Chapter 465 The Most Ferocious Technique—Omni Sky Strike!

Hulim Heyerar’s eyes widened in shock.

A Slave Collar!?

Why would such an ancient magical artifact be here?

So that’s how it is.

I get it now.

Everything makes sense!

No wonder she’s on the enemy’s side.

If she’d been a slave all along—and had come to accept that as her normal life—even the divine bow wouldn’t reject it outright. After all, the power of this kind of magical tool is inherently neutral.

Just as Hulim was distracted by her surprise,

Hena seized the opportunity with sharp instinct. She grabbed her trapped arm with her free hand, using it as a pivot to twist her body violently.

SWISH!

Her arm slipped out of Hulim’s grasp like an eel.

The instant she broke free,

Hena exploded forward at her maximum speed, fleeing as far away from Hulim as she could.

"Oh no."

Watching Hena dart into the distance, Hulim immediately gave chase.

On the other side, Irus also sprinted after Hena.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH......

Only a trail of afterimages lingered in the air as Hulim closed in on Hena with breathtaking speed.

But then—

"ROAR——!"

Without warning, the surrounding monsters seemed to receive a command. They flew into a frenzy, launching a reckless assault on Hulim and Irus.

A dense swarm of flying monsters blotted out the sky, cutting off Hulim’s line of sight to Hena.

Hulim frowned, pointing her Seven Luminaries Wand forward.

"Nuisance."

HUM! HUM! HUM......

A series of magic circles unfolded before her.

BOOM——!!!

The monsters in front of her were wiped out in an instant.

But soon enough, wave after wave of new monsters surged forward, filling her field of vision once again.

CRASH!

At the same time, an explosion echoed from the other side—Irus was also being held back by the monster horde.

"What a hassle."

Hulim sighed.

Then her eyes sharpened with resolve.

"If that’s the case, I’ll take all of you out in one strike! Infinite Strikes—activate!"

HUM! HUM! HUM......

Countless magic circles materialized in the air in the blink of an eye.

Shortly after Hulim began researching her abilities, she’d made an unexpected discovery about Infinite Strikes—a hidden trait that would change everything.

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That trait was this: when using Infinite Strikes to stack and amplify a spell’s power, the spell’s stability would not waver. No extra mental energy was required to maintain control.

In other words, even if the spell’s power was boosted to Tier 5, controlling it was just as easy as controlling a Tier 1 or Tier 2 spell.

The moment she realized this,

Hulim developed her most ferocious technique to date—surpassing even Annihilation Divine Light.

HUM——!!!

The magic circles blanketing the sky expanded rapidly. With the amplification of Infinite Strikes, their power surged to Tier 5 across the board.

Pouring every last drop of her mana into the attack, she unleashed her deadliest technique yet.

"—Omni Sky Strike!"

She flicked her wand forward gently.

And then—

BOOM——!!!

The entire sky was swallowed by an endless sea of white light......

Everyone who witnessed the spectacle froze in stunned silence.

One single thought echoed in all their minds.

What... what was that......?

"Well, it’s only Tier 5. It shouldn’t do too much damage to an S-Rank Hero, right......"

Hulim sheathed her Seven Luminaries Wand.

Her depleted mana was already regenerating at a rapid pace, thanks to the passive effects of Infinite Strikes.

"Now—"

The white light faded away.

"It’s time to bring her back...... huh?"

The area ahead was completely empty. Not a single trace of Hena remained.

Hulim fell silent.

"......"

She got away?

......

Inside the Gulos faction’s camp.

THUD!

A monster burst out of the ground.

It opened its maw and spat out the person it was carrying, then burrowed back into the earth without a sound.

"Cough! Cough!"

Hena lay on the ground, coughing violently as she slowly pried her eyes open.

"Where...... am I?"

She lifted her head in confusion, then her face paled with panic.

"Why is Hena here?!?"

She grabbed the Slave Collar around her neck, her fingers trembling.

"Is it because of this thing?"

All Hena could remember was the collar suddenly tightening around her throat, freezing her body in place. Moments later, she’d lost consciousness.

She never expected to wake up back at the camp.

She hugged her head in terror.

"No! Hena hasn’t taken the fortress yet! If I don’t take the fortress, Hena will be punished......"

Her expression grew more and more horrified.

"No...... Hena doesn’t want to be punished! Hena has to go back!"

She scrambled to her feet, ready to dash back to the battlefield—

Only for the Slave Collar around her neck to constrict violently.

"Ugh——!"

Hena collapsed to the ground, clutching her throat in agony.

"It hurts...... can’t...... breathe......"

She clawed at the collar desperately, but her body was completely paralyzed, unable to resist.

Just then, a shadow fell over her, blocking out the light.

She slowly lifted her gaze upward. When she saw the face of the person standing over her, her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and her eyes filled with pure, unadulterated terror.

......

Inside Forgehold Fortress.

After the battle ended, everyone gathered once more to discuss their next move.

"She got away," Irus said, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Chances are she won’t show her face again. If she goes into hiding, things will get a lot more complicated."

"I’m sorry," Hulim apologized, her voice laced with regret. "If I hadn’t let her slip away earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Hulim," Irus replied firmly. "If anything, you’ve done more than anyone else here. Without that attack of yours, the battle for Forgehold Fortress would still be raging right now. Who knows how many lives would have been lost? You indirectly saved countless people."

"Still...... the fact remains that she escaped from me."

"On that note, everyone might not need to worry too much."

Aralond spoke up suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Aralond—do you have a plan?"

"Not exactly a plan," Aralond admitted. "But while all of you were fighting out there, I sent some of my men to track the monster horde. They’ve located an area that matches the description of their main base."

"Really? Well done, Aralond! You’re as reliable as ever!" Irus praised him warmly.

"Now that we’ve confirmed their location, things will be much easier. We should launch an assault on their camp as soon as possible."

"I’ve already made the necessary arrangements."

......

Inside the Gulos faction’s camp.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK......

Hena was strung up on a wooden post, her body hanging limply.

Inasil stood before her, wielding an iron whip. He lashed her again and again, his face twisted with rage.

"You worthless piece of trash! Look at what you’ve done!" He roared, his voice dripping with venom. "Not only did you fail to take the fortress—you got hundreds of our monsters killed for nothing! Did you forget what you promised me yesterday, you useless wretch?!"

"......"

Hena hung motionless in the air, unable to make a single sound. Her body was covered in bloody welts, and blood dripped from her fingertips, pooling on the ground below and staining it crimson.

"Lord Inasil."

A voice called out, and a figure approached.

Inasil paused, lowering his whip.

"Fagu—you’re back. How did things go?"

Fagu grinned, bowing slightly. "The other party agreed to our terms without hesitation. He’s desperate for us to act quickly—it seems that dwarf has him backed into a corner."

"Heh~. Perfect. Desperate men always make the best business partners," Inasil sneered.

"You’re absolutely right, my lord~. Speaking of which......" Fagu flicked a glance at Hena, hanging helplessly on the post. "What happened here?"