Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1022:- The Man Who is Always a Number 2

"I have been looking for you everywhere, Dragon Monarch."

"Who are you?" Aditya demanded in an icy voice, his face hardening instantly. He advanced a step, placing his body as a barrier to protect his women behind him.

"I am one of the core members of the Organisation."

Towering at roughly 1.9 meters (6 feet 3 inches), he held a rigid and unwavering stance. A lengthy black cloak enveloped his whole frame, trailing all the way to his ankles.

The cloak's hood obscured much of his features, yet a chiseled jaw and ghostly pale skin remained visible. Thin lips curved into a smile that carried no warmth whatsoever. Shadows concealed his eyes.

His Aura radiated a chilling and malevolent vibe.

’Athena, is he a Necromancer?’ Laura inquired mentally. The group sought every bit of intel on this enigmatic figure.

In his grip, a slender, elongated blade rested. Pitch-black from hilt to tip, the sword absorbed all light without a gleam. Its jagged edge resembled solidified darkness rather than forged steel.

’How did he sneak up on us like this?’ Aditya tensed up. Uncertainty gnawed at him over how much of their talk this intruder had overheard.

Furthermore, he hadn't anticipated the Organisation's agents tracking them down so swiftly, not after their elaborate disguises and efforts to merge into the throng.

’He must have pinpointed us by eavesdropping on our words.’ Aditya suspected this man had been watching them since the start.

’Thank goodness I exited the Purple Fog alone. Had I not, this creep might have struck at Rin, Laura, and Athena while I was trapped inside.’ Rage surged through him at the mere idea of harm befalling his beloved women, his blood nearly igniting.

"Aditya, he's a Beginner 7th-order cultivator." Thanks to her title as the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena could discern a foe's cultivation realm even when suppressed and concealed.

"Impressive that you sensed it so precisely. Though with you being the Goddess of Wisdom, I shouldn't be shocked." With that, he cast off the hood veiling his face.

"I am Michael Carrick." A deep vertical scar slashed across his forehead entirely, marring his looks and lending an even fiercer edge to his visage.

"Aren’t you the Elder brother of Duke Ferdinand?" As a noble of the Celestial Dragon Empire, Duke Ferdinand had ascended to the 114th Duke's seat via battlefield exploits.

Aditya identified him solely from that prominent forehead scar and imposing stature.

Starting as a Viscount, Ferdinand's brother had climbed the ranks over time, claiming Dukedom some 1,800 years prior. Among lesser Dukes, he stood out—not born into the title, but forged it through valor. Presently, Duke Ferdinand ranked as a fierce critic of the Emperor.

"More like stepbrother." Bitterness laced his retort.

Michael Carrick served as Duke Ferdinand's stepbrother.

Carrick's mother, once a household maid, bore him amid scandal. Post-birth, Ferdinand's mother tormented her to death. This tragedy forever soured the siblings' bond.

Centuries ago, their feud exploded, razing nearly half a city in the chaos. Carrick emerged as a fugitive criminal, forced to vanish. Ferdinand, wielding Ducal authority and imperial esteem, drew the mandate to reconstruct the ruins.

That forehead gash stemmed from his brother's blade in their clash. Yet Carrick spurned healing, preserving the mark as a perpetual testament to old defeats.

"I suppose you aligned with the Organisation post your clash with him." Aditya probed to verify his hunch.

"I hunted paths to true power. The Organisation delivered exactly that. In exchange, serving them posed no issue."

"Why hesitate? The pay each month is outstanding. My wealth rivals his now. But coin's not the goal. Once you're slain, I'll storm his lands and end him where my mother perished." Icy venom dripped from his tone, hatred for his brother unbridled.

A fresh suspicion struck Aditya, one he prayed proved false.

"Being in the Organisation, does that imply your brother belongs too?" Confirmation would upend everything. Aditya had eyed Duke Ferdinand as a potent civil war asset, yet Organisation ties would mean courting betrayal.

"Don't amuse me. Should he enlist, I'd become their prime foe." Relief washed over Aditya at those words.

A faint smirk played on Aditya's lips as he regarded him. "Truth be told, you enlisted because you forever lingered in second place."

Fate dealt Carrick the cruel hand of inferiority; Ferdinand eclipsed him in cultivation talent, combat prowess, and scholarship. Thus, across over 2,000 years, vengeance eluded him. Ferdinand perpetually outmaneuvered, dominating their confrontations.

"What did you just say?" Aditya's barb struck Carrick's rawest wound.

"Who the fuck are you? Some banished Prince dubbing himself Dragon Monarch for clout." Yet Aditya's resolve held firm against the barbs.

Fury already blazed within him since Carrick's emergence from shadows— not dread, but wrath pounding his heart. Assaults on him were bearable; schemes against his women crossed an unforgivable line.

"You three, fall back. I'll handle him." Athena gazed at Aditya with deep concern.

She held her tongue for now, lest the foe intercept. Instead, she gestured to Rin and Laura to retreat. Mere hundreds of meters offered no sanctuary; clashes at their tier could obliterate towns with single strikes.

"Where is Leo?" Aditya yearned to locate Leo's hideout and eradicate the source of this menace.

"Hahahaha!!! As if I'd spill that. And supposing I did, why share?" He scoffed mockingly.

’Odd that an outsider knows the Leader’s name. How’d he uncover it?’ No fanatic like certain core devotees, he prized the Organisation enough to silence any bearing such vital secrets on their head.

’Post my brother's demise, perhaps I'll journey to the Six Continent and orchestrate the Istarin Empire's fall firsthand.’

Then he spied the heavens swiftly blackening. Crimson-laced dark clouds engulfed a quarter of the Dragon Mountain Range.

Simultaneously, Crimson Lightning armor materialized over his form.

His physique subtly transformed. Crimson claws replaced hands. Radiant, jewel-like scales sheathed his body save his face, climbing to his jawline. Pupils narrowed to crimson slits. Fangs sharpened and lengthened.

Vast, majestic Crimson Dragon wings burst from his back.

"I've long heard tales of Crimson Lightning and Crimson Flame. Today, their might unfolds before me."

Aditya offered no reply.

’Facing a Beginner 7th-order cultivator for the first time. The gulf from Beginner 5th-order to 7th-order remains a mystery, but it spans heavens apart.’

’Full throttle from the outset, then.’ No matter the foe's might, retreat never tempted Aditya.

Concurrently, he triggered every passive skill to amplify his attributes.

The raw stat chasm between Beginner 5th-order and 7th-order loomed vast. Unaided by enhancements, victory eluded him utterly.

’Lucky I enhanced my artifacts pre-Main Continent arrival.’ Foreseeing brutal Main Continent battles, Aditya arrived armed. Yet preparation bowed to the abyss separating their innate stats—like heaven versus earth.

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