Guntu asked. "But how?"
It sounded inconceivable to him.
"You should know the answer by now. I've given you all the clues to it." The son of legends said smugly.
Guntu thought about it. He still didn't know the answer to it. How do they plan to make Soverick capable of utilizing the combined power of several mana entities into a single strike as if all of them were striking the mountain? But he had a suspicion. And it had something to do with the title of the child of the plane.
Within The Divine Dungeon.
Soverick entered the dungeon running. His leg cracked the ground as he bounded forward like a predator seeking prey. His divine sense spread around him on high alert searching for what was to be his prey. There was a boom as he surpassed the speed of sound. His acceleration was that insane. His body and mind were in sync and of a singular purpose. He was prepared for whatever would be thrown at him.
The defenders were also prepared for him. He was greeted by a barrage of attacks that were sent toward him even before he entered. They had somehow anticipated or predicted his entry into the dungeon. All types of attacks were sent his way from the defending angelic army. They sent arrows and javelins. This is the first challenge to overcome to clear the divine dungeon.
"Weather through the attacks, hold your ground, and wait for reinforcement," Soverick said to himself as he raced forward.
He formed magical barriers upon barriers upon himself while he simultaneously started prepping a fireball spell. That's how far he could push his mental prowess safely without getting his body damaged. Still, he was able to create, maintain and replenish 20 barriers while he pumped a ball of fire hiding behind him full of mana.
The defenders were prepared. Their attacks were numerous, but that's all. They weren't magical attacks and they weren't focused, or else he wouldn't have stood any chance whatsoever. The dungeon had placed a limit on its attackers but that limit also works on the defenders. The angels couldn't use powers and abilities above the vitality core stage.
That didn't mean there weren't angels currently prepping their spells, it was just slow. If their spells had been prepared and fired. That would have sealed the fate of any attacker as they carpet-bombed the portal into the dungeon with spells. But it would be too late now for it to be effective on Soverick.
The entrance of the dungeon isn't located in the center of the army. It is instead located within a tunnel. It limits how much of the angelic host is to be faced upon entry into the dungeon but it also limits the choices of the invaders. They won't be able to run or hide, they will have to face the attacks here and now.
If the invaders get lucky somehow, the tunnel limits the number of reinforcements the attackers can accumulate even if they succeed in getting a foothold within the dungeon. Like a sage once said, when you make plans, plan for the failure of your plans. The gods had planned for everything, even their failure.
It would have worked seamlessly had Soverick been a normal vitality core stage refiner. But he wasn't at all. He was a wolf among sheep. He could face a hundred of his peers and demolish them. To try and limit him by the rules that bound his peers is foolish.
He came through the portal in the tunnel like a bull and ran straight for the army. He didn't stay in place to defend. No, he took the fight to the enemy. Standing still will make him an easier target and staying close to the entrance will make his reinforcements also endure the attacks. His job was to prevent the reinforcements from being decimated as soon as they enter the dungeon.
So he took the entire attention of the defending army and focused it on himself, away from the portal. He leaped and swerved through the attacks. He knocked the ones he couldn't dodge aside and the ones that he couldn't knock aside slammed against his barrier. His barriers shattered but he replenished them immediately.
His vision was blurred because of the multiple stacks of his barriers. He had used barriers that can only defend against physical attacks because that is what he will need for now. His divine sense helped him to patch up the lax in his perception. He was like an unstoppable comet as he raced towards the army. He crossed 30 meters in mere split seconds.
The defending angels were indeed prepared, but they were not ready for him. They had attacked before he entered fully but he was on them before they could blink. No vitality core stage refiner can accelerate that fast. They were unprepared as he slammed into their front lines. One moment he was at the portal, the next he was in contact with the defenders.
There was a muffled boom, then the front lines disintegrated. The angels at the front line had defensive shields but they were energy constructs. Their bodies couldn't withstand the momentum that slammed into them. The force of the collision ripped through their existence like a hot knife through butter. They would have broken their arms had they been made of flesh and blood.
The opening in their defense was what Soverick needed. It was like the farmer left the door to the chicken coop unlocked. It wasn't intentional, the farmer must have forgotten about it, but the wolf will appreciate the oversight nonetheless. They were not prepared for him, it wasn't intentional, he is beyond extraordinary after all. But he will appreciate their oversight nonetheless.
Soverick entered the army and began decimating them. He swung his spear like a club as he steamrolled through the army. Everywhere he went through, angels disintegrated. Their bodies broke down into flashes of light and energy. They might as well be fragile ceramics and he is a wrecking ball. A simple clash with him is a clash they don't return from. The energy released when they break apart wound its way into Soverick's body which made him smile.
"This is what I came here for."
The angels were figures of light. They had a similar appearance to battle sage monkeys except that they had wings and wore celestial armor. They were also organized into an ordered army. If the vitality core stage refiners had attacked them as a mob then they will be decimated by the coordinated attacks of the angels. But their coordinated defense wasn't working on Soverick.
First, the physical attacks came. But Soverick had a strong defense. He was also fast enough to dodge most of them. They knew an invader was coming so they prepared. They didn't expect the invader to be so fast so their preparation came too late. Still, they didn't falter. Two seconds into the battle, their magical attacks were ready.
"What are you going to do now?" He laughed as he killed to his heart's content.
He was already deep within the army. Magical attacks will not be able to differentiate between friends and enemies. If they choose to attack him then they will also damage the army. The angelic host did not hesitate. They attacked Soverick with a hail of celestial magical attacks.
'Too bad.' he said before he began to switch his mana barrier into ones that will block magical attacks instead of physical attacks.
Magical barriers only block magical attacks but they do it very well. Physical barriers do the same but for physical attacks. These two barriers are beyond what vitality core stage refiners are capable of because of the complexity of their structures. What a vitality core stage refiner should be able to perform is the mana barrier, a multipurpose shield. But Soverick is an anomaly.
He remained unconcerned as a rain of attacks assailed him. How do you nail a fast target with a projectile? In the case of a concentrated ranged attack, like an arrow, you have to anticipate the position of the target and it needs perfect accuracy. In the case of a broad attack, accuracy requirements will be lenient but the damage will not be focused. Of course, there's a third option, you can use a ranged attack that can track the target. The army doesn't have the third option. If they go with the first option then they will surely miss.
So they went with the second option but it wasn't effective against their opponent. Soverick was still roaming the battlefield killing as he went by. The magical attacks wiped out those around him so he ventured deeper into the canyon, into the heart of the army. The attacks were spread out and he could replenish his shield faster than it was being shredded. No normal vitality core stage refiner can do that. So yet again, their plan failed.
He was a single attacker against a thousand defenders. It was the thousand defenders that caved and made way for him.