The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 430

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 430

A massive flow of energy.

Turning his head toward the center of the storm of spirit mana, Azure Star Algran Tevne let out a short sigh mixed with exhaustion.

Everything he was doing right now was ultimately nothing more than buying time.

“Elder! More people who have lost consciousness have been found!”

“Bring them here for now.”

There was no way to properly treat those who had fallen unconscious.

All he could do was distribute small amounts of the overwhelming spirit mana to prevent their condition from worsening.

A sense of helplessness washed over him.

Because he knew the opponent was none other than the Water Spirit King who had met with the organizers.

As someone who commanded high-level spirits himself, he knew exactly what kind of catastrophe would occur if a Spirit King went berserk.

And to make matters worse, the one opposing that Spirit King was, of all things, another spirit mage?

The worst possible scenario.

He knew that better than anyone.

His spirit arts were certainly stronger than those of most other spiritists, but even so, before a Spirit King, he too could not properly exert his power.

Moreover, since earlier, an ominous presence had been stirring from the northern direction.

In the end, the only thing he could rely on was Leon Cascadia—the one he had just entrusted with a request.

Others seemed to know him as Cotton Belmud, but when he heard the name Leon Cascadia, Azure Star felt both certainty and suspicion at once.

It was then.

KWAANG!!!

With an explosion, someone revealed himself.

“You!?”

Startled, he shouted.

And understandably so—pushing back the spirits and emerging into view was none other than Spear Star Bellion.

“You old geezer. Still alive, I see.”

“How in the world did you get in here!”

“How did I get in? The outside’s a complete mess. That formless barrier keeps expanding and swallowing everything in its path.”

“I’m asking why you are here!”

“Nothing much. I came to ask that brat Leon for some enhancement, got caught up in this instead.”

He spun his long spear lightly and adjusted his stance.

“He’s headed north now.”

“Ah… has he already moved?”

Only then did his expression ease.

“Huh? He went alone! I can’t leave this place right now—”

“It’s fine, old man. If that guy went, things will be settled soon enough.”

At that single sentence, Azure Star’s mouth fell open.

“What do you mean…?”

For someone bearing a star title to say something so irresponsible!

Dumbfounded, Azure Star Algran burst into anger at Bellion.

“It’s fortunate we met now at least! Hurry and head north! Before a young star who will lead the continent is extinguished!”

Knowing just how powerful a Spirit King was, Azure Star’s insides burned with anxiety.

But Spear Star Bellion merely picked at his ear lazily.

“Do I really need to go? I think helping you here would be more useful.”

“You say that because you don’t understand what a Spirit King is! What kind of existence that is!”

“Ah. I don’t know. Never met one, so how would I?”

He spoke calmly, spinning his spear again.

His faintly glowing spear flashed in an instant, piercing through the majority of the rampaging spirits at once.

Even so, it was obvious he wasn’t displaying his full usual ability.

“Ugh… the efficiency’s absolutely terrible.”

Grumbling in dissatisfaction, Spear Star Bellion shrugged and loosened his shoulders.

“Stop talking nonsense and save one more person if you can. Don’t worry about Leon.”

“You call that something to say…?”

“Didn’t Osberg and the others tell you?”

As he turned and asked, Azure Star fell silent.

“Help him? You’d be lucky if you don’t end up dragging him down.”

It was a statement hard to believe coming from Spear Star himself.

“What do you mean…?”

“Well, you’ll find out soon anyway, so telling you isn’t difficult. There’s one evaluation every Star who has met him shares.”

“The same evaluation?”

“Yeah. That guy is…”

Bellion paused briefly, as though recalling a life-form beyond understanding.

“A monster. Literally. Everything we consider common sense—and every law we know—doesn’t apply to him.”

* * *

The dome was large enough for everyone to fit with room to spare.

Fortunately, the base terrain had been rocky cliffs, so only a small portion had been covered with soil.

Holes had been opened through the floor, so there was no risk of lacking air.

Inside the thick earthen dome, the spiritists watched the situation quietly.

Some eased their hunger, others closed their eyes, exhausted from constant movement.

Two hours had already passed without change.

The blizzard?

No.

Leon, who was spreading warmth throughout the entire dome even in this freezing cold.

As spiritists themselves, they knew how difficult it was to maintain such a situation while using spirit arts.

“Your spirits are truly incredible. I never thought my views on mutant spirits would be completely rewritten.”

On top of that, Eltemion’s unusually favorable and approving attitude toward Leon created a strange atmosphere.

Originally, the reason they hadn’t regarded Leon as an outstanding spiritist was simple.

Because the spirits he controlled were mutants, not ordinary spirits.

But it didn’t take long for them to realize something was off.

His so-called mutant spirits were more vibrant than normal spirits, and even carried a freedom akin to higher spirits.

In fact, some couldn’t take their eyes off Sur proudly displaying his helmet with adorable bravery.

“If it’s not rude… could you tell us how you contracted with spirits like that?”

It seemed he assumed Leon knew a way to summon unconventional spirits, since all three of Leon’s contracted spirits differed from ordinary ones.

After a brief silence, Leon spoke.

“Everyone has their own path. I couldn’t form contracts with normal spirits, so I found my own.”

Two hours after taking shelter from the blizzard.

Leon slowly stood up.

“What are you doing?”

“Time to head out. The blizzard’s ending.”

As Leon approached the wall and stretched out his hand, Corison Jackper stepped in front of him with a frown.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What else? The blizzard’s over. Time to finish this.”

“The blizzard’s over? Stop talking crap. If you want to die, go die al—”

“Wait!!”

At that moment.

Through the air hole leading outside, someone noticed that the sharp sound of cutting winds had stopped and shouted.

“The sound of the violent wind is gone… Did the blizzard really stop?”

“That’s impossible! Once a blizzard starts, it lasts at least a day!”

Confusion spread as everyone gathered.

“Bullshit! I’m telling you, if you want to die, die alone! Don’t drag others into—”

KWAANG!!

Corison’s provocation was cut short again.

Before anyone realized, Leon had kicked the hard earthen wall and collapsed it with a casual motion.

A deadly snowstorm should have been raging outside.

But outside was endlessly calm.

“How is this…?”

As Corison muttered blankly, Leon walked past him.

Corison remained frozen, unable to say a single word.

First, because he hadn’t even perceived Leon’s kick.

Second, because he was certain that if that kick had struck him, he would have died without even screaming.

Leon said nothing.

But as he passed, their eyes met—and inside Corison’s head, Leon’s voice echoed.

—The curse is one thing, but if not for Emperor Credos, I’d have killed you first regardless of who was watching. Be grateful to your family.

Instinctively, Corison realized this was his last warning.

It crushed his pride completely.

Emperor Credos?

Spared because of His Majesty?

The young master of House Belmud serving the Emperor—yet calling him that?

It made no sense.

But his mouth refused to open, as if glued shut.

‘How dare… how dare that Belmud marquis brat….’

His fists clenched so hard blood nearly stopped flowing—but his legs trembled too much to move.

The killing intent Leon had shown moments ago was the heaviest, most chilling killing intent Corison had ever experienced in his life.

* * *

Including Eltemion, the spiritists quietly watched the man walking at the front.

His expression was hidden behind a mask.

Belmud Marquis House, was it?

A family not known for connections to spiritists.

Yet no one dared challenge his decisions.

Was it because the exceptionally talented Eltemion favored him?

No.

It was because he exuded a strange, irresistible pressure.

And watching him move without a shred of hesitation made them feel opposing him would bring nothing good.

The place he was heading toward was none other than the core creating this frozen wasteland.

Honestly, even without him, they had planned to prepare and eventually destroy that core somehow.

But was it really possible?

They had sensed his talent since escaping the blizzard.

Still, what he was doing now was dangerously reckless.

“Eltemion.”

“What is it?”

“Are you sure this is okay? We already confirmed this isn’t something that can be solved by charging in blindly. We agreed we’d take time and find a strategy.”

At Behena Mobierty’s words, the other spiritists nodded.

“And those bow-wielding dwarves are a problem too. You know they’re at their most sensitive right now.”

Those tiny creatures who had ambushed everyone upon arrival.

When the blizzard stopped, they always gathered near the core as if to protect it.

Outside might be different, but here their numbers and strength were dangerous even for spiritists.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“I already told him everything we discussed.”

“And he’s still going through with it?”

“I have a good eye for people.”

“Hah…”

“Th… they’re here!!”

At that moment.

Small dwarves holding bows emerged between snow-covered trees.

Fast and precise—one person had already lost their life to their attacks before.

The spiritists tensed.

A brief standoff.

Suffocating silence.

Finally, Behena Mobierty stepped forward.

“Listen. I know you’re a skilled spiritist. But this isn’t simple. If this goes wrong, there could be massive casualties, and we might not deal with that core in time—”

“Step back.”

At Leon’s voice, she flinched and retreated without understanding why.

Unfazed, Leon gently tickled the underside of the small chick perched on his shoulder.

“Sur. Let’s prepare for blooming.”

—Ppiik?

“You want to become stronger?”

—Ppiik!

“Then trust your dad and run wild to your heart’s content.”

The chick chirped energetically.

Then came a command no one had ever heard before.

“Heat Compression Shockwave.”

At those words, the chick tapped its tilted horned helmet into place with its wings and bravely took flight.

Everyone gasped.

The surrounding atmosphere began compressing toward Sur as though being sucked in.

Those who had been about to summon spirits forgot even to issue attack orders.

Flap flap—

Sur soared high into the sky.

And then—

Upon reaching a certain height, it flew straight toward the forest where the dwarves had formed ranks.

Naturally, the dwarves fired tiny arrows at it.

But no matter how sharp, their arrows couldn’t reach the altitude where Sur floated.

“Drop.”

The moment Leon gave the command, a fist-sized compressed air bubble in front of Sur fell toward the forest like a bomb.

Eltemion’s eyes widened in horror.

And—

As the air bubble neared the ground, he shouted.

“Everyone cover your ears and get down!!!!”

At the same time—

KWAAAAANGGG!!!

The compressed air bubble, condensed with immense pressure and heat, expanded instantly and crashed into the forest.

Some reacted quickly and dropped.

Others were too slow.

An enormous shockwave and roaring wind swept the area, creating vast amounts of steam.

The white snow vanished into vapor, and everything within the blast radius collapsed.

“Kraaagh?!”

“What the hell?! What was that!!”

The aftermath lasted only an instant.

Those who obeyed Eltemion survived relatively safely.

But Corison Jackper and several others were flung away without even managing a scream.

As the massive steam slowly cleared—

The spiritists stared in stunned silence.

Centered around the impact point, hundreds of meters had simply vanished.

“This is insane…”

“What the hell was that?”

Dozens of dwarves had been erased in a single strike.

A chill ran down their spines.

Could they have stopped that attack?

They might claim their spirit magic was hindered here.

But most knew the truth.

Even in perfect condition—they would have been helpless.

Not just them, but even their experienced seniors.

Behena Mobierty grabbed her trembling arm.

Half-baked?

What nonsense.

Mutant spirits were supposedly stagnant failures incapable of growth.

Spiritists forced to contract them were considered flawed.

But what if those mutant spirits possessed unimaginable power?

And what if their contractor had the spirit mana and control to wield it freely?

Who could call that half-baked?

And this place suppressed spirit magic.

Yet he seemed barely affected.

A cold sensation ran through her body.

A frog in a well.

Inside and outside her family, she had been called a genius.

She thought only Eltemion Rubakara—another monstrous genius—could compete with her.

But she quickly realized how arrogant that thought was.

“They’re coming again!!”

More dwarves were gathering due to the massive explosion.

Foolish.

She bit her lip and acted immediately.

“Undine!!”

Even in this environment, she forcibly summoned the mid-level water spirit.

Cotton Belmud.

Until that unimaginable spiritist prepared his firepower again, they only needed to support him.

Corison’s behavior worried her, but after clashing with him while leaving the dome, he hadn’t dared approach Leon again.

There shouldn’t be a problem.

“Everyone, summon your spirits! That last attack must have exhausted even him! We’ll buy time while he recovers and open a path—”

Then a voice interrupted.

“Sur. Heat Compression Shockwave.”

What?!

Again?!

Even one shot would exhaust most veteran spiritists!

She turned toward the masked Leon in disbelief.

“Cotton Belmud?! Are you trying to die?! Using that kind of spirit magic again?! Save your strength! We’ll open the path while you recover!”

At this rate, exhaustion alone could kill him.

Just as she tried to stop him—

A calm voice came from behind the mask.

“Triple.”

The chick absorbed an enormous amount of spirit mana and flew again.

And this time—

Not one, but three invisible spheres compressed in front of it.

As if declaring he needed no one’s help to conquer the core.

“Exhaustion… isn’t coming?”

He looked completely energetic.

The so-called geniuses stared, dumbfounded.

Because all of them had thought the same thing.

Leon raised his hand.

“Single-point fire.”

At his merciless command, high-temperature, high-pressure air bombs tore through space like shells, burning and vaporizing everything along their path.

“Th… that insane bastard!”

Everyone reflexively covered their ears and dropped again.

The second explosion dwarfed the first.

Snow melted into steam once more.

Two times.

And the second was triple condensed.

Surely this was his limit.

Thinking that, Mobierty and Rerban Code rose to assist.

But—

“The defensive barrier is tougher than I thought.”

They froze.

Barrier?

They saw nothing.

As if he could see something others couldn’t.

Following his gaze carefully, the spiritists finally noticed a faintly shimmering wall.

They hadn’t noticed it at all.

If they had advanced blindly, who knew what damage that dense barrier would have caused.

“Heat Compression Shockwave.”

At his voice, everyone dropped again like Pavlov’s dogs.

“Decuple (10-stack).”

—Ppiik!

“Let’s pierce straight through to the core.”

—Ppiiiik!!

The unimaginable declaration erupted.

The air around Sur distorted violently as all nearby air was sucked in.

They didn’t know.

While the spiritists here couldn’t use their power due to overwhelming spirit mana density—

Leon, on the contrary, could exploit it.

The death shockwave that destroyed everything in range vaporized all the dwarves gathering to defend the area, carving a path straight toward the massive glowing egg presumed to be the core.

Afterward, he advanced toward the core unhindered, speaking as if to someone.

At that moment, the air trembled.

The spiritists looked around in alarm but saw nothing.

Eltemion carefully approached, holding one ear.

“Hey… I’m curious about something.”

“What?”

“The one conducting this ritual… why haven’t they shown themselves even now?”

Footsteps echoed.

After a moment of silence, an answer came.

But it wasn’t from Leon.

—Because of that troublesome sealing technique, you managed to crawl this far while I wasn’t paying attention.

An instinctive chill swept through everyone.

Even without explanation, they knew what being that voice belonged to.

Massive streams of water gathered, forming a shape.

“Since you appeared anyway… does that mean you’ve abandoned control of the ritual?”

Even under suffocating pressure, Leon casually asked.

—No. If spirit mana runs short, I’ll simply expand my territory and secure more. You continue to interfere with me until the very end.

“What if I add another seal?”

—Impossible. I won’t fall for the same method twice.

At last, a blue woman fully took shape, gazing down coldly.

—To dare oppose a Spirit King with the power of spirits. How foolish. Haven’t you already experienced the absolute difference in hierarchy? Or have you grown fearless because I held back before?

Her aura spread, crushing the surroundings.

Even then, he spoke leisurely.

“No. I don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

—What?

This time, even the Spirit King seemed unable to understand what he meant.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]