The flames swallowed the afterimage.

By the time the firelight faded, nothing remained in its place.

“Damn you! How dare you trick me——”

BAM!

A sudden strike came out of nowhere from the spot where the afterimage had vanished, slamming square into his face.

It sent him flying backward in an instant.

The blow dealt little damage, but the humiliation it inflicted was searing.

“???!”

Hunos scrambled to his feet, staring in shock at the spot where Sylvia had stood just moments ago.

“You bastard! That’s cheating!”

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH……

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a rain of attacks came hurtling toward him from every direction.

“……”

Hunos stared, dumbfounded, his panic finally starting to sink in.

……

While Sylvia was locked in a forced battle with Hunos the Flame General, the other battlefronts across the field had erupted in combat as well.

“……”

Pujeliru watched the purple-haired girl blocking her path warily.

“You must be Freydia the Thunder General?”

Freydia stared back at Pujeliru with a blank expression, her grip tightening on the peculiar longsword in her hand. She didn’t utter a single word.

Seeing this, Pujeliru slowly drew her rapier.

“The intel we gathered on you was way off.”

“You’re far stronger than the reports made you out to be……”

The moment she laid eyes on Freydia, Pujeliru had gauged her approximate strength.

According to the information they’d received, the Thunder General was powerful, yes—but only marginally stronger than the other commanders. She was supposed to be slightly weaker than the Great Demon Mercenary Corps’ vice-captain, and nowhere near the level of the captain himself.

Yet……

Slightly weaker than the vice-captain?

What a joke.

This woman was easily a top-tier A-Rank powerhouse.

She wasn’t even in the same league as that vice-captain!

“Lucky for them it’s me who ran into you……”

Pujeliru raised her rapier, pointing it straight at Freydia.

“Otherwise, there would’ve been some unexpected casualties today.”

“Pujeliru Fael, Captain of the Ravenrim Kingdom Knight Order—here to challenge you.”

The moment Pujeliru announced her name, the motionless Freydia finally reacted.

CRACKLE. CRACKLE……

Her purple hair fluttered gently in the breeze, and the black longsword in her hand began to glow with crackling electricity.

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Pujeliru’s eyes narrowed sharply.

A demon sword!!?

“Freydia, Thunder General of the Great Demon Mercenary Corps—I’m ready.”

BOOM!

Thunder roared.

Pujeliru barely had time to register a blur of motion before Freydia was right in front of her.

CLANG——!

She managed to block the strike with her rapier at the last second, but the force sent her hurtling backward.

So fast!

Pujeliru’s heart skipped a beat.

And so strong!

Her initial assessment of Freydia’s raw power had been spot-on—but the woman’s masterful control of thunder magic had boosted her speed far beyond expectations. Coupled with the fact that she wielded a demon sword……

It had elevated her overall strength by leaps and bounds, completely shattering Pujeliru’s predictions!

But before she could catch her breath——

BOOM!

Pujeliru was still reeling backward when Freydia closed in again, her demon sword wreathed in terrifying lightning, swinging straight for Pujeliru’s neck.

BOOM——!

A blinding white light flashed across the battlefield.

A figure wreathed in crackling thunder went flying, slamming into a mountainside with a deafening crash.

“Cough…… cough……”

Freydia coughed, slowly lifting her head, staring at the rapier-wielding figure across from her in confusion.

“I told you——”

Pujeliru spoke slowly, her voice steady.

“Lucky for you it’s me who ran into you.”

“!”

Freydia’s eyes widened slightly, finally understanding the meaning behind her words.

She pushed herself back to her feet.

Ignoring the dirt and dust coating her body, she looked at Pujeliru calmly and said,

“You’re amazing. Just as strong as Arudok. I don’t think I can beat you……”

Even as she spoke, she tightened her grip on her demon sword, planting her feet firmly in front of Pujeliru.

“……”

Pujeliru’s brow furrowed, and she lowered the tip of her rapier slightly.

“I don’t understand.”

“Why would someone as strong as you ally yourself with Gulos?”

“Reasons……”

Freydia shook her head gently.

“I’ve long since forgotten them.”

CRACKLE. CRACKLE……

The thunder demon sword in her hand flared with electricity once more.

Pujeliru watched everything unfold, a look of regret crossing her face.

“It’s not too late. Don’t keep walking down this wrong path.”

“I’m sorry.”

Freydia’s eyes dimmed a little.

“My mission right now is to stop you from passing this point.”

Then she looked down at the demon sword in her hand, her voice barely a whisper.

“Thunder Demon Sword…… I’m about to do something terrible again. Will you still help me?”

CRACKLE——!

In an instant, the Thunder Demon Sword in Freydia’s hand erupted with a blinding burst of lightning.

“I see. Thank you, Thunder Demon Sword.”

With that, she lifted her head again, her gaze locking onto Pujeliru—her eyes filled with nothing but calm resolve.

“……I understand.”

Pujeliru closed her eyes, a look of helplessness on her face.

The next moment——

Her eyes snapped open, blazing with unwavering determination.

“Then I have no choice but to take you down right here——!”

BOOM!

White light and crackling thunder hurtled toward each other simultaneously.

The shockwave from their collision rippled outward in all directions, tearing apart any living thing foolish enough to get too close.

……

High in the sky, another crimson pillar of light slowly faded away.

Molbai stared in that direction, muttering to himself.

“That’s Hunos’s sector, isn’t it…… Taken down that fast? Typical. Always so unreliable.”

He shook his head, then turned his gaze back to the battlefield in front of him.

BOOM. BOOM……

From the churning earth below, a dwarf swung his greatsword, shattering every incoming attack into dust.

Molbai sighed in frustration.

“Why did it have to be an earth magic user? My luck is truly terrible.”

Molbai had prepared extensively for this fight. Against any other elemental powerhouse—so long as they weren’t leagues stronger than him—he would’ve been confident of victory. But of all people, he’d ended up facing Eugene, who also wielded earth magic.

That meant most of his traps and preparations were completely useless—some of them might even be turned against him.

“Sigh. Just my luck.”

Molbai sighed again, then his expression turned serious.

“No other way around it, then. I’ll just have to outlast him.”

With that, the mana within his body surged, pouring into the ground all around him.

Eugene, trapped in the center of the earth trap, immediately felt the intensity of the attacks around him spike dramatically.

“Tch.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“So he’s finally getting serious? This won’t do. If this drags on, I’ll get worn down to nothing. I have to find him.”

He lifted his head, dodging attacks while scanning the area for any sign of his hidden foe.

“Damn it! Can’t even tell which direction he’s hiding in!”

“No choice left. I’ll just have to force a breakthrough in one direction!”

Eugene picked a random direction at the drop of a hat, swinging his greatsword with all his might as he charged forward, carving a path through the churning earth……

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Biting cold winds howled across the land, turning the once flower-strewn soil into a frozen wasteland.

“What in the world is going on here? It’s freezing!”

Sandor, who’d just stepped into the frozen terrain, rubbed his hands together, complaining nonstop.

“Hm?”

At that moment, he sensed something amiss.

He turned his head to look in a certain direction.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The bitter wind whipped a white mage’s robe around his figure, flapping loudly in the gale.

A figure clad in pure white—an ice mage—walked slowly toward him, treading through the swirling snow.

Sandor stared at the approaching figure, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

“Uh-oh. This is gonna be a problem……”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep