I looked at the battlefield calmly.
The Guardians were running ahead, followed by the rest of the troops. From Elves and Vampires to the Naga and Wyverns, even the races led by the Guardians participated in this battle. It was, quite literally, total war. Everything I owned was present on this battlefield.
[The effect of Sanctified Fragment (Sacred Relic) is applied.]
[The effect of Ring of the Mana Spring (Sacred Relic) is applied.]
[The effect of Orb of the Lowly (Sacred Relic) is applied.]
[The effect of Archmage’s Hat (Sacred Relic) is applied.]
The effects of the Sacred Relics I possessed were activated. After seeing each effect one by one, I began to see the shortcomings.
‘I don’t have any Sacred Relics useful specifically for the battlefield.’
They all enhanced my existing abilities, but the races that could benefit from those abilities were limited. It was essentially a half-baked buff.
I looked at the battlefield while mentally organizing the direction of the Sacred Relics I would need to obtain in the future.
‘The enemies aren’t moving.’
Unlike my side, which was rushing forward, the Guardians under Rok Brish did not move hastily. They were observing the situation first. Then, as if they had finished their assessment, the robed Guardian at the very front raised a hand.
At that signal, the enemy Guardians and troops scattered in all directions. The enemy army, having spread out into the surrounding forest, vanished from sight. They had suppressed their presence in an instant.
My allies, who had been running forward quickly, stopped at Ropenheim’s gesture.
“We will use the Tyrant’s Forest Tactic.”
Ropenheim shouted loudly so that everyone could hear him, then drew his sword. The Giants formed a wall like a fence, and inside, the Elves, Goblins, and Wyverns gathered and hid themselves.
“Throw them.”
At Ropenheim’s instruction, the Giants threw something they were holding. Those objects landed throughout the forest where the enemies had hidden.
Crunch!
Crack!
Something grew rapidly and crushed the surrounding trees. Giant sunflowers raised their heads from between the trees, burning brilliantly.
Boom!
Pop!
They scattered burning sunflower seeds in every direction, setting the entire forest ablaze.
Heat rushed in from all sides.
A water barrier created by the Naga protected the Giants and the allied forces. As the forest burned unilaterally, the enemy troops began to reveal themselves to escape the fire.
“Fire!”
Hidden among the Giants, the Elves aimed their bows at the exposed enemies.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Arrows infused with spirit magic poured down on the enemies.
“Shield!”
The mages in the enemy camp used Shield magic to block the attacks, but my allies did not just stand by and watch. The Giants stepped forward and swung their fists.
Thud!
Whack!
The enemies who had leapt into the air were crushed and slammed into the ground. It was a powerful blow capable of shattering even protection spells.
Meanwhile, the forest had burned away completely, leaving only black soot behind.
The battlefield had become an absolute plain.
“Sweep them all away.”
Giving the order, Ropenheim rushed toward the enemy Guardian in the center. I could feel his skill instinctively. The Guardian Ropenheim targeted was an SSS-rank being. There were two SSS-rank Guardians under Rok Brish, and he pointed his sword at the stronger one.
‘Is the other one being handled by those three?’
The three masters of the forest.
Vampire Queen Rynne.
High Elf Pedrias.
Naga Queen Leah.
“I’m going to go suck our Master’s blood for a bit.”
“Hurry back, because we have to finish this quickly and return to Darling. Come fast.”
“Then I’ll start fighting first.”
Leah raised her trident and swung it grandly toward the enemy, while Pedrias supported her, driving back the SSS-rank Guardian. In the meantime, Rynne transformed into a bat and flew toward me. I extended one arm to allow her to drink my blood.
Rynne, who had landed on my arm, drank my blood before returning to her human form with a smile.
“It’s gotten even more delicious. Slurp.”
Perhaps she had built up some resistance, as she didn’t get as intoxicated by the blood as she used to. She was just slightly tipsy… maybe to the point of being incoherent?
“You’re all dead… Hehe.”
Drawing out a powerful blood energy, Rynne crossed the battlefield and joined her comrades who were battling the SSS-rank Guardian.
Having drunk my blood, which had become even stronger, Rynne’s combat power would temporarily rival an SSS-rank, even if she didn’t actually become one.
They would be able to hold out until Ropenheim defeated his enemy and joined them.
Boom!
Crash!
I surveyed the battlefield while watching the fierce clash between Ropenheim and the SSS-rank Guardian. Zeit, Fryra, the Orcs, and the others—the remaining SS-rank Guardians were unilaterally pushing back the enemy’s SS-rank Guardians.
“Waaaaagh!”
The empowered Orc swung two axes filled with destructive power, tearing through the battlefield.
“Grow well!”
The Attribute Grass that Fryra grew rapidly exerted its influence across the entire battlefield.
“I’ll take care of the suspicious ones. Don’t worry.”
Irellin used her bow to target enemies showing suspicious movements. In addition, Zeit, the leader of the Giants, crushed enemies by throwing massive boulders, and Anne weakened them by casting curses.
‘The outcome is decided.’
The enemy’s troops were almost annihilated, and their SS-rank Guardians were being cleaned up one by one. Now, all that remained were the two SSS-rank Guardians being dealt with by the trio and Ropenheim, and Rok Brish, who had yet to emerge from the Dragon Lair.
Boom!
K-crack!
Ropenheim’s sword clashed with the SSS-rank Guardian’s, sending powerful shockwaves in all directions. The ground was gouged, and black ash fluttered into the sky.
Between the gusts, they moved at ultra-high speeds, swinging their swords repeatedly.
It was a battle so fast that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to see their traces.
Due to this Awakening, Ropenheim’s swordsmanship, which had reached the SSS-rank, had risen to an even higher level. Since this was the first time I was seeing him in a proper fight, I kept an eye on Rok Brish while taking in Ropenheim’s battle.
It was a swordsmanship that wasn’t easily understood even with the Talent of the Martial God.
‘It’s not a swordsmanship related to nature.’
While learning nature magic, my Understanding of martial arts created from the movements of nature had reached the highest level, but my Enlightenment was still slow regarding martial arts that were not. Ropenheim’s sword began as a killing sword meant to slay Demonkind. And by killing the Demon King, he had perfected that killing sword.
‘But now…’
He had realized something beyond that, and the direction of his swordsmanship had changed completely. Though I couldn’t fully understand it, I could vaguely sense what it was.
A sword that protects.
The exact opposite of the path Ropenheim had walked.
‘Killing a dangerous enemy first.’
That was also a sword that could protect those he wished to safeguard.
“It seems you haven’t completed it yet.”
That was why Ropenheim’s battle was being dragged out. He hadn’t yet fully infused his Enlightenment into his sword. Therefore, I waited patiently. To Ropenheim, the current enemy was no different from a Potion, as the opponent was allowing him to melt his Enlightenment into his sword.
“The trio is also growing in their own way.”
Waiting for their battles to end, I watched them gain the maximum benefit possible from the Arena—overcoming their own limits through a fight against a strong opponent.
And finally.
Boom!
Ropenheim’s sword pierced the heart of the SSS-rank Guardian, and the trio cleaned up the remaining SSS-rank Guardian using their own finishing moves. Now, only one remained on this battlefield. It was Rok Brish, who still hadn’t come out of the Dragon Lair.
‘Teleport.’
I moved to the entrance of the Dragon Lair and cast a search spell. I felt one presence inside. It was definitely Rok Brish. Just as I was about to step into the lair, a strong surge of Mana erupted from within.
“Absolute Barrier.”
Using the barrier spell to block the wave of Mana, I grasped the changes occurring inside.
Rumble!
The mountain range where the entrance to the Dragon Lair had been collapsed, and something flew up into the sky.
A Gold Dragon.
The massive Dragon spread its wings, landed atop the ruined mountain range, and looked my way.
“To think you could deal with the Guardians I kept with such forces. You’re quite impressive.”
“…”
“But it’s too early to predict your victory.”
Rok Brish, laughing as if it were somewhat ridiculous, spread golden Mana in all directions.
“Rise.”
Simultaneously, the words he spat were carved into the Mana, raising the fallen troops and Guardians. The wounds carved into their bodies vanished completely, and they returned to the exact state they were in when we first faced them, without a single trace of fatigue.
‘This is different from a potion.’
Even if you treat a wound with a potion, the fundamental fatigue remains. However, the magic he used had blown away even that fatigue. Was it a wide-area revival? Was he returning everything to its beginning?
“Deal with them.”
The perfectly restored enemy Guardians and troops rushed toward my Guardians and soldiers. This time, Rok Brish joined in as well. Flying up into the sky, he cast a wide-area spell. Intense Mana became balls of fire and poured down from the heavens.
“Absolute Barrier.”
I set up a wide-area barrier over my allies to block the enemy’s attacks and used Potions to restore their exhausted Stamina.
“Nothing has changed. Just sweep away every single one of them in front of you!”
I issued the command on behalf of Ropenheim, who was busy dealing with the reappeared SSS-rank Guardian. Additionally, I used the Destruction Blood Heaven Demon Array to sap the enemies’ energy and push my allies’ recovery to the limit.
“Ho… a formation that twists life and death.”
“I’m more interested in what you have.”
“If you win, you’ll have it.”
At Rok Brish’s words, I used Dragon Transformation to fly into the sky.
[Using Dragon Transformation.]
[Using Transcendence.]
I had become strong enough to maintain this state for over 30 minutes.
“…Heh.”
Rok Brish looked at me, smirked, and prepared a spell. Intense heat swirled, turning into a massive whirlwind that flew toward me.
Nature Magic.
Its level wasn’t incredibly high, but it was certainly of the nature magic grain. Fire and wind. Accepting those two energies as they were, I neutralized the magic the opponent had created. The whirlwind that had flown as if to swallow everything vanished in an instant.
“Have you mastered nature magic? This challenger is high-level indeed.”
“I’ll take that to mean that everyone ranked above you knows how to handle nature magic.”
“They aren’t just your average practitioners. Considering my rank has dropped all the way to two hundredth.”
Rok Brish laughed.
“Go ahead, try to struggle.”
“Fine.”
I crafted a spell, imbuing it with the sensations I felt when I became one with nature. A power that destroys everything. The terror of nature contained within it. As if I had become fire itself, I created a small spark and grew it rapidly into a massive blaze.
The flames of nature held in my hand fluttered in the wind and flew toward Rok Brish. Sparks scattered like flower petals. Those sparks spread around the Gold Dragon and created a massive explosion.
BOOM!
K-BOOM!
A massive flower of fire bloomed in the sky. Sparks burst forth like fireworks. The flames merged into a giant conflagration, swallowing Rok Brish as he drifted in the air and dragging him down to the ground.
Charred, Rok Brish fell to the earth.
[You have won the High-Rank Duel.]
[You have acquired part of the Nature Magic that Rok Brish had realized.]
[You have brought over the SSS-rank Guardian, Rex, who was under Rok Brish.]
[You have acquired the Sacred Relic, Cross of Resurrection, which was held by Rok Brish.]
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