BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 89 - 88 – Unexpected

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A dark feeling... took hold of me... I hope everything is fine in the spaces—

"Master Joe... has been killed."

Ah...

Joe?

Killed?

How?

Joe... Joe...

"Have you received certain news?" a voice thundered from the sky.

I felt my heart fall into darkness.

Something was torn from it... something precious... something beyond value.

"So, how many pieces of bad news have reached you?" said the blond master.

I raised my head... I didn’t understand what he meant... but it wasn’t good. Not at all.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"How many of your friends have been killed... do you know the number?"

"What does he mean...?" I muttered inwardly... then my thoughts began to connect.

"That’s impossible!" a scream of rage burst from my mouth without awareness.

"You bastard... I’ll rip his head off and split it in half!"

The master didn’t respond... my threats meant nothing to him.

He laughed loudly and said:

"You’ll follow them as well."

Suddenly—

He raised his hand... and a small iron needle appeared.

Swoooosh—

I didn’t see it... at all.

Until it settled into my chest.

Then...

I began to feel it.

A system window appeared instantly...

Warning of incoming danger...

"What the hell is this?!" I shouted.

{ 50% of Accumulation has been disabled – cannot be used until the needle’s effect is removed }

Are you kidding me?

How can something suddenly shut down half my accumulation?

This... is cheating.

My eyes turned back to the master.

I thought fourth-rank masters wielded massive beasts... strikes that split the earth and shatter mountains.

But—

A needle??

What kind of nonsense is this...

Though honestly... this "nonsense" was nearly equivalent to destroying the entire space.

50% of my accumulation... completely sealed.

Flame Art requires massive accumulation... I doubt I can use it much now.

Damn it... how did everything suddenly become impossible?

"Thinking of a solution?" the fourth-rank master’s voice whispered beside my ear again.

"You lost half your accumulation and now you’re trying to figure out the rest... perhaps calculating which attacks you can still perform before the remaining half runs out."

He paused briefly...

"I have two pieces of bad news for you, subordinate," his voice echoed again.

"First... I can hit you again and bring your accumulation to zero." A demonic grin spread across his face as he added—

"Second... even with full accumulation, you wouldn’t be able to do anything against me. In fact, even suicidal attacks wouldn’t work on me. Hahaha... you only have one option."

"My surrender... and praying you’re kind enough to spare me. Right?"

"Hehehe... well said."

"Well... I’ll disappoint you. Even if you’re telling the truth, I won’t believe you. Humans lie... let alone humans from Earth."

A wide smile remained on his face.

"So we have someone with a grudge against the original world... huh? Unlike you, I had a smooth life. A restaurant owner that was always full... a lover who adored me... everything was perfect."

This idiot... bragging about his past.

"Alright. And how many years have you been here?" I asked.

"Maybe forty..." he replied, joy flashing across his face.

"Why is he happy about that...?" I muttered inwardly... then showed what I intended.

A clear mockery appeared on my face despite my anger.

"Forty years and you’re happy about it? Hahaha... how stupid... you’re just an idio—"

Swoooosh—

.

.

.

Ah...

What’s happening...

I opened my eyes... very slowly.

Ah... I feel sleepy...

Where am I...

"Welcome back," a heavy voice echoed—familiar.

"Deception Beast!!" I shouted.

My body jolted violently.

I stood up.

"I’m... inside the cave," I muttered.

Moments ago... before I even finished mocking him... that bastard attacked me.

Maybe he cut off my head like he did to the second-rank master... or something else. I honestly don’t know.

But...

Why am I here?

"What’s going on?" I asked.

The beast laughed. Its voice filled the cave, echoing louder and louder.

"You, little egg... you were utterly defeated. Hahaha."

I didn’t reply... that part was true.

But I still didn’t understand what had happened.

Suddenly—

"My lord," a familiar voice called out.

A soft voice... one that always felt like spring to me.

"Monali... you’re alright... thank God," I said, then—

I hugged her.

"My lord?" she said, surprised.

I didn’t care.

I held her tightly and muttered:

"That bastard said you were all killed..."

"Well... that did happen," Monali replied.

I lifted my head, staring at her in shock. "What?"

"Let me explain, little egg," the Deception Beast said again.

At the same time—

More footsteps approached.

"Louis... Joe... Soman... Rock Leader..." I said in astonishment.

Behind them appeared the rock fighters... and the ten soldiers... all of them.

None of them were injured.

Which meant the beast was lying... but Monali said it wasn’t.

"How is that?" I asked.

"You need some time to remember... but I’ll explain what happened. Listen."

The beast paused... then began recounting:

"You and your commanders completed the training. None of you reached stage 100... after three years. The highest among you was Soman.

He reached stage seventy... unlike his leader, hahaha...

Who was struggling at stage sixty.

In the end, all of you reached sixty... passed it. But only Soman surpassed seventy.

You may not remember now... but we agreed that when I see the right moment for each of you... I would grant a refined weapon.

Those great weapons... if your enemies knew there were more than a hundred of them here... they’d go mad."

The beast fell silent again...

Its words began settling in my mind... and with each one, memories returned.

It continued explaining... and I finally understood.

Soman earned the right, in the beast’s eyes, to obtain one of the refined weapons.

His weapon...

Was not ordinary.

It was more like an ability:

{ Partial Replication }

This refined weapon allows the user to replicate any allied fighter.

It’s similar to summoning a wolf or turtle corpse... but the difference is—

It summons fighters.

Alive ones.

The summoned fighter is identical to the original... but only at half strength.

And...

Without a soul.

Partial Replication wasn’t just powerful—

It allowed something greater:

Partial soul transfer.

The replicated fighter could transfer their consciousness into the copy... making them believe they are the original.

Because all memory of copying and transfer is erased.

That’s why...

Neither I nor any of the others in the battlefield were truly there.

What existed...

Were only copies.

Even Soman himself... the one who defeated his opponent... was just a copy.

But—

Of course, it had limits.

Each replication costs Soman over 75% of his accumulation.

Which means—

He couldn’t summon everyone at once without help.

The Deception Beast... who benefited greatly from our cooperation... didn’t want us to die.

So—

It helped.

Each time Soman summoned a copy...

The beast transported him to an accelerated dimension.

Inside it, he recovered his accumulation.

When he returned... only seconds had passed.

He repeated this multiple times...

Until he summoned everyone.

Even himself.

"I understand," I said aloud.

"What a terrifying ability, Soman... congratulations."

"Thank you, my lord," Soman replied proudly.

"Then let’s exchange information," I said.

"The enemy activated a theft ability... from what I understood, my death would guarantee its activation... and everything in the space—abilities, weapons, resources—would be stolen."

"Yes," they all replied.

"So what’s the solution?" I muttered.

No one answered.

I didn’t give them time.

"We defeat them and take their abilities. Hahaha... imagine they come to steal, only to be robbed instead... that would feel amazing."

They all agreed enthusiastically.

Moments later... my awareness fully returned.

I began sensing their energy.

Their strength... far beyond those second-rank masters.

But—

"They’re still far from that bastard," I whispered.

The Deception Beast noticed.

I don’t know how... but it did.

"You’re thinking about that fourth-rank man?"

"Yes."

"He is stronger... but—"

"What?"

"You are strong too."

Heh... what encouraging words.

Alright... no fear.

"Hey, everyone!" I raised my voice.

They all turned... expecting some inspiring speech—as if I had one.

"I want revenge on that arrogant master... don’t you want the same against those who defeated you?"

Silence fell—until Louis broke it.

"What a stupid question. Of course I’ll crush that damn girl."

"And me," Joe muttered from afar... the least energetic among them.

"I was killed by a second-rank master... easily. I’ll avenge my stupidity."

"Me too," Soman said... then laughed.

"I won’t defeat anyone—I already did, hahaha... you weaklings."

"You bastard..." Louis snorted.

"Hahaha, alright, enough," I said.

"The ones who were defeated... weren’t you. But it was a good lesson. Let’s use it—and win. Our city must stand against the enemies."

Added Lines:

Everyone’s eyes... were burning with excitement and revenge.

A surge of exhilaration hit me suddenly...

It was time for the decisive battle.

The second round.

The first was theirs...

The second—

I will never allow it to end in anything but our overwhelming victory.

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With our new strength... all of us—

Without a doubt...

We will win.

And we will drag those lunatics into hell.