Chapter 72—Night of the Shadow Hunt.
Chapter 72—Night of the Shadow Hunt.
The crimson moons of Floor 2 hung high in the starry expanse above Aethelgard, but beneath the floating white-marble foundation of the city, the Obsidian Vaults knew no moonlight.
Deep within the cavernous sub-level, the bioluminescent purple crystals embedded in the rock ceiling flickered softly, casting long, twisting shadows across the narrow stone alleyways. The cool night air of the Undercity was dead silent, save for the heavy, synchronized rhythmic thud of steel boots against stone.
STEP. STEP. STEP.
Over one hundred elite knights clad in heavy, sun-gold armor marched down the main eastern descent into the Vaults. Each warrior carried a massive tower shield etched with a blazing solar crest and a long, double-edged broadsword that radiated white-hot elemental flames.
Leading the battalion was General Cassian, a towering Level 145 Paladin with a scar running across his left eye. He held his drawn broadsword low, his sharp blue eyes scanning the dark, empty rooftops above with cold, ruthless focus.
"Maintain formation!" Cassian whispered harshly, his voice magic-amplified for his men. "High Lord Aurelius’s orders are absolute! We seal every exit leading from the Shadow Citadel to the lower dungeon floors! No member of the "Sovereign" faction leaves the Undercity tonight without giving up their gear and submitting to the Covenant!"
"Sir!" a lieutenant beside him whispered, eyeing the dark alleyways nervously.
"The local PK squads and shadow merchants have completely cleared out the district. Isn’t it too quiet? It feels like we’re marching into an ambush.""Let them hide," Cassian scoffed arrogantly, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "Whether it’s rogue assassins or this newly arrived Kaelen, nobody on Floor 2 can withstand the full military might of the Sun-Forge Legion in an open engagement. If they show their faces, we burn them to ash.
"High above the marching battalion, perched silently atop the sharp spire of a black obsidian building, a single figure stood motionless in the dark wind.
Tsubaki’s dark shinobi cloak billowed quietly behind him. His hands rested loose at his sides, his cold, crimson-tinged eyes looking down at the hundred golden knights below.
---
[SYSTEM ANALYZER ACTIVE]
TARGET BATTALION: Sun-Forge Vanguard (Radiant Covenant)
TOTAL UNITS: 120 (Level 135 - 145)
FORMATION: Heavy Vanguard Defense
FACTION STATUS: HOSTILE
---
Tsubaki raised his right hand, his thumb lightly pressing against the crescent-moon guard of his black katana.
"Target confirmed, Lord Kaelen," Tsubaki whispered into his party communication crest. "The Sun-Forge Vanguard has entered the Eastern Vault. They have crossed the boundary of our registered territory."
Miles away, sitting comfortably on a velvet throne inside the main command chamber of the Shadow Citadel, Kaelen leaned back, his hand resting over Lyra’s slender fingers as she stood beside him. His dark violet eyes gleamed with lethal amusement in the holographic reflection of the battlefield.
"Sweep them clean, Tsubaki," Kaelen’s low velvet voice echoed smoothly in Tsubaki’s ear. "Leave no survivors to report to Aurelius.""By your command, My Lord," Tsubaki replied quietly.
Tsubaki didn’t draw his sword. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and snapped his fingers.
SNAP.
SHUUUUUU...
Down in the narrow stone alleyway, the long shadows cast by the hundred golden knights suddenly stopped moving in sync with their bodies.
"What the—?!" the lieutenant gasped, dropping his gaze to the stone floor.
The shadows stretching beneath their heavy steel boots began to twist and writhe like living black tendrils. Before any of the paladins could react, thousands of razor-sharp spikes forged from pure spatial shadow erupted directly from their own reflections on the stone floor!
"Shadow Severance Art: Ground Pin!"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
"ARRRRGH!"Desperate shrieks of pain echoed through the subterranean canyon as shadow stakes impaled the feet, calves, and legs of over fifty elite knights simultaneously, pinning them flush against the bedrock! Their heavy sun-gold armor offered zero resistance against the spatial shadow slashes that ignored physical defense!
---
[AMBUSH TRIGGERED!]
SKILL USED: [Shadow Severance: Absolute Pin]
STATUS APPLIED: TOTAL PARALYSIS (50 Units Affected!)
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
---
"Ambush! Raise shields! Raise shields!" General Cassian bellowed, his face contorting in rage as he swung his flaming broadsword in a wide arc, attempting to hack away the dark tendrils binding his boots. "Where are they coming from?! Archmages, cast Holy Flame on the ground!"Ten high-tier archmages in golden robes quickly raised their staves to channel a purifying holy wave, but before a single incantation could be completed, the shadows behind them detached from the walls.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
A dozen dark silhouettes—Tsubaki’s newly deployed Shadow Sentinels—emerged silently from the darkness behind the mages. In a single, synchronized flash of crescent steel, twelve black katanas sliced through the air.
SWOOSH!
Twelve golden heads rolled across the stone tiles before the mages could even finish their first mana syllable!
"MAGES DOWN!" a knight screamed in sheer terror, dropping his tower shield as blood sprayed across his golden plate mail.
"THEY’RE IN THE SHADOWS! "THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!""Hold your ground, damn you!" Cassian roared, his broadsword erupting into a roaring pillar of sun-fire as he surged forward, smashing through three shadow sentinels with raw, brute physical force. "Show yourselves, coward dogs of Sovereign!""Cowards?" a cold, mocking voice echoed directly from the air above Cassian’s head.
Cassian snapped his head up just in time to see Tsubaki descending from the sky like a falling phantom, his black katana unsheathed in a single, blinding flash of dark spatial light.
"katana Secret Art: Crescent Spatial Slash!"
BOOOOM!
Cassian raised his massive, Level 145 legendary tower shield to block, but the moment Tsubaki’s black blade touched the golden metal, a razor-thin line of pitch-black spatial void cleaved straight through the shield, the heavy arm holding it, and the golden breastplate beneath!
"GAHHAAAH!" Cassian screamed, staggering backward five paces as blood erupted from his chest, his legendary shield cleaved cleanly in two halves!
---
[CRITICAL HIT!]
DAMAGE DEALT: 320,000 (Pure Spatial Cut)
TARGET STATUS: Heavy Bleeding / Defense Shattered!
---
Cassian hit the stone ground on one knee, clutching his bleeding chest in sheer disbelief. He stared up at Tsubaki, who landed gracefully on the stone without making a single sound, his black katana gleaming with icy, dark energy.
"Who... who are you people?!" Cassian choked out, his vision turning blurry as the remaining fifty knights of the Vanguard were systematically cut down in the dark by Tsubaki’s shadow sentinels. "Aurelius... Aurelius will hunt you to the ends of the world...!"
"Your High Lord Aurelius built his reputation on numbers," Tsubaki said coldly, walking slowly toward the bleeding general with his katana trailing along the stone floor. "He does not understand that numbers mean nothing to a sovereign."
Tsubaki stopped right before Cassian, lifting his blade until the pitch-black tip rested gently against the paladin’s throat.
"Wait... wait!" Cassian stammered, terror finally shattering his military pride. "I have gold! Information on the Covenant’s secret vaults! Spare my—"
SHING.
Tsubaki’s wrist flicked with effortless precision.
Cassian’s body went limp, collapsing onto the blood-stained obsidian floor of the Undercity as his health bar dropped to zero.
---
[BATTALION ELIMINATED!]
HOSTILE FACTION: Sun-Forge Vanguard (120/120 Units Defeated)
EXP DISTRIBUTED: 8,500,000 Points
LOOT ACQUIRED: Sun-Forge Crest (Key Item), 120 High-Tier Gear Sets.
---
Within less than five minutes, the entire elite vanguard sent by the Radiant Covenant had been completely annihilated in the dark. Not a single knight had managed to send a distress signal back to the upper spire.
Tsubaki sheathed his katana with a crisp, final click, flicking a single drop of blood off his blade. He raised his hand back to his communication crest.
"The Eastern Vanguard has been eliminated, Lord Kaelen," Tsubaki reported smoothly. "The entrance to the lower dungeon floors is secure."
Back inside the grand throne room of the Shadow Citadel, Kaelen looked at the holographic screen showing the quiet, blood-stained alleyway. A cold, dark smile curved his lips as he stroked Lyra’s soft hand in his grip.
"Excellent work, Tsubaki," Kaelen purred softly, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "Collect the loot and secure the perimeter. Tomorrow, we enter the Floor 2 World Boss Dungeon."
Lyra smiled softly, leaning her head against Kaelen’s shoulder as the purple light of the Citadel illuminated their faces. "The Radiant Covenant will be blind to our movements now, Kaelen."
"They will not just be blind, my light," Kaelen whispered, his dark violet eyes glowing with lethal promise. "They will learn what happens when they attempt to block my path."