Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

She said it with such a straight face and such a confident demeanor that Valerie was even more taken aback as she looked at Hal but he did not seem to have noticed all that was going on as he had his total focus on the monument.

Seeing as Hal was ignoring the occurrence, Valerie looked over at Melinda but her reaction was more or less the same.

Melinda was preoccupied with her thoughts as well.

The last few days had not been easy for the Dane beauty...

Being a cultivator at the level she was at, Melinda did not require sleep and she spent the time leading to the opening of the monument cultivating and preparing for a conflict that he knew was sure to occur within the monument.

Alas, just a few days ago her consciousness was submerged into a mind space in the form of a flower-filled meadow which she recognized from the last time that she met the will of the Primeval Virtue queen.

(Refer to chapter 95)

After she got rid of Sariel's will back then, she never thought she would return but yet here she was, standing among the sweet-smelling flowers and expecting the Primeval goddess's presence.

Sariel never showed up in the meadow and after about an hour, Melinda returned to control of her body, and from then on, whenever she tried to cultivate, the same thing would happen again and she would be stuck in the meadow for an even longer duration.

It was annoying and frustrating...

It was also weakening for Melinda who feared that she was once again losing her body to the Primeval Virtue Queen.

She never told Hal vocally what was going on with her but Hal knew... He always knew... He just couldn't help.

Not to mention that Hal had his issues with the eventual opening of the monument, both Melinda and Hal also knew that this was a situation that she had to face.

For now, no help could be rendered by outside forces.

Melinda always knew that despite her getting rid of Sariel's will that she was still connected with the goddess who was also the progenitor of her bloodline and she was right.

Sariel's influence remained deep-rooted in Melinda's bloodline and had so far been silent mostly because its effects were muted... But now, so close to the monument, the connection was getting stronger and the influence was harder to ignore.

With all this going on and her trying not to let her nervousness and worry show, Melinda could hardly get involved with the short-term argument between Marla and Valerie and she did not have to.

Valerie had no retort for Marla and she soon focused on waiting for the opening and ignored Marla who was snuggling harder into Hal's chest.

Not too far away from the large group that was Hal and his women was the group of Imperials who could be easily spotted and noted on account of the shared green eyes.

With them was, of course, Princess Tanya who tried her best not to look over at Hal and succeeded in doing so.

And then, the wait was over;

The monument gave off a bright multicolored glow right before a dot appeared on the side facing the multitude of Haronians awaiting its opening.

The dot began to expand and never stopped until it was more than enough to admit as many as were ready to just run through... There was no need for a single file and then a voice emanating from the monument said,

"YOU MAY ENTER"

Hal recognized that voice and this was not in the same manner as him thinking he might be able to read the weird runes on the monument surface, No, he actually recognized that voice.

He had heard it before... He was sure he had but just could not remember when.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he heard the voice before he arrived at the Cosmic realm but could not quite put his finger on where and when exactly he had heard that voice.

Anyway, it was rowdy chaos as everyone dashed through the opening trying their best to be the first into the monument as though that would make them the first to comprehend an Ordinance... As though it were a race.

Hal and all those with him waited until the last of the rushing multitude were already through the opening before they made their way towards the opening.

They were the second to the last bunch to go through the opening... The last bunch being the Imperials.

Going through the opening felt just as Hal had thought it would- it felt like going through a portal which the opening actually was and for a few seconds before he came out the other side, there was nothing.

Total nothingness...

Once out the other side, in a large white hall, a quick look around and Hal quickly realized that only a few of his ladies had actually made it through to the other side with him.

The few who were with him were Sassy, Marla, Valerie, and Rita... The others were in separate parts of the monument and he could barely reach out to them with their telepathic connection.

The separation was not all that surprising and was mildly expected so it did not really throw anyone off.

Hal also knew how things were going to go now; At the moment, the monument was doing a sort of scan of all of them and determining what Ordinance they were fit for before it whisked them away to a location where they would be alone with an abundance of that ordinance.

That wasn't so bad but the problem was that they were not the only ones in the huge hall...

There was were about three other groups of Haronians present and they were all glaring at the Dystopians present in the hall with hostility and a readiness to fight.

The Dystopians were quite easy to spot and take note of... Other than the fact that they were not attempting to hide the fact that they were Dystopians and were giving off beastly vibes, they also had feral expressions as well as feral additions to their looks (Tails, claws, fangs e.t.c).

The Dystopians all readied themselves for a fight and there was no pacification on the horizon.

The Haronians began to summon their Armaments while also retrieving Artifacts from their spatial rings and the Dystopians were forming weapons with the elements they were naturally attuned with while they readied their extra-sturdy physiques.

Hal and his ladies said nothing and made no attempts to get involved with the conflict as they actually took steps back and just watched it all unfold.

Alas, they were not able to be observers for long.

The Dystopians present outnumbered the Haronians and that was even when Hal and his group were counted as Haronians and actually active enough to make a difference.

The Dystopians had the numbers advantage and had the strength and physicality advantage so it was not all that surprising that they looked set to clear out every Haronian present in the hall.

Now, it could be argued that the Dystopians had been given the same directive as the Haronians which was to wage war inside the monument but it was clear that even if the directive had not been given, a battle would still have happened and it would most likely have been to the death.

Never had the monument of Ordinances been a calm arena just for the comprehension of Ordinances and for all its peace-forcing actions, the monument promoted conflict between the two continents more than their foundational differences did.

Honestly, how hard could it be for such a sentient and absolutely divine Artifact to instantly separate the Haroninas and Dystopians to truly ensure that there would be no bloodshed?

Or better still, why did not it just give everyone present to an area abundant in the Ordinance that they were fitting for before any battle could take place.

Hal had long made his peace with battle and bloodshed being the bread and butter of the cultivating world and he even relished in that fact but he just did not like how two-faced the monument was being with the whole thing.

Anyway, as more Haronians fell to the bashing attacks of the Dystopians, eyes were directed at Hal and his group of ladies who had so far done well staying away from the conflict.

The strongest Dystopians present were at the Early and mid-stages of the Semi-Transcendent beast realm, which was equivalent to the Early and mid-stages of the Cosmic Semi-saint realm.

Their physical attribute gave them an impressive advantage which made them capable of contending with even late or peak Cosmic semi-saints.

Hal and his ladies could feel the energy that the Dystopians were giving off, especially with the look trained at them.

All Hal had to do was look behind him at the likes of Marla, Rita, and Sassy and say,

"Ladies, no holding back"

And they all grinned with feral smiles to match and surpass even that of the Dystopians...