Tiona's "borrowed" goods earned her a swift chop to the head from Tione. The girl clutched her head, puffing out her cheeks in a pout that drew a round of light laughter from the group. The thick tension of the impending battle that had hung over the church was significantly softened by this sudden interlude.
Lynn stowed away the manual and the potions, his gaze sweeping across his companions.
Bell Cranel. After the seven-day baptism of fire in the Dungeon, the boy's eyes had shed their last traces of naivety, replaced by a resolve as hard as steel.
The members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia stood ready. Mikoto's expression was solemn; Ouka rested his giant axe on his shoulder, his fighting spirit soaring; and though Chigusa's fingers trembled slightly as she gripped her longbow, there was no retreat in her gaze.
"Alright, small talk is over."
Lynn clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. He glanced at the sky; the sun was slowly climbing toward its zenith.
"Let's go. It's time to make those arrogant bastards pay."
The Central Plaza of Orario was already packed to the brim. For this high-profile War Game, the Guild had specially opened a dedicated ruins battlefield—a massive space constructed by magic.
At its center stood a weathered, three-story stone castle, surrounded by a labyrinth of crumbling streets and collapsed houses. It was a perfect simulation for urban combat and siege warfare.
In the spectator stands, almost every prominent deity of Orario was present. Apollo reclined in his private seat, swirling a goblet of red wine, a smile of absolute certainty on his face. To him, this was nothing more than a public execution—a grand performance to display the majesty of the Apollo Familia.
A short distance away, Hestia gripped the railing so hard her knuckles were white. She was so nervous she had almost forgotten to breathe, praying silently for her children over and over again.
In the crowd, Eina Tulle's face was equally pale. She bit her lip, her eyes never leaving the entrance to the battlefield.
"The War Game—BEGIN!"
As the high-pitched voice of the Guild referee echoed through the arena, the magical barrier of the battlefield hummed and became perfectly transparent. All eyes focused on the entrance of the attacking side.
Five figures walked out slowly.
Lynn led the way, followed by Bell and the three from the Take-Mikazuchi Familia. Hestia remained in the commander's tent as the official "King."
Five combatants. Against over a hundred.
The staggering disparity in numbers triggered a wave of unabashed sneering and pity from the stands.
"Only five? I thought they were hiding some secret weapon."
"It seems Hestia really couldn't find any help. Poor thing."
The smile on Apollo's face widened. He didn't even bother to look at how his own Familia had set up their defenses.
At the top of the castle, Hyakinthos stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the five "ants" with utter contempt.
Suddenly, Lynn stopped. He looked back at the four behind him and gave a single, brief command.
"As planned. Scatter."
The moment the words left his mouth, Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa moved like highly trained soldiers, vanishing into the ruins on either side. Bell took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his dagger, and circled toward the other side of the battlefield.
In the blink of an eye, only Lynn remained standing alone before the open ground of the castle gate.
"Oh? What kind of tactic is this? Sending him in alone to die?" someone in the stands questioned.
Hyakinthos frowned, a faint sense of unease bubbling in his chest. He roared down at the field: "Vanguard, move out! Crush him!"
At his command, a hidden side door of the castle slammed open. Thirty members of the Apollo Familia, armed with shields, swords, and spears, formed a tight phalanx. With a thunderous battle cry, they charged toward Lynn.
They intended to break this arrogant brat's legs in front of everyone.
Cries of alarm erupted from the spectators; Hestia's heart leaped into her throat. However, facing the tidal wave of enemies, Lynn merely raised the Carian Knight's Shield in his left hand, while the tip of the Bloodhound's Fang in his right pointed diagonally at the ground.
He charged.
He didn't retreat; instead, he met the thirty-man charge head-on. With that one step, the entire rhythm of the battlefield fell completely into his domain.
"Bloodhound's Step!"
Lynn's silhouette instantly blurred into a near-untraceable shadow. He cut into the flank of the phalanx at an impossible angle. The adventurers at the front felt their vision blur as their target vanished. Before they could adjust, three shards of Glintstone Pebble fired silently from a bizarre angle, accurately striking their shield wrists.
The sharp pain numbed their arms, causing their shields to tilt for a fraction of a second.
That fraction was all he needed.
Lynn's figure reappeared like a ghost. The Bloodhound's Fang drew a cold arc through the air, the back of the blade striking the nape of an adventurer's neck with pinpoint accuracy. The man didn't even grunt before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
"He's over there!" "Surround him!"
The Apollo members snarled, trying to reorganize. The archers at the rear began raining down arrows to provide cover fire.
It was all in vain.
Lynn wove through the crowd, every flash of movement accompanied by a precise strike. His motions were devoid of waste, like a finely tuned killing machine.
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal on metal. A Level 2 squad leader seized an opening, swinging a sword at Lynn's back. Without turning his head—as if he had eyes in the back of his skull—Lynn swung the Carian Knight's Shield behind him, parrying the blow perfectly.
A blue light flashed on the shield's surface.
"Carian Retaliation!"
The squad leader felt an irresistible force surge through his blade. He instantly lost his balance, his guard blown wide open. In the next heartbeat, the pommel of the Bloodhound's Fang slammed heavily into his face.
Thirty seconds.
In just thirty seconds, when Lynn's figure reappeared in the open space, seven or eight men lay sprawled behind him. The remaining twenty looked as if they had seen a demon, huddling together in terror, not daring to take another step forward.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
In the spectator stands, everyone looked like they had been hit with a freezing spell, their mouths hanging open.
"What... what kind of footwork was 그게?!" "Did that shield just glow?" "Is he really Level 1... wait, the Guild data updated—he's Level 2! But even for a Level 2, this is insane!"
In the Loki Familia section, the gentle smile that usually graced Finn Deimne's face was replaced by a look of gravity. This was his first time truly seeing Lynn fight.
"That footwork... it's not just speed. It's more like short-range spatial displacement. And that shield technique—perfect timing. This man is a monster."
Beside him, Ais's golden eyes were locked onto Lynn. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the hilt of her sword. She could feel the suffocating rhythm in every dodge and parry Lynn made.
The smug smile on Apollo's face had long since frozen. The wine glass in his hand shattered with a sharp crack, red wine dripping through his fingers, yet he didn't even notice.
On the battlefield, Lynn ignored the broken vanguard. He looked up, his gaze bypassing the crowd to stare directly at the closed, heavy castle gates.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
The archers on the walls finally snapped out of it and began a frantic volley. A dense rain of arrows descended like a black cloud over Lynn.
"Ouka!" Mikoto's voice rang out from the ruins.
"RRRAAAAGH!"
With a thunderous roar, Ouka's hulking frame burst from behind a broken wall. He held his massive axe horizontally before him like a charging tank, braving the rain of arrows to provide cover for Chigusa, who was repositioning.
Chigusa took her place in another set of ruins and began returning fire. Her precise arrows flew toward the battlements, suppressing the enemy archers.
Their job was to distract.
And there was only one blade serving as the vanguard.
Lynn ignored the arrows overhead. His silhouette blurred again, weaving through the gaps where the arrows landed, charging straight for the castle gate!
Enemies in the twin towers began a pincer-fire on him. Lynn's Glintstone Staff flared with light; three Glintstone Pebbles whistled out in a triangular formation. They weren't aimed at the enemies, but at the massive metal hinges of the castle gate!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The consecutive explosions caused visible cracks to appear in the sturdy hinges. Simultaneously, Lynn reached the gate. He lowered his center of gravity, twisted his hips, and raised the Bloodhound's Fang high above his head. An ominous red glow flickered along the blade.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the uniquely curved greatsword let out a whistle that tore through the air, slamming down on the hinges that had just been weakened by magic!
"BOOM!!!"
An explosion far duller and louder than the previous ones shook the arena! The thick wooden gate, along with its metal hinges, shattered into pieces instantly! Countless splinters and metal fragments exploded inward, creating a terrifying shockwave!
The gate was breached!
The arena fell back into a deathly silence.
If defeating the vanguard was the pinnacle of skill, then this violent breach was a display of pure, unadulterated power.
"He... he chopped the gate down?" an adventurer muttered, his voice shaking. "My god, what kind of weapon is that? What kind of skill?"
At the top of the castle, Hyakinthos's face had turned ashen. He had imagined countless ways the enemy might siege the castle, but he had never imagined they would do it in such a primitive, barbaric, and impossible way—one man, tearing the door down by himself!
"Stop him! Everyone, go! Kill him in the alleys!" he screamed hysterically.
Lynn didn't pause for a second. The moment the gate shattered, he was the first to charge inside. Waiting for him were dozens of Apollo members who had been lying in ambush behind houses and broken walls.
"Kill!"
At the command, a flurry of blades, magic, and arrows surged toward him from all directions. In the narrow alleys, there was no room to dodge!
But Lynn never intended to dodge.
Clang!
He used Bloodhound's Step to evade a lethal magic spell, tilted his body to let the majority of arrows pass, and faced a spear lunging from the side. The Carian Knight's Shield parried the spear tip with millimeter precision.
The shield glowed again!
The crisp sound of a parry echoed through the alley. The spearman's arm went numb as his weapon was knocked from his hand. Lynn didn't even look at him; he slammed the pommel of his blade into the man's helmet, knocking him unconscious. He used the momentum to spin, the Bloodhound's Fang drawing an elegant and lethal arc that sent another lunging swordsman flying, blade and all.
Every movement was fluid; every strike was perfectly placed. In the narrow confines of the alley, instead of being restricted, he was like a fish in water. The erratic tempo of Bloodhound's Step allowed him to ignore the terrain, while Carian Retaliation became a nightmare for any melee fighter.
The sounds of clashing metal, dull impacts, and falling adventurers wove together into a symphony of battle unique to him.
In the Loki Familia stands, Finn's eyes narrowed, his fingers tapping the armrest of his chair. "That shield usage... is fascinating. It's not just defense; it's the starting point for his offense. Every block creates an opening for the next strike. Not a single movement in his combat is wasted."
Ais's eyes were locked onto Lynn. She watched him dance through the blades, every dodge landing on the razor's edge of an attack, every counter striking a flaw with surgical precision. Her grip on her sword tightened unconsciously.
In the alley, the killing intent flared. Archers on the rooftops leaned out, arrows raining down like locusts, sealing off every inch of the air above Lynn. From behind broken windows on either side, blades lunged out, weaving a web of steel. Further away, a chanter raised a staff, halfway through an incantation as the air began to thicken with scorching elements.
This was a kill box.
Facing this multi-dimensional assault, Lynn's reaction was so simple it baffled the onlookers. He took a step forward, voluntarily entering the densest point of the crossfire.
"Die!" Hyakinthos sneered from the tower.
But before his laughter could fade, Lynn vanished again.
"Bloodhound's Step!"
A blurry shadow slid across the ground, ignoring the narrowness of the alley. With a bizarre, right-angled maneuver, he instantly appeared behind three swordsmen who had just lunged from a side street. Their "certain-kill" thrusts hit nothing but air, and their momentum left them wide open.
"What?!"
Before they could turn, they felt a chill at the back of their necks as a cold object tapped them. It wasn't much force, but it struck the nerves with surgical precision. Their vision went black, and they collapsed without a sound.
"What kind of skill is that?! This is cheating!" unfortunately, no one could answer.
After taking out three in an instant, Lynn didn't stop. As if he had eyes in his back, he swung his left arm around. The Carian Knight's Shield let out a clang as it perfectly intercepted a fireball flying from behind.
Sparks flew. The blue glintstone on the shield flared!
"Carian Retaliation!"
The mana triggered by the successful parry condensed into four ethereal, blue Glintstone Blades in front of Lynn. They whistled through the air, striking two shield-bearing axemen who were trying to close in from the other side!
BOOM!
The glintstone blades slammed into their shields, erupting in a powerful shockwave. The two adventurers managed to block the impact but were sent stumbling back, their formation in shambles.
Everything—from Lynn entering the gate to dismantling the first wave—had taken less than five seconds.
A momentary silence fell over the alley. Everyone was stunned by the ghostly movement and the miraculous shield work.
"D-don't be afraid! He's only one person! Overwhelm him with numbers!" a squad leader screamed, trying to bolster his own courage.
Dozens of adventurers roared and surged forward again from all sides. This time, Lynn didn't use his footwork to dodge. He stood his ground, facing the tide of enemies, and calmly raised the Bloodhound's Fang.
A Level 2 swordsman led the charge, gripping his sword with both hands for a powerful vertical cleave. The wind pressure from the strike even ruffled Lynn's hair. Lynn didn't move; he held his blade in one hand and met the strike with an upward swing.
"CLANG!!!"
An ear-piercing screech of metal echoed, forcing many in the audience to cover their ears. The result, however, made everyone's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.
The moment the swordsman's blade touched the Bloodhound's Fang, it snapped like paper! Lynn's momentum didn't stop; the raw force transferred through the broken blade, sending the adventurer flying like a ragdoll. He crashed into two or three of his companions, knocking them all flat!
Brute force crushed all opposition.
Before a monster with hidden stats all at 2500, the strength of an ordinary Level 2 adventurer was no more than a baby's cry!
"You've got to be kidding me..." "Is he really a Level 2?!"
The Apollo Familia members were utterly terrified. Ghostly techniques and overwhelming strength—how were they supposed to fight this?
This sequence of events completely shattered their psychological defenses. If it was fear before, it was now absolute despair.
"Run! Run away!"
Someone finally screamed, and the remaining forty or fifty adventurers scattered like startled birds, crying for their parents as they fled toward the depths of the castle. They had been routed by a single man!
"You want to leave?" Lynn chuckled. "Did I give you permission?"
He sheathed the Bloodhound's Fang and gripped his Glintstone Staff with both hands.
"Glintstone Phalanx!"
In an instant, four magical blades shimmering with cold light manifested before him. Like a pack of loyal hounds, they whistled after the fleeing backs, striking them accurately on the backs of their heads or behind their knees.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Like dumplings dropping into a pot, the fleeing adventurers fell in rows, completely incapacitated.
Less than ten minutes.
From breaching the gate to annihilating the main ambush force inside the city walls. Lynn had single-handedly torn through the defense the Apollo Familia was so proud of.
As he walked slowly out of the alley, bathed in the dusty light and surrounded by the groans of the fallen, the entire Central Plaza was dead silent. In the stands, gods and adventurers alike felt as though someone was choking them; not a single word could be uttered.
Meanwhile, the small squad Apollo had sent to raid the Hestia Familia's home base was facing its own nightmare. Bell and the others were holding them off; two Level 2s plus Bell and Chigusa against a handful of Level 1s meant the raiders stood no chance.
The "Decapitation" plan for Hestia's side was clearly impossible.
The audience realized what they were seeing: This wasn't a War Game. It was a one-sided, artistic massacre.
Sitting in the commander's tent, Hestia had forgotten her nervousness. She covered her mouth with both hands, tears of excitement and shock streaming down her face. Eina's face had gone from pale to a deep flush, her heart pounding wildly as she watched the blood-stained figure in the magical display.
At the Loki Familia seats, the atmosphere was incredibly heavy.
"Finn..." Riveria's voice was dry. "His strength... it can't be measured by level anymore."
Finn didn't answer. He just stared intently at Lynn. For the first time, his wise eyes showed the wariness of a chess player encountering a piece he couldn't control.
And Ais—her golden eyes reflected Lynn's figure. Her gaze was a mix of longing, shock, and a faint... tremor. Her fingers gripped her sword hilt so tightly they had lost all color. What Lynn was displaying was exactly what she dreamed of but could never reach: the realm of absolute, pure combat.
"No... impossible... this is absolutely impossible!"
In the VIP seats, Apollo lunged to his feet, roaring like a madman. His handsome face was distorted by jealousy and rage, all traces of a Sun God's grace gone. He couldn't accept that the grand stage he had prepared to humiliate Hestia had become a one-man show for some brat who came out of nowhere!
On the battlefield, Lynn was deaf to the noise of the outside world. He flicked the non-existent blood from his blade and looked up at the highest room in the castle. He could feel a gaze full of resentment and fear staring down at him.
Lynn grinned, showing his white teeth. He raised his right hand toward that direction and slowly extended his middle finger.
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Danmachi: My Primary God is Hidetaka Miyazaki? (Simulpub – Ongoing)
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