Journey to Become the Zenith

The Scythe That Harvested the Battlefield

The moment everyone was still overwhelmed by the terrifying aura blanketing the battlefield, the dark clouds overhead suddenly split apart.

A deafening boom echoed across the heavens.

Like a bolt of divine lightning descending from the sky, a lone figure pierced through the storm.

BOOM!

His landing shook the entire wall of Fantom City.

Cracks spread beneath his feet as dust billowed into the air.

For a brief moment...

Silence.

Every pair of eyes instinctively turned toward the newcomer.

Standing atop the city wall was Victor.

His shoulder-length black hair swayed gently in the cold wind, while his golden eyes calmly swept across the endless sea of undead below. He wore black leather pants, a fitted black shirt, and a dark golden jacket that fluttered behind him like the cloak of a conquering monarch.

His expression remained frighteningly calm.

Yet the vicious smile slowly spreading across his face sent chills through everyone who saw it.

The pressure alone made countless soldiers forget to breathe.

For the members of the Redcliffe Family, this was their first time seeing Victor in person.

Ramona Redcliffe froze.

”So... this is him...”

Even after hearing countless stories, reality was far beyond imagination.

Ruby stared with widened emerald eyes.

”So young...”

Natalia unconsciously tightened her grip on her holy staff.

”This... this can’t be...”

She had met kings, saints, legendary heroes and even divine messengers chosen by the Dragon War Goddess Kia and the Goddess of Justice Jenna.

None of them possessed such an overwhelming presence.

Meanwhile...

Those who already knew Victor reacted completely differently.

Max laughed loudly despite the blood pouring from dozens of wounds covering his body.

”Hahaha! I knew it!”

”I knew the brat would make it!”

Several academy instructors looked toward their battered headmaster.

One of them smiled weakly.

”You never doubted him...”

Max grinned proudly.

”Because that’s Victor.”

”He always arrives when everyone believes it’s impossible.”

Another instructor nodded with tired eyes.

”Looks like we’re surviving today.”

Brinda, who had exhausted nearly every drop of mana she possessed, felt her knees finally relax.

A relieved smile bloomed across her beautiful face.

”...You really came.”

She had held on through endless despair.

Now she no longer needed to force herself.

Eon leaned against the battered city gate and released a long breath.

”Good...”

”Now I don’t have to worry about protecting this place alone.”

High above the battlefield...

Videl was exchanging fierce blows with one of the undead dragons.

Even while fighting, she sensed Victor’s arrival.

A brilliant smile immediately appeared on her beautiful face.

”I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

Her blue sapphire eyes shone brighter than ever.

Lane, battling the second undead dragon nearby, laughed happily.

”I told you.”

”I knew he’d come.”

Her movements became even faster.

Even the undead dragon noticed the sudden change in her fighting spirit.

Victor slowly walked toward the edge of the wall.

Below him stretched an endless ocean of skeletal warriors, ogres, necromancers, undead beasts, and towering siege weapons.

Green flames flickered inside countless empty eye sockets.

The army waited in absolute silence.

Victor merely smiled.

Then...

A black ripple spread behind him.

The Death Scythe appeared in his hand.

Its blade shimmered with a chilling crimson-black glow capable of swallowing light itself.

He rested the enormous weapon casually across his shoulders.

Inside the weapon, Diana remained unusually quiet.

She had exhausted too much strength during the previous battles and was still recovering.

Victor could no longer hear her playful teasing voice.

Without Diana’s assistance, several abilities of the Death Scythe remained sealed.

He couldn’t convert accumulated kills into mana.

He couldn’t fully awaken the weapon’s destructive potential.

Even so...

It remained among the deadliest weapons ever forged.

Victor glanced toward the retreating human forces before speaking calmly.

His voice wasn’t loud.

Yet every soldier on the battlefield heard it clearly.

”Everyone who doesn’t want to die, retreat back to the walls!”

There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation.

Every surviving knight immediately obeyed.

The exhausted adventurers followed.

The wounded mages began withdrawing while supporting one another.

Even the fearless warriors of the Redcliffe Family turned around without complaint.

To outsiders, it seemed unbelievable.

Warriors who had embraced death only moments ago now retreated without protest.

One elderly knight beside Ramona whispered softly,

”Our honor has already been restored.”

Ramona nodded.

”And our new liege has spoken.”

”His order is absolute.”

Without another word, every remaining Redcliffe warrior withdrew toward the safety of Fantom City’s walls.

Only two people remained outside.

Videl.

And Lane.

Both continued keeping the two undead dragons occupied far away from the city.

Victor watched them briefly before nodding to himself.

”They’re doing well.”

The instant the last human soldier cleared the battlefield...

Victor moved.

CRACK!

The city wall shattered beneath the force of his leap.

His body shot forward like a meteor.

The undead nearest him barely had time to react.

A massive fortified scaling tower stood directly ahead.

The structure had endured countless bombardments from the city’s strongest mages.

It had survived explosions...

Holy magic...

Even repeated assaults from elite warriors.

Victor raised the Death Scythe.

One simple swing.

Nothing flashy.

Nothing extravagant.

Just...

One slash.

SHHHK!

A razor-thin black arc flashed through the air.

Silence followed.

Then...

The enormous siege tower slowly slid apart.

Its upper half tilted sideways before crashing onto the battlefield with an earth-shaking explosion.

BOOOOOOM!!

Wood splintered.

Iron supports twisted.

Hundreds of undead were crushed beneath the collapsing debris.

The ogre kings assigned to defend the tower roared in fury.

Six enormous monsters charged simultaneously.

Each possessed enough strength to flatten ordinary elite knights.

Victor didn’t even stop walking.

His golden eyes remained calm.

The Death Scythe spun once around his body.

SHHHHK!

Six black lines flashed through the air.

The ogre kings froze.

For a heartbeat...

Nothing happened.

Then each massive body separated cleanly into two halves.

Blood mixed with black corrupted mana erupted in every direction.

The gigantic corpses collapsed one after another.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!