Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 224: I have come

They stared at him blankly.

More soldiers poured out from the tents, and without instructions, they began to form a formation around the four that Vale guessed to be lieutenants, the seconds in command to the commander. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The four of them were older, with gray mixed with their black, and they watched the tower with hardened gazes, their surprise gone.

With the soldiers arranged in gleaming metal and with the chain around the tower, they didn’t rush to attack.

"...Seems I managed to get their attention with that... and they’re also cautious... With the way I broke through, I might as well be a Master Knight..."

One of them, a woman with slitted eyes, asked, demanding, "Who are you? Speak before you die."

And she was speaking the truth too. Vale felt the formation shield already built in power, ready to be sent through the chains binding his tower.

Vale decided to go with his usual way and strategy—being blunt and letting them know what he wanted. "Thrain Athrimir killed Commander Wrt and charged him with treason when we all know they worked together. And you guys have been left stranded here like a discarded toy."

A barrel-chested lieutenant pointed a thick finger at the tower, growling. "And you haven’t answered our questions. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I am Vale Athrimir! I have come to take charge of this army!"

For a moment, there was no response. It was as if they did not register the name, but then they connected the dots, and a ripple passed through. Vale Athrimir? The useless one that was exiled for some unknown reason? What is he doing here? Take charge?

The woman laughed and crossed her arms against her chest. "Is this some new version of a joke that hasn’t spread to the military yet? A faceless person like you dares to come here and sprout nonsense?"

"What do you take this place for? And the Clan lea... The Clan has not discarded us. It can’t discard something that is its backbone!"

Vale was pleased to hear such words. At least they hadn’t turned their backs on the Clan. Usually, when a new Clan leader was chosen, all the commanders and any captains holding positions would personally swear loyalty to the new leader. It had been years since a Clan leader had died without explicitly stating their heir.

And that was why Vale was perplexed about Thrain. Why did he kill a commander? He could have pinned the blame on someone or something else. Less convenient and convincing, but smarter. There was a reason Clan leaders put great importance on their army.

"A joke? An Athrimir of the blood never jokes about things like this! Have you not heard? Vale Athrimir went to the Borderland and made it his. I have come to claim this one too!"

There were no more smiles. A thin lieutenant narrowed his eyes. "And you think we will follow you? Why would we do such a thing?"

"Because I have as much right to the Clan leader’s position as anyone. Because I am my father’s son in blood, and there is currently no Clan leader in the Athrimir Clan."

"Thrain Athrimir claims the title," the woman said, curiosity sparking in her eyes.

A laugh boomed out of the tower. "He claims it, true. But so do I!"

A ripple passed through below again. The barrel-chested man looked at the other lieutenant, then swung his big head toward the tower. "If you are truly Vale Athrimir, then you will not hide your face."

"Oh... Is this a test? To see if I can get out of this formation trap?"

Vale declared silently, "Chains are forbidden here!"

The energy chains wrapped around the tower shook and trembled. One of them uncoiled, sending a ripple of shockwaves through the whole shield, but the other chains remained.

"So the formation is more powerful than my tower... Very well then!"

Suddenly, the tower shrank, and someone jumped out of it. Before the chains had time to accommodate the new size, Vale had already used a controlled explosion to send himself blasting downward.

He landed in front of the lieutenants with a ripple of heat and wind. He spread his hands as if he were embracing something. He saw their skeptical expressions, and he didn’t blame them.

Vale was dressed in black cloth and wore a hood that hid his face. Before they could demand anything, he pulled back the hood, revealing his green eyes and a mass of black hair.

It might not have been how they remembered him, but there was no denying that he was Vale Athrimir—at least in appearance. But the army would not be the army if they accepted the word of someone just because he claimed to be someone and looked like them.

So they told someone to bring an enchanted tool from the commander’s tent. It was a well-known enchanted tool used by the army and all the other forces.

It was one connected to a much bigger one out in the Capital. It stored the blood of all the important people in the Clan for easy and quick identification.

It was brought before Vale, and the soldiers gave him space to put his blood on it. If it wasn’t registered, the enchanted tool would react violently. It was shaped like a large platform, and one had to stand on it before using it.

Vale cut his hand with a knife he brought from his ring, but he hesitated. What if somehow Thrain had removed his name from it? Was that even possible? That would turn everything he had been trying to achieve upside down.

But then he shook his head. "Forget it... I’ll just run away if it turns out to be something like that... then think about something later..."

Without waiting, he let a drop of his blood fall onto the enchanted tool. The tool flared to life immediately, the symbols on it lighting up one after another, and then a projection filled the air.

A projection made of purple light. One was the coiled serpent of the Clan, and the other was a name. And as if that wasn’t satisfactory enough, a voice echoed from the enchanted tool.

"Young Master Vale Athrimir!"