Lucian's sword flashed again and again, each strike heavier than the last. Sparks burst as steel met steel, the ringing echo cutting through the chaos of battle. Step by step, General Lafuente was forced back, his boots grinding into the dirt.

The soldiers around them froze, too afraid to move closer. To them, it was like watching two storms collide.

Lafuente gritted his teeth, blocking blow after blow. Every clash sent shocks through his arms, rattling his bones. His eyes narrowed with fury as Lucian pressed harder, his blade weaving arcs too fast for most to follow.

"You… insolent brat," Lafuente spat, his breath heavy. "You think you can push me down with nothing but your sword?"

Lucian didn't answer. His smile was faint, calm, as if each swing was already planned.

Lafuente's jaw clenched, rage boiling in his chest. His pride as a Knight, as a General, was being shredded in front of his own men.

"Enough of this!" he roared, his voice shaking the battlefield.

And then, it came.

From Lafuente's body, mana burst outward in violent waves. In an instant, the battlefield warped.

Within a hundred meter-radius, the air turned crushing. Soldiers from both sides collapsed where they stood, their screams swallowed by the weight. Armor groaned, bones cracked, men clawed at the ground as if it alone was dragging them down.

Lucian, standing at the center, felt it crash into him like a mountain. His steps froze. His smile slipped away, his sword trembling under the unseen force.

"You…" he muttered, narrowing his eyes, steadying his blade against the pressure. "…you're a mage."

A low laugh rumbled from Lafuente's chest before it erupted into wild, echoing laughter. His lips curled into a savage grin, eyes glinting with madness.

"Do you feel it, Heir Arden? The weight of despair itself!" His voice thundered across the field, rising higher with every word. "The Duke's golden grandson, the empire's so-called brightest hero, crushed beneath my power! HAHAHA!"

His triumph rang loud, as though Lucian had already been broken under the invisible field.

But Lucian stood still, his face calm. Then slowly, his lips curved into a smile once more.

"I didn't expect this, General," he said softly, his voice carrying a strange heat. "You truly are strong. But that only makes this worth it. If I take you down… then countless lives will be saved from your blade."

As those words fell, his own aura surged.

Mana erupted around him like fire unleashed. The oppressive gravity wavered, then trembled. The air itself seemed to ignite as the battlefield's temperature rose, slowly at first, then higher and higher, until it felt as though the sun had descended upon them.

Soldiers gasped and shielded their faces, sweat pouring instantly, their lungs burning with every breath.

Lucian's golden hair shimmered under the rising heat, strands glowing like threads of sunlight. The oppressive weight of Lafuente's gravity was being pushed back, burned away by sheer radiance.

Lafuente's smirk faltered. His brows furrowed, then twisted into a deep frown.

"What… what's happening?" he growled, the reins in his hands trembling. "Why is my gravity field… being cancelled?"

His eyes shot back to Lucian, now glowing like a figure born from the sun itself.

"You… you're a mage too?"

His voice cracked with shock.

Then, suddenly, he felt pain. Lafuente's eyes went wide as blood burst across his back. A dagger had pierced him clean through.

"An assassin?!" he roared, spinning in fury. "You dare strike me here?!"

Out of the shadows, a figure appeared. Twin daggers glimmered red, dripping with his blood. It was Silas. Silent as death itself, his eyes cold. He said nothing, only pressed forward, daggers flashing again.

Before Lafuente could recover, a sharp whistle cut the air. A crescent-shaped wave of energy flew straight at him. He raised his sword in haste, the clash blasting sparks as he was driven several meters backward, boots grinding into the dirt.

His gaze snapped to the right. A tall man in a flowing yukata walked in, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Yow, Lucian," Daigo said casually, resting his twin swords on his shoulders. "You're taking your sweet time fighting him. Thought I'd help speed things up."

Lucian's golden hair gleamed in the heat of his aura. He looked at both of them, one shadow, one storm, and a smile spread across his face despite the danger.

"You two…" he breathed, shoulders steadying. "Thank you. Then together…" His gaze locked on the raging General. "…we'll bring him down."

"You wretches!!!" Lafuente's roar split the battlefield, his face twisted with fury. "Come at me, all of you, I'll kill every last one!"

Mana exploded from him like a raging storm. The ground shook, the air warped. In a single breath, gravity crashed down a hundredfold. Soldiers screamed as they were crushed flat, pinned to the earth, bones snapping under the invisible weight.

Lucian gritted his teeth, golden flames erupting around him as his aura surged in defiance. The ground beneath his boots splintered from the pressure, yet his blazing mana rose higher, like a sun refusing to be eclipsed.

The air itself became a battlefield, half suffocatingly heavy, half blistering with heat.

Then the shadows moved. Silas vanished from sight, his daggers striking from angles Lafuente could not guard. Each blow was sharp, merciless, carving red lines across the General's armor.

At the same time, Daigo advanced, his easy grin never leaving. His twin katanas spun in a blur, releasing crescent blades of energy that crashed down one after another. Each strike drove Lafuente further back, his body bleeding, his once-iron stance breaking apart.

"You damn pests!!" Lafuente roared, blood spilling from his mouth, fury blazing in his eyes.

Lucian's golden hair burned like fire, his sword erupting with flames so bright it seemed to swallow the sun. He raised it high, the blaze roaring like a living beast.

"In the name of the empire," Lucian's voice rang out, steady and unshaken, "I raise this blade. This victory belongs to us!"

With that, he charged. The ground cracked under his feet before he leapt skyward, his sword blazing like the rising dawn.

Lafuente's eyes went wide with dread. "Noooo!!!" he bellowed, swinging his greatsword up with every last ounce of strength to meet the falling strike.

Steel met steel in a clash that shook the battlefield.

The explosion that followed was louder than even Daigo's fight earlier, a deafening boom that split the air and made the earth tremble. At the center of it all, Lucian and Lafuente's blades locked, sparks bursting in every direction with each push and pull.

Lafuente's face contorted with rage, veins straining along his arms as he poured every last drop of strength into his swing. His greatsword shook against the blazing pressure of Lucian's burning blade.

"I will not fall here!" he roared, voice raw, desperation bleeding through his fury.

But then, a flicker of movement in the corner of his vision. A shadow slipped in behind him. Not Silas. Someone else.

A calm voice cut through the chaos.

"Hi there, General. I came to finish our match."

Lafuente's eyes went wide, horror flashing across his face.

"You… coward!!!" he spat, twisting in rage.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.