*Ding*

[Congratulations!]

[You have defeated the Grade 5 Demon Commander]

[You have received the following rewards:]

[+500 Exp]

[+1 Grade 4 Beast Egg]

Axton staggered back, his chest rising and falling heavily.

Finally, his body gave in, and he dropped onto the ground, exhausted.

His eyes scanned through the rewards, lips curling faintly as his critical hit perk activated.

The numbers shifted.

500 Exp transformed into a massive 50,000 Exp.

The Grade 4 beast egg upgraded, becoming Grade 5.

Silver coins turned into gold coins.

The potions he received transformed into higher grade ones.

The rewards were excellent.

Close to what he'd expected.

He wasted no time and stored the Grade 5 beast egg into the beast scroll they had secured earlier.

No need to tempt fate by leaving it exposed.

For a while, he just sat there, catching his breath.

The battlefield was quiet now, eerily so.

And then, slowly but steadily, people began to emerge.

NPCs and players alike crawled back from hiding, their eyes wide, their steps hesitant.

They wanted proof.

Proof that the nightmare was finally over.

When they saw the corpse of the ox demon lying broken on the ground, their breaths deepened and then relaxed after a sigh of relief.

It was real.

That terrifying monster… the one they thought invincible was truly dead.

They looked to Axton.

He was alive.

He was still standing… or sitting, at least.

Their faces shifted from fear to relief, to awe, to uncontainable joy.

It was over.

Completely over.

*Ding*

[You are now Level 14]

Axton levelled up to 14.

He was close to leaving the novice village, and this was bound to happen sooner than later.

*Ding*

[World Announcement!]

[Novice Village #666 has successfully repelled the demonic invasion!]

[The Demon Commander has been defeated!]

[Player Khan was responsible for the defeat of the Demon Commander!]

[Congratulations to Player Khan on receiving +1 Mythical Point and +1000 Reputation Points!]

"So he actually did it."

ArashiKage tilted his head back, staring at the glowing message across the sky.

ArashiKage chuckled as he shook his head.

Unexpectedly, a weight lifted from his chest.

His hostility faded.

What Axton had just accomplished… it wasn't something you could brush off.

He was impressed.

This was respect. Earned, not demanded.

Meanwhile, Kiran's face twisted with fury as he read the announcement.

'This should have been me!' His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. 'If not for that damned Silva… this should have been my name being shown for everyone to see!'

He seethed, trembling with rage.

He had missed his chance, the golden opportunity to etch his name into the world forever and now… it belonged to Khan.

Elsewhere, voices echoed across the player base.

"Khan strikes again! Hahaha, no surprise there."

"The fact he was in that village already guaranteed it. He was bound to steal the show."

"At this rate, we're just eating crumbs off his banquet table. He's eating the feast and we're fighting for scraps."

And though some said it in jest, others said it with envy, fear, or bitter admiration.

Axton had won again.

And as usual, the world was watching.

******

Axton finally ended up with 100 mythical points and 100,000 reputation points after the critical hit did its work.

The numbers flickered on his system panel, glowing faintly before fading away.

He exhaled deeply, his shoulders relaxing.

"Not bad," he muttered.

He wasn't going to complain.

However, the aftermath of the battle still weighed heavily on his body.

His health bar had been shredded down to a drop in the bucket during the brutal clash with the ox demon, and though victory was his, the fatigue clung stubbornly to him.

He quickly rummaged through his inventory, bringing out a handful of potions.

*Glug* *Glug* *Glug*

The taste of the crimson HP potion washed down his throat.

A second bottle followed, and then a third.

Warmth spread across his body as his wounds healed and his health bar climbed steadily.

His mana, however, was a different story.

The potion restored only a portion of it, and his reserves were still not optimal.

Even so, Axton wasn't worried.

Time would fix that, as it always did.

He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, finally allowing himself to slump against a jagged rock.

"What a fight…"

His expression was calm but his breathing betrayed him, exposing how stretched he had been during the fight.

Anyone watching could tell that this was a man who had poured everything into that final clash.

The battlefield itself was a grim sight.

Corpses of demons littered the ground, many still smoldering from the flames and the aftermath of other players' technique that had consumed them.

The players hadn't escaped unscathed either.

While the demons suffered the heaviest casualties, many players had fallen in the defense of Novice Village #666.

Even the Dragon Claw Guild, who had led from the front lines and played a vital role, had lost members.

Their healers scrambled now to revive the fallen ego still had hopes of recovering while others tended to wounds with trembling hands.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, smoke, and exhaustion.

Axton sat quietly, letting the chaos fade into the background.

Unlike the others, who grieved or celebrated, he was simply… drained.

Then, it happened.

*Ding*

A crisp chime echoed across the battlefield.

Everyone froze for a heartbeat before their system notifications began to drop one after another.

[The Demon Invasion has been stopped.]

[Your contribution has been estimated to be 70%.]

[Here are your rewards.]

Players widened their eyes, excitement bubbling despite the carnage.

QueenBee's face lit up, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten.

She clenched her fists and almost screamed. "Yes! Finally, something good!"

The last time, during their last dungeon with Axton, her contribution score had been pitiful.

Back then, she could only gnash her teeth in frustration as Axton's performance completely overshadowed hers and the guild's.

But now? Now, she had fought tooth and nail, and the system had recognized it.

For a healer who had spent most of her time supporting from the rear, this was an incredible recognition.

[The Demon Invasion has been stopped.]

[Your contribution has been estimated to be 79%.]

"Yes!" Hart punched the air, grinning ear to ear.

His performance had also been rewarded.

More notifications chimed.

[The Demon Invasion has been stopped.]

[Your contribution has been estimated to be 61%.]

[The Demon Invasion has been stopped.]

[Your contribution has been estimated to be 42%.]

[The Demon Invasion has been stopped.]

[Your contribution has been estimated to be 50%.]

One by one, players saw their scores.

The atmosphere shifted, excitement mixing with disappointment depending on who got what.

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