Chapter 608

Or-han kicks through the void, becoming a human cannonball and flying towards me. His movement method was so absurd that it was beyond shocking—it was downright ridiculous.

– HOOOOOO!

But there was no time to be stunned. At this very moment, Or-han was hurtling towards me at comet-like speed.

If he approached like that, there was no way to shake him off. Even if I cut down all the warriors blocking my path and ran, there was no way I could move faster than someone flying through the empty void!

Moreover—

“Kagan is coming! Capture the traitor and offer her to him!”

“Charge! Even if we die, we must hold her down!”

“Grab your maces and flails! Even if we can’t cut her, she’s not invincible! Smash her stance with blunt weapons!”

Thanks to the flying Kagan above, the morale of the Blue Army warriors had skyrocketed. Now, instead of trying to kill me, they were throwing their lives away without hesitation, charging like madmen to hold me back for even a second longer!

“MOVE ASIDE!”

I roared fiercely, unleashing the full might of a hero.

The vacuum blade from my sword sliced through dozens, and with every swing of my limbs, bodies burst like watermelons. The Life Force Technique’s blades swept through like a storm, cutting down everything in their path.

Ten lives per second. Those who were once human became chunks of meat, piling up into hills of corpses.

…And yet, my steps forward were slowing down endlessly.

“Kuh…! Long live Ai-shan! Long live Kagan!”

“Got her! Now’s the time!”

A warrior, pierced through the heart, clung to me with his sword still embedded in his body, trying to hold me down. Others, cut in half at the waist, crawled towards me with just their upper bodies, grabbing at my ankles.

Even those on the brink of death, riddled with holes, lunged at me, grabbing my clothes or hair, swinging their blunt weapons wildly.

Even if they clung to me like that, they would just be torn apart by my counterattacks, but each time, I had to stop for a moment. And by the time I shook them off, more warriors would charge in without a moment’s rest.

The Blue Army soldiers, who had been my shield just moments ago, had now become my shackles.

“KAAAAH…! I’ll take you with me, you wench!”

Some, even as their bodies burned and melted, threw themselves at me, trying to take me down with them. These lunatics. Even moths aren’t this crazy.

With the warriors throwing their lives away to cling to me, I couldn’t move forward easily. Even if I unleashed wide-range techniques to sweep them away, the gaps would be filled instantly, like cutting through flowing water.

It was like being swept away by a tide of flesh. No matter how many I slaughtered, there was no end. The moment I showed even the slightest opening, all sorts of blunt weapons would come crashing down on me.

The blunt weapons wielded by ordinary warriors weren’t a big deal unless they hit me square in the head, but getting hit repeatedly would still leave bruises.

And it was mentally exhausting, like being beaten like a dog on a hot summer day.

“Haa… Haa… You relentless bastards. Get off me!”

“Not a chance!”

Frustrated and desperate, I swung Durandal wildly. But in that moment of opening, a middle-aged man charged in like lightning, swinging a steel flail.

Paladin Pari-gien. The one who had ambushed me from horseback earlier, smashing me into the mud with his flail. If it weren’t for him, the weakness of the Blessing of Invulnerability against blunt attacks wouldn’t have been exposed so easily.

“You again!”

I reached out with an ice blade to grab the tip of the flail aimed at my head. But Pari-gien, without hesitation, let go of his weapon and leaped back, disappearing into the crowd of warriors.

It had been like this since earlier. After I killed three paladins in an instant, the remaining two paladins of the Blue Army avoided direct confrontations with me, only attacking when I showed an opening and then retreating.

‘Ah, these cowardly bastards!’

[You’re one to talk! Look at the sky! Or-han is coming!]

Hersela’s warning was unnecessary. I had already sensed the mountain-like presence approaching from above.

With my steps slowing down as I was swarmed by the tide of warriors throwing their lives away, I was finally caught by Or-han.

“HA-SHAL-LEUUU!”

A roar that echoed loudly. The emotion behind it was unclear—whether it was hostility or excitement.

Looking up at the sky, the middle-aged man with a boulder-like build swung his crescent moon blade down at me. There was no way to dodge anymore.

Damn, is this it?

I gritted my teeth and glared at Or-han, who was closing in rapidly.

The plan had gone awry. I had killed about nine hundred, but the enemies were still as numerous as ants, and Or-han had started flying before I could buy enough time.

Both stalling and reducing the enemy numbers had ended in a half-baked state.

…No, I hadn’t even stalled. Has it even been five minutes?

It was far from enough to feel at ease. To ensure the safety of the special forces heading towards the barrier, I needed to buy at least two hours.

But from the looks of it, that seemed impossible now.

“Take this—!”

Or-han, with the same expression as his daughter, smiled as he brought down his red crescent moon blade like a guillotine.

It was too late for regrets. With that monster’s mobility surpassing mine, dodging like before was impossible. Now, I had no choice but to fight head-on.

And that, too, while being hindered by the Blue Army warriors who still clung to me even as Or-han descended!

Of course, it was impossible. There was no way I could do that. Every time I tried to counterattack, I was blocked by the warriors and ended up getting hit.

If I fought Or-han like this, I would die.

If I had to fight, I needed to at least make it a one-on-one situation!

…But how?

[Hand over your body! If you unleash the World of Mortality…!]

‘No. That would only kill a few hundred at best!’

The World of Mortality wasn’t the answer. While it was nearly invincible against a few hundred, against this number, my strength would run out first.

So, I rejected Hersela’s suggestion, biting my lip and racking my brain.

A few seconds until Or-han’s blade reached me. The warriors who kept charging relentlessly. Facing a life-threatening crisis, my instincts kicked in, and a fierce heat surged through my nerves.

My entire body felt engulfed in flames, and my skull felt like it was splitting open. My boiling brain poured out old memories like a slideshow. Memories preserved like tens of thousands of photos in the depths of my consciousness.

Like digging through a trash heap for a gem, I searched through the memories flashing through my mind for a way to break through this situation.

…And I found it.

Yes. There was one method. The chances were slim, but it was worth a try!

“HAAAAAP!”

Or-han, locking eyes with me, roared like a tiger. One second until his blade reached me. The power in that blade was something I couldn’t even think of blocking.

So, I had to dodge.

“KYAAAAAH!”

In the next moment, I activated Reversed Heaven and planted my feet firmly on the ground. My vision, which had turned monochrome, returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

A mere instant of Reversed Heaven. Using it, I narrowly dodged the crescent moon blade and leaped into the air, soaring ten meters high.

– KWAAAAAAANG!

A deafening explosion shook the heavens and earth, and the ground below crumbled into dust.

The combined impact of my leap and Or-han’s strike. It was as if the Power of Ruin had swept through, turning everything within a ten-meter radius into fragments.

…If I had taken that head-on, my limbs would have been shattered.

“Did you think you could dodge that?”

Amidst the fragments shooting up like a fountain, Or-han, who had struck the ground with his crescent moon blade, looked up at me. A twisted smile hung on his bearded face.

[You idiot! Jumping into the air like that, are you trying to die?!]

Hersela scolded me in frustration.

Yes, she was right. Unlike Or-han, who could kick off the air and fly freely, I could only change direction once using Cascador as a foothold.

After that, I would be helplessly struck down by Or-han, who would chase after me.

If only I could kick off the air like Or-han and change direction, it would solve the problem. But that was impossible. The Blessing of Invulnerability, weak against blunt attacks, couldn’t withstand the shock of exploding my energy.

It wouldn’t completely destroy my limbs, but after a few uses, my bones would be shattered.

“Stop dodging and come at me, Ha-shal-leur!”

Or-han, spinning his crescent moon blade to scatter the dust, crouched down, glaring at me. The ground beneath him, now in ruins, cracked under the pressure.

He was about to leap up and charge at me.

This much was expected. The problem was what came next. The gamble I had recalled from my memories. If it didn’t work, I had no other options.

“KAAAAAP!”

Or-han kicked off the ground, leaping towards me. The distance between us closed in an instant.

[What are you going to do?! Or-han is coming!]

‘This!’

After answering Hersela, who was clearly anxious, I focused my consciousness on my right hand and both legs, shouting.

“Kenaz!”

The rune of fire engraved on my wrist reacted to the activation word, gathering heat and drawing in mana from the surroundings. Left alone, it would spew flames from my palm.

But before that, I infused the Life Force Technique into the flowing mana, mixing them together. Up-hwa. To manifest a blazing crimson flame by simultaneously absorbing mana and Life Force Technique.

[Up-hwa? But even that can’t burn through the Indestructible Body…!]

‘I know.’

Hersela seemed to think I was trying to burn Or-han with the intensified flames, but my goal wasn’t to blast him with Up-hwa.

At best, it would turn into a battle of endurance, seeing whose energy would run out first.

– Whoosh…

The rune, filled with enough energy and mana, emitted an immense heat. The flames trapped within the rune tried to burst out towards my palm.

But that wouldn’t do.

I focused all my will on my wrist, twisting the flow of heat within.

If it were just flames fueled by mana, it would have been impossible. But Up-hwa, fueled by the Life Force Technique, allowed me to control the energy within to some extent.

Instead of bursting out from my palm, I directed the heat through my arm, to my shoulder, down my spine, splitting it to flow through both legs, and finally condensing it beneath my feet. The heat, like the sun, gathered beneath my feet.

‘If Or-han can kick off the air and fly…’

The heat of Up-hwa, trapped and bubbling within my feet. I condensed the immense heat into a single point—

‘Then I can fly too!’

Like exhaling a held breath, I released the torrent of Up-hwa beneath my feet into the void.

– KWAAAAAAH!

The condensed Up-hwa exploded beneath my feet. The sensation of defying gravity head-on, and the ground rapidly grew distant.

[What the hell is this?!]

‘Who knows, something Damien can’t do?’

Looking down at Or-han, who was staring at me in disbelief, I let out a triumphant laugh.

It worked.

The propulsion of the ultra-high-temperature flame, spewing out like a beam of light, was launching my body higher into the sky!