Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Ethan hovered high above the battlefield, his eyes sweeping across the chaos below.

The Central Dominion Guard had broken away from the main force and hurled themselves into the heart of the Blood Clan army. The sudden maneuver instantly drew the monsters' attention. The swarm, which had been driving forward toward the main crowd, stopped as if they'd caught the scent of prey. With a howl of hunger, they turned and surged toward the Guard.

For a heartbeat Ethan's anxiety eased—the Guard had successfully diverted the enemy away from the civilians. But almost at once, his relief curdled into fresh worry. Facing the endless tide of the Blood Clan head-on was nothing short of suicide, unless they had a plan. Ethan kept his hands raised, prepared to intervene the moment disaster struck.

Yet after watching closely, he realized the Guard's charge wasn't reckless at all. Encircled on all sides, their formation shifted and began to rotate. From above, it resembled a vast whirlpool, pulling the Blood Clan into its spinning blades. Their long sabers flashed as they cut in tight arcs, the strike patterns overlapping into a lattice of steel and light. Every monster that lunged forward was ripped apart before it could even reach them.

A vortex formation? Ethan narrowed his eyes. He had seen diagrams of the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Array in old strategy manuals, but this wasn't quite that. It was something harsher, more precise—an offense and defense blended seamlessly into one. The rhythm was ruthless, yet it depended entirely on trust. Each man ignored threats in front of him, knowing the brother behind would cut them down. A single hesitation, a single misplaced step, and the entire unit would collapse.

That meant this formation wasn't built overnight. It demanded years of training, battle experience, and unshakable faith in each other. Ethan found himself shaking his head. He had underestimated them. Even without the Illusionary Qilin mounts he had armed them with, the Central Dominion Guard had already been a force to be reckoned with. Their weakness had only ever been in individual strength. Together, they were something else entirely.

The spectacle left the spectators stunned. Leaders and mercenaries from the other cities—men who had always dismissed Beastfall City as weak—watched in disbelief. Ten thousand soldiers should have been a drop of water against the Blood Clan's sea. Instead, the Guard cut through like a rotating saw, their discipline holding firm.

Shaw Zilo of Forgotten City found himself silently comparing them to his own private guard. The conclusion was bitter: his troops wouldn't last a minute against these men.

"I heard they were nothing but common folk," someone muttered from the gathered onlookers. "Not even Sovereign-ranked, most of them. And yet… every single one is now Elysium level at minimum. With those mounts, they fight like War Gods. Did Beastfall City lie to us this whole time? Have they been hiding their true power, waiting for this moment?"

The realization spread like fire through dry grass. If Beastfall City had unleashed this legion earlier, they might have rolled through the region unchecked, save perhaps for Hurricane City's defensive array. Ten thousand War God–rank fighters… no city could stand against that.

For years, Beastfall City had been mocked as the weakest of the Four Dominions. Their survival had only been attributed to the fact that the southwest wilderness swarmed with demon beasts, making conquest costly for any invader. By all accounts, they'd had only a handful of War God–level defenders, led by Lord Regis himself, and not a single Saint-rank powerhouse among them. But now, watching the Central Dominion Guard carve through the Blood Clan, the truth seemed different. And with Ethan's recent ascension as City Lord, Beastfall's sudden transformation could no longer be ignored.

All eyes turned upward to where he floated above the fray. Whatever Beastfall had become, it had started with him.

"City Lord, let's join the fight!"

The voice belonged to a woman from Forgotten City's delegation. If Ethan had been at ground level, he would have recognized her instantly—Red Widow, the enigmatic fighter who had once aided him back in Hurricane City.

Shaw Zilo's piggish face twitched at her words. He spun toward his men, his deep, gravelly voice cutting across the tension. "What's the matter? Are you all weaker than a woman? I may be past my prime, but I'll fight. As for you lot—come or don't come, it makes no difference to me."

His voice shifted mid-sentence, sliding from masculine roughness into a disturbingly soft, feminine tone. The men around him stared in shock as his last words came out in a woman's voice.

Shaw Zilo grinned at their expressions. "Yes, Jed cut me down, just as you guessed. But losing that doesn't mean I lost my courage. Third Sister, with me!"

The bloated man launched forward, his massive body bouncing along the frozen earth like a cannonball, barreling straight into the Blood Clan's ranks.

Red Widow bit her lip once, then followed him without hesitation.

A ripple of curses and grim resolve spread through the Forgotten City faction. "Damn it… I'm still a man…" someone muttered, before half their fighters took to the air or drove their mounts forward. The rest charged on foot, roaring into the chaos.

Within moments, the only ones holding back were the Clearspring City delegation, along with Bongo, Dragon Child, and the exhausted Micah. Some of Clearspring's warriors wore shame on their faces; others sneered in disdain, unwilling to risk themselves. Baelor Wane remained silent, staring at the battlefield with a grim expression, lost in thought.

From above, Ethan watched it all unfold. Of all people, Shaw Zilo had been the first to hurl himself into the slaughter. Ethan's opinion of him, long soured by Uncle Jed's stories, wavered. Perhaps he had judged the man too harshly.

Ethan spread his hands wide, weaving spell after spell across the battlefield. Wild Blessings rained down on the fighters below, bolstering their strength and stamina. Healing light followed his gestures—Swift Healing, Rejuvenation, Lifebloom—spells stacking one atop the other in a desperate effort to keep his allies alive.

Shaw Zilo felt the warmth settle over him, looked up at Ethan, and gave a curt nod before plunging his spear into another Blood Clan soldier. His movements, fierce and relentless, bore a strange resemblance to Jed's, and for a fleeting moment Ethan could almost see the old warrior in him.

But even with reinforcements, the battlefield turned brutal as more bodies joined the fray. Blood sprayed the frozen ground in torrents. Ethan could not be everywhere at once. For every life he saved, another was torn away by claws and fangs. The air was thick with screams, and though the ground was awash in crimson, not a single corpse remained whole.