Chapter 408: The Elite vs The Ultras (2)

He recognized his opponent immediately.

Frey didn’t hesitate. He kept pushing forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes so intense that his blades seemed to dance in his hands.

Gavid met him blow for blow, matching his speed, deflecting each attack with calm precision.

"The one who crushed the army of a thousand... defeated Lawrence... overwhelmed Mergo... that was you, wasn’t it?"

Gavid spoke evenly, revealing his aether blade as their clash intensified, sparks erupting as their weapons collided with ferocious power.

Aura clashed, flames burst from their swords, and they became locked in a cyclone of steel.

"You’re strong, no doubt. But is this the power you used to defeat Mergo?"

Slash!

Activating his Phantom Form, Gavid let Frey’s blades pass harmlessly through his body .. then slashed cleanly through Frey’s chest with his aether blade.

Frey gritted his teeth as blood spurted from the gash.

"Looks like Mergo was drunk again..."

Gavid smirked, effortlessly countering every strike Frey threw at him.

"You’re strong .. but you’re no match for him."

Frey’s swords once again passed through Gavid’s phantom-like form, while the aether blade found flesh with brutal ease.

"And you’re no match for me either."

Frey could unleash SS rank aura, but Gavid Lindman was already SS+, and wielded one of the legendary blades himself.

The gap between them was massive.

"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Mirage!"

Knowing he was outclassed, Frey still refused to back down.

He activated his technique ..creating a thousand illusionary copies that attacked Gavid from every direction.

But all of them phased harmlessly through him.

"It’s useless," Gavid said flatly.

The moment Frey’s last strike failed, Gavid canceled his Phantom Form and struck back—savagely.

The speed of the aether blade was unreal. Even Frey, proud of his reflexes, barely kept up.

Explosions tore through the ground as their auras collided in a close-range, high-speed duel, sending fiery shockwaves in every direction.

But the advantage was clearly Gavid’s.

Wounds piled on Frey’s body one after another...

And yet—his pace never slowed.

He kept attacking with the same ferocity, making Gavid realize something about him.

"Regeneration, huh?"

Gavid stepped up the pressure, pouring more power into his strikes, trying to end it in one blow.

"Regenerate all you want. It won’t matter when your head is rolling on the ground."

"You talk too much for a noble of the Ultras."

Frey’s eyes glowed violet as he kicked his speed into overdrive, dashing in circles around Gavid at blinding pace.

He struck from every direction, aiming at blind spots, looking for an opening in Gavid’s Phantom Form.

"Clever," Gavid admitted with a smirk.

"You already know the weakness of my ability."

"But it still won’t help."

Despite being attacked from all angles, Gavid’s sword moved with unnatural precision, blocking everything without needing to turn intangible.

"There’s a wide gap between our ranks, boy."

Breaking through Frey’s defense with astonishing speed, Gavid’s aether blade clashed violently with both the Dark Sister and Balerion.

Then—with his free hand—he grabbed Frey by the face.

And with terrifying force ..

He slammed Frey’s head into the ground, burying it deeper and deeper into the earth.

"It’s too dangerous to let you live."

His face dark, his intent deadly, Gavid raised his aether blade high, forming a swirling black vortex above his head like a miniature black hole.

He plunged his sword into it.

Dark aura surged around the blade as he raised it again, preparing to strike Frey down once and for all.

"You die here."

Gavid Lindman had completely overwhelmed Frey.

Even with all the power Frey had recently gained—he stood no chance.

After all, even in his fight with Mergo...

He never truly won.

He had fainted early in that battle .. his body had fought on alone.

But now—he couldn’t access that same overwhelming force again.

Which left him at the mercy of Gavid Lindman.

And just as the final strike was about to fall..

Frey’s shadow rippled—like a gate opening to another world.

And from its depths ..

Ghost Umbra emerged.

Face-to-face with Gavid, at the critical moment.

The Ultras Lord hadn’t sensed Ghost hiding within Frey’s shadow .. not yet. But instinctively, he activated his Phantom Form once more, prepared to counter whatever the assassin might throw at him.

Gavid was confident that someone at Ghost’s level wouldn’t be able to inflict any significant harm.

But the silent killer knew exactly what he was doing. Without hesitation, he slashed his hand toward Gavid’s chest ..

And unleashed his strongest attack from the very start.

"Spatial Severance!!"

Using his most powerful and mysterious skill, Ghost sliced through space itself—targeting Gavid while he was still in his intangible form.

Then, without warning ..

A deep, horrific gash appeared across Gavid’s chest.

He stared at it in disbelief, his expression frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Taking full advantage of his enemy’s confusion and momentary panic, Ghost acted immediately .. grabbing Frey and pulling him into his shadow before vanishing in a blink.

Gavid had misjudged Ghost’s strike as nothing more than a regular attack...

But Spatial Severance didn’t simply slice matter—it cut through space itself, hitting everything within its range.

Including his Phantom Form.

Which meant ..

Ghost had succeeded where even Frey had failed, dealing real damage to Gavid Lindman.

Unfortunately, the injury was shallow due to Ghost’s lower power level—it wasn’t nearly enough to stop Gavid, who instantly gave chase.

The tide of battle shifted violently.

Just like Frey ..

The rest of the elite were now surrounded by Ultras soldiers.

Snow clashed against Evelyn—beside her, the traitor Baylor Moonlight.

Phoenix was forced to fight both Godfrey and Gvardiol at the same time.

The elite class found themselves on the verge of defeat... and barely fifteen minutes had passed since the battles began.

From the start, the difference in power had been overwhelming.

"We’re going to be annihilated..."

Lara Croft stood in the rear with Selena, shielding the unconscious Danzo and Seris.

Her voice trembled as she took in the scene .. the battle was hopeless.

The Ultras had surrounded them on all sides, intent on wiping them out completely.

At that moment...

She realized there was no escape.

They were utterly trapped.

Everyone in the elite class knew it .. yet still, they fought to their last breath.

In their darkest hour, covered in wounds, soaked in blood .. As death crept closer with every second ..

A blinding beam of light struck the battlefield without warning, shaking the earth as it descended.

Everyone turned to the source of the blast—

And were stunned.

A massive pillar of light had descended from the heavens, glowing intensely in the distance.

"That’s..."

Selena’s eyes widened ..she was the first to recognize it.

Then suddenly ..

Every member of the elite class heard a voice in their minds—a voice none of them had heard before.

"Run to the gate! All of you!"

It was Millicent.

Her voice was so overwhelming that their bodies moved on instinct .. they all began running toward the beam of light without even thinking.

But the light had landed within the enemy lines .. if they wanted to reach it, they’d have to break through the Ultras.

There was no guarantee that the light was even a way out.

But for some reason ..

They all chose to believe in Millicent’s voice.

At the same time the beam appeared ..

Another figure entered the battlefield, cloaked in a veil of dark aura.

"How rude... barging in just when the game was about to end."

Beatrice emerged in her true body, smiling wickedly. She had appeared to deal with the arrogant intruder who dared cast magic inside her domain.

It had taken all of Millicent’s strength just to pierce Beatrice’s field in the first place—which explained her delay.

And now, even after succeeding ..

Beatrice immediately moved to shut her down.

Aware of this ..

Millicent screamed from the other side:

"Now! We only have one minute before her domain expels us!"

In sync with her words ..

The sky blazed with light, and two overwhelming auras tore into the battlefield at once.

From between them ..

An old man descended, landing directly above Beatrice.

The witch froze, stunned as she stared up at him.

"You..."

She muttered unconsciously, and the old man bellowed:

"I am Sir Alonne Valerion!!!"

Gripping his staff ..

It exploded into a radiant golden sword with a glowing white edge.

Harnessing the Aura of Light ..

The Iron Emperor moved at the speed of light, unleashing a divine slash toward Beatrice.

He was so absurdly fast ..

He sliced the golden witch clean in half in a single blow, shaking the battlefield with the sheer weight of his aura.

The Iron Emperor had descended at last.