Chapter 186: IRON JAW

Chapter 186: IRON JAW


Aaron stepped through the shimmering rift, the portal’s energies crackling around him like a storm of fractured light. Emerging on the other side, he left the temperate landscapes of Planet Astrid behind, finding himself enveloped by the biting chill of the frostmaw trolls’ icy domain. The planet was a frozen wasteland, its surface a relentless expanse of glacier ice and snow, where jagged peaks of frost glistened under a pale, distant sun, casting stark shadows across the crystalline terrain. The air was sharp with the scent of frostbite, and the ground crunched beneath his boots, each step echoing in the eerie silence of the desolate world.


Without wasting a moment, Aaron sank into the patch of darkness beneath his feet, pulling Garganth along in a seamless ripple of shadow, the transition as smooth as a blade through water. They reappeared before the largest frostmaw troll Aaron had ever seen, a colossal figure whose sheer presence seemed to dwarf the surrounding ice spires. The troll’s skin was encrusted with hardened ice shards, each glinting like polished steel, forming an impenetrable armor without a single visible weak point. Seated on a massive throne carved from solid glacier, the troll was lost in thought, its glowing blue eyes distant, as if contemplating the weight of its existence.


"Hmm. So that’s the reason you’re all out invading another world?" Aaron asked, his voice calm but cutting through the silence like a whip, as he strode closer to the troll with fearless confidence, his shadow trailing behind him like a living cloak.


"Who the hell are you, and how did you get here?" the troll growled, its voice a low rumble that vibrated the icy ground. Its massive hand reached for a gigantic club resting beside the throne, the weapon encased entirely in ice, its surface shimmering with an unnatural sheen. To Aaron’s surprise, the club pulsed faintly, as if awakened with an ego of its own, a sentient weapon forged through eons of frost and combat.


"I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Besides, I’m here to help you," Aaron said coolly, his tone laced with quiet authority. With a casual gesture, he conjured a throne of swirling shadows, its form solidifying from the darkness with an eerie hum. Sitting upon it as if he were the undisputed sovereign, Aaron crossed one leg over the other, Garganth standing obediently behind him, a silent sentinel radiating deference.


Iron Jaw, the massive troll, paused, his hand hovering over the club as he studied Aaron with wary eyes, his instincts probing for the stranger’s strength. The air grew colder, the frost around them crackling softly as the troll’s gaze narrowed, assessing the man who dared to approach so boldly.


"Who are you?" Iron Jaw asked again, this time with a more subdued tone, laced with cautious respect, his probing subtle but deliberate, testing the waters of Aaron’s power.


"There’s no need to probe my strength. I’m way ahead of you," Aaron replied, his voice steady and unyielding. With a flicker of intent, he released a pulse of his aura for the briefest moment, an overwhelming pressure that swept across the planet like a tidal wave, causing the ice beneath to groan and crack under its weight.


"What...?!" Iron Jaw exclaimed, his massive frame tensing as his glowing eyes widened in shock. Aaron’s pressure had enveloped the entire planet in an instant, a suffocating force that made the air itself feel heavy, as if the world bowed to his will. "You’re at Eternal rank. How?! There’s only one Eternal rank in our solar system. There’s no way another exists, unknown to all!" Iron Jaw’s voice trembled with disbelief, his icy armor glinting faintly as he grappled with the revelation.


"Oh?" Aaron raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable, inviting the troll to elaborate.


"Why haven’t I seen you at any of the meetings held by the powerhouses of the solar system?" Iron Jaw pressed, his curiosity warring with his caution, the frost around him shimmering as his breath quickened.


The Flare Solar System, like others, was a cosmic tapestry of celestial bodies orbiting a massive star, five times the size of Earth’s sun, its fiery glow casting a harsh light over twenty planets. Each world was a unique crucible of power, their inhabitants shaped by their environments, from the aquatic depths of Atlantis to the illusion-woven plains of Renis.


"So, the supposed strongest in your solar system is the one holding your child captive and demanding you invade another planet?" Aaron asked, his tone deceptively casual, though his eyes gleamed with calculated interest.


"Havoc. That’s his name. The Titan of Destruction. He’s not from our solar system. He came from gods know where. Since his arrival, he’s driven the conquest of our worlds, bending them to his will," Iron Jaw explained, his voice heavy with resentment, his massive hands clenching into fists that cracked the ice beneath them.


"Havoc, huh. So he’s the reason you’re attacking Planet Astrid. Why doesn’t he conquer it himself?" Aaron inquired, leaning forward slightly, his shadow throne pulsing faintly.


"He’s busy tempering his body in the heat of our sun. Sits there every day, forging himself in its flames, only leaving to check the progress of his conquest," Iron Jaw replied, his tone bitter, the memory of Havoc’s dominance a wound to his pride.


"Out of the twenty planets, how many remain unconquered?" Aaron asked, his voice steady, already piecing together the larger picture.


"Five smaller worlds, inconsequential to him. He could crush them whenever he pleases, so he doesn’t bother. Then there’s Atlantis, ruled by that perverted King Oren; Euthenia, home to the basilisks under Devan, a peak God-rank being; and Renis, the planet of the Illusionists, a human civilization so skilled their illusions blur reality itself. They held off Havoc initially but recently allied with him, alongside Atlantis, to conquer others. Only the basilisks remain neutral, but they’re under pressure from all sides. It’s only a matter of time before they break," Iron Jaw explained, his voice low, the weight of inevitability hanging over his words.


"I see. So some random alien arrives, bosses everyone around, and now collaborates with the supposed protectors of this solar system to bully the weak further," Aaron mused, his tone laced with disdain, his fingers tapping idly on the arm of his shadow throne.


"Yes. Now, to the real topic. Why are you here?" Iron Jaw asked, his glowing eyes narrowing, sensing there was no coincidence in Aaron’s sudden appearance.