The mirror-like blade shot down with devastating force, meeting Scrappy’s heavily-muscled arm in an instant.
The giant’s muscled arm offered resistance but the sheer mass, power, and speed from the heavy broadsword cleaved straight through his arm like melted butter.
Soren gasped as the alien warmth in his chest vanished—the agony too much to bear for him.
The circle of white light shattered into a thousand fading sparks, the near-frozen world roaring back to life.
Scrappy stumbled forward before he crashed into the ground, sending rocks flying everywhere.
He groaned in pain as he clutched the stump of his arm while the amputated limb was thrown across the street.
“What… what just happened?” Scrappy groaned, staggering to his feet as blood spewed out from the stump.
Soren ignored Scrappy and looked towards the gathering crowd.
“The Syndicate dragged me into the Abyss,” Soren declared, his voice cutting through the stunned silence of the cavernous street.
“And I swear by the Heavenly Angel I will kill them all.
If you get in my way, be prepared to die.”
He didn’t wait for Scrappy or the other scavengers to recover and turned, sprinting into the main streets of the Undercity where he could blend into the crowds.
He weaved past the hordes of curious Undercity dwellers that were walking towards the commotion.
He had no doubt that other Great Scavengers were notified of Soren’s duel with Scrappy and were on their way to deal with him.
His lungs burned as he sprinted across the Undercity but he ignored it, focusing on escaping this Angel-forsaken city as fast as he could.
He noticed a glint at the corner of his eyes before he dove, crashing into the ground as an arrow shot over his head.
Soren looked over, rolling back to his feet, and tried to look at where the arrow came from before noticing he couldn’t locate the archer.
He pulled out the Dream Sword while sprinting and willed it to show the assailant.
The Dream Sword’s reflection warped until it showed a figure in black and red clothing, nocking an arrow towards the main plaza of the Undercity.
A Syndicate member was here, already trying to kill him.
Soren watched as the Syndicate member released the arrow, shooting it straight towards Soren with frightening accuracy.
He pulled the heavy broadsword of the Dream Sword up and blocked the arrow, stumbling to the side from the force of the impact.
‘I have to get out of here,’ he thought, forcing his legs to pump harder.
Soren looked around, scanning every exit he knew before deciding to use the tunnel he came from.
He didn’t doubt that every other exit was going to be heavily guarded by Undercity dwellers, cautious about the Royal Decree the former Divine Emperor issued.
However, the tunnel he used was known to be empty due to how out of the way it was from the main streets of Genesity.
Seeing the people wearing the Syndicate’s colors rushing to surround him, he took a sharp turn into one of the buildings and crashed through the wooden doors.
The people inside screamed, scrambling away from the disturbance as Soren ran through the building.
He burst through the rear windows of the building, scattering glass into the dark alleyway behind the building.
Behind him, he could hear heavy footsteps thundering above him on the rooftops.
The Syndicate members moved with terrifying teamwork, forcing Soren into a corner with nowhere to run.
Soren panted, tasting the harsh, damp air rushing into his lungs as he thought about his next plan of action.
If they were this desperate to capture him, then he’d have to assume more would gather to get him.
He could tell that only some were Awakened while the rest were normal so if this continued, the Syndicate would surely send more Awakened or even Transcendents to capture him.
If he didn’t get out quickly, then Soren was likely dead. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
However, he survived more perilous situations and this wasn’t going to be any different.
Soren banged his head, trying to remember what he knew about the Undercity before he had an epiphany.
When the dwellers mined ore and rock, a gas gets released that could easily catch on fire.
Realizing its potential, the dwellers harnessed its fiery power and built collection systems in the roof of the cavernous city, collecting it and pumping it down with runes and sorcery to the various buildings littering the Undercity floor.
Usually, the enchanted gas pipes were built deep underground so nothing could disturb it and funneled to select buildings but there was one location where most of the gas was funneled—the Great Furnace.
It was a massive furnace that heated the cold cavern and was the central engine that powered the Undercity’s smelters.
It then funneled high-pressure gases and heat out from underneath the furnace and was used to power various bathhouses, cookware, and heating with its power.
Countless bronze and iron pipes descended from the cavern roof and into the colossal structure, carrying with it explosive gas that fueled the Great Furnace.
If he could utilize gas pipes above and below the furnace, he could use the chaos to disappear through the exit tunnels.
Soren grinned, the plan cementing in his brain as he worked out its finer details while he ran out of the alleyway and took a sharp left, towards the central plaza where the Great Furnace was.
He glanced up, noticing faint figures running on the rooftop as they tried to catch up to him.
He looked back at the Dream Sword and noticed the archer tracking his position but couldn’t shoot him due to the various buildings blocking the path.
Soren weaved through various buildings and stalls, making sure to always keep something between him and the archer and outpace his chasers.
His legs burned but Soren found himself smiling, feeling back at home.
If he couldn’t brute force his way to victory, then he’d have to do it his way—using his wits and resourcefulness.
He quickly snatched a lantern before he finally reached the Great Furnace, a giant iron fortress that glowed red with an ominous haze.
He stopped in his tracks and breathed out, turning around.
Several figures jumped from the rooftops of the Undercity buildings and landed in front of him silently, demonstrating a frightening level of skill.
All of them were masked and wielding various weaponry as they all stared at him with calm eyes.
One stepped forward and gave a slight bow.
“You’ve got nowhere to run,” he said, gesturing around him.
“We’ve got you surrounded and if you surrender, we’ll let you live.
If you do not… you’ll die.”
Soren glanced down before he shuffled a little bit to the side, scoffing as he stabbed the heavy broadsword into the ground behind him.
“I’m glad you underst—”
“Listen here, Syndicate scum,” Soren interrupted, his heart racing with adrenaline.
“Let’s go with the hard way.
I’d rather die than go with you and if you get near me… I’ll be sure to take a couple of you scumbags with me.”
The leader paused, his eyes narrowing before nodding and stepping back with the rest of his Syndicate comrades.
“I see…” he said, pressing something to the side of his head.
Soren closed his eyes.
He felt something unnaturally sharp, possessed with lethal speed, breach his senses.
His eyes snapped open and he brought the knife he stole from Malphas up to his face.
Instead of absorbing the blow, he let the flat of the blade deflect the arrow into the corroded junction of the pipes behind him.
The arrowhead punctured clean through the weakened iron and a sharp hissing noise came from the breached hole.
The Syndicate members’ eyes opened wide as they stared at the hole Soren made.
“Eat this, Syndicate scum.”
Soren threw the lantern burning with Abyssal Creature fat and ducked behind the Dream Sword, manipulating its form to become a heavy, giant greatsword.
The lantern shattered against the hissing pipe.
The high-pressure gas ignited with a roaring geyser of heat and fire.
A violent shockwave blasted outward, scorching the main plaza and blowing back the running Syndicate goons.
The shockwave destabilized the entire Great Furnace, sending steam and smoke everywhere as it filled the entire Undercity with its toxic fumes.
The Undercity fell into chaos as screams echoed throughout the city and a thick smokescreen clouded everyone’s vision.
Crouched beneath a giant greatsword, Soren groaned in pain before he stood up shakily.
He didn’t get out unscathed as his ears rang and every part of his body felt like it was burning—but he was alive and he could work with being alive.
Soren stumbled until he gathered his bearings and manipulated the Dream Sword with a great drain of his entropy, transforming it into the familiar lithe longsword.
His head hurt from nearly draining his entropy reserves completely but pushed past the pain, gladly accepting it as the cost of living.
He blindly, but with direction, walked around through the white steam and black smoke until he reached the cavern walls and scaled it until he found an opening.
He had memorized the location of the exit he sought after, anticipating what blowing up the Great Furnace would bring.
Soren fell into the tunnel, gasping for the damp, dirty air that felt so preciously sweet before he collapsed on the wet floors, away from the scorching air in the chaotic Undercity.
He flipped himself onto his back as he stared at the dark tunnel roof above, breathing in the delicious air as he thought about his next course of action.
Although Soren didn’t bring about the perfect revenge against Malphas, he would be satisfied for the moment.
However, the cost for revenge was great.
He was likely the primary target for the entirety of the Undercity and more importantly, the Syndicate.
He was sure that the Syndicate would send more dangerous foes to capture him—most likely kill him.
He even maimed Scrappy, an invaluable asset of the Scavengers.
That meant that he had nobody to rely on for protection.
Soren mulled over his options before weakly getting up to his feet.
If he was going to be hunted by the Syndicate or hunted by the Meric himself if he didn’t return quickly, then there was only one option.
He’d surrender himself to the Royal Army.
Soren clenched his fists before he sighed, the tension releasing from his frame.
Determination filled his eyes before he set out of the damned tunnel and to the Royal Army—his fate at the whims of another.
‘Dammit.’