Chapter 377: Act 133 – Repulsion (First Update)
Xi, Ouding, Repal, and Kuran pierced into the Gold-maned Lionmen’s camp like four blades, and the Lionmen’s formation instantly fell into chaos, but it was only a momentary confusion.
With hundreds of Silver-level fighters besieging a few Gold-level ones, it seemed there was still hope for battle.
The Gold-maned Lionman’s officer desperately tried to maintain his clan’s position, hoping to turn the tide of battle with their numerical superiority. But he quickly realized that his thoughts were a bit naïve.
Even though they were both in the Gold realm, their combat power differed fundamentally.
Xi, although merely at the beginning of Gold, was also a Thunder God Envoy, and she had absorbed the power of the Golden Apple — which made her gradually show signs of stepping into the mid-level. Moreover, the Golden Apple was originally a product that enhanced elemental coordination — the arcs of electricity she controlled had almost formed a dense curtain of lightning in front of her.
The red-haired maiden wielded an electric spear, resembling a legendary knight who commanded thunder. With a flick of her lance, several bolts of lightning swept through the Lionmen, each flash accompanied by sharp cracking sounds that spanned over a hundred feet, leaving a charred hole in the chests of the pierced.
However, that was not the end of it; Xi grew more courageous as the battle raged on, eventually entering a divine state. Her burning eyes shimmered with white lightning, and she commanded presence like a God of Thunder descending. She even stopped using the spear; with just a finger point, a lightning strike would turn a Lionman into cinders.
From afar in the forest, one could see flashes of electric light dancing in the air, forming a white haze. Xi, surrounded by Lionmen, appeared to be a deity. The Duchess’s daughter stared in awe, completely forgetting their purpose in coming here, stammering, “Is that the daughter of the Thunder Lord, King of the Wind Elves, Kasas…?”
“What strong elemental sensitivity.” The black-haired youth reflected the flickering bursts of white lightning in his eyes.
Alman also changed his expression; although the red-haired maiden appeared to be only at the lower Gold level, her displayed combat power exceeded that of a mid to mid-Gold level.
At least she was much stronger than the truly mid-Gold level middle-aged swordsman.
However, what truly took his breath away was not Xi, but Repal and Brendel.
If Xi was a Thunder God, then Repal was a Fire God. The tall Lizardman lord wielded his double-headed sword like a dancing flame, and even in battle, flames blazed around his body — though Repal was utterly unbothered by it; he was originally a creature from the Fire Element World.
Fireclaw Lizardmen seemed to be solid entities, but half of the essence flowing within their bodies was the Fire Element.
Moreover, elemental beings have long lifespans, and those who become lords are all powerful beings that have emerged from countless battles. Repal, the lord from the scorching plains, had already accumulated considerable combat experience in the Fire Element plane’s conflicts. Whenever he drew his sword, a Lionman would surely fall.
The Gold-level Lionman tried to block the onslaught from this warrior deity, but to its surprise, the Lizardman did not evade or dodge; instead, he allowed himself to take a sword strike directly in the heart area.
The Gold-maned Lionman raised its head in shock, watching the flames rise in Repal’s eyes — a trait of the Fireclaw Lizardmen, which was their combative nature, exchanging damage for a surge of power.
That strike brought Repal’s vitality below half, but his power increased exponentially to the upper Gold level.
The Lionman swordsman probably never expected that its opponent’s strength would suddenly leap up by two tiers; at that moment, it merely reacted instinctively, attempting to withdraw its sword to parry Repal’s subsequent onslaught.
Unfortunately, when it tried to pull back its sword, it couldn’t release it. Then the fiery blade descended, reducing it to a pile of cinders.
In silence, Repal withdrew his long sword, drawing flames along with it, then casually tossed the sword away. Watching as his subordinates were harmed in battle, their power climbing step by step, the original thirty Silver-level Fireclaw Assault Spearmen had, at that moment, reached the pinnacle of Silver.
They charged across the battlefield like a persistent stream of flame, and the Lionmen were unable to resist, their left flank retreating in disarray, reaching a point where collapse seemed imminent.
However, the Gold-maned Lionman officer on the other side did not notice the deaths of his comrades or the pressure on the left flank; he was instead sweating profusely, dealing with Brendel’s attack.
To him, that young man seemed like a monster.
Although his aura clearly bore the mark of the lower Gold level, his combat power was frightfully greater than those at the pinnacle of Gold. While others’ sword energy barely cleared a distance of one or two meters, when Brendel lifted his sword, it unleashed a fire dragon spanning dozens of feet.
The young man raised his sword high, and the fire dragon clung to his silver gauntlet, spinning upward like a golden whirlwind entwining around the Earth Sword. Then, with a downward swing, a fiery column instantly engulfed thirty-four Lionmen right before him, turning them to ashes.
Even the few who managed to escape were quickly pierced by the erupting stones from the ground that shattered into sharp spikes, turning the survivors into pincushions.
With just one swing of his sword, Brendel opened a gaping hole in the center of the Lionmen’s formation.
He stepped forward, and the Lionmen from Toquinin immediately collapsed, retreating en masse. The Gold-maned Lionman officer screamed orders for the Lion archers to prepare their shots, intent on eliminating this terrifying opponent with ranged attacks.
The elite of the Earth Altar accompanied by the Toquinin delegation, even the archers were equipped with magical crossbows. Upon receiving the command, they stepped back simultaneously, preparing their arms, each one surrounded by a faint yellow light, clearly imbued with Earth-type spells.
“Attack!” The Gold-maned Lionman officer waved his hand.
Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, dozens of faint yellow beams shot out from the forest in an instant, all targeting Brendel. Unfortunately, before they could even close the distance, they were reduced to ashes by the suddenly manifested fiery red shields.
The Gold-maned Lionman officer witnessed the flickering firelight around Brendel, realizing all attacks were rendered ineffective, unable to help but stare wide-eyed. If he had a player’s awareness, he would certainly have cursed:
“Martha above, just how good is this guy’s equipment?!”
Indeed, although Brendel only had the power of a lower Gold level, his equipment and skills amplified his strength exponentially — at this moment, his power was just slightly over thirty levels compared to the past in the Amber Sword and hardly comparable to top-tier strength — but the quality of his equipment and variety of skills were comparable only to fighters with cash to spare from the same era.
The Earth Sword, Crimson Blessing, Warrior’s Ring were all fantastical, with uncountable brass and black iron pieces, and just the protective and physical enhancements alone exceeded those of the contemporary Guardian Knights, not to mention the attack power.
If you said Brendel’s current attack would make a Berserker-type job feel ashamed, it was really true.
After taking a round of crossbolts, Brendel finally pinpointed the position of the Gold-maned Lionman officer. He raised his head and spotted the sneaky figure, drove back the nearby Lionmen with a swing of his sword, then reached behind to take out the slate longbow, fully drawing the bow and aiming at the target:
“Dust to dust, earth to earth, petrifying arrow!”
Brendel’s archery skills originally stemmed from the experience of a warrior over a hundred levels. At Ridenburg, it was due to his unfamiliarity with the weapon, but now equipped with mercenary weapon mastery, at this range, he was practically guaranteed a hit.
He released the bowstring, and the long arrow surged like a meteor straight toward the Lionman officer. The Lionman officer reacted quickly, immediately raising his sword to deflect the arrow, but just as the blade barely touched the long arrow, he turned into a stone statue.
“Petrifying Bow!” The black-haired youth from the distant forest nearly shouted out, if not for Alman covering his mouth. Aside from this viscount, the other noble descendants from Kurulu could not help but break into a sweat; Brendel’s hidden strength was overwhelming, overwhelming them with a barrage of surprises.
However, Rono failed to notice that the slate longbow could only produce one petrifying arrow; he thought it was the legendary Medusa’s petrifying bow, a mythical fantasy-grade longbow.
Adding in the Crimson Blessing and the Earth Sword, that truly was deadly.
At this moment, the Lionmen finally couldn’t hold up any longer; although they still had numerical superiority, Kuran, Repal, and Ouding were all seasoned veterans, not allowing them the opportunity to utilize their numerical advantage. Furthermore, with the deaths of the two commanders, the dragons were without a leader, the formation gradually wavered, and ultimately, it collapsed.
The first to flee was the left flank, suffering heavy losses under the assault of numerous Silver-level Fireclaw Lizardmen. Upon witnessing the officer’s death, they immediately turned to flee; aside from a few who were caught and sent to hell by Repal, most quickly vanished into the vast Black Forest.
With the left flank collapsing, the center instantly felt the pressure, and began to retreat as well, which triggered a large-scale rout. In the end, Erluin’s side had turned into a pure chase, even the young ones joined the pursuit.
However, Brendel did not allow his subordinates to chase too far, as he saw the fleeing Lionmen being intercepted by the arriving Druids not far off.
Several hundred Silver-level fighters could still rely on their numbers to hold up against Brendel for a while, but in the face of the even greater numbers of Druids, it was just a matter of moments before they became prisoners.
So, aside from a few that escaped into the forest, all others were bound up by the Druids.
The outcome of the battle did not surprise Brendel, but it shocked the Erluin delegation significantly. When Ouding returned to Brendel’s camp, those nobles from Erluin finally realized what had transpired.
Lobolen sat there with a sullen face, having said nothing, while Meria tended to his wounds. The female scholar and Earl Ouding approached Brendel to thank him, feeling a bit awkward, as they had originally intended to deal with the young man, yet unexpectedly ended up on the same side due to the Lionmen’s involvement.
However, upon seeing their expressions, it seemed Brendel also did not know how to handle the current situation.
The words of the Lionmen left these nobles’ hearts in a state of chaos; if the kingdom had already split, they did not know what significance they still had here. Moreover, the Crusians were pressing on them again; were they to bring Brendel back?
They looked at the young man, the events that had transpired feeling like a delusion.
Even Ouding began to suspect whether those Crusians wanted to stab them in the back.
At that time, Brendel turned his head, hearing Carglis’s voice calling him from the forest. Although this son of Sir Minate was just approaching Silver strength, he had solved two enemies in the previous battle using his exceptional sword skills and clever mind.
Compared to Xi and the others, this achievement did not seem remarkable, but among the other young ones who gained nothing, he stood out. Now, Carglis could be said to have solidified his standing among the young, and Brendel had intention to cultivate him as his deputy to lead the personal guard knight squad.
(PS: As an internal equipment, the Ghost Knight Crystal’s output enhancement is akin to a potion-type property boost, therefore it also benefits from strength explosion enhancements. This is the reason for the price discrepancy between enhancement crystals and gear like the Ogre Ring.)(To be continued, for more chapters, please visit the website and support the author, support legitimate reading!)
