Chapter 123: Beast God Sect.

A young woman stood behind an ancient tree, her jaw slightly agape and her eyes wide with disbelief.

“How…” she whispered unconsciously.

Her heart pounded violently against her chest as she stared at the battlefield unfolding before her. What she was witnessing had gone far beyond what should have been humanly possible.

Even for an Awakener, this shouldn’t be possible. Right?

She was a Level 16 Beast Tamer. With her C-Rank Talent, she could even control a beast one level stronger than herself. That ability alone had given her immense confidence.

With her talent, she had never believed that anything could prevent her from becoming one of the strongest Awakeners on the First Floor.

While she might not compare to the hidden leaders in terms of individual combat strength, her tamed beasts more than compensated for it.

She had always been confident that she could hold her ground.

Moreover, with the blessing of the so-called Beast God behind her faction, she believed others would eventually tremble in her presence.

But now…

She watched in stunned silence as beasts were slaughtered at an astonishing speed, only to rise again as undead servants moments later.

The beast tide before her was large enough to force multiple guilds to unite just to repel it. Even then, victory would have been uncertain.

Yet what she saw now shattered that logic entirely.

A single young man stood calmly atop a small hill.

Beneath him, his undead servants carved a path of destruction through the beast tide.

Everywhere they passed, bodies fell.

And every fallen body rose again.

“This is insane…” she muttered under her breath.

Her fingers dug into the bark of the ancient tree as if anchoring herself to reality.

“Hmm?”

She frowned slightly.

A sharp, piercing sensation ran down her spine, as if an icy blade had been pressed against her neck.

Instinctively, she turned her head.

Across hundreds of meters, beyond the chaos of battle and the rising smoke of blood and dust…

Their gazes met.

Even from that vast distance, she felt the cold, deadly intent in his silver eyes.

Her breathing hitched.

“How could this be?” she whispered, taking several unsteady steps backward.

Her legs trembled.

Cold sweat soaked her back.

She had concealed her aura carefully. She had chosen her vantage point meticulously.

With such a distance separating them, she had been certain she would remain undetected.

Yet he had discovered her.

Effortlessly.

“I can’t stay here any longer,” she thought frantically.

Her mission no longer mattered.

The plan no longer mattered.

At that moment, survival was the only priority.

Without another glance, she turned and fled deeper into the forest, abandoning the battlefield entirely.

Thoren sensed the hidden beast tamer retreating and let out a faint snort.

Coward.

He withdrew his gaze and refocused on the battlefield below.

With the Beast Tamer fleeing, the subtle control influencing the tide weakened instantly.

Roar! Roar!

The beasts, which had been advancing in chaotic coordination, suddenly descended into confusion. Their eyes regained their raw, instinctual awareness.

They began to notice the carnage.

The towering undead komodo.

The relentless undead legion.

Panic spread like wildfire.

Without hesitation, many beasts turned and fled in every direction.

“Don’t let them escape!” Darius barked, seizing the opportunity.

Now that they had gained the upper hand, he had no intention of relinquishing it.

Though the beast tide posed a grave threat to humanity, it also presented an opportunity.

An opportunity to grow stronger.

His eyes burned with fierce determination as he charged into the retreating beasts.

Behind him, the members of the Knight Order surged forward as well. This was a rare chance to harvest experience from a collapsing tide. None of them wished to waste it.

Blades rose and fell in rapid succession.

The beasts that had seemed so terrifying moments ago were now scrambling desperately for escape.

The shift in momentum was overwhelming.

For both the Knight Order and Thoren, this was nothing short of a harvest.

Meanwhile, deep within the scattering tide, the undead servants continued their massacre without mercy.

They neither tired nor slowed.

They simply advanced.

Ten minutes later, the battlefield fell silent.

No beasts remained.

What was left were broken corpses, shattered terrain, the Knight Order—

And the Undead Legion.

The undead now numbered in the hundreds.

Their hollow sockets burned with ghostly soul fire as they stared unblinkingly at the knights.

The air grew heavy.

Oppressive.

The Knight Order members stiffened.

Shoulders tensed.

Muscles locked.

Fear crept into their hearts like an icy vice.

Darius felt a bead of sweat slide down his temple. He swallowed forcefully and turned his gaze toward Thoren.

“Friend… thank you for lending us your aid,” he said, forcing a polite smile despite the tension.

Instead of replying immediately, the Undead Mad Dog Mistveil descended slowly from the hill with Thoren seated calmly on its back.

Thud.

Thud.

Each heavy step echoed across the silent battlefield.

No one spoke.

Every knight held their breath as they watched the silver-haired boy approach atop the undead beast.

The tension was so thick it felt tangible.

The closer he came, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.

They were the strongest guild on the First Floor.

Yet what they had just witnessed had shaken their understanding of power.

Even Darius suppressed his usual pride as a knight.

The Undead Mad Dog Mistveil finally halted a few feet in front of him.

Darius straightened his back, maintaining composure. His grip on his heavy broadsword tightened slightly, though he made no hostile move.

None of these subtle reactions escaped Thoren’s sharp perception.

A faint smile curved his lips.

“The pleasure is mine,” he said calmly, his voice smooth and unhurried, breaking the suffocating silence.

A wave of relief washed over the Knight Order.

His tone was neither hostile nor arrogant.

It was… approachable.

Darius’s smile gradually became genuine. He stepped forward and extended his hand.

“I am Darius, Vice Guildmaster of the Knight Order.”

“Thoren Starfall,” Thoren replied.

He dismounted lightly from the Undead Mad Dog Mistveil and reached out to shake Darius’s hand.

For a brief moment, steel met steel, grip firm, eyes steady.

An unspoken understanding passed between them.

Around them, the undead legion stood motionless.

And the knights of the Order waited, uncertain whether they were witnessing the beginning of an alliance or something far more complicated.

“The famous Grim Reaper of the First Floor,” Darius said with a faint chuckle, his tone light despite the exhaustion lining his face.

Thoren offered a noncommittal smile. His deep blue eyes drifted past Darius and swept across the assembled members of the Knight Order.

Their armor was battered and worn.

Several shields were cracked down the middle.

Some knights held broken weapons, their blades chipped or snapped entirely.

Many were covered in wounds, deep gashes across their arms, blood seeping through damaged armor, bruises darkening beneath torn fabric.

Farther back, a number of knights lay on the ground. Some groaned in pain as healers tended to them. Others lay motionless, their comrades kneeling silently beside them.

Yet despite their injuries and fatigue, there was one thing unmistakably visible on every face.

Pride.

Even those barely clinging to consciousness still held their heads high. The fire in their eyes had not dimmed.

They had stood their ground against overwhelming odds.

They had protected the First Floor from further devastation.

And they knew it.

Thoren’s respect for the Knight Order deepened.

“Can you tell me what is happening here?” he asked calmly, shifting his gaze back to Darius.

Darius nodded. He had noticed Thoren observing his men, not with contempt, nor indifference, but with measured respect. That alone improved his impression of the necromancer.

“A week ago, we received intelligence that the Beast God Sect intended to attack all Awakeners who refused to submit to their rule,” Darius began.

“Beast God?” Thoren repeated quietly.

This was the first time he had heard of such a faction.

Darius caught the flicker of confusion in his eyes and continued.

“The Beast God is said to be an ancient deity of unknown origin. Some Beast Tamers believe their abilities come from this entity and have chosen to worship it.”

He paused briefly before adding, “Their declared objective is to reclaim the First Floor and turn it into a domain ruled entirely by beasts.”

Thoren’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“According to their doctrine,” Darius continued, “as long as humans submit to the Beast God and follow its will, they will no longer be bound by the Abyss’s rules. They claim Earth will be spared.”

A faint scoff escaped him.

“But that’s nonsense. Their so-called Beast God is most likely nothing more than a higher lifeform residing on a deeper floor of the Abyss.”

His expression darkened.

“Under the oppression and shackles of the Abyss, many strange races and entities are desperately seeking ways to escape their confinement. One method is to devour a fresh world—one that has not yet been fully consumed by the Abyss.”

Thoren’s heart stirred at those words.

The implications were enormous.

He had thought the Slave Trade Guild was already troublesome enough. But now it was clear that there were far more dangerous forces moving in the shadows.

The Beast God Sect.

So the aura I sensed from that Beast Tamer must have originated from this so-called Beast God, he thought.

With Darius’s explanation, the lingering puzzle about the “rat” observing him earlier finally made sense.

That oppressive, primal aura.

The unnatural coordination of the beast tide.

It had not been random.

“So what are your plans to deal with the Beast God Sect?” Thoren asked evenly. “I assume the Knight Order has no intention of allowing them to continue causing chaos on the First Floor.”

“Of course not,” Darius replied without hesitation. “We have already set plans in motion. The Beast God Sect has grown bold, but they have overstepped. Soon, their influence on the First Floor will be uprooted.”

His voice carried unwavering confidence.

There was no arrogance in his tone, only conviction.

Thoren studied him for a moment before nodding slightly.

“Very well,” he said. “I hope your men recover swiftly.”

He paused briefly.

“Until we meet again.”

With that, he leaped lightly onto the back of the Undead Mad Dog Mistveil. The undead beast responded instantly to his mental command and began to move.

The surrounding undead legion followed in eerie silence, their hollow eyes flickering with soul fire as they withdrew from the battlefield.

Darius watched him depart.

“Be careful out there,” he called out. “There are many hidden dangers targeting Awakeners.”

Thoren did not look back, but a faint smile touched his lips.

“I’m counting on it,” he murmured softly as the Undead Mad Dog Mistveil carried him toward the horizon.

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