A massive shockwave swept through, clearing the clouds above the Imperial Capital.
The 〖Sunflare Furnace〗 expanded in the clear blue sky.
However, its size was much smaller than usual. Its radius was only a hundred meters. It was being suppressed by the incredibly strong 〖Political Territory〗 of the “Demon Lord.”
“Ho, a 〖Zone Control〗, is it? It’s incomparable to those of 〖Feral Beasts〗 or 〖Calamity Beasts〗. But this time, your opponent is bad, the 〖Political Territory〗 I lay down cannot be broken even by a 〖King Beast〗.”
『I knew that already. Ever since I came to this city, you know!』
For me, 〖Zone Control〗 is just a special buff.
『Technique』, 『Reason』, 『Precision』, 『Civilization』. All of them are unsung heroes that boost combat power.
So, I calmly move on to the next action. I quickly charge 〖Mana〗 and activate 〖S(Sparkle) U(Aproot)〗.
The diffused magic bullets are guided by 〖L(Lock-on) AIM〗 and approach the “Demon Lord.”
“……Hmm?”
Just like before, their trajectory is diverted, but it’s immediately corrected by 〖L(Lock-on) AIM〗.
The “Demon Lord’s” response to the strange behavior was a beat late.
Also, it seems a bit troublesome to control countless magic bullets at once, and it takes longer to divert them than it did with the Lightning Strike.
At this rate, they’ll hit faster than they can be diverted.
“Annoying, explode!”
The “Demon Lord” took a violent option.
Instead of diverting the magic bullets, they were detonated.
Only about half of the magic bullets exploded, but the other magic bullets caught in the explosion detonated in a chain reaction, and they were all annihilated in an instant.
“Trivial, wha—!?”
“White Drive, 〖Binding Curse〗!”
Immediately after the smoke from the misfire blocked my vision, I used a high-speed movement Artifact to jump out.
I burst through the smoke and extended my body towards the “Demon Lord.”
“Tch, 〖Order Alteration〗, 〖Order Motion〗!”
〖Mana〗 became like a wall, temporarily blocking my advance.
In the meantime, the “Demon Lord” disengaged.
The speed was so great that I almost lost sight of him. Judging from the flashy 〖Mana〗 consumption just before the movement, it must have been magic.
『Magic with output disproportionate to its 〖Level〗 and an inexhaustible 〖Mana〗 supply from a continental-scale 〖Political Territory〗, huh? It’s certainly troublesome.』
I analyze the “Demon Lord’s” fighting style.
The nobles of this world seem to obtain 〖Mana〗 from their own 〖Political Territory〗 and unleash powerful magic like crazy, but the “Demon Lord” is the ultimate form of that.
In the first place, 〖Political Territory〗 is a magic that the “Demon Lord” devised based on 〖Territory〗, to bring the world under his own order.
The 〖Political Territory〗 that the nobles are using as if it were their own was all built by the “Demon Lord,” and of course, he can also absorb 〖Mana〗 from it.
Unlike 〖Zone Control〗, which can only be maintained with oneself as the center, the range of 〖Political Territory〗, which can be maintained even when separated once it is established, is beyond comparison even with a 〖King Beast〗.
Such a continental-scale 〖Political Territory〗 was realizing bottomless 〖Mana〗.
Well, my 〖Mana〗 is also bottomless, but magic seems to have a greater increase in full-scale combat because it has more freedom than a Demon Beast’s 〖Skill〗.
“Do not underestimate me, inexhaustible 〖Mana〗 is only a part of my power.”
The truth of that statement was proven a fraction of a second later.
Traces of 〖Trajectory Prediction〗 extended as if to pierce me from below. Not ten or twenty, but so many that it was a chore to count.
“Pierce.”
A flash of light reflected.
When I looked down, countless weapons—swords, spears, axes, clubs—made of the same pure silver as the “Demon Lord’s” staff were rushing towards me.
I sensed the dense 〖Mana〗 they held and intuitively knew that I would take damage if I received them.
Just as I was about to move to avoid them, the “Demon Lord” layered another spell.
“〖Order Shackle〗, forbidding evasion… Will you defy my command?”
『I’m confident in my 〖Resist〗!』
It must have been a type of magic that restricted the target’s actions, but it was easily nullified.
I dodged all the silver weapons with that momentum.
They were changing their trajectories in real-time to match my movements, but they couldn’t possibly keep up with me, who had the 〖Utsusemi〗 buff.
『Hee, is that mithril? How did you manage to gather so much of it?』
In the midst of the weapons’ crisscrossing, I recalled the identity of the silver metal.
Mithril is said to be treated as a super-high-grade magic-resistant metal because of its strength that surpasses even steel, its beautiful appearance, and its high compatibility with magic enchantment.
When I was in the mine, I dug up a little bit of it in the Ferocious Beast Zone. It was useless to me, so I had kept it deep in my 〖Weapon Storage〗.
Fiss said, “The exploration team that dug this up in the past became very rich,” didn’t she?
The “Demon Lord” turned to face me, with countless weapons made of such super-high-grade mithril floating around him without any hesitation.
It seems that the mithril weapons can be moved freely.
“These are named ‘Silver Vassals,’ it has been eighty years since I last brought them out except for ceremonies. Be proud, you are a strong one worthy of my full power.”
『If you acknowledge me, I’d be happy if you’d stop fighting, but, hah!』
The moment I released 〖S(Sparkle) U(Aproot)〗 and the “Demon Lord” launched the Silver Vassals was simultaneous.
Until now, I had been holding back, thinking of the worst-case scenario, but against weapons, I can unleash my full power.
Our attacks collided at the midpoint.
A blast of wind erupted, and the Silver Vassals were blown away in random directions. However, there wasn’t even the slightest flaw on their surfaces.
“(Hmm, even if they contain a lot of 〖Mana〗, it’s strange that they’re unharmed after taking a magic bullet.)”
“Ho, you can cancel out my simultaneous fire? But the attack is still yet to come, 〖Order Motion〗!”
The Silver Vassals, which had been scattered while rotating, stopped abruptly and were fired again, their tips pointed at me.
I shot down the Silver Vassals with fine sun lasers from my Drones, and entangled one of them.
I immediately used 〖Escalating Warfare〗 to analyze its information.
“(Ah, so that’s what it is.)”
There were several magic enchantments applied, but the two most recent and heavily applied were:
Indestructible and Iron-Cutting. An effect that makes it impossible to be destroyed, and an effect that reduces hardness by a certain percentage to inflict damage.
Indestructible enough to withstand magic bullets without taking damage, and Iron-Cutting at a level that could even damage me.
Even with mithril’s high compatibility with magic, these are unusually strong effects.
The one who applied this was undoubtedly the “Demon Lord” himself.
Just as he had turned 〖Mana〗 into a torrent of destruction, he must have given mithril a new rule.
The power to rewrite the rules as he pleases, the lawless and omnipotent power, is 〖Order〗.
“(Well, there are gaps to exploit, though.)”
Although it’s an omnipotent ability, it only has an indirect effect in the end.
Its main purpose is to alter the order. The strength of the rules themselves that are applied will inevitably be modest.
And, I just fought someone whose specialty was absolute defense and defense-ignoring attacks.
“(I’ll use it right away, 〖Replicant Form〗.)”
What greeted the swarm of Silver Vassals that charged again was the fangs of an ancient king, once the strongest of the Ten Kings.