003 Kill

Karen had encountered Tier 4 opponents before—more than once. He had previously defeated Ryan and Flor’s butler. These two encounters with Tier 4 beings had given Karen considerable confidence, but they had also instilled in him the dangerous illusion that Tier 4 opponents were nothing special.

When the Dark Moon Shadow Leopard was restrained and his own dozen Tier 3 undead surged forward, Karen believed victory was within his grasp. However, this overconfidence nearly cost him his life. The biggest difference between this Dark Moon Shadow Leopard and previous Tier 4 foes was its ability to briefly traverse through shadows. With the cover of night, the environment was perfectly suited to the beast. Before Karen’s undead could even reach it, the Shadow Leopard had already slipped into the shadows and vanished.

Even worse, the beast had locked onto Karen the moment he issued his command. As soon as it slipped into the shadows, it lunged directly at him.

"Oh no, it’s coming for me! Kira, give me a shield!"

Almost as soon as Kira reacted and cast a protective barrier, a claw erupted from the shadows behind Karen, striking him. Although Kira had applied a shield capable of withstanding ten Tier 3 attacks, it was utterly unable to hold against a Tier 4 Dark Moon Shadow Leopard; it shattered in a single blow. Fortunately, the impact of the shield breaking sent Karen flying, sparing him from death. Still, even though he had survived, that strike gave Karen a chilling taste of death. It was the closest he had come to dying since he had transmigrated.

The Shadow Leopard seemed to be a vindictive creature. Having missed the killing blow, it showed no sign of stopping and lunged at Karen again. Although it didn't dive into the shadows this time, its speed was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, it was upon him, its claws outstretched once more. With his shield gone, another strike would certainly mean death.

In this desperate moment, Alice, who had been following Karen in stealth, revealed herself. She grabbed the Shadow Leopard’s tail and bit down hard, severing it. The excruciating pain caused the beast to falter. Though it did not abandon its assault, the delay bought Karen the time he needed to react.

At the brink of life and death, Karen erupted with power. He immediately activated "Specter Burst" and unleashed a max-level "Heavy Strike." The 300% speed boost from Specter Burst, combined with the max-level skill, allowed him to move with startling speed. He barely managed to parry the leopard's claw; although he was sent flying again and his sword shattered, he managed to keep his life.

By then, the undead under Karen’s command had recovered. Those who had been guarding him swarmed the Shadow Leopard, attacking ferociously, while twenty Tier 3 undead surrounded Karen to protect him.

"Get me into the Bone Tower, and annihilate it with everything we've got!"

Though Karen desperately wanted to draw his sword and fight to the death to avenge his narrow escapes, he wasn't foolish. He knew the Shadow Leopard’s specialty was assassination; if he stayed to fight, he would surely die. Moreover, despite surviving twice, he had sustained serious injuries and could no longer fight. He had no choice but to retreat and let his undead finish the job.

Escorted by the twenty Tier 3 undead, Karen made it into the Bone Tower without further incident. Once he was safe, his undead held nothing back, unleashing an overwhelming assault. Every single unit had one goal: to kill the beast that had nearly ended their master. One hundred Tier 3 undead and 1,500 Tier 2 undead converged on the Shadow Leopard. With this level of force, even a Tier 5 entity would have struggled to turn the tide. Soon, the beast was covered in wounds.

In truth, the Shadow Leopard had tried to flee after failing to kill Karen, but the presence of "Death’s Wing" overhead made escape impossible. While the beast could traverse shadows, it had a cooldown period and a limited range of forty to fifty meters. Every time it emerged, Death’s Wing spotted it immediately and cut off its path. After several failed attempts and suffering a wounded hind leg, the beast lost all hope of escape and began to fight with reckless, maddened desperation.

The counterattack of a Tier 4 magical beast was terrifying. In just a few minutes of frenzied fighting, Karen’s forces lost six or seven Tier 3 undead and nearly a hundred Tier 2 units. However, after that final burst of aggression, the Shadow Leopard was at the end of its rope.

Finally, after one last shadow-dash toward the Bone Tower left deep gouges in the bone walls, the beast was surrounded and torn to pieces by Karen’s undead.

*Ding! You have successfully killed the magical beast Dark Moon Shadow Leopard (Tier 4, Excellence). You have gained 5,000 personal energy and 2,000 territory energy!*
*Ding! The "Whisper of the Dead" planted in your territory has matured. Final quality: Superior!*

As the leopard died, two system notifications rang out in succession. A powerful enemy had been slain, and his territory upgrade was within reach. This should have been a victory, but Karen couldn't bring himself to be happy. It was the most miserable battle he had ever fought; a single Tier 4 beast had forced him to hide in his tower, costing him seven Tier 3 undead and eighty-three Tier 2 units. He was deeply dissatisfied with the outcome.

As Karen frowned at the piles of undead corpses, he failed to notice several figures departing from the edge of his territory. Before leaving, they glanced back at his domain with mocking expressions.

"A necromancer? Turns out his strength is nothing more than this."