The shattered battlefield trembled beneath an endless tide of monsters.
Darkness stretched in every direction.
The shadowed area no longer resembled a battlefield.
It resembled the mouth of a living nightmare.
Creatures crawled from cracks in reality itself. Some dragged themselves across the black earth. Others descended from the darkness above like predators hunting prey.
The convoy was being overwhelmed.
Not defeated.
Not yet.
But overwhelmed.
The flute players who once remained protected behind layers of warriors were now fighting directly. Their healing melodies still drifted through the battlefield, but they could no longer focus entirely on support.
Every single warrior was forced into combat.
Every single one.
And among them—
Jade fought alone.
Forgotten.
Invisible.
Not physically invisible.
But forgotten.
The difference was far worse.
No one remembered him.
No one remembered the promises he made.
No one remembered how he had gathered them together.
No one remembered how he had guided them through countless dangers.
To them, Jade was merely another warrior.
Another face among thousands.
Nothing more.
The Beast God's blessing had stolen his Fate.
And with Fate gone, the world itself seemed to reject his existence.
Even so—
Jade continued fighting.
Because that was all he could do.
---
A deafening roar suddenly erupted across the battlefield.
The ground cracked.
Warriors were blasted away.
Several initiate beasts were crushed beneath something enormous.
Jade immediately turned.
His eyes narrowed.
An initiate demon.
The creature towered over everything around it.
Its body looked like a grotesque fusion between an insect queen and a humanoid monster.
Multiple arms protruded from its torso.
Dozens of crimson eyes covered its face.
Long antennae twisted above its head.
Its skin looked wet and rotten.
Black blood dripped constantly from its body.
Every movement caused the earth to tremble.
The demon roared again.
And dozens of warriors immediately retreated.
Even experienced fighters hesitated.
Initiate demons were completely different from ordinary creatures.
They possessed intelligence.
Instinct.
And overwhelming physical strength.
---
Jade gripped the blood-red great sword given by the Beast God.
The blade vibrated slightly.
Almost eagerly.
The relic hungered for battle.
Jade could feel it.
Each creature slain by the sword fed strength back into his body.
The more he killed—
the stronger he became.
Yet despite that strength—
Jade understood something.
The initiate demon before him was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
---
The Beast God's blessing pulsed within him.
Suddenly—
information flooded his mind.
The battlefield transformed.
The world changed.
The initiate demon no longer appeared as a single creature.
Instead—
Jade saw countless invisible lines.
Weak points.
Openings.
Faults.
Mistakes.
Every monster within the shadowed area seemed exposed before him.
The Beast God's blessing allowed him to sense them all.
Their movements.
Their intentions.
Their weaknesses.
Everything.
It was almost unfair.
Almost.
Because knowing a weakness and reaching it were two entirely different things.
---
Jade inhaled deeply.
Then charged.
The initiate demon immediately noticed him.
Several crimson eyes focused on him simultaneously.
The creature screamed.
Its voice sounded like thousands of insects crying at once.
Then it moved.
Fast.
Far faster than something that large should have been able to move.
---
Jade leaped forward.
Sword raised.
His target—
one of the demon's weaker eyes.
A vulnerable point hidden beneath layers of armored flesh.
He descended from above.
The sword flashed.
The demon reacted instantly.
Several arms shot upward.
Then—
BOOM!
A fist crashed directly into Jade's chest.
The impact felt like being struck by a mountain.
Jade was still airborne.
He had no footing.
No leverage.
Nothing.
His body was launched backward like a broken arrow.
Blood erupted from his mouth.
His ribs cracked.
His vision blurred.
The world spun.
---
Jade crashed through multiple ruined structures.
Stone shattered.
Dust exploded everywhere.
The force of the impact dug a trench through the battlefield.
For several seconds—
he couldn't breathe.
Pain flooded his body.
Every bone screamed.
Every muscle burned.
Yet Jade smiled.
A cold smile.
Because the demon had made a mistake.
---
As he was blasted backward—
his sword had still connected.
The blade pierced deeply into one of the creature's eyes.
Black blood erupted from the wound.
The initiate demon roared in agony.
One weak point destroyed.
---
Jade slowly stood.
His chest hurt.
His arms trembled.
Blood dripped from his lips.
But his eyes remained calm.
The Beast God's blessing continued feeding information into his mind.
The initiate demon appeared before him like an unfinished puzzle.
Every weakness.
Every opening.
Every flaw.
Visible.
---
"Come."
Jade whispered.
The initiate demon answered immediately.
---
The monster rushed forward.
Multiple arms blurred.
The ground shattered beneath every step.
A lesser warrior would have died instantly.
Yet Jade remained perfectly still.
Watching.
Calculating.
Waiting.
---
The demon struck.
One arm.
Two.
Three.
Four.
A barrage of attacks descended upon him.
Jade raised his sword.
Steel collided with flesh.
Shockwaves erupted everywhere.
Each impact pushed him backward.
Each impact threatened to break his arms.
Yet he endured.
Because he was not looking at the attacks.
He was looking beyond them.
Searching.
Waiting.
---
Mind Deceiver.
The technique had evolved.
Before—
it merely allowed Jade to bait enemies.
Now—
it had become something far more dangerous.
Mind Deceiver no longer focused on avoiding attacks.
It focused on understanding them.
Accepting them.
Enduring them.
And turning them against the enemy.
Every strike revealed information.
Every injury revealed opportunity.
---
The demon became increasingly furious.
It attacked faster.
Harder.
More violently.
Black blood continued leaking from its destroyed eye.
Its movements became unstable.
Its anger grew.
And anger created mistakes.
---
Jade saw one.
A tiny mistake.
Almost invisible.
But enough.
---
He exploded forward.
The sword flashed.
One strike.
Precise.
Merciless.
The blade entered another weak point.
Deep.
Very deep.
The initiate demon froze.
---
Silence.
---
Then black cracks spread across its body.
The creature staggered backward.
Its remaining eyes widened.
Almost as if it couldn't understand what had happened.
---
Jade twisted the sword.
The cracks expanded.
The initiate demon released one final scream.
Then its body collapsed.
The massive corpse crashed onto the battlefield.
The earth trembled.
And everything became silent.
---
A moment later—
the corpse dissolved into dark fragments.
Gone.
Dead.
Finished.
---
Jade stood there breathing heavily.
Blood covered his armor.
His muscles screamed.
But he had won.
---
Yet there was no celebration.
No cheers.
No recognition.
No one even noticed.
Because no one remembered him.
---
Jade looked toward the convoy.
Then shouted.
"Everyone! Push forward!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
Strong.
Clear.
Confident.
---
Nobody listened.
Not because they disagreed.
Not because they were afraid.
Simply because to them—
he was nobody.
---
The realization hurt more than the demon's punches.
---
Jade lowered his head briefly.
Then laughed.
A small laugh.
A bitter one.
---
"Right."
---
No one remembered.
---
The battlefield continued.
Warriors fought.
Monsters died.
The convoy advanced.
Without him.
---
Jade summoned Ant Demon through their connection.
The elegant crimson-armored warrior appeared amidst the shadows.
Without hesitation, she bowed.
Unlike everyone else—
she still obeyed.
Because their connection existed beyond memory.
Beyond recognition.
Beyond Fate itself.
---
"Protect the path forward."
Jade commanded.
---
Ant Demon immediately vanished.
Moments later—
shadow creatures began dying throughout the battlefield.
Her great sword flashed repeatedly.
Every creature approaching the convoy was cut down.
---
Jade finally turned his attention elsewhere.
The convoy needed direction.
Even if they refused to acknowledge him.
---
His gaze fell upon Aaron.
---
Then Jade activated Obsidian Vine Shadow.
Dark vines erupted from his body.
Black crystalline armor spread across his skin.
Sharp obsidian-like growths formed everywhere.
His body expanded.
Muscles thickened.
Bones shifted.
---
Moments later—
a terrifying humanoid lion stood where Jade had been.
Unlike the lion he once killed—
this form looked darker.
Sharper.
More unnatural.
Black crystalline armor covered its body.
Shadow essence flowed across every surface.
Its glowing eyes resembled twin predators hidden within darkness.
Jade flexed his claws.
The transformation felt natural.
Powerful.
Efficient.
Then he looked across the battlefield.
Not as a warrior.
But as a strategist.
---
The Beast God's blessing expanded his awareness.
Every monster.
Every ally.
Every movement.
Every possibility.
He could feel them all.
---
The battlefield became a chessboard.
A gigantic one.
---
Aaron.
The king.
---
Little Gold.
The queen.
---
Henry and Ant Demon.
The knights.
---
Blake.
The bishop.
---
The convoy.
The pawns.
And Jade—
The player no one knew existed.
A strange calm settled over him.
Perhaps this was his role now.
Not the leader.
Not the hero.
Not the commander.
The unseen hand moving pieces from the shadows
If they would not follow him willingly—
he would guide them indirectly.
Move them.
Protect them.
Manipulate the battlefield itself
No deaths.
That was still his promise.
Even if nobody remembered he made it.
Jade's eyes locked onto Aaron.
The center of the formation.
The key piece.
If Aaron moved correctly—
the entire convoy would move correctly.
Slowly—
Jade began walking toward him.
The black crystalline lion moved through the battlefield like a silent predator.
Monsters avoided him.
Shadows parted around him.
And as he approached Aaron—
a plan began forming inside his mind.
A dangerous plan.
A difficult plan.
But perhaps—
the only way to keep everyone alive.
Jade tightened his grip on the blood-red sword.
Then continued forward.
The battle was far from over.