…
Sagarus and the Lightning Soldiers worked together to suppress The Mandate of Scrutiny; however, there was a clear mismatch if one looked at the warriors of lightning from an individual perspective.
In terms of power, The Mandate of Scrutiny exceeded that of Sagarus and the Lightning Soldiers from the Great Lightning Army.
But, with Sagarus leading the way in the confrontation and the smooth teamwork of the Lightning Soldiers that properly connect their actions, despite The Mandate of Scrutiny’s advantage in terms of power, he was unable to gain the upper hand.
That being said, The Mandate of Scrutiny was not completely powerless. In fact, he had already managed to eliminate seven Lightning Soldiers. It was just that the biggest headache, Sagarus, always found a way to avoid a fatal strike at the last moment.
The Mandate of Scrutiny knew that he was much stronger than these strange beings. So then, why was he having a hard time cleaning them up in one go?!
This caused an immense amount of frustration to form as the blue and silver Ethos around The Mandate of Scrutiny erupted in every direction.
Sagarus and the remaining Lightning Soldiers retreated several meters to avoid being swept away by the powerful surge of energy.
Sagarus then held up the sword in his hand and pointed it towards The Mandate of Scrutiny.
When the Storm Commander raised his arm, twelve of the Lightning Soldiers broke away from the core formation they had set up and surrounded The Mandate of Scrutiny.
The twelve Lightning Soldiers then clapped the palm of their hands together as an intense wave of the lightning element began to encompass their beings.
Bzzzt! Bzzzzt!
Suddenly, a ring of purple lightning that connected the twelve Lightning Soldiers to one another materialized and rotated rapidly.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the ring expanded outward until its radius reached approximately 25 meters.
The following moment, a burst of purple lightning was expelled from the top and bottom sides of the ring.
By the time the purple lightning finished forming, The Mandate of Scrutiny had been trapped inside a cylindrical cage with bars made of terrifying lightning aura.
As Izroth observed the actions of the Lightning Soldiers and the formation of the cage, he felt that the move they were employing was somehow familiar. But, there was something unusual about it.
‘Hm? This is… Lightning Cage? No. That skill is not capable of unleashing this kind of aura of destruction. Rather, it feels more similar to Destructive Aftermath. This is as if the two skills have somehow become one.’
Lightning Cage was one of the original weapon skills of Izroth’s Sword of the Storm. It could trap enemies inside a cage of lightning and paralyze them for up to five seconds. In addition, it increased any lightning damage they received while inside by 20% for the duration of the skill.
However, even if he poured some essence into the Lightning Cage to enhance its abilities, it would still not emit this type of destructive aura. That’s because the skill itself did not inflict any direct damage to the enemies trapped within. But, for some reason, that did not seem to be the case with the cage of lightning created by the Lightning Soldiers.
“Want to trap me? An impudent bunch!” The Mandate of Scrutiny cried out as he flapped his wings and took to the air.
He planned to bust right through the top of the lightning cage as a dense layer of blue and silver Ethos appeared above him.
Crrrrckle!
Without warning, a pulsing wave of destruction in the form of the lightning element was released from the center outer edges of the cage where the ring was still rotating.
But, instead of traveling outward, the wave of destruction moved inward within the confined space.
Clap!
Once it fully closed in, the wave collided with itself as the sound of a thunderclap spread throughout the atmosphere. However, it did not end there.
The instant the wave collided, the lightning element inside the cage grew extremely chaotic. And, just as The Mandate of Scrutiny was about to crash into the top of the cage, an ear-piercing explosion erupted from the cage’s center.
BOOOOM!
The destructive lightning element that was concentrated towards the cage’s center quickly expanded to fill the entirety of the cylindrical cage.
The Mandate of Scrutiny crashed into the top of the lightning cage; however, while he was able to severely damage the top of the lightning cage, he could not build up enough momentum to break through in one go.
Right as he failed to break through on his first attempt, the destructive lightning caught up to The Mandate of Scrutiny.
The view inside of the cage became temporarily obstructed by the blast as new surges of the destructive lighting element poured into the cage every couple of seconds.
This went on for a total of ten seconds before the lightning element in the atmosphere finally calmed down.
‘A combination skill that requires twelve Lightning Soldiers to activate. It is an ideal move to use against stronger opponents, but… It’s as I thought—such a skill is not without its price.’
As the cage of lightning dispersed, Izroth watched as the bodies of the twelve Lightning Soldiers who participated in setting up the skill started to dissipate.
To activate that powerful skill, it required the twelve of them to sacrifice themselves in the process. In other words, it was a double-edged sword.
After losing seven Lightning Soldiers and not achieving any true advantage, Sagarus probably concluded that as long as The Mandate of Scrutiny continued to chip away at their forces, then it was only a matter of time until their defeat.
That’s why in order to tip the scales in their favor, Sagarus chose to sacrifice twelve of the remaining Lightning Soldiers. It was a risky move. If it failed, then they would be left at a significant disadvantage.
However, Sagarus had no alternative. He was simply doing what was necessary to carry out the orders given to him. This was his number one priority as the Storm Commander.
“What a terrifying attack. Even if it is someone at the primary stage of the legendary realm, they would not be able to walk away unscathed. As for those at the initial stage… I am afraid it would be hard for them to endure.” Sychia commented with furrowed brows.
Sychia glanced at the sword on Izroth’s back. She had clashed with it once before, but it did not give off such an oppressive feeling at the time. Sychia was uncertain what took place, but she knew it had something to do with their trip to the Hidden Celestial Abode. After all, it was not until they spent time at that point that Izroth’s sword underwent such a drastic change.
However, just what kind of skilled person was capable of embedding this kind of power into a single sword? As far as Sychia knew, there were only four individuals in the Mortal Realm capable of doing so. But, when it came to someone who was able to achieve that level of craftsmanship within such a short time frame—there were none!
Hakros also observed the fight closely and could not hide his excitement. He wanted to charge in and have a go at those Lightning Soldiers himself. But, more than that…
‘This guy… Couldn’t he try a bit better to hide his intentions? Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to play with you right now.’
Izroth could feel Hakros’ gaze locked onto him as well as a battle aura that constantly screamed, “I want to fight you. I want to fight you. I want to fight you.”
In the end, the Lightning Soldiers were only a part of Izroth’s overall power. Hakros understood this point and wanted to face the person capable of calling forth those Lighting Soldiers. But, even with his headstrong personality, Hakros did not forget the deal between him and Izroth.
Of course, that deal only lasted until they set foot outside the Secret Realm.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged and stopped right in front of Izroth.
They then fell to their knees, lowered their head, and raised their hands up towards Izroth, presenting him with something. This figure was, of course, Sagarus.
“My lord, it is as you’ve willed,” Sagarus said respectfully.
In the Storm Commander’s hand was a small spherical object. Though it was not just some random stone he found on the ground, it was actually the left eye of The Mandate of Scrutiny!
However, more than an eye, it resembled the smaller version of a magic orb with its wide array of colors and mystic-like energy.
“You’ve done well, Sagarus,” Izroth said as he gave a small nod and took the object into his hand.
When Izroth took the eye into his hand, an overwhelming force descended upon him.
The powerful gaze from earlier had returned. And, right now, its full attention was locked onto Izroth!
“Oh? Are you finally awake?” Izroth asked in a carefree manner as he remained unmoved.
He then continued, “You can see us, right? Well, though I’m not sure whether you can hear us or not. But, that’s not important. I’m sure you can understand even if you can’t hear me. Don’t worry, I have no plans on running away. However, if you want this eye back—I’m afraid you’ll have to send more than one bird to retrieve it. After all, we have quite the big appetite.”
Soon after Izroth finished speaking, the eye calmed down.
Rmmmmmmble!
A few seconds later, the earth started to lightly tremble and slowly grew more intense as time passed.
‘It looks like he didn’t waste any time responding.’
In the distant palace, thousands of ancient races poured out en masse from its gates!
