Chapter 64: A Stronger Presence

"WILDFIRE REQUIEM!"

Flames crossed the battlefield once again.

The fighting continued long enough that Zishan eventually stopped trying to follow each EXP notification. The numbers kept moving across his vision whenever a marked soldier fell, or one of the lower-Level Magic Beasts succumbed to the spreading flames, and the EXP that had once arrived in large chunks began changing as his own Level increased.

[LEVEL UP!]

Another wave of enemies broke around the burning front.

[LEVEL UP!]

Zishan drank what remained inside another Mana Recovery Potion while shifting farther along the battlefield, where a fresh group of Magic Beasts had been pushed into the advancing infantry.

His Level continued rising.

Some kills still gave him hundreds of EXP. Others had begun giving less than they would have several Levels earlier because the difference between him and the weaker soldiers was shrinking, then reversing.

He noticed one notification awarding an amount that would have excited him less than an hour ago, but the next few gave even less. The pattern became harder to ignore the longer he watched.

’Fuck. I’m already out-leveling them.’

The higher he climbed, the less useful the weaker enemies became.

The System continued processing everything until a familiar notification appeared across the center of his vision.

[LEVEL UP!]

[Level 74 → Level 75]

[Distributable Stat Points Gained: 39]

[Distributable Stat Points: 75]

Zishan’s eyes widened. ’Seventy-five.’

He had entered this battle at Level 59. Twenty-seven of his unallocated Stat Points were still tied to the nine provisional Levels he had gained from the advance-claimed Quest reward, but reaching Level 75 this fast was still ridiculous.

And there wasn’t enough time for him to enjoy the huge progress.

A surge of Mana from his left made Zishan throw himself sideways as a weapon tore through the ground where he had been standing. He rolled once before regaining his footing and found two enemy officers advancing through the smoke.

One wore the insignia of a Major.

The other was a Captain.

Both had bloodshot eyes, and neither seemed interested in asking what his name was before killing him.

The Captain pointed his weapon at Zishan. "You."

Zishan glanced behind him at the burning section of their army.

’Ah.’

The Major’s expression made the reason obvious.

’They’re pissed.’

The two officers moved at nearly the same time.

Zishan barely had a chance to gather Mana before a figure crashed between him and the Major, forcing the enemy officer backward beneath the impact of a heavy blade. An Olmost Major had intercepted him, while another burst of Mana erupted several meters away as one of their Captains met the enemy Captain before he could reach Zishan.

"Walker!" the Olmost Major shouted without taking his eyes off his opponent. "Move!"

Zishan didn’t need to be told twice.

"Thank you, sir!"

The enemy Major tried to follow him.

The Olmost officer blocked his path. "You’re fighting me."

Farther behind them, Commander Holtz had finally joined the forward battle after finishing the defensive preparations and command arrangements he had remained at the station to oversee. Zishan only managed to catch sight of him for a moment before another Commander from the Kingdom of Degenerates stepped into his path.

Their weapons collided with enough force to send a pressure wave across the ground.

Commander Holtz glanced past his opponent long enough to see Zishan still moving through the battlefield. "Soldier Walker!"

"Busy, Commander!"

Commander Holtz ignored him.

The enemy Commander was already moving again, and he turned fully toward him as their weapons collided. The impact sent a burst of Mana across the ground, forcing several nearby soldiers to retreat from the pressure.

The commander tightened his grip and focused entirely on the man in front of him.

"Soldiers! Officers! Hold your positions!" he shouted without looking away from his opponent. "Do not let them break through!"

Commander Holtz had already turned his full attention back to the enemy Commander.

Zishan kept moving.

More low-Level soldiers and Magic Beasts fell as Wildfire Requiem continued its work, yet the EXP notifications had begun losing most of their earlier appeal.

[Enemy Soldier Defeated!]

[EXP Gained: 420]

Another.

[EXP Gained: 300]

Then another.

[EXP Gained: 180]

Zishan frowned as he ran. ’Yeah... this is starting to become shit.’

[The Host’s Level is increasing while many available targets are not.]

’I noticed!’

He could continue burning through the weaker enemies, but the efficiency was collapsing with every Level he gained. More importantly, a new sound had started coming from behind the Olmost line.

A Griffin’s scream.

Zishan’s expression changed.

He turned.

The Highland Griffin was no longer circling above the approaching army.

She was over the western station.

One sweep of her enormous wings sent compressed Wind Mana crashing into the defensive structures below, forcing several soldiers to abandon their positions before wooden supports and sections of barricade broke apart beneath the impact. The lower-Level Soldiers stationed inside were trying to fire back whenever the Griffin passed overhead, but most of their attacks either missed or lost too much force before reaching her altitude.

The rider on her back was making everything worse.

Zishan activated Perfected Appraisal.

Information appeared across his vision as the Griffin banked through the air.

[Species: Highland Griffin]

[Taming Status: Bound]

Then, he focused on the rider.

[Race: Human]

[Military Rank: Captain]

[Beast Taming Affinity]

Zishan’s face tightened. ’A fucking Captain.’

That explained why the Griffin felt different from their first encounter.

The beast itself hadn’t simply become more aggressive. Mana was moving between her and the rider in a controlled pattern, reinforcing her attacks and helping her adjust whenever the soldiers below tried to predict where she would strike next.

Every Captain Zishan had seen near the station earlier was now occupied on the battlefield.

The officers who remained behind were doing what they could to organize the defense, but none of them carried the same pressure as the man riding above them. The strongest among them was already struggling to maintain defensive Skills across the station whenever the Griffin attacked.

Zishan raised his eyes toward Elinox.

She had noticed too.

For one moment, her attention shifted from the High General fighting her and moved toward the Griffin attacking the western station.

Mana gathered around her.

Then, she suddenly stopped.

Something else had caught her attention.

Far beyond the enemy formation, deeper than the forces currently engaging Olmost, another presence remained almost perfectly still.

Elinox had sensed it several times since the battle began.

It had never entered the fight. That worried her more than anything else.

The amount of Mana compressed around that distant presence was greater than hers.