"In that case, let’s see whose strike is stronger."
Such a sentence should have been impossible for anyone to hear.
After all, Ottar stood some distance away from the others, almost in the opposite direction, and he had not spoken loudly, so naturally, no one should have been able to hear it.
Yet for some reason, Riezel felt certain that he had indeed heard those words.
"Let’s see whose strike is stronger... huh?"
Riezel stopped moving, his figure emerging from the lightning bolt, and once again descended to the ground, coming to a stop before Phryne, which placed him directly opposite Ottar, with Phryne standing between them.
In that instant, their gazes seemed to pierce through space and Phryne’s obstruction, meeting in midair.
"GAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Unaware of all this, the transformed Phryne continued to roar in pain and fury as she struggled to rise.
"Strike eternally, immortal general of lightning."
Seeing this, Hedin calmly chanted his magic.
"Varian Hildr!"
In the next instant, a massive bolt of lightning, shaped like a spear, was released from Hedin and struck Phryne’s body.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous explosion, the lightning spear blasted away Phryne’s shoulder, sending one of her arms—along with her flesh axe—flying, while violent currents of lightning rampaged across her body, writhing like countless serpents.
Hedin Selland, whom Riveria had evaluated as surpassing herself in total mind capacity, magical energy control, and magic range—and who could stand as her equal—was a mage known by the alias Hildrsleif, specializing entirely in lightning-attribute magic.
In terms of raw attack power, he might not match Riveria, but his offensive lightning magic was so formidable that the gods believed that, as long as his mind did not run dry, he could fight ten thousand alone.
Notably, the ’ten thousand’ here did not refer to ordinary people, but to adventurers who had received Falna.
For that reason, even if he was inferior to Riveria, Hedin’s magical attack power remained immensely potent. Blowing away half of Phryne’s body in a single strike was only to be expected.
"AAARGGGGGGG—!!!"
Phryne let out a pained howl and fell into a frenzy.
*Swish!*
In that instant, Hogni moved like a streak of brilliant sword light, darting to her front.
"By the power of the demon blade, bring eternal destruction."
He leaped high, reaching the level of Phryne’s abdomen, and extended his hand toward her.
"Burn Dain!"
At nearly point-blank range, Hogni raised both hands and unleashed an explosive burst of flames.
*BOOM!*
In an instant, the blazing explosion struck Phryne’s body, blasting her side abdomen completely open.
What Hogni had used was an ultra-short-range offensive magic.
Its area of effect was limited, but its power was exceptionally high—clearly a magic specialized for destructive force. If struck, even a wall of adamantite embedded with magic stones would likely have a section blown apart.
Riveria had once remarked that this dark elf possessed exceptional swordsmanship, but his magic lacked sufficient attack power. However, judging by the destructive force of this magic, even if it could not deliver a decisive blow, it was more than capable of blasting away, or even annihilating, anything below a First-Class Adventurer.
After all, what counted as ’insufficient attack power’ depended on the comparison. Against someone like Riveria, whose magic transcended levels, it naturally fell short, but compared to ordinary adventurers, it was more than adequate.
Of course, compared to his magic, what truly astonished people about him was his masterful swordsmanship—something his magical race should not have been able to achieve.
In fact, the intricacy of his swordsmanship was such that even Riezel, who had mastered multiple Breathing Styles and could be considered highly accomplished in swordsmanship, could not help but take notice.
Orario’s two most ferocious magic swordsmen successively displayed overwhelming power, forcing Phryne, who had transformed into a Demi Spirit, into a steady retreat.
Naturally, the pallum quadruplets, the Gulliver Brothers, joined the fray as well.
Like four intertwining streams of light, they darted around Phryne, their weapons flashing out from time to time—not in chaotic strikes, but in precise coordination, each mindful of the others’ positions, executing joint attacks that demonstrated a combined effect greater than the sum of their parts.
Unlike Hedin and Hogni, these four pallums did not possess powerful magic, nor did they have the overwhelming strength or speed of Ottar and Allen.
Once the battle began, they relied entirely on their seamless coordination, yet it was precisely this flawless coordination that allowed these four Level 5 pallums to exhibit combat power comparable to—or even exceeding—that of a Level 6. When entangled by all four of them, even Phryne could do nothing but rage helplessly.
"Tch... no way we’re letting those Freya Familia bastards steal the spotlight! Tiona! We’re going too!"
"Coming, coming!"
At last, Tione and Tiona reacted.
In the next instant, the two of them shot forward together, slashing at Phryne with their weapons.
As for Gareth, he still stood alone at the very front, yet his attention had long since been drawn to two individuals.
===
"..."
Standing firm upon the battlefield, the aura emanating from Ottat began to change imperceptibly, and even his appearance started to shift.
His pupils twisted, becoming as sharp as fangs.
His expression grew savage, like that of a beast.
At this moment, the overwhelming sense of presence he exuded transformed into a terrifying, ominous aura.
In that single moment, he became a beast.
Beastification.
It was an ability that appeared only among a select few types of beast-humans.
As long as certain conditions were met, those specific beast-humans could release the beastly instincts and power hidden within their bodies. While becoming more ferocious, their physical strength would surge dramatically.
When such beast-humans received Falna, this ability would awaken as a skill.
For the beast-human race, this was an extremely valuable skill, capable of overturning gaps in combat power between allies and enemies, granting explosive growth in strength.
A beast-human race like werewolves, to which Bete belonged, was one of the rare races among beast-humans capable of Beastification. As long as they bathed in moonlight, they could activate this skill, gaining physical capabilities that surpassed all other races—so much so that some had exaggeratedly claimed that no race could stand against a werewolf under the moon.
Without exaggeration, once Bete entered Beastification, under equal levels, even Ais using Ariel might not be his match.
Beastification was a skill with exceptional, rule-breaking effects, like Ais’s Ariel.
Unfortunately, the activation conditions for werewolves’ Beastification were too strict—it required moonlight, so on nights without a moon, it became a useless skill that could not be activated at all.
And in the Dungeon, there was no moon, nor any moonlight, so Bete rarely had the opportunity to use Beastification.
However, compared to a werewolf, Ottar, as a boaz, faced no such restrictions, because his Beastification required neither specific timing nor location—its activation conditions were entirely unrestricted.
In other words, Ottar could undergo Beastification and strengthen himself anytime, anywhere.
Moreover, his Beastification was not something ordinary beast-humans could compare to—its power was in no way inferior to that of the werewolves, who were said to be strongest under the moon.
In truth, this was Ottar’s trump card, and the fundamental reason why Riezel had previously believed that Ottar would not be inferior to Level 8 and could likewise challenge opponents beyond his level.
Before leveling up, Ottar had already been infinitely close to Level 8.
At that time, once he activated Beastification, he could naturally rival a Level 8.
Now that Ottar had reached Level 8, activating Beastification caused his already immense power to surge to a level so terrifying that it made one’s heart tremble. It was certain that an ordinary Level 8 could not possibly be a match for him in his current state.
But...
"Still not enough."
Muttering this, Ottar suppressed the ferocity brought about by Beastification and raised the greatsword in his hand.
"Silver moon’s mercy, the golden wilderness. This body is destined for the wild boar of the war."
He began to chant the only magic he could use.
"Run through, carry the goddess’s will—"
"Hildis Vini."
As the chant concluded, a golden radiance appeared upon the greatsword in Ottar’s hand.
Violent magical energy enveloped the surface of the greatsword, shining so brilliantly that it gave the illusion that the blade itself had expanded, as though the weapon were clad in the hide of a golden boar.
He had once used this magic to bring the Monster Rex Balor to the brink of death.
He had once used this magic to defeat another Level 7 adventurer.
Its effect was singular—enhancement of strength.
A pure, straightforward, and explicit amplification of STR, similar in nature to enhancement magic such as Draconic Power and Power of Gaia that Riezel had used before, yet surpassing both in potency.
With this magic activated, combined with Beastification, Ottar entered his strongest state.
===
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Standing before the heavily besieged Phryne, Riezel suddenly took a deep breath, drawing in a large amount of air, causing his breathing rhythm to shift once more.
It became scorching.
It became blazing.
"Alter the old truth, forge a new one—Lost Truth."
First, Riezel activated his modification magic.
"Awaken—Ignis!"
Immediately after, he activated a transcendental enchantment-type magic, imbuing it with the Imaginary attribute and transforming ’Wind’ into ’Flame.’
*BOOM!*
Surging flames erupted from Riezel’s body, yet unlike before—when he used Sun Breathing alone, and the fire burned wildly—this time, the flames draped over him like a thin garment.
*Ka—*
Clad in that garment of flames, Riezel clenched his hand, and at some point, the thin crystal sword he had held vanished, replaced by a black sword radiating intense heat.
As he drew the flame-wreathed black sword from its sheath, a vortex of flames surged forth.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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