The Tale of the Void Emperor

Athan once again shouted, " Are you coming out, or should I force you out by releasing a similar attack once again? Just so you know, I have already eaten the pills to recover my energy. You must have also seen that. "

*rustle...rustle...*

Athan turned to his right and saw someone coming out while playing with a knife.

She had long dark blue hair and sharp eyes. She wore a tight blue outfit with a shirt and long pants. Her clothes were slightly messy, with cuts here and there.

She pointed her long knife at Athan and narrowed her sharp eyes, " I don't believe you can release that attack once again. I am at a high-stage Tier-3 order base, and you are at the Tier-2 order base. Even If I attack you alone without my chaotic beast, I can beat you and take the treasure myself. So...you should hurry up and scram from here. "

Hearing here, Athan revealed a startled expression and started laughing.

" Hahahaha...."

The girl frowned and asked, " Why are you laughing? "

Athan grinned at her with a dangerous light in his eyes and said, " Hehehe...Then attack me. Go ahead. "

Athan spread his hands to reveal to show her that his chest was wide open, " You can start attacking whenever you feel like. My defense is open. But..."

Pausing here, He widely grinned like the devil and pointed her with his finger, " You will die in an instant. Of course, you can escape using the mark of order. But, do you see this finger? A black-light will release the moment you showed any intention to attack and destroy that smart head of yours. "

Of course, Athan was bluffing. The distance between them was long such that if he released his abyssal darkness, She could easily dodge. And since she was of Tier-3 order base, at high-stage Master order Elite, She was more powerful than him in every other way.

But...

The girl clearly flinched, seeing how the strong front Athan displayed. She was also putting up a strong front because how can she not be afraid after seeing such a powerful attack that wiped everyone out in one go?

Not even their bones or their storage rings remained. She was trembling inside but decided to bluff because she felt that Athan wouldn't be able to use another potent attack of such magnitude.

They both stared at each other. She looked at Athan's grinning face and his oppressive eyes before finally taking a deep breath.

She put down her left hand that pointed the knife at Athan and said while narrowing her eyes, " Fine. I will not attack. But...I want one fruit from that tree. "

Athan looked at her and converged his grin before putting up a cold expression. Internally, He was thinking rapidly, ' Hmmm...What should I do? If I agree, There is a chance that she take it as my weakness and might arrive at the conclusion that I really can't release the orb of oblivion again or kill her, Which is the truth. but...'

' But If I disagree, There is also a chance that she might want to take a risk attacking out of desperation, and that will also blow my bluff. '

Athan was looking in her eyes while thinking and tried to sense her intention.

In her expressionless face and cold eyes, He saw hesitation, desperation, and...fear.

' Hehehe...One fruit? If I were in her position and still want to put up a strong front, I would ask for half of the share instead of just one fruit. '

Athan's face broke into a grin once again, " What is your name? "

The girl's eyes darted slightly before she replied, " Tealery."

" Well, Tealery. You are not getting any fruit from this tree. "

Tealery was startled and opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, She just turned around after grinding her teeth.

" Stop! Did I say you could leave? "

Hearing the words of Athan, Tealery turned out and revealed an angry but, more importantly, caution expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could speak, Athan's words stopped her.

" I can give you one fruit. "

Athan observed her expression after saying that, ' She has already lost the will to fight me after that display of the power of the Orb of oblivion and making her believe that I can still kill her. After rejecting her and then giving her the reward is the best chance. After all, She also looks hungry for power. '

" I can give you one fruit because It seems that you need it. But there is a condition. "

Before Athan could continue, Tealery suddenly shouted with an angry expression, " If you want me to become your slave, then forget about it. You might as well just kill me now because I will never agree to that. "

Athan shook his head while smiling, ' Good. She has lost the will to fight completely. '

" You misunderstood. I don't want to make you my slave or anything. I just want you to join my team. "

" join you? "

Athan nodded with a smile, " Indeed. You just have to take an oath that you will never betray me or do anything that harms me in the future. That's all. You are free to live your life and move however you want. I will not restrict you in any way. With this oath, We can help each other in the future. How about it? Sounds good, right? "

After saying that, Athan looked at his left side and shouted, " Arcued! "

" Yes! "

Arcued came out while smiling wryly. He was observing them while hiding after returning to this place.

Athan pointed at Arcued before saying to Tealery, " This guy has also taken the same oath and joined together with me. Although he was not that useful in this journey, something is better than nothing. "

Hearing that, Arcued awkwardly laughed, " haha...hahaha...cough. Hey, Athan. That's cold. I became decoy several times so that we could kill those Tier-3 order base people and 3-star beast, alright? Without me, You....uh...Nevermind. Anyway, I was still useful. "

Arcued remembered that Athan could also hide his presence and even better than him and shut his mouth about that topic.

Tealery fell into thought after hearing Athan and his easy-going oath that would actually help her, ' This...sounds like a good deal. This Athan guy seems weird, and despite being just Tier-2 order base, He commands such power. Hmmm...Once he became more powerful, He will likely have a big name. This...this deal is too sweet to pass up. '

Her eyes shined at the end as she looked at Athan, but before agreeing, she asked something important, " That Arcued person took the oath, and I am also willing to take the same oath to join the team. But...Did you take the oath, Athan? "