[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]
Chapter 166
It was as if a demon's weapon had descended from hell.
Radiant beams poured endlessly from the floating city, as though intent on obliterating the entire Fresia Empire.
A deafening explosion erupted, it was so loud it felt like everyone standing below will lose their eardrums.
Even Isaac couldn’t react in time; he grimaced and clasped his hands over his ears.
Though he tried shielding his hearing with mana, it proved futile.
“Ugh...”
Amid the deafening noise, a faint word reached his ears.
“No Blood...”
The powerful mana cannon shots turned red.
The world grew increasingly saturated with the shades of purple until the Fresia Empire was bathed in an ominous radiant purple glow.
Finally, Isaac could open his eyes again.
The blinding light that had hindered his vision was gone.
“What just happened?”
Isaac scanned his surroundings in confusion.
The shots fired from the floating city had vanished.
But how?
He had no idea what had transpired.
“Are you alright?”
Isaac turned toward the voice.
“Kane!”
It was Kane Rehinar.
“Weren’t you headed to the Meyer family?”
“The Meyer family is right over there,” Kane replied, gesturing toward the floating city.
“Can you explain what’s going on?”
“There’s no time to explain. The bombardment will resume shortly.”
And as if on cue, a powerful mana surge again erupted from the floating city.
It radiated an even greater force than before.
If even one beam were to fall, the imperial capital would face utter devastation.
Without hesitation, Kane shot a spear towards the city.
Bang!
A spear streaked through the air, ripping through it with an explosive sound.
It was none other than the Bloodsky blades which had transformed into a spear and infused with blood mana.
Despite the incredible height, the spear's speed didn’t waver; in fact, it seemed to accelerate.
The Bloodsky spear ignited as it pierced into the floating city.
Thunk!
There was no grand explosion, just the quiet impact of the spear embedding itself.
But the results were unimaginable.
The floating city began to tilt, losing its balance.
Blood mana seeped from the Bloodsky blade, slowly devouring the city.
“It’s now,” Kane murmured.
His eyes glowed a deep purple, and wings unfurled behind him.
“W-What?!”
Isaac recoiled in shock.
The wings were formed entirely of mana.
“I’ll go ahead,” Kane announced.
With a mighty leap, he shot into the sky.
Isaac could only stare, dumbfounded, at the spectacle.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Mikhail’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Chrysalis had transformed into a dragon, Mikhail stood atop her and asked Isaac if he intended to join him.
“...Go.”
Isaac and the Black Heaven Knights climbed onto Chrysalis's back.
Unfurling her massive wings, Chrysalis soared into the sky.
“What on earth is that? Can he use aerial magic now too?”
This was a type of magic that required at least a 9th-class mage to perform.
It was an advanced form of movement magic, surpassing even teleportation.
While teleportation required predetermined coordinates, manifesting wings from mana allowed unrestricted movement to any destination.
The technique was so difficult that it was thought to have vanished from existence.
And yet, here was Kane using it with ease.
He truly was an enigma.
“The more I see him, the less I feel ‘monster’ is enough to describe him. Don’t you think?”
“I gave up trying to understand things logically a long time ago.”
“Looks like I’ll have to do the same.”
At that moment, Blata appeared out of nowhere.
“Foolish humans. If you think of Kane as being the same as you, you’ll only end up feeling inadequate. Best not to even try to match him, or you’ll turn into a wreck.”
Especially now, with the sun setting.
As the moon rose higher, the vampires grew stronger.
Even the priests of the Meyer family couldn’t stand against them.
“If you move calmly and in an orderly fashion, I may reward you,” the female vampire purred.
Men, young and old alike, obeyed her without question, completely under her spell.
At the same time, in the floating city
Clang, clang, clang!
The emergency bells rang incessantly.
“An intruder!”
“Don’t let them reach this place at all costs!”
The battle priests launched spells endlessly into the air.
Even the mana cannons fired relentlessly, but every attack missed its mark.
Kane retracted his wings and landed effortlessly on the Meyer family’s platform.
“How dare a mere human trespass in the domain of the gods!”
“Ridiculous. And who exactly is claiming to be a god here?”
"Obviously, I’m talking about the rightful master of this place!"
The priests shouted in fury, acting as if they were divine beings themselves.
Their behavior was laughable.
“Those who claim to serve a god are openly committing blasphemy. How dare you refer to mere humans as gods?”
“Silence! If you insult the divine, you will not be forgiven!”
“It's people like you who are called heretics.”
Kane’s voice hit a nerve, sending the priests into a frenzy.
“How dare you mock us! We won’t stand for it!”
They launched spells of light at Kane:
Blinding orbs, the whip of the sun, shackles of light—
All surged toward him, but none of them had any effect.
Kane calmly formed a sword from blood mana.
“You want to meet your god? Let me help you with that. Though dying won’t get you to heaven—hell might be your destination instead.”
To the priests, the idea of going to hell was the gravest insult.
Even in reality, many such zealots existed—triggered at the mere mention of “falling to hell.”
The priests unleashed every ounce of power they possessed.
“Raaaagh!”
“We’ll kill you!”
They began transforming into monstrous forms.
But Kane had no intention of waiting for them to complete their grotesque metamorphosis.
Shrrkk!
A sharp purple slash traced through the air.
With a low hum, the area where the priests had stood was cleanly severed.
All the heads fell to the ground.
And more than that—their hearts were carved out, left sliced into pieces.
It was a method designed to instantly destroy even the most resilient Death Fiend.
Kane had claimed their lives in a single stroke.
But this was far from over.
The entire Meyer family had stationed itself within the floating city.
From every building, countless priests began pouring out.
Isaac, who had just arrived atop Chrysalis, stood stunned.
“They’re swarming like bees.”
Each member of the Meyer family was a formidable combatant.
But the sheer number of them was staggering—thousands.
No, tens of thousands.
It was almost unbelievable that all of them belonged to a single family.
“If the Meyer family had decided to take the continent, they could have done it already,” Isaac muttered.
Kane responded calmly.
“They already think the continent belongs to them.”
Isaac nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t hard to see why.
Even if only a fraction of them mobilized, they could crush a small nation in a single day.
And these weren’t even their elite forces.
Compared to the Meyer family, the Fresia Empire was a minor power.
“We need to raise the standards for knights and mages moving forward. Seeing this makes me realize how weak Fresia truly is,” Isaac remarked.
“Having a sense of urgency is wise,” Kane replied.
“But are you really planning to take on all of them?”
“Can’t ignore them—they’re like moths to a flame.”
“Good grief.”
Kane charged toward the enemy without hesitation.
His companions followed close behind.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Lucky]