Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 211: Things that didn’t go well
What made Captain Orin afraid earlier was the way Vale moved, the explosive force that flickered like a blast of fire, and then he suddenly appeared in front of the shield.
The heat that accompanied this was so intense it was almost as if he was standing too close to a furnace. The anger that he saw on Vale was a twisted kind of bitterness that screamed danger and made his hair stand.
But Captain Orin was a captain for a reason, and even with all of that, he still calmly stood there and ordered his men to prepare for attack.
What made the fear slide to his chest the most was that he felt the pressure coming from him, and he knew Vale was an Errant Knight, which should not have been possible because, from the information they gathered, he was only a Squire months ago!
That type of growth is terrifying.
He maintained his calm voice. "Get out of here, Vale. You would be dead already if not for the Clan Leader already saying you are to be a guest at the funeral."
He took a step forward when he saw Vale flinch, his voice gaining confidence. "I say you hurry back before the body rots. The Clan won’t spend that much gold to preserve the body of a servant."
Vale’s face shuttered. It was like seeing a raging sea suddenly turn calm and silent. The only thing that burned was his eyes. They shone with a feverish taint. "You really shouldn’t have said that."
His voice was as dry as the desert winds, scorching.
He raised his hand and gently placed his palm flat on the shield.
Captain Orin frowned. "What are you...!!"
His hand turned molten red in seconds, and the shield twisted and screeched as Vale poured liquid essence directly into it.
Captain Orin’s eyes widened. Knights could use their essence in raw form—it was how enchanters worked, after all. It was also how enchanted tools and artifacts were used.
Not many people used it for fighting like that. It was simply too expensive and wasteful. But Vale was using it as if it was nothing.
Symbols on the ship flared to life, humming fast as they felt the heat of the attack. The core drew more essence to supplement the shield that Vale was destroying.
Captain Orin knew that would only buy more time because Vale was destroying the shield almost faster than it could be repaired. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This was the first time he had seen an Errant Knight single-handedly try to fight a ship.
Unfortunately for Vale, the flying ship wasn’t alone.
The two ships on the sides fired a beam of condensed essence that cut through the air with a whine and crossed the distance fast. But instead of cutting into the flesh of a human, the attack slammed into dark material with glowing red lines.
The Commander’s Tower.
Captain Orin stared in shock at the tower that now floated in front of him. It had appeared out of nowhere and absorbed Vale as if it was sucking in the light.
Of course, he knew about enchanted towers. They were the lesser version of flying ships, made to fight all over a battlefield. But somehow, he felt as if the one he was staring at was as strong, if not stronger, than his ship.
He gritted his teeth. "Full power!"
The ship shuddered. Poles extended out of the sides and turned to the tower, but before it could fire, the sky fell.
That was what it felt and looked like. The clouds fell, cascading down— a heavy downpour of water that slammed into Vale’s tower and yanked him away from the place.
Captain Orin was surprised, but he didn’t let his essence go to waste, so he stopped it from firing. "What the...?"
Part of the water that shoved the tower away condensed into a figure standing atop a water platform. Flagbearer Pomora turned towards the ship, her eyes falling like the weight of the sea as they landed on him. "Captain Orin, this is the Athrimir borderland, and I will tell you to refrain from insulting its Commander. If you wish to live, that is."
Orin stopped himself from pointing out that the Clan recognized no Commander, but he wished to live, so he kept his mouth shut and bowed. "As you say, Master Knight Pomora."
Pomora turned, but Orin hurriedly called her back. "The Clan Leader instructed me to tell you that you must follow me back to the Clan."
She turned back, and her face showed her irritation. "Then you will leave when we are ready. You can make yourself right at home. The borderland is big."
He watched her go, and his face twitched. Behind him, he heard a low croaking grin and a voice that said, "That didn’t go well."
☆☆☆
Vale finally calmed down, but that was after he was dragged into a building by the two Flagbearers, and he did his best to shove his emotions out of the way so he could think logically.
It was hard. Because all Vale could think about was ripping Captain Orin’s body limb by limb and then scattering it before he pounced on the other Knights with him and turned them all to ashes—before he dealt with his stepbrother.
Before, Vale wanted to kill his brother for sure. It was needed for him to claim the position of the Clan Leader and hold it. But now, all he wanted was to make him feel unimaginable pain.
Cleir was dead. His almost-mother, who had taken care of him since he took his first breath and his real mother died. Officially, she was his maidservant, but she was much more than that.
He remembered how she had starved herself and pleaded with his father not to kill him. How she had treated him like her real child. She had shown him what his own father never did.
Vale sat there in a lotus position, alone. He had sent everyone out so he could process things alone. Thrain had drawn the battle line in the most bloody way, and Vale was willing to answer him with the rage of a Forbidden Knight.
