Damn, I Have to Marry the Strongest Antagonist at the Start? - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Chapter173-The Growth of the World Tree
Under the clear, blue sky, John stepped through the void, his right hand raised high.

His entire body seemed like the gaping maw of a demon, devouring the elemental energy contained within the magical artifacts surrounding him.

As the countless elemental particles illuminated his body, he suddenly radiated a dazzling light, and then his form began to swell.

He transformed into a towering, blood-red elemental giant, standing between heaven and earth, immense and imposing, exerting a crushing pressure that seemed to forbid the very existence of the world.

The Dragon Princess and the other Middle Earth prodigies and mages, who had just been floating in mid-air, now felt an overwhelming pressure emanating from John, as if the sky itself were collapsing, making it impossible for them to continue flying.

“What kind of technique is this? It’s terrifying!”

“It seems like a forbidden technique, and John has mastered it to an extremely high level!”

“Using a forbidden technique right away? What kind of grudge does John have with Owen?”

“No matter what, after this move, the outcome between the two will definitely be decided, perhaps even to the point of life and death…”

At this moment, as they gazed upon the blood-red elemental giant towering over the earth, the Dragon Princess and the others were filled with terror and astonishment.

From this technique alone, they could sense the aura of death.

If they had to face it directly, their minds would be in turmoil, and they would have no choice but to close their eyes and await death. The power of this move was simply too terrifying!

While everyone retreated in fear, Owen, who was facing this attack head-on, showed a slightly more serious expression.

He knew that if John dared to challenge him, he must have some sort of trump card.

This move, in particular, made Owen feel a tinge of danger, even more so than when he faced the Dragon Princess before.

However, that was all it was.

“You are indeed strong, but your fate is to fall by my hand!”

“From now on, seeing me will be like seeing a god!”

“Kneel!”

Owen’s eyes widened as the colossal shadow of the Supreme Order manifested behind him.

The enormous shadow seemed to engulf the heavens and the earth, then instantly merged into Owen’s body.

The power bestowed by the Supreme Order was something beyond John’s comprehension.

As the shadow merged with him, Owen’s eyes became almost entirely filled with elemental energy, glowing with a dazzling, blinding light.

Within his eyes, one could see thunder falling like rain, flames spreading like light smoke across the sky, and vast expanses of ice sealing the world, with snowflakes drifting like willow fluff…

In Owen’s gaze, the Supreme Order, under the influence of a terrifying will, manifested and flowed, particularly the three elements Owen had mastered—thunder, flame, and ice.

As the elemental giant formed by John threw a punch, before it could even reach Owen, it began to boil, freeze, and flash like lightning under the flux of these three elements in Owen’s eyes.

The elemental giant was completely broken down into its constituent elements, rapidly dissipating into the air, causing the towering figure of John’s elemental giant to quickly shrink and disintegrate.

No!

At that moment, John felt an indescribable discomfort.

The mana that was originally under his control was being sliced apart, evaporating and dissipating as if his very flesh were being cut away.

In this bone-deep pain, it felt both like an instant and like countless years had passed.

When John finally regained his senses, the scene before him had changed dramatically.

The vast sky was gone, replaced by solid ground.

Somehow, he had already fallen to his knees, his legs numb, his body utterly drained of strength, unable to move.

Standing before him was Owen, his hands behind his back, calmly looking down at John, his robe completely unscathed.

“You lost!”

The cold, blunt words from Owen struck John like a hammer.

His head buzzed, and his eyes bulged as he struggled to comprehend the reality before him.

He had used the technique he had painstakingly prepared for so long, those magical artifacts contained immense, terrifying energy, enough to threaten even a master-tier existence.

Why?

Why had he still been so easily defeated by Owen?

He hadn’t even been able to harm him in the slightest! Was the gap between their strengths truly so vast and insurmountable?

As John’s expression became dazed, a familiar system notification suddenly sounded in Owen’s ear.

“Congratulations, Master, for defeating the fated one, John. Reward: 50,000 fate points!”

Upon hearing the system’s notification, Owen’s eyes lit up, and a smile of excitement crept across his face.

Just as he had expected, John, as the fated one, contained far more fate points than any other mage.

To give an example, when Owen defeated the Dragon Princess, severely injured two master-tier mages from Middle Earth, and even enslaved the main heroine Rachel, the system only rewarded him with 30,000 fate points.

But now, for defeating John, he had earned 50,000 fate points!

Moreover, the system’s rewards weren’t over yet!

“Detected significant change in the fate line of the fated one, John. Reward: three Silver Tears!”

As the system’s voice ended, three droplets resembling liquid mercury appeared in Owen’s storage ring.

Owen was very familiar with these—they were extremely high-quality materials.

They had the supreme ability to unlock potential and were incredibly rare, even in resource-rich Middle Earth, where they could incite fierce competition among various factions!

He hadn’t expected the system to reward him with three of them at once due to today’s events.

It seemed that his repeated provocations and suppression of John had had an irreversible impact on John’s heart.

“Such valuable items are best used promptly to maximize their benefits!”

Owen, following his thoughts, immediately took the first drop of Silver Tear from his storage ring and dripped it onto the roots of the Tree of the World.

Ever since the system had rewarded him with this Tree of the World, it had been absorbing a massive amount of mana daily, but its growth had been exceedingly slow, almost imperceptible.

However, based on the system’s brief description and the tree’s name, it was clear that this tree was anything but ordinary.

Using a Silver Tear to stimulate its growth seemed necessary.

As the Silver Tear touched the roots of the Tree of the World, its delicate, densely packed roots, anchored in the void, trembled slightly.

The roots, like living tendrils, quickly absorbed the Silver Tear, and wherever it was absorbed, a tenacious, immortal silver hue appeared, significantly accelerating the tree’s mana absorption.

The Tree of the World’s growth also visibly sped up, with more roots spreading into the void.

The trunk became thicker, and the leaves turned a vibrant, jade-like green, emitting a mysterious glow.

Although Owen still didn’t know exactly what purpose the Tree of the World would serve, its growth made him instinctively feel a sense of closeness, as if being near the tree enhanced his mana absorption and deepened his understanding of the [Order].

This discovery delighted Owen.

Although the Tree of the World was difficult to cultivate, he had a strong intuition that once it matured, it would bring him unimaginable gains and advancements!

After collecting his thoughts, Owen then took out the second drop of Silver Tear and fed it to Seraphina, who was recovering from her injuries.

In the earlier battle, Seraphina had sustained serious injuries.

Although its bloodline was stronger than the Dragon Princess’s, it lacked in level, combat experience, and external aids.

Fortunately, it had almost fully recovered by now.

The moment Owen took out the Silver Tear, Seraphina felt an intense desire within her, sensing that devouring this silver drop would bring her immense benefits.

“Seraphina, grow strong. The next time, even dragons with pure bloodlines will be nothing but prey for you.”

Owen gently petted Seraphina before feeding her the Silver Tear, using it to enhance her bloodline.

Although Seraphina was already very powerful, she still struggled against formidable opponents.

This Silver Tear would help nourish her further.

After consuming the Silver Tear, Seraphina contentedly closed her eyes, fully immersing herself in absorbing its power.

The Silver Tear immediately transformed into a silver mist upon entering her mouth, permeating her internal organs and even her bones, causing her entire body to appear as if clad in silver armor, emitting a radiant silver glow.