Chapter 18: Salomon’s Fury
Salomon’s face twisted with rage, a blazing fire of fury burning in his heart.
He, Salomon, was nothing more than a bastard son of the Boyce family, cast out of the household just one day after entering it! Alone and helpless, he was sent to his teacher, a reclusive powerhouse who only agreed to instruct him out of respect for his father.
But his teacher was a man with a truly twisted personality.
“I endured the humiliation of being thrown out back then, and I endured the torment of living under that teacher. I dreamed of one day standing at the pinnacle of the underworld, crushing all those bastards who looked down on me under my feet—that was my only goal!” Salomon recalled the years of his life.
He had been enduring all along.
When the two old servants brought news that the Boyce family had fallen, leaving only him as the direct bloodline of the patriarch, he felt no sorrow at all—only ecstatic joy!
Good riddance! Those bastards deserved to die!
His chance, Salomon’s chance, had come!
Because the two old servants had arrived with a massive fortune. Following the plan his father had laid out before his death, he had lurked by his teacher’s side for a long time. Only after achieving success did he set out for the Bifrost Continent with the two old servants and his naive little sister.
This time, returning, Salomon was meant to spread his wings and soar, to become someone above others!
The plan had been flawless.
The two old servants were always meant to be expendable pawns. When he first saw Linley transform, Salomon had guessed Linley’s identity. To build a connection with Linley, he had revealed his name. At the time, he believed Linley wouldn’t immediately know his true identity.
After all, it was just a name.
Salomon thought that later, when Linley learned about the Boyce family’s affairs, he would see Salomon as sincere. Revealing his name under such dangerous circumstances—taking a slight risk to earn Linley’s full trust—was well worth it.
Most importantly…
First, he believed Linley wouldn’t learn about the Boyce family’s matters anytime soon.
Second, he had seen through Linley’s character. Especially that time Linley risked his life to save his sister, which made Salomon realize Linley wasn’t the type to covet a friend’s wealth. After all, if Linley would risk his life for his sister, would he really be greedy for some money?
Salomon had calculated everything clearly.
But who would have thought that after the battle at the Desert Castle, the Boyce family’s secrets would leak? Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but suspect Salomon. To dispel their doubts, he told Linley his true identity. And in Salomon’s view… Linley shouldn’t have been able to leak the secret.
First, given Linley’s character, he wouldn’t betray a secret.
Second, Linley had been inside the metallic life form the whole time, with no chance to leak anything.
But now—
This black-robed man recognized him at a single glance.
“The Boyce family is finished, the two old servants are dead. Who in the underworld knows my identity? It must be Linley. Yes, Linley. He deliberately used divine sense to transmit the secret outside Yilan City. It has to be him!” Salomon’s hatred burned deep in his heart.
“That bastard Linley, he faked it so well, even fooling me. I misjudged him!” Salomon’s hatred was extreme. His gaze at Linley seemed ready to tear him apart alive.
His dream!
The goal he had worked toward for countless years!
Because of Linley, it might all come to nothing in a single day!
How could he not hate Linley?
Linley was dumbfounded. He saw Salomon glaring at him with venomous hatred, but he hadn’t leaked his identity!
“Linley, you… you’re something else!” Salomon gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red.
“I—” Linley felt utterly wronged.
He could guess that Salomon must think he had betrayed the secret, but he had never said a word.
“Salomon,” Linley began, wanting to explain.
“Don’t say another word!” Salomon’s gaze was so venomous that even Nis, who knew him well, felt a chill in her heart. Was this still her gentle, kind brother?
“Salomon, what are you staring at my boss for? What’s with that look? What’s your attitude?” Bebe roared angrily. In Bebe’s heart, Linley was like a parent or an elder brother, and he couldn’t stand anyone treating Linley like this, even if it was the brother of the woman he liked.
Inside the cave, the golden lava continued to churn and boil.
But the atmosphere had grown eerily tense.
“Boyce family brat, don’t waste my time. My patience has limits,” the black-robed man, Aliquin, said with a faint smile, holding his golden cat.
Salomon suddenly turned to look at him.
“You want the wealth of the Boyce family? Let me tell you—” Salomon’s face twisted with rage. “There’s none!”
The smile on Aliquin’s pale face instantly vanished, replaced by cold indifference. He stared at Salomon and said, “It seems you’re looking for death.”
“Kill me, and you still won’t get it,” Salomon declared, lifting his head.
“Hmph.”
Aliquin let out a cold laugh. In an instant, he seemed to teleport, a black afterimage clearly appearing before everyone. Aliquin himself materialized in front of Salomon, casually striking out with a palm.
It was that same withered right hand, covered in a transparent glove.
Salomon’s eyes flew wide open as he retreated rapidly. At the same time, a strange black light burst from his hand. “Boom!” The space trembled as the black light shot straight toward that seemingly slow but incredibly fast right hand.
“Pfft!”
With a faint sound, Aliquin’s right hand trembled as he withdrew it. His hand remained as withered as before, without a scratch.
“What was that? Tell me, who is your teacher?” Aliquin looked at Salomon with surprise.
Salomon, now at the far end of the cave, sneered, “Why ask about my teacher? Could it be that a little trick like that scares you?”
A trace of anger flickered across Aliquin’s pale face. He snorted, “I gave you a chance. You didn’t take it.” Aliquin slowly extended his right hand, which gradually turned blood-red and swelled in size.
His entire right hand was now larger than a human head, red as dripping blood.
Aliquin placed the golden cat at his feet, then looked up at Salomon. “You think that little trick of yours can threaten me?” As he spoke, Aliquin suddenly transformed into hundreds of afterimages, nearly filling the entire cave.
Shadow Walk Technique of the Darkness Laws!
“Do I really have to use that move?” Salomon hesitated inwardly.
Suddenly, a blood-red hand the size of a palm leaf slammed toward his head. The space around the hand twisted like a vortex, with faint black smoke swirling within the distorted void.
Salomon’s face changed drastically. Then, his expression twisted with fury as he flipped his hands, black light covering them, and struck back at the blood-red hand.
“Bang!” The cave shook.
Salomon was sent flying like a broken sack. “Crack!” The bones in his arms shattered instantly, blood and bone fragments scattering everywhere. He slammed heavily into the wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then collapsed weakly to the ground.
“Brother!” Nis cried out in alarm.
Linley, Delia, and Bebe all frowned.
“Linley, why did Salomon treat you like that? Could it be because of his identity, and he suspects you leaked it?” Delia transmitted through divine sense.
Linley felt bitter inside and replied, “It seems so, but I—”
“I know,” Delia said, fully aware that Linley hadn’t leaked anything. After all, in the underworld, how many people did Linley even know? He had no way to pass the secret to outsiders.
Linley looked at the severely injured Salomon and could only shake his head inwardly. No matter what he said, Salomon probably wouldn’t believe him.
“Don’t kill me,” Salomon shouted as he struggled to stand.
“Changed your mind about dying?” Aliquin sneered. With a wave of his hand, the golden cat flew back into his arms, and his right hand returned from blood-red to its withered black state. “So, are you ready to hand over the Boyce family’s wealth?”
Aliquin was also worried that Salomon might have stored the wealth elsewhere and not brought it with him. That was why he didn’t want to kill Salomon outright.
“My teacher is named Electra!” Salomon said quickly.
Aliquin frowned, his expression filled with disgust. “I knew it was that freak Electra as soon as I saw your Annihilation Light. Boyce family brat, to be his disciple, you must have some serious endurance.” Aliquin chuckled twice.
Salomon’s face darkened. Thinking about the days by his teacher’s side was indeed painful.
“Where is the Boyce family’s wealth?” Aliquin pressed on.
Salomon’s face stiffened. He had still harbored a faint hope that mentioning his teacher’s name might make the other back off. But… the man didn’t seem to care much about his teacher.
Aliquin understood from Salomon’s expression and sneered, “What, did you think I’d be scared just because you named your teacher? First, given your teacher’s personality, even if you died, he wouldn’t stick his neck out for you. Second, even if he came, I, Aliquin, wouldn’t fear that freak!”
Salomon hesitated for a moment. Seeing Aliquin’s increasingly dark expression, he quickly said, “Mr. Aliquin, please give me some time.”
“Fine,” Aliquin nodded slightly.
He didn’t want to push Salomon too hard. Who knew where Salomon had hidden the treasure?
At this point, besides Linley and his group, there were several other upper-tier god demons in the cave who had remained silent. Hearing the exchange between Salomon and the other, they could guess what the treasure they were escorting was.
“So, this guy is from the Boyce family,” the upper-tier god demons all looked at Salomon.
Salomon himself, however, stared at Linley and said in a low voice, “Linley, do you know how many years I’ve waited for this day?”
“Salomon, I didn’t—”
“Don’t say it,” Salomon cut him off coldly, his gaze filled with venom. “Linley, I’ve been training for over a million years for this day! A million years! Do you know how long that is? And I had to endure the torment of that freak Electra!”
Aliquin’s eyes held a hint of amusement. “A million years? This kid really has some endurance.”
Salomon’s eyes turned red. “I’ve been enduring, waiting! Now, the last hope of our Boyce family, my only hope! I trusted you, told you my identity, but I never imagined you would leak it! You, Linley, want to destroy my only hope!”
“I misjudged you!”
Salomon gritted his teeth. “You greedy wolf, I misjudged you!!!”
Salomon turned to look at Aliquin and said, “Mr. Aliquin, I’m truly amazed that you planted a spy like Linley in my demon squad. I’m impressed, utterly impressed!” Every word Salomon spoke was laced with resentment.
Aliquin raised an eyebrow but smiled. He didn’t deny it!
To Salomon, Aliquin’s smile was one of smug satisfaction. It only fueled his rage further.
“Brother Linley, was it really you?” Nis finally understood what was happening. She looked at Linley in disbelief. “Are you really one of Aliquin’s people? Did you leak my brother’s identity?” She hadn’t understood how the other knew her brother’s identity.
Now, she got it.
Linley felt bitter inside. He opened his mouth and said, “Salomon, Nis, I’m telling you, I never leaked anything. Do you believe me?”
“Nini!” Bebe’s handsome face was flushed with anger. “My boss said he didn’t leak it, so he absolutely didn’t! Besides, we don’t even know that black-robed guy! I swear on my life, Nini, don’t you trust me either?”
“But my brother…” Nis knew very well how hard her brother had worked over the years.
If he succeeded this time, he could soar to great heights.
“Bullshit,” Salomon sneered, glancing coldly at Bebe. “Nini, can’t you see? This Bebe getting close to you was probably planned from the start.” Nis’s face turned pale at his words. Salomon then turned to Aliquin. “Mr. Aliquin, I know Linley is your man, but I want you to kill him! Otherwise, you’ll never get my family’s wealth!”