Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1338: Four

The man’s eyes sharpened once again.

He had felt that there was something wrong with this Sylas the moment he so boldly and easily proclaimed the death of the Leava Clan member.

However, he still wasn’t 100% certain. It was possible that Sylas was just a hothead. So, in order to test this, he ignored Sylas on purpose and spoke to Brama alone, provoking them.

In his opinion, if Brama was following Sylas so easily, then Sylas should be a core part of the Golden Grove as well. They had done their research before coming, but they hadn’t exactly known every little detail of everything.

Or at the very least, they didn’t have attention to detail that was anywhere near as good as Sylas’ own.

If they had, they would know that the fact Sylas wasn’t a member of the Golden Lineage would make that deduction very unlikely.

Even so, the man hadn’t reacted in time to this truth and had thought that the combination of ignoring Sylas and threatening the Golden Grove would be enough to get Sylas to show his true colors. But in reality, that only gave Sylas more information to work on.

The man had clearly come here to play games.

First, he sent the Leava Clan forward. Then, he appeared with a set of folded wings that clearly made him look like a far more powerful version of his Race than he actually was.

All of this was a game of smoke and mirrors. And why?

Well, the answer was obvious to Sylas, at least.

The Mortal Clans of the Thryskai had a presence in this Sector, especially the Kaelthar. However, they were spread out—and spread quite thin at that as well. If they wanted to exert their greatest strength, they needed to bring power they stored outside of the Sector in. But that left a huge problem.

The system.

Inter-Sector warfare wasn’t easy for the same reason no one could just casually turn up in the Milky Way and control it for themselves. They needed a way in.

Of course, when two territories of the system were of relatively equal strength, the standards were much laxer and not as many hoops needed to be jumped through. Sometimes, a period of acclimation was all it would take.

A few months in the easiest cases, a few years in others.

For Sylas, he had acclimated in just a few months because he came from a system territory that was far weaker than this Sector. That was why he could finally see his Status Screen now.

For these guys, a few years would probably be enough, but that would be a few years wasted.

It would be far more efficient if they took the time to both use some soft power methods and some harder methods like this one.

Through soft power, they could use vague threats and their presence to force the hands of others, like they had with the Leava.

Or in this case, they could take a far harder approach.

Like had been previously stated, Beast Warlord Sanctums were a hodgepodge of various powers all meshed into one. Differing Sanctums could have vastly differing cultures strictly based on the composition of Lineages within them.

This Sanctum happened to have a high concentration of big cat Lineages. There was the Lion, the Tiger, the Panther, the Cheetah... and so on.

However, what they didn’t have was a Bat Lineage.

Much like how wars between Sanctums under the same umbrella could happen, it was also possible for Sanctums from other umbrellas to secede and then be annexed by others.

There were ways that this could be done forcefully or willfully. And it was clear from the stance these people were taking what path they wanted.

Whether they wanted people to already be aware of that so early on, though... that was a different matter entirely.

Slowly, the man’s smile faded.

”Who are you?”

This time, it was Sylas who ignored the man, looking past him.

”I assume you want a Challenge Rite? It wouldn’t be worth anyone’s time if you couldn’t even pass the F-tier challenge, right? Bring them out.”

A malevolent aura radiated out from the young man.

”You could attack me, sure,” Sylas said slowly, turning his gaze back to the man. ”But not only would you lose your right to a Challenge Rite, but you would also face the wrath of the entire Sanctum. Not just the Scorpion Lineage.”

”Is that so?” the man grinned. ”You seem to think that you’re quite worth it.”

Sylas’ head tilted to the side, his gaze intent as though he were trying to see just exactly which side of his head the man had been dropped on as a child.

”Does your Sanctum have a Rune Spark Master?”

The man’s pupils constricted into pinholes.

The silence felt palpable before he burst into waves of laughter. He tilted his head back, a hand to his belly as his Will rippled out. The jeering laughter was truly beyond measure—to the point even the clouds above changed color.

”I must have heard incorrectly.” The man’s voice snapped back with a biting cold. ”A Challenge Rite? Sure, why not. Urolius!”

The man’s voice boomed, what fury he was burying surging out.

”Today, we’ve only brought three because three is all that is necessary. F-tier. E-tier. D-tier. That will be enough.”

A Challenge Rite only required a best three out of five: an F-tier, an E-tier, a D-tier, a Warlord, and a Core Sanctum challenge. For them to only bring three... it could be said it was the pinnacle of ignorance.

”Actually, you brought at least four,” Sylas said calmly, looking toward the corpse as though he didn’t feel the unbridled presence of maybe the most powerful F-tier he had ever sensed coming his way. ”It’s just that one of them is now dead.”

The man’s gaze became icy cold.

Brama burst into laughter, shaking himself, although the steadiness of his pointed gun never swayed in the slightest.

”Kid, your ability to piss people off is truly second to none.”