Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) novel Chapter 2385

A blazing explosion erupted underground, the heat so intense that the surrounding mist evaporated instantly.

"You…" the old man's face drained of all color as he realized the young man before him possessed terrifying power.

In the next instant, his arm shattered with a sickening crack.

Andrew's Inferno Strike had reached the pinnacle stage of Tides of Hellfire mastery. With a full-force palm strike, he unleashed devastating power that swept across everything in its path.

The old man, however, was only at the high tier of martial saint level. He had not even reached the peak stage. While he might have withstood several of Andrew's attacks in times past, he was now facing someone who could effortlessly crush anyone below the martial emperor realm.

For Andrew, killing a high-tier martial saint was as easy as crushing an insect.

The old man let out a piercing shriek of agony and coughed up massive amounts of blood. His mask shattered into dust from the impact. An instant later, his body was hurled backward like it had been struck by a speeding truck, smashing violently against the nearby wall before crashing to the ground in a heap.

When the dust finally settled, the old man had lost all ability to move. His face was covered in blood, his eyes wide with terror, and he could only crawl pathetically on the ground while crying out in anguish.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Do you know who I am? I'm Dallas Rutledge, Kirian Seaver's junior. He's also known as Stormblade. If you dare touch me, he will tear you limb from limb!"

Andrew remained completely unmoved by Dallas' desperate pleas and threats. He walked over calmly and picked up the box, then slipped it into his pocket.

Dallas continued wailing. "Who the hell are you? I've got no grudge against you, so why are you doing this to me?"

"Wait! I know some things… It's not much, but it's still something!" Dallas suddenly gasped out, desperately backtracking.

Andrew simply waited for him to continue, watching with cold eyes.

Dallas took several ragged breaths before speaking. "Here's what I know. I heard from Kirian. Back then, when the Lloyd family father and son fought their way out of Chetvine, it shocked the entire nation of Holtrien. The Dragon Prince of the Lloyd family, in particular, was so extraordinarily talented that he threatened the future plans of several major powers, both in the martial world and in other spheres of influence.

"So the greatest player in the world, Mr. Vazquez, made a ruthless move. He brought in a special individual to seal the Lloyd family's Dragon Prince. The goal was to suppress the Lloyd family's continued growth and control the father and son's development, preventing them from becoming the dual tyrants of the Lloyd family dynasty.

"Reginald is already terrifying enough, but this Dragon Prince was even more unsettling to those who sit atop the world. That's all I know. Even if you torture me further, I can't tell you anything more."