Jax was about to lose.

For the second time in his entire life.

And it pissed him off more than anything.

'First time was from his fan. Now this crying simp with his dead army. What's next? Losing to a angry chicken?'

He was really pissed and blaming this stupid system to turn him to a loser.

Behind him, Roxana was shaking. Fear had taken over her completely. But Sylvie? She just sat there. Calm. Accepting. Like she had already made peace with dying.

In front of him stood an army of death. Undead soldiers. Mages. Beasts. All waiting to tear him apart.

Before Jax could even think of a plan, Harry screamed.

"I'LL RIP YOUR TONGUE OUT! FOR EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT ERICA! FOR TAKING HER FROM ME! FOR LEAVING ME HERE WITHOUT HER FOR ALMOST ONE FUCKING YEAR!"

Then he did something stupid.

He charged. Right into his own army. Leading from the front like an idiot.

'This moron. He's a commander. His power is controlling summons. He has no business being in the frontline. Rage really does make people stupid.'

But even with that opening, Jax knew he was fucked.

He went through every option in his head.

'Soul Thief? No. Harry is level 39. Higher than me. Won't work.'

'Echo Mirror? Same problem. Level difference.'

'Devotion points?' He checked his bank. 380 points. 'Even if I dump all of it into leveling, I won't get above Harry. Useless.'

'Healing potions?' Gone. All of them. Used on those girls earlier. He didn't even remember when they got consumed so fast.

Every path led to the same result.

Death.

'Well, shit. This is really it, huh?'

Jax turned around slowly. He looked at Sylvie and Roxana.

"This is it for me."

His voice was calm. Too calm.

"But before I go down, I'll make sure to take that bastard with me."

Then his tone shifted. The sarcasm disappeared. The mockery faded. What remained was something raw. Something sad.

"Run from here. Get as far away as you can." He paused. "Take care of Adelina for me. And there's a woman at the academy named Nyara. She makes really good food. Take care of her too."

He forced a manic grin on his face. Hiding everything underneath.

"Don't worry about me. I'm immortal, you know? Even if I die here, I'll find a way back. Count on it."

He didn't wait for them to respond.

He turned and charged toward the incoming army.

Sylvie opened her mouth. Roxana reached out her hand. But Jax was already gone.

'That idiot. That stupid, perverted, crude, insufferable idiot.'

Tears formed in their eyes. But they couldn't let his sacrifice be for nothing. They turned to run.

Then they saw something.

And stopped.

-- -- --

Jax cut through the first soldier. Then another. Then a cavalry unit. Then an orc.

He was carving a path straight to Harry.

Harry was still in berserk mode. Screaming. Crying. Swinging wildly at nothing.

'There. I see my opening.'

Jax pushed forward.

THWACK!

An arrow hit his shoulder.

[HP: 800 / 50,000]

Pain exploded through his arm. His movements became even more sluggish. But he kept moving.

Dodge. Parry. Take a hit. Keep moving.

A mage's fireball grazed his side. A soldier's blade cut his leg. An archer's arrow scraped his back.

[HP: 250 / 50,000]

'Almost there. Just a few more steps.'

Harry was right in front of him. Vulnerable. Exposed.

Jax raised his sword.

Then a massive shape blocked his path.

The ridgeback yak. Huge. Terrifying. It caught Jax's blade with its axe like swatting a fly.

Before Jax could react, its head slammed into his chest.

CRACK!

He flew backward and crashed into the ground.

[HP: 50 / 50,000]

'Fifty. Fifty fucking HP. I'm one sneeze away from death.'

The yak stepped back at its master's command.

Jax looked up. Masha was staring down at him with cold eyes.

"You think it would be that easy?" She tilted her head. "Looking at all this mess, I'm guessing you're the reason the march got delayed. You imprisoned the queen. And somehow you pissed off my brother enough to want you dead."

She paused. Her eyes narrowed.

"By the way. Don't tell me you eliminated Erica."

Jax smiled.

That's all the answer she needed.

Her face twisted with rage. But Harry was faster. He snatched a longsword from one of his summon's hands and stomped toward Jax.

"I'll kill you myself. No summons. No beasts. Just me and you."

He raised the blade high.

'This is it. This is really—'

BOOM!

Thunder struck the ground right in front of Jax.

The blast sent Harry flying backward. His clothes caught fire. Smoke rose from his body. The summons and beasts nearby weren't so lucky. Several of them just vanished from the impact.

Harry screamed in pain but forced himself up. Burned but not dead.

"WHO DARES?!"

Before anyone could react, something else came.

A spear.

Not just any spear. This thing was made of pure compressed wind. It didn't even touch the ground but the stones below it shattered anyway. Everything in its path got destroyed. Soldiers. Summons. The floor itself.

Harry and Masha dove out of the way.

The spear hit the ground with a massive BOOM. The whole area shook like an earthquake. Then it flew back to its owner.

Everyone looked up.

Four figures stood on the cliff above.

Jax squinted through the dust and blood in his eyes.

'No way.'

Azara. Standing tall with lightning still crackling around her fingers.

Thalia. Spear back in her hand. Looking down at the battlefield like she owned it.

And beside them, two more. Zinnia and Kiera. The rivals who couldn't stand each other but apparently agreed on one thing today.

'Those four... they came for me?'

Then something appeared beside Jax. A transparent mirror floating in the air.

He looked back at the cliff. The four girls vanished.

And stepped out of the mirror right next to him.

Azara's lightning danced around her body. Thalia's spear hummed with power. Zinnia cracked her knuckles. Kiera's eyes glowed with residual magic from her portal.

They all looked at Jax.

Beaten. Bloody. Barely alive.

Fifty HP away from death.

And surrounded by enemies.

Their eyes met his.

'Well, shit. Looks like I'm not dying today after all.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.