The monster pits weren't just dark; they were a scene of total carnage for the predators. Edward Vistro moved silently through the underground gloom, like a shadow himself. The blade, rusted and notched, that he took from the first dead goblin, was no longer just a piece of metal. With his martial skill, it was like a tool that cut through the air with a sharp, whistling sound.
The goblin group, once loud and sure of themselves, was now a sea of scared, panicked bodies. There were thousands of them, packed into the rough limestone tunnels, their yellow eyes reflecting the faint, purple light from Edward's fingertips every time he pulled out their essence.
Edward kept moving forward.
His steps were soft, almost like a beat, creating a scary background to the sounds of bodies hitting the ground and the dying goblins' screams. The first fifty goblins were just a warm-up, to get used to the tension in his muscles. Now, he was in the zone, like someone who'd been in a bunch of wars.
A group of twenty goblins, crazed by the smell of their friends' blood, rushed out from a side tunnel. They held up sharp spears with flint tips and hooks to pull down horses. They swarmed in a messy group,trying to beat the small, unprotected boy with their numbers.
Edward didn't even look at them. He could sense their movements, and where their weapons were going even before they attacked.
He stepped into the middle of the group.
Sword Art: Form Four—The Shivering Horizon.
In a fast flash, the rusted blade disappeared. It became a blur of light. Ten goblins died instantly, their throats cut so clean that they didn't even fall right away; they just stood there, eyes wide, as their blood sprayed the ceiling. Before the blood even hit the ground, Edward turned, and with another flick of his wrist, fifteen more fell, their bodies cut from shoulder to hip by a blade that shouldn't have been able to cut through skin, let alone bone.
He was doing it so efficiently. Every move was perfect. A slight tilt of his head let a spear go past his ear; a small shift of his weight caused a goblin to stumble into another's blade. He was in charge of a bloody show.
As the bodies piled up, Edward was pulling out their marrow essence.
"Extract."
The Epic Extraction spell was like breathing to him. Every time a goblin fell near him, a violet light shot out from Edward's hand, attaching to the creature's spine. The marrow, the source of the monster's life, was pulled out through the skin, turning into shimmering marbles of white-green energy.
Edward kept moving. The marbles followed him like glowing fireflies. As he moved, the marbles hit his skin, melting instantly and flowing into his bones.
It hurt a lot. It felt like his bones were being drilled into, then filled with hot lead. The goblin's marrow essence was rough, but Edward forced his mana to act like a fire, burning away the bad stuff and forcing the raw power to join with his marrow.
He could feel the change. His bones, which had been the underdeveloped frame of a fifteen year old noble, were becoming dense and heavy. His mana channels, the path that carried allowed mana to enter his body, were being widened and reinforced by the goblin vitality.
By the time he had reached the hundredth goblin, the physical toll of the Three-Star Sword Arts had vanished. His muscles no longer groaned under the strain of the high-velocity movements.
The group started to fall apart. The goblins in front tried to turn back, only to be crushed by the thousands behind them who were still pushing forward, not knowing what was happening. The tunnel became filled with terror.
Edward didn't care about their fear. He was there to harvest, and they were ready.
He jumped into the air, over a pile of bodies, and landed in the thickest part of the crowd. He was surrounded. A hundred yellow eyes stared at him. A hundred sharp blades were raised.
3-Star Martial Art: The Spiral of the Void.
Edward spun, and his blade moved in a spiral, hitting the necks and chests of everyone near him.
Five fell. Then twelve. Then twenty.
Everything happened in an instant, he was moving so fast that he seemed to be in multiple places at once. To the goblins, it was like the darkness itself had teeth. One moment, a goblin would be yelling; the next, it was looking at its own body on the floor.
Edward's mind was cold, counting the numbers.
150 extractions.
180.
210.
He was building the foundation, to hold the weight of his upcoming power.
With that, the tunnel opened up into a wider space, where the floor was covered in dirt. Here, the goblins tried to surround him.
But Edward didn't stop. He used his force to push himself forward, his blade singing.
Flick. Ten more heads rolled.
Flick. Fifteen more torsos were opened.
He was a force of nature. He was living a life of martial skill. He didn't feel tired. He didn't feel bad. He just felt good that he was making progress in this regression.
The air was thick with the purple mist. It looked like Edward was walking through a cloud. Every goblin he touched turned into dust the moment their essence was taken.
As the killing continued, Edward hit a major milestone.
He stood on a pile of bodies, breathing calmly, his eyes controlled. The blade in his hand was covered in blood, its edge worn by the bones it had cut through.
350 goblins.
He had slain exactly 350 of them, but it still wasn't enough. This type of tempering wasn't just to make his body stronger; he was essentially reconstructing his entire constitution.
In less than two hours, he had taken down up to a third of the goblins. The 350th essence melted into his chest, and Edward felt a shift within his bones. His body was now stronger. He could feel himself getting tempered. His mana channels were almost there, just more marrow essence and it would be wide enough for him to increase his cultivation speed.
The remaining goblins had stopped moving. They were piled against the walls, trying to escape the silent killer standing in the middle of their home. Even the yelling had stopped. The only sound was the thud of a goblin's head hitting the stone.
Edward flicked the blood from his blade, the red drops making a line across the floor. He looked at the throne, where the leader was trembling, his hands gripping the stone.
With that, Edward took a step forward.
He had hundreds more extractions to go before he could go back to his cell. He had a core to fill, a body to build, and a father to defeat.
But among all that, the killing was just starting.