Defeat

Invulnerable, Child of Stars, and Sagittarius Arrow

They were Achilles' three main skills.

Invulnerable increased Achilles defense and magic resistance in proportion to the received damage, making Achilles immune to debuffs and buffs except for a few special abilities.

However, Achilles' second skill, Child of Stars, was even more special.

It allowed Achilles to burn his life force and increased his stats while also strengthening his third skill 'Sagittarius Arrow'.

Burning a dozen years reduced the active duration of Child of Stars by one hour and Achilles would gain a proportional burst of strength.

But that wasn't all.

Achilles required a 'living target' to activate Child of Stars.

Eliminating the target would help Achilles regain his burned life force by absorbing the life force of the target. Conversely, Achilles couldn't deactivate Child of Stars until he ran out of life force if he didn't eliminate the target.

Lastly, Sagittarius Arrow created condensed mana arrows which inflicted damage based on Achilles' total mana.

Since birth Achilles hadn't known defeat. With his three skills combined Achilles reigned as the supreme victor of every battlefield.

The longest an opponent lived after Achilles activated Child of Stars was 30 seconds.

It was precisely why Achilles was in disbelief.

"Stop with these underhanded tricks!" Achilles shouted until his veins burst. He unleashed Menzen in fury.

Noah activated Instant Acceleration and jumped out of his range while attacking the soldiers to taunt Achilles.

"I said stop harming innocents!" Achilles lost his reasoning as he saw the soldiers dying and dashed towards Noah.

[ Achilles is reducing the duration of skill 'Child of Stars' by 3 hours. Skill 'Sagittarius Arrow' will be strengthened. ]

Achilles reduced the range and destructive power of Sagittarius Arrow in exchange for swiftness and control.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The air split apart by seven silver needles that nimbly flew through the battlefield.

"Let there be light"

Achilles heard something from behind and his vision suddenly flashed. He was struck by a force on the back of the head and smashed into the ground.

His body bounced from the impact.

Noah kicked Achilles and catapulted him into the sky. He appeared above Achilles, punching him back into the ground.

[ Achilles Lvl.95 (HP: 300,100/300,100) ]

A small crater was created where Achilles crashed. Nonetheless, there was not a scratch on Achilles.

"Huff! Huff! Huff! This undying overpowered…." Noah landed on the ground and cursed while breathing heavily.

[ Sixth Sense has detected danger to your life. ]

Noah suddenly activated Instant Acceleration and appeared dozens of meters away from his previous location. Soon his previous location was skewered with silver needles.

Noah's stamina and divinity were rapidly decreasing.

"Attack him! He is tired!"

"Help the hero Achilles!"

"Kill!"

The soldiers pounced on Noah at the opportunity.

"Don't try to help me—!"

"Inverse Sage Heal."

[ You have regained 2000 SP through Inverse Gift of Benevolent ]

[ You have sacrificed 1000 SP and gained 10 Divinity through I Am Tired ]

[ You have regai… ]

[ You have sac… ]

[ You… ]

[ … ]

Color returned to Noah's face as he regained his lost stamina and divinity.

"What are you fighting for? Can't you see that resistance is futile? This battle is… just wasting innocent lives!" Achilles stood on his trembling legs, glaring at Noah.

[ Achilles is reducing the duration of skill 'Child of Stars' by 4 hours. Skill 'Sagittarius Arrow' will be strengthened. ]

"Is it now?"

The duo clashed.

Achilles was catching up with Noah's speed slowly, but surely. On the other hand, Noah had to dodge every attack. Even a single graze was enough to kill him.

Noah was at a disadvantage as the battle dragged on.

{What art thou planning? Is there a goal that thou art trying to achieve?} Hepius questioned.

"Don't distract me!"

Noah kicked a spear lying on the ground and shot it at Achilles with Gravity Manipulation. He used the weapons sprayed across the battlefield.

[ Gravity Manipulation proficiency has risen ]

[ Sixth Sense proficiency has… ]

[ Instant Acceleration pro… ]

[ Dete… ]

[ … ]

Noah and Achilles.

Both were growing as the battle grew in intensity. One could die with a single mistake and the other needed to control his anger or he could end up burning his life force completely.

Noah twisted his waist and dodged two silver needles aimed at his shoulders.

Spurt!

A third needle appeared and struck Noah's left leg while he couldn't move. The mana seeped inside.

Noah's leg burst into a bloody mess. He fell to the ground, coughing blood.

{Child…!}

"Finally. You can't run away anymore." Achilles spoke with hazy eyes and heavy breath. He pulled the arrow, burning everything while leaving a tiny ounce of life force.

[ Achilles is reducing the duration of skill 'Child of Stars' by 9 hours. Skill 'Sagittarius Arrow' will be greatly strengthened. ]

Achilles' life force condensed into a single arrow. It was carved beautifully contrary to the blood-soaked land and its enormous destructive potential.

"Pffft."

Noah abruptly broke into laughter, confusing Achilles and Hepius.

"No, I thought it was funny. You brought out the strongest card only after losing."

"...?"

Noah's strange words made anxiety swell in Achilles' heart, prompting him to put up an act of courage.

"Stop that unsightly act. If you are a true warrior, accept your defeat."

Achilles released the arrow capable of unleashing untold destruction.

BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

The arrow drew a silver line in the air. It missed Noah's head by a few inches and hit the castle hill, destroying half of it into bits.

Noah grinned as he saw the shocked look on Achilles' face.

"Wh..what did you…!?"

Achilles' eyes spun and he fell to his knees. Intense vertigo attacked Achilles, making his stomach churn.

"How…? I didn't use all of my life force yet why…."

A sense of heavy weakness was forcing Achilles to close his eyes and rest.

"Why did you lose strength?" Noah healed his leg and crouched in front of Achilles. "Ever heard of stamina? Exhaustion? Or, fatigue?"

Achilles' eyes widened. He was the strongest warrior on the battlefield. The combination of his three skills made him invincible. His defense was impenetrable and he ended every battle within 30 seconds.

…He never had a reason to fight efficiently.

As long as he didn't run out of life force no opponent could make Achilles give his all in a battle.

"At least you aren't an idiot who doesn't understand… what are you doing?"

Achilles grabbed Noah's leg and used Menzen with the last vestige of willpower. His resistance earned a sigh from Noah.

"I take my words back. You are an idiot."

Noah effortlessly blocked Achilles' Menzen.

The most important factor for Menzen was the mentality.

A strong mentality meant powerful Menzen and robust defense against the opponent's Menzen. While a weak mentality would generate weak Menzen and flimsy defense against the opponent's Menzen.

Achilles suffered defeat for the first time in his life and saw his subordinates die. His mentality had been shaken greatly.

But it wasn't enough. Noah couldn't pierce Achilles' mental defense yet.

"Protect hero Achilles! He is the last hope of our nation!"

"Protect hero Achilles!"

"Protect hero Achilles!"

The few soldiers who hadn't run away and were still alive attacked Noah in a last-ditch effort.

Achilles' pupils shook when he saw Noah smiling. "Don't kill them! I surrender…!"

"Inverse Sage Heal"

Unlike Achilles, the spell was mighty effective for the soldiers. They fell head-first into the ground with their eyes rolled back.

"Don't surrender yet. There is a lot to watch."

Achilles despaired at Noah's cruel words.

[ Activating skill Menzen ]