Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 136: Do you understand now?

"Do you understand now?" Errant Knight Frexon said.

Vale turned to face him as the man walked towards him casually. "I usually show people my power for them to know there’s no escaping me. And now that I’ve marked you, where do you think you can hide that I won’t find you?"

"And yet it took you this long to reach here," Vale said. ’If he really was as strong as he said, then shouldn’t he be here since the day I wiped out the Scuffed Bones?’

Frexon smiled. "You’re a smart one, but also ignorant," he gestured to everything around him. "This is small compared to what is happening over there, but it’s still worth the Flagbearer’s attention."

"So tell me, what is your Knight Order? Elemental? I saw you use fire earlier."

Vale blinked, stunned by the sudden change in conversation. "What?"

Frexon raised his right hand, the back of the palm facing Vale. On it glowed three stars surrounding a crown in a purple circle—the Mystic Order!

"I’m talking about this. Which one is yours?"

Vale opened his mouth to answer, then frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

Frexon’s expression fell flat, and his face hardened. "So you’re one of those that don’t take pride in the Order they come from."

"What are you talking about?" Vale said, his eyes shifting. He was waiting for the perfect time to cause a distraction and run or attack.

Frexon shook his head. "Every Knight knows that the Mystic Order is the most powerful Order. But how do I argue that with you when you don’t even want to talk about your Order?"

Vale was completely baffled. How could one keep up with this man’s thoughts? "What are you talking about?"

Frexon raised his hand, and a small portal hung in the air in front of him. The surface of the portal ripped, and a chain of red shot forward, lashing through the air with a whizzing sound.

Vale deflected it with the flat of his sword, and the chain disappeared over the roof.

Frexon frowned. "Don’t mind me. That wasn’t the portal I wanted to bring out."

Suddenly, the air around him distorted, and above him, portals began to appear—each the size of a small wall mirror, their surfaces gleaming like fresh blood.

The portals ripped open, and from within, attacks shot forward like rain—compressed water arrows and fire spikes, even bolts of lightning and earth spikes. Each attack cut through the air with a whine and small shockwaves.

The sheer number left Vale stunned, and he did something he hadn’t done in months. He created a shield around himself, pumping essence into it until it glowed a dull red.

Crack!

The attacks slammed into his shield, cracking it like eggshells. The roof he was standing on shuddered and collapsed as it was blasted through. Vale fell, twisting mid-air to get his feet under him as he landed directly in the first room, shattering a table.

He gritted his teeth, shaking the pain from his legs as he began to run towards the door. But the space there warped, and standing in the way was Frexon.

Vale understood then. ’This is not even a fight... he’s just playing along with me’

"Dominion!" Bright golden-red light and heat filled the room, melting everything that wasn’t stone.

When the attack faded, Frexon was protected by a portal bending over him. The man shrugged the portal away. "You’re Elemental, but your fire feels... different... oh!"

The ball of ripping heat and fire in Vale’s hand shot forward and disappeared into a portal that appeared in front of the Errant Knight.

Frexon scratched his head and then shook it. "I expected more from the ’rank 1.’"

Vale ignored the cheap taunt. He calmed himself, beginning to analyze his opponent and the situation he was in. ’I can’t win, so what I must go for is stalling him while I make my escape... he can absorb my attacks through his portals... wait... those attacks he threw at me on the roof... are they...?!!’

Vale flung himself away from his position immediately, just as the ball of light and heat he had thrown earlier fell from above and exploded. The ground shook and tore apart, sending pieces of stone flying.

’Just as I predicted—he can absorb and spit out attacks!’

Vale’s heart was a drum in his ears. The hand on his sword was slick with sweat, but his blood was thrumming. His eyes lit with a glint, sharp like the edge of a blade.

’It’s been a while since I’ve faced someone this powerful who wants to fight me... and he must not be an average Errant Knight... he called himself a captain, after all’

’Then if I want to escape, I can’t go with a half-assed attack... no... a bigger Infernal ball takes too long... I’ll just go with the classic overload, with the help of binding...’

"You dodged that? Then you must have figured it out. I can’t count the number of stupid people who have died by the hands of their own attacks," Frexon frowned. "Not that I’m trying to kill you... yet."

Vale was only half-listening. His left hand hovered over his sword, chanting softly. Black lines appeared, curling around the blade and fixing in place like ink.

Then Vale took hold of his essence with mental hands and began pouring it into the sword. The blade turned from red to molten, then blinding, as he continued soaking it with his essence. The sword began to pulse with red light, flickering as if it would shatter at any moment.

Frexon’s eyes widened when he saw this. "What are you doing? You’ll kill yourself!"

Infusing essence into weapons was common, a classic technique even Squires could use. But it became dangerous when the weapon was overloaded—unless it was an artifact or enchanted tool, and even then, there were limits. Overloading turned the weapon unstable, leading to an inevitable explosion.

Right now, Vale had bypassed the unstable stage with his binding, filling the sword with half the essence in his core. He lifted the blade, and it glowed like a weapon made of pure energy.

The surroundings were bathed in red light, and heat shimmered around him. The ground beneath him began to melt.

Frexon took an unconscious step back, sweat dotting his face from the heat. "You’re insane."

Vale smiled. "Let’s see if your portal can withstand this."