From Ruin to Reign Leander's Unbreakable Will novel Chapter 485

"Heaven-Slayer, Earth-Breaker, Ghost and Ghouls?" Leander balanced the cup between his fingers, voice mild. "You’re talking about the Netherweb?"

He wasn’t unfamiliar with the name. Now that he stood on the world stage, and Jeff Enterprises had become the strongest conglomerate on Earth, the information funnelling to him had multiplied. Very little escaped his awareness anymore.

Through Frankie Wainwright’s channels, he already knew the Arbitration Office had issued a two-billion-dollar bounty for his head. And the Netherweb was the assassin guild that had taken the contract.

Among the fragments he’d gathered, Leander understood this much: the Netherweb counted within its ranks the top four assassins in the world. It was an ancient, enigmatic syndicate, reigning over the underworld for more than a century. It managed to stay unshaken, unsurpassed.

Even the Arbitration Office handled them with caution. Whenever the Office needed something done without leaving fingerprints, it would post the bounty on the underground boards and let the Netherweb do the dirty work.

Celia, arrestingly beautiful, spoke softly, "Those words do point to the Netherweb. But ninety-nine percent of the world has no idea what they really mean.

"They represent the Netherweb’s internal ranks. Heaven is the pinnacle. Ghoul is the lowest."

Leander’s gaze stilled for a moment as the picture clicked together, just like the Umbral Court in Ravenridge he had crushed single-handedly.

The Umbral Court, hidden in Astria, used their own strict hierarchy: the Twelve Talons, the Six Wraiths.

But the Netherweb was stronger by orders of magnitude. Eight tiers, each more ruthless than the last.

Celia continued, "The four ranks symbolised by ‘Ghost and Ghouls’ are merely the outer circle."

"From the rank of Breaker and upward, that’s where the true inner elites begin."

Leander sipped again, expression unchanged. "That information alone won’t buy your life."

Netherweb ranks were of little interest to him.

"Sovereign Ashcroft, don’t rush. I’m not finished." She let a quiet, enigmatic smile form. "Tell me, what level do you think I hold on the global Assassin Leaderboard?"

Leander’s eyes narrowed.

To him, Celia, also known internationally as The Ripper, ranked third on that mysterious list. In any reasonable measure, she should stand at the very top, Heaven-tier, at least.

But the way she spoke made it clear that the truth was far more severe.

"You’ve guessed it," she said softly. "Inside the Netherweb, I am only Slayer-tier.

"The one who just tried to snipe you, ‘Deadshot’ Barrett, he’s Slayer -tier as well."

For the first time, Leander’s expression shifted.

She pressed on, voice low, eyes darkening with a fear that seemed deeply carved into her. "In the Netherweb, only two people have ever reached Heaven-tier."

Leander spoke before she could continue. "The Blood Demon and the Hermit, right?"

There was no real need to speculate. Only the top two on the global assassin list could stand above the third-ranked Ripper and qualify as Heaven-tier.

Still, the revelation shocked him. The difference between third and second shouldn’t have been a chasm. Yet, if Celia was an entire rank beneath them, the gulf was monstrous.

Even while suppressing her presence, Leander could feel her cultivation, she was a peak Infernal Crown Transcendent, strong enough to rival Maddox, once first on the International Combat Units chart, and not inferior to the Chief Arbitrators of the Office.

If the Blood Demon and the Hermit surpassed her, then what realm had they stepped into?

Could they have already reached the King Phase?

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