Ch. 2381..2390

Chapter 2381 The Sites Are Man Made

“These ancient sites are found by Garrison Industry. White Tiger and Robed Slayer ran into their chance encounters in this place, and they came back with the techniques that made them famous.”

Asura was introducing the ancient site to Levi, but then someone said they found something, so Levi had to stop Asura.

“Wait for me right here. I’ll go inside.”

Levi asked them to stay outside, since he didn’t want them to know too much about what was happening.

After he went in, he found something important. Something that might shake the nation.

This trace… This is man-made. Modern man-made sites.

Anyone could notice that something was off if they took the time to take a closer look. It was obvious that this site was man-made. Someone took the trouble to create a whole site and installed it with a ton of treasure, drugs, and techniques. Problem was, it looked modern, so the site wasn’t even ancient to begin with.

After Garrison Industry found the site, everyone was overexcited at the thought of getting their hands on unimaginable treasure and technique, they forgot to have a closer inspection on the site.

Because of that, they didn’t notice the problem with it. On top of that, there were ancient sites popping up over the world back then, so it was normal that nobody would suspect a thing.

But the most important thing was that the world was at war back then. Countless people died every day when the war went on. Everyone was desperate to get stronger, and the ancient sites showed up at that convenient moment.

Everyone grew stronger at a blistering pace after getting their hands on the treasure and techniques within the sites. Since then, all they cared about was the things in the sites that could power them up. Nobody cared if the site was genuinely ancient.

Everyone was blinded by the shiny things before them, they didn’t realize that most of the ancient sites were made in modern times.

Levi had already theorized that Lab of Gods was behind the creation of this new era, and now he had concrete evidence to back up his claim. He had evidence that the sites were created and controlled by modern humans.

He took a deep breath. It was fortunate that he noticed this problem when Maya Industries analyzed the problems that existed within the new era’s technique, or he wouldn’t have noticed something was off.

The public might not believe it if he released the news now, but if they found out by themselves that all the sites were fake, the whole world would be shaken. A new crisis might even befall mankind just because of the news.

But most importantly, the mastermind would be alarmed by the news, since they’d know that their plans had been found out. No matter who the mastermind was, Levi did not want that to happen.

I’ll have to keep this piece of information a secret for now. Nobody must find out about this.

He told everyone on the site, “From now on, nobody is allowed to tell anyone about the secrets of this site. This is punishable by death.”

After he came out of the site, Asura and the others asked, “Did you find anything, Your Highness?”

Levi shot them a glare, “Don’t ask anything that you aren’t supposed to.”

Everyone was shaken up by that glare. Levi knew they wouldn’t say a word to anyone now that he managed to scare them into submission.

After leaving that place, Levi went to a few other sites and observed them closely to see if his guess was correct. In the end, the results proved that his theory was right. The sites were man-made.

He gasped again and sent Death Fiend and the others to search all the sites around the world. What he wanted was the most detailed data they could give him.

Levi was confident that he’d reveal the big secret behind the sites if he kept investigating.

Sh*t. Now that I know the sites are manmade, that means they must stop practicing the techniques, or they will really end up dead.

But they wouldn’t listen to him no matter what he said. He wanted to talk about this using his Dark Emperor persona, but that wouldn’t be appropriate as it might cause a lot of trouble.

What should I do? Levi was in a dilemma.

At the same time, after he went back, the divine brigadier took a special medicine to heal himself. Even though he was severely injured by that punch, the medicine patched him up quickly enough that nobody realized he was injured.

On top of that, if nobody knew better, they’d think he felt more powerful than even before he was injured. It was obvious he didn’t want to show up at The Cardinal Hall injured. He had left the place for decades, so coming back injured would look bad for him.

A short while later, the divine brigadier came to The Cardinal Hall’s gates.

 

Chapter 2382 The Invincible Divine Brigadier

But before he could get in, the guards stopped him. “Hold it. Who goes there?”

“I am…”

Just before the divine brigadier could answer, someone ran up to him and bellowed, “Sir! It’s good to see you!”

And then the man bowed before the divine brigadier fervently.

“The divine brigadier? Is that true? He’s back? He’s really back?”

“The divine brigadier is back!”

“He’s back!”

Roars of welcome swept through The Cardinal Hall, and everyone heard it loud and clear. When they knew the divine brigadier had come back, everyone erupted into cheers.

Even the fighters in solitary training came out to welcome him.

Most of the time, only four of the twelve divine generals were on duty, but since the divine brigadier had returned, all twelve came out to see him.

The whole reason they went into solitary training in the first place was to await the divine brigadier’s return.

Even the ancient fighters showed up, and on top of that, a lot of the fighters of Eragon came to The Cardinal Hall as well.

This was the biggest event of The Cardinal Hall for a long time to come. Back then, a lot of people objected when the divine brigadier said he’d leave for solitary training. But that would take a long time, and he was The Cardinal Hall’s leader.

It’d be akin to a king leaving his empire for years. That was impermissible, and it was the same for The Cardinal Hall. The leader had to be around to keep the place safe, but the divine brigadier insisted on leaving. He wanted to get stronger and reach new heights.

That was why he left everything behind and went into training. More power. But before his departure, he left a message. “When I return, I shall be the strongest man on earth.”

Now that he finally made his return, everyone thought he was already invincible. Why else did he come back then?

“Greetings, sir!”

“Long live the divine brigadier!”

Everyone knelt before him and cheered, celebrating his return. The divine brigadier was their leader and the strongest fighter among them. With him at the helm again, nothing could stop The Cardinal Hall.

“We have long awaited this, divine brigadier.”

The divine generals were shedding tears of joy. When he left back then, they knew he might never come back, for it was almost an impossible task to become the strongest fighter on earth.

He could spend his whole life chasing the top and still end up with a few fighters rivaling him in strength. No matter the era, nobody had the right to call themselves invincible. Not when there might be a lot of fighters out there rivaling them in strength.

There was always someone more powerful out there. It was an insurmountable task.

Everyone was already prepared for the divine brigadier to never return. That was why they raised Edmund up. They wanted him to take his father’s place and become The Cardinal Hall’s new leader.

The Cardinal Hall spent a lot of resources raising Edmund up. Even the divine brigadier left a lot of things for him before he left, just so his son could get stronger.

The place where Edmund went into solitary training was where Skyward Sword was sealed. Yes, the divine brigadier did that on purpose. He wanted to make Edmund stronger using the sword’s Solaris Energy.

They made all those preparations because they realize the divine brigadier might never return. It had never occurred to them that the divine brigadier would make his eventual, majestic return one day.

Everyone had been waiting fervently, even though the chances were slim. However, now that the divine brigadier had returned, they knew he was already the strongest man on earth.

Well, he was not exactly the strongest. But at least he was the strongest among all the fighters he knew, including those who were in hiding.

Because he knew he was already the strongest among them, the divine brigadier made his return. That was his vow, and it was time to fulfill it.

“Father!”

Edmund came to kneel before his father, and tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. Then, he hugged his father tight.

“I have awaited you for a long time now!” Edmund cried like a child.

“Father!”

A young lady showed up, and she was in tears as well. This lady was none other than the divine brigadier’s youngest daughter.

“Welcome back, divine brigadier, sir!”

“Congratulations on your return! May your reign live long!”

Everyone in The Cardinal Hall sent their heartiest congratulations to the divine brigadier.

Excitedly, Edmund asked, “Father, now that you’re back, does that mean you’re the strongest man on earth?”

The divine brigadier almost slipped and fall.

I just got beaten, you brat.

 

Chapter 2383 Bad Son

But then even his daughter added, “Yeah, Father. You said you wouldn’t come back until you become the strongest man on earth! And you never go back on your promises. Look at that. My father, the strongest person on earth.”

She looked proud of her father, and Edmund was the same as well. Or even more so than his sister. After all, he had dreamed of the day where his father became the strongest man on earth. And now his dream had finally come true. His father had become the strongest.

He could imagine himself doing whatever he wanted without any fear or fervor. Edmund had to look out for a lot of people before this, worried that they might attack him once they had the advantage. But now that his father was back, he didn’t have to fear anyone anymore.

Ahem! Ahem!

The divine brigadier kept coughing as his son kept blabbering on. He started trembling, and eventually, he started to shake.

Every time they said he was the strongest man on earth, he’d have to cough. In the end, he couldn’t stop coughing. His face was red, and his tears kept streaming down his cheeks.

“What’s wrong, Father?”

“What’s wrong, divine brigadier, sir?”

Everyone quickly gathered around and asked him what was happening.

“I… Ahem… I’m fine…” He kept coughing despite saying that. Nobody had ever imagined seeing an invincible warrior like the divine brigadier coughing so violently, but now they were seeing that for themselves.

He’s not gonna die from the coughs, right?

If anyone found out about this, they’d probably laugh their socks off at how ridiculous that was.

Invincible? Yeah, I thought so too before I came back.

If he compared his current strength against all the fighters in the new era, his power would be unmatched.

After all, he managed to defeat Dark Emperor easily, and she was number one on the Divine Leaderboard. In theory, he was the strongest fighter in the world.

The Divine Leaderboard was the absolute authority in the world of fighters. Dark Emperor managed to beat everyone easily, so she was undefeatable, theoretically speaking.

But even so, Dark Emperor lost out to him for many years, so by extension, he was the strongest fighter on earth, not her.

The divine brigadier knew all the fighters in Erudia, including the ones in the shadows, Eragon, and The Cardinal Hall.

But he was still the strongest even when he was compared to them, so he decided to come back to The Cardinal Hall.

Since he heard that Dark Emperor had made her appearance in Erudia, he went to look for her. To his surprise, he actually managed to come face to face with her, but she defeated him with a single punch.

He was no match for her. She was far more powerful than him in terms of strength and speed, and he couldn’t even find any openings to defeat her.

In the end, he admitted defeat, and that was the most humiliating day in his life.

He had been a prodigy since he was a child, and everyone had high hopes on him. All his life, he only wanted to be the strongest fighter around, to stand on the top of this world.

But he lost. Horribly. He was powerless against his old enemy, and he couldn’t even begin to describe how disappointed he was in himself.

Strongest? What a joke! I almost got myself killed the moment I came back! I would still be severely injured if not for my medicine.

“Alright, enough. I’m fine,” the divine brigadier quickly told them after he snapped out of it.

“Good to know! I’ll tell everyone about your return! And they’ll all know you’re now undefeatable. Let’s see how they like that!” Edmund immediately declared.

It was The Cardinal Hall’s biggest news over the last few decades, and the biggest news of Erudia. Of course, he’d spread it as far and wide as possible.

But the moment he heard that, the divine brigadier coughed and staggered backward again, this time almost falling down.

Undefeatable? Can you stop with that already? Undefeatable, my foot! And what did you just say? Do you want to tell everyone about it? Are you dumb?

The divine brigadier could feel his sanity snap, and he almost had a heart attack on the spot.

This stupid boy! He’s as dumb as bricks! Why did he have to say that?

That was the most humiliating day of his life, but everyone thought it was the best day ever. To make things worse, they kept bringing it up, and they were even going to tell the world about it.

If they actually did that, the divine brigadier would die from embarrassment.

Can you guys just stop? For god’s sake, just stop!

And then, someone from The Manifest Court asked, “Oh, did you just come out of a fight, divine brigadier?”

The divine brigadier really felt like killing himself now.

And there they go again.

“I… Well… Yes, I did,” he admitted to it. After all, he couldn’t hide it from The Manifest Court even if he wanted to.

 

Chapter 2384 The Most Explosive Day

The person from The Manifest Court said, “I can see that the battle was fierce.”

The divine brigadier nodded. “Yes. I met a powerful fighter.”

His daughter was surprised that her father actually called another fighter powerful. “You got into a big battle right after you finished training? That must have been one powerful foe.”

Edmund, in all his stupidity, added, “If I’m correct, you must have met Dark Emperor, right? Number one on the Divine Leaderboard?”

God f*cking dammit. Are you a seer or something? You just had to make the right guess, didn’t you? You dumb brat! You idiotic boy!

The divine brigadier felt like slapping his son. Every time he was about to forget about that fight, Edmund just had to tear into it.

The divine generals agreed, “Sir, we’ve heard about the feud between you two. You’ve banned him from entering Erudia, but he has been showing up frequently in North Hampton.

“I’m sure he’s the first one you want to get rid of, sir. You just fought him, didn’t you? Tell us we’re right, sir.”

The divine generals were beaming at the divine brigadier, asking him to praise them. However, their boss only wanted to slap them at the moment.

Goddammit! These idiots! Are they dumb? Why won’t they just shut the f*ck up about it?

He looked around and noticed everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

In the end, he answered sheepishly, “Yes, I just came out of a fight with Dark Emperor. Sorry, you guys had to see me in this state.”

Edmund stupidly asked again, “Father, did you defeat him then?”

His goal was simple. He wanted his father to tell him he defeated Dark Emperor. Edmund wanted everyone to know his father defeated the invincible Dark Emperor.

It wouldn’t be too big a piece of news in the past, but Dark Emperor was now put on an impossibly high pedestal. He was practically a god, but well, every single thing he did shook everyone to their core, so he was not that different from an actual god anyway.

Of course, everyone wanted to defeat him, and some didn’t really think Dark Emperor was as powerful as everyone made him out to be.

Some, like Edmund, wanted people from their own organization to beat Dark Emperor. Now that he thought his father had done it, he felt proud about it.

All that was left was getting the confirmation straight from his father’s mouth. Edmund was looking forward to it, and so was everyone else.

This was the pride of The Cardinal Hall after all.

However, on the other hand. the divine brigadier wanted to give his son a tight slap and stitch his mouth up so he wouldn’t speak ever again.

He never wanted to talk about that fight again, but Edmund just had to bring it up. Because of him, everyone was looking forward to hearing the news of victory coming from him.

If he said he lost, everyone would be crestfallen. The Cardinal Hall and even Eragon would be hit hard by the news, and it might even be humiliating for them.

The whole world will laugh at us. I cannot tell them the truth.

“Yes. I defeated Dark Emperor,” the divine brigadier lied, but he only did it to answer everyone’s expectations. He didn’t want to let them down.

Well, all I can do is pray for the best then.

Edmund was the most excited of all, and he roared with laughter. “Number one on Divine Leaderboard? He’s still no match for my father! My father’s the real god here! He’s the strongest! The most powerful! The undefeatable!”

Everyone else was delighted as well. That day was the most joyous day in The Cardinal Hall. Not only did their divine brigadier make his return, but he also defeated Dark Emperor himself.

“I need some time alone to settle a few matters,” the divine brigadier excused himself and hurried away to find somewhere to hide. God knew what else might happen if he stayed there any longer.

But the moment he had some time alone, he thought something was wrong with Dark Emperor. “That can’t be Dark Emperor.”

 

Chapter 2385 His Conjecture

Overwhelmed by his despondency, the divine brigadier overlooked a few key points. Now that he had some time alone, he realized a few things were off about Dark Emperor.

Nobody knew Dark Emperor’s true identity, but he did. Dark Emperor used to be his junior, and she loved him. However, that love was unrequited, and the divine brigadier married Edmund’s mother. Shortly after their marriage, Edmund’s mother passed away in an accident.

Back then, Dark Emperor used that opening to date the divine brigadier and had his child. However, when the divine brigadier found out that Dark Emperor was the one who killed Edmund’s mother, he almost killed her out of rage.

She was only spared because she was pregnant with their child back then. However, the divine brigadier exiled her and banned her from ever entering Erudia again. If she ever broke that rule, he would kill her.

Since then, he planted the seed of hatred in Dark Emperor, and she started creating an organization overseas to bolster her strength. She did all that just so she could come back to Erudia one day and go toe to toe with The Cardinal Hall. If that came to pass, she could talk to him on equal footing.

She would not stop at anything to achieve her goals, and the likes of Zoey were just her pawns. However, her plan failed, for Levi showed up and wiped her off the face of this earth.

The divine brigadier knew how deep Dark Emperor’s hatred ran. It was unimaginable, so he knew she’d scoff at him if she defeated him. But back then, Dark Emperor didn’t even say a word to him. The first thing ‘she’ did was attack him.

Right after she defeated him, she went away without even saying a word.

That woman’s hatred has been going on for decades. Why didn’t she say anything to me after she beat me?

Odd. Something’s off. If that’s really her, she would have been ecstatic to have beaten me in a fair fight. There’s no way she could have stayed that calm. Weird. Something’s not right with her.

Wait. Can it be that’s not the real Dark Emperor? It could have been someone else who’s wearing her mask.

Finally, the divine brigadier had a stroke of inspiration. He knew the real Dark Emperor too well. After all, she was his junior. Vengeance might grant her great power, but it was destined to be a limited one. It was impossible for her to be the strongest in the world.

In other words, he should have won against her easily.

He was right. The real Dark Emperor would have stood no chance against him. It was the absolute and undisputed truth.

And there was another thing. Dark Emperor was being more active as of current, and Sacred Organization was going around as well. That was obviously opposite to what Dark Emperor used to do.

Aside from that, Dark Emperor’s power level was off the charts. All the organizations had evaluated Dark Emperor’s strength, and they deduced that she was about on par with number two and three.

However, Dark Emperor defeated him easily. That was obviously not the kind of power anyone on the Divine Leaderboard should have.

Something’s wrong. It’s a different person. Dark Emperor is a different person now. That person I met was a fake one. That’s not Dark Emperor. The top fighter on Divine Leaderboard is not the same person everyone thinks she is.

Where did she go though, now that her place is taken? Probably the grave. Or maybe she’s in trouble.

Back when the divine brigadier was out and about, he paid a visit to Sacred Organization’s headquarters, where Levi was held in the Prison of Darkness.

He saw the prison before, and he knew there was a prisoner inside who was trying to break free from the cell. But he knew it was impossible as it was bound to be a futile attempt.

The Prison of Darkness was an invention from Erudia, so he knew just how powerful it was.

Back then, he knew Dark Emperor was on the move. When he went back to Sacred Organization’s headquarters again, Levi was already gone. The Prison of Darkness was broken, and the landscape changed, literally. When he saw that, he knew Dark Emperor was in deep trouble.

Hm, if my guess is right, the fake Dark Emperor is the probably the one who broke the Prison of Darkness. The real one is probably dead at this point.

Her killer took her mask and impersonated her. So he must be the one who I met earlier. No wonder he managed to take me down with a single punch. And he probably wasn’t even using his full force and that was why he managed to break the Prison of Darkness.

The divine brigadier gasped, and he was drenched in sweat.

 

Chapter 2386 This Trash Calls Himself Undefeatable

He’s terrifying and beyond what anyone can imagine. Now I know why Dark Emperor is so powerful. It’s not even the same person anymore! This guy can break the Prison of Darkness. Question is, who is he?

The more he thought, the scarier the truth was, and he realized that the gap between him and ‘Dark Emperor’ wasn’t just an abyss. It was probably a whole universe.

The guy destroyed the Prison of Darkness when I can’t even do that. Heck, not even a hundred of me could accomplish that. Hey, wait. There’s another question here. How did she manage to lock someone like that up? If he was already that strong before he was locked, she would have died a thousand times through. Unless…

Unless he powered up when he was in the Prison of Darkness. Unless he was weaker than her before he was locked in there. Holy sh*t. What kind of genius is that? He went from being weaker than her to a being capable of wrecking the Prison of Darkness in such a short span of time?

This is unbelievable. I don’t think I can do the same thing even if I have a whole millennium to spend. Who is that guy? Who the hell is that guy she locked up? I have to get to the bottom of this.

There was a reason he was the divine brigadier instead of anyone else. He was strong, capable, and most of all, smart. Even though he barely had any clues, he managed to make an analysis that was almost perfectly accurate.

……

Back outside, Edmund and his sister were confused about their father’s earlier reaction.

“Father’s acting weird. What’s wrong with him?”

“He should have been the strongest now that he has defeated Dark Emperor, but he didn’t seem happy. In fact, he seems tortured.

“Maybe that’s the dilemma he’s having. You guys are excited about him being the strongest man, but even he has his own frustrations. Now that he’s the strongest, he’s left with no rivals to fight with,” a divine general said.

“Yeah, you have a point. I’ll tell the world about the news then.”

Times had changed. Before this, forces like The Cardinal Hall chose to stay hidden and tried their best to not get exposed. However, now the whole world knew about their existence.

It didn’t take long for The Cardinal Hall to release the news about the divine brigadier’s return and Dark Emperor’s defeat by his hands.

The world was shocked by the news, especially when they heard the divine brigadier had defeated Dark Emperor.

The news went viral and became a hot topic of discussion.

“Holy sh*t. Dark Emperor’s defeated? That Dark Emperor? How powerful is the divine brigadier?”

“Erudia’s full of powerful fighters. No wonder it’s a forbidden area.”

“Don’t ever cross any Erudian. Do you hear me?”

……

The whole world was shaken up, but Edmund even more so. After all, his own father had become the strongest man on earth.

However, there was one person who was shocked more than anyone. It was none other than Levi.

He was the first one to know about the divine brigadier’s return, and he defeated the guy. But now the news seemed to say that his Dark Emperor persona was the one who was defeated.

Well, someone’s shameless. That guy surrendered, but now he is telling everyone he came out victorious? And now the whole da*n world says he’s the strongest man on earth.

Levi was speechless. Not even I would call myself the strongest man on earth, and a loser like you call yourself that? Dumb*ss.

I don’t know about anyone else, but my mentor is even stronger than I am. I don’t even know how powerful he is. I’m not undefeatable, and this piece of trash certainly isn’t. Levi sneered.

At the same time, the divine brigadier came back out after he was done analyzing the new Dark Emperor, but when he heard The Cardinal Hall had told the whole world that he was invincible, he fell face first onto the ground.

Everyone was shocked by that, of course.

He only lied to them so they wouldn’t get shaken up, but now they were giving him trouble. Now that they had released the news, the whole world would find out about the battle, including Dark Emperor himself.

What if he gets offended over this?

The divine brigadier was sweating buckets at the thought of that.

Sh*t. I can smell death coming for me. Goddammit, I wanna kill this brat.

“What happened, father?” Edmund couldn’t believe his father actually fell down.

What happened to him?

“I want to know something. Who’s the one Dark Emperor locked up recently?” the divine brigadier asked.

“Huh? Oh, it’s Levi,” Edmund answered, though he wondered why his father was asking that.

 

Chapter 2387 I Will Apologize To Him

Everyone answered, “Yes, that’s the guy. Levi was locked up for three years, and after he came out, he’s completely out of touch with the new era.”

“He was ranked a few thousand on the Provisional Leaderboard, but after he started practicing the new era’s technique, he improved a lot and made his way up into the Divine Leaderboard. Dead last, though.”

The divine brigadier quickly asked, “Did he admit to that himself?”

“Yes. According to him, he was locked up for three years by Dark Emperor, because his wife is Dark Emperor’s disciple. I even heard that he asked his wife to cut off all ties with Dark Emperor, saying that she was being used. And he even told her Dark Emperor locked him up for three whole years.”

Everyone kept talking about the past, but the divine brigadier stopped listening. At that point, he knew his guess was right. Levi was the present Dark Emperor, and the one who broke the Prison of Darkness.

He was the top fighter in the world.

And he’s the one who broke Skyward Sword, most probably. Did it so he could save his wife. So they’re all the same person.

It didn’t take long for the divine brigadier to sort out all the mystery. Now that Levi had taken up the mask, that meant the real Dark Emperor was dead. Even though she was killed, the divine brigadier didn’t feel anything at all. If anything, he felt relieved.

He couldn’t kill her himself, but someone else did it for him. Now, his wife could finally rest in peace.

At the same time, everyone wondered why the divine brigadier asked that question.

Hmm… what is he up to?

“Why do you want to know about that, Father?” Edmund asked curiously.

“It’s none of your business!” He continued, “Levi, you say? The Crown King, I presume? And the girl’s father?”

“Yes, that’s him.” Everyone nodded.

The divine brigadier lamented, “I see. No wonder his daughter is that talented. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

That only made everyone more curious.

“Father, why are you so curious about Levi? He’s just a loser who has no talent at all. I can beat him with one finger,” Edmund scoffed.

He was one of the top ten in the Divine Leaderboard, while Levi was dead last. Judging from that, he was infinitely more powerful than Levi himself.

“You? Do you think you can beat him?” Now the divine brigadier really wanted to tear his son apart.

That guy just beat me with a single punch. He’s the strongest man on earth, not me. And you think trash like you can fight him?

“Huh?”

Edmund couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and everyone else too. After all, the divine brigadier seemed to think highly of Levi. So much so that he would criticize his own son for it.

“Dad, he’s just dead last on the Divine Leaderboard. He’s no match for me. That guy’s nothing and I have improved a lot!” Edmund defended himself. He would never admit that he was worse than a loser in front of his father.

The divine brigadier looked at him doubtfully, and Edmund knew his father disapproved of his strength.

“Yeah, that guy’s no match for me, but his daughter’s incredibly talented. I heard she gave up on all the elders’ teachings and created her own thing. On top of that, she has actually succeeded. The girl’s already as powerful as I am now.”

That was the only time Edmund was ever jealous of a child, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Forlevia was far more talented than he was. She could create a brand new path that belonged to her, but he couldn’t. He would have to admit to that.

“Yes. That child is massively talented. Nobody can compare to her.” The divine brigadier nodded.

He understood that the girl was both the future of Erudia and The Cardinal Hall, but still, that was the future, not the present.

No matter how talented she was, she could never measure up to her father.

“Where does Levi live?” the divine brigadier continued to ask.

“What? Why are you asking, Father?”

“I want to apologize to him.”

 

Chapter 2388 The Invincible King Should Raise His Head

Nobody could believe what they just heard. The moment the divine brigadier said he wanted to apologize to Levi, everyone was petrified and shocked.

Does he want to apologize? Does the divine brigadier want to apologize to Levi? Why though?

It was an impossible thing. Why should he say sorry to Levi?

“Oh, I get it. Father’s doing this because of what Dark Emperor did. If it wasn’t for her, Levi wouldn’t be locked up, and his wife wouldn’t have been used,” Edmund said. “I’m sorry, Father, but I know what’s up between you and Dark Emperor. She’s your junior, and you guys have a history.”

He thought his father was only apologizing because of what Dark Emperor did, but his father said nothing. Although, the divine brigadier was glaring at his son.

Will you shut the f*ck up? Can’t you just be quiet for once?

“Stop asking questions. Just tell me where he lives,” he demanded impatiently.

God, they are so dumb.

“His home is in North Hampton. Shall I take you there, Father?” Edmund volunteered.

The divine brigadier looked at him. “No. I’ll go alone.” But then he suddenly noticed his daughter.

He met her when he was out and about. She was an orphan, but she had talent, so the divine brigadier adopted her and sent her to The Cardinal Hall when she was a teen.

And now the girl was already twenty.

Since the divine brigadier came from the Birmingham family, he named his adopted daughter Queenie Birmingham.

“Come with me, Queenie.”

For some reason, the divine brigadier wanted his daughter to come along instead of his son. Queenie had some questions, but she followed her father anyway.

Edmund mumbled, “Father’s acting weird ever since he came back. I don’t understand what he’s doing.”

Everyone shared his sentiments as well. “Yeah. He’s already the strongest man in the world, and he defeated Dark Emperor. But for some reason, I get the feeling he’s being cautious… too cautious.”

What is going on? I don’t understand. He won, didn’t he? So why did he act like he lost the battle?

A while later, the divine brigadier and Queenie came to North Hampton and visited Levi’s home.

Zoey saw them, and she asked, “Who are you looking for?”

The divine brigadier smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Garrison. We’re from The Cardinal Hall, and we’re here for Mr. Levi Garrison.”

Queenie couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her father, the leader of The Cardinal Hall, the one who beat Dark Emperor, and the world’s strongest fighter, was being that polite to Zoey.

The Cardinal Hall would be a laughing stock if anyone found out about this, so she quickly said, “Father, you don’t have to bow to her. She’s not worthy!”

“Silence!” The divine brigadier glared at his daughter.

“I see. Come in, please.”

Zoey let them in without saying anything.

After they came to Levi’s manor, the divine brigadier asked his daughter to stay outside, while he went inside nervously.

Levi noticed him from a mile away, of course, and he wondered why the divine brigadier was here to see him.

There’s no reason for that… I didn’t even show him my face.

“Who are you? And why are you here to see me?” Levi asked on purpose.

“You don’t have to play dumb, Mr. Garrison. I know who you really are. You’re the current Dark Emperor and the one who broke the Prison of Darkness. You’re the one I ran into earlier as well. If my guess is correct, you killed the real Dark Emperor too, haven’t you?” the divine brigadier asked.

“Hm?”

Levi was surprised that the divine brigadier knew his real identity.

I guess he’s smarter than I thought. He’s the first one to figure out the truth. In fact, the whole truth. I’m impressed. This guy’s smart. He probably knows the real Dark Emperor and managed to deduce everything using that opening.

“I see. So why are you here then?” Levi smiled.

 

Chapter 2389 Divine Brigadier Becomes A Lackey

This was the second person who knew about his true power. Cyrus was the first. Death Fiend and the others knew he was strong, but they had no idea about the true extent of his powers. The divine brigadier, however, was obviously in the know.

“I’m here to apologize, Mr. Garrison. I did not authorize the spread of the news, but I admit that I kept my defeat a secret because of a selfish desire of mine. That’s why my stupid son thought I have defeated you and am now invincible.”

He bowed at Levi deeply.

Levi smiled. “Is that all? It’s fine. I don’t care about useless things like glory. Besides, nobody has the right to call themselves the strongest. This world is far more mysterious than you think it is. Nobody has the right to call themselves strongest just yet.”

At the same time, Zoey and the others found out about who the guests really were, and they were shocked.

After all, they thought the divine brigadier defeated Dark Emperor, and he was stronger than anyone else on the Divine Leaderboard. Not to mention he was the leader of The Cardinal Hall.

It was little wonder his daughter thought lowly of everyone here. A lot of people wanted to teach her a lesson in the first place, but once they knew her true identity, they said sorry and started buttering her up.

More and more people found out that the divine brigadier was in North Hampton. More specifically, in Levi’s house. The Lopezes and Blacks were exceptionally enthusiastic, and the whole family came to join in on the occasion.

Even if they couldn’t befriend the divine brigadier, at least they had to get to know him. It’d work in their favor if they told everyone that the invincible divine brigadier once came to their place.

“Why are you guys here?”

“Same reason as you guys.”

“We’re here to witness the strongest fighter.”

“Same. That’s the real number one. He defeated Dark Emperor.”

Everyone was buzzing with excitement, while Queenie thought it was amusing. She was proud of her father.

Haha, I am the daughter of the world’s strongest fighter.

A short while later, Floyd and the other disciples came, along with Sword Fiend and the Dark Angels. Even Azure Dragon, Kirin, and Levi’s friends came along.

Everyone wanted to see what the world’s strongest man looked like, so the manor was surrounded by almost a thousand people in the end.

Back in the manor, the divine brigadier told Levi about his history with Dark Emperor so Levi could be up to speed about it.

“Don’t worry. I don’t blame you. If I wanted you dead, you’d be in a casket by now.”

The divine brigadier shook with excitement. “Thank you, Maestro. I knew you wouldn’t care about trivial things like titles. If I may ask, I’ve noticed that you’re on the move. Are you looking into something? Is it about the Lab of Gods? Do you need my help?”

The divine brigadier was a smart man. He could guess what Levi was trying to do just from his recent activities alone. Not everyone could do that, so he wasn’t the boss of The Cardinal Hall for nothing. The man had power, leadership skills, and the brains to boot.

Levi smiled. I like talking to smart people.

“Yes. I’m looking into how they are linked with the changes in the new era.” He then told the divine brigadier about his theory and what he found out.

“I knew it. I knew something’s off. I’ve noticed a lot of clues here as well.”

The divine brigadier started talking about his findings with Levi. He too was looking into the Lab of Gods and found some clues that were useful for Levi’s plan.

The talk went on for half an hour. Finally, the divine brigadier said, “If you need me, I’ll be right here to help.”

“As a matter of fact, I do need your help. I have a mission for you, but I need you to finish it without anyone knowing. Though it shouldn’t be hard for someone like you. Just remember, not a soul must know about this.” Levi smiled.

Hmm… got a great underling today. Divine providence, I guess.

Nobody had expected the divine brigadier to work for Levi, not even Levi himself. But that was the reality.

 

Chapter 2390 Marrying Queenie Off

“For Erudia,” the divine brigadier accepted the mission. Levi was doing it for Erudia and the world at large. He saw no reason to refuse.

And also it was because Levi was insanely powerful.

They hit it off immediately, and the divine brigadier’s help would greatly assist Levi’s plans. Before this, it would be impossible for him to ask The Cardinal Hall for help.

Edmund was a stubborn man, so he would never agree to it. Now that his father was here, it made access a lot easier. Smart guys were easy to talk to, after all. Levi could do anything he wanted with just a single call.

“Mr. Garrison, I have a request, but…” The divine brigadier looked like he was struggling to make his request.

“What is it?” Levi was curious about the request.

It shouldn’t be that hard to talk about it, right?

“Mr…. No, the Crown King, will you marry my daughter? She’s an orphan I adopted when I was out and about. Twenty years old this year. She’s gorgeous and talented as well. Probably one of the top ten fighters on the Divine Leaderboard. Of course, she’s no match for you, but she’s not too bad.”

That was the real reason the divine brigadier brought his daughter along. When he knew about Levi’s true power, he knew he had a lot to gain by marrying Queenie off to him.

First, that meant Levi would be truly on The Cardinal Hall’s side once they were family. Secondly, Levi and Queenie’s child could be even more talented than Forlevia was, given their talent. That child would be both The Cardinal Hall and Erudia’s future.

If Levi were to marry Queenie, The Cardinal Hall and Erudia would be set for many years to come. The nation would go at least a century without encountering any major problems.

Of course, the divine brigadier wanted to help Queenie out as well. After all, she should marry the best person she could find, and Levi was the best candidate.

On the other hand, Levi was flummoxed after hearing that request.

Does he want to marry his daughter off to me? Is he mad?

He stared at the divine brigadier. “Bro, are you mad? I’m married, and my kid’s grown up now. She’s The Cardinal Hall’s future. Are you sure you aren’t joking?”

“So? You’re too conservative, Mr. Garrison. Yes, monogamy’s perfectly fine for the regular citizen, but it’s normal for people like you to have more than one wife. Just go all in. I mean, with you as the father, I bet all your kids are going to be geniuses.” The divine brigadier smiled.

What the heck?

To be honest, Levi never even thought of dating another woman, much less marrying one. He had Zoey after all. Now that he had Forlevia, he thought it would be unacceptable for him to marry another woman.

“Now, don’t be so hasty, Mr. Garrison. My daughter’s outside, so you can take a look.”

The divine brigadier didn’t give Levi any time to refuse, so he dragged Levi out right away, but what they saw shocked them.

What? What’s with all the people? The whole place is surrounded.

When the divine brigadier came out, everyone went up to say hi. They noticed Levi standing by his side of course, and they felt jealous.

The divine brigadier was in there for a long time.

“I bet it’s because of Evie. She’s their future, and even the elders followed her while she was out training. The divine brigadier is The Cardinal Hall’s leader, so of course, he cares about Evie. That’s why he came here to see Levi,” Shaun said in a jealous tone.

“He’s lucky he has a talented daughter. Look at us. All our kids are stupid.”

Everyone lamented their bad luck instead of tackling the real problem.

The divine brigadier took Levi and came up to Queenie. “This is my daughter, Queenie! Queenie, I’ve decided to marry you off to the C… Mr. Garrison.”