Souta understood why the seventeen experts had only blasted him away instead of fighting him to the death. It seemed that there were people who intended to deal with him.
It made sense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Souta and the six experts of the Wingless Crow clashed in the air hundreds of times. Shockwaves after shockwaves kept sweeping out every second.
He sustained injuries in just a few seconds. The enemies were no joke. Each one of them possessed a power that could rival his own, so fighting six of them at the same time was difficult.
Well, it was only difficult.
Souta waved his hand, and countless strings of webs spread out. The battlefield had changed again, turning the land into a place full of webs.
It covered a huge part of the battlefield with a radius of almost five kilometers. Some of the webs created a space for his comrades, preventing interference from other experts.
"Come," Souta grinned as he retreated into the spider webs. The spider webs were attached to everything. Some of the webs were even attached to the blood floating in the sky.
"Hmph!"
The six experts sneered and chased after him. They dismantled all the webs blocking their paths easily. However, before they could even locate Souta, seven shadows appeared and attacked them simultaneously.
Bang! Bang!
Souta's figure appeared, and he swiftly slashed his sword at one of the six experts.
The man reacted quickly, raising the halberd in his hand and blocking Souta's blade. He then lifted his foot and kicked Souta on the side.
Bang!
Souta disregarded the kick, even as it tore through his [Shadow Cloak] and other defensive skills. Instead, he made a grabbing motion in the air, harnessing the intense power of gravity to pull the man.
In an instant, he moved swiftly, pouncing on his opponent's body.
[Darkness Bite]!
Darkness erupted, covering a substantial part of the area and engulfing light and sound.
Argh!
The man groaned in pain as he held his shoulder. Souta seized his opponent's foot and hurled him into the net of sticky webs. Then, his body inflated, utilizing the queen parasite to amplify his physical strength.
He was about to launch another attack when the remaining five experts emerged. They assailed Souta simultaneously, sending him reeling back. They had just finished dealing with the doppelgangers.
"Are you okay, Fendal?" a woman asked the man who was entangled in the web.
Fendal freed himself from the web before responding, "He caught me by surprise. Still, I can understand why the agents we dispatched to eliminate him never returned. He's far stronger than any of the Four Shackles experts."
Fendal stepped forward, his expression turning serious.
"I'll get serious this time. I'll complete our mission and bring his head back to headquarters."
As soon as he uttered those words, the energy around his body intensified.
"I thought he only had the strength of a Four Shackles, but it seems I underestimated him," Fendal said in a low voice.
Looking at Fendal, Souta grinned. They must have miscalculated his strength once again and believed they could easily kill him.
"It seems I have to take this seriously too."
Strings of flesh covered his sword, enlarging it to a size that suited him. His energy fluctuated intensely, causing ripples in the air.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a figure flashed and swiftly launched a powerful strike. Fendal reacted promptly, raising both hands to form a defensive barrier in front of him.
Bang!
The barrier shattered, but two of Fendal's comrades were already beside the newly arrived expert.
In that moment, Souta propelled himself like a rocket. The sword in his hand emitted a bright red light.
[Crimson Moon]!
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted, and smoke enveloped the area.
Two figures emerged from the smoke. One of them was Souta, who had grown significantly in size due to the parasite's ability.
He landed on his webs.
Swoosh!
Another person landed beside him, equipped with a massive axe.
"I didn't expect you to move," Souta said.
"The higher-ups granted you full authority for this mission, so I had to follow you," Genzu replied with a smile. "I've been eager for a fight ever since we arrived here."
"What about Heido and Santu?" Souta inquired.
"I instructed them to stay put and refrain from taking action for now. They should observe the actions of the major factions and Five Master Clans first," Genzu answered.
"I see..." Souta focused his attention ahead.
The smoke slowly dissipated, revealing the six experts of the Wingless Crow who were gazing down at the two of them.
"I'll take three, and you'll handle the other three," Souta said.
Genzu glanced at him and asked, "Are you sure? You're quite injured, so it might be better if I take four of them."
"I'm fine, but if you insist on taking four of them, then I'll leave it to you," Souta replied. Although he wanted to fight, he still wanted to conserve some of his energy for the upcoming battles with the experts.
Fendal looked down at both of them and remarked, "Berserk War Axe, you're here. I should've expected this, considering both of you are from Olympus."
"Let's go," Souta suddenly declared before charging forward.
Genzu leaped into the air, tightly gripping the giant axe in his hands. With a swing of his axe, an enormous slash cleaved through the air.
[Mountain Cleaving Slash]!
"Come here!" Souta gestured with a grabbing motion.
Fendal and another expert were pulled toward him. They quickly redirected their attention to Souta, their original target. Utilizing the pulling force, they closed the distance easily and launched an attack.
Souta had already anticipated this scenario, so he remained standing, allowing their attacks to rip into his flesh. Blood spurted from his wounds, transforming into a red rope that bound the two experts.
"Not enough!"
Souta shouted, and the webs engulfed the two experts. He then propelled himself away, yet barely a second had elapsed before he sensed the gathering energy of the two experts.
"Tsk!"
Souta clicked his tongue and leaped away. He extended his finger, casting [Black Hole].
A black hole materialized, and the two experts simultaneously broke free from their bindings. Light, air, and nearly everything vanished within the black hole in an instant.
Fendal roared and launched his scorching fist toward the black hole.
Boom!
The energy detonated, and the black hole shattered instantly.
Fendal turned his head to look at Souta, blood seeping from his fist. He opened his hand, and a halberd flew into it. "Magred, let's finish him."
The man called Magred nodded. He was a large individual with brown eyes, short brown hair, and bear ears atop his head.
Souta chuckled upon witnessing Fendal shatter the black hole.
"Damn! That's a Tier 3 spell boosted by the [Orb of Arcane Seal]!"
These two were significantly more formidable compared to the Wingless Crow members he had encountered in the sub-world. Their determination to eliminate him was clear, dispatching expert after expert. If he managed to defeat them, the leader of the Wingless Crow might step in to confront him.
It was both troublesome and intriguing at the same time.
Souta turned his head and cast a glance at Genzu.
Genzu was battling four Wingless Crow experts. He was powerful, but facing four opponents simultaneously posed a formidable challenge.
Among the top powerhouses present, he and Genzu were the sole combatants.
Souta slowly distanced himself, utilizing blood and webs to momentarily impede their movements.
...
Schine hovered in the air, his eyes closed. He could hear the soldiers' screams and sense the energy fluctuations across the battlefield.
The most prominent battle was between Souta, Genzu, and the recently arrived six experts. Their arrival had taken everyone by surprise.
Schine couldn't help but wonder if there were still more experts concealed in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
After a while, he opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on the ongoing battle. He slowly parted his lips and spoke, "It's time... Patriarch Bezvin, I entrust this to you."
Bezvin, the Head of the Darkna Clan, exchanged a profound look with Schine. He inquired, "Are you certain about this?"
"Yes, Olympus has already taken action. If we wish to continue receiving support from the major factions, we must align ourselves accordingly," Schine calmly replied.
"Very well..." Bezvin responded. He withdrew the two daggers from his waist and promptly vanished from his position.
Shen Yao, Adel, Asfrith, Kasci, and the other representatives shifted their gazes to the Heads of the Five Master Clans.
The Patriarch of the Darkna Clan was poised to initiate an attack. There was no room for doubt that the situation was about to escalate once more.
Shen Yao sighed, turning to Li Guan. "We've reached this point. It's time for you to join the battle as well."
"Agreed," Li Guan replied with a nod.
Naruse chuckled and instructed, "Manaka, Ichisaki, accompany them and engage the Army of Gluttony. Focus on the experts at the rear, the ones the Blood Lightning Monster previously attempted to target."
Manaka and Ichisaki acknowledged her orders with nods. "Understood, Young Lady."
