Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

Rumble!

More than a hundred modified troop carriers and armored vehicles tore across the wilderness like a black dragon, shattering a silence that had endured for a century.

Above the convoy, the massive battle flag of Antares Command snapped in the wind.

"This place is way too quiet."

Alar had both feet propped on the control panel and a toothpick between his lips as he stared through the window.

"Frontier Marshal, the boundary marker is just ahead."

The scout’s voice came through the communicator. The tension in it was impossible to hide.

"Do not stop. Drive straight over it."

Joren watched through the armored glass as a huge stone monument came into view.

Half of it had collapsed. Moss and thick vines covered the faded words carved into its surface.

A boundary marker from the old era.

One hundred kilometers from Norcrest.

A line between life and death.

Beyond that marker, the map turned dark red and bore the symbol of a skull.

The Fallen Zone.

Once, this land had been part of a thriving urban region filled with towers, crowded streets, and endless traffic.

Then the Voidbeasts came.

The cities became their hunting grounds.

Deep within those ruins lay the nests of the three peak Rank Five beast kings.

For the past hundred years, only elite units carrying out classified missions had crossed into this territory. Aside from them, only high rank experts like Kyo and Manester dared enter.

"We are here."

Kyo opened his eyes beside Joren.

He still wore the same dark red coat, though his face carried a trace of resignation.

"You really know how to work people."

He lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

"My transfer order has already arrived. I will be reporting to Highcrest City in a few days."

"That is the provincial capital. A real city."

"At a time like this, you should be holding a farewell feast for me. Maybe arranging a massage with a few pretty attendants."

Kyo pointed toward the twisted shadows of the ruins outside.

"Instead, you dragged me into this cursed place to sit in the wind before I leave."

Joren smiled.

"You are being promoted. Soon you will be an important man."

"But before you go, we should deal with Norcrest’s last major threat."

He nodded toward the ruins ahead.

"If the three beast kings remain alive, they will attack the city again sooner or later, whether I provoke them or not."

"So instead of waiting for them, we strike first."

Kyo rolled his eyes.

"You managed to convince Manester that this was all for the people of Norcrest."

"But I can tell."

"You are not doing this for some noble cause."

"You just want to kill."

Smoke drifted from his mouth as he studied Joren.

Joren gave a small shrug.

"Since you already figured it out, I will be honest."

"Beyond the Fallen Zone lies that legendary forbidden region. I cannot touch what lives there yet."

"But this territory?"

"I am taking it."

"The three beast kings are all peak Rank Five. One at a time, I am confident I can kill them."

"If they join forces, though, especially here in their own territory..."

Joren paused, then showed his teeth.

Three peak Rank Five beast kings at once.

He was not yet certain he could kill all of them.

But this was the heartland of the Voidbeasts.

A luxury banquet of Bloodstars.

All he needed was time to grow. Once he added enough points, those beast kings would become meat on a chopping block.

That was why he had brought Kyo.

Insurance.

Kyo’s mouth twitched.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Nothing difficult."

Joren gestured toward the temporary encampment outside.

"You do not need to fight."

"Just sit here and hold the field."

"If those three beasts decide to attack together, or try to run, release a little pressure and scare them back."

"Leave everything else to me."

Kyo was quiet for a moment, then sighed.

"Fine."

"But remember this. The Fallen Zone is not as simple as it looks."

"There may be things hidden here that even I cannot understand."

By then, the convoy had traveled twenty kilometers into the Fallen Zone.

The barren wasteland had disappeared.

In its place stood the corpse of a dead city.

Leaning skyscrapers jutted from the earth like gravestones. Thick vines wrapped around the buildings like exposed veins.

"Stop."

At Joren’s order, the entire armored column came to a halt inside an abandoned stadium.

"This will do."

He opened the door and jumped down.

The concrete beneath his boots had long since weathered and cracked. It creaked with every step.

Joren adjusted his collar and breathed in the heavy malice saturating the air.

"Raise the battle flag."

He pointed toward the tallest rusted flagpole in the stadium.

"All the way to the top."

"I want everything within a hundred miles to see it."

He drew [Heaven’s Sin].

A blood hungry violet gleam moved along its edge beneath the dim sky.

"Tell them we are here."

Kaia drew a breath.

"Yes!"

She turned and shouted across the field.

"All units on alert!"

"Raise the battle flag!"

The enormous black banner climbed over the ruins.

The moment it reached the sky, deep roars rolled through the distant city.

Low.

Terrible.

Warnings from something buried in hell.

The ground began to tremble.

Shadows raced through the darkness between buildings, converging on the stadium from every direction.

Every species possessed some instinct for territory.

Voidbeasts took that instinct to madness.

"Roar!"

A piercing howl tore through the gray sky.

It sounded like the signal for an assault.

Black shapes leaped from the broken windows of collapsed towers. Others forced their way up through sewer covers or poured from cracks choked with vines.

Red eyes surrounded the stadium.

Rank One Carrion Hounds came first, moving in packs like a black tide.

Rank Two Ironhide Lizards followed, smashing abandoned vehicles aside with heavy steps.

Several enormous Rank Three Blazing Lions moved among them, blue fire burning over their bodies.

In moments, more than a thousand Voidbeasts had gathered.

A Beast Tide large enough to threaten an entire district.

In the past, Antares Command had faced such hordes from behind [The Absolute Barrier].

Now there were no walls.

No protected rear line.

Only enemies in every direction.

"Enemy attack!"

Kaia’s voice cut across the stadium.

This was why humanity had hidden behind [The Absolute Barrier] for generations.

The moment anyone exposed themselves out here, the wilderness answered with an endless sea of monsters.

"All units, establish defensive lines!"

"Prepare heavy machine guns!"

"Flamethrowers ready!"

"All Awakened Warriors at Rank Three or above, forward with me!"

Kaia drew her blade and released her protective force.

Behind her, the soldiers of Antares Command did not retreat.

Bolts slammed into place across the formation. Killing intent gathered over the stadium.

Then a hand settled lightly on Kaia’s shoulder.

"Relax."

She turned.

Joren stood there with [Heaven’s Sin] in one hand, watching the Beast Tide surge toward them.

There was no fear in his eyes.

"Their numbers are too great," Kaia said.

Joren smiled.

"Ammunition costs money."

Without looking back, he waved one hand toward the soldiers.

"Just watch."

Then he stepped beyond the defensive line.

Straight into the path of the charging horde.

The vast lake of Mental Force inside his mind began to boil.

Rank Three Psionic Master.

Full release.

Buzz!

A faint vibration passed through the air, like cicada wings beating too fast to see.

The black metal case at Joren’s waist opened on its own.

S Class psionic weapon, [Voidshard Array].

Thirty six nearly transparent ripples shot into the sky and stopped above him, each giving off a cold edge that made the skin prickle.

Every blade was as thin as an insect wing and forged from void crystal. At high speed, they became completely invisible.

"Go."

Joren snapped his fingers.