Chapter 47: A-Grade Talent: Valgaryian Armor

The earth beneath the Jeju Forest groaned in violent protest.

From the damp southern swamplands to the rocky western crags, every living creature within the dark woods felt the thunderous vibrations of Dark Sister’s airborne frenzy.

Heavy shockwaves rippled through the black-leaved canopy, scattering flocks of mutated corvids and driving dozens of lower-tier Abominations into a frantic, blind stampede to escape the dragon’s wrath.

Yet, down in the southern sector, the soldiers and knights of the 1st and 2nd Divisions did not break formation.

They heard the distant, earth-shaking roars and saw the thick columns of crimson-tinged smoke rising in the north, but their hands remained steady on their spears and swords.

They knew their lord was flying upon the Child of the Abyss; the monster tearing the northern sky apart was not an enemy, but their Viscount’s ultimate shield.

Miles away, galloping along the rugged trail leading to the northern border, Ser Gunther and Ser Hughway drove their warhorses relentlessly toward the epicenter of the destruction.

The air grew progressively hotter, thick with the acrid stench of burning iron-wood and scorched beast flesh.

Suddenly, the dense thicket forty paces ahead erupted.

CRASH!

Shattering ancient trees into splinters, a panicked herd of six Three-Headed Rhinos burst onto the dirt path.

Driven mad by fear, their three-horned heads were lowered, their heavy, stone-like hides coated in soot as they stampeded straight toward the two approaching riders.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ser Hughway’s eyes hardened. "Guard the perimeter, Gunther!"

CLANG!

Hughway unsheathed his massive broadsword with a single, practiced motion.

His heavy armored stallion did not flinch or falter; trained for Superhuman warfare, the beast dug its hooves into the earth and charged head-on into the oncoming stampede.

"Haaah!"

Ser Hughway ignited his mana core, pouring a dense wave of brilliant, violet-tinted mana down his arms and into the steel of his blade.

BANG!

Passing the lead rhino in a flash of motion, Hughway swung his broadsword in a sweeping horizontal arc.

The mana-infused edge cleaved straight through the monster’s reinforced neck, severing all three heads in a single, fluid stroke.

The horse stumbled slightly as the corrosive, dark mana leaking from the beast’s severed neck hissed against its iron horseshoes, but Hughway was already airborne.

Leaving the saddle in a high vault, the Guardian Knight slammed onto the center of the path like a falling meteor, blocking the remaining five beasts with his bare physical frame.

BOOM!

"Come!" Hughway roared, locking eyes with the charging monstrosities.

As a veteran warrior who had walked the brutal Tyrant Path, Ser Hughway possessed an A-grade Talent perfectly suited for absolute frontline warfare:

Valgaryian Armor.

With a low hum of power, a blinding violet radiance flared across Hughway’s skin.

The light crystallized into an ethereal, full-body suit of jagged violet plate mail that merged seamlessly with his physical armor.

Upon activation, Valgaryian Armor transformed the user’s flesh, muscle, and bone into something denser and harder than refined darksteel, rendering him virtually indestructible to lower-tier physical and magical attacks.

Yet, despite carrying such absurd physical density, Hughway moved with the effortless grace of a feather floating on the wind.

A direct result of his complete physical unification with his Talent upon ascending to the rank of Sword Master.

RAM!

Two massive Three-Headed Rhinos slammed their brutal, horn-studded foreheads directly into Hughway’s chest at full speed.

The sheer kinetic force of the impact was enough to flatten a stone siege tower.

Yet, Ser Hughway did not yield an inch.

The stone ground beneath his boots shattered into powdery dust, but his violet-armored body remained completely unfazed.

The two rhinos let out pained screeches as the shockwave rebounded back into their own skulls, cracking their horns and forcing them back several paces in a daze.

"My turn," Hughway growled, his golden-violet eyes flashing behind his visor.

Stepping forward with terrifying swiftness, Hughway twirled his broadsword with one hand and drove the point upward into the lower jaw of the left beast, piercing straight through its brain stem.

Before the creature could even collapse, he drew his blade back and executed a rapid, vertical wheeling cut that bisected the second rhino’s torso cleanly in two.

He was neither using his True Sword Art nor a distinctive amount of mana, yet his attack had such intense effect.

Sitting atop his horse a short distance away, Ser Gunther watched the bloody spectacle with an appreciative chuckle.

For an Initial -stage Sword Master like Hughway, a 3rd-Tier Abomination or a high-ranking Superhuman opponent might present a worthy duel.

But mindless 1st-Tier beasts?

They were nothing more than livestock waiting for the butcher’s knife.

"Leaving all the fun for yourself as usual, Commander?" Ser Gunther called out, his lips curling into a sharp, combat-hungry grin.

Throwing his reins to the side, the Ranker Sword Sage slid smoothly down from his saddle.

CLANG!

He unsheathed his own longsword, his aura flaring as he joined his fellow officer in the fray.

"Save at least three for the castle pens, or the Viscount will have our heads!"

***

Back at the heart of the northern clearing, the air was suffocatingly hot.

Dark Sister had gone completely ballistic.

The 4th-Tier dragon was an engine of pure, predatory devastation, her massive tail flattening entire groves while her jaws and talons tore through the remaining 1st-Tier Rhinos with wild, primitive joy.

She crunched through armor plating like dry crackers, her throat rumbling with satisfaction as she gorged herself on the mana-rich blood of her prey.

High upon her back, Craig looked down at the chaotic slaughter unfolding beneath him.

The metallic tang of fresh blood, the roar of black flames, and the thrill of the hunt ignited a fierce, burning heat within his dragon-forged core.

"That’s enough hoarding for one day, Dark Sister," Craig laughed softly, his dark golden eyes glowing with divine brilliance.

Without waiting for the dragon to land, Craig unbuckled his leather harness and stepped straight off her shoulder, plunging twenty feet down into the burning clearing!

THUD!

He landed lightly on his boots in a low crouching stance, the dark crimson leather of his battle suit absorbing the impact effortlessly.

As he rose to his full height, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his slender arming sword, drawing the steel with a whispering hiss.

A lone Three-Headed Rhino, its hide scorched by dragonfire and its grey eyes bloodshot with frantic rage, spotted the young human standing defenseless in the clearing.

Letting out an ear-splitting bellow, the beast dug its heavy hooves into the ash-covered dirt and charged straight at him.

Craig did not step back, nor did he call upon Dark Sister to intervene.

He simply smiled, his passive Monarch of Swords activating in his mind as he raised his blade.

He wasn’t about to let his dragon have all the fun.