[Ats of Gacha Haven, Seeker Div 1, has accepted the defensive challenge from Neron of Ember Stone Isle.]

  Another isnd approached Gacha Haven, its dark silhouette growing rger as it drifted closer. Standing at the edge of the fn isle was a striking figure.

  A tall warrior with fiery red hair streaked with bck stood, his glowing amber eyes surveying Gacha Haven. He was obsidian armor that gleamed faintly like molten rock, and a tattered red scarf hung over one shoulder. His left arm was ed in a gauhat pulsed with ember-like energy, with faint fmes flickering at his fiips.

  There was no doubt—this was the Lord of Ember Stone Isle.

  Fiery warrior? More like a bzing drama king. Look at that hair, that armor, that fming hand. He’s trying too hard.

  The warrior, Neron, called out with an irritated edge to his voice.

  “Hey! Where the hell is everyone on this isnd?” he shouted. His voied, filled with arrogance as his eyes darted around the seemingly quiet terrain.

  Before him eculiar sight. The isnd appeared desote, with only a few scattered structures visible. Standing directly ahead, however, was a single man—a figure in a disheveled bck suit, messy hair, and eyes filled with a nervous twitch.

  The man was shuffling a deck of cards, looking more like a flustered street magi than a proper oppo.

  Neron squinted in disbelief. “Hey, you dumbass! Are you the Lord of this isnd?”

  The nervous man stammered in response, barely managing to raise his voice. “Uhm… I am… a… ma-magi…”

  He hesitated, then added weakly, “Want to see a magic trick?”

  Before Neron could respond, the man clumsily tossed the deck of cards into the air, filed to grab a few mid-fall, and awkwardly juggled them before fumbling the rest to the ground.

  He awkwardly shuffled the scattered cards back together, pulling o to make it vanish, only to drop it moments ter.

  “What the—?!” Neron growled. “What is this?! Useless! This is the stupidest isnd I’ve ever attacked!” He ched his fists, fmes fring at his side.

  “No matter. I’ll still give you a beautiful death, you bumbling fool!”

  The supposed magi took a hesitant step back, his shuffling hands trembling.

  [The battle begins now.]

  Minutes after, the annou came and the battlefield stirred to life. A portal opened on one side of the isnd, and through it stepped Neron, the bzing drama king, followed by his subordinates.

  But this wasn’t the graranight expe war. No, they strolled out casually, as if heading for a zy meetup rather than a full-scale battle.

  All their attention was focused oarget—the nervous "magi" who had “eaihem earlier.

  Milo stood in the open, his face pale and his knees shaking so badly it seemed they might give out at any moment. His hands trembled as he clutched his deck of cards, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

  “Hey, you dumbass!” Neron barked. Fmes flickered from his obsidian armor, making him look even more menag.

  Gacha Haven’s troops hiding uhe Rank-A Item: Veilstone Cloak couldn’t help but envy his intimidating gear.

  “Don’t mess with me,” Neron growled, stepping closer. “Where’s your Lord? Or… don’t tell me—you’re the Lord?”

  Fmes around him fred brighter. “You think it’s funny to py games with me, huh?”

  Milo stumbled backward in panic, his legs weak beh him. Suddenly, he tripped, nding hard on his rear, his cards scattering around him in all dires.

  “P-please! Don’t hurt me!” Milo cried, his voice trembling. He threw up his hands to shield his head. “I-I show you anic trick! Anything! Just… just don’t hurt me, please!”

  Neron and his subordinates circled around Milo.

  “Hey, look at this pathetic magi… is he really this useless?”

  “Seriously, how the hell did someone as weak as this guy get chosen as a Lord? Talk about bad luck.”

  “Maybe he’s faking it.”

  “No way,” anhed. “Give it five seds, and I bet he’ll wet his pants from fear.”

  Their ughter grew louder as they closed in.

  “What do you think we should do with him?”

  “Kill him?”

  “Nah, not yet,” another interjected. “Let’s have some fun first. Torture him a bit, see if he’s just pretending… or if he’s actually this useless.”

  “Hahaha!” They roared with ughter.

  Ats and the others watched the se unfold from their hidden vantage point, quietly discussing the situation.

  “This was your idea, Edrik,” Ats said.

  Edrik nodded, his tone calm. “Of course. It’s the most effit way to deal with oppos like these.”

  Karian scoffed, his arms crossed. “That smug bastard of a Lord. I’d much rather crush him with my own fists.”

  Edrik smirked. “o rush. Handling battles this way keeps things… iing. It’s all about strategy, Karian.”

  “Don’t talk to me about keeping it iing,” Karian growled. “I’ve fought for over a hundred years, and I’ve never gotten bored.”

  “Not everyone has a orack mind for bat like you do, Karian.”

  Nearby, some of the troops chimed in, stifling their ughter as they watched Neron’s group bully Milo.

  “Man, I almost feel bad,” one of them said.

  “For Milo? Because he’s being bullied like that?”

  “No,” the soldier replied with a grin. “For them. They have no idea what they’re dealing with.”

  The group chuckled quietly.

  Suddenly, everyone froze as a massive wave of energy erupted from Milo’s dire, sending a shockwave across the battlefield.

  Milo—no, Raze—had emerged. His form had transformed, his body now t and rippling with power. Tendrils of dark energy shed out from his frame, writhing like living shadows.

  The eroops staggered back, ons shaking in their hands, their faces drained of color.

  Neron, the bzing Lord, visibly tensed. He shoved his own soldiers forward as he retreated a few steps.

  “What the hell just happened? Why did he suddenly ge like that?!”

  One of his subordiammered, “M-my Lord—”

  “Don’t panic! He’s just one guy!” Neron barked, his voice faltering for a moment. “Attack him! Overwhelm him!”

  Raze’s booming voice cut through their panic. “You brainless idiots! Have you written your wills yet? Because I’m sending you straight to your families in the Lower Lands!”

  With a deafening roar, Raze unched himself forward, moving so quickly that the air around him seemed to . His massive hand smashed into a group of soldiers, sending them flying across the isnd before tumbling off into the void below.

  “Attack! Attack him now!” Neron screamed.

  The eroops surged forward, swords sshing and spears thrusting, but nothirated Raze’s aura. Their strikes bounced off harmlessly, as though they were hitting an imperable wall.

  Raze grabbed one soldier by the head, lifting him effortlessly. With a swift motion, he hurled the man into the distahe soldier’s scream fading as he disappeared into the sky.

  The battlefield desded into chaos. Raze moved with terrifying speed, his massive arms swinging iating arcs. He tore through the enemy formation, bodies flying in every dire as he pummeled and smashed them with relentless fury.

  The soldiers couldn’t keep up—they couldn’t even flee. In moments, Raze had wiped out the bulk of Neron’s troops, leaving behind only trembling survivors too paralyzed with fear to even move.

  “You stupid asshole! You’re not walking away without a fight!” Neron roared, an explosive surge of fire erupting around him.

  The bzing warrior’s entire body became engulfed ihe heat so intehat the grouh him scorched and cracked.

  “How the hell is he doing that?” one of Ats’s hidden troops whispered.

  Neron’s voied. “With this bzing power, I move faster than ever—gifted by the blessing of the Fire Elemental Spirit!” He smmed his fists together, sending sparks flying as the fmes around him fred even brighter.

  “I’ll kill—”

  Before he could finish, Raze appeared in front of him in an instant, his massive hand already gripping Neron’s face with bone-crushing force.

  “Shut up, idiot!” Raze snapped. “Save it for your fall to the bottom!”

  With a guttural roar, Raze hurled Neron like a ragdoll, his fiery form streaking through the air like a firework, until he vanished pletely from sight.

  [You successfully defeated the opposing Lord during the defense.]

  [You have earned 15 rank points.]

  [Bonus: An additional 10 rank points awarded.]

  [You are entitled to cim the oppo’s resources.]

  [gratutions on your victory!]

  [Your isnd size will be upgraded.]

  [You have received 650 Are Shards.]

  [You have earned 17,240 EXP.]

  ***

  (Author’s Note:)

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