When the flash of golden light appeared, the Desperate Warrior sensed something was wrong. It wasn't the type of attack his magma-like body could withstand. In a last-ditch effort, he switched from defense to offense, hoping to land at least one punch on Atreus, but only hit the air.
His entire bloodstream pulsed with red light, nerves responding to the fear of his master. The veins beneath his transparent skin and muscles began to throb more intensely.
Yet, in the eyes of the Desperate Warrior, full of despair, the golden blade continued to swing toward his waist.
With a slicing sound, it was like cutting through a water bag.
One of the twin blades, Troy's Twin Stars—Achilles—cut into the Desperate Warrior's abdomen, effortlessly splitting the cavity and the spine behind it in two.
Surprisingly, there was no splatter of blood or guts, nor any foul stench. From a distance, it looked more like a burst of bright magical sparks.
It was a deep crimson, akin to glowing red-hot iron!
Except for Atreus himself, no one could see that a red soul was being extracted, absorbed into Atreus's chest.
At that moment, the system coldly informed Atreus:
[Congratulations, Host, for killing (Desperate Warrior) Douglas Horton!]
[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring the following skills (or upgrades): Frost Resistance Lv17 (merged with Cold Resistance), Fire Element Control Lv4!]
A slight smirk appeared on Atreus's face.
Got it!
He wasn't particularly interested in the Desperate Warrior, whose base attributes were pretty trash. At most, he could extract a red soul to help boost his girls.
The key was the Fire Element Control skill.
This meant Atreus's path as a mage had expanded from just wind elements to a comprehensive elemental mana pool.
Of course, the faint trace of joy on Kratos' face appeared cruel and murderous in the eyes of his enemies.
It couldn't be helped—Kratos just had that kind of intimidating look.
"Ahhh! I'm going to kill you!"
"Fxck!"
The scene of Atreus slicing the Desperate Warrior in half caught the attention of many nearby enemies.
As soon as Atreus descended and killed their comrade, at least twenty armed bandits turned their weapons, and the sci-fi-looking Chitauri laser guns fired streams of blue rays directly at Atreus.
Four shots missed, but the remaining beams hit Atreus's head, shoulders, chest, and legs.
Colonel James Rhodes was so shocked that his mouth formed an "O" shape.
"What are you staring at? That bastard won't die." Almost as if echoing Tony's words, the fierce figure disappeared from where he stood. He moved so fast it was almost like teleportation, appearing in front of one bandit holding a laser gun. Before the man could react, Atreus stabbed him through the heart, sending him plunging into the sea beside the dock.
These professionally trained bandits were powerless against Atreus. Killing them was easier for Atreus than slaughtering chickens or ducks.
At that moment, a second Desperate Warrior finally 'caught up' to Kratos, who had been slaughtering left and right. He leaped high, attempting a sneak attack from above.
Such a small trick could never fool Atreus, especially since the guy was swinging a fist...
Without even turning his head, Atreus reached out and grabbed the man's face. Because the Desperate Warrior's arms were slightly shorter than Atreus's, his punch hadn't even connected before Atreus's left hand smacked down on the man's face.
A burst of flame exploded from Atreus's palm, unnoticed by anyone else.
Only the victim knew that the flames didn't come from within him, but from Atreus.
The poor guy didn't get the chance to reveal the truth, as an explosion instinctively made him shudder and close his eyes.
In less than 0.1 seconds, the blade in Atreus's left hand—Hector—plunged into the man's throat, smoothly slicing halfway around. The unlucky Desperate Warrior's head popped off.
Atreus casually tossed the severed head, sending it flying into the chest of another Desperate Warrior.
The impact wasn't the issue; neither was the molten-hot blood, which couldn't harm a Desperate Warrior. The real damage was 'psychological'!
Your buddy, who you've spent so much time with, suddenly separates into two, with his head flying toward you. This kind of gruesome scene is almost unheard of in modern warfare.
You either get blown to pieces together or drop dead at once—there's no room for something so bloody.
In the moment of hesitation, Atreus's other blade had swung through the air, striking a third victim. The blade slashed down from his shoulder, diagonally splitting open his body, which was at least 1,000 degrees hot.
That Desperate Warrior dropped dead on the spot.
This time, James finally realized: these terrifying Desperate Warriors were no match for Kratos. "Weren't these guys a lot tougher when they were chasing you?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't trust Kratos—he's just a freak. Think of him as another Thor."
"A god...?" James was a bit dazed.
In this life, Aldrich Killian's top general, Savin, didn't get the chance to trick Tony with a scheme.
When Savin finally appeared before Atreus, Atreus was a bit surprised.
If the other Desperate Warriors were elite monsters, then Savin... was probably a rare silver-marked elite.
Savin charged at Atreus with a roar.
It seemed Atreus was already familiar with their attack patterns.
Savin's Navy SEAL combat skills weren't weak, to be fair.
But unfortunately for him, Atreus had locked in his strength and agility without reducing his perception. This meant Savin's every move looked like a clumsy solo dance. Atreus easily dodged each attack, anticipating Savin's next move—mockery written all over his face.
"Ahhhhh!" The always cocky Savin went berserk, spreading his arms wide to try and grab Atreus, hoping the flames erupting from his body would burn him to death.
However, a brilliant golden light appeared on Savin's path.
The golden light flashed! Heaven and earth split!
Savin was shocked to find that his field of vision had suddenly been cut in half.
Huh?
What's going on?
Why is everything split into two?
Before he could figure it out, his body felt a sudden emptiness as both halves crashed into the steel corridor.
At first, the heat from his body nearly melted a hole in the metal floor, but as the flames died with his life, all that was left was a burned dent in the ground.
Atreus stared emotionlessly at Savin.
[Congratulations, Host, for killing Champion Desperate Warrior Savin!]
[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring special fire-based magic (Self-Destruct Fireman): Want more enemies to get roasted? Just inject fire elements into their bodies, and you can briefly control their movements, sending them into enemy lines to self-destruct.]
Atreus once thought his first fire magic would be the legendary Five Fireball Religion. But nope—he got Self-Destruct Fireman instead?
This skill sounds so... unserious.