Chapter 393:

Chapter 393:

"They’ve started fighting over there too, huh?"

Magni gripped Mjolnir firmly as he gazed at the swirling dark clouds in the distance, resembling the eye of a storm.

"Shouldn’t we be starting soon as well?"

"You don’t need to tell me that," Kwon Jia responded, her eyes never leaving Magni.

The overwhelming aura he had been exuding for a while now prevented her from relaxing even for a second.

Though he had a smile on his face, his eyes weren't smiling at all.

The moment she let her guard down, Mjolnir would be aimed straight at her head.

"I’ve been looking forward to this. I wonder just how much of Fenrir’s power you’ve inherited, which I thought had long disappeared. If you’ve inherited that lineage, you should be able to entertain me sufficiently, right?"

"Didn’t you feel it enough that time and flee?"

"Hey now, that’s something I’m not even going to bother correcting. You’re the one who interfered in the fight back then. I already had a prior engagement."

Magni openly expressed his displeasure, saying he wouldn’t have had to flee if not for that.

"Wasn’t it you who interfered in Yu-hyun’s battle first?"

"If you can even call what he did a fight."

"Really? For something like that, you brought quite a number of subordinates, didn’t you?"

Kwon Jia sneered as she glanced at the distant Asgardian soldiers standing in formation behind Magni.

At her words, Magni let out a long sigh and roughly scratched his head with his left hand, the one not holding Mjolnir.

"Those guys won’t be joining the fight. To begin with, I’m more than enough on my own."

"Such arrogance."

"Given your level, even if a few of Asgard’s warriors rushed at you, the damage would only increase. Those guys are just insurance for unforeseen circumstances."

"Unforeseen circumstances? You’re speaking as if you’re expecting something more to happen."

"Well, it’s only natural."

Magni chuckled as he shifted his gaze toward a direction completely unrelated to the ongoing war.

"You lot might not realize it yet, but I can feel it. Those Olympus guys seem determined to seize this opportunity. Of all times, they’ve summoned *him*...."

"What?"

"Never mind, that’s just me thinking out loud. What matters now isn’t that."

Magni readjusted his grip on Mjolnir and burst out in laughter.

"Let’s have a proper fight then, shall we?"

Kwoarrrrng!

Dazzling lightning coursed through Mjolnir, swirling around Magni’s body.

At the same time, Kwon Jia unleashed all of her power. A purple aura flickered behind her, transforming into the form of a gigantic wolf.

Simultaneously, the hood she had been wearing was thrown back, revealing her wolf ears.

"I’ll smash your head in."

"I’ll tear out your throat."

* * *

"The battle has begun."

Crown Prince Patrick mumbled quietly as he turned to look back from the high-altitude airship that had pulled back above the storm clouds.

Behind him stood the Alpha Team of the Magic Corps, lined up in perfect order.

Patrick himself was no exception. As someone who prioritized safety, his entire body, aside from his head, was covered in magical equipment.

"You know what our mission is, right?"

There was no reply from the unit members, but in their silence, Patrick found confirmation.

Their mission was to eliminate the core of the alliance that sought to rebel against the Salio Empire while the war raged on.

With the bulk of the enemy forces, from monarchs to transcendent beings, absorbed in the war, only those who couldn’t fight were left behind at their base.

If they could eliminate the key figures of the alliance, the enemy would lose the main driving force needed to continue the war.

In a way, the speed of their actions could determine the outcome of the war.

Patrick activated a holographic map in midair.

"We’ve already analyzed the terrain. Everyone, familiarize yourselves with the optimal route."

"Your Highness, what about the ones inside?"

A slight headache throbbed in his skull, but he found the optimal route to evade them.

It was far easier than breaking through Kang Hye-rim’s Spiral Black Swords when she had been the Black Thunder Lord. Just that fact alone gave Yu-hyun a clear measure of Deolraka's abilities.

"You're weak."

Weaker than Kang Hye-rim. Weaker than Choi Do-yoon.

Though Deolraka was hailed as a transcendent enforcer, in the end, that was just a title they gave each other within their own territory.

True power wasn’t bound by such titles.

"Spiral Black Sword."

The ability Yu-hyun had gained from reading Kang Hye-rim’s book.

Yu-hyun spread his hand wide, summoning a sword of lightning. Countless blades spiraled in a double helix formation, surging toward Deolraka.

Sensing danger, Deolraka bit his lip and activated something.

Boom! Boom! Two massive shields fell from the sky, blocking Yu-hyun's Spiral Black Swords. The shields didn’t last more than a second, but it was enough time for Deolraka to retreat.

Watching the aftermath of his attack, Yu-hyun narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

"So you act like you're fighting barehanded, but in reality, you're relying on all sorts of items?"

"I knew I had no choice but to."

"I see. I understand what your disciple learned from you quite well."

Crack! At the mention of Piren, a vein bulged on Deolraka’s forehead.

Mechanical constructs began floating around Deolraka. Seeing the autonomous combat magical devices supplied by the airship, Yu-hyun readjusted his grip on *Baekryun*.

It would be a mistake to underestimate those devices just because they were magical. Each of them was dangerous in its own right.

Yu-hyun glanced down at the *Baekryun* in his hand.

If the Salio Empire truly was the one that forged this weapon, then it meant they could create even a few items at a mythic level.

Realizing this, Yu-hyun smirked. What was he even worrying about? It didn’t matter how strong the enemy was, or how dangerous the tools they wielded were.

"Are you all prepared now?"

"What?"

"I'm getting tired of waiting. Pull out everything you’ve got."

"Have you lost your mind? You’re giving the enemy a chance? You should be pushing so hard that I can’t even breathe!"

"And if I don’t?"

"...You’ll pay dearly for underestimating me. Just don’t regret it later."

The swords and shields that had blocked Yu-hyun's Spiral Black Swords began spinning around Deolraka again. The shields, which had briefly held off the attack, were also part of this system.

Surrounded by numerous mechanical constructs, Deolraka raised his sword and aimed it at Yu-hyun.

In the sky, the Salio Empire's Magic Corps hovered above, looking down at Yu-hyun.

In the end, there was no such thing as a fair one-on-one fight. No one expected an honorable battle in war.

‘At least the others seem to be fighting well enough for now.'

Wilford and the other monarchs of the alliance were holding their ground against the last enforcer of the Salio Empire in the midst of the disaster caused by the elemental stones.

But even that was only a matter of time. The Salio Empire wouldn’t just sit back. Moreover, the gap in weaponry was significant. Though they had caught them off guard for now, the situation would soon reverse.

That was why they needed to cut off the enemy commander’s head first.

‘I’ll control the flow of the battle.'

It wasn’t enough to just defeat the enemy.

He had to overwhelm them with the disparity in power so as to crush their morale. That’s why Yu-hyun was waiting for Deolraka to fully prepare himself.

Soon, Deolraka made his move. The swords and shields floating around him reacted simultaneously.

It had begun.

The sword aimed at Yu-hyun, then suddenly split down the middle, firing a laser.

To think the sword itself would fire lasers like that. Although Yu-hyun had already foreseen it with Laplace's Eye, witnessing it in person was something else entirely.

Dodging the beam with fluid motions, Yu-hyun advanced toward Deolraka.

"Stop him!"

"Kill him!"

Simultaneously, the Salio Empire’s Magic Corps aimed their spears at Yu-hyun and charged.

Amidst the countless bombardments and enemy assaults crossing the air, Yu-hyun stood alone, confronting them with nothing but his own body.