Chapter 427: Aggro Management Is a Myth

Thalion decided that this time he would use the Crippled Eclipsari. When it came to hidden aces, his human form was still by far his strongest, and something like the curse was better left undisclosed. Ryan noticing it wouldn’t make much difference anyway. Not that Thalion doubted the brat would spread the information the moment he met another trialtaker—but among the Chosen, especially the elves, it was already known.

Ryan would learn about it sooner or later. Given that the humans would likely form an alliance against the elves, undead, and orcs, it was bound to happen eventually.

Ryan leapt high into the air and activated something akin to a jet engine as flames roared to life beneath his feet, launching him forward. Thalion used his tendrils to catapult himself after him, gaining immense speed, and just before the rift between the islands, he jumped. With his momentum, he cleared the gap and landed behind Ryan, who was standing right at the edge, locked in a silent staring contest with the lion warrior.

Unlike the other islands, which had sent most of their forces rushing forward, this one only dispatched a large elite party to greet them. That didn’t make it any less dangerous.

The lion warrior stood at level 149, and no one in the group was below level 140. He wielded a massive axe and wore dark metal armor. Beside him were five leopard-headed warriors—two male, three female—each armed with different weapons, though all clearly built for speed. Sabers and short blades dominated, while one relied on long claws, which Thalion guessed were her primary weapons.

There was only one other beastkin among them, a towering figure resembling a two-legged turtle—almost like a twisted version of Master Oogway. Nearly three meters tall, he carried a heavy mace in one hand, wore a helmet, and had metal armor protecting his limbs. His face was twisted in a constant expression of disgust, as if he had just smelled something foul.

That was the end of the animal contingent—but not the group.

Four humans with unnaturally long faces stood nearby, all wearing archer coats and carrying bows. Thalion didn’t bother identifying them further. Beside them stood someone who looked almost like an elven healer—smooth skin, familiar features—but without ears. She held a long staff topped with a glowing green orb.

Finally, Thalion’s gaze settled on the most interesting member of the group.

A tall pixie hovered in the air, roughly half a meter tall, with two pairs of butterfly wings beating rapidly behind her. She had light pink skin, blue eyes, and long blonde hair that somehow didn’t get tangled in her wings despite the speed. She wore a tight white dress and looked oddly out of place among the heavily armed fighters—until one felt her aura.

She was likely the second-strongest fighter in the group after the lion warrior, and Thalion didn’t want to imagine what kind of skills she possessed.

“We’ve been watching you two,” the lion warrior said mockingly, flashing a wide grin that revealed his long teeth. “Do you really think you can beat us?”

“You’re dealing with a Chosen,” Ryan replied, his aura rising. “So step aside. Now.”

“A Chosen, huh?” the lion warrior scoffed. “Are you sure? I expected a lot more after that little display against those lightning losers.”

He gestured casually, and his team began to spread out slowly, surrounding them.

“There was no reason to show my true power,” Ryan snapped, anger bleeding into his voice. “And I don’t think you’ll push me that far.”

“Oh?” The lion warrior laughed. “Your only follower is an F-grade. Seriously. There’s no way you’re a Chosen.”

He pointed directly at Thalion.

“Granted, that aura is impressive for an F-grade,” he added, “but we’re E-grade.”

Interesting. They clearly had no idea what an Eclipsari was. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed to take the insult very personally—his killing intent surged, something Thalion carefully noted.

“Hey,” Ryan shouted, spittle instantly vaporizing in his burning aura, “this weakling isn’t part of my real party. I’m just using him to get to the fruit.”

“What a suprise! The little fire boy wants the grand prize of the Golden Lotus,” the lionhead laughed.

But Thalion could see through it. The man was trying to provoke Ryan, push him into an emotional state to make the fight easier.

Now the fairy also joined in.

“Doesn’t the little human look exhausted?” she purred in a high, melodic voice. “Poor boy—can you even keep going like that?”

“I’m not exhausted,” Ryan snapped. His aura and killing intent continued to rise as he mobilized more and more power.

“Of course you’re not exhausted,” the fairy continued purring mockingly.

Thalion decided he’d had enough. The lotus was slowly blooming, and this was a waste of time.

“Is the crocodile man behind you also part of your group,” Thalion asked in the dark tone of the Crippled Eclipsari, “or why is he creeping closer without making a sound? Really if he wanted to sneak up on us, he should have come from behind. ”

Love this novel? Read it on NovelBin to ensure the author gets credit.

He pointed behind the lionhead. Thalion had already seen what kind of creatures occupied the neighboring island and hoped it would serve as a distraction.

The question came out of nowhere, and almost everyone turned their heads for a split second.

A wide grin spread across Thalion’s face, revealing the needle-like teeth of the Crippled Eclipsari, as he shot forward with a shadow claw activating. He had no illusions about landing a clean hit on the strongest members—but the leopard warriors reacted too slowly.

As Thalion surged toward them, he also fired a barrage of shadow spikes at the archers and the healer with the staff. A surprise attack from an F-grade was something no one had anticipated. With Ryan unleashing his aura like a raging inferno and Thalion keeping his own tightly contained, they noticed the danger far too late.

One leopard lost his head. Two archers were pierced clean through by shadow spikes. The healer barely managed to erect a barrier around herself and the two surviving archers.

The ambush worked so well that even Ryan hesitated for a moment before realizing what had happened.

Then everything erupted.

Both sides charged, power radiating violently from their bodies. Ryan shot straight for the lion leader, flames licking across his skin as his heat domain scorched the air itself. The towering lion warrior didn’t retreat. Instead, he activated some kind of boosting skill, his aura exploding outward like a physical shockwave.

It barely mattered against Ryan.

The pixie darted higher into the air, energy gathering rapidly around her as she began preparing a spell.

Meanwhile, Thalion was dragged fully into melee with the leopard warriors—and it quickly became clear that he was at a disadvantage. Fighting three E-grades at once with a single arm was brutal. Keeping his body intact alone was a challenge.

At this point, his raw F-grade stats simply weren’t enough. He was slightly stronger, but far slower, and the E-grades were clearly built for speed. That strength meant little when they refused to close in, instead carving at him with glowing blades that released devastating slashes at precisely the wrong moments.

The attacks were so dangerous that Thalion didn’t even try to block them. He focused entirely on evasion, using shadows to disrupt their footing and breathing umbral miasma whenever he could.

That, too, was countered quickly.

The leopard fighting with claws unleashed a strange technique that erased parts of Thalion’s shadow domain outright, dispersing the miasma almost instantly. It was infuriating.

Then things got worse.

The remaining archers repositioned to assist. The turtle warrior lumbered in, his massive mace swinging straight for Thalion’s head. Thalion pushed his aura as hard as he could, but it had little effect. Whenever he managed to land a counterattack, the wounds closed within seconds—either through the healer’s magic or by the enemy drinking potions while teammates forced him back.

An arrow narrowly missed his head, shattering several shadow spikes just before he could release them.

At this point, Thalion was being pressured by one archer, two male leopard warriors—one with claws, one wielding dual blades—a female leopard with twin short swords, the interfering healer, and the towering turtle warrior.

Above them all, the pixie continued channeling her spell.

Thalion couldn’t tell who her target was, and he desperately hoped it was Ryan. There was no reason to target the F-grade who was more than sixty levels below everyone else.

Still, it was absurd how long he was managing to keep up.

Even so, he was taking damage—especially from the clawed leopard, who tore chunks of flesh from his body with every successful strike.

On the positive side, the darkness was hurting them at least a little, and with the Crippled Eclipsari’s high recovery—boosted by the power of the Outsider—his wounds closed within seconds. Thanks to his toughness, it was difficult for his attackers to deal fatal damage as long as they didn’t strike his neck or drive a weapon through his remaining eyeball.

Thalion wasn’t really winning the fight. He counterattacked only to keep them from going fully on the offensive and killing him outright. But this balance wouldn’t hold much longer. With every passing second, they grew more aggressive, testing his limits by overcommitting to their attacks. Thalion simply lacked the speed to punish those openings. One mistake—one delayed dodge—and the next strike could take his head. Against that, even his recovery would be useless.

He needed a way out.

But if he disengaged, they would turn on Ryan—and if the Chosen fell, the Golden Lotus was lost. That would mean dropping out of the treasure hunt entirely. Without earning the two million leaderboard points in this stage, advancing to the next stage was impossible. Judging by the king and the general who had assigned the mission, there would be no second chances.

There was still one desperate alternative: stealing the king’s treasury. In theory, it should be worth far more than two million points. The rules hadn’t specified

how

the points had to be earned—only that he needed them. Still, that was a last resort, something to consider only if everything went catastrophically wrong.

While Thalion couldn’t kill the fighters pressing him directly, that didn’t mean the archer or the healer were safe.

He could still manipulate the shadows beneath their feet, firing spikes upward—but doing so required intense concentration. With enemies constantly attacking him, that wasn’t easy. The farther away the shadow he wanted to use, the harder it became.

His first target was the overly annoying healer.

She was mostly focused on Ryan’s opponents, since Thalion wasn’t dealing much visible damage. That made her the easiest to kill. Unlike the archers, she wasn’t constantly repositioning to find better angles.

After a brief exchange, Thalion seized his chance.

A three-meter spike erupted from the shadow beneath the healer, impaling her mid-cast. She was completely caught off guard. At the last instant, she managed to jerk her head aside, causing the spike to tear through her shoulder instead of piercing her skull. It kept her alive—but barely.

Two archers immediately rushed to her side, trying to pull her free.

Thalion wanted to expand the spike, let it branch outward and finish her properly—but the melee fighters reacted instantly, increasing the pressure on him. He was forced back, unable to capitalize further, as the others dragged the healer off the dark spike.

It wasn’t looking good.

Still, without the healer actively supporting them—and with the archers momentarily distracted—Thalion gained a few precious seconds where he could actually fight without fearing an arrow tearing through his skull. Without constant healing, his enemies grew more cautious, less reckless. It bought him time.

Time he desperately needed until Ryan finished his fight.

Because Thalion wasn’t winning this one. The stat difference was simply too great. Staying alive and inflicting minor injuries where he could was the best he could manage.

Please don’t take much longer,

Thalion thought, silently praying for a savior.

Instead, the pixie high above finally released her spell.

Pink mana exploded outward in a massive wave, drowning the entire battlefield.