Free Web NovelChapter 35: [35]: A Slaughter on the Bridge, The Crimson Aegis Wipe
Levi didn’t wait for the massive iron shield wall to brace itself. He gripped the haft of the Sovereign’s Deathknell and sprinted directly at the ten Shield-Bearers. His 68 Speed made him look like a dark blur shooting across the dirt road.
"Hold the line!" the Level 16 Knight at the dead center of the formation screamed. He planted his boots into the dirt and raised a heavy, thick bronze tower shield. "He’s just one guy! Brace for impact!"
Levi didn’t slow down. He ran the math in his head before he was even in melee range. The Knight’s bronze shield gave him roughly 80 Defense. Levi’s Gold-tier scythe had a passive that ignored 20% of all enemy armor.
Twenty percent of 80 was 16. That dropped the Knight’s effective Defense down to 64.
Levi’s raw Total Attack was sitting at an absolutely absurd 410. He pulled the massive scythe back over his shoulder.
"Reaping Arc!" Levi shouted, dumping 10 Mana.
The silver blade ignited with a violent, blinding red aura. Levi twisted his hips and unleashed the skill right as he crashed into the frontline.
410 Attack multiplied by the 1.8 Reaping Arc modifier pushed his raw damage to 738. Minus the Knight’s 64 effective Defense, the final mathematical output was devastating.
[-674]
A massive, critical red number exploded into the air. The Level 16 Knight only had 600 Max HP.
The heavy Gold-tier scythe didn’t bounce off the bronze shield. It carved entirely through the thick metal like it was made of wet cardboard. The blade continued its arc, cleanly splitting the Knight in half. The player’s avatar shattered into a massive cloud of blue polygons instantly, completely deleting him from the server before his brain could even register the NerveDive’s pain response.
The shield wall broke instantly. The other nine tanks stumbled backward in sheer horror, staring at the empty space where their main tank used to be.
"What the fuck was that damage?!" one of the warriors shrieked.
But the Crimson Aegis backline was already committed. The fifteen Mages standing behind the broken frontline finished their synchronized chant.
"Burn him!" Thorne yelled from the back.
Fifteen blazing Fireballs shot out from the Mages’ wooden staffs. They streaked through the air, completely lighting up the dirt road, and slammed directly into Levi all at the same time.
The VR helmet simulated the overwhelming heat and the deafening roar of the explosions. The air smelled like burnt ozone and sulfur.
The system rapidly calculated the massive volley. Each Fireball dealt 50 magic damage. 15 Fireballs times 50 damage equaled exactly 750 incoming damage.
The firestorm crashed directly into Levi’s pitch-black dark-matter shield.
The [Hollow’s Ward] had exactly 755 HP.
[-750]
The dark-matter shield absorbed the entire brunt of the explosion. It violently cracked, the black energy shattering like a broken window, leaving the shield with a miserable 5 HP remaining.
The smoke cleared. Levi was still standing in the exact same spot. His coarse peasant tunic and Obsidian Carapace armor weren’t even singed. His actual 1,020 health pool hadn’t dropped by a single point.
The fifteen Mages completely froze. Their spellcasting animations stopped. They just stared at him with their jaws hanging open.
"My turn," Levi said coldly. "Phantom Step."
He burned 20 Mana. His body dissolved into a blur of dark shadow, entirely bypassing the remaining nine Shield-Bearers. He teleported exactly five meters forward, reappearing directly inside the tight, clustered formation of the backline Mages and Clerics.
Panic instantly erupted. Players started tripping over each other, desperately trying to cancel their spell animations and run.
"He’s in the backline! Get him off us!" a Cleric screamed.
Levi just swung the Sovereign’s Deathknell in a wide, horizontal circle. He didn’t even bother using a skill. He just used basic physical attacks.
His 410 Attack went up against the pathetic 20 Defense of their cheap cloth robes.
410 minus 20 equaled 390 damage per swing. Level 10 and 11 casters barely had 300 Max HP.
[-390] [-390] [-390] [-390]
The massive scythe cleaved through the squishy casters like a weedwhacker going through tall grass. Four Mages were instantly vaporized in a single swing, shattering into polygons.
The 10% Lifesteal passive on the scythe immediately triggered, but since Levi was already at full health, the green healing numbers just floated uselessly into the air.
"Spread out!" Thorne commanded, desperately trying to push his way through his own panicking guild members to reach Levi.
Levi didn’t let them spread out. He swung again, catching a Cleric and another Mage in the chest.
[-390] [-390]
He wasn’t just swinging blindly. He intentionally tracked the health bars of a few Mages who managed to survive a glancing blow by diving into the dirt. Three players were crawling away, their health bars blinking bright red and sitting comfortably below the 20% execution threshold.
Levi targeted the first crawling Mage.
"Soul Harvest."
He spent 50 Mana. The shadowy aura around his scythe violently detached and materialized in the air as a massive, pitch-black guillotine blade. It slammed straight down, executing the Mage instantly.
[System Notification: Target Executed.]
[Movement skill cooldowns reset.]
Levi’s Phantom Step icon flashed green. He burned 20 Mana and instantly teleported two meters to the right, appearing directly above the second crawling Mage.
"Soul Harvest."
Another 50 Mana gone. The spectral scythe dropped.
[Target Executed. Cooldowns reset.]
He blinked again. Teleported. Executed.
Levi turned into an absolute nightmare. He flashed across the backline in a chaotic, jagged pattern of shadow and golden light. Every time a player tried to run, he just teleported directly in front of them, swung his scythe to drop their health into the red, and dropped the spectral guillotine on their neck to reset his blink.
In less than twenty seconds, all fifteen casters were completely wiped from the server. The dirt road was covered in dropped wooden staffs, cheap cloth boots, and copper coins.
Thorne finally shoved his way through the dissolving pixels. His face was pale, his eyes wide with absolute horror. He had just watched a single player completely dismantle a forty-man raid group without taking a single point of actual health damage.
"You hacking piece of trash!" Thorne roared, completely losing whatever composure he had left.
Thorne activated his Paladin class skill, [Holy Smite]. His heavy mace ignited with a blinding white light. He charged forward and swung the mace directly at Levi’s chest.
Levi didn’t bother teleporting. He didn’t even bother trying to parry. He just let the mace hit him.
The heavy steel weapon smashed into his Obsidian Carapace. The VR pain engine sent a sharp, blunt-force sting across his ribs.
The math registered instantly. Thorne’s Attack was 220. Levi’s base Defense was 91.
220 minus 91 equaled 129 damage taken.
[-129]
Levi’s health bar dropped from 1020 down to 891. He didn’t even flinch. He just looked at the glowing mace pressed against his chestplate, then looked up at Thorne’s terrified face.
"Is that it?" Levi asked.
Before Thorne could pull his weapon back, Levi retaliated. He brought the Sovereign’s Deathknell around in a fast, brutal basic strike.
Thorne was wearing Silver-tier plate armor that provided 150 Defense. Levi’s weapon ignored 20% of it, dropping it to exactly 120 Defense.
Levi’s 410 Attack minus 120 Defense meant he hit for 290 damage.
[-290]
Thorne gagged as the heavy scythe smashed into his side. His 1,200 Max HP took a massive hit.
Levi didn’t stop. He immediately dumped 10 Mana.
"Reaping Arc."
The scythe glowed red. Levi dragged the blade back across Thorne’s chest. 410 Attack times 1.8 gave 738 raw damage. Minus the 120 Defense, the final skill damage was brutal.
[-618]
Thorne was violently thrown backward. He crashed into the dirt road, his polished Silver armor completely dented and sparking with digital damage lines. His health bar plummeted, turning a blinking, critical red. He had less than 200 HP left.
Thorne stared up at Levi from the dirt. His hands were shaking so badly he dropped his mace.
"You’re a monster," Thorne choked out, his voice trembling in the proximity chat.
Levi walked over to him, the shadowy aura of the Herald class leaking off his boots. He looked down at the Guild Master with dead eyes.
"No," Levi said coldly. "I’m the harvest. Soul Harvest."
He burned 50 Mana. The massive, pitch-black spectral scythe materialized directly above Thorne’s head. It dropped like a stone, cleanly executing the Guild Master.
Thorne shattered into millions of blue polygons.
Levi turned around to look at the rest of the guild. Out of the original forty players, only five Shield-Bearers were left standing near the edge of the tall grass. They were completely paralyzed by fear, staring at the spot where their leader had just been deleted.
Levi took one step toward them.
That was all it took. The five remaining players broke formation. They dropped their shields, turned around, and sprinted back toward the City of Thresholds as fast as their avatars could physically move. They didn’t even look back.
Levi let out a long sigh and dismissed the dark aura around his scythe. He toggled his Siphon Aura off to let his mana pool recover naturally. He didn’t chase them. Player kills yielded absolutely zero XP, and he had already wasted enough time dealing with these idiots.
He looked down at the massive graveyard of dropped loot scattered across the dirt road. The Crimson Aegis guild had just generously donated all of their unequipped inventory to his Boundless Fusion fund.
"Thanks for the gear," Levi muttered to himself, kneeling down to start picking up the pieces.
