Part 1: The Warlord's Speech
The central courtyard of the Iron-Root Fortress was a hive of activity. The Dynasty had spent two days stripping the jungle to build a fortress of ironwood and salvaged metal. They were digging in for a naval siege.
Thorne stood on a raised platform in the center of the camp. He wasn't wearing his helmet. He wanted his army to see his face.
"They have a ship? Good. Ships sink," Thorne's voice boomed, amplified by a magic item. "They have a monster? Good. Monsters bleed."
Six hundred Dynasty players cheered. They were mostly Level 25 to 30—solid Rank D (Elite) players who had dominated the lower floors for years.
Thorne slammed the butt of his massive Halberd into the wood.
"We are the Dynasty! We held Floor 24 for three years! We are the Kings of the Lower Tower! Do not fear a group of upstarts who got lucky with a Field Boss!"
The morale buff rippled through the crowd. They felt invincible under his gaze.
Thorne smiled.
"Let them come! Our walls are iron! Our ballistae are ready! When they sail into this harbor, we will turn their precious Leviathan into—"
Thorne stopped.
The cheering died down as the soldiers noticed their leader looking up.
The sunlight dimmed.
It wasn't a cloud. It was a shadow.
High above the jungle canopy, forty silver shapes hovered in a perfect circle. They weren't diving. They were waiting.
Part 2: Operation Meteor
Elian sat on his silver Wind-Drake, 800 feet above the speech. He looked down at the tight cluster of red nameplates.
"He gathered them all for a speech," Elian whispered into his comms. "How polite of him."
"Formation: Meteor," Elian commanded. "Titan, you have the floor."
"Aye, Boss!" Titan chirped.
The massive tank unclipped his safety harness. He stood up on the saddle of his hovering drake.
"Lyra," Elian ordered. "Make him heavy."
"Seraphina. Catch him."
Lyra, perched on a neighboring drake, strummed a deep, resonant chord on her lute.
[Buff: Hymn of the Mountain]
[Effect: Target Weight +500%. Defense +200%.]
Titan grinned. His armor glowed with a heavy, grey aura.
He stepped off the dragon.
He didn't float. He plummeted.
[Skill: Gigantification]
Mid-air, the boy expanded. His armor shifted and locked, growing from five feet to ten. He tucked his knees to his chest and raised the Gorgon Shield, transforming into a literal ball of falling iron.
He broke the sound barrier in three seconds.
WHOOOOOM.
Thorne's eyes went wide. He saw the cannonball dropping straight for the center of his formation.
"SCATTER!" Thorne screamed. "INCOMING!"
But you can't scatter six hundred people in two seconds.
As Titan reached the tree line, Seraphina—hovering above—pointed her staff. She cast [Divine Trampoline] not on Titan, but on the ground directly in the center of the army.
Titan hit the golden barrier.
The barrier absorbed the recoil damage but transferred the kinetic energy outward.
BOOM.
It wasn't a nuke. It was an earthquake.
The golden barrier shattered, sending a horizontal ring of force ripping through the courtyard.
The fifty players directly beneath Titan—the unfortunate vanguard—were crushed instantly, turning into blue pixels.
But for the other five hundred, it was pure chaos.
The shockwave hit them like a physical wall.
Heavy armor crumbled. Shields snapped.
Players were thrown backward into the wooden walls, rag-dolling through the air.
[Critical Hit.]
[Target Stunned.]
[Armor Break Applied.]
The courtyard became a sea of flashing red health bars. The Dynasty grunts weren't dead—but they were broken. Most were lying in the mud with 10% to 15% HP, groaning, unable to stand under the dizzying effect of the concussion.
Part 3: The Cleanup
A massive mushroom cloud of dust rose into the sky.
Elian watched the red health bars flickering in the smoke.
"They're stunned," Elian said calmly into the comms. "Roger. Sky-Kin. Finish them."
"With pleasure," Roger replied.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The sniper rifle cracked from the sky. Every shot was a kill, picking off the Dynasty officers who were trying to crawl to their potions.
The Sky-Kin squadron dove, their crystal spears crackling with lightning, weaving through the smoke to spear the stunned survivors before they could find their feet.
Elian signaled the descent. "Clear."
The Eclipse team dove through the smoke, landing their drakes on the ruined walls.
In the center of the crater, the dust began to settle.
Titan stood up, brushing a speck of dust off his shoulder. His HP bar was at 98%.
"Strike confirmed!" Titan gave a thumbs up.
"Soft landing!"
The courtyard was a graveyard of moaning players and shattered gear.
But in the center of the devastation, a red dome flickered and died.
Thorne stood there. His armor was scorched, his cape was burned away, but he was standing tall.
Behind him, his 11 Lieutenants (The Elite Guard) rose from the debris. They were battered—some nursing broken arms, others drinking potions frantically—but they were alive. Their high stats and defensive skills had saved them from the shockwave.
Thorne looked at his army. They were decimated. The survivors were being hunted down like rabbits by the dragons above.
Then he looked at Titan.
Thorne's face didn't show fear. It showed pure, unadulterated rage.
"You..." Thorne hissed. "You used a player... as a kinetic rod?"
Elian landed his drake on the ruins of the gate.
He dismounted, Winter's Eclipse resting on his shoulder.
"Modern problems," Elian said coldly. "Require modern solutions."
Thorne narrowed his eyes. A red light scanned over Elian.
[Skill Activated: Warlord's Assessment]
[Name: Elian]
[Class: Drifter]
[Level: 31]
Thorne froze. Then, a low, rumbling laugh bubbled up from his chest.
"Level 31?" Thorne stepped over the debris. "That's it?"
Thorne's own aura flared. The pressure was immense. It wasn't the pressure of a player; it was the pressure of a Boss Monster.
[Name: Thorne]
[Rank: High B (Calamity)]
[Level: 45]
"I was worried," Thorne roared, spinning his massive Halberd. "I thought you were a monster equal to Glacius. But you're just a child with cheap tactics."
Thorne pointed his weapon at Elian.
"You broke my pawns. Fine. But you can't kill a King with a splash damage trick."
Part 4: The Phalanx Problem
"Kill the tank," Thorne ordered his elites. "I'll handle the Captain."
Thorne charged.
[Skill: Cataclysmic Swing]
The Halberd came down. Elian blocked with Winter's Eclipse.
CLANG.
The ground cracked. Elian took damage [-450 HP]. The weight difference was massive.
Elian used [Monarch of Seconds] to slow time.
He saw the opening under Thorne's armpit.
He flashed behind Thorne.
He swung his sword to sever the tendon.
CLANG.
Elian's sword bounced off.
It wasn't Thorne's armor.
A Tower Shield had interposed itself between Elian and Thorne. One of the Dynasty Lieutenants (The Tank) had jumped in to save his Warlord.
"Protect the King!" the Lieutenant screamed.
Behind him, a Dynasty Mage cast [Firebind], wrapping chains of fire around Elian's legs.
Elian roared, cutting the chains and backflipping away.
He landed near Valen.
He looked at the formation.
Thorne stood in the center. The 11 Elites surrounded him in a tight Phalanx.
If Elian tried to attack Thorne, the Elites blocked him.
If Elian tried to attack the Elites, Thorne would crush him with the Halberd.
We can't win this here, Elian realized. In a team fight, their levels and coordination are too high.
Part 5: The Ultimatum
Thorne laughed from inside his living fortress.
"You see, boy? You are fast. But I am an army."
Thorne pointed his Halberd at the recovering Eclipse members—Lyra, Roger, Seraphina.
"Elites! Formation Delta. Advance and crush the insects."
The Phalanx began to march toward the crater edge.
Thorne began to channel red energy into his weapon.
[Skill: Warlord's Quake]
"I'll shake this island until your bones turn to jelly!"
Elian looked at the burning ruins of the fortress keep behind them. It was a narrow, enclosed space. No room for a phalanx. No line of sight for mages.
Elian made a decision.
He reached into his inventory. He pulled out the Dynasty Guild Token he had looted from the Vice-Captain back in Chapter 15.
He held it up.
Then he crushed it in his hand.
"Thorne!" Elian's voice cut through the battlefield.
Thorne paused his chant.
"You call yourself a King?" Elian spat, pointing Winter's Eclipse at the Warlord. "You're hiding behind shields. You're a coward using meat shields because you know I'm faster than you."
Elian turned and sprinted toward the Burning Keep.
"I'm going to the throne room!" Elian yelled. "If you want my head, come get it yourself! Or stay here and hide like a rat!"
Part 6: The Bait Taken
The insult landed. But it was the logic that moved Thorne.
Thorne looked at his Elites. They were slow. They couldn't catch Elian.
If Thorne stayed here and killed the team, Elian would escape into the jungle. And a rogue like Elian loose in the wild would hunt Thorne for eternity.
I have to kill the head of the snake, Thorne realized.
"Hold them here!" Thorne commanded his Elites. "Do not let the others follow! The boy is mine!"
Thorne broke formation.
He charged after Elian, his massive frame smashing through the burning wooden gates of the Keep.
The Separation was complete.
The Keep: Elian vs. Thorne (1v1).
The Crater: Eclipse vs. The 11 Elites.
Elian skidded to a halt inside the burning main hall.
Thorne smashed through the wall behind him, debris flying.
The Warlord slammed the gate shut behind him.
"Just you and me now, rat," Thorne grinned, hefting his Halberd.
Elian exhaled, the heat of the fire drying the sweat on his face.
"Finally," Elian whispered.