The defense line is crumbling.

  Alicia thought to herself on the battlefield filled with blood and furious war cries as she unleashed more and more spells.

  The battle intensified after Duke Brookley personally joined the frontline to tie down the Ascart soldiers. As the fight dragged out longer than expected, the weakness of the Ascarts’ forces started to show, be it their lacking military prowess or the poor coordination between the heretics and the Ascarts’ personal army.

  Minor flaws proved to be fatal under a situation of extreme stress, let alone major ones. Alicia finally understood the importance of practical battle experience.

  She might know the theories of warfare, but Duke Brookley was a true veteran who had commanded over a hundred battles. His ability to read the tides of battle and adapt accordingly wasn’t something that a newbie like her could match.

  Slowly but surely, Alicia could feel herself getting cornered.

  We won’t be able to shake off the enemies if we continue fighting. If I summon the demonic beasts here, they might not be able to discriminate between allies and enemies. That might just worsen the situation instead.

  What should I do?

  The thought that her family’s elite troops might be wiped out in her hands filled her with fright. The immense self-reproach she felt made her eyes redden. Just as she thought she was going to fall into despair, she suddenly noticed that the enemy’s momentum was, for some reason, slowing down.

  The Sezes were still advancing on them, but those in the back of the army had slowed their footsteps for some reason. Perplexed, Duke Brookley turned around with a tight frown to see what was happening.

  Hm? This is…


  All of a sudden, Alicia sensed a familiar mana pulsation that pulled at her heartstring. From a distant mountain, a man on horseback, all alone, was charging across the plain in their direction.

  It was a black-haired man.

  The Silver-winged Eagle in the sky gave him an overview of the battlefield, allowing him to discern the formations of his enemies and allies. When he noticed traces of blood on Alicia’s arm, his face immediately darkened. Fury blazed in his heart, but he didn’t let it consume him.

  He knew that he couldn’t be reckless here, especially when the current reinforcements were just him and him alone.

  In truth, Roel had released the Silver-winged Eagle toward the frontline last night out of worry for Alicia. This aerial magic tool, which was made using alchemy, boasted an incredible speed, such that it was able to get to the battlefield in time for him to witness the fight between Duke Brookley and the colossal monster last night.

  It was an amazing battle, but what more so caught Roel’s attention was the fact that the enemy had an Origin Level 2 transcendent on their side. It made him realize the battle that would break out on the following day was unlikely to go smoothly.

  Thus, he decided to set off by himself.

  As the battle between the two armies intensified, Roel swiftly picked up his pace, to the point where he had gotten ahead of Cynthia and the others by a day’s journey.

  At this very moment, he wasn’t the commander of a powerful army but a sole individual. His influence on the battlefield was severely limited. If he wished to make an impact, he would have to focus his strength on the enemy’s vitals.

  With such a thought in mind, he intentionally released his immense mana and killing intent, which naturally caught the attention of the Sezes’ elite troops. The soldiers mocked his foolishness in giving his position away, but they were unaware that this was the prerequisite for Roel to activate his spell.

  The moment ‘Intuition of the Military God’ activated, Roel saw the world before him become overlaid with a layer of gray. The hostility and fighting will of the soldiers appeared as visibly as torches in the darkness, but what triggered his sense of danger the most was the middle-aged man dressed in elaborate armor standing in the forefront of the enemy troops.

  That’s where the enemy commander stands.

  Having confirmed that with his spell, Roel immediately pulled the reins of his steed and hastened his charge. Mana poured out and cloaked his body. He was ready for battle.

  Through the eyes of the Silver-winged Eagle in the sky, he could see that the eyes of the middle-aged man had narrowed as well.

  With his senses as a high-level transcendent, Duke Brookley could sense danger from the approaching young man. He levitated a fluid sphere into the sky and morphed it into a miniature water spear.

  Seeing that, Alicia immediately shouted out a warning.

  “Lord Brother, be careful!!!”


  Psh!

  The water spear shot out the moment Alicia voiced her warning. It bolted across space and surged straight toward Roel’s chest. Unlike before, there weren’t any white birds nearby to redirect this sure-kill assassination spell, but even so, Roel showed no signs of panic.

  His strength had grown by leaps and bounds after his near-death experience in the eastern border, to the extent that he no longer needed the Witch Queen’s help in dealing with an attack of this caliber.

  At his will, his mana almost instantaneously formed multiple barriers, which gradually deviated the trajectory of the water spear till it brushed right by him.

  Boom!

  The water spear struck the ground behind Roel and induced a resounding explosion.

  At the same time, the mana cloaking Roel’s body began transforming into a crimson aura. Steam puffed into the sky as white bones started to manifest around Roel, forming a skeleton so huge that it looked as if a demonic god had descended upon the world.

  The moment Grandar appeared, excited cheers echoed from the Ascart soldiers. They began chanting Roel’s name loudly.

  In contrast, the Sezes’ troops started backing away out of instinctive fear. The pressure Grandar exerted on them was so great that they could hardly raise their heads.

  Even Duke Brookley felt his body stiffen under the immense pressure. In this critical moment, he channeled the last bit of mana in his body to manifest a swiftly expanding fluid sphere, which quickly morphed into a towering wall in front of Roel.

  Behind the towering wall, Grandar raised his crimson fist up high and channeled his strength. Similarly, the towering wall of fluid quickly reinforced itself to become thicker and more resilient.

  It was a fight between offense and defense, and the outcome of this clash would determine the trajectory of the battle.

  As soon as Grandar hurled his punch forth, the towering wall of fluid began boiling under the sheer heat and force. Crimson bolts of lightning crackled loudly in the wall of fluid, seeking to tear it apart from within. The intense clash induced a giant hurricane that dispersed the clouds in the sky.

  All of the soldiers watched the sight intensely with bated breaths, awaiting the ultimate outcome.

  From a far distance away, an old man gazed at the sky and murmured to himself.

  “Has it begun?”


  With words reminiscent of someone watching a fireworks show, an elder began casually strolling forth.