Era of Players: Death God-Chapter 295: Waves 1

The forest canopy swayed in silence, broken only by the faint rustle of leaves stirred by Noah’s movements. He stood still for a breath, listening, his hand gripping the hilt of Nemesis. The corpses of the two High Orcs he had just slain bled onto the moss, their blood forming pools that steamed faintly under the cold night.

But the world did not allow him rest.

The forest floor trembled. A pulse reverberated through the earth, rattling roots and shaking loose leaves from above. Noah’s sharpened senses picked it up instantly — not one enemy, not a handful, but a multitude.

"This floor is about countless wave attacks," Noah murmured, eyes narrowing.

From deep within the forest, guttural howls and war cries erupted. Red eyes pierced through the darkness. Dozens upon dozens of shapes emerged, their silhouettes etched in the dim moonlight: wolves with skeletal spines protruding like blades, lizard beasts clinging to trees with claws that gouged bark, High Orcs towering with their ritual tattoos glowing faintly in the dark, and lumbering ogres whose skin was layered in slabs of hardened flesh like natural armor.

The night itself seemed to shiver as they advanced.

Noah smirked faintly, the corner of his mouth curling upward. "Good. I was starting to feel restless."

He raised his blade, the black steel drinking in the light.

The first attackers were the wolves. They leaped with frightening speed, their bodies low, jaws snapping open wide enough to crush bone in a single bite. Their glowing red eyes tracked him hungrily.

Noah’s body moved before thought — Nemesis flashed, black steel slicing through the first wolf mid-air. Its body spun lifelessly as blood fanned out in a crimson spray. Another lunged from behind. Noah twisted, pivoting on his heel — the sword bisected the creature from snout to tail, cleaving it in one clean stroke.

More came, ten at once, their growls a deafening chorus.

"Too slow," Noah whispered.

He activated Night of Death — the forest dimmed instantly, plunged into a deeper darkness that only he could see through. The wolves faltered, snapping their jaws in confusion as their sight failed them. But Noah’s own vision sharpened, every movement painted in perfect clarity.

Schkk!

Slash!

Thhhkk!

In the blind chaos, Noah moved like a phantom. Wolves fell left and right, their bodies torn open by precision strikes. Their howls turned into pitiful whimpers, cut short with every swing of his blade.

Yet the wolves were only the vanguard.

From the treeline, the lizard beasts emerged, their bodies long and sinewy, their claws digging into the bark as they darted from above. Their golden eyes gleamed like embers as they hissed, launching themselves down.

Noah raised his blade to the sky. Mana surged through his body, empowering him under his second skill: Lord of Night. His strength doubled, his reflexes sharpened.

The lizards descended. Noah spun — his sword cleaved three in half with a single rotation. Blood sprayed like a fountain, staining the moss below. Another landed, tail whipping toward him like a mace. Noah ducked, sliding under the blow, then thrust upward — Nemesis pierced through its chest, black aura devouring its heart.

But the numbers didn’t stop.

Dozens of lizards slithered and leaped, dozens more wolves swarmed, and behind them, the ground-shaking steps of the High Orcs and ogres grew louder.

Noah’s breathing remained calm, his expression unreadable. "So this is what this floor has prepared for me."

The High Orcs surged into the fray, their stone clubs swinging with the force of falling boulders. One swing demolished a tree behind Noah, sending splinters exploding through the air. He weaved through the rain of debris, his black sword slashing across the orc’s exposed stomach. The creature screamed as it toppled, blood pouring like a river.

Another came. And another.

Their attacks were heavier, faster than the lizards and wolves. Each strike shook the earth beneath Noah’s feet. He parried one blow, the clash sending a vibration up his arm, then redirected the club into another charging orc, crushing its skull.

The ogres joined in next.

Each step they took was like thunder. Their clubs weren’t crude stone but thick branches wrapped in iron, larger than Noah’s entire body. The first ogre swung downward, aiming to crush him like an insect.

Noah blurred, shadows wrapping around his body as he invoked a step of his unique technique. He vanished into the ogre’s shadow — then appeared behind it, sword flashing upward.

The blade carved through its thick neck in a single clean strike. The ogre’s head tumbled, crashing to the forest floor with a heavy thud.

But the pressure built.

The monsters didn’t stop. Their sheer numbers began to overwhelm even Noah’s speed. Wolves harried his legs. Lizard beasts leaped from every angle. Orcs blocked his slashes with brute strength. Ogres forced him to dodge massive swings, tearing trenches into the ground.

The seventh floor wasn’t testing him with one enemy — it was testing how long he could endure against many.

Blood sprayed in crescents around him, the battlefield turning into a lake of crimson. Yet Noah’s face remained calm, his eyes focused. His blade never slowed, every strike precise, every movement economical.

But even as he cut through them, his chest rose and fell faster. Sweat beaded on his brow. The monsters sensed it, their howls growing louder as though they knew the human could bleed.

"...Persistent," Noah muttered.

He spread his arms. Shadows thickened around him, twisting and writhing like living things. His aura flared — an oppressive darkness that made the lesser monsters hesitate.

"Disappear."

With one slash, a crescent of black energy erupted from Nemesis, tearing through a dozen enemies in a single devastating wave. Wolves were sliced apart, lizards reduced to halves, even two High Orcs fell clutching their cleaved torsos.

The monsters staggered. For the first time, they faltered.

But then — the forest shook with a deeper, heavier roar.

Roarrrr!

The horde parted. Monsters moved aside, as though commanded by an unspoken force. The ground quaked beneath colossal footsteps.

From the mist, it emerged.

A towering beast, nearly five meters tall, its frame a grotesque fusion of ogre and dragon. Thick black scales armored its torso. Horns spiraled from its skull, glowing with veins of crimson energy. Its claws scraped against the ground, and in its hand, it carried a massive black war axe etched with glowing runes. Its eyes burned like twin suns of blood