CHAPTER 543: A WHOLE DAMN ARMY OF POISON FROGS

"Andona, Ataneya—you’re with me! Hit him with everything you’ve got! Let’s take this bastard down!"

In a flash, Ethan unleashed his most powerful attack straight at the weakened Sea Treant monster. At the same time, Andona and Ataneya sprang into action without hesitation.

And in that instant—

The massive, terrifying SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero-class Sea Treant was obliterated right then and there! Its body collapsed, and from the wreckage dropped a glowing, radiant orb— a Primordial Force Gem.

Ethan didn’t even hesitate. He grabbed the gem and tossed it to the closest person—Andona.

"Andona, catch! Absorb it—now!"

"Then go help Namyanna!"

"Yes, my Lord!" Andona took a deep breath, her voice steady but brimming with excitement.

Suddenly, her entire body lit up with a blinding radiance!

In that moment, the very forces of nature seemed to surge toward her, flooding into her being. Her eight wings expanded, doubling in size, casting a shadow so vast it felt like they could blot out the sky.

Ding!

"Congratulations, player Valkarion. Your Angel hero Andona has successfully evolved into an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero."

"Perfect. It worked!"

Why had he chosen Andona? Simple—she was already stronger, closer to the SSS threshold than the others. And now, it was confirmed. The evolution had gone off without a hitch!

Which meant...

He now had another SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero under his command.

"My Lord, I’m heading out to assist!" came Andona’s voice, now even more powerful and resonant.

"Go, go!" Ethan waved her off with a grin. Ataneya, now free from combat, floated over to him and whispered, "My Lord, I..."

"Don’t worry, Ataneya. You think I forgot about you?" Ethan chuckled, pointing toward another battlefield where a massive Ocean Golem was still being swarmed.

"And even if that one gets away, the magic particles scattered through the air from all this fighting... they should be enough to push you through your evolution, right?"

"Try focusing. Can you feel the magic in the air? Can you absorb it?"

Ataneya blinked, stunned. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. Moments later, her eyes flew open in shock. "My Lord... I can! I can actually absorb this energy!"

The battles had been so intense that raw magical energy had been flung everywhere. And under the laws of this world, that energy had become something tangible—something absorbable.

"Who knows? You might not even need anything else. This alone could be enough to trigger your evolution!"

"Alright!" Ataneya nodded eagerly. "I’ll give it a shot, my Lord!"

Without another word, she dove into the swirling energy, greedily absorbing every last drop she could.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the outcome was becoming obvious. Sure, everyone involved was an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero—but it was two against one. Who do you think was going to win?

The answer was obvious.

"You damn invaders!" the Ocean Golem roared. "I’ll be back! I, the great Dolenkroh, will make you all pay dearly! Just you wait!"

With a furious bellow, the creature turned to flee. At the same time, a window popped up in front of Ethan, displaying detailed info on the monster that had just shouted its name.

So, its name was Dolenkroh. It came from a place called Nethora and belonged to a race known as the Abyssal Titans. Its most powerful ability? Summoning—capable of calling forth minions as strong as itself.

"Nethora, huh?"

"What the hell is that? Some kind of hidden dungeon?"

Ethan frowned, deep in thought.

And then—Dolenkroh actually ran.

He raised one massive hand and slapped the air beside him. A swirling vortex of space opened up, and without a second thought, he leapt in and vanished.

"Damn it..."

Andona’s face darkened. She tried to stop him, but she was a second too late.

Frustration clouded her expression.

"My Lord... I’m sorry. We let him get away."

"My apologies as well, Lord Ethan," Namyanna added, her voice low.

Ethan shook his head, about to respond—when suddenly, a series of cheerful system chimes rang out in rapid succession.

Ding!

"Attention, player Valkarion. Congratulations... your Shadow Fox hero Ataneya has successfully evolved into an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero."

...

Ding!

"Attention, player Valkarion. Congratulations... your Shadow Fox hero Ataneya has successfully evolved into an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero."

...

Just like that, the frustration on Ethan’s face vanished.

Hell yeah.

That made four.

Four SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate heroes under his command.

"My Lord, I did it!" Ataneya flew over, her aura now blazing with raw power. She practically radiated energy.

"Congrats, Ataneya!" Ethan nodded, pleased. "Alright, time to regroup. We need to find Cicero, Seraphina, Kyros, and Elira. Let’s move—no point hanging around here. The sooner we’re back together, the safer we’ll be."

"Yes, my Lord!"

"Understood, my Lord!"

...

They had no idea how long they’d been searching. Time blurred as they scoured one area after another, pushing deeper into the unknown. But finally—finally—they managed to narrow down the location of Seraphina, Elira, and the others.

According to the system’s map, their signal was coming from deep within a swampy, fog-choked forest.

The place was a nightmare.

Toxic creatures roamed everywhere, and even the mist itself was laced with poison. Sure, Elira was powerful enough to hold her own, and Seraphina had control over toxins, but still—this wasn’t exactly a five-star vacation spot. Leaving them in a place like this for too long? Not ideal.

"This should be it, right?" Ethan muttered, squinting into the thick, greenish haze.

"Alright, let’s spread out and search."

He narrowed his eyes and gave the order. "Andona, Ataneya, Namyanna—split up. Fan out and look for them."

"Yes, my Lord!" the three responded in unison.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In a blur of motion, they scattered in different directions, disappearing into the fog.

As for safety?

Well, they were all SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate heroes now. That kind of power gave them some breathing room—enough to take a few risks.

Once they split up, Ethan picked a direction at random and pushed forward into the forest.

He didn’t know what this place was called, but one thing was clear—the poison here was no joke. Even at his current level, as an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate hero, he could feel it gnawing at him. That said a lot.

"Seriously, what the hell is this place?" he muttered, trudging through the muck. "Don’t tell me there are SSS-rank monsters hiding in here too..."

He kept walking, aimless but alert.

Then, suddenly—glurp... glurp...

A thick, wet sound bubbled up from a nearby swamp pool. Ethan froze.

A moment later, something slithered out of the muck.

It was green—bright, sickly green—and looked like some kind of twisted kappa. The creature’s aura hit him like a wall. Strong. Easily SS-rank.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The thing was practically oozing toxins. Ethan could sense hundreds—no, thousands—of different poisons radiating off its body. Even he didn’t want to tangle with that thing unless he had to.

"Another outsider from the surface world..." the creature hissed, its voice sharp and grating, like nails on glass. The sound made Ethan’s ears ring.

Before he could respond, the swamp around him began to churn.

One by one, more of the creatures emerged—dozens, then hundreds, then thousands. All of them looked similar, with that same sickly green skin and venomous aura.

Ding!

A system prompt popped up in front of Ethan.

Toxari.

That was their name. A massive species, apparently. And judging by how many were crawling out of the swamp, they were everywhere.

Their power levels varied—some were weak, others stronger—but the most powerful among them were SS-rank. And even the weaker ones? Their bodies were practically walking chemical weapons.

...