Death Penalty

Chapter 26: Death Penalty

Although Ashcroft was the patriarch of the Mingshe Family, he was not a true supreme divine beast, the Nether Serpent. He merely possessed the Nether Serpent's bloodline.

The current Ashcroft was somewhat like the four patriarchs of the Four Divine Beasts Family.

The supreme divine beast, the Nether Serpent, had existed since the creation of heaven and earth. Its strength rivaled any of the Four Divine Beasts before they became Overgods. When the Sovereign Sparks had first appeared, the Nether Serpent had joined the struggle for them. Unfortunately, it failed and ultimately perished.

The powerful experts who had killed the Nether Serpent were naturally the Four Divine Beasts.

As a descendant of the Nether Serpent, Ashcroft was fairly powerful, but he was naturally far inferior to the Nether Serpent.

After the Nether Serpent's death, the family had effectively lost its greatest fighting force.

The deepest grudge between the Ashcroft Family and the Four Divine Beasts Family had begun there.

Of course, eight of Ashcroft's nine children had now died at the hands of the Four Divine Beasts Family. The deaths of his children had deepened Ashcroft's hatred for the Four Divine Beasts Family.

This hatred, carved into his very bones, had reached a point beyond reconciliation.

The Overgod of the Netherworld who had accepted Ashcroft as a Sovereign's Emissary had also been on good terms with the Nether Serpent during the era when heaven and earth were first formed. This being had successfully obtained a Sovereign Spark and become an Overgod.

After the Nether Serpent died, this Overgod had shown some care toward the Mingshe Family. This was also part of Ashcroft's confidence. The entire family could be considered to have half an Overgod as its backer.

Taking a deep breath, Ashcroft seemed to suppress the fury in his heart.

A faint smile actually appeared on his aged face.

"Camerlo, shall we play a game?"

Slowly crouching down, Ashcroft said this to Camerlo, who lay motionless on the ground.

Seeing that Camerlo ignored him completely, Ashcroft smiled indifferently and continued on his own.

"You love your two daughters very much, don't you? You even dared to lay hands on my child just to vent your daughters' anger."

"I am not the sort of person who kills without batting an eye. After all, I am the patriarch of the Mingshe Family, so I have decided to give your two daughters a chance to live."

As Ashcroft said this, Camerlo finally struggled to raise his head.

Seeing the trace of hope in Camerlo's expression, Ashcroft finally revealed a satisfied smile on his aged face.

"The rules are simple. In a moment, I will send a voice transmission and have someone bring your two precious daughters here. If the first thing they say when they see us is to call you 'Father,' I will let them go. If not, I will kill both of them before your very eyes. What do you think?"

Ashcroft's voice was very calm, as though he were merely playing an ordinary game.

Camerlo struggled to lift his head, his eyes fixed fiercely on Ashcroft before him. A few words squeezed out through his clenched teeth.

"Fine. I accept."

What else could Camerlo do now? Though he was a renowned Seven-Star Demon of the Netherworld, his little bit of strength was nothing before Ashcroft.

Camerlo's two daughters were only Lower Gods.

Now that they had fallen into the hands of the Mingshe Family, their deaths were nearly certain.

Though he did not quite believe Ashcroft's words, Camerlo had no other choice.

A stream of divine sense spread from Ashcroft, and he then sent a voice transmission to the family guards stationed outside the castle.

Not long after, the figures of two young girls appeared before Ashcroft and Camerlo.

Two young girls appeared before Ashcroft and Camerlo.

They were two lovely girls with red hair.

The two girls looked about seventy percent alike, like twin sisters. However, neither looked to be in good condition. With their Divine Power sealed, their bodies appeared somewhat weak.

"Father!"

As the scene within the Secret Room came into view, the two girls immediately recognized Camerlo, who lay on the ground barely clinging to life.

While grieving for their father, they ran straight to Camerlo's side and spoke with choked voices.

Hearing the first words spoken by his two daughters, Camerlo could not help but let out a sigh of relief. At least he had won the wager just now.

"Haha, not bad. They are good daughters. But unfortunately, I don't like the pitiful way your daughters look."

At this moment, Ashcroft laughed loudly. Then the corners of his lips curled upward, revealing a deeply mocking smile.

Swoosh!

Two thumb-sized, translucent blood swords shot from Ashcroft's scarlet eyes. These two blood swords were astonishingly fast, and their targets stood right before him. In less than an instant, the blood swords plunged directly into the two girls' bodies!

Camerlo's two daughters had no time to react. Their once-bright eyes instantly turned dull after suffering the soul attack.

With two thuds, both figures collapsed limply to the ground.

"Bastard! Ashcroft, you will die a miserable death!"

Camerlo's voice rang out in extreme rage.

He could see it now. Ashcroft had never intended to spare his daughters. How was this a wager? He had merely been toying with him.

Whether Camerlo won or lost, Ashcroft would kill his daughters.

"Idiot. You offended even me, yet you still thought you could leave Mingshe City alive? Camerlo, how did it feel to gain hope, only to fall into despair in the end?"

Seeing Camerlo's twisted expression, Ashcroft appeared extremely satisfied. The faint smile on his aged face sent chills down one's spine.

"Ashcroft, believe me, that last bastard son of yours will not live long either. And you—one day, all of you will die at the hands of the Four Divine Beasts Family!"

Watching his two children die with his own eyes had utterly driven Camerlo into despair. He no longer hoped to survive. He only hoped that Ashcroft before him would die a miserable death as well.

"The Four Divine Beasts Family? Hmph! Don't try to scare me with that damn family."

"If the Four Divine Beasts Family had not had Overgods back then, why would my Ashcroft Family have feared them? And now the Four Divine Beasts Family has produced another Paragon. Why do all the good things go to the Four Divine Beasts Family?"

"And those damned Four Divine Beasts! If not for them, my father would have become a lofty Overgod, my Mingshe Family would have become the Overgod family of the Netherworld, and eight of my nine children would not have died! The Four Divine Beasts deserve death! Everyone in the Four Divine Beasts Family deserves death too!"

As he spoke these words, the patriarch of the Mingshe Family roared them out.

By the end, Ashcroft's expression had become incomparably savage. He had even uttered such grossly disrespectful words toward the Four Divine Beasts Overgods.

Jealousy? Or perhaps hatred for the Four Divine Beasts Family? The patriarch of the Mingshe Family harbored both.

"Oh? You said the Four Divine Beasts deserved death? That I deserved death too? Can I take those words to mean that you are seeking death?"

But at that moment, an unimaginably immense and terrifying pressure suddenly descended upon Ashcroft's residence.

Not only this residence—even most of Mingshe City was enveloped by this powerful aura!

High above Mingshe City, a black-robed figure had appeared at some unknown moment.

The black-robed figure stood in the air with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm, as though the powerful experts within Mingshe City below were mere ants before him!

"Ashcroft, for speaking disrespectfully of the Four Divine Beasts Overgods and showing disrespect toward a Paragon, I sentence you to death."