Chapter 14: The Warlord

The Ogre Warlord moved like a landslide.

Kael had seen monsters before—broodbeasts, acid-spitting drones, feral wolves that tore through flesh like paper—but nothing like this. The Warlord was over three meters tall, with a crown of bone nailed into its skull and armor that looked more grown than forged. Veins of red energy pulsed across its body. It didn't roar when it appeared—it breathed, and the air warped around it.

The system tagged it immediately.

> [New Threat Identified – Ogre Warlord (Corrupted Elite)] Level: 18

Class: Tier B – World Boss Variant

Traits: Frenzy Aura, Tactical Adaptation, Enhanced Regeneration

Danger Rating: CRIMSON

The three of them—Kael, Darius, and Reya—stood just beyond the broken wall of a collapsed watchtower. The remains of five ogres they'd just killed still twitched nearby, bodies glowing as they dissolved into motes of light. The Warlord stepped over one without noticing.

It wasn't a fight they chose. It was the fight that came to them.

"We pull back," Kael said at once.

"No time," Reya muttered, drawing her spear again. "That thing just triggered a localized frenzy. If we run, it'll boost every ogre within a kilometer."

"I wasn't planning on running," Darius growled. "Just wanted to hear someone else say it."

He stepped forward, halberd in hand, muscles coiled like wire. Kael followed, blade still sheathed, heart hammering. Reya moved opposite them, flanking wide.

They struck first.

Darius went in loud. He roared and slammed his halberd into the warlord's leg. The weapon connected with a clang like iron on stone—and barely left a mark. The Warlord retaliated instantly, swinging a slab-like fist down. Darius blocked, but the impact sent him flying across the battlefield, skidding through blood and broken tile.

Kael blinked forward, activating Phantom Draw. The world snapped into motion. He unsheathed Kureha in one precise cut aimed for the back of the Warlord's knee—right where lesser ogres had weak points.

But this wasn't lesser.

The blade scraped off with a flash of sparks. A gash, yes, but not deep enough. Not clean.

The warlord turned with a hiss, eyes glowing coal-red.

Kael didn't have time to dodge. He raised his sword to parry, but the next strike hit like a wrecking ball. Pain exploded in his ribs as he was thrown sideways into a ruined barricade.

> [Wound: Moderate – Fractured Rib] [HP: 112 / 170]

He coughed blood. "Okay… not like the others."

Reya was already in motion. She leapt from a high ledge and drove her spear down into the Warlord's shoulder with brutal precision. The spear stabbed in—deep this time—and she kicked off his body to land several meters back. The creature roared. That had hurt it.

Kael staggered to his feet. "We need to aim higher. Literally."

"He's armored head to toe," Reya called. "The gaps are near the neck and armpits. Go for joints. And whatever happens, don't let it grab you."

Darius was already back in the fray, limping but grinning. "I'll keep him busy. Cut him up, pretty boy!"

Kael steadied his breathing, wiped blood from his mouth, and charged.

They fought for minutes that felt like hours. Darius anchored the frontline, absorbing hit after hit and slamming his halberd into weak points whenever he found a chance. Kael moved like smoke—never directly engaging, always darting in when the Warlord turned away, chipping at its joints, slicing tendons, disrupting balance.

Reya danced between mid and long range, using her superior speed and reach to launch spear thrusts into exposed flesh. She directed the battle like a conductor, calling positions and rotations without ever missing a beat.

But the Warlord adapted.

Every time they landed a hit, its movements became more refined. Its swings more targeted. Kael watched it learn them in real time. Darius's bait swings stopped working. Reya's leap attacks were countered. Kael's draw cuts began glancing instead of piercing.

Worse still, the Warlord regenerated—slowly, but enough that every wasted second counted.

"We're losing ground!" Darius barked.

Reya's armor was cracked. One side of her helmet was gone. She was bleeding from a slash across her waist.

Kael felt his hands trembling.

They needed more than instinct and brute force. They needed precision.

Then, a strange hum passed through the air.

The system shimmered around the Warlord, and a prompt appeared across all three of their HUDs:

> [Hidden Opportunity Detected – Trio Synchronization Bonus Possible]

Requirements:

– Three-Player Combat Chain

– Simultaneous Activation

– Class Sync ≥ 25% (All)

Reward: Unlock Hidden Perk – Slayer Mark (???)

Kael blinked. "Did you see that?"

Reya growled, "Yeah. We're synced."

Darius spat blood. "Means we're not dying yet. Let's give the bastard something to remember."

Kael's Sync was high enough. He knew Reya's had to be—she fought like someone who'd bled for it. Darius? Who knew. But the man radiated intent, and right now, that was enough.

Kael stepped in.

"On me," he said.

They circled the Warlord like wolves. Darius slammed his halberd into the ogre's leg again—this time not to injure, but to stun. The creature staggered.

Reya lunged high, feinting a spear thrust into its throat.

The Warlord swatted at her, exposing its left flank.

Kael didn't blink.

He activated Draw Cut, Phantom Draw, and Reflex Trace in one motion.

The blade slid clean across the ogre's underarm, where no armor covered its flexed bicep. At the exact same moment, Darius drove the halberd upward into the ribs. Reya came down behind the creature, spinning once—and buried her spear into the back of its neck.

> [TRIO CHAIN COMPLETE] [Class Synchronization – Verified] [Hidden Mark Acquired: SLAYER'S TRIUMVIRATE] Effect: +10% damage vs World Bosses while allied with marked players

The ogre reeled. Screamed.

And for the first time—stepped back.

Kael's heart pounded.

They had hurt it. Truly hurt it.

The Warlord surged again, berserk now. The battlefield exploded into motion. Their coordination slipped for a heartbeat—and Reya took a direct hit to the shoulder, thrown into a pile of rubble.

> [Player: Reya Vance – HP: 37%]

Kael called her name.

Darius didn't hesitate. "Keep going!"

But the Warlord turned now—not toward Darius. Not toward Kael.

Toward Reya.

Kael didn't think. He moved.

As the Warlord raised its war club, Kael appeared in front of it.

The screen pulsed—