Auremax shook his head, his expression grim. "My Lord, looks like we’ll need to rethink our strategy. The enemy’s way stronger than we originally estimated... If we keep pushing , I doubt we’ll get anywhere."
"I’m fine, really. Just hurts a little—ow, haha..." Kyros forced a grin through clenched teeth, but the smile quickly faded into frustration. He muttered under his breath, "Can’t believe we actually lost..."
This was supposed to be his first big mission with Ethan—his first real shot at doing something major. And it ended in failure. That hit harder than he expected. He looked visibly down, his mood sinking fast.
"I wouldn’t call it a failure," Ethan said, shaking his head. "You guys worked together really well. ’Unit 270’ took out a ton of Leviathans and Deep Sea Leviathans."
As he spoke, he pulled up the system’s combat log.
In just that short time, they’d managed to take down nearly eighty Tier-13 Leviathans and over twenty Tier-14 Deep Sea Leviathans. That was about a fifth of the entire Leviathan army.
Honestly, that kind of kill count? Pretty damn impressive.
Especially considering the enemies they were up against—every single one of them was either a Legendary or Mythic Unit.
And on top of that, they were all under the command of a Crimson Ultimate-tier hero. A powerhouse of that level wasn’t someone you could just steamroll. If it were that easy, those titles wouldn’t mean jack.
Still... that guy was ridiculously strong.
No exaggeration—he basically soloed the entire squad. That’s the kind of overwhelming power that sits at the very top of the food chain in the world of Glory Lords X. Straight-up terrifying.
"Master, I noticed something during the fight," Cicero suddenly said, frowning.
"What is it?" Ethan turned to him.
"I realized that while we were fighting him, our powers were being suppressed—each of us, to varying degrees," Cicero said slowly, his eyes narrowing in thought.
"Yeah, I felt it too," Seraphina chimed in, clearly annoyed. "Mid-fight, I started losing strength. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but... turns out it was real."
She’d come into this battle fired up, ready to tear through the enemy—and now, this? For someone like her, a battle junkie through and through, it was a serious blow to the ego.
"Our strength was dropping? Could it be..." Ethan murmured, his mind racing.
He thought of the Leviathans—and their innate ability, Abyssal Suppression. But that skill was only supposed to work deep underwater. So why was it affecting them here, on the surface?
It was being amplified by the Crimson Ultimate hero?
"And another thing," Cicero added, his brow furrowed. "I felt a strange field around us during the fight. It was like... being crushed under deep-sea pressure. Like we were fighting at the bottom of the ocean."
His eyes flickered with thought, trying to piece it all together.
If it hadn’t been for that weird power drain and the crushing deep-sea pressure, they probably wouldn’t have lost so badly. Hell, they might not have lost at all...
Of course, that was just an excuse.
No justifications. No what-ifs. That was the reality.
Still, there might be a way forward. If they could figure out what was causing their strength to weaken—if they could counter it—then maybe, just maybe, the next battle would play out differently.
"I think I’ve got it..."
Auremax suddenly spoke up, his voice low, like something had just clicked in his mind. Everyone turned to look at him, eyes narrowing with interest.
"I remember reading something in an old text," he began. "Back before the Abyssal faction was wiped out, the Deep Sea Leviathans were known as ’Demons of the Deep.’"
"In the depths of the ocean, they had the terrifying ability to drain power from their enemies and use it to strengthen themselves..."
"But..." Seraphina cut in, frowning. "But we weren’t in the deep sea. This wasn’t even close."
"It’s because he’s a hero," Cicero said, shaking his head, his expression dark. "And not just any hero. As a Crimson Ultimate, his abilities are massively amplified. Don’t forget—every Crimson Ultimate hero has a unique Sacred Realm. That crushing pressure we felt? That was almost certainly the effect of his Sacred Realm."
Auremax nodded, eyes gleaming with realization. "We’re still at sea, after all. Whether it’s the deep ocean or the surface doesn’t matter to someone of his level. For a Crimson Ultimate hero, the entire ocean is his domain."
"Which means, fighting him in this environment puts us at a huge disadvantage. Unless..."
He trailed off, then glanced at Kyros, his voice dropping. "Unless one of us can suppress—or even strip away—his control over the sea."
The moment those words left his mouth, Kyros froze.
His face fell, and guilt washed over him. "I... I’m sorry, everyone. I—" Thɪs chapter is updated by Nove1Fire.net
"What are you apologizing for?" Ethan cut him off, pulling him into a firm, one-armed hug. "This isn’t your fault."
Still holding Kyros close, Ethan looked around at the rest of the group, a calm smile on his face. "Yeah, this mission didn’t go the way we hoped. But we gained something just as valuable—real combat experience. Crimson Ultimate heroes are insanely powerful, sure. But we’re not weak anymore either, are we? We made it back alive. That counts for something."
"And next time?" He looked each of them in the eye. "Next time, we’ll be ready. We’ll take him down—and win for real."
Kyros’s voice cracked with emotion. His chest swelled with a rush of gratitude, and his eyes shimmered, just on the verge of tears. He looked like he was holding back a flood of feelings, overwhelmed by Ethan’s words.
Seeing that, Auremax immediately realized he’d misspoken.
He gave Kyros an apologetic glance, then turned to Ethan, his eyes sharp with thought. "My Lord, while the enemy we faced was indeed formidable, that doesn’t mean we’re out of options."
Ethan’s eyes lit up, hope flickering back into his voice. "Alright, let’s hear it."
"The reason we lost so decisively this time," Auremax began slowly, "was mainly because of that Leviathan hero’s Sacred Realm. As long as we’re fighting on the sea, our chances are slim. But if we can change that..."
Before he could finish, Cicero’s eyes flashed with realization. "You’re saying we change the environment—cut off his Sacred Realm from its source?"
Auremax nodded, his voice low and steady. "Unless we’re talking about an actual god, even a Crimson Ultimate hero’s Sacred Realm relies on the natural world to function. It’s not omnipotent."
"This Leviathan’s Sacred Realm draws its power entirely from the ocean. That’s why he’s so overwhelmingly strong out here. But if we can disrupt that—if we can alter the natural environment—then we might just flip the entire battle on its head."
"But... how the hell are we supposed to change the ocean?" Ethan scratched his head, frowning. "Even if we wanted to lure him onto land, that’s not happening. We’re way too far from the mainland."