Seeing the general sent flying, Dibius wanted to cover the others and press the unified assault, but he soon realized that the Divine Soldiers had gone berserk. Their previous speed and power had already been jaw-dropping, yet now they had transformed into even more bloodthirsty war machines.
Grom
With this sword, it might not be impossible.
There were only three enemies before them.
They didn’t seem all that different from the surviving suits of armor earlier—merely sprouting white robes, looking far more spirited and brimming with battle instincts. Even their ordinary knight helmets had morphed into the shape of holy knight helms etched with crosses. But clustered together like that, they were indistinguishable from a bunch of jittery cult fanatics.
And then, those three Divine Soldiers actually spoke.
“Kill?”
“Confirmed.”
“No threat. Weak as ants.”
It was as if they were debating some weighty matter, standing atop the small hill with their treasure swords plunged into the ground, utterly disdainful of the incoming attack.
Dibius, hovering in midair, widened his eyes in disbelief.
They were speaking? That voice—was it really so different from those lifeless puppets driven purely by programming? No, it was more like living people who had gained the ability to speak, though not entirely fluently.
But that wasn’t what shocked the baron most.
“Dibius!”
“Watch out—!”
Spotting the two remaining Divine Soldiers standing firm on the hill, he already knew what was coming.
He strained to climb higher into the sky, his companions’ shouts echoing from behind. That meant the enemy hadn’t broken the sound barrier.
Bang—!
Dibius twisted his body midair. The moment he sensed the danger, his battle instincts kicked in, letting him flip at an impossible angle to evade the attack. Even so, the greatsword clipped him, its immense force sending Grom flying from his loosened grip as he hurtled hundreds of meters away.
From above? A mere leap was enough to nullify our flight advantage?!
The assault didn’t let up. Ignoring the numb agony in his arm from the overwhelming power and the blood gushing from the gash on his left shoulder, Dibius was blasted another hundred meters, tumbling across the dust-choked ground.
“Leave the rest to us.”
“You… General, and Vice General…”
When he opened his eyes, two young women were waving at him.
Just before he hit the dirt, the newly arrived medical team had caught him with magic and eased his fall. Now they were unfurling their wings, ready to carry him away from the battlefield.
“Please be careful, cough… They’re really strong. They have their own thoughts.”
“Go on back and rest.”
“Yes…”
At the same time, the two shortswords at her sides were drawn—one blue, one red, trailing sword qi like a pair of living peacocks. One held in a forward grip, the other reversed, blue and red weaving together in a flawless sword flower before she charged ahead…
Sophia gripped her scythe tightly and followed close behind. The two of them alighted atop a ruined structure not far from the hill. A gust of wind swept through the swirling dust, tousling their long hair—one white, one red—framing the vivid faces amid this barren wasteland.
They locked eyes with the Divine Soldiers ahead, and those beings infused with the power of the Light Emissaries continued in their emotionless voices:
“Trivial. Can kill.”
“Threat: medium. Must eliminate.”
“Clear.”
Sophia let out a sigh, but her gaze softened as she turned to Setra with a smile. “We’re being underestimated, Setra. Let’s show them what we’ve got!”
“If you can’t keep up with my rhythm, don’t go dying on me, okay?”
“What’re you saying? You’re the little girl who’s only lived a few decades!”
Setra flourished her treasure swords. Taking advantage of the Divine Soldiers’ scattered positions, she lunged at the one in front. Her twin blades crossed like a crucifix, one red and one blue sword qi surging forward like a merciless sandstorm.
And that was just the beginning.
Setra shifted her stance with a flap of her wings. The instant her single foot touched down for leverage, her arm shattered the sound barrier. She spun sideways, unleashing two even swifter arcs of sword qi that followed like they were peeling an apple, slicing the ground’s furrows smooth and leaving perfect cross-sections in their wake.
The Divine Soldier raised his sword to block horizontally, but the two blasts of qi struck from unpredictable upper and lower angles, impossible to fully defend against. In the end, he had no choice but to take the hit with his body.
Some of the soldiers who had fallen back erupted in cheers at the sight. It was one of General Setra’s signature techniques—one that had confounded and defeated countless subordinates with its deceptive swordplay.
To everyone’s surprise, when the red and blue explosion faded away, all that was left were a few inconspicuous cracks on the armor. The milky white sheen still left onlookers at a loss for what to do. The Divine Soldier wouldn’t be brought down by such a simple attack.
It burst out from the smoke and dust of the explosion, charging toward Setra like a golden cannonball rocketing into the sky.
“Soul Tier Layer 5? Heh, it certainly has an oppressive presence. Could it be an avatar split off from one of the Gods?”
“But if you think you can get close to me, you’ve made a terrible mistake!”
Setra clasped her hands together. In the next instant, her red and blue dual blades merged into a two-handed purple greatsword. The powerful aura radiating from it was no weaker than Grom’s—in fact, it surpassed it.
“Dance!”
Her goal was close-quarters combat. From this moment on, this was her domain.
“And don’t forget about me!”
Sophia plummeted from the sky, swinging her scythe as she and Setra formed a pincer attack, striking the Divine Soldier from two different angles.
The Divine Soldier tried to pull off the same trick again, but it had no effect.
Setra’s purple treasured sword floated around her body. It didn’t need her arms to support it.
Knocking away Setra’s weapon was thus impossible. The moment the Divine Soldier realized this, it spotted the crimson scythe hurtling toward its head.
“Bang—!”
The clash of the three forces triggered a massive explosion. Setra and Sophia were sent flying backward before landing on the ground.
“As expected, this thing is still no easy kill,” Sophia sighed. Before the Divine Soldier’s armor—now covered in even more cracks—could burst out of the smoke, she noticed Setra’s trembling hands and couldn’t help but marvel.
It was too hard.
Hitting it felt no different from an ant trying to shake a tree.
“And why… why haven’t the other two Divine Soldiers made a move?” Setra asked, somewhat out of breath. At the same time, the Divine Soldier she’d been fighting emerged from the smoke caused by the massive explosion. It casually shook its arm, sending dust cascading off the armor.
“Stronger enemy detected. Supreme evil sensed. Prepare to retreat…”
Indeed, it wasn’t because of their arrogance, nor had they simply failed to act against Sophia and the others in time.
The other two Divine Soldiers were already too busy dealing with their own problems.
They lifted their heads and gazed up at the Dragon Girl, who lounged in midair with her legs crossed, chuckling lightly.
“Threat level… unable to detect…”
“What, planning to run?”
At that moment, the Dragon Girl spoke.
“You’ve harmed my kin. Stay and die.”
