Chapter 122: What The Hell?!!!
"So let me get this straight, you want to be my underling?" Asher asked, staring straight at her, weighing the immense geopolitical shift her offer represented. He leaned forward:
"You should know how our world operates... The other Ancient Families are a lot stronger than mine, if I fall, you and your guild won’t survive, you do know this, right?" He asked, testing the depth of her resolve. In the cutthroat hierarchy of Silverspire, pledging fealty to a rising, unestablished power was a massive, bloody gamble.
’Fall? Stronger than you? Who the hell has so many Mythic-Tier gears? Not only that, you are way beyond SSS-RANK... Anyone foolish will know who to pick. About dying? Who cares about that? Death only come ones, if it’s here, I will accept it,’ Marianne thought, staring at his face, her calculating mind recalling the apocalyptic EX-Rank pressure. Survival in the Awakened era meant abandoning pride and choosing the sharpest sword.
’Besides, having such a handsome Boss isn’t a bad thing, I will get plenty of times to admire his face,’ she thought with a smile, her professional facade slipping just enough to appreciate the perfection of his features.
"You don’t have to worry, we aren’t scared as long you’re behind us," she said with a smile, officially anchoring her guild’s fate to his bloodline.
Asher narrowed his eyes at her, probing for deceit in her aura, then relaxed in his seat, projecting the absolute authority of a Patriarch. "Alright then, do you have the seal--"
"Yup! Everything is prepared." She quickly snapped her fingers, and a heavy, energy-infused parchment scroll appeared before her, pulsating with ancient binding magic. She gently placed it on the glass center table, then without a microsecond of hesitation, she bit her finger, drawing a bead of crimson blood, and pressed it on her designated spot within the runic circle.
"From today on, my guild, with a total of 20 SSS-RANK, and I, are under your command," she said with a smile, effectively transferring the military might of a top-tier Awakened organization with a single bloody thumbprint.
’Twenty? That’s impressive... But the Starfire family has more SSS-RANK than the top3 guild, this must be the reason she needs a backer,’ he thought, staring at her. He bit his own finger, and placed his blood on it. A flash of ethereal light cemented the magical contract, tying the seal.
"You do know the consequences in this scroll, right?" Juliana asked, staring coldly at Marianne.
"Of course, if I break my words, I will be burnt inside out," Marianne answered with a fearless smile, fully accepting the fail-safes of the blood pact, and pointed at the scattered intelligence file. "The master mind in all this is a very powerful family... You should know them," she said, looking up at Asher.
"Starfire Family," Asher muttered, the name tasting like ash and old, festering betrayals.
"Correct!" Marianne clapped her hand, her chipper tone a stark contrast to the grim reality of high-society warfare, as Asher stored the binding scroll safely in his system inventory.
"Starfire family? Why would they harm us?" Juliana asked, a bit surprised. She knew the bloody politics of the underworld, but aristocratic sabotage on this scale was a different beast entirely.
"I suspected this in the past," Asher closed his eyes, piecing together his memories.
"Your three families has Spirit Mines, ten each at that... Even if your family went bankrupt, those mines could still hold you guys for a very long time. But nope, they had to sell you off to the Starfire family... I suspect my Father must have a hand in your families’ downfall, by taking away their biggest support, which are... The three of you," Asher muttered.
The Spirit Mines were the absolute lifeblood when forging equipments and making pills. By eliminating his wives—the rightful, strongest heirs—the Starfire patriarch essentially monopolized thirty high-yield veins of pure wealth.
"Boss Asher is right... About the expedition in Doomsday Dungeon, why didn’t the families send out their own Awakened?" Marianne asked, leaning forward, eager to expose the corruption of the elites, and continued:
"The Starfire family for example has at most 50 SSS-RANK, don’t let anyone deceive you, saying the Starfire has hundreds; SSS-RANK aren’t cheap... Back to the topic; even with this huge number of SSS-RANK behind them, they didn’t send out even one person... In the other countries, they only sent two from each city, which only account to 20 Awakened, some didn’t even send a single fighter over... But your three families." She gestured sharply to the three women on the couch.
"Asheville, Stafford, and Royalwood. Your family sent out 90% of their Awakened over to assist, even Kelly, joined them on this mission, everything was under the Starfire family’s hand," Marianne revealed, her words stunning everyone. The sheer scale of the historical betrayal was laid bare. It wasn’t an expedition to save humanity; it was a targeted, orchestrated culling.
"So the other families are just dogs running errands for them... But the Starfire family are strong, we will deal with their dogs first," Asher said, his voice dropping to a glacial chill. He picked up the glossy files, moving methodically through the pages, seeing a lot of powerful, familiar faces on it, including Owen, Daniel, Tyson, Eren, and suddenly paused, staring at Grayson’s scarred image.
"Grayson is here." He muttered, looking up at her, realizing the new king of his underworld was deeply complicit in his family’s ruin.
"Yeah, as the report state there; he assisted with men when they attacked Juliana," Marianne explained, not missing a beat.
"Alright, he will be here very soon," Asher said, keeping the files flat on the table, his tone perfectly even despite the terrifying, murderous intent slowly leaking into his aura.
"Why can’t we attack the Starfire family directly?" Marianne asked, holding her jaw, clearly eager to utilize her new Boss’s god-like might to decapitate the snake entirely.
"Attack the Starfire family?" Asher stared at her, and shook his head with a small, cynical smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
"With our current strength, that is suicidal... You don’t belong to that family, which is why you don’t know anything about them."
The gulf between an ordinary high-tier guild and a dynasty that controlled entire sectors of the economy was simply incomprehensible to an outsider.
"Yeah, even with my investigation, I can’t get anything from them; their security protection is Rank-S," she said, lost in thought, frustrated by the absolute information blackout surrounding their core estates.
"After I became an adult in that family, I discovered why they’re amongst the strongest." Asher said, closing his eyes as the darkest, most heavily guarded secret of his former lineage surfaced in his mind.
"The current head’s father is in that rank... Back then, I know nothing, but now; I am sure he is Ex-Rank... Meaning, the Starfire family has the protection of one of the ancient families; I just don’t know which ancient family." He revealed, his words stunning everyone in place.
The Starfire family weren’t just powerful nobles; they were the direct, empowered vassals of walking gods.
"What the hell?!!" Marianne exclaimed in shock, the terrifying reality of her new war finally dawning on her.