"What’s next, Master? Are we pushing forward, or heading back?" Seraphina asked, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"You..." Ethan chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "You think I don’t know what you’re after? Don’t worry—soon enough, you’ll get all the fighting you could ever want. Just rember, the Inferno and Dungeon factions are already itching for a brawl."
"Hehe... hehehe..." Seraphina grinned, eyes narrowing with excitent. "Then we’ll make sure they get a good taste of what Erald Castle can really do!"
"The Demon King of the Inferno faction, and the Dungeon King from the Dungeon faction, huh?"
"This ti, I’m not losing to either of them. No way!" she huffed, puffing out her chest.
Ethan smiled, feeling a fire start to burn in his chest too.
He rembered when he used to fear those nas, looking up at them like distant stars. But now? Now he was sharpening his blade, ready to et them head-on. The thought of it sent a thrill through his veins.
If he could take down a few more King-tier powerhouses from the Inferno and Dungeon factions, his strength would skyrocket again.
And if you wanted to get stronger...
There was no better opportunity than a full-blown faction war.
Missing out on this would be a damn sha.
He had to seize it—go all in.
"Lilith..." Ethan turned toward her.
"My Lord!" she responded imdiately.
"Is the sweep and reorganization of Ragehowl Castle complete?"
"Yes, my Lord. I’ve compiled three key findings and was just about to report them to you," Lilith said, taking a deep breath.
"Go ahead. What are they?"
"First, we discovered Malenthia’s private treasury. A rough estimate puts its total value at over 200 billion."
"Two hundred billion?!" Ethan blinked, stunned. He stared at Lilith in disbelief.
That was even more than what he’d earned from the first kill of Maelthorak—and by several tis over!
These Dungeon Kings were seriously loaded?
Two hundred billion... that’s the kind of money you could stack into mountains.
"Yes, my Lord," Lilith confird. "Based on our initial assessnt, Malenthia’s private vault is indeed worth over 200 billion."
"Damn... Guess being evil really does pay better than being good," Ethan muttered, half-laughing. Honestly, this haul was insane. Compared to this, the troops he’d lost in the battle were barely a blip on the radar.
Still, he wasn’t the sa guy he used to be. And now that the treasure was in his hands, there was no point dwelling on it. He moved on.
"What about the other two things?"
"Second," Lilith continued, "we’ve secured a full map of Malenthia’s territory. With this, we can systematically take over and absorb every inch of her remaining lands."
"Excellent. Well done."
"Thank you, my Lord. The third item is this—" she held up another map. "It’s a route to the fourth layer of the Dungeon. It also includes notes about the other side. According to the markings, that area belongs to a powerful Dungeon King nad Ashendar."
"Ashendar?" Ethan’s expression shifted.
He took the second map from Lilith and studied it closely.
That na—Ashendar—wasn’t unfamiliar.
He was one of the major players in this faction war. One of the strongest King-tier powerhouses on the Dungeon side. And right now, he was up on the surface, getting ready to go after Wisdom Angel Cain and the others.
Which ant...
Once the final battle on the surface kicked off—
It would be Ashendar’s stage.
And when that happened, he’d be calling the shots.
Whoever he wanted to crush, he’d crush.
The thought hit Ethan out of nowhere, and he couldn’t help but glance over at Seraphina.
Could she... actually go toe-to-toe with soone like Ashendar?
But almost imdiately, he shook his head.
No way.
He knew better.
Sure, they were all technically King-tier powerhouses—but even within that tier, there were levels. Big ones.
Take Malenthia, Wisdom Angel Cain, Inferno Devil Baelthar, Mikael, Ashendar, and Malgrath, for example.
They weren’t on the sa playing field at all.
Malenthia was strong, sure—but Cain was clearly a step above her.
Then above Cain, you had Baelthar and Mikael.
And above them?
Ashendar. Malgrath.
Just a rough breakdown like that already showed how many layers there were within the so-called "King-tier."
It was insane.
And honestly? Ethan had a feeling that wasn’t even the full picture.
He strongly suspected that even within the gap between Malenthia and Cain, there were more hidden tiers.
After all, Malenthia had only co from a 12-Tier unit background. She wasn’t even 13-Tier.
And Cain, who was rated as a C-rank Crimson Ultimate Hero, still had D-rank Crimson Ultimates beneath him.
So yeah—there was still a long way to go.
But that was fine.
They’d co this far already. The rest of the road couldn’t be that much longer. One step at a ti—they’d get there.
"Lilith," Ethan said, turning to her. "You know this place better than anyone. Stay here with Kaiin and Balthazar."
"I need you three to hold this place down for a while. Maybe even until the faction war ends. After that, this place... it’s going to be our new base. A new beginning."
"My Lord, you have my word..." Lilith dropped to one knee with a soft thud, bowing her head low in the ancient Elven salute.
Then she looked up, her voice steady and full of conviction. "I will follow your will, my great Lord."
"I’ll do everything I can to support Kaiin and Balthazar and bring this land fully under your control."
"By the all-knowing, all-powerful Order Dragon Asha, may your light shine upon this world, guiding your path—forever bright, forever vast, forever glorious!"
Ethan chuckled and reached out to pull her to her feet. "Alright, alright, that’s enough. Get up."
"Ancient ruins, 14-Tier creature dwellings, massive resource points, pri hunting targets—you know what I’m really after. You know what’s worth the most."
"You’ve been with long enough, Lilith. I’m not gonna sugarcoat things. Just do your best. You know what I expect."
Lilith looked at him for a mont, then smiled softly. "I understand, my great Lord."
"Hahaha... hahahahaha..." Ethan laughed, clapping her on the shoulder before turning away.
"Seraphina, let’s go. Ti to head back."
Not long after, Ethan left Ragehowl Castle with Seraphina, Orryn, and the Green Dragon Legion in tow, making their way back to the surface—back to Sylvanwood.
...
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