South Vantena Territory, southern border.

A blood moon hung high, casting a fiery glow upon the summer night.

Outside the city-state, the dense forests and winding rivers seemed agitated by the cruel battle, constantly shaking.

"Follow my orders, support High Priest Loren!"

The border army of the entire South Vantena Territory displayed their unwavering will, unafraid of the terrifying creatures attacking, and fully assisting High Priest Loren.

After the emergency evacuation of civilians, the elite troops ensured they wouldn't interfere with Loren while providing as much support as possible from the rear. The magic guide rift cannons of South Vantena City-State gathered vast, star-like magic power. At the apex, they fired ultra-long-range energy beams capable of tearing the sky, accurately striking Marquis Somerset.

Although the frequency of each launch was greatly reduced due to the lack of power station operation, requiring numerous elite mages to replenish the magic power, the magic device integrated attack with its seventh-tier control strength still posed a slight threat to Somerset.

The heavy-armored knight legion formed the Azure Sky Shield Formation, a defensive formation jointly maintained by magic barriers and martial techniques, creating an indestructible protective force field like the sky, blocking layers of physical shockwaves.

Behind them, the priest corps of the Goddess of Destiny Church cast divine spells to connect into a huge protective barrier. The starlight screen covering the city constantly absorbed and reflected the aftermath of the battle, reducing the pressure on Loren's rear.

Even if Marquis Somerset wanted to force a breakthrough, it would take some time.

"High Priest, hang in there!"

"Mr. Loren! Don't lose!"

The shouts of the people seemed to transform into Loren's strength. From the angry military guards nearby to the trembling civilians in the evacuation zone far away, all were calling his name.

The deafening roar of voices echoed throughout the southern district of the city-state, causing Marquis Somerset to sneer.

He was now not only finding it difficult to threaten Loren with civilians but also had to be wary of the attacks from South Vantena Territory's city defense magic devices.

"High Priest, do you dare to have a fair fight with a strong person like me? Without relying on the power of these ants?"

Marquis Somerset dodged a beam of light that pierced the sky, ignoring the magic devices in the distance, and locked onto Loren as if he were prey with his scarlet eyes.

The kingdom's senior magic guide engineer controlled the city defense structure, the Phantom Vibration Tower, using precise magic guide machinery to create strong magic power interference, still causing periodic effects on Marquis Somerset.

"..."

Loren ignored the guy.

Wind and thunder illuminated the dust-filled sky and earth once more. Behind the magic barrier, Loren opened his palm, forming a golden-green vortex. God-like boundless magic power gathered towards him, constantly compressed, gradually cutting off all light around him.

If struck by this eighth-tier wind-attribute damage magic, even the largest army would likely be annihilated.

But Loren's attack would only be used to shatter Marquis Somerset.

"Since that's the case, then I'll just kill you first, and then slaughter this city-state you're trying to protect!"

Somerset, unafraid of the power of the eighth-tier spell, attacked with a punch.

He originally thought Loren would easily be provoked in battle, but he didn't expect Loren's will to fight to be stronger than most humans he'd seen. When truly facing an enemy, he was the calm and collected type of strong person who would rather kill the opponent than say a word.

The battle intensified, and the entire city-state was shrouded in thick smoke.

Beams of light, explosions, and collisions in the sky intertwined.

Storm clouds gathered and swirled in the sky, and the mountains and oceans themselves seemed to be shaken by the sudden outbreak of battle, with the air pressure under the blood moon and dark clouds intensifying.

Each confrontation illuminated the pitch-black night sky from the ground.

The civilians who had taken refuge far behind were unable to clearly see the bishop-level eighth-tier death match at the southern border of the city even if they looked up.

And in the center of that battlefield, neither Loren nor Somerset were in full condition.

Loren, who had been severely injured early in the battle, gradually fell into a disadvantage. Obviously, Marquis Somerset did not give him a chance to recover from his injuries.

Each time the Eighth Progenitor, Marquis Somerset, pressed his advantage, he sought to settle the score with Loren.

However, he was not obsessed with killing Loren at all costs.

He was well aware of the priorities of today's mission.

"...If you can do it, then try it."

High Priest Loren once again used air pressure to block Marquis Somerset. His surroundings were empty, but the air currents could be transformed into any weapon. Each time he waved his hand, large amounts of air currents formed wind pressure, like the protection of the Wind God.

Marquis Somerset's scarlet magic power spread, and the sea of blood rising from the ground was as violent as a waterfall, attempting to crush Loren. But Loren was like an agile dancer, and after gradually letting go without any worries, he became calm.

Loren's eyes were cold, scattering light, wanting only to wholeheartedly force the immortal Somerset back.

He took a step forward, and the entire earth was covered with runes, forming a magic power forbidden zone, intercepting Marquis Somerset in the space ahead.

The distance between the two narrowed again, as if two world-destroying disasters were confronting each other.

Although Loren's delay didn't slow Marquis Somerset's approach too much, his more complex spells were fully prepared. The entire space began to distort, and the golden flames rising from the ground and the scattered light rain falling from the sky were about to engulf Marquis Somerset in an instant.

At this moment, Marquis Somerset's figure emitted an almost translucent red blood mist, entering a new state of selflessness, and he threw an unprecedented punch. In the air, the red light collided with Loren's vast magic power, forming a huge energy burst with a clear dividing line perpendicular to the earth at the city-state border.

After a long time, Marquis Somerset, who had flown backward and slid on the ground for a long time before stopping, was clearly at a disadvantage in this collision.

"..."

Somerset frowned slightly.

He already felt something was wrong.

They had been fighting for dozens of minutes.

It wasn't just the power of those gathered ants in South Vantena Territory that had relieved Loren's pressure.

Why was he getting stronger the more they fought?

This human's magic power was unfathomable.

Attack, defense, speed, healing, control, the comprehensiveness of the magic structure, all were top-notch.

Apart from Loren's unconditional protection of the weak, Somerset's battle experience told him that this human had no weaknesses.

Somerset even began to suspect that if he continued to fight, he might make Loren even stronger, forcing him to break through on the spot.

What made this guy terrifying was not just his strength as an eighth-tier peak expert.

But that he still had an invisible growth space before reaching the ninth-tier realm.

Even in the era tens of thousands of years ago when Somerset was sealed, he had never seen a human with such outrageous magical talent.

"I didn't expect that in this era, there could still be a human like you who makes even me feel like a monster..."

The Eighth Progenitor Somerset still had a smile on his lips, as if he were playing with Loren.

"Loren, you are indeed very strong..."

Somerset's smile was chilling.

"But have you ever thought that someone is already approaching the rear of those city defense troops?"

"!"

The calmness on Loren's face finally showed a hint of fluctuation in an instant.

A long time ago, he did feel that the magic power fluctuations on the northwest side of the battlefield had stopped.

Later, whether it was the seventh-tier magic power source or the mysterious eighth-tier expert, there were no signs of battle. The eighth-tier alchemy beast also seemed to have lost its instructions and remained in place.

If the Destruction Saint Child had won, according to the time, the Destruction Saint Child should be arriving at the south of the city soon!

Assuming that the Destruction Saint Child launched an attack from inside the city-state at this time, and the eighth-tier blood clan sandwiched the city defense troops from both sides, it could cause unimaginable casualties!

Sure enough, Loren felt the rear guard troop formation beginning to become chaotic, and the Destruction Saint Child Salomon's magic power became clear again.

Although Salomon's magic power seemed extremely weak, he was trying his best to break through, disrupting the rear formation while trying to rush into the battlefield where Loren and the others were!

"...!"

Loren resisted Marquis Somerset in front of him, unable to attend to the rear.

The surging magic power storm on the southern border raged, and the collision of gale and blood light distorted and deformed the surrounding air, emitting an oppressive and frightening aura.

"Loren, prepare to welcome the surprise from behind!"

Somerset laughed loudly, and his battle stance became more and more relaxed.

As if recreating the Age of Gods war, wind and blood continued to collide in an eighth-tier peak disaster on the tottering South Vantena City Pass!

The vibrations and shockwaves constantly impacted every building, causing those originally solid buildings and towers to be ravaged by beasts made of gray smoke from time to time, leaving behind a ruin.

"..."

Loren bit his teeth with a solemn expression, guarding the city pass.

He knew that he would face a moment of being attacked from both sides later.

In a short time, he would lose the support of the rear city defense army!

He had to resolve the crisis with the fastest reaction and bring the situation back on track.

If he could withstand this wave of attacks, the city-state barrier of South Vantena Territory would recover quickly, and the balance of victory would tilt significantly in their favor.

But if they collapsed, today's outcome would be hard to say!

Or rather, the outcome would be decided in the next gamble and confrontation!

Just as Somerset's laughter became extremely ear-piercing.

And Loren's heartbeat began to accelerate into a drumming rhythm.

Loren felt the magic power source of the Destruction Saint Child not far behind!

Salomon's attack had finally arrived.

Loren couldn't predict how Salomon would cause trouble at this critical moment of deciding the outcome, or what consequences each of his judgments would cause, but he had to stay calm and respond to any situation!

However.

When Loren in mid-air slowly turned his eyes.

On the other side.

Below the city pass.

The rushing Destruction Saint Child saw Loren's figure in an instant.

Salomon's expression, which had been excited because of surviving the disaster, suddenly froze.

He stood there blankly.

Then he began to retreat a few steps in terror.

It was as if, when about to reach the exit of hope, he discovered that what was in front of him was the beginning of a truly desperate purgatory!

"Lo, Loren!!!"

Next, only Salomon's scream echoed on the southern border battlefield.

Somerset paused his movements and frowned.

Loren was even more stunned.

Was he that scary?

(End of chapter)