Chapter 442: Match for Ten Thousand Men

In terms of raw, solitary strength, Ronin was a match for anyone present upon this field.

Yet to stand alone against ten thousand was an ordeal far grander than a mere tally of individual might.

True, Ronin could unleash his combat arts to reap vast swathes of the enemy, grinding them to ash, but no sooner had one wave fallen than a second would surge forward, blind to death, to encircle him anew.

Had Ronin relied upon lower-tier arts, the foe possessed no shortage of senior and bronze knights who might band together to withstand him; yet a ceaseless invocation of the seventh tier and beyond would drain his battle-qi to a perilous state.

Thus, after a few explosive displays of his arts, Ronin chose the brutal intimacy of close-quarters combat.

Relying on the sheer power of his physique and the inherent majesty of the Flame-Flowing Sword, he cut down the enemy one by one.

Throughout it all, he faced a relentless onslaught from multiple directions and several foes at once, a trial that demanded every ounce of his reflexes, judgment, and opportunism.

In this very moment, Ronin finally understood the gulf that lay between himself and Rydal.

It was because Rydal had charged into the fray, because he had fought within the belly of a ten-thousand-strong army, that he had forged such exquisite footwork and swordsmanship.

Even during their spars, Ronin had marveled at Rydal’s knack for seizing the slightest opening; a momentary lapse on Ronin's part was instantly exploited, and any failure to react perfectly meant swift defeat.

Only the crucible of true combat could genuinely forge and temper one’s martial prowess.

Ronin was not weak, but he could be stronger still.

Propelled by the strength of his legs, he bounded through the throng of enemies as though engaged in a macabre dance, evading a flurry of blows while thrusting his longsword or driving his fist to pierce or hurl his foes through the air.

At times, a savage kick would send a foe flying back to collapse a whole line of their ranks, an advantage he would instantly press to widen his bloody harvest.

Slaughter!

A slaughter born of supreme intensity and absolute focus!

Gradually, Ronin forgot the instinct to preserve his own life, and forgot, too, his original intent to slay only those two Meteor Knights.

The Flame-Flowing Sword could not be stayed, and his will to fight burned ever more fiercely.

In this hour, the profound stamina, endurance, speed, and explosive power of a Silver Moon Knight found their flawless expression.

Sophia invoked her light-weaving shroud to veil her form, drifting down from the heavens until she hovered some twenty to thirty meters above the earth.

She had initially intended to extend a helping hand should Ronin falter, but she had not expected him to fight with such unbridled, ecstatic fury.

She could not help but muse, "How can a pretty boy who looks so gentle and quiet be so utterly crazed in battle?"

If Ronin knew he was deemed a mere pretty boy in her thoughts, one could only wonder what he might think.

"Yet, powerful as Ronin is, the number of Sorcerous Soul Knights here is simply overwhelming."

Sophia cast her gaze around the battlefield.

Though their chieftains, Idrissa and Tripp, had already perished, they had issued a final command before their deaths to hunt Ronin down.

Thus, even now, the Sorcerous Soul Knights stationed in the town of Tars continued to stream onto the field.

If Ronin had not slain ten thousand, he had surely accounted for eight thousand.

Yet looking out across the expanse, they still clustered in dense, unbroken throngs, numbering at least thirty to forty thousand more.

Though most were mere cannon fodder, such overwhelming numbers were a formidable advantage.

No matter how mighty a Silver Moon Knight might be, he was no perpetual engine; exhaustion would claim him eventually.

Sophia raised both her hands, gathering the element of water in one and fire in the other, casting two distinct spells simultaneously!

This was a gift unique to the Sears bloodline, a feat few other mages could hope to mimic.

"Fire Elemental!"

"Water Elemental!"

With two sharp commands from her lips, behemoths of fire and water standing seven to eight meters tall materialized out of thin air, crashing down upon the earth and crushing several Sorcerous Soul Knights beneath their weight.

The two summoned elementals unleashed basic strikes and lower-tier spells alike, instantly clearing two wide circles in the melee.

Sophia manipulated her magical carpet to rise a fraction higher, then retreated to its rear.

The fire elements in the atmosphere grew increasingly turbulent, and at the bidding of her slender hands, a colossal fireball spanning a full thirty meters in diameter coalesced in the sky.

"Roar of the Fire God!"

Hum—

The massive sphere of flame blotted out the sky; before the cannon-fodder knights could even touch the blazing orb, they were scorched by the ferocious heat and reduced to ash.

Boom!

The cataclysmic fireball struck the earth, its terrible might causing the ground to shudder and fracture, while the deafening explosion and violent shockwaves tore through everything in their path, shrouding heaven and earth in a haze of destruction.

After the extremity of the blast, a grim silence returned.

Surveying the scene, not a single thing remained within a hundred-meter radius of the impact; not even a scrap of timber from the collapsed houses was left, and the very earth was baked into charred desolation.

Sophia panted softly, the casting of three high-tier spells in succession having drained a vast portion of her mana and mental reserve, leaving her touched by weariness.

Yet the Roar of the Fire God, paired with the water and fire elementals, should have wiped out ten to twenty thousand of the Sorcerous Soul race; after all, they were not strong.

"The rest is up to you,"

Sophia murmured, guiding her magic carpet back above the ground where Ronin fought.

Ronin had felt the tremors of the recent magical display and knew it to be Sophia's handiwork.

Magic truly reigned supreme when it came to clearing armies.

Yet it carried its own perils; much like Carlos, if the opposing forces were intertwined, an area-of-effect spell like the Roar of the Fire God would inevitably strike one's own allies.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

The carnage ground on, and while Ronin’s combat skills were sharpening at a breathtaking pace, he finally felt the first ebbs of his physical strength.

"As expected, a Silver Moon Knight is not invincible; one can still be worn down to death."

And this was with no Meteor-level combatants among the horde, and precious few Golden-level ones at that.

Had there been a few more Meteor Knights, or had Idrissa and Tripp not been slain beforehand but instead joined the horde in their assault, it would have brought no small amount of trouble to Ronin.

Meanwhile, atop the high tower of Moonlight Castle.

Mephisto stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at the Sorcerous Soul Orb cupped in his hands.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"What is happening!"

"Why are the forces stationed at Tars Town perishing at such a terrifying speed?"

He could feel that, starting from ten minutes ago, the Sorcerous Soul Knights in Tars Town were dwindling rapidly.

Most shocking of all was the single instant just now, wherein over ten thousand had vanished at once!

An alarm blared in his mind: "Disaster! Have the people of the Black Mountain Domain struck ahead of time?"

Mephisto immediately thought of Sophia.

"To slay so many Sorcerous Soul Knights in a single blow, it must be the work of a high-tier spell. In the coastal city and the Black Mountain Domain, it seems only Sophia possesses such capability."

A sinister, venomous light gleamed in his eyes. He despised the human race, and he loathed those of the City of Dawn above all.

Soul-Calming Bay and the City of Dawn had waged a bloody feud for uncounted years, and casualties beyond numbering had been claimed by it.

Mephisto thought he would unleash his full potential upon arriving in Orlant, but unexpectedly, thousands of miles away, he encountered his arch-nemesis once again.

"Damn those Hils family!"

He tucked away the Soul Pearl of Sorcery, declaring, "I will never let you off!"

Mephisto rose and left the tower, needing Jesús to handle a matter for him.

Time flowed slowly, and Ronin's fatigue grew increasingly heavy.

During the recent battle, he had used low and high-level combat techniques countless times to secure advantages, now nearly exhausting his internal fighting energy.

Though his magic remained full, given his exhaustion, he estimated he could barely cast a high-level spell like the Roar of the Flame God once or twice.

Fortunately, the battle was nearing its end.

Whoosh—

The Flowing Flame Sword pierced the last charging Soul Knight of Sorcery, and with a swirl of fighting energy, turned him into dust.

Ronin slumped onto the ground, feeling his arms and legs sore.

"It's been so long, so long since I've experienced fatigue and muscle ache."

He exhaled deeply: "It's finally over!" (End of Chapter)