Realm of Myths and Legends

"You'll pay for your arrogance!" One of the Pzenium warriors yelled as they rushed toward Izroth with a pair of swords in their hands.

After he witnessed the purple lightning that originated from Izroth, it did not take long for the warrior to make the connection between Izroth and the "lightning demons".

In his eyes, Izroth was a magic caster who controlled the lightning demons attacking their forces. Therefore, as long as he was eliminated, those demons should disappear along with him.

The Pzenium warrior was uncertain how Izroth was able to move so fast. But, for whatever reason, it seemed that his speed had diminished. This was an opportunity the Pzenium warrior would not pass by.

It was common knowledge that magic casters had poor close combat abilities. That's why he believed that as long as he closed the distance before Izroth could make another move, it would spell his doom.

"Fall!" The Pzenium warrior unleashed a battle cry as he reached within striking range of Izroth and slashed out with his two swords.

In the middle of his attack, the Pzenium warrior saw the world in front of his eyes split into two parts as he lost control over his movements.

At first, he thought it was just another form of magic. However, the Pzenium warrior felt his life rapidly fade away. In the blink of an eye, he had been cleanly cleaved in half!

Sagarus stood before Izroth with a black and purple lightning sword in his hand that he had just used to cut the Pzenium warrior in two.

"Attacking my lord in my presence—how impertinent," Sagarus said as he raised his sword into the sky.

He then declared, "Hear me, o' soldiers of the Great Lightning Army! Slaughter all those who dare to obstruct our lord's path!"

Upon making his declaration, as if obtaining a second wind of power, the lightning soldiers seemed to become increasingly fierce in their actions as they cut through the Pzenium warriors at their position.

〈Battle Alert: «Storm Commander Sagarus» has used the skill «Great Lightning Rally»!〉

〈Battle Alert: All «Lightning Soldiers» are empowered by 15% for the next 10 minutes. This bonus is increased by an additional 3% for every «Lightning Soldier» in the immediate vicinity of another «Lightning Soldier». This effect can stack.〉

'Oh? I managed to catch a good glimpse of it back in the Secret Realm, but at the time, I still wasn't sure whether or not it was something consistent. However, with this, there's no mistaking it.'

Izroth discovered that not only could Sagarus use some of the skills attached to his Sword of the Storm, but he was also capable of invoking skills that were not a part of the sword itself.

For example, the Great Lightning Rally was not one of the skills Izroth's Sword of the Storm possessed. This meant that there was still a deeper layer of secrets contained within the Sword of the Storm. However, Izroth was unsure if this was brought about by the Enati's reforging or if the secrets were always there but simply hidden from his eyes. There was also the chance that it was the result of both. Whatever the case, it only served to benefit him.

"I understand your desire to help your allies, but this is too reckless. There are thousands of Pzenium warriors here. Going any deeper than this will be dangerous." A voice sounded as a fully cloaked figure stepped next to Izroth.

Their appearance was well hidden, but the sound of their voice gave away their identity as the sixth princess of Tempest, Ranazera.

"You can relax. Once we succeed in creating a path for the main group to escape, we will immediately fall back." Izroth stated in a carefree manner.

'It shouldn't be long now until the last few pieces come together. Interfering any more than this won't make much of a difference. Besides, that person is also here.'

Sagarus led the lightning soldiers onward to break open a path for the main group. The lightning soldiers already had the upper hand due to their individual prowess and flawless teamwork. However, with the addition of the Great Lightning Rally cast by Sagarus, their battle power reached an entirely new dimension.

The average level of the Pzenium warriors on the battlefield was somewhere between the high thirties to mid-forties. Their overall strength was not considered weak by any means compared to the average troop power of most armies. But, even with their great numerical advantage, they could not halt the momentum of the Great Lightning Army led by Sagarus.

To make matters more difficult, a good portion of the Pzenium forces to the east and south sides of the battlefield had been thrown into chaos because of the Great Storm skill used by Izroth and Sagarus.

With a seemingly endless torrent of wind blades raining down, the lightning army pushing forth, a lack of proper command structure, and the main group's agile nature—the Pzenium forces found themselves quickly crumbling. Not to mention, Menkar was still locked in a battle against Niflheim, Bellum, and Champion.

...

"If things continue on this path, the encirclement will fully collapse! I must end this battle!" Menkar thought to himself as the aura around him exploded.

Niflheim retreated a few steps back as he glanced over at the waning blue flames coiled around his right arm.

"The flames are beginning to lose their vigor and are becoming more difficult to keep stable. They held up a lot better than I anticipated. It's a shame I'm still lacking the strength to display its full potential." Niflheim inwardly sighed before his gaze returned to Menkar.

Bellum, "We should withdraw. It's unfortunate, but we do not have the attack power to deal with this guy in a short period of time. Their forces are also closing in from the south and north. If we continue to stay here, we'll end up being completely isolated and cut off from the main group."

Niflheim was a tank, so his damage output was not that high compared to others at his level.

Champion's damage was above average; however, due to the level disparity between him and Menkar, he was unable to display his full strength.

As for Bellum, while her damage output was decent, her class was more utility based than anything.

Of course, Niflheim knew that Bellum's suggestion was correct.

There were two reasons he did not bring along any heavy damage dealers to face Menkar.

First, his goal was never to defeat the great warrior but to stall Menkar long enough for the main group to create some distance.

And secondly, besides Menerva, there was no one present in the 9th Division with a great enough damage output to threaten someone like Menkar.

Needless to say, Menerva tagging along was out of the question. Her class focused on sniping targets from a long distance. She would be a sitting duck on this battlefield. Plus, given the dangerous position they were in, Niflheim understood that there was no way both he and Menerva could be absent from the 9th Division.

"She's right. This much should be enough." Niflheim thought to himself as he released a heavy sigh.

Defeating a great warrior here would not just ease the burden on the 9th Division, but it would also provide a good deal of contribution points. However, Niflheim knew that there were more important matters to consider.

Niflheim, "You're right. We've done all we can here. Get ready to retreat on my signal."

Niflheim knew that a Pzenium warrior of Menkar's caliber would never retreat from a battle. Even with the declining state of the Pzenium forces, Menkar did not show any intention of backing down to go to their aid.

However, if they retreated, given the dire situation unfolding in the distance, Niflheim believed there was a good chance that the great warrior would not try too hard to stop them. After all, if Menkar truly were that stubborn, he would have ignored everything and continued to chase the fleeing Captain Ward.

"Now-"

"Grand Magic: Pacifying Palm."

Just as Niflheim was about to give the order to retreat, a voice sounded that caused him to fall silent midway.

However, it was not the words themselves that brought about his silence but the scene that followed.

Out of nowhere, a giant palm made of mana rapidly descended from several meters in the sky above Menkar.

"Wha-"

...BOOM! Rmmmmmmble!

The palm of mana crashed mercilessly into the great warrior and blew away a large portion of the sand at the center of its impact point.