“Boss! We’ve got a situation up ahead! The defenders seem pretty tough!”

As their iron hooves crossed another line of defense, Dolores’s warning cut through the clamor of the battlefield and reached Jon’s ears with perfect clarity.

He gave a slight nod, but the rhythm of his Mechanical Warhorse’s four hooves never faltered. With a low “WHIR” from its heavy metal joints, it thundered toward the next intersection.

After he rounded the corner, his view opened up, but the road ahead was completely blocked by layer upon layer of a hideous Thorny Vine Wall, which shimmered with a sinister, dark green glow.

Twisted vines, like living pythons, were covered in barbs and tangled together, forming a vicious, multi-layered barrier that pulsed with a heart-stopping magical aura.

Behind the thorny wall stood the first truly “decent” obstacle they had encountered during their advance.

Several Knights, clad in masterfully crafted Enchanted Plate Armor with their faces covered by helms, were among them.

They exuded an aura as steady as a mountain, clearly the core noble forces who had followed the Heta family in this rebellion.

Behind these Knights was a group of equally well-equipped Soldiers. Their shields were as thick as wooden doors, and their spears, angled forward like a forest, gathered the dim light into a cold woodland of death.

Farther back, several figures in dark Magic Robes were rapidly waving their arms, filling the air with dangerous fluctuations of Energy. Crossbowmen had also long since set up their crossbows of varying sizes, locking their sights on Jon’s position.

The moment he saw Jon, the lead Knight let out a roar as deep and rumbling as thunder.

“For the Count! Kill these traitors!”

Almost as soon as his roar faded, a deadly barrage of attacks rained down like a sudden storm!

“WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!”

A dense volley of Poisoned Crossbow Arrows tore through the air with a scalp-numbing shriek. Several fist-sized fireballs, roiling with orange-red flames, shot out from the Mages’ hands, leaving scorching trails and making the air crackle.

Faced with focused fire terrifying enough to instantly shred a small unit, Jon didn’t even rein in his warhorse!

He simply swung his left arm—

“VMMM—!”

A massive Dharma Seal, woven from deep blue and pale gold with patterns so complex they were dizzying, instantly unfurled before him!

“CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—! BOOM BOOM BOOM!”

The venomous green arrows struck the Light Wall and snapped like brittle twigs, ricocheting away as splinters of metal and wood flew everywhere.

The blazing fireballs slammed into the Dharma Seal, erupting in blinding flashes of light and searing waves of heat. Flames licked at the Light Wall, but like waves crashing against a reef, they shattered and dissipated in vain, unable to penetrate it or even cause a ripple!

Just like that, Jon openly braved the enemy’s ranged attacks, surveying the defensive line before him.

In the gaps between the heavy tower shields at the front, several gleaming silver spears inscribed with armor-piercing Runes were poised to strike. Their tips quivered slightly, like vipers flicking their tongues, clearly special weapons prepared to deal with Mechanical Bodies.

At the base of the Thorny Vine Wall, the dark green magical aura pulsed like a breath, clearly connected to the magical core that sustained its existence.

The Knights’ formation seemed tight, but they were actually subtly divided into three groups. Each group was centered on the Knight with the calmest aura, forming a triangular defensive formation where each part supported the others.

The Mages in the back were slightly more spread out, but one of them held a grayish-white defensive aura in his hands and was nervously reinforcing the thorny barrier in front.

This information flowed like water into his rapidly processing mind.

‘A standard anti-cavalry defensive formation. Shield guards for the main defense, magical traps to slow and separate, and ranged fire for cover… They’re using the terrain and pre-set spells to try and pin us down in this open area and wear us out.’

‘Well done. Any traditional cavalry unit would have to pay a steep price here… but unfortunately for you, you ran into me…’

Just as the enemy’s second wave of ranged attacks was about to launch, a cold glint flared in Jon’s eyes!

“Everyone—keep up!”

Before his voice had faded, his Mechanical Warhorse erupted with an unprecedented, high-pitched hum, entering an overclocked state and accelerating to its maximum speed!

At the same time, a deep, heavy Power, as if from the very core of the earth’s pulse, erupted from within Jon’s body!

[Dragon Flame Dance · Rock]!

VMMMM—!

A dazzling golden light, like molten gold, instantly surged forth from his [Crystal Scorpion Armor]!

It was not a flowing liquid, but rapidly condensing and growing rock crystals!

The sharp-edged golden rock layers spread upward as if alive, covering and thickening!

The Shoulder Armor, chest plate, Arm Guards—his entire body, along with the warhorse beneath him—was enveloped and reshaped in the blink of an eye!

The originally sleek silhouette of the mechanical warhorse was now clad in a layer of heavy, jagged war armor that gleamed with a mixture of metal and rock!

In the space of a single breath, the lean, swift figure had vanished!

In its place was a war colossus forged from pure earthen power and majestic dragon might!

Each time its heavy, giant hooves slammed into the ground, it wasn’t just a dull thud—it was the roar of the earth’s very veins!

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!”

It was as if a slumbering behemoth had awakened and was stirring underground!

A visible, earth-yellow shockwave rippled violently outward from the point of each hoof fall!

Wherever the shockwave passed, the ground trembled violently, heaving up and cracking apart!

The carefully laid caltrops and tripwires on the road were tossed aside and snapped as easily as children’s toys!

Even the Thorny Vine Wall, with its foul green glow, saw the dark green light of its sustaining Array flicker violently under the furious tremors of the earth, like a candle in the wind!

“Wh—?!”

Behind the thorny wall, the eyes of the Knight leader, hidden behind his full-face helm, widened in utter, horrified disbelief!

‘How could such a terrifying charge possibly appear on a battlefield of this level?!’

Yet, no matter his shock, the golden chariot before him was already bearing down, radiating a destructive aura that promised to crush everything in its path!

“H—HOLD!!!”

The Knights’ roars were hoarse and strained. The shield guards in the front gritted their teeth, their muscles bulging, and poured all their strength into their tower shields and armor-piercing spears, attempting to meet this primeval beast of the earth head-on with mere flesh and blood!

They were battle-hardened experts of the Knight Level; how could they possibly admit defeat now!?

In the instant before impact, a flicker of icy coldness crossed Jon’s eyes from beneath his Golden Battle Armor.

He could clearly see the faces of the shield guards, twisted with extreme tension; the dangerous glint at the tips of the spears, glowing with infused Fighting Spirit; and the panicked gestures of the Mages behind them as they tried to conjure another spell.

But before absolute Power and speed, it was all like a silent film in slow motion.

Just as the heavy forehooves of the Mechanical Warhorse, encased in a thick Crystal Rock Layer, were about to crash down on the first tower shield, Jon abruptly raised his head!

A deep, majestic dragon’s roar, as if from the abyssal depths of the earth’s veins, suddenly boomed out!

“ROAR—!!!”

[Dragon Might Burst]!

Along with this soul-shaking roar, the [Broken Abyss] in his hand—also covered in Golden Rock Crystal and resembling a massive stone pillar—swung forward with the force of a mountain-cleaving, rock-shattering blow!

[Dragon King’s Breath]!

The blade’s edge was not aimed at any specific target, but at the entire space before him!

KRA-KOOOM—!!!

It was as if an invisible, ten-thousand-foot mountain had descended from the sky!

Or as if the power accumulated for eons in the depths of the slumbering earth had been detonated in an instant!

Along the arc of the sword’s swing, space itself violently twisted and compressed!

A torrent of Impact, condensed to its absolute limit and appearing as a heavy, dark gold, erupted forward in a fan-shaped area. Accompanied by countless shattering fragments of Golden Rock Crystal, it was like a volcanic eruption of lava mixed with a devastating meteor storm, blasting out with overwhelming, unstoppable force!

Where the dark gold torrent passed, time seemed to freeze.

After completing [Earth’s Slumber], Jon gained 30 points of Earth Element affinity. Combined with the 10 points from [Blood of the Earth], he now had a total of 40 points of Earth Element affinity.

And according to the most basic calculation, without any bonus from Skills or comprehension, 40 points of Earth Element affinity provided a minimum 40% boost to any skill with an Earth Element tag!

Moreover, it was an all-around enhancement, from Power and speed to range and effect!

When such a terrifying bonus was combined with his strongest Perfect Level Skill, [Dragon Flame Dance], what kind of power would it unleash?

One only had to look at the enemies before him to know.

The moment the Impact arrived, the shield guards in their tight formation, along with their prized enchanted tower shields and armor-piercing spears, were struck as if by an invisible colossus!

The sturdy tower shields groaned under the strain the instant they touched the torrent of Impact, then twisted, buckled, and shattered!

The sound of the bones in their shield arms snapping was sickening!

The Warriors were hit like they’d been struck head-on by an invisible Siege Hammer, sent flying with their shields by an irresistible, immense force!

Their heavy armor shrieked with the sound of scraping and shattering as they flew backward, tracing arcs through the air mixed with broken armor plates and mists of blood!

Before this devastating breath, even warriors of steel were as fragile as straw!

As for the crossbowmen and Mages in the rear?

They only had time to let out half a terrified scream before they were completely swallowed by the dark gold shockwave and the raging storm of shattered stone that followed!

Crossbows disintegrated, Magic Robes were torn to shreds, and their bodies were flung violently like kites with their strings cut, crashing into the ruined walls and falling silent!

Under this heaven-shaking, earth-shattering blow, the rebels’ entire, meticulously constructed defensive line was smashed as if a Giant God had thrown a mountain at it!

Dust and smoke shot into the sky, mixed with powdered rock, metal fragments, wood splinters, and a crimson mist of blood!

As far as the eye could see, there was only a huge, fan-shaped gap violently plowed open, and on its flanks and rear, a scene of utter chaos—men and horses overturned, cries of agony filling the air!

And Jon’s golden figure, wreathed in the lingering dust and aura of destruction, walked slowly through the killing field he had created, like a war god stepping out of myth.

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