Rise of The Anti God (Web Novel)
chapter-71

A man who seemed to be in his early forties, wearing a shabby brown robe was rummaging around the forest like a mad man as if he was searching for his most valuable treasure. His face looked like he didn't even have any food or water for weeks and his black hair having little shades of grey was completely in disarray.

"Looking for something precious?" The man heard a deep voice almost sounding like a growl coming from behind.

"It's none of your goddamn business!" The man bellowed in a ruffled voice as if he was drunk without even turning around and continued whatever he was doing. It was as if he couldn't care less about this odd stranger who wanted to interrupt whatever he was doing.

"Really? Aren't you looking for Luke Ward? Isn't that right, Aldrich Ward, the patriarch of the Ward Family?" Damien spoke in a cynical tone.

Damien had realized before, that he found some parts of the Dark Forest a bit familiar as he went deeper. But now he understood that the reason was because before he awakened, he was to be thrown away in the Dark Forest to be left for dead by Luke Ward, his adoptive cousin.

After all, the Dark Forest was the perfect place to get rid of a body and the rest of the work would be done by the wild ethereal beasts.

But before that could happen, the bandits had killed Luke Ward and took away Damien to be sold to the slave market.

Damien conjectured that his adoptive uncle, Aldrich Ward was here in search for his son after finding out he was missing since he didn't even find his body yet. He guessed that the bandits must have done their job diligently by removing all traces.

'Things couldn't have come together more nicely.' Damien snickered inwardly.

He knew that Aldrich Ward was at the third level of the Spirit Ethereal Realm, a level lesser than his late adoptive father. Even though it was only a level less, it was rumored that his adoptive father's combat prowess was the best in the Ward Family that not even his adoptive uncle could last a few minutes against him.

Hearing Damien's words, Aldrich Ward's eyes which were previously unfocused, narrowed as he turned around to see a figure clad in black cloak and a misty face, making him unable to see who it was.

"Who are you? And how do you know I am searching for my son? Did you see him?" Aldrich Ward asked as he wondered how this stranger knew who he was and what he was doing here. Hearing about his son, he quickly pulled himself together and felt that something was off.

"Oh, I am nothing but just a passing by grim reaper. When I saw how a loving father was searching for his son, I couldn't help but take a detour to let you join your son." Damien said in a derisive tone.

"You!! What are you talking about? Where is my son?? Tell me right now or I will cripple you myself and make you cough out his whereabouts." Aldrich Ward's aura became erratic as his eyes blazed with anger knowing that the stranger in front of him had something to do with his son's disappearance.

Despite all the killings and schemes he had done, he loved his son dearly since Luke Ward was his only child and was very fond of him. Which is exactly why he wanted the position of the patriarch so that he could pass it down to his son and make sure his lineage would be well off in the years to come even if he had to poison his own brother to death.

Damien's body bent a bit backwards as he let out a wanton roar of laughter, "Hahahaha…"

He then focused his gaze on Aldrich Ward and sneered, "You are going to cripple me?"

He continued in a scathing tone, "I know exactly where your son is. Why don't you come here so that I can show you how your son died a dog's death."'

"How dare you! I won't rest till I kill you!!" Aldrich Ward roared as he charged towards Damien circulating his ethereal energy to the maximum.

Previously Aldrich Ward didn't dare to make any rash moves despite the anger fuming in his chest since he couldn't see through Damien's cultivation level. But after hearing that his son had already died from Damien's mouth, rage blinded him thoroughly and wanted to rip open Damien's mouth as fast as he could.

Damien wasn't much worried that Aldrich Ward was more than a major realm higher in cultivation than him. He felt that with his Anti-God Art's, he could take him on and he also had the undead hound to help him just in case. After all, the hound was at the first level of the Spirit Ethereal Realm. It could at least help him buy some time in the worst case.

Seeing Aldrich Ward, he wanted to end him right away and get his revenge instead of waiting to increase his cultivation. Anger raged in him when he thought of how he almost lost his precious life because of him.

And how he even went as far as planning to dump him in the Dark Forest where not even a piece of his corpse would have been left.

Damien's lips curved up just as he saw Aldrich Ward rushing towards him like a rabid dog.

"Anti-God's First Stage - Undying Wrath!"

Damien's aura instantly flared up and he met Aldrich Ward's fist packed with rage with his own.

A dull bang resounded as a torrent of ethereal energy exploded at the point of collision, blasting the two away from each other. Damien flew back a few dozen feet and caught his balance while Aldrich Ward only moved two feet backwards.

Damien felt that his fist had become numb as if he had hit an iron wall even after pouring his entire strength into his fist. He wasn't surprised though and started to get an idea of his limits.

Meanwhile Aldrich Ward's worries were snuffed out seeing that he emerged the winner of the head-on smash though he had also fully employed his strength in that face off, holding nothing back.

But his eyes suddenly widened thinking about a small detail he had sensed from the collision. The ethereal energy that surged outwards from Damien in that collision only had the aura of a first level Nascent Ethereal Realm!

'How is this possible!' Aldrich Ward screamed in his mind thinking that Damien was probably one of his old enemies using some kind of treasure to fake his cultivation level. But even then no treasure can fake the ethereal aura one exudes especially during a fight.

They can tone down their ethereal strength to that of an inferior cultivation level but the aura would still remain the same. He couldn't understand why someone would still fake their cultivation level after exuding their aura.

He thought maybe his senses might be playing tricks since he didn't have food and water for weeks.

But he refocused his thoughts on wringing out the whereabouts of his son from Damien first. No matter how obvious it seemed that his son was probably dead, he refused to believe it till he saw some sort of proof.

"A mere weakling like you dare to spout nonsense about my son? Wait till I rip out your tongue!" Aldrich Ward sneered as he rushed at Damien, wanting to smash him down with his fist.

Damien knew with just brute strength, he was no match for Aldrich Ward in a head on confrontation.

"Searing Strike Rendering Worlds!"

*Crackle*

A jet black lightning bolt a few inches wide shot out from Damien's palm as it stormed towards Aldrich Ward, warping the air around it.