He watched helplessly as Elysian materialized from the shadows, cutting down three men in the blink of an eye, then vanishing again. Damon’s stomach lurched.

‘It all went to hell the moment that little sh*t started pulling his disappearing act. How the f*ck are we supposed to fight what we can’t even see coming?’

Cold sweat trickled down his spine as the full weight of their situation crashed over him. His men were disorganized, confused, attacking shadows and each other in their panic. The carefully laid trap had become a slaughterhouse, and they were the cattle.

‘We’re f*cked. We are utterly, completely f*cked.’

Damon stood rooted to the spot, his jaw slacking as he watched the carnage unfolding before him. His eyes, wide with disbelief, darted frantically across the battlefield, unable to process the devastation wrought by a single boy. His mind, once sharp and perceptive, now felt like a void, incapable of forming a coherent thought. The cold tendrils of fear crept up his spine, threatening to drag him into the Abyss.

“Snap out of it,” Warren’s voice cut through the fog of Damon’s panic. The younger man’s lips curled in disgust as he regarded his ally. “You’ve ruled the underworld of Ironspire for years, old man. Don’t tell me you’re cowering now?” He spoke softly, “Coward.”

The word hit Damon like a physical blow. His face contorted, rage replacing his fear in an instant. “What did you say?!” he snarled, spittle flying from his lips. His hands clenched into fists, trembling with fury. “Say that again to my face, and I’ll f*cking end you!”

Warren’s dismissive snort only fueled Damon’s anger. “Good, it seems you’ve found your balls again, old man.” He turned his attention back to the battlefield, his eyes gleaming with calculation. “Now, when you look at that, what do you see?”

Damon’s eyes narrowed as he studied the chaos before him. The boy moved like a whirlwind of death, appearing and disappearing at will.

‘The boy is insanely skilled. Even with decades of cultivation, I can’t dream of being on his level. Monster. Yes, he’s a monster, that’s what he is.

This b*stard wouldn’t ask something so obvious, right?

If this continues, we’re all going to be killed. Is he telling me this is a lost cause? That we should retreat for now? If we do that, we’ll be in a greatly weakened position. Thomas will surely take revenge on us. With his forces on our backs and that small demon, we’ll be done for. This is our only opportunity to finish him and that boy while we still have the numbers.’

As Damon watched closely, he noticed something. The boy’s movements, once fluid and lightning-fast, now seemed to lag ever so slightly. A triumphant smile spread across his face as realization dawned. “Ah, I see,” he chuckled darkly. “Tsk, I am such an idiot.”

Warrant nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. “True, the boy is a prodigy beyond our wildest nightmares. But this isn’t a duel of skills—it’s a battle of survival. No matter his talent, his aura will eventually run dry. And judging by his current state, that moment isn’t far off.”

“A battle of attrition,” Damon echoed, his confidence returning with each word.

‘Of course. No matter how skilled, he’s still human. He’ll tire, he’ll slow, and then…’

“Precisely,” Warren responded. “The longer this drags on, the more it favors us. We may lose men, but they’re replaceable. What’s crucial is eliminating that boy and Thomas here and now. If we fail, it’s our heads that will roll.”

Damon nodded grimly, his eyes fixed on the battlefield. The fear that had nearly consumed him moments ago was replaced by cold, calculated resolve. They had the numbers, the resources, and now, a strategy. All they needed was patience—and the willingness to sacrifice whatever was necessary for victory.

‘We just need to outlash him. Throw enough bodies at him until he can’t lift his sword anymore. Then, we’ll have our revenge.’

Damon and Warren stood like weathered statues, their eyes never leaving the battlefield. Their voices rose and fell in a constant stream of orders, directing their men with the precision of seasoned fighters.

“There! He’s slowing down!” Damon barked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Warren nodded, his face taut with concentration. “Surround him! Don’t let him slip away this time!”

Their men swarmed towards Elysian, weapons ready to strike. For a heartbeat, it seemed they had him cornered. But then, like smoke through fingers, he was gone again, leaving corpses in his wake.

As the battle continued, soaking the ground with blood, a chilling realization began to creep over the two leaders. Their eyes darted from the dwindling number of their own men to the boy who, though visibly slower, still moved with deadly purpose.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Damon’s throat tightened, his earlier confidence fading. He watched as another of his men fell to Elysian’s blade, their screams cutting off abruptly. The pressure they had so carefully built was dissipating with each lost soldier.

Warren’s face, usually a mask of calm calculation, now bore the first signs of strain. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the hilt of his sword, eyes narrowing as he assessed their dwindling forces.

“This… this isn’t right,” he muttered, more to himself than to Damon. “He should have collapsed by now. How is he still standing?”

Damon felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. The battlefield, once teeming with their men, now seemed eerily fewer. The soldiers left looked more like scattered prey than a coordinated force.

“Sh*t!” Damon hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. "How deep are his aura reserves?“ He turned to Warren, panic creeping into his eyes. “If this continues, it’ll just be the two of us left.”

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with the weight of their miscalculation. What started as a carefully laid trap was quickly becoming their own death sentence.

In the distance, Elysian straightened, his breath coming in ragged gasps but his eyes still burning with determination. As he cut down another soldier, Damon and Warren exchanged a look of growing dread. Their plan, once so certain, was unraveling before their eyes, and with it, their chances of survival.

“We need to join the fight.” Warren's voice wavered slightly as he watched the boy evade their men’s attacks with unnerving ease. “We need to act now to continue the pressure on him, prevent him from any rest.”

Damon just stared at the boy, his face pale and jaw clenched. He remained rooted to the spot, not responding to his ally.

Warren glanced back at him, noticing the tremor in Damon’s hands. He frowned, trying to mask his own apprehension. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid?”

“I’ll f*cking kill you if you keep insinuating that I’m a coward,” Damon retorted, scowling at the other man, but his voice lacked conviction. “I’m just… assessing where we should attack.”

“Right.” Warren was unconvinced. His own heart raced as he considered their next move.

Damon’s voice quivered as he suggested, “You fight him first, try to distract him. While I… I’ll sneakily attack him from behind like you did earlier.”

Warren snorted, recognizing the attempt to avoid direct confrontation. “Don’t try to order me around,” he said, fighting to keep his own fear from showing. He glanced at Damon, scowling at his uncertainty. “We attack him together.”

Damon opened his mouth to object, but Warren’s piercing eyes, filled with a mix of determination and consternation, silenced him. He swallowed hard and nodded in reluctant agreement.

As they steeled themselves to join the fray, both Damon’s breaths came in short, sharp bursts. His legs felt leaden, each step towards the fight requiring immense willpower to overcome the instinct to flee.

Warren’s voice was firm as he rallied himself. “Let’s go!” he commanded, his eyes narrowing with determination. Spotting an opening when the boy blocked a strike from one of their men, Warren sprang into action without hesitation.

Damon, however, remained frozen, his face pale. He watched as Warren’s attack missed, but then saw the boy nearly stumble, surprised by the attack. “Sh*t!” Damon, hissed, angry at his own hesitation. He’d missed a crucial chance.

When the boy vanished again, striking another vulnerable area of their forces, Warren whirled on Damon. His face contorted with rage and disappointment. “You b*stard, that was our chance!” he roared, his voice laced with contempt. He pointed his sword at Damon, steady and threatening. “You just lost a good opportunity! I’ve had enough of your bullshit, you coward!” Warren’s eyes blazed with fury. “If you don’t attack, I promise to kill you first!”

Damon’s face drained of color, unable to respond. With a strangled cry of frustration, he released his aura, finally springing into action. He charged towards the boy first, his jerky and uncoordinated movements revealing he hadn’t been in a serious fight for quite a while.

The boy, sensing their approach, pivoted to face them. His dark figure radiated an unsettling calm. As Damon reached him first, swinging his weapon in a wild arc, the boy, though exhausted from the non-stop fight, moved with the fluidity of water, evading the attack. In one motion, he redirected Damon’s strike, sending it into one of his men, killing him instantly.

Damon’s face contorted with rage as he realized his wild attack had struck one of his own men. The sight of his ally falling fueled his anger further, his frustration mounting at the elusive boy.

Elysian’s voice cut through the chaos, taunting and clear. “Is this truly the best you can offer?” The question hung in the air. As if under a spell, each word stoking Damon’s fury and hardening his resolve to prove himself.

Warren struck suddenly from the side, his blade whistling through the air. The boy dove with impossible speed, then kicked off the ground, launching himself backward. Damon lunged forward, his movements driven by blind rage rather than strategy.

Elysian weaved through the battlefield, using Warren and Damon’s own men as living shields. He darted between fighters, his laughter ringing out as he evaded each attack with fluid grace. The sound grated on Damon’s nerves, pushing him further into a frenzy.

Frustrated beyond reason, Damon shoved one of his own men aside, charging like a maddened bull. Warren could only shake his head at the display, trying to maintain some semblance of tactics as he maneuvered to cut off the boy’s escape.

When Elysian changed direction, heading towards Warren, the man quickly concealed himself behind a group of his people. As the boy passed, Warren emerged, swinging his sword with the full force of his aura behind it. Elysian managed to block, but the sheer power sent him crashing into a cluster of thugs.

“Get him! Pin him down!” Damon bellowed, seeing an opportunity at last. He gathered his aura into his sword, leaping high into the air for a devastating overhead strike.

Elysian, pinned beneath the grasping hands, kicked frantically. At the last possible moment, he wrenched free, rolling away as Damon’s blade slammed into the bodies of his men. In the same fluid motion, the boy hurled his dagger at Damon.

He twisted, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow to the heart. The blade still managed to open a deep gash on his arm, drawing a pained howl of frustration from the man.

Throughout it all, Elysian maintained an air of almost playful ease, each near miss only serving to heighten Warren and Damon’s growing desperation. Their coordinated assault had devolved into a chaotic mess, with the boy seeming to anticipate their every move. Warren’s face set in grim determination, while Damon’s features twisted with an almost feral rage, both men pushing themselves to their relentless pursuit.

Damon’s face flushed crimson with rage, veins bulging at his temples as he watched Elysian dance away from yet another attack from Warren. His breath came in ragged gasps, part exhaustion, part unbridled fury. Unable to contain his frustration any longer, he bellowed at the boy, “You cowardly little sh*t!” Damon’s voice cracked with emotion, spittle flying from his lips. “Why don’t you stand and fight us?”

“Are you sure?” Elysian chuckled, watching the cautious face of the man. “You’re right. I think I’ve tested enough of my abilities for today.”