The battlefield roared with chaos as Evan and Lucas continued their rampage through monsters. Both had just leveled up—Evan reached Level 54, while Lucas hit Level 57.
Despite the gap, Evan's unconventional solo hunting style, paired with his ever-expanding army of summons, allowed him to close the level difference significantly. While Lucas relied on himself and his tightly-knit crew, Evan was a one-man army—figuratively and literally—gaining EXP from countless hands simultaneously.
Still, Evan hadn't even touched his unassigned stat points. He was saving them, either for a decisive fight against Lucas or for a deadly crisis.
As he scanned through the battlefield, Evan's brow furrowed. His undead were vanishing rapidly—elite and normal alike. Something was decimating them.
He glanced around, yet saw nothing out of the ordinary. But Lucas, always keen in observation, narrowed his eyes toward a tremor in the distance. Both turned to the horizon as the ground itself trembled.
A low rumble shook the terrain beneath their feet.
Before anyone could react, the earth split open. A massive mound of dirt exploded skyward, scattering dust and debris as a monstrous figure rose from the underground.
A colossal lizard-like beast emerged. Its body was covered in thick, earthen scales, and jagged claws dug into the shattered ground. Its back radiated an aura that both Evan and Lucas instantly recognized—dragon blood. This wasn't just some mutated creature; it was a draconic beast.
Controlled remotely by the maddened Malwrath, the beast's glowing eyes fixated on its targets: Evan and Lucas.
The creature's first motion was a violent charge.
Lucas sprang into action, shoving his crew out of the way before lunging forward to intercept. Meanwhile, Evan commanded his army to engage, raising new undead to replenish the ranks while his existing forces threw themselves at the behemoth.
The battle began in earnest.
Evan's army, boosted by his Death March skill, surged forward. Among them, his Undead Mage stood out—its spells bombarding the beast with consistent pressure. But even with their enhancements, the beast was overwhelming them. Evan's mana drained rapidly as he continuously revived and reinforced his forces.
Soon, the Tier 0 zone became a battlefield devoid of lesser monsters. Hunters across the area now focused on the emerging threat.
The beast, frustrated by the constant interference, turned its full fury on Evan. Its roar shattered the wind as it launched itself toward him with jaws wide open.
But Evan was ready.
A grin curled on his face. The moment it entered his range, sharp bone pillars erupted from the ground, impaling the beast's exposed underbelly and suspending it mid-air.
"
The beast let out a shriek that echoed across the plains, its form trembling as the bones held it aloft. But the earth rumbled again. Massive spikes burst from the ground, piercing friend and foe alike as the lizard violently broke free and burrowed underground to recover.
Lucas, now analyzing the battlefield, activated Draconic Insight.
"He's under the ground! Anyone with an Earth-based skill—bring him back up!" Lucas shouted.
While others scrambled, Evan didn't hesitate.
Combining Leap and Seismic Rupture, he soared into the sky and came crashing down, his kick detonating a tremor that shook the battlefield.
The shock forced the beast out of hiding, revealing its wounded form. Instantly, mages launched volleys of spells. Hunters surrounded it. Lucas's team coordinated like a well-oiled machine, with Ilya's healing spells earning admiration from nearby hunters. Whispers of her being a "Saintess" spread through the ranks.
Evan's own contribution came in waves—massive elite boars, dire wolves, high-level hobgoblins, and the Undead Mage—each pressing the assault.
He chugged MP potions, eyes locked on the beast. Something was off. The lizard's rage wasn't random. Its eyes followed Evan like it harbored a personal vendetta.
Just as Evan's mana crossed the 2,000 threshold, he moved forward.
"You want to kill me, huh?" Evan muttered. "Too bad. That wish'll have to wait till your next life."
He raised a hand.
"
A thick fog of darkness blinded the lizard, distorting its senses. Then came the bone spikes, piercing it once again.
That's when Evan activated his trump card.
"
A dark aura spread through Evan's body and his summons. Their hands transformed, glowing with eerie corruption. The moment they struck the beast, it began to falter.
Every blow from his undead reduced its attack and defense by 5%, stacking up to 10 times.
The beast's blood turned black. Corrupted veins ran along its body. The hunters stepped back—none wanted to be near such a cursed state.
After a full minute of this necrotic assault, the beast could barely move. Then—
BOOM!
A burst of Necrotic Energy erupted, leaving the beast nearly dead. Evan stepped forward.
"I told you," he said calmly. "You were doomed to die here."
He was about to finish it when he saw something—a glow in the lizard's eyes.
Demonic energy.
Before he could react, the beast lunged, clamped its jaw onto Evan's shoulder, and bolted.
Shrieks erupted as the beast crashed through hunter formations, carrying Evan with it, headed straight for the Tier 1 border—to deliver its prey to Malwrath.
But luck wasn't on its side.
A blazing orb of fire appeared overhead.
Lucas.
For the first time, he cast the skill purely using his own mana, ignoring system restrictions.
The Flame Orb slammed into the beast like a divine judgment, tearing it apart before it could cross the border.
The lizard dropped lifelessly, and Evan lay sprawled next to its remains.
Hunters rushed forward.
Lucas shouted, "Ilya! Now!"
Ilya sprinted toward Evan, her eyes widening at the sight—his shoulder was torn off, his heart barely protected by shredded flesh.
Even she wasn't sure she could save him.
But she tried.
Then came the others. One healer. Two. Three.
Soon, fourteen healers stood in a circle, pouring their mana into Evan. His wounds began to mend, but slowly. Death still hovered close.
Evan fought to stay conscious. 'I need to live. I have to go back. My parents… they're waiting.'
And then—
Ding!
[Detected a massive energy source within the host's body.][Energy Source Detected: Life and Holy Magic.][Your Physique: Death Monarch, is reacting to Life Energy.][Body is undergoing rapid self-repair.]
A surge of vitality coursed through Evan's veins.
The Death Monarch Physique, once repelling holy energy, now embraced it. His body began regenerating at twice the speed, seamlessly blending death and life within him.
Gasps echoed across the battlefield as his gaping wound closed visibly before their eyes.
The impossible… was happening.
Evan… was alive.
A deathly silence spread across the battlefield.
The beast's corpse still smoked from the residual flames. Its demonic taint had dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind a mutated draconic husk. But no one looked at the beast.
All eyes were on him—the boy with brown hair, cloaked in tattered armor, his body resting atop bloodied earth… and healing.
Lucas stood still, flames simmering around his right arm as he panted. He had risked it all, even overriding the system's control, just to fire that Flame Orb. And yet, what shocked him more was not the result—but what followed.
Raven, the Prodigy Necromancer, the one everyone was awed by his cursed skill, was now glowing with holy light.
Not just surviving—thriving in it.
Even Ilya, known for her composure, faltered.
"H-He's absorbing my life healing magic?" she whispered. "No… not just absorbing. He's… amplifying it?"
Another healer gasped. "My holy spell's effectiveness doubled… no, tripled! It's like his body's begging for more."
Many onlookers were shocked to witness the massive wounds on Evan's body healing at an astonishing rate. They instinctively gave the credit to Ilya, the priest-class hunter leading the healing team—yet even she wasn't sure if it was truly her doing.
What stunned her more was the holy and life energy visibly accumulating inside the Necromancer's body—something that should've been impossible. Just moments ago, she was about to tell the other priest-class hunters to retreat, assuming their holy aura might harm him.
But now… she wasn't so sure.
Not that it mattered anymore.
In her eyes—and in everyone else's—the Necromancer, their savior, was still alive.
Shortly after his body stabilized, Evan fell into a deep sleep. He had pushed himself beyond his limit, burning through an immense amount of mana in such a short span. His body, battered and drained, now demanded rest.
Meanwhile, the remaining hunters began cleaning up the few beasts still lingering on the battlefield.
Outside the barrier, however, only two figures remained locked in a deadly standoff: Malwrath and Caius. Every other beast had either been killed or had fled in fear after the collapse of their chain of command.
As Malwrath engaged in battle with Caius, he suddenly froze.
Something felt… wrong.
He realized that his subordinate—the one he had tasked with capturing the two humans—had been eliminated. His face twisted in fury. That was his last thread of hope.
In that moment of distraction, Caius struck.
A flaming sword materialized in his hand, and in a blink, he closed the distance. But just as the blade was about to land—
A colossal, malevolent aura erupted from Malwrath's body.
Caius was blown back mid-air by the overwhelming force. His eyes narrowed instantly. He recognized it.
Malwrath… was consuming his own core to forcibly boost his power.
It was a desperate move, one that could easily kill him—but Malwrath no longer cared. His army was gone. His plan had failed. Even the opportunity to seize the authority of that ancient being had slipped through his fingers.
"If I can't have what I want… then I won't let you have your life either," Malwrath snarled and charged at Caius with maddened eyes.
Caius met his gaze calmly.
"Hah… Looks like you're done playing around," he said. "Then let me end this before you cause more harm."
{Armory of the Warlord}
A radiant gate ignited above him, pulsing with intense heat. From within, thousands of flame-forged weapons burst forth—swords, spears, axes—each burning with apocalyptic fire.
With a swift command, the arsenal rained down upon Malwrath.
Confident in his power, Malwrath didn't even attempt to dodge.
That was his greatest mistake.
Weapon after weapon pierced his body, erupting into searing explosions upon impact. The flames dug into his very essence, targeting his core with ruthless precision. His regeneration failed. His escape was cut off.
And so—Malwrath, commander of the corrupted legion, was reduced to ashes.
The flaming gate above Caius vanished, and he floated high in the sky, confirming the absence of Malwrath's life signature. Then, his voice thundered across the battlefield.
"The war is over! All hunters, finish the clean-up and return to the city walls. I repeat, all hunters must return immediately!"
Without another word, Caius vanished in a flash of flame, heading straight toward the Tier 0 field—where his sister had been stationed.
A wave of relief washed over everyone as the official announcement of the war raid's end echoed in their minds.
Hunters began making their way back to the walls, cheering, weeping, and smiling—exhausted, but alive.
Above the Tier 0 battlefield, Caius reappeared, scanning the zone where his sister's team had been deployed.
What he saw caught him off guard.
The Tier 0 zone, once swarming with the largest amount of beasts, now had only a handful of monsters left—and none of them stood a chance.
A massive undead army, numbering in the thousands, was roaming the battlefield, purging the remaining beasts.
But the strangest part?
Most of the living hunters had already begun heading home, their faces filled with joy.
Caius narrowed his eyes. "What the hell happened here? And who's controlling such a vast number of Undead?"
He pushed the thought aside for now and quickly flew down to find his sister. When he located her, she was returning with her team… but something instantly seemed off.
There was an extra person in the group.
A stranger, lying unconscious on the back of the swordsman named Mike.
At first, Caius assumed it was a wounded hunter they had picked up.
But the moment his sister saw him… something changed.
Her expression froze.
And that was when things really began.
To be Continued…
What will happen now?
Will Caius and Evan finally meet face to face?
Or will the identity of the infamous Raven Blade finally be exposed?
To find out...
Stay tuned.