BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 99 - 98 – Comprehension
Are you kidding me?
Was that first body just a joke…?
Damn it… so that's why he stood there, not caring about any attack I threw at him…
As if he were looking down from above the clouds, seeing everything beneath him like ants…
What can I even do? Should I stack another attack, make it even bigger? Would that even work…?
Enough obsession… I'll try. There's no other choice.
I summoned the silkworm cockroaches again… released them in greater numbers…
I waited…
The Master's eyes were fixed deeply on the process. He had never seen anything like this before.
After a while… the number of insects matched the previous count.
"Not yet," I whispered.
Two hours passed…
The sky stood high… the atmosphere was spring-like as usual…
A faint warmth spread across the area… yet a refreshing breeze still surrounded everything…
"Ah…"
A migraine hit me suddenly…
My thoughts turned inward… the pain began to grow…
It became unbearable… then even worse…
Damn it…
It seemed the sheer number of cockroaches was starting to affect my mental control.
I had to release them—
"Ahhh—!"
"Now."
Suddenly—
The headache vanished at the same moment hundreds of thousands of cockroaches surged toward the Master's crystalline body…
More than five hundred thousand black silkworm cockroaches exploded.
The explosion was colossal.
I was blown back hundreds of meters… the heat was overwhelming… the shockwave flattened most trees within a hundred meters.
There was no chain reaction…
I had ordered them to detonate all at once.
The single sound of the explosion was deafening—even for those far away.
Then… silence.
Dust took its place… along with shattered trees and scattered rocks…
Then everything began to settle…
The Fourth Rank Master showed no sign…
Buried deep within the dust cloud…
Even though he stood in the sky…
The explosion had created a massive wave of dust and heat around him…
My eyes… no, everyone's eyes… were fixed on the clearing haze…
"I'm optimistic…" I whispered inwardly.
No sound came from him… even though he was awake…
That made the possibility of him being injured feel more real.
Then…
The haze cleared.
Little by little…
The crystalline body appeared.
Little by little…
And then the haze returned—
But this time inside my mind.
"Damn you…" I snarled in anger.
He was smiling.
"I wish the dust had lasted longer… just the thought that you got me because I stayed silent brings me joy," the Master laughed mockingly.
He wasn't injured… not even slightly.
He had stayed silent on purpose until the dust cleared.
That bastard…
Even in the middle of such a powerful attack… he still thought about things like that…
"Several hours have passed… isn't it time?" the Master asked.
"Heh… do you really think that's all I have?" I mocked him.
His smile widened.
"Don't push yourself… your mental strength has already reached its limit. You can't summon more of those explosive cockroaches than you already did."
Damn you… how does he know all that?
Does he have some ability? Or is it just experience?
But…
Regardless of that…
He was right.
Repeating the same thing wouldn't change anything.
At the same time… I didn't even know if that contract had a time limit…
All I had in front of me was that bastard's calmness—as if everything was going exactly as he planned.
"He's too strong…" Jalga whispered from afar.
Beside her, Princess Monali's expression was filled with unrest.
Jalga turned to her and smiled lightly.
"You look extremely worried… is he your lover?"
"Shut up."
Jalga laughed. "Well, he's somewhat handsome… I just didn't think you liked this type."
On the other side, dozens of meters away…
Louis and Joe were being treated…
Nearby stood the leader of the rock fighters, ten soldiers, and thirty rock warriors…
While the two sisters stood apart… waiting for the outcome of the battle…
The blond Fourth Rank Master swept his gaze across the area.
"Where is it? The wealth here? Is this an ancient zone?"
He looked at me—not as if he expected an answer.
"Ancient zone…?" I whispered inwardly.
I didn't truly know what he meant…
But I was certain the "wealth" he referred to existed here…
Near the Deception Beast.
I smirked.
In truth…
Even if he defeated me…
Even with all his power…
Against that monster…
He would have no chance.
Enough talk.
How do I break that defense?
"Use the Heir of Darkness."
A voice whispered within me.
It wasn't someone else's voice…
It was my own.
Nothing strange about that.
I had always imagined different personas inside my mind…
Each speaking at different times…
A thought appearing as a voice was normal to me.
This time…
The voice was urging me to use the abilities of the Heir of Darkness.
After the training rounds…
I had turned the Heir of Darkness into traits instead of a weapon.
I could use it to replicate others' attacks…
But…
What if that violated the contract?
I didn't know…
I never imagined his defense would be this absolute.
I had to think—
No.
I had to gamble.
I took a deep breath…
Closed my eyes…
Then summoned them…
A red aura began to wrap around my hands…
Then transformed into gloves.
Before…
Louis' gloves were black and yellow…
Now—
They had evolved.
Unified…
Into a single red color.
Louis finally opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw—
Was my violent charge toward the Master.
I raised my hand—
Boom.
A powerful strike.
No effect.
Then—
Boom.
Another strike. No effect.
I smiled.
I struck.
And struck.
And struck.
The Master's eyes remained calm…
Why wouldn't they?
All those blows were nothing but meaningless skirmishes to him.
I kept attacking.
With every hit…
The force increased.
And at the same time…
Power was being stored.
The unique ability of the attack glove…
Was terrifying.
The more you strike…
The stronger your blows become.
The more you strike…
The more stored power you accumulate for later use.
"Keep going," Louis whispered.
She couldn't smile.
Her body was screaming in pain.
Boom
Boom
Boom
I kept striking.
Fatigue began to show on my face.
But—
Stopping now had no meaning.
The blows grew more violent.
After a while…
The Master yawned.
That bastard…
Yawning while I was trying—
I bit my lip in anger.
Then—
Boom… Boom… Boom…
I couldn't feel my hands anymore.
They moved on their own…
Delivering strike after strike…
Without stopping…
Fatigue had lost all meaning.
Even as it increased…
I kept going.
The stored power was immense—
And still growing.
"I won't stop…" I whispered. "Until I reach my limit…"
The sounds of the blows roared like thunder…
The air twisted violently from the speed…
My hands moved… the air moved… my breath moved…
But the Master—
Remained still.
His armor did not block—
Did not crack—
He was like an endless mountain.
This continued for hours…
My hands began to tremble.
"Ahhh!" I screamed violently.
A crushing headache flooded my mind.
Unbearable pain.
Pain that forced screams out of me.
Tears fell without me noticing.
Then—
My hands stopped.
My mind had reached its limit.
I could no longer store more power.
Then—
I exhaled.
Stepped back.
Then—
I pulled my left arm behind me.
The red glove on my right hand vanished.
While the left glove grew denser…
Like a mass of blood wrapping my fist.
"This is it…" the Master whispered.
A smile carved across his face—
Not mockery.
A challenge.
"This is your strongest strike… show it to me, boy."
My left arm moved slowly…
Slowly…
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
The strike hit the crystalline body.
No sound at impact.
No sound after impact.
But then—
An earthquake-like roar exploded everywhere.
Its source—
Was the Master's body itself.
Suddenly—
BOOOOOOM.
The true sound of the explosion erupted.
A violent storm of wind burst outward—
Striking everything—
Blowing away Masters and subordinates alike.
I felt nothing.
I stood right in front of him.
My eyes—
On him.
The crystalline armor—
Shattered.
Almost completely.
I lifted my gaze to his face.
He was smiling.
His body…
Unharmed.
"What a strike…" he whispered, then sighed.
"I admit it… that is the strongest strike a Third Rank Master can reach… you—"
His smile widened.
"—are stronger than any Third Rank Master I've met."
I smiled.
"A nice compliment… now it's time for you to leave this area," I said.
His eyes narrowed.
"Why? Do you think it's over?"
Suddenly—
The remaining crystal fragments around him began to expand…
Then spread—
Covering his body.
My eyes narrowed in shock.
The massive crystalline body—
Returned in an instant.
Damn it…
All those attacks…
All that wasted accumulation…
All those hours…
Were for nothing.
This bastard…
What kind of power is this…?
"You have a bright future… surrender, live, and grow stronger," the Master said.
He was preparing for victory.
His eyes said everything.
His composure… his calm…
Explained what words could not.
I had tried everything.
Every strike I could possibly execute…
And nothing worked.
Am I going to lose… just like that?
Did he defeat me without even lifting a hand?
What kind of disgrace is this…?
