MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 749: Gift

Anthony sat calmly with a faint smile gracing his face, utterly composed as he watched the Vampire’s features contort. He could now clearly see the Second Supreme Monarch’s burning rage and seething hatred twisting across his expression.

The Second Supreme Monarch’s blood-red eyes shifted, locking onto Anthony. Madness boiled behind those crimson irises as they met the serenely calm sky-blue ones that Anthony possessed.

”It seems you’ve found the gift I left for you, Second Supreme,” Anthony finally spoke. His words were slow, deliberate, almost teasing, carrying the poised demeanor of a cosmic emperor who looked down upon creation itself.

At his words, several ears perked, attention sharpening instantly. ’Gift?’ they all thought, curiosity stirring within them. What gift was he referring to? After all, Anthony and the Second Supreme Monarch had supposedly just met at this very moment.

’Did they meet outside of this place?’ they wondered in unison. Although none of the other Supreme Monarchs fully understood the underlying situation, they were far from fools. Their minds churned, each calculating rapidly, and they all arrived at the same silent conclusion: the Second Supreme Monarch had already made a move against Anthony after the incident in which he lost his arm.

As Anthony’s words faded, a titanic wave of aura exploded from the Second Supreme Monarch in devastating force. The cosmic air shrieked in protest as though scorched by a primordial flame, space itself trembling with growing madness, warping like fragile glass on the verge of shattering. His presence roared forth, a force capable of felling solar systems, of shattering worlds without mercy. A dark-red wave of aura filled the air, growing thicker with every passing heartbeat, viciously oppressive, as though ready to annihilate every life present within the hidden realm.

But none of the Supreme Monarchs truly reacted to his overwhelming display of power. They simply sat in silence, unfazed. The Second Supreme Monarch’s outburst only served to confirm their suspicions.

At the side, Michael’s hand rose ever so slowly, shifting towards the sword hanging at his waist, ready to draw it without a fraction of hesitation if necessary.

Anthony, however, did not flare his own aura in response. He simply sat, relaxed and smiling faintly, observing the Second Supreme Monarch as if watching a child throw a tantrum.

”What do you mean by gift, Anthony?” the Fifth Supreme Monarch, Collins, asked, his voice calm as still waters. But to those who knew him well, this calm was nothing but the silence before a storm, his storm.

”Hooo... It seems we are in for a little story then,” Anthony replied with a composed smile, as though he were enjoying every moment of this unfolding confrontation.

At those words, the Second Supreme Monarch’s aura surged even higher. The stars above trembled violently, flickering as though they would crack and detonate with apocalyptic force. Yet still, none of the Supreme Monarchs moved to stop him. They too wanted to hear what Anthony had to say.

”You see,” Anthony began, his voice steady and crisp, ”after you all left for the avenging mission against the Demon Monarchs, a mission was issued by a Warlord at Military Base Alpha-9. The Forsaken Cult Purging Mission, which I believe all of you are familiar with. My team and I were deployed as the first wave of soldiers, tasked with infiltrating the Forsaken Cult headquarters and opening portals for the rest of the troops to arrive in formation, catching the cult off guard and initiating the purge.”

He spoke plainly, but his words carried weight, echoing through the hidden realm like the toll of a celestial bell.

”But, to my surprise,” Anthony continued, pausing as though for effect, ”a fellow soldier, a Vampire, obstructed my team and me on our way to the Forsaken Cult headquarters and instantly attacked us with the clear intent to kill. He was...” Anthony paused once more, letting silence sharpen the moment like a drawn blade, ”...a Warlord from Military Base Alpha-2. A direct descendant of the Second Supreme Monarch.”

The air grew colder. Minds that had previously speculated now came to a complete halt, seized by the gravity of his words. Although they had already suspected that the Second Supreme Monarch had taken action after his humiliating loss, none of them expected that he had sent a Warlord, a near-Supreme-level existence, after Anthony.

Many gazes immediately shifted toward the Second Supreme Monarch, who now sat with an expression so dark it could drown stars. He did not speak a word in his defense. His aura continued to flare violently, leaking madness into the air, yet still he remained silent upon his cosmic throne.

Before any could speak further, three immense waves of presence thundered across the hidden realm like divine judgment.

The stars above flickered violently as heavenly lightning began to crackle in the void, coiling like serpents of judgment, as though the heavens themselves were contemplating whether to smite mortals for their arrogance.

Mana trembled, space constricted sharply, tightening with every passing moment as though reality itself wished to fold inwards and swallow all life within the realm.

Sword Intent surged outward like a silent tempest, ripping through space with shredding force, carrying an unspoken promise to obliterate anything and everything that dared to stand before its master.

The three presences, Michael, Mitchelle, and Collins, instantly dwarfed the Second Supreme Monarch’s aura, suppressing it into insignificance, like the raging of a child before an ancient storm.

But before even they could act, Anthony’s voice cut through the tension, calm and unhurried.

”And of course,” he said, his tone quiet yet absolute, ”I had my revenge.”

At those words, the gathered gazes shifted away from the Second Supreme Monarch and returned to Anthony.

”The revenge was the gift I mentioned,” Anthony continued. ”I captured the Vampire Warlord alive. Using him as a link, I tracked every remaining descendant of the Second Supreme Monarch and... I wiped them all out. Without sparing a single one of them.”

He spoke without remorse, without hesitation.

He had no intention of hiding that he had exterminated millions of the Second Supreme Monarch’s bloodline. Why should he?

Silence followed. Heavy, suffocating silence.

The Supreme Monarchs knew well just how vast the Second Supreme’s lineage was, his descendants numbered in the millions across various sectors and bases. Yet Anthony had hunted every last one of them and ended them without hesitation.

It finally became clear why the Second Supreme Monarch’s fury bordered on madness, why he refused to back down even before his peers. Who among them would not go mad with rage after such a calamity?

”ANTHONY!!!”

The Second Supreme Monarch finally snapped. His roar tore through the air like a blade through silk, sharp and thunderous. In a single motion, his body blurred into a streak of crimson light, claws extended, tearing through void as he lunged directly toward Anthony’s forehead with murderous intent.