His expression harbored a deep compassion for the world, but the words that flowed from his lips sent shivers down one's spine.Hudson, the patriarch of the Saunders family, stared as a figure materialized from the glowing white light. As the image became clear, Hudson's face drained of color, his eyes reflecting pure terror.The Prince, too, focused his gaze, analyzing the newcomer.Emerging was a tall, statuesque man, draped in a white robe reminiscent of a priest. He was cradling a weighty tome in his hands.The gentle, benign smile that played on his lips would have made anyone feel instantly at ease.However, the Prince was not just anyone. Not only did he reign over San Hanna, but he was also a seasoned warlord. Recognizing the unique aura that radiated from the man, the Prince instinctively felt this was not an ordinary encounter.What unnerved him the most was the subtle chill that lurked beneath the man's warm demeanor, a coldness that made the Prince's skin prickle.Th
His declaration still lingering in the air, Chalice's grip tightened on his book's cover.Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of brilliance burst forth, zipping straight toward Fred, powerful and relentless.Chalice believed his luminous onslaught would obliterate Fred, but with a mere gesture, Fred whispered, "Disperse." In an instant, the blinding cascade dissipated, as if it had never been there. The sacred book in Chalice's grasp even bore a tear from the ordeal. "This... How did you…?" The Archbishop stammered, witnessing his mighty assault vanish with a mere flick of Fred's finger. Seeing the very artifact granted by his deity marred, he cried out, "How could this be? This is a blessed relic from the heavens! How could its holy light falter and even recoil against its wielder?" Indeed, the very heavens seemed to have betrayed him!In that brief moment, Archbishop Chalice might have appeared unchanged to the world, but deep inside, he knew the truth.His very essence w
"You dare kidnap my student, yet you remain ignorant of my identity?"At the sound of Fred's voice, Archbishop Chalice's face tightened with concern.In a heartbeat, his expression of worry morphed into one of sheer terror.Fred had left him utterly flabbergasted.For one, Chalice was not like the cloaked man. He was the bishop sent by the Ability Alliance to whisk Rita away. He was well aware that she was the prodigy of the revered master. He had taken comfort in the fact that the Ability Alliance had dispatched the cloaked man to distract this master, allowing him to pray in peace at Saunders' place. Although he did not know the master's face, he knew he was young and bore the name Hoffman.Now, realization struck."You... You're Mr. Hoffman? The Revered Great One?" Archbishop Chalice's voice quivered.Fred smirked. "Recognized me at last? What's your next move?"Next move? What could Chalice possibly do?He was not like the cloaked man who had just taken control of the Abil
Introduced to the Lord?Hudson, catching the sinister undertone in Archbishop Chalice's words and his menacing look, realized the impending doom. An urge to fight back surged within him.Yet, how could he ever stand against the might of Archbishop Chalice?Worse still, the moment that blinding white light bathed them, escape became a hopeless fantasy.Within the blink of an eye, the tranquil white light intensified. Flames of milky white engulfed Hudson and every Saunders family member, consuming them from head to toe.In mere seconds, they were all reduced to ashes.There was silence.Was the entire Saunders family just incinerated alive?The Prince, despite being at odds with the Saunders family, was rendered speechless by the sheer horror unfolding before him.As for Archbishop Chalice? He seemed as unfazed as if he had swatted away mere flies. With a sly grin, he said to Fred, "Honored Great One, the insolent Saunders family members who dared challenge you? They've been se
"Great One, we've scoured every inch of the Saunders' mansion, but Rita's nowhere to be found!"Ten minutes later, Halbert, Aeon, and Carver were on their knees before Fred, their faces filled with regret.Fred's expression darkened upon hearing their words.Clearly, their worst fears were being realized.Earlier, Fred had held back from confronting the Saunders and Archbishop Chalice, waiting for Halbert and his team to use the standoff as a chance to sneak into the Saunders' home in search of Rita.Now, their return without Rita indicated a troubling possibility.Rita might have already been moved by Archbishop Chalice before Fred even got there. She could be en route to the Holy Kingdom of Tigan now.The Prince, sensing the gravity of the situation, asked, "Great One, what makes Rita so special that the head of Ability Alliance, the very Holy King of Tigan, would risk angering you to take her?"Halbert, Aeon, and Carver exchanged puzzled glances.After all, Fred was a livin
Charles II, leader of the Ability Alliance and also the Holy King of Tigan, sat cross-legged in the Corsay Church, the most noble church in the Holy Kingdom of Tigan. He was meditating with his eyes closed.On the side, Cardinal Ariel, who was the second in command after Charles II, was looking at the Holy King with a puzzled expression."Your Holy highness, please explain this. What is so important about that Rita Stonemoss woman? Is she… truly worthy of Your Holy Highness to provoke the Great One?""That… that is the Living Legend at the pinnacle of the world!" Cardinal Ariel sighed.In fact, Cardinal Ariel was not in the Holy Kingdom of Tigan recently due to some private matters. The cardinal did not know that the Holy King sent people to Somerland to kidnap Rita. When he learned about this and knew that Rita was actually Fred's student, he rushed over immediately.That was how everything unfolded."Cardinal Ariel, did you also think that what I did was wrong?"Charles II slo
Reappearance of The Twelve Apostles of the Lord on Earth!The Ability Alliance would be able to conquer the world!After hearing the words of Holy King Charles II, even Cardinal Ariel could not help but feel excited.If all these would come to pass, it would not just give the Alliance a prominent reputation, but also grant them immeasurable benefits!Cardinal Ariel said, "If the Twelve Apostles reappear, how would they compare to the Great One?""Compare to the Great One? Haha!"Charles II sneered. "No matter how strong the Great One is, he is just running rampant in today's world! Each of the Twelve Apostles were powerful ancient warlords. The Great One is nothing compared to them!"I think you should be fairly familiar with everything about the Ability Alliance. You know about the Ancient Warlords’ powers, don't you?"With those words, the concern in Cardinal Ariel’s heart dissipated. He bowed slightly to Charles II and said, "In that case, everything will be done in accord
"Your Holiness seems to be recovering well!"Charles II looked Rita up and down and smiled."Did you ask those people to arrest me?" Rita asked tentatively."No, no, no! How could I ever arrest Your Holiness? This is just an invitation!" Charles II laughed."Then… Then why did you invite me here?"Rita knew she had to submit to them as she was still in enemy territory. She did not dispute with him whether this was an invitation or an arrest. She just said quickly, "My teacher is the Great One. I hope you will consider carefully… before doing anything!"Charles II instantly smiled and said, "Of course! In fact, when we invited Your Holiness here, we considered everything carefully. To put it bluntly, we just hope that you will do something for us!”"What would that be?" Rita asked in confusion."It's very simple. Just discard your mortal body and serve my Lord!"As Charles II spoke, he promptly looked at the priests standing at the door.When the priests saw this, they walked
Marciella walking away did not bode well with the giant snake. Marciella was its food! How could it accept that its food had escaped?Marciella had not moved far yet. She reluctantly looked back at Fred.She did not know how Fred would handle the River God. She could only hope Fred would be okay!When Fred saw that she had left, he geared up, rubbing his palms in glee. He had an eager look on his face, which confused the giant snake.It was the snake’s first time meeting a man like Fred!How strange indeed!At this time!Suddenly, Fred said with hostility etched on his face, "Hey, Big Snake, what are you going to do now?"The snake's attention was entirely focused on him, which seemed off to Fred."What I’m going to do?"The giant snake fixated its eyes on Fred. It felt that it could handle a human like Fred easily.“I’m going to kill you with one bite! How dare you look down on me like this!"The giant snake rushed toward Fred fiercely at a speed so fast that no one could
Fred was annoyed by the giant snake's arrogant tone. Fred squinted his eyes at the snake and asked in confusion, "Why are you making that face?"“Huh?"The giant snake was shocked. He thought that Fred would submit to him, but to his surprise, Fred was not shaken at all.The snake was about to lose his temper.“Dirty snake, haven't I made myself clear enough? I think you are probably sleep-talking if you want me to hand over my people to you..." Fred said impatiently.At this moment…Feeling that it was being ridiculed, the snake said suddenly, "You punk, this is the first time anyone spoke to me this way. What is your name?"“Me?"Fred was stunned subconsciously, not knowing what the snake wanted. Suddenly, he understood.“Did you want to know my name so you can remember me, bow down before me, and become my follower? Sure, I’ll give you that chance!"He was adding fuel to the fire. The giant snake almost spat out blood in anger!"What? You want me to follow an immature bei
Huh!?Putting aside Marciella, even Fred could not hide his shock as a giant snake appeared from under the water!A giant snake!How could it be!?Fred's eyes widened at the sheer size of the snake. "A Giant Snake… Is this the so-called River God?"Moreover, the size was humongous. The snake must be at least ten stories high!What a huge snake!Fred finally understood why he felt a powerful force under the water!There was a sharp glint in the giant snake’s eyes! That was the blinking light from time to time!"Who comes here? Are you from the village? Who do you plan to sacrifice to me this time?" As soon as the giant snake spoke, Fred realized that this was not the first time it had done this.The snake seemed familiar with the ritual process. Obviously, the villagers had witnessed this giant snake before. This was the meeting between the two sides! Fred felt uncomfortable at this. As for the giant snake, it felt bemused when it saw Fred. The snake had never seen Fred befo
Fred was going to risk it all to open this girl's eyes!The force from the punch was extraordinary! As soon as the tree was hit by the seismic fist, it fell immediately and the whole tree split neatly in two!Marciella was dumbfounded!Although she knew how powerful Fred was, to witness his power was a different thing entirely!"Master Fred, your power is insane!"Marciella could not help but applaud.Fred seemed indifferent, as though he had no feeling at all about this."Is it? Why do you think so?"He looked so indifferent.For Ancient Martial Arts, things did not get any simpler than this!"You’re so strong. Anyway, I don’t doubt you anymore..." Marciella sighed, suddenly feeling very sad. "This is the reward of being educated. If we were more knowledgeable, we wouldn’t be so clueless.”"Haha, if you can't solve your issues, your descendants can work harder," Fred said with a wink.Marciella said, "Mr. Fred, I needed to ask you something! What if our luck was changed ju
What Fred said aroused her curiosity."What does it look like when you offer a sacrifice?"Fred knew he could not speak of this matter. Sure enough, Marciella felt a little downcast after Fred said the words. She did not know why Fred would say such a thing. Suddenly, Fred felt bad about it.He coughed and said, "Don't think too much about it... I just want to find a clue. Maybe we could find a solution. Why does it never rain in your village?""Huh?"Marciella's eyes, which were still a little dejected, suddenly realized what was important and asked hurriedly, "Mr. Fred, are you saying that the reason why it never rains in our village is because someone is behind it?"Although Fred was unwilling to admit it, he could not help but nod. "Yes, this is exactly what you thought!""For real?!"Marciella felt hopeful again when she heard this. She said hastily, "The thing you asked about is pretty simple. You can just check out that place!""That place?"Fred turned around to see w
Marciella found herself nodding in agreement with Fred's harsh assessment. "You're spot on," she said. "That woman is nothing but vile!"Seeing Marciella's reaction, a rare smile crossed Fred's face as he nodded back. "Glad you see it my way," he said.What caught Fred off guard was the villagers' reaction. One by one, their faces turned ashen with despair.It seemed to them that nothing could be worse than the predicament they were facing. The absence of the witch spelled doom for the village—it was like their last shred of hope had vanished. They had all put their faith in her to charm the River God into blessing them with rain, which would have brought some peace to their troubled lives. However, now their chances seemed to have dried up just like their fields. Fred stood there, his face a mask of serenity amidst the chaos.In the moments that followed, the village chief was a picture of despair, his only option was to send everyone home while he racked his brain for a backup pl
"What?"Fred did not even have time to blink before the witch suddenly made a move.It was like a bomb went off.Kaboom!Then, she was dead!Fred dusted off his hands, even surprising himself with his lack of tolerance for the witch.Now, though, he had a real headache. He had planned to clear the air with the witch and lay out the past so everyone would know the full picture.He thought that might just turn things around.The situation changed when she vanished, and Fred's plans were completely derailed. Then again, changing the villagers' minds was not going to be a walk in the park anyway. They were pretty set in their ways, thanks to all the stuff they had been fed.As such, just talking it out might not cut it. Heck, it could even mess with history!With the witch out of the equation, Fred figured he might as well try a different tactic. Maybe if he took out the guy in the cloak and worked his own magic to bring some rain, it could save a lot of hassle. The more he thoug
"No way!"The witch bristled with defiance. She could not accept that she was no match for Fred.As she noticed Fred's focus was locked on her, a sly idea popped up in her mind.Before she could act on it, though, she found herself pinned against the wall by Fred in a flash...Her face contorted in disbelief. She was pinned so tightly that she could not even move!The witch was completely overpowered, her heart racing with panic.How could he be so much stronger than her?Fred, on the other hand, seemed unfazed."What's going through your head? You don't seriously think you can take me on, do you?" Fred asked, his voice laced with skepticism.The witch felt utterly trapped, as if at any second, Fred might just finish her off."Look, I messed up, okay? Can we not do this? I'm old, just a pile of brittle bones—I can't take this kind of rough treatment!" the witch pleaded with Fred, trying a new tactic to get through to him.Fred was not falling for it. He looked at her with a
"Heh, I caught on to you a while back, you know. You've been tailing me, and I'm pretty sure you're here for me. Plus, you don't have the look of someone from our village. That means you are an outsider, and I'm your target, right? Listen, man, we don't have any beef with each other, so why are you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"The witch had sensed the raw power rolling off Fred, and it was enough to send shivers down her spine!At that moment, she knew that challenging Fred was not going to be a walk in the park! If she had spotted him earlier in the forest, it would not have been good news for her. For starters, she had no clue how many tricks Fred had up his sleeve, and if he took her down, she and her buddy would be toast.However, the witch was not about to let Fred take her out without a fight! She racked her brain and finally settled on one strategy!She would try to sweet-talk him, hoping Fred would fall for her words just like everyone else, and fall into he