Golden light gradually rose from Viktor's body, faint golden glimmers flashing in his eyes.
As his aura circulated, the surrounding air began to tremble nonstop, spreading outward like ripples on water.
Feeling the power constantly flowing through his body, Viktor experienced an unprecedented sense of comfort.
[Viktor: Clavenna]
[Lv: 43 → Lv: 45[Level-up status in progress. Remaining time: 1:59:50]
[HP: 16000 + 5000]
[Equipment: Gaia/21000]
[MP: 17500/19000]
A stat spread where HP exceeded MP by such a margin was hard to imagine appearing on a mage.
He carefully sensed his lightened body. In terms of attributes, almost every aspect had been enhanced.
It was roughly the equivalent of a two-level increase.
Adding in the experience he had accumulated before, he could temporarily reach level 45 stats through this ability.
This was Madam Cassandra's ability, [Upgrade].
Only now, it belonged to Vega.
Even the power of the Inheritance Temple could be stolen by Vega.
Madam Cassandra's ability was nothing more than a gift passed down from her thin sacred bloodline.
The warriors watched Viktor's steadily rising presence and trembled uncontrollably.
The man standing before them had already been terrifyingly strong, how powerful would he become under Madam Cassandra's [Upgrade]?
They didn't even dare to imagine it.
Viktor didn't care what the warriors were thinking. He turned around and looked at Elsa lying on the ground.
He bent down, reached out with one hand, grabbed Elsa by the chin, and forcibly lifted her head.
Seeing the humiliation, hatred, and unwillingness intertwined on her face, his heart remained utterly unmoved.
"So what are you still struggling for, Elsa?"
Viktor's demonic voice echoed in her ears, striking her psychological defenses step by step.
"Are you going to sacrifice yourself to save everyone here?"
"Or…"
"Let everyone here be buried along with you?"
As soon as his words fell, the gate suddenly opened.
Another group of warriors rushed in from outside.
They were well-equipped, their bodies wrapped in various steel armors flowing with magic, and in their hands they held firearms shimmering with light.
Aurelian couldn't understand these strange weapons at all. She could only watch as the warriors gathered nearby and aimed those pitch-black muzzles at Viktor.
A burly man clad in incomplete armor slowly walked in.
He was the guard from outside earlier, his body likewise radiating an extremely powerful fourth-tier aura.
Blood energy slowly seeped out from his body, his physique swelling slightly, looking exactly like a wild beast.
Two powerful presences collided, causing the surrounding air to bend slightly.
Soon, his gaze swept around.
The first group of warriors who had rushed in as reinforcements were all sprawled on the ground, like puppets that had lost control, completely embedded in the earth.
Madam Cassandra's eyes were vacant as she knelt there, utterly dazed.
Elsa, too, was being held up by Viktor gripping her chin with one hand, as if being forced.
Seeing this, the man understood what had happened.
He looked at Viktor, a faint aura of a powerhouse emanating from him.
"Viktor Clavenna, your crimes are unforgivable! Why don't you surrender immediately!"
He waved his large hand, and his subordinates in fine armor immediately went on alert. Blue fluorescent light flowed along their guns.
"Do you want to taste what it's like to be riddled with holes?!"
Viktor didn't turn around, only casting a cold sideways glance at the warriors behind him who were ready to fire.
"It seems they didn't give you a chance to save them."
He released his hand, letting Elsa slump helplessly back into the mud.
Under the faintly trembling golden light, the cloak on his body ignited, fierce flames stabbing toward the sky as red patterns gradually lit up.
Those red patterns crawled up from his skin, over his shoulders and neck, and reached the area around his eyes.
"Then there's no need for me to keep playing around with you."
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly shocking aura erupted with scorching heat, filling the entire space.
Before Viktor could even turn around, the fourth-tier warrior sensed incomparable danger. His eyes widened as he shouted orders to the soldiers, "Quick! Launch the attack!"
The moment his words fell, countless soldiers pulled their triggers. Towering blue muzzle flashes flickered violently.
Endless bullets mixed with faint magical light. Hot air and magic intertwined, creating an oppressive heaviness.
Blue bullets traced smooth arcs through the air, streaking at high speed toward Viktor.
Yet Viktor merely waved his hand casually.
A wall of flames rose from the ground out of thin air, stopping in front of him.
The instant the blue bullets touched the fire wall, they were completely burned into powder and dispersed into the air.
But the warriors didn't stop firing. Whether out of fear or excitement, they only grew more frenzied.
Even the speed of reloading increased noticeably.
Muzzle flashes continued to flicker. The assault never paused.
Aurelian crouched behind Viktor, covering her ears with both hands.
Yet even with her ears covered, the thunderous noise kept pouring in.
Shock and confusion rose in her heart, leaving Aurelian utterly lost.
'What kind of weapon is that?'
Finally, the thick wall of flames seemed about to dissipate.
The warriors looked as though they had glimpsed a sliver of hope. Even the commander became wildly excited, shouting, "Keep firing! He won't hold much longer!"
A storm of bullets surged toward the fire wall, with no concern for ammunition consumption whatsoever.
However, the flames that seemed ready to fade instead acted like a wall of sighs, blocking every single projectile.
They simply couldn't break through.
Only Viktor's voice sounded calmly from behind the fire wall.
"And this is supposed to be firepower?"
As his words fell, Viktor finally moved.
One hand slipped into his pocket as he turned slightly sideways. The other hand lifted, forming the shape of a pistol.
Tiny sparks flickered at his fingertips.
A complex red magic array began forming rapidly in midair. Its exquisite, intricate, and harmonious patterns gradually connected, forming an extremely precise array.
Energy began gathering toward the center of the array as sparks converged.
The flame trembling at the center grew more violent, faster and faster.
The surrounding air began to ripple. Sparks scattered, as if the power could no longer be contained.
Elsa lifted her head. Being the closest, the sense of danger she felt was even more intense.
Suddenly, her eyes widened and she shouted desperately, "Viktor! I agree..."
"Too late."
A voice of despair echoed in Elsa's ears, cutting off her final words.
She stared blankly at the light gathering at Viktor's fingertip, dazed, as if she heard... A cold, indifferent whisper.
"Bang."
As the word fell, a streak of golden fire shot from Viktor's fingertip, like flame surging from a gun barrel.
With a violent sonic boom, in an instant, an extremely savage red light burst forth like a sun, covering the entire space.
A blazing pillar of fire surged forward like a ferocious beast, charging at the enemy.
Flames danced wildly.
Seeing this overwhelmingly powerful magic, the commander's eyes nearly split as he shouted orders at the top of his lungs, "Defend! Defend now!"
Countless soldiers rushed to the front, pulling out shields flowing with blue magic from their backs and raising them before themselves.
Blue light gradually linked them together as an azure energy barrier slowly rose from the ground.
[Blue Array Interception]
The warriors roared in unison. The massive barrier seemed to withstand the surging flames.
But the very next second, the violent inferno, carrying endless energy, completely swallowed the barrier.
Raging flames enveloped them, crackling with terrifying sounds.
Blinding white heat, like a nuclear explosion, engulfed everyone present.
[Flame Severance's Wrath]
The surrounding ruins were illuminated by the inferno. Smoke and dust filled the air as the enemy's screams abruptly ceased.
Only Viktor remained standing within the reddish-brown glow, flames reflected in his eyes like the dance of fire spirits.
From a safe position, Aurelian and Elsa witnessed everything.
At that moment, only shock remained in their hearts.
War magic.
They had never seen a single mage who could, alone and so calmly, unleash such powerful war magic.
Elsa's face was covered in ash as she stared in awe at the flames still rolling forward.
One thought filled her mind completely.
Reverence.
At last, the firelight gradually faded.
The red patterns on Viktor's body slowly calmed as well. His coat returned to its original color, dimming and fluttering in the wind.
He stood composedly before the massive pillar of fire, his finger still pointing toward the enemy's direction, as if declaring the arrival of Viktory.
The fire pillar slowly dispersed.
And the warriors who had stood at the front were long gone, erased by the relentless flames.
Large amounts of firearms had melted under the blaze, red-hot molten metal pooling on the ground. Even human bodies had completely vaporized.
The seemingly invincible barrier had only absorbed a portion of the damage from that spell.
Many warriors still had the upper halves of their bodies, scorched and bloody.
But their lower halves had turned to ash in the flames, scattering as sparks.
They were already dead, only half a corpse remained.
The warriors who had been bound by Viktor had just broken free, only to be completely engulfed by a violent blaze, meeting a glorious end.
Not even a single intact bone remained.
Only the fourth-tier leader was left, his entire body burned by flames, barely clinging to life.
Viktor walked toward him step by step.
He looked at him with utterly cold eyes.
The man didn't even have time to beg.
The next second, a small flame flew from Viktor's palm onto his body, gradually devouring his last trace of life.
Viktor turned around, no longer looking at the warrior who had become ashes.
Instead, he looked at Elsa, whose mind had been completely overtaken by fear.
His voice sounded cold and indifferent.
"One last chance."
"Swear loyalty, or..."
"Be buried with them."