I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 20: Art of War

[Location: Winterhold - The Frozen Plains]

[Event: The Second Wave - Demon Invasion]

The sky above the capital was shedding. Fissure torn in the fabric of reality spewed out Demon Legions. Red-skinned Demons. Armored Fel-Guards. And massive, lumbering Siege Behemoths carrying cannons on their backs.

[Enemy Count: 50,000+]

[Boss Unit Detected: Demon General Moloch.]

Below, the armies of the Northern Empire were collapsing.

"Hold the line!" Commander Draven (who I spared and re-hired because he was low-priced) howled, waving a frost-blade.

BOOM.

A Behemoth fired its cannon. The impact vaporized a batch of Ice Mages.

"They’re too strong!" a soldier sobbed. "We’re doomed and cooked!"

WHOOSH.

The air pressure dropped.

A massive shadow dropped over the battlefield. Not a cloud, but a Dragon.

"ROAAAAR!"

Glacies descended like a meteor.

I stood on his back, wind blasted my coat. "Did someone order a revelation?" I shouted over the noise of war.

I pointed the Soul-Eater’s Fang at the Demon Army. "Glacies. Breath Attack."

"WITH PLEASURE."

Glacies opened his jaw. He didn’t breathe fire. He breathed Absolute Zero. A vapor of white death swept across the demonic ranks. Magma amalgamated into rock. Demons froze in mid-scream. The Behemoths groaned as their joints locked up, turning them into ice sculptures instantly.

[Multi-Kill: x500.]

[Environmental Effect: Flash Freeze.]

The Northern soldiers delighted. "The Emperor! The Emperor is here!"

I fell off the dragon, landing on the highest tower of the city wall. "Sylvia!" I commanded via earpiece. "Deploy the Sniper Corps."

"Affirmative, Master."

On the battlements, 500 Shadow Snipers materialized. They raised their X-99 Mana Rifles.

"Ahri! Light them up!" Ahri stood on the wall while her nine tails blazing with Fox Fire. She casted a buff over the snipers.

[Skill: Enchant Weapon (Fire).]

The rifles glowed red. "Fire at will," I ordered.

PEW-PEW-PEW.

It was a massacre.

The Demon infantry didn’t stand a chance. High-velocity mana bullets, enchanted with fire, tore through their armor. Heads popped like melons.

"Push them back!" Draven rallied his troops. "For the Emperor!"

The tide turned upsidedown. But the Boss wasn’t done.

"IMPUDENCE!"

A shout shook the city.

General Moloch strided through the main portal. He was 20 feet tall with red skin and bull horns while wielding a flaming axe the size of a bus.

[Boss: General Moloch]

[Rank: Demon Lord (Low Tier)]

[Level: 55]

"You dare to freeze my legion?" Moloch bellowed. "I will mount your head on my—"

"Blah, blah, blah," I interrupted.

I activated my Black Gold Card. "System. Override." I pointed the card at the Siege Behemoths.

The demons thought they were biological. But I knew the lore, the knowledge from my past life. They were Cyborgs. Part meat, part machine, they were made by Interstellar Species. Machines can be Hacked.

[Skill: System Override (Alpha).]

[Target: Behemoth Control Chips.]

[Action: Change Target -> ’Friendly Fire’.]

"Execute Order 66," I whispered.

The five remaining Siege Behemoths stopped moving. Their eyes turned from Red to Blue. They slowly turned their cannons around. Aiming directly at General Moloch.

Moloch paused. "What? What are you doing? I am your Commander!"

"Not anymore," I announced over the battlefield. "I offered them a better proposal." "FIRE!"

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Five Hell-Cannons fired simultaneously at General Moloch.

Moloch was engulfed in a mushroom cloud of his own fire energy.

"AAAAAAGH!"

The explosion cleared after sometime.

Moloch was still standing but he was missing an arm. His armor was destroyed and he was bleeding thick black blood.

[Boss HP: 30%.]

"Tough prick," I noted. I drew my dagger. "Seraphina. [Blessing of Speed]."

"On it!"

I glowed gold all over me. I jumped off the wall. I didn’t fall. Instead, I used [Shadow Walk] to step on the falling snowflakes. I dashed through the air to close the distance toward the Boss in seconds.

Moloch saw me coming. He swung his massive axe in response. "DIE, INSECT!"

It was slow. To me, with my stats boosted by drugs (potions), buffs, and pure adrenaline, he was moving in slow motion.

I slid under the axe swing. I landed on his chest armor. I then looked him in the eye. "You have something I want," I smiled. My Left Hand glowed Red.

[Trait: The Usurper.]

I grabbed his horns.

[Skill: Soul Harvest.] 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Moloch thrashed. But I held on. I wasn’t just stealing a skill. I was stealing his Bloodline.

[Absorbing ’Demon Lord Aura’...]

[Success.]

I ripped the aura out of him. A dark satanic crown of energy was formed over my head. Moloch shrank to smaller. He lost his bloodline. He became... exceedingly small.

"Please," he whined. "Mercy."

I raised the Soul-Eater’s Fang. "Mercy is a currency," I said. "And you’re currently broke."

SHUNK.

I drove the dagger into his skull, killing him in the process.

[Boss Slain.]

[Level Up: 28 -> 30.]

[Class Advancement Available!]

The Demon General dissolved into nothingness.

Silence fell over the frozen plains.

The remaining demons looked at their departed leader. They looked at the defected Behemoths. And then they looked at the Dragon circling above the city. They looked at me who was standing in the crater, wearing a Satan Crown, covered in pure black blood. They dropped their weapons ceremoniously.

[Enemy Morale: Broken.]

[Victory.]

I stood up. I adjusted my coat. "Clean this up," I ordered Draven. "Loot everything. Horns, claws, armor. If it sells, I want it."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

I walked back toward the city gates.

Sylvia ran up to me. She was sparkling. "That was amazing! You hacked the Behemoths!"

"Standard procedure," I said.

"Master!" Ahri yelled. "Look at the System! You unlocked a Class!"

I opened my menu.

[Level 30 Reached.]

[Job Advancement Quest Complete.]

[Select your Path:]

[A] The Void Knight (Melee/Darkness)

[B] The Necro-Lord (Summoner)

[C] The Chaos Broker (Unique)

I looked at option C.

[Class: The Chaos Broker]

[Description: A class for those who treat war as a business. Skills focus on buffing followers, manipulating adversaries stats, and converting Wealth into Power.]

I smiled. "Is there even a choice?"

I selected [C].

[Class Acquired: Chaos Broker.]

[New Skill: ’Market Crash’ (Debuff enemies based on your wealth gap).]

[New Skill: ’Liquidate’ (Turn enemies into gold instantly).]

"Liquidate," I tested the word. It tasted pleasant.

"I’m going to privatize the apocalypse."

I looked at the sky. The cracks were closing. But I knew this was just the beginning. The Third Wave would be worse. And somewhere in the stars, the Monarch of Greed was watching me steal his Behemoths. I raised a middle finger to the sky vulgarly. "Come and get me, you son of a bitch."