Chapter 380: Mandela Stronghold And Freya’s Transformation

The recording spread across every stronghold in the Path to Worlds within hours.

Caelus’s declaration echoed through countless devices and screens as countless players and natives watched the recording in disbelief.

[FuriousPlayer99: WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS?!]

[StrongholdNative203: A player took over Vanswara?! This is outrageous!]

[AngerManagementGuy: We need to kill him immediately!]

[NobleSupporter: The other strongholds won’t stand for this!]

[ThreateningGuy039: You think you’re safe now?!]

[BallsKicker123: Wait until you meet the Mandela Stronghold Alliance!]

[ScaryInfo33: Their strongest players are MONSTERS!]

[MockingDude_Xx: You won’t be able to act arrogant forever!]

Caelus read through the messages with an amused expression as threats, insults, and warnings flooded the chat endlessly. Sylvia peeked over his shoulder and giggled when she saw the sheer amount of people cursing at him.

"They’re so angry, Caelus."

[ImportantNews: Vanswara was allied with Mandela Stronghold!]

[OhNo: Mandela has people way stronger than Vanswara!]

[RIPCaelusKross0134: You’re dead meat now, buddy!]

[LaughingAtYou: Enjoy your last few days of freedom!]

Caelus merely smiled after reading those messages. Then, he checked his current combat score.

[Combat Score: 7,393]

The inheritance had been assimilating rapidly during his rampage through the noble district, and each kill seemed to accelerate the fusion process. Or perhaps it was because he had been moving his body so much that the assimilation had somehow accelerated?

Either way, his strength had increased rapidly.

After eliminating the remaining nobles, Caelus had finally reached Ace-Rank and Level 31. Sylvia, who had killed more of the weaker minions, had reached Level 34, though their combat scores were surprisingly similar despite the difference in their levels.

Hearing the countless threats directed at him, Caelus wasn’t worried in the slightest. Instead, his interest in Mandela Stronghold only grew.

"Mandela Stronghold, huh?"

Sylvia tilted her head curiously after hearing him mutter those words. Then, she looked at him and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Caelus’s smile widened as he looked toward the distance.

"Let’s see if they’re worth the trouble."

Far away in Mandela Stronghold, chaos was unfolding in a completely different way. A mature woman with flowing hair was locked in combat with a man dressed in noble attire.

She was none other than StarforgeEmpress, Valerica.

"You annoying players are everywhere!" the noble screamed in disgust as he glared at the woman before him. "Kill yourself!"

[Skill Activated: Noble’s Execution!]

A beam of golden energy shot toward Valerica at terrifying speed. However, before it could connect with her body, a massive green figure abruptly appeared in its path.

BOOM!

BigDaddyOrc a.k.a Gorn stood there with his axe raised, grinning from ear to ear after blocking the attack.

"That wasn’t very nice, little man."

Just then, VoidWalker777, Lucian, appeared from the shadows beside them. He looked at the noble with an indifferent expression before turning toward the other two.

"Should we finish this quickly? I have other things to do."

Hearing this, the noble’s face immediately turned pale. He looked at the three players surrounding him before shouting in panic.

"Three of you?! This isn’t fair!"

"The world isn’t fair buddy," Valerica said coldly.

[Skill Activated: Starforge Annihilation!]

Immediately after, a terrifying burst of energy engulfed the noble before he could even react. He didn’t even have time to scream.

[Ding!]

[Target Eliminated!]

[Merit Obtained: 44]

Gorn whistled appreciatively after seeing the amount of merit they had received. Then, he looked at Valerica with a surprised expression.

"Oh, looks like we struck it rich this time! Forty-four merits? This guy wasn’t some small fry!"

"I get the largest share of the split," Valerica immediately declared with a glare.

Gorn raised his hands in surrender after hearing this.

"Fine, fine. We’ll go with that."

Lucian nodded in agreement while maintaining his usual calm expression.

"No complaints here."

They quickly divided the merits according to their contributions before preparing to leave. Then, Gorn scratched his chin thoughtfully as he remembered something.

"I wonder how the others are doing. MoonlitQueen was separated from us during the initial transport."

"I hope she’s okay," Lucian added. "She’s the weakest among our group."

"She’ll be fine." Valerica waved dismissively. "That woman is more cunning than she looks."

Hearing this, Lucian’s expression turned thoughtful as he remembered two other people from Earth. He glanced at the others before voicing his thoughts.

"I wonder what happened to those two from Earth."

"ChaosDragon, right?" Gorn recalled. "The one with the girlfriend?"

"I’m sure he’ll eventually find his way into this world," Lucian said. "But maybe it’s still too early for him. He had only just entered the Space League, after all."

"Maybe that’s why he didn’t get a ticket." Gorn nodded in agreement.

"I hope he’s okay."

"Same."

Valerica suddenly scoffed loudly after hearing them worry about Caelus. Her expression immediately became annoyed.

"Hmph! That annoying brat! I hope he comes here and gets enslaved by someone from the stronghold!"

Gorn and Lucian chuckled after hearing her outburst. It seemed like she was still angry at Caelus for calling her a granny.

After collecting their rewards, the three of them headed back to the resort in Mandela Stronghold. The streets were busy with merchants and players going about their business as usual.

Just then, a message from CrystalWarden appeared in their chat.

[CrystalWarden: Hey! I found some players being held captive by some nobles! You should come help me rescue them!]

Gorn looked at the others after reading the message. Then, he asked them for their opinion.

"What do you think?"

Valerica’s expression immediately hardened after hearing about the captured players. Her voice carried an unexpected conviction as she gave her answer.

"Let’s go."

"I won’t let those bastards from the stronghold do whatever they want to people from our Tier 1 worlds."

Gorn and Lucian smiled after hearing her words. Even though she could be annoying sometimes, they both knew that she was genuinely kind underneath.

The three of them immediately changed direction and headed toward the noble district of Mandela Stronghold. That was where they believed the source of all the chaos would eventually arrive.

However, as they walked through the streets, something strange suddenly caught their attention.

People were rioting everywhere, while citizens ran through the roads screaming in panic. Merchants had abandoned their stalls as the entire stronghold descended into chaos.

"Ahh! Vanswara Stronghold has fallen!"

"A player overthrew a stronghold?! Unbelievable!"

"The nobles cut down anyone who dares to get strong! How did this happen?!"

"One player! Just one player destroyed everything!"

Hearing this, Gorn’s eyes widened in disbelief. He looked toward the panicking crowd before asking, "A player?"

Lucian frowned in confusion as he tried to understand what was happening. Then, he looked toward Valerica and Gorn.

"Someone actually took over an entire stronghold?"

Hearing those words, Valerica stopped walking entirely. Her expression became serious as she tried to imagine a single player defeating the countless powerful nobles within a stronghold.

"That’s impossible. The strongholds have countless powerful nobles."

.....

Caelus and Sylvia traveled toward Mandela Stronghold after conquering Vanswara. By the time they arrived, news of his conquest had already spread throughout the entire stronghold.

Players gathered in groups as they whispered nervously among themselves. The same question continued to spread from one group to another.

"One player took over an entire stronghold?"

"Impossible. It has to be exaggerated."

"I heard his combat score is over seven thousand."

"That’s ridiculous! No player can reach that level! The nobles kill them before they can become that strong!"

"He’s coming here aparently."

Caelus walked past them without giving them a single glance, completely ignoring the fearful looks directed toward him. Sylvia followed beside him with a cheerful smile, seemingly enjoying the reactions of the other players.

Seeing Caelus approach, the players immediately scrambled to get out of his way. None of them wanted to risk provoking the man who had supposedly destroyed an entire stronghold by himself.

Caelus then activated his Chaos Perception Eyes and scanned the surrounding area.

Soon, they arrived before a large estate surrounded by armed guards. The guards immediately noticed them approaching and raised their weapons.

"Halt! This area is restricted!"

[Skill Activated: Star King’s Sword Vault!]

BOOM!

Immediately after Caelus activated his skill, countless swords shot forward at terrifying speed. The guards were impaled before they could even blink.

Caelus continued walking through the gates without slowing down. Sylvia followed closely behind him as they entered the estate.

However, the moment Caelus entered the courtyard, something abruptly caused his expression to change.

Cages lined the courtyard, and players were locked inside them like animals. Among those prisoners were several very familiar faces.

Freya was trapped inside a special cage reinforced with glowing chains. Her powers were being suppressed by some kind of magical device, while her body appeared to be undergoing a strange transformation.

Green light flickered beneath her skin as though something inside her was gradually awakening. It seemed like she had awakened some kind of spirit transformation.

Ayame sat inside a nearby cage with her usual cold expression, though anger burned deep within her eyes. Seraphin Lin was unconscious in another cage, her breathing shallow and her condition unclear.

Candy continued chewing her bubblegum despite being imprisoned. She looked completely unbothered by the situation, as though being locked inside a cage was merely a minor inconvenience.

Faust, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

Caelus stared at the scene before him as his gaze slowly moved from one familiar face to another.

His expression immediately turned cold.