Kayne immediately headed to the new sword saint. He punched him, but the sword saint struck back. Their clash was so powerful that it caused a massive shock wave to the surrounding area.

"Give them space!" Clovis shouted. He knew how dangerous a Tier 9 human could be. It was better not to let anyone get injured in their clash.

Without hesitation, Melody pointed forward. "Let's go, Reolf!"

"Woof!" Reolf immediately took off, looping around them to go deeper into the forest.

"Tsk." Jean clicked his tongue. There was no way to stop Reolf and Melody. Melody was probably the easiest target, considering she had to focus on her job as an operator.

But with Reolf's speed, they would have a hard time catching up to her. At the same time, Reolf was also quite a fighter. He might not have reached Tier 8 yet, but he was actually closer to Tier 8 compared to Clovis.

After all, Clovis had to split his food with the rest of the group, while Reolf only split his food with Rea and Freud.

In other words, the three beasts would most likely reach Tier 8 faster than Clovis.

Nevertheless, this was enough to make Clovis feel assured. With Reolf accompanying Melody, she could definitely focus on her job as an operator while remaining protected.

Clovis focused on fighting against a Tier 8 human in front of him as Melody had given everyone their respective targets according to the initial agreement.

The team gradually spread out but still controlled thanks to Melody. With Kanaria soaring to the sky and Rea hovering above them, the enemies had to spare a bit of their attention to the sky. After all, Kanaria could easily snipe them with that powerful soul weapon.

As usual, Clovis showed his dominance even against a Tier 8 human. However, there were three more people who showed dominance. To everyone's surprise, Jay was actually one of them.

All this time, Jay might have been overshadowed by Clovis. Clovis had the speed and power, while Jay focused solely on strength.

However, after getting advice from Ezekiel, Jay refined his fighting style one more time.

Jay exchanged blows with the Tier 8 human in front of him. Surprisingly, each of them was unable to push the other back, showing that their strength was equal.

Jay not only utilized the items Clovis gave him, but he also used both the inner and outer beast souls.

It was more than enough to increase his strength equal to that of a Tier 8 human. Since it was impossible for Jay to gain additional speed because of his muscle affinity, Ezekiel suggested that he push his strength even further until he achieved absolute strength.

He had seen the absolute strength that Mara possessed. It was something that Clovis could achieve as well.

For someone who didn't have even a pseudo unique ability, Jay had to work even harder and become a monster in his own way to remain as the vice captain.

That was why Jay had been doing the same thing over and over again. He kept swinging no matter the situation.

"Huuu…" Jay took a deep breath. He raised his sword and swung downward. The swing felt natural, as though he was making the same swing as the other hundreds of thousands of swings.

He had been swinging his sword five thousand times every day. And this swing was the same. The only difference was that he put everything he had, such as the beast soul and other things, into the swing.

He could hear the roaring sound of the water as he split it open with his normal swing.

But with this one, his swing cut the ground open.

Sword of Origin.

He merely returned to the basics and made it the ultimate swing.

"!!!" The guy raised his spear, using the spear's body to stop this attack.

However, the swing was so powerful that it pushed him back for at least fifty meters. If it had not been for him stopping the attack, this swing might have flown further than two hundred meters.

More importantly, the swing was so powerful that not only did it leave a deep cut on the ground, but it also bent the guy's spear.

"What?" The Tier 8 human was startled. As someone at this level, he obviously had searched for the best weapon he could get his hands on. Nobody had been able to bend his weapon like this, yet a Tier 7 kid was able to do it.

Melody, who witnessed everything, was dumbfounded. 'This strike… Jay might be trying to pursue absolute strength. It might even be stronger than Clovis' most powerful strike…'

Melody felt a chill down her spine. For a normal person among monsters, Jay had poured all the effort he had into one single swing.

His fighting style might be a bit stiff compared to the others, but his power might have just surpassed everyone in the group.

Melody never questioned Jay's quality as the vice leader. He was silently watching everyone and helping others when needed.

But this was the first time he witnessed a quality that showed his confidence to become the captain of the group if Clovis decided to step down.

As Ezekiel said, if Mara were right in front of him, she might be able to knock his shield away. What Jay pursued was a strength that cut through his shield instead of just knocking it away.

Erwin and Aileen were the other two people who gained dominance. Erwin couldn't help but glance at Jay, realizing how far he had gone.

Previously, they were fighting for the position of vice leader, but after knowing Jay for some time, he knew that there was no one more suitable than Jay for that position.

"Tsk." Erwin clicked his tongue. "I can't lose."

Erwin decided that if he wanted to win, he had to defeat the guy before him faster than Jay finished his battle.

After all, he was fighting with Aileen.