SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 78: One-sided Slaughter!

Kane’s bravado, fueled by the presence of his thirteen Savage Blades, was a flimsy shield against the storm that was about to break.

He genuinely believed their numbers would overwhelm the enigmatic trio before him.

He had heard whispers about the redhead’s fury and the archer’s deadly aim from the few terrified survivors of their last encounter, but whispers were just whispers.

Facing them now, he still clung to the desperate hope that brute force and sheer numbers would prevail.

"Kill the pretty boy first!" Kane reiterated, his voice cracking slightly as he pointed his bone knife at Daniel."The women are ours for the taking after!"

His men, a rough mix of thugs and ruthless opportunists, cheered loudly, their eyes shining with greed and hunger for violence.

They surged forward, a wave of crude weapons and unwashed bodies, confident in their numerical superiority.

Daniel didn’t even flinch. He simply glanced at Ayra, a silent question in his eyes.

Ayra, who had been vibrating with barely suppressed berserker energy, grinned, a terrifyingly beautiful sight.

"My turn, Vance?" she asked, her voice a low purr that promised carnage.

"Be my guest, Ayra," Daniel replied calmly, taking a half-step back alongside Lia.

"Consider this... advanced sparring practice. Lia, keep her topped off. Try not to let her accidentally demolish the entire pass, though. We still need to get through it."

He wanted to see how Ayra, empowered by the Golden Sun-Kissed Fruit and her growing mastery over her S-Grade [Primal Fury Berserker] talent, would handle a group of moderately competent, if morally bankrupt, Awakened.

This was a perfect opportunity for her to truly cut loose without him needing to intervene immediately.

Lia nodded, her A-Grade Staff of the World Ash already glowing with a potent emerald light. "Understood. I shall endeavor to keep the collateral damage... contained."

She winked, a rare flash of humor in her usually serene eyes.

Ayra didn’t need a second invitation. With a roar that sounded like a Gloomfang Devourer gargling molten rock, she activated her [Primal Fury Berserker: Second Stage - Tyrant’s Mantle]!

"BOOM!"

A shockwave of crimson, berserker energy exploded outwards from her, far more potent than Daniel had seen her unleash before.

The ground beneath her feet didn’t just crack; it shattered, sending chunks of obsidian and black moss flying like shrapnel.

The wind shrieked and howled around her as her aura blazed, pushing back the oppressive gloom of the Dark Forest.

Her muscles visibly hardened, her form seeming to swell with raw, untamed power. The very air around her vibrated with her fury.

Kane and his charging Savage Blades faltered for a split second, their bravado momentarily extinguished by the sheer, overwhelming pressure wave of Ayra’s transformation.

They had expected a fight, not an erupting volcano wearing a Vanguard uniform.

"Charge, you curs!" Kane screamed, trying to rally his suddenly hesitant men. "She’s just one woman!"

It was the last coherent command he’d give for a while.

Ayra met the charging Savage Blades head-on, a crimson comet of destruction.

Her great-axe, a blur of polished steel, became an extension of her berserker fury.

"KRA-SHUNK! BOOM! CLANG!"

The sounds of impact were like a series of thunderclaps. Ayra didn’t bother with finesse or defense. She was a whirlwind of unstoppable offense.

Her axe sliced through weak shields and old armor like they were paper.

Bodies were sent flying, limbs flailing, screams cut short by brutal, overwhelming force.

The ground trembled with each devastating blow, the wind carrying the sickening sounds of shattering bone and tearing flesh.

One particularly large Savage Blade, wielding a massive spiked club, tried to meet her charge directly.

"Boom!"

Ayra’s axe met his club. The club shattered into a thousand splinters, and the thug’s arms snapped backward at unnatural angles before the axe continued its arc, nearly cleaving him in two.

Lia, calm amidst the carnage, moved with serene grace, her staff weaving patterns of emerald light.

"[Mending Stream]! [Aegis of Life]!" she incanted. Ribbons of potent healing energy enveloped Ayra, instantly knitting together any minor scratches or bruises she sustained from stray blows.

A shimmering barrier of life force flickered around the berserker, deflecting glancing hits and bolstering her already formidable resilience.

With Lia’s A-Grade healing negating almost all incoming damage, Ayra fought with an almost reckless abandon, focusing entirely on annihilation.

"She’s... she’s a monster!" one of the Savage Blades shrieked, dropping his weapon and trying to turn tail, only to be met by a sweeping backhand from Ayra’s axe that sent him tumbling into the undergrowth, silent.

Kane watched, his scarred face pale with terror, his earlier bravado completely gone.

This wasn’t a fight; it was a slaughter. His Savage Blades, who had terrorized weaker recruits and scavenged their way through the Yin region, were being systematically dismantled by one furious redhead.

He had underestimated them.

"Retreat! Scatter!" Kane finally screamed, his voice hoarse with panic.

He didn’t wait to see if his men obeyed. He turned and bolted, scrambling back towards the denser part of the forest, his only thought to escape the crimson demon and her serene, green-glowing enabler.

The remaining Savage Blades, those who could still move, broke and ran in all directions, terror lending wings to their feet.

Ayra roared in frustration, eager to continue her rampage. "Cowards! Get back here and face me!" She made to give chase to a group fleeing east.

"Ayra, hold!" Daniel’s voice cut through her berserker haze, calm but firm. "Let them scatter for a moment. Easier targets." He stepped forward, his B-Grade Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow appearing in his hands as if by magic.

Nyx, eyes glowing with Soulfire, yipped and slipped into the shadows, ready to chase any stragglers.

Daniel nocked an arrow. He didn’t need [Trueflight Barrage] for these fleeing mooks.

His raw Level 7 attributes, his Hunter class proficiency, and the B-Grade bow’s enhanced power were more than sufficient.

He activated his B-Grade [Savage Might] for a moment, his Strength doubling, allowing him to draw the bowstring to its absolute limit.

The arrow hummed with contained kinetic force.

"Twang!"

The arrow flew with the speed of a bullet, a silent streak of death in the dim light.

It struck a fleeing Savage Blade in the back of the leg, sending him sprawling with a scream.

"Boom!"

He hit the ground hard!

"Twang!"

Another arrow. Another scream. Another Savage Blade down, clutching a pierced shoulder.

The wind shrieked past the arrows as they found their marks with unerring accuracy.

Ayra, seeing Daniel efficiently picking off the runners, grinned savagely and charged after the largest group that had fled west, her axe whistling.

Lia followed, ready to provide support. Daniel continued his deadly archery, his shots precise, methodical, each arrow finding its mark, ensuring no one from Kane’s immediate assault force would escape to cause trouble later.

The forest, which had moments before resonated with the sounds of brutal combat, began to fall silent again, save for the distant, fading screams and the soft thud of arrows meeting flesh.

The one-sided slaughter was nearing its conclusion.

The last, strangled cry of a fleeing Savage Blade gurgled and died as Daniel’s arrow, a silent streak of obsidian fury from his B-Grade Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow, found its mark.

Daniel lowered his bow, a grim satisfaction on his face.

He could already feel his SSS-Talent, [Soul Assimilation], humming with anticipation.

This clearing, now littered with the fallen, was about to become another stepping stone on his path to unprecedented power.