Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 164: Pa Pa

’...were they overrun by monsters? The Aberration-rank monsters overran them?.... Those monsters are also Errant Knight—maybe a little bit weaker but definitely more powerful than Squires.....’

’...but the problem is that monsters never walk in ones or twos... They fight in large groups.... So even the tower couldn’t help? Why don’t they just run away.... Maybe I should stop making assumptions...’

Vale hesitated. He looked at the fireball he had locked in the corner. "I can quickly switch places if something goes wrong."

He took a deep breath and was just about to open it when another voice rose in the air again. It was Leojan this time as well, but his voice had lost the pain and fear from earlier. Now, it was calm and emotionless. "Vale. You can come out now!"

Vale flinched and recoiled away from the door immediately, his neck going cold. He glanced at the door with narrowed eyes as if he were expecting it to open. He muttered suspiciously, "The Forsaken Tribes don’t just call me Vale, they call me Blessed!"

"Shape-shifting? The monsters have taken his form?" Vale’s eyes widened. "They were waiting for me to go in after all. That’s why they never put up a serious fight earlier!"

Vale took a deep breath. He was suddenly glad he hadn’t let Tiber and Slya accompany him.

Leojan’s voice came again, but this time it also had a sinister angle to it. "Vale? Vale Athrimir? Come out. We are leaving... for the Forsaken Tribes. The Flagbearer is waiting."

Vale sneered. "So it’s probably taken over his memories as well, but not to the extent of understanding the context. The Forsaken Tribes call their Flagbearer ’Chief!’"

He began to pace the room.

"Shit. How will I leave this place? And what do they even want with the Artifact? It’s not like they don’t have access to such weapons themselves." Suddenly, he paused. "What if... What if they are here for me?"

Vale shook his head. "No, that’s not possible. I’m not that important. I’m not important to the Borderland at all... No, with the Tower, I can basically call myself a Commander and try to force the Flagbearers to clear the Rift."

"Is that why they want me? Why they killed the previous Commander?" His voice echoed in the room.

His eyes narrowed in thought. ’.....I’ve also met that monster with an aura that’s somehow similar to the Mark Order, and he talked about something regarding some old man.... No, first things first... I have to get out of here... I can think about their reasons later when I’m out there alive.....’

He sighed. "Now, how do I get out? Running out there means certain death. A Tower Captain was killed even with his enchanted tower. And that monster that took over can’t be so simple, it’s talking, after all!"

He glanced down at his sword. "Maybe I can use all the essence in my core in one push? Ah, I already used half to burn that underground village. Besides, Frexon took a hit like that from me and survived without much of a scratch."

Vale stopped pacing and sat down on the throne. He was looking for something that might help him from the enchanted seat. Suddenly, his vision blurred. He saw pitch black, and when he recovered, he wasn’t seeing inside the building anymore.

He was looking at a forest that spread below him. The forest was full of twisted trees, and he saw small monsters darting in and out of the trees.

’.....This... This is outside! But this is behind the fortress.... Maybe I can see from the front too?...’

Excited, he tried to refocus his eyes and swing his vision to the other side, but unfortunately, all he saw was blurring darkness that made his eyes water and sting. He understood then. "The enchantment that allows for the front and other sides has been broken."

He stood up and massaged his eyes, his gaze thoughtful. "I can’t survive inside this place. Sooner or later, I have to leave here. But how?"

He looked up at the endless dark ceiling and froze. "I have the Tower. I should be able to use its power to escape, but I don’t know how much essence that will take. I currently have half of my powers. Will that be enough to power it and fight?"

"Maybe I should stall and wait for Takoda to come and rescue me. This must be the monster he didn’t want out in the first place, right? But they’re here now," he muttered to himself. "I know Tiber and Slya will force him to."

The thought of his subordinates disturbing the man brought a slight smile to his face. Vale decided to wait. ’.....Why fight something I have little hope of beating...?....’

He sat there for some hours, slowly recovering his essence when he heard the monster’s voice again. It was still using Leojan’s, and it sounded closer than before, at the very door!

"You want to create time for others to come? How smart. And you are right. I can’t wait for that to happen. But do you think you are the only one stalling for time?"

Vale sat up when he heard that, the nape of his neck shivering.

"Compared to the whole fortress, the door itself should not be a problem. Troublesome and time-consuming, but that’s expected." More voices suddenly joined, creating an overlapping effect. "We can’t get to the underground, but we can do this much!"

Pa! Pa!

The sound made Vale jump, and he looked toward the door, his eyes widening. A green liquid was slowly spreading upward, drilling through and slowly making the metal rust, as if it was the essence of corruption.

’....This... It must have been happening from the outside for a while, but now the monster is about to break through!’

Vale didn’t think. He only acted.

He raised his hand, and a gleaming darkness rushed out, forming into the Chained Artifact,Vale’s Tower! He stared at it in amazement and fear one more time, swallowed, and gestured for it to come closer.

With his heart beating faster and the creaking of metal rusting from the door, he injected a large amount of essence into the Tower. The Tower absorbed the essence without any visible change before it began to shudder.

Thick red cracks appeared around it, pulsing with a deep crimson glow, as if an earthquake or volcanic eruption was happening within it. Vale shrank back, but instead of falling apart, the Tower began to expand rapidly.

In seconds, a 30-meter tower stood there, gleaming black with red fire running through its cracks. He felt the heat radiating from it, and Vale smiled. "You’ve already taken in my essence. Now then, let’s see what you can do."