Faust arrived near the lords just as Lord Godfrey finished encasing the monstrous beast in a thick layer of ice. He still kept his ability range at its lowest.
In his lessons with instructor Hartwin, Faust had learned the best way to use his ability was to touch the target physically. That way, only the target’s essence veins would be blocked while others around him could still use their powers without any discomfort.
This method came with its own risk, obviously, which was why the one lesson Faust paid full attention to and was most eager to learn was swordsmanship. Fortunately, having an eidetic memory was a game changer when it came to learning.
Faust remembered every stance, guard, and strike after seeing it just once. He couldn’t forget a single lesson even if he wished to. Just with one casual glance, he could notice even the tiniest details of his opponents, like a wrong wrist rotation, slight delay of timing, and even feet and arm angle.
Which was why he knew only seconds were remaining before the beast would use its shockwave again. He rode faster and faster, ignoring everything.
On horseback, Faust approached the beast trapped in ice without any orders and held it from the side. The side on which the beast had the most difficulty attacking.
Time was of the essence; the lords, including his father, quickly reacted and started unleashing powerful attacks to sever the beast’s limbs. Lord Saltray even jumped high and landed on its head, cutting it little by little with his titanic strength.
Lord Saltray’s spirit was a Natural type. Beast category, even that. Generally, beast spirits granted the boon of inhuman strength due to the nature of their existence. Very rarely was a beast spirit user called a weakling.
Even Lord Godfray gulped down a few potions and joined in with his sword.
His ability could make an individual essenceless, but the pure physical might from their altered state would still remain. The base strength that a rank of an individual granted them.
Each time the Duke, Jonos, or Saltray severed a limb, the beast convulsed dangerously, cracking the ice a little bit. The beast’s muscles twitched beneath the ice; they had little time before it broke free.
Four of the beast’s limbs were cut down, including the two crab pincer-arms. Its head was completely severed by Lord Saltray by the time the Duke ordered a retreat.
The violent convulsions grew too powerful, and the ice shattered a moment later. A flash of red caught Faust’s eyes, coming from deep within the beast, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Without thinking, the enraged headless beast retracted its shell from the front and released an ear-piercing, devastating shockwave, twice as powerful as before, from slimy, hideous appendages hidden beneath.
Faust gritted his teeth. They were too close.
The Duke and Jonos’s essence burned brighter, gathering a lot of power, but whatever they had would not finish in time. They had made a mistake thinking the beast could only release the shockwaves at regular intervals. Even at the risk of damaging itself by its own attack, the Overlord had charged it to the max and was prepared to do it for its own survival.
Faust released the reins of his horse and jumped as far as he could, landing face-first just a few meters before the five warriors. In a second, he scrambled to turn and get on his knees, then unleashed his field of absence covering maximum range.
Which was seven meters now that his core was in a tempered state.
The terrifying shockwave sent the dark sand hundreds of meters high, leaving behind a massive scar in its wake. The speed and force of the shockwave were beyond natural, even for such a terrifying creature.
The Duke and Jonos lost their essence; so did the rest. His father’s cry was like a distant echo in his ears. The devastating force crashed into this field of absence and invaded a couple of meters, pushing Faust back with the titanic force.
His knees felt hot. The weight on his body was slowly getting lighter. Faust suddenly sensed several hands supporting his back; strangely, the touch was direct with his naked back.
The shockwave invaded almost four meters in his field of absence before disappearing. His whole body felt like it was on fire. The shockwave lasted for several seconds. Each second felt like an eternity.
Faust almost blacked out, but he forced himself to stay awake. If his consciousness slipped, the people behind him would die in an instant.
Not just the lords. This shockwave was much more powerful and closer to the battlefield than before. The clever beast had pushed closer and closer all the while fighting the five pests.
If he let go, the whole army, including Augustine, would probably perish or suffer irreversible damage.
’Why the hell did I jump in?’
His own life was at stake, but if he just kept the field of absence active while riding, he would have suffered way less and even absorbed the shockwave like nothing at that distance.
But his body acted before his mind could weigh all options.
’The Duke doesn’t even trust me. If he died, wouldn’t things have become much more beneficial for me under Augustine’s rule?’
But of course he knew why. A bright memory flashed before his eyes, so real Faust almost questioned his reality. Laughter all around him as he ate toast in the dining hall of the old castle.
Could this be.. it? Could he really trust them?
Well, the move was made. What ifs had no place in his already unfolding reality now.
’Focus! Dammit! Stop with the nonsense! Focus!’
It hurt like hell, but Faust still opened his watery eyes. When the dust settled, a massive crater was before him. A strange sound of something being dragged away entered his ringing ears.
Faust raised an eyebrow, realizing what he was actually seeing. At a distance of three meters all around him, a half circle of solid land remained; the rest of the land before them was now a five-meter-deep crater.
The deep crater remained even to his sides for several meters. Fortunately, its force was diminished with distance, and the soldiers behind them had only lost their balance, nothing too severe.
Several figures jumped forward and positioned themselves around the crater and unleashed sharp arc after arc of their infused sword.
It took a minute for Faust to realize the massive figure after trying to drag itself up the crater was the Overlord. It was bloody all over, mangled beyond recognition, and could barely control two of its four bleeding legs.
The last thing Faust remembered was someone holding him and it hurting like hell before he lost his vision. Before he blacked out, however, a strange dark flame rushed towards him from somewhere.