Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

Chapter 50: The Battle Ends, and Joren Takes First Credit!

"You made quite a name for yourself this time."

Walking behind Kyo, Joren gave a quiet nod.

Fame was the last thing on his mind.

His attention had already sunk into the system panel.

This haul had been obscene.

Several Rank Four lords, followed by that final stretch of relentless slaughter.

The numbers on the panel had never looked better.

[Host: Joren]

[Mental Force: 1000, Rank Two Psionic Master]

[Combat Rank: peak Rank Two]

[Combat Art: Helios Furnace Scriptur, Lesser Mastery 1360/2000, advanced to Mortal Perfection 2000/2000]

[Combat Art: Breath Severing Slash, Beginner 290/2000, advanced to Mortal Perfection 2000/2000]

[Bloodstars: 34160]

Beautiful.

Joren nearly whistled.

So this was war profit.

Without the Beast Tide, how long would he have needed to wander the wilderness like a ghost before scraping together that many Bloodstars?

Now both of his core Combat Arts had reached Mortal Perfection, and he still had more than thirty thousand Bloodstars left.

This was not a good harvest.

This was sudden wealth.

"What are you smiling about?"

Kyo turned around.

Joren had been staring at the ground with the faintest crooked smile on his face, looking a little too pleased with himself.

The expression vanished at once.

"I was reviewing the battle."

His face turned solemn.

"Against Rank Five beast kings, I am still far too weak."

Kyo stopped.

When he turned this time, the casual look was gone.

"You performed far beyond what anyone expected."

"But remember something."

"Anything too rigid will break."

His gaze passed Joren and settled on the dim sky beyond.

"You cannot hide your edge anymore."

"And Voidbeasts may not be the only ones watching you."

Joren narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Then I will stop hiding."

He raised his head and met Kyo’s gaze.

"As long as my blade is fast enough, I can tear out every eye watching me."

Kyo threw back his head and laughed.

The sound rolled through the gloom.

"Good!"

"That is exactly the kind of madness I like!"

He slapped Joren hard on the shoulder.

The force nearly broke the bones that had only just healed.

...

Beneath the steel walls of the northern defense line, no one was celebrating.

The Beast Tide had retreated, but the battlefield was still full of Antares Command soldiers, medics, and support crews moving among the ruins.

Voices stayed low.

Every so often, someone would look toward the distant wilderness.

Respectfully.

Warily.

Beside an armored transport, a broad man with a greatsword on his back crouched on the ground, smoking.

His hand still trembled.

His name was Valek, an early stage Rank Two Awakened Warrior and an old hand in Antares Command.

Back in the recruitment hall, he had been the first to mock Joren.

Now he took a deep drag and stared into the distance.

"I heard that kid broke an entire group of Rank Four lords by himself?"

One of his teammates kept wrapping a wound while speaking.

"Broke them?"

"You did not see the drone footage?"

"That was a slaughterhouse. More than a dozen Rank Four lords, and he cut through them like pigs."

The cigarette burned down to Valek’s fingers.

He did not notice.

His throat moved.

"I think I said he came here to die."

"That he would not even be enough to fill a Voidbeast’s teeth."

The teammate gave him a pitying look.

"Do not take it too seriously."

"He probably never noticed you."

"Would you remember a tiny dog barking at you from the roadside?"

Valek said nothing.

That was not comforting at all.

Then the crowd stirred.

"They are back!"

"They are coming back!"

People scattered across the defense line surged toward both sides of the gate.

At the far end of the passage, the setting sun burned red.

Two figures walked through mud thick with gravel and beast blood.

Kyo came first, the absurd greatsword still resting across his shoulder. His clothes were torn, but none of that weakened the pressure around him.

Half a step behind walked Joren.

Both hands in his pockets.

The Black Gold blade sheathed at his back.

Even so, a chill seemed to follow him.

Joren.

Before today, ninety nine percent of the people there would not have recognized the name.

Now all of Norcrest knew it.

As the two drew closer, the noise died.

Only boots against the ground remained.

Valek shrank into the rear of the crowd and kept his head lowered, wishing he could disappear into his own trousers.

He still felt the pressure pass in front of him.

It was not directed at him.

It was simply there.

The cold weight of someone who had climbed out of a mountain of corpses.

That kind of presence only came after enough killing.

"Manester!"

Kyo’s voice shattered the silence.

The command post doors opened.

Manester strode out with a group of senior officers.

His first look did not go to Kyo.

It went straight to Joren.

Warm.

Close.

Almost eager.

He walked right past Kyo, seized Joren’s hand, and shook it hard.

"You made it back. Good."

"Very good."

"You showed them what humanity is made of today!"

"Enough, Manester."

Kyo came over and slapped Joren on the shoulder again.

"Drop the empty words."

"This kid takes first credit."

Manester nodded at once.

"Of course."

"Joren’s contribution to this battle cannot be overstated."

He turned toward every Antares Command member gathered there.

"When we return to Alkaid Authority, every point he earned will be recorded."

No one objected.

No one questioned it.

No one thought it unfair.

In a world ruled by martial strength, power settled the argument.

Once someone’s achievements became too overwhelming to understand, age, seniority, and background stopped mattering.

A man who could tear through a Beast Tide alone did not need ordinary rules.

Among the crowd, Kaia leaned against an armored vehicle and watched from a distance.

A complicated smile touched her lips.

"Well."

Jazz scratched his head beside her.

"Looks like our squad cannot hold someone like him anymore."

Alar’s eyes shone.

He already wore the smug look of someone claiming borrowed glory.

"So what?"

"We brought him in."

"From now on, whenever I brag, I am telling everyone Joren came out of our squad."

Kaia rolled her eyes.

The tension finally left her shoulders.

Bringing that young man into the team had turned out to be the best decision she could have made.

Without him, Norcrest might not have survived this Beast Tide.

...

The black transport raced along the highway, tires grinding over loose stone.

Inside the cabin, Manester and Kyo sat in the front.

The two men spoke in low voices, occasionally checking the rearview mirror.

Joren leaned against a seat in the back, eyes closed, breathing even.

Across from him, Kaia, Alar, and Jazz sat squeezed together with their backs unnaturally straight.

None of the old ease remained.

Everyone understood what came next.

After this battle, Joren would rise straight to the top of Norcrest.

A name everyone wanted near them.

That knowledge made the three of them stiff.

Alar swallowed and shifted again.

The seat might as well have been covered in nails.

When Joren first arrived, he had been the newest member of Third Squad.

Just another recruit.

Then one war passed.

And suddenly, he had left all of them behind.