The men who came with Chandler quickly surrounded Ashton.Ashton looked at them and did not react.He said coldly, "I'd be better if I were you. I'd stop working for someone so corrupt."Corrupt men will perish in the end."One of the men burst out laughing. "He's in total denial.""Why are we wasting our time with him? Let's show this punk that he won't be able to see the sunrise tomorrow."Ashton glanced at him and said, "It seems you're also accustomed to being arrogant. There's nothing more I can say since you're all cut from the same cloth. For the sake of the people, I'll take out the trash today."He leaped and knocked the laughing man away. He knocked over the tables and chairs.Then, he threw punches and kicks amidst the crowd's confusion. His moves were agile and powerful. Chaos erupted in an instant as men tumbled and fell. Chandler's men were knocked out in a matter of moments. Chandler found himself being Ashton's foot."The big bad bully wants to run South Edren?
"What do I want? I'm just teaching this bastard who tried to put his hands on my sister a lesson, and you started shouting and threatening me? What? Do I look like a weakling to you?""No, of course not…" Mister Xander tried to explain himself, but he was pinned to the ground and unable to say another word."Hey! That's enough! You'll be the one in danger if this keeps up!" Gwen cried out, looking at him pointedly."I don't think you understand what's going on here," Ashton said, amused."You're the one who's confused! So what if you can fight? You can take down 10 or 20 people; what about 100? Perhaps 200? Do you know how many people are in the South Edren Police Force? Do you even know the kind of power they hold?"A dedicated search team will find you in half an hour, and you'll have all these snipers aimed at you! The South Edren Defense Squad will move after that, with helicopters, tanks, and all! Can you beat that? You're just an ignorant person who doesn't understand real p
"This idiot again! Miss Latham, are you two fated? Why do we keep running into this guy? Is he stalking us?"Alora and her secretary emerged from the private room upstairs to see the view below.Alora, who was having a drink to relax, felt displeasure again.Her personal life felt stalked.Those coincidences were happening far too often, and she felt like the guy was stalking him.He refused to admit that he was still obsessed with her and could not forget her. It was funny to see him play tough.Alora had even suggested getting back together before, but he had turned her down out of pride. God, men like him were deplorable.She laughed when she remembered the bet the black-dressed lady made with her.An antique thief like Ashton could not hold a candle to someone like Mister Cox. The latter did not even have to lift a finger—his inherited wealth alone was enough to wipe out most of his competitors around his age.Forget three months; they would never be in the same league for
"I don't know where you get that confidence from. I really don't."Ashton shook his head, exasperated and amused."From my competence and hard work. Just look at the facts—I'm the CEO of three companies. Isn't that proof enough?"When Ashton said nothing, Alora chuckled. "Oh, right. My project with the Royal Sealift Group has been approved, and I'll be planning the collaboration with them any day now. That means I'll be among the most powerful people in Edren County. Perhaps even South Edren."Do you know what that means?""I would not expect you to. You've never understood what I was doing. That was why we stopped being able to talk to each other, and it was why we drifted so far apart. We were doomed the second I started my first company, and you still refused to get your act together."I've been kind enough to you, Ashton. I hope you know what you're doing."Alora left with her secretary after that. She did not even say goodbye to Ashton.Outside the Saccharine, Tyson was al
The lights on the second floor were still on, and everyone looked up at once.His hawk-like gaze made everyone tremble as Master Tundra looked down like an ancient minister.Next to him, Madam Scarlet was on his arm. She seemed to have turned from a haughty empress into a blushing bride in minutes.Only someone like Master Tundra could tame a woman like her. Any other man was hardly in the same league."I heard someone here trashed my bar."Master Tundra strode down the stairs slowly."He beat up my workers."And claimed he could kill my woman if he wanted to."Master Tundra's gaze zeroed in on the Saccharine entrance.The figures in the dark were as good as dead to him."It seems like I've been silent for too long for some people to lose respect for me! Thinking they can get away with challenging me scot-free, am I right?"Walter's words were authoritative and threatening, like they were going to kill.He deserved South Edren's top-dog title.Gwen trembled as she mumbled,
"Master Tundra, I'm truly sorry to have caused you so much trouble. Let me take care of the bastard for you!" Madam Scarlet said gently."Damon, get it done. Master Tundra needs his rest.""Got it, Madam Scarlet!" Damon licked the blade of his dagger."No, stop!" Master Tundra shouted.But it was too late. Damon had pounced, swinging the dagger against Ashton's throat in a fatal move.It was true that Damon was quite a skilled fighter and had once been one of the underground circle's finest assassins. But compared to Ashton, he could hardly compare.Ashton grabbed Damon by the wrist before the dagger even came down, wrenching hard and breaking the bones in Damon's palm. He twisted the limp wrist even harder, and Damon's arm dislocated.That happened within the span of a second or two."You might be a skilled fighter, but the best you have is a body of steel. You're fucked the second you meet someone who can destroy metal," Ashton said, dropping Damon and flicking his hands."S
"What are you even talking about? Just look at how rude you're acting. Can you ever have someone as young and beautiful as me? Get lost. I never want to see you again." Gwen tilted her head and looked at him lazily.She felt incredibly frustrated. She did not know why she brought stupid Jake there. Was she not just causing Mister Levin to look down on her? After all, a university student was treasured, but the value of one who had been in a relationship before was drastically lowered.Her alluring looks might have already tempted Ashton if she was still pure and innocent.The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Gwen was even thinking about killing Jake.Jake was about to cause a scene when he was dragged away by the bar security and tossed outside.Inside the bar, Ashton pulled her aside and said, "You haven't answered me yet. As Yanne's best friend, I don't want you leading her astray. Do you understand me?"Gwen pursed her lips unhappily. "Why are you so concerned w
"Argh!"Gwen was afraid of thunder. She had never seen anything like that and fell on the ground before falling unconscious.The next day, when Ashton walked out of the tower, he noticed that girl had spent the night on the roof."Didn't I tell Jaden to get her a place to sleep?"Ashton picked her up and brought her downstairs before finding her a room and a bed.He had planned on waiting for her to wake up before he sent her home, but not too long after that, he got a call from Kendra.He had planned on talking to Kendra about the deep sea stones anyway, so her timing was perfect.As for that girl…Ashton thought about it and had someone send Gwen to Yanne. She would probably not let anything happen to her.However, Ashton never expected Gwen to start to speak nonsense to Yanne the moment she woke up, causing his relationship with Yanne to change forever.That was all in the future.Ashton drove to the headquarters of the Royal Sealift Group, and Kendra was already waiting
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