The Tyrant’s Path

MC's POV

Iron Haven reeked of blood, smoke, and desperation. The air itself felt poisoned—thick with the weight of countless sins.

We had made enemies. That was inevitable. In this city, you either took or were taken from. There was no middle ground.

The corpses of the men we'd killed still bled into the dirt behind us. Flies had already begun to feast. The ones who ran would spread the word. We weren't prey. We were something else.

But in this world, strength alone didn't guarantee survival. Strength had to be wielded with purpose.

Zhao Yue walked beside me, her new iron-tipped gloves still on her hands. She hadn't spoken since the fight. Not really. The way she kept flexing her fingers told me everything I needed to know.

It was starting. The feeling.

The realization that killing was too easy.

I knew it well. The first time I took a life, I thought I would feel regret. I didn't. I felt power. And that scared me more than the act itself.

"You did well," I said, my voice low.

Zhao clenched her fists. "…It felt different this time."

"Because you're different now."

She exhaled sharply but didn't argue.

The Farm Evolves

The Divine Crystal pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat.

[ System Notification ]

Farm of the Forsaken has leveled up to Level 2.

New Function Unlocked: Soul Harvest – Certain kills now grant remnants of the fallen, absorbing fragments of their abilities or essence.

New Perk: Tyrant's Growth – The more enemies fall to your blade, the stronger your body adapts to carnage.

A wave of something primal rushed through me. Not just power. Change.

I had been growing stronger since the system awakened. But now… now, it was something more. The lines between man and monster blurred with every fight, every kill.

The Farm of the Forsaken wasn't just a tool anymore. It was alive in a way I didn't fully understand.

And it was making me into something else.

Iron Haven's Rot

The streets twisted around us like a maze designed to kill the weak. Broken buildings leaned against each other, their walls covered in crude markings—symbols of the gangs and warlords who ruled this place.

The deeper we walked, the more we saw. Cages. People packed inside like animals, their eyes hollow, their bodies skeletal. Some clutched at rusted bars, whispering for help. Others didn't move at all.

Mei turned her face away. She couldn't look.

Yusheng exhaled through his nose. "This place is worse than I thought."

"It's not a city," Chen Rui muttered. "It's a graveyard that forgot to die."

I stopped in front of one of the cages. A boy, no older than twelve, looked up at me with dull eyes. His fingers barely had the strength to grip the bars.

"Help me…" his voice cracked, barely more than a whisper.

I stared at him for a long moment.

Then I turned away.

"…We can't save them," I said.

Mei flinched. "But—"

"If we stop now, we all die here."

It was a brutal truth. One I had learned the hard way.

Zhao clenched her jaw but didn't argue. She understood.

Mei didn't. Not yet.

We moved on.

The Broker

We found the Black Market Broker in the ruins of what used to be a bank. Now, it was his kingdom.

Guards flanked the entrance, their armor stitched together from salvaged riot gear and scavenged metal. The stench of burnt meat lingered in the air—some of it wasn't animal.

The Broker himself lounged on a throne made of bones and shattered gold.

A thin man with sunken cheeks and dead, shark-like eyes. He smiled as we entered, his gaze sharp enough to gut.

"Ah," he purred. "New blood."

I stepped forward. "We're looking for supplies."

He tilted his head. "Supplies cost."

I tossed a pouch of bloodstained coins onto the table.

The Broker grinned, revealing yellowed teeth sharpened to points.

"Good start." He flicked his fingers. A servant scurried off, returning with a crate of weapons, rations, and medical supplies.

But I could feel it. The weight behind his eyes. He was measuring us. Calculating.

People like him never gave without taking.

I didn't trust him. But I needed the supplies.

Still, something about his smile made the animal in my gut growl in warning.

"You'll be staying in Iron Haven, I assume?" the Broker mused.

"For now."

His grin widened. "Then I suggest watching your back. This city doesn't take kindly to… outsiders."

I met his gaze, unblinking. Let him look. Let him see what I was.

Something flickered in his expression. A twitch of amusement. Or maybe… respect.

Then he laughed. "I like you."

I didn't respond.

We took our supplies and left.

A City That Eats Its Own

The deeper we went, the clearer the truth became.

Iron Haven wasn't just a fortress of the desperate.

It was a feeding ground.

Not just for gangs. For something worse.

Rumors swirled in hushed whispers. People vanishing in the night. Bodies found with their insides hollowed out. The city's leaders untouched by the chaos, ruling from their high towers like gods above insects.

And then there was the Shrine.

A place no one spoke about openly.

But they all feared it.

"We need to find out what's happening here," Lin Hua said, her voice quiet but firm.

I nodded.

Because deep in my chest, the Divine Crystal pulsed again.

And I knew—whatever was happening in this city, it wasn't just human.

Not anymore.

The Cost of Power

That night, I stood alone in the ruins of a broken building.

The air was thick with the scent of rust and rot.

I opened my system panel and stared at the new ability.

[ Soul Harvest ]

I clenched my fists.

This world had taken everything from me. It had turned me into a killer, a survivor.

But if it thought I would break—

It was wrong.

The system didn't change who I was.

It just gave me the tools to carve my own path.

And if Iron Haven wanted to consume us?

Then I'd tear out its throat before it could swallow me.

The night stretched on.

And tomorrow, the real hunt would begin.