The morning sun had barely kissed the freshly built stone walls of Deadhollow when the watchtower guard screamed.
"MONSTERS INCOMING! SOUTH FOREST! LEVELS 80 AND UP! THERE'S A FREAKING ARMY OF THEM!"
Kai Ren's eyes snapped open.
The System exploded into his vision:
[EMERGENCY ALERT!]
High-Level Monster Wave Detected!
Shadow Beast Horde (Lv.75-95) + Forest Goblin Raiders (Lv.80-100)
Estimated Enemies: 250+ Threat
Level: EXTREME
"First real test after Chapter 6 upgrades," Kai Ren muttered.
He didn't wait.
"Evil Workers! Full defense formation! Poison ditches — ACTIVATE! Shadow Drake — get in the air!"
Thirty-plus Evil Workers erupted from the ground.
The Shadow Drake descended from the sky with a roar that shook the trees.
The horde charged like rabid dogs on steroids.
In the first five minutes half the Workers got trampled.
Kai Ren was everywhere — reloading ballistae, mixing his own shadow essence into the poison traps for a last-ditch explosive upgrade, and personally sniping the Level 100 Goblin Chieftain who was busy smashing the wall.
When the Chieftain finally broke through, monsters poured inside.
Lira screamed.
Kids hid behind their moms.
One old grandma actually picked up a frying pan and charged forward.
Kai Ren poured every drop of mana into his summons.
"ALL UNITS — FINAL SHADOW OVERDRIVE!"
The Shadow Drake gave one last roar, turned into a living black nuke, and exploded in corrosive mist.
The remaining Workers detonated their shadow essence in a spectacular mist that made the entire battlefield look like a toxic nightmare.
When the last goblin finally face-planted, the whole village went dead silent for three whole seconds.
Then chaos.
"WE WON!"
The surviving Workers (only seven left) lined up like exhausted soldiers.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS, HOST!]
You have survived the Shadow Horde Wave! (Hard Mode Bonus Applied)
Total Experience Gained: 312,700
LEVEL UP! Level 32 → Level 60 All Stats have increased DRAMATICALLY!
New Summon Tier Unlocked: Rare Evil Assassin
Kai Ren blinked at the new screen.
Level 60 in one fight?
Nice.
But a smaller, quieter message appeared in blood-red text: [Hidden Note: Evil Origin Summons' true potential is still 99% locked.
True Abyss Form unlocks at Level 700+.]
Before he could spiral further, the village gate creaked open.
A middle-aged traveling merchant named Roldan rolled in with his caravan, took one look at the smoking battlefield, the shiny new walls, the irrigation channels, and the still-flickering black mist, and dropped his jaw.
"By the Goddess… This is Deadhollow?!
Two weeks ago the rumors said this place was a ghost town!
Now it looks like the damn capital!"
Kai Ren gave a tired, deadpan smile.
"Nah. Just a little weekend renovation project."
Roldan pointed a shaking finger.
"This… this is going to spread like wildfire. Lord Baron Grimwald is gonna hear about it.
Heck, even the King might send someone!"
Kai Ren internally groaned.
Great.
Just what I needed. More attention from power-hungry nobles.
That night, while the village threw the loudest victory party in history, Kai Ren sat alone outside his hut, staring at the stars.
He whispered to the System,
"After Level 60… what now?"
The night air grew colder. A new message appeared in pitch-black text, the voice ancient, deep, and dripping with malice:
[The Darkness is watching you.]
Kai Ren's spine turned to ice.
He spun around, heart pounding, but the shadows were empty.
He swallowed hard.
"…System, you really need to work on your jump-scare timing."
[To be continued…]