The pearl-like object that Julian had just consumed was a secret item he received from the Nephilim. It was a gift bestowed from a special someone who took notice of his talent.
The truth was, he had been keeping it a secret for a special moment, preferably to use during the upcoming tournament. However, he knew that he had to care about the present before worrying about the future he might not be able to reach.
Nevertheless, Julian, even though he had somewhat expected its effect to be potent, was still surprised when he felt a wonderful sensation rapidly spread throughout his body upon the consumption.
It was an exhilarating feeling of seemingly owning an absolute power. The item had elevated his battle power and spiritual force into a whole new level altogether.
Smashing the shield in his hand at the magus, that simple action was enough to push the latter back and send him into a state of disorientation. The Roman then quickly took the opportunity and grabbed his opponent’s neck.
As he pushed all the strength he had just received into his fingers gripping his neck, he could see the magus getting frightened.
“D.. D-Domain… H-How..”
The magus’ terrified look was soon displaced by a cracking sound of bone breaking as Julian proceeded to twist his neck. Afterward, Julian’s fingers started to burn and the flames quickly blazed all over the magus’ body.
“Arrgghhhh!!!”
It was a powerful flame, far exceeding the power of the usual Rank 9 acolyte.
The dark elf magus let out a scream and quickly attempted to resist by stabbing Julian’s chest with his dagger, only to find out that his chest was as hard as a high-tier metal. The dagger still managed to pierce through and make Julian shed blood, however the wound was far from enough to stop Julian from smashing the magus with his shield once again, releasing his grasp.
When the magus thought that he finally managed to escape from the death’s clutch, he quickly realized that his own shadow separated from himself. He watched as it turned into one of his opponents.
[Cursed Blade]
A total of eight sharp small blades stabbed swiftly into eight different nerve joints, spreading waves of piercing pain throughout the magus’ body and forcing him to fall to his knees with a thud.
“We got him!” Chumo exclaimed when he saw the magus kneeling on the ground. However, he was shocked when he saw Julian still did not stop.
The Roman was still smashing the magus despite the latter’s powerlessness. There was a certain madness within him that compelled him to continue, and coupled it with the pain he had endured because of the man, he gladly followed along.
A loud dull sound resounded through the air again and again as the magus was viciously beaten black and blue by Julian.
Both Chumo and Klea were taken aback by Julian’s abrupt increase and display of power. The two of them didn’t know what to say, hence they let Julian deal with the dark elf as he saw fit. It was only when the whirring sound of the stargate device resounded did the Roman finally snap out of his trance-like state.
Realizing what he had done, Julian turned around and tried to say something to Klea, only for his body to fall to his knees. Just like a candle that lost its last ember, the Roman fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
“Julian!!”
Klea ran and quickly tried to heal him, but seeing another elven warship successfully emerge from the portal, she handed the unconscious Julian over to Chumo and did what she had to do first.
Purple lightning appeared around Klea’s body as she cast her spells. Meanwhile, Chumo also readied his bow, hoping his arrow would help in destroying, or at least, cutting off the power of the Stargate.
As they were about to start, their eyes suddenly caught a figure emerging from the nearby rubbles, limping towards them. Both Klea and Chumo were shocked when they saw that figure.
“Bardock!!”
Although still able to move, the condition of the rebel engineer was far from good. His face was completely pale with blood flowing from the wound on his chest. Nevertheless, he stopped the two from doing what they had planned.
“There’s no point in destroying the stargate right now.” He said. “..there is another way…”
Faced with the confused gazes of the two, Burdock quickly but thoroughly explained the plan he had in mind. Hearing the plan, Klea’s face gradually turned to hope and eventually she was convinced to go through with the man’s plan.
With that said, she quickly sent a short message to Emery.
*****
The truth was that the moment the warship appeared above the outpost, the moment the terrifying gaze of the elven grand magus upon him, Emery felt his will to fight dissipate like a smoke.
When the second elven Cruiser made its appearance, Emery was ready to leave everything behind and search for his friends so they could escape. However, just before he was about to do so, a message came and it was from the person he was worried about.
[Emery, we found a way! We need more time!]
Skeptical was still too simple to describe how Emery felt when he saw the message. No matter which perspective he looked at, it was definitely an absurd request from Klea, especially with the sight of two gigantic ships hovering in the sky above him.
Even so, the message brought back the hope he had lost, and with it, newfound strength and renewed vigor.
If time was what his friends needed, then time shall he give to them.
Turning his head to Magus Kasin who had a mocking grin on his face, Emery shouted, “You may have won the battle, but the fact still remains that you can’t defeat me! Etch in your mind that you lost to a mere acolyte!”
Though provoking, the words Emery uttered were nothing but truth. Hence the reason why the Half Moon dark elf magus was so affected to the extent that his calm demeanor was completely broken.
Killing intent flashed across his eyes. However, before he could take action, a dignified voice rang out in the air. It was soon followed by the powerful presence of the dark elf grand magus. A elderly man with long white hair.
“Is that true, Kasin?” The grand magus’ voice was calm without fluctuations, yet in Kasin’s ears it sounded like a thunderstorm.
The powerful Half Moon magus was quaking on his feet as he said, “No… no… Lord Commander, none of that is true!”
Hearing such an answer, the grand magus then stared at Emery. A look of curiosity flashed in his eyes as he probed his mind.
“Kekeke… young privileged acolyte of the Magus Academy… So young, and full of bravery…” Turning to the Half Moon magus once more, he said, “You don’t have to be ashamed, Kasin. It’s no wonder that you can’t defeat him.”
Then, as if a part of his mind had been taken away, the next thing the elf grand magus said startled him. “The young half-blood is only trying to buy time”
Just like that, Emery’s plan was found. Before he could do anything, the terrifying grand magus raised one of his fingers towards him. A thin line of orange light, too fast for Emery to dodge, shot through the air and pierced right into his heart.
One strike and Emery was forced to his knees with no chance of retaliation.
There was no pain, instead, he felt his body starting to shut down.
As he gradually lost consciousness, he could hear the words of the grand magus.
“No more delay, Kasin. I want my armada. Kill them all.”