Chapter 357 - 357: Make A Choice

To think that a rat would dare invade the lair of death.

Interesting.

The King of the Ashen World muttered under his breath. Despite his voice being calm, almost gentle, the entire Ashen Palace shook violently.

The royal beings dressed in dark robes who stood before him immediately dropped to their knees, their bodies trembling with both fear and respect. Every part of their beings tingled under the pressure radiating from their king.

Yet while all of them displayed immense dread and respect toward the ruler of the entire Ashen World, a being said to be only one stage away from the legendary Transcendent Realm, not everyone in the palace fell to their knees.

One figure stood completely still.

She looked nothing like the other monsters.

Had any human hero been present, they would have been shaken to their core at the sight of the monster calmly staring at the King of the Ashen World without a single expression on her face.

Her entire body, from head to toe, was blue.

She wore an elegant blue battle robe, her pure white hair falling around her shoulders. Her eyes were also completely white.

From where she stood, intense icy chills radiated outward.

If not for the fact that she was constantly holding the ice back, it would have already spread throughout the entire Ashen Palace.

This being, one capable of sending shock and despair into the hearts of countless heroes, was none other than a legendary Ice Elf.

The Ice Elves were among the first monsters humanity had ever encountered, at least according to recorded history.

Not much was known about them apart from their insane battle skills and their innate, terrifying affinity with ice.

And yet, when a few of them appeared only a couple of years ago, the destruction that followed was immense.

If not for the intervention of the Class-S heroes, humanity might have already become a frozen world.

That was what the Ice Elves were capable of.

After that attack, however, humanity had never seen them again, much to everyone's relief.

But one of them was now standing inside the Ashen World.

And she was far from ordinary.

"I don't have all day."

The lady spoke, her gaze locked onto the Ashen King.

"His Highness needs your reply. Are you willing to join the Union or not?"

The Ashen King, who still wore an amused smile, turned his attention toward her.

Even though he was very close to becoming an Ascendant, he could tell that this Ice Elf was extremely powerful.

There were very few beings capable of threatening his existence.

And yet, he felt threatened by her.

She must be close to the Ascendant Realm as well.

"I have not yet decided."

The Ashen King replied, staring at the Ice Elf.

Her expression remained unchanged as she calmly spoke.

"Make up your mind soon. Several monsters have already joined the Union. Some of them are even beyond the Ashen Race, so be quick. I still have other monster worlds to visit."

Her gaze remained neutral, despite the impatience clearly present in her tone.

The Ashen King simply looked at her.

Her words had clearly challenged him.

But he wasn't about to fight someone who might be on his level.

His mood was simply too good to let anyone ruin it.

"I'm still thinking about it."

The Ice Elf shook her head.

"Make your decision within the next five minutes. Otherwise, I will deliver the message to Lord Therion that you have rejected the alliance."

The Ashen King frowned.

If he wasn't mistaken, Therion was the Dark Goblin who had ascended a few years ago.

A new Ascendant was not someone he needed to fear.

The Dark Goblins weren't particularly powerful as a race, so why should he be afraid of someone like that?

The Ice Elf could have found something more convincing.

But before he could say anything, she spoke again.

Her voice remained calm and sharp.

"Lord Therion has Transcended."

"No. That is something you should know before making any decision that could make you his enemy."

The words almost made the Ashen King leap from his throne.

His eyes widened.

Transcended?

Nothing about that was simple.

Very few monsters had ever succeeded in reaching the Transcendent Realm. Those who did possess power so far beyond ordinary beings that it almost defied reason.

And now he was supposed to believe that the Dark Goblin had reached that level?

"That is impossible."

The Ashen King muttered, his expression darkening.

Just how had Therion managed to find the opportunity to Transcend?

His mind desperately searched for an answer, but it kept arriving at the same conclusion.

Impossible.

If Transcending was that easy to achieve, then the Ashen Race should have produced another Transcendent after all these years.

Their previous Transcendent had been killed during the Great War several years ago by one of the White Guardians.

Since then, the Ashen Race had not even come close to producing another Transcendent.

And now he was supposed to believe that a Dark Goblin had achieved it?

As if she could read his thoughts perfectly, the Ice Elf spoke again.

Her voice was sharp and completely devoid of emotion.

"Lord Therion has reached the Transcendent Realm. That is the truth."

"You know what will happen if you reject the order of a superior being, don't you?"

The Ashen King frowned.

The Ice Elf's words sounded like a threat.

No.

Not sounded like one.

She was blatantly threatening him.

But the Ashen King was deeply knowledgeable. He knew that no one would dare lie about something as important as Transcension.

Which meant that the Dark Goblin had, against every known expectation, truly reached the Transcendent Realm.

He had no choice.

Rejecting the invitation of a higher being was the same as delivering himself to death's door.

That would be beyond foolish.

Just as the Ashen King's thoughts reached this point, a small frown appeared on his face.

He stared forward.

He had just sensed more of his people die.

No.

Many were dying.

Even now.

The Ashen King was stunned.

When he had sensed a few of his people die earlier, he knew for certain that a rat had entered his lair.

That was somewhat expected.

After all, the merging gate had appeared in his world, meaning an invader was bound to step inside eventually.

But he had also been certain that the gate connected to a world with a relatively weak energy signature.

So how could a rat from a world like that possibly kill his minions?

The Ashen Race was one of the strongest monster races.

They were extremely powerful and deeply respected by the other monster races.

They were monsters among monsters.

That was why he found it difficult to believe that his people were being slaughtered by a single rat.

The first death could be considered a fluke.

The second could be blamed on the rat.

But this many deaths?

There obviously had to be more than one of them causing this much trouble.

Perhaps the rat had sent an army of rats.

That would explain a lot.

Still, he had been waiting for them to be killed without needing to send his own warriors to confront them.

After all, every member of the Ashen Race was a naturally born warrior.

"It seems your world is being invaded."

The Ice Elf muttered under her breath, her gaze calm as she looked ahead.

Due to the distance, she couldn't tell exactly how many enemies had come from the human plane.

But they couldn't be that strong.

If they were powerful, she would have already felt their energy and presence.

"I thought the Ashen Race was supposed to be one of the strongest battle monster races."

She paused.

"Why do I now find something opposite to that?"

Her face remained neutral, yet the disdain in her voice was clear enough for anyone to notice.

The Ashen King's expression changed.

His face became slightly sour.

If there was one thing the Ashen King hated more than anything else, it was being looked down upon.

He would have already rushed toward the Ice Elf and put her in her place if not for one thing.

She was an agent of a Transcendent being.

And although he had not personally confirmed whether Therion had truly Transcended, if he killed her and discovered that the information was true, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Him.

His world.

And every other member of the Ashen Race scattered throughout the universe.

All of them could be hunted down and wiped out.

He couldn't afford to offend a superior being.

At least not until he became a Transcendent himself.

Since he couldn't vent his anger on the Ice Elf, then the rats would pay for this with their lives.

"Naki."

A bulky figure immediately stepped forward.

The Ashen creature radiated tremendous power as he went down onto one knee before his king.

"Yes, my lord."

His tone was sharp and obedient.

The Ashen King's face became deathly cold as he gave his order.

"Go and kill every rat that has dared to step foot into my land."

"Wipe them all out."

"And bring the head of their leader to my feet."

Naki nodded.

Then he vanished.

Meanwhile, back across the vast Ashen Ground, Aiden's claw ripped through the heads of two Ashen creatures.

Their bodies collapsed lifelessly beneath his feet.

He turned toward the other Ashen monsters who were desperately retreating from him.

Then he smiled.

The smile was meant to look cute.

Harmless.

And yet it was anything but that.

The Ashen monsters all stiffened.

Their blood seemed to turn cold when they saw Aiden's grin.

"Don't run."

Aiden's smile widened.

"The fun is just starting."