Within the lush green forest cage, murderous intent lay hidden. The surrounding trees and vines seemed to have gained life, menacingly closing in on Simo and Allen, constantly lashing out and trying to ensnare them.
The two stood back-to-back. Slashing at the attacking vines with his dagger, Allen asked in a low voice, "What do we do now?"
The Tree-men alone wouldn’t be able to hold them for long, of course. The real question was, how much longer could Storm Fortress hold out?
A rebellion was underway at the fortress, and its four Magic Towers had already been disabled. Dealing with the surging tide of demons was hard enough, to say nothing of the disciplined Demon Legion steadily advancing on their position.
To be honest, he didn’t think the leaderless Knights of the Barnes Clan could hold them off for long.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they were completely out of danger themselves.
That strange Slime always made him uneasy. ’Who knows what other tricks that unkillable, disgusting thing has up its sleeve.’
Simo snorted, two jets of white steam puffing from his nostrils. His voice was low as he said, "The Barnes Clan’s ancestral Holy Artifact—the Thunder Hammer—still has the power of one final Enchantment. I’ll open a path for you."
"You go back. Help Dominic hold the wall."
Allen ducked his head, dodging a vine that struck like a viper. Hearing Simo’s words, a look of visible surprise crossed his face.
"You..."
A flicker of complex emotion crossed Simo’s eyes—regret and relief, both quickly replaced by resolve.
"I was once obsessed with power, so much so that I was willing to sell my soul. I did a lot of dirty work for that man."
"Now, the time has come to pay for my sins. Let me die on the battlefield like a true Warrior, bearing the honor of the Barnes Clan."
"As for what happens to you... it’s out of my hands."
With that, he closed his eyes. He gripped the handle of his warhammer tightly with both hands and pressed his forehead against the cold metal, as if in final communion with the family Holy Artifact that had been passed down for generations.
Allen, besieged by five towering Tree-men, could only desperately dodge and parry their attacks. Just as he was about to cry out for Simo to hurry, Simo’s eyes snapped open.
Within those once-resolute eyes, tiny arcs of electricity now danced. The muscles of his arms bulged like granite, veins standing out in sharp relief. With all his might, he raised the warhammer, its surface inscribed with ancient thunder Runes, and roared to the heavens:
"Now!"
[Mountainquake]
BOOM!!!
All the Enchantment patterns on the warhammer flared to life. A blinding, blue-white light, like a swarm of writhing silver snakes, instantly coiled around the entire weapon.
Simo brought the hammer—a single strike imbued with all his strength and the might of the Holy Artifact—crashing down onto the earth before him.
For the briefest instant as the hammerhead struck the ground, time seemed to stand still. Then, a blast of lightning brighter than the sun erupted from the point of impact, spreading out in a devastating fan.
A deafening roar of thunder mingled with the cataclysmic sound of the earth splitting apart. Wherever the lightning passed, the ground heaved as if violently upturned by a giant, unseen hand. Countless trees, vines, and rocks were flung into the air with the surging earth, only to be instantly obliterated into charred fragments and fine dust by the raging tempest of lightning.
In a single instant, all obstacles for a hundred meters in front of him were utterly annihilated, leaving behind nothing but a fan-shaped patch of scorched earth, riddled with cracks and craters.
"I’m going."
Allen gave Simo one last, long look, saying nothing more.
In a few flickers, his figure shot forward at astonishing speed along the path Simo had carved out, rapidly leaving the green prison behind as he raced toward Storm Fortress.
’A Holy Artifact?’ In the distance, Louisa’s eyes showed little surprise.
It was perfectly normal for an ancient, storied family like the Barnes Clan to possess one or two Holy Artifacts bestowed by the church.
The only difference now was that they were facing an Extraordinary Knight who had thrown all caution to the wind. The threat he posed had just skyrocketed.
"Lord Slime, be careful! That weapon is no ordinary artifact."
She was too late to stop Allen, so she immediately raised her Magic Staff and pointed it in Simo’s direction.
[Entanglement Skill]
Countless thick Magic Vines burst from the earth, coiling toward Simo like giant pythons in an attempt to imprison him.
"Hmph!"
Simo snorted coldly, ignoring the vines.
He was wreathed in crackling, blue-white arcs of electricity. Beneath his slightly damaged helmet, his eyes had turned a stark, solid white. His thick beard and hair stood on end, floating as if in zero gravity.
However, it was clear he lacked any significant resistance to lightning. The rampaging thunder, while granting him immense power, was also consuming his body.
The skin exposed by his armor was visibly charring and cracking, and he was enduring immense pain.
Yet, as if he felt no pain, he ignored the entangling vines and once again raised the warhammer, which blazed with blinding lightning, high into the air as if declaring a victory yet to come.
"In the name of Barnes!"
His voice boomed like rolling thunder. At his call, the roiling gray clouds of the demon tide above seemed to answer. Several thick, blue-white bolts of lightning, like spears of divine punishment, crashed down from the heavens.
Their target: the area where Chen Yu and Louisa stood.
KRA-KOOOM!!
The Thunder Domain instantly enveloped an area hundreds of meters across. Blinding electrical light bleached the entire region a ghastly white. The low-rank demons within its range were turned to charred corpses before they even had time to scream.