Chapter 255. Silence Across Endra 3

Adams Vormor and Halberd moved at breakneck speed. Adams was clad in a giant, rock-like humanoid construct. Halberd was clad in a white battlesuit.

Trident in hand, and water arcs across it, he clashed into Adams Vormor over and over again.

The two had turned into streaks of light across the expanse. Each clash caused rings of shockwaves to spread outwards, and resounding bangs spread everywhere. Mountains collapsed. Rivers dried up.

The Adams Secret Sect had been erased into a pile of rubble beneath.

The duo eventually separated.

Adams Vormor coughed a mouthful of blood.

The golem-like rock construct had been destroyed.

Halberd also looked extremely haggard. His battlesuit was completely destroyed.

Blood spewed out of his mouth.

The two floated far from each other on top of a ruined forest their battle had destroyed.

Adams Vormor threw his gauntlets away.

Rocks covered his hands completely.

Water streaked across Halberd’s figure. A large water spear formed in front of him.

His trident disappeared. He shot towards Vormor.

The water spear trailed ahead of him.

The two appeared before each other in a split second. For a moment, nothing happened.

Adams brought his rock-covered hand down. The water spear arced upwards unnaturally. It collided into Adams Vormor’s hand. The rocks covering Adams’ hands were destroyed. The water spear also broke into smithereens.

Halberd spun in the air. He infused water blades on his legs. His legs came down on Adams.

Adams sidestepped.

He threw his rock-covered right leg upwards.

The two legs collided and separated from one another.

Both grimaced.

Then they collided again.

Their legs spun in the air, clashing into the other and separating.

Movement techniques of different calibre were unleashed.

Head met fist.

Fist met elbow.

Elbow met gut.

Resounding shockwaves spread from each collision.

The dance of affinities had turned into a pure physical brawl.

The two had fought each other so much that they had run out of worldly energy.

But neither wanted the other to live.

One of them had to die.

So the fight continued.

The audience watched in stunned silence.

So this was the fight of legendary Rank 4 warriors.

How terrifying.

Wherever they collided, the environment around them would be destroyed.

Mountains were flattened and forests were destroyed.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Very soon, two extremely bloodied and battered figures fell from the air like crushing meteors towards a former forest turned a barren land from their fight.

"They both fought to a draw?"

"Considering the situation, it’s not a draw. Look at both of them."

The comments section spiraled crazily.

The satellite streaming cameras zoomed in on them.

Each of them was in an extremely bloodied and weak state.

Adams Vormor wanted to stand up and finish off his enemy. But he couldn’t. His body was completely battered. Some of his bones were even revealed. His legs were twisted at an unnatural angle and blood pooled beneath his feet.

Halberd was in no better state.

His skull was cracked open and all the muscles of his chest were exposed.

Several limbs were missing from his body.

The audience felt chills crawl up their spines.

"This is the most brutal battle I have ever watched."

"Look at the region. It’s been completely destroyed."

"So this is how terrifying legendary Rank 4 warriors are?"

"At the end of the day though, they are both about to die because of their hatred for each other."

The audience discussed among themselves across several streaming comment sections.

The two battered warriors lay helplessly far from each other.

The only reason why they were still alive was because they were legendary Rank 4 warriors and they had stronger bodies than other warriors.

"At the moment, even a Rank 1 warrior can kill them. They are currently too weak."

Suddenly, a silhouette drew closer to where the two warriors were laying on the ground.

A figure with crimson wings came into view.

A good-looking young man...

He had brown hair and crimson eyes.

He was in a hoodie.

And his hands were in his pockets.

"Who the hell is that dude?"

"Why does he look so familiar?"

"It’s Aiden Vhorn! The Crimson Reaper!"

"The Lodgekeeper?"

"The Ghost Strategist?"

"What the hell is he doing there?"

"I have no idea. We can only know unless we keep watching."

Under the gazes of countless pairs of eyes watching the stream on Endra, Aiden landed on the ground.

"Time to use fear as a weapon," Aiden thought.

He didn’t personally care if someone knew he was the one behind what had happened. But he wanted to let the public know so that it would serve as a deterrent to people who thought they could target him and those he cared about without thinking twice.

A pair of crimson hands formed from a large blob of blood and shot towards where Adams Vormor and Halberd lay.

The pair of crimson hands grabbed them and brought them close to Aiden.

"Apologies for the ruckus I’ve caused, gentlemen," Aiden said as he looked at both of them politely.

"Especially to you, Mr. Halberd."

Adams Vormor widened his eyes. He tried to squeeze some words out of his mouth but he couldn’t.

Halberd also wanted to talk. But for someone with a cracked skull, speaking was difficult for him...

But clearly, the audience had realized what they were trying to say.

Everything was falling perfectly into place.

Aiden Vhorn had orchestrated the war.

No wonder Adams Vormor was genuinely shocked when he was accused by Halberd for the death of his family and sect members.

He truly didn’t know anything about the incident.

He had been set up!

But how did Aiden Vhorn know about a secret only Halberd and Adams Vormor know and use it to manipulate them into fighting each other?

Halberd and Adams Vormor were equally confused.

The expressions in their eyes revealed they wanted to honestly know how Aiden Vhorn found out about the incident surrounding the death of Adams Vormor’s son and daughter-in-law, just like the audience did. It was meant to be news only available to the two of them.

"Oh, about that..." Aiden saw the looks in their eyes and said, "It’s not something I can disclose."

Adams Vormor fumed as his body wiggled around furiously in the crimson hand around him.

His heir. His sect. His legacy. All gone because of the manipulation of this young man.

This young man had manipulated and incited him and his friend, Halberd, against each other. They had destroyed each other and erased each other’s legacy. He had manipulated them into engineering their own demise. How terrifying could someone so young be??

Halberd was wiggling around in the crimson hand around him furiously, too.

He was also having similar thoughts like Vormor.

But currently, even a Rank 1 warrior could kill them in the state they were in.

Aiden Vhorn knew that, too. He wouldn’t have made an appearance if the two legendary Rank 4 warriors were in a state where they could kill him.

This young man had played them completely.

"Mr. Vormor, you should have investigated who Cosmo Adams is connected to before you targeted him," Aiden said politely, his face calm. He didn’t mind the furious wiggling of Vormor and Halberd.

"Perhaps if you had done that, I wouldn’t have acted," Aiden added.

"As for you, Mr. Halberd, I won’t say I’m sorry. You know how political games are, right? I couldn’t just incite the Adams and Nova Secret Sect against each other. Would have made it suspicious. I had to make it natural. Some people are simply collateral. Just business. Nothing personal."

The audience understood what was happening. So Aiden Vhorn had acted against the Adams Secret Sect because they had targeted Cosmo Adams?

Halbard also realised it, too. He, alongside the audience, also understood why he had been targeted when he had done nothing to Aiden Vhorn. He was just cannon fodder. Collateral damage to make Aiden Vhorn’s insidious plan work... wait...

Aiden Vhorn mentioned something about inciting the Adams Secret Sect and the Nova Secret Sect against each other...

Did it mean... he also used the Ninehail Secret Sect as collateral damage... he caused the war between the Ninehail and the Nova Secret Sect because he wanted to also get rid of the Nova Secret Sect?

As for the Ninehail Secret Sect, they were just collateral damage to him to fuel his plan to avoid any suspicions and make the plan look natural. Had he pitted the Adams and Nova Secret Sects against each other, they would have grown suspicious and thought he was behind it?? So he incited them against other sects to get them killed all the same? What a madman.

But... did that mean that one of his loved ones was also targeted by the Nova Secret Sect, just as the Adams Secret Sect had targeted Cosmo Adams? The only way they would suspect he was behind the plan if he had directly incited them against each other was if they knew Aiden Vhorn was connected to the people they had targeted.

Yes... that was the most likely conclusion, several watching the stream, Halberd, and Adams Vormor thought.

Aiden Vhorn had anticipated this thought process beforehand and used a crazy countermeasure, pitting two sects unrelated to the problem and the sects which targeted his loved ones against each other. He had manipulated the situation so seamlessly that no one would have suspected he was behind this whole war if he didn’t make a public appearance. What a terrifying madman.

He really deserved the name, the Ghost Strategist.

Before Vormor and Halberd could wiggle around furiously any longer, the crimson hands squeezing them turned into crimson blades and slashed their heads off their necks. Their heads rolled to a stop and their bodies fell near their bodies. Expressions of resignation and shock were on their motionless faces.

Aiden’s crimson eyes peered across the Adams Secret Sect. There were corpses of chaotic beasts and warriors everywhere.

"So much blood essence."

He absorbed the blood essence of all the corpses including that of Halberd and Adams Vormor.

The sect was as large as a 5km radius city, so he could absorb the blood essence of the corpses from where he was.

Although his power was still at the level of a beginner Rank 3 warrior, Aiden felt stronger than before and his range of vision, smell and hearing improved.

The crimson blades hovering across him fused into his crimson wings.

He flew out of the ruins, towards the direction of the Halberd Secret Sect.

However, Endra was silent.

No one could actually recover from the shock of what Aiden Vhorn had just pulled off. Absolute, dead silence. Not even comment sessions were active anymore.

A beginner Rank 3 warrior had killed 2 legendary Rank 4 warriors through manipulation and tactical acumen. He had also slaughtered countless Rank 4 and lower-ranked warriors through this plan.

The worst part was that... he didn’t personally lift a finger.

Also, Deathstrokia and Ninehail were currently dead when Aiden arrived in the Ninehail Secret Sect.

They had killed each other. And they were surrounded by the dead bodies of the members of their sects. This confirmed the previous thoughts of the audience. He was also behind the war between the Ninehail and Nova Secret Sects.

"I suppose I’ve managed to get the message across... so people will think twice before sending assassins after me and my loved ones. Only the Order will still be desperate enough to do that," Aiden thought.

He absorbed the blood essence of all the corpses there and left as quickly as he arrived.

How he was able to find out information only the higher-ups of the Nova and Ninehail secret sects knew and use it to manipulate them into a war, no one knew.

How he was able to find out information only Halbard and Adams Vormor knew and use it to manipulate them, no one knew.

How was able to slaughter multiple rank 3 warriors in the Halberd and Nova Secret Sects without revealing himself or showing any obvious attacks, in addition to using the information he was not supposed to even know about, to outplay four sects into self annihilation, no one knew...

But one thing was clear.

Aiden Vhorn would not just be regarded as a genius young man of the younger generation from now on in Endra.

He had used this feat to really establish himself as a terrifying madman who could not be viewed with common sense or provoked without thinking twice.

He really was a madman who deserved the name, The Ghost Strategist. And his polite demeanor during massacres made him all the more terrifying.

He had used tactical and manipulative acumen to destroy four sects. The four sects which had existed for centuries were now extinct and would cease to exist from now on.

Two were collateral. And two were enemies who targeted his loved ones.

All these sects were headed by legendary rank 4 warriors who had also died due to his schemes.

Again... Endra was silent. This feat was too staggering for anyone to immediately recover from.