From Ruin to Reign Leander's Unbreakable Will novel Chapter 358

Leander stood alone at the very front of the Southern Shore. Behind him, a deep trench stretched for dozens of feet, cleanly dividing him from the rest of Astria's martial experts.

Gareth, Reginald, and the others stood less than ten yards behind him, but not one of them dared to step forward. They could only watch, stunned and silent.

From the moment Leander had risen to fame, no matter how many enemies stood before him, he had always fought alone—and this time was no exception. The line he had drawn in the sand was not just a boundary but a declaration. None of them dared cross it.

"Leander!"

Daphne's heart twisted in her chest. Though the truth of his identity had filled her with both shock and pride, now all she could feel was fear. No matter how powerful his legend, no matter how many Transcendents he had slain before, there were nine of them there right then.

Even for someone like him, that seemed impossible.

Ethan and the others exchanged uneasy looks, silently agreeing that Leander was being too confident for his own good by refusing anyone's help.

But Claire's eyes twinkled, recalling that day at Silvermoon Sect, when Leander had crushed the Laughing Monk of West Ridge with effortless grace. Her heart beat faster despite herself.

Could he do it again? Could he overturn the impossible once more—against nine Transcendents this time?

"Jeff Ashcroft," a man wearing metal gauntlets sneered. "The rumors say you're arrogant beyond belief. Seeing you today, I'd say those rumors were an understatement. You may be Astria's so-called grandmaster, but thinking you can take on nine Transcendents alone? Keep dreaming."

He stomped down hard, the air itself exploding beneath his feet. Waves surged up around him, drawn by the force of his punch until a massive column of water coiled upward into the sky. The gathered power struck like a tidal wave, roaring toward Leander with enough strength to make the ground tremble.

Leander's eyes were cold, but a faint, crooked smile tugged at the corner of his lips. With a single motion of his arm, he seized the air.

Slash!

The raging waters split cleanly down the middle as though a giant invisible sword had cleaved them apart. The divided waves met an unseen barrier and reversed, surging back in a furious crash.

"What—"

The man with the gauntlets froze. The backlash hit him like a hammer, forcing him backward.

Just as he steadied himself, a dark blur shot through the spray—Leander, breaking through the water like a spear.

Before he could react, a fist filled his vision. His eyes widened in horror as his instincts screamed in warning. For the first time since ascending to the Transcendent Realm, he felt true, imminent death.

"Ahhh!"

He roared and poured every ounce of his innate vitality into his right fist, meeting the attack head-on. It was the strongest punch he had ever thrown—stronger even than anything his realm should have allowed. But when their fists collided, the result was instant.

The reinforced gauntlets—crafted from rare materials, forged over months of work and strengthened layer by layer—shattered completely the moment they met Leander's hand. Bone followed next, every inch of his arm crushed into powder by the sheer, brutal force.

"Gah—"

The impact blasted through his chest, shaking his organs apart. He coughed up blood mixed with fragments of flesh. Before he could even retreat, Leander's hand shot forward, clamping tightly around his other wrist.

"You're the first," Leander said plainly. His palm pressed lightly against the man's chest.

A dull boom echoed through the air. The man's eyes dimmed instantly, life draining from them as his body went limp. One gentle strike—yet every organ inside him had been annihilated.

A Kindling Transcendent was dead, his life snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

The corpse plummeted from the sky, crashing into the waves below. The crowd on the beach stared in stunned silence.

They had heard the stories of the Iron Sovereign's strength, but none had ever witnessed it with their own eyes—until now. Leander had ended a Transcendent's life in less than ten seconds. The shock of it hit them harder than the crashing surf.

Gareth, Reginald, and the others exchanged uneasy glances, faces pale. They were all of the same realm as the fallen man—yet he had died like a child in Leander's hands. And that could only mean one thing: if Leander wished it, they could all be next.

"Who's next?"

Leander's calm voice rolled across the Southern Shore as his cold gaze swept over the remaining enemies. One had already fallen, and yet his tone was as indifferent as if he'd merely swatted a fly.

"Insolent fool!"

The blond man's composure broke. Terror filled his eyes as he darted backward, retreating at full speed, desperate to escape. But Leander was faster—far faster. Moving at supersonic speed, he blurred forward, his icy eyes locking on the man like a predator closing in for the kill.

"Jeff Ashcroft, don't you dare!"

At last, the Arbitration Office made its move. One of the Ember Transcendents stepped forward, his palm surging with power as he struck out toward Leander's back. The blow carried such force that it dwarfed even the blond man's strongest attack.

Leander didn't even glance back. He simply extended one finger. A streak of compressed wind burst forth, piercing the palm strike cleanly in two as if popping a balloon. The energy dissipated harmlessly, leaving the Ember Transcendent frozen in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Leander closed the distance in an instant. His leg came down like a hammer.

Boom!

The blond man was sent crashing from the sky, slamming into the ocean with an explosion of blood and water that shot several meters high.

"Now, the fourth."

Leander's tone remained as calm as ever as he twisted in midair, his body arcing gracefully before plunging toward his final target—the black-eyed man.

Though his face stayed expressionless, the terror in the black-eyed man's gaze betrayed him. He waved his arms rapidly, summoning thick clouds of mist that swirled around him, obscuring his form. His aura vanished within it, hidden, impossible to pinpoint.

Leander stepped into the mist, his expression unmoved. He drew his right arm back, then drove his fist forward in a single decisive motion.

A wet burst answered him.

Pffft!

A crimson jet erupted from the fog as the black-eyed man was punched clean through the chest, his heart obliterated by the impact. His body fell lifelessly into the waves below.

In less than five minutes, all four War God Sanctum Transcendents perished.

The beach fell utterly silent. The only sounds left were the crash of waves—and the steady, unshaken breath of the Iron Sovereign.