The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and studied Ghislain for a long mont.
He had spent years observing the forest of the elves. He had incited a group of orcs, who had poor relations with the elves, to provoke conflict.
Afterward, he recruited a few Black Mages to inflict cumulative damage on the elves.
The Salvation Church had carefully monitored the elves and assessed their strength over a long period before finally comncing full-scale invasion preparations.
They had joined the orc invasion of the forest and covertly exerted their power, sparing no effort to deploy even their secret techniques.
Through this, they had succeeded in thoroughly corrupting a part of the forest.
'There were clearly no signs of human involvent.'
He had believed the proud elves would never resort to such asures, but to eliminate any variables, they had also monitored whether the elves might seek help from humans.
As expected, the elves had tried to resolve the issue with their own strength.
The Salvation Church had watched closely to see how long it would take for the elves to purify the corrupted forest. They had made so estimates while watching them fight the orcs, but a more concrete assessnt of their full strength was necessary.
If there had been any elf capable of summoning a Spirit King, they would have had to revise their strategy.
But no such individual existed. The elves had attempted purification multiple tis, but in the end, they failed to stop the corruption and withdrew.
'I verified it several tis. The extent of the elves’ power is exactly what we’ve already grasped.'
That was why the Salvation Church had decided to proceed with the invasion. They had prepared a force that would guarantee a decisive victory.
Their role was to infiltrate and spread chaos throughout the forest first, preventing the elves from gathering.
Following that, the orc army and Black Mages would join the battle, and they could crush everything before the elves had a chance to seek human aid.
There were other forests inhabited by elves, but none were as vital as this one. Destroying just this forest would throw the entire elven race into great turmoil and shock.
And yet...
'Why is a human Transcendent here?'
Transcendents were not beings one encountered casually, even in the human world. Soone of that caliber would never roam alone.
Such a person, having reached that height, would hold a key position in a kingdom, commanding armies.
Montarily confused, the middle-aged man asked Ghislain again.
“Have the humans decided to intervene in the forest affairs?”
“I was just taking a walk and saw sothing troubleso happening, so I thought I’d help.”
“Where is your army?”
As he asked, the middle-aged man spread his energy around. A Transcendent wouldn’t be alone.
But he sensed nothing.
The only person present here was the Transcendent right in front of him.
Ghislain smiled as he rested the staff on his shoulder.
“Do we need an army? I think I can take care of five of you on my own.”
“...You bastard.”
The middle-aged man's expression turned icy. He couldn't understand what kind of confidence this man had, to be here alone.
The Salvation Church had always moved with caution. Their activities must never be exposed.
That’s why, even now, the middle-aged man remained wary.
From Ghislain’s perspective, the longer he dragged things out, the better. So, he extended his staff and asked,
“So, the Demonic Abyss is finally making its move?”
“...How do you know that?”
“I happen to know quite a bit about you people.”
“...”
The middle-aged man furrowed his brow. Who in the world didn’t know of them?
But even Dragons couldn't predict when or how the Salvation Church would act. It wasn’t information a re human could obtain.
As he stared at Ghislain in silence, the man’s eyes suddenly glinted.
“Is it you?”
“What is?”
“I heard soone has been interfering with our operations in a few kingdoms. They called themselves the ‘Julien rcenary Corps.’”
“...”
“I heard there’s a peculiar one in that group.”
Raising his hand slowly, the middle-aged man continued,
“The Mad Transcendent. Astion.”
— I’m not mad!
— Just madly in love, maybe.
Ghislain crouched into a ready stance and grinned. After all that rampaging, it would’ve been strange if he hadn't shown up in the Salvation Church’s intel network. ȑἈꞐőꞖĘš
“Yeah, I’m Astion.”
“I don’t know how you ca to learn about us… must’ve picked up clues while dealing with kingdom affairs.”
It would still take ti before the Pope could inform every kingdom of the Demonic Abyss’s uprising. So, these people didn’t yet know that Ismogen had been captured.
The middle-aged man gave Ghislain a cold smile.
“Perfect. Now I can get rid of this nuisance too.”
“Now that you know who I am, isn’t it only polite that you tell your na?”
“You’re right. A man ought to know the na of the one who’ll kill him.”
With an arrogant tilt of his chin, the middle-aged man declared,
“I am the one who carves the laws of the Church into this land by the order that echoes from the Abyss, Executioner Munaref.”
At that mont, a black light burst forth from Munaref’s hand.
Kwaaaang!
The impact pushed Ghislain backward, sliding across the ground. At the sa ti, the four priests standing beside Munaref turned into black mist.
Paaah!
The mist spread rapidly, surrounding Ghislain in all directions. As he skidded back, Ghislain planted his staff into the ground and turned his head.
A portion of the mist reford into a billowing black robe. A priest burst forth from it.
Kaaang!
The priest’s attack was blocked by Ghislain’s staff. But right after, a second priest struck.
Paaah!
Black chains burst out from all directions, aiming for Ghislain’s limbs. Ghislain struck the ground with his staff, using the recoil to propel himself into the air.
Before the chains could pursue him, Ghislain extended a finger toward one of the priests.
“Lightning Bolt.”
KWAANG!
From his hand, lightning roared forth. One of the priests who had been chasing Ghislain was hit squarely by the bolt and hurled backward.
Though it was a low-circle spell, Ghislain had focused a considerable amount of mana into it. For an average person, the destructive force would have been instantly fatal.
But a black aura enveloped the priest’s body and rapidly regenerated the wounds.
‘Just as I thought they’re like cockroaches.’
Even in the future, their regenerative abilities had always been troubleso. But these ones were even faster, perhaps because they were stronger.
Before his thoughts had even concluded, the third priest appeared behind Ghislain.
Ghislain twisted his body to evade, but the fourth priest’s sudden blade-like strike grazed his side.
Sskak!
Blood splattered. Ghislain gritted his teeth and swung his staff around to strike his opponent’s side with force.
KWAJIK!
“Guhh!”
With the sound of bones cracking, the priest scread. His side caved in, and he lost his balance, sent flying.
But in that opening, another priest reached out a hand from midair.
KWAANG!
The black hand of the priest struck Ghislain’s shoulder. Ghislain used the montum to spin and swung his staff.
KWAANG!
The sudden swing smashed half of the priest’s face. Even as he was hit, the priest couldn’t process what had just happened.
Given the force the Priest had applied, the opponent should’ve been slamd into the ground or had his shoulder shattered and lost balance.
But instead, Ghislain had taken the blow and still counterattacked mid-motion. It was a technique that defied common sense.
Before anyone noticed, Ghislain, now back on the ground, thrust his staff backward without even turning his head.
THUMP!
A priest who had been lunging at him from behind was struck in the abdon and sent flying.
In the blink of an eye, four priests had been struck down by Ghislain and hurled back. They imdiately transford into black mist to create distance and began recovering their injuries.
Their eyes trembled in disbelief.
They were among the strongest even within the Church. They could overpower most human Transcendents even in one-on-one combat.
Yet even with four of them attacking together, they hadn’t overwheld him. In fact, they had co off worse.
Munaref, who led them, was just as shocked.
‘Impossible! Has humanity’s level risen even further?!’
This man’s power far surpassed the strength the Salvation Church had estimated for Transcendents.
Cold sweat trickled down Munaref’s back. The number of Transcendents within the United Human Army vastly outnumbered the high priests of the Demonic Abyss. That was inevitable, given the sheer difference in population to begin with.
No matter how many rifts they opened to fill their ranks with Riftspawn, if they lacked enough Transcendents, they were bound to be at a disadvantage in war.
‘That’s why each High Priest was trained to be able to handle at least two or three Transcendents…’
Even that hadn’t been enough, so they had employed every trick imaginable to weaken humanity’s strength.
And yet, Transcendents still possessed this level of power. The upcoming war would undoubtedly be arduous.
‘I have to kill him here!’
The fewer Transcendents the United Human Army had, the more favorable it would be for the Church. A chance to eliminate a powerhouse couldn’t be allowed to slip away.
KWAANG!
Having rely watched until now, Munaref launched himself toward Ghislain. The other priests resud their assault as well.
To counter the black energy surging from all directions, Ghislain drew heavily upon his mana.
Zzzing―!
A blue magic circle instantly unfolded around Ghislain. Dozens of layered circles began to block the incoming force.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
The five priests were indeed powerful, clearly a step above most human Transcendents.
Yet Ghislain was holding his own against them. And he was doing it in Astion’s body.
The combat prowess he had accumulated wasn’t just physical strength.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
In a place where black mist devoured all light, only the trail of blue flashes traced by Ghislain tore through the darkness.
The shadows were relentlessly split by the flashes of blue. With every strike etched through the air, parts of the mist were shredded, and the darkness trembled as if screaming.
The priests were struck down repeatedly. To make matters worse, Ghislain’s spells erupted from various directions, keeping the priests utterly overwheld.
As the battle dragged on, Munaref’s back grew drenched in cold sweat.
‘T-This can’t be... He’s this strong?!’
Munaref couldn’t comprehend it. He admitted that their opponent’s combat technique was far superior, but in terms of sheer strength and speed, the difference wasn’t that significant.
Even if soone was highly skilled, against this many opponents, they should’ve been seriously wounded and defeated long ago.
‘Then why?!’
The opponent was almost eerily evading all critical strikes. Even when their attacks landed, they couldn’t inflict serious damage.
No, on the contrary, their opponent was gradually pushing them back.
Amidst the chaotic fight, Munaref suddenly noticed sothing strange.
‘My perception… is distorted.’
An attack he had launched with complete confidence had barely missed its mark. At first, he had just thought the opponent had dodged it well.
But the longer the battle continued, the more the oddity beca apparent. It felt as though he were drunk, unable to judge distances properly.
Sothing like this should have been impossible for a Transcendent.
Thinking back, that distortion only occurred at the most crucial monts only when the opponent was in serious danger.
‘That bastard… what trick is he using?’
A technique that could distort a Transcendent’s perception, it was unbelievable, even as he experienced it.
Looking around, it seed the other priests hadn’t noticed a thing. Only he had sensed the subtle discrepancy.
“Everyone, give it your all! We must kill him here and now!”
KWAANG!
Gritting his teeth, Munaref unleashed his full power. There was no need to conserve strength to deal with the elves. It was already too late to stick to the original plan anyway.
So, this dangerous man had to die here no matter what.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
The other priests joined in at full force, and Ghislain, who had until now maintained the upper hand, began to get pushed back.
As he blocked the priests’ relentless attacks, Ghislain’s eyes darkened.
‘Hmph… is this the end of the line?’
His opponents were undeniably strong. They were the most powerful he had faced since coming back to the past.
If it had only been the initial four, he could have taken out one or two and retreated.
But that executioner was the problem. He was stronger than the others and he had even begun to notice the Power of Will that Ghislain only used in monts of dire danger.
Ghislain hesitated for a mont. If he used his full strength here, he could definitely kill two of them and then retreat.
‘No. Not yet. I haven’t fully assessed their forces.’
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
ROOOAAARRR!
In the distance, the roars and marching of a vast orc army could be heard. And among them were Black Mages as well.
There was no telling how many more priests the Salvation Church had brought.
Using his full power here would be too risky. He had already consud a considerable amount of mana.
It was ti to retreat. If he had bought this much ti, the elves should be nearly ready.
‘This is as far as I go for now.’
Now it was ti to join forces with others to face the enemy.
Retreating, Ghislain suddenly planted his staff into the ground. His imnse mana surged through the staff, piercing the earth and spreading out.
In an instant, the ground rumbled violently.
KWA-AAAANG!
Cracks raced through the ground, then the earth shattered and a powerful shockwave exploded outward from the staff’s center.
Shards of rock and dust shot into the sky. The priests chasing Ghislain were struck by the sudden blast and thrown back.
Seizing the mont, Ghislain fled and shouted,
“Let’s have round two another ti!”
The priests prepared to give chase, but Munaref stopped them.
“Stop. It’s already too late.”
Munaref took a long mont to suppress the storm boiling inside him. One lone human had wrecked their operation before it had even begun.
Even with five of them combining their strength, they couldn’t overpower him and ended up letting him escape. That was truly humiliating.
‘I should’ve killed him no matter what…’
He wanted to pursue and kill him imdiately, but chasing now would only risk getting surrounded and annihilated by the elves.
Munaref forcefully cald himself and turned his head.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
He could feel the orc horde drawing near.
The elves were likely just about done preparing for battle too. In this situation, it was better to charge forward with brute force alongside the orcs.
They were all ant to be expendable anyway. It didn’t matter if they all died.
That Transcendent who fled might be powerful, but with a massive army, they could overwhelm and kill him even if the elves supported him.
The Salvation Church had been preparing for this war for a very long ti.
‘It’s ti to trample this forest completely. And I will personally kill that arrogant bastard.’
Munaref’s eyes glead with murderous fury.
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