The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 518

Gatros turned to his left, where a unit of soldiers, aided by rampaging spirits, was advancing at an alarming speed.

Spirits were an unfair advantage in battle. Fighting them bore no tangible results, as they caused no loss to the enemy's forces.

Furthermore, spirits couldn’t be completely destroyed. As long as the summoner remained alive and their energy was sufficient, the spirits would keep reappearing.

The advancing forces were relentless and ferocious, overwhelming Gatros’s troops. Even when reinforcements from the center were dispatched, the cavalry archers positioned in the rear made it nearly impossible to break through.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Leading the charge was a figure clad in magnificent armor adorned with antlers.

This individual had pinned down four of Gatros’s priests, rendering his side unable to mount an effective defense.

Gatros recognized the figure immediately.

"The Guardian of the World Tree!"

Both the Saintess and the Guardian of the World Tree were long-standing enemies of the Salvation Order. Killing even one of them here would be a massive step toward their ultimate goal.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Gatros made his decision.

The side where the Saintess was holding her ground was still precariously stable. Eliminating the spirits, with their overwhelming advantage, had to come first.

“Halt!”

BOOM!

Gatros unleashed a burst of black energy, instantly shattering the spirits. Without missing a beat, he charged toward Ereneth.

Ereneth, who had already slain two superhumans and was engaged with the remaining two, turned her body swiftly to face the new threat, extending her hand toward him.

Flash!

A green light shot forth from her hand, colliding with Gatros’s black energy and causing a violent explosion.

BOOM!

The intense shockwave knocked everyone nearby off their feet. The two priests trapped by Ereneth used the opportunity to retreat.

Ereneth stared at her hand. She felt an incredible recoil from the clash. This new opponent was no ordinary priest.

"So, you're the one they call the High Priest?"

She had already heard about a priest of this caliber from Ghislain.

Gatros, his face twisted with rage, responded.

"Guardian of the World Tree. I will kill you here and now."

Ereneth smirked faintly. "It seems we have no need for words, then."

Boom!

Both figures lunged at each other simultaneously.

BOOM!

A torrent of black energy surged from Gatros’s hands, spreading toward the advancing Northern forces. His aim was clear—strike Ereneth while also thinning the enemy ranks.

Ereneth, standing firm, unleashed her own power to counter the onslaught. If she failed to intercept such a widespread attack, her allies would suffer devastating losses.

Crash!

Black energy and green light collided, creating a massive wave of force. The two forces pushed against each other as if locked in a fierce arm-wrestling match.

Gatros had deliberately chosen this method of attack. He had a strategy in mind.

"Finish the rest!"

At his command, the remaining two priests of the Salvation Order began to move. With Ereneth occupied, they turned their focus to the advancing Northern forces.

Ereneth scowled.

She had already expended a significant amount of energy summoning high-level spirits to minimize allied casualties. Now, locked in a power struggle with Gatros, she couldn’t afford to disengage.

While the Salvation priests moved toward the Northern troops, another figure acted even faster.

Buzz!

A radiant light burst from the armor of Kaor, who stood at the forefront. Though not yet a superhuman, he pushed his combat abilities to their limits using the power of his armor.

Whoosh!

"What the—?"

One of the priests recoiled in shock as a black-armored figure suddenly leaped at him, swinging a sword.

Clang!

The unexpected attack was parried, but the priest had no time to recover. A relentless barrage of sword strikes came at him with astonishing speed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The priest, lacking proper technique, panicked. His opponent showed no concern for defense, targeting only vital points with wild precision.

It felt like being ambushed by a ravenous beast.

"You insolent wretch!"

The priest, a superhuman, couldn’t believe a mere knight dared to challenge him. He hurriedly blocked another strike and prepared to counterattack.

Slash! Slash!

"Ugh!"

Before he could act, several more figures descended upon him. Blades cut into his legs, arms, and shoulders.

Their coordination was remarkable. The priest found himself overwhelmed, pushed back as he frantically tried to defend himself.

The other priest fared no better. Dozens of black-armored knights swarmed him, leaving no room to regain his footing.

More knights joined the fray, their numbers steadily increasing.

"What are these things? How can there be so many knights?!"

The Salvation priests were visibly shaken. Nearly a hundred knights surrounded them.

Kaor, grinning savagely, taunted them.

"You lot are absolutely useless in a fight, aren’t you?"

The assault team led by Kaor included 200 Fenris knights. Half of them had gone with Ghislain, but the rest were here.

These were no ordinary soldiers. All were at least mid-level knights, with a significant number at the advanced level. Kaor himself had reached the pinnacle of advanced knighthood.

The former Mad Hounds followed Kaor, while the remaining hundred knights pressed the enemies, creating space.

Both the Salvation Order priests and the Delphine forces found themselves increasingly overwhelmed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle grew more intense by the moment.

Despite their lack of refined technique, the priests were still superhuman. They unleashed bursts of energy, scattering the knights around them.

Though injured from the relentless attacks, the priests methodically thinned their opponents.

Boom!

"Argh!"

Even Kaor was struck, sent flying backward. Beneath his dented helmet, his face twisted in frustration.

"Damn it! Why am I the only one who isn’t a superhuman?!"

He had come close to breaking through to the next level many times, but the final barrier was massive.

What stung even more was seeing Gillian, fighting on the other side of the battlefield, fully displaying the might of a true superhuman.

"When I break through, I’ll be stronger than that old man!"

Kaor roared, throwing himself back into the fray against the priests. He swung his sword furiously, even as he was knocked down again and again, radiating an unyielding ferocity.

"Damn it! Damn it! I’m stronger!"

"What’s this lunatic even talking about?!"

One of the priests, unnerved by Kaor’s relentless assault, grimaced. Despite his mangled armor and numerous wounds, Kaor refused to back down.

No matter how many times they tried to kill him, he stubbornly clung to life. His resilience was maddening, preventing the priests from focusing properly.

Boom!

Kaor was knocked away again. The knights, too, began to falter, their armor shattered and bodies falling one by one.

Even if the priests were only half-fledged superhumans, their strength and speed were overwhelming. The armor couldn’t fully compensate for the disparity in power.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As allied forces dwindled, the priests unleashed wide-area attacks without restraint. For them, this was a more efficient approach.

The Fenris knights opposing them had already suffered over 50% casualties. If this continued, they would all be incapacitated.

Of course, the Salvation priests weren’t unscathed either.

"Hah… hah… these damned bastards."

"Why won’t they just die?"

The priests of the Salvation Order wore expressions of utter disbelief. No matter how many times they blasted them away, the knights kept charging back like rabid dogs.

As a result, the priests were riddled with wounds, their bodies battered and bruised.

The real problem was that even when it seemed like those mad knights were dead, they got back up and kept moving. For mere knights, their mana reserves were astonishingly vast, and their armor was exceptional.

At this rate, it was the priests who would tire out first. Determined, the priests drew upon their remaining strength.

"I'll kill them all at once!"

Their pride as superhumans had been shattered, leaving them in a frenzied state. Even if it meant wiping out their own allies, they resolved to unleash an all-powerful attack.

The knights rose and charged again. At the same time, the priests released their full energy.

BOOOOM!

From the priests’ bodies, thousands of strands of black energy shot out. At the same time, a radiant light erupted from behind the knights.

"Goddess, hear my call!"

CLANG!

The light engulfed the battlefield in an instant. It was divine power unleashed by Piote, who had been lying in wait within the formation.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The black energy unleashed by the priests collided with Piote’s divine power.

"It worked! It succeeded!"

? “You must heal the knights and block the Salvation Order priests’ attacks,” Amelia had instructed him.

To maximize their effectiveness against the enemy, Amelia had meticulously assigned roles to each individual.

Piote had been hiding among the Northern troops, waiting for the right moment. Now, he had seized his chance.

BOOOOM!

The divine light clashing with the black energy dissipated instantly, nullifying the priests’ attack entirely.

"Wh-what is this...?"

The priests were stunned, their faces pale with disbelief. Kaor took the opportunity to charge back into the fray.

CLANG!

His blade slashed through the body of one of the priests. At the same time, the Fenris knights sprang back to life, swarming the enemy in waves.

"What’s happening?! Why are they attacking with such ferocity again?!"

"That divine power even healed them?!"

The priests shouted in horror. Moments ago, most of the knights had been exhausted and collapsing. Yet now, they were attacking with the same vigor as when the battle had begun.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The priests were too preoccupied defending against the relentless onslaught. They had expended too much energy on their last attack.

Every time they blocked an attack, another blade came from a different direction. The sheer number of knights surrounding them forced the priests to retreat step by step.

They couldn’t even hope for help from their allies.

"Push them back!"

The remaining Northern knights and cavalry charged into the enemy ranks with reckless abandon, driving them far away.

Kaor, now in control of the momentum, swung his sword with relentless focus.

"I’ll take down just one of them!"

He fixated on one Salvation priest, attacking him with wild abandon. His eyes gleamed with unrestrained fury as he swung his sword madly.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The priest, though overwhelmed, held his ground. He parried the strikes from Kaor while fending off other knights attacking from all sides.

The priest was losing his composure, busy defending against Kaor's blade and the constant swarm of knights.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Kaor gritted his teeth, swinging his sword with even greater force. His strikes now bordered on madness.

His single motivation was simple.

"Damn it! Why am I the only one?! Why am I the only one who isn’t a superhuman?!"

Fueled by an inferiority complex, Kaor had lost all sense of his surroundings and focused solely on his target.

Amid his frenzied attacks—

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! SWISH!

"Huh?"

"Ahh!"

Kaor and the priest both froze momentarily in shock. Kaor’s blade had cleanly severed the priest’s arm.

The constant attacks from the pack of knights had undoubtedly drained the priest’s energy. But it was still unbelievable for his arm to be cut so easily.

For a brief moment, an aura blade had flickered across Kaor’s sword.

Kaor’s face lit up with euphoric delight.

"I... I’ve finally become a superhuman!"

In truth, nothing had significantly changed. He didn’t feel as though he had broken through any barriers.

Still, Kaor charged forward with renewed confidence.

"Die!"

The Salvation priest, with no other option, allowed some of the knights’ attacks to land as he reached out toward Kaor. That man had become his primary target.

BOOM!

"Gah!"

Kaor was sent flying again. The aura blade had vanished entirely.

Earlier, in a moment of uncontrollable rage and desperation, Kaor had unknowingly touched the threshold of superhuman power. But it had been fleeting, leaving him no closer to breaking through.

"Argh! Damn it!"

Covered in blood, Kaor got back to his feet with a furious expression.

He still hadn’t fully established his own domain, and what had happened was merely a fluke born of chaos.

But it was enough. Even a fleeting taste of power gave him hope.

"I have potential too! Cough!"

Spitting blood, Kaor charged at the priest once more. The priest’s face had now turned pale with terror.

"This... this bastard..."

He had already endured far too many attacks from the knights. His strength was waning rapidly.

No matter how powerful a superhuman was, taking on 100 highly trained knights simultaneously was an impossible feat.

BOOM! SWISH! STAB!

The Salvation priests, drained of energy, began succumbing to the relentless strikes. The knights coordinated their attacks, minimizing their own losses while maximizing their damage.

From an outsider’s perspective, it might have seemed dishonorable, but it was the most effective way to bring down a superhuman.

This exact strategy was what Ghislain had drilled into them, and they executed it flawlessly.

The priests’ bodies became more battered with each passing second.

"Ugh..."

"Arrgh!"

Lacking the combat skills to overcome the situation, the priests found themselves entirely overwhelmed. No allies were left to save them.

Thud!

Kaor kicked one staggering priest in the chest, sending him to the ground. Without hesitation, he drove his blade through the priest’s throat.

STAB!

"Grkk..."

One priest fell dead. The other was swiftly cut down by the knights' coordinated assault.

Kaor, his body as battered as the priests’, raised his sword high and shouted.

"Damn it! Superhumans aren’t so special after all! Cough! I’ve killed them all!"

"Waaaah!"

The strike team erupted in triumphant cheers at Kaor’s ferocious declaration.