Absolute Beings

When everyone was focusing attention on revealed battlefields, there were groups making a large circle around Rakis’s border.

The momentum of groups charging beyond other nations’ gazes was extraordinary.

They were the remaining 13 Lords whose whereabouts Pernok hadn’t known.

The middle-aged man leading half the 13 Lords and a 50,000-strong army at the vanguard wore a smile across his face.

Rakis’s Hegemon Emperor Arad who enjoyed war’s pleasure.

Surprisingly, he’d performed the reverse thinking of striking other nations rather than the Holy Kingdom that would become the fierce battlefield.

“…?”

Arad, who’d been raising momentum in full swing, suddenly gripped the reins.

The moment forces stopped marching, the 13 Lords approached Arad’s side.

“Hehe, look at this old fox.”

Arad surveyed the large army blocking the front and smiled wryly.

After making all attention focus on Chris, he’d thoroughly controlled information leaks from the capital and secretly escaped.

No one knew the fact that Arad was making a large detour around conflict zones.

But one person, even in the alliance army, had thought the same as Arad.

“It’s been a while! Bartheau!”

Sacred Emperor Bartheau.

He’d been waiting for Arad with a 100,000-strong army positioned in the gorge.

Since he’d been encamped for quite a long time, there was no thought of breaking through the gorge.

As for Magus, there was merely the Sacred Emperor alone.

Though S2, the previous generation elders were together here.

Deploying 13 Lords to change the terrain itself wasn’t even work.

But Arad knew.

When cautious-in-all-matters Bartheau who’d always hidden his body in the Holy Kingdom boldly revealed himself, there was a corresponding shield.

The Holy Kingdom with history as old as Rakis had many treasures not yet revealed to the world.

Judging Bartheau had brought one of them, Arad stepped forward.

“Your Majesty!”

When 13 Lords tried to approach, Arad raised his hand and blocked them.

Bartheau on the opposite side was the same.

He too led his horse alone to the battlefield’s neutral zone.

Absolute beings who divided the world faced each other at close range.

“How many decades has it been?”

“I cannot count. That small prince has now aged considerably.”

“Hahaha, you too have wrinkles carved in your face. The timid priest who seemed like he’d never age now even reveals himself before me, you’ve grown much.”

Around when Arad elevated the empire, there’d been conflict with the Holy Kingdom.

He’d clashed with Bartheau who was a priest at that time and brought many victories.

But he’d never landed a decisive blow even once.

Because Bartheau had retreated giving up only minimum sacrifices.

And as time passed, before long Rakis and the Holy Kingdom were dividing the continent.

Bartheau, whom he’d thought had steadily ceded territory, had made the Holy Kingdom prosperous in the blink of an eye.

The one who softly flowed away the harder Arad clashed was Bartheau.

“Did you know I’d come here?”

“Whether your own nation is invaded or not, you always wander about coveting blood. I merely thought you might conversely invade alliance nations taking advantage of the gap when the alliance army’s gaze focused on Rakis.”

“Hahaha, I’m curious how many vipers live in that belly.”

It had been like that from before.

Even when Rakis was invaded, Arad was relaxed.

Bartheau had avoided full-scale war finding such Arad troublesome.

But now the story was different.

Rakis’s combat strength had scattered in all directions, and Arad couldn’t abandon his youthful impetuousness. Even now, wasn’t he performing the habit from his youth of trying to face the enemy commander?

‘That appearance of directly seeing and judging those he’ll kill remains arrogant as ever.’

Fortunate it hadn’t changed.

Arad absolutely had no intention of retreating.

If he clashed straightforwardly, the hand this side had prepared would certainly strangle his neck.

“I thought I’d meet you only when striking the Holy Kingdom. You’d always only hidden behind priests like a turtle. Though I didn’t think we’d meet this way, I pay respect to a death unlike you.”

“The sight of looking down on people remains the same.”

“Aren’t we a relationship that’s competed facing borders for decades? I wanted to exchange final greetings of a tenacious connection. That was all.”

When Bartheau became expressionless, Arad grinned.

“Go first and wait. I’ll conquer this land and follow with war stories. Hahahaha!”

Laughing cheerfully, Arad returned to the main force. The 13 Lords approached sweating coldly.

“Your Majesty! How could you go to the enemy commander without even a word of consultation…”

“It’s been decades since clashing with Bartheau. Now he’s closer to a friend than an enemy. Isn’t watching the final appearance of a friend I must kill with my own hands also battlefield courtesy?”

“…However, never go alone again! Had the Sacred Emperor resolved on a vicious move, it would have been a disaster.”

“No way. Though Bartheau overflows with strategist qualities, he doesn’t have skill to kill me alone. That fellow also must have wanted to see how much the current me differs from before.”

Arad nodded with a relieved expression.

“From before, we really matched well. Hahahaha!”

The 13 Lords couldn’t understand whenever they saw Arad.

While showing the boldness to step forward alone before a large army, at times he’d also retreat from battles where he’d seized victory.

Only Chris could detect his utterly unpredictable temperament.

And Bartheau was also agonizing over Arad’s eccentric actions.

With what exactly confidence was he displaying leisure?

Could it be, was he confident of victory just seeing the number of visible Magus?

‘If he were such a simple fool, the Holy Kingdom would have broken Rakis long ago.’

Bartheau considered Arad, not Chris, as Rakis’s most dangerous existence. For countermeasures against him, he’d even brought treasures that had accompanied the Holy Kingdom’s founding.

Bartheau embraced in both hands an object wrapped in old cloth.

Arad, who’d been watching that appearance from afar, showed a mischievous smile.

“Before the day ends, I must take that neck with full courtesy.”

Arad’s eyes were soaked in amber.

Where the luminous radiance faced, grayish energy began flowing.

Those descending from beyond the border truly exuded god-like majesty.

Mardo Forcage, an S3 Magus together with Chris.

And high-ranking mages and reserve Magus who’d trained like beasts at training grounds dreaming of titles.

Behind combat strength totaling 100 people, Rakis elite forces that roughly seemed to easily exceed 50,000 appeared.

Even at the sight of absolute beings who distorted the atmosphere with mana alone, the Holy Kingdom didn’t waver.

Arisha who’d stepped forward at the vanguard was smiling quietly.

When Chris faced her from a distance, he approached without hesitation.

No words were necessary.

Today on this spot, someone must certainly die.

“Mardo Forcage.”

The White Priest who worshipped Light spoke as if knowing another Magus following Chris.

“Mardo… certainly, the Rakis duke that the previous generation White Priest confronted.”

“A specter was wandering Rakis without dying.”

“Can you all block Mardo?”

“We apologize. It’s impossible.”

Arisha nodded without saying anything.

Mardo’s fame still shook the world even now decades later.

The undefeated hero who single-handedly killed numerous Magus of great powers.

The previous generation White Priest had also died unable to recover from wounds suffered from Mardo.

And Mardo appeared in a form far stronger than that era.

It seemed the priests here couldn’t even touch Mardo’s hair.

Therefore, Arisha stepped forward first.

“Please handle the untitled Magus behind.”

“Mardo and Chris are…”

“I’ll block them. No one approach my side.”

Immediately, the White Priest pulled back forces.

Other priests also bypassed Arisha.

Rakis was the same.

The moment he saw Arisha coming out alone, Chris sent Magus and forces separately.

Around when the two forces clashed on bypass routes, Chris drew out his long needle.

Mardo was already clad in pitch-black armor.

Arisha quietly brought both hands together against surging mana.

The moment white radiance flashed within the veil, the world’s providence began dancing in her palms.

Thought Conversion.

All things existing in the mortal world changed according to her intention.

What was recognized as water became fire.

Air became thorns.

Even enemy Magus Arts changed to desired forms.

In the Holy Kingdom they called this not Magus Arts but authority close to divinity.

No one could submerge their body within the domain she emitted.

Until now, that had been true.

“Didn’t you show me last time?”

A dry voice pierced through Thought Conversion’s domain.

It was an instant.

The long needle pierced through one corner of the domain and Chris crossed halfway. And a giant shadow struck down from overhead.

BOOM!

The moment Arisha retreated, she burst the domain.

Fragments of Thought Conversion swept Rakis’s Magus.

“Protect the Holy Kingdom!”

Suddenly, Magus began showing the whites of their eyes and attacking Chris and Mardo.

Because Arisha had entirely changed their recognition.

“Save them.”

Mardo, who’d left the Magus rushing like a tidal wave to Chris, clung to Arisha.

Even the air here had already changed to be hot like fire and stinging like thorns.

Though lungs and heart should normally burn the more one breathed, Mardo showed no signs of being affected by Thought Conversion’s influence.

‘They said that armor itself was Anti Magic.’

The previous generation White Priest had written that Mardo’s armor had resistance to all mana, with the property of absorbing opponent’s Magus Arts and changing them to his own power.

Very simple but therefore unless it was stronger power, he couldn’t pierce Mardo.

‘Pure power contest. Not good compatibility with me. But if it’s him, it’ll be different.’

Arisha glanced at Chris scattering long needles.

Surprisingly, the Magi his needles grazed were regaining their right minds.

‘That’s not simple imitation.’

The only way to reverse Thought Conversion was for the caster to stop.

Even applying other pressure would only be swept together by Thought Conversion.

Chris ignored these laws.

A method of reversely turning Thought Conversion like the caster despite not being the caster.

This had already surpassed imitation’s framework.

“Don’t you think so too?”

When a low voice flowed from the veil, Mardo widened his eyes.

Chris who’d liberated all Magus from Thought Conversion was the same.

The S3 Magus understood the abnormality occurring on this battlefield before anyone.

BANG!

Pure white lightning was striking Rakis’s border.

The Jester’s Intervention had useful corners in various ways.

For instance, methods of intervening in reality to hide one’s appearance and float through empty air as if moving through space were also possible.

When Arisha held Chris and Mardo’s attention with Thought Conversion, Pernok invaded Rakis’s border.

BANG!

Pure white lightning swept the castle walls and collapsed corners.

From the tower wrapped in thick dust, Pernok surveyed the battlefield.

How Chris broke Arisha’s absolute law.

He’d driven him into a situation where he had no choice but to reveal the essence of his secret and watched.

And he corrected one misconception.

That Chris’s Magus Arts was the type that imitated others’ Magus Arts.

It was a mistaken miscalculation.

Now with synchronization rate having surged, Chris’s ‘special constitution’ was clearly visible.

‘Since we’ve shown as many hands as we’ll show, he must have jumped into the front line himself.’

Chris showing the unexpected hand called Mardo.

Though confidence was glimpsed, he’d missed one thing.

This side had likewise been hiding a lethal hand all along.

Pernok revealed to the world that which he hadn’t used even in Illumina’s throne succession war.

Wooooong!

The giant castle that had flown here together with Pernok tearing through clouds revealed its appearance.

At the fantastic sight, everyone on the battlefield stopped fighting and looked at it.

Chris and Mardo and even Arisha who hadn’t heard of this thing’s existence showed emotional fluctuations.

Floating Castle.

From the moment war began, it had been hiding its appearance crossing mountains and empty air, flying to this fierce battlefield.

Fearing Chris might detect it, he’d maintained considerable distance and merely watched the situation until clashing with the Holy Kingdom.

And now that Pernok had come alone.

The Floating Castle broke long silence and was looking down at the ground from high in the sky.

[Your Majesty! Please command!]

At a voice like thunder shaking the atmosphere, Pernok entered Full Body Weaponization state and shouted.

“Open all cannon ports!”

That moment, countless cannon ports opened in all directions.

At the Floating Castle’s front, a large cannon barrel shaped like a dragon opening its mouth appeared.

“Sweep them all away!”

The Mana Flash Cannon that had undergone one round of improvements had newly added a scatter function that split one shell into dozens.

Such mana cannons far exceeded hundreds. From cannon barrels that had been charging mana until now, flashes more brilliant than the sun spewed forth.

Those pouring down from atop Rakis’s border were like rain with no place to escape.

BOOOOOOM!

Starting from the border reaching to Rakis’s rear.

Beyond mercilessly pouring bombardment, Pernok’s sword that had completed 30 circulation cycles swept the battlefield.