While the fight above was nearing its conclusion, Aurelia was still chanting continuously, trying to gain the stele’s permission to obtain its authority.

  She also pced several dark stones around the stele to provide it with more energy to function. It wasn’t enough to activate the array but barely sufficient to offer an offering for access.

  Since Varel and the others would activate the nodes in accordance with the array in the Faruin, there was no need to activate and connect it beforehand. In fact, she couldn’t do so, as it wasn’t the right time.

  Forcible activation would take far too long. That was the reason why Varel waited.

  However, since they only wanted jurisdiction over the Eternal Gondoris’ ruins, they could finish up fairly quickly.

  “Good! Illyan, come here!” Aurelia, who was almost finished, yelled out to him.

  Illyan turned his attention to the stele as he began to feel a certain connection to it.

  It was a mysterious feeling that reverberated through his body and mind.

  Since time was of the essence, Illyan quickly ran up to Aurelia and listened to her instructions.

  “Put your hand on it and think of your blood that was poured inside. Once you feel it, try to connect your mind with it. Everything else has already been arranged, so you don’t need to worry,” Aurelia said as she removed her hand from the Starstone and wiped the sweat sparkling on her forehead.

  “Alright.” Illyan didn’t like diving into something completely unknown, but he chose to trust Aurelia. The connection he felt with the stele seemed real, at the very least.

  Illyan brought his hand closer to the stele and already felt the physical and psychological attraction growing stronger.

  It was as if some kind of invisible force was trying to take control of his body and mind to make him touch the stele.

  However, Illyan’s hand didn’t suddenly lurch toward the stele, nor did his expression change.

  The movement he made was very fluid, slow, and steady.

  There was no way, after his mind had been fortified by all kinds of harsh life experiences, that he would be so easily maniputed.

  But since he pnned to touch it anyway, it didn’t matter much.

  Once his palm touched the ft, cold surface of the stone, Illyan felt a prickling pain attack his hand. However, the pain almost instantly disappeared as he felt something leaving his palm.

  ‘I guess my blood is being tested to see whether it matches the one poured in…’

  Suddenly, he felt as though he could read some of the symbols running across the stele. He could understand individual words, but the sentences were difficult to decipher as there were many terms he had never heard of, and the Gondorian nguage’s syntax was completely different from the Vanaras and Oberuan nguages.

  Only a few key words could be understood.

  “Access to the Faruin Support System, huh?” Illyan nodded to himself.

  If he understood correctly, he was now able to control this node to a certain extent.

  Once the process was complete, the red color swirling inside the stele was suppressed into its center until it completely disappeared, repced by a sky-blue hue that overtook the stele once again.

  The room, once bathed in ominous red, was now soothed by the original color of the Starstone.

  “Illyan, if you’re done, let’s go! A lot of time has already passed, so there’s a chance they’ve already discovered the hole,” Aurelia said with a frown, thinking of a way to escape.

  “Even if they’ve discovered us, it doesn’t change anything. We don’t need to fight them; we need to run to the next node instead. Just charge forward. You’ll be the spear, and I’ll be the shield,” Illyan said as he moved in front of her.

  “Are you sure?” Aurelia asked with an uncertain expression. Illyan was surprised to see her like this since she had never shown this side of herself, even when her disease symptoms struck.

  Illyan sighed before showing a grin.

  “I even have the acolytes’ healing potions. If something doesn’t kill me instantly, I should be alright. However, if possible, not sustaining any injuries would be best since using [Blood Ignition] isn’t nearly efficient enough,” Illyan said.

  Aurelia looked him in the eyes and then nodded.

  Illyan, seeing this, smirked in his mind as he took out an item covered in cloth from his back.

  Once he uncovered it, a hint of blue hue illuminated Illyan’s face.

  It was Caleb’s sword in its sheath. Despite this, the bde’s brilliance couldn’t be hidden.

  Originally, he had taken this weapon to be his main tool for the fights on this expedition. However, this changed after Aurelia gave him the sabers he had strapped to his hips.

  Their quality was common, and they didn’t have any unique features or traits.

  However, that was also an advantage. The sword tempered by aura was conspicuous. Not to mention, it could be recognized as Caleb’s sword.

  Most of the acolytes and gang members knew about his hidden identity as the Smiling Devil, but almost no one noticed it was him despite using the same disguise. Since his bald, scarred head was covered by a hood, nobody could see his face unless they got closer. But by then, it would be too te for them.

  However, if he used the sword, the light could reveal his identity to someone farther away, and if he managed to escape, their pn could fail. So, unless he needed to fight someone strong, he wouldn’t use it.

  But now was the time.

  No matter whether it was Varel or Svanor, both were formidable enemies.

  So, they decided to go all out from the beginning and rush toward the other nodes in a hurry before the news got out!

  “We’re going!” Illyan yelled as he kicked the door open and immediately used a two-handed grip on the longsword to send a horizontal air ssh through the hidden passage!

  The stale air suddenly stirred as the entire passage went into chaos when the ssh passed through the middle.

  If there had been anything in the passage, it would have been sliced into two pieces.

  Or at least, it was supposed to be so.

  Swish

  The gentle sound of the wind’s movement echoed in Illyan’s ears as he heard a slight tap from the ceiling.

  Instinctively, Illyan moved the sword that had just completed the horizontal ssh into a defensive position above his head in one fluid motion.

  The light that invaded the passage through the door wasn’t strong enough to see properly, but it was sufficient to notice the glints of bdes coming at him.

  Clink Clink

  Illyan’s sword cshed with the first bde, which slid across the edge of his sword and got caught by the sword guard, successfully stopping it.

  However, Illyan didn’t have time to rex as he angled his sword down toward the ground, still keeping the first bde at bay while stopping the second ssh coming from his fnk and aiming at his ribs.

  Illyan swept his leg at the pce where the intruder’s body supposedly was. However, he didn’t feel any resistance.

  He didn’t even have time to use his spiritual perception as his instincts kicked in, prompting him to roll backward.

  The third ssh, which stealthily attacked him from below like a venomous serpent, came from an impossible angle.

  If Illyan’s battle experience were any less, his chest would already have been pierced through.

  ‘Ah, I see…’

  Once he adjusted to the darkness, Illyan finally noticed what had attacked him.

  It was a bde attached to a leg stump, acting as a prosthetic.

  The way it was made was barbaric, but it would suffice for a fight or two.

  ‘So, it is Varel who won. Well, I don’t know if that’s good news or not.’

  While warriors like Varel didn’t have unpredictable trump cards like acolytes, their overall battle ability was higher if they had achieved certain feats in close combat.

  However, Illyan didn’t pn to fight head-on this time, so it should be fine.

  “Heh, I wondered who it might be. And voi! It’s the one who kidnapped my son. Did you take the sword from his cold hands, or is he still al—”

  Varel, cackling like a maniac, couldn’t finish his sentence before Illyan rushed at him.

  Varel had already predicted this, preparing for the next csh.

  The moment Illyan chopped with his sword, Varel caught it with his serpent daggers while trying to use his prosthetic to stab Illyan’s leg.

  However, the most dangerous aspect of Varel’s attack was the flow within the daggers running directly through them into Illyan’s body.

  It passed right through Illyan’s sword and into him.

  Illyan visibly flinched as he slowed down, while the prosthetic leg pierced his thigh.

  Just as Varel grinned, Illyan burst out his hidden blood energy.

  The muscles in his thigh tightened, trapping Varel and preventing him from escaping.

  Then, Illyan used his own flow to negate his enemy’s.

  “Hmm? Did you steal the technique?” Varel, seeing this, was quite surprised.

  After all, the path of the knight was much easier to step into than that of the magister. Though, very few of these ‘knights’ managed to achieve anything beyond the basic usage of the breathing technique stages they trained in.

  Obviously, learning the technique was easier with a teacher, but that was quite rare in the Vanaras Kingdom.

  Only his gang openly used flow infusion, which caused Varel to think along those lines.

  But none of this mattered to Illyan, as his body strength increased thanks to his blood energy, which he used to punch Varel in the face.

  There was an impact, but Illyan felt that Varel lessened it to the point of no damage.

  However, this was just a ruse to veil Varel’s eyes as Illyan used the sword in his other hand to ssh at the leg stump.

  ‘Shall we make it even shorter?’

  Squelch

  The sword, filled with flow, and the body charged with blood energy made it possible to fully cut through the leg and its bones.

  The leg was almost severed above the knee but stopped at the bone in the end. It wasn’t because Illyan was weak or the sword dull, but because a green aura seeped out of the wound, stopping the sword from cutting any deeper.

  However, the leg should at least be unusable during this fight.

  Illyan couldn’t celebrate, though, as he also suffered consequences. Two daggers were stabbed into his body.

  One pierced through his armpit into his lung, while the other stabbed through his throat.

  “You’re good, but there’s still a gap between us, unfortunately,” Varel whispered.

  Illyan didn’t say anything, only throwing his sword high into the air, grabbing Varel’s wrists that held the daggers, and violently turning on his heel to make a complete turn with his entire body while Varel was dragged along.

  ‘I guess saving energy against this monster isn’t the best course of action. Then…!’ Varel saw that Illyan had survived a dagger to the throat and was surprised. Very few could survive such an injury.

  But that only meant their bodies would be more mutited when he was done with them.

  “Ugh…” The inertia made Varel groan slightly, but he grinned as a vicious flow ran through his body to his daggers, entering Illyan’s wounds.

  Illyan’s flow counterattacked, but his flow was much less flexible than Varel’s.

  Not to mention that this time, Varel also used aura…

  Violent, fire-like energy burst out of his entire body.

  While it resembled fire, it wasn’t.

  Caleb’s aura was illusory and unstable, while Ezekiel’s was likely impure and mixed with mana. But this time, Illyan finally saw what true aura looked like.

  The green was dark, and the substance was already close to fog. While the aura resembled fire, its movement was simir to fluid under Varel’s control.

  However, the biggest difference y in its prowess. Caleb’s aura was weak and mostly used for body enhancement rather than direct attacks.

  But Varel’s aura was different. It was overbearing and filled with bloodlust.

  A crushing and stabbing sensation jolted through Illyan’s body the moment Varel employed his aura. His hands immediately let go of Varel’s wrists, but the damage was done. Most of the bones in his arms were broken in several pces, while the muscles and skin were torn.

  However, Illyan didn’t have time to care about that as the aura extended from the wrists and began wrapping around the serpent daggers.

  It was a slower process since these daggers weren’t part of Varel’s body, but quick enough to threaten him.

  If the dagger was completely covered, then Illyan’s head would be easily lopped off his neck.

  And that would probably kill even him.

  But Illyan wasn’t worried. He didn’t fight for his life.

  At this moment, he only acted as a ‘shield.’

  ‘Several seconds have passed. She should be done,’ Illyan thought.

  There was a reason why he turned his body with Varel back toward the room with the stele.

  “[Fire Spark],” a voice resounded as the darkness retreated even more, with Aurelia, whose palm faced the ceiling, caressing the spark of fme.

  And right after that, the spell was shot right at Illyan.

  “Combination of warrior and magician, huh? How annoying,” Varel clicked his tongue in annoyance as he muttered to himself.

  He retrieved his aura from the bdes, as he didn’t have the intention of risking his life to kill someone who could very well survive his attack.

  Instead, he condensed his aura further around his body and pulled his daggers out of Illyan’s body.

  Illyan wanted to stop him, but Varel was too quick.

  He could only jump to the side to avoid being caught up in the fire and recuperate.

  On the other hand, Varel also managed to dodge, barely, with the fire spark only grazing him.

  What he didn’t know was that Aurelia could use several spells in succession and even combine their effects.

  To those who didn’t delve too deeply into magic, they felt that chanting several spells in parallel was the most important when it came to firepower. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but it wasn’t right either.

  The rate of casting spells was equally important.

  Even if you could cast one hundred spells at once, if it took too long to release a new salvo each time, you would be at the enemy’s mercy.

  Moreover, focusing only on one spell at a time also had advantages.

  You could cast different spells each time and even combine them, as Aurelia did.

  Parallel casting didn’t allow this unless you could split your mind and achieve true multitasking, with each part of mind chanting a different spell.

  That’s why Varel, who had already seen the [Fire Spark] spell countless times during the war, didn’t expect anything.

  “[Mana Bst]!” Aurelia’s soft voice resounded again.

  The fire spark fmes that were now licking the side of Varel’s aura swelled up as strong mana fluctuations built up before exploding.

  “Ugh!” Varel was violently thrown into the walls, while the remaining fmes from the fire spark stirred up and engulfed the passage.

  Varel had to use his aura, which was already weak from fighting all the acolytes outside, to avoid being caught in the fire while Illyan caught the sword he had thrown in the air before retreating toward the staircase.

  He didn’t wait for Aurelia, since she had a certain immunity to the fmes made out of her mana, allowing her to pass easily with minimal expenditure.

  The fmes weren’t very strong to begin with. They would kill Varel without his aura, but obviously, they knew he had it covering his body.

  These fmes were actually for Illyan’s sake.

  As the one acting as a shield, he once again spilled blood, but he wasn’t skilled enough to use [Blood Ignition] during the battle at a moment’s notice.

  But now, all the blood was burnt to a crisp along with everything else.

  Illyan ran up the stairs and prepared for any enemies.

  Since Varel was here, Illyan guessed that most of his people had died, but being careful was what kept him alive, so he didn’t let his guard down.

  The moment he finally came to the end of the stairs, he used his spiritual perception and felt a crowd of people.

  ‘I guess it was wishful thinking that it would be too easy. But since Varel went in first, then it meant that this trap was meant for someone stronger than him. They’re far from strong enough to ambush me. What are they pnning?’

  Illyan thought silently.

  But he didn’t stop. Time was running.

  Even if Aziro and Ezekiel waited there for him, he would keep running forward.

  Once he reached the end, he once again used his spiritual energy and this time felt the entire room above him.

  ‘Hmm? There is a hole in the pce where the door was supposed to be? And this huge?’

  Illyan immediately felt the influx of spiritual energy in the wind coming from the big hole that was made in the tower’s wall.

  And the next thing he felt was…

  ‘Damn it, they really want us dead, huh!’

  Four ballistae were stuffed into each corner of the ground floor of the tower, aimed right at the hole in the middle, waiting for them to come out…