"A bet?""That's right, a bet. In three months, we'll evaluate their assets, power, and personal abilities to see who is truly superior," Kendra said confidently."Are you joking? Forget about three months. Even if I give him three years, 30 years, what does this trash have to compare with me? I lie there doing nothing and still earn millions a month, while he lies there doing nothing and starves in three days. What does he have to compare with me?""Mister Cox is right. There's no need for this kind of bet. Ordinary people have their own lives, and there are certain levels that they can never reach, no matter how hard they work. Considering our past as a married couple, I don't want to continue causing trouble for him. This farce should come to an end now."Kendra sneered and said, "Ashton, they're underestimating you."Alora frowned; she could not stand the woman's coquettish and disdainful laughter."Fine, since you want to bet, I'll play along. Three months, right? What's the
"Miss Latham, there's no rush." Chloe hurriedly stopped her."The head of the Royal Sealift Group is not seeing any guests at the moment. Even if you go, you'll be kicked out.""Not seeing any guests?""Yes, many famous entrepreneurs are lining up at the third-floor entrance. They have been told it is break time and that no one will see them."Alora took a deep breath. "Such arrogance."Tyson comforted her."There's nothing we can do. This is the Royal Sealift Group, one of the three major powerhouses in the city. There are few who can enter the sight of Edren's so-called prestigious families. But since they chose your project, you do not have to worry about the others.""Alright, then let's visit the Wesleys at Vermillion."A gleam of light flickered in Alora's eyes."My newly developed MHY drug has received preliminary market recognition. Within a month, we have over 30 regional distributors. The next step is to expand the production line and solve the raw material problem. Th
The atmosphere in the room got a little tense.Finally, it was Nazeem who stood up. "Doctor Cook, before the young man left, he said these silver needles absolutely can't be removed. Should we wait for him to come back before we do anything? After all, my grandfather's health is what mattered the most. It's better to be careful—"Morgan slammed his medical kit shut and said coldly, "If you think that quack is better than the experts at the Edren Hospital, don't ask me to come over. My time is extremely valuable. I would not have bothered coming if it had not been for my friendship with Mister Wesley."Director Zander adjusted his glasses and sneered. "Doctor Cook is the chief medical officer at Royal Sealift Group. He had just returned to the group and immediately rushed over here after forming a team of experts. I didn't expect that you would compare that quack to Doctor Cook. That's ridiculous.""Director Zander, Doctor Cook, you've misunderstood. That's not what my brother meant
"I have to bear the responsibility?" Ashton was angry and amused. He glanced at the ID card around Director Zander's neck and said, "You're the one who pulled the silver needles out, causing Elrich's life to hang by a thread, but you want me to bear all responsibilities? Is this the standard for the Director of Internal Medicine at the Edren Hospital?"Ashton pointed at Morgan. "You and that old fart are cut from the same cloth. It's no wonder that the same person trained you.""How dare you—""What? I let you off the hook once because you're an old man. Do you really think I'm that good-tempered?" Ashton cut him off."You son of a bitch! How dare you talk to Doctor Cook like that? Do you know who he is? You better watch it, or you won't be able to survive Edren County!" Director Zander gritted his teeth in anger.Ashton glanced at him. "You're an incompetent trash who likes to act on your own will and blame others. If I were you, I'd shut my mouth, so I won't make a fool of mysel
Ashton picked up the cup, took a small sip, then stood up. "I think it's time I get going.""Mister Levin, you're not going to stay a little longer? If you stay, I can introduce you to a beautiful lady. She's the president of a corporate group and a highly popular figure in Edren County recently. Maybe both of you might even marry each other," Elrich said, half-joking and half-serious.As soon as Elrich said that, Ashton's face became unusually sullen."The lovely lady you mentioned should be my ex-wife. Are you going to ask me to get back with her?"The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically in an instant.Feeling awkward, Elrich coughed and said, "I'm sorry, Mister Levin. I'm not familiar with this insider information. Well, Lance, see Mister Levin off, would you?"Lance approached Ashton with a curious look on her face.Was that amazing young man Alora's ex-husband? Why did Alora divorce him? Any prominent families would flock to a highly skilled doctor like him, ingrati
"Huh? Me again?" Lance was a little speechless. She had already dispatched three groups of people, including Director Zander. Nonetheless, she said, "Miss Latham, please leave. My grandfather is ill, and he needs to rest."Alora was still perplexed after being escorted out of the room. The conversation had gone well, so why did Elrich change his mind so abruptly? Did he not say he was passionate about working with young people? Did he not say that young people were full of potential and represented new life?Also, why did Elrich ask her many personal questions about her marriage?Alora was on the verge of going insane. She felt she had been made fun of."Mister Cox, didn't you say you're Mister Nazeem's friend, so you can help me take care of this matter? What should I do now?"Tyson let out a forced laugh. "Well, Alora, don't you find it very strange?""Strange? What's strange?" Alora frowned. She did not find anything strange, but she was indeed going to go crazy."Why was Lev
"Do you still not have a clue, Alora? He's the classic kind of vile character who pulls others down and can't stand others doing well just because he's a loser. You finally saw his true nature, so you dumped him. Surely, he's going to stop at nothing to take revenge on you," Tyson said with a wicked grin as he walked over. "Alora, you can't show mercy to someone like him, not even for old times' sake. If you give him a chance, you're just digging your grave."Alora locked her gaze on Ashton, hoping against hope that he would give her an explanation. However, she was disappointed. He just stared at her, unconcerned. His gaze held something indescribable. He seemed to be mocking her for being stupid."Ashton, I'm disappointed in you! Whatever we had between us is now gone! We're done!" Alora was utterly through with him, and she immediately walked away."I won't let you leave this gala in one piece, you son of a bitch!" Tyson threatened him.Ashton sat on the couch, watching them lea
"How is her proposal?""Huh?" Yenn was confused."What I mean is, what are the chances of her proposal being accepted in a normal competition without any emotional factors?" Ashton set the document down."Well, if it is a normal competition, Miss Lockwood would probably accept it. After all, her proposal is quite novel, and it has a low risk and high return," Yenn carefully said."Let's accept it then.""Wh-what? Mister Levin, aren't you guys… Please forgive me. I do not currently understand your generosity. I will call Miss Latham now to tell her about it."Yenn took a deep breath. She thought Ashton would certainly disagree with approving the proposal. After all, who would wish their ex-wives—who had dumped them—to have a smooth sailing career? They would want their ex-wives to have bad luck at every turn instead.However, Yenn had underestimated how forgiving Ashton was. Whether he was being silly or killing his ex-wife with kindness, Ashton's impression in Yenn's mind had su
Once the news spread, the world was in an uproar.The ban on nuclear weapons had been lifted?That meant the nuclear weapon's password had been entered, and the weapon could be launched from the ground with a single command.Furthermore, it differed from the time in the Syferian ice plains. Taking into account the international community's influence, Sunoria used a low-tonnage nuclear bomb with minimal lethality, but Aarrowsmith was different. Once they decided to use nuclear weapons, they would disregard all public opinion until they had utterly destroyed their opponents. In that case, the bombed area would be a wasteland where nothing could live for at least a century.Nobody wanted nuclear weapons to detonate on their own territory.Therefore, wherever Ashton was, the country in charge of that territory would be in a panic.Sceponyol and the allied countries quickly convened a military meeting and contacted Aarrowsmith, demanding a halt to the nuclear bombings.However, when
A single person had destroyed an entire fleet."Your actions will start a war!" Leblanc roared furiously."You're an insignificant clown; your words don't matter. Furthermore, so what if I start a war?"Ashton regarded Nimo with interest. Nimo and the others were dressed in combat suits and ready for a final desperate fight."Hand over the core technology of the combat suit and the formula for the Water of Youth, and I will let you live today," Ashton said.He admitted to being greedy for Aarrowsmith's technological advancements—not for their combat effectiveness, but for the scientific application behind those means.If members of Obsidian Gates were equipped with that type of combat suit and the Water of Youth, combined with the martial arts practitioner's own methods, their combat effectiveness would skyrocket. Everyone would become a super warrior fearless of death.However, his words made Nimo laugh wildly."Do you think it's up to you? A filthy Linnish man wants the sixth
Nimo laughed. "We're safe! Everyone, the retreat mission has been completed successfully." Nimo finally felt relaxed.Three other figures then appeared on the ship.Their combat suit was removed, revealing the figures of a woman and two men.The Annihilator Team had only four survivors.The captain of the ship approached the deck."I am Leblanc, the ship's commander, and I have been ordered to come pick you up. Why are there only four of you? What about the others?" Leblanc inquired in a suspicious tone."All of them are dead. That Linnish warrior killed them.""What?"Leblanc was shocked.He knew what power the Annihilator Team wielded, and he was sent to perform that task precisely because of that. He responded as soon as possible and cooperated unconditionally because he knew that any task assigned to the Annihilator Team had to be something he could not ignore.He also understood the Annihilator Team's composition—the frontline combat team, the communications team, the in
The battle continued.Ashton only used a sliver of true thunder's power before annihilating several members hiding in the dark in one fell swoop. Those members were waiting to report the news.The Annihilator Team was not made up entirely of combatants.The sixth-gen combat suit was still in development and had not yet been officially added to the assembly plan, so only frontline combatants wore it.For example, communications, intelligence collection, transmission, and backend members wore standard fifth-gen combat suits.In the face of that devastating thunder, there was no powerful self-healing and recovery ability, nor the ability of the Water of Youth to reshape the body. The other members were destroyed almost in the blink of an eye."Damn, what kind of weapon is that?"The captain roared frantically during the attack."Captain, this is the latest information—he found an artifact that gathers thunder and lightning at the Church of Darkness' headquarters in Edlington. That
"What? Is our warship here?""It has arrived offshore. Our country is our strongest supporter. No one can take action against Aarrowsmith's soldiers!" The man's confidence had skyrocketed.He had been a member of the Annihilator Team for over a decade and had been promoted to captain along the way. He had never encountered such a situation on a mission. A warship from Aarrowsmith's strongest navy had appeared to escort him in defeating their enemy. That undoubtedly helped him gain confidence."Fight as you retreat; buy me time."The captain took the Brain's terminal and refilled a black magnetic rod.At that moment, an indescribable scream ripped through the sky. As soon as it ended, a 50-meter building containing several people collapsed.Ashton was wearing the Obsidian Jade Scales and resisted dozens of gunshots. He grabbed a sniper from the Annihilator Team, swooped down, and smashed the opponent into the ground, grinding them into powder and ripping the combat suit apart. The
"Since the first battle in the Syferian ice plains, no one has ever caused me such a severe injury."Ashton threw a punch with enough force to cause massive explosions, swiping it at 30 times the speed of sound.The man in black armor raised his large shield almost subconsciously.When Ashton's fist made contact with the shield, a silent ripple of space appeared, and ultrasonic waves that normal creatures could not hear spread frantically in all directions like a silent bell signaling the end of the world."Hmm?"Ashton realized that when the two forces came into contact, the shield vibrated at trillions of times per second while the special metal inside formed a ring-shaped magnetic field. That magnetic field disrupted the surrounding energy flow to resolve the power emitted by his punch.It functioned similarly to the previous black magnetic rod, except one was used for attacks and the other for defense."Go!" The man's arms were numb. He held a shield and dragged the woman at
It got close to Ashton in a matter of seconds, and the black magnetic rod exploded at a speed that was almost certainly 20 times the speed of sound. No other weapon in the world could do what it did.Therefore, even Ashton was careless. His carelessness stemmed from his belief that, even if his mana could not stop the destructive power of that magnetic rod, he could at least slow it down for a moment. That moment was sufficient for him to react and take appropriate countermeasures.He did not expect the magnetic rod to ignore his mana and injure him instead.Modern weapons that could ignore mana defenses were certainly interesting."Unexpectedly, we were forced to use Plan B, utilizing the valuable Breaker Black Pillar. That damn Linnish warrior! That cost a billion dollars!" The thin man holding the transmitter removed the black sunglasses from his face and cursed viciously."Don't complain; that's Ashton. He's known as the strongest man in Lindorm. Even if we lose tens of billio
"What have you been up to, Ashton? There's no way it was just about breaking Mister Darek's curse, right? When Mister Johnson saw you, he was terrified and booked us on the first flight out," Kendra said, her voice tinged with disbelief.Ashton simply smiled, unfazed. "Oh, nothing much. I just took a quick stroll around the country and picked up a few favors along the way.""When's the flight Harry booked for us?""Tomorrow morning, six sharp," Kendra said, still incredulous."He can't wait to see the back of us," Ashton said with a laugh, but he got it—it was part of the job.Sceponyol could only begin to pick up the pieces and shuffle the deck after Ashton left. With him around, everything stopped, with unexpected events lurking around every corner."Well then, let's make the most of tonight and head out bright and early tomorrow, back home.""I'm with you. It's not every day we get to go abroad. I'm too wired to sleep anyway. Might as well check out what kind of fun this coun
"That's Mister Ashton Levin!"Harry's confirmation hit Luce like a ton of bricks.He might not have met Ashton before, but he knew the name carried a lot of power. The entire upper echelon of Sceponyol and their allied countries had been on edge, dealing with that Lindorm warrior's actions. Rumor had it he had come from the east, smashing through dozens of mercenary strongholds, clearing out the Bit Sea Strait, surviving a thermobaric onslaught, and marching straight into Brighton, putting the whole city on high alert.Blood Monarch Alexander had entered the fray, but even he could not withstand the onslaught and was cut down by Ashton. That bold move sent shockwaves through Sceponyol's superbeings community, leaving them humiliated and thirsting for revenge. In a show of force, the Five Great Guardians mobilized with one goal—to take down the perpetrator and restore their tarnished reputation on the world stage. After a grueling battle that lasted over an hour, the guardians lay de