Chapter 1431 - 1431: How Do You Pay for a Million?

When they saw the mass of figures rushing in, every face in Clearford City turned pale.

Only then did it hit them—what they'd just wiped out was just a detachment.

The real nightmare was still coming.

Countless people looked toward the Fallen Star City group with raw worry.

They're only a few hundred… can they really hold against tens of thousands of Flamekin?

General Cross lowered his voice, speaking fast to his aide. "Notify everyone in the compound who's Stage B or above. Get them here—now. This is our only chance. Even if we have to pile bodies, we wipe these beasts out today."

"Yes!" The aide nodded hard and rushed off to pass the order.

Not long after, the Flamekin arrived in force.

Eight thousand. More.

They poured into the ruined streets, forming a sea of heat-hazed silhouettes.

When they saw the field littered with their dead, their faces turned vicious.

The Flamekin elder at the front stepped forward, expression iron-black. "Good. Very good. I didn't expect you humans to be hiding high-Tier fighters."

His eyes swept the crowd like he was selecting livestock.

"Fine. The ones who did this—step out and accept death. Otherwise, every human here will be buried with you."

"Bury us?" Ethan walked out, voice cold and flat. "We killed a little over a thousand of you and you're already screaming."

His gaze sharpened.

"You burned more than a million of my people alive. How do you plan to pay that debt?"

The elder's lips curled. "Pay? You lowly humans think you're fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Flamekin?"

His voice turned savage.

"I should've burned your entire species to ash from the start."

"Good," Ethan said quietly.

Then the temperature in his words dropped so hard it felt like the air itself froze.

"Very good."

He lifted his poleaxe and pointed it straight at the Flamekin elder.

"After what you just said… leaving even one of you alive would insult the million innocents you slaughtered."

He took a step forward.

"Come on, old man. Face me."

The Clearford City crowd sucked in a breath.

That elder's aura was terrifying—peak Tier 35, even stronger than the Elder Corvin Ethan had smashed before.

But Ethan didn't hesitate. He directly issued the challenge.

They were outnumbered too badly. If they wanted the rest of the fight to be manageable, they had to cut down the head first.

The Flamekin elder—Elder Kael—stared at Ethan for a beat, then threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahahaha! What a joke. You're a Tier 32 piece of trash—what gives you the right to fight me?"

He didn't even look at Ethan after that. He tilted his chin toward someone behind him.

"Ignar. Go play with him."

His eyes gleamed with cruelty.

"Keep him alive. I want him to learn what it means to beg for death."

"Yes," the man behind him answered calmly.

Ignar stepped out and walked straight toward Ethan, gaze full of contempt.

"You're not qualified to challenge our elder," he said, voice lazy. "So I'll entertain you."

He smiled like he was already imagining the screaming.

"I'll make it crystal clear—humans are nothing but our slaves. You want to rebel? Try again in your next life."

With a flick of his hand, a massive fire-serpent surged into existence—roaring flames shaped into a living coil that lunged straight at Ethan.

Ethan didn't move.

He didn't dodge.

He didn't even blink.

All around, humans felt their hearts leap into their throats. The Flamekin, meanwhile, wore cold smiles, like they were watching someone step into a furnace on purpose.

The fire-serpent reached Ethan.

And then…

Nothing.

The moment it crossed into a one-meter radius around him, it vanished—silent and clean. No explosion. No sparks. Like the flames had been erased from reality.

Ignar's face snapped white. "How is that possible?!"

Across the Flamekin lines, eyes widened.

Even Elder Kael's brow creased, the first real crack of caution showing through.

"You?" Ethan gave a cold laugh. "Know your place."

His figure vanished.

By the time Ignar realized what was happening, Ethan was already behind him—poleaxe wrapped in black light, dropping toward his spine.

Ignar reacted on instinct. Flames burst out and formed a thick Flame Shield around him. At the same time, he condensed a spear of fire and stabbed backward.

But the fire spear disappeared the moment it got close to Ethan—erased cleanly, like it had never existed.

The poleaxe came down.

BOOM!

The Flame Shield shattered like glass. Ignar was launched away and slammed into the ground hard enough to crack the stone.

"So damn brutal…" someone whispered, voice shaking.

Ethan didn't even spare Ignar another glance.

He turned his head and looked back at Elder Kael.

"Old man," he said, voice flat and sharp, "the trash you sent isn't enough. Come yourself."

Then his lips curled, the edge of it mean.

"Since you're old, I'll be considerate. When I hit you in a minute, I'll use a little more force."

Elder Kael stared at him, his face sinking. For the first time, real caution showed in his eyes.

"You actually have two spatial-type abilities?"

His voice turned colder—almost hateful.

"Looks like the ancestors were right. Humans should never have been allowed to exist in this world."

His expression hardened.

"Since you want to die… I'll grant it."

A terrifying blaze poured off Elder Kael's body, spreading outward like a tide that wanted to swallow the sky. It rolled toward Ethan in a massive wave.

But against Ethan, a wide-area attack like that was pointless.

Every flame that entered Ethan's range vanished—snuffed out without sound.

Elder Kael's face darkened further.

Then a massive flame greatsword formed in his hands. He stepped in and chopped down at Ethan without warning.

Ethan gripped his poleaxe and met it head-on.

BANG!

The impact shook the air.

Ethan's arms went numb instantly. His feet skidded back—and then his whole body was thrown away like he weighed nothing.

Elder Kael only paused for a heartbeat before charging again.

The flame greatsword swelled several times larger, then cleaved down toward Ethan like a burning guillotine.

Ethan teleported.

He reappeared behind Kael, poleaxe already swinging for the back of the old man's skull—

But Kael moved as if he'd predicted it. He twisted and slashed backward, the blade striking Ethan's poleaxe and blasting him away again.

And Kael's follow-up came immediately, the flame greatsword chasing him through the air.

Damn. This old bastard's the real deal, Ethan thought, teeth grinding.

He teleported again, slipping away from the greatsword's path.

This time, he flashed right in front of Kael and swung once more, the poleaxe flaring with black light as it crashed toward Kael's head.

Kael snorted and formed another flame blade to block—

And then Ethan's eyes flashed.

For the tiniest instant, Kael's motion stalled.

Just one beat.

But that was all Ethan needed.

BOOM!

The poleaxe smashed into Kael's head.

Kael's body flew back more than a hundred feet. Blood sprayed in an arc, splattering the ruined street.

"Elder!!"

The Flamekin panicked, surging toward him and forming a protective ring.

On the human side, eyes went wide. Breath caught. Then the crowd snapped into frantic, shaking excitement.

"Ethan!"

"He hit him!"

"The elder's bleeding!"

"We can win!"

Cries burst out—shock, joy, disbelief all tangled together.

Nobody had imagined Ethan could be this strong.

Strong enough to draw blood from a Flamekin elder.

General Cross exchanged a look with the other compound leaders. In each other's eyes, they saw the same thing:

Stunned hope.

If this was real… then what did they have left to fear?

Ethan, though, didn't look excited at all.

He stared at Elder Kael through the wall of Flamekin bodies and gave a cold, almost amused smile.

"That's it?" Ethan said. "You can't even handle a Tier 32?"

"Aaaaagh!"

Elder Kael's face twisted with rage.

"You're courting death!"

He shoved aside the Flamekin supporting him and charged at Ethan again, killing intent boiling off him like smoke.

The corner of Ethan's mouth lifted slightly.

Good.

If this old man didn't die first… the rest of the battle would get a lot messier.

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