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'Damn, that was one strong attack!' Max thought as he stood up from the crash site. He hadn't expected Five to have already comprehended level 3 Sword Aura, nor had he realized that a level 3 Sword Aura would be so overwhelmingly stronger than level 2.

In the end, he was caught off guard and could only manage a defensive move.

"But from his words, it felt like he was sending me off… but like this?" Max smiled wryly. Most people would have been heavily injured after being hit by an attack like that, and Five used that to send Max off until next time.

'What a madman…' Max sighed, looking around in the dust. His Three Dimensional Body skill picked up some interesting figures around him.

Allen conjured a sword and waved it around the crash site, blowing the dust away and revealing a figure—a figure he had recently come to hate.

"Max, what are you doing here?" Anton said, approaching him with a solemn tone.

Max glanced at him, Nash, then at Allen, and back to Anton. "A crazy guy attacked me, and now I'm here," he said, shrugging.

"Who are they?" Max asked, pointing at the young man and woman with green hair. Seeing their attire reminded him of Five, which made him wonder if they were from a guild or something.

"They are from the Monarch," Nash said, as he moved closer.

"Monarch..." Max's expression turned serious. Over the three months he had spent training and cultivating, he had read a lot about this world, particularly about the Valora Continent.

Apart from the Four Regions: East, West, North, and South, there was another region called the Central Region, ruled by a person known as the Young Monarch. He led an organization called Monarch.

But Monarch was a different power from any other guilds or organizations. From what he had read, their leader, the Young Monarch, sought to unify the Valora Continent and become its sole ruler by combining the four regions.

It was an ambitious goal, but what made people fearful of Monarch was their willingness to go to any length to fulfill their goals—even if it meant slaughtering an entire city for the sake of it.

"Max, I've said revenge will be taken." Allen came to Max's side, his aura full of killing intent.

Max turned to him and noticed his strength was at level 7 of the Adept Rank. Nash and Anton were also at the same strength. 'I guess level 7 of Adept Rank is a trend here,' he mused while noticing that the two figures with green hair had the strength at level 8 and level 9 of Adept Rank respectively.

Level 8 being the boy and level 9 being the young woman.

"We should focus on them first before fighting among ourselves," Anton suggested, seeing Allen's foul mood.

Allen glared at Anton, but before he could speak, a laugh echoed in the cavern.

"You guys continue. Don't mind us," the young woman chuckled, her expression full of amusement.

"No big sis!… This guy is called Max… Could he be one of the two we were told to kidnap?" Billy said excitedly.

The young woman raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing.

Meanwhile, Max's expression darkened upon hearing Billy. He hadn't expected to be on the Monarch's radar, at least not so soon.

The young woman turned to Allen, her expression curious. "Allen, is this the guy?"

Everyone in the cavern, hearing her words, looked at Allen in shock. Her words implied one thing: Allen and the young woman seemed to know each other.

"Allen, what is she talking about?" Anton asked solemnly, looking at Allen.

Nash's expression also turned ugly. They understood the implications if Allen and the young woman were connected beforehand.

The general, who was beside them, looked at Allen, his expression turning serious. Having been appointed as the general of Central City by Union Vanguard, he possessed some inside knowledge that many didn't.

"Allen, what is this all about?" he asked, his tone extremely strict.

Allen's expression darkened at being questioned by everyone, but he didn't lose his cool. He turned to the young woman. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said calmly.

"Also, don't talk as if you know me," he added, his tone threatening.

Max glared at Allen, his mind racing with thoughts. 'Is this the reason the Blades are after me?' he wondered. He didn't buy Allen's words at all—he knew something was off about this situation.

He had never crossed paths with the Blades, and yet they were after him, wanting to kill him. At first, he suspected it was related to her sister and that was why they were after him. But even though they knew he was a Voidwalker, they had never revealed his identity to the Phoenix Order, knowing the relationship between the two.

So many things didn't add up if it was related to her sister. But if it was related to the so-called Monarch, then everything started to make sense.

Why did Elena desperately want to kill him? Why did Allen want him to join his family? Why were they targeting him? Everything clicked into place now.

Thinking of all this, he became certain that the Blade family had dealings with the Monarch.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" The young woman chuckled at Allen. Her expression was amusing as she continued. "There are two reasons why Monarch is here. Do you want to know why?"

Anton, Nash, the general, and even Allen became curious after hearing her words.

'Don't tell me they're here for me?' Max's expression turned ugly. If they were here specifically for him, things would go downhill fast.

The young woman sneered, looking at them. "The first reason we are here is because of the dungeon break. It was caused by us, after all."

Everyone was shocked by her revelation. They hadn't expected something as mysterious as a Dungeon Break to be under someone's control. It seemed impossible—but for the Monarch, it wasn't.

Seeing the shocked and grim faces, the young woman continued. "The other reason we are here is to capture two people. One is called Max Morgan, and the other is..." She paused, turning to Anton. "Alice Fireborne."

"Alice? Why? Why is Monarch after my sister?" Anton asked calmly, though his body was releasing a powerful level 2 Flame Aura.

"Why? Don't you know already?" the young woman sneered. "Why not ask him? I guess he knows everything very well." She said, pointing at Max.

Max's expression had already turned grim upon hearing that the Monarch was after him. Learning that they also intended to capture Alice drove him into a rage. However, when she claimed that he should already know the reason behind their actions, he was left utterly bewildered.

Why would he know the reason behind the Monarch's motives?

"Max, what did you do?" Anton demanded, his expression twisted with fury.

Max glared at him, incredulous. "Are you seriously going to believe her over me? Are you for real?" he shot back, his voice sharp with frustration.

Anton stormed over, grabbing Max by the collar. "You bastard, if I find out you've done anything behind her back, you're going down," he growled, his voice laced with venom. With those words, he shoved Max away forcefully.

Turning to the young woman, Anton's hand ignited with flames, forming a blazing sword. He leveled the weapon at her, his eyes blazing with fury. "Explain yourself—or die," he warned coldly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay