Chapter 114: Ancient family First Descends
THUD!
Grayson dropped heavily to his knees, his eyes wide open in sheer terror.
"I... I am still alive?"
He looked over his trembling shoulder, staring at the huge expanse of land far beyond, seeing nothing but deep, jagged pit cracks caused by the young Patriarch’s single, devastating attack. Each crater was more than 20 meters wide, and even from his spot, he couldn’t see the depth of the abysses carved into the earth.
He slowly turned around, only to see Asher standing calmly before him, his sword resting easily in his hand. Without waiting for another word, Grayson violently smashed his forehead onto the iron-laced ground.
"Please don’t kill me!! I swear on my name, from today onwards, I am your dog!! Whatever you say, that’s what I will do!!" he yelled, desperation bleeding from every pore.
"If you ask me to go right, I will never go left!! Please, I want to become your dog!!" He added, abandoning every shred of his underworld pride.
Asher looked down at him as he activated his Shadow Gaze, staring at the broken mafia boss with his now glowing red eyes.
"From today onwards, you are my dog!"
"Yes!! My life and blood is yours!! Even my boys!" he quickly said, his massive frame trembling in absolute fear.
"Alright then." Asher nodded his head.
Shadow Gaze showed him Grayson wasn’t lying. Securing the undisputed king of the underground as his loyal subordinate was a massive strategic victory for his growing empire.
But the immense power he had just unleashed lingered heavily in his mind.
’I need to investigate this rank... I suspect SSS-RANK isn’t the highest after seeing the Goddess key, but still...’
Asher suddenly froze, quickly raising his head to the sky as a terrifying pressure descended upon the junkyard. "Shit!!"
He grabbed Grayson by the collar and jumped down from the scrap pile. "Juliana! With me!"
Juliana flew into the air using her cape’s levitation ability, rushing back to the hidden spot where they had safely tucked away Sara and Kelly.
"Everyone! No matter what happens, don’t say a word!" he instructed with a deadly serious expression, snapping his palms together.
{Skill: Shadow Domain - Activated.}
Pitch-black shadows rose violently from the ground, quickly enveloping the five of them and completely severing their existence from the normal outside world.
"Why are we hiding?" Juliana whispered in a low voice. She could see the outside world perfectly through the veil, but she knew anyone on the outside couldn’t sense a trace of them.
Asher remained silent. Thanks to the temporary EX-Rank boost from Sword Proficiency, his heightened senses detected exactly what was coming—but the god-like powers he now possessed would only last for ten more minutes.
"Neeee-igh!!!"
".....?!!"
Dead silence instantly descended over the devastated zone as everyone—even the hidden group—looked up at the pale moon. They watched in awe and horror as the very fabric of space tore open. A majestic white horse, fully clad in gleaming armor, walked out of the void. Riding it was a regal female figure entirely encased in flawless white armor that elegantly enveloped every single part of her body, her face completely obscured behind an ornate visor.
Everything on her were complete Upper Mythic-Tier set, including what was on her horse.
Asher raised an eyebrow, the system instantly bringing up the stranger’s profile interface:
[Name: N/A.]
[Talent: N/A.]
[Physique: N/A.]
[Rank: N/A.]
[Species: Human.]
[Agility: 1,500,000.]
[Energy: 5,000,000.]
[Defense: 5,000,000.]
[Health Point: 5,000,000.]
[Physical Attack: 1,500,000.]
[Magical Attack: 1,500,000.]
’What the hell?!! What sort of stats are these? Human, my foot!’ Asher thought, his pulse quickening. Even the energy passively radiating from the stranger and her mount was dense enough to completely terrorize a veteran SSS-RANK Awakened.
Asher turned his head to the side, feeling more powerful energy signatures rapidly moving toward their location. But these ones, he easily recognized.
"What is that?" Tyson asked, stopping dead in his tracks on the perimeter of the battlefield, staring up at the radiant white figure hovering in the sky.
"Are they here because of the weapon Aura? Or the Energy?" Marianne asked, cold sweat rolling down her temples as she struggled simply to breathe in the heavy atmosphere.
"It’s because of the unknown energy. I haven’t sensed such an intense energy before," Owen said, his naturally composed face turning incredibly pale.
"All of you, shut up!!!" Daniel snapped. His harsh command silenced the elite SSS-RANK Awakened standing behind him. Those below that rank couldn’t even get within two hundred miles of the area due to the stranger’s suffocating aura.
"...?!"
They all watched in utter disbelief as Daniel, the absolute Leader of the Awakened Association and a pillar of their society, dropped heavily to one knee and bowed his head submissively.
"I am Daniel Falcon!! The head of the Awakened Association in Vaeloria county!! I pay my respects to the First Daughter of the strongest Ancient Family!!!" he yelled into the night air.
"....?!!!!"
Everyone froze in pure terror, their eyes darting from the kneeling Daniel up to the divine stranger above.
What the hell?!!
That was someone from an Ancient Family?! The mythical, untouchable overlords of the world? Everyone stood paralyzed, staring at the armored woman, all blinking blankly and rendered completely speechless.
"Why are you all still standing?"
She spoke in a calm, melodic tone, but her mere words carried a physical, reality-bending weight that struck everyone directly in their chests. In seconds, the absolute strongest figures in all of Silverspire dropped painfully to their knees, clutching their sternums with agonizing expressions.
"What is happening?!" Marianne gasped with a painful grimace, her eyes wide open as she fought for oxygen.
’My chest!! It’s like countless needles are striking my heart!!’ Tyson thought, gritting his teeth as a thin line of blood rolled down the side of his lips.
"Please, Your Excellency, show mercy on them!" Daniel quickly yelled, hoping his desperate plea would reach the lady above.
"Tell me, who amongst you reached the forbidden rank?" She asked, her voice echoing with supreme, absolute authority.
"Forbidden rank?" Daniel’s expression turned even paler, his entire body trembling under the crushing weight of her gaze.
The Forbidden Rank—the realm beyond the SSS-RANK ceiling. It was a brutal law among the global elites that no one was allowed to step into such a rank without first securing an Ancient Family for protection and allegiance. Anyone who touched that realm unaligned would be mercilessly hunted down and given two strict options: submit to an Ancient Family, or be eradicated.
The unknown, world-shaking energy they felt earlier... it was actually someone breaching the forbidden rank. But who?
Daniel frantically moved his gaze around, taking in the devastated surroundings. He could clearly see a cataclysmic battle had just taken place here, but he couldn’t spot a single body, nor could he even detect a trace of lingering life in the rubble.
"I... I have no idea." He stammered, terrified of incurring her wrath.
Everyone knelt in the dirt, none daring to look up at the divine knight. They simply waited in suffocating silence for the lady’s next word—the single breath that would ultimately decide Silverspire’s fate.