Bang!

Nereus was struck hard by one of the Celestial Generals, his body flung dozens of meters before crashing into two soldiers.

“Argh…” He groaned in pain as he clutched his chest.

His once majestic and powerful appearance had turned weak and miserable.

Half of his armor was destroyed, and his body was covered in heavy bruises.

‘Damn… How is he this strong?’ He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Against someone with strength equal to his own, Nereus had been confident he had more than a seventy percent chance of winning.

Unfortunately, the celestial general he faced wasn’t human. He was a puppet wrapped in incredibly durable armor.

Because of that, cunning tactics or anything similar had no effect on him.

For the first time, Nereus felt his pride shattered so completely.

“Hahaha!” The celestial general laughed loudly. “You are truly weak, kid! How dare you invade the Kingdom of Avernia with such pathetic strength? Are you seeking death?”

With those words, he raised his spear and lunged toward Nereus.

The general twisted his body and aimed an attack straight at Nereus’ neck.

“Damn it!” Nereus forced his injured body to dodge.

Fortunately, he managed to avoid it, though his severe wounds worsened.

Gritting his teeth, he opened his left palm, and a potion appeared.

Without hesitation, he opened it and gulped it down.

His body glowed with a bright blue light as his wounds slowly healed, though the pain remained.

He leaped into the air and drew his bow.

Buzz!

An ice-blue arrow formed, and he released it.

Facing the attack, the celestial general stayed calm.

He spun his spear like a propeller, blocking Nereus’ attack.

The arrow exploded, turning the area around the celestial general into a field of ice.

But Nereus didn’t give up. He fired a dozen arrows, each one stronger than the last.

The celestial general dashed around, dodging every shot.

Every time an arrow struck the ground, a five-meter area around it froze solid.

If even one had hit the nearby soldiers, they would’ve turned into ice statues.

As the distance closed, the celestial general leaped and thrust his spear toward Nereus’ left abdomen.

Seeing this, Nereus gathered his strength and retreated ten meters.

Then he drew his bowstring once more.

This time, it wasn’t an ordinary arrow. A bright blue light formed in his grip.

“Frost Break!” he shouted as he released it.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot forward so fast the celestial general couldn’t react.

It pierced the side of his armor, freezing him midair before he crashed down and shattered.

“Did I… succeed?” Nereus gasped as he slowly descended.

That attack was one of his ultimate techniques.

A quarter of the power in his body was drained, leaving him weakened.

Just when he thought the sky general was completely destroyed, a terrible presence appeared behind him.

“No good!” He tried to leap away, but his legs felt paralyzed.

Scrk!

A spear pierced the left side of his stomach. The general had appeared behind him, gripping the spear with both hands.

“You’re really careless, kid. How could you think I’d die that easily?”

The general grinned thinly as he pushed the spear deeper.

“Argh!” Nereus coughed blood, his face turning pale.

His entire body tensed, nerves throbbing violently.

His bones and muscles trembled from the unbearable pain.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his consciousness felt as though it was being pulled away by an invisible force.

But he quickly bit his tongue, hurting himself just enough to stay awake.

“Ice Technique: Ice Domain!” he shouted.

Whoosh!

Frost erupted beneath his feet, spreading into a ten-meter frozen field.

The celestial general froze—momentarily shocked. Before he could react, Nereus, who had been impaled by the spear, had turned into an ice statue.

In the next instant, he found himself outside the frozen area, gasping for air.

The general tried to rush at him but realized his body couldn’t move.

He looked down and muttered, “Is it because of this?”

No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

Meanwhile, Nereus finally caught his breath. He was a long-range fighter.

Facing a celestial general specialized in close-range combat put him at a clear disadvantage.

If not for his quick thinking, he might have died already.

‘It seems… there’s no other choice,’ he muttered.

He hadn’t summoned his guardian spirit yet—not because he didn’t want to, but because doing so consumed a large portion of his strength.

If used for too long, it would drain him heavily in a prolonged battle. Even so, he knew this was the right moment to summon it.

Without hesitation, he set his bow down and pressed his hands together.

“Lorithen, hear my call! Appear!”

A blue light burst from his body. Moments later, a puddle of water formed beneath him.

The puddle spread rapidly until it reached the area where the celestial general stood.

“What is this?” The celestial general muttered warily.

Before he could figure it out, the ground beneath his feet vanished, and his body sank into the deep water below.

A massive shadow swam toward him at incredible speed.

The celestial general tightened his grip on his spear and took a defensive stance.

Twop!

The giant shadow slammed into him with its huge, powerful body.

Even with the water absorbing part of the impact, the force still threw him dozens of meters.

Twop!

Another hit followed—then another. The celestial general became nothing more than a punching bag.

But just as the next attack was about to land, the general twisted his body and narrowly dodged. Using the momentum, he launched himself upward.

Splash!

Water exploded in all directions as he broke through the surface and landed safely on the ground.

He stared at Nereus in the distance and muttered, “Was that an illusion? Or something else?”

Whoosh!

From the swirling puddle, a black shadow shot out—a five-meter-long fish monster.

It had sharp two-meter horns and a row of sword-like teeth, making it look truly terrifying.

“So it wasn’t an illusion, huh?” The general narrowed his eyes, a red glow flashing across them.

On the other side, the battle between Corin and the two celestial generals raged fiercely. Unlike Nereus, he was still able to hold his ground—though it was ultimately pointless.

Facing one celestial general was already overwhelming. Facing two was nearly impossible.

Even though his raw power surpassed Nereus’s and Ignis’s, it didn’t change the inevitable result.

“Hah… hah…” Corin panted as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His face, once arrogant and confident, now looked exhausted.

“Damn… This is bad. I’m going to die sooner or later,” he muttered weakly.

The two celestial generals facing him snorted in disdain.

“Come on, let’s finish him off,” one of them said.

The other nodded. Just as they prepared their final attack, an overwhelming and terrifying pressure burst from above.

“Seven Celestial Generals, huh? How dare you interfere with this king’s plans?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep