Objectively speaking, Grelus's army is all elite. Two legions armed with the full might of the nation, equipped with top-notch gear from camp to camp, boasting flawless troop compositions that even a resurrected war god couldn't fault. Their training is impeccable, never falling behind, coupled with equipment like magic gun units and magitech cannons, ensuring they stand invincible against most nations in war.

However, armies are ultimately prepared for war, and they become completely ineffective when facing certain super-powered individuals. Therefore, tasks such as hunting monsters, witches, or dragons are never assigned to the military, but rather to adventurers like mercenaries or bounty hunters, each specializing in their own craft.

Thus, when faced with the terrifyingly formidable Aya, who had recently pushed Justice to the brink of defeat, Grelus's army found themselves being pressed into the ground.

Their magic guns couldn't penetrate Aya's mystical scales, and ordinary swords were no match. Aya could effortlessly clear out swathes of enemies with a single sweep of her lava greatsword, rendering their efforts futile.

Aya unleashed her potent magic spells, Frosty Sorrow and Fiery Joy, wreaking havoc on the Grelus soldiers. Flames and frost claimed lives indiscriminately, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

Having routed the enemy in disarray, Aya showed no intention of giving chase. He was there to save lives, and the scattered remnants posed no further threat worth the exhaustion of pursuit.

Suddenly, cheers erupted behind him. While for Aya defeating these ordinary troops held little glory, for the besieged garrison who had just withdrawn into the stronghold preparing for a final stand, Aya was their savior.

"Aya, you've returned at last!"

"I thought I was going to die here."

"Long live Lady Aya! The battle maiden surpasses all!"

Hey, I heard that last one!

"Lady Aya, if you're back, what about His Highness Tiran...?" someone asked with anticipation.

Tiran... Aya scratched his cheek and glanced in the direction of Beacon City. The weather seemed ominous, with dark purple lightning threading through the black sky.

As for why he had returned to the castle to provide support, well, he also wanted to confront that guy, but it seemed they were solely fixated on Tiran.

...

"Seriously, what did I ever do to you?"

Even Tiran was at a loss, evading the merciless thunderstorms as half her Ice Crystal Wings shattered under the brutal assault of the opponent's thunder dragon. She now understood how Bergen had fallen; this adversary was indeed ruthless.

With the thunderclouds unfurling, the sky became the opponent's domain, with powerful lightning surging within the clouds. What made matters worse was the lightning wasn't chi-based but a force of the laws, packing a punch comparable to the divine thunder summoned by the small angel.

The cloaked figure, his entire body concealed, pursued Tiran relentlessly like a mad dog. His extravagantly curved long blade looked vicious, and Tiran had no desire to experience its power firsthand.

Even as Tiran attempted to evade, the figure persisted, silent and threatening with his blade crackling with electrical power, leaving no room for hesitation.

Raising her sword to defend, her blade already marked with charred remnants from earlier lightning strikes clashed with the peculiar long blade, leading to a resounding shatter amidst the thunderous boom.

Tiran also used the force of this blow to accelerate the falling speed, spinning her body just before the impending impact. She left a deep sword mark on the ground as she landed safely with the help of the cushion.

"It's such a pity... I had just bought a batch of decent quality swords."

Tiran released her grip with a hint of regret, and the already shattered sword fell to the ground in pieces after losing her Chi support.

Then she reached into her storage bracelet and pulled out another one.

From the Smithy Beacon City, a fine weapon series from the old blacksmith's shop, wholesale price one gold coin for ten... These were absolutely the top-notch mass-produced weapons in the non-enchanted ordinary weapon category.

There was a time when Tiran wanted to get her hands on legendary weapons or relics like the Gan Geer Victory Oath Sword or the Divine Fire Self-Cutting, but she seemed to lack that kind of luck. She had explored many ruins, but had never found anything worth keeping.

As for the path of forging and enchanting... To be honest, even if it was just a general enchantment, the effects of fire, ice, and lightning attached to the weapons created would be almost negligible in the battles Tiran would face, no more than just a bit more durability. Even the highest-level enchanted weapons that humans could forge were not quite enough.

So, it was better to prioritize quantity over quality at this point.

"Phew... I'm telling you, if you keep fighting like this, I'll have to get serious."

Tiran raised her sword towards the sky where the lightning wings expanded, her cape fluttering in the fierce wind.

The cape figure remained silent, swinging her long blade to unleash a narrow lightning blade, accompanied by a barrage of intense lightning strikes.

Alright, it seemed there was no room for conversation, let's just fight.

Tiran gave up the last bit of hope for persuasion through words... She simply did not possess that talent.

Although her ice Chi couldn't compare to the overwhelming attack power of the thunder force, it still had its uses.

Ice spires rapidly rose from the ground, obscuring Tiran's figure within. The tall and sharp objects immediately attracted the lightning, and the entangled lightning dragon was instantly destroyed by more than half with explosive force.

But this was just what she had anticipated.

Relying on the infinite Chi reserve obtained from trading with the gods, although Tiran couldn't create a thundercloud environment as massive as that of her opponent due to the limitations of her Chi recovery speed, she could still continuously create ice spires within a certain range.

It was common knowledge that tall and sharp objects were prone to attracting lightning.

In the sky, the figure in the cape also noticed that his lightning was being diverted and couldn't hit Tiran. However, he didn't seem to intend to stop this saturation-style attack, instead mobilizing even denser thunderclouds in an attempt to directly destroy Tiran's ice spires.

"The wrath of god."

These words could be lip-read from the figure in the cape.

The deep purple lightning instantly turned into a dazzling pale white, the several meters-wide lightning seemed like twisted threads merging together, forming a white giant column that fell through the sky.

The ice spires that had begun to take shape were instantly annihilated in the lightning, and even though Tiran was hiding behind, there was no possibility of escape. However, after the lightning faded, the figure in the cape observed the charred deep pit below without relaxing his vigilance.

"...?!"

Tiran, who should have disappeared in the lightning, suddenly appeared behind the figure holding a sword.

Their unconventional long blades clashed, igniting scattered electric sparks and ice fragments. Frost immediately attempted to climb up the opponent's blade, but the explosive force of the lightning shattered the effects of the Chi before that could happen.

After clashing in midair over a dozen times with no clear winner, it seemed that the opponent was not some pushover relying solely on the power of rules to crush swordsmanship to a complete mess.

That was the only solution she had come up with so far. Even at Holy Rank, there were differences in strength. For instance, although the reason was unclear, she was unable to use exclusive rules without Aya by her side, which put her at the same level as Yuan without Aya, barely able to handle the weaklings, and struggling against those with exclusive rules.

But struggling did not mean helpless. The application of rules was a highly advanced task. Time and space, as the basic elements constituting the world, formed the foundation for Holy Rank to govern the laws of the world. However, even with such a foundation, attempting to control them simultaneously was an extremely difficult task, not to mention the rules built upon these foundations.

Just now, as the cloaked figure used the thunder rule to summon lightning bolts, Tiran slowed down the passage of time to evade, a process that went unnoticed by the opponent until Tiran attacked from behind.

"At least he's not another protagonist-level guy..." The princess felt somewhat embarrassed, ever since encountering Xiang Ling and realizing that the tactics of extraordinary travelers with unexplainable powers did not apply, she had become more cautious of everyone.

If this cloaked figure could use two rules simultaneously, she would turn around and find Aya to come and beat him up together.

Since the opponent had not reached such a level of strength yet, she decided to engage in close combat decisively, leaving him no space to manipulate the rules. As a Holy Rank swordsman, Tiran had already confirmed her superiority in swordsmanship during their earlier clash, proving that she was no weaker than the cloaked figure.

Clang!

With a forceful twist of her wrist, Tiran's long sword intersected with the opponent's strange long blade, skillfully striking the point of impact on the long blade to alter the cloaked figure's blade trajectory.

This brief change created an opening in front of the cloaked figure.

Having carefully planned this move, Tiran almost simultaneously summoned a second sword from her storage bracelet, gripping it with her left hand to thrust forward.

【Royal Sword Art - Hundred Soldiers Thrust】

Most royal families in various countries had some swordsmanship techniques passed down for the sake of their "martial" traditions, but they were mostly similar to noble ceremonial swordsmanship. However, in Milania's royal family, almost every generation of kings had at least the swordsmanship skills of a grand knight, where swordsmanship was trained for the purpose of killing.

Sharp blades imbued with Chi thrust out in an instant, the gleaming rays of Chi making it look like a group of azure stars falling in the night sky, mesmerizing to behold.

Caught off guard, the cloaked figure also showed a moment of hesitation. While managing to dodge, the cloak was unavoidably cut and pierced by the sharp sword energy, causing some shallow cuts that oozed faint traces of blood.

However, as the cloaked figure endured Tiran's thrust, countermeasures were taken. Lightning flowed around their body before radiating outward, serpentine arcs of electricity coiling around to form a defensive barrier that forced Tiran back.