MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 808: The Actual Truth

Anthony, Vega, Kingsley, Aura, Charles, and Bills walked together in quiet procession, their footsteps echoing softly as the massive structure before them opened up in a wide, almost awe-inspiring expanse. The building they were meant to stay in stretched out endlessly, its interior unfolding like a boundless dimension. Any ordinary individual who stepped inside after seeing the outer structure would immediately question their senses, perhaps even doubt their sanity, for the exterior simply could not, by any conventional logic, contain such an immense amount of space.

But none of them reacted; none showed even a hint of surprise. They were all well aware that feats of this scale were effortlessly achievable through advanced spatial manipulation. To them, this was merely another clever trick of higher beings.

“Do you know when the other two will be arriving?” Charles asked as he walked, his voice calm yet flat carrying the usual playful that defined him for a while now. He remained as composed and quiet as ever, while Aura absent-mindedly stroked Akira’s soft fur, the little fox happily chewing on her dry kibble. Anthony didn’t even need to ask who the “other two” referred to. He already knew Charles meant Aaaninja and Lucian.

“I don’t know exactly,” Anthony replied with a light shake of his head. “But I’m guessing they should arrive by tomorrow, or perhaps even an hour before the meeting begins.”

Charles nodded in understanding. He hadn’t communicated with anyone during the entire Starborn Tournament, so he knew nothing about Aaaninja’s or Lucian’s current whereabouts.

“They look like they want to eat us alive,” Vega murmured quietly, her striking purple eyes shifting toward a vampire who stared back at them with a chilling, predatory smile. Aura’s blue eyes also flickered to the side, catching sight of a dragon gazing at her with eyes filled with smug pride. She simply turned away. She wasn’t the type to go looking for trouble. But if trouble came to her, she would erase it without hesitation.

“Well, they’ll probably get indigestion if they try,” Anthony joked casually, earning a round of small chuckles from the group.

“But I still don’t understand,” Charles said after a moment, unable to keep his thoughts contained. “Why are these mid-tier races acting so arrogant? None of them even made the top ten during the Starborn Tournament. If they couldn’t win against us then, what makes them think they can win now?”

“They know they can’t win,” Anthony responded, his tone calm and analytical. “That’s exactly why they haven’t made a direct move against us in particular. Though I can’t say the same for other humans here, they’ve probably been targeted already. Even if these races know we’re stronger, they’ve spent their entire lives believing they’re inherently superior to humans. Unless you personally beat that notion out of them, or kill them, they won’t learn.”

Silence fell over the group for a moment as they processed Anthony’s words. The six of them were all humans, and that alone made them targets for glares and hostility. However, due to the overwhelming difference in power between them and the mid-tier races, the hostility remained only at the level of glares. None dared to act.

“I’m sure someone who wasn’t at the Starborn Tournament will try to confront us soon,” Aura said suddenly, her voice cool but certain. “It’s only a matter of time.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although Anthony had mentioned that other humans would likely be targeted, none of them cared much. Why should they rush to save people they didn’t know? Just because they were human? Please, none of them were that idle or self-sacrificing.

“Is your planet made of only humans?” Kingsley asked unexpectedly. He had been silent since the beginning, and the suddenness of his question drew brief attention.

Charles paused for a moment before answering. “Yes. And unlike your Blue Planet, we can’t easily wipe out a group composed of top races if they come after us.” He spoke with calm realism. Anthony didn’t comment, but he knew the truth behind Charles’s words.

The only reason Charles and his world’s delegates managed to return home without being robbed or attacked was the protection of the Spirit King, an entity with combat power surpassing the planetary level. No race wished to invite their own extinction.

“What about your world?” Charles continued, his curiosity not yet satisfied. “Your Blue Planet is composed of different races. I remember seeing a Titan, a Dwarf, a Phoenix, and others that I didn’t get to witness. But right now, even with a team of three, I can’t find any of those races, not even among the older generation of your planet. Out of the five elders, only two aren’t human. Is your world dominated by humans?”

Kingsley shook his head lightly. “The truth is, the Blue Planet isn’t dominated by humans, but it’s also home to other races like the Titan, Phoenix, and the others you saw. It’s just that… as Aura mentioned earlier, the three of us are a bit special. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t even be standing here. As for the older generation, I don’t know their situation well enough to speak about it.”

Charles nodded, satisfied. He had merely asked to clear the doubts that had lingered in his mind for a while. He had always wondered how or why humans seemed to dominate the Blue Planet, but it appeared it wasn’t dominance at all, merely circumstance.

Anthony’s sky-blue eyes shifted toward Aura. “You were supposed to represent your planet in the Starborn Tournament, but you didn’t come. May I ask why? Only if I’m not intruding, of course.”

Aura remained silent for a moment before answering. “It wasn’t anything major. I was training, and I couldn’t bring myself to end the session just to attend the tournament.”

‘Training, huh…’ Anthony thought quietly.

“The actual truth,” Charles interjected with a faint smirk, “is that she didn’t care about the Starborn Tournament. She thought it wasn’t worth her time, so she locked herself away to train. But at least I, the second most talented, handled the job.”

“You came in fourth,” Aura corrected immediately.

“Tsk… says the person who didn’t even show up,” Charles muttered, clicking his tongue in mock annoyance.