Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1772: Ruthless Cut

“What if sis finds out?!” Loki snapped.

Within the divine royal family of Titan World, Loki had always been the most doted upon.

Still, he was also afraid of his sister.

Hela cared for him, yes—but she did not indulge him the way their mother, Andaelle, did.

If this were exposed, not even Loki would escape without facing any consequences.

At best, he would be sent back to Titan World and forced to spend five hundred years staring at a wall in reflection.

Seeing Loki so flustered, Thor chuckled inwardly.

He did not tease his younger brother. Instead, he reassured him, “Relax. Before I left, I saw the Sky God go to find her. They’re likely discussing the Titan Legion’s upcoming campaign. She won’t be done anytime soon.”

The Sky God was one of Titan World’s more prominent deities, a peak Rank Six powerhouse and one of Hela’s trusted right-hand subordinates.

When Hela led the elite Titan Legion to invade the Grand Eye Demon World, the Sky God had been the most capable Rank Six under her command.

Still, no one understood Hela better than Thor and Loki.

They knew their sister would never rest. Once the star domains around the Grand Eye Demon World were stabilized, she would lead her legions again—this time toward the Gallant Federation’s star domain!

The brothers had already planned their next moves.

Thor intended to seek out their father, Odin, and join the legions under his command.

Loki, meanwhile, might take shelter in the Grand Elven World, which maintained good relations with Titan World. Alternatively, he could spend some time serving under their aunt Bev’s command.

Either way, the two of them were determined to avoid their sister for a while.

It was just one Golden Apple. Hela would not possibly hunt them down over that... right? Once she cooled down, they could simply return.

Thor’s explanation via transmitted voice finally drew a long sigh of relief from Loki.

But Thor’s smugness did not last long. Loki pointed at the Golden Apple in front of him.

Thor frowned slightly in confusion.

Its smooth, pale white-gold sheen looked just like the ones he had eaten before.

He had consumed plenty of Golden Apples and could immediately tell this one was genuine.

Loki then turned it around, revealing the bite mark.

That was when Thor’s expression instantly contorted.

“That’s...” Thor froze, momentarily at a loss for words.

The brothers’ strange behavior, especially Thor’s startled expression, made Sein look at them with suspicion.

“Something feels... a little off,” Sein said calmly as he studied the pair.

“What could possibly be wrong? You’re overthinking it, Master Sein. Let’s wrap this up quickly!” Thor said hastily, pulling Loki aside as he stepped in to handle the deal himself.

Sein narrowed his eyes at him. “I don’t think we can proceed at the original price.”

“This is an imperfect Golden Apple. Its skin has been damaged, and its life essence will greatly diminish as a result. Purchasing it in this condition would be a loss for me,” he continued.

It never crossed Sein’s mind that a certain overlord had taken a bite out of the apple. He simply assumed either Loki or Thor had helped themselves.

He was not particularly bothered by the imperfection. The apple would most likely be refined into potions anyway.

When dealing in treasures of this rarity, one could not afford to be overly picky.

When Sein proposed lowering the price, surprisingly, Thor and Loki did not argue. Instead, they asked bluntly, “What price can you offer?”

Their eagerness to offload the Golden Apple only made Sein even calmer.

He studied the two brothers, glanced at the apple once more, and said, “One hundred and fifty million magicoins.”

It was a ruthless cut—half of the previously discussed three hundred million!

Sein budget had been two hundred million, but this apple had been bitten.

The offer of one hundred and fifty million was also meant to test their reaction.

In truth, the missing bite accounted for less than one-eighth of the fruit.

No matter how one looked at it, Sein would be on the winning side of this deal.

Upon hearing the price, Thor and Loki merely exchanged a look and accepted without hesitation.

This time, it was Sein who was caught off guard.

As Thor eagerly moved to assess the technological secret treasure fragments Sein had brought, Sein raised a hand.

“Wait! I still feel like I am the one taking the loss here,” he said.

***

The Golden Apple, originally priced at three hundred million magicoins, was ultimately sold to Sein for one hundred and twenty-five million.

If Lorianne, Feylis, and the others were to hear about this, they would likely be shocked all over again.

What Sein paid the brothers was not energy crystals or magicoins.

Instead, he handed over numerous technological secret treasure fragments he had collected from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s secret realm.

The origin law energies within those fragments had already been absorbed by the Magic Cube. What remained of value was only their material composition and the technological principles within them.

Since the cube had fully recorded their structure, these fragments held limited value to Sein.

Still, they would undoubtedly attract significant interest once introduced to the Magus Alliance market.

Magus World’s alchemists and mechanics, along with technological planar civilizations within the alliance, would all be eager buyers.

Sein valued the fragments at one hundred and twenty-five million magicoins—still leaving Thor and Loki a healthy margin of profit.

With some effort, the brothers could likely resell them for two hundred million magicoins without much difficulty.

Take the Norman Federation, for example. As a long-standing technological civilization within the Magus Alliance, it would certainly be interested in these things!

Moreover, as a close collaborator with powers such as the Alveroth Empire, it could easily afford such a purchase.

The Norman Federation was far wealthier than Beastmen World.

All in all, the transaction left both sides satisfied.

The only thing that puzzled Sein was how quickly Thor and Loki left afterward. They did not even linger for polite conversation before running away.

“I look forward to our next collaboration!” Sein called out as Thor flew off.

Thor did not even turn back. He merely waved in acknowledgment.

Not long after that, his transmitted voice finally reached Sein.

“Ahem... about that Golden Apple. We obtained it through... somewhat questionable means. I’m not sure whether it might bring you trouble. In any case, it would be wise for you to hide yourself for a while.”

At least he was honest enough to tell Sein that much after the deal was done.

Sein remained where he was, staring blankly at the Golden Apple in his hand.