『 Hup...! 』

What was this spectacular skill? It reminded most people of Pagma’s Swordsmanship. In particular, when Grid sword danced using Iyarugt with the ‘coolness’ option attached, it was as beautiful as a painting. However, when it came to scale, there was no skill more gorgeous than Space Sword.

It was one of Kraugel’s ultimate skills. The super skill maximized the basic characteristic ‘there is nothing you can’t cut’ of a Sword Saint to cut the world itself.

[Critical!!]

[The target has received 15,300,599 damage.]

[The target has received 17,900,143...]

[The target has received...]

....

...

[The target has suffered irreversible damage! All stats are reduced by 20%, and all speeds are reduced by 50%!]

[The target has exposed his weakness! If you hit the target within 30 seconds, an unconditional critical hit will be applied! The critical damage applied will be 1.5 times higher!]

[...!]

[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[Your powerful sword has separated the world!!!]

The massive walls that made up the canyon were split in half. A line was drawn through everything in the world, including the demons that resembled flies infesting the sky and the winding earth of the canyon. Many of the demons advancing along the narrow path, those climbing the walls, and those in the sky had their bodies cut and turned to gray ash. If Zibal rode on Pegasus and killed more than 100 demons, then Kraugel produced a miracle that devastated thousands of demons with a single blow. Space Sword was fatal to the advancing army because it had the effect of ‘cutting all enemies that exist in the path.’

[The earth god Garion has exerted his power. All things split in half are restored like the split was a lie.]

The canyon walls and earth, that had been split apart, reattached into their original state. The demons fell into the gaps formed in the walls and the earth and disappeared. Additionally...

““...””

Berith’s left arm was precisely struck by the Space Sword and cut off. White blood rose like a fountain from the cut surface, shocking the world. The demons’ eyes widened, and they stiffened.

『 U-Unbelievable...! The demon army’s advance has stopped instantly! 』

『 Oh, my god! The moment he appeared, he cut off the great demon’s arm! Tens of thousands of people and rankers struggled to achieve this...! 』 

『 Really! This is amazing! Great, Kraugel!! 』 

Commentators around the world shouted with excitement, and all of the world’s viewers cheered. However, Kraugel’s face didn’t show any excitement. Kraugel evaluated the space as an ‘empty cart.’ Unlike the flashy performance that made the world loud, it didn’t kill the target in one blow.

Although it boasted the highest damage coefficient among wide-area skills, it didn’t completely deviate beyond the limits of a wide-area skill. This was the somewhat weak part compared to other ultimate skills. It was just that the special nature of war highlighted the merits of Space Sword. The topographical advantage of the canyon also played a big part. The demons were vulnerable to Space Sword as they marched on the narrow road.

‘His physical defense is twice as high as Belial’s. Is it around three times the health?’

Kraugel compared his current specs with his specs during the Belial raid. He checked the damage that had been inflicted on Belial and the health gauge of Berith, and he came to a conclusion. Once again, Kraugel concluded that Berith couldn’t be raided with his current power.

‘It isn’t possible without Grid, Damian, and Ruby.’

Grid’s Four Heavenly Kings that had appeared during the Demon King’s Subjugation were Piaro, Asmophel, Noll who played a big role in Reidan recently, and the woman whose exact reality still wasn’t known. Kraugel couldn’t help thinking of those four people. Grid had almost lost Piaro in the Belial raid, so it was unlikely he would let NPCs join this raid.

‘Let’s slowly buy time.’

Normally, Kraugel linked Space Sword with another skill. This was due to the 30-second period when critical damage was increased. It meant attacking Berith could cause significant damage. Still, Kraugel didn’t overdo it. He knew that he didn’t need to overdo it because the Overgeared Guild was currently on the way here.

How did he know? It was naturally thanks to Hao and Alexander. China’s top ranker and Russia’s top ranker were Kraugel’s limbs. Kraugel’s information network went beyond the days of when he was alone. Well, in this case, he didn’t need his information network.

-I’m going to kill him. Leave a share for me, Grid sent him this whisper.

Kraugel turned his attention to Zibal. Zibal, who was saved just before death, looked very uncomfortable. The moment Kraugel’s gaze fell on him, Zibal grumbled, “Dammit, I still can’t tell who the main character is.”

“It has been a long time since I was pushed into the supporting role.”

“You have thick skin.”

Zibal descended to the ground alongside Kraugel and captured the scene of the battlefield. Hundreds of demons had perished, and hundreds more moaned due to their wounds. Thousands of demons stiffened like statues when they saw their master had lost his arm. Only one presence completely changed the atmosphere of the battlefield.

It was overwhelming, and it was certain that Kraugel was definitely stronger than the days when he was the sky above the sky. This was quite different from the weak self he showed in the two years after becoming a Sword Saint. It seemed that he could finally use the power of a Sword Saint properly.

“...The competition for the top will soon be fierce again.”

“No, I still have a long way to go.”

As much as he grew, Grid would’ve grown beyond that. Grid had built up the largest player-based power on the continent, and his growth environment wasn’t comparable to a single player’s. It was fundamental that he monopolized all types of information and riches while his utilization of talent was unmatched.

One example was Great Sage Sticks. Thanks to Stick’s Mass Teleport, Grid could move anywhere at any time. It was completely different from the activity radius of one player.

‘Truly amazing.’

Who would’ve imagined that Grid could grow the Overgeared Kingdom to this point? Most people thought it was lucky if he could keep it. However, Grid was very resourceful, and the kingdom developed rapidly. They advanced ahead of kingdoms hundreds of years old and were able to compete with the empire. Grid was a great person.

“By the way, I couldn’t even help damage the great demon,” Zibal muttered as he gazed at Berith in the distance. The cut-off limb was like rotten meat on the ground, and blood was still flowing down from the severed shoulder. The bleeding from the amputation was something that even a great demon couldn’t avoid. Berith’s slightly consumed health gauge gave Zibal some hope of winning.

“Let’s join forces this time. I’ll use Raiders, so let’s work together to wound Berith through a gap.”

“The ultimate goal of alchemy.”

“...?”

“It isn’t just about making gold, it is about creating life. The existence of the Stone of Life is the evidence.”

“What?”

Zibal wanted to cooperate, only for Kraugel to suddenly speak nonsense...? Kraugel pointed at something while responding to the confused Zibal, “It is easy for Berith to recover his flesh.”

“...!?” Zibal’s eyes widened.

The blood flowing from Berith’s shoulder was as hard as metal. It soon became bones, flesh, and skin. The sight of Berith instantly restoring his left arm stunned the viewers watching as well as Zibal.

“This damn monster.” Zibal clicked his tongue. Was it useless to cut the body? It was the first time he realized that alchemy was so great. Even the alchemy of the best nation of the continent, the Saharan Empire, was at a level that was little better than making potions and metals. Toward the stiff Zibal—no, it was toward Kraugel standing beside Zibal, Berith spoke.

““The Sword Saint of this time is weak,”” he said quietly from a distance of several kilometers, but his voice entered their ears clearly. ““Sword Saint Muller sealed many great demons. I think it's impossible for you.””

Kraugel didn’t deny it. “That's right. It will be hard for me with my current strength.”

Muller was the strongest human in history. If the potential of a named NPC could be classified from 1 to 10, Muller’s potential would be 100. It was impossible for the player Kraugel to be as strong as Muller. However, Kraugel wasn’t alone.

“Sorry for being late.”

“It took me a while to collect the kids.”

Hao, Alexander, and dozens of Russian rankers rushed to Kraugel’s side. It was a much more splendid party than any other Berith raiding party, including Zibal’s party. The audience’s hearts pounded. Yet from Berith’s perspective, it was just a group of small fries.

Berith scoffed, and 10 magic circles appeared in the air around him. They quickly transformed all the elements around them. From dust, dirt, stones, rocks, water, and the air, they turned into metal harder than steel as they formed 10 large and threatening spears that shot at Kraugel.

““Die.””

“Gulp!” Kraugel’s group swallowed their saliva. They were full of fighting spirit, but once they directly met Berith, the power felt from him was beyond imagination. Could they hold on until the Overgeared Guild arrived? To be honest, they didn’t feel confident.

The 10 spears crossed the battlefield. They flew past all the obstacles in front of them and struck Kraugel’s group. The 10 spears were of a totally different dimension. The viewers thought this as they watched the canyon collapse more every time a spear grazed it. Then the flying 10 spears suddenly slowed down, gradually losing their shape and scattering.

『 What? 』

The commentators and viewers couldn’t understand the sudden phenomenon. The same was true for Hao, Alexander, and Zibal. Only two beings knew. Only Kraugel and Berith could see why the alchemy lost its momentum. 

“...Intangible will?”

A power with no form—it was a realm for the absolute masters who could knock down objects with just their willpower. Two powerful wills were extinguishing Berith’s alchemy. Berith looked rather surprised and moved his focus from Kraugel’s group to the back wall of the fortress. Hundreds of cameras followed his gaze.

“It is an ugly horse.”

“This great demon has an arrogant tone.”

A man and woman who held spears were standing there. The somewhat short middle-aged man had the name Kirinus, and the beautiful blond woman whose age couldn’t be determined had the name of Rachel. Both their names shone a bright gold color. The commentators and viewers doubted their eyes.

 『The best spearsman on the continent, Kirinus! 』

『 Spear Saint Rachel!! 』

『 H-How are they here? 』

The powerhouses of the continent that the average players would never have a chance to meet—why had they appeared beside each other in this place? In particular, Rachel was one of the empire’s Seven Dukes. The empire was ignoring the crisis of the Haken Kingdom, so no one could easily guess why she was visiting the Haken Kingdom. Kraugel greeted the two of them, “You came.”

“Yes,” Kirinus and Rachel responded lightly. Kraugel seemed close to the two of them.

『 D-Don’t tell me... .』

Kraugel was the one who brought the powerhouses here? An inflexible general—this was what the world had evaluated Kraugel as. Most people believed that Kraugel had fallen once and would never be able to catch up with Grid. After all, what could Kraugel do on his own?

Grid had hundreds of rankers and the monstrous Four Heavenly Kings. In the end, Grid would stand as an eternal presence. The people had to think like this, but their minds changed at this moment. A duke and the best spearman of the continent….

Those who witnessed Kraugel appear with two super-grade NPCs saw that Kraugel had the potential to surpass Grid. They might not know the best spearman of the continent, but the Saharan Empire was the greatest power on the continent. Even Grid’s Four Heavenly Kings would just be babies in front of the Seven Dukes...

The people thought like this.