In everyone's mind, there was no doubt that Riezel had won this fight.
Because the effect of Haruhime's Uchide no Kozuchi lasted only fifteen minutes, barely enough to sustain a single fight, when Riezel stopped Argana's cold and relentless barrage of punches and dragged her out of the shattered pit, the strongest amazoness of Telskyura was already covered in blood and had lost consciousness, with the particles of light on her body having completely vanished.
*Thud!*
Riezel threw the blood-stained Argana in front of the members of the Kali Familia as if she were nothing of importance, causing them to stiffen.
Meanwhile, the members of the Loki Familia immediately gathered around, surrounding everyone from the Kali Familia.
"Told ya so, didn't I? Shorty!"
Loki strode forward with an exaggerated swagger, chin raised high, and mocked Kali.
"So, got anything else to say now?"
Finn rested his spear on his shoulder as he addressed Kali and the others.
Now, the surrounding members of the Loki Familia all wore hostile expressions.
Especially Tiona and Tione—although these sisters had complicated emotions, as they looked at the surrounding members of the Kali Familia, they still revealed expressions of long-awaited vengeance.
"You had it coming! Argana!"
Tione rudely spat at Argana, earning a sharp glare from Riveria.
"I told you already, Bache! Riezel's really strong!"
Tiona called out to Bache, not with outright arrogance but with a sense of pride, as though she had proven that the path she chose was the right one.
"…Tiona."
Bache looked at Tiona with an equally complicated expression, but she still stepped forward, shielding Kali behind her while watching the members of the Loki Familia with vigilance.
As for Kali, she looked at the blood-stained and unconscious Argana and let out a sigh, as if it were unclear whether she felt disappointment or acceptance.
"It seems the child on my side is still a bit too early to reach for the summit of the world."
Hearing Kali's words, Loki showed no sympathy and instead sneered.
"Someone like you, a goddess who only ever thinks about entertaining herself, doesn't know jack shit about raisin' kids. If you know what's good for you, you'd better just surrender already!"
Clearly, neither Loki nor Finn and the others had any intention of letting Kali and the Kali Familia go.
It could not be helped.
They had gone too far—kidnapping Tiona and Tione, barging into Orario without restraint, and abducting members of the Loki Familia.
Needless to say, such acts had enraged everyone in the Loki Familia.
Even if the hostages had already been exchanged, the Loki Familia would still have sought retaliation. If they could be bullied like this and remain indifferent, then what right would they have to call themselves the strongest familia in Orario?
They might as well switch to being a profit-driven, business-type familia instead.
Of course…
"I can accept defeat, but I truly do not wish to fall into the hands of a flat-chested goddess like you."
Even with the situation already dire, Kali still provoked Loki.
"Who the hell are you calling flat, you little shrimp?!"
Loki's anger exploded on the spot, and she even abandoned her own familia children as she lunged at Kali alone.
"Loki!"
"Watch out!"
"Moron!"
Anakitty, Raul, and Bete shouted in shock.
"Not a chance!"
Bache, who stood in front of Kali, immediately moved, her arm shooting out like a snake with a flick of her hair, biting toward Loki.
However, almost at the same instant, Bache's expression changed, and she abruptly dodged to the side.
*Whoosh!*
A fist grazed past her, striking the spot where she had been standing just a moment before.
"You…"
Bache stared with extreme seriousness at the person who had appeared before her.
"You think you still can resist?"
Riezel shifted his gaze to Bache, stating the fact in a calm tone.
Bache did not respond, but after a brief silence, she suddenly dashed straight toward Riezel.
"Di Asla! (Devour them!)"
Without any hesitation, Bache, in the amazoness language, activated the only magic she possessed—Velgus.
Velgus was an ultra-short-chant magic, just like Ariel.
As soon as the chant completed, a black-purple film of light, viscous and writhing, resembling a sinister swamp, appeared over Bache's hands, looking even more like a curse than Argana's Kalima.
But in truth, it was a very orthodox magic—an enchant-type magic like Ariel.
The attribute added by Ariel was wind.
The attribute added by Velgus was poison.
As soon as it touched an enemy's body, it would immediately inflict a fierce and deadly poison.
If Argana was a python that fed on others' blood, then Bache was a venomous insect that took lives, since Velgus's poison was so potent that it could even ignore high-rank Abnormal Resistance. Even the slightest contact would infect the opponent with deadly poison and cause intense suffering.
With such deadly poison in hand, Bache fearlessly rushed before Riezel, her right hand covered in the black-purple film, roaring as she struck toward his face.
"Hm, this move, huh?"
Riezel's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not take the poisonous strike, as his figure quickly shifted, retreating swiftly backward.
"Riezel Brynhart!"
Seeing this, a fighting spirit appeared in Bache's usually indifferent eyes, showing that the amazoness within her had awakened. Even though she knew she was no match, when faced with a warrior so powerful that it made her feel suffocated, what she felt first was not fear or unease, but a burning excitement.
"A brave warrior even Argana couldn't defeat—if you can, come and bring me down!"
Bache cast aside her usual taciturn demeanor, transforming into a blazing fighter as she charged toward Riezel.
Riezel did not reply and simply watched as Bache rushed toward him, then engaged her in combat.
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"
As Riezel and Bache clashed, the amazonesses of Telskyura no longer stood by—one after another, they shouted and charged at the surrounding members of the Loki Familia.
Having long waited for this moment, the members of the Loki Familia met the amazonesses of the Kali Familia head-on without hesitation, and a fierce battle broke out.
In an instant, the two familias descended into a chaotic melee, an all-out brawl erupting across the battlefield.
"Get lost, you bunch of small fry!"
Bete finally stopped holding back as he charged into the crowd of amazonesses like a ferocious war wolf, sending them flying with one kick after another.
"…Sorry."
Ais also rushed into the fray, but instead of drawing her sword, she wielded Riezel's Fool and struck with the sheathed blade, knocking down Telskyura's amazonesses on the spot.
Even Raul and Anakitty led the second strings and those below into the fight, clashing fiercely with the savage amazonesses of Telskyura.
Only Finn, Riveria, and Gareth did not move.
A closer look would reveal that although they did not act, they remained fully focused on their surroundings.
Clearly, the three of them were on guard, watching for enemies who might be hiding in the shadows and could strike at any moment.
As for Tiona and Tione, the two of them also did not make a move.
"Hahh... maybe I should just stop fighting..."
Although she was still upset about being kidnapped, as Tiona watched her former homeland companions fall to the ground one after another, she gradually lost her strength as well and let out a listless sigh.
"Hmph."
Tione, no longer as furious as before, glanced silently at the blood-stained Argana and the kins who were falling unwillingly one after another, then snorted coldly and turned her head away.
However, even without Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, and Tione making a move, the battle had already become one-sided.
Telskyura might have been a world-level force, not like other countries or factions, where reaching Level 3 was considered the peak, but compared to the Loki Familia, it was still far inferior.
In the past, the Kali Familia had four Level 5s, but those four had already undergone ritual duels in pairs, making two who had fallen, while the other two had successfully leveled up through deadly combat.
Argana and Bache had risen to Level 6 in this way.
In other words, aside from Argana and Bache, the remaining amazonesses of the Kali Familia reached at most Level 4.
Even though these Level 4s were highly skilled in combat, having accumulated exceptionally rich experience in human combat and an astonishing murderous aura through countless rituals, they were still no match for Bete and Ais, the two Level 6s, or Raul and Anakitty, the two Level 5s. Not to mention that even the second strings of the Loki Familia were all Level 4.
As a result, the amazonesses of Telskyura were continuously struck down—some lost consciousness, while others lay on the ground groaning.
It was worth noting that Telskyura's amazonesses were extremely fierce, as even after being knocked to the ground, as long as they had not lost consciousness or their lives, they would struggle to stand up as if burning their very life force. Even when facing First-Class Adventurers like Ais and Bete, they would glare back viciously and charge forward with angry roars.
It was understandable, considering that for them, who regularly conducted those deadly rituals, defeat meant death, after all.
Consequently, they had grown accustomed to fighting desperately.
As long as they had not lost consciousness, they would exert every ounce of strength in their bodies, charging at their enemies in order to survive.
Facing such a group of ferocious female warriors, even some members of the Loki Familia's second strings ended up injured due to carelessness.
"Quit holding back already, you dumbasses!"
Seeing this, Bete became extremely irritated.
"All these dumb amazonesses won't show mercy! If you don't wanna die, then fight for real!"
After being harshly scolded by Bete, the members of the Loki Familia finally hardened their resolve as they stopped holding back and began knocking the charging amazonesses unconscious one by one.
Of course, they still could not bring themselves to deliver killing blows.
It should be noted that the Loki Familia was an exploration-type familia, so while they could show no mercy to monsters, when it came to those of humanity, very few of them could bring themselves to kill—unless the opponent was something like Evilus.
Hence, the chaotic melee on the field grew increasingly intense.
To outsiders, it might have looked like two nations' armies clashing, as the scene was somewhat bloody.
"Well... the Loki Familia's the same as always…"
"Telskyura's already crazy strong, but… why'd they gotta go after Loki Familia?"
"Today really opened my eyes. Now I get why Liberator's got that kind of reputation."
"Kinda sucks we didn't get to see his real strength, though."
"Wait… that wasn't even his full strength?"
"What else would it be? Dude's Orario's strongest magic swordsman. Forget magic—he hasn't even pulled out his sword yet. How's that his real strength?"
Just like that, the surrounding spectators began discussing animatedly.
It was certain that, for some time to come, Riezel would once again become a central topic of conversation, mentioned by countless people within Orario.
However, a portion of the spectators noticed something that others had not.
"Hey... did Liberator just use magic?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"Didn't hear any chant."
"And there wasn't any magic circle either."
"Then... what about those quick flashes of magical energy around him when he was fighting that amazoness?"
Indeed, some had noticed that Riezel had used Tier Magic.
Unfortunately, they did not know that those magic spells did not belong to this world and required no chant.
"…Let's go."
On the city wall, Hedin adjusted his glasses and left behind these words.
"Now that the outcome is decided, there's nothing left to watch."
Hogni added this and also turned away.
"As expected, the savage women of that barbaric land are no match for our rivals."
"Well, if they lost, they wouldn't even be worth calling rivals."
"Hmph, that annoying Braver's probably feeling all proud now. So what if he hit Level 7?"
"It's a shame we didn't level up. Otherwise, he wouldn't be walking around all smug like that."
One after another, the pallum quadruplets spoke in various emotions.
After the Loki Familia returned from their expedition, nearly all of their executives had leveled up, so naturally, the executives of the Freya Familia could not help but feel wary, and their presence today was also to observe just how strong the Loki Familia had become after leveling up.
They were unwilling to accept it.
After news spread that nearly all of the Loki Familia's executives had leveled up, they had been stimulated as well and ventured into the Dungeon, attempting to break through their current limits and reach a new realm—but they had failed.
"At this point, only that muscle-headed boar and that stupid cat still haven't come back."
"Wonder if they pulled it off."
"No matter whether they succeed or not, I won't be happy about it."
"Yeah…"
With sour moods, the pallum quadruplets left.
"…Do you think those two will succeed?"
Hogni asked calmly while gazing at the blue sky.
"I don't know..." Hedin replied bluntly, pushing up his glasses. "Whether they succeed or not, I will continue moving forward."
Hogni nodded and said nothing more.
With that, the two elves left together, but at this moment, they did not know that the people they were discussing were already on their way back. Moreover, they would bring news that would leave them unwilling to accept it—news that would leave them behind.
Before long, Orario was destined to be shaken once again.
Not long after the executives of the Freya Familia left, the battle outside Orario gradually came to an end, with no suspense remaining.
In the end, Bache was also defeated by Riezel's hand and fell, resulting in the Kali Familia being completely captured and becoming prisoners of the Loki Familia.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: /VALRRR]