In the capital of a certain nation, debris and rubble covered the city. Flames raged everywhere, reducing everything to ashes.
In an open field surrounded by ruins of civilization, nearly a hundred people and armored vehicles were around them.
Two men were chained to metal rods behind them, completely restrained. The rest stood around like guards watching over prisoners.
Among the prisoners was a young man around the age of 21, with a messy hairstyle, 5 feet 9 inches tall, and a handsome face, wearing a shining white outfit, who stood out as he was encircled by dozens of armed men.
The two took chairs and sat down in front of him with an amusing smile.
"Anything you wish to say, Asthon, son of the head of the Xing noble clan?"
The Xing noble clan, Aldridge noble clan, and Blackwood noble clan , was the country's strongest political force, holding vast economic and military influence even when not in power.
But Now…
"Why do this now? With an invasion, we should stand together," Asthon growled.
"It's because you're weak, your father's dead and your clan is weakened. If we kill you, we can seize all your family's assets," Braxton sneered.
Rhett smiled coldly "With your forces under our control, we can handle the aliens on our own"
Highly advanced aliens had invaded the world, crushing nations and killing millions, pushing civilization to the brink of collapse.
The noble clan's selfish desires in this situation, when civilization was on the verge of collapse, enraged Asthon.
Asthon, clenching his fist, gritting his teeth, and asked, "How could you…. be so selfish?"
They didn't say anything, they just stood up Braxton was about to take out a gun, but a loud, furious voice called up, causing him to halt.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on the young master!! I will rip you to shreds if you do!"
They turned at the source of the voice, spotting a middle-aged man, bloodied and battered, chained, glaring at them with eyes like daggers.
"Krylian the head of security and political advisor of Xing Family, don't worry you will join him very soon as you are up next"
"Our armed forces will never blindly believe in you!! If they find out you are responsible for our death, your death is certain…" Krylian declared,
"We're getting rid of anyone who stands in our way… Now shut up!" Braxton sneered, ignoring Krylian's threat.
Braxton took out a gun, pointed it towards Asthon, and asked. "Any last words?"
Asthon didn't speak or even try to break free, as he couldn't break metal chains, so he accepted his fate.
As Braxton was about to pull the trigger, he closed his eyes, preparing himself for the inevitable.
Before Braxton could pull the trigger, an explosion occurred nearby, grabbing their attention, causing Braxton to halt.
Asthon turned around, spotting smoke rising from a distance, then something looking like a black dot rose up, leaving a blue trail behind, and then it started to fly towards them.
Not knowing what it was, Asthon frowned slightly but upon closer inspection, his face wrapped in horror, his body trembled in fear.
"Isn't… Isn't that an alie… alien..."
Seconds later, an announcer's voice blared from a vehicle "Aliens detected! Approaching at incredible speed 3 minutes until contact! We need to escape now if we want to live!"
Instantly, fear spread. Guards who had been aiming their guns trembled, some dropped their weapons and bolted toward the vehicles.
Seeing the chaos, Rhett declared, "We are leaving! Everyone get on the vehicles right now!"
Almost like waiting for this command, the guards dropped whatever they were doing and rushed towards the vehicle.
Braxton urgently pointed to Asthon and Krylian, "What about killing them?" he asked.
"The alien will do that for us but if we stay behind, we will be killed along with them! Now hurry, let's leave!!"
Braxton nodded since what he said was true. As they were about to leave, a frustrated and angry voice called out to them.
"Are you two really doing this, you fucking old geezers, leaving allies behind to die?"
Braxton sneered. "In this world, survival and power are all that matter…."
Veins bulged as Asthon clenched his teeth so hard his gums bled. "If I survive this, I'll grow stronger, hunt you down, and make you suffer a fate worse than death. I swear, " he vowed.
Hearing this, they sneered and boarded their vehicles, which departed one by one, leaving them behind to die.
Watching them leave, he felt betrayed and abandoned. Rage burned hotter than the flames he longed to tear them apart
"First I need to break free…"
Before he could finish his words, a voice cut through like a knife grabbing his attention.
"Young master, look above you!!"
Sensing the despair in his voice, he looked up. He spotted a heavily armored entity hovering above the ground a few meters away before descending to the ground with a loud thud.
"Damn… Aliens have arrived..."
It was hopeless they couldn't fight the aliens, nor could they run. They were prey waiting to be slaughtered.
The alien ignored his distress, its gaze sweeping past everyone, even Asthon, before fixing on Krylian.
Before anyone could react, the alien rushed towards Krylian, appearing in front of him in a heartbeat, probably through the use of advanced technology.
Seeing this, Asthon roared, "Don't you dare harm Krylian. If you do, I will kill you!!!"
"Young master, break free at any cost and escape while he is preoccupied with me! Your life is more valuable than my own life!!!"
"I am not leaving without you!"
Krylian was like family, his protector since before birth, showering him with fatherly love his absent father never gave.
He couldn't abandon him. Gritting his teeth, he pulled at the chains until deep cuts opened, blood staining his hand crimson.
Suddenly, a scream tore through the air as he turned to see a blue aura leaking from Krylian's body into the alien's hovering palm
Krylian screamed in pain as his face drained of color, sweat soaked his body, and he began to twitch.
Asthon didn't know what the alien was doing or what the blue aura was, but it was clear it could be fatal.
"Leave him alone!!"
The alien obviously didn't stop what he was doing. To make him stop, he had to use force.
"I need power…"
He needed power to not only save Krylian but also to take revenge against the two noble heads.
Without power, he couldn't achieve anything, even survival was impossible.
At this moment, his yearning for power exceeded anything that he had experienced before.
Then…
Something changed, and suddenly he felt a strange energy coursing slowly increasing in quantity through his body.
As the energy flowed he felt like he was being electrified, as if electricity was coursing through his body instead of blood!
Not only that, his eyes became hotter and began to glow. He felt a strange power in his eyes, it was hard to explain, but he felt like he could uncover all the secrets of the world.
Suddenly, he felt like something had shattered at the depths of his soul, flooding his body with energy; the pain was gone, too.
It only left one sensation… and that was power.
"Wha…"
Before he could think about what was happening to him, a scream tore through the air once again, grabbing his attention.
"Ahahaha!!!"
Asthon turned around, his face wrapped in horror by what he saw. Krylian's face became even paler, his breathing was heavy, almost like he was on the verge of death.
"Krylian!!"
Now he didn't care where it came from, only one thing was on his mind, and that was saving Krylian!
So he pulled the chains with all his might as blood flowed from the cuts, filling the air with the scent of blood!
Then…. Cracks finally started to form on the chains.
As cracks formed on chains, something even stranger happened: a line of words appeared in his retina.
(Installing Development system…. Installation complete)
A dam holding back his power broke, flooding his body and eyes with enormous amounts of power.