Era of Players: Death God-Chapter 293: Shadows Upon the Seventh Floor

One charged straight ahead, swinging a massive iron cleaver that cracked the earth where it struck. The second leapt high into the air with shocking agility, its twin axes spinning behind its head, ready to cleave him from above.

No hesitation. Kill on sight.

SHHHING!

Nemesis—his obsidian-black blade—sang as it cleared its sheath in a flash of dark light.

Noah’s golden eyes narrowed. His lips parted.

—Night of Death."

The effect was instantaneous.

The forest dimmed unnaturally.

"—Night of Death."

The effect was instantaneous.

The forest dimmed unnaturally.

The canopy above warped into a blanket of darkness. The golden shafts of sunlight vanished, replaced by an abyssal dusk. Even the High Orcs paused, momentarily disoriented.

To Noah, the world became crystal clear.

The shadows wrapped around him like a cloak. His vision sharpened, allowing him to see even the breath fogging from the monsters’ nostrils.

Then, he whispered the next word—

"Lord of Night."

A surge of dark power coursed through his limbs.

His heartbeat quickened. His muscles tensed with new strength. Every sound sharpened—the crunch of leaves beneath Orc feet, the humming of mana flowing through their veins. A dark aura radiated from him, tendrils of shadow flaring around his body like living flame.

His stats doubled in the darkness.

And he was ready.

The cleaver-wielding High Orc lunged, slamming its weapon down in a devastating overhead arc. Noah sidestepped, movement fluid like smoke, leaving behind only a swirl of leaves. The cleaver crashed into the ground where he had stood, sending a shockwave that uprooted nearby trees.

BOOM!

The second High Orc descended from above, its axes a blur of silver light.

But Noah was faster now.

He spun around, Nemesis tracing a perfect arc of midnight-black steel.

CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!

Sparks exploded in the darkness as he blocked both axes mid-air, then twisted his body and slammed his heel into the orc’s chest, sending the massive brute flying backward into a tree with a thunderous CRACK.

"Too slow," Noah muttered.

But the fight was far from over.

The first High Orc roared and charged again, swinging horizontally. The cleaver screamed through the air. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Noah ducked low, then vanished in a blur.

He reappeared behind the creature, slicing deep across its hamstring.

Blood sprayed. The orc howled, falling to one knee.

Noah didn’t stop—he spun upward with a rising slash.

Nemesis carved a black line across its chest, the blade humming with cursed energy. The wound pulsed unnaturally, refusing to heal.

But even wounded, the orc was no pushover.

It roared, grabbing a chunk of stone from the ground and hurling it toward him with brutal strength.

Noah barely managed to leap aside as the boulder exploded into pieces where he had stood.

The second High Orc was back, blood dripping from its mouth, rage in its eyes. It charged with both axes spinning in a frenzy, each strike faster than the last—its tattoos glowing brighter, mana surging like fire around its body.

This one’s a berserker.

Noah met it head-on.

Their weapons clashed in a storm of fury. Steel met steel, shadow met rage.

Each strike Noah deflected sent shockwaves through his arms. He gritted his teeth, pivoted low, and unleashed a flurry of rapid slashes aimed at the orc’s unguarded ribs.

SLASH—SLASH—SLASH—!

The berserker howled and backpedaled, swinging its axes in wide arcs to force distance.

The wounded orc wasn’t idle either. Despite its injuries, it charged with brutal determination, aiming to catch Noah in a pincer attack.

Two elite High Orcs, attacking in perfect coordination.

They weren’t just brutes—they were warriors.

But Noah was more than human now.

He leapt backward into the air and slammed Nemesis into the ground beneath him, channeling his darkness through the weapon.

"Void Bloom."

Dark spikes of shadow erupted in a circle around him—piercing the wounded orc’s thigh and shoulder. The creature shrieked as the tendrils wrapped around it, immobilizing it temporarily.

The berserker was already closing in, breaking through the spikes.

Noah allowed it.

Just as the creature raised both axes to deliver a killing blow—

He dropped low and unleashed a point-blank upward slash—

Nemesis howled, a trail of dark crimson exploding from the orc’s torso as the blade tore through flesh, muscle, and bone.

Blood rained like mist.

The berserker’s arms fell limp—one axe slipping from its fingers.

Noah didn’t stop.

He twisted in midair, using his momentum to deliver a roundhouse kick that knocked the orc’s head sideways, then slammed his blade clean into its heart.

The creature convulsed, black blood spilling from its mouth.

Then it fell, crashing to the ground like a felled tree.

Only one remained.

The wounded High Orc broke free of the shadow tendrils, roaring in blind rage. It picked up its cleaver and charged recklessly, more beast than warrior now.

But Noah had no more reason to play fair.

He raised his sword. Shadow surged down the blade, wrapping around the steel.

"End of Light."

In a single motion, he vanished from sight—appearing behind the orc in a flash of darkness.

Time seemed to pause.

Then—

SLASH.

A diagonal cut split the orc’s body from shoulder to waist.

It stood there, confused for a moment, before collapsing in two.

Silence returned to the forest.

Noah stood among the corpses, panting slightly, his blade dripping with black-red blood. The shadows around him slowly receded, the sunlight beginning to filter back through the canopy as Night of Death faded.

He rolled his shoulder, wiped the sweat from his brow, and exhaled.

The egg pulsed lightly in his bag, as if in silent approval.

Sheathing Nemesis, Noah looked around the forest path ahead. The seventh floor was no joke—clearly, the difficulty had spiked. But so had he.

With a smirk and a glint of fire in his golden eyes, he moved on, deeper into the forest.

The climb had only just begun.

’’This is getting more and more exciting. I wonder how the others are faring?" he thought for a moment before shaking his head he was sure they must be doing fine, he must focus on his goal. His strength slowly growing, his current level wasn’t bad.