All Chapters of The Beggar’s Throne: Chapter 271
- Chapter 280
630 chapters
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-One
The city’s air was thick with tension as Jake, Lyra, and Kael approached the remnants of the eastern sector. Smoke spiraled from toppled towers, mingling with the morning fog to create a haze that blurred vision and dulled sound. Every street, every alleyway, carried echoes of destruction, each a potential trap set by the Ascendant. Jake’s pulse thrummed in sync with the subtle vibrations beneath his boots—he could feel the network of energy conduits coursing under the city, faint pulses warning him of nearby nodes or units.“We’re close to Node Delta,” Jake murmured, his voice low. “Sensors indicate multiple sub-nodes protecting it. It won’t be a simple breach—defenses are layered and adaptive.”Lyra adjusted her visor, scanning the sector with meticulous attention. Streams of light reflected off her scanning array, mapping energy flows and structural weaknesses in real time. “The sub-nodes are arranged in a defensive lattice. Any direct assault will trigger localized energy surges.
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Two
The night settled over the city like a shroud, cloaking the ruins in deep shadows that moved and shifted with a life of their own.Jake, Lyra, and Kael navigated through the crumbling streets with practiced precision, their footsteps silent against cracked asphalt and scattered debris. The destruction from their previous encounters had left the area unstable; entire blocks teetered on the edge of collapse, and faint hums of residual energy lingered like the pulse of a wounded beast.“Node Gamma is active again,” Lyra said, her visor flickering with energy readings. “It’s adapting faster than we anticipated. Whatever we did to Delta accelerated its evolution.”Jake frowned, tightening his grip on his modified combat rifle. “Then we can’t waste time. If the network recalibrates before we hit Gamma, we’ll face stronger defenses than before. We need a plan that accounts for its adaptive patterns—and we need it now.”Kael scanned the perimeter, every shadow a potential threat. “We should s
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Three
The aftermath of the network collapse left the city in a tense, fragile calm. Jake, Lyra, and Kael moved cautiously through streets that were still unstable, the remnants of energy surges lingering in the air like static. Every collapsed building, every shattered road, reminded them that even victory had its price.Lyra’s visor tracked residual energy pockets that pulsed intermittently, indicating dormant defenses yet to be neutralized. “We’ve disrupted the core, but there are still isolated nodes feeding off the residual network. They could reactivate if left unchecked,” she warned, her voice tight with focus.Jake’s jaw tightened. “Then we finish the job. No shortcuts. We sweep the city, shut down every residual node, and ensure the Ascendant’s influence can’t regroup.”Kael’s gaze swept the horizon, noting areas most likely to harbor hidden defenses. “It won’t be easy. Some nodes are integrated into the infrastructure itself. We’ll need careful extraction—one misstep, and the energ
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Four
Dawn crept over the fractured skyline, spilling pale light across streets scarred by the previous night’s battles.Jake moved cautiously through the ruins, his senses honed from years of combat and survival. The air was heavy with dust, tinged with the faint ozone of discharged energy, a reminder of the city’s fragile state. He had no illusions—victory yesterday didn’t mean safety today.Lyra followed closely, her visor scanning for anomalies. “Sensors are picking up faint energy pulses,” she said, voice low but steady. “Could be remnants of the nodes we deactivated, or… something new.”Kael, walking slightly ahead, checked structural integrity. “Whatever it is, it’s clever enough to hide. We’ll need to stay sharp. Any misstep and this city could collapse around us—or worse, we trigger another defensive protocol.”Jake’s mind ran over their previous encounters with the Ascendant’s automated systems. Each engagement had been a test, a puzzle of lethal precision. The entity learned fast
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Five
The industrial sector loomed ahead, a labyrinth of rusted machinery, collapsed conveyor belts, and skeletal factory frames. Smoke still curled from ruptured pipelines, and the faint smell of ozone lingered in the air—a testament to the Ascendant’s lingering influence.Jake led the team cautiously, each step measured, every sound scrutinized. The air was heavy, and every shadow seemed alive with potential threats.Lyra moved beside him, visor scanning. “I’m picking up multiple energy signatures,” she whispered. “They’re clustered near the central processing plant. Could be a concentrated node network.”Kael’s eyes narrowed. “That’s our jackpot—and our trap. If the Ascendant anticipates us here, it could mean automated sentinels, defensive grids, or worse… energy feedback traps.”Jake clenched his jaw. “Then we proceed systematically. Map the sector, identify nodes, neutralize defenses. No surprises.” His tone carried the weight of authority, honed through countless operations.The team
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Six
The remnants of towering skyscrapers jutted into the smog-heavy sky, their reflective surfaces shattered, like the city itself had been cleaved in half. Jake moved carefully along the cracked streets, every step raising fine clouds of dust and ash. The air carried the metallic tang of ozone, a faint hum of residual energy vibrating beneath his boots. He had learned long ago that silence in a place like this was rarely peaceful; it was a warning.“Thermal readings indicate movement ahead,” Lyra murmured, her voice steady, though her visor flickered with shifting data. She crouched behind a fragment of collapsed concrete, scanning the ruins with meticulous care. “Multiple signatures. But they’re… not standard drones. Some are biomimetic.”Kael’s expression hardened as he crouched beside them. “So the Ascendant is experimenting with hybrids now. That complicates things. They could blend in, mimic humans… or worse.”Jake’s eyes narrowed, studying the labyrinth of debris that stretched ahe
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven
Jake, Lyra, and Kael moved cautiously, their boots crunching over broken glass and debris, each step sending micro-vibrations up through the cracked streets. The air was thick with ash and the lingering tang of ozone, a constant reminder of the energy surges that had recently pulsed through the city’s veins.“We need to find the supply caches first,” Jake murmured, scanning the remnants of a collapsed marketplace. “Without resources, the next assault on the Ascendant’s sectors is impossible. Energy, ammunition, any tools we can repurpose.”Lyra crouched beside a mangled vending machine, her fingers tracing the twisted circuitry. “Some of these caches were bio-secured. The Ascendant likely integrated biometric locks and adaptive traps. Any wrong move, and we could trigger an energy cascade or alert nearby hybrids.”Kael flexed his fingers around the grip of his pulse rifle. “Then we don’t move fast. We move smart. We split the area into sectors, clear each systematically. I cover exits
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Eight
The city’s ruins were quieter than usual, the eerie silence punctuated only by distant tremors and the occasional hum of residual energy conduits. Jake, Lyra, and Kael moved with the precision of soldiers navigating a hostile labyrinth. The glow of the remaining energy nodes reflected off jagged metal and shattered glass, creating a spectral illumination that painted the ruins in flickering shades of orange and blue.Jake led the team, scanning every shadow, every fractured wall. His pulse rifle felt heavy in his hands, not from weight but from the gravity of what lay ahead. Each sector they reclaimed brought them closer to understanding the Ascendant’s network, but also revealed just how deeply the entity had infiltrated the city. Every corner could hide a trap, every conduit could pulse with lethal energy.“We need to map the lower levels,” Jake said, his voice low, almost a whisper. “The Ascendant’s adaptive nodes seem more concentrated down there. If we understand the infrastructu
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Nine
The wind howled through the skeletal remains of the city, carrying dust and fragments of shattered structures in its grip.Jake, Lyra, and Kael moved cautiously along the cracked highways, their boots kicking up small clouds of debris with every step. The northern sector, though partially secured, still bore the scars of the Ascendant’s influence—collapsed overpasses, flickering energy nodes, and scattered hybrid remains that glowed faintly with residual life signs.Jake led, his eyes scanning every shadow, every distorted silhouette. The pulse rifle in his hands felt like an extension of his own body, ready to respond before he even perceived danger. He knew that each sector they cleared was only temporary; the Ascendant was still out there, recalibrating, learning, waiting.Lyra was close behind, visor scanning the area for energy signatures. “I’m picking up residual nodes about 500 meters ahead,” she said, her voice taut with concentration. “They’re isolated, but their adaptive shi
Last Updated : 2025-11-07
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty
The air hung heavy with the scent of ozone and scorched metal as Jake, Lyra, and Kael stepped into the eastern sector. Unlike the northern ruins, this area had once been a dense industrial complex—towers of machinery, conveyor systems now twisted into grotesque forms, and energy conduits snaking across the floors like metallic vines. The remnants of the Ascendant’s experimentation were scattered here, hybrid carcasses fused with machinery, some still twitching with residual neural activity.Jake’s boots crunched on debris, his eyes scanning for the faint glow of active nodes. His pulse rifle was raised, fingers lightly brushing the trigger. He had learned the hard way that the Ascendant’s defenses were never static. Each sector posed unique hazards—some environmental, some intelligent, all lethal.Lyra crouched beside a shattered conduit. “I’m detecting multiple dormant hybrids in the immediate vicinity, but the energy signatures are unstable. Whatever the Ascendant did here, it’s mod
Last Updated : 2025-11-07