The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 1298: Map Fragment

Klaus stood tall, his expression calm as he gazed at the five Stella humans holding the scrolls. On the scroll, it showed that the one who would enforce the contract was Mammoth, one of the Blood Deities.

There are three of them, but Blood Mammoth was the strongest and most evil.

To go against such a deity is to go against the heavens—at least that is what they mostly say. However, in reality, the Great Blood Mammoth, whom everyone feared, was actually a certain redhead vampire who created that persona to cause fear and panic.

There is no deity called Blood Mammoth. It was all the paragons doing.

However, the contracts are real.

If they violate it, Klaus would have the power to annihilate their souls. So, since he wants to be cautious, ensuring that they wouldn’t reveal the things he would be doing to just anyone, signing the contract is the best bet.

If they somehow survive this ordeal, then aside from what he would tell them to say when asked questions, they wouldn’t be able to say anything else.

Even if they were subjected to lie detection, they would pass because the contract would ensure that. Of course, Klaus isn’t about to tell them he is the paragon.

But he would be using some forbidden weapons and techniques, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

After reading through, they turned toward Klaus as if to ask if he was serious, but looking at the expression on his face, they already knew his answer.

So they sighed, and under their watchful gaze, the scrolls turned to ash. The ash then transformed into two runes, one merging with Klaus’s forehead and the other with their own.

"Good. Now, sit and relax. I will take things from here onwards."

Klaus walked back to his seat and began talking to Icon.

’What did you find, Icon?’

[There is indeed a bounty on her. However, it is more serious than we thought. Apparently, the chest Ophelia bought during the online auction contained a map fragment that led to a portion of the Jade Ant Queen’s Nest.

Now, if you don’t know about the Jade Ant Queen’s Nest, it is one of the last remaining nests from the Star Monarch’s Era.

I believe, as someone who lived during that Era, you know a thing or two about those nests.]

"That I do. But I have never heard of the Jade Ant Queen; however, I know the Nest is like a treasure chest waiting to be plundered."

[Indeed, and this lady has a map fragment of that Nest. So, you can only imagine the kind of heat it has created when the criminal underworld became aware.

Even worse, a bounty of five billion Heavens Crystals has been placed on her, and as you would expect, those criminals are coming like ants.

Aside from the Blood Shadows, some of the criminals from planet Yahmir are coming. And the Voidbound Corsairs are also coming.]

’Well, looks like things aren’t going to be as simple as I thought.’

[Yes, Master. The destination given in the bounty is Planet Nivel, so it wouldn’t be long before they catch up to us.]

’I’d better prepare. This is going to be a wild ride for the next few days.’ Klaus chuckled inwardly and let his mind calm down. There was no need to panic when things hadn’t even started yet.

They have 6 days of flight to get to Planet Baski. That is 6 days of nonstop battle...

’Go into combat mode and use your scanners to the max. I want to know whenever you pick up a threat. To win this, I have to be ahead of them every step of the way, so keep me updated.’

[Okay, Master.]

Suddenly, the lights in the ship turned red, indicating that they had entered combat mode. Klaus sat down and brought out the Blood Calamity Core.

Without wasting time, he activated the Nine Star Paragon Diagram and started absorbing the essence of the core under the watchful gaze of Ophelia and her guards.

They are Immortals, so they recognised the core Klaus was absorbing. However, inasmuch as they would love to get their hands on it for themselves, they aren’t that stupid or greedy.

Klaus is their only hope, as ridiculous as that may sound.

So they could only sit there and watch him absorb it. If the situation wasn’t that dire, they would have made a different choice, perhaps even killing Klaus for it.

But then again, regardless of how it may go, they know Klaus is not easily killed, so watching him is the best thing for them.

However, their minds were quickly pulled away from greed eating at their heart to the realization of how ridiculously fast Klaus was absorbing the core.

’Just how is this even possible? How is he absorbing the core that fast?’ Ophelia asked her guards telepathically, and they nodded, their expressions filled with shock.

The core is reducing in size as the seconds pass, something that should have only been possible if he had been absorbing it continuously over days.

However, within seconds, Klaus had absorbed more than even a True Immortal would have managed.

’Is he one of those freaks Lady Rory has been talking about whenever she returns from the Academy?’

’I mean, look at him. It had only been a minute, but it looks like he is about to reach the Level 8 Empyrean stage. That is just not possible, unless he is one of them.’

’If he is one of them, then what is he doing being a Hunter?’ Ophelia asked.

That question Ophelia asked left everyone unsure of what to think. Every galaxy has an Academy that accepts only the best of the best.

All disciples are cared for and provided with top-tier resources to foster their growth. So, if Klaus is one of the monsters in such academies, why is he also a hunter?

That just does not make sense.

No disciple would even consider becoming a hunter, regardless of how rewarding it may be.

’Then, if he isn’t from the Academy, does that mean he is a rogue warrior?’

They quickly wiped that thought from their minds.

There was no way in hell a rogue warrior would be that awesome. Even if they didn’t see how he killed the two True Immortals, just the fact that he was able to kill two more Peak Real Immortals told them all they had to know.

So, if such a person doesn’t have a strong backer, then how is he this ridiculously strong? Just the thought of that made them all start to see Klaus in a new light... just like how he wanted them to.

However, he wasn’t done. Within a span of three hours, Klaus moved from Level 7 Empyrean to Level 9. However, before he could reach the peak, the essence in the core ran out.

But that didn’t bother Klaus in the least. He actually wanted not to be at the peak, since he didn’t want to break through accidentally.

But while the essence is drained, what he had been hoping for revealed itself the moment the last essence was drained from the core.

"An Immortal Ring," Ophelia and her guards muttered, looking hungrily at the red immortal ring hovering before Klaus.