Ex rank talent Awakening: 100\% Dodge rate-Chapter 309: VISITING THE EMPIRE I

Greg and Kate materialized in the heart of the Apocalypse world, the air thick with an otherworldly hum that echoed through the desolate landscape.

The game-like atmosphere enveloped Kate, stirring a deep sense of nostalgia within her, as if she were stepping back into a forgotten dream filled with pixelated adventures and endless possibilities.

"Stay close," Greg instructed her firmly, his voice cutting through the eerie silence.

"We need to pay someone a visit before we start grinding."

Kate nodded silently, her eyes wide with a mix of excitement and caution, as she fell into step behind him, her footsteps light on the cracked earth.

Suddenly, massive dragon wings sprouted from Greg's back, unfurling with a powerful whoosh that stirred the dust around them, their scales glistening under the dim, apocalyptic sky.

He wrapped his strong arms around Kate's waist, pulling her close to his chest for security, before launching into the air with effortless grace, his path already etched in his mind like an unerring compass.

As they soared higher, a system notification flashed in Greg's vision: [Kate has accepted your invite and joined the guild!]

While cutting through the clouds, Greg glanced at the alert briefly but dismissed it without a second thought, his concentration locked on maintaining their swift trajectory through the turbulent winds.

Propelled by supersonic speed, Greg descended like a meteor toward the towering walls of the empire's castle, which loomed ominously ahead, entirely engulfed and barricaded by a writhing mass of Shadow slaves, their dark forms twisting like living shadows in the fading light.

He gently lowered Kate to the ground, her feet touching the rough stone with a soft thud, before summoning his legendary sword, Heaven Defier, into his grip with a mere thought.

The intricate tattoo of the blade on his skin faded away temporarily, leaving a faint glow in its wake.

"Stay close," Greg warned Kate, his tone grave and protective.

"These things are hard to kill if you don't know their core weak point, and they're extremely dangerous up close."

Kate nodded again, her heart pounding with adrenaline, as she shadowed him closely, her senses heightened by the chaotic energy surrounding them.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Greg charged forward into the swirling horde of Shadow slaves, his movements a blur of calculated fury as he tore through their ranks without mercy.

His golden eyes, sharp and piercing like those of a predator, pierced through the veil of darkness, revealing the hidden vulnerabilities in each creature, the pea-like cores pulsing faintly within their ethereal bodies.

One by one, Greg shattered those cores with precise strikes, the monsters dissolving into wisps of black smoke, while Kate trailed behind, her presence a quiet anchor in the storm of battle.

As the fight raged on, Kate observed something peculiar about the Shadow slaves, their shadowy tendrils coiling and uncoiling in erratic patterns around her.

They seemed to avoid her deliberately, not out of fear, but as if she were invisible to their aggression.

It wasn't avoidance exactly; they refrained from launching any attacks, swarming in close proximity yet treating her with an eerie neutrality, as though she weren't an enemy or but an ally in their twisted perception.

"Why won't they attack me?" Kate called out to Greg, her voice laced with confusion amid the clashes of steel and shadowy snarls, as he dispatched another abomination with a swift slash.

"Possibly because you are their maker," Greg replied matter-of-factly, pausing mid-strike to turn toward her, his expression intense under the sweat-streaked brow.

"What do you mean?" Kate pressed, her brow furrowing in bewilderment, the words hanging in the air like a puzzle she couldn't quite solve.

"I'll explain it better later," Greg said, his focus sharpening once more. "For now, I need to concentrate on this."

He spun back into the fray, his sword whistling through the air as he resumed decimating the remaining Shadow slaves with unrelenting precision.

After what felt like an eternity of relentless combat, Greg finally slew the last of the creatures in the vicinity, their final echoes fading into the wind-swept ruins.

"I no longer assimilate the law of darkness from these monsters," Greg muttered under his breath, running his fingers through his long, disheveled hair, pushing it back in a casual sweep that revealed the weariness etched on his features.

With the recent upgrade of his concept of darkness to its absolute form, he had come to realize that these lesser beings offered no further progression, their essence too diluted to fuel his growing power.

Perhaps stronger shadow variants would prove more useful in the future, their denser energies potentially aligning better with his evolved abilities.

But regardless, Greg resolved to eradicate every Shadow slave he encountered, determined to cleanse the world of these vile scums that plagued its shattered realms.

"Let's go," Greg said to Kate, his voice steady as he sheathed his sword, the last remnants of dark mist dissipating around them.

With Kate trailing closely behind, her steps more confident now, they proceeded through the massive palace gate, its once-grand arches now cracked and overgrown with shadowy vines.

The empire, which had once stood as a formidable citadel of dominance, power, and unyielding control, was now reduced to a vast expanse of rubble, the debris scattered like the bones of a fallen giant.

Collapsed structures littered the grounds everywhere, their stone facades crumbled and jagged, while dried stains of blood painted the pathways in grim reminders of past carnage, interspersed with the occasional lurking remnant of a Shadow slave. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Of course, after Greg's two previous visits, which had left trails of devastation in their wake, the empire had become nothing more than a hollow shell of its former glory, its vibrancy stripped away layer by layer.

Greg, however, showed no trace of sympathy in his piercing gaze as he surveyed the destruction.

Far from it; his eyes burned with a cold intensity that spoke of deeper emotions.

What he truly felt was a seething anger, barely contained beneath his composed exterior, simmering like a storm ready to unleash.