"Hello.""And, goodbye."The elevator lost control and fell several dozen stories.There was no chance of survival for anyone inside.Ashton punched an escape from the elevator's top as it fell. He removed his jacket with an almost unfathomable speed and twisted it into a thick rope. He jumped out of the elevator and hung on the cable.The loud boom from the elevator silenced the building.Meanwhile, a well-suited guy in the top floor office smiled slyly at a young lady in a black dress."Kendra, I told you it won't end well for those who oppose me."Did you hear that? I asked Ashton Levin to come and put him in an elevator. Then, I simply created an accident.""What did you do to him?" Kendra stared at him in terror."What did I do to him? From the 28th floor to the bottom—boom! How do you think he's doing?"The man smiled like a demon.Kendra shook her head; she was in denial. 'Ashton Levin is an astounding man. How can he be dead?'"I own the Lockwood family. I told you
Ashton replied with the same words."Mister Levin, no!"Kendra yelled.She was not trying to protect Gavin; she hated Gavin more than anyone.Gavin was his cousin. He was cruel and merciless, but he had a lot of support in the family. Most of the older family members felt he was the true heir instead of the indecisive Kendra Lockwood.Gavin was reckless because of their support. He orchestrated a lot of assassinations, including their relatives.Kendra was likely waiting for him to die.However, she hated to admit that Gavin was an important part of the family. He could not die. That would unleash hell in the Royal Sealift Group. Lots of people would suffer."Kendra, you dare to kill me? Your parents' bodies will float on the South Edren River tomorrow if you dare to harm me. My grandfather won't spare you. He will bury you with me!"Kendra pursed her lips. She had no reply to his statement."Mister Levin, please let him go. This is all my fault, and I will make it up to you.
Wilfred clenched his jaw. He discreetly took out his phone to call his son. However, his son did not pick up. He felt his heart sink to his stomach. He had a bad feeling."Alright, enough. Stop causing drama at my manor."Xavier Lockwood sat tall at the center seat of the table. He let out a soft grunt, and the commotion in the hall instantly subsided, leaving only the sound of steady breathing."Kendra, who is this young man?" Xavier looked at Ashton with curiosity.Kendra hugged his arm before he could react. She smiled and introduced him to her grandfather. "Grandpa, this is Ashton Levin. He's my boyfriend.""Your boyfriend?" Xavier smiled teasingly."Kendra, do you know who you are? You're the eldest daughter of the Royal Sealift Group. You shouldn't fool around when you're choosing a boyfriend."Kendra smiled and said, "Of course not, Grandpa. Ash is an excellent man. He can fight, he's well educated, and he's knowledgeable in healthcare. He's a versatile young man, and he'
Kendra immediately stepped in front of Ashton with her arms out."Grandpa, why do you insist that I get married? You said I'm the eldest of the Royal Sealift Group. I'm the representative and the heir of the Lockwood family. I can choose my man as I please if he's willing to work for the Royal Sealift Group. You raised me that way."You told me I'm supposed to work for the Lockwood family for life, and I'll always be in the frontlines, but now you're trying to marry me off. Do you have another heir in mind, Grandpa?"Xavier went silent."Kendra! Watch it!" Wilfred glared at her angrily.Kendra took a deep breath."Uncle Wilfred, your son is scheming on the family business, and he wants to be the heir. You're secretly helping him. You deliberately sabotaged my projects this year to undermine my standing within the family while continuously forming alliances for your son. I suppose 60 percent of the family members are on your side, aren't they?""Nonsense!" Wilfred exclaimed."Is
"It doesn't matter. What can you do to Gavin anyway?" Wilfred smiled half-heartedly.He did not believe that his son was in trouble. He might have been captured by Kendra and had his freedom restricted. She would have to release him if her grandfather gave the command.Kendra poured herself a glass of wine. She never drank alcohol, but she decided to have a sip."Kendra, I want you to get along with your cousin. I don't want you two to burn bridges," said Xavier.Kendra placed her glass on the table and smiled. "So, you knew he was plotting against me, and you knew everything he did, but you're not interfering?"If this is what you mean by getting along, forgive me because I can't do it."Also, you can tell me if you want Gavin to be the family heir. I can step down from my current position."Wilfred was excited when he heard that. He glanced at Xavier.He hesitated and sighed. "Is it too late to ask you for that?""I'm sorry. I should've been a better grandfather."Gavin is
"Wilfred! What are you doing? Didn't you say—"Xavier was in disbelief. His manor was ambushed by those who worked for his son. 'What is he doing?'"What? Do you mean when I said I wouldn't hurt your precious granddaughter? Look at what she did. This bitch is supposed to step down, obey, and enjoy the rest of her life, but she just had to oppose me. Tell me. Didn't she ask for it?"Wilfred rubbed his bald forehead. He tilted his head to glare at Kendra. He asked mockingly, "Why does the old man like you so much? He agreed to everything just to protect you. You're too stupid to appreciate his good intentions. You pissed me off!"Now, both of you can go to hell together."Her mind went blank.'What does it mean? Did Grandpa promise Uncle Wilfred something to protect me?'What is going on in the Lockwood family? Why am I unaware of it?'"Wilfred, the Lockwood family belongs to you at this point. I don't have many days left anyway. Let Kendra go, and I will write a will to hand ove
"Mister Levin, you don't suspect me, right? I might have been able to hurt Uncle Wilfred and Gavin, but I won't hurt my grandpa no matter what." That was the first time Kendra lost respect for the man. 'How can he suspect me?'Ashton smiled without saying anything.Kendra turned to look at Yenn—she looked innocent."Miss, I grew up with you—""Mister Levin, it's not Yenn either. She's like a sister to me.""Say something, Mister Levin. This relates to the Lockwood family's life and death, so please guide us," Xavier said in a weak voice."Calm down, Mister Lockwood. Get a set of silver needles for me. I need to help you with a detoxifying treatment," he said calmly.He observed the subtle changes in the facial expressions of everyone nearby, and he had a rough theory in his mind.He had no idea who the culprit was, so he was provocative on purpose. He wanted the culprit to show themselves. The culprit had fallen into his trap."Roxanne, get the silver needles I keep in the stu
Roxy tried to contain her feelings. Ashton addressed her without fear. She looked confused.Kendra and Xavier also looked confused."Mister Levin, are you mistaken? Roxy has been working here for more than 20 years. Also, she… she…" Xavier sighed like it was difficult to talk about that.Roxy smiled faintly and said, "Mister Levin, I don't find it strange that you would suspect me. After all, you seem to prefer my younger and beautiful sister, Roxanne."But everything requires evidence. Such a grave crime would lead to an execution. Can you simply convict an innocent person based on your words alone?""Of course not."There was something special in his smile. Roxy felt afraid for no reason."First of all, as I mentioned earlier, Mister Lockwood can't die from the worm alone. Three triggers are needed for an undetected death. Each of these three triggers is harmless on its own, perhaps something ordinary. However, when these three ingredients are combined, they create a unique fr
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