Soon, the group arrived at another Ethereal nest.

This time, over three hundred of them—a full double the number they'd faced earlier.

"If you guys can't handle it, don't push yourselves. Just follow me and run,"

Eous retreated again, not forgetting to remind Sol Mercer before disappearing from sight.

"Don't worry. No one understands survival better than I do."

Sol Mercer replied confidently.

He was still dual-wielding pistols, standing back-to-back with Anby in their usual two-man formation.

As thunderclaps from the blade echoed and gunfire roared, the Ethereal horde fell one after another.

In just a few minutes, only two-thirds remained.

Centered on Sol Mercer and Anby, a ten-meter-wide circle of clear ground had formed—no Ethereal could get close.

With Sol Mercer's suppressive fire pinning them down, the remaining two hundred-plus Ethereals hesitated, as if intimidated.

But that wasn't really it. Low-tier Ethereals didn't feel fear—they were simply overwhelmed by the barrage and couldn't advance.

Once that firepower vanished, they would surge again like a tidal wave.

After firing off another few dozen rounds, Sol Mercer thinned their numbers down to about 150.

He figured he'd nearly spent his 200-round ammo count and ceased firing, pretending to be low on bullets.

The moment the firepower vanished, the Ethereals immediately charged in.

"You're out of ammo?" Anby asked calmly.

"Yeah."

Sol Mercer gave a slight nod.

He could've kept going with his infinite bullets, but that would be a little too suspicious on camera.

Anby stepped subtly in front of him, shielding him. "Should we retreat?"

She didn't know how skilled Sol Mercer was with a blade—better to protect him just in case.

"No need. I've got this."

Sol Mercer casually holstered his pistols and drew Raiga, the blade Anby had gifted him.

Its elemental affinity matched her Thunder Blade, but in form it resembled a long-handled Tang broadsword. Twenty centimeters of hilt, 150 centimeters of blade—a heavy weapon.

As he unsheathed the weapon, a few Ethereals pounced.

Maybe because Sol Mercer had taken out most of the horde earlier, now that he'd lost suppressive fire, the remaining ones charged like maniacs.

Even with Anby blocking the front, three of them lunged at once.

"You think I can't kill you without guns?"

Sol Mercer gripped the hilt with both hands, his gaze cold as steel.

With a sudden step and a surge of force, he swung the blade.

In a flash, a streak of lightning-lined steel sliced through the air.

The instant the Ethereals leapt, the blade had already carved through their bodies.

Shlick!

Like a hot knife through butter, Raiga cleaved through all three in one stroke.

Thud!

From upper left to lower right, the three Ethereals dropped in six neat halves.

The entire process happened in a flash. Anby only caught a glint of silver out of the corner of her eye before the enemies fell.

That strong?

Anby was surprised. She'd known Sol Mercer had solid physical stats—he did, after all, pull off a 720° mid-air spin the other day.

But she hadn't expected this level of strength.

One swing to down three Ethereals… and he wasn't even going all out.

Ethereal skin was tough—like hardened leather, tougher than human flesh by far.

Even though she'd gifted him Raiga, which was a good weapon, it wasn't that sharp. For it to slice like this, it had to be mostly Sol Mercer's brute force.

Her earlier concern vanished. She now focused completely on fighting the rest.

Meanwhile, the other Ethereals paused briefly after seeing three of their kind cleaved in a single stroke.

They didn't understand—how could this human still be so fierce without firearms?

If they had intelligence, they'd know it was time to run.

But they didn't.

The horde didn't hesitate. They surged forward, crashing toward Sol Mercer and Anby from every direction.

North, south, east, west—they were boxed in by over a hundred Ethereals.

The wall of creatures compressed their space until they were left with just a two-meter-wide circle in which to move.

"Hrah!"

Sol Mercer let out a low shout and slashed left and right with the heavy blade.

Shrrkk!

A ring of Ethereals directly in front of him was sliced in half.

Then Sol Mercer charged.

With a brutal shoulder check, he sent the ones in his path flying.

Head down, he dove into the horde—no fancy technique, just pure brute strength and wild swings.

In such a dense swarm, there was no point in finesse. Raw hacking and slashing was the most effective approach.

And with ten tons of physical power behind him, he could afford to do that.

As the saying goes: Brute strength brings miracles.

Just apply force—let the miracles handle the rest.

And right now, in Belle and Anby's eyes, a miracle was exactly what was happening.

Sol Mercer charged into the horde, Raiga in hand, unstoppable.

He cleaved downward—an incoming Ethereal was split cleanly in two.

Then he swept upward, sending two more flying. The impact from their bodies sent others staggering back.

It was like a car crashing into a crowd—nothing could withstand that momentum.

Ethereal corpses flew like rag dolls and hit the ground with thuds.

Thankfully, Ethereals were Ether-infected constructs. When damaged, they released bursts of colorful Ether energy instead of gore.

Otherwise, the area would've become a lake of blood.

In mere seconds, the tightly packed formation had been broken apart by sheer violence.

A few minutes later, Sol Mercer cut down the last remaining Ethereal.

He sheathed Raiga and said with a bit of satisfaction, "Not bad at all."

Shooting enemies with guns was fun—but there was something more visceral, more thrilling, about close-quarters combat with a blade.

As he slaughtered the Ethereals just now, he was reminded of his childhood—wading through fields of rapeseed, cutting down mobs in a game like a hero.

Besides, cores harvested by blade were often fully intact—easier to collect than shattered fragments.

Clearly, it was time to start using his sword more.

"Your blade skills and strength are both top-notch."

Anby praised him sincerely.

Though Sol Mercer mostly relied on brute force rather than intricate technique…

The fundamentals behind his slashes were rock-solid—no doubt about it. This was the form of a true swordmaster.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Sol Mercer accepted it without the slightest modesty.

Anby added with a touch of regret, "It's just a shame it's not lightning-elemental. That would make it even stronger."

Seeing Sol Mercer's overwhelming combat ability, she could tell Raiga had found the right owner.

The only downside—Sol Mercer had no lightning affinity, so he couldn't unleash Raiga's full power.

"No need to stress over elements."

Sol Mercer didn't seem bothered and chuckled.

He had a gacha system. Who knew? Maybe someday he'd pull an Electro Vision—or even a Core of the Herrscher of Thunder.

Those were probably purple or even gold-tier draws… but hey, one could dream.

***

T/N: Due to popular demand (me being peer pressured), The MC's name is now "Sol Mercer"