Altherion and Vaarn weren't that worried at first when the army appeared. While it would be a bother, a bunch of
However, as they glanced over, their expression changed greatly. Vaarn shouted, his sunken eyes burning fiercely with his undead flames. "Cael!? What is that person doing here!? How is it possible?!"
Altherion's gaze was focused on another individual, though. This one had jade-green hair and purple eyes. At first, he didn't know who she was, even though her face was familiar. However, a moment later, two images overlapped, one of a blonde, green-eyed woman and hers, matching perfectly.
"There is no way… High Priest Elyne? What is she doing here?"
Vaarn frowned, not recognizing that name. After all, there were just too many people on both sides to know and recall every single one of them. Still, for someone to shock Altherion, their influence could not be any worse than a Star Lord's.
Altherion explained, his face solemn. "She is a Saintess candidate who would go to one of the strongest True World Trees under the Covenant. However, she was blonde and green-eyed in the past, compared to her current jade-green hair and purple-colored eyes."
Vaarn knew the high status of saints. Nevertheless, it was not the time to bother with these things. "What do we do?"
Altherion looked at Liu Shu and the army approaching and spoke quickly. "I will try to finish off Liu Shu using all my strength. In the meantime, keep Cael busy. I will send the other
Vaarn nodded and shouted. "Draevin, Marisella, Selkor, Ireliane…" He spoke seven names in total, all of them being the top powerhouses. "Come with me. We'll deal with their top powerhouses since there are fewer than us!"
The eight people, Vaarn included, flew down and faced the five envoys. However, as they descended, they noticed six
The envoys and Vaarn, together with another four top powerhouses, collided first, their skills blooming like giant fireworks and creating massive shockwaves. Their battle would take a while, since their strength was somewhat equal… or so Vaarn thought.
When his large battle-ax collided with Cael's spear, Vaarn thought that his arm was about to detach from his body. 'W-What!?'
BOOM!
His body flew back, and Cael's frosty expression gained a touch of a smile. 'Liu Shu's buffs are truly overwhelming. What a joy to fight this way.'
He stepped up, his body turning into a grey and green beam, a barrage of attacks pushing Vaarn back as if he were playing a cat and mouse game.
The other Sixth Energy Cycles were not much better. After their stats increased ridiculously from Liu Shu's enhancements, they all could send their opponents flying as if they were fighting a lower-cycle powerhouse instead.
Altherion was keeping an eye on that battlefield, and his expression changed greatly when he saw that. 'I need to help.'
He moved forward, but his danger senses suddenly screamed for him to step back. Trusting his honed instincts, Altherion quickly moved back.
A microsecond later, Liu Shu's giant branch tore the air right before, carrying tremendous strength and Earth Aether Mana.
Altherion turned to look and noticed Liu Shu looking at him from below with a cold look. "Your opponent is me, Altherion. Don't you want to avenge your daughter? Well, I am here."
A cold look took over Altherion's expression, and he snorted. "You asked for it. I'll show you the difference in tiers is not something you can overcome."
***
Name: Altherion
Level: 179
Aether Mana Stars: 3.25/3.43 (343,683) (34,368,257,011)
Phoer Body Stars: 8.24/8.24 (824,496) (82,449,571,978)
Anima Energy Stars: 5.31/5.46 (546,920) (54,691,965,572)
Attributes: Aether 941,479 / Physique 1,719,624 / Anima 1,296,084 / Willpower 173,087 / Destiny 2,685
***
Liu Shu saw those stats and didn't dare underestimate him. While her
Moreover, the sword Altherion held was truly intimidating, radiating profound energy. It was clearly a precious treasure that could slice through her tough bark.
'The ships won't fire again, which is good since their firepower is too much. However, they must have secondary weapons that they can use. Thankfully, my army is buffed by me, so they are overwhelmingly stronger.'
Liu Shu's army, composed of over 1,500
The enemies, 4,000
Both sides rushed at each other, and all hell broke loose. Explosions rumbled in the sky, a cacophony of weapons colliding with each other.
The Nexus army, which was expected to overwhelm the local army, was soon stunned to realize that things were not going their way.
A Level 114 from Ceperet approached a Level 140 from the Nexus and swung his sword. Fire energy gathered around it, causing terrifying heat to envelop him. The Level 140 was surprised and quickly summoned Wind Aether Mana with his staff, creating a large wall between them.
BOOM!
The Fire Aether in the sword exploded violently, tearing through the defensive wall as he flew and closed the distance.
"What!? How did you break through that easily!?"
The one from Ceperet smiled in a beastly manner. "If I can't do this little thing while being blessed by Lady Heavenly Willow, I should just use my own sword to slice my head off!
"Tsk. All of you who praise these monsters are messed up in the head!
BOOM!
Both attacks collided again, the fire winning over the wind and damaging the Level 140 fighter.
Similar scenes appeared all around the battlefield. Not only that, some
The scene that those from the Nexus previously imagined crumbled like fragile glass, their faces turning pale as their group was pushed back violently. Deaths began appearing almost right away, as no one had expected the strength behind Ceperet's Army.
Even when those from the Nexus had much better equipment, it was just not enough to match up to Liu Shu's buffs.
Meanwhile, Cinderielle, Verdantia, Tempestria, Harmonixia, Flor, and Ignatia charged toward the three Sixth Energy Cycles with cold and murderous expressions.
Tempestria and Ignatia stood at the front, the other four supporting them from behind.
On the other side, Selkor, Ireliane, and Thalen had two frontlines with Ireliane as a support.
Tempestria prepared her sword, while Ignatia clenched her fists and covered them with her hard carapace.
Then, they collided.
BOOM!
Tempestria's sword clashed with Selkor's sword, both sides entering a stalemate. Tempestria's
Selkor's eyes widened. "How did you manage to block me?"
Tempestria snorted, tempestuous winds falling under her control and enveloping her figure. "
While that occurred, Ignatia's fist and the giant hammer Thalen had also collided sonorously.
BOOM!
Thalen's face changed as his hammer rebounded back, his muscles tensing so that the hammer didn't fly out of his grip. "What kind of absurd strength do you have!?"
Ignatia's smile widened, her arm numb from the impact. "You are strong, but not strong enough! My
A heavy aura exploded from her, as if Ignatia's physical strength had become so powerful that the surroundings were affected.
Tempestria and Ignatia then began exchanging attacks with their opponents back and forth.
Selkar shouted. "Ireliane! Help us already!"
However, what answered him was a scream of pain. "AH!"
Selkar was stunned, and he hastily put distance between himself and Tempestria to check. His expression dropped at what he saw.
Ireliane was enveloped in a frightening storm of elemental Aether Mana. The number of elements was ridiculous, with Fire and Ice the most prominent.
This storm assaulted Ireliane. Even as the woman used her dark arts to defend herself as best she could, damage constantly accumulated on her, chipping away at her defenses.
What was worse was that the green-haired woman seemed to finish chanting something and pointed up. A stream of plant creatures fell from above in the dozens, the mass feeling incredibly threatening.
Ireliane knew that she was in deep trouble and shouted. "Selkar, Thalen, you two useless men, stop dilly-dallying and come help me quickly! These four are ganging up on me in a way that I don't like!"
Flor's voice was low and terrifying, her red eyes glowing with anger. "You dared to make my baby hurt that much, so I'll strip away your flesh from your bones!"
Harmonixia and the others also had terrifying expressions, wanting nothing less than to slaughter this bunch of people.
Harmonixia, Cinderielle, Verdantia, and Flor unleashed their domains together, their presence overwhelming the space around Ireliane and trapping her.
Ireliane created dark bolts, killing the plant creatures as fast as she could while dark Aether shields enveloped her body and protected her.
Harmonixia sang, her ethereal voice echoing. As she did, Ireliane felt her control degrading. It was as if her brain had stopped processing things properly, leaving her confused.
These were the effects of
Cinderielle raised her red-colored staff, her orange eyes burning fiercely. "
All the heat around Ireliane suddenly combusted, flames spontaneously materializing and making her scream in pain. After the flames exploded, temperatures plummeted, freezing parts of Ireliane's skin.
"You bitch!
However, as she attacked, she noticed a strange thing. It was as if the debuffs had been instantaneously weakened, creating lessened effects.
Behind them, a loud explosion caught their attention. Ireliane cackled. "It seems that your companions are in trouble."
BOOM!
They looked back and noticed Ignatia and Tempestria being pushed back. While they were strong, facing a Sixth Energy Cycle alone was not something they could do.
Verdantia pointed her own staff over and chanted. "
Tempestria and Ignatia's injured bodies recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Harmonixia played her corded instrument, her voice softening. "
A surge of strength enveloped Tempestria and Ignatia. Then, the two of them used their skills, their strength increasing further.
Ireliane and the other two had ugly expressions. 'What kind of absurdity is this!? Can their party be a bit less complete!?'
Flor's hand moved, all Aether Mana falling under her control. "Let's see how far you can go against us."
The battle resumed, the six of them slowly overwhelming the three