Chapter 507: Taking A Step Back. (Bonus Chapter)
For a minute, Thoren and the scorpion stared at each other without speaking, neither of them willing to break the tense silence that had settled over the cavern.
Bang! Bang!
Above them, the sound of objects colliding continued to reverberate through the cavern, occasionally causing small pieces of stone and dust to fall from the ceiling.
Under the pressure of the colossal scorpion, an ordinary awakener would have lost consciousness long ago, unable to withstand the terrifying mental pressure that seemed to permeate every corner of the cavern.
Thoren without his Awakened Soul wouldn’t fare any better, as the overwhelming presence alone would have been enough to suppress his mind and leave his body completely frozen.
Even at that, he could feel the heavy toll on his mental strength, as every passing second under the ancient scorpion’s pressure consumed a considerable amount of his mana.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed his Awakened Soul to the limit, allowing the powerful soul energy to continuously circulate through his mind and resist the invisible pressure bearing down on him.
Finally, the Scorpion broke the silence, her ancient voice echoing softly throughout the cavern despite the overwhelming presence that still lingered around her.
"I think you’ve already proven yourself, little human."
"Your talent and ability are something I’ve never encountered in my long life."
While she was speaking, the horrifying mental pressure receded, and the cavern returned to its previous tranquility as the oppressive atmosphere gradually disappeared from the surroundings.
As for Thoren, he refused to retract his Awakened Soul aura, keeping the powerful aura surrounding his body as he continued watching the ancient scorpion with unwavering vigilance.
Against such an ancient entity, one couldn’t be too careful, especially when he had no idea what she was truly capable of or what her intentions toward him were.
Although he was confident of his escape if things went south, he still did not want to risk it by acting complacent.
"Cautious, I see," she said, as a light chuckle escaped from her massive mouth, her enormous eyes narrowing slightly as she seemingly found his caution amusing.
Taking a deep breath, Thoren asked calmly, refusing to allow the ancient scorpion’s overwhelming presence to influence his judgment.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Even though he had many burning questions in his mind, he knew his priorities.
Understanding why this ancient existence had deliberately brought him deep beneath the Scorpion City was more important than satisfying his curiosity.
The ancient scorpion did not respond immediately, as her massive eyes stared at the little human for a moment before she slowly opened her maw, her ancient gaze remaining fixed upon him without the slightest change.
"You’ve killed my descendant and weakened my clan. How do you think I should have reacted?"
Instead of responding, she threw back a question, her enormous voice carrying a faint weight that made the cavern tremble slightly.
"So now, are you trying to defend your clansmen or what?" Thoren sneered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked directly into her enormous crimson eyes.
"Your intimidation and pressure are useless against me. If you can save your descendant and clansmen, we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place."
"I strongly believe with your strength, you could have stopped your descendant and clansmen from perishing, yet you did nothing."
"This alone tells me everything I need to know."
"So, enough of your game and let’s talk about what will benefit both of us."
"After all, you don’t want your Scorpion Clan to become history, right?"
Listening to Thoren’s blatant threat, the ancient scorpion did not show the slightest change in her massive eyes, remaining completely unmoved by his words.
She continued to stare at him with the same detached expression, as though the threat coming from a human who had only recently reached the threshold of this world’s peak power was nothing more than an insignificant disturbance.
"When was the last time I was threatened?" she asked, acting as if she were genuinely lost in thought as countless memories from her extraordinarily long life surfaced within her mind.
"That should be one thousand, three hundred years ago. Ah, this feeling..." A sigh escaped from her massive mouth, carrying a strange mixture of nostalgia and amusement.
"Human kid, when you’re in my presence, you don’t threaten me."
Her voice was calm, almost gentle, but there was a terrifying pressure hidden beneath her tone that caused the surrounding atmosphere to become subtly heavier.
"I don’t like it. Do you understand?"
Her massive orb-like eyes rested on Thoren for a moment, watching him carefully while waiting for his response.
"Very well. But I hate it when people try to play on my intelligence," Thoren responded, his expression remaining composed despite the terrifying existence standing before him.
His tone was firm and confident, showing that although he understood the difference between their strength, he had no intention of allowing himself to be treated like a foolish child.
He might have taken a step back, but his stance did not change, and neither did the unwavering determination within his eyes.
Looking at Thoren, the ancient scorpion realized she could not see through him, something that surprised her more than she was willing to admit.
Many would have tried to flatter her or get on her good side, especially after discovering the terrifying strength she possessed.
Some might even be trembling uncontrollably, unable to confront her directly after sensing the ancient pressure radiating from her colossal body.
Yet, here he was.
A human who had just touched the threshold of this world’s peak power and was yet to see what lay beyond it, yet he still possessed enough courage to stand before her without losing himself.
And that alone made her like him.
In her long years, she had seen many things, witnessed countless individuals rise to prominence and disappear into the river of time, and one of them was genius beyond normal comprehension.
But one that was confident and knew when to step back in the face of absolute authority was few, making such individuals exceptionally rare in her long existence.
That’s rare.
Most of them were arrogant and, in the face of truly powerful beings, they lost themselves and wallowed at their feet, completely abandoning their dignity and pride in exchange for a chance to survive.
Sigh!
A deep sigh escaped from her mouth as she slowly lowered her enormous head, her ancient eyes becoming slightly more serious as she finally decided to stop testing the young human before her.
"Now, shall we discuss why the abyss kept on sending you humans to our world?"
As for avenging her descendant, the thought never crossed her min.
She knew already that this day would come, but she never expected it would be at the hands of a human from another world.
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[AN: This Chapter is sponsored by: Daemoncles.
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Thank you once again. ]