Don descended from the tower, his eight Executioner's Edge blades trailing behind him like wings of death.
The ruins stretched before him—broken stone, shattered dreams, two centuries of decay.
His Mini-Map showed the maintenance tunnels. The forgotten passages beneath the city that would let him bypass the main force entirely.
Perfect.
Twenty minutes of silent movement through underground darkness. Ancient stonework built by human hands before the Fall.
Don emerged 400 meters behind the enemy position.
Between him and the three Generals: 245 expendable troops.
All facing forward.
None watching behind.
He manifested all eight blades. They spread in octagonal formation, each one pulsing with barely contained violence.
Valdris's Oath ignited with Holy Flame.
[HOLY FLAME: ACTIVE] [KING'S WRATH: +40% VS GOBLINS] [FINAL STATS: STR 1,519 | AGI 1,172]
Don stepped off the fifteen-meter wall.
Landed in a crouch so controlled it made no sound.
And moved.
THE SLAUGHTER
1,172 Agility meant the first fifty meters vanished in under two seconds.
The nearest cluster of goblin warriors never saw him coming.
Valdris's Oath carved through the first warrior like mist.
His eight blades exploded outward like shrapnel.
[DEATH PARADE: ACTIVATED]
Blade 1 - decapitated three warriors mid-turn
Blade 2 - bisected a shaman trying to cast
Blade 3 - impaled four goblins in single thrust
Blade 4 - swept low, took legs from five warriors
Blade 5 - spun high, razor wheel of death
Blade 6 - tracked fleeing scout, executed
Blade 7 - phased through shield, pierced heart
Blade 8 - orbital strike from above, crushed skull
Seventeen kills. Three seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACK 1 - +12% DAMAGE] [LIFE STEAL: +255 STAMINA]
Don didn't stop moving.
Hurricane through wheat. Every step precise. Every strike lethal.
Twenty more goblins died in five seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACK 2 - +24% DAMAGE]
The survivors finally realized—attack from wrong direction. Chaos erupted.
Too slow.
Don activated Life Steal on eight warriors simultaneously.
[LIFE STEAL: ACTIVE MODE - 8 TARGETS] [DRAINING: 64% HP + 400 STA/SEC ×8] [DURATION: 15 SECONDS]
Crimson energy erupted. Eight goblins withered, aging decades in seconds.
For fifteen seconds, Don became a vacuum of death.
[STAMINA: 350 → 1,150 OVERFLOW]
Forty-three kills. Twelve seconds total.
[DEATH PARADE: STACKS 3-4]
Blood shamans finally reacted. Forty-three channeling simultaneously.
Don created his Phantom Clone.
[PHANTOM CLONE: CREATED - 70% STATS - 2 BLADES] [COST: 800 MANA]
"The shamans," Don commanded telepathically.
The clone moved—837 Agility carrying it like a bullet toward the blood shamans.
Don continued his systematic slaughter. Six blades remaining (clone took 2), weaving patterns nothing could cross.
Sixty kills. Eighteen seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACKS 5-6]
Clone reached shamans. Two blades—even at 70% power—more than enough.
Fourteen shamans died in four seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACK 7]
Don activated Execution Field.
[EXECUTION FIELD: 20M RADIUS] [ENEMIES: -30% STATS, -10 STA/SEC, AUTO-MARKED]
Field expanded like invisible guillotine shadow. Every goblin within twenty meters felt crushing pressure. Primal terror. Certainty of death.
They tried to flee.
Field wouldn't let them.
Trapped. Helpless. Executed.
Ninety kills. Twenty-five seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACKS 8-9]
Clone finished shamans, turned toward Shadow Assassins. Twelve elite goblins using stealth.
Clone's Sense detected them easily. Two blades. Twelve assassins. Eight seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACKS 10-11]
One hundred thirty kills. Forty seconds total.
Remaining warriors—sixty left—broke completely. Fled in every direction.
Don's eight blades hunted them systematically.
1,172 Agility meant none outran him. 55 Sense meant none hid. 20-meter Execution Field meant clusters died together.
Methodical. Efficient. Absolute.
One hundred sixty kills. Seventy seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACKS 12-13-14]
Clone pursued final groups.
Last fifteen goblins died in twelve seconds.
[DEATH PARADE: STACK 15 - +180% DAMAGE - MAXIMUM]
Silence.
245 goblins. Eliminated in 82 seconds.
[TOTAL XP: +3,847] [KILL POINTS: +3,920 KP]
Don dismissed clone. His eight blades reformed octagonal formation.
And then—
Three essence signatures swiveled toward his location.
Shock rolling off them like physical waves.
THE GENERALS TURN
Skarr's roar split the air—sound like collapsing mountains:
"WHAT?!"
Rathka's voice carried deadly beauty:
"Impossible! How did he—"
Zyx said nothing. But Don's Sense detected him moving—abandoning stealth for pure speed.
Coming for him.
All three Generals.
Converging on his position.
Don's eight blades began orbiting slowly.
Valdris's Oath burned brighter.
Death Parade at maximum stacks. 180% increased damage.
His blades were nearly three times as powerful as normal.
Skarr emerged first—six feet of scarred muscle, warhammer crackling with dark energy:
"You. Small human. THREE armies. Vex. Kragg. Morgash. All DEAD."
Planted warhammer with crater-forming force.
"Sovereign wants you ALIVE. But I think… we'll bring him your HEAD."
Rathka appeared—lean, fierce, crimson-black hair writhing like serpents:
"Such pretty human. So much blood. So much POWER. I'll drain you slowly, keep you alive for DAYS while I taste—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Eyes widened.
"Wait. Your essence. You're… STAGE THREE?!"
Zyx materialized from shadow—mask of stitched skin, twin blades dripping poison.
Said nothing.
Body language screamed shock.
They'd expected Stage 2-6.
Prepared for Stage 2-6.
Faced Stage 3-1 with stats exceeding Stage 3-3 cultivators.
Skarr's grin became uncertain.
Rathka's confidence cracked.
Zyx's stance shifted from attack to defense.
Don looked at them—amber-gold and crimson-gold eyes analyzing everything:
"You set a trap for an executioner. Did you really think you'd be the ones walking away?"
Eight blades stopped orbiting.
Froze in attack positions.
Ready.
"Come on then. Let's see if three Generals are enough."
SIMULTANEOUS STRIKE
All three attacked at once.
Skarr's warhammer descended—divine judgment, Stage 3 power, air screaming.
Don activated Dash.
[DASH ×3 CHAIN: 45 MANA]
Blinked twenty meters right.
Twenty meters up.
Twenty meters left.
Warhammer hit empty ground—BOOM—fifteen-meter crater, shockwaves toppling walls.
Rathka's blood tendrils lashed empty air.
Zyx's assassination strike cut nothing but shadow.
All three missed completely.
Don landed on ruined wall, twenty meters up.
Manifested two blades, hurled them like javelins.
Not at Skarr—too armored. Not at Zyx—too mobile. At Rathka.
Supersonic. Guided by will. Amplified by Death Parade's 180% boost.
First blade—left shoulder, punched through bone.
Second blade—right thigh, shattered femur.
[MARKED FOR DEATH: RATHKA]
Rathka screamed—raw agony. Collapsed, blood pouring.
Skarr roared in rage, threw his warhammer.
Weapon spun like buzzsaw, dark energy trailing.
Don activated Pseudo-Domain.
[PSEUDO-DOMAIN: 500 MANA] [+50% STATS | ENEMIES -30%]
Reality shifted.
STR: 1,519 → 2,279 AGI: 1,172 → 1,758
Warhammer entered Domain—slowed.
Don caught it.
With one hand.
2,279 Strength made momentum trivial.
He threw it back.
Meteorite—2,279 STR behind throw, 1,758 AGI acceleration, Stage 3 power.
Crossed sixty meters in under a second, took Skarr in chest.
BOOM!
Skarr flew backward, crashed through two walls. Armor cracked. Blood leaked.
But got up.
"ENOUGH GAMES!"
Body glowed—dark energy suffusing muscles.
[SKARR'S TITAN FORM: +100% STR, +50% VIT, PAIN IMMUNE]
Frame swelled. Seven feet tall. Muscles bulging grotesquely.
Walking siege engine.
Charged.
Don activated Execution Field—layered with Pseudo-Domain.
[EXECUTION FIELD: 20M RADIUS] [COMBINED DEBUFF: -60% STATS]
Skarr entered overlapping fields—staggered. Titan Form's bonuses partially nullified.
His charge slowed.
Don's eight blades converged simultaneously.
[OCTAGON FORMATION: ALL 8 BLADES - DAMAGE ×5]
Hit Skarr from eight different angles at exact same instant.
×5 damage multiplier + Death Parade's 180% boost = devastation.
Skarr's armor shattered. Flesh tore. Blood erupted. Dozen wounds simultaneously.
But Skarr was tough.
Roared through pain, grabbed one blade mid-strike—caught Executioner's Edge with bare hand.
Cut into palm, but pain immunity let him hold on.
Pulled.
Don felt connection strain.
His response—instant.
Used blade Skarr held as anchor point, Dashed directly to it.
[DASH TO BLADE: 15 MANA]
Materialized inches from Skarr's face.
Drove Valdris's Oath through his throat.
Holy Flame blade punched through neck, out back of skull.
[HOLY FLAME + KING'S WRATH + DEATH PARADE + ESSENCE STRIKE]
Combined effects—catastrophic.
Skarr's Titan Form collapsed. Essence structure cracked—foundation damaged.
Grip on blade loosened.
Fell to knees, hands clutching sword through throat, white fire burning from inside.
Don twisted blade. Pulled free.
Skarr the Breaker collapsed forward.
Dead.
[GENERAL SKARR: ELIMINATED] [+2,000 XP | +7,000 KP] [DEATH PARADE: REFRESHED]
Don didn't pause.
Pseudo-Domain: fifteen seconds remaining. Execution Field: active. Death Parade needed more kills or would reset.
Turned toward Rathka.
Blood Priestess regenerating—shoulder and thigh closing slowly. But Marked for Death still active.
She saw him looking—beautiful face twisted in terror:
"Wait! WAIT! I can serve you! Power! Blood magic! SECRETS—"
Don's six remaining blades shot forward.
She tried to flee—Execution Field prevented exit.
Tried blood shields—blades phased through.
Tried draining life force—Stage 3 power and 609 Vitality made it feel like gentle tugging.
Six blades converged.
Rathka's head separated from shoulders.
[GENERAL RATHKA: ELIMINATED] [+1,500 XP | +5,000 KP] [DEATH PARADE: REFRESHED]
Two Generals down in under three minutes.
Pseudo-Domain expired.
And Don felt it—
Blade at his throat.
Zyx.
Shadow General had waited through both fights. Patient. Silent.
Struck instant Pseudo-Domain ended.
Don felt paralytic poison entering bloodstream through shallow throat cut.
[POISON IMMUNITY (99%): ACTIVE] [TOXIN: 99.2% NEUTRALIZED]
Poison that should've paralyzed in seconds did almost nothing.
Zyx's mask showed shock.
Perfect assassination—failed because of Poison Immunity.
Don grabbed Zyx's wrist.
1,519 Strength crushed bones like dry twigs.
Zyx tried vanishing into shadow.
Don activated Essence Strike on grip—struck Zyx's essence directly, prevented shadow-teleport.
Locked in place.
Eight blades converged.
Zyx was fast—Stage 2-5 assassin.
Don was faster—1,172 Agility exceeded anything Stage 2 could match.
Blades took Zyx from eight directions simultaneously.
[OCTAGON FORMATION: ×5 DAMAGE]
Shadow General bisected, trisected, reduced to component pieces before he could scream.
[GENERAL ZYX: ELIMINATED] [+1,800 XP | +6,000 KP]
SILENCE
Three Generals—Skarr, Rathka, Zyx—lay dead in ruins.
245 fodder troops eliminated.
Total time: 6 minutes, 43 seconds.
Don stood in carnage center, Valdris's Oath still burning, eight blades orbiting slowly.
Covered in blood—mostly goblin, some his own from minor wounds already healed.
Breathing steady. Mana at 92%. Stamina overflow still active.
Could fight hours more if needed.
[LITTLE SEED! THREE GENERALS! AT ONCE! They never stood a CHANCE! EIGHT BLADES is PERFECTION!]
"Quiet."
Already analyzing fight, cataloging mistakes:
• Pseudo-Domain too expensive for duration
• Octagon Formation devastating but required all eight on one target
• Zyx's assassination nearly worked—needed better stealth detection
• Should've eliminated Rathka first
But despite flaws—
Won. Decisively.
Three centuries-old Generals, eliminated in under seven minutes.
Don walked to Skarr's corpse first.
Time to Devour.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION] [3 STAGE 2-3 GENERALS AVAILABLE FOR CONSUMPTION] [WARNING: MASSIVE POWER GAIN] [ESTIMATED MADNESS: +9% (TO 31%)] [ESTIMATED ADVANCEMENT: 3-1 → 3-3] [TIME REQUIRED: 12 HOURS VULNERABILITY]
[RECOMMENDATION: SECURE LOCATION FIRST]
Don looked at three corpses, tactical mind weighing options.
Twelve hours transformation. Twelve hours vulnerable.
And to the north—in fortress of bone—
Uzgoth the Sovereign was waiting.
Final enemy.
Stage 3-5.
Two hundred years experience.
Undoubtedly aware six Generals now dead.
Don needed every advantage.
Pulled Spatial Storage Ring, began storing corpses—Skarr's massive frame, Rathka's deadly beauty, Zyx's shadow-wrapped remains.
All preserved perfectly in dimensional space.
He'd consume them later. Safely.
For now—
Don looked toward north, where enhanced Sense felt massive presence stirring.
Uzgoth.
The Sovereign.
Final battle.
But not yet.
Don needed rest. Preparation. Needed to consume three Generals, reach Stage 3-3 minimum.
Then—and only then—face monster who'd destroyed this kingdom 200 years ago.
Don began walking through ruins toward castle at Capital's center.
King's sanctuary beneath dungeons.
Perhaps other secrets hidden in royal castle itself.
And if Uzgoth came looking—
Well.
Don would be ready.
Eight Executioner's Edge blades orbited like crown of death.
Valdris's Oath blazed with Holy Flame casting stark shadows.
Amber-gold and crimson-gold eyes reflected nothing but cold, absolute certainty.
Three Generals down.
Three more to consume.
One Sovereign to execute.
The end was approaching.