Legacy of the Dark Sage

The ground beneath Filren glowed with a perimeter of a perfect square. Afterward, the ground shook as an eight-by-eight grid board emerged.

All Legendary-level knights with Mo that stood at one side of the board found their bodies being restrained by some invisible force.

Mo scowled upon seeing the board emerge from the ground. Because he was outside the board's perimeter, his movements were not restrained. However, he felt that once he stepped inside, he would feel the same restraining force as the rest of the knights.

This was the first time Mo would witness Filren using his Divine Armament.

In the past, during their spars, neither of them would summon their Divine Armaments. Since they were only exchanging notes and were not fighting to the death, using their Divine Armaments was unnecessary.

Nonetheless, Mo knew what Filren's Divine Armament was. In Armakean, only King Aran knew what Filren's Divine Armament could do. Although Mo did not know what it did, he had a general idea just by knowing its form— an eight-by-eight board that resembled a relic of the Ancients.

Not to mention Armakea, even in Somuli, Filren's Divine Armament was considered one of a kind. For this reason, King Aran specifically chose him as his aide, unlike Mo and the others, who earned their position because of their strength.

Of course, that did not mean Filren's strength was inferior to the other aides. As a matter of fact, he earned his spot as the second most powerful aide because of his physical strength alone. Unfortunately, he was still a level below Mo, whose monstrous strength was further enhanced by his innate magic to manipulate the force of attraction.

In any case, even if Filren became an aide simply because he possessed a one-of-a-kind Divine Armament, the other knights would not bear any grudges. Since they were trained as a knight since they were young, their conduct and discipline were ingrained in their bones. They would not harbor any grudges to their fellow knights. This had been one of the strong points of the Armakea Knights that other nations envied.

'A control-type Divine Armament...' Mo thought with a scowl. This was what he believed to be the ability of Filren's Divine Armament.

"Humph," Mo snorted as he said, "Even if you summoned your Divine Armament, what can it do if your target is outside its area of influence?"

With that, he swung his Divine Armament, which had grown thrice in size, horizontally at Filren. The gravity imbued into the dual-blade battle axe was now twenty times that anyone directly struck by it would be flattened, and that was if its shaft landed on them and not its blade. It went without saying that once its blade struck any person— no matter how powerful their defenses might be— it would cut that person in half with ease.

Filren ignored Mo's attack. The silver tinge on his eyes increased, resulting in the board's size to expand further.

'What?' Mo was surprised at this and immediately changed the gravity of his Divine Armament. He stopped midway of striking at Filren because if he continued, he would be caught inside the board's expansion.

As Mo abruptly stopped his attack to jump back, he suddenly felt an incoming danger coming from behind him.

Swiveling his body in midair to look at what caused such feeling to come over him, Mo's eyes widened as an opened coffin greeted him.

"Armak!" He growled and smashed his dual-blade battle axe toward the coffin.

Before Mo's battle axe hit the coffin, Armak made a pulling motion with his hand, forcing the coffin back to him. At the same time, Breira emerged from behind the coffin; his fists, wearing the golden rings, were pulled back in the motion of striking Mo's chest.

Mo looked at Breira indifferently as the dual-blade battle axe shrunk in size in his hands. By the time Breira's fists hit Mo's chest, the dual-blade battle axe's size was reduced to two feet, and one of its blades was directly facing the side of Breira's torso.

Though the dual-blade battle axe's size shrunk, the gravity infused in it was still the same. Thus, with a simple swing, it would have cut Breira in two, killing him in an instant.

At least, that was the scenario that played out in Mo's mind. Unfortunately, he miscalculated Breira's current defenses and strength.

The silver tinge in Breira's eyes increased as Mo's dual-blade battle axe hit his torso.

CLANG!

"What— Gah!"

Mo's shock at having his Divine Armament repelled by what appeared like thick steel was cut short by Breira's fists slamming into his chest. He was then sent hurling backward right inside the perimeter of the board.

As Mo landed on the board, he sensed a powerful restraining force on his body.

"Leader Mo!"

The Legendary-level Knights inside the board were shocked at what they had seen. They had thought Breira would be a goner once Mo's Divine Armament struck his torso. Instead, they saw Mo's hands, which held his Divine Armament, get forced back. After which, he went flying backward into Filren's Divine Armament.

It was not only Mo and his group that was surprised at what happened.

Frankly, Breira was covered in cold sweat upon seeing Mo's Divine Armament about to strike his sides. Ultimately, he steeled himself and swore to endure until he landed a hit on Mo, forcing him inside Filren's board. He was actually prepared to die as long as he could force Mo into the board. At least, by entering Filren's Divine Armament, Filren and Armak would have a better chance of restraining Mo.

To Breira's utter amazement, he came out unscathed, and not only did he force Mo inside Filren's Divine Armament, but he actually heard the former shout in pain! That meant his fists hurt him somehow.

Breira's reaction was actually not an exaggeration. All knights had strong defenses, but there were others whose defenses were far stronger than the others. Mo and Filren were among them, along with another exceptional knight under Akim's leadership, whose name was Eikin.

Considering this, hearing and even seeing Mo cry out in pain or bleed was almost an impossibility. 

Yet, Breira did it. Mo might not have bled, but he still felt pain.

Of course, Breira knew this did not happen because of his strength alone. It was also thanks to the boost in their overall abilities and strength they received from the Sigil's blessings.

As a matter of fact, Filren's Divine Armament expanding in size was also due to the Sigil's blessings. If he only relied on his strength and magic energy, he could only maintain a safe size for his Divine Armament. If not, he would not be able to use the real strength of his Divine Armament.

Contrary to what the rest believed, Filren's Divine Armament was not all about restraining his enemies inside the board.

The board itself had its own rules, and Filren was the master. He could assign roles to anyone on the board, forcing them to fight one another!

This was the real reason King Aran personally chose Filren as his aide. Not because the latter's Divine Armament would be useful. Rather, Aran was afraid of it!

"Do not come inside," Filren told Armak and Breira when he caught sight of them and ten other black armored soldiers wanting to step inside the board. By this time, his green eyes had already turned silver as he added, "I, alone, is enough to handle them."

Hearing Filren's arrogant claim, Mo was enraged.

"Filren!" He bellowed as his magic energy exploded. Using his pressure alone, he tried to fight the restraining force that prevented him from moving his body at will.

Mo actually succeeded, as his Divine Armament grew in size once more. He then cleaved it upward, right at Filren, who was looking at them while in midair.

Filren raised his hand and caught Mo's Divine Armament once more.

Like earlier, as soon as Mo's Divine Armament and Filren's hand collided, a powerful shockwave erupted.

"Your strength is truly something, Mo. Unfortunately, inside my Divine Armament, you won't be able to exert even half of it."

Boom!

An unprecedented aura erupted from Filren as he crushed Mo's Divine Armament in one quick movement.

Mo's eyes widened in shock, following which a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth from having his Divine Armament destroyed.

"Leader Mo!"

The Legendary-level knights wanted to run to Mo's side. However, their bodies still refused to move.

On the other hand, Mo's knees buckled after experiencing the backlash of having his Divine Armament destroyed for the first time. Still, he refused to show any weaknesses and forcefully stopped himself from falling to his knees.

Mo glared at Filren, and through gritted teeth, he said, "Have you been hiding your strength all this time? Are you a mole the rebel group placed on the King's side all along?"

Armak, Breira, and especially Filren could not help but look at Mo dumbfoundedly. They never expected him, of all people, to actually be a dimwit!