Chapter 368: Chapter 368: A Day of Carnage
The mountain air cut sharp against Noel’s skin as he pushed forward, Revenant Fang resting against his shoulder. His body screamed for rest, blood still dripping from shallow cuts across his arms, but his mind allowed none. ’Marcus first. Sylvette second. I don’t care. I’ll climb past them both.’
The forest floor trembled with snarls. Yellow eyes lit the underbrush as shapes emerged from the dark.
Ironfang Wolves. Black pelts bristled, fangs gleaming like forged steel. The pack spread wide, circling him with practiced hunger.
Noel’s grip tightened. His breathing steadied, his eyes narrowing into razor focus.
The first wolf leapt.
Noel’s palm snapped outward. "Fire Arc." A crescent of flame split the air, cleaving through its skull.
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[Current Core Progress: 30.78% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
The others roared, charging all at once. Noel slammed Revenant Fang into the ground. "Ice Spikes." Jagged crystals burst upward, skewering three mid-step, bone and steel fang shattering in a spray of blood.
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[Current Core Progress: 30.93% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
The survivors darted left, flanking. Shadows curled under Noel’s boots. "Shadow Step." He vanished and reappeared behind them, Revenant Fang erupting in flame. "Ignition Surge." His blade carved a blazing arc, splitting two wolves clean through.
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[You have slain Ironfang Wolf (Common – Adept). +0.05%]
[Current Core Progress: 31.03% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
Before he could breathe, a low growl rumbled above. Branches quaked as feline shapes landed silently on the rocks, pelts shimmering like liquid steel, eyes glowing crimson.
Steelclaw Stalkers. Faster. Smarter.
One blurred forward, claws sparking. Noel twisted, thrusting his hand. "Glacialis." A spear of ice pierced its chest, freezing blood midstream.
[You have slain Steelclaw Stalker (Rare – Adept). +0.10%]
[Current Core Progress: 31.13% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
Another pounced from behind. Noel didn’t look. "Voltage Needle." A crackling bolt tore backward, drilling through its skull.
[You have slain Steelclaw Stalker (Rare – Adept). +0.10%]
[Current Core Progress: 31.23% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
The wolves and stalkers circled again, snarls blending into one murderous rhythm. Noel rolled his shoulders, Revenant Fang burning bright.
’Not enough. More. Stronger. Until I stand above them all.’
The clearing quaked as predator and prey clashed once more, but Noel’s focus never wavered. For him, there was no survival—only ascension.
The canopy split with a scream sharp enough to rattle stone. Dozens of shapes blotted out the moon, wings jagged and black—Obsidian Harpies. Their descent turned the air into a storm of slicing feathers.
Noel braced himself. The first wave of Common harpies dived, talons flashing. He slammed a hand down. "Ice Spikes." Frozen lances burst upward, skewering half the flock mid-flight. The rest shrieked as their bodies slammed into the dirt.
Lightning sparked at his fingertips. "Chain Flash." A bolt leapt forward, branching violently across the air, frying another cluster that had banked wide. Screeches cut short in bursts of smoke.
Above, the Rares maneuvered differently, their wings scattering volleys of feather-knives. Noel blurred through shadows. "Shadow Step." He reappeared behind one mid-turn, Revenant Fang igniting in his grip. "Ignition Surge." A flaming cut split her spine; the body plummeted, trailing smoke.
The second tried to climb higher, but Noel snapped a hand skyward. "Voltage Needle!" The crackling spear of lightning punched clean through her chest, dropping her lifeless.
The air convulsed with a thunderous cry. The Elite Harpy descended, wings wider than a carriage, screeching so hard the cliffside cracked. Noel skidded back, teeth clenched.
He gathered mana, shadow and flame twisting along his blade. The harpy’s dive split the air—Noel roared back, thrusting Revenant Fang upward in a brutal clash.
The explosion of blood, ice, and fire sent broken wings scattering across the ground.
The system pulsed coldly in his vision:
[You have slain Obsidian Harpies (Common ×6, Rare ×2, Elite ×1). +0.60%]
[Current Core Progress: 31.83% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
Noel exhaled, his body trembling, his eyes unblinking. ’More. I’m not done.’
The ground shook like a drumbeat of war. Noel’s eyes sharpened as the beast lumbered into view—a mountain of black armor and molten horn, steam rising from its nostrils with each breath.
The Crimson Juggerbeast. Elite. Adept.
His core pulsed faintly at 31.83%, the number branded across his sight. ’One more step. Higher.’
The Juggerbeast lowered its head, the horn glowing red, and charged.
"Frost Wall!" Ice surged upward, but the monster’s weight shattered it in an instant. Shards sliced Noel’s arm, blood spattering the dirt. He twisted aside just as the horn gouged a furrow through stone.
Noel’s hand thrust forward. "Fireball!" The blast struck its flank—smoke, fire, sparks—but the armor only glowed hotter, absorbing the heat.
’Too thick. Need to cut deeper.’
He vanished into shadow. "Shadow Step." Reappearing above, Revenant Fang blazing with fire. "Ignition Surge!" The strike tore sparks across its plating, carving a shallow groove. The Juggerbeast roared, spinning with brute force. The shockwave hurled Noel against a tree, ribs rattling.
It stomped down. The ground cracked. From beneath, spikes of molten metal erupted.
Noel blurred again. "Stormpiercer!" Lightning consumed him as he streaked forward, weaving between the spikes, slamming across the beast’s side. The impact staggered it, armor screeching under pressure, but not broken.
The Juggerbeast bellowed, horn glowing brighter, readying another charge.
Noel steadied Revenant Fang. Shadow coiled along the blade, splitting its edge into phantom afterimages. "Eclipse Rend."
He vanished into darkness—reappearing at the monster’s chest, blade cleaving in a wave of void. Armor didn’t shatter—it was erased. A gaping line cut through its plates.
"Voltage Needle!" The bolt drilled through the wound, piercing straight into its heart.
The beast staggered, legs trembling, then collapsed with a final thunderous roar.
The system flared:
[You have slain Crimson Juggerbeast (Elite – Adept). +0.15%]
[Current Core Progress: 31.98% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
Noel exhaled, chest heaving, blood dripping from his arm. His blade still hummed.
The sun had long since risen and fallen. Now it dipped again, bleeding orange across the horizon. For Noel, time had blurred into a haze of steel, fire, and blood.
Eighteen hours. Eighteen hours of uninterrupted slaughter.
The clearing around him was a graveyard—burned husks, frozen carcasses, blackened shells of monsters that had once prowled the peaks. Steam curled from the corpses as Noel staggered forward, Revenant Fang dragging across the ground, sparks flaring at each step.
A final pack rushed him—twenty strong, mixed Ironfang Wolves and Steelclaw Stalkers. Adept to the core, but already he outpaced them.
They came from all sides. Noel’s eyes sharpened. His core pulsed violently, mana flowing like a river through his veins.
"Flare Trap!" Sigils blazed beneath their paws, erupting into columns of fire that consumed the first wave.
"Ice Spikes!" Shards ripped through the second, impaling fur and metal hides alike.
Three stalkers leapt high, claws stretched toward his throat. Noel vanished in shadow—"Shadow Step!"—and reappeared at their backs. Revenant Fang arced in a wide sweep, cutting all three in half.
The last wolf lunged. Noel’s hand thrust forward. "Voltage Needle!" The lightning bolt drilled straight through its skull, snapping its body limp.
The battlefield fell silent. Only Noel’s ragged breathing remained.
The system pulsed coldly across his vision:
[You have slain multiple Adept-class beasts (Common ×12, Rare ×7, Elite ×1). + 1.45%]
[Current Core Progress: 37.23% – Mana Core: Ascendant]
Noel exhaled, forcing his shoulders straight despite the weight dragging them down. His clothes were torn, his skin marked with cuts and burns—but his eyes still glowed with that same ruthless focus.
Above, the faint hum of mana cut through the silence. The surveillance drone still hovered, recording every kill, every drop of blood, every step he refused to yield.
Somewhere far below, people were watching.