"What did you say?"Arnold's face turned pale as he roared, "Gideon was crippled by Eric? How did this happen? Did you instigate it?"Feeling aggrieved, Elara protested, "Dad, it has nothing to do with me! Gideon was too arrogant. He hit Eric, so Eric brought a bunch of his men to the bar. I don't know what happened after that, but I'm sure Gideon didn't come out unscathed. He was probably crippled.""Why didn't you take Gideon with you when you ran? He's your husband! How could you leave him there to be beaten up and turned into a cripple? How could I have such a cold-blooded daughter?""Dad, I don't love Gideon, and he's not good enough for me. Stop calling him my husband. Now that he's crippled, I won't spend my life with a cripple. I'll divorce him immediately!""You insolent girl!"Arnold was so furious that he slapped Elara across the face.After striking her, Arnold regretted it instantly. He had never hit her before—not even once. This was the first time.Elara stood th
"What did you say? You want to be my wife?" Gideon was a bit stunned, but immediately, his face clouded over.He felt like Simon had tricked him. That old man wanted to make him the Avila family's son-in-law. Was he asking to be taught a lesson?Meanwhile, Rachel was completely serious. She thought to herself that if marrying Gideon would solve the Avila family's crisis, then she was willing to make the sacrifice.Besides, she didn't think Gideon was as ordinary as he appeared. She knew how shrewd Simon was. If Simon valued Gideon enough to want her to marry him, it meant Gideon had some hidden power."Have you thought it over, Gideon? As long as you're fine with it, we can get our marriage certificate right now. I consider myself decent enough to be worthy of you," Rachel said earnestly.Amused, Gideon shook his head. "You're indeed beautiful and very capable, but unfortunately, I'm already married.""You're married?"Rachel was surprised. Did Simon know Gideon was married? And
"I'm telling the truth!" Gideon declared."You still refuse to admit it, huh?" Marion rebuked in outrage. If not for Arnold holding her back, she would've slapped Gideon already."Who the hell do you think you are, Gideon? How dare you doubt Matthew? Apologize to him at once!" Elara demanded in fury.Despite being generally cool-headed, Gideon couldn't help but feel angry. Snorting, he shot back, "You're believing everything he says? You foolishly believe he received Rachel's recognition just because he says so? "Where's the evidence? Have him call Rachel up right now."Matthew's heart thumped nervously.However, Marion said in distaste, "You disgust me, Gideon. You're just stubbornly refusing to admit you're wrong. Since that's the case, Matthew, call Ms. Avila right now and prove it to him!"Matthew wanted to cry. He dared not call Rachel, of course—he'd be on cloud nine if he even managed to get her number!"Make the call, Matthew, so that we can shut him up and stop him fr
Their mockery made Elara turn red, and she grew even more disgusted with Gideon.He was useless, but he still behaved so arrogantly! What an embarrassment he was!Elara was already regretting bringing Gideon along.Matthew laughed and said, "Since Mr. Snow here insists that someone will come to pick him up, let him be. We need to hurry because the visit to Beaker Island has a time limit."Everyone scurried off.Just as Gideon was about to make a phone call, it hit him—there was no one at the villa!Leopold had previously offered to arrange some household staff for him, but Gideon had declined. Now, there was really no one who could come to pick him up.Gideon cursed under his breath. He'd dug this hole for himself, so he had to see it through, no matter what.He called Leopold, and 15 minutes later, Leopold drove up in a rush."Get in the car, sir!""Sorry for troubling you," Gideon said."Please don't say that. It's my honor! Sir, why don't I arrange a few beautiful maids f
"Gideon!" Elara screamed.Everyone, including Matthew, Lavinia, Benny, and Derek, was all stunned."What are you doing here?" Elara and Lavinia questioned in unison.The two women exchanged glances before asking each other, "You know him?"Elara replied, "Ms. Mosley, Gideon is… my husband, but only in name!""Your husband?" Lavinia was filled with doubt.Wasn't Gideon supposed to be unmarried? Why did he have a wife now?Elara asked, "Ms. Mosley, do you know him?"Lavinia thought for a moment. Not wanting Gideon to use her name to deceive others, she shook her head. "No. I don't know him."Elara breathed a sigh of relief."Gideon, what are you doing here? Ms. Mosley said this residence belongs to Mr. Zeller, the King of Battle! How dare you sneak in here? Do you have a death wish?" Elara angrily scolded him.Matthew and the others also erupted with righteous indignation, shouting, "Gideon, how dare you break into Mr. Zeller's house? Are you insane? You're done for!"Everyon
"Come in. The door's unlocked."Dominic trembled slightly before carefully opening the door. As soon as he stepped into the villa, he spotted Gideon, who was sitting on the couch."Sir!"Dominic rushed over and gave a low bow of respect.If Lavinia, Elara, and the others had seen this, their jaws would've dropped.Glancing over at Dominic, Gideon asked, "Didn't you give this villa to me? Why did you come back? Have you changed your mind and decided to take it back?"Dominic shook his head fervently. "No, of course not, sir. You've misunderstood me. I came here to see you.""What for?""I'd like to head to Oasis Vale. I hope you can fulfill my request," Dominic beseeched with a solemn expression.Chuckling, Gideon asked, "Why do you want to head to Oasis Vale? You're good friends with Hercule, right? Do you want to visit him?""I'd like to move into Oasis Vale and train," Dominic replied.Gideon was startled. Dominic wanted to train at Oasis Vale? Did he get hit on the head
Marion explained, "For some reason, Mr. Duran's people said we stole some of their business. They want us to apologize and make up for it.""Mom, Dad, we can't afford to offend Mr. Duran. Let's just apologize and compensate for it," Elara said grimly.Smiling bitterly, Arnold said, "Mr. Duran wants us to compensate him with ten million dollars. Where can we get that kind of money?""What? Ten million dollars? He might as well rob a bank!" Elara exclaimed in anger.Just then, she turned to Matthew and pleaded, "Matthew, can you help us?""That's right, Matthew," Marion chimed in. "You and Elara are the best of friends. Do help us. You can lend us ten million dollars first."Matthew's lips twitched. As it was, the Carters were in urgent need of money. He'd managed to gather a little over 20 million dollars by lying that Rachel thought highly of him, but he wasn't going to lend that money to anyone!That being said, he couldn't possibly reject the Seymours outright, so he assured
The slap left Matthew rather dazed.Marion and Elara exchanged looks. They realized that even Nino's subordinate showed no respect for the Carters, let alone Nino himself. Shawn had gone so far as to hit Matthew without hesitation, too.Clutching his face, Matthew got back on his feet. Sensing the strange looks in the women's eyes, he felt humiliated, but he dared not say anything.After seeing that even Matthew couldn't do anything about it, Arnold knew there was no use in saying anything else. With great bitterness, he said, "I'll pay ten million dollars in compensation. Please tell Mr. Duran to give me three days to gather the money.""Three days? That's too long. You're not even getting an hour, let alone three days," Shawn retorted."What do you want, then?" Arnold fumed. "We're a modest family with a small company, and business hasn't been going too well. I can't fork out ten million dollars in cash right away. If you insist on being unreasonable, I'll have no choice but to
"Chase, you're so full of yourself!" Pope of Light sneered. "You think you alone can take on both me and Yohan? That level of arrogance is just plain stupid."He chuckled with contempt. "Once Yohan breaches the Spirale Clan's fortress and gets his hands on Genetic Bond, the two of us will join forces. Then maybe—just maybe—we can put you down for good."What do you think of that?"Down on the ground, the battlefield erupted into chaos.Samson, watching Yohan's sudden arrival, realized how serious things had gotten. He wanted to intervene and help the Spirale Clan, but Lucifer wasn't letting that happen.Ten-on-ten. That was it. A true, all-out legion war.Over a million troops clashed with zero hesitation. It was a brutal, no-holds-barred bloodbath.Samson was locked in a ferocious duel with Lucifer. The ten legion commanders were going head-to-head—every one of them. Orabella was there, too.After Gideon entered the fortress, she'd gotten impatient. But when Lucifer summoned h
Samson growled, "Just keep an eye on them. Don't interfere with anything else."Waves of beastly roars rippled through the air.Lucifer hadn't just forced the allied forces to retreat. He'd also driven off all the lurking powerhouses watching from the shadows. That included the overbeast and various native tribes from Asgard Plains.It didn't take long. Within a thousand-mile radius, the battlefield had cleared. Only 20 legions remained.Of course, a few bold and overconfident strongholds still stayed hidden in the shadows, watching—like Umbra. She hadn't followed Kingsley's retreat."What the hell is Lucifer doing?" Ewan muttered atop the city wall, baffled.Something felt off—very off. There was a bad feeling gnawing at his gut, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from."Send the order to initiate top-level combat protocol.""Yes, Mr. Moore!"Ewan looked to the sky, worry etched into his face.The battle between Chase and Pope of Light probably wouldn't end in a decisi
"Radiant Holy Palm!" Pope of Light chanted, his voice booming like thunder as he struck out at Chase.Behind him, a towering celestial phantom took form—The Radiant One.And in that moment, the phantom moved. Mirroring the Pope's every motion. The massive, glowing hand of the Radiant One began to descend, pressing down on Chase like the wrath of a god."A sacred technique of the Zonia Sect… So, you're tied to them, too? You've even mastered the Radiant Holy Palm!"Chase's face darkened slightly.During the previous reign, the Zonia Sect had already started stirring up chaos. But the king's full focus had been on strengthening its national power, leaving the monks unchecked.This allowed the Zonia Sect to grow bolder and more powerful.The moment he ascended the throne, his first order of business was to deal with them. But by then, the sect had already evolved into a formidable force. Even as the king, wiping them out was no simple task.He'd been locked in a silent war with th
Moreover, Chase was the face of Dasovia. He had to be even more mindful of his image.Even though the two of them were fighting from a distance, every strike carried crushing force—each blow could easily wipe out a peak-level eighth-tier warrior without breaking a sweat.That was the power of a Supreme."Divine Radiance Palm!"The Pope threw out a palm strike that exploded into a sea of white. The sky lit up like high noon, blinding and majestic."Verdant Emperor's Fist of Nature!"Chase's presence was cold and regal. As his fist surged forward, it felt like the mountains, rivers, and forests themselves rose to follow him.A brilliant green wave of power clashed into the blinding white."Well played! Let me see your full Five Emperors Divine Fist, Chase!" the Pope shouted with excitement.The King of Dasovia bore the name of Chase Cook. The name alone dripped with authority."You'd better be ready," Chase said coldly."Flaming Scarlet Fist!"This punch blazed crimson red, l
"All hail the King!"Almost like they were going head-to-head in secret, the ten legions of the Dragon's Aegis dropped to one knee and shouted with everything they had, voices thundering across the land.Their chant was even louder, deeper, and more powerful than the one from The Light Council's legions—so powerful that it shook the sky and the earth, drilling straight into the soul.Spectators were stunned.Two living legends—Pope of Light and the King of Dasovia—standing at the absolute peak of the world, had shown up in the same place.It was insane.Could it be that they were really about to go to war tonight? If so, it was going to tear the whole damn place apart. A clash between two ninth-tier peak powerhouses was no joke. Once someone hit that tier, they were in a whole different league. Unless one reached that same realm, they'd never understand how terrifying their strength truly was.The difference between the eighth and ninth tier was just a single tier. In reality,
Gideon might just gouge his eyes out if Kingsley accidentally saw something he wasn't supposed to.What the hell was he supposed to do now?Kingsley was so anxious that he started stomping his feet.Right then, Alistair, Ajax, Ian, Justin, and the other champions all sensed the chill and rushed over. "Umbra's inside meditating. I'm not sure what happened, but this cold air is flooding out.""Ms. Crescent's got a pure-essence physique. That's pure essence energy. From the feel of it, she's leveled up again. Her energy is even more intense now. This is a great sign."Fall back. Don't disturb her."The champions pulled their elite troops back several miles, leaving Umbra alone in the area.Just as they figured, she was evolving again.After the frenzy poison that had plagued her body was finally cleansed, she felt a massive wave of relief and hit a breakthrough right on the spot.Back when she was in the eastern plains, she was barely hanging on at tier six transcendent. Now? S
Gideon clenched his teeth, then dropped a bombshell. He said, "You've been trying to find the first half of the Snow Beast Clan's inheritance scroll, right? I know where it is." His eyes narrowed."I'm not telling you now," Gideon added quickly. "Just let me use your stealth aircraft. I'll give you the location once I finish what I came to do. Whether you can get your hands on it... that'll be up to you. I swear on my life. I'm not lying." Ewan stared at him hard. There was nothing but truth in Gideon's eyes."You'd better not be lying." "Come on. Do I look like that kind of guy?" Gideon said with a cheeky grin. Ewan let out a cold snort but finally turned around and led him to a military base. What came into view was a sleek, flat-shaped stealth aircraft.Its design was simple. But the simpler it looked, the more extraordinary it was."This is the most advanced fighter our clan has ever built. I call it Ghostler. And I can say with confidence that it's the fastest stea
"I hope they beat each other to a pulp." "What's the point of that? Honestly, I'd rather see them team up and blast through the Spirale Clan's headquarters. Then, we could swoop in while they're all bleeding." "For real! That's the dream scenario." Whispers spread like wildfire among the hidden factions watching from the shadows. Everyone was on edge and was ready to strike at any moment. Up on the city walls, the Spirale Clan's commanders looked equally tense. Every tech weapon at every major outpost had been activated and armed. If Lucifer and Samson really decided to join forces and attack, the clan wouldn't hesitate to unleash full-scale S-class firepower—no matter the cost. But to everyone's disappointment, neither Lucifer nor Samson showed up. Instead, it was just their legions standing off.There was no fighting—only the clashing of their immense energies. Nothing more. "Are they going to fight or not?" one of the champions muttered, irritated. "We've be
Following the flow of Blue River, Gideon finally made his way out of the city. He climbed ashore at a hidden spot, returning to the same location from over two weeks ago. But Umbra and Orabella were nowhere to be found. With no better option, he set off to look for Kingsley. Along the way, Gideon caught sight of something that stopped him in his tracks—the Dragon's Aegis legions squaring off against The Light Council legions. "Damn! That's overwhelming." Gideon was stunned. Ten legions on each side, with two million soldiers in total. They were all elites—every single one a martial artist of high caliber. Each legion moved as a single organism, able to strike hard or pull back on a dime. And to Gideon, these 20 legions could crush Kingsley, Rhett, and all eight major royal families—even if they had ten million troops combined. The sight lit something inside him. The world was shifting, and power structures were changing. It was time for him to stop relying on