"Damn it, there are too many of these guys," Issei cursed as he punched a hero faction member.
"Yeah, and these guys are not even part of the main army," Irina also added as she tossed another man to the side.
"Yeah, but fighting these guys is too tiring. "Xenovia spoke as she slashed forward and killed a few heroes with a swing of her sword, Durandal.
"True, but we should be glad that the others are holding off the main camp. " Kiba finished their conversation as he sheathed his blade. And with a click, two heroes were decapitated the next moment.
This is true. Due to the existence of the Shadow Garden and the Shinto faction, the yokai and Occult Club were spared from fighting the elites of the hero faction. Otherwise, they might be forced to fight endlessly with all the trickiest hero faction members.
Although these guys can fight and even have a great chance of defeating the hero faction members, Roxanne knew such victories would cost them dearly. Although strong men are born from dancing on the edge of life and death, always courting death is not a good option.
Roxanne even detected various hidden injuries in their bodies. Not everyone is like Issei, who has the protagonist's halo and acts normally after dying once.
Just as the Occult Club were resting and catching their breath, they all suddenly looked in a certain direction at once. Their relaxed expression instantly turned serious as they held their weapons ready for battle at any moment.
"Draig, did you sense it? "Issei asked as he looked at the sky that was now turning purple like someone had cast a purple membrane over the whole place.
"Yeah, I did, partner. Never would I have thought that these heroes are foolish enough to drag her to the battlefield. "Draig's voice came from the green gem. If one listened closely, one could hear a bit of reverence and dread in his tone.
…
In fact, it wasn't just Issei and others who noticed the sudden anomaly in the sky. Everyone on the battlefield, whether they were enemy or ally, felt their chests tightening as cold sweat broke out on their backs.
Soon, the sky began to distort, and a dragon that was roughly 100 meters long appeared with red shining dragon scales. Its dragon eyes only glanced briefly once at the ants that summoned him.
But even so, in this split second, the dragon glanced downwards towards the battlefield; many people foamed from the mouth and passed out due to being unable to withstand the mighty pressure of the nominally strongest being of this world.
"Well, fuck," Amaterasu cursed unceremoniously as she looked at the giant dragon that came from the Dragon Gate. She knew things had already gone out of control. Now that this guy is here, this battle is no longer something like fighting against the Khoas Brigade.
This is now a battle of survival.
"Hahaahahhahaaahhaa, wonderful, you finally arrived, Great Red. "Cao Cao, unlike others, didn't show any fear. Instead, his fighting spirit was ignited. Even when his face, which was beaten by Amaterasu for the last 20 minutes, had a big smile.
"Seigfried, do it now," Cao Cao shouted as he looked at his deputy with an excited look.
"Yes, Captain," Seigfried, who had been waiting for this moment, spoke as he jumped down from a building. In his hand was a dark spear that had a small barrier placed to cover the blade.
In mid-air, he threw the spear straight towards the giant dragon. The spear cut through the air and arrived near Great Red in no time.
While still falling to the ground, Siegfried made a hand sign and shouted, "Release." With his shout, the barrier that was covering the top of the spear broke. As soon as the barrier was lifted, a blood-red energy filled with all the malice of the world was released.
Everyone felt chills running down their spine as they felt the pulse of blood-red energy. Even from a distance, Issei was paralyzed by a mounting sense of dread.
"How… how is this possible?" Amaterasu whispered, her voice trembling. Her gaze remained locked on the spear, which had transformed into a concentrated beam of abyssal energy.
"No, I can't let that hit him," she muttered, her panic flaring. "If he is provoked by this, we're all dead."
She blurred forward, a long sword appearing in her grip. It was an odachi—massive and imposing—its blade etched with intricate, ancient carvings. Unlike a standard steel blade, the metal glowed a fierce, incandescent red, as if it had been snatched directly from the heart of a forge.
This is Amaterasu's weapon, made by Roxanne. This katana was made using Amaterasu's divinity and blood as a material. This led to the sword being able to manifest Amaterasu's divinity and power.
In other words, this sword is a manifestation of the sun.
Flames as orange as the sun manifested on the blade. The temperature once again rose as space and time began to crack like glass.
Amaterasu tightened her grip and pivoted, swinging her blade with every ounce of her celestial might. A cascading wave of solar sword-qi erupted, a blinding aura of sun divinity that tore through the battlefield like a localized supernova.
The strike screamed toward the blood-red spear, inches away from obliterating the projectile. But just as the collision seemed certain, a second spear—this one radiating a piercing, holy light—interposed itself, parrying the divine blow with a thunderous crack.
"Hahahaha! Did you truly think I would let you meddle, 'Gods'?" Cao Cao spat. He coughed violently, a spray of crimson hitting the dirt—the physical price for using his Sacred Gear to withstand the full-force strike of a Chief God. Despite the internal damage, a jagged, manic grin stretched across his face. His eyes, once calculating, were now drowned in a cocktail of satisfaction and pure insanity.
"You absolute fool!" Amaterasu screamed, her regal composure shattering into shards of pure panic. "Do you have any idea what it means to provoke Great Red? Do you honestly believe Samael's venom is enough to fell that dragon? Even if it were, do you think any of us would be lucky enough to survive his dying wrath?"
"Heh… so what? That's hardly my concern," Cao Cao replied, the madness in his gaze deepening.
His original strategy had been surgical: abduct members of Shadow Garden, lure out Shalltear, and reclaim Indra. But with the surprise attack crumbling, his desperation had evolved into a scorched-earth obsession. He would trigger the Dragon Gate to summon the Dragon of Dreams, then let the spear—saturated in the blood of the Dragon Eater, Samael—deliver the poisoning blow. Finally, he would brandish the True Longinus to finish the job. It was a deluded quest to prove humanity's supremacy. Even if he failed to slay Great Red, he intended to bury the entire Alliance in this wasteland and vanish into the chaos with Georg's assistance.
Fueled by the adrenaline of his own downfall, Cao Cao abandoned all restraint, indulging in the venomous trash talk of a man who had already set the world on fire.
"You all gods will die here and become my whetstones. "Cao Cao laughed maniacally.
"Oh, really," suddenly an indifferent voice came from behind him.
****
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