Chapter 123: The Reaper’s Slash

-345! (Weakness Attack! Armor-Piercing!)

A terrifying damage number floated above Garrett’s head.

His health bar dropped sharply, the loss clearly visible.

“Bastard!”

Both shocked and furious, Garrett let out a furious roar. The [Warcry] aura surrounding his body suddenly flared, and he prepared to unleash a counterattack.

But Aiden’s movements were smooth and fluid.

The moment his first strike was deflected, he didn’t hesitate.

His figure slipped away like a fish escaping through water, using Silas’s massive tower shield and the chaotic crowd surrounding them as cover.

In the blink of an eye, he changed positions.

WHOOSH!

Shadowy thorns suddenly erupted from the ground.

[Heaven-Binding Roots]!

The dark roots emerged from bizarre and unpredictable angles, repeatedly interfering with Garrett’s footwork and obstructing his line of sight.

Garrett swung his great axe.

Nothing.

He turned.

Aiden was already somewhere else.

Another slash came from his blind spot.

CLANG!

Garrett barely managed to block it.

At the same time, Luna’s [Destiny Thunderstorm] continued to rain down.

Although its individual lightning strikes didn’t deal overwhelming damage, the continuous interference and area suppression made it extremely difficult for the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s members to provide Garrett with meaningful support.

Every time someone tried to approach, lightning forced them back.

Every time a mage attempted to cast a spell, their incantation was interrupted.

And every time the surrounding warriors attempted to break through…

Silas was there.

Like an immovable mountain.

He planted himself firmly at the bottleneck, refusing to yield even a single step.

No matter how desperately the Dragon Sovereign Guild warriors attacked, they simply couldn’t push past him and surround Aiden.

Garrett had fallen into an unprecedented predicament.

He possessed overwhelming strength and powerful skills.

But every swing of his great axe seemed to strike empty air.

Every movement was disrupted by invisible threads.

Every opening he created was immediately exploited.

Aiden’s attacks were precise.

Ruthless.

And always aimed at his vital points.

His speed was terrifying.

His attributes seemed to completely overwhelm Garrett.

And that strange blade…

It was far too sharp.

Garrett’s heavy armor felt almost useless before it.

CLANG!

Another slash struck his armor.

A deep cut appeared across his chest.

Garrett gritted his teeth and retaliated.

Aiden vanished again.

Another shadowy root emerged beneath his feet.

Garrett stumbled.

A dark-golden blade flashed past his shoulder.

Blood sprayed.

Another wound.

Then another.

After more than a dozen exchanges, Garrett had accumulated several injuries.

His health bar had fallen below fifty percent.

Yet Aiden’s breathing remained completely steady.

His eyes were cold and emotionless.

It was as though everything happening before him was nothing more than a light warm-up.

Garrett’s pupils trembled.

For the first time in a very long time…

An emotion he had almost forgotten quietly emerged within his heart.

Fear.

True fear.

For the first time, Garrett realized with absolute clarity that he might actually die here.

Not be defeated.

Not retreat.

Die.

At the hands of the very “lone wolf” he had once looked down upon.

“No!”

Garrett’s eyes suddenly turned crimson.

“I refuse to accept this!”

A trace of madness appeared on his face.

He erupted with the last of his strength and recklessly activated the ultimate skill of his S-rank class, [Warcry].

[Bloody Battle in All Directions]!

BOOM!

A violent aura erupted from Garrett’s body.

His defensive power rapidly decreased as an enormous amount of his strength was converted into pure offensive power.

His attack power and attack range skyrocketed.

The great axe in his hands swung violently.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

Countless axe shadows formed a terrifying whirlwind, filling the narrow passage with destructive force.

Garrett roared.

“Die!”

He intended to force Aiden back with sheer overwhelming power and carve a bloody path out of the valley.

But facing this desperate attack…

Aiden’s eyes flashed with a trace of mockery.

He stopped retreating.

Stopped dodging.

Stopped maneuvering.

His body suddenly became completely still.

Then—

The blade in his hand began to glow.

Dark red.

Ice blue.

Silver-white.

Three completely different elemental energies erupted simultaneously.

They intertwined along the blade, rapidly intensifying until the surrounding space itself seemed to tremble.

Aiden slowly raised his sword.

[Sky-Splitting Slash]—Full Power!

Mixed Attributes!

BOOM!

A massive crescent-shaped energy blade erupted from his weapon.

Its edges carried three terrifying powers.

Burning lava.

Frozen ice.

Violent lightning.

The three elements intertwined and resonated, creating a perfectly condensed destructive force.

Then it collided head-on with Garrett’s [Bloody Battle in All Directions].

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Instead—

SHHHHHK!

A teeth-grinding sound of energy being forcibly torn apart and annihilated echoed through the bottleneck.

Garrett’s countless axe shadows began to disappear.

One after another.

His seemingly unstoppable whirlwind was being devoured by the perfectly condensed energy blade.

It melted away like snow beneath the scorching sun.

Garrett’s eyes widened.

Impossible!

The energy blade continued forward.

Unstoppable.

It tore through the remnants of the axe storm and slammed directly into Garrett’s chest.

His defensive bonus had already been greatly reduced by [Bloody Battle in All Directions].

Now, there was almost nothing between his body and Aiden’s attack.

BOOM!

-1024!!!

(Overload Mixed Damage! Critical Hit! Elemental Annihilation!)

A golden-red damage number erupted above Garrett’s head.

Four digits.

The number was so massive that it seemed almost to burst out of the battlefield interface itself.

Garrett’s heavy armor shattered.

The terrifying force of the attack tore across his chest, leaving behind a horrifying wound covered in charred black burns, frozen flesh, and crackling electrical energy.

His entire body froze.

The madness on his face gradually disappeared.

Replaced by disbelief.

He slowly lowered his gaze.

Looked at the enormous wound across his chest.

Then slowly raised his head.

Aiden stood several meters away.

The blade had already returned to its sheath.

His expression remained completely indifferent.

Cold as winter snow.

“…How…”

Garrett’s lips trembled.

“How is this possible…?”

Those were the last words of Garrett Kaine.

The next moment—

THUD!

His enormous body crashed heavily onto the ground.

Several pieces of equipment and items scattered across the dirt, each one shimmering with dazzling light.

Then Garrett’s body transformed into white light.

And disappeared.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild’s number-one warrior.

Garrett Kaine.

The wielder of the S-rank class [Warcry].

Was killed by a single slash from the “Reaper” at the bottleneck of the Nameless Valley.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

For a brief moment, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild warriors struggling against Silas saw it.

The mages and ranged players desperately fighting against the Ember Guild saw it.

Even those desperately trying to retreat from the bottleneck saw it.

They had all witnessed that earth-shattering slash.

They had all seen the terrifying four-digit damage number.

And they had all watched the warrior they regarded as invincible fall like an ordinary monster.

Their commander…

Had been killed in a single strike.

An unprecedented fear spread through the hearts of every Dragon Sovereign Guild member.

Then came despair.

The two emotions spread through the army like a plague.

Their morale completely collapsed the instant Garrett fell.

“Retreat!”

Someone finally screamed.

“RETREAT!”

“GET OUT OF HERE!”

“RUN!!!”

The Dragon Sovereign Guild’s formation collapsed.

It was like a mountain crumbling from within.

The elite troops, already trapped by the terrain and suppressed by the Ember Guild’s attacks, suddenly lost all desire to fight.

They threw away their helmets.

Dropped their weapons.

Some even abandoned their equipment.

They scrambled desperately toward the valley entrance, fleeing for their lives.

Silas didn’t pursue them.

He simply leaned against his massive tower shield, breathing heavily.

His body was covered in wounds, but his eyes burned with excitement.

Luna also stopped casting.

Her face was slightly pale.

The [Destiny Thunderstorm] had consumed a tremendous amount of her energy.

Meanwhile, Blazewind finally gave the order.

“Attack!”

The Ember Guild players surged out from behind the fortifications.

They began hunting down the fleeing Dragon Sovereign Guild members and expanding their victory.

Aiden paid none of it any attention.

He slowly walked toward the place where Garrett had disappeared.

Two items immediately caught his attention.

They were the most dazzling pieces of loot scattered across the ground.

The first was a pair of metal gauntlets radiating an intense dark-red blood aura.

[Conquest of the War Lord (Epic)]

The second was a skill book shimmering with golden light.

[Warcry · Fragment (S-Rank Skill Derivative)]

Aiden picked them both up.

He glanced toward the valley entrance.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild’s soldiers were fleeing in complete panic.

Then he looked down at Garrett’s final relics in his hands.

There was no joy on his face.

Only a profound coldness.

This…

Was merely the beginning.

Garrett had fallen.

But who would be next?

Aiden stored the loot and turned around.

He slowly walked toward the depths of the Nameless Valley.

Behind him, the setting sun stretched his shadow across the ground.

Long.

Dark.

And silent.

Like an indelible shadow named—

Abyss.

A shadow that had finally begun to descend over the heart of the Dragon Sovereign Guild.

***

A/N:

What do you think of the story so far?