King heard the tank speak, but the words sounded muffled, distorted like he was underwater. His eyes burned with a sharp, chemical sting that made them water uncontrollably. His senses twisted and blurred, the world around him reduced to smeared shapes and indistinct colors.

He forced his concentration inward, reaching for his mana reserves. The effort felt like dragging weights through thick mud, but he managed to form a construct orb around himself and Maya. The translucent barrier materialized barely in time, its structure weak and riddled with imperfections. The usual multilayered reinforcement was absent, replaced by a single fragile shell.

The tank swung his axe.

The blade struck the construct dead center. The orb cracked immediately, jagged fissures spreading across its surface like spiderwebs. The barrier held, but barely.

King’s Red Imp Talisman was already working, its passive effect reducing the potency of the poisonous gas that saturated his lungs. The resistance was helping, shaving off the worst of the debuff, but the gas was highly potent. King needed more time for the talisman to fully neutralize the poison coursing through his system.

"Impressive you can still defend," the gunman mocked from the side, his voice dripping with cocky confidence. "Let’s see how long that lasts."

The tank raised his axe again and brought it down with brutal force.

The construct shattered completely, fragments of blue light dissolving into the air. The axe continued its arc, heading straight for King’s exposed shoulder.

But then King noticed Maya move.

The child slipped away from his side in a millisecond, her small form darting forward through the dissipating gas cloud, which surprisingly, had no effect on her. Her black-and-gold dagger equipped in her grip.

"The heck?!" the gunman yelled, stumbling backward.

SLICK, THUD

The tank’s hand fell to the ground, severed cleanly at the wrist.

Blood sprayed from the stump in a violent arc. The tank stared at his missing hand in shock, his face contorting in disbelief. The axe tumbled from his grasp and landed beside King with a dull thud.

"You little bitch!" the tank cursed, pivoting despite the pain.

He swung his massive shield in a wide horizontal arc, aiming to crush Maya with sheer brute force. The child dodged, throwing herself a step back with desperate speed. She avoided the direct impact, but the sheer force from the shield’s passage caught her mid-leap.

The air pressure alone knocked her backward, sending her small body tumbling across the ground. She crashed hard behind King.

But that brief exchange had bought King the time he needed.

His vision sharpened. The haze around the edges of his sight receded, colors returning to their proper intensity. His hearing cleared, the muffled distortion replaced by crisp, distinct sounds. Focus was returning, not perfectly, but enough to manage.

And he was going to make them pay.

King stood right up, oozing a certain aura, his expression cold and devoid of mercy. He slammed both hands onto the ground with explosive force.

"Earthen Spire!"

The ground beneath the three players erupted violently. Three massive stone pillars shot upward with incredible speed, each one thick as a tree trunk and rising fifty feet into the air. The pillars caught the tank, the mage, and the gunman simultaneously, launching them skyward like ragdolls.

King followed up immediately, activating his next spell before they could fall.

"Construct Hands!"

Three reinforced construct hands materialized in mid-air, each one enormous and glowing with concentrated mana. The hands caught the airborne players, massive translucent fingers wrapping around their bodies and crushing down with brutal, unyielding force.

The gunman died instantly. His ribs shattered audibly, collapsing inward as the construct fist compressed his torso. His body went limp, blood pouring from his mouth as the system registered his death.

The mage lasted only a few seconds longer. The construct hand squeezed tighter, breaking his spine with a sickening crack. His head lolled forward, lifeless.

But the tank held on.

His armor absorbed the worst of the pressure, the blackened steel plates distributing the force across his frame. He struggled violently, trying to break free from the construct’s grip, but the hand held firm. He wasn’t breaking the construct, and the construct wasn’t breaking him.

A stalemate.

King brushed his eyes one last time, wiping away the lingering tears from the gas exposure. Then he walked forward slowly, his boots crunching against the scorched earth. The construct fist lowered as he approached, bringing the tank closer until the man’s face was visible to King.

King raised one finger and pointed it directly at the tank’s eyes.

The man’s expression shifted from defiance to raw terror.

"Please," the tank begged, his voice cracking. "Please, I..."

"You people do not deserve mercy," King replied in a flat and emotionless tone.

A concentrated flame formed at the tip of King’s finger, no larger than a coin. The fire compressed tightly, glowing white-hot with condensed energy.

The tank opened his mouth to plead again.

King released the spell.

BLAST!

The concentrated flame shot forward like a bullet, piercing cleanly through the tank’s right eye socket and drilling straight into his skull. The man jerked once, his body convulsing violently. Then he slumped forward, dead.

The construct hand released him. His corpse fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

[PLAYER ELIMINATED]

[PRUNING POINTS REWARDED: 20]

[PLAYER ELIMINATED]

[PRUNING POINTS REWARDED: 20]

[PLAYER ELIMINATED]

[PRUNING POINTS REWARDED: 20]

King dismissed the notifications without reading them fully. He turned immediately, rushing back toward Maya.

The child sat on the ground, one hand pressed against her side where the shield’s force had struck her. Her face looked like a wilt flower, but she looked up at King with those same eager, trusting eyes.

King knelt beside her, speaking calmly. "Are you okay?"

Maya nodded, offering a small, reassuring smile.

King didn’t believe her. He opened his inventory interface, scrolling quickly through his items until he found what he needed. A Basic Health Potion materialized in his hand, the glass vial filled with glowing red liquid.

"Drink this," King said, pressing the vial into Maya’s small hands.

The child took the potion obediently and drank it in one gulp. The liquid vanished down her throat, and the pale color in her face began to fade, replaced by healthier tones. Her breathing steadied.

King exhaled slowly, then placed a hand on Maya’s head, ruffling her hair gently.

"Thank you," King said quietly. "You saved me back there."

Maya’s face brightened. She nodded enthusiastically, her mouth forming a silent "Mmm!" as she smiled wide.

King stood, his expression hardening once more. He looked down at the three corpses scattered across the clearing, then spoke aloud, more to himself than to Maya.

"From now on, I won’t be holding back."

He summoned his Magic Staff withing his grasp. The passive MP recovery effect kicked in immediately, replenishing his mana pool at a steady rate. King crouched, turning his back toward Maya.

"Let’s find somewhere safe," King said. "We have enough points for a new rule."

Maya climbed onto his back without hesitation. She responded with another cheerful "Mmm!" and a firm nod against his shoulder.

King opened his map interface, studying the terrain layout carefully. The red dots had multiplied, more players converging on his last known location. He needed distance, cover, and time to regroup.

After several seconds of scanning, King spotted a potential refuge. A ruined building approximately half a kilometer northeast, marked by crumbling stone walls and a partially collapsed roof. It wasn’t perfect, but it would provide temporary cover while he worked.

King closed the map and started moving, keeping his pace quick. Maya held on tightly.

And in no time, they reached the ruined building within minutes. King checked his map again before entering, no red dots within immediate range.

Satisfied, he stepped through the broken doorway and moved into the interior.

The structure had once been some kind of watchtower or guard post. The roof had caved in on one side, exposing the interior to the open sky. Moss covered the stone walls, and vines crept through cracks in the foundation. But it was defensible, with clear sightlines in multiple directions.