Chapter 409: The New Martial King (2)

Valeria was struggling. The angel darting around her was certainly troublesome. However, the true danger lay elsewhere. A man with shaggy blond hair dashed rapidly around the serpent of water. Dozens of ice spears flew relentlessly toward him. The man dodged every attack with fluid precision before unleashing silver aura. Two chain-blades shot forward and embedded deeply into the serpent's body.

Valeria frowned at once. What the...?

The serpent, Abyssal Current, had a body composed mostly of water. Under normal circumstances, no matter how deeply chain-blades were driven into it, they should have slipped right out.

But as soon as the chain-blades touched her body, they emitted a cold energy that spread outward, freezing the surrounding water solid. The blond man, Varos, immediately launched himself forward after securing firm footing.

With a powerful shout, Varos shot upward in a single leap. He seized a position even higher than the massive water serpent, then adjusted his posture in midair. Gripping his sword with both hands, Varos unleashed a strike.

Reversal Blade, Sword of Endless Night!

Black lightning crashed down upon the serpent's midsection. Several meters of its watery hide split apart, and blue energy burst outward in every direction.

Varos gave a faint smile as he passed by the staggering form of the giant serpent. I'm definitely getting the hang of it.

Leven had grown explosively stronger. Lapicel was steadily reclaiming her past strength. Drel was now nearing the threshold of becoming a martial king. On the other hand, Varos's own strength had not improved as dramatically.

He already had more than enough experience. At this point, gaining a bit more combat experience would not suddenly cause his strength to skyrocket like those born geniuses. Instead, he had been gaining experience in a rather unexpected area.

He had grown accustomed to wielding Reversal Blade as a living being rather than a death knight. More precisely, he had learned to use Reversal Blade while maintaining the sensation of taste.

Good... I'm starting to get the feel for it. Varos's eyes gleamed as he drew forth his aura once more. Black energy swirled over his silver aura, tearing through heaven and earth.

Reversal Blade, Casting into the Abyss!

A scream echoed across the battlefield. Whether it belonged to the serpent or a human, none could tell.

***

The three fallen popes had unleashed their most powerful techniques. With Tesranach's descent empowering them, they were undoubtedly demonstrating power far stronger than those of previous fallen popes.

Yet even so, they failed to gain a clear advantage in battle. After all, Karnak's group had also grown stronger. Splendia, in particular, was facing significant difficulty.

The massive firebird roared. Its blazing flames heated the surrounding air until a storm formed. Splendia flapped her wings violently while soaring through this storm. Countless fiery feathers rained down, turning the surroundings into a sea of flames.

Yet it caused little harm to Drel and Dios. Both had protected their entire bodies with powerful aura and magic, defenses strong enough to withstand Splendia's flames.

Even within the hellish inferno, Drel steadily closed the distance between him and Splendia. At last, the firebird entered his striking range, and his sword released brilliant cold energy.

Kretas Swordsmanship, Snowflower Storm!

Pure white explosions erupted one after another, scattering fragments of flame into the air. The massive firebird staggered heavily. You dare!

Enraged, Splendia opened her beak. With a dreadful cry, a torrent of flame swept across the ground. But Drel had already widened the distance between himself and the bird. Instead, Dios found an opening with Splendia's exaggerated movement and cast a spell behind her. "Wall of Freeze, Blizzard Storm, Frost Vortex, Ice Burst."

Four magic circles formed in succession at the tip of the Staff of Dusk. A massive wall of ice blocked Splendia's movement, and a merciless blizzard smothered the firebird's flames. A vortex of frost cooled its blazing body, followed immediately by a massive explosion.

Among Karnak's group, Drel and Dios were among the most reliable forces. They had steadily grown stronger through abundant experience and heaven-bestowed talent. Their only weakness had been their pitiful stamina, but they had diligently worked to overcome that weakness.

—I definitely tire less than before.

—Well, we've been training our stamina diligently.

While Serati had been gaining fame, they had not been idle. They had eaten well and trained without neglect to strengthen their stamina. On top of that, they had fully assimilated the chaos mana and chaos aura Karnak granted them, making them capable of standing their ground even against the massive firebird. However, that did not mean they could defeat it easily.

Splendia roared, "You think I would fall to something like this!"

Despite sustaining significant damage, Splendia swiftly recovered her flames, returning once again to the form of a blazing firebird. "Tesranach's blessing protects this body!"

Unlike humans, who would die instantly if struck at a vital point, the incarnated bodies of the fallen popes were embodiments of divine power. They would never fall until the divine power inhabiting them had been completely worn away.

It would likely be difficult to deal with this quickly and then join Serati's side. Dios cast a glance toward the allied army's left wing. This is going to turn into a prolonged battle. How are things progressing over there?

***

The red-haired beauty took a single step forward. Her blazing Sword of Sunset spread an orange sky across the world.

Twilight Swordsmanship: Hymn of the Setting Sun!

The lightning-fast thrusts and slashes left behind images like heat haze, threatening to cut down Beltia from all directions. The chain of strikes was so swift that even Beltia found herself impressed. "You are certainly fast."

Even with a martial king's senses, it was difficult for her to precisely discern where Serati's strikes were aimed. Without a doubt, Serati's speed surpassed her own. "But your movements are too big."

She couldn't see through the strikes, but the one wielding the sword was plain in sight. No matter how monstrous Serati's power was, her swordsmanship still remained at the blue-tier.

Beltia's entire body faded like a shadow and scattered into afterimages. Serati's rain of slashes missed completely, smashing into the ground instead. A merciless shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Though her attack had missed, Serati immediately followed with another strike. She swept her blade horizontally through space, scattering black light.

Twilight Swordsmanship: Dusk!

A pitch-black curtain surged forward, engulfing Beltia's field of vision. It appeared Serati intended to leave her no space to evade her attack, since Beltia was continuing to avoid her attacks.

Beltia clicked her tongue. She could feel the massive power infused within the darkness. She really is strong.

There was a tremendous force packed into the curtain. Getting caught in such an attack would leave even her, a martial king, in poor condition.

Beltia muttered coldly. "But if it doesn't hit, it doesn't matter how destructive it is."

She swung her golden sword with grace. Her refined swordsmanship unfolded through controlled, precise movements. Golden flashes pierced through various points in the curtain and twisted the darkness apart. The warped curtain of darkness split to her left and right, crashing down upon empty ground instead. Another massive explosion erupted.

Serati was amazed as she watched her attacks be blocked again and again. A martial king truly is a martial king.

Serati could not even imagine ever reaching that level of swordsmanship. To be honest, she had no idea what one would even need to do to reach such heights. Even so, Serati showed little sign of panic. Grateria had expected this outcome from the very beginning.

—At your current level, even a martial king would struggle to surpass you in raw ability. But that does not mean you are overwhelmingly stronger or faster than a martial king.

—Then what should I do?

The snow-white cat shook its head. Then it glanced toward Karnak beside it and grinned.

—You need to do nothing. That is something we will handle.

With a cold battle cry, Beltia kicked off the ground. Golden light bloomed around her blade like flowers as she aimed it precisely toward Serati's vital points. Serati dodged as much as she could, but explosive impacts still erupted across her crimson armor. Even so, she managed to retreat without sustaining fatal injury. Serati swept her cloak wide.

From within the cloak, a snow-white cat sprang out and let out a sharp cry. Though it looked cute at first glance, what followed was anything but. Storms, flames, frost, lightning, light, and darkness—a chain of countless spells surged one after another, crashing down upon Beltia.

Beltia's expression stiffened instantly. Ugh!

She failed to dodge the attacks like before. Unlike Serati's brute-force assault of overwhelming speed and strength, this magical barrage was woven together with meticulous precision. There was no choice but to counter each attack one by one. Beltia reversed her grip on the sword and brought her hand to the blade.

Croterian Sword, Thorned Rose!

Dozens of golden thorns erupted outward from her and shot in every direction. The golden thorns collided with the incoming spells, each pair annihilating the other midair. Beltia clicked her tongue after barely escaping the magical barrage.

How could a mere cat wield such overwhelming magic? The white cat was far more troublesome than Serati. Could it really be some kind of divine beast of the goddess?

Moreover, the white cat wasn't the only troublesome foe for Beltia.

As Beltia retreated, a black-haired young man extended his wand toward her. "Come forth, you who uphold the world!"

Spirits of water, fire, wind, and earth answered his call, taking the forms of towering elemental giants. Their thunderous roars shook the air violently.

These were the most powerful spirits of the ninth circle, and they charged directly at Beltia. Flames blazed, waves surged, the earth trembled, and fierce winds howled. They were formidable opponents as well.

Beltia clenched her teeth as she swung her blades to shatter the limbs of the elemental giants. "So this is how you intend to fight!"

***

Indeed, Serati's skill had not yet reached Beltia's level. Beltia could still easily evade or deflect Serati's attacks. But that also meant something else: Serati could force Beltia into evading or deflecting. A dark crimson aura blade came crashing down toward Beltia.

Twilight Swordsmanship, Cleaving Sunset!

It was fast and powerful, but the predatory motion for the attack was too large. Naturally, Beltia evaded it with ease. But the instant she stepped sideways, Grateria's magic erupted where she stood.

She couldn't simply block and deflect the attacks while holding her ground either. Karnak's elemental spirits would strike her where she stood.

One had once been the dragon emperor, the other the former Monarch of Death. Their precise and refined assault was not something even a martial king like Beltia could easily evade or deflect.

That meant she had to rely on raw power and speed to overcome them. However, when it came to that regard, Serati surpassed her. Serati continued her relentless assault and drove Beltia backward. Karnak and Grateria faithfully maintained their barrage as well.

Under mounting pressure, Beltia ultimately allowed a fatal strike to land. Blood poured freely from her shoulder to chest as she staggered backward. She had narrowly dodged to avoid instant death, but the wound was still severe.

In truth, when an injury was this serious, whether it struck a vital point or not scarcely mattered.

Her knees buckled. The strength in the hand gripping her sword gradually faded. Her mind grew hazy, and her vision darkened. She could see the black-haired young man beyond her dimming world. That bastard... At the very least, I must...

This was meant to be a world where her precious daughter could live again. As such, this monster could never be allowed to remain in this world. But what could she do? She didn't have enough strength.

Suddenly, a dazzling light shone above Beltia's head. Mother...

Startled, she lifted her head. A small girl was descending toward her like an angel. Lapicel?

The child reached out her tiny hand. Lord Tesranach is watching over us.

Two small hands, as delicate as autumn leaves, gently cupped Beltia's cheeks. So let's fight together, mother.

Beltia smiled. Fortunately, her god had not yet abandoned her. Then so shall we, my beloved daughter.