Chapter 273
The battle was reaching its climax.
Attila, now a four-meter-tall giant, swung both arms relentlessly, unleashing his shamanic power. Repenhardt continuously poured out aura and magic. As she froze everything around her, Iniya filled the air with dazzling flashes of sword light.
Against these divine beings, the aura users fought back with equal intensity. Blades imbued with aura, glowing in countless colors, wove destruction across the sky and land like a song of ruin.
It happened as Walgran and Iniya clashed, exchanging a swift strike in passing. Croatl, who had been waiting for an opening, suddenly stumbled.
“Ugh!”
No matter how exhausted he was, an aura user should never lose his footing. Yet he had been forced to keep moving while cutting through Iniya’s aura skill, Breath of the Northern Sea. In the brief moment his concentration wavered, his foot caught in the creeping frost.
Iniya's eyes gleamed.
‘Chance!’
Shoving Walgran aside, she leaped backward, holding her rapier horizontally and pulling it deep behind her.
“Haaa…”
With her breath, a pure white fighting spirit surged beyond her shoulder. It rapidly coalesced, transforming into the shape of a massive ice spear. At the tip of her blade, a silver-white sphere of energy pulsed intensely.
It was Iniya’s ultimate move, Absolute Spear.
An ultimate skill always came with significant risks proportional to its power. There was a delay upon activation, and if it failed, the user’s stance would be completely broken, making it difficult to guard against counterattacks. Ideally, an opponent should be subdued with standard techniques alone.
Of course, launching the strongest attack from the start wasn’t always a bad strategy. Hadn't Repenhardt also gained a massive advantage by suddenly unleashing Hybrid Calamity Horn?
But that had only worked because he had prepared in advance and caught his opponent off guard. Normally, one wouldn’t gamble a finisher without certainty.
That was why Iniya had been waiting for the right moment all this time, struggling to find the perfect timing.
Now, at last, her opportunity had arrived!
Crackle!
The sphere at the tip of the ice spear crackled ominously, surging with internal bursts and compressed energy. Walgran and Croatl’s expressions twisted in realization.
The technique was nearly complete. There was no time to interfere.
Iniya thrust her sword forward.
“Absolute Spear!”
The pulsating sphere flashed for an instant. Dozens, hundreds of explosions erupted simultaneously, only to collapse back into a single point, concentrating all their destructive power. That condensed force shot forward as a streak of white light, splitting the earth as it flew.
It was already too late to dodge.
Both aura users responded by unleashing their strongest attacks against the blinding flash.
“Destroyer!”
Walgran’s aura skill, Destroyer, condensed his entire aura before detonating it, forming a massive spear that surged toward the white flash.
“Dark Noah!”
Right behind it, Croatl’s ultimate technique followed. It materialized his aura into a double-disc structure, with the upper and lower halves rotating in opposite directions, drastically amplifying its cutting and destructive force.
However, both of their trump cards were swallowed up by Absolute Spear’s trajectory, vanishing like morning dew under the sun. Without mercy, the white flash obliterated both attacks, crushing them completely before slamming into Walgran and piercing straight through Croatl.
BOOOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, Walgran’s entire body shattered and scattered into the air. A crimson mist of blood erupted as one of the most powerful aura users in the Vasily Kingdom, a warrior who had built his fearsome reputation over decades, was killed instantly in a single strike!
“My god…!”
The other aura users recoiled in horror, turning toward the scene.
Croatl was in slightly better shape, barely clinging to life. But his body was twisted beyond recognition, sprawled helplessly on the ground, hovering at death’s door.
Even Repenhardt blinked in astonishment.
The power Iniya had just displayed with Absolute Spear was truly immense. At the very least, in terms of sheer piercing strength, it didn’t seem far behind his own Hybrid Calamity Horn.
‘Wait… was Iniya always this strong?’
In Repenhardt’s past life, Iniya had simply been an exceptionally rare elven aura user and a powerful ally. He had naturally assumed she was strong, but as a mage back then, he had never been able to gauge her exact level. Besides, she had such a prickly personality that they were never particularly close, so he hadn’t seen her in action often.
Because of that, he had always estimated that she was only slightly weaker than Siris in their past life. Back then, Siris had continuously grown stronger, eventually surpassing Iniya and reigning as the strongest elf.
But now that he had become an aura user himself, Repenhardt could truly sense Iniya’s strength. At this level, she was easily on par with Tassid in his prime as an orc great warrior!
‘No, then why did she lose to Siris back then?’
There was a missing piece of the puzzle that Repenhardt had never known. The first time he met Iniya was when he had traveled to the Northern Sea to acquire research on spirit magic. Their next encounter didn’t happen until more than ten years later, when he had already founded the Antares Empire and was waging war across the continent.
By that time, Iniya was no longer in her prime.
During that era, the continent was consumed by hatred toward non-humans due to the rise of the Dark Empire Antares. People no longer hunted wild elves simply for profit; entire armies were mobilized to exterminate them completely.
Amidst all this, Iniya fought alone, protecting isolated elf communities against thousands of human soldiers. In the process, she clashed with numerous human aura users, engaging in brutal duels. She personally killed seven of them, each one a renowned warrior who had shaken the continent.
But every battle left her body more wounded and worn. Her injuries haunted her for years, slowly eroding her strength. By the time she joined the empire, she was left with barely half the power she had in her prime.
And yet, true to her title as the Queen of Snow, Iniya never revealed her weakness. No matter how frail or sickly she became, she always carried herself with strength and dignity. In the final war of the empire, she met her end surrounded by dozens of aura users, mages, and priests, dying with unshaken pride.
Since she had never revealed her struggles, there was no way Repenhardt could have known this history. Well, in the present, she was no longer hiding anything, if anything, she seemed desperate to expose herself. But back then, Iniya had deliberately kept her distance from him.
Regardless, with that single strike, Iniya had taken down two aura users at once. The sheer power of her attack caused the warriors fighting Repenhardt to momentarily lose focus.
Iniya wasn’t the only one who had been waiting for an opportunity.
"Perfect!"
Shouting in triumph, Repenhardt immediately bent his knees and pulled his fist to his waist. Five waves of aura pulsed along his forearm, rising with rhythmic intensity.
Repenhardt had already witnessed the destructive power of those aura rings through Hybrid Calamity Horn. The momentarily distracted aura users quickly realized the danger and rushed to respond.
“Ring of the Morning Star!”
Lukawan swung his morning star, launching a radiant ring of light.
“Gaia Breaker!”
Geblik channeled his full strength into his greatsword, preparing a devastating blade aura.
“Crescent Slash, Lingering Moon!”
Right after, Kamerun unleashed a barrage of Crescent Slashes. A dozen crescent-shaped strikes hovered in midair, converging into a single point.
“Heaven-Shaking Moonlight!”
The condensed lunar aura elongated into a brilliant beam, streaking through the air.
But Repenhardt was faster. His golden fist struck the sky, releasing a deafening roar of thunder.
“Calamity Horn!”
The five overlapping aura rings collapsed into a single point, forming a horn of disaster that swept through them. He hadn’t had the time to merge Fist and Mana Become One, but even a five-layered Calamity Horn was already earth-shattering!
“Gaaaahhh!”
Lukawan, being the weakest of the three, didn’t even have time to dodge. The golden flash engulfed him entirely, reducing him to nothing but a crimson mist.
The other two fared slightly better, but their fates were still grim. Despite protecting themselves with their strongest techniques to mitigate the impact, Geblik lost an entire leg, while Kamerun’s right arm disintegrated into nothingness.
“Ugh… You’re… strong, Fist King!”
Spitting blood, Geblik groaned before losing consciousness.
Kamerun stumbled, pressing against his wound to slow the bleeding. The sheer power was overwhelming. He had barely managed to dodge, yet his fully guarded right arm had been completely obliterated. Though he had avoided fainting, his vision was quickly blurring.
“Damn it…”
The three aura users who had been fighting Attila quickly disengaged, rushing toward their fallen comrades.
Attila let out a sigh of relief and deactivated Clarity Berserk Transformation. He had been nearing his limit anyway. Even with his mind protected, berserk techniques always took a severe toll on the body.
Returning to his original size, Attila staggered over to stand beside Repenhardt.
“Ugh… Looks like I’m stuck resting for at least a week after this.”
As the dust settled, the land gradually revealed itself again. A long canal had been carved into the ground where Calamity Horn had swept through. At its end, a partially collapsed hill bore deep scars of destruction.
‘Ugh…’
Seeing such overwhelming devastation drained morale in an instant. Dekril hesitated.
‘This… the damage is too great…’
Three were already dead, and three more had lost consciousness.
Only four remained. And even then, Kamerun, having lost an arm, was barely clinging to consciousness, completely incapable of fighting.
The remaining aura users exchanged glances, gauging each other’s reactions.
‘Should we keep fighting?’
In truth, Repenhardt’s side was thinking the same thing.
They had already spent hours moving without rest before this battle even began, meaning they had entered the fight already drained. Though Repenhardt stood tall to maintain his imposing presence, his legs trembled ever so slightly. If Gym Unbreakable’s body was shaking, it meant he was truly on the verge of collapse.
‘Damn, I can’t let them notice I’m out of stamina.’
Attila, too, was exhausted after the toll of his berserk transformation. And Iniya, who had expended every ounce of her remaining strength launching Absolute Spear, was barely holding on, half-conscious but refusing to collapse out of sheer stubbornness.
The tense standoff continued for a moment.
Then, all at once, every single person in the area turned their heads.
Their gazes locked onto the same direction.
“Huh?”
“What… is that?”
From a distant battlefield, where two monstrous powers had been clashing, an energy unlike anything they had felt before erupted into the sky, shaking the very air.
Repenhardt stiffened in shock, muttering under his breath.
“Ugh! Master? What the hell are you trying to do now?”
* * *
A crimson Blade Aura ripped through space.
“Die, Gerard!”
A golden fist tore open the sky.
“You die first, Banatel!”
With an earth-shattering explosion, the two warriors collided midair. The impact sent ripples through the atmosphere, blasting shockwaves in opposite directions. A storm of aura burst out in a fan-like spread, reaching dozens of meters away.
They had repeated the same exchange several times already. Once again, the impact of their clash sent both warriors flying backward. Landing with a controlled stance, Gerard shouted.
“Damn it! You still have strength left, Banatel?”
On the opposite side, Banatel raised his sword once more and yelled back.
“You’re one to talk! Do you ever get tired, you stubborn bastard?”
Despite their words, both were only human in the end, their bodies were drenched in sweat.
“Haa…”
Gerard exhaled deeply, his shoulders rising and falling as he steadied his breathing. His stamina was holding up, but his aura reserves had significantly diminished.
“Huff… Huff…”
Banatel panted as well. His aura remained plentiful, but his stamina was severely drained.
Still gripping his sword, Banatel hesitated. As expected, he and Gerard were completely evenly matched. At this rate, they were going to end up fighting for another three days and nights.
Honestly, Banatel didn’t entirely hate the idea. At his level, finding a battle where he could go all out was nearly impossible. As infuriating as Gerard was, he was the only one who could withstand Banatel’s full strength. Fighting Gerard was both deeply frustrating and indescribably exhilarating, a paradoxical mix of emotions.
But Banatel wasn’t here for his own amusement. He had been sent on official orders from the Basutalon Empire to lead the aura users.
He cast a glance toward the distant battlefield. Several warriors had already fallen, including Ricabon. He couldn't afford to indulge in his personal rivalry forever.
However, there was no way he was leaving without settling things with Gerard first!
Banatel raised his sword, shifting into a combat stance. His eyes burned with determination as he roared.
“Gerard, you bastard! Enough wasting time, let’s finish this for real!”
Gerard smirked. He knew exactly why Banatel was acting like this. He might not have paid much attention to it, but even he was aware that Banatel had taken on a disciple.
‘He must be worried about those kids getting beaten up by my disciple.’
But this proposal suited Gerard just fine.
Instead of dragging this out with endless exchanges, they would each unleash their strongest attacks and settle it in one decisive blow. What could be more exhilarating and glorious than that?
Leaping backward to put dozens of meters between them, Gerard shouted.
“Fine! Let’s see how much stronger you’ve gotten!”