But just then—

Ataneya showed up.

"Trying to run? Not that easy."

"Foxfire Burst!"

BOOM!

At that moment, Ataneya had completely freed herself from the other fight. Even without her, the rest of the team had the upper hand, so she ditched that battle and locked her sights on the Venomous High King—Gilrox.

And the moment she did—

It paid off.

Sure, Elira was a bit weaker than Gilrox. And yeah, Gilrox was technically the strongest one on the field. But none of that mattered anymore.

Because Ataneya was here now.

They were all Tier 15, SSS-rank.

So what if you're strong? Doesn't mean a damn thing when it's two against one.

2v1.

That's a massive advantage.

Practically unbeatable.

"Umbral Detonation!"

"Soul of the Abyss!"

Seeing Ataneya join the fight, Elira finally let out a breath of relief. Then, with a fierce glare, she charged back in, teaming up with Ataneya to launch a full-on assault against the Venomous High King—Gilrox.

Yeah, she lost the one-on-one earlier.

But she didn't care.

Now was her chance to get payback.

And in a 2v1?

He was gonna pay for it.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, things had completely fallen apart. Gilrox's elite Crimson Ultimate heroes—also Tier 15—were dropping like flies. The longer the fight dragged on, the more of them died.

Eventually, they just snapped.

Panic set in.

Some died, others ran for their lives.

None of them dared to keep fighting.

Ethan saw it all unfold. Sure, it was a bit of a shame they couldn't wipe them all out, but he didn't give the order to chase them down. After all, Gilrox was the real prize here.

"Go! All of you! Don't give him a single opening—take him down!"

Ethan shouted, and immediately Feylora, Seraphina, Andona, Namyanna, Trigath, and Sigral all charged straight at Gilrox.

Not long after—

The so-called strongest being in the Gate of Carno, the Venomous High King—Gilrox—

Finally couldn't hold out any longer.

He was killed.

"Finally over!" Ethan pumped his fist in the air, grinning as he looked up at Elira, Ataneya, Seraphina, Andona, and the others floating in the sky. "We did it!"

"Yeah, My Lord, we won!"

"We won! Hahahaha!"

…

"Now then… it's time to unify this world."

Ethan muttered to himself, then turned to Sigral and Trigath. "Trigath, Sigral—I'm giving you ten days. I want the entire Gate of Carno under my control. Can you do it?"

"We live to serve, My Lord!"

"Consider it done!"

Both Trigath and Sigral dropped to one knee without hesitation.

And from there—

The rest was easy.

The campaign to unify the entire Gate of Carno began.

Ethan and his crew didn't know much about this world, but Trigath and Sigral were natives. They knew every inch of it.

So it only took a few days—

And the whole world was his.

Ding!

"Congratulations, player Valkarion. You have achieved 100% control over the Gate of Carno."

Ethan lit up with excitement. He reached out with his senses and instantly felt the connection—he could move the entire world if he wanted to.

Just like with the world of Nethora before—

This one was now completely under his control.

"Alright then… guess it's time to head back to the Graveyard of Legends and see what's going on over there…"

"If I'm remembering right, there's still that ridiculously powerful mystery guy waiting for us," Ethan muttered to himself.

Back then, he and Elira had been hunted through the Graveyard of Legends by some terrifying powerhouse. And looking at it now, that guy had to be on the same level as the Venomous High King Gilrox, or the Centaur High King brothers—Thyssar and Lethostar. In other words, a top-tier SSS-ranked monster at Tier 15.

If that was the case, then yeah—definitely worth checking out.

With that thought, he waved over to Elira. "Hey, Elira. Let's head back to the Graveyard of Legends. Remember that bastard who chased us all over the place? Time to pay him a little visit."

"For real? Hell yes! Let's go right now—I've been waiting to make that guy pay!" Elira's eyes lit up, her excitement practically radiating off her.

The others perked up too when they heard that. Compared to the Gate of Carno, it was obvious they were way more hyped about going back to the Graveyard of Legends.

Why?

Simple.

That world was weaker overall.

And now that they'd all gotten way stronger, going back there would be like stomping through paper. After all the brutal battles they'd just been through, it made sense—they wanted to blow off some steam somewhere easier.

So, without wasting any more time, they left the Gate of Carno behind and teleported straight to the outer edge of the Graveyard of Legends.

Right now, the Graveyard of Legends was eerily quiet.

Ever since Ethan's forces had gone on a killing spree here, the place had emptied out a lot. Most of the high-tier soul entities had been wiped out—slaughtered without mercy.

But not all of them.

There was still that one mysterious powerhouse—the one who'd chased Ethan and Elira across the realm. A perfect example of the kind of monster that had survived.

Whoever he was, he was no joke.

At the very least, he had to be Tier 15 SSS.

Maybe even Tier 16…

Unlikely, sure—but not impossible.

Just then—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A spatial rift tore open in midair.

Ethan and his crew stepped through.

"We're back…" Ethan murmured, then immediately pulled up his system interface. Something had caught his eye—a new special hidden quest had popped up in his mission log.

Target: Kill the Shadowbeast Soul Emperor—Faelcord.

"The Shadowbeast Soul Emperor?" Ethan frowned, narrowing his eyes as he read through the details.

Apparently, the Shadowbeast Soul Emperor was a unique entity formed from countless soul beings that had fused together over time within the Graveyard of Legends. It had existed for ages, and its combat power was off the charts. It was considered a forbidden existence in this world—extremely dangerous.

"So that's what it is…" Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing with interest.

Honestly, he was kinda hoping this thing really was Tier 16. Sure, a Tier 16 would be a massive leap above Tier 15 in terms of raw power—but it was still a soul-type entity. That meant it had some inherent weaknesses.

Plus, it was just one enemy.

If they went all in—threw everything they had at it in a full-force swarm…

It might actually be doable.

And if they pulled it off?

Then maybe—just maybe—Elira, Ataneya, and the others could finally break through and hit Tier 16 themselves.

...