Becoming the Dark Lord

Chapter 567: The Swamp Rat

Two days had passed since Luke had taken out the archers. He kept himself hidden, studying the Green Bracelet zone from a distance. That section of the island was almost entirely flooded now. Only a few bridges remained, clinging to the upper branches like fragile walkways. If green bracelets had been scattered around, the tsunami had swept nearly all of them away.

The place was empty. He saw almost no one. With his bow, he stayed high in the dry canopy, circling the perimeter, watching from the shadows. The arrow wound he'd taken from the Father's men looked worse by the day. Ever since reaching Rank E, injuries rarely lingered like this. His regeneration always handled the worst of it. But now the skin was discolored, fever crept through his body, and something deep inside felt off.

While moving across the surviving wooden bridges, he tossed chunks of meat from animals he'd hunted. Crocodiles gathered fast, following him through the water below. Some even lunged high enough to snap planks off the bridges. Luke herded them intentionally, dragging the predators away from areas he wanted to search later.

He searched the unflooded forest for chests, but the only one he found had already been looted. What he needed most was a healing potion.

Look at that. You're all eating well.

Hidden in the brush, he peered through his bow's sight at a group of Thai players. They were grilling meat, laughing, enjoying themselves. A mound of supplies sat beside them, everything they'd stolen from the region. They were led by someone named Yut. Luke had heard the name in passing and figured this was the same Yut near the top of the leaderboard.

Among their ridiculous stockpile, Luke spotted several healing potions. They sat in an overflowing chest right in the middle of the camp. Not locked. Not guarded. Barely even covered. They had so much loot they couldn't be bothered to close the lid.

Should I ignore these guys and search for a potion somewhere far from here? Or… take the harder route?

He touched the wound at his side. Between the broken finger, the cracked rib, and the deeper internal ache he couldn't quite name, he knew things were getting worse. If he weren't built beyond human limits, he'd already be dead.

I want the hard route.

Forget the safe path, forget survival logic. He wanted to kill these bastards, especially after hearing them laugh about triggering the tsunami. Part of him wanted to hunt them down for it. But a bigger part wanted something else entirely.

A challenge. Fuel.

He smiled, faint and feral, and stepped into the forest.

***

After a full day watching the group, Luke finally decided to move. His plan was ready. There had to be more than eighty people in that camp. Still, they always wandered off in groups of five, whether to piss or to hunt for chests. Seven torches lit the camp itself, and another fourteen burned around the perimeter. They didn't care about being seen from a distance. Height advantage made them arrogant; they could spot climbers long before anyone reached them.

Luke counted sixteen arrows in his quiver. He'd only get a few seconds to pull this off. With a steady breath, he began. One arrow after another flew, each striking a torch. The camp dropped into near-total darkness, lit only by the distant glow of the forest torches.

"Attack!" several voices shouted at once.

Luke fired into a man farther out; the arrow struck his leg and he yelped in pain.

"Shit!" the man screamed, and everyone turned his way. Meanwhile Luke slipped past them, crouched low, [Demonic Perception] guiding him through the shadows as he poured two bottles of liquid across the ground.

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"Light this up now!" someone barked.

Luke reached their supply stash and downed two healing potions so fast he almost shattered the glass. Warmth rushed through his body as wounds knitted closed.

Finally.

A torch flared to life.

"Yut!"

"Kill every bastard inside my damn camp!" Yut roared.

Luke dashed forward, jumping onto one of them. Darkness was his ally here. He struck a man across the back, then finished him quickly.

[You have slain a Human…] *180,452 IP earned*

He sprinted to another.

[You have slain a Human…] *286,741 IP earned*

He leapt and shot again.

[You have slain a Human…] *299,854 IP earned*

"I saw him! There's a rat here!" someone shouted as a globe of light burst overhead, flooding the clearing.

A figure launched at Luke. He fired an arrow, but the attacker deflected it and closed the distance. Luke drew his machete.

Yut, of course.

Their blades clashed, sparks breaking the darkness.

"You've got guts showing up here! Who the hell are you?!"

"The guy who burned your entire resource stockpile," Luke answered.

He hurled a flask at the man holding a torch. It shattered, igniting instantly. The man screamed as he fell, and the fire spread fast, racing across crates, tents, even the chest pile.

"You little bastard!" Yut snarled.

Luke was already running.

"There might be others in the forest, Yut!" someone shouted.

"I want that rat dead!" Yut bellowed as he charged after Luke.

Some tried to save the burning supplies; others sprinted after him. Luke grabbed a torch from a tree. He ran toward the flooded zone. Toward the bridge. Bolts whistled past him. Stone shards exploded around his feet.

He reached the bridge, tossed a flask into the air, hurled the torch after it, and drew his bow in one fluid motion. The shot hit the flask midair. Flaming liquid rained down. Several of the Thai fighters were splashed, shouting in shock.

"Laugh while you can, rat!" Yut yelled, gaining on him.

"That was funny as hell!" Luke shouted back.

Two men dove into the water to escape the flames. Luke crossed the bridge. A scream tore through the air. The crocodiles had been waiting below. Luke sliced through the bridge ropes, sending several pursuers plummeting. Yut stayed behind with a handful of others. Below, the unlucky ones thrashed in the water.

"I led you here on purpose," Luke called out. He stood on a distant tree, the river separating them.

"You've got nerve. I'll admit that," Yut said. "But I'm coming for you, sooner or later. Black eye and blue eye, you've been a pain in my ass for too long."

"Come on, then. Swim if you want," Luke taunted. "And remember this. You're a big group. If you come for me, I'll see you long before you get close. But me? I'm alone, and I like the forest. So think about that when you go to sleep… or when you sneak off to piss. I'll show up, and next time, you'll wake up to bodies."

Yut spat into the river. "It's official. I'm hunting you myself."

"Next time, bring me more healing potions." And Luke flipped them off and backed away, disappearing as he ran toward the other bridges.

"Son of a bitch!" Yut's scream echoed through the swamp.

***

Luke spent several days without showing his face anywhere, wandering quietly through the forest. He stayed hidden inside a hollow formed between stones near the base of a hill. It felt almost like a small cave. There was no reason to keep roaming the forest, not when his injuries had finally begun to heal.

He stayed there until the deadline for the Green Bracelet challenge expired. And then the notification appeared.

[The Green Bracelet Challenge has ended! If you didn't acquire yours, don't worry. You can always claim one from someone who has it.]

The message shifted.

[The Purple Bracelet Challenge is now available!]

The third bracelet. I've been on this island for three weeks.

Third Bracelet: Purple Bracelet

This Zone of the island has entered irreversible collapse. Earthquakes spread through the region as the ground cracks and gives way beneath your feet. Soon, the entire area will be swallowed by the sea, pulled into an oceanic vortex and dragged to the bottom of the abyss. Nothing that remains in this Zone will survive.

You have until the time limit ends to reach the Second Zone. Every second matters, and stopping is not an option. But running won't be enough. Humanoid creatures that once lived beneath the island have emerged, driven by vengeance, and they will attack anyone they find. Some of them carry Purple Bracelets, which may be your chance to obtain one.

The island is collapsing, enemies are hunting, and what you need is in their hands. Run. Take it. Survive. Or vanish along with the island.

[Time Remaining: 11 Hours : 59 Minutes : 59 Seconds]