"My Lord, they're coming!" Trigath said, his face grim.

"Let them come," Ethan replied without hesitation, shaking his head slightly before raising his hand and giving the order. "Let's move. Everyone—battle stations. It's time."

ROAR!

ROAR!

ROAR!

In an instant—

A flood of soldiers surged out from the castle, a tide of steel and fury crashing forward.

Elira, Ataneya, Seraphina, Andona, Feylora, Namyanna—they all stepped out from the fortress as well, joining the fray. On the other side, the Venomous High King—Gilrox—led his own army of heroes and warriors into the clash.

"You filthy invaders!" Gilrox's voice thundered across the battlefield. "I, the great Gilrox, will end you all! Wash your necks and prepare to die! I will kill every last one of you and become the ruler of this world! I will unite it under my reign!"

The roar of his fury echoed like a storm.

And then—he appeared.

The Venomous High King—Gilrox.

Towering. Monstrous. A force of nature wrapped in armor and venom. His presence alone felt like it could crush the sky.

"So that's him… the infamous Gilrox," Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing. "Yeah… he looks every bit as terrifying as they say."

Then, louder, with resolve: "Let's do this!"

"Remember—no physical attacks! Use your innate abilities or magic only! Don't waste your strength swinging swords at him!"

"This is it—our final battle! We win, or we die trying!"

ROAR!

ROAR!

ROAR!

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The battlefield erupted as both sides collided in a storm of chaos and power. And from Gilrox's ranks, seven figures burst forth—each one radiating overwhelming strength.

Crimson Ultimate heroes. Tier 15.

Three of them were SS-class.

Four were S-class.

Ethan's eyes widened. "He's got that many Tier 15 Crimson Ultimates under his command?"

"No wonder he's the top dog in the Gate of Carno… That's some serious firepower."

He couldn't help but feel a chill. That kind of lineup? It could steamroll entire armies.

No wonder Gilrox had been tearing through the other factions like a scythe through wheat.

It was all about power. Raw, undeniable power.

And Ethan knew—he was lucky.

Lucky that when he first arrived in the Gate of Carno, he'd landed in the territory of the Centaur High King—Thyssar.

If he'd ended up in Gilrox's domain instead?

Forget killing the guy—he probably wouldn't have even survived the first day.

"But now?" Ethan smirked coldly. "Now it's anyone's game."

He turned sharply. "Elira! Gilrox is yours. You know the drill—stall him. Hold him off until the others can back you up."

"Yes, My Lord. Understood." Elira nodded without hesitation, then vanished in a blur of motion, charging straight toward the Venomous High King—Gilrox.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The sky cracked open with the force of the clash.

In a flash, a storm of raw, violent energy erupted between Elira and Gilrox, exploding outward like a tidal wave of destruction. The shockwave swallowed everything nearby—earth, air, even sound—leaving only chaos in its wake.

Within the eye of that storm, the space between them became a battlefield of its own. Waves of pressure surged and collided, each one carrying enough force to level mountains. The air itself seemed to scream under the weight of their power.

And the terrifying part?

Elira—Ethan's strongest warrior, a 15Tier SSS-class hero—was being pushed back.

Just barely, but still.

"She's actually losing ground?" Ethan muttered, stunned.

Elira wasn't just powerful—she was a monster in combat. Easily one of the top-ranked SSS-class heroes in the entire Gate of Carno. If even she was struggling…

Then Gilrox really was as dangerous as the legends claimed.

The Venomous High King—undisputed ruler of this world.

And clearly, he'd earned that title.

Still, Elira was holding him off. That was all Ethan needed.

"Sigral, Trigath, Feylora!" Ethan shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Those three SS-class Crimson Ultimates—take them out!"

"On it!" they responded, already moving.

"Ataneya, Seraphina, Andona, Namyanna—you've got the four S-class ones. Don't waste time. Kill them. Fast."

It was a brutal, no-nonsense strategy—classic mismatch tactics. Overwhelm the weak with overwhelming force.

Sure, it was technically four-on-four.

But when one side had a 15Tier SSS-class hero and three SS-classes, and the other side was just four S-classes?

It wasn't a fair fight.

It was a massacre waiting to happen.

And that's exactly what it became.

The moment the battle began, Ataneya and her squad's dominance was obvious. Especially Ataneya—her presence on the field was like a black hole, pulling all attention and hope into oblivion.

She faced off against one of the S-class Crimson Ultimates alone.

And crushed him.

Her power was overwhelming. Her strikes were precise, merciless, and unstoppable. The poor bastard didn't last two minutes before she cut him down like a weed.

"It's over," Ethan said quietly, shaking his head.

He wasn't being cocky. He was just calling it like it was.

The balance of power had shattered.

And now, Ataneya—an SSS-class juggernaut—was free.

That was the beginning of the end.

She didn't hesitate. She picked her next target—Seraphina's opponent—and charged.

The two of them together? It was a slaughter.

The enemy didn't stand a chance.

Then, without missing a beat, Ataneya and Seraphina turned toward Namyanna's opponent.

Now it was three-on-one.

The poor guy barely had time to react before he was nearly vaporized.

This—this was what collapse looked like.

This was the snowball effect in full swing.

One kill led to another, and another, and another—momentum building like an avalanche, unstoppable and deadly.

In the blink of an eye, Gilrox's entire frontline of S-class Crimson Ultimates was gone.

Dead.

Wiped out.

And it wasn't just the battlefield that was shaken.

Even the SS-class heroes under Gilrox's command—hell, even Gilrox himself—were stunned.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Their elite warriors—slaughtered like nothing.

Their formation—shattered.

Their morale—obliterated.

And Gilrox?

He was losing it.

"No… No! This isn't possible!" he roared, his face twisted in rage and disbelief. "How?! How could I be losing?! You—how could you possibly be this strong?! This is impossible!"

His voice cracked with fury, but behind it—fear.

He knew.

It was over.

The battle was lost.

And he wasn't going to win.

His eyes, once filled with venom and arrogance, now burned with desperation. A flicker of cunning sparked behind the rage.

Then—he moved.

In a flash, Gilrox's massive form blurred, vanishing from his position.

He was trying to run.

...