Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 126: Intense

"Ah... I should have found a way to kill him then," Dlodus rubbed his face and said into the silence.

"And maybe you’d have gotten your head blown or cut," Serdan snorted. "Who would ever think even Alyndra would fall? He’s dangerous, that’s what he is."

Dlodus looked around. "What are you guys going to do? Are you going to follow him to clear the ruin?"

Serdan brought out another bottle to drink. "You said it yourself, right? We have to report and then make the decision that’s given to us. Sneaky bastard, he’s pushing us into a corner."

Manefor shifted. "Ruins created with Rift Seeds are said to be very strong, with really good rewards and resources."

Dlodus turned to him. "Are you going to clear it with him then? I don’t take you for that kind, Manefor."

The big man shrugged and stood. "Each Flag has what they are after."

Without another word, he walked out of the room.

The remaining two watched him leave without saying anything for a while. Then Dlodus shook his head. "I can never tell what that one is thinking. But really, Serdan, what are you going to do?"

Serdan sighed. "That guy... he’s going to clear it, the ruin. Whether we join him or not."

"So, are you saying it’ll be our loss in the end? But isn’t that only if he manages to successfully clear it?"

Serdan pointed at him with her bottle. "But that’s something you don’t want to risk, right? Let’s see it this way. Somehow, he manages to clear it, and then he takes most of the resources. Then the Flagbearers of CrimsonHood and Scuffed Bones finally kill him and take the resources from him.

"They can claim it as damages for what was done to them." The short woman stood and yawned. She tapped the ground with her wooden rod and shook her bottle. "I need to get more drinks."

Dlodus grimaced at her retreating back. But then, once he was the only one in the room, his face changed, darkened, and the lightning in his eyes flashed. "I didn’t know you could play politics like this, Vale. You’ve turned our greed against us."

He sighed. "He won’t like this at all. I don’t like this either. But then, it’s a single Rift Seed."

☆☆☆☆ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Vale saw what he was looking for: spatial rings.

The Vice, Sepler, took him around the building and the hidden vault that belonged to the Rank 1 team. The man kept showing him the best artifacts and enchanted tools, but Vale was only concerned with the spatial rings.

There was a reason for that. He knew the Flagbearer of CrimsonHood would eventually come to deal with the Flag here, or at the very least send an equal representative.

Vale didn’t want to be accused of stealing too. He’d even told Sepler he’d return the rings or pay for them later.

The rings were distributed among him, Tiber, and Slya.

There wasn’t anything more to do for the rest of the day than prepare for the ruin the next day. And part of that preparation was buying what they would need.

With the money they made off the outlaws, they didn’t have to worry about spending for a while.

Most especially food, since they didn’t know how long it would take to clear the ruin. Tiber took care of that while Vale took care of weapons, and Slya tagged along to buy the other things they would need.

The rest of the day was spent like this. What amused Vale was the way people treated him and his team. The reactions were mostly varied. Knights usually glared at him from a safe place and avoided him as if he carried a plague.

But merchants were different. They went out of their way to please them, offering discounts and gifts.

Vale understood, of course. They were just trying to get themselves in a favorable position, to befriend the person who might one day be Rank 1. And if it went the other way, they had nothing to lose.

Too bad that Vale had no intention of being Rank 1 or staying in the second layer or the borderland.

☆☆☆

They woke early the next morning and began to get ready.

"I think we’ve got all we needed, right?" Tiber asked.

"Yes... right?" Slya said.

The silence that followed was felt by all of them. ’If Xan were here, then we wouldn’t have to worry about all of this.’

Vale used his head to calculate what they took with them. ’Tents, food, weapons, water, potions, digging equipment, clothes...’

Vale took a deep breath. "Let’s go."

There was no reason to remind them how dangerous the ruin would be; they knew it as well as he did. Rift Seed ruins were more powerful and dangerous than the normal ones.

The rewards were also generous, or so Vale had been told. He’d never cleared a ruin like that before. But it wasn’t the reward he was after—it was the ruin itself disappearing from the place.

They went outside, where a carriage was waiting for them, and they climbed in without hesitation. And although they stayed at the Rank 2 base, Dlodus did not come to see them off or join them for the ruin.

Vale did not wait to see if he’d change his mind.

The carriage slowly moved through the streets and the building area, heading into the core proper, which was filled with ruins. They saw Flags in front of both cleared and uncleared ruins, and the closer they got to the center, the more oppressive the aura in the air became.

It was subtle at first, but it grew harsher and heavier the closer they got. The very air was thick with essence, so much so that they had to stop and walk the rest of the way on foot because their monster horses wouldn’t go any closer.

They didn’t need to be told when they finally reached the ruin and saw it for the first time.

Vale grinned. "This is intense, alright."