CLEAVER OF SIN-Chapter 611: Nth Time

Asher met Malrik’s blue eyes, then nodded, he could understand his brother’s stance and statement clearly. After all, why should Malrik go around looking for this so-called organisation, it was simply a thankless and burdensome task that offered little to no true reward. Even if the man was offered platinum coins for it, Malrik was the son of the Duke and was probably richer than a few lower nobles combined, making such incentives almost laughable in comparison. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

After a moment, Malrik sighed and spoke, "there is also a reason why the Empire can’t truly do anything against them... well, two reasons to be precise," his tone calm and measured, as though he were explaining something obvious.

"Which are?" Asher asked as he was genuinely curious, his interest piqued by the slight shift in Malrik’s tone.

"We know nothing about their base, not a single true base where reasonable information can be gathered. Even when we find something, it ends up like your Experiment mission, just a few low-level cannon fodders that know nothing and have no true information of value," Malrik began to speak, "it is rumoured that one of the reasons we can’t find their true base no matter how many times we search, is because they might have created their own separate dimension like Cindralis did, or that someone with a powerful cloaking ability was involved, although it could also be an artefact of significant power," he paused for a moment as though allowing Asher to properly understand and digest his words.

"As for the second reason," he paused briefly, then dropped the bomb, "there is reason to believe that they aren’t just acting within the Zarethorn Empire, but across all four Empires within the world," Malrik added in finality, his tone remaining composed despite the magnitude of the revelation.

Asher’s mind froze for the nth time, his thoughts halting momentarily as he struggled to process the weight of that statement. He had originally thought the organisation was already large enough, well, according to his imagination at least, after all, the Zarethorn Empire was extremely vast, containing billions of people, but now, his own imagination seemed pathetically small as it became apparent that this organisation spanned the world itself, operating across all four Empires simultaneously.

This was beyond immense, it was simply unimaginable in every conceivable sense.

Asher couldn’t help but wonder about something else entirely; how exactly large was Crymora? According to Malrik’s words, the Zarethorn Empire alone was already over three times the population of Earth, thrice the population of an entire planet was insane and that was merely the minimum estimation to begin with. And now, there were three more Empires with either the same number or even more, making the scale of this world almost incomprehensible.

Seeing Asher’s shocked expression, Malrik smiled faintly and said, "shocking, right? I too had that same expression when I learned about this," he stated with an amused expression that suggested he found Asher’s reaction somewhat nostalgic.

After a moment, he added, "it doesn’t matter what their goal is, little brother. It doesn’t matter if their goal is the total annihilation of humanity, or whether they are secretly in bed with the Emovirae, one thing shall remain constant," he paused for a moment before he added, "they shall all meet their ends one way or the other, that is all there is to it."

Meeting Asher’s gaze with eyes filled with brotherly affection, he patted his head and spoke, "so focus on yourself and your growth for now, and leave these fat ants to people of my calibre. Although you are powerful, in front of those that run the world, you will still be slapped to death without any effort. Sit back and enjoy your monstrous growth and progress, and if you climb to the Crownstar Life Rank or even the Soulstar Life Rank, then you can start worrying about things of this level," his tone gentle and reassuring as though he was ready to hold up the sky itself if it ever came crashing down before Asher or any of his siblings got to the Soulstar Life Rank at the very least.

Asher nodded his head and said nothing else, but he felt a flow of warmth course through his veins, a feeling that was both unfamiliar and comforting at the same time. Family was a feeling he had never truly experienced before. Prior to his transmigration as Asher, when he was still Ethan, he never had a family, just an orphan, one amongst millions, drifting through life without any real connection.

Jennifer was the closest thing he had to one back then, but now he had something far more tangible, far more real. Although he hadn’t exactly spent much time with any of the Wargraves in the past year since his transmigration, as everyone seemed to constantly move from one battlefield to another without rest, he could still feel the deep bond and love that existed between them, something that transcended mere words.

Asher couldn’t help but smile softly, Malrik’s words were indeed true, nothing would come from him worrying about things that were far above his current level. He wasn’t powerful enough to fight at their level yet, only Debro had taken everything he had, and he had fainted right after, all the while only managing to injure the man once throughout the entirety of their battle.

To Asher, the Crownstar Life Rank wasn’t a guess, it was a certainty, he knew he would get there eventually, it was simply a matter of time. He was eighteen now, he had awakened at seventeen, and in a single year, he had climbed five Major Life Ranks, surely by his early twenties, he should have reached the Crownstar Life Rank, right?

His thoughts shifted briefly to the potential battle between him and Malrik. Would he win or would he lose? Although he possessed outrageous talent and numerous trump cards and could fight above his Life Rank, so could Malrik. Who knew how much stronger Malrik would have become by then. Besides, Malrik was hailed as the most talented Wargrave in the entire history of the Wargrave lineage, surely the man’s power would be outrageously overwhelming.

Asher couldn’t help but consider all of this carefully, his thoughts weaving through countless possibilities and outcomes.

But then, another thought echoed within his mind. Normally, in fantasy stories and novels, the founding Patriarch of any clan or bloodline family almost always remained the most talented and monstrous figure, not just in the present, but across the past and even the future. Asher couldn’t help but imagine just how powerful the Wargrave founding Patriarch or Matriarch must have been to establish such a lineage.

Asher shook his head slightly as a faint smile graced his lips at the thought, his mind settling once more as he let those thoughts drift away into the background.

___

Author’s Note: Happy new month to everyone. I want to apologize for March. I know you all bought privileged tiers with your hard-earned money, and I missed a lot of days because of my illness. I can only apologize yet again. And also, I would love to thank you all for the care, love, and support I got from you all regarding my illness. I appreciate it.

And lastly, as a greedy and shameless author, it’s custom I ask for super gifts. Shall we open the month with a big bang? Love y’all to the moon and back.