Chapter 577 - 576: Prelude to the war 2

Chapter 577: Chapter 576: Prelude to the war 2

"You lost?"

The familiar hooded figure stood inside the Black Hawk Organization’s throne room once again. His voice was calm as he looked at the heavily injured Caesar, who sat on the throne.

"He... he was at the Fifth Step..."

"I’m only at the Second..."

"I couldn’t win," Caesar gritted through his teeth.

He had expected the envoy to be shocked.

After all, based on his assumptions, the envoy and the mysterious organization behind him should have believed the Molak Family’s Ancestor was, at most, at the Second Step.

However...

The envoy’s next words completely stunned him.

"Your talent is mediocre."

"With your qualifications, you should have at least reached the Third Step."

"Those with superior talent would have reached the Fourth Step."

"If that had been the case, you could have held him back long enough."

"What a waste."

The envoy’s words were filled with disappointment.

"You..."

Caesar’s eyes burned with rage as he suddenly attacked.

This wasn’t the first time the envoy had spoken to him as though he were nothing more than an ant.

He had long grown sick of it.

Coupled with the humiliation he had just suffered at the hands of the Molak Family’s Ancestor...

His patience had finally reached its limit.

Boom!

Everything around them exploded as Caesar lunged forward.

Unfortunately...

Things didn’t go according to plan.

The envoy was even faster.

Before Caesar could react, the envoy had already grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

Instantly, Caesar felt the air in his lungs disappear.

He struggled desperately to breathe.

His eyes watered as he stared into the pair of eyes hidden beneath the dark hood.

They glowed with a faint crimson light.

Then...

A deeper voice echoed through the room.

"I admire your courage."

Caesar desperately clawed at the envoy’s arm, trying to pry it loose.

At the very least, he wanted to free himself from the iron grip around his neck.

Instead...

The pressure only increased.

The suffocating sensation of death completely overwhelmed him.

"P-Please..."

Caesar begged.

Only then did the envoy release him.

Boom!

Like a rag doll, Caesar was thrown back onto his throne.

The impact aggravated his already severe injuries.

"You’re fortunate that you’re still useful," the envoy said coldly.

He tossed a pill toward Caesar.

"Take this."

"And prepare for the coming war."

"The princes will need every bit of strength they can gather."

As soon as he finished speaking, the envoy’s body slowly sank into the ground before disappearing completely.

The throne room fell silent.

Caesar remained slumped on the throne, gasping desperately for air.

For a brief moment...

He had truly believed he was going to die.

More importantly...

The strength the envoy had displayed was undoubtedly at the Fourth Step.

Caesar couldn’t help but wonder...

If the envoy possessed such terrifying power...

Why hadn’t he personally dealt with the Molak Family’s Ancestor?

The thought lingered in his mind.

However, when he looked at the pill radiating a gentle life force, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and consumed it.

Regardless of everything that had happened...

The short time he had spent working with this mysterious organization had brought him benefits he could never have imagined.

The Black Hawk Organization’s overall strength had risen tremendously.

Its resources had multiplied countless times over.

Even he himself had broken through into the Quasi Rank 1 Realm.

His lifespan had increased dramatically.

For the next several thousand years, the Black Hawk Organization would remain one of the strongest forces in the Mortal Realm.

"Ah..."

Caesar groaned softly.

A cool stream of energy spread throughout his body, rapidly healing every injury he had sustained.

Before long...

He had completely recovered.

Looking at the now-empty throne room, Caesar let out a long sigh.

In the past...

He had considered himself one of the true players standing at the top of the Mortal Realm.

Someone who understood everything happening beneath the heavens.

But now...

He realized he knew nothing.

His position had fallen from that of a player controlling the chessboard...

To nothing more than a slightly stronger pawn upon it.

The new Mortal Realm...

Had become a deep, muddy lake whose depths he could no longer see.

---

Elsewhere...

In a remote corner of the Mortal Realm...

The Guju Kingdom was a small kingdom ruled by a Middle-Level Rank 0 expert.

Because of its isolation and the delayed spread of information, it remained completely unaware of everything happening across the Mortal Realm.

It was as though it existed in a different world.

Today...

The kingdom was celebrating its annual Harvest Festival.

Throughout the cities, a festive atmosphere filled the air.

People danced through the streets as free food was distributed to every citizen.

Red lanterns and colorful banners decorated every home.

Today marked the climax of the celebration.

Citizens from every city had gathered within the capital, where the royal family, the kingdom’s ministers, and the lesser nobles greeted the people before the traditional performance began.

The play reenacted the founding of the Guju Kingdom and the legendary deeds of its first king.

Just as the crowd erupted into cheers...

Everything changed.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

The ground began to tremble violently.

The performance came to an abrupt halt.

The king was immediately escorted to safety while the Low-Level Rank 0 experts hurriedly searched for the source of the disturbance.

The tremors only grew stronger.

The pressure in the air became so intense that everyone’s hair stood on end.

Even the kingdom’s sole Middle-Level Rank 0 expert released his aura, searching the surroundings.

Fortunately...

He didn’t have to search for long.

Crack!

The sky suddenly split apart.

Bang!

Boom!

The ground sank several inches in an instant.

Buildings collapsed one after another as houses crumbled into ruins.

From the crack in space, a massive whirlpool of energy slowly emerged.

It began absorbing every trace of energy within a radius of nearly ten thousand kilometers.

The leaves on countless trees instantly turned yellow.

Their trunks shriveled, becoming dry and brittle.

The lush green grass rapidly withered into black ash.

Terrified roars and shrieks echoed from the surrounding forests.

Within moments...

The once-vibrant wilderness surrounding the kingdom had become a lifeless desert.

Yet...

It still wasn’t enough.

Soon...

Agonized screams erupted from every corner of the kingdom.

The Rank 0 experts could do nothing but watch in horror as countless ordinary people from city after city were reduced to ashes.

Their life force was forcibly extracted, flowing into the enormous whirlpool of energy.

Slowly...

Something within the heart of the vortex...

Began to awaken.