Reawakening: SSS-Rank Villain's POV-Chapter 126: (All Fixed!) Death!!?

Meanwhile, King Baltzer, crackling with azure lightning from his Lizard King Regalia, intercepted the Venomous Shadow Dancer. The assassin moved like flickering smoke, twin blades stabbing from impossible angles, aiming for joints and weak points.

Clink-Clang-ZZZT!

Baltzer met the assault with King's Judgement, the massive hammer surprisingly agile in his grasp. Sparks flew as poisoned blades scraped against the Legendary obsidian hammer head. Arcs of blue lightning leaped from the hammer with each block, forcing the Shadow Dancer to constantly adjust, their Ghost Step Tincture-enhanced speed meeting the unpredictable crackle of Baltzer's lightning defense.

[Baltzer Skill Activated: Lightning Conduit!] [Chain Lightning Discharged!]

[Shadow Dancer Status: Minor Shock Damage Received!] [Evasion Slightly Hampered!]

The assassin hissed again, realizing this summon was not just durable but actively dangerous at range, its lightning interfering with their poisoned strikes.

This whirlwind of action bought Lucian a precious second. He now faced the chilling presence of Elder Borin directly, with the terrifying Shadow Blade assassin ready to strike from the periphery.

"Your summons are impressive, boy," Borin growled, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. The ground didn't crack beneath him, but the very air seemed to grow heavy, pressing down on Lucian, trying to crush his will. This wasn't just physical pressure; it was the spiritual weight of a being far beyond Rank 1. "But they only delay your demise. Did you truly think you could kill a Mayor under Alliance protection and escape judgment?"

The Shadow Blade assassin didn't wait for Borin to finish. He simply ceased to be where he was. Lucian's perception screamed, tracking a near-invisible shimmer reappearing directly behind him, slightly to the left. The assassin's longsword, 'Void Whisper', moved without sound, without air displacement, aimed directly at the spot between Lucian's shoulder blades, seeking to sever his spine.

Lucian reacted on pure instinct. He didn't turn. He dropped, kicking off the ground with explosive force, activating [Crimson Shadow Step] not to retreat, but to twist forward and down, almost rolling beneath the path of the silent blade.

Whoosh!

The Void Whisper sliced through the air where his spine had been a millisecond before. It was an attack designed for absolute stealth and lethality, bypassing conventional defenses through sheer speed and precision. novelbuddy.cσ๓

As Lucian came up from his roll, spear already lashing out in a defensive arc, Borin struck.

[Skill Activated: Borin - Palm of Sundered Mountain!]

Borin didn't move fast in the conventional sense. He simply thrust his palm forward. But the space between his palm and Lucian seemed to compress, to collapse. A terrifying force, like the weight of a collapsing peak, slammed towards Lucian. It wasn't just physical; it carried the crushing weight of Borin's Elder-rank will.

No time to use a major technique. Lucian poured mana into his defenses, crossing Dragon Soul Devourer horizontally in front of him, bracing himself.

KRA-KOOOOM!

It felt like being hit by the entire world. Dragon Soul Devourer groaned, bending dangerously, the Mythic metal screaming under the strain. Lucian's feet dug trenches into the solid rock floor of the dimension as he was driven backward nearly twenty meters.

[Defense Activated: Celestial Adamantine Body!] [-50% Physical Damage]

[Defense Activated: Wyrm Emperor's Aegis!] [-40% Physical Damage Resistance!]

[Defense Activated: Titan Helm/Gauntlets!] [-Combined Resistance Contribution!]

[Damage Received: 11,500 HP!] [Reduced by ~75% -> -2,875 HP!] [Regeneration Activated!]

[Armor Durability Decreased: Wyrm Aegis -450, Helm -150, Gauntlets -100]

Pain exploded through his arms, shoulders, and chest. He felt bones fracture despite the massive damage reduction. Blood sprayed from his mouth. The sheer pressure was suffocating. The difference between Level 18 and Level 103 was not a gap; it was a chasm, an abyss.

He hadn't even fully recovered his stance when the Shadow Blade attacked again, flowing like water around Borin's residual energy, sword tip aimed at Lucian's throat.

Clang! Lucian parried desperately, the impact jarring his already fractured bones. He stumbled back another step. Viper was also relentless, each parry taking a toll.

"Is this all the 'strongest freshman' can do?" Borin mocked, taking another step forward, his presence intensifying. "Struggle like an insect?"

Lucian grit his teeth, spitting out a glob of blood. His regeneration worked furiously, knitting bone, sealing micro-tears in muscle, but the damage was coming too fast. He was being overwhelmed.

He needed to break the rhythm. He needed to eliminate one of them. The Shadow Blade was the immediate threat, faster, more precise, constantly forcing errors.

He feinted a low sweep with his spear, drawing a parry from the Shadow Blade, then exploded upwards using [Crimson Shadow Step], aiming for the space above the assassin. He simultaneously activated [Shadow Pounce].

His target wasn't the assassin himself, but the empty air just behind him. He materialized there, spear reversed, aiming the butt end downwards in a powerful smash towards the assassin's head while twisting his body to avoid Borin's follow-up tracking strike.

The Shadow Blade reacted with inhuman speed, abandoning his own attack to twist and block the descending spear butt with his sword's flat. CLANG! The force staggered the assassin slightly, creating a micro-opening.

It wasn't much, but it was something. Lucian didn't press the attack. Instead, he used the recoil to propel himself further away, putting distance between himself and both Borin and the Shadow Blade, landing near the edge of the immediate combat zone. He needed a moment to analyze, to strategize.

He glanced quickly at the other fights. Levi was locked in a brutal slugfest with the Executioner. The ground around them was a cratered mess. The Executioner fought with pure rage, axe swinging wildly but with devastating power. Levi, however, was a fortress. His Founding Titan set absorbed blow after blow, regenerating damage almost as fast as it came. Levi wasn't winning quickly, but he was holding, slowly grinding the Berserker down with powerful counter-attacks from Earthbreaker, enhanced by [Earth Rend] shattering the ground and disrupting the Executioner's footing.

Baltzer's fight was more dynamic. He and the Shadow Dancer were blurs of motion. Lightning arcs clashed with green-glowing blades. Baltzer used [Earth Shaker] repeatedly, trying to slow the incredibly agile assassin, while summoning lightning bolts from King's Judgement. The Shadow Dancer flowed around the attacks, constantly probing, looking for an opening to deliver a debilitating poisoned strike. Baltzer's Lizard King Regalia provided significant poison resistance, but the assassin's Epic-grade venom was still a threat. Baltzer was using his superior durability and area control to keep the faster assassin occupied.

His shadows were holding. Just barely. But they wouldn't last forever against Level 100+ opponents. He had to deal with his own problems, and fast.

"Impressive survival instincts," Borin noted, his voice dangerously calm again. He hadn't moved to pursue Lucian immediately, instead watching the brief exchange with the Shadow Blade. "But delaying the inevitable only prolongs your suffering." He raised his hand slowly, palm open. Energy gathered there, not the crushing force from before, but something sharper, more focused, crackling with raw power. "Let's see how you handle this. [Starfall Lance]!"

A beam of pure, white-hot energy, condensed to the width of a spear, shot from Borin's palm towards Lucian. It moved faster than sound, faster than any physical projectile. The air itself sizzled and warped around its path.

Lucian felt absolute annihilation bearing down on him. Dodging felt impossible. Blocking? Suicidal.

His mind raced. His hand instinctively went to his chest. The Amulet of Final Stand was on cooldown. He couldn't rely on that.

He poured mana into his own legendary necklace, the Celestial Essence Well Pendant.

[Skill Activated: Celestial Essence Well Pendant - Mana Surge!] [+50% Max Mana Restored Instantly!] → [+30,500 Mana!]

Fueled by the sudden influx, he made a split-second decision. He activated the ultimate defensive skill of his Wyrm Emperor's Aegis, a skill he hadn't planned on using so soon.

[Active Skill Activated: Wyrm Emperor's Aegis - Scales of Warding (Active Aspect - Emergency Barrier)!] [-5000 Mana]

A translucent barrier, shimmering with emerald and gold draconic scales, snapped into existence just inches in front of Lucian. It felt incredibly solid, radiating ancient power.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-KRA-BOOOOOOOOM!

The Starfall Lance slammed into the Wyrmscale Barrier. The sound was horrifying – a high-pitched scream of shearing energy followed by a deafening explosion. The barrier buckled violently, scales cracking and reforming almost instantly, emerald and gold light flaring blindingly bright as it struggled to negate the immense power of the Elder-rank attack.

Lucian felt the shockwave even through the barrier, staggering him, rattling his teeth. Cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet.

[-12,000 Barrier HP!] [Barrier Holding!]

The lance dissipated, its energy finally exhausted by the Legendary barrier. The barrier itself shimmered, heavily damaged but intact. Lucian stared, breathing heavily. That attack... it would have vaporized him without the Aegis's protection.

Borin looked genuinely surprised now, his eyes wide. "A Legendary chestpiece with an active barrier skill? Where did a brat like you get such treasures?!" Greed warred with fury in his expression.

The Shadow Blade used the moment Lucian was recovering from the impact. He didn't attack Lucian directly. He flickered towards the side, aiming Void Whisper in a silent, diagonal slash towards Lucian's spear, clearly intending to disarm or disable his weapon.

Lucian reacted instinctively, pulling Dragon Soul Devourer back, but the assassin was too fast, anticipating the move. The void-infused blade scraped along the shaft of the Mythic spear.