Damned Healer

Hours later, the enemy army was still outside the city, waiting. The barrier was holding with all its defensive power, but being pushed to the limit, it would only last a few more hours.

At that moment, the great inscription trembled and countless runes spun around it. Suddenly, a multicolored light burst out across the whole dome.

"!"

The countless enemies were blinded by that sudden, piercing light. Even their senses went into chaos.

That unexpected change threw the army into an uproar.

Only the enemy leader could still see, though faintly. Then, all of a sudden, a figure was transported outside the barrier.

It all happened so fast. By the time he noticed that shadowy figure, his dagger was already stabbing into the middle of the army.

"It's just one guy! Kill him!"

The enemy leader shouted, using his power to point at the target.

He recognized Darian, but was sure the only reason Darian had caused so much damage before was because he'd struck sneakily. After that, he caught him off guard and didn't give him time to use his full strength.

Still, that previous blow he'd taken from Darian was humiliating, so he was filled with hatred. Now that Darian had stepped out alone, he didn't think twice and just ordered everyone to attack him head-on.

The light was already fading and the whole army roared, charging together. But...

Suddenly, Darian vanished from their sight.

*BOOM!*

All they heard was an explosion and they turned around.

Darian had struck the leader again. His defenses blew apart, and the dagger pierced his chest.

The whole army went into a frenzy.

"KILL HIM!"

The strongest rushed forward, trying to save their leader. But... Darian just smiled and waved.

In that instant, everyone noticed the tiny elemental runes... hundreds of them... already spread all around.

*KBOOM!!*

With a massive elemental blast, Darian wiped out dozens of enemies who'd been the first to arrive.

The people of the city watched it all, holding their breath. The power of that one man was something no ordinary person could ever compare to.

"No… don't kill me!"

With his body pierced, the enemy leader screamed in pure horror.

Darian smiled... regretfully, with a tremor in his arm, the enemy's body began to crack apart...

His face twisted in total despair for a few seconds.

Until everything exploded in a gruesome way.

At that moment, beams of multicolored light burst out. All the people of the city appeared, attacking the enemies in complete ecstasy.

But their numbers were nearly five times greater. These weren't warriors trained by Darian, so even if they won, more than two-thirds of the city's people would die.

Darian snorted, aware of that. So, he waved and opened his inventory.

Tiny white grains of sand — actually minuscule runes — poured out like an avalanche. He mixed in some wind runes and, with a motion, spread them in all directions.

A bit of each grain touched the enemies.

Then... their bodies froze for a moment, their minds went blank. They'd temporarily lost their reason, like they were trapped in a dream.

Darian watched the effects of the Order Law. Back in the desert, where people barely had any power in their core or body, it hadn't done much. But against the shadows that moved with that little bit of power, they were easily manipulated.

Later, in the Wild World, everyone grew stronger, their bodies gaining great resistance, so the runes of this Law couldn't pierce them easily. But now, in the third phase, everything had changed. Everyone's soul had transformed, creating new openings for this power to invade.

Unlike the Darkness Law, which directly affected the physical body, the Order Law invaded the soul and mind of the target. For ordinary people, using either one only weakened the enemy a little. But in Darian's hands, it completely dominated the person.

'For others, the Order Law works better on shadows, while the Darkness Law works better on living people. But in the end, both end up doing the same thing in my hands.'

Darian muttered in satisfaction. Against large armies made up of weak opponents, these powers solved everything. But against truly strong enemies, it wasn't that simple. They had the ability to block the invasion.

Seeing the townsfolk confused by the sudden change, Darian calmly ordered, "Finish them all."

They heard and swallowed hard, understanding. They knew it was the Order Law, but they had never seen this power used in such a terrifying way.

Everyone quickly grabbed their weapons and pushed all the chaos power in their bodies for an all-out opening strike.

They aimed straight at the vital organs of those enemies. Normally, all those enemies would've used their chaos power to cover those weaknesses. But today, with their minds and souls paralyzed, they were unable to defend themselves.

Countless died without even letting out a groan. But many were incredibly resilient, especially the Aberrants and Fiendgods, who regenerated at a terrifying speed.

After taking the first powerful strike, those enemies woke up from the effect. It was like waking from one nightmare only to face an even worse one. All their leaders were dead, and they were already gravely wounded.

Panic consumed them, and they began fleeing in all directions. Now that they only wanted to run, they were like headless cockroaches, crashing into each other.

That made things even easier. In an instant, corpses covered the ground.

It was a magnificent sight. The battle lasted only a few minutes before it was over. Except for a small number who escaped in the chaos, almost all of them were killed.

There were people specialized in cleaning up the battlefield. When it was all over, the speed at which the fight was settled left everyone with looks of pure shock.

"Big Boss Darian, you're seriously amazing!"

Shouts echoed toward him, making him turn with a serious face. Being called Big Boss was already more than he could handle.

"Big Boss! Big Boss! Big Boss!" Chants echoed from all around.

"..."

Darian didn't know where to hide his face. That woman would have to pay for making him go through something this ridiculous.

"The General really was telling the truth. You're a truly unmatched existence." As soon as they returned to the city, Hirel said, while the others looked at Darian with admiration.

That battle, which to them had been unbeatable, was easily settled by Darian. Even worse... they didn't lose a single soldier.

Even now, looking outside the city and seeing no sign of that army, they couldn't believe it. It felt like they were dreaming.

Now, when they looked at Darian, it was like they were standing in front of a true envoy of the gods.

Darian snorted... those people had no idea how stupid all this was. He was just an ordinary human, born on Earth. Their General... she was the daughter of two unbelievable immortals, closely tied to the ones who controlled the whole world.

He was the envoy of the gods? He spent his life fighting day and night, struggling to the limit just to survive. She, on the other hand, was born with everything and truly was what they imagined.

But Darian said nothing and let them believe what they wanted.

"There are no words to express my gratitude. Everyone in the city will remember this favor forever," Hirel said politely. "All the spoils of the enemies are yours..."

Darian cut in, indifferent, "Keep it all. The city needs resources to rebuild and defend against more attacks."

She and everyone else heard that as if the world had lit up. The city had lost a lot of its barrier's strength in the first defense and, later, with Darian's orders, they used even more to create that blinding light. They really had been worried about the future, but now a huge weight was lifted from their hearts.

"I only came here by chance. I was planning to meet Remira again, but this world is too big. Do you have some way to take me to her faster?" Darian asked.

"We'll take you right away!"

Hirel answered excitedly and invited Darian to board her flying ship. Part of the army stayed behind to defend the city, and she appointed a temporary commander to handle everything.

Then, without delay, they set off.