No Mercy For Enemies

Chapter 105 — No Mercy For Enemies

The Blackridge warriors attacked simultaneously.

Aether didn't move.

He simply raised his hand.

“Go.”

Blackfang disappeared into the darkness.

Ironhide charged forward.

The two shadows crashed into the Blackridge formation.

The Stage 5 warriors barely had time to react.

One swung his blade toward Blackfang.

The attack passed straight through its body.

Blackfang dispersed into black mist.

The warrior's eyes widened.

“What—?”

The mist curled around him.

Blackfang reformed behind him.

Its claws tore through his defenses.

The warrior collapsed.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 440 / 900.]

Another warrior attacked Ironhide.

The enormous shadow bear raised one arm.

CLANG!

The weapon shattered against its body.

Ironhide grabbed the warrior by the waist and slammed him into the ground.

The impact cracked the earth.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 450 / 900.]

The remaining Blackridge warriors began to panic.

One turned and tried to run.

Aether's eyes followed him.

“Blackfang.”

The shadow wolf vanished.

A few seconds later, a scream echoed through the forest.

Silence followed.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 460 / 900.]

Another warrior threw down his weapon.

“Wait! We surrender!”

Aether looked at him.

His expression remained completely calm.

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“You attacked me.”

The warrior's face paled.

“We were following orders!”

“I know.”

Aether stepped forward.

“That doesn't change your choice.”

The warrior turned to run.

Ironhide appeared in front of him.

The massive shadow bear raised its fist.

BOOM!

The warrior was killed instantly.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 470 / 900.]

The remaining warriors realized the truth.

There would be no surrender.

No negotiation.

No second chance.

They had come here to kill Aether.

And now they were going to die.

One of them desperately attacked Blackfang.

The wolf dodged beneath the blade and tore into his chest.

Another tried to escape through the forest.

Aether used Shadow Step.

He appeared directly in his path.

The warrior froze.

“Please—”

Aether's fist struck.

The man was thrown backward and stopped moving.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 480 / 900.]

Aether didn't even look back.

The final Stage 5 warrior was killed by Ironhide moments later.

[Stage 5 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +10.]

[Origin Points: 490 / 900.]

Only the Stage 7 leader and two Stage 6 cultivators remained.

The leader's expression was grim.

“Enough!”

He rushed toward Aether.

The two collided.

BOOM!

Aether slid backward several meters.

The Stage 7 leader's strength was considerable.

“You think these monsters will save you?”

Aether looked at him calmly.

“They don't need to.”

Blackfang appeared behind the man.

Ironhide attacked from the front.

The leader twisted away from Blackfang's claws and blocked Ironhide's attack.

Aether immediately appeared beside him.

His fist slammed into the man's ribs.

CRACK!

The leader flew sideways.

Before he could recover, Blackfang attacked again.

The man desperately defended himself.

He managed to block the wolf's claws.

Then Ironhide's massive fist struck him from behind.

BOOM!

The leader crashed into the ground.

Aether appeared above him.

The man looked up.

“Wait.”

Aether's eyes were cold.

“No.”

His fist descended.

Blackfang attacked at the same moment.

Ironhide followed.

The Stage 7 leader's body was completely overwhelmed.

[Stage 7 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +50.]

[Origin Points: 540 / 900.]

The battlefield became silent.

The final two Stage 6 cultivators stood frozen.

They looked at their fallen comrades.

Then at Aether.

One slowly lowered his weapon.

“We surrender.”

Aether stared at him.

“You attacked me.”

The man's expression changed.

“We can give you information!”

Aether's eyes narrowed.

“Then you should have offered it before attacking.”

The man took a step backward.

Aether's voice remained emotionless.

“I don't reward people for failing to kill me.”

Blackfang appeared beside the first cultivator.

Ironhide appeared beside the second.

The two warriors understood.

They attacked desperately.

It didn't matter.

Blackfang tore through the first.

Ironhide crushed the second.

[Stage 6 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +30.]

[Origin Points: 570 / 900.]

[Stage 6 Blackridge Cultivator defeated.]

[Origin Points +30.]

[Origin Points: 600 / 900.]

Silence returned to the forest.

Every Blackridge warrior who had come to kill Aether was dead.

Aether stood among the bodies without a trace of hesitation.

Kael stared at him.

“You didn't give them a chance.”

Aether looked at him.

“They had their chance.”

Kael remained silent.

Aether turned toward the corpses.

“These people came here knowing exactly what they were doing.”

His gaze became colder.

“I won't pretend mercy is owed to someone simply because they become afraid after losing.”

Blackfang and Ironhide returned to his side.

Aether looked at the two shadows.

“Good work.”

Both shadows dissolved into black mist.

They returned to Aether's shadow.

Aether opened his private System.

[Origin Points: 600 / 900.]

He looked at the number.

Only 300 more.

His next breakthrough was getting closer.

But something else interested him more.

The bodies around him still contained powerful Origin imprints.

Especially the Stage 7 leader.

Aether walked toward the corpse.

The System immediately reacted.

[Multiple compatible Origin imprints detected.]

[Stage 7 compatibility: 79%.]

[Stage 6 compatibility: 67%.]

[Stage 5 compatibility: 52%.]

Aether's eyes narrowed.

He could already imagine what these enemies could become.

Not prisoners.

Not allies.

Not survivors.

Something much more useful.

Shadows.

He placed his hand over the Stage 7 corpse.

Dark Origin Energy spread outward.

The man's remaining Origin imprint slowly separated from the body.

Aether smiled faintly.

“Your strength belongs to me now.”

The imprint disappeared into his Origin Energy.

Aether looked toward the distant mountains.

His army still had only two members.

But every battle was changing that.

Every powerful enemy he defeated could become part of his darkness.

And unlike ordinary armies, his forces didn't fear death.

As long as Aether lived, his shadows could return.

He turned away from the battlefield.

“Let's keep moving.”

Blackfang and Ironhide followed silently through the darkness.

Behind them, the forest remained completely still.

No survivors.

No unfinished business.

Only the beginning of an army that would one day rise from Aether's shadow.