NOVPUBNanwantina’s southern border.
The blood moon hung high, casting a night of war and chaos.
The thick jungle and meandering rivers outside the city-state were abnormally restless in this fierce battle, constantly shaking from the impact.
"Follow my command, support Great Priest Loren!"
The entire southern border army displayed their will to stand firm, unafraid of the terrifying creatures attacking, they supported Great Priest Loren with all their might.
After evacuating the civilians in an emergency, the elite troops had already secured a position behind to support without interfering with Loren, the magitek Sky-splitting Cannons of Nanwantina City gathered vast magic power like the stars, reaching a climax moment, firing a long-range energy beam that could tear the sky apart, precisely striking Marquis Somerset.
Although the frequency of fire was greatly reduced due to the lack of energy stations and had to be filled with mana by many elite mages, the combined attack of the Seventh-order controlled magic devices could still pose a slight threat to Somerset.
The Heavy-armored Knight Legion formed the Firmament Shield Formation, a defense formation maintained by both spells and martial skills, creating a protective force field as unbreakable as the firmament, blocking layer after layer of physical aftershocks.
Behind them, the Priesthood of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny cast divine arts to form a massive protective barrier, the curtain of stars covering the city constantly absorbed and reflected the aftershocks of the battle, reducing the pressure from behind Loren.
Even if Marquis Somerset wanted to break through forcefully, it would take some time.
"Great Priest, you can do it!"
"Mr. Loren! Don’t lose!"
The shouts of the people seemed to turn into Loren’s strength, from the angry voiced guards nearby to the quivering civilians in the evacuation area, they were all calling his name.
The southern district of the city-state echoed with their thunderous voices, which made Marquis Somerset sneer.
He could no longer threaten Loren with civilians, and he had to be wary of the attacks from Nanwantina’s defense magic devices.
"Great Priest, do you have the guts for a fair fight between the strong? Stop relying on the power of these ants," Marquis Somerset said as he dodged a beam of light that pierced the heavens, paying no heed to the distant magic instruments, his sanguine eyes locked onto Loren like prey.
The kingdom’s senior magic engineer controlled the Phantom Oscillation Tower, using precision mechanics to create intense magical interference, which continued to have a phased impact on Marquis Somerset.
"..."
Loren did not engage with this guy.
The thunder and lightning once again illuminated the dusty sky and earth, behind the mana barrier, Loren spread his palm open, a golden green vortex forming in his hand, god-like boundless magic power gathering towards him, being continuously compressed, gradually cutting off all light around.
If hit by this Eighth-order destructive wind-attribute magic, even the mightiest army would likely turn to annihilation.
But Loren’s attack was only meant to shred Marquis Somerset.
"If that’s the case, then I shall kill you first before I slaughter this city-state you’re trying to protect!" Marquis Somerset said, unafraid of the might of the Eighth-order spell, throwing a punch.
What he thought would be an easily provoked opponent, Loren, turned out to have a combat will stronger than most humans he had seen; when facing an enemy directly, he was a calm strongman who would rather kill his opponent than speak.
The battle intensified, and the entire city-state was shrouded in dense smoke and dust.
Beams of light, explosions, and clashes in the sky intertwined.
Storm clouds gathered and whirled in the sky, as if the mountains and oceans themselves were shaken by the sudden outbreak of the battle, and the atmospheric pressure under the blood moon darkened the clouds intensified.
With every engagement, the ground lit up the pitch-black night sky.
The civilians taking refuge in the distant rear couldn’t even raise their heads to clearly see the bishop-level eighth-order death match on the southern border of the city.
And at the center of that battlefield, Loren and Somerset were no longer at full strength.
Loren, who had been seriously injured early in the battle, was gradually at a disadvantage, and it was obvious that Marquis Somerset did not give him a chance to heal his wounds.
With every pursuit of victory, Marquis Somerset, the Ninth Progenitor, tried to decide the fight with Loren.
However, he was not obsessed with killing Loren at all costs.
He was very clear about the priorities of today’s mission.
"...If you can manage it, then try," Loren, the Great Priest, once again used air pressure to fend off Marquis Somerset. Loren’s surroundings were empty, but the air could turn into any weapon, and with every wave of his hand, large swathes of airflow turned into wind pressure, as if protected by the Wind God.
Marquis Somerset’s crimson magic power spread, and the blood sea that rose from the ground like a violent waterfall tried to shatter Loren. Loren, however, became like a nimble dancer. Gradually letting go of his worries, he seemed to grow calmer.
Loren’s gaze was cold and scattered with light; he was focused solely on forcing back Somerset, the Immortal.
With a single step, the entire ground was covered in runes, forming a mana-forbidden zone, confronting Marquis Somerset in the space ahead.
The distance between the two closed anew, as if two apocalyptic disasters were clashing.
Although Loren’s stalling tactics couldn’t slow down Marquis Somerset’s approach much, his more complex spell formations were now complete; the entire space began to distort. Golden flames rose from the ground and a scattering light rain fell from the sky, ready to engulf Marquis Somerset in an instant.
It was then that Marquis Somerset’s figure emitted an almost translucent red mist, entering a selfless state anew. He threw an unprecedented punch, and in the air, the red glow collided with Loren’s vast magic power, forming a clear line of massive energy blast along the city-state’s boundary perpendicular to the earth.
A long while later, Marquis Somerset, who was sent flying and slid a great distance on the ground before stopping, was clearly at a disadvantage in this collision.
...
Somerset frowned slightly.
He felt that something was amiss.
They had been fighting for dozens of minutes.
It wasn’t just the power of the amassed ants from the Nanwantina territory that had relieved Loren’s pressure.
Why did he feel stronger as they fought?
This human’s mana seemed bottomless.
Attack, defense, speed, healing, control, the comprehensiveness of the spell structure—everything was top-notch.
Apart from Loren’s determination to protect the weak at all costs, Somerset’s combat experience told him that there were no weaknesses on this human’s body.
Somerset even began to suspect that continuing the fight might only make Loren stronger, forcing him to have a breakthrough on the spot.
What was terrifying about this guy wasn’t just that he possessed the strength of an eighth-order pinnacle strongman.
It was that before reaching the ninth-order domain, he still had an unclear room for growth.
Even thousands of years ago, when Somerset was sealed, he had never seen a human with such an outrageous magical talent.
"I didn’t expect that in this era, there would still be a human who could make even me feel like I’m facing a monster…"
The Eighth Ancestor, Somerset’s lips were still curled in a smile, as if he were merely playing with Loren.
"Loren, you truly are strong…" 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
There was something unsettling about Somerset’s smile,
"But have you considered that someone is about to reach the rear of those city defense troops?"
"!"
For the first time, a ripple broke across Loren’s normally calm face.
Long ago, he indeed felt that the magic fluctuation on the northwestern battlefield had stopped.
Latterly, whether it was a seventh-order mana source or the mysterious eighth-order strongman, there were no signs of combat; that eighth-order alchemical beast stopped as if it had lost its instructions and remained stationary.
If the Saint of Destruction had won, considering the time, he should be nearing the south of the city by now!
If the Saint of Destruction were to attack from within the city state at this moment, sandwiching the city defense troops with the eighth-order Blood Race from front and rear, it could lead to unimaginable casualties!
Indeed, Loren felt the military guard formation behind him beginning to fall into chaos, and Saint Solomon’s magic power once again became distinct.
Although Solomon’s magic power seemed incredibly weak, he was pushing hard to break through, causing havoc in the rear lines while trying to rush into the battlefield where Loren and the others were!
"…!"
Loren, occupied with fending off Marquis Somerset, couldn’t spare a moment for what was happening behind him.
To the south, the raging magic storm wreaked havoc, the clash of fierce winds and bloodlight twisted the surrounding air, emitting an oppressive fear that chilled the heart.
"Loren, prepare to face a surprise from behind!"
Somerset laughed aloud, his demeanor in battle becoming increasingly composed.
As if reenacting wars from the Divine Era, wind and blood collided at the trembling gates of Nanwantina City, continuing an eighth-order pinnacle disaster!
The resonating noise and fluctuations kept pounding at every building, causing those originally sturdy structures and towers to occasionally be ravaged by beasts formed from ash and smoke, leaving behind ruins.
"…"
With a grave expression, Loren clenched his teeth, steadfastly guarding the gates.
He knew that in just a moment, he would face an enemy on both fronts.
Very soon, he would lose support from the city defense army at the back!
He would need to respond with the utmost agility to resolve the crisis and turn the situation back in their favor.
If they could withstand this onslaught, the City State Barrier of the Nanwantina would soon recover, and the scales of victory would heavily tip in their favor.
But if they collapsed, the outcome of today’s battle would become unpredictable!
Or rather, the victory would be determined by the next gamble and collision!
Just as Somerset’s loud laughter became incredibly piercing,
And Loren’s heartbeat began to accelerate like a beating drum,
Loren sensed the source of Saint Solomon’s magic power not far behind him!
Finally, Solomon’s attack had arrived.
Loren couldn’t predict how Saint Solomon would disrupt this decisive moment of the battle, nor the consequences each of his judgments might cause, but he had to stay calm and deal with any situation!
However,
When Loren slowly turned his gaze in mid-air.
On the other side,
At the city gates below,
The approaching Saint of Destruction, upon discerning Loren’s figure, suddenly froze in his expression of exhilaration for having survived a deadly threat.
He stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded.
Then he began to retreat in terror, taking a few steps back.
It was as if, just as he neared the door of hope, he discovered that what lay ahead was the real beginning of a despairing purgatory!
"Lo, Loren!!!"
What followed was only Saint Solomon’s startled screams echoing across the battlefield to the south.
Somerset stilled his actions, frowning deeply.
Loren was completely flabbergasted.
Was he that terrifying?
