Logan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
"It's just as I said. Their efforts are useless. No matter what they do, this grand formation will stand proudly. It is simply that incredible. Ah… I would love to put a collar on him too. Hehehe." Prince Charles giggled childishly.
"Yes, Your Highness. We acknowledge its capabilities, which is why we are targeting its energy source, trying to deplete it. I'm sure it will run out of energy soon. We just need to be ready for when that moment arrives." Logan explained, thinking that the young prince might have misunderstood the strategy.
"Logan, Logan. Well, whatever." Prince Charles waved it off and leaned back, watching the situation unfold.
He planned to stand by and enjoy the show for now. When the time came, he would personally step in and twist the situation to his liking.
Seeing the prince lose interest in the conversation, Captain Logan excused himself and went to summon the other Royal Guards.
While waiting, Prince Charles noticed a disturbance on the right side of his camp.
"This spatial disturbance… it's coming from Prince Ozan's camp. Hehe, did he go on a rampage again? It must be hard serving someone so wild." He chuckled to himself.
Curious, he decided to watch the new spectacle and brought out a spirit artifact. The artifact resembled an eye-shaped ornament, capable of extending his spiritual sense far beyond its normal range.
Their camps were distant enough that spying on one another was impossible under ordinary circumstances.
Placing the artifact on his forehead like a third eye, his spiritual sense surged toward Prince Ozan's camp.
"Haha! I was right. Just look at them. Hundreds of them trying to stop him, and all of them are being sent flying. This guy is seriously strong. No wonder he survived every assassination attempt." Prince Charles laughed, thoroughly amused.
Prince Charles watched with growing amusement as the chaos in Ozan's camp reached its peak.
Then he saw it.
Prince Ozan, having finally broken free from the hundreds of subordinates restraining him, launched himself into the air. His body traced a vast arc toward the barriers in a super-long jump, momentum building with every passing second.
Mid-flight, something extraordinary happened.
A glowing avatar erupted from Prince Ozan's form, expanding rapidly until a colossal, translucent figure towered high above the battlefield. The avatar clutched a massive sledgehammer in both hands, its body arching backward in preparation for a devastating strike. Within it, the real Prince Ozan mirrored the exact same posture, muscles coiled like springs, power from all three cultivation systems converging into a single, ultimate attack.
The sudden appearance of the towering avatar and the terrifying aura it unleashed seized the attention of everyone for miles.
In the camps, cultivators halted their activities, their gazes snapping upward.
In Bellion City, people froze in the streets, staring at the descending colossus.
Even the relentless assault on the barriers fell silent as thousands paused to witness the spectacle.
The oppressive pressure weighed down on every observer. Apart from a handful of individuals, nearly everyone watching shared the same thought.
This attack will shatter the barriers. Nothing can withstand this.
That was how overwhelming the descending strike appeared.
When the avatar was only moments from the barriers, Prince Ozan's true body swung the sledgehammer downward with everything he had. The colossal avatar mirrored the motion in perfect synchrony.
The very swing caused the atmosphere to convulse, unleashing a thunderous roar that rolled across the entire region.
"OZAN TRI-ULTRA SMASH!!!"
The deafening battle cry echoed just before the attack landed.
CRASH!
The outermost layer of the barriers shattered instantly under the impact. It did not even have time to absorb or disperse the force. It simply broke.
Without slowing, the attack surged forward and struck the second layer.
But instead of shattering, the second layer stretched.
Then the third stretched. The fourth. The fifth.
Layer after layer bent inward, deforming violently, pushed deep into the city like elastic membranes forced to their absolute limits. The overwhelming power of the smash, the same force that had obliterated the first barrier, was completely caught by the remaining layers.
For a brief moment, everything hung in perfect tension.
Then the force rebounded.
Shit!
That single thought flashed through Prince Ozan's mind before the full might of his own attack slammed back into him.
BOOM!
The colossal avatar was obliterated instantly, torn apart by the rebounding force. The concentrated power within it exploded outward, unleashing a shockwave that swept across the battlefield, injuring countless cultivators and hurling many of them away.
At the same instant, Prince Ozan's true body was blasted away from the barriers. He shot backward along the same trajectory he had taken, but at a speed far, far greater than his original leap.
He streaked past his own camp in an instant. Past the outer perimeter. Past the surrounding darkness.
Farther and farther into the void.
No one could tell how far he was sent flying.
"Your Highness!!" The ten Royal Guards immediately chased after their lord, who had vanished into the darkness.
Silence followed.
No one had expected the barriers to behave like that, except, of course, their creator. They had assumed the remaining layers would simply defend against the attacks in the same manner, but instead, the last barrier acted like an elastic rubber, returning the force back to its source.
A few moments later, even the first barrier reformed itself, fully restored and functioning as usual. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
How did he do this? They had never seen a barrier used in such a way before. Defending against attacks was already difficult enough. But to reflect them entirely? Who would dare to go all out when their own power would be sent back at them?
The roughly ten thousand cultivators outside, who had been attacking the barriers so diligently, quickly became demotivated. Their efforts suddenly felt pointless.
Meanwhile, the people inside the city, having witnessed this spectacle, erupted into cheers and celebration.
Formation Prodigy Bellion! Formation Prodigy Bellion! Formation Prodigy Bellion!
The chants echoed through the city.
With this, they no longer doubted the grand formation. Over the next two weeks, they were certain they would remain safe inside and would be able to cross the portal from this side without incident.
"HEHEHEHE... HAHAHAHA!"
Prince Charles, who had been watching everything unfold with rapt attention, was incredibly amused by the show. He laughed loudly, rolling on the floor without a care for his dignity.
After a while, he stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.
"This is so good! Prince Ozan! Thank you for this entertaining display you have shown me. And congratulations. Whatever happens after this, I, Charles, will spare your life!" He declared to himself, as if granting a great favor.
Prince Ozan had formally entered his personal amnesty list.
Nearby, Captain Logan, Franze, Soda, and the other Royal Guards who had just arrived exchanged confused glances at his declaration.
Spare Prince Ozan?
Aren't you being too overconfident, Your Highness?
It was not that they thought Prince Charles was weak. On the contrary, his mysterious nature and the fact that he had survived alone and traveled to the colossal tree safely left no doubt about his capabilities.
But Prince Ozan's strength was on an entirely different level.
Watching that attack, feeling the shockwave even from this distance, they understood just how monstrous the man truly was. He practiced all three cultivation systems and had reached a level where his ultimate strike could briefly challenge a formation that had stumped thousands.
And Prince Charles spoke of sparing him as if it were a gift.
To them, the words sounded like a child's bragging.
Seeing the expressions on his subordinates' faces, Prince Charles simply smiled.
He did not mind being underestimated.
After all, subverting other people's expectations was an essential part of a great show.
...
Prince Ozan opened his eyes.
It was dark all around him, with only minimal light filtering from glow-in-the-dark plants scattered across the landscape.
"How..." He tried to speak, but blood filled his mouth.
Crugh!
He spat it out immediately, clearing his throat. Then he sent his spiritual sense inside his body to inspect the damage.
"Damn! I am badly hurt! So many things broken!" A pause. Then a crooked smile. "It has been a while since it hurt this much. As expected of my own attack." He praised himself without irony.
Prince Ozan brought out ten Major Healing Elixirs simultaneously and drank them all. He knew exactly how many were needed to heal fully.
"Who the heck is this Formation Prodigy Bellion? His formation is out of this world! Ozazaza! Maybe I should kidnap him and make him serve our kingdom!" He mused aloud, already scheming.
He stood up on his feet and checked his surroundings while his body slowly healed. The process was gradual due to the high quality and density of his cultivation base.
"Just how far did I get sent flying?" He muttered, squinting into the darkness. "Ugh, I will listen to them after this. That was embarrassing. They are going to keep mentioning this failure for a while to keep me in check. It's going to be annoying."
He shook his head, already dreading the lectures from his Royal Guards.
Then a voice slithered out from the shadows.
"Hyahaha. What do we have here? Such an incredible essence waiting for me. Slurp."