BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 75 – Above the Sky

He was standing there...

High in the sky.

Not moving.

Not speaking.

Not even changing his posture.

A fourth-rank master... blond.

His body was fixed in the air as if the sky itself were carrying him. His long blond hair swayed slowly with the winds above, and his eyes were half-closed like someone contemplating something distant that others could not see.

There was no armor surrounding him.

Nor any explosive aura.

But...

From him emanated a terrifying concentrated energy.

It was not a dispersed energy.

It was compressed... concentrated... as if a small star were imprisoned inside his body.

Even the winds around him moved cautiously.

As if the air itself feared approaching him.

Above him...

The sky began to change.

Thin threads of blue light stretched across the space like a vast net.

At first they were intertwined. But also spaced apart.

But with time...

They began to intertwine more.

The lines of light started connecting with each other from more angles. And little by little, they formed a complex celestial network.

As if something enormous was being built there.

But below...

I did not have time to look for long.

Because death was behind me.

Woooosh!

The air exploded behind my back.

The massive eagle attacked again.

I raised my head for just a single moment...

And saw its shadow swallow the ground.

Its wings were larger than two houses.

Its shining claws were like swords.

Every movement it made carried only one promise:

Death.

I jumped to the side.

Its claws struck the ground.

Boooom!

The red earth exploded.

Rocks scattered.

If I had been a single moment slower...

But my body was moving instinctively.

I ran.

I jumped.

I rolled.

Every movement was a desperate escape.

Every second was a miracle.

I was panting.

My chest burned.

My legs had become heavy.

My energy was draining at a terrifying speed.

But the eagle did not tire.

It was fast.

Terrifying.

Each of its strikes was enough to kill a second-rank master.

And more.

Once again...

It attacked.

Its giant wing descended as if it were a wall falling from the sky.

Woooosh!

I slipped under the strike.

Its wing hit the ground.

The earth shook beneath my feet.

I rolled away.

I stood up.

I ran again.

The chase continued.

Long moments.

Or perhaps minutes.

I could no longer estimate time.

All I knew...

Was that I was still alive.

And that it would not last long.

Then...

Suddenly...

The eagle stopped.

My heart tightened.

I turned slowly.

It was standing on a shattered rock.

Its wings slightly folded.

Its sharp eyes moved slowly.

But not toward me.

Toward something else.

I followed its gaze.

On the ground...

There was a twisted corpse.

A shattered body.

Broken armor.

And pools of blood.

A second-rank master.

.

Just a short while ago...

I had seen what happened to him.

One strike.

Just one strike from the eagle.

It was not even a full strike.

Just a wing movement.

Just its forward surge.

But it was enough.

The man fell like a broken doll.

.

Now...

His body was twisted in an unnatural way.

As if his bones had turned into powder.

The eagle continued staring at him for a few moments.

Then...

It slowly raised its head.

And turned.

This time...

Toward the other second-rank master.

He was standing far away.

His face was pale.

His eyes wide.

I could see the fear in them even from this distance.

He had seen everything.

He saw how the eagle attacked.

And how it tore apart his companion.

And how his resistance turned into nothing.

The terror was clear in his body.

And suddenly—

The eagle attacked.

The man screamed.

Then turned and ran.

He did not try to fight.

He did not even try to attack.

He understood the truth.

Defending against this creature...

Was like a sheet of paper before a knife.

The chase continued.

The eagle attacked.

And the master dodged.

The man jumped over a rock.

Then dashed to the side.

The eagle’s claws tore the ground behind him.

In the sky...

Above everyone...

The blond fourth-rank master was still standing.

He did not move.

But the luminous network above him...

Was becoming more complex.

The threads were connecting more.

More.

And more.

Meanwhile below...

The chase was nearing its end.

A sudden scream.

I stopped for a moment.

I looked.

Blood.

The second-rank master’s foot... flew off.

The eagle severed it with one strike.

The man fell to the ground.

He was screaming in pain.

A terrifying scream.

"Damn you, you bastard!"

He tried to stand.

His body was trembling.

But his eyes had not lost their madness.

He raised his trembling hand.

On his chest...

Three crossed bronze blades.

This armor had protected him before. From my attacks.

But now...

It began to change.

The three blades opened.

They moved.

They extended.

Then

They split.

Into dozens.

Then hundreds.

Hundreds of sharp blades.

Each one long and shining like a blade edge.

The man screamed.

Then released them.

The blades rushed forward like a storm.

Their speed was terrifying.

Even the air itself was torn.

Then.

A tremendous collision sound rang out.

But...

Nothing happened.

The blades stood in the eagle’s body.

Some broke.

Some deflected.

But the eagle...

Was not affected.

Even its feathers were barely torn.

The master’s face froze.

Filled with terror.

He slowly raised his head.

Looked toward the sky.

Toward the blond fourth-rank master.

Who was still standing motionless.

He screamed.

"You bastard!"

His voice was full of anger and despair.

"Why don’t you help?!"

He breathed with difficulty.

Then screamed again.

"You betrayed the agreement!"

His eyes were red.

His face was full of rage.

"The Master will not stay silent about this!"

"You decided to take the spoils for yourself, you—"

Suddenly...

Only one finger moved.

The blond master’s finger.

A small movement.

Barely visible.

Swoooosh.

The second-rank master’s head flew off.

It rolled across the ground.

His body remained standing for a moment...

Then fell.

Silence spread.

I whispered without realizing:

"What...?"

I stared at the sky.

At that blond man..

I had barely seen his finger move.

One strike.

He did not use a weapon.

He did not move from his place.

And yet...

He brought down a second-rank master.

As if killing an insect.

A chill ran down my back.

I suddenly understood.

That man... was extremely dangerous... to an immense degree.

"Let us begin."

The blond master’s voice whispered with cold calm, as if the words carried no weight... and yet what followed made the air itself feel heavier.

"It is a good game..."

He added after a short moment, while a quiet demonic smile formed on his lips. The smile of someone who did not see the scene before him as a battle... but as entertainment.

Above him, high in the sky,

The intertwined blue networks began moving more slowly.

They drew closer and closer to one another, overlapping and weaving together.

Line after line... knot after knot... until it seemed as though the sky itself had been covered by a massive cage of light.

Then...

They stopped.

The threads suddenly became still, no longer moving, suspended there with strange stability, as if they had become part of space itself.

"The preparations are complete."

The blond master whispered again, clear satisfaction in his voice.

He tilted his head slightly as he looked down at the destruction spread beneath him.

"All that remains now... is to kill the master hiding here... and then harvest all the traits and treasures."

My heart trembled for a moment.

"What does he mean...?"

I whispered to myself unconsciously.

I stared at the blue network hanging in the sky.

Every thread pulsed with a faint glow... and every intersection looked like a dense knot of energy.

"The preparations are complete? Stealing traits and treasures?"

My eyes narrowed further.

"It seems... this blue network... is what makes that possible."

A heavy feeling began creeping into my chest.

This was not just a combat technique...

It was something far greater.

The blond master slowly raised his hand.

It was a simple movement... barely noticeable... yet the air around him bent as if making way for it.

Between his five fingers, something extremely small appeared.

At first it looked like a spark of light... a blue dot barely visible.

But it did not remain that way.

It began to grow slowly...

The dot turned into a small sphere... then began stretching and taking shape, as if invisible matter was forming around it.

A few moments passed.

And with every second... its shape became clearer.

Until...

I finally realized what it was.

My eyes widened involuntarily.

"A key?" I whispered.

A key made of energy... it continued expanding... then shot toward the pillar of blue light.

The moment it reached it... a circular opening appeared like a black mouth inside the pillar of light.

The key rushed toward the opening... then settled inside it.

Suddenly...

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

"What??"

{ The Transport Cube in your personal space has been activated }

{ The Transport Cube is a cooperative attribute that requires placing cubes as central points in six regions to activate. Once the cubes complete their connection with one another, the attribute begins activation. }

{ When the six central points are placed, the calculation of all attributes and resources possessed by every master within the space begins. }

{ After 30 hours from the connection, all attributes within the spatial range will transfer to the master of the attribute himself. }

"What the hell is this? What kind of attribute is this?"