The Silver King had finally stepped out into the open. Moreover, he was constructing numerous territories of his own in various regions. It seemed he was declaring that his ambition no longer needed to be hidden.
The leaders were panicking.
Before this, while the Silver King was still contained within Tokyo, these figures could still delude themselves by thinking that his territory was merely a childish game to him. But when the second and then the third territories subsequently sprang up, no one could dismiss it as a game anymore.
Moscow, Russia, ten o'clock at night.
Andrei Litvintsev gazed up at the sky with caution. Beside him, his Initiator, Yulia Kochenkova, slowly offered comfort.
"Don't worry, today might not necessarily be a confrontation."
"I know, but…"
Both belonged to the Russian Sorcerer Corps (Phù Thủy Đoàn), but they were not Russian nationals. Both were Belarusians, but after the stage five Gastrea Libra, also known as the "Plague King," destroyed the whole of Belarus, they lost their country. They coincidentally met in the Sorcerer Corps and became a Promoter-Initiator pair.
Litvintsev was still fortunate; having been a spy, he managed to successfully escape to Russia using his superior skills. But Yulia was not so lucky.
Ten years ago, when Belarus was facing the tragedy of extinction due to the virus released by Libra, Yulia's mother desperately fled to Russia.
Born in a colonial zone established by the Russian government, Yulia witnessed her mother become ill and die from the complications of postpartum fever almost since birth. Due to the extremely poor quality of healthcare, her mother also lost the opportunity to be cured.
Many years later, when she was taken in by the Sorcerer Corps, Yulia was nearly dead. It was known that she was curled up in a dark alley, eating spoiled food, and didn't even have the strength left to swat flies off her face.
It was during this time that she met Litvintsev.
Currently, the two of them, along with over a hundred other Promoter-Initiator pairs, were on a special mission: to "be vigilant" against a single individual.
It must be noted that this was the highest-level force of the Sorcerer Corps. Over a hundred Promoter-Initiator pairs all ranked within the top 1,000 of the IP rankings. There was even no shortage of pairs ranking in the top 200 or 100.
Like Litvintsev and Yulia, who were ranked 77th, they could be considered extremely high-tier. Yet, there were several pairs like them present here.
However, Litvintsev showed no sign of optimism.
The Silver King's exploits—no, his divine feats—were enough to drive any army to despair. A power like a god walking in the mortal world; calling him a mobile nuclear bomb was too understated.
And yet, their Sorcerer Corps intended to take action against this person.
Although the leadership had stated this was merely a "precautionary" measure, their ambiguous attitude made it impossible for Litvintsev to believe them. The politicians were full of lies, never viewing the members of the Sorcerer Corps as human beings, but only as tools to work for them. They likely wouldn't even blink an eye if they sold them out.
Just then, the earpiece in Litvintsev's ear announced that the target had been located.
"It's the moon! Look up at the moon!"
Litvintsev and Yulia instinctively looked up.
They saw a figure standing in mid-air, blocking a part of the moon.
His two wings were spread wide, somewhat resembling the wings of a mythical dragon. However, the steel-like appearance of the wings gave its style a blend of supernatural fantasy and scientific technology.
The moonlight shone down, causing the silver armor to emit a mysterious, brilliant glow.
This was the Silver King.
He descended from the sky. Not long after, a group of Russian leaders lined up neatly to welcome the Silver King.
"Sir, as long as you have any request…"
"You will grant it, won't you?"
"Then, if I want Moscow to become my territory, do you dare to agree?"
The leaders fell silent. This was something they simply did not dare to decide.
Before even considering agreement, the military generals would certainly not approve.
The Silver King merely scoffed, not considering it a major issue at all.
If he truly wanted to occupy Moscow, it wouldn't be impossible. Even if he was just one person.
But Asahi's goal had never been a war of occupation. Otherwise, the whole world would have trembled from the very first day he descended upon this world.
"Who is the operator of IISO?"
"Sir, that… we are also not sure…"
The Silver King frowned.
"Then the location of IISO's headquarters."
"This…"
The person hesitated, clearly giving the same non-answer as before.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from the Silver King. Not only the leaders and bodyguards, but even the Sorcerer Corps members lying in ambush nearby felt a chill run down their spines.
No one here was a novice; even the young Initiators had undergone strict training, let alone the veterans who had survived the Gastrea War and spent decades on the battlefield.
But no one had ever encountered anything like the Silver King.
This wasn't even a matter of being strong or not.
But from the aura mixed with killing intent, they sensed what felt like millions of tormented souls screaming; all submerged in an endless sea of blood, and the Silver King reigned above this crimson ocean.
In this meeting, they finally realized that the existence before them was not just blessed with the mighty power of a god—he could even be described by the name: God of War!
Some were panicked, some were fearful, and some were regretful.
If the Silver King had appeared during the Gastrea War, humanity might not have been shattered as it was now.
"Do you think I am playing games with you?"
"Perhaps so, but I think you fundamentally wouldn't dare pay the price for this game. So, it would be best to think carefully."
"Sir, we truly dare not hide anything. The operator of IISO has always been kept a strict secret. Even the most core members and those with Level 11 information access cannot investigate it."
This leader answered truthfully.
IISO was a secret that everyone wanted to know, but currently, no side had the surplus energy to find out. The only thing known was that the main headquarters of IISO was not located in any safe zone of the remaining nations. It was so mysterious that some had speculated the IISO base was the former military base on the moon. However, nothing had ever been confirmed.
In that case, the Silver King had nothing more to interrogate these people about. Because what they knew, he also knew. After all, he had previously used Seitenshi's Level 11 authority to access a great deal of information.
Finally, he departed, flashing away as quickly as he had appeared. Vanishing from the Moscow sky.