Journey to Become the Zenith

Refusing to Leave

Lane, with only Eon and Brinda left beside her, stood surrounded by an endless sea of undead.

The battlefield had become a land of death.

Broken weapons protruded from the earth like grave markers.

The smell of blood mixed with the cold scent of decaying mana.

Dark clouds rolled overhead while countless undead continued their relentless advance from every direction.

Spells continuously bombarded the area.

Green curses.

Black spheres of corruption.

Ice spears.

Flaming skulls.

The undead mages hiding behind the front lines unleashed attack after attack without pause.

Lane and Brinda were agile enough to avoid most of them.

Lane’s body moved like flowing water.

Every step was precise.

Every movement efficient.

Her twin daggers flashed repeatedly as she cut down undead that dared approach.

Brinda fought several meters away.

Her purple hair was damp with sweat.

Her mana reserves were nearly exhausted, yet she still forced herself to cast.

”Mana Arrow!”

Several blue projectiles shot through the battlefield.

Two skeletons exploded.

A third lost its head.

”Mana Burst!”

A violent explosion tore apart an advancing undead mage.

Despite her efforts, more enemies simply took their place.

The endless tide never stopped.

Eon, on the other hand, completely ignored defense.

The giant warrior roared as he swung his Giant Battle Axe.

BOOM!

An entire group of skeleton warriors was smashed into fragments.

Several spells struck him directly.

Ice shattered against his skin.

Dark flames exploded around him.

A spear of corrupted mana pierced his shoulder.

Yet Eon continued fighting.

His bloodline-enhanced physique allowed him to withstand punishment that would instantly kill ordinary warriors.

Even so, the damage was beginning to pile up.

Blood dripped from numerous wounds.

His breathing had grown heavier.

His movements were no longer as explosive as before.

When Lane noticed this she spoke,

”Brinda, take Eon and leave.”

Her voice remained calm despite the chaos around them.

The words immediately caused both of them to freeze.

Eon stared at her as if he had misheard.

Then he burst into laughter.

”Are you asking us to die, little lady?”

His Giant Battle Axe descended.

CRASH!

Several undead were reduced to dust.

Lane crushed the skull of another enemy with one hand before answering.

”What are you talking about? I’m asking you to leave.”

Brinda narrowly avoided a curse spell before speaking.

”You seriously don’t understand?”

Lane glanced toward her.

Her expression remained unchanged.

”What do you mean?”

Brinda looked completely speechless.

Eon rubbed his forehead.

”She really doesn’t know.”

Another wave of undead approached.

The three continued fighting while talking.

Eon kicked a charging skeleton horse away before continuing.

”Listen carefully.”

He pointed his axe toward her.

”If we leave you here and something happens to you, how do you think Victor will react?”

At the mention of Victor’s name, Lane’s movements paused for the briefest moment.

She imagined his face.

His golden eyes.

His calm expression.

Her chest tightened slightly.

”He would simply say that this is as far as I could go.”

She spoke honestly.

”Then he would proceed to annihilate the enemies.”

Brinda almost choked.

Eon looked at her as though she had gone insane.

”That includes us! He will kill us as well if we left you to die!”

Eon slammed his Giant Battle Axe into the ground.

The impact shook the surrounding battlefield.

Several undead lost their footing.

For a moment, Lane fell silent.

Then realization slowly appeared inside her mind.

”So that’s why.”

Brinda nearly screamed.

”What do you mean, that’s why?!”

Lane calmly sliced apart an undead warrior.

”I thought you stayed because of loyalty.”

Eon laughed bitterly.

”Loyalty is there.”

His axe tore through another enemy.

”But fear is also there.”

Brinda nodded repeatedly.

”Mostly fear.”

Lane finally understood.

A strange feeling appeared inside her chest.

It wasn’t anger.

Nor disappointment.

If anything, she found their honesty somewhat refreshing.

”Fine then.”

She stepped forward.

Several undead immediately lost their heads.

”You can stay.”

After saying that Lane didn’t continue to talk and went back in concentrating on destroying the enemy before her. Eon and Brinda did the same and no longer talked. The three of them facing thousands of enemies stood in the middle with no fear of death.

Time continued to pass.

One minute.

Ten minutes.

Thirty minutes.

An hour.

The battlefield became increasingly brutal.

Corpses piled higher and higher.

The ground turned dark red.

The undead never stopped coming.

Not once.

Not even for a moment.

Two hours of fighting continuously and getting hit relentlessly, Eon was finally slowing down as his wounds grew more and more. Brinda was also nearing her limits, as most of her mana was nearly gone.

”Mana Arrow...”

The spell that once produced dozens of projectiles now barely created five.

Her breathing had become ragged.

Her vision occasionally blurred.

Even standing was becoming difficult.

Eon wasn’t doing much better.

His entire body was covered in injuries.

Blood dripped from countless cuts.

His muscles trembled every time he lifted his weapon.

Yet he still laughed.

He still fought.

He still refused to fall.

”Come on!”

BOOM!

Another group of undead exploded.

”I can still swing this thing!”

His laugh sounded more strained than before.

Even he knew his body was approaching its limit.

On the other hand, Lane remained the same.

Her breathing her movement remained ever calm, her face was as stoic as ever.

To outsiders it looked as though she wasn’t tired at all.

But only Lane herself knew the truth.

Her arms felt heavy.

Her legs burned.

Every muscle screamed in protest.

Numerous wounds covered her body.

She had simply become skilled at hiding it.

While fighting, she had also been subtly protecting Brinda and Eon.

Whenever a deadly spell approached.

Whenever a dangerous enemy slipped through.

Lane would quietly eliminate the threat before either of them noticed.

Normally she would never have done that.

But these two people mattered to Victor.

Especially Eon.

Victor had plans.

Ambitions.

Dreams.

As his woman, Lane felt it was her responsibility to help protect those valuable to him.

Even if it cost her life.

A curse spear suddenly shot toward Brinda.

Lane instantly appeared.

Slash.

The spear shattered.

Brinda never even realized what happened.

Lane returned to her original position without a word.

The battle continued.

Despair slowly began creeping into the battlefield.

The three of them were exhausted.

The enemy remained endless.

No reinforcements had arrived.

No miracle had appeared.

Only death surrounded them.

Then suddenly—

Lane felt something.

A familiar fluctuation of mana.

Her eyes narrowed.

The sensation rapidly approached from the distance.

It wasn’t the presence she truly wished to see.

Not Victor.

But it was someone she recognized.

Someone powerful.

As the spells from the surrounding undead mages intensified, a man wielding a Long Sword joined the battle.