Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 95: First Isle

Crack!

Kaiser’s blade shattered the wings of another Sky Wraith, sending it down the abyss. He tactically retreated, avoiding being caught up in their storm of sharp wings. Perhaps the Asura Vest possessed great durability, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t be shredded under their combined assault.

The bridge swayed beneath his feet, disturbed by the sudden chaotic movements. Kaiser held onto one of the railings, then slashed forward rapidly.

The Sky Wraiths rushing at him were killed, their blood spreading on the wooden plates of the bridge. Feeling a sharp sting in his hand, he noticed that a fragment of the shattered wings had grazed him, leaving a thin cut on his hand.

’Damnit!’

The swarm of aerial creatures rushed at him madly, the sound of their wings making his hair stand on end.

Kaiser dropped low to the ground, crouching and holding a part of the wooden plates to steady himself. The bridge groaned, scratched and carved by the wings of the Sky Wraiths.

’I need an area of effect attack. Handling them with melee in this environment is risky.’

His darkness affinity couldn’t do much here, as there were no thick shadows around. In the end, he could only resort to using his other trait—Cursed Voice. His gaze sharpened, and he slowly opened his lips.

"Perish."

The voice was soft but penetrating, like something forced upon the ears—then upon the mind.

The chaotic swarm of Sky Wraiths paused, then began quivering erratically. Some dropped onto the bridge, shaking as if electrocuted. The others flew about, as if tainted by madness, then dived into the darkness below.

The ones who had fallen on the bridge finally stopped moving, their bodies twisted unnaturally.

’They committed suicide.’

Kaiser thought, his eyes completely emotionless. Using that trait, he felt a momentary dizziness and subtle exhaustion—all negligible at the moment.

[You have slain an Awakened...] 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The notifications poured in like a torrential rain, almost making his ears buzz. Of course he immediately recovered, then assessed the rewards. He received two new relics but couldn’t check them at the moment.

Carefully passing by the bloodstained part of the bridge while avoiding the sharp corpses of the creatures, he resumed his journey.

Tensed and alert, he carefully crossed the bridge, making his footsteps as silent as possible.

’...!’

Suddenly, he stopped. A faint sound reached his ears, making him look up. Although the fog obscured his vision slightly, he still caught sight of a large winged creature flying around casually.

’That’s definitely not a beast-rank creature.’

His eyes narrowed as he put most of his body’s functions into a dormant state, effectively camouflaging himself and rendering his presence undetectable.

He remained still for over ten minutes until the creature moved away. He exhaled gently, then stretched slightly to loosen his muscles.

Without waiting at all, he continued his stealthy journey across the bridge. As he got closer to the First Isle, he spotted tiny dots of light in the fog, moving about like fireflies in the night.

The sudden presence of unnatural light made him squint, momentarily distracted.

’Oh. Is that their danger—acting as a distraction?’

He indifferently stretched out his hand towards one of them and said.

"Come."

The creature obeyed easily, swimming through the air and landing on his palm. Now close by, Kaiser could see what it looked like.

The creature looked like a small, ordinary fish with glittering fins and a series of spots on its body that emitted light.

’Weak.’

He closed his hand, crushing the creature into pulp.

[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Glimmerfin Swifts]

Once he had confirmed the name, he continued moving. A few Sky Wraiths passed by, but none seemed to notice him crossing the shaky bridge.

Finally, Kaiser stepped onto the dry soil of the First Isle. He unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, gazing back at the swaying sky bridge.

The first stretch of his journey was mildly perilous, but he had no doubt that the islands themselves were more dangerous.

The island looked like the corpse of a forgotten temple. Dozens of white pillars had collapsed across the ground, some snapped clean in half while others leaned dangerously against each other.

Thick brown vines crawled over the ruins like parasites, their hooked thorns tearing through stone pillars.

A soft wind blew the fog slightly, revealing a withered tree with branches like claws stretching towards the sky. He spotted a few dark silhouettes perched atop its branches before the fog once again covered them.

Kaiser scanned the ruins carefully. The collapsed pillars provided dozens of blind spots—perfect places for an ambush.

’Surely, I’m the one being ambushed, right?’

Rather than climbing onto the ruins and getting himself attacked, he sat on the ground, leisurely scratching his purple sword with a stone.

He remained there for over half an hour, not moving an inch. The small wound on his hand had already healed.

Finally, the signal he was waiting for arrived. A rustling sound filled the air, and something slithered from under two stones leaning against each other.

Hiss~!

A large cobra-like serpent with cracked brown scales appeared, its head raised threateningly. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto Kaiser, and its forked tongue flashed dangerously. They both stared at each other warily, then the serpent shot at him.

Kaiser rolled to the side, his sword flashing to cut the side of the creature.

Dark red blood dripped from the wound, but it looked unharmed. After biting nothing but dust, it coiled like a spring, ready to strike again.

It sprang forward again, but this time Kaiser didn’t roll away. Instead, he let it get very close, then shifted to the side. His sword, held vertically from above, cut deep into the serpent’s neck, drawing more blood.

It retreated swiftly, hissing dangerously. Perhaps it had just realized it couldn’t simply overpower him by speed, so it lowered itself to the ground.

Kaiser also changed his stance, crouching to the ground with one hand. The serpent surged at him, its mouth wide open with sharp fangs displayed.

Kaiser sprang forward to meet its charge, then sank his blade straight into its throat. Its internal organs were sliced, and Kaiser used the sword to split the creature into two. The corpse dropped to the ground like a discarded rag.

[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Storm Serpent]

Just as Kaiser breathed a sigh of relief, he heard rustling sounds from the dark corners of the collapsed pillars—one, then another, then much more.