Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

"Our bloodline can be traced back to the ancient times of gods and demons..."

Cruz lowered his voice, yet imbued each word with even greater force:

"Our ancestors once dedicated their loyalty to the God of Shadows who wields the power of shadow, secrecy, and obliteration!"
We were his sharpest dagger, his strongest shield, his divine servants walking between reality and illusion!

Cohen's eyes hardened; the God of Shadows!
The Darkwing family was once subordinate to the God of Shadows!

……

The founder of the Darkwing family was once a divine guard of the God of Shadow!

This information struck Cohen like a silent thunderclap, resounding deep within his consciousness.

A strange tremor spread from the bottom of his heart.

The tremor wasn't fear, but rather a premonition of... the gears of fate quietly meshing.

He had a vague feeling that something was going on, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Is this Shadow Dimension really just a skill that was given away as a bonus in the game from my previous life?

The thought appeared in Cohen's mind like a ghost, and then it wouldn't leave him.

In the fragments of memories from the "past life," the Shadow Plane was indeed just a practical skill for facilitating stealth and concealment, a product of a game mechanic.

But at this moment, considering the Darkwing family's background of serving the God of Shadow, and the almost religious reverence for that lost deity revealed in Cruz's words... all of this makes that simple concept of "skill" extremely questionable.

What made him even more suspicious was:
Why were there only a few words describing the God of Shadow in the game from the previous life?

In that information-saturated, meticulously detailed virtual world, the records of such an ancient deity who wields important power are so scarce that they are almost deliberately erased.

This is no coincidence!
Countless fragments of clues collided and combined rapidly in Cohen's mind, yet he could not immediately piece together a complete picture.

He slowly suppressed his thoughts, knowing that he could only investigate further when he had the chance.

He is about to face his opponent in the quarterfinals, a battle for honor and revenge!
……

With Isabella's victory, the final and highly anticipated quarterfinal match of the Gold Group officially began.

Gregor Jarvis, a ninth-tier "Beast Tamer" from the Southern Empire, known as "Ocean Calamity," faces off against King Efein and Cohen Corleone, a seventh-tier "Dragon Seal Weapon Master" and "Lord of Shadows."

The audience had been unable to contain their excitement for a long time, except for the first match of the quarterfinals, which featured a thrilling spellcasting and battle between Xia Zuo and Ash.

Both shows left the audience wanting more.

And now, a major event is finally about to begin.

King Cohen Corleone of Effie, who is always creating miracles, is now regarded as a god in the hearts of the people.

All along the way, they have been creating miracles. They are looking forward to seeing if this king, who is only at the seventh level, can really go all the way and become the first champion in history to win two categories in a row!

It's hard to believe how huge the shock would be if someone who has just broken through to the Gold rank were to win the title of "Strongest Gold" on the highest competitive stage on the continent.

This shock is absolutely no less than that of three years ago, when the extraordinary phenomenon that broke through half the continent and shook the entire main plane was the youngest legendary rank in human history, Queen Adel Angelion!

The two slowly stepped onto the arena. Gregor, dressed in a magnificent dark blue robe, stared coldly at the man opposite him.

Being kidnapped and extorted in the Northwest Continent was a humiliation and shadow that he could never shake off for the rest of his life.

Today, on this stage where everyone is watching, he will use absolute power to completely crush this disgrace, along with Cohen Corleone.

The magical lights above the sky bathed the huge circular arena in a golden-red hue, and the excited roars of the audience crashed against the magical shield covering the stands, producing a dull rumble.

The magical elements surging in the air mingled with the scorching breaths exhaled by nearly 100,000 spectators, creating a palpable sense of excitement.

At the height of everyone's attention, on the arena, with the referee's whistle, the match that would determine the last spot in the semifinals officially began!

At the start of the match, Greg did not summon any visible beasts.

Instead, he gently waved his long coral staff, inlaid with the eyes of an ancient sea monster, his head slightly raised, and a chant that froze the soul emanated from his throat.

The incantation sounded like the bursting of bubbles in icy seawater from a dying drowning person—desperate and hollow!
In an instant, it twisted and changed tone, transforming into a low-frequency resonance that spans countless ages, emitted by a giant whale in the eternally dark icy ocean.

Ancient, profound, and possessing a primal power that can destroy the mind!
Accompanied by this inhuman chanting, a thick darkness suddenly spread out from Gregor's center.

The air suddenly became heavy, damp, and cold. Even the audience behind the protective shields felt as if cold, salty seawater was pouring into their mouths and noses, and the biting chill went straight to their bones.

The light above the arena twisted and swayed eerily, making it seem as if one were in a deep trench.

The strong smell of decaying seaweed and the distinctive salty tang of salt quickly permeated the air, and even on the nearby stone walls of the stands, a thin layer of white frost strangely condensed.

Eerie and ferocious phantoms appeared silently from all sides of the arena:

A transparent, deep-sea nightmare jellyfish with countless glowing tentacles;
The whispering spirits of shipwrecked victims, their faces blurred and distorted, their skin a bluish-gray from drowning;

The enchanting sea eel, appearing and disappearing intermittently, emitting a high-pitched hissing sound that stirs deep unease in the human heart...

All the allure, hissing, whispering, and wailing, carrying a chilling malice that destroys reason, like invisible thousand-handed demonic claws, silently and swiftly converged upon Cohen, who remained independent in the distorted light and shadow.

Talent Skill: Abyss Echoes, based on billions of marine creatures, inflicts mental pollution and soul impact on enemies!
Greg's intentions are obvious—

He wanted to first drag King Alfiein, known for his unwavering will, into an abyss of no return on a spiritual level.

This caused Cohen to be defeated before the battle even began, kneeling before the Deep Sea Nightmare in front of millions of viewers.

Gregor was very confident about this, as his technique was inherited from the ancient times, from the power system of the Abyss Ruler, one of the three subordinates of Poseidon, the first sea god.

Even a half-step legendary superhuman, as long as he has not broken through to the legendary level and his mental power is completely solidified, will be subject to the mental impact of billions of ocean creatures, let alone this seventh-level superhuman who has just broken through to the gold level!
He wanted to first turn Cohen into an idiot, and then thoroughly wash away the shame from him!

Cohen's expression remained unchanged, but just before the tentacles and whispers were about to touch his soul, he raised a shadow blade that had materialized in his hand.

Instead of slashing, the blade tip acted as a conductor, rapidly drawing several mysterious and complex marks in the air.

Prismatic quality rune, War Symphony, removes all negative effects from your own troops!
Clang——! ! !
A clear, resonant sound, like the clang of a thousand soldiers drawing their swords simultaneously, suddenly erupted from him.

A visible, prismatic halo composed of countless leaping golden musical notes and radiant battle banners instantly spread out.

Wherever it passed, the distorted deep-sea phantoms, like ghosts illuminated by sunlight, emitted silent shrieks and crumbled into nothingness.

The illusion of corruption was swept away, and the mental pressure was instantly dispelled.

The sky above the arena cleared again, leaving only lingering blue magical dust that reflected on Greg's face, which had suddenly lost blood.

Greg's eyes narrowed in horror.

"How...how is this possible?"

How could a seventh-tier transcendent being possibly withstand my Abyssal Echoes?

Gregor's throat bobbed, and he forced out a hoarse sound, his knuckles white from gripping the coral staff too tightly.

"Om-"

Subtle yet clear murmurs erupted directly from the top-tier VIP boxes.

The important figures who were just moments ago either indifferent, watching the show with amusement, or looking at the situation with an evaluative eye, now all had disbelief written on their faces.

Shock surged through the ranks of the top experts like an electric current.

Gregor's "Whispers of the Abyss" is no secret; its power is considered the pinnacle of insidious ruthlessness among Gold-rank spells.

Cohen's nonchalant, even elegant, method of cracking the code completely overturned their understanding.

Everyone realized that Cohen Effie's true strength and background were far more unfathomable and mysterious than they had imagined!

The sea creature representative, the ancient sea monster Ugo Saku, was most aware of the power of Gregor's skill. He suddenly sat up straight, his turbid eyes flashing with a sharp light:
"'Echoes of the Abyss' originates from the Abyss Ruler, who served under Poseidon, the first sea god, and was in charge of the abyss of despair and fear."

It is a shockwave of pure spiritual pollution built upon the spirit of hatred, pain, and despair of billions of marine creatures.

Generally speaking, unless one breaks through the legendary level and solidifies their spiritual world, it is impossible to resist this level of spiritual attack.

How did His Majesty Corleone manage to evade it?

"Such a strong fighting spirit!"

Lord Langdon of the Temple of Battle spoke with genuine admiration and a kind of fervent, admiring excitement.

His gaze was fixed on Cohen in the ring like a hawk's, as if confirming something:
"His move just now was imbued with a strong fighting spirit of the legion, and it was this fighting spirit that offset the mental impact of the Abyss Echo."

This is not an individual's will, but rather a spiritual bulwark formed by the beliefs of thousands of soldiers, loyal generals, and even the entire nation's people.

Although the resentment of billions of desperate beings is immense, it is still powerless against this pure and unwavering fighting spirit that encompasses protection, honor, sacrifice, and inevitable victory.

No wonder His Majesty Corleone could communicate with our Lord even at the second tier; he truly was born for battle and war!

Prince Violet of the Northern Empire sighed:
"No wonder this kid can attract so many top-tier beauties; he certainly deserves it!"

On the ring, the immense humiliation and deeper fear instantly transformed into a raging fury that assaulted Greg's mind.

His confident first strike was shattered and witnessed by millions of viewers, which was more painful for him than being directly stabbed.

"Do you think you can beat me with these little tricks?"
The will of the deep sea is not to be trifled with!

The ancient coral staff in Greg's hand burst forth with a dazzling ice-blue light, and the eye on the staff's head seemed to come alive, its cold pupils locking onto Cohen, flowing with a destructive will.

The staff was swung again.

This time, they were no longer phantoms, but countless small tidal puppets!
Composed of viscous, filthy seawater, resembling a hybrid of piranhas and crabs, they swarmed densely like boiling water, emitting a piercing hissing sound. With corrosive foam and sharp teeth, they swept towards Cohen like a real tsunami.

So dense that it blocks out the sun.

Even more terrifying was the fact that the noisy, chaotic squeaking sounds, the high speed of movement, and the faint but sharp energy fluctuations emanating from its body clearly told everyone present.

Each puppet may seem tiny, but it is at least at the level of a Bronze-rank superhuman!
This means that each of them possesses the speed, strength, and corrosiveness to easily tear apart ordinary heavily armored warriors.

They are no longer mindless creations, but killing swarms of bees that are highly unified and precisely controlled by the mage's will.

Faced with the overwhelming tsunami of death, Cohen moved like a ghost, his shadow blade flashing as he precisely parried the puppets that lunged at his vitals.

Cohen's sword light exploded amidst the dense horde of puppets, like a red-hot iron being thrown into a boiling pot of dark green oil.

The sea monster puppet, covered in corrosive foam, was struck by the sword and burst into a foul-smelling spray.

However, the number is simply too large.

Each time a sword strike clears an area, more twisted monsters emitting piercing squeaks immediately fill the void.

Cohen did not intend to expend a lot of energy to eliminate these seemingly endless little creatures.

Just as a new, dense swarm of man-eating crabs, with their putrid venom and sharp teeth, lunged at him at high speed like a swarm of sharks attracted by blood, he flicked his left thumb—

A tiny, needle-like, ice-blue rune shot towards the ground a few meters in front of him.

Frozen foundation, silver quality rune, summons an ice wall at one location!

The last encounter with Selene Winterhold, a ninth-tier "Chaos Sorcerer" from the Northern Empire, served as a wake-up call for Cohen.

Since he obtained the aura of an ice-type deity through dual cultivation with his queen sister, in addition to having resistance to ice magic, the power of his own ice magic will definitely be stronger!
Originally, it could only summon ordinary ice walls, but now—

Snap! Boom!

There was no deafening explosion, only a sharp, piercing bang that seemed to freeze and tear space apart instantly.

Centered on the point where the rune landed, a chilling, pure white aura exploded out like a violent avalanche.

The solid arena floor was instantly frozen.

It wasn't a small patch of ice, but a ring-shaped iceberg that suddenly jutted upwards and was covered with sharp barbs, covering nearly a quarter of the arena area.

The surging miniature tidal golem waves crashed headlong into the suddenly appearing, huge, and sharp ice barrier, their bodies instantly frozen, pierced, and crushed.

The ice spread extremely quickly, turning nearly half of the puppet army into immobile ice sculptures in the blink of an eye, blocking them in place.

The battlefield was instantly divided.

The suddenly rising, ring-shaped iceberg covered with sharp barbs not only instantly froze and destroyed at least three hundred puppets, but also split the surging offensive in two.

The biting cold even briefly pushed back the spread of the filthy black water.

Such pure ice magic!

Unsurprisingly, another round of discussion broke out in the VIP section.

In the VIP section, a mage master dressed in robes inscribed with frost flower runes leaned slightly forward and couldn't help but utter a soft exclamation of admiration.

The surrounding chatter resumed, a mixture of surprise and scrutiny.

"It is indeed terrifyingly pure... This chill goes straight to the bone!"
How did he do that?
Being able to cast ice spells of this caliber, I wouldn't be surprised if you called him a high-level mage.

"Don't forget, His Majesty Corleone has a legendary ice mage queen."

Moreover, his queen is the youngest legendary-ranked woman in the history of the continent!

On the ring, Greg saw his attack blocked by Cohen once again, and his anger burned even brighter. He roared and pointed his coral staff at the sky.

In an instant!
The surging black water, like an inverted waterfall, converged on Greg's head.

A gigantic, translucent energy shark materialized in mid-air at an astonishing speed.

This monstrous shark is not made of flesh and blood, but of hundreds of millions of rapidly rotating, high-pressure water blades.

Its entire body radiated a chilling blue-black light, and its terrifying weight and sharpness even distorted the air itself.

Accompanied by a piercing roar that could cut through everything and the sound of giant waves capable of shattering cliffs, it plunged down towards Cohen behind the ice field.

A full-force attack from a high-level Gold rank!
The confinement force field created by the water pressure locked onto the target first, and like the invisible pressure of the deep sea thousands of meters below, it instantly enveloped the space around Cohen.

Even the chill from the surrounding icebergs seemed to be compressed and frozen.

Cohen seems to have no way to avoid it.

The entire audience fell silent instantly.

Everyone thought that the next second they would see Cohen being devoured and shredded into dust by this terrifying energy shark.

However, just as the giant shark was about to strike, the Shadow Blade in Cohen's hand instantly transformed into two longswords.

Instead of slashing, it began to spin rapidly in front of him.

An invisible, high-speed vibrating energy wave spread along the blade.

The ripples did not radiate outwards, but instead formed a spherical field with a radius of about three feet centered on Cohen.

Counterattack Storm!

laugh--

The giant jaws of the energy shark snapped at Cohen, but the water pressure and cutting force, enough to destroy a fortified city, seemed to collide with an invisible, high-speed rotating force field.

The giant shark's body emitted a piercing friction sound of energy annihilation when it made contact with Cohen three meters in front of him, and the water blade disintegrated into a large cloud of water mist.

Just as the giant shark's forward momentum was completely blocked, a cold glint flashed in Cohen's eyes, and he suddenly twisted the upright blade in a reverse motion.

hum!
A tremendous shockwave and dizzying force erupted from the blade; it was not simply energy, but more like an impact on the level of rules.

The enormous energy shark let out a silent wail, its entire form instantly collapsing and disintegrating, turning into countless harmless water droplets that fell from the sky.

It was like a torrential downpour falling over the arena.

It's that same defensive counter-attack skill from the same field again!
Korn had already shown his talent in the Silver Group, but unexpectedly, in the Gold Group, he was still able to easily withstand opponents who were two levels higher than him!

Greg himself, who activated the skill, seemed to have been hit on the head with a heavy hammer, letting out a muffled groan, and his body stiffened and staggered for a very short time.

It is precisely the powerful countermeasure against dizziness that comes with the "counterattack storm"!

"enough!!!"

Frustrated by repeated setbacks, Greg let out a frenzied roar, unleashing a furious burst of magic power that was nearing the legendary rank without any reservation.

He could no longer hold back. He had originally planned to save this move for Xia Zuo, but now that he was seeing this, if he held back any longer, he feared he would suffer another great humiliation at the hands of Cohen!
With a low growl from Gregor.

The temperature in the entire arena plummeted.

The ancient sea monster's eye on his staff opened fully, projecting a beam of eerie blue light that tore through space and shot straight into the sky.

"Using the remains of a deep-sea deity as a guide!"

"Descend, you ocean overlord who devours Titans—the ancient abyssal whale, Polyphemus!"

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunder rumbled.

A gigantic, unimaginably large, dark blue vortex that occupied almost half of the arena's sky appeared out of thin air.

The terrifying, ancient, and world-ending pressure emanating from the center of the vortex instantly enveloped the entire arena.

Countless spectators, and even low-level superhumans, lost control of their bladder and fainted under this oppressive force!
The deafening, ancient whale song, seemingly emanating from the depths of the soul, resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

An indescribable, terrifying giant shadow writhed in the crevice.

Amidst deathly silence and horrified gazes, deep within the azure vortex, a blurry yet soul-chilling phantom of an ancient demonic whale slowly emerged.

The phantom head alone had already obscured most of the sky. Those cold, enormous beast eyes had no pupils, only abyssal spirals that seemed capable of devouring all light sources.

The entire arena trembled under its overwhelming, void-crushing power!
This is the true "Oceanic Catastrophe," the ultimate, devastating move that Greg Arvis, the eldest prince of the Southern Empire, has unleashed—

The phantom of an ancient demonic whale!

Polyphemus the Whale!
It is the natal mount of the Abyss Ruler, one of the three most powerful subordinates of the first Sea God, and possessing a mid-level divine power!
He once swallowed three demigod-level demons whole during the ancient war!
The giant tentacles of the ancient demonic whale, carrying the power to crush continental plates and accompanied by a blue chaotic energy storm, crashed down on the tiny Cohen.

Wherever it passed, space itself twisted and shattered.

That terrifying locking force field even solidified the air.

Faced with the power of this calamity, which was enough to make all beings below the legendary rank feel despair.

Cohen Corleone, the superhuman who had just broken through to the seventh rank, slowly raised his head.

The enormous phantom of the demonic whale at the center of the vortex was reflected in his pupils; there was no fear, no despair.

Instead, countless chaotic, fragmented, seemingly eternally dormant fragments of light flashed through the depths.

"I think I've seen this fish before..." (End of Chapter)