Chapter 86: It's Me Or Them

'Not too hard,' Atlas mused before he lunged at the remaining Achaemenidians, driving his blades through the narrow slits in their helmets. He felt the bone shatter beneath his weapons, an unsettling crunch that made him gag, 'Still haven't got used to this but it will take time.'

He forced himself to ignore the negative feelings and focus on the fight, 'It's me or them; the emperor had no problem planning to torture me in the Boats. I must accept that Valoria is full of death,' he thought while calming down as he prepared to go after the other enemies.

Afterward, Atlas melted into the underbrush, shadowing the remaining soldiers before climbing a tree and rushing across the branches. He quickly took down the smaller groups, making his strikes precise and efficient.

Many fell to his arrows and blades because they weren't paying attention to their surroundings and were lost in the peaceful atmosphere of the forest, 'It's easy getting the jump on the soldiers, but it won't always be this easy,' he thought while cleaning off a blade.

Using stealthy ambushes and his deadly Void Arrows, he decimated the remaining hunters by hiding among the trees and bushes before moving on. However, when reaching the last group, he sensed the commander was stronger than the soldiers he had already killed.

Atlas watched as the last group searched a small clearing. Like idiots, they split up, allowing him to hunt each one before attacking the leader. He tracked one of the soldiers, who was prodding the nearby bushes with his spear.

'Hopefully, if this goes well I can kill the two men before fighting the leader,' he mused excitedly.

Amused by the soldier's cautious approach, he leaped from branch to branch until he was directly above one of them. As the soldier began to turn away, Atlas descended silently, driving his blade into the man's neck with no mercy.

The soldier gurgled before collapsing with a thud, but Atlas quickly cast Void Step to vanish from sight, and the leader rushed over. He dashed toward the last enemy, who was on the opposite side of the clearing.

When Atlas got closer, he spotted the man and cast Void Arrow at his target's head. The azure blue projectile sliced through the air before piercing through the hunter's skull, causing him to drop dead.

He felt the experience flowing into his body, which made him smile. The leader appeared and shouted with uncontrolled rage, ''Come out here, Dahaka! Fight me in a fair battle.''

'Is this human stupid? He brought thirty hunters here to kill me and expects mercy when their all dead now?' Atlas thought with a snicker.

He got close to the leader and replied, ''You're hunting me and want a fair fight? Funny, aren't you?''

Before jumping down, he checked his status to see the gains he earned thanks to leveling up due to all the kills.

[Level Up: 63→66]

[Experience: 180/2000]

[Experience Gained: 6000]

[Health: 448→460(50)]

[Mana: 1650→1700]

[Strength: 454→462]

[Stamina: 466→474(100)]

[Intelligence: 384→388]

[Core Points: 23400→26400]

[Core Points Gained: 3000]

'Nice, three levels and a small boost to my attributes,' he thought with a smile. 'If this carries on I will be much stronger when I reunite with the girls. Then I can beat Estelle during training.'

After that, Atlas jumped to the ground with a thud to confront the last hunter. He used Void Sight on the Leader to see the man's power.

[Mehrdad]

[Level: 188]

[Rank: Adept]

'Oh a powerful enemy; hopefully, this will be fun as I could use the experience in fighting stronger people,' he thought before rushing toward Mehrdad.

The leader readied his curved sword and swung it at him; when Atlas spotted this, he dropped to the ground and started skidding before slashing into his opponent's exposed ankles, which caused the man to stumble back.

Atlas sprang to his feet, his resolve burning brighter than ever. Determinedly, he renewed his assault; each blow was a deliberate strike of his short sword and knife. The Achaemenidian, initially steadfast, began to falter as panic seized him, and the attacks got faster.

His ankle bled profusely, and his body was soon riddled with deep cuts. Amid the chaos, Atlas couldn't help but revel in the thought, 'Death by a thousand cuts, this will slow you down human.'

The Achaemenidian, now consumed by rage, roared, "Fight me like a man, demon! Stop this trickery!"

He responded with a thunderous laugh that echoed like a storm, ''You come with soldiers to capture me and expect me to show you mercy? Are you a comedian?''

After speaking, he finally unleashed Void Step and turned into a blur of motion, striking the man hundreds of times in the blink of an eye, causing the leader to falter. He materialized in front of the Achaemenidian.

His blade sliced through the man's armor before he vanished, only to reappear and strike again. The battered and disoriented commander struggled to comprehend the relentless assault he was subjected to.

Atlas stopped attacking once he realized the man was beaten; he aimed his sword and said, "You are but the first of many that will fall to me. The Southmen will soon tremble in fear as I hunt them down and dismantle your empire brick by brick."

Without thinking, he severed the leader's head with a single swing, his azure eyes blazing with fierce determination and excitement. That's when his senses warned of an immediate attack, causing him to cast Void Guard.

The azure shield blocked several darts, causing Atlas to spin around and spot three Nightowls. He got nervous but pushed that away and readied his blades as a notification popped up.

[Skill Update: Dagger Mastery→Dual Wielding]

'Perfect timing,' he beamed before exploding forward and using Void Step to become a blur.

The Nightowls were shocked, but their instincts kicked in. They raised their weapons to defend themselves, and Atlas materialized next to the one on the right and struck out like a lightning bolt, causing the enemy to protect themselves.

However, that didn't work, as he cast a Void Arrow. The spell slammed into the Nightowl's shoulder, sending them flying into the bushes as the others attacked. The middle one lashed out with a dagger, but he used the Blood Knife to dodge the attack as he counterattacked.

Hundreds of clangs rang out as Atlas battled with the two remaining enemies, as he stood his ground against the assassins, but this time, he wasn't alone and used Call Of The Void to summon the Voidstalkers that rushed out of the azure portal that appeared next to him.

Along with his little raptors, he overwhelmed the three assassins with a relentless barrage of gleaming blades, razor-sharp teeth, and vicious claws. The enemy struggled desperately against the onslaught.

The battle died as the Nightowls fell to his blade and the Voidstalkers, who circled him. He used one of them to rest, but Atlas sent the monsters to engage the new threat. However, the foe proved more formidable than anticipated, cutting down the creatures quickly and effortlessly.

Unbothered, Atlas steeled himself for the fight. He activated Void Sight to scan the last Nightowl to check their rank and level.

[Farah Bahrami]

[Level: 202]

[Rank: Journeyman]

'This will be a learning moment to fight someone stronger,' Atlas thought as his excitement soared.

He pointed the Night Blade at the last Nightowl, ''Farah," he called out, ''give me a fight worthy of my time. The others were too easy.''

As Atlas spoke, he quickly noticed the assassins closing in around him, realizing, ''Damn, they're trying to trap me.''

He summoned Group Two using Call Of The Void; in response, a portal materialized, and a Void Raptor Warrior leaped out. Atlas mounted the creature just as the Nightowls screamed about his escape.

Atlas directed the raptor towards the crevice, where he retrieved the tent and stored it away. Without hesitation, he remounted the raptor and commanded it to charge southward, leaving the encircling assassins behind.

The Nightowls couldn't keep up with the creature, which pleased Atlas, but they soon reached a beach that forced them to stop fleeing. He looked across and noticed a massive forest bordering a mountain range that looked creepy. Searᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'I could use Aqua Lung to travel under the water,' Atlas thought.

He dismissed the warrior after thanking it. Before stepping into the cold water, Atlas heard the Nightowls shouting in the distance. When deep enough, he cast Aqua Lung and hid behind underwater rocks to watch the surface.

While doing that, dozens of enemy soldiers and assassins appeared on the beach where he was, 'So lucky I learned this skill; they would have caught me if not.'

After looking at them, Atlas turned around only to be shocked by the underwater world, which looked like an alien planet. Strange trees and plants dot the seafloor, 'I wonder what monster's wonder here.'

There were boulders and other debris he could hide behind while traveling, but he had to return to the surface or find an air pocket to recover his breath; it was better than being captured by the empire.

Atlas shivered at the thought of being put in the Boat. Then he turned around only to scream as a massive fish stared at him curiously. He quickly scanned the monster as his heart calmed down.

[Giant Grouper]

[Rank: A+ 1500 Exp]

'Oh, it's strong but seems friendly,' Atlas thought, reaching for the fish. But before he could grasp it, the Giant Grouper swiftly latched onto his arm.

Startled, Atlas barely had time to react as the fish began pulling him away. Just then, an explosion rocked the area where he had been moments before.