[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical-":3,"chapter-sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--chapter-354":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","SSS-Ranked Awakening: I Can Only Summon Mythical Beasts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1326955,1762,"Chapter 354: A New Participant","sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--chapter-354",354,"\u003Cp>[Kill Count: 1,759 \u002F 5,000]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Combined Summon Kills: 622]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground was no longer just soaked with blood—it had absorbed it. The soil squelched under Damien's boots with every step, thick with essence-drained organs. He didn't notice. Not anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still moving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three demons broke through the front—a mutated wolf-thing with wings for forelimbs, a tall humanoid with a cracked obsidian mask, and one that simply looked like a sphere of teeth and sinew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't dodge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He let them close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His staff spun in his hands with a single, blur-fast motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The winged one lost its skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The masked one caught the staff full-force in the gut, sending it flying backward into Skylar's waiting maw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spherical one opened its mouth to scream—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chomp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luton simply devoured it whole with a lazy jump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kill Count: 1,761 \u002F 5,000]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Damien, the scene had changed. What was once the trembling rearguard of mercenaries and Dunters trying not to die had become a frontline of their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They'd moved up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Held ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now? They were advancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of Dunters—four of them in matching etched leather armor—moved as one. Their weapons were customized blades with serrated crescent edges, designed to tear into tougher demon hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one in front—tall, dark skin, rune-scorched gauntlet—spun his blade as he led the charge. \"Pull left! Flank the clustered variants!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two answered with arcing wind magic circles, launching demon crawlers into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth activated a burst trap beneath a pouncing brute's feet—sending it skyward—and then Damien, a blur of motion, leapt up to meet it mid-air and slammed it into the ground with a staff strike like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kill Count: 1,774 \u002F 5,000]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Casters were weaving large-scale barriers now—magenta and gold structure of magic essence across the west bank. These shielded the wounded and allowed healers to finally work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not everyone made it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One Mercenary, dual-wielding broadswords, was overwhelmed by swarmers—he fell screaming beneath five of them. His partner screamed and dropped a lightning magic circle that incinerated them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the ash was left of either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The line didn't break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cerbe let out a feral howl that vibrated through the ground. A second later, all three heads lunged forward at once and ripped through a cluster of low-class demons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Skylar shrieked above, letting loose a fresh barrage of blackfire that swept the high flank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Luton—gentle, chirpy Luton—was beginning to darken in hue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each demon it consumed made it pulse with low red light, almost like a warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damien noticed it—but didn't comment. It couldn't possibly be bad after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were only five.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there were still thousands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flipped his staff over his shoulder, turned on his heel, and slammed it through the sternum of a leaping predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its spine shattered with a sound like breaking glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kill Count: 1,789 \u002F 5,000]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still the System said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No grace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just that rising number in his peripheral vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wiped a line of blood from his jaw and muttered, \"Fine. I'll just keep killing till something pops up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle moved like a ghost through fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn't sprinting anymore. No wild motions. Just precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cut, dodge, thrust, cut again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the eastern battalion had reinforced the ridge, she was no longer alone—and for the first time in what felt like hours, she could breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground had been retaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sort of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Commanders barked calls. Arrows lit with green flame arced through the sky. Healers rotated in timed intervals. Barrier engineers scrawled glyphs on rooftops to support ground-level spellcasters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire force worked like a machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A desperate, bloodied, but functioning machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle ducked under a spear arm, jammed her dagger into a demon's throat, and looked up as Aquila swooped past—wing extended in a warning flare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Left flank!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three demons broke formation and sprinted through a gap in the barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle leapt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She intercepted the lead one with a leaping slash, knocking it off its feet, then twisted and kicked another back into the waiting maw of a summoned creature that looked like a basilisk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its second head devoured it whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle exhaled sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All around her, spellwork glowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mass combat spells thundered across the field. Some ran wide. Others nailed clusters. The ground trembled under the weight of magic, iron, and blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the line held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she had one precious minute to scan the horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where was Damien?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that she doubted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it bothered her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That he was out there. Alone. Or maybe not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fighting the same war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arielle!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the east command mages jogged toward her, panting, cloak scorched on the edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander says push five meters up. We've got an opening—we can collapse their left charge.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go,\" she nodded. \"I'll follow in two.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ran off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aquila landed beside her a moment later, blood-soaked claws digging into the grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're limping.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So are you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shared look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wry. Weary. But not broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the wind changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was subtle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a breath drawn too sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A scent beneath the scent of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air dropped a degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic seemed to pulse wrong—like a spell that fizzled out before casting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the demons started hesitating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some growled. Others looked toward the far edge of the ridge, just beyond the treeline where the first wave had come from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something stirred there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something the demons seemed to fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle gripped her blade tighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could see it in their stances—in the way the corrupted beasts shifted their weight, like prey sensing a greater predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trees… didn't sway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked like they were shrinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the light dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mages muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One sat down mid-cast, blinking rapidly. \"Something just—blocked my channel. I didn't even stop it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new wave of black fog curled across the grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just… thick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unnatural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aquila backed up two steps, feathers on end, her head lowering as a low growl built in her throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle turned toward the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front line had stopped fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides now paused—confused, tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at the very edge of vision—just for a breath—a shape moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not walked, not ran. Just shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too large.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arielle's heart pounded once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the battlefield shivered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, everything went still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new participant had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>",1061,"2026-06-05T19:28:51.149Z",1,"novelbin.me","47de68c07ce29cddf83b0ff4fffbfc6009b0fc94d3a735f446327586d9745f0a","sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--chapter-355","sss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--chapter-353",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsss-ranked-awakening-i-can-only-summon-mythical--cover.jpg"]