Nova City compound...

"What did you just say? They chased the red-skinned monsters off?" Rowan sprang to his feet the instant he heard the report.

"It’s absolutely true, sir. This is straight from the front line—just came in."

"How is that possible?" Rowan stared. "That was over five hundred monsters, all Tier 15 and above. How the hell did they do it?"

In Rowan’s mind, Ethan’s group had probably gone to confirm whether the monsters were really as terrifying as the reports claimed.

He hadn’t expected that, after such a short time, he’d be hearing they’d already driven them back.

It didn’t feel real.

The Recon Team leader who’d come to report looked like he didn’t even believe his own words. "Front-line soldiers said... someone jumped off the flying mount, smashed a few red-skins to pieces, and then the rest of them ran."

The second he finished, the expressions around the Military Command Center turned strange.

He panicked. "General, I’m not making this up! I wouldn’t dare report nonsense! You have to believe me!"

"It’s not that we don’t believe you," a senior official said slowly. "It’s that what you’re saying is insane. Which one of them did it?"

"Uh..." The Recon Team leader swallowed. "We were too far. Even with binoculars, we couldn’t see faces."

"...."

"But whoever it was, it was definitely one of them," he hurried to add. "I already had them bring back video from the front. We’ll know once we see it."

Rowan nodded stiffly. "Good."

Everyone in the room wanted it to be true.

But it was hard to swallow.

They were all from the same starting line in this apocalypse—if anything, Nova City had started ahead. They were military-backed, with guns, ammo, and organized troops early on.

They’d already struggled to accept the rumor that Ethan was Tier 12.

And now they were being told someone from Fallen Star Squad could smash Tier 15+ monsters and scare off the rest?

It sounded like a tall tale someone told to keep people calm.

A moment later, a soldier rushed in, a phone clutched in his hand.

"General! This was brought back by the front-line Recon Team."

Rowan snatched the phone and immediately opened the gallery.

The newest video loaded—front line footage.

Everyone crowded in.

The image was shaky and blurry due to the distance, but outlines were still visible.

They saw Fallen Star Squad’s flying mounts arrive. Not long after, a figure jumped down and engaged the red-skinned monsters. And within minutes...

The entire red-skinned group scattered and fled.

The room went dead quiet.

Because of the angle, they couldn’t clearly see the exact moment a red-skin was punched apart.

But the monsters running for their lives?

That part was undeniable.

"Has Ethan... gotten this strong?" someone whispered.

They couldn’t identify the fighter, so instinctively they pinned it on Ethan—he was the captain, and supposedly the strongest member.

"But those things were Tier 15 and above," another person said hoarsely. "And one person scared them off...? What level is he even at?"

No one answered.

They just stared at each other, stunned—like their world-view had been forcibly rewritten.

Rowan let out a long breath, half disbelief and half awe. "Looks like everyone underestimated Ethan."

Then his eyes sharpened with something like relief. "Good thing we never offended him."

Whether in Atlas City or here in Nova City, Rowan had always treated Ethan with respect. Back in Atlas City, he’d even invited him to visit Nova City sometime.

He hadn’t expected Ethan to actually show up.

And the second he did, he saved their compound.

Watching those red-skinned monsters flee on the screen, Rowan finally felt the boulder crushing his chest crack and fall away.

"General, since Ethan drove those red-skinned monsters off... does that mean we don’t have to evacuate anymore?" one of the officials asked, practically glowing.

Nobody wanted to migrate.

The manpower and resources needed to build a major compound were horrifying. No one wanted to go through that again.

And evacuation itself was insanely dangerous. If half the people survived, that would already count as a miracle.

Rowan nodded, but he didn’t let the excitement carry him away. "Yeah. We’re not evacuating."

"However—those red-skinned monsters only ran. They weren’t wiped out. So we can’t relax."

"Ethan and his people will probably start hunting them down next. We need to cooperate at full strength."

He looked around the room, voice turning crisp. "Send out scout teams and drones. Search for the monsters’ traces. Any movement—report to me immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

On the other side...

Ethan and the others stayed in the air, riding their mounts and searching for the scattered red-skinned monsters.

Since they hadn’t been fleeing for long, it wasn’t too hard to find them. The problem was that some groups were still too large to engage safely.

After another ten-plus minutes of flying, they finally spotted three that were separated from the rest.

One Tier 17, two Tier 16.

At the moment, the three red-skins were hiding inside a pile of ruins. If Ethan didn’t have [True Sight], he probably would’ve missed them completely.

Ethan scanned around—no other red-skins nearby.

His mouth curved.

Perfect. These three.

"There are two Tier 16s and one Tier 17 down there," Ethan said, pointing. "I’ll take the Tier 17. You guys handle the two Tier 16s."

"Got it."

"Let’s go—down."

The flying mounts dropped them off in a clean dive, then immediately climbed back up.

Nugget and the other mounts were still only around Tier 10 or Tier 11. They couldn’t take part in a fight like this.

As soon as Ethan hit the ground, he saw it—those three red-skins’ eyes sharpened, their bodies tensing with alertness.

Ethan flicked Garrick a look.

Garrick nodded once.

A huge earth spike erupted from the spot the red-skins were hiding, spearing up like a battering ram and forcing them out into the open.

It didn’t really injure them, but it pissed them off.

"%...￥%*%!" one of the red-skins roared at Ethan and the others.

Ethan glanced at Skinny Pete. "What’d it say?"

Skinny Pete listened, then translated with a straight face. "He says we’ve pushed them too far... and now they’re gonna kill us."

"The hell?" Big Mike’s eyes went wide. "You can actually understand them?"

"Obviously." Skinny Pete lifted his chin, proud as hell.

And then the red-skins stopped talking.

Flames burst out across their bodies, and in the next instant, waves of terrifying heat rolled toward the squad.

"Holy shit!" Chris flinched back. "That temperature’s insane!"

Henry reacted instantly, throwing Divine Shield on everyone.

"Don’t waste time!" Henry shouted. "My Divine Shield won’t hold long against this. Move—now!"

"Got it!"

Everyone launched at once.

Ethan Teleported right in front of the Tier 17 red-skin, poleaxe already dropping in a brutal downward chop.

The red-skin’s reaction speed was absurd. A layer of flame snapped into place like a shield and it hammered back at Ethan head-on.

Boom—

A heavy, muffled impact.

Both of them slid back several steps, neither gaining ground.

Ethan’s relentless focus on boosting raw physical strength finally paid off—his extra power let him match someone a full tier above him.

Ethan’s lips curled. "Alright. Time to let you taste my new skill."

He surged forward again, poleaxe swinging down a second time.

This time, black light flickered along the blade.

The Tier 17 red-skin clearly sensed the danger. The flames it had spread outward instantly snapped back in, condensing around its body into a full suit of fire armor. It clenched its fist and smashed straight toward Ethan without backing down.

BOOM—!

A thunderous blast shook the ruins. Violent energy exploded outward.

The ground collapsed, forming a crater.

And inside that crater, the Tier 17 red-skin lay nearly split in half—silent, dead.

Ethan’s eyes shone. "Hell yeah—that felt good."

First time using [Annihilation Strike], and it didn’t disappoint.

One word: vicious.