Genius Noble With System
Chapter 379: Ultimatum

Chapter 379: Ultimatum

"Haha, don’t be afraid; I will not harm you all, at least not at the moment. But it will depend on your choice." The cloaked leader said with a calm and chilling voice as he was deciding their fate.

The banquet hall fell into a deeper silence.

The cloaked leader’s voice echoed softly—but each word struck like a blade on the soul. It wasn’t merely the weight of power behind the words—it was the certainty. The finality in his tone. As if fate had already been written, and he was simply informing them of the page they were on.

Even the ancient races who had greeted his arrival with excitement now wore solemn expressions, as though they too understood that what came next would reshape everything.

Apollo’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Hall of Hell... sanctum... traitor...’

He recalled that moment long ago—when his Eternal Sword Rule had moved on its own, sensing a presence that should not exist. And now it moved again.

His fingers tightened briefly on his armrest.

’Could it be... someone of the same origin? Or something even worse?’

Apollo remained still, but his interest deepened. Whatever this being was, he did not belong to Rion... or perhaps not even to this universe.

The cloaked figure scanned the room slowly, and though no one could see his full face, all could feel the invisible string tightening around their throats.

"You all know", he continued, "that the world is changing. The secret realms are awakening; ancient forces are stirring... And soon, this little planet will be no longer just Rion."

"Already many ancient races have awakened, and some even stronger ones will soon awaken. When that happens, the Seal on Rion will be lifted, and those ancient races will finally be able to regain their true strength, and you all should know what your situation will be at that time."

The cloaked leader’s words crashed down like a storm cloud over the banquet hall.

His voice was neither loud nor aggressive, but it didn’t need to be. Every syllable carried with it the weight of inevitability—like the toll of a funeral bell. Final. Inevitable.

The cloaked figure took a single step forward. The ground beneath him groaned, not from weight—but from truth.

"And when that happens... you must ask yourselves this: What will your place be? The noble clans? The empires? The sects? Even your so-called Void Gods—how long do you think you’ll stand when those who once ruled in the past take the sky again?"

A deathly silence followed.

Some among the newer clans clenched their fists in anger or fear. And others—those who had walked through a hundred years of blood and fire—simply lowered their eyes, already seeing the battlefield ahead.

Apollo’s eyes narrowed as he leaned back, the calm in his demeanour never faltering. He already noticed this when he entered Rion, and after carefully feeling the seal, it was indeed weakening.

’It won’t hold much longer,’ Apollo thought. ’At most a few years... maybe less.’

In fact, most of the upper-rank people naturally understood that the power structure of Rion was already broken and they were barely maintaining their status.

For now, they still held authority. They still ruled cities, commanded armies, and walked as giants among men. But that was only because the Seal still shackled the true monsters beneath the surface.

Without it?

The empires, sects, and noble families who reigned over Rion would crumble like sandcastles before a rising tide.

It wasn’t a question of if. It was a matter of when.

And when that moment came... Only the truly strong would survive.

The cloaked leader continued, "So if you all wanted to survive, you all have only one choice: to join other ancient powers, and I today came here to give all of you that chance. Because only by joining us can you all survive and even reach a higher stage that you all never thought of."

The words dropped like thunder in the silent hall.

"Join us... or be swept away." A simple ultimatum—calm, clear, and terrifying.

The cloaked leader’s gaze swept across the hall again and was filled with a more powerful aura. Though his face remained hidden, the weight of his presence bore down on the guests like a collapsing sky. Many of the younger cultivators looked pale. Even seasoned elders clenched their fists beneath their sleeves.

The meaning of his words was clear, and his crushing aura was for them to understand the difference in strength between them.

Apollo’s eyes glinted, the corners of his lips curling ever so slightly in amusement.

So that’s your game. Consolidation through fear. Control by promise. Submission in exchange for survival.

It wasn’t a new tactic. Throughout the universe, countless rising forces had done the same. Invite allegiance under the banner of protection, then devour all resistance from within. Once you accepted that kind of "offer", your future no longer belonged to you.

Apollo’s voice was low, but it cut through the tense silence like a blade.

"What happens to those who refuse?" He finally made his move as if his guess was correct and this group had a connection with that weird power; he needed to take care of it, otherwise it would be troublesome.

Not to mention because of the seal, they all have their strength suppressed at the peak of the void god realm, and it was a perfect chance for him to eradicate them, as he wasn’t afraid of even ancient beings in the same realm.

The hall went deathly still.

Apollo’s words echoed like a distant thunderclap — quiet, but carrying a force that shattered the silence and shook the hearts of many present.

All eyes turned toward him.

Even the cloaked leader’s figure stilled. His black, abyss-like eyes turned fully toward Apollo, and for the first time... there was a pause. A flicker. A ripple in the calm composure he had maintained until now.

"You..." He immediately noticed something as they met one another, and the soul-suppressing aura seemed to burst out from him, trying to suppress Apollo.

Both of their auras seemed to collide, and the atmosphere within the hall seemed to change instantly.