Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

With a panicked look, Benedict hastily conjured a shield in front of him.

He gathered the dark element to form a protective shield, blocking Leroy’s surprise attack.

Bang!

Benedict managed to block most of the force, but he still took considerable damage. Blood leaked out from the corners of his lips.

Dammit! I need to break free from this golem before it’s too late!

“You are one tough old bastard, but your mana is wavering now.”

Leroy’s calm voice suddenly drifted into his ears.

“You may be powerful, but you are still human after all.

Benedict turned his head to look at him, his face full of anger.

“Don’t be arrogant! The battle is far from over!” He roared while activating his domain.

Using the power of darkness, black tentacles emerged from out of nowhere to help him break free from the golem’s grasp.

Roarr!!

The golem didn’t want to release the old priest, but there were just too many black tentacles.

The black tentacles also attacked Leroy and it took him great effort to destroy them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

When he destroyed the black tentacles, he found out that Benedict had already managed to free himself.

Seeing this, he narrowed his eyes.

His domain is much stronger than I thought. Can I keep up with him given the amount of mana that I have left? While the two Venerables were glaring at each other, a sharp roar echoed from the sky.

ROAR!!

They both lifted their heads and saw a draconic lion circling beneath the clouds.

It’s His Highness Alaric’s tamed beast, the draconic lion, Zephyr!

Leroy’s eyes lit up when he saw the beast. He had seen this creature on numerous occasions so he recognized it at a glance.

On the other hand, Benedict revealed a gloomy expression. The unexpected appearance of the draconic lion was a huge threat to his life.

I thought this monster was severely injured during the last battle. How did it recover so quickly?

That’s not the important thing. I can’t fight two Catastrophe-grade beasts in my current state. I need to retreat for now. The old priest realized that the situation was not looking good for him, so he decided it was time to retreat.

However, before he could make a move, the draconic lion suddenly swooped down and swiped its claws at him.

Roarr!!

The old priest snorted and summoned another shield to block the beast.

Seeing this, the draconic lion opened its mouth and spat out a pillar of flame.

Bang!

Its fearsome flames struck the shield and quickly dispelled it. The flame continued unhindered and blasted towards the stunned priest.

Using his domain, he hastily conjured a wall of darkness.

“I won’t fall so easily!” He shouted, his face full of sweat.

The draconic lion’s flames struck the shield with full force.

Bang!

Benedict supplied the dark wall with mana to keep it from falling apart.

Fuck! My mana is running low! At this moment, a figure abruptly appeared behind him, wielding a broadsword.

“Die, old bastard!” Leroy swung the broadsword with enormous force causing his muscles to bulge unnaturally.

Whoosh!

The old priest was fully occupied with defending himself against the draconic lion’s flames so he failed to react to Leroy’s surprise attack.

He tried to evade by turning his body, but it was already too late. Leroy’s broadsword struck his body with immense speed and cleanly cut him in half.

Khsk!

He couldn’t even scream and died with a twisted look on his face.

Zephyr landed before his corpse and spat out a breath of flames. The flames engulfed what remained of the old priest’s body.

Leroy watched this scene and let out a heavy breath.

“He’s finally dead… If it weren’t for the draconic lion, we would have died right there.”

Suddenly, he remembered something important.

“Right! I need to check on Lord Dominic!” He quickly rushed to Dominic’s side to inspect his condition.

…

Meanwhile, the fight between the cult leader and Alaric’s group had yet to conclude.

Kim Chon-jae, despite being outnumbered, overpowered everyone with his near-unrivaled power.

Nivis caused him a great deal of trouble, but he still turned the battle to his advantage.

At this moment, the centauress was shaking in frustration. She found herself powerless.

To think that a mere halfling could be this strong. If only my powers weren’t sealed, defeating him would have been easy. She had used up everything in her arsenal, but the cult leader managed to defend against her attacks.

“Why have you all stopped attacking? Is that the limit of your strength?” Kim Chon-jae flapped his wings, hovering above them like a specter.

His aura was vibrating intensely. It didn’t even look like he was tired.

Hearing his words, everyone frowned.

They quickly adjusted their battle stance to prepare for his next move.

“Don’t be swayed by his words! I don’t believe he still has much mana after fighting us for so long!” The empress shouted, her words ringing in everyone’s ears.

Nivis agreed with her words. “She is right.”

“We just need to keep up with the fight. As long as we persevere, I’m sure we can defeat him!” She added.

Kim Chon-jae furrowed his eyebrows.

“So you don’t intend to give up until the very end. Very well, I will show you the difference between our power.”

He stabbed his chest with his hand to activate the unknown power that lay dormant in his body.

I didn’t want to use this ability, but I have no choice. In the next moment, an immense demonic aura burst forth from within his body.

Seeing this, Nivis seemed to have realized something and revealed an alarmed look.

“He is forcefully awakening his demonic powers! Don’t let him awaken the devil’s body!” She warned with an anxious tone.

No one knew what she meant by these words, but they could also tell that something bad would happen if they didn’t stop Kim Chon-jae.

“Everyone, follow me! Even if it kills us, we must stop that bastard! We cannot let him do as he pleases!”

The empress raised her sword and rushed ahead of everyone.