The regeneration rate was so accelerated that no matter if it were a person or object, it would eventually crumble up and die! Fortunately, with his Heavenly Golden Body providing a sturdy physique and natural poison resistance, paired with the Evil Cleansing Pill, Izroth could minimize this effect and even benefit from it! After all, if it were another player, without a doubt, they would have exploded upon being exposed to that level of stress.
'It seems I can't allow myself to be touched again by that poison too often. The stage of my Heavenly Golden Body is still too low. My Soul Sense also has limits to what it can do. Learning this alone has made coming to this border worthwhile.'
Izroth inspected the blade of his Sword of The Storm but could not find anything wrong besides the silver liquid flowing inside it.
'Unlike most weapons, the Sword of The Storm does not possess a durability stat. But, this does not mean that it is impossible to break.'
During Izroth's fight against Sage, when she unleashed her Maelstrom Domain, it corroded his Sword of The Storm enough to directly affect its stat. If it had continued, there was a good chance that it would have turned to dust.
The pupils in Izroth's eyes turned into swirling clouds of winds that resembled a destructive typhoon. Simultaneously, the surrounding winds started to pick up until it transformed into a strong gale.
'Well, that's fine. I just have to deal with her. But, first, I suppose I should keep my promise.'
A great storm appeared in the sky out of the blue, which caught the attention of Salokin and Essirie. Even Aurie, with her eyes closed, could feel that something was off from the sudden weather shift.
"A storm this close to the Unsanctioned Zone..? This energy… It matches that blade he's carrying. Is it his doing?" Aurie said to herself.
Salokin frowned as he witnessed the sudden and drastic shift in weather. Where did this storm come from? He had never heard of a storm taking place near the Unsanctioned Zone.
Izroth's sole objective when he used Behemoth's Quake was not just to throw Salokin's chakram off its attack path. Its second purpose was to gain Storm Surge Charges for his Sword of The Storm!
There were plenty of Skounae on the battlefield, and every time one of them received damage from Izroth's Behemoth's Quake, he obtained a single stack of Storm Surge Charge.
In the blink of an eye, the stacks that he lost from using Tempest Strikes and Lightning Cage were recovered as it soared to the max of 50 stacks!
Izroth overheard Salokin mention that Aurie could not use her domain due to her allies' presence on the battlefield. Since the War Brigade members were locked in an intense battle with the Skounae, they could not fall back. Not to mention, Salokin and Essirie would not just sit back and watch as they retreated.
That is why Izroth informed Aurie that he would take care of her two problems. The instant he arrived, Izroth knew that he had to accomplish two goals.
The first goal was to help Aurie cure her poison. While the second…
'Great Storm.'
… Was to provide the members of the War Brigade with a chance to reverse the tides of battle!
Woooosh! Woooosh!
The initially gentle breeze underwent a drastic transformation. Sharpened blades of wind rained down from above and danced brutally upon the battlefield.
"Ahhhh!"
"What's happening- Gah!"
"My leg! My leeeeg!"
The organized Immortal Umbra Horde, who had been steadily overpowering the troops from the Amaharpe War Brigade, had been degraded into a state of chaos! The terrifying aspect was that they had no idea how their allies around them were being cut down. After all, the blades of wind were invisible to the average individual. Unless one had a specific skill or a good sense of perception, it was impossible to see the movement of blades of wind.
"It's coming this way!" One of the Amaharpe War Brigade Captains warned. He had a skill similar to the Eyes of Magic that allowed him to see intangible things. Not even a full breath ago, he was struggling to hold his ground against a Skounae Viscount. But, that mysterious "wind blade" appeared out of nowhere and struck the Viscount. Taking advantage of that small window of opportunity, he managed to reap the life of his opponent. That was when he noticed something bizarre.
The War Brigade Captain saw that the wind blades had yet to injure a single troop on Amaharpe's side. Now that he looked closer, it was only the Skounae who were being targeted! He could not recall anyone in his War Brigade having high enough wind magic proficiency to use it on such a grand scale. As for the Commander, wind magic was not her specialty, so it was out of the question. But if not the Commander, then had some new reinforcements made their appearance? Either way, this was a precious chance!
"Everyone! These attacks are only focusing on the Skounae! I repeat! The attacks are only targeting the Skounae! Prepare to launch a counter-attack! We will pull around and cut off their path of retreat!" The Captain of the War Brigade used a communication talisman to announce to his allies. Ever since the mist had been fully dispersed, they were able to employ communication talismans again.
When everyone heard the Captain's voice via the communication talisman, they started to push back in full force! For a while, it had been a one-sided struggle with the Skounae empowered by the night slowly winning ground. The members of Amaharpe's border defenses were filled with frustration because of this, which caused them to explode with a wave of newfound energy now that they were able to counter-attack.
'I've finally gotten their full attention.'
Izroth looked at Salokin and Essirie, who no longer had an expression of anger on their faces. A calm and calculative coldness replaced that anger as their gazes were fixed onto Izroth.
"Earl Salokin, that human…" Essirie said as her eyes never left Izroth.
Salokin did not need Essirie to finish her sentence as he already knew what she wanted to say.
"He does not emit any domain energy, but something else entirely. How has he already achieved this depth of power? To also be capable of moving around freely directly after receiving your Silver-Eyed Cloud Snake Venom…" Salokin commented.
He then continued, "I thought it might have been a fluke when my chakram was redirected, but it appears that it was not just dumb luck. This young man must be a great talent that the humans have been raising in secret."
"Then, should we change our priority target?" Essirie questioned.
"No, I have a better idea," Salokin answered.
His gaze became fixated on Izroth as he said, "We will have him undergo the Night King's Rite."
"?!" A look of shock surfaced on Essirie's face as she spoke, "If we do that, then the yearly ceremony-"
"Either way, we will benefit. Whether he survives or not, he will cease being human. He will die or… He will become a servant of the Night King." Salokin stated with a grin.
When Izroth used Behemoth's Quake and Great Storm, he poured 100 points of his Essence into them—this was the energy Salokin, and Essirie perceived. Having used his Essence, Izroth improved his Great Storm's damage output by 100%! He was also pleasantly surprised to learn that the maximum range increase had changed. Back when it was just Soul Sense, there was a 50% range increase limit. This meant that no matter how much Essence Izroth poured into a skill, its range could not go beyond a 50% improvement.
However, when he used Behemoth's Quake and Great Storm just now, it did not cover 45 meters as he expected, but 60 meters—that was a 100% range boost from their original 30 meters!
'The changes to my Source are not as simple as I thought. I will have to retest its upper limits.'
Izroth wondered if he had poured more Essence into the Great Storm, just how much would its range have improved? Would it have gone beyond 100%?
"Human brat, I will give you a chance. Surrender and leave this place quietly with us, or die—the choice is yours!" Salokin commanded.
'Hm?'
Izroth was curious as to what caused Salokin's sudden change in attitude. Just a few seconds ago, the Earl desired nothing more than to see him dead. Now, all of a sudden, Salokin wanted him to leave with them?
