On Combat Strength (Part Two)
Lowell took a sip of tea, his gaze seemingly piercing through the inn's walls and reaching into a far more expansive and distant place.
"So, the last tier. This is the one that truly stands at the top in mainland China. They are few and far between."
In the past century, only four people have definitively reached this level. And now, perhaps only three... oh, perhaps only two are still alive."
He paused slightly, as if reminiscing about a bygone legend.
"First, there's the 'Hero of the South,'" Lowell said, his tone filled with undisguised respect and a touch of emotion. "He was a true legend."
Decades ago, the Demons army invaded the south with unstoppable force. It was he who, single-handedly, repelled the main force of the Demons and turned the tide of the battle.
The number of Great Demons who have fallen by his sword is probably far beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Those beings that are considered calamities by ordinary people are perhaps no different from ordinary demons to him.
"His most terrifying quality is," Lowell emphasized, "Is that he's not a mage, but a pure warrior who has honed his martial arts to the extreme. But Serie gave him her near-perfect 'Future Prediction' magic. Can you imagine? A warrior who has already honed his fighting instincts to the peak in the face of life and death, and at the same time possesses an almost impenetrable ability to foresee the future."
This means that the vast majority of attacks, even many unpredictable spells, are ineffective against him; he can always evade them in advance and find the most lethal opportunity to counterattack.
"His peak battle was when he single-handedly fought against the entire 'Seven Sages of Destruction Collapse' at the time, plus the unfathomable 'Omniscient Scharlach.' In the end, he killed three of the Seven Sages of Destruction and perished together with Scharlach."
At this point, Lowell clicked his tongue softly, a glint of analysis flashing in his eyes. "I have carefully analyzed that battle. I strongly suspect that the reason why Scharlach went so far as to gather all Seven Sages of Destruction to besiege him was because he realized that the Hero of the South was unsolvable."
A warrior with the ability to 'Future Prediction' is perhaps only worthy of being challenged by an opponent who also possesses the ability to 'foresee the future.' However, Scharlach's individual strength is clearly inferior to that of the Hero of the South, which is why he had to resort to this less-than-ideal tactic, and the result was still the same...
As for Macht, the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction, his 'Diagoldze' magic is indeed unpredictable and its principles are incomprehensible to ordinary people. It even lacks a casting animation and is fearless against warriors. However, against the Hero of the South, who can perfectly predict every attack intention and the timing of magic activation, his 'unpredictability' will be completely exposed. Faced with an absolute difference in strength, he cannot be considered among them.
He concluded, "The Hero of the South's strength far surpasses that of Himmel at present. He was forged in the most brutal fire and blood, a true pinnacle. Of course, he is gone after all, while Himmel is still young and has unlimited potential for the future. Ultimately, it remains to be seen who will be the strongest hero between these two."
Lupa listened with rapt attention, her heterochromatic eyes Burning with a flame that yearned for the pinnacle of power.
Lowell's tone shifted, becoming somewhat complicated. "The second one, the Demon King, Discal."
His expression became slightly complicated when this name was mentioned, after all, in a sense, it was his "successor".
"That guy... although he's not as strong as me," Lowell said matter-of-factly, "He must have some terrifying qualities to sit in that position. A thousand years ago, at the beginning of the war he launched, the Demons were unstoppable, but when the Human race powerhouses finally woke up from their individual struggles and united, they once pushed the Demons to the brink of annihilation."
His voice lowered. "It was Discal, single-handedly, killed several legendary Human race warriors who came to attack at a critical moment, reversing the tide of battle and stabilizing the Demons's position."
If it weren't for the lingering illusion of possible 'coexistence' that he might have harbored, leading him to remain in the Demon King's Castle after turning the tide of the war and refrain from further expansion, the price humanity paid in that war would likely have been many times greater.
Lowell looked at Lupa and emphasized, "In the last hundred years, only he and the Hero of the South have definitively achieved the feat of fighting against multiple legendary powerhouses alone and winning. To defeat him, Himmel, Ruby, Eisen, and Heiter are indispensable. They form a perfect, complementary whole, which is the only way to have a chance to cross this seemingly insurmountable barrier."
"As for Serie..." Lowell's tone carried an unquestionable air when he mentioned the name, "I probably don't need to explain much, do I? She is a legendary mage who has survived since the age of mythology, and she is proficient in and controls almost all magic within the 'human' realm."
To her, magic was a tool for battle; she craved challenge and couldn't imagine how boring it would be to live in a peaceful, untroubled era. That's why she refused to personally defeat the Demon King —something she could easily do if she wanted to. Hmm... she even once had a crazy idea: to grant every newly promoted First-Class Mage a spell of their own, allowing them to choose their own.
At this point, Lowell touched his nose, a "thank goodness I stopped her" expression on his face. "On my suggestion, she changed it to require those who have made 'significant contributions' to the Continental Magic Association to receive this honor. On the one hand, it gives those who don't have the talent to become First-Class Mage but still love magic aspirations and a direction to strive for. On the other hand..."
He paused, lowering his voice as if to avoid being overheard by some unseen force, "And also to avoid something like that terrible fragment of the future I glimpsed by chance, where someone like her might, because of such an overly 'generous' act, ultimately fall into the hands of some stinking rat in the gutter without any explanation. That ending would be far too frustrating and ironic."
Finally, Lowell's gaze returned to Lupa, and he said frankly, "In the end, it's me." His tone was calm, without boasting, simply stating a fact.
"As a former Demon King, my greatest advantage might lie in... my tendency towards 'all-rounder,' or rather, my difficulty in being countered. You may call me a top-tier mage; but if you call me an archer, I also excel at long-range sniping; even if you call me a monk, I have some knowledge in healing and support; and if you're caught in close combat, I also know a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat..."
Unlike traditional mages who rely heavily on distance and fear close combat with top warriors, I am not like a pure warrior who might be passive when facing devastating area-of-effect magic. My ability system is relatively balanced, without weaknesses... well, perhaps."
"However," Lowell's expression turned serious, and he leaned forward slightly, "There's one thing you must remember, Lupa. This hierarchy is merely a rough framework for assessing overall strength and potential threat levels; it's not a rigid, unchanging table of victory or defeat, much less a guarantee that someone at a lower level has no chance against someone at a higher level."
"In actual combat, there are far too many factors that determine victory or defeat. The adequacy of intelligence, the advantages and disadvantages of the environment, the state of the two sides at the time, the strengths and weaknesses of each other, and even a moment's luck, decisiveness, and courage..."
Historically, there are numerous examples of lower-ranking individuals successfully challenging higher-ranking individuals, thanks to accurate intelligence, meticulous preparation, targeted tactics, and even a bit of luck. Conversely, there are countless tragedies of higher-ranking individuals falling victim to the "weak" due to arrogance, carelessness, or having their weaknesses exploited.
As I mentioned before, without Frieren and me present, Aura's balance magic would have been an almost insurmountable deadly situation for the Himmel squad at that time.