Stop, Friendly Fire!

[Too shallow.]

Seagald declared.

[You've learned some good skills and accumulated some experience as well. But that's all. You don't have the basics down, so everything you do is sloppy.]

[Shut up.]

Lee Shin Woo and Seagald's blades clashed in the air and erupted in intense flames. No, that's what he thought, but... At that moment, Seagald's sword was coming for Lee Shin Woo's helmet. If he hadn't responded with his darkness and stopped it, then the battle would've been decided right then and there.

[And only your elements are strong. But do you know something? That your mana, which you thought was infinite when you reached level 8, will eventually run out. I wonder how much energy and mana you had to waste to block my attack? You can only attain victory after you've calculated and distributed your power.]

The problem was that this had been repeated a few times already.

'I had an inkling, but this guy...'

Lee Shin Woo wasn't a good match for him. The fact that he was skilled in the light element wasn't the issue. The problem was his innate element, the Annihilation Flame.

The Annihilation Flame was a technique that erased oneself. It looked as convoluted as Lee Shin Woo's innate elements, but it was actually quite simple. It would act as if you weren't there, even if you were. Conversely, it would seem as if you were there, even if you weren't. In other words, it was fundamentally similar to Lee Shin Woo: it was based on trickery!

'They're similar, but oppose each other.'

Annihilation Flame was, in a sense, the greatest stealth tool at a glance. The user could erase only a select part of themselves and fool their opponent; and during that time, they can do whatever they wish.

He had fooled Lee Shin Woo into thinking that their swords would clash, but he was actually aiming for Lee Shin Woo's helmet. He must've erased 'truth'. It really was a pain in the ass to face in CQC. But if he widened the distance between them, Seagald would attack his allies. It was really a frustrating situation.

'He never had any intention of walking atop my stage.'

Wild Card was a skill that could lead him to certain victory only if he knew everything there was to know about his opponent. However, Seagald kept erasing himself from Lee Shin Woo's stage, which made it difficult to ascertain what was real.

Even now, Seagald was acting as though they were fighting face-to-face, but... That probably wasn't real. His goal wasn't to kill Lee Shin Woo but to control the cannon. He wanted to find an opportunity to use the cannon.

[If you look away, you'll die!]

[Hah, you're quite sharp!]

...If that's the case. Lee Shin Woo swung his sword, imbuing his sword with his Dark Flame. Dark Shadow's level was still too low, so it couldn't fend off Seagald's Annihilation Flame. However, Dark Flame would weaken Seagald's flames whenever their swords clashed!

And that's exactly what happened. The moment their swords clashed, the Dark Flame mixed with the Annihilation Flame, creating a new current that Seagald wasn't aware of. Seagald's power was really a good match for his Wild Card skill...! Lee Shin Woo inwardly smiled and thrust his sword once more.

[Ha!]

[Keuk. This is...?]

After that brief exchange, Lee Shin Woo had, for the first time, broken Seagald's shoulder armor. Lee Shin Woo's lie and Seagald's lie had resonated, which ultimately confused Seagald. Seagald knew that Lee Shin Woo had used his power against him, and he was even more flustered because of it.

Lee Shin Woo had gained the upper hand and continued with the resonance of their elements. Dark Flame with lightning, Annihilation Flame with ice, and finally, Lee Shin Woo was able to grasp Seagald's true body.

He broke Seagald's armor, the broken pieces fluttering in the wind. Seagald quickly used his Annihilation Flame to avoid the attack and looked at Lee Shin Woo.

[...Is it a stealing ability?]

[Hmm, I wonder. I may just be fooling you.]

[Ha. Its power befitting the title of 'Heaven Defying'! Did you force all your opponents into this kind of situation?]

Seagald did his best to act calm and reply nonchalantly but was quickly doing some calculations in his head. His opponent's special ability was on par with, or perhaps even greater than his own! However, he was still superior when it came to basic combat abilities.

If that's the case, then if he were to attack him such that he couldn't defend and then take that opportunity to control the cannon, then... No, he couldn't ignore the level 7 elite magician, flaming chimeras, and the golems, who were just waiting for their opportunity to strike.

'If it was all going according to plan, then those golems would've been on my side, but... Tarian, you idiot. They figured out what your true intentions were. That much is obvious, since he's not with them. Ah, Tarian. You made things so much harder for me!'

The inside of his head was becoming quite busy. But there was still a way out of this. He knew there was a chance that a single squad wouldn't be able to accomplish its mission, so he had some reserve troops stationed nearby.

He had ordered them to advance after taking care of all the traps, so they should join the battlefield soon. And when they do, there'll be chaos. If he were to use that chaos to subdue the Heaven Defying General and then take control of the cannon, then he'd be able to achieve his goal!

...But the only problem was that they were quite delayed.

[Tch...]

[Your sword's become restless. That creates an opening!]

[Everything you say pisses me off!]

Whereas Lee Shin Woo was seething; he couldn't even defeat Seagald when he was diverting his attention away from their battle. He wasn't a match for Seagald in terms of overall stats or fundamental combat abilities, aside from magic; the only reason he was able to match up against him was because Jin balanced out his stats.

He pushed back with his innate skills, which were based around magic, but Seagald's innate element was no pushover. Contrary to Seagald's expectations, Lee Shin Woo still had plenty of mana left over and could attack as soon as Seagald's mana bottomed out. However, Seagald was no fool, and he would probably retreat if his mana ran low.

He was that skilled. Honestly, his opponent was well-rounded. ...To be more specific, he was kind of like Lee Shin Woo. If just a little bit.

'A warrior only needs to be good at CQC, so why the hell does he have to use his Annihilation Flame too?'

He was one to talk. He knew that, but it pissed him off anyway. Lee Shin Woo might've been able to overpower him if his Manatization skill had reached level 5; if his Dark Shadow or Shining Flame were at the intermediate stage, he would've also been able to deal with Seagald's Annihilation Flame with ease and burn his body to a crisp!

'Acting like you're the one being pushed back? ...It might work against someone else, but it won't work on me.'

As stated, the Annihilation Flame Sword God's objective was the cannon. He would act as though he were being pushed back, but if he had the opportunity, he would jump on it and head towards the cannon. The moment Lee Shin Woo gave Seagald the opportunity, it would be game over.

If that's the case, then... since he was out of options, he had no choice but to use his final resort. He summoned all the weapons he'd been saving. Lee Shin Woo gritted his teeth and spoke to his partner.

'Let's go, Jin.'

'Got it.'

She knew that the Annihilation Flame Sword God wasn't to be taken lightly, so she answered seriously and readied herself. Her steel wings fluttered and they rushed towards Seagald like a bullet.

[Keuk!?]

At the same time, a dozen of Lee Shin Woo's weapons came out from within the surrounding darkness and flew towards Seagald all at once. Lee Shin Woo had been saving these weapons until now! There was no way even Seagald could've expected this.

'Each and every one of them contains a huge amount of mana! What kind of power is this, Heaven Defying General...!?'

What was most frightening about it was that they were all at least level 7. The startled Seagald used his Annihilation Flame and erased himself from that spot.

However, Lee Shin Woo had expected him to do so and launched his weapons in all directions. Lee Shin Woo had summoned all of his weapons because he'd expected this prior. He'd experienced Seagald's Annihilation Flame a few times already, so the moment his weapons touched him, it would become easy to figure out where he was!

"Found you...!"

[Heaven Defying General...!]

In the end, one of the Death God's Shining Bone Swords found him. It had only pierced his shoulder, but Lee Shin Woo then used the mana accumulated within the Death God's Shining Bone Sword to use its active skill.

The skill's name was Death God's Fury. It was a skill that he can only use by infusing a ton of mana into the sword. It would sever any magical or spatial interference and slash anything that was within his vision! It was the best skill to use against Seagald!

[Kuhahk!?]

[That's only the beginning!]

He wasn't sure if Seagald knew or not, but Lee Shin Woo possessed eight other Shining Bone Swords, aside from the one on his person. Moreover, so long as the swords were infused with enough mana, he could keep using the skill to ignore any spatial and magical interference and keep attacking him!

It wasn't just one slash; he was simultaneously hit by seven more slashes. Each and every strike was incredibly powerful, and if Seagald wasn't a wielder of light, then he would've died right then and there.

[Kuaaaaahk!]

"Jin!"

"I know!"

That wasn't the end. Lee Shin Woo and Jin charged forward, right as the Shining Bone Swords did their job!

She turned ridiculously fast once she found her target. Jin stepped on the air, turned her body, kicked off the air once more, and charged towards Seagald! She converted all of her mana into light and put everything she had into her sprint. That was her light. At this very moment, nothing existed that could surpass her speed.

"...Tch!"

But once they made contact with Seagald, Lee Shin Woo clicked his tongue. Seagald's body crumpled from his attack... but he realized that it was just a clump of Annihilation Flame. He wasn't even a ninja, so what's with the body replacement technique!?

"That bastard ran away."

"Oh, he really did."

He might've run away once he'd been hit by the Shining Bone Swords. Seagald had realized that he couldn't defeat Lee Shin Woo with his Annihilation Flame alone and had chosen to retreat.

Seagald had probably used some sort of escape artifact that activated through the use of his Annihilation Flame. He had even used Wild Card a few times, yet his opponent had still gotten away... How humiliating!

"...Should we follow him?"

"He's gotten quite far away. To think he'd even abandon the troops that had come to save him."

In case of any reinforcements, Lee Shin Woo had put his Pauls on standby. He got their report and just sighed.

They had discovered Anti-Skull beforehand and were engaged in battle. Just recently, they had begun to disperse and retreat. Seagald must've ordered their retreat once he'd escaped.

He must've been sure that Lee Shin Woo would've followed him if he were to go and save them personally. As expected... he was quite smart. He really was like Lee Shin Woo.

"Chi Paul squad, Anti-Skull is fighting against our forces in the west. Take care of them. Don't let any of them escape."

[Understood!]

Once they received their orders, the Chi Pauls mobilized immediately. Lee Shin Woo cleaned up the rest of the Archmage's summoned monsters in their stead by blowing up his remaining weapons. In the blink of an eye, the battle was over and the battlefield had become silent.

[Gu...uuuu...]

Ah, now that he thought about it, it wasn't entirely over. There was still the Spirit General that needed to be taken care of; she had broken through Kratia's spell and was twisting her body around in order to execute the Archmage's order.

He had worked so hard, yet he couldn't rest yet. The Archmage and the Annihilation Flame Sword God had gotten away, but he wasn't even able to remain pissed in peace!

"Hey, you!"

He gritted his teeth, rotated in the air, and approached the Spirit General. Then, Prince raised her staff while shaking and pointed at Lee Shin Woo.

"Where did my Junior go! Give him back!"

"...Ha."

Kratia sighed deeply and hit the back of her neck. Prince fainted as if she were in a comic book. Normally, one wouldn't black out from that; Lee Shin Woo looked on vacantly, and Kratia just responded calmly.

"Let's take care of that first and then talk."

"...Alright."

All the troublesome people were gone now. He hadn't figured out what the Annihilation Flame Sword God intended to do with the cannon, but now was the time to deal with the source of all the chaos.