Siege

As soon as he finished speaking...

Linié vanished from her spot in an instant, as if she had been waiting for a long time. The next second, she appeared to Lowell's left, her longsword, imbued with magic, pointed in Lowell's direction—

"Buzz!"

The air vibrated violently.

Several transparent, arc-shaped slashes, almost identical to those Lowell had just unleashed, appeared out of thin air in front of Linié, instantly tearing through the air and crisscrossing towards Lowell from various tricky angles! The trajectory, speed, and precision of each slash were exactly the same as the original, and even more dense and deadly due to their simultaneous activation.

The Mimicry Magic.

Almost simultaneously.

Sam's figure appeared from the right. He made no unnecessary movements, simply and straight, slashing his sword horizontally towards Lowell's neck. The blade sliced through the air, bringing with it a cold, sharp glint.

The two attacked in unison, with precision and without the slightest hesitation, as if they were merely executing an order to "clear the roadblocks." However, Linié's expression remained calm and composed, while Sam's face showed a hint of barely perceptible inner conflict.

A pincer attack.

"Clang--!"

A hand covered in dark magic struck precisely the spine of Sam's thrusting sword. This time, the clang of metal on metal wasn't swallowed up; it exploded solidly!

Sam, sword and all, was sent flying sideways by the blow, tumbling several times in the air before regaining his balance, his sword-wielding arm trembling slightly.

Lowell's right hand, facing the dense barrage of slashes coming from Linié, spread its five fingers, then—suddenly clenched them.

"Boom--!"

All the slashes, just meters in front of him, shattered as if they had struck an invisible, thick wall! Transparent fragments of magic scattered and flew everywhere, refracting brief, dazzling spots of light in the sunlight before vanishing.

"Haha! Not bad! That's more like it!"

Lowell flicked his left hand, looked at Linié, and his eyes held undisguised admiration and... a deeper, unsettling interest.

"What a perfect Imitation, Linié! Even I can hardly tell the difference! What a pity—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Boom--!"

The ground trembled violently. A colossal Golem, composed of countless pieces of rock, rose from the ground and stood between Linié, Sam, and Lowell. The Golem was enormous, almost touching the treetops, and its rough stone fists, carrying the force to crush mountains, slammed down towards Lowell!

Frieren hovered atop the Golem's shoulder, her silver hair billowing in the surging air. Her emerald eyes gazed calmly downwards, her staff tapping lightly.

"In short, his arrogance and the issuance of such strange orders are actually better for us."

Her voice came through the deep rumble of the Golem's movement, clear and steady.

"Just attack with all your might, don't worry about anything."

After all, she was the one who understood Lowell the most and was most familiar with his various fighting styles. With that information released, the others would be less hesitant to act freely.

The enormous stone fist crashed down.

Lowell looked up at the overwhelming shadows, but instead of retreating, he burst into laughter.

"Good timing!"

He clenched his right fist, dark red lines flowing and glowing on his arm, and without dodging or avoiding, he threw a punch upwards!

"Boom--!"

Stone fists collided with fists of flesh and blood.

With a deafening roar, a shockwave exploded in a ring, causing the surrounding trees to bend outwards. The Golem's stone fist was forced to the ground, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface, and pebbles fell in a flurry.

The ground beneath Lowell's feet had sunk downwards, forming a shallow pit several meters in diameter.

The stalemate lasted only a moment.

The dark red markings on Lowell's arm glowed intensely.

"Drink up--!"

He let out a low roar, and his power erupted a second time!

"Snap--!"

A sickening cracking sound rang out. From the point of impact, cracks spread rapidly from the Golem's stone fist, and half of the fist shattered, sending shards of stone raining down.

The Golem's massive body was pushed backward by this immense force.

Haha! Just being big isn't enough to impress!

Just then--

"Whoosh--!"

Countless fine beams of magic, like a sudden downpour, swept in from the side. The beams were condensed, swift, and almost without interval, sealing off all possible directions from which Lowell could dodge.

Fern stood on a protruding rock in the distance, arms outstretched, her pale purple eyes reflecting magical light. Her breathing was steady, the tip of her staff flashing continuously, and Ordinary Attack Magic shot towards Lowell from all sorts of tricky angles like a swarm of living bees.

The aim is not to deliver a fatal blow, but rather to disrupt, suppress, and create openings.

Lowell had just exerted his power to repel the Golem; his old power had been exhausted, and new power had not yet been generated.

Facing this shower of magical light, he waved his left hand to the side.

A semi-transparent magical barrier, shimmering with dark ripples, instantly unfolded.

"Pfft--"

The magical beam struck the barrier, exploding into bursts of dazzling light. The barrier firmly blocked the attack.

However, the barrier also blocked his view to the left.

A blue figure, like a ghost, passed through the gap between the rain of light and the barrier, cutting into the slight opening on his left side created by his arm blocking.

Himmel.

The deep sense of inferiority on his face had not completely faded, and his brows were even slightly furrowed with self-doubt. But his hand holding the sword was as steady as a rock, and his thrusting movements were simple, precise, and devoid of any fancy moves.

A condensed blue light gathered at the tip of the sword, aiming straight for Lowell's left rib.

The timing was perfect.

Lowell seemed oblivious. His attention appeared to still be on the magical rain of light to his right and the Golem in front of him.

The tip of the sword reached the body.

"Clang--!"

It wasn't the sound of flesh being pierced.

It was the sound of metal colliding.

Himmel's sword pierced a layer of flowing, jet-black magical armor that had somehow appeared on Lowell's left ribs. The armor was smooth and hard; the sword tip penetrated halfway but could not go any further.

Lowell turned to look at Himmel, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The timing was perfect... Even though they've never fought alongside Fern, their coordination was flawless..."

His left hand, with fingers forming a claw, moved with lightning speed, grabbing at Himmel's wrist as he held the sword.

Himmel drew his sword to retreat, but Lowell was faster. His fingertips almost touched his skin.

Right now--

The silver spear tip, like a wolf that had been poised for a long time, suddenly emerged from Himmel's side, not to stab Lowell, but to precisely target the wrist that Himmel was grabbing!

Lupa.

She had somehow maneuvered to this position, her peach-colored figure almost blending into the spear. This strike lacked grandeur, possessing only extreme speed and precision.

Lowell clicked his tongue, retracted his claws, and instead of grabbing, slapped the side of the spear tip with his palm.

"Bang!"

Lupa used the momentum to drift backward, landing with the tip of her gun pointed, forming a pincer movement with Himmel.

Only then did the barrier on Lowell's left, which had been erected to block Fern's magic, slowly dissipate.

He stood in the center of the shallow pit, looking around.

Ahead, the rock Golem steadied itself, its shattered right fist slowly repairing itself, and it once again assumed an attack stance. On its shoulder, the light from Frieren's staff remained undiminished.

On the left, Himmel and Lupa, one near and one far, are engaged in a sword-and-spear duel.

A little further to the right, Fern's magical beams paused temporarily, but her staff remained held horizontally, her pale purple eyes locked on him, ready to unleash another barrage at any moment.

Further away, Sam and Linié had readjusted their positions, standing to the left and right, silently blocking his retreat.

In the air, Ruby had risen even higher, her fiery red curls fluttering in the wind. She didn't rush to attack; her large, emerald eyes carefully observed the battle, her hands clasped together in front of her, a complex magic circle slowly rotating and forming.

Seven against one.

No, if you include that Golem, it's eight to one.

Lowell, instead of showing fear at the encirclement, had an even brighter, more fervent smile on his face. He raised his hand and slapped his cheeks hard, making a crisp sound.

"Haha! Yes! Yes! That's it!"

He laughed loudly, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"That's more like it! That's more like the opponent I, the 'strongest,' should have!"

He took a deep breath, his chest heaving, and the almost tangible black magic around him surged once more, even more violently and intensely than before. Dark red patterns faintly flowed beneath his skin, and the air distorted slightly due to the intense heat.

"Come!"

He spread his arms wide, addressed everyone, and let out a battle cry.

"Let me see--"

"Just how much power do you have? Are you even capable of killing me?!"

The battle erupted once again.

The rock Golem moved first; after all, as a lifeless creation, its most suitable role in fighting Lowell was to bear the main attack and attract attention.

It took heavy steps, causing the earth to tremble. Its fists, like two battering sledgehammers, came crashing down on Lowell from the left and right. It was no longer a simple smash, but a continuous pounding that contained a kind of heavy rhythm, sealing off the space above and below.

Lowell blurred into a blurry afterimage, weaving through the gaps in the giant fists. He didn't take the blows head-on, but instead moved with astonishing speed, occasionally using his arms or magic-encased fists to deflect unavoidable strikes, producing dull thuds.

"Too slow! What's the use of being big!"

He laughed wildly, and in the brief moment of dodging, he kicked off the stone arm of the Golem had missed its target, using the momentum to leap high into the air. With his right hand outstretched Golem's head!

"Whoosh--!"

A condensed, jet-black slash flew out of his hand.

"Buzz!"

A honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic was deployed in time in front of the Golem's head. The slash struck the shield, exploding into a burst of black and red magical flames. The shield trembled violently, but was not breached.

Frieren stood on the other shoulder of the Golem, tapping her staff lightly. Several tiny magic circles lit up along Lowell's leaping trajectory. There was no attack, only invisible magical disturbances attempting to disrupt his balance and next move.

The disruptive magical artifacts that were highly effective against Lowell in "Warrior Form" were now having little effect. In his "Demon King Form," his magic resistance was astonishingly high, and those little tricks were like a breeze brushing against a rock.

Frieren decisively changed her strategy. With a series of light taps of her staff, dozens of jet-black Demon-Slaying Magic beams shot out, no longer as mere distraction, but as a real attack, blocking Lowell's possible landing points.

Lowell twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding most of the beams of light. A few grazed his magical shield, sending sparks flying but causing no real damage. He fell towards the area where Himmel and Lupa were.

"Watch out, Master!" Lupa shouted in a low voice, and with a flick of her spear, it transformed into more than a dozen illusory spear shadows, enveloping the area where Lowell had fallen.

Himmel stepped forward, his sword flashing as sharp as a single line, aiming straight for Lowell's heart. His eyes still held that lingering sadness, but his swordplay was ruthless and decisive, creating a strange contrast with his expression.

"A trivial skill!"

As Lowell fell, his legs stomped in mid-air as if stepping on invisible stairs, his body shifting several feet to the side in an uncanny fashion, narrowly avoiding the shadows of guns and the flash of swords. The moment he landed, he clenched his right fist, dark red magic swirling around it, and slammed his fist into the ground!

"Boom--!"

Centered on his landing point, a violent, dark red magical energy erupted like a volcano, exploding outwards in a ring shape! The ground cracked inch by inch, and soil and rocks were blown away, forming a shockwave mixed with magical turbulence.

Himmel and Lupa's expressions changed slightly, and they retreated simultaneously, swinging their weapons to block the flying shards and the aftershocks of magic.

Just as Lowell's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet arisen, and his body paused slightly due to the recoil—

"Whoosh--!"

Fern's magical beam descended once more. This time it was denser and more precise, as if meticulously calculated, covering every minute impediment in the flow of magic that might occur due to his area-of-effect attack.

Lowell's magical protective layer flickered violently as he withstood the attack. His movements froze for an extremely brief moment.

Although brief, it was enough for some.

Sam's figure appeared behind him like a ghost, his longsword silently piercing towards his back, carrying an icy aura.

Linié then flanked him from the side, her magic sword tracing a cold arc as she slashed towards his neck.

"The Sacred Sword Sky-Splitting Slash, which pierces through the dawn stars and brings an end to evil."

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Lowell twisted his body at an incredible angle just before the sword was about to strike, narrowly avoiding being attacked from both sides. But having just forcefully deflected the magical impact and then withstood Fern's barrage of attacks, this series of extreme maneuvers finally created a truly, extremely tiny opening in his body—

His center of gravity shifted slightly by half a point.

"Now!"

Ruby in the air, whose magic circle had been quietly being constructed, suddenly shone brightly!

It was not a direct attack.

Countless slender, almost transparent pale golden chains shot out from the magic circle, like living serpents, instantly wrapping around Lowell's limbs and torso! The chains were not physical entities, but rather pure spiritual and magical energy condensed together, designed to restrict movement and interfere with the flow of magic.

"Binding... no, binding combined with Mental Magic?" Lowell glanced at the chains binding him and scoffed, "Even with so many people protecting me, you think this kind of thing will work on me?"

His magical power erupted, attempting to shatter the chains.

However, these pale gold chains were exceptionally tough; they trembled violently, their light flickering, but they did not immediately shatter. Like a persistent, invasive disease, they clung to him tightly, slowing his movements by an imperceptible moment.

"Kindness?"

For the rock Golem had been waiting for its chance, that moment was enough.

The Golem's newly repaired right fist, carrying the force of wind and thunder, slammed down once more! This time, the timing, angle, and power were all perfect, sealing off all the space Lowell could not dodge due to being bound by chains.

Before the fist even landed, the force of the punch already sent sand and stones flying from the ground.

At the same time, Frieren's Hellfire, Fern's Ordinary Attack Magic, Himmel's sword light, Lupa's spear shadow, and even Sam and Linié's adjusted secondary attack... all the attacks, at this moment, seemed to have been silently coordinated, converging from all directions towards the figure in the center who was briefly bound by pale gold chains!

A net stretching to the heavens and the earth.

Lowell stood in the center of the encirclement, bound by pale gold chains. Facing the deadly attacks coming from all directions, his dark eyes slowly swept over every beam of light and every approaching figure.

Then, a slow, almost tearing, extremely excited smile spread across his lips.

The pitch-black magic, like an abyss that had been suppressed to the extreme and finally erupted, exploded out of his body!