Chapter 313
“The heroes who dared to step into Amon’s Nest, I’ll wipe them all out in one leap!”
Ipos declared he would sweep away the heroes that had invaded Amon’s Nest all by himself.
Amon tried to oppose him, but Ipos seemed resolute in his decision.
With the nests of other archbishops located relatively close to Amon’s, they wouldn’t need Beled’s help as long as they accounted for some potential damage.
Besides, there were several reliable bishops in Amon’s Nest.
If Ipos, known as the highest power among the archbishops, joined in, he could easily kill the heroes including Grayden and Trisena in the blink of an eye.
‘…But what is this unease?’
The sharp-minded Amon felt that events were unfolding too artificially.
With Vargan’s murder brushed aside, Amon found herself losing control.
It felt like she was being played in someone’s scheme, an unsettling discomfort tingling at her neck.
“Fine. Go ahead, Ipos.”
Receiving Amon’s permission, Ipos shot a glare at Vargan before leaving, conveying his loyalty.
He seemed ready to kill Vargan on the spot, but he couldn’t act due to the other hardline archbishops and Beled showing their hostility around him.
“Vargan, the moment I return will be the moment your head falls.”
Ipos warned Vargan in front of everyone.
He vowed to reveal all sins and execute Vargan.
Yet Vargan replied with a cynical smile.
“I’ll be waiting.”
*
No matter how fast he was, it would take at least half a day.
However, disregarding Vargan’s words, Ipos unleashed all his power and reached Amon’s Nest in just 20 minutes.
A speed that shattered common sense.
When the Executor who made even archbishops tremble descended onto the battlefield, fear spread across the faces of the relatively inexperienced heroes.
“I-Ipos…! Ipos has appeared!”
Swoosh—
His body blazed across the sky, radiating heat like a scorching iron plate.
The overwhelming amount of mana was enough to send shivers even to those who had just begun to dabble in it.
With monumental life force, Ipos manifested on the battlefield.
『…….』
Ipos remained silent as he surveyed his surroundings.
Amon’s Nest was already a chaotic mess.
Though he hadn’t broken the core of the Nest, the stench of blood wafted from the corpses of bishops and priests sprawled about like insects.
It trembled.
The estimated number of casualties was over 100,000.
Including those rendered incapable of combat, they had lost about 120,000 from the 200,000 that were in the nest.
『…The number of surviving heroes is roughly 10,000.』
Ipos muttered, tightening the muscles in his entire body.
His ordinarily calm eyes had turned into those of a crazed killer.
The heroes, who were tense at Ipos’s appearance, quickly surrounded him, drawing on their training and real combat experience.
Magicians stirred their blue mana, while archers tautened their bowstrings.
Swordsmen and martial artists, using swords and fists as weapons, faced Ipos directly, exuding intense power.
At a distance, Saint Diphelia was casting holy magic.
As heard, many of the new force’s heroes were stationed in Amon’s nest.
『…10 minutes.』
Ipos whispered, his anger burning like a flame.
That single remark was both a minimum courtesy and a warning from Ipos, who walked the path of nothingness.
『I will annihilate you all within 10 minutes.』
Kwahak—!
Without a way to dodge, Ipos charged at the heroes.
The magicians hastily set up multi-layered barriers to try and stop him, but it was futile.
With destructive power greater than lightning, Ipos broke through all barriers and crashed into the swordsmen in front of him.
“Bear with it…! We have to hold!”
“Magicians and archers, commence concentrated fire!”
Ipos glanced at a swordsman holding his ground against him.
A familiar face among the heroes. He remembered this one being quite skilled, ranking within the top 50.
Using a red aura, he tried to block Ipos. The surrounding swordsmen couldn’t withstand the shockwave and were blown apart, chunks of flesh and organs scattering.
Taking this into account, he undoubtedly possessed considerable power.
However.
“Grahhh!”
The swordsman met his end, having his heart pierced by Ipos.
As Ipos unfurled, he began his frenzied slaughter, cutting through the heroes like parting the sea.
“Protect the Saint!”
“Bind Ipos and attack from all sides!”
Ipos’s first target was Diphelia.
He intended to kill symbolic figures in order to break their momentum.
Kwahkwahkwah—!
Ipos struck down heroes at an alarming speed.
In front of Ipos, fully unleashed, the heroes burst apart like helpless humans under a bulldozer.
Facing the terror of death, they still fought desperately with bravado and spirit.
Among them, some within the top 100 managed to grab at Ipos’s feet, but that was only for a moment.
Soon, part of their bodies would be pierced by his fist, falling like autumn leaves.
Chiiiii—!
An extremely hot heat radiated from Ipos’s body.
As his killing spree continued, he became hotter, enough to inflict burns just from his heat.
“Saint…!”
Ipos, carving a path through the throng of heroes, finally reached the front of the Saint.
Death loomed ever closer.
Yet the Saint steadfastly held her ground, looking straight at Ipos with distant eyes.
She revealed her firm resolve and whispered,
“I am not afraid of you.”
As for the fear of death, she had already faced it over five years ago… seeing the pope’s resurrection through the oracle.
Compared to that time, this level of fear was something she could bear with dignity.
Compared to this, I can boldly endure this level of fear.
“Die.”
Harvest—!
Ipos extends his hand toward Diphelia’s heart with pinpoint accuracy.
They are so fast that the tree trunks trying to protect Diphelia can’t keep up.
Only those with extraordinary talent can react to such speed.
Or, those who have devoted absurd amounts of time and effort to reach such a level.
“Ha ha ha ha! The day has come when I get to fight Ipos, what a priceless opportunity!”
It’s not just Ipos who is using martial arts.
Since ancient times, humanity has continued to forge the path of martial arts, passing it down through generations.
And now, with the techniques reaching their peak, the unrivaled martial artist of this era is none other than Grayden.
The current hero ranked fourth, Grayden.
“Let’s see what you’ve got! You monster!”
Boom! Bang!
With bursting muscles and mana, Grayden charged at Ipos, swinging his fists.
These two beings clashed fiercely, like beasts trying to determine dominance.
The atmosphere and ground vibrated violently, releasing a thunderous roar and a shockwave.
But as time passed, Grayden found himself pushed back, and Trisena along with the magicians who had been gathering mana initiated their combined unique spell.
Her spell, combining all elements, had evolved from before and was immensely powerful, enhanced by dozens of mana.
Szuuuu—!
In a split second, Grayden, who had synchronized in advance, quickly dodged, and the joint spell of Trisena and thirty others exploded at Ipos.
“Everyone! Regroup and prepare the next spell during this opening!”
“Never let your guard down! The opponent is Ipos!”
Despite executing the combined spell, the heroes did not show any signs of joy.
Then,
“Is he still standing after taking that much power…?!”
Trisena gritted her teeth, channeling more mana.
Ipos, with his tough skin, bore no scratches.
“Eight minutes remaining.”
Ipos’s voice rode the winds of the battlefield, reaching the ears of the heroes.
With steam and purple mana emanating from him, he resembled a martial god.
“Eight minutes left.”
Boom—!
Causing a massive shockwave, Ipos flew straight toward Diphelia.
Grayden, with a grin revealing all, attempted to stop him.
Once again, just as the heavens and earth were about to ring out.
—I no longer have time to spend on you.
The fists of these two beings, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, collided, and Grayden could read Ipos’s intentions.
This punch was unlike any before.
The force concentrated at the tip of this punch was a spear.
A divine spear that could not be blocked by any shield.
Crack, bang—!
Time crumbled into countless pieces. Grayden’s arm burst apart like a balloon.
Not just the skin covering his arm, but muscle, bone—all the basic components constituting his arm shattered.
“Ha ha ha! Is this the pinnacle of martial arts…!”
Even as his arm was disintegrating in real time, Grayden smiled without a scream.
He was purely delighted.
Thinking he had reached the peak of martial arts only to realize there were countless mountains yet to climb.
The current moment, where he could genuinely exchange blows with an absolute powerhouse who had ascended far higher than him.
Moreover, the sensation that he could contribute to hunting such a strong opponent.
Extreme pleasure and excitement erupted in Grayden’s mind.
Created.
“I won’t let you get away! You monster…!”
Snap—!
Grayden forced his body to twist despite the immense strain it caused.
With his other hand, he grabbed Ipos’s wrist.
Grayden passed the moment of glory not to his own generation but to a rising figure of the new generation.
“Now, Finn—!”
Swoosh—!
Incredibly, the hand of Ipos, who had just unleashed his powers and awakened, was suddenly ‘cut off’ by a young man who appeared out of nowhere.
Despite being untouched by the combined spell of the fifth-ranked Hero Trisena and thirty veteran magicians, Ipos’s body was still.
The name of the young man who severed Ipos’s hand was Toylen Troa Finn.
A man who had always wanted to be a hero since childhood, he and Alicia were known as the only two with the title of ‘Sub-Hero’ in the world.
『……!』
Ipos hurriedly distanced himself upon realizing his hand was amputated.
The aura used by that young swordsman was not only lacking in red glow; its mana density was quite pathetic as well.
In other words, it was solely the technique of the sword that had done the deed.
『…You are Finn, aren’t you?』
Ipos was more vigilant than when facing Grayden or Trisena.
He knew Finn’s name.
Having felt the power of that sword firsthand, his mind went cold.
‘Strange. According to Gram, the center heroes including Finn should be in the nests of the other archbishops.’
Finn and Alicia were at Fenex’s nest.
Helion had reportedly attacked Alokes’s nest.
In the midst of this, the appearance of Finn without any sign was unexpected.
The situation was taking a strange turn.
『…….』
Ipos quickly expanded his senses to the maximum.
In an instant, information about the battlefield refreshed in Ipos’s mind, and he realized a critical fact.
『…Vargan. Even Gram had incorporated you into his side?』
The words of Gram, who had hastily opened the conference room door, were lies.
After the regular conference, it was a ploy to take advantage of the situation where information was restricted to the cardinals and archbishops above Arkelon.
By deliberately maintaining the mana connection linked to the Porras nest, where he had actually sent several frontline heroes, it was made to appear as if the major forces were distributed.
Clearly, Alokes and Fenex’s nests had cut off the lines to make this distinction difficult.
In the end, it was a trap from the start.
Realizing that everything was Vargan’s scheme, Ipos burst forth with dark purple mana, instantly regenerating one of his arms.
『How far are you going to insult us!』
Veins bursting around his eyes, Ipos, furious to the extreme, unleashed a storm of purple mana, and the heroes surrounded him, creating a new battlefield.
“Wow, Ipos. There’s never been a big fish like this before, huh?”
With a seemingly kind voice lacking in emotion, new heroes appeared alongside Helion.
Sub-Hero Alicia.
Team Spirit Summoner Ferangis, ranked second among heroes.
All of the former Arbol Frutal members.
Finn, Grayden, and Trisena, who had already been fighting.
Finally, including Paula, who had been hiding their mana under the power of the former Hero Gulemashia, it was not an exaggeration to say that an all-star lineup had gathered.
A perfect trap with nowhere to escape.
The hardliner, Executor Ipos, ground his teeth in fury.
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