-1576- Small high-grade mana reactor

"Ha...!"

In that moment of shock for everyone, the heavily injured Kanata was the first to counterattack. He raised his magic cannon sword high, as if to retaliate, and slashed heavily toward Gregor, who had been attacking him just moments ago.

"Clang—!"

With a bell-like sound, Gregor promptly raised his magic sword to block Kanata's heavy strike.

However, just like when Gregor had attacked Kanata earlier, this time an astonishing force erupted from Kanata's magic cannon sword.

"Urgh...!"

Gregor groaned and was sent crashing toward the ground by the blow.

"This is payback...!"

Kanata shouted as he flew toward Gregor, carrying with him a brilliant aura of mana. His speed was like a supersonic bullet, far surpassing what it had been before.

In no time, Kanata easily caught up with Gregor, who had been knocked toward the ground.

Gregor's expression changed, and he quickly raised his magic sword to meet Kanata's fierce assault.

*Clang clang clang clang clang...!*

The magic cannon sword and the magic sword clashed intensely, producing a barrage of sparks and the sound of continuous impacts.

Then...

"Splush..!"

At a certain moment, the sharp edge of Kanata's magic cannon sword sliced across Gregor's cheek, leaving a wound.

"....!"

In no time, more and more cuts appeared all over Gregor's body, leaving him covered in injuries.

"What...!"

Gregor's expression changed again and again.

Up until now, Kanata had been utterly overpowered by him, but now, Kanata was demonstrating strength equal to, or even surpassing, Gregor's, and with superior swordsmanship, he had gained the upper hand.

The same scene unfolded elsewhere.

*Bang bang bang bang bang...!*

Amid the sound of intense gunfire, a sharp-eyed young magic gunner relentlessly fired at Chloe.

This magic gunner was none other than Francis Sovaca, the only rear guard in Vebel's representative team.

His shooting skills were extremely advanced—although not quite on par with Rico's pinpoint accuracy, when infused with Collapse Force, his shots carried terrifying power. Each bullet was strong enough to overwhelm Chloe's previous bombardments, a truly impressive feat.

It was well known that Chloe's firepower was astonishing among all rear guards. In fact, it was hard to find anyone in the world with more firepower than her as a Sky Wizard.

And this was in terms of firepower; typically, magic bullets couldn't win against magic cannons, which was common knowledge.

However, Francis's shots were indeed overpowering Chloe's bombardments.

This was because he wasn't firing ordinary magic bullets but Collapse Force bullets—something no mere magic cannon could block.

But now...

"Boom—!"

With a thunderous roar, a brilliant cannon blast composed of high-grade mana streaked through the air, piercing through the dense rain of bullets, swallowing up the Collapse Force shots one by one, and then heading straight for Francis.

Francis hurriedly deployed a Collapse Force barrier.

That barrier was solid enough that no ordinary magic could penetrate it.

Unfortunately, Chloe's cannon blast easily tore through Francis's barrier, sending him flying.

"Ah...!"

Francis let out a painful cry, and his body became covered in wounds.

Chloe, smiling angelically, raised her magic cannon staff again without hesitation and unleashed another cannon blast.

The devastating cannon shot continued its relentless pursuit of the enemy.

If Kanata was simply gaining the upper hand on his opponent, then Chloe was outright crushing hers.

Naturally, Yuri and Mena were not lagging behind Kanata and Chloe either.

"Let's go, Yuri!"

"Yes! Mena-senpai!"

The two girls launched a coordinated assault.

Their targets were the remaining two magic swordsmen of Vebel's representative team.

Yuri's opponent was Parson McKain, a female magic swordsman radiating pure and unyielding battle aura.

Mina's opponent was Gerrit Essias, a male magic swordsman with a gaze as cold as ice.

These two were an inseparable pair in Vebel's team, almost like twins, and just moments ago, they had been suppressing Yuri and Mina with their combined attacks.

But now, Yuri and Mena turned the tide and launched a fierce counteroffensive.

"Clang clang clang clang clang...!"

Under the dual assault of Yuri's magic spear and Mena's magic battle axe, Parson and Gerrit found themselves retreating while desperately defending against the onslaught.

Yuri's attacks were light and swift, while Mena's strikes were heavy and powerful. The alternating combination left Parson and Gerrit either barely able to defend or shaking from the impact, causing them to cry out in pain.

In a panic, the two finally deployed their Collapse Force barriers.

However...

"It's useless!"

Mena shouted as she swung her magic battle axe, infused with high-grade mana, like a bolt of lightning.

Once again, the barrier shattered under the immense force.

"Bang!"

The sturdy Collapse Force barrier crumbled under the high-grade mana-infused axe strike.

"Hah!"

Seizing the opportunity, Yuri's magic spear shot forward like a violent storm.

"Boom—!"

With a whirlwind of energy, Parson and Gerrit were sent flying.

"Guh...!"

"Urgh...!"

The two of them cried out as they were hurled away.

Yuri and Mina pressed their advantage, continuing their fierce assault.

In no time, the disadvantage they had been in earlier seemed like a mere illusion, completely vanishing.

The four members of the S128 Special Squad launched a fierce counterattack, thoroughly suppressing the four Collapse Force users.

"How is this possible...!?"

Watching this scene, Yamir was at a loss for words.

In the VIP seats, Zeth's face was solemn, while Annerose and the others were equally shocked.

It couldn't be helped.

Due to the existence of high-grade mana, Annerose and the others had only considered Rozen to be the sole human capable of standing against Collapse Force users, never pinning any hopes on the others.

Even Annerose, who was almost ruthlessly pragmatic, had not placed much expectation on the Korai squad she had dispatched. So, it was truly beyond her imagination that there were still humans who could contend with Collapse Force users—and not just one, but four of them.

All four of them could use high-grade mana.

But how was that possible?

Among humans, Rozen was the only one capable of using high-grade mana. For the rest, even refining compressed mana was an incredibly difficult task. Even if they could manage compressed mana, at most, they could only refine it to 10% compression, far from the 100% required for high-grade mana. How could four individuals suddenly appear, all capable of using high-grade mana?

This was absolutely impossible.

To this...

"Indeed, in this world, besides me, no one else should be capable of refining high-grade mana on their own."

Rozen's voice echoed at the perfect moment, drawing everyone's attention.

Still hovering in the air, Rozen smirked as he addressed the astonished Yamier and the others.

"But many people can't use compressed mana, and yet, they've all been able to use compressed mana through magic alchemical weapons with small compressed mana reactors, haven't they?"

Upon hearing these words, everyone instantly understood.

That's right.

Many people were unable to use compressed mana on their own, so they relied on the small compressed mana reactors installed in their magic weapons to use it.

In that case...

"With small compressed mana reactors, why can't there be small high-grade mana reactors?"

Rozen's words shook everyone to their core.