SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 77: Leave Everything Here!

The air near the mountain pass that supposedly led to the Yang region was thick with a palpable tension, a stark contrast to the relative quiet of the deeper Dark Forest.

Daniel, moving with the almost supernatural silence of his S-Grade [Twilight Phantom Step], felt it first.

His [Aura Sense+], honed by countless assimilations and amplified by the ambient Yin energy, painted a grim picture in his mind even before Nyx relayed a confirmatory, worried yelp from her treetop vantage point.

A large group of Awakened, at least fifteen strong, radiated auras thick with greed, desperation, and a chillingly familiar predatory intent.

They were gathered near the narrowest point of the pass, clearly intending to control access or ambush anyone attempting to cross.

There were three faint, flickering life signs nearby, full of fear and pain, so it was clear they had already found victims.

"Looks like our toll booth theory was correct," Daniel murmured, his voice a low rumble that Lia and Ayra, following a short distance behind, picked up easily despite the oppressive gloom. "And they’re already open for business."

He signaled them to stop, then let his [Twilight Phantom Step] fade, revealing him beside a twisted obsidian tree cloaked in shadows.

"Stay here. I’ll scout ahead. Don’t engage unless they spot you first."

Ayra grunted, her hand already tightening on the haft of her great-axe. "More bullies? This forest is crawling with them.

Lia, her A-Grade Staff of the World Ash held with serene readiness, placed a calming hand on Ayra’s arm.

"Patience, Ayra. Let Daniel assess the situation. Rushing in blindly is how teams end up as... statistics."

Daniel nodded, then activated his A-Grade [Voidwalk].

The world around him seemed to dim further, his form becoming an undetectable ripple in the deep shadows.

He moved forward with the silence of a forgotten secret, Nyx guiding him with faint mental images towards the unfolding drama.

He reached the edge of a small, trampled clearing just shy of the pass.

The scene was ugly.

Thirteen Awakened, clad in mismatched, scavenged armor and wielding crude, menacing weapons, surrounded three other Vanguard recruits.

Daniel recognized the leader of the larger group instantly.

It was Kane, the scarred coward who had fled from Daniel’s arrow after his Savage Blades had ambushed Ayra and Lia earlier.

He clearly hadn’t learned his lesson, or perhaps desperation had made him bolder, if not smarter.

The three surrounded recruits were in bad shape. One lay on the ground, clutching a bleeding leg, his face pale with pain.

Another, a young woman, stood defiantly but trembled visibly, holding a bent F-grade dagger.

The third, a burly youth, was trying to shield the others, his own standard-issue vest already torn, revealing angry welts beneath.

They were clearly outmatched and terrified.

"Come on now, kids," Kane sneered, his raspy voice grating on Daniel’s nerves."

He kicked the injured recruit lightly, causing a pained groan.

"Just hand over your Yin cards, any Yang cards you might have stumbled upon, and maybe any shiny trinkets you picked up.

Do that, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll let you crawl away with most of your limbs still attached."

His followers, the rest of the Savage Blades, laughed, a harsh, ugly sound that resonated in the oppressive stillness.

The burly youth spat defiantly. "Go suck a gloom-leech, Kane! We earned these cards! You won’t get them without a fight!"

"Boom!"

Kane didn’t even flinch. He backhanded the youth with surprising force, sending him staggering.

"Fight? Oh, there’ll be a fight, baby. But it won’t be much of one. We just want your valuables.

Though," his pig-like eyes roved over the defiant young woman, "we might take a little extra... compensation... for our trouble."

The young woman recoiled, her face paling further.

Daniel felt a cold fury rise within him. These weren’t just scavengers; they were predators, preying on the weak, reveling in cruelty.

He had dealt with their kind before. He had hoped they’d learned. Clearly, some lessons needed to be repeated, with more emphasis.

One of Kane’s men, a lanky fellow with shifty eyes, suddenly stiffened, sniffing the air.

"Boss! I smell... fresh meat. And perfume?

The expensive kind." His gaze flickered towards the direction where Lia and Ayra were concealed.

Kane’s head snapped up, his scarred face twisting into a greedy grin. "Oh? More lambs for the slaughter? Spread out, boys! Looks like the buffet just got bigger!"

Daniel knew it was time. He allowed his [Voidwalk] to ripple, his form solidifying in the deep shadows at the edge of the clearing, still mostly unseen.

He didn’t need to shout. He projected his voice, cold and clear, amplified slightly by his own immense Spirit.

"Kane. We meet again. I see you’re still excelling at picking on those weaker than yourself."

The effect was instantaneous. Kane and his Savage Blades froze. The three beleaguered recruits looked up, a flicker of desperate hope in their eyes.

Kane spun around, his eyes frantically searching the shadows.

"Who’s there?! Show yourself!" he snarled, his earlier bravado faltering slightly. He remembered the arrow, the power.

Daniel stepped forward, Lia and Ayra emerging silently from the trees on either side of him, forming a formidable, if unexpected, trio.

Lia’s staff glowed with a soft, emerald light, a stark contrast to Ayra’s barely contained crimson berserker aura and the heavy thrum of Daniel’s own S-Grade power.

Nyx materialized from a shadow beside Daniel’s leg, letting out a surprisingly menacing growl for her pup-size, her Soulfire eyes fixed on Kane.

The wind seemed to die down, the oppressive silence of the Dark Forest pressing in, amplifying the sudden tension.

Kane stared, his jaw dropping as he recognized Daniel, then his eyes widened further at the sight of Ayra, the "redhead who fights like a demon" his fleeing men had babbled about.

His gaze then flickered to Lia, and a different kind of predatory gleam entered his eyes, mixed with a new wariness.

"You!" Kane spat, pointing a trembling finger at Daniel. "The archer! And... and the she-devil! What do you want? This ain’t your fight!"

"It is now," Daniel said calmly, his voice resonating with a quiet power that made the air around him seem to vibrate.

He looked at the injured recruits, then back at Kane’s sneering face.

"You and your Savage Blades have a bad habit of causing trouble, Kane. And an even worse habit of preying on those who can’t defend themselves. It’s a habit I intend to break. Permanently."

One of the Savage Blades, a burly thug with a crude spiked club, laughed nervously.

"Big words, pretty boy! There’s thirteen of us! You’re just three! And one of ’em’s just a healer!" He gestured disdainfully at Lia.

Lia merely smiled, a serene, almost pitying expression on her face.

Ayra, however, let out a low, dangerous growl, her knuckles cracking audibly.

"Healer?" she purred, her voice a silken threat. "Oh, I’ll make sure she has plenty to heal after I’m done with you lot."

Daniel ignored the thug. His gaze remained locked on Kane.

"Last chance, Kane. Leave the cards. Leave these recruits. Disappear back into whatever sewer you crawled out of. Do that, and you might live to see another sunrise."

Kane hesitated for a split second, a flicker of fear in his eyes as he remembered Daniel’s earlier display of lethal archery.

But then his gaze swept over his thirteen heavily armed thugs, and his bravado returned, fueled by numbers and desperation.

He wasn’t just fighting for cards now; he was fighting for his reputation, for his control over the Savage Blades. Running again, especially from just three opponents, would shatter his authority.

"Fat chance, Vance!" Kane snarled, drawing a long, wickedly curved bone knife, its edge stained with old blood. "We outnumber you! We’re stronger!

The Savage Blades don’t run from anyone! Boys! Kill the pretty boy first! The women are ours!"

The Savage Blades roared, raising their crude weapons, their faces contorted with greed and bloodlust.

They began to spread out, forming a ragged semi-circle, ready to charge.

The wind shrieked around them, carrying the foul scent of their unwashed bodies and the promise of violence.

Daniel just sighed, a sound of weary resignation. "Some people never learn." He looked at Ayra, then at Lia.

"Ladies? Shall we conduct a brief, but very practical, seminar on the consequences of poor life choices?"

Ayra grinned, a terrifying, ecstatic light in her eyes. "Lecture time! My favorite!" She hefted her great-axe.

Lia nodded, her Staff of the World Ash glowing brighter. "The curriculum will be... memorable."

The air crackled with anticipation. The clash was inevitable.

The harvest, Daniel knew, was about to begin.