Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

They were gambling that the defense couldn't stop everyone, like a hail of arrows fired by the enemy during a charge. The first wave of arrows might kill many, but some would eventually break through. Once they did, they might break through the enemy's formation. Even a hail of thousands of arrows might have some slip through, let alone a defense they didn't understand. They believed they could definitely break through.

And so, the nobles witnessed an even more ferocious second charge. This time, the horses were even more densely packed, and the nobles saw men on horseback nocking bows and shooting arrows, aiming at the people in the convoy. Although the convoy's defenses had performed miraculously on several occasions, they still instinctively felt fear as the bandits almost reached them, and subconsciously wanted to take cover. But when all the horses and men stepped into the invisible circle on the ground—

An invisible net seemed to rise from beneath their feet. Whether it was an illusion or not, the nobles heard a faint whistling wind. The wind was not strong, and one had to listen carefully to notice it, but it sounded like the wind of death. When it blew past the bandits charging ahead, it seemed to create a frozen stone statue.

It was a gentle breeze that carried away life. Everyone who was touched by the breeze developed cracks in their bodies at some point. In that instant, these people who were touched by the wind looked like candles, but blood would flow from the cracks on their bodies.

This time, however, it was no longer a neat scene of heads falling to the ground. Instead, it was as if everyone had passed through an extremely fine net. Their bodies were torn to pieces as they passed through the net, and the warhorses, upon death, could no longer charge forward. Instead, they turned into pieces of stone, disintegrating on the spot.

The nobles were all pale-faced. This was a far more terrifying sight than the decapitations that had just occurred. Countless chunks of flesh and intestines fell wetly onto the grass with a "thud," and the hot, pungent smell of blood hit them directly in the face. No painting in the world depicting hell could adequately describe the feeling of this blood-soaked, horrific scene.

Those who weren't strong enough vomited immediately, most people felt their stomachs churning, and even the battle-hardened Damian and Valery turned pale.

Damian wasn't surprised by their gruesome deaths. He gaped, turned to look at the long sword stuck in the ground, and felt that it was all beyond his comprehension.

Valery was no less shocked than Damian. He recalled his companion's words when speculating about Aaron's strength: "A powerful knight can make the light shine and the thunder roar. He can solidify the earth, restrain the turbulent sea, and even light up the stars in the sky and make them fall."

At first, he scoffed at his companion's words, thinking he wasn't a true knight, lacked knowledge, and was just indulging in his own wild fantasies. But looking at the scene before him, his conviction began to waver.

A person who can create such an effect with just a sword left behind might truly be able to restrain the raging sea and possess the power to make stars fall...

Suddenly, Valery saw the man's dark figure flash before his eyes, and saw his indifferent eyes again. He suddenly felt cold sweat pouring down his back and felt like he could hardly breathe.

Standing at a distance, Roman, the dragon slayer, watched this scene. An uneasy atmosphere permeated the air around him and his advisors. Roman frowned as he observed the scene, realizing the gravity of the situation. This was a strange sight he had never witnessed in his entire military career. He knew that at this moment, the weighty responsibility entrusted to him by his master, and the lives of these soldiers, were all in his hands. Everyone was waiting for his order.

Roman was a cautious man, and he would not take risks when faced with unknown forces. But now the cavalry had launched their charge, and it was like a fait accompli. The unidentified knight had gone to the high cliff valley, and every step of the plan had to be completed. At this moment, all the weight seemed to be pressing down on a certain link, and that weight was also pressing down on his shoulders.

Roman thought of many things in an instant: the adult standing behind him, the significance behind this operation, and finally, he looked up at the surging tide and decided to take the only risky move of his life.

He was determined to break through the nobles' defenses. No matter what, he had to take Carol away from the battle and kill the other nobles. He was willing to take matters into his own hands for this!

"Bring me my weapons," Roman said coldly. He looked at the convoy on the plain, his gaze grave.

At this moment, his subordinate was suddenly startled and whispered, "Is Roman, the dragon slayer of the empire, going to take to the battlefield again?"

"Yes, for that lord's goal, the sleeping dragon slayer is willing to step onto the battlefield once more." He answered softly, his voice like an aged, gloomy cloud.

*

At the same time, it leads to the forest in the high cliff valley.

A towering giant stood in the forest, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.

Chernog is a strange country that worships the god of war. Many self-proclaimed orthodox New World people regard it as an outcast. Their church is the Church of the God of War, their blessings are the blessings of the God of War, and they value something called the "Soul of the Warrior."

But people from other countries don't care about that. Many call their God of War's blessing "Giant's Blessing" because almost all those who receive the God of War's blessing inherit the power of ancient giants, and the one standing in the forest at this moment is a real giant.

The giant, with a ruddy complexion, a thick beard reaching his chest, and two battle axes in his hands, resembled the giant ancestors of ancient mythology. At this moment, his piercing eyes were fixed on a streak of black light flying towards him. With a loud shout, he raised his giant axes.

He was a giant sent to guard the pass. His mission reminded him of the ancient people who guarded the passes. At this moment, he was to transform into a city wall to block all invading enemies.

He was ready to collide with the incoming black light, but the black light stopped just before the collision and stared at him from afar in the air.

The giant snorted and put away his axe. He was quite rational. After all, no normal person would want to rush straight at a giant blocking the way in the forest.

The young man who stopped asked, "Chernog?"

He was speaking Chernobog, and quite fluently at that, which surprised the giant.

“Dmitri, your opponent, the recipient of the Colossus King’s blessing,” the giant said with a laugh.

"I don't understand. What's your relationship with the Griffin Crew?"

“The Griffin Order?” Dmitri scoffed. “They’re a legion, not even a knightly order. How can they compare to us, who truly possess the spirit of warriors?”

"Understood." Aaron pressed his left hand on the hilt of the knife. "I don't know the way, so you can lead the way for me."

*

High cliffs and valleys.

Charles gripped the hilt of his knife with his right hand and took a deep breath.

Despite his best efforts to control his arm, his hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. The more he tried to control it, the more it trembled, making him find it amusing.

The battle was intense from the very beginning. There were a total of thirty superhumans, twenty of whom were blessed by giants and ten were blessed by the god of love. They were not a team from a single country, but the "Chefal Alliance" composed of Chernog and Castleland.

The two forces complemented each other, and with the monsters constantly gushing out of the mine, the Obsidian Knights suffered heavy losses after only an hour of resistance.

However, in the eyes of the enemy, this group of Obsidian Knights displayed a disgusting tenacity. Thirty superhumans plus the monsters in the mine originally thought they could defeat the Obsidian Knights in a crushing victory, but the Obsidian Knights quickly divided their forces into two lines, one line focusing on dealing with the monsters in the mine, and the other line dealing with the attacking attackers.

The Obsidian Knights were already outnumbered, and their numbers were further stretched thin after some were sent to deal with the monsters in the mine. However, under Charles's command, they held out for a full hour, impressing even their enemies with their tenacity.

Compared to this hastily assembled team, the Obsidian Knights were much better coordinated, and they trusted each other absolutely. They could entrust their lives to each other without saying a word or even blinking, which is why they were able to put up such a tenacious resistance, making even their leader feel troubled.

But Charles knew that the resistance was now unsustainable. He and his companions were already close to their limits. The only reason they had been able to hold on until now was because of one belief.

He stared at the leader opposite him, thinking of a solution.

Several giants stood ahead, their faces barely visible even when one had to look up. But what caught Charles's attention most was not those imposing figures, but the slightly petite figure standing among them.

She was a woman of captivating charm, with a black silk skirt that flowed like seaweed in front of her. Whenever the mountain breeze blew, glimpses of her cleavage would appear and disappear beneath the skirt. One could imagine what it would feel like to have such a three-meter-tall female giant standing in front of you. Even the Obsidian Knight suffered a great loss because of this.

Behind her seaweed-like black silk skirt, something soft, somewhere between arthropods and tentacles, supported her body. If you stood behind her, you would see a horrifying sight: her body was almost entirely supported by those tentacle-like organs. She was like a beautiful, alluring serpent, and beneath her skirt lay a truth that would make you scream in terror.

Her name is Daria, and she has already killed five of his brothers with her tentacles. It seems that once he can't hold on any longer, the alluring snake will wipe them all out.

Charles knew he was about to collapse, so he decided to fight to the death. Without him saying a word, his companions understood and silently dispersed.

"Don't be so serious." Daria stretched out her slender, pale finger and pointed to her delicate, flower-like face. She said in a voice that was soft to the bone, "I know you're not feeling well right now... but don't worry too much... As for me, I'll be satisfied if I kill two, three, or five more of you at most."

Daria raised her slender, pale fingers. Beside her lay the twisted corpses of two Obsidian Knights. Daria's face was flushed, and her tentacles excitedly crushed the corpses. The two withered bodies beneath Daria made a series of crisp sounds, like branches breaking.

Chapter 39 Sword Domain

The Obsidian Knights stared coldly at Daria, but none of them moved or spoke. They stood on the high ground like mute crows, and everyone could feel the murderous aura emanating from them, but they all kept it hidden, like a cold volcano.

Daria hated this about them the most; they were always like this, regardless of their mood, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

The alluring smile on her face slowly vanished, replaced by chilling laughter. The Obsidian Knights suffered heavy losses, and she too suffered numerous casualties.

At this point in the war, elegance and shame had vanished; both sides were determined to kill each other, and the Obsidian Knights wanted to reduce her to ashes. From the beginning, they had planned to annihilate the Obsidian Knights, and the battle to come would only be more brutal than before. She had already realized that Charles was going to make a final, desperate stand. They were already outnumbered and their strength was waning; if they didn't fight to the last man, there would be no chance of turning the tide.

Daria also planned to take advantage of this. Charles and his men were targeting Daria, but Daria's target was also Charles. She smiled coldly and slowly crushed the corpse beneath her.

She had already devised a plan in her mind: as soon as they attacked, she would use "that"...

Charles moved, just as he had always been, without uttering a single word. His long, narrow, multi-holed sword emitted a black light that resembled black mud. Daria and the towering giant beside her also widened their eyes, staring intently at the dissipating black light.

Since the start of the war, they had suffered greatly at Charles's hands, and they believed that since Charles had made a desperate attempt, he must have the means to turn the tide. The Black Tower beside Daria brandished its weapons, preparing to face the terrifying force that was about to come. Daria's tentacles were also pulled from the corpse, the spider-like tentacles supporting her body in the air.

Charles raised his longsword, and as a surge of black light emanated from his body, he suddenly froze. Such a sudden moment of distraction was a major taboo when gathering spiritual power, yet he couldn't help but glance at the fleeting scene out of the corner of his eye.

Daria also noticed Charles's dazed expression. She should have taken advantage of this perfect opportunity to attack, but their attention was drawn to the scene over there.

They saw the towering giant, his face filled with terror, his limbs outstretched, flying past them like a shooting star. The entire forest, a straight line of trees, could not stop his flying body; they were all snapped in half by him.

The Colossus King's enormous body crashed into the mountain at an unbelievable speed. Even after impact, his body did not stop. The massive hill could not withstand the high speed and the enormous body, and it was instantly reduced to dust.

The Colossus King leaped into the mountains. They could not see his body, only hear continuous booming sounds until the series of explosions became deep echoes in the valleys, and then the sounds slowly stopped, as if his body had been directly smashed into the continuous mountain range.

The deafening roar and the billowing dust caused both sides to instinctively go on the defensive. When the dust cleared, they saw the destruction that had occurred in an instant. The scene around them looked as if a giant god had plowed through it with his finger. A huge ravine appeared before them, starting from the forest and stretching into the depths of the shattered mountain range. When they looked down into the ravine, for a moment, they felt as if it were bottomless. Everyone stared at the scene before them, speechless.

As the sandstorm subsided, the man holding the long sword slowly raised his head and stood amidst the swirling sand.

“Lord Aaron,” Charles said softly.

Aaron's gaze swept quickly across the valley, taking in the man confronting Charles, the mine spewing forth monsters, and Charles struggling to hold on. He quickly assessed the situation and addressed the Obsidian Knight below:

"Hold the mine and eliminate the monsters inside. Leave the rest to me."

"Yes."

Daria was thinking to herself, "Who are you? You just came here and started talking to yourself." Then, something happened that surprised Daria. The Obsidian Knight, who was just moments before ready to fight them, suddenly gave up and returned to the mine as if they didn't exist.

Daria sneered, raising her tentacles with a similar sneer. But this was not a prelude to an attack; rather, it was a prelude to an order. Those who received the order focused their attention on the crows on the cliff, leaving only a few to deal with the young man in front of them.

That's for sure. Their goal is to annihilate the Obsidian Knights, not this unknown young man. Besides, why would they choose a strange target when there are such obvious targets to shoot?

But the Obsidian Knights above the mine seemed completely oblivious to the enemies aiming at them from below, all completely absorbed in their work of killing monsters.

Charles preferred this job to dealing with troublesome enemies. It only required killing mindless monsters, and it was also very stress-relieving, allowing him to vent his somewhat violent temper. Therefore, all his attention was focused on the mine, and he seemed to be completely blind to other places.

Not only Charles, but everyone else was in the same state. They pretended not to see it because they believed that the person could ensure their safety, but a few Obsidian Knights couldn't help but turn around and saw countless attacks coming towards them. Thousands of spiritual energy storms gathered in the air, like stars.

"Sword Domain—"

Aaron planted the black sword into the ground, and an invisible sword domain rapidly expanded beneath his feet. Everyone in the valley sensed something and instinctively tried to move away, then they heard a soft voice: "Guide."

Suddenly, they sensed a change in their surroundings, but they didn't know what it was. Daria stubbornly looked up at the sky with a cruel sneer on her face. What's done is done; their spiritual power had already been released. Even if there were any unusual events later, the Obsidian Knights would suffer heavy losses. She didn't know what would happen after that, but right now she just wanted to see fireworks.

But something unexpected happened. She suddenly saw all the attacks that were flying towards the Obsidian Knight's head stop. It was a magical scene. All the spiritual energy seemed to be pulled and stopped in mid-air, trembling constantly. The next moment, they saw that the spiritual energy was captured by gravity and fell to the ground, with them as the target.

As the fireworks overhead transformed into fireballs that drew ever closer to them, Daria finally understood what had been altered: the gravity in the valley.

"spread!"

Daria wanted to escape. Her four tentacles were flexible and powerful, allowing her to move extremely fast. However, when she tried to move them, she found herself stuck in mud, her speed slowed considerably, and escape became incredibly difficult. Places that could have been reached in an instant suddenly became destinations requiring immense effort to reach.

And so Dalia and the group of towers around her watched helplessly as the flames fell from above them in the opposite direction.

"boom!"

Behind Charles and the group of Obsidian Knights, a magnificent fire blazed, mingled with explosions and the faint screams of Daria. Even their black robes were glowing red in the firelight, and sparks rose from the ground onto them. But they were all focused on dealing with the monsters in the mine, and few of them turned around.

No one saw what was happening down in the mine. All they heard were explosions, howling winds, screams, and sounds of fighting. It sounded like two armies were at war, but apart from that, all they heard was the monotonous swishing sound of swords piercing through bodies.

Aside from the chaotic cacophony of hundreds of voices working simultaneously, only this one sound echoed continuously in the mine. Occasionally, the sounds of flames rising and explosions would rise behind them, sounding like a hallucination to their ears, until screams and pleas gradually drowned out the other sounds, and the "swish" sound became more pronounced. Then, the sounds in the mine gradually quieted down.

When one of the Obsidian Knights finally couldn't help but turn around, only a few of the original thirty superhumans were still struggling to hold on, and according to the time, less than ten minutes had passed in total.

Below the mine, a blood-soaked black robe fluttered in the wind as Aaron pierced a man's body with a black knife, blood trickling from the tip.

He pulled the heavy black sword from the man's body, and like an assembly line worker, he raised the blade again. He wasn't fast at pulling the Black Abyss from the corpse, but he was as fast as lightning when rushing to the next enemy. With extremely fast speed, he wielded the seemingly heavy sword and was next to the next enemy in an instant. He swung the sword and slashed down, and another giant fell, spitting blood. Then he repeated the same set of movements and rushed to the next enemy like lightning.

The enemy was annihilated within ten minutes by such a simple and unpretentious attack. Within his domain, everyone's speed slowed down, as if they were carrying a thousand-pound weight on their backs. Only his speed remained unchanged, and even increased within his domain.

His body flashed and moved with incredible speed within the domain, wielding his long sword, which appeared extremely heavy to others. He didn't need to use any special skills; he only needed to "place" the sword on the enemy, and the enemy's flesh would collapse.

The work of clearing monsters above the mine was not yet finished, but the work of clearing superhumans below the mine was nearing its end. Ten minutes ago, they were considered to be numerous and powerful, with countless tower-like figures and that petite figure taking the initiative in the entire valley. Ten minutes later, only the petite figure and two seemingly lonely giant figures remained.

“I remember your name is Daria.”

The man in the black robe raised his sword again. Blood trickled down the dull, seemingly unsharp longsword. This was the second sentence Aaron had spoken since arriving in the valley, yet it filled Daria with a chilling fear.

She saw the look in his eyes. If she knew what he had done in Lister, she would have realized that this was the first time today he had given someone a look that contained murderous intent.