Chapter 34: At the gates

Each collision produced a heavy shockwave that forced nearby students to retreat, the sheer force kicking up stone dust across the plaza.

The gold-striped hyena vanished.

Lothe’s [Spatial Perception] expanded instantly.

Left.

No—above.

Lothe drove the butt of his spear into the stone and thrust upward at a forty-five-degree angle.

Clang!

Spearhead and armored claws collided mid-air. The beast contorted its body with unnatural athleticism, using the recoil to whip its thick tail toward Lothe’s ribs.

Lothe ducked low.

BOOM!

The tail shattered the concrete remains of a nearby support pillar.

Without missing a beat, Lothe stepped into the beast’s guard. His black spear danced in a relentless, continuous rhythm.

One thrust. Two. Five. Ten.

Each strike flowed seamlessly into the next. Under the pressure of life-and-death combat, the Blazing Horizon Spear Art had fully matured.

The gold-striped hyena found itself yielding ground. For the first time since the invasion began, the apex predator was being systematically suppressed.

The beast let out a guttural roar. Golden Qi erupted around its frame, and its speed doubled. Within a heartbeat, a deluge of gold-coated claw strikes enveloped Lothe from every angle.

He didn’t retreat.

His breathing slowed. The chaotic noise of the battlefield faded into a quiet background hum.

Within his spatial domain, he could feel it all—the movement of internal Qi, the micro-vibrations of the air, the physical tension in space itself.

His grip shifted half an inch down the shaft. The Inferno Dragon Spear vibrated with a subtle, resonant hum.

Blazing Horizon Spear—Third Flow.

A single thrust. Simple. Linear. Direct.

The black spear moved with such natural efficiency that it seemed to vanish from sight.

The gold-striped hyena instinctively twisted its body sideways to dodge. Or rather—it believed it had.

The space directly at the tip of the spearhead distorted.

[Skill Combination: Spatial Blade + Spear Thrust]

A razor-thin, invisible edge of compressed space extended four feet beyond the physical metal tip.

The beast’s amber eyes widened in sudden realization.

Shhk!

The spatial blade sliced cleanly through its neck.

The massive body carried forward two paces on sheer inertia before its head slid quietly off its shoulders, splashing into the wet mud.

Thud.

The carcass collapsed into the courtyard.

[You have slain a Level 3, Tier 2 Phantom Hyena.]

[Experience gained: 100 EXP.]

Lothe exhaled a long trail of mist. He spun the Inferno Dragon Spear once, clearing the dark blood from the tip, before resting it over his shoulder.

"...Not bad."

Silence blanketed the courtyard.

The surviving hyenas stared at the motionless corpses of their two leaders before letting out uneasy, high-pitched whimpers.

One by one, they turned and fled, scattering into the ruined side streets without looking back.

Nobody gave chase.

The survivors remained frozen where they stood, their eyes locked on the two figures at the center of the plaza.

Lothe stood with his spear resting casually on his shoulder, while Seana leaned lightly against her sword, her breathing heavy and ragged.

"...They actually killed them," Daniel whispered, his voice barely audible over the wind.

Disbelief hung heavy over the survivors. Those weren’t common mutated beasts—they were calculated, intelligent leaders. Yet Lothe and Seana had taken them down single-handedly.

Oren tightened his grip on his bow until his knuckles turned white, his eyes fixed on Lothe.

How... how are they already this far ahead?

They had all integrated with the System on the exact same day. Yet the gap between them felt like an uncrossable chasm.

For the first time in his life, Oren saw someone his own age standing far ahead in front of him. His competitive drive didn’t wither; instead, it ignited into a quiet, fierce resolve.

I will catch up. No matter what it takes.

A short distance away, Nyren stood silent, her frosted fingers trembling slightly.

Ever since awakening her ice ability, she had believed her talent set her far above ordinary survivors. Combined with her high-society background and martial training, she had never doubted her place at the top.

But watching Seana command the battlefield with torrents of blood while Lothe dominated an alpha beast head-on had shattered that illusion.

She hated the feeling of helplessness. Her hands clenched into fists.

I refuse to stay weak.

Adrian let out a slow, heavy breath, lowering his sword. "...Monsters."

Professor Sy caught the subtle shift in the students’ eyes—the shock, the envy, the sudden spark of ambition. Rather than breaking their spirit, the display of absolute strength had lit a fire under the younger generation.

Professor Sy smiled faintly. Perhaps... that isn’t a bad thing.

The academy had survived the second wave—but only because two people had stood at the point of the spear.

Lothe walked over to Seana. Seeing her knees buckle from Qi exhaustion, he reached out and caught her by the shoulder before she hit the ground.

"You overdid it," Lothe said softly.

Seana offered a tired smile. "...I know. But we don’t have time to rest."

Lothe nodded. His [Spatial Perception] expanded beyond the plaza, sweeping through the surrounding blocks.

His expression hardened instantly.

Dozens... hundreds of life signatures were converging on the campus from every intersection. The noise, blood, and Qi explosions had drawn every beast and zombie in the district.

Lothe looked back at Professor Sy. "They’re coming."

Professor Sy understood immediately. "No time to mourn." He turned to the crowd, his voice carrying over the plaza. "Everyone! Gather the supplies and weapons! We leave the academy grounds now!"

The survivors moved without hesitation. Nobody questioned the order.

Behind them, Crowns Academy stood silent beneath the crimson sky—its grand halls reduced to another graveyard in the apocalypse.

Without looking back, the survivors formed up and marched toward the main entrance, entirely unaware of the total chaos waiting for them outside the gates.​