Corvin sprinted towards Linnus and his men, lightning surging around his legs and flowing into Blitz. Oho, that is new. I’ll have to test this further at some point. Corvin smiled and stopped dozens of meters before Linnus.
[Linnus Octos, Lv. 263] [HP: 69,269 / 69,269] [MP: 2000 / 2000] [Icon: Vanguard]
[Potential: A-Rank] [Rarity: Rare] [Max Level (Limit Broken): 275] [Specialization: Skirmisher]
“After seeing the demons being massacred, you thought it would be a good idea to experience it personally?” Corvin shouted teasingly as he switched his title to First User. I think I can do this without Combat Veteran or Night Lord. Let’s earn some loot!
Linnus raised his right arm, making the soldiers stop, as he shouted back, “I am willing to let you go if you deliver Guildmaster Graves and his men.”
“A fair offer, but you see, unfortunately, I’ve taken them under my wing, a sort of mentorship, if you would. Wouldn’t that make me the worst mentor ever?” Corvin smiled teasingly.
“You are not taking this seriously enough, young man. Who are you anyway? We have no reports of anyone like you.” Linnus questioned while positioning his hand behind his back and giving some sort of signal to his men.
Corvin’s Enhanced Vision caught that as he smiled. “I’m a Holy Son of Archangel Uriel, and I have come to train in this poor realm of yours,” Corvin shouted just as Nera rose behind him, shining with divine light.
The soldiers gasped, shielding their eyes as Nera activated Guardian’s Wrath and grew to eight meters in size, while divine energy morphed into a large set of angelic wings behind her. “Humans, do you dare go against the power of the heavens?!” Nera shouted, her voice echoing in their minds.
You have become quite an actress. Corvin laughed through their bond.
“I’ve learned from the best,” she whispered back.
“Don’t bullshit us; we saw you commanding demons!” Linnus screamed.
“Do you doubt me? Do you not know that we can bind the souls of demons to fight for us? I’m alone in this realm; why wouldn’t I keep some slaves?” Corvin shouted back.
Linnus paused for a moment. Could it be true? No, it doesn’t matter. Mission comes first!
His gaze hardened, but before he could do anything, Nera sprayed him and half of the men with a golden smoke that instantly sank into their bodies.
The men started screaming and fell to the ground while Linnus swallowed a large pill instantly, expelling the poison through his pores. “You fucker. Who attacks in the middle of talks?!” Linnus shouted as he unsheathed his swords.
“Nera, observe. You’ve done enough; let the others practice,” Corvin said coldly and dashed towards Linnus.
Behind Corvin, Graves and Baku started sniping down the poisoned soldiers whose mana was constantly being drained by Nera’s poison, while Kram and Ortho descended upon the strongest-looking formation.
“You know how to live!” Kram shouted cheerfully as the two seemed to have chosen the same prey.
“I know how to kill even better!” Ortho laughed maniacally as he cleaved into the thick crimson barrier, making the man inside shake from the heavy slam. “May Lord Azrael take you in, you lost sheep! And may my new arm break your cowardly shields.” He laughed while Kram joined in and slammed his battle axe into another spot.
“Haha, you speak well for a madman!” Kram laughed as the two started clobbering the shell.
“Men, wake up! Prepare the offensive formation!” one of the lieutenants shouted from within as he gripped his shield tighter.
The men shouted in unison before moving forward, forcefully colliding with the attacks of the mad duo. Then the front row thrust their spears and crimson beams shot forward, piercing Ortho’s legs and chest.
“Cowards, I don’t fear death, but I have more of you to send before I can go!” Ortho screamed, and his crimson arm ignited, shining like boiling blood, before his wounds started closing up. “Haha, this is the blessing of my new lord. I am blessed by two lords. How wonderful!” Ortho shouted in ecstasy as his blade ignited with a cold, bright light and started chipping away at the barrier.
Kram didn’t even care about the sharp beams; to him, they were barely mosquito bites.
“Haha, that tickles!” he chuckled as his fur turned bright green, almost like fresh grass, and his size doubled alongside his axe, around which thick demonic energy now spiraled like a vortex.
He swung, and the men within the barrier cried out before it shattered like glass. The axe descended, cleaving half of the men into mush.
Ortho roared as the barrier dissipated and started slashing through the soldiers. Some fought back, but he enjoyed the pain as he mowed through them, his shining blade connecting easily with their exposed bodies.
“Not even five minutes...” Kram exhaled disappointedly as he decapitated the lieutenant.
“No need to be sad; we liberated a whole group,” Ortho laughed as he slapped Kram’s sturdy back cheerfully.
“Even amongst the Seirim, you would be the craziest one, brother!” Kram laughed as he slammed Ortho into the floor. “Oops, you still need to eat a lot of vegetables.” Kram chuckled.
***
On the other side, Vanta moved through the shadows and devoured the poisoned men, spitting out only armor.
Iris and Brael, on the other hand, each picked a group of still-standing soldiers in full formation and started their attacks, while Mud, the imps, and the Runefiends took out the stragglers.
“Hm, that snake’s poison sure is dangerous.” Vex thought as she observed the battle. “There is nothing for me to do. Well, might as well observe, my dear Corvin.” She sighed as she watched his broad back while he clashed with Linnus.
***
Linnus didn’t dare parry Corvin’s heavy swings, and his greatest weapon, his speed, wasn’t helpful either since Corvin, for some reason, was faster than him despite wielding such a large weapon and being much larger than him.
So Linnus finally used a skill, and as he did, time felt as if it slowed down for a moment. He lunged at Corvin, his golden swords shining silver as he started slashing at Corvin’s weak spots.
Bang!
“What the fuck?!” Linnus screamed, in his sped-up state, as Corvin parried the attack, and lightning descended into his body, making his arms go numb. He dodged Corvin’s low kick and jumped back. “How did you block that?” Linnus shouted in shock.
“I just concentrate really hard.” Corvin smiled.
“Don’t bullshit me!” Linnus screamed. Nobody had ever blocked his attack when he activated Ultra Speed. This skill alone had helped him rise to this position all those years ago.
“I’m being honest here, and you don’t trust me. How rude. Well, let me see what else you’ve got!” Corvin smiled as he Stormstepped and layered Dash over it, moving almost instantly into Linnus before releasing Flurry.
Linnus screamed as the first of the five strikes slammed into his armor and shattered the majority of the ribs on his right side. Without thinking, he activated a skill and left a clone behind while he sped around Corvin and stabbed a blade at his neck.
Well, at least he tried to.
Corvin’s body instantly turned black as iron and deflected the attack just as Corvin stopped Flurry and spun in an attempt to cleave Linnus in half, only for him to leave another clone and move farther back as he gulped down a potion from his pouch.
“You damn monster. You must be at least Diamond-rank!” Linnus cursed as his body slightly healed.
“That is truly not important. Come on, show me more. I want to see the power of the Empire’s Captain. What is this all?” Corvin asked simply. He had really expected more.
“I’ll show you, you bastard!” Linnus roared, and his whole body turned silver. “Living Speed!” he screamed and disappeared.
Corvin activated Aqua Barrier just as an attack landed and bounced back, but before he could do anything, another and another, and a dozen more landed and shattered the barrier, slashing over Corvin’s metallic body. The effect of the Skybreaker Greaves activated, and a gust of wind tossed Linnus away, but before he could attack again, Corvin was already on the move.
“Now that is good!”
He activated Crystal Bloom, and all around him, poisonous crystal flowers bloomed and detonated almost instantly as Linnus sped around Corvin.
Corvin concentrated again, slowing down time as he noticed bursts of crimson mist, which he concluded came from the wounds Linnus had suffered from the mines.
Following the crimson mist with his vision, Corvin activated Furtur’s Overdrive and increased his speed by 50%, while the lightning changed course and surged into Corvin, now stronger than before thanks to the Stormborne Momentum enchantment of the greaves.
** Skill Leveled Up: Lightning Resistance Lv. 5 **
And just as the wounded Linnus was about to use his strongest attack in hopes of piercing Corvin’s defenses, Corvin swung precisely and faster than ever, cleaving Linnus in half.
Corvin’s concentration faded as Linnus’s speed form disappeared, revealing the broken body of the Empire’s Captain.
“Your biggest mistake was making me mad,” Corvin said coldly.
“Hah, fool! My scouts have already reported back to the Empire, and the barrier will hold for five more days. Even if you defeated me, the others will come!” Linnus shouted.
“Oh, that’s what you think.” Corvin smirked as he whispered, “Demon Buffet,” and chains dragged out Linnus’s screaming soul.
[The First User title bonus effect activated!]
[Item Received: Lion’s Golden Helm]
Rarity: Rare
Type: Helmet
A helmet made for a captain of the Crimson Centuria. It is forged from Goldsteel and Mithril, enhanced with Thought Stabilization, allowing one to think clearly at high speeds and in difficult situations.
Intelligence +15, Overall Speed +20%
My crown is better, but this is great as well. If only I could merge the effects somehow...
He sighed, and before he could check the rest of the loot and his levels, he turned at the sound of a loud roar.
***
Iris roared furiously as she clashed with the lieutenant after breaking through their barrier, while Baku supported her from behind with focused bullet-like fire spells that he used to easily headshot the normal soldiers, allowing her to fight the strongest opponent unbothered by the weaker ones.
The grey-haired lieutenant wielded a round shield and an emerald gladius as he blocked Iris’s attacks and stabbed and slashed into her body.
But the odd thing he noticed was that the more he wounded her, the stronger she became, and for some reason, the blood of the dead turned into mist and slowly seeped into her, healing her wounds.
“What a fucking monster!” he shouted just as Iris threw a wide hook, her gauntlets shining red.
The man raised his shield over his head and knocked Iris’s hand aside while stabbing with his right hand.
Swish.
The gladius pierced Iris’s stomach as the man twisted the blade, making her roar like a wounded beast.
Her eyes turned red as she grabbed the man’s hand that held the blade and snapped it in half.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!” the man cried out as Iris unleashed a barrage of punches upon him, each layering blood over her gauntlets, increasing both the range and power of her attacks.
Brael, who had already dealt with his group, simply observed as he drank the blood of his enemies from a teacup. “Interesting, she is using the blood in such a crude way, but it actually fits her Icon. A demon with an Icon, truly something else.” He chuckled coldly.
And as the last soldier fell, the notifications littered Corvin’s mind.
[Experience Gained: 149,439]
[Level Up! x7]
[Experience toward next level: 28%]
Omega, is there any way to collect more souls before they disperse? Corvin asked hopefully. Currently, he needed to be close by when someone died to grab the soul with his Demon Buffet.
[Usually it would not be possible, but due to the holy barrier holding everything in place, I can assist.]
[Adjusting skill Demon Buffet.]
[Temporary Skill Unlocked: Demon Buffet: Wide Feast]
[Do you approve of the use of the skill?]
[Yes] [No]
Yes, do it! Corvin approved.
Suddenly, behind him, dozens of chains erupted from a head-sized dark portal and started grabbing the souls that still struggled to pass through the barrier.
[36 Souls found. Feast activated!]
The chains pierced the screaming souls, now visible only to Corvin’s eyes, and dragged them into the blackness of his portal.
[Current souls held: 40]
** Skill Leveled Up: Demon Buffet Lv. 4 **
“Oh wow, that was amazing! When will I be able to unlock that part of the skill?” Corvin asked.
When suddenly his body grew lighter, and he crashed into the ground, darkness swallowed his vision.