Chapter 228: New Enemy

[West Gate.]

Tyson hovered effortlessly on his roiling platform of crimson flames, gazing down at the fifty elite lizards stationed below who were grinning back at him with unsettling confidence.

‘It appears Margaret is finally unleashing her full trump card over at the East gate.’ He thought, glancing briefly over his shoulder toward the distant horizon before snapping his sharp focus back to the reptilian monsters.

”In that case, I certainly shouldn’t hold back any longer.”

He raised his right hand lazily into the air and snapped his fingers with a sharp crack.

BOOOM!

A suffocating wave of dense spiritual energy rippled outward across the entire western battlefield, instantly severing the abilities of the lizards’ armor and heavy weapons, rendering their advanced Heaven-Tier gear entirely inert.

”Huh?”

”What just happened to our gear?!”

The lizards froze in shock, feeling their baseline combat strength plummet as a strange, glowing crimson mark branded itself onto each of their heads.

”Now die!!”

He raised his arm, shouting upward to the sky:

”Let every soul in this city witness why I proudly hold the number one ranking among Vaeloria’s strongest fighters!!!”

BOOOOM!!

A miniature ember flickered above his raised palm—and the very next microsecond, it violently bloated, expanding exponentially until it manifested as a colossal, blinding mega-sun constructed entirely from pure, superheated flames.

”…..?!”

The entire contingent of awakened fighters turned pale, frantically scattering in all directions to create a wide safety buffer between themselves and Tyson’s apocalyptic spell.

”Burn to ash, you wretched bastards!!!!!”

He shrieked at the top of his lungs, violently swinging his arm downward to hurl the gigantic, sun-like orb straight down upon the massed monsters below.

”Can a human genuinely summon such a catastrophic scale of power?!” A lizard muttered in sheer disbelief.

”It seems our only viable path is this… Only through this ultimate sacrifice can our supreme Lord achieve a truly flawless victory!”

Tyson watched with a sudden, sinking frown as all fifty lizard plunged their bare claws directly into their own chests, brutally ripping out their still-beating hearts.

”…?!”

Across the sprawling city, the exact same grim ritual was mirroring itself at Margaret’s, Marianne’s, and Richard’s gates:

”We willingly offer our lives and souls as tribute to grant our Lord absolute dominion!!”

They chanted in horrifying unison just as Tyson’s falling sun made contact with the earth, detonating in a colossal, world-shaking mushroom cloud of fire and shockwaves.

’They willingly eradicated their entire fifty-man vanguard without a trace of hesitation… But why does this lingering silence feel so intensely ominous?’ He thought, his chest tightening. The next microsecond, an incomprehensible, suffocating torrent of crushing pressure descended over the entirety of Silverspire, instantly forcing every airborne human and object violently down into the dirt.

’Such monstrous pressure!! This vastly exceeds SSS-Rank! It’s coming from the North Gate!!!’ Tyson thought, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Gritting his teeth until his jaw ached, he channeled every drop of his remaining spirit energy, rocketed back into the air, and tore through the sky toward the north.

____

[East Gate.]

”Guild Leader! They’ve all committed mass suicide, we only killed ten!!” The Vice Guild Leader yelled in panic, turning his head back toward the massive red pillar of light.

Margaret stood in absolute silence, but before she could issue any orders, an overwhelming wave of crushing gravity smashed down upon them, instantly spiderwebbing the energy foundations of the Celestial formation with violent cracks.

”What in the living hell is this overwhelming weight?!!” Eren bellowed through clenched teeth, struggling to stay upright.

”The epicenter is radiating directly from the North Gate!!” Gavin shouted, his face drained of all color.

”Celestial Warriors!! Leave the cleanup of these remaining stragglers to the garrison forces, everyone!!”

Margaret broke free from the core of the red formation, her white warhorse stepping forward as she donned her full celestial helm:

”Every single able-bodied fighter—charge with me toward the North Gate! We must reinforce the perimeter and defend the city at all costs!” She roared, kicking her warhorse’s flanks as a full battalion of one hundred and nineteen armored members surged forward behind her.

”Without a dedicated anchor maintaining the core, we can only sustain this divine combat form for one hour at the absolute maximum!! We must optimize every single second!” she yelled back over the rushing wind.

”Understood, Guild Leader!!”

”I have never witnessed Guild Leader Margaret display such naked anxiety before.” Eren muttered under his breath, casting a worried look toward the northern sky.

”Any entity generating this level of pressure is leagues beyond SSS-Rank.” Clenching his fists; without another word; he launched himself northward, fighting against the suffocating drag of the aura.

”I am right behind you! All fighters below SSS-Rank, fall back to interior checkpoints! Every SSS-Rank operative, mobilize to the North Gate immediately!!” Gavin roared, rocketing into the sky right behind Eren.

___

[South Gate.]

”What on earth is transpiring right now?! Those lizards didn’t even attempt a proper attack formation—they simply exposed their flanks and tore out their own hearts.” Richard muttered, completely baffled by the enemy’s suicidal play.

”This sudden, crushing pressure anomaly is surging outward from the North Gate! We have to mobilize right now!” Daniel urged, shooting into the sky like a streaking meteor. Zion, Danica, Richard, Owen, and the rest of the SSS-Rank veterans fell in close formation behind him.

___

[Third District, North Gate — Aetheldawn Emergency Camp.]

”Hey!! Are you seeing this insanity?! How did an enemy of this magnitude materialize out of nowhere, and why didn’t the major guilds have any intelligence on it?!” Juanita shrieked, lifting both arms high above her head to pour her raw spirit energy into the shimmering protective barrier enclosing the medical camp.

”How on earth am I supposed to have the answer to that?! Just shut up and channel your energy!” Soren snapped back, his expression carved from stone.

”This is catastrophic… If our forces fail to suppress this unknown horror, Silverspire is genuinely going to fall today.” Liana whispered, the color completely draining from her face.

”What kind of defeatist nonsense are you spewing?! We have Viper stationed right here with us—nothing is going to breach this perimeter!!” Juanita fired back defensively, before adding:

”Just focus entirely on reinforcing the barrier against this pressure wave! We cannot allow the nurses, doctors, or any of the wounded soldiers inside to be crushed—especially not the casualties recovering from the front lines!”

”I am well aware of our priorities! And I respect Viper’s capabilities, but she’s still human just like the rest of us!!!” Liana yelled right back into her face.

Soren let out a heavy, helpless sigh; of all the terrible places to be trapped, standing directly in the crossfire between these two stubborn women was easily his worst stroke of luck.

Viper stood quietly a short distance away, a deep, troubled frown marring her features. Her unique skills were devastatingly effective under normal conditions, but her signature ability was utterly useless against any target on a higher rank than her own cultivation rank. If whatever was generating this suffocating shockwave genuinely transcended SSS-Rank, her stat-siphoning ability would be entirely nullified.

‘Where in the world are those four right now?’ She thought anxiously, casting a sharp look over her shoulder toward the distant Aetheldawn estate.

‘And why made me do this???’ She added, speechless.