685 FAFO 1

Everyone in the room immediately felt a surge of pressure ripple through the air, making the atmosphere heavy. The sudden change took everyone by surprise, even the two perpetrators behind the current situation, as the pressure was more than expected.

Before anyone could react, two shields materialized around Oak and Mangrove, confining them along with anything nearby within the oval barriers. In an instant, the interiors of the shields combusted into flames, incinerating everything inside within seconds before the fire stopped and the shield diactivated.

As the shields deactivated, fine ashes fell to the ground where Oak and Mangrove's humanoid forms had once been.

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The room plunged into a deeper silence as everyone tried to comprehend what had just occurred. Even Rina, his wife, was stunned, her mind racing to process the rapid and dramatic turn of events. The swift and decisive nature of Aron's actions left everyone in a state of shock, their brains struggling to catch up with the reality of what had just transpired.

Not even five seconds had passed between Arons words, I hope you dont regret this, and the two tree folks' bodies being enveloped by a shield, then instantly incinerated and reduced to fine ashes where they had been.

The remaining three tree folks were astonished, not because they didnt notice it happening, but because it occurred so rapidly that their perception lagged by a few seconds. Even after they perceived it, they couldn't comprehend the mana disturbances aimed at the two, as it was something entirely new to them.

Rayyan remained frozen, just as she had been before. Ayaka and Lee were still catching up, their minds struggling to process the rapid turn of events.

Rina, meanwhile, was dumbfounded by Aron's display of power. Although she always knew he was powerful, she had never witnessed him win a practice fight since he always trained under severely unfavorable conditions, constantly getting bested by the AI. This display shattered her previous understanding of his capabilities.

I hope you arent planning on joining them now, Aron said, looking at Birch as he rose from his chair, causing it to slide backward.

He wasnt worried that he had just killed them, as he knew that their humanoid forms were merely extensions of their main bodies. What he had done was akin to cutting someone's haira minor inconvenience rather than a fatal blow. However, it wasn't for nothing; by removing them from the room, he ensured they couldn't launch any immediate attacks against him, buying crucial time to manage the situation.

Rather than that, we would like to help you deal with them, Birch said, indicating her willingness to act against the troublemakers. Arons display of power had impressed her and shown that he was even more formidable than they had estimated.

Have you ever fought amongst yourselves? Aron asked, following Birchs statement.

Not since we reached our current size, Crabapple responded.

Aron thought about it for a fraction of a second before immediately saying, Although I would like your help in dealing with them, that will do more harm than good. What I want you to do is focus on minimizing the amount of damage they inflict on the planet and protecting the proximians. I will deal with them. He spoke confidently, recalling that while his system didnt specify that he had to complete the mission alone, he wanted to ensure there was no reason for receiving a lower-grade reward.

But not only that, he was also using this moment to send a clear warning to the remaining tree folks, demonstrating that he could deal with such threats personally without relying on his military. This display of power was meant to deter any similar actions in the future and ensure that his authority remained unchallenged once the current crisis was resolved.

Are you sure about that? Although we previously couldnt use mana as a means of attacking because we didn't know about its capability for that, you can now be sure that we know everything you taught all of our children about mana and can use it the same way as them, Cypress asked, explaining her question and emphasizing their newfound capabilities.

If I need help, I will ask for it, but for now, I need you to focus on the safety of both the planet and the citizens. If you need to reach me, you can contact me through this, Aron said, dropping four buttons from his sleeves onto the table. Without waiting for a response, he flew upward, breaking the sound barrier a second later. Birch was quick enough to respond, opening the palaces roots where Aron was about to pass through. However, the same couldnt be said for the two roots still attempting to cocoon the palace. He didnt care how hard they were or looked, breaking through them with force.

A resounding BOOOOOOOOM echoed as he pierced through them.

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BOOOOOOOOM.

The ships that were amidst their attack immediately came to a halt. The sensors pinged the presence of the Emperor, automatically stopping the ships from continuing their assault to avoid harming him or anyone else still inside the cocoon in case a shot went through the opening he had created.

The opening he had pried immediately began to heal, just as it had when they previously attacked with small-yield weapons. They had been cautious not to use anything too powerful, to avoid harming those inside they were trying to save.

The fuck, a soldier involuntarily muttered. Although it was impossible to believe what he was seeing, his visor was directly highlighting the floating man, zooming in on him with a golden name hovering above him, clearly labeling him as the emperor.

The surprise was shared by everyone except a few Aegis members monitoring from space. It was the first time the emperor did something that undeniably proved he was an awakener as everything in the past only hinted at it based on his reaction to the situations he found himself in.

This revelation wasnt just witnessed by those present but also by more than five billion people from both Proxima and Earth who were now watching through the live stream.

As for the emperor, he hovered for a moment, receiving an update on the situation. He couldn't receive this information while in the palace because Nova had deduced that his discussion at that time was more critical than the current report.