"We must confront him as soon as possible! If he is taken down, the rest of the work is easy."
"No, the Nox do not have the same emotions as we do. Morale is not a problem for the majority of their forces, so taking down the Commander will not have the desired effect if done immediately. Rather, we must plan to take everything down in one fell swoop!"
"Haa…"
Jean sighed as he listened to the other two branch managers argue. Even if they knew how to proceed, they didn't know what method to use.
There were various benefits to both of their methods, however, depending on the battle situation, both could end up producing negligible effects.
'The Roaring Dragon Cavalry is pushing the back line, which has made the frontline unstable as well. As long as we continue on this path, we will win, even if we suffer disastrous losses in the process…'
But, of course, that was impossible. Needlessly sacrificing troops would do more harm than good in the long run.
'Then, the only real benefit of taking down the Commander is morale and assurance for our side. If that's the case, then it's better to act as soon as possible.'
The Nox wouldn't feel much at the loss of their Commander, but Heaven's Army would benefit immensely if the man died. After all, his mere presence was a variable on the battlefield. As long as the troops had to be wary of him, their combat effectiveness would be lowered to an extent.
'We can't rely on the Roaring Dragon Cavalry too much. If our advantages become so clear, it's obvious who the Commander will target.'
"We should attack now."
Jean finally spoke, cutting into the discussion. The two snapped their heads to look at him with two very different expressions.
"Haa…let me explain my reasoning…"
After Jean explained his thought process, Rilia's gaze softened considerably. Her brow furrowed as she gave his ideas some thought.
"It is true that we cannot predict the Nox reaction to the Commander's death. The Nox are too strange and varied of a species, almost like humans in the variety of their beliefs."
Despite her words, Rilia still hesitated. Regardless of what they said, it was still a 4th revolution expert they were planning to face.
'Shit.'
"Fine, let's do it."
The steeled her resolve as she spoke, knowing that she signed up for this kind of situation from the beginning.
There were a lot of words that could be used to describe her, and not all of them were pleasant, but "coward" certainly wasn't on that list.
Geralt nodded.
Jean nodded.
The three branch managers exited their tent and flew into the air.
"Aarish, come fight us!" Jean bellowed. His mana raged into the surroundings, kicking up a whirlwind with its pressure.
A second aura joined him from far away. The grey-skinned Commander's visage became clear soon after.
"Hahahaha! I didn't expect you would have the guts to challenge me! What, all three of you are coming together?" He exclaimed mockingly as he approached,
"Take it as a measure of our sincerity," Jean replied calmly, backing away.
Aarish grinned. "If you want to lure me away from the battlefield, you'll have to exert some effort first!"
His body turned into a black blur, appearing in front of Jean in an instant. Energy coalesced on his palm and condensed into an ethereal ball, which he pushed out furiously.
BOOM!
Space shattered and the entire sky seemed to explode with light. The force of the explosion immediately threw the three branch leaders into the air, however, they were able to put their defenses up in time to avoid injury.
"We can't focus on anyone else right now! Kill him and let's deal with the consequences later!" Geralt yelled.
He pulled his body back like a bowstring, stepping on the air as if it was material. The muscles in his body bulged with power as they sent a terrifying force down into his foot until…
Bang!
He launched with the speed of a comet to meet Aarish where he stood.
"Filthy Nox, taste my blade!"
A massive great axe appeared in Geralt's hands. He swung down as he moved, reaching the apex of the swing at the exact same moment he arrived in front of the enemy.
SLASH!
The sound of the axe cutting through the air could be heard from several kilometers away. It collided with Aarish's body and tore him apart, sending two halves flying in different directions.
Geralt's eyes narrowed. In the next second, they widened as he rapidly made distance.
BOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!
The two halves exploded into terrific shockwaves that reverberated through the air.
Crash!
Geralt's mana defense broke. The shockwave slammed into his body and rattled his organs, sending him flying back, injured.
Ptui!
Geralt spit out the blood pooling in his mouth and gritted his teeth.
'I knew it would be difficult to fight someone at the 4th revolution, but I didn't think it would be to this extent!'
Even if it was only a single attack, it was more than enough for Geralt to gauge the strength difference between him and the enemy.
It was massive.
The 9 revolutions weren't merely termed revolutions for nothing.
As the steps leading to the Path of Godhood, each revolution accounted for a massive jump in power, almost as if one was leaping in class rather than stages.
Geralt glanced back at his two comrades who'd yet to move. They returned his glance with grim expressions.
Truly, it would be impossible if the three of them didn't work together.
"Have you finished your moment of realization yet?"
A reading voice came from the void not far away. The Nox Commander Aarish stepped into reality with a smug smile on his face.
"Forget about killing me, you can't even catch me! Hahahaha!"
Rilia's staff immediately went into the air. The bright blue gem at its head shined with splendor as she cast a territorial magic spell.
'Absolute Suppression of the Sea.'
Under the sea, all beings were suppressed. No matter one's strength, one would inevitably reach a point where one could no longer continue deeper.
This was the everlasting mystery of the oceans, and a concept that Rilia mirrored in her spells.
A fierce current of water appeared in the air and encircled the battlefield. A thick suppression accompanied it, pushing down on space and nearly forcing it to compress.
Aarish smiled lightly. "You think you can suppress me with this much? Pathetic."
His hand flew out. He made a fist as if he was grabbing something, and the incorporeal space between his fingers solidified into a spear.
'Void Spear.'
Aarish threw the spear lightly, and at first, it didn't look like it was moving at all.
However, it appeared before Geralt and Rilia instantaneously as if teleporting.
'Run wild.'
Black mana came from within the spear and corrupted its nigh-transparent form. Within a spark of a second, the spear bloomed into a blossoming lotus of blackness. Tendrils of mana shot out in all directions like fireworks, flying as far as they could before turning into a series of explosions that polluted the entire battlefield.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Ahhhh—!"
A shriek was cut off before it could finish. It was accompanied by all those around it, voices of those whose lives were incinerated like waste when a single drop of the explosions' mana touched them.
"DAMMIT!" Geralt roared. His eyes turned red as he recklessly charged.
"FOCUS ON US, YOU SCUM!"
Yet, instead of aiming for Aarish as he originally seemed to do, he slammed his axe into the ground with all his strength.
BOOM!
'Sacred Protector of the Holy Mountain.'
The skill's name was long, but its effects matched its length. A golden barrier of light spread from Geralt's axe as he wielded it. The barrier spread for several hundreds of thousands of kilometers, separating Aarish from the main battlefield.
However, the three branch managers were trapped alongside him.
"Ahahaha! This entire ordeal is so amusing! It seems you've trapped yourselves in this barrier with me. Doesn't that mean…there's nowhere left for you to run?"
A perverse grin spread on Aarish's face as his mana raged forth.
"Come, then! Let me see how you struggle before becoming my food!"
