MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1242: The Vanishing Reapers

The Core Elders and the Sect Master were starting to feel numb as they had witnessed numerous things that even they wouldn’t have believed if they had merely been told instead of seeing them with their own eyes.

They simply stared at Anthony, their minds going in different directions as silence tore through the hall.

Although Anthony didn’t speak, he could feel the greed behind the eyes of all five Core Elders, aside from Nathaniel. He could sense the killing intent that stirred within their minds, hearts, and souls.

Anthony didn’t complain. Who wouldn’t become greedy after witnessing such a display? Because if they captured him and obtained his secrets, they could have it all for themselves and simply climb to the very pinnacle of everything.

So it was understandable to Anthony. After all, he too would have faced the same temptation if he were in their place. Greed and desire were simply human nature, nothing more, and power had always been the greatest temptation in existence.

The Core Elders couldn’t help but wonder what made Anthony so bold. Nobody with a single functioning brain cell would make the revelations Anthony had just made throughout the day. They would have hidden their secrets until the very end and ensured that nothing ever leaked, no matter the cost.

Yet here Anthony stood, putting everything out in the open as though he dared danger itself to come. New Ascendants weren’t supposed to be this abnormal. They were meant to be inexperienced, green, and easily scammed.

Was it the Sect Master that gave him the arrogance?

They couldn’t help but ask themselves that question but immediately rejected the thought, as from everything they had seen up until this point, Anthony was a very intelligent and shrewd person even though he neither spoke nor appeared that way.

Which left them with only one conclusion; that same power, ability, or whatever it was served as the source of Anthony’s confidence.

Their minds raced as they went through every ability and Law they had encountered until now, but they found absolutely nothing. None of them could think of a single ability capable of producing miracles on such a ridiculous scale, leaving only more questions than answers.

Before anyone could speak, an unquantifiable wave of killing intent rippled throughout the entire building. Their eyes immediately snapped toward The Sword Ruler. It was coming from him, and his killing intent was focused entirely on the five Core Elders.

The man stood ready to slay every one of them if any of them dared make a move against his descendant. He didn’t say a single word, but actions always spoke far louder than words ever could.

The Core Elders stared at The Sword Ruler, their expressions turning serious and grave. Although he was simply known as The Sword Ruler, they knew the power he possessed was no joke. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the Sect Master of the Null Sect.

A whole minute of standoff occurred before Nathaniel withdrew his killing intent and settled back into his throne.

The Core Elders were loyal to the sect, but sometimes, certain temptations arose to test that loyalty, and this moment was definitely one of those moments.

As Core Elders and people who had been close to him since his earlier days, Nathaniel hadn’t made any of them sign any form of Law Contract, as he understood each of them unless they suddenly changed. However, as for the other elders, such as the Inner Elders and the rest, they all signed a Law Contract with the Null Sect.

Of course, it wasn’t a Slave Contract like the one given to Anthony just yesterday, nor was it an overly restrictive type. It merely existed to prevent things such as betrayal, sabotage, and the like, ensuring the interests of the sect remained protected.

“Although what we’ve witnessed might be something entirely new and impossible for us to comprehend, you need to remember that Anthony is our own monster, not another Sect’s or Clan’s. And if we play our cards right…” He didn’t complete the statement.

But all five Core Elders seemed to immediately come to an understanding.

Anthony hadn’t spoken until now, and just as he was about to speak, the double doors burst open as an Inner Elder immediately rushed inside, his body becoming a blur as he arrived before the Core Elders and the Sect Master.

“Inner Elder, why have you disrupted our meeting?” The Punisher asked, his tone stern, as they were handling an extremely important matter at this moment and couldn’t afford another party entering the discussion to avoid any form of information leak.

“I bring urgent news that couldn’t wait or be delayed, Sect Master, Core Elders,” the Inner Elder said with a respectful bow, his hands cupped together as he spoke.

“Speak,” Nathaniel stated as he simply wanted to deal with whatever this was and return to the most important matter at hand; Anthony.

“The Vanishing Reapers has received a contract detailing the assassination of someone said to be a new Ascendant of the Null Sect. The reward has been set at a staggering one billion Origin Essence Stones,” the Inner Elder reported. As he spoke, a parchment appeared in his hand with Anthony’s face upon it, the contract price written directly beneath it, while the sponsor remained unknown.

“Your message has been received. You may leave,” Nathaniel replied as though the entire assassination matter didn’t bother him in the slightest.

The Vanishing Reapers was an organization that carried out anything involving killing. They weren’t exactly assassins, as they left traces whenever they wished and sometimes killed in the noisiest ways imaginable, as though they knew they would always evade capture regardless of what they did.

The Inner Elder bowed, turned, and departed, his eyes briefly falling upon Anthony, who stood silently without uttering a single word. Although curious, he asked nothing and left exactly as instructed.

“It seems the Lords of those four foolish clans are already making their move since they couldn’t get their hands on Anthony,” Nathaniel mused aloud.

The Core Elders were confused about the entire matter, so Nathaniel explained everything to them, from intercepting the Asura, Rakshasa, Yaksha, and Garuda to rescuing Anthony at the very last moment before he would have been taken away.

They simply nodded their heads and accepted the situation without further questioning.

“Well… I personally didn’t think I was worth one billion Origin Essence Stones to them at this point,” Anthony couldn’t help but say.

His mind reminisced about the time he had gone on his very first impossible mission, only for his own team to betray him for one billion top-grade Mana Crystals. Alas, he had been forced to wipe them out in self-defense.

“Indeed, you aren’t. But since I interfered and saved you, they believe you’re someone special simply because I stepped in. After all, I’ve ignored many other Humans over the years who fell into the territories of the non-human races,” Nathaniel explained calmly.

Anthony merely nodded, feeling that it was the most logical explanation. At the same time, however, it seemed the Lords of those four clans truly hated The Sword Ruler, enough to cough up a total of one billion Origin Essence Stones simply to have him eliminated.

Such an outrageous price.

Alas, Anthony was simply too rich. Otherwise, he would have created a clone and sent the clone’s head over just to reap the reward himself, earning an effortless fortune.