Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 391: Entering the Fortress

Few seconds ago...

"H-how is he still alive?" Soren muttered in disbelief, seeing the dark knight still standing tall even after the head-on clash with the attack of Madam Doom. The explosive sphere the cannon had released was strong enough to severely injure a late stage True Sage, yet it could not even bring the dark knight to his knees.

However, the result was not a complete failure. Blood was dripping from the knight’s arms. The attack had surely left its impact on him. If another attack of a similar scale were released again, he might be able to bring him down without even directly joining the battlefield.

The corner of his lips rose as he ordered the soldier beside him, "Put in one more cannonball."

"L-lord, we need to wait for the muzzle to cool down or it might blast from overheating if we launch another attack right now," the soldier suggested.

His request fell on deaf ears as Soren pushed him aside and inserted the cannonball himself.

Just as he began pouring Soulforce into the cannon, he felt an overwhelming energy accumulating on the battlefield below.

In the hand of the knight at the center of the crater, an ominous thunderbolt was forming. The energy it radiated was overwhelming enough to shift the air around it.

Cold sweat ran down Soren’s neck. He increased his pace to recharge the cannon, desperation clear in his eyes.

"I need to stop him before he releases that—"

"Divine Lightning: Thunderbolt of Judgement!"

In the blink of an eye, a crackling thunderbolt of golden lightning pierced through the air, lightning descending upon the soldiers on the ground along its path.

The thunderbolt moved past Madam Doom. It was never the target to begin with.

"H-his target was me?" Soren murmured as the thunderbolt reached before his face. There was not enough time to dodge or defend, so he did what he thought might protect him.

Just as the thunderbolt was about to strike him, he poured a tremendous amount of Soulforce into the cannon, blasting it through overcharge.

An explosion occurred, and debris flew everywhere. The tower where Soren was standing was obliterated.

The impact changed the thunderbolt’s trajectory toward the sky and also sent Soren flying through the air before he crashed into the back wall of the fortress.

---

Ding...

"Congratulations! You have learned a new skill: Thunderbolt of Judgement."

"Tsk, I still cannot use this skill properly due to the low purity of my Divine Soulforce," I muttered in disappointment.

I could not compress the lightning properly into the thunderbolt. Not only was it weaker and unstable, releasing lightning along its path, it could not even strike its target.

I still had a long way to go before reaching my previous strength.

The annoyance from the failure of my skill washed over the exhaustion I was feeling.

The crater where I stood was burning with scorching heat from the aftermath of the cannon attack that struck me. The enemy soldiers did not attack me, or rather, they could not muster the courage to do so.

I did not know whether it was fear of me that stopped them or the anger of betrayal they felt after being used as meat shields by their own lord.

It did not matter to me either way. From the two hundred fifty thousand soldiers who had entered the battlefield, eighty thousand had already fallen, while the hundred fifty thousand at the forefront had their hands full fighting my army, leaving me against twenty thousand soldiers.

The number was not small in the least, but right now they were all unorganized and confused.

It was an opportunity.

Lightning flickered around my feet, and the next moment I vanished from the crater. A trail of golden lightning appeared on the battlefield, moving through the confused soldiers straight toward the fortress.

The archers on the wall launched a barrage of fierce arrows, yet they could not strike me because of the blinding speed at which I was moving.

I passed through the wall and reached the back of the fortress, from where I could sense a presence as strong as, or even stronger than, me.

Without stopping, I hurled myself into the air, unsheathed my sword, grabbed it with both hands, and descended with a vertical slash.

Tang! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You are strong, I agree. But you are also foolish and reckless," said the short, black-haired man, blocking my blade with a metallic mace with a spiked head. He was clad in silver armor with a blue robe attached to his shoulders. "Entering the fortress alone was a wrong decision."

Thousands of archers were aiming their bows from the ramparts of the fortress, while on the central ground of the fortress itself, soldiers had already surrounded me from all sides.

It was me against fifty thousand soldiers, most of whom were at the early to mid stage Awakened Sage Realm, and a cultivator at Level 9 True Sage Realm.

"My name is Soren Ironvale. I am the acting commander of House Ironvale. Are you the infamous Taranis El Thunderbane?" Soren asked as our weapons screeched against each other.

"I have no name to give you," I muttered, retreating the blade slightly before crashing it down upon him again.

The ground beneath him shattered from the impact as he blocked the attack, yet he was not suppressed in the slightest. His physical stats were similar to mine, if not even higher.

"In that case, I will call you the Dark Knight," Soren replied. The corner of his lips rose as he continued, "You gave me quite a bit of trouble with your rampage earlier. Because of you, several of my soldiers died. Still, I thank you for entering the lion’s den yourself."

His body began turning metallic dark as he slowly started pushing me back. His physical stats were now higher than mine.

Suddenly my Divine Sense rang, and I instantly retreated a few feet back using Blink.

The place where I had just been standing was filled with a barrage of arrows that the archers from the wall had launched behind my back.

"You have sharp senses. Try dodging this."

Suddenly the spiked head of the mace appeared before me. It was too late to dodge. The mace slammed into my chest, sending me skidding a few feet back.

Another of my ribs broke from the impact, and blood came from my lips, though it remained hidden behind the helm.

"You are not as strong as before," Soren said, raising an eyebrow. "Do not tell me you are already tired."