"Bring me the dead body of that boy." Its endless black eyes were emotionless, as if all creatures were nothing but tools to achieve its goals.

Hearing the monster’s command, Ryan immediately bowed his head.

"Yes, my lord."

At the same time, the village chef also gave a cold smile.

"It is my honor."

The next moment, both moved. Ryan toward Lian, and the village elder toward Seris.

BOOM!

The ground under their feet cracked. Lian moved forward almost at the same time as Ryan, his eyes fixed on the floating notification in front of him.

He did not know how powerful Ryan was, but he felt no danger from him. Based on the aura and pressure he felt, Ryan should not be above level 13.

Compared to the monsters he had killed in Frostheart, Ryan was no longer a serious threat.

But what was dangerous was probably his fire element.

WOOSH!

Red flames erupted around Ryan’s hands. The frozen air of the hall became warm in an instant. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"For my lord, you must die!"

BANG!

His flaming fist came straight toward Lian’s face. But Lian just tilted his head slightly, and the fist passed by his face.

At that moment, his ice claw activated.

[Glacial Reaper Claw]

The sharp sound of tearing echoed in the air, and blue claws emerged from his fingers.

Ryan’s eyes widened. It was too fast. Much faster than he remembered.

SLASH!

Three deep marks appeared on his chest. Blood sprayed around, and Ryan stepped back several meters.

His face twisted in pain.

"Impossible..." But Lian did not even give him a chance to breathe.

BANG!

The ground under Lian’s feet exploded, and in a fraction of a second, he appeared in front of Ryan. The ice claw moved from bottom to top.

SLASH!

Ryan’s skin and flesh tore like paper, and blood fell on the ground. Ryan screamed and released more flames.

A massive column of fire rushed toward Lian, but Lian walked straight into it.

His resistance was now at a level where such flames had no effect on him.

SLASH!

Another hit.

SLASH!

Another hit. In less than a few seconds, Ryan’s body was covered in wounds.

On the other side of the hall, Seris’s fight had also begun.

BANG!

The village chef’s fist collided with Seris’s sword. The shockwave shook the hall.

Seris frowned.

This old man’s physical power was truly unnatural. But even so, she was not very surprised. After all, this monster was level 20, and dealing with it would not be easy.

This was the first time she was fighting a level 20 monster. A monster that was practically one step away from its first evolution.

And she was lucky that this monster had not done its first evolution. If it had, she would have had no chance against it.

The first evolution is very important for monsters and Awakened. Because that is where the main difference in power between geniuses and normal people becomes clear.

Five-star classes would peak after their first evolution and shine like stars, while one-star classes would begin their downfall.

The same was true for monsters. They would finally form their second core and gain two sources of power.

Two power cores, two sources of power for monsters. And this matter was even more terrifying for Fallen monsters because they could form four cores!

Unholy ones could form 8 cores, and Demons could form 16 power cores. And Supremes? They could gain 28 cores just in their first evolution.

This was where the biggest reason for monster ranking and the superiority of higher ranks became clear.

The monster smiled, and suddenly his right hand turned black.

[Bone Breaker]

BANG!

His fist hit the ground, and hundreds of cracks appeared on the hall floor. Seris jumped back, but at that moment, the village chef raised his other hand.

[Blood Surge]

The blood that had spilled on the ground came alive. Like red snakes, they attacked Seris. Seris spun her sword.

WOOSH!

She cut all of them into pieces. But the third attack came immediately.

[Frenzied Burst]

The village elder’s muscles swelled. His speed suddenly doubled.

BANG!

His fist hit Seris’s stomach, and Seris stepped back several meters.

But that was all. She had also increased her resistance and would not take internal damage that easily. More importantly, her new armor was completely intact and could defend against such attacks.

She pressed her foot on the ground, raised the Frostfang sword, her eyes turned cold, and she suddenly disappeared.

SLASH!

The first wound appeared on the village chef’s shoulder.

SLASH!

The second wound.

SLASH!

The third wound.

The monster’s smile slowly faded, and for the first time, it understood that things were not going as it had expected.

"It seems you have improved a lot during this time." It said coldly. The first day this girl came to the village, she was not that powerful.

If it had finished her off that day, it would not have such trouble now. But even now, it did not think it would lose. In the presence of its god, it never lost.

Meanwhile, Ryan had fallen to his knees. His whole body was bloody. His breaths came out in gasps. Lian slowly walked toward him.

The ice claws were still extended from his hands. Ryan barely raised his head.

"I... for my lord..."

SLASH!

The ice claw tore his throat. The unfinished sentence remained, and his body fell to the ground.

But he was still alive. Still struggling. Killing an Awakened was not that simple.

Lian stared at him for a few moments, then turned his gaze to the corner of the hall.

To Alisa, the girl who was still kneeling beside her sister’s body. Her shoulders were shaking from crying. Her eyes were red.

Empty, broken, but deep inside, a burning hatred was blazing.

Lian looked at Ryan, then at Alisa. He could not let this girl stay like this.

"Do you want to do it yourself?" He said quietly.

Alisa raised her head. Her gaze fell on Ryan. On the same boy who was once everything to her sister. On the same boy who had pulled Aria’s heart out of her chest.

Her hands trembled. She struggled to stand up. Her steps were unsteady.

But she did not stop. She went to the sword that lay on the ground, bent down, and picked it up. Ryan lay half-dead on the ground, and his eyes slowly fell on her.

"Alisa..."

The girl said nothing. She just looked at him. Then...

SLASH!

She drove the sword into his stomach. Ryan’s eyes widened in pain, and blood spilled from his mouth.

The sword was pulled out.

But it was not over.

SLASH!

The second time.

SLASH!

The third time.

SLASH!

The fourth time.

Tears flowed down Alisa’s face, but her hand did not stop.

"Die..."

SLASH!

"Die, you bastard..."

SLASH!

"Die..."

SLASH!

"Die, you trash..."

SLASH!

"Die..." Her scream echoed through the entire hall.

"Die, you bastard!"

Blood had sprayed everywhere. Ryan no longer moved. But Alisa still raised and lowered the sword, as if she wanted to release all her pain, anger, and hatred with each strike.

And at the top of the hall... the Dreadmaw Sovereign silently watched this scene.

A calm and terrifying smile had formed on its face.