The tremendous aura emanating from Ashton's body was suffocating for everyone present.That was the aura of the world's strongest.The senior congressional official who had previously called paused after seeing his reaction.If their opponent became greedy, did they really need to meet his every desire?Who knew what kind of request he might make? At his level, wealth and rank could not possibly satisfy him."As long as it is within our ability, any conditions are negotiable," the senior congressional official responded with a wry smirk."I just need the exact answer, not a whole discussion." Ashton snorted coldly."Mister Levin, you can state your conditions, and we promise to give a reply in the fastest time."Ashton paused briefly, then quickly remembered Kendra and Obsidian Gates.Even though hard times had arrived, it was still modern times. Civilization would not change much if he could solve the Fairy Court dilemma and block the entrance to the Fairy Court.Despite his
Why was Ashton not gone yet?He had already left, yet he returned in the blink of an eye. Was he planning to stay there for long?In reality, Ashton simply sought a quiet area to refine the seal.Even though the seal was powerful enough at the time, it simply needed to be infused with energy and activated by divine intent to destroy all in its path. However, it was still somewhat unsatisfactory. It did not match Ashton's ideal appearance, much less the deadly force of the innate realm.However, after implementing his ideas, things would be different. He wished to make the seal into an innate spirit treasure that would transcend the existence of the magical instrument. The natural spirit treasure would develop consciousness, be able to defend itself against adversaries, and would have limitless growth potential.At that point, there was a clear distinction between spirit treasures and magical instruments.It was impossible for him to remain in the innate realm for the remainder of
"What's he plotting now? His recent stunt has the entire region on edge, particularly Edlington, right up there next to North Bristolham. They're so scared that they're threatening to use nuclear weapons!""Usually, it's all just a big show, but this time might be the real deal.""Why's that?""Come on. Ashton's theatrics were always for show. It was always a ploy to save face. Even when he defeated the Five Great Guardians, it played straight into the hands of some powerful figures in the allied countries. Nobody really wanted to launch a war over it.""However, this is a completely different ballgame. He has stormed into the Dark Alliance's stronghold, sealed off every exit with some kind of magical formation, and now he has got all of Edlington—a good 200 square kilometers. Do you understand what that means? Every second, more than 400,000 people are in danger. This is not simply a threat; it's a full-fledged crisis!"Those who had heard of Ashton knew he was crazy. If one prov
Aleman jumped, his heart racing as he mistook the other's movements for an attack."Protect me! Protect me, now!" His voice was a frenzy of panic. Ten super-soldiers surrounded him in moments, their bodies of liquid metal fusing into an unbreakable metal shield, ready to deflect any assault.Even the blast of a thermobaric bomb could not scratch him then.The liquid metal was more than a barrier. It could absorb heat, energy, and radiation, leaving no deadly force that could reach Aleman through its embrace.Aleman's confidence surged."Ha! You think you can sneak up on me, warrior of Lindorm? You're just angering an unstoppable force, digging your own grave!" he bellowed.In the heart of the Dark Alliance's headquarters, Ashton raised his hand with a subtle grace. The magical formations vanished, and a spiraling gold and purple seal burst through the roof, rising into the sky.A pillar of purple lightning split the sky, crashing into the clouds above.To those looking from a d
"No one turns down Aarrowsmith. You ought to recognize the clout our country's name carries," Aleman said, his brow creasing in a show of authority meant to be intimidating.Yet, Ashton found the display less than compelling, akin to the posturing of an ant."You seem oblivious to the predicament you're in and clueless about who you're dealing with," Ashton said, shaking his head."I'm well aware. I'll concede your martial arts skills are remarkable. However, this world is not ready for you to rule it single-handedly. Our super-soldiers have their own brand of miracle-making," Aleman retorted."Is that so?" Ashton's eyes twinkled with amusement as he surveyed the group in their shimmering liquid metal armor.Aleman's face twisted in anger, catching the scorn in Ashton's look. "A little confidence is good, but you're overdoing it. You can't fully utilize your techniques at this range, can you? For my super-soldiers, though, it's the sweet spot."As if on cue, the ten super-soldier
"I sure hope so," she murmured, though deep down, she was not holding her breath. All she wanted was for Ashton's clout to rake in a few more perks for the company."Speaking of the company, we recently changed our name. My enterprise is now called Obsidian Gates Group," Kendra said with a twinkle in her eye.Kendra chuckled as she noticed Ashton's perplexed expression and said, "What I have now—everything—you played a role in. I can't just accept your gifts and claim them as the Lockwood family's wealth."And now, I'm all in with Obsidian Gates," Kendra said, her cheeks tinged with color."And the first lady of Obsidian Gates, no less," Madeline said.Ashton's ladies were all high and mighty within Obsidian Gates, but Kendra was the queen bee. She was the one who could run the show, keeping the machine well-oiled and humming, earning the trust and respect of everyone from the elders to the newbies.Ashton just chuckled and touched his nose."Don't you dare laugh.""Ashton, we
"Sorry, but I'm just not into that, and really, my personal life is not your concern," Kendra said, her smile polite but distant."That's a shame," Kase replied, his face twitching so slightly it was almost imperceptible, but he was quick to hide it. No one could really tell what he was thinking.Truth be told, the Hariupia elite were itching to make Kendra one of their own. If they could, they would get their hands on her world-changing drug formulas without spending a dime and snatch up her company to boot.To them, a woman was nothing more than a means to an end."Still, Miss Lockwood, if you can't manage to be the royal prince's darling, then I'm afraid your company's flawed products might just not cut it in the Hariupia market," Kase said, his eyes narrowing into a sly smile."Flawed products? I'm not sure I follow," Kendra said, her expression clouding."Oh, it's quite straightforward. Our recent studies of the La Verdure Pill suggest it harbors a toxic substance that can m
Kamil's gaze finally focused on Waldek, who could not help but feel excited. It seemed like bringing up a woman solved the problem; all of his prior attempts to strike up a discussion with Prince Kamil had failed. However, with only the mention of that lady, he had Kamil's complete attention."Prince Kamil, I ran into those three just over half an hour ago.""Really? So what?" Kamil was puzzled. People tended to cross paths with countless others every day. Why would such a casual encounter be worth mentioning? Was there more to that story?"You see, Prince Kamil, what you don't know is that those three were in a high-end boutique earlier, picking out evening wear. The gown that the woman is wearing? They chose it then.""Isn't selecting a fine evening gown just basic manners for attending a Koster family soiree?" Kamil responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world."True, but there's more to it. That woman and her friends are up to no good."Kamil's ears perked up.
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