Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

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At first, it was just a dot, an almost imperceptible black dot.

Then, the black spot spread out incredibly rapidly.

Like ink dripped into clear water, but that ink is alive, greedy, and carries a lofty will.

Pure darkness began to spread across the gray-white sky.

There was no light, no shadow, only an ever-expanding void that devoured everything.

The sky seemed to have been torn open, and behind the opening lay cold, eternal darkness.

A vast, ancient, cold, and deathly aura, seemingly containing the ultimate mysteries of the universe and an endless will to destroy, slowly spread out from the ever-expanding darkness like an invisible tsunami, sweeping across the heavens and earth!

This aura surpassed that of a demigod, transcended the mortal realm, and carried a divine pressure that reigned supreme over all things!
This is not the restrained yet terrifying destruction that represents "the end" like that of Vilekis.

This is a more outward-looking, more domineering darkness and nothingness that seems to represent the dark side of the universe itself, a darkness and nothingness so pure as to be the ultimate!

The ever-expanding darkness, the terrifying divine power that permeated the air and froze the souls of all living beings, silently proclaimed—

A true deity who holds the power of darkness and nothingness is descending upon the material world!
Roosevelt, Gnus, and Drummond, who were just celebrating their narrow escape, and everyone else who were just shocked and terrified by Virekis's terrifying strength, were all frozen in place.

A greater, more ancient, and more irresistible terror than that faced with Vilekis gripped the throat of everyone.

That darkness, which devoured light and seemed to connect to the deepest void of the universe, became the sole ruler of the sky.

The world was left with only a suffocating silence, and an omnipresent, instinctive awe and fear of the supreme being.

Erebus, the God of Darkness!
This powerful elemental god, who wields the authority over darkness, nothingness, destruction, and even parts of death and end, has actually broken through the restrictions of the covenant of the gods and descended upon the material plane!
Just as this soul-freezing silence and the dark divine power permeated the air, Vilekis, who had just been intimidating the entire scene like a queen who held the power of life and death, finally showed a subtle reaction.

Virekis's pupils contracted slightly, and her red lips moved almost imperceptibly, emitting a barely audible murmur:

"As expected... it still came."

Clearly, she was not entirely unprepared for the arrival of the God of Darkness.

Standing beside her, Cohen, who always maintained a calmness and composure beyond his years, narrowed his eyes slightly at this moment.

His deep black eyes reflected the ever-expanding, all-consuming darkness in the sky, and deep within them seemed to be the darkest vortex slowly swirling.

His facial expression didn't change much, but the slightly pursed corners of his lips showed that he wasn't as completely indifferent as he appeared.

He turned his head slightly and spoke in a low, steady but clear voice to Virekis, in a volume only the two of them could hear:
"Your Majesty, His will has already locked onto this place."

Now leave. With the 'purification' ritual I performed for you earlier, you have every opportunity to escape this area and go into hiding.

As long as you conceal your divine energy fluctuations and disappear into a void crevice or travel to a secluded demiplane, it will be difficult for Him to track you down in the short term.

Cohen's voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact.

When he mentioned the "purification ritual," his tone carried an unquestionable certainty.

Clearly, they had already engaged in in-depth communication and preparation before Vilekis made her move today.

However, faced with Cohen's seemingly safest suggestion for a way out, Vilekis simply shook her head slightly and said softly:

"Since we're already here, why are we leaving?"
That's perfect. I'm also very curious about the solution you promised that could solve all problems once and for all.

"Look at you, you 'playboy,' besides being able to charm women like me and Adele... well, get them to fight for you, are you really as confident as you claim, able to take down an old enemy at the level of an elemental god?"

This was something Cohen had promised Virekis before. He told Virekis that if she went all out in public on the human continent, especially to help him and Adel, she might expose the aura of her dark godhood.

This attracted the attention and even direct intervention of Erebus the Night, the god of darkness who harbored a deep grudge against her, for "killing her son and usurping her status."

However, Cohen also made a very tempting promise—he was confident that he could help Virekis resolve the deep-seated hatred between her and the God of Darkness that had lasted for countless millennia.

At the very least, he guaranteed that the God of Darkness would never again use this as a reason to hunt down Virekis.

This promise was undeniably irresistible to Vilekis, who had been constantly targeted and hunted by a supreme being of elemental god caliber who wielded the power of darkness, and who had never truly found peace.

Despite her terrifying power, being constantly watched by a truly ancient supreme god is by no means a pleasant thing.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Virekis finally decided to trust Cohen this time and follow his plan.

By agreeing to make a formal move today and "show up" in front of the various forces on the human continent, he not only helps Cohen and Yardelle out of their predicament and deters the villains, but also actively "lures the snake out of its hole," creating an opportunity for Cohen to fulfill his astonishing promise.

Just as Virekis and Cohen were exchanging brief, secret whispers, Erebus, the god of darkness, appeared in the sky.

His calm face contained no emotion befitting a living being, only a divine majesty that looked down upon all living beings, and... a boundless rage and hatred that had been suppressed for countless years!
The gaze of Erebus, the god of darkness, instantly locked onto the exquisitely beautiful and serene figure on the ground—Verekis:
"You killed my son... Virekis, how dare you show your face again!"

A terrifying divine power accompanied these words, crashing down with a deafening roar.

The entire Florence battlefield, and even the distant heavens and earth, trembled violently at this voice imbued with the wrath of the gods.

Countless weaker beings groaned, their faces turning pale. Some even fainted because they couldn't withstand the divine power that struck their souls.

This sentence is like a key, suddenly opening that rusty, deliberately forgotten taboo door in the long river of history.

What emerged from behind the door was not dust, but an ancient secret, a mixture of bloodshed, conspiracy, the fall of gods, and endless hatred, enough to make the entire continent tremble.

For the younger generation and observers who knew little about the long history, the accusations from the God of Darkness came as a bolt from the blue.

All they knew was that the Elf Queen Vilekis was a powerful and mysterious ruler of the Elf race and a key ally in today's battle.

But "killing the offspring of the god of darkness" has completely exceeded the boundaries of their imagination.

The Child of Godslayer?
What an outrageous, insane, and impossible thing that would be!
The Son of God is an being who has divine blood flowing through their veins, possesses a portion of divinity, and holds an incomparably revered status!

Killing such a being is tantamount to forging an irreconcilable blood feud with that god and the entire pantheon.

Countless people gaped, their eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and bewilderment.

However, for those who have lived long enough, or those who come from ancient families or secret organizations with long histories, for ancient demigods like Roosevelt Harper, Gnus Don, and Drummond Quinn, and for knowledgeable reclusive beings like Dean Dumbledore, this is a different story.

The accusations of the God of Darkness did not surprise them too much.

That history dates back to an era even earlier than the war between gods and demons.

In that era, the Elven race had not yet reached the unified and powerful peak it had before its later split. Internal factions were numerous, with each branch acting independently and even experiencing frequent friction.

The title "Queen of the Elves," which later symbolized the highest power and glory of the Elven race, did not exist at that time.

The highest leader of the Elven race is usually referred to simply as "patriarch".

In an era when the Elven race was not a unified entity, a name that would later be remembered (or feared) by all Elven people and even the entire continent's history stepped onto the stage—Verekis the Destroyer.

According to the oldest and most secretive forbidden records, accessible only to a select few at the core of the power structure, Virekis assumed the position of chieftain of her elven tribe at the age of one hundred and thirty.

One hundred and thirty years old is roughly equivalent to about thirty years old in human years for elves who have long lifespans.

Such a young chieftain is extremely rare in the long history of the Elven race.

The fact that she was able to ascend to the position of clan leader at such a young age, surpassing many senior and powerful elders and competitors, was not due to any noble bloodline, outstanding political skills, or benevolent virtue.

What she relied on was killing.

Simple, crude, yet incredibly effective.

The records are vague, but they do mention that the young Vilekis possessed some kind of terrifying power source related to "destruction".

Later generations speculated that it was very likely the fragmented divine essence that came from the Goddess of Destruction.

This power endowed her with unparalleled talent for cultivation and devastating combat prowess.

Before taking over as clan leader, she was already a legendary-level powerhouse. With the blessing of that destructive power, her actual combat strength far exceeded that of her peers, and she was even capable of challenging opponents of higher levels! The Elven race was not a monolithic entity; there were many opponents, competitors, and factions that coveted the position of clan leader.

With the destructive power she controlled, Vilekis slaughtered her way through, eliminating all voices of opposition, both overt and covert, and all competitors who tried to block her path, no matter how senior or how powerful their background. She used the bloodiest and most direct methods to wipe them all out.

Her position as clan leader was earned through sheer bloodshed and sacrifice, treading on the corpses and blood of her own people.

It was from her that the title of the highest leader of the Elven race quietly changed.

She went from being the "patriarch" to the more authoritative and noble "elf queen".

This is not merely a change in name; it symbolizes unquestionable centralized power.

She, Vilekis, became the first and only queen in the history of the Elven race to be recognized by all branches of the Elven race.

After ascending the throne and seizing power, Vilekis did not stop there.

Her innate, intense desire for control and expansionist ambitions drove her to set her sights beyond the Elven race.

She began to expand aggressively outwards using an iron fist.

Relying on her powerful military force and strategic alliances, she annexed, conquered, and assimilated dozens of large and small ethnic groups, tribes, and even small countries in the surrounding area.

The territory and power of the Elven race expanded at an astonishing rate under her leadership.

However, rapid expansion inevitably leads to a strong backlash.

Countless forces whose interests were harmed, countless survivors of extermination and destruction of their nations, and countless races and nations that feared the rise of the Elven race (or rather, feared Vilekis herself) united to form a hostile alliance against the Elven race and against Vilekis herself.

Of course, the reasons for hostility toward Vilekis are not solely based on the hatred stemming from her expansion.

Her unparalleled beauty, a blend of elven elegance and destructive power, and the secret of her possessing a godlike status for destruction, made her the target of covetous eyes of countless ambitious individuals, powerful figures, and even certain evil beings.

Among them, one suitor was the most ardent and the most powerful.

A divine child—a supreme being who possesses divine blood, is born with powerful divinity, and has already reached the level of a demigod at a young age.

He ruled a vast human empire, wielding immense power and terrifying strength, and held himself in extremely high esteem.

He also coveted Virekis's beauty and was even more fervent in his desire to obtain the "Godhood of Destruction" within her, believing it to be the key to help him fully ignite the divine fire and ascend to true godhood.

In order to force Virekis to submit, this divine child used her influence and power to unite many forces dissatisfied with the elves and launch a full-scale siege and pressure campaign against the elves, who had just completed their expansion and had not yet fully digested the fruits of their victory.

With the shadow of war looming, diplomatic threats looming, and economic blockades intensifying, the external pressures facing the Elven race are like a noose tightening ever higher.

At the same time, the internal contradictions brought about by the rapid expansion also began to erupt.

The conflicts between the newly annexed tribes and the native elves, the rifts between different elven branches caused by the distribution of benefits, and the tacit dissatisfaction of some elders and nobles with Virekis's iron-fisted rule... Internal and external troubles, like two heavy mountains, weighed down on the newly consolidated elven kingdom.

At this critical moment, conservatives, doves, and forces dissatisfied with the rule of Vilekis within the Elven race united and submitted a joint petition to their queen.

We implore Your Majesty, for the sake of the future and peace of the Elven race, to accept the sincere love of the divine son of the human empire and enter into a political marriage with him.

In their view, this was the "best option" to resolve the current enormous crisis and even bring the elves a more powerful ally.

Records at this point often become vague and unclear, filled with speculation by later generations.

However, all records pointing to the final outcome indicate that, faced with immense internal and external pressure, and a "coup" from the clan's high command, Queen Vilekis, after a long period of silence and deliberation, outwardly agreed to negotiations.

She announced to the public that she was willing to hold a "peace negotiation" with the divine child and representatives of the various forces that were exerting pressure, to discuss the possibility of a marriage alliance and a ceasefire.

The divine prince, full of pride, believed that the beauty, divinity, and the submission of the elves were all within reach. He gladly accepted the invitation with a large entourage and the leaders and representatives of many allied forces.

However, what they received was not the elven queen dressed in a wedding gown, humbled and submissive.

What awaited them was a meticulously planned, ruthless extermination trap.

Just as the negotiations began, the representatives of both sides took their seats, and the divine child, believing victory was assured and preparing to impose harsh conditions—

Vilekis, the breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly dangerous elven queen, unexpectedly detonated the incomplete Destructive God within her!

It instantly unleashed, concentrated, and released its power to the extreme!
The record uses only a few words to describe the terrifying scene of that day: the sky was torn apart, the earth collapsed, and a destructive gray-white light devoured everything, as if the end of the world had arrived.

The high and mighty divine son, who possessed the cultivation of a demigod, along with the leaders, representatives, and elite guards representing dozens of powerful clans he brought with him, were all reduced to ashes in that instant.

Only after everything had settled down, and the powerful figures from all sides who had been drawn there by the earth-shattering destructive shockwave deduced an even more horrifying truth from the traces remaining at the negotiation site, which had been transformed into an absolute dead zone—

The human emperor and demigod prince who was "executed" by Virekis in such a resolute and cruel manner...

His father, the source of his bloodline, was none other than Erebus Eternal Night, the elemental god who wielded darkness, nothingness, and shadow.

However, simply calling that human emperor the "son of the Dark God" is not entirely accurate, and even greatly underestimates his importance and special status in the Dark God's plan.

That fallen emperor was not simply a demigod descendant with the blood of the god of darkness flowing through his veins and favored by him.

He was also an "avatar," or rather, a "container," meticulously cultivated and painstakingly nurtured by the Dark God Erebus Night.

The God of Darkness, the supreme god who governs darkness, nothingness, and shadow, embarked on a grand plan that lasted for over a thousand years in order to further break through and sublimate his own divinity and authority.

He stripped away a vital part of his divinity and infused it into a carefully chosen human embryo.

This embryo later grew into the emperor of that human empire.

He was not only born with extraordinary dark talents, but also grew at an astonishing speed under the secret guidance and resource allocation of the God of Darkness, eventually stepping into the realm of demigods and establishing a vast human empire.

All of this is not simply the Father God's favor upon His offspring.

That emperor, in essence, was a powerful incarnation prepared by the God of Darkness for himself, a person with independent will and ability to act, a special vessel that carried part of His core divinity.

The ultimate goal of the God of Darkness is to wait for this "incarnation" emperor to successfully ignite the divine fire through his own efforts and with the secret support of the God of Darkness, thus becoming a dark follower god of the same origin as the God of Darkness.

At that time, the God of Darkness will be able to absorb this mature incarnation, which has already been deified, back into himself.

In this way, He can not only reclaim the part of divinity that was stripped away, but also gain the entire divinity, divine fire, and source of faith of a newly ascended dark god!

This will give His divine power an unprecedented leap, and may even allow Him to reach a higher level of divine status!
However, all this meticulous planning, all this long wait, all this enormous investment, was completely destroyed and turned to nothing by the sudden destructive storm that struck by Vilekis on that day.

Virekis, the elven queen who at the time only wanted to escape the oppression of a political marriage, resolve internal and external troubles, or perhaps even just take revenge on the god who had forced her.

In a way, it can be said that they "accidentally" ruined the plan that the God of Darkness had been preparing for over a thousand years.

She not only killed the "avatar" of the God of Darkness, but also forcibly seized the immense divinity left behind by the fallen "son of the gods" emperor during that destruction.

This was tantamount to tearing a piece of flesh from the heart of the God of Darkness.

Not only did it destroy the "divine fruit" that He had carefully cultivated for a thousand years and was about to ripen, but it also stole the sweetest part of the fruit and ate it itself!
A millennia-long plan has been ruined, the crucial "avatar" and divinity have been stolen, and his path to ascension has suffered a severe setback...

Such deep-seated hatred is an utter disgrace to Erebus the Night, the ancient, proud, and indifferent elemental god who regards all things as ants.

It is a blood feud that cannot be erased by time, and is deeply imprinted on the divine essence!
Therefore, today, when Virekis openly took action in Florence to protect Cohen and Adel, she fully activated the divine power within her body.

That unforgettable aura instantly startled Erebus Eternal Night, who was confronting the Goddess of Light and the God of Ice in the divine realm.

This enraged dark god no longer cared about any plans or the crisis of being besieged by the seventy-two demon gods. He forcibly broke through the restrictions of the plane's laws, violated the covenant of the gods, and descended upon the human continent.

He needed to act before the other elven deities (especially those who might protect Virekis) could react and intervene.

Completely annihilate the elven queen who dared to kill His "avatar" and ruin His plans, and reclaim the divinity that rightfully belonged to Him, to vent His hatred!

At this moment, at the center of the slowly rotating dark vortex in the sky, Erebus's scarlet eyes burned with a chilling rage capable of freezing the soul, fixed intently on Vilekis.

The terrifying divine power, like a tangible shackle, enveloped the entire world. (End of Chapter)