MTL NOVEL Chapter 9: Come on, then
Damien Bloodbane reappeared at the very spot where he had fallen, his body fully healed and brimming with energy.
"Damn," he exhaled, a mix of surprise and excitement.
Not because he had been revived.
But because of the sheer awesomeness of the movement technique imparted to him.
It was called [Sovereign Stride], and it was mind-blowingly good.
An incomparably aggressive movement technique, [Sovereign Stride] pushed Damien to relentlessly advance, leaving no room for hesitation or retreat.
Even the rare step backward wasn't a retreat—it was a calculated coil, like drawing back a heavy spring, tightening with lethal intent before lashing forward with devastating force.
Damien Bloodbane could feel it.
The power in the way his body shifted, the transition of energy in his muscles, the perfect control in every step.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to bend to his will, each movement exuding an air of supremacy. There wasn't the tiniest sense of caution or desire for evasion.
It was about a Sovereign dictating the rhythm of battle with an all-out offensive!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Damien Bloodbane's killing speed tripled.
Where he once could kill a Zergling with two or three strokes, now each brutal strike felled one instantly.
His movement blurred with ruthless efficiency, every step of [Sovereign Stride] amplifying his momentum and turning him into a whirlwind of death.
It was incredible.
Until he died once more.
[You have died]
[Cause of death: Tragic low grade spear technique mismatched with Sovereign Stride]
[Imparting high grade spear technique]
[Reviving in…]
[3]
[2]
[1]
"Huaaaaahhhh!!!" Damien Bloodbane roared in sheer bloodlust the moment his body materialized, his voice ripping through the battlefield like a war drum.
His blood was boiling.
At that moment, he had it all.
He had a heavenly movement technique, a heavenly spear technique, a fully energized body and endless waves of Zerglings to practice and refine his art.
It was awesome.
Too awesome!
Damien Bloodbane's grip tightened around his spear and he lunged forward as he unleashed [Sovereign Spear Arts]'s first moveset in conjunction with [Sovereign Stride].
Slash! Sweep! Stab!
Poofpoofpoofpoofpoof!
Zerglings to his left and right exploded like fireworks.
His killing speed tripled once more, each slash easily killing more than three Zerglings.
The seemingly insane goal of killing one million zerglings now seemed very doable.
"This feels… too easy." Damien Bloodbane narrowed his eyes slightly as he continuously destroyed three to four Zerglings every second. "At this rate, I'll finish the objective in… 3 days?"
After being tortured by the system so many times, he had quickly developed a cynical view of it.
There was no way that it would let him get away with something so easy.
Alas, he was right.
[Raising difficulty level to medium]
[Objective updated. Kill one million Zerglings within 12 hours]
[No deaths allowed]
[Reward: All stats +1]
12 hours without any deaths!
"I have to quintuple my killing speed?" Damien Bloodbane grinned in excitement. "Bring it on!"
With his rapidly improving skill with the [Sovereign Spear Arts] and increasing synergy with [Sovereign Stride], quintupling his killing speed could just be doable.
The battlefield trembled and the Zerglings continued their mad rush towards Damien Bloodbane.
Slashing, stabbing and sweeping with incredible precision, the Zerglings began to die by the hundreds every minute. Then thousands.
His spear and body movements sublimed again and again as time blurred.
The hours stretched on.
Four hours in at the three hundred thousand mark, his spear finally cracked.
But the system seemed to have anticipated it as a brand new, much larger overlord spear appeared in his hands.
It was much heavier than the previous simple iron spear, much, much heavier.
A lesser man would have immediately lost his balance and would even have needed some time to get used to the heavier weight before being able to unleash the [Sovereign Spear Arts].
But he was Damien Bloodbane, not some lesser man.
"Heh heh. Trying to break my momentum with such petty tricks? Dream on!" Damien Bloodbane roared and swung the massive overlord spear mightily.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The larger blade allowed for a wider area of attack, and even more Zerglings died at every swing.
Six hours in, his arms burned. Every breath felt like fire in his lungs. Seven hundred thousand Zerglings dead.
Damien Bloodbane was actually ahead of schedule, but he knew his killing speed would soon fall drastically.
Every muscle in his body was screaming and shrieking in protest. His fingers were trembling and he could barely hold on to his massive spear.
Nine hours in, eight hundred fifty thousand Zerglings dead. Every movement was agony.
Eleven hours in. Nine hundred twenty five thousand Zerglings dead.
He took a full two hours to kill seventy five thousand Zerglings.
And now, he only had one last hour to kill the remaining seventy five thousand.
Time was running out.
And his muscles were just about done.
At that moment, something triggered in his mind.
A golden spear path appeared before his eyes, showing him the most economic movement that could generate the largest amount of kills.
Slaashhh!
A simple movement combo of spear and footwork exploded forth and killed fifty Zerglings with a single strike!
Sqeeeekkk!! Sqweeeekkk!!
The Zerglings swarmed him relentlessly, but Damien Bloodbane no longer heard or saw them.
He was completely mesmerized by the golden spear path and the feeling of ecstacy that it granted him.
"Again." He gasped softly.
Slaaaashhhh!
A hundred Zerglings died.
Slaaaashhhh!
A hundred fifty Zerglings died.
Slaaassshhhhh!!
Two hundred Zerglings died.
And just like that.
At eleven hours and fifteen minutes, the final Zergling was slashed in half and died.
Damien Bloodbane stood still at the very edge of a massive field of dismembered Zerglings.
Both his hands were resting on the massive overlord spear which was stabbed onto the ground.
His eyes were closed and his breathing was regular.
He was asleep.
[Objective achieved]
[Golden Sovereign Spear Art unlocked]
[Objective over achieved]
[Awarding Damien Bloodbane with +2 all stat points]
[Initiating Basic Spear Mastery Part 2]
[Objective: Kill one million Zerg Warriors]
A surge of vitality coursed through Damien Bloodbane's body and mind, instantly waking him up and refreshing his mental functions.
All at once, Damien Bloodbane could feel the effects of having +2 added to all of his stats.
Strength unlike anything he had ever felt before coiled at the ready within his muscles!
His Vitality swelled. His heart pounded stronger, his breath came easier, and his body felt capable of enduring far more punishment than before.
His Agility heightened next, sharpening his reflexes to a razor's edge. Movements that once took conscious thought now flowed with instinctual precision. He could feel the balance in his stance, the ease in which his limbs responded—each step lighter, faster, more controlled.
A cool clarity washed over his mind as his Intelligence expanded. Thoughts connected with startling ease, patterns within complex problems unraveled themselves, and his connection to mana deepened. The arcane energies around him no longer felt foreign or wild. Damien Bloodbane was sure that once he returned to his real body, he would be able to cast his spells with far greater ease than before
Then, there was Sense—a profound awareness that stretched far beyond what his human limits once allowed. Every sound, every flicker of movement, even the faintest shift in the air became clear. Colors grew more vibrant, scents more complex, and an almost preternatural intuition filled his mind, warning him of threats before they even took form.
This was not just a small increase; for a normal person, each point was a benchmark of skill, strength, or intellect. To gain two points in every aspect was like transcending human limits.
Damien clenched his fist, feeling the raw power behind even the simplest motion.
"So this is how it would be huh." Damien Bloodbane licked his lips as it curled slowly into a satisfied smile.
He raised his hand and pointed the overlord spear at the screaming Zerg Warriors that were thundering down yet another hill towards him.
"Come on then."