The general slowly stepped forward while gazing toward the endless battlefield stretching far beyond the shattered coastline. Violent explosions continued erupting everywhere as terrifying monsters surged endlessly from the ocean depths. The atmosphere had already become suffocating from the pressure released by countless high ranking beings fighting simultaneously.

Then the general finally spoke.

His voice spread throughout the battlefield through mana amplification and entered the ears of every awakener present.

"From this point onward, all awakeners below Legendary Rank must remain extremely cautious."

His calm tone carried absolute authority.

The surrounding soldiers instinctively straightened their backs after hearing him speak. Even many arrogant academy geniuses lowered their heads slightly out of respect. This man was not merely a powerful awakener.

He was a living symbol of humanity’s military strength.

"We will handle the B Rank and A Rank monsters from now onward," the general continued while staring toward the distant ocean. "However, the number of lower ranked monsters has increased dramatically compared to the earlier waves."

His eyes narrowed faintly afterward.

"The enemy clearly intends to conclude this battle quickly."

The battlefield trembled violently once more as another clash erupted in the sky. An Epic Rank warrior smashed directly into a gigantic whale monster covered in black scales. The collision generated a shockwave powerful enough to flatten entire sections of the coastline beneath them.

Victor silently observed the legendary figures standing ahead.

Every single one of them radiated monstrous pressure capable of suppressing armies alone. Some carried weapons overflowing with terrifying mana while others merely stood there calmly without revealing any visible aura at all.

However, Victor understood clearly that those quieter individuals were often the most dangerous.

Suddenly, his instincts screamed violently.

A woman had appeared directly beside him without him sensing even the slightest fluctuation beforehand.

Victor’s pupils narrowed instantly.

The woman wore a simple black and white maid dress while carrying a calm and elegant smile on her face. Her appearance looked completely harmless at first glance, yet the pressure hidden beneath that gentle exterior was absolutely terrifying.

Victor immediately realized that she was at least an Epic Rank existence.

"Hello, Master Victor," the maid said politely while bowing her head slightly.

Victor remained calm externally, though inwardly he had already become vigilant. Someone capable of approaching him silently despite his enhanced senses was definitely not ordinary.

"She asked me to tell you that you should rest for now," the maid continued calmly. "The Suicide Squads are already on their way. Your spells are devastating, and Lady Diana wishes for you to conserve your strength for later stages of the battle."

Victor immediately focused on another detail entirely.

"Suicide Squad?" he asked curiously. "What exactly is that?"

The maid looked toward the battlefield briefly before answering.

"A Suicide Squad consists of twenty Legendary Rank mages working together."

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"One among them acts as the primary caster," she explained patiently. "The remaining nineteen continuously transfer mana toward that individual throughout the casting process."

Understanding immediately appeared on Victor’s face.

The maid nodded faintly after noticing his expression.

"With such an enormous external mana supply, the caster becomes capable of unleashing Epic Rank spells temporarily despite only being Legendary Rank."

Victor felt genuinely shocked after hearing that explanation.

The concept itself sounded insane.

However, the maid’s next words became even heavier.

"The process is extremely dangerous," she warned solemnly. "Even when successful, the caster often becomes permanently crippled after using one or two large scale spells."

Victor should have felt fear after hearing that.

Instead, excitement immediately appeared in his eyes.

"So it is actually possible to use higher ranked spells as long as the body and mana capacity are sufficient?" he asked quickly.

The maid frowned immediately afterward.

"Please do not think about attempting something foolish," she said seriously. "I know your mana reserves and physical strength are abnormal compared to ordinary mages, but forcibly using higher ranked magic is essentially suicidal."

Victor barely listened to her warning.

Instead, regret appeared across his face.

"I really wish I possessed stronger spells right now," he muttered quietly.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that problem at the moment. He simply had not possessed enough time to properly comprehend stronger magic before the battle began.

Before further conversation could continue, the battlefield suddenly descended into even greater chaos.

The third phase of the war had officially begun.

This time the scale of destruction became far more horrifying than before.

A Rank monsters directly collided against Epic Rank awakeners throughout the skies above the battlefield. The resulting shockwaves shattered mountains and sent weaker awakeners flying helplessly through the air.

Entire regions exploded continuously beneath the pressure of higher level combat.

The sea itself had become violent.

Gigantic waves rose hundreds of meters high while countless monsters continued pouring onto the battlefield from beneath the ocean depths. Their numbers seemed endless.

However, what truly terrified humanity was their coordination.

Several gigantic sea monsters intentionally moved toward the frontlines and shielded weaker creatures from the devastating shockwaves produced by Epic Rank battles. Others created enormous defensive barriers using combined water magic while ranged monsters attacked safely from behind those protections.

"They are adapting too quickly," one Sage cursed furiously from the sky.

Then suddenly, another terrifying report arrived.

A military officer appeared beside Arthur while breathing heavily. Panic was clearly visible on his face despite his attempts to remain composed.

"Sages!" he shouted urgently. "Several S Rank monsters have appeared near different cities in different Empires."

Instantly the atmosphere became even heavier.

Those cities were now almost completely defenseless because the majority of humanity’s strongest awakeners had already gathered on this battlefield. If S Rank monsters attacked those locations freely, millions could die within hours.

Diana’s face instantly turned cold.

She had expected something like this from the beginning.

"We need to eliminate those monsters immediately," several Sages said grimly.

However, the situation was extremely dangerous either way.

If too many Sages abandoned the battlefield, humanity’s frontline might collapse completely under the pressure of the monster tide.

For several moments, silence spread among the Sages.

Then Diana calmly took control of the situation.

"Three Sages will remain here," she ordered firmly. "The rest will follow me toward the cities."

Nobody argued against her decision.

Within moments, several Sage level figures vanished from the battlefield entirely and rushed toward the distant cities at incomprehensible speeds.

Victor noticed their movements immediately.

However, he did not have time to think deeply about it.

The maid standing beside him still had not left.

Victor turned toward her calmly.

"You should go help the battlefield," he said. "There is no need to protect me. I can survive on my own."

The maid hesitated briefly after hearing that.

Clearly, Diana’s orders held significant weight for her.

Still, after observing Victor’s calm expression, she finally nodded.

"Please remain careful, Master Victor."

Then she vanished instantly toward the frontlines.

At nearly the same moment, the general’s amplified voice echoed throughout the battlefield once again.

"All awakeners below Legendary Rank retreat immediately!"

"The battlefield is no longer safe for lower ranks!"

Countless awakeners immediately began retreating toward the rear defensive zones afterward. Even many academy geniuses reluctantly withdrew because they understood clearly that remaining near Epic Rank battles now would only lead to meaningless death.

Victor also understood something important.

With his current strength, he could no longer influence the battlefield meaningfully against A Rank monsters and Epic awakeners.

He needed stronger magic.

Without hesitation, Victor disappeared from the battlefield entirely.

His body moved through the city at astonishing speed.

Only three minutes later, he arrived directly before the Federation Hall.

Several staff members instantly widened their eyes after recognizing him from the worldwide battle broadcasts. Victor had already become extremely famous after his terrifying performance earlier.

Without wasting time, Victor walked directly toward the front desk.

"I need an Adept Rank light elemental spell," he said calmly. "Place the cost on my account. I will pay later."

The woman behind the desk looked visibly startled.

Still, she quickly nodded.

"Of course, sir. Please wait a moment."

She hurriedly retrieved several spell catalogs afterward and handed them toward Victor respectfully.

Victor scanned through the available spells rapidly.

Finally, his gaze stopped on two particular names.

"Sword Rain."

"Greater Heal."

Those were the spells he selected.

The woman immediately prepared the corresponding spell crystals for him afterward.

Victor already understood something extremely important by now.

Space and time spells were fundamentally abnormal.

They were not properly classified within ordinary spell systems because their amplification effects were terrifyingly powerful. Space element alone increased the destructive capability of combined spells nearly fivefold.

That was exactly why his earlier attacks managed to annihilate Adept Rank monsters so easily despite technically remaining below that level.

If he now combined a genuine Adept Rank spell with his space element amplification...

Even Elite Rank monsters would likely become helpless before him.

The thought alone caused excitement to rise inside Victor’s heart.

"Thank you," he said calmly before vanishing instantly from the Federation Hall once again.