Chapter 42

  { Chris’s Resolve }

  A path of blood formed along the army’s route

  Morale soared to the skies

  The soldiers began to merge into one

  Goblins, Nobo, Titans

  The advance continued as the army’s gains increased to the point where everyone replaced their equipment with gear of death

  Nothing dropped except weapons and coins

  Even so, the quality of the weapons was generally good, as Normal weapons dropped in large numbers—along with even some rare ones

  But more important was that armor dropped here

  Dark black armor with gray lines running through it

  Death Armor

  Common

  Reduces attacks executed using Life Energy

  “Wonderful,” Ian smiled as the army halted

  “My lord,” Porto bowed “There is danger ahead”

  “Explain?”

  “There is a valley inhabited by ten second-level monsters guarding a strange lotus flower In addition to first-level monsters… there are more than a hundred ”

  “That much power!” Ian said in surprise

  “Tell me what the flower looks like,” Yassin suddenly asked

  “A lotus flower, Brigadier… a white lotus with three petals and a golden seed at its center,” Porto replied

  “That’s it,” Yassin said in shock “We must obtain it, my lord”

  “What’s special about it?” Ian didn’t understand “Didn’t you say we can’t bring anything back to our world from here except weapons and coins?”

  “Of course, my lord… the things that can come back to our world are extremely few… and even this is no exception,” Yassin smiled and whispered something into Ian’s ear

  “Really?” Ian said in surprise

  Yassin smiled

  “Good… we’ll take it,” Ian ordered “The entire army… advance”

  This battle would be arduous

  But before they could move—

  “You’re finally here”

  Ian stopped, stunned as he looked at the newcomer “You…?!”

  “To think you’d crawl from life into death and come here… good

  I’ll boil you and offer you as a sacrifice to the lord,” she said coldly

  For those who don’t know this woman—

  The leader of the bandits… an ancient Lightning Mage by profession

  The very profession Ian was still holding onto… until he found a suitable person

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I’m alive—unlike you,” Ian smiled at her

  “Alive?” The woman was startled for a moment, then sniffed “Your scent… you’re truly alive.. How did you get here… no, no… it doesn’t matter I’ll kill you and offer you to the lord—then I’ll return to life”

  “Which lord?” Ian didn’t understand

  “The Ruler of the Island,” Yassin said calmly

  The World of Death was a world of islands

  Waters stretched across the entirety of the World of Death—the River of Hell, also known as the Yellow River, Its waters were lethal to all living beings, and upon it lay countless islands, Each island was a resting place for the dead, and only the islands could contain the living Even so, the danger of death here was immense

  “In the past you killed me with a trap… and now I’m here… come!” the bandit leader shouted

  “Kill them! Those bastards who killed us!” hundreds of voices roared behind her

  The Titan soldiers were shocked

  “Didn’t we kill them not long ago?!”

  They were the bandits from the witch’s army and the other three villages

  “Let’s kill them again!” Noa shouted

  “Soldiers… maintain formation,” Chris ordered

  Suddenly, the knights advanced forward, The warriors filled the gaps between them, The archers retreated to the rear, then climbed the trees in moments and drew their bows

  Yassin, Chris, Liu, Tory, and Porto stood at the front

  And let’s not forget… Bali… twenty-five people at the First Level

  Along with one additional person

  Ian

  And of course, the White Tiger and the fifteen wolves

  The bandit leader was shocked—how had his strength increased so rapidly in such a short time?

  Damn it… I’ve lost most of my memory—the leader frowned

  Death did not come without a price; otherwise, she would have remembered that Ian was one of the Seven

  “Archers… fire!” Chris commanded, and the archers began shooting from the rear

  “Lightning Sparks!” the leader shouted

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Chris advanced toward her

  Chris

  General

  First Level… Sixth Step

  “Just a fool at the First Level,” the leader mocked

  “General’s Sword!” Chris’s sword shot toward her

  “That ridiculous skill again,” the woman sneered… but suddenly she was shocked

  The skill was faster… stronger… far greater

  His mastery had broken through She was stunned

  Chris smiled “Flashing Blink ”

  Suddenly, Chris seemed to turn into a flash of light and appeared beside her, his sword stabbing into her

  Chris didn’t waste time—he had learned a solid movement skill from the skeletons

  The sword pierced her skin, but—

  The leader smiled “A fine display… but you haven’t formed your pillars yet

  You haven’t reached the required level”

  BOOOOOOM

  The woman exploded in a violent burst of sparks

  Tory pulled out his axe

  “Leave it…” Ian ordered “This is his battle”

  Ian understood Chris’s mindset well, even if it was never spoken

  He was the General—the first and most important military power in the village

  But out of nowhere, Yassin appeared… stronger, greater, with potential a million times higher

  He even knew the secret—the reason heroes were a pivotal strategic resource, even at the level of kingdoms

  That was one of the reasons there had been only 99 individuals throughout the history of mankind

  There were trillions of humans, yet… only 99 heroes

  There were certainly many reasons for that… and because of it, the pressure on Chris had increased

  “Lightning Destruction!” the leader screamed, and Chris was blasted away, crashing into the trees, spitting blood

  “Night Arrow!” Porto fired

  His three arrows shot out, killing three First Level enemies instantly

  Raaaaaaar!

  The tiger released its roar

  A howl followed

  The wolves charged

  “Cavalry Corps… activate our exclusive skill!” Lily shouted “War Rush!”

  Neighing erupted

  The horses screamed as forty knights turned into a crushing red flash, heralding destruction

  “Warriors!” Noa shouted “It’s time… Death Banner!”

  They raised their weapons, and ten enormous swords appeared above them

  This was a collective skill they had obtained from the skeletons in the fallen village—a skill capable of combining attacks into a single powerful strike, exactly like a formation banner, but specialized for a specific class, unlike the banner which affected everyone

  The only problem was that it could not be stacked*—otherwise, the power would have been overwhelming

  { The Banner and the Skill }

  BOOOOM

  The explosion shook the battlefield and sent the untrained forces—the bandits—flying into the sky… dead before they hit the ground, lying motionless

  “Advance!” Liu ordered, leading the warriors forward

  The bandits didn’t flee this time

  They were already dead, And even if they died again, they would revive tomorrow without a scratch

  “Die!” the leader sneered as she moved toward Chris… but her eyes were fixed on Yassin

  She felt an immense danger from him

  A colossal danger

  Not only was he on her level… he was far stronger

  “General’s Sword!” Chris shouted, and his sword surged forward like a dark torrent

  This… these are pillars—her expression hardened as she stared at the scene in shock

  “Lightning Armor!” Snakes of lightning wrapped around her from every direction

  BOOOOM

  The explosion destroyed the scene

  “You said pillars, didn’t you?” Chris stood up from where he had fallen

  Around him, sword energy began to spread—rather, the effects of his training skill, the dark aspect, started to manifest

  This was the sign of the Second Level… the construction of pillars

  Yet… Chris was still at the First Level, Sixth Step

  But never judge a legendary talent by ordinary standards

  “Let’s begin,” Chris smiled as he wiped the blood from his mouth