Chapter 791: The End of the Mountain Breaker

Silence covered everything.

No sound of an explosion remained. No roar of mana, not even the tremor from the collision of two powers that could erase a country from the map. Everything had suddenly gone quiet.

The massive dust cloud that had covered the sky slowly cleared, as if the world itself dared to see what was at the center of the battlefield with hesitation.

And then all those watching from a distance froze.

The forest had been destroyed. Mountains that had stood for thousands of years no longer existed. The ground was split for kilometers, its lower layers exposed like a massive wound.

But right at the center of all that destruction, the cursed tree still stood. Its roots slowly moved in the soil, and the glowing fruit above the branches pulsed like the heart of an ancient being.

And beneath it, Daniel, completely unharmed. No wounds, not even dust on his clothes. As if he had played no role in this environment and situation, as if he was just a passerby who happened to be passing through and had witnessed everything.

His sword had lowered quietly, and his face was as indifferent as if he had just cut a dry branch.

But what gave birth to true fear in the heart of Walterk’s army was themselves. No one noticed at first, because everyone was still standing.

The armored warriors, the mages, the commanders, and all the mana users.

Even the massive war beasts that had come with the army, all were frozen in place. Eyes open, faces in shock. Some still in an attack pose, some half-turned, as if they had intended to flee moments before.

But they didn’t move. As if time had stopped and everyone had frozen in place.

And then the first body collapsed. Without blood, without any explosion.

Just slowly turned into gray particles and vanished into the air, as if something had separated the concept of "existence" from it.

Then the second person. And the third. And suddenly, the entire army. Thousands of bodies silently crumbled, like statues that time had suddenly decided to erase.

A whisper of terror spread among the hidden observers, because no one had understood exactly what had happened.

The power they had seen was not like mana, not like magic, not even like the known laws of the world. It was just erasure.

At the center of the field, Walterk Bloodfang was still standing.

The last survivor. His massive axe was broken in half. His gigantic body had cracked, and particles of ash fell from invisible wounds on his skin.

But the most terrifying thing of all was his eyes. For the first time, the Mountain Breaker was afraid.

Fear. When was the last time he had felt fear? So much time had passed that he couldn’t even remember.

Perhaps when he was just a weak, wandering youth in a world where the strong hunted the weak. Yes, it was back then, when he had experienced fear in a life-or-death situation.

But after that, because of a promise he had made to himself, he had never felt fear again. Until this moment.

His eyes were fixed on Daniel, as if he had finally understood that the being standing before him was not something that could be defeated with power.

His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something. Perhaps his son’s name, or maybe a question.

But before even a single word could form, his body also crumbled, and Walterk Bloodfang, one of the continent’s top ten Eternal Warriors, vanished in silence.

Perhaps he had never thought in his life that a warrior as great and honored as him would have such a pathetic death.

Perhaps he always thought he would die fighting the monster that had destroyed two continents. But fate is not always what we think.

A few seconds later, a strange darkness covered the entire field. The tree’s massive roots suddenly emerged from the ground, like ancient snakes that had awakened.

And then the life energy, everything was drawn toward the tree.

The fruit above the branches suddenly glowed more intensely. Its light was no longer calm; it pulsed like the heart of a living creature. Each beat made the air heavier and even made space tremble slightly.

This amount of free food was enough for it to experience a great growth spurt.

On the other side, Elisira was frozen. Breathing had become difficult for her. Her eyes were still fixed on the spot where Walterk had stood moments before.

She knew the Eternal Warriors. The entire continent knew them. Beings whose names ended wars. Monsters that even the Holy Empire treated with caution.

But now one of them had disappeared in an instant. Without a fight, without resistance, without even a chance to react.

Not just one Eternal Warrior alone, but along with his entire massive army, an army that could easily conquer nations and instill fear in the hearts of all races. They just died like that...?

Slowly, her gaze fell on Daniel. He was still standing there.

Indifferent and calm, as if nothing special had happened. And this time, Elisira truly feared this monster in the skin of an attractive man. Not the tree, not the war, but him, this man! Or perhaps she should call him better: an unknown monster.

"What... really is he?"

Across the continent, golden eyes glowed in the darkness. Golden Eye. An ability that allowed the powerful to observe the battlefield from impossible distances.

In ancient towers, in forgotten fortresses, in the depths of temples.

Great mages, leaders of noble houses, and beings that had hidden themselves from the world for years, all had seen the same scene.

And this was not a scene any of them could easily digest. This simple scene made their alert level reach its highest point.

They might be facing a monster with power like that of the corruption beast that had destroyed two continents.

But the heaviest silence reigned in the Holy Palace. The golden light inside the eyes of four people quietly faded.

The Holy Emperor. The Grand Minister. The Grand Knight. And Serius.

No one spoke, not because they had nothing to say, but because their minds were still trying to accept what they had seen.

Serius was the first to laugh, but that laugh was strange.

Short, dry, almost broken. It couldn’t even be called a laugh; it was more the reaction of someone who had almost gone mad or was on the verge of madness.

"How foolish..." He ran his hand over his face and said quietly.

Then his laughter slowly faded.

"Is that monster... really from this world?" For the first time, his analytical mind had no answer.

His entire life he had operated on logic, information, and prediction, but what he had seen was outside of logic.

The Grand Knight remained silent. His fist trembled quietly, and in his mind, he saw the day he had stood before Daniel.

If he had attacked that day, he would be dead now. Not even a fight would have occurred, nothing like it, he would just die.

Worse... he might have provoked that monster’s anger and caused the entire empire to be destroyed along with him.

Someone who could so easily kill one of the continent’s top ten Eternal Warriors... he doubted their empire stood a chance against him. This truth made his spine freeze.

After a long silence, the Holy Emperor finally spoke. His voice was heavier than ever. Even he, with all his pride and arrogance, had finally realized the truth.

"What should we do now?"

No one answered immediately. Serius stared at the map on the table for a few moments.

"Aside from a Half Step-Divine..." Then he said quietly,

"I doubt anyone even has a chance of touching him."

The room’s atmosphere grew heavier. Half Step-Divine beings.

Creatures that most people weren’t even sure actually existed. Living legends, powers that did not interfere in worldly affairs unless the world was on the verge of collapse.

"But we have no way to contact them." The Grand Minister frowned quietly.

"Half Step-Divine beings only intervene when they themselves want to."

"Your master is one of them." The Holy Emperor suddenly looked at Serius.

The room fell silent.

This was the main reason why the entire Holy Empire, and especially the Emperor, treated Serius with great respect: because of the being behind him. A being that truly stood at the peak and ceiling of the world’s power.

Even the Grand Knight raised his head. Because this was a truth rarely spoken of.

"I will speak with my master." Serius sighed quietly. "Although... we might need to speak with the Divine Prophet herself as well."

The Holy Emperor slowly rose from his seat. His white and gold robe dragged on the ground.

"I will speak with the Divine Prophet." Then his gaze turned cold.

"And raise that monster’s threat level to the highest degree. Increase his bounty from a hundred million gold coins... to ten billion."

"Your Majesty... that amount is almost half of the imperial treasury." The Grand Minister immediately raised his head.

"Do we have a choice?" But the Emperor answered without the slightest change in his expression.

He doubted that after today’s events anyone would dare go after this monster, and he didn’t want that to happen.

Perhaps this amount could even attract the attention of some of those ancient old men hidden in the shadows.

Then he moved toward the exit.

"Until you find a way to deal with him... I don’t want to see any of you." But before leaving the room, without turning around, he said.

And finally, the door closed. Silence fell over the room again. And the last person visible was Serius, quietly staring at the marked spot on the map.

A forest that now seemed more like the center of a nightmare.

And for the first time in his entire life, he truly felt helpless.