The territory of the Golden Crabs was a fortress of avarice. Located in the nutrient-rich currents of the southern shelf, it was a sprawling complex of gold-plated bunkers and watchtowers. The Syndicate had heavily fortified it after the fall of General Aurelius.

But Aurelius had been a pawn. The true power was King Jinsha. The Gilded King.

Alvian stood on a ridge overlooking the Golden Gate. It was a massive wall of solid [Aurum-Adamantite], fifty feet high and reinforced with earth magic.

"That's a lot of gold," Seraphina whispered, her eyes reflecting the shine. "It's tacky."

"It's armor," Valeria corrected. "Thick armor. My sword will chip on that."

Alvian scanned the defenses.

[Target: The Golden Gate]

[Durability: 5,000,000 / 5,000,000]

[Status: Reinforced / Magic Reflect]

"They learned from Aurelius," Alvian noted. "They added thermal insulation. My [Frost Descent] won't make it brittle enough to shatter easily."

"So we can't freeze it," Valeria said.

"No," Alvian said. He equipped his [Lance]. He activated [Cold Fury]. His eyes turned white. His muscles condensed.

[Strength: 580.]

"We don't freeze it," Alvian said, his voice devoid of emotion. "We knock."

He stepped off the ridge. He didn't use stealth. He plummeted toward the gate like a kinetic rod.

"INTRUDER!" The crab guards on the wall shouted. "FIRE THE BALLISTAS!"

Massive bolts of steel shot toward him. Alvian didn't dodge. He swatted them aside with his lance.

"CLANG! CLANG!"

He landed in front of the gate. The impact shook the foundation of the wall.

"King Jinsha!" Alvian's voice was amplified by the cold mana. "Open the door."

A viewing port opened. A pair of eyestalks peered out.

"The Godslayer," a metallic voice sneered. "You killed my General. You think you can break my home? This gate is solid Adamantite! It can withstand a Leviathan's charge!"

"Inefficient design," Alvian stated. "You focused on hardness, but ignored resonance."

He placed his hand on the gate.

"[Cold Fury] + [Runic Aegis]: Kinetic Overload."

He didn't punch immediately. He summoned fourteen runes. He stacked them on his fist. He began to vibrate his hand, matching the resonant frequency of the metal.

"System. Divert all mana to Kinetic Output."

"OPEN."

He punched.

"BOOOOOOOOM!"

It wasn't just a hit. It was a localized earthquake. The runes detonated, multiplying his 580 Strength into a force that defied calculation. The shockwave turned the water into a hammer of compressed air.

The gate didn't shatter. It bent.

The massive, solid gold-steel doors buckled inward, torn from their hinges. They flew into the courtyard, crushing the guards standing behind them.

[-500,000! Structural Damage!]

M

Alvian walked through the ruined archway. Dust and gold flakes rained down on his [Vestments].

Inside, the Golden Army was waiting. Thousands of armored crabs, their shells gleaming. And on a dais at the back, King Jinsha sat on a throne of solid diamond.

[Target Identified: King Jinsha (The Gilded Sovereign)]

[Level: 55]

[Class: Fortress King]

Jinsha stood up, his massive claws clacking together. He didn't look afraid. He looked angry.

"You broke my door," Jinsha roared. "That cost more than your life!"

"Put it on my tab," Alvian said, spinning his lance.

Valeria and Seraphina landed behind him, weapons drawn.

"Formation," Alvian ordered, his voice cold. "Valeria, hold the left. Seraphina, the right. I'm going up the middle."

"You're going to fight the King?" Valeria asked.

"No," Alvian said, looking at the massive, armored monarch. "I'm going to scrap him."

He charged. The [Cold Fury] pushed his speed to a blur. He hit the front line of the crab army. He didn't stop. He plowed through them, his lance smashing shells and severing limbs with the efficiency of a machine.

The war for the Golden City had begun. And Alvian was the siege engine.

The main thoroughfare of the Golden City was no longer a street; it was a killing field paved with the crushed carapaces of the Golden Army. Dust and gold flakes hung in the air like a glittering, lethal fog.

Alvian moved through the chaos, a blur of violet light and black steel. He was in the [Cold Fury] state, his emotions frozen over, leaving only a crystalline clarity of purpose. His Strength and Physique stats, doubled by the skill, turned his body into a weapon far deadlier than any blade.

He didn't dodge the attacks of the crab soldiers. He walked through them.

A massive, armored crab swung a halberd at his neck. Alvian caught the shaft with his bare hand. The metal groaned, then snapped. With a fluid motion, Alvian drove the broken end into the soldier's eye slit.

"Inefficient," Alvian whispered, his voice distorted by the cold mana radiating from his throat. "You rely on numbers. Numbers are just multipliers for my damage."

He spun his [Lance of the Void Winter]. A crescent of black ice decapitated three guards instantly.

At the far end of the courtyard, atop the dais of solid diamond, King Jinsha rose from his throne. The Gilded Sovereign was a monstrosity of wealth and power. He stood twelve feet tall, his natural shell completely encased in enchanted gold plate that pulsed with a heavy, yellow light. His claws were encrusted with gemstones that acted as mana foci, and his eyes were cold, calculating orbs of emerald.

"You break my door," Jinsha boomed, his voice sounding like coins falling on stone. "You break my servants. You think because you killed Aurelius, you can challenge the King?"

Jinsha raised a massive claw. The gold plating on his arm shifted, flowing like liquid before hardening into a jagged spike.

"I bought this power, Godslayer! I purchased the finest enchantments the Syndicate could offer! [Gilded Prison]!"

The ground beneath Alvian turned to liquid gold. It surged upward, wrapping around his legs, cooling instantly into a prison harder than steel.

Alvian looked down at his trapped legs. He didn't struggle. He didn't panic.

"You spent a fortune on defense," Alvian noted, his eyes locking onto the King. "But you forgot to invest in structural integrity."

"System. Maximize [Cold Fury]. Divert mana to muscular density."

[Warning! Muscle fibers at critical tension.]

"Break."

Alvian flexed.

"CRACK!"

The gold encasing his legs didn't just crack; it exploded outward, turned into shrapnel by the sheer expansive force of his muscles. Alvian stepped out of the debris, the golden dust settling on his [Vestments of the Void Monarch].

He activated [Void Step].

M

He vanished.

He reappeared mid-air, directly in front of King Jinsha.

Jinsha's reaction was instantaneous. He wasn't a slow, lumbering tank like his general. He was fast. He brought his massive claws up, crossing them to protect his face. The gemstones on his claws flared, generating a [Reflective Barrier].

"Useless!" Jinsha roared. "My defense is absolute!"

Alvian slammed his fist into the barrier. He wasn't using the lance. He was using his hand, reinforced by the [Thundergod Bracers] and the raw stats of [Cold Fury].

"BOOM!"

The impact shook the dais. The diamond throne cracked. Jinsha slid backward, his claws digging furrows into the stone floor.

[-15,000! Blunt Impact!]

"Absolute?" Alvian landed softly, tilting his head. "There is no such thing. There is only a threshold of force I haven't reached yet."

Jinsha stared at the dent in his golden claw. Panic flickered in his emerald eyes. He had paid billions for this armor. It was supposed to be invulnerable to physical damage.

"Guards! Kill him! Bury him!" Jinsha screamed, retreating toward the back of the dais.

A dozen elite Royal Guards, heavily armored crabs with tower shields, rushed to form a wall between Alvian and the King.

Alvian sighed. The breath left his lips as a cloud of ice crystals.

"Physics Lesson Number Sixteen," Alvian whispered, equipping his Lance. "Domino effect."

He didn't attack the guards. He attacked the ground.

"[Frost Descent +2]: Tectonic Heave."

M

He drove the lance into the dais. He didn't just release the cold; he pushed it deep into the foundation of the structure. The water table beneath the stone froze instantly. The expansion was violent.

The dais erupted.

The stone floor buckled and shot upward. The line of Royal Guards was thrown into the air, their formation shattered by the very ground they stood on.

Alvian moved through the falling debris. He was a phantom, weaving between flying rocks and flailing bodies.

He reached Jinsha.

The King was backed against the wall of his palace. There was nowhere left to run. The arrogance was gone, replaced by the primal fear of a prey animal realizing the predator has stopped playing.

"Wait!" Jinsha held up a claw. "I can pay you! I have treasures! I have the Syndicate's blueprints! I can make you a king!"

Alvian stopped. He looked at the golden monstrosity.

"You misunderstood the currency of this transaction," Alvian said coldly. "I don't want your gold. I want your XP."

Jinsha roared, a sound of desperate fury. "THEN DIE POOR!"

He lunged, both claws snapping forward in a scissor motion meant to cut Alvian in half.

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