1789 Too Late

The gates flew up like artillery shells, falling in the distance with a deafening boom. At that moment, all the Florer family members that had been scrambling behind the gates froze, looking toward Leonel at the same time.

They knew well how good their defenses were. It should have taken an entire troop of powerful warriors to even damage it. How could just a single person not only burst through it, but even do so with such force that the gates flew from their hinges like that?

Fear took deep root within them even as Cherie, Seaward and Rosellia all charged out from the depths of their family estate, their eyes widening when they landed on Leonel. Although they hadn't personally been there to see this young man back then, how could they not learn of the truth from others by this point?

Leonel had been able to kill Belize at the Fifth Dimension, but now.. now he was already in the Sixth Dimension. Just what kind of monster had he become?

The three head elders smiled bitterly in their hearts. They never thought that they wouldn't even get the chance to make the hard choice. Just when they thought they had time, their worst fears became a reality almost instantly. Even if they laid down their lives to battle Leonel right this moment, would it even change anything?

The strongest among them, Cherie, was only at Tier 6 of the Sixth Dimension, the other two were still at Tier 5. They didn't feel like they stood a single chance.

Leonel continued to walk forward. His steps were absolutely silent, but for some reason they felt as loud and powerful gongs in their heads.

Cherie sighed. "Is it necessary to take things this far, Imperial Prince? Our family offended yours once in the past, but we haven't crossed any lines since then. Doesn't Earth need more allies now?"

Leonel gazed toward Cherie. His eyes couldn't help but narrow. When he looked toward this woman, he couldn't muster up any emotions outside of goodwill, she looked too kind, too fragile, too warm. But that was exactly why Leonel immediately put his guard up, there was absolutely no reason why he, who had such good control over himself, should be unable to make logical deductions about a person's character. At the very least, he should be able to make assessments deeper than what he could see at a skin deep level.

Leonel's eyes shifted toward the white dove on her shoulder, his expression becoming expressionless once more.

"Have you been?" Leonel asked lightly. "Nine days ago at Planet Vultrix. 17 days ago at the EU Moon System. 22 days ago Pro-Lax Moon System. 27 days ago at the Raytrize Asteroid System. These are just incidents within the last month where your family has launched an assault against others within Ascension Empire territory."

The expressions of the three elders changed. Although they hadn't been personally a part of those operations, they knew of them. Each one of them had targeted the Midas and Radix families, dealing them huge losses. They had had many more planned, but the news of the destruction of the four families had stopped them in their tracks.

Never had they thought that the Ascension Empire had paid so much attention to them. Could it be that they never stood a chance right from the very beginning? historical

What these three didn't know was that the Ascension Empire had, indeed, not had any time to worry about them. Instead, this was just information gathered by the networks of the Etching Metal Organization, an organization the vast majority had no idea existed, and for those that might have an inkling, it was only that.. suspicions.

Let alone the Florer family, Leonel had detailed analysis of the micro and macro movements of every family and organization within Earth's territories.

Cherie didn't know how to respond to Leonel's words. If before they had plausible deniability, the specifics of Leonel's words made it obvious that their denial would mean nothing, and even further.. that he likely had proof.

The head elders smiled bitterly and the atmosphere fell into solemnity.

At that moment, a laughter echoed through the quiet.

Leonel slowly turned his head toward a building covered in foliage in the distance. He had noticed this young man long ago, but he had simply made the assumption that he was just another member of the Florer family. He wasn't actively scanning everyone, after all, he couldn't be expected to recognize all of their faces as he had never been here before.

However, the moment he paid attention to this young man, Leonel realized that his soul was different compared to everyone else here. He knew immediately that he wasn't related to the Florer family.

When Leonel realized this, he became more serious about scanning the air, his powerful Internal Sight surging through the region.

"Two.. Five.. Six of them including him. Alright."

The young man was caught off guard by the fact that Leonel immediately turned his attention from him. Leonel had an eerie calmness about him. But, what shocked him even more was what came after this.

"I haven't killed any members of the Three Finger Cult in a long while. Why don't you stop laughing and draw your blade. If you don't, I won't give you another chance to."

The expression of the young man and the other five changed almost immediately. They never thought that Leonel would be able to actually name their organization so casually. How could he even tell?

For the current Leonel, such a feat was all too easy. Scanning a person's soul told you a lot more about them than just generally scanning their bodies. With just a look, Leonel could feel the familiar aura of a Lineage Factor that he, himself, had, and these people obviously weren't from his Morales, Luxnix or Fawkes families.

In that case, there was only one explanation.

Leonel finally took his hands out of his pockets and flipped a palm to reveal the radiant White Lion bow.

"Too late. Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

By the time Leonel's words echoed, the twang of his bowstring had already reached their ears.