Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 144: Time to act

A portal opened beneath him, and he vanished.

Immediately, the ground groaned and shook as doors connecting the room to the tunnels opened. But nobody rushed to enter the tunnels. It was as if, by some unspoken rule, everyone was waiting for something to happen in the room where they were all gathered.

Vale stood and stretched. His body was back to its normal state, and two days of filling his core had restored it to half capacity. He was feeling very pleased with himself. ’I really need to do something about this... There should be an artifact that makes me fill my core quicker! That way, I won’t have to be waiting so long each time!’

He began making his way toward one of the tunnels when he suddenly paused and turned. "Wait, if I kill everyone here, does that mean I win automatically?"

Every single eye in the room turned toward him. The mood shifted instantly. Essence pressure surged, making the air heavy. Those who were not of the Knight rank gripped their heads and swayed.

The aura splashed over him, but Vale shrugged it away as if it were nothing. "Let’s see. How many of the Knight ranks are here again? The Squires aren’t important. Alright, come at me."

The room froze. Disbelief and shock rippled through the crowd. Of course, Vale had expected this reaction, wasn’t he the guy who had nearly been beaten by those two Squires?

"Ah! I said it! He’s out of his mind!" The man who had bullied Vale earlier, along with the woman, stepped forward casually, flicking a knife in the air.

Vale frowned at him and then simply ignored him as he scanned the Knight ranks. He sighed. "None of you are even up to the strength of those outlaw leaders?"

The man got in Vale’s face and flashed his knife. "Are you ignoring me? I’ll gut you...!!"

Vale’s hand blurred forward, gripping the man by the neck and dragging him close. With his other hand, he slapped the knife away and turned toward the direction the man had come from.

The man choked and struggled, his hands prying at his throat, but it was as if thick steel was wrapped around his neck. His eyes bulged, and his face turned purple.

Vale dragged him along as he walked toward the corner, then dropped the dead body. "So, you’re the one who sent them."

A Knight sat in the corner, four more Squires surrounding him. He was a burly man with flat, cold eyes. The man smiled. "So, you’re a Knight rank as well. Then I was right to have sent them your way. Why don’t the two of us..."

He didn’t finish speaking before a wave of red fire ignited in front of him and bellowed forward. The burly man’s eyes widened, but he reacted quickly. With a sweep of his hand, he generated a gust of wind that slammed into the wave of fire.

The two forces clashed in midair, sending bursts of fire and wind exploding in a ring. Two of the Squires around him were caught in the crossfire and burned, their high-pitched screams echoing through the room.

Others tried to run, but the shockwave slammed into them, throwing them against the walls.

"Eh... would you look at that?" Vale said in fake panic. "You’re pushing me back!"

The burly man’s eyes lit up as he used his wind to push Vale’s fire back, but suddenly, his opponent smiled at him.

"No. I’m just joking," Vale said, then dumped more essence into his formation.

For an instant, there was a pause, a fleeting moment where fire and wind were evenly matched. Then, with a whoosh, the red fire flared and roared high, surging forward in a tide of destruction that slammed into the burly man.

He tried to save himself, trapping his body in a pocket of wind, but the Infernal fire was too strong, too hot. He screamed in agony as he burned.

Vale grimaced at the smell of charred meat and turned around. The room was deathly silent now, like a forgotten graveyard. Not even a whisper disturbed it.

But one thought crossed their minds as one: ’This man just killed one of the strongest prisoners as if it were nothing’

Vale grunted and pointed at the tunnels. "None of you should leave this room. I’m in a hurry to leave this place, I can’t be bothered to kill you guys."

He suddenly smiled. "Really, I should get out before my subordinates do something stupid. I’m sure they already did anyway."

He turned, took one step, and the mood in the room shifted again.

Vale could almost predict what the prisoners were thinking: ’Why don’t we all attack him at once? He seems strong, so why don’t we kill him and fight among ourselves later?’

So it wasn’t unexpected when an earth spike flew through the air at him. But he had been expecting it, so he had already flung himself to the side.

Vale opened his mouth. "Dominion!"

☆ ☆

When Frexon came to pick him up later, Vale was covered in human ash. The room he was standing in was cracked and blackened. Vale sat on the ground in a meditation pose, trying to absorb as much essence as he could.

Of course, they had all attacked him, and it had played out exactly as Vale had expected. With all of them wiped out.

Frexon looked at the half-burnt human bones on the floor and then at Vale. "When I told you to do well, I didn’t mean this way."

Vale opened his eyes and grunted. "Either way, there are no more prisoners to play this game with, so I win."

Frexon scowled. "Everyone is angry at you. You just wiped out a lot of bets. Even I didn’t get anything by betting on you."

Vale stood and shrugged. "They can take it up with me. Now, where’s my reward?"

Frexon stared at him for a long time before he said, "Alright."