Chapter 237: Enough!!!

"What do the two of you make of all this?"

?Asher hovered silently in the open air high above the fractured stone of the northern sector, flanked by Juliana and Kelly as they watched the unfolding spectacle below.

?"She likes to wrap herself in righteous grandstanding." Kelly murmured, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she watched Talitha pace toward the fallen lizard. "To her, the title of ’Chosen Knights’ is just an excuse to look down on every common awakened in this city as if they were dirt."

?"Precisely." Juliana agreed, her lips curling into a dry, unimpressed smile:

"She and that lizard aren’t fundamentally different at all. They’re both arrogant, hollow creatures who live to parade their strength for an audience."

?Asher offered a slow, contemplative nod in agreement. They weren’t wrong; Talitha’s casual display of condescension was grating. But beneath the haughty monologue, her arrogant posturing had inadvertently dropped a valuable piece of data right into his lap.

?’System.’ Asher thought, narrowing his eyes as he pulled up his internal interface:

’She mentioned gods’ blessings being structured in distinct tiers earlier. Lay out the hierarchy for me.’

?{System Notification: Master clearance upgraded. Accessing More important information.}

{Gods’ Blessings Tiers (Ranked from weakest to strongest):}

?{Green Tier.}

?{Yellow Tier.}

?{Blue Tier.}

?{Purple Tier.}

?{Red Tier.}

?{Gold Tier.}

?{White Tier.}

?{Note: The higher the assigned tier, the deeper the spiritual resonance—and the greater the intrinsic value the bestowing god places upon the mortal vessel.}

?Asher let out a quiet breath, shifting his gaze back to the blonde hair lady on the ground. ’A blue-tier blessing was all it took for her to strut across a battlefield like a sovereign ruling over peasants.’

?’The ancient families certainly live up to their inflated reputations when it comes to breeding arrogance.’ He noted internally, before flicking his wrist to activate the system’s combat Power scanner.

?{Name: Talitha Genesis}

{Rank: Ex-Rank}

{Equipped Gear: Gloves of Flames}

{Combat Power: 300 Million}

?’She’s only utilizing a single specialized artifact—just those flame-woven gloves—yet her strength is clocking in at three hundred million.’ He calculated, quickly shifting his window toward Havock, who was finally dragging its bruised, massive frame back up out of the crater.

?{Name: Havock}

{Rank: Half Ex-Rank}

{Equipped Gear: Bone-Burn Armor Set}

{Combat Power: 150 Million}

?’Not a trivial threat...’ He thought.

?Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Asher glanced sideways at Juliana. The last time he had run a detailed diagnostic on her, she had still been sitting comfortably within the F-Rank threshold.

?{Name: Juliana Asher Aetheldawn}

{Rank: SSS-Rank}

{Equipped Gear: None.}

{Combat Power: 200 Million}

?"....?!"

?’System, my eyes must be playing tricks on me, right?’ Asher thought, staring at the golden numerical readout in absolute disbelief.

?Havock was operating at the threshold of a true Ex-Rank entity—even if it was a flawed, half-baked variant cobbled together from devoured creatures, the beast possessed countless assimilated abilities and monstrous physical density. So how on earth was Juliana’s baseline power already surpassing it?

?’If she straps on even a fraction of her Mythic-Tier gears, her numbers are going to break the scale entirely. Explain this discrepancy right now.’

?{Master, Combat Power is not a static calculation; it aggregates martial techniques, gear synergies, biological physique, combat experience, and the Awakened’s absolute mastery over their internal energy pathways.}

?{Wife Juliana maintains complete, flawless control over her spirit core, and nearly every single technique under her command operates at the Divine-Tier, with only a few lingering skills falling below. Furthermore, her unique Time-Manipulation physique inherently warps conventional power scaling.}

?’So you’re telling me Juliana could step down there right now and solo that lizard?’

?{Correct... This particular creature possesses zero god’s blessing or backing. That implies any seasoned SSS-Rank awakened wielding a sufficiently high-tier or anomalous authority could dismantle it given the right opening.}

?{The Celestial Warriors are a textbook example of this principle; had Margaret’s vanguard engaged that beast in a direct, uncompromised clash, they likely would have secured the field or crippled it beyond recovery. But instead...}

’It ambushed them before they could close the distance, using cowardly sneak attacks to sap their momentum.’

Asher mentally completed the system’s thought: ’And even though its physical defense was staggering, Margaret managed to get close and injured it. If its hide was truly impenetrable, there wouldn’t have been any reason for it to actively evade her strikes.’

?{Precisely, Master... True Ex-Rank entities are primarily terrifying because of the god’s blessings anchoring their souls. Strip those blessings away, and they are little more than overgrown beasts standing slightly above the SSS-Rank ceiling.}

?Asher nodded slowly to himself, letting the breakdown settle before shifting his focus back toward the wall where the young man with the fan was currently lounging.

?{Name: Draven Genesis}

{Rank: Ex-Rank}

{Equipped Gear: None}

{Combat Power: 600 Million}

?’Six hundred million... This man looks like a delicate noble who’s never broken a sweat in his life, yet his strength doubles Talitha’s.’ He let out a silent breath.

’Never judge a book by its cover in this world.’

?"Husband, can we head down and join the fray now?" Juliana asked softly, leaning in to press her weight against his arm while flashing a playful smile.

?"Join them? Not a chance," Asher chuckled, shaking his head. "We came out here to ensure the wall didn’t collapse, but the ancient families’ cleanup crew has already taken over the stage. There’s nothing left for us to—"

?"--I certainly didn’t expect to spot such breathtaking roses blooming against the smoke of a battlefield."

?’I knew that interruption was coming before he even opened his mouth.’ Asher thought, his expression flattening.

?He turned his head toward the voice, watching as Draven smoothly crossed the intervening space through a series of spatial steps, coming to a halt a short distance away. The young noble’s eyes weren’t looking at Asher at all; instead, they were locked with predatory intensity on Juliana and Kelly.

?Juliana didn’t even bother offering him a proper glance. She let her gaze slide over the newcomer for a fraction of a dismissive second before turning her shoulder back toward Asher: "If the show’s over, we should probably head down to the medical tent and check on the staff."

?"Agreed, I need to verify if the supply inventory at the emergency camp was compromised during the shockwave." Kelly added smoothly, stepping closer to latch onto Asher’s other arm.

?"Very well. If that’s where your interests lie, let’s descend," Asher replied with a warm, indulgent smile.

?The three of them turned their backs in synchronized harmony, getting ready to fly away as if the high-ranking noble hovering a few yards away was literally transparent.

?"Ahem! Permit me to introduce myself—I am Draven of the—"

?"--Oh, Husband! I noticed a rather quaint ice cream parlor tucked away near the second district earlier. Perhaps we could stop by?" Juliana interjected brightly, deliberately cutting Draven off mid-sentence.

?"Oh, that sounds lovely. I wouldn’t mind a cold treat right now either." Kelly chimed in, leaning her head affectionately against Asher’s shoulder.

?"Enough of this insolence!!!!"

?Draven’s pristine facade finally cracked, a vein throbbing angrily at his temple as he raised his voice over the wind:

?"How dare the three of you deliberately ignore my presence when I am speaking to you?!"