SWNOVELXO Chapter 50: Stampede Horizon
Location: Southern Expanse, Near Sector 3 Ruins
Time: July 17th, 3:20 PM
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The ground trembled.
Not from the footsteps of men, but from the storm of claws and fangs that descended from the distant ridge. The stampede had arrived.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of beasts. Dire wolves, saber-toothed tigers, mutated raptors, and creatures with no known name. Their eyes burned with mimic corruption, their limbs stretched by Spiral-warped evolution. They were more than a threat.
They were extinction on the move.
Kael stood tall on a broken tower at the edge of Sector 3. His cloak whipped in the rising wind, his mask hiding everything but the stillness of his breath.
Beside him, his mimic—no longer skeletal—now mirrored him perfectly. Same stance. Same weapon. Same silence.
> "We target the big one," the mimic said. Its voice was Kael's, just more hollow. "It leads the stampede. Kill it, and the wave may scatter."
Kael nodded once.
Then dashed.
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3:23 PM – Dash Through Death
Kael blurred forward, Routine Serge active. The wind bent around him. Ghost Veil sharpened his senses, letting him see movement before it happened. He wove through the horde, slicing through weak points, tripping larger monsters into each other, and using burst momentum from Divine Echo-boosted Injury Heal to keep himself moving.
He was a blade.
His mimic followed—a shadow that struck with precision, using mimicry of Kael's own style and limited access to his abilities. It couldn't use Divine Echo or cooldown resets, but it could still attack, vanish briefly, and strike like a twin dagger in Kael's hand.
Together, they carved a path.
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3:28 PM – Strategic Cuts
Kael disabled beasts instead of killing them outright. A slash to the knee. A jab to the jaw joint. A dagger flipped into the eye. His goal wasn't mass slaughter—it was speed.
The closer he got, the louder it grew.
A roar split the air.
The beast leading the stampede revealed itself.
Tall. Twelve feet. Muscles corded with spiral growths. It had the posture of a humanoid but the head of a mutated lion. Its arms were too long, ending in four-bladed claws. Spines jutted from its back like a broken crown.
It stood in the middle of the horde like a king among chaos.
Kael didn't stop.
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3:30 PM – Collision Course
The leader saw Kael.
It roared again, and nearby monsters slowed, giving it space. Kael jumped onto the back of a charging beast, then another—each one a springboard toward his target.
> "Time to end this," he muttered.
He launched forward—daggers raised.
The monster struck first.
Its claws raked down, Kael dodging barely, slashing along the elbow. The creature spun unnaturally, tail whipping. Kael caught the blow with his mimic's help—four arms colliding in a shockwave.
The mimic struck low. Kael struck high.
The beast retaliated with a roar that cracked nearby trees.
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3:35 PM – Watching Eyes
Back in the safe zone, silence fell.
From the highest guard tower, soldiers stared at the distant battle. Civilians paused mid-evacuation, watching Kael's cloak disappear into the horde.
He had gone alone.
No command. No orders. Just resolve.
Someone whispered, "He went into the stampede... by himself?"
Another answered, "He's not alone. That shadow fights with him."
Some cried. Others watched, fists clenched.
And a few—armed and armored—started walking.
> "We're not letting him fight alone."
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3:40 PM – Final Clash
Kael circled the beast. It was faster than expected. Smarter. It feinted attacks. It adjusted to his movements.
But Kael had one thing it didn't:
Experience.
And a soulbound.
His mimic blocked the monster's swipes while Kael flipped behind it and drove his dagger into its spine. The creature roared, spinning wildly—but Kael vaulted over its shoulder, landed in front, and stabbed upward into its throat.
Blood—black and red—splashed across his robe.
It stumbled.
Kael gave no mercy.
He triggered Divine Echo. Every ability returned. Time slowed. He launched a flurry of precise strikes—each one breaking tendon, nerve, and spine.
The monster collapsed.
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3:45 PM – Cliffhanger
Kael stood, bloodied but steady.
His mimic stepped beside him.
And from the distance—monsters fled. The stampede, leaderless, broke formation.
But Kael didn't relax.
He turned.
And saw them.
People. Dozens of them.
Walking. Running.
Coming toward him.
To help. To follow. To fight.
Then the sky flickered.
> "Warning. New breach detected: Eastern perimeter."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
> "It's not over yet."
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TO BE CONTINUED...