"Not bad. Father-in-law, for such a presentation and your continual work till now, you deserve abundant rewards."
Konrad declared after the Celestial Envoy's departure.
"Boss, this is merely my duty. But if you must reward, I naturally won't be perfunctory."
Wolfgang replied with a bright smile. Hearing this, Konrad nodded and extended his hand toward Wolfgang.
Bright jade light erupted from his palm and dived into Wolfgang's chest.
"In the few months since we parted, your cultivation climbed four steps, reaching the seventh-step of the Semi-Holy Knight Rank. Although on the Ancient Crystal World's standards, such progress is astonishing, it is far from enough.
First, I will help you complete an atavism to elevate your bloodline to the demon rank."
Konrad began, and as he spoke, a jade-colored shroud surrounded Wolfgang.
His nature serpent bloodline properties changed, and the impurities vanished as it retraced the ancestral force hidden within his lineage. From a nature serpent, Wolfgang climbed the bloodline hierarchy to become a pureblooded hydra.
Thus, although his cultivation didn't improve in the slightest, his battle power soared, and with it, so did his talent.
Overjoyed, Wolfgang was about to drop on his knees when Konrad waved his hand, causing nine drops of Divine Ascension Demon Blood to appear and fly toward him.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the blood drops and sat crossed-legged to stabilize them within his body. Tremendous demonic and divine powers erupted from within Wolfgang's body and spread throughout his veins.
But knowing the refinement of such blood would take some time, he didn't dive into it, first suppressing it within his veins to avoid an impromptu breakthrough.
Afterward, Wolfgang dropped on his knees.
"Boss, thank you!"
Again, Konrad nodded, then motioned for Wolfgang to stand up.
"But from now on, I suppose I calling you boss is no longer appropriate."
Wolfgang jested.
"Indeed. However, our mobster team has come a long way. In private just call me boss."
"Will do!"
After this exchange, Krann brought them back onto serious matter.
"Master, what is the next step?"
"There are only two possibilities. First, they attempt a rescue mission before dispatching troops. Second, they don't, and directly surround us with their strongest forces."
Konrad replied while resting his chin on his entwined fingers. Hearing this, Wolfgang frowned.
"How could they dare attack without first attempting a rescue mission? Doing so is no different than disregarding the captives' lives."
Though the words were sensible, Konrad shook his head.
"It's a matter of success potential. A small rescue team of highly skilled Quasi-Sages is their best option. However, it cannot escape my eyesight. They should know that while we're displaying the captives in the city square, we're keeping them under close watch and are baiting them into such a vain rescue attempt.
Saving and killing are two different things. To say nothing of the battle's results, I can kill them three as soon as I sense the intruders' presence. Such a move is…unlikely."
Konrad explained.
"On the contrary. When the true battle begins, those three become my shields and last bargaining chips. Therefore, a large-scale clash with the odds clearly stacked against me is the best protection they can offer their people. For that reason, I'm inclined to lean on the second option."
In a flash, Konrad's words clarified Wolfgang's doubts, and Krann's lips curled into a fiendish smile.
"The fools don't understand who they're dealing with. The more come, the more die. If master goes all-out, in the Mortal Realm, beneath the Divine Rank, all are ants!"
Krann proclaimed, and his words were no exaggeration. As Konrad's familiar, he understood his current abilities better than anyone else. If his Ancestral Glory was a formidable ability boasting various defensive and offensive perks, his lineage weapon was an unparalleled destructive force that trumped his Ancestral Glory in might.
As for his true form…its mere appearance would fill the world with dread. Meanwhile, the plague spread, bringing alongside it more desperate folks seeking shelter in the only force able to bring salvation:
The Profane Prince's Cult.
…
In the Infernal Cult and Celestial Church's gathering place, listening to the Celestial Envoy's report, both Draven and Anatol silently suppressed their rage. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that Konrad would truly go to such extents and give no consideration for face.
Had he not vented enough spleen? Was he really willing to fight them to the end?
But while they could still maintain their composure, others failed to do the same.
"How dare he?! How dare he?!"
That Bullshit Profane Prince is bullying us intolerably!"
The third cult elder roared and slammed his palm on the table facing him. And on this occasion, all agreed with him. That so-called Profane Prince had pushed the vice too far and humiliated them beyond all reason.
He even dared request the delivery of all their women?
The gals! As the leaders of the world, when did they ever face such an insult?
If they didn't butcher him, how could they vent their hatred?
Now, even those not directly connected to the matter couldn't help but picture the scene of Konrad being shredded into ten thousand pieces. Witnessing this scene, Gulistan sighed.
The war was inevitable. And so was the result. Those old fogies were merely walking into a glaring trap while thinking the situation entirely under control. However, for house Serkar, this was an opportunity.
An opportunity both she and her father planned to seize. If Konrad's performance was up to expectations, perhaps they could push their plans ahead of time, and make the Serkar…the new rulers of the Infernal Cult.
*Humph*
"After experiencing some fortuitous encounters in the Tower, that country bumpkin now thinks himself unparalleled under the heavens?
Good, very good. Let's remind him, and all those secular world ants, why for one-million years, we have ruled this world!"
A Celestial Elder exclaimed. After the Tower's appearance, many conjectured that Konrad's inexplicable nature came from a secret within the higher floors. A secret left by the founders.
That being the case, capturing him to extract that bloodline became of vital importance.
However, with the level of indignation and hatred they currently felt, if capturing proved too challenging, killing was absolutely fine!
"To arms!
Our elite forces will meet on the battlefield and conduct a joint aerial assault on the Holy Continent.
Meanwhile, the Barbarian Continent's sixty-million troops will swarm the land and lay the Holy Continent to waste.
The cream of the crop beneath the Divine Rank backed by the strongest formation and puppets. Let us see how this so-called -God's Avatar- faces this tribulation."
The Infernal Cult Leader, Draven Torul declared. His words pulling approving nods from all those gathered.
