Chapter 465
Chapter 465: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility (3)
Dantaria was a bit flustered. The opponent he thought was top-tier seemed to be a superhuman.
“W-what? There’s another superhuman in the Northern Army?”
This throws the operation into disarray. He had planned under the assumption that there would be no more superhumans in the Northern Army.
A cruel light soon flickered in his wavering eyes.
‘Perhaps this is an opportunity.’
He hadn’t anticipated a hidden superhuman. But if he kills that elf here, the danger will definitely vanish.
He wasn’t sure if the opponent was stronger or weaker than him, but they had three superhuman-level combatants on their side.
‘A joint attack…’
Just as Dantaria was about to call the other superhumans, Ereness moved first.
Boom!
Thud!
“Gah!”
Before he could do anything, Dantaria found himself caught by Ereness’s grip around his neck.
Crash!
Dantaria, pinned to the ground, wore an expression of sheer horror.
‘B-breathe…’
The strength of his opponent was immense. Just being held around the neck made it impossible to breathe.
Thud thud thud thud…
“Grrk…”
It felt as if a mountain were pressing down on his throat. If this continued, his neck would snap.
Dantaria focused harder and summoned his energy. Black energy surged from his palms.
Kaboom!
He exerted his power, but Ereness had already vanished from his sight.
“Cough, cough!”
Dantaria sprang to his feet, flinching and looking back.
In a panic, he desperately raised his hands to cross them.
Flash!
Kaboom!
Dantaria, hit by the green energy, was sent flying. His arms, which had blocked the flash, were broken.
“Gaaah! You! What the hell are you?!”
Fwoosh!
Black energy erupted violently from Dantaria’s body, enveloping his broken arms. He used his energy to bind his shattered limbs.
Wings made of black light sprouted from his back. Long black claws extended from his hands.
This was powerful magic wielded by high priests—a power he rarely used to its full extent.
“Don’t underestimate my holy power!”
Dantaria, enraged after being hit by an unclear elf, shouted.
Kaboom!
Dantaria shot forth as a burst of black light.
It was absurd that an elf with greater power than himself had suddenly appeared. He had only been caught off guard at first; that was certain.
“Die!!!”
He swung his claw-like nails with a contorted expression.
The force was so powerful that it distorted and shattered space itself. He was sure the opponent couldn’t block or evade it.
However, all Dantaria did was slash at Ereness’s afterimage.
Ereness had already moved beside him, evading his attack.
“You are not true superhumans. You are merely parasites feasting on scraps.”
Flash!
Kaboom!
With yet another flash, Dantaria’s side caved in, and he fell over.
“Gaaah!”
He screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground.
His holy energy was supposed to alleviate his suffering. It was meant to prevent him from feeling complete pain until all of it was exhausted.
But an excruciating pain throbbed from his side. He couldn’t comprehend why this was happening.
Thinking he lacked the holy energy concentrated in the injured area, he attempted to channel it, but it did no good.
‘C-could it be… that woman’s attack contains more power than expected?’
It meant that the enemy’s strength was so overwhelming it disregarded his holy energy’s effects. Despite only being hit a few times, he had expended an immense amount of his power.
Step.
Ereness looked down at Dantaria with contempt and continued speaking.
“Pitiful. Compared to ‘back then,’ you are truly pathetic.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“Acting like superhumans with half-assed power.”
The high priests of the Salvation Society occupy time and space like superhumans. They had fully established their own realm through the power of faith.
However, they were bound to lack the skills and experience. They hadn’t honed themselves continuously; instead, they had received a peculiar power called “holy energy,” which they were unable to wield effectively.
“You are weaker than Equidema.”
Equidema, the beast of the rift, fights with the instinct of a predator. The strength borne from its powerful body and wild nature is something even superhumans would struggle to contend with.
But not the priests. They had strength alone, with no skills, experience, or instincts to control that power. That’s why they were referred to as half-baked superhumans.
“Grrk…”
Dantaria clutched his side and crawled backward.
He couldn’t win. If this continued, he would lose his life and fail the operation.
Ereness merely watched Dantaria’s pathetic actions and asked.
“Is that all?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“I mean, is there only one superhuman, you? If so, you’ll die here.”
“T-take that tone with me…”
Dantaria’s eyes glimmered. He hadn’t called for help because he was too busy dodging; he had intended to collaborate from the start. If the opponent was this careless, there was no reason not to exploit it.
“Attack that woman right now!”
As soon as Dantaria shouted, pillars of black light shot up where Ereness had been.
Boom! Bam!
Ereness recoiled and looked at the enemy camp.
She noticed two priests rushing forward and her eyes gleamed.
“Three, huh.”
Three superhumans! If she hadn’t been there, the Northern Army would have suffered quite a bit.
With two priests joining Dantaria, he soared into the sky, laughing.
“Cocky elf. Do you really think you can handle three of us?”
The priests were confident. Even with their lack of skills, three superhumans couldn’t be disregarded.
They could fight together to complement one another.
Boom! Bam! Boom!
Black energy struck from all sides. This time, Ereness couldn’t afford to underestimate them and was constantly busy dodging.
Seeing this, the Northern Army camp also stirred a bit.
“Wait, there really are more of them?!”
Alfoy trembled as he glanced at Claude.
Claude told him that he needed to ascertain how many superhumans Ereness had.
“If you can kill them, do it right away. But if we can overpower them, we need to draw in more superhumans. We need to know the enemy’s strength to respond appropriately.”
If Ereness overpowered the first superhuman that appeared, the remaining superhumans would want to kill her by any means necessary.
They wouldn’t want to miss the chance to eliminate such a formidable foe.
The arrogant Claude, lounging in his chair, said, “It’s obvious to an expert like me. War is just like a card game. You always need psychological warfare. In the end, the one with the better hand wins.”
Kaor, with his sword slung over his shoulder, sneered.
“An expert? You lose to the lord every time, right?”
“…That’s an outlier.”
Anyway, Claude’s thoughts aligned. If they had all rushed at Ereness, it would have become a headache for them, but the opponents were playing right into their hands.
Kaor tilted his head.
“Why are they accepting this? If they think there’s no lord on our side, wouldn’t it be better to just push forward? Shouldn’t they try to increase our losses a little more?”
“Tsk, tsk. That’s not the mind of a commander. They’re at a disadvantage due to the catapults, so they’d want to minimize casualties. Even just having high-level knights can cause significant damage. Thus, they probably want to kill when they see the opportunity.”
“Hmph…”
Kaor pouted, irritated at how only he acted smart. He was still dissatisfied with everything.
Alfoy gazed at Claude with a somewhat admiring look.
‘He really should be playing card games.’
It seemed like it would be a great brain workout.
Claude’s brazen and arrogant words went unnoticed by others, but his true feelings were somewhat different.
A cold sweat trickled down his back.
‘Wow, they’re really strong. Is that even possible? They’re stronger than any lord!’
What had been said casually turned out to be true, as Ereness was indeed fighting while drawing in three superhumans.
Even though the priests lacked battle experience, their sheer power was superhuman-level. Just a single proper hit would feel no different than facing off against any superhuman.
Facing three of them at once—he couldn’t believe it even as he watched with his own eyes.
‘Shouldn’t we storm the Duke’s place right now?’
Despite knowing it might be impossible, for a moment, the thought crossed his mind. Ereness’s performance was indeed impressive.
Watching this unfold, Alfoy raised a worried expression.
“Is it really okay that three of them are charging at her? Shouldn’t we help now? Let’s send Vanessa out quickly! We need to show those guys a spicy taste of my skill!”
He had no intention of entering the fray himself. If he got caught in that, he’d be torn apart in an instant. In this case, Alfoy’s judgment was on point.
Tenant, drawing his sword, spoke to Claude.
“I’ll go out.”
Kaor, sword slung over his shoulder, waved dismissively.
“Just me and this friend can handle it. Those priests are horrible at fighting.”
Kaor knew well that he had previously captured Raviere alongside Ghislaine. Although priests had strength and speed, they were notably lacking in skill.
Thus, he thought it would be enough for him and Tenant to go out and capture them.
But Claude shook his head.
“No, no. Let’s watch a bit longer.”
If things got dangerous, they’d fall back or send a signal. However, Ereness was still fighting cautiously.
She intended to kill at least one.
They still didn’t know if there were more superhumans on the enemy side. But if Ereness managed to kill one and no others appeared…
‘Then those three are all of them.’
Confirming the presence of superhumans during war was incredibly important. The strategy used could change drastically based on that.
Currently, Ereness was executing Claude’s orders effectively.
Thanks to that, they also learned that at least three superhumans were present. There was a palpable sense of the enemy’s intent to crush the Northern Army while the lord was absent.
Claude waved around and said, “Anyway, let’s be prepared to fight. They’ve sent out three already; if we start to falter, the other side will go bonkers.”
While the Northern Army anxiously watched the fight unfold, Count Mathes of the Delphine Army clenched his fist, observing the four in battle.
“W-who on earth is that elf?”
They had sent out three superhumans, yet they still hadn’t been able to take down their opponent. Unless the opposing commander was a fool, he would have arranged knights to respond.
There was a massive difference between a sudden incursion by a superhuman and striking when the energy capable of restraining them was ready.
Yet that was only a concern if the three superhumans could defeat the elf.
“Please tell me we’re not losing.”
He had consistently observed them being pushed back one-on-one. But he still didn’t believe they would lose against three.
Joint attacks always exhibited exponentially greater strength.
“But why are they just standing there?”
At this point, someone from the Northern Army camp should have come out to assist. Yet no one emerged.
Watching as if it were no big deal only amplified Mathes’s anxiety.
After some deliberation, he ordered his deputy, “Get ready to strike immediately.”
“What?”
“Depending on the situation, if the priests are in danger, we charge in.”
“But the knight-to-knight battle isn’t over yet…”
“You fool! If three of them go against one, the knight clash is a loss for us. No one from their side is coming out, are they?!”
“U-understood.”
The morale of the soldiers watching plummeted further. The knight clash was essentially over.
Now they had no choice but to look for an opening and push forward. There would surely be an opportunity.
Boom! Boom! Kaboom!
The fight intensified. With three superhumans complementing each other, Ereness couldn’t easily overwhelm them.
However, her gaze remained calm, as if she was still targeting something.
Dantaria, soaring into the sky, laughed loudly.
“You were so full of yourself, and now look! Can you block this!”
Whooooooo….
Dantaria’s eyes turned a deep purple, and massive energy began to erupt from his body.
There was no hope of winning through techniques. Therefore, he planned to use sheer power to devastate the surroundings.
Not just Ereness, but the Northern Army itself would be his target.
‘If this attack succeeds, Count Mathes will move.’
Once prepared, he intended to abandon Ereness and head straight for the Northern Army. The other priests would hold the elf back.
In the meantime, the Northern Army would take severe damage from his assault. Surely, Count Mathes wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.
Whooooooo…
Before long, black energy flickered around Dantaria’s body, unfurling and shooting out in tendrils.
This was a technique he had used when fighting Ghislaine. The most powerful technique of high priests, designed to devastate an area using thousands of tendrils of energy.
When those lacking skill came upon a powerful superhuman, it became a final attack where all their holy energy was poured in for a sudden reversal.
Even superhumans wouldn’t be able to avoid this attack. Let alone regular soldiers.
‘Foolish elf. How dare you challenge me. Watch your allies perish.’
At that moment, Ereness, who had been dodging attacks from the other priests, illuminated her eyes.
Thud thud thud.
From her left arm, firmly wrapped in wooden armor, new vines sprouted again.
These intertwined to form the shape of a gigantic bow, which she grabbed with her left hand.
As the guardian of the World Tree, hailed as one of the seven great powers of the continent, Ereness’s ultimate weapon.
Elven Serenade.
Fwoosh!
As she drew back the string with her right hand, a brilliant arrow of green light burst forth.
With her bowstring drawn, still dodging the priests’ attacks, she finally halted her movements.
At that moment, Dantaria, targeting the Northern Army, felt an immense energy and lowered his head.
In the distance, a green light flashed.
“S-surely… that elf is…?”
Before Dantaria could recall anything,
Boom!
The light arrow pierced his heart.
