A few more days had passed peacefully.

During that time, Axel just continued diligently strengthening his own forces, increasing his financial prowess, and gaining more power.

However, given his current state, there of course would be limits.

"And I have reached that limit now..."

He sighed while lying on the castle’s tallest spire, staring at the clear blue sky stretching endlessly overhead, so wide and unbothered it almost felt mocking.

His stats had already stagnated, barely moving from its current figures. With these numbers, in the mortal level, he might be peerless, but if the enemies were gods whom limits barely mean anything, then he’s still far from being all powerful.

[

Name: Axel Walker

Job: Trader, Scammer, Kept Man, Legend’s Alpha, Dragon Tamer (New), Demon King of the Night (New), Multiverse’s 999th Most Wanted (New)

Age: 25

Affection Level: Absolute (100 / 100)

Loyalty: S

Count: 0

View stats>>>

]

[

Axel’s Basic Stats:

Strength: 10,544 (EX)

Vitality: 12,135 (EX)

Agility: 11,858 (EX)

Dexterity: 12,559 (EX)

Luck: 11,721 (EX)

Intelligence: 10,848 (EX)

Wisdom: 9,857 (SSS)

Health: 54,607

Mana: 383,295

]

If he were a god with those stats, he would’ve been unstoppable already.

However, he was mortal.

And from what he heard from Fenrir, the stats he has, if converted into "God" terms, is barely at the SS-Rank. Not bad, but not the best either.

Of course, the girls who were soul-bound to him were powerful themselves.

Given that they conditionally share stats, everyone basically has roughly about 75% of Axel’s present stats. Slightly weaker than he was, but not that far away either.

Though, of course, among the girls, an exception existed.

Fenrir.

As she was half-god, her stats weren’t scaled the same as mortals. In short, even though their stat values were roughly the same, her "actual" strength still far exceeded the rest—like the difference between painted fire and a real flame.

If she could break the last seal of Gleipnir on her, then she would’ve definitely gained strength greater than even Axel’s.

But that... wasn’t so easy to achieve.

No matter how Axel tried, he couldn’t even begin analyzing the final seal of the golden chain.

It was as if he was trying to read an ancient script in an unknown language by directly using English—the symbols slipping past comprehension like water through a fist, absolutely making no sense no matter how long he stared.

Thus, it wasn’t inaccurate to say Axel had hit his peak.

All he hoped now was for his strength to be enough to protect his own world and everyone important to him.

His heart trembled, various emotions mixing complicatedly. Right then...

"Master."

Fenrir called, appearing behind him soundlessly—no footsteps, no rustling, just her presence settling beside him like a drop of ink into still water.

"I know." Axel closed his eyes, as if tired. "They’re here."

He was staring at the sky, so he knew even if he didn’t want to.

The next moment, the blue sky was blotted out, turning dark. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Several large shadows began approaching from beyond the void, massive silhouettes cutting through the clouds the way a blade cuts through cloth—slow, inevitable, and final. They hovered there, filling the upper air with their sheer bulk.

The entire space around Axevaria Kingdom, from horizon to horizon, became so dark it seemed night had arrived all at once, uninvited and absolute.

"Phew..." Axel sat up, flexing his shoulders. "Let’s go and say hi, shall we?"

The things blocking the sky were identifiable at a glance—giant ships floating mid-air, almost sci-fi-like, their hulls plated with dark metal that swallowed what little light remained.

Just a look at the armaments visible from the surface was enough to make Axel frown. Barrels the size of towers. Arrays of something that hummed even from this distance.

Some looked familiar, after all.

’If they let loose, then I’m afraid a lot of people would have to die...’ He pondered.

Of course, he would try to avoid such an ending as much as possible, though.

Among the entourage, one ship in particular—spanning a few kilometers from the bow to the stern—flew low, as if trying to intimidate everyone and land right in the middle of the city.

Its shadow swallowing entire city blocks as it descended, the pressure of its approach alone enough to send roof tiles skittering off their beams.

SCREEECH!

But as soon as the ship touched the golden barrier centered around the World Tree, it ended up getting deflected away, bouncing off the surface like a stone skipped off a lake. It tried once, twice, thrice, but the result remained.

It was unable to break the golden barrier!

This little fact brought a thin smile on Axel’s lips. After all, this just increased their estimated chances of victory by a large chunk.

Figuring out it couldn’t do its "High Handed Play," the ship hovered slightly further from the barrier, sulking in place like a frustrated animal.

Then, from within it, a few figures floated out, positioning themselves just above the center of the barrier—right in the middle of the city, just in front of the castle, bold as a declaration of war.

The next moment, a loud, booming voice echoed.

"We are the envoys of Trismus Weapon Solutions! We demand the presence of your leader, guilty of stealing important copies of certain recipe blueprints from us!"

The voice wasn’t holding back at all, accusatory as if they were convinced of the culprit before any trials were even made. They didn’t even bother showing proof of any kind!

Every soul within Axevaria heard it whether they wanted to or not, the words pressing down like a physical weight. Unrest spread through the streets below like a lit fuse.

"I will wait for ten breaths to pass. If you aren’t brave enough to accept your fate within that time, I fear we have to flatten everything in this space!"

The words were arrogant, dangerous, but most of all, final.

It didn’t even go into "doubt" territory and went straight to "conviction!"

There was no countdown, just silent waiting. Silence that pressed down on the city like a held breath, urging panic to start from the people below. The kind of silence that had weight to it.

And just as chaos was about to explode—

"Are you looking for me?"

Axel appeared before the envoys, smiling confidently, hands clasped behind his back.

Like a supervisor arriving for a routine tour, unbothered by the fleet of warships hanging overhead like a second sky.

With a keen gaze, he scrutinized the other party.

Before him stood a woman wearing a dark-gray female business suit with black tights, every crease sharp enough to cut.

She had long black hair tied into a ponytail, brown eyes that looked sharper than a sword’s edge, and rectangular glasses that framed her features so precisely it felt less like an accessory and more like a part of her identity—like she’d been born wearing them.

"It’s you, huh?" She scoffed, seeing Axel arrive so quickly, a sneer crawling up her lips. "Looks like you have the guts to steal from my client, but not brave enough to wait until ten breaths and see the consequences."

Axel smiled back, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Miss. If you think I came to surrender, then you’re wrong." He said. "I’m here to warn you."

He raised a finger—just one, casual as pointing at a menu item—and caused a sudden change.

Across the sky, everything was supposed to be blocked by large ships forming a spotless, suffocating array. Not even the sun should be able to seep through. But the next moment, almost as if someone had dropped an eraser across the heavens—

CHOMP!

Half of the sky disappeared—along with every ship hovering there, gone between one blink and the next, swallowed so completely that not even debris remained. Just open air, and the faint light of the sun bleeding back through the gap like it had been holding its breath.

Axel spoke to the confused, dumbfounded woman with a smile. Slowly pronouncing each word, stressing each syllable.

"Go away, or die."