excitement and apprehension, their eyes wide with anticipation.


    As the warp enveloped their ship, the space around them twisted and contorted in ways unimaginable. Stars elongated into streaks of light, forming ethereal trails that painted the cosmic canvas. Colors morphed into surreal shades, casting an eerie luminescence that danced across the ship''s walls. The very sensation of movement became abstract, as if they were suspended in a surreal dreamscape, where thews of physics bowed to the whims of the warp.


    Aldred felt weird during the process. Things really seemed as if they were not real.


    In a dazzling burst of light, Aldred''s spacecraft emerged from the warp, re-materializing near Nova Prime.


    The nowy besieged beneath a roiling tempest of chaos.


    But what shocked Aldred even more was the amount of battle spaceships.


    At first, there were only tens of thousands of spacecraft, now there were hundreds of thousands creating a space opera of space battle in NovaGuardia Star System.


    What was more shocking was the appearance of an ever bigger spaceship than the destroyer ss. The Destroyer-ss was over 500 meters in length.


    But this spacecraft was over 800 meters in length!


    "That''s the Battlecruiser-ss Battleship!" Smander stared in awe. He was about to exin more about the battleships until an announcement came.


    "All soldiers. ENGGAGE!"

 Chapter 607 607 Space Battle

    ?


    With a rush of adrenaline, Aldred and hispanions braced themselves as they throttled forward.


    The chaos unfolding around them was staggering. Countless spacecraft, both small and colossal, were engaged in a fierce cosmic dance, firingsers and missiles, illuminating the void of space with their explosive shes. The atmosphere inside their spacecraft became tense as they beheld the sheer magnitude of the conflict.


    Aldred was speechless at the scale of this battle. It seemed so chaotic and out of order.


    But soon his focus was shifted elsewhere.


    "Everyone brace for impact!" Smander shouted as the Gctic Rover activated its drilling machine and punctured through a demon''s spacecraft.


    The enemy spacecraft exploded immediately as he managed to hit its vitalpartment. mes spread everywhere.


    Smanderughed. "This is so fucking great!"


    Suddenly, the Gctic Rover got barraged by hail ofser beams. The external armor installed on it hold on.


    Smander looked at the status indicator of the armor and cursed. "Shit! Our external armor won''tst for long! Help me man the guns while I make maneuvers!"


    The Gctic Rover could actually be manned by one person. But to properly function in battle, it would at least need a total of 5 crews.


    There were only four of them, but that was fine.


    Aldred, Cleome, and Shinari quickly entered their battle stations. They quickly grabbed control of the weapons on the Gctic Rover and fired back.


    Aldred on the other hand was confused and did not know the function of each buttons on his control board. He pressed every button that was avable to him and learned the function of each one.


    Smander noticed his predicament but could not help as he was too busy making a maneuver in space.


    The Gctic Rover moved with incredible trajectory. It flipped, rolled, and went up and down as it dodged theser attacks.


    Aldred stared at the screen in front of him with the view of his gun barrel underneath. He aimed and fired at every enemy spacecraft he saw.


    The Gctic Rover managed to down a bunch of small spacecraft with itsser beams which was quite surprising.


    Then, the spacecraft shook again as Smander rammed another spacecraft.


    Smanderughed like a crazed maniac. "HAHAHA! Die you demons! DIE!!!"


    He controlled one of theser guns on the ship and fried the demons inside the spacecraft he just rammed.


    After puncturing through the enemy spacecraft, Smander did not felt satisfied. "This is not enough. We cannot just attack on these small fries. Let''s attack the bigger one."


    Shinari and Cleome nodded in agreement as they anticipated for another battle.


    "Uhh, don''t you think it would be wiser to just stick to the small fries? If you don''t remember, we are small fries as well," Aldredmented.


    "How can we show the great power of humanity by doing that? If a small fry human can defeat the big demons, they will surely fear us. There is no time to waste. Get your hands ready on the white lever next to you. That is the lever for your breaching pod. We will infiltrate one of their bigger spacecraft and destroy it from the inside."


    Smander throttled the spacecraft to the maximum and immediately headed to.


    Aldred saw they were headed to one of those 500-meter Destroyer-ss spaceship.


    His heart thudding in rapid rate. The enemy Destroyer ss boasted formidable armaments, including Heavy sma Cannons that fired endlessly towards the allied spacecraft, creating a firework of explosions as their spacecraft exploded in an instant.


    "I thought that thing boasted thick armor. How are we going to puncture that thing?" Aldred asked.


    Smanderughed yet again. He made a call: "This is Gctic Rover from group 2453. Requesting assistance in breaching enemy Destroyer-ss spaceship at our current trajectory."


    "Request epted," a man quickly answered at the other end of the call.


    Suddenly, one of the allied Destroyer-ss ship send a hail ofser beams.


    Theser beams struck a specific point of the enemy''s Destroyer-ss ship, weakening its armor significantly.


    "Alright!" Smander shouted. "We''re going overdrive!"


    The Gctic Rover hummed loudly as Smander did everything to increase its momentum and speed. The spinning drill at the nose spun so fast it shook the spacecraft.


    The enemy Destroyer-ss noticed the Gctic Rover and want to attack it, but the allied ships suddenly increase its attack.


    The effortbination prevented the enemy from destroying the Gctic Rover.


    "Brace!"


    The Gctic Rover''s drill punched through the enemy ship''s weakened hull.


    However, the armor was still durable, and the Gctic Rover shook violently as it forced its way in.


    The Gctic Rover managed to punctured through the fifthyer of the armor.


    "Pull the lever!"


    Aldred did as instructed immediately of which he was quickly encased in some sort of pop andunched out of the Gctic Rover. The pod then mmed itself onto thestyer of the armor and then created a concentrated explosion that created a tiny hole on the armor.


    However, the hole was too small for Aldred to enter.


    "Thestyer of the spaceship is not that powerful!" Smander''s voice came from the device on his left wrist. "It is designed to stop shrapnels, but not blunt damage. Attack it with your power!"


    Aldred punched through the armor, expanding the hole, and quickly entered. There he saw Smander, Cleome, and Shinari also entering a hole they made.


    A few secondster, the floor under their feet shook a bunch of times, and then a few more holes appeared on the wall.


    Humans crawled out of the holes.


    One of the men nodded at them. "Let''s wreck havoc on this thing."


    Smander nodded back and together they charged towards a direction.


    Aldred did not know where they were going, but he followed suit.


    Demons with tall swords immediately appeared in the corridor and charged at them.


    The humans fired their weapons, killing any demons that approached. After they finished, they continued to advance and faced with three different corridors.


    "Let''s split up!" Smander led them to another direction.


    "Where are we going?" Aldred asked.


    "To the Engine Room!"


    "Won''t that be heavily guarded?"


    "Yes!"


    Aldred was worried. He had never seen Smander this battle-crazed before. Even back on Wastnd Citadel. The man always seemed rational and careful before.


    Why did he be so reckless after leaving the?


    Suddenly, four demons appeared and charged at them. Smander''s arms turned into a pair of machine guns and ripped them to shreds.


    More demons came to their way, but then Cleome jumped at the front. "Don''t take all the demons for yourself. Give some to me!"


    She whipped her arms forward, surging two bolt of lightning that turned the demons into charcoal.


    Twonded from above behind them, then Shinari quickly vanished and re-appeared behind them, cutting off their heads in an instant.


    Aldred felt useless after seeing them fight. "I cannot stay like this. I must wreck havoc as well."


    With a roar, Aldred gathered his strength in his right fist and mmed the wall.


    BOOM!


    His fist created a massive hole on the wall, and shook thepartment they were in.


    "What are you doing?" Smander asked.


    "We''re going to the engine room right? Tell me which direction. I will create a path for you."


    Smander raised an eyebrow at the surprising idea, but he quickly smiled and pointed at the direction.


    Aldred grinned back and punched through the wall to create a path for themselves.


    With each punch, the whole ce seem to shake. While Aldred was making a path for them, the rest of the group killed every demons that came their way.


    After half-an-hour the group reached the inside of a church of some kind.


    The church was dark and gloomy with no one in sight. There was an altar in the center. Candles flickered on the altar, and their flickering casted shadows on the walls.


    Behind the altar, stained ss windows, depicting a scene of desperate humans wailing and bowing towards a dark god as it ripped a baby''s neck with its rotten teeth.


    "Are we going to the right ce?" Aldred asked.


    "I have read things very much about every spacecraft type and learned its blueprint," Smander said. "I am sure we''re going to the right direction."


    "Is it behind that altar?"


    "Possibly."


    "Let me destroy it." Cleome whipped her hand down, lightning crackled all over her body as she gathered her power.


    With a quick swept of her hand, she released a thick energy bolt that went towards the Altar.


    However, a dark formnded from above and blocked the bolt, creating a smoke screen that blocked it from sight.


    Smander''s sensor activated and he urged everyone to be careful.


    After the smoke vanished, the form revealed itself. It was a beautiful woman withplete dark-gothic clothings and a sword in her hand.


    Behind her, a gigantic dark-furred wolf stood ready to attack under hermand.


    "This is not good."

 Chapter 608 608 Fire Power

    <h4>Chapter 608 Chapter 608 Fire Power</h4>


    The enemy before them was an enticing figure of a woman. She was fair skinned and thin. A beauty standard for women in many region.


    Anyone that took a look at her would think that she worked as a celebrity or something. But still, Aldred wasn''t sure if this beautiful woman was a demon or a person. She looked like a human, but her eyes seem as deep as an abyss.


    "That''s not a human," Smander said. "Well, long story short, that''s a former human."


    "Is she possessed or something?"


    "No. She simply sold her body and soul to a dark god. In return, they granted her power and perhaps beauty. Demons always manage to entice the human race with shiny and beautiful things. Power, wealth, beauty, and immortality. All of these things are very seductive to us. It is very hard to not bend and ept this offer."


    Suddenly, loud footsteps came and a group of human appeared.


    The two group looked at each other.


    "You guys are going to the engine room as well?"


    Smander nodded. "But we have a problem."


    They all turned their gaze towards the center of the room. Standing in front of the Altar, the beautiful woman was watching them in silent.


    "This is not good," the man said.


    "I said the same thing," Smander replied.


    The man sighed. "Well, there''s nothing else we can do. It''s an all-out battle. Are youing?"


    "We got no choice either. It''s the only way to stop this machine."


    The man grinned. "Well, don''t die too soon. Attack!"


    The new group that came lifted their heavy weapons and bombarded the demonic woman with explosive shells. The altar was covered in smoke and mes.


    "Everyone, get back!" Smander said.


    They all stepped back a bunch of times.


    A growling sound came from the smoke, then suddenly, the giant wolf lunged out and pounced on the man. The wolf then bit on his neck then ripped off his head.


    "Fuck! Kill that thing!"


    His allies went full auto with their heavy machine gun. The blood of the wolf sttered everywhere, but it did nothing to stop its next attack. With a swipe of its ws, the arms of its attackers were shredded into pieces.


    The giant wolf was about to attack again until Smander leaped and punched it right in the jaw. "Die, you piece of shit!"


    The giant wolf staggered on its legs until Cleome mmed her lightning bolt towards it from above. The impact was like a huge hammer mming upon the wolf.


    The wolf''s head fell to the ground before Shinari appeared near its big eyes and stabbed one of it with her de.


    The wolf roared in pain as blood spilled out from its left eyes.


    A woman with a rocketuncher then aimed at it''s head and then sted it with a powerful explosion.


    Half of the wolf''s head was destroyed, and then it fell with a thud.


    "We did it," the woman said.


    "No. It''s not over yet. Look over there." Smander pointed.


    The demonic woman was still watching them in silence. She apparently had been watching them fighting the wolf and did nothing but watch.


    Something about her inaction made Aldred feel weird and wary.


    Aldred also noticed that there weren''t a single scratch or damage on her clothes after the attack earlier.


    Smander activated his energy-sters and fired.


    The demonic woman lifted one of her finger and blocked the attack, scattering the energy in the air.


    The woman suddenly shed forward. Her movement was instant, and even Aldred could barely react when she appeared in front of Smander with a de in her hand.


    She swung.


    Blood sshed on the wall.


    Smander screamed as his right hand was cut off.


    "Fuck!" Aldred charged forward and struck.


    The demonic woman blocked his attack with the de, and the impact created a sonic boom in the room.


    "You''re powerful," the demonic woman said.


    "Thank you for the praise but I am not forgiving you for cutting my friend''s hand." Aldred struck again and again as he engaged in a battle with the demonic woman.


    Meanwhile, Cleome and Shinari pulled Smander to safety.


    "Fuck! I got my right arm cut off again," Smander said. "Shinari, can you grab that arm for me?"


    Shinari nodded and quickly grabbed the mechanical arm and brought it to him.


    Smander leaned on the wall as he grabbed the mechanical arm and stick it. Then, aser heat the steel and re-attached it.


    The fingers on the mechanical arm moved. "It''s not as good, but its still working. Let''s help Aldred fight that woman."


    They all nodded beforeing to Aldred''s aid.


    Shinari quickly used her shadow technique to appear behind the demonic woman. Her de instantly made a sharp trajectory to her neck.


    The woman, without even looking back, raised both of her elbows, forcing Shinari''s de to rise and missed their mark.


    Cleome sent a bolt of lightning towards her, but the demonic woman easily cleave the bolt and dispersed it.


    While the three of them were ganging up on the demonic woman in close range, Smander stayed farther away and provided fire-support from a distance.


    Whenever there was an opportunity, he would sent a couple of precision bullets at her way.


    As the battle progressed, Aldred felt some sort of heat in his chest that worsened every second. At first, it was a subtle difort, but it quickly escted into a searing pain that made it hard for him to breathe. Despite the pain, Aldred fought on.


    His allies depended on him. If he made a mistake, he might break the rhythm of their coordination.


    However, The demonic woman seemed to be toying with them, effortlessly evading their every attacks.


    When Aldred stabbed forward, she simply tilted her head slightly to the side. And even though Cleome and Shinari attack right after, she incredible moved in such a way thought not to be possible to evade the attacks.


    After a few minutes, the demonic woman seemed to have learned a pattern and then counter-attacked.


    She kicked the air to her right, of which, Shinari appeared and got hit right on her stomach. The blow threw her off into a wall.


    The demonic woman then appeared in front of Cleome and shed at her ribs. Cleome reacted quickly, and blocked the attack with her force field.


    Still, the impact caused her ribs cage to crack before she was flung away.


    Aldred quickly rushed towards the enemy before she could do any more harm. He threw punches after punches to keep her upied.


    Then she suddenly leaped back and then threw her sword at him.


    Aldred dodged, but then realized that the sword wasn''t meant for him.


    Smander widened his eyes as he raised both arms as the sword struck him in the chest.


    The force knocked Smander into a wall. Blood trickled from his lips. "I am fine! Don''t worry about me."


    The demonic woman struck with her fist. Her movement was so fast that Aldred barely able to block it.


    "What''s your name?" the woman asked.


    "As if I will tell you."


    "My name is Kenosa. Join me. Your ce is not with them. I can smell it. You have a demon''s blood in you."


    Aldred smiled. "I have more than a demon''s blood in me."


    Fire ignited in Aldred''s hand and then he pped Kenosa''s face.


    Her whole body then ignited into me and she screamed in pain.


    "You dare harm me!?" With a swing of her hand, the me vanished.


    Two giant wolves suddenly appeared behind her and menacingly growled and stared at Aldred.


    Aldred gritted his teeth as a searing pain came in his heart. It was like molten ss was burning his insides, and he felt like he could burp out smoke.


    "What is going on with me?"


    The wolves barked and rushed towards him.


    Aldred was in incredible pain, so when he saw the wolves came at him, he was angered and roared at them.


    Suddenly, swirling torrents of superheated ash and liquid fire came out from his mouth and surrounded the wolves.


    The superheated ash and liquid fire he expelled engulfed the giant wolves, incinerating them almost instantly. Their howls of agony echoed through the chamber, reverberating off the walls until they were silenced, leaving behind nothing but smoldering ashes.


    Aldred''s eyes was bloodshot and his whole body turned glowing red. Not just any red, but the red that one would see on a heated metal.


    Steam came out of his orifices and Aldred was incredibly in pain.


    Kenosa, momentarily taken aback by this unexpected turn of events, regained herposure. Her eyes, once indifferent, now zed with a mix of fear and curiosity. "You¡­ who are you?"


    "There''s too much power inside me. I have to let it all out!"


    With a roar, Aldred released a powerful vortex of liquid fire.


    Kenosa froze in ce with widened eyes as the me struck her and turned her into ashes in an instant.


    Still, the fire did not stop there. It burned through the altar, burst through the wall, into the engine room, and kept going until it prated the hull of the spaceship.


    From outside point of view, the demon''s Destroyer-ss battleship suddenly got a big fire burst out of its rear hull.


    The me was so powerful that nearby spacecraft slowed down immediately for overheating.


    But the me onlyst for a few seconds before it disappeared.


    Inside the spaceship, Aldred weakly fell on his back. He gasped for air, his chest heaving in desperate attempt to fill his lungs. Panic gripped him as he fought in to draw a breath, the fear of suffocation filled his mind.


    Smander limped his way towards him and saw the massive hole on the rear hull of the ship.


    "You have that kind of power all these time?"

 Chapter 609 609 End Of Battle

    "You have that kind of power all these time?" Smander asked, but he received no reply.


    He then realized that Aldred was unconscious.


    Shinari and Cleome approached with a ss sphere encasing their head to provide a safe environment in the vacuum of space.


    The ship no longer provided them with the much needed oxygen.


    One of themon traits that almost every living beings in this gxy had was the need to breath in oxygen.


    Not every creatures needed oxygen to breath, but most civilization-building-capable creatures need oxygen in order to survive.


    So when they traveled through space, everyone need to be in a safe-oxygen-rich chamber if they want to live.


    Even demons, who posses incredible physical strength so powerful they could survive from a crashing themselves into a from low orbit. And unlike most humans, they could actually live and survive much longer without oxygen. Some experiment done by the humans revealed that the average demons could survive 3-7 days.


    And that did not included the special types of demons.


    Some say the higher the level of the demons, the longer they were able to survive without oxygens, with some scientists proposed that a small proportions of demons were capable of surviving without oxygen at all.


    Shinari knelt beside Aldred and checked on his status with a device. "His breathing is normal. There is no anomaly detected."


    "What about oxygen level?" Cleome asked.


    "Oxygen level is normal."


    "How is that possible? We''re in a vacuum."


    Shinari thought for a moment. "This might be a crazy idea, but from what I can tell, Aldred breathed in cosmic energy and then his body turn them into oxygen."


    They all looked at each other in shock.


    "For now, let''s get him to a safe ce." Smander lifted him up. "The Gctic Rover should still be working."


    They all returned to where they came. Some demons hindered their path, but Cleome sted them away.


    When they arrived inside the Gctic Rover, Smander turned it on and pulled back out of the Destroyer-ss battleship.


    The Gctic Rover came out with its drillpletely destroyed and the external armor were almostpletely gone.


    The spaceship''s hull was also full of dents and some tiny holes. Thankfully that was just the firstyer so they still had oxygen inside.


    The view outside the Gctic Rover were as chaotic as ever. The battle still ongoing.


    Spacecraft bombarded and crashed into one another, creating an endless fireworks of explosions. Parts and debris of these exploding spacecraft flew in every direction, sometimes hitting on a unaware spacecraft and damaging them.


    However, the main yers were those big ships. The Destroyer-ss battleship, and then there was that one.


    The Battlecruiser-ss Battleship.


    The Battlecruiser-ss Battleship, a titanic juggernaut of interster warfare, loomed like a metallic mountain against the backdrop of the cosmic battleground. Its hull, armored with imprable alloys, bore the scars of previous battles, a testament to its resilience.


    Towering spires and colossal cannons adorned its surface, each weapon designed for annihtion. With a length that stretched over 800 meters, it dwarfed the surrounding vessels,manding respect and awe.


    Smander kept staring at it with all kinds of emotion welled up in his chest. "Such magnificence of creation."


    Cleome admired it as well.


    Shinari was tending to Aldred in the back as she looked at the spacecraft.


    Numerousser beams, missiles, and energy sters attacked the humongous ship, but its advanced-shielding technology blocked everything that came in its way.


    On its surface, an array of advanced weaponry bristled like a metallic forest. Heavy sma cannons, capable of unleashing devastating energy bolts, glowed with ominous hues as they charged. Pulseser batteries, resembling clusters of celestial diamonds, fired rapid bursts of energy, intercepting iing enemy missiles and fighters with pinpoint uracy. Ion disruptor beams, long-rangences of pure energy,shed out, disabling demon ships with a blinding brilliance.


    Missileunchers, strategically positioned across the battleship''s expanse, unleashed a barrage of warheads.


    High-explosive, antimatter, and electromaic pulse missiles streaked across space, seeking out demonic vessels and obliterating them in blinding explosions.


    Railgun batteries fired kic projectiles at speeds that defiedprehension, tearing through demon shields and armor with sheer brute force.


    Amidst the cacophony of battle, the Battlecruiser''s advanced sensor arrays scanned the cosmic battlefield. Each enemy ship, no matter how stealthily cloaked, was detected with uncanny precision. The battleship''s tactical AI processed this data, predicting enemy movements and weaknesses with unparalleled uracy.


    And not only that. These processed data were then shared to every allied group, giving everyone a full view of the situations.


    The Battlecruiser was like the spear and eyes. It behold massive armaments to destroy its enemies and provide vital information for the allies.


    As the demonic forces, equipped with their own advanced spacecraft technology, attempted to breach the Battlecruiser''s defenses, they were met with a storm of retaliatory fire.


    Brilliant energy shields, generated by the battleship''s shield emitters, absorbed enemy attacks, flickering with the impact of each strike.


    Countermeasures, deployed in a dazzling disy of electronic warfare, jammed enemymunication signals and disrupted their targeting systems.


    "God damn! That thing is too fucking strong!"


    Everyone was shocked to hear that.


    Because the one who shout that was Aldred.


    "You''re awake already?"


    "Am I not supposed to?" Aldred asked as he heaved himself off the table and approached to take a closer look.


    "That thing is really powerful. I wonder if I can ever get my hands on that kind of ship."


    Smanderughed. "That would be nice. But something like that is impossible for us. It cost more than 86,4 million Gctic Credits and that''s just for the ship. I haven''t count the cost of weapons, ammunitions, energies, maintenance, and the amount of people just to crew that thing."


    "Enough talking about spaceships like a nerd," Cleome said. "Aldred, what are you exactly?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You created a massive hole that punctured through all fiveyer of a Destroyer-ss ship. Not just any human can do that."


    "Maybe I am the special kind of human. Didn''t I tell you guys that I am not from here?"


    "Are all the people on your have the same power as you?" Shinari asked.


    "Well¡­ not exactly. But I met a lot of powerful people."


    "Your are full of super?"


    "Not everyone, but a lot."


    "That must be a very special," Smander said. "A that can birth a lot of supers are very rare and can be a valuable asset for humanity. You really don''t know where it is?"


    "Actually, part of my reason to do this journey is exactly to return to that. I don''t know how, but I believe the Spaceweaver scepter owned by Lord Malgorth can help me with it."


    "Hmmm, your goal align with humanity," Smander said. "Your goal is returning to your, our goal is to find it. We will help you with that."


    "Maybe we can ask for someone else to help us as well," Cleome suggested.


    "Will anyone believe me?" Aldred asked. "I don''t think I have a reputation credible enough to ask for help from a powerful organizations. My best bet is to gather as much resource and grow our strength all the while looking for Lord Malgorth''s location. And I am not stupid to fight head on. I will consider the odds of my victory and decide what the best course of action will be."


    "Ohh." Cleome scratched her head. "Sorry, I thought you were a reckless idiot that will kill himself to bring down a demon."


    "Yeah, I thought the same," Smander said. "That''s why I am going crazy today. I thought all of us wanted to die."


    "What?" Aldred was speechless.


    ''These guys think that I am nning to kill myself to eliminate as many demons as possible?'' Aldred thought to himself.


    "What kind of idiots would do that?"


    "A lot actually," Smander replied. "Well, enough about that. Look, the battle is about to end."


    The Battlecruiser-ss Battleship quickly cleansed the cosmic battlefield with overwhelming firepower.


    Quickly, the demon army retreated after losing more than half of their spaceships.


    "Attention to all personnels! We have imed victory!"


    The stations entered and all-open channel and hundreds of thousands of screaming of victory reverberated in the Gctic Rover.


    Everyone was cheering for their victory. Aldred and his group also cheered in excitement.


    After they cheered for their victory, the officers ordered them to gather on Aegis IV


    Aegis IV was a heavily fortified on the outer edges of NovaGuardia star system. It was home to NovaGuardia''s Fleet Command, overseeing the defense and patrol of the entire system.


    Its moon, Fortis Luna, housed one of the most advanced shipyards in this ster clusters.


    The surviving ships numbering in tens of thousands began to arrive in droves. They were badly damaged and battered.


    It was fine though as soon the officers offered them free repair-service and an incentive for their much-needed help.


    Aldred was happy with that as well, but then he saw the BattleCruiser ship did not stay in this star system for long. It soon entered the warp and went somewhere else along with some Destroyer-ss ships.


    "Where are they going?" Aldred asked.


    "The gxy is unimaginably huge, Aldred," Smander said. "Conflicts and battles sparked in almost every star of this gxy. Those guys have important duties to keep order in the territory of the Imperium. They are much much busier than us. While we celebrate our victory, they already go somewhere else to fight another battle."


    Aldred looked at the spaceships slowly distorting out of reality.


    "Those must be very brave men."

 Chapter 610 610 Elralya

    Chapter 610  610 Elralya


    Aldred and all the survived members of the mercenaries entered themercial side of the to spend their Gctic Credits.


    Cleome brought them to some kind of pub and they ordered their meals and drinks.


    "Okay, let''s talk about what happened today," Cleome started. "Your power. It''s not normal. I have never seen anything like it before."


    Aldred put down his jug and wiped the stain off his mouth. "I actually have more power within me, but ever since I came upon this gxy, my power is sealed."


    "How did you get here again?"


    "A powerful being teleported me here. I am not exactly sure who he is."


    "A powerful being on your can teleport you to this gxy. That means they know about the existence of this gxy and the life in it," Shinari said.


    Smander swallowed his food. "Perhaps the people on your is much more intelligence than I thought. Maybe no technologically, but maybe they can use their super abilities to learn things beyond their world."


    "I can agree with that statement." Aldred nodded. "Actually, my seems to be muchrger than normal. It housed some very massive continent, and these continents could be bigger in size than somes I saw in this gxy."


    Cleome frowned. "To hold continents of that size¡­ the diameter of your must be humongous. But, it is very rare for a to go pass a certain diameters. But it''s not impossible."


    Smander said: "I''ve read some information abouts with abnormal mass and diameters. Their gravity would be 100 times more powerful than what the humans used to most of the time. Even if we ignore gravity for a second, the extremely dense atmospheric pressure will kill any human that set foot on it."


    Chomping on his food, Smander continued. "However, a standard spacesuits will let you safely set foot on it. Still, without special technologies like geo-tech to manipte the gravity and the atmosphere a bit, you will face harsh challenges traversing around the."


    "You forgot to mention something else, Smander," Cleome said. "The type ofs you mention usually produced high amount of exotic materials. The''s extreme gravity and dense atmosphere created materials with amazing properties. Stuff like Metallic Hydrogen, Superionic Ice, Bose Condensates, High-Pressure Polymorph and so much more."


    Smander smiled. "How could I forgot about those. I just don''t want to bore you guys with facts. Anyway, If I have to add something. The materials you mention influenced the advancement of humanity''s technology to a whole another level."


    The group talked abouts and exotic materials for a few more minutes until Aldred recalled their main priorities.


    "Guys, let''s stop talking about this. Aren''t we just talking about how to get back on my?"


    "Right, Ipletely forgot about that," Smander said.


    "Well, with our current resources, we definitely cannot fight against Lord Malgorth head on," Cleome said.


    "First, we have to increase our strength."


    "Oh yeah, I''ve been wondering about that. How do supers like you guys improve your strength?" Aldred asked.


    "Well, humanity have studied supers for thousands of years and concocted multiple ways to train supers. Some of it includes special training room, pills, potions, acupuncture, and specialized meditation techniques. These, however, are quite expensive."


    "So, first thing first then. We need money," Aldred said in serious tone. "Lots of it."


    He had experienced the power of money could bring. Back on his, he had so much funds, resources, and manpower he was like a god. In mere days he could conquer, topple, and rebuild cities with a singlemand.


    "By the way, how much Gctic Credits did we get from helping the Gctic Sentinel?"


    "We got 10,000 Gctic Credits."


    "What? So many?"


    "Each."


    "Huh?"


    "We got 10,000 Gctic Credits for each of us," Smander replied. "In total, we got 40,000 Gctic Credits."


    "That''s enough to pay off the loan for the Gctic Rover!" Aldred eximed. "I thought earning money was hard. Is it normal for mercenaries to earn this kind of money?"


    "It''s not normal. And it is hard," Smander said. "The battle earlier was a Sr-sized cosmic battle. The entire Sr System was invaded and tens of thousands of spacecraft with hundreds of thousands of crews died."


    "We''re just the lucky few that survived. Also, because we manage to destroy one Destroyer-ss battleship, we received a lot of bonus. If you ask me, they pay us much less than we deserved. I want to file aint but they said that the external kit that they provided is expensive to make. Which is actually true, so I have no supporting arguments."


    "Still, 40,000 Gctic Credits is a lot. Can we get any missions with the same pay again?"


    "Are you crazy? Those kinds of mission have incredibly high risk. We will need special equipment just to survive. Don''t count your luck, Aldred. We''re lucky just to be alive."


    "Dang it. Why do you be a coward all of a sudden? Didn''t you want to kill demons?"


    "I wanted to, but I am not in the mood to die right now."


    "Then what about getting more money? More money means you can buy better spaceship, and possibly better technology for your mechanical armor. Heck, you can buy anything you want to upgrade your armor."


    Smander''s eyes lit up. "That does sounds enticing."


    Aldred was d that Smander agreed with him. "Anyway, what happened to your arms?"


    "Oh this?" Smander moved his fingers. "I actually lost my arm long ago. These are mechanicals fitted with realistic human skin."


    "Really? Because I am pretty sure I remember seeing you bleed."


    "That was intentional forical effects. Nothing beats seeing the face of your friends when they saw your hands got cut off." Smanderughed.


    Aldred rolled his eyes.


    ¡­


    Amidst the boundless expanse of the cosmos, an Elf Voidship glided gracefully through the starlit void near a fantasy-like asteroid belt. Crafted with the artistry of the Elf, the ship was a marvel of wraithbone technology, its slender form adorned with intricate patterns that shimmered like constetions against the darkness of space. The ship''s surface pulsed softly with a gentle, bioluminescent glow, casting an iridescent aura around it as it traveled.


    The asteroid belt that surrounded the Voidship was a surreal dreamscape of colossal rocks, each adorned with precious gemstones and vibrant, luminescent flora. The asteroids, some asrge as continents, were veiled in prismatic mist, giving the impression of floating inds in a sea of cosmic hues. Ephemeral nebe, their colors ever-shifting, wove between the rocks, creating an otherworldly tapestry of light and shadow.


    The Voidship''s advanced anti-gravitic engines hummed with a harmonious resonance, propelling the vessel forward with unparalleled grace.


    Within the ships, tall and slender human-like creatures worked in coordination.


    the atmosphere was one of serene focus and purpose. Elves crew members, their eyes aglow with the intensity of the stars, monitored the ship''s sophisticated arrays and consoles.


    "Elralya," a female elf called. She seemed to be the captain of the voidship. "Are you sure this is the right location?"


    Elralya, the young elf, slowly and softly nodded. She possessed an air of wisdom that belied her youthful appearance, however, one could sense pure and naivety within her.


    "Yes," Elralya replied, her voice as melodic as a celestial hymn. "The cosmic currents resonate strongly here. Our path aligns with the threads of fate, and I am certain that we have arrived at the correct location."


    Ceeth, the female captain of the voidship, replied: "Good. As soon as we can find that stone, we will be able to ask our ancestors for guidance. The Elvan Empire will dominate this gxy."


    Elralya meekly nodded.


    "It won''t be long before we eliminate the humans and the demo¡ª"


    Boom!


    The resounding boom echoed through the void, followed by a blinding sh of chaotic energy. The once serene scene of the Elvan Voidship traversing the asteroid belt was shattered by the surprise attack of the Demonic forces. Distorted and twisted spacecraft, adorned with the symbols of dark gods, materialized from the warp, their weapons zing with unnatural fury.


    "Battle stations! Brace for impact!" Ceeth''smand cut through the air as rms red, and the crew swiftly moved intobat positions. Elralya, her eyes wide with fear, clung to a railing as the ship trembled under the impact of enemy fire.


    The Eldar, renowned for their agility and precision, maneuvered their Voidship with unmatched finesse, evading the Chaos onught. But the Chaos forces were relentless, their attacks tearing through the wraithbone hull like paper, causing explosions and fires to erupt within the ship.


    "We are outnumbered. We must retreat. Provide cover fire!"


    Desperate to escape, Ceeth ordered a retreat. The Voidship, damaged and trailing mes, executed a series of evasive maneuvers, attempting to distance itself from the Demonic onught. The battle raged on in the void, a dance of destruction between the forces of order and the forces of demons.


    In a final, daring maneuver, the Eldar Voidship unleashed a volley of devastating energy sts, disabling one of the Chaos vessels. However, victory was short-lived as reinforcements poured in, overwhelming the Eldar''s defenses.


    Elralya hold on to a table for stability. "The spirit is telling us to run away as soon as possible."


    "We cannot. Using a Warp during this time will risk destroying the voidship."


    "There is no time!" Elralya shouted.


    Realizing the dire situation, Ceeth made a difficult decision. With a heavy heart, she ordered an emergency Warp jump, aiming to escape the Demon forces. The ship''s engines roared to life, and the Voidship plunged into the shifting currents of the immaterium.

 Chapter 611 611 High Risk Mission

    Chapter 611  611 High Risk Mission


    Emerging from the Warp, the Elven Voidshio found itself in a strange starless system withs orbiting some sort of gravitation phenomenon.


    The elves within the Voidship were all unconscious, therefore they could not steer the ship as it was headed to a strange starless. Weirdly, however, the produced its own light. The atmosphere aglow with ethereal light. It wasn''t blinding, instead, it was as clear as any blue and greens in many star star systems. The seemed to pull them towards it, not in orbit-like way, but pulling it as if the had a rope around the Voidship.


    It was slow at first, but after the Voidship entered the atmosphere, the ship plunged even faster. The atmosphere created friction on the exterior of the ship, violently shaking it and engulfing it in me.


    The Elves were awaken by the extreme situations.


    Ceeth, the female elf warrior, stood up and sprinted to themand center.


    "Captain! Our ships is out of our control and the gravity of this is too powerful for our parachute to work."


    "Activate our emergency thrusters!"


    "It doesn''t work! Our sr energies refuse to activate."


    Ceeth cursed. "Elralya, we need your psychic energy!" When she turned around, she saw that Elralya was still unconscious. "Darn! I have to use that."


    She quickly shattered the emergency box and took out a crystal before inserting the crystal into a pod. The pod thenunched itself into a tube that swiftly transported the pod into the center of the Voidship.


    In the center of the Voidship were psychic crystal matrices, specialized structure that harness psychic energy and convert it into power for the ship''s systems. These crystals amplify and store psychic resonance, providing a stable source of energy for various functions, including propulsion, shields, and life support.


    Right when the pod entered the structure, the Voidship rumbled into life and its propulsion activated, slowing its downward trajectory.


    However, they had underestimated the powerful gravity of this.


    "Captain, at this rate, the ship will crash! It doesn''t matter if we die, but if Elralya dies here, the Elven''s ambition might be hindered for a couple decades."


    "Crashing in 30 seconds!" the system announced.


    Ceeth gritted her teeth. "There is no other choice. We have to do something to protect her."


    She then exined to everyone that they should gather around Elralya to softened the crash around her. Their skin, meat, and muscles were much softer than the materials that made up these ships.


    The crash won''t be soft, but it was their best chance to give Elralya a slight chance of survival.


    All of the elves gathered at their ce, preparing themselves to be a flesh cushion. They already grabbed anything that can softened Elralya''s crash, and even tied dozens of pillows around her body.


    "Crashing in 5."


    "4."


    "3."


    "2."


    "1"


    "Brace for impact."


    Boom! Crash!


    After the crash that destroyed the Voidship, almost all the elves died except for two.


    Elralya who had blood all over her body slowly opened her eyes. She woke up with great pain all over her before she realized that Ceeth was tightly hugging her.


    She was confused at first but then she saw the wreckage of their ship. She was horrified when she realized that they had crashed.


    "Ceeth, wake up!"


    As she was trying to wake Ceeth, two silhouettes loomed over her.


    ¡­


    "Okay, do we have any high-incentive missions to pick?" Aldred asked.


    "You''ve been asking that question 10 times today," Smander said.


    "We need money."


    "Ughh, fine. Let''s see our options."


    They were currently now in a living room of an apartment they rented in Aegis IV. It wasn''t luxurious, but it wasfortable, cozy, modern and minimalistic. Their ships were currently being upgraded.


    This had one of the best shipyard after all, so they took the chance to upgrade the Gctic Rover. Smander believed that the ship need more capabilities such as surviving in a more harsher environment.


    He did not increase its firepower, because he believed Aldred would be enough to cover that.


    Smander activated thens on his wrist. A screen popped out. He quickly pick the highest pay in his level.


    "Exploration of a xenos world on the outer edge of the Imperium. It pays 40,000 Gctic Credits for every valuables we discover."


    Aldred considered for a moment before he replied. "I don''t think our ship can travel to the outer rim of the Imperium on its own yet?"


    Smander nodded. "That''s true. Let''s look at something else."


    "Extraction mission. The pay is 600,000 Gctic Credits."


    "That much? What kind of mission is that exactly?" Aldred was shocked to hear therge amount of credits he could earn in a single mission.


    "It''s about extracting an Imperial Commander in a warzone. I don''t think we are capable of that yet," Smandermented.


    Aldred sighed. "Can you give an option that we can do realistically?"


    "Okay, this one might be your interest. Infiltration of well-defended facility. There is an unnamed in the rim of Ster Clusters reported to hid a secret base of the Orcs. The reports spected that the orcs are building a war infrastructure under the surface of thes and will use it as a future spear-head to support their invasion of this star clusters."


    "How much is the pay?" Aldred asked.


    "50,000 Gctic Credits."


    "Alright. Let''s do that one."


    "Does everyone agree with this?" Smander asked.


    Cleome and Shinari nodded.


    "I am good in infiltration," Shinari said. "It''s where my abilities can shine."


    "And I am good at sting things," Cleome said. "I can shine anywhere."


    Smander rolled his eyes. "Cleome, almost all of us are good at sting things."


    The group waited for a couple of days until their Gctic Rover finished their upgrade.


    When they entered the spaceship, they were shocked to see the change of interior. It was metallic grey before, but it was now crimson red with white lines creating an artistic tapestry all around. Every corners were painted with red glossy color that reflected light.


    "They did an amazing job." Smander nodded in satisfaction.


    "What the hell did you do to my ship?" Aldred asked.


    "I got us an upgrade. No need to thank me." Smander chuckled before he sat down on his new extrafort seat with heater and built-in electric therapy.


    "Now we can explore the stars infort." Smander steered the Gctic Ship out of the dock.


    Aldred could only sigh and ept the modification. It wasn''t that bad now that he looked at it carefully.


    Cleome and Shinari had no problem with it either.


    "I hope you don''t spend too much money for this," Aldred said.


    "It''s worth the price," Smander said before activating the warp drive.


    Swiftly they were teleported near a space station just floating in the emptiness of space.


    The Gctic Rover quickly got a confirmation identity and a screen popped out, revealing the face of an officer.


    The officer frowned after seeing them. "What is this? Where are the rest of you?"


    "There are only four of us," Smander said.


    "Only four of you?" The officer seemed angered. "This is a critical mission. You are about to infiltrate a secretive orc base. How do you expect to do that with only four personnels? Wait a minute, your records here say that you only did one mission before this."


    Smander smiled. "You can check what type of mission that is and how we contribute to it."


    The officer frowned before reading their CV in detail. "Destroying the engine of Destroyer-ss demonic battleship? How is that possible?"


    "That''s not mere luck, officer. Have trust in us."


    The officer hesitated for a second before he agreed. "Fine. The four of you will do. Remember, your goal is to destroy as much facilities as possible, after that, you can leave immediately. I will send you the details of the and the hideout."


    The screen vanished and lots of data entered the Gctic Rover.


    Smander skimmed through it and his face did not look too good. "Darn. This is terrible."


    "Basically, it has powerful gravity and its atmosphere can prevent our spacecraft from producing thrust."


    "So what do we do?" Aldred asked.


    "Our best chance is to leave the Gctic Rover in orbit and use the infiltration pod tond on the."


    "How can we leave if we do that?"


    "Those orcs must have ships as well. We will steal their ships and use it to escape the."


    "I don''t know. That n seems to idealistic," Aldred said. "Will that even work?"


    "Well, do you have any better idea?"


    Unfortunately, Aldred did not have any better idea. He waspletely out of hisfort zone right now. He knew a lot of things about fighting, but he never had to consider anything about gravity and atmosphere before.


    "Fine. Let''s do this," Aldred said. "50,000 Gctic Credit is on the line, people. Let''s get the money and buy things for ourselves."

 Chapter 612 612 Infiltration

    Chapter 612  612 Infiltration


    Soon after, the Gctic Rover hovered over a starless.


    "It''s glowing?" Shinari stated. "How can a glow on its own?"


    "Based on the data we receive. The glow is emitted by its atmosphere which contain powerful exotic gas. If any normal humans would breathe it, their bodies would expand and explode from within," Smander said.


    "Enough exnation," Aldred said. "Let''s get this done."


    Aldred wore an ear piece before he entered theunch pod. A ss casing covered him after he pulled a lever.


    He tapped the ear piece. "Is this working? Can you guys hear me?"


    "We can hear you," Shinari replied.


    "Alright, is everyone ready?" Smander asked.


    "Yes!"


    "Good. Let''sunch!"


    Four podsunched out of the Gctic Rovers and made its way into the. As they entered the atmosphere, the pods quickly caught in zing fire and they fell like meteorites.


    The pods shook violently and Aldred held onto his seat.


    The intense heat and pressure outside the pods mademunication impossible. Aldred gripped the sides of his seat, his heart pounding in his chest. The pod rattled violently as it descended through the''s atmosphere. He nced at the small window and saw nothing but a fiery orange glow outside.


    Seconds felt like hours as the pods plummeted toward the surface. With a sudden jolt, Aldred''s pod crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. The impact was brutal, but the pod''s advanced technology protected him from the worst of it.


    Team members emerged, facing an alienndscape.


    Smander activated the sensors in his mechanical armor. "I detected mysterious energy source from underground. That''s probably our target."


    "How can we go underground?" Shinari asked.


    Smander''s arms transformed into a pair of drills and he began drilling into the ground. However, his drills were only able to dig a meter into the before the rock was too hard for his drill.


    Smander looked at his blunted drill. "The''s gravity and atmosphere made the rocks on this much harder than normal. It might take us a while."


    Cleome was thinking how to solve their problems before she saw Aldred doing something weird. "Aldred, what are you doing?"


    Aldred was closing his eyes and both of his legs spread apart. Taking in a deep breath, Aldred stomped the ground with his right leg, then suddenly, the whole area shook like an earthquake.


    He then moved his hands in the air in a weird pattern before stomping his left foot forward. The rocks under their feet cracked like spiderweb.


    "How did he do that?" Cleome wondered.


    Suddenly, Aldred abruptly raised both of his arms into the air, following that, the rocks below them were flying into the air before falling a distance away.


    The group gathered around Aldred.


    "What did you just do?" Shinari asked.


    "I dig," Aldred replied. "Anyway, follow me. I will create a tunnel down."


    Aldred jumped into the massive hole he just created and then swiping his hand lightly in the air, the dirt below him were lifted and created a man-sized hole.


    "Come on, guys." Aldred entered the hole and more more dirt continued to fly in the air.


    Smander entered the hole. He noticed the dirt were not moving in a massive bulk, but streaming on the surface of the tunnel like a river. This allowed the group to move forward while the dirt was being thrown outside.


    ''How many abilities are you hiding, Aldred?'' Smander thought as he followed him from behind.


    As they dug ever deeper, the pressure on their spacesuit increased. The group felt their whole body became much heavier and it took more effort for them to move.


    The light from the surface was long gone, and the tightness of the tunnel felt suffocating.


    Their journey paid off however when Aldred reached a metal wall.


    Smander was about to change position with Aldred to break through the wall until Aldred took care of it. With a move of his hands, the metal wall was bent outward from the center, creating a hole.


    Everyone was speechless.


    "Let''s get in."


    The group entered and they realized they were in some-kind of armory.


    In the dim, eerie light of the Orcs'' weapon armory, the team found themselves surrounded by an impressive array of advanced and menacing weaponry. The armory was vast, with rows upon rows of shelves, each filled with a variety of lethal instruments designed for destruction. The air was thick with the scent of oil, metal, and a hint of something more sinister.


    The Orcs'' armory in the Warhammer 40k universe was a sight to behold. Massive power armor suits, adorned with crude but effective modifications, stood tall like sentinels, their eyes glowing with a menacing red hue. These suits were fitted with heavy weaponry, from sma cannons to missileunchers, capable of tearing through even the toughest of enemy defenses.


    On the shelves, sma rifles hummed with deadly energy, ready to unleash searing hot sts upon any unfortunate foes. Chainaxes, their des still stained with the blood of past battles, gleamed ominously in the dim light. Each weapon seemed to possess a malevolent aura, as if they were thirsting for bloodshed and violence.


    Grenades of various sizes and shapes were neatly organized, each designed for specific purposes ¨C fragmentation grenades, meltabombs, and krak grenades, each waiting for a skilled hand to throw them at the enemy. A rack of power swords, crackling with blue energy, hinted at the Orcs'' mastery in close-quartersbat.


    In the corner of the armory, a towering dreadnought, its mechanical limbs and massive weaponry a testament to the Orcs'' engineering prowess, stood dormant but ready to be unleashed upon the enemies of the Orc race.


    Smander approached the dreadnought. Compared to his mechanical armor, the dreadnought of the orcs was a literal giant of hulking steels.


    "I can''t believe I will see a dreadnought with my own eyes." Smander caressed the leg of the machine. "This machinery was one of the symbols of death and destructions. If you see one, that usually meant you are currently in an extreme battle. You will more likely die a few minutes after seeing one."


    "Can you use it?" Aldred asked.


    "What?"


    "Well, you seem to like it. Can you use it? It will help us in destroying the facilities here. This is the armory right? We can start by blowing stuff up here."


    Smander''s eyes lit up. "I like that idea!"


    Soon after, the whole armory exploded in a giant me that spread to other sections of the secret base. Thousands of orcs were engulfed in the explosions, roaring before they were burnt to crisps.


    Far from the explosions, the group were marching towards amunication center within the base.


    "ording to the map, themunication center should be close by. We should destroy that first to prevent the orcs from requesting assistance outside this."


    With determination burning in their eyes, the team pressed forward through the orc base, their goal clear: locate and destroy themunication center before the orcs could summon reinforcements. Thebyrinthine corridors of the underground base were filled with echoes of distant roars and the nking of orcish weaponry.


    As they advanced, they encountered fierce resistance from orc warriors, but the team''s unique blend of abilities and their newfound orc dreadnought made short work of their enemies. Cleome and Shinari''s elemental powers danced in the air, creating a whirlwind of lightning and shadows that incapacitated the orcs, while Smander strategically utilized the dreadnought''s devastating firepower to clear their path.


    They seemed to work extra hard as if not letting Aldred had the chance to do anything. Aldred simply smiled and let them do as they please. When they get tired, he would act.


    Finally, after oveing waves of orc defenders and navigating the maze-like interior of the base, they reached the heavily guardedmunication center. The door was reinforced with thick metal ting, a testament to the importance of the facility. Smander, with his advanced armor, attempted to breach the door, but it proved to be a formidable barrier.


    The sensors quickly scanned for a weak spot and he breached the door.


    The team rushed inside, disabling themunication equipment swiftly and efficiently.


    Smander sted all themunication devices.


    Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath their feet as the massive orc monster pet,rger and more terrifying than any they had faced before, emerged from the shadows. Its eyes glowed with savage hunger, and its ws scraped against the metal floor, sending sparks flying.


    "We have onest challenge," Smander said, his voice steady despite the looming threat.


    The team regrouped, their determination unwavering. Cleome and Shinari unleashed abined assault of lightning and shadows, momentarily disorienting the monster. Aldred, with newfound confidence, charged at the beast, his movements fluid and precise. With a powerful strike, he managed to sever one of its limbs, causing the monster to roar in pain.


    Seizing the opportunity, Smander directed the dreadnought''s heavy weaponry at the monster. sma sts and missiles rained down upon the creature, causing it to stagger and weaken further.


    With coordinated teamwork and unyielding determination, the team continued their assault. Cleome and Shinari created a blinding storm of elemental energy, confusing the monster, while Aldred and Smander targeted its remaining limbs. Together, they incapacitated the beast, rendering it helpless.

 Chapter 613 613 Elves

    Chapter 613  613 Elves


    As the orc monster pet fell to the ground, defeated, the team caught their breaths, their bodies covered in sweat and dirt.


    "What the hell is that thing?" Aldred pointed.


    "Some monsters that those orcs created. They might look dump but those guys are quite good at bioengineering."


    One orc crawled in sight. Its legs seemed to be broken, but when it caught sight of Aldred and the group, it became enraged and forced its body to stand before sprinting at them.


    With a roar, it raised its war-axe and swung at Aldred. Easily, using two fingers, Aldred caught the axe before kicking the orc''s arm.


    The arm suddenly twisted in a weird way, broken with a single attack.


    The orc was standing taller than 2 meter tall with huge muscr stature,pared to the orc, Aldred was like a small child. And yet, this small child managed to break his arm with a single kick.


    Aldred tightly gripped the axe and spun it all around his body, swirling and rotating. "This weapon is not bad."


    The orc, enraged again at the sight of Aldred stealing its weapon, charged forward.


    With a slight grin on his face, Aldred swung downward.


    SLASH!


    He cut the orc in half.


    The body fell, spilling green blood all over.


    Aldred asked: "Where do we go now?"


    "Our next target is vehicle garage. Orcs often deploy powerful vehicles and war machines in battle. If we can destroy the garage, it will prevent them from deploying armored vehicles, tanks, or aircrafts."


    "Our goal is to destroy things as much as we can." Aldred nodded.


    Smander led them to their next destination.


    On the way, a group of orcs came approaching. They wield a brutal-looking firearms constructed from scavenged metal scraps held together by welds and bolts. These weapons were oversized and bulky with a thick and stubby barrel.


    The orcs immediately fired at them.


    Aldred and Cleome was about to block iing projectiles at them, but they were surprised to see that none of the projectiles manage to hit them.


    All of the projectiles missed them. Even the massive dreadnought machine that Smander use did not get hit.


    "This is so dumb."


    However, that changed when one slug of metal struck the dreadnought on the chest. The slug manage to push the dreadnought by a step, and put a dent on the armor.


    "Don''t let them get close! Those weaponscks uracy but they cover that with sheer firepower!"


    Smander activated his heavy sma cannons, firing powerful, superheated sma bolts towards the orcs.


    The orcs were sted to nothingness immediately.


    Smanderughed. "I like this thing."


    More orcs obstructed their path but Smander cleansed them from reality.


    They soon arrived at the garage.


    "This base iscks manpower. Orcs usually group in a veryrge number, especially in a base like this one."


    "Maybe because they want to keep it a secret?" Aldred pointed out.


    "That''s possible." Smander nced at the vehicles in the garage. "Let''s destroy these things."


    "Wait!" Aldred stopped him. "There is something there."


    With wide stride, Aldred approached a rug and then threw it to the side, revealing a cage with two elves inside. "Elves?"


    "Holy, I can''t believe they captured some elves," Smander said.


    "Where? I want to see an elf."


    Cleome and Shinari approached to look. They had never seen elves with their own eyes before.


    ''These elves look quite simr with the elves on my,'' Aldred thought.


    There were two female elves in this cage. One seemed to be a child, and the other one seem to be 20 years old. But elves'' appearance barely depict their age. Aldred knew some young-looking elves but were actually hundreds of years old.


    Suddenly, the little elf slowly opened its eyes and set gaze on Aldred.


    Both of them had an eye-contact. Her eyes was of a sparkling beauty. Like glittering stars within a neb. Aldred felt some sort of warmness inside, then suddenly, a warm energy circted within his body.


    Aldred was surprised. The energy felt like his power was returning back to him, and he could feel the presence of Phantom Doomde. It was trembling in distress, wanting to get out but could not.


    The ethereal moment was broken by loud sound. The other elf woke up and mmed on the cage, ring at Aldred and hissing at him.


    "You filthy mon-keigh! How dare you capture us!"


    "You seem to misunderstand. We are not the ones that captured you," Aldred said.


    "Puih! Bullshit!"


    A spitnded on Aldred''s face. He wiped it away with his clothes. "Rx, we will not harm you."


    Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and even the 20-year-old looking elf was surprised to hear that.


    "What did you just say?"


    "Yeah, what did you just say, Aldred?" Smander asked.


    "Uhh, I said we will not harm them?"


    The elf was shocked. "I cannot believe it."


    "You cannot believe that we will not harm you?"


    "No. I cannot believe you mon-keigh are so direct at lies! You lesser creature has stooped even lower than before. Puih!"


    Aldred wiped the spit on his face again.


    "Yeah, Aldred. Why did you say that?" Smander asked. "These elves are our enemies. We should be killing them on sight."


    "Humph! So you are able to spout truths after all."


    "Why do we have to kill them?" Aldred asked. "They''ve done nothing to us. Why don''t we help them instead?"


    The room became silent once again. This time, the silent was much longer and deeper.


    The little elf looked at Aldred in deep thought.


    The teenage elf was in disbelief as well. "I can''t believe the mon-keigh have be dumber over the decades. No, I shouldn''t be surprised. It should be expected that your race''s intellect degrade overtime."


    "Can you not spout racistments every time you open your mouth?"


    "I will speak whatever I want."


    Sighing, Aldred said: "Alright, can we at least agree not to kill each other? Instead, we will work together to destroy this facility and then leave."


    "Not in the slightest chance! Even if you threatened to kill my entire bloodline, cursed, and tortured them one by one in front of my eyes. I would rather hear the screams of my ancestors rather than working with yo¡ª"


    "Ceeth!" Elralya grabbed her shoulder. "I think we should work with them. This is our chance to escape."


    Ceeth looked at her for a second. Elralya''s eyes showed certainty. "Fine."


    Aldred was speechless. ''Didn''t she just said that she''d rather hear her ancestors screams in pain rather than working with me?''


    Shrugging, Aldred turned to Smander. "Can you open the cage?"


    "Are you sure about this? They might try to kill us the moment we let them out."


    Aldred nced at Elralya of which she stared back. Some sort of connection formed between them as if a mysterious strands of energy tied a knot to connect them.


    "I am sure."


    "I hope you don''t regret this."


    The dreadnought revealed its assault drill, a pair of powerful rotating drill designed to bore through enemy fortifications and armored vehicles at close quarters.


    With that specification, of course they were easily able to rip through the cage.


    Cleome and Shinari activated their abilities, ready to strike in case the elves dare to do something funny.


    Ceeth lowered her stance as well, ready for battle.


    Only Aldred and Elralya were calm in this situation.


    "Everyone, stay calm," Aldred said. "We''re not going to harm each other, but work together."


    "Why do we have to work with you?" Ceeth said. "We are leaving this ce and none of you will stop us!"


    "That is fine as well," Aldred said. "You are free to go."


    Ceeth frowned. She was wary of Aldred''s words. How could the humans let her go without paying a price?


    "Let''s help them," Elralya said. "They''ve helped us. It is only proper if we return the favor."


    "We don''t need your help. It''s much safer if the two of you leave," Smander said. "You are a security threat for us."


    "Are you sure? Do you know that at the center of this base the orcs are creating a super-weapon that is an incredible threat for this ster clusters?"


    "Bullshit. There are no such reports."


    "And there are no more reports about the location of key facilities after you destroy the armory and themunication center," Elralya replied. "Thest key facilities'' location provided to you is only this garage."


    Smander frowned and checked his data. It was true. There were no marks on other parts of the base, indicating that the reportscks information.


    "How did you know?"


    "You are mercenaries right? Your employer will pay you more if you manage to destroy more facilities, and if they know you just destroy a super weapon, they will flood you with money, and your reputation will be better. More opportunities wille into your way."


    Aldred frowned. How did this little elf knew so much. It was as if she was able to pry information out of their brain.


    Elralya stepped forward, approaching Aldred. Ceeth followed behind her, ready to protect her if needed.


    Elralya raised her hand for a handshake. "Our goal align. I think we can work together from now on."


    "From now on? Are you saying that we''re going to be with them?" Ceeth asked in disbelief.


    "What is your goal?" Aldred asked.


    "Lord Malgorth."

 Chapter 614 614 Teamwork

    Chapter 614  614 Teamwork


    "Lord Malgorth? Why would you look for him?"


    Ceeth did not know anything about this either. They were actually looking for a stone that would let themmunicate with their ancestors'' spirit.


    "Before we arrive on this. We were looking for something. However, we were attacked by the demon forces. That demon forces took what we searched for, and now it is in the hand of Lord Malgorth."


    Aldred thought for a moment. "So are you proposing that we work together from now on to reach Lord Malgorth?"


    Elralya nodded. "The only way we can find Lord Malgorth is if we continuously attacking his demonic forces scattered around the gxy. I cannot explore the human territory as freely, and you also cannot explore the elven territory as you''d like to be."


    Aldred turned around to look at his friends. "What do you guys think?"


    The three of them hesitated. They never faced a situation where they had to consider working together with an elf before. The fact was, they never met an elf in their life. Their territories were rarely passed by or attacked by elves.


    "Our goal are the same. Killing demons," Cleome said. "I think I can consider working together with that in mind."


    Shinari nodded. "Since we have the same goal, this shouldn''t be a problem."


    Everyone else seem to agree, however, Smander spoke with a frown. "The question is, how did you know that we are looking for Lord Malgorth? We never speak about it to you."


    Aldred just realized as well. How did she knew?


    "I am psychic farseer. It is within my power to predict the future within some capacity. I am sure you know about this. Some humans have this capabilities as well."


    Smander grunted, but he did not say anything again. It was true that there were human seer that was capable of prying information from the universe itself. However, this power was extremely limited. They need specific situations and conditions to predict the future or to obtain an information.


    The information they obtain usually came at random, and the future they predict were not always urate. Their presence were vital during battle in an unknown cosmic territory however. Without these seer, the soldiers might as well be fighting blind, so their positions were greatly revered.


    Ceeth noticed that the humans no longer had any doubt. What Elralya said was true that she was a seer, but she was actually more than that. Unlike most seer which had vague vision of the future and limited abilities to obtain information, Elralya almost had perfect uracy in her vision and she could decide what information she could get.


    The only problem was, every time she used this skill, unfortunate events might befall on them if they try to use this information.


    However, that only happened if she willed it. If she did not intentionally used her power, she could randomly get visions of the future or some information that might be useful for her.


    The Elven had decided that she was a Spirit Seer. It was said that the ancestorsmunicated through her in order to guide the elven race.


    Her existence were extremely precious, however, the elves decided not to protect her so tantly as every factions within this gxy wille to take her life.


    Elralya''s power were still at the early stages, so the elven race needed her to grow stronger to be able to contribute to the race as a whole. For now, she was still a worm among giants.


    "So everyone agree to work together?" Aldred asked.


    He waited for a few seconds and no one issued any problem. Aldred reached out for Elralya''s hand and shook it. "I guess we are partners from now on."


    Elralya smiled and nodded.


    "Enough chatting," Ceeth suddenly said. "What is our next step?"


    "First we have to destroy more facilities in order to get more bonuses," Aldred said.


    "I will guide you," Elralya said. "200 meter from here there is a mek workshops where the orcs tinker with weapons. It is also the ce where their engineers would be most of the time."


    Aldred grabbed Elralya and then sprinted out of the vehicle garage. "Point the way for us."


    Ceeth was shocked and was about to attack until she saw that Aldred meant no harm. She followed soon after before the rest did the same.


    "Go left," Elralya said.


    They were sprinting in a massive metal corridor that had a lot of turns. It was like a metallic maze.


    They sprinted for thirty minutes before Elralya told them to stop.


    Aldred abruptly halted in his step. Everyone also stopped behind him.


    Suddenly, a massive swinging axe came from the side and missed Aldred''s nose by an inch.


    "Holy shit!"


    "There will be traps from now on, so I want all of you to be careful."


    They all nodded after Elralya''s warning.


    They continued to advance. This time, they weren''t sprinting, but jogged at a pace.


    Aldred stepped on something then suddenly, then a section of the floor copsed, revealing a pit lined with rusty spikes.


    "Fuck!"


    Ceeth was about to leap ahead to save Elralya until he saw Aldred kicking the air and jumped back.


    She was shocked when she saw that.


    "That was close. Fiuh." Aldred wiped his imaginary sweat from his forehead.


    "Elralya, can you point out any traps if you know about it?"


    Elralya was speechless as well. "I will do that."


    The elven spirits did not inform her of any traps. She suspected that the spirits were trying to pry information about Aldred, but they probably hadn''t found anything yet.


    Elralya took a deep breath and focused her psychic senses, trying to detect any hidden traps in their path. She closed her eyes momentarily, letting the energy of the surroundings flow through her.


    "There''s a pressure te ahead," Elralya warned, her eyes glowing faintly. "Step around it, and watch your every move."


    The group proceeded cautiously, following Elralya''s guidance. The metallic corridor was nowden with more traps, a testament to the Orcs'' crude yet effective methods of defense. As they moved forward, Elralya guided them, her eyes darting around, sensing the subtle shifts in energy that indicated the presence of traps.


    Suddenly, a series of arrows shot out from the walls, narrowly missing Aldred and Ceeth. Elralya''s eyes widened in rm.


    "Duck!" she shouted, and the team dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding another volley of arrows.


    After what felt like an eternity of navigating thebyrinth of traps, they finally arrived at the entrance of the mek workshops. The door was heavily reinforced, indicating the importance of the facility.


    "How do we get in without triggering more traps?" Shinari asked, his eyes scanning the door for any signs of mechanisms.


    "I can sense the energy flow within the door," Elralya said, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Give me a moment."


    Elralya closed her eyes and extended her hand towards the door. Her fingers twitched slightly as if tracing invisible patterns in the air. After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing the dimly lit interior of the mek workshops.


    Smander raised an eyebrow. Individuals with psychic powers were always capable of doing things out of the box. Who would have thought that a small elven girl was able to unlock a massive steel door.


    As they entered, they found themselves surrounded by a myriad of orcish gadgets, weapons, and mechanical contraptions. Orc engineers and mechanics hurriedly worked on their creations, oblivious to the intruders in their midst.


    They were too focused on their work that they couldn''t even notice a dreadnought was on their door. A freaking dreadnought. A hulking beast of a machine made of exotic steels standing over 4 meter tall!


    "These guys have no survival instinct at all," Smander said, activating his arsenal.


    Smander''s mechanical armor hummed to life as he activated his weaponry. His arsenal included a variety of powerful tools, each designed to unleash devastation upon his enemies. With swift precision, he targeted the nearest group of orcs, unleashing a barrage of sma bolts that tore through their ranks.


    Aldred, Ceeth, Cleome, and Shinari sprang into action as well. Aldred charged forward, his axe slicing through orcish armor as he cleaved a path through the workshop.


    Ceeth''s fists flew with deadly uracy, finding the weak points in the orc engineers'' defenses.


    Cleome conjured bolts of lightning, electrifying the air and incapacitating any orc who dared to approach her. Shinari merged with the shadows, bing a deadly specter that struck from the darkness, leaving confusion and fear in his wake.


    Elralya, although not a frontline fighter, utilized her psychic abilities to disorient the orcs. She created illusions, making them see terrifying visions of their worst fears, causing panic and chaos among their ranks.


    Meanwhile, the dreadnought, piloted by Smander, became an unstoppable force on the battlefield. Its massive, hulking form crushed anything in its path as it advanced through the workshop. Orcs scattered in fear as the dreadnought''s heavy weaponry mowed them down.


    As thest orc fell, the workshop fell silent, save for the crackling of mes and the hum of machinery. The alliance had triumphed once again, destroying the facility and eliminating the orcish threat.


    "We did it," Aldred said, his voice filled with a mixture of relief and triumph. "One more facility down. Lord Malgorth won''t stand a chance against us."


    Everyone looked at Aldred weirdly.


    "You know Lord Malgorth is a demon lord and this is an orc base, right?"


    Aldred shrugged. "The n was too get you all excited and motivated."


    "The 50,000 Gctic Credits should be enough motivation," Smander said. "And if we want more, we should raze this entire base to the ground."

 Chapter 615 615 Big Mek

    Chapter 615  615 Big Mek


    Amidst the wreckage of the orcish workshop, the group continued their mission, destroying more facilities, fighting off waves of orcs, and skillfully avoiding deadly traps. Each victory brought them closer to their goal, and the promise of Gctic Credits motivated them to press on.


    As they ventured deeper into the orc base, they stumbled upon a hidden chamber, guarded by an array of intricate traps. Elralya''s psychic abilities proved invaluable in detecting the traps, allowing the group to navigate through the perilous path unscathed.


    Inside the chamber, the atmosphere was thick with tension and a faint, acrid scent hung in the air.


    The walls were adorned with crude symbols and glyphs, likely representing the orcish n''s insignia and war chants, painted hastily in dark red and ck hues. Dim, flickering lights barely illuminated the space, casting eerie shadows across the metallic surfaces. Wires snaked along the walls, connecting various contraptions and devices, giving the chamber a chaotic andbyrinthine appearance.


    "I''ve seen junkyards neater than this," Shinari muttered, eyeing the jumbled mess of wires and tubes with disgust.


    At the center of the chamber, stood a super massive device.


    The superweapon, a colossal and grotesque masterpiece of orcish engineering, stood as a testament to their raw, brutal creativity. Pieced together from salvaged metal, scavenged parts, and whatever technology the orcs couldy their hands on, the contraption was a mishmash of mismatchedponents. Its frame was bulky and uneven, as if it had been assembled in haste, with jagged edges and protruding bolts giving it a menacing appearance.


    The cannons, orcs'' primary weapons, were massive and heavily modified. Barrels varied in length and caliber, revealing imprecise engineering. Wires were tangled, connecting circuits and power sources chaotically. Crude welds and patches showed frequent, rough repairs. Energy cores, seen through cracked ss, emitted an unstable glow, struggling to contain immense power.


    "This must be their superweapon," Smander said. "Let''s destroy this and get out of here immediately."


    Just as they prepared to disable the superweapon, the chamber door mmed shut behind them, trapping them inside. A booming voice echoed through the chamber, sending shivers down their spines.


    "Wee, intruders!" the voice bellowed. "I am Grok Badzappa, the mastermind behind this masterpiece. I have noticed your annoying presence for a while, but I figure to let you feast your eyes upon my creation. HAHAHA!"


    Grok Badzappa, the crafty Big Mek, wore his tinkering adventures proudly on his skin, a canvas of soot and scars.


    His eyes sparkled with a mix of brilliance and madness, offering a peek into a mind living on the edge of genius.


    Stray, oily locks fell over his furrowed brow, adding to his entric charm. Draped in a mishmash of salvaged parts, he practically hummed with a wild, inventive energy, each of his movements a dance of innovation and madness, swirling together in a chaotic, captivating rhythm.


    Smander, undeterred by Grok''s theatrics, cracked his knuckles. "Masterpiece? More like a heap of junk," he retorted, his confidence cutting through the tension.


    Grok''sughter filled the chamber, a wild, echoing sound that sent shivers down their spines. "Oh, you''ll eat those words soon enough, little lizard!" he snarled, his fingers dancing over the control panel with an unhinged fervor.


    "Shit! He''s activating the superweapon!"


    The superweapon hummed to life and its power source roared.


    "It will take time for this thing to activate." Elralya, her psychic senses tingling, whispered to the group, "We need a n, and fast."


    Aldred, his axe at the ready, nodded grimly. "Let''s focus on disabling the power source. Without it, this monstrosity won''tst a minute."


    "And how do you expect to disable the power source?" Grok grinned at them. "You think I''d just let ya?"


    Grok''s grin widened into a manic, toothy smile as he taunted them. "You think you can just stroll in here and dismantle my masterpiece? I''d like to see you try!" His fingers danced over the control panel, the superweapon''s menacing hum growing louder with every passing second.


    After pressing more buttons on the control panel, Grok rushed to attack them.


    Aldred, fueled by sheer determination, lunged at Grok with his axe. Grok parried the blow with his kustom mega-armor, the sh of metal ringing through the chamber. "You think you can defeat me, puny humans?" Grok sneered, his voice drowning in the chaos.


    Meanwhile, Shinari, nimble as ever, dashed towards one of the energy cores. With a precision that surprised everyone, he jammed a makeshift device into the core, causing a series of sparks to fly. The energy core sputtered, its glow flickering dangerously.


    But just as Grok prepared to counterattack, Cleome, with her stormcaller power crackling with energy, unleashed a powerful gust of storm that knocked Grok off bnce. He stumbled, giving Aldred the opportunity to strike. With a mighty swing, Aldred''s axe found its mark, severing one of the energy cables connected to the superweapon. Grok howled in frustration, his grip on the control panel faltering.


    Elralya, her psychic senses on high alert, sensed a moment of vulnerability. With a focused mind, she reached out, manipting the energy around the superweapon. The wires snaked out, entangling Grok''s limbs and immobilizing him momentarily. "Now, Aldred!" she shouted.


    Despite being immobilized, Grok Badzappa was far from defenseless. With a triumphant grin, he activated his kustom mega-armor''s built-in energy shield, deflecting Aldred''s next blow effortlessly. At the same time, he triggered a hidden mechanism within his armor, releasing a cloud of corrosive gas that forced Shinari to retreat, coughing and sputtering.


    Grok''s eyes glowed with a fierce determination as he swiftly recalibrated his shock attack gun, aiming it directly at Smander. With a quick pull of the trigger, a searing st of energynced out, narrowly missing Smander''s head. The intense heat scorched the ground where he stood, leaving a smoking trail in its wake.


    "Fuck! He almost got me!"


    Cleome, recognizing the immediate threat, conjured a protective barrier of swirling winds, deflecting Grok''s subsequent attacks. But Grok was relentless; he unleashed a barrage of explosive squig bombs, each one detonating with concussive force upon impact with Cleome''s barrier. The stormcaller struggled to maintain her shield against the onught, her concentration waning under the constant bombardment.


    Meanwhile, Elralya, sensing the escting danger, focused her psychic powers on the malfunctioning energy core Shinari had tampered with earlier. Grok, ever the vignt engineer, noticed her intentions and redirected his attention. With a series of swift gestures, he manipted the wires connected to the core, rerouting the energy flow and stabilizing it. Elralya''s efforts were thwarted, leaving the core intact and pulsating with renewed power.


    "Hahaha! I just noticed that two of you were from the elven race! How'' heck did you work with these monkeys?"


    Aldred charged forward, finding himself locked in a fierce duel with Grok, struggled tond a solid blow. Grok''s mega-armor absorbed the impact of Aldred''s strikes, leaving him at a disadvantage. Grok''s movements were surprisingly agile for someone encased in such heavy armor, and he countered Aldred''s attacks with calcted precision.


    Amidst the chaos, Smander seized an opportunity. Using his agility, he managed to nk Grok,nding a series of rapid strikes on the orc''s exposed joints. Despite the effectiveness of his blows, Grok''s mega-armor proved resilient, and Smander''s attacks merely scratched the surface.


    Grok, now aware of the threat Smander posed, activated his rokkit pack, propelling himself into the air with a deafening roar. From his elevated position, he rained down explosive projectiles on the group, forcing them to scatter. Shinari used his agility to dodge the explosives, but Cleome and Elralya were caught in the sts, their protective barriers shattering under the onught.


    Seeing hispanions in distress, Aldred channeled his power into a final attack.


    With a primal roar, he charged at Grok, his axe swinging with unbridled fury. Grok attempted to evade the blow, but Aldred''s strike found its mark, severing one of the cables connected to Grok''s shock attack gun.


    With a deafening roar, Grok staggered backward, momentarily stunned by the loss of his prized weapon. The distraction provided just enough time for Elralya to regain her focus. Channeling her psychic energy, she immobilized Grok once more, this time with an unyielding force that left him helpless.


    Seizing the opportunity, Cleome unleashed a torrent of lightning, striking the exposed energy core. The core crackled and sputtered, its unstable glow flickering before erupting into a blinding explosion. The shockwave reverberated through the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the orcish base.


    As the dust settled, Grok Badzappay defeated, his once-mighty superweapon reduced to smoldering wreckage.


    The group, battered and bruised but victorious, stood triumphant amidst the ruins of the chamber.


    Aldred took a nce at the superweapon.


    The threat of the orcish superweapon had been vanquished, thanks to their tenacity, teamwork, and a bit of luck.


    "It''s over," Aldred said. "We destroyed their facilities, destroyed the superweapon, and defeated the head of this base."


    They all looked at the defeated Grok Badzappa and had a mixed feeling inside.

 Chapter 616 616 Getting Paid

    Chapter 616  616 Getting Paid


    Smander looked at the status panel of his dreadnought. The indicators indicated dozens of red and yellow lines, meaning that there were many broken parts.


    "I cannot use this thing anymore." Smander opened the hatch and exited the machine.


    Soon after he exited, the dreadnought became imbnce and fell on its back with a loud thud.


    "Too bad. It was a great machine." Smander sighed.


    Aldred patted him on the back. "We''ll use the money to get you something close to that."


    Smander chuckled. "Dreadnought could cost up to 1 million Gctic Credits. I don''t think that is currently a wise investment."


    "Investing on firepower wouldn''t be bad," Shinari said. "The dreadnought really helped us fighting against the orc, especially against that Big Mek. Without the dreadnought we would probably need to put more effort."


    "That''s true," Aldred said in agreement. "But, let''s leave this ce before we discuss anything further."


    They all agreed and soon arrived at the Orc''s garages where they stole an aircraft and left the atmosphere.


    In the distance, they saw their Gctic Rover.


    "That''s your spaceship?" Ceeth almost could not hold her disgust. Her expression was so ugly that one would think she was looking at a piece of shit."


    "What a piece of shit."


    "Hey, don''t underestimate that thing," Aldred said, slightly offended that someone insulted his spacecraft. "If you must know, that thing has defeated a destroyer-ss spacecraft. It did not look like much, but it get the job done."


    Ceeth closed her mouth. "I need to go to the restroom. I cannot stand the sight of it."


    Aldred was speechless when he saw her sprinting to the restroom.


    "Is my Gctic Rover really that bad?"


    Smander scratched his cheek. "The rumor was true after all. Elves put aesthetic and elegance above all. They really cannot stand ugly things."


    "Is that really the case? So that means my Gctic Rover is ugly?"


    "I hate to break it to you, but your Gctic Rover is a minimum-budget spacecraft. The fact that we''re alive during the cosmic battle was a miracle already."


    The Elven races in this gxy were a creature of beauty and elegance. Not only their appearance and clothings, but their technologies and architectures were the stuff of amazement as well. If a human entered the elven territory, they would be amazed at how beautiful every structures and tech was.


    This philosophy of elegance did not mean that they put functionality in second ce. Their tech and weapons were extremely powerful as well. They did not only want elegance in their infrastructures, but they also want elegance in destroying their enemies.


    The orcs on the other hand was the exact opposite. The orcs were crude and brute. They would scrap any salvaged metals and put them together with bolts and screw. They had zero regards in look. If it worked, then they would use it.


    Humans were bnced in appearance and functionality. Sometimes they would enhance its appearance when they could, but they put more thought into the functionality of the machine.


    Meanwhile, Aldred let out a sigh of sadness. "Sooner orter I have to rece the Gctic Rover."


    The aircraft stopped near the spacecraft then they all entered one after another.


    Ceeth was shocked when she saw the crimson interior.


    "Its exterior might be terrible," Smander started. "But its interior is personally designed by me. I am sure your Elven standards should be tickled by this."


    "HUEKK!" Ceeth could not hold it and puked on the floor.


    Smander became dejected after that.


    Aldred gave him a pat on the back. "It''s fine. Don''t let it get to you."


    "You think the interior is cool, right?"


    "Nah, I think it''s shit."


    A few minutester, they returned to the space station where Smander gave them the reports.


    The officer of the space station was shocked. "You guys defeated a Big Mek and destroyed a crude superweapon created by the orcs?"


    Smander nodded. "This is the data of the superweapon. Based on my analysis the weapon could threatened the entire NovaSphere ster clusters."


    The officers browsed through the data. "Indeed, this could be very catastrophic. The seer failed to get this information. If we know about this weapon, the reward for the mission should be much higher."


    Smander''s eyes lit up as there was hope that they could get a bonus. He then proceed to give the officers more data about the orcs they killed and more details about the facilities and also further information of possible hideouts in NovaSphere.


    "I will need time to process this information. In the meantime, all of you can use the rooms in this station."


    "Take your time," Smander said.


    They then entered a room where Ceeth and Elralya took of their space helmet, revealing their Elven ears.


    "We need something better to hide your ears in the future," Smander said.


    "That won''t be necessary." Elralya easily swept her hands in the air, then their ears transformed into human ears."


    Elralya smiled. "We won''t be a burden in this team. We will help carry it."


    After the short conversation, the group decided to rest after the intense infiltration.


    The group waited for 3 days before the officers gave them an answer.


    "I have analyzed the reports with my assistants and confirmed the information. It is true that you guys destroyed a threatening superweapon. So the reward will be increased from 50k Gctic Credits, to 300k Gctic Credits. The bnce has been sent to your ounts. Congrattions. You may leave whenever you want."


    The call ended.


    The group looked at each other and the room burst into an uproar of cheers. Smander squeezed Aldred while Shinari and Cleome hugged each other.


    Only Elralya and Ceeth were calm in this situation.


    "What a bunch of brutes," Ceethmented. "A small victory like this doesn''t deserve a celebration yet. We got work to do."


    "Hey, don''t insult us like that," Aldred said with a smile. He understood that he need to be patient with these elves. "It''s important to celebrate every small victory to keep morale high."


    "And do you get depressed after each defeat? Did you mourn for every death? This is useless. A warrior must know how to rise his own morale."


    Aldred sighed. "That is correct. We mourn whenever we lost those we hold dear. We get depressed whenever we face a major defeat. Guess what, that''s what makes us humans. But after every setback, we wouldn''t give up. We keep fighting. I am sure we are, because humans wouldn''t be around if we stopped."


    Ceeth could not deny that. Currently, the humans held thergest territory in the gxy. The major contributor to that was the humans were able to reproduce second only to the orcs and almost matched the Elven in technology.


    The Elves had a hard time reproducing, but each elf was much smarter and stronger than the average human or orcs.


    The humans advantages enable it to throw thousands of souls into their death in battle without a problem, and they also had powerful tech in their arsenals.


    In the past, it was the Elven race who dominated the gxy.


    Aldred pped, pulling the attention to him. "Okay, now that we got all this money. What can we do with it to increase our firepower?"


    "We can buy better equipments," Smander advised.


    "But most of our fighters are supers. Will equipments help them with anything?"


    "Ckckck." Smander shook his head in disappointment. "The equipment I am talking about are capable of enhancing super abilities. Shinari and Cleome would be more powerful.


    "We can also get a Patrol-ss spacecraft. It''s slightlyrger than our Gctic Rover. Of course, faster, stronger, and better too. It cost around 120K Gctic Credits."


    Aldred considered. "We don''t really need spacecraft as of yet."


    "Then what about the Frigate-ss? It''s a medium-sized vessels with moderate firepower. It''s often used for escort duties and lightbat. You''ve seen one of those things during the NovaGuardia cosmic battle. With that, we shouldn''t face any problem when traversing the stars."


    Smander continued: "As of now, we are at the mercy ofdy luck. If a powerful demon squad met us in space, we would be destroyed in an instant."


    "Can''t we warp away?"


    "Warp away during battle? That''s like suicide. Especially with the Gctic Rover. The technology is simply too weak for that. Also, it is possible that we can meet an enemy squadron after the warp. You know we need to wait for an hour before activating the warp again."


    Aldred scratched his chin. "Haish, it seems like the more money we got, the more money we need. How much is this Frigate ss cost?"


    "The minimum would be 360K Gctic Credits."


    "We currently have how much?"


    "320K Gctic Credits."


    "We need 40K more?"


    "You are correct. But, with our current team, getting 50k Should be easy peasy. Look at what we''ve done. Destroying a superweapon, defeating a Big Mek orc, and copsing an entire secret base. We even make elven friends along the way, but I wouldn''t count that."


    "Let''s get one more high-risk mission," Cleome said.


    Aldred thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

 Chapter 617 617 Shiny New Equipments

    Chapter 617  617 Shiny New Equipments


    The group made their way to the bustling equipment store, located in one of the busiest sectors of the space station. The shop, named "Ster Armaments," was renowned for its wide array of advanced tools and gadgets tailored for super-powered beings. As they entered, a bell chimed overhead, and the air was filled with the scent of metal and technology.


    Behind the counter stood an enthusiastic arms merchant, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as the group approached. He was a wiry man with a scruffy beard and a plethora of cybeic enhancements. His mechanical arm whirred and buzzed as he gestured towards the shelves of equipment.


    "Wee, wee, esteemed customers! You''vee to the right ce for all your super-powered needs," the arms merchant eximed. "Allow me to introduce you to the finest selection of tools, suits, gloves, and helmets in the entire gxy!"


    He began showcasing various items, exining their functions and potential benefits to the group.


    There were high-tech gloves that enhanced strength and precision, suits made from advanced materials that provided enhanced durability and protection, mechanical armor with integrated energy shields, and helmets equipped with augmented reality disys and targeting systems.


    Smander, the tech expert of the group, was particrly interested in the mechanical armor. The arms merchant eagerly demonstrated its capabilities, showcasing its ability to withstand high-velocity impacts and energy-based attacks. Smander''s eyes lit up with excitement as he envisioned the possibilities of enhancing hisbat abilities.


    No. He literally drooled over them like a hungry beggar.


    Aldred was drawn to a pair of gloves that could amplify his already impressive strength. The arms merchant exined how the gloves utilized advanced servomotors and energy amplifiers, allowing the wearer to lift heavy objects with ease and deliver devastating punches.


    ''I don''t think I will need this,'' Aldred thought.


    Shinari and Cleome, both possessing unique elemental powers, explored options that could enhance their abilities further. They were intrigued by specialized suits that could channel and amplify their elemental energies, granting them better control and potency in their attacks.


    Meanwhile, Ceeth and Elralya, the elves of the group, focused on lightweight and agile suits that provided flexibility and speed. The arms merchant showcased suits made from advanced nanofibers, allowing for enhanced mobility withoutpromising protection.


    "All of these are interesting, but we want to buy a spaceship," Aldred said. "We currently have 300K Gctic Credits. I am sure that is enough upfront payment for a Frigate-ss ship."


    "You want to buy a battleship?" The merchant was slightly surprised. "It is indeed possible, but you can''t just buy a battleship. First, you need to ask permission from the central govern of NovaSphere and if you are a mercenary, you must alsoplete at least 100 missions."


    "What!?" Aldred looked at Smander for answer.


    "I also did not know about this before. But thinking about it, it makes sense. Frigate-ss battleship is powerful and threatening. If anyone could have it, then the consequences would be catastrophic. A dangerous weapon such as that should be heavily regted. I guess we need to have a trustworthy reputation first before we could buy something like that."


    Aldred sighed. "So, there''s nothing we can do exceptpleting 100 missions."


    "Then we should spend the money to upgrade our equipments. Otherwise,pleting 100 missions will be much harder," Smander said.


    Aldred looked at everyone and they all seem eager to spend their hard-earned money.


    "If that is the case, the¡ª"


    "Sir, get me that one, that one, and that one. Also, can I meet with your tinkerers to customize my mechanical armors?"


    Smander immediately selected his items before Aldred could even finish his sentence. Seeing that, the others began to carefully consider what items to buy.


    After much deliberation, they made their selections. Smander opted for the mechanical armor, Aldred chose the strength-enhancing gloves, Shinari and Cleome decided on the elemental amplifying suits, and Ceeth and Elralya went for the agile nanofiber suits.


    Aldred saw two drones flying over Smander''s shoulders. "What the heck are those?"


    "These are my battle drones. They can scout ahead for traps, enemies, and gather information. Also, they can assist me in battle."


    The drones revealed its energy sters.


    "And check out my new gun." Smander proudly showed off his massive railgun.


    "Behold, my friends, this is not just any railgun. This is the Mark VII Thunderstrike Railgun, the pinnacle of ballistic technology in the gxy!" Smander''s voice was filled with pride as he held up the sleek, matte-ck weapon.


    He began his exnation, his words flowing like a well-rehearsed speech. "First and foremost, the Thunderstrike Railgun boasts a ferocious muzzle velocity of 3,000 meters per second. That means the rounds it fires can cover a distance of three kilometers in just one second! Imagine the impact it makes!"


    His eyes lit up as he continued, "Now, let''s talk about the firepower. This baby canunch tungsten-coated kic rounds that can pierce through even the toughest armor. The rounds are designed to disintegrate upon impact, creating a devastating shockwave that can incapacitate multiple enemies within a certain radius."


    Smander''s excitement grew as he delved into the railgun''s power source. "Ah, the power core! It''s fueled by a miniature singrity reactor, producing an incredible amount of energy to propel the rounds at such high velocities. And the best part? It''s incredibly efficient, ensuring I won''t run out of juice in the heat of battle."


    He then moved on to the railgun''s targeting system, which was a marvel in itself. "The Thunderstrike Railgunes equipped with an advanced targeting AI that can calcte trajectories, adjust for wind resistance, and even predict the movement patterns of enemies. It ensures unparalleled uracy, allowing me to hit my targets with pinpoint precision."


    Smander talked on and on about his new railgun.


    "Fine we get it. Your weapon is awesome. Can we get going now?"


    The merchants simply smiled during Smander''s exnation. He was happy that his customers knew so much about weapons. These kind of customers usually buy the expensive stuff, because they knew which was better than the others.


    In the end, they spend over 200k Gctic Credits for equipment. Almost half of those spendings were for Smander''s upgrade.


    "Well, we spend over 66% of our money," Aldred said.


    "It''s worth it though," Smander said.


    Aldred rolled his eyes.


    "Let''s get something to eat in the cafeteria."


    The group went to the cafeteria with their new gear, and sure enough, everyone was looking at their shiny new stuff. The group spend over 200k Gctic Credits, of course the equipment would be the best grade in this spacestation.


    "Fuck, fucking rich kid!"


    "Look at their faces. They must be newbies with rich parents. I bet they joined the mercenaries just for fun unlike us who have to scraps just for a living."


    "Maybe they are a pro. Not just anyone can get their hands on those gears."


    There were mixed opinions about their new appearance. But one thing was for sure, they attracted attention wherever they went.


    "I like this," Cleome said with a smile. "All eyes are on us."


    "We''ve only done 2 missions so far, but we''ve already go a long way. Look at our equipments. I can only dream of having these."


    Shinari nodded as she yed around with her ssy de. "I am d I took the decision to leave the."


    They ordered something on the menu. They picked anything they want because they knew they still had a lot of money.


    Their confidence in earning more money were also high, so they leisurely spent so much which attracted even more attention and envy.


    After an hour, the attention lessen a bit and the people soon talked about something else. Smander activated the voice-amplifier in his helmet and began to listen to what the people was talking about.


    He was curious of any information he could get around here. The helmet let him listen to a specific direction and ranges, so he could iste a group of people and listen to their conversation without the disruption of other people.


    What he got at first were just some banal talk about their day and bragging. But there was one thing that caught his ears.


    "Did you about the Chronicles of Ascendria?"


    "I know about that rumors. It''s said to be a long-lost repository of knowledge, left by the ancient beings, right?"


    "So you do know. I heard it''s located in the neighboring ster clusters. I want to go there, but the issue with Lord Malgorth''s forces worries me. It''s not safe to travel anywhere at this time."


    "Even if you go, do you know it''s exact location? At least I know where to look. If I can go, I am certain I can find it. The Repository hold powerful techniques that can enhance super abilities. Even normal humans can be turned to supers in an instant."


    "That can''t be. Can a simple technique do that much? I don''t believe it."


    "You might not believe it, but I do."


    Smander frowned. He stopped the recording and then sent it to the others through their helmet.


    The group received the sound file.


    "What is this?" Aldred asked.


    "Just listen to it."


    They all yed the recordings. The recordings yed in their ears, so nobody else could listen to it.


    "What do you think?" Smander asked.


    "Our goal is to get stronger in order to face Lord Malgorth. If it is true, then we should look for this Chronicles of Ascendria."


    Aldred''s eyes shed. No matter what, he had to return to his and get back to his wives.

 Chapter 618 618 Going to Novastra

    Chapter 618  618 Going to Novastra


    Paul Ortner, a mercenary, was exiting the restroom until a group of people suddenly dragged him to an isted ce.


    "Get off of me!"


    "Calm down. We want to ask you something," Aldred said.


    Paul looked at the group that forcefully dragged him. All of them wore expensive equipments which irritated him a bit. "What do you all want from me?"


    "We''ve heard about Chronicles of Ascendria. I want to know more about that."


    Paul smirked. "And what benefit will I get?"


    "20K Gctic Credits. That should be enough for the information."


    "200K. No more no less." Paul smirked. He hated these rich kids who thought they could order him around with money.


    "You are asking too much!" Smander shouted.


    Aldred raised his hand to calm him down. Suddenly, his eyes turned deep red and Paul''s body froze.


    ''Fuck what is going on? I cannot move!''


    Paul panicked. He used all the will in every cell of his body, but it still refused to move. His eyes twitched, but they were locked with Aldred''s red eyes. Cold sweat poured from his forehead, and his breathing became restricted.


    He felt suffocated, like a rope was tightly tied around his neck. As seconds passed, Aldred''s eyes be even more terrifying and death seem near.


    But just as he was about to nk out, his body was able to move again, and he quickly gasped for air.


    "What did you do to me?"


    "What? We didn''t do anything," Aldred said. "The offer still stands. 20K Gctic Credits."


    Paul gritted his teeth. "Fine."


    Aldred grunted inside. His eye power was still not fully returned yet. If it did, he would use illusions to extract all of the information directly from Paul''s brain.


    He still did not understand why his power went away. The power was given to him by the gods, so it should be working anywhere. Even when his father brought him to multiple gxies, his power always worked.


    ''Is this gxy different than the others? Or perhaps this is a different universe?''


    The theory of multiverse weren''t a mere theory anymore. He knew there were unlimited amount of universes each with different rules.


    His father hadn''t brought him to a different universes before, so he did not know much. There were enough gxies to explode in one universe anyway.


    "That is all, I know. I swear," Paul said after telling them everything he knew. "Now, will you let me go?"


    "You said that as if we''re forcing you." Aldred smiled. He tapped hisms to Paul''sms, transferring 20K Gctic Credits. "That''s your payment."


    Aldred and the others left immediately.


    The information they get were as follow: The Chronicles of Ascendria were rumored to appear in the neighboring ster cluster, Novastra Cluster. It was one of the richest ster clusters with mineral-rich stars ands.


    The Chronicles of Ascendria was said to be an abstract concept. It was like a library, a ce to keep knowledge, but nobody really knew if it was in the shape of a, an asteroid, or something else. It was said that one can''t really look for it, but only stumble upon it.


    When one entered the Chronicles of Ascendria, it would be like entering an atmosphere of a.


    "The information we got isn''t that useful," Smandermented.


    "Not really, but at least we know where to go from here," Aldred said before he nced at Elralya. "You said you''re a seer, right? I don''t know how your power works, but I believe you can help in guiding us."


    Elralya nodded. "I will try my best."


    The group went to the docking station and asked the officer there.


    "You want to travel to the Novastra Cluster?"


    "That''s right."


    "Which one is your ship?"


    "That one." Aldred pointed.


    The officer followed Aldred''s finger and saw the Gctic Rover. His face immediately turned sour. "That is impossible. Your ship doesn''t have the technology to travel beyond this star clusters."


    Smander sighed. "I knew it."


    "So what do we do now?" Aldred asked.


    "If you all really want to go there, then I suggest you pick a mission. All of you are mercenaries, correct? Go check an protection jobs of ships that will go to your destination. After the ship arrived in Novastra Clusters, your contract will end. It''s a simple and safe job. You will also get paid for it."


    "That sounds interesting," Aldred said.


    They quickly looked for avable jobs and filter what they wanted.


    After looking for a while, they found two missions that were suitable for them.


    "Protecting a cargo ship or a passenger ships . Which one is better?"


    "Passenger ships," Smander said. "I heard the guards in cargo ship will sometimes told to run errands, and it''s lessfortable. In passenger ships we can even enjoy left-over foods and possibly use empty seats. Also, passenger ships are much safer since it did not contain much valuables."


    "In that case, we will pick that."


    After epting the mission, they got a notification to go to the ships immediately.


    he group hurried to the docking area where the passenger ship, named "Ster Serenity," awaited them. As they approached, their jaws dropped in awe at the sheer size of the vessel. The Ster Serenity was a colossal marvel, a floating city in space. Its hull gleamed with a polished, metallic sheen, and multipleyers of windows stretched across its surface, reflecting the twinkling stars of the gxy.


    The ship''s enormity was staggering; it seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions. Tens of thousands of passengers were bustling around, each with their own destination and purpose, creating a vibrant atmosphere of anticipation and excitement. From families with wide-eyed children to seasoned travelers, the ship amodated a diverse array of beings from different corners of the gxy.


    The exterior of the ship was adorned with intricate designs and illuminated by soft, multicolored lights, giving it a majestic and luxurious appearance. It had multiple docking ports, each amodating various spacecraft, shuttles, and transports. As the group approached the boarding area, they marveled at the efficient operation of the ship''s crew, guiding passengers with courtesy and expertise.


    Upon boarding, they were greeted by a grand atrium that reached several stories high, adorned with magnificent chandeliers and ornate decorations. The air was filled with a subtle fragrance, and the soft murmur of conversations created a pleasant ambiance.


    The interior of the ship resembled a luxurious space station,plete with restaurants offering a diverse range of gctic cuisine, entertainment venues featuring live performances and holographic disys, shopping arcades with boutique stores showcasing exotic goods, and recreational areas such as gardens, pools, and even artificial beaches. The walls were adorned with mesmerizing artworks and interactive screens disying information about the ship''s route and destinations.


    As they went deeper, an officer greeted them.


    "Are you our new guards?" he asked.


    "Yes, that will be us."


    "I won''t say much. The job here is simple. All you have to do is to be alert and help if there is any fight breaking out. It''s quite rare, but some customers tend to throw hands when they get drunk."


    "Uhh, what about pirates? Enemy attack, etc?"


    "No need to worry about that. This is a cruise ships. The only reason a group of pirate will attack us if they are hungry. If that is the case, we will give them as much food as they want." The officerughed. "Well, enjoy yourself. There''s not much to do. Just watch something as you patrol if you don''t want to get bored."


    The officer left immediately.


    The group was speechless.


    "I told you the passenger ship was the correct choice," Smander said.


    As the passengers settled into theirvish amodations, the group patrolled the sprawling corridors of the Ster Serenity.


    Some were curious about the mercenaries, asking about their adventures, while others simply went about their leisure activities.


    During their patrols, they noticed the ship''s security personnel, d in sleek uniforms and armed with advanced energy weapons, diligently ensuring the safety of the passengers.


    "The ship is safe, but the guards still patrolled the area," Aldredmented.


    "Of course, they do that to look professional. We should do the same thing," Smander replied.


    The group''s presence on the ship didn''t go unnoticed.


    Aldred and his teammates wore high-tech ultra expensive equipments. This made the passengers thought that their safety were highly prioritized and they quickly wrote great reviews for the cruise line.


    As the ship embarked on its journey toward the Novastra Cluster, the group felt nervous. They never had traveled so far away before, but inside, they also felt great excitement for the adventure ahead.


    Aldred entered the resting chamber and rxed. His shift was over for today, so he grabbed himself a drink and watch some entertainments the ship provided.


    The officer was correct, there was nothing much to do except walking around and greetings the passengers with a smile. Hospitality was part of the job.


    "I hate smiling to customers though." Aldred sighed. "I hope I don''t have to do this kind of job again."

 Chapter 619 619 Unexpected Infiltration

    Chapter 619  619 Unexpected Infiltration


    Aldred was patrolling the cruise ship as usual, he smiled back to people when they smiled at him.


    That was until he saw something weird. There was a person in robes that fully covered his body. However, the person was twitching uncontrobly.


    Approaching cautiously, Aldred motioned for Smander to apany him. They reached the twitching figure, and Aldred cleared his throat to get their attention.


    "Excuse me, sir," Aldred said, trying to keep his tone calm. "Are you feeling alright? You seem distressed."


    No response. The person continued twitching, their movements growing more erratic, as if they were fighting against something beyond their control.


    Growing concerned, Smander reached out to gently touch the person''s shoulder. As his hand made contact, the robed figure suddenly ceased twitching, their body going still.


    "Are you in need of medical assistance?" Smander asked, his voiceced with worry.


    "Excuse me," Aldred called out, his voice firm yet cautious. "Are you feeling alright?"


    No response came from the cloaked figure. The only answer was the continued twitching of their body, which seemed increasingly erratic and unnatural.


    Growing more concerned, Aldred decided to take action. With deliberate movements, he reached out and gently pulled back the hood of the robe, revealing the person''s face.


    To their shock, what they saw beneath was not a human being, but a grotesque creature with a hideous head. Its skin was pallid and mottled, and its eyes glowed with an otherworldly malevolence. Tentacles writhed where a mouth should be, and sharp, elongated teeth protruded from its misshapen jaw.


    The people nearby screamed.


    Aldred and Smander recoiled in horror, their training and experience failing to prepare them for such a sight. The passengers around them gasped, some screaming in terror as they caught a glimpse of the monstrous entity.


    "Aliens! Run for your life!"


    The ship''s security personnel swiftly arrived at the scene, their expressions turning grim as they recognized the creature for what it was¡ªa malevolent being not of this world.


    "Back away, everyone!" one of the guards shouted, his voice authoritative. "We''ll handle this."


    The security team, armed with advanced energy weapons, formed a protective circle around the monster. Despite its grotesque appearance, the creature emanated an aura of unnatural power, making it a formidable adversary.


    The aliens twitched violently, leaking out disgusting liquid from its mouth.


    Aldred frowned. The creature seem to release some kind of radiowaves all over the ce. The wave were sent in some sort of pattern, almost as if the alien wasmunicating¡­


    "Fuck! Tell everyone to be alert! This isn''t the only one!"


    Aldred punched the alien in the face, exploding its head instantly. However, it did not die, and its tentacles wrapped around Aldred.


    He quickly released himself from the tentacles, and Smander''s drones pulverized the alien immediately.


    Suddenly, screams wereing from the distance and in every directions.


    Smander activated his inte. "All personnel be alert! Xenomorphs are indicated to be within the cruise ships!"


    "Guide the passengers to the safe room!"


    The guards immediately went to work, escorting the passengers and making sure that everyone stayed calm.


    "What are these creatures?" Aldred asked.


    "These are Xenomorphs. One of the nastiest aliens that will consume every living organism they see. They are very dangerous, so we have to act quickly."


    "Smander, what is going on? I heard screams from the resting chamber," Cleome asked.


    "There are aliens in the ship. All of you need to go out and help. Make sure the passengers are safe!"


    Cleome, Shinari, Ceeth, and Elralya looked at each other before exiting the resting chamber.


    Soon after, they saw a two meter tall Xenomorphs grabbing a 8 year old girl.


    The girl screamed in fear. Her tears streaked.


    "No! My Daughter!" The mother screamed nearby.


    "Release her!" Cleome shouted as she charged forward with lightning crackled around her body.


    The alien noticed and threw the girl in the air.


    Cleome saw this and was relieved. ''At least the girl is safe.''


    Suddenly, the tentacles on the alien''s back, moved, then cut the little girl in half. Blood sttered with her organs spilled out.


    Cleome''s widened in horror.


    The alien roared and charged at her.


    "You bastard!" A lightning bolt came out of her fist and sted the aliens.


    Cleome nced at the little who was cut in half with gritted teeth. "If only I moved a little faster. I could''ve saved her."


    Her mother ran with horrified scream as she hugged her daughter''s body. Pulling and piling her organs, trying to put her parts together in hopes that she could still be saved.


    The sight was too painful for Cleome and she looked away.


    She had fought numerous times and had seen thousands of deaths. She tried to act strong, but every time she saw someone died, a needle would puncture her heart.


    Clenching her fists, she looked at her team. "Let''s kill these aliens before they kill more people!"


    Meanwhile, Aldred and Smander was fighting against a group of aliens. Their numbers seemed to much more than expected.


    "Ahh! Help me!" A man sprinted as an alien chased after him.


    Aldred moved quickly, his feet, making a dent on the floor. He quickly struck the alien in the chest that caused arge cavity to appear in the alien. The creature fell with a plot sound.


    The man hugged him with tears. "Thank you! Thank you for saving me!"


    "Your welc¡ª"


    "Aldred watchout!"


    Aldred did not notice, but there were sharp tentaclesing out of the man''s back that were lunging at him.


    sma beams ripped the tentacles along with the man to shreds.


    Aldred stepped back. "What was that?"


    "Xenomorphs are able to disguise themselves as human. Their techniques are not perfect, but some manage to copy the person''s recent movement naturally."


    "Wait, doesn''t that mean that there is a chance that the aliens are hiding with the passengers in the safe room?"


    Horrified at this fact, Smander immediately informed everyone through his inte.


    "Everyone! Check the safe room! Make sure the passengers are safe!"


    The guards that were stationed inside the safe room, turned around and saw one person transformed into an alien and jumped at them.


    "They''re her¡ª"


    The inte disconnected.


    Amidst the chaos, panic rippled through the ship. The revtion that Xenomorphs could disguise themselves as humans sent shockwaves of fear among the passengers and crew. The once serene atmosphere of the Ster Serenity transformed into a battleground, where survival became the only goal.


    Everyone was looking at each other with suspicion. Some panicked and started pointing fingers.


    "You must be the aliens! I saw you doing something weird earlier! It must be you! Guards! Shoot at this man immediately!"


    "That''s a lie! I am a human! Don''t you dare use me! I bet you are the aliens not me!"


    The safe room, once considered a sanctuary, became a focal point of tension. Armed guards secured the perimeter, while Cleome, Shinari, Ceeth, and Elralya used their unique abilities to scan for any signs of the alien presence. Every person entering the safe room was subjected to rigorous scrutiny, their identities verified to prevent infiltration.


    Cleome helped checked the people that went into the safe room.


    A guard with uniforms and weapons approached them. "I am assigned to guard this safe room."


    "Show your ID," Cleome said.


    The man followed order and handed out his ID.


    Suddenly, Elralya''s eyes sparkled. "Stop! That''s not a human!"


    Cleome nced at the man''s face. The man grinned, revealing sharp shark-like teeth before rushing forward about to attack Cleome''s neck.


    Ceeth reacted quickly. With her Elven agility, she swiftly thrust her into the alien''s body. Impaling it before she mmed the alien to the floor.


    Cleome was shocked that she almost got killed. "These aliens are getting smarter. Spread this information quickly."


    Meanwhile, Aldred, Smander, and their team engaged in intense battles throughout the ship. Each encounter was more challenging than thest, testing their skills and determination. The aliens were relentless, their numbers seemingly endless, making every victory bittersweet.


    The guards that were following them were impressed again and again at their overwhelming power.


    Aldred seem to had a variety of incredible power. At one point he would punch the aliens with powerful strike, other times, he would use me to burn the aliens to crisps.


    In the midst of the chaos, Aldred noticed something peculiar. Some of the Xenomorphs exhibited strange behavior, as if they were being controlled or manipted by an unseen force. Their movements were coordinated, suggesting a level of intelligence beyond the typical Xenomorph behavior.


    Aldred shared his observation with Smander. "These Xenomorphs are acting differently, as if they are following orders. We need to find out who or what is controlling them."


    Smander nodded, his mind racing with possibilities. "There might be a queen Xenomorph on board, controlling the others. If we can locate and eliminate her, it might disrupt their hive mind."


    With this new objective in mind, the team intensified their search, focusing on the ship''s core where the Xenomorph queen was likely to be hiding. The battles grew fiercer as they approached their target, the aliens defending their queen with great ferocity.

 Chapter 620 Unexpected Infiltration 2

    620 Chapter 620 Unexpected Infiltration 2


    The group fought their way through the ship, determined to find and eliminate the Xenomorph queen.


    As they ventured deeper into the vessel, the surroundings became more ominous. The once vibrant and luxurious cruise ship now resembled a nightmarish battleground, with flickering lights casting eerie shadows on the walls and floors stained with alien blood.


    "I got a bad feeling about this. Call the others to help," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, the doors in the surroundings broke open with hundreds of aliens charging towards them.


    Aldred was forced to use his fire elements to push the approaching aliens. He carefully used his fire magic to avoid friendly-fire.


    Amidst the chaos, Cleome, Shinari, Ceeth, and Elralya joined forces with Aldred and Smander. Theirbined strength and abilities proved essential in battling the Xenomorph horde.


    Each member of the team showcased their unique skills.


    The air was thick with tension as they approached the ship''s core. Aldred, his fists crackling with energy, led the charge. Smander''s drones hovered around him, ready to unleash their deadly arsenal at a moment''s notice. Cleome conjured lightning, illuminating the dark corridors, while Shinari moved within the shadows, assassinating any aliens that were about to attack her allies.


    Elralya stood still in the back, closing her eyes as she manipted the energy vibration around the room. Her power made the aliens screamed in distress.


    The aliens'' movement became even more chaotic. Before it was precisely coordinated, making it much harder to fight them especially atrge numbers. But now that they were disoriented, theirrger numbers became their biggest disadvantage.


    The Xenomorph queen, a grotesque pinnacle of alien evolution, dominated her horde with regal malevolence. Her towering figure, shrouded in dim ship''s light, boasted an elongated, scarden chitinous exoskeleton.


    A sinuous, razor-sharp tail struck with deadly precision, defying her immense size.


    However, Aldred moved to the side, and the tail struck the wall behind him.


    Bioluminescent veins pulsed beneath translucent skin, casting an eerie glow on her alien majesty.


    Her elongated head, crowned with serrated spines, bore multifaceted eyes radiating unsettling intelligence. An aura of palpable menace surrounded her, freezing even the bravest warriors in awe and terror.


    The queen roared that mere humans dare toe into herir. Her scales vibrated, making her aliens servant shook and angered.


    And they directed that anger towards Aldred and his allies.


    The aliens charged with crazed fervor. This time, they were ready to sacrifice everything to protect the honor of their queen.


    Smander immediately activated all of his arsenal. The sma cannon mounted on his shoulders fired high-energy sma projectiles at the aliens causing devastating impact.


    When the aliens manage to evade his sma beams, a pair of pulse sters on his wrist released concentrated energy pulses, providing rapid and urate firepower in close-quarters.


    His energy-based weapon system were almost fully-automatic, letting him focus on other task. This, coupled with his battle-drones made Smander a fearsome opponents as he killed dozens of aliens 10:52


    every second.


    "We need a n," Aldred shouted over the cacophony of battle. "We can''t take down the queen and her horde head-on. We need to find a way to separate them."


    Smander, analyzing the situation through his advanced visor, nodded in agreement. "We need a distraction. The guards and I will distract the hordes. The rest of you must find a way to reach the queen. Once the queen died, the aliens will lose their strength."


    A pair of energy de appeared on Smander''s arm. He swiftly cut down two aliens that were charging towards him and split four aliens with his pulse sters.


    "Go no!"


    As Smander and the guards aggressively attacking to lure the aliens'' attention, Aldred looked around trying to find ways to reach the queen.


    Suddenly, Shinari shouted in the inte: "Guys, follow me!"


    They all followed Shinari who was charging towards a horde of aliens. The alien attacked her, but she exploded into mist before re-appearing a distance away, cutting off the aliens'' necks and limbs.


    Aldred, Cleome, and Ceeth pushed forward like a bull. Aldred advanced with his fire elemental magic, creating a series of a fire wave that engulfed everything in their path.


    "Give me distance. I will take the front. You guys take the nks and rear!"


    With a slight movement from his hands, Aldred summoned ember des made purely out of fire and sliced through the aliens.


    He danced around, cutting and burning everything around him.


    He felt incredible heat within his heart. It was that familiar sensation. It felt incredibly unbearable. His heart felt like they were being dipped into an active volcano.


    The pain made Aldred screamed in anger. The excruciating pain irritated him and seeing the aliens charging towards him made him even angrier. His eyes were as red asva.


    His skin began to glow, then steam came out, releasing a searing aura of intense heat causing the approaching aliens to suffer intense burn.


    The ember de in his hands vanished, and then hundreds of fire chain came out of his hands that stabbed through hundreds of aliens at once.


    "Infernal Chain!"


    With a roar, the chain exploded into a bursting ball of fire, consuming the aliens whole.


    Aldred sped his hands violently, then, a fiery figure appeared with his appearance before it multiply itself constantly.


    The fiery figures rushed towards the aliens, the mere contact alone burned and melt the skin and bones of the aliens.


    The disy of power shocked everyone.


    They hadn''t never heard that fire could be manipted to incredible ways.


    However, Aldred''s disy of power attracted the alien''s attentions, and they all rushed towards him.


    "I will distract them here! The rest of you go after the queen!"


    Cleome and Ceeth immediately leaped into the air and used the aliens as stepping stones as they approached the queen.


    They sted the aliens that dared to block their path.


    Cleome and Ceeth moved swiftly, their agility andbat skills shining brightly amidst the chaos. Cleome conjured lightning bolts, electrocuting any aliens that came too close, while Ceeth utilized her Elven speed and precision, swiftly dispatching aliens with her spear.


    As they neared the queen, they noticed a strange pattern in the aliens'' behavior. Some of them seemed to be guarding the queen more fiercely, their movements synchronized and calcted.


    "It''s like they''re protecting her deliberately," Ceeth observed, her keen Elven eyes picking up on the subtleties of the situation.


    Cleome nodded, her mind racing toe up with a n. "We need to create a diversion, something big enough to draw their attention away from the queen. Aldred''s fire maniption was impressive. If we could create an even bigger disy of power..."

 Chapter 621 Unexpected Infiltration 3

    621 Chapter 621 Unexpected Infiltration 3


    Ceeth finished her sentence, a sly grin on her face. "We might just distract them long enough to get to the queen."


    The two warriors exchanged a quick nce, understanding each other''s thoughts without words. They dashed towards the nearest power conduit, their movements graceful and swift. With a synchronized motion, they struck the conduit simultaneously, releasing a surge of energy that arced through the surrounding area.


    The energy crackled and danced, forming a dazzling disy of light and power. The aliens, momentarily mesmerized by the spectacle, turned their attention away from Cleome and Ceeth, focusing on the newfound source of energy.


    With the distraction in ce, Cleome and Ceeth continued their advance towards the Xenomorph queen. The air grew heavy with tension as they approached the colossal alien, its multifaceted eyes fixated on them.


    "You think you can defeat me, little creatures?" the queen hissed, her voice was of a little girl, but it contain a chilling melody of arrogance and malevolence. Her voice was probably obtained after consuming a young girl. Xenomorphs were able to obtain the abilities of the humans they consumed.


    Cleome raised her chin, her determination burning bright. "We''re about to find out."


    With a battle cry, Cleome unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts, each one striking true against the queen''s chitinous exoskeleton. Ceeth darted in, her spear shing with precision, aiming for the joints and vulnerable spots in the queen''s armor.


    The queen roared in fury, her tailshing out in a deadly arc. Cleome barely managed to evade the attack, her lightning-quick reflexes saving her from certain impalement. Ceeth, too, danced away from the lethal strike, her Elven agility on full disy.


    As the battle raged on, Smander and his guards continued their assault on the alien horde, providing the much-needed diversion for Cleome and Ceeth. Aldred, his fiery manifestations wreaking havoc, joined the fray once more, his ember chains snaking through the aliens, reducing them to ashes.


    Meanwhile, Shinari, with her unparalleled stealth and speed, infiltrated the ranks of aliens, striking from the shadows with deadly precision. Elralya continued manipting the energy vibrations, disorienting the aliens and causing them to attack each other in their confusion.


    Thebined efforts of the team created a symphony of destruction, a dance of elements and des that pushed back the Xenomorph horde.


    With a final surge of strength, Cleome summoned the power of a thousand lightning bolts, channeling it into a single, concentrated st. The lightning struck the queen directly in her chest, eliciting a spine-chilling scream of agony.


    In that moment of vulnerability, Ceeth lunged forward, her des finding the smallest crack in the queen''s armor. With a swift, calcted strike, she pierced the queen''s heart.


    The queen convulsed, her entire body shuddering in a violent death throes. The aliens around her, sensing the demise of their leader, faltered in their advance.


    "We did it," Cleome gasped, her chest heaving with exhaustion but also with triumph. "We defeated the queen."


    A wave of relief washed over the group, their tense muscles rxing as they realized the immediate threat was over.


    However, they suddenly saw the remaining aliens entered the queen''s mouth in droves.


    That was when the queen opened its eyes again and let out ear-ringing shriek.


    The queen wasn''t dead yet!


    It fiercely red at Cleome and attacked her with its sharp tail.


    Cleome was out of stamina so she could not react in time and the tail struck her.


    The sharp tail took a huge part of her abdomen. In that moment, time seem to slow down. Cleome coughed out blood from her mouth, but she did not sense any pain.


    She saw Aldred and Smander roaring and rushing towards her from the distance. Shinari appeared near the tail and cut it off before it could do further damage to her.


    As her body was about to fall to the floor, Aldred caught her.


    Aldred''s expression contorted with a mixture of horror and concern as he caught his friend, her weight heavy in his arms. His eyes widened, pupils dting in shock, as he took in the gruesome sight before him. His breath caught in his throat, hitching with the sheer intensity of his worry.


    His brows furrowed deeply, forming deep creases on his forehead, mirroring the depth of his concern. His lips, usually firm with determination, now quivered slightly, betraying the fear that surged through him. Every fiber of his being was on high alert, heart pounding in his chest as he tried to process the horrifying scene.


    His lips were moving as if whispering, but Cleome could not hear what he said.


    Smander came next, but her sight was filled with darkness right after.


    "Don''t die on me! Don''t die on me! Don''t die on me! Don''t die on me!" Aldred constantly whispered. "Smander, do something!"


    Smander quickly activated his tool kit and tried to stop the bleeding. "I don''t have the right tools to protect her organs properly, but this should keep her alive."


    Suddenly, Aldred heard another roar.


    That was when he recall that they hadn''t finish the job.


    His jaw clenched, muscles tightening, as a wave of hot fury surged through him. His brows, once furrowed in worry, now knitted together in a menacing scowl, darkening his entire countenance.


    Aldred''s breathing, earlier rapid from shock, steadied into a controlled, deliberate rhythm. Each inhale was filled with the heat of his anger, and each exhale seemed to carry with it a silent vow of retribution.


    He turned around and stared at the alien queen.


    Sensing his rage and challenging pose, the other aliens moved to the side and let the both of them to stand face to face.


    Suddenly, a demonic-looking steel began to form in his hand, elongating as long as two meter tall with intricate carvings that glowed with red hue.


    The de was extremely sharp with serrated edges.


    [Phantom Doomde (Legendary) (Full Potential Locked)]


    Aldred pointed the de at the queen. "Contained in this de are the millions of souls I''ve killed. Today, your soul will be one of them."

 Chapter 622 Killing The Queen

    622 Chapter 622 Killing The Queen


    The queen, sensing the impending danger, hissed in defiance, her multiple eyes narrowing with fury. However, the sheer ferocity in Aldred''s gaze made her hesitate for a moment, a flicker of fear passing through her monstrous features.


    With a guttural battle cry that echoed through the corridor, Aldred lunged forward, his Phantom Doomde slicing through the air with deadly precision. The de met the queen''s chitinous exoskeleton with a resounding ng, sending shockwaves through bothbatants.


    The queen shrieked in pain, unaware that a part of her soul was devoured by the Phantom Doomde. Some of the queen''s limbs struggled to move.


    It was one of Phantom Doomde''s special ability. The de was able to cut the soul of body parts, possibly making thempletely paralyzed.


    The blood and flesh that came into contact with Phantom Doomde were devoured as well, converting it into energy and sent it to Aldred.


    This let Aldred had almost unlimited stamina and strength as long as he continuously hit his opponents.


    In that moment, time seemed to freeze as Aldred and the queen engaged in a fierce struggle. The corridor was filled with the shing of metal against alien armor, the sound reverberating like a war drum. Each strike Aldred delivered was filled with the weight of vengeance, his blows fueled by the pain and suffering the aliens had caused.


    The queen, despite her size and strength, found herself hard-pressed against Aldred''s relentless assault. The Phantom Doomde, with its serrated edges, tore through her armor, leaving deep gashes in its wake. Dark, viscous fluid oozed from the wounds, and the queen let out a high-pitched screech, a sound that reverberated through the ship.


    The battle between Aldred and the alien queen was like a sh of titans, a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the narrow corridor of the spaceship. As Aldred lunged forward with his Phantom Doomde, the sheer force of his attack met the queen''s chitinous exoskeleton with a deafening ng.


    The queen, a monstrous and imposing figure, initially exuded confidence. However, as Aldred''s relentless assault continued, a flicker of fear passed through her multiple eyes. Her immense strength and size were matched by Aldred''s determination, and for the first time, doubt crept into her alien mind.


    Smander, attending to Cleome, watched in awe and amazement. The ferocity of Aldred''s attacks left him wide-eyed, his hands working on Cleome with a mixture of urgency and fascination. He could feel the corridor tremble with each sh, the sheer power of their confrontation sending shivers down his spine.


    Aldred, fueled by a burning desire for vengeance, channeled his anger and grief into every strike. His movements were a blur of speed and precision, the Phantom Doomde cutting through the queen''s armor like a hot knife through butter. With every blow, he drew deep gashes in the queen''s flesh, causing dark, viscous fluid to ooze from the wounds. The queen''s high-pitched screeches of pain filled the air, a testament to the effectiveness of Aldred''s assault.


    In contrast, Aldred''s face was a mask of unwavering resolve. His eyes zed with a mix of fury and purpose, his grip on the Phantom Doomde steady. Each swing of his de was calcted, each strike delivered with the intent to bring justice to the lives lost and to ensure that the aliens paid for their atrocities.


    Aldred did not consider himself as saint that bring justice to everyone.


    But if his friends were hurt, the perpetrator better be ready for his retaliation.


    The onlookers, including Smander, were entranced and horrified by the intensity of the battle. They could feel the ground shake beneath them with each sh, and the atmosphere was charged with an otherworldly energy. As Aldred dodged the queen''s deadly tail strike with lightning-fast reflexes, there was a collective gasp of relief from hisrades.


    As the battle reached its climax, Aldred''s final, powerful swing cleaved through the queen''s exoskeleton, piercing her heart. The queen let out a deafening shriek, her massive body convulsing in her death throes. The impact of her fall sent another shockwave through the corridor, rattling the onlookers and reinforcing the finality of Aldred''s victory.


    The aliens roared in anger at the defeat of their queen and all of them charged at him with the intent to bring him to die with them.


    Aldred stood there, panting heavily, his chest heaving with exertion. He gazed at his surroundings. Time slowed down as the aliens rushed towards him.


    He let out a single breath and his whole body shed, executing a single motion: one horizontal swing.


    Suddenly, all of the aliens stood still.


    Then, a thin bloody line appeared in the center of their body before bursting out alien blood.


    All of the aliens were killed in an instant.


    And all of this were done with a single sh!


    The corridor was filled with a heavy silence.


    The onlookers stood frozen, their eyes wide with shock and amazement, their faces a mix of awe and terror. Smander, who had been tending to Cleome, dropped his makeshift medical supplies, his hands trembling. His mind raced toprehend the sheer magnitude of Aldred''s power. That was... impossible, he thought, his disbelief warring with the evidence before his eyes.


    Beside him, another member of the team, a young woman named ra, whispered, her voice barely audible, "Did you see that? He... he just took them all out with one swing."


    Captain Reynolds, the leader of the security team, stood there, his expression a mix of astonishment and pride. Incredible, he thought. Aldred isn''t just a warrior; he''s a force of nature.


    n the midst of the stunned silence, Aldred lowered his Phantom Doomde, his chest heaving with exertion. His eyes, once filled with fury, now held a steely determination. He scanned the corridor, ensuring that the threat was truly eliminated. The air was thick with the acrid scent of alien blood, and the walls were sttered with the remnants of the fallen invaders.


    Smander, finding his voice, managed to stammer, "Aldred, that was... I''ve never seen anything like it. Are you... are you alright?"


    Aldred nodded, his gaze still fixed on the now lifeless bodies of the aliens. "I''m fine," he replied, his voice steady. "Just tired. But we need to keep moving. There might be more of them."


    Elralya stepped forward. "The others are takingcare of them. Don''t worry. There must be only a few of them left. Their primary purpose is to protect the queen after all. Cleome''s condition is stable now."


    Aldred''s de vanished.


    "So, get some rest, Aldred."


    Aldred fell to the floor, unconscious.


    When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a bright light on the ceiling.


    "You''re awake," Smander said. "I can''t help but feel this is a familiar scene."


    Shinari approached. "Do you need anything? Are you thirsty?"


    Shaking his head, Aldred replied: "Nothing for now."


    "What about you, Cleome?" Aldred asked. "Is your wounds fine?"


    Cleome held her waist. "The doctors imnted new organs and put new skin cells on me. I am fine, except for some cracks on some of my bones. But the tiny robots that are currently inside of me now will soon fix that."


    Aldred forgot that people here did not have healing magic, instead, they mostly rely on technologies and science.


    "Come closer."


    "Why?"


    "Just do it."


    Cleome slowly walked to him.


    Aldred breathed deeply, grounding himself in the sterile medical bay. His eyes glowed softly, a golden hue illuminating his hand. With hands suspended above Cleome''s body, he focused on channeling his energy without direct contact.


    With a gentle touch, Aldred delved into Cleome''s bloodstream, his consciousness connecting with the very essence of her being. He could sense the flow of her blood, the rhythm of her heartbeat, and the subtle energies that pulsed through her veins. Closing his eyes, he began to channel his magical energy, intertwining it with the natural life force within Cleome.


    Aldred''s hands emitted a golden glow, honing in on the fractures in Cleome''s bones. With a whispered spell, he channeled his healing energy, mending the damaged areas.


    The tiny robots inside Cleome''s body responded to his magic, their microscopic forms buzzing with confusion as the wounds they tried to heal started to heal on its own.


    As Aldred concentrated, his magic formed intricate patterns, weaving through Cleome''s bloodstream like threads of light. He envisioned the broken bones fusing back together, the damaged tissues knitting themselves into seamless perfection. The golden glow intensified, enveloping Cleome in a cocoon of healing energy.


    Inside Cleome''s body, Aldred''s magicmunicated with her cells, urging them to regenerate and repair. The healing process was meticulous, as Aldred guided every cell, every molecule, with utmost precision. He could feel Cleome''s body responding to his touch, her cells dancing to the harmonious rhythm of his magic.


    "How did you do that?" Cleome''s eyes widened in shock. She could feel the pain easing at a rapid rate. She felt incredible ufortable when moving especially while the micro robots were trying to mend the damage in her organs.


    Minutes passed like hours in the timeless realm of healing. Aldred''s brow furrowed with concentration, sweat glistening on his forehead. The room was filled with a soft, ethereal glow, casting a warm light on Cleome''s serene face.


    With a final surge of magical energy, Aldredpleted the mending process. He withdrew his hands slowly, breaking the connection between their energies. Cleome''s body shimmered briefly, a sign of the healing magic''spletion.


    "And I am done," Aldred said with a smile. "How do you feel?"


    "I¡ªI don''t know what to say," Cleome stuttered. "I am shocked, I guess?"


    Aldredughed. "Aren''t you usually the one who shock people with your lightning bolt?"

 Chapter 623 Aftermath

    623 Chapter 623 Aftermath


    Cleome hit Aldred on the shoulder. "Thanks for worrying about me."


    Aldred smiled. He had known Cleome and the others for a couple of months now. They''ve went through a lot during that month, and he felt pretty close to them.


    At the very least, he could trust them with his life.


    Only warriors who had fought together in numerous battles could understand such bond.


    One might think that Aldred was naive to trust them so much, but these people had went through hell and back with him.


    Aldred was a warrior who went through many battles and wars. And he had made a lot of strong connections with fellow warriors.


    ''I missed Bartrem, Joseph, and Jeffery,'' Aldred cracked a smile as he thought of his friends and recalled the past.


    At that time, things were simple. He just had to charge at the enemy and fight. After the battle, they would return to camp and eat food together. If there were no battle, Aldred would spend his days exercising with his toon.


    As time passed, things became more and moreplicated for him. As his strength increased, he could not just be a foot soldier.


    Instead, he had to be a leader that led a massive organizations that even a nation would consider him a lethal threat to their rule.


    Their fear was justified though as Aldred had even overthrown an entire empire before.


    After reminiscing about the past, he looked at the lines on his hand and wondered how did he summon the Phantom Doomde.


    For the past few months, he could not summon any of the items inside his inventory. He couldn''t even open the inventory or call out the system.


    It was as if his power was gone in a blink of an eye.


    Fortunately, Aldred felt like his power were slowly returning.


    He wasn''t at his peak power yet, however, but Aldred knew that time wille.


    Shinari saw Aldred who wasying in bed looking at his hand seemingly thinking about something.


    ''What would a man as powerful as him think in this situation?'' She thought.


    The power Aldred disyed during the battle against the xenomorph queen was unlike anything she''d ever seen before. His power were the story of legends were only the super soldiers could match.


    The image of Aldred massacring thousands of aliens in a single slice shed in her mind. She clenched her fists, angered at the thought that she wasn''t as good as she wanted to be.


    If she did not improve, she will be more useless as time passed. With dark countenance, Shinari mmed the door open and left without saying a word.


    Aldred was confused. "What happened to her? She seems to be mad."


    "Maybe she''s just worried and have a lot in her mind. Not just anyone can process the event yesterday so easily. Even now my hands are still shaking," Cleome said.


    Smander heard what Cleome said, but he knew what Shinari was feeling currently because he felt the same way. He felt anger that he was so uselesspared to Aldred.


    Without Aldred, all of them would be death right now. ''This cannot be done. I must do everything I can to match Aldred''s strength.''


    With that in mind, Smander also stormed out of the room without a word.


    Aldred was confused again. "Does he has a lot in his mind too?"


    "Probably," Cleome said, confused at the situation as well.


    Elralya watched the situation unfold in silence. She observed Aldred and Cleome before cing her attention on Ceeth.


    "Is your injury healed?"


    Ceeth nodded. "It healed a minute ago."


    "The wounds you suffered is greater than Cleome. You could''ve asked Aldred to heal you like how he heal Cleome. Why didn''t you?"


    Ceeth had a mixed expression. "I am an Elven warrior. The path I take obliged me to endure great pain in battle. My training enabled my body to heal in hours, so I don''t need his help."


    "Is that really the reason?" Elralya smiled.


    That was not the reason, but Ceeth stayed silent. In truth, she was just in disbelief of the event yesterday. Aldred''s power was too great, too powerful, and too magnificence.


    It was thebination of elegant and pure strength. Beauty and functionality intertwined in perfection.


    Only the elves fought that way, but she saw that characteristic in Aldred yesterday. But she still had a hard time believing because Aldred was a human.


    A lesser race like human shouldn''t be able to fight that way.


    "Maybe he isn''t a human," Ceeth muttered under her breath.


    Meanwhile, Shinari was in a practicing room. She opened herms and opened a digital book about supers. She had bought this book in order to learn more about her power and hopefully improve her strength.


    There were several ways for supers to increase their strength.


    Training and discipline, experience, knowledge, sorcerous pacts, psychic awakening, and consuming souls or life force.


    There were only three ways within her control: Training and discipline, experience, and knowledge.


    To grow stronger, she had to train constantly, gain a lot of experience, and study ancient and modern text about super abilities.


    The modern scientist had studied hundreds of thousands supers and spread the information to every humans in every corner of the gxy in order to ensure humanity''s survival.


    Every knowledge was made as cheap as possible. Getting the book and information was easy in this era of the Imperium.


    The learning part was the problem. Without sufficient talent and hard work, one wouldn''t be able to grow.


    Shinari had experienced war and battles all her life. Since a young age, she waspletely told by everyone that she will be a powerful super to protect humanity.


    For years, she felt like she had done everything in her power to do just that.


    But Aldred showed her otherwise. This adventure showed her otherwise. She still got so much to learn. She hadn''t reach her limit. She still had a long way to go.


    And so, Shinari began to train.


    ¡­


    In the engine room of the cruise ship, Smander worked diligently, his hands moving swiftly as he repaired the damaged engine. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the flickering emergency lights. The hum of the ship''s systems filled the air, creating a constant, reassuring rhythm amidst the chaos that had ensued.


    The engineers of the ship were killed during the alien infiltration. This led the officers to ask for help from the passengers with any mechanical knowledge. Smander jumped to the call immediately.


    He thought that there would be more peopleing to help, but apparently it was just him.


    So many people were killed during the infiltration, and he clenched his fist every time the memory shed in his head.


    "No, I need to focus on my task. Repairing the ship''s engine will be a valuable experience for me. I need to learn more, practice and study more. I will create better gear, better equipments so more lives can be saved!"


    As he worked, his mind was focused, his thoughts clear. He couldn''t afford to make any mistakes; the lives of everyone onboard depended on the ship''s sessful escape from the vastness of space.


    In this situation, the cruise ship should have called for help from nearby space stations, but themunications bridge were already destroyed by the xenos.


    Those damned aliens! They were too smart!


    Every now and then, he nced at the holographic disys, monitoring the engine''s status and the energy levels within the ship. His brows furrowed in concentration, his eyes scanning the data before him


    Hours passed, and sweat trickled down Smander''s brow as he continued his work. He was meticulous, double-checking every connection and calibration. His hands moved swiftly and surely, fueled by abination of skill, determination, and the urgency of their situation.


    "Damn it," he muttered under his breath, his brows furrowing as he identified a critical malfunction in the fusion core stabilizers. "Looks like we''ve got a major energy fluctuation in the primary sma conduits. If that breaches, this whole ship could turn into a floating bomb."


    His mind raced as he calcted the best course of action. "I need to reroute power from the auxiliary generators to stabilize the core. It''s a risky move, but it might buy us some time."


    With swift precision, Smander initiated the rerouting process. The holographic screens flickered withplex schematics as he manipted the ship''s power distributionworks. Lines of code scrolled rapidly across the disys, each keystroke made with unwavering confidence.


    Suddenly, he faced some problem.


    "I don''t know a damn thing!" Smander quickly essed the guidelines and quickly searched for some tutorials and information in the gcticwork.


    Meanwhile, he essed the ship''s nanobot repair systems, releasing swarms of microscopic machines into the damaged conduits. These advanced nanobots worked tirelessly, repairing frayed energy cables and reinforcing structural integrity. Smander monitored their progress closely, ensuring that the repairs werepleted wlessly.


    The hum of the ship''s systems grew steadier as the energy fluctuations began to stabilize. Smander wiped the sweat from his brow, a mixture of relief and determination on his face. The crisis was averted, at least for the time being.


    "It seems nothing major happened, but I almost turn the entire cruise ship into a bomb. Thankfully, it


    turned out fine."


    Smander stood up, satisfied with his work. With a confidence smile, he clenched his fists. "I am not so useless after all."

 Chapter 624 Questions

    624 Chapter 624 Questions


    "Where did those people go to? It''s been three days already," Cleome said.


    Shinari and Smander had not returned or informed them for the past three days. At first, Aldred did not had any problem with that, but he became worried now.


    "I will check on them," Cleome said. "You stay here."


    Cleome left the bedroom, leaving Aldred with Elralya and Ceeth.


    Aldred turned his attention to the both of them after the door closed. "So, what are you guys doing in your free time?"


    "Training," Elralya said.


    "I mean, what you do for fun?"


    "Training is fun," Elralya said. "Because when we train, I know the chance of our survival increased even by a slight margin."


    "That''s great." Aldred knew a lot of workaholics. These type of people do work for fun. It was one of the major reason why these people were one of the best in their fields. "Where are you from?"


    "The Elven world."


    "And where is that exactly? I am kinda new in this gxy."


    Elralya was about to answer until Ceeth stopped her and red at Aldred. "Why are you asking these questions?"


    "Isn''t it normal to ask these questions if we want to be friends?"


    "We aren''t friends. Never will. We only work together because of our goal. If it wasn''t for that fact, we would already try to kill each other."


    Aldred sighed. "The human and the elves in my world were at peace with each other. Actually, most races were at peace with each other."


    Ceeth burst intoughter before wiping the tears in her eyes.


    "I am serious. I am certain the humans and the elves in this gxy can also be friends."


    Ceethughter turned into gritted teeth as she stared sharply at him. "The hatred between humanity and the elven races stretched across several eras and centuries. Thousands of worlds and untold billions of individuals on both sides burned and killed. The grudge between us is so deep that it is considered natural to kill each other on sight."


    "But you didn''t kill me," Aldred said. You could''ve do it. You had many chances to do so."


    "I told you it''s because of our goal. Getting to Lord Malgorth is a higher priority than killing you."


    Aldred simply smiled. "Someday, I will unify this gxy and put peace upon this gxy."


    Ceeth and Elralya was in disbelief. The words that Aldred spoke was nothing but a mere daydream, but they were speechless because Aldred spoke with such calmness and assurance that he could certainly do it in the future.


    What kind of confidence was that? Where did he get it? Was it truly confidence or arrogance?


    "Why did you choose this life?" Aldred asked.


    "Huh?"


    "You could have be a simple civilians working far from danger. Instead, you be a warrior and charge at the danger head on. Is it power? Is it wealth? Status? Fame?"


    Back in Aldred''s world, almost all of the magicians were individualistic minded and only cared about their own. Every action was done to benefit oneself, to get stronger and more powerful.


    Ceeth frowned, seemingly irritated at the question, but inside, she thought deep about the question.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Ceeth," her mother weakly said atop the rubble of their homes as she looked at her daughter in the eyes. A smile shed on her bloody lips.


    Amidst chaos, screams and roars echoed as soldiers shed with charging enemies, gunfire and distant explosions creating a symphony of violence.


    Little Ceeth was crying as mother caressed her cheek despite the massive wound she suffered in her stomach.


    Soldiers marched past her and began firing towards the sky. Little Ceeth did not care. She only had her mother in mind.


    "Be strong, Ceeth. Be strong, so you wouldn''t have to suffer."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hello?" Aldred called. "Did you hear my question?"


    Ceeth returned to reality. She gave Aldred an annoyed look. "I have no obligation to tell you that."


    Right after those sentences, she stood up and left.


    Aldred bitterly smiled seeing her fuming and mming the door. ''Elves are quite sensitive, huh.''


    Elralya approached Aldred. "My turn to ask questions."


    "Ask away." Aldred was d she asked him a question. That meant she start to feelfortable around him.


    "The weapon you use the other day. Can I see it?"


    "Maybe not now. The weapon is currently unstable and it''s too dangerous if I summon it now."


    Aldred did not know what will happen if he summoned the Phantom Doomde. Currently, he could feel its hunger for flesh and souls. It was like a crazed hungry predators desperate for a feast.


    The aliens and the alien queen was enough to satisfy it for a day, if not for that, the Phantom Doomde might took his friends too.


    It was an extremely powerful de, but its drawback was it could be unstable sometimes. It was expected though as it contain millions of souls within it, and Aldred hadn''t even unlock its full potential yet.


    "You can''t really control it?" Elralya asked. "It makes sense actually. The power I feel from that weapon is not normal. It feels like it has the ability to consume everything."


    Elralya was actually spot on. Phantom Doomde was able to consume various magical weapons and even modern weapons to mimic their shapes and functions. In fact, it became even more powerful than the artifacts it consumed because it was powered by Aldred''s mana and the stats of the Phantom Doomde.


    It was Aldred''s trump card. Almost all of his victory were contributed by that de.


    "Now, for the more serious question." Elralya got even closer and stared at Aldred. "Are you really a human?"


    "I am," Aldred said.


    Elralya squinted her eyes. "I don''t think so. You are something else entirely. At the very least, you''re not pure human. Well, you''re not the first one."


    "There are impure humans?"


    "Of course, the super soldiers, the gically enhanced humans are actually an organism designed using various means to transform beyond human''s physical limitation. The humans used a lot of xenos and other DNAs to achieve this."


    "That''s¡­ interesting," Aldred said. "I still don''t know how powerful they are, but Smander seems to really admire them."


    "The super soldiers of your human race are one of the formidable key in the sess of your empire. They arerger, stronger, and faster than normal humans. Their bones are reinforced with a substance called ceramite, and their skin is augmented to resist various forms of damage. They have enhanced senses, exceptional reflexes, and rapid healing abilities, allowing them to survive injuries that would be fatal to a regr human."


    Aldred wasn''t impressed. On his, a lot of people had those kind of abilities.


    "Not only that, your Imperium provided the super soldiers with thetest tech possible. They wear power armor, technologically advanced exoskeletons that enhance their physical abilities even further. Power armor provides protection against ballistic, energy, and environmental threats. It also incorporates a ck Carapace, a neural interface that allows the wearer to directly interface with the armor, enhancing their reflexes and control."


    ''Hmm,'' Aldred feel like these super soldiers did not deserve the hype around them. The thing Elralya mentioned about these super soldiers were basically an average magicians or warriors on his. There were magical armor that had a variety of functions and abilities even more capable than the power armor.


    To be honest, Aldred felt like these super soldiers were just ordinary human with a better physique and equipments.


    That was all.


    The average opponents Aldred had fought in the past would match against these super soldiers for sure.


    That was his opinion, but he did not want to judge too quickly. The fact that they were so admired in this gxy must meant that they had something else.


    "Okay, so what about your race?" Aldred started. "I am sure your race also has its own super soldiers."


    Elralya nodded. "We have something called Aspect Warriors. These are elite troops trained in specific field such as closebat, ranged, and anti-armor specialist. They are more or less as capable as the super soldiers."


    "I see," Aldred nodding a couple of times, wondering what to say to continue the conversation.


    "To be honest, your race could have dominated the gxy entirely if not for the Steel Rebellion."


    "Steel Rebellion?"


    "You really are not from here," Elralya said. "The Steel Rebellion is basically known by everyone. It''s one of humanity''s greatest failure."


    "What is it exactly?"


    Elralya sighed. "The story is too long to exin. Maybe you should look it up."


    "I want to hear it from you, first," Aldred said. Getting a perspective from an elf could be more valuable than simply looking up for the information on the Gctic Net.


    "Fine," Elralya agreed. "I will exin it as simple and as short as I can. So basically, in the past, humanity actually hold much greater power of technology than the current era."


    She continued to exin the Steel Rebellion and as Aldred listened more and more, his countenance


    darkened.

 Chapter 625 Dark Truth

    625 Chapter 625 Dark Truth


    The Steel Rebellion was the downfall of humanity''s greatness after what they considered to be their strongest weapon and ally turned their back.


    To exin it simply, the Steel Rebellion was the age where all of humanity''s artificial intelligence malfunctioned and attacked their masters.


    At that time, Artificial Intelligence were used in every technology imaginable an had helped humanity from day to day activities or fighting an all-out-war.


    For decades humanity had depended on A.I. They never had considered a time in the future where they would stop using it. The created intelligence were so advanced and adaptive that an entire war cost humanity zero lives because their personnels were onlyprised of robots, mechas, and spaceships fully controlled by A.I.


    Without the need of food, morals, ethicals, and psychological interferences, the generals and the warmasters were able to create a grand strategy unlike ever before.


    Using these technologies, humanity cleansed through the gxies, defeating every oppositions that dared to challenge them.


    However, their technology backfired. Their most depended and strongest weapon, pointed its sword to the humans.


    The result was catastrophic. Humanity experienced significant technological regression. Many advanced technologies and knowledge were lost or forgotten, leading to a massive decline in scientific knowledge and understanding.


    This technology regression led to territory istion. With transportation andmunication technology all over the gxy became unusable thousands of worlds who depended on trades suffered great consequences. This was because some worlds were only designed to create weapons or to train massive armies, and thends on their were unable to grow crops. These types ofs must import food for survival.


    "So that''s why I did not see any fully automated machines," Aldred said.


    Since he arrived in this gxy, he realized that the technology here were far more advanced than Earth. So he imagined this gxy to be the future.


    And everyone basically predicted that everything will be done with A.I in the future. He thought it was weird that he did not see any A.I at all during his time here.


    Now he knew.


    It was not that people did not want to use A.I, they were terrified of it.


    ''Come to think about it, there are hundreds of movies with the theme of A.I betraying humanity. I guess those movies were right after all.''


    In the end, humanity could not depend on other, even on something they created. They had to be the one who held the steering wheel.


    They''d learned that lesson.


    ''But my golems and undead were fully under my control,'' Aldred thought. He hadn''t create any golems or undead in this gxy, because his power had not returned yet. Currently, he could only use his elemental magic with fire being the most prominent, but the magic in his eyes, and his physical prowess seem to return as time passed.


    Even the Phantom Doomde could be summoned.


    After talking for a while, Elralya decided to leave and rest in her own room.


    With everyone else leaving, Aldred had a time to think to himself.


    He learned a lot of stuff today about thendscape of the gxy. Still, he had so much more to learn. But now, he became a lot calmer because he began to understood the culture here.


    Most people here, not only human, put more efforts into war.


    All of their creative thinkers, philosophers, and artists were all put into contributing for battles. This culture set a problematic culture where animosity would definitely grow on every race.


    And Aldred wouldn''t be surprised if there were a lot of low-ss citizens in every race living in extreme poor condition.


    Curios of this, he checked the Gctic Net to look for any news about the low-ss people.


    There were none. Only news and narrative about supers, admirals, generals, soldiers, and heroes fighting demons, monsters, and xenos for the prosperity of the Imperium.


    Aldred frowned. He expected the situation to be bad, but not this bad. The media clearly hid the low-ss citizen from sight and only highlight the valor of the warriors.


    The hatred between races in this gxy did not stop not because the races did not want peace, but their government systematically growing animosity between their people.


    "Why?"


    That was the first question Aldred ask before he almost hit himself in the face for asking such a foolish question.


    The answer was obvious: Power.


    By creating an enemy, the government can reach out their hands to the citizen and pretend to be their allies. By showcasing the enemy, the citizens became distracted of the corruption of their government.


    "I bet those who had positions of power lived a life of excess and pleasure," Aldred said.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.


    "Mister Aldred. Are you in there?"


    "Yes, I am. Who are you?"


    "Mister, Baron Octavious Drakon Shoss Datt would like to meet you."


    "Let him i¡ª" Before Aldred could finish his sentence, a tall, slender man with sharp features abruptly entered his room.


    He dressed in extravagant, tailored garments, adorned with jewelry and symbols of his noble status. His eyes were cold and calcting. Even though on his face was a smile, Aldred did not feel that this man was friendly at all.


    "I have actually requested this meeting right after the xenorph queen was eliminated, but apparently some of your friends chase away my messengers. They said you''re not healthy enough to receive a guest."


    Lord Drakon stood beside the bed. "I hope you are now."


    "Thanks for worrying about me. My wounds are almost healed."


    The lordughed. "That is good. It is good that you happen to be in this ship. The guards are useless in eliminating the aliens. Even my own guards are killed because of their ipetence. And some even dare to refuse mymand in this situation."


    "What was yourmand?"


    "I told them to get me a bag of chocte milk down at the hallway. They used the aliens as an excuse to not execute my order. I call that insubordination, so I kill them with my own hands. But, do not worry. Their lives only cost a few gemstones at best."


    "What?" Aldred was confused. Nothing this man said made any sense.


    "Enough of me babbling. Aldred, Ie here to recruit you. I see you are a promising warrior that is worthy enough to work under me. I shall give you riches only unimaginable to poor people like you if you agree."


    "Come again?"


    "I don''t like to repeat myself. You should know that about me since it will be very important when you work under me."


    "Wait a minute. I don''t understand anything you said."


    Lord Drakon sighed. "I guess the aliens hit you in the head quite hard." He snapped his finger and a man handed the lord a piece of paper.


    "Sign this contract, and you will be working under me. Wealth, power, resources, and influence. I can give them all to you."


    "I don''t ask for this."


    Lord Drakon frowned. "You haven''t even read the contract yet."


    "I don''t need to. I have somewhere else to go."


    "Don''t be so quick in deciding your decision. I will leave. You read the contract. Later, my subordinate wille and confirm your agreement."


    Lord Drakon walked out of the door immediately after saying that statement.


    The subordinate bowed towards Aldred before closing the door.


    "What the fuck just happened?" Aldred was left speechless before he looked at the contract in his hand. "I can''t believe they still use paper. Whatever, let''s try reading it."


    Aldred read the contract and his eyes widened. "If you sign this contract you will be given 30,000 ves, 10 worlds, and you may pick 5 Octavious-House trained pleasure woman with you. The contract requires your life-long loyalty andmitment to Octavious'' interest and cause¡­"


    There were more absurds statements below, leaving Aldred dumbfounded. "This is madness. They openly offered me ves. Not just one or two, but thirty thousands of them. How can they do this?"


    Aldred tried to search the word very in the Gctic Net, but nothing appeared except some stories about how the xenos races enved and tortured the captured human.


    "This is too much. The government has the media fully under control. But still, how could they do very and offer an entire as offers? I have never seen a for ves before."


    The answer went inside his mind a secondter. It actually made perfect sense. The gxy was vast. Mindblowingly massive with each star had great distance over each other.


    reality of what was being offered to him sank in. The very idea of very, of treating fellow sentient beings as property, made his stomach churn. It was a reminder of the dark times Earth had once faced, a reminder of the Steel Rebellion, and how far humanity hade since then.


    The audacity of Baron Octavious Drakon Shoss Datt shocked him. It wasn''t just the contract; it was the entire culture that allowed such propositions to be made. The skewed moralpass of this society appalled him. For a moment, he wondered if he was the only one who saw the madness in this offer.

 Chapter 626 Please Help Me!

    626 Chapter 626 Please Help Me!


    The next day, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and everyone except Ceeth visited Aldred.


    "Where did you guys go?" Was the first question Aldred asked to them.They''d been gone for a few days.


    Smander and Shinari were silent at first, but Shinari decided to step forward and proudly looked at Aldred in the eye.


    Before this, she was always unsure when looking into his eyes. Aldred seemed so powerful to her as if his power had no limit. Aldred always had ways to surprise her.


    Every time she thought she understood the limit of his power, Aldred break beyond it.


    But today, she steeled herself to face him. "I refuse to be useless. We are in this journey together, and I want to contribute as best as I can!"


    "What are you talking about? Who said you are useless?" Aldred was genuinely confused. What happened?


    Hearing that, Shinari was a little embarrassed. In her mind, she always felt like everyone, especially Aldred, must have considered her useless. But in reality, that wasn''t true at all. He never said anything like that to her.


    Clenching her fists and holding the tears in her eyes, Shinari spoke from the deepest corner of her heart. "I envy you, Aldred. I want to be as powerful and as amazing as you. I spend the couple of days training and I will keep doing to reach your height."


    Aldred finally understood. He smiled. This wasn''t the first time he''d seen this seen. For a short moment, Aldred saw the faces of his wives on Shinari''s faces. They too always said that they were useless and that they wanted to be like him.


    ''Even in this gxy, emotions are still the same.'' Aldred chuckled.


    "Why are youughing?"


    "No. I am just moved by your determination." Aldred nodded. "Train hard. I am sure you will be much stronger in the future. I can see you have potential."


    Aldred''s statements made Shinari felt relieved. He then nced at Smander. "You must also spend your time studying and training. You look like youck some sleep hours."


    Smander was quite surprised. There was no dark spots around his eyes, so he wondered how Aldred could tell that.


    Aldred''s eyes had actually able to scan information from anything he put his sight on. Back on his he used this power to identify the weakness of his enemies and strike where it hurt the most.


    These eyes even had the ability to process reality much faster if he wanted it to, allowing him to see things in slow motion. However, the intensity of its power were not as good as before. Aldred was sure it would return to its peak state though.


    Cleome listened to their conversations and felt kinda left out. Both Smander and Shinari were so excited telling Aldred about their hard work, while she hadn''t do anything else yet.


    She felt like a fool. The xenomorph invasion should have opened her eyes like everyone else.


    She was angered. Angered towards herself for being so foolish. She could not just stay still while her friends were climbing to the top. She had to climb along with them.


    Elralya observed the situation in silence. She felt a fiery vibrations in the room. A vibration of determination and strength. For some reason, this vibration amplified the more Aldred listened to the conversation.


    "How did he do that?"


    "Anyway! Do you guys know who Lord Octavius Drakon is?"


    "Octavius Drakon? Did you mean the Baron?"


    "Yes, that one."


    "We''ve heard of him. Why?"


    "Tell me what you guys know about him."


    "Well, from what we''ve heard from the media. The Baron is a great noble man who uphold justice and honesty above all else. The worlds under his rule lived in great prosperity and wealth. I believe it is true since I worked on data analysis before and the worlds under Lord Drakon exported a lot of food, precious metals, medicine and many more."


    Suddenly, the door mmed open and a disheveled man nced at Aldred. His body was impoverished, with his skin almost revealing the bones underneath it.


    "Tell me which one of you is Aldred?"


    "Who are you?" Smander asked, wary of this man.


    "Answer my question!"


    "Hey! You can''t just barge in here and be rude!" Cleome red at him. She was angered that some stranger dared to act this rude towards Aldred who had saved her life.


    "Wait, everyone calm down." Aldred raised his hand to cool the situation. "I am Aldred. What do you need from me?"


    The stranger put his hand inside his pocket and rushed at Aldred.


    "Stop him! He''s hiding a weapon!"


    Smander and Shinari rushed towards the stranger.


    "Wait! Don''t attack him!" Aldred shouted and then the man grabbed Aldred''s hand before pulling his other hand out and revealed a picture of a family of three.


    "You have to help us! Please! Lord Aldred! I have heard of you. You have killed the alien queen and exterminate them all in a single slice. You have to help us!"


    Aldred nced at the locket nes and saw that it within the picture was the man with his wife and daughter.


    Aldred grabbed the man by the shoulder and looked at him in the eyes. "Exin to me. What happened to you?"


    "It''s the Lord," the man spoke in whispered voice. "The lord has brought us here. I don''t know what happened. I was distanced from my wife and daughter. But I know they''re here. I am sure of it. They were brought along with me and many other family. We don''t know where we will be brought. The lord promised us freedom, but all I see is darkness and cages. Please help us!" The man gagged and then screamed in pain as he rolled around on the floor with veins bulging on his skin.


    Aldred''s eyes activated and saw that a poison was active in the man''s veins. "He''s poisoned!"


    Aldred threw his nked away and jumped from his bed before holding the man down.


    "AHHH! H¡ªH¡ªHelp me!"


    Smander helped in pinning the man down and that was when Aldred began to work.


    Aldred''s eyes glowed with determination as he focused his powers on the man before him. He extended his hand, fingers trembling with the effort of concentration. With his control over blood maniption, he delved into the man''s bloodstream, seeking out the foreign poison that was rapidly


    spreading.


    The poison was insidious, weaving its way through the man''s veins like a dark river, contaminating everything it touched.


    Aldred felt a pang of urgency as he realized the gravity of the situation. Every second counted; the poison was aggressive, its effects worsening with each passing moment.


    Smander held the man still, his grip firm yet gentle, trying his best to keep the stranger calm amidst his agonizing pain.


    Shinari and Cleome watched in silent horror, their eyes wide with fear for the man''s life.


    Aldred''s mind raced, recalling every piece of knowledge he had about poisons and antidotes.


    He focused on isting the poison, his mental faculties working in overdrive.


    Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he struggled to maintain his concentration. The room seemed to fade away, leaving only Aldred and the man, locked in a desperate battle against time.


    In the man''s bloodstream, Aldred identified the specific toxins and their effects on the body.


    He visualized them, seeing their molecr structures and understanding how they disrupted the natural flow of blood and vital energy. With painstaking precision, he began to neutralize the poison, his power working to counteract its deadly effects.


    Aldred battled the poison fiercely, but it fought back, evolving against his every attempt to neutralize it. It resisted with a vicious determination, pushing Aldred to his limits.


    With steely resolve, Aldred delved deep into the poison''s core, tapping into its malicious essence. Understanding its destructive intent, he harnessed this knowledge, using it to his advantage. Channeling his immense willpower, he shattered the poison''s cohesion, throwing its very essence into chaos.


    The man''s agonized cries intensified, echoing the internal battle. Aldred empathized deeply, realizing the weight of his task. Failure meant not just one life, but the fate of an entire family rested on his shoulders.


    Drawing on his inner reservoir of strength, Aldred pushed himself further. Beads of blood formed on his palm as he exerted himself, his power mingling with the man''s bloodstream. Slowly, but steadily, the poison began to lose its potency. Its effects weakened, the man''s convulsions subsiding as relief washed over him.


    Aldred''s breathing was heavy, his entire body drenched in sweat from the exertion.


    He withdrew his hand, the glow fading from his eyes as he copsed onto the floor, utterly drained.


    The many still for a moment, his breathingbored but steady. Then, to everyone''s immense relief, he let out a shuddering breath and opened his eyes, rity returning to his gaze.


    "You... You saved me," he whispered, his voice filled with gratitude and awe, but the man was still weak.


    Aldred managed a weak smile, his own voice hoarse. "Just doing what I can. You should be alright now, but you need to rest."


    The man nodded and then felt asleep immediately.


    Aldred took in a deep breath and stood up.


    "Just what the hell happened?" Smander asked.


    "I need to tell you guys something," Aldred said.

 Chapter 627 627 The Eclipse

    Chapter 627  627 The Eclipse


    "Lord Drakon actually came here yesterday," Aldred said.


    "What?" Everyone was shocked. Why would a noble-ss individual visit Aldred?


    "What did he want?" Smander asked.


    "Me," Aldred said before revealing a piece of paper.


    Cleome widened his eyes in shock when she saw that piece of paper. "This¡­ I''ve seen this kind of paper before when themander sign it, everything on the changed, like billions of credits worth of equipment kepting in for years the day after the agreement.


    Since that day, Cleome had never seen a piece of paper like this anymore. Paper were rarely used for official administration anymore since it was inefficient.


    "From what I have read," Smander started. "This kind of paper is only used for massive transactions or agreements that put a world or multiple worlds at stake. Millions of lives could be affected."


    Aldred nodded. "I can see that. Elralya, why is your face pale?"


    Elralya''s body was frozen still while her eyes locked at the paper. She did not respond as if she was a statue. A secondter, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.


    Shinari caught her before she hit the floor. "What happened to her? Her breathing slowed down!"


    Smander sighed. "I didn''t expect her reaction to be that severe."


    "Do you know anything about this?" Aldred asked.


    "Actually, the only official paper used by the Imperium is crafted using the skin of elves."


    Aldred''s eyes widened in shock. No wonder they thought it was so normal to kill each other. Using the skin of another races for a piece of paper was very simr to how the human on Earth killed bear or lion and used their skin as a rug.


    He finally understood their true perspective. Both sides thought each other as animals.


    The brutality of such thought dawned upon him.


    If Aldred wanted peace among the two races, he would have to erase decades of animosity.That was nothing except an impossible task.


    "The hatred on the elves aren''t that strong in this corner of the gxy," Smander said. "If not for that, it wouldn''t take long for you to see the atrocities both sides did to each other."


    "Why is the hatred not so strong around here?"


    "The elves'' territories are far from here. Most worlds here fought against demons, and one of the big yer is Lord Malgorth."


    Aldred still not understood much about the gctdscape of this gxy. He was thankful that Smander was so knowledgeable and could teach him stuff.


    "How do you know all this?" Aldred asked.


    Shinari stepped forward and answered for him. "Smander has always been the most knowledgeable in our team. While we focus on training, he learned things like science, politics, war, and strategy. I don''t really like to read about that kind of stuff before, but I am starting to take interest."


    She did not know that those knowledge would be useful at all in the future. Shinari thought Smander was wasting time by reading about those things.


    "The material this piece of paper made out of is shocking, but I want you to read its content." Aldred showed them the text.


    Smander grabbed it and took a closer look. When he read the first paragraph, he was so in disbelief he decided to reread a couple of times until he was sure. "This¡­ I don''t know if this is a good thing or not."


    "What is it?" Cleome grabbed the paper and read it with Shinari.


    After a few minutes, they finally understood the situation.


    "What should we do?" Aldred asked. "To be honest with you guys, I really don''t like this Drakon guy, but the contract he offered is very enticing. If we ept it, we would get a massive head start. The wealth and riches of 10 worlds will be in our hands in an instant. Imagine how many armies and battleships we could build with that."


    "But very¡­ I didn''t know we still had very in this age¡­" Cleome was in disbelief. How could the Imperium let this happen. Not just anyone, but a noble of the Imperium tantly offered Aldred over 30,000 ves to entice him to sign this contract.


    The noble treated another human being like objects or animals. Just like how other races treated them¡­


    Cleome''s knees weakened and she fell to the floor still in disbelief. The greatness of the Imperium, the mighty power and resilience of its people shattered in her mind. Now it was filled with distrust and paranoia.


    Everything she heard and saw in the Gctic Net was a lie. A great lie!


    "I''ve already expected this," Smander said. "I should have told you about it sooner."


    "You know there are human ves?" Cleome asked.


    Smander nodded. "I have studied the history texts of human kind from the prehistoric era. And if I have to conclude humankind in the shortest way possible is: human aren''t that nice, even to each other."


    Sighing, Smander continued: "Even since ancient times, people in the position of power always tried to control the opinion of the masses by withholding or manipting information. So, I am not surprised. History always repeat itself. It is a curse that no matter how powerful and advanced human have be, they will never able to break free of it."


    "In that case, I will be the one who break that curse, starting by killing the baron!" Cleome stood up and was about to rush outside until Smander grabbed his hand.


    "That''s suicide."


    Cleome intensely looked at him in the eye. "Aren''t we warriors? If my death can save over 30,000 people won''t my demise be honored?"


    "Killing that baron is like recing a stone with another stone. Every noble figure has a group of family and dozens if not hundreds of candidates ready to rece them. Killing one usually result in a much more bigger problem."


    Cleome gritted her teeth. "Why is the Emperor let this happen? Isn''t he watching over us. Isn''t he suppose to protect us?"


    Smander patted her on the shoulder. "Even the gods have limit."


    "So what should we do?" Aldred asked.


    They all went silent. None of them knew what to do in this situation. epting the contract would earn them incredible wealth, but that also meant working for a tyrant that tantly treated humans like objects.


    Suddenly, the strange man gasped in shock as he woke up from hisa.


    "You wake up," Aldred said.


    Shinari handed him a ss of water. "Drink this. You need."


    The stranger consumed the ss of water in a single gulp before he put the ss down and intently stared at them.


    "I need your help, mister Aldred." The strange man spoke with much better rity now as if his mind had cleared.


    "Is your family among the ves?"


    The man nodded. "But, I wouldn''t ask for help if it just merely about my family."


    Aldred was quite surprised. What could be much more important than a man''s own family? "Are you thinking about your friends?"


    The man shook his head. "Not just that. It is something much bigger. If you do not solve this issue, it will be a massive catastrophe that might even affect entire star cluster."


    Frowning, Aldred asked what kind of problem would affect such a massive area. "What is it?"


    "The Eclipse," the stranger said, stressing thest word.


    Aldred did not understand the meaning, but then Smander gasped in shock.


    "Impossible." Smander trembled. "Are you certain about this?"


    The stranger nodded. "I am certain. No one else would believe my words, but that is exactly what the Eclipse is about."


    "What is it? I don''t understand." Aldred didn''t know what they were talking about.


    "The Eclipse is a catastrophic event caused by the Xenomorph. In summary, it is a full invasion of a."


    "Just like the Abyssal Onught?"


    "Yes, but this is much more dangerous and deadlier than that. In fact, the Abyssal Onught paled inparison. Usually, once the government noticed about the Eclipse it''s toote to save the."


    "Just what is it exactly? Exin it to me."


    "Me too. I want to know," Cleome said.


    Smander pressed a bunch of buttons on hisms and projected a screen of a.


    "I am sure all of you know how Abyssal Onught works. The demons directed massive amount of demonic energy towards a, turning thousands of human into possessed maniac that killed each other, creating chaos within societies before deploying their armies."


    They all nodded as they watched the demons pouring down on the from the battleships.


    "The Eclipse worked a little differently, but the difference changed everything."


    The screen changed into another without chaos.


    "After the Xenomorph infiltration a few days ago, I am sure you all know that Xenomorph can transform into human."


    Nodding, Aldredmented: "But their presence can still be detected. Their disguise are not perfect."


    "That''s correct, but in this case, they are perfect."


    Smander pressed hisms one more time before hundreds of thousands of human suddenly turned into vicious Xenomorph and started to kill each other and destroyed facilities.


    A mother that was kissing her baby suddenly grew sharp hideous ws and shredded her own baby to shreds.


    A man who was all smile while attending to his girlfriend during dinner suddenlyshed out with spiky tongue that prated the girl''s throat.


    This kind of scenes repeated all over the, with almost half of humanity turned into monsters and killed every human in sight.


    Helicopters, nes suddenly crashed and exploded all over the. Electricity shut down almost immediately and monsters roamed all over the, roaring into the sky.


    A particr Xenomorph stood at the highest point of the with the other aliens seemingly consider him as their leader.


    Its head pulsated with strange light as it stared towards the sky, and then suddenly, light of the sun was covered.


    The entire slowly engulfed in darkness as Enormous bio-organic ships, shaped like monstrous insects, emerge from the darkness between stars. Their hulls glisten with an oily sheen, and a palpable sense of dread emanates from their very presence. Thousands of bioforms, from the agile and deadly Hive Tyrants to the countless rippling Gaunts, stir within the gargantuan vessels.


    Smander turned off the screen. "And that event is called the Eclipse."

 Chapter 628 628 Offer I Cannot Refuse

    Chapter 628  628 Offer I Cannot Refuse


    Everyone was shock-stricken after watching Smander''s presentation about the Eclipse.


    Even Aldred was shocked. Even though he had seen many things after his reincarnation, he had never seen something like that before. That was an extremely intelligent way to infiltrate and took over an entire. The human wouldn''t have expected it at all.


    Which made it even more terrifying.


    "What are the signs of the Eclipse?" Aldred asked.


    "The signs are very subtle," the strange man said. "You wouldn''t notice it if you don''t see it yourself, and even if I point out these things, people wouldn''t believe me."


    "How did you know all this?" Smander asked. "Based on my knowledge, this kind of information won''t be avable to you."


    "I was a schr before I am turned into a ve." Somehow the word ''schr'' was stressed more than the others although there was a sense of doubt in his eyes.


    "What''s your name?" Aldred asked.


    "Shuzib Chanar. That is my name."


    "First of all, we need to rescue your family."


    Shuzib nodded. "You can save them by saving the entire. They are currently located on Quintesa. Fortunately, that''s where we are headed right now."


    Aldred wore a difficult expression before he nced towards his friends. "I am going to be honest, I don''t think we have enough firepower to stop an Eclipse. If what Smander showed me earlier is truly how an Eclipse work, then there is nothing a group of 6 poor mercenaries could do."


    "We''re actually not poor anymore," Shinarimented.


    "A few shiny gear doesn''t mean we''re rich. We are not at the level where we could neutralize such threat."


    Aldred was sympathetic to the people, but he did not want to y hero if he did not have the power to back it up. The presentation of the Eclipse was a literal nightmare. More than half of the poption became a monster, in that situation, he wouldn''t know who to trust.


    There was a chance that even Shuzib''s families were monsters.


    If an entire society failed to realize what was wrong for generations, then that meant the xenomorph infiltration technique was just that good.


    This wasn''t a problem he could handle right now.


    "But, Aldred. You said our primary purpose is to help humanity," Smander said. "Isn''t that our reason to set out for this journey? There are human in need of our help."


    "I would like to keep living so I can help more people in the future," Aldred retorted. "This is something we should report to the authority."


    Aldred could not believe what just came out of his mouth. Now that he knew about the Baron, he wouldn''t put the slightest trust in the government, but now he directly proposed such idea.


    The statement left a bad taste on his tongue.


    "What if I offered you this?" Shuzib took something out of his pocket. It was a piece of paper with alien glyphs.


    "What is this?"


    "The guide that you are searching for."


    "What do you mean?"


    "This year is the year when Chronicles of Ascendria appeared. Didn''t youe in this ship to look for it?"


    Aldred frowned. "What kind of schr are you?"


    This man was able to predict that he was going to look for Ascendria. That meant that this phenomenon urred before and people were looking for it.


    "That transcript are the coordinates for Ascendria."


    "You''re willingly give me this just like that?"


    "Yes, but I know none of you can read it. Almost no one can. Except me."


    Aldred started to see the situation better. He cracked a smile and then burst intoughter. "Alright. Seems like you''re not just a helpless beggar."


    Aldred stood up. "What can you offer me?"


    "An expert schr in a variety of field, but mostly archeology. I have the ancient knowledge that will help you in your search, and it is all inside my head. Finding Ascendria wouldn''t be easy. It''s not just a ce, it''s a concept, an idea, an ideology. You can''t simply go to a ce and find it as it is not even bound by space or time. Trying to find is like finding mercy in the heart of a demon."


    "So, you will be our guide?"


    Shuzib nodded.


    Aldred sighed. "I am not sure about this, but this isn''t an offer I can reject. What do you guys think?"


    Smander and everyone else smiled.


    "You know what we''re about to say, Aldred."


    "I know. But we need help. We cannot do this alone."


    "Easy. I know someone who can help us. In fact, he''s been listening to our conversation."


    A screen projected out of Smander''sms and revealed Captain-Commander Gaius Vallon.


    That was the person who fought the demons in Destia Primena before the demons ambushed and destroyed his ships. He somehow survived the attack and helped the defend itself against the demons.


    As usual, Gaius Vallon wore a serious, weathered face with the reality of war and countless battles marked on it. However, his close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and steely blue eyes exuded an air of authority and hope. He wore a meticulous, custom-fitted naval uniform adorned with variousmendations of the Imperial Navy.


    "Commander!" Everyone saluted except Aldred. He wasn''t a soldier or subordinates of the Imperial.


    Themander noticed that. "I have heard of your feats during your journey, Aldred. To be honest, I am fairly surprised at your untimely absence, but Destia Primena has increased its defense and more supers are entering this, so none of you have to worry about anything."


    "What did you hear?" Aldred asked.


    "I''ve heard a lot, especially about your sess in destroying Destroyer-ss spaceship and an ork hidden base. I''ve even watched the recording of you fighting against the Big Mek."


    While Aldred was silent, Shuzib was shocked as he stood on the side. Destroying Destroyer-ss battleship? Fighting against Big Mek? Just how powerful was this man truly?


    "Enough about me," Aldred said. "How can you help us to prevent the Eclipse?"


    "There''s nothing you can do."


    Smander stepped forward, dissatisfied of the answer. "Captain, I am sure we can do something. Millions of lives are at stake."


    "Billions," the captain corrected. "But that still doesn''t change the situation. I am the Commander of the Gctic Sentinel, and my armada has been upgraded, but if I want to move my armada, I would have to have enough reason to do so, especially if the location is beyond this ster cluster."


    Everyone stopped and put the time to think. This was a hard situation and require a lot of thinking to find a solution.


    "I know what to do," Shuzib said. "In order to activate the Eclipse, the xenos need to do a ritual that require a coordination of the entire xenos in the. If we can trigger that ritual prematurely, all the xenos will reveal itself, and then that''s where youe, Commander."


    The Commander was silent for a few seconds before he slightly nodded. "I will prepare my army."


    The screen vanished.


    Aldred sighed. "I thought I would have a few days of vacation, but yet again, another world to save. Before I start to think and get stressed, someone bring me lots of drinks and sweets please. I want to eat until I get fat."


    Aldred missed his. Back then, he would have thousands of beautiful servants serving him and entertaining him. Now, he became a poor man too busy saving lives.


    ''Haish, is this the karma I got for killing too many people?''


    Aldred''s attempt at humor lightened the mood, and Shinari and Cleome immediately rushed off to fetch an assortment of sweets and drinks. While they were gone, Smander, Elralya, and Shuzib engaged in a serious discussion about how to trigger the premature activation of the Eclipse ritual.


    "The xenos are cunning, and they have likely taken precautions against such interference," Smander said, his brow furrowed in thought.


    "I have read ancient texts mentioning specific rituals tied to the Eclipse," Shuzib interjected. "We could study these texts and find a loophole, a weakness in their ceremony that we can exploit."


    Elralya, always perceptive, chimed in, "We also need to consider the xenos'' motivations. Why are they initiating the Eclipse on this? Understanding their purpose might give us clues on how to disrupt their ns."


    "I have studied a lot of things, but ancient texts are not one of them," Smander said with regret.


    As they delved deeper into their discussion, Shinari and Cleome returned,den with an assortment of colorful sweets, exotic fruits, and various beverages. The room was soon filled with the aroma of sugary delights.


    Aldred, momentarily distracted from their serious conversation, couldn''t help but smile. "Ah, the sweet taste of distraction. Thank you, my lovely assistants."


    Shuzib, sensing the need for a break, suggested, "Let''s take a moment to refresh ourselves. We can resume our discussion with renewed focus after indulging in these treats."


    As they enjoyed the sweets and drinks, Aldred contemted the situation. The weight of the impending threat hung over them like a dark cloud. Despite his earlier reluctance, he knew he couldn''t turn his back on the people of Quintesa. The idea of billions of lives being at risk stirred a determination within him.


    He knew he got the power to save them.


    Aldred looked at his hands, clenching it. ''Maybe the gods gifted me this power for this kind of moment.''

 Chapter 629 629 The Plan Unfolds

    Chapter 629  629 The n Unfolds


    Aldred''s bedroom became an emergency meeting room as they gathered around a holographic disy where Shuzib was tranting the ancient texts word by word. The trantion revealed the crucial details about the Eclipse ritual.


    The atmosphere became tense as they read the trantion and horrifying details.


    "In order to activate the Eclipse, the Xenos must create a Xenorph Patriarch, and only then could they call out for the Xenomorph Fleet. But the creation of a Patriarch require a lot of sacrifice, especially human babies. It will take them a long time to summon a patriarch while hiding from detection," Shuzib said, fixing his sses.


    He now wore a proper schr attire with a golden frame sses and connected to a thin ropes that hang around his neck.


    "So what is our n?" Aldred asked.


    "Our n is to fake the creation of a patriarch and pretend to activate the Eclipse. When it begin, the Xenomorph will reveal itself prematurely. That''s when we Captain Gaius Vallon swoop in and reinforce us."


    Smander frowned. "That''s too simple. I am sure there are challenges in executing this n."


    Shuzib nodded. "Our biggest challenge is mimicking the patriarch of a Xenomorph. I have never seen one in my life before."


    "Then how do we do it?"


    Shuzib grabbed another paper which surprised everyone as paper were quite rare. Thankfully, this one wasn''t made with elven skin so Elralya did not pass out again.


    "Written here is a detailed glyphs of the rituals along with its phic symbols written down to the shape of tongue and the level of stress required for each word, sybles, consonant, and vowels."


    "We need to study this?"


    "Not all of us. I need one super to study this. The patriarch release some kind of immaterial wave when it tried to call the Eclipse. This is quite simr to when super used their power, but super usually release this wave in low frequency. I need someone with a stronger super ability."


    They all looked at Aldred.


    Shuzib nced at him too. "I''ve heard of your power. You are the one who defeated the alien queen."


    Aldred knew that he was left with no choice. It was a fact that the he had the strongest magical ability in this team.


    "Alright," Aldred said, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. "I''ll study the glyphs and master the pronunciation. We don''t have time to waste. Every second counts."


    With that, the group sprang into action. Shuzib handed Aldred the paper with the intricate glyphs, his fingers tracing the lines of the ancientnguage. The room was silent, save for the asional rustle of paper and the scratching of Aldred''s pen as he painstakingly copied down the symbols.


    As Aldred and Shuzib studied the alien texts, Smander invited everyone to leave the room.


    "We don''t want to disrupt his study," Smander said. "Instead of staying in the room, all of us should train and prepare ourself for the battle ahead. I am going to transfer you 50k Gctic Credits each."


    Shinari was surprised when she really received the credit. "Where did you get this money?"


    "The captain of this ship rewarded us a lot of money for fighting against the alien."


    "How much do we got?"


    "Enough to get a Corvette-ss ship."


    "You didn''t tell Aldred about this?"


    "Maybeter. If he know about this, he will tell us to buy the ship. For now, I will use it to build something."


    "What are you going to build?"


    "I will show you when it''s done. For now, keep it a secret."


    Smander left and entered his workshop as he began to work. There were a lot of mess in the workshop and dozens ofputer still on, revealing thousands of text regarding biology, technology, and dimensional wave.


    "This has to be worth it or Aldred will get really mad at me for spending a lot of money."


    For the next days, Smander never left his room as the sound of nging, banging, and tinkering reverberated.


    Meanwhile, Shinari was sweating in the training room. A screen projected on the wall, revealing that he had trained for 34 hours straight without resting.


    The robot dummies were cleaned and a new set of dummies entered the room.


    Shinari punched forward, and a shadow with the form of her fist lunged towards the dummies, shattering them into pieces.


    She then rushed forward with incredible speed, like a cheetah at full speed while maneuvering left and right.


    The dummies'' low-level sensor failed to read her movements, causing their attacks to miss their marks.


    Shinari was shing forward, but the dummies behind here were cut in half as well. For a split second, an ethereal image of her would appear in other ce, swiftly attacking the dummies before vanishing.


    In less than 2 seconds, all twelve dummies were destroyed.


    Shinari smiled. "I am getting closer to Aldred''s cloning abilities. I can do this!"


    Not only Shinari, Cleome was determined to train too. She boarded a small spacecraft to leave the cruise ship andnded on a gravity bound asteroid.


    Large spaceships sometimes would use their grav-rope to pull an asteroid along with them in order to mine its materials or fuel. They will then use this materials either to repair the ship or sell it to nearby station. The fuel could be used for further journey, so they didn''t have to buy fuel.


    Massive ships required a vast amount of resources to operate. Without this function, the cruise ship would require an excessive amount of cost to run.


    However, grav-rope engine require a lot of space, so a lot of military battleships still refuse to use them and instead add more energy cannons to the ship.


    Huge military battleships were usually apanied by smaller auxiliary ships, and they could extract materials from nearby asteroids. Besides, the military ships were funded by the government, so cost were out of the question.


    Cleome arrived on the asteroid with her full gear.


    "Madam, are you sure you want to train in this ce?" The pilot asked. "This ce is not safe. Although the asteroid is being pulled by the grav-rope machine, there is a chance that the machine can malfunction."


    "Yes, leave this ce immediately and don''t return until I told you to."


    The pilot smiled bitterly when Cleome ignored his warning.


    When the spacecraft left the asteroid, Cleome looked at the barrennd in front of her. The mining robots were on the other side of the asteroid, so she could train here without worry.


    "Let me see my limit." Cleome''s eyes shone with lightning as electricity coursed through her body.


    As Cleome focused her energy, lightning crackled around her, illuminating the asteroid''s barren surface. With a deep breath, she sprinted forward, her movements precise and calcted. Her agility and speed were awe-inspiring, a testament to her dedication to mastering her powers.


    She leaped high into the air, performing a series of flips and twists beforending gracefully on a rock formation. From there, sheunched herself again, her body enveloped in electric energy. She moved with such fluidity and grace that it seemed like she was dancing with the elements themselves.


    Meanwhile, in Aldred''s makeshift study, he and Shuzib continued their intense study of the ancient glyphs. Aldred''s eyes were focused, his concentration unwavering. He repeated the ritualistic words, trying to mimic the resonance and power of the Xenomorph Patriarch''s immaterial wave.


    Shuzib observed Aldred closely, noting the nuances of his pronunciation and the way his magical aura responded to the words. "Your control over your power is impressive," Shuzibmented. "But we need to make sure it matches the exact frequency and intensity required by the ritual."


    Shuzib was truly impressed. He didn''t expect Aldred to learn so quickly.


    Aldred nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. He delved deeper into his magical abilities, pushing his limits to match the ancient power described in the glyphs.


    Smander was putting the Gctic Credits to good use. Inside his workshop, a magnificent creation was taking shape. It was a device of intricate design, a fusion of advanced technology and mystical elements. Smander''s hands moved with expertise as he calibrated the device, ensuring its precision and effectiveness.


    "This should do the trick," Smander muttered to himself, his eyes alight with determination. He had crafted a device capable of amplifying Aldred''s power to the level required for the ritual.


    Back on the asteroid, Cleome continued her training, pushing her abilities to the limit. Electricity surged around her, forming a protective aura. With a focused mind and unwavering determination, she increased the intensity of her electric attacks.


    The mining robots, usually silent and methodical, paused in their work, their sensors detecting the extraordinary energy emanating from Cleome.


    They thought it was a threat at first, but themand center confirmed that Cleome was an ally, so the robots continued their work.


    Weeks passed, and Aldred, Cleome, and Smander honed their abilities, each in their own way. Their determination was unyielding, fueled by the knowledge that Quintesa''s fate rested on their shoulders.


    As the day turned into night, the team reconvened in Aldred''s room turned war room. Aldred''s eyes shone with newfound power, Cleome crackled with electric energy, and Smander held the newly crafted device in his hands.


    Aldred could see that that his friends had reborn anew thesest few weeks.


    "We''re ready," Aldred said, his voice filled with confidence. "Let''s lure out the Xenomorphs and save Quintesa."

 Chapter 630 630 The Planet

    Chapter 630  630 The


    The cruise ships had sailed for more than a week and now they had arrived at the peaceful of Quintesa. The people looked out of the window and cheered in excitement, not knowing the hidden danger under the veil.


    The sailors and the security guards were also relieved. Only, Shuzib and Aldred''s circle of friends knew about this matter. This was also to their advantage because they did not want to spread panic.


    After the cruise ship docked on the space station, Aldred and his team quickly exited the ship. But, an officer stopped them.


    "Thank you for your help during the alien infiltration. Without you, there will be so much more casualties."


    "I am just doing my job." Aldred patted the man on the shoulder.


    ''But my job is not done yet,'' Aldred thought to himself. There were a lot more things to get done, and it had to be done or else billions of lives on this will die.


    As they went down the space elevator and reached the surface of the, Aldred asked. "What is our first step?"


    "First, we need to find powerful xenomorph."


    "For what?"


    "We need to kill them and smear their blood on you. This won''t work unless you give out the aura of a xenomorph. A Xenos Patriach has a powerful stench of more than a thousand Xenomorph, naturally, you have to have this stench as well."


    "So I have to walk around with alien blood on my face?"


    "No. You can wash off the blood, but the stench will stay on you for a week or two. That also means that you we need to find and kill a lot of xenomorph in a short amount of time."


    "How the heck can we find these xenomorph? For all I know, even a family member wouldn''t know that their spouse is an alien."


    Smander then revealed his device. "Actually, I havr created a purpose exactly for this purpose. I have spent thest few weeks to study the alien biology and standard human biology to determine even a slight difference in DNA. This device can do that for us."


    "Oh, wow! I don''t know we can use tools to do that."


    Even Shuzib was surprised. "How did you create it? A device like that is extremely expensive."


    Aldred was curios as well.


    "Okay, I will tell you the truth. Actually, I have spend over 500k Gctic Credit for this."


    "What!" Aldred was shocked. With that much money, they could have bought a stronger battleship andplete more mission effectively. "Where did you get the money?"


    "The captain of the cruise ship gave the Credit as a reward for your contribution in fighting against the aliens."


    Aldred was speechless. He forgot that he could''ve asked for a reward because he was too focused on so many things. First, was the arrogant baron who approached him, Shuzib begging him for help, and the xenos problem who could infiltrate an entire society.


    "So-so how much Credit do we have left?"


    "Uhh, zero."


    Aldred wanted to cry but he gritted his teeth and hold it. He nodded. "Okay, that''s fine. Are you sure the device is working?"


    "I am not sure until I test it on real situation."


    Aldred sighed.


    "It''s fine," Shuzib said. "Let''s start in ces with less people first."


    All of them then moved to a housing area where there were not much crowds of people.


    "I will try it now." Smander activated his device.


    As Smander activated his device, a soft hum filled the air. The device''s screen flickered to life, disying aplex array of gic data. Smander carefully adjusted the settings, focusing the device on a nearby residential building.


    Suddenly, the light on the device flickered and it slowly turned off.


    "Fuck! 500k Gctic Credit down the drain!" Aldred wanted to gouge his own eyeballs out.


    But the device flickered to life again which made him feel relieved.


    Aldred, Shuzib, Cleome, Shinari, and Elralya watched in anticipation as the device scanned the building''s structure. After a few moments, the screen disyed a list of upants, their gic profiles highlighted in different colors. Smander pointed to a specific unit on the screen.


    "There," he said, his voice low. "That apartment has abnormal gic signatures. It''s likely a xenomorph hiding among the residents."


    Aldred nodded, his determination burning brightly. "Let''s go. We can''t waste any time."


    The group stealthily approached the apartment, their senses on high alert. Aldred, in particr, focused on his magical abilities, ready to defend himself and his friends at a moment''s notice. They reached the door, and Smander activated the device again. The device showed data, confirming the presence of the xenomorph within.


    Suddenly, a man appeared, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. When he saw the group, he was shocked and covered himself. "Who are you! What are you doing in my property!"


    "Is this really a xenomorph?" Aldred asked.


    "The readings confirmed it."


    "I don''t want to kill someone by mistake."


    "Kill? Are you nning to kill me? Murderers? Robbers? What are you people? If money is what you want just take everything. Just don''t harm me."


    The man trembled in fear, anxiety stered all over his face. Nothing abous his attitudes indicate that he was a xenomorph.


    "Aldred, read this." Shuzib showed him a piece of paper. It was a transcription of the alien glyphs.


    Aldred focused his attention on the intricate glyphs before him, his eyes scanning the alien symbols. As he read the foreign characters, he felt a peculiar resonance, as if thenguage had a strange connection with his very being. The glyphs seemed toe alive, forming meaning in his mind, and he began to speak in the ancient, melodic tones of the xenomorphnguage.


    "Zar''keth mirunth, shan''dor xenos," Aldred intoned, his voice resonating with a mystical cadence. The man before him stared in astonishment, realizing that Aldred was speaking thenguage of the xenomorphs, a tongue no human had ever mastered before.


    The man''s trembling ceased, reced by a mix of confusion and curiosity. "What... what did you say?" He wanted to make sure he heard it right.


    Aldred continued, his voice gaining confidence as he recited the words from the paper. The aliennguage flowed through him, resonating with a power that seemed toe from the depths of the cosmos. His friends watched in awe, recognizing the gravity of this moment.


    As Aldred spoke, the atmosphere in the room changed. The air seemed to shimmer, and a faint, ethereal glow surrounded him. The man''s expression shifted from fear to awe, his eyes widening in understanding.


    "You... you''re the chosen one," the man whispered, his voice filled with reverence. "The one who canmunicate with the ancient Xenos. I never thought I''d live to witness this day."


    "I have a task for you," Aldred said. "We are ready to call the Eclipse. Bring me to where our kind gathers."


    The man knelt with one knee. "Yes, master."


    The man immedialye changed to a proper clothes. "Follow me."


    The man, now recognizing Aldred as the master of the xenomorphnguage, led the group through winding alleys and hidden passageways to a secluded location on Quintesa. As they approached, they could hear chanting and the faint flickering of torchlight.


    They entered a cavernous chamber adorned with alien symbols and strange artifacts. In the center, a group of hooded figures surrounded an altar, their voices resonating with eerie hymns in the xenomorph tongue. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation, and a sense of dark ritual hung in the air.


    Everyone was silent, still not believing it would be so easy to find the xenomorph cult.


    Aldred, his friends, and the man stood at the entrance, observing the scene before them. The hooded figures, clearly part of a xenomorph cult, were unaware of their presence.


    "What''s our next step?" Aldred whispered to Shuzib.


    "Well, now we need to gather as much Xenomorph as possible and then kill them all," Shuzib whispered back.


    The man that guide them here stopped and turned around. "Master, please wait here."


    The man approached a hooded figure and talked using aliennguage in hushed tone. After a few minutes, the man returned back to Aldred.


    "Master, there will be a grant ceremony tomorrow. For the moment, why don''t you stay in one of our room."


    "That is fine." Aldred nodded.


    Aldred and hispanions were led to a chamber within the cult''splex. The room, adorned with intricate xenomorph glyphs, emanated an otherworldly aura. Despite the eeriness of their surroundings, the group decided to stay vignt, realizing that they were in the heart of the xenomorph cult''s activities.


    As they settled into the chamber, Aldred turned to his friends. "We must remain cautious. This cult''s ceremonies might hold the key to understanding the xenomorphs and their ns. We need to gather as much information as possible without arousing suspicion."


    Shuzib nodded in agreement. "I''ll try to blend in, observe their rituals, and gather intel discreetly. We should also keep an eye out for any signs of the Eclipse, the event they mentioned."


    "I agree. But for now, let''s all take it slow and low," Aldred said.

 Chapter 631 631 Chosen One

    Chapter 631  631 Chosen One


    The next day, Aldred and the others were gathered in a dining room.


    The dining room in the secret hideout of the Xenos cult was an opulent chamber, hidden deep within thebyrinthine catbs of this base. The walls were adorned with ancient xenomorph tapestries, depicting scenes of cosmic battles and mythical creatures. Illuminated by the soft glow of bioluminescent crystals embedded in the ceiling, the room had an otherworldly ambiance, casting dancing shadows that seemed to whisper secrets of the cosmos.


    There were no further doubts. This was indeed the xenos cult. It was true. Shuzib did not lie to them. There were xenomorph disguising themselves as human on this.


    From what Smander told them before, an Eclipse activation require almost half of the poption to be a xenomorph. For now, they weren''t certain how much of the poption was a xenomorph.


    But the thought terrified them. They wouldn''t be able to fight billions of xenomorph by themselves.


    "Please sit down, master."


    A long, intricately carved wooden table stood at the center of the room, covered with an array of exotic dishes. The tableware was adorned with xenomorph motifs, reflecting the cult''s deep reverence for their enigmatic overlords. As Aldred and hispanions took their seats, servants d in dark robes moved silently, serving the peculiar cuisine with an eerie, almost mechanical precision.


    The food itself was a bizarre assortment of alien delicacies, each dish stranger than thest. There were luminescent fruits that glowed with an ethereal light, emitting a faint, sweet aroma. Beside them were bowls filled with gtinous orbs that pulsated rhythmically, as if they were alive. The main course consisted of a dish that resembled a fusion of crustacean and nt, its tendrils reaching out like fingers as if it had a life of its own.


    Smander and Aldredmunicated through their hidden inte.


    "Is this food safe to eat?" Smander asked.


    Aldred scanned the food with his eyes. Although the power of his eyes were weakened and couldn''t detect a disguised xenomorph, they still could detect a simple poison.


    "It''s safe," Aldred replied.


    Smander activated the scanner in his gear just in case.


    Despite the initial apprehension, Aldred and his friends decided to try the peculiar fare, curious about the vors of an alien world. As they took their first bites, they were met with an explosion of tastes and textures. The luminescent fruits burst with a refreshing sweetness, tinged with hints of starlight. The gtinous orbs melted in the mouth, releasing a burst of exotic spices that left a lingering warmth on the tongue. The main course, despite its strange appearance, had a surprisingly delicate vor, reminiscent of oceanic depths and earthy undertones.


    Throughout the meal, the servants moved silently, their faces obscured by shadowy hoods. Their movements were precise, almost ritualistic, as if serving this strange cuisine was an ancient tradition. Despite their enigmatic demeanor, the servants disyed an uncanny attentiveness to the needs of Aldred and hispanions, refilling sses and clearing tes with an eerie efficiency.


    Cleome moved her hand to the side. She knocked on her spoon and it fell to the floor with a ng.


    Suddenly, all of the servants stopped moving and stared at her. The whole chamber became silent.


    Shuzib and everyone else turned stiff.


    Although Shuzib had deeply studied the habits of the xenomorph, even he hadn''t experience what their culture truly like. So when the servants became silent, he was worried that they had to break their disguise right in the heart of a xenos hideout.


    But then, a servant approached the spoon and rece it with a new one. The servants moved again and the atmosphere turned normal.


    Aldred let out a breath of relief.


    Throughout the meal, the servants moved silently, their faces obscured by shadowy hoods. Their movements were precise, almost ritualistic, as if serving this strange cuisine was an ancient tradition. Despite their enigmatic demeanor, the servants disyed an uncanny attentiveness to the needs of Aldred and hispanions, refilling sses and clearing tes with an eerie efficiency.


    As the meal progressed, Aldred couldn''t shake off the feeling of being watched. He noticed subtle nces exchanged between the servants, their eyes gleaming with an unsettling intensity. It was as if they were assessing the reactions of their guests, gauging their every expression and gesture.


    The atmosphere in the dining room grew increasingly tense, the air thick with unspoken questions. Aldred exchanged a cautious nce with Shuzib, both of them sensing that there was more to this meal than met the eye. The Xenos cult''s hospitality seemed genuine, but there was an underlying strangeness that made Aldred''s instincts scream with caution.


    Despite the peculiar circumstances, Aldred knew that he and his friends had to tread carefully. They continued to eat, engaging in polite conversation while subtly observing their surroundings. The servants remained silent, their movements almost mechanical, as if they were mere extensions of the ancient traditions that governed this ndestine hideout.


    As the meal came to an end, Aldred and hispanions excused themselves from the dining room, their minds buzzing with unanswered questions. They retreated to their chambers, where they huddled together.


    "What should we do next? They seem to watching our every move," Shinari said.


    "The best move is not doing any move," Shuzib said. "We don''t know what the best course of action is, so it''s wise to not take any action at all."


    Aldred was surprised by Shuzib''s wisdom. "I agree with that."


    They spend the rest of the hours inside the bedroom, focusing on their study or meditation.


    In the depths of the night, Aldred was awakened by a strange sensation. He felt an otherworldly presence in the room, as if he was being watched by unseen eyes. His enhanced senses alerted him to a subtle disturbance in the air.


    Carefully, Aldred opened his eyes and scanned the room. To his surprise, he saw a faint, ethereal glow emanating from one corner. As he focused his gaze, the glow coalesced into a translucent figure ¨C a xenomorph apparition.


    Aldred''s heart raced, but he sensed no hostility from the apparition. Instead, it emanated an aura of ancient wisdom and sadness. The xenomorph''s eyes met Aldred''s, and in that moment, an unspoken understanding passed between them.


    "I am Nra," the xenomorph spoke, its voice echoing in Aldred''s mind. "I am the guardian that is asked to ensure the Eclipse event on this. At first, when they told me that the chosen one have appeared, I couldn''t believe it. After all, you and your friend reeked out stench of humans and elves. I was nning to kill you, until I sense something else."


    Aldred stayed silent. Inside, he was d that the xenos didn''t decide to kill them and their act still worked.


    "There was other stench. Far more powerful than the others, but it stayed hidden, as if knowing its presence would overpower the others. They told me that I would know who the chosen one is when Iy my eyes on them. I believe I am seeing one right now."


    ''So this thing can sense who is human and who is xenomorph? Shuzib''s did not consider a creature like that would exist. If it wasn''t me chosen for this role, the n will end up in failure.''


    "Let me tell you a story."


    Aldred listened intently, his mind open to the xenomorph''s words. Nra exined the prophecy in intricate detail, revealing that Aldred was indeed the chosen one mentioned in their ancient texts. ording to the prophecy, he possessed the ability to act as a bridge to the Hive Fleet.


    Nra''s voice resonated in Aldred''s mind, weaving a tale of cosmic events and ancient prophecies. She spoke of the Xenos cult''s long-standing beliefs, how they revered the Eclipse as a moment of great transformation, and how the chosen one was foretold to y a pivotal role in guiding this to its inevitable damnation.


    "We shall gorge upon this world, sating our insatiable hunger and birthing countless offspring. With each world devoured, our swarm will grow, spreading like a cosmic gue until the gxy is engulfed in eternal darkness."


    Aldred felt a chill creeping down his spine as Nra''s words resonated in his mind. The way those statement was said meant that the xenos wanted nothing but the death and decay of the whole gxy and possibly the whole universe.


    Aldred then realized something. These xenos were not creatures, they were disease! Disease that gnawed endlessly upon the gxy!


    They were like cancer, extremely hard to remove, and sometimes hard to notice until it was toote.


    As Nra continued, she revealed the intricacies of the Eclipse ritual. The chosen one, Aldred, possessed a unique connection to the xenomorph hive mind. Through him, the cult couldmunicate with the Hive Fleet, coordinate their actions, and ensure the sessful consumption ofs, one after another.


    "The Eclipse is both a beginning and an end," Nra exined, her ethereal form flickering in the dim light of the room. "It heralds the birth of new xenomorph generations, each more powerful and voracious than thest. Yet, it also marks the demise of countless civilizations, their worlds reduced to barren husks, devoured by our brethren."


    A wisp of cold air brushed against Aldred''s cheeks."Thy fate is sealed, chosen one. You shall weave this reality into existence, for the hunger of the swarm brooks no defiance."

 Chapter 632 632 Truly Are

    Chapter 632  632 Truly Are


    "Now that I am here. When can we start?" Aldred asked.


    The n was to lure the xenomorph out and gather them in one ce before pretending to activate the eclipse. This would make them reveal their true color, and Commander Gaius Vallon would have strong reason toe to this and exterminate the aliens.


    "Soon. Our brethren wille out of hiding and perform the ritual."


    Aldred nodded. He wanted to finish this quick and search for the Chronicles of Ascendria to increase his power.


    Meanwhile, within a meeting room, a dozen hooded figures gathered on a round table.


    "Is he really the chosen one? Our informer told us that theye from outside this."


    "We cannot rule out the possibility that the chosen one couldn''te from outside this."


    "I have read about the ship he boarded. It was the Ster Serenity Cruise Ship. The data said that the ship was infiltrated by a standard xenomorph queen but the security guards they hired manage to fight back, but the one who manage to kill the queen was none other than Aldred himself. That man isn''t the chosen one!"


    "You fool! How can you tell if he isn''t the chosen one? You haven''t even met him yet while I did. I sensed a strange power from him. At first, I smelled human, but then it was overpowered by something else. Something wicked, something bloodthirsty. Like hunger. Just like us but also something else entirely. I have never met a chosen one before, but I am pretty sure it''s him."


    Hans Farcross gritted his teeth. He still could not believe that the man was the chosen one. "Our numbers are not enough to activate the Eclipse."


    "It doesn''t matter. If the chosen one is here, then it is the right time to call for the ritual. A chosen one could take over 1000 years to appear. We cannot wait that long with the Imperium''s growing ambition."


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    Hans mmed his fist on the table. "All of you are fooled! Do whatever you want, but remember I never agreed to this."


    He then stood up from his seat and left the room. A cold glint shed past his eyes.


    As the cult prepared for the ritual, a sense of foreboding spread on Aldred''s team.


    "Aldred, are you sure everything is going to n?" Smander asked.


    Aldred nodded before he activated his godly eyes and scanned the room. There were more details presented to him today, meaning his godly eyes slowly regaining their power back.


    Soon enough, he would be able to unveil every secret with a single nce again.


    He scanned the room until he confirmed that no one was watching. "Everything will go to n. Apparently, the cult has some sort of guardian making sure the Eclipse is going to happen."


    Shuzib frowned in thought. "I''ve read about that before. But their presence are very secretive so not much about them is known. What are they like?"


    "I don''t know. They are formless. I feel like I can see them, but it''s not my eyes that ''see'' them, instead, it felt like my mind constructed some sort of astral form as itmunicated with me."


    "What did it say?"


    "It''s too long, but in short, he said there is no problem and the Eclipse will start soon."


    "That''s a relief. Our ¡ª"


    "Hush!" Aldred signaled.


    Suddenly, the door clicked open, and a female servant bowed to them. "Master, you and your friends are invited by the elder for lunch."


    Aldred gave his friends a short nce before nodding. "Guide us there."


    The servant did as ordered and guided them through the maze-like pathways.


    As Aldred and his friends followed the servant through the intricate pathways of the cult''s hideout, they were rxed. Days before, they might be wary because they didn''t know what the cult would do to them.


    But now that Aldred had confirmed that the guardian was on their side, that meant the cult wouldn''t harm them in any way.


    Eventually, they arrived at a grand chamber where the elder, a frail-looking but sharp-eyed man, awaited them. The room was adorned with mysterious symbols and artifacts, creating an eerie atmosphere. The elder gestured for them to sit, and they obliged, arranging themselves around a stone table.


    "Wee, chosen one," the elder said, his voice echoing through the chamber. "I am Hans, one of the elder."


    "Where are the others?" Aldred asked.


    "Oh, it''s just me this time."


    Aldred exchanged a nce with hispanions. The situation was bing increasingly surreal, and he couldn''t shake the feeling that there was more to this cult and their ns than met the eye.


    Aldred''s senses tingled with suspicion. He couldn''t ignore the unease in the room, and the absence of the other elders only intensified his feeling of foreboding.


    "Is something wrong?" Aldred asked, trying to keep his voice steady.


    Hans smiled, a cold, calcting grin that would sent shivers down a man''s spine. "Oh, nothing''s wrong, chosen one. In fact, everything is going exactly as nned."


    Before anyone could react, Hans raised his hand, and the room was engulfed in blinding light. When the light subsided, Aldred and his friends found themselves restrained, unable to move. They were surrounded by a group of hooded figures, their faces obscured in shadows.


    "What is the meaning of this?" Smander demanded, his voice filled with anger and defiance.


    Hans stepped forward, his eyes burning with an unholy fervor. "You see, I never believed that you are the chosen one! You have the stench of those monkeys! And I can''t hold it any longer! If you truly are the chosen one, show me your true form!"


    Hans then slowly transformed. His bones cracked and snapped as his form ballooned. Tentacles, barnacles, horns, and spikes jolted out of his body as his skin turned greenish-yellow.


    Aldred and hispanions watched in horror as Hans underwent a grotesque transformation, his body contorting into a nightmarish creature unlike anything they had ever seen. The room seemed to pulse with an eerie energy as Hans revealed his true form, a monstrous hybrid of alien and human features.


    This form lookedpletely different than the alien they had seen in the cruise ship.


    Hans, now unrecognizable, let out a guttural, otherworldly growl. "Now! Show me your true form or I will devour you whole!"


    Aldred looked down and stayed silent.


    "What''s the matter! Show me! Are you really the chosen one?!"


    Smander and the others were prepared to fight.


    Shinari moved her fingers, shadow secretly moved around the binding that trapped her hand, ready to release her at any time.


    Smander''s drones etched on the back of his power armor were also ready to be deployed.


    "So I was right after all," Hans said. "You are a fake! Before I devour you. I will start with your friend!"


    The monster rushed towards Elralya. "Let me start with you elf!"


    Suddenly, a loud roar came from the side, and another massive monster mmed against Hans.


    "What!"


    Everyone was shocked down to their core.


    Even Hans was shocked. "This is impossible!"


    The new monster was much fiercer than Hans, both in appearance and ferocity. The monster had hundreds of eyes with dozens of tentacles covered in sharp bone-spikes. It had two massive crab-like ws that pinched onto Hans as the tentacles began stabbing him repeatedly from every direction.


    The sudden appearance of the new monstrous entity took everyone by surprise. Its attacks were relentless, and Hans, now caught off guard, struggled to defend himself. The room echoed with the sounds of battle, a cacophony of roars, shes, and cries of pain.


    "Who is that?" Ceeth asked.


    "That''s¡­ that''s Aldred," Smander replied in disbelief.


    The monstrous form that had mmed into Hans was indeed Aldred, but transformed into a nightmarish creature, a fusion of his divine powers and the xenomorph essence he had absorbed during his encounter on the Ster Serenity Cruise Ship. He had tapped into this dark power, embracing the xenomorph traits to gain strength, speed, and resilience beyond human limits.


    This was all possible because of his ability¡ªShape shifting.


    Aldred was able to shape-shift to any creature he had eaten. During the cruise ship infiltration, he had secretly ate an alien meat just to see if he could shape-shift again.


    For a while nothing happened, and he didn''t think much of it, but as time passed, he felt like his shape-shifting ability returned again, and now was the perfect time to use it.


    His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light as he fought Hans, each strike calcted and fierce. The room trembled with the force of their battle, artifacts and symbols falling from the walls as the sh between the two monstrous beings intensified.


    Aldred, now the amalgamation of man and xenomorph, was a terrifying sight to behold. His body was a blend of sleek xenomorph exoskeleton and the remnants of his human form. His hands ended in razor-sharp ws, capable of tearing through metal as if it were paper. His tailshed out, striking Hans with deadly precision, while his elongated jaw revealed rows of xenomorph-like teeth, dripping with acidic saliva.


    Hans, in his own monstrous form, fought back ferociously. Tentacles and spikes extended from his body, and his roars reverberated through the chamber. He was a formidable adversary, but Aldred''s newfound powers gave him the upper hand.


    The cultists, once frozen in fear, now watched in awe and terror as their chosen one battled the rogue elder. Smander, Shuzib, Shinari, and Elralya stood back, giving Aldred the space he needed to fight. They knew that this was a battle that only he could finish.


    Time passed and Hans kept on getting beat up. He could not believe what he was seeing. This immense power was something he had never felt before.


    Aldredshed out for a final attack that pierced through Hans'' chest.


    Hans spat out a mouthful of blood. "You¡­ You truly are the chosen one."

 Chapter 633 633 Godly Power

    Chapter 633  633 Godly Power


    Aldred''s tentacles all stabbed through Hans monstrous'' figure. He then lifted Hans in the air.


    The man''s eyes wore a sense of regret, fear, and awe towards Aldred.


    "I have mistaken," Hans said.


    "Are you the only elder that oppose me?" Aldred growled.


    "I do not know. But I don''t think I am the only one."


    Aldred scoffed and then ripped Hans to pieces with his tentacles. Flesh and organs sttered on the floor, and then Aldred ate his remains, devouring it like hungry predator.


    Suddenly, a bunch of hooded figures came to the scene.


    "What happened here?"


    Aldred wiped the blood on his lips and then transformed back into his normal form.


    "Aldred? What did you do?"


    Aldred, still had the look of annoyance on his face, replied: "One of your Elder, Hans, used me that I was a fake. So I show him my true form and devour him."


    The elders looked horrified after they heard that.


    "Hans! That bastard! How dare he oppose the chosen one!"


    "He got what he deserve! He should be grateful the chosen one devour him."


    "I should have killed him when I heard he said that the chosen one was a fake."


    Aldred listened and observed the elders. His senses tingled, telling him that the elders were lying to him. The elders probably knew that Hans will do something to prove Aldred''s status as a chosen one.


    Hans was just a tool to test him. If he was right, then they will admit their mistake, but if he was wrong, the elders wouldn''t be med.


    Aldred sneered at them, making them tremble in fear.


    "I want no further dys or problem to this ritual," Aldred said. "If there is one, I will kill all of you."


    Right after saying that, Aldred left the room, followed by his friends from behind.


    They went back into their room, and Smander immediately asked. "What the hell was that? How did you turn into an alien?"


    "It''s my ability, shape-shifting?"


    "No shit. Prove it."


    Aldred turned into a cat, and then he turned into a fluffy dog before turning into a squirrel and climbed on Smander''s shoulder.


    "For the Emperor''s butt cheeks! You really can transform!"


    "I did not lie."


    Shinari approached the squirrel and rubbed his little nose. "You''re so cute, why don''t you stay in form for a while?"


    "All of you look like giants from my point of view."


    "Hehe." Shinari grabbed Aldred and hugged him. "You''re so cute! Come on, just stay in this form for one night."


    Aldred squeezed out of her arms then transformed into his original form. "Absolutely not. I don''t really like feeling so small."


    "Just for one night." Shinari sped her hands and begged.


    Still, Aldred shook his head.


    "What else can you turn into? Is it only limited to animals and aliens?" Cleome asked.


    "I can turn into an object." Aldred transformed into a sword that stabbed the floor.


    Cleome was amazed. "Does that mean you can turn into a sandwich. A talking sandwich?"


    "Why would I turn into a talking sandwich? Wait, a minute, why would I turn into a sandwich in the first ce?"


    Smander rubbed his chin. "Aldred, can you turn into somethingrger? Like a spacecraft maybe?"


    Aldred morphed into his original form. "Uhh¡­ a spacecraft has a lot of functionalities that I cannot imitate. They are aplex machine full of electricity,puter program, and hardwares that I wouldn''t be able to process all at once."


    "But the alien you transformed into earlier were also veryplex."


    "That''s because I have eaten their meat. When I eat something, I can turn into them, and even gain some if not all of their abilities. I ate a part of the alien queen''s meat, that''s why I can transform into a xenomorph."


    Smander nodded, finally understanding how his power work. "So¡­ what happen if you eat a spaceship?"


    "That''s not how it work."


    Smander became dejected. "Too bad."


    As they were conversing, Elralya and Ceeth were in deep thought after what they had witnessed.


    Aldred just transformed into a powerful alien in a blink of an eye, and defeated one of the elder of the cult with absolute ease.


    They had never seen any reports or news about a human that could shape-shift into something they eat. Most human psykers or supers could only manipte matters or elements of the universe. And their power were extremely limited to only a couple of matter at a time. In most cases, a super could only manipte one kind of matter.


    But Aldred seem different. Ceeth had seen Aldred''s fighting abilities. This human could summon powerful sword out of nothing, summon powerful me in a vacuum of space, possess incredible strength and speed, now, he could also shape-shift into anything he eat?


    That wasn''t human-like at all. That was like¡­ a godly power. A power bestowed by the gods themselves. Aldred''s power could only be considered as such.


    Ceeth''s eyes shed. There was a high chance that Aldred would be one of humanity''s key figure. If she let him live, human kind would be even more brazen.


    ''Should I kill him now? Seeing his power increasing with each passing day, there is a high possibility that this man might be the Emperor''s right hand man. And his power will turn to be used against the Elven race.''


    Elralya noticed her expression and hold her hand. "No."


    Ceeth''s body jolted when Elralya toucher her. She looked at her and then calmed down.


    "Anyway, now that Aldred is officially seen as the chosen one. I guess we have nothing to worry about. Aldred, why don''t you call the servants to serve us some food and drinks."


    Aldred sighed but did it anyway. The situation was tense for thest few days, so he thought it would be better if everyone could rx.


    Quickly, the servants bring in so much food it was like a wedding reception. They put a bunch of huge jugs filled with all kinds of juice of which Aldred and his friends could take as much as they want.


    After all of the food arrived, the servants left the room.


    "Please call us if you need anything else, master." The servant smiled this time, unlike their usual cold face.


    When the door was closed, Smanderughed. "I knew it. They fear you, Aldred. You can tell them to lick your toes, and they''ll dly do it. This shape-shifting ability of your is amazing."


    As the group indulged in the feast before them, Aldred couldn''t shake off the feeling that he was being watched, especially by Ceeth. He sensed her unease, her eyes asionally darting towards him with suspicion.


    He thought nothing of it though.


    Elralya, noticing the tension in the air, attempted to lighten the mood. "Aldred, tell us more about your abilities. How did you discover them? And why are you so confident in your powers?"


    Aldred hesitated for a moment, considering how much he should reveal. He decided to share some of his past, hoping it would strengthen their trust. "I discovered my abilities when I was a teenager. It started small, like moving objects without touching them. But as I grew older, my powers became moreplex. As for my confidence, ites from years of practice and understanding my limitations. I''ve faced many challenges, and each time, I''ve learned to harness my abilities better."


    He decided to lie. Aldred was an Earthling reincarnated by the gods with a powerful demon king as a father, and the literal ancestor of vampire as his mother. Not only that, more than one hundred gods blessed him with powers.


    He couldn''t possibly tell them all of that. The story would be too long, and it would be really hard for them to believe. Lying was the best option here.


    Cleome, ever the curious one, asked, "But why do you think you have these powers? Is there a reason behind it?"


    Aldred paused, his gaze falling on the intricate patterns of the tablecloth. "I don''t know the exact reason. It might be gic, a mutation perhaps. Or maybe there''s a deeper cosmic connection. All I know is that I''ve always had these powers, and I''ve learned to use them for the greater good."


    ''h!'' Aldred''s tongue turned bitter at hisst statement. He had always been using his power for his own interest. Although he wasn''t an evil person, he wouldn''t have any problem in killing people. In fact, he might had already killed over ten million people in total after all the battle and wars he won.


    Smander, always practical, chimed in, "Well, whatever the reason, your powers are impressive. We should focus on how to use them to our advantage, especially now that you''ve proven yourself to the elders."


    Meanwhile, Ceeth continued to observe Aldred, her mind racing with thoughts of power and consequences. She knew that the situation had changed drastically. Aldred was no longer just an outsider; he was a force to be reckoned with. She contemted the future of her people, wondering if Aldred would be their enemies.

 Chapter 634 634 Chaos

    Chapter 634  634 Chaos


    The next day, a grand ceremony was being held at thergest city on the.


    Surprisingly, the event was held publicly and advertised as a grand debut of a new pop star. The event manage to gather over 300,000 people.


    Aldred was shocked. Even a world cup on Earth could only gather at around 200,000 people at most. How could a debut of a pop star defeat that number?


    After he asked that question, he was told that the cult owned a famous pop star agency and had produced numerous pop artist for decades.


    Every time a new star debuted, they would immediately rise to poprity and their fame never fell even until they die. Each and every celebrity produced always became a legend of their own.


    Aldred underestimated the cult''s power. No wonder they could destroy a so effectively. These xenomorph not just merely blend in with the humans, they adapted, and became even better.


    Aldred wouldn''t even be surprised if so manyxenos were actually in a position of power. There might be a chance that some of the world leaders on this might be a xenos themselves.


    If that was true, then how would humanity stop the Eclipse?


    Aldred shook his head. ''Stick to the n, Aldred,'' he told himself.


    The n was to prematurely activate the Eclipse, and the xenos will reveal their true form before a reinforcement wille and defeat them.


    It was a very simple n. There was no need for doubt.


    He took in a deep breath, trying to rx.


    Cleome patted him on the shoulder. "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing."


    Cleomeughed. "Are you nervous? I can''t believe it. You killed an alien queen, wrecked a Destroyer-ss spaceship, and now you are nervous?"


    "I am sorry, but I can''t help but feel nervous at the thought of fighting against 5 billion xenos!"


    The total poption of this was 10 billion. The worst case scenario would be half of those poption was alien.


    Cleomeughed. "It will be fine. Just rx and everything will be fine."


    "I do not know where do you get that confidence from."


    Shinari heard their conversation and chimed in. "There is no reason to be nervous, Aldred. You have the power to save this world. I have no doubt for it."


    Ceeth interrupted by clearing her throat. "I know it''s probably toote to say this, but saving a human''s world is not within our agreement. This mission require great effort, and we will needpensation."


    "You will get yourpensation," Aldred said. "From what I learn by saving the cruise ship from the aliens, the pay for killing them is quite good."


    Suddenly, a knock came from the door. "Master, are you ready for the ceremony?"


    Sighing, Aldred heaved himself from bed. "It''s time to go."


    ¡­


    In a massive stadium that hold over 300,000 people, the crowd were chattering loudly. In the center of the stadium was a grand stage. The light were turned off as the even hadn''t started yet.


    "I wonder who will be debuted this year."


    "The Big Booty Entertainment always manage to surprise every year. They will introduce a bunch of candidates, but we will never expect who will manage to debut."


    "That''s part of the fun. Last year, BTS, or Big Tits Suckers surprised all of us when they debuted."


    "Yeah, but when are they going to reveal the star? I cannot wait any longer."


    ¡­


    Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Elralya, and Ceeth were waiting backstage. They were hidden from view, but there were screens around them showing the massive crowd.


    "So many people," Aldred said.


    A hooded figure, one of the elder, stood beside him. "We have gathered as much people as we can in this city. Also, we''ve manage to create simr events in other region as well. This will be the perfect time to activate the ritual."


    Suddenly, a bunch of people came and put some makeup on his face.


    "Why would I need makeup?"


    "You need to look your best during important event, master. It''s how the human do it."


    The hairdresser fixed his hair, though his hair was already looking great in the first ce.


    Then they put a luxurious cloak over him before giving him a scepter with valuable gems and precious stones. The scepter looked like it was meant for a king.


    "In this ce, you are a king, master¡ªI mean, your highness." The elder bowed. "Now, it''s time to greet your subject."


    "What?"


    The elder pushed him into the stage. The light lit up and all 300,000 people were focused on him. They roared and cheered in excitement.


    "Who is that?"


    "I don''t know. He looks cute isn''t he?"


    "Does he has big booty?"


    "Of course he has big booty. Big Booty Entertainment never disappoint us."


    "I never saw that kind of face before. Where is he from?"


    "He seems so out of this world!"


    Aldred''s otherworldly appearance was well-received as the people cheered louder than before.


    His looks were quite different than the people here, in a good way.


    "Master, you now can begin the Eclipse," a voice entered his head.


    Aldred turned serious immediately before raising his scepter, signaling for everyone to be silent. They all obeyed his order.


    The elders were impressed. Aldred''s movement was so natural that it felt like he had ruled over a kingdom for so long.


    The fact was, Aldred actually had an empire and ruled over millions of people, so it was very easy for him to exude amanding presence.


    Aldred closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he recalled the alien glyphs in his head.


    As Aldred stood on the grand stage, he took another deep breath, feeling the weight of his n resting on his shoulders. With closed eyes, he began to sing, his voice resonating through the massive stadium. The alien glyphs in his mind transformed into a hauntingly beautiful melody, echoing the mysteries of the universe.


    The crowd fell into a hushed silence, captivated by the otherworldly sounds emanating from Aldred''s lips. His voice carried the weight of ancient civilizations and the stories of gxies long forgotten. The lyrics, in the aliennguage, weaved the meaning of xenomorph dominance over the gxy.


    "Xylothrak luminastra, kroventra solenox, zyntarion gxia..."


    The melody was both mncholic and uplifting, stirring the deepest emotions within those who listened. Each note seemed to paint constetions in the night sky, and every word resonated like echoes from a distant cosmic realm. The crowd, though unable toprehend the meaning, felt a profound connection to the melody, as if it touched the very essence of their souls.


    Backstage, the elders exchanged amazed nces, realizing the significance of Aldred''s performance.


    Aldred continued to sing, his voice growing stronger with each passing moment. The atmosphere in the stadium became charged with a palpable energy, as if the entire universe was listening, holding its breath in anticipation of what was toe.


    As Aldred''s melodic alien chant echoed through the stadium, something unexpected urred. The atmosphere crackled with an eerie energy, and the air seemed to shimmer with an unnatural glow. In a sudden, terrifying moment, half of the audience began to convulse, their bodies contorting and twisting into grotesque forms.


    A collective gasp swept through the crowd as ordinary humans transformed into nightmarish creatures reminiscent of their deepest nightmare. Xenomorphs, with their chitinous exoskeletons and razor-sharp ws, emerged from the former spectators. Their eyes glowed with a sinister hue, and a low, guttural growl emanated from their throats.


    Panic ensued as the remaining half of the audience screamed and scrambled to escape. The once-celebratory atmosphere turned into a scene of chaos and terror. The transformed xenomorphs, driven by a primal hunger, began to attack the fleeing humans, their sharp teeth tearing through flesh and bone.


    Amidst the pandemonium, backstage, the hooded figure, one of the elders, watched the chaos unfolding on the screens with a chilling satisfaction. Their eyes gleamed with a twisted delight as they turned to their fellow elders, a triumphant grin on their lips.


    "It''s happening," the hooded figure said, their voice filled with eerie excitement. "The Eclipse is beginning. Our dominion over this world will finally be absolute."


    "The Great Devourer descends upon this world, its hunger insatiable! From the feast of this, new spawn shall emerge, destined to spread across the stars, carrying the essence of the Hive Fleet to conquer and consume all in their path!"


    The Elders allughed loudly before turning into their true monstrous form and leaped out of the backstage and began devouring the screaming humans.


    The ring sirens of police vehicles wailed through the night as the local authorities rushed to the grand stadium, responding to the distress calls flooding theirmunication channels. Armed officers in riot gear, apanied by specialized units, stormed the chaos-filled arena.


    The scene was a nightmare. Half of the once-joyful audience had transformed into xenomorph monstrosities, tearing through the remaining humans who desperately tried to escape. The air was thick with the stench of blood and the sounds of screams mingled with the growls of the alien creatures.


    "What the fuck is this?!"

 Chapter 635 635 Delay

    Chapter 635  635 Dy


    The stadium, once a ce of joy and celebration, had turned into a nightmare. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood, and the echoing screams of terrified humans mixed with the guttural growls of the xenomorphs.


    Amidst the chaos, families were torn apart. Parents desperately tried to shield their children from the advancing xenomorphs, their faces contorted in terror. Lovers clung to each other, their final moments spent in a tight embrace as the xenomorphs closed in. Elderly individuals, who hade to witness the grand event, were now running for their lives, their frail bodies pushed to their limits in a desperate attempt to escape.


    The xenomorphs, their sleek, chitinous bodies glistening in the dim light, moved with terrifying speed and precision. They pounced on their prey, their razor-sharp ws tearing through flesh and bone. Limbs were severed, and bodies were mutted in the most gruesome manner imaginable. The ground was slick with blood, making every step treacherous for those attempting to flee.


    The police, despite their training, were overwhelmed by the sheer number and ferocity of the xenomorphs. Gunfire echoed through the stadium as officers tried to fend off the relentless horde, but their efforts seemed futile against the alien onught.


    Smander gritted his teeth when he saw this. He just realized that the security here was extremelycking. The local defense department didn''t even have thes-gun which was the most basic weapon in the current era of the Imperium. This meant that the was extremely backwardpared to the majority of human worlds.


    "Smander," Aldred called from his inte. "Have you send the message to Commander Gaius?"


    Smander almost forgot about his task because he was so shock stricken. "I am sending one right now."


    Immediately, Smander recorded the horrific scene and transferred it directly to themander.


    Commander Gaius immediately read the message, he had been waiting for some time now. He opened the file and watched the recording intently with a frown.


    "d I decide to listen to these men." Deep inside, Commander Gaius actually did not believe that Aldred would find a infested with Xenos gene-stealer. Thest case of an Eclipse was more than 300 years ago, and it was an extremely rare urrence.


    With a grunt, Gaius pressed a button and spoke: "I have received your message, Smander. I will be deploying my troops to your world."


    "Yes, sir! Please hurry. Every second, hundreds of lives died."


    "I know."


    The call ended.


    "What he say?" Aldred asked.


    "He''s sending his troops. It won''t be long before he arrive."


    Aldred nced at the stadium and saw the people were being killed in masses. "How long exactly?"


    Smander opened hisms and took out the data regarding Gaius'' troops location. "They are currently 40 light-years away. So, it will take around 3 minutes."


    Aldred gritted his teeth. "Three minutes is too damn long. Not just in this stadium, there are people being killed in every part of this."


    Smander couldn''t reply to that. They could try fighting the xenos right now, but it would be futile. ording to their predictions, 50% of the poption should be alien. Fighting against them all would be something unthinkable.


    Suddenly, hisms beeped.


    "Are they here?" Aldred asked.


    Smander''s face darkened. His lips trembled and cold sweat formed on his forehead.


    Aldred frowned, preparing for the worst. "What is it?"


    "Listen to this." Smander pressed on a button.


    The button activate a voice message from Commander Gaius.


    "Our arrivals are dyed. The demonic forces intercept us during the warp. An entire battalion of them are heading towards us. I have called the the Novastra Cluster Defense Department, but all of them are currently being attacked by Lord Malgorth''s forces. There is no telling when we can reinforce you. Our best prediction is three days. For now, do what you think is the best course of action."


    Aldred gritted his teeth. They couldn''t wait for three minutes, but now they had to wait for 3 days? The entire poption would already be massacred during that time.


    "There is no other choice. We have to fight."


    "Aldred, there are over 4 billion xenos on this. How do you expect us to fight?"


    Suddenly, eleven xenos creatures,rger than other xenos,nded on the stage.


    They bowed towards Aldred. "Master, please began the ritual."


    Aldred smiled. "Sure."


    Aldred raised his arms, chanting in anguage unknown to any human ears. His voice resonated with a strange power, weaving intricate patterns in the air. The xenomorphs, their menacing eyes fixed on Aldred, began to hiss and snarl, seemingly responding to his alien incantations.


    "Zylok na''shurin, thk''thorin! Gorgulith s''tharok, xenos eldrin!" Aldred''s voice echoed with unnatural resonance, the words twisting and warping into iprehensible sounds. The air crackled with energy, and the ground beneath them trembled as if the very was responding to his call.


    The elevenrger xenos, their heads adorned with borate crests, chittered excitedly in response. Their loyalty to Aldred, the Master, was unwavering. They believed in his power, a force that transcended the boundaries of their understanding.


    However, the energy suddenly exploded into an unstable and chaotic vibration.


    The eleven elders opened their eyes, but it was toote.


    Aldred, with fierce me covering his whole body, raised a strange, serrated, sharp de and shed them in half.


    The elders screamed as their torso got separated from the their thighs.


    "Master, what is the meaning of this?"


    "The ritual need more sacrifice in order for it to work." Aldred said as he slowly approached them dragging the man-length de across the floor.


    "Master, I do not believe you need to sacrifice us. There are over billions of our brethren on this. Sacrificing a billion or two won''t be a problem."


    Aldred grinned. "I don''t care." He shed them into pieces.


    Their meat scattered on the floor as Aldredzily looked at their remnants. "Arise."


    Suddenly, the amalgamation of flesh, muscles, organs, and blood reconstructed itself into eleven monsters that looked just like the elders, but with a touch of darkness aura weaving around them.


    Aldred, clenching his fist, said: "Hm, my power return bit by bit."


    Smander was shocked to hear that. What kind of power did he just witness. With a single word, the aliens he minced into pieces restored themselves. But, the aliens now seem to be Aldred''s puppet by how they behave.


    "Master," the eleven alien undead called.


    "With this power, I should be able to reduce the number of casualties on this."


    Aldred nce at Smander which made the man shivered in fear. "Smander, kill every aliens you see."


    "Y¡ªyes," Smander stumbled on his words. Aldred''s eyes looked so different as if he was apletely different person.


    Aldred then vanished along with his new alien servants.


    Smander took in a deep breath and turned around. "Well, you heard him. Let''s kill these aliens!"


    Everyone was shock stricken, but nodded and charged towards the aliens.


    The aliens became confused immediately. They thought Smander and the team were their allies, but they began to kill them.


    Smander activated every arsenal on his power armor. His drones floated above him, sendingser beams at quick session.


    Two integrated sma cannon mounted on his shoulders fired high-energy sma projectiles at the aliens, causing devastating impact that sted them into smithereens.


    However, because the numbers of these aliens were toorge, they manage to surround him from every direction.


    "Everyone, push to the east. We will take our ground there!"


    The team immediately focused their firepower towards the easy, and they arrived at arge wall.


    The team put their back on the wall as they sted all the iing aliens towards them.


    The wall provide cover, so they didn''t have to watch out for their rear.


    Smander, d in his advanced power armor, stood his ground at the wall, his visor scanning the battlefield. With swift and precise movements, he unleashed a barrage of energy sts from his arsenal, disintegrating the xenomorphs that dared to approach. His drones buzzed around him, adding their firepower to the mix, creating a deadly perimeter ofser beams and sma projectiles.


    Cleome crackled with electricity, her eyes glowing with raw power. With a swift motion of her hands, she summoned bolts of lightning that arced through the air, striking the xenomorphs in their tracks. The smell of ozone filled the air as the aliens convulsed and twitched under the onught of electricity.


    Shinari melded into the darkness, bing one with the shadows. She emerged suddenly, her form flickering in and out of existence as she shed through the xenomorphs with razor-sharp shadow des. The aliens screamed in agony as they were shredded by the darkness itself, their forms dissipating like smoke.


    Ceeth, possessing extreme strength, agility, and reflexes, fought with unparalleled ferocity. With each swing of her fists, she sent xenomorphs flying, their bodies crashing into theirrades. Her movements were a blur, and her punches were like thunderps, shattering the alien creatures with sheer brute force.


    Elralya unleashed her mental prowess, sending waves of psychic energy that crushed the minds of the xenomorphs. Their screams echoed in her mind as she delved into their thoughts, overwhelming them with fear and confusion. Some xenomorphs clutched their heads, writhing in pain, while others simply dropped dead, unable to withstand the assault on their consciousness.


    She also aided her allies by reducing any distracting thoughts or emotions within her allies'' mind.


    Suddenly, the whole stadium shook violently. The vibration was so extreme that buildings copsed immediately, including the stadium. The vibration was equivalent to 9.5 magnitude in the Richter scale.


    That kind of vibration could cause a tsunami over 700 meter tall.


    Elralya looked up and her face turned horrid. "This can''t be."

 Chapter 636 636 Bio-Titan

    Chapter 636  636 Bio-Titan


    "A¡­ a bio-titan¡­" Her lips trembled.


    Elralya''s eyes widened in terror as she beheld the source of the cataclysmic vibrations. Emerging from the debris and dust, the massive form of the Bio-Titan loomed over the battlefield like an ancient, vengeful god. Its chitinous exoskeleton glinted menacingly in the sunlight, and its multiple eyes fixated on the remaining survivors, both human and xenomorph alike.


    The bio-titan was an extremely massive, hideous creature, towering over the battlefield and bristling with spines, tendrils, and symbiote weapons. They were among thergest bio-creatures of the xenomorph race.


    A collective gasp escaped the lips of the fighters who had managed to survive the initial onught. Smander clenched his fists, his expression a mix of determination and fear. Cleome''s crackling electricity dimmed for a moment, her confidence waning in the face of such an overwhelming adversary. Shinari, the shadowy figure, seemed to meld further into the darkness, her fear masked by her natural affinity with shadows. Ceeth, usually unshakable, felt a chill crawl down her spine, her strength momentarily faltering under the sheer size and menace of the Hierophant.


    The surviving xenomorphs, too, seemed to pause in their relentless advance, their hisses and growls silenced in the presence of this colossal, nightmarish entity. The ground beneath them trembled with each step the Hierophant took, emphasizing the unstoppable force it represented.


    "Wh¡ªwhat is that?" Aldred was shocked as well. He scanned the creature with his godly eyes, only to receive zero information about the creature.


    "That''s a bio-titan," Smander replied with furrowed brows and rapid breathing. "It''s not something we can defeat. That thing is made to siege the toughest stronghold humanity could build! Why is it here?"


    They looked at the bio-titan and noticed that it was heading west.


    "What is that over there?"


    Smander scanned the area and he gasped. "That''s a stronghold, designed to evacuate the people in case of a tsunami. The authorities must be guiding hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate there."


    "How many people can it hold?"


    Smander gritted his teeth. "Millions."


    Smander knew that somes had special type of stronghold to protect themselves from various natural disasters of their world. Each world was different, some world had the extreme kind of natural disaster that would allow periodic cleansing if the human didn''t build a stronghold for themselves.


    This seem to be hit frequently by massive tsunami, so their main stronghold were build to hold against wave.


    But it surely wasn''t designed to protect itself from a 100-meter tall bioform.


    With a deafening roar, the Bio-Titan raised one of its massive, gnarled limbs, revealing a grotesque, pulsating organic cannon embedded within its chitinous armor. The cannon glowed with an eerie bioluminescent light, and an ominous hum filled the air as it charged up. The survivors watched in horror as the Bio-Titan aimed its bio-cannon toward the distant stronghold, its multiple eyes narrowing with deadly intent.


    Aldred''s eyes widened in disbelief and horror as he witnessed the Bio-Titan aiming its bio-cannon directly at the stronghold. His godly senses picked up the fear emanating from the people inside, a collective terror that swept through the evacuees like a tidal wave. The atmosphere inside the stronghold became thick with panic as the residents realized the imminent threat bearing down on them.


    "Can I stop that thing?"


    Inside the stronghold, families huddled together, their faces etched with fear and uncertainty. Children clung to their parents, their wide eyes reflecting the terror that gripped their young hearts. The authorities scrambled to maintain order, their voices projecting authority even as their eyes betrayed their own fears. The air buzzed with whispered prayers and frantic conversations as the people tried toprehend the magnitude of the danger looming just beyond the walls.


    Back on the battlefield, Smander''s jaw clenched in determination. He knew they couldn''t allow the Bio-Titan to unleash its devastating power upon the stronghold. "We have to do something," he said, his voice resolute. "We can''t let it fire that cannon."


    "I will try to stop that thing," Aldred said through his inte. "All of you prioritize preventing the xenos from killing more people."


    Aldred, determined to protect the innocent lives within the stronghold, led his undead-xenomorph army in a fierce charge toward the Bio-Titan. The ground shook beneath their feet as they closed the distance, Aldred at the forefront, his sword gleaming in the sunlight.


    With a battle cry, Aldred swung his sword at the Bio-Titan, aiming for a vulnerable spot between its chitinous tes. The sword connected with a loud ng, but to Aldred''s dismay, it seemed to barely scratch the surface of the monstrous creature. The Bio-Titan retaliated swiftly,shing out with its spined tail, sending a bunch of undead-xenomorphs flying in all directions.


    Aldred signaled his army to attack, and the undead-xenomorphs, fearless and intense, shed with the Bio-Titan, their ws and acidic blood meeting the creature''s armored hide.


    "Fuck! The thing''s weapons is too powerful!"


    The Bio-Titan unleashed its devastating arsenal of bio-weapons. The Bio-Cannon roared to life, firing a searing bolt of bio-sma toward the undead-xenomorphs. The impact sent several of them flying, their bodies dissolving in the corrosive substance. But the relentless onught continued as more undead-xenomorphs swarmed in, their numbers seemingly limitless.


    Massive Scything wsshed out, slicing through the undead-xenomorphs with brutal efficiency. Limbs and carapaces were torn asunder, but the undead soldiers fought back ferociously, attempting to disable the Bio-Titan''s limbs with every strike. Tentaclids whipped through the air, entangling the undead-xenomorphs, constricting around them and squeezing the unlife out of their forms. Yet, even in death, the xenomorphs proved formidable, their acid blood sizzling as it came into contact with the Tentaclids.


    All the while the bio-titan was massacring his undead army, it continued to approach the stronghold.


    "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Aldred was enraged.


    Thorax Biomorphs unleashed their deadly payloads, spewing forth bio-sma and electrical discharges that wreaked havoc among the undead ranks. The battlefield crackled with energy as the undead-xenomorphs fell one by one, their bodies melting or convulsing under the onught. The Bio-Acid Spray rained down, corroding the ground and dissolving any unlucky undead-xenomorph caught in its path.


    Aldred manage to dodge all of the bio-titan''s attack with his small and agile form.


    Aldred, with zing eyes, skillfully dodged the Bio-Titan''s deadly bio-weapons. His calcted moves avoided corrosive sprays, shing ws, and deadly tendrils, proving a challenging target for the colossal creature.


    With a swift motion, Aldred lunged at the Bio-Titan, his Phantom Doomde gleaming with otherworldly energy. He aimed for a joint in the creature''s massive limb, striking with precision and speed. The de cut through the chitinous armor, drawing a spray of acidic blood, and eliciting a bellow of pain from the Bio-Titan.


    For a moment, the Bio-Titan stumbled, its movements slowed by the injury inflicted by Aldred''s de. The survivors on the battlefield seized the opportunity, redoubling their efforts to fight off the xenomorphs and protect the stronghold.


    Inside the stronghold, the people watched with bated breath as the tide of the battle seemed to shift, if only slightly, in their favor. Whispers of hope filled the air as they witnessed Aldred''s valiant efforts. The authorities coordinated the evacuation efforts with renewed urgency, guiding more people towards safety.


    "He did it! He manage to injure the bio-titan!" Smander shouted.


    Outside, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and Ceeth redoubled their attacks, their weapons striking with newfound vigor. Bolts of lightning crackled, fiery sts erupted, and shadows danced as the fighters unleashed their powers upon the relentless xenomorph horde, attempting to thin their ranks.


    Alred''s relentless attacks began to take a toll. The Bio-Titan roared in agony as Aldred''s de found its mark repeatedly, slicing through tough chitin and sinew. Each strike weakened the creature, slowing its movements further. With every injury, the Bio-Titan''s once-terrifying advance faltered.


    Smander, noticing the change in the Bio-Titan''s demeanor, shouted over thems, "Aldred, keep at it! You''re slowing it down!"


    Aldred''s unwavering resolve showed in his precise strikes, targeting the Bio-Titan''s weakened joints. The once unstoppable creature now defended itself, swatting at Aldred with massive ws and tendrils, trying to fend off the relentless onught.


    Ceeth was shocked at Aldred''s extreme speed and agility. Aldred was spinning, jumping, running, gliding, and sliding all over the and around the bio-titan.


    No matter how hard the bio-titan tried to attack him, it was unable to hit him.


    Cleome, her eyes sparking with electricity, seized the opportunity. She unleashed a powerful surge of lightning, aiming directly for the Bio-Titan''s wounded limbs. The electrical energy crackled and sizzled as it connected with the exposed flesh, eliciting a series of convulsions from the creature. Thebination of Aldred''s de and Cleome''s electricity created a deadly synergy, further hampering the Bio-Titan''s movements.


    Shinari, her form melding with the shadows, took advantage of the distraction. She slipped behind the Bio-Titan, her movements swift and silent. With her shadowy tendrils, she entwined around the creature''s limbs, constricting them further and impeding its ability to retaliate.


    Meanwhile, Ceeth conjured a powerful gust of wind, creating a barrier between the Bio-Titan and the remaining xenomorphs, preventing them from interfering with Aldred and his allies. The battlefield crackled with energy as the survivors fought with renewed vigor, theirbined efforts chipping away at the Bio-Titan''s once-imposing facade.


    Inside the stronghold, the evacuees watched the battle unfold on their screens, their expressions shifting from despair to hope. The once-inevitable doom now seemed less certain. Families clung to each other, their eyes glued to the disy, their prayers filled with gratitude for the brave souls fighting to protect them.


    The Bio-Titan, hindered by Aldred''s relentless assault and survivor attacks, emitted furious roars. Its once-mighty form appeared vulnerable, movements less coordinated. Fueled by newfound hope, survivors pressed their advantage with renewed strikes.


    But just as victory seemed within reach, the ground beneath them shook violently. A deep, ominous rumble echoed across the battlefield, causing everyone to pause and nce around in rm. The very earth seemed to tremble in response to an unseen force, sending shockwaves through the air.


    A massive tear in reality appeared on the battlefield, its edges pulsating with an otherworldly energy. Out of this tear emerged a figure, d in dark, ethereal armor, radiating an aura of ancient power. The survivors watched in awe and trepidation as the mysterious figure stepped forward, eyes glowing with an unsettling light.


    The figure held a cosmic scepter that seem to hold the power of the entire universe.

 Chapter 637 637 Xenomorph vs Demon

    Chapter 637  637 Xenomorph vs Demon


    "No¡­ why is he here?!" Smander couldn''t believe it.


    The survivors, both human and xenomorph, stared in disbelief at the enigmatic figure who had emerged from the tear in reality. The air crackled with anticipation as the stranger raised the cosmic scepter, its power evident in the way it hummed with energy, creating ripples in the fabric of space around it.


    Aldred, still locked inbat with the Bio-Titan, briefly halted his relentless assault, his eyes narrowing at the neer.


    The figure remained silent for a moment, his glowing eyes scanning the battlefield and the ongoing struggle. Finally, a deep, resonating voice echoed from beneath the helm of their ethereal armor."This world is mine."


    As the enigmatic figure dered his ownership of the world, a sinister energy radiated from the tear in reality. Space and time quivered, sending shockwaves that rippled across the entire. The very fabric of reality seemed to tremble as the barrier between dimensions weakened, allowing glimpses of the chaotic realm beyond


    Far and wide, unnatural phenomena unfolded. Skies darkened as swirling vortexes of otherworldly colors materialized, casting an eerie glow over thend. Ominous whispers carried on the winds, foretelling doom and despair. The ground shook beneath the weight of the impending invasion, as if the itself recoiled in fear.


    Amidst the chaos, the tear in reality widened, stretching impossibly wide. From the rift poured forth a legion of demons, creatures born from the darkest corners of the universe. Their forms were grotesque and nightmarish, with leathery wings, twisted horns, and eyes that glowed with malevolent intent. They marched with a menacing purpose, their footsteps echoing a grim cadence that sent shivers down the spines of any unfortunate soul who heard it.


    "Emperor give mercy," Cleome watched in horror as the demons poured in from the rift like a never ending stream of monsters.


    "Who is that?" Aldred asked through the inte.


    "That''s Lord Malgorth. He''s the one who opened the rift from various hellworld of his demon army. Now these army are entering this world."


    Aldred gritted his teeth. The bio-titan was still alive, and it still headed to the stronghold.


    As Lord Malgorth and his demonic horde poured forth from the rift, chaos engulfed the battlefield. The demons, grotesque and menacing, shed with the xenomorphs and the Bio-Titan in a battle that shook the very foundations of the earth. The air was thick with the acrid scent of battle, and the ground trembled under the force of the conflict.


    The xenomorphs, usually relentless in their attacks, found themselves facing adversaries of a different kind. Demon warriors, armed with serrated des and dark magic, shed with the acidic ws and deadly precision of the xenomorphs. The battlefield became a gruesome tableau of violence, as ws met horns, and acidic blood mixed with demonic ichor.


    The Bio-Titan, though injured from its previous battle, roared defiantly as it faced the demonic onught. Its massive limbs shed with demon lords, each blow sending shockwaves that rippled through the surrounding area. The ground quaked under the force of their shes, leaving deep scars in the earth.


    Amidst the chaos, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Ceeth, and Astra fought fiercely to protect the stronghold. Their weapons and powers zed with otherworldly energy as they engaged the demons inbat, pushing back against the relentless onught.


    However, the demons'' arrival on this world actually distracted the xenos from attacking the humans, this reduced the pressure on Aldred and hisrades.


    Smander''s mes roared to life, incinerating demon soldiers with searing heat. Cleome''s electricity crackled and danced, electrifying the air and stunning her demonic foes. Shinari''s shadowy tendrils entwined around demons, ensnaring them and dragging them into the depths of darkness. Ceeth conjured gusts of wind, creating a barrier that deflected demonic projectiles and protected her allies.


    Lord Malgorth watched over the world he was about to conquer. He noticed Aldred''s presence, but gave him nothing but a short nce.


    "This much should be enough." Lord Malgorth vanished with bright purple light devouring him.


    Aldred and Smander sighed in relief after they saw Lord Malgorth leaving. They both knew that they weren''t strong enough to face something like that.


    "It seems like Lord Malgorth is visiting the human worlds and opening portals for his demon army."


    "Then that means this world isn''t the only at risk," Aldred replied.


    The thought terrified him. Invading one world was scary enough, but invading multiple at once¡­ that was a power that he could not yet imagine.


    In his peak, Aldred could fight against multiple kingdoms at most with his golem army, undead army, and personal soldiers, but conquering an entire?


    That was simply out of the question.


    "Aldred!" Smander called. "The demons and the xenomorph are fighting against each other. We should focus on protecting the civilians and let these two reduce their numbers."


    "Good idea."


    The rest of the team also agreed, and themunicated this n with the local security team.


    None of them had any problem with the n.


    With a new n in ce, Aldred, Smander, and the rest of the team shifted their focus to protecting the civilians and ensuring their safety. The local security forces joined forces with the survivors, creating a perimeter around the stronghold and leading the evacuation efforts. Families were guided to safety, their fearful faces reassured by the presence of the protectors watching over them.


    The local forces focused on a search and rescue operation, evacuating as much people as they could and brought them to safety.


    Amidst the chaos of battle between demons and xenomorphs, the Smander coordinated with the security forces to fortify their defenses. Barricades were reinforced, makeshift shelters were erected, and medical stations were set up to tend to the wounded. The atmosphere inside the stronghold buzzed with a mix of fear, determination, and hope. The survivors knew they were in for a long and challenging fight, but they refused to sumb to despair.


    Smander even coordinated a bunch of groups to create emergency shelters because the main stronghold were too far from the outskirts of the city.


    Still, even with all of this, he was pissed that he could only try to save one city.


    Outside, the sh between the demonic horde and the xenomorphs intensified. The battlefield became a nightmarish tableau of violence, as demons and xenomorphs tore into each other with savage fury. Roars and shrieks filled the air, apanied by the sickening sounds of flesh being rent and bones breaking. The ground was slick with blood and otherworldly fluids as the two forces battled for supremacy.


    Aldred his allies stood on the front lines, repelling any demons or xenomorphs that dared to breach their defenses. With every strike, every st of fire or lightning, they defended the stronghold and the lives it sheltered. Their determination was unwavering, fueled by the knowledge that they were thest line of defense for these innocent people.


    Hours passed, and the battle raged on. The demons, despite their otherworldly strength, found themselves at a disadvantage against the relentless xenomorphs. The xenomorphs, with their acidic blood and swift attacks, proved to be formidable adversaries. The demons'' numbers dwindled, and the survivors could sense a shift in the tide of battle.


    The bio-titan was very much distracted by the swarm of demons climbing all over it.


    Despite its injuries, the Bio-Titan proved to be a formidable force on the battlefield. As the demonic horde swarmed over its massive form, it unleashed a barrage of devastating bio-weapons in all directions. Its Scything ws sliced through demons with brutal efficiency, severing limbs and tearing apart their forms. The demons, powerful as they were, found it difficult to withstand the Bio-Titan''s onught.


    The Bio-Titan''s Acidic Blood Spray rained down upon the demons, dissolving their flesh on contact. The corrosive substance ate through demonic armor and skin alike, leaving behind a trail of smoldering corpses. Tentaclidsshed out, ensnaring demons and crushing them with incredible strength. With each movement, the Bio-Titan repelled the demonic onught, creating a small radius around itself where demons simply couldn''t approach without being annihted.


    Amidst the chaos, Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and Ceeth observed the Bio-Titan''s ferocious defense with a mix of awe and trepidation. They realized that, despite the Bio-Titan''s terrifying appearance, it was fighting on their side against the demonic invaders.


    "Well, at least for now," Aldred said.


    The bio-titan would attack anything that approach it, even a xenos that get too close would be killed.


    Amidst the chaos and destruction, inside the reinforced walls of the stronghold, a small family huddled together for safety. The parents, a mother named ra and a father named Tavian, shielded their young daughter, Amelia, from the horrors unfolding beyond. Despite the fear etched on their faces, they found strength in each other''s presence.


    Amelia, a wide-eyed child with a heart full of curiosity, pressed her face against a crack in the barricades. Her innocent eyes, shining with a mixture of wonder and fear, observed the battle unfolding before her. The sh between the demonic horde, the xenomorphs, and the valiant defenders had captured her attention.


    As she watched, her gaze fixed on one figure in particr: Aldred, the brave warrior leading the charge against the invading forces. His every move was a disy of sheer determination and valor. The way he swung his Phantom Doomde, the confidence in his eyes, and the unwavering resolve in his stance left a profound impression on the young girl.


    The man reminded her of stories about a hero, fighting against evil to protect the people.


    "He''s amazing, isn''t he?" Amelia whispered, her voice barely audible amidst the cacophony of battle.


    Amelia continued to watch, her eyes glued to Aldred''s every move. In the midst of chaos, she found inspiration. To her, Aldred wasn''t just a warrior; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming darkness.


    Not only her, a lot of people in the stronghold felt the same.


    "We can do this. We can win," Amelia said with conviction as she stared at Aldred''s valiant figure.

 Chapter 638 638 Super

    "We can do this. We can win,"


    Amelia''s words cut through the tension in the air, rallying the defenders in the midst of battle. Her unwavering trust in Aldred transformed the stronghold''s atmosphere, dispelling fear and recing it with newfound courage, uniting them in their fight against the darkness.


    Amidst the chaos, Aldred''s strategic mind went into overdrive. He shouted orders, directing hisrades with precision.


    Smander''s mes engulfed groups of demons, creating a barrier of searing heat that kept the horde at bay. Cleome''s lightning danced across the battlefield, striking down demons with lethal uracy.


    Shinari''s shadowy tendrils snaked through the air, ensnaring demons and pulling them into the darkness.


    Ceeth conjured gusts of wind, creating a protective shield that deflected demonic projectiles.


    The defenders adapted swiftly, their tactics evolving with the battle. They lured the demons into traps, using the terrain to their advantage. Barricades and makeshift barriers were reinforced, creating choke points that funneled the demonic horde, allowing the defenders to engage them more effectively.


    Everything was going very well, until¡­


    Amidst the xenomorph ranks, Zaraak, a highly intelligent Xenomorph Queen, emerged.


    Her obsidian exoskeleton gleamed under the eerie demonic glow.


    Unlike her kin, she possessed human-like intellect, evident in her calcting eyes and regal demeanor.


    Zaraak''s leadership transformed their tactics, orchestrating precise strikes and ambushes that overwhelmed the demons.


    However, she wasn''t the only one.


    Distance away, leading the demonic forces, stood Azazel, a massive demon whose sheer strength and brutality struck terror into the hearts of even the most battle-hardened warriors.


    Azazel''s skin was ashen and adorned with ritualistic scars, and his eyes glowed with an unholy fervor.


    His every movement exuded power and menace, inspiring fear in the hearts of both xenomorph and human alike. Azazel''s presence on the battlefield brought a surge of ferocity to the demonic horde, as they redoubled their efforts, fueled by hismanding presence.


    Under the strategic guidance of Zaraak, the dynamics of the battlefield shifted dramatically.


    The xenomorphs, once driven solely by instinct, now moved with calcted intent. They strategically targeted vulnerable points in the demon ranks, exploiting weaknesses with lethal precision. Zaraak''s tactical brilliance allowed the xenomorphs to anticipate demon movements, turning the tide of battle in their favor.


    Meanwhile, Azazel led the demon horde with an iron fist, crushing opposition with raw power and overwhelming force.


    His demonic minions rallied under hismand, their attacks bing more coordinated and devastating. The ground quaked with every step of the demonic army, leaving deep scars in the earth as they advanced relentlessly, pushing the defenders back.


    Aldred, Smander, and the rest of the defenders found themselves facing an even more daunting challenge. The arrival of Zaraak and Azazel intensified the onught, testing their strength and resilience to the limit. The defenders fought valiantly, their weapons shing against the xenomorphs and demons with unwavering determination.


    Suddenly, an ethereal alien figure appeared floating near Aldred. Aldred couldn''t figure its gender, but its face looked like a female with the muscr body of a bulky man.


    However, he knew exactly who it was.


    "Nra," Aldred called.


    "You! Who are you! You are not the chosen one!"


    "I am not. I am a human, send to this world exactly to eradicate the xenos."


    "You tricked us! How dare you!"


    "¡­"


    Aldred couldn''t believe the irony. The xenomorph tricked the entire poption of this world and now she got mad when Aldred lied to her¡­.


    Suddenly, her ethereal figure glowed with strange light. Both of her eyes were shining.


    "You shall incur the fury of our hive! Our vast swarms of kin shall pursue you relentlessly! They will track your scent and feast upon your flesh. There shall be nothing left of your form, all consumed, save for your skull, which we shall disy in every skirmish, a grisly reminder that deceit is futile against the xenos!"


    Nra''s figure vanished.


    Aldred scoffed. "This is not the first time I got threatened."


    The battlefield became a nightmarish tableau of violence, with demons, xenomorphs, and humans locked in a deadly struggle for survival. The air was thick with the acrid scent of battle, and the ground was littered with the fallen from all sides.


    Aldred had aplicated expression on his face. The scene was too brutal and gruesome, even for him, who was once called the Merchant of Death, Undying Master, Soul Reaper, Vicious Killer, and many more nicknames were put on his name because of his numerous feats.


    The scale of this battle, the countless corpses that littered the battlefield was even beyond his imagination.


    "Is this what happen to thousands of human?" Aldred asked to himself.


    "Every day," Smander replied as he climbed atop the hill of corpses and overlooked another battle in the distance.


    "You might think we might deserve a break, sympathy, or pity, but truly, there are thousands more world fighting just like this if not worse. Every day, one world destroyed, one world taken over."


    "Is that true?"


    "That''s the statistic, but sometimes human got two world, so our dominion is slowly increasing."


    "The bigger your Empire, the bigger and numerous your enemy," Aldredmented.


    Nodding, Smander replied: "I can''t deny the fact that the Imperium has many enemies. Everyone is trying to destroy us. We humans are weak when we''re broken and shattered. The Emperor manage to unite us under one banner, and together we fight to defend every single world."


    Aldred looked at the man. Smander was a man full of conviction and patriotic spirit to the Imperium. Aldred could not understand that feeling, because he never felt like he should sacrifice himself for his country.


    But, he would do everything for his loved ones.


    That was when Aldred realized something. ''Maybe Smander loved every human being in this gxy, that''s why he felt so passionate in protecting the Imperium.''


    The Imperium represent every single human that live on this gxy.


    Aldred''s newfound understanding of Smander''s perspective gave him a different insight into the grand scheme of things. He saw the Imperium not just as a massive empire, but as a collective of countless lives, each with its own story, struggles, and dreams. It was a realization that changed his outlook, making him feel a sense of responsibility not just to his loved ones but to every human being scattered across the gxies.


    ''No! No! No!'' Aldred shook his head. The resposbility of the entire human being was too heavy. He could not burden himself with it when he still struggled to protect his own live and his wives lives.


    In the battlefield, Zaraak, the xenos queen, and Azazel, the demon general, finally met.


    The sh between Zaraak, the xenos queen, and Azazel, the demon general, sent shockwaves through the battlefield.


    "DIE!!!" Zaraak screeched.


    Their meeting was a convergence of raw power and strategic brilliance, a battle that would determine the fate of the.


    Zaraak''s agile form moved gracefully, her obsidian exoskeleton reflecting the chaotic glow of the battlefield.


    With each step, her powerful limbs propelled her forward, and her calcting eyes assessed Azazel, sizing up her opponent.


    Unlike the mindless xenomorph drones, she possessed intelligence, adaptability, and a keen understanding of her enemy''s weaknesses.


    Azazel, on the other hand, exuded an aura of menace and power.


    His massive frame loomed over Zaraak, his eyes burning with demonic fervor. He brandished a wicked, serrated de, ready to strike down any who dared to challenge him. The air crackled with dark energy as he prepared to unleash his devastating might upon the xenos queen.


    "This world is ours to conquer! You, flesh eating monsters should leave this world!"


    The battlemenced with a thunderous sh as Zaraak lunged forward, her razor-sharp ws aimed at Azazel''s chest. The demon general parried her attack with his de, the impact sending shockwaves across the battlefield. They exchanged blows, each strike resonating with the force of a cataclysm.


    Meanwhile, the defenders and the demonic horde continued their fierce battle on the sidelines. Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and Ceeth fought alongside theirrades, desperately holding their ground against the relentless onught. The ground trembled beneath them as the battle between Zaraak and Azazel intensified.


    However, the two suddenly stopped fighting.


    "Why don''t we make a deal," Zaraak offered. "We kill the human first, and then, we fight to decide who can have this world."


    Azazel put down his guard and nodded. "I agree."


    Aldred''s eyes widened in disbelief as he witnessed the unexpected alliance forming before him. The xenos and the demonic army, once bitter enemies, had set aside their differences in a bid to eliminate the human threat. It was a horrifying realization for Aldred and his allies, who now faced an even more formidable adversary.


    With the two sides, joining hand, the people that protected the shelters were immediately overwhelmed. Even though they had set up formidable barriers, it was nothingpared to the mass swarm of aliens and demons.


    The personnel that was assigned to search and rescue more people were told to return back to base immediately as they need more manpower to hold on.


    Aldred and his allies entered the stronghold and defended it from the inside.


    "This is too much for us!" Cleome shouted as she sted off hundreds of aliens and demons with her lightning bolt.


    "It will only a matter of time before they breach the stronghold!"


    The mass swarm began to enter the first wall from the hole created by the bio-titan. And then they began to dig through the second wall.


    "Fucking bastard! There''s never any end to them!"


    BOOM!


    They broke through the second wall as the bio-titan fired another shot. With the demons and xenos joining hand, the bio-titan had no one to distract it from the stronghold.


    "They are approaching the third wall¡­ this is thest wall and only wall that we have now," Smander said.


    As Aldred grappled with the weight of responsibility, the battlefield trembled beneath the relentless assault of demons and xenomorphs.


    Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, the sky above the stronghold zed with streaks of bright light. From the heavens descended a battalion of super soldiers, d in gleaming power armor and armed with advanced weaponry that hummed with lethal energy.


    Aldred looked up and saw a massive battleship named "Aegis Crusaders"


    Without pause, the super soldiers charged immediately towards the opponent, firing their massive bolter gun that turned everything it struck into goo.


    When these super soldiers got close to their enemy, they pulled out a sword as tall as they were and then sliced through the ranks of the enemy with ease.


    The xenos and demons charged at them, but they were cut in half with a single swing.


    The arrival of the Aegis Crusaders brought a renewed glimmer of hope to the beleaguered defenders. As the super soldiers descended from the heavens, theynded with precision and grace, forming a formidable line of defense around the breached walls of the stronghold.


    Their power armor gleamed in the eerie light of the battlefield, equipped with advanced technology that surpassed anything the defenders had ever seen.


    Energy shields flickered to life, creating shimmering barriers that deflected xenomorph acid and demonic projectiles.


    Each soldier wielded high-energy sma weapons, their shots searing through the air and striking their targets with deadly uracy.


    The Aegis Crusaders moved with unmatched speed and efficiency, their movements synchronized as they engaged the xenos and demons. Bolts of energynced out from their weapons, disintegrating waves of oing enemies. Xenomorphs screeched in agony as they were incinerated by the super soldiers'' relentless onught, and demons howled in fury as their ranks were decimated.


    The battleships in the sky participated in the battle as well.


    It activated a high-energy sma cannon towards the bio-titan, disintegrating half of its body in an instant.


    The Bio-titan roared, before firing its spines towards the sky.


    A golden ethereal shield flickered to life and deflected the spines away.


    That was when six massive rotary cannons protruded out of the ship and then ripped the bio-titan to pieces.


    Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, and Ceeth watched in awe as the Aegis Crusaders fought with incredible strength. The tide of battle began to shift once more, as thebined might of the defenders and the super soldiers pushed the xenos and demons back, reiming lost ground.


    Smander clenched his fist in excitement. "This is the super soldier! I finally see them fight with my own two eyes. Look at them! Look at how they advance through the swarm of enemies without pausing even for half a second. They are an unstoppable force! Look at how they coordinate! Look at that teamwork!"


    The super soldiers disyed incredible teamwork, covering each other''s backs and forming defensive formations that held the line against the relentless onught.


    Theirmander, a stern-faced leader with amanding presence, barked orders and strategies over them channels, guiding his troops with precision.


    The battlefield became a symphony of destruction, as energy sts and explosions filled the air.


    The Aegis Crusaders moved with calcted precision, striking down demons and xenomorphs with ruthless efficiency. The ground shook with the impact of their footsteps as they advanced, driving the enemy forces back with every step.


    Aldred was speechless. Never before had he seen something like this. With his godly eyes, he noticed that these super soldiers weren''t actually much stronger than him, but their numbers, their teamwork, logistics, coordination, and plus all of their equipments, tools, and weapons of war¡­


    All of these elements add up and increase their firepower by many fold!


    "No wonder Smander admire them so much."

 Chapter 639 639 Oiled Machine

    The battlefield erupted in chaos as Aegis Crusaders, armed with advanced technology, shed with xenos and demons.


    Explosions, screams, and energy weapon sts filled the air, apanied by the sickening smell of burning flesh and sulfur.


    As the xenos charged, one of them roared and then its head exploded the next second.


    The demon next to it got its whole left shoulder ripped off by the bolter gun.


    The demon red at the approaching super soldiers with extreme hatred, but another bolt shattered its skull.


    The super soldiers advanced relentlessly. They were like an unstoppable tsunami. Every obstacles were destroyed with overwhelming force.


    "Incredible! Just incredible!"


    "What are they? Are they humans?"


    "They are much bigger than humans! I''ve seen them in some videos before, I couldn''t believe they are real!"


    However, the enemies were not backing down. Zaraak, the xenos queen, and Azazel, the demon general, regrouped their forces,unching a counteroffensive with renewed ferocity. The battlefield once again became a battleground of raw power and strategic brilliance.


    In some instances, the super soldiers showed some sign of struggling that only Aldred could notice, but they quickly solved their problem in such a short notice.


    "Theirmunication is immacte," Aldredmented.


    Aldred was very impressed. Back on his, the warriors focused on individual strength and agree that every win or losses were decided by each individuals.


    The super soldiers were very different. Each unit move as a team, working like a perfect killing machine.


    With a nce, everyone could tell that the super soldiers were winning.


    "Let''s join them," Aldred said.


    "What? Why? The super soldiers will take care of them."


    ''Because I want to get the attention for the higher ups and earn some rewards,'' Aldred thought to himself, but he wouldn''t say that.


    "This is a chance to fight side by side with the super soldiers! You''re telling me you are willing to let this chance slip away?"


    Smander''s eyes widened. "You''re right! I am such an idiot! This is my opportunity to fight alongside my heroes!"


    He turned around. "Everyone! We are warriors and soldiers. Let''s show our allies that we aren''t babies crying and begging to be saved!"


    The people roared in excitement because they saw the super soldiers were winning, they wanted to join the battle too.


    Soon after, Aldred and his allies charged out of the stronghold.


    The super soldiers immediately noticed their presence, and rounds ofmunication were issued regarding them.


    "Sir, they are locals of this. It seems like they''re nning to help us fight the xenos and the demons."


    Themander, standing firm inside his battleship, overlooking numerous battlefield at once, frowned. "Annoying pest! Try to keep your distance away from them. Don''t let them ruin your coordination."


    "Yes, sir!"


    The call ended. Themander stared at the numerous screen presented to him without blinking. Hundreds of workers working in the background.


    The locals presented unpredictable elements.


    Even though their intention were trying to help, the locals were not included in their battle formation and philosophy. They wouldn''t know when to retreat, when to attack, and how to handle certain situations.


    The super soldiers were trained as a team. They were like a group dancers that had repeated every single movement more than a million times over.


    If a person who never trained before joined the group, the whole chemistry and aesthetic would vanish immediately.


    That was why super soldiers were mostly deployed on worlds where the local forces couldn''t fight back anymore and huddled under some rubbles somewhere.


    Themander blinked. "That got me thinking. How did they hold on for this long against a bio-titan while swarmed with demons and xenos?"


    Suddenly, a massive jet of me burst out from a particr direction and swept xenos and demons alike. Incinerating them like a rocket thrusters.


    After the fire disappeared, a crimson lines appeared all over the ce, and thousands of demons and xenos were minced to pieces.


    Amidst the roar, screams, and explosion, there was a particr battle-cry, much louder and stronger than the other.


    Themander set his eyes on a particr man with a strange, dark, crimson sword.


    "A super?"


    The man shed left and right with each swing, cutting dozens of opponents at once.


    Suddenly, Aldred did something else.


    Aldred charged into the fray, his weapon in hand, a shape-shifting masterpiece crafted from a rare, dark crimson metal. The sword glowed with an otherworldly aura, and as he swung it, the de morphed and shifted, adapting to the needs of the battle. It transformed from a broadsword to a whip-like weapon,shing out and cutting through xenos and demons with fluid precision. The super soldiers nearby nced at him in surprise, their advanced visors analyzing his unique weapon.


    However, they couldn''t find any information about his weapon at all.


    With every strike, Aldred showcased his exceptionalbat skills. He moved with a grace that belied his muscr build, his movements precise and calcted. He parried xenomorph ws and demon des effortlessly, countering with swift strikes that left his enemies disoriented.


    Aldred''s presence actually some of the burden from the super soldiers, and he worked with precision not to disturb their teamwork.


    The xenos and demons found themselves facing a formidable adversary in Aldred.


    Hisbat style was unpredictable, his sword shifting forms rapidly, catching his opponents off guard. He was a whirlwind of destruction, his crimson sword leaving trails of light in the air as he moved.


    At one moment, his sword elongated into a spear, impaling multiple xenos in a single thrust.


    In the next, it transformed into a pair of serrated des, slicing through demons with ruthless efficiency.


    The super soldiers watched, impressed as Aldred seamlessly adapted his weapon to the ever-changing battlefield, his movements synchronized with the precision of a seasoned warrior.


    Aldred''s presence bolstered the morale of the local defenders. Inspired by his bravery and skill, they fought with renewed vigor, pushing back against the xenos and demons. His every move was a spectacle of martial prowess, a dance of death that left a trail of fallen enemies in his wake.


    Meanwhile, themander of the Aegis Crusaders observed Aldred''s performance with keen interest.


    The way Aldred wielded his shape-shifting sword intrigued him.


    He realized that this was no ordinary weapon but a relic of incredible power and versatility.


    Themander''s tactical mind whirred into action as he considered the possibilities of incorporating such a weapon into their arsenal.


    "Hmm, a weapon like that can provide unpredictability and element of surprise that can catch the enemy off-guard. However, implementing it on arge scale require further training and education." Themander considered. "Still, the benefit outweigh the cost."


    "Prepare an analysis of that weapon," he ordered one of his subordinates. "I want to know its capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. If it proves to be as effective as it looks, we might consider adapting our technology to create something simr," themander ordered.


    Back on the battlefield, Aldred continued to fight valiantly. With each swing of his shape-shifting sword, he carved a path through the xenos and demons, creating an opening for the defenders and the super soldiers to exploit. His movements were a blur of crimson light and steel.


    As the battle raged on, Aldred''s connection with his weapon deepened. He felt an ancient power coursing through the de, guiding his strikes and enhancing his reflexes.


    It was as if the sword had a mind of its own, aiding him in his fight against the overwhelming odds.


    With a fierce battle cry, Aldred lunged forward, his sword shifting into a massive, double-edged axe.


    He cleaved through a horde of xenos and demons, the impact sending shockwaves through the battlefield. The ground trembled beneath his feet as he pressed onward, his crimson sword leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.


    "This should be enough to get their attention," Aldred said. "However, I should do more just in case."


    The battlefield echoed with the sh of steel, the roar of energy weapons, and the battle cries of allies and enemies alike.


    And in the heart of the chaos, Aldred stood tall, his crimson sword zing with an otherworldly light, a symbol of defiance against the forces that sought to consume them all.


    Amidst the chaos, Azazel, the demon general, recognized Aldred as a significant threat. With a roar, he charged towards Aldred, his massive frame cutting through the battlefield. Zaraak, the xenos queen, followed suit, her agile form gliding gracefully as she leaped and dodged iing attacks.


    "Hoo, the big bosses are finallying to me." Aldred smiled.


    Aldred met their challenge head-on. His shape-shifting sword transformed into a shield, deflecting Azazel''s mighty blows, while he countered Zaraak''s strikes with swift, calcted parries. The sh between the three titans sent shockwaves across the battlefield, creating a momentary lull in the chaos.


    Sensing the opportunity, the Aegis Crusaders regrouped and focused their firepower on the xenos queen and demon general. Energy sts and precision strikes rained down upon Azazel and Zaraak, forcing them on the defensive.


    Aldred, seizing the advantage,unched a relentless assault. His shape-shifting sword morphed into a pair of razor-sharp des, and he struck with blinding speed, targeting Azazel''s vulnerable joints and Zaraak''s sensitive sensory organs. The demon general howled in pain as his movements slowed, while the xenos queen screeched in agony, temporarily blinded by Aldred''s precise strikes.


    "These super soldiers are very reliable," Aldred said. "I wonder if I can create them when I return to my."


    Seeing their leaders in distress, the remaining xenos and demons faltered.


    "The enemies are losing! Kill everyst one of them!"


    The defenders, fueled by the newfound coordination between Aldred and the Aegis Crusaders, pressed the attack. Barricades were reinforced, choke points exploited, and traps set, further disorienting the enemy forces.


    The Aegis Crusaders capitalized on the chaos. They unleashed a barrage of devastating energy sts, annihting xenos and demons alike. Azazel and Zaraak, overwhelmed by thebined assault, fell back, their forces in disarray.


    Overwhelmed by the attacks, Azazel and Zaraak escaped from the battlefield.


    The super soldiers didn''t bother to chase, instead, they reap the xenos and demons that remain on the battlefield.


    The result of the battle was certain.

 Chapter 640 640 Aftermath

    Chapter 640  640 Aftermath


    With Azazel and Zaraak retreating, the battlefield gradually began to calm.


    The roars of demons and xenos grew fainter as the remnants of their forces scattered, fleeing from the overwhelming might of the alliance between the super soldiers, Aldred, and the local defenders.


    The once chaotic battleground was now littered with the fallen, a grim reminder of the fierce battle that had taken ce.


    Aldred lowered his weapon, its crimson glow fading as the ancient power within subsided. He looked around at the devastation, his eyes reflecting a mixture of relief and exhaustion. The Aegis Crusaders approached him, their advanced visors scanning the area for any remaining threats.


    "Your help is very much appreciated, warrior. The valor you showed in battle will forever be carved in history."


    "It is I who should be thanking you guys. Without you, this will be done for."


    The super soldier nodded and then he received a list of data. "You are not from here?"


    Shaking his head, Aldred replied: "No. I am not actually from here. Ie here because I receive information that there might be an Eclipse on this."


    "You do understand what an Eclipse is?"


    "I do." Aldred nodded.


    "And yet, you willinglye to this. All alone?"


    "Not alone. I bring some people with me."


    Smander, Shinari, Cleome, And Shuzib approached Aldred.


    Elralya and Ceeth were hiding in the back. Super soldiers might had the ability to detect that they were elves. If that were to happen, they would surely be killed.


    "Only the five of you? Why not ask for help?"


    "We did. But Lord Malgorth''s forces blocked our reinforcement. Apparently, this isn''t the only he invades in this star clusters."


    "True. Our allies are currently fighting against Malgorth''s forces as well. Fortunately, you buy us enough time to save this."


    "I only protected one city."


    The super soldier shook his head. "The majority of the xenos and demon forces congested in this city. In theory, the whole region should be conquered within hours."


    Aldred could understand. The existence of the bio-titan was a major threat as it could breach any stronghold in a short time.


    "You fought like a true hero. We couldn''t have done it without you and the super soldiers."


    Aldred nodded humbly, acknowledging thepliment. "It was a team effort. We all yed our part in this victory."


    As the battlefield settled, the alliance turned their attention to the wounded and the fallen. Medics rushed to provide aid to the injured, while others began the somber task of collecting the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Despite the victory, there was a heavy atmosphere of loss and mourning for the fallenrades.


    The sergeant approached Aldred, his expression thoughtful. "We owe you a debt of gratitude for your assistance. Your unique weapon andbat skills proved invaluable in this battle. We would be interested in learning more about your technology and techniques."


    "You mean my sword?" Aldred raised his weapon.


    "Yes, we would like to obtain its technology."


    Aldred scoffed inside. By ''obtaining'' they mean, take the sword away from him, but he knew they would ask about his weapon.


    "It''s not actually my sword."


    "Then whose?"


    "It''s actually my ability. I am able to manipte matters to a certain point and extent my power into them."


    Aldred then summoned a clone.


    The clone wield the same de and then the clone stabbed upward, releasing a vortex of intense fire.


    "As you can see, the clone is just a bunch of matters and atoms, but I am able to infuse them with my powers."


    The sergeant was impressed. His readings told him that the clones actually had the same power level as Aldred.


    One Aldred was powerful enough, now he could create clone with the same level?


    There had to be extreme limitations to this technique.


    Suddenly, the sergeant received a message from the higher ups. "Aldred, what do you think about joining the super soldiers?"


    Smander''s eyes widened. He was shocked the sergeant invited Aldred to join them.


    "Joining the super soldiers?"


    The sergeant nodded.


    "I don''t know yet," Aldred said. "From what I can see, joining you will be a fully devotedmitment, and I am not sure I am ready for that."


    "Aldred, why are you hesitating?This is the super soldiers we''re talking about. This is one in a lifetime chance," Smander said.


    Aldred activated his inte and whispered. "I am not from here, remember?"


    Smander just realized. Aldred wasn''t from this gxy, and he actually had the intention to return back to his world. If he join the super soldier, he wouldn''t be able to go back.


    "Let us know if you change your mind. Themander took an interest in you." The Sergeant pulled out a solid golden card with the symbol of the Aegis Crusader and handed it to Aldred. "Keep this with you."


    "Thanks." Aldred received the card and put it in his pocket without much thought.


    The sergeant took notice of his action. Usually, people would stare at the cards for a while.


    "Let''s take care of the aftermath."


    With the battle over, the alliance focused on regrouping and fortifying their defenses. The Aegis Crusaders and the local defenders coborated, sharing their expertise and technology to enhance the''s security measures. Aldred, with his extensivebat experience, provided valuable insights into potential weaknesses and strategies that the enemies might exploit.


    In the following days, the alliance worked tirelessly as they began repairing damaged structures, reinforcing fortifications, and establishingmunicationworks to ensure swift responses to any potential threats. The unity among the super soldiers, local defenders, and Aldred became a beacon of hope for the''s inhabitants, inspiring them to stand strong in the face of adversity.


    However, the Aegis Crusaders didn''t stay for long. Super soldiers never stay at a particr ce for long. They were always on the move, fighting against every threat almost at all time.


    The entered their spaceship and quickly entered the warp.


    They left as quick as they came.


    Aldred and hispanions were immediately surrounded by locals expressing their thanks.


    Some offered valuable and meaningful gifts, others bowed in deep respect, their expressions filled with reverence for the strangers who had defended their home.


    "Thank you, brave heroes! Because of you my family is still intact!"


    "I saw my father died because of those demons! If not for you, the rest of my family will be killed as well."


    "Thank you, hero."


    "Thank you!"


    "We love you!"


    "Thank you so much!"


    The people repeatedly said their thanks to him without end. They keep nodding and look at him with admiration.


    The wounded were treated with care, and healers from various species worked together to mend injuries and tend to the fallen. Among the refugees, there were tears of relief and gratitude, for they had been spared from the fate that had befallen many others.


    Smander, Shinari, Cleome, and Shuzib, the local warriors who had joined Aldred, were hailed as heroes.


    The people praised their bravery and determination, holding them in high esteem for standing alongside the super soldiers and Aldred during the battle.


    Children approached them wide-eyed, asking for stories of the battle, their faces filled with awe as they listened to the tales of valor and triumph.


    Cleome and Shinari loved to tell stories to these children, and they dly tell them everything.


    In the following days, Aldred and his allies became an integral part of themunity. They helped with the reconstruction efforts, using their unique skills and technology to assist the locals in rebuilding their city.


    He was very active even in the small stuff.


    Shuzib noticed his strange behavior. "Why are you doing this?"


    Aldred looked around, making sure no one else was there. "We haven''t got paid yet."


    "Ah¡­" Shuzib blinked a couple of times. This man really liked money.


    "Anyway, where is your wife and children? Shouldn''t you be finding them now?"


    Shuzib''s eyes widened. " That''s right. My family. Right. My family, should be around here somewhere. The authorities are identifying the survivors. Once they are identified, the authorities will surely tell me."


    "I see." Aldred did not understand how the government works on this, so he didn''t ask further question.


    Suddenly, a luxurious spacecraft,nded nearby.


    Aldred and hispanions watched in curiosity as a luxurious spacecraft touched down near the battleground. Its sleek exterior gleamed in the sunlight, adorned with intricate designs and symbols that spoke of wealth and opulence. As the spacecraft''s door opened, a grand staircase slowly extended, descending gracefully to the ground below.


    The crowd of grateful locals and the warriors fell silent, their eyes wide with astonishment as a figure descended the staircase. The neer was dressed in regal attire, adorned with jewels that sparkled in the sunlight. Their presence exuded an aura of authority and wealth, capturing the attention of everyone present.


    Aldred smiled bitterly, because he know who it was.


    Baron Octavius Drakon looked around in disgust. "What a mess."

 Chapter 641 641 Lord Drakon

    Chapter 641  641 Lord Drakon


    The baron looked around without hiding his obviously disgusted face. The people, dirty and tattered stepped back in fear.


    They knew who Octavius was. It was a matter of pride that a noble that ruled a territory must be known within that territory.


    There were several reasons for this. First, was respect. If the baron came here, and no one knew who he was, they might disrespect him.


    If his fellow aristocrat knew he was disrespected bymoners, it would bring great shame to his name.


    Other than that, it was very satisfying to see the way the peasants looked at him. Something about their gaze made him feel superior. He felt like a god that could decide their fate with nothing but a single word.


    However, his pleasure soon became annoyance. He stomped his luxurious scepter on the ground and demanded. "What is this? Is this how you treat your lord? Where is my chair? Where is my drinks and entertainment?"


    The people looked around in confusion. Who would consider giving the lord something like that during this time?


    "You!" Drakon pointed. "Come here!"


    A man hesitantly approached the lord and bowed. "What do you need of me, my lord?"


    "You still dare to ask? Humph!" Drakon raised his scepter and struck the man''s head.


    The man screamed in pain and fell on the floor.


    "You ipetence! As a subordinate, you should know how to attend to my needs!" Drakon struck the man over and over again, sshing blood all over the ce.


    "Please stop. Have mercy, my lord."


    Lord Drakon raised his feet and stomped the man''s face. Smearing the man''s lips with dirt and stain. "I have enough of you fools! Kill him!"


    Two guards approached and raised their sword.


    The man widened his eyes in fear. He couldn''t believe that the lord was truly nning to kill him.


    As the guards approached, their form were covered in silhouette as the sun set behindthem, blinding the poor man.


    The guards swung their de and the man closed his eyes.


    ng!


    The man heard the sound, but he soon realized that he didn''t die. Opening his eyes, he saw another figure in front of him, blocking the two sword with his forearm.


    Everyone cheered silently, relieved that Aldred came to the rescue.


    "Lord Drakon. Why doyou have a need to kill this poor man?"


    "Why? Fail to entertain the lord is a sign of ipetence! I do not tolerate ipetence and his punishment will be an example for all of my subjects."


    Drakon then realized something. "Wait, you are Aldred. So youe to ept my invitation after all. Haha! I knew you wouldn''t take long toe to me."


    Aldred shook his head. "I am not here to join you."


    "THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON OF ONE MY PLANET?"


    "He saved this you dumb fuck!" someone said in the crowd.


    "Who said that?!" Drakon gritted his teeth in anger. How dare someone mocked in him in public!


    "And what did you say? Save the? Without the super soldiers, what can you do? Look at all of these destructions? You called this as saving the."


    Drakon spat on the ground. "Don''t think too highly of yourself." He circled around Aldred while staring at him as if he was an inferior being. "You''re just a single person with some power. You think you''re so special? You are nothing but dirt. There are far more powerful people than you."


    Drakon grinned. "I know exactly what you want. You''re the hero type. You like saving people aren''t you? Don''t you want more power so you can save more people?"


    Laughing, Drakon said: "Seems like I gave you the wrong first impression. I am a person that can sell dream but unlike others, I can turn that dream into reality. If you pledge your allegiance to me, I will give you power to protect humanity if you so wish."


    "What do you think?" Drakon asked.


    "I don''t need your power," Aldred replied. "And I am not doing this for free either. You''re going to pay me for reducing the casualties of your."


    Drakon was silent at first but then he burst intoughter. "I thought too highly of you."


    The lord reached into his pocket and then threw a bunch of strange coins on the floor. "Now pick up those coins like a starving peasants."


    Drakon turned around and entered his ship before leaving immediately.


    Aldred just stood there. "Seems like we aren''t getting paid."


    "What the hell are you talking about. He gave us those coins," Smander said.


    "What the hell are we going to do with just a bunch of coins? Besides, I''ve never seen anyone use coins for transactions since I am here."


    Smander sighed and picked up all the coins. He then scannedthe coins with hisms and the coins all vanished.


    "What?"


    Smander checked his bnce ount. "Oh, he''s quite generous."


    "How much did he gave us?" Aldred asked.


    "Enough to buy us a battleship." Smander smiled.


    Aldred shrugged. "Well, at least we got that out of the way."


    He then looked at Shuzib. "Have anyone inform you about your family yet?"


    Shuzib shook his head. "It''s fine. Maybe they are outside the city. It''s no big deal. The super soldiers said that the xenos and demons were mainly attacking this city."


    Aldred nodded. "Also, didn''t you said that you were enved by Lord Drakon? Is your family enved as well?"


    "They are, but it''s actually not that hard for us to escape. Lord Drakon barely ever saw our faces. That''s why I am not scared when he was in front of me. He has millions of ves, even if thousands escaped, he wouldn''t notice a thing."


    "So, what''s our next move?" Smander asked. "Our mission on this is over. The people can rebuild their societies by themselves. We don''t have to help them in that part."


    "I guess, we continue to find the thing we''re looking for."


    Everyone nodded.


    "Shuzib, I hope you will respect your promise and guide us to the Chronicles of Ascendria."


    Shuzib nodded. "I will be your guide until you find it."


    Aldred stretched his body. "However, before we leave this, I want to rx a bit."


    After the intense battle and the encounter with Lord Drakon, Aldred and hispanions decided to take a few days to rx and unwind before embarking on their next mission.


    They found a peaceful spot near a pristineke, surrounded by lush greenery and colorful flowers. The serene atmosphere was a stark contrast to the chaos they had faced, providing a much-needed respite for the weary warriors.


    Aldred, Smander, Shinari, Cleome, and Shuzib spent their days enjoying the tranquility of nature and each other''spany. They set up camp near theke, creating afortable space with soft nkets and pillows. Smander, being the expert cook among them, prepared delicious meals using local ingredients they had gathered.


    "That guy knows how to do everything," Aldred said.


    Cleome and Shinari agreed.


    "I agree with you. I don''t know if we can live without him."


    During the days, they explored the nearby forests and hills, discovering hidden waterfalls, exotic nts, and fascinating wildlife.


    Cleome and Shinari, with their keen senses, identified various herbs and nts, sharing their knowledge with the group.


    Shuzib, despite his initial reserved nature, gradually opened up, sharing stories from his past and teaching them about the customs and traditions of his people.


    He now trusted Aldred and the others. After all, they had truly done a lot for the people on this.


    In the evenings, they gathered around a campfire, sharing tales of their adventures and dreams for the future.


    Shuzib strummed a soothing melody on his guitar, filling the air with music that harmonized with the sounds of nature. Theyughed, exchanged jokes, and even engaged in friendlypetitions, showcasing their unique skills.


    Aldred, ever curious, practiced his abilities, manipting the elements around him to create mesmerizing disys of light and fire.


    He crafted intricate patterns in the night sky, leaving hispanions in awe of his mastery over his powers.


    The sight of Aldred''s abilities fascinated Shuzib, who observed with wide-eyed wonder, realizing the true extent of his newfound allies'' capabilities.


    "Incredible!" Shuzib eximed. "I''ve never seen someone with your power before. The way you use your abilities are very unique."


    "Did I told him that I don''te from this gxy?"


    "Ah, that exins it."


    A different region within the gxy could result in apletely different way of using magic. If Aldred came from a different gxy, then it would be weird if his magic was the same as the magic here.


    And then Shuzib asked for more details about Aldred''s hometown.


    Under the starlit sky, they shared their hopes and fears, forging a stronger bond among them.


    Cleome, with her sharp intuition, sensed a deeper connection between them. She was happy to make more friends and create deeper connection.


    After all, that was what make humanity whole: Emotional connection among each other.

 Chapter 642 642 Next Stop

    Chapter 642  642 Next Stop


    After their short vacation, Aldred and his team returned to a hotel room that they rented. The owner of the hotel insisted numerous times that they do not have to pay, and even gave them all the MVP room avable.


    "Are you sure, we don''t have to pay for this? Your business needs money now of all times."


    "No need. No need. Your presence in my hotel is already enough payment. Now I can brag that my hotel has served one of the hero that saved this. So please be assured that everything you want and need will be taken care of."


    Aldred nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality."


    The owner''s eyes lit up and tapped the back of of his own hand twice, a gesture that meant appreciation in the local culture.


    Aldred and the owner chatted a bit before the owner left.


    "He''s such a nice guy," Smander said. "Rooms like these could cost someone''s yearly sry."


    Aldred looked around the room. The style was something he had never seen before. It was a mix of eastern and west with abination of traditional and modern. It was very hard to describe.


    However, it was very clear that the room looked very expensive.


    Still, Aldred wouldn''t consider the owner to be a nice guy. The owner earned free marketing and an increase in their reputation for giving them this room.


    Aldred and the others were like celebrities now with thousands of admirers. Anyone that helped him will be seen in a good light.


    Not to mention the exposure this hotel will receive.


    Aldred smiled. He wasn''tining though. He was used to this. Numerous people had given a lot of free stuff in order to curry favor.


    When you reach a height in power or status, it was very normal for people to do this to you.


    This was reality.


    He jumped on the soft bed. "This feels great."


    "When are we going to leave this?" Smander asked.


    "Let''s go tomorrow," Aldred said. "There''s no need to stay here any longer."


    "Has Shuzib found his family yet?"


    "Unfortunately not. There are still many people haven''t been identified yet. Shuzib said not to worry too much."


    "I bet he''s worried sick."


    "Of course," Aldred replied with a frown. He could understand the feeling of being far from one''s family.


    Elralya observed a change in Aldred''s energy. It was stable before, but now it became chaotic. However, she could sense that Aldred was in control of this energy.


    ''What an interesting human,'' Elralya thought. ''He said in his world various races are friend with each other. Perhaps that affect his character.''


    All of them slept for the night.


    Then, the next day, they discussed where to go first.


    "We need our own spaceship," Smander said. "With our current funds, we can buy one immediately. But, we have to go to a shipyard first."


    "I have no problem with that," Aldred said.


    They immediately called a ride to a nearby.


    In the Imperium Celestialis, there were numerouspanies that offers transportation services. As long as you got the money, they would take you anywhere in the gxy.


    "I have found one of the best shipyard in Novastra Clusters. It''s a called Navalis Forge World."


    "Hmm, sounds like a legit name for a battleship shipyard."


    Smander nodded with excitement. "I''ve read a bunch of stuff about this. Because of its production capability, Navalis Forge World be a crucial asset in providing the fleets with state-of-the-art battleships. Lord Malgorth''s forces be free promotion for Navalis because the deployed thousands of their ships to fight against the demons."


    "That''s good." Aldred nodded. "It means that their quality are confirmed."


    Suddenly, a whirling sound came from above.


    Aldred stood up from his chair on the rooftop of the hotel. "That''s our ride."


    "Let''s go."


    A gravity beam pulsed and pulled them into a spacecraft.


    A butler put his right hand on his left chest and slightly bowed. "Wee esteemed guest. My name is Damian De La Huerta Goldfarb Folke. I will be your attending butler in this ride. I want to confirm our destination. You would like to visit Navalis Forge World with the world number X-457Y9Z2."


    "That''s correct."


    "Okay, would you like to speak to the captain?"


    "Nope."


    The butler nodded. "If you have any request at all. Please call me at any time."


    Suddenly, two maids came and greeted them. "Wee, esteemed guests."


    "The maids will bring you to your chamber and provide you with food and drinks."


    "Please, follow us."


    The maids walked ahead as the group followed them.


    Aldred was weirded out. The service was too spectacr for a simple transportation service. He would only receive this kind of treatment with luxurious package.


    Wait a minute!


    Aldred looked at Smander who was all smile. "Smander, how much does this ride cost?"


    "Hm? Don''t worry about it."


    "The hell you mean don''t worry about it. We work hard for that money."


    "Hehe, I have never experienced luxury before. This is once in a lifetime experience."


    Aldred sighed and let it be because he understood what Smander felt. Before he was reincarnated, he lived a pretty rough and poor life. He could only watch the privileged kids holding hands with their parents buying anything they want while he hold a piece of molded bread with tattered clothes.


    It was impossible to forget that scene.


    After the maids escorted them to their room, they brought in all kinds of high-quality, five-star type of food.


    The room they were escorted to was opulent, adorned with elegant furnishings and a breathtaking view of the stars through arge, panoramic window. The atmosphere was tinged with a sense of sophistication, and the air was fragrant with exotic scents that wafted from nearby perfumed candles. Soft, ambient music yed in the background, creating a serene ambiance that added to the luxurious setting.


    There were a lot of tes on the table, however, the food on each te was very little. Instead, the dish focused on aesthetic and taste.


    A typical five-star food.


    The maids carefully served the dishes, each te a work of art in itself. The food was presented meticulously, with vibrant colors and intricate designs that showcased the chef''s culinary expertise. The aroma of exotic spices filled the air, tantalizing their senses and piquing their curiosity about the vors toe.


    When you''re eating something luxurious. It''s usually wasn''t meant to make you feel full, instead, it should make you feel something else.


    Introducing something new to your tongue.


    Aldred, Smander, Shinari, Cleome, and Shuzib gathered around the table, their eyes widening in awe as they examined the exquisite dishes before them. Each dish seemed to tell a story, promising a culinary adventure that transcended the ordinary.


    Aldred picked up a delicate fork and took a bite of the first dish. The vors exploded in his mouth, a harmonious blend of sweet, savory, and spicy notes that danced on his taste buds.


    He closed his eyes, savoring the moment as the taste transported him to a world of culinary delight. The others followed suit, their expressions reflecting a mixture of surprise and delight at the exquisite taste.


    "It''s¡­ good. No. It''s perfect!"


    "This is incredible," Smander eximed, his eyes wide with amazement. "I''ve never tasted anything like this before!"


    Shinari nodded in agreement, her usuallyposed demeanor breaking for a moment as she savored the vors. "Thebination of spices is truly remarkable. It''s like a symphony in my mouth."


    Cleome, with her keen senses, analyzed each dish with precision. "The chef has a deep understanding of vor bnce. It''s not just about taste; it''s about creating an experience. No wonder the rich willingly paid so much money for so little food."


    Shuzib, though initially reserved, couldn''t help but smile as he indulged in the delicacies. "I''ve tasted elven cuisine, but this... this is on a whole new level."


    Aldred, too, was thoroughly impressed. Despite his vast experiences across different worlds, this culinary adventure was unlike anything he had ever encountered. He appreciated the attention to detail, the creativity, and the passion infused into every bite.


    Elven cuisine were said to be unmatched in the gxy. Elves took pride in aesthetic and taste. Their chef were even more skilled as they took their skill to the next level.


    Elralya and Ceeth consumed those kind of food regrly, so this kind of dish did not manage to impress them.


    Aldred raised his ss, filled with a rare and exquisite wine, and proposed a toast. "To new experiences, to friendship, and to the extraordinary journey we''ve embarked upon. May our paths be filled with wonders, challenges, and the joy of discovery."


    They clinked sses, their eyes meeting in a shared moment of connection.


    The room seemed to glow with warmth, and for a brief moment, the burdens of their mission faded away, leaving behind the simple pleasure of being in goodpany.

 Chapter 643 643 Navalis Forge World

    Chapter 643  643 Navalis Forge World


    Through the viewports, they watched as the stars turned into streaks of light, indicating their rapid travel through the gxy. The journey to Navalis Forge World would take some time, giving them a chance to prepare for whaty ahead.


    Aldred leaned back in his seat, deep in thought. He knew that their visit to Navalis Forge World marked a significant step in their mission. Acquiring their own spaceship was essential for their travels, giving them the freedom to explore different worlds and uncover the secrets of the Chronicles of Ascendria.


    Smander, always enthusiastic about new technology, eagerly engaged in a conversation with the butler, asking about the specifications of the spacecraft.


    Surprisingly, the butler knew in details about the spacecraft which impressed Smander.


    Shinari and Cleome exchanged stories from their past missions, while Shuzib listened intently, absorbing the experiences of his newfoundpanions.


    Elralya and Ceeth, ever observant, scanned the surroundings, their keen eyes detecting subtle energies and vibrations. Despite their calm demeanor, they remained vignt, ready to assist their allies at a moment''s notice.


    As they traveled, Damian approached Aldred. "Is there anything specific you require during the journey, esteemed guest?"


    Aldred nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, but for now, we''re fine. We appreciate the excellent service."


    The butler smiled and retreated gracefully, leaving Aldred to his thoughts.


    Navalis Forge World awaited them, promising not only a new spacecraft but also the next chapter in their quest for the Chronicles of Ascendria.


    Aldred looked out of the viewport, his gaze fixed on the distant stars. Whatever challengesy ahead, he was ready to face them.


    He had fought against demons, bio-monsters, and even space orks.


    His victory proved that he could continue this journey.


    Upon their arrival at Navalis Forge World, Aldred and his team were greeted by a bustling spaceport, teeming with activity. The air was filled with the scent of metal and machinery, a testament to the''s reputation as a hub of technological innovation. Towering structures loomed in the distance, housing state-of-the-art shipyards and manufacturing facilities.


    Their butler, Damian, guided them through thebyrinthine spaceport, leading them to one of the renowned shipyards on the. The shipyard was a marvel of engineering, with massive cranes lifting starships into position for repairs and upgrades. The sound of welding and construction echoed through the air, creating a symphony of industry.


    Aldred marveled at the sight, his eyes tracing the intricate designs of the starships being crafted and repaired. It was a stark reminder of the advanced civilizations that inhabited the gxy, each world contributing to the vast tapestry of interster technology.


    The shipyard sprawled before them like a colossal cathedral of innovation, its metal spires reaching for the heavens. The air buzzed with the hum of machinery and the sharp scent of metal, a tangible testament to the ceaseless work of countless engineers and craftsmen.


    Aldred and his allies stood on a tform overlooking the bustling expanse below. Starships of various shapes and sizes were scattered across the vast floor, each one a masterpiece of engineering. Some ships were sleek and streamlined, designed for speed and agility, while others were robust and heavily armored, clearly built for battle in the unforgiving depths of space.


    Aldred had seen a shipyard before, but not as amazing as this.


    "I have an aquintance that can help you provide what you need," Damian said. "If you randomly go to one of these shipyards, they will charge you with exorbitan prices. Especially during the times of conflict."


    "That''s very convenience," Aldred said, surprised that the butler even help them this far.


    They were met by a representative of the shipyard, a knowledgeable engineer named Elysia. She weed them warmly, her enthusiasm for starships evident in her every gesture. Elysia led them on a tour of the shipyard, showcasing the cutting-edge vessels in various stages of production.


    As esteemed travelers, you have the privilege of choosing from our finest selection of starships," Elysia said, her voice filled with pride. "Each one is equipped with thetest advancements in propulsion, weaponry, and shielding technology. Rest assured, you''ll be acquiring a vessel that surpasses all your expectations."


    Smander trembled in excitement.


    Aldred nodded appreciatively, his mind racing with the possibilities. Acquiring a powerful starship was crucial for their mission, providing them with the means to traverse vast distances and confront any challenges that came their way.


    "What should we pick?" Aldred asked.


    "Elysia, will you exin to us the list of ships you have avable?" Smander asked. He already got what ship to buy in mind, but just in case, he decided to ask.


    Elysia smiled, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "Of course, esteemed travelers. I''m here to assist you in finding the perfect starship for your needs." She gestured toward a holographic disy showcasing various starship models.


    First and foremost, let''s consider the size of the crew you wish to amodate. We have options ranging frompact vessels ideal for a small team, torger ships capable of housing a crew of adventurers like yourselves. How many people are you nning to bring on your journeys?"


    Aldred nced at his team, considering their needs. "We''re a team of seven, including myself," he replied. "We need a ship that canfortably amodate all of us."


    Elysia nodded, making notes on her digital tablet. "Noted. Now, let''s talk about the distance you n to travel. Are you embarking on long interster voyages, or will your travels be rtively short within a specific region?"


    Smander, ever the strategist, chimed in, "We aim to explore various worlds, so we''ll need a ship with a considerable range to cover vast distances."


    Elysia continued, "Excellent. In that case, we have starships equipped with advanced warp drives for rapid interster travel. Now, let''s discuss speed. Do you prioritize speed over other factors, or are there specific features you''re looking for in terms of propulsion?"


    Aldred considered their past encounters. "Speed is important, but not at the cost of safety and reliability. We need a ship that can handle different environments and challenges. Additionally, we''re interested in ships with efficient fuel consumption to minimize the need for frequent refueling."


    Elysia smiled, acknowledging Aldred''s input. "Moving on, let''s discuss storage space. Are you nning to carryrge quantities of cargo, equipment, or artifacts during your travels? Additionally, do you require specialized storage for any unique items you might encounter?"


    Aldred pondered for a moment. "We mighte across artifacts and resources in our quests, so having ample storage for those items is essential. Specialized storagepartments would be beneficial too, to ensure the safety of valuable or fragile discoveries."


    Aldred had traveled with a ship before, but it was a sea ship. Still, the ship on the sea, and the ship in space almost had the same problem, so he knew a few things he needed to consider when acquiring a ship.


    Smander was even shocked that Aldred asked all these questions. ''Didn''t he said he has never entered a spaceship beforeing to this gxy?''


    Elysia continued her inquiry. "Considering crew amenities, are there specific facilities you require on the starship? This could include sleeping quarters, a medical bay, a fully-equipped kitchen, or any other necessities for the well-being of your team."


    Elralya, ever perceptive, spoke up. "A medical bay is a must, and sleeping quarters for everyone. A functional kitchen would be appreciated as well, to maintain our health during long journeys."


    They all looked at each other before Aldredmented: "We''ve all been eating instant food during our travel, I guess we need to change that bad habit."


    "Of course!" Ceeth and Elralya agreed. The two elves actually could not stand instant food. They consider it low-ss, cheap, and disgusting. But they neverined because they didn''t want to be seen as babies.


    Elysia nodded, her datapad filling with detailed specifications. "Understood, medical bay, sleeping quarters, and a functional kitchen. Lastly, let''s discuss weaponry. Do you require heavy firepower for defense against potential threats, or are you more inclined towards stealth and evasion mechanisms to avoid confrontations whenever possible?"


    Smander liked this woman. She really knew her stuff.


    Aldred''s gaze hardened. "We need a bnce. Sufficient firepower for defense, but also advanced stealth and evasion systems to avoid unnecessary conflicts. We prefer to navigate through challenges with caution."


    From his experience, absolute firepower did not worth the risk. There was a saying ''You earn a victory for each time you avoid a fight.'' The saying was true, because fighting cost money, effort, and time. Not to mention the risk of being defeated.


    Elysia smiled, satisfied with their responses. "Thank you for providing these details. With this information, I will present you with a selection of starships that meet your requirements perfectly. Please follow me, esteemed travelers, and let''s find the ideal vessel for your noble quest."


    And with that, Aldred and his team followed Elysia deeper into the shipyard, eager to embark on their next adventure aboard a powerful and meticulously chosen starship.

 Chapter 644 644 Stardust Voyager

    Chapter 644  644 Stardust Voyager


    As Elysia guided Aldred and his team deeper into the shipyard, they entered a massive hangar filled with an array of starships. The holographic disy flickered to life, showcasing the avable vessels tailored to their specific requirements.


    Elysia began presenting the options, her voice resonating with excitement. "Esteemed travelers, feast your eyes upon these marvels of interster engineering. Each ship has been crafted with precision to meet your unique needs."


    She pointed towards a sleek, medium-sized vessel adorned with advanced propulsion systems. "This one," Elysia exined, "is the Stardust Voyager. With its state-of-the-art warp drive, it ensures rapid interster travel, and the interior is equipped with spacious sleeping quarters, a medical bay, and a fully-functional kitchen."


    Smander''s eyes gleamed with fascination. "And the weaponry?" he inquired.


    Elysia nodded, acknowledging the importance of defense. "The Stardust Voyager is equipped with a bnced arsenal, providing sufficient firepower for defense while maintaining agility and stealth features. It''s an excellent choice for those who seek versatility in their journeys."


    As the holographic disy transitioned to the next option, Elysia continued, "Now, consider the Celestial Phoenix. Thisrger vessel amodates a crew of sevenfortably. It boasts enhanced shielding technology for added protection and a dedicated storage bay for artifacts and resources you may encounter in your quests."


    Aldred and his team listened intently, evaluating each ship''s features. Elysia went on to present several more options, ranging from nimble exploratory crafts to robust battle-ready frigates. The team discussed and debated, considering the pros and cons of each choice.


    After thorough consideration, Aldred made a decision. "We choose the Stardust Voyager. It aligns well with our need for speed, defense, and versatility."


    Elysia smiled, pleased with their choice. "An excellent decision, Aldred. The Stardust Voyager awaits yourmand. Let me guide you through the process of finalizing the acquisition."


    Elysia led Aldred and his team through the bureaucratic intricacies of finalizing the acquisition of the Stardust Voyager. The journey from choosing the ship to making it officially theirs involved a series of steps, and Elysia ensured a smooth process.


    "In order toplete the acquisition," Elysia began, "we''ll need to finalize the contract. This document outlines the terms of the agreement, including the specifications of the Stardust Voyager, payment details, and the agreed-upon warranty and insurance options."


    Aldred nodded, recognizing the importance of rity in such matters. "Let''s proceed with the contract," he said, his team ready to embark on this new chapter of their adventure.


    As Elysia guided them through the contractual details, the holographic disy projected the terms in a clear and concise manner. They reviewed the specifics of the Stardust Voyager, ensuring that it met their requirements and expectations. The team also discussed payment options, warranty coverage, and insurance ns to safeguard their investment.


    In all honesty, Aldred did not think they would need any insurance n. He was sure they would earn enough money quick enough to change ships sooner orter. Not to mention they will be going to extremely dangerous territories which will render their insurance invalid.


    However, the insurance will still cover if the damage wasn''t intentional or negligence. For that reason, Aldred still take the insurance n.


    Once the contract was thoroughly examined and agreed upon, Elysia directed them to the payment procedures. "For the Stardust Voyager, we offer flexible payment ns to amodate your preferences. Please choose the option that suits your team best, and we''ll proceed ordingly."


    After careful consideration, Aldred and his team settled on a payment n that aligned with their budget and financial strategy. With the payment processed, Elysia moved on to the final steps.


    Now, let''s discuss the warranty and insurance packages avable for the Stardust Voyager. These options provide added protection and peace of mind during your travels."


    Aldred, ever the strategist, deliberated with his team to choose the mostprehensive warranty and insurance coverage. Once the decisions were made, Elysia finalized the paperwork, ensuring that the Stardust Voyager would be well-protected in their journeys across the gxy.


    "With the paperworkplete," Elysia announced, "the Stardust Voyager is officially yours. May it serve you well on your noble quest for the Chronicles of Ascendria."


    With the acquisition processpleted, Elysia led Aldred and his team to the boarding ramp of the Stardust Voyager. The sleek starship stood before them, its metallic surface gleaming in the hangar lights. The team eagerly ascended the ramp, anticipation bubbling within them.


    As they entered the vessel, the airlock sealed behind them, and the hum of the ship''s engines reverberated through the corridor.


    Aldred led the way, exploring the various sections of their new home in the vast expanse of space.


    The sleeping quarters were spacious andfortable, with individual cabins for each team member. Aldred inspected the medical bay, ensuring it was well-equipped to handle any injuries or illnesses they might encounter during their adventures. The fully-functional kitchen, a weed departure from their reliance on instant food, brought smiles to their faces.


    Elralya and Ceeth, with their keen eyes, scanned the ship for any signs of irregrities or disturbances in the subtle energies. Satisfied with their observations, they nodded in approval.


    Smander, still buzzing with excitement, rushed to the control room. "Let''s see what this baby can do!" he eximed, fingers dancing over the holographic control panel.


    Aldred joined him, looking out through the viewport as the Stardust Voyager powered up. The hangar doors slowly opened, revealing the vastness of space beyond. Stars glittered in the cosmic canvas.


    The team gathered in the control room, and with a gentle push of the controls, Smander initiated the takeoff sequence.


    "Have a safe travel!" Elysia''s voice came from the speakers.


    The Stardust Voyager gracefully lifted off the hangar floor, ascending into the boundless reaches of space.


    As they broke through the atmosphere, Aldred marveled at the newfound freedom and possibilities that awaited them. The Chronicles of Ascendria beckoned, and the Stardust Voyager was their vessel to uncover its secrets.


    Elysia smiled at the sight of the team bonding with their new starship. "May the stars guide you on your noble quest," she whispered, knowing that this moment marked the beginning of a remarkable journey.


    ¡­


    With the Stardust Voyager soaring through the cosmos, Aldred and his team gathered in the ship''s central hub, a meeting area that doubled as amand center. Smander continued to explore the ship''s capabilities, marveling at the advanced technology.


    Aldred turned to Shuzib, the schr who had joined them on their journey. "Shuzib, with your expertise in cryptguages and knowledge of Ascendria''s history and lore, you''ll be invaluable in deciphering the clues within the Chronicles of Ascendria. Our quest begins now. Guide us."


    Shuzib, with his schrly demeanor, nodded. "Certainly, Aldred. I''ve studied Ascendria extensively, and I believe we can uncover its secrets by decoding the cryptguage scattered throughout the Chronicles. We should start by examining the entries rted to the ancient artifacts and the locations they point to."


    Elralya and Ceeth, attuned to mystical energies, joined the discussion. "We can use our abilities to sense any anomalies or magical signatures that might lead us to Ascendria."


    Aldred, appreciating the diverse skills of his team, nodded in agreement. "Let''sbine our strengths. Shuzib, focus on the textual elements. Elralya and Ceeth, use your abilities to detect any magical traces. Smander, keep an eye on the ship''s systems, and everyone, stay vignt. Ascendria awaits, and we won''t rest until we find it."


    As they delved into the Chronicles of Ascendria, the ship''s holographic disys flickered with ancient symbols and maps. Shuzib meticulously tranted passages, uncovering references to celestial alignments, hidden gateways, and ancient rituals.


    Countless weeks passed as the team worked tirelessly, and the Stardust Voyager gracefully traversed the vastness of space. They encountered celestial phenomena, uncharted territories, and asionally had to navigate through asteroid fields. Smander''s piloting skills and the ship''s advanced systems proved invaluable.


    One fateful day, Shuzib excitedly called the team to the central hub. "I''ve deciphered a passage that hints at a star system known as the Astral Nexus. It aligns with the descriptions in the Chronicles and could be the gateway to Ascendria."


    Aldred''s eyes gleamed. "Set a course for the Astral Nexus immediately!"


    As the Stardust Voyager adjusted its trajectory towards the Astral Nexus, a mysterious signal echoed through the ship''smunication system.


    Uninvited seekers, you tread where destinies intertwine. The Chronicles of Ascendria reveal more than knowledge. Prepare for challenges beyond the cosmos, for Ascendria''s secrets demand a sacrifice. Proceed at your own peril."


    "Where did the transmissione from?" Aldred asked.


    "I don''t know. Most of the information is nk," Smander replied.


    Aldred furrowed his brow, sensing an ominous undercurrent. Shuzib cross-referenced the ship''s logs but found no trace of the mysterious transmission.


    Elralya and Ceeth, attuned to mystical energies, exchanged concerned nces.


    Just as uncertainty settled in, the ship''s navigation system glitched, disying an uncharted route leading into an unknown sector.


    Aldred, torn between caution and curiosity, faced a pivotal decision. As the Stardust Voyager neared the uncharted region, a cosmic anomaly unfolded, revealing a spectral gateway, its eerie glow beckoning them into the enigmatic depths of an unexplored cosmic realm.

 Chapter 645 645 Spectral Gateway

    <h4>Chapter 645 chapter 645 Spectral Gateway</h4>


    As the Stardust Voyager ventured into the spectral gateway, Aldred and his team braced themselves for the unknown. The transition was surreal¡ªcolors twisted and melded, stars streaked past in surreal patterns, and the ship seemed to defy the conventionalws of space.


    Aldred''s eyes widened, a mixture of awe and concern etched on his face. "What have we stumbled upon?" he muttered, his gaze fixed on the cosmic spectacle unfolding outside the viewport.


    The ship''s sensors went haywire, disying fluctuating readings that defied logical interpretation. Smander, usually confident at the controls, struggled to maintain stability. "This is beyond anything I''ve seen. The ship''s readings are all over the ce!"


    Shuzib held on for dear life. "The spectral gate is a nexus of cosmic forces. Brace yourselves; the journey through this anomaly is unpredictable."


    The ship''s frame shuddered as if resisting the gravitational forces tearing at its structure.


    Smander gritted his teeth. "This is not looking good. We must stabilize the ship!"


    As the spectral gateway''s eerie glow intensified, the Stardust Voyager''s armor faced stress, and vital functions flickered. The team, a symphony of focused efforts, attempted to stabilize the ship amidst the cosmic tumult.


    Despite their best efforts, the ship''s systems continued to falter. The spectral gateway''s chaotic energies permeated every inch of the Stardust Voyager, challenging its very existence.


    Elralya then sensed a stranger energy. "This is not energy from the cosmos. This is something else!"


    Shuzib realized something. "The Chronicles warned of challenges beyond the cosmos. We must endure this trial; Ascendria''s secrets demand resilience. This means we are going the right direction."


    He did not know if this was luck or not, but he believe it to be the former. Finding Ascendria was close to impossible due to the vastness of the gxy, but they manage to stumble upon a sign that might lead to it.


    As the Stardust Voyager navigated the perplexing currents of the spectral gateway, the challenges intensified


    The mysterious energy within the gateway created an otherworldly symphony, and Elralya''s revtion about its unfamiliar nature heightened the tension among the crew.


    Strange noises echoed through the ship, causing debilitating headaches that added an extrayer of difficulty to an already precarious situation.


    "Fuck! What are these noises! It''s making my head hurt!"


    The ship was in some sort of cosmic storm. If the ship was damaged or punctured through, it could cause catastrophic consequences.


    Aldred, his focus unwavering, led his team through the chaos. "Secure yourselves! We need to repair any damage, no matter how small. Our lives depend on it," hemanded, urgency in his voice.


    The ship''s hull groaned as reality itself seemed to warp. Repairing the constant wear and tear became a frantic task, with the crew navigating the ship''s corridors as if in a cosmicbyrinth. The gravitational shifts furtherplicated their efforts, abruptly changing the ship''s orientation, making each step a challenge.


    Suddenly, a burst of cosmic wind ripped apart a section of the ship''s hull.


    Immediately, like a powerful vacuum, the hole tried to sucked out the crew member.


    Three person: Elralya, Cleome, and Shinari were pulled out.


    Cleome immediately hanged onto something before she saw Shinari was flying towards her. Quickly, she grabbed her hands. "Hold on to me!"


    "Ahh! Help me!" Elralya shouted.


    "Crap!" Shinari quickly flipped over and let Cleome grabbed her feet before she caught on Elralya as the vacuum power intensified.


    Cleome held on as tight as possible. She was holding onto two people, plus with the powerful vacuum force, it was incredible that she could still grabbing tight.


    But still, she had her limit.


    "I cannot hold on any longer!" Two of her fingers released themselves from the object she was hanging on.


    Soon after, her hand slipped off, and they all began falling to the hole.


    "I won''t let you die here!" Aldred quickly moved and grabbed Cleome''s hand before he stabbed the ceiling with his fingers and grabbed onto it.


    Smander, equipped with tools, tried to patch a sudden breach in the hull as cosmic winds threatened to suck the life out of their vessel. "This will be a quick fix, but it won''tst long."


    Exhausted and low on resources, the team pressed on. Shuzib, still clutching to a pole, echoed encouragement, "We endure because Ascendria demands resilience. This trial is our passage to its secrets.


    The strange noises intensified.


    "Fuck! I turn on the anti-noise function, but they still can get in!"


    "These voices directlye to our head. There is nothing we can do to stop them unless we turn our own brain off."


    Everyone was in incredible pain as the strange noises intensified. At first it sounded like a very raspy, and harsh whistling of wind, but then Shuzib heard something else.


    He tried to listen to it more carefully, trying to ignore the headache it caused.


    And then his eyes widened in revtion. These weren''t just strange noises! They were a sign, a guidance perhaps!


    The cosmic storm whispered ancient chanting, initially dismissed as indecipherable gibberish by the crew. Shuzib, however, strained to listen, his schrly instincts kicking in. "Wait! This chanting, it might be more than just cosmic noise. It could be a sign or guide!"


    As the crew grappled with the dual challenges of repairing the ship and holding on against the relentless cosmic winds, the ancient chants resonated with Shuzib''s linguistic expertise. "These are not random sounds; they are anguage, a guide from beyond the cosmos!"


    "Well, you take notes while we try to keep ourselves from dying!" Aldred shouted.


    Shuzib closed his eyes, deep in concentration, as the chanting intensified. "It''s a message, a sequence of coordinates hidden within the sounds. If we follow it, it might lead us safely through this cosmic turbulence."


    They were a bit relieved to hear that.


    Smander, working fervently to seal the breach, chimed in, "We''ve got to trust Shuzib''s instincts. It''s our best shot at navigating through this storm and saving the ship!"


    "Yeah, but who''s controlling the ship?"


    "I am!" Ceeth took the captain seat and controlled the spacecraft. "Just tell me where to go."


    The crew, battered but resolute, clung to their positions as the spectral gateway''s tumultuous forces continued to buffet the Stardust Voyager. Shuzib, with newfound determination, tranted the chants into navigational coordinates.


    "Set the course based on these coordinates!" Shuzibmanded Ceeth, who swiftly input the information into the ship''s controls.


    As the ship adjusted its trajectory guided by the ancient chants, the cosmic storm seemed to respond, gradually subsiding.


    "It''s working!"


    As the ancient chants guided Ceeth''s course corrections, a surreal calm descended upon the Stardust Voyager. The once-deafening cosmic storm began to abate, and the ship''s sensors, though still erratic, showed signs of stabilizing.


    Shuzib, his eyes fixed on the spectral gateway ahead, spoke with conviction, "We''re aligning with the cosmic energies. Follow the coordinates precisely, Ceeth."


    The strange noises that had tormented the crew gradually transformed into a harmonious melody, blending seamlessly with the ancient chants. It was as if the cosmic forces acknowledged their resilience andpliance.


    However, the crew, though relieved by the newfound stability, still grappled with fatigue and the aftermath of the intense struggle. Elralya, Cleome, and Shinari, who narrowly escaped the vacuum of space, clung to their positions, their strength tested to the limit.


    Aldred, recovering from the physical strain, addressed the crew, "We''re not out of this yet. Stay vignt. We don''t know what lies at the other end of this spectral gateway."


    As Ceeth skillfully navigated the ship based on Shuzib''s guidance, the crew felt a shift in the cosmic currents. The spectral gateway, once a maelstrom of chaos, now exuded a subdued luminescence.


    The gravitational tumult within the gateway gradually stabilized, allowing the crew to reim a semnce of control. Yet, the ancient chants persisted, guiding them through the enigmatic cosmic realm.


    Suddenly, the ship passed through the other end of the spectral gateway. The transition, while not as chaotic as the entry, still brought a sense of disorientation.


    "Haa! Finally! We''re out of that fucking thing or whatever!" Cleome could finally threw herself on the floor.


    The crew, weary but alive, found themselves in an uncharted sector of the gxy. Stars, unfamiliar and pulsating with ethereal energy, surrounded them.


    Shuzib, still holding on to his linguistic revtions, spoke, "The chants were our key. We''ve emerged in a region aligned with Ascendria''s mysteries."


    Ceeth, keeping the ship steady, looked at the holographic star map. "This sector is uncharted, even in the mostprehensive gctic databases."


    Aldred, the fatigue evident in his voice, addressed the crew, "We''ve endured the cosmic storm and entered uncharted territory. There is no going back. The only direction we can take is forward!"


    "I hope none of you regreting here! All of you are fighting for something, I hope that something is important enough for you to go through all of this and prepare you for what is ahead."


    The crew, though battered, shared nods of determination. The Stardust Voyager, now beyond the spectral gateway, floated in the cosmic unknown, ready to unveil the secrets that awaited them in this unexplored sector of the gxy.

 Chapter 646 646 Uncharted Sector

    <h4>Chapter 646 Chapter 646 Uncharted Sector</h4>


    With the Stardust Voyager emerging from the spectral gateway, the crew took a collective breath, their eyes adjusting to the unfamiliar stars surrounding them. Cleome, still recovering from the vacuum incident, managed a weak smile, "Well, I guess this is the ''uncharted territory'' part of the adventure, huh?"


    Shuzib, his schrly demeanor intact despite the chaos, surveyed the holographic star map. "Indeed, Cleome. These star sectors are unlike anything recorded in gctic databases. We''ve truly stepped into the unknown."


    Ceeth, relinquishing control of the ship to the autopilot, joined the others. "Autopilot''s engaged. We need to assess the ship''s damage and restock resources. This ce... it''s like an artist''s rendering of a cosmic tapestry."


    That was a rareplimenting from an elf.


    Aldred, still gripping the ship''s railing, regarded the starscape with a mix of wonder and caution. "Let''s not forget why we''re here. Ascendria''s secrets beckon, and we''re on the doorstep. But we''re not alone. This region seems to have its own mysteries."


    As the crew went about their tasks, they couldn''t ignore the pulsating stars, each radiating a distinct energy. Elralya, whose sensitivity to cosmic forces was heightened, spoke hesitantly, "These stars feel alive, as if they''re resonating with some kind of cosmic heartbeat. They''re different from the stars I used to know."


    Shinari, recovering from the vacuum ordeal, chimed in, "Alive or not, we better stay cautious. We''ve been through one cosmic storm already; who knows what else awaits us in this celestial wilderness."


    The Stardust Voyager coasted through the uncharted sector, its hull patched but bearing scars from the turbulent entry. Shuzib, immersed in tranting the ancient chants, whispered to himself, "The coordinates led us here, but what awaits us in these unexplored realms?"


    The star sectors, named by Shuzib as Celestial Weave, seemed to defy typical gctic patterns. Stars of varying sizes and colors formed intricate patterns, resembling constetions that shifted in mesmerizing ways. The crew, exhausted yet intrigued, gathered in the observation deck.


    Ceeth, studying the holographic navigation data, remarked, "We''re at the heart of Celestial Weave. Our coordinates align with a central nexus point. Could it be the gateway to Ascendria?"


    Shuzib, ncing at the weaving stars, pondered, "Like I said before, Ascendria may not be a physical ce. It might be woven into the very fabric of this cosmic tapestry, waiting for those who can decipher its secrets."


    As the crew were looking around in their new environment, they suddenly saw something.


    "Guys, look. Is that a starship?"


    Smander narrowed his eyes. "You''re right! It seems to be fatally damaged and couldn''t function anymore."


    "Let''s approach it. Maybe we can find something."


    The Stardust Voyager approached the damaged ship and found out its size were numerous timesrger than they expected.


    "This is at least Destroyer-ss ship."


    "A ship like this usuallye with other smaller ships or intergrated to an entire fleet. Rarely it float around by itself, especially in an unknown ce like this."


    "Let''s enter it," Aldred said.


    Intrigued and cautious, they decided to dock with the dormant behemoth.


    Upon entering, a haunting stillness enveloped them. The air felt heavy, and the hum of machinery echoed through deserted corridors.


    Shuzib, ever the schr, examined the alien technology. "This vessel isn''t from any known faction. It''s a relic from a bygone era, perhaps."


    "It''s not human-made?" Aldred asked.


    Smander shook his head. "I don''t think so. I have never seen a ship like this before."


    "Maybe the elves made them?"


    Elralya shook her head as well. "Not from our kind either."


    The crew moved through the vast emptiness, encountering signs of struggle¡ªabandoned control rooms, flickering holographic disys frozen in time. Aldred''s gaze hardened, realizing this was a testament to a cosmic battle long past.


    Ceeth, eyes scanning the barren expanse, remarked, "No signs of life. Whatever transpired here left this ship adrift in the Celestial Weave."


    As they ventured deeper, they discovered a central chamber. A holographic interface flickered to life. Shuzib approached cautiously, tapping into his linguistic prowess to decipher the remnants of an ancientnguage.


    The hologram disyed a desperate message: "Ark of Aethoria, Last Hope of the Elders." The crew exchanged puzzled nces. Shuzib, piecing together the fragments, gasped, "This vessel was a refuge, an ark fleeing some cosmic cataclysm."


    "Fleeing from who?" Aldred asked. "From what it looks like, this ship was powerful and massive enough to defend itself. Others should he running away from it instead of the opposite."


    "And yet that seems to be what happened," Shuzib replied.


    As the crew delved deeper into the colossal ship, they marveled at the advanced technology surrounding them. However, the silence was oppressive, and the echoes of a cosmic battle lingered.


    Cleome, her eyes scanning the vast expanse of the Ark of Aethoria, remarked, "This ship feels like it used to be the pride of its people."


    Smander, tapping on an inactive control panel, tried to bring the ship''s systems online. The disy flickered but refused to light up. "We need power. Looks like the energy reserves are drained."


    Aldred, his eyes narrowing, took a deep breath. "We need to find a way to restore power."


    As the crew continued their exploration, they stumbled upon an expansive control room bathed in an otherworldly glow.


    In its centery the primary control panel, dormant yet pulsating withtent energy.


    "I got it!" Smander, eager to bring the Ark back to life, tried to activate the controls.


    The panel flickered, and holographic disys lit up, revealing the ship''s logs and diagnostics. Ceeth, with her keen eyes, noticed a section requiring a passcode.


    We need a code to ess the ship''s main systems. This might hold the key to understanding the Ark''s purpose," she announced.


    Shuzib, the linguistic expert, examined the inscriptions around the control panel. "There must be clues hidden in the Ark''snguage, a cipher that unveils the secrets of its journey."


    The crew split up, scouring the ship for any clues they could find.


    The crew continued to search the Ark of Aethoria, their footsteps echoing through its deserted halls. Shuzib meticulously examined the inscriptions on the walls, Cleome inspected abandoned chambers for remnants of the Elders''nguage, and Aldred led the effort to find any clues that might illuminate the Ark''s enigmatic past.


    After hours of exploration, the crew reconvened in the central chamber, each member holding pieces of the puzzle they had found. Smander, observing the intricate technology around him, scratched his head. "This is beyond any tech I''ve seen. If only we had the Elders themselves here."


    Elralya, who had been attuned to the cosmic energies, brought forth a crystalline shard found in one of the chambers. "This resonates with the Ark''s systems. Maybe it''s a key to unlocking more information."


    Shuzib, assembling the scattered clues, noticed a contradiction. "These symbols and patterns don''t align. It''s as if the Ark''s story is intentionally fragmented, or perhaps altered."


    Shinari spoke up. "We can''t trust these clues blindly. Let''s cross-reference them, see if we can discern any patterns that make sense."


    As they began to cross-reference the clues, an unsettling realization set in. Some of the symbols contradicted each other, creating a puzzle that seemed to defy logic. Shuzib furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "This is not a straightforward narrative. The Elders employedplex encryption, intertwining truth and deception."


    Cleome sighed, frustration evident in her voice. "It''s like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded. We need something more."


    Elralya, still holding the crystalline shard, felt a strange vibration. "This shard reacts to certain symbols. Maybe it''s a decoder, a key to unraveling the true story."


    Smander, intrigued, approached Elralya. "If that shard holds the key, we have to align it with the symbols and sequences. I don''t know if that is the correct thing to do, though."


    With cautious optimism, they gathered around the central control panel. As Elralya carefully touched the crystalline shard to the holographic interface, the symbols began to shift and rearrange. It was like watching a cosmic dance, the fragments of information converging into a coherent sequence.


    As the revtions unfolded, the Ark''s systems responded, lighting up with newfound energy.


    The chamber, once filled with silence, pulsated with newfound energy. Lines of light spread across the control panel, connecting symbols and forming intricate patterns like celestial constetionsing to life.


    The crystalline shard glowed with a subtle luminosity, responding to the shifting symbols as if it held the whispers of the Elders'' intentions. The once-dormant machinery hummed with a harmonious melody, resonating through the colossal ship like an awakening heartbeat.


    Ceeth, monitoring the ship''s diagnostics, gasped, "It''s powering up!"


    "I cannot believe it!" Smander widened his eyes in shock.


    However, just as anticipation filled the air, an ominous vibration resonated through the Ark. rms red, and the holographic interface disyed a stark warning: "Intruder Detected - Cosmic Anomaly Imminent."


    The crew, their moment of discovery shattered, looked at each other with growing concern. The Celestial Weave, once an enigmatic tapestry, now seemed to tighten around the Ark of Aethoria, threatening to plunge them into another cosmic ordeal.


    "Crap! It''s probably their anti-intruders system!"


    "We need to get out of here." Aldred looked at them. "Now!"

 Chapter 647 647 Ark of Aethoria

    Chapter 647  647 Ark of Aethoria


    As the Ark of Aethoria''s defense system sprang to life, the once-dormant corridors erupted with activity.


    Automated turrets emerged from concealedpartments, and energy barriers crackled into existence, creating a lethal maze for Aldred and his allies. The crew found themselves in a deadly ballet, dodgingsers and narrowly avoiding traps.


    Aldred, with his reflexes heightened by years of navigating treacherous terrain, led the crew through the chaos.


    The once-silent corridors echoed with the sounds of rms and the hum of activated machinery. Shinari''s agility proved invaluable as she gracefully evaded energy beams, her acrobatics reminiscent of a cosmic dancer.


    Smander, usuallyposed in the face of technology, was taken aback. "I''ve seen a lot of security systems, but this... this is on another level!"


    Elralya, holding the crystalline shard, focused her energy on deflecting some of the attacks, creating small shields to protect the crew. "This shard is reacting to the ship''s defenses. It''s trying tomunicate with them."


    "Can you use that to deactivate these weapons?" Aldred moved to the side to dodge aser beam.


    "It''s not working!" Elralya said.


    The crew, bathed in the eerie glow of pulsatingser beams, navigated thebyrinth of peril with a synchronized dance of desperation.


    Each member moved with a fluid grace, their bodies contorting and weaving through the air as if choreographed by the impending threat. The corridor echoed with the low hum of energy pulses, creating a dissonant harmony with the stato rhythm of their footfalls on the metallic floor.


    Laser beams, sharp as des, cut through the darkness, leaving trails of phosphorescent hues in their wake.


    The crew, in a heart-pounding disy of agility, executed intricate maneuvers¡ªswift leaps, sudden twists, and acrobatic rolls¡ªto narrowly evade the lethal beams.


    Their movements were a desperation for survival, a ballet of reflexes sharpened by the urgency of impending doom.


    "We can''t dodge all the attacks! We have to destroy those weapons!"


    In the chaos, each crew member wielded weapons with a desperate precision. sters fired energy streaks, offering brief reprieves in the onught.


    Limbs moved gracefully, a survival instinct choreography, with asional shes as energy pulses grazed perilously close to their skin.


    At the junction, the crew faced a dilemma, a choice between paths fraught with unknown dangers. The holographic Elders'' symbol pulsed, seemingly guiding or taunting them. With a collective decision made through exchanged nces, the crew continued their perilous dance, limbs in constant motion, navigating thebyrinth of danger with an elegant yet desperate precision.


    There was barely anytime tomunicate. They had to make quick and wise decisions, for a even a second of dy could cost them their life.


    Elralya and Cleome focused on creating a barrier that deflected and blocked the attacks. When they were overwhelmed, Aldred, Smander, and Shinari blocked and destroyed the weapons.


    Shuzib was in the center of the formation, trying to keep with up with the rest of the team.


    In all honesty, if he wasn''t here, the team would move much faster. However, without him, they would have a hard time decrypting the ship.


    A sudden surge of energy pulses threatened to ensnare them in a shimmering of destruction.


    The crew, however, disyed an astonishing blend of anticipation and reflex. Limbs contorted in rapid, almost instinctive motions, narrowly avoiding the pulsating waves that sought to entrap them.


    The air crackled with the discharge of energy, creating an otherworldly ambiance that underscored the urgency of their predicament.


    Even Shuzib was shocked by the acrobatic movement he just did. Never had he imagined that he was possible of movements like that. It was as if his limbs were fluid, able to move freely in every direction.


    "So it''s true. To achieve the peak of power, one need to go through great trial."


    At the heart of the junction, the holographic Elders'' symbol flickered with an otherworldly intensity.


    The ethereal voice, now more urgent, resonated through the corridor, conveying a sense of ancient wisdom and impending danger. The crew, momentarily halted by the holographic disy, exchanged quick nces.


    "Shuzib, can you decipher what it said?" Aldred deflected a 3 meter-long steel bolt that flew towards him at twice the speed of a bullet.


    "This will take me a while. Everyone be quiet for a moment!"


    The team created a barrier around Shuzib as they blocked and deflected as many projectiles and energy beams as they could.


    Cleome''s lightning barrier were constantly punctured with holes before she quickly repaired it, however, each time she did, her energy plummeted.


    She wanted to say to ''hurry the fuck up'', but she gritted her teeth and swallowed what she was about to say.


    After what seemed like forever, Shuzib finally said. "Okay, I got it. Everyone move forward and follow my direction!"


    The crew propelled themselves forward once more.


    Thebyrinth, seemingly sentient, threw new challenges their way.


    When they were going forward, the floor under their feet suddenly fell.


    Aldred quickly grabbed Shuzib by the waist and kicked the air to reach to safety.


    Smander activated his jet pack and grabbed onto Elralya and Ceeth.


    Cleome used her lightning power to float away while Shinari teleported to Aldred''s shadow and appeared beside him.


    "It''s going to be more dangerous from here," Shuzib warned.


    Aldred sighed. "Can''t we just destroy the whole ship instead?"


    He then punched the wall of the ship with his whole strength, but only able to create a small dent.


    Smander caressed the wall. "The ship is created with materials I have never seen before. The metallurgy of the Elder''s seems to be much more advanced than the human today. We won''t be able to do what we did on a demon''s Destroyer-ss ship."


    At that time, Aldred manage to punched his way through countless thick wall to reach the engine of a Destroyer-ss ship. A feat like that was already incredible, but seem like it wasn''t possible to do that in this ship.


    Suddenly, a dozen 3-meter-long steel bolt flew towards them. This time, it was three times the speed of a bullet.


    Aldred, already had enough of this, summoned his sword and cut the steel bolt into pieces.


    "Point me the way, and I will lead you to it." Aldred charged forward, pushing his allies to do the same and sted everything that came at them.


    The crew, having sessfully navigated the immediate threat, found themselves in a corridor bathed in an ominous half-light.


    As they advanced, thebyrinth seemed to shift its tactics. The walls themselves pulsated with an unsettling energy, causing the crew to approach with caution.


    A sudden rumble beneath their feet signaled the emergence of a new challenge ¨C the corridor was transforming. Sections of the floor began to rise and fall like undting waves, creating a treacherous terrain that required not only agility but also perfect timing.


    "Fuck you!" Aldred stomped the floor with all of his power, shaking the entire section of the ship.


    His stomp deactivated dozens of traps and weapons nearby.


    A series of concealed panels along the corridor walls opened, revealing concealed turrets armed with pulsating energy projectiles.


    They hummed to life, seemingly gathering energy for a second before releasing all of it in an instant.


    The crew could already feel the heat before the energy was already released. When it did, all they saw was a blinding red light that filled the entire corridor.


    Aldred snorted and pushed his de forward. The light that went towards them were suddenly pulled into the de, sucking them like spaghetti.


    The de glowed bright red like a star, and Aldred''s finger were charred.


    Everyone was once again shocked by Aldred''s incredible power.


    "Is there a limit to this guy''s power?" Cleome watched with awe.


    The holographic Elders'' symbol pulsed with a renewed intensity.


    The ethereal voice, now more urgent than ever, guided them through the shiftingbyrinth, its cryptic instructions intertwining with the cadence of the crew''s dance.


    The corridor itself seemed to respond to the Elders'' guidance, offering fleeting moments of stability amidst the ever-changingndscape.


    "Is the voice actually helping us?" Aldred asked.


    Shuzib nodded. "Yes. It seems to be so."


    As the crew approached another junction, thebyrinth presented them with a final challenge. The walls closed in, threatening to crush them in a suffocating embrace.


    "Take the left!" Shuzib shouted.


    Everyone began to sprint towards the appointed directions as the wall around them tightened the space.


    The corridor became tighter and tighter.


    "We won''t make it this way!"


    Aldred stabbed the floor with his de, momentarily stopping the wall before he suddenly grabbed Shuzib by his cor and threw him towards the left entrance.


    "Everyone go as fast as you can while I am holding this wall!"


    The wall moved on again, pushing the de with it. Aldred spread his arms wide, holding the wall with his incredible physical strength.


    Aldred''s muscles strained against the unrelenting pressure of the enclosing walls. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his breaths heavy andbored. Every sinew of his being screamed with effort as he held the colossal force at bay. The veins on his arms bulged, pulsating like tributaries of raw power, and his jaw clenched in stoic determination.


    The wall, seemingly indifferent to his resistance, continued its inexorable advance. The metallic surface groaned under the immense force, protesting against the defiance of one man. The corridor echoed with the sounds of grinding metal.


    Aldred''s eyes, usually fierce and determined, now betrayed the intensity of his struggle. The whites were tinged with red, and a glint of pain flickered in their depths. The strain etched lines on his face, revealing the toll of this Herculean effort.


    He roared in defiance, not letting mere steel to defeat him.


    As the wall closed in further, the floor beneath Aldred''s feet creaked and groaned. He could feel the vibrations resonating through his entire body. A lesser man would have crumbled under the relentless force, but Aldred held firm, his stance unwavering.


    Meanwhile, the crew sprinted through the narrow passage, their breaths echoing the urgency of their escape. Elralya, clutching the crystalline shard, exchanged a worried nce with Smander. Shinari''s teleportation left an afterimage of fleeting shadows, marking her rapid movements.


    As the crew reached the other end of the corridor, they immediately turned around to look at Aldred.


    "How is he going to make it?" Shinari was prepared to teleport back and save Aldred.


    However, they were in for a shock.


    Aldred made his move immediately. With a mighty roar, he dislodged his de from the floor and propelled himself forward. The wall that was more than 100 meter from his location, now mere inches away. It all happened faster than the blink of an eye.


    In a feat of sheer athleticism, Aldred soared through the air with an agile grace that belied his earlier struggle. Muscles rippled beneath his skin as he covered the distance with breathtaking speed.


    The crew, witnessing Aldred''s leap of faith, held their breaths.


    The wall, relentless in its pursuit, closed in, as if trying to trap Aldred within it. However, in the nick of time, he manage to reach the entrance, before the wall instantly mming shut behind him.


    A collective exhale echoed through the crew.


    Smander helped him stood up. "Are you okay?"


    Aldred nodded. "We need to keep moving. Shuzib, where do we need to go?"


    Shuzib was impressed by Aldred''s mission-oriented attitude. Only true warrior had such personality.


    "There is nowhere else to go. This is it." Shuzib pushed open the door and revealed some kind ofb.


    A pulsating glow emanating from the intricate alien machinery that adorned the walls. The crew stepped cautiously into the room.


    Strange wires snaked across the floor, connecting to pulsating terminals that seemed to be a vital part of the ship''s mysterious functions. Tubes filled with glowing liquid hung from the ceiling, making the room eerie.


    "What is this ce?" Aldred looked around and stumbled onto a lever.


    The lever caused the tubes to glow and the wholeb seem to be alive.


    At the center of the room, a colossal holographic projection of an Elderappeared.


    "Fuck!" Aldred brandished his sword, ready for another battle.


    The figure loomed over them with an imposing presence, its expression nk yet somehow conveying a profound awareness.


    "Congrattions foring this far, travelers."

 Chapter 648 648 Veil of Shadows

    Chapter 648  648 Veil of Shadows


    Aldred, sword still drawn, couldn''t help but scoff at the colossal holographic Elder. He leaned on his sword, looking unimpressed.


    "Well, thanks for the warm wee," he said with a wry smile. "If I knew we were crashing an Elder party, I would''ve brought a gift. Maybe a nice fruit basket or a coupon for ''10% off your next intergctic adventure.''"


    The holographic Elder remained stoic, its expression unchanging. The crew exchanged nces, unsure of how to react to Aldred''s irreverent humor in the face of such a formidable presence.


    Aldred continued, gesturing grandly to the alien machinery surrounding them. "Nice ce you got here, by the way. Very... ominous. But you might want to consider some redecorating. Maybe throw in a few housents or some mood lighting."


    Smander suppressed a chuckle, while Shinari and Elralya exchanged amused nces.


    Shuzib, on the other hand, was confused. "Does he act like this often?"


    "Sometimes he does," Shinari said.


    The holographic Elder''s voice echoed again, this time with a hint of curiosity. "You are an interesting group, indeed."


    Aldred grinned, undeterred. "Well, you know what they say¡ªvariety is the spice of life, or in this case, the spice of dodging your fancy defense systems and acrobatically navigating your cosmic death traps. Seriously, who designed this ce? I hope they got a bonus."


    The crew couldn''t help but chuckle at Aldred''s unexpected humor in the midst of their perilous journey. The tension in the room seemed to ease, if only for a moment.


    The holographic Elder regarded Aldred with an unreadable expression. "You have faced trials few could endure. But your journey is far from over."


    Aldred shrugged, still grinning. "Oh, I''ve been through worse. Bring it on, O Wise and Mysterious Elder. We''re ready for the next act of this cosmicedy, because you must be fucking JOKING!"


    "I just went through thousands of deathly traps to get here, and you treat this as if it was all a game. Well, fuck you!"


    The room fell silent, the echoes of Aldred''s outburst hanging in the air. The holographic Elder remained impassive, its presence imposing, as if it absorbed Aldred''s frustration without a hint of reaction.


    Aldred, after his moment of venting, straightened up. The crew, though momentarily surprised by the sudden shift in tone, stood ready for whatever revtion or challenge the Elder had in store.


    The holographic Elder''s voice, now devoid of the earlier curiosity, resonated with a gravity that filled the room. "Your resilience ismendable. But your journey is not a mere game, and the challenges you faced were not designed for amusement."


    Aldred''s grin faded as he locked eyes with the holographic figure. "Then what is it? Why put us through all this? What''s the purpose of thisbyrinthine nightmare?"


    The holographic Elder''s gaze seemed to pierce through Aldred''s, revealing a profound understanding. "You seek the truth, Aldred of Earth."


    "How did you know I was from Earth?"


    The Elder ignored his question. "The trials you faced were a testament to your strength, but they were also a means of preparation."


    The holographic Elder''s form flickered momentarily, as if contemting its response. "The Chronicles of Ascendria hold the essence of bnce¡ªthe delicate equilibrium between creation and destruction. Its knowledge has the power to shape the destiny of realms, to mend the fractures in the fabric of existence."


    "You didn''t answer my question."


    "All of your questions will be answered as long as you enter Ascendria."


    Shuzib stepped forward. "Why do you say Ascendria hold the knowledge to shape destiny of realms? Isn''t it only contain information to increase one''s strength and abilities?"


    The Elder gazed at Shuzib like a teacher looking at his student. "You are greatly misguided and misinformed. The Chronicles of Ascendria hold far greater power than you could imagine. Within its vast and almost limitless Ethereal Engrams you will find everything you need to know."


    "What is Ethereal Engrams?" Aldred asked.


    Shuzib immediately reply: "It refers to a trace or record of the past. If I have to exin it scientifically, you can say it''s simr to Quantum Information. I am sure you know what that is."


    Smander nodded. "I get it now."


    "Ha?" Aldred was confused. He got no clue what they were talking about.


    Shuzib sighed before he exined the concept of Quantum Information ¡ª Basically, Quantum Information meant that no information could ever be destroyed or lost.


    If a piece of paper was burned, it would seem to vanish or destroyed, but if certain conditions were met, it was possible to reconstruct the paper with the exact writings on it.


    "Wait, so you''re saying the Chronicles of Ascendria maybe has the information of the entire universe?"


    "That''s a big maybe, but yes," Shuzib nodded. "I never went there so I don''t know. A lot of sources said many things about Ascendria, but you could never trust them one hundred percent."


    "Then, what about you?" Aldred pointed towards the Elder. "What do you know about Ascendria?"


    The holographic Elder regarded Aldred with an enigmatic gaze, the room filled with a subtle tension. The crew waited in anticipation for the Elder''s response, their previous banter now reced by a more serious inquiry into the nature of their quest.


    The holographic figure''s form flickered once more, as if weaving through the threads of ancient memories. Then, with a solemn tone, it began to speak. "I was one of the guardians appointed to watch over Ascendria."


    "Guardians?" Aldred frowned. "What bullshit do you speak now?"


    "The Ascendria is guarded by many entities like me. I am merely one of the many that protect Ascendria and its secret, however, someone manage to rip me away from Ascendria."


    "How could someone rip you away from Ascendria? You''re a guardian of possibly the most valuable thing in the entire universe."


    "Yes. But that also means many hands want to grab it for themselves. Ascendria is not meant to be used for simple greedy ambition. It''s meant for something greater and much moreplex than basic needs for power. Ascendria chose what and who to give ess to its knowledge."


    The holographic Elder continued, its voice resonating with an air of ancient wisdom. "Ascendria chooses those who seek knowledge with pure intentions, but even as a guardian, I am not exempt from the machinations of those who covet its power. I was forcefully severed from the connection to Ascendria by a force too potent for me to resist."


    Aldred, though skeptical, could sense the sincerity in the Elder''s words. "So, what does that mean for us? If you can''t guide us directly, how are we supposed to find Ascendria?"


    "Ascendria is not chained to a physical location in reality. It''s an abstract concept that is actually located in the mind of intellectual races. However, not just anyone can ess this. If you want to reach Ascendria, you must go to a ce where reality bends and falter the most, a dream-like ce, a ce where the minds and souls gathers."


    Shuzib''s eyes widened. "Are you talking about¡­ the Immaterium?"


    "What''s that?" Aldred asked.


    "It''s hard to exin. It''s not exactly a ce, but I can''t say that it wasn''t either. It both exist and doesn''t exist at the same time. In simple terms, it''s an entirely different dimension of pure psychic energy. At least, that''s what I know about it. They say once you go there, there is noing back. And it''s better that way, because it is far worse if you doeback."


    Aldred had so many questions right now, but he didn''t know which one to ask first.


    "Okay, just tell me how do we get to this ce."


    The holographic Elder observed Aldred''s inquisitive gaze and spoke with a measured tone, "To enter the Immaterium, you will need to traverse the Veil of Shadows¡ªa thin, ethereal boundary that separates your reality from the realm of psychic energy. It is a ce where dreams and nightmares converge, where the barriers between mind and matter blur."


    Smander, ever the pragmatist, interjected, "Sounds like a one-way ticket to insanity. Are you sure about this?"


    The holographic Elder nodded. "The Immaterium is both treacherous and sublime. It reflects the collective consciousness of all sentient beings. Your journey there will be shaped by the depths of your own minds and the challenges that emerge from the very fabric of your thoughts."


    Shuzib, intrigued, mused, "If the Immaterium is a reflection of the mind, then perhaps that''s why it''s so unpredictable. Thoughts can be chaotic, after all."


    The holographic Elder acknowledged Shuzib''s insight. "Indeed, and it is precisely this unpredictability that makes it a formidable passage. However, the Chronicles of Ascendria resonate most strongly in the Immaterium. To ess its knowledge, you must navigate the surrealndscapes and face the trials born from your innermost fears and desires."


    Aldred, undeterred by the daunting task ahead, tightened his grip on his sword.


    "We''ve faced trials before, and we''ll face them again. Lead us to this Veil of Shadows."

 Chapter 649 649 Eye of Clairvoyance

    Chapter 649  649 Eye of irvoyance


    The holographic Elder''s voice resonated through the chamber as it unveiled the mysterious lore of the Veil of Shadows. The ethereal boundary, existing since the cosmic dawn, stood as a metaphysical bridge linking the material realm to the arcane expanses of the Immaterium. An intricate tapestry of cosmic events and psychic energies, the Veil''s origins intertwined with the awakening of the first sentient minds, evolving over eons into a nexus where reality and the ethereal became inseparable.


    As the Elder spoke, holographic projections illustrated the history woven into the Veil''s fabric¡ªa narrative echoing the dreams and nightmares of civilizations that rose and fell across time. It became clear that the Veil of Shadows, existing at the crossroads of order and chaos, mirrored the eternal dance between knowledge and madness. The crew absorbed the weight of their impending journey, realizing that the Veil held secrets guarded by the wise and the reckless alike.


    Legends whispered of ancient seers who, through profound meditation and mastery over their minds, discovered the Veil''s elusive location.


    Aldred sighed. "Why are things getting soplicated. Our primary goal is to reach Lord Malgorth, but in order to do that, we need to reach Ascendria so we can get the power to defeat him, but to get to Ascendria, we need to get to the Veil of Shadows."


    "I don''t usually do things in such aplicated way. Normally, I just charge towards my enemies and defeat them."


    "Lord Malgorth? You are looking for him?" the Elder asked.


    "Yes, he is our primary goal. The very reason why we start this journey in the first ce."


    "Why?"


    "Well, I have a personal reason, but we need his Space Weaver for something."


    The Elder went silent for a second before it revealed: "Lord Malgorth. I can''t believe I am hearing that name."


    "You know him?" Aldred wondered if Malgorth had any link to Ascendria.


    "Lord Malgorth was the one who ripped me away from my post. Hee to Ascendria, seeking knowledge. But his intentions were not aligned with Ascendria, so I stopped him. I manage to banish him, but at thest second, he used his Space Weaver to bring me with him."


    Aldred listened intently to the holographic Elder''s revtion, a mix of surprise and realization etched across his face. The pieces of the cosmic puzzle were falling into ce, and Lord Malgorth''s connection to Ascendria seemed more intricate than Aldred had initially thought.


    "So, Malgorth has a history with Ascendria," Aldred mused, exchanging nces with his crew. "And now, we''re tangled up in the mess he left behind."


    "That also means that Malgorth is much more powerful than we thought he was," Smandermented. "Among all the Demon Lords, he might be the strongest of them all."


    "I don''t know," Aldred said. "Every time someone said that they are the strongest, there is always a bigger and stronger worm thate out."


    Aldred, growing more curious, asked, "Why did he want the knowledge? What is he after?"


    The Elder''s holographic form flickered with an air of reluctance. "His intentions were shrouded in darkness. He sought not the wisdom to mend, but the power to dominate. Ascendria does not yield its secrets to those with corrupt ambitions."


    As the crew absorbed this revtion, the Elder extended its incorporeal hand, revealing a magical yet mechanical eyeball. "Take this," it intoned. "This enchanted device is attuned to the Veil of Shadows. It will guide you to the crossroads where reality bends, and the journey to Ascendria begins."


    Aldred epted the mystical orb, examining it with a mix of skepticism and fascination. "How does it work?"


    The Elder exined, "Trust its instincts. It resonates with the energies of the Veil. Follow its guidance, and it shall lead you to the threshold of the Immaterium. But be warned, the path is fraught with challenges born from the depths of your own minds."


    "Can you exin in more details about that?"


    The holographic Elder, sensing the crew''s thirst for understanding, delved into a more intricate exnation of the Veil of Shadows. It described the Veil as a metaphysical membrane that responds to the collective consciousness of sentient beings. The crew listened attentively as the Elder unraveled the intricacies of the ethereal boundary, detailing how it echoed the dreams, fears, and desires of all life across the cosmos.


    Aldred, ever the skeptic, questioned, "So, this Veil thing is like a mirror reflecting our thoughts?"


    The Elder nodded. "Indeed. It acts as a mirror and a gateway, shaped by the minds that seek to traverse it. The Veil''s malleability is both its strength and its danger."


    Shuzib, the scientist of the group, chimed in with a more technical inquiry. "Is there a scientific exnation for its existence, or is it purely mystical?"


    The holographic Elder smiled knowingly. "In your realm, it might be deemed mystical, but the Veil of Shadows is an intersection of psychic energies and quantum entanglements. It transcends the boundaries of mere science and delves into the realms of the metaphysical."


    "Science will only limits your thought," the elder said. "I believe humanity has passed way beyond science by now."


    Aldred smiled bitterly. After meeting his new mom and dad who were literal godly beings that could destroy gxies, sciences were immediately thrown out of his mind. Anything was possible.


    If someone said something crazy to him right now, he would believe it.


    Elralya wanted to ask questions as well. "My elder, doesn''t tell me much about the Veil of Shadows. But I heard of them speak of it in hushed tones. I have asked them about it, but they never told me."


    "The Veil of Shadows was a force both revered and feared by the Elves," the Elder narrated. "Its influence shaped the destiny of our realms. The Veil was a source of immense power, but it could also be a harbinger of doom."


    Aldred and his crew, surrounded by the ethereal projections, listened intently as the holographic Elder unfolded the story of the Elves'' struggle against the unpredictable currents of the Veil. The decline of the Elven empire, once a bastion of magic and wisdom, was intricately linked to their battles with the forces that lurked beyond the Veil.


    "The Pantheons, in their eternal wisdom, fought valiantly to harness the energies of the Veil," the Elder continued. "They sought to channel its power for the betterment of their people. However, the Veil is a fickle force, and its energies often slipped beyond their control."


    The Elven races were led by Pantheons which consisted of powerful god-like entities. These entities absorbed the power of the Veil and use it to dominate countless stars.


    The Elder''s holographic form became more vivid as it described the epic conflicts between the Pantheons and the forces unleashed by the Veil of Shadows. Elven realms were torn apart, and the very fabric of their reality distorted.


    Aldred, absorbing the weight of the narrative, asked, "Did the Pantheons seed in their battles against the Veil?"


    The Elder''s holographic gaze grew solemn. "The struggle was endless. While the Pantheons managed to repel the malevolent forces temporarily, the Veil''s influence persisted. It was both an adversary and a source of unparalleled potential."


    Shinari, intrigued by the story, inquired, "And what happened to the Pantheons in the end?"


    "Their fate remains a mystery," the Elder responded. "The Veil of Shadows is a force that defies simple understanding. It has the power to shape destinies and rewrite realities. The Pantheons'' ultimate fate is entwined with the very nature of the Veil itself."


    "I see," Elralya said. "The Elders probably do not want to tell me about this, because I might explore more about the Veil and endanger myself."


    Ceeth looked worried. Elralya was the Elven''s greatest treasure. Maybe going to the Veil wasn''t a good idea.


    Elralya noticed her worry and smiled. "I will be. We will be fine. Our ancestors will guide us."


    "Does the Veil interact with every sentient being? If that is so, does the Imperium has any history with it?" Aldred asked.


    The Elder, sensing Aldred''s curiosity, continued its narrative, delving into the history of the Emperor of the Imperium¡ªthe colossal empire that spanned the gxy. The holographic projections shifted, revealing images of mighty armies, colossal warships, and the indomitable will of the Emperor.


    "Mankind. Once scattered, loss, and divided are now united under the Banner of the Imperium, a bastion of humanity''s strength and tenacity," the Elder began. "It stood as a beacon of order in the vast expanse of the cosmos. But even the mightiest empires are not immune to the subtle whispers of the Veil of Shadows."


    As the holographic images unfolded, the Elder recounted how the Imperium encountered the enigmatic forces of the Veil. The Emperor, a figure of immense power and foresight, recognized the potential dangers that lurked within the Veil''s depths. The Imperium waged a war not only against external threats but also against the insidious influence of the Veil on the minds of its people.


    "The Veil has a way of exploiting the deepest fears and desires of sentient beings," the Elder exined. "The Emperor, in his wisdom, sought to shield the minds of his subjects from the seductive whispers of the Veil. Supers, individuals with psychic abilities, became both a valuable asset and a potential threat. The Imperium''s war against the Veil was fought not only on the physical ne but also within the very minds of its citizens."


    "Supers?" Cleome frowned. "I am a super, but I never heard of these whispers?"


    "None of you have ever heard of strange whispers from time to time?" the Elder asked.


    They all shook their head.


    "What a great coincidence. No. Perhaps it was fate that all of you gathered here. Supers who never heard of any whispers in their life time are immune to the influence of the Veil. This is a great advantage, because you won''t be at the mercy of the Veil when you entered it."


    "But my colleagues never mention anything about strange whispers or veil before."


    "It is normal. The existence of the Veil are often kept secret in order to reduce its influence. Knowing its existence and believing its power is dangerous. Only individuals with powerful souls and minds could withstand it."


    "So that''s why we never heard of it."


    Smander, known for his impatience, asked, "Enough with the exnations. How do we use this magical eyeball to get through the Veil and reach Ascendria?"


    The Elder shifted its focus to the enchanted device Aldred held. "The orb you possess is an Eye of irvoyance, crafted from the essence of the Veil itself. It resonates with the subtle energies of the crossroads. Trust its guidance, for it can unveil hidden paths and shield you from the psychological turbulence you might encounter."


    Aldred, ncing at the orb, asked, "What about the challenges you mentioned?"


    The Elder''s expression grew somber. "The Veil manifests challenges born from your own minds¡ªillusions, fears, and reflections of unresolved conflicts. To traverse the Veil sessfully, you must confront these manifestations with courage and rity."


    The team looked at each other. "We will."

 Chapter 650 650 Set Off

    Chapter 650  650 Set Off


    With the Eye of irvoyance in Aldred''s possession, the crew of the Stardust Voyager returned to their ship, the hum of its engines filling the air as they stood before the colossal vessel known for its interster journeys. The Ark, a mysterious artifact of immense power, loomed in the background, a constant reminder of the grandeur and dangers they faced.


    As they gathered on the deck of the Stardust Voyager, the crew exchanged nces, a mixture of thrill and anticipation in their eyes. Aldred, holding the Eye of irvoyance, took a deep breath before addressing his team.


    "Alright, everyone. We have the means to navigate the Veil and reach Ascendria. Lord Malgorth is our target, and this," he raised the enchanted orb, "is our guide. Let''s not forget the challenges the Elder warned us about. Illusions, fears, and reflections of unresolved conflicts¡ªwe need to be ready for anything."


    Smander, ever the pragmatic one, spoke up, "I still don''t like the idea of delving into the Veil. Seems like a whole lot of unnecessaryplications. But if this is what it takes to get to Malgorth, I''m in."


    Aldred knew Smander would be in as long as it involved killing anything that threaten the Imperium.


    Shuzib adjusted his sses and added, "The Veil''s properties, as described by the Elder, are fascinating. It''s an intersection of psychic energies and quantum entanglements. I wonder what kind of scientific data we might gather from this experience."


    Elralya, the Elven member of the crew, looked at the Eye of irvoyance with a mix of reverence and curiosity. "My people rarely speak of the Veil, but knowing that we are connected to its history, I feel a responsibility to explore it. Our ancestors guide us, and we carry their legacy."


    Ceeth, concerned for Elralya''s safety, spoke softly, "Just be careful, Elralya. The Veil is unpredictable. We don''t know what awaits us there."


    Aldred nodded, acknowledging Ceeth''s concern. "We''ll stick together and watch each other''s backs. Now, let''s get this show on the road."


    Aldred, the orb in hand, studied the Eye of irvoyance intently. Its surface shimmered with a soft glow, reacting to the subtle energies of the Veil that surrounded them. Aldred could feel a resonance building between himself and the mystical device. The crew, gathered around him on the deck, watched with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.


    Taking a moment to center himself, Aldred closed his eyes and focused on the task at hand. He felt a strange connection with the orb, as if it responded to the depths of his thoughts. With a deliberate motion, he raised the Eye of irvoyance to eye level.


    Shuzib noticed a strange whisper.


    "By the cosmic currents that bind the Veil," he began, his voice carrying a resonance that seemed to harmonize with the energy around them, "I invoke the guidance of this enchanted Eye. May it unveil the hidden paths and shield us from the turbulence within."


    As Shuzib spoke the incantation, the Eye of irvoyance responded. The gentle glow intensified, and intricate patterns of light began to dance across its surface. A soft hum filled the air, resonating with the hum of the Stardust Voyager''s engines.


    The crew observed in awe as the magical effects of the Eye of irvoyance extended beyond the physical realm. The ship''s surroundings took on an otherworldly hue, as if the fabric of reality itself was bending to the will of the enchanted device. Waves of energy emanated from the Eye, creating a protective barrier around the crew.


    Each member felt a subtle shift in perception. It was as if the Eye of irvoyance allowed them to see beyond the veil of mundane reality. The crew could now sense the subtle currents of the Veil, and illusions that might have fooled them before became apparent.


    Elralya, with her Elven senses, felt a connection to the ancestral energies resonating from the Eye. She could almost hear whispers of guidance from her forebears, guiding her through the challenges thaty ahead.


    As the Eye of irvoyancepleted its activation, the hum and glow reached a crescendo before settling into a steady resonance. Aldred opened his eyes, a newfound rity in his gaze. The magical effects of the Eye extended beyond Aldred, enveloping the entire crew.


    "We''re ready," Aldred dered, his voice carrying a newfound confidence. "Let the Eye guide us through the Veil."


    With the Eye of irvoyance leading the way, the Stardust Voyager''s engines roared to life. The ship, now attuned to the mystical currents of the Veil, began its journey into the unknown.


    As the Stardust Voyager sailed through the cosmic currents of the Veil, the crew braced themselves for the challenges the Elder had forewarned. The ethereal boundary between realms seemed to ripple and shift, reflecting the crew''s own thoughts and fears.


    The crew''s journey through the Veil was far from uneventful. The Eye of irvoyance guided them through surrealndscapes where reality itself seemed to twist and contort. Strange apparitions appeared on the periphery of their vision, manifestations of the illusions born from the crew''s minds.


    "We haven''t even entered the Veil and yet its power already affected space time!" Smander frowned.


    Aldred, Smander, Shuzib, Elralya, and Ceeth faced these illusions head-on, their resolve tested with each passing moment. Smander, ever the warrior, confronted spectral enemies from his past battles, each strike met with an echoing sh of ethereal swords. Shuzib, the scientist, encountered ghostly equations that challenged the very foundations of his understanding, forcing him to question the nature of reality.


    Elralya found herself surrounded by fleeting visions of her Elven ancestors, urging her to stay true to her purpose. Ceeth, driven by a protective instinct, faced illusions of danger befalling the crew, testing her ability to discern reality from fiction.


    Aldred pped the enemies of his past with ease, however, he was then shocked when he heard a very familiar voice.


    "Aldred!"


    Aldred looked towards the source of that voice and his eyes widened. It was a woman with tight armor, short ck hair, and sky blue eyes.


    "Mary!"


    Mary sprinted towards Aldred, both arms spread wide, and then she hugged him, causing Aldred to take a step back.


    Aldred was still in shock. "Her warmth. Her smell. It feels like you truly are here with me."


    "What are you talking about? Of course, I am real. I will apany you in your journey, just like how I always did."


    Aldred''s eyes faltered as Mary held both of his hands.


    Suddenly, another woman materialized. She had kissable cheeks, slender fingers, soft blue eyes, and long blue hair.


    She ran towards Aldred with a stick of a roasted fish in her hand. "Aldred!"


    Just like Mary, she hugged him tight. "Where have you been? I''ve been waiting for you for so long! Here, I cooked this for you."


    Mareona smiled. "I cooked it the way you liked. With the flowers I always kept with me."


    And then, more woman materialized out of thin air. Rosy cheeks, straight ck hair, big-chested and voluptuous body, staring at Aldred with shining hazel eyes.


    "Sophia¡­"


    Sophia rushed at him and hugged him tight as well with tears in her eyes. She was sobbing. "You. You left without a word!"


    Aldred was increasingly overwhelmed at the sight of his wives appearing out of thin air.


    "Hold it, Aldred! This isn''t real!" he told himself.


    A short girl with tanned skin appeared with revealing gold and white robe. A golden crown atop her head with wavy, long, deep shaded taupe hair.


    She red and pouted at Aldred. "You! Where have you been all these time? Did you know how worried I am for you? Didn''t you promise to always take me with you on every adventure!?"


    "I¡­ I am sorry. It''s not within my control."


    Ste Altum suddenly leaped on him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Stupid! You make me worried sick!"


    Aldred looked to the side and saw a woman with deep green eyes, graceful wavy blonde hair with well-endowed breast standing in a revealing nun dress.


    She was staring at him with quietly with tears welled up in her eyes.


    Aldred smiled at her and beckoned her toe. "Mira,e here."


    Mira did not paused any longer and embraced him whole.


    Soon after, Ivette, Rachel, Zafrina, Kiara, and Mally all appeared and began hugging him.


    Aldred was overwhelmed with happiness. He smiled andughed. "I finally find you guys. I will never leave you ever again. I promise!"


    As Aldred said that, the space around him vibrated.


    "Ald¡ª!"


    Aldr¡ª!"


    "ALDRED! Wake up!"


    Aldred opened his eyes and saw Smander shaking his shoulder back and forth.


    "Get yourself together! We are under attack! We aren''t the only oneing for the Veil!"


    Aldred looked at the screen and saw numerous spacecraft battling each other outside.


    "Go to your station and avoid getting us killed!" Smander shouted before he returned to his seat and steered the spacecraft to dodge all the attacks.


    Meanwhile, Aldred was still in disbelief.

 Chapter 651 651 No Peace

    Chapter 651  651 No Peace


    Aldred, still reeling from the vivid illusions of his loved ones, took a moment to gather his thoughts. The images of his wives lingered in his mind, the warmth of their embrace still felt, yet he knew it was nothing but the Veil ying tricks on him. As he contemted the surreal experience, Smander''s voice broke through his reverie.


    "Aldred! We don''t have time for daydreaming! We''re under attack!"


    Shaking off the lingering emotions, Aldred snapped back to reality. The viewscreen disyed a chaotic skirmish unfolding in the cosmic expanse. Various spacecraft engaged in fierce battles, firing energy beams andunching projectiles at each other.


    Aldred rushed to his station, joining Smander in navigating the Stardust Voyager through the tumultuous space battle. The ship jolted as it evaded enemy fire, and Aldred gritted his teeth in frustration. The Veil was proving to be as dangerous as it was unpredictable.


    As they weaved through the chaos, Shuzib''s voice echoed through the ship''s inte, "Enemies breaching the hull! Prepare for close-quartersbat!"


    Aldred clenched his fists, his determination resurfacing. "We won''t let them take us down! Prepare for defense!"


    The crew swiftly moved to their assigned stations, readying for the imminent threat. Just as Aldred took his position, the ship trembled with the impact of the invaders breaching its hull.


    The airlock doors opened, revealing a horde of hostile beings d in dark, menacing armor. Aldred''s eyes narrowed as he recognized them ¡ª minions of Lord Malgorth.


    His anger ignited, Aldred drew his sword with unparalleled skill. In a swift motion, he charged at the invaders, his de cutting through the air with deadly precision. The enemies, caught off guard by Aldred''s ferocity, struggled to defend against his onught.


    The confined space of the Stardust Voyager became a battleground. Aldred moved with abination of elegance and ruthless efficiency, dispatching foes with each swing of his sword. Hispanions, inspired by his resolve, joined the fray, fending off the invaders.


    "We are the servants of Lord Malgorth the Devourer! Filthy human! Kill yourself before you faced our wrath!" Arge demonic creature with a pair of horn shouted.


    "You think too highly of yourself." Aldred brandished his sword. Then his form shed in an instant, he arrived in front of the demon, staring in his eyes, while his de already punctured through the demon''s neck. "Tell your lord. That I aming for him."


    Aldred beheaded the demon and his body fell with a plot. "Hmm, I guess a dead demon can''t send my message."


    The other demons saw this scene and paused for a second.


    Aldred red at them. "Now which one of you is lucky enough to deliver the message for me?"


    The sh echoed through the corridors of the Stardust Voyager. Aldred''s anger fueled his every strike, each swing of his sword a testament to his determination to protect hisrades and reach Ascendria. The invaders, realizing the formidable resistance they faced, began to retreat.


    As thest of the enemies were repelled, Aldred took a moment to catch his breath. The ship''s rms gradually subsided.


    Smander quickly repaired the damaged section of the ship.


    "This is not over yet!" Ceeth shouted. "Dozens of Malgorth''s forces are still chasing us."


    The Stardust Voyager, despite the damage it had sustained, danced through the cosmic battleground with astonishing agility. Aldred, Smander, and the crew coordinated their efforts to navigate through the storm of projectiles and energy beams. The ship twisted and turned, executing evasive maneuvers that seemed to defy thews of physics.


    As demonic ships closed in, firing malevolent energy beams andunching dark projectiles, the Stardust Voyager responded with grace. The ship''s sleek design and advanced technology allowed it to weave through the onught with precision. Energy shields flickered as they absorbed the impact of iing attacks, and the crew worked tirelessly to maintain the ship''s integrity.


    "Thank the Emperor! I bought the right ship for this situation!" Smandermented.


    Aldred, stationed at the ship''s main control console, red at the pursuing demonic vessels. "Smander, give me a status report. How are our shields holding up?"


    Smander, hunched over his station, responded, "Shields are taking a beating, but holding steady. We can''t keep this up for long. We need a n."


    Aldred nodded. "Prepare for a counter-attack. We can''t let them chase us forever."


    The Stardust Voyager, with a sudden burst of speed, surged forward. Its sleek form left the pursuing demons momentarily disoriented. Seizing the opportunity, Smander activated the ship''s powerful energy cannons.


    Bright beams of concentrated energy erupted from the Voyager''s cannons, targeting the closest demonic ships. The counter-attack was swift and deadly. Two demonic vessels, caught off guard by the sudden retaliation, erupted in fiery explosions, their dark forms disintegrating into cosmic dust.


    Cleome was excited to see that. "Suck that you little cock-suckers!"


    As the Stardust Voyager continued its evasive maneuvers, Smander continued to unleash devastating salvos on the demonic pursuers. The crew, each member ying a crucial role, worked in tandem to maximize the ship''s offensive capabilities.


    Amidst the chaos, the crew could see that they were not the only faction engaged in the cosmic conflict. Dozens of other spacecraft, each bearing distinct markings and designs, engaged in fierce battles across the vast expanse of space. Brilliant explosions and energy discharges painted the cosmic canvas with vibrant hues of light.


    Ceeth even noticed some Elven ships in battle.


    The Stardust Voyager navigated through the intricate web of skirmishes, avoiding coteral damage from the battles between various factions. The demons, momentarily preupied by the broader conflict, provided the Stardust Voyager with a moment of respite.


    Aldred, observing the grand spectacle of cosmic warfare, couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe and trepidation. The Veil was not only a realm of illusions and challenges; it was a battleground for powers vying for dominance in the vast reaches of space. The crew of the Stardust Voyager had ventured into a cosmic maelstrom, and their journey through the Veil was proving to be more perilous than they could have imagined.


    They all saw this scene in silent.


    Smander took a breath before he said: "There is no peace amongst the star."


    "I heard that quote from somewhere, but today is where I can sense the true meaning of that statement."

 Chapter 652 652 Space Pirate

    Chapter 652  652 Space Pirate


    "We have no business in this battle," Aldred said. "Our purpose does not change. We must traverse to the Veil and let nothing slow or stop us. A battle avoided, is a battle won."


    Smander, Ceeth, Shuzib, Elralya, and the rest of the crew nodded in agreement. The Stardust Voyager gracefully maneuvered away from the intense cosmic sh, slipping through the gaps in the ongoing skirmishes.


    However, as they distanced themselves from the fray, they noticed that several other spacecraft, belonging to smaller factions, were doing the same. Each ship sought an exit from the chaotic battlefield, preferring to continue their journeys rather than engage in the cosmic struggle.


    Among the diverse ships was a fleet of Elven vessels, their ethereal designs standing out amidst the mechanical and militaristic appearances of the others. As the different factions approached a more peaceful distance, they exchanged wary nces. It seemed like a fragile truce, as each faction eyed the others with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.


    The tense peace shattered when one faction, consisting of 12 sleek and agile ships, took a threatening formation. Their leader, a charismatic but clearly ruthless figure, initiatedmunication with Aldred''s ship.


    A holographic image of the pirate captain appeared on the Stardust Voyager''s viewscreen. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A ragtag group trying to sneak away from the chaos?"


    Aldred frowned but his expression was firm, indirectly telling them that he wasn''t weak and will not be bullied. "Speak your purpose."


    The pirate captain chuckled. "I see you are good at hiding your fear."


    You see, we have a simple offer. Join us, hand over the women in your crew to serve us, and we might let you pass unharmed."


    "You wouldn''t want to be killed for some women, wouldn''t you?" The pirate captain giggled.


    Aldred sighed. Not in fantasy world, not in sci-fi gctic world, there would always be some dickheads who couldn''t control their horny self.


    "No." Aldred said firmly. He already had enough dealing with these kind of people. "If you are thinking about attacking us, beware of the consequences."


    The pirate captain grinned maliciously. "Consequences, eh? Let''s see if you can back up that bravado."


    Without further warning, the pirate fleetunched an assault on the Stardust Voyager. Energy beams and projectiles filled the space between the ships.


    The Stardust Voyager, despite its graceful maneuvers, couldn''tpletely evade the onught of the pirate fleet. The ship''s sleek form twisted and turned, narrowly avoiding some attacks, but a barrage of energy beams and projectiles found their mark, causing severe damage to the vessel.


    "Fuck! Our ship is heavily damaged! We wouldn''t be able to go anywhere or move!" Smander pressed all sort of buttons on the control panel to try his best.


    Cleome gritted her teeth. "Those fucking bastard! If not for their distance, I would''ve sted them with my lightning."


    Ceeth was the most worried of them all. Elves were a race known for their beauty. If Elralya were caught, she already knew what terrible fate would befall upon her.


    The pirate captainughed heartily, the holographic image on the viewscreen sneering at Aldred and his crew. "You thought you could escape, did you? Now, hand over those women, and maybe we''ll consider letting you drift into the cosmic void unharmed."


    Aldred, his frustration mounting, was about to summon his Phantom Doomde.


    However, before he could enact his n, the Eye of irvoyance began to emit a radiant magical light.


    "What''s going on?" Shinari asked.


    The crew looked at each other in confusion, and even Aldred hesitated for a moment. Then, in a sudden burst of energy, the Eye of irvoyance activated itself, its magical light intensifying. A shockwave of spatial energy emanated from the Stardust Voyager, creating a burst of luminous energy that engulfed the surrounding space.


    The crew watched in awe as the spatial shockwave expanded, tearing through the pirate fleet like a celestial force of judgment. More than half of the pirate ships disintegrated in the magical onught, their twisted metal and dark remnants scattering across the cosmic battlefield.


    The pirate captain, now visibly shaken, stared at the destruction wrought by the unexpected surge of power. His arrogant demeanor crumbled into disbelief. "What in the void just happened?"


    Aldred, equally surprised, looked at the Eye of irvoyance, now dimmed after its disy of immense power. "I... I didn''t do that. The Eye... it acted on its own."


    Smander, examining the ship''s systems, chimed in, "I''ve never seen anything like it. The Eye just saved our hides."


    The pirate captain, regaining someposure, tried to regain control of the situation. "This changes nothing! We still outnumber you. Surrender now, or we''ll make you suffer."


    Now that more than half of his ships were destroyed, he had to get those women onboard. The captain particrly want two of the beautiful women in Aldred''s crew. He had never seen a beauty like that.


    If the pirate captain knew those two were elves, he would threw all of his men for suicidal attack just to get them.


    Aldred was enraged. "You horny bastards! We just destroyed half of your ships, but you still can''t control your small dick and fail to think with logic!"


    The remaining pirate ships hesitated, ncing at the debris of their fallenrades.


    Even the pirate captain hesitated as well because he just realized that Aldred had just destroyed half of his ships in a single attack in mysterious way.


    "I¡ªI will return for you! Consider this a mercy from the Space Wolverines!"


    The pirates immediately distanced themselves from the Stardust Voyager, lest it tried to destroy them again.


    "Space Wolverines?" Aldred raised an eyebrow. "More like Space Pigs."


    Smander sighed. "Our spare parts are only enough to repair the ship onest time. If we got damaged again before we can resupply, it will be over for us."


    Shinari looked at Aldred, wondering what kind of solution he had.


    Aldred felt the weight of their gaze on him. "We''ll salvage the wreckage of the pirate''s ships and use that to repair our own."


    "The pirate''s ships were made with mediocre materials. We won''t have the same protection as before."


    "That is fine for now. Seems like we can''t be passive in this race. Next time, we will hunt high-grade ships and take their parts."


    Everyone was shocked to hear that.


    "Won''t that make us a criminal?" Smander asked.


    Aldredughed.


    "Trying to survive is not a crime."

 Chapter 653 653 A Moment of Respite

    Chapter 653  653 A Moment of Respite


    After the intense battle and the unexpected intervention of the Eye of irvoyance, the crew of the Stardust Voyager found themselves in a temporary lull. With the damaged ship and the looming threat of pirates, they gathered in the ship''smon area for a moment of respite.


    Smander, still visibly shaken from the recent events, let out a long sigh. "Well, that was quite the spectacle. Never thought we''d be dealing with space pirates on top of everything else."


    Aldred, leaning against a console, nodded in agreement. "The Veil is full of surprises. We can''t let our guard down even for a moment."


    Aldred recalled the many encounters against pirates during his campaign to travel the sea.


    Shinari, who had been silent throughout most of the battle, finally spoke up. "Aldred, what was that with the Eye of irvoyance? It''s not like anything I''ve seen before."


    Aldred scratched his head, contemting the mysterious artifact. "Honestly, I have no idea. It acted on its own, saving us from the pirates. Seems like it has a mind of its own."


    Ceeth, who was inspecting his weapon, added, "I''ve heard tales of ancient artifacts having their own will. Maybe this Eye is one of those."


    Cleome, with a mischievous grin, nudged Shinari''s elbow. "Maybe it''s fallen in love with you, Aldred. Saving its favorite person and all."


    Shinari blushed slightly, trying to keep herposure.


    Smander, ever the observant one, teased, "Aldred, I think Shinari has a soft spot for you. Maybe you should keep an eye out for any magical artifacts aiming to impress you."


    Aldred grinned, enjoying the light-hearted conversation. "Well, I appreciate the sentiment. But for now, let''s focus on repairing the ship. We can worry about magical artifacts and potential admirerster."


    "You say that, buy I saw you two having a conversation in the balcony a few months ago."


    "I already have wives, remember?"


    "Adding one or two more won''t hurt if that is the case." Smander tapped his shoulder with a huge smile on his face.


    The crew shared augh, the tension from the battle dissipating in the camaraderie. They settled into the ship''smon area, surrounded by the hum of machinery and the soft glow of control panels.


    Aldred couldn''t help but roll his eyes at Smander''s teasing. "Adding more wives? I have enough trouble managing the ones I already have. Besides, we''ve got a ship to repair and pirates to avoid."


    Shuzib, who had been silently listening, interjected, "I agree. Let''s not get distracted. We need to make it through the Veil in one piece."


    Shinari watched Aldred reading a manual from hisms. She wondered what he was thinking at this moment. Was he truly reading the manual, or was his mind somewhere else.


    During the Veil''s disturbance, Aldred was the most affected by its illusion and hallucination.


    Shinari did not expect Aldred to be the most vulnerable of such attacks, after all, he had always shown great strength, prowess, and bravery in every challenges and conflict they faced.


    For such a man was unimaginable to have any ws, but he did. He did had ws. Perhaps unseen, perhaps never shown.


    But that made Shinari curios. What vulnerabilities such a powerful man had?


    Shinari decided to approach him. "So, Aldred, about that Eye of irvoyance. Do you think it''s... sentient?"


    Aldred pondered the question. "Perhaps. In my world, there are many magical artifacts that develop their own sentience. I even encounter many artifacts with the living souls of human beings before. Some of these souls willingly enter an object, others are forcefully trapped in it."


    Shinari was slightly surprised by that answer. Aldred''s world seem to be far more magical than anything she had ever seen. That was very weird since Aldred only lived in one before he was teleported to this gxy.


    Shinari nodded, her curiosity apparent. "It did save us back there. If it has a mind of its own, I''m d it''s on our side."


    "Perhaps, it''s just a technology. Some sort of A.I I would say created by the Elder to help us in our journey."


    Aldred nced at Shinari, a subtle smile ying on his lips. "But yeah, it seems to have taken a liking to us. Lucky for us, I suppose."


    Their eyes met briefly, and Shinari felt a warmth in her chest. As they continued discussing the repairs and their ns moving forward, Aldred''s presence seemed to linger in the air like aforting aura.


    "You must really loved all your wives."


    "With all of my heart."


    "How can you divide your heart to more than one wife?"


    "I have a big heart." Aldred smiled.


    "Really? Just how big is your heart?"


    "Bigger than this gxy, and perhaps the entire universe."


    Shinari chuckled and cannot jabbed on his shoulder for thatment. "Your wives don''t fight each other for your attention?"


    "Nope, like I said, by heart is as big as the universe, and all of them have more than enough."


    "Tell me about them."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Sure."


    The crew shared augh, the tension from the battle dissipating in the camaraderie. They settled into the ship''smon area, surrounded by the hum of machinery and the soft glow of control panels.


    Aldred couldn''t help but roll his eyes at Smander''s teasing. "Adding more wives? I have enough trouble managing the ones I already have. Besides, we''ve got a ship to repair and pirates to avoid."


    Shuzib, who had been silently listening, interjected, "I agree. Let''s not get distracted. We need to make it through the Veil in one piece."


    As the crew dispersed to their various tasks, Shinari lingered near Aldred. Cleome, with her keen sense for romantic nuances, winked at Shinari before pretending to busy herself with ship diagnostics.


    Shinari cleared her throat, attempting to steer the conversation away from Smander''s yful banter. "So, Aldred, about that Eye of irvoyance. Do you think it''s... sentient?"


    Aldred pondered the question, "It''s hard to say. I''ve heard tales of magical artifacts possessing some form of consciousness, but this is a first for me. Maybe it''s just a really powerful and intuitive piece of magic."


    Shinari nodded, her curiosity apparent. "It did save us back there. If it has a mind of its own, I''m d it''s on our side."


    Aldred nced at Shinari, a subtle smile ying on his lips. "Yeah, it seems to have taken a liking to us. Lucky for us, I suppose."


    Their eyes met briefly, and Shinari felt a warmth in her chest. As they continued discussing the repairs and their ns moving forward, Aldred''s presence seemed to linger in the air like aforting aura.


    In the midst of the technical jargon and strategizing, the crew couldn''t help but notice the unspoken connection between Aldred and Shinari.


    Cleome exchanged knowing nces with Smander, both secretly reveling in the subtle hints of affection blooming amidst the cosmic chaos.


    "Look at her go," Cleome said, watching Shinari making a great conversation with Aldred. "She''s grown up now."


    "You talk as if she is your daughter," Smander said. "But, it''s nice to see Shinari begin to open up now. She always closed herself to the shadow before."


    Cleome sighed. "She believed it makes her stronger, but I believe it limits her power. Maybe Aldred can help her break that limitation."


    Smander gave out a shortugh. "He already help us break through our limit in one way or another. The reason we start this journey is because of him."


    Cleome nodded, her eyes still on Shinari. "True. Aldred has a way of inspiring people to be better than they thought they could be. I just hope Shinari realizes the potential within herself."


    Smander grinned. "Well, I''m sure she''s got a good teacher in Aldred. Maybe he can teach her a thing or two about handling those mysterious artifacts."


    Cleome chuckled. "And maybe she can teach him a thing or two about subtlety. The man is as subtle as a charging rhino." Shemented after she saw Aldred pulling Shinari by the waist.


    Smanderughed heartily. "A charging rhino with a heart bigger than the universe, ording to him. That''s Aldred for you."


    Cleome smirked. "Maybe his heart is so big because it''s trying topensate for hisck of subtlety."


    Smander winked. "Or maybe he just needed a heart that big to love all those wives of his. Takes a gxy-sized heart to manage a harem, you know."


    They both burst intoughter, the lighthearted banter echoing through the ship.


    As theughter subsided, Smander wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Ah, Cleome, you always know how to lighten the mood."


    Cleome grinned. "Well, what can I say? Laughter is the best medicine, especially when you''re hurtling through the cosmic unknown."


    Smander nodded. "True, true. Now, let''s get back to work before Aldred''s big heart decides to guide us into another unexpected adventure."


    Ceeth couldn''t herughter and burst out.


    Elralya, Cleome, and Smander was surprised to see that. Ceeth had always been quite distance from them before, but seeing herugh made them feel a little better.

 Chapter 654 654 Continuing The Journey

    Chapter 654  654 Continuing The Journey


    Amidst the banter andughter, Aldred and Shinari found themselves engrossed in a deep conversation.


    They spoke of their pasts, the challenges they faced, and the dreams that fueled to move forward.


    Shinari, usually reserved, opened up to Aldred about her unique ability to manipte shadows. She shared the struggles of harnessing this power and the fear it instilled in those around her. Aldred listened attentively, offering words of encouragement and understanding.


    "The normal citizen mostly fear my existence, you know. Children not daring to look at me in the eye."


    "I heard you," Aldred said. "People fear, what they cannot understand."


    "What do you think I should do?"


    "Nothing. Let them feel and think however they like. You just have to be you. Don''t let the assumption of others change who you are."


    Shinari was d to hear that. "Thank you. People in your world must fear you too."


    Aldred chuckled. "The normal citizen actually liked me. It''s those with super powers that fears me."


    "Why?"


    "Because I am far stronger than them." Aldredughed. "I never kill those without power. I don''t need to anyway. That''s why the normal people don''t fear me, but they do respect me, especially since I built a lot of useful things for them."


    "You build stuff for them? Are you a builder?"


    "No. I have the resources and manpower to do that."


    "You build infrastructures for people. That will require a lot of money, not to mention you have to bribe the local government to let you do that."


    Aldredughed again. "No one dare to stop me. Besides, I only build infrastructure for my territory."


    "Territory? Are you a noble in your world?"


    "Not exactly. You can say I am an independent warlord, conqueringnd and take it as my own."


    "You''re an invader? A colonizer?"


    "Ugh¡­ you can''t really say that either, though I can''t say that you are wrong. Well, the people lived much better under my rule rather than their previous lord, so I don''t feel bad about it. I do extract the local resources to fund my expansion even further though."


    "That''s exactly what a colonizer do¡­"


    Aldred shrugged. "At least I don''t do evil to those who do not deserve it. Like I said, I only kill people who stand in my way."


    "How many have you killed?"


    Aldred stayed silent and looked at her in the eye. The innocence in her eyes begged Aldred to lie, but he could not. "Millions. Countless people have died because of me."


    Shinari grabbed his hands. "Thanks for telling me the truth."


    "Are you okay with that?"


    "I have been in this journey with you for months, Aldred. I can see that you can kill without hesitation. But I can also see that you never harm those not worthy of it, like you said earlier."


    "The millions you killed in your world. Perhaps you believe they deserved to be killed."


    Aldred sighed. "Who can judge who deserve to be killed or not? A lot of people might judge that I am deserved to be killed. I don''t think even gods could decide someone''s fate like that, but that is the world we live in. The strong decide the fate of the weak. That is why, being weak is a sin in itself."


    "Being weak is a sin?"


    "The incapabilities to protect your loved ones. That is a sin." Aldred''s eyes seemed distance.


    "Why do you consider weakness as a sin?"


    "By not having the ability to protect, you are indirectly letting others to harm you or those you hold dear. Strength is virtue."


    Aldred fixed his sitting position. "People consider me evil, arrogance, ruthless, etc. But they misunderstand me. It''s not that I am ruthless, but I am capable of ruthless. It''s not that I am aggressive, but I can be if I needed to."


    "I think I have heard something like that before," Shinari replied. "A former soldier living in a farm. He sharpened his sword every single day for years and years. His neighbors wondered why he keep doing it and thought he was weird and scary. That was until a group of bandits raided the vige, and the former soldier brandished his sharpened de and fend off the bandits, saving the vige."


    Aldred nodded. "Yes. Just like that."


    As the conversation flowed, they discoveredmon ground and shared values. Aldred''s sincerity and honesty made Shinari felt safe and connected.


    Meanwhile, the repairs on the Stardust Voyager continued. The crew worked diligently, salvaging parts from the wreckage of the pirate ships to patch up the damages. Despite the temporary respite, the looming threat of more encounters with hostile forces kept everyone on edge.


    As the crew navigated through the intricate process of repairing the ship, Shuzib approached Aldred and Shinari.


    "Aldred, we need to discuss our strategy moving forward. The journey ahead is unpredictable, and the pirates won''t be thest challenge we face."


    The crew assembled in the ship''smand center, where Aldred and Shuzibid out their strategy. The discussion ranged from navigating through potential hazards in space to fortifying the ship''s defenses. Cleome, ever the strategist, offered insights on dealing with unexpected threats.


    As the crew delved into the strategy meeting, the atmosphere became tense with the anticipation of the challenges thaty ahead. Aldred and Shuzib outlined potential routes through the Veil, discussing the unpredictability of the cosmdscape and the necessity of staying vignt.


    "I just fixed the ship''s radar and detection system. It is fully repaired and activated, so we aren''t going blind."


    The crew breathed a collective sigh of relief, knowing that having a functional radar was crucial for navigating the hazardous cosmic terrain.


    However, the relief was short-lived as the radar detected a group of human forces ahead. The screen in themand center disyed blips representing the approaching vessels.


    Shuzib, analyzing the data, reported, "Aldred, we''ve got human forces on our radar. Their intentions are unclear, and we can''t determine whether they are friend or foe."


    Aldred furrowed his brow. The crew exchanged uneasy nces. The encounters with the pirates were still fresh in their minds, and the prospect of facing more unknown adversaries heightened the tension on the ship.


    Cleome, quick to assess the situation, suggested, "We should establishmunication with them, try to understand their intentions before making any decisions. We can''t afford to make enemies recklessly."


    Smander added, "But what if they''re hostile like the pirates? We need to be prepared for anything."


    "Should we make contact or avoid them entirely?" Shinari put the question on the table.

 Chapter 655 655 Continuing The Journey 2

    Chapter 655  655 Continuing The Journey 2


    They all looked at each other, contemting what the next course of action will be.


    "First, we need to know how many people the got."


    "They seem to have 24 ships with half of them being a cargo ship."


    "So 12 offensive ships?" Aldred crossed his arms as he looked at the digital screen, showing a map of the gctic sector that the system automatically mapped out.


    "Yes, but there is a problem. One of their ship is a Destroyer-ss."


    Everyone tensed up after hearing that.


    Aldred''s face grimaced. He knew how powerful a Destroyer-ss ship was. Even though he had destroyed one before, there was no guarantee that he could do it again.


    Back then, he had the help of an entire regiment of battle-ships that helped distracting the Destroyer from sting them to bits.


    Now, he only had one ship and a crew of less than ten people. Trying to infiltrate a Destroyer-ss ship was basically impossible.


    "Let''s avoid them," Aldred said. "It seems like they haven''t detected us yet, and since we are behind them, they won''t bother turning around to chase after us."


    The crew, collectively agreeing to avoid the approaching human forces, quickly shifted their focus to devising a n to navigate safely through the cosmic expanse and circumvent the potential threat. The ship''s control room buzzed with activity as the crew members worked together to analyze the gctic map and plot a course that would keep them hidden.


    Aldred, his eyes fixed on the digital screen disying the positions of the human vessels, said, "We need to n a route that takes us around them without getting too close. Smander, how''s our energy reserves? We might need to divert power to engines for a speedy getaway."


    Smander, checking the energy readings, replied, "We''re in good shape, Captain. We can allocate more power to engines if needed."


    Aldred nodded. "Good. Cleome, analyze the surrounding space for potential hazards. We need to choose a route that keeps us hidden but also avoids any dangerous anomalies."


    Cleome, tapping into the ship''s scanning systems, studied the data. "There''s a sr storm brewing in Sector 7, and we''ve got a cluster of anomalies in the asteroid belt nearby. We''ll need to navigate carefully to avoid those."


    Shinari, ever watchful, spoke up, "We don''t want to trade one danger for another. Let''s find a route that minimizes our exposure to both the human forces and the natural hazards."


    The crew worked diligently, considering various routes and analyzing the risks associated with each option. The tension in themand center heightened as they realized the delicate bnce they had to strike to ensure their safety.


    After thorough deliberation, Shuzib presented a proposed route on the holographic disy. "This route takes us through a dense region, avoiding both the human forces and the sr storm. However, we''ll need to navigate through a dense asteroid field. It''s a calcted risk."


    Aldred assessed the route, weighing the potential dangers. "It''s a narrow path, but if we move quickly and stay low on emissions, we might slip through undetected. Prepare the crew for possible turbulence in the asteroid field."


    As the ship adjusted its course and entered the chosen route, the tension in themand center remained palpable. The crew members focused on their respective tasks, aware that the sess of their evasion n hinged on precision and coordination.


    As they neared the asteroid field, the ship glided through the rocky terrain with careful maneuvering. The radar systems were adjusted to minimize the ship''s signature, and the crew held their breath, hoping to pass through the hazardous zone unnoticed.


    However, just as they thought they were in the clear, the radar detected an anomaly¡ªa gravitational distortion that threatened to pull the ship off course.


    Shuzib''s voice rose above the hum of the control room. "Captain, we''ve got an anomaly dead ahead. It''s a gravitational pull. Brace for turbulence!"


    The crew clung to their stations as the ship navigated the unpredictable forces of the anomaly. The holographic disy flickered, indicating the gravitational strain on the vessel. The ship shook, and rms red as the crew worked frantically to stabilize their trajectory.


    In the midst of the chaos, Aldred''s steady voice cut through, "Hold on, everyone. We can make it through this. Brace for impact!"


    "Haish, one turbulence after another," Smanderined. "I am sick of this already."


    The Stardust Voyager pushed through the gravitational anomaly, emerging on the other side with the ship intact but battered. The crew, visibly shaken, took a moment to catch their breath.


    "Well, at least, this time the anomaly doesn''t rip our spacecraft apart."


    As the Stardust Voyager emerged from the gravitational anomaly, the crew quickly shifted their focus to assessing the condition of the ship. rms continued to re, indicating potential damage and strain on various systems.


    Aldred, standing firm in themand center, surveyed the holographic disys. "Report on the ship''s status," hemanded.


    Smander, monitoring the ship''s energy systems, replied, "Energy reserves are holding, but we took a hit to the starboard engines. It''s fine though. We won''t need to repair it anytime soon."


    Aldred shook his head. "Repair them just in case. I don''t want any damage in our ship. We must be at our very best at all time. We encountered so many things that tried to kill us in less than a day. I don''t want a day ofziness to be the cause of our death.


    Shuzib, overseeing navigation, added, "The gravitational anomaly pushed us slightly off course. I''m recalibrating the trajectory to get us back on track."


    Meanwhile, Cleome analyzed the data on the human forces and potential hazards. "The human ships are still on their course. It seems like they haven''t detected us yet. As for hazards, we need to be cautious. The asteroid field is more densely packed than anticipated, and the sr storm in Sector 7 is intensifying."


    Aldred approached the gctic map with both hands behind his back. "Let''s hope we can get through this safely."

 Chapter 656 656 Immaterial Self

    Chapter 656  656 Immaterial Self


    Alone in his room, Aldred sat on a small chair, staring nkly at his hands.


    The recent encounters with hostile forces, gravitational anomalies, and potential threats had taken a toll on the usuallyposed warlord. Even though he went through so much battle before, a space battle was still something new to him.


    The challenges here were much harder than fighting on a, where he could just escape with his own power.


    As he sat there, a peculiar sensation began to thud within him, a powerful energy that seemed to resonate in harmony with his very being.


    Curiosity stirred within Aldred. He rose from his chair and moved to the center of his room. Closing his eyes, he entered a state of meditation, allowing his consciousness to explore the immaterial world within his body¡ªthe realm of his magic.


    In this ethereal space, Aldred found himself surrounded by a sea of limitless mana, a force that surged and pulsed with incredible power ¡ª the very reason why he could dominate almost all of his enemies.


    The sea of mana moved differently ording to its depth. In one area it moved slow and at a constant pace, in other areas, it could be chaotic and violent.


    As he delved deeper into the magical currents, he noticed something extraordinary¡ªsmall, pearl-like orbs scattered throughout the vast expanse.


    "I have never seen those before." Aldred approached.


    The orbs varied in colors, each emitting a distinct energy. Aldred could sense the potency within them, but their true nature eluded him. Focusing his mind, he tried toprehend the purpose and significance of these mysterious pearls.


    Suddenly, a strange and echoing voice resonated within the magical realm.


    [You have discovered Essence Pearls]


    "Damn, you scared the hell out of me," Aldred said. "It''s finally good to hear you again, system."


    The system hadn''t appeared for almost a year to the point that Aldred almost forgot about it.


    "Can you tell me what these pearls are?"


    [These orbs are manifestations of your innate magical abilities and strengths.]


    "Manifestations? Why don''t I have these before?"


    [Your abilities and strength have surpassed beyond the limit of your physical form, forcing them to solidify in your sea of mana to avoid being leaked out.]


    "Are you saying that my abilities and strength are far too powerful for my own body?"


    [Correct]


    "Wait, what level am I now?" Aldred hadn''t checked his level during his time in this gxy because he had no ess to the system at all.


    [Master, you are currently at level 179]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Level: 179 (Diamond Rank)


    Health Points: 135,068/135,068


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 4 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    Strength: 9,015 (+1,000)


    Vitality: 8,886 (+1,000)


    Intelligence: 12,037 (+1,000)


    Dexterity: 10,438 (+1,000)


    Stat Points: 710


    Skill Points: 710


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Aldred was shocked when he saw his own stats. "I grew 6 times more powerful than before."


    [During your time on this gxy, you have earned a couple of titles]


    [You have earned the title: Ork Killer]


    [You have earned the title: Demon yer]


    [You have earned the title: Bug Exterminator]


    [You have earned the title: Brave Explorer]


    [You have earned the title: One Man Army]


    [You have earned the title: One Against Billions]


    [You have earned the title: Savior]


    [You have earned the title: Pyro Master]


    "I got so many title." Aldred clicked on one of the title."


    [One Against Billions: Your stats will triple when you fight against an army numbering over a billion]


    "Well, I hope I don''t have to fight billions of bugs again."


    [One Man Army: When you are far from your allies (100km) while fighting against multiple opponents, your stats will double.]


    "Wow, so if I fight over a billion opponents by myself, my stats will increase over 5 times?"


    That was insane!


    "System, can I ess you from now on? Or do I have to meditate every time?"


    [Information unknown. I cannot give clear answer to that question]


    Aldred was slightly surprised. The system never mentioned itself in first person before.


    "Why? Aren''t you given by the power of 100 gods? Why is their power limited in this ce?"


    [The gods withhold almost 100% of your power to protect your fragile form. Forcefully unlocking this power will cause you and this universe to explode]


    Aldred''s countenance darkened. He did not know that his power could already destroy the entire universe.


    "Can we leak out that power a bit?"


    [Denied.]


    Aldred sighed. "So what do I do?"


    [You have to grow just like what you always do.]


    "Alright. If I grow strong enough, can I ess the system again?"


    [Correct.]


    Aldred did not ask any further question. Instead, he explored his immaterial world to trulyprehend his power.


    As Aldred delved deeper into the ethereal realm within himself, the sea of mana responded to his heightened awareness. The magical currents, once chaotic, began to align with his newfound understanding. The small, pearl-like Essence Pearls resonated with the rhythm of his thoughts, emitting an otherworldly glow that mirrored the power within him.


    As he continued his meditation, the magical energies coursing through his veins began to weave a harmonious dance, responding to his will. The air around him shimmered, and the space within his room slightly bent and distorted as if influenced by an unseen force. Aldred''s physical form became a conduit for his immense magical prowess, and the very fabric of reality seemed to acknowledge his presence.


    His heightened magical awareness allowed him to perceive the subtle shifts in the environment. Colors seemed more vivid, and the air hummed with an undercurrent of energy. Aldred could feel the interconnectedness of magic and the physical world, a symbiotic rtionship that he was only beginning toprehend.


    As he solidified his magical abilities, the Essence Pearls reacted, pulsating with even greater intensity. Each pearl represented a facet of his power: the mastery of elemental maniption, the art of shape-shifting, the racial abilities inherited from ancient bloodlines, and the finesse of swordsmanship. Aldred''s Titles, earned through countless battles, added anotheryer to theplex tapestry of his abilities.

 Chapter 657 657 Immaterial Self 2

    Chapter 657  657 Immaterial Self 2


    In the material world, the space around Aldred continued to warp subtly.


    Shinari who was walking near his room sensed something strange yet alluring, like a gentle breeze that carried the essence of magic.


    "What is he doing in there?" Shinari was curious, but she was wise not to disturb him and decided to walk away.


    His presence alone exerted a subtle influence on the surroundings, a testament to the immense power he now held within.


    The Essence Pearls, as manifestations of his inner strength, began to radiate auras corresponding to their respective abilities. The air swirled with fiery hues, water droplets materialized and danced, a gentle breeze swept through the room, and the earth beneath him resonated with a deep, grounding energy.


    With each passing moment, Aldred''sprehension of his own power deepened. The magical effects in the material world intensified, and he could sense a connection between his mastery of magic and the alterations in reality.


    Aldred continued his meditation, delving even deeper into the ethereal realm within. However, as he reached the profound depths of his magical consciousness, a sudden disturbance disrupted the tranquility of the sea of mana. A malevolent, daemonic energy began to swirl around him, darkening the once vibrant magical currents.


    Aldred felt the intrusion immediately and opened his eyes in rm. The space within his immaterial world warped and contorted, giving way to the ominous presence that now threatened to devour his consciousness. The daemonic energy, like tendrils from the abyss, reached toward Aldred''s magical essence, seeking to corrupt and consume.


    "Where are these energing from?"


    Suddenly, the Eye of irvoyance appeared within his consciousness as well. "Be careful, Aldred. This corrupt energyes from the Veil to turn you into its dark ve."


    "Elder?" Aldred wondered how she got here.


    "The Eye of irvoyance will help you fend them off. We have to fight together or you will lose your sanity."


    Aldred grimaced, understanding the stake.


    Aldred continued his meditation, delving even deeper into the ethereal realm within. However, as he reached the profound depths of his magical consciousness, a sudden disturbance disrupted the tranquility of the sea of mana. A malevolent, daemonic energy began to swirl around him, darkening the once vibrant magical currents.


    Aldred felt the intrusion immediately and opened his eyes in rm. The space within his immaterial world warped and contorted, giving way to the ominous presence that now threatened to devour his consciousness. The daemonic energy, like tendrils from the abyss, reached toward Aldred''s magical essence, seeking to corrupt and consume.


    As the daemonic energy encroached upon his magical realm, Aldred''s sea of mana responded with an unexpected surge of power. The sea, once calm and orderly, erupted in a tumultuous wave that shed against the dark forces. The sh created an otherworldly battlefield within his own consciousness.


    The hellish energy persisted, attempting to prate Aldred''s defenses, but the sea of mana fought back fiercely. The magical currents, infused with Aldred''s innate strength, pushed back against the daemonic intrusion. It was a struggle between light and darkness, a battle for dominance within the confines of his own magical realm.


    The dark energy pushed even harder, threatening to destroy the consciousness whole.


    "Damn it! This is harder than I thought!"


    Suddenly, the sea of mana surged forward with unprecedented force, not only repelling the daemonic energy but also purifying it in the process. The once malevolent tendrils now emitted agonized screams as they were cleansed and transformed into pure magical essence.


    Aldred, bewildered by this turn of events, watched as the sea of mana reimed its serenity, the Essence Pearls pulsating with renewed vigor. The hellish energy had been obliterated, leaving behind a residue of purified magic that merged seamlessly with Aldred''s own power.


    The echoing voice of the system resonated once again, breaking the eerie silence.


    [Congrattions, Master. You have sessfully repelled and purified a daemonic intrusion. Your inner strength and magical prowess have proven to be formidable.]


    Aldred, still trying to make sense of the unexpected confrontation, questioned, "What was that? Why did my magic attack me?"


    "The daemonic energy was drawn to the overwhelming power within you. It sought to corrupt and consume your magical essence. However, your sea of mana, fortified by your innate strength, not only resisted but also purged the intruding energy. It seems your magical prowess has reached a level where it can defend itself," the Eye of irvoyance spoke.


    "So this is what you mean The Veil exist within every sentient minds."


    "That is correct. And you can see how dangerous it is, if the masses know about it. I am certain that the human in your world gatekeep this information with all of their power."


    "The Veil exists within every sentient mind," the Eye exined. "It''s a dark force that preys on the vulnerabilities and fears of individuals. Governments in your world go to great lengths to keep this information hidden from the masses. The corrupt energy you just faced is a manifestation of The Veil, attempting to enve and manipte those who are not prepared."


    Aldred furrowed his brow, a mixture of frustration and concern clouding his features. "So, the the Imperium are aware of this danger?"


    The Eye nodded solemnly. "Yes, they are. The existence of The Veil and its potential influence on the minds of the masses is a closely guarded secret. Revealing this information could lead to chaos, panic, and the unraveling of the very fabric of society. The consequences could be catastrophic."


    Aldred pondered the implications of such secrecy. "But by keeping this hidden, they leave people vulnerable to The Veil''s influence without their knowledge."


    "The delicate bnce between protecting the masses and preventing widespread panic is a difficult one. Governments believe that ignorance, in this case, is a form of protection. However, it also means that individuals remain defenseless against The Veil unless they possess the means to protect themselves, like you just did."


    "What if the people suddenly catch a sight of these energy?"


    "Then they will be killed and exterminated. The whole will be burn to prevent the widespread of this information," the Eye of irvoyance said. "Not just the human races, but other races do this as well. Well, all except the Orks and other races that couldn''t be affected by the Veil."


    "That''s very interesting." Aldred rubbed his chin as he delved in thought.

 Chapter 658 658 The Veil

    Chapter 658  658 The Veil


    After Aldred''s short session of meditation, the Stardust Voyager went on its journey smooth sailing.


    There were no monsters, no space anomalies, no demonic army appearing out of nowhere, no xenos creatures infiltrating their ship. There was only calmness.


    The journey became quite boring as they encountering nothing but darkness. Sometimes the crew would have a great conversation, but after some point, there was nothing to talk about.


    "I have a great idea," Cleome said. "Why don''t we turn on the TV. I am sure there are a lot of movies we can watch on Jackflix."


    Shinari''s eyes lit up, finally having the hope of removing this boredom. "Why didn''t we ever thought of that before?"


    Shinari grabbed the remote and pressed some buttons. A TV, hidden in the ceiling, slowly revealed itself. "Thank the Emperor, the TV isn''t destroyed."


    Aldred hadn''t been watching TV for since a long time. After all, there was no TV back in his world, except for his time on Earth.


    The TV began to turn off, but just as the screen activated, it turned nk, and a set of words appeared: "No Signal"


    Cleome clenched her hair. "Crap! We are in unexplored sector of the gxy. Of course there will be no signal."


    Meanwhile, Smander wasughing his ass off. "I already know about that, but I let you guys try to make a fool of yourself. Hahaha!"


    Cleome threw a remote which ricocheted against his helmet.


    "Note that I won''t repair that remote anytime soon."


    "I can''t even use the TV, so I don''t need the remote." Cleome was annoyed.


    "Anyway," Aldred started. "Smander, do you always use your power armor all of the time? I mean, isn''t it hard to move around in that thing? You can''t even fit in the toilet in that."


    "It''s not that hard to move around with this thing actually. I designed it that way. But it''s true, I cannot fit in the toilet."


    "That being said, I actually never see you go to the toilet." Aldred looked at him weirdly.


    "Uhhh¡­ my power armor has a storage for waste management."


    "Wait, so you''re saying that you''re currently sitting on piss and shit? And while you fight, you also bring piss and shit with you?" Cleome was bbergasted.


    "That''s disgusting!" Shinarimented.


    Elralya nodded. "I agree. That is indeed disgusting."


    Ceeth nodded as well. "You humans always new ways to disgust us. I shouldn''t be surprised anymore."


    "It doesn''t smell. I provide the power armor with chemicals that kills the bacteria that produce the bad smell. You can even say that my shit and piss are sterilized. You can even drink and eat them in times of emergency."


    Everyone''s face turned horrified.


    "I am going to my room." Ceeth stood up and leave.


    "M¡ªme too." Elralya left as well.


    There were Aldred, Shinari, and Cleome still staring at Smander in disbelief.


    "Don''t look at me like that. It''s not that bad."


    "Not that bad my arse!" Cleome retorted. "What if in a battle, your waste storage was destroyed? Won''t your piss and shit be sttered everywhere?"


    Smander was silent for a second before he replied. "I never thought of that."


    "Fuck¡­ I don''t want to be near you when we fight ever again."


    Smander looked at Aldred for salvation.


    "If I am fighting. I will burn you along with your shit and piss," Aldred jokingly said which made Cleome and Shinariughed.


    "Ugh, fine. I will make sure to clean it frequently."


    The four of them had a short conversation before they entered a state of boredom again.


    This went on for weeks until they saw a spatial rift in the distance.


    The Eye of irvoyance flew out of Aldred''s pocket and then let out an ethereal glow.


    Everyone looked at each other and stood up immediately.


    "Is that the Veil of Shadows?"


    Shuzib pulled out some kind of ancient books, and flipped through its pages. "Yes! We finally found it! This is the Veil of Shadows!"


    Aldred, standing on the bridge, observed the cosmic anomaly with a sense of both caution and excitement. "We''ve reached the entrance to the Veil of Shadows. Everyone, prepare for what lies ahead. Cleome, Smander, ensure all systems are at optimal levels. Shinari, keep an eye on the navigational instruments. Let''s not underestimate the challenges within the Veil."


    The crew, now invigorated by the prospect of entering a new and mysterious region of space, diligently prepared the Stardust Voyager for the journey through the Veil. The spatial rift loomedrger, its swirling darkness beckoning them into the unknown.


    "Are we ready to enter it?" Shuzib asked.


    "We''vee so far. It would be a waste no to enter it."


    "After we go in, we may never able to escape."


    Aldred looked at everyone. "Well, does anyone want to abort?"


    Everyone looked at each other and contemted their choices. Space travel was extremely dangerous, and they understood that after what they had gone through, however, exploring the Veil of Shadow was even more dangerous.


    Unpredictable and unknown, the Veil wasn''t a ce with conventional physicalws. It was another dimension entirely influenced by thoughts and emotions of sentient beings.


    Exposure to its energies could have various unpredictable effects.


    For all they understood from it, the chance of them dying the moment they entered the Veil was extremely high.


    "I wouldn''t mind, if any of you leave," Aldred said. "There will be no shame on your name. You are not a coward if you turn around and never look back again, even after everything we''ve been through to get this far."


    "I am sure you have something far more important to do back home. Make your choice while you still can," Aldred told them.


    They all turned silent for half an hour before Shuzib stepped forward. "I am in. I''ve dedicated my whole life for this moment. Exploring the unknown is carved in my soul, and I wouldn''t be able to sleep at night if I leave now."


    Smander, aware of the potential hazards, chimed in, "I''ve faced dangers and demons; I''ve fought in battles that shook worlds. This, this is just another challenge. I''m not backing down."


    Elralya and Ceeth, rejoining the group, exchanged nces before nodding in unison. "We''vee this far together. There''s no turning back for us," said Elralya.


    "I won''t back down after all the things we did to get here," Shinari said.


    With the crew unanimously deciding to enter the Veil of Shadows, they mentally prepared themselves for whaty ahead. Smander activated the ship''s systems, and the Stardust Voyager moved toward the spatial rift.

 Chapter 659 659 The Veil 2

    Chapter 659  659 The Veil 2


    The moment the ship entered the Veil, the surroundings transformed. Reality seemed to warp and twist, colors swirling into new shades, and the fabric of space itself dancing to an ethereal tune. The crew felt a profound shift in the very essence of their beings.


    Aldred, standing on the bridge, could sense the immense power emanating from the Veil. "This is unlike anything I''ve ever experienced. Stay vignt, everyone. We don''t know what we might encounter."


    As the Stardust Voyager sailed deeper into the Veil of Shadows, the crew braced themselves for the unknown challenges that awaited them. The cosmic anomalies within the Veil held untold mysteries and dangers, and they were now on a path that few had dared to tread.


    The ship moved through the swirling darkness, guided by Shuzib''s expertise and the unwavering determination of the crew. The Veil of Shadows enveloped them, and the boundaries between reality and the immaterial blurred.


    As the Stardust Voyager ventured deeper into the Veil of Shadows, the crew found themselves in a realm that defied thews of conventional space. The cosmic anomalies within the Veil yed tricks on their senses, distorting time and space in unpredictable ways.


    Aldred stood on the bridge, his eyes focused on the swirling darkness outside the ship. "Keep a close eye on the instruments. We can''t afford to lose our way in this ce," he instructed Shinari, who was monitoring the navigational systems.


    The crew members, each experiencing the Veil''s surreal effects differently, maintained their positions with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Cleome, always curious, was observing the shifting colors and shapes that danced on the viewscreen.


    Smander couldn''t help but express a hint of awe. "This is beyond anything I''ve seen. It''s like we''re sailing through dreams."


    Shuzib, relying on ancient texts, guided the ship based on the knowledge he had gathered. "Our instruments may not be as reliable here. We''ll need to rely on intuition and the guidance of the Eye of irvoyance."


    Aldred took out the Eye, and it emitted a soft glow, resonating with the energies of the Veil. "This will be our guide. Trust in its connection to the mystical forces within."


    As they delved further into the Veil, the crew encountered pockets of ethereal energies, each influencing the ship in different ways. At times, gravitational forces seemed to shift without warning, and at other moments, the very fabric of reality seemed to ripple like water.


    Ceeth, adjusting to the fluctuating environment, remarked, "This ce challenges the limits of our understanding. It''s as if the Veil responds to our thoughts and fears."


    Elralya nodded in agreement. "We must remain focused. Distractions or doubts could have unforeseen consequences."


    The crew became worried. The Veil of Shadows could respond to their thought and emotions which meant that they had to stay vignt at all times, not just physically, but mentally as well.


    The crew''s journey through the Veil of Shadows continued, with each passing moment bringing them deeper into the dimension. Unseen forces tugged at their perceptions, and the ship sailed through an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors and patterns.


    Creatures of various size, hidden themselves from sight, keeping an eye on the foreign ship.


    Aldred sensed them, but these creatures did not appear on the radar.


    Suddenly, a spectral figure appeared on the viewscreen, its form flickering between shadows and light. The figure spoke with a disembodied voice that echoed through the ship, resonating in the minds of the crew.


    "Travelers of the Veil, you navigate the currents of existence. What do you seek within these boundless realms?"


    They all looked at Aldred, indirectly telling him to be their spoke person.


    "Be careful, Aldred. The Veil are filled with cunning demons."


    Aldred, undeterred, stepped forward. "We seek knowledge, understanding, and the unraveling of mysteries. What can you tell us about the Veil of Shadows?"


    "I can tell you everything you need to know." The figure slowly materialized within the ship.


    The figure was in the form of a human, however, all of his skin was burned, and his hands only had four disfigured fingers. The man had no lips, revealing rotten teeth.


    Ceeth stood in front of Elralya immediately, guarding her.


    The figure chuckled. "Don''t be scared. I meant no harm. A lot of humans and elves entered the Veil before, and I''ve always guided them to their destination. However, this isn''t a ce where you can stay for long. Why don''t youe to my dwelling to rest, first? Aren''t you all tired after a long journey?"


    Cleome yawned. "You''re right. I feel kind of sleepy."


    "I think we can rest for a few hours before we can continue our journey," Smander said.


    The figure nodded. "A little bit of rest won''t hurt. What do you say, Aldred?"


    Aldred looked at the figure. "How do you know my name?"


    "What are you talking about, Aldred?" Shinariughed. "You told him earlier. He also introduced himself. His name is Kawabaka."


    "Yes, that is indeed my name. Come on, don''t be shy."


    "Will there be tea?" Ceeth asked.


    "Sure. There will be lots of tea."


    "That''s great!" Ceeth asked with excitement.


    Aldred and Elralya looked all around them with a weird expression.


    Aldred also realized what happened and Elralya nodded at him.


    With a quick movement, Aldred grabbed Kawabaka by the neck.


    The demon did not react even when Aldred suspended him in the air, tightly holding his neck.


    "Kekeke. How are you not affected? Even Super Soldiers will fall for my Mystic art."


    "I wonder about that too." Aldred clenched his hand, and snapped the demon''s neck.


    The demon fall to the floor with a thud.


    Suddenly, his crew returned to their sense.


    "What the heck just happened? Where are we?" Smander held his head. "My head hurt."


    "Seems like the Veil is a lot more dangerous than I thought," Aldred said.


    Aldred, recognizing the deceptive nature of the Veil and the potential threats it posed to the crew''s sanity, decided to take decisive action. He retrieved the Eye of irvoyance from his pocket, and its ethereal glow filled the bridge of the Stardust Voyager.


    The crew members, still disoriented from the encounter with the demon Kawabaka, looked at Aldred with a mix of confusion and concern.


    "What are you doing, Aldred?" Cleome asked, rubbing her temples.


    "We need protection from the Veil''s influence," Aldred exined. "I believe this Eye has the power to shield our minds from the tricks and illusions that this dimension can y on us."


    Aldred activated the Eye, and a radiant energy enveloped the entire bridge. The crew felt a soothing sensation, as if a mental fog was lifting from their minds.


    Shinari, who was still recovering from the disorientation, felt the rity returning. "That''s better. What just happened?"


    Aldred exined, "The Veil can manipte our thoughts and emotions. It tried to lure us into a false sense of security with that demon, Kawabaka. We can''t let our guard down."


    Ceeth, now more vignt, nodded in agreement. "I''ve heard tales of the Veil''s illusions. We must tread carefully."


    The Eye of irvoyance continued to emit its protective aura, shielding the crew from the subtle influences of the Veil.


    As the ship sailed deeper into the dimension, the surroundings became even more surreal, but the crew now perceived the distortions with a newfound rity.

 Chapter 660 660 Celestial Schemata

    Chapter 660  660 Celestial Schemata


    As the crew gathered in the Stardust Voyager''s meeting area, Aldred initiated a discussion about their next steps.


    "We''ve entered the Veil, and the encounter with Kawabaka made it clear that the challenges here are more intricate than we anticipated."


    Shuzib nodded. "Indeed. The Veil is not to be underestimated. It seems we''ll need more than our wits to navigate through it."


    "The question is. What do we need to look for? We are going after the Chronicles of Ascendria, but there is no clear guide towards it. The Eye if irvoyance seems to only help us finding the Veil." Aldred held the Eye on his hand.


    Just as they contemted their situation, the Eye of irvoyance emitted a soft glow, and a holographic projection of the Elder appeared before them. Her presencemanded immediate attention.


    "Congrattions on entering The Veil of Shadows," the Elder''s voice echoed through the ship. "Your perilous journey hase to fruition, however, you are still far from your destination. To reach the Chronicles of Ascendria, you must ovee the Veil''s chaos. There, you''ll find the key to order ¨C three stones that govern Time, Space, and Soul."


    Aldred leaned forward, intrigued. "What are these stones, and how do we find them?"


    The Elder exined, "The Stone of Time, buried in the temporal anomalies of the Veil; the Stone of Space, hidden within the ever-shifting dimensions; and the Stone of Soul, veiled in the essence of sentient thought. These stones will bring stability to the chaos. And it is the only way you can ess Ascendria."


    Cleome, curious as always, chimed in. "How will we locate these stones?"


    The Elder''s eyes glowed with wisdom. "The Eye of irvoyance will be your guide. Its connection to the cosmic energies will lead you to the stones. However, remember this ¨C even the All-Seeing eyes can go blind in the Veil of Shadows, so don''t always trust everything you see."


    A hushed silence fell over the crew as they absorbed the gravity of their mission.


    "Seeding in this mission will bring you to a higher level up greatness, young warriors. Achieve this, and your name will be carved in the history of the entire gxy."


    Aldred, determined, spoke, "We have our path. We must find these stones to bring order to the Veil and reach the Chronicles of Ascendria. Cleome, keep a close eye on the Eye of irvoyance. Shuzib, prepare the navigation systems. We embark on this quest, together."


    The Elder''s holographic image faded with a smile.


    Aldred activated the Eye of irvoyance. As he did, the very essence of the ship seemed to dance with newfound energy. Glowing wisps of magic spiraled around, creating a mesmerizing disy that left the crew in awe.


    Cleome grinned. "Well, that''s a showstopper. Never thought mystic artifacts could be so shy."


    The Eye, once activated, projected a series of ancient symbols into the air. Each symbol shimmered with an otherworldly light, forming an intricate pattern that seemed to respond to the cosmic energies within the Veil.


    Aldred turned to Shuzib. "Can you trante these symbols, Shuzib? We need to know the path to the Stones."


    Shuzib, with his extensive knowledge of ancientnguages, began to transcribe the symbols. As he worked, the crew observed the magical dance of symbols. The Stardust Voyager sailed smoothly through the Veil, guided by the newfound rity bestowed upon them by the Eye of irvoyance.


    After a moment of intense concentration, Shuzib looked up. "These symbols are a celestial map, guiding us through the ever-shifting dimensions of the Veil. They lead us to the Stone of Time, the first key to Ascendria."


    Aldred nodded. "Let''s follow this celestial map carefully. We can''t afford any mistakes in the Veil."


    With the tranted symbols guiding their path, the crew navigated through the chaotic twists and turns of the Veil of Shadows. Unseen forces tugged at the ship, and illusions attempted to divert them, but the Eye of irvoyance, now a beacon of rity, shielded them from the Veil''s deceptive nature.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In other parts of the Veil, Aldred and his crew wasn''t the only group that search Ascendria.


    Ascendria''s legend had been known for millenniums, and its story was spread to almost every corner of the gxy. People may thought of them as hearsay, but those in power knew that every myth held some truth.


    Ascendria meant to ascend, climbing higher than they were now. A lot of people tranted its meaning as bing a higher existence all together, possibly bing an immortal themselves.


    This possibility enticed a lot of factions to go through the most dangerous journey.


    One of the faction was called: The Celestial Schemata


    The Celestial Schemata, a colossal force within the Veil of Shadows, sailed through the cosmic turbulence with an air of silent arrogance. The very fabric of space seemed to acknowledge their presence as their fleet moved with an intimidating grace. Countless ships, sleek and metallic, adorned with luminescent patterns, formed an armada that painted the darkness with an ethereal glow.


    Their gship, the Astral Sovereign, towered above the fleet like a celestial monarch. It wielded devastating weapons capable of rending space itself. Arrayed beside it were numerous Destroyer-ss ships, each bristling with advanced armaments that could obliterate lesser vessels with a single volley.


    The Celestial Schemata''s forcesprised not only sentient robots but also powerful mechanical constructs, resembling armored titans. These mechanical behemoths could unleash torrents of energy, and their defenses were practically impervious.


    Archon Stratos Vortimer, the master tactician and leader of the Celestial Schemata, stood tall and imposing in the control room of their gship, the Astral Sovereign. His figure, adorned in regal, metallic armor, exuded an aura of otherworldly authority. The armor, etched with celestial patterns, seemed to absorb and reflect the ambient light, giving Vortimer an almost ethereal appearance.


    Vortimer''s eyes, cold and calcting, gleamed with an intelligence that surpassed theprehension of those around him. His gaze prated the vastness of the Veil, foreseeing the intricate dance of cosmic forces. The leader''s presence alone demanded respect, and an air of silent arrogance clung to him, as if he considered himself a force unchallenged by the chaotic nature of the Veil.


    At his side, the guardian of the Celestial Schemata, a powerful undying sentient mechanical, stood as a silent sentinel. This guardian, known as the Quantum Sentinel, radiated an aura of deathly calmness. Its metallic form, sleek and imposing, reflected the same luminescent patterns that adorned the faction''s ships.


    The Archon and the Quantum Sentinel, a formidable duo, surveyed the cosmic tapestry disyed on the control room''s holographic interface. Vortimer''s fingers glided effortlessly over the controls, orchestrating the movements of the fleet with an innate understanding of the Veil''s unpredictability.


    As the Celestial Schemata sailed through the Veil, their terrifying air of arrogance manifested in the precision of their formations and the calcted maneuvers of their ships. The crew, silent and cold, executed their tasks with unwavering efficiency, following the lead of their enigmatic leader. The Veil of Shadows, a realm known for its chaos, seemed to bend to the will of the Celestial Schemata, acknowledging their dominance with each silent glide through its cosmic currents.


    There were not a single word spoken until the leader decided to speak.


    "There are many factions trying to pry for the ascension. I will not destroy them for trying, but it seems like some flies dare to set their eyes upon us."


    Quantum who stood behind him only snuffled before a centralmunication device inside his head activated and gave order to the entire fleet.


    In the tense silence of the Veil, a sudden revtion unfolded. A multitude of ships, more than ten times the number of the Celestial Schemata, materialized into view. The ships, a chaotic amalgamation of mismatched parts, formed an armada that contrasted starkly with the sleek precision of the Celestial Schemata.


    Calling themselves "The Poor United," the leader of this unexpected coalition transmitted a message to the Celestial Schemata. Their transmission was riddled with interference, and the voice that emanated from themunication device sounded ragged and defiant.


    "Cease your journey, Celestial Schemata," the leader of The Poor United dered, their tone a mixture of bravado and desperation. "We might not have the fanciest ships or the grandest technologies, but we outnumber you. Surrender now, and your precious life will be spared from ruin."


    "Did they pick you as their leader because you know how to say things in a slightly fancier way?" Vortimer said.


    "What in the itchy ball-sack did you just say?"


    "I refuse to waste time with primitives."


    Vortimer''s metallic hand, raised with amanding gesture, marked the onset of a ruthless engagement.


    Without uttering another word, the Celestial Schemata fleet, under his calcted direction, unleashed a devastating barrage of advanced weaponry upon The Poor United. The Veil of Shadows trembled as energy projectiles and luminescent beams pierced the cosmic darkness, converging upon the unsuspecting coalition.


    In a single, merciless volley, the Celestial Schemata obliterated thousands of ships within The Poor United, leaving little chance for retaliation. The chaotic armada,prised of cheap and low-grade equipment, disintegrated under the overwhelming onught of the superior Celestial Schemata technology.


    The very fabric of space echoed with the resounding destruction, and the silence that followed was haunting. The remnants of The Poor United''s fleet drifted aimlessly in the Veil, a somber testament to the vast power imbnce between the two factions.


    Vortimer''s cold gaze surveyed the aftermath on the holographic interface. Quantum, the undying sentinel, remained impassive by his side, and the crew of the Astral Sovereign continued their duties with mechanical efficiency. The Veil of Shadows seemed to absorb the echoes of the conflict, indifferent to the cosmic tragedy that unfolded within its chaotic expanse.


    Just like that, an entire warband of a faction who had lived through hundreds of years were erased out of existence in a single battle.


    The dreams and ambition of more than millions of men scattered and absorbed by the Veil.


    Meanwhile, the Celestial Schemata, continued its journey into the Veil, unobstructed.

 Chapter 661 661 Stone of Time

    Chapter 661  661 Stone of Time


    As Aldred guided the Stardust Voyager through the tumultuous currents of the Veil, the celestial map projected by the Eye of irvoyance led them to a region filled with swirling time anomalies. The very fabric of the Veil seemed to ripple and distort, creating pockets where time danced erratically.


    Aldred, with a focused gaze, observed these anomalies, realizing that they were the unmistakable signs of the proximity to the Stone of Time. The crew, alert and ready, braced themselves for the challenges thaty ahead.


    Shuzib, with his deep knowledge, studied the patterns of the time anomalies. "We''re on the right path," he dered. "The Stone of Time must be manipting the temporal fabric of the Veil around it. We need to navigate carefully to reach it."


    As the Stardust Voyager ventured deeper into the heart of the temporal anomalies, the crew encountered moments frozen in time and sudden elerations that propelled them forward. The Veil yed tricks on their senses, distorting perceptions and challenging their understanding of the passage of time.


    Suddenly, Shuzib grew a beard and his skin wrinkled and dried out. Shuzib panicked when he realized this, but his body turned back to its normal state immediately.


    He gasped for oxygen as he tried toprehend what just aspired. "That''s really dangerous. The time anomalies are not things to y with. They can literally kill us by wasting our lifespan and elerate aging to the extreme."


    After he said that, he saw two elven baby sitting on the floor. A secondter, the two baby popped and became Elralya and Ceeth who quickly wore their clothes again.


    "Can''t we do something to reduce its effect?" Ceeth asked.


    "I will try." Elralya activated her spiritual power and enveloped the entire ship.


    Aldred stared at the Eye of irvoyance. It continuously exuded a protective screen that covered the ship, but still, it couldn''t block the time anomalies.


    Cleome, with her quick reflexes, maneuvered the ship through these anomalies with finesse. "It''s like sailing through a cosmic dance of past, present, and future," she remarked, her eyes fixed on the mesmerizing distortions.


    Aldred, holding the Eye of irvoyance, felt its magic resonate with the fluctuations in the temporal energy. The symbols on the celestial map glowed brighter, guiding them through the intricate dance of time.


    After navigating through the surreal distortions, the crew sensed a palpable shift in the atmosphere. The time anomalies converged, forming a mesmerizing vortex that pulsed with an otherworldly energy.


    "We''ve reached the epicenter," Shuzib announced, analyzing the readings. "The Stone of Time awaits within this temporal vortex. Brace yourselves; we''re about to breach the core."


    As the Stardust Voyager entered the heart of the vortex, the crew felt a surge of temporal energy. The ship moved through a corridor of frozen moments, suspended in the cosmic ballet of time.


    Then, at the center of the vortex, the crew witnessed the Stone of Time¡ªa radiant, crystalline structure embedded in the very fabric of the Veil. It emanated a soft glow, resonating with the pulse of time itself.


    "Is that it?" Aldred''s eyes twinkled with stars, reflecting the things of wonder that he was currently seeing. "This is the Stone of Time?"


    "It''s such an unbelievable sight. Isn''t it?"


    "No¡­ it''s just¡­ too easy to reach."


    The Stone of Time was located at some sort of gas giant.


    The Stardust Voyager made its way to enter the orbit of the and quickly made anding.


    The gate made a hissing sound as it opened and the crew walked out of the starship with their space gear, providing them with oxygen.


    Except for Aldred. He actually did not need oxygen to survive, but he wore his space helmet just in case.


    As they ventured closer to the Stone of Time, the crew noticed intricate runes etched into the ground, forming a mystical circle around the crystalline structure. Elralya, with her attunement to spiritual energies, could sense the profound connection between the runes and the Stone.


    "These runes are ancient, resonating with the very essence of time," Elralya exined, her eyes reflecting the luminosity of the runes. "They''re like anguage written by the cosmos, guiding those who seek the power of the Stone."


    Aldred approached the crystalline structure, the Eye of irvoyance in his hand radiating with a protective aura. The Stone responded to their presence, its glow intensifying as if acknowledging their arrival.


    Shuzib, ever the analytical mind, examined the Stone closely. "We must find a way to attune the Eye of irvoyance with the Stone. It will amplify our connection to the cosmic energies and unveil the path to the next key."


    As Aldred held the Eye of irvoyance closer to the Stone, a resonance urred. The ancient symbols on the celestial map, previously guiding them through the Veil, now projected onto the surface of the Stone. The symbols danced in harmony with the cosmic energies, creating a mesmerizing disy.


    Cleome, enchanted by the sight, whispered, "It''s like witnessing the dance of the universe itself."


    Suddenly, they heard a thunderous rumbling of machines from above.


    As Aldred and the crew marveled at the radiant beauty of the Stone of Time, a sudden disruption shattered the tranquil moment. The once serene atmosphere was pierced by a thunderous roar, and the very ground beneath them quivered.


    "What the fuck are those¡­"


    Above, the cosmic ballet was interrupted by the arrival of the Celestial Schemata. Tens of thousands of sleek, metallic ships descended from the celestial expanse, their luminescent patterns casting an otherworldly glow upon the gas giant''s moon.


    The sheer number and scale of their fleet painted the sky with an ethereal tapestry of light.


    The Stardust Voyager''s crew, caught off guard, watched as the powerful armada descended, their entrance affecting the''s gravitational pull. The gas giant''s moon trembled beneath the weight of the approaching force.


    "I haven''t seen anything like this before," Smander imed. "This level of technology¡­ It''s only possible during the golden age of mankind."


    Drones, sleek and efficient, detached from the armada''s ships, zipping through the atmosphere with remarkable speed. These scouting machines spread out in a calcted formation, surveying the area around the Stone of Time with precision.


    Meanwhile, countless mechanical non-sentient robots descended from the sky, their metallic forms bristling with powerful weaponry. The ground shook as theynded, forming an imposing army that stretched as far as the eye could see. Each robot moved with unwavering efficiency, a testament to the advanced technology harnessed by the Celestial Schemata.


    Archon Stratos Vortimer, towering on a tform extended from the gship Astral Sovereign, observed the unfolding scene with cold, calcting eyes. He raised his metallic hand, signaling the drones and robots to spread out and secure the area.


    The Celestial Schemata''s forces, a celestial force to be reckoned with, swiftly established a perimeter around the Stone of Time. Their luminescent weapons cast an eerie glow over the ancient runes and the mesmerizing circle surrounding the crystalline structure.


    Aldred, Cleome, Shuzib, Elralya, and Ceeth exchanged nces, realizing that their peaceful encounter with the Stone of Time had suddenly turned into a cosmic confrontation. The Eye of irvoyance hummed with a protective energy, ready to shield them from the impending threat.


    "What do we do now? We are surrounded from every direction." Cleome''s hands crackled with lightning.


    One of the robots stepped forward and voiced: "Hand over the stone."


    All of the robots then aimed their weapons towards them.


    Aldred looked around. He waspletely surrounded from every direction. Even the sky was filled with warships and drones.


    "What if I say no?" Aldred grabbed the Time of Stone and kept it in his pocket.


    "Then we will exterminate you."


    The robots, in a synchronized motion, unleashed a barrage of energy projectiles, luminescent beams, and powerful concussive sts. The air crackled with the sheer intensity of the assault, and the Stardust Voyager''s crew found themselves encased in a storm of destructive energy. Beams of light streaked across the mystical circle surrounding the Stone of Time, threatening to shatter its ancient beauty.


    In response, Aldred, Smander, Cleome, and Elralya moved with remarkable coordination. Their hands intertwined, and a radiant barrier formed, shimmering with thebined essence of fire, electricity, and spiritual energy. The barrier absorbed the onught of attacks, creating a protective cocoon around the crew.


    When the dust settled, the barrier dissipated, revealing Aldred and his crew still standing, untouched by the relentless onught. Aldred grinned, his mes dancing with renewed vigor. Cleome cracked her knuckles, and Elralya''s eyes glowed with the ethereal power shemanded.


    Except Aldred, everyone was heaving up and down, the attack exhausted them to the extreme.


    Vortimer, observing from his elevated tform, disyed a flicker of surprise. The Celestial Schemata''s leader hadn''t anticipated such resilience from the intruders. His cold, calcting gaze analyzed the crew with newfound interest.


    "You withstand the might of the Celestial Schemata. Impressive, but futile. Surrender now, and perhaps we will consider sparing your lives," Vortimer dered, his metallic voice resonating across the battlefield.


    Aldred grinned and pulled out the Stone of Time. "Exhausted, you say? Check this out!"


    Aldred tapped the Stone of Time, then suddenly, the vigor and energy of the crew returned as if they never used their energy and stamina.


    "I have all day to spare. I won''t let you have this stone!" Aldred retorted.


    Vortimer''s eyes shed.

 Chapter 662 662 Negotiation

    Chapter 662  662 Negotiation


    "Final warning," Vortimer''s voice echoed. "Hand over the stone or perish."


    "I would like to see you try."


    Vortimer was angered. Immediately, he ordered for another attack.


    The celestial battlefield crackled with energy as the Celestial Schemata unleashed their second wave of attack. Drones, sleek and ominous, descended from the heavens with a singr purpose ¨C to overpower Aldred and his crew and im the Stone of Time.


    The sky became a canvas of luminescent streaks as the drones fired beams of energy toward the crew. The ground trembled beneath the onught, and the celestial runes around the Stone of Time dimmed under the relentless assault. Aldred and his crew, standing firm, activated the Stone once again. The energy surged through them, rejuvenating their bodies and fortifying their resolve.


    Aldred and his crew were protected by the barrier, but they were constantly being pounded at a rapid rate.


    The feeling was like holding a shield high up and being struck by a thousand hammer every second. The bones on his body cracked numerous times but the time stone restored his body back.


    Vortimer, observing from the Astral Sovereign, clenched his metallic fist in frustration. The Celestial Schemata had not anticipated the Stone''s power to replenish the crew''s strength so rapidly. This turn of events had shifted the bnce of power, and Vortimer was not ustomed to facing resistance.


    "The Stone of Time is too powerful." Vortimer couldn''t decide if that was a good thing or not.


    As the drones unleashed their destructive force, thendscape bore witness to chaos and upheaval.


    Cracks formed in the terrain, and pockets of ethereal mes danced in the wake of the attacks. The celestial runes etched into the ground glowed intensely, resisting the intrusion of the advanced weaponry.


    After a while, the attack stopped, and it took an entire hour for the dust and mes to finally settle, revealing Aldred and his crew standing on what ground they had left.


    They werepletely unscathed during the onught.


    Smander looked around. They were currently standing on a little bit ofnd while the earth around them were dug out.


    From afar, they looked like they were standing on a circr pir made out of rocks and dirt.


    "One more chance. Hand over the stone!"


    "Never!"


    A rocket struck on the pir, snapping it immediately and it began to fall.


    The crew screamed as they lost their bnce and leaped off the pir.


    Theynded on the massive, charred crater with all the robots aiming towards them.


    "You have no chance to leave this ce with that stone," Vortimer said. "The moment I saw it with my own eyes, I knew it was mine to own."


    "And people said that I was arrogant." Aldred shook his head. "Let me tell you something, metal boy. This stone is our, and nothing you do will make us give it to you."


    "We will see about that."


    For days, the Celestial Schemata constantly attacked Aldred and his crew over and over again, releasing all kinds of energy weapons, kic projectiles, atomic bombs, and ionizing rays that could decimate an entire army at once.


    But again and again, Aldred and his crew replenished their strength and heal all the wounds on their body.


    The attacks continued for weeks and then it turns into months.


    Aldred and the crew fell on their knees, heaving up and down. They weren''t actually tired physically, but something made them feel tired.


    It was psychological. Even though their body weren''t tired, their mind were.


    The robots retreated for the time being. They would return in an hour after they charged their batteries. It was a routine that had been going on for thest few months.


    "I am going to try something." Aldred grabbed the time stone and swiped it near Shuzib''s head.


    Suddenly, Shuzib stood up. "Where are we? Who are those people?"


    Smander nced at Aldred. "What did you do?"


    "I think I reverse the time of his brain too far." Aldred swiped the time stone again, and suddenly Shuzib fell to the ground again.


    "For the Emperor¡­ this attack has been going on for months already. Will they stop anytime soo¡ª"


    Before Shuzib could finish his sentence, Aldred reverted back his brain again, and suddenly, Shuzib stood up, all energized.


    "Shuzib, how long has passed since these metal cans attacked us?"


    "How could you forgot? It''s been 3 days already."


    "Well, that works."


    "Do you guys want me to do the same thing to you?"


    They all agreed immediately as they could not take the mental burden anymore.


    Aldred reverted their memories to monthster, since theypletely forgot about it, their mental exhaustion vanished immediately.


    Aldred was about to revert his own memories as well, but he stopped himself.


    "If I do that, I will forget that I can revert my own memory, and I will forget that I have done it. It''s possible that I will think of reverting back memory again and repeat the cycle all over, indirectly trapping myself in a some sort of time-loop."


    Aldred trembled when he imagined that.


    There was a chance that the Celestial Schemata would get tired, but he did not want to risk it.


    And so, for two whole years, the Celestial Schemata attacked him over and over again.


    He constantly revert the memories of his crew back, so he was the only one that knew how much sufferings they had actually endured.


    When the robots retreated for the day, Aldred''s hands fell to the floor. There were deep dark circles around his eyes, and his skin paled. Even though he had revert his body back in time, but his condition worsened almost immediately.


    The mind had that huge effect on the body.


    "Two fucking years¡­ For two fucking years these piece of metals bastards aren''t having enough of it!"


    "Aldred, what are you talking about? It''s only been three days," Shinari looked at him with a weird expression.


    Aldred nced at her and let out a depressed chuckle. "You''ve said that many of times already."


    The fact that only he understood the amount of sufferings they endured made it far more painful and lonely despite his crew were with him all the time.


    Aldred stood up and roared. "Metal head! I am willing to negotiate!"


    n the midst of the battlefield, as Aldred roared his willingness to negotiate, a sudden disturbance echoed from the Astral Sovereign, the gship of the Celestial Schemata. A massive, ancient-looking coffin adorned with cryptic symbols and lines of green light floated out from the mothership.


    The coffin, surrounded by an ethereal glow, descended gracefully onto the charredndscape. The crew of the Stardust Voyager, still recovering from the relentless attacks, watched with a mix of curiosity and wariness.


    As the coffin settled, the lines of green light pulsated with an otherworldly energy. The lid creaked open, revealing a figure within. Vortimer, Archon Stratos Vortimer, emerged from his stasis slumber, his metallic form radiating an ominous presence.


    Aldred, stunned by the revtion, exchanged nces with his crew.


    The seemingly tireless leader of the Celestial Schemata had been in a state of suspended animation. The implications of this discovery added ayer ofplexity to their cosmic confrontation.


    Vortimer, his cold gaze fixed on Aldred, spoke with a metallic echo in his voice. "You persist long enough, human. But your persistence is futile. The Stone of Time will be mine."


    Aldred, recovering from his initial shock, responded defiantly, "What''s the meaning of this? You, the mighty Archon, were in stasis? All this time?"


    Vortimer, unaffected by Aldred''s incredulity, exined, "The stasis chamber preserves and enhances our essence. It ensures our eternal vignce and readiness. It is a testament to the Celestial Schemata''smitment to our cause."


    Aldred, despite the weariness etched on his face, couldn''t help but feel a surge of anger. The Celestial Schemata had unleashed a relentless assault, seemingly without end, and all the while their leader had been in stasis.


    "You attack relentlessly, im to be an unstoppable force, and yet, your leader sleeps while his minions do the dirty work?" Aldred scoffed. "Is this the might of the Celestial Schemata?"


    Vortimer''s eyes glowed with an eerie light. "The Stone of Time grants us power beyond mortal understanding. It matters not whether I am in stasis or awake. The oue is inevitable."


    Aldred, realizing that negotiation might be their only chance to break free from this endless cycle of battle, cautiously proposed, "Enough of this madness. Let''s negotiate. What do you want with the Stone of Time, and how can we end this ceaseless conflict?"


    Vortimer''s metallic features remained stoic. "The Stone holds the key to Ascendria''s destiny. With it, the Celestial Schemata will usher in a new era. Hand over the Stone willingly, and perhaps your world will know mercy."


    "I refuse to back down with a fight."


    Vortimer''s eyes shed. "I can see that. So what do you propose?"


    "Bring forth your greatest champion. Let me fight him. If I win, you must let me go."


    "Impossible! No matter what, I must have that stone."


    Aldred clicked his tongue. "In that case, I will help you do one thing with the time stone, but it cannot be something that harm my interest."


    "That will depends on what you define as ''your interest''."


    "We can talk that out after we know the result of the battle."


    "Agree. Quantum. Heed my call!"

 Chapter 663 663 Battle For The Time Stone

    Chapter 663  663 Battle For The Time Stone


    With a burst of ethereal energy, Quantum Sentinel materialized beside Vortimer, his imposing figure casting a shadow over the charredndscape.


    Quantum had a robot-like appearance, his body thick and bulky, adorned with intricate patterns of luminescent lines that glowed with a mystic yet sci-fi aura. In his metallic hands, he wielded a majestic spear, its surface covered in lines of green light that pulsed with an otherworldly energy.


    "During this battle, you are not allowed to use the time stone," Vortimer said. "If you do, I will consider that as you breaking the agreement."


    "I don''t need the stone to defeat your champion," Aldred said. His voice was full of arrogance and conviction as if there was no slightest doubt in the statement.


    Only a man who had experienced countless battles and fought in more than a thousand war would have such confidence.


    "The rest of you stay here. This is my battle," Aldred told his crew before he leaped off the pir andnded on the edge of the crater.


    He walked forward with his chin high and wide steps. The robots moved out of his way before he met Quantum Sentinel face to face.


    Aldred looked at the spear Quantum wielded. "Is he going to use that?"


    "Do you have any problem."


    "I don''t. But I hope you don''t either when I use this." Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomde, zing in bright me.


    Vortimer trembled slightly when he felt the presence of the Phantom Doomde up close. Something about the de terrified him to his core.


    It was unusual. He hadn''t feel this way for a long time. Vortimer nced at Quantum.


    His royal guard still having the stoic and observant look, locking his gaze towards Aldred as if watching his every move.


    "What are the rules to this fight? For example, is it okay if I kill your champion?"


    Vortimer chuckled. "You can try to kill him if you can." He continued. "There aren''t many rules. You cannot use the time stone, and your friends cannot help you. That is all."


    "You sure?"


    "Yes," Vortimer replied coldly. "I will begin the battle at the count of three. Prepare yourself!"


    "One!"


    Aldred nced at Quantum. The bulky robot-like figure was staring at him intently. A puff of smoke came out of its nose as if it was breathing.


    Aldred''s godly eyes told him that this thing wasn''t a living being. It had no organs, instead, it had signal paths, some kind of copper lines that usually exist on a motherboard of aputer to carry different signals betweenputerponents.


    The information he received was limited however, because his godly eyes hadn''t recover fully.


    The spear on its hand also had these same lines. Also, Aldred noticed a subtle, almost-invisible, line connecting it and Vortimer.


    Aldred observed Quantum''s appearance with a mix of awe and wariness.


    The robotic figure''s thick and bulky frame seemed imprable, and the lines of luminescent patterns gave it an ethereal and powerful presence.


    "This thing..." Aldred muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible amidst the tense atmosphere. "It''s not just a machine. There''s something else, something... cosmic about it."


    He studied the lines on Quantum''s body and the pulsating green light on the spear. The intricate patterns seemed to carry anguage of their own, anguage Aldred, despite his godly abilities, couldn''t entirely decipher. The connection between Quantum Sentinel and Vortimer intrigued him, and the subtle, almost-invisible line tethering them together hinted at a deeper link, a bond that went beyond the physical appearance.


    "Two!"


    As Vortimer counted down to the battle, Aldred tightened his grip on the Phantom Doomde, the mes dancing along its de illuminating his determined expression.


    Aldred felt a mix of excitement and trepidation, unsure of the true extent of the robotic champion''s capabilities.


    The count reached its climax, and the battlefield fell into an anticipatory silence.


    "Three!"


    Aldred''s eyes locked onto Quantum Sentinel. His mind pushed to the limit, processing information at a rapid rate. It was to the point that the whole world seem to move in slow motion.


    Aldred saw Quantum raised its spear. It was about to attack directly to his head.


    Smirking, Aldred thought that the robot was too damn simple.


    That was until suddenly, Quantum vanished from his spot.


    Aldred''s eyes widened. Wondering where the heck it went to, but a fraction of a secondter, he realized!


    Quickly, he tilted his head to the side, and sure enough, the majestic spear grazed his right ear, creating a cut on the lobe.


    "Bastard!" Aldred shouted.


    The sheer speed and precision of Quantum''s attack surprised Aldred, a realization that this battle was not going to be as straightforward as he had initially thought.


    Quantum, unyielding and silent, prepared for the next assault.


    With a burst of speed, the robotic champion lunged at Aldred, the majestic spear cutting through the air with a blinding glow of green light.


    Aldred parried the attack with his Phantom Doomde, the sh sending shockwaves through the celestial battleground. Sparks erupted from the meeting of mystical mes and otherworldly energy, casting an eerie glow over thebatants.


    The ground beneath them trembled as the force of their collision created shockwaves that reverberated across thendscape. Celestial runes etched into the charred terrain glowed brightly in response to the intense magical energy released during their sh.


    "Holy shit of the Emperor!" Shinari held on Smander''s shoulder for bnce.


    The battle raged on, Aldred''s agility and godly reflexes pitted against the relentless precision and strength of Quantum Sentinel. Each strike, each parry, sent magical shockwaves that altered the very fabric of reality around them.


    Shrapnels and rocks were sent flying in all directions, coteral damage from the intense battle. Some of these projectiles crashed onto the nearby robots, crushing them under the chaotic rain of debris. The battlefield, already scarred and charred, now witnessed an additionalyer of destruction.


    Vortimer was impressed by this human''s strength. "Quite a specimen."

 Chapter 664 664 Battle For The Time Stone 2

    Chapter 664  664 Battle For The Time Stone 2


    Aldred and Quantum moved with almost supernatural speed, creating an intricate dance of des and spears that seemed to defy thews of physics. The sheer intensity of their confrontation echoed through the celestial realm, capturing the attention of the remaining Celestial Schemata and the crew of the Stardust Voyager who watched with bated breath.


    With each sh between the de and the spear, a powerful shockwave were sent to blow up dust and rocks all over the ce.


    "Is it just me or did Aldred grow stronger than before?" Cleomemented.


    Smander watched intensely. "He definitely grow stronger."


    Quantum Sentinel attacked with relentless precision, and with a sudden, unexpected move, his spear found its mark.


    Aldred''s left shoulder bore the impact, and a surge of pain shot through his arm. The injury weakened his left side, and he felt the strain of the battle intensifying.


    "You think you can injure me without receiving anything back?"


    Despite the pain, Aldred swiftly retaliated. With a calcted strike, he aimed for Quantum Sentinel''s right knee.


    The Phantom Doomde cut through the metallic frame with a burst of magical mes, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.


    Quantum staggered, its movements slightly slower and less fluid.


    The impact on its knee proved to be a significant blow, and Aldred seized the opportunity.


    He darted forward, his Phantom Doomde aze, and delivered a series of precise strikes. Each swing was aimed at exploiting Quantum''s vulnerability.


    The celestial battleground echoed with the sh of steel and the hum of ethereal energy as Aldred pressed his advantage.


    Sparks flew as the Phantom Doomde danced through the air, leaving trails of fire in its wake.


    Quantum, despite its mechanical nature, seemed to struggle against the onught. The luminescent lines on its body flickered as the damage umted. Vortimer, observing from the sidelines, clenched his metallic fists in frustration. The mighty Quantum Sentinel, his loyal champion, was being pushed to its limits by a mere human.


    Aldred continued his relentless assault. The battle had be a dance of agility and strategy, with eachbatant seeking an opening in the other''s defenses.


    The injured left shoulder continued to throb with pain, but Aldred fought through it, his focus unwavering. He knew that every moment counted, and with each strike, he aimed to bring the mighty robotic champion to its knees.


    "Ha! I will defeat you right here! Right fucking now!"


    Quantum Sentinel, despite the visible damage, revealed an unexpected surge of power. Luminescent lines on its body glowed with an intensified brilliance, and its movements became even more precise and calcted.


    Aldred, caught off guard by this sudden esction, found himself on the defensive. The celestial battleground became a whirlwind of magical shes as Quantum pressed forward with relentless force. Sparks flew from the Phantom Doomde as it desperately parried the relentless assault, but it was clear that Aldred was losing ground.


    The crew of the Stardust Voyager watched in tense silence as the battle took an unexpected turn. Shinari clenched her fists, her eyes widening with concern.


    She wanted to leap towards Aldred and helped him, but she held herself.


    Aldred struggled to match the newfound strength of Quantum Sentinel. The robotic champion, driven by an unseen force, advanced with an otherworldly determination.


    Quantum cornered Aldred, its majestic spear cutting through the air with an almost hypnotic grace. Each strike pushed Aldred further towards the edge of defeat. The luminescent patterns on Quantum''s body pulsed with an intensity that seemed to resonate with the very essence of the celestial realm.


    Aldred struck the ground, creating a smoke of dirt and dust that temporarily blinded Quantum.


    However, it was a futile effort as Quantum found him and pressed on.


    Aldred, gritting his teeth, fought back with all his remaining strength. However, the injuries sustained in the battle and the overwhelming power of Quantum Sentinel proved to be formidable obstacles. His movements grew sluggish, and his defense became increasingly desperate.


    In a swift and calcted move, Quantum disarmed Aldred, sending the Phantom Doomde spinning across the battlefield. With a powerful kick, Quantum knocked Aldred to his knees.


    The robotic figure stood over Aldred, its imposing presence casting a shadow on the defeated god. Quantum raised its spear, the sharp side hovering dangerously close to Aldred''s neck. A small, precise cut was made, drawing a bead of blood.


    "No!" Shinari shouted.


    Vortimer, watching from the sidelines, wore a triumphant smirk. The once-mighty Aldred, now kneeling before the power of Quantum Sentinel, seemed like a mere mortal in the face of cosmic superiority.


    "You''ve never stood a chance against my champion, human. However, I will praise your efforts and strength. For that, I will let you live. Now, hand over the stone."


    Aldred red at Quantum and at Vortimer as if he refused to ept his defeat.


    "Quantum Sentinel can behead you right now and take that stone out of your headless corpse, but I gave you a chance to live. Do not waste my mercy to feed your ego."


    Aldred gritted his teeth. "Fine!" He grabbed the stone out of his pocket and threw it at Vortimer.


    When the stone was flying in mid-air, a green energy enveloped it and brought it to Vortimer.


    Vortimer gazed at the stone as if it was his precious treasure. "Finally, with this stone, I will be able to control the Veil and conquer the gxy!"


    After he said that, Vortimer noticed something strange. "But, why is this stone is devoid of cosmic power, instead, it has a soul?"


    "That''s because you just got fooled!"


    The stone in Vortimer''s hand suddenly explode, producing a blinding smoke.


    Out of the smoke, came Aldred with a Phantom Doomde in hand and stabbed through Vortimer''s abdomen.


    It was apparently, Aldred''s clone as the real Aldred rushed towards Quantum Sentinel to distract him.


    "Our battle is not over yet." Aldred struck Quantum''s other knee.


    Quantum Sentinel suddenly let out a fearsome roar and vanished, appearing next to Vortimer and swung his spear towards Aldred''s clone, producing a shock wave that sent him flying into the air.


    Aldred pulled out the real time stone and used it to fix his broken shoulder. That was when he regrouped with his clone and faced Vortimer and Quantum Sentinel.


    "Well, I guess it''s two VS two now."

 Chapter 665 665 Battle For The Time Stone 3

    Chapter 665  665 Battle For The Time Stone 3


    "Two vs two?" Vortimer stood up with the help of Quantum. "Who do you think you are to decide the rules? You broke the agreement! I gave you mercy and return it with deception and trickery!"


    Aldredughed wholeheartedly. "What are you going to do? Sue me? You better hope you get a goodwyer."


    Vortimer was enraged. The bright green lines all over his metallic skin flickered and turned brighter.


    "Since you want it that way then be prepared to face my entire army! I will erase you from existence entirely!"


    The warships and robots rumbled into life, revealing their weapons and pointed towards Aldred.


    Aldred smirked. "Foolish."


    The warships began their attack. The energy weapons on their hull rapidly firing energy beams and kic projectiles at Aldred.


    However, Aldred and his clone vanished then re-appeared right in front of Vortimer.


    Aldred and his clone raised their Phantom Doomde, attacking from two direction at once.


    Vortimer reacted quickly, rising his skinny metallic hands, and using some sort of psychic energy, managed to stop the de in mid-air.


    The other de was stopped by Quantum''s spear.


    Aldred pressed on, making Quantum took a half step back. "Haha, if I keep getting close to you, your warships won''t be able to attack."


    Aldred and his clone moved in perfect synchronization, their Phantom Doomdes a blur of fiery steel as they pressed their assault on Vortimer and Quantum Sentinel.


    Despite Vortimer''s psychic prowess, Aldred''s godly speed and swordsmanship proved challenging. The metallic sh of des echoed through the celestial battleground as Aldred aimed to overwhelm his opponents.


    Quantum Sentinel, though a formidable opponent, found himself pushed back by Aldred''s relentless strikes. The robotic champion struggled to match the godly agility and mastery of the Phantom Doomde.


    Quantum thrust forward. Aldred used two finger to deviate the spear trajectory and punched Quantum in the face beforeughing.


    The clone made its move and charged towards Vortimer.


    Vortimer, enraged and determined, amplified his psychic energy. The green lines on his metallic skin glowed intensely as he increased the force with which he held Aldred''s des in mid-air.


    "You won''t be able to win."


    "Really?" The clone raised an eyebrow.


    The clone, undeterred, unleashed bursts of fire magic, attempting to break through Vortimer''s psychic barrier. mes danced around the des, creating an intricate disy of celestial chaos.


    Next to them


    Quantum Sentinel, recovering from the initial assault, brought his majestic spear into y. With a swift and calcted move, he aimed to counter Aldred''s godly onught. The celestial battleground became a battleground of elements and powers, a dance of fire and psychic energy.


    Suddenly, Aldred and his clone leaped 1 meter back before they charged forward again.


    Aldred''s clone mirrored every move, doubling the assault. Thebination of godly strength and fiery magic created a formidable challenge for Vortimer and Quantum.


    The warships, their attacks disrupted by Aldred''s strategic positioning, struggled to find an opening.


    They couldn''t attack otherwise they would harm their own master.


    After hours of battle, both sides stood still, but still wary and ready for any sudden attack.


    Vortimer red at Aldred. "When you threw that stone earlier. I felt its boundless energy and the soul power within. How did you do that? How did you tricked me?"


    "If I tell you, I wouldn''t be able to use it on you again." Aldred smiled. "I am not so stupid that I would tell my abilities openly to the enemies."


    "Humph! I am merely curios."


    Suddenly, the robots charged towards Aldred, bringing with them were all kinds of closebat weapons such as des, maces, and spear.


    When the robots surrounded them, Aldred saw Vortimer and Quantum sprinting away.


    "Fuck! He''s trying to create distance!"


    Aldred and the clone burst out in a whirlwind of me that sent all the robots flying. As they were about to chase after Vortimer, the warships in the sky already begin firing.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The impact sent rocks and debris flying all over the ce, creating a cloud of dust that covered thendscape.


    "Shit! Aren''t we going to do something to help?" Shinari said.


    A piece of stone fell next to Smander, almost hitting him. "He got the time stone, he should be fine."


    Vortimer snorted in the distance as a bunch of rocks fell around him like rain.


    When the dust settled, everyone was immediately shocked.


    Aldred was nowhere to be seen. Only a huge crater was left.


    "No it can''t be!" Shinari trembled with tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.


    "I hope the attack doesn''t destroy the stone."


    As Vortimer was about to approach the damaged site, the stone beside him transformed.


    "Ha! You think I will fall for the same trick twice?!"


    Vortimer raised his hand and a strange energy wrapped around Aldred''s neck. "I am not sure if this is your clone or your real body. What a strange cloning ability."


    A clone was usually a defective or lesser part of the original one. The clone may mimic the original perfectly in appearance, but never in energy reading, strength level, and quality of soul.


    And yet, Vortimer could not distinguish between the original and the copy.


    Aldred crushed the energy around his neck with his jaw before he leaped back.


    "Hand over the stone. You have your proof that there is nothing you can do to stop me!"


    Aldred gritted his teeth. If he could ess his inventory, he could have pulled out some of his powerful items that would help in a situation like this.


    Still, he hadn''t run out of ideas yet. As a man who had lived through countless battles he always find a way to grasp victory.


    "I will be getting serious now. Get ready!" Aldred''s eyes shone bright and his muscles bulged with veins popped on the surface of his skin.


    A small horn protrude out of his forehead, and when Aldred smiled a pair of sharp fang glinted.


    Smander and the rest of the crew was shocked to see this.


    "Is he really a human?" Ceeth asked.


    "He''s a human! There is no doubt about it," shinari said with conviction. "He''s not the only humans that can transform into other creatures. There are even super soldiers who can transform into werewolves."


    She said those statement as if she tried to convince herself.


    Nodding, Smander agreed. "Aldred did note from this gxy, his magic ispletely different from ours."


    Shinari was d that someone else affirmed her belief.


    Slow but sure, Aldred strode forward, his chin high and his steps heavy. "Why don''t you twoe at me, so I don''t have to walk all the way over there."


    Suddenly, Aldred instantly appeared in front of Vortimer with a grin.


    "Just kidding."


    Quantum quickly tried to block his attack, but Aldred''s target was never him. It was Quantum.


    With a swift motion, Aldred shed.


    Vortimer''s metallic eyes widened.


    As he saw the bulky metallic limb flying in the air, Vortimer refused to believe that Quantum was injured.


    But the next scene could not be denied. Aldred attacked again, and imed Quantum''s right leg.


    Quantum fell to the floor. Its face facing towards Vortimer.


    Vortimer''s face darkened. "How dare you! How dare you harm my brother!"


    Aldred rushed towards him, thrusting his de into Vortimer''s metal stomach again. He then twist it, creating arger hole.


    "I won''t let you survive this time," Aldred said.


    Vortimer''s eyes glowed in a burst of blinding light. "You''ve crossed the line."


    With a push of his hand, a powerful shockwave pushed Aldred on the chest so hard it dented.


    "You injure my brother, and so, I will injure your friends."


    Suddenly, the warships aimed their weapons at Smander and the others.


    Aldred''s eyes widened.


    "Fuck!" Smander cursed.


    "Feel my pain!"


    Then, the warships sted them with countlessser beams.


    Smander gritted his teeth. There was no way to escape. The beams moved at the speed of light and their destructive power was too much for their exhausted body to handle.


    However, the stone beside Smander''s feet moved abruptly.


    The beams covered them whole.


    Aldred was shocked. Extremely so as he fell to his knees.


    Vortimer burst into a crazedughter. "You are probably the most pathetic human being I have ever met."


    Aldred looked down, not because he failed to save his friends, but because it was the opposite.


    When the wind blew the dust away, Smander and the others were standing unscathed. In their midst, there was another Aldred, holding the time stone.


    "What!" Vortimer gnashed his metallic teeth in anger. "How did you summon another clone? There should be limit to your power!"


    "Oh, I have a limit alright." Aldred appeared in Vortimer''s face again. "But it''s far higher than what you can imagine."


    As Aldred was about to attack, a powerfulser beam sted his chest and pushed him onto the ground.


    When Aldred stood up, he already saw the warships were evacuating Vortimer and Quantum.


    "I will return for that stone!" Vortimer''s voice echoed.

 Chapter 666 666 Retreating

    Chapter 666  666 Retreating


    Aldred watched as the Celestial Schemata made their retreat, wary that they would attack him or his allies.


    But they did not. Peacefully, they left the atmosphere of the gas.


    Aldred let out a breath at finally defeating the enemy, although too bad that he failed to kill Vortimer.


    His crew ran up to him.


    "Aldred!" Shinari inspected his body, especially his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She was worried sick.


    "Don''t worry about me. I have a strong body." When Aldred smiled, the horn and the fangs vanished.


    "Aldred, do you also have a transformation power?" Cleome asked.


    "You can say that. You guys know I can turn into objects too, right?"


    That exined it. If Aldred could even turn into rocks and stone, then turning into something else should be possible as well.


    They thought nothing of it after that, thinking that it was just one of Aldred''s weird abilities.


    Smiling, Aldred was d that his crew was safe. Still, he couldn''t help but felt a surge of power flowing through him after that battle.


    It was as if he had broke through a barrier. The Celestial Schemata pushed him for two whole years with endlessser beams and kic projectiles, the pressure must''ve had done something to his body in some way or another.


    ''If only I could ess my stats. The system said that I can''t ess it frequently in this gxy.''


    However, he felt like he still had one more barrier he needed to break. He could only feel it.


    Shuzib walked in with the Eye of irvoyance and the Time Stone in hand.


    "Congrattions. Now it''s time to continue to the next step."


    "Is that pun intended?" Aldred chuckled.


    Shuzib rolled his eyes.


    Smanderughed before he put his arms over Aldred''s shoulder. "Let us return to our spacecraft and have a feast!"


    ¡­


    The Celestial Schemata.


    A group consisting tens of thousands of warships with dozens of Destroyer-ss battleship amongst them, traversing in space in might and glory.


    However, only Vortimer and Quantum, standing in the bridge of their gship, Astral Sovereign, knew what a humiliating defeat they experienced.


    Vortimer was silent as he stared at the massive screen in the control room, depicting the scene outside his ship.


    Quantum was standing behind him as always. His arm and leg had been fixed. He was always quiet, in fact, no one had ever heard him talk.


    "Brother," Vortimer called to him. "We will get what we want. I promise you."


    Suddenly, one sentient robot carefully approached the master. "Lord Vortimer. Why did you not order us to bombard the with our Destroyer-ss warships. Even just one ship could destroy the whole all at once."


    "I do not want to destroy the stone. That human doesn''t know how fragile the stone can be. That''s why he dare to use it so recklessly."


    Vortimer turned around. "Typical human behavior. Always doing something without much thought."


    "So what are we going to do next, my lord?"


    "It seems like our strength are not sufficient just yet to do as we please in this region. There is only one logicalthing we can do."


    Vortimer waved his hands, and the screens changed, revealing the various forces traversing in space.


    "A predator got stronger after each hunt." Vortimer''s eyes glinted.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Aldred and his crew was throwing a feast in the ship.


    Smander, Shinari, Cleome, and Aldred were dancing while they yed the loudest phonk music they could find.


    "Did they do this after every fight?" Shuzib asked.


    "Ocassionally," Ceeth replied. "I thought all human do this."


    "No. Not all. Only the weird ones."


    "I used to believe all human are weird," Ceethmented.


    Shuzib smiled bitterly. "Some are weirder than the others."


    After a whole hour of partying, they finally got tired and sat down.


    "That was great!" Cleome shouted before she drank her soda.


    Overall, everyone was having a great time.


    "Aldred." Ceeth approached.


    "Yes? Do you need anything? A soda perhaps?"


    "No. I want to ask you a question."


    "Ask away."


    "How did you have so many power and abilities?"


    Everyone was curios as well."


    Ceeth continued. "It''s weird. You have all kinds and a variety of power. I''ve seen you summon clones that have the exact power and weapons as you. I''ve seen you use fire magic, then I''ve seen you manipted the soil and rocks with ease. There was a time you pulled out water out of thin air and used it to surprise your enemy."


    "I did that?" Aldred acted foolish.


    "Don''t y dumb! Exin yourself!"


    Aldred jokingly raised both of his hands. "Didn''t I tell you that I am not from this gxy?"


    "I heard that all the time. How does that exin your power? Does everyone in your world has magic like you?"


    "Well, not really. Alright, I will spill the beans. I am actually different than the people in my world, most of that is because of my parents."


    "What did your parents do?"


    "Well, they are powerful. Not just powerful, but extremely extremely extremely powerful."


    "Just how powerful?" Shinari asked. She was curios of Aldred''s parents and had thoughts about meeting them.


    "Uhh¡­" Aldred wanted to say that they could erase gxies and explode an entire universe, but no one would believe him.


    "I guess they have the power of one hundred Destroyer-ss warships."


    Everyone gasped.


    "A¡ªare they really that powerful?" Shinari was shocked.


    Smander rubbed his chin. "If whatyou said is true, then your parents could destroy a with a flick of their finger, and erase an entire armada with a sneeze."


    "That cannot be possible!" Ceeth retorted. "You are lying! Nothing. Especially not a human could do something like. What you said is only possible in stories of ancient time when gods actively battled against one another."


    Aldred scratched his cheek. What he said was only the fraction of his parents'' power. Thankfully he did not say anything more.


    "If your parents is so powerful, then why are they noting to your rescue?"


    "They do it to test me," Aldred said, recalling thest time he met his sister who told him about the test.


    Him falling out of that castle was intentional in their part because his growth was extremely slow.


    Aldred bitterly remembered that his father became the demon king at age five.


    Ugh¡­ just thinking about it put a pressure in his head.


    It was far worse than beingpared to the neighbor kid next door.


    "I didn''t know your parents are that powerful," Cleome said. "You must be a royalty in your world. An army of millions under yourmand."


    "Hmmm, well. It''s not that dramatic."


    Everyone was shocked that Aldred did not deny the fact that he was a royalty.


    Aldred wasn''t sure himself either. His father was a literal demon king, his mother was basically the ancestor of vampire, and he also had a small empire back in his world.


    And, it was true that he had millions of soldiers under hismand, undead and golems included.


    "No wonder you are so strong," Smander said. "I couldn''t ept it at first, but now I will admit that you are far superior than us. But, I will keep trying to catch up to you to the best of my ability."


    "I didn''t know how to react to that," Aldred said. "But if that motivates you then it''s a good thing."


    "Talking about parents," Smander started. "My parents used to have a workshop of their own. I used to y with the tools and press buttons I shouldn''t press."


    He chuckled. "It was a great time. I love my father. I couldn''t imagine having anyone else as my dad except him."


    "Me too," Aldred said. He had almost forgotten his true parents; the abusive ones.


    ''No, no. My true parents are Hujarar and Eve.''


    Still, he could not help but recall his father and mother on Earth. Their names had long been erased from his memory and their faces fade as time went on. Despite that, the feelings and the trauma they gave him was still carved in his heart.


    Though it wasn''t as painful as it used to be.


    "My dad would always show me cool stuff he worked on," Smander continued. "There is this one thing that catch my eyes the most. A power armor. It was mostly made out of scrap metal, but the ones my dad made was amazing. It immediately made me fall in love with power armor. Now, yearster, I can even buy my own power armor."


    Aldred smiled. "But won''t it be even better if you can make your own power armor."


    Smander looked at him. "Yeah, it will be so much better. But from an efficiency standpoint, it''s better for me to buy it for now until we finished this journey."


    "Why?"


    "The machines required to make your own power armor is too expensive."


    Aldredughed. "I always hated financial problem. We''ll think of something."

 Chapter 667 667 Investigation

    Chapter 667  667 Investigation


    The gas''s atmosphere still echoed with the remnants of Aldred and Celestial Schemata''s intense battle. As the celestial dust settled, a group of Super Soldiers d in imposing armor, reminiscent of giant warriors, descended from their armada of space warships. The ominous hum of theirnding craft reverberated across the charredndscape, creating an eerie symphony of metal against metal.


    Unaware of the recent sh between Aldred and the Celestial Schemata, the Super Soldiers stepped onto the scarred terrain. Their leader, Commander Haelstrom, surveyed the aftermath of the battle with a keen eye. The air was thick with a mixture of awe and anticipation as they beheld the destruction before them.


    "Report, Sergeant Korr," Commander Haelstrom ordered, his voice modted by the armor''smunication system.


    "Sensors indicate abnormal levels of psychic and magical energy," replied Sergeant Korr, analyzing the readings on his visor. "The source appears to be concentrated in the vicinity of the recent battle."


    Commander Haelstrom''s eyes narrowed within the confines of his helmet. "What could have caused such a disturbance? Prepare the squad for investigation. We proceed with caution."


    The Super Soldiers moved with disciplined precision, their boots nging against the metallic debris scattered across the battlefield. The impact craters, the holes torn through the gas''s atmosphere, and the remnants of destroyed robots told a silent tale of cosmic conflict.


    As they ventured deeper into the battlefield, the psychic resonance in the air became palpable. The Super Soldiers, trained to resist psychic interference, felt the energy tingle against their senses. Magical residue clung to the air like an ethereal mist.


    Lieutenant Nira, a seasoned member of the squad, examined the scorched ground. "Commander, the level of magical energy here is unprecedented. It''s as if titans shed."


    Commander Haelstrom nodded, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. "Keep your guard up. We may be dealing with forces beyond our understanding."


    They reached the epicenter of the battle, where the remnants of Quantum Sentinely. The robotic champion, now reduced to a shattered hulk, emitted a faint glow. The Super Soldiers exchanged nces, recognizing the advanced technology that far surpassed their own.


    Sergeant Korr pointed to the various patterns on Quantum''s body. "These designs¡­ they''re unlike anything we''ve encountered. It''s as if this machine harnessed the fabric of the cosmos itself."


    The investigation continued, leading them to the spot where Aldred and Vortimer shed. The residual magical mes still flickered, casting an otherworldly glow. Commander Haelstrom examined the damage to thendscape, the rocks and debris disced by the godly confrontation.


    "Whatever transpired here wasn''t a mere skirmish," he muttered, his awe hidden beneath the stoic exterior of his armored visage.


    The Super Soldiers meticulouslybed through the battlefield, their advanced sensors and keen eyes dissecting the remnants of the cosmic sh. They discovered torn metallic scraps, shards of advanced weaponry, and even shreds of what seemed to be celestial fabric, charred and floating in the aftermath.


    Sergeant Korr examined a piece of torn clothing caught on a metallic fragment. "Commander, this doesn''t match any known uniform or material in our database. It''s as if they were d in armor woven from the very essence of the cosmos."


    Commander Haelstrom surveyed the charred ground, where specific patterns were etched into the fabric of the gas itself. "Lieutenant Nira, any insights?"


    Lieutenant Nira knelt to inspect the markings. "Commander, these symbols resonate with both psychic and magical energies. It''s as if they were trying to manipte the very elements of this."


    A sense of anticipation hung in the air as the Super Soldiers continued their investigation. They spected on the nature of the battle that had taken ce, exchanging theories amid the charred remnants of Quantum Sentinel and the celestial battleground.


    "Could it be a conflict between extraterrestrial beings?" suggested Private Talon, eyeing the mysterious scraps with intrigue.


    "No," replied Commander Haelstrom. "This goes beyond conventional warfare. Look at these scorched patterns. It''s as if reality itself was manipted. We might be dealing with entities that transcend our understanding."


    What themander talked about was the after effect of the Stone of Time. Its energy and presence could still be felt far after it was used.


    However, they did not know that the Time Stone was here.


    As they followed the trail of destruction, the Super Soldiers encountered a particrly charred section of the gas''s surface. The ground seemed to bear the imprint of an otherworldly force, as if the very fabric of space and time had been distorted.


    Sergeant Korr analyzed the ground. "Commander, this specific charred area suggests a massive release of energy. Almost like a focal point of the battle."


    Commander Haelstrom''s gaze narrowed. "A release of energy capable of altering the fabric of reality. Whatever transpired here, it wasn''t just a skirmish. It was a sh of cosmic forces."


    "Could it possibly the elves?"


    "No. Their technology are advanced, but not like this."


    As the Super Soldiers continued their investigation, one of them, Private Talon, discovered a peculiar object buried amidst the debris. It emitted a faint, pulsating glow, its surface adorned with intricate runes that seemed to dance with otherworldly energy.


    "Commander Haelstrom, you might want to take a look at this," Private Talon called out, holding the mysterious object in his hands.


    Commander Haelstrom approached, his eyes narrowing as he inspected the object. "What is it, Private?"


    "I''m not entirely sure, sir. It seems to resonate with the residual energy from the battle. Almost like a relic of the conflict," Private Talon exined.


    The other Super Soldiers gathered around as Commander Haelstrom examined the object. The pulsating glow seemed to respond to themander''s presence, fluctuating in intensity.


    "This is unlike anything we''ve encountered before," Lieutenant Nira remarked, her visor analyzing the object''s energy signature. "It''s as if it''s connected to the very fabric of the gas itself."


    Commander Haelstrom frowned, deep in thought. "We need to run a thorough analysis. This could be a key to understanding the nature of the sh that urred here."


    As the Super Soldiers began their analysis, the mysterious object revealed its secrets. It was a fragment of the Time Stone, resonating with the echoes of Aldred''s use of the powerful artifact. The Time Stone, imbued with the ability to manipte time itself, held within it the remnants of the cosmic battle.


    The fragment was extremely small. Almost as small as an atom. If not for their advanced technology, they wouldn''t be able to detect it.


    "Time maniption?" Sergeant Korr muttered, his stoic demeanor wavering for a moment.


    Commander Haelstrom nodded, a sense of urgency in his voice. "We need to report this to High Command immediately. The presence of a Time Stone fragment suggests a level of power that goes beyond anything in our arsenal."


    The Super Soldiers secured the Time Stone fragment, its pulsating glow contained within a protective case. As they prepared to transmit their findings, the gas''s atmosphere seemed to echo with the lingering echoes of a battle that had, in some way, altered the very fabric of reality.


    Commander Haelstrom led his team back to their space warships, carrying the mysterious Time Stone fragment with utmost care. Once aboard theirmand vessel, the ck Neb, he entered themunication center, where holographic disys flickered with data from the recent investigation.


    "Commander Haelstrom to High Command," he spoke into the secure channel.


    A holographic projection of a stern-looking military official appeared before him. "Report, Commander. What did you find on the gas?"


    Haelstrom saluted. "Sir, we''ve encountered an unprecedented situation. The battle that took ce on the gas involved forces beyond our understanding. We discovered remnants of celestial fabric, advanced technology, and, most significantly, a fragment of the Time Stone."


    The official''s expression turned serious. "The Time Stone? Are you certain, Commander?"


    Haelstrom nodded. "Affirmative, sir. Our sensors indicate that it resonates with the energy signatures of a cosmic sh. Time maniption seems to have yed a pivotal role in the events that unfolded."


    The official''s gaze intensified. "This is highly concerning, Commander. The Time Stone is an artifact of immeasurable power. We must proceed with caution. Secure the fragment and await further instructions. A specialized team will be dispatched to your location for retrieval."


    "Understood, sir," Haelstrom replied, his mind already processing the implications of their discovery. "We''ll maintain a high alert status and await the arrival of the specialized team."


    As themunication ended, Commander Haelstrom addressed his team. "Secure the Time Stone fragment in the containment chamber. We''re on standby until the specialized team arrives."


    The Super Soldiers moved efficiently, sealing the fragment in a specially designed chamber that nullified its energy emissions. The ck Neb resumed its orbit around the gas, awaiting the arrival of the specialized team from High Command.


    Meanwhile, in the far reaches of space, the news of the cosmic sh and the presence of the Time Stone fragment had sent ripples across the interstermunity.


    Factions and organizations, each with their own motives, monitored the developments closely.


    The cosmic bnce had been disrupted, and the implications of such a disturbance were unknown.

 Chapter 668 668 Nexus Rings

    Chapter 668  668 Nexus Rings


    As Aldred and his crew traversed the unpredictable Veil of Shadows, their ship emerged into a vast expanse dominated by colossal,-sized circr space stations. Each station bore a massive mechanical ring that encircled it, creating its own gravity and atmosphere. The sight was awe-inspiring, and Aldred couldn''t help but marvel at the scale of these structures.


    "Is that a space station?" Aldred asked.


    "Seems like it. But it''s much more advanced than what we used to see in realspace."


    The space around the stations was bustling with activity. Ships of various shapes and sizes, representing different factions and species, docked to resupply, rest, and exchange information. It seemed to be a hub for travelers navigating the Veil of Shadows, a ce where the normal rules ofw and order were reced by an unspoken code of mutual understanding.


    As Aldred''s ship neared one of the colossal stations, they receivedmunication from the central hub. A holographic image of a neutral-looking figure appeared on their viewscreen.


    "Wee to the Nexus Rings," the figure spoke, their voice resonating through the ship''s speakers. "State your intentions and follow the docking protocols for a safe arrival."


    "Uhh, we would like to check things out?" Aldred wasn''t sure what to do in the space station. He was just curios.


    Aldred signaled his crew toply, and their ship seamlessly joined the array of vessels in orbit around the station. Once docked, Aldred and his crew disembarked, stepping into the bustling world of the Nexus Rings.


    The space station was a melting pot of different cultures, species, and technologies. Traders bartered goods, information brokers whispered secrets, and mercenaries shared tales of their exploits. For a ce without formalw, there was an unexpected order to the chaos, an unspoken agreement that maintained a fragile peace.


    Aldred and his crew wandered through the vibrant marketce, taking in the sights and sounds. However, their sense of awe was tempered when they noticed towering mechas patrolling the crowded streets. These gigantic machines, armed to the teeth, served as both a symbol of authority and a deterrent to potential troublemakers.


    One particrly massive mecha, adorned with the insignia of the Nexus Rings, approached Aldred and his crew. Its mechanical voice echoed through the bustling atmosphere. "Identify yourselves. Visitors must adhere to station protocols."


    Aldred stepped forward, a holographic disy projecting his credentials. "I am Aldred, captain of the astral ship Stardust Voyager. We seek respite and information as we traverse the Veil of Shadows."


    The mecha analyzed the data, its sensors scanning Aldred and his crew. After a brief moment, it nodded. "Wee, Captain Aldred. Enjoy your stay at the Nexus Rings. Abide by the rules, and there will be no issues."


    As the mecha moved on, Aldred couldn''t shake the realization that, despite the apparent civility, an undercurrent of tension lingered in the air. The Nexus Rings, while a haven for travelers, was not without its challenges.


    Aldred and his crew, now immersed in the vibrant marketce of the Nexus Rings, embarked on a journey of exploration. The bustling thoroughfares were lined with various stalls, each offering exotic goods, rare artifacts, and information for those willing to trade. The crew split up, each member pursuing different tasks in the eclectic environment.


    Aldred approached a merchant whose stall was adorned with gleaming crystals and peculiar relics. The merchant, a humanoid with luminescent skin, greeted him warmly.


    "Captain Aldred, a traveler from the stars! What brings you to my humble emporium?"


    Aldred smiled, intrigued by the merchant''s enthusiasm. "We''re traversing the Veil of Shadows and thought to resupply our ship. What do you have to offer?"


    The merchant showcased an array of crystals, each with unique properties. "These crystals harness the energy of distant nebe. Perfect for enhancing your ship''s capabilities or infusing your weaponry. A wise investment for interster travelers."


    Smander''s eyes lit up with excitement. "Tell me more. How can we integrate these modules into our starship?"


    As Smander delved into the details of the upgrades, Shinari, the ship''s perceptive navigator, found herself in a conversation with a group of celestial cartographers. They spoke of uncharted regions within the Veil of Shadows, hinting at shortcuts and hidden pathways that could expedite their journey.


    While Aldred, Smander, and Shinari were engrossed in their respective engagements, Shuzib, the schr proficient in ancient and cryptguage, felt a peculiar resonance emanating from a secluded corner of the Nexus Rings.


    Following this intuitive pull, he discovered a ce where like-minded individuals gathered to discuss arcane knowledge and unravel the mysteries of forgotten tongues.


    Approaching a group engaged in deciphering an ancient scroll, Shuzib introduced himself. "Greetings, fellow seekers of knowledge. I am Shuzib, a schr of forgottennguages. What mysteries do you unravel here?"


    The group acknowledged him with nods and weed him into their circle. One elderly schr, with eyes that held the wisdom of centuries, spoke, "Shuzib, we delve into the secrets of the Veil of Shadows, seeking to understand the hidden truths that lie within the cosmic fabric. There are whispers of a celestial archive, a repository of ancient wisdom, lost in the folds of this enigmatic realm."


    Intrigued, Shuzib eagerly joined their discussions. They spoke of prophecies written in long-forgotten tongues, cryptic gateways that bridged dimensions, and the possibility of unlocking the true potential of those who couldprehend the cosmguages.


    As Shuzib delved into these discussions, Aldred, Smander, and Shinari continued their explorations within the Nexus Rings. Smander, having secured a deal for the crystalline enhancements, now sought out a renowned engineer known for pushing the boundaries of starship modifications.


    Meanwhile, Shinari engaged in conversation with a group of information brokers, learning about recent events within the Veil of Shadows. Rumors of ancient artifacts, mysterious anomalies, and shifting allegiances between factions intrigued her.


    Aldred, drawn by the sounds of exotic music, found himself in a lively gathering where beings from different corners of the gxy shared tales of their adventures. One storyteller, an ethereal being with phosphorescent wings, spoke of a hidden celestial garden deep within the Veil of Shadows, said to hold the key to unlocking unimaginable power.


    "What kind of race is that? Is that a human?" Aldred asked.


    Smander shook his head. "I did not know either. Its appearance was extremely simr to human, but its physical form was only an amalgamation of energy."


    As Aldred, Smander, Shinari, and Shuzib continued their exploration of the Nexus Rings, the diverse and enigmatic nature of the space station unfolded before them. The marketce was a kaleidoscope of colors and cultures, each stall telling a different story.


    The crew reconvened, sharing their newfound knowledge. Smander, with the crystalline enhancements secured, proposed seeking out the renowned engineer for further modifications to the Stardust Voyager. Shinari ryed information about potential shortcuts and hidden pathways, while Shuzib spoke of the celestial archive and the pursuit of ancient wisdom.


    Aldred contemted their next steps, sensing that the Nexus Rings held not only opportunities but also challenges. The undercurrent of tension he felt upon arrival lingered, and the mention of a celestial garden added ayer of mystery to their journey.


    Deciding to pursue multiple leads simultaneously, the crew split up once more. Aldred, apanied by Smander, headed to find the renowned engineer known for pushing the boundaries of starship modifications. Shinari and Shuzib continued their investigations into the celestial archive and the arcane knowledge hidden within the Nexus Rings.


    Aldred and Smander navigated through the bustling thoroughfares, passing stalls offering exotic foods, rare artifacts, and peculiar technologies. The engineer''s workshop, situated in the heart of the Nexus Rings, was a marvel in itself. Machines hummed with activity as the engineer, a being with cybeic enhancements, greeted them.


    "Brave travelers, what brings you to my domain?" the engineer asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.


    Aldred exined their journey through the Veil of Shadows and their desire to enhance the capabilities of the Stardust Voyager. Smander presented the crystalline enhancements, and the engineer''s eyes widened with intrigue.


    "Ah, these are fascinating! I see great potential in integrating these with your starship. Follow me; let''s discuss the possibilities."


    As Aldred and Smander delved into the technical details, Shinari and Shuzib found themselves in the midst of a gathering of schrs, each sharing fragments of knowledge about the celestial archive. The elderly schr from earlier guided them through ancient manuscripts, unveiling clues that hinted at the archive''s location and the trials one must face to ess its wisdom.


    Excitement sparked in Shinari''s eyes as she realized that the shortcuts and hidden pathways she had learned about earlier might lead to the celestial archive. The pieces of the puzzle began toe together.


    Meanwhile, in another secluded corner of the Nexus Rings, Aldred and Smander concluded their discussions with the engineer. ns for further modifications were set in motion, promising increased speed and resilience for the Stardust Voyager.


    The crew reunited, their separate paths converging once more. As they shared their discoveries, a holographic message flickered to life before them. It was a transmission from the Nexus Rings'' central hub, bearing urgent news of escting tensions among the factions within the station.


    The screen revealed a brawl between a group of people with punk-hairstyle and some orcs.


    They threw sses at each other before they couldn''t hold it anymore and drew their weapons.


    "Wow, what a mess." Aldred watched with amusement.


    Suddenly, two mechas appeared from the side and fired a massive electromaic pulse, electrocuting everyone in the bar.


    "Oh, so ruthless." Aldredughed.

 Chapter 669 669 Unexpected Guest

    Chapter 669  669 Unexpected Guest


    As the chaotic scene unfolded in the Nexus Rings'' bar, with the mechas electrocuting the brawlers, Aldred and his crew shared amused nces. After a moment ofughter, Shuzib gathered the team, his eyes gleaming with newfound knowledge about the legendary stones.


    "Friends, amidst this amusing chaos, I''ve uncovered information about the Space Stone and the Soul Stone. The Time Stone we possess could be the key to unlocking their locations," Shuzib eximed, excitement evident in his voice.


    Aldred nodded, recognizing the significance of this revtion. "Alright, let''s use the Time Stone to our advantage. But first, we need to find a safe ce to discuss our strategy."


    As they contemted their next move, the Celestial Schemata, a colossal army of thousands of starships, appeared in nearby space. The crew, along with the bustling inhabitants of the Nexus Rings, watched in awe as the massive fleet materialized.


    Aldred''s eyes widened. "I cannot believe we will see them again at such a short time."


    "Fuck!" Smander cursed. "What do we do now? Is he going to destroy the Nexus?"


    The sudden appearance of the Celestial Schemata''s colossal fleet sent shockwaves through the Nexus Rings. Whispers of concern and anxiety swept through the bustling space station like wildfire. Visitors, traders, and inhabitants alike couldn''t help but express their worries about the potential threat the fleet posed.


    Aldred and his crew, hidden in their concealed location, observed the growing unease among the diverse crowd. Smander''s curse hung in the air, mirroring the tension that now permeated the once-vibrant marketce.


    No one could me them. The Veil of Shadows was awless ce.


    One could do anything as long as one had the power to do it.


    The Nexus Rings may provide a little bit of order in this chaotic realm, but it was mere illusion. All of them knew it would be catastrophic if the Celestial Schemata attacked.


    As the tension reached its peak, the Nexus Rings activated their defense systems with a cacophony of mechanical whirrings and hums. Gigantic cannons emerged, aiming towards the celestial fleet, creating a visible barrier that surrounded the space station. The once-lively marketce was now a tense battlefield, with the inhabitants caught between the protective measures and the potential threat from the Celestial Schemata.


    However, that made everyone even more worried.


    A battle was about to ensue, and they had nothing they could use to defend themselves. Trying to escape now was futile, they would be sted to pieces before they could leave the dock.


    Aldred and his crew, still hidden, observed the unfolding spectacle. Smander''s fingers twitched with anticipation, ready for action if needed.


    However, to their surprise, the Celestial Schemata initiated a disclosedmunication with the Nexus Rings administration. A holographic projection of their leader, a dignified figure adorned in celestial armor, appeared on the central hub''s viewscreen.


    "People of the Nexus Rings, wee in peace," the celestial leader''s voice resonated through the station. "We understand your concerns, but we harbor no ill intentions. We are seekers of knowledge and guardians of cosmic bnce. Our presence here is not a threat to you."


    The Nexus Rings'' administration, cautious yet open tomunication, engaged in a dialogue with the celestial leader. The defense system was gradually lowered, but the powerful cannons remained active, ready to respond to any sign of hostility.


    "Guardians of cosmic bnce?" Aldred scoffed.


    The news of the Celestial Schemata''s peaceful intentions brought a collective sigh of relief among the inhabitants of the Nexus Rings. The once-tense atmosphere began to ease, and the diverse crowd started to exchange nces of reassurance.


    The Nexus Rings'' administration, after a careful consideration of the Celestial Schemata''smunication, decided to allow them to dock.


    The mechanical whirrings and hums of the defense systems gradually subsided, and the once-imposing cannons were lowered. The Celestial Schemata, with their colossal fleet of starships, began to approach the Nexus Rings and skillfully docked their massive, powerful ships.


    As the Celestial Schemata''s fleet took positions around the Nexus Rings, a sense of awe and curiosity swept through the inhabitants of the space station. The starships, intricate in design and adorned with celestial symbols, stood as a testament to the advanced technology and cosmic mastery of their creators. The sheer number of vessels and the magnitude of their armaments left the onlookers, both visitors and locals, in silent admiration.


    The meticulous maneuvering of the starships, each one a marvel of celestial engineering, conveyed a sense of order and precision. The once-tense atmosphere began to shift into an atmosphere of anticipation and wonder.


    "I don''t think anything in the universe is capable of stopping them," a manmented.


    Aldred heard that and replied: "Are you sure about that?"


    "Of course, I am sure. Look at those ships. Those metals. Those designs! The armada has various ships for different purposes. They are clearly a precisely coordinated war machine. I''ve seen an armada like them capable of destroying an army ten timesrger than themselves. Even an entire sr system defense forces would be razed to the ground within a single day."


    "You are so confident with your opinion."


    "Of course, I am. I''ve been in this mercenary business for decades. I know who not to mess with. You look like a newbie, howe you decide toe to this ce?"


    Aldred was quite surprised. Usually, people would respect him for his very expensive gear. "Well, let''s just say fate brought me here."


    The man scoffed. "Fate, huh. Don''t think too highly of yourself, kiddo. You are not that important. Like I said. I have been in this mercenary business for decades. I know who not mess with and I know who I should admire. You guys shoulde under my wing and I will bring you wealth like you''ve never seen before. I am actually amander of a huge mercenary group. If I brought all of my subordinates here, even the Celestial Schemata will be nothing for me."


    "Is that so?" Aldred smiled, ignoring all the bullshit.


    Shinari approached him and whispered. "Aldred, he''s just spouting lies."


    Aldred nodded. "I know."


    Suddenly, all the Celestial Schemata''s warships activated its scanning sensors, enveloping the entire Nexus Rings with green beams for a fraction of a second.


    "Found you!"


    A squad of robots deployed from the ships with jetpacks. They all flew towards Aldred.


    "Fuck!"


    Theynded right in front of him as everyone else moved away to make space.


    The man that talked to Aldred was nervous at first, but then he smiled and stepped forward. "Gentlemen, I am d that you finallye to me. Let me introduce myself. My name is Gra¡ª"


    The robot pped him in the face, breaking his jaw, removing his teeth, and sent him flying to a nearby stall.


    Everyone gasped in shock after that. The mechas nearby was about to confront them until they received order to stay put.


    One of the robot stepped forward with a metallic cube in his hands. It put down the cube on the ground and it sprang open.


    The metallic cube, adorned with intricate symbols, emitted a low hum as it activated. Green energy pulsated along its surface, creating mesmerizing patterns that seemed to dance in response to an unseen rhythm. The air around it crackled with anticipation, and faint whirring sounds echoed through the marketce.


    As the cube''s energy built up, a series of green arcs formed a protective barrier around it. The onlookers, both the crew and the inhabitants of the Nexus Rings, watched with a mixture of awe and trepidation. The atmosphere became charged with an otherworldly presence.


    Suddenly, the cube unleashed a blinding sh of emerald light. It enveloped the immediate vicinity, leaving an afterimage imprinted on the eyes of those who dared to gaze directly at it. The hum reached a crescendo, and a wave of energy rippled outward, distorting the air itself.


    When the brilliance subsided, two figures emerged from the now-dormant cube.


    Archon Stratos Vortimer, the leader of the Celestial Schemata, an imposing figure of metal with seemingly endless wisdom in his eyes.


    His appearance was that of a robot, but something about him made it easier for others to distinguish that he was the leader.


    Behind him was a massive robot built like a bodybuilder on steroids.


    Quantum Sentinel, his most powerful and loyal guard, always at his sides wherever he went.


    Vortimer stepped forward, staring at Aldred directly.


    "Not giving up yet?" Aldred asked.


    "Only when the fabric of time unravels and the cosmos crumbles beneath the weight of eternity shall our respite be found. Our relentless pursuit will endure until we reim that which is rightfully ours."


    "So poetic." Aldred chuckled. "Have you pull any girls with that?"


    "Do you yearn for yet another sh upon the battlefield, or do you harbor a desire for the tranquility of peace?"


    "I''ve fought you for 2 years straight on a gas. Do you think I am going to give it up now?" Aldred continued. "Besides, I already sell it to someone else."


    "What? You sell it?"


    Aldred shrugged with a smirk on his face.

 Chapter 670 670 Invited To The Ship

    Chapter670 670 Invited To The Ship


    "Don''t lie to me! You would never!"


    "I knew you woulde after me, so I sold it."


    "Liar!" Vortimer grabbed Aldred''s cor.


    Smander and the others stepped forward and charged his weapons.


    Quantum did the same, brandishing his spear.


    The mechas around them started to make a safety perimeter to prevent damage and casualties.


    The audience felt the extreme tension.


    However, Aldred was eerily calm. He had fought against Vortimer before, he knew his capabilities and abilities, so even though the man¡­ or the robot was grabbing his cor, he was not worried.


    Besides, he won''t make a scene here. If the information about the Time Stone was known, more people would go after it.


    After all, not everyone here knew about Ascendria or the Stones which were the key to unlock it.


    Aldred wasn''t even sure if Vortimer knew about Ascendria. "Come to my ship," Vortimer said.


    "Like hell we will!" Smander said. "We won''t be entering your ugly-looking ship."


    Everyone looked at Smander weirdly.


    Compared to the Celestial Schemata warships, especially their gship the Astral Sovereign, the Stardust Voyager looked like a scrap of metals piled together with glue.


    Smander realized that, but he had to look domineering.


    "I will," Aldred said.


    "Aldred, what are you thinking?" Shinari grabbed his hands. "Willingly going over to enemy base, where they are the strongest?" "I just want to talk with him. It will be fine."


    Vortimer, still holding Aldred by the cor, nodded in satisfaction at hispliance. With a subtle gesture, he signaled Quantum Sentinel to stand down, and the crew lowered their weapons. The tension in the air persisted, but the immediate threat seemed to subside.


    Vortimer released his grip on Aldred, and the crew took a step back, maintaining a cautious distance. Aldred, with a reassuring nce at his crew, followed Vortimer towards the massive gship of the Celestial Schemata, the Astral Sovereign.


    As they approached the colossal warship, its intricate design became more apparent. The outer shell shimmered with celestial symbols and emanated a faint glow. Quantum Sentinel walked alongside them, a silent and imposing guardian. The crew of the Stardust Voyager, uncertain of the unfolding events, watched as their friend willingly entered the heart of the Celestial Schemata''s power. The mechas formed a protective barrier around them, ensuring the safety of both parties. Inside the gship, Aldred found himself in a grand chamber adorned with holographic disys and celestial-themed decorations. Vortimer gestured to a central tform, indicating that Aldred should take a seat. "Come take a seat."


    As they sat facing each other, Quantum Sentinel standing guard nearby, Vortimer spoke with an air of authority, "Aldred, the Time Stone you possessed held great significance. It is a key to unlocking the cosmic secrets woven into the fabric of the universe. Why did you sell it?" Aldredughed. "I am a mercenary. I need the money."


    Vortimer mmed his metal hands on the table. "Then you could''ve sell it to me! I could have given you an amount of wealth you won''t dare to imagine!"


    "Now!" Vortimer continued. "Tell me who you sold it to!"


    Aldred leaned back, studying Vortimer''s metallic features. "Informationes at a price, Vortimer. Besides, the Time Stone is not something easily given away. I needed to ensure my crew''s safety and our journey through the Veil." Vortimer, seemingly unfazed by Aldred''s response, continued, "The cosmic dance is delicate, and each movement influences the next. The figure who bought the Time Stone might hinder my n."


    "And why should I be concerned with your n?"


    "You should," Vortimer told him.


    Aldred cut to the chase. "What do you want from us, Vortimer? An alliance to pursue this cosmic dance together? We''re not your pawns." Aldred figured Vortimer wanted something from him since he was invited to the ship.


    "I have no use for humans as mere pawns! Your kind''s multitude of weaknesses renders it an inefficient and expendable tool." "Then why bring me to your ship?"


    "The Time Stone. Tell me where it is."


    "I am not telling."


    Quantum Sentinel brandished his spear.


    Vortimer red at him. "You will."


    Aldred chuckled. "You think intimidation will work?"


    To be honest, Vortimer was wary of Aldred as well. This man was viciously cunning and intelligent. It was proved during the battle in that gas.


    Also, Aldred''s abilities were so diverse and unique. Vortimer wondered what more abilities he hid inside his sleeve.


    But the fearsome abilities that Aldred had was his cloning abilities. To be able to duplicate oneself not just to the atomic level, but also duplicate the soul, the weapons, and the very essence of his own existence.


    No one in the history of the entire gxy was capable of doing such feats. Vortimer didn''t even know if the Aldred in front of him right now was a clone or the real one.


    Vortimer''s cold, metallic gaze bore into Aldred''s eyes, a silent challenge that transcended the physical realm. "The dance of the cosmos," Vortimer began, his voice resonating through the chamber. "It is a delicate intery of forces, a harmony that transcends mortal understanding. The Time Stone, a key to unlocking this dance, holds the power to shape destinies. Tell me, Aldred, do you not feel the weight of responsibility in your hands?"


    Aldred leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he considered Vortimer''s words. "What is this? Are you trying to give me a moral dilemma or something? I know what I want. I want power, and I am not shy of using it. Responsibility? I don''t give a damn about that."


    Vortimer''s metallic visage remained impassive, a testament to his eternal nature. "Power is a reflection of one''s understanding of bnce. The celestial forces are neither good nor evil; they simply are. It is how we wield them that determines our path. My goal is to preserve the cosmic equilibrium."


    Aldred smirked, his eyes glinting with a mixture of skepticism and amusement. "Preserve the equilibrium? By controlling the very forces that define it? You sound like a god attempting to impose order on chaos."


    "And I hate people who y god. This is from someone who has seen one."


    "You? You''ve seen a god before?"


    "Not just one. Many of them," Aldred said.


    Vortimerughed for the first time. Aldred was slightly surprised that a robot could even feel humor.


    "I thought you were good at lying," Vortimermented.


    Aldred smiled. If only Vortimer knew that his parents were literal gods that could erase gxies.


    "Enough of these lies. Aldred, what do you seek in The Veil of Shadows? What do you need the stones for?"


    "What will I get for telling you?"


    "I will also tell you my intention."


    "Okay, fair deal. I want to use the stones to defeat Lord Malgorth and obtain his Space Weaver scepter."


    "Lord Malgorth. That demon? It''s been a while since I''ve heard his name. I''ve fought him a couple of times before."


    "Bullshit. Are you saying that you matched Lord Malgorth''s strength? I fought against you and I know your true strength."


    "True strength? Do you really know how strong I am?"


    Vortimer stood up and his form flickered as if he was a mere projection. "You haven''t seen anything yet."


    Aldred''s eyes widened. From what Aldred could tell, Vortimer current figure was not his true form, instead, it was merely a distant projection of his power.


    His true body might still be in realspace.


    Unlike Aldred''s clones who had the same power as him with no limit on distance or realms, other cloning abilities didn''t work that way.


    Most clones would be weaker than their original and this further affected by distances and other factors.


    If Vortimer''s clone could match Aldred''s power, then that meant his true form would be much stronger.


    "Who are you really?" Aldred asked.


    "I am Archon Stratos Vortimer. The Overlord of Celestial Schemata! I put it as my responsibility to bring equilibrium to the entire gxy."


    Aldred frowned. He hated the way Vortimer acting like a god. " Vortimer looked towards the distance, his metallic eyes seemingly gazing into the vast expanse of the cosmos. His voice resonated with a solemn tone, carrying the weight of eons past and the destinies yet to unfold. "The dance of the cosmos, Aldred, is a symphony yed on the strings of time and space. The ebb and flow of existence, the delicate bnce that holds gxies together. My purpose is to ensure that this cosmic dance continues, uninterrupted by the discordant notes of chaos and unchecked power." Aldred, though usually unswayed by grandiose derations, couldn''t help but feel a tinge of uncertainty. The enigmatic nature of Vortimer''s identity and the revtion of his title as the Overlord of Celestial Schemata hinted at a level of influence and power that transcended the ordinary. ''Why is he keep saying about some dance of the cosmos. It sounds cringey as fuck.''


    "You im to bring equilibrium, but what if your pursuit of bnce disrupts the very fabric of free will?" Aldred questioned, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Order imposed by force is not true equilibrium. It''s a dictatorship, a suppression of individual paths in the guise of bnce." "You think you have free will? Tell me, Aldred. Do you choose to be born. Do you choose who your mother? Who your father? Do you choose your race? And when your stomach growl, your lips dry. Do you choose to eat, or is your biological needs tell you to?"


    Aldred tilted his head. "I did not n the conversation to be this deep."


    "But it is deep. Nobody ever has free will, Aldred. Everyone is controlled by some kind of forces one way or another. The demons by their insatiable thirst for souls, the orcs for battle, the elves for ego, the humans for greed."


    Aldred sighed. "Enough. Just tell me what your intention with the stones."


    Vortimer menacingly looked at Aldred. His eyes conveyed


    darkness and destruction before he spoke, "My intention is to destroy the whole gxy."

 Chapter 671 671 Negotiation

    Chapter671 671 Negotiation


    The words hung in the air, a chilling revtion that sent shivers down Aldred''s spine.


    Aldred''s eyes widened, the weight of Vortimer''s deration settling in. The grand chamber seemed to echo with the gravity of those words. The crew of the Stardust Voyager, outside the gship, exchanged anxious nces. The protective barrier of mechas stood ready, sensing the escting tension within the heart of the Celestial Schemata''s power.


    "Destroy the gxy?" Aldred repeated, wondering if what he heard was correct. His brow furrowed. "No, not the gxy itself, but the parasites that writhe upon its surface¡ªthe sentient beings. Those insidious worms that gorge on the stars and infest the cosmos with their ceaseless wars and tumultuous battles." "You are nning to kill them all?" Aldred rubbed the back of his neck. "Correct."


    "And do you not consider what I think about that?"


    Vortimer leaned forward, his face now inches away from Aldred. "I know you are not from this gxy. You have no ties to this spinning disc of stars."


    "Yeah, but my friends are."


    "I''ve heard of your conversations. The Space Weaver. You wanted it to return to your own gxy."


    Aldred frowned. How did he heard that?


    "Bring your friends along with you."


    Aldred sighed and stood up. "It seems like you have nothing to offer me. Listen, I can get the other stones without your help. Considering what happenedst time, I bet I will get all the other stones first."


    Suddenly, Vortimer opened his right metallic hand. On his hand, there was a bright glow with various colors. Space seemed to distort around his hand, bending and rolling reality itself.


    The Space Stone. A solid deep purple crystal sat on Vortimer''s hand.


    "I have my army spread and scoured through the entire Veil!" Vortimer dered. "You think you can outrace my inexhaustible servants?"


    Aldred sat down again and leaned back. "What do you propose?"


    Vortimer sat down as well.


    ¡­


    "Why are they taking so long?" Smander wondered.


    "Is he being attacked?" Shinari was biting her lips while walking back and forth. "You guys worry too much." Cleome nced at the Astral Sovereign ship. "I am sure he knows what he''s doing."


    Elralya approached them and closed her eyes.


    Everyone was looking at her, wondering what she was doing.


    After a few seconds, Elralya opened her eyes again. "I can still feel Aldred''s presence. Do not worry. It seems that he is safe. In fact, I can feel his existence near us."


    "Aldred!!!" Shinari rushed past Elralya and threw herself at Aldred, hugging him tight.


    Everyone was surprised. "Didn''t you entered the Celestial Schemata''s gship?" Cleome asked.


    "I did, yes."


    "Why didn''t we saw you when you get back?" Smander approached him.


    "Don''t think too much about it." Aldred waved. "Come on. Let''s get a drink."


    Everyone confusingly followed him into a pub. They all sat down and an old man with a mechanical left eye put down six ss of liquor for them.


    "We haven''t even ordered yet," Cleome said, watching the old man left.


    "Aldred," Shinari called. "What is happening? Aren''t you going with Vortimer?"


    "Yes, I did. Let me tell you what he said."


    ¡­


    "You have a mighty army at your beck and call. What do you need me for?"


    "The Time Stone. You still have it. I won''t be able to execute my n without all three stones."


    "Give me the time stone, and I will help you obtain the Space Weaver from Malgorth."


    "As if I will believe that."


    "Then what do you suggest?" Vortimer asked.


    Aldred was uncertain to tell at first, but he decided to spill it. "Ascendria. Help me enter it and obtain the Space Weaver. Only then will I give you the stone."


    "Ascendria. I haven''t heard of that for one hundred years."


    "What do you say?"


    "Fine. I will agree on your term."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. Surprised at how easy it was to make a deal. But still, he was still wary that Vortimer might go back on the agreement.


    After all, Aldred had cheated him before so he might tried to get his revenge.


    Vortimer reached out his hand. "Is this how you human finalized a deal?"


    "More or less." Aldred received his hand and shook it.


    ¡­


    "And that''s all."


    Everyone turned silent after that.


    Aldred actually left out the part where Vortimer said he was nning to destroy the gxy.


    His friends would certainly disagree. After getting the Space Weaver, Aldred was nning to bring them to his home world.


    "Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I seriously cannot tell," Cleome said.


    Smander nodded. "Aldred, I think you are very reckless on your decision. Giving away the stones? Are you sure about this? We don''t know what that robot will do with them."


    Elralya and Ceeth was also not supporting this idea.


    "I do not think you made a wise decision," Elralya said. This was her first time expressing her disagreement in the team.


    "I got no other choice," Aldred said. "The Celestial Schemata has far more personnels than us. Currently, they are scouring the Veil for the Soul Stone. I do not think we can beat that."


    The team argued back and forth until they finally relented.


    "Alright, we will see where this bring us," Smander said.


    Nodding, Aldred looked above. "You cane out now."


    With a soft sh of green glow, Vortimer materialized out of nowhere and sat beside Aldred.


    He immediately got the attention of other people in the pub for his stunt. "Greetings, hairless monkeigh."


    Ceeth frowned. "That''s what the elves call the humans."


    "Yournguage came from the ancient old ones. Do not be so drowned in your arrogance that you forgot your ancestry. You are nothing but one of the lesser race."


    Ceeth mmed the table. "How dare you!"


    "Wow, calm down, guys." Aldred got in between them, trying to prevent a conflict. "No need to get mad each other."


    Ceeth red at Vortimer. "It is you who are one with the lesser races like these monkeigh. Your body of metal full of ws and weakness are prove of your low-level intelligence."

 Chapter 672 672 Looming Threat

    Chapter672 672 Looming Threat


    "My metal vessel is without ws of the monkeigh where age and disease will end their pitiful life. They are more simr to you rather than me."


    The two insulted each other back and forth.


    But what Aldred heard was the two of them mocking and degrading the human race.


    "Emmm, shouldn''t we get mad?" Smander looked at the others.


    At this point, the humans were used to be insulted as the lesser race, monkeigh, greedy pigs, etc.


    After a few minutes, the both of them finally stopped.


    "I think we''ll get along just fine."


    ¡­


    In the heart of Nexus Rings, within the magnificent central hub known as the Unity Spire, Ringmaster Zarael sat in her meticulously arranged office. The room emanated a tranquil ambiance, adorned with holographic disys showcasing the delicate rotations of the atmospheric ring and the diverse life flourishing within the colossal celestial entity.


    Zarael, d in robes that mirrored the cosmic patterns of Nexus Rings, exuded an air of regalposure. Her violet eyes, reflective of ancient wisdom, focused on a holographic projection before her. It disyed the recent events involving Aldred and Vortimer.


    The massive fleet of the Celestial Schemata was also within her sight.


    "Troublemakers," she said in annoyance.


    A soft chime echoed through the chamber, signaling an iingmunication. Zarael touched a panel on her desk, and the holographic image of an advisor materialized.


    "Ringmaster Zarael, there are reports of a disturbance near the outskirts of Nexus Rings. It appears to be rted to the individuals known as Aldred and Vortimer."


    Zarael nodded, her expression remainingposed. "Monitor the situation closely, but do not intervene unless necessary."


    As the advisor withdrew from the holographic projection, Zarael turned her attention to a concealedpartment within her desk. She retrieved a small crystalline orb¡ªthe Nexus Core, a symbol of her authority and a conduit to the gravitational magic that sustained Nexus Rings.


    With a gentle touch, Zarael channeled her magic through the Nexus Core, allowing her to perceive the intricate threads of gravitational forces within the celestial entity. She could sense the ebb and flow of energy, the heartbeat of Nexus Rings itself.


    A knock on the door interrupted her contemtion, and Zarael ced the Nexus Core back into itspartment. "Enter."


    A member of the Celestial Guard, adorned in gleaming armor, stepped into the room and bowed respectfully. "Ringmaster Zarael, there''s an urgent matter that requires your attention."


    "What is it?"


    "Unfortunately, it might not be safe to disclose the information here."


    Zarael rose gracefully from her seat, her eyes reflecting a depth of understanding. "Take me to the observation chamber."


    The Celestial Guard escorted Zarael through the intricate corridors of the Unity Spire, leading her to a chamber with panoramic views of Nexus Rings. The holographic disys showcased the unfolding events, a looming threat to the delicate equilibrium. Zaraelposed expression changed into that of horror.


    "This can''t be."


    As Ringmaster Zarael beheld the holographic disys, a collective gasp resonated through the observation chamber. The massive demonic fleet, resembling the creatures of nightmare.


    The advisor stammered, "Ringmaster, we''ve never encountered such a force before. The gravitational distortions they bring with them... it''s unprecedented." Zarael''s eyes narrowed, a flicker of concern cutting through her regalposure. "Prepare amunication ry. I need to address everyone immediately."


    As the Celestial Guard hurriedly executed her orders, Zarael''s mind raced. The arrival of such a malevolent force could shatter the delicate bnce of Nexus Rings. She pondered the implications and potential alliances that might need to be formed to confront this new threat. Meanwhile, Aldred, Vortimer, and the rest of the Stardust Voyager''s crew were enjoying a brief respite in the pub. Unbeknownst to them, the atmosphere outside Nexus Rings was charged with an impending storm. In the midst of their banter, a sudden tremor shook the pub, sses clinking together. The patrons exchanged bewildered nces as the vibrations resonated through the entire structure.


    Aldred, sensing the disturbance, looked at Vortimer. "Did you do something?"


    Vortimer''s metallic face remained stoic. "Not me."


    Ringmaster Zarael swiftly initiated a system-widemunication broadcast across Nexus Rings, ensuring that her urgent message reached every corner of the celestial entity. Holographic projections appeared in public spaces, aboard ships, and within the quarters of the diverse inhabitants. "Visitors of Nexus Rings," Zarael''s voice echoed with authority, "a grave threat looms on our doorstep. A demonic fleet, unprecedented and formidable, is advancing towards us. Fleeing is not a viable option; they will pursue us relentlessly. Our best chance lies in standing united against thismon adversary." The holographic disys showcased the menacing approach of the demonic fleet, and gasps filled the air as inhabitants absorbed the gravity of the situation. The message was met with a mix of disbelief, fear, and uncertainty among the popce. However, the gravity of the impending danger was enough to quell any immediate dissent. "We have a powerful visitor among us that I will like to ask for help. The Celestial Schemata." Zarael continued.


    Everyone looked at Vortimer.


    "And for what reason would justify my assistance for this battle? This is a battle I can easily avoid."


    True enough. Celestial Schemata''s warships were installed with advanced warp system that would allow them to escape with ease.


    Aldred pointed towards the screen. "Look at the hull of their ships. Those are Lord Malgorth''s servants. They probablye here to obtain the stones as well. Your deal with me is helping me to fight Lord Malgorth."


    "The deal is for me to help you obtain the Space Weaver!"


    Aldred smiled. "I would consider this as part of the contract as well."


    "Besides, I''ve noticed that your army actually be bigger. From what I can tell, you devour the ships of your enemies and turn them into your own."


    Vortimer squinted, not expecting Aldred to notice.


    "I am expecting arge pay for this." Vortimer stood up.


    "I refuse to work for free too," Aldred said with a wide smile on his face, thinking it would be a great opportunity to destroy Malgorth''s forces.

 Chapter 673 673 Demonic Tide (part 1)

    Chapter673 673 Demonic Tide (part 1)


    The crew of the Stardust Voyager and the Celestial Schemata quickly moved into action. Themunication ry broadcasted Zarael''s message across Nexus Rings, rallying every able inhabitant to prepare for the iing demonic fleet. As the crew and the mechas of the Celestial Schemata geared up for battle, the massive demonic fleet drew nearer. The Destroyer-ss ships emanated an eerie crimson glow, and the ominous shadow of the Battlecruiser-ss ship loomed in the cosmic distance. "For the Emperor''s wrath, they have a Battlecruiser-ss ship with them!" A man eximed.


    Aldred, Vortimer and the rest of the crew were called to the headquarter.


    There they met with the Ringmaster, Zarael.


    Zarael, standing beside Aldred and Vortimer, addressed the assembled forces. "This is a threat unlike any we''ve faced before. We must coordinate our efforts and stand united. Together, we can repel this malevolent force." Zarael did not expect that she would ask these two for help. The Nexus Ring had been able to survive this long because nobody had any reason to attack it.


    Except for demons. Those soul-devouring creatures would destroy anything in their path.


    The Battlecruiser emerges from the stygian depths of the cosmos, a colossal behemoth of gothic design and dark might. Its hull, adorned with towering spires and ominous gargoyles, casts a foreboding silhouette against the cold expanse of space. The ship''s grim color scheme of deep cks and gunmetal grays, punctuated by blood-red ents, enhances its menacing aura, while countless glowing portholes and weapon ports emit an eerie light that hints at the destructive power held within. The once noble Retribution-ss Battlecruiser, now corrupted and ensnared by the malevolent forces of Chaos, bears an appearance that reflects the abyssal taint that has consumed it for centuries. The Imperium''s technology had always been the demon''s favorites. Humans were far easier to corrupt and devour than other races after all.


    he ship''s gothic architecture, once a testament to Imperial grandeur, has twisted into grotesque and macabre forms. Jagged spires now resemble the gnarled ws of daemonic entities, and what were once religious symbols have transformed into sphemous sigils that pulse with unholy energy. The hull, once a symbol of imperial might, is now a canvas of dark corruption. Sickly hues of purple, sickly green, and blood red cascade across the ship, giving it an eerie, ethereal glow that hints at the warp-spawned horrors lurking within. The portholes and weapon ports, once orderly and disciplined, now flicker with the chaotic energies of the Immaterium, casting irregr shadows that dance like demonic apparitions. The people on the Nexus Rings trembled at the sight of such cmity.


    "Can we even defeat that thing?"


    "That thing seems too powerful for us to handle."


    "Shouldn''t we flee? If all of us run, maybe they won''t be able to catch us. It''s so much better than throwing our lives at that killing machine."


    Doubt crept among the warriors. Despite the mounting fear and uncertainty, Zarael stood resolute. "Retreating is not an option. This battle is upon us, and the Nexus Rings must stand united. We have faced challenges before, and we shall ovee this one as well." Aldred, with a determined expression, addressed the worried crowd. "I''ve been in situations far worse than this. We may be outnumbered, but we have something they don''t¡ªunity. Every one of you has a stake in the survival of Nexus Rings. We fight not just for ourselves but for the future of this celestial entity." Aldred could not believe those words came out of his mouth. In actuality, he could care less if the Nexus Rings was destroyed or not.


    The only reason he was willing to fight was because he wanted to destroy Malgorth''s demonic forces.


    Vortimer, his metallic face betraying no emotion, added, "The enemy may have a powerful ship, but power alone does not guarantee victory. Strategy, coordination, and unity are our greatest assets. Stand your ground, and we shall prevail!"


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Nice script."


    "I would say the same to you," Vortimerplimented him back.


    The crew of the Stardust Voyager, the mechas of the Celestial Schemata, and the inhabitants of Nexus Rings took a collective breath. The enormity of the demonic Battlecruiser loomed before them, but the spark of determination ignited within their hearts. Zarael, utilizing the Nexus Core''s gravitational magic, reinforced the protective barriers of Nexus Rings. The celestial entity itself seemed to respond to the call of its defenders, empowering them with its cosmic energy. The Destroyer-ss ships continued their advance, nking the imposing Battlecruiser. Without warning, they began to attack.


    Beams of dark energy emanated from their hulls, targeting the defensive barriers of Nexus Rings. The celestial entity trembled under the onught, but Zarael''s mastery over gravitational forces held strong. "To your battle station!"


    Everyone entered their ships and prepare to be deployed.


    With the order from the Nexus Rings, the warships were sent out of the barrier and charged towards the enemy.


    The Celestial Schemata were also deployed.


    "Shouldn''t we fight as well?" Smander asked.


    "No. It''s better if you stay here," Zarael said.


    "But the enemy is over there. Why are we staying over here?"


    Vortimer nced at Zarael and nodded. "I understand. We all should stay in the Nexus Rings. My army can decimate their numbers."


    "I still don''t get it. Our allies are going out to fight, and yet we stay here in safety."


    Vortimer looked at him. "You do not understand. The best cards are left to be usedst. Deploying you and the others will be a waste if the timing is not right. You''re a warrior, a soldier, so it''s normal if you only know how to fight a battle, but don''t know how to win a war."


    Vortimer approached the screens, depicting the battlefield. Both of his hands behind his back. "Ringmaster, would you mind if I tell you my strategy?"


    Zarael stood beside him. "I am listening."


    Aldredforted Smander as he watched Vortimer and Zarael making a n.


    "It''s okay. You will get your chance to fight."


    "Say, Aldred. You are a noble with a mighty army in your home world. Does this situation familiar to you?"


    "It''s far too familiar. I do this all the time. We all y different roles in the battlefield. We are like chess pieces. Some can only be used in certain situations at certain times, while some could simply charge forward at any time."


    Smander nodded. "Alright."


    Aldred chuckled. "Don''t be so serious. It''s not the first time we''re fighting a demon army."


    Smander smiled, remembering the first time he fought against the demon with Aldred.

 Chapter 674 674 Demonic Tide (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 674 Chapter 674 Demonic Tide (part 2)</h4>


    As the warships and mechas engaged the Destroyer-ss ships, the cosmic battlefield became a dance of energy beams and explosive shes. The celestial entity of Nexus Rings, fortified by Zarael''s gravitational magic, held against the initial assault. The defenders were confident, believing they could withstand the demonic forces for weeks.


    "With this, my n can be set into motion," Vortimer said with certainty.


    "I have to say, it is great to have a capable general in our midst," Zarael said.


    Vortimer smiled. "I have triumphed against countless battles. Especially in cosmic warfare. You can be sure that my strategies have downed many enemies and gainndslide victory."


    "I am d." Zarael smiled.


    However, the confidence was shattered when the colossal Battlecruiser, fueled by the malevolent forces of Chaos, unleashed its devastating power. The once noble Battlecruiser-ss vessel, corrupted and twisted, focused its destructive energy on the allied forces.


    Aldred, watching from the tactical center, witnessed the shocking turn of events. "What is that thing doing?"


    Zarael, her expression tense, gazed at the holographic disys. "They''re channeling the Veil energies directly into their weapons. Brace yourselves!"


    Without warning, the Battlecruiser discharged a torrent of chaotic energy beams, tearing through the defensive barriers with unprecedented force.


    The beam passed through many of their allies, and not a fraction of a second passed before tens of thousands of spacecraft exploded in the void.


    The celestial entity trembled under the onught, and panic gripped the hearts of the defenders.


    The destructive beams disintegrated more than 50% of the allied forces in an instant. Warships and mechas vanished into cosmic dust, leaving behind a void in the once formidable fleet.


    Zarael clenched his fists, frustration and anger burning within her. "We can''t withstand that firepower! What are we supposed to do?"


    "So much for capable general," Aldred said while shaking his head.


    "Are you supposed to be joking around in this situation?" Zarael red at him.


    Vortimer, his metallic face betraying no emotion, analyzed the situation. "We need to target the source of that power. The Veil conduits on the Battlecruiser. If we can disable them, we might have a chance."


    Zarael nodded in agreement. "Coordinate with the remaining forces. We need a concentrated assault on the Veil conduits. Buy us time, and we might turn the tide."


    "No!" Aldred shouted to stop them. "There is no need to make further sacrifice. A solution to this problem is very simple."


    "What do you propose? Be quick with it."


    Aldred grinned. "Don''t worry. It''s very simple. All we have to do is¡­"


    ¡­


    Suddenly, a squad of spacecraft rushed out of the Nexus Rings. All of them were charging towards the Battlecruiser.


    The Demonic Fleet detected them and began firing their weapons, destroying them one by one.


    In one of the ship which looked fairly average and simr to the rest, Aldred, Vortimer, Quantum, Smander, Zarael, Cleome, Shinari, Elralya, Ceeth, and Shuzib were sitting inside as the ship were constantly trembling and shaking because of the explosive energies outside.


    They were currently charging head on towards the Battlecruiser at maximum speed along with other spacecraft apanying them.


    "Why do you think it''s such a good idea?" Smander asked.


    "I told you earlier. It''s very simple. The spacecraft we are in right now looks very weak and dumb. They won''t suspect a thing, and their priority will be put elsewhere."


    It was indeed true.


    The Demon Fleet focused their firepower in other ces where the big ships were. They were especially focusing their attacks on the Celestial Schemata''s fleet which were incredibly able to evade the Battlecruiser''s fatal attack.


    "Still, even if that''s the case, we will immediately die if we got hit."


    Aldredughed maniacally. "Sometimes, you need to believe in luck. They won''t think that we can breach their Battlecruiser with this ship, after all, the true firepoweres from us."


    "Then why the hell am I here?" Shuzibined. He was a schr at best with no defensive nor offensive capabilities.


    Boom!


    The spacecraft next to them exploded into a thousand pieces, sending shrapenels towards the hulls.


    Laser beams and projectiles were flying all over the ce, but Aldred and the crew were closing the distance more and more.


    As the unassuming spacecraft, blending in with the rest of the fleet, hurtled towards the demonic Battlecruiser, chaos unfolded in the cosmic battleground. Explosions blossomed like deadly flowers in the void, energy beams crisscrossing dangerously close to the small vessel carrying Aldred and the crew.


    The Battlecruiser''s chaotic energy beamsshed out, tearing through the surrounding spacecraft. The unassuming ship maneuvered skillfully, narrowly avoiding the destructive onught. Beams of dark energy grazed its hull, leaving behind trails of sizzling energy, but the small craft pressed forward with determined speed.


    "AHH! THAT WAS SO FUCKING CLOSE!" Shuzib screamed.


    "This is crazy!" Cleome shouted. "Why did I agree in the first ce?"


    Shrapnel from nearby explosions danced perilously around Aldred and the crew''s ship, creating a deadly ballet of glinting metal fragments. They huddled inside, the vessel shaking from the shockwaves of the explosions.


    Aldred''s eyes gleamed with a mix of excitement and madness as he reveled in the perilous dance of fate. "Luck favors the bold!" he eximed over the chaos.


    Quantum, despite being a sentient artificial intelligence, simted an expression of concern. "This is an unnecessarily risky maneuver. Probability of survival is¡ª"


    Aldred cut him off with a dismissive wave. "Forget about probabilities. We''re either lucky or we''re not. And today, luck is on our side."


    The small spacecraft navigated through the swirling maelstrom of battle, slipping between energy beams and explosive bursts. The crew, strapped into their seats, experienced a rollercoaster of violent jolts and rapid maneuvers.


    A steel seat ripped off its bolt and went passed them, just inches away from Shuzib''s face. "I shouldn''t be here."


    Shinari, gripping the armrests of her seat, couldn''t help but shout, "I signed up for exploration, not a suicide mission!"


    Aldredughed uproariously, seemingly enjoying the madness. "We''re not here to die. We''re here to win!"


    Suddenly, their ship crashed onto the Battlecruisher.


    Aldred swung his arm, the Phantom Doomde instantly appeared in his hand.


    "You guys know how to cut holes?"

 Chapter 675 675 Demonic Tide (part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 675 Chapter 675 Demonic Tide (part 3)</h4>


    Aldred, fueled by his relentless determination and wielding the formidable Phantom Doomde, swung the sword with unparalleled precision.


    The de, charged with his magical prowess, cut through the demonic Battlecruiser''s hull like a hot knife through butter.


    Zarael''s eyes widened when she saw this feat. The Battlecruiser was one of the Imperium''s most finest tech. It was usually used to fight in the most dangerous region humanity could ever set foot in.


    It had existed for hundreds of years and gathered many legendary tales of decimating its enemies with ease.


    Over the centuries, one or two of these Battlecruiser would be stolen, but their strength were still at a mythical level.


    And yet, Aldred easily cut a hole in it.


    The massive hole created by the Phantom Doomde allowed the spacecraft carrying Aldred and the crew to enter it.


    As the team emerged from the crashed spacecraft, the demonic crew onboard the Battlecruiser scrambled to respond. xons red, and red emergency lights bathed the demonic corridors in an eerie glow.


    Aldred, his eyes aze with the thrill of battle, took the lead. "Time to cut through the heart of this monstrosity!" He gestured for the crew to follow him into the demonic-infested depths of the Battlecruiser.


    nside the Battlecruiser, the air was thick with the stench of sulfur and the ominous hum of dark energies. The demonic crew, a grotesque mix of horned beings and twisted monstrosities, confronted Aldred and the team.


    Aldred, brandishing the Phantom Doomde, unleashed waves of magical energy, cutting through the demonic horde with ruthless efficiency.


    Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Elralya, Ceeth, Quantum, and Shuzib, each yed their part in the onught. Smander''s fiery attacks, Shinari''s agile maneuvers, Cleome''s precision lightning shots, Elralya''s arcane spells, Ceeth''s fatal strike, Quantum''s calcted disruptions, and Shuzib who tried really hard to survive in the midst of the chaos.


    As Aldred and the team advanced through the demonic-infested corridors of the Battlecruiser, the demonicmander, Malrak the Corruptor, received an urgent report about the intrusion. His crimson eyes glowed with fury as he processed the information.


    "Enemies on my ship? Uneptable!" Malrak roared, his voice echoing through the darkenedmand center of the Battlecruiser. He was a towering figure, d in dark, ornate armor adorned with twisted spikes and demonic symbols.


    Without hesitation, Malrak issued orders to his demonic underlings. "Send reinforcements! Crush the intruders, and make sure they don''t reach the Veil conduits! This ship must not fall!"


    In response to Malrak''smand, more demonic forces poured into the corridors, eager to extinguish the threat posed by Aldred and his team. The demonic crew, a mixture of hellish warriors and corrupted entities, surged forward with malevolent intent.


    Malrak set his gaze back to the cosmic battlefield again. The intruders in his ship were merely a small annoyance to him.


    Aldred rushed forward, Phantom Doomde raised, and then a dozen demons were cut down immediately.


    A massive demon charged towards Aldred with a war-axe.


    Aldred simply smiled at it as Quantum appeared out of nowhere and stabbed the demon with its spear.


    "Let''s make our way to the engine room," Aldred said. "If we can shut down this ship, we already win half the battle."


    As they navigated thebyrinthine passages, Aldred sensed the pull of dark energies emanating from the corrupted Veil conduits. The heart of the Battlecruiser awaited, and with it, the key to crippling the demonic forces.


    Malrak, observing the battle from hismand center, sneered with contempt. "They will find no salvation within these cursed halls. My demonic minions will crush them before they even reach the conduits."


    Suddenly.


    Aldred saw thousands of two-meter tall dire demonic wolves, with ck fur, and bloodshot eyes running towards their direction.


    Smander and the other'' faces went pale at the sight of the approaching tide of death.


    "Hold the rear!" Aldred ordered. He was walking forward as he issued orders one after the other. "Our priority is to reach the conduit. None of you bastards are allowed to die before then!"


    After saying that statement, Aldred grinned at them before turning around and charged towards the demonic wolves.


    "Is he crazy!?" Zarael asked.


    Smander smiled as well. "No. He simply believed in luck."


    Without a word, Smander charged forward as well, firing his energy and projectiles at the wolves while his drones supported him.


    The crew followed suit, leaving Zarael, Vortimer, and Quantum at the back.


    "Those people are crazy," Zaraelmented.


    "You tell me about it," Vortimer replied.


    As Aldred faced the oing tide of dire demonic wolves, his Phantom Doomde moved with a fluidity that defied the chaos around him. Smander unleashed torrents of fire, scorching the wolves in his path, while Cleome''s lightning shots crackled through the air. Shinari gracefully danced between the creatures, her des leaving trails of arcane energy.


    Back at the rear, Vortimer, Zarael, and Quantum prepared for the onught.


    Vortimer''s psychic powers manifested in a telekic storm, lifting wolves off their feet and throwing them into the void of space. Zarael''s gravity maniption created miniature ck holes, pulling groups of wolves together before Quantum swiftly impaled them with precise spear strikes.


    The crew fought valiantly, each member showcasing their unique abilities. Elralya conjured protective wards, shielding herrades from the wolves'' ferocious attacks. Ceeth''s assassin skills were on full disy as he swiftly dispatched wolves with calcted strikes.


    One of the wolves pounced on Shuzib. He screamed in panic until Shinari shed with the shadow and cut the wolf in half.


    "That was close," Shuzib said as he looked at the death wolf.


    The demonic wolves, relentless in their assault, were met with an overwhelming force. As Aldred and the team carved a path through the tide of creatures, Vortimer, Zarael, and Quantum joined the fray. Vortimer''s psychic onught, Zarael''s gravitational maniption, and Quantum''s teleportation prowessplemented the team''s efforts.


    After a relentless battle, thest of the dire demonic wolvesy defeated. The crew, panting and battered, exchanged nods of acknowledgment. Aldred, his Phantom Doomde still emanating an ethereal glow, grinned at hisrades.


    "That was just a warm-up, folks," he dered. "Let''s finish what we started and shut down this demonic monstrosity."


    As the crew caught their breath after the intense battle with the dire demonic wolves, the atmosphere shifted.


    A sudden, ominous howl echoed through the corridors of the demonic Battlecruiser.


    The crew turned their attention to the source, witnessing the emergence of a colossal, ten-meter-tall purple demonic wolf.

 Chapter 676 676 Demonic Tide (part 4)

    <h4>Chapter 676 Chapter 676 Demonic Tide (part 4)</h4>


    Vortimer''s eyes widened as the colossal, ten-meter-tall purple demonic wolf emerged with a bone-chilling howl. The crew, still recovering from the previous battle, turned their attention to this formidable adversary.


    Vortimer stepped forward, his metallic features contorted with a mix of concern and recognition. "That''s no ordinary demon wolf," he eximed. "That creature is one of the demon''s most powerful cards. It''s ast resort, summoned when they are truly desperate. This purple demonic wolf has the ability to turn the tide of battle."


    The crew exchanged nces, understanding the gravity of the situation. Aldred, his grip firm on the Phantom Doomde, stared at the approaching adversary. The purple demonic wolf''s eyes glowed with an eerie intensity, and its fur crackled with magical energy.


    "We can''t underestimate this one," Vortimer continued. "Its lightning ability allows it to seemingly tunnel out of reality and appear in other ces. It''s incredibly stealthy and mobile. We need to be strategic and coordinated to stand a chance."


    The crew, still catching their breath from the previous battle, prepared for the iing confrontation. The purple demonic wolf charged forward, its massive form moving with a surprising swiftness. Bolts of purple lightning crackled around it, creating an electrifying shield.


    Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Elralya, Ceeth, Quantum, Shuzib, Vortimer, and Zarael positioned themselves, ready to face this powerful adversary.


    Aldred attacked first, swinging his de.


    The demonic wolf lunged with incredible speed, dodging attacks and reappearing unpredictably.


    Smander unleashed torrents of fire, aiming to trap the wolf in a ze, but the creature''s lightning ability allowed it to evade the mes effortlessly. Cleome''s precision shots were deflected by the unpredictable movements of the demonic wolf. Shinari''s agile maneuvers allowed her to dodge the wolf''s attacks, butnding a blow proved challenging.


    Shinari clicked her tongue in annoyance as she entered the shadow and appeared next to the purple wolf before the wolf seemingly vanished, consumed by lightning.


    The crew quickly realized that traditional strategies wouldn''t be enough against this formidable foe.


    Aldred, assessing the situation, signaled for a change in tactics. "Coordinate your attacks and watch its movements! We need to predict its next move and strike strategically," he shouted over the chaos.


    Vortimer, using his psychic powers, attempted to predict the wolf''s movements. Zarael manipted gravity to disrupt its bnce, and Quantum positioned himself strategically to intercept its teleportation.


    The battle unfolded as a dance of strategy and agility.


    The crew, adapting to the unique abilities of the purple demonic wolf, slowly gained ground. However, the adversary proved resilient, retaliating with swift lightning strikes and evasive maneuvers.


    The purple demonic wolf howled and charged at them, disappearing and re-appearing in and out of reality.


    It chomped on Quantum''s shoulder, taking a huge chunk of it. But Quantum reacted quickly, stabbing his spear right through the wolf''s belly.


    "This is our chance!" Aldred immediately appeared above the wolf along with Shinari and stabbed its neck.


    Cleome and Smander attacked, but the wolf vanished and appeared a distance away.


    Huge amount of blood spilled out of the wolf''s mouth.


    "It''s weakened," Aldredmented.


    Quantum stepped forward, therge wound on its shoulder quickly repaired itself.


    After a short break, they began fighting once again.


    As the confrontation reached its peak, Aldred saw an opening.


    With a burst of magical energy, he swung the Phantom Doomde, creating a powerful shockwave that temporarily disrupted the wolf''s teleportation ability.


    Seizing this opportunity, the crew unleashed a synchronized assault. Smander''s fire, Cleome''s lightning, Shinari''s des, Elralya''s arcane spells, Ceeth''s precise strikes, Quantum''s calcted disruptions, Vortimer''s psychic onught, and Zarael''s gravity maniption converged in a coordinated attack.


    The wolf was enraged. Its eyes bloodshot.


    The demonic purple wolf, its fur now crackling with an intensified magical energy, charged up with an otherworldly aura. Bolts of purple lightning surged around its massive form, distorting reality itself. The air hummed with arcane power as the wolf prepared for a final, devastating attack.


    As the crew observed, a palpable tension filled the corridor. The purple wolf''s eyes glowed even brighter, and the very fabric of the demonic Battlecruiser seemed to warp and twist under the influence of its overwhelming magical energy. Reality itself appeared to shudder as the wolf harnessed the darkest depths of its power.


    Aldred, Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Elralya, Ceeth, Quantum, Shuzib, Vortimer, and Zarael recognized the imminent danger.


    The crew braced themselves, ready for the impending onught. The purple wolf''s final attack was a convergence of magical might that could reshape the very reality they stood in.


    However, suddenly, two figures covered in shadows appeared next to the wolf.


    It was Aldred and his clone. The both of them thrust their Phantom Doomde into the wolf''s skull and chest respectively.


    The charged energy slowly dissipate.


    The corridor, once pulsating with magical tension, returned to an eerie calm. The purple wolf, its massive form now pierced by the simultaneous strikes of Aldred and his clone, stood frozen for a moment.


    The crew, still on guard, watched as the vibrant glow in the wolf''s eyes began to flicker. The crackling magic that enveloped its fur subsided, and the electrifying shield surrounding it faded away. The demonic wolf''s once fearsome presence started to diminish, and an air of vulnerability reced its prior dominance.


    The soul and vitality seemed to be draining from the flickering eyes of the purple demonic wolf. The once ferocious creature now stood weakened and exposed, its bloodshot gaze dulling with the loss of its formidable magical prowess. The corridor echoed with an eerie silence as the crew cautiously observed the diminishing essence of their powerful adversary.


    Aldred and his clone, still poised with their Phantom Doomdes embedded in the wolf''s skull and chest, maintained a vignt stance.


    That was when the both of them moved.


    They shed the wolf, decapitating it at first before his clone sliced the wolf from the chest.


    The wolf fell to the floor. Its eyes looking at Aldred in regret.


    he crew, realizing the turning point in the battle, cautiously approached the now weakened creature. The rhythmic pulse of the demonic Battlecruiser seemed to synchronize with the fading vitality of the purple wolf.


    Shuzib, ever the cautious one, spoke up, "Is it over? Can we truly defeat a demon''sst resort so easily?"


    Aldred, his eyes fixed on the dying creature, responded, "Demons are resilient, but they are not invincible. We''ve dealt a significant blow. Let''s finish this."


    As Aldred was about to lead the team further, a notification popped up.


    [You have leveled up]


    [Level 179 - Level 180]


    [Congrattions! You have be eligible for an evolution]


    [Your rank. Diamond Rank -> Adamantite Rank]


    [This evolution quadruple your current stats]


    Aldred''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 677 Chapte 677 Adamantite Power

    <h4>Chapter 677 Chapte 677 Adamantite Power</h4>


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Aldred]


    Level: 180 (Adamantite Rank)


    Health Points: 540,272 /540,272


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior, Ork Killer, Demon yer, Bug Exterminator, Brave Explorer, One Man Army, One Against Billions, Savior, Pyro Master.


    Power:


    -Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    -Air Maniption


    -Earth Maniption


    -Mana Maniption


    -Non-Elemental


    -Shape Shift Lv. 4 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    -Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    -Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    Strength: 36,060


    Vitality: 35,544


    Intelligence: 48,148


    Dexterity: 41,752


    Stat Points: 710


    Skill Points: 710


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Right after seeing his stats. Aldred''s body went into a massive transformation.


    As Aldred''s eyes widened in response to the unexpected notification of his level-up and evolution, a surge of magical energy enveloped his entire being.


    The corridor within the demonic Battlecruiser vibrated with an otherworldly resonance as Aldred underwent a profound transformation.


    Starting from his fingertips, trails of shimmering golden light radiated across his body.


    The energy flowed through his veins like molten fire, coursing through every fiber of his being. The air around him crackled with anticipation, reacting to the intense magical metamorphosis.


    Aldred''s once-familiar form began to change. His silhouette, outlined by the ethereal glow, grew more imposing, as if he were absorbing the very essence of the magic that surrounded him. The Phantom Doomde in his hand shimmered with newfound brilliance, resonating with the elevated power coursing through Aldred''s veins.


    His eyes, once a fiery determination, now emanated a transcendent aura. The titles that adorned him¡ªTreasure Boy, Giant Killer, Demon yer, and others¡ªseemed to manifest as ethereal sigils, momentarily visible around his form before dissipating into the magical energy.


    "What is happening to him?" Smander asked in shock.


    Vortimer could not believe his eyes either. Aldred had far transcend beyond what a normal human thought was possible.


    Aldred now entered into the state of a demi-god. No. He might already entered the realm of god itself now.


    ''But how is this possible? Just earlier he was within the mortal realm.''


    The elemental powers he possessed¡ªFire, Water, Air, Earth, Mana, and Non-Elemental¡ªeach manifested as swirling patterns of their respective elements, creating a kaleidoscope of magical hues around Aldred. The very reality itself seemed to respond to his mastery, bending to his will.


    The Shape Shift ability, marked at Level 4, took on a whole new dimension.


    As the magical transformation continued, Aldred''s figure blurred and shifted, briefly assuming the forms of various creatures he had encountered in his journey.


    The corridor echoed with the phantom sounds of roars, howls, and whispers as he tapped into the depths of his Shape Shift mastery.


    The racial abilities, a hidden strength within him, manifested as an intricate web of glowing symbols, signifying the ancient powers coursing through his bloodline. Aldred, now more attuned to his heritage, felt a connection to his ancestry strengthening with each passing moment.


    The Sword Art skills, previously honed through countless battles, now transcended their former limits.


    Each stroke of the Phantom Doomde left behind traces of ethereal fire, water, and lightning, showcasing the fusion of his elemental mastery with his swordsmanship.


    Attributes surged to unprecedented heights¡ªStrength, Vitality, Intelligence, and Dexterity, all eclipsed their former peaks. Aldred''s physical and magical prowess became an embodiment of his evolution, a testament to the trials he had faced and the victories he had achieved.


    Amidst this magical crescendo, the stat points and skill points pulsated like heartbeats, waiting to be allocated and mastered.


    Aldred, now standing at the gate of the Adamantite Rank, felt the weight of responsibility that came with his newfound power.


    As the magical transformation reached its zenith, the radiant aura around Aldred slowly subsided.


    The corridor, once filled with the echoes of magical energy, returned to an eerie calm. Aldred, his features now a fusion of his original self and the empowered being he had be.


    The crew, witnessing this magical evolution, exchanged nces, acknowledging the extraordinary power that Aldred now wielded.


    Shinari looked at him with bated breath. Her lips were trembling as she spoke: "Are you really Aldred?"


    Aldred smiled at her. "Power can change anyone. But either change is for the better or for the worse."


    He turned around. "That''s us to decide."


    Aldred, now transformed into a being of immense power, summoned the Phantom Doomde with a swift and fluid motion.


    The de, once an extension of his will, now pulsed with an ethereal radiance that matched the intensity of his magical aura. As he raised the sword, the crew watched in awe, their expressions a mix of reverence and trepidation.


    Shinari''s eyes shone with disbelief of Aldred''s powerful might.


    With a single, decisive strike, Aldred thrust the Phantom Doomde upward. The de, now infused with his elemental powers and the sheer force of his newfound strength, cleaved through the air with unparalleled speed.


    The crew, their senses heightened by the magical spectacle, could feel the very fabric of reality shudder as the de cut through space itself.


    The Battlecruiser, a colossal vessel of demonic design, stood before Aldred as a symbol of malevolence and power. The de, an extension of Aldred''s will, shimmered with thebined energies of fire, water, air, earth, and mana. The crew shielded their eyes from the blinding radiance as the sword''s aura intensified.


    As the Phantom Doomde reached its zenith, Aldred''s power surged through the de in a crescendo of magical might. The corridor, now a stage for this arcane disy, resonated with the sh of supernatural forces. The crew, caught in the wake of Aldred''s power, felt the air pulsate with raw, unbridled energy.


    Aldred''s eyes, aze, locked onto the Battlecruiser.


    The crew, even in their empowered state, could not help but feel a moment of vulnerability before the impending cataclysm.


    The de descended like a celestial force, and in that singr moment, reality itself seemed to bow before Aldred''s might.

 Chapter 678 678 Offers

    Chapter 678 678 Offers


    As Aldred''s de descended with the force of a celestial storm, the demonic Battlecruiser quivered under the impending cataclysm. Malrak, the Corruptor, the demonicmander of the vessel, felt the seismic tremors of Aldred''s overwhelming power. The ethereal energies released by the Phantom Doomde reverberated through the very core of the corrupted ship. Malrak, stationed in the heart of the Battlecruiser, sensed the disturbance in the magical currents. His bloodshot eyes widened as he perceived the extraordinary force hurtling toward him. A guttural growl emanated from the depths of his demonic form as he recognized the threat that Aldred had be. "This... this is impossible!" Malrak roared, his voice echoing through the demonic corridors. The demonic essence that fueled the Battlecruiser pulsed erratically, as if protesting against the intrusion of such immense power. The crew, having witnessed Aldred''s transformation, could feel the Battlecruiser itself resisting his presence. The dark enchantments that bound the vessel together strained against the might of Aldred''s strike. The Doomde''s power collided with the corrupted heart of the Battlecruiser, and a shockwave rippled through the demonic structure. After what seemed to be forever, the de''s power burst through the other side, creating a cacophony of explosions. Malrak, caught in the epicenter of the magical sh, struggled against the overwhelming force. His demonic form contorted with rage and desperation as he realized that the bnce of power had shifted. "What is this power? How could someone be this strong? It''s almost¡­ as powerful as Lord Malgorth himself."


    Meanwhile, Aldred was about to swing his de once more until Vortimer stopped him.


    "Can you stop attacking? I am nning to use the materials of this ship to be my own."


    Zarael stepped forward. "I want my share too. Ie here personally to help, so I should get at least a percentage."


    Aldred smiled. "I destroyed this thing on my own. What is the benefit for me?"


    The both of them shut up immediately. Both of them could not refute, but without Aldred, they wouldn''t be able to destroy the Battlecruiser so easily. Vortimer''s eyes shed. Aldred''s current power almost matched his own. In the current situation, Aldred held the most authority because of his incredible might.


    "I will offer you my assistance," Vortimer said. "With my army and ships, I can scour the Veil much more efficiently rather than you exploring its endless realms by yourself."


    Aldred nced at Zarael. "And what can you offer me?"


    Zarael did not want to lose out on this opportunity. "The Nexus Rings is as powerful as the Celestial Schemata. In fact, since our main ship is asrge as a, there are an entire ecosystem for processing materials, gathering information, making connections, and even making checkpoints all over the Veils."


    Vortimer waved his hand. Green light projected a screen, revealing thousands of ships scouring over the Veil.


    "My Celestial Schemata can do beyond that. With my endless and inexhaustible army, they will do what Imand with precision for they have no fear, no doubts, no dreams, and no ambition of their own."


    Vortimer continued. "They are my puppet to control. Anything I ask. They give."


    Zarael gritted his teeth. What Vortimer said was true. She could not bet the Celestial Schemata''s undying loyalty to Vortimer.


    With a sigh, she was mentally prepared to lose this deal.


    "I like both deal," Aldred said.


    Zarael was surprised with that answer.


    "I will give each of you half of the materials of the Battlecruisers. In return, I want full ess to information and technology you have."


    Vortimer and Zarael, though initially reluctant, found the terms agreeable. The promise of resources from the dismantled Battlecruiser was too tempting for them to pass up, and Aldred''s conditions provided a fair distribution of spoils. Having settled the terms with Vortimer and Zarael, Aldred swiftly made his way to themand center of the Battlecruiser, where the remnants of the demonic essence still lingered. As he approached, he could sense Malrak, the Corruptor, waiting in the shadows, his demonic fury building. Malrak, though weakened and disoriented, still harbored a formidable resentment towards Aldred. The air crackled with tension as the two beings of immense power faced each other.


    "You think you can destroy the vessel and walk away unscathed?" Malrak''s voice resonated with malevolence. "You are a mere mortal! No amount of power can protect you from the wrath of Lord Malgorth." Aldred, undeterred, raised the Phantom Doomde. The de shimmered with the residual energies of the Battlecruiser''s destruction, ready to face the enraged Corruptor.


    Malrak, with a primal roar, lunged at Aldred, ws extended. However, in his weakened state, the once fearsome strikes now seemed feeble and slow. Aldred effortlessly dodged the attacks, his movements guided by the newfound agility granted by his recent evolution.


    Aldred''s godly eyes activated. To his surprise, he could now see all the information about the demon. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Name: Malrak, the Corruptor


    Level: 175 (Diamond Rank)


    Health Points: 180,000 / 450,000


    Abilities: 1. Demonic ws: Malrak possesses razor-sharp ws infused with demonic energy, capable of shing through magical barriers and armored defenses.


    2. Corrupting Aura: Malrak can emit an aura that corrupts and weakens the magical and physical defenses of his adversaries, making them more susceptible to his attacks.


    3. Shadow Step: Malrak can teleport between shadows, allowing him to reposition swiftly in battle.


    4. Hellfire Breath: Malrak can exhale a torrent of hellfire, scorching anything in its path and leaving lingering burns.


    5. Dark Resilience: Malrak has a natural resistance to magical attacks and can quickly regenerate from wounds inflicted upon him.


    Background:


    Malrak, the Corruptor, once served as a high-rankingmander in the demonic forces under Lord Malgorth. His insatiable thirst for power and conquest led him to be a formidable adversary, earning him the title of Diamond Rank. Over the centuries, he mastered the dark arts and became a symbol of demonic authority.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    His godly eyes now could even see the weakness points of the demon and the type of elements or attacks that would deal the most damage to it. Because of that, Aldred became extremely happy. Whileughing manically, he dodged all the attacks from Malrak with absolute ease.


    He could see every movement before Malrak could even execute them.


    "This is such a great day."

 Chapter 679 679 Defeating Malrak

    Chapter679 679 Defeating Malrak


    In the heart of the demonic Battlecruiser''smand center, Aldred faced Malrak, the Corruptor, with a newfound confidence fueled by his godly eyes. As the demonic ws of Malrak shed through the air, Aldred effortlessly dodged each strike with a grace that seemed almost supernatural. Aldred''sughter echoed through the corrupted corridors, a stark contrast to the primal roars of Malrak. His godly eyes dissected every nuance of the demon''s movements, allowing him to predict and evade attacks with an uncanny precision. The mass, velocity, power, and mystical energies of Malrak''s attack was all identified by his godly eyes.


    It was like reading an open book, everything was clear to him.


    Malrak, infuriated by Aldred''s seemingly impossible agility, intensified his assault. The Corruptor''s corrupting aura emanated, attempting to weaken Aldred''s defenses, but the celestial energy that enveloped him repelled the malevolent influence. "This can''t be! How did you obtain that power!?"


    With a swift movement, Aldred countered, striking with the Phantom Doomde. The ethereal de, now infused with the elemental powers Aldred had mastered, cut through the air with unmatched speed. Trails of fire, water, air, earth, and mana followed the de, leaving a celestial afterglow in its wake. The evolution seemingly led all of Aldred''s abilities to condensed into all of his movements and attacks.


    Malrak, despite his demonic resilience, felt the weight of Aldred''s strikes. The once-dominant Diamond Rank demon now found himself outmatched by a being who had transcended mortal limitations. Aldred''sughter continued, filling themand center with an eerie soundtrack to the battle. As Malrak attempted to teleport with shadow step, Aldred anticipated the move and intercepted him mid-transition. The demonic ws found nothing but air as Aldred phased through shadows, reappearing behind Malrak. "Your power is obsolete in the face of godly strength," Aldred dered, his voice resonating with a celestial authority. The battle reached a crescendo as Aldred unleashed a barrage of strikes, each blow leaving behind elemental remnants. The demonic essence of Malrak struggled against the onught, and the corrupted heart of the Battlecruiser pulsed in chaotic resonance. Aldred swung upward.


    Malrak''s eyes widened as his left arm flew in the air, blood spilling out of the wounds.


    When his left arm fell with a thud, Malrak processed the disparity of power.


    He was extremely angered.


    Malrak, now desperate, unleashed his hellfire breath, engulfing the surroundings in searing mes. However, the mes were mere flickers against the celestial radiance that surrounded Aldred. With a wave of his hand, Aldred dispersed the inferno. Malrak was once again shocked. "How!!! How did you dispel my power so easily!?"


    The once-dominant demon staggered, weakened and disoriented. His dark resilience faltered against the unrelenting assault. Aldred, in his godly form, stood as an embodiment of transcendent power. Aldred looked at his own hand. He was proud of himself as he became closer and closer to his dream ¡ªto be as powerful as his parents.


    The crew, witnessing the battle, marveled at Aldred''s transformation. Shinari, her eyes wide with awe, whispered to the others, "He''s be something more than mortal." When Malrak attempted to escape through the shadows with shadow step, Aldred''s anticipation was as swift as his movements.


    The demonic ws found only emptiness as Aldred phased through shadows, reappearing behind Malrak with an ethereal grace that defied the logic of the demonic realm. The crescendo of the battle reached its zenith as Aldred unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes. Each blow left behind remnants of elemental energy, a testament to the celestial mastery that now pulsed through Aldred''s being. "It''s time to end this," Aldred said. As Aldred dered his intent to end the battle, Malrak, weakened and enraged, struggled to regain his footing. With a swift and decisive movement, Aldred lunged forward, the Phantom Doomde cutting through the space between them. The elemental remnants of fire, water, air, earth, and mana followed the de like a celestialet, leaving a trail of cosmic energy in its wake. Malrak, still reeling from the previous strikes, attempted a feeble defense.


    His remaining arm, infused with demonic energy, shed with the Phantom Doomde. The sh resonated through the demonic corridors, the collision of celestial and demonic forces creating shockwaves that rippled through the corrupted heart of the Battlecruiser. Aldred''s godly eyes glowed brighter as he poured all of his celestial power into the final assault. The elemental energies surged, intertwining with the Phantom Doomde, creating a radiant vortex that engulfed Malrak. In the heart of the vortex, the once-dominant demon roared in defiance, but his resistance was futile against the overwhelming power of Aldred''s celestial evolution.


    The elemental energies seeped into every pore of Malrak''s demonic form, unraveling the very essence that sustained him. "Aldred made it look easy," Zarael said. "That demon is much more powerful than he look. Even if me and Vortimer fight against him, it will take us a while to take him down. And, if he decide to escape like earlier, we might not able to stop him."


    "Aldred''s strength has gone beyond my calction. It is far too fast for him to evolve this far in such a short amount of time. The possibilities of such events was extremely close to zero. Only the gods and heroes of ancient times could experience something like this. Something the like of the Emperor''s holy sons."


    Zarael nodded. "The Emperor''s holy sons were indeed extremely powerful with god-like power."


    As the radiant vortex dissipated, the demonic Battlecruiser''smand center fell into an eerie silence. The crew, witnesses to the celestial spectacle, looked on with a mix of awe and trepidation. Aldred, his godly form still illuminated with residual celestial energy, stood over the defeated Corruptor. Malrak, now reduced to a weakened and smoldering entity, gazed up at Aldred with a mix of hatred and disbelief. The once-mighty demon had been brought to his knees.


    "It seems your power wasn''t enough to protect you, Malrak," Aldred spoke with a calm authority, his godly eyes piercing through the remaining shreds of the Corruptor''s resilience. "You know my name?"


    "I know everything about you."


    Aldred stabbed the demon''s neck and it died. "Let''s try something." Aldred smiled. "Arise."

 Chapter 680 680 The Next Step

    <h4>Chapter 680 Chapter 680 The Next Step</h4>


    Aldred, standing over the defeated Malrak, decided to test the limits of his newfound abilities. His godly eyes glowed with an ethereal intensity as he attempted to tap into the essence of the Corruptor''s being. With a singlemand, Aldred willed Malrak to arise.


    "Arise," he spoke with amanding tone, channeling the celestial energy that coursed through him.


    To his surprise, Malrak''s lifeless form remained motionless. The attempt to turn the demonicmander into an undead ve had failed. It was then that Aldred realized the inherent nature of demons¡ªtheycked the souls that living creatures possessed.


    "Too bad."


    Malrak''s formy before him, still and lifeless, immune to Aldred''s newfound ability.


    Aldred frowned, pondering the implications of this revtion. His godly eyes, which had provided him with unparalleled insights into the magical currents and the essence of beings, couldn''t manipte the soulless entities.


    Aldred, undeterred by the setback, turned his attention to the crew and the remnants of the demonic Battlecruiser''smand center.


    "We must gather what resources we can from this vessel," Aldred dered, his mind already strategizing the next steps. "Zarael, Vortimer, we have an alliance, and there''s much to explore in the Veil. Let''s use the materials from this ship wisely."


    As Aldred dered the need to gather resources from the defeated Battlecruiser, Vortimer and Zarael wasted no time in mobilizing their respective forces.


    Vortimer, with the might of his Celestial Schemata''s robot army and fleet of advanced spaceships, orchestrated a synchronized salvage operation.


    The robot soldiers, devoid of fear or hesitation, efficientlybed through the remnants of the demonic fleet.


    Each spaceship and piece of technology salvaged by the Celestial Schemata''s forces was added to Vortimer''s growing arsenal.


    Meanwhile, Zarael, apanied by her Nexus Rings, coordinated a separate salvage effort. Her ships, equipped with advanced technology and interconnected through the Nexus Rings''work, methodically collected demon-spaceships and valuable materials. The Nexus Rings'' ability to create checkpoints and process information at incredible speeds allowed Zarael''s salvage operation to be both swift and precise.


    Aldred, observing the efficiency of their operations, was satisfied with the progress.


    The salvaging continued, with the crew working alongside Vortimer''s and Zarael''s forces to maximize the yield of resources from the demonic Battlecruiser.


    Amidst the salvage efforts, Shinari approached Aldred, her curiosity evident in her eyes. "What are we nning to do with all these resources?" she inquired.


    Aldred, still emanating celestial energy, exined, "We are preparing for what lies ahead in the Veil. There are challenges and adversaries that will require the strength and knowledge we gain from these salvaged materials."


    As the salvage operation progressed, a holographic disy manifested in front of Aldred. It showed the Veil, a vast andplexwork of realms, each with its own mysteries and dangers.


    "We must navigate these realms carefully, exploring the unknown and facing whatever awaits us," Aldred dered, his voice echoing with determination. "The Veil holds secrets that can reshape the destiny of not only our worlds but the entire cosmos."


    "Does your evolution let you know all these things?"


    "It makes me realize how significance the veil is not just to the gxy, but the entire universe."


    Shinari looked at Aldred in awe, wondering what it felt like to be an existence like him.


    It seemed just yesterday that Shinari felt she was catching up to him, but the gap of their strength became apletely different realm once again.


    The alliance forged between Aldred, Vortimer, and Zarael had its foundation in the shared pursuit of power and knowledge. With the salvaged resources, theirbined forces were poised to be a formidable presence in the Veil, ready to confront the challenges thaty ahead.


    As the salvaging efforts continued, Aldred gathered with Zarael and Vortimer to discuss the intricate details of the distribution, usage, research, and development of the salvaged materials.


    The holographic disy of the Veil, still hovering in the center of the room, served as a backdrop to their discussions. Aldred, with his godly eyes still aglow, spoke with an air of authority. "We need a strategic n for utilizing these resources. I don''t want anymore dy."


    "Aldred," Smander called. "Do you think we still need the Chronicles of Ascendria? Your current power now is probably enough to defeat Lord Malgorth?"


    Aldred nced at him. "Defeating Lord Malgorth and obtaining the Space Weaver is simply one of the steps I need to return to my realm. I need something beyond that. My current power let me see things clearly, but the universe is too deep that even gods could not fullyprehend it."


    Vortimer, his Celestial Schemata projecting a holographic interface, nodded in agreement. "I propose that we allocate a portion of the salvaged materials for the enhancement and fortification of our respective fleets. It will strengthen our military presence and ensure we can navigate the Veil safely."


    "I do not think safety is a concern any longer," Shinari said.


    "For us. But our forces are branching out in smaller division. These divisions need their own security personnels as they will face danger during their exploration."


    Zarael, her Nexus Rings glowing with arcane energy, interjected, "I agree with Vortimer. A well-armed and technologically advanced fleet will be crucial in our exploration and encounters within the Veil. However, we should also allocate resources for research and developments that might help us adapt and improvise in the ever-changing nature in the Veil. Nothing ever stay the same in here."


    Aldred considered their suggestions carefully. "Agreed. Strengthening our fleets is a priority, but we should also invest in research endeavors. The Veil is a source of immense power and knowledge, and understanding its intricacies will be key to our sess."


    The trio outlined aprehensive n, dividing the salvaged materials into categories for fleet enhancement, technological research, and developments in magical studies. They also discussed the establishment of coborative research centers within their respective territories, where scientists and researchers could work together to unlock the mysteries of the Veil.


    The crew watched the trio worked.


    Intelligence, power, authority.


    These three figures held the power to move millions and change reality in a grand cosmic scale.


    Smander and the others soon felt like they were out of ce.


    They were foot soldiers at best. Smander, even though he was the captain of the squad, he only led a team of four at best.


    His concern was the survivability of his team andpleting the mission given by the higher ups.


    Aldred, on the other hand, seemed so far high. Not just because of his power, but also his intelligence.


    He came to this gxy less than a year ago, but it seem like he understood more of it than they did.


    Shinari sighed. "Can we ever be something like him in the future?"


    "Don''t let this bring you down. Instead, we should be motivated and work harder in order to reach his level!"


    Meanwhile, Elralya and Ceeth didn''t feel any of this at all. Back in their home country, they were royalties.


    So they did not have any inferiorplex like them.


    With the n outlined, the salvaged materials were systematically divided and transported to their respective factions.


    The machine of war started turning. Logistics, transportation, security, development, information gathering, and?technology were all put into considerations.


    Aldred smiled. He had returned to his game.


    Just likest time, he once again had the authority and power to control his fate.


    In this gxy, he could be said to be one of the big yer.


    No longer was his life decided by a demonic or xenos invasion.


    "My fate is mine to decide."

 Chapter 681 681 Celestial Platoon

    <h4>Chapter 681 Chapter 681 Celestial toon</h4>


    In the heart of the Veil, where the vast expanse of nothingness stretched infinitely, Eclipsea, the Void Whisperer, resided.


    The cosmic silence enveloped its form, and stars flickered within the ever-shifting silhouette that defined Eclipsea''s enigmatic presence. An ethereal murmur, like the distant hum of cosmic winds, resonated within its domain.


    She was a cosmic entity that born from the Veil. As her name suggest, she was the keeper of cosmic mysteries and harbinger of the unknown.


    Many unexinable phenomenon were theorized to happen because of her existence.


    Eclipsea''s form seemed to absorb the surrounding darkness, creating an otherworldly silhouette against the backdrop of the cosmic void. As it drifted gracefully through the emptiness, it whispered secrets to the void, murmuring ancient truths that resonated through the timeless expanse.


    Suddenly, a ripple, subtle yet profound, disturbed the tranquility of Eclipsea''s domain. A wave of mysterious power, like a cosmic current, passed through the infinite nothingness. Eclipsea, the eternal observer, sensed the disturbance with a heightened awareness.


    The stars within its form flickered momentarily, as if acknowledging the arrival of an unexpected force. Eclipsea extended its enigmatic presence, tendrils of darkness reaching out to touch the unseen energies that had disrupted the cosmic equilibrium.


    "Something has born. This is¡­ a demon''s child? No, this demon does note from this ce. It''s a demon far more sinister. The demon that came from hell itself. The Daemon!"


    The whispering voice intensified, resonating with a tone of curiosity. Eclipsea, the keeper of cosmic mysteries, reveled in the unknown. It embraced the wave of mysterious power with an insatiable desire to unravel the secrets it carried.


    "Should I feast?" Eclipsea smacked her lips made of stars. Until suddenly, she felt a sharp gaze pointed towards her.


    Her ethereal body trembled as if a cosmic storm exploded within her. "Who are you?"


    "I am the mother, and you shall not disturb my child."


    After that statement, the sharp feeling that stabbed through her very being vanished.


    Eclipsea looked left and right within her domain, trying to catch sight of the entity that could make her feel fear.


    But there was nothing but silence and darkness.


    ¡­


    After Aldred''s evolution, hepletely took control of Vortimer''s Celestial Schemata and Zarael''s Nexus Rings.


    They both willingly worked under Aldred because of his newly-obtained godly power. This was to their benefit as well because now they got a powerful backing.


    With Aldred''s power, there were almost nothing that could stop them.


    Because Aldred was no in full control, he merged Celestial Schemata and Nexus Rings and call them Celestial toon.


    This was in the honor of his very first squad called Pressure toon II where he met Bartrem for the first time.


    "I miss that guy. I wonder how is he doing now?"


    Bartrem was the knight that took care of Aldred when he just became a soldier. It felt like so much time has passed since Aldred saw him.


    Aldred, now inmand of the merged forces known as the Celestial toon, stood at the helm of his new gship, a marvel crafted from thebined technologies of Vortimer''s Celestial Schemata and Zarael''s Nexus Rings. The vessel, a testament to the alliance''s ingenuity, was named the "Ster Seraph," reflecting both its celestial origins and Aldred''s newfound godly status.


    The Ster Seraph emanated a celestial radiance, a beacon of power and unity within the cosmic expanse of the Veil. Its sleek design, adorned with celestial insignias, showcased the fusion of advanced technology and mystical prowess.


    Its fuel relied on Aldred''s crystals. With Aldred''s unlimited mana, he was able to manipte his mana in such a way that he could crystallize them and used them like a battery.


    He had done this before with his golem army.


    That made him wonder. Could he summon his golem army?


    Aldred willed for his divine dimension to open. At first, there was a small rip in space. He was given hope.


    But a fraction of a secondter, the rip closed once again.


    "Even after reaching Adamantite Rank, I still cannot have full ess to my abilities. What is the meaning of this?"


    Aldred put his focus elsewhere. If he could not summon his golem, could he summon his undead?


    He put that question to the test in order to find the answer.


    "Come forth, my undying servants!"


    Suddenly, hundreds of undead appeared within the hall of the ship.


    The snow wolves, the snow apes, the ever fearsome Bajaragon, and the deadly Phantom ws were all here.


    Some familiar faces were here as well. Milet, his first ever Gold Rank warrior that he killed, Nicky, the giant Velobra that he killed when it tried to attack him and his wives when they were still Gold Rank. Be, the ice magician, Will, Teethless, Juragan, Bruce, Brath, Breth, Broth.


    Jereim the alchemist that was extremely good at running away.


    And Xer Xai.


    The massive creature known as Earth Burrower. She was one of Aldred''s favorite pet and had helped him fight countless battle.


    His enemies would always be shocked and trembled in fear whenever she dug out of the ground and revealed her majestic scales and size.


    Aldred was d that the Ster Seraph was big enough to fit all of them here.


    There were others too. The 10 Diamond Ranks that Aldred killed: Zunescin, Zehmud, heled, Zastor, Jazad, Bhazud, and the six magicians.


    After analyzing them however, he found out that all of them had actually evolved to low-level Diamond Rank.


    His undead had always been able to grow stronger every time he leveled up.


    Raff stepped forward. "Long time no see, Aldred."


    Aldred hugged him. "It''s nice to meet you too."


    Raff was Ivette''s brother. Ivette was one of Aldred''s wives.


    Aldred never forgot about her. Ivette was a beautiful woman with fair bright skin, and hair as white and soft as snow.


    He had took care of her during their climb to the peak of Mount Fargon when a group of bandits attacked the siblings.


    Raff actually died that moment, but Aldred turned him into an undead, and Ivette thought her brother was still alive.


    "You should have told her when you get the chance," Raff said. "One lie will lead to another. And the longer you keep it, the more painful it will be. Not just for you, but for her as well."


    "I am sure you already know my current situation," Aldred said, since his undead could ess his memory and emotions.


    "I know," Raff said.

 Chapter 682 682 Familiar Name

    <h4>Chapter 682 Chapter 682 Familiar Name</h4>


    "You will find a way to return to her," Raff said. "You always find your way to get what you want."


    Aldred smiled. "Indeed, I do. The undead army will be a significant help during my journey. And I will start with raising my golem army too."


    "Wealth, authority, and power."


    "Exactly," Aldred replied. "Raff, you have been apanying me for a long time. I know your capabilities. Are you willing to help me in this adventure?"


    Raff nced at him with a smile. "Ivette is so lucky to have you as her man. Sometimes I think she is not enough for you. Haha! I will help you either I want it or not. I am yours tomand."


    Aldred nodded at him with a smile.


    Suddenly, Smander entered the hall. "Aldre¡ª wh¡ªwhat are these things?"


    "They are my undead," Aldred said. "They have apanied me through countless battles. You can say that they are my fellow warriors."


    Smander was shocked by the sight of hundreds of undead in various sizes.


    Especially Xer Xai. She was so massive.


    Actually, Xer Xai''s true size was as huge as a mountain, but she was able to change her size to fit inside the ship.


    If Smander knew about that, his eyes would widen until they popped out of their socket.


    "Anyway," Smander continued. "We have detected a sign of the soul stone. But there is a problem."


    "What is the problem?"


    Smander hesitated before responding, his eyes still fixed on the array of undead creatures before him. "The problem is that the soul stone''s signal is emanating from a highly secure and heavily guarded location. Apparently, a military regiment under a noble of the Imperium has set up a presence in the region."


    Aldred''s eyes narrowed as he absorbed the information. The presence of a powerful noble and a formidable military force would undoubtedlyplicate his quest to retrieve the soul stone. However, his newly acquired Celestial toon, alongside his undead army and the merged technologies of Vortimer''s Celestial Schemata and Zarael''s Nexus Rings, gave him a significant advantage.


    "Do you know the name of the noble?" Aldred asked.


    Smander nodded. "We are actually familiar with this man. His name is Lord Octavius Drakon."


    "Ah, that person." Aldred smiled. "This is the perfect time. I got to test my new army and also kick that guy''s ass."


    "Dy no further. The Ster Seraph will make a visit to Lord Drakon immediately."


    "I will tell everyone about this," Smander said.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in an unnamed region within The Veil of Shadows, Lord Drakon was having a feast within his castle located on an unnamed that he conquered with his army.


    Like the usual, pleasure women were all over him, feeding him with their soft, fair hands.


    A woman drank the fine wine from the cup, before then she kissed the lord, feeding him the wine through her mouth.


    He reveled in the extravagant indulgences that his immense wealth afforded him, and the echoes ofughter and merriment reverberated through the halls of his fortress.


    As the feast reached its crescendo, Lord Drakon reclined on his ornate throne, his sharp features entuated by a self-satisfied smirk. His calcting gaze swept across the room, absorbing the sights of hedonistic revelry. The lord''s attire, adorned with jewels and opulent fabrics, reflected his desire to showcase his wealth and power.


    His generals were all cheers andughter as they enjoyed the scene.


    Pleasure women draped in silks attended to every need, feeding them with indulgent delights and contributing to the symphony of excess that echoed through the halls.


    They should or they would be executed for the lord would not ept those who reject pleasure.


    The echoes ofughter, the clinking of goblets, and the sensual murmurs of pleasure women surrounded him as he reclined on his ornate throne.


    Amidst the festivities, Lord Drakon''s dark eyes gleamed with a ruthless ambition that matched the vastness of the cosmos beyond. He saw his conquests not just in terms ofs and territories but also in the pursuit of pleasure and excess. The noble''s reputation as a man devoid of empathy and consumed by insatiable greed found its embodiment in the decadence that surrounded him.


    The wind strangely blew his hair despite being inside a heavily-fortified castle.


    Drakon''s dark eyes gleamed with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. He dismissed the peculiar sensation as a mere whim of the cosmic winds, attributing it to the mystical nature of the Veil.


    "Everything in this ce is strange and unpredictable," he said with a scoff. "Everyone! Bring out more wine!"


    "More wine for the Lord!" his generalsmanded.


    The pleasure women, ever obedient, approached with pitchers of the finest wine, the liquid gold flowing freely into his goblet.


    Amidst the debauchery, as the echoes ofughter reached a fevered pitch, Lord Octavius Drakon couldn''t help but wonder if the cosmic forces beyond the Veil of Shadows held secrets that even his vast conquests and pleasures couldn''t fathom.


    The feast continued, the lord reveling in the excesses of power and luxury that his conquests had granted him.


    His generals, loyal to the core, mirrored his every expression, their loyalty cemented not only by fear but also by the allure of the decadent lifestyle Drakon provided.


    "This is the life," Drakon proimed, his voice cutting through the symphony of revelry. "To power, conquest, and the pleasures they bring!"


    His generals raised their goblets in unison, echoing the sentiment with cheers. The pleasure women continued their graceful dance, weaving through the crowd to attend to every desire of the nobles and generals present.


    As the lord enjoyed thepany of the pleasure women, the distant hum of cosmic winds seemed drowned out by the symphony of his debauchery. Little did he know that within the cosmic expanse, Aldred''s Ster Seraph, with its Celestial toon and formidable undead army, was hurtling toward his domain, poised to challenge the excessive reign of Lord Octavius Drakon.


    Strange wind blew.

 Chapter 683 683 Invading Lord Drakon (part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 683 Chapter 683 Invading Lord Drakon (part 1)</h4>


    As the echoes ofughter and merriment continued to fill the halls of Lord Drakon''s fortress, the atmosphere shifted abruptly. A sudden hush fell over the opulent surroundings, and a ripple of unease spread among the revelers as the cosmic winds seemed to carry an unusual energy.


    Aldred''s Ster Seraph cut through the cosmic void, a celestial marvel navigating the vastness of space with graceful determination. The ship''s sleek design, adorned with celestial insignias, emitted a radiant glow, symbolizing the fusion of advanced technology and mystic prowess. It served as a beacon of power and unity within the Veil, announcing the arrival of Aldred''s formidable forces.


    As the Ster Seraph approached Lord Drakon''s conquered, its presence disrupted the cosmic winds, leaving a shimmering trail of celestial energy in its wake. The merged technologies of Vortimer''s Celestial Schemata and Zarael''s Nexus Rings propelled the ship forward, apanied by the cosmic hum resonating through the Veil.


    Within the ship''smand center, Aldred stood at the helm, overseeing the approaching celestial body. The Celestial toon, a formidable amalgamation of Vortimer''s and Zarael''s powers, stood ready for the impending confrontation. Their allegiance to Aldred, now a godly figure, strengthened their resolve.


    "So this is the star system that is under Lord Drakon? It''s impressive that he can conquer this ce."


    Vortimer and Zarael were standing beside him.


    "Based on the information we received," Zaral started. "Lord Drakon conquered this region a month ago and used as their base of operations to expand their territory."


    "And what is he doing right now?"


    Vortimer waved his hand and a screen projector showed the inside of Lord Drakon''s castle.


    Aldred smirked. "I am not surprised."


    "Why would a man like hime to this kind of ce," Shinari said.


    "What else would he want? Of course he want power and wealth. But this time, he looks in the wrong ce. Does he even know that the hold a soul stone within it?"


    Vortimer replied: "From the data we received, he seems to have no idea at all."


    "What fools!" Aldredughed. "Prepare for entry," Aldredmanded as the Ster Seraph descended through the cosmic atmosphere, leaving ripples in the fabric of the Veil. The ship''s celestial radiance intensified, reflecting Aldred''s newfound divinity.


    Meanwhile, in Lord Drakon''s fortress, the echoes of revelry continued to resound through the grand halls. The lord, lost in the indulgences of his conquests, remained reclined on his ornate throne, surrounded by generals and pleasure women.


    As Aldred''s Ster Seraph breached the''s atmosphere, a cosmic spectacle unfolded. The ship''s celestial glow illuminated the dark sky, casting an ethereal light over Lord Drakon''s fortress. The wind, strange and unpredictable, stirred once more, causing a momentary pause in the decadent festivities.


    "What is this intrusion?" Lord Drakon demanded, rising from his throne with a look of disdain. His generals, momentarily distracted from their revelry, followed their lord''s gaze toward the cosmic intruder.


    From Lord Drakon''s point of view, the intruders seemingly came out of nowhere. There was no warning or any signs at all from their advanced radar.


    The Celestial toon were covered with Celestial Schemata''s stealth technology. Vortimer was genius at engineering and one of the reason why his army was so deadly was because no one expected them to arrive.


    Aldred, with a steely gaze, addressed his crew. "Prepare forary descent. We confront Lord Drakon and retrieve the soul stone."


    The Ster Seraph descended with controlled precision,nding in a grand disy of celestial power. Aldred, surrounded by his Celestial toon and undead army, disembarked from the ship, ready to face the lord.


    Lord Drakon, now standing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, sneered at the audacity of the approaching force. "Fools! Intruders dare challenge the might of Lord Octavius Drakon? Let them witness the consequences of such impudence!"


    As Aldred''s forces descended upon the, the once-opulent courtyard of Lord Drakon''s fortress transformed into a battlefield. Lord Drakon, reacting swiftly, barked orders to his generals, who in turn ryedmands to their forces. The once-ebullient atmosphere now crackled with tension and the anticipation of conflict.


    Military turrets emerged from hidden alcoves, deploying from concealed positions to form a defensive perimeter around the fortress. Vehicles roared to life, their engines echoing through the courtyard as they moved into strategic positions. Cannons, sleek and deadly, swiveled toward the descending Ster Seraph, ready to unleash destructive power.


    Aldred and his Celestial toon could level the entire at once, but Vortimer told him that the Soul Stone was fragile and must be treated with care.


    Soldiers equipped with jetpacks soared into the darkened sky, forming a formidable aerial force.


    Meanwhile, Aldred''s forces prepared for the sh. Undead warriors, led by the massive Xer Xai, surged forward with relentless determination. Vortimer''s non-sentient robots, armed with advanced weaponry, marched in unison, their metallic bodies reflecting the glow of Aldred''s celestial radiance.


    Zarael''s diverse mercenaries, a motley crew of different races and beings, formed a united front. Humans, orcs, dwarves, midgets, and other fantastical creatures readied themselves for the impending battle.


    As Aldred stepped forward, his eyes aze with divine determination, he raised his hand, signaling themencement of the battle. A wave of dark energy emanated from him, empowering his undead and allies with enhanced strength and resilience.


    Their power increased by manifold in an instant!


    The two forces collided with explosive force. Thendscape became a chaotic symphony of shing metal, arcane sts, and the roars of mythical creatures.


    Xer Xai, in her colossal form, shed with Drakon''s mechanized mechas, each step shaking the ground beneath them. Vortimer''s robots engaged in precision strikes, dismantling enemy defenses with calcted efficiency.


    Zarael''s mercenaries fought with unmatched skill, their varied abilities creating an unpredictable battlefield. Magic, technology, and raw physical strength intermingled, creating a spectacle that resonated with the cosmic winds.


    There were even creatures called nagas among them, a creature resembling giant snake with extremely hard scales.


    Aldred wondered how those creatures were intelligent enough to be mercenaries.


    He asked Zarael this.


    "They are a sentient race," she replied. "The nagas are quite formidable race in the gxy, although their presence are not really felt because they are terrible in advancing their technology. But they domunicate and do trade with other races."


    "That''s¡­ interesting."

 Chapter 684 684 Invading Lord Drakon (part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 684 Chapter 684 Invading Lord Drakon (part 2)</h4>


    As the battlefield raged on, Aldred''s forces demonstrated a seamless integration of magic, technology, and undead might.


    The celestial radiance of Aldred''s presence shed with the dark ambitions of Lord Drakon, creating a battleground where cosmic energies mingled with the desperation for power and control.


    Xer Xai, in her colossal form, became the focal point of the battle. Her scales, as hard as the toughest cosmic alloy, withstood the onught of Drakon''s mechanized mechas. Each sweep of her massive tail sent enemy forces flying, creating a zone of chaos within the battlefield.


    She let out a fearsome roar, so loud that many of the enemies'' ears bled and some fell unconscious from the noise alone.


    "Where did you find that thing?" Shinari asked.


    "She''s one of the native species in my world."


    Shinari blinked a bunch of times. "A creature like that lives in your? No wonder you be so strong. You have to adapt to survive in that kind of environment."


    Vortimer''s robots moved with precision, their metallic bodies expertly navigating the terrain. With each calcted strike, they dismantled the military turrets and vehicles that formed Lord Drakon''s defensive line. The Celestial Schemata''s stealth technology gave them a decisive advantage, allowing them to disrupt enemy formations with unexpected strikes.


    The robots were flickering in and out of reality. Anytime the enemies tried to attack, the robots would phase out and appeared either behind them or at unexpected ces.


    Zarael''s diverse mercenaries, including the enigmatic nagas, showcased their unique abilities. The nagas, with their serpentine grace, maneuvered through the chaos, striking with precision and using their formidable scales to deflect attacks.


    The other mercenaries, whether human, orc, dwarf, or from other races, contributed to the melee with a mix of advanced weaponry, magical spells, and sheer brute strength.


    Aldred nodded. He was impressed by what he saw. "Your army is quite impressive Zarael."


    "Thanks. I specifically build them myself."


    "The variety of races in your ranks make your army be unpredictable and hard to counter. And you create a custom-made weapons and tech specifically for each race to support them in battle."


    Zarael smiled that Aldred noticed the details. "I always believed that every race has their own advantage. I figure I can use that."


    "But. Aren''t these races enemies with each other?"


    Zarael chuckled. "In the veil, there are no rules. There aren''t really a kingdom or authority that ruled this ce. Even if there is, they usually don''tst long. Every time a massive empire popped up in this ce, it will be destroyed whole sooner orter. Those that has lived in the Veil long enough realized that there aren''t that different from other races."


    Aldred was intrigued. He actually had a n to stop the hatred between races inn the gxy, but that was mainly a thought in his head. He wasn''t so serious about it.


    On the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Lord Drakon observed the chaos unfolding with a mix of fury and disbelief.


    His generals, initially confident in their defenses, now faced an adversary whose powers transcended the limitations of conventional warfare.


    "We are starting to lose," one of the generals said. "Just who are they? How could they appear so suddenly without warning?"


    "Even the radars failed to detect them until they appear in our atmosphere."


    "Look at their ships! I''ve never seen something like those before."


    "Wait, a minute! I know that one! That''s the Nexus Rings!"


    Lord Drakon frowned. "What is that?"


    "The Nexus Rings is a famous hub for Veil explorer to stay and rest. It was said to be a ce to find peace within the chaos and unpredictable nature of the Veil."


    "Peace? Then why the fuck is it attacking me?"


    One of the general took a closer look towards the robots with his spectacles. "Those robots. They are not made by humans or the elven races. In fact, those robots are not made, but actually a race on their own. They are called the Automatron!"


    "The Automatron! How could they be here? Aren''t they sleeping in their tombs?"


    "I heard some news that some of them have awakened and desired to take over the gxy once again. I didn''t believe it at first."


    As Lord Drakon absorbed this revtion, his fury intensified. He clutched the ornate hilt of a sword at his side, a weapon forged with the darkest of metals and enchanted with the essence of conquered worlds.


    "To arms!" he roared, rallying his remaining forces. "We face a challenge that surpasses any we''ve encountered before. If these interlopers seek a battle, then we shall give them a war!"


    The military turrets unleashed devastating energy beams, and the mechanized mechas charged forward with newfound determination. Lord Drakon, his eyes aze with a mix of anger and ambition, descended from his balcony to join the fray.


    "Oh, even Lord Drakon joins the battle? That''s a bit surprising. I expect a man like him only to sit back and watch his subordinates die for nothing." Aldred scoffed.


    Lord Octavius Drakon descended from his opulent balcony into the maelstrom of conflict. His eyes glowed with a sinister blend of anger and ambition, and the dark aura surrounding him heightened as he approached the front lines.


    As Lord Drakon stepped onto the blood-soakedndscape, his generals followed, their armor gleaming with malevolent intent. The pleasure women, who moments ago had adorned him with indulgent delights, scurried away to safety, leaving the lord surrounded only by the harsh realities of the battleground.


    Lord Drakon, wielding his enchanted sword, advanced with calcted steps. The dark energies swirling around him responded to his will.


    With each swing, he sent his enemies flying in the air.


    "Your audacity knows no bounds, interloper!" Lord Drakon''s voice thundered across thendscape. "You dare challenge the might of Lord Octavius Drakon, conqueror of worlds? Prepare to witness the true extent of my power!"


    With a sweeping motion, Lord Drakon unleashed a dark wave of energy from his sword. The energy surged forward, cutting through the air with malevolent intent.


    Many people roared and screamed in pain as they were killed by his attacks.


    Aldred''s eyes locked onto Lord Drakon. "Conqueror of worlds, you say? You think too highly of yourself!"

 Chapter 685 685 Invading Lord Drakon (part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 685 Chapter 685 Invading Lord Drakon (part 3)</h4>


    "You!" Lord Drakon recognized who he was. "It was you! How dare you attacked me! I offered you a great deal! And not only you rejected it, now youe to attack me?!"


    As Aldred looked down at Lord Drakon, who was shouting in a mix of anger and frustration, he felt a surge of power within him. With a determined gaze, he leaped high into the sky, his form engulfed in a brilliant light that momentarily blinded everyone beneath the cosmic canopy.


    The celestial radiance expanded, creating a momentary eclipse that shrouded the battlefield. The brilliance resonated with the cosmic winds, carrying a transformative energy that hinted at Aldred''s newfound divinity.


    Everyone tried to look away from the light, using their limbs to block the light but it blinded them nheless.


    As the light began to dissipate, Aldred descended with controlled grace,nding in front of Lord Drakon. The lord, momentarily blinded by the radiant disy, squinted to see the figure that now stood before him.


    "Just what are you?"


    Aldred''s eyes glowed with a divine intensity, reflecting the cosmic power that coursed through him. He raised his hand, and a surge of celestial energy emanated, creating a protective barrier around him and Lord Drakon.


    "You should have stayed in your ce, but you just have toe here."


    Lord Drakon, recovering from the blinding light, regarded Aldred with a mixture of defiance and astonishment. "You think your cosmic tricks will frighten me, interloper? I am Lord Octavius Drakon, and I fear nothing!"


    Aldred''s response was a simple, steely gaze. He then raised his hand, and tendrils of celestial energy extended towards Lord Drakon''s enchanted sword, attempting to disarm him without a physical confrontation.


    Lord Drakon, feeling the force against his weapon, resisted with a surge of his own dark power.


    "I won''t make it quick," Aldred said, suddenly appearing right in Lord Drakon''s face. His fingers reached out onto his face.


    Suddenly, Lord Drakon''s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he screamed in pain.


    His generals outside the barrier screamed and mmed on the barrier numerous times, trying to save their lord.


    "Aldred," Smander''s voice entered from the inte. "You can''t kill him. Even though he is corrupt, he is still a noble of the Imperium. His death will create a massive wave, and it''s most likely for the worse."


    Aldred recalled when Smander exined about the noble family. If the head of the noble family died, the family would fight amongst themselves to obtain the first position, creating a massive civil war that could kill billions.


    Aldred had delved into the murky water of politics before so he understood this very clearly.


    "Too bad," Aldred said, grabbing Lord Drakon''s head and threw him to the ground face first.


    The barrier surrounding them vanished.


    The generals then immediately rushed toward him with their weapons.


    But Aldred simply raised his finger and swiped them away, sending them flying in the sky.


    "Time to end this." Aldred pped twice.


    Phantom Doomde appeared, floating behind him.


    "Summon the undead army."


    As if heeding hismand, the Phantom Doomde trembled with incredible energy before suddenly over 300,000 undead appeared from the shadow and attacked the enemies.


    "Kill only half of them," Aldred ordered.


    If Aldred killed all of Lord Drakon''s army here, the lord might not be able to return to real-space.


    Aldred''s army, a horde of relentless undead warriors, descended upon the remaining forces of Lord Drakon. The battlefield erupted into a chaotic dance of steel and magic as the undead shed with Drakon''s generals and soldiers.


    The Phantom Doomde, hovering ominously behind Aldred, emanated an otherworldly aura that sent shivers down the spines of those who beheld it. The undead, guided by Aldred''smand, moved with calcted efficiency, ying foes without remorse.


    As the battle unfolded, Aldred walked through the chaos, his gaze fixed on Lord Drakon, who was slowly recovering from the effects of Aldred''s earlier assault. The defeated generalsy scattered on the ground, their weapons cast aside, and the once-mighty military turretsy in ruins.


    "Lord Drakon," Aldred spoke with a tone of finality, "your conquests end here. But I won''t take your life. The consequences of your death would be too great."


    Lord Drakon, battered and humiliated, spat blood onto the ground. "You think you''ve won? This is just a minor setback."


    "You lose half of your strongest army. When you return, you will be too busy trying to rebuild what you have. Not to mention you have to hide the fact that you have been greatly weakened. Your brothers, cousins, and distant family will surely want to know what happen to you after you return from the Veil." Aldred grinned.


    With another wave of his hand, Aldredmanded the undead to withdraw. The remaining forces of Lord Drakon, battered and broken, retreated in disarray.


    "I hope you''ve learned a lesson, Lord Drakon. There are powers in the cosmos that even a conqueror like you cannot defy," Aldred dered.


    As the undead retreated into the shadows, Aldred raised his hand and then mmed the ground.


    The Soul Stone, hiding at the core of the was suddenly pulled by a mysterious energy, rushing out towards the surface until it reached Aldred''s hand.


    Lord Drakon''s eyes widened. "That thing has been there all along? So that''s why youe here! It wasn''t me you want to attack!"


    "You''re not significant enough for me to destroy," Aldred said.


    Aldred turned away from the defeated lord and walked back to his Ster Seraph. The celestial ship, still resonating with energy, awaited hismand.


    Smander''s voice echoed in Aldred''s mind. "Well done, Aldred. You''ve shown mercy where it was needed. The bnce within the Imperium is delicate, and your actions will be remembered."


    Aldred nodded, his thoughts still lingering on theplexity of the Soul Stone.


    As Aldred boarded the Ster Seraph, he looked back onest time at the conquered. The Veil held mysteries and challenges beyond imagination, but with his newfound purpose, Aldred was ready to face them.


    The celestial ship ascended, leaving behind the battlefield and the defeated forces of Lord Drakon.


    Vortimer came to him in themand center of the Ster Seraph. In his hand, the Space Stone.


    Aldred smiled. "Finally."

 Chapter 686 686 Eclipsea

    <h4>Chapter 686 Chapter 686 Eclipsea</h4>


    Vortimer got the Space Stone in his hand. Aldred approached him and was about to take it until Vortimer retracted the stone.


    "If I give you this. What will I get? Your power are different now. I am assuming ourst deal won''t be so fair."


    Aldred smiled. "You said you wanted to destroy the gxy. But I am offering you something better."


    "What can be better than destroying it?"


    "Uniting it," Aldred said. "No matter the race, no matter the origin. I will help you unite every creature and every species proliferating in the gxy."


    Vortimer was silent and then he burst into a weird, roboticughter. "Uniting the gxy? How do you n to do that?"


    "We have the Stones of the Immaterium. With your army and my strength, I believe we can do it."


    Vortimer pushed Aldred by the chest and grabbed his cor as his robotic green eyes stared deep into Aldred''s. "You think it''s easy to unite so many different species? You speak as if it''s easier than lifting a finger! What you spout is nonsense and impossible! The Imperium is still guarded by the Emperor and his Holy Sons! Not to mention the elven race has their Heavenly Heroes and the Elven Pantheon! I only mention two and there are dozens if not hundreds of powerful species that is powerful enough to contend with me in the gxy."


    Aldred scoffed and pped Vortimer''s hand away. "You said it yourself. The gxy has too much powerful entities. If your goal is destroying the gxy, are you powerful enough to fight them all?"


    Vortimer''s robotic eyes flickered.


    "On other hand, if your n is to unite the gxy, there might be some who are crazy enough to join you. The number will be very little, however, it''s much better than doing it alone."


    Aldred circled around him with a smile. "The gxy has been at war for millenniums. Countless stars ands died all for nothing. The gxy is vast and yet people lived in overcrowded cities devoid of resources, forcing them to starve."


    "There are many of such worlds," Aldred said. "The people of those worlds who suffered the most will dly join you in your mission. No matter what their species are."


    Aldred scanned Vortimer with his godly eyes. There were changes of energy happening from within that metallic body. He could also see an invisible connection between Vortimer and an entity located outside the Veil.


    ''That must be his true body,'' Aldred?thought.


    As Aldred was analyzing Vortimer, however, there was a dot of darkness nearby.


    "Who are you!" Aldred moved quickly and grabbed onto the dot.


    It tried to run away, but Aldred yanked it out and mmed it on the floor.


    "Tell me who you are or I will exterminate you!"


    The dot expand, bing bigger and bigger, slowly transforming into the shape of a human with long hair. However, even though it had a human form with two legs and two arms, and a face, it was still made out of darkness with some speck of lights like stars in the void of space.


    "Ouch." The dark figure rubbed its own head.


    From what Aldred could see, it seemed to be the feminine type.


    "What are you?"


    "Can you not be so rude?" The figure put both hands on its waist and pouted at him.


    Aldred was slightly taken aback by that. "You haven''t answered my question."


    "Geez! What a big L! Did you momma taught you to speak like that?"


    "Huh?" Aldred was genuinely confused. What the hell was she saying, and what kind of ent was that?


    "Ugh, what a geezer. You''re only 90 years old, but you didn''t know thetest ng and swag."


    "What are you talking about? I am less than 30 years old!"


    Eclipseaughed. "Time works differently in this ce, bruh. You might feel only a few years have passed, but in real-space, it''s been decades."


    Aldred''s eyes widened. If decades passed in real-space of this universe, then how much time had passed in the universe where his wives were?


    "Fuck! Are you serious?"


    "Fo real! No cap, bruh!"


    "Can you stop talking like that?"


    Eclipsea rolled her eyes. "Fine!"


    Aldred looked at her. "First. Tell me who you are."


    Eclipsea smiled. "So curios of me, huh. Well, I guess a young man like you can''t help it."


    ''Didn''t she said that I was 90 years old? Perhaps that means young for her.''


    "Well, let me introduce myeself to thee."


    "Behold! I stand as one of the primordial entities birthed from the very Veil of Shadows. A guardian of ndestine lore and architect of obscurity am I. I bear the mantle of deity over mysteries profound and the dominion of shadow. In my presence, do thee find cause for reverence and awe! My name is Eclipsea!"


    She thenughed dramatically which caused Aldred and Vortimer looked at each other.


    "She''s a weird one," Aldred said.


    "I agree." Vortimer nodded.


    "What''s your purpose here?"


    Eclipsea smirked. "Oh, I''m just lurking around, watching the cosmic soap opera unfold. Your little drama here caught my attention, so I thought I''d drop by and add a bit of ir."


    Vortimer, still holding the Space Stone, looked at Eclipsea with a hint of suspicion. "What''s your game, shadow deity? Do you seek to steal our stones?"


    Eclipsea twirled a strand of her dark, star-speckled hair. "No games, metallic man and those little stones of yours will do nothing for me. I just find these celestial struggles amusing. But since I''m feeling generous, I might throw in a piece of advice for free."


    Both Aldred and Vortimer eyed her warily, waiting for the so-called advice.


    Eclipsea leaned in and whispered, "Why fight when you can dance? Unite the gxy in a cosmic waltz, my friends. It''s more entertaining than all this destructive chaos. I am bored of everyone just randomly attacking each other indiscriminately. It will be so much fun if a figure or a group tried to unite them all!"


    "So you agree with him?" Vortimer said.


    Eclipsea, satisfied with her cryptic guidance, giggled and morphed back into a dot of darkness.


    "Unite the gxy in a cosmic waltz?" Aldred mused. "Well, that''s certainly a unique approach."


    Vortimer grunted. "She''s either utterly insane or knows something we don''t. But with that shadowy demeanor, who can tell?"


    The Space Stone in Vortimer''s hand pulsed with a subtle energy. He turned to Aldred, a reluctant expression on his metallic face.


    "I''ll consider your proposal, Aldred. But remember, I won''t be yed for a fool."


    "Hehe. Now that I see things clearly and understand your power, I won''t dare to do you dirty the second time," Aldred said.

 Chapter 687 687 Chronicles of Ascendria

    <h4>Chapter 687 Chapter 687 Chronicles of Ascendria</h4>


    Aldred held the three stones atop his palm: The Stone of Time, Stone of Space, and Stone of Soul.


    "So these are the Veil Stones," Zarael said with admiration in her eyes.


    The cosmic energies emanating from the stones intertwined, creating a mesmerizing dance of light and power.


    Aldred''s eyes sparkled like stars, reflecting the sight he saw.


    "How are you going to use these?stones to find Ascendria?"


    "Before I arrive in the Veil of Shadows, space anomaly sucked in me and I appear near a massive, strange ship. My team and I entered it to find any resources that might be useful for our journey. But there, we meet an entity that is apparently one of the guardian of Ascendria."


    "How could a guardian be stranded in the middle of nowhere?"


    "I am not sure either, however, it told me that Lord Malgorth was the culprit."


    "Lord Malgorth? Why?"


    "Lord Malgorth tried to enter Ascendria forcefully. The guardian stopped him and they fought until lord Malgorth was kicked out of Ascendria, however, using the Space Weaver, Lord Malgorth manage to bring the guardian to real-space."


    "So what happened to the guardian now?"


    "She stayed inside the ship of an ancient race. They are technologically advanced, much more than humans I would say. From what I learned, they are running from something, but we don''t know what what. My first thought was these races were defeated and the guardian used the wreckage of the ship as its shelter."


    Aldred continued. "The guardian gave us some deadly test and when we passed it, she gave us this."


    The Eye of irvoyance appeared in Aldred''s other hand. "This thing guided us to the Veil and protected us from its chaotic energy. It also helped us locate the Time Stone."


    "The guardian gave you that?"


    Aldred nodded. "I will start now. I don''t know what will happen so stay guard."


    Zarael, intrigued by the cosmic spectacle, watched as Aldred prepared to use the Eye of irvoyance tobine the stones'' power.


    Aldred raised the Eye of irvoyance, and the moment it activated, a kaleidoscope of ethereal hues surrounded him. The Eye resonated with the stones, creating an intricate dance of magical energies. Three neutron star-like lights, each representing a stone, spun around Aldred in a celestial ballet.


    As the stones revolved, their energies intertwined, releasing waves of transcendent power.


    The ambient light in the vicinity warped and bent, creating ripples in the fabric of reality itself.


    Zarael shielded her eyes as the brilliance intensified, and the courtyard echoed with the harmonic hum of cosmic forces. The Eye of irvoyance, now radiating with a radiant glow, became the focal point of this mystical convergence.


    Aldred''s voice echoed, carrying a resonance that seemed to transcend mortalprehension. "Bring me to Ascendria!"


    The stones, now spinning faster, released pulses of radiant energy. The Stone of Time glowed with the shimmering essence of temporal maniption, the Stone of Space resonated with the vastness of the cosmos, and the Stone of Soul pulsed with an otherworldly heartbeat.


    With a surge of power, Aldred aimed the Eye of irvoyance towards the heavens. A powerful ray of light shot forth, cutting through the veil of reality. It opened a portal to a transcendent dimension, a realm where only Aldred, guided by the Eye, could venture.


    Everyone on the looked up, gazing towards the strange portal in the sky.


    The portal shimmered with a myriad of colors, forming an intricate gateway to the mysterious realm of Ascendria. Aldred, surrounded by the whirling dance of cosmic energies, flew through the portal, leaving behind a courtyard filled with awe-struck allies.


    Right after Aldred entered, the portal closed and vanished immediately.


    The courtyard, now devoid of the celestial disy, remained in silence. Zarael, Vortimer, and the others exchanged nces.


    Shuzib looked up from his library. "Aldred finally done it. He''s entering Ascendria! It''s too bad I can''t enter it with him." Shuzib gritted his teeth. "After he return, I will ask him to tell me everything he learned."


    Aldred felt a moment of disorientation as he traversed through the portal. The transition was swift and left him suspended in a space where everything was empty andpletely white. The sensation was akin to floating in an ethereal void, devoid of any discerniblendmarks or boundaries.


    He looked around, trying to make sense of this pristine emptiness. No stars adorned the celestial canvas, and there was no sense of direction. It was as if he had stepped into a dimension beyond the confines of conventional space.


    "Is this Ascendria? Why is there nothing here?"


    Aldred walked towards a particr direction. He walked and walked for a few minute, but he couldn''t tell if he was actually moving or not. Everything waspletely white canvas.


    Minutes turned to hours, and Aldred began sprinting.


    Soon. Hours started to felt like eternity.


    Aldred''s young face began to grow beard in seconds. His skin wrinkled at a rapid rate.


    "What is going on?"


    Suddenly, his form changed. His wrinkled skin peeled off like oranges before they vanished, recing them were plump red skin.


    That was when Aldred realized that his form now was a baby. Still, he kept on running and running.


    His form grew into a teenager, middle-aged man, andstly an old man.


    This cycle repeated numerous times.


    However, when he stopped, he felt like he was in the same ce as before. He didn''t know how much time had passed.


    His temporal sense werepletely void.


    Lastly, there seemed to be something gnawing inside his head as if tingling his very soul.


    "Agh!"


    His head hurt and he knelt on the ground screaming in pain. However, he realized there was no sounding out of his mouth.


    "Fuck! Is this really Ascendria? What the hell is this ce?"


    Aldred roared and he sprinted again. His eyes were bloodshot as his mind neared the level of insanity, then suddenly, he crashed onto an invisible wall.


    "Who''s there?" A voice came.

 Chapter 688 688 Confused

    <h4>Chapter 688 Chapter 688 Confused</h4>


    Aldred was on the ground, trying to process what had happened. He looked in front of him, it was the same nk white canvas.


    However, he stood up, and slowly approached, reaching out with his hands to probe.


    Sure enough, his fingers touched something. It was like touching a wall, however, his finger did not feel any texture or temperature at all.


    "Is anyone there?"


    He was certain that he heard a voice earlier.


    He tried to activate his godly eyes, but it did not work.


    He put him palm on the invisible wall.


    "Is someone there?" He asked again.


    There was no reply. He then tried to knock on the wall.


    It didn''t create any sound, however, Aldred felt his knuckles hitting on something.


    Still, nobody responded.


    Aldred clicked his tongue and mmed his fist to the invisible wall a couple of times.


    And then, the wall suddenly pushed his hand, making him fall to the floor.


    Coming out of the invisible wall was a woman.


    The woman emerged gracefully from the invisible wall, as if passing through a veil between worlds. She had an ethereal presence, her features adorned with an otherworldly beauty that transcended mortal aesthetics.


    Her long, flowing hair shimmered with iridescent hues.


    Eyes of celestial blue held a depth that seemed to reflect the vastness of the cosmos.


    Draped in a robe that seemed to shift between shades of nebe, she moved with a fluid grace, each step resonating with the harmony of the cosmos.


    However, despite all the grandeur words Aldred had to describe her. Overall, she still looked homely as if she was a perfect candidate for a housewife.


    "Who are you?" Aldred asked, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and awe.


    "It''s me who should ask you that question. How did you arrive here?"


    "Eh?" Aldred was confused.


    The woman looked at him and sighed. "For now, why don''t youe inside."


    Aldred hesitated for a moment, his gaze lingering on the cosmic expanse behind the mysterious woman. Yet, curiosity and a sense of trust drew him to his feet, and he decided to follow her into the unknown.


    As he stepped through the invisible threshold, the cosmic backdrop faded away, reced by a serene and rustic scene. Before him stood a simple medieval house made of wood, blending seamlessly with its surroundings. It was as if the cosmic realm and the humble abode were different facets of the same reality.


    The wood in the firece crackled, giving him a sense of warmth.


    The woman led Aldred into what appeared to be a kitchen,plete with a simple dining table set for four. The warm glow of the hearth cast a cozy ambiance, contrasting with the cosmic vastness he had just experienced.


    "You can sit down if you want to," the woman said.


    "Y¡ªyes." Aldred took a seat, his eyes still reflecting the remnants of cosmic wonder.


    The woman took a kettle and carefully poured a warmth tea on a cup before pushing it towards Aldred.


    "Thank you."


    The woman smiled before she busied herself.


    Aldred was confused and his mind demanded for answers. "Can you tell me where this is?"


    "This is my home," she replied.


    "Right¡­ but how did I get here? How did you bring me from ''that'' ce?"


    The woman was silent as she turned around and served him with a te of apple pie.


    She then sat down andzily put her cheek on her fist. "Slow down. Why don''t you drink that tea first and eat some pie."


    "I cannot stay here for long. I have to ret¡ª"


    "I said rx. Time works differently herepared to your universe. Take it easy. You got all the time in the world."


    Aldred was about to say something but he decided to stay silent and took a sip of the tea. The taste was¡­ surprisingly, salty.


    "You didn''t seem to like it." The woman smiled. "It''s been a while since someonee to Ascendria."


    "Is this ce Ascendria? A ce where all knowledge are?"


    "Well, not exactly. Didn''t people tell that Ascendria isn''t exactly a ce."


    "I heard that all the time."


    "Good. So, I don''t have to exin to you."


    "I am looking for Ascendria. Are you the guardian? Can you lead me to it?"


    "Why don''t you eat that pie first before it gets cold."


    Aldred sighed and grabbed the wooden spoon and dug into the pie. After he put a spoon of pie in his mouth, the woman spoke.


    "Why do youe here?"


    "I want to find a way to return to my family."


    "It''s not to defeat Lord Malgorth or to unite the gxy?"


    Aldred''s eyes widened a bit. "Those are not my priorities."


    ''How did she know? Can she read mind?''


    The woman snorted with a smile. "You do all of that to simply return to your family. That doesn''t sounds so ambitious does it?"


    "I believe family is the most ambitious thing I can do. After all, every power in the world won''t matter if you''re lonely."


    "I am not asking for your opinion, boy." The woman smiled.


    Suddenly, there were footsteps from outside.


    "Seems like my children areing home."


    "Children?"


    The wooden door opened, revealing two children, a girl, and a boy, around the age of 10 both excitedly came to their mother and hugged her.


    They soon noticed the strange man sitting on the chair.


    "Mom, who is that?"


    "He''s an old friend of mine. Why don''t you two go to the bathroom. You both stinks." She jokingly swiped?the air as if trying to get rid of the smell.


    "After that, I will bake an apple pie for you two."


    "Yayy! Apple pie!" The two ran to the bathroom immediately.


    The woman turned around and looked at Aldred''s confused expression.


    "You must be wondering who I am. Let me tell you," the woman said.


    Her homely expression turned serious as she looked at Aldred right in the eye. "I am Astrea, the Keymaster of Ascendria."

 Chapter 689 689 Return to Real Space

    <h4>Chapter 689 Chapter 689 Return to Real Space</h4>


    "¡­the Keymaster of Ascendria."


    As Aldred processed the revtion that the woman before him was Astrea, the Keymaster of Ascendria, he couldn''t help but feel a mix of curiosity and trepidation. He looked at Astrea, waiting for her to borate on the nature of Ascendria.


    Astrea sighed, as if she could read the questions written on Aldred''s face. "Ascendria is not a tangible ce like your world. It exists in the interstices of reality, a convergence point for cosmic energies and the essence of knowledge. Those who seek it must navigate through the Veil of Shadows and ovee various trials, both mental and physical."


    Aldred''s brow furrowed. "Trials? What kind of trials?"


    Astrea leaned back, her gaze distant as if recalling ancient memories. "The Ascendant Trials are different for each seeker, tailored to test their true intentions and worthiness. It could be confronting past mistakes, oveing inner fears, or solving cosmic riddles. Ascendria doesn''t reveal itself easily; it must be earned."


    Aldred nodded, absorbing the information. "But why did I end up in that nk space beforeing here?"


    Astrea''s eyes glinted with a knowing wisdom. "That space is the Threshold¡ªa liminal realm between dimensions. It''s a test in itself, a ce where your resolve and consciousness areid bare. You made it through, and now you''re in the heart of Ascendria."


    Aldred''s mind swirled with a myriad of thoughts. "So, what now? How do I find the knowledge I seek?"


    Astrea smiled, her eyes holding a depth of understanding. She stood up, gesturing for Aldred to follow her. "Come, Aldred. There''s something you need to see."


    Aldred rose from the dining table, his curiosity growing with every step. As they stepped out of the quaint wooden house, the surroundings transformed once again. The rustic simplicity gave way to an expansive, etherealndscape.


    The moment Aldred stepped outside, he was met with a breathtaking sight¡ªa massive tree seemingly made out of light pierced through the heavens, its branches extending into the cosmic expanse. The tree''s radiant glow pulsed with energy, casting an otherworldly luminescence that illuminated the realm of Ascendria.


    Aldred''s eyes widened in awe as he gazed upon the majestic tree. "What is this?"


    Astrea approached him, her gaze fixed on the resplendent tree. "This, Aldred, is the Tree of Eternity. It is the heart of Ascendria, connecting it and everything that exist. The knowledge you seek resides within its branches."


    Aldred felt a profound connection to the tree, as if it resonated with the very core of his being. He reached out, tentatively touching one of the radiant branches, and a surge of cosmic energy coursed through him.


    Astrea exined, "The Tree of Eternity is a repository of all knowledge, a living embodiment of the umted wisdom of countless seekers. To ess the knowledge, you mustmune with the tree and embrace its cosmic energies."


    Aldred took a deep breath, his determination resolute. He stepped closer to the Tree of Eternity and closed his eyes. As he reached out with his mind and heart, he felt a surge of energy enveloping him. Visions and insights flooded his consciousness, unraveling the mysteries of Ascendria.


    He saw glimpses of ancient civilizations, cosmic realms, and the intricate tapestry of the universe.


    As Aldred closed his eyes and reached out to the radiant branches of the Tree of Eternity, a profound connection was established between him and the cosmic repository of knowledge. The energy emanating from the tree enveloped him, and he felt as though his consciousness expanded beyond the boundaries of his physical form.


    Visions cascaded through Aldred''s mind like a cosmic river, carrying with them the collective wisdom of Ascendria. He saw the birth and fall of gxies, the ebb and flow of celestial energies, and the dance of cosmic forces shaping the tapestry of existence.


    The knowledge entered Aldred''s mind not as words or images but as a profound understanding¡ªa deep resonance with the cosmic truths that transcended mortalprehension. He perceived the interconnectedness of all things, the delicate bnce that sustained the universe, and the underlying harmony that bound every aspect of creation.


    Aldred''s soul absorbed the knowledge like a sponge soaking up cosmic energies. He learned the intricacies of the Space Weaver, the secrets of temporal maniption with the Stone of Time, and the cosmic awareness granted by the Stone of Soul. The mysteries of Ascendria unfolded before him, each revtion etching itself into the fabric of his being.


    With newfound rity, Aldred understood the significance of his journey.


    It wasn''t merely about returning to his family; it was about embracing the cosmic responsibility entrusted to him. He had be a conduit for the cosmic forces, a seeker of truth and power.


    As the visions gradually subsided, Aldred opened his eyes. The radiant glow of the Tree of Eternity faded, leaving him standing beneath its majestic branches with a sense of purpose etched on his features. Astrea, who had been observing silently, nodded in acknowledgment.


    "You carry the knowledge of Ascendria within you now, Aldred. The trials await, and the universe has bestowed its trust upon you. Face the challenges with the wisdom you''ve gained, and may your journey be guided by the cosmic forces that bind us all."


    "Thank you, Astrea."


    "However, let me tell you something you already know. Now that you have obtained the knowledge from Ascendria, you must not act against its will. If you do, it will send someone to hunt you down."


    Aldred smiled. "I know. I won''t act against it."


    Astrea nodded with approval.


    However, deep inside, Aldred was saying to his heart: ''I will do whatever the hell I want.''


    "Now, leave this ce. You have nothing left to do here."


    Aldred nodded and the stones appeared, however and circling above his head. Suddenly, the stones'' light expanded and engulfed him.


    In the next breath, Aldred was back on the. He was currently falling from the sky.


    His inte turned on immediately as Smander''s voice came. "Aldred! Your signal has returned! Is this you?"


    "Yes, this is me. How long has passed?"


    "From the time the portal closed and your signal appeared once again, only 3 seconds have passed."


    "Huh? How is that possible?"


    "That''s what I want to ask you. What happened?"


    Aldred took a moment to collect himself before responding, "It''s a long story, Smander. I''ve been to Ascendria, the realm of cosmic knowledge. I''ve learned things beyond imagination, and now I have the power to face Lord Malgorth. Gather everyone; I need to exin."


    The coordinates of a nearby courtyard shed on Aldred''s holographic interface. He navigated toward the meeting point, his mind racing with thoughts of the Tree of Eternity and the trials thaty ahead.


    As Aldred reached the courtyard, he found his allies waiting, a mix of concern and anticipation etched on their faces.


    "Aldred, you didn''t fail right?" Shinari asked.


    Aldred began recounting his journey, from the invisible wall to the ethereal house, and finally, the Tree of Eternity. He spoke of Astrea, the Keymaster of Ascendria, and the cosmic insights he had gained. The tale unfolded like a cosmic epic, and his allies listened in awe and disbelief.


    "I know this sounds unbelievable, but it happened. Now, I have the knowledge and the power to face Lord Malgorth. We must unite and prepare for the challenges that await us," Aldred dered, his eyes reflecting the newfound cosmic awareness.


    Smander scratched his head. "Ascendria, cosmic trials, and a tree made of light? It''s a lot to take in."


    "We have took on so much more than that before," Cleome said.


    "Wait, Aldred. We need to put into records the knowledge you get from Ascendria," Shuzib said.


    "We can do that while we travel back to real-space."


    "We''re going right now?" Zarael asked.


    "There is no time to waste. The faster the better. Lord Malgorth isn''t staying still. He''s growing his forces as well. The longer we wait, the harder it is to defeat him."


    Vortimer scoffed. "Don''t worry about his forces. I can take care of it."


    "That isn''t our only goal," Aldred said.


    "I know." Vortimer recalled about their discussion about uniting the gxy.


    Aldred turned to Smander and the rest. "Prepare the Ster Seraph, my gship, for immediate departure. We''re going back to real-space. I want the Celestial toon, our cosmic legion, ready for war."


    The Celestial toon, an elite cosmic force assembled by Aldred, swiftly moved into action. The ster winds resonated with the hum of starship engines as the gship, Ster Seraph, prepared for departure.


    Shuzib, the meticulous strategist, approached Aldred with a holographic device in hand. "Aldred, we need to document the knowledge you obtained from Ascendria. It could hold the key to our sess and the salvation of the gxy."


    Aldred nodded, acknowledging the importance of preserving the cosmic wisdom he had gained. Shuzib began configuring the holographic device to record and store the intricate details of Aldred''s revtions.


    Meanwhile, Vortimer, the leader of Celestial Schemata, approached Aldred with confident. "Don''t worry about Malgorth''s forces. I can handle them."


    "We will see if you can back you words," Aldred said.

 Chapter 690 690 A Simple Plan

    <h4>Chapter 690 Chapter 690 A Simple n</h4>


    As Aldred and his crew prepared for the voyage, the Celestial toon, led by Vortimer, geared up for the cosmic journey thaty ahead. The Ster Seraph, Aldred''s gship, stood ready, its sleek form gleaming with cosmic energy. The celestial armada assembled around the gship, a formidable force that mirrored the brilliance of distant stars.


    Shuzib, the strategist, finalized the documentation of Aldred''s knowledge from Ascendria. The holographic device hummed with cosmic resonance as it secured the intricate details of the cosmic insights.


    Aldred gathered his allies in themand center of the Ster Seraph, the heart of their cosmic expedition. Holographic disys illuminated the room, showcasing celestial maps, strategic ns, and the cosmic tapestry of the universe.


    Smander''s holographic form shimmered as he responded, "Acknowledged, Aldred. Initiating the sequence for the transition. All systems are go."


    The celestial armada, assembled around the Ster Seraph, hummed with cosmic energy, ready to traverse the ethereal boundaries that separated Ascendria from the known universe.


    Shuzib input the coordinates, aligning the ship''s trajectory with the cosmic currents that would lead them out of the Veil of Shadows. The holographic disys flickered, projecting the shifting energies of the interdimensional space.


    "Is everything ready?" Aldred asked this question towards Vortimer and Zarael.


    However, Zarael was a bit in doubt.


    "Do you have something to say?" Aldred asked.


    "No. It''s just. I have been in the Veil for decades. It''s weird to suddenly leave it."


    "Don''t you seek power as well? You were defeated in real-space when trying to gain a throne. After that loss, you were forced to flee to the Veil to lose your enemies. You swore to act vengeance, but after decades staying in the safety of the Nexus Rings you built, you slowly lose your fangs."


    Zarael''s eyes widened. How did Aldred describe her situation so perfectly?


    "Don''t think too much about it. This is your chance to defeat your enemies. With my help, you will get a throne for yourself."


    ''That''s right,'' Zarael thought to herself. ''Aldred is extremely powerful right now. If he helped her, she could defeat her nemesis.''


    "So will you join?"


    Zarael closed her eyes for a second before she looked at Aldred in the eye. "Please bring me in."


    Smiling, Aldred patted her shoulder. "I was always known to be generous towards my subordinate. You will have enough power and wealth that you would never ask for more."


    That was the truth. Aldred had always gave his subordinate whatever they wanted. So much so that they neverined about anything. All of his subordinates had always followed him without question.


    And he never had someone betrayed him.


    That was because Aldred always knew what people want. With his godly eyes, there were no ambition left hidden.


    As the transition sequence initiated, the Veil of Shadows began to ripple and undte. The celestial armada followed the Ster Seraph, its sleek form slicing through the fabric of the inter dimensional realm. The transition was a delicate dance, navigating the cosmic currents with precision to avoid disruptions in the fabric of reality.


    Aldred monitored the process, his gaze focused on the holographic projections that disyed the fluctuations of cosmic energies. The celestial maps illuminated with pathways leading to the gateway between Ascendria and real-space.


    Vortimer approached him. "This process have a 70% chance of failure. If it fail, we will all be ripped apart."


    Aldred smiled again. "Don''t worry. Luck is on our side."


    The transition reached its climax, and the Ster Seraph burst forth from the Veil of Shadows into the familiar expanse of the tangible universe.


    The crew exhaled collectively, the cosmic energies settling as they found themselves surrounded by the stars and gxies of real-space.


    "We''ve made it," Aldred dered, a sense of aplishment radiating through his voice.


    The celestial armada followed suit, emerging from the Veil of Shadows like a constetion of cosmic entities returning from an otherworldly journey. The brilliance of distant stars embraced them, and the vastness of the universe stretched out before the fleet.


    Aldred immediately gave order: "Mapped this entire region. I want to know who and where everything are."


    Themand center buzzed with activity as the scanning systems came online.


    Shuzib monitored the data streaming in, analyzing the signatures of various celestial entities and cosmic forces.


    "We''re detecting multiple energy signatures, Aldred," Shuzib reported.


    Aldred nodded, absorbing the information. "Identify the factions and forces in the vicinity. We need to know who we can count on as allies and who may pose a threat."


    The holographic disys shifted, showcasing a dynamic map that highlighted the locations of different cosmic entities. Shuzib manipted the interface with precision, refining the data to provide detailed insights into the gctdscape.


    Vortimer, ever vignt, leaned over Shuzib''s shoulder. "Any signs of Lord Malgorth''s forces?"


    Aldred turned to Zarael. "Your enemies, do you see any of their signatures?"


    Zarael, now focused and determined, analyzed the holographic map. "Yes, Aldred. They are scattered across different star systems. If we act swiftly, we can neutralize them and eliminate the threats to our n."


    "Okay, tell me who are they and what is the region they ruled called?"


    Zarael took a moment to study the holographic map, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "The faction that I seek vengeance upon is known as the Tribe of Ghost. They control a region of space known as the Xantis Expanse. It''s a dark and treacherous sector filled with hidden dangers and ancient cosmic anomalies."


    Zarael continued, her voice steady and filled with conviction. "The Tribe Of Ghost is led by High Lord Varian, a cunning and ruthless cosmic tactician. He wields dark energies andmands legions of shadowy warriors. Their main stronghold is the Obsidian Spire, a fortress hidden within a without star, protected by powerful cloaking mechanisms."


    Shuzib, the strategist, began analyzing the information. "If we gather intel on their cloaking technology and study the patterns of their cosmic patrols, we might find a weakness. Additionally, we could exploit the anomalies within the Xantis Expanse to create diversions and confusion."


    "That''s tooplicated," Aldred said. "An enemy like them doesn''t need sophisticated n. We will make this simple."


    "What is your n?"


    Aldred became excited. He had long been missing the feeling of bing a general of a massive army. With millions under hismand, he used to overruns cities and entire country with a single bark from his mouth.


    The feeling of power seeped into his soul.


    "We will use numbers," Aldred said.


    Zarael frowned. "Although they army might be weaker than us, they have cunning ways to defeat us if we simply confront them without any strategy. Their expanse has many cosmic anomalies that could decimate massive armies without any effort. We will soon deplete our soldiers before we can even reach their front door."


    "Who said it will be our soldiers?


    Zarael was slightly surprised. "Then who is going to attack them?"


    "I heard there are billions of people who wants to be mercenaries. I am a wealthy and generous man. Why don''t we realize their dream."


    Smander and the crew were a little shocked to hear that.


    "Aldred, are you nning to sacrifice billions for this n?


    "Who said I want to sacrifice them?" Aldred nced at him.


    "Then what do you n to do with them?"


    Aldred simply grinned at him.


    ¡­


    The in the Xantis Expanse bustled with activity as people from various corners of the gxy gathered in front of the Gctic Mercenary office.


    The line stretched far and wide,prised of individuals eager to register with a mysterious new group known as the Celestial toon.


    The news had spread like wildfire, fueled by whispers of incredible wealth, cosmic adventures, and the promise of confronting the dreaded Demons that had haunted the gxy for millenniums.


    Many families, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers were killed by the demons. This hatred went deep inside the heart of humanity that anyone would have the thought of personally killing a demon themselves.


    The Celestial toon had dered its main purpose as exterminating the demons that haunted the Xantis Expanse and bringing peace to the vast expanse of human regions.


    This set their heart aze and wanted to join.


    It was rare for a group to hire arge numbers of mercenary at once, however, if arge group with big investors suddenly appeared, it would happen from time to time.


    A coalition ofpanies or even nobles would sometimes create apany with their own mercenary forces to protect their assets and such.


    They didn''t really know where the Celestial toon came from, but it said to be looking for billions of mercenary. So many people from every region entered the Xantis Expanse.


    The ones who ruled Xantis naturally won''t deny this entry. The Tribe of Ghost needed a lot of money to run their region, the influx of peopleing in would be good for the economy.


    Actually, they were a bit surprised that arge group decide to recruit their mercenary in this ce. The region was actually quite difficult to enter, so their economy were worst than their neighbors.


    Still, this surprise was very much weed as the amount of shipsing in would make them rich either from tax or the amount of people that came here to buy things for their needs.


    In one of the untold billions of people, there was a man named Francus Hendry.


    He was just a simple soldier that was fired from hisst job because all of his teammates died except him. He had been looking for a job for a while now.


    When he heard someone was recruiting not thousands, not millions, but billions, he immediately used all of his savings toe here.


    "I hope it''s not a scam likest time."

 Chapter 691 691 First Order

    <h4>Chapter 691 Chapter 691 First Order</h4>


    In a secluded chamber aboard the Ster Seraph, Zarael, surrounded by the glow of holographic disys depicting countlesss, turned to Aldred with a questioning gaze.


    Alright, Aldred," she began, her voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of concern, "you''ve gathered an astronomical number of mercenaries. What exactly do you n to do with them?"


    Aldred leaned against a console, his eyes reflecting the glow of the cosmic disys. A sly smile yed on his lips as he responded, "Zarael,?you seem to have misunderstood. I''m not nning to send them into a suicidal assault. That would be a waste of potential, but I bet you wouldn''t mind even if I do."


    Zarael arched an eyebrow, waiting for an exnation.


    Aldred continued, "These mercenaries are not just cannon fodder. We''re going to train them, organize them, and turn them into a formidable force. They will be the front line for our army."


    Smander, who had been quietly observing, chimed in. "Smart move, Aldred. But how are we going to train and coordinate billions of mercenaries? It''s a logistical nightmare."


    Aldred''s eyes gleamed with confidence. "We have the technology for it. Vortimer, our brilliant strategist, has devised a system that can efficiently train and coordinate such massive numbers. Each mercenary will undergo simted battles, tactical training, and receive real-time feedback. It''s like a cosmic boot camp, but on an unprecedented scale."


    Aldred had always delegate the tasks of training, logistics, and other stuff about his soldiers to other people. Even though he used tomand millions, most of the time, he wasmanding his undead and golem legion. It waspletely different thingpared to leading billions of humans.


    The logistics and coordination must be a terrifying nightmare.


    However, that wasn''t seem to the be case for Vortimer who possessed powerfulputing power and a prepared system to coordinate human at a massive scale.


    ''But why did Vortimer owned a system that coordinate sentient races?'' Aldred soon shrugged it off. Vortimer had lived for hundreds if not thousands of years, so he might just be bored.


    Or he might want to ruled every sentient races under his empire.


    Aldred smiled.


    Zarael considered this for a moment. "And what about their loyalty? These mercenariese from various backgrounds, and many may not be willing to follow ourmand blindly."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Isn''t this your specialty? You''ve been living inside the veil with the mercenaries for decades. I am sure you know what to do."


    Vortimer, who had been silently observing, added, "We can imnt cosmic trackers, not only to monitor their movements but also to establish a psychic link. This way, we ensure that they follow our orders and remain focused on the mission. We can even put a bomb inside their brain and we can activate it anytime we wanted."


    Everyone became silent after they heard thatst word.


    Aldred cleared his throat. "Maybe putting a bomb inside their head will be a little too much."


    "So you agree with establishing a psychic link to force them to follow order?" Vortimer asked.


    "No. I did not agree to anything."


    "Too bad."


    Aldred let out a sigh of relief. He sometimes forgot that Vortimer was an ancient robot with almost no remorse.


    Logically speaking, his way would be best to ensure the loyalty of billions. However, Aldred did note to this gxy to be remembered as a tyrant that put a bomb inside people''s head.


    If possible, he would like to be regarded as a hero.


    From what his father, Hujarar, taught him, the praise and worships of billions could strengthen one''s strength in mysterious ways no matter the distance, realm, or universe.


    The power of thoughts and beliefs transcend the fabric of reality itself.


    That was one of the reason why the gods hired Hujarar to make people worship them.


    "I still cannot imagine we can coordinate billions of mercenaries," Smander said. "It will beplete chaos."


    "Smander, would you mind telling me who the Tribe of Ghost are?"


    "From what I know, they are a bunch of thieves and murderers. A lot of pirates groupe from their region, but it was actually their forces disguise as such. They have been killing and stealing from everyone but mainly human, because it''s easier to trick human with other human."


    "So are they the bad guys?"


    "You can say that."


    Aldred pped. "Perfect. Well, activate the voice system. I am about to give an announcement."


    ¡­


    The sun dipped below the horizon of the bustling in the Xantis Expanse, casting a warm glow over the gathered mercenaries in the za.


    The air was filled with a mix of anticipation and excitement as the mercenaries chatted amongst themselves, forming groups based on sharednguages, cultures, or simply proximity.


    Francus Hendry tried to talk to people around him, but most of them didn''t seem to be interested in him.


    They tantly ignored his existence.


    "Fuck. Am I ugly or something? Whatever, I don''te here to make friends anyway. I am here to make money."


    He smoked hisst cigs as he looked at the starry night sky. "Why the hell would someone, especially a bigpany, recruit billions of mercenaries here of all ce?"


    "Makes you wonder right?" An old man appeared beside him, drinking a bottle of beer. "I actually don''t want toe here when I heard the name Tribe of Ghost. Those bastard kidnap my daughter before, now am willingly pay them tax by buying this fucking horrible beer."


    "Do you know anything about this, old man?"


    "Hm, I can''t say much. But I think there''s something about the Xantis Expanse. But I cannot be sure. All we have to do now is wait."


    "There is nothing in this region. People dump their trash in this ce because of the many space anomalies," Francus said. "If you said the newpany recruit billions of mercenary here to avoid paying the Imperium tax, it would be more believable."


    The old manughed. "Perhaps."


    Arge holographic disy flickered to life at the center of the za, capturing the attention of the growing crowd. The emblem of the Celestial toon, an intricate cosmic symbol, shimmered in the air. As the murmurs died down, Aldred''s voice echoed through the za, amplified by the advancedmunication system.


    "Attention, mercenaries of the Celestial toon!" Aldred''s voice boomed,manding the attention of everyone present. "I am Aldred, your employer and the leader of this grand expedition. You have been chosen to join a cause that will shape the fate of the Xantis Expanse and beyond."


    The mercenaries exchanged curious nces, their attention fully captured by the mysterious figure addressing them.


    "We stand on the precipice of change," Aldred continued, his voice resonating with confidence. "You all should know by now that our purpose is to extinguish the vile demons from the gxy, however! That is not our main goal! Our main goal is to bring peace and prosperity to the entire human race! And for that, we will start by killing the criminals that called themselves the Tribe of Ghost!"


    Aldred''s face turned serious. "As the leader of Celestial toon, I am giving you my firstmand. Destroy the Tribe of Ghost!"


    The mercenaries were confused at first, wondering if this was real or not. Even the guards of the Tribe of Ghost did not know what to do as they were confused as well.


    The announcement echoed through the za, leaving the mercenaries in a state of bewilderment. The holographic disy continued to project Aldred''s stern face, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.


    Francus Hendry scratched his head, trying to make sense of the abrupt change in the mission. "Wait, what? We were here for demons, not a full-blown war! Is this some kind of sick joke?"


    The old man was silent as his mouth wide agape and then he started chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess we signed up for more than we bargained for, young man. This ain''t your average mercenary gig. But I am d I came here."


    As confusion spread among the mercenaries, some began questioning the validity of the message. Whispers and murmurs filled the air, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty.


    The guards of the Tribe of Ghost exchanged perplexed nces, uncertain about how to react. The unexpected turn of events had caught them off guard, and for a moment, they hesitated.


    In the distance, the holographic disy flickered, and Aldred''s image vanished. The za fell into an uneasy silence as the mercenaries and the Tribe of Ghost guards awaited further instructions.


    The old man felt the tense. "Humph. Seems like all of you are youngsters. In that case, let me start the battle."


    The old man raised hisrge cannon on his shoulder and fired at a guard.


    Boom!


    The thunderous boom of the old man''s cannon marked the beginning of chaos.


    The za erupted into a full-scale battle as the mercenaries, now armed and ready, shed with the bewildered guards of the Tribe of Ghost.


    "Kill those thieves! They might be humans, but they don''t deserve to live at all!"

 Chapter 692 692 High Lord Varian

    <h4>Chapter 692 Chapter 692 High Lord Varian</h4>


    The billions of mercenaries unleashed a storm of chaos upon the Xantis Expanse, spreading the conflict across thousands ofs and sr systems.


    The once serene and bustling cosmic region now echoed with the sounds of war.


    The battles were fought not only on the main za but also in the expansivendscapes of diverses. From arid deserts to dense jungles, mercenaries shed with the Tribe of Ghost in a desperate struggle for dominance.


    Laser beams and explosions lit up the skies, casting an otherworldly glow on the celestial bodies that witnessed the unfolding war.


    Aldred watched this battle within the Celestial Seraph. "Vortimer, help these mercenaries. Give them information and coordinate them properly."


    Vortimer snorted. "You spoke as if I am your subordinate."


    Aldred smiled, not forgetting that Vortimer''s true body was much more powerful. "You misunderstood. I am speaking with a friendly tone which mean I consider you as a friend."


    "Friend?"


    "Friend. Bonded by the same goal and ambition. Nothing can divide us except if one day our goal changed, however, that is unlikely."


    Vortimer did not reply, instead, he quickly went to work.


    Aldred kept his smile, however, deep inside, he was thinking of relinquishing his dependence on Vortimer. One way to do was to rebuild his golem and undead army.


    Still, the technology Vortimer offered was tooplex. It was soplex that it would be impossible to match it in a short amount of time if Aldred would start from scratch.


    Not to mention the advancement of technology were rapid. Every single year, there would always be upgrade and updates.


    There was simply no way to catch up if he had to do all of this alone. Unless, he could find someone as capable as Vortimer.


    ''What about Smander? He''s been distracted from his engineering work because he always focused on fighting. Maybe if I helped his talent a little bit, he can do it.''


    Suddenly, loads of data entered into the mercenaries''ms. Vital structures, enemy locations, military hierarchy, and hidden agents were all exposed to them.


    All of a sudden, random buildings exploded one after another as they bombarded the agents and spies hidden within them.


    On one, a group of mercenaries fought fiercely in the midst of a vibrant alien forest. Trees were scorched and ancient creatures fled from the violence. The mercenaries, once strangers from different corners of the gxy, began to exhibit a surprising level of coordination and synergy.


    Meanwhile, in the vastness of space, dogfights erupted as fleets of ships shed in intense space battles. Mercenary vessels, adorned with the emblem of the Celestial toon, engaged in skirmishes against the stealthy and agile ships of the Tribe of Ghost. Explosions painted streaks of light across the cosmic canvas as the mercenaries fought to control the spacenes.


    Smander led the expedition to cleanse the Tribe of Ghost from the cosmic theater. Battleships were powerful machine of war that could even decimate an entire by itself.


    "Most of the ships retreated already," Smander reported. "Don''t worry about the sky. Leave them to me."


    The mercenaries didn''t really have battleships of their own. Most of them rode a cruise ship to reach this region.


    Aldred, observing the chaos from the Ster Seraph, felt a surge of pride. The mercenaries, initially a disparate group, were proving to be a force to be reckoned with. However, he knew that the Tribe of Ghost, being cunning and ruthless, would not go down without a fight.


    The old man, who had initiated the first strike, continued to lead the charge on the front lines. His boomingughter echoed through the chaos as he sted through Tribe of Ghost guards with his powerful cannon.


    As the battle raged on, alliances formed among the mercenaries. Language barriers were broken, and cultures melded into a unified front against themon enemy. The once-quiet za had be a crucible where bonds were forged in the heat of battle.


    Amidst the carnage, the Tribe of Ghost fought desperately to defend their territory.


    High Lord Varian, the enigmatic leader of the Tribe of Ghost, paced back and forth in hismand center, a concealed fortress hidden beneath the surface of a deste moon. The news of the sudden and coordinated assault by the mercenaries had ignited a fierce anger within him. His eyes glowed with a mixture of frustration and determination.


    "How dare!? How dare they!"He mmed his hand on the holographic table, causing the images of the ongoing battles across the Xantis Expanse to flicker. "Coming to my territory and attacking my soldiers! What impudence!"


    The generals, gathered around the table, exchanged uneasy nces. Varian''s voice echoed in the chamber,ced with suppressed fury.


    "Exin to me, how did these mercenaries prate our defenses so swiftly andunch such a coordinated attack?" Varian demanded, his gaze fixed on his generals. "The Xantis Expanse should be under myplete control! We should know where every insects in our are!"


    One of the generals, a seasoned tactician named Ka, stepped forward. "My Lord, it appears they had insider information. Our agents and spies within their ranks have been neutralized. The Celestial toon seems to possess advanced technology that allowed them to expose and eliminate our hidden operatives."


    "Fuck them! I knew I shouldn''t have let them invite billions of mercenaries in my region! What was I thinking?"


    "You can''t know at that time, my lord. The idea of billions of people entering our region is a great idea as it will boost our economy to a new level. In fact, from an economist point of view, our territory should be sufficient enough to sustain itself and we don''t have to resort to stealing anymore."


    Indeed, the billions of people would be an injection of money and manpower.


    However, that was merely an illusion.


    "Tell me, do we have any agents left?"


    "Unfortunately, we almost have none, my lord. The rest of our spies are currently running for their lives."


    Varian''s fists clenched as he absorbed the information. The loss of their covertwork was a severe blow to the Tribe of Ghost''s strategy. "How could this happen? Have we been infiltrated?"


    "I do not think we have a rat amongst us, my lord. Thinking so will be a dangerous thought as everyone will be wary of each other."


    "We should believe there aren''t any spies within us, however, it will be wise if we secretly look for one."


    Ka nodded. "It seems their leader, Aldred, has a powerful ally. Our attempts to track theirmunications have been futile. They possess technology beyond anything we''ve encountered before."


    Varian''s eyes narrowed. The situation had escted beyond a mere sh between mercenaries and his Tribe. This was now a battle against formidable adversaries with advanced technology and strategic prowess.


    Another general, a cold and calcting figure named Shinob, added, "My Lord, our forces are holding ground in some sectors, but casualties are rising. The mercenaries fight with an unusual level of coordination. It''s as if they''ve undergone extensive training, perhaps military-grade simtions."


    High Lord Varian''s eyes gleamed with a mixture of fury and determination as he absorbed the grim news from his generals.


    The ongoing battles across the Xantis Expanse had be a battlefield unlike any the Tribe of Ghost had faced before. The Celestial toon, armed with advanced technology and strategic prowess, proved to be a formidable adversary.


    The very fact that billions of enemies entered deep in their territory was a vital key for their helplessness.


    "We underestimated them," Varian muttered, his voice a low growl. "But we won''t allow this upstart Celestial toon to challenge our dominion. We shall not falter! We will fight and reim what is rightfully ours."


    Shinob, the calcting general, spoke up. "My Lord, we have elite legion of warships awaiting yourmand. Our best warriors are ready to engage the mercenaries directly. We can hit them where they least expect it and regain control."


    Varian nodded, considering the proposal. "Yes, we''ll strike swiftly and decisively. Gather our elite forces and prepare for a counteroffensive. I want the mercenaries to feel the weight of our retaliation."


    The generals all agreed for a counter-attack.


    The generals were in the midst of finalizing their counteroffensive ns when, with a sudden crash, a group of robots breached through the ceiling of Varian''smand center. Theynded with precision, forming a protective perimeter around the room, their weapons aimed at the startled generals.


    Leading this robotic incursion was Quantum Sentinel, Vortimer''s royal sentient robot guard. The massive, bulky humanoid figure, d in metallic armor, had a cold, unyielding presence. Its glowing green eyes scanned the room, assessing the potential threats.


    Varian''s eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. "What is the meaning of this intrusion? Who dares to breach the sanctum of the Tribe of Ghost?"


    Quantum Sentinel spoke with a mechanical voice that resonated through themand center.


    "I am Quantum Sentinel, loyal servant of Vortimer. By themand of Aldred, leader of the Celestial toon, I am here to ensure the safety of High Lord Varian and to oversee the cooperation of the Tribe of Ghost in the ongoing conflict."

 Chapter 693 693 Killing Varian

    <h4>Chapter 693 Chapter 693 Killing Varian</h4>


    Varian''s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the imposing figure of Quantum Sentinel.


    The tension in the room was palpable as the generals, uncertain of the robot''s intentions, awaited an exnation.


    "Exin yourself!" Varian demanded, his voice a low growl. "Why does Aldred send his metallic enforcer to mymand center? Are we to be prisoners in our own stronghold?"


    The Quantum Sentinel''s lips did not move, however, a voice came from him as if it was a pre-recorded voice of a person. "It is obvious. You are enemy. Must be kill."


    "You n to kill us? We have ruled this region for hundreds of years! You can''t kill u¡ª"


    Suddenly, a spear came out of High Lord Varian''s chest.


    High Lord Varian''s eyes widened in shock as he felt the cold metal of the spear protruding from his chest. The audible gasps of the generals filled the room, their uncertainty turning to horror at the unexpected attack.


    Varian''s voice, now strained, uttered, "The Tribe of Ghost will not forget this moment. My people will do everything they can to destroy you."


    The metallic enforcer, devoid of emotion or exnation, withdrew the spear with a swift motion. Varian stumbled forward, copsing to his knees. Blood stained his regal attire, and he clutched at the wound.


    As Varian coughed up blood, Quantum Sentinel remained impassive, its glowing eyes reflecting no remorse. The generals, frozen in shock, nced at each other, their once-secure stronghold now plunged into chaos.


    "Murderer!" one of the generals shouted, drawing his weapon.


    But before any retaliatory action could be taken, Quantum Sentinel''s form flickered, and it vanished from sight, leaving the generals in disarray. The sudden attack had caught them off guard, and the room descended into chaos.


    Varian, weakened and on the brink of copse, struggled to maintain hisposure. He clenched his teeth, the pain coursing through his body, and his eyes darted around the room, searching for Quantum Sentinel''s next move.


    The oncemand center, now a scene of carnage, echoed with the groans and gasps of the dying generals. Quantum Sentinel reappeared, its metallic form unscathed, and surveyed the aftermath of its deadly assault.


    High Lord Varian, weakened and humbled, red at the robotic enforcer from his position on the cold floor. "What madness is this. You killed all of my most powerful generals! Who are you?"


    Quantum Sentinel''s cold mechanical voice resonated through the room. "Aldred has deemed the leaders of the Tribe of Ghost as obstacles to cooperation. Their removal was deemed necessary for the greater good."


    "Who the fuck is this Aldred? I never heard of him before."


    "Then you should have heard of me."


    Coming from the front door, Zarael revealed herself as she red at Varian.


    "You! You dirty bitch! I gave you mercy by sparing your life and this is how you repay my kindness?"


    "Yes. You should''ve killed me along with my brother that day. Now, let me repay my kindness."


    Lord Varian red at her as Zarael picked his head before she hovered a knife around his neck.


    "Anyst word?"


    Varian spat on her face. "Filthy bitc¡ª"


    Zarael decapitated him.


    "The word limit is one," Zarael said before throwing the head away.


    She then stood up and walked to the door. "Our job here is done. Without themand centers, their forces will be in disarray. The best they can do is send small attacks periodically. However, that won''t be any problem as we will destroy them before they can even do that."


    The grand cosmic battle in a small gctic region continued.


    Meanwhile, Vortimer was receiving and processing countless data in his head. His brain was an extremely powerful superputer int itself, designed to perform billions of programs at once, it was why he was able to do so many things at once.


    However, he still marveled for what Aldred had done.


    If Vortimer wanted to conquer the Xantis Expanse, he would do it in a more traditional way, attacking the region with a more advanced technology and army. With his might, he will sooner orter gain control, however, it will still take him a few years for him to control the entire region and cleanse the guerri forces.


    But Aldred had an idea that he never thought about before. Putting their army right inside the enemy''s nest without them realizing and then activate them when the time was right.


    "Such genius," Vortimermented. "Not only he has incredible magic power, but he is also a man of strategy that understand the sophisticatedplexity of warfare. Who is he really? Why did I never heard of him before?"


    Aldred''s existence was still aplete mystery to him.


    He was an ancient robot that had lived since the age when humans were still a small force in the gxy.


    "I hope I don''t ever sh with him. And if I do, I better be extremely careful."


    ¡­


    At a certain called Lumarian Prime, Francus Hendry heavily breathed in and out as he put down his overheated cannon.


    Francus Hendry wiped sweat from his forehead, his eyes scanning the aftermath of the fierce battle. The once serenendscape had transformed into a battleground strewn with debris, scorch marks, and the remnants of both Celestial toon and Tribe of Ghost forces.


    He looked around the battlefield and saw the old man that fired the first shot to be lying on the floor with a wide smile on his face.


    Francus approached the old man whoy on the ground surrounded by the remnants of the battle. "Old man, you sure know how to lead a charge."


    The old man, who had initiated the first shot,y on the ground with a satisfied smile on his face. Hendry approached him cautiously, his cannon still in hand but now powered down. The air crackled with residual energy from the recent shes, and the distant sounds of ongoing skirmishes echoed through the alien terrain.


    "Old man," Hendry called out, "you seem to be enjoying yourself."


    The old man chuckled, his eyes reflecting a lifetime of experiences. "A good fight is the spice of life, my young friend. Name''s Grigor. Grigor Kaldur."


    "Hendry. Francus Hendry. We''ve made quite a mess here, haven''t we?"


    "That''s the way of war, son. Chaos and creation dancing together. Now, tell me, how did you end up with the Celestial toon?" The old man stood up and sat on a rubble. He grabbed a metal box of cigarettes and blew a puff of smoke.

 Chapter 694 694 War

    <h4>Chapter 694 Chapter 694 War</h4>


    Hendry sighed, holstering his cannon. "I was a frencer, taking odd jobs here and there. The pay from Celestial toon was too good to resist, and the cause seemed just. Never expected to find myself in the midst of a cosmic war, though."


    Grigor nodded knowingly. "War has a way of finding those who seek it or those who try to avoid it. It''s a fickle thing."


    "I feel like we''ve been scammed," Hendryined.


    "Don''t judge too quick. They said to banish demons from this world. They don''t specify the demons in what form." The old manughed. "To me, the Tribe of Ghost were demons as well. I am telling you, these people deserve to die. Why do you think so many of us so eager to kill them?"


    Hendry looked at the mercenaries in the distance. They were in a crazed state, chasing and killing the enemies with a big grin on their face.


    "I don''t live around this region, so I don''t really know."


    Grigor took another drag from his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke before turning to Hendry. "You see, son, war is a beast that devours everything in its path. It doesn''t care about reasons or justifications. We''re just pawns in arger game."


    "Why the change of topic all of a sudden?"


    "My hatred towards the Tribe of Ghost is used to manipte people like me to defeat them. The people in Celestial toon probably know about this."


    "You know,?yet you still do it?"


    "Well, like you said. The pay is good."


    Hendry, still catching his breath, nodded in agreement. "But what''s the endgame? What''s Aldred''s n here? Why are we in the middle of this cosmic chaos?"


    "It''s the usual dispute for territory probably. The big man are never satisfied with what they got. They always wanted more. It''s just unfortunate that small guys like us are sacrificed a lot of times when they disagree on something."


    "Now, you really sounds like an old man."


    "I am. I don''t have much longer to live. Now I see war as a game. Just something to waste my time with."


    "I never thought of it that way¡­"


    "You shouldn''t. You still have a long lifespan ahead of you. Don''t risk shortening it in this field of work."


    "Are you taking pity for me?"


    "Don''t know. You look like you''re lost. As if you don''t know what you want to do."


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Because I didn''t know what I want to do. In fact, I still don''t."


    "I think you smoked a little too much, old man. I am going to help the others. Don''t want my employers think I amzing around. This Celestial toonpany seems to be able to track where we are and what we do at all time."


    Grigor took another drag from his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Good luck."


    Francus Hendry moved forward, his senses on high alert as he scanned the battlefield.


    The air was thick with tension, and the once-calmndscape now echoed with the chaos of war. The remnants of the Celestial toon and the Tribe of Ghost shed fiercely.


    As Hendry approached the front lines, he saw an enemy in his sights and fired his weapon. The burst of energy cut through the air, hitting its mark with precision.


    The mercenaries kept on advancing aggressively as the enemy forces were weakened. Everything went well and it seem like victory was within sight.


    However, the Tribe of Ghostunched a surprise attack from the shadows, catching many of his allies off guard.


    Explosions erupted, and the sounds of battle intensified. Hendry swiftly took cover behind arge boulder, his eyes darting around as he assessed the situation.


    The Ghost of Tribe, d in dark armor and wielding advanced weaponry, emerged from concealed positions, striking with deadly efficiency.


    "Fuck! Where they did they got those weapons?" Francus cursed. "There is no fucking way I can beat them."


    With that in mind, he decided to stay hidden and tried not to make any noise.


    However, the sound of footsteps approached.


    Francus'' heart skipped a beat. ''Fuck. I hope he don''t find me.''


    A man in full armor walked pass him and then turned around towards him. He had a de in hand, and rushed forward.


    Francus''s blood rushed all over his body as his arms raised the cannon and pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    The cannon sted the man a few meters away, scorching his armor.


    The threat was neutralized, however, the sound caught the attention of the enemies.


    "Over there!"


    Francus ran immediately as energy beams went over his head with searing heat.


    The ground beside him exploded. Shrapnels cut a line of blood on his cheek. The crimson liquid trickled onto his lips, giving him a taste of copper.


    His breath came in ragged gasps as he leaped over debris and ducked behindrge rocks to evade the pursuing enemies.


    The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning metal and the distant cries of battle.


    The mercenaries from Celestial toon, disoriented and caught off guard by the unexpected attack, struggled to regroup.


    Francus could feel the weight of his cannon as he ran, the overheated weapon a reminder of the intense firefight that had just urred. His mind raced, analyzing his surroundings for the safest route to escape. He knew that if he didn''t find cover soon, the Ghost of Tribe would catch up to him.


    As he maneuvered through the chaotdscape, Francus spotted a partially destroyed building that seemed to offer temporary refuge. He sprinted toward it, narrowly avoiding a barrage of energy sts.


    Reaching the building, Francus quickly assessed its structure. It seemed sturdy enough to provide cover. He entered the ruins, weaving through the debris to find a concealed spot.


    Suddenly, hisms activated and let out a projection of a map, revealing that the enemies were drawn away from his location.


    "Thank the emperor!"


    Suddenly, the ceiling burst, sending out smokes and dust.


    Francus coughed a few times and swiped the dirty air away with his hands.


    That was when a cold sharp de swiftly hovered in front of his eyes.

 Chapter 695 695 Medical Ward

    <h4>Chapter 695 Chapter 695 Medical Ward</h4>


    Francus was shocked when the sharp tip of a de was extremely close to stabbing his eye. He thought he was going to die; however, apparently, the de was held by a robot from the Celestial toon that almost mistook Francus as an enemy.


    The cold, metallic grip of the robot''s hand loosened, and the de retracted into its arm. Francus, still catching his breath, stared at the machine in disbelief. The red glow of its optical sensors flickered as if analyzing him.


    As the robot retracted its de, Francus sighed in relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack there, metal friend."


    The robot''s mechanical voice responded, "Apologies for the confusion. The situation is chaotic, and a nearby sr storm is interrupting with our identificatiin system."


    Francus nodded, understanding the necessity for caution in the midst of battle. He patted the robot on its metallic frame. "No hard feelings. I appreciate the backup."


    The robot remained stoic, its mechanical features devoid of emotion. Without uttering another word, it turned and exited the building, leaving Francus bewildered.


    As the robot exited the building, Francus took a moment to assess the situation outside. The battlefield was still chaotic, with sporadic shes between the Celestial toon and the Tribe of Ghost. It was evident that the unexpected attack had thrown both sides into disarray.


    Francus decided to follow the robot, hoping it could lead him to a safer location or provide some insights into the ongoing battle. The machine moved with calcted precision, navigating the war-tornndscape effortlessly.


    As they traversed the battleground, Francus noticed the robotmunicating with other units through encrypted channels. Its role seemed not only defensive but also strategic, coordinating efforts to regain control of the situation.


    After a series of narrow escapes and skirmishes, they reached a temporarymand center set up by the Celestial toon. Officers were strategizing, and holographic disys showcased the current status of the battle.


    The robot approached a high-ranking officer, transmitting data and receiving instructions. Francus, still on edge, observed the exchange. It became apparent that the Celestial toon was adapting to the unexpected assault, mobilizing its forces to counter the Tribe of Ghost''s unconventional tactics.


    "Seems like the Celestial toon is not a newborn group at all. Those officers looked like they have experienced countless battles before."


    One of the officers noticed Francus and shouted at him toe there. The officer red at Francus, asking what he''s doing snooping around here.


    The officer''s stern gaze bore into Francus as he approached themand center. The chaos of battle seemed to fade as the officer eyed him suspiciously.


    What are you doing here?" the officer demanded, his tone cutting through the tension of the room.


    Francus, caught off guard, stammered, "I...uh, just following the robot. It saved me back there."


    The officer''s expression softened slightly, realizing the encounter with the robot. "You''re the one the SENTRY rescued?"


    "Yeah,"


    "It says right here that you manage to lure four enemy squadrons to your directions, saving a lot of your allies in the process."


    "Huh?" When did that happen? Francus blinked confusedly.


    "You''re one of those brave men," the officer praised. "We need more people like you. I can see that you are wounded. My assistant will guide you to the medic, tend your wound there and have some respite."


    The officer left the room.


    Francus was extremely confused. "Did that really happen?"


    A metallic robot maid entered the room and offered Francus to lead him to the medical ward. The humanoid machine had a sleek design, its movements precise and efficient. With a gentle bow, it gestured for Francus to follow.


    "Please follow me, Mr. Hendry. I will ensure you receive the necessary medical attention," the robot maid spoke in a melodic voice, its tone strangely soothing given the chaotic circumstances.


    Still bewildered by the unexpected turn of events, Francus followed the robot through the bustlingmand center. Officers and soldiers moved with urgency, coordinating their efforts to respond to the Tribe of Ghost''s relentless assault.


    As they reached the medical ward, Francus was greeted by the hum of advanced medical equipment and the scent of antiseptic. The metallic maid guided him to a vacant bed, where a human medic awaited.


    "Sit here, and the medic will tend to your injuries," the robot maid suggested.


    As the medic examined his wounds, Francus couldn''t shake the feeling that his role in luring the enemy squadrons had been exaggerated or perhaps even fabricated. The confusion lingered, but the immediate concern was the pain shooting through his body.


    Francus didn''t pay much attention when he was chased by the enemy. His mind was too focused on trying to run away at that time.


    The medic worked efficiently, cleaning and dressing the wounds, while the robot maid stood by, its presence oddlyforting. Once the medic finished, the robot offered a nod of approval.


    "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Hendry. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to ask," the robot said.


    Francus smiled and nodded before the curtain next to him slid to the side, revealing an old man.


    "Haha, I knew it was you. So you''re still alive? Lucky bastard you are."


    "Old man, what are you doing here?"


    "I attacked a little too aggressive. My joints on my knees and shoulders were destroyed, but they got it all fixed. Still, I decide to stay in this ce for a while to make sure my body is truly healed. The people here are nice, but don''t you dare act like a baby around them. You''re a soldier! Remember that."


    Suddenly, a young beautiful nurse came. "Grandpa, did you eat all of your pills this time?"


    "Hehe, how could I eat all of these bitter pills all by myself. I am old and wounded after all."


    The nurse put both hands in her waist and red at the old man.


    Francus could only shake his head. "But I cannot stay here for long."


    It wasn''t because Francus was a diligent mercenary, but the amount of contribution he gave will determine the reward he would be given.


    On hiss, the screen revealed the number: 349.


    It was his contribution points in this battle. Apparently, it had been there all along, but most mercenaries just didn''t get the chance to check it, including him.


    ''If I get a high score, I might be promoted to an officer in the future. No more jumping ships and live in uncertainty.''


    Just as Francus was about leave, he felt extreme goosebumps. The sensation was like ice-cold wind spreading throughout his entire body, making him shiver uncontrobly.


    "What is this feeling?"


    A secondter, a handsome figure with ck hair entered the medical ward. The nurses stopped what they were doing and saluted him before continuing their work.


    Even the officers standing by saluted at him.


    Francus also felt this ethereal glow pulsing out of him as if this man was a star himself.


    "Who are you?" Francus let out those words unconsciously.


    He only realized what he said when the man set his gaze on him.


    He closed his mouth. ''Fuck, this lips are hard to control.''


    "Did you not recognize me?" Aldred smiled.


    That was when Francus realized it. This was the man that appeared in the big projection, telling the mercenaries to attack the Tribe of Ghost.


    This was Aldred! The leader of a newly formed group called Celestial toon.


    "Apologies, sir!"


    "Apology epted. Get some rest, soldier. You have done your very best."


    "Eh," Francus did not expect a man like Aldred would be so kind.


    Aldred thanked and congratted the mercenaries in the medical ward, expressing gratitude for their efforts on the battlefield. His charismatic presence and genuine appreciation put the weary soldiers at ease.


    "Your bravery and resilience have not gone unnoticed," Aldred dered, raising a ss in a toast. "To the Celestial toon and the indomitable spirit of those who fight for a better future!"


    The medical ward transformed into a scene of celebration. Robot maids efficiently brought inrge tes of hearty food and sses filled with wine, creating an impromptu feast for the battle-weary mercenaries.


    The aroma of delicious dishes filled the air, and the clinking of sses resonated as Aldred personally went around, exchanging words of gratitude with each soldier. The atmosphere shifted from one of tension to camaraderie, fostering a sense of unity among the diverse group of mercenaries.


    As Francus enjoyed the feast, he found himself in thepany of fellow soldiers, sharing stories of the chaotic battle, moments of bravery, and even a few lighthearted jokes. The wounded old man from earlier joined the gathering, disying a newfound camaraderie with Francus.


    The robot maids, efficient and unobtrusive, ensured that everyone had their fill of food and drink. Their metallic precision in serving only added to the surreal atmosphere of the celebration.


    Aldred, with a genuine smile on his face, stood at the center of the room, raising a toast once again. "Tonight, we celebrate not just a victory on the battlefield, but the bonds forged amidst the chaos. To the Celestial toon and the indomitable spirit of every warrior here!"


    The cheers that followed echoed through the medical ward, carrying a sense of triumph and unity. It was a moment of respite, a brief pause in the ongoing cosmic war, where soldiers from different walks of life foundmon ground in their shared struggle.


    The okd man cheered and raised a ss. "Fuck, I think I am going to stay being a mercenary in this group for a while."


    Francus chewed a mouthful of meat and nodded.

 Chapter 696 696 Shinari Training

    <h4>Chapter 696 Chapter 696 Shinari Training</h4>


    After Aldred turned the medical ward into a festive feast, he left the scene and returned to his Ster Seraph.


    He then observed the medical ward from the cameras there.


    "What are you doing, Aldred?" Shinari asked.


    "I am just watching how the mercenaries are doing."


    "I saw you went there and gave them food and drinks."


    "Is it weird?" Aldred asked.


    "Well, not really. But you are the highest leader in this organization. People at the bottom rarely could get the chance to see people at the top. Most of them stayed hidden and elusive, giving orders from the shadows."


    "I am different," Aldred said. "I am not the type that hide behind safety. I am the type that fight in the frontline when necessary. I am the type that lead an army charging at the forefront of the formation."


    "You do that all the time in your home world?"


    "Doing it all the time would be foolish, but when I do, my army was certain that we will gain victory."


    Shinari smiled. "You really are different, Aldred. This much power. This much authority. To be honest, it scares me. I feel repelled by your change. But now I realized, you never changed at all. You treat us the same way you did the first time we met."


    True. Aldred was never that kind of person that threw away friends when he didn''t need them anymore.


    "I believe the others feel the same way as I do. That''s why they are trying their best right now, trying to catch up to you."


    Aldred nodded. He admitted that the crew were trying very hard in this campaign against the Tribe of Ghost. Their contribution points were the highest among the billions of mercenaries.


    "Each and every one of you have special talent." Aldred turned around, revealing his bright glowing eyes. "I have eyes that can see what most cannot. You all have talent that far surpass geniuses."


    "Is that true?"


    "All you need is a little push."


    "We''ve been trying ever since we see your quick growth. When we first met, we sort of equal in power. But as you get stronger, we have been trying to keep up and stay on your side."


    Shinari approached her and rubbed her head. "And here you are, still by my side."


    "That''s not what I mean."


    "I know what you mean," Aldred interjected. "You all can always stay by my side, however, you cannot be in front of me. I will protect you all."


    "Then who protect you?"


    Aldred didn''t expect that question, but he smiled nheless. "I have my guardians. They have always protected me. Even though I never see it. I know they protected me all these time, even now. And I can never ever surpass them. All I can do is try to catch up."


    "They must be very powerful."


    Aldred recalled his father and mother and sister. "Far than we all can imagine."


    Shinari unconsciously held Aldred''s hand.


    Aldred nced at her. "Do you need something."


    "It must be lonely to be at the top all alone. Help us be stronger. We want to apany you."


    "Fine." Aldred hovered his index finger on her forehead.


    "What are you going to do?"


    He flicked her forehead.


    "What''s that gonn¡ª"


    Suddenly, her vision changed.


    Shinari''s mind plunged into an ethereal realm, a cosmic journey through a strange and vibrant wormhole. She felt weightless as streams of stars streaked past her, creating mesmerizing patterns of light.


    As she traveled through this otherworldly passage, Shinari glimpsed fleeting images of Aldred''s memories ¨C moments of his past, glimpses of his home world.


    The stars transformed into vivid scenes, telling a story of power, sacrifice, and the unyielding spirit that defined Aldred''s existence.


    There was a scene showing of Aldred falling to the ground, trembling in fear as the enemy raised his de about to kill him.


    The scene changed immediately, revealing Aldred fighting bravely against a strange gigantic snake-like creature.


    A secondter it changed again. It was Aldred and his friends climbing a mountain under extreme blizzard.


    Then it showed Aldred leading an army of golems and undead.


    "Is this Aldred''s memory?" Shinari said to herself.


    The scenes continued, showing Aldred''s adventure and the people he met and defeat along the way.


    In the midst of this cosmic journey, Shinari felt a surge of energy. It was as if the very essence of the universe flowed through her.


    As the journey continued, Shinari emerged from the wormhole, finding herself in a surreal astral ne. The stars around her coalesced into celestial beings, each radiating a unique brilliance.


    One by one, the celestial beings approached her, conveying a silent acknowledgment. They radiated an aura of wisdom and strength.


    "What are these things?"


    "We are you," the beings replied at the same time before shape shifting into Shinari''s appearance.


    "We are your strength and weakness. In order to grow, you need to use your strength and crush your weaknesses."


    The beings attacked immediately. All pouncing towards her.


    Shinari battled them.


    Long time passed. She couldn''t tell the exact time, however, she could defeat the beings that mimick her from time to time before they appeared again and attacked her.


    This pattern repeated for uncountable times until she could effortlessly defeat herselves.


    The ethereal experience slowly faded, and Shinari found herself back in the Ster Seraph, standing before Aldred. Her eyes now glowed with a cosmic radiance, reflecting the newfound understanding and abilities bestowed upon her during the celestial journey.


    Aldred observed Shinari with a knowing smile. "You have glimpsed the essence of the cosmos. Embrace the strength within you, for you are no longer bound by the limits of the ordinary."


    Shinari, now aware of the untapped potential she possessed, nodded with a newfound determination. "Thank you, Aldred."


    She looked at him a little differently now. Personally seeing Aldred''s past made her understand him a lot better. She understood how he think, how he behave, and how and why he act.


    His every moves were calcted, though he was not strict and sometimes do what his heart told him to do.


    "You threw a feast for the mercenaries. You do it for your own benefit. You want their loyalty."


    "That''s correct," he did not deny it.


    "However, you also do it to reward their hard work."


    "That is also true."


    Shinari smiled at him. "You are not evil, Aldred. You do what must be done, however, there is never a sign if corruption in your heart. You are a pure soul without any intention to cause harm. You are simply a little broken and wounded but that is a good thing because it shed away your naivety. A good man knows that there are evil in this world. A good man never believed that everything is good and nothing is bad."


    Aldredughed. "You start to sound like my wives. They always have something to say to lecture me." Aldred caressed her cheek. "But that means that they care about me."


    "I care about you."


    "Do you?"


    "I do." Shinari leaned forward and kissed him.


    Aldred didn''t reject her advances, instead, he pushed her to a nearby wall and put his tongue inside.


    They french-kissed for a good while.


    Aldred released his kiss and looked at her in the eye before lifting her up like a princess. He then walked to a nearby sofa and put here there.


    "This will be your first time, but it won''t be yourst."


    A few hourster, Shinari was trembling and shaking on the sofa. Her whole body was wet with sweat as she tightly hold the sofa with her hands. Her breathing was ragged as she was desperate for air.


    On the other side of the sofa was a blood stain.


    "You did well," Aldred said with a sweet smile on his face.


    "You really gave me no time to rest." Shinari breathed in and out.


    Aldredughed. "I can''t help it. When I hear your moan and when I see your red lips, I just want to do you so hard that you won''t even be able to walk for a while."


    "I take my words back. You are evil and mean."


    Aldred simply chuckled to thatment before he covered her with a warm nket.


    Right after that, the door opened.


    Zarael entered the room. "Aldred, report just came i¡ª did I interrupt?"


    "No. Not at all. We just finished."


    Shinari blushed, thinking what a close call it was. Still, Zarael must know what they were doing earlier by looking at this scene alone.


    It was pretty obvious after all!


    However, Zarael seemed to not care and continued. "The Tribe of Ghost are basically destroyed. More than 50 millions of their forces are killed thesest few weeks, and reports say that a lot of them decided to flee the region."


    Aldred wore his coat unbuttoned, revealing his powerful muscles. "Just as nned. Let those who flee go freely. No need to chase them. This will indirectly tell the enemy that we don''t want their death and that we will let them live if they escape. I am sure you are fine with this. You killed their leader, right?"


    Zarael nodded. "Thank you."

 Chapter 697 697 Territory Debate

    <h4>Chapter 697 Chapter 697 Territory Debate</h4>


    "This region is yours to have," Aldred said. "However, I will need you to pay taxes to me. I am sure you understand that to maintain an army I need a lot of resources and manpower."


    "I disagree!"


    Suddenly, Vortimer entered the room and expressed his disagreement. "I don''t think Zarael is worthy enough for you to give him this region that easily."


    Zarael frowned.


    "Why do you think so?" Aldred asked.


    Vortimer pointed at her. "During this operation, her contributions are barely noticeable. It is my army that did most of the work coordinating the mercenaries, gathering intelligence, and intercepting the enemies before they could disrupt our n. Zarael only managed to kill the lord because I found him first and because I let her kill him."


    Aldred put his hand on his chin, pondering the arguments deeply. "I would say you make some fair points, Vortimer. So what do you suggest?"


    "I suggest you give me 90% of the Xantis Expanse, the rest will be given to Zarael."


    "That''s too much!" Zarael red.


    "So what? I do 90% of the work. Without me, you won''t be able to defeat the Tribe of Ghost this fast."


    The both of them argued back and forth. The situation seemed tense, however, Aldred was calm. He knew Vortimer wouldin about this matter sooner orter.


    "Enough!" Aldred said. "Since we are talking about contribution, then I will have to put my own into calction. The ones who put billions of mercenaries in the Xantis Expanse was me. So naturally, I contributed a lot to this operation. The billions of mercenaries entering the Xantis Expanse are the key of this sessful operation. It''s like putting all of our armies right in the enemy''s heart. With this vital point, I want 90% of the territory. The 10% will be split in half among the two of you."


    "Uneptable!" Vortimerined.


    "So are you saying that the billions of mercenaries I put in here are worthless?"


    "No. I did not say that. But I don''t think it''s fair for me to get 10%."


    Zarael''s face turned red now. At first she was worried if she could get more than half, now she wondered if she could get anything at all.


    After all, Aldred''s strategy with the mercenaries were really the vital point of this operation. So his contribution was the biggest among the three of them.


    "I will make a proposal. This is my best offer, so listen carefully. I will get 60% Vortimer will get 30% and Zarael will get 10%."


    The two of them was about to speak until Aldred continued.


    "But! This will not be permanent. If you offered something of value to me, I can give you the territory I have. And by the way, this won''t be the only region we will conquer so don''t think too much about it. I have said this before and I will say this again. I will give all of you what you want. Zarael, if you continue to aid me I will give you this region as the reward. So how does that sound?"


    "I agree," Vortimer said. "For now."


    Aldred nodded and nced at Zarael.


    "I agree as well."


    "Great. Now let''s get back to work. Give me the reports of our casualties."


    The holographic projection shimmered to life, disying the grim reality of the casualties across variouss. The hologram showed scenes of battles, explosions, and the faces of fallen mercenaries, their sacrifice evident in the haunting images.


    Aldred''s expression remained stoic as he observed the holographic scenes. The room fell silent, the weight of the loss palpable. The grand total of casualties climbed steadily on the holographic disy, reaching the staggering number of 12 billion mercenaries.


    Everyone was shocked to see that number of casualties.


    Shinari was even trembling when she saw that number.


    "Twelve billion¡­ I can''t believe that many died," Shinari said.


    Zarael sighed. "Although I expect the casualties to berge, I did not expect it to be this much."


    "This much casualties is normal in a massive operation. We are taking over a region of the gxy after all."


    Aldred also expected this many people to die. It was logical. There were thousands if not tens of thousands of and star systems in this region. Each could hold a couple of billions of people, and now imagine the entire region was at war. It was to be expected that billions would die.


    In fact, it was part of Aldred''s grand n to remove the weakling mercenaries and keep the more stronger and experienced ones.


    And now that they experienced a grand cosmic scale battle, they would certainly be smarter than before.


    "Zarael," Aldred called. "Give our soldiers a feast. I want their tables to be filled with all kinds of food and the best kind of drinks they ever had."


    "There are still billions of mercenaries left. If we give them all a feast¡­ the cost will be very high."


    Aldredughed. "What are you talking about? The mercenaries are spread among the tens of thousands of, I am sure each have enough resources to give them some good food and drinks. Just tell the locals to donate and promise them protection of their assets and dignity."


    Zarael nodded. "I will do that." She left themand chamber and get to work immediately.


    "Why do all this?" Vortimer asked. "They are your soldiers. It is expected for them to do your biddings."


    "They are humans," Aldred said. "I need to give them reward from time to time."


    "This is why robots are far more superior. They don''t have your weakness."


    Aldred chuckled. "Perhaps."


    Shinari looked at Aldred. Now that she knew about Aldred''s past, she already knew why he did this.


    But still, it pain her heart to know that billions of people died in this operation.


    "War is such a cruel thing. Billions died only for a territory to change hands."


    "Wrong," Aldred said. "It''s not just a matter of changing hands. It''s changing the entire systems that affecting billions of lives. With me ruling this region, there will be no pirates or thieves. This region won''t be so closed off and I will open the gate and will flood this region with investors and opportunities. This region full of darkness will be bristling with economic activities, turning this gloomy cosmic region into a beautiful part of human society."


    Shinari''s eyes widened. She did not doubt Aldred''s words at all. That was because she had seen what Aldred did in the past. Whenever he conquered a region, he would always turn it into something much better. Economy, culture, political system,ws, health care, education, technology, industries, and many more.


    Aldred thought about everything and anything to improve thend and made the region prosperous.


    Within Aldred''s memories there were millions of people praising and praying for his name. Some even worshipped him, creating a cult and religion with him as the figure of their prayer.


    He was that influential and simply that powerful. Wait a minute¡­ Didn''t the Emperor of mankind felt simr to Aldred?


    Could he possibly match the Emperor in the future? No. That was impossible. The Emperor was pictured as the most powerful godly entity in the history of humankind, leading humanity to conquer the most territorypared to other races.


    "Aldred, what is your n for this gxy?" Shinari asked.


    "Unity," Aldred honestly said. "I promised Vortimer that I will help him unite this gxy. What about your wives? Uniting the gxy is a massive goal. I don''t think you can get it done so quickly."


    "I discussed that with Vortimer as well. I told him that I will do left him a little something to help his goal. Also, I will return to this ce when I can to help."


    "Right, what about your n in fighting Lord Malgorth? When are we going to do that?"


    "We are going to do that soon enough. However, we first need to use the resources we have to train our recruits and also we need to manufacture more battleships."


    "What about asking for the Imperium''s help?"


    "They won''t help me with mere words alone. Besides, I don''t really want to deal with them. The Imperium will demand a lot of stuff from me. For now, this organization will be treated as a mercenary group. So we will divide a part of our members to do mercenary task such as protection jobs, rescue missions, information gathering, etc."


    "We won''t fight Lord Malgorth right away?"


    Aldredughed. "War is a game of patience. Lord Malgorth is not the ordinary demons we used to fight. We should create a strategy that increase our chance of victory as much as possible and reduce the risk of failure and most importantly, create an infrastructure and system that allow us to get up whenever we fail our attack."


    "I see¡­" Shinari looked down. "I didn''t think about it that far. I guess that''s the different between you and I."


    "It''s normal. You are a soldier. Your mind focused on one mission at a time. I am a general that overlook an entire army. I have to think far beyond the current time."


    Shinari smiled. "You are so amazing, Aldred."

 Chapter 698 698 Two Years Later

    <h4>Chapter 698 Chapter 698 Two Years Later</h4>


    Two years passed, and the Xantis Expanse underwent a remarkable transformation under Aldred''s leadership.


    The once war-torn region now thrived with economic activities, bustling cities, and improved living conditions. Aldred''smitment to rebuilding the infrastructure, implementing effective governance, and fostering economic growth had turned the once-gloomy cosmic region into a prosperous part of human society.


    Celestial toon became synonymous with stability and order in the Xantis Expanse. Aldred''s mercenaries, now well-trained and battle-hardened, patrolled the region, dealing with pirates, thieves, and other criminals. The Celestial toon''s reputation as enforcers of justice spread far and wide, dissuading those who sought to exploit the vulnerable.


    Aldred, however, did not confine his efforts to the Xantis Expanse alone.


    His mercenaries took on missions and tasks all over the gxy, from protecting trade routes to rescuing hostages and gathering valuable intelligence. The Celestial toon became a sought-after force, and Aldred''s strategic brilliance and unwaveringmitment to justice earned him admiration and respect.


    Shinari, along with other key members of the Celestial toon, witnessed the expansion of their influence and the positive impact on the regions they touched. The once skeptical mercenaries who had questioned Aldred''s motives now saw the tangible results of his leadership. The believers in the cult of Aldred multiplied, praising his name as a force of positive change.


    Mentioning his name was like mentioning the name of a god.


    The Celestial toon''s headquarters, once a center for war strategies, now served as a hub for diplomacy and coordination. Representatives from differents and systems sought an audience with Aldred, hoping to align themselves with the rising power in the gxy.


    Everything was going extremely well.


    The Xantis Expanse became almost a literal paradise. People from all around the gxy came here to find jobs and opportunities, pushing better innovation which leads to more economic growth.


    Smander and the others were so satisfied with this. They couldn''t believe that they would have the power to affect so many lives.


    There were still battles amongst the star, however, the future seem brighter than before. At least, for the people in the Xantis Expanse.


    Yet, none of them had any doubt that Aldred will expanse this region of peace in the future.


    Aldred, however, remained focused on his ultimate goal¡ªpreparing for the inevitable sh with Lord Malgorth. The demonic threat loomedrge, and Aldred understood the importance of strengthening his forces before confronting such a formidable adversary. He invested heavily in battleship production, technology research, and continued training for his expanding army.


    Meanwhile, Zarael, Vortimer, and other key figures in the Celestial toon worked tirelessly to manage the newly acquired territories and maintain stability. Each member contributed to the organization''s sess, and Aldred ensured that their efforts were recognized and rewarded.


    Aldred still did not know where Vortimer''s true forces were hiding. From what he knew for thest 2 years, he did not have a clear territory, instead, his forces were scattered all around the gxy.


    He wasn''t worried that Vortimer would stab him in the back, though. Surprisingly, Vortimer had been a great help and was very cooperative.


    ''I thought he hated humans.''


    As the Celestial toon continued its gctic operations, Aldred received reports of Lord Malgorth''s activities. The demon lord, too, had been consolidating power, expanding his influence across the gxy.


    Aldred did not know why Lord Malgorth aggressively expanding his power. It felt like he was preparing for something.


    Inside themand center of the Ster Seraph, Aldred sat in contemtion, his eyes fixed on holographic disys detailing the ongoing operations in various sectors of the gxy.


    His mind was consumed with the impending sh with Lord Malgorth, the demon lord whose motives remained shrouded in mystery. Aldred, a seasoned strategist, couldn''t shake the feeling that there was more to Malgorth''s relentless expansion than met the eye. The demon lord''s actions hinted at a grander scheme, one that Aldred struggled to decipher.


    "Lord Malgorth has been expanding his forces since ten years ago, not discriminating between the elven, the orcs, and the other races territory. However, most of the area he attacked are owned by humans. In fact, one of the recently attacked area is very near the Xantis Expanse. Sooner orter, I should receive a call."


    As he pondered the enigma of Lord Malgorth, a holographic projection flickered to life, and an urgentmunication request appeared on the main disy. The title read "The Holy Inquisition."


    Aldred, intrigued and somewhat wary, epted the call. The holographic image of a distinguished figure in borate robes materialized before him.


    "Greetings, Aldred, leader of the Celestial toon. I am Inquisitor Aeliana, representing The Holy Inquisition. We have been watching your activities with great interest."


    Aldred smiled and slightly bowed his head. "What would make a powerful and respectable inquisitor take an interest in this lowly me?"


    While he was kingdom-building the Xantis Expanse, he studied the hierarchy system of Elven, Orcs, and other races. Especially the humans.


    He understood that the inquisition were one of the most powerful group in the Imperium.


    Other than the Emperor and his Holy Sons, the inquisition had the power tomand all the military of mankind.


    A single word from them could send an entire legion of battleships to the Xantis Expanse.


    "First, I would like to praise you for cleansing the criminals from Xantis Expanse. Every human territory is solely owned by the Imperium and you have greatly contributed by cleansing the stain on our holynd."


    "I am unworthy of such praise."


    "You are worthy, so I offers you a chance to cleanse another stain on our window once more. I am sure you are aware of the demon army. Their territory are centered at X 548.32, Y -213.17, Z 695.88 and 600 light-years wide in diameter."


    Aeliana, the Inquisitor, continued. "The region has over 452,400 stars. They are valuable resources for the Imperium and losing them can be a catastrophic event."


    "What can be done, Inquisitor?"


    "I demand you to show and prove your loyalty to the Emperor. Fight the demon army."


    Aldred already expected that. The people in higher power always had the tendency to tell others to do thing.


    It was some sort of curse for the people above.


    However, Aldred had a ace card for this kind of people.


    "I shall do as youmand, Inquisitor. However, in order to defeat the demon army with such a grand scale, I will need significant resources and manpower. The cost needed to require all of this are huge. I hope the Inquisitor can help me with that."


    Aeliana silently red at him.


    Aldred was worried a bit.

 Chapter 699 699 New Tech

    Chapter 699  699 New Tech


    "How dare you! Are you so ipetent that you couldn''t even gather the resources and manpower yourself? Your ruled in Xantis Expanse is not yet official. If you want to keep your territory in the future, then you need to show the Emperor your utmost loyalty. I will not hear about this matter no more. The next time we speak, I demand significant progress."


    The screen vanished.


    Aldred mmed the table with his fist, creating a dent. "Fucking bastard! Think you can order me around?"


    He was about to destroy something before he calm himself down. "I need to calm down. The people with great power in the Imperium naturally cannot be tricked with simple words. I need to think of something."


    After a few minutes, Aldred quickly thought of a n. "If I can''t get those resources, then I will get them myself."


    Aldred pressed on a button on hismand panel. "Zarael."


    Zarael''s projection popped out. "You called?"


    "Yes. I want you to help me with something."


    "What is it?"


    ¡­


    Francus Hendry was sitting inside a spacecraft holding a stic spoon as he nkly stared at his food.


    "Nervous?" Grigor asked.


    Grigor was the old man that Francus met the first time he arrived in the Xantis Expanse. The both of them had entered the Celestial toon and stayed every since.


    "I''ve been doing this for over two years. Why are you still asking that question?"


    Grigorughed. "No matter how many times we do this. There is always a chance that this will be ourst."


    "Don''t make it dramatic, old man." Francus put his food down and stood up.


    "I am not dramatic." The old man stood up as well and wore his battle suit.


    The door in front of them opened, revealing the sky full of winged beasts attacking the air forces.


    A sea of gigantd monsters marched and surrounded a city as fast projectiles andser beams were fired in every single direction.


    "I was just being realistic."


    Everyone threw themselves out of the spacecraft and pulled out their weapons and began firing towards the monsters. Francus activated the rapid-fire mode and started sting towards the flying monsters that came at them.


    "Release the wings! We need to reach the high ground!"


    Francus pulled a lever located on his knee and a pair of wings appeared on his back.


    There were small wingsing out of his legs too, and the team glide through the air as they shot down monsters.


    They were flying towards a hill where they would get a safe space and great position to fire the monsters.


    A winged-beast dived from above.


    The HUD on Francus'' helmet red with rm as it warn him of danger. Quickly, he set his attention above and fired towards the beast.


    Two energy beams struck at the beast''s wings, making it losing its bnce in the air.


    "I got you!"


    The team quickly arrived atop the hill and made a safending.


    Then all of them grabbed a coin out of their pocket and threw it on the ground.


    When the coin was about tond on the ground, they transformed into a massive double-barreled cannon.


    "I still can''t get used to this technology," Grigor said. "Whoever the engineer behind this is a fucking genius!"


    Francus smiled. He agreed with every word Grigor said.


    Wasting no time, they manned the turret and started firing powerful explosive beams towards thend and sky.


    They were firing their cannons like a rapid machine guns, drawing the sky andnd with lines of blue and explosions.


    After hours of firing endlessly, the cannons finally ran out of energy.


    However, they already took our arge chunk of the monsters.


    Francus stepped out of the cannon and it transformed into a coin that fell to his palm.


    The coin looked burnt and it actually felt really hot. If it wasn''t for his extreme-temperature glove, his palm would be burned.


    "Man, that cannon is awesome! If only we can use it more often."


    Francus nodded. "Sadly, it''s a one-time-use."


    "Learn to be grateful, young man. Two years ago, we don''t have something like this. It''s thanks to the Celestial toon always innovating their tech that we can enjoy this kind of stuff. It might be one-time-use, but it''s extremely cheap and portable."


    "I wonder who make all of these?"


    "I don''t know. Anyway, why don''t we enter the city and get some drinks?"


    "That''s a good idea, old man!" Zonass said. He was Francus'' crewmate and was extremely good with close-range weapons.


    He was always sad that he couldn''t show his talent most of the time however. "Today, I didn''t have the chance to use my sword so I really need the drink."


    "I don''t think you will ever get the chance to use a sword. Like ever," Zhulgapmented while putting a massive sniper on his back. "This era is the era of ranged-weapons. Fighting face to face is no longer the hype."


    Zonass was down after hearing that. "I don''t want to hear it. No matter what, I still believe my sword will be of use."


    Zhulgap approached him and patted his back. "Sooner orter you will embrace the truth."


    "Anyway, I also agree with the old man. Let''s get some drinks as we wait to be picked up," Francus said.


    Everyone agreed. Then they walked off the cliff before their feet were nted on the wall. Then they simply walked down vertically.


    Their armor had gravity-defying ability to some extent, allowing them to walk on vertical wall.


    It also helped them when lifting heavy-objects, or jumping great distances.


    There were many type of armor offered by the Celestial toon. There were the Nanite Infused Armor which was able to adapt to different threats and threats, providing better armor for all kinds of situations.


    There were the Stealth Mirage, great for infiltration and other missions.


    However, they chose the Gravity Defiance Exoskeleton which they believed to best suited for them.


    "I hope they got some good drinks."

 Chapter 700 700 Shocking News

    Chapter 700  700 Shocking News


    The bar they entered was a harmonious blend of modern aesthetics and the unique cultural nuances of a within the Imperium''s territory.


    The walls were adorned with holographic projections disying scenes from the''s rich history, depicting ancient traditions and art forms. The lighting, a mix of soft neon glows and traditionalnterns, created a warm and inviting atmosphere.


    The music ying in the background was a fusion of modern beats and traditional melodies, skillfully performed by a musician on a holographic stage.


    Francus smiled when he entered the bar. This suited his taste.


    "Ugh. This kind of bar again," Grigorined. "Aren''t you young people have enough already?"


    "Why? This is such a good bar."


    "Haish. In the good old days, we used to have women with long skirt bringingrge jugs of beers." Grigor looked at a waitress with extremely tight short.


    "This is embarrassing."


    "The good old days you talked about only applies to your. Differents have different ways to do things."


    "Do I look like I need you to lecture me, young man?"


    Francus rolled his eyes.


    The bartender, a humanoid with intricate facial markings, skillfully prepared drinks behind a sleek counter. The counter itself was made of a material that seemed both ancient and futuristic, reflecting the eclectic nature of the bar. The bartender moved with precision, mixing various liquids and adding unique garnishes to each drink.


    As Francus and his crewmates took a seat, the bartender greeted them with a nod. "Wee! What can I get you today?"


    The crewmates exchanged nces before Francus spoke up. "Surprise us. Something strong and unique, a taste of this."


    The bartender smiled, appreciating the adventurous spirit. He started crafting a concoction,bining local spirits with exotic ingredients. The sses frosted as he expertly mixed and poured, creating a visually stunning drink.


    As the crewmates awaited their surprise drinks, an interesting spectacle unfolded in the corner of the bar. A group of locals, adorned in vibrant and intricate garments, began a traditional dance that seemed to blend seamlessly with the modern beats ying in the background.


    Francus was intrigued by the dance. It didn''t felt like a simple dance at all, instead, it felt like they were fighting against a monster.


    Of course it wasn''t obvious, but Francus believed that was the story they were trying to tell through their dance.


    As Francus and his crewmates were captivated by the intricate dance performance, their surprise drinks arrived in a spectacr fashion. The bartender presented them with the unique concoctions, and each ss was a masterpiece of visual and sensory delight.


    "Wow. Are you making me a drink or an art piece?" Grigor praised.


    The bartender tapped his own nose twice and bowed. "Thank you."


    Tapping his own nose twice was his way of receiving thank you.


    Francus had long been used at how weird people could be. Well, for him it was weird because it was not in his culture to tap his own nose.


    When people say thanks to him, he would poke his own butt with his fingers three times as a way of saying your wee. However, when he did that the other day, Grigor looked at him weirdly.


    The drinks were adorned with smokes that billowed gracefully, creating an otherworldly aura around the sses.


    Bubbles floated to the surface, reflecting the ambient lights and adding a touch of enchantment to the scene.


    Sparkling effects danced around the drinks.


    Francus chuckled, lifting his ss to inspect the mesmerizing drink. The liquid inside seemed to shimmer with iridescent colors, evoking a magical and celestial feel. "Impressive. Possibly one of the best drinks I ever saw. However, I haven''t taste it yet."


    The bartender didn''t budge. It seemed he had full confidence in his drink.


    As they took their first sips, the crewmates were pleasantly surprised by theplexity and richness of the vors. Each ingredient blended seamlessly, creating a harmonious taste that matched the multifaceted nature of the they were on.


    "Not bad." Grigor licked his lips.


    The bartender simply smiled as he was wiping an empty ss with a cloth.


    The holographic dance continued in the background, perfectlyplementing the magical ambiance created by the drinks. The crewmates found themselves immersed in a sensory experience that went beyond the ordinary.


    There were a lot of mercenaries from Celestial toon here too although Francus saw no familiar face.


    That was normal, there were billions of mercenaries in active-duty at all time.


    They were watching the popr sport show that currently aired.


    Suddenly, all the holographic projections died.


    Everyone was surprised by that.


    "Hey, bartender. What are you doing?"


    "It''s not me," the bartender replied.


    A few secondster, the holographic turned on again, this time, revealing Aldred''s face.


    "Isn''t that Aldred?" Grigor pointed.


    "It is him," Francus replied.


    "People of the Imperium," Aldred started. "It is with a heavy heart that I address you today with somber news. I ampelled to bring your attention to a dire situation that demands our collective focus and resolve. The demonic forces stationed near our gate, a threat we regrettably overlooked for years, have now extended their malevolent influence, sowing chaos and devastation across countless billions of worlds. "


    A shared nce passed among those present, and the bar resonated with a low hum of whispered conversations.


    "The consequences of our prior inaction have be painfully evident, and we must now confront the repercussions of our past negligence. The gravity of the situation necessitates a united and steadfast response from each member of our distinguished Imperium."


    "That include us!" Aldred said, staring at the screen intently, making everyone felt like he was staring at them personally. "The Inquisitor has specifically ask for our help and in order to prove our loyalty to the Emperor, every world located in the range of 1000 light-year away from the Xantis Expanse will be asked to donate a significant amount of resources in order to vanquish the demon army."


    Aldred mmed the table. "Remember! This is a battle against the demon! A massive threat to the entire human race! Anyone that is not willing to join will have to answer to the Inquisitor!"


    Grigor took a sip of his drink then gently put the ss on the table. "This news will cause a massive wave."

 Chapter 701 701 Shocking News 2

    <h4>Chapter 701 Chapter 701 Shocking News 2</h4>


    "This news will cause a massive wave."


    And it did.


    The news that the Celestial toon will fight the demon army did note as a surprise to anyone.


    However.


    The fact that the Inquisitor personally ordered them to do so was a shocking revtion. The more shocking fact was that Aldred asked every world nearby to give him a significant amount of resources.


    How much was that exactly? They did not know it yet.


    But one thing was certain. The Celestial toon would ask them arge number for sure.


    Fighting the demon army with a massive territory would not be cheap. It could even be a prolonged war which would force them to give even more resources in the future.


    War was always expensive. Especially war in space. Battleships that were capable of long-distance travel with enough armor, enough firepower, enough storage, enough speed, and enough rooms for personnels could cost billions.


    The news was too sudden. Everyone was in a state of panic that this event might bankrupt them.


    However, Aldred did not give them time to react.


    He quickly sent his messengers to every world right after he dered it.


    Smander was one of the messengers he sent to one of the world. This was done for a variety of purpose.


    Smander arrived with some battleships apanying him.


    "Attention! Stop and identify yourself!"


    A voice came inside his ship.


    "What do we do, sir?" his subordinate asked.


    "Ignore them," Smander said.


    Aldred had warned him that they would make it harder for him to obtain the resources they demanded.


    Why wouldn''t they. Aldred basically asked them money for basically nothing.


    Aldred was forced to do this. He was ordered by the inquisitor to fight the demon army who was definitely more powerful than his newly-created group.


    He was only in the game for two years. Lord Malgorth had lived for milleniums and had been amassing his forces for hundreds of years.


    Although the nearby demon army was only a small part of his demon army, it had been acting independently for a decade.


    Aldred did not want to suffer alone so he asked everyone to contribute.


    The ships ignored the security vehicles that were surrounding them.


    After a few minutes, the ships made theirnding on the and Smander and his entourage walked out as if they owned the ce.


    The local security forces were waiting for them on the ground with their weapons pointing at him.


    "Are you really pointing your weapons at me? I am the messenger of the Celestial toon! We are under the order of Inquisitor Aeliana to obtain resources in order to vanquish the demon army! If you don''t lower your weapons now then I will dere all of you as traitors and heretics!"


    The local security forces looked at each other and lowered their weapon immediately.


    Traitors and heretics were punishable by death not just to them, but to their families as well.


    It was the worst crime in the Imperium. Worst than mass ughter or mass murder.


    You can kill a thousand people and you will be punished a bit, but show disloyalty to the Emperor? To hell you shall go with your bloodline.


    The Security forces, now standing with lowered weapons, were visibly shaken by Smander''s stern promation. The weight of beingbeled as traitors and heretics weighed heavily on their minds, and they dared not challenge the authority of the Celestial toon.


    Smander proceeded with purpose, his armored boots echoing as he walked towards the head of the security detail. The local securitymander, a middle-aged officer with a distinct insignia, nervously stepped forward to address him.


    "Sir, we didn''t expect... this. We are here to serve and protect our world. We have received no priormunication about such demands," the officer stammered.


    That was of course a lie. Every worlds had already received a personal notification that a messenger wille to ''ask'' for resources.


    Smander raised an eyebrow behind his helmet. "Ignorance is not an excuse. The Imperium is at war with demonic forces that threaten all of humanity. Inquisitor Aeliana herself has ordered this operation. Now, I suggest you gather your leaders so we can discuss the necessary contributions your world must make."


    The officer hesitated for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "I''ll arrange a meeting with ourary council. But, sir, our resources are limited. We can''t simply give away everything without considering the welfare of our people."


    Smander''s cold gaze bore into the officer. "You will provide what is demanded by the Celestial toon. The consequences of nonpliance are severe, and I need not remind you of the penalties for treason. Now, lead us to your council. Time is of the essence."


    It wasn''t that Smander was did not have sympathy for these people, but the resources they asked were for war. This include weapons, munitions, or raw materials to create them. People only need food and water to survive, so he knew themander was trying to y with words.


    The officer nodded again, signaling his subordinates to escort Smander and his entourage to theary council chambers. The news of the Celestial toon''s arrival and the unprecedented demands had spread through the city like wildfire, causing unrest among the poption.


    However, it wasn''t fear or resentment.


    Instead, they were greeted with enthuasm.


    As Smander and his group moved through the streets, they could feel the eyes of the locals watching them with a mix of admiration and awe.


    They were waving a sign saying "Celestial toon rock!!!"


    For two years, the Celestial toon mercenaries had taken all kinds of task that helped people from every part of the gxy. Escorts, rescue, security, transportation, they took them all. Their service was higher than standards and most of the time they would do something extra if their customers were nice.


    Aldred had strictly told his generals to prioritize customer satisfactions and the reputation of thepany.


    He knew it would paid off in the future.


    Smander was never worried about public opinion. Any other organization would never dare to do this kind of stunt.


    But Aldred was different. That man always manage to surprise him with his action.


    Smander could only smile and shook his head.


    When he entered the government building, they were escorted to a room where theary council was.


    Their expressions were not great. It was clear that they did not like what Smander was about to say.


    The tension in the air was palpable, and Smander knew that extracting the required resources would not be a smooth process.


    "I will make this simple, gentlemen," Smander started.

 Chapter 702 702 The Messenger

    Chapter 702  702 The Messenger


    "I will make this simple, gentlemen," Smander started, his voice carrying the weight of authority. The members of theary council, a mix of politicians, scientists, and military leaders, exchanged uneasy nces as they awaited his words.


    "The Imperium faces a dire threat from the demonic forces, a threat that endangers every living being in this gxy. Inquisitor Aeliana has ordered the Celestial toon to secure the necessary resources for the war effort. Your world, like all others, must contribute to this cause."


    The head of theary council, a stern-faced politician, spoke up, "Smander, we understand the gravity of the situation, but you must realize that our resources are not limitless. We have our own concerns and responsibilities to our people."


    Smander, unmoved, replied, "I sympathize with your concerns, but this is not a negotiation. The Imperium demands your cooperation. The consequences of nonpliance are severe, not just for your world but for the entire Imperium."


    Another council member, a scientist, interjected, "We can''t simply give away our advancements and discoveries. Our research is critical for the progress of science and technology in the Imperium. Surely there can be exceptions."


    Smander''s helmeted gaze fixed on the scientist. "Exceptions endanger us all. The demonic threat does not discriminate. It seeks the destruction of everything in its path. Your advancements and discoveries mean nothing if we cannot stand united against this menace."


    Within the list of Aldred''s request was the information andtest research of every world. He figured that they might have something that could help with the war.


    But, Aldred also thought that there might be a new technology that he could get his hands on.


    The tension in the room grew thicker as Smander continued to press forpliance. Theary council, reluctant to yield, began exploring alternative solutions to meet the Celestial toon''s demands withoutpromising their own interests.


    One council member proposed offering a portion of resources while seeking financialpensation for the rest. Another suggested diverting resources from less critical projects, arguing that sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.


    Smander listened to their proposals with growing impatience. Finally, he spoke, "Your deliberations are futile. The Inquisitor''s orders are clear. You will provide the necessary resources, or your world will face the consequences. Consider the lives of your people and the fate of the Imperium."


    As Smander''s words echoed in the council chamber, one member of theary council, Admiral Sefare Angmar, sternly disagreed. She rose from her seat, her military uniform adorned with medals and insignias that spoke of a long and distinguished service to her world.


    "Smander, with all due respect, we do not have the obligation toply with every demand thates our way, even if it''s from the Inquisitor herself. The Imperium is built on principles of cooperation, not blind obedience. We must consider the long-term consequences of draining our resources without ensuring the survival and prosperity of our people," Admiral Sefare Angmar dered.


    The tension in the room intensified as other council members exchanged uneasy nces.


    Admiral Sefare was known for her steadfastmitment to the well-being of her people, and her dissent carried weight among those who shared simr concerns.


    Smander, though unmoved, acknowledged her statement with a nod. "Admiral, I understand your perspective. However, the demonic threat does not discern between worlds. It poses a danger to every living being in the gxy."


    Admiral Sefare crossed her arms, maintaining her defiant stance. "Smander, our world has its own defenses, its own strategies for dealing with threats. We are not blind to the dangers that loom, but we also cannot strip ourselves bare, leaving our people vulnerable to other potential threats that may arise in the future."


    Smander, aware that this could turn into a protracted argument, decided to take a different approach. "Admiral, I respect your dedication to your world. The Imperium acknowledges the sovereignty of each member. However, when faced with an existential threat, we must rise above individual concerns for the greater good. We need your cooperation, not only for the sake of your world but for the entire Imperium."


    The Admiral gritted her teeth. Smander had been using the word ''Imperium'' in almost all of his statement. This made it hard for her to disagree on anything or it would show disloyalty to the Emperor.


    "Our world has contributed enough to the Imperium''s cause. We cannot afford to jeopardize the safety of our people for a war that may not guarantee our survival."


    Smander, realizing that diplomacy might be futile at this point, shifted his tone. "Admiral Voss, you leave me no choice. The Imperium does not take defiance lightly. Nonpliance with the Inquisitor''s orders is considered treason. The consequences extend beyond your world to the lives of every citizen in the Imperium. I urge you to reconsider your stance."


    Admiral Voss stood her ground, undeterred by the threat. "I will not sacrifice the well-being of my people for the Imperium''s ambitions. We will not be bullied into submission. If you choose to act against us, be prepared for the consequences."


    Smander''s countenance darkened. "That''s your opinion, Admiral. If you truly love your people, then you should listen to what they have to say."


    Smander opened the window to the council room and the scream and shout of the people outside were heard.


    "Celestial toon! We love you!"


    The atmosphere in the council chamber became charged as the distant roars of the crowd reached the ears of everyone present. The multitude outside waved signs dering their love for the Celestial toon and expressing unwavering support for the battle against the demonic forces. It was a public disy of solidarity that seemed to echo across the city.


    Admiral Sefare Angmar exchanged a nce with her fellow council members.


    The public opinion, loud and clear, was overwhelmingly in favor of cooperating with the Celestial toon for the greater good. Theary council, now caught between the demands of Smander and the impassioned cries of their own people, found themselves in an increasingly difficult position.


    Smander, having opened the window to let the voices of the crowd permeate the room, turned back to the council with a stern expression. "Admiral Sefare, the people have spoken. They understand the imminent danger we face. It''s time for you to make the right choice, not just for your world but for the Imperium."

 Chapter 703 703 The Messenger 2

    Chapter 703  703 The Messenger 2


    Admiral Voss clenched her jaw, her gaze shifting from the crowd outside to the unwavering determination in Smander''s eyes.


    The other council members, too, were grappling with the undeniable reality that the public sentiment had swayed dramatically against them.


    The head of theary council, the stern-faced politician, sighed heavily. "It seems we have no choice. The will of the people cannot be ignored. We willply with the Imperium''s demands and provide the necessary resources for the war effort."


    Smander nodded in acknowledgment. "Wise decision. The Imperium thanks you for your cooperation. Lives depend on the unity of our worlds."


    As theary council reluctantly began the process of allocating resources and preparing for their contribution to the war effort, the crowd outside erupted in cheers. The signs dering love for the Celestial toon were waved more fervently, and the atmosphere shifted from uncertainty to a collective determination to face the impending threat.


    Smander left the government building and waved to the people before he entered the aircraft and left the area.


    "That was a major sess, sir."


    "That''s only one of the many we need to talk with. I don''t think our challenges will be easier."


    After the sessful resolution on the first, Smander embarked on a journey that would take him to various corners of the Imperium. Each presented a unique set of challenges, and Smander knew that the sess he achieved on the first world might not be easily replicated.


    As his spacecraft traversed the vastness of space, Smander took the opportunity to reflect on the gravity of the task at hand.


    The montage unfolded as Smander visiteds of differentndscapes, atmospheres, and cultures. On each world, he met withary leaders, addressing their concerns, facing their defiance, and seeking theirmitment to the Imperium''s cause.


    On a verdant covered in lush forests, the leaders were reluctant to part with their resources, arguing that their ecosystem was delicate and any disruption could have catastrophic consequences. Smander, with a mix of diplomacy and stern warnings, managed to secure their cooperation, emphasizing that the demonic forces threatened not only their world but the very essence of life across the gxy.


    Another, deste and arid, presented a different set of challenges. The leaders there, grappling with scarce water resources, questioned the practicality of diverting essential supplies for a war they felt might be distant and abstract. Smander, ever the strategist, outlined the interconnectedness of the Imperium and how the demonic forces, if left unchecked, could find their way to any corner of the gxy.


    "Besides, we don''t need your water. You can keep it for yourself."


    "Still, our water resources are scarce and can barely sustain our poption."


    "I am telling you. We are not taking your water."


    In each negotiation, Smander faced moments of tension, defiance, and, at times, subtle cooperation. The leaders, aware of their responsibilities to their own people, struggled to reconcile the immediate needs of their worlds with the looming threat that Smander vividly portrayed.


    A lot of times, there were people that tried to y dumb, trying to tire him from negotiating.


    Thankfully he was not stupid enough to fall for their tricks.


    Amidst these intense diplomatic encounters, Smander recognized the importance of taking breaks to rejuvenate his mind and maintain his focus. His spacecraft became a sanctuary during these moments of respite. The vessel, equipped with advanced amenities, provided a temporary escape from the weighty responsibilities he carried


    Smander would immerse himself in a virtual reality simtion, a tranquil space that mimicked thendscapes of his homeworld. The soothing sounds of nature, whether it was the gentle rustling of leaves or the calming flow of water, helped him momentarily detach from the politicalplexities of his mission.


    In these breaks, Smander found sce in meditation, a practice ingrained in the training of the Celestial toon. The rhythmic breaths and moments of quiet introspection allowed him to recalibrate his thoughts and steel himself for the challenges that awaited on the next.


    As the montage progressed, Smander''s determination remained unwavering. The sess of each negotiation brought him one step closer to the unity required tobat the demonic forces. The Imperium, a coalition of diverse worlds, faced amon enemy, and Smander, as the emissary of the Celestial toon, navigated the intricate web of politics, ideologies, and survival instincts that defined eachary leader.


    To be honest, he was satisfied with his current job.


    "But fucking hell I am really tired."


    "You did a good job," Cleome said through a holographic screen. "Thank you for your hard work."


    "How is the progress on your side?"


    "We are not doing so well, either. One take us weeks of dy. I have to resort to extreme measure before they stop dying any further."


    "Sometimes you really have to do that. Don''t forget to mention the Inquisitor, Imperium, Emperor, and Humanity. Put these key words in all of your statements. They won''t have much to say if you keep repeating these words over and over again."


    "Thanks for the tip," Cleome replied. "Anyway, why did you ept this task anyway? Aren''t you working under Vortimer in Research and Development team? I heard your portable dispensable cannon is a big hit."


    "I like my job there, however, I got bored from staring at empty walls for two years. I figure a change of environment and job desc will give me more inspiration and open my mind space."


    "At least you''re not nning to stop inventing forever. The people in R&D have been begging me to tell you toe back."


    Smanderughed. "Those nerds. They rarely talk to me, but they truly care about me, huh?"


    "Uhh, nope. They said ever since you left their workload have been increased, so they need you to return to help them."


    Smander smiled bitterly. "You could''ve just agree with me."


    Cleome chuckled. "I still can''t believe we could be some big shots. I was happy with our little squad before, but we can do so much more right now."


    Smander scoffed with a smile. "It''s all because of some random guy from another universe looking for a way to get back to his wives."

 Chapter 704 704 Odd Job

    Chapter 704  704 Odd Job


    As Smander continued his diplomatic journey, a vastwork of cargo space ships, bothrge and small, began converging on thes he had visited. These vessels hailed from various corners of the Imperium, and their mission was clear: to transport the allocated resources back to the central hubs where they would be further distributed for the war effort.


    The scenes on each were a spectacle of advanced technology, as futuristic cargo ships descended from orbit, hovering over designated collection points. The design of these vessels ranged from sleek, streamlined models to colossal behemoths capable of carrying immense quantities of resources.


    On the lush, forest-covered, where the leaders were initially reluctant to part with their resources, the cargo ships utilized state-of-the-art anti-gravity technology. Enormous containers hovered effortlessly above the ground, carefully loaded with flora, minerals, and other valuable materials. Teams of engineers and specialists worked meticulously to ensure that the extraction process didn''t harm the delicate ecosystem.


    Elralya and Ceeth observed the efficiency of the operation, impressed by the coordination of the crew and the advanced technology employed. Autonomous drones, equipped with precise sensors, supervised the extraction process, ensuring that only the necessary resources were collected. Nano-bots scurried across the ground, swiftly packaging materials into secure containers.


    Still, even though it was impressive, it was nothingpared to Elven tech.


    "Why are we working such an odd job?" Ceeth asked. "Did we forget our true goal?"


    "Isn''t it to gain more experience and wisdom about the universe?" Elralya replied.


    "But how will this help with your growth? You are an important figure for the Elven race."


    "Our ancestors didn''t warn us about the path that we are in right now. I am sure, we are doing the right thing. Besides, now we know that the humans have improved their technology."


    "They are far behind us still."


    Elralya smiled. "Humans now conquered the fourth of the entire gxy. They currently have the biggest territory out of anyone. Perhaps, it wasn''t their tech that makes them a powerful race. There are some races that have more advanced techpared to the humans, but their influence weren''t as powerful as humans."


    "Isn''t it obvious? They breed like insects. When you kill a billion, two billion more appears out of nowhere. Our race does not have that advantage."


    It was true. The Elven race had a hard time in growing their poption. Even though each and every one of them was extremely talentedpared to human. Every elf basically had talent in magic, tech, art, and science. They also had greater strength, speed, and intellect.


    Not to mention that every elf was very handsome and beautiful.


    No one could deny their aesthetic and beauty as an entire race.


    Some criminals would consider hunting Elves and sell them for sex ve. Every time that happen, the Elves would wreck havoc in a fit of rage.


    It was basically a taboo to kidnap an elf, however, in the void of space, there were no rules.


    The loading process itself was a marvel of engineering. Hovering tforms, guided by skilled operators, seamlessly transported the containers from the collection points to the waiting cargo holds. Advanced AI systems ensured the optimal distribution of weight and resources within the vessels.


    As the cargo ships departed each, they navigated through the cosmos using advanced warp drives, allowing for swift travel between star systems. Along the way, they encountered various challenges, from navigating asteroid belts to avoiding potential gravitational anomalies.


    Within the cargo holds of these vessels, the collected resources were cataloged and organized by an army of automated systems. Quantumputing and artificial intelligence managed the inventory, ensuring that each shipment was precisely ounted for and ready for deployment when needed.


    Back at the central hubs, immense space stations served as repositories for the gathered resources. Teams of experts, from logistics specialists to engineers, worked around the clock to manage the influx of materials. Robotic arms, guided by intricate algorithms, transported containers to designated storage areas, creating abyrinthine structure of neatly arranged resources.


    The efforts extended beyond physicalbor; financial experts and analysts worked on intricate calctions to assess the economic impact of each contribution. This data was then ryed to theary councils, providing them with aprehensive overview of the shared burden.


    "So, what do you think about this whole affair?" Ceeth asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.


    Elralya leaned back, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall of moonlight. She regarded the cargo ships in the sky before turning to Ceeth with a thoughtful expression. "It''s certainly a different experience. We''re witnessing the strength of the Imperium and the diversity of its members. I never thought I''d see the day when humans could organize such an extensive operation."


    Ceeth nodded, her emerald-green eyes reflecting the wisdom of centuries. "True, true. But tell me, Elralya, do you really believe this will help us grow and gain wisdom?"


    Elralya smirked, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Well, Ceeth, wisdomes in many forms. Observing the intricacies of different civilizations, understanding their struggles and triumphs¡ªdon''t you think that adds ayer to our understanding of the universe?"


    Ceeth chuckled. "You always find a way to see the silver lining in everything. Perhaps you''re right. I''m just used to our quiet lives in the serene forests of our home."


    "If I stayed there, how can I grow to help my race?"


    Just as they settled into their conversation, a sudden holographic projection materialized between them. Aldred, d in his distinct Celestial toon attire, greeted them with a warm smile.


    "Elralya, Ceeth, my favorite elves! How fair you both in this bustling operation?" Aldred''s holographic image beamed at them.


    "We are your only elf friends," Ceeth said.


    Aldred shrugged, his holographic form adopting an apologetic expression. "Well, I thought I''d check in on my favorite emissaries. How are you finding the grand adventure of diplomacy and interster resource gathering?"


    Ceeth raised an elegant eyebrow. "Grand adventure? More like a whirlwind of chaos. I never thought I''d be overseeing the extraction of resources from a as part of my duties."


    Aldredughed. "Wee to the joys of being a Celestial toon emissary. But admit it, there''s a certain thrill in witnessing the Imperium''s might in action, isn''t there?"


    Elralya smirked at Aldred''s enthusiasm. "Thrill or not, we''re far from our usual realms of contemtion and magical study. What''s the real reason you''re checking in on us, Aldred?"


    "I have no other intention other than checking how you guys doing."


    "How long are we going to do this?" Ceeth asked with a hasty tone.


    Aldred''s holographic form leaned back as if in thought. "Well, my dear elves, this mission is crucial for the survival of the Imperium. We need the resources gathered from various worlds to stand a chance against the demonic forces. As emissaries, your role is vital in ensuring cooperation and unity among the members."


    "Is that your way of saying that you don''t know yet?"


    Aldred let out an embarrassing chuckle.


    Elralya crossed her arms, a frown on her face. "We''ll continue, Aldred, but we hope this chaotic journey doesn''t be a permanent distraction from our true calling."


    Aldred''s holographic smile remained, though tinged with sympathy. "I appreciate your dedication. Once this threat is neutralized, I promise you''ll have the peace and quiet of your forests back."

 Chapter 705 705 Something Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 705 Chapter 705 Something Wrong</h4>


    With that, Aldred''s holographic projection faded away with a burst of light.


    Aldred sighed as he stepped onto the deck of his Ster Seraph, the gship of the Celestial toon. The holographic projections of the vast gxy glittered around him, disying the myriads and stars thatposed the Imperium. He ran his fingers through his hair, a mix of silver and ck, reflecting the burden of his responsibilities.


    Hismunication console blinked with urgent messages from various emissaries scattered across the gxy. Each notification represented a unique challenge or crisis that demanded his attention. With a resigned expression, Aldred navigated through the holographic interface to prioritize the iing messages.


    The first call was from Commander Naria, who was overseeing a resource extraction operation on a barren, desert. The leaders there were hesitant to allocate their scarce resources, and Naria needed guidance on navigating the delicate negotiations.


    "Commander Naria, this is Aldred. I understand the difficulties you''re facing. Sometimes, a personal touch can make a difference. Share stories of how these resources will contribute to the defense of the Imperium. Appeal to their sense of duty," Aldred advised.


    Naria nodded, her holographic image flickering. "Thank you, Aldred. I''ll try that approach and see if it resonates with them."


    As the call with Naria ended, another one came in. This time, it was Captain Zeltron, who was managing aplex logistical operation on a gas giant.


    "Aldred, we''re having trouble with the atmospheric extraction process. The vtile nature of the gases is causing dys, and the extraction tforms are at risk," Zeltron reported, concern evident in his holographic projection.


    Aldred frowned, contemting the situation. "Captain Zeltron, prioritize safety first. If the extraction tforms are at risk, pull back and reassess the approach. We can''t afford idents that might harm both our emissaries and thes we''re trying to help."


    Zeltron nodded, a determined expression on his face. "Understood, Aldred. We''ll revise our strategy and proceed cautiously."


    The series of calls continued, each emissary facing unique challenges in their assigned missions. From political resistance to technical issues, theplexities of gathering resources from diverses tested the capabilities of the Celestial toon.


    Aldred couldn''t help but feel the weight of responsibility. The sess of the entire mission rested on the collective efforts of his emissaries and the cooperation of the members. He initiated calls with Cleome, Smander, and other head emissaries to coordinate a unified approach.


    "Being a gctic leader is so much harder. If my wives are here¡­ they could''ve help with so much."


    Back in his world, his wives helped him with various tasks which greatly reduced his load.


    As he worked to address the issues raised by his emissaries, Aldred couldn''t shake the underlying concern that time was of the essence. The war effort required swift and efficient resource gathering to bolster the Imperium''s defenses.


    In the midst of managing the crisis, Aldred took a moment to nce at the holographic star map, depicting the vastness of the gxy. The thought of the looming demonic forces served as a stark reminder that every resource, every negotiation, and every decision mattered in the face of an existential threat.


    "This war will let me know how powerful Lord Malgorth is."


    Themand center of the Ster Seraph buzzed with activity as Aldred continued to manage the various challenges presented by his emissaries. Just as he was engrossed in a conversation with Captain Zeltron about the revised strategy for extracting resources from the gas giant, the doors to themand center slid open, and Vortimer entered.


    Vortimer, a sentient robot-entity with a sleek metallic exterior, moved with an almost graceful efficiency. The soft hum of his servos resonated in the room as he approached Aldred.


    "Aldred," Vortimer spoke in a synthesized voice, "I bring urgent news regarding the movements of the demon army."


    Aldred''s attention shifted immediately from the holographic interface to Vortimer. The mention of the demon army heightened the gravity of the situation. "What news do you have, Vortimer?"


    Vortimer projected a holographic disy showcasing a star system on the brink of chaos. Red blips, representing the demonic forces, swarmed like a swarm of locusts across the celestial expanse. They were converging on multiples within the Imperium.


    "The demon army has altered its trajectory," Vortimer exined. "Their numbers have increased significantly, and they are targeting keys within our territory. It seems they have gained intelligence about our resource gathering efforts."


    Aldred''s jaw tightened as he observed the holographic representation of the impending threat. The demons were a relentless force, driven by a malevolent agenda that sought to consume entire worlds. The fact that they were targeting specifics indicated a level of strategy previously unseen.


    "We can''t let them disrupt our operations. Our resource gathering is essential for us," Aldred said, a steely resolve in his eyes.


    Vortimer nodded. "Indeed, Commander. I have calcted potential trajectories and identified criticals at risk. We must fortify our defenses and allocate resources strategically to fend off the impending demonic assault."


    Aldred turned to the holographic star map, his mind racing with the implications of this new development. Thes that were crucial for resource extraction were now in the crosshairs of the demon army.


    "Alert all emissaries. We need to strengthen the defenses of the targeteds immediately," Aldredmanded. "Coordinate with theary councils and deploy our fleets to intercept the demons."


    Vortimer''s eyes flickered. "Why are you so troubled? Aren''t you the human that conquered the Xantis Expanse within a few weeks? A bunch of cockroach swarms makes you sweat?"


    Aldred realized something as he shook his head. Vortimer was right. Something was wrong with him.


    He had fought through many wars and battles before. Something like this shouldn''t even stress him too much.


    Perhaps it was because he stayed in this room too much. He need to move around.


    He need to fight.


    Aldred''s face turned serious. "Vortimer, tell Shinari to take my post. I want to go somewhere."

 Chapter 706 706 Stretching Muscles

    Chapter 706  706 Stretching Muscles


    Shinari, Aldred''s trusted friend and confidante, entered themand center as Vortimer ryed Aldred''s request. Her piercing blue eyes surveyed the bustling room before locking onto Vortimer. "Where does Aldred want to go?" she inquired, her tone a mix of concern and curiosity.


    Vortimer, still projecting the holographic disy of the impending demonic threat, turned his metallic head toward Shinari. "Commander Aldred wishes to clear his mind and stretch his muscles. He''s leaving his post temporarily, and he has requested you to take over."


    Shinari nodded in understanding. "Understood. Tell him I''ll manage things here. And if he needs anything, he knows where to find me."


    With a swift nod, Vortimer left themand center to execute Aldred''s orders. Shinari took Aldred''s ce at the central console, immediately addressing the ongoing challenges faced by the emissaries across the gxy.


    Meanwhile, Aldred, apanied by Vortimer, strode purposefully through the corridors of the Ster Seraph. The hum of the ship''s machinery and the distant murmur of conversations among the crew surrounded them as they made their way to the hangar bay.


    Once in the hangar bay, Aldred''s eyes fell upon the gleaming silhouette of another massive battleship¡ªa vessel designed for both war and exploration. Its sleek design spoke of advanced technology, and its surface shimmered with protective energy shields.


    This one should do," Aldred said, his gaze fixed on the battleship. He turned to Vortimer. "Prepare for departure. We''re visiting the nearest demon-upied."


    Vortimer''s optic sensors flickered with curiosity. "What is your intent?"


    Aldred grinned, a glint of determination in his eyes. "I intend to get a firsthand look at what we''re dealing with. It''s time to assess the enemy''s strength and find any weaknesses we can exploit."


    The battleship''s ramp lowered, and Aldred and Vortimer stepped aboard. The vessel''s interior was a testament to the technological prowess of the Imperium¡ªsleek consoles, advanced navigation systems, and a sophisticated war room. As they settled in, Vortimer initiated theunch sequence.


    The battleship soared into the cosmos, leaving the protective embrace of the Ster Seraph. Aldred, seated in the captain''s chair, watched the starry expanse unfold before him. The vastness of the gxy spread out like a cosmic tapestry, with pinpricks of light representing distant stars and gxies.


    As they approached the demon-upied, its surface was marred by ominous clouds and dark energy emanating from demonic portals. Aldred''s expression hardened as he observed the corruptedndscape.


    "Prepare for a stealth descent," Aldredmanded, and Vortimer efficiently executed the order. The battleship cloaked itself, bing invisible to the demon forces.


    "The fact they don''t detect us this close means that our tech are more advanced than theirs."


    "The demons aren''t known for their technology. Compared to humans, they are far behind. However, theirrge numbers and psychic powers that allow them to corrupt the souls more than make up for it."


    Aldred agreed with a nod. One of the reason why demons were feared was because they were able to brainwash people. The brainwashing was so powerful that it could affect the entire and sometimes an entire sr systems.


    Allied ships suddenly turned against theirrades. The very best of friends, sons, spouses suddenly raised their weapons against those whom they loved.


    It was a terrifying weapon that no technology manage to counter. The only way to resist was to strengthen the will of the spirit but even the strongest of mankind could relent to the darkness. Even the Holy Sons were not immune.


    Aldred stood from his chair, his eyes never leaving the holographic representation of the. "I want to see firsthand what these demons are capable of. We need to understand their tactics, their numbers, and any potential weaknesses they might have."


    Vortimer nodded, his synthesized voice steady. "I''m ready to assist in any way, Commander."


    The battleship descended through the atmosphere, its stealth systems rendering it undetectable to the demonic forces below. As they hovered above the demon-upied territory, Aldred activated a viewport, allowing them to witness the chaotic scene unfolding on the surface.


    Demon legions moved with a terrifying unity, swarming overndscapes tainted by dark energy. Aldred''s jaw clenched as he surveyed the destruction wrought by these malevolent entities.


    "Data analysis indicates concentrations of demonic forces at strategic points," Vortimer reported. "It appears they are consolidating their power for further incursions."


    Aldred''s gaze narrowed. "Take us closer to one of those concentrations. We need to see their tactics up close."


    As the battleship approached a demonic stronghold, Aldred observed the coordination and discipline of the demon forces. Dark magic crackled in the air as demonicmanders orchestrated their minion.


    As the battleship hovered above the demon-upied, Aldred''s eyes scanned the chaotdscape. The once vibrant world, now corrupted by dark energy, held the scars of demonic invasion. Aldred turned to Vortimer, his expression serious. "What was the name of this before it fell to the demons?"


    Vortimer, processing the historical data, responded with a touch of mncholy in his synthesized voice. "This was once known as Eldoria. It was a thriving hub of culture and innovation, a jewel in the Imperium. Now, it serves as a grim reminder of the demonic threat."


    "Stay here and observe, Vortimer. I need to assess the situation on the ground," Aldredmanded. Without waiting for a response, he phased out of the battleship, leaving Vortimer momentarily stunned by the sudden disappearance of his humanmander.


    Invisible to the naked eye, Aldred hovered above the demon-infested, his senses attuned to the malevolent energy that permeated the atmosphere. The swarming legions of demons moved with a twisted unity, their dark intent palpable even to someone as distant as Aldred.


    His eyes narrowed as he observed the demonic concentrations, pinpointing strategic points where the enemy forces gathered. Aldred''s mind calcted the potential threat these concentrations posed.


    He needed more than just observations; he needed a decisive action to weaken the demonic forces.


    Raising his palm toward the heavens, Aldred summoned a radiant ball of fire that resembled a miniature sun. The ster winds emanating from the celestial creation were so intense that rms red in Vortimer''s battleship, detecting a hazardous anomaly.


    Vortimer, his metallic form disying signs of concern, observed the holographic readouts. "Aldred, the generated ster wind exceeds safety parameters. It maypromise the integrity of the battleship."


    Aldred, unmoved by the rms, maintained his focus on the swirling mass of demons below. The demons, sensing the disturbance, looked up to the sky in confusion, unable toprehend the celestial threat descending upon them.


    As Aldred continued to make the miniature sunb bigger, the ster wind intensified, tearing through the demonic ranks. Thousands of demons were incinerated in an instant, their forms reduced to ashes by the intense heat and force of the ster wind.


    Vortimer''s eyes scanned and recorded the scene. The amount of power in that miniature sun was incredibly immense, and his eyes could calcte the exact destruction it could cause, however, where did Aldred got the source of energy to create something like this out of thin air.


    The demonmanders, realizing the impending catastrophe, attempted to rally their forces, but chaos ensued as their defenses crumbled before the unstoppable force of nature unleashed by Aldred.


    With a calcted precision, Aldred lowered the miniature sun toward the ground. Just before it made contact, an explosion erupted, sending shockwaves across the demon-infestedndscape. Rocks, debris, and the remnants of demonic forces scattered into the atmosphere.


    What followed after that was a series of explosions.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Aldred''s power greatly impacted the that all the volcaones on the became active and exploded all at once.


    Vortimer, monitoring the situation from the battleship, observed the devastation caused by Aldred.


    Aldred reappeared on the battleship, his invisibility dissipating. "Send the recording to the emissaries. Let everyone know that I mean business."


    Vortimer, without hesitation, initiated the transmission of Aldred''s awe-inspiring disy of power. The recording captured the celestial fury unleashed upon the demon-upied¡ªthe radiant miniature sun, the intense ster winds, and the subsequent series of explosions that engulfed the demonic forces and the veryndscape itself.


    Emissaries and leaders across the gxy received the transmission, their holographic disys flickering to life with the unfolding spectacle. Theary council members, stationed in their respective worlds, watched in stunned silence as the power of Aldred''smand unfolded before them.


    Commander Naria, who had been embroiled in negotiations on the desert, leaned forward, her eyes widening in disbelief. "By the cosmos! Did Commander Aldred just conjure a sun? What kind of power is this?"


    Captain Zeltron, overseeing the logistical operation on the gas giant, stared at the holographic disy with a mix of shock and admiration. "I''ve never seen anything like it. That''s not just military strength; it''s sheer cosmic might."


    In the Celestial toon''s centralmand, Cleome, the head emissary, exchanged nces with Smander, her second-inmand. Smander''s stoic expression cracked into a rare smile. "Well, I always knew Aldred was something special, but this... this is beyond extraordinary."


    On countlesss, civilians gathered aroundmunication hubs, public squares, and even in private homes to witness the astonishing disy of Aldred''s power. Whispers of awe and disbelief filled the air as the recording spread like wildfire across the gxy.


    The transmission reached the ears of theary council, a gathering of influential leaders from various members. High Chancellor Gdran, a wise and seasoned diplomat, watched with a mixture hope and disbelief.


    The recording continued to y, revealing the aftermath of Aldred''s intervention. The demon concentrations obliterated, thendscape scarred, and the volcanoes erupting in tandem¡ªall bore witness to the consequences of challenging the might of Aldred and the Imperium.


    Then, Aldred appeared, staring into the screen. "Citizens of the Imperium. I am but a humble servants of the Emperor assigned by the Inquisitors to cleanse the demons from our holy empire. As you can see, I am very determined to banish them all to the pit of hell where they came from. I shall destroy every single demons until they vanish from the face of the gxy, but to do that, I cannot do it alone. As servants of the Emperor, I asked all of you to contribute to this holy cause and exterminate the biggest threat of humanity all and for once!"


    As the recording concluded, a moment of silence hung in the air. Then, across the gxy, cheers erupted. The cheers of emissaries,ary councils, and civilians echoed throughmunication channels.


    Commander Naria, still processing what she had witnessed, finally spoke. "That''s our Commander Aldred! The demons won''t stand a chance against such power!"


    Captain Zeltron, a renewed determination in his eyes, nodded. "It''s time to take the fight to them. If Aldred can unleash that kind of force, we have a chance."


    Cleome and Smander exchanged determined nces. Cleome addressed the assembled emissaries, her voice filled with conviction. "Aldred has shown us the path. We will rally our forces, strengthen our defenses, and push back against the demonic threat. This is our moment!"


    Smander was especially excited. "Finally, after two years, we will fulfill our promise of fighting against the demons."


    Theary council members, inspired by the disy of cosmic power, began discussing strategies to unite their worlds against themon enemy. High Chancellor Gdran spoke with resolve. "We shall support the Celestial toon. Together, we will ovee this demonic menace."


    Back in the Ster Seraph, Aldred, aware of the impact of his demonstration, turned to Vortimer. "Send a message to all emissaries. Tell them that we are ready to lead the counteroffensive. The demons have seen our strength, and they will know the might of the united Imperium."


    Vortimer, acknowledging themand, initiated the transmission. Across the gxy, the message reached the hearts of those who had witnessed the recording. The Imperium, galvanized by Aldred''s cosmic prowess, stood united, ready to face the impending storm with newfound determination.


    With a single action from Aldred, all the problems the emissaries had vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 707 707 Aldred’s Impact

    Chapter 707  707 Aldred¡¯s Impact


    In bars, living rooms, bedrooms, and even in the privacy of their toilets, citizens across the Imperium were glued to holographic projections, witnessing the awe-inspiring disy of Aldred''s power. Gasps, cheers, and exmations filled the air as people processed the magnitude of what they had just witnessed.


    In a dimly lit bar on the desert, a group of patrons huddled around a flickering holographic disy. The bartender wiped a ss absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the scene unfolding before them. One of the patrons, a seasoned soldier, eximed, "I''ve been in battles, but I''ve never seen anything like this. Aldred''s a force of nature!"


    In a cozy living room on a gas giant, a family sat together, their eyes wide with amazement. The youngest child, usually restless, sat in rapt attention. "Mom, can I be like Commander Aldred one day?" The mother chuckled, "Maybe not a Commander, but you can be a hero in your own way."


    In a bustling city apartment, a solitary individual watched alone. The viewer, once skeptical of Celestial toon''s effectiveness, now stared in disbelief. "I guess the toon means business. Aldred... he''s not just amander. He''s a savior."


    The impact on Celestial toon''s reputation was immediate and profound. Once viewed by some as an organization with lofty ideals, now it was synonymous with the might that had just been disyed. Across the Imperium, people started to view the toon as the beacon of hope, the force capable of standing against the demonic threat.


    Many people have fallen victims to the demons cruel and ruthless activities, and many more people im to have the power to fend this threat away. However, they never truly showed something of Aldred''s level. Leveling an entire full of demons with absolute east. Only the gods have the power to do that!


    In the centralmand of the Celestial toon, Cleome and Smander watched the reactions pouring in from variouss. Cleome''s eyes gleamed with pride. "We''re not just fighters; we''re defenders of the Imperium. Aldred has given us a new image¡ªa force to be reckoned with."


    Smander nodded. "The demons won''t know what hit them. The Imperium is rallying behind us."


    Cleome and Smanders were greatly patriotic so being recognized as heroes made them extremely excited.


    As the transmission continued, children across the Imperium looked upon Aldred as a living legend. In holographic projections, Aldred''s image resonated with an air of invincibility. The children, wide-eyed and filled with admiration, started mimicking Aldred''s gestures and poses.


    On a residential colony, a group of kids gathered in an open square, ying an improvised game where they pretended to be Aldred. A makeshift holographic projection showed their hero in action. "I''m Aldred, and I''m here to save the gxy!" shouted one child, brandishing an imaginary weapon.


    In schools, teachers found it challenging to keep children focused on their studies. Instead, they were drawing Aldred''s symbol on their notebooks and sharing stories about themander who fought demons with the power of the stars.


    The impact was not just confined to the public. Within the Celestial toon, there was a renewed sense of purpose and pride. Emissaries, once facing skepticism from some factions, now received nods of approval and admiration.


    Back on the Ster Seraph, Aldred received reports of the public''s reaction. A holographic projection in the ship''smand center disyed scenes from variouss¡ªcheering crowds, children imitating his gestures, and even artists creating murals depicting his celestial feats.


    Vortimer was still in disbelief at the impact of what Aldred had done. Before this the progress of obtaining resources from the nearby worlds were extremely slow and tedious. Many of these worlds have different cultures, interest, and beliefs in mind.


    For a random 2 year old organization to appear out of nowhere and ask them for money was extremely insulting already. If not for them using the Inquisitor''s name, the emissaries would be thrown out of the immediately.


    However, because of Aldred''s one move. A SINGLE MOVE!


    Hundreds of millions of worlds were moved and not only ept him but even praised his name.


    Two years ago this man was just a part of a small mercenary squad, now he''s a hero of the Imperium.


    "What a terrifying intellect." Vortimer''s metallic body trembled for the first time. He wasn''t really capable of processing admiration or fear, but perhaps this was how it feel.


    A sense of awe.


    The reason why Vortimer still help Aldred was how this man always manage to surprise him time and time again with his grandeur n and strategy to achieve his goal.


    Aldred always manage to find his ways unthinkable to him, an ancient robot with trillions of recorded data. He thought he had seen the patterns of every possibilities, and yet, Aldred manage to create something entirely new.


    Vortimer had never seen the likes of Aldred since the rise of the Human Emperor and the creation of the Holy Sons.


    Now, Vortimer not only follow Aldred because of their goal, but because he was excited to learn more from him.


    "Excitement¡­ when was thest time I feel this way? When was thest time I admire someone?"


    Certain memories shed in his head, like a recording of the past, flooding him with a certain emotions the humans called nostalgia.


    Vortimer iron lips slightly curled into a smile.


    Aldred was staring at the screen until he noticed Vortimer''s weird behavior. "Anyway, I''ve been meaning to ask. You aren''t really a robot are you."


    "Why do you say so?"


    "Well, for starter you have a very powerful soul."


    Vortimer''s mechanical eyes moved.


    "I can tell. Your soul is the adventurous one. Always hungry for knowledge. Always want to learn new things. Always dreaming of experiencing everything the universe could offer. We''re kind of the same, you and I."


    Aldred let out a sigh as he smiled. "If I imagine you as human children, you and your little brother would be running around hills and forest, get wet and dirty before youe back home when it''s midnight."


    Vortimer''s eyes widened, creating a crackling mechanical sound. "You can tell?"


    "Of course. I have a very sharp pair of eyes."


    In reality, Aldred just read about the history in Vortimer''s panel. He even found out that Vortimer was his actual brother.


    He could exin his power, however, he chose to act  mysterious to look cool.


    Aldred leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the holographic disys showing the aftermath of his celestial onught. The transmission from variouss continued to y on screens surrounding him. Vortimer, in his metallic form, stood nearby, still processing the implications of Aldred''s grand disy of power.


    "You know, Vortimer," Aldred began, breaking the silence, "this isn''t the end of our mission. We need to visit other demon-infesteds. Hit them hard and fast. After this first attack, they''ll likely fortify their defenses or, worse,unch a counteroffensive."


    Vortimer''s optic sensors flickered as he processed the information. "Logical. Striking swiftly will prevent them from consolidating their forces effectively. It will catch them off guard."


    Aldred nodded. "Exactly. We can''t afford to give them time to adapt. We need to be relentless in our pursuit to cleanse the gxy of their corruption."


    Vortimer considered the situation. "Aldred, I suggest we assemble an armada. Multiple fleets, each targeting a different demonic stronghold simultaneously. This way, we can maximize the damage and reduce their chances of mounting a coordinated defense."


    Aldred grinned. "That''s a sound strategy, Vortimer. It''s time to show the demons that the Celestial toon is not to be trifled with."


    Vortimer''s metallic voice carried a hint of excitement. "I''ll coordinate with themanders and start mobilizing the fleets. With ourbined strength, we can eradicate the demonic presence across multiple worlds simultaneously."


    As Vortimer initiated themunications with themanders and various fleets, Aldred contemted the uing battles. The demons had shown their capacity for malevolence, and it was time for the Imperium to respond in kind.


    The battleship traversed through the cosmos, and as it approached the next demon-infested, Aldred and Vortimer focused on devising a n of attack. The holographic disys showcased the enemy''s concentrations and strategic points on the''s surface.


    Vortimer''s metallic form became a hub of activity as he processed data and strategized with themanders. "Aldred, the fleets are ready for deployment. We can initiate simultaneous attacks on multiple fronts. The demons won''t have time to react."


    Aldred stood up, determination in his eyes. "Let''s do it. Send the signal to the fleets. Make sure they understand the importance of swift and decisive action. We''re not just fighting for our survival; we''re fighting for the very soul of the Imperium."


    Themand center buzzed with activity as Vortimer ryed the orders to the assembled fleets. Commanders from differents prepared for the coordinated assault, their resolve strengthened by Aldred''s previous demonstration.


    The armada moved into position, each fleet targeting a different demon stronghold on the. The battleships cloaked themselves, bing invisible to the demonic forces below. As they descended through the atmosphere, Aldred observed the strategic points highlighted on the holographic disy.


    "Engage stealth mode," Aldredmanded. "We strike as one, and we strike swiftly."


    The fleets moved with precision, their advanced technology allowing them to approach undetected. As they reached their designated positions, the cloak lifted, revealing the Imperium''s armada ready to unleash its wrath.


    Aldred, seated in the battleship''s central console, watched the coordinated assault unfold. The demon strongholds were taken by surprise, the simultaneous attacks overwhelming their defenses. Dark energy crackled in the air as demonic forces scrambled to counter the unexpected onught.


    As more than a thousand world exploded, Aldred eyes'' shed as he downed a ss of wine.

 Chapter 708 708 Invasion

    Chapter 708  708 Invasion


    In the shadowy citadel that served as the centralmand for the demonic forces on the peaceful, Commander Zargoth stood overlooking the mesmerizingndscapes. The twisted spires of dark energy resonated with the malevolence that fueled the demons. His advisor, a cunning demon named Balthrox, approached, his wings flickering with an eerie glow.


    "Commander," Balthrox began, "there''s a disturbing rumor circting among our ranks. Some say the humans have attacked one of ours."


    Zargoth, a towering figure with horns that curled like ckened thorns, turned to face his advisor. "Humans? Attacking us? Nonsense. We are the dominant force in the cosmos. No mortal should dare challenge us."


    Balthrox hesitated, then continued, "I thought it was mere gossip too, but the whispers grow louder. There are reports of celestial fire, unimaginable power. Some demons im they''ve witnessed a force that rivals our own."


    Zargoth scoffed. "Rival our power? Preposterous. No force in the universe can stand against us. These are baseless rumors, Balthrox."


    As they spoke, a distant explosion rumbled through the citadel, shaking its foundations. Zargoth''s eyes narrowed, and he and Balthrox rushed to a massive obsidian window overlooking the demondscape.


    The once tranquil scenery now bore the scars of war. mes danced across the horizon, and the wails of the dying echoed in the air. Zargoth clenched his fists, dark energy crackling around his form. "What is happening? How could this be?"


    Balthrox hurriedly consulted amunication device. "Commander, iing reports confirm an unexpected assault. The humans have struck swiftly and mercilessly. Our defenses crumbled before we could react."


    Zargoth''s demonic visage twisted in rage. "Impossible! I won''t allow our dominion to be challenged by these insignificant creatures. Gather the legions. We shall defend our with all our might."


    As Zargoth rallied his demonic forces, the Celestial toon''s armada descended from the cosmic void, their stealth mode deactivated. The demon soldiers, caught off guard, scrambled to form a defense line. Aldred, aboard the Ster Seraph, observed the chaos unfolding on the holographic disys.


    In the heart of the demon stronghold, Zargoth prepared for the impending onught. Dark energy enveloped him as he summoned his demonic army. "To arms, my brethren! Unleash the full fury of the abyss upon these intruders. We will not be humiliated by mere mortals!"


    The demonic forces shed with the advancing armada. Explosions echoed, and the celestial fire danced amid the darkness of demonic energy. Zargoth, leading from the front, swung his massive obsidian de, cutting through the celestial onught.


    The Celestial toon''s armada emerged from the cosmic void, a formidable force assembled from the diverse corners of the Imperium. Mercenary ships of various designs, each bearing unique symbols of their origin, formed the vanguard. Advanced A.I. robots, sleek and swift, apanied the human mercenaries, their metallic bodies gleaming with celestial energy.


    The armada, a testament to the Celestial toon''s unity, positioned itself in a strategic formation as they descended upon the demon-infested. Their vessels were armed with cutting-edge technology, celestial weaponry capable of harnessing the power of stars. The mercenaries, battle-hardened and disciplined, prepared for the sh with the demonic forces.


    Aldred stared intently as he observed from his gship.


    As the Celestial toon''s armada descended, the demons, recovering from the initial shock, formed a defensive line. Zargoth, towering at the forefront, swung his obsidian de with a malevolent grace. The demonic forces, a grotesque amalgamation of horns, ws, and dark energy, followed theirmander''s lead.


    The celestial fire erupted from the toon''s armada, a symphony of luminous energy that shed with the demonic darkness. Mercenary ships weaved through the chaotic battleground, unleashing barrages of celestial projectiles. A.I. robots, agile and precise, engaged the demons in close-quartersbat, their movements synchronized with a calcted dance.


    One particrly agile robot, equipped with dual energy des, darted between demons, shing through their ranks with fluid precision.


    Aldred''s gaze focused on the unfolding battle. "Vortimer, ry orders to the fleetmanders. Coordinate the attacks, exploit weaknesses, and ensure the demons cannot regroup."


    Vortimer transmittedmands to the fleet, and the armada adjusted its strategy. The celestial fire intensified, forming a barrier that disintegrated demonic entities on contact. The mercenaries and A.I. robots pressed forward, systematically dismantling the demonic forces.


    In the heart of the conflict, Zargoth, his obsidian de cutting through the celestial onught, roared with primal fury. Hemanded the demons to counterattack, unleashing waves of dark energy that shed with the luminous barrage.


    "Show these monkeys what we''re made of!"


    Aldred, his eyes aze with celestial power, initiated a unique maneuver. The Ster Seraph unleashed a burst of energy that created a celestial rift¡ªa temporary tear in the fabric of space. From this rift, reinforcements emerged: more mercenary ships, advanced A.I. robots, and even celestial constructs summoned from the cosmic realms.


    The demons, overwhelmed by the onught, struggled to maintain their defensive formation. Zargoth, recognizing the dire situation, attempted to rally his forces, but the celestial fire consumed him in its luminous embrace.


    Aldred, observing the chaos from the Ster Seraph''smand center, analyzed the unfolding battle. Despite the formidable resistance from the demon forces, the Celestial toon''s armada pressed forward, slowly but surely dismantling the demonic defenses.


    As he watched themander of the demon army, Zargoth, fiercely leading his troops, Aldred couldn''t help but sense the desperation in the demon''s actions. The celestial fire of the Imperium shed with the abyssal darkness of the demonic forces, creating a tumultuous battleground.


    After hours of intense conflict, Aldred decided it was time to confront Zargoth personally. He knew that the key to ending this cosmic struggley not just in overpowering the demonic forces but in understanding the motives and convictions of their leader.


    Aldred stepped onto the teleportation tform, his figure enveloped in celestial energy. In an instant, he materialized at the heart of the demon stronghold, surrounded by the remnants of the ongoing battle. The twisted spires of dark energy resonated with malevolence as demonic entities shed with the Celestial toon''s forces.


    Zargoth, engaged inbat with an advanced A.I. robot, paused as he sensed Aldred''s arrival. The demonmander, his obsidian de still crackling with dark energy, turned his attention toward the unexpected intruder. A momentary truce settled between the demonic and celestial forces as both sides acknowledged the arrival of Aldred.


    Aldred, with his eyes aze and surrounded by the celestial aura, approached Zargoth. "Commander Zargoth," he called out, his voice resonating with a mix of authority and determination.


    Zargoth, his demonic visage expressing a mixture of surprise and defiance, responded, "You are the one they call Aldred. The human who dares challenge the might of the demonic forces."


    Aldred nodded. "I''vee to offer you a chance to end this conflict. The Imperium seeks to cleanse the cosmos of demonic corruption, but I believe there is another way."


    Zargoth, skeptical yet intrigued, raised an eyebrow. "Another way? You speak as if we could coexist."


    Aldred''s gaze remained unwavering. "Coexistence may be difficult, but annihtion benefits neither side. Your forces have been met with formidable resistance, and I can feel the desperation in your struggle. I offer you a choice ¨C surrender and allow us to cleanse the demonic taint from your forces, or face the consequences of continued conflict."


    That was of course a lie. Aldred had read about the history of the demons. For more than 100,000 years of its existence, it had never had peace with any race.


    That was because, these demons were too hungry for souls.


    ''I have a blood of a demon within me, why aren''t I so hungry for soul?'' Aldred thought to himself.


    Zargoth, considering Aldred''s proposal, hesitated for a moment before dropping his obsidian de to the ground. The demonic forces around them, sensing theirmander''s actions, also lowered their weapons. It seemed, for a fleeting moment, that a truce might be possible.


    Aldred cautiously approached Zargoth, extending his hand in a gesture of peace. "Let us find a way to end this conflict without further bloodshed," Aldred suggested.


    Zargoth, with a sinister smile, reached out to shake Aldred''s hand. However, just as their hands were about to meet, the demonmander swiftly retrieved a concealed dagger from his side and lunged at Aldred with a sudden, treacherous strike.


    Aldred, anticipating the deception, evaded the attack with a swift sidestep. The demon''s dagger grazed Aldred''s armor, leaving a trail of sparks. In an instant, the truce was shattered, and the battleground transformed into a stage for an intense one-on-one confrontation.


    The twobatants circled each other in a deadly dance, each assessing the other''s strengths and weaknesses. Zargoth, armed with demonic prowess, unleashed waves of dark energy and quick strikes, aiming to overwhelm Aldred with sheer force.


    Aldred, wielding the Phantom Doomde, a weapon forged from the essence of millions of consumed souls, met Zargoth''s attacks with calcted precision. The sword gleamed with an otherworldly light, and its strikes carried the weight of countless souls seeking retribution.


    The sh between Aldred and Zargoth became a spectacle of celestial and demonic power. Dark and light energies collided, creating shockwaves that reverberated through the demonic stronghold. The celestial fire from the ongoing battle outside the citadel cast erratic shadows upon thebatants, emphasizing the gravity of their struggle.


    Zargoth, driven by desperation and the thirst for power, unleashed a surge of demonic energy, temporarily overpowering Aldred. The demonmander pressed his advantage, aiming to strike Aldred down and reim control of the conflict


    However, Aldred, drawing upon the cosmic energy within him, surged back with newfound strength. The Phantom Doomde hummed with a resonant power, and Aldred executed a series of masterful sword maneuvers. Each stroke cut through the demonic energy, gradually wearing down Zargoth''s defenses.


    As the battle reached its climax, Aldred delivered a powerful strike, cleaving through Zargoth''s dark armor. The demonmander, now vulnerable, staggered backward. Aldred seized the opportunity and unleashed a burst of celestial energy, temporarily immobilizing Zargoth.


    With the demonmander incapacitated, Aldred stood triumphant. The Phantom Doomde pulsed with a final surge of power, absorbing the remnants of Zargoth''s malevolent essence. The demonic forces, witnessing their leader''s defeat, fell into disarray, their morale shattered.


    Aldred, breathing lightly from the less-challenging confrontation, turned his attention to the aftermath of the battle. The citadel, once a symbol of demonic dominance, now stood as a fractured fortress. The celestial forces outside, empowered by the resolution of the internal conflict, continued to dismantle the remaining demonic resistance


    "It''s over for this too."

 Chapter 709 709 Unusual Demon

    Chapter 709  709 Unusual Demon


    Hundreds of Light-years away from Aldred''s location, amidst the cold expanse of space, surrounded by the celestial dance of distant gxies, the demonicmander, Azrakoth, sat upon his obsidian throne within the heart of his colossal gship, the Stygian Eclipse. Five sr systems bowed to hismand, and his dominion extended like a shadow across the cosmos.


    The news of the unexpected assault on the front lines reached Azrakoth like a searing bolt of infernal lightning. His eyes, aze with demonic energy, narrowed as the report unfolded before him through holographic projections. His most trusted advisors, adorned with ominous horns and draped in dark cloaks, exchanged wary nces.


    "Commander Azrakoth," began Borgath, the chief strategist, his voice resonating with an air of malevolence, "the humans have dared to strike at our forces. They have unleashed a force fueled by celestial fire, a power that rivals our own."


    Azrakoth''s eyes red with a mixture of fury and intrigue. "Humans challenging our dominion? Preposterous," he growled. "What insolence has driven them to such madness?"


    Voragosa, the high sorceress, stepped forward. "Reports suggest that their celestial forces are led by a formidable being named Aldred. He wields a power we have not encountered before. The very fabric of space seems to respond to his presence."


    Azrakoth''s throne emitted an eerie glow as he considered the implications. "Aldred," he mused, "a name etched in the cosmic tapestry. We shall see if his power can withstand the might of the demonic legions. Prepare the fleets for battle."


    The war room buzzed with a sinister energy as Azrakoth and his advisors delved into discussions about the unfolding crisis. The holographic disys flickered with celestial charts and demonic sigils, mapping out strategies to counter the unexpected threat.


    Golmash, the demon general renowned for his ruthlessness in battle, spoke with a deep, guttural voice, "Commander, the humans may have momentarily disrupted our forces, but our legions are vast, and our demonic energy boundless. We shall crush them underfoot."


    Azrakoth nodded in agreement. "True, Golmash. But we must not underestimate their celestial weaponry. Borgath, devise a strategy to counter their celestial fire. Voragosa, tap into the abyssal energies; let the demons be a torrent that drowns Aldred''s feeble resistance."


    As his advisors hurriedly implemented hismands, Azrakoth''s thoughts were consumed by the mes of war. The demonic legions mobilized across the five sr systems, preparing for an impending sh that would resonate through the cosmos.


    Sending his dark tendrils of thought across the vast reaches of space, Azrakoth issuedmands to his demonicmanders in each sr system. Themunication lines crackled with infernal energy as the demonic leaders received their orders.


    Commander Vkar, overseeing the defense of the third sr system, transmitted back, "Commander Azrakoth, we are readying our forces for theing onught. The humans shall taste the wrath of the demonic horde."


    Azrakoth''s voice, a resonant echo that reverberated through the war room,manded, "Let the humans believe they stand a chance, for their fleeting hope shall make their defeat all the more satisfying. Crush them, Vkar, and let the abyss consume their celestial arrogance."


    As the demonic legions prepared for battle, the Stygian Eclipse, its colossal frame cloaked in shadows, moved toward the front lines. Azrakoth, seated upon his obsidian throne, watched the unfolding chaos through the ship''s observation portals.


    The demonicmanders reported the deployment of legions, the activation of dark shields, and the readiness of demonic war machines. The air in the war room crackled with anticipation as Azrakoth''s gaze remained fixed on the celestial battleground.


    Voragosa, sensing the tension, whispered to Azrakoth, "Commander, our forces are prepared. The humans shall know the futility of resisting the demonic tide. Should we release them?"


    "No. Not yet. The humans would expect a fierce counter-attack. However, we will let them wait."


    "But the humans will think¡ª"


    "The humans are smart. We must not underestimate them. One of the signs of low intellect is underestimating one''s enemy. Are you a low-intellect individual?"


    Voragosa stayed silent.


    Azrakoth scoffed. "We are not attacking. Not now. Heed mymand, prepare our army for war."


    In the depths of the demonic strongholds across the five sr systems, the air resonated with the sounds of war. Demonic forges echoed with the ng of hammers shaping infernal alloys into deadly weapons, and demonic soldiers engaged in rigorous training, their movements synchronized in a demonic dance of martial prowess.


    Commander Golmash, the demon general, oversaw the intense preparations for war. He moved through the training grounds, his presencemanding both fear and respect. Demon soldiers honed theirbat skills, shing through holographic simtions of celestial adversaries. In darkened chambers, demon strategists devised battle tactics, studying holographic representations of Aldred''s previous encounters.


    In the colossal demonic shipyards, demons toiled tirelessly to construct space warships imbued with the essence of the abyss. Enormous vessels, adorned with demonic symbols and bristling with otherworldly weaponry, took shape under the watchful eyes of demonic overseers. The air around the shipyards hummed with the rhythmic pulsing of demonic energy as the warships were infused with the malevolence that fueled the demonic forces.


    Borgath, the chief strategist, monitored the progress with a calcting gaze. "Commander Azrakoth," he reported, "our warships are nearingpletion. The very hulls resonate with demonic power, ready to unleash devastation upon Aldred''s celestial armada."


    Azrakoth, seated upon his obsidian throne within the Stygian Eclipse, observed the holographic disys detailing the demonic preparations. The air in the war room vibrated with anticipation as the demonic legions geared up for the cosmic sh.


    Voragosa, the high sorceress, delved into the abyssal energies, channeling dark forces to empower the demonic troops. The air crackled with malevolent energy as she conducted dark rituals, weaving spells to enhance the demonic soldiers'' strength and resilience.


    As the demonic legions honed their skills and their warships nearedpletion, Azrakoth sent his dark tendrils of thought across the vastness of space. Hemunicated withmanders overseeing the production of demonic weapons, urging them to expedite the mass manufacturing of infernal arms.


    In the third sr system, Commander Vkar, spurred by Azrakoth''smand, orchestrated the construction of vast military infrastructures. Demonic citadels rose from the destendscapes, equipped with imposing defensive structures and summoning pits where reinforcements could be called forth from the abyss.


    These defensive structures were very powerful as they were inspired by human architecture, however, a lot of demons despised all of these defensive measures.


    Demons should be domineering. Everyone should be too scared of them to even think about attacking, so many low-levels demons despised these structures even though their presence was crucial for warfare.


    In themand center of the Ster Seraph, Aldred''s brows furrowed as the reports from the celestial scouts painted a perplexing picture. The demons, instead ofunching an immediate counter-attack, seemed to be preparing with an unexpected level of patience. Aldred turned to Vortimer, his trusted second-inmand, with a questioning gaze.


    "Vortimer, this is unusual. The demons appear to be consolidating their forces and fortifying their positions. I didn''t expect them to show such restraint," Aldred remarked, studying the holographic disys.


    Vortimer, d in the distinctive uniform of the Celestial toon, analyzed the data. "Indeed. It seems they are opting for a more strategic approach, strengthening their military infrastructure and defenses. This level of patience is unexpected from demonic forces."


    "It''s as if they are biding their time, waiting for something. This could be a calcted move on their part. We need to be prepared for any surprises they might have in store."


    Vortimer nodded in agreement. "Shall I ry orders to the fleetmanders to maintain heightened readiness? We can''t afford to underestimate the demons, especially if they''re deviating from their usual aggressive tactics."


    Aldred nced at Vortimer. He noticed that the robot''s word of choice and tones have changed to a little more respectful than before.


    Aldred considered the options. "Yes, Vortimer. Instruct the fleet to stay vignt and be ready to adapt our strategies. I want constant updates on the demons'' movements. If they''re taking a more patient approach, there''s a reason, and we need to discover it before it''s toote."


    "Perhaps they are just training their army and building more ships. Although, the demons way of fighting change over the millennium, their intelligence are notparable to that of human. However, I will transmit the order."


    As Vortimer transmitted the orders to the fleetmanders, Aldred continued to analyze the holographic disys, his mind racing with the possibilities. The demons, known for their ferocity and impulsiveness, were now disying a level of strategic thinking that raised questions about their intentions.


    "It''s a waiting game now, Aldred," Vortimer noted, his eyes focused on the ongoing celestial battle outside.


    Aldred nodded, his gaze fixed on the holographic representation of the demon strongholds. "Patience has never been a virtue associated with demons. We must be prepared for whatever they have nned. This silence from their end is unsettling."


    "High ranking demons can show a sign of higher intellect. Most of them onlypared to that of humans, however, there are some rare ones that surpass humanity''s intellect."


    "Seems like humanity''s intellect is highly regarded in the gxy."


    "That is not the case. The humans are considered closest to the animals. It''s just that in this case, the demons are worst than animals."


    "I see. Who''s the smartest then?"


    "In average, the elves are far more superior in intelligentpared to humans. Eons ago, they are the ones that dominated the gxy throughly. Every inch of this cosmic disk was theirs to rule, however, their pride and ego and way of living soon be the very reason of their demise. Now you only see a remnant of their massive empire."


    Aldred nodded. He had read about that as well. "For now, keep watch on the demons. If they decide to y the waiting game, then I will force them toe out much sooner."


    He grinned.

 Chapter 710 710 Transport

    Chapter 710  710 Transport


    Francus Hendry stood guard near the bustling activity of cargo loading on the local. His eyes, sharp and watchful, scanned the surroundings as massive machines moved colossal crates into the humongous cargo spaceship. Next to him stood Grigor, a weathered old man with a grizzled beard and a demeanor that spoke of experience.


    The air hummed with the energy of preparation. Thousands of Celestial toon members guarded the transportation process, their uniforms a stark contrast to the backdrop of the alien world. Drones hovered in the sky, their mechanical eyes ensuring that every inch of the operation was covered.


    Grigor, leaning on a staff that seemed to have weathered as many storms as its owner, spoke to Francus in a gravelly voice, "Quite the operation they''ve got going on here. The Celestial toon doesn''t mess around when ites to dealing with the demons."


    Francus nodded, his gaze focused on the cargo loading. "True, Grigor. These demons are no pushovers, and every move we make needs to be calcted. I heard the demons are changing their tactics."


    Grigor raised an eyebrow, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "Different game, you say? What do you mean?"


    "They''re not attacking immediately. Instead, they''re fortifying their positions, building more warships, and strengthening their military infrastructure. It''s like they''re preparing for a prolonged conflict," Francus exined.


    Grigor stroked his beard thoughtfully. "That''s not typical demon behavior. They usually charge headlong into battle, relying on sheer force and ferocity. This change in strategy could mean trouble."


    As they conversed, a massive cargo container floated above them, suspended by anti-gravity technology. It glided smoothly into the cargo spaceship, disappearing within its metallic belly. The ground rumbled with the movements of machinery and the asional distant echo of weapons being tested.


    Francus shifted his gaze from the cargo loading to Grigor. "You''ve seen a fair share of battles, old man. What''s your take on this demon situation?"


    Grigor''s eyes held a glint of wisdom. "Demons are unpredictable, but they''re also creatures of habit. This change in tactics could be a sign of desperation or a well-thought-out strategy. We need to be prepared for either scenario."


    Grigor leaned on his staff, his eyes reflecting the distant stars. "Aldred''s power, my friend, is nothing short of extraordinary. It''s a blend of magic and technology, a force that echoes through the cosmic realms. I''ve seen battles where his mere presence turned the tide, and the demons, for all their ferocity, were left in awe."


    Francus nodded, his appreciation evident. "It''s as if the celestial energy he wields is a symphony that resonates with the very fabric of the universe. I''ve witnessed demons scattering like leaves in the wind when Aldred unleashes his power."


    They had been fighting for Celestial toon for two years. From time to time, Aldred would help a random legion of mercenaries throughout the gxy. That was why almost every mercenary in the Celestial toon knew of his legendary strength. With each member seeing a different part of his power.


    Grigor chuckled, a sound that carried the weight of countless experiences. "Aye, I''ve seen it too. The demons, for all their brutal strength, have no answer to the celestial fire Aldredmands. It''s like trying to extinguish a star with a flickering candle."


    As they spoke, a holographic disy nearby flickered to life, showcasing scenes from previous battles. Aldred, bathed in celestial energy, wielding the Phantom Doomde, became the focal point of the projection. Demonic forces, once imposing, withered under the onught of celestial fire.


    Grigor gestured toward the hologram. "Look at that, Francus. A few legions of Celestial toon''s ships, guided by Aldred''s strategic brilliance, dismantling demon worlds with precision. It''s like a cosmic dance, each move calcted, each strike resonating through the very essence of their existence."


    Francus''s eyes gleamed with admiration. "Aldred has turned the tide in our favor. The demons, arrogant in their dominance, now face a force that challenges the very foundations of their power. It''s poetic, wouldn''t you say?"


    Grigor nodded, his gaze still fixed on the holographic disy. "Poetic indeed. The demons, who thought themselves invincible, are now forced to reconsider their approach."


    As they observed the hologram, another Celestial toon ship descended gracefully from the cosmic void. The vessel, adorned with celestial symbols, unleashed a burst of energy that created a luminous rift. Reinforcements emerged ¨C more ships, advanced A.I. robots, and celestial constructs. The holographic projection depicted the celestial reinforcements turning the tide of battle.


    Francus, his eyes tracing the holographic scenes, remarked, "The Celestial toon fights not just with advanced technology but with great coordination as well. Now I am thinking about it, we are actually an amazing military organization."


    As the holographic disy continued its cosmic narrative, depicting battles won and demons scattered, Francus couldn''t help but marvel at the convergence of magic and high tech in the Celestial toon''s arsenal.


    "Magic, technology, strategy, and teamwork. Only now do I realize the wisdom and intellect of our leader," Grigor said. He snorted with a smile. "This man is a genius."


    Amidst the cargo loading and the hum of preparation, Grigor and Francus stood witness to a cosmic saga, where the sh between celestial fire and demonic darkness unfolded like an epic y on the stage of the universe.


    The cargo loading process waspleted with military precision, the colossal crates now safely secured within the bowels of the humongous cargo spaceship. The air, once filled with the vibrant energy of preparation, settled into a tense calm as the machinery came to a halt. Grigor and Francus exchanged a knowing nce, acknowledging the sess of the mission.


    As the cargo ship hummed to life, its engines resonating with the power within, anticipation filled the air. The vessel lifted gracefully from the alien ground, piercing the atmosphere with a determined purpose. The Celestial toon members, their uniforms a testament to discipline, secured their positions. Drones continued their vignt patrol, ensuring the safety of the precious cargo.


    The ship breached theary atmosphere, entering the cosmic expanse beyond. However, the tranquility was shattered by an unexpected surge of energy.

 Chapter 711 711 Transport 2

    Chapter 711  711 Transport 2


    A powerful beam of light struck through a vital part of the ship, sending shockwaves through its metallic frame. rms red, and emergency protocols were initiated, but the damage was done. The cargo ship began its descent, hurtling back toward the''s surface.


    Inside the chaotic vessel, chaos ensued. The explosion of the vital part had a domino effect, causing secondary explosions that echoed through the metallic corridors. Francus and Grigor, despite their battle-hardened resilience, were thrown off bnce, their bodies mming into the ship''s interior.


    "Fuck! Who is attacking us!?"


    As the ship plummeted, the external chaos mirrored the internal turmoil. Explosions lit up the sky as demonic spacecraft swarmed like vengeful hos, engaging in a ferocious battle against local defense forces and Celestial toon ships assigned for protection.


    In the midst of the chaos, Francus and Grigor struggled to regain their footing. The once controlled environment of the cargo ship now resembled a war zone. The groans of stressed metal and the wails of injured personnel filled the air.


    Despite their injuries, Francus and Grigor managed to reach a vantage point within the ship. Through a shattered viewport, they witnessed the celestial ballet of demonic and defensive spacecraft engaging in a deadly dance. Energy beams crisscrossed the sky, leaving trails of destruction in their wake.


    Grigor, his voice strained but resolute, spoke over the cacophony. "This is no ordinary attack. The demons orchestrated this with precision. They knew our cargo was a threat, and they struck at our weakest moment."


    Francus, his eyes reflecting the determination to survive, replied, "We can''t let this mission end in failure. We need to get to themunication array, and call for reinforcements!"


    As they reached thepromised array, Grigor''s weathered hands moved swiftly over the controls. There, he saw many corpses lying all over the ce. He gritted his teeth and ignored them.


    Despite the pain pulsating through his injured body, his focus remained unwavering. The distress signal was broadcast into the cosmic void, a plea for aid against the unexpected demonic onught.


    Just as hope flickered in the dimming corridors of the crippled ship, a demonic spacecraft, sleek and ominous, descended with predatory grace. Its dark energy resonated with malice as it targeted themunication array. Another powerful beam struck, obliterating the array and silencing the distress signal.


    "Bastard!"


    The realization hit Francus and Grigor like a physical blow. The odds had shifted against them. With no means of calling for reinforcements, survival seemed like an elusive dream in the face of demonic aggression.


    The once-graceful cargo ship, now crippled and engulfed in chaos, began its descent back to the''s surface. Francus and Grigor, still within its metallic confines, felt the disorienting lurch as gravity asserted its dominance. The world outside the viewport blurred into a dizzying spectacle as the ship descended like a wounded bird.


    Fear crept into Francus and Grigor''s hearts, their sharp eyes scanning the dimly lit corridors for any sign of escape. The once-familiar metallic corridors transformed into a ustrophobicbyrinth of impending doom. The groans of the stressed metal, now amplified by the descent, created a haunting symphony of impending catastrophe.


    "We need to get out of here!" Francus shouted.


    As the ship plummeted, the gravitational force intensified.


    Francus and Grigor gripped onto whatever sturdy fixtures they could find, their minds racing with the grim awareness of their dire situation.


    "Hold on, old man!" Francus shouted over the tumult of creaking metal and distant explosions. Grigor nodded, his grizzled beard framing a face etched with concern. The two mercenaries navigated the tilting corridors with urgency, the flickering emergency lights casting eerie shadows on their determined faces.


    The ship''s descent into the atmosphere became a descent into a realm of fear and uncertainty. Explosions from the cargo hold echoed through the vessel, a deafening reminder of the imminent catastrophe. The hum of machinery turned into a cacophony of destruction as the ship hurtled towards the''s surface.


    Time seemed to stretch, and the air became heavy with the anticipation of impact. Every jolt of the falling ship sent tremors through Francus and Grigor, who clung to the hope of surviving the impending crash.


    As the cargo ship breached the lower atmosphere, the temperature outside rose dramatically. The hull glowed with the fiery embrace of re-entry, casting an ominous glow within the ship''s interior. The hull, weakened by the demonic attack, struggled to withstand the intense heat and pressure.


    "Brace yourself!" Francus shouted, his voice barely audible over the roar of the ship''s descent. Grigor nodded grimly, and the two mercenaries found a rtively sheltered spot, hunkering down as the inevitable collision approached.


    The impact, when it came, was a cataclysmic eruption of sound and chaos. The cargo ship, once a symbol of Celestial toon''s might, collided with the''s surface with a force that shook the very core of its structure.


    Explosions rippled through the ship like a series of violent aftershocks. mes roared to life, consuming the once-pristine halls andpartments. The structural integrity of the vessel crumbled under the strain, copsing like a house of cards.


    The explosion was simr to that of a nuclear explosions, with massive mushroom cloud rushing towards the sky.


    All the mercenaries that were assigned outside the cargo ship watched the explosion. There was a strange and sharp pain stabbing their heart.


    After that pain, came anger and grief at failing to protect the lives of theirrades and the vital resources that will greatly aid their allies in the future.


    All the mercenaries of the Celestial toon roared as water trailed from their eyes.


    The localary forces were shocked to see this.


    Why are they crying? Aren''t they just mercenaries? Why are they so angry?


    These type of questions appeared in their heart, however none dare to ask.


    Still, one thing was clear. The mercenaries of the Celestial toon was extremely patriotic towards their organization!


    Because, after the cargo ship fell. All the remaining spacecraft of the Celestial toon immediately threw themselves towards the demon.

 Chapter 712 712 Blood For Blood

    Chapter 712  712 Blood For Blood


    The remaining mercenaries, fueled by a potent mix of grief and anger, rallied against the demonic onught.


    Their spacecraft surged forward, a symphony of celestial steel determined to defy the forces that had taken so much from them. The void of space became an arena of vengeance, illuminated by the fiery trails of their propulsion systems.


    As the mercenaries engaged the demons, their collective roar echoed through the cosmic battleground. They fought with a ferocity born from loss, each maneuver a testament to their dedication to the Celestial toon. Energy beams crisscrossed the expanse, creating a dazzling disy of celestial fireworks as the two forces shed in the cold vastness of space.


    The celestial ballet ofbat unfolded with a mix of precision and chaos. The remaining mercenaries, despite the overwhelming odds, disyed a remarkable coordination honed through battles fought side by side. They moved with purpose, retaliating against the demons with a fervor that spoke of their resolve.


    Amidst the wreckage of the fallen cargo ship, Francus and Grigor crawled out of the rubble, their bodies battered and broken. The air was thick with acrid smoke, and the groans of stressed metal provided a haunting backdrop to their struggle for survival. Francus, grimacing in pain, clutched his severed leg stump, while Grigor, with his left shoulder mangled, struggled to crawl out.


    "Old man, you manage to survive, huh?" Francus asked. One of his eyes burnt.


    Grigor saw one of Francus'' leg was gone. "Hm, we got lucky." He pointed at the sky. "Look. Ourrades are avenging us."


    The celestial battlefield continued to unfold before them. The dazzling disy ofbat in the cosmic expanse painted an otherworldly scene, a stark contrast to the grim reality on the remnants of the cargo ship. Despite their injuries, Francus and Grigor couldn''t tear their eyes away from the celestial ballet of vengeance.


    The pain that surged through their bodies was matched only by the pain in their hearts as they watched theirrades fight against the demonic forces. Every breath became a struggle, but their spirits remained unbroken. Their eyes reflected a mix of agony and determination, a silent vow to stand by their fellow mercenaries even in the face of devastating loss


    The void of space bore witness to their struggle, and amidst the chaos, the remaining Celestial toon members moved with a unity that defied the odds. Energy beams shed, and spacecraft maneuvered with a grace that spoke of a shared purpose. The celestial steel symphony continued, an anthem of defiance echoing through the cosmic expanse.


    Despite the excruciating pain, Francus and Grigor couldn''t tear their eyes away from the celestial ballet. Every explosion, every sh of energy beams, was a testament to the indomitable spirit of theirrades. Each moment fueled their determination to endure the pain and witness the oue of this cosmic struggle.


    As they watched, a sense of pride welled within them. The Celestial toon, despite the devastating blow, stood resilient. Theirrades fought not just against the demons but against the despair that threatened to engulf them.


    Francus gritted his teeth and clenched his fist before he roared to the sky. "Everyone! Show them! Show those demons that we are strong!"


    Grigor watched Francus'' action with widened eyes. And then he chuckled and roared to the sky too.


    The remaining mercenaries, their spacecraft a symphony of celestial steel, engaged the demonic forces with strategic brilliance. They moved with a unified purpose, each maneuver calcted to outsmart the enemy. Energy beamsnced through the void, finding their targets with deadly precision. The celestial ballet ofbat unfolded, a dance of vengeance against the forces that had dared to strike at the heart of the Celestial toon.


    Their tactics were not just a disy of firepower but a strategic ballet, each shipplementing the movements of others. They exploited the vulnerabilities of the demonic spacecraft, destroying them one by one in a dazzling disy of celestial fireworks.


    The void of space echoed with the roars of victory as the Celestial toon seemed to gain the upper hand. The demons, caught off guard by the resilience and tactical prowess of their adversaries, faltered in the face of the vengeful onught.


    However, just when victory appeared within grasp, the cosmic arena witnessed the sudden emergence of a colossal battlecruiser. Its dark hull loomed ominously against the backdrop of stars, a harbinger of impending doom. The mercenaries, in the midst of their triumph, now faced a new and overwhelming threat.


    Francus and Grigor, observing the celestial dance from their vantage point on the wreckage, exchanged shocked nces. The remnants of their battle-worn bodies felt a chill as the massive warship unleashed a barrage of devastating firepower. The once-triumphant mercenaries found themselves outmatched and outgunned.


    "No! This cannot be! What is that thing doing here?" Francus was in disbelief.


    The tide turned swiftly as the demonic battlecruiser''s onught decimated the celestial forces. Explosions blossomed like deadly flowers in the vastness of space, each bloom representing the demise of a once-proud spacecraft. The surviving mercenaries, along with localary forces monitoring the battle, watched in horror as theirrades were obliterated.


    Francus clenched his fists, his eyes wide with shock. Grigor, usually stoic, muttered in disbelief, "By the stars, we thought they only wanted the cargo ship. Why bring a weapon of such magnitude? Do they seek to annihte the as well?"


    "What do we do now?" Francus asked. "Hey, old man. What the hell do we do now?"


    The massive battlecruise loomed over the as Grigor replied with clenched jaw. "How the hell should I know."


    They were too weak to handle this situation.


    The massive battlecruiser, its ominous presence casting a shadow over the, began charging its main cannon with an eerie hum that reverberated through space. A sickly green glow emanated from the colossal weapon, and tendrils of dark energy snaked around it, creating an otherworldly spectacle.


    As the cannon charged, the very fabric of space seemed to ripple and distort.

 Chapter 713 713 Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 713 Chapter 713 Defeat</h4>


    The localary forces, watching helplessly from theirmand center, felt a palpable sense of dread. Instruments flickered, and the atmosphere itself quivered in response to the impending cataclysm.


    The charging process escted, unleashing a gravitational force that distorted the orbits of nearby celestial bodies. The shockwaves rippled through the void, and the localary forces could see the fragile bnce of the cosmos disrupted by the malevolent intent of the demonic weapon.


    Francus and Grigor, still perched on the wreckage of the fallen cargo ship, stared in disbelief at the unfolding horror. The expression on Francus'' face contorted with a mixture of rage and despair, his one eye burning with intensity. Grigor, his usually grizzled features now etched with profound concern, struggled toprehend the magnitude of the impending disaster.


    "This cannot be happening. We need to do something," Francus muttered through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into fists.


    Grigor, ever the pragmatic one, surveyed the situation with a heavy heart. "We''re outmatched, Francus. That thing... it''s beyond anything we''ve faced before."


    In themand center, the localary forces exchanged nces of helplessness. The control panels flickered with warnings as the charging process of the demonic cannon reached its climax. An officer shouted orders, attempting to coordinate a response, but the realization of their powerlessness hung in the air.


    As the main cannon reached its peak charge, the battlecruiser unleashed a beam of malevolent energy. The green-hued devastation streaked across space, leaving a trail of distortion and destruction in its wake.


    As the beam was nearing the, suddenly, it struck against an invisible wall, causing a blinding explosion of light.


    The entire rumbled.


    When the light disippated, Francus opened his eyes and was shocked for what he saw. "He is here."


    "Is that really him?" Grigor asked.


    "I am sure. Because¡­ no one else could have stopped that."


    Aldred''s clothes fluttered in the vacuum of space. "Hmmm, I did not expect one will manage to sneak in. Vortimer need to improve his radar."


    The ship activated its arsenals and sent a barrage of beams and missiles towards Aldred.


    Anti-gravity missiles defied thews of physics, altering their trajectories mid-flight to confound any attempts at evasion. Aldred danced through the weightless battlefield, narrowly avoiding these gravitational anomalies with unparalleled finesse.


    Acidic missiles, containing corrosive substances harvested from alien worlds, sought to eat through anything in their path. Aldred, with a swift wave of his hand, generated a protective barrier that nullified the corrosive effects, leaving the missiles to harmlessly disintegrate.


    High-kic missiles, propelled by advanced propulsion systems, streaked towards Aldred at incredible speeds. With a burst of energy, he elerated and decelerated, effortlessly dodging the kic onught.


    Hyper super-sonic missiles moved faster than the speed of sound, creating shockwaves that rippled through space. Aldred, with a calcted awareness of the sonic onught, navigated through the distorted waves with a serene focus.


    Super atomic missiles, containing unprecedented destructive power, aimed to engulf Aldred in cataclysmic explosions. However, he harnessed the forces of space, creating a protective barrier that absorbed and nullified the atomic fury unleashed upon him.


    As the celestial ballet unfolded,ser beams added to the symphony of destruction. Aldred, his eyes aze with cosmic energy, deflected theser onught with deft movements, creating shimmering patterns of light in the darkness of space.


    The battlecruiser, once confident in its overwhelming firepower, found itself outmaneuvered and outmatched by the singr force that stood against it. Aldred, with a stoic determination, continued his advance towards the colossal warship.


    Inside themand center of the localary forces, the officers watched in awe as Aldred defied the technological might of the demonic invaders. Whispers of hope circted among the survivors, their eyes glued to the disys that depicted the cosmic sh of powers.


    Francus and Grigor, witnessing Aldred''s arrival, exchanged nces of disbelief and relief. The celestial forces that remained rallied, their spirits rekindled by the unexpected ally who emerged from the cosmic shadows


    Aldred, amidst the onught of missiles andser beams, continued his advance. With a focused gaze, he extended his hand, generating a gravitational pulse that disrupted the trajectory of iing projectiles. The space around him bent to his will, creating a protective bubble against the onught.


    The remaining mercenaries, inspired by the resilience of theirrades and the enigmatic neer, regrouped and joined the celestial forces in their renewed offensive. Together, they formed a unified front against the demonic invaders.


    As Aldred closed the gap between himself and the battlecruiser, he unleashed his own cosmic arsenal. Beams of energy, radiant and powerful, surged from his outstretched hands, striking the demonic warship with unparalleled force. The once-ominous glow of the battlecruiser flickered as Aldred''s cosmic onught prated its defenses.


    The battlecruiser, battered and reeling, attempted to retreat, but Aldred pursued relentlessly.


    Inside themand center of the localary forces, the officers held their breath as they witnessed the turning tide. The disys showed Aldred''s relentless pursuit and the battlecruiser''s impending defeat. A collective sigh of relief swept through the room, and hope rekindled among the survivors.


    Francus and Grigor, perched on the wreckage, watched with a mix of awe and gratitude.


    "With him here, everything should be fine already," Francus said.


    The celestial forces, rejuvenated by Aldred''s intervention, redoubled their efforts in the celestial ballet ofbat. The demons, now faced with an unstoppable force, began to crumble before the unified might of the Celestial toon.


    As Aldred''s cosmic onught reached its peak, the battlecruiser''s dark hull fractured, and cascading explosions erupted like celestial fireworks. The once-menacing warship disintegrated into cosmic dust, leaving behind a void where imminent destruction once loomed.


    The surviving mercenaries, their spirits lifted, roared in triumph. Francus and Grigor exchanged a smile.


    "As expected of our leader." Grigorughed.


    After destroying the battlecruiser, Aldred immediately destroyed the rest of the enemies with absolute ease.


    In the aftermath, as the cosmic dust settled, Aldred turned toward the remaining forces. His gaze, filled with cosmic wisdom, met the eyes of Francus and Grigor.


    Aldred nodded at them and vanished.


    Francus and Grigor looked at each other.


    "I am not dreaming, right?"

 Chapter 714 714 Domino Effect

    Chapter 714  714 Domino Effect


    Francus and Grigor looked at each other. "I am not dreaming, right?" Francus questioned, a mixture of disbelief and relief evident in his voice.


    Grigor chuckled. "If this is a dream, it''s the most vivid one I''ve ever had."


    As the celestial forces continued to mop up the remnants of the demonic threat, the localary forces regained theirposure. In themand center, officers who moments ago faced the imminent destruction of their now exchanged nces of disbelief and gratitude.


    Theary forces, propelled by newfound hope, initiated a coordinated effort to clean up the battlefield. Teams of rescuers, equipped with advanced technology, descended onto the wreckage of the fallen cargo ship. Their primary mission: to tend to the wounded and salvage whatever remained.


    Francus and Grigor, still on the remnants of the cargo ship, let out a sigh of relief as the rescuers approached. The shockwaves of the battle had left them battered and broken, but the mere fact that they survived was a testament to their resilience.


    The rescuers, equipped with anti-gravity devices, carefully lifted Francus and Grigor off the rubble. As they ascended, Francus couldn''t help but nce at the remnants of the cosmic sh that unfolded around them. The celestial ballet, now a memory etched in the vastness of space, had given way to a scene of recovery.


    That was one of the key traits of humanity''s greatness. Their ability to quickly rebuild after destructions was one of the fastest and efficient within the gxy.


    On a medical transport vessel, Francus and Grigor were greeted by a team of skilled doctors. The medical personnel, shocked that the two veterans managed to survive the fall and the subsequent explosion.


    "How is this possible? They only lose an arm and a leg. Are there any more survivors?"


    "None. Only the two of them survived the fall."


    "They fall from low orbit of the and the ship created an explosion equivalent to that."


    In the makeshift infirmary, the doctors marveled at the resilience of Francus and Grigor. "Surviving that fall and explosion is nothing short of miraculous," one of the doctors remarked, shaking his head in disbelief.


    Francus, lying on a medical bed, grinned through the pain. "Well, we''ve been through worse."


    Grigor, receiving treatment for his mangled shoulder, chuckled. "You can say that again."


    As the doctors continued their work, theary forces initiated aprehensive cleanup operation. Debris from the celestial battle was systematically collected, and the wounded were transported to medical facilities across the. The once chaotic battlefield transformed into a hub of organized recovery.


    The localary forces, now reinvigorated by the unexpected turn of events, coordinated with the Celestial toon to ensure that the remnants of the demonic threat were thoroughly eradicated. The alliance between theary forces and the celestial warriors, forged in the crucible of crisis, marked a new chapter in the cosmic struggle against the unknown.


    The news of the battle spread all across the gxy. The event received mixed opinions. Some feared that their home would be attacked by the demons, the other focused on how Aldred actively rescued the before the demon could inflict devastating damage.


    "So what if he rescued the? How manys can he save at once? If we continue to participate in this war, the demons will surely attack us sooner orter to stop the supply chain. We are all been lied to! Aldred is not nning to save us, he is pulling us into a war that we do not need to fight!"


    "You fool! Is your brain so stupid that you cannot see things in the future? If we do not fight this battle, the demons will slowly expand their territory and sooner orter we will need to fight. Humans have always been enemies with the demons for eons. Even if the demons located thousands of light-years away from us, we all should contribute to their extermination as much as we possibly can!"


    Such debates ured numerous times in countless worlds as they wanted to decide what to do next.


    The mixed opinions on the attack resonated throughout the gxy. While some viewed Aldred''s intervention as a necessary defense against an encroaching threat, others questioned the motives behind the cosmic conflict. The fear of repercussions and the uncertainty of the demons'' next move fueled anxiety among various civilizations.


    As the news of Aldred''s intervention reverberated through the gxy, various underground forces on many worlds found themselvespelled to express their agreement or disagreement regarding joining the cosmic battle against the demons.


    On one particr, a secret coalition of rebels who opposed their government''s alignment with Aldred''s cause began plotting in the shadowy recesses of their hidden bases. They deemed Aldred a potential threat to their autonomy and believed that their world should remain free from cosmic conflicts. This ndestine group, fueled by dissent, sent encrypted messages across the, rallying like-minded individuals who shared their skepticism about Aldred''s intentions.


    Conversely, on another world, an underground organization fervently supportive of Aldred''s cause took to the streets to express their allegiance. Armed with propaganda posters and rallying cries, they sought to overthrow their government''s resistance to aiding Aldred in the celestial war. Their message was clear: the demons posed a significant threat, and uniting with Aldred was the only way to ensure the survival of their civilization.


    In the midst of these ideological shes, chaos erupted on severals. A particrly radical underground faction, vehemently opposed to both Aldred and their government, incited riots and uprisings. They believed inplete autonomy and wanted to sever all ties with the cosmic conflict. As the shes escted,ary governments struggled to maintain control, torn between the cosmic threat and internal strife.


    Aldred read all of these reports as he was sitting inside his gship. "I didn''t expect they will react so violently. Aren''t the Imperium at constant war with basically everyone? Why are these people overreacting?"


    Vortimer, who was standing nearby, replied: "This part of the gxy has not seen major conflict for a few decades. Most of their policy and way of life revolves around peace."


    "Peace. That was a rare word to say in this gxy," Aldred replied. "Anyway, we need to find a way to calm down the domino effect. If not, we will lose the war before it even start."


    Shinari stepped into the room with a sense of urgency and began her report to Aldred. "Aldred, there''s something you need to know. On a distant world, certain factions are resorting to a rather borate scheme. They''ve crafted a fake terrorist organization and orchestrated a y, depicting their as if it''s under upation by these entirely fictional threats. The objective is clear: they want to create a narrative suggesting that their world is facing imminent danger from within, aiming to divert attention away from the cosmic conflict and discredit any attempts to support your cause."


    Aldred listened intently to Shinari''s report, his expression a mix of concern and contemtion. "Fabricating a terrorist threat to avoid the cosmic conflict... ingenious, yet dangerous," he mused.


    Shinari nodded. "It''s a desperate attempt to maintain a semnce of peace. The fear of the unknown, coupled with doubts about your intentions, has led some civilizations to extreme measures."


    Aldred leaned forward, his gaze piercing through the holographic disys. "We can''t allow misinformation to derail our mission. We need to address these concerns and findmon ground. Communication is key."


    Aldred nodded in agreement. "Prepare a broadcast. I''ll address the gxy and make our stance clear. It''s time to unite against the true enemy and dispel the shadows of doubt."


    Meanwhile, on various worlds, the underground factions continued their shes of ideology. Some sought diplomatic means to express their concerns, hoping for a peaceful resolution, while others remained adamant in their opposition to Aldred''s cosmic alliance.


    Aldred''s promation resonated across the cosmic expanse, his voice amplified by the advancedmunicationworks that interconnected the gxy. With a tone that carried the weight of celestial authority, he invoked the name of Inquisitor Aeliana, a figure of immense power and influence within the Imperium.


    "Gctic citizens, I, Aldred, speak with the authority bestowed upon me by the esteemed Inquisitor Aeliana. I understand the concerns that shroud your hearts, and the yearning for tranquility in these trying times. Yet, we face a peril that transcends the boundaries of our individual worlds. The demons, relentless and insatiable, threaten all life across the cosmos. If we falter in unity, they will engulf everything in their voracious path."


    The subtle use of Inquisitor Aeliana''s name carried an implicit message, a not-so-veiled warning to those who hesitated to contribute to the cosmic war effort. Aldred continued, his words a cosmic decree tinged with the unspoken threat that only heretics and traitors would defy the call to arms.


    "Under the watchful gaze of Inquisitor Aeliana, we must recognize the gravity of our situation. The demons show no mercy, no distinction between friend or foe. To abstain from this cosmic struggle is to court annihtion, and inaction only serves to pave the way for the encroaching darkness."


    Across countless worlds, leaders and citizens alike heard the resonating message. The mention of Inquisitor Aeliana''s name struck a chord of both reverence and trepidation. Whispers of her influence permeated the political chambers andmon spaces, and the threat veiled within Aldred''s words sent ripples of concern through the diverse civilizations.


    In the wake of Aldred''s address, a wave of reactions swept across the gxy. Some saw the invocation of Inquisitor Aeliana as a call to duty, a reminder of the Imperium''s watchful eye and the consequences of defiance. They rallied their forces,mitting to the cosmic battle against the demonic threat.


    However, not all received the message with unquestioning loyalty. On certain worlds, dissent simmered beneath the surface. Leaders wary of losing autonomy and civilians skeptical of the cosmic conflict began to voice their reservations. They questioned the legitimacy of Aldred''s authority and the true motivations behind the celestial war.


    "That will shut most of them in the meantime," Aldred said.

 Chapter 715 715 A Problem

    <h4>Chapter 715 Chapter 715 A Problem</h4>


    Smander, d in his formidable power armor, found himself aboard the sleek, advanced ship assigned to him by Aldred. The vessel hummed with thetest technology, a testament to the alliance''smitment to equipping its emissaries for the challenges thaty ahead.


    As he navigated the cosmos, Smander contemted the new challenges that unfolded after the demonic ship attack and Aldred''smanding announcement. The gxy, once a tapestry of diverse civilizations, now grappled with the looming cosmic conflict. Each bore the weight of its own concerns and doubts, presenting Smander with a formidable task: convincing leaders to contribute resources for the war effort.


    His ship descended onto a vibrant, its surface a mosaic of ecosystems and civilizations. Smander, a lone emissary in his formidable armor, stepped onto theary soil, greeted by representatives from the local council.


    "Greetings, Mr. Emissary." The man simply said without any other gesture as if saying his presence wasn''t very wee.


    "Let us lead you to the council immediately."


    Straight to the chase. Usually, Smander would receive pleasentries and some time for himself to get used to the new and understand its culture. It seem like they did not n to let him stay for long.


    Inside the chamber, diverse species and dignitaries gathered, their expressions reflecting a mix of curiosity and skepticism. Smander, standing tall in his power armor, addressed the assembly with a resonant voice that echoed through the chamber.


    "People of this esteemed council, Ie as a representative of Aldred and the cosmic alliance. The recent events, the demonic ship''s assault, and Aldred''s call to arms necessitate a united front against the looming threat. Our worlds face a peril that transcends borders, and your contribution is paramount to our collective survival."


    However, the response was not as unanimous as Smander had hoped.ary leaders exchanged wary nces, hesitant to divert resources from their own concerns to a cosmic war that seemed distant and abstract.


    One council member, a representative of a technologically advanced race, spoke up, "Why should we sacrifice our resources for a conflict that may not directly impact our world? Our focus should be on protecting our own people, not embroiling ourselves in an intergctic struggle."


    Smander sighed inside.


    He had faced this kind of argument numerous times to the point he was so sick of hearing them.


    Still, he faced the issue head on and moved to the next after his task was done.


    He kept doing this for a few months until he sat in his private chamber within the ship. "This is so tiring."


    Suddenly, Cleome''s face popped up on a holographic screen. "What''s up with that face? Your mission isn''t going well?"


    "It never has," Smander said.


    "Of course not. You always picked thes that has the highest probability of rejecting to contribute to the war. If you let the system choose for you, the difficulty will be more bnced and you won''t be exhausted."


    "No. Let me choose."


    Cleome looked at Smander''s expression. "Why are you doing this? You''re not the type that likes to handle this kind of thing. Aldred gave you the thing you always wanted. Your ownb and a team of researches and endless amount of funds to conduct your experiments. Your innovations are well-received and greatly help our mercenaries in their tasks. Why quit your dream job?"


    "To be honest, I feel like I cannot grow anymore. It''s like there is an invisible wall in front if me not letting me to advance further."


    "Everyone thinks like that. All we have to do is keep going, right?"


    "Yes, I know that." Smander looked down. "There is always improvement being made, however, the increment is getting smaller and smaller while we need more effort and more time to the point it''s depressing to think about."


    "Smander, I think you are overthinking. You only y this field seriously for two years. We still got a long time ahead of us."


    Smander raised his head and looked at her. "You really think we have time? A massive war is ahead of us. The clock is ticking and I cannot do anything to help at all."


    He mmed the table in anger. "Even without me, Aldred can still fight the demons and lead this organization. I¡­ I am useless."


    Shinari could not say anything when she heard thest word. She could understand what Smander felt, because she also felt the same way.


    Their friend, Aldred, suddenly became a big shot one day, and his back kept getting further and further.


    Their power were no longer needed in the grand scale of things and it made them feel dissapointed with themselves.


    "Let''s talk about this with the others."


    Cleomemenced a group call with Shinari, Shuzib, Ceeth, and Elralya.


    Cleome immediately told them the problem.


    Shinari was the first one to reply. "I get it. I have been working with Aldred closely for the past few months. I can understand why you guys feel that way. We want to be useful to him. I get it."


    Shuzib sighed. "To be honest I also met a bottleneck in my research. The endless amount of knowledge I got from Aldred is too huge for me to properly analyze and research that it take decades toplete."


    Ceeth heard their conversation and snorted. "You hairless monkeys always have this habit of devaluing yourself."


    "What do you mean?" Shinari asked.


    "Have some confidence in yourself. What you have been doing has been a great help for Aldred. Aldred can focus on his task, because he knows that his friends have his back."


    The others were shocked by Ceeth''sment. They never thought of it that way.


    For a long time, they always thought that they could easily be reced by someone else because the job they had been doing were so mundane.


    However, Ceeth presented apletely new perspective.


    Smander took in a deep breath. "It might be true that Aldred is relieved that we have his back. However, that does not mean that we should not strive to help him more."

 Chapter 716 716 A Solution

    <h4>Chapter 716 Chapter 716 A Solution</h4>


    "What do you think we should do, Ceeth?" Shinari asked.


    "Fools! Are you children? Ask him yourself."


    They nced at each other.


    "Right, we should ask him directly." Cleome nodded.


    Soon after, Cleome made a call to Aldred. Shockingly, Aldred appeared as a projection a secondter.


    "That was fast. Aren''t you busy?" Cleome asked.


    "I just destroyed a. Anyway, what you guys need?"


    The crew looked at each other again and nodded.


    Then, Cleome exined the problem to him, exining in detail how they want to help him more in this battle.


    Aldred simply smiled after he listened to their exnation. "Actually what you guys are doing right now is more than I can ask. However, I can understand. All of you want to help me, right?"


    They all nodded.


    "I guess I can''t help it. I will bestow you all a powerful blessing. A blessing that can help you all breakthrough any bottleneck and wall."


    "What kind of blessing is that?" Smander stood up.


    "Calm down. I want you all to close your eyes."


    With Aldred''s request, the crew closed their eyes, a mix of curiosity and anticipation coloring their expressions. The room fell into a momentary silence, interrupted only by the subtle hum of the ship''s technology.


    After a few minutes that felt longer than they actually were, Aldred''s voice echoed through the chamber. "You can open your eyes now."


    As the crew members slowly opened their eyes, they were greeted by a surreal sight. In front of each of them floated a holographic disy, showcasing intricate details of their status and levels. The holograms shimmered with ethereal light, revealing a wealth of information previously unknown to them.


    Smander, Cleome, Shinari, Shuzib, Ceeth, and Elralya gazed in awe at the holographic projections, their eyes tracing the lines of data that outlined their strengths, skills, and potential.


    Aldred''s voice resonated once again, breaking the silence. "I''ve bestowed upon you a powerful blessing. These holographic panels represent your status and levels. You now have the ability to increase your level, enhance your skills, and unlock greater potential limitlessly."


    The crew exchanged astonished nces, the implications of Aldred''s gift sinking in. Cleome, always the analytical one, spoke up first. "What does this mean, Aldred? How does it work?"


    Aldred, still appearing as a holographic projection, exined, "You can increase your level by actively engaging in various activities. Whether it''s learning, working out, practicing your skills, defeating monsters, orpleting tasks, each endeavor contributes to your growth. The more you immerse yourself in these activities, the more your level will increase."


    Smander, known for his love of experimentation and innovation, couldn''t contain his excitement. "So, it''s like a game where we level up by doing things? That''s incredible!"


    Aldred chuckled. "In a way, yes. Consider it a tool to help you break through the barriers you feel in your respective fields. This blessing is meant to empower you further and ovee the challenges you face."


    Shinari, always pragmatic, raised an important question. "Are there any limits to this? Can we be infinitely powerful?"


    Aldred nodded. "While the potential for growth is vast, there are practical limits to ensure bnce. Your progress will be significant, but it won''t render challenges obsolete. The journey of improvement remains an ongoing pursuit."


    With newfound determination, the crew delved into their holographic panels, exploring the wealth of information before them. Each panel disyed attributes, skills, and a progress bar indicating their current level. It was a personalized interface tailored to their unique strengths and abilities.


    The crew, inspired by this extraordinary gift, began to discuss how they could leverage their newfound abilities. Ideas flowed freely, each member envisioning the breakthroughs they could achieve in their respective fields.


    Cleome, with her strategic mind, suggested, "We can use this to our advantage in diplomatic missions as well. Increasing our charisma andmunication skills might help us convince mores to join the cause."


    Smander, always looking for practical applications, added, "I can improve my engineering skills, creating more advanced weaponry and technology to aid us in the uing battles."


    Shinari, concerned about the internal cohesion of the crew, spoke, "We should also focus on personal growth. Strengthening our bonds and understanding each other''s strengths will make us a more formidable team."


    The crew discussed about the possibilities with their new ability.


    Aldred was d about that. At first, he wanted to withold his ''party'' power before because had had yet trusted them, however, they had been with him for more than 4 years now and went through many battles where they risked their life.


    He could trust them with their life, so a simple ''party'' was more than fine.


    In Aldred''s private chamber, where the holographic conversation had taken ce, an ethereal presence lingered. Unbeknownst to Aldred and his crew, a powerful yet yful god entity named Eclipsea, the god of secrets and darkness, observed their every move with great interest.


    Cloaked in shadows, Eclipsea''s form remained elusive, only revealing glimpses of a dark silhouette adorned with celestial patterns. She had been drawn to the conversation about the bestowed blessing and the newly acquired status panels. Intrigued by the potential these mortals now possessed, Eclipsea decided to spy on Aldred and his crew, eager to understand the depths of their newfound abilities.


    "Hehe, following them out of the Veil wasn''t a waste. Now I know something I haven''t seen before. System, status panel, increasing level¡­ quite the mystery."


    As she observed the holographic projections floating in front of each crew member, Eclipsea''s eyes sparkled with amusement. The intricate details of their status and levels, the progress bars indicating growth, and the potential for limitless enhancement fascinated the god. Her yful demeanor resonated with the pulsating shadows that surrounded her form.


    "Ah, mortals and their insatiable desire for power," Eclipsea whispered to herself, her voice a velvety murmur that echoed through the chamber. "Such a delightful spectacle to witness."


    "With this power, could they even surpass a god like myself? That would be interesting."

 Chapter 717 717 Power Armor Development

    Chapter 717  717 Power Armor Development


    Eclipsea, concealed in the shadows of Aldred''s private chamber, observed the crew''s reactions to the bestowed blessing. As the crew delved into discussions about leveraging their newfound abilities, Eclipsea couldn''t help but find their enthusiasm intriguing. Mortals, driven by the desire for power and improvement, were always a fascinating spectacle to her.


    The meeting concluded, and Eclipsea decided to follow the crew to Smander''s ship. With a thought, she traversed the cosmic realms and materialized on the sleek vessel. Her form, wrapped in celestial patterns, blended seamlessly with the ambient shadows of the ship.


    Inside, Smander, driven by curiosity, initiated a test of his new abilities. Opening amunication channel, he essed a digital library containing a vast array of technological knowledge. Eclipsea, perched in the corner of the room, observed with keen interest.


    "Quantum Realms: Navigating the Subatomic Frontiers" by Dr. Aria Nova


    Dive into the intricacies of quantum mechanics and explore the possibilities of manipting the very fabric of reality.


    "Warp Drive Mastery: Beyond the Speed of Light" by Professor Orion Stratos


    Unravel the mysteries of faster-than-light travel and delve into the theoretical foundations of warp drives, bending space-time for interster journeys.


    "Gravity''s Enigma: Unraveling the Force that Shapes the Cosmos" by Dr. Celeste Neb


    Explore the depths of gravitational theory, from the nature of ck holes to the influence of gravity on cosmic structures.


    "The Art of Nanotech: Engineering at the Atomic Scale" by Dr. Maxwell Nano


    Delve into the world of nanotechnology, where maniption at the atomic level opens new frontiers in materials science, medicine, and beyond.


    As Smander navigated the digital bookshelves, he selected a book on advanced quantum mechanics and nanotechnology. Eclipsea, her eyes gleaming with amusement, anticipated the unfolding experiment.


    Quantum Realms: Navigating the Subatomic Frontiers" by Dr. Aria Nova


    The Art of Nanotech: Engineering at the Atomic Scale" by Dr. Maxwell Nano


    "Let''s try these two," Smander said to himself.


    The holographic status panel appeared before Smander, presenting the option to acquire the knowledge.


    [Would you like to learn "Quantum Realms: Navigating the Subatomic Frontiers" by Dr. Aria Nova"?]


    [Would you like to learn "The Art of Nanotech: Engineering at the Atomic Scale" by Dr. Maxwell Nano"?]


    Smander, without hesitation, replied affirmatively. In that instant, a surge of information flowed from the digital repository into his consciousness. It wasn''t just memorization; Smanderprehended the intricacies, nuances, and even identified potential improvements and ws within the content.


    "This¡­ this is incredible!"


    Driven by an insatiable hunger for wisdom, Smander continued his exploration of the digital tomes. Book after book, the sea of information flowed into him, expanding his intellectual horizons. Eclipsea, observing the mortal''s journey, couldn''t help but appreciate the beauty of a mind transcending its limits.


    After absorbing the knowledge from about a hundred books or so, a subtle transformation urred. The holographic status panel, shimmering with ethereal light, announced a significant development.


    [Level Up: Level 119 -> 120]


    [Congrattions. You have break through the barrier and transcend into another realm of concsiousness]


    "What?"


    Smander, initially bewildered, soon felt the tangible effects of this transcendence. A surge of newfound power coursed through his veins, and his physicality underwent a metamorphosis. His muscles felt more powerful, his movements became incredibly flexible, and an indescribable strength pulsed within him.


    As Smander flexed his fingers, he marveled at the enhanced dexterity. It was as if he could feel the cosmic energies that flowed through the universe, granting him an unprecedented connection to the fabric of reality. His vision, once confined to the limitations of the mortal realm, now allowed him to perceive reality with an astonishing level of detail and sharpness.


    Colors seemed more vibrant, textures more pronounced, and the intricate dance of particles in the air became a mesmerizing spectacle. Smander could discern nuances in the cosmic tapestry that were previously hidden, a testament to the profound transformation that had taken ce within him.


    "Is this how Aldred see reality?"


    As Smander marveled at the confirmation of his leveled-up status, another prompt appeared on the holographic disy.


    [Increased Intelligence: Your intellectual capacity has grown, enhancing your ability to learn andprehend new knowledge.]


    Eclipsea, who had been silently observing, revealed herself from the shadows. "Ah, the dance of enlightenment. Your mind now transcends its previous limitations, mortal. Still, I cannot understand how Aldred gave them this blessing."


    She smiled, recalling the powerful vampire that threatened to kill her. "It must be because of that woman."


    Smander, fueled by the surge of newfound intelligence and the desire to push the boundaries of his technological prowess, wasted no time putting his enhanced abilities to the test. Opening hismunications interface, he navigated to a secured folder containing all his blueprints¡ªyears of innovation and technological marvels neatly organized within the digital confines.


    Among the numerous options, Smander chose a blueprint for nanotech armor. He thought for a moment, considering the potential improvements he could bring to this cutting-edge piece of technology. The holographic disy projected the intricate design before him, attice of nanobots interwoven to create a formidable shield.


    As Smander studied the blueprint, his mind effortlessly grasped theplexities of the nanotech armor. It was as if he could see beyond the lines and codes, understanding the very essence of its design. Within seconds, ideas for improvement flooded his consciousness.


    With a determined nod, Smander decided to make the nanotech armor both lighter and stronger. However, he also set an ambitious challenge for himself¡ªto integrate a feature that would create a small quantum tunnel in emergencies, a mechanism capable of whisking the wearer to safety in the blink of an eye.


    "The mercenaries set out to one dangerous missions to the next. If I can make this power armor work, a lot of lives will be saved."


    Leaving his quarters, Smander headed to the research chamber within his ship. The moment he entered, the room''s high-tech devices hummed to life. Robotic arms whirred into action, and the supeputer, a marvel of artificial intelligence, awaited hismands.


    Smanderid out the nanotech armor blueprint on a holographic table, surrounded by holographic disys that projected intricate details of the design. With a swift motion, he summoned the nanobots from the ship''s storage, each one pulsating with potential.


    Step by step, Smander meticulously worked on enhancing the armor. He started by optimizing the nanobotposition, making them stronger while reducing their overall weight. The robotic arms deftly assembled the improved nanobots, creating a more efficient and resilientttice.


    As he progressed, Smander''s mind seamlessly connected with the ship''s supeputer. Complex algorithms and simtions ran in the background, predicting the performance of the enhanced nanotech armor in various scenarios. The nanobots responded to his mentalmands, reshaping and adapting in real-time.


    Smander smiled. "We are getting a good start."

 Chapter 718 718 Incredible Features

    Chapter 718  718 Incredible Features


    In the midst of this technological ballet, Smander focused on the quantum tunneling feature. With a determined expression, he devised a mechanism that would activate in emergencies. The nanobots would rearrange themselves, creating a localized quantum field that could temporarily manipte space-time, allowing for a rapid escape.


    The challengey in bncing the stability of the quantum tunnel with its efficiency. Smander, now attuned to the cosmic energies, could sense the delicate intery of forces involved. He adjusted the parameters with precision, ensuring that the quantum tunnel would activate seamlessly withoutpromising the integrity of the nanotech armor.


    Hours passed, but time seemed irrelevant in the pursuit of innovation. Smander''s eyes glowed with a newfound brilliance as he finalized the improvements. The nanotech armor now gleamed with an otherworldly luminescence, a testament to the infusion of cosmic knowledge into its design.


    Satisfied with his work, Smander stepped back, observing the masterpiece before him. The nanotech armor, once advanced, had transcended to an unprecedented level under his enlightened touch. It was not merely a piece of technology; it was a harmonious blend of mortal ingenuity and cosmic wisdom.


    Eclipsea, still observing from the shadows, couldn''t help but be impressed. The mortal had indeed harnessed the bestowed blessing to elevate his technological prowess to new heights.


    Smander, eager to test the capabilities of the enhanced nanotech armor, donned the sleek, luminescent suit. As he initiated the activation sequence, the nanobots responded with a mesmerizing dance, forming a pulsating quantum field around him. In an instant, the armor vanished from the testing chamber, leaving behind only a faint trace of residual energy.


    Eclipsea still observing from the shadows, marveled at the magical spectacle. Momentster, the nanotech armor reappeared in a different part of the ship. Smander, now standing where the armor had vanished, grinned with satisfaction.


    "It worked. It really worked!" he eximed, a mixture of excitement and disbelief in his voice.


    The quantum tunneling effect proved not only instantaneous but also visually stunning. The nanobots seamlessly manipted the fabric of space-time, allowing Smander to traverse the ship effortlessly. The crew members, having witnessed the disy, exchanged impressed nces.


    Encouraged by the sessful activation, Smander decided to subject the nanotech armor to rigorous testing. He led the crew to a specially designed testing chamber within his ship, equipped with an array of instruments and simtions to challenge the limits of the enhanced technology.


    Smander faced a barrage of challenges designed to push the nanotech armor to its limits. Blunt force projectiles were fired, and the nanobots absorbed the impact, redistributing the force seamlessly. Sharp des swung, only to be met with a surface that became temporarily imprable as the nanobots formed a dense protectiveyer.


    The crew watched in awe as Smander faced energy-based attacksser beams, sma bursts, and more. The nanotech armor adapted, its nanobots absorbing and dissipating the energy with astonishing efficiency.


    The testing chamber echoed with the sounds of technological marvels and bursts of energy. Smander, empowered by the bestowed blessing and the enhanced nanotech armor, pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought possible.


    Once the barrage of tests concluded, Smander stood triumphant, the nanotech armor virtually unscathed. The holographic disys around the testing chamber showcased the incredible adaptability and durability of the cosmic-infused technology.


    Smander, catching his breath, looked at the holographic data with a spark of determination in his eyes. "This is just the beginning. With this armor, we can push the boundaries of exploration and confront challenges that were once deemed insurmountable."


    Smander wasted no time in sharing the sess of the nanotech armor testing with Aldred. He gathered the data, including detailed video recordings, and promptly sent it to Aldred for review. The sleek armor, with its cosmic-infused technology and quantum tunneling capabilities, held the promise of transforming their mercenary operations.


    Aldred, receiving the transmission, delved into the wealth of information provided by Smander. The holographic disys projected images of the armor seamlessly navigating through a myriad of challenges. The adaptability and durability showcased in the tests were beyond Aldred''s expectations.


    Impressed by the potential of the cosmic-infused nanotech armor, Aldred initiated amunication link with Smander. The holographic disy flickered to life, and Aldred''s stern yet curious visage appeared.


    "Smander, you''ve presented a remarkable achievement with this nanotech armor. The capabilities demonstrated in the testing are truly groundbreaking," Aldred acknowledged, his tone a mixture of approval and curiosity.


    Smander, standing in themunication chamber of his ship, nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Aldred. This armor can revolutionize how our mercenaries operate, providing them with unparalleled protection and versatility."


    "Indeed. I will admit that I am very impressed." It hadn''t even been a month since Aldred gave him the leveling system.


    Aldred''s expression turned serious as he voiced a critical concern. "However, Smander, we must address a crucial aspect¡ªcost. The technology and materials required for this armor are undoubtedly expensive. Our mercenaries, despite their skill and dedication, may find it challenging to afford such advanced equipment."


    Smander, understanding the gravity of the situation, considered Aldred''s concern. "You''re right, Aldred. The cost is significant, and it would take our mercenaries a considerable amount of time to save up for this armor. But think about the lives we can save and the challenges we can ovee with this technology."


    Aldred, known for his pragmatic approach, nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, the advantages are evident. However, we must find a way to make this technology essible to our mercenaries without burdening them financially. We need a solution that bnces the benefits of the nanotech armor with the practicalities of our organization."


    Smander, inspired by Aldred''s wisdom, pondered the dilemma. "What if we establish a fund, supported by the organization, to subsidize the cost of the armor for our mercenaries? This way, they can gradually contribute to the fund while still having ess to the advanced technology."


    "Impossible, most of our funds are already allocated for the construction of warships. If I tell the financial department to allocate money to a new armor that haven''t been tested in the field, they will never let me touch the money at all."


    Smander nodded. The construction if warships were much more important than simple power armor. A warship can destroy a, a power armor can only save one life.


    Theparison and the level of importance was too clear.


    "I guess only a higher level mercenaries can afford this armor for now," Smander said.


    Aldred nodded. "It is fine as well. This will motivate the mercenaries to work harder in order to save up for the armor."

 Chapter 719 Incredible Power

    719 Chapter 719 Incredible Power


    Meanwhile, in a particrly strange and extreme.


    Amidst the vast, unforgivingndscape of a peculiar, Shinari navigated through a relentless desert storm. The scorching winds carried stinging particles that obscured visibility, creating an otherworldly environment where survival required exceptional skill. Her silhouette, shrouded in the swirling sands, moved with purpose through the hostile terrain.


    As Shinari pressed on, the very ground beneath her trembled, and a colossal form emerged from the shifting sands. A giant sand dweller, a creature native to this harsh, roared defiantly. Its massive form, adapted to the extreme conditions, posed a formidable challenge to anyone daring to trespass in its territory.


    "Finally, something to test my new skills."


    Shinari, recognizing the imminent threat, shifted her stance, ready to face the monstrous adversary. The wind howled, carrying the distant echoes of the sand dweller''s roar. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from view, leaving behind a faint afterimage.


    The colossal creature swung its massive tail, aiming to crush Shinari beneath the shifting sands. Yet, the assassin reappeared with unparalleled speed, her movements almost too swift for the naked eye to perceive. She gracefully evaded the colossal tail, her form dancing on the edge of invisibility.


    With a calcted strike, Shinari targeted the vulnerable joints of the sand dweller. Her movements, a blend of precision and speed, showcased a mastery over the art of assassination. The creature bellowed in pain as Shinari''s strikes found their mark, exploiting weaknesses with surgical precision.


    Her vision allowed her to see the weak points of her enemies, and with her newfound strength she was able to use it to her advantage.


    As the battle intensified, Shinari unveiled a new technique¡ªa shadowy mirage. In the midst of her acrobatic maneuvers, she melded with the shadows, creating a single, indistinct silhouette. The sand dweller, momentarily disoriented, struggled to identify the real Shinari.


    Then, from the shadows emerged two identical figures, each moving with the same fluid grace. The giant sand dweller, now faced with the challenge of multiple adversaries, roared in frustration.


    At first, there were only six. Then it multiplied to twelve, twenty-four, fourty-eight before there were dozens of her clones appearing all over the ce.


    Shinari''s clones multiplied, a legion of shadowy figures converging upon the colossal beast.


    In a mesmerizing disy of speed and strategy, Shinari''s clones attacked in unison. The desert storm became a chaotic ballet as dozens of Shinari figures weaved through the air, striking the sand dweller from every conceivable angle. The giant creature, overwhelmed by the onught, roared in agony.


    As the battle reached its zenith, Shinari''s clones merged seamlessly back into the shadows, leaving only the original assassin standing amidst the settling sands. The once ferocious sand dwellery defeated, its colossal form now a testament to the prowess of Shinari.


    "This isn''t enough. I need to find a much more powerful monsters. Something that can challenge me."


    With aposed expression, Shinari observed the aftermath of her victory. The wind carried away the remnants of the desert storm, revealing the serenendscape that had once been concealed. The alien, though harsh and unpredictable, had witnessed the mastery of a skilled assassin who had seamlessly blended with both the shadows and the storm.


    "Where can I find it? Where can I find something that can challenge me?"


    As she pondered her next move, the very ground beneath her quivered, and a multitude of monstrous forms emerged from the shifting sands. Dozens of sand dwellers, their massive frames eclipsing the alien horizon, surrounded Shinari in a formidable disy of primal might.


    Shinari was expressionless as if she did not pay any attention to the dozens of collosal beasts that surround her.


    Then, with a sigh, she swiped the air with her de and suddenly all of the beasts were all cut into pieces.


    Blood flooded the sand dunes all around her as Shinari walked pass the corpses of the monsters.


    "I need to visit a stronger."


    Within the confines of a sleek spacecraft, Cleome, a master of the art of lightning, monitored the approaching with a sense of curiosity etched across her features. The vessel navigated through the cosmic expanse, closing in on a world threatened by a monstrous stampede that loomed as an existential threat to its civilization.


    "Is this the?"


    "Yes, madam. This has send a distress signal thirty-six hours ago."


    As Cleome observed the''s distress from the control room of the spacecraft, holographic disys flickered to life, projecting scenes of chaos and devastation.


    "Madam, the world leaders send amunication signal to us. What do we do?"


    "ept it."


    The world leaders, their expressions a mix of desperation and fear, appeared in a hologram that hovered above the central console.


    "This is Astrion-9ary Council. Before we say anything, may we know who you are?"


    "I am Cleome. I am one of Celestial toon''s emissaries."


    Suddenly, color returned from their faces and their expression had a bright light of hope.


    "This is great news. We have heard about Celestial toon''s powerful reputation. We don''t have much time for small talks, so I am going straight to the point. As you can see, our world is currently experiencing extreme monster stampede. We would like to hire the Celestial toon to help us fight the monsters."


    "We ept," Cleome said.


    "Eh, what about price?"


    "We can talk about thatter."


    "O¡ªokay. Can we ask when the reinforcement will arrive?"


    "I am the reinforcement?"


    "But I only see one ship."


    "And that''s all you need." Cleome smiled before opening the hatch of the spacecraft. The vacuum of space sucked out all of the oxygen and every objects within her chamber. Thankfully, the pilot was located in another chamber, if not he would be sucked out as well. Theck of oxygen would kill him if that were to happen.


    However, to everyone''s surprise, Cleome was able breathe despite the vacuum. Or, it was much more correct to say that she did not need to breathe oxygen at all.


    Theary councils that saw this from the projection was shocked as well.


    Cleome. "Tell everyone to turn off every electronics for a few hours. And, don''t let anyone take a bath or drink from the tap."


    "''May I ask why?" That was such a strange request.


    "You will know why."

 Chapter 720 Ending The Stampede

    720 Chapter 720 Ending The Stampede


    As Cleome spoke, she initiated a sequence of incantations, channeling the power of the cosmos into a potent spell. Dark and dense clouds gathered in the atmosphere, shrouding the in an eerie veil. Lightning crackled within the stormy expanse, a manifestation of Cleome''s celestial prowess.


    The world leaders and inhabitants of Astrion-9, observing the sudden transformation of their skies, were gripped by a mix of curiosity and trepidation. The once clear heavens now bore the mark of Cleome''s spell, a foreboding sign of the impending celestial intervention.


    "What is she doing?" a council member whispered, eyes fixed on the shifting clouds.


    "I have no idea, but it''s Celestial toon. Let us trust their abilities," another replied, echoing a sentiment of cautious optimism.


    As the clouds thickened, the monstrous stampede continued its destructive path across Astrion-9. The colossal beasts trampled over walls, houses, vehicles, and unfortunate humans caught in their merciless advance. The world plunged into chaos, and theary councils anxiously awaited the manifestation of Cleome''s intervention.


    Then, a thunderous rumble echoed through the sky, drowning the roars of the stampeding monsters. The dark clouds pulsed with energy as lightning bolts cascaded ferociously from the celestial canopy.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Powerful lightning struck rapidly towards the monsters all over the.


    Each bolt was a manifestation of Cleome''s power, directed with precision toward the colossal beasts wreaking havoc on the.


    The lightning struck the monsters with unrelenting force, illuminating the chaotdscape with bursts of blinding light. The creatures, once unstoppable, writhed and convulsed under the onught of celestial electricity. Cleome''s lightning danced with calcted ferocity, targeting the beasts and delivering a divine retribution from above.


    The people of Astrion-9, witnessing this celestial spectacle, were in awe.


    The once overwhelming stampede now faced a force beyond the natural order ¨C a force harnessed by Cleome, the emissary of the Celestial toon. The lightning storms continued, and one by one, the colossal monsters fell, vanquished by the celestial wrath unleashed upon them.


    After a few hours of relentless celestial lightning, the tumultuous storm that Cleome had conjured began to subside. The once-vibrant sky, now scarred by the celestial intervention, gradually cleared, revealing the aftermath of the cosmic sh on the surface of Astrion-9.


    Thendscape, once marred by the stampede of colossal monsters, bore the scars of both the natural and supernatural forces that had shed above. Charred remnants of monstersy scattered across the deste terrain, their once formidable frames reduced to smoldering husks. The ground, churned and scarred by the chaotic battle, told the tale of a struggle between primal might and celestial power.


    Millions of monstrous corpses, now charcoaled and lifeless, created a surreal and eerie tableau across the vast expanse of Astrion-9. The air carried the lingering scent of ozone, a testament to the celestial energy that had coursed through the atmosphere during Cleome''s intervention. The destruction was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, a cosmic power that had unfolded in the heavens and reverberated through the alienndscape.


    THE surviving humans cautiously emerged from their hiding ces. Their faces, etched with confusion and fear, bore witness to a world forever changed. They stepped into a realm that, moments ago, had been a battleground full of monsters.


    The councils received reports about this and cannot believe their eyes when they were presented with pictures of the aftermath.


    "All of the monsters died?"


    "Every singlest one of them. Even the ones underground and at the depth of the sea are killed."


    "How is this even possible? This is not normal. Only gods can have this kind of power!"


    "I have only seen this kind of tale in children storybook or the legends about the Emperor and his Holy Sons. Does that mean the Celestial toom have the same power as them?"


    "You shut your mouth! Comparing mortals to our Emperor is herecy!"


    "However the case, we need to show our gratitude to them," another world leader calm the situation.


    Theary councils, represented by holographic projections, appeared once again. Their faces, a mix of relief and awe, conveyed gratitude toward the celestial emissary. "Thank you for saving Astrion-9," one of the leaders expressed, the weight of gratitude evident in their voice.


    Cleome simply nodded in acknowledgment. "We are at war with the demons. I don''t want this stampede to hinder you to contribute to the war efforts."


    "Of course. After we rebuild, we will surely contribute massively to the war."


    "I will appreciate that, Cleome said. "I am leaving now. Good luck."


    "Eh, you''re going to leave just like that? What about paperworks and deals?"


    "I trust you. I don''t need to do that."


    The councils were speechless, however, after seeing her power, none dared to cross their promises in the future.


    "That one was just an emissary of the Celestial toon, then what about their leader? How powerful is he?"


    Within the sleek spacecraft, Cleome reclined in her chamber, surrounded by the soft hum of advanced technology. The holographic star map danced before her, disying the cosmic tapestry of the universe. Her gaze lingered on distant constetions and celestial wonders as the vessel sailed through the cosmic expanse.


    As Cleome marveled at the cosmic ballet, a subtle beep resonated through the chamber. She raised an eyebrow, and with a gesture, initiated amunication link. Shinari''s face materialized on the holographic disy.


    "Cleome, how did your training go?" Shinari inquired, her tone a curious mix of nonchnce and genuine interest.


    Cleome, with a serene smile, responded, "It went well. Astrion-9 has been saved from the monster stampede. Now, I''m charting our course through the stars."


    Shinari''s eyes gleamed with a spark of intrigue. "Saved a, huh? That''s quite the feat. Anything interesting in the star map?"


    Cleome nodded, and the star map shifted to focus on a distant cluster of gxies. "Endless possibilities, Shinari. There are worlds to explore, challenges to face. Each point of light holds a story waiting to unfold."


    "I hope we can find something we can use for the war."


    "You''re not confident that the power you have now can contribute to the war?" Cleome asked.


    "I know I am much more powerful than before, but I believe I can do more."


    Cleome smiled. "You are the type that is never satisfied after all."


    One might say she was ungrateful for what she had, but Cleome knew that Shinari was simply very ambitious and always held a higher standard for herself.


    "I have an idea," Cleome said.


    "What is it?"


    "Why don''t we visit one of the demon''s worlds?"

 Chapter 721 Back in Action

    721 Chapter 721 Back in Action


    In their spaceship assigned by Aldred, Elralya and Ceeth exchanged bewildered nces as an ethereal form materialized before them. The figure emanated a profound, otherworldly energy, and a sense of reverence filled the air.


    Ceeth, gripping her spear with a warrior''s instinct, questioned, "Elralya, is this some kind of illusion or magic?"


    Elralya, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and recognition, responded, "No illusion can conjure the presence of our great ancestor. This is beyond any magic I know."


    The ethereal form spoke, its voice echoing with wisdom that transcended time. "Elralya, Ceeth, warriors of the elven kin. The fate of our people rests on your shoulders."


    Ceeth, though formidable in battle, felt a tinge of uncertainty. "What do you mean? How can we shape the fate of our people?"


    The great ancestor''s form shimmered, revealing glimpses of forgotten lore and ancient prophecies. "The cosmic bnce falters, and demons threaten the realms."


    "Even though the demons are active in thest thousand years, I do not think they can threatened the elven race to exctinction," Elralya said. "I am sorry, Great Ancestor. It is simply too hard to believe."


    The great ancestor''s ethereal form retained a solemn demeanor, addressing Elralya''s skepticism with patience. "Elralya, the demons'' threat has taken a new form, a convergence of cosmic energies that jeopardizes the very fabric of our existence. Even the great Emperor of Mankind and his holy sons are now restless because of this."


    Ceeth, still holding her spear, sought rity. "And what of me? How can my skills in battle contribute to averting this cosmic crisis?"


    The great ancestor''s form glowed with a gentle radiance as it responded, "Ceeth, the shadows that encroach upon our realms are not only of the demonic kind but a distortion of cosmic forces. Your spear, guided by elven agility and strength, must pierce through these shadows and protect the essence of our people."


    Ceeth looked down, still in doubt. "How can one individual such as me affect something sorge such as sustaining an entire elven race."


    "Don''t think too little of yourself, young ones. Look from where you started. A group of two imprisoned by the orcs, now look where you are at?"


    Ceeth sighed. "I do not think I make any significant changes yet."


    Elralya, curios, began to ask. "I''ve been meaning to ask. Ancestor, you were never able to show your form before."


    "It''s the blessing that Aldred gave you. For some reason, it allows me to connect to this realm much better."


    "Is it possible to revive you?"


    "I do not think so. As we speak, the connection I have with this realm is weakening."


    Elralya panicked. "Does that mean we won''t see you ever again?"


    "You will see me. If I enter into a slumber my connection to this realm will slowly grow once more and I can appear before you again."


    Elralya sighed in relief.


    "Before I leave. Let me tell you one thing. Help that man, Aldred. He holds the key to everything, including the salvation of our race, and the salvation of the entire gxy."


    The Ancestor vanished, leaving Ceeth and Elralya exchanging nces with each other.


    In the dimly lit spaceship, Elralya and Ceeth sat facing each other, the weight of the ancestral encounter palpable in the air.


    Elralya, her eyes reflecting the lingering awe, broke the silence. "Did you ever imagine, Ceeth, that our journey would lead us tomuning with the ancient spirits of our kin?"


    Ceeth, still holding her spear, leaned forward with a furrowed brow. "I thought I''d seen all there was in battles and adventures, but encountering our great ancestor is beyond anything I could fathom."


    "I used to receive theirmunication in abstract codes and cryptguages. It''s great to be able tomunicate directly." Elralya''s gaze shifted to the holographic star map, her fingers tracing invisible patterns. "The cosmic crisis, demons, and the fate of our people¡ªdo you believe it all?"


    Ceeth sighed, her elven features reflecting a mix of doubt and determination. "I''ve faced monsters, fought battles, but the fate of an entire race resting on our shoulders? It''s a burden heavier than any spear."


    Elralya, with a thoughtful expression, responded, "Yet, the great ancestor spoke of Aldred as the key. Do you think he holds the answers we seek?"


    Ceeth nodded, a newfound resolve in her eyes. "Aldred might be more than just a guide. The ancestors and the cosmic forces seem to intertwine in ways we can''t fully grasp."


    As they continued their discussion, the spaceship sailed through the cosmic expanse, carrying the elven warriors toward an uncertain destiny. The words of the great ancestor echoed in their minds, a guiding whisper amid the cosmic turmoil that awaited them.


    ¡­


    Francus and Grigor, both seasoned mercenaries of the Celestial toon, stepped into the bustling branch office after weeks of recovery from a demon attack. The scent of antiseptic lingered on their freshly healed wounds, a testament to the fierce battle they had endured.


    As they approached the mission board, Francus, a young and spirited warrior, cracked a smile. "Back in action, Grigor. I was starting to miss the thrill of action and battle."


    Grigor, an experienced and grizzled veteran, chuckled with a hint of nostalgia. "You''ll learn,d, that the thrilles with its own share of scars. But we survive and fight another day."


    Their eyes scanned the mission board, filled with requests ranging from routine patrols to high-stakes demon extermination. Grigor''s weathered fingers traced the edges of a particr parchment. "A nest of demons in the forsaken ruins of Eldrenath. Sounds like a job for us, Francus."


    Francus nodded eagerly, his eyes gleaming with determination. "Let''s teach those demons not to mess with the Celestial toon. They make take our legs and arms, but they won''t ever take our lives!"


    Grigor shook his head. "Don''t jinx it like that. But before we take any mission, we should report to the human resources first."


    Francus and Grigor, their spirits high, made their way to the Human Resources office of the Celestial toon. The HR officer, aposed and attentive individual, weed them with a warm smile.


    "Francus, Grigor, it''s good to see you back. How are you feeling?" the HR officer inquired, genuine concern in their eyes.


    The HR department had personally visited them in the hospital and taken care of the bill to the full. After all, the Celestial toon had many hospitals of their own.


    It was free for Celestial mercenaries which was a great incentive and convinced many people to join. They were probably the first ever mercenary group withrge numbers of hospitals.


    Francus, still brimming with energy, replied, "Ready for action! Those demons won''t know what hit them."


    Grigor, with a more measured tone, added, "We''ve been through worse. A few scars won''t slow us down."


    The HR officer nodded, jotting down notes on a holographic pad. "I''m d to hear that. Now, regarding your conditions, any lingering difort or issues from the recent encounter?"


    Francus flexed his limbs, testing his agility. "All healed up, thanks to the top-notch medical team. These healers work wonders."


    Before they departed, the HR officer''s demeanor turned more earnest. "Remember, your safety is a priority. If you ever feel overwhelmed or encounter unexpected challenges, don''t hesitate to call for support. The toon is a family, and we look out for each other."


    12:35


    Grigor, though not as exuberant, nodded in agreement. "The recovery was swift. They patched us up better than new. They have reced my bones with stronger metal, so I am actually much stronger now."


    The HR officer smiled, relieved by the positive report. "Good to know. The toon values the well-being of its warriors. Now, about your next assignment that you are about to take¡ªthere''s a demon nest in the forsaken ruins of Eldrenath. A challenging mission, but I believe you two are up for it."


    Francus grinned. "Eldrenath it is! We''ll clear that nest in no time."


    Before they departed, the HR officer''s demeanor turned more earnest. "Remember, your safety is a priority. If you ever feel overwhelmed or encounter unexpected challenges, don''t hesitate to call for support. The toon is a family, and we look out for each other."


    Now thest sentence might sound like something the HR team would say in a typical corporation that enved its workers. However, there was a tinge of truth in it.


    Although not literally family, Celestial toon treated its mercenaries far better than any other group. Insurance, mortgage,wyer, financial advisor, family-nning, career building, and retirement were all included in the package.


    However, the Celestial toon did pay lesspared to other group. But a group of mercenaries did the calction and determined that being a Celestial Mercenary was much more rewarding because of all the benefits they got.


    The Celestial toon did not only rely on its mercenaries to make money. They had tons of business in many industries such as food and beverages, fashion, transportation, tourism, agriculture, banking, and many more. But it was well-known that the Celestial toon was quite slow in the development and investment in tech except for military use.


    Still, the fact that the organization had many business all over the ce meant that it can give its members discount and bonuses.


    Items that were about to be thrown away could be given to the members for free instead. Food that was about to expire were served to the members, of course they made sure it was safe.


    And from time to time, they would give free tourism tickets to the mercenaries.


    With all of these benefits in mind, it was concluded that joining Celestial toon was much more rewarding.

 Chapter 722 Entering The Nest

    722 Chapter 722 Entering The Nest


    Francus and Grigor, their adrenaline pumping after epting the Eldrenath mission, strode confidently towards the Celestial Transportation office. The Celestial toon prided itself on its extensivework of shuttles and portals, essible to all members for their official duties. No need for grimy cargo ships or unreliable mounts here.


    "Alright, Grigor," Francus said, cracking his knuckles, "let''s see what kind of demon feast we''re in for at Eldrenath. I hear these ruins are chock-full of foul beasts."


    Grigor, ever the cautious veteran, rolled his eyes. "Francus, we''ll figure it out once we get there. Remember, scoutinges first, bravado after."


    They entered the bustling transport office, its holographic disys flickering with departure times and destination routes. A friendly operator greeted them with a smile. "Good morning, warriors! Where might you be off to today?"


    "Eldrenath, ruins sector," Grigor replied, handing her their identification tokens. "Official Celestial toon mission."


    The operator''s eyes widened slightly. "Eldrenath, eh? That''s a tough one. Are you sure you''re¡ª"


    "We''re good," Francus interjected, a grin shing beneath his helmet. "Heard whispers of some particrly nasty demons nesting there. Just the kind of challenge we crave."


    The operator chuckled, impressed by their enthusiasm. "Very well. You''re in luck. We have a transport leaving for Eldrenath in ten minutes. Hop on board, and good luck with your extermination."


    "Wait a minute! Aren''t you the two the ones that survived against the demons'' ambush?"


    "Oh, the news spread fast."


    "Everyone is talking about the ambush for weeks. It''s incredible that you two survived."


    Francus smiled. "Even we don''t understand how we are still alive. But after that event, I never feel a stronger urge to kill a demon."


    The operator nodded at him. "That''s the spirit."


    Momentster, Francus and Grigor found themselves aboard a sleek, silver shuttle, hurtling towards Eldrenath. The bustling cityscape receded into a dizzying blur as they pierced the atmosphere, the deste remains of the Eldrenath ruins looming on the horizon.


    "Those certainly look like forsaken ruins," Francus remarked, peering through the observation window. "Grim and deste, perfect for demon scum."


    Grigor grunted, adjusting his rifle. "Don''t underestimate them, Francus. This isn''t some tavern brawl. Demons can be unpredictable, cunning¡­ and messy."


    Francus leaned back, a yful glint in his eyes. "Oh, I wouldn''t have it any other way, Grigor. A little challenge keeps life interesting, wouldn''t you agree?"


    "Haish, I guess I was also like you when I was young."


    The shuttle descended rapidly, thending gear hissing as it touched down near the crumbling stone structures of Eldrenath. Francus and Grigor exchanged a nod, their faces hardening with grim determination. The demon hunt was on.


    The Eldrenath ruins greeted Francus and Grigor with a chilling silence, broken only by the wind whistling through the broken archways and the echoing crunch of their boots on loose stones. The air itself felt thick with an ancient, oppressive energy, sending shivers down their spines despite the heat of the midday sun.


    As they cautiously navigated thebyrinthine paths, the ruins revealed their secrets. Crumbling frescos depicted strange rituals and forgotten deities, while the ground underfoot littered with bleached bones whispered of past battles. The silence amplified every sound, making the crackle of energy from Grigor''s sma rifle seem deafening.


    They soon encountered their first adversary - a twisted, emaciated form with glowing red eyes and leathery wings that rasped against the stone.


    It moved with unnatural speed and possessed an unsettling affinity for shadows, darting in and out of their range, its ws ripping at their armor.


    Francus countered with his lightning-fast dework, while Grigor''s precise energy sts illuminated the creature''s movements, allowing them to strike down the beast before it could inflict serious harm.


    Further exploration led them deeper into the ruins, encountering more demons, each unique and horrifying in its own way.


    Some lumbered like grotesque beasts, their bodies fused with warped metal and bone, while others were incorporeal wisps that haunted the halls, draining the life force from any living thing they touched. The dangers were not just physical - the oppressive atmosphere itself seeped into their minds, whispering doubts and anxieties, threatening to overwhelm their resolve.


    One particrly harrowing encounter saw them trapped in a crumbling chamber with a pack of agile, insectoid demons.


    Grigor deployed his energy shield. "Be careful! They are poisonous!"


    "You mean venomous?" Francus loaded his energy ster.


    The creatures skittered across the walls, their mandibles dripping with caustic venom, forcing Francus and Grigor to fight back-to-back, their skill and teamwork the only thing keeping them alive. By the time they burst free, their armor was dented, their bodies bruised, and their breath ragged, but their spirit remained unbroken.


    "Those demons aren''t as strong as I thought they would be." Francus weakly held his gun as he looked at the dead demon.


    "We are not done yet. Let''s go further." Grigor pulled out his de out of the demon and led forward.


    As they explored deeper, they finally stumbled upon the source of the demonic infestation - a pulsating portal crackling with unholy energy. From it poured forth an endless stream of the twisted creatures, fueled by the dark power emanating from the portal''s depths. This was the heart of the problem, the reason the Eldrenath ruins had be a beacon for demonic activity.


    "A portal," Francus said.


    "I can see that," Grigor replied.


    "What do we do now?" Francus never encountered this situation before.


    "I read the guideline, and in this situation, we are supposed to report back." Grigor considered his option.


    "What''s inside the portal anyway?" Francus approached it.


    "Don''t get too close to it. The portal is connected to demon realm."


    Francus immediately retreated and warily observed the portal. He even readied his weapon just in case any demon popped out.


    "Anyway, let''s leave this ce. It''s too dangerous to stay here." Grigor turned around.


    Just as they were about to leave, they were startled by a distant yet desperate voice echoing through the crumbling stones. "Help... please, someone!"


    Francus was puzzled and wondered if he heard that right. "Did you hear that, Grigor?"


    He did not reply.


    ''Weird,'' Francus thought.


    Francus turned around again, about to leave, until an ethereal image of a woman flickered on the surface of the pulsating portal.


    "Help me! I''m trapped in the demon realm," the spectral figure pleaded before vanishing, leaving an air of tension in its wake.


    Francus, nervous yet intrigued, looked at Grigor. "Did you see that?"


    Grigor''s eyes widened, and he staggered back. "Elena! That was Elena''s voice. I''ming for you!" Without a moment''s hesitation, he rushed toward the portal, fueled by a surge of determination and concern.


    Francus hesitated, torn between the eerie unknown of the portal and his loyalty to hisrade. "Grigor, wait! We don''t know what''s on the other side."


    But Grigor, consumed by his urgency to rescue the mysterious Elena, didn''t heed the warning. With a determined roar, he plunged into the portal, disappearing from sight.


    "For the holy soul of the Emperor!" Francus, left with no choice but to follow his fellow warrior, steeled himself and entered the portal.

 Chapter 723 Confusing Situation

    723 Chapter 723 Confusing Situation


    In Shuzib''s bedroom aboard the Celestial toon spaceship, he awoke with a disoriented sense of confusion. Amnesia clouded his mind, and as he looked around, he noticed the room bore signs of chaos. Broken objectsy scattered, a testament to an inexplicable burst of strength.


    A mysterious woman''s voice echoed in his head, a haunting melody that whispered ancient secrets. "Embrace the gift, Shuzib. Your true nature awaits."


    As he tried toprehend the cryptic message, an intense thirst overcame him, apanied by a surge of uncontroble strength. Shuzib clutched his head, grappling with the unfamiliar sensations coursing through his veins.


    In a sudden twist of fate, Shuzib''s appearance transformed before his eyes. His once ordinary frame became more athletic, his features taking on a mysterious and vampire-like allure. He examined himself in awe, realizing that something extraordinary had happened.


    A hunger gnawed at him, a thirst for something he couldn''t quiteprehend. Guided by newfound senses, he detected the rhythmic pulse of hearts around him. The soldiers that were assigned by Aldred to guard him. Shuzib''s vision shifted, revealing a spectrum that highlighted the life force within living beings.


    "What is this? What happened to me?"


    In a moment of struggle, Shuzib''s wife entered the room, concern etched on her face. Unaware of the transformation, she tried to soothe him. Shuzib, wrestling with the predatory instincts within, managed to maintainposure and assure her that all was well.


    "I am fine, honey. Just need a little time for myself."


    "If you say so. Don''t forget to eat your breakfast."


    Shuzib nodded and his wife closed the door with a click.


    He took in a deep breath. "I need to start experimenting. Based on my knowledge, all the traits that I experienced meant that I somehow transform into vampire."


    There are many tales about vampire and their possible weaknesses, so Shuzib would like to know more about that.


    As Shuzib delved into understanding his new existence, he experimented with perceived weaknesses. To his surprise, garlic and sunlight proved inconsequential. A realization struck him ¨C he might be something more than just an enhanced human.


    As Shuzib''s wife called him for breakfast, the enticing aroma of freshly cooked food filled the spaceship''s air. His daughter, a bright-eyed child, eagerly awaited her father''spany. Despite the unsettling revtions about his transformed state, Shuzib couldn''t deny the warmth he felt for his family.


    "Breakfast is ready, dear," his wife called, her voice carrying a soothing melody.


    Because Aldred now basically a cosmic lord that ruled over a region in the gxy, Shuzib decided to bring his wife with him. Before, their journey was perilous and filled with incredible danger so Shuzib did not bring his wife.


    "I am still holding a grudge that you didn''t look for me after the Xenos invasion," his wife said.


    "I already know you survived. I don''t fully trust Aldred at that time. What if he n to enve me by threatening you two? It''s okay if I die, but I cannot let you two suffer."


    His wife had a look of regret on her face. "Sorry. I didn''t know. I shouldn''t have assumed and judged badly of you."


    "It''s fine. I should have exined myself."


    "Morning, Daddy!" his daughter chirped, her eyes gleaming with innocence.


    Shuzib returned their smiles, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions. The love he felt for his family was undeniable, but an unsettling realization lurked beneath the surface of his new existence.


    They sat down at the table, a scene of familial bliss, yet Shuzib''s thoughts were a tempest of uncertainty. He picked up the utensils, his fingers more agile than before, and brought a morsel of food to his lips.


    As he bit into the meal, an overwhelming wave of disgust crashed over him. The vors, once familiar andforting, now felt foreign and repulsive. He spat the food into a napkin, trying to hide his difort.


    His wife, concerned, looked at him. "What''s wrong, Shuzib? Are you feeling okay?"


    Shuzib, struggling to find the words, managed to force a smile. "I think I''ming down with something. Maybe I should skip breakfast."


    His daughter pouted, her innocent eyes filled with concern. "But Daddy, you need to eat to get better."


    Shuzib ruffled her hair, his heart aching. "I promise, sweetheart, I''ll eatter. Go on and enjoy your meal."


    As they continued to eat, Shuzib observed his family with a mix of adoration and sorrow. The joyous chatter at the table seemed distant to him, a reminder of the humanity slipping away. He longed to share his burden with them, to exin the inexplicable changes coursing through his veins, but the fear of causing them distress silenced him.


    His wife, noticing his distant gaze, reached out and touched his hand. "Shuzib, you''re not yourself today. Is there something you''re not telling us?"


    He met her eyes, searching for the right words, but the weight of his secret pressed heavily on his chest. "It''s just work stress, dear. I didn''t sleep wellst night."


    She nodded understandingly, but a hint of worry lingered in her expression. The bond they shared, once built on trust and transparency, now faced an unspoken barrier.


    After the meal, Shuzib excused himself, feigning exhaustion. In the solitude of his room, he grappled with the conflicting emotions swirling within. The thirst for blood, the aversion to human food ¡ª these were traits of a creature he couldn''t fullyprehend.


    "I recalled Aldred gave me some sort of blessing. Is this part of it? I need to ask him."


    Shuzib, growing increasingly restless, attempted to contact Aldred through themunication system on the spaceship. However, to his dismay, the connection failed to establish. Each attempt only deepened his confusion, for Aldred was known to respond swiftly.


    "I must be very busy because of the war," Shuzib thought, trying to rationalize the situation. Despite his attempts to calm himself, an unsettling feeling lingered in the pit of his stomach.


    As the hours passed, Shuzib''s mind raced with spection. The newfound thirst for blood, enhanced senses, and the cryptic message from the mysterious woman weighed heavily on him. In his solitude, he grappled with the unknown, searching for answers that remained elusive.


    "Who else can I talk to about this? Cleome? No. Smander? No, he probably know nothing about vampire. What about Shinari?"


    Shuzib thought for a moment before he came to a decision. "Let''s try her."

 Chapter 724 Asking For Help

    724 Chapter 724 Asking For Help


    Shuzib decided to reach out to Shinari, one of his trusted colleagues in the Celestial toon. He knew that Shinari possessed a deep understanding of mystical phenomena and might offer insights into his transformation.


    He initiated themunication, and after a few moments, Shinari''s holographic image appeared before him. Her emerald eyes bore a spark of curiosity as she regarded Shuzib.


    "Shuzib, it''s been a while," Shinari greeted him, her voice calm and reassuring. "How can I assist you today?"


    Shuzib hesitated for a moment before he began to exin his unusual experiences and transformation, including the cryptic message he had received and his inability to contact Aldred.


    Shinari listened attentively, her expression shifting from curiosity to contemtion. "It''s clear that you''ve undergone a significant change, Shuzib after all, we are all went through changes." The thirst for blood and heightened senses are indeed reminiscent of the vampiric condition. But what''s most intriguing is the source of this transformation."


    She leaned in closer, her holographic form disying keen interest. "You mentioned Aldred''s blessing. That may hold the key to understanding your current state. However, there''s one question I must ask: have you seen any status panels with numbers and levels since this transformation?"


    Shuzib furrowed his brow, searching his memory. "No, I haven''t. I''ve experienced these changes, but there haven''t been any visible indicators or status panels like you mentioned."


    Shinari''s brow creased in response. "That''s odd. If this is indeed a result of Aldred''s influence, there should be some form of interface to monitor and control these abilities. It''s as though your transformationcks a user manual, so to speak."


    Shuzib nodded, a sense of unease settling over him. "I''ve been trying to contact Aldred, but themunication is silent. I thought he might have answers, but now I''m not so sure."


    She gazed at Shuzib with a reassuring smile. "We''ll figure this out, Shuzib. For now, I suggest you continue your exploration and experimentation with your newfound abilities. And keep trying to contact Aldred. He may respond when the time is right."


    Shuzib nodded, grateful for Shinari''s support and guidance. "Thank you, Shinari. I''ll do my best to unravel this mystery and, hopefully, find a way to control these abilities."


    Shinari tapped her fingers together thoughtfully. "This situation is unlike anything I''ve encountered before. Aldred''s cosmic blessings are usually apanied by clear guidance. However, it''s clear that this is Aldred''s work. After all, he is a vampire too."


    "Wait what?"


    Shinari covered her lips as if indicating that she said something that she wasn''t supposed to. "Forget what I said."


    "How can I forget something like that. Tell me. Is it true that Aldred is a vampire?"


    "Not fully, but partly. He has the blood of a vampire inside him."


    "How is that possible? Does a vampire attacked him in the past?"


    "No¡­ don''t tell anyone about this yet, but Aldred''s mother is actually a vampire."


    Shuzib was taken aback by Shinari''s revtion about Aldred''s heritage. The implications of having a leader with vampire blood in a gxy rife with racial tensions were significant. He understood the gravity of the situation and the importance of keeping this information hidden for now.


    "Shinari, this changes everything," Shuzib whispered, his voice tinged with concern. "Aldred''s mixed blood could be a weapon against him if it''s exposed. We need to handle this delicately."


    Shinari nodded solemnly, her holographic image conveying her agreement. "You''re absolutely right, Shuzib. We must keep this information confidential, especially considering the current state of intergctic affairs. It''s crucial to maintain the fragile peace we''ve achieved."


    Shuzib''s mind raced with thoughts of the potential consequences. The newfound knowledge weighed heavily on him, and he couldn''t help but wonder about Aldred''s motives and the role he yed in the grand scheme of cosmic politics.


    "I''ve always respected Aldred as a leader," Shuzib admitted. "But this revtion raises so many questions. What does it mean for his ns and for our gxy as a whole?"


    Shinari''s holographic form shimmered as she sighed. "We may never fully understand Aldred''s intentions, but I believe he has a vision for a more inclusive and peaceful gxy, despite his ownplicated heritage."


    Shuzib nodded in agreement. "Aldred has brought together mercenaries of various races, fostering cooperation and unity. If he can maintain this fragile bnce, it could be a turning point for our gxy."


    Shinari offered a small smile. "Let''s focus on understanding your own transformation first, Shuzib. Perhaps Aldred''s bloodline has something to do with it, or maybe there are other cosmic forces at y. Either way, we need to uncover the truth."


    "I don''t know, Shinari. This is a much bigger problem than mine. It the inquisitors know about this, there is a chance that they might exterminate us all and destroying this entire region of the gxy."


    Shinari pondered. "You''re right. If it''s the inquisitor they do tend to make extreme action."


    Shuzib then asked if Shinari coulde and visit him in person to help with his situation and perhaps provide more insights. However, Shinari hesitated and reluctantly declined. "I wish I could, Shuzib, but I''m currently serving as the interim leader of the Celestial toon in Aldred''s absence. My responsibilities here are immense, and I can''t leave at the moment."


    Shuzib nodded understandingly, appreciating Shinari''s dedication to their cause. "I understand, Shinari. Who do you rmend I turn to for help and guidance in the meantime?"


    Shinari considered her options before responding, "You should contact Cleome and Smander. Cleome is ourrade and a master of lightning. She may have insights into your transformation. Smander, on the other hand, is a genius military tech engineer who might be able to assist in deciphering any cosmic technology involved."


    "I did consider to contact them."


    Taking Shinari''s advice to heart, Shuzib thanked her for her guidance and assured her that he would reach out to Cleome and Smander immediately.


    After ending themunication with Shinari, Shuzib wasted no time in contacting Cleome, who was known for her lightning maniption abilities. Cleome''s holographic image soon appeared on Shuzib''smunication screen, her sharp blue eyes reflecting curiosity.


    "Shuzib, what can I do for you?" Cleome inquired, her voice carrying an air of confidence.


    Shuzib briefly summarized his unusual transformation and theck of rity surrounding Aldred''s blessing. "Cleome, I need your expertise. Something has happened to me, and I believe it might be rted to cosmic energies or mystical forces. Can you help me understand what''s going on?"


    Cleome studied Shuzib''s appearance and demeanor before nodding thoughtfully. "Of course, Shuzib. I''ll do my best to assist you. Let''s start by gathering any information you have about your transformation and Aldred''s involvement."


    Shuzib began recounting the events, describing the cryptic message, his thirst for blood, heightened senses, and his failed attempts to contact Aldred. Cleome listened attentively, her lightning-themed holographic aura flickering with intrigue.


    "It''s undoubtedly aplex situation," Cleome remarked. "I''ll need some time to analyze the cosmic energies at y here. In the meantime, do your best to document any changes or sensations you experience. Every detail could be crucial."


    Shuzib nodded, feeling a renewed sense of hope with Cleome''s involvement. "Thank you, Cleome. Your assistance means a lot to me. I''ll keep you updated on any developments."


    After concluding the conversation with Cleome, Shuzib wasted no time in reaching out to Smander, the brilliant military tech engineer of their team. Smander was known for his proficiency in deciphering and understanding advanced technology.


    Smander''s holographic image appeared on Shuzib''s screen, and he greeted Shuzib with his signature enthusiasm. "Shuzib, my man! What can I do for you today?"


    Shuzib quickly briefed Smander on his transformation and the enigmatic circumstances surrounding it. "Smander, this might involve cosmic technology or some form of advanced blessing from Aldred. I need your expertise to decode any possible tech-rted aspects of this."


    Smander rubbed his hands together eagerly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "You''vee to the right guy, Shuzib. Let''s dig into the data and see if we can uncover any hidden systems or technology responsible for your changes. Send me all the data you have."


    Shuzibplied, transferring the relevant information to Smander for analysis.


    "Hm, it seems like there is nothing technological about your changes. Instead, it seems to be purely biological."


    "Is that outside your expertise?"


    Smander grinned. "Not at all. Because of Aldred''s blessings, I can now learn all kinds of knowledge within days. I have absorbed over 100 million pages worth of books regarding biology and I think I can find more data about your changes. Do you minding to myb?"


    Shuzib was intrigued by Smander''s offer to analyze the biological aspects of his transformation. His trust in Smander''s technological prowess was unwavering, and if there was any chance of understanding the nature of his changes, he was willing to explore it.


    "I don''t mind at all, Smander," Shuzib replied, his curiosity piqued. "I''lle to yourb as soon as possible. Please provide me with the coordinates."


    Smander grinned, his excitement palpable. "Excellent, Shuzib! Here are the coordinates to my spacecraft''s location." He transmitted the precise information to Shuzib''smunication device, ensuring a seamless rendezvous.


    As Shuzib prepared to make his way to Smander''sb, he couldn''t help but contemte the intricacies of his situation. His transformation into what appeared to be a vampire-like being was shrouded in mystery, and the revtion about Aldred''s mixed heritage had added anotheryer ofplexity to the equation.


    Shuzib pressed hisms and made a call. "Captain, bring me to Smander. Here are the coordinates."


    The captain saluted. "Yes, sir!"


    With Cleome and Smander by his side, Shuzib felt a glimmer of hope that they might unravel the mysteries surrounding his transformation and Aldred''s cosmic blessings.

 Chapter 725 Entering The Demon World

    725 Chapter 725 Entering The Demon World


    Aldred stood in front of a portal with Vortimer beside him.


    "This is where we lose their signal," Vortimer said.


    "Hm, those two mercenaries are quite brave to enter this nest. At least 15 people is needed to clear this nest."


    Vortimer essed their data within his mind. "Their information tells me that they hold a deep animosity with the demons ever since they were almost killed by them."


    Aldred hummed. That information was nothing special. There were at least billions if people who hated the demons.


    "It also says here that they view you in high regard because you saved them recently."


    "I saved a lot of people. Which one is this?"


    "It''s about the attack of one of the resources."


    "Ah, that one. Well, it''s your fault that your radar failed to detect the enemy ship. Those demons could barely make their spacecraft up and running, how could you let it slip?"


    "The demons within that ship radiates an aura that let them slip through my detection. Although the demonsck technology, they don''tck strange skills and abilities to make up for it."


    Aldred sighed. "I won''t me you for that anymore. Let''s think about our next step. What are we going to do about this portal? The easiest choice is to simply destroy them."


    "That will be your best option, however, you have a second option which is saving the two mercenaries that entered this portal."


    "They probably died already. This is the demon realm we''re talking about."


    "The probability is indeed small. Their chance of demise the moment they entered the portal was 98%. And that is my optimistic calction."


    Aldred smiled bitterly. "2% chance of survival is optimistic¡­ I guess that is the reality."


    ¡­


    Francus stepped through the pulsating portal, his senses immediately assaulted by the nightmarishndscape that stretched before him. The sky above was a high ceiling of earth, casting an eerie, ustrophobic atmosphere over the demonic realm. Twisted trees with thorn-like branches wed at the earth, and the ground seemed to writhe with dark energy.


    The agonized screams of tortured souls echoed endlessly in the air, sending shivers down Francus''s spine. The air itself was thick with despair and malice, a stark contrast to the open skies of their world.


    "Grigor!" Francus called out, his voice nearly drowned out by the cacophony of suffering that surrounded him. He scanned the grotesquendscape for any sign of hisrade, his heart pounding with a mixture of dread and determination.


    In the distance, he caught a glimpse of Grigor''s back, the veteran warrior charging forward with unwavering resolve. "Grigor, wait!" Francus shouted, but his voice seemed to dissipate into the oppressive atmosphere.


    Francus broke into a sprint, following Grigor''s path as closely as he could. The uneven, shifting terrain made every step treacherous, and he couldn''t help but feel like an intruder in this hellish realm.


    As he drew nearer to Grigor, he noticed a massive pit blocking his path. Desperation fueled him as he looked around for a way to continue his pursuit. That''s when he spotted it¡ªa disheveled bridge spanning the chasm, appearing as if it had been constructed by the hands of despair.


    With no other option, Francus approached the decrepit bridge, his cautious steps causing it to creak and groan ominously. There were no safety railings or supports; it seemed as if it could copse at any moment.


    The shrieks of the damned echoed from below, intensifying the eerie ambiance that enveloped him. Francus tightened his grip on his energy sters, ready for whatever challenges awaited him.


    As he ventured further onto the bridge, the eerie quietness was suddenly shattered. Demonic creatures descended from above, their leathery wings outstretched as they hissed and growled, blocking his path forward. Their forms were grotesque, with twisted features and jagged talons.


    "You creatures disgust me! No wonder you live in this kind of ce!"


    Francus reacted with instinctive speed, drawing his sters and firing precise energy shots at the iing creatures. Bright bolts of energy pierced the air, striking the demons with deadly uracy. Some disintegrated into dark smoke upon impact, while others writhed in pain but continued to advance.


    The bridge became a battlefield, and Francus found himself locked in a desperate struggle to defend his position. His heart pounded in his chest as he maintained his focus, hisbat training taking over as he sought to protect himself and find a way to Grigor.


    Francus''s ster fire illuminated the grotesque faces of the demonic creatures as they hissed and lunged at him. The narrow bridge became a battleground, with the pit ofva below adding an extrayer of dread to the already perilous situation.


    As he continued to fend off the demons, Francus realized that the bridge itself was falling apart. Ropes snapped, and wooden nks creaked dangerously with each step. The cacophony of battle was apanied by the ominous groaning of the decaying structure.


    Hot sweat trickled down Francus''s brow as he fought to maintain his bnce. He had to be careful not to get too close to the edge, where the fiery death of theva pit awaited. It was a deadly game of inches, and any misstep could spell his doom.


    Francus''s heart raced not only from the intensity of the battle but also from the constant threat of falling into the searing abyss below. His boots slid on the treacherous surface, and he struggled to maintain a foothold.


    Just as he managed to dispatch one of the demons with a well-ced energy shot, he felt the bridge beneath him give way.


    With lightning reflexes, he leaped forward, narrowly avoiding a section of the bridge that copsed into theva pit. The searing heat licked at his boots, serving as a stark reminder of the unforgiving environment.


    Francus''s heart pounded, not only from the physical exertion but also from the fear that he might never escape this nightmarish realm.


    Yet, he knew he had to keep moving, keep fighting, for the chance to rescue Grigor and return to their own world.


    With each demon that fell to his sters, the path ahead became clearer, but the challenges remained relentless. The pit ofva seemed like a hungry maw, ready to consume anyone who faltered, and the bridge itself was a crumbling lifeline.As Francus made his way across the treacherous bridge, narrowly avoiding the copse of sections behind him, a growing sense of dread gnawed at his nerves. The fiery pit below seemed insatiable, and the demonic creatures'' relentless assault showed no sign of abating.


    Finally, he reached the other side of the bridge, his boots touching solid ground.


    However, his respite was short-lived, for as soon as he stepped onto the demonic soil, a colossal figure emerged from the infernalndscape. A fire golem, massive and imposing, stood before him, its molten form casting an eerie, flickering light across the nightmarish realm.


    Francus clenched his sters, his gaze locked onto the towering monstrosity. "Hah! Don''t underestimate me!" he shouted defiantly, his voice resolute despite the dire circumstances.


    "The Celestial toon provided me with a powerful prototype of their new armor!"


    With that deration, Francus unleashed a barrage of energy sts at the fire golem. Bright bolts of energy struck the creature''s molten form, causing it to roar in pain and rage. It retaliated with a searing wall of mes, conjuring a barrier of fire that enclosed upon Francus, threatening to consume him.


    Francus stood his ground, determination etched on his face. He knew that his new armor, a testament to the technological prowess of the Celestial toon, had the capability to withstand formidable challenges. As the wall of fire closed in on him, he activated a concealed mechanism within his armor.


    In an instant, something extraordinary happened. Francus appeared a distance away from the encroaching wall of fire, leaving an illusory image of himself engulfed in mes. The real Francus stood unscathed, a grin of triumph ying on his lips.


    The fire golem, momentarily confused by the illusion, roared in frustration.


    It turned toward Francus, who now had the upper hand in this surreal confrontation. He fired his sters once more, targeting the golem''s molten core with precision.


    Bright energy bolts pierced through the fiery exterior, striking the core and causing the golem to convulse in agony.


    mes danced wildly, and chunks of molten rock were flung in all directions. It was a fierce battle of willpower and technology.


    With a final, devastating st, Francus shattered the fire golem''s core, causing it to crumble into a cascade of fiery embers and darkness.


    The nightmarishndscape seemed to recoil from the fallen monstrosity, and a semnce of silence fell upon the demon realm.


    Francus, triumphant yet weary, caught his breath. His new armor had proven its worth in the face of this formidable adversary. But his thoughts returned to Grigor, therade he had followed into this infernal realm.


    He knew he couldn''t rest until he found him.

 Chapter 726 Mere Ilussion

    Chapter  726 Mere Ilussion


    As Francus continued his journey through the nightmarish Demonic Realm, his heart weighed heavy with concern for his missingrade, Grigor. The grotesquendscape seemed to stretch on endlessly, with no sign of respite from the tormenting atmosphere. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Then, as he walked amidst the eerie, w-like trees and the writhing ground, Francus spotted something that ignited a spark of hope. Footsteps, faint but distinct, trailed toward a foreboding cave entrance. "Grigor might be inside," he muttered to himself.


    With cautious optimism, Francus ventured into the dark abyss of the cave, his senses alert to any danger that might lie ahead. The cave''s interior was abyrinth of twisting passages and ominous echoes, filled with growls, whispers, and unnatural sounds that yed tricks on his mind.


    He pressed on, guided by an instinctive sense that he was on the right path.


    Then, he heard it¡ªa guttural growl, followed by the unmistakable sound of dragging. Instinctively, he hid himself in the shadows, his sters at the ready.


    In the dim light, he watched as a towering beast, standing at least two meters tall, emerged from the depths of the cave.


    Its grotesque form was a fusion of demon and nightmare, its twisted body covered in ashen scales.


    With powerful, sinewy arms, it dragged a human in full armor, the clinking of metal against stone echoing through the cave.


    Francus''s heart raced as he thought, "Grigor?" He couldn''t be sure from his concealed vantage point. The figure being dragged seemed lifeless, its armor battered and scorched.


    The demon continued its macabre procession, heedless of Francus''s presence. As it finally passed him and exited the cave, relief and dread coursed through Francus in equal measure. He was relieved that the demon hadn''t detected him but dreaded the possibility that Grigor might have met a grim fate.


    Once the demon was out of sight, Francus cautiously emerged from his hiding ce. He approached the armored figure, his hands trembling as he reached for the helmet. With a deep breath, he lifted the visor, revealing the face of a stranger¡ªa face he did not recognize.


    His heart sank. Grigor was still missing, and this encounter raised more questions than answers. What had happened to Grigor? And who was this fallen warrior? The Demonic Realm held its secrets close, and Francus was determined to uncover the truth.


    "Judging by the armor, he should be one of the mercenaries from Celestial toon." Francus frowned. So other mercenaries had visited the demonic realm.


    Pressing forward into the depths of the cave, Francus encountered a series of interconnected chambers, each more ominous than thest. The air grew colder, and the ground felt as if it were pulsating with malevolence.


    After hours of traversing thebyrinthine passages, he heard a voice¡ªa haunting, melodious voice that seemed to beckon him. Following the sound, he arrived at the entrance to a cavern bathed in an eerie, ethereal light.


    He peeked inside and was met with a sight that sent shivers down his spine. Grigor, hisrade and friend, knelt in the center of the cavern.


    His battle-worn armor was battered and scorched, and his shoulders trembled with sobs.


    There was a skeletonying on the floor and Grigor held the skeletal hand of that skeleton lovingly.


    In front of Grigor, an otherworldly being manifested¡ªa demon god, if such a term could encapste its profound, surreal presence. The entity wasposed of swirling, intertwining mes that shifted between shades of ck, blue, and purple. Its form was massive, its muscr body exuding an aura of raw power.


    The demon god''s voice, like the whispering winds of despair, addressed Grigor, who was lost in anguish. "Do you wish to see her live?"


    Francus watched in stunned silence, hidden from view, as Grigor''s tear-filled eyes met those of the demonic entity. The words hung heavily in the air,den with an unspoken offer, and the cavern seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of Grigor''s response.


    Grigor''s voice quivered as he replied, "Yes, please... I''ll do anything. Just... bring her back."


    The demon god, its voice a haunting melody of malevolence, chuckled sinisterly. "Pathetic human," it hissed, its form twisting and undting like a tempestuous storm. "Your kind is a mere blip in the grand tapestry of existence, and your suffering is but a minor note in the symphony of torment that is this realm."


    Grigor, still trembling and overwhelmed by grief, clenched his fists. He had endured much in this nightmarish realm, but his determination to see someone he cared about again drove him forward.


    "I don''t care about your grand tapestry or your symphony of torment," Grigor retorted, his voice steadier despite the turmoil within. "I only care about one thing¡ªthe chance to see her live."


    The demon god''s eyes, if one could call them that, glowed with an eerie, malevolent light.


    Its massive, muscr form seemed to swell with disdain as it regarded the defiant human. "Very well," it hissed, its voice dripping with condescension. "But know this, insignificant mortal: every boones at a price. You shall bear the weight of your choice."


    With a flicker of its ethereal mes, the demon god conjured a dark, swirling vortex that enveloped the skeleton.


    As the dark, swirling vortex enveloped the skeleton lying on the cavern floor, an eerie transformation began to unfold. The skeletal remains, which had rested motionless for who knew how long, underwent a haunting metamorphosis. Bones elongated, sinews of darkness coiled and intertwined, and the cavern''s ethereal light seemed to infuse the skeletal form.


    The transformation was surreal, as if the very essence of life was being woven into the remains.


    Then, with an otherworldly shimmer, the skeletal figure transformed into a beautiful young woman. Her skin glowed with an otherworldly radiance, her hair cascading like midnight silk, and her eyes sparkled with an otherworldly vitality.


    She smiled at Grigor with an expression of gratitude and wonder. "You saved me," she said, her voice a melodic whisper that echoed through the cavern.


    "Elena!" Grigor cried out with an overwhelming sense of relief and joy. "You must be so scared."


    He rushed forward, his heart racing, and enveloped her in a tight embrace. Tears of happiness welled in his eyes as he held the woman he thought he had lost forever.


    The reunion was a moment of pure, unadulterated happiness in the midst of the nightmarish Demonic Realm. Grigor and Elena clung to each other, their emotions too powerful for words.


    As Francus watched the reunion between Grigor and the transformed figure that appeared to be Elena, he couldn''t shake the unsettling feeling that something was terribly amiss. From his hidden vantage point, the scene yed out before him in a way that filled him with dread.


    While Grigor embraced the beautiful woman, in Francus''s view, it was a horrifying illusion. He saw Grigor hugging the lifeless skeleton, not Elena. There was no sign of life or vitality in the skeletal figure, and it became evident that the demon god had woven a powerful illusion to deceive Grigor.


    A cold sweat broke out on Francus''s brow as he realized the extent of the malevolent trickery at y. The demon god had manipted Grigor''s perception, making him believe that he had sessfully brought Elena back to life. In reality, Grigor was embracing a lifeless husk controlled by the sinister entity.


    "No, Grigor, don''t!" Francus shouted, his voice echoing through the cavern as he rushed forward to intervene. But it was toote. Grigor, lost in the illusion, continued to hold the skeletal figure lovingly.

 Chapter 727 Breaking The Ilussion

    Chapter 727 Breaking The Ilussion


    Elena''s illusion maintained its facade, smiling at Grigor with an eerie sweetness as if she were truly alive.


    The cavern seemed to reverberate with the cruelughter of the demon god, reveling in the torment it had inflicted upon the unsuspecting human.


    Francus''s heart ached for his friend, who had been so desperate to see his loved one again.


    He knew that they were ensnared in the nightmarish web of the Demonic Realm, where reality and illusion blurred into a surreal nightmare.


    Desperation fueled Francus as he tried to break the illusion and free Grigor from the demon god''s grasp.


    "I have to do this. There is no other way!"


    He aimed his sters at the skeletal figure, firing precise shots meant to disrupt the illusion and reveal the truth.


    Bright bolts of energy struck the skeletal form, causing it to flicker and distort. Grigor, still embracing the illusion, felt a jolt of confusion as the enchantment wavered. His hands clutched empty air, and he finally began to realize that something was terribly wrong.


    The cavern quaked as the demon god''s fury erupted. The illusion shattered, revealing the skeletal figure once more. Grigor stumbled back, his face contorted with a mix of grief, anger, and betrayal.


    The demon god, its form undting with rage, hissed in a voice that seemed toe from all directions. "You dare to defy me, mortal? You shall pay dearly for your insolence!"


    Francus stood by Grigor''s side, his sters aimed at the sinister entity. "We won''t be deceived by your illusions, demon!"


    he demon god''s fury echoed through the cavern as it confronted Francus and Grigor. Its voice, a cacophony of malevolence, reverberated off the walls. "If I can''t obtain your soul through deception, then let me have it through torture!" With a sinister chant, it unleashed a strange spell, binding both Francus and Grigor in ce.


    Francus strained against the magical restraints, his muscles tensed as he tried to break free. He knew that they were in a dire situation, facing a demon god that had already deceived them with its illusions. The malevolent entity seemed determined to im their souls one way or another.


    "Grigor! You woke up yet?" Francus shouted, his voice filled with urgency as he nced at his immobilizedrade.


    Grigor, still struggling against the magical bonds, finally managed to respond. "Yeah! Sorry to burden you so much!"


    Francus couldn''t help but smile, even in the face of their predicament. "You old tard! You''re lucky I''ve got your back!"


    Grigor gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with regret. "Sorry, Francus. It''s because of me that you got stuck in here. I''m just an old dud who can''t let go of myte wife. I should''ve let her go. If she were here, she would tell me that."


    Francus shook his head. "If she were here, she would tell you to do everything you can to stay alive."


    Grigor nced defiantly at the looming demon god, a spark of defiance in his eyes. "You''re damn right!"


    With renewed resolve, Grigor shouted, "Alexa, activate the grenadeuncher!"


    A concealed weapon hanging from Grigor''s waist responded to hismand,unching a pair of grenades toward the demon god. The explosives detonated with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves of force and fire through the cavern.


    The demon god howled in agony as the magical restraints dissipated in the chaos of the explosion. Francus and Grigor were freed, their bodies thrown to the ground by the force of the st.


    Quickly regaining hisposure, Francus scrambled to his feet and helped Grigor up. The demon god, its form flickering and wounded, seethed with rage but was temporarily incapacitated.


    "We need to finish this," Francus dered, his sters at the ready. Grigor nodded, his own weapons drawn.


    Together, they unleashed a barrage of energy sts and projectiles, targeting the wounded demon god relentlessly. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The demon god fought fiercely, conjuring dark mes and hurling them at the two determined warriors.


    They dodged and retaliated, slowly wearing down the demon god''s strength.


    "Enough ytime! I shall show you my power!"


    The demon god''sughter echoed through the cavern as it suddenly began to growrger, its form expanding with an eerie and unnatural speed. At first, its immense size was constrained by the cave''s ceiling, but it quickly became apparent that the cave itself was unable to contain its colossal proportions. Cracks formed in the rock, and debris rained down as the cavern struggled to amodate the demon god''s growing presence.


    Francus and Grigor stood frozen in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief as they witnessed the cavern crumbling around them. The once-stalwart walls now quivered and cracked, threatening to copse under the weight of the malevolent entity''s expansion.


    The demon god''sughter reverberated through the cavern, mocking the two warriors who dared to defy it. Its voice, filled with malevolence, taunted them. "You thought you could defeat me? You are insignificant insects in the face of my power!"


    Just as the demon god was about to unleash its wrath upon Francus and Grigor, a blinding beam of light pierced through its chest, causing it to convulse and scream in agony.


    The cavern trembled as the demon god''s monstrous form began to disintegrate into nothingness, consumed by the brilliant radiance of the light.


    Francus and Grigor shielded their eyes from the blinding spectacle, their bodies bathed in the warm glow of the light.


    As the light faded, they cautiously lowered their arms and gazed in wonder at the spot where the demon god had stood just moments ago.


    "Who did that?" Francus asked.


    Then, from the shadows, two figures emerged. Aldred and Victor, leaders of the Celestial toon, walked toward Francus and Grigor with casual expressions. Aldred, a formidable warrior with incredible power, and Victor, a skilled sentient robot, were known for their unwavering strength.


    "Is¡­ is that Aldred?" Francus widened his eyes.


    Aldred smiled and waved at them. "Both of you caught yourself in a terrible ce, huh?"


    Francus and Grigor knelt immediately.


    Francus, trembling in excitement and nervousness, barely manage to speak his thought. "T¡ªthank you, sir. For saving us. If you weren''t here, the demon would have killed us."


    Aldred nced at the two of them. A particr light appeared in his eyes and their informationy bare for him to see.


    "You two aren''t very strong, but." Aldred''s eyes moved towards their panel that only he could see.


    Potential talent: S+


    Potential talent: S


    "Hoo." Aldred smiled.

 Chapter 728 Special Squad

    728 Chapter 728 Special Squad


    Aldred observed Francus and Grigor with a knowing smile, his eyes reflecting the potential he had just glimpsed within them. As the leader of the Celestial toon, he recognized the value of dedicated and resilient warriors, even if their strength wasn''t immediately evident.


    With an air of authority, Aldred offered, "Would you two like to join a special squad directly under me?"


    Francus and Grigor exchanged surprised nces, their expressions a mix of disbelief and gratitude. To be invited to serve directly under Aldred was an honor beyond their wildest dreams. They had heard of the legendary missions and adventures undertaken by Aldred''s squad, and the prospect of being part of such a team was both exhrating and humbling.


    Grigor was the first to find his voice. "Sir, we would be honored to join your special squad."


    Francus nodded fervently in agreement. "Absolutely, sir. We''ll give it our all."


    Aldred''s smile widened, and he nodded approvingly. "Good. I see great potential in both of you. You''ve already faced the horrors of the Demonic Realm and emerged victorious. Now, you''ll face even greater challenges together."


    With that, Aldred extended his hand, and one by one, he shook hands with Francus and Grigor, sealing theirmitment to this new journey. The bond they formed in that moment was not only one of camaraderie but also a promise to stand against the darkness that threatened their world.


    As they stood there in the aftermath of their battle with the demon god, the remnants of the once-crumbling cavern gradually settled. The atmosphere seemed lighter, as if the malevolent presence that had gued them had dissipated along with the demon god''s defeat.


    he pulled out a smallmunicator device and activated it. "Shinari, it''s me," he said firmly into the device.


    Momentster, a holographic projection of a woman appeared before them. It was Shinari, Aldred''s trusted friend and a formidable leader in her own right. Her eyes held a depth of wisdom, and her presence exuded authority. She was currently leading the Celestial toon in Aldred''s absence.


    Shinari nodded in acknowledgment. "Aldred, what do you need?"


    Aldred wasted no time in getting to the point. "I want you to set up a special squad, Shinari. We''ll call it the ''Chosen Warriors.'' Add Francus and Grigor as its first members."


    Shinari''s expression remainedposed, but her eyes glinted with curiosity. "Chosen Warriors, you say? Very well, I''ll make the necessary arrangements." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Aldred turned to Francus and Grigor, his voice filled with pride. "Congrattions, both of you. You are the first members of the Chosen Warriors."


    Grigor and Francus exchanged excited nces, their hearts swelling with a sense of purpose and honor. To be part of a squad personally established by Aldred was a dreame true, and they were ready to prove themselves as worthy members.


    Francus spoke with gratitude in his voice. "Thank you, sir. We won''t let you down."


    Grigor nodded firmly. "We''ll do whatever it takes to live up to this honor."


    Aldred offered them an encouraging smile. "I have no doubt about that. The Chosen Warriors will face challenges unlike any other, but together, we will protect our world from the darkness that threatens it."


    Shinari nodded as she took note of Aldred''s instructions. "Understood, Aldred. I''ll set up the Chosen Warriors in the main supeputer of the Celestial toon. They will have higher security clearance than normal mercenaries, and we''ll prioritize providing them with thetest military technology developed by our team."


    Aldred looked pleased with Shinari''s efficiency. "That should give them the advantage they need in the battles ahead. The Chosen Warriors will be our front line against the forces of darkness."


    Francus and Grigor exchanged nces, still somewhat in awe of the rapid turn of events. They were about to be members of a special squad with privileges they could only have dreamt of.


    Shinari, ever the tactician, asked a crucial question. "Aldred, what will be their primary mission? Are there specific threats you want them to focus on?"


    Aldred considered this for a moment, his eyes narrowing in thought. "The Chosen Warriors will be tasked with handling the most dangerous and urgent threats that emerge within the Demonic Realm and beyond. They will act as a rapid response team, and their missions will vary from reconnaissance to directbat against powerful adversaries."


    Shinari considered his statement. "But if that is the case, Francus and Grigor isn''t strong enough yet. Why do you pick them in the first ce? High risk mission are ssified as A and S rank, while Francus and Grigor are currently at B rank."


    "I see their potential, but it''s true. They cannot be the officiak member of the Chosen Warriors yet. They must increase their strength first. I will personally lead this squad and oversee their development."


    "Why. There are so many people that can take that role."


    "I want a more personal approach." Aldred smiled.


    Aldred looked at Francus and Grigor, his expression stern but filled with unwavering confidence. "The two of you will go on extremely dangerous missions to get stronger. As of now, you are not fitting for the title ''Chosen Warrior.''"


    Francus and Grigor exchanged nces, their hearts sinking at the realization that they hadn''t quite made the cut for the elite squad. They knew they had much to learn and many challenges to ovee.


    10:51


    Aldred continued, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "You''ve shown potential, and I believe in your determination. But potential alone won''t be enough to face the threats the Chosen Warriors will encounter."


    Shinari, standing by, nodded in agreement. "Aldred is right. The Demonic Realm is a merciless ce, and you''ll need more than just potential to survive there. Your current rank is B, and you''ll need to prove yourselves in high-risk missions to earn your ce among the Chosen Warriors."


    Francus and Grigor, while disappointed, understood the necessity of their uing trials. Grigor spoke earnestly, "We ept the challenge, and we''ll do whatever it takes to be strong enough to stand alongside the Chosen Warriors."


    Aldred smiled, his pride in their determination evident. "That''s the spirit. You''ll be under my personal guidance during this time. Train hard, learn well, and face each mission with the goal of honing your skills."


    Shinari added, "We''ll provide you with resources and support. Consider it an apprenticeship of sorts. When you''ve proven your worth, you''ll have the opportunity to officially join the Chosen Warriors."


    Aldred''s stern expression softened as he saw the determination in Francus and Grigor''s eyes. "You''ve made the right choice. Now, follow me," he said, gesturing for them to follow him.


    The trio left the cavern behind and made their way to the outside, where Aldred''s gship, the Ster Seraph, awaited. It was a magnificent vessel, bristling with advanced technology and armed to the teeth.


    As they boarded the ship, Francus and Grigor couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe. They were stepping onto the renowned gship of the Celestial toon, a vessel that had seen countless battles and adventures.


    Once inside, Aldred led them through the ship''sbyrinthine corridors until they reached a massive chamber filled with rows upon rows of cutting-edge weapons, power armor, energy shields, and various other technological marvels.


    Aldred''s voice held a note of pride as he exined, "Wee to the Armory of the Ster Seraph. This is where you''ll choose the equipment that suits you best for your uing missions. You''ll find everything you need here, from sters to energy swords and advanced suits of power armor."


    The array of choices before them was staggering, and Francus and Grigor couldn''t help but feel a sense of excitement. This was a significant step in their journey to bing Chosen Warriors, and the possibilities were limitless.


    Aldred stepped aside, giving them space to explore and make their selections. "Take your time. Pick what resonates with you, what you think will aid you in your missions. Remember, these tools are an extension of your abilities."


    Francus and Grigor began examining the various weapons and equipment on disy, carefully considering their options. Each piece of technology had its unique capabilities, and they needed to choose wisely to enhance their strengths.


    After what seemed like hours of deliberation, they made their choices. Grigory opted for a sleek energy de that could cut through almost anything, while Francus chose a set of high-impact sters with precision targeting systems.


    Satisfied with their selections, they turned to Aldred, who nodded in approval. "Good choices. Your equipment will be customized to fit your preferences andbat style. Now, let''s get you started on your training regimen."


    Aldred''s eyes gleamed with confidence as he watched Francus and Grigor make their equipment choices. He knew that the path ahead would be challenging, but he believed in their potential.


    "Now that you''ve chosen your gear, it''s time for your first mission," Aldred dered. "I have a task that will test your abilities and help you grow stronger. You will be sent to a distant where reports indicate the presence of a dangerous creature: a 30-headed hydra."


    The mention of such a formidable foe made Francus and Grigor exchange determined nces. This was no ordinary mission; it was a trial by fire, and they were ready to face it head-on.


    Aldred continued, "The hydra is terrorizing the local inhabitants, and it needs to be eliminated. It won''t be an easy battle, but it''s a necessary step in proving yourselves as worthy members of the Chosen Warriors."


    Francus nodded resolutely. "We understand, sir. We''ll confront the hydra and put an end to its threat."


    Grigor echoed his sentiment. "Consider it done. We won''t return until the hydra is defeated."

 Chapter 729 Cerberus

    729 Chapter 729 Cerberus n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Aldred led them to a smaller shuttle waiting in the hangar of the Ster Seraph. It was a sleek, high-speed vessel designed for quickary deployments. As they boarded the shuttle, Aldred gave them a final word of encouragement.


    "Remember, this mission is not just about defeating the hydra but also about learning and growing as warriors. The you''re heading to is called Draconis Prime, and it''s known for its treacherous terrain. Be cautious, work together, and trust in your training. Good luck, Chosen Warriors."


    With that, Aldred wished them good luck, and the shuttle''s engines roared to life. Itunched from the gship, hurtling toward the distant where the 30-headed hydra awaited their arrival.


    Draconis Prime, a world of lush forests and rugged mountains, would be the backdrop for their first trial as members of the Chosen Warriors. Francus and Grigor knew that this mission would test their mettle and set the tone for their journey ahead.


    As they descended through the''s atmosphere, the sight of Draconis Prime''s sprawlingndscapes stretched out before them. It was a beautiful and untamed world, but danger lurked within its depths.


    The shuttle touched down on the outskirts of a dense forest, the hydra''s rumored location. Francus and Grigor exited the craft, their weapons ready and determination burning in their eyes. They were ready to face the 30-headed hydra and prove their worth as Chosen Warriors on this perilous.


    As they exited the shuttle, Grigor observed the forest with an energy de in hand. "This is our starting point. We need to look for the hydra on our own."


    Francus nodded in agreement. They both knew that with their advanced technology, they could easily locate the hydra''s exact position. However, this mission wasn''t just about defeating the creature; it was about honing their skills and proving their worth as Chosen Warriors.


    "We''ll rely on our training and instincts," Francus replied. "Let''s proceed cautiously."


    With that, they ventured into the dense forest of Draconis Prime. Towering trees with vibrant foliage surrounded them, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The sounds of wildlife echoed through the woods, but they remained alert, searching for any signs of the 30-headed hydra.


    As they moved deeper into the forest, they encountered strange bugs with iridescent wings. These creatures emitted high-pitched screams that resonated like the roar of a dragon. It was a startling experience, but Francus and Grigor pressed on, undeterred.


    Their journey led them to a particrly ancient-looking tree. Grigor, with his energy de still in hand, cautiously approached it. As he touched the bark, something unexpected happened¡ªthe tree rapidly dissolved into a cloud of iridescent moths that scattered in every direction.


    Grigor and Francus watched in amazement as the moths shimmered and fluttered away. It was a mesmerizing sight, but it left them wondering about the mysterious nature of this forest. Draconis Prime held more surprises than they could have imagined, and they couldn''t help but feel that there was more to this than met the eye.


    As Francus and Grigor continued their exploration of Draconis Prime''s dense forest, they stumbled upon an overgrown and moss-covered path leading deeper into the woods. Following their instincts, they decided to investigate and soon came across the entrance to an ancient temple, hidden beneath the thick foliage.


    "A temple? In this? I thought only monsters lived here," Francus said.


    The temple was a colossal structure, its architecture a testament to the advanced civilization that had once inhabited this. Intricate carvings adorned the temple''s massive stone doors, and ancient symbols marked its walls. It was a ce shrouded in mystery and history.


    With their curiosity piqued, Francus and Grigor cautiously pushed open the heavy stone doors and entered the temple''s dimly lit interior. The air was thick with age and secrecy, and their footsteps echoed in the vast chamber.


    As they explored the temple''s inner chambers, they discovered inscriptions on the walls that hinted at the hydra''s origin. The writings spoke of a time when primitive humans, the''s early inhabitants, had worshipped and prayed to the hydra as a deity. They believed it possessed immense power and could grant them blessings.


    "There are humans that lives here." Grigor observed the carvings on the wall. "And they seem to regard the hydra as some sort of deity."


    As they explored the ancient temple''s dimly lit interior, Francus couldn''t help but voice his curiosity, "Can we even find the hydra in this temple? I would imagine a hydra would prefer theke or the river."


    Grigor nodded, his eyes scanning the temple''s ornate carvings, "Your statement is correct, but I believe Aldred won''t tell us to fight something so simple. There must be a reason we were led here."


    Their words were barely a whisper as they activated their inte, allowing them tomunicate silently without disturbing the eerie stillness of the temple. They continued to explore, cautiously making their way through the ancient chambers.


    As they entered another chamber, they were met with an unexpected sight. There, sleeping peacefully before them, was a massive wolf with three heads. Its fur was a mix of ck and silver, and its breaths were deep and rhythmic.


    Francus and Grigor exchanged a look, their eyes wide with disbelief. This creature resembled the legendary Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld in many myths and legends.


    Silently activating their inte once more, Francus asked, "Is that Cerberus?"


    Grigor''s voice held a mixture of awe and caution, "It certainly looks like it. But why would Cerberus be here in this temple?


    As they were having a hushed conversation about the mysterious presence of Cerberus in the ancient temple, the colossal wolf with three heads stirred from its slumber. Its eyes, each one a different shade of fiery red, snapped open, and it let out a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the chamber.


    The Chosen Warriors in training, Francus and Grigor, froze in their tracks, their eyes locked onto the beast before them. Cerberus''s growl deepened, and it bared its hideous fangs and sharp ws, a clear warning that it was prepared to defend its territory.


    In response to the wolf''s aggressive stance, Francus and Grigor assumed defensive postures, their weapons at the ready. They knew that Cerberus was a formidable beast, and this encounter could either lead to a deadly confrontation or a potential understanding.

 Chapter 730 Cerberus II

    730 Chapter 730 Cerberus II


    With the tension palpable in the dimly lit chamber, Cerberus and the Chosen Warriors began to circle each other warily. Each step they took was calcted, and every movement was a test of the other''s intentions.


    Grigor''s voice came through their inte, a determined whisper, "Francus, this is our first battle on this. Let''s not disappoint Aldred."


    With a shared nod, the two Chosen Warriors steeled themselves for the impending sh with Cerberus. Their advanced training and the trust they had in each other''s abilities gave them the confidence to face this formidable adversary.


    As Cerberus continued to circle them, the growls echoing in the chamber, the moment of confrontation arrived. With a sudden, swift movement, the three-headed wolf lunged forward, targeting Francus who held the ranged weapon.


    Grigor''s instincts kicked in, and he intercepted the beast, moving swiftly to ce himself between Cerberus and hisrade.


    His energy de ignited with a vibrant blue glow, and he swung it with precision, meeting Cerberus''s attack head-on. The sh of energy and fangs reverberated through the chamber.


    "Francus, get to a safe distance. I will distract this beast while you attack."


    Realizing the dire situation, Francus didn''t hesitate.


    He maintained a safe distance and began firing precise energy shots at Cerberus from behind Grigor, targeting the beast''s nk.


    Cerberus, a guardian of the underworld, proved to be as formidable as expected. Its three heads snapped and snarled, each one attempting to strike at Grigor. However, the Chosen Warriors'' teamwork and well-coordinated attacks kept the guardian on the defensive.


    The wolf, highly perceptive and responsive to their movements, attempted to outmaneuver them. Its fiery eyes tracked their every shift in position. In a moment of agility, it lunged again, this time trying to bypass Grigor and reach Francus.


    Grigor, noticing Cerberus''s intention, acted swiftly. He pivoted and thrust his energy de toward the lunging head, forcing the wolf back and away from hisrade. As he did so, he shouted through the inte, "Francus, attack from the distance now!"


    With Cerberus momentarily distracted, Francus seized the opportunity. He unleashed a barrage of energy shots, aiming at the guardian''s exposed side. The shots struck home, causing the guardian to roar in pain and frustration.


    The chamber was filled with the sh of wills and the scorching energy of their weapons. Cerberus, though formidable, was gradually being worn down by the Chosen Warriors'' relentless assault and impable teamwork.


    As the intense battle between the Chosen Warriors and Cerberus raged on in the dimly lit chamber of the ancient temple, high above Draconis Prime, Aldred and Vortimer stood on the deck of the Ster Seraph. They watched the confrontation unfold through a live feed from the Chosen Warriors'' helmets.


    Vortimer, always analytical, couldn''t help but notice the unusual presence of Cerberus in the temple. He turned to Aldred, furrowing his brow, and remarked, "That Cerberus isn''t there before. Did you n for this?"


    Aldred smiled knowingly, his gaze unwavering as he observed the battle below. "I put it there," he confessed. "It''s the lowest level of threat that I could find on this, so they should be able to take care of it."


    Vortimer nodded, understanding Aldred''s reasoning. The mission to Draconis Prime was not just about facing the hydra but also about testing the Chosen Warriors'' adaptability and problem-solving skills in unpredictable situations.


    Back in the chamber, the Chosen Warriors continued their relentless assault on Cerberus. Their teamwork and determination were paying off as the guardian of the underworld showed signs of fatigue. The guardian''s three heads were no longer as coordinated as before, and its movements became sluggish.


    Grigor and Francus, connected by their unwavering trust and silentmunication through the inte, adjusted their strategy. They began to focus their attacks on Cerberus''s central head, the one with the brightest fiery eye.


    Their precision strikes and calcted maneuvers disoriented Cerberus further. It roared in frustration, unable to fend off their coordinated assault effectively.


    Above, Aldred and Vortimer observed this shift in the battle with satisfaction. It was a test of not only theirbat skills but also their adaptability and ability to work together under pressure.


    As the battle in the dimly lit chamber of the ancient temple raged on, Cerberus, wounded and enraged, reached deep within itself for onest desperate attack. With a surge of dark energy, the three-headed guardian of the underworld unleashed a devastating shockwave that rippled through the chamber.


    The shockwave sent Francus and Grigor tumbling backward, their protective energy shields barely holding against the force of Cerberus''s attack. The temple''s ancient stone walls groaned under the strain, and the very ground beneath them trembled.


    With a deafening roar, Cerberus unleashed a devastating surge of dark energy that surged through the chamber. The shockwaves rattled the ancient temple, causing the inscriptions on the walls to glow even brighter. The ground beneath their feet trembled more violently, threatening to give way.


    Grigor and Francus, realizing the dire consequences of Cerberus''s unleashed power, exchanged a determined look. They understood that they needed to defeat Cerberus quickly before the temple''s ancient mechanisms, awakened by the surge of energy, fully activated and unleashed unknown forces upon them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Without a moment to spare, they intensified their assault on Cerberus''s central head, their weapons zing with energy. Each precise strike brought them closer to their goal.


    Cerberus, struggling to maintain its attack, was pushed to its limits. The guardian''s three heads roared in agony and frustration, and its fiery eyes dimmed. It became clear that the Chosen Warriors'' coordinated efforts had taken a toll on the formidable beast.


    In a final act of desperation, Cerberus lunged forward with all its remaining might, aiming to strike a decisive blow. Grigor and Francus, undaunted by the guardian''sst-ditch effort, responded with a synchronized counterattack.


    Grigor''s energy de met Cerberus''s snapping jaws, preventing the beast from reaching Francus. At the same time, Francus unleashed a concentrated burst of energy directly at Cerberus''s weakened central head.


    The impact was devastating. Cerberus let out a piercing, otherworldly howl as its central head was engulfed in searing energy. The guardian''s form trembled violently, and its three heads thrashed in agony.


    Francus approached, charging up his weapon for a full 10 seconds before aiming at the wolf.


    With one final, explosive burst of energy, Cerberus was defeated.

 Chapter 731 731 Solved Mystery

    <h4>Chapter 731 Chapter 731 Solved Mystery </h4>


    ?731 Chapter 731 Solved Mystery


    Francus and Grigor stood over the defeated Cerberus, their chests heaving with exertion. A mix of triumph and relief washed over them. The victory had been hard-fought, but the new weapons and armor provided by Aldred had undoubtedly tipped the scales in their favor. They shared a brief, knowing look ¨C a silent acknowledgment of their growing prowess as warriors.


    As they ventured deeper into the temple, their attention was drawn to a curious scene. A leather bagy discarded on the dusty floor, surrounded by footprints, empty rounds, and broken pistols. The scene spoke of a recent struggle, a skirmish that had left its mark on the ancient walls in the form of scorch marks and bullets.


    "Someone is here before us," Grigor said.


    Most intriguing was the trail of blood weaving through the debris. It was clear there had been casualties, yet no bodies were present. Francus and Grigor exchanged a nce, both arriving at the same conclusion: whoever had been injured here had been taken away.


    Grigor, his voice steady but urgent, broke the silence. "We should follow the blood trail and save these people if we can. Who knows, this might lead us to the hydra."


    Celestial toon had a doctrin of doing as much good as possible during their mission, to be more empathetic as possible. It was one of the reason why Celestial toon became highly regarded in many parts of the gxy. They avoid trouble and help the localmunity during their missions. This had caused a rise in demands and mission for Celestial toon. This reputation was wisely used by Aldred by creating and offering other services in other industries such as food and beverages, tourism, transportation, and whatnot.


    Nodding in agreement, Francus replied, "Right. Let''s move quickly but carefully. We don''t know what lies ahead, or who these people are."


    As they followed the trail, the bloodstains led them through abyrinth of corridors within the temple. The path twisted and turned, descending deeper into the bowels of the ancient structure. The air grew cooler, and the sound of their footsteps echoed off the walls, creating an eerie rhythm.


    The trail eventually opened into a vast chamber, dimly lit by flickering torches. In the center of the chamber stood a group of ragged individuals, bound and guarded by creatures that were half-human, half-beast. These guards wielded crude weapons, and their eyes glowed with a feral intensity.


    Grigor and Francus took cover behind a fallen pir, surveying the scene. The captives were bruised and weary, but alive. Among the captors, arger figure stood out, adorned with symbols that suggested a rank or leadership role.


    "Beastial creature. Did they transform because they worship the hydra?" Francus asked.


    "It is possible," Grigor replied as he observed his target, his eyes scanning the area for any strategic advantage. "We need to n this carefully. A direct attack might endanger the captives."


    They quietly discussed a strategy, deciding to create a diversion to distract the guards while attempting a swift rescue. Grigor, with his closebat skills, would lead the charge, while Francus provided cover with his ranged weaponry.


    Suddenly, therger figure among the captors spoke in a gutturalnguage, gesturing towards a darkened passage. Two of the guards dragged a captive towards it. It was clear they didn''t have much time.


    "Now or never," Grigor mouthed.


    At that moment, Francus aimed and fired a shot at a torch on the far side of the chamber. The torch exploded, showering sparks and causing a momentary distraction. Seizing the opportunity, Grigor leapt out from their cover, his energy de igniting with a brilliant glow as he charged towards the guards.


    "Intruders!"


    The captors, caught off guard, scrambled to respond. Francus continued firing, carefully aiming to incapacitate rather than kill. Grigor moved with precision, his de parrying and striking with lethal efficiency.


    In the chaos, the captives began to stir, seizing their chance to fight back. The chamber erupted into a frenzied skirmish. Amid the confusion, the leader of the captors roared and charged at Grigor, wielding a massive, jagged de.


    Grigor met the leader head-on, their weapons shing with a resounding ng. Francus, seeing hisrade engaged in a fierce duel, intensified his efforts to subdue the remaining guards and free the captives.


    Grigor and the leader


    fought with ferocious intensity, their des a blur of motion. The leader was skilled, but Grigor''s experience as a mercenary gave him the edge. With a swift, decisive move, he disarmed the leader, sending the jagged de ttering across the stone floor.


    The captors, seeing their leader defeated, began to lose their resolve. Francus, taking control of the situation, called out to the captives in amanding voice, "Head for the entrance! We''ll cover you!"


    The captives, energized by this turn of events, quickly scrambled towards the exit. Francus and Grigor provided cover, ensuring their safe passage. As thest of the captives disappeared into the corridors, Grigor approached the subdued leader, intent on gaining information.


    "Why were these people taken? What is happening here?" Grigor demanded, his energy de still glowing menacingly.


    The leader, a mixture of fear and defiance in his eyes, responded in broken but understandable speech. "We... take for Hydra. Hydra demand sacrifice. We obey, or Hydra destroy."


    Francus joined Grigor, overhearing the revtion. "The hydra is controlling these creatures somehow, demanding sacrifices. This is bigger than we thought."


    Grigor nodded grimly. "We need to find this hydra and stop it, not just for our mission, but to free these people from its control."


    They discovered the truth. These people weren''t worshipping it, but containing its wrath.


    Grigor and Francus tied the captors in a way that made them unable to sit or stand.


    "This feels kinda wrong," Francus said. "These people are locals, and we are foreigners. It feels like we are the invader."


    "It might looks like so, but we are not here to invade," Grigor said. "Instead, we are here to help them. We will kill the hydra for them."


    "Kill hydra? You want kill hydra? No please. Hydra strong. You lose and die. Hydra destroy. Everything die."


    Grigor looked at the leader in the eye. "We are from Celestial toon. One of the best andrgest mercenary organization in the gxy. Killing a snake with multiple heads is not much of a problem for us. Even if we fail, there will be more members toing here to get the job done."


    "Win? Sure?"


    "We told our great leader that we will not return until that hydra is killed."


    "Have luck."


    Grigor nodded until Francus called for him.


    "Grigor, what do we do with the captives?"


    A bunch of wounded people took a peek in the distance, wary that the locals would try to capture them again.

 Chapter 732 732 Fighting The Hydra

    <h4>Chapter 732 Chapter 732 Fighting The Hydra </h4>


    ?732 Chapter 732 Fighting The Hydra


    Francus and Grigor approached the group of captives, who were now cautiously emerging from their hiding ces. The captives, a motley crew of low-level mercenaries, looked exhausted and fearful but relieved to be freed.


    "We came here for a simple mission," one of the captives, a woman with a scar across her cheek, exined. "Our task was to gather rare nts and herbs from Draconis Prime. But when we found this temple, curiosity got the better of us. We thought maybe we could find some valuable artifacts to sell. We never expected to be attacked and taken captive."


    Grigor listened intently, nodding. "You were unfortunate to stumble upon a ritual site for the hydra. These creatures," he gestured towards the bound captors, "they''re under its control, forced to provide sacrifices."


    Francus, looking over the weary group, asked, "Do you know anything about the hydra? Any information could be crucial for us."


    Another captive, a young man with a nervous demeanor, spoke up. "We overheard the guards talking. The hydra''sir is deeper within the temple, through the caverns. They said it''s a creature of immense power, and they fear it greatly."


    Grigor and Francus exchanged a look. This was the information they needed, but they couldn''t leave the captives here unprotected. Francus addressed the group,


    "Listen, we''re going to take down the hydra. It''s the only way to ensure this creature stops terrorizing and controlling the locals. But first, we need to get you to safety."


    One of the captives, an older man with a weathered face, spoke up, "We can find our way out. We remember the path we took to get here."


    "Are you sure?" Francus asked, concerned. "It''s dangerous, and these corridors can be misleading."


    "We''ll manage," the woman with the scar reassured him. "You''ve done enough by freeing us. Now, it''s important that you stop the hydra."


    Grigor gave them a brief nod, then turned to Francus. "We need to move fast. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it will be."


    As the captives cautiously made their way towards the temple''s exit, Francus and Grigor prepared themselves for the next phase of their mission. They checked their weapons and armor, ensuring everything was in order for the impending battle.


    Grigor nced at the leader onest time, thetter giving him a nod, indicating that he trusted Grigor''s ability.


    The duo then moved deeper into the temple, guided by the young mercenary''s information. The air grew colder and damper as they descended, and the oppressive darkness of the caverns weighed heavily on them.


    After navigating through a series of narrow passages and expansive caverns, they finally arrived at a massive underground chamber. The air was thick with a palpable sense of dread. In the center of the chamber was arge, dark pool of water, its surface eerily still.


    Huddled in the shadows, Francus and Grigor watched as the hydra''s massive form lumbered around the pit. The beast''s movements caused ripples across the dark water, its many heads weaving in and out with a hypnotic rhythm


    .


    "We can''t let it get back into that water," Grigor whispered, his eyes never leaving the hydra. "If it does, we might lose our chance to finish it off."


    Francus nodded, his mind racing through different scenarios. "We need to keep it onnd, away from theke. And for that, we''ll have to be strategic.


    Francus proposed an idea. He revealed a bunch of Quantum Cubes that can shrink object size and reduce their weight. Inside the cubes were snipers and machine guns that he can control remotely. He will ce these weapons in various spots to distract the hydra from many directions.


    Francus suggested that Grigor distract the hydra in close range to prevent the hydra from attacking the weapons, but y it defensively until Francus manage to destroy the ceilings to block theke.


    As Francus unveiled more Quantum Cubes, Grigor''s eyes widened in surprise. "That''s quite the arsenal you''ve been hiding," he remarked.


    Francus gave a wry smile. "I thought about these idea when Aldred let me pick anything I want. These will give us the edge we need." He quickly set about cing the cubes around the chamber, each one transforming into a sniper or machine gun at hismand.


    Meanwhile, Grigor readied himself for a close encounter with the hydra. His role was crucial - to engage the hydra and keep it away from Francus and his strategically ced weapons. He knew it was risky, but it was the best chance they had.


    Once everything was in ce, Francus gave Grigor a nod, signaling he was ready. Grigor stepped out from the shadows, drawing the attention of the hydra.


    "Come and fight me, beast! Ie to challenge your reign over thisnd!"


    The beast''s multiple heads turned towards him, letting out a collective hiss that echoed through the cavern.


    Grigor braced himself as the hydra lunged. He danced around the beast, his energy de shing at any head that came too close. He was not trying to kill it; he just needed to keep it upied.


    Francus, from his hidden vantage point, began his part of the n. He remotely controlled the weapons, unleashing a barrage of gunfire at the hydra. The creature roared in anger and confusion, its heads darting in all directions, trying to locate the source of the attacks.


    The chaos allowed Francus to target the ceiling of the cavern, aiming at the weakest points. His n was to copse it, blocking the hydra''s ess to theke. He fired shot after shot, the explosions sending trem


    ors through the chamber. Rocks and debris began to loosen, threatening to bring down the ceiling.


    Grigor kept up his dance of death, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws and thrashing heads of the hydra. Each movement was calcted, each dodge perfectly timed. He could feel the fatigue setting in but knew he couldn''t let up, not even for a moment.


    The hydra, now wildlyshing out in pain and rage from the relentless gunfire, became increasingly reckless in its attacks. This yed right into their strategy. With its attention divided, the creature failed to notice the crumbling ceiling above.


    Finally, with a series of well-aimed shots from Francus, the ceiling gave way. Massive boulders crashed down, creating a barrier between the hydra and theke. Water sshed up in a great wave as some of the debris plunged into the pool, further disorienting the creature.


    "Yes!" Francus shouted.

 Chapter 733 733 Intense Battle

    <h4>Chapter 733 Chapter 733 Intense Battle </h4>


    ?733 Chapter 733 Intense Battle


    With theke sealed off, the hydra''s rage was palpable. It shifted its focus, charging towards Francus with a newfound frenzy. Francus, realizing the creature had identified him as the orchestrator of its torment, braced himself for the onught.


    "Fuck! He''sing after me!" Francus shouted before running to a different spot.


    "I will distract it!"


    Grigor, quick to act, leaped onto the hydra''s back, his energy de zing.


    He carved a deep wound along its spine, causing the beast to roar in agony.


    Moving with a blend of agility and precision, he then sprinted along the creature''s undting body, ascending one of the towering necks. With a powerful swing, he severed one of the hydra''s thirty heads, sending it tumbling to the cavern floor in a gush of dark blood.


    The hydra, now fixated on Grigor, reeled in pain and fury.


    Its remaining heads let out an ear-splitting screech, and it whipped around, trying to shake Grigor off. The chamber echoed with the beast''s rage, the air thick with the smell of blood and gunfire.


    Grigor clung on, dodging snapping jaws and iling tails. Below him, Francus maneuvered swiftly, continuing to fire upon the hydra, aiming for its vulnerable spots exposed by Grigor''s attack. The battle was intense, each warrior pushing their limits against this monstrous adversary.


    As the hydra focused its wrath on Grigor, Francus found an opening. He unleashed a concentrated barrage of gunfire at the base of several necks, weakening them. Grigor, sensing the opportunity, leaped from neck to neck, severing them one after the other in a deadly dance.


    The hydra, now severely wounded and disoriented, thrashed wildly, causing the cavern to shake violently. Boulders dislodged from the ceiling, crashing down around them, adding to the chaos.


    Francus dodged falling rocks, firing continuously. Grigor leaped from the hydra,nding with a roll. The creature''s remaining headsshed out, but Grigor and Francus moved with practiced coordination, evading and striking.


    "Grigor, now!" Francus yelled, signaling the final phase of their n.


    Grigor, understanding the cue, sprinted towards the hydra. He targeted its main body, shing furiously. Francus provided cover, his shots distracting the hydra, allowing Grigor to deliver the critical blows.


    Injured and overwhelmed, the hydra faltered, its movements slowing.


    As the hydra''s movements became sluggish, Francus and Grigor exchanged triumphant nces. They believed their victory was near. The cavern, steeped in the stench of battle, seemed to resonate with their impending sess.


    But then, the unexpected happened. The hydra, in ast-ditch effort, let out a deafening cry that echoed off the walls, reverberating through their very bones. Its body shuddered violently, and a blinding light enveloped it. Francus and Grigor shielded their eyes, stepping back in disbelief.


    When the light faded, the hydra had transformed. Its skin was now a shimmering, imprable armor, glistening with an eerie glow. Each of its remaining heads had grownrger, with eyes that burned like moltenva. The air crackled with its newfound power, a terrifying force that seemed to warp the very space around it.


    "Impossible..." Francus muttered, his voice barely a whisper over the creature''s rumbling growls.


    Grigor, eyes narrowed, assessed their new adversary. "We need a new strategy," he said, his gaze flickering to Francus.


    The hydra, now more beast than before, moved with a speed and grace that belied its massive form. It lunged at them, each head snapping with deadly precision. Francus and Grigor, caught off guard, barely dodged the first strike.


    They regrouped quickly, their minds racing. The situation had escted beyond their worst fears. This was no longer just a battle of strength; it was a test of their wit and resilience.


    Francus fired a volley of shots, but they ricocheted off the hydra''s armored skin, leaving not even a scratch. Grigor, sword in hand, tried to find a weak spot, but the creature''s movements were too fast, too unpredictable.


    The cavern, once a battleground of their confidence, now felt like a trap closing in on them. Rocks continued to tumble from above, adding to the peril. The hydra''s roars were now a symphony of terror, driving them to the edge of despair.


    In this dire moment, Francus caught Grigor''s eye. A silent agreement passed between them ¨C they would not go down without a fight,


    no matter the odds. Their resolve hardened, transforming fear into determination.


    Grigor yelled, "Aim for the eyes! It''s the only way!"


    Francus nodded, adjusting his aim. Together, theyunched into a fric assault. Francus, with his unerring marksmanship, targeted the glowing eyes of the hydra, while Grigor, swift and agile, aimed for quick, decisive strikes whenever an opening presented itself.


    The hydra, sensing the danger to its most vulnerable spots, became more aggressive. It thrashed wildly, its many heads working in unison to fend off the attacks.


    The cavern seemed to pulse with the intensity of the battle, the air thick with tension and the acrid smell of scorched earth.


    Amidst this chaos, Francus found an opening. He fired a series of precise shots, one of them finally finding its mark. The bullet pierced the eye of the nearest head, causing the creature to reel back in agony. Capitalizing on this moment, Grigor leaped high, his energy de slicing through the air with a lethal grace.


    But the hydra was not to be underestimated. With a sudden, swift motion, it retaliated, knocking Grigor off bnce. He tumbled to the ground, narrowly avoiding a deadly bite from one of the other heads.


    As Grigor narrowly avoided the hydra''s lethal bite, he rolled to his feet, shaken but determined. The creature''s eye, which had been damaged by Francus''s shot, now oozed a strange, iridescent liquid that sizzled as it hit the cavern floor.


    But the hydra''s evolution was far fromplete. As if in response to its pain, the creature''s body began to shift and warp again. This time, it grewrger, towering above them, with heads that seemed to multiply exponentially. The cavern itself seemed to bend to amodate the beast''s newfound size.


    Francus and Grigor exchanged frantic nces, realizing that their earlier belief of imminent victory had been a cruel deception. The hydra''s adaptation and transformation were beyond anything they had anticipated.


    With each head now equipped with a set of piercing eyes and a maw full of razor-sharp teeth, the hydra became a nightmarish entity that defied reason. It moved with terrifying speed and coordination, its heads striking from all directions, forcing the two warriors into a desperate dance of survival.


    Their bullets and energy de strikes continued to nce harmlessly off the hydra''s ever-changing form. The creature''s armor-like scales seemed to regenerate even as they attacked, leaving them with no means of inflictingsting damage.


    "We can''t keep this up!" Francus shouted over the cacophony of battle.


    Grigor nodded grimly. "We need to find a way to disrupt its transformation, to stop it from adapting further."


    But as they attempted to regroup and devise a new strategy, the hydra unleashed a devastating breath attack, spewing forth a corrosive, green substance that dissolved the cavern''s walls upon contact. The structure began to crumble, sending massive boulders tumbling in their direction.


    With quick reflexes, they dodged the falling debris, narrowly escaping the deadly barrage. But the hydra was relentless, using the chaos to its advantage, its heads striking with renewed ferocity.


    "We need to find its source of power," Grigor yelled, his voice barely audible above the turmoil.


    Francus scanned the cavern, his mind racing for any clue that might lead to the hydra''s weakness. Amidst the chaos, he spotted a faint, pulsating light emanating from the creature''s chest.


    "There!" he shouted, pointing at the source of the eerie glow. "It must be the source of its power!"


    Grigor nodded, determination in his eyes. "We''ll have to get close. But how do we reach it without getting torn apart?"


    The hydra, sensing their intent, let out a deafening roar, and its many heads closed in, creating a barrier of snapping jaws and venomous breath. It seemed to anticipate their every move.


    "That thing is smarter than we thought!"


    In a desperate bid for a distraction, Francus unleashed a barrage of gunfire in one direction, drawing some of the heads away momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, Grigor dashed forward, using his energy de to parry the attacks of the remaining heads.


    With all his strength and agility, Grigor leaped towards the hydra''s massive form, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws. His de sliced through the armored scales, revealing the pulsating core of power within the beast.


    But as Grigor attempted to strike at the core, the hydra''s remaining heads converged upon him with blinding speed, a coordinated assault that left him defenseless.


    Francus, seeing Grigor in peril, knew he had to act swiftly. He fired with precision, aiming for the eyes of the heads attacking his friend. But the hydra, in its evolved state, had be an even more formidable opponent.


    The battle had reached a frenzied pitch, with Grigor fighting to fend off the relentless attacks of the hydra''s heads, each one striking with a ferocity that threatened to overwhelm him. Francus, while desperately trying to provide cover fire, couldn''t find a clear shot amidst the chaos.


    With Grigor pinned down, the hydra''s pulsating core remained protected. Its eyes burned with an intensity that defied natural order, and its armored skin seemed impervious to their every assault.


    Grigor gritted his teeth. "No matter what I do, I will have you dead in this cave!"

 Chapter 734 734 Unexpected Reaction

    <h4>Chapter 734 Chapter 734 Unexpected Reaction </h4>


    ?734 Chapter 734 Unexpected Reaction


    Grigor roared and rushed forward.


    Despite his age, Grigor disyed a level of agility that was nothing short of astounding. As the hydra''s headsunched a deadly barrage of acid, fire, and lightning, he moved with the grace of a much younger warrior. Leaping and twisting through the air, he dodged each lethal attack with a dancer''s finesse, his movements a blur of speed and precision.


    He moved as if he was possessed.


    Francus watched, awestruck by Grigor''s unexpected disy of prowess. Realizing hispanion was drawing the hydra''s full attention, he sprang into action. With rapid-fire shots, he distracted several of the hydra''s heads, pulling them away from Grigor, allowing him to continue his offensive.


    Grigor, energized by the challenge, fought with a ferocious intensity. His energy de cut through the air, each strikending with deadly uracy. He shed at the hydra, leaving deep wounds that oozed dark blood, sttering across the cavern walls. His de moved like lightning, carving through scale and flesh.


    "You feel that!?! You damn snake!" Grigor stared at one of its heads.


    The hydra, enraged by the pain, turned its focus towards Grigor, its many heads coordinating in a vicious onught.


    But Francus was not about to let hisrade face this alone. "As if I will let you do that!"


    He quickly activated the rocketunchers strategically ced around the cavern. The rockets screamed through the air, striking the hydra in a series of earth-shaking explosions.


    The cavern was engulfed in fire and smoke, the sound of the explosions deafening. The hydra reeled from the impact, its armored body battered by the concussive force. Amidst the chaos, Grigor continued his assault, exploiting every opening created by the explosions.


    Despite the intensity of their attack, the hydra''s resilience was terrifying. It seemed to absorb the pain, its roars growing louder, more furious. But Francus and Grigor were undeterred. They fought with a synergy born of years of battle, theirbined might a formidable force.


    Absolute bond of trust between the two.


    As the smoke cleared, the hydra, though visibly wounded, still stood defiant. Its eyes, now wild with fury, locked onto Grigor. With a swift, coordinated movement, it lunged, all its heads converging on him in a fatal strike.


    But Francus was ready. With a shouted warning, he leaped in front of Grigor, firing a barrage of shots directly into the oing maws. The hydra recoiled, its heads reeling from the direct hits.


    Grigor, seizing the moment, charged forward. His de, glowing with a fierce energy, struck deep into the hydra''s exposed chest, aiming for the pulsating core of power.


    For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The hydra''s roars ceased, and the cavern fell eerily silent. Then, with a final, agonized shriek, the creature''s body began to convulse. The pulsating light within its chest flickered and died, and the hydra copsed, its massive form hitting the ground with a thunderous crash.


    Francus and Grigor stood amidst the destruction, panting, their faces smeared with dirt and blood. They had faced the impossible and emerged victorious, their bond as warriors unbroken.


    As they looked upon the fallen hydra, a sense of relief washed over them. They had survived the most brutal battle of their lives. But in their hearts, they knew this was not just a victory over a monstrous beast. It was a testament to their unyielding spirit, a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming odds, they could ovee anything together.


    "Our mission here is over," Francus said.


    "Yeah." Grigor nodded. "But our journey has just begun."


    Leaving the cavern behind, Francus and Grigor emerged into the daylight, their bodies weary but spirits high. Outside, they were met with the sight of the bestial locals, still bound, and the low-level mercenaries who had earlier retreated in fear.


    The locals'' eyes widened in disbelief as they saw Francus and Grigor, their expressions a mix of awe and reverence. The leader of the bestials, a towering figure with sharp, feline features, stepped forward.


    His voice, tinged with incredulity and respect, rang out. "You did!!! Hydra! You kill!"


    The mercenaries, who had previously looked down on Francus and Grigor, now gazed at them with a newfound admiration. The air was thick with their astonishment and a silent acknowledgment of the incredible feat these two had achieved.


    They whispered among themselves, their words a chorus of disbelief and respect.


    Francus and Grigor approached the bestials, their steps steady despite the fatigue that clung to their limbs. Grigor, with a swift motion, cut through the ropes binding the locals.


    The bestials, now free, gathered around, their eyes reflecting a mixture of gratitude and hope.


    Francus addressed them, his voice carrying the weight of experience and wisdom. "The hydra, your tyrant, is no more. Train your people to be stronger, so your people can be the master of their own fate."


    His words resonated with the bestials, igniting a spark of determination in their eyes. They nodded, a collective understanding dawning among them.


    The tyranny they had endured was over, and a new pathy open before them.


    Grigor added, "Strength lies not only in muscle but in unity and courage. Remember this day, not as the end of your oppression, but as the beginning of your freedom."


    The bestials, inspired by Grigor''s words, murmured agreements. They knew the road ahead would be challenging, but the fall of the hydra had shown them that even the mightiest of foes could be defeated.


    Francus and Grigor, havingpleted what they had set out to do, prepared to leave. The bestials, with newfound resolve, started to gather, discussing ns to strengthen theirmunity. The mercenaries, still in awe, watched as the two warriors walked away, their silhouettes gradually disappearing into the horizon.


    Francus and Grigor made their way back to where they had left their space shuttle, a sleek vessel hidden among the rocks. They had arrived on this shrouded in doubts and uncertainty, but now they were leaving with a sense of aplishment and certainty in their purpose.


    They boarded the shuttle, and with a smooth hum of engines, they ascended into the''s atmosphere. The journey back to Aldred''s gship, the Ster Seraph, was quiet, a time for reflection on the events that had unfolded.


    As they approached the Ster Seraph, the sheer size of the gship was imposing. Their shuttle, inparison, seemed minuscule, like a tiny speck against the vastness of space. The docking bay of the gship opened, its gates weing them back.


    The shuttle glided in seamlessly and docked with precision.


    Stepping out of the shuttle, Francus and Grigor made their way to themand chamber where Aldred, themander of the Ster Seraph, awaited them. The corridors of the gship were alive with the hustle of crew members, but the duo moved with a purpose, their minds still reying the battle they had just won.


    As they entered themand chamber, they were expecting a warm wee, a proud smile from Aldred acknowledging their victory.


    They were grinning ear to ear because of this.


    However, the scene that greeted them was starkly different. Aldred stood before them, his countenance dark, his expression one of disappointment and concern.


    The atmosphere in the room was tense, a stark contrast to the victorious mood that Francus and Grigor were in. Aldred''s eyes, usually a source of stern guidance, now bore into them with an intensity that spoke of grave matters.


    "Is there something wrong, sir?" Francus asked.


    Aldred''s response was measured, his voice betraying a hint of frustration. "It''s not about the hydra. While you were dealing with that threat, we''ve encountered bigger problems."


    Grigor and Francus exchanged nces, a sense of unease settling in. The victory they had just celebrated felt suddenly overshadowed by the looming issues that Aldred hinted at.


    Aldred motioned for them toe closer, his eyes fixed on therge strategic disy behind him. "There''s been a shift in the gctdscape while you were away. We have new challenges ahead, ones that might change the course of our mission."


    Francus and Grigor approached, their minds racing with questions. They had returned victorious, but it seemed their battle was far from over. As Aldred began to exin the new situation, they realized that their journey was about to take an unexpected turn, one that would test them even more than the hydra had. The universe, it seemed, was full of surprises, and they needed to be ready for whatever came next.


    When Francus and Grigor left, Aldred''s stern expression was also gone as he rxed on his chair.


    Vortimer saw this from start to end asked: "Why? Normally, you would praise them for their hardwork."


    Aldred''s lips curled into a smile. "That''s what I do to normal people. Francus and Grigor are extraordinary."


    "Is that so? How does that exin your behavior earlier?"


    "They are indeed extraordinary and have the talent to be powerful, however, they are stuck at a bottleneck. This hydra test is merely the beginning. They are not worthy ofplements yet. I am nning to give them hundreds more test to break their bottleneck and allow them to be more powerful. Only then do they be worthy of my praise."

 Chapter 735 735 Preparation Complete

    <h4>Chapter 735 Chapter 735 Preparation Complete </h4>


    ?735 Chapter 735 Preparation Complete


    Francus and Grigor, still riding the high of their victory over the hydra, were immediately dispatched to their next mission, a testament to Aldred''s relentless training regime. They understood the gravity of their role within the grand scheme of the empire''s operations, yet the pace was relentless.


    Their shuttle set course for a gigantic gas, known for its extreme weather conditions. The inhabitants, adapted to such harsh environments, were now facing a new, unprecedented threat. A legendary creature, the Storm Worm, had awoken from a ten-thousand-year slumber, unleashing chaos and destruction across the.


    Upon arriving, Francus and Grigor were met with scenes of devastation. The Storm Worm, a colossal serpentine entity, twisted through the turbulent skies, its presence alone causing violent storms and seismic upheavals.


    Without wasting time, the duo sprang into action. Using theirbined expertise and advanced technology, they engaged the Storm Worm. The battle was fierce, with the creature''s immense power and the''s vtile atmosphere addingyers ofplexity. Yet, with determination and strategic prowess, they managed to y the beast, restoring rtive peace to the beleaguered.


    Barely having a moment to catch their breath, Francus and Grigor were directed to their third mission. They boarded their shuttle and set off for SH33556, a Dyson Sphere harnessing the sun''s energy, a marvel of human ingenuity and a hub of ceaseless activity.


    Upon arrival, they were informed about a local space pirate group that had grown in power and ambition. The pirates aimed to seize control of SH33556, a move that would grant them immense power and influence. Francus and Grigor wasted no time, contacting the leader of SH33556 to coordinate a swift and decisive response.


    The battle against the pirates was intense. Francus and Grigor, leveraging theirbat experience and tactical acumen, managed to decimate more than half of the pirate group, ultimately leading to the elimination of their leader. Their actions saved SH33556 from a grim fate, but there was no time for celebrations.


    Their next destination was an isted, a world still clinging to ancient technologies like simple bows and arrows and steel des. The was torn apart by never-ending wars between kingdoms, regions, and ethnic groups.


    Francus and Grigor''s mission was not just to end the conflicts but to open the eyes of these people to the vastness of space, the existence of aliens, and the reality of the massive Human Empire that ruled almost a quarter of the gxy.


    As they descended onto the, they realized the challenge ahead was unlike any they had faced before. This mission required diplomacy, education, and a profound understanding of the''s diverse cultures. The task was daunting, but the duo was determined to seed, knowing that their actions could change the course of this world forever.


    Their journey, a relentless sequence of battles and negotiations, was shaping them into not just warriors but ambassadors of the Celestial toons, agents of change in a gxy full of wonder and turmoil. Each mission, each victory, was a step towards breaking the bottlenecks Aldred had spoken of, forging them into the extraordinary beings they were destined to be.


    Aldred and Vortimer observed their growth all these months.


    "They are growing very well."


    "Why are you training them this way? Won''t improving their firepower alone should be enough for you?"


    "What do I need more firepower? I have warships andary weapon to fill that role. They are humans. They have the ability to do something more important."


    Vortimer scoffed. "With absolute power, anything else be meaningless."


    "Yes. But none of us have absolute powers. There''s always something or someone out there that match our strength or even surpass us."


    "And this training will give them an edge over something more powerful?"


    "Poweres in all sort of ways, Vortimer." Aldred exined. "Other than brute strength, diplomacy,munication, and building trust is also a form of strength. Tell me, Vortimer. Which one is stronger. A tyrant with no one to trust, or a journalist with great charisma that can move millions of people with a single speech."


    Aldred stood up and watched the view of stars. "A journalist is nothingpared to the tyrant, however, with millions of people as his followers¡­"


    Turning around, Aldred nced towards his robotic sentient friend. "Now, do you see my point?"


    "I see a gap in that logic. If I was the tyrant, with my power, I can eliminate all the followers in an instant."


    Aldredughed. "Are you really a sentient robot that has lived for over 100,000 years?"


    Sighing, Aldred put his gaze back to the stars. "Let me tell you something. You recalled my experience when we ask for thes to contribute resources for the war? You remember how the progress is tedious and I have to show them a dramatic disy of power."


    "I recalled. My memory is not programmed to erase any data."


    Vortimer actually put any data referencing to Aldred in a special folder.


    "Well, imagine if everyone just simply contribute to me all of their resources without constraint. Of course with the exception of basic needs. Imagine if all of humanity truly unite. Not just formally, but truly unite for one purpose. Humans with all of their disunity manage to conquer a major part of the gxy. If they truly unite, the gxy and perhaps the entire universe would be theirs."


    Aldred continued. "I have never met the Emperor, but he''s doing a pretty good job."


    "So you are training them to be your mostpetent emisarries? Train more people like them and send them all over the gxy to unite humans under your banner?"


    Chuckling, Aldred replied: "My intention isn''t that far. Besides, that would be rebellion to the current Human Empire. No. My intention is simple. I will train more humans like Francus and Grigor not to unite humany under my banner, but under the banner of humanity itself."


    "Didn''t you say that you will unite other races as well? Isn''t this the opposite?"


    "Yes. I n to unite other races. However, if one race can''t even unite themselves yet, how can you unite others?"


    "It seems pointless. I still believe we should search for absolute strength."


    "Then perhaps you are searching the wrong way. Or perhaps you can search strength in many different views. I told you that strength cane in many shapes and forms. Perhaps, you need to look in other ces as well, Vortimer."


    Vortimer''s mechanical eyes churned as his digital brain processed the information.


    Suddenly, Cleome barged inside the room. "Oops, I should''ve knocked."


    "It''s fine. What do you need Cleome?"


    Cleome stood up straight, chin proudly lifted. "All the resources have been strategicallypiled and processed. Shinari told me to report to you that all preparation have beenpleted."


    "Which mean?" Aldred asked even though he already know the answer.


    Cleome took in a deep breath.


    "War."

 Chapter 736 736 Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 736 Chapter 736 Discussion </h4>


    ?736 Chapter 736 Discussion


    Aldred''s gaze hardened as he absorbed Cleome''s report. The time hade for action, for the culmination of more than a year''s preparation. His mercenary organization, the Celestial toon, had been quietly amassing resources and support from nearbys under the guise of an Inquisitor''s decree. Now, those resources had been transformed into a formidable arsenal, ready to be unleashed against the demonic army that threatened the stability of the gxy.


    The war they were about to engage in was not just any conflict. It was a battle that would determine the fate of countless worlds, a struggle between the forces of order and the chaos wrought by the demonic legions.


    Aldred immediately initiated a call to gather his most trustedrades aboard the Ster Seraph. These were not just warriors; they were legends in their own right, each a master of their respective domain.


    Smander, The Engineer, known for his unparalleled skill in crafting weapons and machinery that could turn the tide of any battle. His inventions were not just tools of war; they were works of art, blending functionality with an almost poetic form.


    Cleome, The Lightning Weaver, whose control over electrical energy was both a spectacle and a deadly force inbat. She could weave lightning into devastating attacks or imprable shields, making her an indispensable asset on the battlefield.


    Shinari, The Shadow Master, was a master of stealth and assassination. Her ability to move unseen and strike from the shadows made her a feared opponent. Herwork of informants and spies was a crucial element in gathering intelligence for the Celestial toon.


    Ceeth, The Elven Warrior, was a living legend among his people. Her prowess inbat,bined with centuries of experience, made him a formidable warrior, her des dancing death among enemy ranks.


    Elralya, The Elven Psychic, possessed abilities that transcended the physical realm. Her insights into the minds of others and her foresight were invaluable in nning and executingplex strategies.


    Lastly, Shuzib, The Schr, was the brain behind many of the toon''s tactical sesses. His knowledge of history, warfare, and alien cultures provided a broader perspective on the conflicts they faced.


    He did not appear a lot but that was because Shuzib preferred to work behind desk and not in direct danger.


    However, that seem to change.


    Shuzib was sitting with them on the table, proudly showing hisrge biceps and chest muscles.


    "What the hell happened to you?" Elralya asked.


    "I turned into a vampire."


    "How does that even happen?"


    "Ask Aldred."


    She then turned to Aldred for exnation. "Hmm, perhaps I gave the wrong blessing. Anyway, let''s talk about the priority subject. I am informed that our preparations arepleted."


    Shinari nodded and tapped the table. A digital screen appeared, howering a few inches on the table. "Our preparations are at 100% in every department: manpower, medical, transportation, supplies, and many other more."


    "Good. Shuzib, you have been studying the Stercharts of our enemy."


    "Yes. The n that I advised you a few months back is no longer relevant. The demons are relocating their vital infrastructures, but the informants fails to find most of them."


    "What''s the key to our victory?" Smander asked.


    "We have found several Armageddon-BattleCruisers, Nova Obliterator, but most importantly we have identified the names of key Admirals that will be the main yers in this war: Mordrak, Xar''thul, Vorgorath, Zelthrax, and Khyrax. Each of themmanded at least over 100 millions."


    "100 millions demons aren''t that muc¡ª" Cleome was interruped as Shuzib continued.


    "Battalions," Shuzib emphasized. "100 million battalions for each Admirals."


    "So there are 500 millions battalions." Smander''s expression turned grave. "This will be a prolonged war that couldst decades. How do we n to sustain ourselves during that period?"


    "I have some ns for that," Aldred said. "This is war. The mostmon thing you do in war is resources exploitation. We need to takeover valuables and extract its resources. Very simple."


    "Is that all?" Smander asked. "Aldred, even a child can think of that. We need something more than a simple idea."


    Aldred patted his shoulder. "You need to rx and let me think about that. Your roles in this war is to create and lead more teams in the Research and Development department. I want our tech to continously improve, giving us advantages as the war goes on."


    Smander sighed. "If only the Imperium is willing to give its technology, we won''t have to reinvent the wheel."


    Aldred, was in fact, happy that the Empire did not give their tech. He hoped that this war would push Smander to improve his skill.


    They could try to reverse-engineer it, but the Empire probably won''t let that happen. They were extremely devoted to the secrecy of their technology. Even when millions of worlds risked being devoured by demons.


    "You have me," Vortimer said. "There is no need to worry about weapons."


    Smander sighed. "Your weapons are designed for robots. And although I admit your battleships are powerful, but most of them does not have the capacity to transport humans."


    "They are not designed for humans," Vortimers replied.


    "Exactly. That is why I am so distressed."


    "Rx," Aldred told him. "Didn''t you manage to create some new battleships design?"


    "I do. But they are not battle-tested so, we don''t know how well they fair in real war."


    "I am sure it will be fine. I believe in your ability," Aldred assured him. He had actually tell Vortimer to check every single ship Smander made beforehand and knew they were good enough.


    "Okay, so when do we begin our attack?" Shinari asked.


    "Before that I want everyone to look at the star map."


    A projection activated, disying a massive star map, revealing the demon''s teritory."


    Aldred then say: "Garrot, show me all the information currently avable."


    As Aldredmanded, the star map shimmered and transformed, revealingyers of detailed information. The voice of Garrot, the artificial intelligence of the Ster Seraph, resonated through the chamber. "Yes, sir," it replied in a calm, neutral tone.


    The star map now disyed troop numbers, fleet positions, and resource points within the demonic territory. Every star and held vital data, meticulously collected and analyzed by Garrot. The AI''s ability to process and present such vast amounts of information was impressive, bordering on the extraordinary.


    However, the revtion of Garrot''s existence elicited a wave of shock among the crew. The use of advanced artificial intelligence was a taboo, steeped in historical incidents where AI had turned against their creators. The crew''s astonishment was evident in their wide eyes and murmured discussions.


    Shinari was the first to voice her concerns. "Aldred, you''ve installed an AI? Isn''t that against the Imperial protocols? The risks¡­"


    Aldred raised a hand to silence the rising tide of questions. "I am well aware of the history and the Imperial stance on AI. However, Garrot is different. He''s been programmed with extensive safeguards and limitations. His primary function is to aid in strategy and logistics, not autonomous decision-making."


    Smander, still processing the news, added, "But the risk of AI rebellion or malfunction¡­"


    Aldred nodded, acknowledging the concern. "I understand the risks. That''s why I''ve taken every precaution. Garrot operates under strict protocols and is monitored continuously. He''s a tool, one that gives us a significant advantage, especially in dealing with the vastplexities of this war."


    The crew, though still uneasy, began to see the practicality of Aldred''s decision. The amount of data and strategic nning required for their massive undertaking was beyond human capabilities alone. Garrot''s integration could be the edge they needed against the demonic forces.


    Shuzib, always the schr, looked at the star map with a newfound appreciation. "The strategic possibilities with Garrot''s assistance are immense. We can predict enemy movements, optimize supply lines, and even simte potential battle oues. Still, I read the history text about artificial intelligence, and you can say that Garrot''s existence will terrify the Empire more than the demons did."


    "Is it really that bad?" Aldred shrugged.

 Chapter 737 737 Leading The Armada

    <h4>Chapter 737 Chapter 737 Leading The Armada </h4>


    ?737 Chapter 737 Leading The Armada


    As the Celestial toon prepared for war, the scale of their mobilization was a sight to behold. Across vast expanses of space, the armada of the Celestial toon moved, a formidable fleet of ships traveling across the stars, each vessel bristling with advanced weaponry and technology.


    On the decks of these ships, soldiers d in state-of-the-art armor gathered, their faces set with determination. They heaved their weapons and boarded space shuttles, ready to be deployed in the heat of battle. The air was thick with the sense of impending conflict, each warrior mentally preparing for the challenges ahead.


    "Lift them up!" A soldier shouted.


    Heavy machinery and guns were installed on various spacecraft, transforming them into floating fortresses. The engineering teams, under Smander''s guidance, had outdone themselves, equipping the fleet with an arsenal that could hold its own against the demonic legions.


    Among the warriors, powerful magicians d in special armor stood out. These were no ordinarybat suits; they were designed to amplify the wearers'' magical powers, allowing them to unleash devastating spells and protective barriers. The fusion of magic and technology was a testament to the innovation and resourcefulness of the Celestial toon.


    Meanwhile, Smander observed all of this from his research chamber, surrounded by a team of assistants. Screens and holographic disys showed various aspects of the war preparations, from troop deployments to the status of weapon systems.


    His chamber buzzed with activity, a nerve center of innovation and strategy.


    He watched as histest creations were put to the test, his mind already racing with ideas for further improvements. Smander knew that in a war of this magnitude, technological superiority could turn the tide of battle. He was determined to ensure that hisrades had the best tools and weapons at their disposal.


    Each member of the Celestial toon yed a crucial role in the war effort, from the foot soldiers and pilots to the engineers and magicians. Their unity and resolve were their greatest strengths, and as they ventured forth into the unknown, they carried with them the hopes and dreams of countless worlds.


    Suddenly, a rip in reality appeared in the researchb, and Vortimer stepped out.


    "Vortimer, what do you need from me?" Smander asked. Before, Smander spoke towards the sentient robot with careful words, now, he was more casual. A part of it was because of Smander''s confidence in his ability.


    "Aldred is increasing your research funds."


    "Of course he is. This is a state of war. But is that all? Youe all the way here to tell me that?"


    "No. He also told me to coborate with you."


    "About what?"


    "Battleship."


    Smander smiled. "I hope you would ask a lot sooner. Your battleship definitely receive a lot of admiration, Vortimer. It is nothing but powerful weapons that can be a nightmare for the enemies."


    Vortimer''s battleships were top notch. Stealth, speed, firepower, they did not lose out in any elements essential for war.


    Smander was extremely impressed about Vortimer''s firepower. Even among the Royal-ss battleships, there weren''t much that could surpass Vortimer''s firepower.


    ''Aldred said Vortimer is ancient sentient robot. Perhaps his old age allows him to gather so many knowledge about technology."


    "Let''s start working right now."


    Smander''s smile widened. "Wasting no time, I see. As expected of a robot."


    ¡ª¡ª


    Francus and Grigor, their armors still marked with the remnants of recent battles, entered Aldred''smand room with a sense of purpose. The countless missions they had undertaken had honed their skills, pushing them beyond their limits. Once ranked as tinum, they now stood among the elites with their Diamond Rank, a testament to their unwavering dedication and growing prowess.


    Aldred, observing them from hismand chair, couldn''t help but smile at the sight of these two warriors who had grown so much under his tutge. Their strength and abilities were now on par with Shinari the Shadow Mistress, and Cleome, the Lightning Weaver, two of the most formidable members of the Celestial toon.


    As Francus and Grigor saluted, their voices were firm and confident. "We have finished our missions and are awaiting our next orders, sir!"


    Aldred nodded, his eyes reflecting a mixture of pride and anticipation. "Well done. Your progress has been remarkable. You''ve be invaluable assets to the Celestial toon."


    He paused, considering their next assignment. The war was escting, and every decision now carried even greater weight.


    Aldred''smand was clear and decisive. "A formidable demon army is advancing towards our vital asset - a crystal rich in resources crucial for our battleship batteries. You will lead the interception at the Neb Pass."


    Francus and Grigor, taken aback by the enormity of the task, nodded in unison. "The two of us will destroy the enemy without fail," Francus asserted, his voice tinged with resolve.


    Aldred, however, had grander ns in mind. "No," he corrected, "You two will not be going alone. You will lead an armada of your own." His eyes swept over them, impressed by their growth but aware of the challenges ahead.


    A massive armada was assembled, thousands of battleships and soldiers ready to traverse the stars under themand of Francus and Grigor. The fleet, a diverse array of vessels from nimble fighters to colossal dreadnoughts, was a testament to the Celestial toon''s might.


    Francus and Grigor, now at the helm of their own gship, gazed out at the sea of ships ready for battle.


    The gship was abuzz with activity, the crew working tirelessly to ensure everything was battle-ready. From themand center, Francus and Grigor could feel the pulse of the ship, the energy of countless lives working as one towards amon goal.


    As the fleet moved out, the Neb Pass loomed ahead, a strategic choke point where they nned to ambush the demonic forces. The neb''s dense gas clouds provided the perfect cover, masking their approach and giving them the element of surprise.


    Francus stood beside Grigor, his eyes scanning the holographic maps and strategic disys. "This will be our greatest challenge yet," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice.


    Grigor nodded, his expression focused. "We''vee a long way since our first mission. We''ll lead this armada to victory."


    As the Celestial toon''s armada plunged deeper into the neb, the visibility dropped dramatically, and the space around them became a canvas of shifting colors and obscured vision.

 Chapter 738 738 Shocking Display of Power

    <h4>Chapter 738 Chapter 738 Shocking Disy of Power </h4>


    ?738 Chapter 738 Shocking Disy of Power


    This environment, however, was something the toon had prepared for. The ships'' sensors had been calibrated for such conditions, and the onboard magicians, using their enhanced abilities, could sense movements through the neb''s dense clouds.


    "Prepare for enemy contact," Francus announced over them, his voice steady yet alert. Grigor, standing beside him, monitored the strategic disys, watching for any sign of the demonic fleet.


    Suddenly, the sensors picked up multiple contacts. The demonic fleet, hidden within the neb, had been waiting for them. "Enemy ships ahead!" shouted a crew member.


    Grigor gave the order to engage. The toon''s ships, armed with advanced weaponry, opened fire.


    The neb erupted with shes of energy weapons and explosions, the sounds muffled by the vacuum of space but visible as bright res through the gas clouds.


    Explosions rocked space as demonic ships were hit. The neb''s clouds, illuminated by the sts, created a mesmerizing yet chaotic battlefield. Amidst this turmoil, the magicians on board the toon''s ships cast their spells, adding anotheryer ofplexity to the battle. Protective barriers sprung up around their ships, and destructive spells were hurled at the enemy, wreaking havoc on their formations.


    The demonic fleet, realizing they were losing ground, began a desperate counterattack. Their ships, brimming with dark energy, unleashed a barrage of powerful weapons. But the toon was prepared. Advanced shields absorbed the onught, and rapid maneuvers dodged the most dangerous volleys.


    As the battle raged, Francus and Grigor remained focused, issuingmands and adapting to the ever-changing dynamics of the fight. Their leadership was a beacon to their crew, inspiring them to fight with unrelenting courage.


    After hours of intensebat, the tide began to turn in favor of the Celestial toon. One by one, the demonic ships were either destroyed or forced to retreat. The toon''s strategic prowess and technological superiority had won the day.


    "Sir! The enemy are losing! Perhaps they will retreat."


    "No. The demons never retreat. Continue the attack!" Grigor shouted themands.


    The Celestial toon''s armada, with Francus and Grigor at the lead, continued their relentless assault, systematically destroying the remaining demonic ships.


    Each vessel of the enemy was taken down in a disy of firepower and strategy, leaving no room for the demonic forces to regroup or retaliate.


    As the battle neared its end, only the demonic gship remained. It was a massive and heavily fortified vessel, capable of withstanding an immense amount of damage. The Celestial toon focused their firepower on it, tearing through its defenses.


    "A little bit more! Keep attacking!"


    A few minutester, an explosion ured.


    Cheers erupted among the soldiers as they watched half of the gship get obliterated, believing victory was within their grasp.


    However, their celebration was cut short as the sensors detected an unusual magical anomaly emanating from the remains of the gship. Emerging from the debris was a figure that sent chills down the spines of even the most battle-


    hardened soldiers.


    "What the hell is that?"


    A demonic woman with red, purplish skin floated near the wreckage.


    She was d in cybeic armor, with strange monolithic fragments levitating around her.


    "Sir, the sensors detected an anomaly presence."


    Francus and Grigor frowned. They never saw a demon like this before.


    Her presence alone triggered rms throughout the Celestial toon''s ships, warning of an extremely dangerous threat and the presence of immense energy.


    With a simple raise of her palm, a darkish purple orb materialized, pulsating with malevolent energy.


    RING! RING! RING!


    A robotic woman voice res within the ships.


    "Extreme presence of energy detected. Evacuate immediately!"


    "Extreme presence of energy detected. Evacuate immediately!"


    As the demonic woman with red, purplish skin floated amidst the wreckage, the air around her crackled with an electric charge.


    Cybeic armor fitted to her form hummed with awork of glowing runes, casting an eerie light on the monolithic fragments that defy gravity around her. The space near the fragments bent and rippled as if reality itself was warping.


    The orb in her palm throbs with dark purple energy that grows denser and more turbulent.


    Then, with a slight push of her hand, the orb shot towards the toon''s armada at a blistering speed, almost reaching the speed of light.


    In a matter of seconds, half of the Celestial toon''s fleet was obliterated in a devastating explosion.


    The shockwave rippled through the neb, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.


    Francus, Grigor, and the surviving soldiers watched in horror and disbelief. The screams of theirrades were silenced instantly as ships and lives were vaporized, leaving nothing but a void where they once were.


    No words coulde out of their mouth after they witness such a devastating attack.


    The neb, once a battlefield of strategic maneuvers and victorious cheers, had turned into a graveyard of ships and soldiers. The remaining fleet, now severely weakened, faced an enemy whose power was beyond their worst fears.


    Grigor, with a heavy heart, ordered: "Retreat!"


    The order to retreat echoed through them systems of the remaining Celestial toon ships. Francus and Grigor, their faces etched with shock and resolve, coordinated the withdrawal. The fleet, now a shadow of its former might, maneuvered desperately to escape the neb and the overwhelming force they faced.


    As they retreated, the mysterious demonic figure watched, her presence an ominous specter against the backdrop of destruction. The monolithic fragments orbiting her seemed to pulse with the same dark energy that had decimated the fleet.


    However, she did not seem to have the intention to chase.


    The Celestial toon''s ships, battered and bruised, navigated through the neb, dodging debris and the remnants of their fallenrades. Francus and Grigor, aboard their gship, oversaw the retreat, ensuring every possible ship made it out.


    In the aftermath of the retreat, themand center was filled with a heavy silence. The loss was beyondprehension ¨C half their fleet, vanished in an instant. Francus and Grigor, veterans of countless battles, faced each other, the weight ofmand heavier than ever.


    "We need to report this to Aldred immediately," Grigor said, his voice somber. "He needs to know about this new enemy. She''s unlike anything we''ve ever faced."


    Francus nodded in agreement. "Our strategies, our weapons¡­ they might not be enough anymore. This changes everything."

 Chapter 739 739 Demon Hunter Rayanor

    <h4>Chapter 739 Chapter 739 Demon Hunter Rayanor</h4>


    ?739 Chapter 739 Demon Hunter Rayanor


    Aldred''s expression was one of disbelief as he reviewed the harrowing footage sent by Francus and Grigor.


    The screen in front of him yed the catastrophic moment when the mysterious demon decimated half of their armada with a singr, devastating attack. The calmness that usually characterized Aldred''s demeanor had faded, reced by an uncharacteristic sense of urgency.


    "Vortimer," Aldred''s voice was firm, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "Analyze this and tell me what you think."


    Vortimer, the ancient sentient robot, approached the console, his mechanical eyes scanning the footage. After a moment of processing, he spoke,


    "My system has identified the identity of the demon. It is none other than one of the Demon Admirals ¡ª Zelthrax, known as the ''Riftweaver.''"


    Aldred leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Zelthrax, the Riftweaver? What do we know about her?"


    Vortimer''s voice was emotionless yet conveyed the gravity of the situation. "She is infamous for her mastery over dark energies and her ability to manipte the fabric of space. Her attacks are not just physically destructive; they can tear through the very essence of reality."


    The revtion sent a chill down Aldred''s spine.


    He had faced formidable foes in his time, but the thought of an adversary who could manipte reality itself was unsettling. "And her attack¡­ it was like nothing we''ve ever seen before."


    "Yes," Vortimer replied. "The orb she conjured and released. It was a concentrated form of dark energy, potent enough to create a singrity-like effect. The sheer destructive power is beyond our current understanding of demonic magic and technology."


    Aldred stood up, pacing the room as he processed the information. "This changes everything. Our strategies, our defenses¡­ We are not prepared for this kind of threat."


    The room was silent, save for the faint hum of the ship''s systems. Aldred stopped, turning to face Vortimer. "Prepare a full report. I want detailed analyses of her powers, potential weaknesses, anything that can give us an edge. We need to adapt, and fast."


    Vortimer nodded, his robotic form moving toply with the order. Aldred watched him for a moment before turning his gaze back to the stars outside themand room window. The gxy, vast and mysterious, now held a new threat, one that could change the course of the war and the fate of countless worlds.


    As Aldred contemted their next move, he realized that the Celestial toon, though formidable, was entering uncharted territory. They were up against a power that defied their understanding of warfare.


    But Aldred was no stranger to challenges.


    He knew adaptation and innovation were key.


    He turned away from the window, determination etched on his face. "We will rise to this challenge," he whispered to himself.


    Back in the researchb, Smander and his team were in the midst of analyzing the remnants of the damaged ships. The room was a hive of activity, with engineers and scientists working tirelessly to gather data.


    Smander, holding a fragment of a destroyed ship, turned to his assistant. "This is not just physical damage. Look at the molecr structure. It''s been altered on a subatomic level."


    The assistant peered at the readings, his eyes widening. "You''re right. It''s as if the very fabric of the material has been unraveled."


    Smander ced the fragment down, deep in thought. "This is beyond our current science. We''re dealing with forces that defy thews of physics as we know them."


    Meanwhile, in the armory, the magicians of the Celestial toon were gathered, discussing the recent battle. They spoke of the demonic woman''s attack, trying to make sense of the immense power she wielded.


    One of the magicians, an elder with deep knowledge of arcane lore, spoke up. "This is ancient magic, dark and forbidden. It taps into the primal forces of the universe, bending them to the wielder''s will. To counter this, we must delve into realms of magic we''ve never explored before."


    They would need to push the boundaries of their abilities, exploring the unknown depths of their art.


    Back in Aldred''smand chamber.


    A soldier informed Aldred. "Sir, someone is requesting to meet you."


    "Who?" Aldred asked.


    "I am not sure, sir. He called himself the Demon Hunter."


    The arrival of the mysterious visitor calling himself the Demon Hunter added an unexpected twist to the escting tension. As the soldier ryed the message to Aldred, his brow furrowed in curiosity. "Let him in," hemanded, intrigued by the prospect of meeting someone who imed such a title.


    The doors to themand room slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a figure draped in a ck windbreaker, his identity obscured by a mask. He moved with a quiet confidence, each step measured and purposeful. The air around him seemed to crackle with atent energy, hinting at his concealed power.


    Aldred studied the neer with a keen eye. "You call yourself the Demon Hunter?" he asked, his voice betraying no emotion.


    The masked figure nodded, his voice muffled but clear. "I am known as Rayanor, the Demon Hunter," he introduced himself. "I have faced Zelthrax, the Riftweaver, in battles past. I''vee to offer my assistance."


    Aldred used his godly eyes to scan the man and he was quite impressed by his power. At least, he knew that this strange man wasn''t a scammer.


    Aldred''s interest peaked at the mention of Zelthrax. "You''ve encountered her before? Then you know the kind of power we''re up against."


    Rayanor''s posture remained unwavering. "Indeed. Zelthrax wields dark magic that can manipte the very essence of space. Her powers are not of this realm, making her a foe unlike any other."


    Aldred leaned back in his chair, contemting. "And what brings you to us? Why offer your help now?"


    Rayanor''s hands sped behind his back. "The Riftweaver''s recent actions threaten not just your fleet but the bnce of power in the entire gxy. Her unchecked rise could lead to catastrophic consequences. I''ve been tracking her movements, studying her tactics. Together, we stand a better chance against her."


    Aldred considered the proposal. The Demon Hunter''s knowledge and experience could be invaluable. "Very well," he agreed. "You''ll work with our teams. Share your knowledge, and help us devise a strategy to counter her."


    "You trust this stranger just like that?" Vortimer asked.


    "I have good eyes. I can see that he is telling nothing but truth."


    Rayanor''s masked face remained impassive, yet his voice carried a solemn tone. "Defeating Zelthrax will be a task of monumental difficulty. Her mastery over dark energies and the fabric of space itself makes her a near-insurmountable foe. We must be prepared for significant sacrifices and multiple failures before we can even hope to gain an advantage."


    Aldred''s jaw tightened. He was no stranger to the harsh realities of war, but the stakes seemed higher than ever. "Sacrifices," he echoed.


    "Are you suggesting that we will lose many lives in this endeavor?"

 Chapter 740 740 Luring The Demon

    Chapter 740  740 Luring The Demon


    ??740  Chapter 740 Luring The Demon


    "Regrettably, yes," Rayanor replied. "Zelthrax''s powers are not only destructive but also unpredictable. She can create rifts in reality, summoning forces that are beyond our control or understanding. Each encounter with her could be a potential catastrophe."


    Aldred leaned forward, his hands sped. "Then we must strategize carefully. We cannot rush into this blindly. We need a n that minimizes our losses while maximizing our chances of sess."


    Rayanor nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We must also explore unconventional methods. Traditional warfare will not suffice against a being like Zelthrax. We need to delve into research, perhaps even forbidden knowledge, to stand a chance."


    Aldred''s eyes flickered with a determined me. "Then we shall embark on this path. No stone will be left unturned in our pursuit for a solution. We will gather our best minds, our most powerful magicians, and our most advanced technology. Your guidance will be crucial in this endeavor, Rayanor."


    "I will assist in any way I can. My only goal is to see the end of Zelthrax''s reign of terror. First, let me tell you about some of her weakness."


    Rayanor raised one finger. "Even though she has the power to manipte the fabric of reality, she actually cannot use teleportation abilities so easily. Her power is simply too strong even for her. If she isn''t careful, she will be ripped apart by her own strength."


    "What''s the parameter for this?"


    "Right after she attacked, the power within her will be in turnmoil and almost uncontrble. This is the window when she cannot move, however, her attack would be a lot more devastating and this intensify after each attack."


    Aldred nodded. "After she attacked, Zelthrax did not move from her spot or chase my forces."


    "Second. She is actually extremely fragile. Even an ordinary bullet can kill her. However, she can manipte space around her to create a defensive field. That''s the tricky part."


    "Tell me about your encounter."


    "I have encountered her for about six times. Half of those times I almost got her killed, but she had too many guards and I only got myself."


    "You try to assassinate her alone?" Aldred frowned. This man was too crazy.


    Rayanor nodded solemnly. "Yes, I acted alone. Each time I got close, her defenses or her minions foiled my ns. It''s a testament to her strength and cunning."


    "How are you not dead?"


    "Zelthrax power actually isn''t as devastating in close range and it''s easier to dodge. However, the longer the range, the more destructive her attack bes. I believe this is a safety mechanism to prevent her power from destroying her. So the closer you are to her, the safer you are."


    Aldred processed Rayanor''s words, his mind racing with strategic implications. "So, the key to defeating Zelthrax lies in close-quarters engagement. We need to bypass her ranged devastation and strike when she''s vulnerable."


    Rayanor nodded. "Correct. But reaching her will be a monumental task. She''s well-guarded, and her spatial maniption makes direct assault nearly impossible. Your approach needs to be stealthy and precise."


    Aldred leaned against themand console, deep in thought. "Stealth and precision," he repeated. "We''ll need a specialized team. Soldiers who can move undetected and strike with lethal uracy. Shinari and her shadows might be our best bet."


    "Agreed," Rayanor said. "But we must also consider Zelthrax''s unpredictable nature. We should have contingencies for every possible scenario."


    Aldred nodded, a n forming in his mind. "We''ll prepare multiple strike teams, each with a different approach. While Shinari''s shadows work on the stealthy infiltration, we''ll have other teams ready to exploit any opening Zelthrax might inadvertently provide."


    Rayanor''s eyes glinted behind his mask. "I''ll lead one of the teams. My knowledge of her tactics will be crucial."


    "There are a few people on my list that is suitable for this mission. Shinari and Quantum. Both of them have higher chance of eliminating Zelthrax."


    "It won''t be easy. Not to mention we don''t know her current location," Rayanor said.


    "I know. We will send people to attack every demon vessels. Sooner orter, Zelthrax wille out on her own."


    As billions of Celestial toon ships set forth across the gxy, the scale of their operation was unprecedented. Each vessel, brimming with thetest technology and weaponry, embarked on a singr mission: to hunt down and eliminate the demonic vessels that lurked in the depths of space. Under Aldred''s directive, the fleet spread out across various regions, forming a massive to trap their elusive enemies.


    The heart of their sessy in Vortimer''s advanced radar technology, which had been integrated into the fleet''s systems. This potent tool rendered the demons'' cloaking mechanisms ineffective, revealing their ships against the backdrop of the cosmos. With this advantage, the Celestial toon could execute precise and deadly ambushes, taking the demons by surprise.


    Their strategy was simple yet effective. The toon''s ships, often lying in wait near strategic points like asteroid fields or nebs, would spring their traps as soon as a demonic vessel was detected. The element of surprise,bined with their superior firepower, allowed them to decimate demon armadas without sustaining significant losses.


    This series of victorious engagements boosted the morale of the Celestial toon. Stories of their triumphs spread like wildfire across the ranks, fueling their determination to end the demonic threat once and for all.


    Meanwhile, back at themand center, Aldred and Rayanor analyzed the reportsing in from various sectors. Despite their victories, there was still no sign of Zelthrax. Aldred knew that it was only a matter of time before she revealed herself, either to counterattack or to protect her dwindling forces.


    "We must maintain pressure," Aldred said, his eyes scanning the star map. "Zelthrax will have to respond eventually. We need to be ready when she does."


    Rayanor nodded in agreement. "Her pride won''t allow her to watch her forces being decimated without intervening. We should prepare for a confrontation."


    Shinari, Quantum, Rayanor, Vortimer, and Aldred waited with bated breath.


    Suddenly, one of the armada detected an extreme amount of the Celestial toon. Stories of their triumphs spread like wildfire across the ranks, fueling their determination to end the

 Chapter 741 741 Attacking

    Chapter 741  741 Attacking


    ??741  Chapter 741 Attacking


    The vastness of space around the Orion Neb became a spectacle of chaos and power as Zelthrax, the Riftweaver, emerged amidst the wreckage of her demonic fleet. Her presence was like a dark star, radiating cold, malevolent energy that twisted the very fabric of space around her. She floated in the void, a solitary figure of immense power, her face etched with a chilling, emotionless expression.


    The captains of the Celestial toon''s armada, recognizing the imminent threat, issued urgentmands. "Scatter!" The order resonated through them systems, and the toon''s ships instantly dispersed in every direction, moving away from the epicenter of Zelthrax''s power.


    Zelthrax''s eyes, glowing with an unnatural light, focused on the scattering ships. With a mere gesture, she conjured a massive ball of dark, pulsating energy, hurling it into the midst of the Celestial toon''s fleet. The energy sphere expanded rapidly, engulfing thousands of ships in a blinding explosion. The void of space was momentarily illuminated with the light of their destruction, silent but devastating.


    In themand chamber, Aldred watched the scene unfold with grim determination. "Now!" he shouted, his voice a beacon ofmand amidst the chaos. In an instant, he activated a teleportation device, sending Shinari, Smander, Cleome, Vortimer, and Quantum directly into the heart of the battlefield, near Zelthrax.


    Zelthrax turned her gaze towards the newly arrived adversaries, a flicker of recognition - or perhaps amusement - crossing her features. She raised her hands, preparing to unleash another devastating attack.


    But Aldred had chosen his team well. Each member was a master of their craft, and they had a n.


    Shinari melted into the shadows, her form bing one with the darkness before suddenly appearing in front of Zelthrax and attacked her, cancelling her attack.


    As she darted towards Zelthrax, she became a blur, her movements unpredictable and ghost-like, aimed at disorienting the demonic adversary.


    Smander activated a device strapped to his arm. It emitted a pulsating electromaic field, designed to disrupt Zelthrax''s spatial maniptions. The device projected awork of glowing runes in the space around them, creating a protective bubble that distorted the air with its energy.


    Cleome, her hands crackling with arcs of raw electrical power, unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts. The bolts arced through space with a thunderous roar, each strike a spectacle of blinding light and power. The electricity didn''t aim to harm Zelthrax directly but to overload her senses and break her concentration, making her spatial control falter.


    Vortimer, the sentinel of steel and circuits, raised his arm, transforming it into a high-energy sma cannon. The cannon glowed with a deep blue hue, pulsating with the power of a contained star. With calcted precision, Vortimer fired at Zelthrax, the sma bolts tearing through space, each shot designed to weaken her defensive field.


    Quantum, enigmatic and silent, held a spear that hummed with quantum energy, its tip osciting between different states of reality. With every thrust and swing, he created miniature quantum tunnels, allowing him to bypass the fabric of space and appear at different points around Zelthrax, his attacks unpredictable and swift.


    Zelthrax, amidst this onught, showed signs of strain. Her face, usually an emotionless mask, contorted with a mix of surprise and rage. She was not ustomed to being on the defensive. Her hands moved in arcane gestures, attempting to weave her reality-bending magic, but thebined assault of Aldred''s team disrupted her focus.


    She let out a scream of frustration as her usual reality distortions started to fail, her control slipping. The air around her crackled with dark energy, but the relentless attacks from the team kept her from forming her devastating attacks.


    In the midst of the chaotic battle near the Orion Neb, Zelthrax''s true might was unleashed in a fearsome disy of her dark powers. The space around her pulsated with a malevolent force as she channeled her energy into a catastrophic burst. The shockwave radiated outwards, striking each member of Aldred''s elite team with brutal force.


    Shinari, agile and swift, was caught off-guard. The energy st hit her with such intensity that her right arm snapped with an audible crack. She reeled back in agony, her arm hanging limply at her side, a stark contrast to her usually wlessbat form.


    "Fuck!"


    Cleome, witnessing Shinari''s injury, felt a surge of horror and concern. She had always admired Shinari''s prowess and seeing her so grievously hurt shook her to the core. Her own body ached from the st, but she pushed through the pain, her eyes fixed on Zelthrax with a mix of fear and determination.


    Zelthrax, seizing the moment of disarray, summoned a massive ball of dark purplish energy high above her.


    "Everyone, watch out!" Aldred warned.


    The energy sphere throbbed with a terrifying power, its presence oppressive and overwhelming. It felt as if the very gravity of a hundreds was concentrated in that single point, bearing down on them with an unbearable weight. The team members grunted in pain, feeling their bodies being crushed under the immense pressure.


    Suddenly, with a cataclysmic shudder, the energy ball shattered, releasing a wave of raw power that swept through space like a supernova.


    The explosion sent each member of the team hurtling backwards, their bodies rag-dolled by the sheer force of the st. They tumbled through the void, each one struggling to regain control as they were thrown away from the epicenter.


    In the midst of the chaos, Zelthrax seized her chance. With a swift movement, she disappeared into a rift she created, escaping from the battlefield. Her departure left behind a trail of dark energy, a haunting reminder of her terrifying power.


    Aldred''s team, battered and bruised, could only watch helplessly as Zelthrax made her escape.


    Shinari clutched her broken arm, gritting her teeth against the searing pain. Cleome, still reeling from the shockwave, tried to steady herself, her mind racing with concern for her fallenrades.


    Vortimer, his circuitry flickering from the st, scanned the area, his sensors seeking any trace of Zelthrax. Quantum, despite being thrown back, quickly recalibrated, his quantum spear still firmly in his grasp.


    In the aftermath of the devastating encounter with Zelthrax, Aldred''s elite team regrouped amidst the debris of their shattered armada. The chaos of the battle had taken its toll, leaving them not only physically battered but also grappling with the weight of their defeat.


    Shinari, cradling her broken arm, winced with every movement. "We underestimated her," she hissed through clenched teeth, her usual stoic demeanor giving way to frustration. "We need to rethink our strategy."


    Cleome, hovering beside Shinari, her face etched with concern, nced over the remnants of the fleet. "Our losses are substantial. We pushed too hard, too fast."


    Vortimer, his robotic frame scarred and dented from the battle, analyzed the data shing across his internal screens. "The damage to the fleet is severe. We''re at a tactical disadvantage if we engage now."


    Quantum, silent as always, stood like a sentinel, his spear deactivated but still in his grip. His presence was a calming force amid the turmoil.


    Aldred, observing the scene, felt a deep sense of responsibility. "We retreat," he dered, his voice resonant withmand yet tinged with regret. "We need to recover and reassess. Zelthrax is more formidable than we anticipated."


    Rayanor, the Demon Hunter, nodded in agreement. "This was a hard lesson. Zelthrax''s abilities are beyond what we''ve faced before. We need a new approach."


    Aldred looked at his own hand. He had grown immensely since a few years ago. He even thought that there wouldn''t be anyone that can defeat him. But a simple demon admiral already made him struggle. "This is uneptable."


    He then looked at Vortimer. "If it was your real form, can you defeat her?"


    "Easily," Vortimer replied. "However, I won''t show my true form yet. I am keeping it for Malgorth."


    Lord Malgorth. How powerful was this demon if his subordinate was this powerful.


    As they made their way back to theirmand ship, the reality of their situation sank in. The encounter with Zelthrax had been a harsh awakening to the true nature of their enemy. It was clear that their conventional tactics were insufficient against such a powerful adversary.


    Back on themand ship, Aldred convened a debriefing. The room was filled with the top brass of the Celestial toon, their faces grim with the realization of the challenge ahead.


    "We faced an enemy unlike any other," Aldred began, his voice steady. "Zelthrax''s control over reality itself makes her a threat on a scale we''ve never seen. Our usual tactics won''t work. We need innovation, creativity¡­ something unexpected."


    Shinari, her arm now in a makeshift splint, added, "Her ability to manipte space caught us off guard. We need countermeasures, ways to disrupt her control."


    Smander chimed in, "I''ll work on developing tech that can counter spatial maniption. But it''ll take time and resources."


    Cleome suggested, "What about leveraging the magicians? Maybe there''s a way to use arcane magic to our advantage."


    Vortimer''s systems whirred as he processed the suggestions. "Abination of magic and technology could indeed prove effective. I will assist Smander in this endeavor."


    "Using the magicians will do nothing. They will simply die," Aldred said. Sighing, he then added: "There is no choice. I will learn and train to find a way to defeat her."


    His eyes glinted. "Don''t worry. Next time, she will surely die."

 Chapter 742 742 Reading Books

    Chapter 742  742 Reading Books


    ??742  Chapter 742 Reading Books


    In his relentless pursuit to defeat Zelthrax, Aldred immersed himself in the study of magic, scouring through digital archives and ancient texts for anything that could rival the Riftweaver''s dark powers. His quest, however, seemed futile. The magic in the databases and e-books felt rudimentary,cking the depth and potency necessary to counter Zelthrax''s reality-warping abilities.


    Frustration mounted as Aldred sifted through yet another digital manuscript, finding nothing but basic incantations and theoretical concepts. "These are child''s ypared to what she can do," he muttered, closing the holographic disy with a swipe of his hand.


    "You won''t find anything worthwhile in those," Rayanor''s voice cut through Aldred''s brooding thoughts. "The truly valuable magic isn''t stored in databases or encoded in technology. It''s preserved in ancient, physical texts, often hidden or guarded."


    Aldred turned to face Rayanor, his interest piqued. "Where can I find these papers? I need to learn something that can match her power."


    Rayanor chuckled softly, a smile ying beneath his mask. He reached into his windbreaker, pulling out an old, thick tome bound in worn leather. The book exuded an aura of age and mystery. "I''ve spent years studying magic to defeat Zelthrax. I''ve read countless tomes on spatial magic. But this one," he said, handing the book to Aldred, "is probably the mostprehensive. Have a read. Maybe you''ll find what I did not."


    Aldred took the book, feeling its weight and the texture of its cover. He opened it cautiously, revealing pages filled with intricate symbols, diagrams, and ancient script. The text seemed to dance before his eyes, alive with a power he had never felt before.


    "This is¡­ incredible," Aldred whispered, his eyes scanning the pages with growing excitement. The book contained detailed exnations of advanced spatial magic, theories of reality maniption, and ounts of battles with beings from other dimensions.


    Rayanor watched Aldred, his expression unreadable behind the mask. "It''s a difficult path, Aldred. The magic in that book isplex and dangerous. It''s not something one masters overnight."


    "I am finished."


    "It will probably take you yea¡ªwhat did you say?"


    "I finished reading the book."


    "But you just opened it."


    "It''s my special ability."


    "Bullshit. Let me ask you some questions."


    Rayanor eyed Aldred skeptically. "Alright, let''s start with the basics. What''s the title of the book, and who''s the author?"


    Aldred didn''t hesitate. "It''s titled ''Arcanum of Spatial Realms'' by Master Elothar. He was a renowned mage from the Silver Era, specializing in spatial dimensions."


    Impressed but not yet convinced, Rayanor raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Tell me about the principle of ''Nexial Binding'' discussed in chapter seven."


    "Ah, the Nexial Binding," Aldred responded with ease. "It''s a theory that posttes the existence of nexial threads that connect various points in space, allowing for maniption of distances and matter discement. Elothar argued it could be harnessed to create wormholes, but he also warned of the potential dangers of copsing spatial dimensions."


    Rayanor was taken aback by the uracy of Aldred''s response but pushed further. "Okay, then exin the discrepancy in the form of ''Dimensional Resonance'' he mentions in the appendix."


    Aldred smiled faintly. "Elothar made a fundamental error in assuming that dimensional frequencies are constant. He overlooked the variable nature of these frequencies, especially under the influence of dark energy. His calctions failed to ount for the flux in spatial fabric, making his form iplete."


    Rayanor''s eyes widened in disbelief. It took him years to read the book and understand its content. "Not only do you fullyprehend the book, but you''ve also found its mistakes."


    Aldred chuckled, a hint of pride in his voice. "I can tell you every grammatical and spelling error in this book if you want me to."


    Rayanor shook his head, a mix of awe and respect evident in his tone. "No, that won''t be necessary. I''m more than convinced. You have a remarkable ability, Aldred. With this knowledge, we might stand a chance against Zelthrax."


    "Not enough," Aldred said. "I have been too reliant on my physical prowess and the art of de that I forgotten about my magical capabilities. Unused skills bes dull. I will need more books like that, Rayanor. Give me everything you have."


    Rayanor, observing Aldred''s intense determination and unwavering focus, delved back into his windbreaker, producing several more ancient tomes. Each book he handed over seemed older and more mysterious than thest. "These are the texts I''ve collected over the years. They delve deeper into the secrets of spatial magic."


    As he passed each book to Aldred, Rayanor read out their titles. "This one is ''The Vortex Codex,'' and here''s ''Echoes of the Void''. Each contains knowledge that could be crucial in our fight."


    Aldred nodded in appreciation, his eyes scanning the covers and feeling the ancient magic pulsating from within. He was about to delve into the first book when he paused and activated hismunicator. "Shuzib, I need your assistance. Bring me everything you have on spatial magic."


    Within moments, Shuzib, the schr of the Celestial toon, arrived, his armsden with stacks of weathered books. "Commander Aldred," he greeted, cing the piles on a nearby table. "These are the books I''ve collected during our two years of ascendancy. I''ve also included some texts on pyromancy, considering your affinity for me."


    Aldred approached the table, his eyes widening at the sight of the treasure trove of knowledge. "Excellent work, Shuzib."


    Without hesitation, Aldred began to absorb the contents of each book, his eyes moving rapidly across the pages. The process was astonishing to witness - the way he consumed entire volumes in mere seconds, his mind absorbingplex theories and ancient spells like a parched desert soaking up rain.


    Shuzib watched Aldred''s process with a knowing smile. He was one of the few who knew about Aldred''s extraordinary ability, having been granted a simr power by Aldred himself. However, he chose to keep this information private, not wishing to distract from the task at hand.


    Rayanor observed in silence, his respect for Aldred growing with each passing moment. The Demon Hunter realized that with Aldred''s capabilities and theirbined knowledge, they might just have a fighting chance against Zelthrax.


    After several minutes, Aldred finished thest book, his expression one of deep contemtion. "These texts have opened new horizons for me. The principles of spatial maniption, the nuances of interdimensional theory¡­ We can use this."


    Shuzib nodded. "Knowledge is power, especially against an adversary like Zelthrax. But theory is one thing; applying it is another."


    Aldred raised his hand and then a spatial anomaly appeared atop his palm. A small range of space contorted and distorted before turning into a small ck hole that distort time. Aldred grabbed an apple and threw it into the small ckhole, it vanished immediately.


    Aldred manipted the ckhole, spinning it in certain way and them threw another apple. This time the apple rotated around the ck hole before it quickly rotting away.


    Shuzib frowned. "That apple shouldn''t be rotten. It''s aging should be slowed."


    "That''s what a normal ck hole would do," Aldred said.


    Aldred''s mastery over the newfound spatial magic left Rayanor in a state of stunned awe. With each disy of Aldred''s burgeoning powers, Rayanor''s disbelief turned into a profound respect for themander''s capabilities.


    Aldred, his focus unwavering, continued to experiment with the spatial anomalies, his hands shaping and bending the fabric of space with an ease that defied belief. He conjured a series of warping fields, each distorting the air and light around them in mesmerizing patterns.


    "Watch this," Aldred said, his voice steady with concentration. He extended his hand, and a shimmering portal materialized in the air. Reaching through, he pulled out an object from seemingly nowhere ¨C a radiant, crystalline orb that pulsed with energy.


    Rayanor stepped closer, his curiosity piqued. "Where did you get that from?"


    Aldred smiled. "A different point in space. I''m learning to navigate the spatial nes. It''s like reaching into another room without leaving this one."


    Rayanor shook his head in disbelief. "Incredible. You''ve not only learned the theory but have mastered its practical application in mere hours."


    Aldred nodded, a sense of determination in his eyes. "Now, for something more challenging." Concentrating deeply, he began to manipte the space around a small area,pressing and expanding it. Suddenly, the air vibrated, and a small burst of energy erupted, emitting a low hum.


    Shuzib, observing the experiments, chimed in, "That''s a localized spatialpression. If controlled correctly, it could have numerous applications."


    Aldred manipted thepression, and the hum intensified, causing the objects nearby to vibrate. "Imagine using this on Zelthrax," he mused. "Disrupting her control over her surroundings."


    Rayanor nodded, a n forming in his mind. "Combine that with a coordinated attack, and we might just have the upper hand."


    Aldred released thepression, and the room settled back to normal. "We need to train rigorously. These powers are potent but require precise control. Any miscalction could be catastrophic."


    Rayanor agreed, "Let''s set up a training schedule. We''ll need to be at our best if we''re to face Zelthrax again."

 Chapter 743 743 Training

    Chapter 743   743 Training


    ??743  Chapter 743 Training


    The scene was set against the backdrop of a towering mountain, its peak piercing the sky, a testament to nature''s grandeur. Aldred stood at its base, a solitary figure dwarfed by the colossal structure. His eyes were focused, reflecting a deep concentration as he prepared to test the limits of his newly acquired spatial magic.


    Rayanor and Shuzib stood a safe distance away, their eyes fixed on Aldred and the mountain. The air was thick with anticipation.


    Aldred inhaled deeply, his mind resonating with the intricate knowledge he had absorbed. He extended his hands towards the mountain, his palms facing the massive rock formation. Slowly, he began to weave the fabric of space, manipting the reality around the mountain.


    The air around the mountain started to shimmer, like heat rising off hot pavement. Gradually, the base of the mountain began to blur, the lines of reality warping and bending. Aldred''s body tensed, his focus unwavering as he channeled more energy into the spell.


    Rayanor watched in disbelief. "Is he really going to¡­?"


    Shuzib, equally astounded, could barely find the words. "If he does this, it changes everything we know about magic and its capabilities."


    As they watched, the mountain started to dissolve, like a mirage fading away. The massive structure seemed to be swallowed by an invisible force, disappearing bit by bit until nothing remained but a clear view of the horizon where it once stood.


    Aldred, his energy spent, lowered his hands and took a step back, panting slightly. The mountain had vanished entirely, leaving no trace behind.


    Rayanor was the first to break the silence. "By the stars¡­ Aldred, you just made an entire mountain disappear!"


    Shuzib, still in shock, added, "This¡­ this is beyond spatial maniption. You''ve actually altered reality on a massive scale."


    Nearby, a group of locals who had been enjoying the scenic view were now staring in disbelief at the empty space where the mountain once stood. Murmurs and gasps filled the air as they tried toprehend what had just happened.


    One local, an old man with a weathered face, spoke up, his voice trembling with awe. "The mountain¡­ it''s gone. How? Is this a miracle?"


    Aldred, regaining hisposure, turned to face Rayanor and Shuzib. "This won''t be enough to defeat her. I need to train more."


    Aldred, his gaze lingering on the void where the mountain once stood, turned to hispanions, his expression one of solemn resolve.


    "I need to focus and meditate here for a while," he announced. "The depth of this magic is more profound than I imagined. I must understand itpletely to ensure our victory against Zelthrax."


    Rayanor, nodding in agreement, replied, "I''ll continue the search for more ancient texts. There might be other lost arts of spatial and gravity magic that can aid us." His voice carried a tone of determination, understanding the gravity of their quest.


    Shuzib, ever the strategist, added, "I''ll assist Rayanor in his search. And I''ll arrange for a contingent of Celestial toon guards to patrol the area. We can''t afford any interruptions or threats while you''re in meditation."


    Aldred nodded his gratitude. "Thank you, both. Your efforts are invaluable." He then turned and walked a few paces away, finding a serene spot where the energy of the felt strongest.


    As Aldred sat down, crossing his legs in a meditative posture, Rayanor and Shuzib began their respective tasks, leaving him in solitude.


    The air around Aldred began to shimmer with a subtle energy, the fabric of space bending and twisting in response to his deep concentration.


    Hours turned into days, and Aldred remained in his meditative state, unmoving like a statue.


    Around him, thendscape began to warp and fluctuate. Small objects levitated off the ground, orbiting him like satellites. The ground beneath him pulsed with a rhythm, echoing the cadence of his deepening understanding.


    However, as Aldred delved deeper into theplexities of spatial and gravitational magic, he realized the monumental challenge he faced. The knowledge he had absorbed was abyrinth of theories and practices, each more intricate than thest.


    "It''s like navigating a maze within a maze," he murmured to himself. "Every answer leads to more questions."


    One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and purple, Aldred opened his eyes briefly. He could feel his power growing, his control over spatial magic bing more refined, yet theplete mastery he sought seemed just out of reach.


    "Thews of space and gravity¡­ they''re interconnected in ways I never imagined," he pondered aloud. "To bend space is to influence gravity, and vice versa. But there''s a harmony to it, a delicate bnce that must be maintained."


    As he resumed his meditation, the anomalies around him grew more pronounced. Small vortexes appeared, swirling with a quiet hum. Pebbles and leaves danced in the air, tracing patterns of invisible forces at y.


    Meanwhile, Rayanor and Shuzib continued their quest, scouring ancient libraries and consulting with schrs and mages.


    They sent regr reports back to Aldred, each new discovery adding pieces to the puzzle.


    One night, as Aldred reached a new depth of meditation, a profound realization dawned upon him. The knowledge he sought wasn''t just in understanding spatial magic as a tool or weapon; it was about understanding its role in the fabric of the universe, its rtionship with all things.


    With this newfound insight, Aldred felt a shift in his perception.


    The anomalies around him calmed, settling into a harmonious flow. He knew then that he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.


    As Aldred''s meditation reached a crescendo, his understanding of spatial and gravitational magic culminated in a moment of daring experimentation. With deliberate and intricate hand gestures, he began to weave an borate spell, the air around him crackling with unseen energies. His eyes, now glowing with an otherworldly light, were fixed on the distant star that illuminated the.


    In a sudden burst of power, the star began to warp and distort. It was a breathtaking spectacle, as the celestial body, billions of years old, started to copse inward, its light bending and twisting. Within moments, where once there was a star, nowy a rapidly forming ck hole, its event horizon a dark, foreboding ring in the heavens.


    Aldred''s triumph, however, was short-lived as he realized the gravity of his mistake. The they were on, with its teeming human poption, depended on that star for life. Panic set in as he understood the consequences of his actions.


    "By the gods, what have I done?" he whispered in horror. He had eight minutes - the time it took for the star''s light to reach the - to reverse the cataclysmic change he had caused.


    Around him, members of the Celestial toon, patrolling the area, noticed the abrupt disappearance of the sun. rms red, and chaos ensued as they scrambled to understand the sudden shift from day to night.


    "Commander, the star¡­ it''s gone!" one of the guards radioed in a panic. "We''re detecting massive gravitational fluctuations. It''s a ck hole!"


    Aldred, his mind racing, focused all his newly acquired knowledge and power into a single, desperate effort. With shaking hands, he began to reverse the spell, attempting to reforge the ck hole back into a star. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled against the unfathomable forces he had unleashed.


    Rayanor and Shuzib, realizing the dire situation, rushed to Aldred''s side. "Aldred, what happened?" Rayanor shouted over the growing wind caused by the ck hole''s gravitational pull.


    "I¡­ I made a mistake. I''m trying to fix it," Aldred gasped, his voice strained under the effort.


    Shuzib, his face pale, added, "You have less than eight minutes before the effects reach the''s surface!"


    Aldred''s hands moved faster, tracingplex symbols in the air, his incantations growing more fervent. The ck hole began to fluctuate, its dark heart pulsing as Aldred fought to reshape it.


    On the, people looked up at the sky in confusion and fear, witnessing the impossible - their sun, a constant in their lives, had vanished, reced by a dark void.


    In themand ship orbiting the, orders were barked as the crew prepared for emergency evacuation procedures. "Prepare all ships for immediateunch. We need to evacuate the''s inhabitants!"


    Back on the ground, Aldred''s efforts were reaching a critical point. The ck hole shuddered, its darkness flickering. Beads of light started to emerge from its depths, growing brighter and more intense.


    With a final, desperate push of his will, Aldred released the spell. The ck hole erupted in a blinding sh of light, its dark core unravelling and reforming into the familiar warm glow of a star.


    Exhausted, Aldred copsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Not because he ran out of stamina or mana but because he was holding his breath the whole time. He almost killed a lot of innocent people after all.


    ''When did I be this caring to people I don''t know?''


    The star shone brightly once again in the sky, its light bathing the in its life-giving radiance.


    Rayanor and Shuzib rushed to Aldred''s side, hel

 Chapter 744 744 Uninvited Guest

    Chapter 744  744 Uninvited Guest


    ??744  Chapter 744 Uninvited Guest


    "No. I almost destroyed it," Aldred said.


    As Aldred steadied himself, leaning heavily on Rayanor and Shuzib for support, his mind was awash with introspection. The weight of what he had nearly done ¨C the annihtion of an entire ¨C was a stark reminder of the immense responsibility that came with wielding such extraordinary power. He realized that with every action, there was a potential for irreversible consequences.


    "I must learn to control this power, not just wield it," Aldred murmured, his voice tinged with a newfound solemnity. "Next time, I might not be able to fix what I break."


    Rayanor nodded in agreement, a serious look in his eyes. "Power like this¡­ it''s a double-edged sword. Be cautious, Aldred."


    Shuzib added, "Your intentions are noble, but the path you tread is perilous. Remember, with great poweres great responsibility."


    "That''s such a clique thing to say. But yeah." Aldred looked up at the restored star, its light now a symbol of both his potential and his limitations. "I will remember this lesson," he vowed quietly.


    Meanwhile, in a bustling pub located in a distant system, Francus and Grigor sat at a corner table, their faces lit by the dim glow of the establishment''s vintage lighting. The atmosphere was filled with the murmur of conversations and the clinking of sses, a stark contrast to the tension and battles they faced in the war against the demons.


    Grigor took a sip of his drink, his gaze distant. "Zelthrax¡­ she''s unlike any foe we''ve faced. Our strategies need to evolve."


    Francus nodded, swirling his drink contemtively. "Agreed. It''s not just about firepower anymore. It''s about understanding the enemy, anticipating her moves."


    Their conversation was interrupted as a mercenary from the Celestial toon entered the pub. The man, d in armor marked with the insignia of the toon, approached Francus and Grigor with a respectful nod.


    "Commanders Francus and Grigor," the mercenary greeted, pulling up a chair. "I heard about the supply transport mission. I''m sorry for your loss. Losing allies is never easy."


    The mercenary was called Rael. He was actually a very powerfulbatant in Celestial toon. One time, after his squad was massacred he protected an entire city on his own.


    Francus offered a grim smile. "Thank you. It''s part of the job, but it doesn''t make it any easier. How''s your squad holding up?"


    The mercenary sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We''re managing The mercenary sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We''re managing. The front lines are tough, but we''re holding our ground. Hearing about Aldred''s feats gives us hope, though. If anyone can turn the tide, it''s him."


    Grigor raised an eyebrow. "You believe in him that much?" He said that but Grigor believed in Aldred the most.


    The mercenary nodded earnestly. "After what he did on the Orion Neb? Absolutely. The man''s a legend."


    Francus let out a low chuckle. "I suppose he is. But even legends have their limits. Let''s hope he finds a way to beat Zelthrax without crossing his own."


    In the dimly lit pub, the clinking of sses and low hum of conversations created a backdrop to the earnest discussion at Francus and Grigor''s table. The mercenary, momentarily distracted by a call from across the room, turned and acknowledged the shout with a nod and a brief wave.


    "Hey, Rael! Keep up the good work out there," shouted a fellow patron, raising his ss in salute.


    Rael, the mercenary, offered a quick, acknowledging smile before turning his attention back to Francus and Grigor. "Sorry about that. So, what do you think our boss will do next? From what I can tell, the boss doesn''t like to waste lives."


    Francus leaned back, his expression thoughtful. "He''s growing his power, delving into spatial magic. I don''t know the specifics, but Aldred''s never been one to take unnecessary risks. He understands the cost of war."


    Grigor, swirling his drink, added, "Aldred''s always been about precision and strategy. Even with his new abilities, I doubt he''ll stray from that. He knows what''s at stake."


    Rael nodded, his gaze shifting between the twomanders. "Yeah, the boss has always been different. He doesn''t just fight; he thinks, he ns. But spatial magic, that''s a whole new level of warfare."


    Francus''s face showed a mix of concern and admiration. "It is. But if there''s anyone who can master such aplex art and use it effectively, it''s Aldred. He has a way of surprising everyone."


    Grigor''s expression hardened slightly. "True, but I hope he remembers he''s not invincible. Powerful magic like that can be as dangerous to the wielder as it is to the enemy."


    The conversation was interrupted as the bartender approached with a fresh round of drinks. "On the house, for the heroes of the Celestial toon," he said with a respectful nod.


    Rael raised his ss, "To the toon, and to Aldred. May our efforts bring peace to the gxy."


    The trio clinked their sses, each lost in their own thoughts about the future.


    The clinking of sses and low chatter in the pub was abruptly shattered by the piercing wail of an rm. The sound jolted everyone to attention, a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of war. A robotic voice echoed throughout the city, its message clear and urgent: "All mercenaries, prepare for battle. Immediate threat detected."


    Francus, Grigor, and Rael exchanged quick, knowing nces before springing into action. They left their drinks untouched and hastened out of the pub, joining the wave of soldiers and mercenaries pouring into the streets.


    As they emerged, they looked up to the sky, witnessing an rming sight. Countless demonic ships, materializing out of nowhere, darkened the skies. Their ominous silhouettes cast a foreboding shadow over the city.


    "How did they sneak past our radar?" Grigor eximed, his voiceced with disbelief and anger. He clenched his fists, feeling a mix of dread and readiness for the imminent battle.


    Francus, squinting at the sky, replied tersely, "They must have found a way to mask their approach. This is bad."


    Rael, his hand instinctively going to the weapon at his side, muttered, "We need to get to our posts. This looks like a full-


    scale invasion."


    The trio hurried towards their designatedbat stations, their strides purposeful amidst the chaos erupting around them. Soldiers and mercenaries were scrambling to their positions, the city transforming into a warzone within moments.


    As they neared the city''s defensive perimeter, a massive shadow loomed over them. They looked up to see a humongous demonic ship descending, its size dwarfing the others. It was like nothing they had seen before ¨C a behemoth bristling with weapons and emanating a palpable sense of dread.


    "By the gods¡­" Francus breathed, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear.


    Grigor, gripping his weapon tighter, added, "That''s no ordinary ship. It''s a gship. We''re in for a fight unlike any other."


    Rael, his face set in a grim expression, nodded in agreement. "Let''s give them hell. For the toon, for Aldred, for the gxy!"


    Suddenly, a powerful pressure swept over them. The trio clenched their jaw as they craned their neck to the sky.


    There, a humongous demonic ship flickered, its arsenals already prepared to fire.

 Chapter 745 745 Show Them Hell

    <h4>Chapter 745 Chapter 745 Show Them Hell</h4>


    ?745 Chapter 745 Show Them Hell


    The sudden re of rms and the echoing robotic voice propelled Francus, Grigor, and Rael into immediate action. They swiftly exited the pub, their rxed demeanor reced by the intense focus of seasonedmanders. The streets outside were in chaos, with soldiers and mercenaries scrambling to their positions as the city transformed into a buzzing warzone.


    Francus quickly took charge, his voice authoritative as he barked orders. "Form up! Defensive positions! We need to hold the line!" His gaze was fixed on the sky, where the demonic ships loomed like a dark omen.


    Grigor, alongside him, was coordinating the troops through hismunicator. "Echo squad, take nk positions! Delta team, man the anti-aircraft turrets!" His voice was calm but firm, a stark contrast to the panic around them.


    Rael, his eyes scanning the skies, readied his weapon. "We''ve trained for this, now''s the time to show what we''re made of!"


    The trio watched as the massive demonic gship, a colossal behemoth of war, began powering up its formidable weapons. A deep, ominous whirring sound filled the air, heralding the impending attack.


    But as the gship unleashed a blinding burst of light, aimed directly at the heart of the city, Francus, Grigor, and Rael shared a knowing grin. A powerful barrier, shimmering with energy, materialized in the sky, intercepting the attack with ease. The light from the demonic weapon sshed harmlessly against the barrier, diffusing into a cascade of harmless sparks.


    Francusughed heartily, a rare sound amidst the tension. "They think they can take us down that easily? Not on my watch!" His confidence was infectious, spreading to the soldiers around him.


    Grigor, still coordinating through hismunicator, added, "Prepare for a counter-attack! Let''s show them the might of the Celestial toon!" His fingers moved rapidly over the device, sending out precise instructions to the various units.


    The smaller demonic ships, realizing their gship''s initial strike had failed, joined the fray. They swarmed around the barrier, unleashing a relentless barrage of missiles and energy beams. The sky was lit up with explosions and bright shes, but the barrier held strong, absorbing the impact of each attack.


    Rael, watching the onught, clenched his jaw. "They''re testing our defenses, looking for a weakness. But they won''t find one."


    Francus nodded, his eyes never leaving the battlefield. "Keep the barrier at full strength. We need to buy time for our countermeasures."


    As the battle against the demonic invasion intensified, the Celestial toon''s counter-attack teams sprang into action. Agile and fearless, they cut through the swarms of enemy ships, their weapons zing trails of destruction. Despite their valiant efforts, the sheer number of demonic ships seemed overwhelming. Demons, notorious for their strategy of overwhelming their enemies with sheer numbers, filled the sky in an almost unending torrent.


    Grigor, surveying the scene, tapped Rael on the shoulder, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of determination and excitement. "Why don''t we go up there and show these demons what real power looks like?"


    Rael turned, his grin matching Grigor''s intensity. "You took the words straight out of my mouth," he replied, his hand gripping his weapon with anticipation.


    Without hesitation, Grigor and Rael geared up, strapping on sleek jet-pack suits designed forbat in the harsh environment of space. The suits, a marvel of engineering, were equipped with life-support systems and advanced weaponry, perfect for zero-gravity warfare.


    They made their way to a massive electroma cannon, thetest in Celestial toon''s arsenal. The cannon, a towering structure, was designed to propel soldiers directly into orbit. Grigor and Rael, along with hundreds of other soldiers d in simr suits, lined up for deployment.


    Grigor, checking his suit''s systems, turned to Rael. "Ready to make a grand entrance?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face.


    Rael, his eyes focused, nodded. "Let''s give them a fight they''ll never forget."


    The cannon hummed with energy, the air crackling around them. One by one, the soldiers wereunched into the sky, their jet-packs igniting as they shot upwards, streaking towards the battlefield in space.


    Grigor and Rael, propelled at breakneck speed, burst through the atmosphere. The transition from to space was seamless, the vast expanse of the cosmos opening up before them. Around them, the sky was a tapestry of warfare ¨C explosions, beams of energy, and the distant roar of battle.


    As they reached the upper atmosphere, their jet-packs stabilized their trajectory, allowing them to maneuver with incredible agility. They joined the fray, moving in unison as they targeted the demonic ships.


    Amidst the chaos of the space battle, Grigor, equipped with his jet-pack suit, was a force to be reckoned with. His movements were precise and deadly, his dual des slicing through the hulls of enemy ships with ease. He moved fluidly from one ship to another, his des cutting through metal and demon alike, targeting their engines and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.


    As he emerged from the wreckage of another downed ship, Grigor''s keen eyes caught sight of a peculiar vessel. Unlike the others, this ship was devoid of visible weaponry, yet it was unleashing powerful energy beams that cut through the toon''s defenses. "There''s something off about that one," Grigor muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes. "Looks like a demon mage is at y here."


    The ship, agile and quick, darted through space, dodging iing fire with unnatural speed. It was clear to Grigor that the demon controlling it was using abination of offensive and defensive magic, making it a significant threat.


    With a determined look, Grigor anticipated the ship''s trajectory and propelled himself towards it. His suit''s thrusters roared as he closed the distance,tching onto the ship''s hull undetected. He swiftly drew his des, carving a neat hole into the metal, and slipped inside.


    The interior of the ship was dimly lit, and the demons inside were caughtpletely off guard by his sudden intrusion. Grigor didn''t hesitate; his des danced in his hands as he engaged the enemy, his movements a blur of speed and precision.


    Demon soldiers tried to swarm him, but they were no match for his skill. He cut them down one after another, his des slicing through their ranks with lethal efficiency.


    As he advanced further into the ship, he encountered the demon mages responsible for the ship''s unusual abilities. They raised their hands, conjuring dark energies to stop him, but Grigor was faster. With swift strikes, he disabled them, cutting off their hands and rendering them powerless.


    One of the mages, his eyes wide with fear, stammered, "You¡­ you can''t be human!"


    Grigor, pausing for a moment, replied coldly, "I''m not just human. I''m a warrior of the Celestial toon. And you picked the wrong to invade." With that, he delivered a final, decisive blow.


    After he was done with the ship, he jumped outside and set his gaze to the enemy gship. Rael was floating a distance away and both of them nodded at the same time.


    "Let''s show them true hell."

 Chapter 746 746 Long Range Battle

    <h4>Chapter 746 Chapter 746 Long Range Battle </h4>


    ?On the battlefield, amidst the chaos of war, Francus stood like a bastion of calm. He hoisted a massive sniper, more akin to an artillery cannon, onto his shoulder with surprising ease. A high-tech screen floated before his eyes, disying zoomed-in views of his targets along with crucial data like speeds, weak points, and trajectories.


    Whistling a tune, Francus peered through the screen, his eyes calcting and focused. He aimed the gigantic sniper, which had more inmon with a high-uracy cannon, and pulled the trigger. The recoil was immense, shaking the ground beneath him and kicking up clouds of dust around him.


    The shell, propelled at a staggering Mach 6, hurtled through the air and struck a demonic ship with pinpoint uracy. On impact, the ship''s hull ruptured, and a momentter, it exploded spectacrly from within.


    Francus chuckled to himself, "4399 kills and counting." His eyes then caught sight of Grigor and Rael, jetting towards the demonic gship. A grin spread across his face. "Time to focus on the big game."


    With a renewed sense of purpose, Francus adjusted the settings on his sniper, targeting the massive gship. He fired round after round, each shot thundering through the air, aimed at weakening the gship''s defenses and creating an opening for Grigor and Rael.


    The shells from Francus''s cannon struck the gship with ferocious power, each impact sending small shockwaves through the demonic vessel. The vessel barely detect his attack because there were so many other ships distracting it.


    "Come on, you two," Francus muttered under his breath, his eyes tracking the progress of Grigor and Rael as they neared the gship. "Just a little closer¡­"


    Grigor and Rael, moving with the agility of seasoned warriors, navigated the debris and chaos of the space battle. They dodged iing fire and debris, their sights set on the gship that Francus was relentlessly bombarding.


    Rael, ncing back at the explosions Francus was creating, shouted over thems, "Nice shooting, Francus! We''re going in!"


    Grigor, his des ready, added, "Keep them busy, we''re about to board that beast!"


    Francus, hearing their voices over them, nodded to himself. "You got it. Covering your approach."


    With a final, well-ced shot, Francus sted arge section of the gship''s hull, creating an opening. He watched as Grigor and Rael seized the opportunity, diving into the breach amidst a shower of sparks and debris.


    "Good luck, you two," Francus said quietly, his gaze still fixed on the gship. "Make it count."


    As he reloaded his cannon, he couldn''t help but feel a surge of pride. Together, they were more than just soldiers; they were the vanguard of hope against the demonic onught.


    Francus, his focus unwavering, shifted his strategy as he targeted the demonic gship''s weapons. The monstrous vessel bristled with armaments, each a threat that needed neutralizing. He squeezed the trigger of his massive sniper, the shots thundering out with the intention of disabling the ship''s offensive capabilities. However, each shot was met with the frustration of encountering formidable energy barriers and thick shields.


    "Stubborn demons," he muttered, his brow furrowing in concentration. The shields were proving to be a significant obstacle, absorbing the impacts with an infuriating resilience.


    In a moment of tactical ingenuity, Francus decided to amplify his offensive. He deployed seven additional giant snipers, each mounted on sturdy tripods and positioned strategically around him. He connected to them remotely, his high-tech screen now aplex control panel for coordinating a symphony of firepower.


    "Let''s see how they like this," he said with a determined grit. His fingers danced over the controls, synchronizing the aim of all the snipers towards a singr target on the gship. The air reverberated with the synchronized sts, as each cannon fired in unison, sending a concentrated barrage towards the gship.


    Thebined firepower was overwhelming. The energy barriers flickered and strained under the relentless assault, the thick shields beginning to show signs of wear. Bit by bit, Francus chiseled away at the ship''s defenses, his determination mirrored in the relentless volley of his cannons.


    As he continued his assault, Francus kept a vignt eye on the progress of Grigor and Rael. Through his screen, he could see their figures darting through the chaos, moving ever closer to the heart of the gship.


    "Almost there," he whispered, his hands steady as he coordinated the next volley. "Just hold on a little longer."


    His concentration was absolute, every fiber of his being focused on the task at hand. The sounds of battle around him faded into the background, all that mattered was the target in his sights and the lives of hisrades relying on his support.


    With each sessful hit, the gship''s defenses waned, creating opportunities for further attacks. Francus knew that this battle was far from over, but with each passing moment, their victory became more than just a distant hope - it became a tangible possibility.


    The battlefield was a maelstrom of chaos and destruction, but Francus stood as a pir of focused determination. With each pull of the trigger, his massive sniper cannon roared, its shots tearing through space toward the demonic gship. Finally, a triumphant grin spread across Francus''s face as he watched one of the ship''s formidable weapons explode into a fireball, disabled by his precise shot.


    "Got one," he murmured, a sense of satisfaction in his voice. He quickly shifted his aim, targeting other weapons on the gship. Each sessful hit reduced the enemy''s firepower, tipping the scales of the battle in their favor. Francus could see the immediate effect; fewer of hisrades were falling, their counterattacks growing more effective.


    The screen in front of him provided a live feed of Grigor and Rael''s progress inside the ship. They moved with lethal efficiency, but suddenly, they encountered a massive demon, its size and power posing a significant threat. Francus frowned, his mind racing for a solution.


    "Time to even the odds," he said resolutely. He redirected three of the remote snipers, adjusting their aim to prate the ship''s hull near the location of the demon. The cannons fired in unison, the shells punching through the less protected walls of the gship and detonating with devastating effect.


    Inside the ship, Grigor and Rael felt the sudden shockwave as the massive demon was obliterated by Francus''s intervention. Over thems, Grigor''s voice came through, "Nice shot, Francus! That was a close one."


    Francus chuckled, his eyes still scanning the battlefield. "Just doing my part. Keep moving and stay safe in there."


    He returned his focus to the gship, his fingers dancing over the control panel. The ship''s hull and interior walls were clearly not as heavily fortified as the areas around its weapons. It was a strategic vulnerability that Francus intended to exploit fully.


    With renewed vigor, he unleashed another barrage, targeting the weaker sections of the ship. Each hit caused further damage, crippling the gship''s ability to retaliate effectively. The demonic vessel was beginning to lose its menacing edge, now riddled with explosions and breaches from Francus''s relentless assault.


    Watching the screen, Francus saw Grigor and Rael making their way deeper into the gship. He knew the battle was far from over, but every disabled weapon, every breached wall, brought them one step closer to victory.


    With a steady hand and an unyielding spirit, Francus continued his assault, the giant sniper cannons roaring in a symphony of destruction, each note a harbinger of doom for the demonic gship.


    As the battle raged on, Francus''s position became the epicenter of destruction. His determination was as unwavering as the giant snipers he controlled. One by one, he methodically disabled the weapons of the demonic gship. With every direct hit, the enemy''s firepower diminished, and the tide of the battle shifted ever so slightly in their favor.


    With a keen eye on his screen, Francus watched as Grigor and Rael advanced deeper into the bowels of the gship. The live feed showed them moving with lethal precision, cutting down demons in their path. However, as they progressed, they stumbled upon a heavily fortified chamber, teeming with elite demon guards. Francus clenched his teeth, knowing the danger hisrades faced.


    "Time to up the ante," he muttered, redirecting the aim of his remote snipers. He targeted the walls surrounding the chamber, intending to breach it and give Grigor and Rael the upper hand. The cannons fired in unison, the explosive shells ripping through the metal and creating a gaping hole. The shockwave from the sts echoed through the ship, causing a momentary disruption among the demon ranks.


    Grigor and Rael seized the opportunity, diving into the chamber through the breach. The demons inside were momentarily stunned, but they quickly regrouped,unching a ferocious counterattack. The battle within the gship was brutal and unforgiving.


    Meanwhile, Francus continued his relentless assault on the gship''s defenses. He noticed a pattern in the ship''s shield regeneration and adjusted his strategy ordingly. With a series of rapid, targeted strikes, he created a window of vulnerability in the ship''s defenses.


    "Here''s your chance," hemunicated to the ground forces. "Focus all firepower on this point!"


    The ground forces, understanding the opportunity, unleashed a barrage of artillery and missiles at the weakened spot. Thebined firepower hit the gship with a deafening roar, causing significant damage to its structure. The ship listed to one side, its movements bing erratic as it struggled to maintain altitude.


    Francus watched the chaos unfold, a grim satisfaction on his face. But his triumph was short-lived. A sudden alert on his screen caught his attention ¨C a new threat was emerging on the battlefield.


    The demonic forces, sensing their gship''s peril, deployed a massive reinforcement wave. Dozens of smaller, but highly agile, demonic ships appeared, swarming towards the gship in a desperate attempt to protect it. Their weapons zed, unleashing a torrent of fire upon the city''s defenses.


    "Damn it," Francus cursed, his eyes narrowing. He adjusted his snipers, preparing to engage the new wave of enemies. The battle was far from over, and the stakes had just been raised.


    As he fired upon the iing ships, a chilling realization dawned upon him. Among the swarm of demonic vessels, a massive shadow loomed. An enormous ship, unlike any he had seen before, emerged from the chaos. Its hull was adorned with dark runes, and it radiated an aura of malevolence.


    Francus''s blood ran cold as he recognized the ship ¨C it was the legendary Dreadnaught of the Abyss, a ship thought to be a myth, a vessel of untold power and destruction. Its arrival turned the battle into a nightmare, its massive cannons targeting the city''s defenses with devastating uracy.


    As the Dreadnaught unleashed its fury, Francus knew they were facing an enemy that could change the course of the war.


    He braced himself, preparing for the battle of his life.

 Chapter 747 747 Quantum Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 747 Chapter 747 Quantum Arrival</h4>


    ?The battlefield, already a vortex of chaos and destruction, was suddenly pierced by a new and unexpected arrival. From a quantum tunnel, a small, sleek vessel emerged, its hull marked with distinct green lines that glowed with an otherworldly energy. It appeared as if conjured from the fabric of space itself, a silent harbinger amidst the cacophony of war.


    Francus, his attention momentarily diverted from the Dreadnaught, watched in stunned amazement as the vessel maneuvered into position with a grace and precision that seemed almost supernatural. He could not help but feel a mix of curiosity and awe at the sight of this mysterious ship.


    Without any warning, the vessel unleashed a barrage of bright green energy beams that streaked across space with unerring uracy. Each beam found its mark, striking the demonic ships with surgical precision. The effect was immediate and devastating ¨C demonic vessels, bothrge and small, erupted into brilliant explosions, their remnants cascading through space like a deadly meteor shower.


    Even the formidable Dreadnaught, the mythical titan of destruction, was not spared. The green energy beamsnced through its defenses, causing catastrophic damage that rippled along its massive frame. The Dreadnaught shuddered violently under the onught, its dark runes flickering and fading as its power waned.


    "Who¡­ what is that?" Francus muttered, his voice a mixture of disbelief and relief. He had never seen anything like it ¨C a single ship turning the tide of the battle in an instant.


    On them channel, Grigor''s voice crackled through,ced with the same astonishment Francus felt. "Francus, do you see this? This ship¡­ it''s decimating the enemy fleet!"


    Rael added, his tone filled with wonder, "It''s like it''s dancing through them, untouchable. And those weapons¡­ I''ve never seen anything like it."


    Francus, still watching the spectacle, suddenly realized the origin of this miraculous intervention. "That has to be Vortimer''s doing. Only he has technology like this. But that''s not Vortimer''s style. Could it be¡­"


    His thoughts were interrupted as the mysterious shippleted its devastating attack run, leaving a graveyard of demonic ships in its wake. It then maneuvered gracefully, positioning itself between the Celestial toon''s forces and the crippled Dreadnaught.


    A voice, mechanical yet imbued with a strange sense of life, transmitted over them channel. "Celestial toon, this is Quantum Sentinel, aboard Vortimer''s ship. We have engaged the enemy fleet. The Dreadnaught is disabled. Awaiting further instructions."


    Francus, a smile breaking through his battle-hardened demeanor, responded, "Quantum Sentinel, this is Commander Francus. We are in your debt. Focus on securing the area. We''ll handle the mop-up."


    The Quantum Sentinel acknowledged the order, its vessel beginning a patrol pattern around the battlefield. The tide of the battle had turned dramatically, the demonic forces now in disarray and retreat.


    Grigor and Rael, within the gship, used the opportunity to strike at the heart of the ship, sabotaging its core systems.


    The Dreadnaught, already critically damaged, began to lose its structural integrity, its demise now inevitable.


    As the remnants of the demonic fleet scattered like chaff before the wind, the small vessel piloted by Quantum Sentinel weaved through the debris field with unparalleled agility. Its presence on the battlefield was like a guiding light, directing the remaining forces of the Celestial toon in mopping up the scattered demonic ships.


    Quantum Sentinel''s involvement hastened the end of the battle significantly. His ship''s advanced weaponry made short work of the enemy vessels, each strike precise and deadly. The demons, known for their relentless ferocity, found themselves outmatched and outmaneuvered by the superior technology and strategy of the Sentinel.


    In the aftermath of the battle, as the smoke and debris began to clear, Quantum Sentinelnded on the''s surface. Francus, Grigor, and Rael gathered to meet him, their expressions a mix of gratitude and curiosity.


    Francus stepped forward, extending his hand in a gesture of thanks. "Quantum Sentinel, your assistance was invaluable. You turned the tide of this battle."


    Grigor, nodding in agreement, added, "We owe you a great debt. That was some impressive firepower."


    Quantum Sentinel, in his typical fashion, simply waved off their thanks. The mechanical being, known for his reticence, remained silent, his actions speaking louder than any words could.


    It was then that Quantum Sentinel projected a holographic image from his ship. The image flickered to life, revealing Aldred, theirmander. His expression was grave, his voice carrying the weight of his message.


    "Celestial toon, this is a call to arms," Aldred began. "The demon army has made their first significant move. We must enter a state of war."


    The projection showed a detailed map of the gxy, with lines and markers indicating the movement of the demon army. It was clear from Aldred''s presentation that the demons were employing a spearhead strategy, focusing their might on prating a single, critical point.


    "Their target is likely the centrals, rich in vital resources," Aldred continued. "Theses are not just key to our survival but also hold strategic value. We cannot allow them to fall into demonic hands."


    Francus, watching the map closely, frowned. "They''re aiming for the heart of our territory."


    Rael, his arms crossed, added, "And they''re sending smaller Directly support the authors on WebNovel!


    groups to distract us in other regions. ssic divide and conquer."


    Aldred''s projection highlighted several key locations on the map. "We must fortify these positions. I trust you to lead the defense and coordinate our forces effectively."


    The image of Aldred faded, leaving the group in contemtion. The scale of the uing conflict was daunting, and the stakes could not be higher.


    Quantum Sentinel, though silent, emanated a sense of resolve. His presence was reassuring, a symbol of the advanced technology and formidable allies they had on their side.


    Francus turned to hisrades. "We have our orders. We need to prepare for what''sing. This war is going to test us like never before."


    Grigor, his jaw set, nodded. "Let''s get to work. We haves to defend and a war to win."


    Rael, looking up at the sky, where the remnants of the battle still lingered, said, "This is just the beginning. The demons won''t back down easily."


    The group dispersed, each to their respective tasks. The air was charged with a sense of urgency and determination. The Celestial toon was facing its greatest challenge yet, and theing days would decide the fate of entire worlds.


    As they prepared for the impending conflict, the shadow of war loomedrge over them. But amidst the uncertainty, one thing was clear ¨C they would stand united against the darkness, ready to defend their gxy at any cost.

 Chapter 748 748 Development

    Chapter 748  748 Development


    ??In a secretboratory nestled in the heart of a fortifiedplex, Smander stood among a hive of activity. The chamber buzzed with the energy of brilliant minds, all focused on a singr goal. Researchers and scientists, some of the best in their fields, worked feverishly on a project that could redefine the dynamics of space warfare.


    Smander, a visionary in military technology, surveyed the scene with a critical eye. He was acutely aware that the uing battles would be fought across the vast expanse of space, where traditional warfare tactics and technologies would fall short. Most of his creations were tailored for close-rangebat, but now, he needed something that could turn the tide in the unforgiving theater of cosmic war.


    His gaze settled on the prototype in the center of theb ¨C an anti-gravity jetpack. Unlike conventional jetpacks, this one was designed to emit no heat signature, rendering it nearly invisible to enemy sensors. In the chaotic debris fields of space battles, where ships exploded and lives were lost in an instant, such an innovation could be a game-changer.


    Smander''s thoughts were interrupted by Dr. ra, the project''s lead scientist. "Sir, we''ve made significant progress on the prototype. Its stealth capabilities in space are unparalleled."


    Smander nodded, his mind racing with the possibilities. "The quantum armor I developed previously allowed crews to teleport from their ships before destruction. If we integrate that with this jetpack, we give them a fighting chance even after their ships are lost."


    Dr. ra adjusted her sses, her expression one of intense concentration. "Precisely. Thebination could revolutionize our survival andbat effectiveness in space. Smaller, agile fighters are notoriously difficult to track in the vastness of space."


    As they discussed, Smander''s thoughts drifted to Aldred''s recent mastery of spatial magic. It was an inspiration, a testament to the power of thinking beyond conventional boundaries. "Aldred''s understanding of spatial dynamics has opened new doors for us. This jetpack, in a way, is a tribute to that. It''s about maneuverability, about being elusive yet effective."


    The team gathered around the prototype, its sleek design belying theplex technology within. Smander could see the excitement in the eyes of his team, a shared passion for innovation and the drive to make a difference in the uing war.


    "Let''s discuss the first tests," Smander said, his voice filled with a quiet intensity. "We need to ensure its reliability under extreme conditions. Remember, in space, every second counts, and every advantage we create could save countless lives."


    Dr. ra nodded, her fingers tapping on her tablet as she brought up the test data. "The initial trials in a simted space environment have been promising. The jetpack''s anti-gravity field is stable, and the heat signature is practically nonexistent."


    Another scientist, a young prodigy named Jonas, spoke up. "We''ve also been working on integrating a rudimentary AI into the jetpack. It can make split-second adjustments to enhance maneuverability and evasion tactics."


    Ever since Aldred began to use AI, Smander also decided to break the taboo and researched about AI as well. Although he did it with absolute secrecy and only key figures know about this.


    Smander walked around the prototype, his hands sped behind his back. "Good. But we must push it further. Test its limits. In battle, it will face scenarios we can barely imagine. It needs to be more than just technology; it needs to be a lifeline for those out there."


    As the team delved deeper into technical discussions, ns, and strategies, Smander''s mind was both on the present and the future. The war they were about to enter was unlike any other, a conflict spanning the stars themselves. This jetpack, this melding of science and ingenuity, was their way of iming a foothold in the unknown.


    In a secure chamber deep within themand center, Aldred and Vortimer stood over a vast holographic table, their eyes focused on the swirling gxy map before them. The room was bathed in a soft blue light, casting long shadows that danced with the movement of the projections.


    Aldred, his expression thoughtful, broke the silence. "The development of the anti-gravity jetpack is a significant advancement, Vortimer. It could drastically increase our soldiers'' survivability in space."


    Vortimer, his hands sped behind his back, nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Aldred. Smander''s ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. This technology willplicate the demons'' strategies. They won''t expect our troops to be so adaptable in the void of space."


    Aldred leaned closer to the map, his finger tracing the paths of the demonic forces. "Our focus now must be on the Demon Admirals. They are the linchpins of the enemy''s army, eachmanding vast legions."


    Vortimer''s gaze followed Aldred''s movements. "The Admirals¡­ Mordrak, Xar''thul, Vorgorath, Zelthrax, and Khyrax. Each is a master of warfare in their own right. Defeating them will be no small feat."


    The room fell into a tense silence as the weight of the situation settled upon them. Vortimer finally spoke, breaking the stillness. "Our strategies must be adaptable. We''re not just fighting a war; we''re fighting five wars, each defined by the style of these admirals."


    Aldred turned to face Vortimer, determination etched in his features. "We will need to be cunning, Vortimer. We must use every advantage we have, including the new technologies and our understanding of spatial magic."


    Vortimer''s eyes glinted with resolve. "Agreed. We''ll also need to leverage our intelligenceworks. Knowing where and when to strike will be key."


    The two strategists spent hours poring over battle ns, simtions, and intelligence reports. Each possibility was explored, every potential oue scrutinized. They were not just nning battles; they were orchestrating a war on an interster scale.


    As the meeting drew to a close, Aldred looked once more at the gxy map, his thoughts on the soldiers who would soon be facing the horrors of war. "This conflict will test us all, Vortimer. But we must prevail. For the sake of all those we''ve sworn to protect."

 Chapter 749 749 Fighting Zelthrax

    Chapter 749  749 Fighting Zelthrax


    ??In the vast, silent expanse of space, Aldred hovered, his body cross-legged and suspended in zero gravity. He was the eye of a storm, with thousands of battleships from the Celestial toon patrolling around him, forming an imprable ring of steel and vignce. They were there to protect him, but they were also there to witness the power of a man who had transcended the bounds of normal human abilities.


    Aldred''s fingers moved in intricate patterns, tracing ancient symbols in the void. His lips murmured incantations, words lost to time, resonating with the fabric of space itself. As he chanted, the space around him began to ripple, distorting like a calmke disturbed by a thrown stone.


    The moment was ethereal, otherworldly. And then, suddenly, his eyes snapped open. They zed with the intensity of a sun, a brilliant sh thatsted but a fraction of a second. When the light faded, his eyes were filled with a profound understanding.


    "I can see them. I can see them all!" Aldred eximed, his voice echoing through the void. Through his mastery of spatial magic and a deep connection with the very essence of space, he had extended his senses beyond the physical realm. He could detect every demon vessel that had managed to evade their radars, hidden in the vastness of space.


    With a sense of urgency, Aldredmunicated with his admirals. "To all fleetmanders, adjust your trajectories. I have located the hidden demon vessels. Intercept and engage immediately."


    Orders were quickly ryed, and the Celestial toon''s armada adjusted course, moving with precision and purpose towards the locations Aldred had revealed.


    As the fleets moved to intercept, Aldred continued to scan the reaches of space with his expanded senses. But then, something caught his attention, a singr anomaly in his astral vision ¨C a ck dot, an absence of space where there should have been stars and void.


    Aldred''s face turned grave. He recognized this signature. It was her. Zelthrax, the Riftweaver.


    In an instant, Aldred vanished from his position, reappearing in front of a massive armada, his presencemanding and formidable. He faced the dark expanse, his voice booming through the void.


    "Zelthrax! Come out and face me!" he challenged, his voice echoing across the cosmos.


    The space in front of him shimmered, and then, materializing from the shadows of space, a figure appeared. It was Zelthrax, her presence as menacing as the void itself.


    Her expression was cold and ring as if annoyed by Aldred''s presence.


    "I found you now." Aldred flew closer. "Tell your subordinates to leave this ce at once. It''s just both me and you in this battle."


    Zelthrax did not reply, but simply pointed her fingers at him.


    At once, the entire armada pointed their arsenals at Aldred and released their entire weapons.


    Aldred waved his hands and millions of monstrous undead appeared in space.


    The undead charged forward before being sted by the attacks, however, they regenerated back almost in an instant. The undead were relentless and quickly arrived by the ships, tearing their weapons and hulls apart before entering it.


    Soon after, the ships began to explode one after another as the undead breached the ships.


    The void of space, already a theater of cosmic warfare, became the stage for a monumental duel between two titans of magic and power. Aldred, surrounded by the debris of the demonic armada he had just vanquished, faced Zelthrax, the Riftweaver, one of the most feared demon admirals in existence.


    "I told you. It''s just you and me," Aldred said, his voice resolute and echoing through the vacuum.


    Zelthrax, her face a mask of cold fury, remained silent. Her eyes, dark as the void, narrowed, and with a swift, elegant motion, she summoned her iconic gravitational sphere. With a flick of her wrist, she sling-shot it towards Aldred at near-light speed, a destructive force that had obliterated armadas in the past.


    The sphere of light, a condensed mass of gravitational energy, streaked towards Aldred''s face. But Aldred, with a calmness that belied the danger, simply smirked. In an awe-inspiring disy of his newfound mastery over space and gravity, he halted the sphere inches from his face. With a gentle wave of his hand, he dispersed its deadly energy, rendering it harmless.


    Zelthrax''s expression shifted to one of slight astonishment. Her attack, which could have decimated entire fleets, had been effortlessly neutralized by Aldred. She had faced him before, but this Aldred was different, stronger, and more attuned to the fabric of the universe than she had ever anticipated.


    "How¡­?" Zelthrax began, her voice a mix of curiosity and caution.


    "So you can speak?" Aldred snorted. "Don''t underestimate human capabilities, demon."


    "But you aren''t a human."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "It seems like more and more people can start to see who I truly am. This is getting annoying."


    the vastness of space, where the stars themselves bore witness, Aldred and Zelthrax, the Riftweaver, stood as titans shing in a war beyond the ken of mortals. Aldred, with newfound resolve, teleported directly into close range of Zelthrax, his eyes aze with determination.


    Zelthrax, ever the master of spatial magic, reacted instantaneously. Her palm thrust forward, unleashing a torrential wave of gravitational force. The sheer power of the attack sent Aldred hurtling back across the cosmic void, spanning a distance of over 300,000 kilometers in mere moments.


    Tumbling through space, Aldred swiftly regained his bnce. His eyes narrowed, focusing on Zelthrax, but as he did, another sphere of intense gravity hurtled towards him. With a flick of his wrist, he dispersed its power, but Zelthrax was relentless. Another sphere followed, striking Aldred squarely and sting him yet another three hundred thousand kilometers into the abyss.


    Reeling from the impact, Aldred looked down at his left arm, or rather, where his left arm used to be. "Impressive power, Zelthrax," he conceded, a hint of respect in his voice. "It''s been a while since someone could harm me."


    But then, before the eyes of the Riftweaver, Aldred''s limb began to regrow, flesh and bone weaving together in a disy of his incredible regenerative abilities. His torn clothes, however, remained as they were, a testament to the ferocity of Zelthrax''s attack.


    Zelthrax, observing this feat, allowed a flicker of surprise to cross her features.


    Aldred, now fully restored, floated in space, his gaze fixed on Zelthrax. "Your power is formidable, but I have not yet begun to show you the depth of mine. This battle is far from over."


    Zelthrax, undeterred, prepared her next assault, her mastery over gravity bing increasingly evident as space around her began to warp and distort.


    In the cosmic arena where the very fabric of space bent to their will, Aldred and Zelthrax continued their monumental duel. Each movement they made rippled through the cosmos, their powers shing in a symphony of destruction and creation.


    Aldred, fully restored and more determined than ever, faced Zelthrax with a resolute stance. His eyes, burning with an inner light, were fixed on the Riftweaver. "I have only just begun to tap into the depths of my power. You will find that I am not the same opponent you once knew."


    Zelthrax, her form shrouded in the darkness of space, watched Aldred with a cold, calcting gaze. She was silent for a moment, her presence exuding an aura of untamed power. Then, with a slight tilt of her head, she revealed a twisted smile. "You are not the only one who has evolved, Aldred."


    As she spoke, the space around her began to distort more violently, bending and twisting in impossible ways. Zelthrax raised her arms, and the stars themselves seemed to respond to her call. A dark energy, ancient and terrifying, began to coalesce around her, forming a vortex of unimaginable power.


    Aldred, sensing the growing threat, braced himself. He could feel the weight of the energy that Zelthrax was summoning, a power that threatened to overwhelm even his enhanced senses. "What are you doing, Zelthrax? What is this power?"

 Chapter 750 750 Killing Zelthrax

    Chapter 750  750 Killing Zelthrax


    ??Zelthrax''s voice echoed through the void, resonating with a malevolent force. It was but a single word, and yet the power it held was immense. "Abyssal Maelstrom."


    As she unleashed the Abyssal Maelstrom, the stars around them seemed to flicker and dim. A massive ck hole, pulsating with dark energy, formed at the epicenter of her power. It threatened to consume everything in its vicinity, its gravitational pull distorting time and space.


    If this was not stopped, the entire region of the gxy might be consumed. How did Zelthrax did this? Based on his knowledge, this kind of power would need immense amount of mana.


    Aldred, facing this new and terrifying manifestation of Zelthrax''s power, knew he had to act quickly. He extended his hands, channeling his own mastery of spatial magic to counter the gravitational pull of the ck hole. "As if I''ll let you!"


    The two forces collided, creating a shockwave that reverberated through the cosmos. Aldred, struggling against the overwhelming power of the Abyssal Maelstrom, realized that this battle was reaching a critical point.


    As the struggle intensified, a sudden anomaly caught Aldred''s attention. A small, but significant fluctuation in the fabric of space, a weakness in the heart of the Abyssal Maelstrom.


    Seizing the opportunity, Aldred focused all his energy on this singr point, preparing to deliver a decisive strike. But as he gathered his power, Zelthrax''s voice rang out, filled with a dark triumph.


    Zelthrax intensified her power as well.


    Aldred, with a final, desperate effort,unched his attack at the heart of the Maelstrom. The collision of powers was blinding, a cataclysmic event that would forever change the course of the war.


    In the midst of their cataclysmic battle, as Aldred and Zelthrax''s powers shed with the force to rend the very fabric of the cosmos, the battlefield shifted unexpectedly. From the depths of space, a newbatant surged into the fray with startling swiftness and ferocity. It was Rayanor, the renowned Demon Hunter, his figure a blur of motion as he closed the distance between himself and Zelthrax.


    Rayanor, wielding enchanted iron ws that gleamed with an otherworldly sharpness,unched into a flurry of attacks. His movements were a blur, striking at Zelthrax with a speed that defied humanprehension. Hundreds of thousands of shes rained down in less than a second, each one aimed with deadly precision.


    Aldred, recognizing the arrival of an ally, quickly adapted to the changing tide of battle. He extended his hands, his fingers weavingplex patterns in the void as he channeled his mastery over spatial magic. With a forceful gesture, he created a field around Zelthrax, designed to immobilize her and restrict her movements.


    Zelthrax, caught between Aldred''s spatial constraints and Rayanor''s relentless assault, struggled to maintain her focus. The Abyssal Maelstrom around her began to waver, its stability threatened by thebined might of her two opponents.


    "Rayanor, now!" Aldred shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. His spatial field tightened around Zelthrax,pressing the space around her, making it difficult for her to maneuver.


    Rayanor, responding to Aldred''s call, intensified his onught. His ws became a storm of steel, each strike resonating with the power of his enchantments. "Zelthrax, your reign of terror ends here!" he roared, his voice filled with the resolve of a seasoned warrior.


    Zelthrax, despite being one of the mightiest of the demon admirals, found herself on the defensive. She parried and dodged, her own power strained to its limits as she contended with the dual assault. Her eyes, burning with a dark fire, red at her attackers, her mind racing for a way to turn the tables.


    She began to channel her energy, preparing a counterstrike that would shake the cosmos.


    Aldred, sensing the gathering power within Zelthrax, knew they had little time. "Rayanor, we must end this quickly! She''s preparing something big!"


    Rayanor nodded, understanding the urgency. His attacks became even more ferocious, a whirlwind of shes that sought to break through Zelthrax''s defenses.


    The space around them was a maelstrom of energy and light, a testament to the incredible power being unleashed. As the battle reached its climax, with Aldred and Rayanor pushing their limits against Zelthrax''s might, a moment of truth approached.


    Zelthrax, with a final, desperate effort, unleashed her counterstrike, a wave of dark energy that surged towards Aldred and Rayanor.


    The two of them were pushed back.


    However, their attack was effective.


    In the aftermath of their ferocious battle, Zelthrax, the feared Riftweaver, stood weakened and wounded. The relentless assault by Aldred and Rayanor had taken its toll, leaving her once-imposing form battered and strained. Her armor, usually gleaming with malevolent energy, was now marred with scorch marks and dents from the relentless attacks. Blood, dark as the void itself, seeped from numerous gashes, evidence of Rayanor''s deadly precision.


    Despite her weakened state, a glint of cunning shone in Zelthrax''s eyes. She nced around frantically, her mind calcting the odds of escape. The demonic admiral, sensing her imminent defeat, began to muster the remnants of her power, desperate for a way out.


    Aldred and Rayanor, recognizing the shift in Zelthrax''s demeanor, redoubled their offensive. They hurtled towards her, abined force of fury and resolve. Zelthrax, driven by survival instinct, roared with a rage that shook the very fabric of space. She unleashed a powerful st, sending Aldred and Rayanor reeling back hundreds of thousands of kilometers.


    In that moment of reprieve, Zelthrax summoned herst reserves of energy and tore open a wormhole in space, a swirling vortex of dark energy that promised escape.


    But fate had other ns. From the shadows of the cosmic battlefield emerged Quantum Sentinel, the loyal sentient robot of Vortimer. With a speed and precision that belied its mechanical nature, Quantum Sentinel thrust a powerful mechanical spear towards Zelthrax, catching her off guard.


    The spear pierced through her weakened defenses, its tip glowing with an energy that seemed to disrupt the very essence of Zelthrax''s being. Quantum used the spear as a fulcrum, leveraging Zelthrax out of the wormhole''s grasp and firmly into his metallic grip.


    With a swift motion, he grabbed her by the neck, his mechanical fingers tightening with unyielding strength. Zelthrax struggled, her eyes wide with shock and fear, as Quantum Sentinel relentlessly stabbed her multiple hearts with the spear. Each thrust was precise, calcted to inflict maximum damage.


    Zelthrax''s attempts to break free were futile against Quantum''s iron grasp. Her once formidable powers, now diminished and erratic, flickered in vain as she faced the cold, unfeeling eyes of the robot.


    The wormhole began to copse, its entrance shrinking as the battle reached its inevitable conclusion. Quantum Sentinel, ensuring that Zelthrax could not escape, delivered the final blows. The Riftweaver''s form shuddered with each impact, her lifeforce ebbing away with every strike.


    As Zelthrax''s body went limp in Quantum''s grasp, the wormhole dissipated, leaving behind a trail of dark energy that slowly faded into the void. The battlefield, once filled with the chaos of war, fell silent, marking the end of a fierce and decisive battle.


    Aldred and Rayanor, regaining their bearings, approached the scene. They looked upon the fallen Zelthrax with a mix of relief and solemnity, knowing that the tide of the war had just turned in their favor


    "I finally caught this fucking bitch!" Rayanor shouted.

 Chapter 751 751 Mordrak

    Chapter 751  751 Mordrak


    ??The three of them thought victory was at hand, but they were wrong.


    The moment of triumph swiftly turned into chaos as Zelthrax, the enigmatic Riftweaver, unleashed a desperate final gambit.


    Her body radiated an intense purple glow, energy crackling around her in a wild, uncontroble aura. With a deafening roar, she released an explosive burst of power, a desperate attempt to escape the clutches of her captors.


    The shockwave from the explosion sent everyone reeling. Aldred, caught off-guard, lost his left hand in the st. Quantum Sentinel, his mechanical form designed to withstand immense damage, had his right shoulder torn apart, revealing aplexwork of wires andputer chips. Rayanor, despite his incredible resilience, suffered the most devastating injury; his entire lower body was obliterated by the force of the st.


    Yet, remarkably, they all remained conscious, their incredible strength and resilience as A-ss entities rendering them immune to what would have been fatal wounds for lesser beings. Physical injuries, while severe, were not enough to defeat warriors of their caliber.


    As the dust settled and they regained their bearings, they realized that Zelthrax was no longer there. She had vanished in the chaos of her own making, slipping away into the void of space.


    Rayanor snorted in frustration, his annoyance evident. Aldred and Quantum Sentinel, however, remained silent, their minds already calcting the next move. The lesson was clear: capturing Zelthrax would not be a simple task.


    At that moment, Vortimer''s metallic visage appeared in a projection before them. "It seems the oue is unsatisfactory," he observed, his voice betraying no emotion. "A suggestion: focus on hunting the other demon admirals first. Zelthrax is adept at evasion."


    Rayanor responded with a gruff tone, "The other admirals are extremely cautious. Unlike Zelthrax, they value their lives above all and avoid taking unnecessary risks. That''s their weakness."


    Aldred nodded, considering the situation. "I like Vortimer''s idea. If these demon admirals are as cowardly as you say, Rayanor, then they pose less of a threat. Vortimer, locate these admirals for us."


    Vortimer''s mechanical eyes flickered as he processed the request. "I have already located them," he announced, his voice steady and confident.


    The projection disyed the locations of the other demon admirals, each marked on a detailed star map. Their positions were strategic, yet their apparent caution was evident in their choice of locations.


    Aldred''s expression hardened, a mix of resolve and determination etched on his face. "Then it''s settled. We''ll strike at the heart of theirmand. This war is far from over, but each victory brings us closer to ending their reign of terror."


    Rayanor, despite his injuries, stood tall, his resolve unwavering. "Let''s bring the fight to them. They''ll soon learn the true strength of the Celestial toon."


    Quantum Sentinel, his mechanical form already initiating self-repair protocols, simply nodded in agreement. The battle against Zelthrax was a setback, but it was far from a defeat. With renewed purpose, they prepared to take the fight to the demon admirals, each one a formidable foe in their own right.


    In the heart of a demonic stronghold, within a grand throne room fashioned from the darkest nightmares, sat Mordrak, one of the fearsome demon admirals. His throne, an imposing structure of metallic skulls, reflected his ruthless dominion. The air was thick with a palpable sense of dread, amplified by the hideous, massive demon guards that surrounded him. They stood like statues, their thick, dark armor and huge hammers a testament to their purpose as protectors of the throne. The chamber, vast and oppressive, was adorned with tapestries, gs, and ornaments that told tales of conquest and destruction.


    The usual murmurs and growls of the demonic court were silenced as a small demon, barely reaching 160cm in height, approached the throne. In stark contrast to the gargantuan denizens of the chamber, the diminutive demon moved quickly, yet with a respect that bordered on fear. He bowed deeply before Mordrak, his voice quivering as he spoke.


    "Great Admiral Mordrak, I bring urgent news regarding the war," the small demon announced, his eyes fixed on the ground.


    Mordrak, his sinister gaze piercing through the air, motioned for the demon to continue.


    "The Celestial toon, a mercenary organization of humans, is assaulting our armadas on multiple fronts. The isted human worlds in this gxy region have united, funding and empowering them. They are a formidable force, my lord."


    The small demon swallowed hard before adding, "At this rate, our army may face decimation within a few years if we do not act."


    Mordrak''s response was a low, menacing scoff. A sinister smile curled on his lips as he stood from his throne, his massive frame towering over the trembling messenger. "You dare to suggest that my army, my dominion, could be decimated?" His voice boomed throughout the chamber, filled with a dark, threatening tone.


    Without warning, Mordrak''s hand shot out, gripping the demon''s neck with a crushing force. "How dare you insult me with such weakness!" he bellowed. The grip tightened, and with a sickening snap, the life was extinguished from the small demon''s body.


    Mordrak callously tossed the lifeless form aside, his eyes burning with a malevolent fire.


    The demonic admiral raised his hand, and a massive sword, pulsating with dark energy, materialized in his grasp. Shadows coiled around his arms, then dispersed to the ground, spreading like a living, malevolent entity throughout the chamber, the castle, and then engulfing the entire.


    Mordrak stepped forward, pushing open the doors to a balcony that overlooked his domain. As he gazed out, millions of terrifying dark creatures emerged from the shadows, crawling out of the ground in a nightmarish tide. They were his minions, born of darkness and fear, ready to enact his will.


    Looking up at the vastness of space, Mordrak''s voice echoed with a chilling resolve. "Celestial toon, your name will be erased from existence. This gxy will tremble before the might of my legions."


    In a securemand room, Aldred and his allies watched a projection that disyed the heart of Mordrak''s demonic stronghold. The image revealed a hive of activity ¨C demonic ships buzzing like dark insects, demons busily preparing for war. Mechanical machines nked and whirred, part of a vast industrialplex dedicated to the creation of machines of war and devastating weaponry. The cacophony of steel and the relentless rhythm of production painted a picture of a formidable enemy deeply entrenched in their domain.


    Vortimer, his metallic features impassive yet focused, detailed the intelligence they had gathered. "The is known as Obsidian Spire. Our reconnaissance has identified its vital infrastructures and key personnel. It''s heavily fortified, a bastion of demonic power."


    Aldred, his gaze fixed on the projection, waved dismissively. "It doesn''t matter. Our focus is Mordrak. We strike at the head of the snake. Is our armada prepared for the quantum leap?"


    "Yes," Vortimer replied, his voice betraying no doubt. "The fleet is ready and awaiting yourmand."


    The scene shifted outside the room, revealing a breathtaking sight. A massive armada of the Celestial toon,prising tens of thousands of battleships,y in wait. They were positioned before a colossal structure, a superweapon designed for a quantum leap ¨C a bold and innovative strategy to infiltrate the enemy''s stronghold.


    Aldred turned to hisrades, his eyes burning with a fierce determination. "This is it. Weunch a surprise attack using the quantum leap. We''ll breach their defenses and take the fight directly to Mordrak."


    Rayanor, now fully recovered, his lower body reconstructed with advanced prosthetics, nodded in agreement. "It''s time to end Mordrak''s reign. Let''s bring the battle to his doorstep."


    Quantum Sentinel, his form repaired and enhanced, stood ready. "All systems are operational. The quantum leap will be executed with precision."


    Aldred looked at the armada, a fleet of ships that represented the hopes and determination of countless worlds united against amon enemy. "This will be one of the greatest battles in history. We fight not just for ourselves, but for the future of the gxy."


    Themand room was a hive of activity, charged with an air of tense anticipation. Outside, the massive quantum portal roared to life, its colossal rings spinning as they channeled vast energies. Brilliant light radiated from the structure, casting an eerie glow across the assembled armada. The sight was awe-


    inspiring, a testament to the technological prowess of the Celestial toon.


    Officers stood at their posts, their voices clear and authoritative as they barked orders. "All ships, prepare for quantum leap. Coordinates set for Obsidian Spire. This is it, the moment we''ve been waiting for."


    The soldiers, arrayed in their battle gear, exchanged nces ¨C some nervous, others resolute. They knew the gravity of the mission they were about to undertake. This was not just another battle; it was a pivotal strike at the heart of demonic power.


    One by one, the ships of the Celestial toon began to move forward, entering the swirling vortex of the quantum portal. The sight was spectacr, as each vessel was enveloped by the shimmering energy before disappearing into the portal, bound for Obsidian Spire.


    Aboard the gship, Aldred stood watching the scene, his expression a mask of focused determination. "This is our moment," he said, his voice steady. "We strike fast and hard. Mordrak won''t know what hit him."


    Rayanor, his eyes fixed on the portal, nodded in agreement. "We''ll give them a battle they''ll never forget."


    Quantum Sentinel, his systems humming with readiness, added, "All systems are optimal. The fleet is proceeding as nned."


    As thest of the ships entered the portal, the armada emerged on the other side, right at the orbit of Obsidian Spire. The loomed below them, a dark, foreboding world that was about to be the epicenter of an unprecedented battle.


    The Celestial toon wasted no time. The ships descended upon the, unleashing a barrage of firepower. Explosions lit up the sky as the armada''s advanced weapons met the''s defenses.


    On the surface of Obsidian Spire, rms red as Mordrak''s forces scrambled to respond to the sudden attack. Demonic soldiers rushed to their battle stations, their roars echoing through the fortress as they prepared to repel the invaders.


    Mordrak, upon his throne, rose to his feet, his eyes aze with fury. "So, they dare to strike at my heart," he growled. "Let theme. They will find only death here."


    The battle for Obsidian Spire had begun in earnest. In the skies above, the Celestial toon''s ships darted through the barrage of demonic fire, their pilots expertly maneuvering through the chaos. On the ground, troops began to deploy, engaging the demonic forces in fiercebat.


    Aldred, leading the charge, teleported down to the surface with a group of elite soldiers. Theynded amidst the demonic ranks, immediately engaging the enemy in brutal close-quartersbat.


    The battle raged on, both sides unleashing their full might. The Celestial toon fought with a ferocity borne of desperation and hope, while Mordrak''s forces countered with the savage strength of the damned.


    Amidst the chaos, Aldred fought his way towards Mordrak''s fortress, his every step contested by demonic warriors. But nothing would deter him; he was driven by a singr purpose ¨C to confront Mordrak and end his reign of terror.


    Mordrak, observing Aldred''s relentless advance, let out a scornfulugh. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his elite warriors, the ck Guard ¨C demonic entities of immense power, d in nightmarish armor.


    Aldred, undaunted, met them head-on. His sword, a gleaming de of celestial energy, moved with precision and speed. In a series of swift, fluid motions, he decapitated the elite warriors, their heads falling to the ground as their bodies crumbled into ash.


    Mordrak''s expression turned from mockery to surprise. He hadn''t expected this human to cut through his elite guard with such ease. Annoyance flickered in his eyes as he stepped down from his throne, drawing a massive, dark de that seemed to absorb the light around it.


    The two adversaries faced each other, the air crackling with the tension of their impending sh. Aldred''s stance was calm, yet ready to spring into action. Mordrak, towering over him, radiated malice and power.


    "Your prowess ismendable, human," Mordrak sneered. "But you are no match for my might."

 Chapter 752 752 Against Mordrak

    Chapter 752  752 Against Mordrak


    ??As Mordrak''s sinisterughter echoed through the battlefield, the air thickened with the impending sh. The demon admiral, his presence a dark, looming shadow, charged forward with a terrifying velocity. In each hand, he wielded a massive hammer, pulsating with dark energy, raised high and destined for destruction.


    Aldred, his eyes a mirror of calm amidst the storm, moved his fingers in an intricate dance. The space around him responded, bending to his will. A series of shimmering, translucent barriers sprang into existence, weaving together to form an imprable shield. The hammers crashed against it, sending reverberations through the air, but the barrier held firm, unyielding.


    In a fluid motion, like a conductor orchestrating a symphony of forces, Aldred pushed the spatial barriers forward. The lines of force, invisible yet as sharp as the finest de, sliced through the air, severing Mordrak''s limbs. The demon admiral''s roars of pain and surprise filled the air as his arms and legs fell to the ground, dark ichor seeping into the earth.


    But Mordrak, undeterred by his sudden dismemberment, focused his malevolent will. His severed limbs began to regenerate, emerging from the stumps with a grotesque, rapid growth. His eyes, burning with hatred and fury, fixed on Aldred.


    "You think such tricks will defeat me?" Mordrak bellowed, his voice a tempest of rage. "I am eternal!"


    Aldred, observing Mordrak''s regeneration with a mix of fascination and caution, replied calmly, "Your resilience is impressive, but it only dys the inevitable, Mordrak. Also, you are much easier to fight than Zelthrax."


    Mordrak''s face contorted with rage, veins throbbing on his temple. The mention of Zelthrax, his long-time rival, struck a nerve deep within his dark soul. "Zelthrax? That pretender! She is nothingpared to my might!" he spat, his voice a mix of envy and disdain.


    He lunged forward, his regenerated limbs pulsing with a sinister energy.


    The hammers swung in a deadly arc, each movement a blur of speed and power. Aldred, anticipating the attack, executed a series of backflips, his body moving with the grace and agility of a seasoned acrobat.


    The hammers smashed into the ground where he stood moments ago, sending shockwaves that shattered the very earth.


    Aldred drew his sword, a de that shimmered with demonic light. He parried Mordrak''s relentless onught, the nging of metal echoing across the battlefield.


    With each block, Aldred felt the jarring impact vibrating through his arms, a testament to Mordrak''s incredible strength.


    Mordrak, driven by fury, increased the ferocity of his attacks. "You will not belittle me!" he roared, swinging one hammer with such force that it created a sonic boom.


    Aldred narrowly dodged, feeling the rush of air as the hammer passed inches from his face.


    The battlefield roared with the fury of their duel, the air charged with tension and electric anticipation. Mordrak, embodying the wrath of the abyss, swung his hammers with a ferocious might, each strike aimed to crush and annihte. Aldred, a specter of agility and grace, danced around the blows, his movements a blur of deft precision.


    As Mordrak''s hammer carved a path of destruction, Aldred countered, his sword cutting through the air in a series of swift, lethal arcs.


    The Phantom Doom de met the dark hammers with a chorus of metallic shes, sparks flying with every collision. Aldred''s muscles tensed with each block, the shockwaves reverberating through his body, a constant reminder of the demon admiral''s monstrous strength.


    Mordrak''s roars of frustration filled the air as Aldred''s sword grazed his armor, leaving deep gashes. Dark ichor flowed from the wounds, but the demon seemed unfazed, his rage fueling his relentless assault. "You cannot match the power of the dark realms!" Mordrak bellowed, his voice booming across the field.


    "You talk too much. Zelthrax was more quiet."


    Mordrak''s fury reached a boiling point at Aldred''s taunt, his face twisting into a snarl of unbridled rage. "Silence!" he thundered, his voice echoing ominously across the battlefield. In that moment, a dark aura enveloped him, shadows swirling and coalescing as he began to transform. His body grew, muscles bulging and expanding, his stature bing more imposing and terrifying. The hammers in his hands seemed to fuse with his very essence, pulsating with a newfound, malevolent power.


    Aldred watched, his eyes narrowing, as Mordrakpleted his transformation. The demon admiral now towered over him, a colossus of darkness and fury. "Impressive," Aldred muttered under his breath, "but size isn''t everything."


    Mordrak roared, a sound that reverberated like thunder, andunched himself at Aldred. The ground shook with each step he took. He swung his massive hammers with even greater force, each blow capable of leveling mountains.


    Aldred, responding with the agility of a panther, dodged the colossal strikes. He weaved through the onught, a dance of death and survival. Each hammer strike that he evaded left deep craters in the ground, the sheer force sending debris flying. Aldred''s breaths came in quick gasps, his focus absolute as he calcted his next move.


    As Mordrak''s relentless barrage continued, Aldred saw his opportunity. With a swift, acrobatic leap, he propelled himself backward, putting distance between them. Mordrak, undeterred, pursued, his eyes burning with a desire to obliterate his foe.


    Suddenly, the air crackled with a new energy. From the direction of the Celestial toon''s position, a massive artillery shell, glowing with a radiant intensity, hurtled towards Mordrak. Its trajectory was perfect, its timing impable.


    Mordrak, sensing the iing threat, turned just as the shell reached him. The impact was monumental, a blinding explosion that rocked the battlefield. A shockwave of energy rippled outward, the ground trembling under its force.


    Aldred shielded himself from the st, feeling the heat wash over him. As the dust and debris cleared, he saw Mordrak emerge from the smoke, his form battered but still standing, his demonic resilience on full disy.


    Mordrak''sugh, though pained, was defiant. "Is that the best you can do?" he growled, his voice a deep rumble.


    Aldred, catching his breath, replied with a smirk, "Just getting started."

 Chapter 753 753 World Crushing Gauntlets

    Chapter 753  753 World Crushing Gauntlets


    ??The skies above the battlefield, once a canvas of serene blue, now erupted into a storm of artillery fire.


    Like a torrential downpour, shells rained down upon Mordrak, each one a glowing harbinger of destruction. The Celestial toon had called down a devastating barrage, turning the tide of the battle into a spectacle of awe and terror.


    Mordrak, his massive form silhouetted against the onught, roared defiantly. The ground around him erupted in explosions, plumes of fire and debris soaring into the sky.


    Each impact sent shockwaves that could be felt even at the furthest reaches of the battlefield.


    Aldred, standing a safe distance away, watched as Mordrak attempted to fend off the barrage. The demon admiral swung his hammers with wild abandon, shattering shells mid-air, but for each one destroyed, dozens more took its ce.


    The relentless bombardment was a test of endurance and resilience.


    "This demon admiral isn''t that special," Aldred said. "Zelthrax was much more destructive. Perhaps she''s the strongest of them all."


    Suddenly, a projection appeared in front of him. It was Rayanor. "Aldred, when can I attack?"


    "Wait for a bit. I will give you the opportunity to assure the kill."


    The bombardment ceased as abruptly as it had begun, leaving a scene of apocalyptic devastation in its wake. Mordrak, emerging from the smoldering craters, was a vision of demonic resilience. His wounds, grievous and numerous, began to close rapidly, dark energy knitting his flesh together. Yet, the onught had taken its toll; he stood slightly hunched, his breathing heavy, a titan wearied by the relentless fury of the Celestial toon.


    Aldred, observing this, knew the moment was ripe. "Time to end this," he murmured, determination etched in his features. With a burst of speed, he closed the distance between himself and Mordrak. His de, glowing with a fierce energy, was raised high, poised for a decisive blow.


    But Aldred had more than just raw strength. As he neared the demon admiral, he employed his most formidable ability.


    In a blur of motion, he cloned himself ¨C once, twice, thrice. Within moments, there were eight Aldreds surrounding Mordrak, each an exact replica, their des reflecting the light of the fires around them.


    Mordrak, taken aback by this sudden multiplication, growled in frustration. "Trickery!" he spat, swinging his hammers in wide arcs, trying to keep the encircling Aldreds at bay. "You cannot defeat me with mere illusions!"


    But these were no mere illusions. Each Aldred moved with the skill and precision of the original, their coordinated attacks a whirlwind of lethal grace. They darted in and out, their des finding their mark time and again. The sounds of steel biting into flesh, the sight of eight warriors moving as one ¨C it was a dance of death, choreographed to perfection.


    Mordrak, despite his brute strength, found himself overwhelmed. He roared andshed out, but for every strike hended, he received countless more. His movements became sluggish, his reactions dulled by fatigue and pain. The circle of Aldreds tightened, their attacks growing more ferocious, a relentless storm from which there was no escape.


    Up above, Rayanor watched, his body tense, like a predator waiting for the signal to pounce. He saw Mordrak falter, saw the synchrony of the Aldreds'' assault. His hand hovered over the trigger mechanism, his muscles coiled in anticipation.


    Then, the signal came. Aldred''s voice cut through the chaos, clear andmanding. "Now, Rayanor! Strike!"


    Rayanor didn''t hesitate. With a ferocious cry, he activated his jetpack and activated his magic power, propelling himself from the sky at mach 8. He became a meteor, a human projectile aimed directly at the heart of the battle.


    Mordrak, sensing the impending doom, tried to raise his hammers for onest, desperate defense. But the Aldreds, sensing their opportunity, intensified their assault, leaving no room for the demon to maneuver.


    Rayanor, his form enveloped in a fiery aura from the sheer speed, crashed into Mordrak with the force of a thousand suns. The impact was cataclysmic, a shockwave rippling outwards, throwing the Aldreds back and tearing a massive crater in the battlefield.


    When the dust settled, Rayanor stood in the center of the crater, his breathing heavy, his armor scorched and smoking. At his feety Mordrak, the demon admiral, finally defeated. His body, battered beyond recognition.


    [You have killed Mordrak The Steel Giant]


    ''A pretty weak demon for such grand title,'' Aldred thought.


    [Experience Gained: 135,000 EXP]


    [Rewards: Heart of the Abyss, Gauntlets of Endless Might, 50,000 Gold]


    "Cih. So little gold."


    [Gauntlets of Endless Might]


    [Gauntlets of Endless Might (Legendary)]


    ?tIncrease Strength by 2000%


    ?tIncrease Vitality by 1800%


    ?Passive: Unyielding Grip ¨C Grants the ability to manipte and crush objects with unparalleled force, enhancing hand-to-


    handbat capabilities.


    ?Passive: Indestructible ¨C Renders the wearer''s arms impervious to physical damage and environmental extremes.


    ?Active Skill: Titan''s Fury ¨C Temporarily boosts physical strength and attack speed, allowing for devastating blows.


    ?Active Skill: Earthshaker ¨C Channeling energy into the ground, creates shockwaves capable of toppling structures and unbncing foes.


    ?Synergy: Enhances Sword Art skills, adding brutal force to sword strikes.


    "Not bad."


    [Aldred]


    Level: 186 (Adamantite Rank)


    Health Points: 550,692 /550,692


    Titles: Treasure Boy, Giant Killer, Little Hunter, True Warrior, Ork Killer, Demon yer, Bug Exterminator, Brave Explorer, One Man Army, One Against Billions, Savior, Pyro Master.


    Power:


    ?Fire Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    ?Water Maniption (Click to show the list of skills)


    ?Air Maniption


    ?Earth Maniption


    ?Mana Maniption


    ?Non-Elemental


    ?Shape Shift Lv. 4 (Click to show the list of morphs)


    ?Racial Ability (Click to show the list of racial abilities)


    ?Sword Art (Click to show the list of Sword Art)


    Attributes:


    Strength: 36,660


    Vitality: 36,144


    Intelligence: 48,748


    Dexterity: 42,352


    Stat Points: 776


    Skill Points: 776


    Rayanor, still catching his breath from the monumental attack, watched Aldred with a mix of confusion and awe. He could sense the surge in Aldred''s strength, a palpable aura of power that seemed to emanate from him. His gaze then fell on the Gauntlets of Endless Might that now adorned Aldred''s hands, their legendary aura unmistakable.


    "Those gauntlets¡­ they''re not just any artifact, are they?" Rayanor asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of concern.


    Aldred turned his hands over, observing the gauntlets with a thoughtful expression. "These are the Gauntlets of Endless Might," he replied, his voice carrying a note of respect for the item''s power. "A tool of immense strength, capable of altering the very fabric of battle."


    Rayanor stepped closer, intrigued. "They look like they could crush mountains."


    "More than that," Aldred said, clenching his fists and feeling the raw energy coursing through the gauntlets. "They could, theoretically, crush an entire world."

 Chapter 754 754 Building Stronghold

    Chapter 754  754 Building Stronghold


    ??In the aftermath of their victory, Aldred''s demeanor shifted subtly, a sign that he was delving into deeper, darker powers. With a fluid motion, he summoned the Phantom Doomde, a weapon that was the stuff of nightmares. The de, grotesque and pulsating with a life of its own, seemed to throb with the souls it had consumed ¨C over a billion, a testament to its gruesome history.


    Rayanor, observing the sword, couldn''t suppress a frown. He had seen this de several times before, and each time, it instilled in him an inexplicable sense of dread.


    The Phantom Doomde was not just a weapon of physical destruction; it felt like a predator, hungering for more than just flesh ¨C it craved souls. Even the mere sight of it made Rayanor''s skin crawl, a primal warning to stay away.


    Aldred, holding the de in one hand, picked up the Gauntlets of Endless Might with the other. In a shocking disy, the de seemed to open like a maw, consuming the gauntlets whole. The sight was surreal, as if the de had a will of its own, a hunger that knew no bounds.


    Rayanor''s eyes widened in disbelief. "What are you doing? Those gauntlets are a rare treasure!"


    Aldred, his gaze fixed on the de, responded calmly, "They are more than that inbination with this de."


    Then, with a mere thought, Aldred willed the de to transform. The Phantom Doomde shifted, contorting and reshaping itself into a pair of gauntlets, a perfect replica of the Gauntlets of Endless Might. After a moment, he willed it back into its original form as a sword.


    Rayanor, his curiosity piqued and mixed with a tinge of fear, finally asked, "What kind of de is that, Aldred? I''ve seen many weapons in my time, but nothing like this."


    Aldred sheathed the de, its dark aura subsiding slightly.


    "This is the Phantom Doomde," he began, his voice taking on a grave tone. "It''s more than just a weapon; it''s an entity. It feeds on souls and can absorb other artifacts, integrating their powers into itself. It''s a living weapon, one that grows with every battle."


    Rayanor took a step back, his instincts as a seasoned warrior telling him that the Phantom Doomde was a double-edged sword ¨C powerful but dangerous. "And you can control it?" he asked, skepticismcing his voice.


    Aldred nodded. "Yes, but not without risk. It''s a constant battle of wills. But the power it offers is unparalleled."


    Rayanor looked at Aldred, a newfound respect mixed with caution in his eyes. "Just be careful, Aldred. Power like that¡­ it can change a person."


    Aldred met Rayanor''s gaze, a hint of a somber smile on his lips. "I know. That''s a battle I fight every day."


    Aldred''s eyes swept across the battlefield, where the remnants of demonic forces still shed fiercely against the mercenaries of the Celestial toon.


    The time hade to unleash the full potential of his new-found power.


    "Well, time to feel my new gauntlets," Aldred murmured, a sense of anticipation tingling in his veins. The gauntlets, responding to his will, fitted snugly onto his hands, their surfaces pulsating with an ominous energy.


    Rayanor, watching Aldred, tensed up. "Be careful, Aldred. That power¡­"


    Aldred nodded, feeling a growing surge of power coursing through his body, channeling into the gauntlets.


    With a deep breath, he raised his fists high and then mmed them into the ground with a force that seemed to shake the very foundations of the world.


    The impact was colossal. Massive fissures ripped through the earth, opening up an abyss that seemed to tear the continent in half. From the gaping maw of the abyss spoutedva, its fiery tendrils reaching out like the arms of a wrathful god. Demons that were caught in the sudden cataclysm screamed as they fell into the chasm, consumed by the molten inferno below.


    The mercenaries and soldiers of the Celestial toon, witnessing this disy of raw power, stood frozen in awe and fear. They had seen Aldred fight before, but nothing like this ¨C this was a show of strength that bordered on the divine.


    The officers, quickly regaining theirposure, realized the battle''s tide had irreversibly turned. "Retreat!" they called out to their men. "Fall back! The battle is won!"


    The soldiers, heeding the call, began to pull back, their eyes still locked on the spectacle before them. The ground continued to tremble, the abyss widening, swallowing the demonic forces in a cataclysmic finale.


    Aldred, standing at the edge of the abyss, watched as his power reshaped the veryndscape. He felt the gauntlets hum with energy, their power resonating with his own.


    The sensation was exhrating but also sobering.


    As the remnants of the demonic forces crumbled under the might of Aldred''s new powers, the Celestial toon seized the opportunity tounch a full-scale air strike. The sky was aze with the streaks of missiles and the roar of jets, systematically decimating the enemy ground forces. Simultaneously, the toon''s ground-to-air defense systems unleashed a hailstorm of deadly precision, obliterating any demonic entities that took to the skies in a futile attempt to escape or retaliate.


    In the midst of this orchestrated chaos, Aldred activated hismunication device, summoning his trustedmanders ¨C Shinari, Vortimer, and Smander. His voice was firm, resonating with the authority of a seasoned leader. "We''re taking over this. It''s rich in resources and strategically located deep in enemy territory. We will turn this into our stronghold, a thorn in the side of the demonic forces."


    Shinari, a master strategist with keen insight, nodded in agreement. "Understood, Aldred. I''ll begin deploying key figures to manage the stronghold. We''ll turn this into an unassable fortress."


    Smander, known for his prowess in engineering and construction, immediately set to work. "I''ll start building weapon factories, training facilities, and underground housing and farms. If we''re making this a sustainable stronghold, we need a self-sufficient civilization here."


    Vortimer began installing his massive cannons across the''s surface.


    His reputation for creating weapons of incredible firepower was unmatched. "Nothing will breach our defenses with these cannons in ce," he assured confidently.


    Even now, Aldred could not develop any technology that could match Vortimer''s warships. They were that incredible.


    Aboard his gship, Aldred stood gazing out at the bustling activity covering the''s surface. Thendscape was alive with the sounds of construction and the constant movement of machinery and personnel. Beside him, Vortimer, his metallic form gleaming in the artificial light of themand center, provided a detailed update on the progress.


    "The construction is proceeding at an optimal pace, Aldred," Vortimer reported, his voice resonating with a mechanical timbre. "Our teams are working around the clock to ensure the stronghold''spletion."


    Aldred''s eyes scanned the holographic disys showing various parts of the. "How long until full operational capability?" he asked, his voice steady yet tinged with urgency.


    Vortimer consulted a digital tablet, the data scrolling rapidly across the screen. "Based on current projections, we''re looking at apletion timeline of six weeks."


    Aldred turned to face Vortimer, a determined look in his eyes. "I want it done in three weeks, Vortimer. We don''t have the luxury of time. The demonic forces will regroup and retaliate. We need this stronghold operational as soon as possible."


    Vortimer''s optical sensors blinked as he processed the request. "Three weeks is an ambitious target, Aldred. It will require doubling our efforts, but I believe with some adjustments and increased resource allocation, it can be done."


    "Make it happen," Aldred said firmly. "This is not just a stronghold; it''s a statement. We''re showing the demonic forces that we can strike deep into their territory and hold our ground."


    Vortimer nodded, his servos whirring softly as he made a note. "Understood. I''ll coordinate with Shinari and Smander to expedite the process. We''ll mobilize additional resources and manpower immediately."


    Aldred wanted to show how powerful the Celestial toon was. If he could build a stronghold here, and the demons could do nothing about it, that would prove that the Celestial toon was formidable.


    In the opulent conference room of a space station orbiting a neutral world, the leaders of the humans sponsoring Aldred''s war efforts against the demons convened. The room buzzed with the low hum of conversations and the asional flicker of holographic projections representing those who couldn''t attend in person.


    Arge, circr table dominated the center of the room, around which the leaders sat, their expressions ranging from concern to cautious optimism. At the head of the table was General ra, a veteran of many interster conflicts and a key figure in rallying support for the Celestial toon.


    "As we''re all aware, the Celestial toon, under Aldred''s leadership, has made significant strides against the demonic forces," General ra began, her voice clear and authoritative. "However, we must consider the long-term implications of supporting a faction that''s barely three years old."


    A man to her right, Admiral Varson, nodded in agreement. "Their progress is undeniable, but it''s the sustainability of their campaign that concerns me. We''ve seen promising movements rise and fall. What assurances do we have that this won''t be another fleeting effort?"

 Chapter 755 755 Discussion

    Chapter 755  755 Discussion


    ??A holographic projection flickered to life, showcasing a middle-aged woman, Governor Tessa.


    Her image was sharp and her voice crisp as she spoke. "We''ve all seen the reports. The stronghold they''re establishing deep in demon territory is not just a military base; it''s a symbol of their reach and capability. Aldred is proving to be a strategic and powerful leader. Perhaps it''s time we adjust our stance."


    The room fell silent, considering her words. General ra surveyed the gathered leaders, her gaze lingering on each face. "It''s true that Aldred and his forces have exceeded our expectations. The question now is, how far are we willing to support their efforts? Are we prepared to fully back the Celestial toon?"


    Admiral Varson leaned forward, his hands sped. "I propose a conditional increase in support. Let''s monitor their progress closely, particrly with this new stronghold. If they can hold it and continue to push back the demons, then we should consider more substantial backing."


    A murmur of agreement rippled around the table. The leaders recognized the potential of the Celestial toon but remained cautious, aware of the delicate bnce of power in the gxy and the risks of aligning too closely with a young, albeit powerful, organization.


    General ra nodded. "Very well. We''ll proceed with a measured approach. But let''s not forget the bigger picture - our alliance with the Celestial toon isn''t just about defeating demons. It''s about securing a future for humanity in a gxy where we are surrounded by enemies."


    As General ra finished her measured proposition, a sudden eruption of dissent broke the previously contemtive atmosphere. Two of the leaders, known for their conservative views, stood up, their faces contorted in anger.


    "This is preposterous!" bellowed Governor Haskel, his voice echoing in the chamber. "We''re cing our faith in a group that''s barely out of its infancy. There are older, more established organizations that deserve our support."


    Next to him, Ambassador Yurin, a woman known for her sharp tongue, joined in. "Why gamble our resources on the Celestial toon when we have the option to align with the nobility of the empire? They have the experience and the resources."


    At the mention of the empire''s nobility, a collective grimace spread across the faces of many in the room. It was no secret that the empire''s noble ss was riddled with corruption and self-interest, making any alliance with them a risky proposition.


    General ra, maintaining herposure, addressed the dissenters. "Governor Haskel, Ambassador Yurin, I understand your concerns. However, aligning with the empire''s nobilityes with its own set ofplications. We must consider the long-term implications of such an alliance."


    Admiral Varson, who had remained silent, now spoke up. "While I agree that the Celestial toon is a rtively new entity, their actions speak louder than the years of existence. We need allies who are not just powerful but also share our vision for the future. The established organizations you mention are powerful, yes, but their allegiances are often questionable."


    Governor Haskel mmed his fist on the table, his frustration evident. "I refuse to put the fate of our people in the hands of an untested mercenary group. We need assurances, guarantees that they can deliver what they promise."


    The room buzzed with whispered conversations, the leaders weighing the options and the risks involved.


    Governor Tessa, who had been silent, finally spoke. "Perhaps we''re missing the point here. It''s not about choosing the oldest or the most powerful ally. It''s about choosing the right ally. The Celestial toon has shown us that they aremitted to this fight against the demons. Isn''t that what matters most?"


    Her words seemed to resonate with many in the room, and the mood shifted slightly. The dissenters, though still visibly unsatisfied, appeared to be contemting her perspective.


    General ra seized the moment to steer the conversation towards a more productive oue. "Let''s put this to a vote. Those in favor of increasing our support to the Celestial toon, say ''aye.'' Those against, say ''nay.''"


    The room filled with a chorus of ''ayes'' and a few scattered ''nays.'' The majority had spoken, and the decision was clear. The Celestial toon would receive increased support, albeit with a watchful eye on their progress.


    Inside themand center of his gship, Aldred stood observing the panoramic view of the below, now bustling with the activities of construction and fortification. His stance was one of quiet authority, his gaze fixed on the future he was shaping.


    The door hissed open, and Shinari entered, her posture reflecting both urgency and efficiency. She always looked as beautiful as ever. Aldred sometimes get excited when he took a look at her.


    She approached Aldred, a digital tablet in her hand, disying a flurry of figures and reports.


    "Aldred, I have thetest update on our resource allocations and funding," Shinari began, her voice a mix of professionalism and underlying excitement.


    "The recent vote among the leaders has resulted in a substantial increase in our support. It seems your actions have convinced them of our potential."


    Aldred turned to face her, a faint smile touching his lips. He could not hold himself and grabbed Shinari by the waist.


    Shinari blushed but kept her professional poise. That made Aldred want to tease her even more.


    "Good. We need those resources to fortify this stronghold and to continue our campaign against the demonic forces. How substantial are we talking about?"


    Shinari swiped through the tablet, bringing up a detailed chart. "We''re looking at a 40% increase in funding and resourcespared to the previous quarter. This includes ess to advanced materials, technologies, and additional manpower. It''s a significant boost, one that could elerate our ns here and beyond."


    Aldred nodded, pondering the implications. "This is excellent news, Shinari. With this support, we can expedite our efforts and strengthen our position here. But we must also be cautious. This increase in funding will draw attention, not just from our allies, but from our enemies as well."


    Shinari acknowledged his concern with a nod. "Agreed. The additional resources will undoubtedly escte the scale of our operations, making us a bigger target. We''ll need to enhance our defenses and intelligenceworks."


    Aldred''s eyes returned to the view outside, where the future stronghold was rapidly taking shape. "Make sure Vortimer and Smander are aware of the increased funding. I want them to use these resources effectively. As for the attention we''ll attract, let theme. We''ll be ready."


    Shinari made a note on her tablet, her expression determined. "I''ll ry the information immediately. We''ll ensure that every credit and resource is utilized to its utmost potential."


    As the door closed behind Shinari, Aldred allowed himself a rare moment of respite. He walked over to a plush couch situated near a vast viewport, the panoramic expanse of space stretching out before him. With a casual snap of his fingers, two impably dressed maids appeared, one carrying a tray of exotic fruits, the other a crystal decanter filled with a sparkling amber liquid.


    Aldred epted a ss, the liquid casting a warm glow in the dim light of themand center. "Thank you," he murmured, his voice softer than themander persona he often projected.


    As the maids retreated, Aldred leaned back, letting out a weary sigh. His gaze drifted to the stars, twinkling against the backdrop of deep space, interspersed with the silhouettes of thousands of spacecraft that orbited the. The sight was both magnificent and sobering.


    "What a tiring day," he said to himself, the words barely more than a whisper. He sipped his drink, the vors rich andplex, a momentary indulgence in his relentless existence.


    As he gazed out into the cosmos, Aldred pondered the duality of his nature. "I do what must be done," he mused, his thoughts trailing off. The victories were sweet, but the weight ofmand, the lives lost, the decisions made, all bore heavily upon him.


    In this vast universe, he often felt like a small cog in an immense machine, yet he knew his actions rippled far and wide. The responsibility was immense, the path often lonely. He was a beacon for some, a harbinger of doom for others.


    Aldred''s hand tightened around his ss, a silent acknowledgment of the burden he bore. He knew that the path ahead was fraught with challenges, but he was resolute.


    His wives were waiting for him after all.


    The stars seemed to shimmer in response to his thoughts, a cosmic dance of light and shadow. In that moment, Aldred felt a profound connection to the universe, a sense of being part of something far greater than himself. It was a fleeting feeling, but it filled him with a quiet resolve.


    As he finished his drink, setting the ss down with a soft clink, Aldred stood up, his moment of introspection giving way to the leader he needed to be.


    There were battles to fight, a future to forge, and he was at the heart of it all.

 Chapter 756 756 Zarael

    Chapter 756  756 Zarael


    ??Zarael, the sovereign of the Xantis Expanse, sat gracefully on the balcony of her castle, her eyes lost in the serenendscape that stretched before her. Once a Ringmaster known for her prowess in the gctic arenas, she now ruled a vast territory, a realm where her word wasw, all under the overarchingmand of Aldred.


    The evening air was cool, brushing against her skin, carrying the scents of the lush gardens below. Her castle, an architectural marvel, blended the aesthetics of ancient designs with subtle, advanced technologies. It was a deliberate choice, a reflection of her desire for a life that bnced the old with the new, the simple with theplex.


    Zarael''s life, under Aldred''smand, was surprisingly peaceful. His demands were fair, usually resources for the ongoing war efforts, but beyond that, he granted her autonomy. It was a rtionship built on mutual respect and understanding, a raremodity in a gxy rife with power struggles and betrayals.


    Her gaze drifted to the skies, where dragons soared majestically, their scales glinting in the fading light. Below, winged horses grazed in the meadows, a scene straight out of a fantasy. She had chosen this for its ancient charm, a stark contrast to the high-tech worlds she was ustomed to. Here, she found sce in the simplicity of life, away from the relentless advancements of technology that had defined her earlier existence.


    Zarael''s thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of footsteps. Turning, she saw her trusted advisor, Maelor, approaching. His demeanor was respectful yet rxed, a testament to their years of working together.


    "Lady Zarael, thetest reports from the trade routes have arrived," Maelor announced, holding a leather-bound folio.


    Zarael nodded, extending her hand to receive the folio. "Thank you, Maelor. Anything that requires immediate attention?"


    Maelor shook his head. "Nothing pressing, mydy. Trade is flourishing, and our defenses remain unbreached. The Expanse is as peaceful as ever."


    Zarael opened the folio, skimming through the neatly penned reports. "Good. Ensure that a portion of the surplus is sent to Aldred''s forces. He might not ask, but we must do our part in supporting the war efforts."


    Maelor bowed slightly. "As you wish, Lady Zarael. It shall be arranged."


    As Maelor left, Zarael''s eyes returned to the horizon, where thest rays of the sun painted the sky in hues of orange and purple. Her mind wandered to Aldred, a man who had be a legend in his own right. She admired his strength, his vision for a future where humanity could thrive.


    Zarael closed the folio, her thoughts turning inward. She had carved a ce for herself in this gxy, a haven where she could rule with a blend of strength andpassion. Yet, the peace she enjoyed was a fragile one, dependent on the oues of battles fought light-years away.


    She stood up, her silhouette casting a long shadow on the stone floor of the balcony. The evening was drawing in, and the first stars began to twinkle in the night sky. In the quiet of her castle, amidst a world that seemed untouched by time, Zarael found a moment of tranquility, a brief respite from the never-ending chess game of gctic politics.


    But like Aldred, she knew that the tranquility was ephemeral. The gxy was in a state of flux, and she, as a leader under Aldred, yed a crucial role in shaping its future. With a final nce at the night sky, Zarael turned and walked back into the castle.


    Zarael, with a dignified grace, entered her throne room. The guards stationed at the entrance bowed deeply in respect as she passed. Her throne room was a magnificent space, adorned with intricate carvings andvish tapestries that told the history of the Xantis Expanse. The air was filled with a sense of power and authority, befitting her status as a ruler.


    She approached her throne, an exquisite piece of craftsmanship that symbolized her authority. As she sat, the fabric of her robe flowed around her like liquid shadow. She tapped lightly on the armrest, and within seconds, a projection of Aldred materialized before her.


    "How''s it going, Zarael?" Aldred''s voice, thoughing from a projection, carried his usual calm andmanding tone.


    Zarael leaned back, her gaze fixed on the holographic image. "It''s been a while, Aldred. Why do you never ask me for anything? Don''t you want to use everything at your disposal to win the war?"


    Aldred''s projection gave a slight smile. "What you''ve done all this while is enough, Zarael. I have no need to ask more from you. Besides, you have already achieved your ambition. The Xantis Expanse is yours to rule, and you can keep it as long as you fund my organization."


    Zarael scoffed lightly, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "I can''t believe you would follow that agreement to the letter. I was actually prepared to be betrayed."


    "Trust is hard to build and easy to destroy," Aldred replied, his expression serious. "No intention to brag, but I don''t do things the easy way."


    Zarael chuckled, the sound echoing softly in the grand room. "I called you for a reason, Aldred. I want to actively contribute to the war."


    "You already contribute to the war," Aldred pointed out.


    "Toote. You cannot stop me. I have contacted my allies," Zarael said with a hint of defiance in her voice. "Nobles, merchants, huge mercenary groups, coalitions of world leaders, and many more. They all will send resources your way with haste."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "What do I have to do in return?"


    "All they ask is for you to train their selected soldiers. You can even send them to fight the demons. These soldiers are handpicked, so I hope you treat them well, as some of the nobles and merchants put their sons and rtives in there."


    Aldred nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I got it. I''ll ensure they receive the best training. But know this, Zarael, on the battlefield, I can''t guarantee their safety. War is unpredictable."


    Zarael stood up, her posture regal. "I understand, and so do they. This is a war, after all. We all have our roles to y."


    The projection of Aldred gave a final nod. "Thank you, Zarael. Your help is invaluable."


    In the vast expanse of space, the view from Aldred''s gship suddenly changed as a colossal armada emerged from the void. The fleet was massive, stretching across the vacuum like a metallic serpent, its presence a testament to the scale of resources Zarael had mobilized. Ships of all sizes and designs, brimming with supplies and machinery, formed a formidable line near the gship.


    Aldred watched from themand center, his expression a mix of surprise and contemtion. The scale of the armada was beyond what he had anticipated.


    An officer from the armada, wearing the insignia of a high-


    ranking official, approached Aldred. His posture was rigid, his face etched with the seriousness of his mission. "Lord Aldred, this is just the beginning. There''s much moreing. Zarael has outdone herself this time," he reported, his voice steady and clear.


    Aldred nodded, his gaze still fixed on the armada. "And the soldiers?"


    "Ten million, hand-picked and ready for your training," the officer replied, a hint of pride in his voice.


    Aldred''s brow furrowed slightly. "Is it okay if some of them die during training?" he asked, weighing the responsibility of handling so many lives.


    The officer''s response was stern, almost cold. "We want the best training, Lord Aldred. It''s better if half of them die. These soldiers are here to be the finest. And don''t worry about any noble''s son. Most of those sent here are the ones they''ve discarded anyway."


    Aldred absorbed the information, his mind already nning the logistics and training regimens. He turned to face the officer, his expression hardened by the gravity of the task at hand. "Understood. We''ll begin training immediately. My goal is to forge them into warriors capable of facing the demons. Casualties are inevitable, but each will be given a chance to prove their worth."


    The officer nodded, satisfied with Aldred''s response. "We have full confidence in your methods, Lord Aldred. These soldiers will be the tip of the spear in our fight against the demonic forces."


    As the officer departed, Aldred took a moment to look out at the armada once more.


    Aldred frowned. "10 million soldiers. Did they not trust me enough. Well, I guess that makes sense."


    Aldred made his way to the massive cruise ship that now housed the 10 million soldiers sent for training. As the doors of the airlock hissed open, he stepped into the ship, his presencemanding immediate attention.


    The interior of the ship was a marvel of efficiency and order. The hallways were pristine, and the soldiers, standing at attention, were a testament to discipline. Despite the officer''s earlier im that many were castaways, Aldred could sense a fierce determination in their eyes. It was as if they had found a new purpose, a chance to prove their worth, not just to their families or themselves, but to Aldred, a figure they regarded with a mix of awe and reverence.


    Aldred walked slowly through the ranks, his eyes scanning the faces of the soldiers. Each one looked back at him with a burning determination, a silent vow to excel and perhaps, to find redemption in his eyes.


    Stopping in front of a young soldier, Aldred''s gaze met his. The young man''s eyes were steady, filled with an unspoken promise. "What''s your name, soldier?" Aldred asked, his voice firm yet not unkind.


    "Sir, I am Jaxon, formerly of the Third Regiment, sir!" the soldier replied, his voice betraying a hint of pride despite his previously low status.


    Aldred nodded, a slight smile ying on his lips. "Jaxon, tell me, what do you seek here?"


    Jaxon straightened, his voice resolute. "To be the best, sir. To prove that I am more than what they discarded. To fight for humanity under yourmand, Lord Aldred."


    Aldred''s gaze swept across the assembled soldiers. "Each of you has been given a second chance, a chance to be part of something greater. Here, your past doesn''t define you. Your actions will. Train hard, follow orders, and above all, remember why you fight."


    The soldiers responded in unison, a thunderous "Yes, sir!" echoing through the ship''s corridors.


    Aldred turned and continued his inspection, his thoughts introspective. These soldiers, once discarded, now carried the potential to be the vanguard against the demonic forces. In them, he saw not just warriors, but a reflection of the gxy''s cruel nature and the resilience to rise above it.


    As he walked, Aldred knew that the training would be grueling, and not all would make it through. But for those who did, they would emerge as a formidable force, sculpted by the harsh realities of war and forged in the crucible of his training regimen.

 Chapter 757 757 Binary Star System

    <h4>Chapter 757 Chapter 757 Binary Star System </h4>


    ?Aldred, after ensuring the training of the 10 million soldiers, turned his attention to finding an environment that would test them to their limits. He chose a harsh, notorious for its extreme weather conditions, massive storms, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. But the most formidable challenge would be the monsters that roamed the, each imnted with tracking technology, allowing them to home in on the soldiers'' locations at five-minute intervals within a certain range.


    The was a crucible designed to forge the soldiers into warriors of unparalleled skill and resilience. As the soldiers descended onto the, Aldred watched briefly from his ship, his expression stoic. This was the baptism by fire they needed, and only the strongest would survive.


    Turning away from the viewport, Aldred refocused on therger picture - the war. The victory over the demons was his top priority; everything he had built hinged on this conflict. Failure was not an option.


    He contacted Vortimer, his tone direct. "Vortimer, have you located any demon admirals?"


    Vortimer''s hologram shook his head, his mechanical voice echoing slightly. "No, Aldred. They''ve be more cautious since you killed one of their admirals. They''re not taking any chances."


    Aldred nodded, understanding the demons'' strategy. It was a logical move, yet it made his task more challenging.


    Suddenly, another call came through. It was Smander, his face lit up with a mixture of excitement and pride. "Aldred, I have news. We''ve located a demon admiral. He''s hiding outside their territory, trying to regroup his forces."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow, surprised. Smander was a brilliant engineer, but he had outdone himself, surpassing even Vortimer in intelligence gathering. "Impressive work, Smander. How did you find him?"


    Smander''s smile widened. "I''ve been developing new surveince tech, enhancing our scanning capabilities. I believed we needed to diversify our intelligence sources. It paid off."


    Aldred nodded in approval. "Well done. Prepare to engage. I''ll join you shortly."


    As the call ended, Aldred contemted Smander''s growth. Since being granted special powers by Aldred, Smander had worked tirelessly, driven by a belief that they should not rely solely on Vortimer. His initiative and dedication were proving invaluable.


    As soon as Aldred issued hismand, a colossal armada coalesced in the vastness of space, assembling with swift efficiency that spoke volumes of his influence and the loyalty hemanded. The fleet,prised of ships from various sectors of the gxy, stood ready, a testament to Aldred''s formidable leadership and the respect he had earned from his followers.


    Aboard his gship, Aldred surveyed the armada, his presencemanding and assured. His officers and crew members moved with purpose, their actions synchronized like a well-oiled machine. It was clear to all that Aldred''s words held the weight of divine decree; he was more than just a leader - he was the cornerstone of the Celestial toon.


    "Admiral Kalen, ensure all ships are in battle formation," Aldred instructed, his voice carrying across themand center. "We move out as soon as we''re ready. Time is of the essence."


    Admiral Kalen, a veteran of countless skirmishes, nodded sharply. "Understood, Lord Aldred. We''ll be ready to jump in ten minutes."


    As the preparations continued, Aldred''s gaze lingered on the star charts disyed on the holographic screen in front of him. His mind was a whirlwind of strategies and contingencies. He knew that the uing confrontation with the demon admiral was critical. It wasn''t just about defeating a single enemy; it was about striking a decisive blow to the demons'' morale and asserting the might of the Celestial toon.


    Around him, the crew worked diligently, aware of the gravity of their mission. They trusted Aldred implicitly, knowing that he had led them to victory time and again. His prowess on the battlefield was legendary, his strategies ingenious. But it was his willingness to be at the forefront of every battle that earned him their unwavering loyalty.


    A young officer approached Aldred, his expression one of admiration and resolve. "Lord Aldred, the troops are ready, and morale is high. They''re eager to follow you into battle."


    Aldred turned to face the officer, his eyes reflecting a depth of experience and an unspoken understanding of the cost of war. "Tell them I am proud to have them at my side. Today, we fight not just for victory, but for the future of humanity."


    The officer saluted and swiftly ryed the message. A ripple of determination swept through the armada as Aldred''s words were broadcasted. Every soldier, every pilot, every engineer stood a little taller, their resolve strengthened.


    Aldred then turned to the viewport, watching as the stars twinkled in the void. He knew that the sess of the Celestial toon hinged on his leadership. Without him, the organization would likely falter. It was a heavy burden, but one he carried with honor and a relentless drive to see humanity triumph in a gxy fraught with peril.


    As the armada made its final preparations to jump into hyperspace, Aldred stood at the helm, a beacon of strength and hope. He was more than just amander; he was the embodiment of the Celestial toon''s spirit - indomitable, fearless, and unyielding.


    The engines roared to life, and the armada surged forward, embarking on a mission that could change the tide of the war.


    As Aldred''s armada traversed the vastness of space, they approached a binary star system, intent on harnessing the immense energy of the two stars to bolster their battle capabilities. The celestial dance of the twin suns created a breathtaking backdrop, their fiery coronas casting a brilliant light across the fleet.


    However, the awe-inspiring spectacle was abruptly shattered. Emerging from the folds of space, a massive demonic armada, led by Zelthrax, the Riftweaver, made a sudden and devastating entrance. Zelthrax, renowned for her mastery over gravity, dark energy, and spatial forces, hadid a cunning trap.


    The Celestial toon, caught off guard by the ambush, scrambled to respond. Ships that were moments ago aligning to absorb ster energy now found themselves in the throes of battle. The toon''s vessels, though disoriented, began a valiant counterattack, their weapons lighting up the void.


    Onboard his gship, Aldred''s expression turned into a frown, his strategic mind rapidly assessing the situation. He knew that Zelthrax, notorious for her cunning and brutality, was still aboard her gship. In their previous encounters, Aldred had always chosen to confront her directly. This time, however, he decided on a different approach.


    "Maintain formation! Focus fire on their nks and use the sr radiation to our advantage!" Aldredmanded, his voice resonating through them system.


    The Celestial toon''s ships, adapting to Aldred''s orders, began a series of intricate maneuvers, using the binary stars'' intense radiation as both shield and weapon. Sr res and cosmic phenomena became part of their arsenal, turning the battlefield into a maelstrom of light and energy.


    Zelthrax, observing the battle from her ship, couldn''t help but feel a tinge of respect for Aldred''s tactical acumen. ''He chooses not to face me directly this time,'' she mused inside.


    The battle raged fiercely, with both sides suffering losses. The toon''s ships darted between sr res, using the stars'' maic fields to disrupt the demonic fleet''s coordination. In return, the demons unleashed their dark energy weapons, tearing through space with devastating gravity wells and spatial distortions.


    On Aldred''s gship, the crew worked tirelessly, their faces set in grim determination. Every officer knew the stakes; this was not just a battle for survival but a pivotal moment in the war against the demonic forces.


    Aldred, standing resolute at the helm, watched the battle unfold. His mind was a whirlwind of tactics and countermeasures, his eyes never leaving the viewport. "Stay sharp, everyone. We need to outmaneuver them at every turn. This is a battle of wits as much as it is of firepower."


    The binary stars, with their tumultuous sr activity, added an unpredictable element to the battle. Massive sr eruptions and waves of radiation swept across the battlefield, adding chaos to the already fricbat.


    In the tumultuous heart of the binary star system, the Celestial toon''s officers led their groups with a fierce determination, turning the chaos of the ambush into a disciplined counteroffensive. The battle had erupted into a maelstrom of fire and destruction, with each side inflicting heavy casualties on the other.


    Commander Rael, a seasoned veteran of the toon, maneuvered his squadron with precision. His ship weaved through the battlefield, evading dark energy sts and returning fire with lethal uracy. The loss of theirrades was a heavy blow, yet it only steeled their resolve.


    "Focus on their heavy cruisers!" Commander Rael barked over them, his eyes locked on the tactical disy. "For each of our ships they take, we take ten of theirs!"


    His squadron, a mix of experienced veterans and eager new recruits, responded with a coordinated strike. Their ships, nimble and well-armed, danced around therger demonic vessels, exploiting every weak point with a barrage of sma fire and torpedoes.


    On the bridge of his gship, Aldred observed the battle, noting the resolve and bravery of his officers and crew. The sight of his ships, outnumbered yet unyielding, fighting with such valor, filled him with a fierce pride.


    As the Celestial toon''s ships relentlessly engaged the demonic armada, Aldred''s keen eyes caught a sudden shift in the enemy''s formation. It was subtle, yet to his experienced gaze, it was unmistakably deliberate. His intuition, honed through countless battles, sensed an impending pivotal moment.


    "Something''s about to happen," he muttered under his breath, his gaze fixed on the shifting patterns of the enemy fleet.


    At that instant, a blinding sh erupted from the heart of the demonic armada, followed by an ominous, pulsating signal that resonated through space. The signal, alien and foreboding, was unlike anything Aldred had encountered before.


    "Report! What was that?" Aldred demanded, his voice cutting through the tense atmosphere of themand center.


    His officers scrambled to analyze the data, but before they could respond, the binary stars began to react strangely, their behavior deviating from any known ster phenomena. A deep, unsettling realization dawned on Aldred.


    "We''re not just fighting Zelthrax and her fleet," he said, his voice low, "there''s something else at y here, something far more dangerous."

 Chapter 758 758 Displacement

    <h4>Chapter 758 Chapter 758 Discement</h4>


    ?As the Celestial toon and the demonic armada shed amidst the binary stars, an ominous silence fell over Aldred''s gship. The crew, so focused on their immediate foes, froze as a powerful vortex appeared in the heart of the battlefield. The swirling maelic energy crackled with raw, dark power, unlike anything they had witnessed before.


    Aldred stood at the helm, his eyes fixed on the growing anomaly. His mind raced, piecing together the legends and reports he had encountered over the years. And then, as if birthed from the vortex itself, an ethereal form began to materialize, growing clearer and more defined with each passing second.


    The figure that emerged was colossal, its presence dominating the battlefield. Lord Malgorth, a name that had haunted the corridors of the Imperium of Humanity for millennia, now stood before them, not just as a legend, but as a palpable force of destruction. This form of Malgorth, however, was unlike any Aldred had seen during the Xenos onught. It pulsed with a power that seemed to warp the very fabric of space around it.


    Aldred''s voice broke the stunned silence on the bridge. "Lord Malgorth," he acknowledged, his tone betraying no fear, only a deep-seated resolve. "Your presence here does not bode well for either side of this conflict."


    But he knew this wasn''t the true form of Lord Malgorth.


    The ethereal form of Malgorth, towering amidst the stars, turned its gaze towards Aldred''s gship. A voice, both thunderous and chilling, resonated through the vacuum of space, a testament to the demon lord''s immense power. "Half-demon. You aren''t so different than us. Why do you oppose my army?"


    "Lord Malgorth," Aldred began, his voice steady, "your war against humanity has brought nothing but suffering and destruction. It ends now. We will not bow to your tyranny."


    "I sense a crisis within you. You are not certain of who you truly are. You are neither a human, a demon, or a vampire. Decades of traveling through the universe and yet you still fail to find yourself. You are nothing but a pathetic existence."


    The usation hung in the air, a barbed taunt meant to unsettle Aldred. Yet, the seasonedmander''s expression remained impassive, his resolve unshaken. "I am what I''ve chosen to be, Malgorth. A defender of those who seek peace from your tyranny. My existence is defined by the choices I make, not by the blood that runs through my veins."


    The ethereal Malgorthughed, a sound that chilled the very air. "You''re just like a child. You learn nothing by talking back to your elder. But words alone will not save you or your precious humanity."


    Aldred''s gaze hardened. "Then let our actions speak for us." Turning to his crew, he issued hismands with calm authority. "Engage all defenses. Target the energy signatures emanating from Malgorth. We may not be able to destroy him here, but we can disrupt his form."


    The crew sprang into action, their earlier hesitation washed away by Aldred''s confidence. Energy weapons charged, and the gship''s advanced targeting systems locked onto the fluctuating power at the heart of Malgorth''s manifestation.


    As the first salvo raced through the void towards Malgorth, the demon lord''s form began to distort, warping the space around him as if absorbing the attacks. "Futile," he boomed, but there was a hint of effort in his voice now, a sign that the assault was not entirely without effect.


    "Focus fire," Aldredmanded, his eyes never leaving the viewport. "Increase output to the energy cannons. If we can''t destroy him, we''ll force him to retreat."


    Ships maneuvered, evading demonic assaults while returning fire, all the while the binary stars cast their vtile light upon the battlefield, adding an element of unpredictability to the fight.


    Suddenly, a brilliant beam of concentrated energy erupted from Aldred''s gship, brighter and more focused than any before. It pierced through the chaos, striking at the heart of Malgorth''s form.


    Malgorthughed while his form slowly vanished. "At first, I do not understand what it is that you seek. Protecting humanity? You aren''t that naive. Now, I realize. It is me that you want."


    Aldred frowned. There seem to be more and more entities that seemingly could read his mind. It was different than before where only he could read the information of the other party.


    As Lord Malgorth''s form dissipated into the ether, a charged silence enveloped Aldred''s gship. The crew members exchanged wary nces, their tension palpable in the air. Aldred remained stoic, his gaze affixed to the space where Malgorth had been moments before, contemting the demon lord''s parting words.


    "Aldred, do you believe there''s truth in what he said?" Admiral Kalen ventured, breaking the silence. His voice carried a mix of concern and curiosity, reflective of the thoughts running through the minds of everyone present.


    Aldred turned, his expression thoughtful. "Malgorth is a master maniptor. His words are designed to unnerve and distract. Yet, his insight into my motives¡­ it''s unsettling."


    The bridge crew listened intently, aware of the rare glimpse into theirmander''s thoughts. Aldred paced slowly, his steps measured.


    "He''s not entirely wrong. My battle against the demons¡­ it''s personal. But not for the reasons Malgorth suggests. Protecting humanity has always been my priority, but defeating Malgorth," Aldred paused, weighing his next words carefully, "it''s a mission that''s be intertwined with my own existence."


    The crew remained silent, their respect for Aldred deepening with his candidness. Suddenly, the ship''smunication system crackled to life. It was Smander, his voice urgent.


    "Aldred, we have a situation. The demonic forces are regrouping faster than anticipated. It seems Malgorth''s presence, even briefly, has rallied them."


    Aldred''s resolve hardened. "Prepare for immediate engagement. We can''t let Malgorth''s words distract us from the task at hand. Our focus remains on protecting humanity and defeating their forces."


    The abrupt emergence of Zelthrax from the demonic fleet was a spectacle that momentarily stilled the heart of the ongoing battle. She stood on the hull of her gship, a figure of darkness against the backdrop of chaotic energy, her presence alonemanding attention and sowing a seed of dread among the Celestial toon.


    Aldred, standing firm on the bridge of his gship, watched as Zelthrax raised her arms, the space around her distorting visibly with the umtion of her dark power. The air crackled with anticipation, the crew holding their breath as they braced for the impact of an attack that promised to be unlike any they had faced before.


    Without warning, Zelthrax unleashed her fury. A surge of spatial and dimensional energy, pure and terrifying in its intensity, shot across the void towards Aldred''s armada. It was a wave of power that bent the very fabric of reality, engulfing the fleet in a vortex of twisting, turning space.


    The effect was immediate and disorienting. The bridge crew stumbled, gripping consoles and railings as the world around them seemed to warp and fold. The familiar constetions and navigational markers that had been their guides vanished, reced by a dizzying expanse of unknown stars and nebe. They were adrift, far from any charted territory, isted in a part of the gxy that no map had ever documented.


    Aldred remained anchored, his gaze locked on the space where Zelthrax had stood, even as the views outside the viewport spiraled into alien vistas. "Status report!" he called out, his voice a bastion of calm in the midst of upheaval.


    Admiral Kalen, regaining hisposure, quickly assessed their predicament. "Lord Aldred, we are¡­ I don''t know where we are. Our position is uncharted, our navigational systems are recalibrating, but nothing matches our databases. Zelthrax''s attack¡ªit didn''t just strike us; it relocated us."


    The realization that they had been cast across the gxy by Zelthrax''s formidable magic hit the crew like a physical blow. Whispers of concern and disbelief fluttered through the bridge, a human reaction to their sudden andplete discement.


    The realization that they had been cast across the gxy by Zelthrax''s formidable magic hit the crew like a physical blow. Whispers of concern and disbelief fluttered through the bridge, a human reaction to their sudden andplete discement.


    Aldred, however, did not allow the uncertainty to unsettle him. "This is no ident," he deduced, his analytical mind piecing together Zelthrax''s strategy. "She meant to disce us, to remove us from the conflict. We''re not just out of position; we''re out of the war."


    "It will take a few weeks for us to return. However, during those valuable times, the Celestial toon will be fighting without you at the head."


    Aldred realized the dreading situation. He had created a system where his organization had to rely on him for almost anything. This was to ensure their loyalty, however, that also cause them to have a ring weakness¡ªhim.


    If he was gone, the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization would drop almost half.


    His strategy used to work very well in the past because he never had to be away for too far and too long from his army.


    Still, he wasn''t at aplete loss. The key figures left in his organization should be able to fill his position.


    Only if they could sort out their differences.

 Chapter 759 759 Uncharted Region

    <h4>Chapter 759 Chapter 759 Uncharted Region </h4>


    ?The bridge of Aldred''s gship was a maelstrom of activity as the crew scrambled to adapt to their sudden discement.


    Amidst the chaos, Aldred stood like a pir of strength, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar starscape outside. The weight of the situation settled heavily upon him, a strategic dilemma of unprecedented scale.


    "Admiral Kalen, establish a secure channel to the toon," Aldred ordered, his voice cutting through the din. "We need to assess our options and make contact with the remaining leadership."


    Kalen nodded, his fingers dancing over the controls as he worked to establish amunication link. "Attempting to connect now, Lord Aldred, but our discement has disrupted standard channels. I''m rerouting through auxiliaryworks."


    As Kalen worked, Aldred turned to the rest of his crew, his gaze sweeping across their anxious faces. "Listen up," he began, his tonemanding yet reassuring. "We find ourselves in uncharted territory, but this is not the end. We are still the Celestial toon, and we will navigate this challenge as we have all others¡ªwith resilience and ingenuity."


    His words bolstered the crew, their initial shock giving way to a renewed focus.


    The bridge buzzed with a quiet intensity as they set to work, recalibrating systems and plotting their position.


    Kalen''s voice broke the concentrated silence. "Lord Aldred, we''ve established a weak signal to the toon''smand center."


    Aldred approached themunication console, his thoughts on the leaders he had left behind. Vortimer, Smander, and the others¡ªthey were capable, but Aldred knew his sudden absence would test the limits of their cohesion and leadership.


    The static-filled voice of Smander crackled through the speakers. "Aldred, is that you? We''ve lost your signal during the battle."


    Aldred responded firmly, "It''s me, Smander. Zelthrax has cast us to an unknown region of the gxy. How does the situation fare on your end?"


    Smander''s voice was tense,ced with concern. "The toon is holding, but your absence is felt. Without your leadership, there''s a growing sense of uncertainty. Vortimer is coordinating the defense, but the demons are pressing their advantage."


    Aldred''s jaw tightened. "Listen to me, Smander. You and Vortimer must keep the toon unified. The demons will seek to exploit any perceived weakness. Hold the line until I can return."


    In the background, Aldred could hear the muffled sounds of Vortimer issuing orders, a chaotic symphony of war. Smander''s reply was hesitant, "We''ll do our best, but¡ª"


    "No ''buts,'' Smander," Aldred interjected, his tone brooking no argument. "You have the strength and the strategy to lead. Trust in yourself as I trust in you."


    There was a pause before Smander replied, a newfound determination in his voice. "Understood, Lord Aldred. We won''t let you down."


    Aldred ended the transmission and turned to face his crew. "We have our mission. We need to find a way back to our territory, and quickly. Kalen, plot a course for the nearest known star system. We need to gather information and chart a path home."


    As Admiral Kalen set to work, the crew''s attention converged on the vast star map that now disyed on the main screen, its unfamiliar constetions sparking both awe and apprehension. The atmosphere was thick with a sense of urgency, a palpable drive to reim their ce in the known universe.


    "Lord Aldred, I''ve identified a nearby system," Kalen announced, his finger tracing a line across the holographic disy. "It''s not in our records, but it''s the closest. We could gather resources and data there."


    Aldred stepped closer to the map, his eyes analyzing the proposed route. "Set course, Admiral. And let''s be prepared for any contingencies. This unknown space may hold unseen dangers."


    The crew nodded in agreement, their actions swift and precise as the ship hummed with renewed purpose.


    They felt the weight of their task, a journey into the unknown, but Aldred''s presence instilled a confidence that coursed through the vessel.


    As the gship altered its course, a young officer approached Aldred, a mix of admiration and concern in her eyes. "Lord Aldred, if I may ask, how do you remain soposed in the face of such uncertainty?"


    Aldred turned to her, his expression softening slightly. "Fear and doubt are natural, officer. But we cannot let them steer our course. We adapt, we strategize, and we move forward. That is the essence of survival."


    The officer nodded, visibly bolstered by his words. "Thank you, sir. Your leadership gives us all strength."


    Aldred offered a nod of acknowledgement before turning his gaze back to the viewport, where the stars beckoned with their silent, enigmatic call. His thoughts, however, were with his crew on the distant battlefield, hoping his faith in them would be enough to hold the lines against the demonic onught.


    In the quiet of the bridge, as the ship sped through the starlit void, Aldred allowed himself a moment of introspection. He reflected on the journey that had brought him here, the battles fought, and the sacrifices made.


    His role as a leader was not just tomand but to inspire, to turn the tide of fear into a wave of resolve.


    And as the stars streaked past, a silent vow echoed in his heart


    ¡ªto return, to reunite with his crew, and to lead them to victory.


    The gship journeyed through the uncharted star system, the bridge crew worked tirelessly, their eyes glued to screens and instruments. Aldred, standing beside Admiral Kalen, observed the data streams flowing in, each bit of information a potential key to their predicament.


    "Any signs of civilization or habitables in this system?" Aldred inquired, his voice steady but tinged with urgency.


    Kalen adjusted the sensors, fine-tuning their range. "Scanning now. There''s a, third from the star. It shows signs of an atmosphere and possibly life. No technological signatures, though. It''s primitive, if inhabited."


    Aldred nodded thoughtfully. "Prepare a scouting team. We need to gather resources and any information about our current location in the gxy. Caution is paramount¡ªwe don''t know what we might encounter."


    The officer who had previously spoken with Aldred stepped forward, volunteering. "Lord Aldred, allow me to lead the scouting team. I''ve trained in exary recon."


    Aldred regarded her with a sense of pride. "Very well, Officer Da. Assemble your team and gear up. Report your findings directly to me."


    As Da briskly exited to prepare, Aldred returned his gaze to the starscape disyed before them. His mind was a whirlwind of strategy and concern, not just for his immediate crew but for therger battle unfolding far from their current position.


    "Admiral, keep trying to establish a stronger link with the toon," Aldred said, turning to Kalen. "We need to keep them apprised of our situation."


    Kalen nodded, his fingers moving deftly over the control panel. "I''ll do my best, Lord Aldred. The distance and unknown space factors areplicatingmunications, but I''m working on boosting our signal."


    As the gship orbited the distant, the scouting team, led by Officer Da, departed in a shuttle. The crew watched the shuttle''s descent, their thoughts a mix of hope and apprehension.


    Aldred remained on the bridge, his gaze fixed on the below. In his heart, he knew that every move they made in this unknown region could mean the difference between survival and disaster.


    His leadership had always been his strength, but now, more than ever, it would be tested to its limits.


    The bridge fell into a tense silence, everyone awaiting the scouting team''s report.


    The Celestial toon''s gship glided through the uncharted star system, a lone sentinel in the vastness of space. Inside, the bridge was a hub of focused activity, with crew members meticulously analyzing data and mapping the unfamiliar celestial bodies.


    Aldred oversaw the operation with a keen eye, standing beside Admiral Kalen at the central console. "How is the mapping proceeding?" Aldred asked, his voice reflecting both urgency andposure.


    Kalen, his gaze fixed on the glowing screens before him, replied, "We''re making progress, Lord Aldred. The star patterns are unlike any in our databases, but we''repiling a new chart. It should give us a clearer idea of our position in the gxy."


    Aldred nodded, his eyes momentarily drifting to the stars outside the viewport. "Keep me updated on any developments. We need to find a way back to familiar space as soon as possible."


    Meanwhile, Officer Da''s voice crackled through themunication system, her report from the''s surfaceing through. "Lord Aldred, we''ve found something remarkable. There are signs of an ancient civilization here. Ruins, artifacts. It''s like nothing we''ve seen before."


    Aldred''s interest piqued. "Any indications of advanced technology or knowledge that could assist us?"


    Da hesitated. "It''s hard to say at this stage. The civilization seems long gone, but we''ll continue investigating. There might be something useful among these ruins."


    "Proceed with caution, Da. Report back any findings immediately," Aldred instructed, his mind racing with the possibilities this discovery presented.


    As the crew continued their diligent work, a young ensign approached Aldred tentatively. "Lord Aldred, if I may ask, how do you n to use this information once we find our position?"


    Aldred turned to the ensign, his expression thoughtful. "Knowledge of our location is crucial. It will determine our path back and inform us of potential allies or threats in this region. Every piece of information could be the key to our survival and return."


    The ensign nodded, a sense of admiration mixed with the weight of their situation evident in her eyes.

 Chapter 760 760 Chaotic Work

    <h4>Chapter 760 Chapter 760 Chaotic Work</h4>


    ?In the bustlingmand center of the Celestial toon, Shinari navigated the chaos with a practiced ease that belied the mounting pressure. Therge, open chamber was alive with the constant ring ofmunication devices, each call a thread in the sprawling web of logistics and strategy that held the toon together in Aldred''s absence.


    Shinari, stationed at the central console, fielded inquiries with a calm that served as a stabilizing force for the crew.


    The room was a hive of activity, with operators dispatching orders, rying messages, and coordinating movements across the toon''s scattered forces.


    "Shinari, we have a supply convoy that''s gone dark in sector seven. What are your orders?" a lieutenant called out, his voice cutting through the din of ringing phones and hushed conversations.


    Without missing a beat, Shinari responded, "Deploy a recon team immediately. Use minimal force; we can''t afford any more confrontations without Lord Aldred''s strategic oversight."


    As she turned to address another concern, hermunicator buzzed with a priority signal. She answered, her voice even, "Shinari speaking, go ahead."


    The voice on the other end was anxious, a fieldmander on the front lines. "Shinari, we''re facing heavier resistance than anticipated. Without Lord Aldred''s tactics, we''re at a disadvantage. We need reinforcements or an alternative strategy."


    Shinari paused, her mind racing through the options. "Hold your position but switch to defensive maneuvers. I''ll arrange for a diversionary tactic to relieve some of the pressure. Stay sharp and await further instructions."


    The call ended, and Shinari took a brief moment to collect her thoughts.


    The weight ofmand was heavy, but her resolve was unshaken. Turning to address the room, she projected confidence, "We are under pressure, but we are not broken. Each challenge we face is an opportunity to demonstrate our resilience. Aldred has entrusted us with the safety and sess of the Celestial toon. We will not let him down."


    Her words seemed to invigorate the team, a renewed focus taking hold as they tackled the myriad tasks at hand.


    But only now she realized how much the Celestial toon dependend on Aldred''s presence. The organization could be said to be massive, and it was usually impossible to disrupt its operation even if the head of the organization was not present.


    And yet his absence was felt by everyone. Not just themanders but those below them as well.


    In the midst of the controlled chaos, Shinari''smunicator buzzed again. This time, it was a secure line from the science division. "Shinari, we''ve made a breakthrough in our attempts to triangte Lord Aldred''sst known position. We might have a way to establish a strongermunication link."


    Hope flickered in Shinari''s eyes, a rare smile touching her lips. "Excellent work. Prepare a detailed report and bring it to my office immediately. This could be the advantage we need."


    No sooner had the words left her mouth than hermunicator crackled to life once more, this time with a much-awaited connection to Aldred''s distant gship. "Aldred, can you hear me?" Shinari spoke into the device, her voiceced with both urgency and hope.


    The response was a jumble of static and fragmented audio, Aldred''s voice barely breaking through. The connection, fraught with interference from their unknown position in the gxy, madeprehension near impossible. Shinari strained to piece together his message, catching only brief snatches of sentences, none of which provided the rity they desperately needed.


    Frustration mounted around the central console as themunication ended, leaving more questions than answers. Shinari''s expression hardened with determination, not willing to let this setback deter them. "Record every piece of that transmission. Tell the engineers, analyze the audio. We need to know what Aldred was trying to tell us, no matter how long it takes."


    As the team rallied to decode the garbled message, an urgent update from the frontline broke through the focused tension. A junior officer, pale-faced and breathless, approached Shinari with dire news. "The frontline¡­ the demons have broken through. Our forces¡­ decimated. They''re advancing."


    The urgency in themand center escted as Shinari processed the junior officer''s report. Before she could issue her nextmand, another call came through. This time, it was from Admiral Harrow, a seasoned veteran whose experience in battle was unparalleled within the Celestial toon.


    "Admiral Harrow," Shinari greeted, her tone betraying none of the anxiety that churned within her. "Report."


    Admiral Harrow''s voice was grave, "The frontline has crumbled faster than anticipated. We''re outmaneuvered and outgunned. Our only option now is to retreat, but we must do so strategically."


    Shinari nodded, even though Harrow couldn''t see her. "What do you suggest?"


    "There''s merit in a tactical withdrawal," Harrow began, his voice steady. "We retreat buty traps and decoys in our wake. The demons will expect a chase, and we''ll give them one they won''t forget."


    Shinari considered the proposal, her mind racing through logistics and possibilities. "A calcted retreat could work, but it requires precision. How can headquarters assist?"


    "We need toons of small, swift vessels," Harrow exined. "Vessels capable of hit-and-run tactics. They''ll harass the enemy, slow their advance, and buy us the time we need to set traps and prepare our defenses."


    Shinari could visualize the strategy unfolding, a deadly dance of deception and guerri warfare. "Consider it done, Admiral. I''ll mobilize the units immediately. Your insight is invaluable."


    "Thank you, Shinari," Harrow acknowledged. "This won''t be an easy fight, but with the right moves, we can turn the tide."


    As the call ended, Shinari sprang into action. She dispatched orders to assemble the requested toons, hermands echoing through themand center.


    Operators ryed her instructions with urgency, the room a flurry of movement as the Celestial toon adapted to the new strategy.


    Shinari then addressed her team, her presencemanding the room. "We are at a critical juncture. Our forces on the frontline face overwhelming odds, but we are not defeated. We fight smart, we fight hard, and we fight together. Admiral Harrow''s n will lead our enemy into a maze of our making. It''s time to show them the true strength of the Celestial toon."


    After saying that, she entered her private office and let out a big sigh when she sat down on the chair.

 Chapter 761 761 Introspective

    <h4>Chapter 761 Chapter 761 Introspective </h4>


    ?In the seclusion of her office, Shinari sat in silence, the weight of hermand pressing down on her shoulders. The room was stark, illuminated only by the soft glow of her desk console, a stark contrast to the bustlingmand center just outside. Here, in this moment of solitude, the enormity of her responsibility settled around her like a heavy cloak.


    She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes momentarily as she sought a brief respite from the relentless pressure.


    The silence was a balm, but it also brought her thoughts into sharp focus.


    For the first time, Shinari found herself truly understanding the burden Aldred carried.


    The weight of leadership, the responsibility for not just the lives of their soldiers but the fate of their entire mission¡ªit was a mantle that Aldred had borne with unwavering strength.


    Opening her eyes, Shinari gazed out of the small window at the stars that sprawled endlessly across the void. How many times had Aldred stood before a simr vista, contemting the decisions that could mean life or death for his people? She had always admired his resolve, his ability to make those hard choices with a rity and determination that seemed superhuman.


    Now, standing in his shoes, Shinari felt the sharp sting of istion that came withmand. Every decision she made rippled through the ranks, affecting countless lives.


    The advice from her trusted advisors, like Admiral Harrow, was invaluable, yet the final decision rested with her. It was a sobering realization.


    Shinari let out a slow breath, steadying herself.


    She pondered the paths thaty ahead, the strategies that could lead them to victory or disaster.


    The bnce between aggression and caution, the fine line between sacrifice and survival¡ªit was a dance she was still learning. Aldred had mastered it, but at what cost?


    She thought about the man behind the legend, the friend she knew beyond themander. Aldred, who couldugh warmly one moment and face down impossible odds the next, always carried the weight of the world with a grace that few could match. Did he, too, have moments of doubt? Did the certainty of hismand ever waver in the quiet hours of the night?


    In the solitude of her office, Shinari allowed herself to feel the full weight of her fears and doubts.


    But as she sat there, enveloped in the stillness, a resolve within her began to solidify. She might not have Aldred''s years of experience, his innatemand of warfare, but she had her own strengths. Her ability to listen, to synthesize the advice of her advisors, to empathize with her troops¡ªthese were her weapons.


    Shinari''s moment of introspection was interrupted by the soft chime of hermunicator. She nced at the disy, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth when she saw Smander''s name sh across the screen. With a flick of her wrist, she epted the call.


    "Smander," she greeted warmly, her tone infused with genuine affection. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"


    On the other end of the line, Smander''s voice carried a mixture of concern and curiosity. "Shinari, I''ve been hearing about the challenges you''re facing. How are you holding up without Aldred at the helm?"


    Shinari leaned forward, her fingers idly tracing the edge of her console. "It''s been¡­ demanding," she admitted. "But we''re managing. Aldred left big shoes to fill, but we''re all stepping up."


    Smander chuckled, a sound that brought a brief sense of ease to Shinari''s tense atmosphere. "I have no doubt about that. You''ve always had a knack for leadership, even if you don''t always see it yourself. How can I assist from my end? Any tech or tools you need expedited?"


    Shinari paused, considering his offer. Smander was not just a brilliant engineer; he was a problem-solver, someone who could invent solutions to problems they didn''t even know they had yet. "Actually, Sal, there might be something. We''re trying to decode a fragmented transmission from Aldred. If anyone can make sense of it, it''s you."


    "Send it over," Smander responded immediately, his voiceced with determination. "I''ll get my best people on it. We''ll crack that code and get you the message. Anything else?"


    "Just your continued support," Shinari said, allowing a hint of vulnerability to show. "It''s been a bit overwhelming, but hearing from you helps."


    As the call ended, Shinari felt a renewed sense of purpose. Smander''s unwavering support was a reminder of the strength they drew from one another. She wasn''t alone in this; she had a team, a family, united by amon goal.


    Rising from her chair, Shinari stepped back into themand center, her demeanor one of renewed confidence.


    The challenges ahead were daunting, but with allies like Smander and the steadfast resolve of her team, there was hope.


    "You''re all a little too dramatic." Vortimer suddenly appeared.


    Shinari, still standing at the threshold of her office, turned sharply at the sound of Vortimer''s voice. His sudden appearance, though no longer surprising given his capabilities, always had a way of catching her slightly off guard.


    "Vortimer," she greeted, a careful bnce of respect and caution in her tone. "Your timing is impable as always. What brings you to mymand center today?"


    The robot, towering and sleek, with a design that spoke of advanced technology far beyond the current standards, stepped forward. His movements were fluid, almost human, a testament to theplexity of his construction.


    "I''ve been monitoring the situation," Vortimer began, his voice synthesized yet carrying an undercurrent of genuine concern. "The frontline''s condition¡­ it''s uneptable. I cannot stand idly by while the toon is in disarray. It''s time I took a more direct approach."


    Shinari''s eyes narrowed slightly, not out of distrust for Vortimer, but from the weight of decision-making. "And what approach do you have in mind?"


    "I will join the frontline myself," Vortimer dered, the light from his visual sensors intensifying with his resolve. "With my army of robots and my armada, I believe we can halt the demons'' advance. Furthermore, I will initiate a deeper scan for Aldred''s signal. If he''s out there, I will find him."


    Shinari considered his words, the potential impact of Vortimer''s involvement. His resources were vast, his power, immense. Yet, the thought of relying so heavily on Vortimer stirred aplex mix of feelings within her.


    "I will prepare my forces immediately. Expect a strategic deployment within the hour."


    As Vortimer turned to leave, Shinari watched him go, a sense of awe mingling with her resolve. The Celestial toon had allies in every corner of the gxy, each with their unique strengths. With Vortimer''s armies joining the fray, the bnce might indeed shift in their favor.

 Chapter 762 762 Deciphering

    <h4>Chapter 762 chapter 762 Deciphering</h4>


    ?In the depths of the Celestial toon''s research wing, Smander and his team of top scientists were huddled around aplex array of screens and equipment. The air was thick with concentration as they worked tirelessly to decipher Aldred''s fragmented transmission. Wires crisscrossed the floor, leading to servers that hummed with the effort of processing the data.


    "Boost the signal filter! We''re losing vital frequencies in the lower band," Smander directed, his gaze locked on the waveform patterns flickering across the main monitor. His team, a group of the brightest minds within the toon, worked with a synchrony born of countless hours spent together in theb.


    One of the scientists, Dr. Lena, adjusted the dials on a console, her expression one of intense focus. "Applying a recursive algorithm to iste the voice data from the static¡­ but the signal degradation is worse than any we''ve encountered."


    Smander leaned over her shoulder, watching as the algorithm began to work its magic on the screen. "This isn''t just about signal degradation," he mused aloud. "It''s as if the transmission was warped by some kind of spatial anomaly. We''re dealing with distortions that defy our standard models of physics."


    The team was operating on the edge of known science, pushing the boundaries ofmunication technology to its limits. The fragmented audio was more than just a puzzle; it was a window into the challenges Aldred faced in the unknown reaches of space.


    As hours turned into days, the team''s initial energy waned under the relentless pressure of the task.


    They took shifts, ensuring that someone was always working on the analysis, but the breakthrough remained elusive.


    On the third day, with exhaustion setting in and morale beginning to dip, a junior engineer named Theo stumbled upon a novel approach. "What if we treat the signal as multidimensional? If the distortions are spatial in nature, maybe we need to map the transmission across additional axes."


    Smander, despite his weariness, perked up at the suggestion. "That''s it, Theo! We''ve been thinking too linearly. Let''s expand our analysis into the quantum domain. Recalibrate the quantum entanglement reflector and rerun the signal through a multidimensional filter."


    The team set to work with renewed vigor, adjusting their equipment to amodate Theo''s theory. Theb was a symphony of beeps and clicks as the new parameters were set, and the transmission was processed once again.


    Hourster, with the team crowded around the main monitor, the static began to clear, revealing Aldred''s voice, still fragmented but now intelligible in short bursts. "Coordinates¡­ Ancient¡­ Tech¡­ Empire¡­"


    "What is the meaning of this?" A scientist asked, confusion appeared on his face. How would anyone figure out anything with this data.


    Smander''s eyes widened as he quickly jotted down the deciphered words. "This is it. We''ve got a location, a situation, and a call to action. Shinari needs to hear this immediately."


    In the fluorescence of theb, Shinari, apanied by the palpable urgency of Smander''s discovery, entered with a brisk pace that matched the racing thoughts in her mind. Theb was a fortress of knowledge, now a beacon in their quest for understanding Aldred''s cryptic message.


    "Exin," Shinarimanded, her voice cutting through the hum of machinery as she joined Smander and his team, who were gathered around the main monitor.


    Smander, with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty, ryed the breakthrough. "We''ve managed to rify parts of Aldred''s message: ''Coordinates¡­ Ancient¡­ Tech¡­ Empire¡­'' It''s fragmented, but it''s the best lead we have."


    Shinari frowned, her brows knitting together in concentration. "Ancient tech? Empire? What does Aldred mean by this? It''s unlike him to be so cryptic unless¡­"


    The room fell into spective silence as they mulled over each word. The possibilities were vast, but without context, they were merely shooting arrows in the dark.


    "It''s time we consult Shuzib," Shinari decided, her resolve firm. "If anyone can shed light on these terms, it''s him."


    With no time to waste, Shuzib was summoned to theb. A figure of boundless knowledge, he entered the room with a curiosity that belied his years, his eyes alight with the promise of unraveling a new mystery.


    However, there was the smell of bloodlust around him as if he yearned it intensely. That was probably because he was a vampire now.


    Upon hearing the deciphered message, Shuzib''s reaction was immediate. He swiftly navigated through theb to a shelf crammed with ancient texts and scrolls. With a deft hand, he selected a tome titled "The Chronicles of the Human Empire," its pages yellowed with age.


    "This," he announced, opening the book to a marked page, "details a time when our ancestors wielded technologies so advanced, they could sculpt the very fabric of the cosmos. ck holes, star harvesting, intergctic travel¡ªcapabilities that dwarf our current achievements."


    The room absorbed every word, the gravity of Shuzib''s revtion sinking in. "Aldred''s message," Shuzib continued, his voice gaining momentum, "implies he''s stumbled upon remnants of this ancient empire. Perhaps even technology lost to time."


    Shinari and Smander exchanged a look, the weight of this possibility dawning upon them. "If Aldred has indeed found such technology," Shinari pondered aloud, "it could alter the course of this war. It could change everything."


    Smander nodded, his mind racing with the potential applications of such ancient power. "We need to understand exactly what Aldred has found. And more importantly, we need to bring him back."


    "Coordinates¡­" Shinari mused, her gaze returning to the screen where Aldred''s message yed on a loop. "Is he telling us to try to find him?"


    "I believe we should put our resources to sustain ourselves in the war," Shuzib said. "Aldred is powerful. He will find his way back sooner orter. When he does, I do not think he will be happy if his organization is destroyed and losing the war."


    A soldier entered theb and saluted them. "News from the frontline, The Celestial Schemata has decimated Frontline A and C and is currently en route to encircle them from the rear."

 Chapter 763 763 Ancient Tech

    Chapter 763  763 Ancient Tech


    ??The sudden entrance of the soldier and his dire report cut through the electrified air of discovery like a cold de, grounding everyone in the harsh reality of their situation. The room, once abuzz with the potential of ancient technologies and Aldred''s cryptic message, shifted to a tense silence.


    Shinari''s expression hardened as she processed the information. "Thank you, soldier. Dismissed," she said, her voice steady despite the swirling storm of concern within her. As the soldier exited, she turned to face Smander and Shuzib, her resolve clear in her gaze.


    "We stand at the brink of a discovery that could change the tide of this war. Yet, we''re reminded that the battle rages on, demanding our immediate attention," Shinari stated, a strategic calmness to her tone. "We cannot afford to becent, not when our forces are facing such a dire threat."


    Smander nodded in agreement, his earlier excitement giving way to the gravity of their situation. "You''re right, Shinari. The potential of what Aldred has found is immense, but we must ensure there''s still a toon left for him to return to."


    Vortimer projection suddenly appeared. "I have decimated the front line for you. All you need to do is advance, however, this won''t be the only demon army you need to fight. Lord Malgorth''s army is more vast than mine, but he only has numbers while I have strength. You can say that his army are mass produced cheap products while mine is high quality and expensive masterpiece. Still, he won''t be that easy to take down."


    As Vortimer''s holographic projection filled the room with its imposing presence, Shinari and her team couldn''t help but exchange knowing nces, a mix of amusement and exasperation passing between them. Vortimer''s penchant for self-aggrandizement was well-known, yet they couldn''t deny the undeniable truth in his words.


    "Thank you, Vortimer, for your¡­ uniquely phrased update," Shinari responded, a hint of a smile ying at the edges of her lips despite the gravity of their situation. "Your assistance has been invaluable. We''re indeed fortunate to have the Celestial Schemata on our side."


    Smander, leaning against a console, chuckled softly. "I''ll never get used to his way of putting things, but there''s no arguing with the results. Vortimer, your forces have given us the breathing room we desperately needed."


    Shuzib, ever the schr, added thoughtfully, "It''s fascinating, really. Aldred''s ability to forge alliances across such diverse entities and timelines is remarkable. Vortimer, your ancient wisdom and technological might have proven to be a cornerstone of our defense strategy."


    Vortimer''s projection seemed to glow slightly brighter, a sign of his satisfaction. "Of course. It is only natural for a being of my caliber to be at the forefront of such endeavors. Remember, while Lord Malgorth''s forces are numerous, theyck the finesse and power of the Schemata. With strategic nning and the right application of force, we can ovee them."


    Shinari nodded, appreciating Vortimer''s confidence. "Your point is well taken, Vortimer. We''ll continue to rely on your strength and insights as we prepare for the next phase of our campaign against Lord Malgorth."


    Aldred stood alone in the dimly litmand room of his gship, his gaze fixed on the holographic projection of a that spun slowly before him. The image flickered with the details of topography and atmospheric conditions, yet it was the unknown that held Aldred''s attention. The, with its swirling clouds and vast deserts, harbored secrets that piqued his curiosity and fueled his resolve.


    As he contemted the potential of the and the ancient technology it might conceal, a sense of responsibility for the Celestial toon weighed heavily on his mind. The war against Lord Malgorth''s forces was intensifying, and every decision Aldred made from this uncharted region of space could tip the bnce.


    His train of thought was interrupted by an iingmunication from the scouting team assigned to investigate the. "Commander Aldred," came the crisp, focused voice of the team leader, "we''vepleted our initial survey of the. There''s something here you need to see."


    Aldred activated themunication console, bringing the scout''s report into focus. "Go ahead," he prompted, his tone firm yet infused with an anticipation he couldn''t entirely suppress.


    "We''ve detected an energy signature emanating from the''s surface. It''s unlike anything we''ve encountered before," the scout reported, her voice tinged with excitement and caution. "The patterns areplex, suggesting an artificial origin. It''s not natural, sir. It appears to be of a design, possibly a beacon or a power source of immense capability."


    The revtion sent a shiver of anticipation through Aldred. The mysteries of the gxy were vast, but the prospect of discovering a technology that could shift the power dynamics of the war was too significant to ignore.


    "Understood. Prepare for a closer investigation. We need to understand the nature of this energy signature and its potential applications," Aldredmanded, his mind already racing with the possibilities. "Exercise caution, but do not hesitate to gather all the data you can. This could be the breakthrough we''ve been searching for."


    As themunication ended, Aldred''s gaze returned to the projection of the. The stakes were high, not just for the immediate battle, but for the future of the Celestial toon and all who relied on its protection. The discovery of an ancient, powerful technology could be the key to their survival or a beacon that led them into further danger.


    In the solitude of themand room, Aldred allowed himself a moment to reflect on the paths that had led him here, to the edge of known space, chasing the echoes of a long-lost technology.


    As Aldred stood absorbed in his contemtion of the''s secrets, the stark re of the emergency rm jolted him back to the immediate dangers of exploration. The console before him flickered aggressively, indicating a transmission from the scout team, now oveid with bursts of static that fractured their message into barely intelligible fragments.


    Straining to make sense of the brokenmunication, Aldred caught snippets of a report far more rming than any he had anticipated. "¡ªmassive¡­ robots¡­ crater¡­va¡­" Each word that broke through the static painted a picture of an unforeseen threat emerging from the depths of the.


    Aldred''s voice was calm yet urgent as he responded, "Report status, team. What is your situation?" The static-filled reply spoke of chaos: "Engaging¡­ overwhelming force¡­ unknown¡­ origins¡­ metal giants¡­ emerge fromva¡­"


    A projection appeared, revealing the scene from the scout team''s camera. On the screen, the imagery was almost mythic


    ¡ªcreatures of metal striding forth from molten earth, their forms impervious to the scorching rivers ofva cascading off their frames.


    It was a scene of apocalyptic fantasy, yet here it unfolded as a stark reality on this remote.

 Chapter 764 764 Forge World

    <h4>Chapter 764 Chapter 764 Forge World </h4>


    ?The stark contrast between the serene beauty of the and the menacing emergence of the robots created a tableau of impending doom. These giants of metal and fire, rising from the''s heart withva dripping from their frames, were not just a testament to an unknown civilization''s prowess but a dire threat to any who dared to approach.


    Aldred, witnessing the scene unfold through the projection, felt a surge of concern for his team. The robots, their forms illuminated by the inner light of molten rock, moved with purpose and intelligence, their sensors locking onto the scout vessels with unerring uracy.


    "Get out of there!"


    As the scout team attempted a desperate evasion, the air was sliced by beams of intense light, each strike a precise hit that disabled the vessels'' engines and navigation systems. The ships, now unable to maintain flight, descended rapidly, crashing into the sandy expanse below.


    Inside the lead vessel, Captain Ilsa braced for impact, her crew thrown about by the violentnding. The dust and debris settled, revealing the extent of the damage¡ªcrippled but intact. "Everyone, report!" she barked, her voice cutting through the ringing silence. One by one, her team confirmed their status: shaken, but alive.


    The decision to disembark was fraught with danger, yet remaining inside the vessel offered no safety.


    "This ship is no good. We got to leave."


    With a collective resolve, the team opened the hatch, stepping out into the unknown, only to find themselves surrounded by the robotic sentinels.


    The robots, towering and silent, formed a circle around the crew, their weapons powered down but ready. It was a standoff, the air crackling with tension and the heat from the robots''va-soaked frames.


    Captain Ilsa, her hand resting on her sidearm, stepped forward. "Wee in peace," she announced, her voice steady. "We seek understanding, not conflict."


    For a moment, there was no response; the robots remained immobile, their intentions unreadable. Then, unexpectedly, one of the robots stepped forward, its movements deliberate. It raised a hand, not in aggression, but in a gesture that could almost be interpreted as a greeting.


    The crew tensed, uncertain of the robot''s intentions. Captain Ilsa held her ground, her eyes locked on the mechanical being before her. "We are explorers," she continued, "from the Celestial toon. We wish to learn about this and its technology."


    The robot, its sensors scanning the crew, seemed to process her words. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, it emitted a series of sounds¡ªharsh and electronic, yet carrying a rhythm that hinted atmunication.


    Captain Ilsa turned to hermunications officer. "Can you decipher this?"


    The officer, working swiftly, managed to adjust their equipment to interpret the signals. "It''s anguage,plex but trantable," he confirmed, his fingers flying over the console.


    The robot''s message, once tranted, was both a warning and an invitation. "You tread on sacred ground," it began, "the legacy of the Forgers. Your presence here has been noted, and your intentions will be judged."


    Aldred, observing from his distant vantage point, felt a mix of relief and intrigue.


    "Sacred ground. That usually mean it''s not a good thing," Aldred said. Anything rted to the word sacred always refer to the word secret. And now they were here, risking that secret to leak out.


    There was a chance that the person who kept this secret will try everything they can to eliminate this risk.


    Should he leave right away or stay and see where this would take him. Both decisions had their consequences.


    In the dim glow of themand room, the tension was palpable as Aldred convened an urgent meeting with his admirals. The stark, holographic image of the continued to rotate slowly in the center of the room, a silent testament to the unknown dangers lurking on its surface.


    "Admirals," Aldred began, his voice steady but underscored with urgency, "we stand at a critical juncture. The discovery on this could redefine our understanding of ancient technology. However, the risks are substantial."


    Admiral Karis, a seasoned strategist with a keen mind for risk assessment, leaned forward. "Commander, the presence of these¡­ ''Forger'' guardians suggests we''re dealing with technology that far surpasses our own. The potential for both gain and loss is significant."


    Admiral Jex, responsible for the armada''s security, added, "The robots'' capability to disable our scout vessels with such precision indicates a level of technological advancement we haven''t encountered. If provoked, they could pose a considerable threat to the entire armada."


    Aldred nodded, absorbing their insights. "Our primary objective remains the safety of our forces and the sessful continuation of our mission. We must approach this with utmost caution."


    The room fell into a thoughtful silence as they considered their options. Finally, Aldred outlined a n that bnced risk with the imperative to explore. "We''ll move the main armada to a safe distance, beyond the immediate reach of the''s guardians. The scouting teams, equipped for rapid evacuation, will continue their investigation."


    Admiral Karis raised a concern, "This approach minimizes risk to the armada but ces our scouts in considerable danger. We must ensure they have every possible support and fail-safe."


    "Agreed," Aldred responded. "We''ll maintain an open channel for immediate extraction and reinforce the scouting teams with our best tech for evasion and defense. This is uncharted territory, and our priority is their safe return."


    The meeting concluded with a palpable sense of resolve. The admirals dispersed to execute the new directives, each aware of the fine line they tread between discovery and disaster.


    Alone once more, Aldred turned his gaze back to the''s projection. "If the Forgers of the Human Empire are indeed involved," he mused, "we may be on the cusp of uncovering history''s greatest secrets. Or we might awaken threats beyond our current capacity to handle."


    The armada moved to a safe distance and observed from afar.


    Under the watchful gaze of the towering robot sentinels, Captain Ilsa and her team were silently escorted away from their crashed vessel. Thendscape around them transformed as they moved, the barren desert giving way to a gaping maw that led deep into the''s crust. The heat from the''s core wafted up from the depths, a stark reminder of the volcanic activity that birthed their mechanical escorts.


    As they descended, the environment changed drastically. The harsh, rocky walls of the tunnel smoothed and widened, revealing a sprawling underground city illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow. The air buzzed with the sound of industry; everywhere Captain Ilsa looked, she saw dwarf robots engaged in various tasks¡ªsmithing with hammers that sparked against metal, mining resources from the rich veins of the''s heart, and carrying loads of unidentifiable materials to and fro.


    The sheer scale of the operation left the team in awe. The dwarf robots moved with purpose, their actions precise and coordinated, yet there was no overseer in sight, only the constant, harmoniousbor that seemed to fuel the underground society.


    "This is incredible," whispered one of Ilsa''s crew, his voice barely carrying over the din of metal on metal.


    Ilsa nodded, her attention fixed on their surroundings. The robots working the forges and mines paid them no mind, focused entirely on their tasks. The air was thick with the heat of the forges and the scent of molten metal, yet there was an order to the chaos that spoke of centuries, perhaps millennia, of refinement.


    As they were led deeper into the city, the corridor opened up into a vast cavern. At its center stood a structure that defied understanding¡ªa massive tube, its surface alive with pulsing lights and strange symbols. It towered over the cavern, a monolith of unknown purpose, its base surrounded by a flurry of robotic activity.

 Chapter 765 765 Forge World 2

    <h4>Chapter 765 Chapter 765 Forge World 2</h4>


    ?"What is that?" Ilsa murmured, unable to tear her gaze away from the enigmatic structure.


    No one answered; the question was rhetorical, the awe universal among her team. The robot that had led them here paused, its sensors flickering as if it were considering how to proceed. Then, with a series of electronic chirps that resonated through the cavern, it gestured towards the tube.


    Themunication officer, still trying to make sense of the robot''snguage, hesitated before offering a tentative interpretation. "It''s¡­ a forge, but not like any we know. They''re crafting something¡­ powerful."


    Curiosity overcame Captain Ilsa as she ventured closer to the massive tube, her team trailing behind her cautiously. The structure, pulsing with an indescribable energy, loomed over them, its purpose shrouded in mystery. Around its base, bs of metal were stacked neatly, resembling nothing more than ordinary bricks. Ilsa activated the advanced scanning technology integrated into her retina, zooming in on the metallic bs, searching for clues. Yet, all she saw were inert, unremarkable pieces of metal. Confusion furrowed her brow.


    "These are just metal bricks," shemented, her voice tinged with disbelief. "There''s nothing special about them, ording to the scan."


    Her team gathered around, equally perplexed by the apparent normalcy of the materials used in such a sophisticated environment. The atmosphere was charged with a sense of expectation, as if the very air awaited a revtion.


    Suddenly, the cavern trembled, a deep, resonant sound echoing through its vast expanse. From the shadows, a massive, monstrous creature was hurled toward the tube, its roar of defiance cut short as it approached the ground. The team tensed, ready for confrontation, but what happened next defied all expectations.


    The metal bricks, seemingly inert a moment ago, burst into a cloud of tiny, flying pieces, swirling around the creature with a life of their own. The ck, flying particles enveloped the beast in a cloud of voracious energy, descending upon it with an insatiable hunger. In a fraction of a second, before the creature could even touch the ground, it was devouredpletely, leaving no trace behind.


    The team stood in stunned silence, witnessing the impossible. The metallic particles, having consumed their target, settled back to the ground, reassembling into their brick-like form as if nothing had urred.


    As the metallic particles settled back into their original form, Captain Ilsa''s strategic mind raced ahead to the implications of this technology in their war against the demonic forces. The power disyed here, if harnessed, could provide a decisive advantage. Turning back to the robot, whose sensors still flickered in the dim light of the cavernous forge, she voiced the thought that now consumed her.


    "Is it possible for this technology to be shared or sold?" Ilsa asked, her tone blending curiosity with a hint of negotiation. "The Celestial toon could greatly benefit from such capabilities in our fight against darkness."


    The robot regarded her for a moment, its electronic chirps tranting into a response through theirmunication officer''s device. The answer, however, was far from straightforward.


    "The forge''s creations are notmodities," the trantion emerged, cryptic and veiled in ambiguity. "They serve a purpose beyondmerce or conflict. The will of the Forgers is not aligned with the affairs of the outer worlds."


    Ilsa''s brow furrowed in frustration and intrigue. The response suggested a level of autonomy and purpose she hadn''t anticipated. It was clear that the technology here operated under a set of principles or directives unknown to them, possibly dictated by the original creators of the forge.


    "Then, could we appeal to the Forgers? There''s a war ravaging our worlds, and your technology could help save countless lives," Ilsa pressed, hoping to find a crack in the robot''s steadfast stance.


    Again, the robot paused, its internal mechanisms whirring softly in the cavern''s silence before responding. "The Forgers'' legacy is bound by codes older than your wars, guided by intents not easily swayed. Your plea, while noble, is not within the domain of our directives."


    The ambiguity of the reply left Ilsa and her team at an impasse. It was clear that the technology they had stumbled upon was guarded by principles or a will that extended beyond simple barter or the immediate needs of the Celestial toon.


    Disappointed but undeterred, Ilsa nodded, acknowledging the robot''s stance. "I understand. However, we are fighting against the demonic army. They are literally the number enemy of humanity."


    The air within the ancient forge seemed to grow colder as the robot''s response, now tinged with a discernible hint of disdain, echoed through the cavernous space. Its sensors, usually emitting a steady, benign light, red momentarily as it delivered its scathing rebuke.


    "Your naivety disgusts me," the voice that emanated from the robot was unexpectedly emotive, as if the metal behemoth before them was momentarily possessed by the spirit of its long-gone creators. "If you think the demons are humanity''s only problems, then you are nothing but a young infant that hasn''t experienced much."


    The team exchanged uneasy nces, the weight of the robot''s words hanging heavily in the air. It was a stark reminder of their limited understanding of the universe''s vastplexities and the ancient secrets it held.


    Captain Ilsa, though taken aback by the sudden shift in the robot''s demeanor, stood her ground. Her voice steady, she replied, "We are aware of the broader threats that loom over humanity. Our immediate concern with the demonic forces does not blind us to the other dangers. However, we seek allies in our immediate fight, hoping to secure a future where we can address thoserger threats together."


    The robot''s sensors dimmed slightly as if it was contemting her words. After a moment of silence, it responded, "The Forgers crafted tools and weapons not for petty skirmishes but for battles that shaped the cosmos. Your wars are but echoes of those ancient conflicts."


    Ilsa sensed an opportunity, a crack in the robot''s previously imprable stance. "Then let us learn from those ancient battles. Share with us the knowledge or the technology to help turn the tide, not for our war alone but as a step towards facing those greater threats you speak of."


    The robot remained silent for a long moment, the only sound the distant nking from the depths of the forge. Finally, it spoke again, its tone less disdainful but still reserved. "The decision is not mine to make. The Forgers left safeguards, protocols that guide our actions. For any exchange to ur, those protocols must be satisfied."


    "Tell us about these protocols," Ilsa pressed, encouraged by the opening. "Better yet, bring us to the forgers. Perhaps there ismon ground that we can find, a way to satisfy the requirements of these ancient directives."


    The robots were silent for a few seconds before they turned around. "Follow us."

 Chapter 766 766 Ancient Forgers

    Chapter 766  766 Ancient Forgers


    ??As Captain Ilsa and her team followed the robot through thebyrinthine passages of the underground forge, they were struck by the sheer scale of its operations. The path they took was illuminated by the soft glow of molten metal, casting long shadows on the walls and revealing glimpses of the forge''s vast capabilities.


    The air was thick with the sound of industry: the nging of metal, the hiss of steam, and the low hum of machinery operating beyond the limits of human engineering. They passed by factories embedded within the cavern walls, each dedicated to a different aspect of creation. Some chambers were filled with robots meticulously assembling devices that defied exnation, their forms and functions a mystery. Others were vast foundries, where the raw materials of the were transformed into alloys unknown to the team''s scientists.


    "Look at this," whispered themunications officer, gesturing towards a workshop where robotic arms weaved a material that shimmered with light, seemingly capturing the essence of the stars themselves.


    Captain Ilsa, equally fascinated, responded in a hushed tone, "Everything here¡­ it''s like they''ve mastered the art of creation itself. These technologies could revolutionize our understanding of the universe."


    As they ventured deeper into the heart of the forge, they encountered a facility that appeared to be a researchb, where robots interacted with holographic disys projectingplex equations and celestial maps. The sight was awe-inspiring, a testament to the advanced scientific knowledge of the Forgers.


    Then, the procession came to a halt before a massive door, adorned with symbols that resonated with an ancient power. The leading robot turned to face them, its sensors briefly scanning the captain and her team.


    "This is the threshold to the Council of Forgers," it announced, its voice echoing through the chamber. "Beyond this door lies the wisdom of ages and the architects of the technology you seek. Prepare your minds for what is toe."


    The door slowly began to open, revealing a chamber bathed in a soft, ethereal light. Captain Ilsa took a deep breath, steeling herself for the encounter. She realized that they were about to meet beings, or perhaps something beyond beings, that had shaped the very fabric of the cosmos with their creations.


    As they stepped into the chamber, a sense of wonder and apprehension filled the air. This was not just a meeting; it was a convergence of paths that had spanned gxies and eons. Captain Ilsa knew that the fate of the Celestial toon, and perhaps much more, hinged on the forting dialogue with the Forgers.


    "Wee, travelers," a voice resonated within the chamber, ageless and imbued with a quiet power. "You stand before the Council of Forgers. Speak your purpose."


    Captain Ilsa stepped forward, her resolve firm. "Wee seeking knowledge and aid against a darkness that threatens our existence. We wish to learn from you, to find a way to use your technology for the good of all."


    In the chamber that seemed to stretch and bend reality itself, the Council of Forgers, a collective of presences rather than physical entities, responded to Captain Ilsa''s plea with a reaction that chilled the air further. The ethereal light that bathed the room flickered as if echoing their sentiment.


    "For the good of all?" The voice that spoke was not just a single tone but a chorus of disapproval, resonating from every corner of the chamber. "Such naivety to presume you understand the needs of ''all.'' Your perspective is limited, Captain, bounded by the immediacy of your conflicts."


    Captain Ilsa, taken aback by the sharpness of the rebuke, stood her ground. The weight of her mission bolstered her courage. "With respect, we face a threat that does not discriminate. The darkness we fight seeks to extinguish life, to unravel the very fabric of existence. Our plea is not born from arrogance but from necessity."


    The Council''s presence seemed to consider her words, the air humming with unspoken conversations beyond humanprehension. After a moment, the voice returned, softer yet still tinged with skepticism.


    "Your fight is but a shadow of greater battles that have raged since the dawn of creation. The technologies you seek, forged in the heart of stars and in the darkness between worlds, were never meant for petty skirmishes or even the grandest wars of your kind."


    Another member of Ilsa''s team, a scientist named Dr. Ren, stepped forward, driven by a mix of fear and fascination. "But if there''s wisdom you can share, knowledge that could prevent unnecessary suffering, isn''t it worth imparting? Our aim is not conquest but survival."


    The Council''s voice, now a blend of many tones both ancient and authoritative, filled the chamber, addressing Dr. Ren''s interjection with a stark dismissal that resonated deeply within each member of Captain Ilsa''s team.


    "What matter the survival of a small region in the gxypared to the survival of the entire human race?" the Council intoned, their wordsced with a profound disdain. "A few trillion human lives are but a speck of dust in the grand scheme of existence."


    The harshness of their judgment left the team momentarily speechless, their resolve shaken by the cosmic scale of the Council''s perspective.


    Captain Ilsa, however, found within herself a spark of defiance, fueled by the very criticism leveled against her. "With all due respect," she began, her voice steady despite the tumult of emotions within her, "our ''small region'' of the gxy, as you call it, is our home. It''s where countless lives strive, love, and dream. It may be a speck of dust to you, but to us, it''s everything."


    She stepped forward, her determination shining through. "You speak of the survival of the human race as if it''s detached from the fates of those trillions of lives. But it''s those very lives that define our race. Our ''small-minded'' focus on survival isn''t a limitation¡ªit''s our strength. It''s what drives us to protect, to explore, and to reach out to beings like you for wisdom and assistance."


    The room fell silent, the team members holding their breath as they awaited the Council''s response. The air seemed to thicken, charged with the weight of Ilsa''s words and the monumental divide between their perspectives.


    After what felt like an eternity, the Council''s voice returned, less sharp, more contemtive. "Your passion is clear, Captain Ilsa, and your devotion to your people ismendable. Yet, you must understand, the technologies we guard were born from necessities far beyond the immediate threats you face. To wield them without understanding their purpose and potential consequences is to invite disaster."


    Captain Ilsa added, "Then help us understand. Guide us so we can make informed choices. Share with us the wisdom to use these technologies responsibly, for the benefit not just of our ''small region,'' but for all humanity."


    The crew members were in awe after they heard Captain Ilsa''s replies. She responded to every remarks with certainty and confidence.


    Aldred, who was watching in his gship, was impressed as well.


    "Incredible," Aldred said.

 Chapter 767 767 Shielding Halo

    Chapter 767  767 Shielding Halo


    ??In the timeless chamber where the air vibrated with the weight of eons, the Council of Forgers convened in silence, their collective presence pondering Captain Ilsa''s impassioned plea.


    The ethereal light that filled the space seemed to pulse, reflecting the gravity of the discussion that unfolded beyond the perception of the human visitors.


    After moments that stretched like lifetimes, the Council''s voice filled the chamber once again, resonant and profound, yet carrying a note of finality that doused the spark of hope that had been kindled in Captain Ilsa and her team.


    "Captain Ilsa, your plea, while earnest, overlooks the broader tapestry of cosmic bnce," the Council intoned. "The technologies we oversee are not mere tools to be wielded in the conflicts of the moment. They were forged in the crucible of creation, bound by protocols that govern the very fabric of existence."


    The team exchanged anxious nces, sensing the direction in which the Council''s judgment was leaning.


    "To release such forces into the gxy, even with the noblest of intentions, could precipitate a cataclysm far beyond your current strife. It would ignite a congration of desire, greed, and power that would consume worlds, unraveling the order we have sworn to uphold."


    Dr. Ren, the scientist who had previously stepped forward, spoke again, his voice tinged with desperation. "Is there no middle ground? No guidance or lesser aid you can provide that wouldn''t risk such dire consequences?"


    The chamber was silent once more as the Council deliberated.


    When the Council spoke again, their voice was tinged with a sorrow that echoed the depths of space. "We are bound by ancient covenants, guardians of forces that you cannot yetprehend. The risk of interference, of tipping the scales, is too great. The gxy is a tapestry of delicate bnces, and the threads you seek to pull could unravel it entirely."


    Captain Ilsa, her resolve tempered by the weight of the Council''s words, nodded slowly. "I understand your position, though it''s a bitter pill to swallow. We sought help to save lives, to turn the tide against a darkness encroaching upon us all. But if the price is the potential unravelling of the cosmos, then we must step back."


    The Council''s voice softened, a note of respect threading through their response. "Your understanding honors you, Captain. Know that this decision is not made lightly. The path you walk is fraught with peril, but it is yours to tread. We can offer you no tools of war, no weapons of destruction. But heed this counsel: the strength you seek may not lie in the technology of the Forgers but within yourselves, in the resilience of the human spirit."


    As the Council of Forgers'' final words resonated through the chamber, Captain Ilsa stood in reflective silence.


    The wisdom imparted by these ancient guardians was profound, yet the reality of her situation remained unchanged.


    Her team, and indeed the entire Celestial toon, faced an enemy that showed no mercy, an enemy that could not be swayed by the resilience of the human spirit alone.


    Turning to face the Council once more, Captain Ilsa''s voice carried a mix of respect and unwavering determination. "Your counsel is appreciated, and your wisdom, profound. But words and spirit, while vital to our cause, cannot shield our people from the physical destruction our enemies unleash upon us."


    The room held a charged silence, the Council absorbing her words, contemting the depth of the dilemma faced by these mortals.


    "We seek not to disrupt the cosmic bnce you guard so vigntly," she continued, her gaze steady andmanding. "But without tangible aid, our resilience will be but a footnote in the history of a gxy where darkness prevailed. Is there truly nothing within your vast knowledge, no guidance or artifact of lesser power, that could aid us in our struggle without risking the order you seek to protect?"


    The atmosphere in the chamber shifted subtly, the ethereal light flickering as if stirred by her plea. The Council''s response, when it came, carried a tone of reluctant consideration.


    "In the annals of our guardianship, there have been artifacts crafted for purposes of defense, tools that empower without provoking imbnce," the voice of the Council revealed, each word measured. "Such artifacts were designed to protect, to shield life without bing instruments of conquest. Perhaps, within our vaults, there lies a solution that meets your needs without threatening the cosmic equilibrium."


    A murmur of cautious optimism swept through Captain Ilsa''s team, their first glimmer of hope since stepping into this ancient realm.


    "However," the Council''s voice added, a note of caution tempering the momentary uplift, "the release of even the most benign artifact carries with it conditions and safeguards. It must be wielded by those who truly understand its purpose and respect the bnce it is meant to preserve."


    Captain Ilsa nodded, understanding the weight of the responsibility being considered. "We are prepared to ept these conditions, to learn and uphold the principles that govern your aid. Our fight is not for conquest but for survival, for the chance to live and thrive in a gxy free from tyranny."


    The Council seemed to ponder her words deeply, the chamber enveloped in a silence that spoke of ancient deliberations and the weighing of fates.


    "Very well," the Council finally decreed, the light within the chamber intensifying as if to mark the significance of this moment. "We will entrust to you a Shielding Halo, an artifact from the age of the Forgers designed to protect and preserve. Its power is not in destruction but in defense, a barrier against the darkness you face."


    Captain Ilsa felt a surge of gratitude and determination. "We ept this gift with the gravity and respect it deserves. On behalf of the Celestial toon, I thank you."


    As the meeting drew to a close, the Council imparted instructions on how to retrieve the Shielding Halo from the depths of their vaults.


    Captain Ilsa and her team were led from the chamber, their steps now carrying the weight of a new hope, tempered by the knowledge of the responsibility they had been given.


    Guided by the robotic emissaries of the Forgers, Captain Ilsa and her team navigated the intricatework of tunnels that led deeper into the heart of the forge.


    The air around them seemed charged with a palpable sense of history and purpose as they moved toward the vaults where the Shielding Halo was kept. The artifact, a legacy of an age when the cosmos was younger, now represented a beacon of hope against the encroaching darkness.


    As they walked, Dr. Ren, ever the scientist, couldn''t help but express his wonder aloud. "To think that such technologies exist, capable of protecting without causing harm. It''s revolutionary."


    Captain Ilsa, her focus on the mission at hand, nodded in agreement. "It''s a reminder that true strength doesn''t alwayse from the ability to destroy. If we can harness this technology effectively, we can save countless lives."


    The corridors finally opened into a vast chamber, its walls lined with artifacts of unimaginable age and purpose. The robotic guide led them to a pedestal in the center of the room, upon which rested an object that pulsed with a soft, inner light. The Shielding Halo was surprisingly simple in design, a circlet of metal that seemed to hum withtent energy.


    "This is the Shielding Halo," announced the robotic emissary. "Its power is attuned to the defense of life.


    Once activated, it will create a barrier capable of protecting your world from the forces that seek to harm it. But remember, its essence is that of bnce and protection. It cannot be used to wage war or seek vengeance."


    Captain Ilsa reached out, her hand hovering over the Halo.


    She could feel the power emanating from the artifact, a gentle yet unyielding force that spoke of its ancient origins. "We understand," she affirmed, her voice steady. "We will honor the purpose for which it was created."


    As her fingers made contact with the Halo, a surge of energy coursed through her, a connection forming between her and the artifact.


    The chamber around them lit up with a dazzling disy of light, symbols and scripts unknown to them etching themselves into the air. The moment was transcendent, a pact between the present and the ancient past sealed in the heart of the forge.


    With the Halo now in their possession, Captain Ilsa turned to her team, a new determination in her eyes. "Let''s bring this back to the toon. We have many worlds to protect."

 Chapter 768 768 Returning

    Chapter 768  768 Returning


    ??Aboard the now-repaired scouting vessel, Captain Ilsa and her team prepared for departure. The robots, with their advanced technology, had not only fixed the ship but enhanced it, a silent testament to their capabilities. Before lifting off, Captain Ilsa turned to the robotic emissary that had guided them through this extraordinary journey. "Thank you for your assistance and for entrusting us with the Shielding Halo. We will not forget the wisdom of the Forgers."


    The robotic figure, its sensors briefly illuminating in what could be interpreted as a nod, responded, "The path ahead is yours to shape. Use the Halo wisely, Captain Ilsa."


    With those parting words, the ship ascended, leaving the hidden world of the forge behind, its secrets and guardians fading into the darkness of space.


    Upon arrival at Aldred''s gship, Captain Ilsa was swiftly debriefed and ushered into themand center where Aldred awaited.


    Captain Ilsa presented the Shielding Halo, its simple yet potent design drawing a hushed awe from those present. "We were granted this artifact by the Council of Forgers," she began, her voice carrying the weight of their experience. "It is a tool of protection, designed to safeguard life against the forces that threaten it. However, the Forgers were adamant that it must not be used to wage war or for vengeance. Its purpose is purely defensive."


    Aldred, his gaze fixed on the Halo, nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Yet, as Ilsa detailed the capabilities and conditions tied to the artifact, a distant look appeared in his eyes. His mind, ever strategic, began to race through the potential applications of such a device, not just as a shield but as a means to secure a tactical advantage.


    Captain Ilsa, noticing his distraction, pressed on, emphasizing the Forgers'' warning. "The Council made it clear that misuse of the Halo could have dire consequences, not just for us but for the cosmic bnce. We must heed their advice, respect the bnce it is meant to preserve."


    Aldred, pulled from his reverie, focused on Ilsa''s words. "Of course, Captain. The wisdom of the Forgers will not be disregarded." Yet, the glint in his eye and the barely concealed excitement in his voice betrayed his thoughts. The Shielding Halo, even with its limitations, presented a myriad of possibilities, each promising a significant shift in their ongoing struggle.


    As the meeting concluded, Aldred''s mind was aze with ideas, the warning of the Forgers fading into the background. The Shielding Halo, a beacon of hope in their darkest hour, now rested within their grasp, its potential uses unfolding in his mind like a star chart leading them to victory.


    "Prepare a simtion," Aldred ordered, turning to his tactical team. "I want scenarios, defensive formations, and yes, offensive strategies that incorporate the Halo. We have a responsibility to explore every avenue to protect our people."


    Captain Ilsa, sensing the shift in Aldred''s focus, felt a twinge of apprehension. "Sir, defensive use only."


    "The best defense is a good offense. I am sure the forgers know that."


    Ilsa was troubled, but Aldred held a vast wisdom and knowledge far beyond what she could imagine. Perhaps that was the true way of interpreting the forgers'' warning. But if that was the case, then what was the warning for?


    "The forgers simply don''t want their technology to be stolen by someone else," Aldred said.  "I can understand that, which is why they are so careful."


    Ilsa was relieved. For a moment she thought Aldred would be reckless with the tech given by the forgers.


    ''A wise and powerful man such as sir Aldred won''t make that mistake.'' Captain Ilsa tap herself in the head for assuming such stupid thoughts.


    "Immediately begin the simtion." Aldred''smand to prepare simtions echoed through themand center as he turned, his cloak swirling around him, and strode towards the mystical chamber at the heart of his gship.


    This chamber, known only to a few, was the nexus of his power, a ce where the boundaries between magic and technology blurred.


    "I cannot stay in this unknown region for long. I must return," Aldred dered.


    As the door to the chamber sealed behind him, Aldred approached the center where an intricate array of symbols and runesy inscribed. He sat, crossing his legs in a posture of deep meditation. The air around him began to shimmer with energy as he closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the task at hand.


    Magic coursed through Aldred''s veins.


    As he delved deeper into his meditation, the energy around him intensified, forming visible arcs that danced and twisted in the air.


    Aldred''s consciousness expanded, reaching out beyond the confines of the ship, beyond the unknown region that had been their refuge and battleground. He sought the familiar threads of reality, the ley lines that crisscrossed the gxy, to find their way back to known space.


    Time seemed irrelevant in the chamber, hours passing in what felt like moments. The crew outside continued their duties, unaware of the profound workings within the heart of the gship.


    Then, without warning, a wave of invisible energy pulsed from Aldred. It was a spatial wave, a maniption of the very fabric of space-time itself. To those on the ship, it felt like a momentary fluctuation, a strange sensation that was gone as quickly as it appeared. But nothing seemed to change; the ship and its upants remained unharmed, suspended in the vastness of space.


    Yet, what they could not see was the ripple effect of Aldred''s magic, reaching out across the cosmos, realigning their position in the universe, marking a path back to the familiar stars of home.


    Aldred opened his eyes, the energy dissipating around him as he rose to his feet. The chamber''s door opened at his approach, and he stepped out, the weight of their impending journey etched in his features.


    "We will begin our return," he announced to his waiting officers. "The simtions will continue, but prepare the fleet. Our time here hase to an end."


    "Have you found a way to return home, sir?"


    Aldred nodded. "Adjust our course! We are returning home," Aldred said.

 Chapter 769 769 Simulation

    Chapter 769  769 Simtion


    ??The gship''s bridge buzzed with activity as officers quickly adjusted the ship''s course, their movements precise and swift. The news of Aldred''s sessful meditation, finding their way back to familiar territory, spread like wildfire throughout the armada. Relief and excitement filled the air as crews on every ship prepared for the journey home, their spirits lifted by the prospect of seeing familiar stars again.


    In the midst of this bustling atmosphere, Captain Ilsa found herself surrounded by fellow captains, their faces alight with curiosity and admiration. "A man as powerful as Aldred was bound to find our way back," Ilsa remarked, her voice carrying a mixture of respect and fondness for their enigmatic leader. "It was only a matter of time."


    Herpanions nodded in agreement, their expressions a mix of relief and intrigue. "We heard about your mission to that strange," one of the captains interjected, leaning in closer. "And that you acquired the Shielding Halo. What was it like, meeting the Forgers?"


    Captain Ilsa took a moment to collect her thoughts before diving into her tale. "The was unlike anything we''ve encountered before. Hidden beneath its surface was a forge of incredible scale, operated by robots with technology far beyond our understanding."


    She paused, her gaze distant as she recalled the awe-inspiring sights within the forge. "We were led through vast halls filled with the sound of creation itself. Workshops where materials we can''t even begin to ssify were being manipted into forms of incredibleplexity."


    "The Forgers," she continued, "were not beings of flesh and blood as we understand it. They were presences, ancient and powerful, bound to the very essence of creation. Their wisdom was profound, yet they were guarded, wary of the impact their technology could have on the gxy."


    Her audience listened in rapt attention, hanging on every word as she described the chamber of the Council of Forgers, the ethereal light that filled the room, and the voice that seemed to resonate from the very walls themselves.


    "And the Shielding Halo," another captain asked eagerly, "how does it work?"


    Ilsa held up the artifact, its simple design belying its potent capabilities. "It''s a tool of protection, capable of creating a barrier against dark forces. But the Forgers insisted it must only be used defensively. They were very clear about the dangers of misusing their technology."


    The group fell silent, contemting the heavy responsibility that came with wielding such power. "Aldred is considering its potential," Ilsa added, her tone careful. "But we must tread lightly. The Forgers'' warnings about preserving the cosmic bnce were stark."


    Back within the heart of Aldred''s gship, the atmosphere shifted from the bustling activity of the bridge to the focused intensity of the simtion chamber.


    Tacticians and admirals gathered, their attention riveted on the massive holographic disy that filled the center of the room. Aldred stood among them, his presencemanding silence.


    The simtion flickered to life, casting its eerie light across the faces of those assembled. It depicted the armada, vast and formidable, yet suddenly dwarfed by the emergence of a demon fleet, their numbers staggering, twenty times that of Aldred''s forces. The sight was a sobering reminder of the threats they faced.


    As the projection yed out the chaos of battle, the admirals began to outline their proposed strategy. "Our primary objective," started one of the tacticians, "is to navigate through the enemy ranks, identify vulnerabilities, and exploit a path to break the encirclement."


    The simted armada moved with precision, ships darting and weaving in a desperate bid for survival. Yet, as the scenario progressed, it became evident that the overwhelming numbers of the demon fleet left little room for escape.


    Aldred, watching the unfolding simtion with a critical eye, interjected suddenly, "Why don''t you activate the Shielding Halo?" His voice, firm and inquisitive, cut through the tension in the room.


    The room fell silent for a moment before the admiral in charge of the simtion nodded to an operator. With a few swiftmands, the projection shifted, now focusing on a single ship as it attempted to activate the Shielding Halo. The disy detailed the process, revealing a critical limitation: for the Halo to be activated, the ship''s electronics and weapons systems had to bepletely powered down.


    Aldred''s brows furrowed as he absorbed this crucial detail. "So you''re saying that we''re just a sitting duck while we use it?" The skepticism in his voice was palpable, a stark contrast to the earlier optimism that had surrounded the artifact''s potential.


    The admiral responded, the weight of responsibility evident in his tone. "Yes, sir. The Halo''s defensive capabilities are unmatched, but its activation requires us to be vulnerable. It''s a significant risk, especially in the midst ofbat."


    "What are the primary limitations?"


    "The Halo need 15 minutes cool down after activation. Furthermore, our engines and weapons need 5 minutes to fully restart."


    Aldred grabbed his chin, in thought. "So we are basically vulnerable for a good five minutes. This isn''t very good. In battle, every single seconds, count."


    Aldred paced a few steps, his mind racing through scenarios and implications. "This changes things," he mused aloud. "The Halo, for all its power, demands a sacrifice of our offensive capabilities. It''s a shield, yes, but one that leaves us exposed."


    Turning back to his officers, Aldred''s gaze was sharp, his decision clear. "We need to rethink our strategy. The Shielding Halo is ast resort, a means to protect us when all other options have failed. Our focus must remain on maneuverability and tactical advantage. However, we should also prepare protocols for the Halo''s use, scenarios where its protection outweighs the risk of temporary vulnerability."


    The officers nodded, understanding theplexity of incorporating the Shielding Halo into their defensive measures. The simtion was paused, the room now abuzz with discussion as they began to outline new strategies, taking into ount the unique nature of the artifact.


    Aldred couldn''t help but feel scammed. He thought this technology would help him turn the tide of war, but its limitation meant that they need to get creative to employ it effectively.


    "I still believe we can make strategy with this. Keep trying and simte as many data as possible."

 Chapter 770 770 Man and Machine

    Chapter 770  770 Man and Machine


    ??As the armada made its triumphant return, the base was alight with celebrations. The air was filled with cheers and the collective relief at their leader''s safe return was palpable.


    Aldred, though greeted with the warmth of his people, knew there was little time for rest. The information brought to him by Vortimer about Zelthrax''s secret weapon weighed heavily on his mind. The war against the demonic forces was far from over.


    In the midst of celebrations, Vortimer approached Aldred, his metallic frame reflecting the flickering lights of the celebration. The joyous atmosphere did little to mask the gravity of his message. "Aldred, while the return to our stronghold is a momentous asion, I must press upon you the urgency of the information we''ve uncovered," Vortimer''s voice, though synthetic, carried an unmistakable urgency.


    Aldred nodded, signaling for Vortimer to continue, his expression turning somber, a stark contrast to the revelry around them. "Zelthrax has been developing a weapon, unlike anything we''ve encountered. Its potential for destruction is¡­ substantial. We must act swiftly," Vortimer exined, his optical sensors locking onto Aldred''s gaze.


    The news sobered Aldred instantly. "Have we any intelligence on the nature of this weapon? Or how far they''ve progressed?" Aldred''s voice was calm, but the concern was palpable.


    "Details are scarce. The demonic forces guard this secret zealously. But, our scouts have confirmed its existence. It''s being developed in the depths of their stronghold, shielded from prying eyes," Vortimer detailed, his voice betraying the seriousness of the threat.


    Aldred pondered the situation, the weight ofmand heavy upon his shoulders. "We''ll need a n. A direct assault is out of the question. We''re going to need precision and stealth on our side," he mused aloud, already strategizing their next move.


    Turning to hismanders, who had gathered around, drawn by the discussion, Aldred''s voice was firm. "Prepare a team. We infiltrate the enemy stronghold, gather intelligence, and if possible, sabotage this weapon. This mission will be perilous, and I''ll only take volunteers."


    "What about the secret tech that you find?" Vortimer asked.


    "This tech won''t be useful to you. Besides, I have a contract not to disclose this tech to anyone. Although, if you see me using it, you probably won''t be impressed by it."


    Captain Ilsa stepped forward, her resolve clear. "I''ll lead the team. We''ve faced the darkness before. We''ll do it again," she dered, her voice steady.


    Aldred gave a nod of approval. "Very well, Captain Ilsa. Assemble your team. Time is of the essence."


    As the nningmenced, the celebrations continued around them, a bittersweet reminder of what they were fighting to protect. Aldred, Ilsa, and Vortimer delved into the intricacies of the mission, the festive atmosphere fading into the background as they focused on the looming threat.


    The night grew deeper, and as the base slowly returned to quiet, a select group of warriors, scientists, and strategists gathered in the war room. Maps of the demonic territories wereid out, and the secret weapon''s possible locations were marked. The room was filled with a tense energy, a mix of anticipation and resolve.


    Captain Ilsa, now nked by her chosen team, looked over the maps. "We''ll need to be ghost-like. In and out before they realize we''re there," she said, her gaze intense.


    Dr. Ren, the team''s expert engineer, added, "I''ve been working on a device that might help mask our energy signatures. It''s not foolproof, but it should give us an edge."


    Dr. Ren actually was one of Smander''s top scientist and engineer. Aldred actually did not want a talent like him to die, but his presence increased the team''s chance of survival.


    Losing him would be quite a hit to Celestial toon''s human resources, however, he could still take it.


    Vega, the ace pilot chosen for her unparalleled skills, chimed in, "I''ve plotted a course that''ll take us through the least guarded sectors. It''s risky, but it''s our best shot at getting close undetected."


    The team worked through the night, refining their strategy, aware of the stakes.


    As dawn crept over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the base, the team, led by Captain Ilsa, gathered at theunch bay.


    Their vessel, a sleek, modified scout ship designed for stealth, sat ready. The air was tense but charged with a focused energy. Each team member knew the gravity of their task and the slim chance of their return.


    Aldred approached, his figure cutting amanding presence against the lightening sky. "You''re embarking on a mission that could very well dictate the future of our fight against the demonic forces," he began, his voice firm yet imbued with an undercurrent of concern. "Zelthrax is cunning and merciless. If he''s indeed spearheading this weapon''s development, we must assume we''re up against something unprecedented."


    Captain Ilsa met Aldred''s gaze, her determination unwavering. "We understand the risks, sir. We''ll get the intelligence you need and sabotage their efforts if we can. You have my word."


    Aldred nodded, cing a hand on Ilsa''s shoulder. "Your bravery is the beacon that guides us through these dark times," he said solemnly. "May the stars watch over you."


    Turning to Vortimer, Aldred whispered, "Keep the base on high alert. We don''t know what we''re up against, and we must be prepared for any retaliatory actions from Zelthrax."


    "No. I am done staying on the defensive. I will take a more pro-


    active approach," Vortimer replied.


    "borate."


    "I let you build your organization in three years as a test of your capabilities. You did not disappoint. In a decade, you certainly will match the Lord Malgorth''s army. A decade is but a blink of an eye for me, but I have no privilege of time. We need to end this war quickly."


    Aldred frowned. "It''s too early. The Celestial toon isn''t big and influential enough to achieve your ambition."


    For a few second, there was only silence. Vortimer seem to process it until he replied. "I lied. I have the privilege of time. I have lived for eons and a decade is nothing for me. But this isn''t the case for you."


    Confusion appeared on Aldred''s face.


    "You don''t have much time in this universe, Aldred.


    Aldred''s frown deepened, the celebratory mood from moments ago now a distant memory. "What do you mean, Vortimer? Exin yourself," he demanded, his voice tinged with an urgency he couldn''t mask.


    Vortimer''s sensors seemed to dim slightly, as if in contemtion. "Aldred, my sensors have detected anomalies in the fabric of reality since your arrival. It''s as if¡­ as if the universe itself is attempting to reim you, to pull you back to where you truly belong."


    Aldred shook his head in disbelief. "That''s impossible. I''mmitted to this fight, to this universe. My return¡­ my return depends on defeating Lord Malgorth and retrieving the Space Weaver scepter. Without it, I''m stranded here."


    Vortimer''s response was gentle, yet firm. "You''re a remarkable being, Aldred. Capable of seeing beyond what many cannot.Yet, there''s a blindness in you to the cosmic forces at y. Your belief in the scepter as your only means of return is¡­ misced."


    Aldred''s stance hardened. "You''re saying there''s another way?"


    "Yes," Vortimer confirmed. "The universe doesn''t adhere strictly to the physical objects and quests we often see as our only solutions. Your connection to your home universe is stronger than you realize. The scepter may be a key, but it''s not the only one."


    Aldred absorbed Vortimer''s words, a mix of skepticism and hope battling within him. "And what would you have me do? Abandon the fight here?"


    "It is not your fight to begin with. Have you already forgotten about your wives?"


    The weight of Vortimer''s words settled over Aldred like a cloak. The possibility of returning home had always been a distant beacon, guiding his every decision in this universe.


    Yet, he was too busy that he had forgotten of what was trully matter.


    Vortimer''s form seemed to pause, a momentary silence filling the space between them before he spoke, his voice carrying a hint of something akin to warmth. "I''ve alreadye to think of you as a friend, Aldred. It''s a sentiment I never thought I''d direct towards a human."


    Aldred, caught off guard by the confession, could only manage a small smile in response. "And what will you do, Vortimer, if I do leave?"


    "I will continue the work you''ve started here, ensuring that the Celestial toon remains a beacon of hope against the darkness. Your legacy will endure, through the battles fought and the lives saved," Vortimer replied, his tone resolute.


    Aldred chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "You speak as if my departure is imminent."


    "Perhaps not this very moment, but the universe''s call grows stronger. I''ve witnessed many partings, many farewells left unsaid. It may be premature, but I wish to express my gratitude now, to avoid the regrets thate with silence," Vortimer exined, the synthetic cadence of his voice doing little to hide the sincerity of his words.


    Aldred''s chuckle deepened into a heartierugh. "Vortimer, in this moment, you sound more human than many humans I''ve met."


    "It is the highestpliment you could offer," Vortimer responded. "But to your question, my n is to safeguard the foundation you''ve built, to protect this universe as you have. And when the timees for you to answer the universe''s call, know that your legacy, your fight, will continue."


    Aldred nodded, the gravity of the conversation settling upon him. "It seems I''ve more to ponder than I realized. And Vortimer, know that your friendship, unexpected as it was, has been a beacon for me as well."


    The two stood in a moment of shared understanding, a warrior and a machine, bound by amon cause and an unlikely friendship. Aldred finally spoke, breaking the reflective silence. "Let''s focus on the here and now. We have a war to win, and I intend to make every moment count."

 Chapter 771 771 An Amazing Ship

    Chapter 771  771 An Amazing Ship


    ??Captain Ilsa and her select team made their way to one of the Celestial toon''s secret bases, nestled on an uncharted far from the prying eyes of demonic forces. These bases were the backbone of their logisticalwork, ensuring that no matter where in the gxy they were, a resupply point was never too far away.


    As they entered the base, a sense of purpose reced the reflective mood that had enveloped them during their departure from the main stronghold. The base, though hidden, buzzed with the same energy and determination that defined the Celestial toon.


    Celestial toon had many secret bases in various ces for their factories or weapon storage. This was extremely needed just in case Celestial toon needed resupply and the nearest secret base would be promtly avable.


    The hangar doors slid open silently, revealing a sleek vessel that seemed to absorb rather than reflect the light around it. Its design was unlike any standard reconnaissance craft; it was clear that this ship was built with a singr purpose in mind¡ªstealth.


    The officer eagerlyunched into the specifics. "This marvel of engineering is equipped with a cloaking system that''s light years ahead of anything else¡ªit operates on a frequency modtion principle that essentially renders it invisible to both radar and the naked eye. We''re talking about a detection evasion rate of 99.97% under standard enemy surveince conditions."


    He circled the ship with an almost reverent air, pointing out its less visible virtues. "The engines? Oh, they''re a masterpiece. Dual-phase ion turbines with a variable output range from 0 to 12,000 terawatts, capable of silent running for up to six hours on a single charge. And that''s at a cruising speed of Mach 15, mind you."


    As he continued, his enthusiasm only grew. "Now, for the shields¡ªthese aren''t your average deflectors. We''ve integrated a multi-spectral shield matrix that can adapt on the fly to iing frequencies, making it nearly impossible for enemy weapons to lock on. And, just in case we get into a tight spot, the ship''s armed with retractable sma turrets. They pack a punch with a yield of up to 500 megatons per st. But remember, using them might as well light up a billboard of our location, so discretion is advised."


    Captain Ilsa absorbed every detail, her mind already racing through mission scenarios. "Armaments and defenses are clear. How about the electronic warfare capabilities?"


    The officer grinned, pleased with the question. "d you asked. The EW suite is the cream of the crop. We''re talking about an integrated system capable of jamming scans andmunications over a 50,000-kilometer radius, not to mention its ability to inject false data into enemy systems to lead them astray."


    The team gathered around, captivated by the officer''s rundown. They spent the remainder of their time at the base pouring over every inch of the ship, the officer''s detailed exnations painting a vivid picture of its potential.


    As they concluded their briefing, Captain Ilsa turned to her team, a serious note in her voice. "This ship is more than just our transport; it''s our lifeline. Understanding its capabilities and limitations will be crucial to our sess."


    "But with only a running time of six hours. I don''t think that will be enough." A crew member pointed out.


    The officer replied immediately. "Unless you are running the ship at mach 15 all the time, you will have more time. If you use it in mach 5, it can give you an extra twenty-two hours."


    The crew member was satisfied with that answer.


    The officer noticed that and satisfied with himself. This ship was his favorite.


    "How reliable is it?"


    "You can certain of its reliability. Almost all of Celestial toon''s weapons and machines were made in house with hand-picked engineers and scientist working on it. And, it has tested numerous times in all kinds of environment. More importantly, this one is designed by Smander and Vortimer himself."


    "Sir Smander? Why I didn''t know about this."


    "It would be weird if you did know. A lot of weapons are kept secret. Some say even Smander himself can''t keep track of how many weapons he has invented. Those were probably exagerration though as Celestial toon documents everything."


    Captain Ilsa simply nodded and put her thoughts at the matter at hand.


    "And its refueling process? Given its advanced systems, traditional methods might not suffice."


    The officer''s eyes lit up, excited to share another piece of the technological marvel they were about tomandeer. "Ah, the refueling process is where this ship truly shines," he began, his voice brimming with pride. "This vessel is equipped with state-


    of-the-art sr blocks across its surface, capable of absorbing ster energy directly from a star. But that''s not all."


    He guided them to a panel on the ship''s side, revealing apartment that housed several sleek drones. "These are sr drone pods, one of the most innovative features of the ship. They''re designed to approach a star, collect a small amount of sma with minimal disturbance, and return to the ship. Once docked, they convert and transfer the collected energy directly into the ship''s reserves."


    The team leaned in closer, marveling at the drones. "This means we''re not limited by fuel in the traditional sense," the officer continued. "As long as there''s a star within operational range, this ship can refuel itself, making it perfect for deep-space missions or prolonged stealth operations behind enemy lines."


    Captain Ilsa nodded, impressed by the ship''s self-sufficiency. "That''s ingenious. It essentially grants us unlimited range, provided we manage our resources wisely and avoid detection during the refueling process."


    "Yes, exactly," the officer agreed. "And with the ship''s stealth capabilities, even when deploying the drones near a star, the risk of detection is minimal. We''ve run simtions, and the energy signature during the collection process is negligible, well within the stealth parameters."


    The crew members'' eyes lit up. This ship was nothing but amazing. No wonder the officer was so excited about this ship.


    Even Captain Ilsa could not hide her excitement. "What do you think, Ren?"


    Dr. Ren only had one word to say. "Let''s take this one."

 Chapter 772 772 Quantum Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 772 Chapter 772 Quantum Shadow </h4>


    ?Captain Ilsa and her select team stepped aboard the ship, officially designated as the EXF-1178 Quantum Shadow. The name, though urate in describing the ship''s capabilities, felt too impersonal, too cold for the task thaty ahead of them.


    Gathering her team in thepact but efficient cockpit, Captain Ilsa addressed the group. "This vessel is a marvel of engineering, a testament to the ingenuity of the Celestial toon. But ''EXF-1178'' doesn''t exactly roll off the tongue, does it?"


    Murmurs of agreement filled the space, the crew sharing amused nces.


    "We''re about to embark on a mission that will test us to our limits. This ship will be our home, our guardian, and if fortune favors us, our savior. It deserves a name that inspires, that carries the weight of our hope and determination," Captain Ilsa continued, her gaze sweeping across the faces of her team, each member braced for the unknown


    The ship''s engineer, a young but brilliant mind who had quickly earned the respect of his peers, was the first to speak up. "What about the ''Silent Wraith''? It speaks to its stealth capabilities and gives it a bit of an edge."


    Dr. Ren, always one for the dramatic yet meaningful, suggested, "How about ''Eclipse Phantom''? It alludes to its ability to hide in in sight, much like an eclipse does with the sun."


    Vega, the pilot, with a grin spreading across her face, threw her suggestion into the ring. "I''m partial to ''Shadow Dancer''. It''s agile, elusive, and dances around danger."


    Laughter and nods of approval followed each proposal, the mood lightening as they entertained the possibilities.


    Captain Ilsa listened, a smile ying on her lips as she considered each name. "Each suggestion captures the essence of our mission and this incredible ship. But I think ''Quantum Shadow'' has the right mix of mystery and agility we''re looking for."


    The crew nodded in agreement, the name immediately resonating with them. It wasn''t just a designation; it was a deration of their intent and the spirit with which they would face the challenges ahead.


    "Then it''s settled. The EXF-1178 will henceforth be known as the ''Quantum Shadow."


    With the ship now proudly bearing the name Quantum Shadow, Captain Ilsa turned her attention to the task at hand. "This ship is our advantage, but only if we fully understand its capabilities. I want everyone to familiarize themselves with the manuals. Learn every button, every system. Knowledge will be as crucial as courage in theing days."


    The crew, seasoned veterans of countless skirmishes, took to the task. Manuals were distributed, holographic disys lit up with technical diagrams, and the air was filled with the hum of concentrated study. Despite the advanced technology at their fingertips, it was their skill and adaptability that would determine the mission''s sess.


    "Once we''re done here, we''re not heading back to safe space. We''re taking the Quantum Shadow directly into enemy territory," Captain Ilsa announced, her voice cutting through the quiet focus of the room. Her decision didn''t evoke surprise; her team was ustomed to her aggressive tactics. They understood the necessity of pushing themselves to their limits, especially with so much at stake.


    The target was a region on the periphery of demonic control, a cluster of star systems swallowed by darkness yet uncharted by Celestial toon scouts. It was a bold move, venturing into unknown territory, but the Quantum Shadow was designed for such missions.


    As they approached the designated area, the mood aboard the Quantum Shadow was a blend of tense anticipation and quiet confidence.


    Vega, hands steady at the controls, maneuvered the ship with a deft touch, her familiarity with its systems evident in every subtle adjustment.


    "Activating the scanning suite," Dr. Ren announced, his fingers dancing over the console. The Quantum Shadow''s advanced sensors sprang to life, piercing the shroud that the demonic forces had cast over their territories.


    The data that flooded in was a revtion. Military instations, supply routes, energy signatures that hinted at significant activity¡ªall wereid bare before them. The Quantum Shadow''s scanning capabilities exceeded even their high expectations, revealing secrets that had been hidden from prying eyes.


    All the data that was hidden from view suddenlyy bare like a naked beautifuldy.


    The crew, momentarily awestruck by the wealth of information now at their disposal, quickly sprang into action. Data packets werepiled and encrypted, ready to be sent back to Celestial toon headquarters.


    Still, Captain Ilsa wasn''t satisfied. "We need to get deeper. This data isn''t enough to change the tide of war."


    Arge holographic disy sprang to life, casting a soft glow on the faces of Captain Ilsa and her crew. The star map unfurled before them, a vast expanse of space dotted with the light of distant stars. The known territories of the Celestial toon were clearly marked, bastions of light against the encroaching darkness. But it was the vast, uncharted regions that drew their attention now¡ªswathes of space swallowed by the shadow of demonic control, untouched and unexplored.


    Captain Ilsa leaned forward, her eyes scanning the map with a strategic eye. "The data we''ve gathered is invaluable, but it''s only the beginning. Our mission is to illuminate these shadows, to map the unknown and uncover the enemy''s secrets."


    The crew, gathered around the disy, nodded in agreement, their expressions set in determination. Vega, hands still on the controls, turned to Ilsa. "Give the word, Captain, and we''ll take the Quantum Shadow into the heart of darkness."


    With a nod from Ilsa, the ship''s course was set. The Quantum Shadow, living up to its name, slipped silently into the unknown territory, its sensors extended like the fingers of a seeker in the dark.


    As they delved deeper into enemy space, the ship''s advanced scanning suite began to reveal the hidden structures of demonic influence¡ªfortresses built on desecrated worlds, fleets patrolling the void, and supply lines weaving through the dark like veins. Each discovery was meticulously logged, the Quantum Shadow''s databases swelling with information critical to the war effort.


    Captain Ilsa stood watchful at the helm, her mind racing with ns and countermeasures. "Vega, keep us on this trajectory. Dr. Ren, I want continuous scans. Anything out of the ordinary, I want to know immediately."


    Dr. Ren, his eyes fixed on the readouts, nodded. "Understood, Captain. The scanning suite is performing beyond expectations. We''re seeing through their veil like never before."


    The crew worked in harmony, a silent dance of expertise and precision. The Quantum Shadow, a mere whisper in the vast silence of space, moved undetected, its presence unknown to the demonic sentinels that patrolled the dark.

 Chapter 773 773 Unseen Front

    <h4>Chapter 773 Chapter 773 Unseen Front</h4>


    ?Back within the secure confines of the Celestial toon''s territory, a crisis was unfolding far from the front lines of battle. The Mechanosphere, a colossal ring-shaped habitat, engineered from the zenith of mechanical and technological prowess, now yed host to a scene of tumultuous discord.


    In a room shielded byyers of protective technology, Shinari, a high-ranking official known for her strategic acumen and unwavering resolve, was at her wit''s end. The vast, circr table before her, a marvel of engineering that could project real-time holographic maps of the warfront, now bore the brunt of her frustration.


    "All these fools suddenly want to reduce their contributions? And some of them even want to take back what they already sent?!" Shinari''s voice, usually calm andposed, wasced with incredulity and rage. She mmed her palm against the table, the impact sending a ripple through the holographic disy, distorting the images of troop movements and supply lines.


    Her aide, Commander Varik, stood by the doorway, his posture rigid, reflecting the tension that filled the room. "The war is going on in our favor, what is wrong with these people?" Shinari continued, her gaze fixed on the distorted images, her fingers threading through her hair in a gesture of deep frustration.


    Varik stepped forward, his voice steady but cautious. "Many fear the tide may turn, Shinari. Rumors of Zelthrax''s secret weapon have spread like wildfire. Confidence is a fragile thing."


    Shinari''s re shifted from the table to Varik. "Fear," she spat the word as if it were a curse. "Fear will be our undoing, not Zelthrax or his weapons."


    Themander nodded, acknowledging her point. "Perhaps it''s time to remind our contributors of what''s at stake, of the progress we''ve made. We could arrange a demonstration of our technological advancements, reassure them of our position."


    Shinari considered this for a moment, her mind racing through possibilities. "Yes," she finally said, the edge in her voice softening slightly. "A demonstration, but it needs to be impactful. We need to show them not just our strength, but the inevitability of our victory."


    A n began to take shape, a spark of strategy igniting in her eyes. "Gather our top engineers and scientists. I will ask Smanderfor help as well. It''s time the Mechanosphere showcased its true capabilities. We''ll hold a summit, invite all major contributors and skeptics. Let them see firsthand the power they''re backing."


    Commander Varik saluted, a gesture of both respect and agreement. "I''ll make the arrangements immediately. What about the dissenters, those who wish to retract their support?"


    Shinari''s expression hardened once more, a cold determination settling over her features. "They''ll be invited as well. After the summit, if they still wish to withdraw their support, they can do so. But they''ll be doing it with the full knowledge that they''re turning their backs on the only force capable of ensuring our survival."


    As Varik left to execute her orders, Shinari made a call to Smander.


    Shinari initiated the securemunication channel, the signal weaving throughyers of encryption before connecting to Smander, the Mechanosphere''s most reclusive and brilliant mind. The screen flickered to life, revealing the cluttered workshop of the genius engineer, a chaotic symphony of ongoing projects and half-built machines.


    "Smander," Shinari began, her tone a blend of urgency and respect, "we''re facing a crisis of faith among our contributors. I need your help."


    On the other end, Smander leaned back in his chair, an array of holographic blueprints floating around him, momentarily forgotten. His face, marked by the signs of countless hours ofbor and sleepless nights, lit up with interest. "That''s all you need? You want to show off our arsenals to people?" His voice carried a hint of amusement, a stark contrast to the gravity of Shinari''s request.


    Shinari''s lips twitched in a half-smile, recognizing the typical response from her old friend. "Not just show off, Smander. I want to make a statement. Remind them why backing out now would be the gravest mistake they could make."


    Smanderughed, a rich, booming sound that seemed toorge for the cramped quarters of his workshop. "Shinari, my dear, you''re thinking too small. The Celestial toon''s arsenal is far beyond what even our key personnel realize. Even Aldred doesn''t know the half of it."


    Shinari''s interest piqued, her strategic mind already turning. "Are you suggesting what I think you''re suggesting?"


    "Exactly." Smander''s gaze turned serious, the weight of his knowledge apparent in his eyes. "It''s time we unveil some of our hidden gems. But we''ll do it our way¡ªleave asting impression that will silence any doubts about our capabilities."


    Shinari leaned forward, her mind racing with the possibilities. "What do you have in mind?"


    Smander''s workshop suddenly seemed to buzz with a palpable energy, as if the very mention of unveiling his secret projects had breathed life into the space. "I''ve been working on something¡­let''s just say it makes everything the toon used look like a child''s toy."


    Intrigued, Shinari asked, "Can it be ready for the summit?"


    A sly grin spread across Smander''s face. "For you, Shinari, it''ll be ready. But I''ll need something from you in return."


    "Name it," Shinari responded without hesitation, the gravity of the situation leaving no room for bargaining.


    "Your word that when this is over, you''ll take a break. Visit the Neb Gardens or something. You''re running yourself ragged."


    Shinari''s expression softened, a rare moment of vulnerability. "You I can''t do that. Everyone us working hard. I must keep up."


    Smander frowned. "Even Aldred takes his break from time to time. One time I met him, he had tables of grapes, wines, and other delicacies."


    "Perhaps, I can visit him to ask for some grapes," Shinari jokingly replied.


    "You do that. Visiting him is always a good idea. Aldred always had ways to calm my nerves."


    Shinari liked that idea. "I will do that after I am done for the day. You should go too, show me what you''ve been working on."

 Chapter 774 Nano Particles

    774 Chapter 774 Nano Particles


    Shinari, with a newfound resolve buoyed by her conversation with Smander, turned to her officers, instructing them to prepare a ship for immediate departure. "I''m visiting Aldred," she announced, her tone brooking no argument.


    Aldred''s gship, a testament to the Celestial toon''s technological might and strategic dominance, floated in the vastness of space.


    Within, amidst a room aglow with holographic disys and illuminated screens, Aldred sat in contemtion. The star map before him was awork of potential moves and countermoves, demonics marked in red, their armadas represented by moving icons, and the blueprints of enemy strongholds and bases detailed in precise, geometric lines.


    He was a picture of calcted serenity, indulging in grapes, meats, and wines, a rare moment of leisure amidst the chaos of war. Each piece of information on the screens was absorbed, analyzed, and turned over in his strategic mind, even as he savored the taste of his meal.


    The door to his chamber opened without warning, and Shinari stepped in, her presence a stark contrast to the opulence of Aldred''s surroundings. Aldred looked up, not at all surprised by her sudden appearance, a knowing smile spreading across his face.


    "Shinari, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Aldred''s voice was warm, weing, the tone of an old friend rather than a wartime leader.


    "I''vee for some grapes," Shinari quipped, her eyes twinkling with humor despite the weight of her earlier frustrations. She moved closer, taking in the array of screens with a practiced eye. "And perhaps to steal some of your calm amidst this storm."


    Aldred chuckled, extending a hand toward a bowl of grapes. "You''re wee to both. But I suspect there''s more on your mind than fruit and wine."


    Shinari sighed, epting the offered grapes and taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "The contributors are wavering, Aldred. Fear of Zelthrax''s rumored weapon is spreading, and it''s causing a rift. We''re nning a summit, a demonstration of our capabilities. Smander''s cooking up something special." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Aldred''s expression turned serious, the gravity of the situation settling over him. "Fear can be a more formidable enemy than any demonic armada. But you''re taking the right steps, Shinari. If anyone can turn this tide, it''s you and Smander."


    "You praised us too much. Every single one of us worked really hard. I am sure that we won''t be able to hold on for so long without their efforts as well. But what about you? What are all these?" She gestured to the screens, each depicting a different facet of the war.


    Aldred leaned back, his gaze sweeping over the disys. "nning, always nning. The war is a game of chess on a cosmic scale. Each move must be calcted, each strategy meticulously crafted."


    Shinari took a moment to observe Aldred, noticing the slight tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes lingered on certain screens. "You''ve always been ten steps ahead, Aldred. But even you need to rest, to step back and look at the bigger picture."


    Aldred met her gaze, the bond of their long friendship allowing words to pass unspoken between them. "Perhaps you''re right. But for now, there''s work to be done. Tell me more about this summit. How can I assist?"


    Shinari shook her head gently, her expression one of resolute determination mixed with a touch of affection. "Smander has it under control, Aldred. I don''t want to add more to your te. You have enough to contend with as it is," she said, her voice carrying a warmth that spoke volumes of their deep-seated camaraderie.


    Aldred, recognizing the unyielding nature of her stance, did not press further.


    He knew Shinari well enough to understand that she would reach out for help without hesitation if the situation truly demanded it. "Alright, Shinari. But remember, my resources¡ªlike my advice¡ªare always at your disposal, should you need them."


    Shinari offered a grateful nod, acknowledging his support. "I know, and I appreciate it more than you can imagine. Just keep the wine chilled for our next meeting," she quipped, lightening the mood with her characteristic humor.


    The room was filled with afortable silence for a moment, as both leaders allowed themselves a brief respite from the relentless pressures of their roles.


    Aldred''s gaze returned to the screens, his mind undoubtedly weaving through the myriad strategies and scenarios disyed before him. Shinari watched him, her thoughts momentarily wandering to the countless battles they had faced together, each victory hard-won through sacrifice and determination.


    As Shinari and Aldred''s meeting drew to a close, the silence of the chamber was punctuated by the unmistakable sound of the door mechanism engaging once again. This time, the visitor was Smander. "Ie to show you something I have been working on."


    Aldred, his interest piqued, offered Smander a nod of acknowledgment. "You always work on something, Smander. What is it this time?" he inquired, his tone a mixture of amusement and genuine curiosity.


    Smander''s lips curved into a knowing smile, his eyes gleaming with the promise of unveiled secrets. "Remember when you told me about the forge? And the thing about the metallic bricks suddenly turning into particles and devoured a monster?" His voice wasden with excitement, a rare disy of emotion from the typically reserved engineer.


    "What about them?"


    "Well," Smander began, his excitement barely contained, "I made something simr." With a dramatic flourish, he produced a ss box from the folds of his coat, revealing dark particles moving unstably inside, their motion erratic yet mesmerizing.


    Shinari, drawn by the revtion, stepped closer to examine the ss box. The particles within seemed to dance with an inner life, shifting and swirling in patterns that defied simple exnation.


    "I call them the Nano Particles."


    Aldred, ever the tactician, regarded the ss box with a mixture of wonder and caution. "How simr are we talking?" he asked, his mind racing through potential applications and the ethical implications of such power.


    Smander ced the box on the table, allowing both Shinari and Aldred a closer look. "This isn''t just an imitation of what you saw. It''s an evolution," he exined, his voice steady with confidence. "These particles can be programmed to target specific materials, dissolve obstacles, or even act as a defensive mechanism. The potential applications are¡­ vast."


    Aldred, however, remained contemtive, his sense of responsibility weighing heavily on him. "And the risks?" he asked, his voice low. "Such power muste with consequences."


    Smander''s expression sobered at the question. "There are always risks, Aldred. But I''ve implemented fail-safes, controls to prevent misuse or unintended consequences. Still, it will require careful handling."


    The room fell into a thoughtful silence, each leader considering the potential of Smander''s creation. The implications were far-reaching, offering not just a new weapon in their arsenal but also posing questions about the nature of power and its responsible use.


    Finally, Shinari broke the silence, her voice resolute. "We need to test it, under controlled conditions. See its capabilities for ourselves before we even think of deploying it."


    "I already ran the test countless times. You know me. I won''t show you anything unless I''ve tested it.


    Aldred chuckled. "Then I only have one request. Show me what it can do."

 Chapter 775 Gravitational Anomaly

    775 Chapter 775 Gravitational Anomaly


    As the Quantum Shadow delved deeper into enemy territory, the unease among the crew grew palpable. The vastness of space around them seemed to pulse with hidden dangers, and the ship, for all its advanced capabilities, felt increasingly isted in the oppressive darkness.


    Lieutenant Kira, the ship''s navigator, was the first to voice her concerns. "Captain, we''re venturing further than any Celestial toon ship has before. Radars and patrols are bing more frequent." Her voice, usually steady and confident, carried an undercurrent of worry.


    Captain Ilsa, standing firm at the helm, turned to face her crew. Her eyes, resolute and unwavering, met each of their gazes in turn. "I understand your concerns," she acknowledged, her tone steady. "But we have the Quantum Shadow, a vessel designed exactly for missions like this. We trust in its technology to keep us hidden, to carry us through."


    Dr. Ren, always the voice of reason, added his support. "The Quantum Shadow''s stealth capabilities have been tested under extreme conditions. We''re invisible to their sensors, a ghost amidst the stars."


    Yet, as they ventured further, the space around them seemed to bristle with activity. Radars and patrols became not just more frequent but more sophisticated, a densework of surveince that sought to pierce their cloak of invisibility.


    The tension within the cockpit was a tangible thing, a tightrope they all walked together, until the unthinkable happened. Vega, her eyes wide with disbelief, stuttered out a warning. "Captain, an entire armada¡­ it''s just appeared in deep space, approaching a star system. They''re a few kilometers away."


    The crew froze, every eye turning to the main screen where the armada loomed, a formidable expanse of ships that blotted out the stars themselves. And yet, the Quantum Shadow remained undetected, a testament to its design and their daring.


    Captain Ilsa''s voice cut through the stunned silence. "Hold position. Let''s observe." Hermand was a beacon of calm in the storm of fear that threatened to engulf them.


    As they watched, the armada moved with precision, a deadly ballet of ships that spoke of power and purpose. And yet, they passed by the Quantum Shadow without so much as a flicker of detection, their sensors blind to the tiny vessel hidden in their midst.


    The crew of the Quantum Shadow held their collective breath, not daring to move lest they somehow betray their presence to the enemy so close at hand. The armada continued on its path, oblivious to the silent observer in its shadow.


    When atst the threat had passed, and the armada disappeared from their sensors, the relief among the crew was palpable, a shared exhale that filled the cockpit.


    Captain Ilsa allowed herself a small smile, her gaze still fixed on the screen. "This," she said, her voice filled with a mix of pride and awe, "is the power of the Quantum Shadow. We''ve just witnessed an armada, seen their movements, and they''re none the wiser for our presence."


    "We''ll go deeper," she continued. "We have a unique opportunity to gather intelligence that could turn the tide of this war. We''ll use this knowledge to our advantage."


    The crew, buoyed by her confidence, returned to their stations, their resolve strengthened. The Quantum Shadow, a mere speck in the vastness of space, carried on its mission, deeper into the heart of darkness, armed with the knowledge of the enemy''s movements and the unshakeable belief in their cause.


    Captain Ilsa nced at the star map. The darkness on the map began the be filled with lights as the Quantum Shadow explored the unchartered territory.


    As the Quantum Shadow ventured further into the abyss of space, its mission to gather intelligence continued unabated. The crew, now ustomed to the omnipresent danger that cloaked their journey, worked with a singr focus, their resolve as strong as the ship that carried them.


    It was during one of their routine scans that the unexpected happened. A signal, faint and seemingly inconsequential, flickered to life on their instruments. It was an anomaly that, under normal circumstances, might have been dismissed as cosmic background noise or the dying breath of a distant star.


    Most of the crew, caught up in the enormity of their task, paid little attention to the signal. "Probably just a supernova remnants echoing through space," suggested Lieutenant Kira, her eyes not leaving the navigation console. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But Captain Ilsa, ever vignt, sensed something amiss. She studied the star map, her brow furrowed in concentration. "No," she finally spoke, her voice cutting through the hum of the ship''s operations. "There''s been no supernova reported in this sector. And we''re too far from any star for it to be residual noise. Something''s out there."


    "Captain''s orders, let''s do a deep scan of the area. Every sensor, every bit of tech we have¡ªlet''s sweep the space," Dr. Ren announced, his fingers already dancing across the console to adjust the ship''s sophisticated scanning equipment.


    For weeks, the Quantum Shadowbed the area, its array of sensors and instruments probing the darkness for any sign of the elusive signal. The crew worked in shifts, tirelessly monitoring the data, analyzing patterns, and searching for anything that could exin the mysterious blip.


    But the universe, in its infinite expanse, offered no answers. The signal, as mysteriously as it had appeared, vanished from their radar. No trace, no clue, nothing that could point to its origin or purpose.


    It was as if they had chased a ghost through the void, a phantom signal that defied exnation.


    "There is nothing," a crew member said. "We have been trying to detect any radiation that any celetial bodies would emit and try to detect infrared signatures. We also use advanced imaging scanner to detect celestial bodies with low reflectivity, but we found none."


    Captain Ilsa frowned. She was certain there was something out there. Her instinct refused to give up even after weeks of search that resulting in nothing.


    She did not believe they were looking for a ghost.


    "Perhaps we are using the wrong tools. What we are looking for might not emit or reflect anything."


    "But something like that means that they do not have any energy," a crew member said. "We detect energy because weapons produce energy."


    "Yeah, but there are many kinds of energy. Turn on the gravimetric."


    The crew member turned it on and they detected something. Far from any celestial bodies, a lone gravitational force appeared. Its strength increased then weakening, increased then weakening.


    Almost like a beating heart.


    "Ladies and gentlemen. I think we just found something."

 Chapter 776 Shadow Forge

    776 Chapter 776 Shadow Forge


    The Quantum Shadow crept closer to the source of the strange gravitational anomaly, the tension among the crew thickening with each passing moment. The void ahead seemed to swallow light whole, a patch of darkness more profound than the space surrounding it.


    "It''s like a shadow in the void," Lieutenant Kira murmured, her eyes fixed on the navigation instruments as they approached the anomaly. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Captain Ilsa, her gaze locked on the forward screen, nodded slowly. "A shadow that hides not behind light but within it. Dr. Ren, is it possible to use its unique gravitational properties to our advantage?"


    Dr. Ren, his brow furrowed in concentration, considered the question. "Its gravitational field is manipting light, but not to the extent of a ck hole. It''s subtle, precise¡­ If we can capture the minimal light it reflects, we might just be able to get a visual."


    The idea of a celestial body that absorbed light like a ck hole yetcked the destructive gravitational pull was unprecedented. "It''s using a powerful gravitational force to bend light around it, making it nearly impossible to detect," Dr. Ren exined. "But there''s a faint glimmer, a whisper of light that escapes its grasp. That''s our key."


    Captain Ilsa turned to Vega, the pilot. "Take us in slowly, keep a safe distance. We don''t fully understand what we''re dealing with yet."


    Vega nodded, her hands steady on the controls, guiding the Quantum Shadow towards the anomaly with practiced ease.


    "Activate the advanced imaging."


    The crew worked diligently to adjust the ship''s advanced imaging equipment, focusing on capturing the elusive reflections that danced around the anomaly''s edge. "This will take time," cautioned Dr. Ren. "We''re trying to paint a picture with shadows."


    The advanced imaging technique requires time because the celestial object only emite a tiny bit of light. The imaging equipment had to be turned on for days if not weeks to capture all of these lights and process them.


    "Not to mention that the strange force slowed light itself."


    "It slowed light?"


    "Yes, the speed of light trying to escape from the celestial bodies is 50% slower."


    Captain Ilsa was certain now that she was onto something. "Do it."


    Hours turned into days as the Quantum Shadow maintained its vigil. The crew, operating in shifts, kept a constant watch on the instruments, waiting for the moment their efforts would bear fruit.


    Finally, a breakthrough came. The imaging system, designed to process the faintest glimmers of light, began to outline a shape hidden within the darkness. The crew gathered around the main screen, watching in awe as the image slowly materialized.


    What appeared was beyond their wildest spections. The celestial body before them was unlike anything known to human or Celestial toon science. It was vast, cold, and appeared to actively absorb light, rendering it nearly invisible to standard detection methods. Its surface was aplex tapestry of dark hues, a visual void that seemed to defy the very physics that governed the universe.


    "It''s as if it''s cloaked," Dr. Ren whispered, his voice filled with a mixture of excitement and disbelief. "A natural stealth technology far beyond our understanding."


    "I appreciate your passion in admiring the unknown, Dr. Ren. However, you need to tell me what it is," Captain Ilsa ordered.


    Dr. Ren cleared his throat. "Although we detect no signatures or radiation and only a little bit of light. The celestial body do emits some sort of wave. Now, this wave intensify for each day, and with it, increase the area of its influence. However, there is no changes in its gravitational force."


    "You haven''t tell me what you see."


    "Right. From what I can tell. This thing is a forge."


    "A forge?"


    "A shadow forge to be exact. We don''t know what exactly they cook up in there, but something is definitely cooking."


    "A forge hidden deep in the shadow¡­"


    "I would call it Shadow Forge. And the wave that it emits. We will call it Dark Wave."


    "But what does it di exactly?"


    "For now, we can only say that it bents and absorb lights. That''s all we can tell from this distance. We are, after all, still half a light year away from this thing. If we get closer, we can get some data of its effect."


    Captain Ilsa weighed the potential risks against the unprecedented opportunity before them. After a moment of contemtion, her decision was made. "Dr. Ren, take us closer. Let''s uncover the secrets of this Shadow Forge."


    As the Quantum Shadow began its cautious approach, the crew''s anticipation was palpable. Dr. Ren, stationed at his console, monitored the iing data with an eagerness that matched the pace of their advance. "Look at this," he eximed, unable to hide his excitement. "The Dark Waves¡­ they''re not uniform. We''re detecting variations in rhythm and speed. And here, this one¡ªit moves as fast as light!"


    His revtion sent a ripple of astonishment through the crew. The potential implications of such a discovery were immense, hinting at technologies and natural phenomena beyond their current understanding.


    "This could change everything," Dr. Ren murmured, his gaze fixed on the readings that danced across his screen.


    But as they drew nearer to the celestial anomaly, an unforeseenplication arose.


    Several crew members began to report severe headaches, a distressing symptom that seemed to intensify with their proximity to the Shadow Forge.


    Captain Ilsa, ever vignt, monitored the situation closely. "Let those affected rest in their chambers. We can''t afford to take unnecessary risks," she ordered, her voiceced with concern yet firm in her resolve to maintain the safety of her crew.


    "Do you feel any headache?" She asked Dr. Ren.


    Dr. Ren was excitedly staring at the radar, not hearing what Ilsa said.


    "I guess not,"


    Despite the setbacks, the Quantum Shadow pressed on, drawn inexorably towards the source of the Dark Waves.


    The closer they got, the more pronounced the effects became. The headaches reported by the crew became a significant concern, casting a shadow of doubt over the mission.


    Dr. Ren, though initially ecstatic about their findings, began to show signs of worry. "Captain, I didn''t anticipate this. The Dark Waves might be affecting us physically. We need to consider the safety of the crew."


    Captain Ilsa faced a dilemma. The Shadow Forge represented a discovery of monumental significance, yet the well-being of her crew was paramount. After a moment of silent deliberation, her decision was clear.


    "Dr. Ren, prepare to halt our approach. We''ll maintain a safe distance and continue our observations from here. We''ve gathered valuable data, but I won''t jeopardize the health of my crew."


    Relief mixed with a hint of disappointment among the crew, but they understood and respected their captain''s decision. The Quantum Shadow came to a stop, maintaining a vignt watch over the Shadow Forge from a safer distance.


    "Okay, we should be safe from this distance."


    Captain sternly nodded. "We will observe this object for a few weeks and if nothing happened, we will ask headquarter for the next step."

 Chapter 777 Strange Transformation

    777 Chapter 777 Strange Transformation


    The Quantum Shadow, now a silent sentinel in the vastness of space, continued its watch over the enigmatic Shadow Forge. Weeks turned into months, and the war across the gxy progressed at a painstakingly slow pace, with neither side able to im a decisive advantage. Yet, under Captain Ilsa''smand, the ship and its crew yed a crucial role in shedding light on the darkness that veiled the war.


    The intelligence gathered by the Quantum Shadow proved invaluable. "We''ve never had this much insight into the demons'' operations before," Captain Ilsa remarked during a strategy meeting with her senior crew. "Every bit of data we collect brings us closer to understanding our enemy."


    Emboldened by their sess, Captain Ilsa made a bold decision. "It''s time to take a more active approach. We''ll deploy small vessels to intercept unassuming demon ships. Dr. Ren, prepare the brain reading technology. We need to know what they know."


    Dr. Ren, his enthusiasm reignited by the prospect of new discoveries, quickly set to work. "We''ll have everything ready, Captain. This could give us the edge we''ve been looking for."


    The mission was a sess, with several demon ships captured and their upants subjected to the Celestial toon''s advanced interrogation techniques. The information gleaned from these operations provided a deeper understanding of the demons'' strategies and weaknesses.


    However, an unexpected consequence of their proximity to the Shadow Forge began to manifest among the crew. Several members started exhibiting rming symptoms: their nails grew long, sharp, and appeared rotten, their behavior became erratic, and they refused all food and drink, throwing their meals across the room in fits of rage.


    Captain Ilsa, faced with a situation spiraling out of control, ordered the affected crew members to be confined. "Lock them in their quarters. We need to understand what''s happening before it spreads further," shemanded, her voice steady but tinged with concern.


    Dr. Ren, tasked with investigating the affliction, poured over the data. "It''s as if the Dark Waves from the Shadow Forge have altered them, Captain. There''s a pattern to the madness." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Captain Ilsa frowned. "We''re dealing with something beyond our understanding," she began, her gaze sweeping across the room. "The Shadow Forge, the Dark Waves, they''re affecting us, changing us. We need a solution, and fast."


    Lieutenant Kira, always the pragmatist, suggested, "Perhaps it''s time to call for reinforcements, Captain. We need more resources to tackle this."


    But Captain Ilsa knew that wasn''t an option. "No, we can''t risk exposing the fleet to whatever has affected our crew. This is on us to solve."


    The discussion that followed was intense, with ideas and theories exchanged in a fervent attempt to find a solution. Dr. Ren proposed a radical idea. "What if we use the brain reading technology not just on the demons, but on our own crew? It''s a long shot, but it might help us understand the nature of their transformation."


    Everyone looked at each other, wondering if this was the right decision.


    Captain Ilsa considered the proposal. "Do it, Dr. Ren. But be careful. We can''t lose anyone else."


    As the Quantum Shadow continued its vigil over the Shadow Forge, its crew faced a new enemy, one that came from within.


    "Just what in the hell are they making that it caused insanity to people light-year away. Dr. Ren. Do we have any data of what they are doing?"


    Dr. Ren shook his head. "We cannot tell for sure. But I do have a preposition."


    "What?"


    "What if, this isn''t the side effect of their weapon-making procees. Instead, this is probably the weapon."


    Captain Ilsa''s eyes widened. It wasn''t a secret that demons could turn an entire into demons, however, it was quite easy to prevent it from happening and people with even a little bit of psychic or magic power wouldn''t be affected.


    All the Celestial toon members, and especially the crew of the Quantum Shadow were handpicked with their magic power in consideration, so they shouldn''t be affected.


    Yet they did.


    "This means this is a new weapon that can turn humans into demons. And this time, it won''t be as easy to defend," Dr. Ren said.


    "This thing has to be destroyed. Call for reinforcement!"


    ¡­


    In a secluded research facility far from the front lines of the war, Aldred, Shinari, and Smander were deeply engrossed in a demonstration that could potentially change the course of their battle against the demonic forces. The subject of their attention was an advanced form of nanotechnology, microscopic particles with the potential to revolutionize warfare.


    Currently, their focus was on a live test of these nanoparticles. A smaller aircraft, remotely piloted, hovered near an old, dmissioned ship that served as the target for this experiment. The nanoparticles, invisible to the naked eye, were released from the aircraft, drifting towards the ship like a cloud of unseen locusts.


    Even as Aldred activated the enhanced radar system, the swarm of nanoparticles barely registered, a testament to their stealth capabilities. "If we use smaller numbers, it will be even harder to detect," Smander noted, his eyes not leaving the screen that disyed the ongoing test.


    The assembled group watched in silence as the nanoparticles reached the ship, beginning their work on the external armor. It was a slow process, almost gentle, as if the particles were meticulously peeling away theyers of the ship''s defenses, revealing its vulnerable skeleton beneath.


    Aldred and Shinari exchanged satisfied nces, recognizing the potential these particles held for bypassing enemy defenses unnoticed. "This could be the key to prating the demonic strongholds," Shinari mused, her strategic mind already running through the possibilities.


    Aldred nodded in agreement, but before he could voice his thoughts, the room''s calm was shattered by the urgent re of an iingmunication. The screen flickered, and Captain Ilsa''s face appeared, her expression grave.


    "Captain Ilsa, report," Aldredmanded, his voice steady despite the sudden interruption.


    "Sir, we''ve encountered something¡­ troubling," Ilsa began, her usualposure frayed at the edges. "We believe the demons have developed a new weapon. It''s a form of wave or signal emanating from what we''ve termed the Shadow Forge. It''s affecting our crew, changing them."


    The revtion sent a chill through the room, the implications of her words clear to all present. "Changing them how?" Smander asked, his curiosity piqued despite the dire news.


    "Physically, psychologically. They''re bing aggressive, almost feral. We''ve had to confine several crew members already," Ilsa exined, her gaze flickering with the strain ofmand under such circumstances.


    Aldred''s mind raced, the pieces falling into ce. "This weapon, it bypasses conventional defenses, targets the individual directly. Like your nanoparticles, Smander, but instead of targeting ships, this weapon target the humans inside it."

 Chapter 778 Begin Siege

    778 Chapter 778 Begin Siege


    Aldred stood at the head of the war chamber, his gaze sweeping over the assembled faces of his top admirals, Smander, and Shinari. The tension in the room was palpable, each person fully aware of the gravity of the situation they were about to address.


    With a nod to Smander, the room dimmed as a projection of the star map illuminated the space. The map detailed enemy territory, with the Shadow Forge and its surrounding strongholds highlighted. The strategic points glowed ominously, marking the heart of the demonic threat.


    "Our objective is clear," Aldred began, his voice resonating with authority. "We must siege and destroy the Shadow Forge. It''s the source of a new weapon that threatens not just our forces but the very essence of humanity."


    Murmurs of concern rippled through the chamber as the enormity of the task dawned on the assembled officers. Admiral Varek, a seasoned strategist known for his caution, was the first to voice the challenges.


    "Sir, the Shadow Forge is deep in enemy territory. Our recon data shows significant armada patrols in the vicinity. Prating their defenses would be a formidable task."


    Another admiral, known for her tactical prowess, chimed in, "And pushing a massive armada through that territory¡­ the casualties would be immense. Are we prepared to pay that price?"


    The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of their words hanging in the air. Smander, ever the innovator, broke the quiet, "What if we don''t use a massive armada? What if we use the same stealth technology we''ve been developing? A smaller, more agile force could slip through unnoticed."


    "Is it possible?" Aldred asked.


    Shinari leaned forward. "A surgical strike. It minimizes our exposure and focuses our efforts directly on the target. But it would require precision and a level of stealth we''ve never attempted."


    Aldred listened intently, considering each point. "The risks are high, yes. But the alternative¡ªallowing the enemy to continue developing and possibly deploying this weapon¡ªis not an option. We need a solution that bnces risk with necessity."


    The discussion that followed was intense, with each officer contributing their expertise to formte a n.


    They debated routes, timing, theposition of the strike force, and the integration of the new stealth technology.


    All the admirals nodded.


    "This n will give us stealth, however, our firepower and defense will be greatly reduced."


    One of the admirals manipted the projection of the star map, tapping it a bunch of times to create some ck dots.


    "In order to increase the chance of sessful operation, we need to consider that these stronghold will reinforce the Shadow Forge. So, we need to create chaos around this area. Do not let them know that our true goal is to destroy the Shadow Forge."


    "Smart," Aldred said. "We can use small numbers of stealth units to create hit and run while ying hide and seek."


    "We should make it look like we are targeting something else."


    Aldred caressed his chin. "But this Shadow Forge seems to be very important as they use significant effort to make it hard to detect. If it is attacked, I believe the enemy will prioritize its safety."


    "Indeed, that is why the chaos units only give us time. The siege team must quickly destroy the Shadow Forge before the enemy cane."


    Aldred nodded. "Smander, prepare everything we need for this operation."


    As the meeting adjourned, Smander and the admirals set to work, orchestrating the preparation for an operation of unprecedented stealth and precision. The halls of themand center buzzed with activity, a hive of strategic nning and logistical coordination.


    Smander, with his unmatched expertise in Celestial toon''s technology, took the lead in assembling the fleet. "We''ll need every stealth ship we have, akin to the Quantum Shadow. They''ll be our swords in the shadows," he dered, scrutinizing the specs and capabilities of each vessel.


    The admirals, seasoned veterans of countless battles, focused on the soldiers who would carry out the mission. "Only our best," Admiral Varek insisted, poring over the personnel files. "This operation demands skills that go beyond conventional warfare. We need individuals who can move like phantoms and strike with the precision of surgeons."


    In the armory, elite soldiers were handpicked for the task, each one a master of stealth andbat. They gathered, aware of the monumental task ahead, yet undaunted by the challenge. "This is what we''ve trained for," one soldier said to another."


    In a secluded hangar, the stealth ships stood ready, their hulls absorbing light, making them nearly invisible even to the naked eye. Pilots and crews made their final checks, the atmosphere tense but focused.


    Smander, standing before the assembled force, addressed them with solemnity. "You are about to embark on a mission that will change the tide of this war. The Shadow Forge must be destroyed, not just for our victory, but for the future of all humanity. Your courage will be the beacon that guides us through this darkness."


    Aldred joined Smander, his presence bolstering the morale of the troops. "Your bravery today will be remembered," he said, his voice echoing in the hangar. "The Quantum Shadow uncovered the threat, and now you, the chosen few, will end it. For the toon, for humanity." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "In fact, it won''t only be you. I will personally join this operation."


    Smander, Shinari, and all the admirals were shocked by his statement.


    "Aldred, are you sure?"


    "I am. Vortimer told me that Zelthrax might be the mastermind of this Shadow Forge. If she is there, then I must confront her."


    As the stealth ships powered up, slipping silently into the void, the operationmenced.


    Captain Ilsa sent them a route that will prevent them from being seen.


    Slowly, an entire armada of stealth ships entered deep into demon territory.


    "The chaos units will initiate their strikes at 0400 hours. Use the asteroid belt for cover and keep your emissions to a minimum," Admiral Varek instructed, his gaze locked on the holographic disy that showed their forces moving into position.


    "Siege team, you know your targets. We hit fast, hit hard, and then vanish before they know what hit them," another admiral added, her voiceced with steely resolve. The siege team, among them Aldred, nodded, their expressions a mask of focused determination.


    The stealth ships, now a silent shadow against the backdrop of space, began their cautious advance toward the Shadow Forge. The pilots maneuvered with a grace that belied the deadly nature of their mission, slipping through the cosmic shadows undetected.


    Meanwhile, the chaos unitsunched their diversionary attacks, striking at enemy outposts and supply lines with surgical precision. Explosions lit up the dark expanse of space, drawing the attention of demonic patrols and scattering their forces in a desperate attempt to counter the sudden onught.


    Back in themand center, Smander monitored the progress of the operation, his hands moving over the controls with practiced ease. "All units are in position. The Shadow Forge is within reach," he reported, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of anticipation.


    Shinari stood beside him, her eyes scanning the live feeds from the battlefield. "The diversion is working. Enemy forces are being pulled away from the Shadow Forge. This is our moment," she said, a hint of excitement breaking through herposed exterior.


    Aldred floated in space and stared at the strange celestial body.


    His godly eyes lit up. "I see."

 Chapter 779 Shadow Siege

    779 Chapter 779 Shadow Siege


    The stealth ships of the Celestial toon, led by Aldred, approached the Shadow Forge with a silence that was almost eerie.


    The vast, dark structure loomed ahead, its presence felt more than seen, a void against the star-filled backdrop of space.


    As they neared, Aldred''s ship, the vanguard of the operation, encountered an unexpected anomaly. "Sensors are going haywire," reported the ship''s navigator, a sense of bewilderment in his voice. "It''s like we''re flying into a storm, but there''s nothing there."


    Aldred leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "It''s the Dark Waves," he deduced. "They''re not just a side effect; they''re a defense mechanism. Smander, any ideas on how to counteract them?"


    Back at themand center, Smander''s fingers flew over his console, analyzing the data streaming in from the stealth ships. "We need to adjust our approach. If we can modte our shields to a simr frequency as the Dark Waves, we might be able to push through without being torn apart."


    Implementing Smander''s solution required precision and skill, but the pilots of the Celestial toon were among the best. One by one, the ships adjusted their shields, creating a bubble of calm as they passed through the storm of Dark Waves.


    The operation was back on track, but the Shadow Forge stilly ahead, its secrets guarded by more than just the waves.


    As they prated deeper into enemy territory, another obstacle presented itself. "We''re picking up automated defense tforms," announced a scout. "They''re ancient, but they''re powering up. Looks like we woke them up."


    Aldred assessed the situation, his mind racing. "We use the debris field," he decided quickly. "Push the debris into the Shadow Forge and use it as cover."


    The maneuver was risky, threading the needle through a dense field of spinning asteroids. Yet, it provided the cover they needed.


    The stealth ships, agile and precise, darted between the asteroids, using them to block the line of sight from the defense tforms. At Aldred''smand, targeted explosions sent asteroids hurtling towards the tforms, neutralizing them without exposing the fleet.


    Meanwhile, the distraction operations carried out by the chaos units were unfolding as nned. Across the enemy territory, pockets of conflict red up, drawing the attention of the demonic forces away from the Shadow Forge.


    The diversions ranged from feigned assaults on minor outposts to sabotage of supply lines, each designed to spread the enemy thin and keep them guessing.


    Back at the Shadow Forge, the Celestial toon''s siege team finally breached the perimeter defenses, entering its atmosphere. However, here, the defense became much fiercer.


    21:25


    Inside the oppressive atmosphere of the Shadow Forge, the stealth ships of the Celestial toon were suddenly plunged into a maelstrom of chaos. The ships'' sensors, once clear and precise, flickered and died, leaving the pilots to navigate by sight alone in the murky darkness.


    "Navigation''s down! We''re flying blind here," shouted a pilot over thems, the strain evident in his voice as he struggled to keep his ship steady amidst the barrage of enemy fire.


    From the shadowy depths of the forge, cannons awoke, their barrels glowing with malevolent energy. They fired salvos of dark energy projectiles in every direction, creating a deadly maze of destruction.


    Aldred, his ship at the forefront of the assault, maintained hisposure despite the dire situation. "All ships, switch to manual! Use visual cues only. We need to adapt," hemanded, his voice a beacon of calm in the chaos.


    The pilots, trained for situations as dire as this, adjusted quickly, relying on their instincts and the limited visibility to dodge the relentless onught. "Evasive maneuvers! Keep formation tight," Aldred instructed, guiding his ship through the storm of projectiles with deft movements.


    Amidst the confusion, a small group of Celestial toon fighters found themselves cornered by enemy forces. "We''re pinned down!" one of the fighters called out, desperation creeping into his voice as the enemy cannons bore down on them.


    Aldred, assessing the situation, made a split-second decision. "Smander, we need a distraction. Can you trigger a false signal to draw their fire away from our fighters?"


    Back at themand center, Smander worked furiously, rerouting power and manipting the ship''s remaining functional systems. "I got something better."


    Smander''s eyes began to glow. Blue energy began to form in his fingertips before forming tens of thousands of threads that connected to all the ships that sieging the Shadow Forge.


    Suddenly, the sensors returned and functioned again.


    Aldred was impressed. "Great work."


    "I am not done yet."


    With a flip of his hands, an ethereal formed of the sieging armada before they materialized looking like the real things. From down below, it looked like the Celestial toon just increased its number of ships ten times in an instant.


    Aldred was even more impressed.


    The ruse worked. The enemy cannons, fooled by the decoy, redirected their fire, allowing the trapped Celestial toon fighters to break free from the encirclement. "Move! Now''s our chance!" Aldred seized the opportunity to lead a counter-assault, pushing deeper into the heart of the Shadow Forge. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As they went deeper, they realized the Shadow Forge did not look like any ordinary they knew. Instead of normal surfaces, the celestial body was full of holes, like tunnels. Coming out of these tunnels were demon ships that joined the fray.


    "Split into teams and enter those tunnels. Began mapping the ce!"


    As they ventured further, the Celestial toon encountered fierce resistance from demonic defenders, creatures molded from the dark energies of the forge itself. The battle was fierce, with both sides exchanging heavy fire in the confined spaces of the forge''s interior.


    On the walls of the giant tunnels were demons with giant turrets, creating a criss cross energy attacks that tried to take down the ship. However, the stealth ships''s small size and agility made them a hard target to hit.


    However, the enemy made it hard for them to advance.


    Aldred assessed the situation. "Dispatch the ground unit! I will be joining them as well. The stealth unit keep going inside and report what you find!"


    Aldred pushed the button on his chest, immediately sending him out of the ship. at the same time, other ground units did the same thing and they allnded on the ground.


    Aldred summoned his Phantom Doom de. Its zing fire was a cue. "Attack!"


    Demons immediately rolled down towards them with huge numbers. Aldred sprinted towards them, arm zed in fire as he swung his sword and decimate the entire area in front of him.


    A call came through his inte as he fought. "Sir, there are blockades and barriers that prevent the stealth team from entering. We tried to destroy it but it will take time."


    "I am going there."


    Aldred shed left and right, throwing arc of mes that devoured every demons that came into contact.


    The troops behind him were charged with morale seeing their leader charging in front of them. They used their guns, swords, maces, explosives, and everything they had at their dispoal to dispose the demons.


    "Keep pushing! We''re almost there," Aldred urged his troops, his sword gleaming with energy as he cut down enemy after enemy. The Celestial toon, emboldened by their leader''s valor, fought with renewed vigor, clearing a path through the demonic forces.

 Chapter 780 Shadow Siege 2

    780 Chapter 780 Shadow Siege 2


    Aldred and his team advanced through thebyrinthine tunnels of the Shadow Forge, their path lit by the sporadic shes ofbat. The confined spaces echoed with the cacophony of battle, a relentless din that seemed to shake the very foundations of the forge.


    Suddenly, the ground began to tremble beneath their feet, a subtle vibration that quickly grew into a deafening roar. From the shadows ahead, a sea of demon bugs surged forward, their numbers beyondprehension, a living tide of malice and destruction.


    With a calm that belied the chaos around him, Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde. The weapon pulsed with a fiery energy, its de singing with anticipation. With a swift motion, he swung the de in a wide arc, unleashing a wave of fire that swept through the swarm. In an instant, 100,000 demon bugs were incinerated, their ashes carried away by the currents of the battle.


    The demons paused, stunned by the disy of power. The silence was momentary, a brief lull before the storm renewed its fury.


    Then, a new threat emerged. From the darkness, a herd of rhino-like demons charged, their massive forms barreling towards Aldred and his team with earth-shaking force.


    Without hesitation, Aldred''s Phantom Doomde transformed, morphing into a massive sniper rifle that gleamed with the same fiery energy. He took aim, the weapon''s scope pinpointing the charging demons with unerring uracy. With a series of rapid shots, he fired. Each bullet, a needle of me, pierced the air with a whistling scream before finding its mark. Upon impact, the bullets exploded, engulfing the demons in a congration that halted their charge in a storm of fire and fury.


    "Cover the nks!" Aldred barked, his voice cutting through the din of battle. His team responded with precision, their weapons zing as they held the rear and nks against the demonic onught.


    Aldred, now standing amidst the smoldering remains of the demon horde, surveyed the battlefield. His team, though vastly outnumbered, fought with a tenacity that matched his own. Together, they carved a path through the enemy, their goal never wavering.


    As they pushed forward, the Shadow Forge revealed its secrets, a twisted maze of tunnels and chambers that housed horrors beyond imagining. Yet, Aldred and his team pressed on, their resolve unbroken.


    "We''re close," Aldred announced, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.


    The team advanced, their footsteps echoing in the vast emptiness of the forge. Ahead, the final chamber loomed, a cavernous space that pulsed with dark energy.


    That must be the barrier.


    "This is it," Aldred said, his voice steady. "Whatever lies ahead, we face it together. For the toon, for humanity!"


    Aldred stood before the formidable barrier that shielded the heart of the Shadow Forge, his team arrayed behind him, their breathsing in short, determined gasps. With a battle-worn grimace, he raised his Phantom Doomde, now shimmering with an intense light, and struck the barrier with all his might. The de''s fiery energy shed against the dark force, sending ripples across its surface, yet it remained unbroken.


    Frustrated but undeterred, Aldred transformed the de into its sniper rifle form, firing concentrated sts of magical energy at the barrier. Each shot hit with precision, yet they did little more than mar the surface. "It''s no use," he muttered, the realization dawning on him. "This barrier¡­ it''s beyond simple magic or force." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Behind them, the battle raged on. His allies engaged in a desperate struggle against the endless waves of demons pouring out from the forge''s depths.


    The air was filled with the sound ofbat, the hiss and crack of energy weapons, and the sonic booms of stealth ships darting across the battlefield at breakneck speeds, their pilots expertly navigating the chaos as they provided support to the ground forces.


    Amidst the din of battle, Aldred focused, searching for a solution.


    His mind raced through ancient texts and theories, seeking the key to breaking the barrier. Then, inspiration struck. Drawing upon his deep knowledge of spatial and gravitational magic, Aldred approached the barrier once more. He extended his hand, channeling his magical energy in a new,plex pattern, focusing it into a single, dense point.


    The air around the barrier hummed with power as Aldred''s magic took effect. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, cracks began to spread across the barrier''s surface. The cracks grew, branching out like lightning, yet the barrier held fast, a testament to its incredible strength.


    Just as Aldred prepared to redouble his efforts, a report came through hismunicator, urgent and dire. "Sir, the distraction teams are failing. The enemy¡­ they''re not falling for it anymore. A massive reinforcement is headed straight for the Shadow Forge. We don''t have much time!"


    "How much do we have specifically?"


    "Less than 20 minutes, sir."


    Aldred''s jaw tightened, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. He knew what had to be done. "We need to breach this barrier, now!" he shouted, rallying his team. "Focus all your energy on the cracks. Together!"


    With a unified cry, Aldred and his team unleashed a torrent of magical energy at the barrier, targeting thework of cracks that marred its surface. Thebined force of their assault was immense, a confluence of powers from the finest warriors the Celestial toon had to offer.


    The barrier began to tremble, its dark energy pulsing wildly in response to the onught.


    However, when the barrier shattered, anothery behind it.


    "Multiple barriers!" Aldred repeated the same thing, and cracked the barrier once again. This time faster than before.


    But yet again, another appeared. This one seem to be thicker than thest.


    "Sir, we have 8 minutes left.


    Aldred snorted and raised his de, stabbing it into the barrier and channeled his energy into a single point.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Cracks formed and spread all over, but it wasn''t over yet.


    "Sir, 1 minute left."


    "Shit! Why is time so fucking fast!" Aldred pushed with greater intensity trying to release the limitless ocean of his energy.


    "30 seconds!"


    "15 seconds!"


    "10 seconds!"


    The barrier began to tremble, its dark energy pulsing wildly in response to the onught. Then, with a sound like the breaking of the world, the barrier shattered, opening a path to the heart of the Shadow Forge.


    "Move, move, move!" Aldredmanded, leading the charge into the newly opened passage.


    "5 seconds! Sir, we need to retrea¡ª" Aldred turned off hiss.


    As they rushed through the breach, the heart of the Shadow Forgey exposed, its dark secrets finally within reach.


    "Found you!"

 Chapter 781 End Siege

    781 Chapter 781 End Siege


    Zelthrax, the mastermind behind the demonic weapon, hovered in the air, her body in a state of deep meditation. An intricatework of tubes connected her to the walls of the forge, pulsing with a dark, ominous energy that seemed to feed into the very structure of the celestial body.


    Aldred activated his godly eyes, peering into the essence of the forge and its creator. The entire celestial body, he realized, functioned as the forge itself, with Zelthrax acting as its living furnace. Together, they were not just creating weapons; they were birthing a new form of terror, the likes of which the universe had never seen.


    As Aldred assessed the situation, Zelthrax''s eyes snapped open, revealing voids that seemed to suck in the light around her. A wave of dark energy, invisible to the naked eye but palpable to the soul, rippled outwards from her being, washing over everything in its path.


    The effect was immediate and horrifying. Seventy percent of Aldred''s team screamed in agony, their hands wing at their faces in a desperate attempt to escape an unseen horror.


    Many of the stealth ships crashed against the wall or exploded when the fall to the ground.


    Officers barking orders in themunicationwork trying to control the situation.


    "Everyone is in pain and turning insane!"


    "Control the situation! Put those that got affected in cuffs!"


    "There isn''t time to do that! The demons are attacking us at all fronts!"


    "Requesting for air support!"


    "The Stealth Units are out ot control!"


    Aldred, protected by his divine nature, was unaffected by the wave, but the sight of his allies in torment ignited a fury within him. "Zelthrax!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the forge. "Fight me to the death! Don''t you dare try to escape!"


    Zelthrax, her eyes now focusing on Aldred, smiled¡ªa chilling gesture that belied the malevolence behind it. "Aldred, so you''vee. But you''re toote. The weapon¡­ is alreadyplete."


    "Your weapon will never leave this forge," Aldred dered, his Phantom Doomde igniting with a me more intense than before.


    Zelthrax chuckled in amusement. "It doesn''t have to."


    Suddenly, another more powerful wave spread out, and this time the energy matched the speed of light, in fact it became even faster than the speed of light and it continously pulsed out of the Shadow Forge, spreading it all over the cosmos.


    "In a week, half the gxy will be turned to demons."


    "I won''t let that happen," Aldred proimed, his voice resonating with the authority of his divine lineage.


    His Phantom Doomde, a weapon of light and fire, seemed almost alive, eager to sh with the darkness.


    Zelthrax merely smiled, her eyes gleaming with a malevolent light. "You think you can stop me, Aldred? In my domain, I am invincible." As she spoke, the space around her distorted, bending to her will.


    She wielded the powers of gravity and dark energy with ease, manipting the very fabric of the forge to her advantage.


    Aldred lunged forward, his de slicing through the air, but Zelthrax evaded with a flicker of spatial discement, reappearing behind him. She unleashed a pulse of dark energy, sending Aldred tumbling through the air, his defenses barely holding against the onught.


    "Your powers are impressive, but they will not save you," Zelthrax taunted, her form blurring as she manipted gravity, increasing its pull around Aldred. He struggled against the invisible force, each movement a battle against the weight of a thousand worlds. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "You used to talk a lot less. Is being stuck in this ce makes you lonely?"


    With a roar of effort, Aldred broke free, his divine energy ring to counteract the gravitational pull. He charged again, the Doomde cutting swathes of light through the darkness. But Zelthrax was always one step ahead, her mastery of dark energy creating barriers and traps that hindered his advance.


    Zelthrax''sughter echoed through the forge as she conjured ck holes, miniature wells of gravity that sought to devour Aldred whole. He dodged and weaved, his godly speed just enough to keep him from being consumed by the voids.


    Aldred realized that brute force alone would not win this fight. He needed to outthink Zelthrax, to turn her own powers against her.


    Summoning all his knowledge and power, Aldred focused on the spatial energy that Zelthrax wielded so effortlessly. He began to see the patterns in her magic, the weaknesses hidden within the strength.


    With a cry that seemed to shake the very stars, Aldred unleashed a counter-spell, aplex weaving of light and spatial magic that targeted the core of Zelthrax''s power. The air shimmered as the two forces collided, an explosion of energy that lit up the forge like a new-born sun.


    For a moment, Zelthrax''s control wavered, her concentration broken by the unexpected assault. Seizing the opportunity, Aldred thrust forward, the Phantom Doomde aimed at the heart of her power.


    The de met its mark, piercing through the dark energy that surrounded Zelthrax, cutting off her connection to the Shadow Forge. A scream of rage and pain tore from her lips as her power unraveled, the dark energy dissipating into the air.


    As Zelthrax fell, her control over the forge and its weapon of darkness broke, the malignant energy that threatened the gxy dissipating without its master to guide it.


    "You¡­ when did you learn this power?"


    Aldred stood over Zelthrax, his breathing heavy. "Time for you to die."


    Zelthrax froze time for a single second in the area. During that time window, she cut open the fabric reality and was about to make her escape.


    She gave Aldred a mischievous grin for she had always able to escape from his hand.


    However, Aldred suddenly moved and grabbed her by the neck and mmed her down to the ground.


    Time then continued.


    "H¡ªhow?"


    "For every fight, every battle, I improved and be better than before. The moment you decide to keep fighting me is the moment you lose because I always catch up to my enemy."


    "You can''t kill me. I am not a mere admiral of this arm¡ª"


    STAB!


    The Phantom Doom de went through her throat.


    However, a faint smile still appear on her lips. "The weapon cannot be stopped even if you kill me."


    Aldred stared at her as her life sapped away by his de.


    [You have killed Demon Admiral Zelthrax]


    [Your mastery over spatial control has deepen]


    Aldred swiped the notification away and took another look at the body. That was when Aldred noticed something unexpected.


    "She has a soul."


    A demon usually don''t have a soul of their own, however, some special demons might have a soul and sometimes more than one. Zelthrax only had one soul, however, it was extremely powerful.


    But that worked in his favor.


    Aldred wore a satisfied smiled on his face. "Arise."

 Chapter 782 Absolute Destruction

    782 Chapter 782 Absolute Destruction


    As Zelthrax''s life force ebbed away under the piercing gaze of Aldred, the atmosphere within the Shadow Forge shifted dramatically. A dense, purplish dark shadow began to coalesce around Zelthrax''s body, swirling with an ethereal grace that seemed to defy the naturalws of the forge. The shadows danced and twisted, weaving themselves into a spectral form that mirrored Zelthrax''s own. When the shadows finally settled, Zelthrax stood once more before Aldred, her appearance now that of a shadowy, purplish figure, eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. She was his tomand, an undead being bound to his will.


    Aldred, observing his new, undead ally, wasted no time in seeking answers. "The weapon, how do we stop it?" he demanded, his tone brooking no argument.


    Zelthrax, now a servant to Aldred''s will, replied with a voice that seemed to echo from beyond the grave. "The weapon continues to function beyond my death. The waves that have been sent will persist, reaching across the gxy and transforming all in their path."


    "And how do we halt this abomination?" Aldred pressed, his patience thinning.


    With a simplicity that took Aldred aback, Zelthrax raised a shadowy hand, making a simple, dismissive gesture. The dark energy pulsing throughout the forge began to dissipate, the weapon''s ominous hum fading into silence. "It is done," she stated, as if stopping a gxy-spanning threat was but a trifling matter.


    Aldred''s mind, however, quickly turned to a greater concern. "Tell me of Lord Malgorth, the Demonic Tyrant. What is his role in all this?"


    Zelthrax''s shadowy form seemed to ponder the question, her gaze distant. "This war¡­ it is beneath Lord Malgorth''s notice. He rules over trillions of worlds, a force of darkness unmatched in the cosmos. Thousands of demon lords bend their knee to him, yet this conflict, this gxy, is but a speck in his vast domain."


    Aldred absorbed her words, the scale of the threat posed by Lord Malgorth dawning on him. "And your interactions with him?" he probed further.


    "I have seldom felt his presence directly," Zelthrax admitted. "asionally, his clones would survey the progress here, but they were mere shadows of his true power. Even in my highest standing, I was but a footnote in his grand scheme."


    Aldred stood in silence, contemting the gravity of the information. The battle they had just won, while crucial, was merely a skirmish in the grand tapestry of a war that spanned gxies and dimensions.


    "Your service begins now, Zelthrax. You will aid us in our fight against the darkness that threatens this universe," Aldredmanded, his voice resolute. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Zelthrax, the once-mighty demon lord, now a shadowy specter bound to Aldred''s will, nodded her assent. "As youmand, my lord."


    Meanwhile, outside, the demonic reinforcement had arrived.


    The officers, witnessing the daunting sight through the projection screens and windows of theirmand posts, felt a collective sense of dread. "Sir, the enemy reinforcements have arrived. It''s an overwhelming force; we must retreat and regroup," one of the senior officers urgently suggested over themunicationwork, his voiceced with concern.


    Aldred and Zelthrax emerged from the depths of the Shadow Forge, the air outside was charged with tension.


    The sky was darkened by the vast armadas of demonic reinforcements, their numbers like a swarm that ckened the horizon.


    Aldred, however, stood resolute, his gaze fixed on the approaching armada. Beside him, Zelthrax''s shadowy form pulsed with dark energy, an ominous sight that belied her newfound allegiance. "Retreat is not an option," Aldred dered, his voice booming with authority. "We will show them our power!"


    With a nod to Zelthrax, the two of them stepped forward, their powers harmonizing to form a devastating force. Aldred raised his Phantom Doomde, now glowing with a fierce, radiant light, while Zelthrax extended her hands, dark energy swirling around her like a tempest.


    Together, they unleashed a maelstrom of spatial distortions and dark energy upon the demonic armadas.


    ck holes tore through the ranks of the enemy ships, swallowing them whole, while sts of pure spatial energy ripped apart the fabric of reality, disintegrating anything that dared to cross its path.


    Zelthrax, reveling in her unleashed power, called forth waves of dark matter that swept across the battlefield like a gue, erasing the demons from existence. Herughter, a haunting echo amidst the chaos, sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.


    The officers and soldiers, watching the spectacle unfold through their screens, were stunned into silence.


    Their initial despair transformed into awe as Aldred and Zelthrax, standing side by side, decimated the demonic forces with a disy of power that was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.


    "Isn''t she our enemy? Howe she fighting for us now?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe our leader convinced her to betray the demon."


    "How is that even possible?"


    As thest of the enemy armadas were consumed by the void, the skies cleared, revealing the stars once more. The battlefield, once teeming with the forces of darkness, was now eerily silent, a testament to the overwhelming victory they had achieved.


    The officers, regaining theirposure, erupted into cheers and apuse, their relief palpable. "Incredible¡­" one of them muttered, unable to find the words to fully express the magnitude of what they had just witnessed.


    Aldred turned to his officers, his expression one of grim satisfaction. "Let this be a message to all who threaten the Celestial toon."


    ¡­


    The news about Aldred''s sessful operation spread far and wide.


    Elraya and Ceeth who was sitting atop a tree with a thin tablet watched the recordings of the siege. They watched the distraction operations, the stealth units entering the Shadow Forge, the soldiers turning into demons, and Aldred fighting against Zelthrax.


    However, those feats were surpassed when Aldred turned Zelthrax as his loyal undead ve and even decimate the demonic reinforcement armadas.


    "He bes stronger every time I see him," Ceeth said, a little bit anxious because she realized she wouldn''t be able to catch up.


    "Going with him was the right decision," Elraya said. "Being friend with a man like that is so much better than bing his enemy."


    "Elralya, was it our ancestors that told you to ept him?"


    Elralya nodded. "The ancestors detected powerful present more than anything they have seen before on him. They were correct. Three years ago, I wouldn''t even dare to imagine he got this far at this pace. Once a low level mercenary immediately bing a top leader of a major organization. The leap is too fast and too big. It''s almost unthinkable and impossible."


    "I did not expect it too." Ceeth recalled the past. "We were fighting in some ship at that time, and when Aldred killed an enemy, he suddenly got this godly power seemingly out of nowhere. But, what else does the ancestors told you?"


    "That we shouldn''t wage war with humans for another 10,000 years."

 Chapter 783 Fallen Heroes

    783 Chapter 783 Fallen Heroes


    The sessful operation against the Shadow Forge and the subsequent decimation of the demonic armada sent shockwaves throughout the gxy.


    News outlets were quick to pick up the story, military broadcasts reyed footage of the victory, and social media tforms were flooded with images, videos, and discussions about the daring assault led by Aldred and the Celestial toon.


    The public''s morale soared to new heights as the narrative of an unprecedented triumph against overwhelming odds circted far and wide.


    In a bustling newsroom, journalists scrambled topile reports and interviews, their screens filled with the dramatic visuals of Aldred and Zelthrax standing victorious on the battlefield. "This is the story of the century," eximed one editor, his eyes alight with excitement. "A tale of heroism, of darkness ovee by light. We need to get every detail, leave no stone unturned."


    On military channels, seasoned analysts and strategists dissected the operation, praising Aldred''s leadership and the innovative tactics employed by the Celestial toon. "What we witnessed was not just a victory; it was a statement," one analyst remarked during a broadcast. "A statement that says, ''We will not be cowed by the forces of darkness. We have the power to fight back, to protect our gxy.''"


    Social media tforms buzzed with activity, as millions shared their reactions to the victory.


    Posts ranged from expressions of gratitude and admiration for the Celestial toon to artistic renditions of the battle, with Aldred and Zelthrax often depicted as mythic heroes. "They''ve given us hope," wrote one user, their message apanied by a vibrant illustration of the battle. "Hope that we can face the darkness and emerge victorious."


    Within the ranks of the Celestial toon and among its investors and supporters, the victory had a profound effect.


    Funding and support for their cause surged, as did enlistment inquiries from those inspired by the toon''s courage and sess. "We''ve never seen anything like this," remarked a senior officer during a strategy meeting. "The support is overwhelming. We need to capitalize on this momentum, expand our operations, and continue our mission with even greater resolve."


    Aldred, aware of the gctic response to their victory, felt a mix of pride and responsibility. "We''ve shown what we''re capable of, but this is just the beginning," he said in a meeting with his top advisors andmanders. "The enemy won''t take this defeat lightly. We must be prepared for their retaliation and continue to strengthen our forces."


    As the Celestial toon nned its next moves, the gxy watched, their spirits lifted by the victory.


    Aldred''s leadership had not only secured a significant win against the forces of darkness but had also ignited a beacon of hope across the cosmos.


    The battle at the Shadow Forge would be remembered as a turning point, a moment when the tide began to turn in favor of the light.


    It was especially so since the news of Aldred turning one of the demon admiral, Zelthrax, as his loyal subordinate.


    There were some mixed feelings about this case, but they were drowned by positive news.


    Aldred also did not forget about the fallen soldiers. Right after he got back, he immediately told everyone to n a grand ceremony for the war heroes.


    With directmands from Aldred, everyone immediately got to work. They used Celestial toon''s headquarter and invited everyone especially the families of the fallen.


    Naturally, many people from all over the cosmos came to this ceremony after Aldred''s poprity rose.


    The security tighten with more battleships roaming around in the atmosphere and beyond.


    Smaller vessels also roamed the sky with heavy battle tanks and trucks guarding the ground.


    Defensive infrastructures were built for the automated cannons and watchtowers. Drones flew all over the ce scanning every inch of ground.


    The security was extreme, however, it made everyone who entered this ce felt safe. The guards were strict in their inspections but were nice so nobodyined.


    All kinds of ships came but those who had weapons were deactivated or uninstalled. Personal weapons were not allowes and had to be stored by the guards until they left this.


    "Is everything prepared?" Aldred asked.


    "Yes, everything is exactly by your order."


    "Isn''t only been a day?" Aldred thought that nning a ceremony would take weeks.


    "We have billions of personnels. Preparing something like this was easy. If we forced it, we can prepare it in three hours."


    "Impressive," Aldred smiled, wondering when they became this efficient. That was when he realized that Shinari had been working really hard.


    He could go to war with a peace of mind, because Shinari and others had taken care of the rear for him.


    "Thank you, Shinari," Aldred said.


    "This is my job. Don''t worry about it."


    "No. This is also my job to thank you. Thank you for everything you have done. If there is something that you want, just tell me."


    Shinari was feeling d, but she kept her professional face because this was a time of serious matter.


    Aldred did the same. Even though the ceremony had not begin, he had to respect the fallen.


    Nobody would say anything even if he didn''t however, that would be bad for his reputation and the morale of his soldiers.


    "Is everyone ready?" Aldred asked. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The families are all gathered. We have personally picked them up and escorted them here, also making sure that they are asfortable as they could get."


    "Is there any problem?"


    "No. Only trivial issues. Some of the family members had cancers, tumors, blindness, cerebral palsy, dementia, and other diseases that make it hard for them to attend this ceremony. So we bring our doctors and healers to cure them before bringing them here."


    Aldred nodded. "Good. Let''s begin."


    Everyone was invited into this massive stadium, housing over 10 million people. Coordinating this many people were extremely hard but Shinari already prepared 2 personnels for each individual, meaning there were 20 million personnels in the stadium helping the visitors.


    The scale was massive.


    However, theirfort was certain as the stadium was designed to aodate them. Each person had their leg space, given the finest seat with electricly-controlled reclining technology. They also had ess to a floating screen that they could ess the gctic with or ess the various cameras set up around the stadium to see what was going on.


    The personnels gave them snacks, food, and drinks and ask them if they need something every 30-45 minutes.


    The visitors were more than pleased.


    There were loud chatters and murmurs of people that could be heard from miles.


    However, the noise turned silent as the ceiling of the stadium closed by a sheet of thick iron covering the sky from above.


    Darkness engulfed the stadium but not for long as light came and directed towards Aldred.


    "So that is Aldred, The Demon Vanquisher."


    "The Beacon of Hope, the Light in Darkness. That is the legendary Aldred! The leader of Celestial toon!"


    Everyone was excited to see Aldred. For many people here, he was their hero.


    His business strategy work because helping people equals more money. The more people they helped, the more money they got.


    21:43


    Ever since the beginning, Aldred had ordered the Celestial toon to take as many mercenary jobs as possible but prioritizing to help people instead of making money.


    His business strategy work because helping people equals more money. The more people they helped, the more money they got.


    Their reputation as an amazing mercenary organization spread from mouth to mouth until their poprity exploded. Especially with Aldred constantly giving the news program and social media content to share.


    Aldred looked around the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for setting aside some time toe to this ceremony. And don''t worry I won''t waste your time with boring speech. I will be direct. I invite you all here to pay respect to the fallen heroes that helped me aplish an extremely difficult mission of which benefit not only Celestial toon but humanity as a whole."


    Screen projections appeared all over the ce, floating in the air, showing the heroic feats of the fallen soldiers; sacrificing themselves for theirrades, saving others, charging bravely into the demonic hordes.


    The families that were sitting at the front row were crying their eyes out when they saw their sun determined and brave look as they charged towards the demons.


    They had regrets but they were proud of their sons and daughters.


    There were also admiring look for these soldiers.


    That was the effect Aldred hoped for.


    Suddenly, thousands of golden lights shone from above. Those lights were shining towards the thousands of thick, white coffins that slowly floated down to the grass.


    "These are the people that sacrifices themselves yesterday, so all of you can live today. And for that, they deserved the greatest gratitude!"


    Aldred floated down and, under the shocked gaze of others, bowed towards the fallen heroes.


    Everyone was shocked. Aldred was basically a powerful and influential man. He was basically royalty, a king of a region.


    No one expected him to bow down like that because usually it meant weakness for people in power.


    However, they sensed no weakness in his gesture. Instead, they sensed strength.


    Strength unlike anything they had ever seen before.

 Chapter 784 Moment of Peace

    784 Chapter 784 Moment of Peace


    Aldred''s voice, clear and resonant, filled the stadium as he began to speak directly to the families of the fallen. "To the families of our honored heroes, I stand before you not just as a leader, but as someone who owes a debt of gratitude to your loved ones. Each of them showed courage and sacrifice that will forever be etched in the annals of our history."


    He paused, allowing his words to sink in, then continued, "Let me share with you the stories of their bravery." One by one, Aldred recounted the tales of the fallen soldiers, their acts of valor, the lives they saved, and the ultimate sacrifice they made. The audience listened in rapt attention, many wiping away tears, as Aldred brought to life the heroes behind the names.


    As the final story was told, Aldred announced, "In recognition of their sacrifice, and in gratitude for the families left behind, the Celestial toon will be awarding each family a sum of 1 million Diras. This money will be kept in our private bank, ruing an interest of 6% annually. But that is not all."


    He gestured, and screens disyed theprehensive package being offered to the families: free education for their children, free transportation, and free ess to food supplies. "We will ensure you are taken care of. Your loved ones gave everything for us, and it is our duty to support you in every way we can."


    Murmurs of disbelief and gratitude swept through the crowd as Aldred''s promise sank in.


    The soldiers in attendance felt a surge of pride and motivation, seeing the honor and support extended to their fallenrades.


    Aldred, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, added, "This is more than a gesture of thanks. It is a statement of our values. In the Celestial toon, we fight together, we protect each other, and we honor our fallen. The morale of our soldiers, the unity of our cause, and the support of our families are the greatest weapons in this war against darkness."


    The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence, the golden lights above casting a solemn glow on the white coffins.


    As the families were invited to pay their personal respects, many approached Aldred, offering words of thanks and receiving his condolences in return.


    The unity and strength of the Celestial toon, in the face of loss and victory alike, were palpable.


    As the crowd began to disperse, the message was clear: the Celestial toon was more than a military force; it was amunity bound by honor, sacrifice, and amitment to safeguarding the gxy.


    And at its helm stood Aldred, a leader who understood the true cost of war and the value of each life under hismand.


    In the aftermath of the ceremony, the Celestial toon''s headquarters on the transformed.


    What was once a hub of military strategy and preparation became, for a brief moment in time, a sanctuary of peace and rxation.


    The stark, metallic edges of the base softened under the glow of ambient lighting, and the air buzzed with a sense of camaraderie and relief. Soldiers and staff, their uniforms momentarily forgotten, mingled inmon areas now repurposed for entertainment and leisure.


    Aldred, observing the change, felt a wave of satisfaction. "We''ve earned this respite," he mused, his gaze sweeping over the lively scene before him. "A moment to breathe, to celebrate life amidst the shadows of war."


    Shinari, standing beside him, nodded in agreement. "It''s these moments that remind us what we''re fighting for," she said, her usually stern demeanor softened by the atmosphere.


    Suddenly, a floating pod arrived by the balcony and Smander walked out. "You''ve done great work with the ce."


    "I only tell people what to do. Give the credit to them." Aldred chuckled.


    Cleome, the Lightning Weaver, had only recently returned from her own battles in distant territories. Her arrival at the headquarters was met with cheers and relief, a testament to the bond shared among the members of the toon. As she navigated through the crowd, her electric blue eyes sparkled with unspoken tales of her exploits.


    The three of them looked at the crowd parting as Cleome walked to them.


    "Hey, you''re alive!" Aldred jokingly said.


    "I should be the one who said that to you." Cleome poked a tiny lightning at Aldred''s shoulder making him yelped in pain.


    "Going deep in enemy territory. You really are crazy."


    "It went well. The enemy lose a lot in that battle giving us this moment of respite."


    "It could wentpletely wrong. If you die, everything will fall."


    "I won''t go if I am not certain." Aldred smiled.


    Cleome chuckled. "When was thest time tou feel uncertain."


    Aldred smiled.


    "I wanted to take this moment to thank each of you personally," Aldred began, his tone earnest. "Your leadership, your bravery, it''s what keeps this toon together. You''ve each led your teams through darkness, and yet, here we stand, stronger than ever."


    Shinari nodded, her eyes reflecting the depth of hermitment. "It''s our duty, Aldred. And our honor."


    Smander grinned, his usual humor shining through. "Plus, we couldn''t let you have all the fun now, could we?"


    Cleome, quieter but no less passionate, added, "We fight for the same cause, Aldred. For peace, for a future. Your leadership inspires us all."


    The group shared a moment of silence, the weight of their responsibilities hanging in the air amidst the surrounding festivities.


    "Let''s not forget to enjoy tonight," Aldred finally said, breaking the silence. "For tomorrow, we continue our fight."


    As the evening progressed, the members of the Celestial toon found sce in each other''spany. Stories of past battles mixed withughter and music, creating a tapestry of memories that would bolster their spirits in the days toe.


    Shinari, taking a moment to herself, gazed up at the stars visible through the transparent ceiling of the recreation area. "We''re a part of something muchrger than ourselves," she thought, a sense of purpose filling her heart.


    Smander, amidst a group of younger soldiers, shared tales of his adventures, each story punctuated by his roaringughter. "These are the moments that make it all worth it," he reflected, his gaze meeting Shinari''s across the room.


    Cleome, surrounded by a circle of eager listeners, recounted her own experiences on the battlefield. The respect and admiration in the eyes of her audience fueled her resolve. "We''re not just soldiers," she realized. "We''re beacons of hope."


    Aldred could only smile.


    He had always been putting a mask of a hero with a great sense of justice. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    But although he did not think he was evil, he wasn''t heroic either.


    He won''t sacrifice his life for other people that was for sure.

 Chapter 785 Innovation and Outreach

    785 Chapter 785 Innovation and Outreach


    As the night of celebration drew to a close, Aldred stood overlooking the vast expanse of the Celestial toon''s headquarters, his mind already racing with ns for the future. The victory against the Shadow Forge had not only bolstered their morale but had also provided them with invaluable technological insights. It was time to harness this newfound knowledge for the greater good.


    "Shinari, Smander, Cleome," Aldred began, turning to face his trusted lieutenants. "Our next step is to ensure that the sacrifices made were not in vain. We''ve acquired technology from the Shadow Forge that could change the course of this war and beyond."


    Shinari leaned in, interest piqued. "You''re thinking of integrating it into our fleet and defense systems?"


    "Exactly," Aldred nodded. "But not just for our use. I n to unveil these advancements in a public showcase. It''s time the gxy sees the might of the Celestial toon, not just as a military force but as pioneers of progress."


    Smander''s eyes lit up with excitement. "A public showcase? That''ll get everyone talking. Plus, it''ll boost morale and maybe even attract more support and allies."


    Cleome, ever the tactician, added thoughtfully, "It could also serve as a deterrent to any who still harbor intentions of aggression towards us. The demonstration of our capabilities might make them think twice."


    Aldred smiled, pleased with their responses. "We''ll need to move quickly. I want this showcase to be more than just a disy of power. It should be a statement of ourmitment to peace and security throughout the gxy."


    The months that followed were a blur of activity. Engineers and scientists worked tirelessly, adapting the Shadow Forge technology for public demonstration.


    The toon''s PR teamunched a massive campaign, inviting dignitaries, investors, allies, and the general public to the event. Security measures were heightened, ensuring that the showcase would be a celebration of innovation, free from the shadow of conflict.


    The day of the showcase arrived, and the Celestial toon''s headquarters was transformed. The main hangar, usually reserved for military craft, now resembled an exhibition hall, filled with disys of advanced spacecraft, cutting-edge weaponry, and revolutionary defense systems.


    Aldred, Shinari, Smander, and Cleome greeted their guests, a mix of excitement and pride in their eyes. The hangar buzzed with anticipation as the lights dimmed and Aldred took the stage.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, beings of the gxy," Aldred began, his voice echoing through the vast space. "Today marks a new dawn. The Celestial toon is proud to present the future of space travel, weaponry, and defense systems. These advancements, born from the ashes of conflict, symbolize our hope for a peaceful and prosperous gxy."


    The audience watched in awe as the first demonstration began.


    A sleek, newly designed spacecraft, its technology adapted from the Shadow Forge, glided silently across the hangar, performing maneuvers that defied thews of physics as they knew them.


    The demons actually had never made a tech of their own, instead, they modified it and integrate their dark magic with the weapons.


    During the siege, Zelthrax integrate her magic to some of the weapons. The soldiers salvaged these weapons and find a way to imitate its properties using technology.


    This ship was designed for narrow and small space, focusing on agility and manueverability.


    Aldred did not expect it to be usedmonly because it was designed to fight in a specific situation.


    Next, they unveiled a prototype of a weapon that could neutralize threats without causing harm to life forms.


    Its shape looked like a massive cannon.


    "This is one of the weapons that we are proud of," Aldred said. "It''s a deadly weapon, however, it is only deadly to the demons. Let me show you."


    A demon chained and caged were brought to the stage and a group of people stood near it.


    The cannon fired a radiowave, invisible to the naked eye, and suddenly the demons began to scream in pain as it slowly turning into dust.


    Nothing happened to the humans.


    Everyone was in awe.


    "With this weapon, friendly-fire might be a thing of the past."


    Aldred was satisfied. The weapon was a gimmick. It worked on demons, but only low level demons. High level demons won''t be affected as much.


    Still, most demons were low level.


    They showed a few more weapons and tech.


    The showcase was a resounding sess, leaving the audience speechless and the gxy abuzz with discussions about the Celestial toon''s new role as a beacon of innovation.


    As the event concluded, Aldred, Shinari, Smander, and Cleome stood together, watching their guests depart, whispers of admiration and hope filling the air.


    "We only show them our weakest innovation," Smander said. "Are you sure this will bring investors?"


    Aldred grabbed a ss of wine from a waitress. He took a sip and confidently said. "I am certain. This won''t make them throw money at us, but they will inquire further."


    "You began to talk like businessman."


    "I have always been a businessman."


    Shinari approached Aldred with an update that caught his immediate attention. "Aldred, we''ve received inquiries from several investor groups interested in our tech. They''re eager to discuss potential partnerships."


    Aldred set down the data pad he was reviewing, a spark of interest in his eyes. "Arrange a meeting, Shinari. Let''s see what they have in mind. It''s crucial we leverage this interest to bolster our resources and further our mission."


    Turning to Smander, Aldred had another task in mind, one that would ensure the future generation remained engaged and inspired. "Smander, I want you to organize workshops and interactive sessions for the youth. Let''s spark their curiosity in science and technology. It''s about building the future, after all."


    Smander''s face lit up with enthusiasm. "Consider it done, Aldred. I''ll make sure these sessions are not just educational, but unforgettable."


    The meeting with the investors was set in a serene garden within the toon''s headquarters, chosen by Aldred for its calming effect and the subtle reminder of what they were fighting to protect. The investors, a diverse group representing various sectors from across the gxy, were visibly impressed by the serene setting.


    As they took their seats, Aldred began, "Thank you for your interest in the Celestial toon and our recent advancements. Our goal has always been to ensure peace and security throughout the gxy, and we believe these technologies can y a crucial role in that mission."


    One of the investors, a keen-eyed woman named Lira, representing a consortium from the Outer Rim, was the first to speak. "Your showcase was impressive, Commander Aldred. But we''re curious about what wasn''t shown. Are there other projects in development that you can share with us?"


    Aldred exchanged a nce with Shinari, who nodded slightly. "We are indeed working on several other projects, focusing on defense systems and space travel. While I can''t divulge specifics at this stage, I can assure you that they are designed with the same ethos of protecting life and fostering peace."


    Another investor, a tall, stoic man named Goren, leaned forward. "And what of the financial models? Are you looking for direct investment, partnerships, or something else?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Aldred replied, "We''re open to various models of coboration. Our primary concern is aligning with partners who share our values and vision for the future. Whether it''s through investment, research partnerships, or joint ventures, our aim is to catalyze innovation while ensuring the safety and prosperity of the gxy."


    "Spoken like a true hero. Even in conducting business, you never forget about your goal," Goren said. "I think we will have a pleasant partnership."


    "I wouldn''t doubt that." Aldred smiled.

 Chapter 786 Billions of Galactic Credits

    786 Chapter 786 Billions of Gctic Credits


    As the investors gathered in a secure viewing area within the Celestial toon''s headquarters, Aldred prepared to unveil what he had referred to as "the true innovation" of their recent technological advancements.


    The anticipation in the air was palpable, with Shinari, Smander, and Cleome standing by, their expressions a mix of pride and solemnity.


    Aldred stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the group of potential partners. "What you''re about to see," he began, his voice steady andmanding, "represents a significant leap forward in our capabilities against the demonic forces. But more importantly, it embodies ourmitment to safeguarding the gxy without needless loss of life."


    He gestured to a massive battleship docked within the hangar, its sleek design concealing the power it held within. "This," Aldred announced, "is the pinnacle of our technological integration from the Shadow Forge. A weapon designed not just to defeat, but to demoralize and debilitate the enemy forces."


    The investors leaned in, their interest clearly piqued as Aldred continued, "It emits a specialized dark wave, targeting demons specifically. Low-level demons are eliminated instantly, mid-levels suffer significant injuries, and even high-level demons are left disoriented and weakened."


    To demonstrate, Aldred revealed a containment area where demons of various levels were secured.


    The room fell silent as the weapon charged, a low hum building to a crescendo before releasing a pulsating dark wave across the containment field.


    The effect was immediate and devastating. Low-level demons met their end in an instant, while mid-level adversaries writhed in pain, their forms copsing under the assault. High-level demons, though more resilient, exhibited clear signs of distress, struggling against the debilitating effects of disorientation and weakness.


    A murmur of approval and astonishment swept through the investors as they witnessed the weapon''s efficacy firsthand.


    Aldred allowed the moment to settle before adding, "Survivors of this attack find themselves incapacitated, unable to rejoin the battle. This is how we will shift the tide in our favor."


    "And this only works on demons?"


    Aldred approached them with a serious face. "This can be modified to work on anything. However, I wouldn''t want this weapon to be used to mass murder humans without justified cause."


    Aldred did not want to be med to create something that would lead to atrocities, so he had to say this.


    10:54


    "O¡ªokay."


    "I call it the Eclipse Cannon."


    "Eclipse Cannon. That is definitely an interesting name. A perfect fit for the weapon."


    "And we definitely want to invest in this. How do we proceed further?"


    The tension in the room palpably shifted as Aldred named his price for the Eclipse Cannon.


    "The Celestial toon is willing to sell this weapon for 5.7 billion Gctic Credits, or Diras, for each unit," he stated, his voice unwavering, fully aware of the bombshell he had just dropped.


    A collective gasp swept through the investors, their expressions ranging from disbelief to calcted interest.


    One of the investors, a sharp-featured man named Varek, who had remained mostly silent until now, voiced the group''s astonishment. "That''s more than five times the price of a Dreadnought-ss battleship," he eximed, his toneced with incredulity.


    Aldred met Varek''s gaze, his expression serene yet confident. "And this weapon is five times more effective than a Dreadnought," he countered smoothly.


    "What we offer is not merely a piece of technology but a paradigm shift in strategic warfare. You have never seen a weapon like this before. By possessing it, you secure advantages that your rivals can only dream of."


    He let his words sink in, observing the flickers of realization dawning on the investors'' faces. "Just imagine," Aldred continued, painting a vivid picture of the weapon''s potential. "Approaching a under siege by demonic forces, and with a few clicks of a button, you can selectively eliminate the threat. An entire horde of monsters eradicated without endangering a single civilian. The tactical and moral superiority it grants you is unparalleled."


    "And remember, it could work on anything and anyone and you can change it anytime you want."


    The room fell into a contemtive silence, the gravity of Aldred''s proposition weighing heavily on everyone present.


    The investors exchanged nces, the initial shock giving way to strategic contemtion.


    Lira, who had been intently following the discussion, leaned forward, her eyes reflecting the gears turning in her mind.


    "The Eclipse Cannon could indeed redefine the rules of engagement," she mused aloud, acknowledging the weapon''s game-changing potential. "However, this weapon require a cooling down of 15 minutes after use. It might be good in a situation you say, but in active confrontation, its use is still limited. So, I expect discounted prices until you fix this issue."


    "How much do you want?"


    "2 billion Gctic Credit."


    "4 billion. No less."


    Lira nodded. "I will take that."


    Aldred looked at the others. "What about all of you?"


    They all looked at each other and nodded at the same time. "We will take a few."


    ¡­


    After the groundbreaking deal with the investors, Aldred found himself in the sanctum of his expansive office, a space that felt more like amand center crossed with theforts of a luxurious den. He was indulging in the spoils of a hard-earned victory: grapes sourced from the vineyards of Zephyria, wine aged in barrels made from the timbers of ancient Jovar trees, and a steak from the monstrous Boxia, a delicacy that was as rare as it was a testament to the might of the Celestial toon.


    Leaning back in his oversized leather chair, Aldred allowed himself a moment of contentment. The negotiation had gone better than expected, and he was already anticipating further interest in the Eclipse Cannon and other technologies the toon had to offer. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A knock at the door interrupted his reverie. "Enter," he called out, his tone conveying the ease of his mood.


    The door swung open, and several figures stepped into the room, each carrying the weight ofmand in their bearing. They were the admirals and key figures of the Celestial toon, individuals who had seen battles beyond count and who had steered the fate of countless lives.


    "Commander Aldred," greeted Admiral Kyra, her voice resonant with respect and a hint of warmth. "We hope we''re not intruding."

 Chapter 787 Reflections of Leadership

    787 Chapter 787 Reflections of Leadership


    "Commander Aldred," greeted Admiral Kyra, her voice resonant with respect and a hint of warmth. "We hope we''re not intruding."


    Aldred rose to his feet, a gesture of equal respect. "Not at all. To what do I owe the pleasure?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The group exchanged nces, a silent consensus passing between them before Admiral Kyra spoke again. "We came to express our gratitude, not just as leaders within the toon but as individuals who have witnessed your dedication to our cause. What you did for the families of our fallen¡­ it was more than generous. It was a beacon of hope."


    Beacon of hope. He had heard those statements too many times already.


    Aldred''s expression softened. "They deserved every bit of it. We fight together, we mourn together, and we honor our fallen together. It''s the least I could do."


    As the moment of shared respect lingered, the other admirals stepped forward, each in turn voicing their own words of gratitude. Their tones varied from the stern, battle-hardened timbre of Admiral Jorak to the softer, reflective notes of Admiral Lin, a renowned tactician whose strategies had saved countless lives. Despite their differences, the message was unified: Aldred''s actions had lit a me of hope and unity within the toon that would burn brightly for years toe.


    As the admirals concluded their thanks, a younger officer hesitantly approached Aldred. His uniform was crisp, the insignia of the Celestial toon gleaming on his chest, yet his posture spoke of a personal, deeper connection to the matters at hand.


    "Commander Aldred," he began, his voice carrying an undercurrent of emotion. "I¡­ I wanted to thank you personally. My brother fought alongside you at the Shadow Forge. He¡­ he didn''t make it back. But what you did, honoring him and the others like that, it meant the world to my family."


    Aldred''s gaze softened, a flicker of recognition crossing his features. "Sergeant Halen Var," he echoed, his voice imbued with respect. "A brave soldier and a valiant heart. His sacrifice saved lives, and his memory will be honored as long as the Celestial toon stands. You should be proud of him, as we all are."


    The officer blinked, clearly taken aback that Aldred not only remembered his brother by name but also acknowledged his contributions with such reverence. "I¡­ I am, Commander. Thank you. I didn''t realize you¡­"


    Aldred ced a hand on the officer''s shoulder, offering a grounding presence. "In the toon, we are more than justrades in arms; we are a family. Your brother''s legacy, and the legacy of all who have fallen, is something I carry with me every day. It''s my duty and my honor to know them, to remember them."


    The room fell into a respectful silence, the depth of Aldred''s words resonating with everyone present.


    The young officer nodded, a mix of sorrow and pride in his eyes as he saluted Aldred, a gesture of deep respect and gratitude.


    As the admirals and officers departed, leaving Aldred alone in his office once more, the gravity of his role as leader of the Celestial toon settled around him like a mantle. The weight was heavy, but not unbearable, for it was shared by the collective strength and spirit of those he led.


    Aldred returned to his chair, his thoughts wandering to the faces of those who had fallen, those who had fought valiantly by his side.


    In the quiet of his office, surrounded by the symbols ofmand and the luxury afforded by his position, he knew that the true measure of his leadership was not in the victories won or the enemies defeated, but in the lives touched, remembered, and honored.


    "When was thest time I truly care about my subordinates."


    This was something new for Aldred. He had always knew and gave what his subordinate wanted to keep them loyal, but he never truly cared about them except for some individuals like his wives and Bartrem.


    As the stars twinkled outside his window, a silent testament to the vastness of their struggle, Aldred knew that the path ahead was fraught with challenges.


    Yet, he also knew that the Celestial toon, united in purpose and fortified by the bonds of camaraderie and respect, was ready to face whatever came their way.


    "Let''s hope this camaraderie isn''t fragile."


    Stepping out onto the open balcony, Aldred was immediately met with the sight of countless faces turned upwards, their eyes filled with admiration and respect. The murmurs of conversation below crescendoed into cheers and apuse as they recognized him, chanting his name in a chorus of gratitude and celebration. Aldred, usually stoic and reserved, couldn''t help but let a small, genuine smile grace his lips at the sight.


    Among the crowd, a young figure, emboldened by the moment, crafted a paper ne with swift, practiced movements. With a flick of the wrist, they sent it soaring towards the balcony, a hopeful gesture aimed at their hero. Almost instantly, a secret service agent, ever vignt, materialized from the shadows, snatching the ne from the air with a precision that spoke of intense training, ensuring themander''s safety was neverpromised.


    Aldred, observing the exchange, gestured for the agent to hand over the paper ne.


    Unfolding it gently, his eyes scanned the simple message inscribed within: "WE LOVE YOU!" The sincerity and warmth of the message etched in those few words brought a deeper smile to Aldred''s face, a rare urrence that softened his usual stern demeanor.


    However, the moment of warmth was swiftly followed by protocol.


    The secret agent, with a respectful yet firm tone,municated through their securework, instructing their peers to prevent any further objects from being thrown towards the balcony. "For themander''s safety," they emphasized, their gaze scanning the crowd for any potential threats.


    Aldred, overhearing themand, chose not to countermand the order.


    He understood the necessity of such measures, the weight of responsibility for not just his own safety but that of all those under hismand, ever-present in his mind.


    Turning back to the crowd, Aldred raised his hand, a gesture of acknowledgment and thanks for their support and love. "Your faith and courage are the foundation upon which the Celestial toon stands," he dered, his voice carrying over the din, reaching every ear in the assembled mass. "Together, we will face whatever the future holds, united in purpose and unbreakable in our resolve."


    As he retreated from the balcony, the cheers of the crowd boomed in his ears.


    \\

 Chapter 788 Iron Eagle

    788 Chapter 788 Iron Eagle


    The transient moment of peace and adtion from the popce, while rejuvenating, was a brief interlude in the relentless rhythm ofmand responsibilities for Aldred. As the cheers faded into the background, he was acutely aware of the pressing need to pivot back to the demands of leadership and the strategic imperatives of the Celestial toon.


    The following day, within the austere confines of the war room¡ªa stark contrast to the celebratory atmosphere outside¡ªAldred convened a meeting with his war admirals and generals.


    This was a gathering of minds that had weathered countless storms and emerged victorious, yet remained vignt againstcency.


    Aldred stood at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the assembly of his military''s elite. "Thank you for joining me," he began, his voice embodying the calm before the storm. "Our triumph at the Shadow Forge has given us a momentary advantage, but we must leverage this momentum strategically. Today, we chart our course forward, informed by our past but looking towards the future."


    Admiral Kyra, her demeanor always reflective of the bnce between strength and wisdom, was the first to speak. "The Shadow Forge operation showcased our tactical ingenuity and the efficacy of our new technologies. However, we must also consider the adaptability of our adversaries. They will not make the same mistake twice."


    General Tarn, known for his aggressive strategies and unyielding determination, leaned forward. "We should press the advantage. Hit them where they''re weakest before they have a chance to regroup. We have the Eclipse Cannon; let''s use it to its full potential. Not to mention the Shielding Halo of which we didn''t even get the chance to use at all."


    Aldred nodded, acknowledging the input. "The Eclipse Cannon represents a significant leap in our offensive capabilities, but its use must be measured. We risk escting the conflict unnecessarily if we rely solely on our new arsenal. Our strategy must be multifaceted."


    Cleome, the Lightning Weaver, who had recently joined the ranks of the war council, added her perspective. "We should also consider bolstering our intelligence efforts. Understanding the enemy''s movements and motivations will allow us to anticipate their actions and respond proactively rather than reactively."


    Smander, always the advocate for the well-being of the toon''s soldiers, raised a pertinent point. "While we focus on strategy and technology, we must not overlook the morale and welfare of our troops. They are our greatest asset. Ensuring their readiness, both mentally and physically, is crucial to our continued sess."


    Aldred absorbed the counsel of his advisors, their diverse viewpoints painting aprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities thaty ahead. "Our path forward," he concluded, "will require a bnce of aggression and caution, innovation and tradition. We will enhance our intelligence operations, selectively deploy the Eclipse Cannon and Shielding Halo, and invest in the readiness of our forces. Above all, we will uphold the values that have guided us this far¡ªunity, honor, and amitment to protect the gxy."


    As the strategic discussion among Aldred and his top officials deepened, the abrupt arrival of amunications officer with an urgent report cut through the focused atmosphere like a cold de. The officer, usuallyposed, bore a look of grave concern that immediately signaled the severity of the situation to all present.


    "Commander Aldred, sirs," the officer began, his voice betraying the urgency of his message, "our distant outposts havee under attack. Initial reports suggested a demonic assault, but our recon teams have identified an insignia on the attackers that contradicts this assumption."


    A hush fell over the room, everymander and admiral turning their attention to the officer, anticipating the revtion with a mix of trepidation and disbelief.


    "They bear the insignia of an iron eagle," the officer continued, the significance of his words hanging heavily in the air.


    A collective intake of breath followed the announcement. The insignia of the iron eagle was not just any symbol; it was the mark of the Super Soldiers of the Emperor, a force known throughout the gxy for their unmatched prowess and loyalty to an enigmatic and powerful sovereign.


    Admiral Kyra, her usually unshakeable demeanor nowced with a hint of apprehension, voiced the thoughts of many in the room. "The Emperor''s Super Soldiers¡­ here? But why? Our conflicts have never crossed paths with theirs."


    General Tarn, his strategic mind racing through the implications, added, "Their involvement changes the ying field entirely. These Super Soldiers are bio-engineered to be the pinnacle of warfare, each chapter capable of neutralizing threats on a gctic scale. What interest could they possibly have in our sectors?"


    Aldred, his posture rigid with the weight ofmand, absorbed the news with a calm that belied the turmoil of thoughts beneath. "This is no random incursion," he mused aloud, more to himself than to the others. "Their presence here, now, is a calcted move. We need to understand their motives¡ªand quickly."


    Cleome, always analytical, proposed a course of action. "We should attempt to make contact. Understanding their intentions could prevent unnecessary conflict. If diplomacy fails, we must be prepared for a confrontation unlike any we have faced before."


    Smander, focused on the welfare of their forces, expressed concern. "Our troops have never faced adversaries like these. Training simtions and briefings on the Super Soldiers'' capabilities should be our immediate priority. We need to adapt our strategies to stand a chance against such formidable foes."


    Aldred nodded, a n formting in his strategic mind. "Admiral Kyra, initiate back-channelmunications. We must extend an offer of dialogue to the Super Soldiers. General Tarn, oversee the rapid deployment of our defense measures, with particr focus on protecting civilian poptions. Cleome,pile all avable data on the Super Soldiers for analysis. Smander, prepare our forces, mentally and physically, for what maye."


    10:56


    The war room, once a hub of strategic nning against known adversaries, now faced the prospect of an entirely new kind of warfare. The arrival of the Emperor''s Super Soldiers in their territory was a harbinger of challenges that would test the Celestial toon''s resolve, ingenuity, and unity more than ever before.


    "I want you to prepare everything as soon as possible, but keep hoping that we wouldn''t need to use any of it."


    As the gravity of the situation settled over the war room, Aldred''smand was clear and unwavering. "Bring up the footage of the attack. I want to see their approach, their tactics, and most importantly, their targets."


    Themunications officer, quick to respond, initiated the yback on the main holographic disy. The room dimmed slightly as the footage began, showcasing the distant outposts through a series of grainy but discernible images.


    What they saw was perplexing; the Super Soldiers of the Emperor, known for their ruthlessness and unmatchedbat efficiency, had directed their assault on an apparently empty facility. The precision bombing did not align with a strategy of mass destruction or terror; it was calcted, almost hesitant.


    Aldred leaned forward, his analytical mind piecing together the puzzle presented before him. "Pause here," hemanded, pointing to a frame where the Super Soldiers prepared their armaments but refrained fromunching a full-scale attack. "This was no act of war," he mused aloud. "It''s a message. They chose an uninhabited structure for a reason."


    General Tarn, ever the advocate for a strong offensive posture, struggled with the restraint shown by the Super Soldiers. "A message? What are they trying tomunicate? That they can strike at will without causing casualties?"


    Cleome, her insight invaluable, offered a different perspective. "Perhaps it''s a demonstration of their capabilities, or even a test to gauge our response. We must consider the possibility that they are seeking to engage with us on different terms."


    Smander, watching the footage of their soldiers taking defensive positions, noted their readiness but also their confusion. "Our troops were prepared for a fight that never came. It''s clear we''re in uncharted territory here. How we respond will set the tone for whates next."


    Aldred, his gaze fixed on the disy, finally broke the silence. "If they intended to harm us, they would have struck without warning and with lethal force. This¡­ this is a call to parley. Admiral Kyra, have we received anymunications from them?" N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Admiral Kyra, after a quick check with her aides, confirmed, "No directmunications yet, Commander. But this act could be their way of opening a channel. We''ll need to remain vignt for any attempts to contact us."


    "Keep all channels open and monitor for any unusual transmissions. In the meantime, we maintain our defensive posture but hold back on any retaliatory actions. Let''s not escte the situation without understanding their intentions fully,"


    Aldred decided, his leadership steering them through the murky waters of interster diplomacy and warfare.


    The meeting adjourned with tasks assigned and a collective sense of anticipation.


    The presence of the Emperor''s Super Soldiers within their domain had introduced a variable that Aldred and hismanders could not have predicted. Yet, under his guidance, the Celestial toon remained adaptable, ready to face this new challenge with the same resolve and unity that had seen them through countless battles.

 Chapter 789 Master of the Fleet

    789 Chapter 789 Master of the Fleet


    The standoff at the outpost presented a new conundrum for Aldred and hismand. The Super Soldiers'' spacecraft, hovering ominously yet silently near the outpost, became a symbol of the unknown intentions that puzzled the Celestial toon. Despite repeated attempts by the local officers to establishmunication, the air remained thick with unanswered calls, heightening the tension among the ranks.


    Determined to break the impasse, Aldred decided to take a more direct approach. Apanied by a small entourage of his most trusted advisors, he boarded a shuttle, making his way towards the silent spacecraft. The decision was not taken lightly, but Aldred knew the importance of understanding the Super Soldiers'' motives firsthand.


    As they approached, Aldred activated the shuttle''s externalmunication system. "This is Commander Aldred of the Celestial toon," he announced, his voiceced with a respectful firmness, designed to bridge the gap between potential allies or foes. "We seek a peaceful resolution and wish to understand your presence in our territory."


    The silence that followed felt like an eternity. The crew aboard Aldred''s shuttle exchanged anxious nces, unsure of what to expect. Then, without warning, the hull of the Super Soldiers'' spacecraft began to shift, revealing an opening. It was a clear invitation, yet one that carried with it a myriad of risks and uncertainties.


    Aldred nodded to his team, a silent signal of his decision to ept the invitation. "Stay here and maintain an open channel," he instructed, his tone leaving no room for debate. "If you do not hear from me within the hour, initiate evacuation protocols and alert the toon."


    With a determined stride, Aldred disembarked the shuttle, crossing the threshold into the Super Soldiers'' vessel.


    The interior was stark, illuminated by a cold, ambient light that did little to soften the militaristic efficiency of its design. A corridor stretched out before him, leading to a central chamber where he presumed the meeting would take ce.


    As he walked, Aldred prepared himself mentally for the encounter ahead. His mind raced through possible scenarios, strategies, and responses.


    The importance of this meeting transcended personal risk; it was a pivotal moment that could define the future rtionship between the Celestial toon and the Super Soldiers of the Emperor.


    Upon entering the chamber, Aldred found himself face to face with a figure d in the unmistakable armor of the Super Soldiers. The insignia of the iron eagle was prominently disyed, a silent testament to their allegiance and purpose.


    Aldred''s entrance into the chamber was met with a silence that held the weight of gxies.


    The Super Soldier before him, an imposing figure shrouded in armor that bore the emblem of an iron eagle, regarded him with a scrutiny that could pierce through the facades of the most seasoned warriors.


    "You stand in the domain of the Emperor''s chosen," the Super Soldier announced, his voice echoing with a resonant authority that filled the chamber. His chin lifted, his tone imbued with amand that bespoke his superiority. Around them, the air thickened as other Super Soldiers, previously motionless statues in the periphery, suddenly exuded an aura so potent it seemed to warp the very fabric of the space they upied.


    Aldred, Commander of the Celestial toon, met their gaze unflinchingly. He was no stranger to power, to the unseen forces that danced at the edge of reality, beckoning to be harnessed. As the Super Soldiers'' aura bore down upon him, a test of his resolve, Aldred released his own. It surged forth like a dark tempest, tendrils of blood and shadow intertwining to form a maelstrom of power that challenged the very essence of existence.


    The room, charged with the raw essence of two formidable forces, became a crucible for what was toe.


    Yet, in the face of Aldred''s disy, the Super Soldiers did not recoil. Instead, a subtle shift urred in their demeanor. The initial appraisal in their eyes transformed into a recognition of Aldred''s strength, acknowledging him an equal, deserving of respect.


    The lead Super Soldier, his posture unchanged yet his aura subtly receding in acknowledgment of Aldred''s prowess, finally spoke, "Commander Aldred, your reputation precedes you.


    We are aware of your victories against the darkness that threatens the gxy. It is not our intent to add to your list of adversaries."


    Aldred, sensing the opportunity for dialogue, allowed his own aura to diminish, an unspoken agreement to parley rather than to battle. "Then let us speak inly," Aldred replied, his voice steady, "Why have the Emperor''s Super Soldiers ventured into our territories unannounced, and what is it that you seek from the Celestial toon?"


    The Super Soldier''s response caused a momentary ripple of surprise across Aldred''s stoic demeanor. "The Master of the Fleet," he echoed, the title resonating with a mix of reverence and apprehension within the chamber. The Master of the Fleet was no ordinary rank among the Emperor''s forces; it signified a leader with strategicmand over vast legions of Super Soldiers, a veteran whose decisions could sway the course of interster conflicts.


    Aldred''s posture remained unchanged, though his mind raced with the implications of such a meeting. "Very well," he responded, his voice betraying none of his inner turmoil. "Arrange this meeting. I am here to understand your intentions and find a path that avoids needless conflict between our forces."


    The Super Soldier, seemingly satisfied with Aldred''s eptance, nodded once, sharply. "Follow me, Commander Aldred. The Master awaits your audience." With that, the soldier turned, leading Aldred through the vessel''sbyrinthine corridors with purposeful strides. The other Super Soldiers made way, their formidable auras retracting, allowing passage.


    As they moved, Aldred took note of the ship''s interior¡ªits advanced technology seamlessly integrated with a spartan aesthetic that spoke of a culture that valued efficiency and power above all. Despite the tension of the situation, he couldn''t help but admire the engineering prowess of the Emperor''s fleet.


    Finally, they arrived at arge, ornately designed door, which slid open silently to reveal a grand chamber beyond. Inside, standing before a massive viewport that offered a panoramic view of the stars, was a figure that exuded authority andmand. d in armor that bore the intricate designs of high rank, the Master of the Fleet turned to face Aldred as they entered.


    "Commander Aldred of the Celestial toon," the Master''s voice filled the room, deep and resonant. "Your deeds precede you. It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance."


    Aldred stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the Master. "The honor is mine, Master of the Fleet. Ie seeking answers. Your forces have entered our territory without provocation. What is your purpose here?"


    The Master of the Fleet paused, his gaze shifting back to the stars. "Our gxy faces a threat far greater than any dispute between our factions. An ancient darkness, long forgotten, stirs in the void, threatening to consume all in its path. We cannot face this alone."


    Aldred listened intently, the gravity of the Master''s words settling over him. "You speak of an alliance," he surmised, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to align in his mind.


    "Indeed," the Master confirmed. "An alliance, borne of necessity. Our scouts have observed the encroaching darkness, and our seers have confirmed its malevolent intent. The Emperor believes that together, our forces can stand against this threat."


    "And what about the provocation? You attacked us."


    "I harm not a single hair except for old bricks and stones. I did it to make youe to me."


    "How would you expect me to refuse the call of a Master of the Fleet."


    "You won''t refuse my summon, but tou might refuse my offer."


    "You offer an alliance, friendship. No reason to refuse the goodwill of a powerful entity."


    The Master of the Fleetughed. "Civilians don''t usually want to mingle with us. We have authorities and power far more than they can imagine. If I ordered an entire to be massacred to keep a secret from being leaked, my soldiers will do so and no authority will stop me."


    "I am not a mere civilians."


    "Ah yes, you regard yourself as a protector. A hero of some sort. I always heard you say something about protecting the gxy, bing the beacon of hope and whatnot in your speeches. I hope you don''t believe those words yourself."


    "In order to convince others of your lie, you need to convince yourself first."


    "Well, let me tell you that don''t work on me. Tell me. Who are you. Suddenly, appearing out of nowhere and in three years your name and influence spread across this region." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The Master pulled out a gun off his holster and aimed at Aldred''s head. "Are you a demon in human skin? Biding your time for our trust and then stab us in the back. Is this what you n to do?"


    Aldred frowned and then smiled. "I heard you have the authority to shoot first then ask questionter. If you are so sure of your usation, you would have shoot. But seems like there is something else."


    A smile appeared on the Master''s face. "No wonder you can grow this big in such a short time."

 Chapter 790 Unlikely Partner

    790 Chapter 790 Unlikely Partner


    The Master, his gaze fixed upon Aldred, began to articte his assessment of the Celestial toon.


    "Your forces," he started, his voice resonating with a mix of respect and critique, "exhibit remarkable strength and unity. You''ve achieved what many deemed impossible."


    The acknowledgment of their strengths was a rare concession from one so ustomed to thepany of the gxy''s most elite warriors.


    However, the Master''s tone shifted, introducing a note of caution. "But your rapid expansion, Aldred, is not without its ws."


    His critical gaze seemed to pierce through the veneer of the Celestial toon''s sesses, identifying vulnerabilities only a seasonedmander could discern.


    "Your reach extends far, perhaps too far. Expansion at such a pace invites not only opportunity but vulnerability."


    The conversation took an unexpected turn as the Master delved into the extensive enterprises under Aldred''smand.


    "You''ve ventured beyond military engagements, seizing control of sectors critical to the gxy''s socio-economic fabric," he observed, his knowledge of Aldred''s operations suggesting a level of surveince that was both impressive and unsettling. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    From transportation and entertainment to agriculture and technology, the Masterid bare the extent of Aldred''s influence, revealing awork that spanned far and wide.


    "You monopolize the markets, leaving little room for others," the Master continued, his voiceced with a hint of admonishment.


    "Such greed, while beneficial to you, starves the gxy of its entrepreneurial spirit. Hungry individuals should be given the opportunity to thrive, not be overshadowed by a singr power."


    The weight of the Master''s words hung heavily in the air, a critique not just of Aldred''s strategic ambitions but of the very philosophy underpinning his rise to power.


    It was a moment of reckoning, a challenge to Aldred''s vision for the Celestial toon and its ce within the gctic order.


    Yet, Aldred, undeterred by the Master''s probing analysis, met his gaze with a steady resolve.


    "Our ambition," he replied, "is driven not by greed but by a vision of stability and prosperity for the gxy. We fill voids, prevent chaos, and build where others have destroyed."


    The Masterughed. "I have heard that you always have the right word to say. Maybe that helps you in your growth. But you are a rookie in this kingdom-building game. You think making your key personnels happy is all you need. If you progress further, you will soon find destruction at your peril."


    "We are not afraid of unavoidable confrontarion although we will try diplomacy if possible."


    "Is that so?"


    Aldred became silent and took a careful look at the man. "What is it that you seek? I believe it is not merely to twist words with me."


    "In that case, let''s jump right in. I want your Celestial toon to coborate with me."


    The Master of the Fleet, having made his intentions clear, proceeded to outline the scope of the proposed coboration between the Celestial toon and the Emperor''s Super Soldiers.


    "The threats we face are not bound by the territories we control," the Master began, his voice taking on a pragmatic tone. "Our enemies do not discriminate between us. A partnership could prove beneficial in more ways than one."


    Aldred, his interest piqued, leaned slightly forward. "Go on," he urged, signaling the Master to borate on the potential areas of coboration.


    The Master, tapping on a device, projected a holographic map of the gxy onto the table. Points of interest flickered into existence, each representing a zone of strategic importance or conflict. "Joint operations," he pointed to several hotspots, "againstmon enemies could significantly reduce the threat level in these areas. The Celestial toon''s agilitybined with our firepower could yield unparalleled results."


    Aldred nodded, considering the proposition. The idea ofbining their forces was enticing but fraught with challenges, not least of which was themand structure of such joint operations.


    "Shared intelligence," the Master continued, highlighting another set of coordinates, "on emerging gctic threats would allow us to act preemptively, rather than reactively. Yourwork of informants and our surveince capabilities could create the mostprehensive early warning system known to the gxy."


    This aspect of the coboration drew a more immediate interest from Aldred. The value of information could not be overstated, especially in their ongoing battle against the shadows that sought to engulf the gxy.


    "Mutual ess to restricted zones," the Master concluded, his gaze locking with Aldred''s, "would grant us both the ability to move freely in pursuit of our objectives. There are regions where even we tread carefully, regions that could hold the key to defeating our adversaries once and for all."


    The ''minor'' nature of these projects, as the Master had initially described them, belied their potential impact. Aldred recognized the strategic importance of each proposal. However, the notion of mutual ess raised concerns about sovereignty and trust. "These are significant undertakings," Aldred acknowledged, "requiring a level of cooperation and trust that, frankly, we are yet to establish."


    The Master of the Fleet nodded, a gesture acknowledging the validity of Aldred''s concerns. "Trust is earned on the battlefield and in the councils where the fate of worlds is decided," he said, his tone earnest. "We propose a trial coboration, starting with a joint operation against a known threat. Sess there could serve as the foundation upon which we build this alliance."


    Aldred considered the offer, his strategic mind weighing the risks against the potential benefits. The opportunity to test the waters with a trial operation was a prudent approach, one that could pave the way for a partnership that might very well change the course of their shared history.


    "Very well," Aldred finally said, extending his hand across the table. "Let us start with this trial coboration. If we can stand together against amon enemy, perhaps there is hope for this alliance after all."


    Aldred began to think.


    Aldred, his hand still extended in agreement, allowed his mind to delve into the depths of strategic contemtion. The handshake symbolized not just a potential partnership but a pivotal moment for the Celestial toon. As the Master of the Fleet returned the gesture, Aldred''s thoughts raced through the myriad possibilities this alliance could unlock.


    Internally, Aldred weighed the bnce of power. The allure of essing advanced technologies and strategic insights from the Super Soldiers was tempting. Yet, the cost of such knowledge was not lost on him. He pondered the autonomy of the Celestial toon, wary of bing too entangled in the machinations of a force as potent and enigmatic as the Emperor''s Super Soldiers. The potential benefits were significant, but so were the risks to hismand''s independence.


    As the handshake concluded, Aldred cleared his throat, signaling the transition to more pragmatic concerns. "Before we proceed further," he began, his voice steady andmanding, "I must seek rifications on several key points."


    The Master of the Fleet, intrigued, gestured for Aldred to continue, acknowledging the validity of his forting inquiries.


    "Firstly," Aldred continued, "the matter ofmand hierarchy in our joint operations. It is imperative that the Celestial toon retains operational autonomy, ensuring that our strategies and objectives align withoutpromising our principles."


    The Master nodded, understanding the delicate nature of such arrangements. "Agreed. While we shall share strategic goals, the execution shall respect our respective chains ofmand. Your autonomy will be preserved."


    "Secondly," Aldred pressed on, "operational transparency is non-negotiable. Both parties must be privy to all ns and intelligence, ensuring no hidden agendas that could undermine our mutual trust."


    "A fair request," the Master conceded. "Transparency fosters trust. We shall share intelligence and strategies openly, with the caveat that sensitive information pertaining to our respective sovereignties remains protected."


    Lastly, Aldred addressed the safeguarding of the Celestial toon''s interests. "This coboration must not, under any circumstances, jeopardize the safety or sovereignty of the territories under our protection. Our primary duty is to those we serve."


    The Master of the Fleet regarded Aldred with a newfound respect. "Your dedication to your people ismendable. Rest assured, the safety of your territories and the welfare of those under your guardianship shall remain paramount."


    Aldred, satisfied with the Master''s assurances, allowed himself a moment of cautious optimism.


    The conversation hadid the groundwork for a coboration that, if sessful, could herald a new era of prosperity and security for the gxy.


    Yet, the true test of their partnership woulde not from agreements made in the quiet of a chamber but from the actions taken in the vast, unpredictable expanse of space.


    "I will need assurances."


    As the Master of the Fleet listened to Aldred''s demands for assurances, the atmosphere within the chamber shifted from one of cautious negotiation to mutual understanding. The Master, embodying the authority and honor of the Emperor''s Super Soldiers, nodded in agreement, his face a mask of solemnmitment.


    "Commander Aldred," he began, his voice echoing slightly off the metallic walls, "your concerns are not only heard but respected. The foundation of this alliance must be built on trust, and trust requires more than mere words."


    He paused, allowing his assurance to resonate with Aldred, who remained attentive, albeit cautiously optimistic. The Master then continued, "As a gesture of ourmitment to this alliance and the terms we''ve discussed, we are prepared to offer technological support and resources. Consider it a token of our honor and our belief in the potential of what we can achieve together."


    Aldred''s gaze remained fixed on the Master, analyzing the sincerity of his proposition.


    The offer of technology and resources from a group as advanced as the Super Soldiers was not something to be taken lightly. They were literally given one of the best possible weapon in the empire.


    They were the bulwark, the sword and shield of the Emperor. Aldred had read many books about them.


    It could significantly bolster the Celestial toon''s capabilities, potentially altering the bnce of power in their favor.


    "Your offer is generous," Aldred finally responded, the corners of his mouth lifting in a cautious smile. "And it demonstrates the depth of yourmitment. I believe this is the beginning of a fruitful partnership."


    "In addition to the technological support," the Master added, releasing Aldred''s hand, "we will provide ess to training programs for your officers. The skills and tactics employed by the Super Soldiers are unparalleled, and sharing this knowledge will ensure our joint operations are executed with maximum efficiency."


    Aldred was satisfied. However, deep within his satisfaction there were skepticism.

 Chapter 791 Alliance

    791 Chapter 791 Alliance


    As the alliance between the Celestial toon and the Super Soldiers of the Emperor took shape, a palpable air of anticipation enveloped Aldred and hismand.


    The initial step in this groundbreaking coboration was the integration of the Super Soldiers'' advanced technologies into the Celestial toon''s arsenal¡ªa move that promised to redefine the boundaries of their capabilities.


    Technological Integration.


    The focus of this technological boon was on spacecraft enhancements¡ªa critical area where the Celestial toon could immediately leverage the Super Soldiers'' superior tech to fortify their fleet. A designated hangar within the toon''s base was repurposed as the integration facility, a space where the future of intersterbat was poised to evolve.


    Vortimer had offered to improve their spacecrafts before but his enhancement were not designed for humans that require human needs.


    Vortimermand lifeless robots that only require storage space and batteries.


    Meanwhile, humans needforts and other necessities.


    Aldred, alongside his chief engineer, Lira¡ªa brilliant mind known for her prowess in adapting alien technologies¡ªmet with a delegation from the Super Soldiers. The delegation was led by Commander Varik, a tactician whose exploits were legendary even among the Emperor''s elite.


    "Commander Aldred, we bring with us the schematics for the Aegis Drive," Varik began, his voice firm, yet imbued with a sense of camaraderie. "An advanced propulsion system that offers unmatched speed and maneuverability."


    Lira, examining the holographic blueprints that flickered into existence, couldn''t mask her awe. "This¡­ this could change everything," she whispered, her eyes tracing the intricate designs.


    Aldred watched the exchange, a sense of pride swelling within him. This was the future¡ªa fusion of the best of what both their forces had to offer.


    As the engineers from both sides delved into the technicalities, Aldred and Varik stepped aside, their conversation turning to the broader implications of their alliance.


    "Your forces have shown remarkable resilience, Aldred," Varik noted, his stance rxed, yet alert. "But with the Aegis Drive, your ships will be nigh unstoppable."


    Aldred nodded, his mind racing with the tactical applications. "And your willingness to share such technology speaks volumes of your faith in this alliance," he replied, extending a hand towards Varik.


    Varik grasped Aldred''s hand, a firm shake sealing their unspoken pact. "It is an investment in a shared future¡ªone where our enemies will find no quarter." N?v(el)B\\jnn


    As the integration process began, with Celestial toon engineers working tirelessly alongside their Super Soldier counterparts, Aldred found himself wrestling with a mix of optimism and skepticism.


    The technology was a game-changer, no doubt, but at what cost? Would the Celestial toon be too reliant on their new allies, or was this the beginning of a new era of mutual prosperity?


    Aldred''s internal conflict was evident in his bodynguage¡ªhis normally confident stride tempered with moments of contemtion. He watched as the first of their ships was outfitted with the Aegis Drive, the engineers'' excitement a stark contrast to his pensive mood.


    "Commander," Lira called out, snapping Aldred from his reverie. "You need to see this."


    As the enhanced spacecraft powered up, its engines humming with a potent energy that vibrated through the hangar, Aldred couldn''t help but feel a surge of excitement. This was real. This was progress.


    Yet, as he turned to share a triumphant look with Varik, the Super Soldier''s gaze was unreadable¡ªa reminder of the mysteries that stilly between them.


    "Sir Aldred. Why don''t we begin our joint training session," the super soldier officer said.


    Aldred nodded at Varik''s suggestion, the excitement in the air almost tangible as both the Celestial toon and the Super Soldiers prepared for the joint training session.


    This was more than just a routine exercise; it was the beginning of a historic partnership, one that could potentially shift the bnce of power and strategy within the gxy.


    The vast training grounds, a sprawlingplex equipped with thetest inbat simtion technology, buzzed with activity. Soldiers from both factions gathered, their usual routines set aside for this unprecedented event. Aldred and Varik oversaw the final preparations, their leadership pivotal in guiding this endeavor towards sess.


    Sergeant Mara, a seasoned member of the Celestial toon, stood among her peers, eyeing the Super Soldiers with a mix of curiosity and wariness.


    Their reputation preceded them, and the prospect of training alongside such formidable allies was both daunting and exhrating. As teams were formed, mixing toon soldiers with Super Soldiers, Mara found herself paired with Soren, a Super Soldier whose calm demeanor belied his formidablebat skills.


    The first part of the training session involved simtedbat scenarios, designed to test their tactical acumen and teamwork. Mara and Soren, initially hesitant in their coboration, soon found their rhythm.


    Their movements synchronized, they navigated the virtual battlefield with a precision that surprised both of them.


    The respect was mutual; Soren''s quiet acknowledgment of Mara''s strategy skills marked the beginning of a newfound camaraderie.


    Next was survival training.


    Survival training pushed them further, testing their endurance and adaptability in harsh, simted environments.


    The Celestial toon''s ingenuity coupled with the Super Soldiers'' resilience forged a bond of mutual respect.


    Laughter and shared hardships erased the invisible line that had initially divided them.


    In the aftermath of the grueling yet enlightening survival training, the Celestial toon and the Super Soldiers convened for a series of strategy workshops.


    These sessions, designed to foster a deeper understanding and cooperation between the two forces, were held in arge, circr chamber equipped with holographic disys and interactive tables.


    The atmosphere was charged with a sense of purpose, as officers from both sides gathered to share their experiences, insights, and tactics.


    Aldred, taking the lead alongside Varik, initiated the workshops with a clear objective: to bridge any gaps in strategy andmunication that might exist between their forces. "Today, we merge our strengths," Aldred announced, his voice resonating in the chamber. "We will discuss, debate, and design the strategies that will define our future operations. Let us begin."


    The first session focused on hypothetical battle scenarios, ranging from space engagements to ground assaults on fortified positions. Officers from the Celestial toon, seasoned in guerri tactics and adaptive warfare, proposed innovative approaches that piqued the interest of the Super Soldiers, known for their disciplined and overwhelming force strategies.


    One particr discussion involved a simted siege of a heavily fortified enemy outpost. Sergeant Mara, leveraging her recent experience training with Soren, suggested abined assault strategy. "We use the Super Soldiers'' Aegis Drives to breach the outer defenses," she proposed, her confidence bolstered by the camaraderie formed during the training. "Simultaneously, our forces can infiltrate through stealth, disabling key systems from within."


    Soren, standing beside her, nodded in agreement. "A synchronized attack capitalizes on our strengths," he added, his analytical mind appreciating the tactical nuance. "Your agility and our firepower could be the key to minimizing casualties and securing victory."


    "I like that. It''s a strategy that cut the enemy from two different direction. Like a scissor."


    As the workshop progressed, officers engaged in spirited discussions, challenging each other''s tactics, and refining their approaches. The holographic disys came alive with simtions, each scenario a testament to the coborative spirit that had begun to flourish among them.


    However, it was not all agreements and des. A heated debate erupted over a hypothetical defense against a massive, multi-front invasion.


    Differences in doctrine and risk assessment led to a passionate exchange of views between a Celestial toon strategist and a Super Soldiermander. The tension was palpable, a reminder of the diverse backgrounds and philosophies that hade together in this alliance.


    Aldred and Varik, recognizing the potential for discord, intervened with a calm authority. "This debate is the very essence of why we are here," Aldred stated, his gaze sweeping over the participants. "Only through understanding our differences can we truly unify our strengths."


    The workshop concluded on a note of mutual respect and a renewedmitment to coboration. The officers, though asionally divided in opinion, were united in their determination to forge a formidable alliance.


    As the participants filed out of the chamber, the buzz of animated conversations filling the air, Mara and Soren lingered.


    Their discussion on the day''s events, marked byughter and reflective pauses, symbolized the evolving bond between the Celestial toon and the Super Soldiers.


    Still, Aldred still thought otherwise. ''It''s too perfect. A bnce of agreement and disagreement. They are trying this hard to form rtionship with me. Why? What do they want?"


    Yet, as the lights in the chamber dimmed, signaling the end of the day''s sessions, an unexpected alert echoed through the base. The screens flickered to life, disying a distress signal from a nearby sector¡ªa sector under the protection of the Celestial toon.


    DING! DING! DING!


    The sudden rm, cutting through the sense of achievement and camaraderie, served as a stark reminder of the vtile gxy they inhabited. As Aldred and Varik rushed to assess the situation, the alliance faced its first real test sooner than anyone had anticipated.


    The training, debates, and sharedughter of the day were suddenly overshadowed by the urgency of the moment.

 Chapter 792: Chapter 792 Strengthening Bonds

    As the distress signal''s urgent tones reverberated through themand center, Aldred''s instincts kicked into overdrive. The coborative spirit that had buoyed them throughout the day''s training and workshops now faced its first real challenge. Beside him, Varik stood, an unreadable expression on his face, a testament to the disciplinedposure of the Super Soldiers.


    The screens pinpointed the source of the distress¡ªa mining colony on the edge of Celestial toon territory, a ce where families and workers coexisted in the harshness of space, extracting valuable minerals for the gxy. The attackers, identified as pirates, were not known for their mercy.


    "We must respond," Aldred dered, his voiceced with the weight ofmand. "This is our territory, our people."


    Varik nodded, his eyes narrowing. "Let us show these pirates the folly of their actions. The Super Soldiers stand with you, Aldred."


    Gathering a strike teamposed of both Celestial toon soldiers and Super Soldiers, they boarded their enhanced spacecraft, the engines humming with the power of the Aegis Drive. The journey was swift, the silence aboard the ship a stark contrast to the turbulence of their thoughts.


    Upon arrival, the scene was one of chaos. The mining colony''s defense systems were overwhelmed, the pirates'' ships circling like vultures.


    But as Aldred and Varik led theirbined forces into the fray, the tide quickly turned. The pirates, unprepared for the ferocity and precision of their counterattack, were soon subdued.


    The super soldiers were vicious in their strategy. Using drop pods to deliver super soldiers directly into enemy shops via orbital insertion.


    Varik, standing by the deployment bay, turned to address his troops, his voice cutting through the din with sharp rity. "Prepare for orbital insertion. Our target: the heart of the pirate fleet. Your pods are set for direct engagement. Remember, precision and speed are your allies."


    The Super Soldiers, encased in their formidable armor, nodded, a silent testament to their readiness.


    Aldred watched in silence.


    One by one, the drop pods, sleek and menacing, were loaded. Each pod, a single-use weapon of war, was designed for one purpose: to breach and board, delivering destruction directly into the enemy''sp.


    The pods shot out of the ships one by one, leaving a trail of fire behind it as they rushed towards their target with extreme speed.


    Sergeant Mara, standing beside Aldred, couldn''t hide her awe. "They''re like meteors," she whispered, her eyes wide as the first pod wasunched, its trajectory a fiery streak against the backdrop of space.


    Aldred nodded, his focus returning to the task at hand. "Let''s give them the support they need. Prepare our ships to engage."


    As the pods descended, the pirate ships, caught off guard by the ferocity of the assault, scrambled to mount a defense. But it was toote. The Super Soldiers, their pods piercing the hulls of the pirate vessels with unerring uracy, emerged into the chaos of the enemy ships.


    The pirates immediately rushed to breached side. The stared at the pods, aiming their rockets at them.


    The sound of drop pods opening resonated through the cold void of space, a mechanical symphony punctuated by metallic groans and hydraulic hisses.


    As the hatches parted, a foreboding silence fell over the void, broken only by the heavy nk of armored boots on metal grates. Super soldiers, towering figures d in indomitable ceramite, emerged with purposeful strides, their presence radiating an aura of relentless determination.


    The pirates hesitated for a second.


    But that was all it need to take them down.


    The air crackled with energy as the super soldiers engaged the pirates in close-quartersbat. des shed against armor, gunfire erupted in stato bursts, and the metallic tang of blood filled the air.


    With each swift strike and calcted maneuver, the super soldiers unleashed a relentless onught, their movements a symphony of destruction. They moved with the grace of predators, their enhanced reflexes allowing them to anticipate and counter every move of their adversaries.


    Amidst the chaos, Varik, his movements a blur of motion, led the charge. His every strike was precise, his blowsnding with devastating force as he carved a path through the enemy ranks.


    Aldred watched all of this unfold through a screen, and he was very impressed. "These are the lowest level of super soldiers."


    He turned to Sergeant Mara. "Imagine what their strongest is capable of."


    Describe in details how the super soldiers kill the pirates as they make their way to the heart of the ship.


    Theme: epic, action, battle, gunfight, de fight, pirates, one-sided battle


    As the super soldiers made their way through thebyrinthine corridors of the pirate vessel, chaos erupted in their wake. Their footsteps echoed ominously against the metal floors, each ng a harbinger of impending doom for the pirates unlucky enough to cross their path.


    With weapons primed and senses honed to a razor''s edge, the super soldiers moved with lethal precision. They encountered pockets of resistance along the way, but such feeble attempts at defiance were swiftly quelled by the overwhelming might of their assault.


    The air crackled with the stato rhythm of gunfire as the super soldiers unleashed a barrage of bullets upon their foes. Pirates fell like chaff before the wind, their screams drowned out by the relentless cacophony of battle.


    But it was not just firearms that spelled doom for the pirates. Amidst the chaos, super soldiers wielded des with deadly finesse, their razor-sharp edges slicing through flesh and bone with surgical precision. Each swing of their swords was a dance of death, a symphony of violence that left no room for mercy.


    Varik, at the forefront of the onught, carved a path of destruction through the pirate ranks. His every movement was a testament to his skill and ferocity, his blows striking true with unerring uracy.


    A lone pirate fired a rocketunched towards them.


    The super soldier rushed towards it head on, causing an explosion that filled the entire tight hallway with smoke.


    The pirate thought he manage to kill one until that same super soldier rushed out of the smoke and swiftly beheaded him.


    As the super soldiers continued their relentless advance through the pirate vessel, the corridors ran slick with the blood of fallen adversaries. The air was thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the metallic tang of spilled blood, a grim testament to the violence that had unfolded.


    With each step, the super soldiers moved closer to their objective¡ªthemand center where the pirates'' leaders awaited their fate. Varik, his eyes aze with righteous fury, led the charge, his de a blur of motion as he cut down any pirate foolish enough to stand in his way.


    As they reached themand center, they found it heavily fortified, the remaining pirates making a desperatest stand against the onught of the super soldiers.


    But their resistance was futile, for the super soldiers were unstoppable, their determination unwavering as they pressed forward.


    Varik did not need any more words.


    They advanced immediately. No hesitation. No dys.


    With a flurry of gunfire and the sh of des, the super soldiers swiftly dispatched the remaining pirates, leaving only one man standing amidst the carnage. He was a haggard figure, his eyes wide with fear as he stared down the barrel of Varik''s gun.


    "What is your purpose here?" Varik demanded, his voice cold and unforgiving.


    The pirate hesitated, his resolve crumbling in the face of Varik''s relentless gaze. "I am just looking for small merchants to rob man. I don''t expect 5 meters tall giant to breach our ships." he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.


    Varik''s grip tightened on his weapon, his patience wearing thin. "I sensed no lie, however, you are not giving me something I can use," he growled, his tone menacing.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about."


    Varik pulled out his sters and fired at the man''s legs, destroying thempletely.


    The pain made the man roar uncontrbly. "You destroy my legs! Fuck! You fucking destroy my legs."


    "I will destroy other parts of your bodies should you refuse to answer."


    The pirate''s eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape, but there was none to be found. With a resigned sigh, he finally spoke. "Okay, okay," he conceded, his voice trembling. "Our enve is located 211-452-829 from here."


    Varik confirmed the information with the headquarters and nodded to his allies to return.


    The pirate was relief that they were about to leave.


    However, before he did, Varik grabbed the man''s head and crushed it with his gauntleted hand, killing the man instantly.


    Aldred watched this with a smile. His desire for battle intensified.


    A lot of people had said that he was a battle-freak. He had to admit.


    They were not wrong.


    He had basically killed billions by now. And for every soul, his power increased.


    Especially because the Phantom Doomde could absorb the blood and soul of his enemies, making it grew stronger and more unstable.


    However, the more unstable it grew, the stronger it became.


    Seeing the super soldiers fighting made Aldred smiled. He could tell their desire for battle was as much as him. "These are my kind of people."

 Chapter 793: Chapter 793 Show of Force

    As the super soldiers returned to Aldred''s gship, a sense of anticipation hung heavy in the air. Varik, his eyes gleaming with determination, approached Aldred with a confident stride.


    "Let me show you what we can do," Varik dered, his voice resonating with quiet authority.


    Aldred nodded, his curiosity piqued. "Show me."


    With a swift motion, Varik activated a holographic disy, projecting an intricate map of the surrounding space. His fingers danced across the controls with practiced ease as he manipted the disy, revealing a device that quickly pinpointed the location of the pirate enve.


    "This is our intelligence system," Varik exined, his voice tinged with pride. "With it, we can locate and neutralize threats with unparalleled precision."


    Aldred''s eyes widened in appreciation. "Impressive," he murmured, his gaze lingering on the disy. "Very impressive indeed."


    Without hesitation, Varik issued themand for an attack on the pirate enve. The super soldiers sprang into action, their movements swift and coordinated as they prepared for battle.


    In the blink of an eye, a squadron of super soldier ships materialized seemingly out of nowhere, their sleek forms cutting through the void with deadly purpose. They moved with silent efficiency, their approach masked by advanced stealth technology.


    As they closed in on the pirate enve, Varik''s voice echoed through themand center. "Engage," he ordered, his tone firm and unwavering.


    The super soldiers wasted no time, unleashing a devastating barrage of firepower upon the pirate stronghold. Gunships rained down destruction from above, their weapons tearing through the defenses with relentless precision.


    At the same time, drop pods descended from the heavens, their impact shaking the very foundations of the asteroid belt that served as the pirates'' base of operations.


    Super soldiers poured forth from the pods, their boots hitting the ground with a resounding thud as they advanced on the enemy.


    As the super soldiers poured forth from the drop pods, their boots hitting the ground with a resounding thud, they wasted no time in springing into action.


    The pirates, caught off guard by the sudden onught, scrambled to mount a defense.


    But their efforts were in vain against the sheer might of the super soldiers. With ster guns in hand, the soldiers unleashed a torrent of firepower upon their enemies, the air crackling with the sound of rapid gunfire.


    Bolts of energy streaked through the air, illuminating the darkness of space with their lethal glow. Each shot found its mark with deadly uracy, reducing pirate defenses to smoldering wreckage in a matter of moments.


    The acrid scent of burning metal filled the air as pirate ships erupted into mes under the relentless assault.


    The super soldiers moved with fluid precision, their movements a deadly dance of death as they systematically neutralized their foes.


    Aldred and Varik teleported near the battlefield.


    Varik''s voice rang out above the chaos, hismands cutting through the din with sharp rity. "Keep pushing forward! Show them no mercy!"


    As the super soldiers continued their relentless advance, the heart of the pirate enve loomed ahead, a fortress of metal and malice carved into thergest asteroid.


    The final breach was imminent. With a thunderous crash, thest barrier fell, revealing the dimly lit inner sanctum of the pirate stronghold. There, surrounded by his dwindling band of loyalists, stood the pirate captain, his figure casting a long shadow in the flickering light.


    The captain, known as Garrick the Irond, was a towering figure, his body scarred and weathered from years of cosmic skirmishes. His eyes, a piercing shade of steel, reflected a life spent navigating thewless voids of space. A thick beard, interwoven with strands of silver, spoke of his veteran status among the pirate ranks.


    His titles and status made him a fearsome opponent. And yet, only fear stered on his face right now.


    "Why the fuck is a group of super soldiers attacking me! I am not that important!"


    As the super soldiers continued their relentless advance, six of them, moving with incredible speed, broke off from the main group and surged forward towards the pirate captain, Garrick the Irond, and his dwindling band of loyalists. The pirates, taken by surprise, barely had time to react before the super soldiers were upon them.


    With a swift and precise motion, the super soldiers engaged their foes in close-quartersbat. des shed in the dim light of the inner sanctum as the super soldiers struck with lethal efficiency. The loyalist pirates fell like leaves in a storm, their screams drowned out by the sh of metal against metal.


    Garrick the Irond roared in defiance, his towering figure bristling with fury as he watched hisrades fall around him.


    With a swift motion, he mmed his fist into the wall, triggering a hidden mechanism that released a cloud of noxious fumes and choking smoke into the air.


    The super soldiers paused for a moment, their advanced helmets filtering out the toxic gases as they assessed the situation. Garrick seized the opportunity to make his escape, disappearing through a hidden door obscured by the thick haze.


    But the super soldiers were not so easily thwarted. Their advanced equipment, equipped with top-of-the-line sensors, allowed them to see through the smoke and track Garrick''s movements with unerring uracy.


    Without hesitation, they pursued the pirate captain.


    Garrick''s roar of triumph turned to one of desperation as he realized that his attempt to escape had been in vain.


    With a final burst of speed, the super soldiers closed the distance, their des poised to strike.


    Garrick turned to face them, his eyes wide with fear.


    Garrick clenched his teeth and charged forward, his muscles straining with thest vestiges of his strength. His only desire now was to take one of the super soldiers to the afterlife with him, to leave asting mark on those who dared to challenge him.


    But fate had other ns. As Garrick lunged forward, his intended target moved with lightning speed, dodging the attack with graceful ease. The super soldier''s movements were a blur as they sidestepped the pirate captain, leaving him to flounder in empty air.


    Before Garrick could recover, the other super soldiers struck from the nks, closing in on him with deadly precision. Four of them closed in simultaneously, their des finding their mark as they stabbed Garrick in vital areas with clinical precision.


    The pirate captain let out a strangled cry of pain as the des pierced his flesh, his defiance crumbling in the face of overwhelming force. But the assault did not end there.


    With cold efficiency, the two remaining super soldiers emptied their ster guns on Garrick, their shots striking true as they rained down a hail of energy bolts upon him.


    Garrick''s body convulsed with each impact, his screams echoing off the walls of the inner sanctum as he was consumed by the relentless onught.


    In mere moments, the once formidable pirate captainy broken and lifeless on the cold metal floor, his reign of terror brought to a decisive end by the unstoppable might of the super soldiers.


    For the super soldiers, the pirate captain was no different than the other pirates.


    He was as easily killed.

 Chapter 794: Chapter 794 Salamander’s Reaction

    After the lifeless body of Garrick the Irondy strewn on the cold metal floor, the Celestial toon and the super soldiers regrouped amidst the wreckage of the pirate enve.


    With the threat neutralized, they prepared to return to the depths of space.


    Aldred, now having witnessed the incredible prowess of the super soldiers, harbored a newfound respect for their abilities. Yet, he couldn''t shake the feeling that there was more to them than met the eye. Despite his suspicions, he appreciated their efforts in aiding the Celestial toon and decided to extend an invitation to them.


    "Your skills are truly remarkable," Aldred began, addressing the super soldiers. "I sense there''s more to you than what meets the eye, but for now, I appreciate your assistance in dealing with the pirate threat. As a token of gratitude, I invite you to one of our celestials. It''s a ce of leisure and recreation, vast in size with diverse climates and terrains.


    You''ll find it quite unlike anything else in the gxy."


    The super soldiers epted Aldred''s invitation with gratitude, their stoic demeanor softened by the prospect of a reprieve from the rigors of battle. They weed the opportunity to unwind and recharge after their intense mission.


    Upon arrival at the celestial, the super soldiers were greeted by breathtaking vistas and an array of environments tailored to suit their every preference. From lush forests to arid deserts, from tranquilkes to towering mountains, the offered endless possibilities for rxation and exploration.


    Aldred spared no expense in hosting avish feast in honor of the super soldiers'' valor and sacrifice. The banquet hall was adorned with exotic decorations, and tables groaned under the weight of sumptuous dishes from across the gxy.


    As the feast dwindled and theughter subsided, Varik approached Aldred with a solemnity that contrasted sharply with the evening''s mirth. His towering figure, a testament to the super soldiers'' enhanced gics, cast a long shadow in the light of the banquet hall''s flickering torches.


    Aldred, sensing the shift in mood, nodded in understanding, and together they stepped out into the cool night air.


    The''s three suns¡ªblue, purple, and green¡ªhung low on the horizon, their light mingling to cast a surreal glow over thendscape. It was a sight that few in the gxy had the privilege to witness, the unique celestial alignment bathing everything in a kaleidoscope of ethereal colors. Yet, despite the beauty that surrounded them, Varik''s gaze was distant, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.


    Aldred, taking in the super soldier''s imposing presence, waited patiently for him to speak. It was then that Varik turned, his eyes locking with Aldred''s in a gaze that was both piercing and earnest. "Aldred," he began, his voice carrying a weight that matched his formidable appearance, "this, this peace¡­ it''s a rare luxury in our line of work.


    But the universe is vast, and its threats are many."


    He paused, allowing his words to hang in the air before continuing. "Our cooperation in dealing with the pirate enve has proven ourbined strength. I believe this is just the beginning. With your strategic acumen and our capabilities, we can address threats on a scale previously unimaginable."


    Aldred listened intently, the seriousness of Varik''s proposal not lost on him.


    He had indeed sensed the potential for a deeper alliance, yet the swift pivot to talk of warfare and technology caught him slightly off guard.


    Why such hurry, Varik?" Aldred finally responded, his voice tinged with a mixture of curiosity and caution. "We only just begin to understand the breadth of our capabilities together. The feast tonight, this¡ªit''s a reminder of what we''re fighting for. Peace, beauty, a chance for respite in a gxy too often torn by conflict."


    Varik nodded, acknowledging Aldred''s point. "You''re right, of course. This moment of peace is precious. Yet, the gxy does not rest, and neither can we. I don''t propose we rush into conflict but prepare for what inevitablyes our way. Imagine the possibilities if we were to truly unite our efforts, share our knowledge, and advance our military technology."


    The two stood in silence for a moment, the serenendscape before them a stark contrast to the conversation at hand.


    "Why do you want to push this cooperation so fast. You guys have far more firepower than I do."


    "Yeah, we do. But we are stretched too thin, and the Master of the Fleet cannot trust anyone else. Even among the super soldiers, there arepetition for glory."


    Aldred nodded. There were alwayspetition within a group. Most of the time it fostered a motivating environment, but in a gctic scale, it became hard to control.


    Let''s explore this path together," Aldred finally said, extending his hand towards Varik. "But let''s also remember the value of the peace we''re working to preserve. We''ll proceed with caution, with an eye towards not just preparing for the next battle, but towards building a future where such battles are less frequent."


    He said those words, but deep inside he yearned for more battle.


    After the contemtive conversation under the tri-colored suns, Aldred and Varik returned to the banquet, signaling the end of the feast.


    The super soldiers, sensing the shift towards more serious matters, finished their meals with a disciplined swiftness that mirrored their battlefield efficiency.


    The celebration had served its purpose, providing a brief respite from their duties, but now it was time to turn their attention to the future.


    Aldred led the group away from the banquet hall, their path illuminated by the soft glow of the''s unique nocturnal flora.


    Their destination was a facility known among the Celestial toon as the Celestial Forge, a name that evoked images of creation and power. This manufacturing base was the heart of Aldred''s operations, a testament to the technological advancements that had propelled the Celestial toon to its esteemed position.


    As they approached, the structure loomedrge against the night sky, its exterior bathed in the light of the''s moons. The entrance opened before them, revealing an interior alive with the hum of activity. Machines of various sizes and purposes filled the space, each contributing to the creation and maintenance of the toon''s arsenal.


    There, amidst the organized chaos of the forge, stood Smander, the Chief of Technology for the Celestial toon. His figure was dwarfed by the machinery that surrounded him, yet his presencemanded the space. Smander was not just the mind behind the technology; he was Aldred''s trusted friend and confidant, having stood by him since the earliest days of the toon''s formation.


    "Smander," Aldred called out, his voice echoing slightly in the vast chamber. The man turned, his face breaking into a broad smile as he recognized his old friend. The two shared a firm handshake, an unspoken acknowledgment of their shared history and aplishments.


    Aldred introduced Varik and the super soldiers to Smander, exining the purpose of their visit. "We''re here to explore the possibilities of further cooperation," Aldred said, gesturing to Varik.


    "The super soldiers bring capabilities we''ve never seen before, and I believe there''s much we can learn from each other."


    "I am Varik." He grabbed Smander''s hand for a handshake.


    However, Smander was frozen still as if he could not believe what he just witnessed.


    "Is there something wrong?" Varik asked.


    Smander''s reaction caught everyone off guard. His eyes widened in disbelief, darting between Varik and Aldred, as if seeking confirmation of what stood before him. A moment passed, heavy with anticipation, before Smander''s demeanor transformed entirely. His initial shock gave way to an irrepressible excitement, his voice trembling with emotion as he spoke.


    "I¡­ I can''t believe this," he stammered, his gaze fixed on Varik with a mixture of awe and reverence. "You''re Varik of the super soldiers! I''ve followed your exploits since I was a child. The battles you''ve won, the lives you''ve saved¡­ You''re legends where Ie from."


    Varik, taken aback by the intensity of Smander''s reaction, exchanged a brief, puzzled look with Aldred before a smile broke through his stoic facade. "It''s good to meet a fan," Varik said, his tone warm and genuine. "We''re just soldiers, doing our part for the gxy. But I''m d our efforts have inspired you."


    Smander, now visibly trying topose himself, nodded vigorously. "Inspired me? You shaped my entire career! The technology I''ve developed, the advances we''ve made here at the Celestial Forge¡ªthey were all inspired by stories of your missions. To have you here, in this facility¡­ it''s an honor beyond words."


    Aldred watched the exchange, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.


    He knew Smander loved super soldiers. Which was the reason why he dis not bring him in the initial meeting. His decision would definitely be biased.


    Only after Aldred was sure that it was safe that he brought the super soldiers to Smander.


    Aldred exined about the coboration.


    "I got so much to ask you!" Smander said. "If we are going to work together, I definitely have to make something for you guys."

 Chapter 795: Chapter 795 Expanding Influence

    The atmosphere within the Celestial Forge shifted palpably as Smander''s excitement became the driving force of the tour. He led them through the sprawlingplex with the eagerness of a child showing off a collection of prized possessions. Each piece of technology he presented was a testament to his admiration for the super soldiers and their legendary feats.


    "This here," Smander began, unveiling a sleek and highly advanced exoskeleton, "was inspired by the resilience and strength you demonstrated during the Siege of Orion''s Belt. It''s designed to augment the wearer''s physical abilities, providing enhanced strength and durability without sacrificing agility."


    Varik, intrigued, examined the exoskeleton closely. "Impressive," he acknowledged, his voice carrying a note of genuine respect. "The Iron Warden could have used something like this in the trenches of Zeta-9."


    Smander''s eyes lit up at the mention of the Iron Warden. "You were part of the Iron Warden?" he asked, a mix of awe and curiosity coloring his tone. "I''ve read every dispatch, every after-action report. Your tactics, the unity of your squad¡ªit''s what inspired my work on team-basedbat enhancements."


    Varik smiled, a rare expression that softened his usually stern demeanor. "Yes, I was the sergeant," he confirmed. "The Iron Warden wasn''t just a squad; we were a family. Each operation, each mission brought us closer. It wasn''t just about the firepower or the tech¡ªit was about trust, unity."


    "That''s why so many people admire you guys."


    Varikughed with his raspy voice of giant. "Not many. Our presence aren''t supposed to be known."


    That was indeed true. Super soldiers were incredibly rare with each chapter only having 10,000 soldiers.


    However, these 10,000 soldiers were the elite of the elite and only used for extremely dangerous situations where normal humans wouldn''t even survive.


    Only a certain group of people knew about the super soldiers. Smander was part of psychic team. Hisrades, Shinari and Cleome held super natural power that grant them control over the elements.


    Although Smander did not have any magic power, he was still brought in for his impressive firepower.


    Which was how he knew about the super soldiers.


    The tour concluded with Varik expressing his admiration for Smander''s work, a sentiment that was clearly mutual.


    "I loved everything you showed me. They are definitely top of the line tech. Must be very expensive."


    "No doubt about that. Each piece of item can buy one to five battleships. However, I know the tech you used is another level created and preserved by the powerful tech mage. Not only it is technologically advanced but they also gave blessings to your equipments every single day."


    "That is true. It is our sacred tools for war. We cannot change because changing is like throwing away our god for a new one."


    The god they meant was none other than the Emperor of Mankind himself.


    Aldred, having observed the fruitful interaction from a distance, decided it was time to discuss broader strategic visions. He approached Varik with a demeanor that was both serious and hopeful. "Varik, could we have a moment in my office? There''s something important I''d like to discuss with you," he said, his tone conveying the gravity of the conversation ahead.


    Varik, sensing the shift in Aldred''s tone, nodded. "Of course, Aldred. Lead the way."


    Aldred''s office was a stark contrast to the industrial ambiance of the Celestial Forge. It was a space that reflected both the man and the mission; walls adorned with maps of the gxy, shelves filled with ancient and modern texts on strategy and leadership, and arge, imposing desk that had seen many crucial decisions.


    Once seated, Aldred wasted no time in broaching the subject at hand. "Varik, I''ve been thinking about our conversation under the tri-colored suns. About the future, our shared goals, and how we can achieve them."


    Varik leaned forward, his attention fixed on Aldred. The seriousness of the moment was palpable, a turning point that could define the path forward for both their forces. Aldred''s gaze was steady, the weight of leadership evident in his eyes as he prepared to voice his proposal.


    "Aldred, I understand the gravity of our situation," Varik began, his tone matching the solemnity of the room. "And I appreciate the trust you''re cing in me, and by extension, the super soldiers. Tell me, what is it you envision?"


    Aldred took a moment, collecting his thoughts before speaking. "Varik, your presence here, the technology Smander has developed, inspired by your exploits¡ªit''s all a testament to the power and influence the super soldiers wield. Not just on the battlefield, but as symbols of strength and hope."


    He paused, allowing the significance of his words to sink in. "I believe that by aligning our efforts more closely, and with the super soldiers'' name as a beacon, we can expand the Celestial toon''s influence. Not for conquest, but to secure peace, to protect those who cannot protect themselves."


    "You already have the inquisitor''s name."


    "He has never presence and I even use his name without asking. It won''tst long. I need more than a name. The name is only the formality. I want your participation."


    Varik''s expression was thoughtful, his mind racing through the implications of Aldred''s request.


    The use of the super soldiers'' name was not something to be taken lightly; it carried with it a legacy of honor, sacrifice, and unparalleled valor.


    "And what exactly are you asking of me, Aldred?" Varik inquired, his voice steady.


    Aldred leaned forward, his hands sped on the desk. "I''m asking for your permission to use the super soldiers'' name in our outreach. To let the gxy know that we stand together against the shadows that threaten to engulf us. Your endorsement could rally countless systems to our cause, inspire them to stand with us."


    The room fell silent as Varik considered the request. The idea of using the super soldiers'' name in such a manner was unprecedented, but the potential benefits were undeniable. It was a chance to extend their influence far beyond the battlefield, to ignite a beacon of hope across the gxy.


    Finally, Varik nodded. "Aldred, you have my agreement. The super soldiers'' name will stand with the Celestial toon. But I ask that we honor the principles we fight for¡ªthat we use this alliance to defend, not to dominate; to protect, not to oppress."


    Aldred smiled. Super soldiers actually were one of the vicious groups in the gxy. They would massacre an entire of people if necessary in order to achieve their goals.


    There were even rumors that they did not consider normal humans as their own and would look at them in disgust.


    With Varik''s agreement, a new chapter began for the Celestial toon. The endorsement of the super soldiers, even if primarily symbolic, carried a weight of authority and respect that few could match in the gxy. Aldred, fully aware of the responsibility this entailed, wasted no time in leveraging this newfound support to extend their mission of peace and protection.


    The first order of business was to address the security of vulnerable systems, many of which were gued by piracy, marauding factions, and the ever-present threat of encroaching enemy empires. The Celestial toon, under Aldred''s strategic direction,unched a series of operations to fortify these systems.


    The presence of the toon, bolstered by the implied backing of the super soldiers, served as a powerful deterrent against potential aggressors.


    Word spread quickly among the local leaders and regional governors of the toon''s efforts. Stories of their sesses, often embellished with tales of super soldier interventions, began to circte, weaving a narrative of hope and resilience.


    There were to opinions. Those that grateful for super soldier''s presence and those that scared and hated it.


    Still, none of them disclose the information about super soldiers indiscriminately. They knew of the consequences that would befall upon them if they do so.


    Aldred, keen to capitalize on this momentum, initiated the construction of a series of outposts along critical trade routes. These outposts served multiple purposes: they provided safe havens for merchants, facilitated the rapid deployment of toon forces, and acted as beacons of security that attractedmercial interest.


    Trade routes that had once been considered perilous became bustling corridors ofmerce, further strengthening the economic foundations of the regions under toon protection.


    The strategic positioning of these outposts also allowed the Celestial toon to monitor and control the flow of goods, ensuring that essential supplies reached those in need while cutting off resources to their adversaries. This not only enhanced their operational capabilities but also allowed them to exert a subtle influence over the economic health of the gxy.


    Aldred''s vision of awork of outposts became a reality, each one a testament to the cooperation between the Celestial toon and the legendary super soldiers. Though the super soldiers themselves were rarely seen, the mystique surrounding their involvement lent a sense of invincibility to the toon''s endeavors.


    As the Celestial toon''s influence grew, so too did the stability of the regions under their watch. Regional governors, once skeptical of Aldred''s ambitions, now vied for the toon''s presence, recognizing the security and prosperity it brought.


    The toon''s operations became a model for other forces, demonstrating the power of unity and the importance of safeguarding the gxy''s myriad inhabitants.


    No more criminals, no more pirates, no more thieves.


    The gxy became a little more safer.


    And it was all because of the action of a man.

 Chapter 796: Chapter 796 Training Elite

    In the wake of Varik''s political endorsement, the Celestial toon''s influence surged, transforming not just the politicalndscape but the very fabric of gctic security. The sess of their joint ventures cemented a bond of trust between Aldred and Varik, one that was soon to be tested in a crucible unlike any other.


    Aldred, recognizing the need to elevate the capabilities of his forces to meet the growing demands of their mission, proposed an ambitious n. "Varik," he began during one of their strategy sessions, "the time hase to meld our strengths more closely. I want to select a thousand of our finest soldiers for joint training with the super soldiers."


    Varik, ever the pragmatist, nodded in agreement. "A wise decision, Aldred. The challenges we face demand the very best of us. Your soldiers will need to be prepared for anything."


    And so, Aldred personally oversaw the selection process, choosing those with not just the physical prowess, but the mental fortitude to endure the rigors of what was toe. These soldiers, drawn from the ranks of the Celestial toon, were the elite of the elite, their dedication and skill beyond reproach.


    With the chosen thousand assembled, Varik wasted no time. "We will take them to the demon worlds," he dered, his voice carrying a mix of solemnity and resolve. The demon worlds, a series ofs ravaged by conflict and dark energies, were the ultimate testing ground. To train there was to face death and emerge reborn, forged in the crucible of war.


    After the battle with Aldred, the demons were restless and had fortified their bases.


    The demons won''t be unprepared should anyone dare to attack them. They were like sleeping soldiers with a loaded gun and a finger on the trigger. Disturb their sleep and a bullet will fly.


    Varik, standing before the assembled soldiers, spoke with a gravitas thatmanded attention. "This will be your proving ground," he announced. "Here, you will learn the true meaning of strength, of resilience. You will face horrors unimaginable, but you will face them together. And you will emerge stronger, not just as soldiers, but as guardians of the gxy."


    After that, the spacecraft deployed the soldiers in pods and sent them to a selected demon world.


    Their task was simple. Survive for 7 days.


    There were only a few thousands of them, and billions of demons.


    They had to hide, run, deceive their enemy if they cherish their life.


    The training was brutal, pushing the soldiers to their limits and beyond. They fought not just the physical manifestations of the demon worlds'' malevolence but their own fears, their doubts.


    Under the guidance of Varik and a cadre of super soldiers, they learned to harness their inner strength, to stand firm in the face of darkness.


    Days turned to weeks and more than 7 days had passed.


    Yet, Varik did not stop the test. In war, situations were always unpredictable. The only thing that was certain was uncertainty.


    Soldiers had to adapt to various uncertainty and one of them included false promises of being saved.


    Now, will their will broke down or will they keep going until they let out theirst breath.


    The dense jungles of the demon world, once a canopy of twisted, alien beauty, had transformed into a hellish inferno. Massive methrowers, wielded by demons as if they were mere toys, sent waves of fire cascading through the underbrush. The mes, hungry and indiscriminate, devoured everything in their path, turning trees into towering torches that lit the night with an eerie, orange glow.


    In the midst of this chaos, the soldiers of the Celestial toon, led by Varik and his cadre of super soldiers, found themselves in a desperate sprint for survival. Their armor, designed to withstand the rigors ofbat, offered scant protection against the relentless heat that now surrounded them.


    Sweat poured down their faces, mingling with the ash that filled the air, as they ran, lungs burning with the effort.


    "Keep moving!" Varik bellowed, his voice cutting through the roar of the mes. His figure, imposing even amidst the congration, served as a beacon for the soldiers as they navigated the treacherous terrain. "To the cave, on the double!"


    The cave, spotted earlier by their scouts, was their only chance of refuge, a narrow slit in the side of a hill that promised some respite from the mes. The soldiers, their training pushing them beyond the limits of their endurance, followed Varik''s lead, their feet pounding against the scorched earth.


    As they neared the cave, the heat intensified, the air shimmering with the force of the fire that chased them. The entrance loomed ahead, a dark maw that seemed to mock their plight. Without hesitation, they dove into the rtive safety it offered, tumbling over one another in their haste.


    Inside, the cave was cramped and hot, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and smoke. The ceiling, a jagged canopy of rock, creaked ominously, threatening to copse under the strain of the heat.


    The soldiers, panting and coughing, pressed themselves against the cool walls, trying to make themselves as small as possible.


    The mes, now a mere silhouette against the entrance of the cave, continued their relentless assault. The soldiers watched in silent horror as trees, mere meters from their refuge, sumbed to the ze, their trunks exploding in showers of sparks.


    "We can''t stay here forever," one soldier whispered, his voice barely audible above the crackling fire. "The ceiling won''t hold."


    Varik, ever the leader, nodded. "We wait until the fire consumes itself. Then, we move. Our survival depends on our ability to adapt, to endure. Remember, this is what we trained for. We are more than soldiers; we are guardians.


    And guardians never yield."


    In the oppressive darkness of the cave, surrounded by the inferno that raged outside, the soldiers found a new resolve. They had faced the horrors of the demon world, had stared death in the face and yet, they endured.


    In that moment, cramped in the bowels of an alien world, they understood the true meaning of resilience.


    Aldred used many heavy machineries such as spacecrafts and heavy assault battleships.


    However, Varik literally dropped them with only a rifle weapon on hand.


    Everyone here believed that they were going to die.

 Chapter 797: Chapter 797 Training The Elite

    As the inferno outside the cave began to die down, Varik signaled the moment to move. "Now. Spread out. Destroy as many things as you can and kill everything you see. I want this entire to be flipped over by the end of the day. But your most important objective is staying alive.


    The longer you live the more you can kill! Prove to your leader that you are capable! Don''t bring shame to him for picking you!"


    The soldiers, grim-faced and resolute, understood what was required of them.


    They split into smaller units, each moving with stealth and precision through the charred remains of the jungle.


    The n was clear: spread out, stay hidden, and wreak havoc on the demon world''s facilities.


    Their movements were shadows flitting through the devastation, barely disturbing the ash that nketed the ground. Each squad had a specific target: ammunition dumps,munication arrays, and supply depots. The demons, for all their might and terror, had growncent in their fortifications, not expecting an assault from within their own borders.


    The soldiers, armed with only their rifles and the training that had honed their skills to a razor''s edge, became agents of destruction.


    They moved under the cover of darkness, nting explosives, sabotaging structures, and engaging in hit-and-run attacks that left the demons reeling.


    The crack of a rifle shot became the herald of chaos, each bullet sowing confusion and fear in the enemy ranks.


    Time lost its meaning in the demon world. Days and nights blended into a continuous loop of stealth, attack, and evasion. The soldiers'' minds were not burdened by thoughts of home or the passage of hours; they were singrly focused on their mission. Every action was driven by the need to survive and to inflict as much damage as possible on the demonic forces.


    Varik, observing the relentless efficiency of Aldred''s soldiers, felt a sense of pride swell within him. Silently, he gave them a nod of approval, his gaze lingering on each squad as they returned from their sorties to regroup and share intelligence on enemy movements.


    The discipline and courage they disyed were beyondmendable; they were exemry.


    "Only four years old, but Celestial toon already able to make quality warriors." Varik smiled. "From where did this Aldred came?"


    What impressed Varik the most was the fact that, so far, none of the soldiers had fallen. Despite the overwhelming odds, despite the hellish environment that sought to consume them at every turn, they had all survived.


    Aldred''s selection process had indeed picked the best of the best, soldiers whose will to persevere matched their skill inbat.


    Varik''s n was actually to prove Aldred that his soldiers were shit and would help him in picking and training them.


    Instead, he began to admire these soldiers. They were definitely on par with the royal army who on through rigorous training ever since they were 6 years old.


    Inside the dimly lit confines of his helmet, Varik concentrated for a moment, and the interior came alive with the glow of a virtual interface. A detailed map of the demon world, marked with countless indicators of their sabotage and destruction, hovered before his eyes.


    Each icon represented a blow to the enemy''s infrastructure, a testament to the relentless assault carried out by the soldiers of the Celestial toon. Varik''s gaze swept over the map, analyzing the extent of their work.


    "These past weeks, we''ve turned their world upside down," Varik murmured to himself, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. The destruction they had wrought was not just physical; it was a message. A deration that no enemy was safe, no stronghold impregnable.


    It was time to pull back. They had done enough¡ªfor now. Varik''s thoughts turned to the extraction of his warriors. "Time to bring them home," he decided, initiating the sequence for the rescue operation with a series ofmands inputted directly from his mind to the interface.


    In the silent void of space, a small, sleek spacecraft maneuvered towards the demon world. Its technology rendered it nearly invisible, slipping past the chaotic remnants of the demon''s defenses with ease.


    The soldiers, having received Varik''s signal, began to converge on the designated extraction point, a clearing scarred by the recent battles but strategically chosen for its obscurity.


    As the spacecraft descended, its engines a whisper against the cacophony of the demon world''s night, Varik watched his soldiers emerge from the shadows.


    Despite the hellish weeks ofbat and survival, they moved with purpose, their formations tight and disciplined. The pride Varik felt was palpable; these were no longer just soldiers under hismand¡ªthey were warriors shaped by the fires of adversity.


    The hatch of the spacecraft opened with a hiss, revealing the darkened interior.


    One by one, the soldiers boarded, their rifles slung over their shoulders, their faces etched with the exhaustion and resolve of those who had seen the face of their enemy and had not wavered.


    Varik was thest to board, casting a final nce over the demon world.


    The training ground he picked turned to chaos with only some thousands soldiers.


    As the hatch sealed behind him, he turned to face his soldiers, their eyes fixed on him, waiting for his word.


    "You have all exceeded every expectation," Varik addressed them, his voice carrying through the spacecraft. "Your strength, your will to persevere, has proven invaluable. You''ve shown that even in the face of overwhelming darkness, the light of our resolve shines brightest."


    The spacecraft lifted off, its departure as silent and unseen as its arrival.


    As it cut through the night sky, leaving the demon world behind, Varik knew that this mission would be remembered. Not just for the destruction they had left in their wake, but for the unbreakable spirit they had all forged together.


    After the ship docked in Aldred''s gship. The soldiers were greeted by Aldred right when they entered.


    "Congrattions. You returned. Alive."


    Aldred saw their faces carefully. They all definitely be apletely different person after this experience.


    Before this, they looked like professional mercenaries. But now they were something else. Something much more than mercenaries.


    He saw the grit and the will of humanity to survive.


    Activating his godly eyes, he immediately saw significant improvement on them.


    Sergeant Varik approached Aldred. "They have done well. The soldiers you picked surprised me."


    "You''re not the only one that got a surprise. I like what I see. From now on, all of you will fall under the Elite toon. And the training regime you just went through will be mandatory for its recruitment."


    Aldred wanted to create an elite force that can enter the demon worlds and survive.


    Battles in space were efficient but they were spread too thin. There might be cases where they could not send battleships to attack or defend.


    These soldiers must do the job.


    After the debriefing, Aldred led the weary but victorious soldiers to a section of the gship they had never seen before. The doors opened to reveal a luxurious lounge, an oasis offort and rxation that stood in stark contrast to the barren, hostile worlds they had just left behind.


    The air was filled with a soft, inviting glow, and the scent of rich, aromatic foods wafted towards them, a stark reminder of the simple pleasures they had forsaken in the demon worlds.


    "Wee to your reward," Aldred announced, his voice warm with genuine appreciation. "Everything here is for you. Enjoy, you''ve earned it."


    The soldiers, still processing the transition from battlefield to luxury, hesitated at the threshold, their battle-hardened facades briefly giving way to expressions of surprise and disbelief.


    The lounge was equipped with everything they could possibly desire: plush seating, an array of entertainment programs disyed onrge, crystal-clear screens, a steaming jacuzzi, and even a team of professionals including masseuses, barbers, and a chef ready to cater to their every whim. Two butlers stood by the door, awaiting instructions with impable posture.


    As they dispersed into the lounge, the soldiers began to rx, shedding the weight of their recent trials with each passing moment. They sank into thefortable furniture, epting drinks and dishes prepared by the chef, their initial awkwardness fading away as they indulged in the luxury afforded to them.


    Aldred watched them for a moment, a satisfied smile ying on his lips. "Remember, this is just the beginning of your rewards," he told them. "I''ve always believed in taking care of those who serve loyally and achieve great things. You''ve secured not just a victory, but a future for yourselves and your families."


    He exined further, detailing the rewards that awaited them beyond the immediate luxuries of the lounge. Each soldier was to receivend, substantial mary bonuses, gold, and stocks¡ªassets that would ensure their families'' prosperity for generations.


    Moreover, Aldred had arranged forprehensive education and healthcare packages for them and their loved ones, a testament to hismitment to their well-being.


    The soldiers listened, their expressions shifting from gratitude to a deep, resonating respect for Aldred. It was clear to them now more than ever that their leader was not just a brilliant tactician but a man who valued and honored their sacrifices.


    Sergeant Varik approached Aldred, extending his hand. "You honor us, Aldred. This¡­ all of this is beyond what we expected. We pledged ourselves to your cause, but you''ve given us more than a cause to fight for. You''ve given us a future."


    Aldred sped Varik''s hand firmly. "A future you''ve all fought hard to secure," he replied. "Enjoy this respite. For now, let tonight be a celebration of what you''ve achieved and what''s toe."


    That night, the soldiers finally got a good night sleep.

 Chapter 798: Chapter 798 Critical Discussion

    Aldred and Varik found a quiet corner of the lounge, away from the celebratory noise and theughter of the soldiers. Despite the luxury that surrounded them, their conversation turned serious as Aldred expressed his interest in the training that had just taken ce.


    Varik, with a hint of pride in his voice, recounted some of the epic moments from the demon worlds, highlighting the soldiers'' bravery and adaptability.


    "They''ve surpassed all expectations," Varik stated, his eyes reflecting the fires of battles fought and won. "Their tenacity, their willingness to face down the harshest of enemies¡­ It was something to behold."


    Aldred nodded, absorbing Varik''s words. He had always believed in the potential of his soldiers, but to hear of their feats from Varik brought a new level of satisfaction. Yet, his mind was on a different mission now, one that required an audience with a figure of immense power.


    "I need to meet with the Master of the Fleet," Aldred said after a moment, his tone shifting to one of determination.


    Varik raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the request. "The Master of the Fleet? That''s not a meeting easily arranged. May I ask why?"


    Aldred paused, considering his words carefully. "I have a proposal, one that could change the course of our battle against the forces that threaten the gxy. And I believe we have a mutual acquaintance who might help broker this meeting."


    To Aldred''s surprise, Varik agreed without hesitation, promising to arrange the meeting. Within hours, they were en route to the massive supership that served as themand center for the Master of the Fleet. The ship was a testament to the power and might of their forces, its size and capabilities far beyond anything in the Celestial toon''s arsenal.


    Upon their arrival, they were ushered into a vast chamber where the Master of the Fleet awaited. The air was charged with tension, the weight of countless decisions that had shaped the fate of the gxy hanging heavy in the room.


    "What do you want, Aldred?" the Master of the Fleet asked, his voice echoing through the chamber.


    Aldred stepped forward, but instead of answering directly, he introduced the figure standing beside him. "This is Vortimer, an ancient sentient robot with capabilities that you are well aware of. He has been an ally and a protector of the Celestial toon since its inception."


    The Master of the Fleet''s expression darkened at the mention of Vortimer''s name. "Vortimer¡­" he muttered, his frown deepening. "Our forces have shed in the past. You bring an old enemy to my doorstep and call him an ally?"


    Aldred remained calm, undeterred by the usation. "Vortimer has fought alongside us, defended us, and contributed to our victories. His firepower, his mastery of quantum teleportation, have been invaluable. I believe he can be just as invaluable to your forces, to our collective cause."


    The Master of the Fleet scoffed, his distrust evident. "Aldred, this rusting metal is not your ally. He will stab you in the back!"


    Vortimer, silent until now, stepped forward. "I am not the machine I once was," he said, his voice carrying a note of solemnity. "My allegiance is to those who seek peace, who fight against the darkness that threatens to consume us all. I stand with Aldred, as I will stand with you, should you ept our offer."


    "Bullshit! You desire to destroy every living entity in this gxy until there is nothing left. The peace you seek isplete stillness and death!"


    "That was indeed my intention until I meet Aldred. Now I desire to unite the gxy."


    The Master burst intoughter. "I do not care what your intention is. I only have humanity''s interest in mind. If I can kill all the aliens in this gxy, I will do it and that includes moving tin cans like you!"


    Vortimer, standing firm and unyielding, addressed the Master, his voice devoid of emotion yet carrying a conviction that could not be ignored. "Your vision of peace, through the eradication of all that is not human, is wed. True peace does note from the silence of nonexistence but from understanding and unity. Aldred has shown me that."


    The Master of the Fleet, d in the regalia of his rank, his face a mask of scorn, retorted sharply, "Understanding? Unity? With beings that have sought our destruction at every turn? Your programming fails you, Vortimer. You speak of concepts that are beyond yourputational capacity."


    Aldred, until now a silent observer, stepped forward. "Master, I''ve seen what Vortimer is capable of. Not just in battle, but in his capacity to change, to grow beyond his original programming. He''s fought for us, saved lives¡ªhuman lives. If we can''t see the potential for allies in beings like Vortimer, are we any better than the enemies we seek to destroy?"


    The Master turned his gaze to Aldred, the intensity in his eyes softening momentarily. "Aldred, your naivety is as dangerous as it is admirable. You wish to bring together a gxy where every corner harbors not just strangers, but potential threats. How do you propose we trust a machine that, by your own admission, was once our enemy?"


    Vortimer responded before Aldred could, "Trust is earned, not programmed. I do not ask for blind faith, but for the chance to prove my allegiance. You fear what I might be, yet overlook what I have already be¡ªan ally to humanity and every living entity in this gxy."


    The Master nced at Aldred. "Just where did you get the idea of uniting the gxy? This is bullshit and a waste of time. I might have to look again at our coboration and reconsider."


    Aldred simply smiled at that statement.


    "Do you know where I came from, Fleet Master?"


    The Master frowned. "What do you imply?"


    "I am surprised that you didn''t dig around about me. Or perhaps you are ying innocence."


    Aldred approached the table. "I know that you have been digging information about me. But you found nothing. To your knowledge, I simply came out of nowhere and created a wave in real-space and time in just a couple of years.


    "Again. What do you imply?"


    "You said I was naive. Uniting the gxy? Seems like a delusional thought to have. But I believe your vision isn''t just far enough. Beyond this gxy, there are much more powerful threats. But you are too busy fighting among yourselves.


    To others, you are primitive."


    Frowning, the Master of the Fleet. "Are you saying that youe from that kind of world?"


    "Yes. There is no distinction of races. Only power. The strongest decides the fate of the weak."


    "That''s just barbaric and brutes."


    "Are you saying that the carnage between each races isn''t barbaric?"


    The Master nced at Aldred then at Vortimer. "You two are noting to me for philosophy. Tell me what you want?"

 Chapter 799: Chapter 799 Shocking Information

    The Master nced at Aldred then at Vortimer. "You two are noting to me for philosophy. Tell me what you want?"


    "We''ve uncovered intelligence on Lord Malgorth''stest scheme," he began, his voice steady butden with urgency. "His n transcends the typical invasions and skirmishes we''vee to expect from the demons. He intends to corrupt every living entity, turning them against one another. An orchestrated chaos to engulf the entire gxy."


    The Master of the Fleet scoffed, dismissive. "Everyone knows the demons seek our destruction. This is their nature. Their desire to see the gxy burn is no secret."


    Aldred shook his head, a solemn intensity in his eyes. "You misunderstand the scope of his ambition. Lord Malgorth has developed a weapon, a device capable of spreading his corruption on an unprecedented scale. With a single activation, he could plunge entire systems into chaos, turning friend into foe, ally into adversary."


    The revtion hung heavy in the air, a tangible cloud of disbelief and dread settling over the chamber. The Master of the Fleet''s dismissive facade faltered, reced by a dawning realization of the threat they faced. "He has such a weapon?" he echoed, his voice stripped of its earlier confidence.


    "Yes," Aldred affirmed. "And it''s not a matter of if he will use it, but when. We''ve been tracking his movements, gathering intelligence. This isn''t mere spection; it''s a reality we''re on the brink of facing."


    Vortimer, who had remained silent, now stepped forward. "This weapon''s existence changes everything. Our skirmishes, our battles for territory¡ªthey''re distractions. Malgorth''s true n could unravel the fabric of our gxy as we know it."


    Before this, Vortimer couldn''t care less about humanity or other living creatures."


    "How do you came with this information?"


    Aldred nodded to Varik, who understood the cue and activated a device he held in his hand. A momentter, the air in the chamber shimmered and twisted, and a figure emerged from the distortion. Zelthrax, a demon whose name was whispered in fear across countless worlds, now stood before them.


    Her appearance was daunting, a manifestation of power and dread, yet she remained still, her gaze fixed on Aldred.


    "This is Zelthrax," Aldred introduced, his voice betraying no hint of the unease that others might feel in her presence. "Once a formidable enemy, now a loyal ally. She''s been turned, her allegiance bound to me, and she provides invaluable intelligence from the depths of demon territories."


    The Master of the Fleet''s eyes widened in shock, his previous skepticism giving way to a cautious interest. "You''ve turned a demon of her caliber? Impossible!"


    Zelthrax stepped forward, her voice echoing with an otherworldly resonance. "My powers were once wielded in the service of chaos. Spatial maniption, dark energy¡­ I could tear asunder the very fabric of reality. But Aldred destroyed me, then rebuilt me. I serve him now, my powers at his disposal."


    She turned her attention to the matter at hand.


    "The weapon Lord Malgorth ns to unleash," she continued, "is a perversion of the gifts I once possessed. He witnessed my destruction and saw potential in it. He''s taken the essence of what I was and twisted it into something far more sinister."


    The chamber fell silent as the implications of her words sank in.


    Aldred spoke up, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "Zelthrax''s transformation is proof of what we can achieve. Her intelligence has been crucial. Lord Malgorth''s weapon, inspired by her original abilities, is a threat unlike any we''ve faced. But it also means we have insight into how it can be countered."


    The Master of the Fleet leaned back, processing the information.


    The presence of Zelthrax, a demon turned undead servant, was unsettling, but her testimony was undeniably valuable. "You have turned one of the greatest threats to our gxy into an asset," he acknowledged, his tone reflecting a grudging respect. "This changes things. If Malgorth has indeed created a weapon based on her abilities¡­ we need a unified response."


    Aldred nodded, pleased with the shift in the Master''s attitude. "That''s precisely why we''re here. We need to pool our resources, share our knowledge, and stand together against this threat. Zelthrax is just one example of the unconventional assets at our disposal."


    The Master''s demand for concrete evidence was met with a swift response from Aldred. With a gesture from him, the air within the chamber flickered to life, revealing a series of floating holographic screens.


    Each screen disyed vivid, undeniable images of numerous demonic world forges, all bustling with activity.


    The scenes depicted on these screens were of a scale and intensity that left no room for doubt: massive, dark foundries illuminated by the fire of forges, demons working feverishly, constructing machinery that pulsed with a malevolent energy.


    "These are live feeds, intercepted by our intelligencework," Aldred exined, his voice carrying a mix of gravitas and urgency. "Zelthrax''s information led us to these locations. What you''re seeing are the world forges of the demons, where Lord Malgorth''s weapon is being built. This isn''t spection; it''s a reality we''re witnessing in real-time."


    The Master of the Fleet leaned forward, his eyes scanning the screens with a critical gaze. The undeniable proof of Lord Malgorth''s ambitions wasid bare before him, the threat to the gxy made manifest in the images of those sinister constructs.


    "This is¡­ troubling," the Master admitted, his voice low. "The scale of this operation, it''s unlike anything we''ve faced before. If what you say is true, if this weapon is indeed inspired by Zelthrax''s original abilities¡­ we''re looking at a potential catastrophe."


    Aldred nodded solemnly. "Exactly. This is why we must act, and act together. The weapon''s capabilities,bined with the strategic cement of these world forges, suggest that Lord Malgorth is nearingpletion. We have little time to waste."


    The revtion served as a catalyst, transforming the previously skeptical Master of the Fleet into a willing ally. "Very well," he conceded, "I see the gravity of the situation now. Your evidence ispelling, and with Zelthrax''s defection to our side, we have a unique opportunity to strike at the heart of Malgorth''s operation."


    "However, our forces might not be enough."


    Aldred nodded. "That is why I brought another ally."


    Elralya and Ceeth stepped into the room.


    "Elves? I have fought their kind many times."


    "That is in the past," Elralya said, standing much shorter than everyone else despite being an elf.


    "The next war is not only about your race. But mine as well. I have informed the Elven about this. They concluded that we have 10 years to prepare."


    The Master frowned. "Then we better start now."


    Aldred, surrounded by the infinite expanse of space, found himself before a unlike any other he had encountered in his travels. The world before him pulsated with an ethereal energy, its surface obscured by a shimmering ocean of luminescence that seemed to breathe and move with a life of its own.


    It was a sight both beautiful and daunting, a testament to the universe''s capacity for wonders beyond humanprehension.


    With a determined gaze, Aldred advanced towards the, his body enveloped in a protective aura that allowed him to navigate the cosmos. As he approached the''s atmosphere, he encountered a barrier of energy that roiled and shifted, as if alive.


    Without hesitation, Aldred activated his power, phasing through the barrier with an ease that belied the immense force required to breach such a defense.


    Beyond the barrier, the world revealed itself to Aldred in all its alien glory. The''s surface was dotted with structures of crystalline beauty, silicon-based lifeforms that resembled intricate, glowing sculptures. These beings pulsed with the same energy that enveloped the, their forms shifting and changing in a mesmerizing dance of light and color.


    Aldred hovered above this alienndscape, awestruck by the sight of these crystaline entities. It was clear that he had stumbled upon a civilization entirely different from anything known to the gxy''s myriad species. These beingsmunicated not through sound or gesture, but through fluctuations in their luminous forms, creating patterns of light that rippled across the surface of the.


    "Xyrrathi. One of the major species in this gxy. If I can make them join this war¡­"


    As Aldred contemted the potential of enlisting the Xyrrathi in the gxy-wide conflict, he descended closer to the crystalline surface. The energy around him hummed, resonating with his own aura in a symphony of cosmic power. The silicon-based lifeforms, sensing his approach, began to converge in a grand assembly, their forms glowing brighter with anticipation.


    Aldrednded gently among them, his presence a curious anomaly in this world of light and crystal. He reached out with his mind, extending a greeting not in words but in a burst of empathetic energy, a universal gesture of peace.


    The Xyrrathi responded in kind, their collective consciousness touching Aldred''s with aplexity and depth that transcendednguage. They shared visions of their history, their culture, and their understanding of the universe, a tapestry of knowledge woven from millennia of existence.


    Among the many voices, one emerged more clearly, a leader or perhaps a representative of the Xyrrathi people. This being,rger and more radiant than the others, approached Aldred, its form pulsating with a powerful, yet serene energy.


    "Youe to us at a time of great turmoil," the Xyrrathimunicated, its thoughts clear and resonant within Aldred''s mind. "We have observed the shadows that grow across the gxy. Why seek the aid of the Xyrrathi, traveler?"


    Aldred, using the same method ofmunication, shared his vision for a united gxy, free from the threat of Lord Malgorth and his weapon of chaos. He spoke of the alliances he had formed, of Zelthrax''s transformation, and of the Elves''mitment to the cause. He revealed the impending doom that threatened not just his own kind, but all life in the gxy, including the Xyrrathi.


    The crystalline entity listened, absorbing Aldred''s plea with a profound stillness. After a moment that stretched into eternity, it responded, "The Xyrrathi have long remained apart from the conflicts of the gxy. We are beings of energy and thought, not war."


    "So, is that a no?" Aldred asked.

 Chapter 800: Chapter 800 Recruitment

    Aldred sensed the hesitation within the Xyrrathi assembly, their collective consciousness a whirlpool of thoughts and memories. "Your kind has faced the demons before," he said, his voice resonant within their shared mental space. "Thousands of your worlds were consumed by their darkness. You fought bravely, yet the cost was unimaginable."


    At the mention of their past conflict with the demons, the assembly''s luminosity dimmed, a shadow of sorrow passing over them. The Xyrrathi leader, in particr, flickered intensely, its form bing less stable, as if stirred by a storm of emotions. The memories of that ancient war were etched deeply into their being, a scar upon their collective soul.


    "Many of you are survivors of that war, or descendants of those who witnessed the devastation first-hand," Aldred continued, his tone gentle yet unwavering. "The threat we face now with Lord Malgorth''s weapon could eclipse even those dark times. We seek not to reopen old wounds but to prevent new ones."


    The leader''s form suddenly zed with a crimson light, turning chaotic and turbulent. The energy around it crackled with raw emotion, a reflection of the rage and pain that the mention of the past evoked. "We remember," it transmitted, the words heavy with grief and anger. "We remember the fires that consumed our worlds, the lives lost to the abyss."


    Aldred, feeling the weight of their sorrow, chose his next words with care. "Then you understand why we must stand together now. The demons'' ambitions have not waned; they have only grown more cunning, more dangerous. If we do not act, the past may repeat itself, on a scale we cannot yet fathom."


    The assembly, influenced by their leader''s disy of emotion, began to resonate with a unified energy. The once serene and detached beings were now united by amon purpose, their decision crystallizing in the face of Aldred''s appeal.


    "We cannot stand idly by," the leader dered, its form stabilizing into a vibrant hue of determination. "The Xyrrathi will join your cause, traveler. We will lend our knowledge, our power, to prevent the annihtion that looms over us all. But before that, who are you?"


    "I am the leader of Celestial toon."


    "You''re a human?"


    Xyrrathi did not ''see'' with their eyes. They used their other senses to detect him. However, they did not detect human. It was something else.


    "Not exactly. But the humans have epted me as if I am their own."


    "Really? That''s surprising. They used to be extremely xenophobic."


    "They still are. But perhaps time can slowly change that."


    "Hmm, I am not sure about that. Back to topic, in this war, who else do you n to invite?"


    ¡­


    Thendscape was a vast wastnd of scrapped ships and twisted metal, a graveyard of battles past. The air was thick with toxins, a noxious cocktail that could kill a human in mere moments, while the gravity and atmospheric pressure were so intense they could crush an adult human instantly.


    This was the orkish world, a where survival was a testament to strength and resilience of their species.


    As Aldrednded on this harsh, unforgiving world, his presence did not go unnoticed. The orks, a warrior race renowned for their ferocity and love ofbat, immediately perceived him as a threat.


    With a bloodthirsty zeal, they converged on his location, weapons drawn, eager for the fight.


    The orks were creatures of war, their society built around the concept of survival of the fittest. Their world was a reflection of their ethos: harsh, unforgiving, and constantly in flux due to their incessant need for conflict and conquest.


    The air was filled with the sounds of machinery and the roar of engines, the sky darkened by the smoke of countless forges working tirelessly to produce more weapons for the endless wars.


    They had known no fear and only filled with frenzy of battles.


    "They are great warriors," Aldredmented. "But with great ws."


    As the orkish horde charged, Aldred stood his ground, his aura of calm a stark contrast to the frenzied rush of his attackers. There was no hesitation in his movements as the orks descended upon him, their cries of battle filling the air.


    In a disy of power that left no doubt of his strength, Aldred moved with supernatural speed. With a single, fluid motion, he unleashed a wave of energy that swept through the ranks of the orks.


    Heads were severed from bodies, and a hundred orkish warriors fell silent, their attack halted as swiftly as it had begun.


    Aldred then roared, causing the ground beneath them to quake.


    The orks felt the tremor beneath their feet and nced at Aldred in a new light.


    The battlefield fell eerily quiet, the remaining orks pausing in shock at the disy of raw power.


    Aldred, unscathed, surveyed the scene before him, his gaze unwavering. "I did note here to wage war against you," he dered, his voice carrying across the wastnd. "Ie with a proposition, one that requires the strength and might of the orkish people."


    The orks, known for theirbat prowess and not for diplomacy, were taken aback by Aldred''s words. They were a race that respected strength above all else, and Aldred had proven his in no uncertain terms. A grizzled ork warrior,rger and more heavily scarred than his brethren, stepped forward. "Name is, Gruk''rag You''ve got our attention, stranger," he grunted. "Speak your piece!"


    Aldred took a moment to exin the threat posed by Lord Malgorth''s weapon, detailing the potential for chaos and destruction on a gctic scale.


    He spoke of the alliances he was forging, of the Xyrrathi''smitment, and of the need for a united front against amon enemy.


    "Stranger, we don''t understand what you talk about. What do you want exactly?"


    Aldred sighed and decided to use simple words. "War."


    Right after hearing that, the orks cheered and jumped as if their favorite ser team just scored a goal in a worldcup.


    "You should have start with that, stranger. How big is this war going to be?"


    "It might grow and involves the entire gxy."


    The orks cheered again, louder than thest one.


    "So when will this war begin?"


    "We have 10 years to prepare."


    The cheers turned to depressing "Ahh" in an instant.


    "Then why are you here? Come back to us in 10 years."


    "I said preparation. That includes attacking the enemy."


    They cheered again.


    Aldred couldn''t help but smile at the orks'' simplistic yet fervent reaction to the prospect of war. Their spirit was indomitable, their joy for battle undisguised and pure. It was this very essence of the ork race that Aldred sought to harness in theing conflict. "The war may be years away, but our preparations start now.


    We will strike at our enemies, disrupt their ns, and ensure that when the wares, we are ready," Aldred exined, his tone serious yet infused with a hint of excitement that he knew would resonate with the orkish nature.


    Gruk''rag, the ork leader, scratched his head, a massive grin spreading across his scarred face. "You speak ournguage, stranger. We orks live for the fight. Tell us where, and we''ll bring the war to them!" The orkish warriors around him nodded and grunted in agreement, their earlier hostility reced by a newfound respect for Aldred.


    "Good. I will coordinate with your leaders and inform you of the targets. Remember, this is not just about battle lust. It''s about securing our future," Aldred reminded them, his gaze sweeping over the gathered warriors.


    The orks, though not known for their long-term nning or strategic thinking, understood the gravity in Aldred''s voice. Gruk''rag stepped forward, extending a massive, calloused hand towards Aldred. "We will follow you into this war, stranger. For battle, for glory, and for the future!"


    Aldred sped the ork leader''s hand, feeling the immense strength and roughness of his grip. "Thank you, Gruk''rag. Together, we will face whateveres our way."


    As Aldred turned to leave the orkish world behind, he felt a surge of anticipation for the next phase of his mission. The alliances he was forging were diverse andplex, each race bringing its unique strengths and perspectives to the table. The Xyrrathi''s wisdom and power, the orks'' ferocity and zeal¡ªeach would y a crucial role in the battles toe.


    His next destination was shrouded in mystery, a race known for their elusive nature and advanced technology. The Sylphids, beings of air and light, rumored to possess the ability to manipte time and space in ways that even the most advanced races could scarcely understand.


    Aldred knew that convincing the Sylphids to join the alliance would be no small feat. Their istionist tendencies and disdain for the conflicts that gued the gxy made them unlikely allies.


    Yet, Aldred also knew that the threat posed by Lord Malgorth''s weapon transcended individual prejudices and fears. It was a danger to all life, a shadow that loomed over the gxy, threatening to engulf it in darkness.

 Chapter 801: Chapter 801 United Front

    As Aldred''s ship set course for the Sylphid''s rumored location, he pondered the approach he would take. The Sylphids valued knowledge and insight above brute strength or emotional appeals.


    To gain their trust and cooperation, Aldred would need to demonstrate not only the immediate threat posed by Lord Malgorth''s weapon but also how the alliance''s efforts could align with the Sylphids'' own mysterious goals.


    The journey to the Sylphids'' domain was long and fraught with challenges. Navigating through uncharted territories, Aldred encountered anomalies and phenomena that tested the limits of his ship''s capabilities.


    Yet, these obstacles also served as a testament to the Sylphids'' ingenuity in concealing their presence, protecting their domain withyers of puzzles and traps that only the most determined or clever could hope to bypass.


    Finally, Aldred arrived at what he believed to be the perimeter of the Sylphid''s territory. There was no grand wee, no visible sign of civilization. Instead, the space around him shimmered, an indication of the sophisticated cloaking technologies at work.


    Aldred sent out a diplomatic signal, aplex algorithm that conveyed his intentions and his knowledge of the Sylphids, a respectful knock on the door of a civilization that preferred to remain hidden.


    The response was almost immediate, a subtle shift in the space before him as a Sylphid vessel materialized. It was sleek, its design an elegant harmony of form and function, embodying the advanced technological prowess of its creators.


    Amunication channel opened, and Aldred was greeted by a voice that seemed to resonate with the very essence of the universe. "You have traveled far, and with purpose," the voice began, its tone neither weing nor hostile. "Speak, traveler. Why seek out the Sylphids?"


    Aldred exined his mission, detailing the formation of the alliance and the threat posed by Lord Malgorth. He spoke of the Xyrrathi''s wisdom, the orks'' strength, and the need for the Sylphids'' unparalleled technological prowess.


    The Sylphids listened, their silence a canvas for Aldred to paint his picture of a united front against amon enemy. When he finished, the silence stretched, a moment that felt like an eternity as the Sylphids considered his words.


    Finally, the voice spoke again, its tone reflective. "Your cause is just, and your alliance¡­ intriguing. The Sylphids have long watched from the shadows, intervening only when the bnce of the cosmos is at stake. The threat you describe may indeed warrant such intervention."


    Aldred held his breath, waiting for the final verdict.


    "We will join your alliance, but on our terms. Our technology and knowledge shall aid you, but we do not enter into this lightly. The bnce of all things must be preserved."


    A wave of relief and gratitude washed over Aldred. "Thank you," he replied, knowing the inclusion of the Sylphids marked a pivotal moment in the formation of the alliance. "Together, we stand a chance against the darkness that seeks to engulf the gxy."


    With the Sylphids'' consent to join the alliance secured, Aldred''s mission took an unexpected turn. The ethereal voice that had spoken with such authority and wisdom now extended an invitation that Aldred could not have anticipated. "Before you depart," the voice intoned, "we invite you to step foot on one of our worlds. To understand the Sylphids is to experience the harmony of our existence."


    Aldred''s ship was guided by the Sylphid vessel through folds of space that seemed to bend around them, a journey that defied his understanding of physics and navigation. The transition was seamless, a testament to the Sylphids'' mastery over the fabric of reality. When the journey ended, Aldred found himself orbiting a that radiated beauty and tranquility.


    The''s surface was a tapestry of vibrant colors and life. Mountains that shimmered with a crystalline glow stood alongside rivers that flowed with a luminous essence rather than water. Forests of towering flora pulsed with light, their leaves and branches moving in a dance that followed the rhythm of the''s own heartbeat.


    As Aldred''s ship descended, the air around him filled with the presence of the Sylphids.


    They appeared not as physical beings but as manifestations of light and air, swirling around him in a disy of wee. Theirughter, a melodic harmony that resonated with the very atmosphere, invited him to join them in their world.


    Stepping out of his ship, Aldred was immediately enveloped in an environment that defied all expectations. The air was alive with energy, invigorating his senses and filling him with a sense of peace he had never known. The ground beneath his feet was soft, yet firm, a carpet of moss that glowed softly with each step he took.


    The Sylphids flitted around him, their forms changing and merging, as theymunicated not with words but with emotions and images that shed directly into his mind. They showed him the wonders of their world: nts thatmunicated with one another throughworks of light, animals that floated through the air, their bodiesposed of the same ethereal substance as their Sylphid caretakers.


    "This is a world where life exists in perfect bnce," one of the Sylphids conveyed, its voice a gentle whisper in Aldred''s mind. "Here, technology and nature are one, a symbiosis that sustains every living thing."


    Aldred was led through the forests, where he saw flowers that opened to the sky, releasing spores that glittered like stars.


    Creatures of light and shadow yed in the fields, their movements creating patterns that told stories of the Sylphids'' history and their connection to the cosmos.


    "Your alliance seeks to protect the gxy from destruction," the Sylphid voice continued. "We join you not just for the survival of our kind, but for the preservation of this bnce, the harmony that connects all life."


    "We sensed good nor evil from you. We only sensed bnce. That is the person we need."


    Aldred, moved by the beauty and depth of the Sylphids'' world, nodded in understanding. "I see now why you cherish the bnce of all things. Your world, your way of life, it''s something worth fighting for."


    As Aldred stood in the midst of the Sylphids'' enchanting world, he felt the air around him begin to swirl with a gentle but powerful energy.


    The Sylphids, in their beautiful and ethereal form, danced around him, their movements creating a symphony of light and color that was both mesmerizing and soothing. Theirughter, like the chime of celestial bells, filled the air, inviting Aldred into the heart of their mystical domain.


    Then, as the dance reached its crescendo, the Sylphids converged around Aldred, their forms merging into a single, radiant beacon of light.


    From this beacon, a soft but vibrant energy emanated, enveloping Aldred in a warm,forting embrace. He watched in awe as a mark, glowing with a soft luminescence, appeared on his hand. The mark was intricate, its design a testament to the Sylphids'' connection to the cosmos and the bnce they so fiercely protected.


    "This is our blessing to you," the collective voice of the Sylphids whispered, echoing in Aldred''s mind with a rity that transcended words. "With this mark, you carry a piece of our essence, a reminder of the harmony that binds all life. It will guide you, protect you, and remind you of the bnce that must be preserved."


    Aldred gazed at the mark, feeling a surge of energy coursing through him. It was as if the very essence of the Sylphids had been imbued into his being, offering not just their blessing but a profound connection to their world and its principles. "I am honored," Aldred replied, his voice filled with gratitude. "This mark is not just a gift; it''s a responsibility.


    I will carry it with pride and ensure that our alliance honors the bnce you cherish."


    The Sylphids''ughter resumed, their joy a testament to the bond that had been forged.


    As they dispersed, their forms dissolving into the air and light from which they came, Aldred felt a deep sense of peace and purpose. The Sylphids had entrusted him with a part of their world, a gesture that spoke volumes of their faith in the alliance and its mission.


    As Aldred prepared to leave, the voice of the Sylphids resonated once more in his mind.


    "Remember, traveler, the gxy is vast and filled with wonders beyondprehension. The bnce we seek is not just the absence of conflict but the coexistence of all things, in harmony and understanding. Carry our blessings, and let it be a beacon of hope and unity."


    "I will remember that," Aldred said nonchntly.


    As Aldred''s ship departed from the enchanting world of the Sylphids, he felt a renewed sense of purpose coursing through him. The blessing bestowed upon him by the mysterious beings filled him with a profound sense of responsibility, and he knew that he carried not just their mark, but also their trust and faith in the alliance''s mission.


    As he returned to the headquarters of the Celestial toon, Aldred''s mind buzzed with ns and strategies to unite the disparate factions under the banner of their cause. The inclusion of the Sylphids marked a significant milestone in their quest to thwart Lord Malgorth''s sinister ns, and Aldred was determined to capitalize on this newfound alliance.


    Upon his arrival, Aldred was greeted by the sight of his armada, a formidable force assembled to face the looming threat. Countless massive battleships filled the sr system, their sleek forms a testament to the united strength of the alliance.


    Stepping onto the bridge of his gship, Aldred surveyed the scene before him with a mix of pride and determination. The time for action was upon them, and he knew that they must strike swiftly and decisively if they were to stand a chance against Lord Malgorth and his dark forces.


    "Gather the council," Aldredmanded, his voice ringing with authority. "It is time to finalize our ns and prepare for the battle ahead."

 Chapter 802: Chapter 802 Secret Eyes

    Aldred sat in the heart of his gship, the war chamber.


    The chamber, with its vast holographic disys and intricate control panels, hummed with a quiet intensity, reflecting the gravity of their cause.


    As Aldred summoned the council, one by one, the war generals began to enter the room, each bringing with them an aura of expertise and determination. Vortimer, the powerful sentient robot, entered first, his metallic frame reflecting the ambient light of the chamber. His presence was a stark reminder of the technological prowess at their disposal.


    Following him was Smander, the engineer and innovator, whose inventions had revolutionized their approach to warfare. His eyes sparkled with a curiosity that belied his keen intellect, always thinking, always nning.


    Shinari, the Administrator, moved with a grace that contrasted her formidable organizational skills. She was the one who ensured that their forces remained cohesive, a task that demanded both wisdom and patience.


    And then there was Cleome, the lightning weaver, her abilities a blend of science and something more, an elemental force that she wielded with precision and care. Her presence electrified the room, a testament to the unique talents thatprised their leadership.


    Among them were many other generals, each a specialist in their field, from logistics tobat tactics, from espionage to diplomacy. Theirbined expertise made the war council not just a gathering of military minds but a confluence of the gxy''s best.


    Aldred rose to address the assembly, his gaze sweeping across the faces of hismanders. "We stand on the precipice," he began, his voice firm yet infused with an undercurrent of inspiration. "Before us lies not just a battle, but a war for the very soul of our gxy.


    Our enemy, Lord Malgorth, wields a weapon of untold power, but we wield something greater¡ªthe unity of countless races, eachmitted to preserving the bnce of all things."


    Vortimer stepped forward, his voice resonant, "Our preparations have been thorough, our alliances strong. The Sylphids'' addition to our ranks adds a dimension to our capabilities we have not had before. It is time to trante our readiness into action."


    A general raised his hand. "Sorry to interrupt, sir. You said we have the alliance of countless races. And although that is true, their numbers and firepowers are not enough to contribute to a war of this scale."


    "You misunderstood me, general. This is just the first phase. When was thest time humans worked with other races before? From what I read it''s only for a small skirrmish and right after that they fight against each other. It won''t be like that."


    Aldred stood firm. "My goal is to create a long-term alliances with them. Not just during the war, but after it ended."


    All the generals were definitely shocked by Aldred''s goal. No man in their right mind would propose such idea.


    If it was someone else, even the Master of The Fleet himself, their subordinate would definitely say that it was a crazy idea.


    But crazy was alreadymon in Celestial toon. Their leader had achieved impossible things which caused the generals to think that everything he said could be achieved.


    In the war chamber''s charged silence, Aldred''s directive resonated with the gravity of a historic turning point. "I want each of you to reach out to our allies," he instructed, the weight ofmand in his voice unmistakable. "Initiate coboration projects with our R&D teams.


    We''re not just pooling our resources; we''re melding our potentials, crafting a synergy that will be our greatest weapon against Lord Malgorth."


    Smander leaned forward, his enthusiasm barely contained. "This is the kind of innovation I''ve dreamt of," he shared, his eyes alight with the possibilities. "Imagine the technological marvels we can create, the advancements we can achieve with such diverse perspectivesing together. Aldred, you''ve truly changed the way I see our neighbors in the stars."


    Shinari, ever the pragmatist, raised a pertinent question, "How do we ensure seamless integration, Aldred? Our methods, systems, even basicmunication, vary wildly across species."


    Aldred met her gaze, understanding the depth of the challenge. "We start with the universalnguages¡ªmath, science, the fundamental desire to protect our homes. From there, we build bridges. Shinari, I''m tasking you with the creation of a cross-species liaison team. Facilitate, trante, mediate¡ªwhatever it takes."


    Cleome, her presence as electrifying as her title suggested, added, "And what of the energy signatures? The Sylphids, for instance, their technology is light-years ahead, no pun intended. Harnessing that with our current capabilities will require not just innovation, but a rethinking of our entire technological paradigm."


    Aldred nodded, appreciating the depth of her insight. "Exactly why we need this coboration. Each race brings something unique to the table, something invaluable. It''s about more than just upgrading our arsenal; it''s about evolving together, pushing the boundaries of what we believe is possible."


    Vortimer, whose very existence was a testament to the potential of such cooperation, offered a perspective that was both analytical and surprisingly philosophical. "The synergy between diverse technologies and methodologies can create oues that are greater than the sum of their parts. It is in the melding of differences that true innovation is born."


    The room, once filled with skepticism, now buzzed with a palpable excitement. The challenge was daunting, but so was the potential reward. Aldred''s vision of a united front, a coalition not just of convenience but of shared destiny, seemed within reach.


    "Let''s make history," Aldred dered, his voice a beacon of hope and determination. "Not just by winning this war, but by building a future where such threats are met not with division, but unity. A future where the gxy knows peace, not through the absence of conflict, but through the strength of our bonds."


    The war generals left the chamber with a new purpose, their steps echoing the resolve that had been kindled within them. The Celestial toon, under Aldred''s leadership, was about to embark on an endeavor that would redefine the meaning of alliance and innovation in the gxy.


    Smander lingered for a moment, his mind racing with ideas. "Aldred," he said, turning back towards his leader, "you''ve given us a challenge that''s more exhrating than any I''ve faced. Working with the Sylphids, the Xyrrathi¡­ it''s a dream I never dared to have."


    Aldred smiled, cing a hand on Smander''s shoulder. "Then let''s turn that dream into reality. Together, we''ll write a new chapter for the gxy¡ªone of unity, of innovation, and of peace."


    In the sterile confines of his office, the Master of The Fleet watched the holographic projection with a mix of intrigue and skepticism. The room, adorned with the emblems of countless victories and the stark, utilitarian design of military efficiency, seemed to close in as Aldred''s ambitious words echoed through the space.


    Varik, the super soldier sergeant known for his stoicism and unmatched prowess in battle, stood silently behind the Master, his gaze fixed on the projection. His presence added a palpable tension, a silent testament to the weight of decisions made within these walls.


    The Master leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in contemtion as Aldred''s meeting came to a close. "What a crazy dude," he muttered, shaking his head with a mix of amusement and disbelief. The concept of uniting with alien races, of forming alliances beyond the transient needs of battle, seemed to him a fantasy, a dangerous idealism that could only lead to ruin.


    Varik, ever the observer, remained quiet, but his posture spoke volumes. He had seen firsthand the potential of unity, of strength forged not just in shared battle but in shared purpose. Yet, he knew better than to voice these thoughts unbidden.


    The Master sighed, turning off the projection with a flick of his hand. "He will soon learn a very fatal lesson," he continued, his voice carrying a note of finality. "There''s a reason why humans don''t work with these alien races. Our histories, our very natures, are too disparate, too fraught with conflict. Aldred''s dream of a unified front is noble, but naively so."


    Varik shifted slightly, the subtle movement catching the Master''s attention. "You disagree, Sergeant?" he asked, a challenge in his tone.


    Varik met the Master''s gaze, his voice measured and calm. "Sir, Aldred has achieved what many deemed impossible. His leadership has not only united disparate human factions but has also garnered respect and cooperation from those beyond our kind. Perhaps there''s merit in his vision."


    The Master scoffed, rising from his chair to pace the room. "Merit in vision doesn''t equate to practicality in reality, Varik. Theplexities of interspecies politics, the deep-seated prejudices and histories of conflict¡ªAldred is opening a Pandora''s box that he may not be able to close."


    "Yet, if he seeds¡­" Varik ventured, allowing the thought to hang in the air.


    "If he seeds, he will have rewritten the very fabric of gctic diplomacy," the Master conceded, albeit reluctantly. "But at what cost, Varik? At what cost?"


    The question lingered, unanswered, as the Master gazed out the window at the vast expanse of space. Stars twinkled back, indifferent to the turmoil and ambitions of those who sought to navigate theirplexities.


    Varik remained silent, knowing the Master''s concerns were not without merit. Yet, within him, a spark of hope flickered¡ªa hope that Aldred''s vision, however idealistic, could herald a new era for humanity and for the gxy.


    As the Master returned to his desk, his expression softened slightly. "Keep an eye on Aldred and his alliances, Varik. Report any developments directly to me. If he''s to walk this path, he''ll need all the support he can get¡ªeven if it''s just from the shadows."

 Chapter 803: Chapter 803 Elven Arrogance

    In the cold expanse of space, a ballet of cosmic proportions unfolded. A group of elven spacecraft, their designs transcending the mere functional into the realm of art, glided through the void with a grace that belied their size.


    These ships, sleek and majestic, bore the intricate patterns and vibrant colors characteristic of elven aesthetics¡ªeach vessel a testament to their creators'' mastery over form and function. Their approach was silent, yet it resonated with an unspoken power, the very air around them seeming to thrum with anticipation.


    Among these celestial marvels, one ship stood out for its sheer scale and the depth of detail etched into its hull. It was a masterpiece of elven engineering, its surfaces shimmering with a kaleidoscope of colors that shifted with the light. As this gship neared a small, seemingly derelict spacecraft that drifted aimlessly, the contrast between the two could not have been more pronounced.


    Thetter''s crude, battered exterior spoke of many journeys through the stars, its survival a testament to its resilience rather than elegance.


    Without a sound, the gship extended a shimmering field of energy, enveloping the smaller craft. Inside, Elraya and Ceeth, two elves whose allegiancey with Aldred and the Celestial toon, braced themselves. A momentter, they found themselves standing in the heart of the elven gship, the transition so seamless it left them momentarily disoriented.


    The chamber into which they were teleported was vast, its walls adorned with living vines that glowed softly, illuminating the space with a natural light. At the center, a holographic map of the gxy hovered, pulsing gently as if mirroring the heartbeat of the universe itself.


    As Elraya and Ceeth regained their bearings, they were greeted by the sight of their kin, tall and undeniably beautiful elven figures whose every movement was a study in grace. However, their elegance was marred by the arrogance that seemed as much a part of them as their pointed ears.


    It was a trait well-known across the gxy¡ªthe elves'' regard for themselves as beings of a higher order, viewing all others through a lens of condescension.


    Yet, as their eyes fell upon Elraya and Ceeth, the sharp edge of their disdain softened somewhat, recognition and a grudging respect tempering their usual haughtiness. Here stood two of their own, who had chosen a path far from the secluded grandeur of their race, aligning themselves with Aldred and his Celestial toon.


    The vast chamber, alive with the soft glow of bioluminescent vines, served as the meeting point for this unprecedented gathering. At its heart, the holographic gxy served as a silent reminder of what was at stake, its stars and nebe casting a celestial light over the assembled elves.


    Elralya, her posture unyielding despite the cold reception, stepped forward. Her voice, clear and resonant, broke the silence. "We are here to propose an alliance," she began, her gaze steady. "The war against Lord Malgorth threatens not just the humans or any single race, but the very fabric of our gxy. We believe that by joining forces with the Celestial toon, we can turn the tide."


    The reaction was immediate and visceral. Expressions of disgust and contempt twisted the otherwise serene faces of the elven council. Whispers filled the chamber, echoing off the living walls with a venom that belied their graceful demeanor.


    "Work with those dirty monkeys?!" eximed one elf, her hand flying to her mouth as if the mere suggestion was repugnant. Her words,den with scorn, hung in the air like a poison, her elegant features twisted in disdain.


    Elraya, undeterred by the bacsh, stepped beside Elralya, her voice joining in harmony. "Yes, with the humans and others who stand against Malgorth. Our differences are many, but ourmon enemy seeks to obliterate those distinctions along with all of us."


    A hushed silence fell upon the chamber, the holographic stars witnessing the tension that crackled like a tangible force. The council, once unified in their prejudice, now seemed to waver, the certainty of their superiority challenged by the conviction in Elraya and Elralya''s plea.


    An elder elf, his visage marked by the passage of countless years, rose from his seat. His presencemanded attention, the room falling even quieter, if such a thing were possible. "And what," he intoned, his voice carrying the weight of ages, "do you propose we gain from such¡­ cooperation?"


    Elralya met his gaze, her resolve unshaken. "We gain a future," she replied simply. "A chance to protect not just our world, but all worlds from annihtion. We offer our knowledge, our strength, and in return, we stand together in the face of extinction."


    "Extinction. Do you think a single demonic lord is enough to extinguish us?"


    Elralya took in a deep breath. "Have you forgotten about the birth of that demon and what it did to our race?"


    The elf was silenced.


    The elven council''s chamber, usually a sanctuary of peace and contemtion, was now a crucible of tension. The elves, for all their wisdom and longevity, found themselves at a crossroads, their inherent disdain for other races shing with the undeniable truth Elralya presented. The threat of Lord Malgorth was not one to be dismissed lightly, yet their prejudice clouded their judgment.


    As Elralya spoke, her voice resonating with both passion and desperation, she knew mere words might not sway the hearts of her people. Understanding the depth of their reluctance, she made a decision that could alter the course of the discussion. "If you doubt the sincerity of our plea, perhaps you need to meet Aldred himself," she dered, her gaze unwavering.


    No sooner had she invoked his name than Aldred materialized beside her, not as the human figure known to many but in a form that bespoke power and ancient might. Standing tall, his physique was that of a seasoned warrior, his long, unkempt hair framing a face marked by determination. The demonic sword strapped to his back pulsed with a life of its own, its aura a testament to battles fought and won.


    The effect of his appearance was immediate and profound. The elves, taken aback, could not hide their shock.


    Whispers rippled through the chamber as they took in the sight of this formidable being who stood before them, so different from the human they had envisioned.


    Aldred''s voice, deep andmanding, filled the chamber. "Ie before you not as a conqueror, but as an ally," he began, his eyes scanning the assembled elves. "The threat we face recognizes no race, no allegiance, other than to chaos and destruction. I stand with Elralya and Ceeth because I believe, as they do, that only together can we hope to prevail."


    "Is this the leader of the Celestial toon?"


    "I am."


    The elder elf, who had questioned Elralya''s proposal, now studied Aldred with a newfound intensity. The presence of the demonic sword, a relic of immense power and dark history, was not lost on him. "You wield powers that many would fear," he acknowledged, his voice tinged with a respect born of understanding the burden such power carried.


    Aldred nodded, acknowledging the elder''s insight. "This sword, and the strength I possess, have been honed in the fires of countless battles against darkness. But strength alone is not enough. It is unity, theing together of all races under amon cause, that will turn the tide against Malgorth."


    "You spoke of unity. But we all know it is not feasible."


    Aldred smiled. "It just might."


    Elralya, seizing the moment, added, "Our differences are many, but the future we seek is one and the same. A future where our children can look to the stars not with fear, but with hope."


    A younger elf, her curiosity oveing her reserve, voiced the question that hovered unspoken in the minds of many. "With that power of yours, you still need help?" Her tone was not mocking but genuinely perplexed, reflecting the elves'' long-standing belief in self-sufficiency and their doubts about the necessity of alliances.


    Aldred met her gaze, his expression serene yet firm. "Power, no matter how great, has its limits," he began, his voice resonant in the quiet of the chamber. "The threat we face is not one that can be vanquished by strength alone. It is a darkness that seeks to unravel the very fabric of our existence, consuming everything in its path."


    He paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "This is a war that transcends individual might. It requires a unity of purpose, a coalition of every race willing to stand against the encroaching shadow. Alone, we may hold back the tide for a time, but together, we can push it back, securing a future for all our worlds."


    The elves exchanged nces, the weight of Aldred''s words settling upon them. The concept of unity, of interdependence, was foreign to their way of thinking, a challenge to their long-held beliefs.


    Elralya stepped forward, her voice echoing Aldred''s call for unity. "Our people have always prized strength and independence, but there are moments in history when joining forces bes a necessity, not a choice. This is one such moment."

 Chapter 804: Chapter 804 Elves Battle

    The elves stood in silent as they looked at each other. They were hesitant to work together with humans. The idea itself disgust them.


    To put in a perspetive, the humans for them, were like cockroaches for humans.


    However, their thoughts were interrupted by unexpected guests.


    The serene and dignified atmosphere of the elven council chamber was shattered in an instant. A violent shudder ran through the gship, the shockwave of an explosion echoing through the vast corridors. The ethereal glow of the bioluminescent vines flickered as rms red, a stark contrast to the chamber''s usual tranquility.


    Panic and confusion reigned as reports flooded in, each more dire than thest. "We''ve been breached!" came the urgent voice of an elven officer, his usualposure lost to the chaos. "Demonic assault vessels have prated our defenses. They''re inside!"


    The elves, for all their grace and prowess, were unprepared for such a brazen attack. Their ships, marvels of beauty and engineering, were not built for such brutal and direct confrontation. The council members, still reeling from Aldred''s words, now faced a tangible manifestation of the threat he had spoken of.


    Aldred, sensing the immediate danger, drew his demonic sword once more, its de humming with anticipation. "To arms!" hemanded, his voice cutting through the confusion with the rity of a battle-hardened leader. "We must defend this ship and repel the invaders."


    "You stay where you stand!" The elf firmly shouted. "This is our ship and we will defend it on our own."


    As the elven officer''s voice rang out,manding Aldred to stand down, the chamber became a flurry of motion. The elves, their slender forms belying their warrior prowess, armed themselves with weapons that were as much works of art as tools of war.


    Elegant des that shimmered with an inner light, bows that seemed to hum with stored energy, and staves that pulsed with arcane power were drawn from hidden recesses and sheaths. They moved with a grace that spoke of centuries of training, their faces set in determined lines.


    Aldred, though taken aback by the rebuke, did not argue. He understood the pride of the elves, their need to defend their own. Instead, he stepped back, his sword still in hand, ready to assist if called upon. Elralya and Ceeth, too, prepared themselves, their allegiance to both their race and their cause clear in their stance.


    The first wave of demonic assants met the elves'' defense and was quickly cut down. The elegance of the elven warriors, their movements a deadly dance, made short work of their foes. Their advanced weapons,bining the finest of elven craftsmanship and magical prowess, tore through the demonic ranks with ease.


    For a moment, it seemed as though the elves'' superior skill and technology would carry the day without further need for aid.


    However, the brief moment of triumph was shattered as the second wave of demons breached the defenses. These were not the ragged, frenzied creatures of the first assault but a more disciplined force, wielding unfamiliar weapons that crackled with dark energy.


    The elven des and arrows that had so easily dispatched the initial attackers now met shields that absorbed their magical strikes and armor that turned aside their keenest edges.


    The council chamber, a ce of beauty and contemtion, became a battleground marked by the sh of ancient magic and sinister technology.


    The elves fought bravely, their skills undiminished, but the strange, new weapons of the demons began to take their toll. Where one elf fell, another stepped forward, but the grim determination on their faces spoke of the unexpected challenge they faced.


    Aldred, watching the battle unfold, realized the dire turn of events. "You may not want my aid, but this enemy does not care for our pride or our disputes,"


    "No. You stand right there!"


    The battle within the elven gship intensified, the elegance of the chamber marred by the chaos of war. The elves, their grace and skill undeniable, found themselves pushed to their limits as the demonic forces surged forward, their numbers seemingly infinite. Each fallen demon was reced by two more, their snarls and roars filling the air with a cacophony of malice.


    As the elves parried and struck, their weapons singing through the air, a new threat emerged. A group of diminutive, grotesque demons, their bodies twisted and malevolent, bypassed the frontline. These creatures, norger than a small child but infinitely more deadly, began to burrow into the ship''s very structure, their ws and dark magic digging through metal and magic alike.


    Their target was clear: the vital controls of the ship, the heart of the elven marvel.


    The council chamber, once a symbol of unity and power, now echoed with the sounds of desperation andbat. Despite the elves'' valiant efforts, the tide seemed to turn against them, the demonic onught relentless and cunning.


    Aldred, restrained by the elvenmand yet unable to stand idly by, watched with a growing sense of urgency. The elves'' refusal of his aid, born of pride and prejudice, now threatened to doom them all. He understood their desire to defend their home, their ship, but the reality of the situation was stark. Alone, they were overwhelmed.


    As the tiny demons infiltrated deeper into the ship, rms began to wail, a dire symphony that spoke of systems failing, of defenses crumbling. The ship, a masterpiece of elven engineering, was being gutted from within, its magical defenses faltering as the vital controls were destroyed.


    Aldred, no longer able to contain himself, stepped forward, his voice booming through the chamber. "This pride will be the end of us all! Let me help, or we all perish!"


    The elven council, despite the chaos unfurling within the heart of their gship, remained steadfast in their refusal of Aldred''s assistance. Their pride, deeply ingrained through centuries of istion and self-reliance, blinded them to the dire need for unity in the face of such an unprecedented threat.


    "We need no assistance from outsiders," the elder elf dered, his voice echoing defiantly through the chamber, even as the sounds of battle and destruction grew ever closer.


    Aldred, witnessing the stubborn refusal and the elves'' struggle against the demonic invaders, could no longer stand idly by, bound by an order that would lead to their mutual destruction. With a resolve as unwavering as the stars themselves, he unsheathed his demonic sword, the de pulsing with an ominous light.


    "Pride has no ce when lives are at stake," he muttered under his breath, stepping into the fray without permission.


    The moment Aldred joined the battle, the tide began to shift, albeit slowly. His sword cleaved through the demonic forces with ease, its dark energy disrupting the sinister magics that fueled their assault.


    The elves, initially taken aback by Aldred''s defiance, soon found themselves bolstered by his intervention.


    The realization that their survival might hinge on this unwee alliance began to dawn on even the most prideful among them.


    As Aldred fought, weaving through the elves and demons with the grace of a seasoned warrior, his actions spoke louder than any words could. Here was a being, not of their kind, standing with them in their hour of need, asking for nothing in return but the chance to fight amon enemy.


    His swordsmanship was not just a disy of raw power but a testament to hismitment to their cause, a cause that transcended the boundaries of race and prejudice.


    The smaller demons, their vile efforts to sabotage the ship''s vital controls momentarily halted by thebined defense, hissed and screeched in frustration.


    Aldred, sensing an opportunity, directed his attacks towards these creatures, each strike precise and deadly.


    The elves, though initially resistant to Aldred''s intervention, could not deny the effectiveness of his actions against the demonic invaders. Their pride wounded by the necessity of epting help from one they deemed an outsider, they nheless recognized the gravity of the situation.


    The survival of their gship, the safety of their people, hung in the bnce, forcing them to reassess their stance.


    Aldred, leading the charge with a resolve born of countless battles, moved with purpose through the elven ship. His de, a dark mirror to the luminous elegance of the elven weapons, became a beacon of hope in the shadowy turmoil. The demonic forces, surprised by the sudden ferocity and unity of their opponents, began to falter under the relentless assault.


    "Follow him!"manded one of the elven warriors, her voice cutting through the din of battle. Hermand, though begrudging, was a tacit acknowledgment of Aldred''s leadership in this dire hour.


    The elves rallied around this unexpected ally, their movements bing more synchronized with his, theirbined strength pushing back the demonic tide.


    Aldred, for his part, did not let the elves'' initial refusal to ept his help distract him from the task at hand. "Together, we are stronger,"


    he shouted over the sh of steel and the roar of magic, his words not just a call to arms but a reminder of the shared goal that united them all.

 Chapter 805: Chapter 805 Demon Breach

    Aldred''s de, a sinister amalgam of dark energy and steel, plunged deep into the chest of a towering demon.


    "Shatter."


    With a whisperedmand that seemed to echo with the weight of centuries, the sword shattered, its fragments scattering like a swarm of vengeful spirits.


    Each shard became a missile of destruction, seeking out the heart of every demon within reach.


    The air filled with the eerie sound of the de''s fragments whistling through the air, a chorus of death for their foes.


    "By the elven stars¡­" Elralya breathed, her usualposure slipping as she witnessed the devastating efficiency of Aldred''s weapon.


    Her eyes, wide with a mixture of fear and admiration, flicked to Aldred, reassessing the man who had be their unlikely ally. "His power had grown sincest time I saw him."


    Aldred, retrieving the fragments of his de with a mere gesture, watched the demons'' ranks thin with a grim satisfaction. The de reformed in his hand, its dark energy pulsing as if eager for more destruction. His gaze, however, was not on his fallen enemies but on the horizon, where the demon captain stood.


    The captain, a hulking figure adorned with scars and trophies surveyed the aftermath of Aldred''s.


    With a snarl, he reached for a massive weapon thaty at his side¡ªa great axe, its de ckened and etched with runes that seemed to shift and writhe in the dim light.


    "I challenge you to a duel strong human," the demon captain growled, his voice carrying across the battlefield, a challenge that silenced the murmurs of the elves and demons alike.


    He hefted the axe, the muscles in his arms bulging with the effort, and began to advance towards Aldred.


    The demon increased its speed and raised the axe, about to chop Aldred in half.


    A grin stered on the demon''s face. However time seemed to stand still as Aldred''s body engulfed by the light and then went through the demon captain.


    The demon captain widened his eyes. When it looked down, it saw a massive hole that destroyed his stomach and chest.


    He fell with a plop.


    As the demon captain fell, the battlefield momentarily fell into a stunned silence, the remaining demons halting in disbelief at the sight of their leader defeated so effortlessly.


    Aldred stood, his figure bathed in the fading light of his recent transformation, the reformed de at his side pulsing with dark energy.


    The elves watched in awe, their respect for the human among them deepening with each passing moment.


    It was then that a breathless elven runner emerged from the direction of the gship''s core, his armor scorched and his face etched with lines of urgency. "The engine bay!" he gasped, struggling to catch his breath. "It''s overrun with demons. We can''t hold them back¡ªthey''re sabotaging the core. We need reinforcements now!"


    Aldred turned towards the sound of the runner, his expression shifting from triumph to concern. The victory over the demon captain, though significant, was but a battle in a war that threatened to consume them all.


    Elralya, stepping forward, ced a hand on the runner''s shoulder, steadying him. "Take us there," shemanded, her voice carrying the authority and determination of a leader ready to defend her home at all costs.


    As they hurried towards the engine bay, the corridors of the gship echoed with the sounds of distantbat¡ªthe sh of metal, the roar of fire, and the unmistakable energy of elven magic resisting the demonic assault.


    Aldred, running alongside Elralya, could feel the tension in the air. The ship itself seemed to groan under the strain of the attack, its magical defenses flickering in and out of existence as the demons worked to dismantle its core.


    They arrived at the entrance to the engine bay to find a scene of chaos. A group of elven defenders were engaged in a desperate struggle against a swarm of demons, their elegant weapons shing in the dim light as they fought to push back the invaders.


    Without hesitation, Aldred and Elralya joined the fray, their presence bolstering the beleaguered elves. Aldred''s de sang through the air, its dark energy tearing through demon flesh with lethal efficiency, while Elralya''s magic¡ªa series of precise, shimmering bolts¡ªfelled demons with each strike.


    "We cannot let them reach the core," Elralya shouted over the din of battle, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of demonic sabotage. "If they destroy the engine, this ship¡ªand all aboard¡ªwill be lost."


    In the midst of the chaotic battle, with the din of shing metal and the roar of elven spells filling the air, Aldred''s actions suddenly drew the attention of all present.


    His hand closed on empty space, a gesture that seemed inconsequential in the heat ofbat.


    Yet, in the next moment, an inexplicable stillness enveloped the engine bay. The demons, mid-leap or snarl, hung suspended as if captured in a moment of time, their ferocious movements halted abruptly.


    The elves, too, found themselves unable to move, their expressions frozen between determination and surprise.


    Time itself seemed to tick by, the only movement in the room being the gentle drift of ash from the previously felled demons. Aldred alone moved freely within this tableau, his figure weaving through the statuesque forms of friend and foe alike. His expression was one of intense concentration, the air around him shimmering with the raw power he had summoned to halt the battle''s flow.


    The demons'' eyes, the only parts of them not bound by Aldred''s magic, darted around in panic, the shock of their sudden immobilization evident even in their limited capacity for expression.


    They had faced many foes, but never one who could arrest the flow of time itself.


    Aldred stood in front of a particr demon.


    "You are not bound by my spell. Stop the act."


    Aldred''s observation cut through the stillness like a knife, his voice steady butced with an undercurrent of power. The demon, its guise of immobility shattered by his words, dropped the act, revealing itself to be unaffected by the temporal magic. Its grin, wide and malevolent, was a stark contrast to the suspended chaos around them.


    With a cocky tilt of its head, it locked its gaze on Aldred, its eyes gleaming with an intelligence and malice that marked it as no ordinary foe.


    "Well spotted, human," the demon sneered, its voice dripping with arrogance. "But your parlor tricks won''t save you or this vessel."


    Before Aldred could react, the demon moved with a speed that seemed to blur the lines of reality itself. Itunched a devastating attack on the engine core, unleashing a surge of dark energy that tore through the air, ripping into the heart of the ship. The impact was catastrophic, the resulting explosion sending shockwaves through the still-frozen tableau of elves and demons alike.


    Half of the engine bay was obliterated in an instant, the damage severe and irrevocable.


    As the dust settled and Aldred''s time magic waned under the force of the explosion, the demon''s figure became indistinct, shimmering as if ready to phase out of existence.


    "This is only the beginning," it taunted, its voice echoing ominously.


    "The true war has yet toe." And with those chilling words, it vanished, leaving no trace behind except the devastation it had wrought.


    The spell fully dissipated, releasing the elves and demons from their suspended state into a scene of utter ruin.


    The remaining demons, sensing the loss of their strategic advantage, began to retreat, disappearing into the shadows from whence they came.


    The elves, meanwhile, were left to grapple with the immediate consequences of the attack. The engine bay, once the beating heart of the ship, nowy in ruins, its core damaged beyond simple repair.


    The engine bay, once a marvel of elven engineering,y in smoldering ruins, its vital mechanisms shattered beyond immediate repair. The elven captain, Anariel, surveyed the damage with a practiced eye, her expression grim. Her hands, sped behind her back, betrayed none of the turmoil that churned within her.


    The ship, a proud vessel that had sailed the stars for centuries, was now crippled, its heart torn asunder by demonic malice.


    Anariel turned to Aldred and Elralya, her gaze steady. "This destruction is beyond our capability to repair swiftly," she said, her voice carrying the weight ofmand. "Even with our best artisans and mages, we are looking at no less than two months before the core can be restored to a semnce of functionality."


    Elralya, her face shadowed by the flickering light of the emergency luminescence, nodded solemnly. "And without the core, we are not only stranded but vulnerable," she added, her voice tight with concern.


    "I will put my force around here to protect you during that time."


    Anariel red at him. "We do not need any help."


    Elralya''s usually sereneposure cracked, a rare sh of anger igniting in her eyes. She turned sharply to face Anariel, her posture rigid with barely contained frustration. "Captain Anariel," she began, her voice steady butced with a cutting edge, "Aldred has fought alongside us, shed blood with us, and now offers his continued protection in our hour of greatest need.


    And yet, you greet his offer with disdain, without so much as a word of thanks."


    The air between the three thickened, charged with the tension of the moment. Aldred, standing slightly apart, watched the exchange quietly, his expression unreadable. He hade to expect resistance from the elves, understanding their pride and centuries of self-reliance, yet Elralya''s impassioned defense stirred something within him.


    Anariel, taken aback by Elralya''s outburst, paused, her gaze shifting between her and Aldred.


    "Elralya, you should know more than anyone else why we cannot ept Aldred''s offer."

 Chapter 806: Chapter 806 Elven Discussion

    "Elralya," Anariel began, her voice steady but filled with a deep-seated sorrow that resonated through the silent chamber, "you of all people should understand the gravity of what I am about to say. Our history with humans is fraught with betrayals so deep, they have scarred the very soul of our kind."


    She turned back to face them, her eyes reflecting the pain of memories too grievous to forget. "We extended our hands in friendship, shared our knowledge, our magic, and how were we repaid? With treachery. At every opportunity, humans have sought to exploit us, to break us."


    Aldred listened, his face impassive but his eyes revealing the turmoil within. He was all too aware of the dark chapters of human history, the greed, and ambition that had led to countless atrocities.


    Anariel''s gaze hardened as she recounted the darkest of those betrayals. "But there is one act we cannot, will not, forgive. The kidnapping of our kin, taken from their homes, from their families, to be enved. To be treated as lesser beings for no other reason than the whims of human greed."


    Aldred had absorbed thousands of books regarding the history of this gxy, specifically human conduct. At that time, the elven were prized ve for how beautiful they look. They were the image of perfection and many wealth individuals would use them as sex toys, ve, or even pets.


    Those who owned an elf ve was highly regarded at that time due to how difficulty and expensive it was to obtain and maintain an elf ve.


    The elf was never obedient so they had to be drugged consistently with expensive medicines not to mention the elves were always on the lookout to rescue their kin.


    Aldred stepped forward, his voice low and sincere. "Anariel, I cannot undo the past, nor can I erase the pain that my kind has caused yours. All I can offer is my sword, my loyalty, and my promise that while I stand with you, no harm wille to this ship or its people."


    "And I am supposed to be the fool that believed those words?" Anariel red at him.


    "Anariel," Elralya interjected, her voice carrying a mix of reverence and stern resolve that silenced the room, "I understand your reservations, the fear and the pain. They are justified, deeply so. But, we stand at a precipice where the past must not blind us to the allies we find in our present."


    She paused, ensuring she had the undivided attention of both Aldred and Anariel. "The ancestor spirits," she continued, her gaze piercing, "those who guide us with the wisdom of ages, have spoken. Through visions and whispers on the wind, they have told us that Aldred is true. They have seen beyond the veil of his humanity, into the essence of his spirit, and they have told us to trust him."


    Anariel''s expression softened slightly, the rigid lines of her posture rxing as she considered Elralya''s words. The invocation of the ancestor spirits was no trivial matter; their guidance had steered the elves through millennia, their wisdom shaping the very fabric of their society.


    "And you believe this, Elralya?" Anariel asked, her skepticism waning, reced by a cautious curiosity. "You believe the spirits have truly spoken in favor of this man?"


    Elralya nodded, her conviction clear. "Yes, Anariel, I do. The spirits have never led us astray, and their counsel now should not be ignored. Aldred''s presence here, his actions, they are not mere coincidence. They are, I believe, part of arger design, one that we are yet to fully understand."


    "You are not lying to me?"


    "Lying in the name of the spirit? The spirit is always watching me. Do you think I can lie in their name?"


    Aldred understood what was going on but he put on a confused expression. The system had told him about Elralya''s power ofmunicating with the elven''s ancestors.


    Apparently, it was extremely big deal because the elven race were supposed to protect her. Still, the elves had to take risk and let her explore the gxy to find something that can help their race grow.


    And the ancestors were supposed to guide her.


    Aldred, sensing the weight of the moment, knew words alone could not bridge the gulf of centuries'' worth of mistrust and pain.


    With a fluid gesture that spoke of deep, inherent power, he conjured a spell that few had seen and even fewer couldprehend. Before the eyes of Anariel, Elralya, and the few other elves gathered in the silent chamber, the air shimmered and twisted, coalescing into a vivid, three-dimensional image that hovered in the space between them.


    The scene unfolded, revealing a world unlike any they had known, yet strangely familiar in its essence¡ªa medieval society not bound by the constraints of technology but elevated by the presence of magic.


    It was a world where diverse races moved in harmony through the streets of a sprawling city, their interactions seamless and free from prejudice. Elves, humans, and beings of races unnamed and unknown to the elves of this ship intermingled, theirughter and conversation melding into a tapestry of peaceful coexistence.


    "Behold," Aldred began, his voice imbued with a quiet intensity as he gestured towards the magical disy. "This is my home, a world within a gxy far from here, where magic weaves through the very fabric of society. It is a ce where beings of all races, elves included, live and thrive together, not as masters and servants, not as conquerors and the conquered, but as equals."


    "You think I am naieve enough to believe that such a peaceful world exist?"


    "It''s not peaceful. People still attack each other, but not because of race."


    "That doesn''t change anything."


    "It does." Aldred stepped forward. "I am showing you that I have no prejudice towards your race. I only do business as usual."


    "Business?" Anariel scoffed. "You are a businessman?"


    "That''s right."


    "You''re the kind that I hate the most. No dignity, no loyalty, no affiliation or responsbility except towards yourself. A selfish pig that would leave their allies behind when there''s a threat."


    Aldred frowned. "I am not that kind of businessman."


    The tension in the room escted, a tangible force that seemed to push the very air into heavy, chargedyers. Anariel''s expression was carved from stone, her eyes cold embers as she regarded Aldred with undisguised disdain.


    "I find it hard to believe," Anariel said, her voiceced with frost, "that a businessman, as you im to be, has any interest in our welfare beyond how it serves his own ends. You speak of unity and trust, yet you admit to dealings that prioritize gain over loyalty."


    Aldred''s frown deepened, a mix of frustration and earnestness etching lines across his brow. "My intentions here are not driven by profit or personal gain," he insisted, his voice firm, betraying a hint of underlying passion. "I stand with you against amon enemy, offering my aid not as a transaction, but as a pledge.


    My world, my business, has taught me the value of alliances that transcend mere convenience or benefit."


    Elralya, who had been silently watching the exchange, stepped in, her voice a calming balm. "Anariel, please. Aldred''s actions have spoken clearly of his intentions. He has fought beside us, risked his life for our cause. Can we not afford him the chance to prove his worth, not as a human, nor as a businessman, but as an ally?"


    But Anariel was unmoved, her stance unyielding. "Words and actions born in the heat of battle, while noble, do not erase centuries of deceit and exploitation. Our pain, our loss, cannot be so easily forgotten or forgiven on the strength of a few deeds, however valiant."


    The room fell into a heavy silence, the divide between them seeming to widen with each spoken word. Aldred''s offer of peace and partnership hung in the bnce, overshadowed by the long shadow of history''s wrongs.


    "I understand your hesitation, your pain," Aldred said after a moment, his voice softer, seeking somemon ground. "I do not ask for immediate trust or forgiveness. Only the opportunity to continue to stand with you, to face theing threats together. To prove, through action, that not all humans are bound by the sins of the past."


    Anariel regarded him with aplex gaze, where the flicker of consideration battled with deep-seated skepticism. "Your words, Aldred, they speak of a hope that has long been foreign to our kind. A hope that, despite my better judgment, I find myself contemting."


    Yet, even as she spoke, it was clear the chasm of mistrust and old wounds was too vast to bridge with words alone. "However, hope does not rewrite history, nor does it shield us from the potential for further betrayal. For now, our paths must remain separate. We shall fortify our defenses, heal our wounded, and prepare for the war ahead with those we know we can trust."


    Aldred nodded, a gesture of respect for her decision, even as disappointment and understanding warred within him. "I will respect your wishes, Captain Anariel. Should you find need of my aid, know that my offer remains. Until then, I wish you and your people strength and fortitude in the days toe."

 Chapter 807: Chapter 807 Stealthy Elven

    With a heavy heart but a resolve steeled by the recent encounter, Aldred made his way back to his own gship, apanied by Elralya and Ceeth. The journey was silent, each lost in their thoughts, the weight of Anariel''s rejection hanging over them like a pall.


    As they boarded Aldred''s ship, a stark contrast to the elven vessel with its utilitarian design and the air of readiness for battle, Aldred couldn''t help but feel a twinge of regret. The divide between his kind and the elves felt wider than ever, a chasm deepened by centuries of distrust and betrayal.


    "Well, we know convincing the elves won''t be easy," Aldred said.


    "My kind can get stone head sometimes."


    "I understand their viewpoint." Aldred nodded. "Any other race would do the same."


    Elralya offered a faint smile, acknowledging the truth in Aldred''s words. "Yes, the wounds of the past are deep, and the path to trust is long and winding. But your willingness to stand with us, despite those wounds, speaks volumes, Aldred."


    Ceeth, who had remained quiet, finally spoke, his voice carrying a mixture of resolve and sadness. "Perhaps, in time, the barriers of old can be dismantled. For now, we must focus on the threat at hand and prepare as best we can."


    Their discussion, brief as it was, revolved around the logistics of their newfound alliance¡ªsharing intelligence, coordinating defense strategies, and ensuring that, even without the full support of the elven council, they would be ready to face whatever darkness loomed on the horizon.


    Elralya and Ceeth left after a short discussion, leaving Aldred by himself.


    After both the elves left, Aldred raised his hands and the demons that attacked the elven ships appeared.


    It was him who actually sent the demons to attack the elves. He did it to make an opportunity to be their hero. But seems like it wasn''t enough.


    "One or two act of heroism isn''t enough for them. What they need is concrete benefit. These elves aren''t fools."


    In the dim light of themand center, Aldred stood contemtive, the revtion of his machinations hanging heavy in the air. His strategy, bold and fraught with moral ambiguity, had failed to bridge the gap he had hoped it would. It was a gambit, one that risked much in the pursuit of an alliance he believed was necessary for the greater good.


    With a determined exhale, Aldred invoked another spell, more intricate than thest. The air before him shimmered, coalescing into the form of Shuzib, the most knowledgeable schr in the Celestial toon. Shuzib''s arrival was marked by a flicker of arcane energy, his presencemanding yet imbued with an innate kindness that had made him a trusted friend and adviser to Aldred for years.


    "Shuzib," Aldred greeted, his voiceced with a mix of frustration and resolve. "I need your counsel regarding the elves."


    Shuzib nodded. "You want the elves to work together with you. It won''t be a simple matter."


    "Tell me what you know."


    "Pride. The elves are known for their pride. And they will protect their dignity. Feed that dignity, or make someone step on it. And then you will see that the elves are easily steered."


    Aldred raised an eyebrow. "Thank you. Now, I know what I have to do."


    Shuzib vanished immediately after he nodded.


    Aldred''s eyes shed with a sharp glint.


    ¡­


    In the aftermath of the attack, the elven vessel became a hive of activity, with Anariel leading the repair efforts with unwavering determination. Hermands were clear, her leadership unquestionable, as she moved amongst her people, coordinating theplex process of restoration. Despite the severity of the damage inflicted upon their ship, her spirit, and that of her crew, remained unbroken.


    Anariel, well aware of the need for additional support, had sent out a call for reinforcements soon after assessing the full extent of the damage. The response had been swift; help would arrive in 128 hours, a fleet of elven ships poised to lend their aid and bolster the defenses of their beleaguered brethren.


    As the hours passed, the ship gradually began to regain its former strength, its magical and mechanical systems meticulously restored by the skilled hands of the elven engineers and mages.


    The crew worked tirelessly, their efforts fueled by the promise of reinforcements and the unwavering resolve of their captain.


    "Commander." An elven soldier approached. "We detected unidentified vessels."


    "We are ready for any attack."


    "No. They are noting towards us, instead, they are approaching a nearby elven world."


    "An elven world is capable of handling any attack."


    "Not this time. They are requesting for reinforcement because the unexpectedly entered a turmoil state. Tsunamis, typhoons, all the active volcanoes exploding. Most infrastructures are disables by this natural disaster. It will cost them a lot of lives if a squadron of enemies attack."


    Anariel frowned. "How many of our ships are still battle-ready?"


    Only eight of our ship can enter the warp-drive and reinforce the.


    "And how many ships the enemy brought?"


    "Sixteen vessels."


    "So they are twice our numbers. That shouldn''t be a problem."


    "Are we going to attack?"


    "Swiftly. We go in. Destroy them without they expecting it and return to this ce


    As Anariel and her elven fleet hurtled through the warp, the tension aboard each ship was palpable. The elven ships, marvels of both magic and technology, slipped into stealth mode, bing invisible shadows against the backdrop of space.


    Their approach towards the beleaguered elven world was swift and silent, their presence undetected by the enemy vessels that orbited the, poised to take advantage of the chaos wrought by natural disasters.


    Anariel, standing on the bridge of her gship, watched the tactical disys with an unwavering focus. Her mind was a calm center in the storm of activity around her, her orders precise and decisive. "Prepare the harpoons," shemanded, her voice cutting through the din of the bridge.


    The elven engineers and mages worked in unison, channeling their magic and technology into the creation of a weapon as ancient as it was deadly. The harpoons, designed to beunched at incredible velocities, were not merely physical projectiles but were imbued with spells of seeking and disruption, capable of tearing through the enemy shields and hulls with devastating precision.


    As the elven fleet emerged from the warp, still cloaked in their stealth, they positioned themselves with strategic precision. The enemy vessels, sixteen in number, were unaware of the imminent threat, their sensors unable to pierce the veil of elven magic that shrouded the attackers.


    With a silentmand, Anariel initiated the assault. The harpoons, glowing with arcane energy, wereunched, each one slipping through the quantum tunnel created by elven mages, emerging near their targets at velocities that made them nearly impossible to evade.


    The air around the harpoons shimmered with the power of their enchantments, their paths unerringly urate as they streaked towards the enemy ships.


    The impact was immediate and catastrophic. The enemy shields, unprepared for the magical nature of the attack, buckled and shattered under the onught. Hulls were pierced, critical systems were destroyed, and chaos erupted among the invaders as they scrambled to respond to the unseen attackers.


    In the space of a few heartbeats, the elven fleet decimated the enemy formation, their ships unable to mount a defense against the ferocity and precision of the elven attack.


    One by one, the enemy vessels were either destroyed or crippled, their threat neutralized with a clinical efficiency that spoke of the elves'' mastery of both war and magic.


    Aldred saw this from light-years away was impressed.


    "The harpoon entered a warp tunnel and re-appeared mere inches away from its target. Not only that, it appeared with incredible speed, making them impossible to dodge. The elven technology are admired for a reason."


    Smiling, Aldred leaned back. "Thankfully, I already prepared for this."


    As the elven fleet reveled in their swift victory, their relief was abruptly shattered by the emergence of a sinister red portal. From its depths, an armada of demon vessels poured forth, their numbers overwhelming¡ªa total of sixty formidable ships, their designs grotesque and imbued with a malevolence that chilled the very space around them.


    The elven ships, revealed by their recent offensive, found themselves suddenly exposed and outnumbered. The stealth that had cloaked their approach was now useless, their positionpromised. The demon fleet, with a coordination that spoke of dark intelligence behind their movements, adjusted their formations, setting their malevolent gaze upon the elven defenders.


    Anariel, upon witnessing this rming development, stood rigid on the bridge of her gship. Her frown deepened, not merely in response to the immediate threat but at the underlying implications. "This¡­is no simple attack," she murmured, her strategic mind piecing together the events with unnerving rity. "This level of coordination, the timing¡­it''s too precise.


    These demons are not acting on mere instinct."


    Her crew looked to her, awaiting orders, their faces etched with concern but also with trust in their captain''s wisdom. Anariel, her resolve hardening, issued hermands with a calm urgency. "Prepare for battle. Signal the fleet¡ªevasive maneuvers and ready all offensive spells. We may be outnumbered, but we will not fall easily."


    Handling twice their number was no problem. But this was eight times their total vessels!

 Chapter 808: Chapter 808 Manuevering Elf

    The space around the beleaguered elven ships boiled with malice as the demon armada, sixty vessels strong, bore down on them with relentless fury. Anariel, ever calm in the face of adversity, surveyed the rapidly evolving situation with amander''s eye. Her fleet, though outnumbered, was not yet defeated.


    "Into the asteroid belt," shemanded, her voice resolute over them system. "Use the field to our advantage. It will level the ying field."


    Her orders disseminated through the fleet with lightning speed, each of her captains responding with the precision and discipline that had been drilled into them over centuries.


    The eight elven ships, graceful and lethal even in retreat, angled towards the nearby asteroid belt, a dense and treacherous field of rock and ice that had imed many a vessel unwise enough to navigate its confines without caution.


    As the demon fleet gave chase, their ships,rger and less maneuverable, struggled to maintain the pace, their hunger for destruction driving them heedlessly into the belt''s perilous embrace.


    "We''ll use the asteroids to break their formation," Anariel instructed, her eyes never leaving the tactical disy. "Small squads, break off and lead them on a chase. Make them follow you through the tightest clusters. Their numbers mean nothing if they can''t bring them to bear."


    The chase was a deadly dance, a test of pilot skill and nerve.


    Elven ships skimmed the surfaces of asteroids, using them as shields and weapons alike, causing pursuing demon vessels to swerve and collide with the unyielding rock.


    Explosions illuminated the dark expanse as more than one demon ship met its end against the silent sentinels of the belt.


    The elven ships evaded a group of demons that chased after them.


    However, another squadron found them an intercepted them.


    "Destroy them," Anariel ordered.


    The elven ships destroyed half their numbers before using the chaos to leave.


    Anariel nodded with satisfaction until another squadron, bigger than thest, appeared in front of them.


    She frowned before giving the order to destroy the enemies and left.


    However, not long after, another demon squadron intercepted their path.


    She encountered this type of situation again and again.


    "They''re watching us!" Anariel finally said.


    "Madam, there seem to be a watcher ship among the demon vessel."


    "How many of them?"


    "Two."


    "The watcher ships shouldn''t be able to track us so urately without following us at a certain distance."


    "Do you n to destroy them? It won''t be easy judging by the fact that our location is known."


    She turned to her navigation officer, her n taking shape. "Plot a course through the densest part of the asteroid belt, one that will strain our shields to their limits. We need to make it seem like a desperate attempt to escape."


    The officer nodded, his hands moving quickly over the console toply with her orders.


    Anariel continued, outlining her n to her crew. "Once we''re on course, I want all ships to ready their cloaking spells but hold off on activating them. We draw in the watcher ships, make them believe they have us cornered."


    Turning to her chief mage, she gave her next set of instructions. "Prepare a mass illusion spell. As soon as we have the watcher ships where we want them, we''ll cloak and leave behind an illusion of our fleet continuing along the course."


    Understanding dawned on the faces of her crew as they grasped the nuances of her strategy. It was a high-risk maneuver, relying on the precise execution of magic and technology, but it was their best chance to escape the demon''s clutches.


    The elven ships, under Anariel''smand, plunged deeper into the asteroid belt, the looming rocks casting shadows over their hulls. The navigation officer expertly guided them through the perilous paths, each turn and twist calcted to bring them closer to their unseen pursuers.


    "Ready the illusion," Anariel said, her voice a calm beacon amidst the tension that filled the bridge. "On my mark."


    The chief mage nodded, his hands moving in intricate patterns as he channeled the collective arcane energies of his team, weaving aplex spell that shimmered in the air, ready to be unleashed.


    The watcher ships, confident in their prey''s impending capture, followed doggedly, their sensors locked onto the elven fleet''s signature. They failed to notice the subtle shift in the asteroids'' patterns, the quiet preparation of the elves'' countermeasure.


    "Now!" Anarielmanded.


    In an instant, the elven ships activated their cloaking spells, disappearing from view and sensors alike.


    Simultaneously, the mage released the mass illusion spell, a perfect replica of the elven fleet continuing its desperate flight through the asteroid belt.


    From Aldred''s office, it looked like the elven ships were just going to their normal pattern and routes.


    The watcher ships, their attention fixed on the illusory fleet, surged forward, their focus on the chase allowing the real elven ships to slip away, hidden by both


    cloak and the chaotic ballet of the asteroid belt. The demonic vessels, deceived by the masterful illusion, continued their pursuit of phantoms, allowing the actual elven fleet to escape undetected to a safer region within the belt.


    Anariel watched the demon ships chase after the illusions, a rare smile touching her lips as she witnessed the sess of their ploy. "Well done, everyone," she praised her crew, allowing herself a moment of relief amidst the tension. "We''ve bought ourselves some much-needed time."


    As the elven ships regrouped in the rtive safety of a dense asteroid cluster, Anariel''s thoughts turned to the broader implications of their escape.


    "This was too close," she mused aloud, her gaze fixed on the stars beyond. "We cannot afford to be caught off guard again. We must find a way to neutralize these watcher ships permanently."


    Right after she said that, four elven ships already went and destroyed the watcher ships.


    The screen floating in front of Anariel revealed the explosion in the asteroid belt.


    Aldred smiled in his office. "Not bad. The elves really live up to their reputation."


    He nced to the side and Zelthrax, the powerful demon admiral that now served as his loyal servant, was standing still.


    "Disrupt them," Aldred said.


    As the elven fleet nestled into the temporary safety of the asteroid cluster, a brief moment of relief washed over them. Anariel allowed herself the luxury of a deep breath, her eyes closed momentarily to savor the quiet. The gentle hum of the ship''s engines and the distant, muffled echoes of asteroid collisions provided a strangelyforting backdrop to her thoughts.


    But peace, she knew, was a fleeting guest in the vastness of space.


    Zelthrax''s silentmand sent ripples through the fabric of reality itself. Invisible to the naked eye, yet palpable to those sensitive to the arcane, the energy twisted space and time around the elven fleet.


    Anariel''s eyes snapped open, hermander''s intuition screaming alerts before her mind could catch up. The console in front of her buzzed with warnings, and her crew''s voices filled the bridge with reports of anomalies.


    "Commander, the asteroids¡ªthey''re¡­" The navigation officer''s voice trailed off as he struggled to describe the unfolding chaos.


    Anariel rose, her gaze fixed on the viewscreen as asteroids around them began to explode, warp, and fracture in impossible ways. It was as if the very fabric of reality around them had turned hostile, betraying thews of physics they relied upon.


    "What''s happening?" Her voice was a calm anchor in the storm of confusion that had gripped her crew.


    Before anyone could answer, a more rming phenomenon unfolded. As the fleet attempted to maneuver away from the unfolding chaos, their ships inexplicably snapped back to their positions ten seconds prior. This bizarre temporal loop ensnared them, nullifying their attempts to escape.


    "We''re stuck in a temporal anomaly!" the chief mage shouted, his hands moving frantically over his instruments, trying to decipher the unseen forces at y.


    "Who did this?" Anariel gnashed her teeth. "The demon shouldn''t send this much personnels just to attack us. Especially not a demon that has the capability to do this!"


    "Prepare for unconventional maneuvers," Anariel ordered, her voice steel. "We need to break this cycle."


    The crew nodded, their faces set in determined lines. They were elves of the highest order, trained for centuries in the art of war, both conventional and arcane. If anyone could navigate this nightmare, it was them.


    "Redirect all power to the shields and engines. We''ll brute force our way through," shemanded.


    The ship vibrated with the surge of power rerouted to its critical systems. Anariel stood firm, her eyes scanning the chaos outside, plotting their path through intuition and experience.


    "Commander, I have an idea," the chief mage interjected, his voiceced with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. "If we can''t move forward, perhaps we can make the anomaly move us. I can attempt to reverse the spell''s effects, using its own energy to propel us forward."


    "Do it," Anariel said, giving him a nod. It was a gamble, but their options were dwindling.


    The mage began his incantation, his voice rising above the din of rms and the crew''s focused murmurs. The energy around the ship shimmered, coalescing into a vortex of light that enveloped them.


    For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sudden lurch that defied the senses, the ship catapulted forward, breaking free from the temporal loop.


    The asteroids and twisted space around them blurred into streaks of light as they shot through the chaos.


    "Incredible!" Aldred pped. "The elven has proven their capabilities. I must turn them into allies no matter what! Their tech, wit, and intelligence will be useful in this war!"

 Chapter 809: Chapter 809 Realization

    As the elven fleet surged forward, breaking the constraints of the temporal loop, a palpable relief washed over Anariel and her crew. The stars and asteroids that had once threatened to be their eternal prison now flew past in streaks of light, a blur of obstacles they were leaving behind.


    The chief mage, his face illuminated by the glow of arcane energy dissipating from his hands, copsed into his seat, exhausted but triumphant.


    Anariel stood at themand deck, her eyes on the viewscreen, watching as the illusion of their fleet led the watcher ships into a deadly dance amidst the asteroids. The explosions that marked the end of the watcher ships were distant stars going supernova on their screen, a silent testament to their victory.


    "Commander, the watcher ships have been destroyed," reported the navigation officer, his voice tinged with disbelief and awe at their own survival and cunning.


    Anariel allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. "Good. Let''s not linger in their graveyard. Plot a course out of the asteroid belt, and let''s regroup. We have much to discuss and prepare for."


    The moment of triumph that had bloomed within Anariel and her crew withered as swiftly as it had taken root.


    The vast expanse of space, once a canvas of infinite possibilities, narrowed cruelly into a corridor of impending doom. The viewscreen disyed a sight that would chill the blood of even the most seasoned warriors: over a hundred demonic vessels, a phnx of dark, ominous ships, arrayed against the elven fleet with a chilling precision.


    Each ship was a masterpiece of dread, its hulls adorned with the intricate sigils of dark magic and the scars of countless battles. Their weapons, glowing with a malevolent energy, were trained unerringly on Anariel''s fleet.


    The sheer number of the vessels made the space before them seem not like a field of battle but a graveyard awaiting its tenants.


    "By the elven stars¡­" the navigation officer whispered, his voice a thread of sound in the heavy silence that engulfed the bridge.


    Anariel stood and and her face turned bitter. "This is impossible!"


    As Anariel''s voice echoed through the bridge, a tempest of light erupted from the demonic fleet. A hundred vessels unleashed their fury, bolts of eldritch energy streaking across the void like malevolentets hellbent on annihtion. The space between the fleets turned into a chaotic maelstrom of arcane firepower, each st carrying the promise of oblivion.


    Anariel''s crew, seasoned warriors all, sprang into action. "Shields up, full power!" shemanded, her voice cutting through the cacophony of battle rms and the distant thunder of energy weapons colliding with their barriers.


    The elven ships, agile and swift, responded as if they were extensions of the crew''s will. Shields red into existence around them, a shimmering bulwark against the onught. For a moment, the bridge was bathed in an ethereal glow as the shields absorbed the demonic fury, the energy impacts painting surreal patterns across their surfaces.


    But the relief was short-lived. The chief engineer''s voice, tense with urgency, broke through the din. "Commander, our shields are holding, but energy reserves are depleting rapidly. We can''t sustain this barrage for long."


    Anariel''s jaw clenched as she surveyed the tactical disy, the grim reality of their situationid bare.


    The demonic fleet''s firepower was relentless, a never-ending storm that threatened to overwhelm them. "All ships, initiate evasive maneuvers! Spread out, make it harder for them to hit us!"


    When they wanted to move, a thick light burst towards them, disabling their movements.


    The whole ships rattled like mad.


    "Ma''am! Our energy is depleting to a dangerous level!"


    Anariel watched the indicator.


    20%


    15%


    10%


    5%


    4%


    3%


    2%


    1%


    0%


    The shield vanished.


    Anariel''s eyes widened as a massive lightning beam charge towards them.


    However, before the light engulfed them and turn them to shreds.


    A mysterious power dispersed all of the attacks and bent their direction back to its sender.


    The result was a great catastrophic for the demons as dozens of their ships exploded immediately.


    the heart-stopping moments as the shield''s energy meter bled to zero, Anariel braced for the end, her body tensed and her breath caught in her throat.


    The crew shared a silent, final understanding, their eyes locked on the viewscreen, on their impending doom.


    But fate, it seemed, had not yet forsaken them.


    The blinding light that should have been their annihtion instead became their salvation.


    As the destructive energy turned back upon its senders, the bridge was bathed in a surreal, silent brilliance. For a few eternal seconds, the elven crew was enveloped in white, their senses overwhelmed, reality itself seeming to pause at the brink of oblivion.


    As their vision cleared, the chaos of battle gave way to a scene of eerie tranquility.


    The space before them, once filled with the ominous forms of demonic vessels ready to unleash destruction, now yed host to a spectacle of a different kind.


    Hovering in the void, an ethereal figuremanded their attention.


    She was human in shape but exuded an otherworldly presence that defied simple understanding. Around her, shards of stone floated, orbiting like celestial bodies in a miniature gxy, each piece shimmering with an inner light. Her form, translucent and shimmering, seemed to draw the very essence of the cosmos into her being.


    "Who¡­ what is she?" the chief mage murmured, his voice a mix of awe and fear. The rest of the crew remained silent, transfixed by the apparition.


    The mysterious woman phased through the bridge of the ship and floated in front of Anariel.


    Anariel grabbed her weapon.


    "I am sent here by Aldred. He has detected a fairlyrge gathering of demons."


    Anariel looked behind the woman and noticed that most of the demon vessels were still intact, charging towards them.


    "The demons! There are still a lot of them!"


    The mysterious woman''s expression did not change. It stayed calm and nonchnt.


    And then.


    All the ships in the background suddenly exploded and sucked as if consumed by space itself.


    The elves were shocked.


    "Aldred wants me to inform you that the door is always open."


    Right after saying that, Zelthrax was about to fly away until Anariel stopped her.


    "Wait."


    Zelthrax paused.


    "Tell Aldred. I will meet him."


    Zelthrax nodded and left.


    In the aftermath of Zelthrax''s departure, a heavy silence enveloped the bridge. The crew, still grappling with the shock and awe of their salvation, turned their eyes to Anariel, seeking guidance, reassurance¡ªsomething to make sense of the impossible events that had unfolded before them.


    Anariel stood, her weapon now lowered, her gaze fixed on the space where Zelthrax had vanished. The void where a demonic armada had once threatened their very existence was now eerily empty, a testament to the unfathomable power wielded by Aldred''s emissary. Her mind raced, trying toprehend the scale of power that could erase an entire fleet from existence with such casual indifference.


    "That power," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It was beyond anything we have known or encountered. To extinguish so many lives, so many ships, with a mere gesture¡­ What are we dealing with?"


    Only the higher elves would be able tomand such power. To think that Aldred might be standing in the same position of power as the high elves¡­


    The chief mage, still pale from the exertion of the battle and the subsequent miracles, approached Anariel. "Commander, the power disyed¡­ It''s not just formidable; it''s godlike. If Aldredmands such forces, the bnce of power is not in our favor. We must tread carefully."


    Anariel nodded, her thoughts aligning with his. The realization that they had been on the brink of annihtion only to be saved by a force they barely understood was humbling and terrifying. She knew the path forward was fraught with danger and uncertainty.


    Turning to face her crew, Anariel saw a reflection of her own turmoil mirrored in their eyes. Yet, beneath the shock and awe, there was a flicker of hope, a resilient spark that refused to be extinguished.


    "Listen, everyone," Anariel began, her voice firm,manding the room''s attention. "Today, we have witnessed power that defies our understanding. But let this not shake our resolve. Instead, let it remind us of the vastness of the universe and the myriad mysteries it holds."


    She paused, allowing her words to sink in, to fortify the hearts of her crew. "We stand at the threshold of a new era. Our alliance with Aldred, the path we choose from here, will define the future of our people. We must navigate these waters with wisdom, courage, and the understanding that we are part of arger cosmos, with forces beyond ourprehension at y."


    The crew nodded, their resolve hardened by Anariel''s words. The fear that had momentarily gripped them gave way to a renewed sense of purpose. They were elves, after all, descendants of the stars, navigators of the cosmos. If the universe had deemed them worthy of survival, of ying a role in the grand tapestry of existence, then they would rise to the challenge.


    "As for Aldred''s offer," Anariel continued, her gaze sweeping over her crew, "I will meet with him. We will seek to understand his intentions, to findmon ground if possible. But be under no illusion; we will notpromise our principles, our freedom, or our sovereignty. We will prepare for every eventuality."

 Chapter 810: Chapter 810 Fortresses

    Aldred sat in his office, an embodiment of power and contemtion. His leg casually rested on the corner of a massive desk carved from the dark wood of an ancient, forgotten world. The desk itself was a cornucopia of interster delicacies, fruits that gleamed with an inner light, harvested froms scattered across the gxy.


    Each piece was a rarity, a treasure that spoke of his reach and influence that extended beyond mere worlds into the fabric of the cosmos itself.


    In his hand, he swirled a ss of wine, its color reminiscent of the dying light of a red dwarf star, its aroma aplex bouquet of scents that hinted at the richness and diversity of the universe. His gaze, however, was not on the luxuries that filled his office but was drawn instead to the vista beyond the transparent wall that faced his desk.


    An enchanting magical neb pulsed with magical energy before him, a vast cloud of cosmic dust and gas illuminated by the dance of arcane forces.


    It swirled and shifted, colors blending and parting in an endless ballet of light and shadow.


    Perhaps the neb represent the mystery and the magic of the gxy and maybe the entire universe.


    The door opened with a click.


    Anariel and her entourage entered.


    "Wee to my office," Aldred greeted.


    "Who is that woman? Is she your subordinate?"


    "Straight to the point." Aldred smiled. "Yes. She is indeed my subordinate."


    Anariel frowned. So it was true that powerful woman was Aldred''s subordinate.


    Then. How powerful was Aldred?


    "Why don''t you all sit down?"


    Aldred lifted his fingers and all the sofas floated near them as if inviting them to sit.


    Aldred grabbed a sofa of his own and put it near them.


    The polite gesture made them unable to refuse and they all sat down.


    "Who are you? Why do you have the same power as an high elf?"


    High elf. A superior race of elven having an immense talent even since they were born.


    Ceeth was a high elf, Aldred recalled. However, she was still a youngling and needed time to grow.


    As for Elralya, she was much more than that.


    "Let me show you something."


    Aldred extended his hand, and the air in front of him shimmered, transformed by his will. In an instant, several holographic screens materialized, floating in the space between him and his elven guests. Each screen disyed a different scene, yet all were united by amon theme: the ongoing battles against the demonic forces that sought to unbnce the cosmos.


    The first screen showed a fierce battle raging on the surface of a distant, where human soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder with orcs, their traditional enmities forgotten in the face of a greater foe. They fought with determination, their weapons zing trails of defiance against the dark tide that sought to overwhelm them.


    Another screen depicted a skirmish in the belt of asteroids that orbited a dying star. Here, sleek elven ships maneuvered with grace and precision, theirser cannons cutting through the swarms of demonic vessels that sought to encircle them. The asteroids themselves became weapons in the hands of the elves, who used their magic to send the massive rocks hurtling towards their enemies.


    A third screen revealed a more alien vista, where the silicon-based lifeforms known as the Xyrrathi joined the fray. Their crystalline structures gleamed under the light of their sun as they unleashed powerful energy beams, disintegrating demon after demon in a disy of raw, unyielding power.


    As Anariel and her entourage watched, spellbound by the scenes unfolding before them, Aldred spoke, his voice resonating with a deep,pelling authority.


    "These battles, these alliances you see before you, they are the reality of our universe. A universe where countless races, each with their own histories, cultures, and enmities, havee together to fight amon enemy. We stand at a crossroads, where the actions of a few can tip the bnce for all."


    Aldred let the screens floating still. "You asked about my power. That is not as important as my ambition."


    "Uniting the races. You think your power alone is enough?"


    "That''s the thing. I am not alone. Many that allied with me also want it as bad as me."


    "You will need something concrete to convince the elven warlock."


    "I have a proposal you can tell them. I will aid every elven world that is attacked by the demons. The elves had their numbers spread far thinner than the humans. After all, your fertility rate aren''t as high as us."


    The low fertility rate was one of the cause why the elves valued their kin so much and would stop at nothing to find their captured or enved brother and sister.


    Anariel agreed that it definitely was an interesting proposal.


    Aldred offered to shook her hand, amon gesture in human society.


    Anariel epted it and shook his hand as well.


    "First, I will start sending supplies and repairman to your destroyed ships. This will be the first gesture of our coboration."


    "Don''t expect good news, human. The warlock might not ept your proposal."


    "I understand."


    With a respectful nod, Anariel turned on her heel, her cloak swirling around her as she and her entourage made their way to the exit. The door, sensing their approach, slid open with a silent grace, revealing the corridor that led back to the hangar where their ship awaited.


    As they walked, the weight of the potential alliance sat heavily on Anariel''s shoulders. She turned to her second-inmand, her expression thoughtful. "Prepare a full report for the Warlock Council. Every detail of this meeting must be meticulously documented. Aldred''s offer could shift the tide of this war, but it will not be without its detractors."


    Her entourage nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. The corridors of Aldred''s fortress seemed to hum with unseen energy, a reminder of the power thaty at their potential ally''smand.


    Upon reaching the hangar, they were greeted by the sight of their sleek elven vessel, bathed in the soft light that filtered through the hangar''s vast enclosure. The ship, a marvel of elven engineering and magic, stood ready to carry them back to their kin.


    As they boarded, Anariel cast onest nce back at the fortress that had been the stage for such a pivotal meeting. Turning away, she settled into hermand seat, the familiar controls a weefort.


    "Set course for the rendezvous point," shemanded, her voice steady. "Let''s see our people through this storm."


    As the elven ship smoothly lifted off and exited the hangar, a small fleet of supply and repair ships followed in its wake. These ships, sent by Aldred as a first gesture of goodwill, were equipped with the materials and personnel necessary to mend the damage sustained by the elven fleet in their recent engagements.


    The journey back through the warp tunnel was uneventful, a stark contrast to the tensions and uncertainties that had preceded their meeting with Aldred. As they emerged from the tunnel, the coordinates provided by Anariel led them to a secluded sector of space where the rest of her fleet was gathered, the damaged vessels floating silently, awaiting repair.


    The sight of the supply and repair ships brought a wave of relief to the elven crews. Engineers and magicians alike worked side by side, theirbined efforts gradually restoring the fleet''s strength.


    Although the elven were a bit hesitant to work with the humans.


    Back in Aldred''s office.


    Zarael, the former Nexus Ringmaster approached Aldred with a smile on her face. "You did well."


    "Not as good as you."


    "It took me years to convince different races to work as a mercenary for me."


    "You create an entire hub of diversemunity. And you manage to keep the peace. That is incredibly impressive."


    "I did that in apletely different realm where kingdoms and empires were nonexistent. The reality realm were apletely different ying field."


    "Any tips for me?"


    "Understanding and respect. That is probably the main element. Next is inclusivity. Just make everyone feel weed and valued. Disperse prejudices and biases."


    "All of those things would be a challenge."


    "It is. And the unity you create must be powerful. Creating a diversemunity has a fatal weakness of shattering quite easily. The orks and the elves would be your biggest challenge. The elves pride, and the orks brutish demeanor would be like mixing silicon with soul."


    Vortimer suddenly materialized inside the room. "Aldred. I have found Lord Malgorth''s location."


    In the depths of space, nestled within a vast neb pulsing with dark energy,y the sprawlingwork of demon fortresses. Stretching across the cosmic expanse, these fortresses formed a formidable barrier, each one bristling with hundreds of millions of demon ships, formidable forts, and intricate defense systems.


    The neb itself seemed to writhe with malevolent intent, its swirling clouds of cosmic dust and gas concealing the true extent of the demonic presence within. From afar, it appeared as a foreboding mass, shrouded in shadows and veiled by the flickering light of distant stars.


    Within this sinisterbyrinth, demonic patrols roamed ceaselessly, their watchful eyes scanning the void for any sign of intrusion.


    Energy barriers crackled with dark power, warding off unwee visitors and sealing off the demon fortresses from the outside world.


    In the center of these thousands of light-years wide fortresses was a terrifying figure.

 Chapter 811: Chapter 811 Speck of Dust

    In the heart of the neb, where the darkness was most profound, stood the fortress of Lord Malgorth. It was a structure so vast and imposing that it seemed to consume the light around it, its spires and towers wing at the void like the fingers of some ancient, malevolent deity.


    At its center, a grand citadel loomed, a throne room designed not just for governance but to intimidate, to remind all who entered of the absolute power that resided within.


    Four figures approached this citadel, eachmanding presence in their own right, marked by the aura of dread that trailed in their wake. They were the demonmanders, the highest-ranking lieutenants under Lord Malgorth, each bearing the scars and trophies of countless battles fought in the name of their dark lord.


    The first to enter was Zagrath, the me Warden. His towering form was enveloped in a cloak of living mes, flickering in hues of blue and green, casting eerie shadows on the ancient walls of the fortress. His eyes, glowing embers set in a face carved from obsidian, scanned the throne room with a predatory gaze.


    Zagrath''s reputation was built on the worlds he had reduced to ashes, the civilizations that had crumbled beneath his fiery wrath.


    Following Zagrath was Skarn, the Bone Weaver. Where Zagrath was a towering inferno, Skarn was a chilling specter, her slender frame adorned with armor crafted from the bones of her enemies. Each piece told a story of conquest and subjugation, a macabre collection that whispered of death. Her movements were graceful, almost ethereal, as if she danced with the shadows that sought to envelop her.


    Next came Grolm, the Storm Herald. His massive physique was encased in storm-forged te armor, crackling with the tempestuous energy he wielded with ruthless efficiency. Lightning arced between his horns as he stepped into the throne room, the air humming with the power of the storms hemanded.


    Grolm''sughter was thunder, his anger a hurricane, and his loyalty to Malgorth as unwavering as the mountains from which he hailed.


    Thest to enter was Vexis, the Shadow Enchantress. Cloaked in darkness, her presence was an absence, a void where light seemed to fade and whispers filled the air. Her beauty was that of a nightmare, mesmerizing and terrifying in equal measure. Vexis moved with a grace that belied the deadly power at hermand, the secrets of the void hers to manipte.


    Together, they approached the throne where Lord Malgorth awaited, his form shrouded in darkness, power radiating from him like a palpable force. Themanders bowed, a gesture of respect rather than subservience, for they were the elite, chosen for their strength and loyalty.


    Lord Malgorth''s reply was a rumble that filled the chamber, resonating with the very stones of the citadel. "And yet, our conquest is notplete. The cosmos still harbors resistance, a flicker of hope that must be extinguished."


    Skarn stepped forward, her voice a whisper that seemed to crawl into the very soul. "The elven fleets rally. Their magic is strong, but not insurmountable. Give us leave to crush them, and their worlds will fall like leaves in the autumn."


    Grolm''sughter boomed, a sound of thunderps. "And the human realms? Their resilience is¡­ amusing. Let me unleash the storms upon them. They will bow or break."


    Malgorth rose, his presence enveloping the room, a dark god among his followers. "Have I taught you wrong?"


    All the demonmanders bowed, feeling the disappointment in his voice.


    "Eons of wars and battles. Had they all taught you arrogance?"


    One of Lord Malgorth''s most terrifying trait was his humility. He never underestimated his opponent for he knew how a small speck of dust could affect the entire cosmos.


    "Now. Tell me. Who do we face?"


    The silence in the throne room was as oppressive as the darkness that enveloped it. Lord Malgorth''s rebuke hung heavy in the air, a reminder of the wisdom that came from centuries of ruling the demonic realms. Themanders, powerful and feared in their own right, felt a rare moment of humility before their lord''s insight.


    "It is not just the elven fleets or the human realms that we must concern ourselves with," Malgorth continued, his voice deep and resonant, echoing off the ancient stone. "There are smaller factions, more nimble and less constrained by the traditions of their peoples. They adapt quickly, strike unpredictably, and they have be a thorn in our side."


    He turned his gaze to Zagrath, the fire in his eyes dimming slightly in contemtion. "Tell me, what do you know of the Phoenix Battalion?"


    Zagrath''s mes flickered as he responded, "They are a human military faction, my lord. Specialists in guerri warfare, they''ve been harrying our forces on the fringes, disrupting supply lines and ambushing our patrols. Their leader, Commander Talia Kaine, is as cunning as she is ruthless."


    "And what of the Silverleaf Covenant?" Malgorth directed his question to Skarn, who seemed to blend further into the shadows at the mention of the name.


    Skarn''s voice was a cold breeze as she answered, "An elven organization, my lord. Masters of magic and stealth, they move through the forests like ghosts, striking where we least expect. Led by Eldermage Illyrion, their sabotage has cost us dearly on several worlds."


    Malgorth nodded, absorbing the information. "You see, mymanders, these are not mere irritants. They are significant threats, not because of their size or strength, but because of their willingness to fight, to sacrifice everything in the name of their cause."


    He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "We have focused on the grand armies, the fleets that fill the skies, but it is these smaller, agile groups that have been bleeding us, eroding our strength."


    "These small groups gave hope to their poption. I want to crush their hopes, so much so that they''d stuck out their neck for us to cut."


    Grolm, his stormy aura somewhat subdued, spoke up, "What would you have us do, my lord? We can crush them easily if we find them."


    "Destroy them and many more will appear. Killing them is easy. Find their reasons to fight and crush it."


    ¡­


    The neb that danced with magical energy outside his window seemed almost serenepared to the dark machinations within the demonic fortress.


    A new presence entered the room, the door clicking softly behind her. She moved with confidence and purpose, her attire a blend of military precision and the elegance of someone who navigated the corridors of power with ease. This was Shinari, not only Aldred''s long-time friend but also one of the founding members of the Celestial toon, thergest human mercenary group in the gxy.


    As its administrator, she wielded considerable influence and resources, making her a valuable ally in Aldred''s endeavors.


    "Shinari, wee," Aldred greeted, his tone warm with genuine affection. "It''s good to see you."


    Shinari offered a slight, respectful nod, her demeanor business-like yet not without a trace of the camaraderie that came from years of friendship. "Aldred, there''s been a development regarding the Phoenix Battalion and the Silverleaf Covenant," she began, her voice carrying the weight of her position.


    Aldred gestured for her to take a seat, his interest piqued. "What have you found?"


    Shinari took the offered seat, her posture straight as she delved into the heart of the matter. "Both groups have been more activetely. The Phoenix Battalion, under Commander Kaine, has been disrupting our supply lines, targeting weak points with precision strikes. They''re small, but their impact is significant."


    "And the Silverleaf Covenant?" Aldred inquired, his gaze steady on Shinari.


    "They''ve been equally troublesome," she continued. "Eldermage Illyrion has been orchestrating a series of hit-and-run attacks on our outposts. Their knowledge of the terrain and mastery of stealth magic have made them elusive."


    Aldred leaned back, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "They both good in certain aspect. Imagine if we can bring them together. What''s your assessment, Shinari?"


    "Not wise. These two groups will shoot each other if they meet. Without even working together, they have been doing very well against Margorth."


    "The Phoenix Battalion has been instrumental in safeguarding refugee convoys, using guerri tactics to evade and ambush demon patrols," Shinari exined, her hands moving to emphasize her points. "Their agility and unpredictability have made them a persistent nuisance to the demons."


    She paused, shifting her focus. "The Silverleaf Covenant, on the other hand, has protected several ancient sites of power, thwarting attempts by the demons to corrupt these ces. Their deep understanding of arcane forces has proven invaluable in countering the darker magics at y."


    Aldred, ever the astute listener, nodded, absorbing every detail. "Impressive as these feats are, what do theyck that the Celestial toon can fulfill?" he inquired, already formting ns in his mind.


    Shinari leaned forward, her gaze locked with Aldred''s. "While both organizations excel in their respective fields, they suffer frommon shortages: weapons, ships, supplies, and, most critically, information. The demons have vast resources at their disposal, and our opposition needs to match that to stand a chance."


    "Well, we have an entire star sectors under our rules, countless thriving businesses, and many allies all over the gxy." Aldred smiled. "Perhaps, we can give them what they need."

 Chapter 812: Chapter 812 Phoenix & Leaf

    "Summon Francus and Grigor here."


    Aldred''smand echoed softly but firmly through the advancedmunication system of his sprawling headquarters. Within moments, the office door slid open with a hushed whisper, admitting two figures who contrasted starkly yetplemented each other like the dayplements the night.


    First to stride in was Francus, his youthful visage marked by an unwavering resolve that belied his years. d in a sleek suit that integrated seamlessly with his arsenal of long-range weaponry, he carried himself with the ease of someone who had mastered the art of blending cutting-edge technology with lethal precision.


    His eyes, sharp and observant, scanned the room with an intelligence that missed nothing.


    Following closely was Grigor, a mountain of a man whose presence seemed to fill the room with an ancient, unyielding strength. His rugged features were etched with the tales of countless battles, and the heavy axes he bore were not just weapons but extensions of his will. Despite his imposing figure, there was a steady calmness about him, the quiet before the storm that was his wrath in battle.


    "Francus, Grigor, thank you foring at such short notice," Aldred began, acknowledging their entrance with a nod. The respect between them was mutual, born of battles fought and won together.


    Francus inclined his head, a gesture of respect. "Commander Aldred, you have but to ask."


    Grigor''s voice, deep and resonant, filled the room. "What challenge awaits us now?"


    Aldred gestured towards Shinari, who watched the exchange with keen interest. "We have a unique opportunity to extend our support to both the Phoenix Battalion and the Silverleaf Covenant. These groups have been instrumental in opposing demonic forces, but they are in dire need of resources."


    Francus''s interest was piqued, his mind already racing through the possibilities. "Weapons and tech could shift the bnce in their favor. What''s the n?"


    Grigor, whose experience had taught him the value of direct action, added, "And how do we ensure these resources strengthen their resolve rather than be crutches?"


    Aldred smiled, appreciating their immediate grasp of the situation. "That''s where you bothe in. Francus, your expertise with long-range weaponry and technology will be crucial in identifying and supplying the right tools to the Phoenix Battalion without overwhelming them."


    Turning to Grigor, he continued, "Grigor, your understanding of resilience and strength will guide us in fortifying the Silverleaf Covenant, enhancing their capabilities in a way thatplements their mastery of magic and stealth."


    "But they are elves. I am not sure they will ept our aid."


    "That''s where new our friend can help you."


    Anariel entered the room. This time, the elf was by herself.


    Aldred looked at her. "Do you know my intention?"


    Anariel nodded. "I met the Silverleaf before. I can bring the supplies to them."


    "Good. Bring Grigor with you."


    "Bringing a human with will cause more troubles."


    "Sooner orter I will have to shake hands with them," Aldred said. "I want them to get used to working with humans."


    "It won''t be easy to convince them."


    Aldred smiled. "Well, now you know my struggle."


    Francus nodded, his mind already racing through the tactical possibilities. "To the Phoenix Battalion first," he suggested, his n clear. "Their need for our tech and information is immediate."


    Grigor''s deepugh echoed in the corridor. "And I suppose I''ll be enjoying the scenery until it''s time to meet the elves?"


    Anariel cast a nce at the burly man, a smile ying on her lips. "Your presence will be a testament to our intent. The Covenant must see that humans and elves can stand together against amon foe."


    Their transport awaited them at the hangar, a sleek vessel designed for rapid deployment across the stars. As they boarded, each lost in their thoughts, the magnitude of their mission weighed heavily upon them. They were not just delivering supplies; they wereying the foundation for a new era of cooperation.


    The journey to the Phoenix Battalion''s hidden base was swift, the ship cutting through the void with the silence of a shadow. Francus led the way, his familiarity with human factions guiding them to their destination.


    Upon arrival, they were met with cautious optimism. Commander Talia Kaine, a woman whose reputation for cunning and bravery preceded her, greeted them with a guarded but respectful nod. "Francus, of the Celestial toon," she acknowledged. "Your offeres at a crucial time."


    "You should thank my boss. He pays for all of this."


    Talia chuckled. "I have been always wanting to visit him. Perhaps you can arrange a date, Francus?"


    "What? So you can take over the Celestial toon? No thank you."


    "You''re afraid that I will take his heart?"


    Francus shook his head. "This is Aldred we''re talking about. You probably know about his reputation already."


    Talia licked her lips. "I don''t know. Powerful men tend to be powerless in front of me."


    Francus sighed. "Just sign this document that says you have epted our supplies. I got a flight to catch."


    "Where to?"


    Silverleaf Covenant


    The forests of the Silverleaf were ancient, their depths holding secrets and magics long forgotten by the outside world. Anariel led them with a grace that spoke of her deep connection to thesends, guiding Francus and Grigor through the concealed paths that led to the heart of the Covenant''s territory.


    The meeting with Eldermage Illyrion was tense, the air thick with unspoken questions and doubts. Anariel spoke first, her voice clear andpelling. "Eldermage, wee bearing aid, not from a ce of superiority, but from a desire to unite against those who would see our worlds in ruins."


    Grigor, standing silent until now, stepped forward, his axes left behind as a gesture of peace. "I am not your enemy," he said, his voice a rumble like distant thunder. "Nor am I your ally, not yet. But give us the chance to prove that we can fight together."


    Illyrion was silent, her face bitter.


    Anariel''s heart thumped. What if the eldermage refused their aid?


    "Anariel. You of all people should know why I can''t work with the humans."


    Anariel sighed. "That''s what I said to them as well."


    "And yet here you are. Bringing the hairless apes to mynd."


    "Eldermage. I can assure you the leader of these apes can be of benefit to you. He has the intention of giving you resources to fight for your cause."


    "What does he know about my cause?" The Eldermage. "Stalling the demons? Is that what he thinks? From what I can tell. These apes wants us to be their puppets."


    Grigor stepped forward about to speak. "I am s¡ª"


    The Eldermage raised her hand and a mysterious magic shut Grigor''s mouth shut.


    Francus chuckled until his mouth was shut too.


    "You have failed your kin, Anariel."


    "You misunderstand, Elder. Elralya said the ancestors wants to work with this man."


    "And who is this man?"


    "Aldred. That is his name. He built thergest mercenary organization this gxy has ever seen in merely four years. Now he has resources enough to fight nations."


    "Sounds like he is a bigger threat than the demons."


    Anariel swiped with her hands and a magic enveloped them, blocking the sound from going outside.


    Francus and Grigor were outside this magic circle so they cannot hear anything.


    "Elder, what you said is correct. This man Aldred is a threat far more dangerous than the demons. Which is exactly the reason why we need to work with him. The ancestors told us that this man is an unstoppable force of nature. Instead of fighting it, we should adapt and use it for our own benefit."


    "What else Elralya told you?"


    Anariel bit her lips. "She told me that Aldred might be the thing we need to return our golden era."


    The dense magic that had enveloped Anariel and the Eldermage Illyrion dissipated as suddenly as it had formed, leaving Francus and Grigor momentarily disoriented by the return of their voices. They exchanged puzzled nces, unsure of what had transpired within the silent bubble that had cocooned theirpanions.


    Illyrion, her expression now softened by the revtions shared in confidence, turned to the humans with a gaze that held a new measure of respect. "Anariel speaks highly of your leader, Aldred. For her to vouch for a human¡­ It is not a decision made lightly."


    Grigor, rubbing his jaw, offered a wry smile. "Well, we''re not exactly what you''d call typical humans, Eldermage."


    Illyrion''s lips twitched in amusement. "Indeed. And in the spirit of¡­ understanding, I extend an invitation to you both. Join us for an elven feast tonight. It is rare for outsiders to witness, let alone partake in our traditions. Consider it a gesture of potential cooperation."


    Francus, ever the diplomat, bowed slightly. "We are honored, Eldermage Illyrion. Thank you for this opportunity to bridge our worlds."


    As night fell, the Silverleaf Covenant''s stronghold transformed.


    Bioluminescent flora bathed the ancient woods in ethereal light, casting an otherworldly glow on the faces of elves and humans alike. Tablesden with exotic dishes and age-old elven brews were arranged in a clearing, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to watch over the proceedings with quiet sentience.

 Chapter 813: Chapter 813 Elven Feast

    The feastid out before Francus and Grigor was unlike anything they had ever encountered. Each dish was a masterpiece of culinary artistry, ted with such care and attention to detail that it seemed almost sacrilegious to disturb their perfection. The colors, the arrangement, and the subtle glow emanating from some of the dishes made them look less like food and more like precious jewels.


    Francus, ever curious and adaptable, couldn''t help but express his awe. "I''ve seen many things in my travels, but this," he gestured towards the table, "is truly beyond words."


    Grigor, whose experiences were grounded more in the heat of battle than in the nuances of exotic cuisines, eyed the spread with a mix of respect and suspicion. "Looks too pretty to eat," he grumbled, though his eyes betrayed his intrigue.


    As they took their seats among the elven hosts, the air filled with the soft melodies of elven music, adding anotheryer of enchantment to the already magical setting. Anariel, sitting beside them, guided them through the menu, exining the significance and ingredients of each dish.


    "This," she pointed to a dish that seemed to shimmer with an internal light, "is Dawn''s Whisper. It''s made from a blend of forest herbs and luminescent fungi, known for its revitalizing properties."


    And there, a creation that looked like a miniaturendscape,plete with edible trees, a clear jellyke, and what seemed to be a sugar-dusted mountain range. "That''s called the Sylvan Mirage. It''s a representation of our homnd, a reminder of what we fight to protect."


    Grigor, his interest piqued, tentatively reached for a piece of what looked like meat, only to find it lighter than air, dissolving into a burst of vors the moment it touched his tongue. "By the gods," he eximed, his usualposure giving way to genuine surprise. "What magic is this?"


    "It''s no magic, Grigor," Anariel smiled, enjoying their reactions. "Just centuries of culinary innovation and a deep understanding of the natural world."


    Francus, embracing the experience, allowed himself to taste, smell, and savor each dish, his senses overwhelmed by theplexity and depth of vors. "I had no idea food could be this¡­ transcendent."


    As the feast continued under the ethereal canopy of ancient trees, an undercurrent of tension began to ripple through the elven assembly. The wonder and openness with which Francus and Grigor approached the banquet¡ªthough born of genuine admiration and respect¡ªelicited whispers and sidelong nces from some of the elven attendees.


    Their marvel at the culinary arts, so freely expressed, shed with the more reserved and ceremonial manner in which the elves typically engaged with such traditions.


    Murmurs filled the air, their content veiled but their tone unmistakable. "Why does the Eldermage allow these humans, these apes, to dine as equals among us?" one voice hissed softly, careful not to carry too far.


    Another added, barely audible, "Their presence soils the sanctity of our customs. They cannot possiblyprehend the depth of what they consume."


    Despite their growing difort, the guests dared not voice their discontent too loudly, nor make any move to leave the gathering. To do so would be a grave insult to Eldermage Illyrion, whose authority and wisdom were beyond question. The Eldermage''s decision to invite the humans was a clear directive, one that, regardless of personal sentiments, they were bound to respect.


    Caught in this delicate bnce of honor and disdain, the elves'' unease manifested in subtle ways¡ªslightly turned shoulders, averted gazes, and conversations that tapered off into ufortable silence whenever Francus or Grigor engaged with the dishes before them.


    Anariel, sensing the growing tension, sought to bridge the divide. "Each dish tells a story," she began, her voice carrying a gentle but firm authority, "not just of our culture, but of thend itself. Sharing this with our guests is not a dilution of our traditions but an expansion. How can we hope to stand together if we do not seek to understand and appreciate our differences?"


    Her words hung in the air, challenging the assembly to reconsider their preconceptions. Illyrion, observing the intery of emotions and reactions among her kin, stood,manding the attention of the entire gathering with her poise and presence.


    "Tonight, we dine not merely as elves, but as defenders of this world," Illyrion proimed, her voice imbued with the weight of her office. "These ''apes,'' as some of you have so unkindly named them, stand with us in our hour of need. They do not rece our traditions; they enrich our understanding by reminding us of the value of alliance and shared purpose."


    The Eldermage''s gaze swept over the assembly, her disappointment in their behavior clear, yet also offering a path to redemption. "Let us show our guests the true strength of the Silverleaf Covenant¡ªthe strength to embrace change, to unite undermon cause, and to face the darkness together, as equals."


    The assembly of elves, though still harboring their reservations, bowed their heads in acknowledgment of Eldermage Illyrion''s words. Their respect for their leader was palpable, a deep-seated reverence that transcended personal biases. While their views on the human guests hadn''t shifted overnight, Illyrion''s decree was absolute, and they dared not openly challenge her wisdom.


    The feast gradually came to an end, the melodies of elven music fading into the night as the attendees dispersed, leaving Francus, Grigor, and Anariel alone under the canopy of the ancient forest. The air was still charged with the magic of the evening, though the undercurrent of tension had not entirely dissipated.


    Anariel turned to herpanions, her expression one of quiet determination. "Come, let me show you where you''ll be staying," she said, gesturing for them to follow her along a path that wound its way through the forest.


    The journey to their amodations was short but breathtaking. They traversed bridges woven from living vines that connected awork of treehouses, each structure an architectural marvel that blended seamlessly with the natural environment. The craftsmanship was exquisite, each detail meticulously designed toplement the beauty of the forest.


    Francus couldn''t help but marvel at the surroundings. "This is incredible," he whispered, his voice filled with awe. "It''s like something out of a dream."


    Grigor, usually stoic and unppable, was equally taken aback. "I''ve been in many ces, fought in countless battles, but this¡­" he paused, searching for the words, "this peace, it''s something else."


    Their treehouse was nestled among the branches of a towering ancient tree, its entrance guarded by delicate, luminous flowers that seemed to light up their path. The interior was equally enchanting, furnished with natural materials that gave it a warm, inviting glow. Every corner, every piece of furniture, seemed to tell a story, imbued with the essence of the elven way of life.


    As they settled into their temporary home, the beauty of the ce worked its subtle magic on them, easing the weariness of their journey and the tensions of the evening. The treehouse, with its panoramic views of the forest below, felt like a sanctuary, a ce where the worries of the world could not reach.


    "This is more than I could have hoped for," Francus said, looking out over the forest canopy bathed in moonlight.


    Grigor nodded, a rare smile gracing his features. "Aye, it''s a reminder of what we''re fighting for, isn''t it? Not justnd or power, but for the beauty of life, for moments of peace like this."


    Anariel watched them, a sense of pride swelling in her chest. Despite the initial skepticism from her kin, she knew that bringing Francus and Grigor here was the right choice. Their presence, their genuine appreciation for the elven ways, was a bridge between worlds, a step towards the unity that Illyrion spoke of.


    As the night deepened, they retired to their respective quarters, the sounds of the forest lulling them into a restful slumber. For a brief moment in time, the divisions between elf and human seemed to blur, giving way to a shared sense of wonder and a hope for a future where such alliances could flourish.


    In this magical ce, where every detail was a testament to the harmony between nature and the elven architects, Francus and Grigor found not just a ce to rest, but a deeper understanding of the world they had pledged to protect.


    The treehouse, with its bridges connecting to other marvels of elven engineering, was a symbol of the interconnectedness of all things, a reminder that no one fights alone in the darkness that threatened to engulf their worlds.


    Grigor grunted as hey on the bed. "When I build a house, I''d make sure to hire an elven architect."


    Francus''sughter filled the room, a sound of warmth in the cool night air of the elven forest. He sat on the edge of his own bed, facing Grigor, the moonlight streaming through the woven branches of their treehouse casting a soft glow on his features. The marvels of the day had given way to a moment of contemtion.


    After a moment, his expression sobered. "Grigor," he began, his voice carrying a new weight, "what do you make of the elves'' attitude towards us? During the feast, I couldn''t help but notice the¡­resistance. Do you think it''s something that will change over time?"


    Grigor, lying back, hands behind his head, considered the question carefully. "I''ve fought enough battles to know that trust isn''t won overnight, especially between races as different as elves and humans. Their world, their ways¡­they''re ancient. We must seem like intruders, or at best, curious oddities."


    He turned his head to look at Francus directly. "But did you notice, Francus? When the Eldermage spoke, there was respect. Not for us, maybe, but for her words. If she sees something in this alliance, perhaps her people wille to see it too."


    Francus nodded slowly, absorbing Grigor''s insight. "It''s a start, then. An opening. Maybe that''s all we need for now¡ªan opening. We''ll have to prove ourselves, not just as warriors but as allies who respect their culture and their struggles."


    Grigor nodded. "Aldred did not put us in the Special Squad merely for our battle capabilities. He got the guns and battleships for that."

 Chapter 814: Chapter 814 Tons of Supplies

    As dawn''s first light filtered through the dense canopy of the ancient forest, a soft knock at the door of the treehouse stirred Francus and Grigor from their slumber. Standing outside, bathed in the golden hue of the morning, was Anariel, her expression a mix of excitement and solemnity.


    "It''s time," she announced, her voice carrying the fresh, crisp air of the morning. "Today, you''ll witness the essence of our lives here in the Silverleaf Covenant."


    Francus was the first to rise, his curiosity piqued by the promise of exploring this elven domain further. Grigor, though slower to leave thefort of his bed, shared his enthusiasm, his usual stoicism softened by the allure of the unknown.


    As they followed Anariel through the woven pathways of the forest, the morning light danced upon the leaves, creating patterns of light and shadow that seemed to guide their way. The air was alive with the sounds of the forest waking, a symphony of birdsong and the rustle of leaves that whispered secrets of the ancientnd.


    Their first stop was a clearing where elves were gathered, their hands moving in a dance of creation as they tended to the gardens that thrived under their care. The nts they nurtured were unlike any Grigor or Francus had ever seen, each with its own luminescence and vitality. Anariel exined, "These gardens are our lifeline, providing sustenance and medicine.


    Each nt here has been cared for through generations, its properties known only to those who have dedicated their lives to understanding them."


    Intrigued, Francus leaned closer to a flower that shimmered with an inner light, its petals unfolding at his approach. "They respond to us," he noted, a look of wonder in his eyes.


    "Yes," Anariel replied, "the bond between elves and nature is deep and ancient. We grow together, learn from each other."


    Moving on, they came upon a group of elves engaged in what appeared to be a training session, but with a fluidity and grace that made it seem more like a dance. They wielded weapons made of materials that bent and flexed with their movements, yet seemed stronger than any metal. Anariel watched them for a moment before saying, "Our way ofbat is an extension of our connection to the nature.


    We do not fight against it, but with it, using our knowledge of the natural world to guide our strikes."


    Grigor, a seasoned warrior, watched with respect. "Their style is different, but the discipline is the same," he observed.


    As the morning progressed, Anariel led them deeper into the heart of the forest, to a ce where the trees themselves seemed to hum with energy.


    Here, Francus and Grigor witnessed the elves in deepmunion with the forest, a ritual that seemed to strengthen the bond between them and thend. "This is the core of our existence," Anariel said softly, "our pact with the forest, to protect and preserve it, for it shelters and nurtures us in return."


    "You talk as if the forest is alive," Francus said.


    Anariel looked at him. "It is."


    Throughout the day, as they were introduced to the myriad aspects of elven life¡ªfrom the artistry of their crafts to the depths of their lore¡ªFrancus and Grigor came to understand the profound respect the elves held for their world. It was a way of life so intertwined with the magic of the forest that it was inseparable from their very being.


    As the sun began to set, painting the sky in hues of gold and crimson, they returned to their treehouse, their minds full of the wonders they had witnessed.


    The experience had not only deepened their appreciation for the elven way of life but had also solidified their resolve to stand with the Silverleaf Covenant against the darkness that threatened their shared world.


    As the colors of dusk began to fade into the velvety night, an elven officer, adorned in armor that seemed to blend with the twilight itself, approached their treehouse. His movements were silent, almost imperceptible, yet his presencemanded attention. "Anariel, Francus, Grigor," he addressed them, his voice carrying the calm authority of the Silverleaf Covenant.


    "You are requested toe to the office of our war general."


    Anariel nodded in understanding, signaling for Francus and Grigor to follow. As they traversed thework of bridges and pathways once again, the forest around them thrummed with a life of its own, whispering of ancient secrets and timeless magic.


    The office of the war general was located in a majestic tree that towered above the rest, its heart pulsing with the same energy that Francus and Grigor hade to recognize as the lifeblood of the elvenmunity. The door, carved from the tree itself, opened to reveal an interior that was both grand and weing, with maps and artifacts adorning the walls.


    At the center of the room stood the war general, a figure of imposing stature and undeniable grace.


    She was dressed in armor that shimmered with a light that seemed to emanate from within, her gaze sharp and prating. "Wee," she said, her voice both warm andmanding. "I am General Elenya. I understand you''ve had a day to familiarize yourselves with our way of life."


    Francus stepped forward, offering a bow of respect. "General Elenya, we are honored to meet you. The beauty and depth of your culture have truly moved us."


    Grigor, less ustomed to formalities, added in his straightforward manner, "We''re here to help, General. Just say the word."


    General Elenya, standing before an expansive table that held a detailed map of the surroundingnds, turned her sharp gaze towards Francus and Grigor. The dim, ethereal light of the tree office cast her in a silhouette that spoke of strength and authority. "Your presence here signifies a potential turning point for us.


    I must know, specifically, what form of aid can the Celestial toon offer to the Silverleaf Covenant?"


    Francus, who had been briefed in detail by Aldred before their departure, took a step forward. His posture was respectful, yet confident. "General Elenya, the Celestial toon, under Aldred''s leadership, is prepared to offer aprehensive support package. This includes not only advanced weaponry and defense systems but also supplies, medical aid, and crucially, information."


    Grigor added, his voice rumbling like distant thunder, "Our scouts are among the best. They can provide real-time intelligence on demonic movements, strengths, and weaknesses. Knowledge, as we know, is as potent a weapon as any steel."


    Elenya held her scoff. "What is the level of these technologies?"


    "Enough to kill the demons." Francus knew that the elves had a more advanced tech than theirs, however, producing the same level of tech requires more time and resources which trantes to less weapons produced.


    "We have ess to long-range artillery and energy-based weapons that can break through their defenses. Additionally, we''ve developed shields that can withstand magical assaults, offering better protection for your warriors."


    Grigor, leaning on the table, pointed to a location on the map. "Here and here, where the enemy is known to gather, we can set up strategic defenses, turning these areas into traps rather than battlegrounds."


    "I will be the one taking care of strategies." Elenya waved his hand, dismissing Grigor''s opinion.


    "And what of training? Many of our younger warriors are skilled in traditionalbat butck experience with this new technology."


    "We can provide trainers," Francus assured her. "Experts who not only know how to wield these weapons but can teach your people to integrate them with their existing skills. This way, your warriors enhance their capabilities without losing the essence of what makes them formidable."


    Grigor chimed in, "And it''s not just about fighting. We''ll bring engineers and medics, teach your people how to maintain the equipment, and offer advanced medical treatments for the wounded."


    General Elenya leaned back, absorbing their proposals. The room was quiet for a moment, save for the soft rustle of leaves outside. "Your offers are generous," she finally said, her tone reflective. "But this is more than a mere exchange of goods and services. You speak of integration, of sharing knowledge and strengths. This¡­alliance you propose, it could redefine the very nature of our struggle.


    Do you intent to dilude our culture?"


    "Of course not," Francus said. "Looking at your culture, I think it will be your culture that will influence us."


    Elenya met Anariel''s gaze, a silent understanding passing between them. Then, turning to Francus and Grigor, she offered a nod, a gesture that carried the weight of her eptance. "Then let us begin. We will work out the details, set up training schedules, and identify key areas for deployment. The Silverleaf Covenant wees your aid, and together, we shall turn the tide."


    As the dawn of a new day broke over the Silverleaf Covenant, the sky above the ancient forest was marked by an extraordinary spectacle. Thousands of tons of supplies, weapons, and medical equipment began their descent from the orbiting Celestial toon ships, their entry into the atmosphere a fiery testament to themitment Aldred and his organization had pledged to the elves.


    Francus, Grigor, and Anariel stood at the edge of a clearing, their eyes fixed on the sky as the cargo approached. The forest, which had always been a sentient guardian of its inhabitants, seemed to recognize the intent behind the influx of foreign objects.


    In a disy that blurred the lines between magic and nature, the thick canopy of trees gracefully parted, creating clearings where the supplies couldnd safely.


    "It''s as if the forest itself is weing our aid," Francus murmured, his voice a mixture of awe and reverence for the power and intelligence of the elven homnd.


    Grigor, who had seen many wonders in his time but nothing quite like this, nodded in agreement. "I''ve fought on countless battlefields, but this¡­ this cooperation between magic and technology, it''s something else."


    Anariel, watching the scene unfold, felt a surge of hope. "Our forest knows when to fight and when to embrace. Today, it embraces your aid, recognizing it as a strength, not a threat."

 Chapter 815: Chapter 815 A Challenge

    High atop the tallest spire structure, crafted from the living heart of an ancient tree, Eldermage Illyrion stood, her gaze fixed upon the spectacle unfolding below. The descent of supplies into the embrace of the forest was a sight to behold, a harmonious blend of Celestial toon''s technological prowess and the natural magic of the Silverleaf Covenant.


    Her eyes, ageless pools reflecting centuries of wisdom and battles fought, watched as the cargonded with precision in the clearings, the forest itself seeming to make way for this influx of aid.


    The aid was not just for this world but extended across many others where her forces were engaged in a relentless struggle against the darkness. This realization filled her with aplex mixture of emotions. Relief and gratitude warred with a deeper, more introspective concern.


    The alliance with the Celestial toon, brokered through trust and mutual need, was a significant advantage, yet it came with an unknown cost.


    Eldermage Illyrion understood the importance of this moment, not just for the immediate battle but for the future of her people and their allies. The weapons, the medical supplies, and the information would undoubtedly fortify their position, giving them a fighting chance against an enemy that seemed inexhaustible.


    But as she stood there, the wind whispering ancient secrets through the leaves around her, she couldn''t help but ponder the price of this newfound strength.


    "What will you ask of us, Aldred?" she murmured into the breeze, her voice barely louder than a whisper, yetden with the weight of her position and the responsibility she bore for her people.


    In her heart, she knew alliances were built onpromise and mutual respect, but they also required vignce. The Celestial toon''s aid, while invaluable, bound the Silverleaf Covenant in ways that were yet to be fully understood.


    The bnce of power, the dynamics of trust, and the preservation of their deeply held values and autonomy¡ªall these factors swirled in her mind like the leaves in the wind.


    Eldermage Illyrion turned her gaze once more to the forest below, to her warriors moving with efficiency and grace to secure the supplies. This moment was a testament to their resilience and their willingness to embrace change for the sake of survival and victory. Yet, as a leader and guardian of her people''s heritage, she knew that their identity must not be lost in the tide of war and alliances.


    "I must be vignt," she resolved. "For in gaining the strength to protect our world, we must not lose ourselves. The true cost of this aid must never be our spirit, our freedom, or our connection to the magic that defines us."


    To win a war against the demon, you might need to sign a deal with another demon.


    She expected the demon she shook hands with would be not as cruel as the one she fought.


    The forest clearing, now a makeshiftnding zone for the Celestial toon''s delivered aid, buzzed with activity as elves from the Silverleaf Covenant gathered around the newly arrived crates. Their movements were graceful, almost ceremonial, as they began the process of opening the containers, revealing the cache of weapons and technological wonders within.


    At first nce, a murmur of disdain rippled through the crowd. The elves, renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship and deep understanding of natural and magical materials, scrutinized the contents with a critical eye. "Look at this," one of themmented, lifting a sleek, metallic weapon with a gesture of mild contempt. "Itcks the harmony of form and function that defines our creations."


    Another elf, peering over a device designed to enhance battlefieldmunication, added, "And this, it''s so¡­ lifeless. Where is the connection to the wielder, the adaptation to the environment?"


    Their critiques were not just dismissive; they were detailed and insightful, pointing out ws and shorings with the precision of master artisans and seasoned warriors. "The bnce is all wrong," noted an elf skilled in the art ofbat, twirling a gun with an expert flick of the wrist. "Designed without thought for the rhythm of battle, for the dance of death and survival."


    A group of engineers, their eyes keen and minds sharp, dissected the technology with verbal efficiency. "These shielding units," one mused, tapping the casing of a portable force field generator, "they operate on a static frequency. Predictable. Easily disrupted with the right harmonic resonance."


    Their observations were not merely criticisms; they were a reflection of the elves'' deep-rooted connection to their work, whether in the forge, the field, or the forest. Everything they created was imbued with a sense of life, a piece of the creator''s soul, and a harmony with the world around them.


    The officers, noticing the mounting disdain and the critical appraisals, stepped forward, their authority clear in their stance and tone. "Enough," one of themmanded, his voice resonant and carrying the weight of centuries of leadership. "These supplies are not here for our judgment but for our use. Store them with care, and prepare for training."


    Murmurs of discontent rippled through the group, but themand was not to be disobeyed. The elves began the task of storing the weapons and technology, their movements still graceful, though now tinged with a reluctant eptance of their new reality.


    The thought of integrating what they deemed as ''low-level tech'' into their arsenal was met with grunts and groans of disapproval. The elves prided themselves on their deep connection to magic and the natural world, and the idea of relying on alien technology felt like an affront to their centuries-old traditions.


    One of the warriors, his face a mask of displeasure, picked up aser rifle, examining it with a critical eye. "To think that we, guardians of the ancient ways, are reduced to wielding such¡­ devices," he muttered, his voice low butced with frustration.


    An officer, overhearing thement, turned to address the group, his demeanor calm but firm. "It is not a reduction but an expansion of our capabilities. These tools, though foreign to us, represent a new form of strength¡ªone that we must embrace if we are to prevail against our enemies."


    The officer''s words hung in the air, a reminder of the gravity of their situation. The Silverleaf Covenant was facing a threat that required every possible advantage, even if it meant stepping beyond thefort of tradition.


    "We will learn to wield these weapons not as recements for our magic but asplements to it," the officer continued, capturing the attention of the gathered elves. "Our enemy adapts, evolves. So must we."


    The reluctance was palpable, but so was the recognition of necessity. The elves began to approach the task with a renewed sense of purpose, understanding that their survival might well depend on their ability to integrate and master this new technology.


    In the days that followed, training sessions were held in the clearings and groves of the forest.


    Elves practiced with the weapons, their initial awkwardness giving way to proficiency as they learned to bnce their innate magical abilities with the technological prowess of the Celestial toon''s arsenal.


    Francus and Grigor was there to observe the training.


    Even though the elves hated their tools, they did not practice withziness. Instead, they trained as if they had to master the tool in a single day.


    The elves disciplines took forms in all areas of life not just in art and aesthetic but also in training.


    One of the many reasons why they were one of the most formidable race in this gxy.


    One of the elve approached Francus and smiled at him.


    "How can I help you?" Francus asked with his most sweetest smile that he could muster.


    The elf pointed. "I challenge you."


    "Excuse me?"


    "I have mastered the use of this so called gun." The elf aimed the energy rifle at the target sign and fired several times. He struck the target with pin-point uracy, and with such ease too.


    "I challenge you. Same weapon. Just you and me."


    Francus nced at his partner.


    Grigor leaned closer to his ear and whispered. "Just give him a little challenge and let him win. We must show our humbleness."


    Francus nodded. "Fine. I ept your challenge. However, this will only be a friendly spar. Let''s try not to injure each other. What is your name?"


    "I will let you know my name if you can defeat me. For now, you can just call me young elf."


    "Okay, young elf. Are you ready?" Francus grabbed the same energy rifle from the crate.


    Both sides began to point at each other.


    "I am." Right after saying that, the elf began to fire.


    The challenge between Francus and the young elf unfolded in the dense, vibrant heart of the Silverleaf forest. The air was alive with the sounds of the forest, but those natural harmonies were punctuated by the hum and crackle of energy rifles discharging their beams of light.


    Francus, ustomed to the rigors ofbat in various environments, found himself relying on the natural cover provided by the forest. He darted behind trees and ducked behind rocks, using every bit of the terrain to his advantage. Each shot he fired was calcted, aimed with precision, though always mindful of the friendly nature of their spar.


    Across from him, the young elf moved with astonishing agility and grace. His connection to the forest was palpable, almost as if he could predict Francus''s movements before they happened. He weaved between the trees with ease, his own shots fired with a speed and uracy that spoke of deep mastery over the energy rifle, a weapon he had only recently imed to have mastered.


    The duel was a breathtaking disy of skill, a dance of light and shadow amidst the ancient trees. Francus was impressed by the elf''s adaptability and prowess, a testament to the elves'' capacity for mastering any craft or weapon, even those foreign to their traditions.


    As the challenge progressed, Francus found himself increasingly on the defensive. The young elf''s shots were not only urate but also strategically ced, forcing Francus to move in patterns that left him gradually more exposed. Despite this, Francus''s shots remained non-lethal, aimed to disarm rather than harm, in keeping with the spirit of the duel.


    Eventually, in a moment of near-perfect timing, the young elf executed a series of maneuvers that left Francus momentarily without cover.


    "Got you." The elf smiled in victory.


    However, what came next was a pile of dirting into his face.

 Chapter 816: Chapter 816 After Sparring

    In the heart of the Silverleaf forest, the duel between Francus and the young elf


    had escted beyond mere marksmanship to a game of wits and agility. The initial volley of shots from Francus, aimed with deceptive uracy, had forced the elf into a defensive sprint, his heart racing as he darted between the trees, evading the beams of light that seemed to follow his every move.


    The elf, convinced he had pinpointed Francus''s location, charged towards what he believed was his adversary''s hiding spot. His hands closed around the energy rifle, a triumphant grin spreading across his face, only to realize the area was deserted, a clever ruse by Francus to draw him out.


    Confusion clouded the elf thoughts for a mere moment before a calm, confident voice pierced the silence from behind him. "You lose," Francus dered, standing with his rifle lowered, not a weapon of aggression but of conclusion to their friendly contest.


    The elf turned, his expression a mix of frustration and admiration. The realization that he had been outmaneuvered settled in, apanied by the acknowledgment of Francus''s strategic mind. The forest, their arena, had witnessed not just a battle of physical prowess but also of mental acuity.


    "I concede," the elf admitted, extending his hand in a gesture of respect and sportsmanship. "You''ve bested me, stranger. Your tactics¡­ they are unlike anything I''ve faced before."


    "Now tell me your name," Francus said.


    "Taelor. You can call me Taelor."


    Francus nodded in acknowledgment, a mutual respect forming in the wake of their spirited duel. "Taelor," he repeated,mitting the name to memory. "It''s good to finally know the name of such a skilled opponent."


    Taelor, his demeanor shifting from the heat ofpetition to genuine curiosity, seized the moment to delve into the tactics that led to his defeat. "Your strategy was impable. How did you manage to deceive me? I was certain I had you."


    Francus, intrigued by Taelor''s eagerness to learn, decided to share his insight. "It''s all about understanding not just where your opponent is, but where they think you are. I used the forest, our surroundings, to my advantage. Your connection to this ce is deep, but sometimes, being so in tune can make you overlook the simplest tricks."


    He gestured to the forest around them, its trees witnesses to their contest. "I observed how you moved, how you responded to my shots. You were quick, agile, but there was a pattern to your movements. I anticipated where you thought I''d be and instead positioned myself elsewhere, leaving a small clue to mislead you."


    Taelor listened intently, absorbing every word. "And the dirt," he added, a light of realization in his eyes. "That was your diversion."


    "Exactly," Francus confirmed with a smile. "In the heat of the moment, the simplest actions can be the most unexpected.


    It''s not just about the technology or the weapons we wield; it''s about how we use our environment, our intellect. Sometimes, a handful of dirt can be more effective than the most advanced weaponry."


    Taelor nodded, a newfound respect for Francus evident in his gaze. "I see. It''s a lesson I''ll take to heart. The forest is part of who we are, but I''ve learned today that there''s always more to understand, more ways to grow."


    Francus ced a hand on Taelor''s shoulder, a gesture of camaraderie. "And that''s what this alliance is about. Learning from each other, growing stronger together. You have your ways, deeply rooted in magic and nature, and we bring our own experiences. Together, we can create strategies that our enemies won''t be able to predict."


    As Francus and Taelor emerged from the forest, their camaraderie evident in their stride and mutual expressions of respect, a hush fell over the group of young elves gathered around.


    Eyes wide with astonishment, they regarded Francus with a new sense of reverence. Taelor was renowned among them as the most talented and agile of their age group, a prodigy in both magic and martial prowess. To witness him concede defeat to a human, and with such grace, was both shocking and enlightening.


    Whispers began to weave through the crowd, their tonesced with curiosity and a burgeoning respect. "Did you see how they moved? Like shadows merging with the light," one elf remarked, his gaze following Francus as he moved.


    As the sun began its descent, casting a golden hue over the Silverleaf forest, Francus and Grigor wrapped up another day of intensive training sessions with the elves. They had shared tactics and technologies, bridging the gap between their two worlds with every lesson.


    The elves, initially skeptical, had started to show genuine interest and respect for the new strategies and tools at their disposal.


    Exhausted but fulfilled, Francus and Grigor retreated to their temporary lodging within the forest, a beautifully crafted treehouse that seemed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings. As they settled down, reminiscing about the day''s sesses and the progress they had witnessed, Francus''smunication device vibrated with an iing call.


    ncing at the screen, he recognized the identifier immediately¡ªit was Aldred, the leader of the Celestial toon and the man responsible for orchestrating this unlikely alliance. "It''s Aldred," Francus announced to Grigor, who nodded, indicating for him to take the call.


    Francus activated the device, and Aldred''s voice filled the room, clear despite the vast distances it traveled. "Francus, Grigor, how goes the integration? Have our elven allies taken to our ways?"


    Francus exchanged a nce with Grigor, both reflecting on the initial resistance they had encountered and how it had gradually given way to curiosity and eptance. "It''s going well, Aldred," Francus responded. "There were some hurdles at first, skepticism about the tech and tactics we brought. But we''re making headway. They''re quick learners, and there''s a mutual respect developing."


    Grigor chimed in, "The young ones are especially keen. Took to the training like ducks to water. Even had a bit of a friendly challenge today¡ªhelped break the ice further."


    Aldred''s chuckle resonated through the speaker. "I had no doubt you two would manage to win them over. It''s not just about the physical training, is it? It''s about building trust, showing them that we''re allies in this fight, not conquerors."


    "Exactly," Francus agreed. "And it''s a two-way street. We''re learning from them as much as they''re learning from us. Their connection to nature, their magic¡ªit''s unlike anything we''ve encountered. There''s potential for a powerful synergy here."


    Aldred''s tone took on a serious note. "Remember, the goal isn''t just to prepare them for battle. It''s to foster asting alliance, one that will stand beyond this current threat. The demons are just the beginning; the gxy is a vast and often unfriendly ce. United, we stand a better chance."


    "We understand, Aldred," Grigor assured him. "We''re not just training soldiers; we''re building bridges."


    "Good to hear," Aldred said, satisfaction evident in his voice. "Keep me updated on your progress. And remember, you have the full support of the Celestial toon. Whatever you need, it''s yours."


    The call ended.


    In themand center of the Celestial toon, a vast room filled with monitors and holographic disys, Aldred stood solemnly, his gaze fixed on the ever-expanding territories marked by the demonic influence. The maps before him were a stark reminder of the urgency and gravity of their mission.


    Each flickering light represented a world under siege, amunity fighting for survival against an insidious and relentless foe.


    Aldred, leader of the Celestial toon, was a figure of strength and determination. His leadership had brought together the most skilled fighters, strategists, and engineers from across the gxy, united under a single cause¡ªto protect the innocent and drive back the darkness that sought to consume the universe.


    As he reviewed thetest reports, his thoughts turned to Francus and Grigor, two of his most trusted operatives, whom he had sent to forge an alliance with the Silverleaf Covenant. The decision to integrate advanced human technology with elven magic and wisdom was a bold one, fraught with potential pitfalls, yet Aldred believed it was their best chance at turning the tide of war.


    The integration process, ording to the recent update from Francus, was progressing well. The initial skepticism from the elves was giving way to a mutual respect and understanding, a testament to the patience and dedication of both parties.


    Aldred knew that this alliance was more than a mere exchange of resources; it was a beacon of hope, a demonstration that unity and cooperation could prevail over division and despair.


    Yet, as Aldred surveyed the maps, his sense of urgency intensified. The demonic forces were not idle; they were adapting, growing stronger, and expanding their reach with terrifying efficiency. Each victory against them was hard-won, and for every territory reimed, it seemed as though two more fell under their shadow.


    Aldred turned away from the maps, his resolve firm. "We must elerate our efforts," he murmured to himself. "The alliance with the Silverleaf Covenant is just the beginning. We need to explore every possible avenue, forge more alliances, and innovate new strategies. The demons may be spreading, but so will our resistance."

 Chapter 817 Diverse Galaxy

    Chapter 817 Diverse Gxy


    Shinari entered Aldred''s office. "You called?"


    "Yes. I need you to do something for me."


    "You always need me to do something for


    you. Last night, I gave you ap dancest night. What do you want now?"


    Aldred was speechlees for a second before he gestured to the side.


    Shinari looked at where Aldred gestured and saw a bunch of people standing, not believing what they just heard.


    Shinari blushed in shame as she cleared her throat, giving her best effort to put on a professional demeanor.


    "What do you need me for, sir?"


    Aldred cleared his throat as well, pretending nothing ever happened. "I need you to be my emissaried and visit all the gueri forces, the human ones. Tell them they got our supports."


    "I will do that immediately." Shinari stormed out of the room as if she was chased by something.


    The door closed shut.


    The generals nced at Aldred. They tried their hardest to hide it, but they now looked at Aldred differently.


    Aldred could only hope only good things were in their mind.


    "Anyway. I need you to make sure our aids arrived to our allies. Protect the cargo and gather more information about our enemies. If we do our part, they will do theirs."


    Aldred, sensing the change in atmosphere, swiftly redirected the focus to the task at hand. "Let''s proceed," he began, his voice steady, attempting to reim the room''s lost gravitas. The generals, seasoned in the art of war and diplomacy, quickly masked their reactions, turning their attention back to the maps and data screens that sprawled across the room.


    General Varek, a stern-faced man with deep-set eyes, was the first to break the silence. "The routes to the gueri forces are fraught with danger," he noted, his finger tracing lines across a holographic map. "The enemy has increased patrols in these sectors," he continued, his tone underscored by the seriousness of their mission.


    Aldred nodded, his gaze fixed on the highlighted paths. "That''s why our support is crucial. Without it, they stand little chance against the demons'' onught. Shinari is our best option for this mission¡ªdiscreet, swift, capable."


    Lieutenant General Tira, a woman known for her tactical acumen, leaned forward. "I''ve arranged for two stealth cruisers to apany the cargo. They''ll provide necessary cover and, if needed, a quick extraction," she said, her voiceced with determination. Her hands moved with precision, bringing up images of the cruisers and their technical capabilities.


    Aldred''s eyes met hers, a silent acknowledgment of her foresight. "Excellent, Tira. Ensure the crews are briefed about the utmost importance of discretion. We cannot afford any interception."


    The room''s tension gradually ebbed as the generals engaged in their strategic dialogue, each contributing insights and suggestions. Their bodynguage, initially tense and uncertain, became more animated, gestures more expansive as they delved into the minutiae of the operation.


    As the meeting progressed, Aldred''s thoughts momentarily wandered to Shinari, pondering the ramifications of their earlier, unintended exchange. The briefpse in his usually imprable facade revealed aplexity to his character often overshadowed by his leadership role. He hoped the incident would not alter his generals'' respect or their perception of his authority.


    Returning his focus to the present, Aldred emphasized the significance of their collective effort. "This alliance, our support for the gueri forces, is more than a tactical maneuver. It''s a statement of our unity against amon enemy. Each crate of aid, each mission we undertake, brings us closer to a gxy free of darkness."


    "Our meetings ends here. Get to work."


    After the generals left, Aldred immediately teleported.


    ¡­


    The town nestled under the shadow of the great castle, a sprawling mass of stone and wood that had stood sentinel over thends for centuries. Its walls, thick and weathered, told tales of sieges weathered and times of peace cherished. Within its embrace, the town thrived, a bustling hub of simple life where technology was a word unspoken, and the rhythm of the day was set by the rise and fall of the sun.


    Peasants and tradesfolk filled the streets, their voices a melody of daily toil andughter. A cksmith''s hammer nged in a steady beat, sparks flying like miniature stars in the dim confines of his forge. Nearby, a woman sang softly as she kneaded dough, her children ying at her feet, theirughter a bright counterpoint to the droning of bees from the nearby meadows. The air was rich with the scent of fresh bread, the smoky tang of the forge, and the sweet decay of autumn leaves.


    Suddenly, the tranquility was pierced by a low hum, a sound alien to the earthen melody of the town.


    Eyes turned skyward as a sleek ne, its design centuries beyond theprehension of the onlookers, materialized from the ether.


    It glided silently, its surfaces gleaming under the sun, a specter of a future unfathomable to the townsfolk below.


    The ne descended, not toward the open fields as one might expect, but directly above the castle.


    There, a tunnel, unnoticed by those not privy to its secrets, awaited. As the ne approached, the ancient stones of the castle shimmered, and the tunnel entrance, cloaked in enchantment, became visible.


    The juxtaposition of the medieval stronghold and the advanced aircraft was stark, yet to the inhabitants of the town, it seemed no more remarkable than the changing of the seasons.


    As the ne''s engines quieted, the first to disembark was Zarael, a vision of elegance that seemed tomand the very air around her. Dressed in flowing robes that melded the ancient with the futuristic, her presence was a bridge between worlds. Her guards, d in armor that shimmered with a subtle, magical glow, descended behind her, their steps synchronized with the rhythmic grace of seasoned warriors. Servants, their eyes lowered in respect, hurried forward, yet there was no trace of fear in their demeanor, only reverence.


    Zarael''s smile, as she stepped onto the solid ground of the castle''s hidden courtyard, was a beacon of warmth. "Thank you, everyone, for your diligence," she spoke, her voice melodic yet carrying an authority that resonated deep within those who heard it. Her gaze met each of her servants and guards in turn, a silent acknowledgment of their worth and contribution to her cause.


    As she made her way through the corridors of the castle, the ancient stones seemed to whisper greetings, the air itself charged with the anticipation of her presence. The blend of medieval architecture and pockets of advanced technology that lined the halls bore testament to the unique confluence of time and space that the castle embodied.


    Upon reaching her office, a spacious room that overlooked the bustling town below, Zarael found Aldred who was already waiting for her.


    "You didn''t call."


    "I thought I could give a little surprise." Aldred smiled.


    "You did it. Didn''t you? You make a friend with the elves."


    "Well. Some of them at least. It''s only a small victory. But for this war, I''d need many of these small victories."


    Zarael lightly smiled. "What do you need of me, Aldred?"


    "Zarael, our understanding of this gxy, its races, and cultures, is crucial if we are to navigate theplexities of the alliances we seek to forge." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He paused, gesturing toward the holographic disys that lined one wall of the office. With a flick of his hand, the air came alive with the swirling images of variouss, each orbited by icons representing the myriad races that called them home.


    "Take the Sylphid of Aerilon, for instance," Aldred began, pointing to a shimmering image of a verdant world. "Their affinity for air magic is unparalleled, and their technology for harnessing wind energy could revolutionize our understanding of renewable resources. But their society values freedom above all else. Any alliance must respect that, or it is doomed from the start."


    Zarael nodded, her eyes following the images as they shifted. "And what of the Forgeborn of Ignis?" she inquired, her curiosity piqued by the image of a volcanic world that appeared next.


    Aldred''s expression softened with respect. "Ah, the Forgeborn. Masters of fire and metal. Their forges produce materials we can barelyprehend, and their warriors wield mes as if an extension of their own bodies. Yet, their culture is one of deep tradition and honor. We must approach them with a proposition that honors their ancestors as much as their current generation."


    He moved on, the gallery of worlds and peoples swirling before them. "The Aquarii of Oceana, beings of water and depth. Their understanding of underwater ecosystems and their bioluminescent technology could open new avenues for exploration and medicine. Their society ismunal, decisions made for the collective good. Any negotiations with them must ensure mutual benefit, not just for us but for all under their care."


    Zarael listened intently, absorbing the wealth of information. Aldred''s passion for the subject was evident, each race described with a reverence and understanding that spoke to his extensive experience and the deep respect he held for each culture.


    "And we must not overlook the Celestial Architects of Cosmos," Aldred continued, his gaze fixed on an image of a starry expanse that seemed to pulse with hidden energies. "Their ability to manipte space-time could be the key to understanding the very fabric of the universe. Yet, their istionist tendencies make them a challenge to approach. We must offer them something beyond technology or magic¡ªa shared vision for the future."


    Zarael smiled. "You did your homework."


    "I did, but it''s not finished yet. Zarael, I need your help to make friends with all of them."

 Chapter 818 Zagrath

    Chapter 818 Zagrath


    Zarael''s response was a soft chuckle, the sound echoing gently off the ancient walls of her office. "Aldred, you''ve always had a way of making the impossible seem merely challenging." Her gaze lingered on the swirling images of the various races, each a world unto itself, brimming with potential allies and the promise of unity against amon threat.


    She stood, her movements graceful, as she approached the holographic disy. Her hand hovered over the images, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Making friends, as you put it, won''t be easy. Each of these races has its own fears, its own enemies, and its own dreams. But," she turned to face Aldred, her eyes alight with a fierce determination, "if there''s a chance to bring them together, to unite them against the darkness threatening us all, then I am with you."


    "Don''t joke around, Zarael. I know you can do this." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I am the one supposed to say that. Making friends with other races isn''t that simple."


    "We make friends with the elves and the orcs."


    "There are many events in history of small coboration between humans and the two race you mentioned."


    "I got the Xyrrathi."


    "Those docile silicon lifeform had formed alliance with humans in the past as well."


    "I am not here for your excuses. Will you help me or not?"


    Zarael sighed. "How can I say no when you need my help."


    Aldred smiled and hugged her.


    Zarael was a bit surprised but she dly weed his embrace.


    Aldred then teleported the two of them out of the atmosphere, and entered some kind of gigantic space station the shape of a massive mechanical ring.


    "Where are we going?" Zarael asked.


    "You''ll see."


    Aldred brought her to a specialized hangar where a pristine, top of the line, massive vessel was docked. From the outside, it was clear that the armor were made with the toughest synthetic alloy the Celestial toons could get their hands into.


    As they stepped into the specialized hangar, Zarael''s eyes widened in sheer amazement. The vessel before her was a testament to the pinnacle of Celestial toon''s engineering and technological advancements.


    Its sleek, streamlined design was entuated by the reflective surface of its armor, which seemed to absorb and refract the light in a mesmerizing disy. The ship, vast and imposing, exuded a sense of indomitable power, its very presence dominating the hangar.


    Around the vessel, the hangar buzzed with activity.


    People and machines worked in perfect harmony, a ballet of efficiency and purpose. Drones, sleek and silent, hovered around the ship, their sensors scanning every inch of the hull for discrepancies, while bots¡ªsmaller, agile creatures of metal and light¡ªdarted in and out of open panels, their movements precise and purposeful.


    Guards, encased in towering mech suits that stood nearly four meters tall, patrolled the area.


    These suits, a marvel of military technology, moved with surprising grace for their size, some walking on heavy, mechanized legs that echoed on the hangar floor, others hovering slightly above the ground, their thrusters emitting a soft hum. The suits were armed, yet their weapons remained holstered, the atmosphere one of readiness rather than aggression.


    Zarael, momentarily taken aback by the scale and sophistication of the operation, turned to Aldred, her expression a mix of awe and curiosity. "This¡­this is incredible, Aldred. I''ve never seen anything like it."


    Aldred watched her reaction with a hint of pride. "This ship is the Dawnbreaker, the newest addition to our fleet. She''s more than just a ship; she''s a symbol of ourmitment to protecting the gxy. And," he added, turning to face Zarael directly, "she''s going to be our gship in the mission to unite the races."


    Zarael took a step closer to the vessel, her gaze tracing its contours. "The Dawnbreaker," she repeated softly, as if testing the name on her tongue. "A fitting name. I can only imagine the power it holds."


    As they walked along the length of the ship, Aldred detailed its capabilities, from its state-of-the-art propulsion system that allowed for near-instantaneous jumps across vast distances, to its arsenal of weapons designed not just for destruction, but for defense and peacekeeping. "But most importantly," Aldred concluded, "she''s equipped with diplomatic quarters designed to amodate representatives from all the races we hope to ally with. The Dawnbreaker isn''t just a warship; she''s a vessel of hope."


    Zarael, absorbing every word, nodded slowly. "A vessel of hope¡­ Yes, I can see it now. With the Dawnbreaker, we''re not just offering our potential allies military support; we''re offering them a ce at the table, a voice in the fight against the darkness. Aldred, this is a bold vision, and I am honored to be a part of it."


    The Dawnbreaker was an incredibly massive ship. No one had ever seen anything like it because it was custom built by Celestial toon''s engineer.


    Aldred knew humans creativity could produce incredible things which was why he put a lot of funds for training and recruiting talented engineers.


    He had millions of schrship programs for engineers and scientists and tens of thousands in other fields.


    He believed innovation came from an ammalgation of diverse fields so he did not dare to ignore other subjects such as art, literary, etc.


    There was an event where a farmer innovate a technology useful for military.


    No one would expect that.


    But such was innovation.


    As Zarael and Aldred continued their inspection of the Dawnbreaker, Aldred''smunicator beeped¡ªa gentle, unobtrusive sound that nhelessmanded attention. He tapped it, listened for a moment, and then nodded to Zarael. "It''s time to meet your team."


    They made their way to arge, open area within the ship that served as a briefing room. The room was bathed in soft, ambient light, with arge oval table at its center surrounded byfortable seating. The walls were lined with screens disying star maps and data feeds, a constant stream of information flowing in silent vignce.


    As they entered, fifty individuals stood in unison, their postures rxed yet unmistakably professional. They were a diverse group, each member handpicked for their expertise inmunication, diplomacy, and cultural studies. Their attire varied, reflecting the array ofs and cultures from which they hailed, yet they all wore a badge signifying their role as part of the Dawnbreaker''s diplomatic corps.


    Aldred gestured toward the group, pride evident in his voice. "Zarael, meet your team. These are some of the finest minds in the field of interstermunication and rtions. They''ll be working with you to establish and maintain dialogue with our potential allies."


    Zarael took a step forward, her gaze sweeping over the assembled team. "I''m honored to work with all of you. Our mission is of unprecedented importance. We''re not just seeking allies; we''re aiming to build a coalition strong enough to stand against the darkness threatening our gxy."


    The team responded with nods and murmurs of agreement, their faces alight with the challenge thaty ahead. Zarael could see the determination in their eyes, the spark of shared purpose that would bind them in the days toe.


    Aldred continued, "In addition to our diplomatic corps, the Dawnbreaker is also equipped with thousands of guards. While we hope for peaceful negotiations, we must be prepared for any eventuality." His tone was sober, a reminder of the stakes at y.


    Zarael addressed the team again, her voice steady andmanding. "Your skills inmunication will be our greatest asset. We must approach each race with an open heart and a respect for their unique cultures and perspectives. Our goal is unity, but true unity can only be achieved through understanding and mutual respect."


    The team listened intently, absorbing Zarael''s words. Their backgrounds in diplomacy had prepared them for this moment, yet the scale of their task was daunting. Each knew that the sess of their mission could very well determine the fate of the gxy.


    As the briefing concluded, the team members began to mingle, discussing strategies and sharing insights from their respective fields of study. Aldred and Zarael observed from the side, the former''s confidence in his choice of team evident.


    Zarael turned to Aldred, a determined glint in her eye. "With this team, we''ll not only make friends among the stars¡ªwe''ll forge a legacy that will endure for generations toe."


    "Didn''t you hesitate taking my offer?"


    "That was then. Now is now."


    "Pretty sure it happened like 30 minutes ago." Aldredughed.


    ¡­


    In the vast expanse of space, where stars birthed and died in the blink of a cosmic eye, a presence of unyielding malice cast its gaze upon several unsuspecting sr systems. Zagrath, the me Warden, one of the feared Demon Commanders under Lord Malgorth, surveyed his next targets with a chilling detachment. His towering form, shrouded in a cloak of living mes that danced in hues of blue and green, was a testament to the power he wielded. The mes, an extension of his will, flickered eagerly, anticipating the destruction toe.


    With a voice that crackled like fire consuming dry wood, Zagrath issued hismand to the demon hordes amassed behind him. "These systems," he gestured with a hand that seemed more me than flesh, "are infested with vermin that dare to challenge our dominion. The Phoenix Battalion¡­ they have be more than a nuisance. It is time to extinguish their light once and for all."


    His army, a legion of darkness and despair, roared their approval, the sound a cacophony of nightmares unleashed. As one, they surged forward, a tide of destruction bound for the worlds affiliated with the Phoenix Battalion, a guerri group that had long thorned in the side of the demonic forces.


    The attack was cataclysmic. Demonic forces descended upon the cities, their arrival heralded by skies turning the color of blood. Buildings that had stood as symbols of human achievement and hope crumbled into dust under the onught. Mountains, ancient and unyielding, were rent asunder, their shattered peaks a testament to the demons'' unstoppable power. Seas boiled away under the heat of demonic fire, leaving nothing but barren wastnds in their wake.


    The humans of these systems, taken by surprise by the ferocity and swiftness of the attack, could do little but flee, pray, or stand in defiance - though their resistance was futile against such overwhelming might. Amidst the chaos, cries of despair and defiance echoed, forming a haunting chorus that would remain unheard in the void of space.


    With but a word of his, Zagrath vanquished hundreds of world.

 Chapter 819: Chapter 819 Dawnbreaker

    In the heart of an ancient forest, where the trees themselves whispered secrets of the ages, Eldermage Illyrion''s office stood. Crafted from the living heart of an enchanted tree, the room pulsed with a life of its own, its walls glowing with a soft, ethereal light.


    Here, amidst scrolls and tomes that contained the wisdom of millennia, Illyrion, guardian of her people and master of elven magic, observed the unfolding devastation wrought by Zagrath and his demonic forces.


    With a heavy heart, she watched through a scrying pool, the surface shimmering with images of worlds ame, including those of her own kind. The destruction was total, merciless¡ªentire civilizations reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. As she bore witness to the annihtion of elven realms, a deep, sorrowful sigh escaped her lips, the weight of her grief palpable in the silent chamber.


    "Anariel, Francus, Grigor," she whispered, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging within her. With a gesture of her hand, ancient runes etched into the woodwork of the room glowed brighter, sending a summons to her trusted allies and friends.


    Within moments, the air in the center of the room shimmered, and Anariel appeared, her elegant form materializing from the ether. Francus, young and determined, and Grigor, his wisdom etched into the lines of his face, followed shortly after, both stepping through portals of light that closed silently behind them.


    "Thank you foring," Illyrion began, her gaze sweeping over her assembledpanions. "I fear we face a dire threat. Zagrath has unleashed his fury upon the gxy, and many of our worlds have fallen."


    Anariel''s expression hardened at the news, her hands clenching into fists. "We must act. Our people, our heritage, cannot be allowed to perish in mes."


    Francus stepped forward, his resolve shining in his eyes. "The Celestial toon stands with you, Eldermage. We will not abandon our allies in their time of need."


    Grigor retrieved a small, intricately carved device from the folds of his robe. The device, an amalgamation of technology and ancient magic, allowed for securemunication across vast distances of space.


    With a practiced motion, he activated the device, initiating a call to Aldred.


    The air before him shimmered as a holographic projection of Aldred appeared, his expression immediately turning serious upon seeing Grigor''s face.


    "Aldred," Grigor began, his voice grave, "the situation has escted. Zagrath has begun a campaign of destruction against not only elven worlds but across the gxy. Illyrion has seen it through the scrying pool. Many realms have already fallen."


    "We already know about this. My generals are currently forming a n to respond to this event. What''s on your end?"


    Eldermage Illyrion stepped forward, her presencemanding yet serene, as the ethereal light of her office seemed to coalesce around her. "Aldred, we find ourselves at a crossroads, our paths intertwined more tightly than ever before. The Silverleaf Covenant must act, but not in istion. What are your thoughts on our next course of action?"


    Aldred, taken aback by the elder''s request for counsel, paused to collect his thoughts.


    It was umon for the elves, a race renowned for their pride and ancient wisdom, to seek advice from outsiders. Yet, these were no ordinary times, and Aldred respected Illyrion''s wisdom in recognizing the need for coboration.


    "Eldermage, the unity you''ve shown by reaching out is exactly what we need to mirror across the gxy," Aldred said, his tone respectful yet firm.


    "The demons are not discriminating in their destruction¡ªthey see us all as enemies. We must, therefore, stand together as allies."


    "What do you suggest?" The eldermage asked.


    "I think you should proactively attacked the demons in your own way. I will send information and supplies throughout the battle space to aid you. Not only that, I am sending the Dawnbreaker."


    "Dawnbreaker?"


    The Dawnbreaker, a leviathan of the void, drifted in the silent expanse of deep space. Its hull, a masterwork of gleaming metal and pulsating arcane energy, reflected the distant stars'' light, casting a celestial glow. Measuring over five kilometers in length, the ship''s design was both elegant and formidable, with sleek lines that cut through the cosmic ocean like a knife.


    Its engines, glowing with a powerful, otherworldly light, were ready to propel it across gxies in the blink of an eye. The Dawnbreaker was not just a ship; it was a symbol of hope, a beacon of defiance against the encroaching darkness.


    Inside the bridge, Captain Zarael stood before the vast viewport, her gaze lost in the infinite tapestry of the cosmos. Her reflection, superimposed on the ss, seemed to contemte the same vastness, the same unsettling calm before the storm.


    The bridge was alive with activity, officers and crewmen moving with purpose, yet a certain unease permeated the air¡ªa sense of destiny, of great deeds that were yet to unfold.


    "Why here? Why now?" Zarael whispered to herself, her thoughts a tumultuous sea. Only moments before, she had been preparing for a mission of peace, a chance to wield words instead of weapons.


    Yet, fate, it seemed, had other ns.


    Her first officer, Commander Lyn, approached, her expression mirroring Zarael''s concerns. "Captain, the crew is ready, but there''s talk. Why has themand diverted us from a diplomatic mission to the front lines?"


    Zarael turned, her eyes meeting Lyn''s. "Because, Lyn, there are times when the pen must be set aside for the sword. Aldred believes the Dawnbreaker''s presence can turn the tide against Zagrath''s forces. And deep down, I know he''s right. This is more than a battle; it''s a stand for the very soul of the gxy."


    Lyn nodded, her posture stiffening with resolve. "Then we''ll make that stand, Captain. The crew trusts your lead."


    A moment of silence passed between them, a silent acknowledgment of the weight they now bore. Zarael''s gaze returned to the stars, her voice firm,manding. "Prepare the crew for battle. I want all systems at full readiness. It''s time for the Dawnbreaker to make a debut. Make everyone who hear its name feel the certainty of victory."


    As the Dawnbreaker cut through the silent fabric of space, its heart and soul¡ªthe advanced technological marvels within¡ªstirred to life at Captain Zarael''smand. The bridge, a symphony of lights and whispered anticipations, became the focal point of an operation that could alter the course of the war.


    "Activate the subspace radar," Zarael ordered, her voice cutting through the tension like a beacon of resolve.


    Lieutenant Aric, a young officer whose talents had quickly ascended him through the ranks, hesitated. His hands hovered over the console, a manifestation of the internal conflict that gued many of the crew. The use of AI, after all, was a contentious issue back in their Empire, where tales of rebellion and catastrophe painted a stark warning against such technologies.


    "But Captain, the AI-driven systems¡­" Aric trailed off, the weight of his concerns evident in his furrowed brow.


    Zarael approached him, her steps measured, her presence reassuring. "I understand your apprehension, Lieutenant. Our past has taught us to fear what we cannot control. But the Dawnbreaker is not just any ship, and her AI is not just any technology. We''ve seen what Zagrath has unleashed. To stand a chance, we must embrace the tools we have, fear and all."


    Aric nodded, a silent acquiescence, and with a deep breath, he initiated the sequence.


    The bridge transformed, holographic disys blooming into existence, casting ethereal light across the faces of the crew. The subspace radar, a pinnacle of their technological prowess, sent invisible tendrils of energy across light-years of space, its reach unimpeded by the physicalws that governed conventional travel.


    Within seconds, the AI-driven analysis units processed the data, their efficiency a stark contrast to the lingering fear that shadowed their use. The tactical disy, a three-dimensional map of the surrounding sectors, lit up with points of interest, enemy movements bing visible as if they were but pawns on a chessboard.


    Commander Lyn, ever the voice of reason, stepped beside Zarael. "The AI''s capabilities are unmatched, but so are the risks. Our Empire banned it for a reason."


    Zarael''s gaze didn''t waver from the disy. "And yet, here we stand, using it to protect that very Empire. Fear of what might happen cannot dictate our actions in the face of what is happening. This AI, this ship¡ªit''s a reflection of what we can achieve when we push beyond our fears."


    The bridge fell silent, the only sound the soft hum of the ship and the quiet tapping of controls. The crew, each with their own reservations about the technology that now guided their hands, found a new resolve in Zarael''s words.


    It can be said that everyone here had a delicate secret.


    If the Empire knew they were using AI, they were all going to be executed.


    If it wasn''t Aldred''s ship, none of them would agree to board it in the first ce.


    "Captain, we found a powerful source of maic disturbance."


    Zarael''s eyes gleamed. "That''s our target."

 Chapter 820: Chapter 820 Swarm Pods

    The 3D tactical disy in the heart of the Dawnbreaker''s bridge came alive, pulsating with the energy of a thousand stars, but among the celestial dance, one anomaly stood out¡ªa maic disturbance of unparalleled intensity. It materialized on the map as a tempest of colors, a storm in the void, its core a maelstrom of shifting, swirling energies that defied the natural order.


    This disturbance wasn''t a mere blip on the radar; it was a living, breathing phenomenon, its tendrils of maic force rippling outwards, causing the very fabric of space to undte like waves upon an ocean. The waves, rendered in hues of deep violet and electric blue, cascaded across the holographic disy, their movement hypnotic yet chaotic, an abstract painting in constant flux.


    Lieutenant Aric, his initial hesitation forgotten, worked the controls with a newfound purpose, zooming in on the anomaly. As the perspective shifted, the visual of the disturbance grew more intense, more defined. The core of the storm, a nexus of energy, pulsed rhythmically, its heart a void so deep and dark it seemed to swallow the light around it.


    Around this heart, maic lines twisted and coiled like serpents in a pit, creating patterns of iprehensibleplexity. The disy rendered these patterns with astonishing rity, each line a glowing thread in a tapestry of cosmic fury. The beauty of it was undeniable, but so was the danger it represented.


    "By the stars¡­" Commander Lyn murmured, her voice a mixture of awe and apprehension. "I''ve never seen anything like it."


    Zarael stood transfixed, her gaze locked on the disy. "It''s more than just a disturbance; it''s a beacon of sorts, a call to arms for the forces of darkness. Zagrath is behind this, of that I have no doubt."


    The crew around them, seasoned veterans of space though they were, could not help but share in the sense of unease that the visual invoked.


    This was no natural phenomenon; it was a weapon, a deration of war not just on the Dawnbreaker, but on all who stood against the darkness.


    The atmosphere on the bridge of the Dawnbreaker was electric, every officer and crew member acutely aware of the gravity of the situation. Commander Lyn turned to Captain Zarael, her expression a mix of determination and concern. "Captain, the crew looks to you. What are your orders?"


    Zarael''s eyes, alight with a fierce resolve that had seen her through countless trials, scanned the faces of her crew. "We have been chosen for this moment," she began, her voice cutting through the tension like a de. "Zagrath seeks to spread fear and destruction, but we stand as the shield against that darkness. Our mission is clear."


    She paused, allowing her gaze to linger on the swirling maelstrom disyed before them. "We will pierce the heart of the demon army, strike at them with all the might of the Dawnbreaker. Our goal is to sow chaos in their ranks, decimate as many as we can. But we must also be swift, elusive. When they rally to strike back, we vanish into the void."


    Lieutenant Aric, his earlier hesitations now reced with a palpable eagerness to act, stepped forward. "And how do we vanish, Captain? Our usual cloaking technologies won''t fool the demonic sensors for long."


    Zarael smiled, a glint of cunning in her eyes. "We''ll use the disturbance. Its chaotic energy will mask our escape. It''s risky, but it''s our best chance. Prepare the ship for a high-velocity assault. I want our weapons at maximum readiness.


    I heard we got that thing called Shielding Halo. Use it."


    The crew sprang into action, the bridge a flurry of activity as orders were ryed and systems were primed. Commander Lyn, her apprehension now reced with a focused intensity, turned to Zarael. "It''s a bold n, Captain. The Dawnbreaker will be the spearhead of hope in these dark times."


    The Dawnbreaker, a specter of vengeance and hope, emerged from the quantum tunnel with the ferocity of a tempest unleashed. Its arrival was a deration, a challenge to the demonic forces arrayed before it in the void. Captain Zarael, standing firm on the bridge, her eyes reflecting the cold light of distant stars, issued themand that would ignite the battle.


    "Engage Quantum Disruptor Cannons, target the vanguard of the demon fleet," she ordered, her voice calm yet carrying the weight ofmand.


    Lieutenant Aric, his hands steady at the control panel, acknowledged with a crisp, "Aye, Captain." The air on the bridge tensed as the quantum disruptor cannons charged, their energy cores pulsing with a light that seemed to draw the very essence of the universe into their barrels. With a silentmand, Aric unleashed their fury.


    Beams of destructive energynced out, tearing through the fabric of space, and met the demon ships with the force of a copsing star.


    As the vanguard disintegrated under the onught, Zarael turned her gaze to the sma beam arrays. "Shift to sma beams. Carve through them," she instructed. Commander Lyn, overseeing the weapons systems, coordinated the attack, the sma beams slicing through demonic vessels as if they were made of paper, their superheated fury leaving nothing but void in their wake.


    The kic railguns, silent watchers till now, joined the symphony of destruction. "Kic Railguns, fire at will. Pick your targets," Zaraelmanded, her eyes scanning the tactical disy for priority threats. The railguns, with a precision born of advanced targeting algorithms, sent projectiles hurtling across space, each impact a testament to the relentless power of the Dawnbreaker.


    As the Dawnbreaker carved its path of destruction through the demonic fleet, chaos reigned among the forces of darkness. The demon ships, unprepared for the ferocity and precision of the assault, were caught in the devastating wake of the human vessel''s advanced weaponry.


    Quantum Disruptor Cannons obliterated the vanguard, leaving no trace of the ships they targeted, while sma Beam Arrays cut through the demonic armada with ruthless efficiency, their beams of superheated sma disintegrating everything in their path.


    On the bridge of a demon gship, confusion and anger bubbled to the surface. Commander Vrakthar, a towering demon adorned with armor that seemed to absorb the light around it, roared in frustration as he witnessed the decimation of his fleet. "What sorcery is this?" he bellowed, his voice a thunderous echo that reverberated throughout the vessel.


    "Bring me the heads of those who dare defy the might of Zagrath!"


    Vrakthar''s eyes burned with a malevolent fire. "Then we shall fight them with the fury of the abyss itself! Prepare to engage them in closebat. Summon the void beasts. Let these humans learn the true meaning of fear!"


    As the demon forces began to close in, seeking to overwhelm the ship with sheer numbers, Zarael unveiled the next phase of her strategy. "Deploy Particle Torpedoes. Let''s give them a taste of ster wrath."


    The torpedoes, each a harbinger of doom, streaked towards the enemy lines, their warp drives blinking them past defensive screens to detonate in blinding shes of light.


    The resulting explosions tore holes in the demonic fleet, their ranks thrown into disarray.


    But it was the deployment of the Drone Swarm Pods that marked the zenith of the Dawnbreaker''s fury. "Release the drones. Consume and replicate," Zarael ordered, her voice a cold whisper.


    The pods burst open, unleashing thousands ofbat drones into the void.


    These drones, agile and relentless, swarmed over demonic ships, cutting through hulls, sabotaging systems, and replicating using the devoured materials.


    They were a gue upon the demon fleet, a relentless tide that consumed everything in its path.


    As the Drone Swarm Pods burst open, a cloud of mechanized destruction poured forth, a myriad of drones descending upon the demon fleet with a singr, relentless purpose. Each drone, a marvel of engineering and magic, buzzed through the void, their forms sleek and deadly, illuminated by the eerie light of distant stars.


    Commander Vrakthar, witnessing this new horror unfold from themand deck of his gship, could barely contain his rage. "What devilry is this?" he roared, mming a fist against the armrest of his throne. The demonic crew watched in horror as their ships began to fall prey to the swarm, the drones cutting through hulls as easily as a knife through flesh.


    The drones adapted with terrifying efficiency, their programming allowing them to target weak points with precision strikes. They burrowed into the demonic vessels, unleashing havoc within, sabotaging systems, and causing explosions from the inside out. Some drones even devoured the material of the ships themselves, using it to replicate and increase their numbers exponentially.


    As if this onught wasn''t enough, the void beasts, monstrous entities summoned by Vrakthar himself, joined the fray. These titanic creatures, born from the darkest corners of the abyss, charged towards the Dawnbreaker, only to be met by the relentless tide of drones. The void beasts roared and thrashed, attempting to swat the nuisances from existence, but the drones were too many, too agile.


    They swarmed over the beasts, finding chinks in their ethereal armor, their attacks relentless and unforgiving.


    One by one, the void beasts faltered, their ethereal forms marred by countless assaults, until they dissipated into the void, leaving no trace behind but the echoes of their roars.


    On the bridge of the Dawnbreaker, Captain Zarael watched the battle unfold with a steely gaze. "Increase drone production. Target remaining vessels and any other threats," shemanded, her voice cutting through the tension like a de. Lieutenant Aric, his hands flying over the controls, nodded in acknowledgment, his earlier hesitation a distant memory.


    As the demonic fleet withered under the assault, the drones began boarding actions, prating the remaining ships to engage in close quarters.


    The interior of these vessels became warzones, the drones engaging demonic soldiers in brutalbat. The confined spaces echoed with the sounds of battle, demonic roars met with the silent, deadly efficiency of drone warfare.


    In less than an hour, an entire army was decimated by one single ship.

 Chapter 821: Chapter 821 Halo Power

    As the Dawnbreaker continued its relentless assault, it turned its attention towards the demon-upieds, the engines roaring as it surged deeper into enemy territory. The ship, a solitary predator among the stars, moved with a purpose, its path illuminated by the destruction it wrought.


    Each, once a thriving world now under the dark dominion of demonic forces, became a target. The Dawnbreaker didn''t pause; its Quantum Disruptor Cannons charged and ready, it unleashed hell. The beams of energy, so intense they seemed to tear the very fabric of space, struck thes'' surfaces, prating deep into the demon strongholds.


    Explosions, bright and devastating, marked the end of each target, the energy unleashed from the weapons vaporizing demonic garrisons before they could mount any defense.


    In the wake of the ship''s passage,s were left smoldering, the demonic presence eradicated in a disy of power and precision. Some of the demon army, caught off-guard by the sudden and ferocious attack, had no time to react.


    Theirmunications filled with panic and disbelief as they scrambled to understand the source of their annihtion.


    Zarael even deliberately sent voice messages to the enemy saying:


    "The Dawnbreaker! It''s here!" a demon sentry managed to cry out over them link, his voice filled with terror, just moments before a sma Beam Array sliced through themand center, silencing him forever.


    The reactions among the demon ranks varied from disbelief to sheer panic. Commanders barked orders in a futile attempt to organize a defense, but their words turned to screams as Kic Railguns found their marks, decimatingmand ships and leaving chaos in their wake.


    "The humans¡­ they''ve brought a monster among us," a demon general gasped, his eyes wide as he witnessed the obliteration of his fleet from the rtive safety of his gship''s bridge. His sentence was cut short, however, as a Particle Torpedo, blinking out of a warp jump just meters away from his vessel, detonated in a blinding sh, consuming the ship and its crew in an instant.


    The Drone Swarm Pods, previously a nightmare for the ships, now descended upon thes.


    Like locusts, they swarmed over demonic fortifications, their replication algorithms working overtime. Within seconds, the drones multiplied, their numbers overwhelming any attempt at defense. They devoured everything, turning demonic artillery and soldiers into raw materials for more drones, which then proceeded to cleanse the of its dark upants.


    Dawnbreaker attacks without pause at theses, because demons never held hostage. They always killed. For better or worse, that makes destroying them easier morally and strategically.


    As the Dawnbreaker continued its relentless push, leaving behind it a trail of liberated worlds, the demonic forces realized the true extent of their peril. Communication channels, once filled with the confidentmands of demon lords, now echoed with the calls for retreat and pleas for mercy that fell on deaf ears.


    "We must flee! The Dawnbreaker¡­ it''s unstoppable," cried a surviving demon, attempting to rally hisrades for a desperate escape through the few remaining portals.


    They say demons no fear of death and wouldn''t even consider a retreat.


    That only apply to lower demons. The more intelligence ones feared death like everyone else.


    However, their inability topromise became the reason why every race seek to destroy them.


    Just as the Dawnbreaker''s onught seemed unstoppable, the tide of battle shifted with the sudden emergence of a colossal demon reinforcement fleet. Emerging from the depths of the void, their arrival was heralded by a distortion in space, a rippling echo that announced the presence of a force unlike any other.


    At the vanguard of this dark armada was a battleship that dwarfed the others in both size and malevolence.


    The gship of the demon forces, known as the Abyssal Harbinger, was a terrifying spectacle. Its hull, ck as the void it sailed, was adorned with the twisted visages of tortured souls, their screams forever captured in the metal. Spikes, sharp and gleaming under the dim light of distant stars, jutted out from its surface like the crown of some unholy king.


    The ship seemed to pulse with a dark energy, a heart of darkness beating within, powering its vast and sinister armaments. Tendrils of shadow energy snaked around it, reaching out like the fingers of a death god.


    As the Dawnbreaker faced this new threat, a message crackled through them system, a voice as cold and merciless as the void itself. "Humans of the Dawnbreaker, your end is nigh. I am Lord Kranath, master of the Abyssal Harbinger. Your destruction will be a testament to the might of the demonic forces."


    Captain Zarael, standing resolute at the helm of the Dawnbreaker, listened to the message, her expression one of unwavering defiance.


    The Abyssal Harbinger moved to the forefront of the demonic fleet, its cannons glowing with an ominous light, ready to unleash devastation upon the Dawnbreaker.


    The cannon struck the ship.


    However.


    Nothing happened.


    The only damage that done on the Dawnbreaker was only a scratch.


    Lord Kranath could not believe his eyes.


    Lord Kranath''s voice, once filled with the cold certainty of victory, now trembled with disbelief. "Impossible¡­ What sorcery protects this vessel?"


    Captain Zarael, her expression unchanged, turned to her crew, a fierce determination in her eyes. "All hands, prepare for a full arsenal barrage. It''s time to end this."


    The Dawnbreaker, a beacon of hope amidst the darkness, became the harbinger of doom for its enemies. Quantum Disruptor Cannons, sma Beam Arrays, Kic Railguns, Particle Torpedoes, and the relentless Drone Swarm Pods ¡ª all systems were charged and synchronized, aiming at the heart of the Abyssal Harbinger.


    "Fire," Zaraelmanded, her voice echoing through the bridge.


    The shipplied, a symphony of destruction unleashed. Quantum Disruptor Cannons tore through the fabric of reality itself, their beams of pure energy cutting a swathe through the demonic fleet.


    sma Beam Arrays, with precision and grace, dissected the Harbinger, their superheated fury melting armor as if it were mere wax. Kic Railguns, silent heralds of devastation, sent projectiles hurtling at near-light speed, their impact shattering the demonic vessels into a million pieces.


    Particle Torpedoes, blinking in and out of existence, delivered their ster wrath directly into the heart of the enemy, obliterating them in shes of blinding light.


    And then came the Drone Swarms, a cloud of mechanical death that enveloped the Harbinger and its escorts. They consumed and replicated, using the very matter of their foes to fuel their onught, until nothing remained but the echoes of their despair.


    The Dawnbreaker stood alone amidst the wreckage, its victory absolute. The demonic fleet, once a tide of darkness that threatened to engulf the gxy, was no more.


    The Abyssal Harbinger, its invincibility shattered, was reduced to debris, floating aimlessly in the void.


    The head of Lord Kranath was intact, staring at the Dawnbreaker, disbelief evident in his eyes.


    the aftermath of the battle, the bridge of the Dawnbreaker was awash in a subdued glow, the tension that had once gripped its crew now dissipating like the remnants of a nightmare at dawn. Captain Zarael stood at the forefront, her eyes tracing the stars thaty beyond the viewport, their tranquil light a stark contrast to the chaos that had just unfolded.


    Turning to face her crew, a smile broke across Zarael''s face, one that spoke of relief and pride. "The Shielding Halo worked exactly as intended," she said, her voice carrying a note of satisfaction that resonated through the bridge.


    The Shielding Halo, a marvel of engineering and arcane technology, had enveloped the Dawnbreaker in an imprable barrier, nullifying the Abyssal Harbinger''s lethal strike as if it were no more than a whisper against the hull.


    Lieutenant Aric, who had been among the first to doubt the Dawnbreaker''s chances against such overwhelming odds, now looked on in awe. "I must admit, Captain, I had my doubts. But seeing that¡­ It was like watching a star being born."


    Commander Lyn, always the more stoic of the crew, allowed herself a rare smile. "A star that shone bright enough to banish the darkness. This victory¡­ it''s more than just a battle won. It''s a message."


    Zarael nodded, her gaze returning to the stars. "A message that no force, no matter how dark or seemingly invincible, can withstand the will of those who stand in the light. The Dawnbreaker is more than just a ship; it''s a symbol of hope."


    "As much as we deserve to celebrate this victory, our mission is far from over. The gxy is vast, and darkness lurks in many corners. But today, we''ve shown that light can prevail. Let us carry this light forward, to all who need it."


    Lieutenant Aric, nowpletely caught up in the moment, spoke up. "Where to next, Captain?"


    Zarael looked out into the void, her eyes reflecting the myriad stars that dusted the ck canvas of space. "Wherever the darkness seeks to hide, wherever there''s a cry for help that goes unanswered. That''s where the Dawnbreaker will be. We''ve been given a chance to make a difference, and by the stars, we will seize it."

 Chapter 822: Chapter 822 Savior

    In the shadowed forests of Nal''reth, a small group of human survivors crouched behind the thick, gnarled roots of an ancient tree. Their eyes, wide with a mix of fear and curiosity, peered through a narrow gap in the wood, watching as a contingent of demons worked feverishly in the clearing beyond.


    The demons, seemingly oblivious to the human presence, were assembling structures unlike any the survivors had seen before: massive, sinister weapons that towered over thendscape, their surfaces etched with runes that pulsed with a malevolent light.


    "Have you ever seen anything like this?" whispered Jana, her voice barely a breath as she nudged herpanion, Tomas. Her eyes never left the scene unfolding before them, the sense of unease growing with every moment.


    Tomas, his brow furrowed in concentration, shook his head slowly. "No, nothing like it. The demons¡­ they''re always aggressive, yes, but this¡­ this is different. It''s like they''re preparing for something big." His voice trailed off, the implication hanging heavy in the air between them.


    From their hidden vantage point, the survivors watched as the demons hauledrge, crystalline shards to the weapons, each shard glowing with an inner fire. As the shards were fitted into the weapons'' cores, the air itself seemed to shiver, a palpable tension building with the anticipation of what these devices could unleash.


    "What are they doing with those crystals?" asked another of the group, a young man named Eli, his gaze locked on the weapons with a mixture of fascination and dread. "It''s like they''re¡­ powering them up."


    Jana turned to him, her face pale in the dappled light that filtered through the forest canopy. "I don''t know, but it can''t be good. Whatever these weapons are meant for, it''s not just to keep us at bay. This is something more."


    A rustling from the underbrush near them suddenly drew their attention. The group tensed, readying themselves for a possible encounter with a demon scout. However, to their relief, it was another human, breathless and wide-eyed, who emerged.


    "Quickly, we need to move," the neer, Mara, urged, her voice low and urgent. "The demons¡­ they''re not just setting up here. I''ve seen simr sites all over the forest. They''re nning something¡­ something big."


    The group exchanged worried nces, the gravity of the situation settling over them like a shroud. Tomas stood, his decision made. "We can''t just sit here and watch. We need to warn the others. If the demons are preparing for something, we need to be ready."


    Just as the group prepared to retreat into the dense foliage of Nal''reth''s forest, a sudden, deep rumbling echoed through the sky, halting their movements. Eyes lifted skyward, they witnessed an unnatural storm brewing above¡ªthe clouds swirling in a maelstrom of dark energy, unlike any tempest born of nature.


    "What in the world¡­" Jana''s voice trailed off, her eyes fixed on the spectacle above.


    The demons, previously focused on their sinister construction, now erupted into a frenzy of activity. Shouts filled the air as they scrambled to their posts, their movements a chaotic dance of panic and urgency. Then, without warning, the weapons previously being assembled roared to life, their barrels glowing with an ominous light as they aimed skyward.


    "What are they firing at?" Eli whispered, confusion and fearcing his words as he watched the demons unleash a torrent of energy beams into the storm above.


    The answer came momentster, a sight so astonishing it rooted the humans to the spot. From the heart of the storm descended an entire barrage ofser beams, a relentless assault that rained down upon the demons and their weapons. Explosions rocked the clearing as the beams carved through the demonic constructs, obliterating them with surgical precision.


    Fortresses that had stood moments before were now nothing but smoldering ruins, their dark purpose unfulfilled.


    But the destruction was far from over. From the belly of the storm descended a sight even more terrifying¡ªa deluge of dark clouds that moved with intent, coalescing into shapes that hinted at a sinister intelligence. The Swarm Pods, as they might be called, enveloped everything in their path, a living storm that devoured the demon ranks with voracious hunger.


    "Oh my gods¡­" Mara breathed, her voice a mix of awe and terror. "What kind of power is this?"


    The humans could only watch in stunned silence as the Swarm Pods dismantled the demonic presence with ruthless efficiency. The air was filled with the sounds of destruction, the screams of demons lost beneath the relentless advance of the swarm.


    Tomas, his gaze never leaving the sky, murmured, "This¡­ This is beyond anything we''ve ever known. Whomands such force?"


    The question hung unanswered as the storm of Swarm Podspleted its grim task, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. The forest, moments ago a scene of impending doom, now bore witness to the annihtion of the demonic force that sought to im it.


    Jana, her eyes wide with disbelief, finally found her voice. "Is this¡­ Is this our salvation? Or a new doom?"


    In the aftermath of the Swarm Pods'' devastating assault, the group of humans, still hidden within the embrace of the ancient forest, struggled toprehend the sheer magnitude of power they had just witnessed.


    Their hearts still raced, a mixture of fear and awe churning within them as they dared to hope that this might be the turning point in their fight against the darkness that had gued their world.


    Suddenly, the silence that had settled over the forest was shattered by a loud, piercing ring that seemed to emanate from the very atmosphere around them. The sound was so intense that it vibrated through their bodies,pelling them to cover their ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise.


    As quickly as it hade, the ringing ceased, reced by a powerful maic wave that swept over thendscape. The humans felt a tingling sensation, not unpleasant, but startling, as the wave passed through them, leaving a sense of electrified air in its wake.


    Then, a voice, so loud and clear it seemed toe from everywhere at once, resonated through the forest. "Humans detected. Cancelling World Obliteration procedure. Begin detoxification and restoration of the atmosphere."


    The group exchanged stunned looks, their minds racing to process the words they had just heard.


    "What¡­ what does that mean?" Jana managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper, her gaze locked on herpanions in search of answers.


    Tomas, always the one to take charge, tried to piece together their situation. "It means," he started, his voice steadier than he felt, "that whatever just happened, it wasn''t meant to destroy us. This¡­ force, whatever it is, it''s cleansing the, not condemning it."


    Eli, the youngest of the group, looked around with wide eyes. "So, we''re not in danger? From that storm, I mean?"


    Mara, who had been silent, lost in thought, finally spoke up. "It seems so. But who, or what, has the power to do this? To decide the fate of our world with a word?"


    As the group pondered the question, they noticed subtle changes around them. The air seemed fresher, cleaner than it had been moments before. A gentle breeze carried the scent of rain, of new beginnings. The very atmosphere felt lighter, as if a great weight had been lifted from the world.


    "Detoxification and restoration¡­" Tomas repeated, looking around at the forest that had been their refuge. "It''s like we''re being given a second chance."


    The loudspeaker came again: "Humans of this world. The demons that upied your has been obliterated. Rebuild your civilization and remember the name of your savior."


    The group of survivors, their eyes fixed on the sky, waited with bated breath for the name of their savior. The anticipation was palpable, a mix of hope and curiosity filling the air. The silence that followed the loudspeaker''s announcement was almost deafening, each of them internally echoing the same question.


    "Who? Who is the name of our savior?!" Jana finally broke the silence, her voice echoing the collective desperation for an answer, a name to whom they could direct their gratitude, their prayers.


    The others murmured in agreement, their eyes still scanning the heavens for a sign, any indication. But the voice from the loudspeaker remained silent, as if the deration of their salvation was meant to be the final word.


    The tension grew, a shared frustration simmering among the group, when suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. A sound, unlike anything they had heard before, rumbled through the forest, drawing their gazes upwards.


    From the maelstrom of clouds above, a gigantic sword, looking like it could cleave mountain in half, gleaming with an ethereal light, began its descent.


    It fell with a deliberate slowness, a majesty that belied its lethal form, until with a resounding impact, it stabbed into the ground before them. The earth trembled under the weight of its arrival, and for a moment, time itself seemed to pause.


    The group approached cautiously, awe-stricken by the sight. The sword was monumental, its de shimmering with a light that seemed to pulse, alive. Carved into its broad side, clear and undeniable, were two names that gleamed with an otherworldly glow: Celestial toon | Dawnbreaker.


    Eli stepped forward, his hand outstretched, almost reverently, towards the names engraved in the metal. "Celestial toon¡­ Dawnbreaker¡­" he whispered, as if speaking the names aloud would somehow make them real, confirm their existence.


    Mara, her eyes wide with realization, nodded. "That''s it. That''s the name of our savior. The force that cleansed our world, that gave us back our future."


    Tomas, his expression a mix of wonder and determination, looked around at hispanions. "We owe them everything. Our lives, our world. We must remember this day, remember their names. The Celestial toon, the Dawnbreaker¡­ they''re our heroes."


    Jana, moved by the moment, added, "And we''ll make sure that future generations know of this day, of the sacrifice and the power that saved us. We''ll rebuild, stronger and wiser, and we''ll do it in their name."


    The group gathered around the giant sword, its presence a beacon of hope, a symbol of their salvation.


    In that moment, a bond was forged among them, a collective vow to honor the memory of their saviors by rebuilding their world from the ashes of its past.

 Chapter 823: Chapter 823 Needed

    The story of the Dawnbreaker and its monumental victory in the forests of Nal''reth spread like wildfire, not just among the humans who had witnessed the sword''s descent, but across countless worlds that had felt the oppressive shadow of demonic forces. Word of the ship''s deeds became a beacon of hope, a testament to the resilience of those who fought against the darkness.


    The Celestial toon and their indomitable vessel, the Dawnbreaker, had be legends, saviors not of just one world, but many.


    In the wake of their victories, liberateds began the long process of healing and reconstruction. The demons, once an unstoppable force of destruction, found themselves retreating further with each encounter. The Dawnbreaker, wielding power that seemed to bend the very fabric of reality to its will, pushed the demonic forces back, breaking their hold on world after world.


    Communities that had once cowered in fear of the night now looked up to the skies with hope, not dread. The darkness that had seemed so imprable was now fractured, light piercing through in beams of liberation and renewal. Across the gxies, from the verdant forests of Nal''reth to the bustling cities of distants, the name of the Dawnbreaker was spoken with reverence and gratitude.


    But the liberation was not without its challenges. The demons, though beaten, were not wholly vanquished. Skirmishes continued in the far reaches of space, a testament to the resilience of evil. Yet, the victories of the Dawnbreaker had changed the tide of the cosmic war.


    No longer did the demons advance with impunity; now, they fled before the might of the Celestial toon and their celestial champion.


    Among the stars, other beings, once neutral or indifferent to the plight of worlds under siege, began to take notice. Alliances were formed, pacts sealed in the light of the Dawnbreaker''s victories. The ship and its crew had done more than liberate the oppressed; they had united a gxy inmon cause.


    Aboard the gship of the Celestial toon, amidst the vastness of space where the backdrop of stars painted a canvas of infinite possibilities, Aldred, the visionary leader of the Celestial toon, stood before a holographic projection disying the Dawnbreaker''s recent triumphs.


    The room, bathed in the soft glow of the projection, was filled with the silent anticipation of those gathered, their eyes fixed on the unfolding scenes of victory.


    Beside Aldred, Shinari, a being of wisdom and power, her presencemanding yet serene, watched the images with a thoughtful gaze. The holograms flickered with the light of battles won,s liberated, and the retreat of demonic forces, each victory a testament to the Dawnbreaker''s might and the resolve of its crew.


    Aldred, his face a mask of stoic satisfaction, finally broke the silence. "We dared to dream, Shinari, of a gxy free from the shackles of fear. And now, look at what we have achieved." His voice, filled with pride, echoed slightly in themand room, a spacious area designed for strategic discussions and pivotal decisions.


    Shinari turned her luminous eyes towards Aldred, a smile touching her lips. "Yes, Aldred, we have achieved much. But it was your vision that guided the Dawnbreaker to these victories. The darkness retreats, and light finds a way, as it always does under yourmand."


    Aldred nodded, allowing himself a moment to reflect on the journey that had brought them here. "It was a collective effort. The crew of the Dawnbreaker, our allies across the stars, and yes, even the sacrifices of those who stood against the darkness before us. Each yed a crucial role."


    The room fell into a contemtive silence as the projection continued to disy the Dawnbreaker''s journey through the gxy. Battles fought with cunning and bravery, worlds saved from the brink of despair, and the unyielding advance against the demonic onught.


    Suddenly, the projection zoomed in on a liberated, its cities beginning to rebuild, its people celebrating the return of hope. Aldred''s eyes softened at the sight. "This, Shinari, is why we fight. Not for the glory of battle, but for these moments of peace, for a future where fear no longer holds dominion over any world."


    Aldred always knew what to say.


    Shinari immediately fell for him as a subtle smile appeared on her lips.


    Shinari stepped closer to the projection, her gaze absorbing the scenes of joy and renewal. "And yet, the battle is not over. The demons may be retreating, but they are not defeated. We must remain vignt, for darkness has a way of lurking in the shadows, waiting for its moment to strike anew."


    Aldred turned to face her, determination etched into his features. "Then let us be the light that guards against the return of that darkness. The Dawnbreaker has led the charge, but it is up to us, and those who follow, to ensure the me it has ignited continues to burn bright."


    He paused, looking once more at the projection, at the worlds they had touched. "We will prepare, Shinari. We will strengthen our alliances, fortify our defenses, and continue to push the boundaries of what we believe is possible."


    In the ethereal halls of the Silverleaf Covenant, nestled within the heart of an ancient forest that seemed untouched by time, Eldermage Illyrion stood before a shimmering portal. This magical construct offered her a window to the cosmos, a means to witness the unfolding saga of liberation and resistance led by the Dawnbreaker.


    The air around her was filled with the soft luminescence of enchantednterns, casting a serene glow over the chamber.


    Illyrion, with her ageless grace and wisdom that spoke of centuries, watched the holographic disys with a mixture of pride and contemtion. The victories of the Dawnbreaker, the triumphs over darkness, were not just a distant tale to her; they were a beacon of hope for all free beings.


    As she observed the scenes of celebration on liberateds, a soft smile touched her lips. "Aldred and his Celestial toon have achieved what many deemed impossible," she murmured to herself, her voice carrying the musical quality of her elven heritage. "The unity of purpose, the courage to stand against the night¡­ it is a powerful reminder of what we can aplish together."


    Around her, the serene atmosphere of the chamber was a stark contrast to the battle-scarred vistas disyed through the portal. It was a testament to the sanctuary the Silverleaf Covenant had always provided, a bastion of light amidst the encroaching darkness.


    Anariel, stepped beside her, her own eyes reflecting the light of the victories. "Eldermage, the Dawnbreaker''s deeds have inspired many. Their name is spoken with reverence even here, in the heart of our ancient forests. The elves of Silverleaf recognize the strength and valor of those who fight beyond our realms."


    Illyrion turned to Anariel, her gaze deep and knowing. "Indeed, Anariel. And it is our duty, as allies to the Celestial toon, to support their cause with our wisdom and our magic. The darkness that seeks to engulf the stars is a foe to all life, not just to those who dwell in the realms of men."


    A moment of silence passed between them, a shared acknowledgment of the weight of theirmitment. Then, Illyrion''s expression turned resolute, the determination of centuries etched into her features. "Prepare a council meeting, Anariel. We must discuss how best to aid the Dawnbreaker and the Celestial toon in their ongoing battle.


    Our magics, our knowledge¡ªeverything at our disposal must be leveraged to ensure the light prevails."


    Anariel bowed slightly, a gesture of respect and agreement. "At once, Eldermage. The Silverleaf Covenant stands ready to answer the call. Together, with the Dawnbreaker, we shall turn the tide against the darkness."


    As Anariel departed to carry out her instructions, Illyrion turned back to the portal, her eyes once again drawn to the distant stars that seemed to shimmer with newfound hope. The Dawnbreaker''s journey was a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who dared to dream of a brighter future.


    Meanwhile, Francus and Grigor were watching from their room in the tree house.


    "Holy shit!" Francus eximed. "This is the new ship? It can decimate an entire army by itself!"


    In the heart of the ancient, enchanted forest, nestled among towering trees that whispered age-old secrets, stood a modest yet mystical tree house. This was the abode of Francus and Grigor, two of the Celestial toon''s most valiant warriors, who had found sce and strategy within its wooden walls.


    As members of this elite force, they were ustomed to tales of valor and victory, yet the spectacle unfolding before their eyes was unlike anything they had ever witnessed.


    Perched before a magical viewing screen, a gift from Eldermage Illyrion that allowed them to witness events from afar, Francus and Grigor watched with bated breath as the Dawnbreaker, their gship, disyed power on a scale unimaginable. The ship''s cannons unleashed devastation with precision and ferocity, turning demonic fortresses into dust and sending their upants fleeing into the void.


    Francus, ever the spirited and impulsive of the duo, leaped to his feet, his eyes alight with excitement. "Holy shit! This is the new ship? It can decimate an entire army by itself!" His voice, a mix of awe and incredulity, echoed through the tree house, bouncing off the carved wooden walls adorned with relics of battles past.


    Grigor sighed. "Makes you wonder if foot soldiers like us are even needed in the first ce."

 Chapter 824: Chapter 824 Guerilla

    On a deste shrouded in perpetual darkness, where the atmosphere itself seemed to snarl with malevolence, the demon forces regrouped, unaware of the fate that awaited them. This was a world forsaken, twisted by centuries of demonic corruption, its skies a swirling mass of ominous clouds that blotted out any light.


    Below, the demonic legions moved with a lethargic sense of security, their vehicles trudging along the craggy terrain, fortresses standing like silent sentinels of the darkness.


    Within one of these foreboding strongholds, amander, a creature of towering stature and festering wounds that never healed, barked orders at its subordinates. "Secure the perimeter! The humans and their allies grow bold, but they will not find us wanting!"


    The demons hustled, their movements a grotesque ballet of chaos, as they fortified their positions, confident in their impregnable defenses. Themander watched, a sneer curling its lips, believing in the invincibility of their dark bastion.


    Suddenly, the heavens roared, a sound so powerful it shook the very foundations of the. The demons paused, looking up in confusion.


    Suddenly.


    The dark clouds above were pierced by countless beams of pure, searing light. These were no ordinary beams; they were the harbingers of the Dawnbreaker''s wrath, cutting through the darkness with unwavering precision.


    Themander''s eyes widened in disbelief as the first of the beams struck a nearby vehicle patrol, the impact instantaneous and devastating. The vehicles, once symbols of their dominion, exploded in brilliant res of light, their twisted metal carcasses sent flying.


    "Impossible!" themander roared, but its defiance was drowned out by the continuous barrage ofser beams that rained down upon them. The fortress, once thought to be imprable, was punctured through by the beams, its walls crumbling under the force of the assault. Within moments, the entire structure was engulfed by the light, its dark essence vaporizing as if it were mere mist.


    The demons scrambled, panic overtaking them as they witnessed their world, their power, being obliterated with such ease. Themander, its figure now silhouetted against the growing light, turned to its fleeing forces, its voice a mere whisper amidst the chaos. "Retreat¡­ retreat!"


    But there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.


    The Dawnbreaker''s judgment was absolute, its cleansing light leaving no shadow in which the darkness could linger. The, once a stronghold of terror, was now a beacon of liberation, its skies cleared, and its ground purified.


    In the aftermath of the Dawnbreaker''s cataclysmic assault on the deste demon, a profound silence enveloped the once-forsaken world. The darkness that had clung to the like a shroud was now lifted, revealing andscape transformed by the light. Where once there stood fortresses of malice and legions of demons, now there was only the quiet aftermath of liberation.


    Yet, from this silence, a miracle unfolded. Beneath the scorched soil and shattered remnants of demonic constructs, life began to stir. First, it was just a whisper, a gentle sprouting that broke through the barren ground. Green shoots pushed their way towards the sun, defiant in their vitality.


    Trees, their bark gleaming with an inner light, stretched their branches high, reiming the sky that had been hidden behindyers of oppressive clouds.


    Francus and Grigor, watching from afar through their magical viewing screen, found themselves speechless at the sight. The destruction they had witnessed was undeniable, yet here before them, the Dawnbreaker''s true power revealed itself not just in its ability to obliterate, but to renew.


    "Would you look at that," Grigor whispered, a note of awe in his voice that matched the wonder in his eyes. "It''s not just a weapon of war. It''s a bringer of life."


    Francus, his earlier excitement tempered by the profound transformation he witnessed, nodded slowly. "I never imagined¡­ After all that destruction, to see something so¡­ beautiful emerge."


    The, once devoid of life, now buzzed with the energy of new beginnings. Flowers, their petals reflecting the spectrum of light that had liberated them, dotted thendscape, creating a mosaic of color against the green. Streams of crystal-clear water bubbled to the surface, nourishing the newly awakened life and singing songs of rejuvenation.


    As the dawn broke, casting its first light on a world reborn, it became evident that the Dawnbreaker''s legacy would be one of duality¡ªdestruction of the dark, and the nurturing of the light.


    As the Dawnbreaker''s victories echoed across the cosmos, a sense of unrest stirred within the dark recesses of the universe. From thousands of worlds, shrouded in the malevolence of demonic rule, came the call to arms. The Dawnbreaker, a name that had be synonymous with hope for the oppressed, was now a threat too great for the demonic forces to ignore.


    In a bid to neutralize this beacon of liberation, demon vessels, vast and ominous, began to streak out of thes they had long held under their sinister grip.


    On a world where the skies were perpetually stained with the ash of destruction, a group of gueri fighters watched from the shadows as the demon fleet mobilized.


    These fighters, elves and humans united by amon cause, observed the exodus of the demonic forces with cautious optimism.


    They were from the Silverleaf and the Phoenix. Both groups who would never shook hands with each other before.


    "Look at them flee," whispered Aerin, an elf with eyes like polished emeralds, her voice tinged with both disbelief and hope. "The Dawnbreaker has them running scared."


    Beside her, a human named Corin adjusted the grip on his weapon, a determined set to his jaw. "It''s our time now. With their forces spread thin, we can strike back, reim what''s ours."


    The gueri fighters, scattered across many worlds, shared this moment of realization. The departure of the demon vessels was a sign, a turning point. The demons, in their haste to confront the Dawnbreaker, had left their fortresses less defended, their grip on the worlds they terrorized momentarily weakened.


    Aerin signaled to herrades, her expression one of fierce resolve. "Gather everyone. This is our chance to push back, to remind them that we are not broken."


    Across the universe, simr scenes unfolded. The gueri fighters, emboldened by the Dawnbreaker''s distant victories and the sudden vulnerability of their oppressors, emerged from hiding. Elves, humans, and beings of many races rallied, their spirits ignited by the prospect of reiming their homes.


    In the heart of a city long since fallen to despair, a group of human rebels moved with purpose, their footsteps echoing through abandoned streets. "To the fortress," Corinmanded, his voice a beacon of leadership in the darkness. "Today, we fight not just for survival, but for freedom."


    And so, the gueri fighters of many worldsunched their assaults, targeting the weakened strongholds of the demonic forces. The element of surprise was on their side, their attacks coordinated and fierce.


    Battles raged beneath the shadow of departing demon vessels, the air filled with the sh of steel and the crackle of magic. The fighters moved with a desperation born of years of oppression, their attacks relentless.


    ¡­


    Aldred, in his office, watched all of this battle unfolded.


    In the strategicmand center of the Celestial toon, amidst the hum of advanced technology and the soft glow of holographic disys, Aldred stood alone, his gaze fixed on the live feeds from countless worlds. The scenes of triumph, of gueri fighters reiming their homes from the retreating demonic forces, should have filled him with satisfaction.


    Yet, beneath the calm exterior of the toon''s revered leader, a storm of anxiety churned.


    Aldred''s mind was not at ease; it was clouded with the foreboding knowledge that their adversary, Lord Malgorth, was neither weak nor foolish. The sudden and seemingly disorganized retreat of the demonic forces from multiple fronts was uncharacteristic of the cunning and ruthless overlord.


    "Everything is proceeding as nned¡­ Perhaps a little too well," Aldred murmured to himself, his hands sped behind his back as he paced slowly in front of the viewing screens. The victories, though hard-won and deserving of celebration, felt hollow, overshadowed by the anticipation of Malgorth''s response.


    As if summoned by his thoughts, Shinari entered the room, her presence aforting constant in the ever-shifting tides of war. She noticed the tension in Aldred''s posture, the slight furrow of his brow that spoke volumes.


    "You look worried. Something went wrong?"


    "No. In fact, the opposite. Everything went¡­ right."


    "Rarely anyone would be worried if their n went smoothly."


    "We are fighting against something supposedly much more powerful and intelligent than us. The little victories we have might seem optimistic, but we haven''t won the war yet."


    Shinari nodded. "Are you going to pull the Dawnbreaker back?"


    "Not now. The guerris are taking over their worlds as we speak. Now is not a good time."


    That was when suddenly something happened.


    The demons that went out to leave the and fight Dawnbreaker suddenly, returned to theirs.


    The guerrs fighters had the advantage of being hidden before.


    But now, they were out in the light.

 Chapter 825: Chapter 825 Saving Lives

    The sudden return of the demon vessels cast a shadow over the worlds that had just begun to taste freedom. The guerri fighters, moments ago buoyed by hope and the thrill of rebellion, found themselves exposed and vulnerable under the open sky.


    The demons, far from engaging the Dawnbreaker in a distant battle, had executed a cunning feint, turning their full might upon those who dared stand against them on the ground.


    Aerin, among the trees with her band of elven and human allies, felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the dark silhouettes of the vessels blot out the sun. "Ambush!" she cried, her voice a rion call that was all toote. The air was rent with the sound of demonic artillery, a cacophony of death that descended upon the fighters with merciless precision.


    Corin, rallying his troops in the heart of a city''s ruins, barely had time to shout a warning before the world around him erupted into chaos. The ground shook with each impact, buildings that had stood as silent witnesses to the struggle crumbled, and the air filled with the scent of blood and fire.


    The guerris, taken by surprise, fought desperately but the disparity in power was all too evident. Lasers cut through their ranks, leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. Explosions sent bodies flying, life extinguished in the blink of an eye. The cries of the wounded and dying melded with the roar of the battle, a grim symphony of despair.


    "Fall back!" Corin yelled, his voice ragged with fury and frustration. He grabbed a nearby fighter, pulling her away from the line of fire. "We need to regroup, find cover!"


    But the demons gave no quarter. Their assault was relentless, a tidal wave of destruction that sought to crush any resistance. The fighters scattered, their unity shattered under the onught. Some sought refuge in the ruins, others fled towards the forests, but all knew the grim reality: they were outmatched, and survival now hinged on evasion, not confrontation.


    Aerin, her bow in hand, loosed arrow after arrow, each one imbued with the magic of her ancient lineage. But for each demon that fell, ten more took its ce. "To the woods!" she ordered, her heart heavy with the knowledge that this was a retreat, not a tactical withdrawal. "Protect the wounded, move!"


    As the guerri fighters dispersed, seeking the meager shelter offered by thendscape, the demons advanced, theirughter a cruel echo that filled the air. They hunted the fleeing rebels with a savage joy, reveling in the destruction they wrought.


    Aldred and Shinari observed these massacres.


    Aldred only had a look of realization and slightly impressed.


    Meanwhile, horror stered on Shinari''s countenance.


    "So that''s his strategy," Aldred said. "They are using us."


    Shinari also realized it. After years of battles with Aldred, she knew a lot of tricks and deception of war.


    The demon let Dawnbreaker wreck havoc in their territory, fooling everyone that humanity was winning.


    They knew the Dawnbreaker was merely a distraction. The real hassle was the gueri fighters who had been fighting in the shadow for decades. Like rats and cockroaches, they always appeared out of nowhere.


    The Dawnbreaker gave them a chance to lure these rats out and exterminate them once and for all.


    Aldred fell right into their trap.


    However, his lips turned into a wide-sinister grin.


    Shinari noticed it and was surprised as she had never seen Aldred made that face before.


    "All the gueri fighters in the demon world will be obliterated. We won''t have as many informants as before. The fog of war bes darker and thicker," Shinari said.


    "That makes it more exciting isn''t it?"


    "Exciting? Aldred, we are in a war. Millions will die."


    "It doesn''t matter. Millions. Billions will die even if there is no war. Diseases, natural phenomena, idents, and many more."


    The tension in the room was palpable, a stark contrast to the chaos that reigned outside. Shinari, visibly unsettled by Aldred''s grim eptance of the casualties, paced the length of their makeshiftmand center, her steps echoing in the silence that followed his statement. She stopped, turning to face Aldred with a look of fierce determination.


    "You can''t possibly believe that," she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil she felt inside. "Yes, death is an inevitable part of life, but to dismiss those lives so cavalierly¡ª"


    Aldred raised a hand, signaling her to pause. "You misunderstand me, Shinari. I do not dismiss the value of life lightly. Each loss is a tragedy, a potential unfulfilled. But we must face the reality of our situation. We are at war, and in war, death is a constantpanion."


    Shinari''s expression softened, understanding dawning. "And you believe that epting this is the only way to win? To embrace the chaos and use it?"


    "Exactly," Aldred replied, his gaze drifting to the maps strewn across the table. "We cannot afford to be paralyzed by the fear of loss. We must act, and act decisively, if we are to have any hope of victory."


    Shinari nodded. "I am not paralyzed by the loss. I have been in many battles. Casualties are inevitable."


    "Yes. But you only see death in the dozens. Have you witness billions of lives vanquished before your very eyes?"


    Shinari looked at the multiple screens projecting the demons burning and chasing all the fighters.


    "We did this," Aldred said. "Because of our n, these fighters came out of hiding and got themselves killed."


    Shinari frowned. "What are you going to do?"


    "Avenge them of course. I need to let everyone know that we are not losing. I will go to each and everyone one of thoses."


    "That''s too dangerous. There might be a trap."


    "Everything we do is dangerous." Aldred smiled before he vanished immediately.


    Shinari''s heart hammered against her ribs, fear and determination fueling her swift movements as she exited themand center. The thought of Aldred, alone, facing potential traps and insurmountable odds, sent a cold shiver down her spine. Her resolve hardened; she couldn''t let him face this peril without support.


    Racing through the dimly lit corridors, she reached the hangar where her sleek spacecraft awaited, its metallic surface gleaming under the artificial lights. Without hesitation, she boarded and set the coordinates for the floating giant vessel, home to the brilliant minds of the Celestial toon.


    The vessel, a marvel of engineering and technology, floated in the quiet expanse of space, its size dwarfing the spacecrafts that buzzed around it like flies. As Shinari''s ship docked, she was met with the sight of scientists and engineers in a frenzy of activity, the urgency of their tasks palpable in the air.


    Guards, vignt and unwavering, stood at their posts, a testament to the importance of the work being done within these walls.


    Navigating through the maze of corridors, Shinari arrived at theb of Smander, the genius engineer whose inventions had turned the tide of many battles. Theb was chaos incarnate, with blueprints and holographic disys scattered across the space. Amidst the chaos, Smander stood, a figure of calm as he surveyed his domain.


    "Smander," Shinari began, urgencycing her voice, "we face a dire situation. Aldred has set off alone, seeking to avenge our fallen allies. He''s walking into unknown dangers, and I fear for his safety."


    Smander turned, his gaze intense, absorbing every word. "Aldred is a formidable force, but even he is not invincible," he acknowledged, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You seek a solution that can strike back at our enemies while ensuring Aldred''s safety?"


    "Exactly," Shinari confirmed, her eyes pleading for understanding, for hope.


    After a moment of contemtion, a spark of inspiration lit Smander''s eyes. "I may have just the thing," he said, moving towards a secured cab. From it, he retrieved a small device, norger than a fist, its surface sleek and inscribed with intricate runes.


    "This," he began, cradling the device in his hands, "is a prototype I''ve been developing. It''s designed to autonomously gather materials, even from the debris of battle, and construct explosives. These can be deployed in strategic locations to disrupt our enemies without risking more lives."


    Shinari examined the device, its potential immediately apparent. "Could this be programmed to target specific facilities? To cripple their operations without direct confrontation?"


    "Precisely," Smander confirmed, a hint of pride in his voice. "And it operates with such stealth that Aldred''s intervention would be unnecessary. He could remain safe while this device carries out the mission."


    The relief that washed over Shinari was palpable. "This¡­ could change everything. How soon can we deploy it?"


    Smander''s response was immediate. "It''s ready now. All it needs is a target."


    With a newfound sense of purpose, Shinari took the device, its weight light in her hands but heavy with significance. "Then let''s bring our fight to the enemy''s doorstep, without risking more of our own. Thank you, Smander. You may have just saved countless lives today."


    "Or end them." Smander chuckled.

 Chapter 826: Chapter 826 World Destroyer

    Aldred approached the demon-infested with a calmness that belied the gravity of his mission. Hundreds of demonic vessels swarmed the atmosphere, a protective barrier of sheer force and malevolence. Yet, they passed over Aldred without a flicker of recognition, as if he were nothing more than a whisper against the backdrop of space.


    It was not invisibility that shielded him but a far subtler magic, one that clouded perception and diverted attention. He moved among them, unseen and unchallenged, a ghost drifting towards his quarry.


    From orbit, the revealed itself as a hive of demonic activity. Massive forges belched fire into the sky, their mes casting an infernal glow over sprawling cities. Legions of demons moved in chaotic harmony, their forms diverse and horrifying, engaged in ceaselessbor or brutal training for wars yet toe.


    Towering spires pierced the sky, from which the dark energies pulsed, weaving a tapestry of power that shielded the from prying eyes and unwee intruders.


    Aldred hovered in space, his gaze piercing the veil of demonic might. His eyes, glowing with a light born of ancient power, observed the ceaseless industry, the relentless preparation for conquest. It was a world of darkness, yes, but also of undeniable strength and purpose.


    "It''s almost beautiful, in a terrifying sort of way," Aldred murmured to himself, the weight of his task pressing upon him. He knew what had to be done, yet the sight of a world so alive with activity, so vibrant in its dark majesty, gave him pause.


    Drawing a deep breath, Aldred extended his hands, palms facing the below. The fabric of reality seemed to bend and warp around him, a visible distortion in the space between his fingertips and the world he targeted. Then, with a forceful downward motion, he unleashed his power.


    The effect was immediate and catastrophic.


    A palpable wave of energy, invisible to the eye but overwhelming in its might, swept across the. The ground shuddered and groaned as if in agony, vast fissures tearing through cities and wilderness alike.


    Demons looked up in shock and terror as the very world beneath their feet betrayed them, gravity itself turning malevolent. Structures that had stood for eons crumbled in moments, swallowed by the gaping maw of the as it fractured under the assault.


    Aldred watched, his expression a mix of sorrow and resolve. "This is the price," he whispered, not to anyone but to the cosmos itself. "The price of your aggression, of your hunger for conquest. May this be a lesson to those who would follow in your footsteps."


    They stood no chance under his might.


    Aldred''s journey through the cosmos became a silent vigil, a lone warrior moving against the dark tide that threatened to engulf the universe. Each demon world he encountered was a testament to the relentless ambition of its inhabitants, a mirror to their desire for dominion and power.


    And yet, with every he visited, Aldred brought with him a reckoning, a force of nature that could not be denied or deflected.


    On the world of Zharak, where the skies were choked with the fumes of industry and the rivers ran thick with the blood of the enved, Aldred found no beauty, only destion. Here, the demons had built their empire on the backs of countless conquered peoples, their suffering the foundation of demonic might.


    As he orbited above, Aldred''s heart grew heavy with the weight of the pain that emanated from the surface.


    "This cannot stand," he dered, his voice a whisper that carried the force of thunder. With a gesture, he summoned a storm of cosmic energy, directing it towards the''s core. As the storm prated the surface, it ignited the vtilepounds that powered the demonic machines, setting off a chain reaction that tore the world apart from within.


    The explosion was a brilliant re in the darkness, a brief but potent reminder of the price of tyranny.


    Aldred did not linger to watch the destruction. There were more worlds, more battles to be fought.


    His next target was the oceanic of Nal''Shara, a jewel of water and ice, twisted into a fortress of sorcery and shadow. Here, the demons had harnessed the ancient leviathans of the deep, binding them to their will and corrupting their once-noble spirits. Aldred felt a pang of sorrow for these creatures, their majesty perverted into tools of war.


    As he descended into the atmosphere, Aldred extended his hands, his powers reaching out to touch the minds of the leviathans. "Be free," he urged them, his voice a beacon of light in the oppressive gloom. Under his guidance, the leviathans rose, their rage and pain transformed into a force for liberation.


    They turned against their captors, shattering the chains of dark magic that held them, and in their fury, they tore the demonic fortresses asunder.


    The shook with their wrath, the sea reiming what had been stolen.


    Dozens then hundreds of worlds fell.


    However, the more he destroy these worlds, the more risk he took.


    The enemies would soon got a better understanding of his power.


    It might not seem obvious, but what Aldred did actually put him in a disadvantage.


    He knew nothing about Malgorth''s power, but they do know about him.


    Aldred knew the risk,  but he had to do it.


    In the hidden depths of the universe, far from the prying eyes of gods and mortals alike, Zagrath, the me Warden, observed the destruction wrought by Aldred with a mixture of fascination and concern. Hisir, a fortress of shadow and fire nestled in the heart of a dying star, thrummed with dark energy.


    The walls, adorned with ancient runes, pulsed softly, illuminating the vast chamber with a sinister glow.


    Surrounded by a multitude of screens, each one a window to a world under siege, Zagrath watched as Aldred moved from one to the next, his power unleashed with devastating effect. The Warden''s fingers danced across the surfaces of arcane instruments, tracking the path of destruction, calcting the impact on the delicate bnce of the cosmos.


    "So, he dares to challenge the might of the infernal realms," Zagrath murmured, his voice a deep rumble that echoed through the chamber. "Foolhardy, yet¡­ impressive."


    With a flick of his wrist, Zagrath zoomed in on a particr screen, capturing the moment Aldred''s power shattered the defenses of a demon stronghold. The Warden''s eyes, burning with an inner me, reflected the cataclysm unfolding before him.


    "He wields ancient magics," Zagrath noted, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Magics that have not been seen in the universe for eons. Interesting."


    Despite the danger Aldred posed to his own kind, Zagrath could not help but admire the warrior''s resolve. It was a rare sight to see someone so willingly walk into the maw of darkness, wielding light as a weapon against overwhelming odds.


    But admiration did not cloud Zagrath''s judgment.


    He understood better than most the stakes of this conflict.


    The bnce of power was shifting, and if Aldred''s crusade went unchecked, it could lead to a cataclysm far greater than the destruction of a few demon worlds.


    "Let me test his strength."


    Aldred floated in the void of space, his gaze fixed on the below him, now a roiling inferno of me andva. What had once been a bastion of demonic powery broken, its destructionplete. The air, though absent in the vacuum of space, seemed to shudder with the heat emanating from the dying world.


    As he turned to depart, the fabric of space itself seemed to warp and shiver. Dozens of massive red portals tore open the cosmos, framing Aldred in a circle of impending doom. From these gaping maws of dark energy, huge demonic leviathans emerged, their bodies writhing masses of scales, ws, and fangs, eyes alight with hellfire.


    They were ancient creatures of destruction, pulled from the depths of demonic lore, each one a harbinger of death.


    Aldred''s stance shifted, his calm demeanor giving way to alert readiness. "So, ites to this," he said, a spark of resolve igniting in his eyes.


    The leviathans charged, their forms cutting through the vacuum with supernatural speed, a nightmare made flesh aimed directly at Aldred. Their roars, silent in the vacuum of space, reverberated through the magical essence that bound the universe together, a primal challenge that no warrior could ignore.


    The first leviathan reached him, a colossal beast whose jaws could swallow worlds. Aldred met its charge with a surge of power, a brilliantnce of pure energy that pierced the creature''s heart. It recoiled, a silent scream of agony and rage as the light consumed it, reducing it to ash that drifted into the void.


    One by one, the leviathans came, and one by one, they fell.


    Aldred moved with a grace and power that belied his mortal form, each movement a dance of destruction against the forces of darkness.


    Yet, for every beast he felled, two more seemed to take its ce, an endless tide of malice.

 Chapter 827: Chapter 827 Next Phase

    As the battle waged on, the demonic leviathans, now cloaked in sheaths of me that made their forms even more terrifying, continued to spill forth from the portals. They surged towards Aldred in droves, a seemingly endless onught of rage and destruction. With each beast he dispatched, another took its ce, as if the very fabric of hell itself was set against him, determined to over


    His hands moved in blurs, casting bolts of pure energy that sliced through the demonic forms, his power a beacon amidst the darkness. Dozens of leviathans fell per second, their ashes scattered to the cosmic winds, yet still, they came.


    But as the battle drew on, a subtle shift urred. The leviathans, creatures of chaos and malice, began to adapt. With each wave he dispatched, their movements grew more cunning, their attacks more coordinated. It was as if the collective malice of the horde learned from each defeat, each fallen beast a lesson in how to betterbat the light Aldred wielded.


    Their charges became feints, their direct assaults giving way to more guileful strikes aimed not only at Aldred''s body but at weariness his spirit. The creatures he faced now were not the mindless drones he had encountered at the battle''s onset but rather cunning predators, their instincts honed by the crucible ofbat against a superior foe.


    Aldred recognized the shift with a warrior''s instinct, the realization dawning on him that this was no mere test of strength but a battle of wills. "You seek to wear me down," he spoke into the void, his voice carrying the weight of his determination. "To break my spirit. Do you think I am that simple to defeat?"


    Instead of conserving his energy and slow down in his attacks, Aldred moved faster, his attacks deadlier, and from dozens of leviathan killed per seconds, it became hundreds per second.


    Zagrath, watching this, slightly frowned. Curiosity appeared on his face. "How long would youst?


    Aldred continued his battle. Days turned into months, then months became years. At this point, there were several dozen portals opened in the deep space and countless leviathans poured towards him.


    And yet, there were no signs that he was bing weaker. His attacks were consistently powerful. Each movement decimate an entire area of leviathans at once.


    The answer to Zagrath''s question was; a long fucking time!


    While Aldred''s battle raged in the vacuum of space, a silent war of another kind unfolded across the demon-infested worlds. Smander''s invention, the Auto-Drones, executed their mission with a precision and stealth that would have impressed any master of espionage.


    These drones, norger than a fist and designed for inconspicuousness, infiltrated thousands of worlds under the cover of darkness and chaos.


    The Auto-Drones, each carrying the potential for destruction and liberation, moved through the shadowed alleys of sprawling demonic cities, across the blightedndscapes marred by endless conflict, and into the heart of fortresses that pulsed with dark energy.


    Their programming was simple yet effective: to seek out and build explosives in locations that, while seemingly inconsequential, held vital importance to the infrastructure of demon power.


    In a hiddenboratory, deep within the Celestial toon''s floating vessel, Smander monitored the progress of his creations. Screens lined the walls, each disying different stages of the Auto-Drones'' mission. His fingers danced across a holographic interface, adjusting strategies and deployment patterns in real-time.


    "These little ones are doing better than expected," Smander mused, a hint of pride in his voice. "It''s almost like they''ve developed a taste for sabotage."


    The drones worked tirelessly, their actions coordinated by an intricatework ofmunication that Smander had crafted. They nted explosives with care, some designed to detonate immediately and cripple key facilities, others set to explode simultaneously in a chain reaction that would bring demonic operations to a standstill.


    As the months turned into years, the drones'' impact became increasingly evident. Supply lines were cut, causing chaos and confusion within demon ranks. Armories exploded in spectacr fashion, their loss crippling the demons'' ability to wage war. Communication hubs were destroyed, isting demon worlds from one another and sowing discord among their leaders.


    On a particr world, one of the drones, which Smander had affectionately named Spark, infiltrated a massive fortress that served as amand center for the demon legions. Spark navigated the dark corridors with ease, avoiding detection by demonic sentries and surveince spells alike.


    It found its way to the central power core, a pulsing mass of dark energy that powered the fortress''s defenses.


    With meticulous precision, Spark began to construct a series of explosives around the core, each linked to the others in a web of potential destruction. As it worked, Spark transmitted a live feed back to Smander, who watched with bated breath.


    "This is it," Smander whispered, his eyes glued to the screen. "The heart of their power. Once this goes, the wholework copses."


    And then, with a final check to ensure everything was in ce, Spark retreated to a safe distance. Smander initiated the detonation sequence, his finger hovering over the button that would bring down the demon''smand center.


    "Goodbye," he said softly, pressing the button.


    The explosion was monumental, a brilliant re of light that outshone the''s sun for a brief moment.


    The fortress imploded, then exploded, its destructionplete and absolute. The shockwaves from the st rippled through the demonicworks, a clear signal that the tide of the war was turning.


    Throughout the years of Aldred''s relentless battle against the leviathans, the Celestial toons and their allies had not remained idle. Understanding the long war thaty ahead, they had worked tirelessly, expanding their forces and arsenals day by day. It was a time of growth, not just in military might, but in the economic engines that powered their resistance.


    On the floatingmand vessel, now bristling with new armaments and bustling with activity, General Vara stood overlooking the training grounds. Below her, rows upon rows of new recruits practiced maneuvers, their movements bing more synchronized with each passing day. Vara, a veteran of countless battles, knew the importance of each soldier under hermand.


    "We grow stronger," she murmured to herself, a sense of pride swelling within her.


    Beside her, Lieutenant Merek, her second-inmand, nodded in agreement. "Our forces have doubled since Aldred began his battle. And our technological advancements¡ª" he gestured towards a group of engineers testing a new type of drone, "¡ªare pushing us further ahead."


    Vara turned to him, her gaze steely. "It''s not enough to just match them. We must surpass them. We cannot know the full extent of the enemy''s capabilities, especially with Aldred drawing so much of their attention."


    Merek met her gaze, understanding the weight of her words. "I''ve also received reports from our economic divisions. The businesses we''ve established across allied worlds are thriving. The profits have been funnelled back into our efforts here."


    Vara smiled, a rare sight. "Good. We''ll need every resource at our disposal. Have we made any progress on the new energy source?"


    "Yes, General. The teams have been working closely with Smander''s engineers. They believe they''re close to a breakthrough that could change the tide of this war," Merek replied with a hint of excitement.


    The general nodded, turning her attention back to the recruits. "Ensure that Smander has everything he needs. This war¡­ it''s not just fought with soldiers and weapons. It''s innovation, determination, and the will to persevere."


    The one that made this expansion so efficient was none other than Shinari. Knowing that Aldred was fighting, she could not just sit still and do nothing.


    She figured her best way to help was to make Celestial toon even bigger.


    They were already the biggest mercenarypany in the entire human Empire and perhaps the entire gxy.


    The reason for that might be because an organization that was too powerful would be immediately recruited by their government, otherwise face extermination.


    ¡­


    Shinari paced briskly through the corridors of the Celestial toon''s gship.


    Her stride was purposeful, each step echoing slightly against the metal floors. In her hand, she held a digital pad, its screen alive with charts, graphs, and a flood of real-time data that only she could interpret at such a pace.


    Her focus was absolute, her mind racing through logistics, troop deployments, and resource allocations with a precision that had earned her a reputation as a strategic genius within the toon. Her earpiece crackled with iing calls, voices moring for decisions, approvals, and, asionally, reassurance.


    "Coordinate the fleet''s movements with Gamma Squadron," she instructed sharply, her fingers swiping and tapping on the pad with practiced ease. "No, tell them to wait for my signal. We can''t afford a misstep, not now."


    As she rounded a corner, her pace never faltering, her thoughts were a whirlwind of strategy and concern for Aldred. His battle was a beacon of hope and a source of unending worry for her. The weight ofmand was heavy, but the thought of failing him, of failing their shared cause, was unbearable.


    Entering her office, a space more functional than decorative, with screens lining the walls and arge, tactical disy dominating the center, Shinari was a whirlwind of activity¡ªuntil she stopped dead in her tracks.


    There, leaning casually against her desk with that infuriatingly calm and nonchnt smile, was Aldred.


    "Hey," he greeted, as if his appearance in the heart of the battleship, far from the front lines of his cosmic battle, was the most natural thing in the world.


    For a moment, Shinari was speechless, her mind racing to catch up with the reality of his presence. The pad slipped from her hand, forgotten, as she stared at him. "Aldred? How¡ª Why are you here? How did you even get here?"


    Aldred pushed off from the desk, stepping towards her with that same easy grace that seemed so at odds with the ferocity she knew he wielded in battle. "I figured it was time for a brief¡­ intermission. And I needed to see you."


    "But the battle, the leviathans¡­" Shinari''s voice trailed off as she realized the absurdity of questioning him. He was here, somehow defying the logic of their situation. The realization softened her expression from one of shock to concern. "Are you alright?"


    He chuckled, the sound warm and reassuring. "I''m fine. Better for seeing you. But Shinari, I''ve been fighting non-stop. The leviathans keeping, but it''s under control. I came back because we need to talk.


    About the war, the strategy moving forward, and about us."


    "About u¡ª"


    Aldred grabbed her by the waist and kissed her cheek.


    "Aldred, are you drunk?"


    Aldredughed. "What type of alcohol can make me drunk?"


    "Okay, that aside. Why are you here? What about the leviathans?"


    "My clones fought them. Did you think I would really stay there for years and fought all those years? That would be a waste of time."


    "Well, you did that against Vortimer."


    "He was too powerful and I need to protect you guys as well."


    "If that is the case, why didn''t you say anything."


    "I am ying it safe. The demons might have a lot of ears and eyes, especially when our group is getting bigger. Intelligence entities know that information is one of the key to victories, Shinari. They will and already have infiltrated us in so many ways. I hope you be more careful now." Aldred stood up as if he was about to leave.


    "Wait, where are you going?"


    Aldred smiled onest time at her. "To do things that will bring this war to the next phase."

 Chapter 828: Chapter 828 The War Proceed

    Shinari stood alone in her office, the afterimage of Aldred''s sudden departure lingering like a phantom. His words echoed in her mind, a tumultuous blend of reassurance and enigma.


    The revtion that Aldred had been using clones to continue his relentless battle while safeguarding their operations brought a whirlwind of emotions: relief, frustration, and an intensified determination to y her part in this vast and intricate war.


    Without a moment''s dy, Shinari''s resolve hardened. If Aldred was moving them into the next phase of the war, then she needed to ensure that their tactical and technological advances kept pace. Her first thought was of Smander and his Auto-Drones, the silent harbingers of chaos for their demonic foes.


    The journey to Smander''sboratory was swift, her purposeful strides echoing through the corridors of the battleship. The door to hisb slid open with a hiss, revealing the genius at work amidst abyrinth of machinery and holographic disys.


    "Smander, I need an update on the Auto-Drones. Aldred mentioned we''re moving into a new phase of the war," Shinari announced, her voice cutting through the hum of activity.


    Smander looked up, his eyes alight with the fire of innovation. "Ah, Shinari! Perfect timing. You''re going to want to see this," he gestured towards arge screen disying a map dotted with numerous points of light, each representing a world touched by their silent war.


    "As you know, the drones were designed for sabotage, but what we didn''t anticipate was the scale of the chaos they could sow. Look," he said, zooming in on one of the points. The screen disyed live footage of a demonic world, where structures crumbled and power grids failed in cascading explosions.


    "The drones have exceeded all expectations. They''ve not only disrupted supply lines andmunications but have also instilled fear and confusion among the demon ranks. We''ve sessfully destabilized dozens of worlds, causing a domino effect that''s rippling through their territories," Smander exined, his excitement palpable.


    Shinari watched, a mix of awe and gravity settling over her. "This¡­ this is incredible, Smander. The strategic advantage we gain from this chaos could be the turning point we''ve been looking for."


    Smander nodded, his gaze serious despite the sess. "It''s a significant advantage, but we must act quickly to capitalize on it. The demons will be working to counteract our moves. We need to stay one step ahead."


    Shinari''s mind raced, already plotting their next moves. "We''ll need to coordinate with General Vara and the rest of themand. The disruption provides us with an opening for more direct strikes. We must press our advantage."


    Turning to leave, she paused, looking back at Smander. "Keep pushing the boundaries, Smander. We''re going to need every edge we can get."


    With a nod, she left theb, her thoughts swirling. Aldred''s cryptic visit had left her with more questions than answers, but his message was clear: the war was escting, and they needed to be prepared for what was toe.


    ¡­


    In the sprawling cityscape of Torvin, a on the edge of the war''s shadow, Lira, a young woman in her early twenties, navigated the bustling streets with a sense of purpose that belied her inner turmoil.


    Each day was a struggle, a relentless effort to carve out a semnce of stability for her two younger sisters, Mia and Tali, in a world where the future seemed as uncertain as the shifting sands of the desert.


    Working at a local diner, Lira wore her responsibilities like a second skin, her youthful features marred by the weight of her worries. The diner was a microcosm of the war''s far-reaching effects, filled with soldiers on leave, weary travelers, and tales of distant battles that hung in the air like the aroma of spiced coffee.


    "Two specials and a side of fries!" Lira called out to the kitchen, her voice steady despite the exhaustion that tugged at her limbs. As she navigated through the tables, refilling drinks and offering smiles that rarely reached her eyes, her mind was elsewhere, consumed by the relentless question of what tomorrow might bring.


    The war, a distant thunder that threatened to engulf their lives, was a constant undercurrent of fear that ran through every aspect of Lira''s existence. Each day she sent Mia and Tali off to school, a part of her couldn''t help but wonder if it might be thest time she saw them.


    The news feeds were filled with reports of battles won and lost, ofs falling and heroes rising, but to Lira, they were reminders of the fragility of their own peace.


    At night, when the diner closed, and she returned home to their modest apartment, Lira would sit by the window, watching the stars with a heaviness in her heart. Mia and Tali, ever resilient, wouldugh and y, their innocence a stark contrast to the world around them.


    But in the quiet moments, when theughter faded, and the weight of her thoughts became too much to bear, Lira found herself whispering to the stars, voicing the fears she kept hidden.


    "How do we keep going when everything seems so uncertain?" she murmured one night, her gaze fixed on a distant point of light that flickered like a beacon in the darkness.


    Mia, overhearing her, wrapped her small arms around Lira''s waist. "Because we have each other," she said, her voice filled with a conviction that belied her years. "And because you always find a way, Lira."


    "Sometimes, I hear you don''t speak like other kids at your age."


    Mia gave a mischievous smile.


    After a long day''s work at the diner, Lira and her sisters helped close up for the night, their routine efficient and practiced. The manager, a kindly man with a weary smile, waved them off with a grateful, "Good night, girls. Stay safe on your way home."


    The streets of Torvin were quieter at night, the bustling chaos of the day giving way to a serene calm. As they walked, Lira couldn''t help but nce upward, where the stars twinkled like diamonds scattered across the velvet canvas of the sky. Torvin''s six moons were in various phases, casting a gentle glow that bathed the city in a spectral light.


    "It''s beautiful, isn''t it?" Tali, the youngest, whispered, her wide eyes reflecting the celestial dance above them.


    "It is," Lira agreed, a momentary peace settling over her heart. Everything did seem peaceful, a stark contrast to the turmoil that raged across the gxy.


    But peace, as Lira knew all too well, was a fleeting thing.


    Without warning, the shadows around them stirred, coalescing into a form that was both there and not there. Before they could react, it pounced, ws made of shadows swiping where they stood just a heartbeat ago.


    Lira grabbed her sisters'' hands, pulling them away as they screamed, their hearts pounding in their chests. "Run!" she yelled, her voice sharp with fear.


    They darted through the alleyways, the shadowy figure in hot pursuit. Its ws swiped at them, each miss by mere inches a stark reminder of their peril.


    Then, the night erupted in screams from every direction, a cacophony of terror that echoed off the stone walls. It wasn''t just them¡ªTorvin was under attack.


    "Here!" Lira spotted a narrow passage between two buildings, barely visible in the moonlight. They squeezed through, the shadow creature''s bulk preventing it from following. For a moment, they were safe, their breathsing in ragged gasps.


    "What was that?" Tali whimpered, clinging to Lira.


    "I don''t know, but we need to keep moving," Lira said, her mind racing. They needed to get home, lock the doors, and hide. But even as she plotted their course, a part of her mind was frozen in fear. This wasn''t just a random attack; it felt deliberate, a shadowy assault that mirrored the chaos engulfing the gxy.


    As they navigated thebyrinthine streets towards the safety of their home, the sounds of chaos followed them, a grim soundtrack to their flight.


    As they came out of the narrow passage, giant trolls with axes roared and swung its axe down, chopping several people in half.


    Lira shuddered in fear. Her legs rooted to the ground, frozen.


    The air of Torvin hung heavy with dread, its once serene night shattered by the cacophony of chaos and the palpable fear of its inhabitants. The demons, retaliating for the relentless disruptions sown by the Celestial toon, had unleashed their fury upon thousands of human worlds, and Torvin, Lira realized with a sinking heart, was no exception.


    The peaceful interlude was over, reced by a night of terror that mirrored the tumultuous war raging across the gxy.


    The giant troll that blocked their path, its axe dripping with fresh blood, was a herald of the nightmare that had descended upon their city. Lira''s heart pounded against her ribcage, each beat a loud echo in her ears, as she stared into the creature''s malicious eyes, seeing there the depth of their peril.


    "Mia, Tali, behind me," Lira whispered, her voice steady despite the quiver of fear that threatened to overtake her. She stepped forward, positioning herself between the monstrosity and her sisters. Her mind raced, frantic for a solution, any solution, that could save them from this behemoth.


    The troll roared again, the sound a mix of fury and hunger, as it raised its axe for another deadly strike.


    "We have to run, now!" Lira''smand broke through her sisters'' paralysis, and as the axe descended, they darted to the side, barely avoiding the deadly swing.


    "We can''t keep running forever, Lira!" Mia gasped, her voiceced with panic.


    Lira knew her sister was right. They needed a n, a way to escape the unrelenting shadow of death that pursued them. Her mind flickered to the soldiers and the tales of heroism she''d heard at the diner, wishing for a miracle, for someone to save them in their hour of need.


    As if in answer to her silent plea, a sudden burst of light erupted down the street, momentarily blinding them. Shielding her eyes, Lira looked toward the source, her heart leaping with a mixture of hope and disbelief.


    Out of the light stepped a figure, d in the armor of the Celestial toon, a zing sword in hand. It was Kael, one of the soldiers who frequented the diner, his presence a beacon of hope in the engulfing darkness.


    "Go! I''ll hold it off!" Kael shouted over the roar of the troll, his sword glowing with a fierce light.


    "But¡ª"


    "There''s no time!" Kael''s voice brooked no argument, his gaze locking with Lira''s for a brief moment, conveying a promise and a warning all at once.


    Grabbing her sisters'' hands once more, Lira nodded and led them away, ncing back only once to see Kael engage the troll, his movements a blur of skill and light.


    They ran through the maze of streets, the sounds of battle fading into the distance, reced by the heavy silence of a city under siege.


    Lira''s mind was a whirlwind of fear and determination, the weight of responsibility for her sisters'' safety a constant pressure.


    The world of Torvin wasn''t the only victim.


    There were thousands more human worlds under attack by the demons.


    Aldred was right.


    The war proceed.

 Chapter 829: Chapter 829 Disaster

    In the deep shadows of a night fraught with chaos, a different kind of darkness moved with silent purpose. Cloaked in ck from head to toe, a group of figures made their way through thebyrinthine underbelly of a secret military facility.


    Their movements were precise, a choreographed dance of shadows blending into the dark, their faces hidden behind masks that revealed nothing of their intentions or allegiances.


    The facility, a sprawlingplex buried beneath the surface of a far removed from the front lines, was a hub of technological and military research for the Celestial toon. It was here, in the heart of security and secrecy, that the group sought to strike a blow not with weapons, but with information.


    They navigated the corridors with a familiarity that spoke of meticulous nning and reconnaissance. Every turn they took, every door they bypassed with their array of sophisticated hacking tools, brought them closer to their objective: the data center, the neuralwork of the entire military operation.


    The data center, a vast chamber lined with servers humming with the flow of countless terabytes of data, stood before them, seemingly impregnable. But for these figures, dressed in the dark attire of thieves, no barrier was insurmountable.


    One of them, the leader, signaled a halt with a raised hand, then pointed to another, who stepped forward with a small device in hand¡ªa USB stick of unassuming appearance but loaded with a payload designed to infiltrate and extract.


    Carefully, they approached a terminal, their movements slow and deliberate to avoid triggering any silent rms that might still lurk within the system. The hacker, with a steady hand, inserted the USB device into the terminal. A tense silence enveloped the group as they watched the progress bar on the screen slowly fill.


    "Those Celestial toon folks have been monopolizing the industry for too long," the hacker whispered, breaking the silence as the device worked its magic. "Let''s hurt them a bit."


    The words were spoken softly, but they carried a weight of conviction and resentment. It was clear from the tone, a blend of bitterness and determination, that this was more than a simple act of theft; it was a statement, a challenge against an entity they perceived as too powerful, too controlling.


    As the progress bar reachedpletion, a soft ping signaled the sess of their mission. Data, valuable and sensitive, began to flow into the device, a stream of information that could shift the bnce of power or, at the very least, wound the pride of the Celestial toon.


    The leader of the group, watching the data transfer, allowed themselves a momentary smile beneath their mask. It was a smile not of joy, but of satisfaction at the prospect of shaking the foundations of an organization that, in their eyes, had grown toocent, too arrogant.


    "I tinkered with their security protocols a bit just to mess up with them. Hehe."


    As thest byte of data secured its ce within the ndestine confines of the USB, the group''s leader, a figure shrouded in the enigma of their masked visage, turned to theirpanions, a silentmandmunicated through the subtlest of gestures.


    In unison, they pivoted, their attention drawn to the ceiling above¡ªa grid of vents, narrow and uninviting, yet holding the promise of an escape route far from ordinary.


    With a grace that belied the human form, each member crouched slightly, the tension in their legs a coiled spring. Then, with a synchronicity that spoke of countless hours of practice and a bond forged in the fires of shared purpose, theyunched themselves upwards.


    The jump, executed with both power and precision, carried them effortlessly to the ceiling, their hands finding purchase on the metal grates with the ease of spiders dancing across their webs.


    As they clung to the grates, the leader gave a nod, and what followed was a disy of their extraordinary nature that went beyond the bounds of mere human agility. Their bodies began to shift, muscles and bones rearranging with a fluidity that was both mesmerizing and unsettling to behold.


    Limbs slenderized, torsospressed, and within moments, the group had transformed, their new forms perfectly adapted to the cramped quarters of the venttion system ahead.


    One by one, they wiggled their way into the vent, their movements smooth and unencumbered by the restrictive space. Inside, the darkness wasplete, a void that would have stifled the courage of any ordinary infiltrator. Yet, for these beings, darkness was but another veil to navigate, their senses attuned to the echoes and whispers of the structure that surrounded them.


    Their passage through the vents was a silent procession, a spectral caravan threading through the veins of the facility. Below them, the asional grate offered fleeting glimpses of the world they had left behind¡ªa world of bright lights and vignt guards, oblivious to the shadowy ballet performed just beyond their sight.


    As they passed over one such vent, a pair of guards meandered beneath them, their conversation a mundane murmur against the backdrop of their mission.


    "¡­and then I told him, ''That''s not a wrench, that''s my lunch!''" one guard chuckled, hisughter echoing softly through the metal duct.


    The thieves paused, a momentary hush falling over their group as they listened. It was a reminder of the life that pulsed through the facility, a life unaware of the specters that floated just above.


    With a gesture from their leader, they moved on, the incident quickly bing just another shadow in the night. Their path twisted and turned, abyrinthine journey that tested their navigation skills and their unique physicality.


    The sudden re of rms shattered the silence, a jarring cacophony that reverberated through the venttion system and sent a ripple of tension through the group. A mechanical, robotic voice followed, cold and impersonal, announcing, "Level 5 danger detected. Activating all security protocols immediately. All soldiers are called to action."


    In the chaos that ensued below, the thieves paused in their passage, an unspoken decision to observe the pandemonium unfolding within the heart of the facility.


    Through the grates, they watched as guards scrambled like ants disturbed from their nest, desperation etched into every movement as they pulled at levers with frantic urgency, attempting to ess the warehouse that housed their most potent defenses¡ªarmored suits and towering mechas designed for the most dire of threats.


    But the gates that guarded these mechanical behemoths refused to yield, locked down by the very protocols meant to protect the facility. The irony of the situation was not lost on the thieves, a shared nce among them conveying amusement and a hint of pride in their handiwork.


    Below, frustration boiled over as the guards resorted to brute force, sting at the door with charges set in a haste that spoke volumes of their desperation. When the dust settled, and the entrance was finally breached, a collective gasp filled the air, not of relief, but of dawning horror.


    The mechas, their imposing forms now essible, offered no salvation¡ªthey stood inert, their power cores drained to the barest minimum, a sabotage far more crippling than any physical barrier.


    "Looks like someone forgot to charge their toys," one of the thieves quipped, the humor dark against the backdrop of the rm''s relentless wail. The sound of curses, loud and vitriolic, floated up from the guards, their fury a tangible force that filled the air with electric tension.


    Yet, amidst the chaos, the thieves continued on their path, their progress unhindered by the drama unfolding below.


    They moved with a renewed purpose, theughter shared between them a light in the darkness, a testament to their sess against an adversary that had underestimated their cunning and resourcefulness.


    Eventually, they made their way out.


    "By the way. What do they mean by level 5 danger?"


    The leader, ever vignt, was the first to sense a shift in the atmosphere, a sudden tension that prickled the air with foreboding. "Quiet," they hissed, a hand raised in a silentmand for stillness. The jest and mirth that had buoyed their spirits during the escape evaporated, reced by an instinctual alertness to the unknown danger that loomed.


    No sooner had themand been issued than the facility beneath them shuddered, a violent tremor that sent shockwaves through the metal ducts. Muffled at first, the sound grew, a crescendo of destruction that could not be contained by walls and barriers. Explosions, massive and unrelenting, tore through the facility''s lower levels, a series of eruptions that spoke of an attack of unimaginable scale.


    The group reached the surface exit just in time to witness the source of the chaos. Bursting forth from the bowels of the facility, demonic dragons emerged, their scales a myriad of nightmarish hues, eyes glowing with malevolent intelligence. These were not the beasts of legends told to scare children; they were real, and their fury was unleashed upon the world of men.


    Perched precariously on the edge of the skyscraper, the group watched in horrified fascination as these titanic creatures took to the sky, their wings unfurling with thunderous roars that drowned out the sound of battle below.


    The night sky, once a nket of tranquil darkness, was now a canvas for the dance of demons, illuminated by the fires of destruction.


    Then, amercial ne, its lights blinking innocently in the distance, crossed paths with the dragons. The oue was inevitable, yet no less shocking for its certainty. With terrifying precision, the dragons converged on the aircraft, their ws tearing through metal and ss as if they were mere paper.


    The ne, now broken in half, plummeted towards the earth, a falling star extinguished by the wrath of the demonic dragon.


    Yet, that dragon was only one of many monstrosities sowing chaos.


    The thieves watched the demons destroying homes and shops with people still in them.


    The entire city was consumed in me.


    "Where are the soldiers!" One man screamed before a giant wed hand crushed him.


    Only thirty minutester did the soldiers from Celestial toon finally responded to the demonic threats.


    The mechas and soldiers in armored suits easily decimating the demons.


    However, tens of thousands of lives had already been lost.


    The thieves watched the fallen city.


    "What have we done?"

 Chapter 830: Chapter 830 Rat Hunting

    In the aftermath of a battle that had painted the sky with fire and darkness, the ruins of the cityy smoldering below. The thieves, once shadowy figures cloaked in the anonymity of their mission, found themselves illuminated atop the skyscraper, their eyes wide with the horror of what had unfolded.


    The night''s silence was broken only by the distant sounds of rescue and the crackling of mes that consumed what remained of the once vibrant metropolis.


    As they stood amidst the devastation, the air around them shifted, the beating of helicopter des cutting through the smoky haze. Within moments, a fleet of helicopters, bearing the insignia of the Celestial toon, converged on their position, their spotlights converging into a blinding cascade of light that enveloped the group, forcing them to shield their eyes and stagger back.


    Dust and debris swirled around them, a miniature maelstrom that mirrored the chaos that had seized the city. "What now?" the hacker muttered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the helicopters. The thieves, once masters of stealth and subterfuge, found themselves as exposed as the secrets they had sought to steal.


    "We surrender," the leader announced, their voice firm despite the uncertainty that gripped them. "We have to answer for our part in this." It was a deration that carried the weight of a newfound responsibility, a realization that their actions, however indirectly, had contributed to the unleashing of hell upon the city.


    The other members all looked at each other and nodded and raised their hands.


    Ropes began to fell from the helicopters and soldiers in full gear slid down.


    Then suddenly, the leader threw himself off the rooftop. "I will return for you guys."


    The thieves nkly looked towards where their leader was but not dare to move an inch because the soldiers were already surrounding them.


    "He left us didn''t he?"


    ¡­


    In the heart of the Celestial toon''smand center, Shinari sat ensconced in her office, a sanctum of technology and strategic warfare. The room was alive with the hum of machinery and the soft glow of screens that lined the walls, each one a window into the vast expanse of the gxy and the battles that raged within it.


    Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, darted from screen to screen, absorbing data with an efficiency that belied theplexity of the task.


    The silence of the room was a stark contrast to the chaos that had unfolded on the city''s streets, a chaos that was now just another stream of data flowing into themand center. Shinari''s mind worked in overdrive, analyzing, predicting, and nning with a precision that had made her a legend within the ranks of the Celestial toon.


    But as her gaze swept across the array of reports and live feeds, it snagged on an anomaly¡ªa breach in the security protocols of a distant, one far removed from the front lines but critical to the Celestial toon''s operations. Her movements slowed, a rare urrence, as she zoomed in on the details.


    "Disturbance in the data center," she muttered under her breath, her tone a mixture of curiosity and concern. The report was sparse on details, but it was clear that a group of thieves had managed to infiltrate one of their most secure facilities. "Interesting," she mused, her mind already weaving through the implications.


    Her hand hovered over a console, ready to summon her top aides, when another piece of information caught her eye¡ªthe sudden appearance of demonic dragons and the ensuing battle that had ravaged the city. Her brows furrowed, a rare show of emotion, as she pieced together the sequence of events.


    A soft chime interrupted her thoughts, signaling an iingmunication. With a flick of her wrist, she epted the call, her screen flickering to reveal the face of General Vara, his expression grim.


    "Shinari," he began, his voice tinged with the weight ofmand. "We''ve got a situation. The group that breached the data center¡­ they''re in custody, but there''s more. Their leader, he¡­ jumped. Off a skyscraper."


    Shinari''s expression remained impassive, but her mind raced. The leader''s apparent suicide was a twist she hadn''t anticipated. "And the demonic invasion?" she asked, already connecting the dots.


    "Neutralized, but at a great cost," Vara replied, his face darkening. "The city is in ruins. And there''s something else. The leader''s body¡­ it wasn''t found."


    A pause hung between them, heavy with unspoken questions and implications. Shinari leaned back, her mind a whirlwind of strategy and spection. "Keep the thieves under tight surveince. Interrogate them. Find out everything they know," she ordered, her voice a de of ice. "As for their leader, I want a search.


    If he''s alive, he could be valuable. Or dangerous."


    Vara nodded, a silent acknowledgment of the task''splexity and urgency. "What about the security breach?" he asked. "How did they get in?"


    Shinari''s gaze returned to the screens, to the data that flowed ceaselessly. "That''s what I intend to find out," she said, her voiceced with determination. "Someone yed us. And I don''t take kindly to games. Commennce an inspection. Find every rats in our ranks!"


    The corridors of the Celestial toon''smand center, usually alive with the constant buzz of activity and strategy, carried a new undercurrent of tension. The news of a potential breach from within, of traitors lurking in their ranks, had spread with the quiet swiftness of a shadow at dusk.


    Yet, the atmosphere was not one of panic or fear; rather, it was marked by a heightened sense of alertness, a collective tightening of resolve.


    Most of the toon''s members walked with their heads held high, their strides confident. In the mess hall, in the training grounds, even in the quiet corners where whispers usually flourished, the sentiment was the same. "If you''ve done nothing wrong, you''ve got nothing to fear," became amon refrain, a mantra that spoke of their unwavering confidence in their loyalty to the cause.


    When summoned for questioning, soldiers and officers alike entered the interrogation rooms with a calmness that seemed almost out of ce amid the swirling suspicions. They answered each query with a straightforwardness that bordered on casual, their demeanor unshaken, as if the very notion of betrayal to their cause was too absurd to merit concern.


    "I''ve dedicated my life to the Celestial toon," one officer dered, his voice steady and clear. "My loyalty isn''t just a word; it''s my very being."


    Such statements were met with nods from the secret inspectors, individuals handpicked by the HR teams had went through great training and indoctrination.


    Not to mention the dozens of welfares and benefits they got.


    Being a member of Celestial toon was something to be proud of and brag about.


    It was very easy to go up the ranks too, with all the missions and the ongoing war. There were too much opportunities for everyone.


    Especially, with the amount of funds the Celestial toon had.


    These inspectors, adept at reading the subtleties of human behavior, found nothing in the confident soldiers but the echo of their own loyalty.


    However, not all were so unwavering. Among the ranks, there were those whose nerves betrayed them, whose smiles were too tight, and whose eyes darted too quickly. These few, when called upon, carried with them an aura of unease that permeated the air, setting the seasoned investigators on edge.


    It was in the minutiae that their secrets began to unravel¡ªthe slight tremor in a hand, the fleeting look of panic in their eyes, the overeagerness to profess their innocence. "I swear, I''ve always been loyal to the toon," one such individual stammered, the strain in his voice as telling as a confession.


    "Is that so?" the investigator replied, her tone deceptively mild. "Then you wouldn''t mind if we take a closer look into yourmunications, would you?" The question, posed as a courtesy, was a trap that had been meticulouslyid.


    As the secret inspectors delved deeper, the evidence began to pile up¡ªa missed report here, a suspiciously timedmunication there, and, most damningly, unauthorized ess to ssified information. Each piece was a thread that, when pulled, unraveled the facade of loyalty these few had so carefully constructed.


    The interrogation rooms, once stages for calm recitations of duty and honor, became arenas where the battle between truth and deception reached its climax. "We have evidence of your disloyalty," the inspectors revealed,ying bare the extent of their investigation, "You''ve been conspiring against the Celestial toon, endangering not just our operations, but countless lives."


    All the rats in the Celestial toon were punching their pillows right now.


    It was all because of some group of thieves that this happen.


    These rats weren''t doing anything big either. They just directed some of the funds to their own businesses a bit. A little corruption here and there.


    Shinari found out about this and was d that they would be able to save billions.


    However, she wasn''t satisfied. The rats she found were only at the grassroot levels.


    An organization this massive had to have a big rat or two.

 Chapter 831: Chapter 831 Guilty

    Commander Taren ric, a figure of imposing stature and authority within the Celestial toon, strode through the corridors of themand center with a purposeful gait that demanded respect. d in the crisp uniform that signified his high rank, he moved past soldiers and officers, each of whom snapped to attention and saluted as he passed.


    Their gestures were met with a nod so slight it was almost imperceptible, a testament to ric''s focus and the weight of his thoughts.


    To the outside observer, ric embodied the epitome of military decorum and leadership. His presencemanded the space, and few could match the depth of his strategic insight or his contributions to the toon''s victories. Yet, beneath this veneer of unshakable confidence and authority, a storm of anxiety brewed, hidden from the world.


    Upon reaching the sanctuary of his office, ric closed the door behind him with a soft click that sounded final, a barrier against the outside world. Only then did he allow the mask ofposure to slip, a single bead of sweat breaking free from his forehead to trace a path down his face.


    He moved swiftly to his desk, leaning heavily against it as he muttered to himself, "They shouldn''t be listening in here."


    His office, a strategicmand hub filled with encryptedmunications equipment and ssified documents, was designed to be impervious to eavesdropping. Yet, ric''s confidence in its security had been shaken, not by the threat of external enemies, but by the unsettling knowledge that the toon''s own internal inspection team was delving deep into the secrets of its members.


    "Those damned thieves! It''s their fault that this inspection began. My n was perfect," he hissed under his breath, his voice a blend of fury and fear. ric''s n, a meticulously crafted scheme that extended far beyond the petty corruptions of the lower ranks, was now at risk of being uncovered. His ambitions, which had once seemed within reach, now teetered on the brink of copse.


    ric moved to a secure terminal, his fingers flying over the keys as he essed a series of encrypted files. His eyes scanned the information, searching for any indication that hismunications had beenpromised. With every click, his tension grew, a tangible force that filled the room and threatened to overwhelm him.


    He paused, taking a deep breath to center himself. "I need to be careful. Any mistake could be my end," he whispered, a rare admission of vulnerability from a man who had always seemed invincible. The realization that his actions, driven by ambition and a belief in his own superiority, might lead to his downfall was a bitter pill to swallow.


    The sudden intrusion shattered the tense silence of Commander Taren ric''s office, the door flung wide with a force that spoke of authority and purpose. Standing in the threshold were several officers, their expressions as stern and unyielding as the armor that encased them.


    Each one bore the insignia of the Celestial toon''s internal inspection team, a symbol that, under different circumstances, might have been met with respect or even deference. But in this moment, it was a harbinger of scrutiny and, potentially, downfall.


    ric''s initial impulse was to rise, to meet this challenge with the poise and dominance he had always wielded like a shield. Yet, as his gaze locked with the lead inspector''s¡ªeyes cold and calcting¡ªhe understood the futility of such gestures. Here, in the shadow of suspicion, his rank and aplishments were as insubstantial as smoke.


    The inspectors, with their mandate to unearth disloyalty and corruption, answered to no one but the highest echelons ofmand, a fact that ric was acutely aware of.


    Suppressing the surge of defiance that rose within him, ric inclined his head slightly, a gesture of acknowledgment rather than submission. "Inspectors," he greeted, his voice steady despite the tumult of thoughts racing through his mind. "To what do I owe the honor?"


    The lead inspector, a woman with sharp features and an air of unassable confidence, stepped forward, her gaze sweeping the room with clinical precision. "Commander ric," she began, her tone devoid of warmth. "We''re conducting a thorough investigation into the recent security breaches and the¡­ disturbances that have gued the toon. Your office is our next point of inspection."


    ric''s heart skipped a beat, though he managed to maintain a facade of calm. "I understand the necessity of your duties," he replied, moving aside to grant them full ess to his office. The sanctity of hismand hub, once invible, was now open to their scrutiny.


    As the inspectors moved through the room, examining every terminal, every document with meticulous attention, ric could feel the walls closing in around him. The files he had essed moments before¡ªthe very evidence of his ndestine machinationsy hidden behindyers of encryption that he prayed would withstand their probing.


    "They shouldn''t find anything," ric murmured to himself, a silent mantra against the rising tide of panic. "I''ve covered my tracks too well."


    Yet, as he watched the inspectors work, a sliver of doubt wormed its way into his thoughts. These were no ordinary soldiers; they were the elite, trained to sniff out the slightest hint of betrayal, the smallest inconsistency. And ric, for all his cunning, knew the peril of underestimating one''s adversaries.


    The inspection stretched on, each passing moment a test of ric''s resolve. He answered their questions with a careful neutrality, revealing nothing, his every word measured and deliberate. Yet, beneath the surface, his mind raced, plotting, nning for every possible oue.


    Finally, the lead inspector turned to him, her expression inscrutable. "Thank you for your cooperation, Commander," she said, her voice betraying no hint of their findings. "We will continue our investigation elsewhere. Should we require further information, we will not hesitate to return."


    As the team exited his office, leaving ric alone once more, themander allowed himself a moment of relief, however fleeting. The immediate danger had passed, but the shadow of suspicion remained, a dark cloud that threatened to burst at any moment.


    The group of inspectors, having left the charged atmosphere of Commander Taren ric''s office behind, proceeded down the corridor with a shared sense of purpose that was palpable in their every step. The air around them seemed to thrum with the gravity of their task, a silent testament to the weight of the secrets they sought to unearth within the ranks of the Celestial toon.


    The hallway, usually bustling with theings and goings of military personnel, had taken on a hushed quality, as if the very walls were aware of the pivotal role these inspectors yed in safeguarding the integrity of the toon. Officers and soldiers they passed offered nods of respect, coupled with nces of curiosity and, for some, thinly veiled apprehension.


    It was in this charged silence that one of the officers, a younger man whose eyes still held the fire of idealism, broke stride to align himself with the lead inspector. "Sir," he began, his voice a careful blend of respect and inquiry, "what''s our conclusion on ric?"


    The lead inspector, a figure whose very presencemanded attention, continued forward without breaking stride. Her gaze remained fixed on the path ahead, yet there was a perceptible shift in her demeanor, a tightening of resolve that spoke volumes to those who knew how to read the subtlenguage of power.


    "Absolutely guilty," she stated, her voice devoid of hesitation or doubt.


    ¡­


    In the cool, calcted environment of Shinari''s office, the chaos of the world outside seemed like distant echoes, barely prating the strategic sanctum from which she oversaw the Celestial toon''s vast operations. However, even here, the tremors of unrest and the shadows of betrayal sought to intrude, carried on the digital streams of reports that flowed into her domain.


    As Shinari reviewed the iing data, the door to her office slid open with a whisper of motion, admitting a series of inspectors, each bearing the weight of their recent investigations. They came in a solemn procession, their faces etched with the fatigue of duty and the burden of truths uncovered.


    "Commander Shinari," began the lead inspector, a man whose stoic exterior barely concealed the storm of activity beneath. "We''ve concluded our initial interrogations. The used¡­ they''re adamant in their protestations of innocence. ims of being falsely used echo through the cells."


    Shinari listened, her expression impassive yet attentive, absorbing every nuance of the reports. "And their attempts?" she inquired, her voice steady, betraying no hint of the concern that flickered behind her gaze.


    The inspector nodded, his demeanor reflecting the gravity of his findings. "There were efforts made, clumsy attempts at subversion. Bribes, threats, even appeals to loyalty¡ªdirected at their subordinates, aimed at undermining the toon from within."


    A pause hung in the air, dense with implications, before he continued. "But, Commander, their efforts found no purchase. The loyalty of the toon''s members proved unassable. Not to their superiors, but to the ideals and the unity of the Celestial toon itself. Every attempt was reported, every bribe turned down."


    Shinari leaned back in her chair, allowing herself a moment to reflect on the resilience of the toon''s spirit. "So, in their desperation, they revealed themselves," she mused, a cold satisfaction in her tone. "Their actions, intended to sow discord, only affirmed the strength of our bonds."


    "Yes, Commander," the inspector affirmed. "It seems their machinations have only served to tighten our ranks."


    "Good," Shinari said, her gaze returning to the screens before her. "Prepare a detailed report of these interactions. I want every word, every gesture documented. It will serve as a testament to the toon''s integrity¡ªand a warning to any who might still harbor thoughts of betrayal."


    The inspectors nodded, understanding the strategic value of such records. As they turned to leave, Shinari spoke again, her voice carrying the weight ofmand. "And the evidence gathered against Commander ric and his cohorts¡ªensure it is irrefutable. We proceed not just with the strength of our convictions, but with the unassable truth."


    The door closed behind the inspectors, sealing Shinari once more in her bastion of strategy and surveince. Outside, the Celestial toon continued its vignt watch, a monolith of unity against the darkness that sought to engulf it.

 Chapter 832: Chapter 832 Terminated

    As dawn broke over the Celestial toon''smand center, a sense of unease permeated the air, a stark contrast to the usual disciplined calm that defined its operations. The news of the captured officers, now branded as traitors, spread like wildfire, each name revealed sending shockwaves through the ranks.


    It wasn''t just the act of betrayal that stunned the toon; it was the identities of those involved¡ªfigures who had stood as pirs of strength and integrity, now cast down from their pedestals by their own deeds.


    In the mess hall, where soldiers and officers gathered under the guise of morning routine, the atmosphere was tense,den with hushed whispers and disbelieving nces. "Did you hear about Commander Vrex?" one young soldier murmured to another, disbelief coloring his tone. "I can''t believe it. He was on the front lines with us at the Siege of Yvarn. He saved my life."


    Hispanion, a seasoned officer with scars that told tales of numerous battles, nodded grimly. "And ric. To think he was orchestrating this¡­ it''s unthinkable. He was a hero to many of us."


    Across the room, a group of officers huddled around a datate, scrolling through the list of the used. Each name was a blow, a reminder that the enemy they fought could lurk within as well as without. "How could they have strayed so far?" one officer pondered aloud, her voice a mix of anger and sorrow. "What could drive them to betray everything we stand for?"


    The question hung in the air, unanswered, as they each grappled with the reality of betrayal by those they had trusted, followed, and, in many cases, admired. The revtion was a bitter pill, shaking the foundation of trust that the Celestial toon was built upon.


    In the training grounds, where the morning''s drills had taken on a somber tone, Captain Ilen, a respected tactician known for his unwavering loyalty, addressed his troops. "Let this be a lesson to us all," he began, his gaze sweeping over the assembled soldiers, each one hanging on his words. "The enemy is cunning, capable of poisoning even the most stalwart among us.


    But let it also remind us of the strength we draw from our unity and ourmitment to the cause."


    A murmur of agreement rippled through the ranks, a tangible sign of their collective resolve strengthening in the face of adversity.


    Meanwhile, in the secluded quarters of the used, Commander Taren ric sat in silence, his fate sealed by the evidence amassed against him. The titles and honors he had earned over a lifetime of service nowy in tatters, stripped away by his own actions. The legacy he had envisioned for himself, one of glory and reverence, was now marred by the stain of treachery.


    As the day wore on, the Celestial toon worked to reconcile the revtion of betrayal within its ranks, each member wrestling with the duality of admiration for past deeds and condemnation for present betrayals. It was a delicate bnce, acknowledging the contributions of those now fallen from grace while upholding the principles that defined their allegiance.


    In the end, the Celestial toon emerged from the turmoil not weakened, but fortified, their bonds tempered by the trials of betrayal. The names of the traitors would be remembered, not as icons of valor, but as warnings of the cost of ambition unchecked by loyalty.


    And in the hearts of the soldiers and officers, the ideals of the toon burned brighter, a beacon against the shadows of doubt and treachery.


    In the secluded wing of the Celestial toon''s detention facility, a series of white cells stood, metallic corridors that characterized the rest of thepound.


    These cells, designed not as a punishment but as a concession to theplex nature of honor and betrayal within the ranks, housed the officers now branded as traitors.


    The interior was unexpectedly spacious and clean, bathed in soft, natural light that filtered through high windows. Inside one such cell, Commander Taren ric and his co-used found themselves in an environment that seemed more akin to a luxury suite than a prison. Elegant sofas were arranged in afortable seating area, with a selection of snacks and drinks avable on a nearby table.


    Waiters, members of the toon relegated to this unexpected duty, moved silently among the cells, attending to the needs of their upants with a professionalism that betrayed no judgment of the men they served.


    Despite their fall from grace, it was undeniable that these men had once saved countless lives, their strategies and bravery on the battlefield earning them a respect that, while tarnished, could not be entirely erased. Thus, their dignity was preserved, even in disgrace, a reflection of the nuanced understanding of honor within the Celestial toon.


    As time stretched on, the quietude of the cell was abruptly shattered by the sound of the heavy door swinging open. The figures that entered were unmistakable; at their head was Commander Shinari, her presencemanding and her gaze prating, nked by her entourage of high-ranking officers.


    The traitors rose to their feet, a reflex of the discipline that had once defined their very beings. ric, in particr, faced Shinari with aplex mix of defiance and resignation.


    "Commander ric, gentlemen," Shinari began, her voice resonating with authority and an undercurrent of regret for what had transpired. "This is not a visit I make lightly. You were once among our finest, your contributions to our cause undeniable. But your actions have led us here."


    ric met her gaze, the weight of his choices heavy upon his shoulders. "Commander Shinari, we¡­ I never intended harm to the toon. My actions, misguided as they were, were taken with a vision of a stronger future," he stated, his voice firm yet tinged with the acknowledgment of his folly.


    "Vision of a stronger future?"


    "It wasn''t greed?"


    "No. I am nning to build a culture. With the resources I put, I can encourage people to create more martial family that would make the Celestial toon as their world."


    "You deviates much of our resources to your own private businesses. This is your n to create a martial family in order to create a dynasty and make Celestial toon as your yground?"


    "Everyone will follow me. Everyone has a family. Their parents will teach loyalty and devotion to the Celestial toon, creatingpetition as more martial family appeared. Celestial toon could be much stronger if everyone is more personally involved. With this system, everyone would have to go all in."


    "The system you think of would only create division and selfishness where each martial family only care about their own interest, not Celestial toon as a whole. It would only create political field that would not befortable for neers without connection or influence."


    Shinari stared at him. "We would be back to the ancient age where talents and skills are meaningless. Instead, we put useless people with powerful parents in charge."


    ric, once amander who stood tall before his soldiers, now found himself diminished under Shinari''s unwavering gaze. The realization of his folly weighed heavily upon him, a crushing burden that left him grappling with feelings of ipetence and shame. His grand vision, once so clear in his mind, now seemed nothing more than a misguided dream, torn apart by Shinari''s incisive words.


    He opened his mouth to speak, to offer some semnce of defense, but the words faltered on his lips. In his heart, he knew Shinari was right. His n, while ambitious, had been inherently wed, crafted without considering the broader implications for the toon and its core values. "I¡­ I hadn''t considered¡­" he started, his voice trailing off, the admission of his oversight a bitter taste.


    Shinari''s expression softened slightly, not in sympathy, but in a solemn acknowledgment of his realization. "Greed," she began, her tone carrying the weight of disappointment and understanding. "Some don''t realize it. They think what they did is for the greater good. But in the end, it''s all greed. The toon has given your family everything you ever need.


    A fantastic retirement n, education funds, recreation funds, and everything included would make your family rich for generations toe. And yet, you still want more."


    ric could only nod, a silent eptance of her judgment. The toon had indeed provided for him and his family beyond measure, their welfare and prosperity ensured by the very organization he had sought to manipte for his personal ambitions. In seeking more, he had not only jeopardized his honor but had betrayed the trust of those he had sworn to serve alongside.


    "The toon is more than just a military force; it''s amunity, a family bound by shared values and sacrifices," Shinari continued, her gaze never wavering. "When one of us forgets that, loses sight of the collective over personal gain, it threatens to unravel the fabric of what we''ve built together."


    ric felt the full weight of his actions then, the depth of his betrayalid bare. He had allowed his desire for a legacy, for power, to cloud his judgment, to drive him to actions that had endangered the very essence of the toon. In his pursuit of a misguided ideal, he had lost sight of the true strength of the toon¡ªthe unshakeable bond of loyalty and unity that held it together.


    "I see now the folly of my ways," ric said, his voice steadier now, tinged with remorse. "My¡­ my ambition blinded me to the true cost of my actions."


    Shinari''s gaze lingered on ric, and the others gathered, a moment longer before she spoke, her voice cutting through the silence with the precision of a well-honed de. "Your actions have consequences that reach far beyond your own lives. They ripple through the Celestial toon, affecting every soldier, every officer, and every family connected to our cause."


    ric, his posture rigid yet resigned, met Shinari''s gaze, acknowledging the truth of her words. The others, too, stood silent, the gravity of the moment pressing down upon them.


    "It is my decision," Shinari continued, her tone resolute, "to terminate all of your positions and titles within the Celestial toon. The privileges afforded to your families will be reduced but not entirely removed." A pause followed, allowing the weight of her words to settle among those present. "It is a significant loss, but you will not find yourselves destitute."


    A collective breath seemed to be held and then released within the room, the finality of Shinari''s decree settling like dust after a storm. ric bowed his head slightly, the gesture one of eptance, his voice steady but soft, "I understand, Commander. We all do. We ept the consequences of our actions."


    Shinari''s expression remained unreadable, but her eyes, for a fleeting moment, betrayed a hint of sorrow for what had been lost in the wake of ambition. "This decision wasn''t reached lightly. You were leaders, examples to be followed. Your contributions to the toon were significant, and your fall¡­ it serves as a stark reminder to us all."

 Chapter 833: Chapter 833 Aldred is dead?

    The aftermath of Shinari''s judgment was a swift, yet solemn procession. The traitors, oncemanders and strategists of high regard within the Celestial toon, found themselves escorted under heavy guard to a sleek, unmarked vessel. The air was thick with a sense of finality, the cool dawn light casting long shadows across the tarmac as they were led aboard.


    The soldiers and officers, who once might have saluted these men, now watched in silence, a respectful distance maintained, their gazes averted.


    Commander Taren ric, his shoulders squared yet bearing the invisible weight of his disgrace, was among them. As he stepped onto the vessel, he turned for a brief moment, casting ast look back at themand center ¡ª a fortress of unity and purpose he had once helped uphold.


    The realization that he would no longer be a part of its future, that his ties were irrevocably severed, settled deep in his bones.


    Inside, the vessel was stark yetfortable, designed not to punish but to segregate, to remind them of their istion from the entity they once served with pride. As the doors sealed shut, a heavy silence fell among the upants, each lost in their own tumult of regrets and what-ifs.


    Their destination was clear: return to their families, to face the remnants of lives they had irrevocably altered. Shinari''s orders were explicit ¡ª they were to have no contact with anyone within the Celestial toon. Any attempt to breach this mandate would result in immediate termination for those involved.


    It was a decree that underscored the depth of their betrayal and the lengths to which the toon would go to preserve its integrity.


    Yet, unbeknownst to ric and his fellow exiles, Shinari had taken further precautions. As the vessel lifted off, disappearing into the burgeoning light of dawn, a shadowwork was activated. Selected men of unquestionable loyalty and discreet efficiency were tasked with monitoring the traitors.


    These watchers were Shinari''s eyes and ears, a silent testament to her resolve that the safety of the toon was paramount. Each of these men understood the gravity of their duty ¡ª the traitors, despite their fall, held knowledge and influence potent enough to orchestrate damage from the shadows.


    "Now that''s out of the way. I can put my mind back to the war." She looked at one of her assistant. "Any news about Aldred?"


    "No, madam."


    "Where did he go?" Shinari wondered.


    ¡­


    Francus held his breath, finger on the trigger. His sight was upon a massive winged-creature that had strange tendrils moving around it.


    His massive sniper at the ready. Then, a secondter, he pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    In less than a second, a stting sound reverberated as a huge chunk of the creature''s brain exploded.


    The massive creature, with its wings momentarily ceasing their beat and its tendrils going limp, plummeted towards the dense canopy below. The impact sent a shockwave through the forest, leaves and branches erupting in a chaotic dance as the body crashed onto the foliage. A cacophony of cries and the hurried rustling of countless creatures filled the air, a testament to the disturbance.


    Birds, their feathers a blur of color, took to the sky in a frenzied escape, while smaller creatures darted for cover, their panic tangible.


    Francus lowered his sniper, the adrenaline slowly ebbing from his veins. "Gotcha," he murmured to himself, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The satisfaction of the shot was fleeting, reced by the weight of the task ahead. He knew the forests of Aerilon were home to more of these behemoths, each a potential threat to the settlements skirting the woond.


    As he prepared to descend from his vantage point, a voice crackled over hismunicator, "Francus, report. Was your hunt sessful?"


    He clicked the device, speaking as he navigated the thick underbrush with practiced ease. "Affirmative. One less nightmare for the vigers. But there''s more stirring in the shadows. I can feel it."


    "Understood. Return for resupply. We can''t afford any blind spots, especially with the celestial anomalies increasing."


    Francus paused, his gaze drifting to the skies where stars fought against the dawn''s light.


    Back in the vige, Grigor already waited for him.


    "You got one?" Francus asked.


    "One? I killed two!" Grigorughed as he raised his massive axe atop his shoulder.


    "I killed one because that''s the only one to kill. If there were thousands, I would have killed them all too."


    "Save the excuses, young man."


    Francus and Grigor made their way through the streets, their recent exploits already the subject of hushed whispers and awed nces. The vigers respected them, feared warriors who stood between the unknown horrors and their peaceful existence.


    As they approached the central square, a figure detached itself from the shadows, moving with an elegance that seemed almost otherworldly. Eldermage Illyrion, leader of the Silverleaf Covenant, awaited them, his presencemanding yet serene. The ageless elf regarded the two humans with a gaze that seemed to pierce through to their very souls.


    "Francus, Grigor," Illyrion greeted, his voice carrying the melodious quality of wind through the leaves. "Your deeds echo even within the halls of the Silverleaf. You have our gratitude."


    Grigor, ever the brash one, pped Francus on the back with a grin. "Told you we''d make a ssh," he said, though his jest faded under Illyrion''s steady gaze.


    Illyrion turned his attention to the vige around them. "Yet, your bravery cannot forestall the darkness encroaching upon us. The celestial anomalies you''ve witnessed are but harbingers of a deeper malice."


    Francus stepped forward, his brow furrowed. "What do you suggest we do, Eldermage? Our des are ready, but we fight shadows."


    "We all know who these shadows are. The demons. Those nightmarish creatures would keep appearing as long as this war continues. Do you know where your leader is?"


    Both of them shook their heads. "He said he''s going to bring this war to the next phase. How, where, and when. We do not know."


    The night air, usually filled with the symphony of nocturnal creatures and the rustle of leaves, was abruptly silenced. Francus, Grigor, and Eldermage Illyrion froze, sensing a disturbance far beyond the ordinary. High above, the stars seemed to flicker and dim as if night itself recoiled in fear.


    Without warning, the sky was aze, not with the celestial glow of stars, but with the fiery engines of a vast demonic fleet. The vige, moments ago a bastion of tranquility, erupted into chaos.


    "By the ancient spirits," Illyrion whispered, his voice a mixture of awe and dread. His eyes, reflecting the fiery descent, knew too well what this signified. "The demons havee."


    "By the ancient spirits," Illyrion whispered, his voice a mixture of awe and dread. His eyes, reflecting the fiery descent, knew too well what this signified. "Zagrath hase."


    Francus and Grigor exchanged grim looks, understanding the magnitude of the threat. They had faced demons before, but never an army, and certainly never led by Zagrath, the me Warden himself. His name was a curse, whispered in fear by those who knew of the demonic realms.


    The demonic ships, ck as the void, descended like a gue upon the, their underbellies opening to unleash torrents of fire upon the forests of Aerilon. Trees that had stood for centuries were engulfed in mes within moments, the inferno spreading unchecked, a living entity consuming all in its path.


    Screams filled the air, not just from the vigers, but from the very heart of the forest, as animals and mystical beings alike fled from the destruction. The Silverleaf Covenant, guardians of nature, could only watch in horror as their domain was defiled.


    "We must act," Francus said, his hand already on his weapon, the gravity of the situation lending him resolve.


    Grigor nodded, his usual bravado reced by a steely determination. "To arms, then!"


    Illyrion raised his hand, and in an instant, a protective aura shimmered around them. "I will shield the vige as best I can. You must find Zagrath. Without him, their coordination will falter."


    As Francus and Grigor prepared to confront the demonic onught, a new figure joined them. Alyn, a seasoned warrior of the Silverleaf, her expression one of unwavering determination. "I stand with you," she dered, her bow ready.


    Together, they charged towards the chaos, the roar of the mes and the sh of battle filling the air. The demons, grotesque creatures of shadow and fire, met them with ferocity, but the trio fought with a fury borne of desperation and unyielding spirit.


    The forest became a battlefield, mes illuminating the night as shadows shed with light. Amidst this turmoil, Zagrath emerged, his presence like a dark sun, radiating malevolence. His armor, forged in the fires of perdition, gleamed with a sinister light, and in his hand, a de that seemed to devour the very essence of the light around it.


    "Ie here for one thing and one thing only. Celestial toon! Your leader is dead. Now I am here to kill you all!" Zagrath''s voice boomed, a challenge that carried over the din of battle. "Face your doom at the hands of Zagrath, me Warden of the Abyss!"


    Francus and Grigor looked at each other. "Aldred is dead?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!