Chapter 55: Epic grade mount

Instantly, purple lightning descended from the sky.

BOOM!

The entire battlefield was illuminated by a dazzling purple radiance. Lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, striking the monsters one after another. Wherever the lightning touched, the monsters were reduced to nothing, their bodies vaporized before they could even react.

Arthur moved through the battlefield with his Lightning Domain fully activated. The domain stretched across the surrounding area, turning the space into a terrifying zone of destruction. Any ordinary monster that stepped inside was instantly killed by the overwhelming lightning energy.

However, Arthur was deliberately holding back against the bosses.

He wanted to preserve their corpses for extraction, but controlling the immense power of his Lightning Domain with such precision was far more difficult than he had anticipated. The difference between vaporizing an ordinary monster and killing a boss while leaving its corpse intact was enormous.

"Damn. Controlling this much power against individual targets is troublesome."

Arthur frowned slightly as another bolt of purple lightning descended beside him. He immediately redirected the energy, preventing it from destroying the Legendary Grade boss standing nearby.

The effort placed a considerable burden on his Spirit Value. Even with his current strength, maintaining such a powerful domain while controlling its destructive force against individual targets was exhausting but he could also feel the spirit value would rise soon.

Still, the results were astonishing.

The monsters continued pouring into his domain, only to be annihilated instantly. Whenever a boss entered the range of his domain, Arthur merely raised a finger and tapped on the boss.

The boss died on the spot, its corpse falling to the ground completely intact.

Arthur did not even bother looking at it before moving toward the next target.

Thirty minutes later, the battlefield finally fell silent.

Not a single monster remained alive.

The ground was littered with the corpses of bosses, while the ordinary monsters had been completely vaporized by the lightning. The Legendary Grade boss had also been killed, leaving Arthur standing alone amid the aftermath of the battle.

He glanced around.

"That was easier than expected."

Arthur could not help but smile.

It was difficult to believe that Legendary Grade bosses at Level 60, which had once represented terrifying existences to ordinary players, now felt so weak to him. He could kill them with a flick of his finger, without even needing to use his full strength.

And the most absurd part was that he was still only a Level 11 player.

If anyone in the Genesis Realm learned about this, they would probably think he was a monster disguised as a human.

Arthur shook his head and began extracting the boss corpses. He then collected the loot, checking each item before placing it inside his storage ring.

Most of the loot was as usual but one item immediately caught his attention.

It was a small black ball with purple patterns across its surface, resembling a Pokémon ball which was the high grade epic item he got from the legendary boss.

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

"Don’t tell me..."

He quickly inspected the item.

[Name: Shadow Panther]

[Grade: Epic]

[Level: Equivalent to owner’s level.]

[Function: Mount.]

[Description: The Shadow Panther can run at twice the owner’s base Agility. It can merge with shadows and possesses offensive capabilities.]

Arthur stared at the description for several seconds.

Then he swallowed hard.

An Epic Grade mount.

It was a fucking Epic Grade mount.

One needed to understand that mounts were among the rarest drops in the Genesis Realm. Suitable mounts were extremely difficult to obtain, and even an ordinary high-grade mount could cost a fortune.

An Epic Grade mount, however, was on an entirely different level.

It was even more expensive than the Space Ring he currently possessed.

Arthur’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he held the ball in his hand.

"Damn! With this, traveling around the Genesis Realm will become smooth as fuck."

He had been relying on his own movement speed and various abilities to travel around the city. But a mount that could run twice as fast as his base Agility, merge with shadows, and possess offensive capabilities would make his future journeys far more convenient.

He could even use it to travel through dangerous areas without constantly wasting his own energy.

Arthur grinned.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

He placed the ball inside his storage ring, then checked his messages.

Sofia already replied.

"Big shot, we are here. Where are you?"

Arthur glanced toward the entrance of the shelter.

"Finally."

He stepped outside.

The moment he emerged, he saw seven members of the military team standing near the entrance. They were wearing the equipment he had sold them earlier, and the powerful gear made them look considerably more imposing than before.

Alex noticed Arthur first.

"Hello, big brother! How are you?"

Arthur nodded.

"Fine."

Although they now knew the identity behind the mask, Alex still called him big brother without hesitation. In fact, the knowledge that Darklord was an eighteen-year-old young man had only made him admire Arthur more.

He was younger than many of the people currently serving in the military, yet he had already reached a level of power that none of them could even imagine.

Arthur glanced at the group.

"Let’s talk business first. We don’t have much time."

He pointed toward the dome-shaped building behind him.

Everyone followed his gaze.

The dome-shaped shelter stood silently amid the ruined city, its enormous structure appearing almost untouched by the destruction surrounding it. The entrance alone was large enough for several vehicles to pass through at once.

The soldiers’ eyes began to gleam.

They had already guessed what Arthur intended to discuss, but none of them rushed him. They simply waited, trying to maintain their composure.

Arthur continued.

"This is the Orion Shelter, the third-largest shelter in Herian City."

He paused briefly.

"It has approximately 4,000 acres of land inside it. The space has been manipulated, so the interior is much larger than the exterior."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then Alex’s mouth fell open.

"Four thousand acres?"

Even the calm Sofia, the youngest army general, could not maintain her composure.

"Gulp."

"Hiss."

The soldiers exchanged glances.

Four thousand acres was an enormous amount of land. It was enough to accommodate a large population, establish military facilities, construct farms, and provide room for future expansion.

And this was not just an ordinary shelter.

It was a Legendary Shelter.

The government had been struggling to secure even one suitable shelter, yet Arthur had casually conquered the third-largest shelter in Herian City.

Sofia took a deep breath.

"Big shot, what do you want in exchange?"

Arthur looked at her.

"I will give this shelter to the government, but you will have to give me 200 square kilometers of land in Aurora City in exchange."

The soldiers stared at him.

Two hundred square kilometers?

That was an enormous amount of land, especially inside one of the most important cities in the country.

Arthur’s expression remained calm.

"Say yes or no quickly. If the deal doesn’t happen, I’ll have to take other measures."

The atmosphere immediately became tense.

Sofia clenched her fingers.

She understood the value of Aurora City better than anyone present. The land Arthur was requesting was not some useless piece of wilderness. It was a massive area inside an important city, and handing it over would require serious consideration.

But the government needed a shelter.

A real shelter.

A Legendary Shelter.

The ten Legendary Shelters in Herian City were all guarded by Legendary Grade bosses. Even with the government’s military strength, conquering one would take months or even years, and that was assuming they could survive the process.