The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

There was a cave in a small mountain in the Silent Forest, and while it looked normal from the outside, its interior was concealed by all sorts of cloaking force fields and shields. It worked as the secret base and warehouse of a group of criminals.

There were five people inside the mountain. A party of three led by what seemed to be an old man and a duo in the prime of their lives.@@novelbin@@

"Old River, we risk our lives by drawing the guards out of that Star Cruiser, yet you failed to take the cargo of wave crystals. How are you going to compensate for your failure?"

One of the Atrox's duo spoke with a cold voice. There was a strange blue mark on the right shoulder pad of his armor that resembled a crow.

"I already told you, Blue Crow. Apotheosis Realm Master was guarding the ship's vault. There was no way the three of us could have defeated him, and escape was the only choice."

The man known as Old River spoke calmly, and while he made sure to explain things, he did not back down nor showed any sign of weakness.

"That seems to be your problem, not ours. You failed, so you have to pay!"

The man with a red mark on his left shoulder shouted as he stepped forward, his eyes beginning to glow with red light as he clenched his fists.

As soon as the two Atrox behind Old River saw that, they stepped forward, positioning themselves between the duo and the old man.

"Red Hawk, be careful with your actions. Remember, I belong to the upper echelon of the Dark Hand while you are only upstarts."

Old River frowned as he saw his words did not seem to deter the duo, and things kept escalating, but there was no fear in his eyes since he had lived long enough in the underworld and faced much greater trials than this. If a battle were to happen, he was confident in his chances to win or at least survive.

Blue Crow and Red Hawk began to circulate their Astral Wave as the two guards of Old River did the same. The four were Middle Wave Kings of the Astral Rebirth Path of Power, so they did not need much space to unleash all their power.

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However, just as the battle was about to start, a red force field invaded the small mountain, covering everything and drowning Blue Crow, Red Hawk, Old River, and the two bodyguards. Utter and absolute shock appeared in the eyes of the five Atroxs as they felt the terrifying nature of this Ego Wave, not to mention they were utterly shocked someone could bypass the mountain's defensive formation.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

The footsteps drew the Atroxs' attention to the entrance, and they all saw a person nearly two meters tall walk into the room. He had a red mask covering his face, and bandages covered his flesh, leaving only his black eyes glowing with red light.

There was a red robe on his body with the word 'King' on the back in dark letters that seemed made of moving shadows.

Of course, the person who interrupted this meeting of the underworld was none other than the Scarlet King. He moved forward and did not stop even as he stood between the two groups, going all the way to the end of the room before waving his hand, generating a throne where he sat.

Old River couldn't help but tremble as he stared at the man sitting on a throne without uttering a word. Something deep down told him that he should be running away. However, years of experience told him that if he ran, he would die.

A silver light appeared in the eyes of the old Atrox as he glanced at Red Hawk and Blue Crow and saw the duo silently nodding. They could put aside their differences for now and take care of a greater threat first.

Of course, Old River would not start a fight if there were no need for it, and he first wanted to speak with this enigmatic individual, learn what he needed, and then decide their next step.

"May I..."

"I assume you are Red Hawk, a.k.a. Tarison Janur, of the Janur Noble Family."

However, before Old River could utter more than two words, the Scarlet King turned to the man with the red bird on his shoulder.

Red Hawk, or more accurately, Tarison Janur, could not hide his shock as he heard this person he had never met before utter his actual name, something he had not revealed to a single soul. Not even Blue Crow, his most trusted ally in the Dark Hand, knew it.

What might seem shocking for Tarison was not impressive considering the current [A.I. Chip Module]'s capabilities. After obtaining the data of these people through hacking, Apex simply used the [Sub Quantum Data Gathering and Analysis] and came up with all their real identities.

Despite the shock, Tarison was a seasoned warrior and had seen a lot of blood and death, so he was able to regain his composure before focusing on the person.

"Who are you?"

"I came here because you assaulted the Star Cruiser #341 nine days ago. According to my information, there was a coffer with starry gems. Hand it over."

The Scarlet King ignored Red Hawk's question and immediately demanded this one to hand over the chest that had the type of skill he had been looking for since he embarked on the Essence Evolution Path of Power.

When Old River heard that, a small smile appeared on his face. This person was after Red Hawk, and since that was the case, he could leave.

"I will not bother you and let you get to business."

Red Hawk frowned when he heard the words of Old River, but there was nothing he could do about it since that was the type of relationship people in the underworld had. If there was no profit, why would they share the danger? Even his comrade, Blue Crow, was looking to the exits, seemingly ready to leave.

"No one can leave. I came for the starry gems, but I have business with all of you."