…
Izroth used the Compressed Lightning Movement from his Full Mantle to gain short but massive bursts of movement speed.
Just now, he had covered over 100 meters with a single step!
Even for someone like Protas who was at the late stage of the legendary realm, as long as one did not specialize in speed, they could only catch a glimpse of Izroth’s afterimage.
‘The backlash is considerably less this time around. If two points of Might reduced it by this much, then as long as I find the right opportunity to upgrade my Heavenly Golden Body, it may be possible to use the all-out burst without being rendered helpless in the end.’
Previously, Izroth could only use five bursts of Compressed Lightning Movement. However, with the addition of the Might stat, that number had improved to eight.
Additionally, the distance he could travel per burst rose from 88 meters to 108 meters—a distance that would have been even greater if he had his Flickering Steps active.
Unfortunately, Izroth was still unable to fully control using his Flickering Steps along with the Compressed Lightning Movement.
While doing so granted Izroth unimaginable speed, the backlash was too harsh—even if he did have the Might stat to assist with the recovery process.
So, Izroth decided to wait until his Flickering Steps came to an end before activating his Compressed Lightning Movement.
‘I’ve used two full-range bursts just now. This is close enough.’
The space around Izroth warped and bent as he came to a grinding halt. The earth where he stopped shattered under his feet as sparks of purple lightning jumped around his mantle.
Every second Izroth had Compressed Lightning Movement active or used a full range burst, he lost a certain percentage of his HP as a result.
Despite this, Izroth did not eliminate any of the ancient races along his path in order to recover with his lifesteal.
Of course, it was not just out of pity or the kindness of his heart. In fact, there were two reasons for Izroth doing so.
The first reason had to do with his arms of lightning. Each arm would mimick Izroth’s attack, but there was a 0.10 attack delay on each arm.
Under normal circumstances, this would be incredibly fast at ten attacks per second. However, the downside was that until the last arm finished its strike, Izroth would be unable to attack again.
This meant that for ten seconds, Izroth’s only offensive skill would be the arms of lightning and the mimicked attacks.
Unfortunately, Izroth did not have ten seconds to waste. This was even more so considering that the draining effects of his Compressed Lightning Movement increased the longer he kept the skill active.
As for the second reason, it was simple. For what Izroth had planned, the more targets that were alive—the greater the outcome.
‘This location should do.’
Izroth held his Sword of the Storm sideways out before him with one hand.
The moment he performed this action, many of the nearby ancient races heard the faint sound of a slow heartbeat.
The sound of the heartbeat appeared to have no true origin and seemingly came from nothingness.
With every passing moment, the heartbeat sped up and soon after, it started beating so rapidly that it fell silent.
Oooooooooom!
“What’s this sound?”
“I can’t move! ROOOOOAR!”
“We…”
The unique sound of a hum resonated throughout the battlefield. This hum was fleeting, but for its brief duration, it seemed to silence everything—even the world itself.
At the same time, the natural instincts of the ancient races seemed to flare up out of control as the look in their eyes changed.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The ancient races began to attack one another and fight amongst themselves. It was as if they had a sudden fallout with one another!
However, if one observed the look in their eyes closely, they would notice a crazed frenzy about them that was not previously present.
“Third Baneful Sword…” Izroth slowly closed his eyes as his existence seemed to fuse with the area in his surroundings.
“..m… Stop him!” Protas’ voice exploded as he moved full speed towards Izroth’s direction.
The sound had finally returned and carried his voice.
When Protas gave the order, the Keepers and Mandates started to make their move. If Protas was reacting this way, it meant that whatever that person was up to must be stopped!
However, the Keepers and Mandates were the only ones who responded to Protas’ order.
As for the remaining ancient races, they were either unable to move or in a frenzied state. But, this was not a result of Izroth’s skill. Rather, it was from the Soul Pressure he exerted from his Spirit Source!
A devastating pressure descended within 100 meters that spread out from Izroth’s location. The aura was vile and filled with a nature of destruction that had been saturated in an immense killing intent.
Once again, everything within 100 meters fell silent as if even the world did not dare make a sound in front of this terrifying presence.
In that split moment, the area turned black and white as the world became silent, still, and peaceful.
“Annihilation.” The moment that word left Izroth’s mouth, the peaceful world unraveled.
Izroth gradually opened his eyes as the black and white world disappeared.
Upon doing so, a stream of system alerts flooded Izroth’s mind. So much so that the system had to automatically silence them.
〈System: Congratulations, you have defeated «The Mandate of Force»!〉
〈System: Congratulations, you have defeated «Megada Warrior Takavas»!〉
〈System: Congratulations, you have defeated «Keeper of the Sixth Gate»!〉
〈System: Congratulations, you have defeated «Fierce Hound Grekoro»!〉
〈System: Congratulations, you have defeated «Keeper of the Third Gate, Tigryli»!〉
〈System: Congratulations…
Izroth stood silently as he looked towards the sky.
‘How unfortunate…’
Meanwhile, in the sky over the battlefield, the two pillars stood just barely far enough to be out of range of Izroth’s Third Baneful Sword: Annihilation.
However, the expressions on their faces had turned serious before becoming infuriated!
They, who ruled over this world with an iron fist, were forced to retreat in front of someone?! How many cycles had it been since they suffered such blatant humiliation?!
“He cannot be allowed to live,” Ourami said coldly.
“I agree. He must die here today.” Yia commented.
Ourami was so caught up in the moment, that he did not even realize that for the first time, he referred to Izroth as “he” instead of an “it”.
“That attack just now cannot be underestimated. It directly drew in the strength of those under its influence. If both of us were caught in it just now, we may not have walked away completely unscathed.” Yia noted.
He then continued, “What you said earlier about there being other worlds out there—I believe you. That person obviously lacks the Ethos to perform these feats. In order to do so, he must have a unique energy source that exists outside the world we know. If we can get our hands on that power and make it ours, then…”
Yia’s eyes opened slightly as he glanced over at Ourami in a meaningful way.
“I know what you want to say. It just so happens that I was about to suggest the same thing.” Ourami responded.
If they could grab ahold of that mysterious energy source behind Izroth’s power, then they would be able to overtake the other pillars. And, given enough time, even achieving a status similar to that of their Protogenos would not be out of reach! How could they pass up such a premium opportunity?!
“We will act together to detain him,” Ourami said as he clapped his hands together.
The next moment, several thick chains materialized at the pillar’s sides. These were the same chains Ourami used to seal Hakros’ consciousness. Their origin was one of mystery and it was difficult to perceive their existence even though they were right next to Ourami.
“This situation is absurd; however… I am inclined to agree.” Yia stated as a dark ring made of Ethos formed in front of him.
This ring was approximately one meter in diameter and constantly rotated at high speeds, releasing occasional sparks of Ethos as it spun.
The two pillars descended from the sky and landed on the ground several meters away from Izroth.
A carefree smile formed on Izroth’s face; however, it was hidden by the hood of his mantle.
“You two ran away faster than I anticipated. Well, it’s fine. I suppose the pillars only amount to this much.” Izroth said nonchalantly.
Ourami’s expression darkened as he coldly responded, “We value strength over all else. That is why we shall give you a chance. Surrender and obey us. It is the only way you will leave this place with your life. Otherwise, only death awaits.”
“Amusing… You run away then return to make empty threats. What else can it be but amusing?” Izroth commented.
He then continued, “Besides, I’ve already made other arrangements.”
“What are you-“
Crrrrrckle! Clap! Swoosh!
Out of nowhere, Yia vanished from Ourami’s side as a trail of lightning was left in his wake.
However, the trail of lightning was not Izroth’s purple lightning!
