The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Seconds become minutes as waves of the world's energy flooded into the Refinement Cauldron, coalescing into Old River's body and revolving around it, improving every cell.

Red Hawk, Blue Crow, Specter, and Ghoul watched solemnly at the cauldron since they knew they would be next. Even if Old River were to perish, that would not deter the man with the red mask from experimenting with them.

"¡Boom!"

A small blast echoed from inside the Refinement Cauldron after nearly an hour. Just as the four Atroxs imagined Old River's body had blasted to pieces like a balloon full of blood, the lid opened, and a figure emerged from it.

Shock and surprise appeared on the faces of the Atroxs when they saw that Old River was not only fine but also seemed much younger now, no different than a middle-aged man.

Old River was just as surprised as the others as he felt how every biological system in his body had improved drastically, helping him regain some of his youthful vigor. But even more impressive was the state of his Evolution Core.

Old River's Evolution Core had crystallized entirely a long time ago. While the new bloodline improved the speed at which he could absorb Life Wave and his mastery over the Laws, it did not directly improve his cultivation base's potency. However, after the refinement, a lot of the impurities of his Evolution Core were expelled, allowing this one to revolve with greater momentum.

"¡Incredible!"

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That was the only word Old River could come up with as he saw the effect of the colorful flame on his body and cultivation.

When Red Hawk, Blue Crow, Specter, and Ghoul saw the effect of the flame on Old River, the fear they felt vanished, replaced by a burning sense of desire. Who would not want greater power and the chance to become a God?

The Scarlet King was happy to see that the other four Atrox were in peak condition now, having shaken away the fear. Everything should go fine in their current mental state.

"Red Hawk."

"¡Yes!"

Not wasting a second, Red Hawk took out his Bio Armor and jumped into the cauldron, his eyes bursting with red light as he pushed his mind and will to the limit, ready to obtain even greater power.

---

By the end of the day, all five Atroxs had undergone a 9 Revolution Refinement, and there was nothing but wonder and awe in their hearts as they felt how easily their energy flooded through their flesh and blood and how their cultivation base burst with power and vitality.

However, focus immediately returned to their eyes as they felt the gaze of their leader on them.

The Scarlet King analyzed the power of the six Atroxs and nodded as they satisfied the requirements for his plans.

"Old River, tell me about gatherings of Dark Hand that involve the presence of Dark Mask."

Old River and the others clenched their fists as they heard those words. It seemed that the time to fight had come.

"Dark Mask is only present in the annual gathering, where the upper echelon of Dark Hand meets to report their current progress and dealings with other Dark Factions and pay tribute to his figure. The last one was three months ago."

The Scarlet King softly nodded. Even with the help of the [A.I. Chip Module], he could not gather much information about Dark Mask, and it was clear that the man was cautious. That was actually one of the reasons he chose that person as his target.

If the Scarlet King wanted to set a trap, the gathering would be the best choice. Not to mention that if everything went well, he would kill two birds with one stone.

"Nine months is too much. Is there another type of meeting that requires Dark Mask's assistance?"

Old River frowned as he heard that question, but he did not dare to keep any information secret and spoke.

"In case of the accusation of treason between members of the upper echelon, there would be a trial with Dark Mask acting as the judge and a few selected upper echelon members as the jury. However, that is extremely dangerous since if you fail to provide defining evidence, the accuser's head would roll."

A small smile appeared on the Scarlet King's face as he heard those words since he could use that information.

"The place where that trial would take place, will it have defensive mechanisms?"

"Yes. A scan force field will inspect every space ring for signs of life and a jamming signal that can interfere with the correct work of any explosive device."

The Scarlet King was not surprised by those security measures, but they would not be a problem for the plan he had in mind.

"How long until the trial is in place after the accusation?"

"It would not be less than seven days. At most two weeks."

The Scarlet King nodded and told Old River to give him the coordinates of where the trial should occur before leaving the six Atroxs, only to return five hours later.

"Old River, make an accusation of betrayal against a member of the upper echelon of Dark Hand. I don't care who, I just need to get Dark Mask in that place."

There was no surprise for any of the Atrox as they heard that command since they had already expected it.

"Can I freely choose the target of the charge?"@@novelbin@@

The Scarlet King's eyes narrowed as he heard that question. Anyone present during their attack against Dark Mask would be a witness they would have to silence, and it seemed that Old River wanted to take care of a particular individual.

"I don't care."

Old River nodded with a smile and used his computer ring to present a charge of treason against another member of the upper echelon of Dark Hand who went by Silent Shadow.

Not even half a minute after Old River put the charge in place, his computer ring began to glow as several people attempted to contact him, but he ignored all except for one message that arrived ten minutes later. He extended his right hand, showing a virtual screen to everybody.