The perfection of the New Battlefield Doctrine was not just a military upgrade; it was a public declaration of my status. The reports of the effortless subjugation of the Ascendant Vanguard—a group known for their ruthless efficiency—traveled like wildfire through the global hunter community. I was no longer merely a "rising star"; I was the singular, existential threat to the established order.
My involvement in the regional battles earned me both extremes of human reaction: terrified admiration and cold, calculated enmity.
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For the majority of low- and mid-rank hunters, I was a legend—the one man who had openly defied the Central Authority and crushed the systems that suffocated their careers. My victories against the Kraken Matriarch and the Ironclad Behemoth were seen as heroic acts of defiance.
The Disciples: Hunters began secretly mimicking my style, attempting to utilize continuous pressure and high-frequency strikes, though their efforts were laughably inefficient without my broken system. They formed underground forums dedicated to analyzing the "Dax Doctrine"—the concept that efficiency and the rejection of arcane limits were the true path to power.
The Black Market Support: The Sovereign Collective—my temporary allies—were ecstatic. My continuous, high-volume farming guaranteed them a limitless supply of rare essences and crystals, making them the most profitable faction globally. This secured my resource chain and ensured that the vast black market network was functionally loyal to me.
This admiration was a valuable asset. It created a layer of decentralized protection—a widespread, sympathetic populace that would never betray my location, viewing any pursuit by the Central Authority as tyranny.
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While the lower ranks saw a savior, the Grand Guilds and the few remaining independent Legendary hunters saw only one thing: a variable that needed elimination.
My ability to enforce neutrality in the Solaria territorial disputes and to crush the Ascendant Vanguard had directly cost the Obsidian Pact and the Celestial Concord billions in resources and immeasurable strategic ground. My actions made the global conflict about me, not about their old rivalries.
The enmity coalesced into a single, terrifying threat assessment issued by the Grand Guilds:
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Dax Jackal is not a hunter; he is a Systemic Contradiction. His core function—sustained, continuous power—violates Charter Axiom Gamma-7 (Mana Conservation). He cannot be defeated by conventional force or strategy. He must be neutralized to prevent the total collapse of the resource-based global economy.
Warning: Do not engage in prolonged combat. His defense is perpetual, and his attack is sustained AoE. Utilize specialized, single-strike elimination methods only.
This "threat" status had concrete consequences:
Specialized Hunting Contracts: High-tier bounty hunters and specialized anti-hunter squads were activated across the globe. These were not military detachments like the Vanguard, but small teams of experts armed with unique, ancient artifacts designed for instantaneous, targeted assassinations—a direct response to my reliance on continuous defense over flash-strike evasion.
Information Warfare: The Guilds began aggressively spreading disinformation, twisting my actions. The collapse of the Siren's Grotto was framed as an act of senseless resource destruction; the crippling of the Vanguard as a terrorist attack. This aimed to erode my public admiration and justify the inevitable "Blackout" mandate from the Central Authority.
The seeds of his threat status were firmly planted. I was no longer just defying the system; I was becoming the prime target of the entire civilized world. The only way to survive was to escalate beyond their reach entirely.
My immediate focus turned to securing the Legendary Gravity Essence—the final piece needed to ensure my victory against the inevitable arrival of the Mythic Enforcers. I was ready to face the world, but first, I needed to master its gravitational laws.