"Impossible!!!"
A gargoyle in the distance let out a shocked screech.
It couldn't understand why the human, once so weak, could now unleash such terrifying power!
The high-level gargoyle, heavily wounded, staggered back, the flame in its eyes dimming rapidly.
How could Raine let such a great opportunity slip by?
Strike when the enemy is weak!
With a forceful push of his foot, Raine closed the distance, moving like a ghost.
The Iron-cutting Blade transformed into a blood-red storm!
Clang!
Clang! Crack!
Each strike hit precisely at the weak joints of the gargoyle!
The blood energy continuously eroded its stone-like body, destroying its internal energy structure!
Raine leapt high into the air, the tip of his blade pointing downward, and with the weight of his fall and the boiling blood energy, he thrust it deeply into the gargoyle's chest!
Whoosh—!
The blade pierced through the gargoyle's body!
The gargoyle's body shuddered violently, its movements coming to an abrupt halt.
The golden flame in its eyes flickered twice before completely extinguishing.
In the next moment, the gargoyle's three-meter-tall stone body began to crack from the head down.
[Killed Formal-Level Gargoyle, bloodstone +780]
A system notification rang out.
Raine knelt on one knee, breathing heavily.
The series of bursts just now seemed like a crushing victory, but in reality, it had consumed an enormous amount of energy.
But it was all worth it!
Meanwhile, Pros and the others, with Old Gore's help, had dealt with the Shadowclaw Beast.
A brief moment of calm settled over the ruins of the blacksmith's shop.
Not only were the alien races stunned by the sudden counterattack, but even Kyle and the others stared in awe at the figure leaning on his sword, panting.
Was this really… Raine?
The same new recruit who had been drenched in sweat at the training camp?
"Haha... hahaha!"
Gore broke the silence first, wiping the blood from his face.
"Good job, kid! Well done! I knew I didn't misjudge you!"
Kyle walked up to Raine and slapped him heavily on the shoulder.
"You really hit the jackpot this time!"
"Hahaha!" Matthew laughed heartily from the side.
Pros silently nodded, but hope sparked in his eyes.
The group silently agreed not to ask Raine what had happened.
For instance, why was he, a Level 3 Trainee, able to slay a Formal 9-level high-level gargoyle?
They only knew one thing: Raine was their comrade, and that was enough!
Not just them, but all the soldiers who had witnessed this battle were now filled with renewed fire after the brief shock!
"Good job!"
"Kill!!!"
It was unclear who shouted first.
Then, as if a chain reaction, countless roars filled with anger and hatred erupted into a deafening roar!
"For our fallen brothers!"
"Slay these alien races!"
"They're just alien races, we'll fight them to the end!!"
The morale of the army surged in an impossible burst thanks to Raine's dose of adrenaline!
The defense line, which had been on the brink of collapse, began to stabilize, and in some places, it even started to push back!
Though individual soldiers' bravery may not decide the battle, in the most desperate moments, it could ignite the collective fighting spirit!
Raine of course heard the increasingly loud cries of slaughter from outside!
He slowly stood up, glancing at Kyle and the others. "Can we still fight?"
"Of course!"
Kyle grinned, despite blood still spilling from his mouth.
"I can still kill at least a hundred more!"
Gore swung his slender sword.
Pros and Matthew silently raised their weapons.
"We'll hold this ruin as our base, and kill more alien races!"
"If we get tired, we'll fall back to rest!"
The five exchanged a determined smile and stepped out of the blacksmith's shop.
Raine's eyes swept over the still numerous alien races around him before he charged back into the enemy ranks.
This time, he was no longer just picking off weak targets.
The Formal 9-level power he now wielded allowed him to crush most of the alien races on this battlefield!
Purple light flickered in his eyes, and large groups of low-level alien races fell into chaos from his Formal-level mental assault!
This created plenty of opportunities for counterattacks from his allies and gave a glimmer of life to those on the brink of death!
With the Iron-cutting Blade in hand, the thick armor of Boulder Beetles was as fragile as paper, the speed of Shadowclaw Beasts slowed in his sight, and Spinepiercer's ranged ambushes were easily avoided.
He became the reaper of the battlefield!
Wherever he went, limbs and severed arms of alien races flew, and the bloodstone notifications rang out constantly in his mind.
[Bloodstone +60, +80, +120, +90, +100…]
Kyle and Gore followed closely behind.
One wove flames across the battlefield, the other moved with treacherous precision.
The three formed a sharp triangle, cutting through gaps in the alien race ranks!
Pros provided cover for Matthew, slaying stray alien races that slipped through.
The situation on the Anvil Village battlefield subtly shifted because of the breakthrough at the blacksmith's shop.
However, this scene also caught the attention of higher-level alien races.
At the top of a shattered tower, a figure appeared quietly.
It had the basic features of a gargoyle, but its body was sleeker, its stone skin glowing with a jade-like luster.
It looked down indifferently at the intense battlefield below, its gaze finally locking onto the dark red figure.
"Interesting... what kind of ability is this? It can sustain this battle for so long?"
"Seems to be a mental ability, is it a dual ability?"
"Potential is considerable, it cannot be allowed to live!"
It lightly raised its hand.
A grayish-white light gathered at its fingertips, and the temperature around it dropped sharply.
This was an Expert-level gargoyle!
It would personally intervene to eliminate this potentially dangerous human soldier.
Just as the gray-white light was about to shoot out...
Whoosh!
A sharp black blade of energy, like a lightning bolt splitting the night, sliced through the tower top!
Clang!
The gray-white light collided with the black blade, both annihilating each other.
Boom—!
The top of the tower was sheared off by the released energy, the falling pieces crashing loudly!
A figure landed on the nearby rooftop, facing the Expert-level gargoyle from afar.
The newcomer wore black combat gear, with a terrifying scar on his face.
In his hand was a straight long sword, its blade as black as ink.
Black Falcon!
As the captain of the Fourth Squadron, he was also an Expert-ranked powerhouse!
"Your opponent is me!"
Black Falcon's voice was resolute and final.
His aura fully exploded, and the gargoyle's eyes flashed with a hint of seriousness, but more of a provoked anger.
"A mere Expert-level 5 dares to block me?"
"Let's see if you can stop me."
Before Black Falcon's words had even finished, he became a shadow, charging toward the top of the broken tower!
A higher-level battle broke out explosively!
Meanwhile, Raine was unaware of this.
The battle between the two powerhouses had long surpassed his ability to perceive.
He was currently immersed in the exhilaration of unleashing his power and reaping lives, his eyes flashing with purple light as he remained vigilant of his comrades' safety and the changing tides of battle.
[Bloodstone +50, Bloodstone +80, Bloodstone +100…]
But time was passing quickly.
[Duration: 32 minutes and 15 seconds… 14 seconds…]
I must move faster!
I need to kill as many alien races as I can before my power fades to lighten the pressure on my comrades!
Not far away, a Formal-level high gargoyle was engaged in a fierce battle with several veterans.
Raine's purple light flared up!
"It's you!"
...
Black Falcon's battle with the Expert-level gargoyle was intense.
Every clash between blade and stone energy exploded with deafening booms and dazzling flashes of light, impossible to ignore even amidst the chaos.
An Expert-level confrontation—just the aftermath was enough to flatten nearby buildings.
This gave an inkling of how terrifying battles between Masters, or even Grandmasters, on the battlefield would be!
Master-level Aaron and Roderick were fighting a Grandmaster-level gargoyle lord, struggling but not yet defeated.
In this deadlock, the fate of the battle no longer depended on the confrontation of top-tier powerhouses.
Raine's team's explosive performance rippled through the entire army.
New recruits were infected by the crazy drive to fight, while veterans felt a deep sense of honor.
Various emotions burned fiercely, causing this once struggling team to unleash a fighting power far beyond their usual capacity.