Liam could feel it as he walked through the ship’s hallways. The sounds of the troops getting ready for battle were almost rhythmic. Both times he’d participated in the siege, he hadn’t seen this much movement. It was clear that Arimiar was following his plan. All of the forces would be deployed at once.

Cinzolia Fortress’ two billion troops would finally meet their match in terms of numbers. And this was all due to Liam’s words. As he walked out of the ship through a hole that spontaneously appeared in the hull, as he usually did, he was met with the gazes of over a hundred thousand figures wearing the same black armor that he wore. It took some time, but he identified One and the other members of his squad in the crowd.

All the Elite Squads had gathered. The soldiers all stared at him silently, as if waiting for him to make a move. At the very front, a tall Drakkhan in navy blue battle armor stood with his back towards Liam. As the young man approached, the creature turned. Arimiar’s eyes were cold as steel. The protagonist of this plan met the Drakkhan’s gaze with equally determined eyes. He was the first to open his mouth in the silent atmosphere outside the ship.

“Be ready, Arimiar.”

The Elite Squads’ members immediately shifted uncomfortably. There were even signs of open hostility. It was clear that they weren’t used to having someone speak to their Commander so informally.

“I’m always ready. Worry about yourself. You’re gambling with your life on the line.”

“I’ve done so many, many times.”

The gamble that Arimiar referred to wasn’t the same that Liam spoke of. From the Commander’s point of view, Liam was taking the risk of having the Drakkhan retreat without him, leaving him behind to die under the weight of Cinzolia’s full force. Liam, on the other hand, was considerably more worried about failing to control his power properly or, in the worst-case scenario, having it run wild.

With words left unsaid between them, Liam crouched while the Commander looked at the gigantic fortress in the distance. Imbuing his voice with Aura and making it resonate for hundreds of meters, the young man gathered strength in his legs.

“Let’s go.”

The next moment, Liam shot forward, making the sand behind him explode. Using a combination of Waterstep and Aerial Movement, choosing which of the two was most optimal at every second, Liam moved at top speed. He could feel the Captains of the Elite Squads a bit behind him, but the ordinary members were starting to be left behind, while the ordinary Drakkahn troops moved by the hundreds of millions at a much more reasonable speed. Kilometers up ahead, the troops and Elite Squads on the field started moving differently. It was as if they were trying to create a clear path from Arimiar’s ship to the forcefield. Of course, such actions didn’t go unnoticed. The defenders intensified their attacks.

Liam did not care about any of this. He simply moved as fast as he could.

Mach 70. That was his current limit. It was the consequence of the infinitesimal understanding of Chaos and Order he now had, as well as the creation of his Inner World, that empowered him at all times. In a short while, even the Captains of the Elite Squads started to be left behind, and the distance between them only widened. Liam glanced back but decided not to slow down. He needed to reach the forcefield as quickly as possible.

It didn’t take long for him to be noticed by the Kingdom’s soldiers, but he was now simply too fast for them to accurately identify his position and attack him. However, due to his speed, he approached the forcefield virtually alone. Two gigantic Aura blades divided the atmosphere, flying through the air in his direction. Liam looked at the one that would arrive first with calm eyes under his helmet and mask.

‘Remember your training.’

The past two months hadn’t been fruitless. Even without considering his originally high talent, his Perception had reached the value of 60, he was now level 20 and even his Will had increased. Most importantly, he had obtained a minimal understanding of creation itself and what lay beyond it. Compared to such knowledge, the blows coming his way were more than trivial. There was no longer any way for an attack at this level to shake him.

‘Cut.’

Focusing on the techniques he’d learned in the past two months, he simply swung his spear. It was a perfect, efficient movement.

The Aura blade was split apart, its remaining energy cutting the sand and ground to Liam’s sides. The second Aura blade arrived almost immediately after, but…

‘Pierce.’

A large hole appeared on its surface and the man jumped through that hole, avoiding the attack completely. Looking up and using his Aura sight, Liam identified his attackers. Two Elite Squad Captains. He’d just dealt with a pincer attack from two Elite Captains and escaped unscathed. It was a testament to the nonsensical speed of his growth.

Using Aerial Movement, Liam didn’t wait for his feet to touch the ground before moving in the direction of the forcefield once more. While his flight speed was slightly slower than his movement speed due to the existence of Waterstep, it wasn’t by much. In such a fashion, Liam dodged and weaved between the attacks of Cinzolia’s defenders. Judging from the Auras he could feel from behind him, it seemed like his companions had also finally arrived to give him a hand. The result was simple.

Liam pressed his feet on the ground, slamming his right hand on the forcefield with a large bang. Behind it, a few meters in front of him, an Elite Squad Captain aimed a long-range weapon at his head. At this point-blank range, there wasn’t anything Liam could do…

…That was what the Captain was probably thinking.

The Captain pulled the trigger. An instant later, Liam contorted his body.

The small projectile traveled even faster than the Captain himself could move, but Liam had reacted to it and dodged it in real-time. Of course, the reason why he could do so without taking even a single step backwards was that the projectile was rather small, being only a few centimeters wide and tall, resembling a bullet. In exchange for its reduced radius of attack, it was obvious that its penetrative power would be off the charts. It resembled Liam’s Singularity, in the sense that it traded a large area of effect for absolute piercing power.

Despite being a witness to Liam’s reaction speed, the Elite Squad Captain did not give up and pressed the trigger once, but it was too late. He had been shocked by Liam’s speed for far too long. From the young man’s figure, a titanic amount of black Aura flowed and consumed his surroundings, crawling over the forcefield like a living being.

‘Event Horizon.’

His greatest defensive and crowd control technique would be enough to stop the attacks coming his way for at least a second. It was enough. Liam focused. The greatest part of his gamble came now.

As his concentration reached the peak, he tried to absorb the energy from the forcefield. This plan was inspired by Ethereal Body’s ability to absorb substances to strengthen itself. However…

‘Nothing’s happening.’

In milliseconds, Liam realized it. This plan wouldn’t work. Ethereal Body absorbed “substances”, not pure energy. It was not absorbing the energy from the forcefield. As such, he would be forced to follow the route he dearly wished he didn’t have to.

‘…Chaos.’

Liam felt something deep inside of him shift, almost imperceptibly. The color of his Aura became various shades darker in an instant.

‘Devour.’

In response to his command, Chaos writhed. It was uncontrollable to the current Liam, that was clear. So, he’d decided to convey to the part he could minimally control a simple desire. An instruction, of sorts. Could it even be considered a mere suggestion? Either way, from now on he would only act as a medium. It was up to Chaos whether it followed his command or not.

It happened a second later, as Liam’s Event Horizon broke down due to the sheer number of Elite Squad Captains attacking it. Liam felt it. A suction force came from the palm that lay against the forcefield. It increased exponentially every millisecond, to the point it became so strong in mere instants that the air around him shifted. His black Aura surged once more, this time much sturdier than before. Writhing and pulsing, it moved and crawled over itself chaotically. Liam could feel the energy of the forcefield flowing into him. However, there was an obvious problem with this plan.

‘It’s too much!’

This was a forcefield that had withstood the attacks from hundreds of millions of Drakkhan and many Elite Squads for almost a year straight. The amount of energy it possessed was so ridiculous that it couldn’t be absorbed by Liam. Naturally, he had thought of this scenario but judged he could refine and use such energy to strengthen himself. While part of the energy was indeed feeding Liam’s Aura and allowing it to develop, the rate at which it flowed into him was too fast. He couldn’t digest all of it. Chaos’ power to devour the forcefield was much greater than anticipated.

“Wait! Hold on! Chaos! Stop! Slow down!”

He ordered out loud, but it was as if the fundamental concept could not listen or did not care to do so. Its suction only increased, getting faster and faster, stronger and stronger. Ever since Liam reached the forcefield, two seconds had passed. Right now, there was a storm of black Aura around him that reached towards the very heavens. It was formless, having no sense of rhyme or reason to it.