UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

under attack 2

With the activation of his strongest technique, no external change occurred, no aura, no visible sign.

Marcus’s face grew paler, and green veins bulged beneath his skin.

"Tch, I hate this technique as much as I love it..." Marcus muttered, sighing bitterly as he stared at the burns on his arms and the minor injuries across his body. All of them had begun to emit a white mist and were healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

He waved his hand to dispel the white steam rising from his arms, then rubbed over the spot where the wound had completely vanished.

A wide grin formed on his face.

"I'm truly a genius for creating this technique..."

He thought proudly before glancing around, his expression turning serious again as he noticed the collapsed edges of the crater surrounding him.

"But this isn't the time for pride."

He sighed bitterly while watching the thick smoke rising from the edges of the camp and listening to the sounds of explosions roaring from the intensity of battle.

He quietly climbed out of the crater and began to sneak between the burning tents and scattered debris, his mind analyzing rapidly as he noted the corpses lying everywhere, with no sign of life in any of them.

"Looks like I’m the only one who survived on this side..."

He suddenly stopped at the corpse of a soldier lying face-down.

From his torn uniform, it was obvious he belonged to the enemy.

Marcus furrowed his brows.

"Hmm... Ironland soldiers? So they’re behind the attack on the camp..."

He dropped to one knee and began inspecting the corpse, which had died from a sharp blade piercing its throat.

"But how did they wipe out all the patrols? The attack was too fast… there’s no sign of a prolonged breach."

He placed his hand on the soldier’s chest and glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.

“There’s still Eternal Energy inside him...”

He let out a calm breath, then activated the technique in silence.

Δ Energy Eater Δ

A faint purple energy gathered from the soldier’s body and formed in his palm as a small orb.

Without hesitation, he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

He felt a warm pulse spread through his chest. It wasn’t much, but it restored a portion of his depleted reserve.

Eternal Energy: 24 / 137

"Not enough… I need more."

He looked at the now mummy-like corpse, then immediately stood up.

He jogged silently toward the other side of the camp, where the sounds of battle still echoed.

He stopped and hid behind a cluster of scorched crates, analyzing the situation.

Three Ironland soldiers were engaged in direct combat with two Loranian soldiers.

"Ironland really sent a full army. Their goal isn’t just to cause losses, but to destroy the eastern camp entirely..." he thought as he watched the clash between the soldiers.

"A frontal assault in my current state would be suicide..." he muttered with a grimace, his eyes fixed on one of the enemy soldiers swinging his sword toward the throat of a Loranian soldier, who had a terrified look on his face.

Marcus quickly raised his hand and fired a small lightning bolt, targeting the enemy’s hand with precision.

"Lightning Serpents, light version... I can’t afford to waste energy right now," he murmured bitterly as he watched.

The soldier’s body jolted and collapsed to the ground, paralyzed temporarily by the lightning. The others were thrown off, and the Loranian soldier who had narrowly escaped death seized the opportunity and drove his sword into the enemy’s chest.

Marcus smiled at last when he saw one of the enemies fall. The tide turned quickly, the Loranian soldiers were stronger. The fight soon ended with all the Ironland soldiers dead and one Loranian soldier down. The remaining Loranian dragged his wounded body away from the battlefield, afraid others might come after him.

Marcus moved quickly, approaching the first soldier and placing his hand on his chest.

Δ Energy Eater Δ

Though it was a corpse, it still had a bit of Eternal Energy left. He extracted every remaining drop until the body looked like a dried husk. He repeated the process with the other corpses, even the fallen Loranian soldier wasn’t spared, as Marcus didn’t have time to worry about morality.

He swallowed all the energy orbs at once. A wide grin spread across his pale face as he felt the surge of energy rushing through him, replenishing his reserves.

Eternal Energy: 71 / 137

"My reserves are starting to recover..."

---

Elsewhere, Tina was tying a bandage around a soldier’s face, which had been grotesquely slashed by a sharp blade.

“Thank you…”

The soldier said in a hoarse voice, staring at the doctor, who looked disheveled and pale from constant energy consumption.

Tina nodded and moved on to treat another soldier, when suddenly, the ground rippled beneath her.

She leapt back instinctively, sensing danger. Her eyes widened in shock as a man emerged from the earth as if he had sunk into it.

Covered in dust, his skin dull and rocky, he looked around at the wounded soldiers. A sly grin appeared on his face.

“No... impossible.”

She stared at him in horror, swallowing hard, and spoke in a grim tone,

“Stone Clan...”

The towering man raised his eyebrows in amusement.

“Well, well. You recognized I’m from the Stone Clan and still didn’t run. That’s an insult...”

Tina clenched her teeth and pulled out several small orbs.

“I won’t let you touch them...” she said sharply, and without hesitation, hurled the orbs at him.

“Poison! How cunning of you, doctor...” the Stone Clan member muttered, then swiftly sank back into the ground, evading the poisonous orbs as they burst on contact.

“Damn it…” Tina cursed harshly when she saw her attack fail. She quickly performed a series of hand signs, and an energy blade formed in her right hand.

“If I don’t strike now, I won’t get another chance…” she thought quickly, then charged.

She leapt at the attacker, swinging her arm with surgical precision, aiming straight for his neck.

Zfff!

The blade sliced through his skin easily, but not a single drop of blood emerged.

Tina froze, her hand still buried in his neck, eyes widening in disbelief.

“…No blood?!”

She pulled back quickly, breathing uneasily, staring at the man who showed no reaction except a wide, mocking smile.

“Oh, you forgot, Miss Doctor…” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

“…We don’t have blood.”

Tina gasped. The tangled lines in her mind suddenly clicked into place.

“Yes… His body isn’t human. He’s from the Stone Clan…”

She clenched her jaw in frustration.

“An unfair ability…” she thought bitterly, stepping back.

“This clan… the earth is their domain. They can dive, vanish, move, defend… and now even medical strikes don’t work!”

Her inner voice trembled as she retreated cautiously.

“…Damn it. If only I had lightning affinity…”

She recalled what she had learned about the clan in theory.

The Stone Clan, one of the Nine Great Clans ruling Ironland. It’s said their bodies are born of the earth, and fighting one is like fighting a mountain. Even in Lorana’s archives, their ability was labeled as nearly invincible in direct combat.

The man moved forward, calmly stepping between the injured soldiers, his eyes gleaming with cold light.

“One, two, three…” he counted aloud as he passed them, then stabbed one in the head without hesitation.

“Stop!” Tina shouted, trying to stop him, but she couldn’t get close.

“Why are you doing this?!” cried one of the wounded soldiers, trying to lift his broken weapon.

The man looked at him with contempt and replied,

“I’m Louise. Commander of this operation. And I wasn’t sent here to plant flowers.”

He almost laughed mockingly, then sank into the ground and reappeared behind the wounded soldier, striking him in the head.

Boom!

The soldier fell.

Tina’s legs weakened. She pulled out another medical blade, but she could barely stand. Her energy was drained. Her hand trembled.

“I have to stop him… I have to…” she collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Louise laughed and praised her persistence.

“Strong spirit. Unfortunately, you’re the enemy…”

He walked slowly toward her, picking up a sword from the ground.

“So please, die.”

Just as he was about to drive the sword into her heart.

He felt something behind him.

“Hm?”

Above his waist, in the air… lightning?

Zzzz… Zzzzzz…

Several lightning serpents burst from the rubble, slicing through the air like living creatures.

“What the ...?!” he shouted, stepping back.

But the serpents were faster. They struck him all at once.

CRAAACK!!

The flash lit up the field, and light smoke rose from his body as he was hurled through the air, groaning in pain before crashing into the ground.

Tina raised her head in shock.

“Lightning Style…!!”