—


    Kieran returned to his party, who hid in an obscure part of the hideout they found after mapping the entire thing.


    “Did you get any worthwhile information?”


    Altair was incredibly curious because Kieran wasn’t in the Deep Sands Chamber for more than ten minutes. Extracting arge amount of information in that short time frame was a tall task.


    “Nothing we didn’t know. However, I did learn that while there are hundreds of henchmen, the leaders, captains, and other high-ranking members number less than 100. This quest is aplishable, but we’ll have to split up.”


    “In what way?” Ezra asked.


    “As in, I’ll move alone and cause arge distraction while you split up into two additional parties. Ezra and Altair will act as the leaders and choose their assisting dps and supports ordingly.”


    “Why can’t we just act as a single unit?” Alice questioned. She didn’t like the idea of Kieran splitting up alone. Even though he was the strongest, their current predicament could turn awry at a moment’s notice.


    Kieran could sense the concern in Alice’s tone and merely smiled in return. “Don’t worry so much, Alice. If we don’t split up, eradicating the brigands will be impossible.”


    Alice lowered her head and exhaled with pursed lips. “How so?”


    “Look at the structure we mapped out. It’s tooplicated to attack a single front. We must expand our faces andmence a two-prong or three-prong attack. Letting them concentrate their forces in one area will be our downfall.”


    “But… Aatrox, you’ll be alone,” Luna interjected. She understood why Alice was so worried. While the others would operate in a four and five-man party, Kieran would be left alone.


    “I know,” Kieran’s tone didn’t disy fear or worry. It only held confidence and a thirst for battle.


    “Trying to change Aatrox’s mind is pointless. Just have faith in his abilities and let him act alone,” Nemean voiced. He understood Kieran’s intentions and advocated for his lone wolf behavior.


    Kieran’s attacks were truly destructive, so operating with the party would impose limits upon how fierce he could be.


    Luna and Alice released identical sighs, but Kieran quickly rified his reason._.


    “I’m not acting alone because I don’t trust you all. It’s quite the opposite. I will generate arge disturbance that gains all the attention while you allmence the vital part of the attack. Get it done quickly, and you’ll join me soon enough.”


    “If you die…. I’ll being after you. Defeat is not something that can happen on our path to greatness. And, if you are defeated, that’ll only happen by my hands,” Altair said before extending his fist with a smug smirk.


    Thud!


    Kieran extended his fist as well while watching the others pick their members. Their decision was surprisingly bnced. Altair chose Luna, Nemean, and Sera. At the same time, Erza chose Bastion, Lux, Cam, and Alice.


    Alice and Luna possessed Unique Weapons, so their damage-dealing capabilities were excellent. Sera was also a fantastic healer whose timing and awareness grew with every encounter.


    Lastly, Altair chose Nemean over Bastion because Kieran told him to create a 4-man party and let Ezra lead a 5-man.


    In a sense, this served as a challenge for Altair. Kieran understood what he could do but needed Altair’s capabilities to strengthen quicker.


    Meanwhile, Ezra’s damage output neutralized Bastion’sck of damage. The disparity was covered by Alice and Lux’s significant yet unsustainable damage outputs.


    Kieran waited until the Desertborn Brigands returned to their respective areas before signaling to the party. “Good luck.”


    Just as Kieran was about to run off, Alice grabbed his hand. “Good luck, Aatrox. Don’t take on more than you can handle.”


    “Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” Kieran confidently consoled Alice by cing his hand on hers. Afterward, they retracted their hands, and Kieran turned into a crimson streak.


    Kieran kept his disguise as a Desertborn Brigand, but he equipped his trusted Crimson Ashrune de. He ced his hand on the crimson etchings and whispered. ‘It’s you and me, buddy. Let’s deliver a glorious disy.’


    While Kieran headed toward the area where Desertborn Leaders were stationed, Altair headed toward the Brigand Henchmen quarters, and Ezra’s group targeted the Brigand Captains.


    Before he stepped inside the area, Kieran inhaled and released a deafening roar. “Intruder!”


    Kieran’s deep voice carried throughout the entire structure as Desertborn Leader appeared in quick session to understand the situation at hand. They were confused when a single man stood in their uniform but held an unfamiliar weapon with his head angled down.


    “Where is the intruder?!”


    “Who screamed like that?!”


    “That weapon—is it a spoil of your journey?”


    “Ignore the weapon, you buffoon. We need to find the intruder and quickly deal with them.”


    “There is no reason to search. I’ve already found the intruder,” Kieran said.


    His voice was deep and menacing as a sanguine wind whirled around his body. The runic characters on Crimson Ashrune lit up with a gory light as a Vampiric Blood Encrustation filled its length.


    “What is that power? Just what type of weapon have youe across?”


    “No… the more pressing matter is where is the intruder?”


    “Right here,” Kieran said while lifting his head.


    〈System: ?Revenge Predator? has activated!〉


    〈System: You have acquired 47 stacks of ?Hunt?!〉


    Kieran slowly lifted his hand, which sent out an obscure ripple.


    〈System: 47 enemies have been marked as ?Prey?!〉


    Crrck!


    Kieran cracked his neck and sped toward the dense gathering of Desertborn Leader.


    Panic filled their eyes as they came to a realization. “Disguise! The intruder is in disguise! Don’t be fooled by their outward appearance. They are not one of us!”


    Whoosh!


    The Desertborn Leaders quickly reacted, wielding the tremendous amount of sand inside thepound to createrge sand pirs. These sand pirs were designed to thwart Kieran’s advance, but they failed miserably.


    Kieran employed an el Shift whenever a new sand pir erupted, avoiding the iing attack with minimal Stamina Consumption.


    Kieran arrived before the first victim. Crimson Ashrune lit up with the glow of Sanguine shes as he cleaved down swiftly. It was a basic attack, but it dealt upwards of 10,000 damage.


    Kieran spun and unleashed a Crimson Barrage that cut through several sand pirs like butter in one fluid movement.


    Ugh! Aggch!


    Pained groans sounded as Kieran’s strengthened Crimson Barrage wreaked havoc through the ranks of Desertborn Leaders!


    -70,130


    The Desertborn Leaders struck by all 6 of the Crimson Barrages were immediately killed as Kieran unleashed more than 400,000 damage instantly.


    Kieran’s Experience bar jumped, but not as high as he hoped now that the level difference was minimal. Nevertheless, all Experience was good Experience in Kieran’s eyes.


    Suddenly, a Desertborn Leader dashed toward Kieran with a giant mace constructed from sand. Compared to the other Desertborn Leaders, this adversary appeared quite muscr.


    Bang!


    Kieran slid back a few steps after receiving a blow, but in the next moment, his gaze sharpened, and he looked at the Desertborn Leader as if they were a dead man walking.


    Zeut! Booom!


    Kieran performed a movement akin to teleportation as he used Burst Step to close the immediate distance separating him and thisrge enemy. While he moved, blood aggregated over Crimson Ashrune and doubled the Vampiric Blood Encrustation’s size.


    Seethe Burst!


    Blood sttered across the hideout’s wall as Crimson Ashrune’s outeryer exploded, creating a horrifying scene.


    -46,647


    -696,214! [Critical Hit!]


    “Who is this guy?!” A Desertborn Leader roared after witnessing the mutted remains of some of their brethren sttered across the hideout’s walls.


    “I don’t know, but alert the higher-ups! A monster has walked into our sacred grounds, and they need to be put down!”


    “On it!”


    While a few Desertborn Leaders separated from the group, numerous rotating sand shurikens whizzed through the air, all aimed at Kieran.


    Peng! Peng! Peng!


    ‘Tch… they have the advantage in numbers,’ Kieran thought.


    The constant impact from many of these sand shurikens drove him back, limiting his ability to respond to the distancing Desertborn Leaders.


    At the same time, sand spears formed on the adjacent walls.


    Swoosh!


    Kieran pushed off his front leg, dodging the spears that impacted the wall and merged together seemingly.


    ‘They’re in their environment. This alone puts me at a disadvantage.’ Kieran’s gazended on the walls briefly.


    Aside from the abundance of sand, Kieran also noticed the Desertborn Leaders didn’t adhere to one style of Sand Maniption. There was a variety amidst the crowd.


    For example, one Desertborn Leader approached Kieran with a martial arts style wielding method.


    Sand whipped toward Kieran as he dodged the flowing movements of this particr Desertborn Leader. Compared to the rest, who were only Elite NPCs, this opponent appeared as a Rare NPC.


    ‘Fast…’ Kieran noted.


    The rapid attacks made Kieran repeatedly retreat to avoid suffering damage. However, he didn’t only withdraw during this time. The Desertborn Leader’s every move was absorbed by Kieran.


    It took a few seconds, but Kieran’s grasp of the opponent’s rhythm steadily increased.


    “Got it,” Kieran muttered to himself.


    Bang!


    Kieran made a move that matched the Desertborn Leader’s, but this well-timed action was superimposed with Fury Rush.


    -60,139 ?Fainted?


    -126,386


    〈Battle Alert: ?Desertborn Leader?’s Defense has been reduced by 50%!〉


    Arge current of dense blood energy swept throughout the sand corridor a second after Kieran received this notification.


    -431,518! [Critical Hit]


    Kieran slowly stepped through the puddle of blood and over the additional dead body while casually waving his hand. Blood chains erupted from the pool, restricting twelve Desertborn Leaders’ movements.


    Kieran’s cold and emotionless voice rang throughout the corridor filled with aghast Desertborn Leaders.


    “My onught has begun. Today marks the end of the Desertborn Brigands.”