The neon-lit perimeter of the Financial District Gates buzzed with the high-frequency vibration of three hundred drawn weapons.
Rain fell in sheets, washing over the reinforced alloy tactical shields of the House of Crimson’s elite guard division.
Clad in blood-red combat armor, the three hundred Tier 2 martial masters formed a massive, unbroken phalanx across the main avenue, their collective killing intent condensing into a heavy crimson mist that hung over the concrete barricades.
Grant Cross walked toward the blockade, his heavy leather boots splashing rhythmically through the pooling water on the asphalt.
He maintained a completely relaxed posture, the Obsidian Dragon Blade resting loosely in his right hand, its dark steel drinking the ambient sapphire light of the city’s electronic billboards.
He halted fifty paces from the front line of the phalanx.
Instead of initiating a standard martial sequence, he closed his eyes, focusing his consciousness entirely inward onto the massive, overflowing $1.8 Billion liquid fortune resting inside his soul-bound Spatial Vault.
“Access System Treasury Store,” Grant commanded silently.
“Initiate Tier 2 weapon evolution protocol on the Obsidian Dragon Blade.”
Ding!
« SYSTEM WEAPON EVOLUTION INTERFACE »
• Current Weapon: Tier 1: Obsidian Dragon Blade (Indestructible)
• Required Upgrade Capital: $500,000,000.00 Liquid Funds
• Materialization Matrix: Fusing siphoned currency into primordial draconic ether.
• Automated Prompt: Authorize financial liquidation for evolution?
[YES / NO]
“Yes,” Grant willed, authorizing the transaction instantly.
“Execute.”
Ding!
« SYSTEM TRANSACTION AUTHORIZATION »
• Account Verified: Master Code Cross-001 (Sovereign Classification)
• Funds Deducted: $500,000,000.00 Cash Value
• Remaining Financial Core Reserve: $1,300,000,000.00
• System Conversion Log: Channeling siphoned asset excess into system weapon core…
A blinding, cataclysmic burst of violet and gold energy erupted from Grant’s right palm, enveloping the entire length of the black sword.
The raw tempered obsidian of the blade began to melt and shift, reweaving its internal crystalline matrix at a sub-atomic level as the massive influx of system currency converted into pure, unrefined primordial ether.
Etched down the exact center groove of the weapon were ancient, pulsating gold glyphs that hummed with a resonance so intense it caused the asphalt beneath Grant’s boots to vibrate and crack.
Ding!
« SYSTEM WEAPON EVOLUTION COMPLETE »
• Weapon Modified: Obsidian Dragon Blade → [Tier 2: Sovereign Blood Eclipse]
• Durability Rating: Absolute Indestructible (Tier 2 Maximum Boundary)
• Attack Modifier: +250 Armor Desolation → +750 Void Annihilation
• Active Attribute Upgraded: [Sovereign Bleed] (Attacks instantly drain 25% of an enemy’s total spiritual and physical reserves on hit.
Cooldown: None)
The raw shockwave from the weapon’s ascension blasted outward in a clean, horizontal ripple.
The heavy downpour of rain within a fifty-meter radius of Grant was instantly vaporized, turning into a dense wall of white steam that hissed against the cold asphalt.
At the head of the three hundred Crimson enforcers, Commander Ironclad—a Stage 6 Astral Vein giant with a personal combat rating of 24,000—felt a sudden, ice-cold spike of primal horror pierce straight through his heart.
His eyes bulged as he stared through the steam at the glowing crimson blade in Grant’s hand, his high-level martial instincts screaming at him to order an immediate retreat.
“What…
what kind of weapon is that?!” Ironclad stammered, his arms trembling beneath his massive tactical alloy shield as his internal energy meridians wildly fluctuated under Grant’s passive presence.
“He didn’t just break the vault…
he materialized a legendary artifact!
Don’t break formation!
Shield wall!
Channel your collective energy!”
The three hundred elite masters frantically stamped their boots, slamming their tactical shields together to lock their collective defenses.
A massive, ten-meter-thick wall of solid red energy materialized over the phalanx, reinforced by the combined spiritual reserves of the entire army.
Grant didn’t blink.
Moving with his Stage 3 velocity, he raised the Sovereign Blood Eclipse high above his head with a single, smooth movement.
He brought the crimson crystal blade down in a swift, effortless vertical strike.
SLASH!
He didn’t utilize an active combat skill.
He simply swung the sword using the raw, unadulterated force of his 580 Strength attribute combined with the blade’s new +750 Void Annihilation modifier. This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.
The result was absolute, unmitigated structural destruction.
An invisible, massive crescent wave of pure, dark crimson kinetic energy tore through the empty avenue.
The three hundred-man defensive energy barrier popped like a fragile bubble the exact millisecond the edge of the void wave made contact.
The crimson crystal blade sliced clean through the heavy alloy shields, the reinforced red combat armor, and the physical frames of the front-line enforcers simultaneously, executing its passive Sovereign Bleed attribute across the entire formation.
BOOM!
The massive kinetic back-pressure of the strike exploded within the center of the phalanx, blowing out the reinforced concrete barricades and launching the remains of the House of Crimson’s elite division across the entire financial plaza.
Two hundred and fifty combat masters were instantly knocked unconscious, their high-level internal meridians thoroughly shattered and drained of twenty-five percent of their total energy reservoirs in a fraction of a single second.
The massive iron gates of the financial district behind them twisted and warped, tearing completely off their heavy structural hinges and crashing into the street below.
« SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: BLOCKADE OBLITERATED »
• Core Targets Neutralized: Commander Ironclad & 300x Elite Crimson Enforcers
• Experience Points Gained: +2,000 EXP (Current Progress: 2,500 / 2,500 – Level Up Triggered!)
• Milestone Reached: Experience pool has hit maximum capacity.
Ready for Stage 4 Advancement.
• Systemic Loot Recovered: 300x High-Grade Combat Cores transferred to the Spatial Vault.
Grant slowly lowered the tip of the Sovereign Blood Eclipse, the translucent crimson blade entirely clean, its golden glyphs pulsing slowly as they finished absorbing the drained spiritual reserves of the fallen army.
With a single, silent flick of his mind, the weapon dissolved into particles of red light, vanishing completely back into his soul-bound Spatial Vault.
He walked calmly through the settling cloud of dust and steam, stepping over the shattered alloy shields as he passed through the ruined gates of the district.
Behind him in the shadows, the remaining enforcers lay completely immobilized in the mud, their pride and power utterly broken by a single, casual strike.
He looked out toward the center of the Capital Core where the primary skyscraper of the House of Crimson loomed against the dark sky, his golden draconic pupils flashing with a cold, unstoppable hunger for absolute conquest.
“Stage 4,” Grant whispered smoothly into the cold night air.
“The second pillar is ready to fall.”
Chapter 22 is complete!
Grant just spent five hundred million dollars to execute a legendary weapon evolution, upgrading his black sword into the Tier 2 Sovereign Blood Eclipse!
He used a single vertical strike to completely annihilate the House of Crimson’s 300-man elite phalanx, shattering their alloy shield wall and triggering his next Stage 4 Level Up milestone!
His liquid wealth still sits at a massive $1.3 Billion!
How will the Lord of the Crimson Clan react when he finds out his entire guard division was cleared in a single second?