536: Savior of the Masses

Savior of the Masses

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Although Odessa claimed they only needed to last for ten minutes before reinforcements arrived, over fifteen minutes had elapsed, and the battlefield had already grown into a gruesome sight. Despite Odessa healing the wounded as much as she could, running her Essence reserves dry, over thirty percent of her battalion perished at the hands of the Terrors.

Furthermore, the thinning Death Essence recovered its vigor with each death to make matters worse. It even surpassed its initial density due to the sheer number of fallen Zul Commanders and sometimes Generals. Depending on the remaining Essence within the victim, a considerable amount of Death Essence could be converted from the body.

However, Nadida worries escalated once she realized that the strongest foe of this assault was already Rank 4 Terrors. If just six Rank 4 Terrors were enough to change the tide of the battle in this way, just what would happen if Brukti managed to evolve into a Disaster-level Terror and take command of their intricate movements?

It was something that Nadida didn't even dare think about lest she wanted to extinguish her morale. Instead, Nadida gripped her weapons tightly and exploded forth with increased Essence consumption. Multiple streams of various elements spiraled around her body as her expression became bloodthirsty.

'We will hold on; there is no way I'll allow you unsightly beasts to have our home. We will banish you from this planet if it's the last thing I do,' Nadida thought to herself before causing a massive sonic boom followed by the disturbing crackling of an enormous thunderclap. 

Following the loud crackle, a scorched area measuring at least 500 meters wide appeared on the battlefield with the heaving Nadida standing in the middle. All Terrors within the radius were either gravely damaged or dead, depending on their ranking. Needless to say, the ones who were only gravely damaged were the Rank 4 Terrors.

However, the issue with Nadida's attack was that it exhausted her Essence to the point that her Essence Aegis turned unstable, constantly flickering between complete and sparse coverage. Thankfully, despite its questionable state, the Death Essence couldn't seep into Nadida's one. Firstly she was already a Zul Lord, so her body was relatively resilient.

Secondly, her mysterious Spirit cast a unique barrier on her body, creating an impenetrable layer of mental strength that existed directly under her skin. So, even if the Death Essence penetrated her skin, that was as deep as it could go as long as Nadida maintained the budding connection to her Spirit.

Meanwhile, the significant disturbance immediately caught Odessa's attention, causing her eyes to widen in shock as he stared at Nadida struggling to stand in her position. As a result, Odessa's pupils radiated a blinding white light as she performed a special hand seal with a direct opening layered upon Nadida's body.

As a consequence of this action, Odessa turned deathly pale as her facial features thinned by a noticeable degree. Evidently, her current technique was extremely demanding, draining her to the point that it reflected in her appearance.

Nevertheless, despite the drawbacks of her actions, Odessa felt it was more than worth it. Within seconds, Nadida's posture and Essence Aegis regained their stability while looking in Odessa's direction with a worried expression.

'She… used a forbidden technique of her family. How much did she just sacrifice to convert this much Essence?' Nadida wondered as she looked at Odessa. Just as the Great Families possessed special techniques to either augment their abilities or save themselves, Supreme Families had even more powerful forbidden techniques. 

Since they were so taxing and often dangerous, it was only employable under the direst circumstances. In this case, Odessa converted her vitality into pure Essence and forcibly transplanted it into Nadida, restoring her combat abilities to at least forty percent of their peak state.

Given her vast reserves, Nadida was frightened by this fact. Regrettably, she couldn't argue with her decision. For starters, she was in the center of the battlefield after traveling a great distance to unleash her last attack.

Even if the Death Essence couldn't penetrate her body, there was still the risk of dying to the relentless onslaught of the Terrors that would soon flood her position. Of course, Nadida wasn't alone.

When they realized what was happening, both Adeon and Ragnavald ordered their Spirits to rush towards Nadida's position while they unleashed a simultaneous attack to keep their opponents from following.

Although this put a strain on their battle, having to manage two fights was something that both parties were willing to go through.

It only took a few moments for the two Spirits to arrive beside Nadida while analyzing her current condition.

"Perhaps you should fall back. Although you are strong, your connection has yet to complete the final step. You'll only enter a more fragile state as you approach that step," the glacial Spirit warned.

However, Nadida shook her head defiantly. "That's irrelevant. As long as there are opponents, then I will continue to fight to ensure that the others live to see another day."

"Admirable, but foolish. Are their lives worth yours when you can accomplish many times what they can?" the brusque barbarian Spirit interjected. If this situation were to arise in the Upper Races, then the weaker comrades would be abandoned without a moment's hesitation.

As long as they provided time for the stronger ones to recuperate, they accomplished their task beautifully. According to their principles, the race's longevity triumphed above an individual's wellbeing, unless that individual occupied an irrevocable position, such as the leader of the race.

Rather than await her response, the two Spirits rushed forward and targeted the closest enemies with the most egregious wounds. It'd take the least amount of effort to take care of them to ensure ease of battle later on.

Meanwhile, Nadida exhaled while raising both of her blades. A coating of violent winds in the shape of a condensed storm appeared shortly after as her reserves once again plummeted. 

Each attack contained fifteen percent of her max reserves, meaning this attack would leave at most ten percent of her Essence reserves remaining. But, judging by the absurd fluctuations, each of these attacks were on par with the earlier thunderclap.

A moment later, Nadida jumped in the air, gaining a bird's eye view of the battlefield. All her comrade's positions entered her eyes as she marked the target of her attacks. At the same time, she also noticed an abnormality in the corner of her eye.

As soon as she released her attack, she also revealed a faint smirk at the same time. Approximately two seconds later, two large domes ravaged the battlefield. Each one was reminiscent of a thunderstorm and tornado mixed together.

But, unlike those natural disasters, the aftermath was contained by the immense mental energy sacrificed to oversee the attack. All of the Terrors locked inside died in an instant while Nadida fell towards Odessa's position.

Seeing as they were both unstable at this point, each of these women provided a shoulder for the other.

"We've made it…" Odessa muttered while gazing at the sky above her head. For now, there was only a single older male floating in the sky. But, judging by the emotion on Odessa's face, it was evident that she put her complete trust in this man.

Conversely, Nadida frowned as she scanned all of the carnage that occurred on the battlefield. "Can we truly say that? Look at all of these deaths. We're at war, but have we truly won this battle?"

Sadly, Odessa didn't have an answer to give as she watched as the man above dropped their hand and created a massive burst of silvery-white light that soon took on the form of a crescent arc. 

Compared to the earlier attacks, this one seemed simple, but everyone stopped what they were doing as they watched the crescent annihilate the battlefield, leaving a tremendous scar on the earth, similar to a miniature version of the Catastrophe Line.

After doing this, the man gradually floated down between Odessa and Nadida.

"Forgive my tardiness, Young Lady; there were many discrepancies that we didn't account for. But, I am here now."

"They've only sent you, Sirius? What happened to the rest of the battalion?" Odessa questioned while extending her perception. Sirius was the only person she sensed for miles to come.

"That's the thing. The others were sent to other regions because of assaults that triumphed even the one you experienced. It's almost as if the Terrors were dispatched based on the strength of their opponent," Sirius revealed.

But, he didn't seem done as his expression became solemn.

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