NOVEL NEXT Chapter 383: [Dark Shooting Ray]
The battle in Riverpool City quickly spread throughout the entire world. Various countries learned about the battle that happened in that place. The nickname "Crimson Demon" also spread.
People said that he was a man with one hand, but he was extremely powerful. He easily defeated the countless soldiers using magic and combat arts. He was proficient in both arts, which helped him defeat his enemies.
Rumors about the Crimson Demon spread. Some people said that he came from hell, while others said that he was an incarnation of the demon. Of course, none of them knew about Souta.
Various countries have investigated it. The gruesome massacre that he left behind was still there. Thousands of corpses were piled up in that place, and the color of the ground turned red.
In the future, people will talk about it. The Riverpool City will become a place where various tourists will visit and tales about the Crimson Demon will be passed down from generation to generation.
When everyone was panicking about the unstoppable force of the invaders, the Crimson Demon taught them that the invaders were still vulnerable. They could fight them.
With the defeat of one force of the Great Astley Empire, the invasion stopped. Yes, they stopped spreading out their forces as they realized this world wasn't like any other world that they've invaded. It houses creatures that could fight their army and possibly defeat them.
In truth, they didn't only lose ten thousand soldiers in Riverpool City. They also lost another ten thousand soldiers in the Great Tunbra Forest. What appeared before them in the forest was the legendary dragon.
The people of this world didn't know about it. They only knew about Riverpool City. None of the countries has access to the Great Tunbra Forest.
The army of the Great Astley Empire had to think about a plan. Dragons were powerful creatures, and that wasn't unique to this world. They've encountered dragons in other worlds.
It wasn't that it was unbeatable, but they suffered heavy casualties and lost countless men when facing a single dragon.
Right now, their forces are stationed seventy kilometers outside the territory of the Condifan Empire. They stopped advancing and were preparing something big.
...
The news about Riverpool City naturally reached the Gyunar Republic.
Alice was sitting in a chair with a table in front of her. In the opposite direction, there were two long chairs at each side, and the Gyun's party was occupying it.
"Crimson Demon...?" Alice was amused when she heard the news. She knew that it was Souta when she heard the description of that man. It fit him all, and besides, only he had a bear companion, which was Yuko.
'Fighting ten thousand soldiers... He always does crazy things...' She thought as the corner of her mouth began to slightly curve upward.
It's not easy fighting ten thousand people, even if those people are mostly D-rank. Even she would get exhausted and tired after fighting that many opponents at the same time.
Well, she was right. Souta consumed almost half of his mana and stamina from the constant spamming of skills that he did in the battle.
"This is Souta, right?" Gyun asked while looking at his comrades.
"I think it's him. It fits his description." Mae answered him.
"Defeating an entire army of ten thousand soldiers on his own... What a fearsome person he is." Johnie said as he recalled the battle between Souta and the Master-class Knights of this country.
"I didn't think that he was this strong," Rini said.
"Yes, I don't even think that a Master-class Knight could do that. Defeating ten thousand soldiers using one soldier is simply a dream of all the countries in this world." Ginji said.
"Yes, in history, no one has done that. Even in the war involving Master-class Knights, they only defeated a few hundred soldiers, not mentioning ten thousand," Limber said.
All of them were amazed. It only means that Souta did something that nobody has done before. It was simply amazing to know such a man.
They weren't exaggerating when they called him the Crimson Demon. They could already imagine how gruesome the place was—there were ten thousand dead people lying everywhere, with a lone man standing on top of it.
...
The person that everyone was talking about has no clue about it. He didn't know that every country in the world was talking about it.
Souta, Isabella, Lydia, and Yuko were heading towards their next stop. Another camp of the army of the Great Astley Empire was closer to the Condifan Empire.
"Why didn't I let some people leave?" Souta asked himself while walking.
"Tsk! You're just a wild freak. Why did you even throw me at the enemies?" Lydia asked as she clicked her tongue. She still remembered how Souta threw her toward the ten thousand soldiers.
Yes, she was strong and could handle it, but still throwing her... That's just mad.
"Damn! I lose the purpose of throwing Lydia," Souta cursed.
'Well, you were too excited to kill at that time,' Saya said to him.
'Yeah, I couldn't think straight at that time. I forgot about Lydia and the army that will appear if I show her to them,' Souta replied to her while shrugging his shoulders. At the very least, he completed the quest, earning him four skill points.
It looks like it was an easy fight, but it wasn't. It was a time and energy consuming fight. If he only had a super AOE skill that could wipe out an entire army, then he would do that.
Right? Since he needed this kind of skill, Souta quickly checked the system and went to the skill tree to see which skills were available for him.
The available spells for him in his skill tree were [Doppelganger], [Dark Shooting Ray], and [Shadow Dispersion], while the only available combat arts in his skill tree were [Dark Light Shield]. Well, he already had the [Transforming Shadow Barrage] and the [Night Overlord's Aura], so only one combat art was left. He would be able to unlock more if he upgraded one of them to level 10.
Souta pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. A powerful and destructive attack that has a wide range. He could get it if he bought the [Dark Shooting Ray] but he will get something similar to this once he evolves into the third evolution. In fact, [Bestrou] was much more destructive than this spell.
But he had only gotten combat arts before, so he needed one spell as his foundation for the next rank. He didn't want to upgrade any of his tier 1 spells anymore. If he was going to upgrade a spell, then he should stick to the highest tier that was available to him.
[Dark Shooting Ray] was an offensive spell. It has a large AOE and is perfect for wiping out an army.
[Doppelganger] was a spell that could create a shadow that had fighting abilities. It could defend and attack.
[Shadow Dispersion] was an attack spell, but it wasn't an AOE attack like the [Dark Shooting Ray]. The damage it could deal wasn't as high, but the main purpose of this spell was to weaken any dark attribute spells.
In the end, Souta decided to buy [Dark Shooting Ray]. Even though he will get [Bestrou] he guesses that he needs this spell in the next battles against the army of the Great Astley Empire.
He had a total of 12 skill points, and he used 2 of it to learn the spell [Dark Shooting Ray].
[You've learned Dark Shooting Ray!]
Knowledge about this skill went to his head. He knew everything about it, so he could use it immediately. The spell was even imprinted in his inner consciousness, making it an inner spell.
Souta looked down at his palm while moving his fingers.
"What's wrong, Souta?" Lydia asked when she noticed that Souta had stopped walking.
Isabella looked at Souta with a confused expression.
He ignored them, and he aimed his palm in front of him. His mana gathered around his palm, and a magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
When his mana was at its peak, it suddenly disappeared. He stopped himself from casting the spell. He just wanted to try it based on the knowledge that he received.
Everything works well, so it's fine. It didn't have any problems at all.
"Just what are you doing?" Lydia asked once again as she felt his mana suddenly fluctuate.
"Nothing. I'm just testing something." Souta replied as he shook his head. He then recalled something as he glanced at Isabella: "Isabella, you should learn some self-defense techniques. You know that I can't protect you all the time."
"Me...? I'm going to fight...?" Isabella spoke while stuttering. She couldn't imagine herself fighting some people.
"Yes, I'm sure that you would do well, so don't worry," Souta said with a reassuring smile.
In the game, Isabella was one of the NPCs that appeared in version 2 and grew stronger up to the latest version. Aside from being a potion master, she was called the Faceless Woman by her enemies. She wasn't just an expert in brewing potions; she was also a strong powerhouse. That's why no one dared fight the organization that she built, the Heavenly Potion Pavilion.
In the latest version of the game, Isabella reached godhood and successfully became a god-level powerhouse. She also had two god-level powerhouses under her tutelage in the pavilion, making her organization a force with which to be reckoned.