Souta poured his mana on the [Dark Cloud Hunting] spell to reached its limit.

Ohm!

The range of the spell grew exponentially and it enclosed everything within five kilometers diameter with Souta as the center. It was unbelievably large as everyone's vision was blocked by it.

It lowered everyone's stats except for Souta. Even Lydia, Yuko, and Isabella suffered from the effect of this spell. His mana control wasn't as great as Bargan so he currently couldn't exclude them from his spell.

Inside the black mist, Souta was the dominant creature. He was the hunter and everyone was just his prey.

Still, Denver and Vagua were strong. They could go toe to toe to him while suffering from the effect of the spell. They were really strong and Souta couldn't deny it.

It felt like he was fighting two A-rank at the same time. The only difference was that their mana wasn't liquefied so their attacks were lacking in some ways. But their physical strength was as strong as an A-rank powerhouse.

Luckily, they didn't have high-level combat arts or spells.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Souta exchanged high-speed blows with Vagua causing a loud sound to echo in the whole area. The aftershocks from their attacks would blow the black mist but the black mist would easily shroud everything.

"I admit it. You're strong but it's not enough to stop us. The Great Astley Empire is going to take this world no matter what happened." Vagua said while attacking Souta repeatedly.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Souta was blocking all of Vagua's attack and several black tentacles appeared behind him. It quickly attacked Vagua as soon as it appeared.

Vagua changed his target and he started slashing the black tentacles while Denver jumped above him and attacked Souta.

Swoosh!

Clang!

Souta opened his eyes widely as he barely blocked the extended blade using the vajra sword. Still, it managed to graze his c.h.e.s.t.

'So fast. I almost got stab in the c.h.e.s.t.' He said inwardly. He didn't expect that attack at all. He should be more careful about their attack from now.

"Tsk! You even dodge that!" Denver clicked his attack as he pulled back his blade. He then stabbed Souta repeatedly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Souta opened his eyes widely as he heightened his senses. He moved his body from side to side while following Saya's instruction.

Yes, Saya was helping him find a way to easily avoid and counterattack his opponents.

Imagine if his opponents knew high-level combat arts just like the people in Imperium. Souta would have been defeated right now. That's what will happen if he didn't use his equipment skills.

Boom!

Lydia and Jayce's figures collided several times in just a few seconds. Each time they collided, they would generate a powerful shockwave that destroyed the structures around them.

An all-out battle of a B-rank powerhouse in this world was like a battle between A-rank in Imperium. Also, they weren't ordinary B-rank powerhouses. They had the specs of an A-rank.

The whole city was shaking because of the two big battles that were happening in the middle of the city.

The three sh.i.p.s of the Great Astley Empire flew several kilometers above the city after dispatching the three commanders. The other soldiers of the empire were killing the citizens but most of them got done by the aftershocks of the battle.

In just a few minutes, more than half of the population of the city was gone. It was night so everyone didn't expect that this would happen at all. Thirty thousand civilians died in a few minutes after the invasion and the casualties were getting higher every minute.

That's just at the side of the Blackrock City. The forces of the Great Astley Empire suffered heavy damage. From Souta's several attacks and the aftershocks of the battle more than twenty thousand soldiers have died because of it.

Bang!

Jayce grabbed Lydia's head and they crashed on the ground. The ground shook as he continued to move forward while grabbing Lydia on the head.

Swoosh!

The ground split open as Jayce threw her away. The people felt like it was the end of the world. The battle between Master-class Knight was just like this.

Lydia's body crashed on the walls of the city. The force turned the walls into tiny fragments.

"It was too late Lydia! The Great Astley Empire wanted this world! You think that we're the only ones who are dispatched here, right?!" Jayce said as he slowly approached Lydia. His masked opened up revealing his face as he walked towards her.

Lydia slowly opened her eyes and shook her body. She felt blood inside her mouth. She looked around and found that she was already at the corner of the city.

"Damn! This guy threw me so far!"

She cursed as she stood up and cracked her knuckles and neck. She currently was several kilometers away from Souta. Despite being so far, she could still feel the aftershocks of the battle inside the dome of black mist.

"Right now, the Great Astley Empire sent nine commanders with their army in this world. We're going to seriously take over everything and another batch of commanders are going to arrive in this world along with the fourth general." Jayce said to her.

"What?! The fourth general is coming..." Lydia opened her eyes widely when she heard Jayce's words.

...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Souta's body flashed as he appeared in front of Denver and slashed his sword.

[Crimson Moon]!

Vagua went straight to it and collided with his attack while Denver went to the side and thrust his blade forward.

Swoosh!

Souta shifted his body as ten black balls appeared behind him.

[Shadow Ball]!

The shadow balls flew around and scattered in the whole field. In case of another unexpected attack, Souta could just teleport to the black ball to avoid it. It was his insurance as he was going full aggressive right now.

[Possession]!!

Souta's energy burst out of his body. A crimson color aura was mixing with his dark aura. The pressure that he was emitting was heavy.

"I'm going to kill you guys right here right now."

A heavy energy was rushing in Denver and Vagua's direction. They could feel it. They could feel a large concentration of powerful energy coming at them.

"He's here."

Vagua and Denver braced themselves. The energy that Souta was releasing right now was beyond their imagination. They didn't expect it at all. This wasn't recorded in the information that they have.

To think that he was still hiding his strength.

Boom!

While they were fighting, the soldiers of the Great Astley Empire surrounded the entire city. Hundred thousands of soldiers were standing outside at the command of the vice-commanders of the three sh.i.p.s.

They've already finished their preparation. If the battle got concluded easily then they would rush in and fight Souta and Lydia using their numbers. There's no way that they weren't exhausted after fighting the three powerful commanders of the Great Astley Empire.

"Prepare the device! Let's start the summoning!"

The vice-commanders said at the same time.

...

Swoosh!

"Ugh!"

Denver g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain as his hand flew in the air.

Souta just sliced his hand and he was about to slash his sword once again when he saw the suit of Denver moved rapidly and created a hand.

'What the-'

He was stunned when he saw this but then crouched down as Denver's hand turned into a blade and swung it at him.

He was about to fall back when Vagua appeared behind him. He had no choice but to fight the two at the same time as he didn't manage to take Denver out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a one-on-one battle, he could overpower one of them using the [Possession] skill but in a two-on-one battle, it was a standstill.

That's why...

A flaming figure flashed behind him and it flew towards the sky.

Denver and Vagua paused as they lifted their head to look at the flaming figure. Even with the black mist shrouding everything, the flaming figure was noticeable. It was eye-catching.

Swoosh!

"Bring it down, Yuko."

Souta smiled as his aura rapidly changed. Malice seeped out of his body and his eyes turned red.

[Soul Blood Mode]!

In just a moment before Denver and Vagua could react, Souta already activated his other ace. The souls seeped into his blood and it boosted his power to a higher level.

Yuko arrived on the ship and she brought it down while Souta was slashing his sword.

Swoosh!

Before the sh.i.p.s could crash on the ground Yuko jumped out of it as Souta finally waved his sword.

A large sharp energy shoots out of his sword and it cut down Denver's body into two. Vagua managed to crouched and avoid the slash but his left arm was cut into two.

He looked behind and saw the ship was also cut into two.

Boom!

The ship exploded and all the people inside it died in the explosion. What happened just now shook the people that were watching the battle. They didn't expect a bear to take down the ship.

"Yuko! Bring down the other sh.i.p.s!!"

Souta said but the atmosphere suddenly changed. A light emerged from every corner of the city and it rose in the sky.

"Damn! What the hell is that?! Oh well, it's already too late... Let's head up towards the main stage..." Vagua said as blood kept pouring out of his chopped hand.

Souta, Lydia, Yuko, and Isabella looked up in the sky. The dark and starry sky was filled with light.

*Ding!*

[Experience reached!]

[You've level up!]