In Mbutan, inside a private casino room that sprawled across several streets of the capital.
Bang! A fat middle-aged man was kicked several meters away, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He didn't dare show the slightest anger; instead, he crawled forward on his knees, face full of terror.
He knelt before a man seated on a red leather chair—cold-faced, wearing a Platinum coat, long golden hair cascading down.
Three gold teardrop earrings of increasing size adorned each ear, every finger glittering with gem-set rings.
"Thirty billion blue star coins blown, and you still couldn't land the Overseer seat—raising a damn dog would've been more useful." The man's eyes flashed murder at the obese figure.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sensing the killing intent, the fat man frantically kowtowed, blood smearing his face as he babbled, "Master Huo, they cheated—public opinion, fake propaganda. I'd have won otherwise—please, one more chance!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! He kept knocking his head open, blood spraying, yet never stopped, mechanically pounding the floor.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Huo Tian narrowed his eyes, fingers drumming the armrest, lost in thought.
Behind him, a haughty 1.7-metre woman in a black sheath dress spoke up. "Master Huo, thirty billion is spent—killing him's a waste. But that Anuo Nasha who stole our seat must be dealt with."
For years the Darth Group had corroded Mbutan, buying off swathes of top officials.
Just as Huo Tian—after all this cultivation—was ready to prop up a puppet...
A strongwoman appeared, rallying crowds with slogans of food and homes for all, squeezing them out.
Huo Tian gave a cold smile. "Ya Tong, contact Anuo Nasha—offer her a chance to be our hound. Refuse, and arrange an 'accident'."
The proud Ya Tong behind him inclined her head. "Understood."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
At that moment the door knocked; it opened to reveal a close-cropped, eye-patched 1.8-metre man striding in.
"Master Huo, Anna Country's Base One's been hit—intruders wiped out everyone except the research staff!"
Huo Tian froze, incredulous. "Someone dares hijack my people on my turf?"
"Any ID on the perps?" Ya Tong asked the one-eyed man.
Huo Tian's eyes blazed; after rampaging unchecked through three small nations, this was a first.
"Yes. We found a phone left in an escape tunnel—video meant for us." The man's face twisted with rage.
He handed the phone over; a fifteen-second clip was cued up.
Huo Tian tapped play, Ya Tong stepping behind him to watch.
The footage showed the forest outside Base One.
A dishevelled, square-jawed young man in a suit held the phone selfie-style, pointing at the woods.
"Huo whatever-your-name-is from Darth Group—Huo Tian, Huo Di, Huo Ren—listen up."
"The people inside? The Monster Association's claiming them. Swallow your objections. If I hear you squeak, I'll kill the small-time poser hiding in these backwater nations."
He flashed a savage grin and slashed a thumb across his throat.
Bang!
"Argh—screw you!" Huo Tian's face purpled; he smashed the phone to shards on the floor.
A Level Five Awakener, controller of three nations through the Darth Group—threatened by some nobody.
Worse, the brat had slaughtered his men, trampled his prestige, insulted him to his face.
Furious, Huo Tian sprang up and kicked the obese man before him.
Bang! In his rage the kick exploded the fat man, blood and flesh showering the One-Eyed Dragon—who didn't flinch.
Both the One-Eyed Dragon and Ya Tong seethed with equal fury.
"Master Huo, the Monster Association's gone too far—one Monster rivalling Level Five and they strut like kings. We must teach them a lesson!" said the One-Eyed Dragon.
To every Awakened, the Monster Association was infamous.
From the Nanwu Country's Liuyang incident to worldwide Monster outbreaks, every power craved the serum that could turn humans into Monsters.
Their intel still placed the Association's peak at the old King of the Deep Sea benchmark.
Barely any time had passed—nobody believed their strength could leap so far.
Huo Tian roared, "Mobilise every intelligence asset—track any Monster activity nearby. I'll catch their underlings and squeeze out the location of their rat nest!"
"Understood!" One-Eyed Dragon and Ya Tong answered in unison.
Meanwhile, in a Liyang Country villa, Jiang Yan read the message Wei Gaocheng had sent.
"The Monster Association hasn't pulled a big stunt in ages; now they churn out Monsters daily and get treated like some trash-tier outfit," he murmured, lips curving upward.
The subordinates he deployed to create Monsters had grown from a dozen to over a hundred. If caught, Ghost Buddha instantly converts them into Buddhist thralls that launch suicide strikes on every living thing around.
Han Qi stood silently behind him. Hearing Jiang Yan, he asked, "President, are you planning to stir something in the Darth Group's three-nation backyard?"
"Of course—otherwise all this buildup would be for nothing." Jiang Yan's eyes gleamed.
He aimed for something huge—something eclipsing even the Gray Fog Incident in Tizi Country!