ch43- Reckoning Strike

As everyone rested and recovered from the recent battle, a sudden, ferocious roar echoed through the forest above them. Alex and his team looked up to see that the battle on the third tier of the hill had also reached its climax. The scythe monsters, now without reinforcements, were swiftly being wiped out by the massive grizzlies.

With the scythe monsters eradicated, the remaining grizzlies, now aware of the human intruders, began to roar and charge down from the third tier toward the group. What was more terrifying was the sight of a massive red grizzly bear, several times larger than the golden grizzlies, emerging from the summit. It was as large as a moving skyscraper, with two enormous wings that stretched across the sky, casting a shadow over the entire hill.

In an instant, the red-winged grizzly launched itself into the air, soaring toward the third tier, and without slowing down, it began a terrifying dive directly at the group below.

Everyone was frozen in shock by the sight of the colossal creature. David, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the monster, blurted out in disbelief, "Holy hell! Is that the Boss, the 'Twin-Winged Grizzly'? It's huge!"

Olivia and some of the others, barely managing to keep their composure, shouted at the stunned crowd, "Spread out! That thing's attacks are going to be deadly! Don't let it hit you!"

But before they could fully react, the red-winged grizzly crashed down with a thunderous impact, the sheer force of its landing killing several people instantly without even launching a proper attack.

The imminent threat of death finally snapped everyone out of their daze, and they turned to flee for their lives.

"ROOOAARR!!"

The massive red grizzly, filled with rage, reared up on its hind legs and let out a deafening roar, asserting its dominance. Then, with a brutal force, it slammed its massive paws into the ground, unleashing a visible shockwave that spread outward in all directions.

The yellow shockwave moved slowly but carried immense destructive power. Wherever it passed, the health of everyone in its range dropped to zero, instantly killing nearly a hundred people in a single move.

The sheer devastation left everyone horrified. Even those guarding the entrance at the base of the hill began to flee in terror through the giant stone gate.

Alex's eyes burned with fury. Among those caught in the shockwave were several of his classmates, who had been wiped out instantly by the Boss's devastating attack. Fueled by rage, Alex charged toward the red-winged grizzly without hesitation, ignoring the expanding shockwave.

**-600!**

As the shockwave hit him, Alex felt a wave of nausea as his health dropped by 600 points. Such high damage explained why the others were killed so easily. But for Alex, who had over 3,700 health, it was manageable. He quickly closed the distance to the red-winged grizzly.

The giant bear seemed surprised that any "insect" could withstand its skill. It even sensed a slight threat from Alex, and with a flap of its massive wings, it tried to take to the sky.

But Alex wasn't about to let it escape. With a roar of his own, he swung his massive purple sword, **Void's Edge**, with all his might.

To the shock of everyone fleeing, the seemingly unstoppable red-winged grizzly was sliced clean through by Alex's attack. A streak of purple light cut through its enormous body, and the beast let out a short, pained cry before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

For a few moments, the battlefield was eerily silent. No one could believe what they had just witnessed. The giant grizzly, which had wiped out nearly a hundred people with a single move and seemed like an unstoppable force, had been felled by Alex in one strike.

The sight of Alex standing beside the massive corpse, the clear size difference between them, only intensified the shock. How could such an overwhelmingly powerful Boss be defeated so easily?

Enraged and filled with adrenaline, Alex became an unstoppable force. His D-level agility allowed him to move faster than anyone else on the battlefield, and his devastating attacks made him a reaper of death. Even the colossal golden grizzlies, which no one else could face, were felled by Alex's sword in a single blow.

With Alex leading the charge, the battle quickly turned in their favor. Seeing his relentless slaughter, the fleeing survivors were emboldened, turning back to join the fight against the remaining brown grizzlies.

The slaughter and chaos continued for nearly half an hour, with the group suffering almost 300 casualties before Alex and his team finally wiped out all the grizzlies on Grizzly Mountain.

As Alex climbed to the summit, he came across a stone platform resembling a control console. Slowly approaching, a soft, white glowing orb rose from the center of the stone table, and Alex received a notification:

**"The Boss of Grizzly Mountain, the 'Twin-Winged Grizzly,' has been slain. Would you like to claim this resource point?"**

Without hesitation, Alex selected "Yes."

**"Detected: Player belongs to the Yellow Tiger High School faction. Commencing the claim process for this resource point!"** 

**"Reminder: The claiming process cannot be interrupted. Once completed, this resource point will belong to the player's faction."** 

**"Claiming progress: 1%..."**

Alex initially thought this process would be quick, but after several minutes, the progress had only moved from 1% to 2%. It was clear this task was far from over.

It seemed the claiming process would take several hours to complete. During this time, Alex and the others would need to defend the stone gate from any incoming threats to ensure the process wasn't interrupted.

Fortunately, with most of the monsters already eliminated by Alex and his team, they didn't expect the defense to be too difficult. Everyone took advantage of the downtime to recover their strength and heal. Apart from those who had been killed by the Boss, most were injured by the brown grizzlies, whose attacks had inflicted 30 to 40 points of damage per hit. Many were too cautious to fight at full strength, but injuries were still widespread.

Alex, meanwhile, had once again proven himself to be the centerpiece of the battle. Not only had he killed the Boss with a single strike, but he was also responsible for eliminating nearly 70% of the golden grizzlies. It was fair to say that the victory belonged to Alex alone.

His overwhelming strength earned him even greater respect from everyone else.

As the injured gathered around, Alex stood before them, his face calm but his blood-soaked clothes and the aura of battle making him appear even more fearsome.

**"Once we secure this resource point, I intend to move on and conquer the next one!"**

Despite his collected demeanor, the sight of Alex standing there, bathed in the aftermath of carnage, left no doubt that his determination to continue the fight was as unshakable as ever.