Astratis inwardly frowned at Izroth's words. He could not sense any strength coming from Izroth; however, he knew that Izroth was a rare talent—that is when compared to other mortals.
But, no matter how talented a mortal was, without Ethos, it was impossible for them to ever be on equal footing with the ancient races. Even the strongest person amongst the mortals would fall effortlessly when faced against those like the anzeyta.
However, after Astratis noticed the change in atmosphere around Izroth once his sword was drawn, he could not help but grow somewhat hopeful.
"How can a mortal emit such a sharp sword aura? No. That is of no importance. Right now…" Astratis internalized.
"You are right. I have a lot of questions, but since you call yourself an ally—I will place my trust in you, Izroth." Astratis stated.
The following moment, Astratis sat on the ground in a meditative pose as a barrier of lightning formed around him.
"My Lightning Barricade can withstand most attacks. I just need you to prevent them from charging up any big attacks for as long as possible. I won't be able to do much for you while I am recovering, but-" Astratis held the palm of his hand out as a strand of the lightning element jumped from his fingertips and entered into Izroth's body.
"It's not much, but this is all I can do for you."
〈System Alert: 1/1 Give x1 «Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» to «Rebellious Son of Thunder, Astratis».〉
〈Battle Alert: You have been affected by the skill «Surge of the Thunder King».〉
〈Battle Alert: Your attack, defense, and agility has increased by 100% for 5 minutes.〉
〈Battle Alert: You have gained the temporary passive skill «Lightning Armor».〉
〈System Alert: Protect «Rebellious Son of Thunder, Astratis» until he recovers enough strength. [Time Remaining: 05 minute(s) 00 seconds]〉
'He said it wasn't much, but…'
Izroth felt a surge of power rush into him as faint traces of Astratis' lightning flowed inside his eyes. He then swiftly read over the temporary passive he received from Astratis.
Skill Name: Lightning Armor
Skill Level: MAXED
Skill Rank: Unique*
Passive: Reduces all incoming damage by 25%. Every 5 seconds, a pulse of lightning is released in every direction, temporarily paralyzing all enemies within 5 meters for 1.25 seconds. For every enemy struck, the user gains a temporary shield equal to 30% of their maximum health that rapidly decays over 5 seconds.
Not only did the skill reduce all incoming damage, but it also had AOE crowd control and damage absorption effects!
With its short cooldown period, Izroth estimated that this temporary passive was equivalent to an SSS-ranked skill. At close range, a person with this passive was practically invincible! This was even more so if they were fighting multiple close-ranged enemies.
After using a portion of his Ethos to empower Izroth, Astratis wasted no time as he directly consumed the Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree!
When Izroth realized what Astratis had done, he was somewhat surprised.
In the Mature Wing's description, it clearly stated that due to its extremely high purity, consuming it would result in death.
Of course, Izroth did not believe that someone like Astratis had plans to claim his own life; therefore, he was curious as to what the Son of Thunder had planned.
But, at the moment, Izroth could not afford to divert his attention. As if waiting for the exact moment Astratis consumed the Mature Wing, the anzeyta finally made their move.
"All obstacles will be eliminated!" One of the anzeyta warriors of death, Vrys, shouted.
In terms of physique, Vrys was much larger than the other anzeyta and seemed to hold a noticeable advantage when it came to brute strength.
Vrys charged ahead with great momentum, causing the ground beneath him to tremble with every step.
However, despite his head-on charge, Izroth did not take a single step from in front of Astratis.
Izroth's actions appeared to have only served to further provoke the anzeyta as the aura around Vrys burst forth. A mere mortal wanted to stop his charge? Absurd!
BANG!
Without slowing down, Vrys crashed into Izroth with his shoulder lowered as the earth under him shattered from the pressure.
Maragos' eyes briefly widened before narrowing as he released a small hint of killing intent.
At the same time, Vrys was unable to hide the shock on his face. The veins in his huge muscular arms were pulsating, displaying the use of his utmost strength. However, just now, it felt as though he ran into an immovable wall!
But, when Vrys saw what it was that stopped him, there was a moment of shame that passed through his eyes. However, it was quickly replaced with unbridled rage.
Izroth's hand was placed firmly on Vrys' shoulder. With just one arm, Izroth was able to fend off the charge of the anzeyta without being pushed back!
〈Battle Alert: You have activated «Ring of the Ancient Colossus»'s effect «Strength of the Ancient Colossus!»〉
〈Battle Alert: The effects of Might have been temporarily amplified by 100% for the next 1 minute.»〉
…
〈Battle Alert: Your physical strength has increased by 600%.〉
…
'I only have to protect him for five minutes, but… do they expect me to simply sit back and defend?'
Suddenly, the energy around Izroth's Sword of The Storm shifted. And, the instant this occurred, Maragos' intuition that was built from countless battles called out to him.
"Vrys, move!" Maragos roared as a dark shadow encompassed his legs.
Woosh!
Maragos moved at a frightening speed as a monstrous killing intent flooded the entire atmosphere and converged on Izroth's location! However, he was too late.
Izroth's figure flickered in and out of existence as he disappeared from Vrys' vision at a speed that far exceeded that of Maragos.
"Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death… Death In One Step."
«Critical Hit»
«Critical Hit»
-179,132
〈Battle Alert: The effect «Death In One Step» has been activated!〉
-53,740
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Warrior of Death, Vrys!〉
In the blink of an eye, Izroth's Sword of The Storm brushed across Vrys' neck and sent the anzeyta's head flying from his body!
Not long after, Vrys' large body collapsed lifelessly to the ground as it dissolved into a cloud of ashen smoke.
'With this, it should be a bit less troublesome.'
In the end, Izroth decided to take full advantage of being looked down on by the anzeyta. In order to level the playing fields a little, Izroth immediately went for the kill using the Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death.
Initially, it would have been impossible to take out Vrys in one strike unless he used a good portion of his essence; however, Astratis' buff altered Izroth's original plans.
In the eyes of the anzeyta, Izroth was a powerless mortal who just happened to be somewhat lucky and skilled. He was nothing more than a speck of dust on the road that could be blown away with a random breeze.
Unfortunately, of them could have ever foreseen this outcome.
Suddenly, Izroth's Soul Sense went off as a wave of killing intent descended upon him from his blindspot.
Swoosh!
Izroth's body was sliced in half from head to toe by a single swipe of Maragos' hand.
But, less than a fraction of a second after this took place, Izroth's cut body flickered before vanishing altogether. Maragos was a step too late and ended up attacking the afterimage generated by Izroth's Flickering Steps.
Though, instead of trying to counterattack Maragos, Izroth completely ignored his presence and swiftly made his way towards the next warrior of death, Evgos.
This action infuriated Maragos; however, he did not allow his anger to blind him.
Rather than chasing after Izroth, Maragos wasted no time redirecting his focus to Astratis, who was currently enclosed behind his Lightning Barricade.
Maragos straightened his hand and launched a piercing strike towards Astratis in an attempt to shatter his protective barrier!
But, right before his attack could reach, Maragos abruptly twisted his body and redirected his attack to the side of him!
Bang! Boom!
Maragos' fingertips struck the blade of Izroth's sword, creating a small explosion in the process that forced both parties back a few steps.
'Oh? He was able to block that attack?'
At the moment, with a combination of Astratis' buff and his Flickering Steps, Izroth's agility almost reached a terrifying 20,000 points! This kind of speed was not easy to keep up with relying on one's eyes alone. But, even more than that, Maragos used his bare hands to clash with his Sword of the Storm.
This meant that Maragos' body had likely reached a point where it could be considered a weapon that was just as dangerous as any blade.
'It seems my plan failed. As expected, it's different with this kind of opponent.'
Izroth's actions, from eliminating Vrys to ignoring Maragos and going after someone else, were for the sole purpose of angering the anzeyta. By doing this, he would become the main focus of their attacks while they ignored Astratis' presence to avenge their comrade.
But, even in a fit of rage, Maragos saw through Izroth's intentions and wasted no time going after the Son of Thunder.
