Lord Of The Lost

Among thieves, there are always a few extraordinary individuals who can unite their group with an unshakable bond. These are the ones who make even the most scattered band of outlaws a force to be reckoned with.

Recently, William dealt a heavy blow to a group of defectors who had allied with the thieves. They were cleared out swiftly, and while it's uncertain if all were killed, it hardly mattered. Neither thieves nor defectors were known for their tactical prowess or discipline.

As the saying goes, "The train runs fast because of the locomotive." William's decisive strike eliminated six key leaders, significantly easing the tension on the border town. His thunderous actions left the thieves' hierarchy in disarray.

While soaring high above the mountains, William felt it, a sudden, sharp premonition of danger. His sharp eyes scanned the peaks ahead. An ambush. He smirked.

"Did they really think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"

Before he could react, a massive iron arrow whistled through the air, heading straight for him.

Whoosh!

With lightning speed, William caught the arrow mid-flight, the force sending him plummeting into the dense forest below. Twisting in the air, his wings spun to slow the descent. Just before hitting the ground, he shed his Black Crow form, landing in a controlled roll.

Standing to his feet, William looked up. Emerging from the shadows of the forest were six extraordinary thieves, their faces twisted in feral grins. But William met their surprise with a grin of his own.

"Six? That's it?" he sneered. "I thought I told you; I didn't fall for it this time."

Unscathed, William's confidence rippled through the air. He surveyed the group, knowing this was his chance to strike a decisive blow. Whether or not all the key figures were present, wiping them out here would cripple the thieves' ranks beyond repair.

With a commanding shout, William activated his trump card.

"Dragon Scale Armor; Fusion!"

Golden energy swirled around him, forming a majestic set of armor. Sleek and elegant, its dragon-jawed helmet and gleaming scales exuded an aura of unyielding strength. The armor was lightweight yet indestructible, glowing with mysterious power.

The scar-faced leader barked orders. "Cut him down!"

A storm of arrows rained down, while a sorcerer's torn scroll unleashed the [Dark Cage], a massive, sinister trap designed to restrain even the most powerful.

But William was faster. With a burst of speed that seemed almost like teleportation, he darted sideways, dodging the black magic's reach entirely.

The scar-faced leader's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible! No one can escape the [Dark Cage]!"

Yet William stood untouched. His enemies, rattled but determined, closed in. Three thieves blocked his path, leaving him seemingly cornered.

But William's grin only widened. "Perfect. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."

The enemies before William were unlike any he'd faced before. These extraordinary thieves were stronger, more dangerous, and brimming with power. A wave of fierce tension surged through William's chest, his heart pounding violently as if to warn him of the coming storm. Yet, instead of fear, a torrent of energy erupted from his body.

"Demon Wolf! Show me your limits!" he roared.

[Desperate Situation: When faced with extreme danger, your latent potential awakens, drastically enhancing your attributes in proportion to the intensity of the crisis.]

"Kill me? You think you can kill me for good?" William's grin was defiant, unyielding.

The thieves had no intention of fighting fair. They swarmed him together, their attacks coming from all angles. But William's Demon Wolf Path wasn't about brute force, it heightened his speed and reflexes, making him a whirlwind of precision and power.

With lightning speed, William counterattacked.

[Piercing Attack]!

His spear, charged with energy, thrust forward like a lightning bolt, tearing through the air toward the nearest enemy.

Clang!

The strike met a spiked shield, its quality formidable enough to withstand the blow. Undeterred, five thieves closed in on him simultaneously.

"[Thieves' Fire]!"

Among them, a thief with a fiery red cockscomb held a glowing orb of flame in his hand and hurled it at William. The flames seared through the air, an unmistakable threat.

William didn't flinch. He shifted his stance, skillfully parrying three incoming weapons with his spear. Sparks flew as the blades clashed against his defense. Dark energy rippled down the spear's blade as William spun and struck with ferocious precision.

[Slash]!

A sweeping arc of energy burst forth, carving a deadly semicircle ten meters wide. Several lesser thieves fell in pieces, their cries lost in the chaos. But as the flames from Cockscomb's attack met William's slash, an explosion erupted, shaking the battlefield.

Before he could recover, three more extraordinary thieves charged in. Among them, a hulking fat man launched himself from above, wielding two massive hammers that glinted with malice.

William retreated at blinding speed, dodging the falling hammers that smashed into the ground, creating a crater and sending shockwaves rippling outward. The force sent dirt and debris flying for dozens of meters.

Ignoring the chaos behind him, William spun on his heel and aimed his spear at another attacker. His blow connected with tremendous force.

Sonorous!

The thief, armed with a short blade, blocked the strike but was driven to one knee under its crushing power. William's shoulder armor deflected an iron sword coming from his right, sparks cascading off its surface.

Without hesitation, William clenched his fist, his slender fingers wrapped in protective guards, forming a weapon as solid as steel.

Boom!

He delivered a devastating punch to the temple of the thief on his left. The force of the blow was overwhelming—his target's eyes glazed over, and he crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The first extraordinary thief was down.

The fat thief's hammers slammed into the earth moments later, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the area. William leapt back, narrowly avoiding the crushing force. The ground trembled, a massive hole marking the impact.

Cockscomb wasn't far behind, flames once again dancing in his palm. He lunged at William, aiming to trap him with fire. But William flipped backward with elegance, escaping just as a fiery explosion consumed the area he'd occupied moments before. Smoke billowed from the scorched ground, the earth trembling from the intensity of the flames.

William landed lightly, glancing at the destruction with a mix of intrigue and disdain. "So, thieves now play with fire?" he mused.

Then it dawned on him: this Cockscomb thief wasn't ordinary. His fiery attacks weren't mere tricks, they were the product of a honed and dangerous skill. But William wasn't one to be outmatched.

The battle was far from over, and William had only just begun to show his true strength.

Whoosh!

A cold iron arrow shot out from the forest like a streak of death.

"You think I didn't notice you!" William growled.

His sharp instincts had warned him long ago. It was as if a sniper's crosshairs had been trained on his back, a thorn prickling his senses. The ambush was no surprise, but now the enemy finally dared to strike.

With a swift sidestep, William dodged the arrow effortlessly. Hitting him with a ranged weapon without a locking mechanism? A fool's dream.

Amid the chaos, thieves armed with spears and daggers closed in. William countered with blinding speed, knocking them back in one fluid motion. His spear seemed almost alive in his hands, slipping down to the handle before he grasped it firmly once more. In a single spin, he unleashed an arc of raw power.

[Slash]!

Dark energy erupted from his weapon, forming a razor-sharp blade that swept across the battlefield.

The wave of destruction tore through the ranks of lesser thieves, severing bodies in a gruesome display. Blood poured like a river, the air thick with the scent of iron.

Suddenly, the corpulent fat man leaped into action, his massive body hurtling through the air like an overinflated ball. He wielded two colossal hammers, each one capable of crushing bones with ease.

The hammers came down with terrifying force, but William crouched low, coiling like a spring, and shot upwards. His leap carried him ten meters into the air, higher than the fat man's desperate jump.

As the fat man looked up in sheer terror, William struck.

[Piercing Attack]!

The spear descended like a roaring dragon, its dark energy slicing through the air. With unrelenting force, it drove through the fat man's massive body, pinning him to the ground like a nail through wood.

The second extraordinary thief fell.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Two seconds, no more. The battle was a whirlwind of movement, too fast for the eye to follow. The clash of weapons echoed like thunder, leaving onlookers struggling to grasp what had just occurred.

Two extraordinary thieves were dead, and only three remained.

Scarface, the leader of the thieves, watched in shock. His eyes twitched. Five against one, and now they were down to three? This wasn't a battle, it was a massacre.

His frustration boiled over. He wanted to curse his teammates, but he couldn't. Their strategies were solid, their attacks precise. Yet, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't bring William down.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Scarface tore open two scrolls.

[Bad Luck]!

[Infection]!

Black magic swirled through the air, unavoidable and precise. It wrapped around William like an invisible net, seeping into his body. His movements turned sluggish, his limbs heavy. Trouble was brewing, and William's instincts screamed danger.

Scarface grinned wickedly and slipped on a rare item; a giant glove resembling a baseball mitt.

[Hand of the Madman]!

With a murderous gleam in his eye, Scarface launched his attack.

[Shoot the Bull from Across the Mountain]!

The air trembled with the force of the blow. William raised his spear to block, but the collision was catastrophic.

Boom!

The impact sent William skidding backward for dozens of meters, smashing through a tree before finally coming to a halt.

Scarface's attack wasn't ordinary. It carried a double threat: brutal physical destruction and a chilling, penetrating force that tore through William's defenses. The damage was immense. Blood spilled from William's mouth as his internal organs screamed in agony. The black magic from [Infection] only worsened his condition.

An ordinary fighter would have been finished, but William was no ordinary fighter.

Instead of despair, his eyes burned brighter, a fierce, unyielding light shining through the pain.

[Self-Healing: The more severe your injuries, the faster your healing process becomes.]

With every second, his body repaired itself, regenerating strength from the brink of collapse.

The battle wasn't over. For William, this was just the beginning.