Reincarnated: I Became The First Warlord Of The World-Chapter 82

The Alphacrest soldier froze where he stood. His body stiffened, and his eyes blinked like something was wrong with them.

Jonathan... was right there.

Standing so close—again.

He didn’t even hear footsteps.

He didn’t see a shadow.

Not a single sign.

Just—bam!—Jonathan appeared like a ghost.

His mouth dropped open a little, and he stepped back without thinking.

"How is he this fast?" the Alphacrest soldier muttered under his breath.

He didn’t get it. He just couldn’t.

All his life, he had trained under Alphacrest rules. He learned what they taught—what they believed.

Dreamway soldiers were weak.

Dreamway soldiers were lazy.

Dreamway soldiers were nothing.

They always said that in camp.

So he believed it. Everyone did.

And since the day he stepped into Baytorn, he had done nothing but prove it true.

He had already killed five ability users on this land. Not one had stood a chance. He didn’t even break a sweat doing it.

But now... this? this Jonathan? he wasn’t like them, he wasn’t slow, he wasn’t weak, he was dangerous.

The Alphacrest soldier felt sweat on the side of his face now. It rolled down his cheek without permission. His heart skipped once, then again.

He clenched his fists.

"No. This isn’t right," he whispered to himself.

He stared at Jonathan, trying to figure it out.

Who trained this guy?

What kind of training did he go through? How did a fourth-stage magic path soldier move like someone who had reached the Grand Level?

His mind was spinning, his teachings were falling apart right in front of him, and it made his chest tighten.

He raised his arm a little, but his hand shook, he wasn’t scared at least, that’s what he told himself.

But deep inside... something was different now.

This wasn’t the fight he thought it would be, this wasn’t a weak Dreamway soldier.

This... was a storm, and it was staring straight into his soul.

This was new, the Alphacrest soldier had fought many people since he stepped into Baytorn. Some begged. Some cried. Some ran away.

But none of them...

None of them fought like this.

This Jonathan—he was different.

His heart was beating fast now.

His fingers were tight.

His mouth felt dry, and for the first time since the war began—

he felt unsure.

"Back away, bastard!" he roared.

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He charged forward in a full burst of anger.

His right fist shot out, aimed straight at Jonathan’s face.

As he swung, his hand thickened—earth magic crawling up his arm like armor.

The stone around his fist sparkled hard, rough, sharp like a hammer meant to destroy.

His lips pulled back in fury. He wanted to smash Jonathan’s face and end this madness.

The wind around the strike was sharp. It shook dust into the air.

It was going to land.

It had to land.

But just as the stone-covered punch was about to hit...

Jonathan vanished, Like fog in the morning sun, Like smoke in the wind.

Gone.

The Alphacrest soldier’s eyes went wide.

His body froze for a second.

His heart? It jumped into his throat.

"Where—?" he tried to say.

But he didn’t finish the words, Because in the next breath...

BOOM!

He felt it, a strong fist, heavy and full of fire, slammed into his back from behind.

"Combo Punch!" Jonathan’s voice echoed in the air.

"Ultra Plus!"

The hit cracked through the air like thunder. The Alphacrest soldier’s body flew forward like a broken doll, crashing through a wooden stall and smashing into a cement wall like a paper ball tossed across a room.

The ground shook under him, and silence followed, He didn’t move.

All that pride, all that belief, all that Alphacrest power...Crushed.

Jonathan stood tall, his breath loud and sharp.

Dust danced around him, rising from the deep hole where the Alphacrest soldier had landed.

The ground was cracked.

The air was still, the fight... was over.

He blinked once, looking at the broken pieces of wall and ground in front of him.

"Too easy," he muttered under his breath, but there was no pride in his voice—just quiet surprise.

His system beeped softly in his ear.

A soft light appeared in the corner of his vision.

[Essence Stone Detected – Yellow Grade]

Jonathan’s eyes moved slightly. The soldier was gone. No breathing. No sign of movement.

Dead.

And there it was... the yellow-colored essence stone hovering above the hole, glowing gently like a quiet flame.

He walked toward it slowly, carefully. Not because he was scared—but because he was confused.

He didn’t expect this, yes, his first strike had torn the soldier’s uniform, sent the man flying across a few buildings. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But that second hit?

That last punch?

It was clean, It was hard, but it wasn’t deadly.

He didn’t use his full strength, he wasn’t trying to kill him yet, That wasn’t supposed to be the punch that ended things.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. His heartbeat slowed as his boots touched the edge of the broken hole.

He looked inside. The Alphacrest soldier’s body lay still, head twisted unnaturally, blood pooling around one side of his face.

Jonathan stayed quiet, he didn’t like killing. Not even soldiers from Alphacrest. But if it had to be done, it had to be done.

He tilted his head a little.

"Was he weak... or did something break inside him before the punch?"

He didn’t say the words out loud. He just stood there thinking, staring at the glowing yellow stone.

Then, finally, he let out a small breath.

Maybe it didn’t matter now.

Dead was dead, but the ease of it it made something inside him uncomfortable.

Jonathan didn’t move, he just stood there, still staring at the glowing yellow essence stone. His thoughts were deep, like water at the bottom of a dark well.

He didn’t feel good, this wasn’t a win that brought him joy. It was strange... like something didn’t sit right in his chest.

The Alphacrest soldier was dead. Yes. But it was too easy. Too fast.

He had fought too many battles to know when something felt off—and this one did.

Then, all of a sudden... the wind picked up, the dust around the crater began to blow away. Piece by piece, the gray clouds of battle dust faded into the air.

Jonathan slowly raised his head, his sharp eyes caught movement.

His body tensed.

There standing right on top of the dead Alphacrest soldier was a man.

A bald-headed man, he wasn’t hiding. He wasn’t scared.

He stood firm, as if the dead body beneath his feet meant nothing to him, his boots pressed the broken chest of the fallen soldier.

His arms were crossed.

He looked down at Jonathan like a lion sizing up a new challenger, Jonathan’s eyes narrowed.

The man was dressed in a completely different uniform darker, thicker, more... serious, but then Jonathan saw it.

The Alphacrest logo.

It was smaller. Not bold like the others. But there it was... stitched carefully on the right side of his uniform, Jonathan clenched his fists gently, this man was no regular soldier.

He could tell. The way the man stood. The confidence in his eyes. The calm in his face.

He was dangerous. Very dangerous, this man didn’t need to shout. His silence alone was loud enough.

Jonathan took a step forward, his boots crunching some broken stones beneath him. His eyes stayed locked on the man’s cold face.

Then the man spoke, his voice wasn’t loud, but it felt heavy. Like it carried weight. Like each word was made of iron.

"So you killed him..."

That was all he said.

Jonathan didn’t blink. He didn’t even move his neck.

He kept his eyes right on the bald-headed man standing on the body.

His hands were down by his side, but his fingers had curled just a little—like they were ready to do something if needed.

His eyes narrowed, not from fear—but from focus.

The wind blew again, this time carrying the smell of burnt dirt and broken stone. Jonathan slowly took one step forward, the weight of his boots pressing firm on the ground.

"You’re not just another Alphacrest soldier," Jonathan said, voice flat, like a man who had seen too much already.

The bald-headed man didn’t speak right away.

Instead, he looked Jonathan up and down like someone trying to figure out a puzzle that didn’t make sense. His mouth didn’t even twitch. He just watched... quiet.

Then, slowly, he folded his arms across his chest. The way he did it wasn’t relaxed—it was sharp, full of control.

"I thought you’d come rushing through the smoke," the man finally said. His voice was calm but deep, the kind that made even the air go still.

"I thought you’d leap into the dust, shouting loud, just to finish off your prey."

His eyes fixed right on Jonathan now.

"But you didn’t. You waited. You stood still. You watched."

The man nodded once, as if he was answering a question only he could hear.

"Which predator doesn’t do that these days, huh?" he said with a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "A real one watches. A real one knows when to strike. But you" he tilted his head slightly"you even doubted your own power."