Chapter 755

Chapter 755
With a resounding crack, the suspension bridge snapped, its thick cables shredding with a thunderous boom that vibrated through the canyon walls. The captives, bound and helpless, shrieked as they were cast into the empty air.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Their cries faded as they tumbled toward the abyss. Watching the descent, the dark sorcerers let out chilling, gleeful laughs. They had refrained from slaughtering the prisoners immediately for one specific purpose: to bait Ghislain into exhausting his reserves to rescue them. Any attempt to save the falling hostages would surely drain his vitality.

Ghislain, however, had anticipated their scheme.

“Ereneth!”

“On it!”

Ereneth flung her hand upward, summoning spirits of the gale from the ether. These translucent beings darted toward the falling victims, cutting through the wind.

Fwoooosh!

The rapid descent slowed instantly, as if the people had become drifting down. The swirling currents converged to cradle them. Yet, directly beneath them lay a treacherous river—violent, deep, and surging.

“Spirit of the tides! Provide a sanctuary in your gentle grasp!”

Responding to Ereneth’s command, towering swells rose from the river’s surface. Water spirits shaped themselves into massive pillars, intercepting the falling bodies. Instead of a lethal impact with the rapids, the survivors slid down these liquid columns, coming to a soft rest within the spirits’ fluid embrace.

Observing this, Bulag, the commander of the dark mages, bit his lip in frustration.

“Spirit magic? We had no reports of a spirit-user among them.”

The reality was undeniable. Their strategy to deplete the mad mage’s energy had been thwarted by an unforeseen variable.

“Eliminate them. Now!”

The observing mages acted instantly. Corrupt mana swirled—a chaotic mixture of lightning, flame, and venom gathered into a singular, lethal strike. Ereneth was already strained, maintaining two types of elemental spirits simultaneously; she had no capacity to defend against the incoming barrage.

That was when Ghislain stepped to the forefront.

“Shield.”

The incantation was brief, yet the magnitude of the resulting power was staggering.

FWOOOOOSH!

A colossal shimmering dome materialized over the rescued hostages. The dark mages’ spells collided with the radiant wall and shattered into nothingness.

BOOOMBOOOMBOOOMBOOOMBOOOM!

The residual force tore chunks of rock from the cliffs, but the people sheltered beneath the dome remained untouched. With a heavy sigh of relief, Ereneth began pulling the survivors toward their side.

Julien and Kyle rushed forward, yelling in triumph.

“Ghislain! It worked! They’re safe!”

“Thank the heavens. The plan held. Let’s pull back now.”

With the bridge gone, crossing the canyon from their current position was impossible. Their primary objective had been the rescue. The logical next step was to retreat and devise a new strategy to handle the remaining enemies.

However, Ghislain suddenly seized both of them by their shoulders.

“This is a rare opening.”

“For what?”

“Opportunities for training like this don’t come often. Where else will you find such a concentrated horde of monsters to practice on?”

“…What?”

Before they could process his words, Ghislain swung his arms and hurled them across the chasm with terrifying strength.

“AAAAAH!”

“YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATIC!”

Julien and Kyle streaked through the air, soaring over the gap. The remaining mercenaries watched in stunned silence. Ghislain then turned his attention to Lionel. Seeing Lionel’s shocked expression, Ghislain offered a dark grin.

“You’ve learned the basics. You have mana now. Nothing facilitates growth like a real bloodbath.”

“Oh… don’t you dare. You’re a monster.”

“Keep your shield up. If you drop it in the air, you’re done for.”

With that, Ghislain launched Lionel across the canyon as well. Lionel didn’t scream; he simply flew through the air with a look of utter soul-crushing shock.

THUD!

Crashing onto the far bank, Lionel instinctively raised his shield.

*What is wrong with him? If he wanted me dead, a quick strike would have been kinder. Why go through the effort of feeding me to monsters?*

In Lionel’s mind, Ghislain probably just thought a heroic death in battle looked better for the records. Gritting his teeth, Lionel hissed to himself:

*I’m not dying here! I’m going to survive just so I can report every bit of this madness to the Papacy!*

SKREEEE!

On the far side of the canyon, a tide of horrific creatures awaited. There were chimeras with twisted, mismatched anatomy and undead horrors dragging their decaying remains across the dirt. It seemed as though every monster in the territory had been funneled into this single spot.

Julien whispered, his voice low with dread.

“…This is going to be difficult.”

Kyle let out a frantic, high-pitched laugh as he unsheathed his blade.

“Haha… we aren’t seriously expected to kill all of these, are we?”

Lionel’s eyes scanned the horizon frantically from behind his shield. There was no time for contemplation. The thunder of hooves shook the ground, and the stench of rot washed over them like a physical wave.

“AAAAAH! Forget this! Why is your ‘training’ always a suicide mission?!”

Kyle’s roar rang across the gorge. Julien said nothing, his focus narrowing as he decapitated the first monster to reach him. Lionel, driven by a desperate will to live, began slamming his shield forward to repel the encroaching swarm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The trio fought like possessed men, pouring every ounce of their willpower into surviving the onslaught. Ghislain watched them for a moment. Given their current abilities, they would manage to hold the line. He wasn’t worried about the dark mages attacking them; their eyes were locked onto him.

They were all fifth-circle.

He had measured their strength during the initial exchange. They were holding back, preparing to face him together, knowing he was a transcendent being.

Ghislain glanced back. Deneb and a few mercenaries were still with him. Deneb held out her trembling hands, her face pale.

“Ghislain, please, not me. I’m not prepared for this.”

“If Osvald goes over there, he’ll be ripped apart!”

Ghislain paused, then gave a short nod. It was true; the others likely wouldn’t survive the chaos on the other side.

“HEY! A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!”

Kyle’s desperate cry echoed once more. The sheer volume of the monster horde was becoming unmanageable for the three of them.

BOOOOOM!

Ghislain detonated forward like a launched projectile. Piercing through the atmospheric pressure, he dove into the very heart of the monster army.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!

Mana erupted from him in violent pulses. Shimmering blue light lanced through the air, shredding the bodies of the beasts. Flesh and gore sprayed as Ghislain’s energy spiraled outward, a whirlwind of destruction that leveled everything in its path.

Julien stumbled back, stunned. Kyle stood motionless, his jaw dropping.

“He could have cleared this in seconds, and yet…”

Lionel winced with every nearby blast.

*I really am just a burden.*

His confidence plummeted to an all-time low.

Ghislain didn’t eradicate the entire horde. He deliberately left enough survivors so the trio could continue their “lesson.” He simply carved a path through the center and kept moving forward.

That was when the four dark mages finally showed themselves in the distance.

“Focus everything on him,” Bulag commanded.

Eldritch circles manifested around the mages, and a torrent of crimson-black energy surged forth.

BOOOOOM!

Spells struck like bolts of dark lightning, gouging the earth and slamming into Ghislain. Smoke instantly swallowed the battlefield. Yet, Ghislain continued his advance, his protective barrier holding firm. He marched through the relentless magical fire, swatting aside any monsters that dared get in his way.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As Ghislain drew the bulk of the enemies’ attention, the pressure on the three trainees eased. It was still a fight, but one they could feasibly win.

On the original side of the canyon, Ereneth continued her work.

“Slowly now! You’re safe! The spirits have you!”

The mercenaries helped the civilians to the rear. Once the area was clear, Ereneth took to the sky, lifted by her wind spirits.

“Stay here and guard the survivors. The other side is a war zone.”

She left the instruction for the mercenaries and glided across the chasm. The men she left behind watched her with mixed emotions.

“Sis, we don’t have wings.”

“Even if we did, we’d just be in the way.”

“Damn… Sir Osvald will have to protect our dignity from back here!”

They turned their focus to comforting the traumatized civilians.

BOOOOOM!

Fire lit the horizon and the winds screamed. The moment Ereneth reached the fray, her spirits unleashed a tempest. Azure cyclones tore heads from chimeras, and roaring infernos incinerated the undead. The monsters were vast in number but lacked any cohesion, falling easily before her overwhelming power.

The dark mages grew pale. They were facing only a handful of enemies, but each one possessed absurd strength. The man leading the charge was far more terrifying than any rumor had suggested. Bulag’s face was rigid, sweat pouring down his forehead.

“Astion… you really are a monster.”

They knew he was a transcendent. They had prepared for a difficult fight, but the reality was soul-crushing. Watching Ghislain systematically butcher their army as he closed the distance, the mages felt a cold, paralyzing dread.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every strike from Ghislain’s staff sent monsters flying; every spell reshaped the landscape. Bulag ground his teeth.

*More than half the horde is gone.*

At this rate, they would be annihilated in minutes. It was time for their final gambit. He began channeling a massive quantity of mana.

“…Activate it.”

They had never intended to trade blows with a transcendent. They had built a trap specifically designed to kill one.

“Give it everything!”

The four mages simultaneously overloaded their mana circuits.

Hummmmmm…

The dark energy bled into the soil. The earth beneath them began to shudder. Ghislain, still cleaving through the remaining monsters, slowed his pace. He felt a sickening, unnatural vibration beneath his boots.

*What is this?*

A massive force was congregating underground—far more than four mages should be able to summon. A memory flickered in his mind.

*Wait… is this the same technique I used in the past?*

Before the thought could settle, a volcanic eruption of mana burst from the ground.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The canyon groaned. A massive pillar of fire swallowed Ghislain, piercing the clouds. The air itself burned, and the earth turned to slag. At the epicenter, a massive crater formed where everything had been vaporized. The magical shockwave finished off the remaining monsters, leaving only embers and death.

Watching from safety, Bulag’s face twisted into a manic grin.

“Kh… Khahahaha! It worked! It actually worked!”

They had seeded the area with dozens of high-grade runestones. The power of the explosion exceeded even his wildest dreams. No one, not even a transcendent, could survive such a concentrated blast. Even if by some miracle he lived, his mana would be completely spent.

“Kuhahaha! You aren’t a god! Did you think we were unprepared for you?!”

The hostages. The monsters. They were all just a distraction to lure him into the kill zone.

“Hehehe… that power… those runestones were worth every gold coin.”

The Salvation Order had provided the artifacts. It was a massive investment, but killing the most infamous mad mage on the continent was a legendary prize. The other mages let out breaths they hadn’t realized they were holding. Now, they only had to deal with the stragglers across the canyon.

They began to step forward with renewed confidence when suddenly—

FWWOOOOOM!

Ghislain emerged from the wall of fire. He was in bad shape. He dropped to one knee, coughing violently. Blood leaked from his nose and lips.

The dark mages were paralyzed.

“No… that’s impossible…”

“He lived through that?”

“What kind of monster is he?!”

Bulag snapped out of his shock and screamed.

“Finish him! He’s at his limit! He has nothing left!”

The mages desperately scraped the bottom of their mana pools. They were exhausted, but surely Ghislain was near death.

Ghislain tried to stand, but his legs failed him and he slumped back down. He spat a mouthful of blood and let out a dry, pained chuckle.

“That… that really hurts when you don’t dodge.”

The combined output of four fifth-circle mages and those runestones had been devastating—stronger even than the trap Vanessa had set at Ferdium. He finally understood the agony Victor must have felt when he was caught in a similar ambush.

“Haah… I can’t believe I walked into that. I should have been more careful.”

They had planned this perfectly. But in his mind, it wasn’t a failure of strategy.

“This body is just too weak.”

If he were in his prime body, this wouldn’t have even scratched him. The limitation was his current vessel.

Astion’s voice echoed in his mind, sounding stunned.

*—Just how powerful was your original form?*

“You’ll see eventually.”

When the time came to face the Apostles. Regardless, he had taken a heavy blow. He needed a moment to recover his breath. Seeing him struggle to even stay upright, the mages finally regained their nerve.

Bulag roared:

“Kill him! Now is the time!”

They were drained, but they had enough for one final execution. They moved closer. The nearest mage raised his hand, ready to unleash a killing blow on the kneeling man.

Just as the mana began to glow—

Ghislain, eyes still fixed on the ground, whispered.

“The thing is… I didn’t come here alone.”

FWOOSH!

Julien tore through the curtain of flames behind Ghislain.

“What?”

The dark mage’s eyes bulged. He was completely caught off guard. In that split second of hesitation—

Slash!

Julien’s blade passed cleanly through the mage’s throat.