Chapter 2

The air froze instantly, and three half-meter-long ice spikes, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, stabbed straight at my face, heart, and throat!

It was so fast that even Olivia didn't have time to draw her sword to block it.

Instead of retreating, I advanced.

The instincts I honed in my past life amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood make my body move faster than my consciousness.

"Purify".

The dazzling holy light did not heal anyone; instead, it transformed into a raging vortex that precisely struck the ice spikes.

The essence of healing power is the revival of life. When it is compressed and forcibly injected into other alien soul powers, it will produce a terrifying "rejection reaction".

"Bang--!"

The seemingly indestructible ice spike was instantly stripped away and evaporated along with the soul power attached to it the moment it touched my palm, just like snowflakes splashed with boiling water!

Under Raymond's horrified, ghost-like gaze, I pierced through the icy mist and delivered a powerful knee strike to his abdomen.

Before he could even scream, he arched up like a shrimp and crashed heavily onto the stone slab.

I stomped on his face, the edge of my boot grinding against his cheekbone with a sickening "crack".

"Now," I said, looking around, "anyone have any objections?"

Raymond's henchmen were deathly pale, holding their breath.

The rapid sound of military boots broke the deadlock.

Olivia looked at Raymond, who was rolling his eyes as I stepped on him, and a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes .

"From this day forward , Arthur is hereby appointed Honorary Medical Officer of the 'Knights of Radiance'! All logistical supplies and personnel deployment are under his sole command. Anyone who disobeys will be punished for treason!"

This authorization was communicated to the entire city .

I began training the Knights of Radiance .

I relentlessly pushed the entire Knights of Radiance to the brink of life and death, forcing them to squeeze every last drop of their potential.

"Too slow! Are you guys just tickling Shadow Fiend?!"

I kicked a heavily armored knight who had exhausted his soul power and collapsed to the ground.

"Keep swinging your swords! Until your muscles are torn and your soul cores are exhausted!"

My tactics are simple, brutal, and deadly—bring them to the brink of death.

Only on the brink of life and death can the full potential of soul power be unleashed.

Whenever someone collapses, on the verge of their heart stopping, I use my healing power to forcefully pull them back from the brink of death .

Tearing apart, then rebuilding.

Tearing apart again, then rebuilding again.

The wailing on the drill ground was deafening, making it look like a slaughterhouse of flesh and blood.

But the pain I endured was ten times that of them.

To support the intense healing of hundreds of people, my soul power was almost completely drained.

When my vision went black, I didn't hesitate to take out a jet-black crystal and bite it to pieces.

The raging energy of the abyss tore at my internal organs through my throat. I endured the excruciating pain of my soul being burned and forcibly transformed it into pure soul power with my healing power.

This self-destructive act finally made the figure that had been lingering nearby rush over.

"You...you'll drive yourself crazy!"

The visitor was Karl, Olivia's younger brother, a water-type support mage who always kept his head down.

He looked at the black blood spilling from the corner of my mouth, his eyes filled with both fear and a long-suppressed desire.

“Support classes are less than dogs in Radiant City.” Karl clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh. “But you showed us a way out. Teach me… please!”

“Water systems aren’t just for pouring tea.” I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and tossed a shriveled wheat seed into his arms. “Use your soul power to sense its veins, not to water it, but to ‘assimilate’ it.”

In the past life, famine led too many people to exchange their own children for food.

The magic-resistant plants are the only trump card that allows this isolated city to survive.

Karl closed his eyes, trembling, as the deep blue water flowed down his fingertips and into the seed.

The originally lifeless and shriveled wheat grains miraculously sprouted a tender green shoot the moment they came into contact with the water-based soul power, with a faint light flowing at the tip of the shoot to resist dark matter.

"I...I did it?" Karl suddenly opened his eyes, trembling with excitement.

Before this joy could spread, a bone bird suddenly pierced through the barrier of the training ground and fell straight down at my feet.

That was my messenger.

I crushed the bone bird, and a hidden soul wave drilled into my brow.

In the footage, a torrential downpour hits the border fortress of broken stones.

My dear brother Victor is being blocked on a muddy street by a group of ragged miners.

"Why should we have to mine during the day and train at night? Are you trying to kill us with exhaustion?!"

A rock slammed into Victor's forehead, silencing him.

The image then disappeared.

I couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Brother, do you think anyone can lead that group of lazybones?

Those vicious wolves who lick blood in desperate situations, how can they wag their tails at you unless you beat them until their bones break and their souls tremble?

Your pathetic, lost-dog appearance really makes me... eagerly anticipate your next performance.