Fierce Breaker's words hit Ray of Judgment's sore spot.
Ray of Judgment was ambitious. After all, only ambitious people aimed to become Legendary Crushers.
He desperately wanted to become a Legendary Crusher. He had aimed to become the most outstanding Crusher while he had just been a Transcendent.
Back then, he had managed to become a Unique Transcendent, and he had believed that he had reached the top. But then, he had overheard that there were Legendary Levels as well.
This pushed him into an abyss. If he had known that there were Legendary Transcendents, he would have tried to condense a Level 3.5 Complex Law.
However, he also knew that his talents in the Soul and the body were lacking. He knew that he wouldn't become a Legendary Primal.
So, Ray of Judgment had only gone through the motions in the Primal Realm. He had only done the necessary things to become a 10/13 Primal. For the remainder of his longevity, he had focused on Laws. He was preparing for the Compression Realm.
A single-digit number of years before his longevity ran out, he accomplished something outstanding.
He had comprehended a Pure Level Four Law as a Primal.
After becoming a Crusher, he had risked his life several times, pushing his Momentum to insane heights. Then, he rushed through the levels at the quickest pace, becoming a Fulfilled Crusher within just a couple of centuries.
A long period of comprehension followed, and after just a couple of millennia, he had succeeded. He had become a Unique Crusher.
Now, he just needed to make a name for himself.
Everything had gone according to plan. Dawnlight had expanded rapidly. They had overtaken the other Big Four due to the sheer power and determination of Ray of Judgment and his friend, Crimson Inferno.
The leaders of the members of the other Big Four were comparable to Ray of Judgment, but they didn't have a Fulfilled Crusher comparable to Crimson Inferno.
Ray of Judgment and Crimson Inferno would conquer the Secondary Sector! They were sure of it!
Ray of Judgment could already see it. He could see himself killing the Head of Starsign before becoming a Legendary Crusher!
And then, Crimson Inferno died to some random nobody from some random upstart Organization.
At the same time, Dawnlight also lost one of its most powerful Advanced Crushers and even five normal Fulfilled Crushers.
This pushed Dawnlight from being slightly above the other members of the Big Four to being slightly below them. This had been a significant setback, but with time, Ray of Judgment knew that Dawnlight could recover.
That was when Azure Comet appeared, and a long period of stagnation occurred.
Sure, with time, Ray of Judgment would also recover from that, but there was no more time!
His longevity was reaching its end!
He only had 200 years left!
Dawnlight wouldn't grow strong enough to convincingly defeat one of the other members of the Big Four within these 200 years.
Descending Mountain had severely damaged Ray of Judgment's plan, and Azure Comet had finished it off.
But so what?! If he couldn't defeat the Big Four, he would just have to make a name for himself in a different way!
Azure Comet killed his plan, but it would also be Azure Comet who would resurrect it!
He could see it! He could see himself killing Azure Comet and becoming a Legendary Crusher!
And then… and then!
These four people appeared!
Frustration, suppression, resistance, hatred, unfairness!
He was outstanding! Ray of Judgment knew that he was outstanding and that he could become a Legendary Crusher!
He was confident that he could kill another Unique Crusher, but he couldn't do so because the people around him were too weak!
He knew that he could kill Azure Comet, despite all of his Formation Arrays, but he couldn't get to him because of the four people in front of him!
Ray of Judgment's body shook under his intense hatred and frustration. A lesser man would have lost control, but Ray of Judgment had exceptional control over his actions.
Going crazy wouldn't help him achieve his goal.
Ray of Judgment took a deep breath.
"Three Grade Six Energy Stones," he said. "I am willing to give you three Grade Six Energy Stones in exchange for granting me, and only me, safe passage through your territories to confront Azure Comet on my own."
"I will directly travel to Azure Comet, and I will get rid of this pest on my own. I'm willing to give you three Grade Six Energy Stones. You do not need to do anything, and my actions will be beneficial to you as well."
The members of the four Organizations couldn't believe what they were hearing.
It was like an exterminator was paying them a significant sum of money so that the exterminator could get rid of the pests in their house.
The members had believed that they would be entering a brutal war today.
Instead, they would become rich despite doing nothing.
"An enticing offer," Star Genesis said. "Sadly, we refuse. "
What?
Everyone turned to look at Star Genesis in shock, confusion, and disbelief.
Ray of Judgment's eyes widened in absolute hatred and fury, and he asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
"Why?" he asked. "Why would you not accept that trade?! There is no conceivable reason why you would refuse this trade!"
Ray of Judgment pointed at Star Genesis. "Why do you want to protect Azure Comet this much?! What has he paid you for your loyalty?!"
The four leaders just looked at Ray of Judgment calmly.
"Earlier," Manny said after some seconds of silence, "you said that everyone has their reason to be here. Why do you think we are here? Why do you think we are standing in front of you right now?"
A shit-eating grin appeared on Manny's face. "Spite! We are here just to spite you!"
Ray of Judgment looked at the four of them in confusion and anger. "You're here to spite me? Why? What have I ever done to you?!"
The next moment, the four of them took out some emblems from their Soul Spaces and threw them towards Ray of Judgment.
Ray of Judgment looked at the emblems in confusion and furrowed his brows. "I do not recognize this symbol."
Swamp Dragon shook his head slowly. "I killed one of your most talented Advanced Crushers back then, and you don't even recognize the emblem of the Organization I belonged to."
"You didn't even look at Explosive Karma when you tried to get rid of us."
Explosive Karma.
Ray of Judgment's eyes widened in recognition.
Explosive Karma!
He might not recognize the symbol, but he recognized the name.
"You destroyed our Organization and turned one of our friends into a criminal," Swamp Dragon said. "Spite is not an emotion I support, but for once, I'm willing to make an exception."
"You're not getting what you want," Swamp Dragon added. "If you want to kill someone, we are going to do our best to protect that person. If you want to travel somewhere, we will block your path. If you want to help us, we will refuse all help."
"Right now, you want to kill Azure Comet, and because of that, we are protecting him."
"If you were not interested in Azure Comet, we wouldn't be protecting him."
"As my criminalized friend would say…"
"My goal in life is to be a pain in your ass."
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