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Electra was knocked backward along with her entire body, yet even with her right claws shattered, she thrust out her left arm and pointed all five fingers toward Howard, extending her red claws once more. The red claws shot forward like spears at tremendous speed, grazing Howard before embedding themselves in the black earth. The leather armor where they had grazed him began smoking as though it had been scorched. The red claws buried in the ground glowed crimson like iron inside a furnace, radiating intense heat that scorched the earth around them.

Making sure Howard understood that the redness of her claws was actually fire itself, Electra curled the corners of her mouth into a sinister grin.

She retracted her left claws, only to thrust them toward Howard again at tremendous speed. Four of the five claws extended toward his limbs, each one aimed at burning through an arm or leg. The final claw was aimed directly at his eye, which still glowed with gray light as he glared at her. It shot forward with the intention of destroying his vision.

But Howard shifted his grip to the ricasso of his sword and spun the enormous blade as though twirling a baton, knocking the claws aside one after another. The greatsword whirled through the air with enough force to tear through the atmosphere itself, shattering every red claw in its path and sending the fragments flying. The final claw was smashed apart by Howard’s left backhand as well.

Electra’s eyes widened as she watched her claws crumble so effortlessly. The violent air pressure created by the swinging sword struck her like a vortex, forcing her backward. But by then, Howard had already disappeared from her field of vision. Almost simultaneously, Electra sensed Howard’s presence behind her and felt a tremendous impact against her body.

“Agghh!!”

Howard had slipped behind her. Maintaining the momentum of his spinning greatsword, he changed his grip and swung it around, then struck Electra’s side with the crossguard like a hammer.

Sent flying, Electra dug into the ground with all four limbs before quickly regaining her footing. Smoke hissed from the side of her body where she had been struck, and the damage showed no sign of immediately healing. Holding a hand against the wound, Electra furrowed her brows and remained tense as sweat poured down her face. Having taken a direct blow from Howard, Electra finally understood. She understood the sheer amount of Mana contained within him, and its incredible density.

(He’s dangerous. If we fight him head-on, he possesses enough power to destroy us. He’s fundamentally different from the knights we’ve been playing with until now.)

Electra cautiously straightened herself and glared at Howard.

(But he’s still only human. Just as we originally planned, if we continue attacking without pause, day and night, he’ll eventually become exhausted. Once he’s weakened, all we have to do is finish him. An opponent possessing this much power… consuming him would provide us with an enormous amount of nourishment.)

Having reached that conclusion, Electra slowly swayed her body and raised the corners of her mouth into a broad smile.

“How marvelous. I never imagined there would be a gentleman possessing such tremendous power…”
“……”
“How would you like it? At the end of your life, why not experience the greatest pleasure this world has to offer?”

Electra opened the deep V-shaped neckline of her clothing, causing her chest to sway prominently as she exposed her bulging chest. She thrust her hips forward even farther, revealing her exposed leg through the dress’s slit, which was cut deeply up toward her waist, deliberately displaying her pale side to Howard.

Electra opened the slit even farther and, casting Howard a sidelong glance with alluring eyes as though inviting him closer, provocatively traced her exposed thigh upward with her fingertips.

“Have you ever encountered a woman quite like me? Come now… come closer. Experience the finest woman there is. Everything this world has to offer is here. Within me… I shall make sure you…”

Looking up at Howard with moist, intent eyes, Electra widened the slit further and slipped her fingers beneath the hem near her upper thigh, accompanied by a suggestive, wet sound.

But Howard merely continued pointing the tip of his sword at Electra, quietly allowing his fighting spirit to pour forth. Then he muttered a single sentence.

“Unfortunately… I’ve never met a woman better than Sonia.”

Electra’s eyes widened at Howard’s blunt rejection. As Howard’s fighting spirit continued spreading around him, she instinctively took one step backward.

Almost immediately, Electra relaxed her shoulders and slowly shook her head with a sigh, as though expressing disappointment.

“How unfortunate… But perhaps it would be wiser for us to give you some time to think…” She continued to look at him with an expression that had not entirely lost its desire.

“We shall meet again later… and when we do…”

With those words, her body began dissolving into the darkness. The edges of Electra’s body transformed into black mist, and she began disappearing into the forest.

“Too soft! Vampire!!”

Howard’s magic sigils engraved into his equipment suddenly illuminated. He lunged toward the black mist in a single stride and brought down the blue-glowing Grand Divider with tremendous force.

“Gyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”

Electra released a scream seemingly dragged from the very depths of her being and collapsed, writhing on the ground. Her shoulder had been cut deeply, and her right arm was nearly severed from her body. Her nightdress was torn as well, and blood streamed from her wound as Electra continued screaming.

“Electra?!”

Joel, who had been exchanging blows with Kyle, widened her eyes and shouted when she saw what had happened to Electra.

“Lord Cloud… Master… did you just cut someone who had already become intangible?!”

Kyle could hardly believe what he had witnessed. Howard had somehow managed to slash an opponent who had transformed into black mist, a feat completely beyond anything Kyle considered possible.

“Joel! Take Electra and withdraw!!”

Marina, the woman wrapped in chains, shouted toward Joel from behind the enormous black undead creatures.

Marina had realized it as well. She had sensed the strength of Howard, Conrad, and Gilbert.

She had known from the beginning that they possessed tremendous power. That was why she had taken responsibility for separating them from the main body of the knights and keeping them occupied. But the longer she watched them from such close range, the more their extraordinary strength sent a chill through her very core. However, no matter how much power they possessed, they couldn’t display all of it if they had something holding them back. That was why they had surrounded the weaker knights in the rear, preventing them from escaping and turning them into a leash around the stronger warriors’ necks. If they did that, their enemies would eventually be unable to escape or fight at full strength, and their stamina would gradually be worn down.

After that, defeating them would be easy.

There was no need to fight them head-on. For now, all they needed to do was retreat.

“Dawn will be here soon. The night is ending! We shall withdraw for a brief time.”

They only needed to retreat for the brief period surrounding dawn. Then they could return soon afterward and continue wearing their opponents down through a battle of attrition.

With a cold smile spreading across her face, Marina gave the order to withdraw. But at that moment, Howard drove his black greatsword, Grand Divider, into the earth and shouted.

“Don’t think you can keep running forever, Vampire!!”
“You’ve been sneaking around and pestering us with one cheap trick after another!!”

Conrad roared as well, making no attempt to hide his irritation.

“But it ends here! From this moment onward, you will not be leaving this land!!”
“…I don’t think that’s something you two have any way of deciding.”

Marina furrowed her brows in displeasure, telling Howard that they had no means of interfering with their movements. Howard did not answer. Instead, he tightened his grip around the Grand Divider, which was still embedded in the earth.

“From this moment onward, this land shall become my territory! Break new ground! Grand Divider!! Territory of the Lord!!”

In response to Howard’s cry, the magical sigils carved into the Grand Divider shone with even greater intensity. The radiance of the greatsword embedded in the earth spread outward from Howard. The effect expanded to a radius of more than one hundred meters, filling the entire area with the enormous amount of magical power Howard had accumulated.

At the same time, power began flowing into everyone within its range. Kyle felt the strength surging through his body and swung his sword. The blade flashed with unprecedented sharpness, and Kyle stared in amazement at how much more precise and powerful his movements had become.

Tony rose to his feet and met an attack from the approaching giant undead head-on. He was stunned when he realized that the attack had caused almost no damage.

Norman emerged from the trench and extinguished the magical flames surrounding him with a single sweep of his halberd, now infused with holy energy.

Cedric Meyer cleaved an approaching Cadmus Knight in half with a single stroke.

Cornell Warlich sent several Cadmus Knights flying all by himself.

Within the “territory” Howard had created, the combat abilities of the knights had increased dramatically.

“This is the finishing blow! Be crushed beneath it!! Maximum Citadel!!”

As though delivering the final blow, Conrad slammed his enormous battle axe into the earth and activated his skill. The magical power released from the descending axe spread outward, creating ripples across the ground. Then, enormous walls made entirely of Mana rose around them. The newly created walls slammed into the three enormous undead creatures, crushing them beneath their immense weight before enclosing Howard and the others behind a thick barrier.