Jack followed the golden knights until they arrived at the enemy's camp, where the supply carts were. The guild members already knew the drills, so they headed to the supply carts while the golden warrior engaged the defenders of this camp.
Jack used his gold dragon wings and went to the furthest supply carts so he didn't compete with the other guild members.
The supply carts in this hard-difficulty dungeon were much more durable, but Jack's damage output also couldn't be compared to when he was doing the lower-difficulty dungeon. He destroyed one cart after another.
The war at the fort lasted longer than it had ever been because the defenders were still mostly intact. But even with the increased time, Jack only managed to destroy ten supply carts, fewer than when he did the medium-difficulty dungeon.
This was because aside from the supply cart's higher HP and defense, he also only used standard attacks, basic, and advanced skills. He had expended all his powerful skills against the army at the pass. He was waiting for the enemy leader, the Herald of Greed, to start acting before using Reset. The herald was a level 80 Eternal grade. He wanted to test how far away he was from an eternal-grade opponent.
Once the herald cast his nine-rune spell, Hell Inferno, Jack cast Ghost Form.
Jack's transparent ghostlike body moved through the dense flames with ease. Previously, he had to wade through these flames with much difficulty when he was protected by Peniel's invulnerability. These flames not only caused damage but also generated great pressure. The Ghost Form ignored all those pressures.
The herald was aware of Jack's approach due to his mana sense. He started casting another spell before the flames receded.
Jack also acted once the flames were gone. He first used Reset and Dragon Eye before casting Double Clone. He left one clone right in front of the herald while he and the other clone moved to the left and right by using Charge and Shooting Dash.
The clone in front of the herald used Time Realm, right when the herald completed his spell and cast Telekinesis. The clone was held by the spell and was unable to move. Jack had expected the spell because most of the time, the Herald used this spell right after the Hell Inferno.
The Time Realm caused the herald's movement to become sluggish. The Herald was able to dual-cast. With one hand sustaining the telekinesis, his other hand cast another spell.
Jack summoned Therras, his spirit weapon, the golden wolves, and then started casting Perpetual Lightning Judgement. His other clones sent fast long-ranged attacks like Wind Slash, Sword of Light, Mana Beam, and Tracing Beams. But the herald's spell was completed first. Multiple flaming shields appeared around the herald and blocked all those attacks.
Jack didn't think his spirit weapon would be able to approach the herald, so he had it use ranged mode and fired from a distance. For Therras, he activated the Ultimate Beast and had it prepare its earth core bomb.
The other clone cast Acceleration just as a huge flame lance pierced through him. He was dragged away a long distance before getting impaled on a rock and the lance exploded.
His acceleration already landed on Jack and Therras, though. Jack transformed into supreme dragon form and fired his Soul Breath. At the same time, he activated Overlimit and unleashed Lightning God Barrage.
The combined assaults battered the flame shields that were protecting the herald. The shields were destroyed by the resulting explosion and the explosion engulfed the herald.
When the dust subsided, the herald was still standing in his position.
"He is not damaged?" Jack asked in surprise.
But then he noticed that the Herald's HP had slightly decreased, probably almost one percent. This was already an accomplishment. Last time he only managed to score 2,000 points of damage from a level 50 Herald of Greed who had 2,200,000 HP. That was way less than one percent.
The herald himself seemed astonished by this. He was looking at his dirtied robe with an expression other than the indifference he had shown all this time. He then looked at Jack. Another spell formation was formed swiftly and a black hole shrouded in fire appeared right next to Jack's clone who was still held by his telekinesis.
The flaming black hole shrunk rapidly and Jack's clone was crushed by pressure.
Jack used Swords of the Brave when his clone was dying. The herald vanished after casting a spell and appeared somewhere else.
'Teleportation? If he used that spell earlier, my combination assault would have missed,' Jack thought.
It was clear that the herald was underestimating Jack earlier. He wasn't so, now. Two spell formations were cast from his two hands.
Jack tried flying away just as one of them was completed. But before he got far, tentacles made of fire shot from the ground. Jack had changed his cloak to the fire element before engaging the herald. The cloak smacked one tentacle away while Jack was flying away, but the tentacles coming at Jack were not just one.
The fire tentacles snatched Therras, the spirit weapon, all the wolves, and one of Jack's feet. Jack was pulled and slammed into the ground. The tentacles' speed was so fast that he didn't have the time to react. His minions were incapacitated.
Jack used his race skill, Willpower, to break his leg free from the tentacles. He saw other tentacles coming. He used the Lightning God Suit. The tentacles were unable to bind him. Upon failure, the tentacles changed tactics and formed a fence all around him instead.
Jack slashed at the flame tentacles but his attack had no effect. The flames instantly regenerated the cut parts.
He used the Nine Yin Phantom Sword. While his weapon slash didn't produce any result, this ancient art did. The black light from the art cut through several tentacles and severed them. They didn't grow back.
Unfortunately, the art wasn't able to cut all the tentacles that formed the fence. There were just too many tentacles. Many new ones sprout from the ground and replace the cut ones.
Jack was unable to break free. From the gap in between the tentacles, he saw the herald completed his second spell and a colossal ball of fire was conjured above them.
This ball of fire burned brightly as if a sun, burning everything within its vicinity. Jack activated his cloak's Elemental God Shell. The flaming shell absorbed the damage caused by this miniature sun.
Jack hoped this sun lasted only a while but it persisted to exist. Even after his Elemental God Shell exhausted the damage limit he could block, the sun was still shining brightly. Jack asked Peniel to use her Invulnerability then. But even after Invulnerability ended, the sun was still there. Jack felt the heat then. His Lightning God Suit mitigated the damage but his HP continued to drop.
He found himself inside the score exchanging space not long after.
