—-

Nemean and Bastion looked at each other in confusion after receiving identical notifications. The notification resulted from Kieran’s actions, but they didn’t understand what it meant due to the vague wording.

“What is an Infernal Cleansing?” Bastion wondered.

Even Kieran was at a loss as his eyebrows furrowed.

Bastion went on to explain the current situation. “The system revealed that some of your Mana assimilated with my Mana paths and performed an Infernal Cleansing.”

“What are the effects?” Kieran asked.

Bastion took a few moments to test for any changes before coming across a startling truth. “My Mana Flow feels at least 30% faster than before!”

Questions filled Kieran’s mind as the results similarly stupefied him. ‘A cleansing? A cleansing is required to awaken, so it has little use to us now. But, why does my Mana carry that property?’

Although Kieran had questions, the answer was difficult to ascertain.

While the effect happened to Nemean and Bastion, Kieran never experienced such a thing. Perhaps it was a residual effect caused by the materials used to forge his body. This was the only explanation Kieran could muster.

Due to their improved Mana Flow, Bastion and Nemean spent the next six hours engrossed in training, where they became accustomed to activating their skills.

Kieran likewise administered this treatment to Alice and the others, achieving moderate refinement with a miraculous 100% success rate.

‘This ability is invaluable to Mages if I can refine their main Mana channels. Even if it’s only a 10% overall increase, that’s 10% less effort required from them,’ Kieran thought.

Approximately two hours after that, Kieran and the rest of his party left the Training Hall.

Rumors and discussions of the Kill Order bruited about Aeredale City because its area of focus was limited here. Those same discussions surfaced on the official forum, resulting in a sea of players amassed inside the city.

However, although these players displayed signs of erupting into fights, violence was forbidden within city walls.

Anyone caught, whether NPC or player, would be heavily reprimanded or worse, depending on the amount of damage done to the city.

The most severe punishment would be detainment. While detained, a player couldn’t level or conduct trades; they were essentially worthless. Moreover, the system didn’t treat time spent logged out as time served.

Thus, anyone apprehended of heinous crimes would have to carry out their insipid sentence before being set free. Sadly, players weren’t currently aware of this and would only learn through rude awakenings.

Some nearby players immediately noticed Kieran’s presence in town because the Sunset Triad and Shadow Cartel attached an image of Kieran’s present appearance. The drastic change caused many rumors, but none could be proven despite their curiosity.

“Hey! It’s him!”

Someone shouted in the crowd. Those who weren’t focused on Kieran previously now were. They eyed him like prey.

Kieran naturally noticed these hostile looks and stepped forward.

Due to the Kill Order, Kieran and his party had practically become a pariah with all nefarious intentions aimed in their direction.

Kieran crossed his arms and looked everyone in the eyes with a faint smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re all willing to become the dogs of the Shadow Cartel and Sunset Triad?”

“Dogs?! Hah! As long as there’s money involved, we’ll dare do anything.”

“Exactly! I concur. If the price is right, we’ll aim for anyone’s head, especially if it’s in a game where life and death are irrelevant. I have a perfectly stable job, so why should I care.”

“Hahahaha! He’s trying to deter us from killing him. He’s a scared little dog with his tail between his legs.”

The crowd quickly reacted to Kieran’s words, which made Bastion’s anger boil. He stepped forth, but Kieran extended his arm and kept him at bay. He gazed at the unruly crowd before pointing to the city’s gates.

“For all those who feel confident, meet me outside the city’s gate.”

Kieran had no intentions of creating an issue, but… he was the type to solve it once one rose. However, as he didn’t wish to pay any hefty fines, the battle would have to happen outside the city’s walls.

Kieran gave Altair a meaningful look, causing him to take a stroll by Kieran’s side.

“Are we in for some fun?”

“No doubt,” Kieran remarked. Although he planned a stream to take place in the coming days, this was the perfect situation for a surprise event.

Thus, Kieran moved his hand swiftly, setting up the stream and setting it to go live shortly.

Kieran’s actions sent out a notice to all of his followers that a stream would be occurring in the next sixty seconds. Those who weren’t involved in the current conflict immediately pieced together the source of Kieran’s stream and were instantly excited.

“Dude, Aatrox is going live again! You know what that means!”

“We’re about to witness some sick **. I just know it. We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled.”

Many players inside Aeredale City sat in pubs or rented stalls in different restaurants to get a comfortable seat in anticipation of the upcoming event.

Two players, followed by hundreds of players, walked through Aeredale’s gate.

Kieran continued advancing while dictating the plan to Altair.

“We don’t need to split up. In a situation like this, it is best to maintain the momentum. Most of these guys are strangers, so they have no experience working together,” Kieran said.

“I understand. I’ve been through my fair share of large-scale conflicts. Idiots always conduct it, but that’s to our advantage. While you can never anticipate an idiot’s next move, you can rely upon them to commit foolish mistakes,” Altair answered.

He drew his two daggers as Kieran came to a gradual halt.

At that time, the notification of the stream’s commencement arrived before all of Kieran’s followers.

“Yes! Aatrox is live. Oh god, I love this point of view. It’s like two against the world. Just look at them standing there fearlessly.”

“That cold look in Aatrox’s eyes is so attractive! Unf, I wish he’d look at me like that.”

The comments on the stream quickly increased until several messages became lost in the sea of text. Besides the massive comment influx, donations also poured in, forming a conflux of notifications for Kieran.

Kieran looked where the spatial camera should be recording and spoke in a cold tone that sent shivers down most of the viewer’s spines.

“Let this serve as a lesson to all of you who dare work as the dogs of the Underworld—because you will now witness a massacre of countless subpar players.”

“Subpar?!”

The sea of players was immediately incensed by Kieran’s words. He spoke as if their presence was insignificant and didn’t stand before him.

Kieran indifferently panned his gaze from the camera’s angle to the sea of players before him. “Correct. Subpar—you are all worthless. Your worth is determined only by money, therefore making you worthless.”

“Damn it! Get him!” A player in the lead roared.

It was a Lv.29 Berserker who rushed at Kieran with soaring fury. He clutched his broadsword above his head and cleaved toward the earth with extreme force.

The movement appeared slow in Kieran’s eyes, so he sidestepped using Accel Shift and copied the Berserker’s move, ending his life with a simple monstrous downward cleave.

The Berserker’s body went limp as his Health bottomed out from this one attack. Kieran’s unimaginable Attack Power was something no player could withstand, given that even tanks didn’t surpass 4,000 Health.

To add insult to injury, Kieran hadn’t even activated Blood Mania yet. This was all accomplished with pure skill and attributes.

“What a worthless Berserker, but don’t worry because I’ll show you what a real one is capable of—Next!” Kieran swung his blade to the side and ignored the lifeless player carcass by his side.

Kieran lifted his blade straightaway, aiming it at the center of the mass gathering of players. The way Kieran disregarded them with his cold gaze infuriated these players.

After hesitating momentarily, the players roared and rushed forward like a stampede of raging bulls.

At this moment, Kieran signaled for Altair to begin.

Unlike Kieran, who remained in place, awaiting the arrivals of the incoming players, Altair sped into the sea of players before activating Swift Steps and Conceal.

Although he maneuvered through the sea of players, moving right beside them, they experienced ample difficulty trying to locate Altair.

“Where did that damned scurrying rat go?!” Someone cried out.

Attention inside the sea of players quickly split between trying to find Altair and bringing about Kieran’s demise.

Kieran’s next opponent arrived before him promptly. It was a Lv.28 Rogue wearing basic leather armor; however, Kieran noticed their shifty behavior and kept his attention expanded in preparation for an ambush.

The Rogue was soon frightened by Kieran’s absurd attack speed. Although the Rogue wielded dual blades, Kieran’s greatsword deflected each strike perfectly.

Kieran soon interrupted the battle’s momentum with a deadly smirk.

Bang!

Kieran slashed the Rogue in half from the torso after executing a decisive step in maneuver. However, Kieran couldn’t idle because three new players appeared from both his sides and before him.

The three players included two Swordsmen and one Rogue. They seemed more trained than his first two victims, but Kieran laughed at their actions.

The sudden peal of laughter caught them off guard, but Kieran exploited that moment to stab Crimson Ashrune in the ground and use it as an anchor to support the swift triple kick he delivered.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Kieran finished this combo by extracting the blade from the ground and performing an aerial flair. Crimson Ashrune devastatingly crushed the Swordsmen before him, depleting his health bar.

Kieran’s shocking movements threw the stream chat into an uproar. All of Kieran’s viewers vociferously praised him after witnessing a scene that rendered them incoherent.

After all, everyone understood that combat currently stood in an obscure state.