CELESTIAL’S MIGHT!

The Vessel of War, which seemed absolutely confident in its abilities and had been dominating the fight with overwhelming power, was immediately hit by the effect of Leon’s passive, its massive form shuddering as the silver-white aura washed over it like a wave of pure force.

Its eye widened with what appeared to be genuine shock and confusion at the sudden shift in power dynamics that it couldn’t explain.

[Vessel of War (???)]

[Level: 100]

[Talent: Supreme Strength Enhancement+ (SS-Level)]

[Combat Power: 10,500,000]

As expected, the Vessel of War lost 30% of its attributes from this, meaning that it went from being an undefeatable foe that could crush anyone in its path to something Leon could actually take on with a fighting chance, the gap between them suddenly closing.

"Well," Leon grinned as he saw the vessel actually hesitate for a split second, its confidence clearly shaken by the unexpected turn of events, "Not so confident now?"

"...!" it didn’t speak, but it gritted its teeth as it understood what had happened, its massive jaw clenching with frustration and rage at being weakened by this mere human.

SLASH!

Then it lunged toward Leon with renewed fury.

And with the entire might of its being, it swung its claws at him with deadly precision.

Leon swung back, his blade meeting the creature’s claws, and this time, instead of being sent flying across the chamber like before, something completely different happened.

BAM!

It was the Vessel of War that was pushed back by Leon’s strength, its massive form sliding across the rubble-covered floor from the force of the impact, its claws scraping against the stone.

Leon knew that the God of War was watching through the vessel’s eye, observing the battle from afar, and he was probably wondering what the hell was happening and how he could suddenly match his servant’s power.

Still, as long as he was confused, and didn’t know how Leon’s power worked or what triggered it, then so be it, the mystery would work in Leon’s favor.

’Well, that is if the other Celestials also don’t have this same ability,’ Leon shrugged to himself.

The Vessel of War and Leon began to rampage across the chamber as they clashed with one another repeatedly, their attacks shaking the very foundations of the castle and sending debris flying everywhere.

Cataclysmic Fireball! Vines of Torment! Ice Spikes! Shadow Bullets!

Leon launched everything he had at the Vessel of War, unleashing a barrage of spells that would have destroyed any normal enemy.

But the creature simply dodged, cut through the attacks, or tanked them using its barrier when it couldn’t avoid them.

And it also launched many attacks at him as well, its claws and abilities coming at him from every angle, forcing him to constantly stay on the defensive.

Claw Combo! War Cry! Venom!

The two seemed to be equally matched now, as neither could get an edge on the other despite their best efforts, their attacks meeting in midair and canceling each other out.

After around five minutes of intense combat, with most of the chamber being utterly destroyed and reduced to rubble and debris, the two stood before one another, neither of them showing signs of exhaustion or fatigue.

Still though, the Vessel of War had one advantage Leon didn’t have: it could regenerate from its wounds, making it a persistent threat.

"I’ll unleash my Forbidden Spell if this doesn’t end soon," Leon grinned, his eyes glinting with dangerous intent, "So come at me or we all die together."

The Vessel of War shook slightly as it heard that, its massive form trembling with what seemed like genuine.

Perhaps because it had been in the [God of War’s Letter] in Leon’s storage space during the excursion, it had seen the power of the [Oblivion Meteor] firsthand and knew exactly what it could do.

The forbidden spell was so powerful it could likely even kill it while it was at full strength, let alone in its weakened state, and it had no way to counter it.

Still though, it would mean that Leon would kill tens of thousands of people at the same time if he unleashed it inside the kingdom, causing unimaginable devastation.

His [Slaughter Meter] would immediately max out, and of course, the [Judgment Knight] would appear to deal with him without mercy, making it a suicidal move.

So the Vessel of War assumed this was a bluff, and he wouldn’t do it, that Leon was just trying to scare it into making a mistake.

Fwoosh!

While still floating in the air like a spirit due to the fact it had no legs, it lunged at Leon once more and swung with all its might, hoping to overwhelm him.

But then, something unexpected happened that caught it completely off guard and changed the course of the battle.

Time Stop!

Right in front of its very eye, Leon’s figure disappeared, vanishing from sight as if he had never been there at all.

One instant, he was here; and the next one he was... behind it!

The vessel of war turned around and tried to dodge the attack, but unfortunately for it, it was too slow to react in time while weakened, its movements sluggish.

SLASH!

It dodged the killing blow by a hair’s breadth, but Leon’s attack still cut through its right arm, blood gushing out from the wound and splattering across the floor in a crimson spray.

And in comparison to every other time, this time it didn’t actually heal itself immediately, the regeneration failing to kick in as expected.

There was a faint distortion around where its arm was, indicating that it would eventually heal, but definitely not as quick as the small injuries, giving Leon a window of opportunity.

ROOOOOOOOAR!

It released a roar so powerful it sent a shockwave above it, cracking the ceiling of the chamber and sending debris raining down, the sound echoing through the entire castle and the area around it.

Instantly, hundreds of the imperial guards in the kingdom abandoned what they were doing as they heard the roar, and rushed toward the castle to aid.

"What the hell’s happening?!" one of the players shouted as they saw the guards rushing past them through the streets.

"H-Holy shit, we’re saved!" another one exclaimed.

Iris had managed to hold off hundreds of them in the few minutes Leon allowed her to leave the chamber, using her magic to restrain them with vines and bindings.

She didn’t kill them since they were still her guard, but she held them in place, making sure they could never get free from her magical bindings no matter how hard they struggled.

Of course though, many of them still died as some players and natives who found them tied up wanted to take "revenge" for the chaos they had caused throughout the kingdom.