Thalia nodded with a smile. "I see.""Let's go, girl. Draco captured our debtor. Then, we'll ask them to hand him over." Lorelei took Thalia's hand and got out of the villa.And then they vanished into thin air again.…A few military Hummers were going down the wide roads of Riverton's outskirts. Draco ordered his men to take in the remnants of Blackdragon.Aside from Cashmere, many important Blackdragon members were captured. They would be taken to Zone: Draco, where they would be interrogated. After all, they did cross Nox.Aside from the Hummers, the tanks had returned to the military zone. Draco took a helicopter to get back after he left Watercloud Villa.Only a dozen armed soldiers were taking Cashmere and everyone else in. Cashmere and the remnants of Blackdragon were ashen.A few days ago, they were the underground rulers of the River Tri-State area, but then, in less than half a day, their chamber of commerce was pulverized. Even Logan was killed.Everything was like
The girl wasn't afraid of Harold at all. She was licking her lollipop, still standing around.Harold asked, "Why are you out here alone, girl? Where are your folks?"The girl only laughed."It's dangerous out here. You shouldn't be playing alone. Listen to me and get out of here. Go back to your folks," Harold persuaded.He thought the girl would leave, but she was still standing around in silence. Confused, Harold crouched. "Did you hear me, girl? You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous."The girl pointed at the Hummer behind Harold.Curious, Harold turned around. The girl pointed at the car, escorting Cashmere and the Blackdragon remnants. "Mister, I need one of the guys in there. He owes my family rent. Can you get him out here so he can pay his rent?" asked the girl.'Rent?' Harold was flummoxed. He looked at the girl again. She was about six or seven years old, and her hair was tied in pigtails. 'It looks like she just got out of kindergarten, and she's already collecting ren
The moment Lorelei's voice echoed, Thalia smirked, and she retreated. "You're done for. Lorelei will kill you for what you tried to do to me!"Everyone was grim."Who goes there?""Come out here!"There was no one around. Just when the guards wondered what they should do, a crone appeared before Thalia. Everyone pointed their rifles at her."Who are you? Why are you stopping us?"Lorelei didn't even look at the armed forces. She patted Thalia. "Stay back, girl. I'll deal with these pests."Thalia nodded and moved away. Lorelei then turned around and scanned the armed guards. She approached them."Freeze!""One more step, and we'll open fire!"The soldiers held up their rifles against Lorelei, but the crone didn't even dodge. She licked her lips and challenged darkly, "Open fire, then."Furious, a guard said, "Open fire!"The soldiers fired off incessantly, but before the bullets could hit Lorelei, she vanished. The bullets flew through the air, but Lorelei was nowhere to be
Cashmere and the other captives blanched. They kept quiet and stared at the crone outside. Lorelei looked at Cashmere venomously. She then scanned around and asked, "Where's our slave, Logan Royal?"The captives froze. They didn't expect the crone to ask about a dead man. They were wondering why that was, but Lorelei extended her arm and grabbed a Blackdragon member.She crushed his neck before he could fight back. "I'll ask again: where is our slave, Logan Royal? Answer me, or you shall die!" threatened Lorelei.The captives just saw the crone kill someone like it was nothing, and they were terrified. A member said, "I'll speak! Mr. Royal… is dead!" He was shaking like a leaf."The slave is dead?" Lorelei frowned."Yes! You can ask the Enlightened!" The captive pointed at Cashmere.Lorelei turned to Cashmere.Shivering, Cashmere quickly answered, "Yes, Mr. Royal is dead!"Lorelei harrumphed. "That slave died before he paid his dues?"Cashmere couldn't believe what he was hear
At the same time, a silhouette appeared at the base of the mountain. The man was in a yellow robe, and he had beady eyes. He was none other than Jebediah White.Nox almost killed him, but Jebediah surrendered, and Nox brought him under his control with his Death Seal. At this moment, Jebediah was staring at the fog-covered Dragoncourt in hesitation. He wondered if he should see Nox.A long, long time later, he gnashed his teeth. "Alright, let's do this." Jebediah entered Dragoncourt.The moment Jebediah stepped into the fog, Nox was notified of his presence. The look in his eyes grew cold, and he flew up into the air.Jebediah was but an Attuned Realm sorcerer. He was trapped in the formation the moment he stepped into it. Eventually, he was led in circles and breathing raggedly.A voice asked icily, "You insect. How dare you breach my formation?"Scared, Jebediah felt his legs go limp and plopped on the ground. "Have mercy! It's me!"The voice was familiar. Nox waved his hand,
Jebediah saw the Frostpills, and he froze for a moment. His eyes then gleamed with worship. Pills and elixirs were the treasures sorcerers could refine, but not many could do that.Refining pills required a great understanding and mastery over sorcery, and they had to be at least Attuned Realm sorcerers to do it. Nox was at least as powerful as a Grandmaster, and he even knew Jebediah's patriarch. Jebediah only had respect for him now.He stood aside, quiet as a mouse. Nox kept making Frostpills, leaving Jebediah alone. Nox placed expensive herbs in his palm, and he ran his inner energy through his veins. A short while later, a wave of scorching energy shot out. The herbs were refined into liquids.Jebediah watched as the liquids became pills, and he stood in awe. An hour later, Nox had made a few Frostpills. Once he was done, he tucked the pills away.Jebediah was still standing like a good little pup.Nox suddenly turned to him. "You really want to work for me?"Jebediah droppe
Nox looked at the book and smiled. Jebediah handed Kingdom's Ranking to him. "Look. This is the Heavenly Ranking and Earthly Ranking of Faeast's strongest in the last hundred years."Nox took the book and flipped it open. The first page read 'Heavenly Ranking Top Ten Martial Artists.' Under that was a name. It read 'Lord Nox.'Nox then flipped to the top ten of Earthly Ranking. The first page still read 'Lord Nox.'When Kingdom's Ranking was announced, Nox took the top spots in martial arts and sorcery as Lord Nox. Such remarkable feat had never been achieved by anyone else but him.Seeing this ranking again made Nox lament the past. Jebediah, however, had no idea Nox was the one and only Lord Nox. Like all people of Faeast, he thought Nox had died in the Ocean of Death.Jebediah said, "Sir, that's Lord Nox, once the top man of Faeast. He's always been the strongest in sorcery and martial arts. Even our patriarch said Lord Nox's power outstripped anyone in the last hundred years."
"How'd Nono and Mr. Weeks do it? They dealt with Blackdragon in less than a day." Queenie racked her brain, but she couldn't find any explanation."Forget it. As long as Nono's fine, I'm alright." She started missing Nox again. "I wonder where Nono is. Wonder if he's doing okay."Queenie took her phone out and called the phone she left with Nox. A while later, she heard his voice. "Nono, what are you doing?""Nothing," said Nox."Can you come out, then?" Queenie asked."Come out? Right now?""Yeah. You have a problem with that?"Nox was quiet for a moment. "No.""Good." Queenie chuckled. "Give me your address. I'll pick you up.""Sure." Nox hung up, and he gave Queenie an address.When Queenie saw that Nox was at Dragoncourt, she was bewildered. "Why's Nono at Dragoncourt?" She was curious, but she didn't think too much about it.She put on some makeup and got changed. When she was done, Queenie picked up her bag and went out. George was watering his plants. When he saw Quee
The talismans were Magic Mountain's Forbidden Art, and Nox had fused them with Ultimate Sun Dragon Manual. Nox's mentors back in Mystia had taught him the Sovereign Seal earlier than expected.Their goal was simple. If Nox became the Sovereign, he could use the seal to command all the natural energy around him. If he didn't become the Sovereign, he would teach the Sovereign how to use the seal.The Sovereign Seal was a Saintly technique and the most ancient technique around. It was stronger than a Celestial technique.A golden seal brighter than the sun slowly rose into the air. It was the Sovereign Seal.As it appeared, natural energy gathered around it. The energy flew into the relics Brundela took from Faeast. Within a museum not open to the public, a bronze sword started to tremble as natural energy flowed into it. That got the attention of a professor."That sword belonged to Faeast's Emperor Elijah! What is going on?"A silhouette came out of the sword, and his aura was maj
Back in the navy command center, Fergus got the drone footage of Brundela's latest development. There were a few generals from the Nox Army with him. They could see that the monsters in the capital were far stronger than the ones they took out."It's a pity the capital is too densely populated. We have the weapons, but we can't use them." Fergus slammed the table in frustration. Even if the capital were to fall into enemy hands and the people torn apart by the monsters, Fergus could not order his men to fire at the capital, or things would be bad for them.Fergus could only open fire if the monsters were in a no man's land."Commander Parrish, the lord has orders. We are to keep the waters guarded. Once the capital's crisis is over, we are to make our way to the port and give humanitarian aid," a Nox Army general said telepathically. He just got Nox's orders."Is that so? Then Nox can stop this crisis." Fergus' eyes shone. He had no idea what Nox was planning, but he was the Sovere
Demons were walking the lands of Brundela. Legendary creatures were roaming the streets as if the end of days were here. The resurrected monsters were causing chaos everywhere. When the Titans showed themselves, despair washed over Brundela.There were too many monsters running around. Even after the Twilight Order and Ice Temple cultivators sent out everyone they had, it still wasn't enough to stop these creatures. The monsters went straight to the council hall, and so did the Titans.The Ice Temple Lord created a Magic Ice Formation and kept using Forbidden Arts and mystical artifacts to fend off the enemies. He had already done his best."You have to do something, Nine-State Lord. I can't hold on much longer!" the Ice Temple Lord said telepathically.Though monsters were about, they were not a threat to the Ice Temple Lord. he could leave anytime he wanted, but he had a deal with Nox. If he were to desert the battlefield, he would face a hell far worse than he could imagine late
Their targets were the relics around the altars. The moment the whirlpool showed up, the black energy conjured black walls and kept Brundela on lockdown, cutting off all communications.Possessed by evil spirits, gods from ancient civilizations came back to life. In the underground graveyard, the dead came bursting out of their coffins, and skeletons with phantom flames flickering around them charged at the holy knights and James' secret agents.Nothing more needed to be said. The holy knights' leader led the charge. The other knights resolved to fight to the death as they battled the skeleton gods.James and his secret agents fired off at the enemies, but the bullets did nothing to the skeletons. All they managed was to light a big spark. Only grenades and howitzers could deal damage to them, and even then, the damage was light.The battle was fierce. Though the knights did not fear death, they were still weaker than the prehistoric gods. These skeletons were nigh invincible, and
Nox was hovering higher than the Ice Temple Lord, and he got everyone's attention."Who's that?""It's a Faeastian!""My God, it's the Nine-State Lord!" Nox was known throughout Faeast and the world. Brundela's council members had recognized him the moment he showed up. They had nothing but fear for gods, yet Nox was the strongest man in the Mortal World, so they respected him.The clouds in Brundela's skies were hanging heavily over the ground, and the icy aura they radiated was making everyone shiver. Winter seemed to have come early for Brundela. The temperature was dipping fast.Back in the control center, intelligence agents were watching the surveillance footage closely, and they noticed the altar. The Twilight Order and Ice Temple cultivators were there, strengthening the altars' seal the best they could. There were soldiers guarding the altar as well.For some reason, the secret agents had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Murphy's Law, as they said.Suddenly,
A sliver of energy flew out of the puppet and gathered natural energy around it. Then, the temperature rose at a blistering rate. Fortunately, Bard's reminder came just in time, and Vermilion Bird was prepared for this. She led her team away from the spot.A pillar of fire engulfed the building, and heat waves shot off in every direction, lethal and deadly. The light eventually faded, and all buildings in a few hundred yards were razed to the ground.If Vermilion Bird had killed the puppet without thinking just now, she would have lost all her men and suffered serious injuries. "That bitch! I'm going to make her into a human swine one day! I'll give her hell!" she cursed.Bard gasped. 'Yeah, women can be really terrifying.' Not one General was a normal person.This incident didn't escape Nox, of course. He saw it through his divine sense. "Heh, you can't fight the flow of history? You say that, Aphrodite, but you've done the same thing more than once. Schemes and plots when your ey
Aphrodite was a master manipulator. She knew the weaknesses of Nox's underlings, and she praised Bard, "At least you know where you stand, Bard. You never overreach. Though we failed to make you one of us, I still thought it'd be a shame to kill you."Bard smiled. "Oh, you're such an actor, Ms. Mousse. You know why we don't like you? Queenie is a genuine lady, just like our lord. You're far inferior to her. And don't flatter yourself. Of course, I know where I stand. I can't even reach the pinnacle of martial arts, let alone cultivation."No matter how smart I am, my lack of talents holds me back. I can never be made an important leader." He was only spared because he couldn't become a threat to the Mousses.Nox didn't use schemes because he didn't need them. Absolute power could trump any plot.Vermilion Bird clenched her teeth. "What is the meaning of this? The lord knows that the bitch is here?"Bard shook his head. Vermilion Bird was a smart woman, but Aphrodite made her lose
Aphrodite felt nothing but sorrow, and Vermilion Bird burst into laughter. "I expected nothing less from these people. Your men are just like their employers. Hey, knights, you guys want to find out more about Faeast martial arts? See those Mousse guys? They're masters. Deal with them."Vermilion Bird gave her orders. She knew these people would escape the moment she showed up. The knights flew off, going after the escaped Mousses. The Mousses were a family of warriors, while these knights were cultivators, to an extent. They wore mystical artifacts, and the Mousses' guys didn't have something like that.The battle was fierce but short. The Mousses' powerhouses were taken out, and the rest were dealt with by the Shadow Division."And now only you're left. Interesting, isn't it? Karma always bites you in the ass. You betrayed my lord, and now your men betray you. You deserve this," Vermilion Bird cursed."Yes, I deserve this, but as long as he wants to be the Nine-State Lord, then w
'The beating heart of this land?' The woman's underlings looked grim. They were supposed to be the master tacticians here. Yet, Nox played them like a cheap kazoo. 'He's a far better tactician than we expected!'Nox began his counterattack not long after the Ocean of Death incident. This woman was none other than Aphrodite, Nox's old flame. When she saw Brundela's fate stabilizing, she knew right then that things had gotten out of her hands."Tell the Mousses in Eropa to retreat right away. There is no need to stay here any longer. He's not attacking us because he's waiting for us to do the same. The moment our men try to start anything, he'll swoop in and take them all out. "No one can beat him if he decides to go all the way. Not even me," said Aphrodite.Suddenly, the Mousses' powerhouse noticed something. "I sense bloodlust. Who goes there? Show yourself!" The powerhouses unsheathed their weapons and stood around Aphrodite, protecting her.A group of black silhouettes appeare