Chapter 76: Royal-Grade Relic, Future Plans
In the Elf plaza, Charles retracted his Zerg wings and landed on the ground.
He walked slowly towards the barely conscious Ethan and said calmly, "Answer my question, and I'll give you a swift end."
Charles seemed still dazed and uncertain.
Perhaps trying to feign death.
Frowning, Charles took a step forward and slapped Ethan's old face hard.
"Smack!"
Ethan was sent spinning three times in the air before landing on the ground.
His already disfigured face now bore a glaringly visible red handprint, and two of his teeth had been knocked out by Charles.
"Ugh!" Ethan shuddered, his consciousness finally somewhat restored.
After all, he was an extraordinary being, and Charles had held back at the critical moment, making it difficult for him to die so easily.
However, Ethan was undoubtedly crippled—his spine was shattered, making even the slightest movement of his fingers an insurmountable task.
"You! You!" Ethan glared at Charles, his face flushed with rage, too angry to speak.
Deep within his eyes, there was also a glint of profound fear.
Having lived so long, Ethan had seen his share of prodigious Overlords.
But seeing someone like Charles, who had grown to this level in just a few short months, was a first for him!
Despite his peak third-tier combat strength, he had no ability to resist at all. This guy's actual combat power had at least reached the fifth tier!
In the Serene Forest, this kind of beginner's area, there was practically no one who could match him!
Now Ethan finally understood what kind of monster he had provoked.
Seeing Ethan remain silent.
Charles grabbed Ethan by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
With a chilling gaze, he enunciated each word, "I'll ask you one last time—who were you sending a message to just now?"
Ethan's legs kicked frantically as Charles's grip tightened around his neck.
His face turned a ghastly shade of purple.
His vision began to blur. Already severely injured, Ethan seemed on the brink of death from Charles's rough handling.
Ethan's eyes rolled back, and he struggled to say in broken gasps, "Don't... don't kill me. I'll... I'll talk..."
Hearing this, Charles tossed Ethan to the ground like a piece of trash.
The violent impact caused Ethan to cough up blood, but Charles showed no mercy.
To him, showing compassion to such scum was a waste of emotion.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Ethan coughed violently, his face ashen, looking half-dead.
He saw the cold, indifferent expression on Charles's face and felt a pang of despair.
Ethan knew that no matter what he said, he was doomed to die today.
Charles would never let him live.
Realizing he was cornered, the usually cunning Ethan suddenly burst into laughter, though his mirth seemed rather bleak.
His face flushed as if in a final surge of life, and he rasped, "What does it matter if I tell you... you'll all be dead soon anyway... The eighth-tier king of the Elf Empire... will be here with his men before long... Charles... I'll be waiting for you in hell!
Hahaha..."
Ethan's laughter grew weaker until his breath completely faded and his eyes lost their luster.
He had severed his own heartstrings, ending his life.
"The eighth-tier king of the Elf Empire?" Charles frowned upon hearing this.
The Elf Empire was located to the north of the Realm of Chaos, near the Great Void Mirror Domain. It was a dominant force in the Void Mirror Domain, even stronger than the Succubus Clan of the Overlord's Forest and the Serpent Empire.
The current Empress of the Elf Empire is a formidable warrior with twelfth-tier strength, ranking among the most elite on the Continent of Overlord.
The king Ethan mentioned, being of the royal bloodline of the Elf Empire, must possess the purest Elven blood. This implies that this royal Elf could very well be closely related to the Elven Empress.
Charles's frown deepened. He hadn't anticipated that a minor figure like Ethan would be connected to a distant royal Elf.
The realization that he had not only angered the Empress of the Serpent Empire but now also had to contend with a royal from the Elf Empire gave Charles a headache.
Was he really considering selling himself to the Abyssal Succubus?
Charles shook his head, temporarily dismissing the notion from his mind.
It would take at least a year or two for a royal Elf to travel from the Elf Empire to the Serene Forest, crossing two vast domains. At least he had some time.
He then started searching Ethan.
There had to be something secretive about this seemingly unremarkable Elf.
How could a mere third-tier Elf have connections to an eighth-tier royal Elf?
Finally, Charles's gaze fell on the chain around Ethan's neck.
Reaching out, he took it off and discovered a round, multicolored stone.
The stone was circular, resembling an ancient stone platform, adorned with spiral patterns and strange runes.
Charles knew this had to be Ethan's secret.
His eyes flashed with a silvery light.
Eye of Data, activate!
[Name: Altar of Elements (Unactivated)]
[Tier: Upper King Level]
[Type: Relic]
[Requirements: Usable by Overlord]
NovelFire-content
[Abilities: Elemental specialization of units, enhancement of elemental units, synthesis of elemental units, granting of elemental skills...]
[Description: A "Relic" left behind by a King-tier Overlord after death. It can increase elemental power within a territory and can be used to perform special elemental enhancements, grants, or syntheses on units using crystals and materials with elemental attributes.]
[Effect: After merging with the Altar of Elements, the Overlord and their subjects' elemental attacks increase by 30%, and there's a chance to cultivate special races with elemental attributes.]
...
Charles's eyes lit up as he read the description.
A "Relic"!
Some powerful Overlords, upon their death, leave behind certain extraordinary artifacts within their territory. These artifacts are known as "Relics."
Most of these "Relics" possess unique specialization abilities, significantly enhancing the quality of an Overlord's subjects and increasing the chances of special races being born. The Altar of Elements was clearly one of these.
Charles felt a surge of excitement.
In his previous life, he had only heard of such things, never expecting to come across one himself.
"Relics" were exceedingly rare, often unseen by ordinary Overlords. King-level "Relics" were even rarer.
It was no wonder Ethan had connections with high-tier Elves from the Elf Empire.
News of a "Relic" of this caliber would tempt even a tenth-tier powerhouse.
Carefully, Charles stored the Altar of Elements in his system space, planning to test its effects later.
At that moment, Eve and Amy approached.
"Charles, what should we do next?" They had heard Ethan's final words and couldn't hide their anxiety.
With the combat power of a royal Elf, wiping out their small newbie village would be a trivial task. The higher-ups of the Forest of Elves looked pale as paper.
As Elves themselves, they knew all too well what a royal from the Elf Empire represented.
To them, it was an almost celestial level of power, distant and unreachable.
If such a being descended upon the Serene Forest, none of them would likely survive.
Charles reassured them, "Don't worry, I have a way to handle this."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes brightened.
An elder anxiously asked, "My Lord, what plan do you have in mind?"
Eve, standing nearby, looked worried. "Is it dangerous?"
Charles smiled. "For me, it's not dangerous at all. The solution is simple: before that powerful individual arrives, I'll leave the Serene Forest and head to the Realm of Chaos to find a new foothold. Then, I'll relocate our territory there."
Upon hearing Charles's words, everyone looked at him as if he were a monster.
Simple? Really?!
They knew that the Realm of Chaos outside the Serene Forest was teeming with third-tier and higher-tier powerhouses.
They acknowledged Charles's strength, but in the Realm of Chaos, he would still be nothing more than a big ant.
To them, Charles's idea of voluntarily heading there was no different from a death sentence.
Eve immediately objected, "No way! The Realm of Chaos is too dangerous. Even with your strength, survival would be difficult."
She had gathered information about the Realm of Chaos from others and knew that even the lowest combat power there was third-tier Overlord. It was also home to many mid-tier powerhouses with fifth and sixth-tier combat strength. Given Charles's current abilities, venturing there would be extremely risky, and the slightest mistake could mean they wouldn't even find his body.
Eve didn't want to be a widow before even getting married.
Amy also advised, "Besides, relocating a territory is extremely difficult. It's virtually impossible for lower-tier Overlords. The extraordinary materials and tools required for such a task are typically only accessible to diamond-tier Overlords. This issue alone is insurmountable."
A group of Elf high-ranking members felt their earlier excitement drain away, now looking rather dejected.
However, Charles simply laughed.
In his previous life, he had survived in the Realm of Chaos, so he knew exactly what it entailed. Relocating the territory was also not as difficult as they imagined.
He could use the Zerg Mother's ability to "establish sub-nests" for the migration, he just needed to find a safe area.
"Leave it to me." Charles said without explaining further.
While he hadn't made a name for himself in the Realm of Chaos in his past life, finding a safe spot was straightforward for him.
Moreover, although the Realm of Chaos was chaotic and dangerous, it also held countless opportunities.
One significant reason Charles proposed this plan was that he remembered a yet-undiscovered semi-divine Relic!
If he wasn't mistaken, within the next few months, a semi-divine Relic that would later cause a sensation across half of The Continent of Overlord was about to be unearthed.
While this Relic wouldn't be much use for the territory, it would be an invaluable Semi-Divine Weapon for an Overlord!
This Relic could accelerate an Overlord's combat power growth by several times!
If he could obtain this item, his strength would see a tremendous boost.