The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

’Icon, create an attack map that covers all 305 bandits, taking into consideration the distances between them. Also, utilise the blind spots and the positioning of the weapons they have.’

The moment Seraya gave Klaus the go-ahead after she killed the ten bandits, he made his move. However, instead of attacking right away, he first created a structured map to help him kill more easily without raising an alarm.

Of course, the moment they start dying, someone is bound to notice. However, that too had been included in Klaus’s equation. He wasn’t making his move without a plan to handle the obvious.

This mission cannot fail.

Once completed successfully, he would be pushing closer to the rank of a B-class Hunter.

So at all costs, he must complete it without any hiccups.

[Master, I have created the battle map, taking into account all you asked. The closest team you can take out is a four-man team.]

Klaus nodded and moved in the direction of the four-man team.

---

Under a makeshift pavilion, four bandits sat discussing random topics when suddenly, a person appeared between them, none of them realising when he approached.

”Who are you?” one of them asked, his hand going for his dagger.

Klaus smiled and winked at him... ”Who I am is not important. The question should be what I intend to do.”

”What do you intend to do?”

At the tone of this question, Klaus grinned. ”To kill you four, of course.”

Klaus tightened his hand into a fist, and, like being held in a chokehold, all four Empyrean-stage bandits felt their breath catch, their bodies frozen in place.

It was as if a pair of invisible hands grabbed them by the throat and gave them a good squeeze.

Suddenly, a chill ran down their stomachs, causing misty vapour to come from all their orifices. Their eyes widened in shock.

Then, as if they swallowed a block of ice, their intestines turned to ice and soon manifested outside. In less than three seconds, all four of them died without sustaining even a single injury.

”Gotta present those bodies for identification after all,” Klaus said with a grin. Then he waved his hand, and all four bodies vanished. In their place, four clones of him appeared.

By memorising the faces of the four bandits he had killed, he morphed his appearance to match them. But he didn’t stop there; he activated a skill he had mastered during his 4th incarnation.

The moment he applied it, the clones came to life, and they began to speak.

”Chill, Klaus, we got this,” one of them said, and the other three nodded.

”Well then, see you losers later.” Knowing full well that they weren’t real, Klaus couldn’t help but address them. They were his temporary creations after all.

What he had just done was something that even Immortals couldn’t easily do.

He created illusion clones of himself. Then, using the [tangible me] skill, he made them tangible. Later, he applied a sliver of soul essence to them, allowing them to draw essence directly from his cores.

But he didn’t stop there; he even animated them, allowing them to talk independently. He had no idea what they would talk about, but he knew if someone were to come close to them, they would never recognise their true nature as clones.

The amount of mental strength that went into creating them is just too much. However, Klaus had minds to spare, so he went all out.

Soon, he appeared before another team of four. However, instead of moving to have a last-minute chat with them, he merely waved his hand, and thousands of near-invisible needles appeared.

’This is going to sting,’ Klaus said inwardly, and then, with a grin on his face, he gestured forward, and the needles moved.

They zipped through the air with no sound whatsoever. Before any of the four Peak Empyreans could register what had happened, the thousands of tiny needles had already entered their bodies.

Eeriely, not even a single needle came out from their bodies.

But the strange part was that, despite them dying from the needle attack, they remained seated and relaxed as they were.

Even Klaus was taken aback by how eerie the ghost needles were. He had no idea where the needles came from, since he had yet to remember which incarnation used them, but watching how they killed, he was intrigued.

Just like the previous team, he replaced them with clones and moved on to the next team. This time, the team consisted of only three members.

However, they weren’t seated in the same manner as the previous two teams.

This team had them moving through a cave to the other side to meet up with another team of four.

Klaus had no idea why they were going there, but he quickly made his move and subdued them. Then, using a mind-reading skill, he extracted the memory of why they were meeting a second team.

Soon, he created the clones and made sure he personally controlled one of them. So he hid inside the cave and let the clones approach the second team.

”What took you so long, Hyim?” a green-skinned lady with a body littered in gory tattoos spoke, pointing at the three clones walking toward them.

The one referred to as Hyim is the clone Klaus was personally controlling. Hearing the question, he smiled and said teasingly... ”No need to be like that, Vid. We are here, aren’t we?”

”But you are late.”

”Some annoying bugs held us up. But now that we are here, how about we get started?” Klaus asked through the clone representing Hyim.

Vid smirked and took out three Dark Space connectors... ”Remember, you three are just our backup players. Only attack when I give the signal.”

Hyim nodded, and so did the other two clones.

Since they had nothing better to do, they decided to play games inside the Dark Space to release some stress. However, since they needed seven teammates but had only four, they asked for Hyim’s team to join.

They took the connectors and watched as Vid and the other three with her wore them and quickly entered the Dark Space.

Just then, the real Klaus appeared and stared amusingly at the four bandits, who were sitting with their guards completely down.

”Like sheep to the slaughter.”

Some time later, Klaus moved out and headed to the next target.

Meanwhile, inside the Dark Space, in a grand arena where thousands of spectators could be seen cheering at the top of their voices, a team of seven assassins clad in dark cloths appeared on the battle stage, commanding many cheers.

The match officiator stood tall, a broad smile on his face.

”And now, to our second team, everyone, welcome the Green Axe.” Everyone turned to the entrance of the locker room, hoping to see the Green Axe team that chose to join the Backstop Crime League, which happens every day inside the Dark Space.

”The Green Axe Team,” the match officiator shouted again, but nobody appeared.

After the third time, he was forced to declare the Silent Ghosts as winners automatically. The Green Axe team never made it, so they were disqualified.

Unbeknownst to them, all four members of the Green Axe were murdered in their sleep, none of them even being aware they had died.