Dungeon Corpse Stacker: I Absorb Everything to Become Ominous Monarch
Chapter 35: THE SIEGE OF APEX HEADQUARTERS

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: THE SIEGE OF APEX HEADQUARTERS

The morning air inside the grand marble plaza of Apex Headquarters ruptured into chaos as two hundred shadow soldiers surged forward in a wave of absolute, terrifying darkness. The black-steel armor of the shadow entities absorbed the pale sunlight, leaving behind a cold, unnatural mist that crept across the polished floor tiles.

"Hold the line! Fire! Fire everything you’ve got!" screaming mercenary commanders barked into their tactical radios, their voices cracked with sheer panic.

Over three hundred elite Apex Guild guards and high-tier mercenary Hunters opened fire simultaneously from elevated barricades and grand marble balconies. Heavy mana rifles roared in unison, and high-level offensive spells—raging fireballs, crackling lightning spears, and razor-sharp frost blades—illuminated the sky in a blinding kaleidoscope of violence. A devastating barrage capable of flattening an entire militarized battalion rained down upon the advancing shadow legion.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions tore through the plaza, shattering concrete tiles, pulverizing towering marble pillars, and filling the morning air with dense, acrid smoke. Yet, as the dust settled and the deafening noise subsided, the sight that met the mercenaries’ eyes drained every last ounce of blood from their faces.

The Shadow Knights hadn’t fallen.

Whenever an abyssal entity was blown apart by high-density mana rounds or incinerated by high-rank elemental magic, its body dissolved into black smoke for a split second before instantly reassembling—flawless, undamaged, and completely relentless. The Shadow Army didn’t bleed, didn’t tire, and felt no pain whatsoever. They advanced like an unstoppable machine of death, their spectral purple eyes burning with absolute, fanatical devotion to their master.

"They’re... they’re immortal abominations!" a veteran mercenary screamed, dropping his heavy rifle in utter panic as a Shadow Knight’s dark steel broadsword cleaved through his reinforced armor in a single, fluid stroke.

At the front of the assault, the shadow entity of Director Gregory raised his colossal iron barrier shield, crushing five heavy defenders against the marble pillars like flies. Beside him, Executive Director Harold’s shadow raised both arms toward the balcony, unleashing cascades of dark necrotic bolts that withered every guard they touched into dry, lifeless husks in a matter of seconds.

Screams of agony and the sickening metallic crunch of tearing steel echoed continuously across the plaza. Within less than ten minutes, the three hundred defenders of Apex’s ground force were completely slaughtered, leaving the plaza painted in crimson.

[Absolute Extraction System Activated]

Mass Extraction in Progress: 312 High-Tier Mercenaries & Guild Guards...

Targeting Mana Cores, Muscle Density, and Combat Instincts...

+2,100 Strength

+1,850 Agility

+2,400 Vitality

+3,200 Mana

[Shadow Army Capacity Expanded: 532 Active Entities]

Renan walked calmly through the crimson-stained plaza, his boots stepping over the bodies of fallen guards as dark, purple miasma erupted from their corpses like geysers of ink. Three hundred new Shadow Knights rose from the blood-soaked floor, turning toward Renan and kneeling in perfect, terrifying synchronization before their Sovereign.

Renan raised his golden eyes toward the fifty-story skyscraper looming over him.

"Clear every floor," Renan commanded quietly, his layered voice echoing through the minds of his legion. "Exterminate the corrupt. Leave no one standing."

With a unified, guttural roar that shook the structural foundation of Sector 1, the army of five hundred Shadow Knights flooded into the shattered ground lobby of Apex Headquarters, mounting a vertical invasion of the fifty-story building.

Meanwhile, inside the primary elevator shafts, emergency stairwells, and service corridors, total carnage erupted.

Shadow Knights sprinted up the vertical walls, tearing through reinforced steel security gates as if they were made of damp paper. Executive suites, private vault rooms, and automated internal defense nests were overwhelmed in seconds by the sheer velocity of the shadow tide.

On the 20th floor, Apex’s elite Mage Corps attempted to cast a joint S-Rank barrier to choke the narrow stairwell, but Shadow Harold’s necrotic magic shattered the barrier spell instantly, allowing a hundred shadow soldiers to sweep through their ranks like a reaper’s scythe.

On the 35th floor, the Guild’s private heavy artillery unit attempted to lock down the main corridor with gatling cannons, but Shadow Gregory stepped forward, absorbing thousands of explosive rounds on his indestructible shield before the Shadow Knights behind him flanked and executed every gunner without mercy.

Floor by floor, the light of Guild Apex was systematically extinguished. The scream of dying mercenaries faded level by level as the shadow army climbed the skyscraper like a rising, suffocating tide of ink.

High above on the 50th floor, Vice Guild Master Vance watched the internal security monitors in horror from his control desk. One screen after another flickered to static as the shadow legion breached floor 45... floor 47... floor 49.

"It’s over..." Vance whispered, his hands shaking violently as his wire-rimmed glasses slipped down his nose. "He’s taken the entire building in fifteen minutes... Five hundred shadow entities... He’s a Monarch..."

BOOM!

The heavy, reinforced titanium doors of the executive suite blew inward, flying across the vast room and crushing Vice Guild Master Vance against the back concrete wall, killing him instantly in a spray of blood.

Dust and dark smoke billowed into the luxurious penthouse office. Out from the gloom stepped Renan, his tattered dark coat fluttering around his ankles, his golden eyes glowing with a terrifying, absolute authority. Flanking him were Shadow Gregory, Shadow Marcus, and Shadow Harold, along with a hundred abyssal Shadow Knights whose armor dripped with fresh blood.

Standing at the far end of the ruined room, framed by the shattered floor-to-ceiling glass window and the morning sky, was Guild Master Richard.

Richard’s face was twisted in a mask of pure, demonic rage. His golden S-Rank mana flared to its absolute limit, cracking the remaining marble walls and creating a localized storm of pressure that made the air burn. He gripped his massive golden broadsword with both hands, his knuckles white with extreme tension.

"You..." Richard growled, his deep voice vibrating with immense physical power as he glared at the hooded man standing before him. "Who the hell are you?! Why are you tearing down my Guild?!"

Renan slowly reached up with his right hand and pulled down his hood, revealing his face to the morning light. His sharp jawline, messy dark hair, and cold, golden eyes were illuminated as he stared directly into Richard’s soul.

Richard’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock. His breath hitched in his throat as recognition struck him like a physical blow.

"R... Renan...?" Richard gasped, taking an involuntary step back as his sword tip dipped slightly. "The... the scavenger from the Class-S Dungeon...? You were left for dead at the bottom of the abyss!"

"I was," Renan replied softly, his voice resonating with the weight of five hundred souls standing behind him. "You built your empire on the bones of those you abandoned in the dark, Richard. Now, the abyss has come to collect."