When only 44 opponents showed up during the 16th wave, Leo felt genuinely surprised to see that his total opponents were not a perfect 100 in number.
'Could this be the last wave?' he wondered, as having no chance to check how many other waves were left, Leo hopefully assumed that this wave may be the last.
"Alright let's wrap this up quickly–" he muttered, as he used [Vanish] to turn invisible.
Once again, his opponents were left scrambling on what to do, as none of them had any idea as to how they could perhaps deal with an opponent that they could not even perceive.
Once again, Leo began massacring his opponents without taking a single hit, this time not bothering to conserve energy, as he thought that this was the last one.
When the last opponent fell, Leo reappeared, standing in the midst of the battlefield, surrounded by bodies. His breathing was heavy, his limbs felt like lead, but there was a sense of relief that washed over him.
'It's over,' he thought, his vision slightly hazy as he checked his remaining stamina and mana reserves.
His stamina had plummeted to 11%, while his mana barely held on at 13%. Both critical levels. But it didn't matter, right? He had won. He had done it.
Or so he thought.
As just as he let his guard down, the walls of the central arena trembled, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoed through the room.
"What... no, this can't be—" Leo muttered, his eyes widening in disbelief.
A fresh wave of opponents—51 to be exact—entered the room.
His heart sank. This wasn't the end. There were still more waves left, and with his reserves almost entirely depleted, he felt the weight of impending defeat pressing down on him.
The rankers, emboldened by Leo's visible exhaustion, immediately began murmuring amongst themselves.
"This is it! Look at him! He's done for!"
"I can't believe it… after all this, TheBoss is finally at his limit. We're going to take him down!"
"Ha! He's got nothing left in the tank. Just look at him—he can barely stand!"
"This is our chance. The legend ends here, and we'll be the ones to claim victory!"
Leo, hearing their words, clenched his fists. His body screamed at him to stop, to give up, but his mind refused to accept defeat. He had come too far to let it slip away now. Yet, the reality was harsh—he was outnumbered, out of energy, and on the verge of collapse.
"Have the other guardians done anything worthwhile at all?" Leo said out loud, as by this point Leo was pissed for real.
His rant was obviously heard worldwide, making the other three guardians blush in embarrassment when they heard his comment live.
"Fine come on then–" Leo said, grabbing his daggers in both hands, as he charged towards this fresh wave of opponents.
On one hand, this wave too had only 51 competitors, wayy less than the usual 100, however, that did not make defeating them any easier for Leo.
Almost as soon as he started his offensive, Leo's stamina bar dropped below the 10% mark, entering the critical zone.
[ System Notification :- Your stamina has fallen below 10%.
All stats will be reduced by 20% in this weakened state ]
Almost instantly Leo felt strength leaving his body as he slowed down significantly, and although he was still faster than an average ranker even with the debuff, it just felt a lot more difficult to fight against a horde of rankers, when he was not at his peak.
As a result, he soon felt that a sword grazed his left shoulder, and a spell struck against his thigh, as the damage from the attacks sent sharp pain shooting through his body.
*Wobble*
Leo wobbled, his feet feeling light, as somehow he could not grip the ground as well as before, but somehow managed to stay upright, although barely.
His breathing became more ragged, every intake of air feeling like fire in his lungs and his vision began to blur, dark spots creeping in at the edges, as he forced himself to keep moving.
*SHING*
*SHING*
Everytime he lifted his arm to parry an incoming attack, he could feel them becoming heavier and heavier, as the wound on his shoulder made it harder to lift his dagger for even the simplest strikes.
His legs, usually swift and agile, now felt like they were moving through water, becoming slow and cumbersome.
His HP continued to drop, the slow but steady bleed from the wounds taking its toll as he inched closer and closer to his HP dropping below the 10% mark.
"Not yet…. I can do more–" Leo muttered to himself, as he swung his dagger at an oncoming opponent, but this time his strike lacked its usual force.
The blade connected, but it didn't drop the ranker in one clean blow like before. Instead, the ranker stumbled back, still alive, which only fueled the others' confidence.
"Look at him! He's falling apart!" one of them jeered.
Leo didn't respond. He couldn't waste the energy on words, as his focus was entirely on survival now—on keeping his feet moving, his blades up, and his enemies at bay.
But it was getting harder. His stamina was dangerously low, and each movement cost him more than it should.
His muscles burned, his chest heaved with the effort of breathing, and his mind was beginning to cloud with exhaustion.
*SPLAT*
Another blow came at him—this time from behind, as Leo barely managed to twist his upper torso just enough to avoid a fatal strike, but the blade still cut across his back, adding to the growing list of injuries he was accumulating.
'How long can I keep this up?' the thought briefly flickered in his mind, but he shoved it down, unwilling to accept defeat.
His HP was in critical territory now falling below the 10% mark, as every hit he took from this point forward brought him closer to the brink of defeat.
His once-fluid movements had become sluggish, his dodges no longer quick enough to avoid all the attacks coming his way. But despite the pain, despite the overwhelming fatigue, Leo kept fighting.
With every swing of his dagger, every step forward, he defied the voice in his head telling him to stop. He knew his time was running out, but something deeper—something primal—drove him onward.
His body was screaming for rest, but his will refused to bend. Leo fought like a man possessed, every strike carrying the weight of his refusal to give up, even as his world began to fade around him.