Chapter 230: The Enforcer’s Decree, A Continent Oppressed

"Where is the fortress?" Dante asked calmly.

Leo stared at the gold-armored human.

"Dan," Leo warned, stepping closer. "I saw what you did to the corrupted hounds. You are incredibly powerful. But you are one man. You cannot break a siege of fifty thousand elite warriors. The warlords leading them are Level 50 monsters. If you go there, you will die."

"I appreciate the concern, Leo," Dante said, a cold, predatory smile spreading across his face.

He didn’t draw [Voidsever]. He didn’t activate [Asura’s Descent].

He didn’t need to show off for the caravan.

"Point me north," Dante said. "I have a delivery to make."

Leo stared at him for a long moment, evaluating the absolute, unwavering certainty in Dante’s glowing red eyes. The Chieftain finally nodded slowly.

"Ten miles north," Leo pointed his massive greataxe. "Follow the river of black mud. It leads directly to the valley where the fortress sits."

"Thank you," Dante said.

He didn’t waste any more time. He turned away from the caravan and activated [Velocity Paradox].

He didn’t just run. He became entirely intangible, a blur of white-hot light that effortlessly phased through the massive, twisted trunks of the colossal trees.

He left a faint trail of heat in his wake, completely ignoring the dense underbrush and the treacherous, muddy terrain.

He crossed the ten miles in less than a minute.

Dante dropped the sprint, his boots hitting solid ground as he materialized on the edge of a high, rocky cliff overlooking a massive, bowl-shaped valley.

He looked down.

The scene was breathtakingly brutal.

In the absolute center of the valley sat a sprawling, ancient stone fortress. It was heavily fortified, but it looked incredibly small compared to the sheer scale of the threat surrounding it.

Fifty thousand Beast-Kin warriors completely filled the valley floor.

They weren’t a disorganized mob. They were a highly disciplined, terrifyingly efficient military force.

Massive siege engines, catapults hurling boulders of corrupted dark matter, and heavy ballistas firing explosive spears were systematically pounding the fortress walls.

The air was thick with the deafening roar of battle cries and the constant, rhythmic thud of war drums.

Dante used [Dragon’s Insight], his vision shifting to the analytical grid.

He scanned the army.

The Beast-Kin warriors were entirely covered in a faint, sickly green digital static. It was the same administrative code that had glowed in Silas’s eyes.

The entire army was actively mind-controlled, their combat logic overwritten by the Enforcer’s developer tools.

They weren’t fighting out of loyalty. They were puppets.

Dante didn’t hide in the tree line. He didn’t try to sneak past the perimeter.

He stepped off the edge of the cliff.

He didn’t use his flight passive. He let gravity pull him down. He plummeted hundreds of feet, aiming directly for the heavily guarded command tent located at the rear of the massive siege formation.

He didn’t activate [Meteor Stride] to cushion the landing.

He hit the dirt floor of the valley with the unmitigated force of a localized meteor strike.

BOOM!

The impact cratered the earth, violently throwing dozens of elite Beast-Kin guards off their feet. The shockwave shattered a nearby siege ballista into splinters, instantly drawing the attention of the entire rearguard.

The dust slowly settled.

Dante stood up from the center of the crater.

The dark purple plating of his [Evil Spirit Armor] gleamed in the harsh light of the burning siege fires. The heavy, tattered crimson fabric of his cape shifted slowly in the wind.

He didn’t draw a weapon. He didn’t drop into a combat stance.

He just looked around at the thousands of heavily armed Beast-Kin warriors who were now staring at him in absolute shock.

"Who commands this siege?" Dante asked, his voice entirely flat, completely devoid of fear.

The ranks of the Beast-Kin army parted.

Three massive, towering figures stepped forward. They were Warlords. They wore heavy, bone-plated armor and carried massive, glowing weapons.

Their eyes burned with the aggressive, mind-controlled green static of Silas’s code.

[Entity Identified: Warlord Blood-Tusk]

[Level: 50]

[Entity Identified: Warlord Iron-Hide]

[Level: 50]

[Entity Identified: Warlord Swift-Claw]

[Level: 50]

"An Outworlder," Warlord Blood-Tusk sneered, his massive, tusked face twisting into a mask of pure hatred. "You dare drop into the center of the Emperor’s legion? You are arrogant, human."

"I’m on a schedule," Dante replied smoothly. "You guys are currently blocking a delivery route."

"The delivery is canceled," Warlord Iron-Hide boomed, slamming a massive stone hammer into his palm. "The Enforcer commanded us to eradicate the descendants. You will join them in the ash."

Dante didn’t flinch.

He opened his system interface, completely bypassing the standard regional chat channels. He didn’t want to talk to the Warlords. He wanted to talk to the entire army.

He initiated a unrestricted voice broadcast that would echo directly into the neural link of every single entity in the valley.

"Listen to me," Dante’s voice roared, magnified a thousand times, completely drowning out the war drums and the siege engines.

The entire fifty-thousand-man army froze, staring at the lone figure in the crater.

Dante held out his right hand.

The black brand on his wrist flared violently. Thick, light-absorbing smoke erupted from his palm, instantly condensing into the massive, jagged shape of [Voidsever].

The primordial greatsword didn’t just hum. The newly integrated white veins of the [Source Code Fragment] pulsed with intense, blinding administrative light. The weapon radiated an aura of absolute, systemic destruction.

"You are fighting a war for a coward who hides behind developer tools," Dante announced, pointing the massive black blade directly at the three Warlords.

"If you follow the System," Dante warned, his red eyes burning with the cold, absolute malice of the Asura Vanguard, "you die with the System."

Dante gripped the dark bone hilt with both hands.

"Turn back now," Dante commanded, his voice echoing across the silent valley. "Drop your weapons and walk away. Or I will completely, mathematically eradicate this entire continent."

The fifty-thousand-strong Beast-Kin army stood completely paralyzed.

Dante’s broadcast resounded off the sheer, jagged cliffs of the valley, the absolute authority in his voice completely overriding the ambient noise of the siege engines.

He stood in the center of the crater he had just created, the heavy, tattered crimson fabric of his cape blowing in the hot, sulfur-scented wind.

He didn’t look like a standard player. Between the dark purple, Celestial-tier armor and the massive, light-devouring bulk of [Voidsever], he looked like a localized extinction event.