“What on earth…?”
The Skeleton General looked bewildered. And in the next moment.
Crunch. Smash.
A small dagger pierced through its skull, and as Raul clenched his fist, the General’s entire body turned to dust, scattering to the ground.
“Raul!”
Rabel’s face lit up as she greeted him.
“Thank you, you did great.”
“It’s nothing.”
Boom! Crash!
The attacks from the Empire’s superhumans continued. But unlike before, none of their attacks reached Raul and Rabel.
Swoosh!
The weapon legion, which had been depleted by half, regained life and rejoined the formation.
Whirr.
The aura-imbued weapons glowed brightly, forming an impregnable aura barrier.
Swish, boom!
An aura-infused arrow collided with a dagger sent to intercept it, exploding in mid-air.
Whoosh, boom!
Fry’s 5th-circle wind blades were pierced through by intercepting daggers and dissipated powerlessly. Raul subtly raised his fist, channeling energy into it.
Golden aura gathered, shimmering brilliantly around his fist.
“Hmm.”
Raul shook his head slightly and threw a light punch.
Boom!
The resulting aura sphere from his punch split the undead legion’s formation and flew 50 meters before vanishing.
He smirked.
“Interesting.”
Having just reached the Master’s level, Raul found himself casually using “Aura Projection”, a technique said to be usable only by high-level Masters.
It was the result of Caldenas’s personal training combined with the barrier stone’s overwhelming support. A mirage-like power that would vanish outside the barrier, but that didn’t matter.
‘Now then.’
“Shall we wrap this up?”
Clang.
Regnator emitted a brilliant golden light, enveloping Raul’s entire body.
*
‘Damn, am I too late?’
Empire’s Master Stanton clicked his tongue slightly. If disrupted during an awakening, internal injuries could be inflicted. A newly awakened Master could have been easily eliminated once a gap was exposed.
‘What a pity. But still.’
Just one newly awakened Master wouldn’t change the outcome of the battle.
“Haha, you fools. Look at yourselves trying to protect one measly Master. Who should I kill first?”
The two knights blocking Stanton’s path. Kane and Jake didn’t look well. They had been recklessly blocking Stanton’s approach to Raul, accumulating injuries from attacks they couldn’t avoid.
The result was that both suffered minor internal injuries. Particularly, Kane had a stream of blood flowing from the half-ripped side of his power armor.
Stanton aimed his dual short spears at the two and let out a shout.
“Take this!”
The black aura blades extending from the tips of his spears branched out like the antlers of a reindeer.
“Die!”
Whoosh!
The twenty-odd aura blades spread out, targeting the openings in Kane and Jake’s defenses. Aura blades also emerged from their swords, clashing against the incoming attacks.
“Kuh.”
Unlike Jake, who managed to block with his large blade, Kane, impeded by his injuries, showed openings.
Clang, crunch.
His left hunting knife shattered as he belatedly tried to block, sending Kane tumbling to the ground.
“Hahaha! It’s over!”
Whoosh!
Stanton launched himself into the air, throwing both short spears at Kane.
“Yah!”
Jake managed to deflect one of the spears, but the other zipped straight for Kane’s heart.
‘Damn it.’
Although Kane struggled to cross his hunting knives in front of him, only a faint mana blade appeared, likely due to his internal injuries.
Crack, smash.
The incoming black aura blade effortlessly shattered the hunting knives. The power armor shield strained in its final resistance but failed to stop the aura.
‘Is this the end?’
Kane’s eyes filled with regret.
‘They say your life flashes before your eyes before death…’
Yet, no past memories surfaced—only the aura blade slowly inching towards his heart.
One, two, three.
‘… Why is this taking so long?’
The aura blade that seemed poised to pierce his heart hung inexplicably still.
“What the—!?”
‘What is it?’
Stanton’s voice echoed in shock, snapping Kane back to reality. As Kane tried to extricate himself from the scene, something strange caught his eye.
Rrmmmm.
The halted spear in midair vibrated and then slowly straightened. It then spun half a turn and headed back the way it came.
Boom!
“What the hell!”
Stanton exclaimed in disbelief as he quickly deflected the aura blade-tipped spear returning towards him. Stopping an aura-infused weapon was one thing, but sending it back was beyond comprehension for him.
“What the hell? Whose doing is this…? Ugh!”
Suddenly, Stanton grabbed his own neck with both hands, struggling as he was slowly lifted into the air.
‘Aagh. Help me!’
An incomprehensible force was choking him, drawing terror onto his face.
‘I… I can’t breathe! Damn it!’
He sensed his neck would snap before he ran out of breath. In desperation, Stanton made a final choice.
Zap.
Red tattoos covered his entire body, and black energy began to burn from his heart. The Black Sacrifice.
It was a self-destructive technique that burned life force and mana. But his attempt was in vain.
‘Why…?’
With a burst of internal organs and the breaking of bones, Stanton met his end.
*
Buzz.
‘Nice grip!’
Raul chuckled as he opened and closed his tingling hand. Crushing a mid-tier master knight with psychokinesis. It was unimaginable before but happening now under his control.
Even though he had become a high-tier psychokinetic, handling a mid-tier master with psychokinesis was no easy feat. Several factors contributed.
Passing through the Room of Enlightenment boosted Raul’s previous life memories, elevating him to a high-tier Lv.3 psychokinetic.
Added to that were the barrier stone buff, the amplification effect from Regnator, and the special feature ‘Condemnation’ activated against those using malefic energy.
On top of that, Regnator’s awakening had occurred.
‘Seems holy power is quite effective against malefic energy.’
Moreover, in Stanton’s final moment when he attempted the Black Sacrifice, a slight addition of holy power to psychokinesis crushed his heart.
As a result, the rampaging mana couldn’t escape and his heart exploded.
“Kane, return to the fort and heal your wounds. Jake, assist Lawrence.”
Kane, startled by Raul’s voice, quickly got up and bowed.
“Thank you, Master. And congratulations on your achievement!”
“See! I knew it. We’re going to wipe them all out now. Haha.”
Kane downed a potion and retreated inside the fort, while Jake gave a thumbs-up to Raul and dashed towards the right side where Lawrence was stationed.
Raul chuckled and spoke.
“Master, may I ask for your assistance?”
Whirr.
In the air to Raul’s right, a power armor took form. Caldenas, manifesting through Ghost Armor, nodded.
“I’ll handle this side. You’ve become quite formidable. Keep progressing.”
With Raul reaching a higher state, the output of both Regnator and the skill book had also increased. This meant Caldenas could now exhibit more of his true abilities.
Whoosh.
In a blink, Caldenas moved to the fort’s opposite battlefield.
‘No need to worry about that side.’
Lawrence and Jake, combined with Caldenas using master-level, possibly higher, strength. No matter how skilled Ezekiel was, he couldn’t escape.
Boom! Crash!
Magic bombardments and aura arrows continued to fly towards Raul. These attacks were nearly pointless now, but the enemy wasn’t aware.
Stanton’s demise was hidden by the weapon barrier and Rabel’s magic, obstructing the enemy’s sight.
“Shall we, Rabel?”
“Yes, they need to pay!”
Rabel, initially exhausted, had now regained her vigor. In fact, the overflowing magical power from the skill book made her aura seem even more potent, like the aroma of the forest intensified.
“Then.”
Whoosh.
Golden wings sprouted from Raul’s back. With a resonant sound, Raul shot out of the barrier, heading straight for the Empire’s main force.
***
“I’ll step away for a moment.”
Necromancer McClanahan halted his offensive spells and spoke.
“Do as you wish. You’re of little use without your undead anyway.”
Fry replied grumpily. In terms of raw destructive power of attack spells, McClanahan was only at the 6th circle level.
“Ah, just keep on producing those undead.”
“…Fine.”
As McClanahan turned away, he heard Fry’s mocking laughter echo in his ears.
‘I don’t like him.’
How dare he laugh when his own ultimate spell had been countered?
However, McClanahan suppressed his anger and moved towards the dark gate located at the back of the main camp.
‘This is unsettling.’
It was just a single Master who had awakened. Moreover, outside the barrier, his power would halve without the barrier stone’s protection. It might take time, but destroying the barrier stone was still achievable.
Then why this ominous feeling?
Although a mage who prized logic, McClanahan didn’t ignore his intuition. In battle, there were times when he felt this ominous sensation, and it always paid to prepare for the worst.
Those preparations had saved his life multiple times.
“Is the magic circle complete?”
“Yes. The gates on the left and right are ready to transmit at a moment’s notice. However…”
“Yes, this is the problem.”
Among the three dark gates, the largest one in the center remained inactive. While the other two gates had spawned lesser demons, this one was the real deal.
Activating it would be his final task, once the last barrier stone was destroyed.
“Even if a signal comes, do not transmit immediately. Wait until the final gate is opened, then transmit all at once.”
“Understood.”
“And… input the sub-coordinates. In case of any eventuality.”
“…I understand.”
The mages working on the magic circle were McClanahan’s direct subordinates and knew his intentions well.
‘Is the battlefield really in such a bad state?’
It was hard to believe that a mission involving five superhumans could fail. Moreover, hadn’t they already removed the guardian of the seal?
Regardless, they complied with their superior’s orders. McClanahan turned back towards the battlefield, the dark gate behind him.
‘…Huh?’
The new Master who had been within the barrier moments ago was gone. A chill ran down his spine as he reflexively chanted.
“Blink! Absolute Shield!”
Zap.
He relocated about 10 meters away, a black translucent shield surrounding him.
Swoosh!
“Arrgh!”
Simultaneously, the 30 mages surrounding the magic circle were cut in half, their torsos spraying blood into the air.
“Well, well, dodging that. Your instincts aren’t bad.”
A golden knight stood against the backdrop of the blood mist. McClanahan’s expression twisted as his eyes met Raul’s.
(To be continued)